“What's going on?” Evelin asked for no one in particular. “None of this makes sense.”
Aiden wasn't sure if he should answer and he didn't think he should leave either. He ended up standing still and quiet.
“You will save the world.” Began Evelin. “You'd better find out how you're going to do this to make sense again.”
“If the leader of the chaotic can kill someone before completing the fate... Maybe I have to capture this man and save the world of Chaos Agents.”
Even if he’s theory made sense Evelin still thought there was something strange about this story.
“Fates suck, don't they?” Evelin spoke in a sigh.
Aiden opened his eyes astonished.
“But fates are given by God! Those who disrespect them are as bad as the chaotic ones. Besides, your father is a Guardian of the Order!”
Evelin wasn't mad at the boy this time; she was just thoughtful about everything that was going on. Holding on to fates and in a god seemed like something good; however, when your fate is bad and the people around you break the laws of existence, everything gets confused.
“Let's go on that Aiden. If you runaway on the next mission, I'll kill you myself. You need to train hard to save the world.”
Invasion
As Evelin turned around the racetrack, she saw a familiar ship approaching. As her father was leader of the Guardians of the Order, she knew well the ship models they used. She knew it wasn't your father's ship; yet she was curious about who was coming.
Theoretically she would not have access to the guardian's conversation with the marshal, which she assumed was going to happen, but due to all events she was no longer so concerned about the chain of command.
Coincidentally, when she got in the elevator, she ran into Aiden.
“Good morning, Eve,” he said, forcing a smile. “I'm going to the infirmary. Where are you going?”
“Talk to the marshal. A guardian of the order has arrived here, and I want to know what he wants.”
At any other time, Aiden would be very happy to know that a Guardian of the Order was near. However, he couldn't get excited.
“Well, good luck,” Aiden said as he came down on his floor. “We're going to play dice tonight?”
The girl thought a little and then nodded positively, opening a real smile on Aiden.
Upon arriving on the top floor, she came across the marshal on the control bridge.
“Miss Simeht!” He said trying to be polite. “You know that this floor is restricted to officers.”
“I saw a guardian coming. I want to know what's going on. Besides what are you going to do, dump me from the army? I'm going to have to take Aiden with me to protect him.”
The man sighed and accompanied her to his personal room.
“Do you know Evelin...” He began taking a cup of coffee. “Do you want coffee? I'll get you a cup. Anyway, we revere fate, but the truth is that we have no choice, fate is there whether you like it or not.”
Evelin looked confused at the man.
“Have you lost faith in fate, sir?”
She was afraid, it was almost a crime to speak ill of fate and God, even more coming from the Marshal.
“I've spent my whole life waiting for my fate... Pardalis was doing the same and look what happened. I'm just feeling that something big needs to happen. What do you think of that, Evelin?
Evelin faltered to answer. She didn't know if it was a trick to test her faith. Even so, the truth was that she was very disappointed with the fate and trusted Laserfield.
“My life is to protect a boy who knows nothing. And now that Pardalis is dead, it seems like nothing makes sense. Is there a way I can't fulfill my destiny?”
Before she got an answer, she heard knocks on the metal door.
“This conversation is between us.” Said the man when he pressed a button on his desk and opened the door.
Evelin recognized the man who came in. He wore gray armor, which appeared to be part of his own body. At his waist was attached a short sword. The face was also covered by the gray helmet of the armor. It was Guardian Kylex, one of the highest among them. On his chest was the symbol of the Guardians of the Order, a white square with triangles in the middle of each edge pointed out.
“Good morning, Marshal Laserfield,” only then did you notice Evelin's presence. Even though his helmet prevented others from seeing his reactions, his voice was surprised. “Miss Simeht, I didn't expect to find you here.”
The two greeted him and the marshal told him to come in.
“I need to have a talk with you.” Said the guardian to the marshal and then looked at Evelin. “Alone.”
“I was just leaving,” she said. “Thank you so much for the coffee, Marshall.”
She wanted to stay and listen, but she believed Laserfield would tell her everything later if she asked the right way.
She went down to the hall, where he sat on a bench not knowing where to go. The training sessions were all confused since Pardalis died. A pair of armed androids were patrolling the area; the environment was empty. Which was great for her: she could think with nothing in the way of her concentration.
Deep down, she just wanted to get away from everything: from the responsibility of being the daughter of guardian Simeht and having to protect Aiden. She designed the glyphs of her destiny and all she could think about was how she wanted to be free of them.
That's when she saw black spots far in the blue sky. Almost instantly an alarm started ringing and red lights flashed.
Before she could even decide their next move, the two nearby robots stopped and began shaking abnormally. Evelin didn't care much about the machines, so she took the first step to pick up her weapons in the armory when the two turned to her.
Instead of showing the pixels forming the usual expression on the screen, the image became the symbol that she saw on the wings of the red ship, a circle within the other with asymmetrical colors. Immediately the androids shot in the direction of the girl, who realized what was happening in time and hid behind a pillar.
She heard gunshots and screams coming from the upper floors and imagined that if all the base's androids were hacked, they'd be in a lot of trouble.
