by Ko, John
Every Capture the Flag field is somewhat similar. Teams start off on opposite sides and are funneled to a point in the middle. Still, Titan Blue has a flair undeniably its own.
Though flair isn’t something that is going to help them today. Not starting off one short. It is a sure disaster waiting to happen. Why did I agree to this? Four against five isn’t even fair. This is so stupid.
On the far side is the entrance leading towards their opponent’s side. He slides towards it, his sister just behind. Once through, he looks for a suitable hiding place. He heads towards a small clump of brush to the side.
“Ray,” he whispers once they are hidden.
“Yes, Wake.”
“I’m sorry I got us into this. I should have told you from the very beginning what a jerk Kearney is. If I had, then maybe things would’ve been different.”
“No, Wake. I’m the one who accepted his invite,” his sister says. “Really, I understand why you didn’t say anything. He was our best chance. No decent team was going to take a couple of nobodies like us. I’m the one who should’ve known better. I just thought you didn’t like to talk about your friends or school. I should’ve known … I’m your sister.”
“Please, Ray …” Wake almost screams. “I knew the whole time. I knew the only reason I was on his team was that he liked my sister. I knew what kind of scum he was and I didn’t say anything. I used that. I used you. I’m horrible.”
“No, Wake. It wasn’t you who suggested we join Kearney. It was me.” Rachel goes silent for a moment before whispering, “They’re here.”
Still as a pair of stones, they wait for their opponents to pass through the gate. Wake finally lets out a breath. I need to forget all that other stuff. I need to focus. I need to keep my guard up. What did he call it? Win the Moment, little by little. That’s what I have to do, forget about qualifying, forget about everything else. I can’t handle any of that right now. I just need to get through this very second the best I can. If I do that, everything will go as it should.
“Wake, how much longer?”
“It’s almost time.” Hopefully this will be over quick.
“I just need to stand on the node as long as I can, right?” she asks, wringing her sweater.
“Yes, Ray, that’s the plan.” He promised to try his best, but he’s not sure what that’s worth. He begins to worry. It’s hard to breathe … again.
My sister should matter, my own future should matter, but he just doesn’t see how they have a chance. No matter how hard he wants to, he just can’t believe that this will end well. I have to get us through this somehow. I have to be brave for Ray. She deserves a better brother than I’ve ever been.
“It’s time, Ray. Let’s go,” he says. “If you get into trouble, I’ll be there, I promise.” Why did you go and say something like that? You know you can’t back it up.
“Wake, no matter what happens, I’m glad about the way things turned out. I love you.”
Chapter 26
BROTHER MONSTER
[Battlefield: Titan Blue]
Brother Monster isn’t the biggest fan of Tear Battles, Tournaments, or any of that stuff. He understands the rules and even some basic strategy, but you’d never call him a student of the game. Instead, he spends his time on much more important matters, like healing the sick and injured. Luckily, the two went hand in hand.
This will be his first match of any sorts, but even a crybaby like him knows that no one ever actually tries to capture the flag. The way to win Flag is by eliminating all of your opponents. If you concentrate on anything else while your opponents are focusing on disposing you—you will lose. And the best place to fight is by the fountain, especially if you can get on the node, a small circular mound that, if held, gains you control over the fountain. Holding the fountain means controlling its waters—which powers up your whole team, making them faster, stronger, more dangerous.
It’s still just a game, though, Monster thinks. Why are they making it into such a big deal? If we win, that’s great. If we don’t, oh well, it just wasn’t meant to be. It’s not like the end of the world.
“Monster, keep up,” Riser calls back.
“Riser, can I ask you something?”
The Daughter looks at him sidewise, but nods nevertheless.
“Why are we doing this?”
“What?” She doesn’t try to hide her disgust at the question.
“Don’t you see how hard this is on Wake and Rachel? Shouldn’t we think of their feelings?”
