Last Command of the Witheld Arc 1: Rebirth

GRIFFIN TUCKER VASILIAS, GREAT HOUSE SCION, REBORN LVL 5

PROVINCE OF ARAGONIA WILDERNESS

At Culvis’ announcement of a break, Griffin nodded, unable to respond until he caught his breath. They’d stopped on the banks of a small stream that had cut into the mountain, leaving steep banks. Instead of leaping over the stream, like they had countless other times, Culvis directed him to slide down to the streambed.

The stream was dry save for a tiny trickle, and there was plenty of room for the rest of the team, completely hidden from line-of-sight through the forest. Jessaline climbed up into a tree, setting up a cozy little watch platform. Griffin could see her up there, watching out for anyone or anything out of the ordinary, pulse rifle sights held to her eye as she scanned the woods for targets. Zahara and Xander had their heads together, discussing something while Salyyb tended to his bees. Culvis went around to everyone, healing bruised feet and providing everyone with thorough hydration with his Hydrate Class power.

When Culvis came around to Griffin, he passed a hand over Griffin’s feet and Griffin groaned as aches and pains that he hadn’t even realized were there were suddenly healed completely. It sent tingles up his legs and he could swear he could feel the relief from his feet in his scalp the healing was so potent. Then Culvis gently grasped his left hand and held it for a few seconds as blue light pulsed out from his thumb and fingertips and Griffin gasped as the accumulated aches of the run and the battle and everything before seemed to ease with a wave of ice-cold refreshment. When it was done, Griffin lay there in a puddle of himself, nearly comatose with relaxation.

“Holy shit,” Griffin whispered and Culvis smiled, his mustache lifting at the corners, and clapped him on the shoulder before moving along.

Kismet kept a wide lookout, going to the extent of Griffin’s range with his anima. She kept high and flitted through the treetops, constantly circling. In Griffin’s HUD, her chibi avatar appeared in the corner dressed in green camouflage fatigues as she held binoculars up to her eyes. Griffin chuckled at her appearance but didn’t interrupt her, figuring she’d let him know if she found anything important. Meanwhile, he was reveling in the feeling of Culvis’ healing powers still working their magic on him.

The group rested quietly for several minutes, each person reacting more or less the same to Culvis’ healing as Griffin had. Soon enough, most of the group was standing straighter and looking much better. Even Salyyb had perked up. The moons were still in the sky, though the little one had zipped by at least three times, maybe it was four by now. He had no idea.

The rest of the group had separated somewhat in the little streambed: Xander was standing straight, still deep in conversation with Zahara; Salyyb had dug his toes into the soil and appeared to take root, looking more plant than man at the moment; and Culvis was kneeling in the streambed, going through an open case that looked like it was full of glass vials, his big hands moving gently over them. Jessaline must still be in the trees.

Xander and Zahara looked up as Griffin approached. “Feeling better?” Xander asked.

“Yeah man, Culvis’ healing magic is incredible. Uh, I mean healing power. Not magic.” He grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, it’s all magic to me.”

Zahara laughed at that and some of the animosity she’d shown him absent. “I’ve often felt the same way,” she said, her eyes meeting his with a sparkle. “I’ve always maintained the Imperial insistence on the vocabulary of Rebirth limits us. If we think of it as magic, it’s been shown—"

Jessaline’s voice suddenly cut through what Zahara was saying, invading his head—everyone’s head, judging by their reactions—saying, “I caught sight of something in the trees about two minutes ago; I think we lost it, but I couldn’t get a good look. Not human, though I doubt it’s a monster: it didn’t attack. That means eidolons, so it’s definitely Bardouls. There’re no other Independent teams in the area and those drones were definitely tensa constructs. We can’t risk them not being Bardouls.”

Griffin didn’t expect the reaction that the name “Bardouls” garnered. Everyone tensed up and Zahara’s face went a pale shade of green. With not even a crackle of twigs or falling leaves, Jessaline landed right in the middle of them, finally dropping down out of the trees and landing in a catlike crouch. She straightened and started calmly inspecting her weapon.

“What’s our plan?” Culvis asked, checking over his weapon. “Are we close to the OmniTrans?”

“It’s just past the stream and about fifteen meters through those trees,” Jessaline’s voice sounded in their minds and inserted a clear picture of the group of trees she meant. “But I haven’t been able to scout out the clearing. If there’s an eidolon on our trail this close to the OT, there’s no way they didn’t find it and stake it out; we’d be walking into a trap.”

In the corner of Griffin’s HUD, Kismet waved a little hand to catch his attention. “I did some quick System searches on “Bardouls” and “Vasilias” and there are centuries of enmity between them,” she said her voice carrying a note of worry. “Preliminary analysis indicates that these Bardouls have just as much wealth and power as Imperial Great Houses.”

“Great,” Griffin muttered. “So these guys are gonna be scary. Duly noted.”

Xander considered the news for a long time, then apparently responded in his head to Jessaline, though no one else could hear what he said. After a few moments, her voice came back, “Got it. I’ll scout it out, but that means you all are gonna need to watch out for yourselves.”

“I can slip ahead and keep a perimeter,” Zahara volunteered. The offer earned a sharp look from Jessaline for some reason. Griffin wondered what the tension was between them. “There’s no way anyone will find me and even if I’m not in the trees, I’ll spot anyone coming.”

“I like it,” Xander said aloud, though softly. “We won’t get far without the OT, and we’re already overdue for a monster attack. Wouldn’t that just be perfect.” Xander took a deep breath and stood a little straighter, making an obvious effort to banish the dark mood.