She knew she needed to get her laser gun from the armory, but it would be difficult. Even with his barrier projector, he doubted he could survive long against both androids. She heard the metal steps approaching her, one on each side. Luckily, she had her All-Tool and put it in knife form. After a deep breath, she waited for the steps to be closer and then ran towards one of them. Before the machine could react, she held his gun and turned to stand behind him in the way of the other's shots.
The other android, seemingly without much precision, shot at the one who was being used as a shield. Their barrier lasted a few seconds; however, it soon burned, and the shots hit their metallic body.
Evelin managed to get the gun out of the hands of the injured android who fell to the ground and heard shots in vain from the one standing. The bullets were gone, and he kept trying to shoot at her. Seized the moment, she shot until the enemy had fallen.
He smiled in relief yet heard shots at the base. The black dots approached showing attacking ships. For some reason, no anti-aircraft cannon from the base was fired.
She saw the red ship from the last mission and imagined that Sotark and the man who shot Pardalis were here. Some ships landed and armed people left heading towards the base. Without wasting time, she reloaded her gun and ran up the stairs.
The alarm kept ringing, but the shots in the hallways had stop. She hoped the other military had won against the machines and imagined that everyone would be going to the arsenal.
When you got there, she was sure. Several men and women armed themselves and went out in the halls. No order came from the marshal to the base, yet everyone went to strategic positions to defend themselves from the attack.
She ran to her locker, picking up her pistol and laser machine gun. Next to h
er, she saw one of her friends arming herself with a bleeding shoulder, but still ready to fight.
“What happened?” Asked Evelin.
“The machines got out of control, the elevators didn't work and somehow our air defenses were disabled. We have to go to the hangar now to pick up ships to counterattack.
Evelin knew this should be her next move but was concerned about the wounded in the infirmary and Aiden, who she couldn’t see. She separated from her colleague and ran down the stairs again. In the hallway she saw Guardian Kylex and three supposed Chaos Agents against him.
A large woman in a protective helmet was shooting from a machine gun that was in place of her left arm. Yet the Kylex barrier was the apex of the technology and seemed to be preventing all shots.
He approached the woman with his sword, but before he could get it right, one of the others put his own swords in the way. He was a tall man with sand-colored skin and a bandana in his hair holding two short swords. He was no challenge to the guardian who, with a kick, threw him to the ground.
The woman with the machine gun had already retreated and her other colleague, a short man with dark hair and one eye mechanic shot with a revolver, which caused no damage.
She kept watching as she went to the stairs. The guardian didn't seem to need help and she had to worry about the chosen one. Across the hall, she saw Sotark running. The monster man shouted at his partners.
“Get out of the way!”
They obeyed by making room for the giant's onslaught. The guardian had a lot of skill and hit his sword on his shoulder, but just as before, the pain did not seem to bother him.
He held the guardian by the arms and threw him to the ground. She knew it wouldn't be fatal damage, but Evelin wondered how painful that blow was.
As soon as Evelin was going to turn to the stairs, she heard Sotark scream again.
“Willys! Now!”
And then the ground below the guardian exploded and smoke took over the scene, preventing the girl from seeing the result.
On the stairs she ran to the floor of the infirmary. It was emptier than the others she had visited, with some security androids lying on the ground and no military around. She ran into the infirmary entering the automatic door looking for Aiden.
No answer. Those who were in a position to fight were picking up their weapons while the others were hiding. Evelin looked and shouted for Aiden several times, to no avail.
Then all the lights went out and, for a moment, there was only darkness. Red emergency lights went on in the infirmary and hallway.
She heard knocks on the door and ran over there with a gun in his hand when she heard a familiar voice.
“Eve? Are you there?” Asked Aiden on the other side of the door. “I can't open it!”
Aiden was screaming from the hallway. The girl tried to move the door which, after the power outage, was stuck.
The two went to the glass that divided the infirmary from the corridor. Evelin could see that the boy was scared. He carried his guns and she imagined that they missed each other in their ways.
“Eve, what's going on?”
“It's the Chaos Agents! They broke into the base, help me open the door.”
Any effort of theirs was in vain. In the hallway, Aiden began to hear footsteps and then pointed his machine gun. Upon seeing this movement, the girl looked at where he was aiming and saw the man with a dreadlock ponytail.
He walked slowly towards Aiden with his sword sheathed in hand. His red clothes looked old and worn and his dreadlocks swayed with her footsteps. Evelin despaired and continued to force the door, without getting any results.
“Stop!” Cried Aiden trying to sound intimidating. “Or I'll shoot!”
The man took the handle of the sword, but instead of removing the blade, he pressed a button and the technological cable separated from the rest, turning into a pistol.
“You're Aiden MacCoy, aren't you? The chosen one?” Spoke the agent of chaos in a softer voice than Evelin expected.
The man pressed a button on the sheath and a barrier was project in a circle in front of him. The girl knew when the barrier became visible and did not occupy the entire body of the individual it was more resistant, exchanging area for force.