“Are you trying to make me angry or are you really just that cowardly?” she mutters, turning her attention ahead. “Unforgivable.”
Finally, she looks back and asks, “Why be a pacifist? Is it because you’re afraid of fighting?”
“No, it’s just what I believe is right.”
“Is it easy for you?”
“No, it‘s not.”
“If it gets too hard, are you going to quit?”
“No, I would rather die first.”
“I guess I can’t totally look down on you. Why are you looking down on them?” She asks him. “Why hold them to a different standard? Are their dreams any less valuable than your own? I didn’t see it too at first, but they’re not meant to be mere mortals. Together, we will become legend!”
Mere mortals, legends—what a bunch of arrogant nonsense. She is right about one thing, though. I am holding them to a different standard. But it’s for their own good.
“What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done?” She’s already so far ahead he can barely hear her.
“I don’t know. I guess gaining my Master rank in Herbology.”
“Was that a good thing?”
She’s got a point.
The Half-Orc lags further and further behind. He can see Riser’s frustration growing every time she has to slow down for him to catch up. But it’s not his fault he can’t use 128’s like everybody else. He looks down at his Tear. It swirls from blue to red and back again. His color is too unstable to use Water or Air, and though he has no problem with Fire, he refuses it. Blaze Boots leave behind a flaming trail, a trail that can inadvertently hurt other people. So he runs along barefoot, covered in sweat and breathing hard.
“We’re almost there,” Riser says. “Wake and Rachel should be on the other side by now. You understand what to do?”
The Half-Orc nods; of course he does. He may not exactly be an expert, but it’s not like he’s stupid. He understands the plan Sensei laid out earlier. The element of surprise gives them a chance, even if it meant splitting up an already outnumbered team. It’s a risky plan though; if things don’t go just right …
Monster prays for the well being of his teammates.
“We don’t even have a strategist to let us know if they made it into position on time,” Riser complains. “I hope they are alright.”
She’s actually worried about them, too. “They’re in good health and on the other team’s side. You can’t feel them?”
“No, you can?”
He nods and looks down at his gauntlets. These smelly chunks of metal are at least good for something.
It’s not long before they reach the gate. A gigantic wall looms before them, stretching towards either side of the battlefield. There’s one way through and right now it’s shut tight.
“They must have closed it,” she says. “It’s almost time. We need to find the lever now.”
“I think I found it, but I can’t get it to work,” Monster calls out.
“It’s really not that hard,” Riser says before finding out exactly what the Half-Orc meant. “Oh, you aren’t just being a crybaby … What the hail is that?”
The lever has some sort of glowing wall surrounding it. They can’t open the gate.
Chapter 27
WAKE
[Battlefield: Titan Blue]
Wake hits the lever and the gate flips open. He activates Wave Step and slides through. Flashing between familiar faces, he marks the way for h
is sister. Rachel follows, a pale shadow of his shadow. She stops in a blink, directly in the middle of the node—directly in the middle of their old team.
“Grab the Sun,” she commands. The area darkens and all those surrounding her are thrown backwards by the force of her summons. This time the blackout lasts for only so long and in its place is Rachel holding a shining orb. She can finish forming it so much faster now, Wake thinks, looking at his big sister. Now if we can just hold the node until Riser and Monster get here.
The sound of half-hearted clapping fills the air. Kearney Dim stands there looking down at them with lazy eyes. He looks amused. “Neat trick, guys. Had no clue you two were even back there.”
Why’s he just standing there? Wake tries to figure out.
“You look confused, Wake. Let me help you out,” Kearney says. “Your friends aren’t coming. Willie dropped a Wall on their lever. That gate’s not opening anytime soon.”
“You can’t do that … that’s cheating,” Rachel says.
“I thought so too, but our new, smarter strategist, is full of dirty tricks.”
“Kearney, stop fooling around and hurry up and take them out,” says an irritated girl’s voice over the loudspeaker. Her voice is familiar. Where have I heard that voice before?