Zahara nodded and climbed up out of the mostly dry streambed, disappearing from view. Jessaline stared after her for a few seconds before glancing over at Xander and then leaping straight up and into the treetops. Griffin gaped at the feat in amazement: she leaped up twenty meters in a single standing jump.

When he spoke again, his voice had a kind of desperate cheerfulness that rang very fake in Griffin’s ear, “Don’t worry Griffin! When we get to Heldon, we’ll be able to laugh about this over scivit and kasberry ice. If we survive tonight, of course.”

“Sure. So long as we survive tonight,” Griffin said, trying and failing to keep the sarcasm out of his tone. “So… how do we go about ensuring we do…that?”

“Well, I suppose I’ll start with an amusing anecdote about how my mother was interrupted mid-breakfast to find out we were suddenly a Great House and then maybe you’ll come in with a joke or a sarcastic aside?”

“Uh.”

“I’m joking, Griffin! Don’t they have jokes where you’re from? Sorry. I’m under a lot of stress right now, that was in bad taste.” Griffin could hear the tension in Xander’s voice and started to get worried. This man had dismantled a bus-sized cybernetic monstrosity that tried to alternately eat him or roast him alive with plasma with an oversized hammer. If he was tense now, then these Bardouls must be more dangerous than that.

A twig snapped in the woods off to their left, nearly scaring Griffin out of his skin, but Xander didn’t even flinch. “Fuck that shaved off ten years,” Griffin gasped. “Where did you say those Bardouls were?”

Salyyb leaned into their little huddle, his voice a low buzz, “You are a very bright, very delicate blossom in a very dark and dangerous garden,” he said. “Mute your scent; you’re drawing in the wrong kinds of insects.” He leaned back and his headflower closed tightly. Griffin had no idea what that meant, but he had a feeling that he was being hushed and he hated that.

Griffin made a face that Sarah would’ve told him to stop making, but he stayed quiet. Salyyb took no notice, and Culvis chuckled softly moving a little closer. He dug in a belt pouch, pulling out a cloth packet tied up with string and a little metal flask.

He handed Griffin the flask, muttering, “Don’t mind Salyyb, he’s very ginpaari about things, but he’s bled beside us and saved me more than once. Drink up, son, you’ll need the energy.”

Griffin took the flask and then remembered he was still wearing his DEEP Suit’s helmet from his insane mountain run—the thing was so comfortable and breathable; it was easy to forget he even had it on. He wondered if he could just retract a little bit of it since he didn’t think now was a great time to be without head protection.

As he thought it, the jaw protector slid back and a little semicircle in front of his nose and mouth folded back and onto the cheek plates leaving his mouth free. If I weren’t so fucking scared and exhausted, I think I’d be impressed by that, he thought. He brought the flask to his mouth and took a quick sip, not thinking about what he was drinking.

The taste caused an immediate, unconscious reaction. His eyes squeezed shut as hard as they could, his mouth and nose puckered down into a terrible grimace, and he flinched violently away from the flask. It was so sour it made his mouth feel like it was going to implode on itself. He didn’t think he could swallow if he wanted to, but the liquid effervesced away in just a few seconds leaving him with a sore face and more energized than he’d ever felt before.

I feel more awake and alert now than I have in days! He thought wonderingly.

Culvis didn’t seem surprised by the reaction at all. He just handed Griffin the little cloth packet and took back the flask. Nestled in the cloth were a handful of marble-like bright blue orbs that looked like plastic ball bearings.

Griffin took one nervously, and asked, “What is this?” as softly as he could to Culvis.

“Focus candies,” Culvis said, “they should help you with your instinctual responses. Reborn don’t need to freeze, and these should help with that.” He took one and popped it in his mouth, smiling as he did. “These help to keep high emotions in check, so you don’t do something stupid in the heat of battle. Something like freeze when me or Xander tell you to run.”

Griffin cocked an eyebrow at him, “That’s very…specific.” Culvis grunted and shrugged indifferently. Griffin sighed and was just about to pop the candy into his mouth when something on his HUD caught his attention.

Custom Alert!

Scion Sarah Avery Vasilias has re-entered reality and has emerged at the last point she entered. Would you like to mark the place on your map?

Yes / No

“Griffin, you need to listen—” Kismet tried to say, but he wasn’t hearing anything else as blood seemed to rush straight to his head.

“What the fuck?!” Griffin said, disbelievingly. “Sarah?!” He saw the blip appear on his minimap as he immediately selected ‘Yes’. There she was! Just a little to the north… Well, maybe not a little. The map calculated it was nearly a thousand kilometers from his current location to wherever she was.

Location Broadcast

Would you like to broadcast your location so < Sarah Avery Vasilias > can find you?

Yes / No

Almost before he finished reading the new notification, he was selecting ‘Yes’ even as Kismet was shouting at him not to do it. He heard a little ding noise, and then everyone in the group looked at him and Kismet’s little chibi avatar facepalmed. Xander’s face was a picture of shocked disbelief. Culvis looked sick. Salyyb… well, Griffin had no idea how to read ginpaari expressions.

“What? Why are you all looking at me like that? What did I do?”

“What di—” Xander started. Something flew by overhead, but its shape was lost in the confusing darkness. It whirred slightly as it passed like it was powered instead of alive.

Zahara yelled from the trees, “Incoming! Get down!” at the same time as the world erupted into chaos, fire, and dirt.

Culvis dove at Griffin, but a glowing red and white chain whipped out of the woods, wrapping itself around his chest. A moment after it entangled him, he was flying through the air, away from the group. His HUD was flashing red, and he was dimly aware of stabbing pains all in his right thigh, belly, and arms. When he eventually came to a stop, it was by slamming head-first into something hard and immediately blacking out.