Aiden began firing with his machine gun, but before burning the shield, the man fired a single shot of his laser pistol at Aiden's gun, throwing it away. Trying not to despair, Aiden took his own pistol and fired again. The chaos agent attached the pistol to the sword and became the handle of the weapon again, pulling the metal blade and running toward Aiden.
The boy unloaded all his ammunition, however the shield held everything, and the man was fast approaching.
It was all too fast in the boy's mind. In an instant the man was in front of him and the next on his back. He heard a noise of metal falling to the ground and a lot of blood in front of him followed by Evelin's muffled scream inside the infirmary.
The scream caused Aiden to regain his focus. He saw a severed hand with his pistol lying on the ground in a blood can, then, as he looked at his own hand, he noticed blood gushing from the stump on his arm.
The boy felt he had to scream, but nothing came out of his mouth, he couldn't act. He saw the necklace hanging from his neck that was supposed to give determination, something that became an empty symbol for him.
“But I am the chosen one...”
He heard several shots being fired and looked out the window where Evelin was trying to destroy the glass with her gun. The armored glass was sturdy and was taking longer than he would hope.
“Then you really are the chosen one.” He heard the voice of man coming from your back. “Listen, kid, it's nothing personal, but I need to do this.”
Evelin saw the man aiming Aiden at his back with the sword handle again in the shape of a pistol when the glass finally broke. She figured Aiden would get a prosthesis like Pardalis', that she could finally kill this agent of chaos and that everything would be fine.
But before jumping through the opening he created, the man shot with his laser gun at Aiden. Once in the head, four more against the body. He did not know how much Aiden's barrier had held, yet he was now lying with his blood spreading across the floor.
Evelin finally jumped and the chaos agent had disappeared down the dark corridor. She arrived at his colleague's body, placing him in her lap. He was still alive, which greatly relieved the girl; however, he did not seem well. Blood flowed from his mouth and he was extremely pale. Evelin was bloodied while trying to help his colleague.
“Eve...” said the boy without strength “I'm going to save the world, right?”
“Of course!” She said trying to take the boy to the infirmary. “You will come back much stronger and end these Chaos Agents.”
The boy smiled imagining this future. But his smile disappears, and all Evelin saws was a cold, emotionless expression.
“Hang in there, Aiden. You're going to get better.” She started sobbing with tears running down her face. “You're going to be fine, Aiden. Aiden! Talk to me!”
She just didn't want to accept it. She couldn't accept that he was dead. Evelin put him in one of the beds and collapsed on his chest, hoping he would get up even though she knew it was impossible.
Aiden was dead and there was nothing she could do about it.
She rose holding his tears with a huge determination. She took her gun and went back into the hallway trying to focus all his thoughts on a single mission.
The man was already gone, had completely ignored her actions and left. Evelin knew the direction he should have gone and started running as fast as she could.
She got up the stairs where there was a trail of blood footprints up. She continued to follow his target's trail until she reached the top floor. In the hallway leading to the bridge, she saw two dead guards and no Chaos Agents around.
Despite the power outage, the bridge door still worked and opened when the girl passed. Inside the room she saw the marshal and the man
in the ponytail face to face. Despite the lack of electricity, the room was illuminated thanks to the large windows that showed ships circling the base.
To Evelin's surprise, the two men seemed to be having a peaceful argument, with no weapons in hand. She immediately pointed her gun at the agent, who took the scabbard of the sword instinctively.
“He killed Aiden, Marshal!”
Before she could shoot, the marshal interrupted her with a melancholy voice.
“Yes, Sorom told me. It's a shame, but don't shoot him. Please.”
Evelin could not understand his superior's orders and got confused with him saying the name "Sorom". Although similar, this agent was much younger than the general and with much longer hair.
“What do you mean, sir? He's an enemy, an Agent of Chaos, killed the chosen one... How did you kill the chosen one?” Asked her to turn to the man.
The man simply shrugged and turned to the marshal again.
“So, we have a deal, old man?”
The marshal was reluctant but ended up nodding his head.
“What's going on here?” Asked Evelin. Before she got an answer, a new voice came out from behind the girl.
“Yes,” spoke Guardian Kylex entering the room. “What's going on here? This is an act of treason, Laserfield!”
The guardian’s armor was damaged, but it did not appear that his body was injured. With his sword he advanced against the Agent of Chaos.
Evelin took no action and decided to wait to see the outcome of this fight. It was strange Laserfield to be so friendly with the agent and, in the end, she trusted her marshal.
Both were very good with their blades, the agent defended all the attacks of the guardian, yet had no opening to counterattack. Then he spoke on his communicator on the sleeve of his clothes.
“Norna, I need a little help here.”
The two continued to exchange blows in front of the big window and more and more the agent was at a disadvantage. He lost his balance and got down on his knees in front of the guardian, who prepared the final blow.
The room was taken by a shadow and everyone looked at the red ship blocking the light in the window. From their two wings, two cannons fired lasers destroying the window, much of the room, and obliterating Guardian Kylex.
Destiny Sorrow Page 5