“Don’t get all bossy just ‘cause you were right about the lever. I’ll do whatever the hail I want, and right now I want to have a little fun with some old friends,” Kearney yells at the sky. He faces Wake, eyes cruel and full of mirth. “Too bad you’re cheap-shotting captain ain’t here. I’ll just have to settle for you.”
Instinctively, Wake begins to draw the brute away from his sister. If I can just get Willie over here too, she may have a chance against three Healers. Suddenly, he realizes the ridiculousness of his plan—him taking two and his sister facing three. He can’t help but laugh.
“Kearney’s Krusher!” he hears before everything turns white, or is it black? He can’t tell. Wake finds himself on his hands and knees. Keep your eyes open, he hears in his head, before another voice calls him, Waste.
“What the hail are you laughing about?” Kearney growls. His voice sounds far away. “It must of been a fake laugh.”
Failing Kearney Dim. Why’s it always got to be him?
Ice Ridge | Ten Years Ago
“Hey, you, wanna play? We need one more,” the fair-haired kid asks young Wake Avenoy. It’s the first day of school and everything’s a bit overwhelming. But even Wake can’t turn down an invitation to play, at least not outright.
“What’re you playing?” he asks the larger boy. No one else needed to ask. On top of that, everyone seems to already know everyone else—and what to expect and how to act. Wake doesn’t.
“Tear-Tag. You in?”
“Okay,” Wake decides, not wanting to seem afraid.
He starts off being ‘it’ for his side, but is able to quickly tag the proper person. Soon, he’s running and screaming like everybody else. This isn’t so bad. School’s not so scary, after all. What’s his mother always worrying about?
As the teacher calls the kids in for class, his new friend says, “Hey Wake, we’re going to play again after school. You can be on my team.”
Wake and his new friend are the only ones left. He knows he should go home too, that his mother’s probably starting to really worry. But he doesn’t want to leave his first friend alone.
“I live over there at the top of Duffy Street,” the fair-haired boy says, pointing behind him. “Where’s your house?”
“Down there.” Wake points in the opposite direction.
“You don’t live in one of those dirty shacks in The Belly, do you?” the boy asks. Wake was born in Ice Ridge. The town built directly into cliffs of Northern Gorgury is all he’s ever known. At the bottom, one can access Wysteria; the top led to the Roh Martyr Highway, and the lands to the north. The Belly is a small neighborhood near the deepest tunnels of Ice Ridge. That’s where he lived.
But he’s never considered his home to be that dirty, or a shack. “No,” he says.
“That’s good, ‘cause all the people that are a waste live down there. That’s what my dad always says. He’s deputy mayor. He knows everything.”
“Hey, Wake, I thought you said you weren’t from The Belly,” his friend from yesterday says. “How come Willie says he saw you coming from down there?”
“But, Kearney, I didn’t say I wasn’t from there …” he begins.
“You’re a big fake, pretending to be one of us, but you’re really just a waste,” says Kearney Dim
“I wasn’t trying to …” Wake tries to say.
“Wake the fake, the big fat snake, no one is going to fall for your tricks. Go back to the Belly, Waste.”
Present
Tears blur Wake’s vision. Some things never change. He attempts to wipe them away before realizing his hand is covered in something thick, something wet. He tries not to think of the fact that he’s tasting his breakfast for a second time. It’s not working. He’s going to throw up again.
Kearney Dim laughs hysterically. Everybody’s laughing. Nearby, his sister screams out in pain.
Ray , he thinks, trying to stand. He looks over to see her hunched over on the node, surrounded by bad guys. No!
“Are you done, Waste? I don’t want to get any of that puke on me.” Kearney’s words come out slow and distant. All Wake can see is his sister. Her cry still hangs in the air. Everything is heavy, he’s moving so slowly, but he’s on his feet. The air is thick like water. It doesn’t want him to move, fighting him, pulling him into stasis. He has to swim through it to build any momentum at all. I have to be there, he thinks, turning his final stroke into a desperate grab.
“Crashing Wave,” he shouts, landing in a raging torrent next to his sister. The ring of water crashes down, clearing the node of their foes once again
What was that? Crashing Wave is nothing new, but … how did I make it all the way over here? Why didn’t anyone try to stop me?
Never mind that; I have to help Ray. I’ll do it, he decides. I’ll be Wake the Fake, if that’s what it takes to get through this. I know we have no chance. And if I can’t force myself to believe … I’ll even listen to Kearney Dim. I’ll Fake it. I’ll pretend like I’m one of them. But I’ll fake like I’m Fate or Riser, like I know we’re going to win. Maybe, if I pretend long enough, Riser and Monster will come save us.
“Back-to-back, Sis,” he says, picking his sister up. “Remember that game we used to play, the one with the Water Balls in the cavern behind the canal?”
“Yes,” she says, a smile breaking through.
“We’ll do that.”
“Blue Summon: Floating Globe,” Wake says, calling forth a large glob of Water and suspending it in the air before him. “Water Grab: Dual Falchions.”
Armed with two swords of Pure Water, he assumes his stance: one held high, the other low, blades parallel and facing outwards. His sister holds her Sun Orb before her in one hand, the other supporting her wrist, and says, “Dual Stance: Shimmering Ocean.”
It used to be Dual Stance: Flowing Ocean, until the day before , he thinks. But that doesn’t really matter. The name may have changed, but not much else … Except maybe him.
“What you thinking, Waste? That you’ll hold out till your friends come? You think you’ll have a chance even then, four against five?” Kearney laughs, walking ever so slowly over.
“I don’t need anyone else to beat you!” Wake shouts, trying to hide his desperation. He’s the strongest. I need him to concentrate on attacking me or we have no chance.
Kearney takes his spot among The Courageous, who have already surrounded the brother and sister. “Cute, Waste, you and your moves that do no damage. How’s that going to help you when all I have to do is hit you once and you’re on your knees, throwing up. Let’s find out what a second hit makes you do.”
Wake’s ready for him this time. He easily avoids the right. By the second punch, he recognizes the
combo. It’s one of Kearney’s favorites. Next comes the low attack and he always finishes with a left hook. Keep your eyes open. Win the moment.
He takes the course of least resistance, dodging the predictable blows. He sees it all, Kearney before him, cursing at missing his blows, and through the reflection of his Globe of Water, the enemies striking from behind. He shouts out, “12S, 3Y, 9I … Now!”
Shine thrusts her arm directly ahead to her twelve o’clock and paints the letter ‘S’ in the air. One of the Mace Brother’s attacks is fiercely deflected. She pivots to her three o’clock and marks a ‘Y’ upon her charging opponent, disarming him and sending him backwards. In a single motion, she stretches one foot back and swivels fully, bringing her orb straight down just in time to block the third and final attacker.
It worked! But he’s paying too much attention to what’s behind him.
“Kearney’s Krusher!” The brute throws all of his mountainous self into the blow. His polarized knuckles multiply his momentum, pulling him forward, faster and faster.
Wake braces himself for impact. “Freeze: Falchions.” His wrists ache from absorbing the blow. His swords lay shattered on the ground. But he still stands and so does his sister.
“I’ll admit this is fun, Waste,” Kearney says, eyes bulging and red. “Why don’t you make some more stuff for me to break?”
“What are you guys doing? Get them off the node!” the voice says over the speaker. “Wake is dangerous. He’s telling his sister what to do. Take him out.”
“Shut up, Juli. Just cause your father paid all that dough don’t mean you get to actually …”
“Water Grab: Falchion,” Wake declares mid-swing, soaking Kearney before he can finish. I have to be careful. I’ve used up too much Water already. Wait; did he just call her Juli? Was that her voice? Is she one of our replacements?