Renegade Rising

by J.C. Fiske

Chapter 19: The Essence Unleashed

  Before the Renegas knew it, they had all shown proficiency in every weapon category and just as Gisbo had suspected, the good ol’ talon sword remained his favorite. In fact, everybody’s initial choice held true, as Perry had said it would. From here, the boys and girls moved on to hand-to-hand combat, sparring with each other for weeks on end. Gisbo felt right at home in this area; he had been fighting with his fists his entire life, after all. Others experienced some difficulties, but after many black eyes and bruises later, everybody showed enough progress for the Renega stage of training.

  As long as Gisbo could remember, he had dreamed of being an Elekai’ Warrior for one reason: to learn Elekai’. After so many years, the long-awaited day had finally come for to unleash his essence and begin learning the Elekai’ skills. Perry arrived early that morning, along with many of the class masters who wished to witness their pupil’s special day. Falcon and Moordin gave their trainees encouraging thumbs up as Perry quieted everyone for his lecture.

  “This is a big day for each one of us gathered here. You have shown much patience and much dedication. I couldn’t be more proud of your progression from a bunch of bumbling children with sharp objects to novice fighters. All of you standing before me have proven yourselves in a wide variety of combat styles on an impressive number of weapons; you are now deemed worthy to put power behind those swings. Since each of you is a unique individual, some will unleash their essence rather quickly while others might take a few tries. If you don't succeed at first, don’t fret! Relax; when this day is through, all of you will be able to unleash the power that has been churning within you since your birth. Without further ado, I want all of you to split up and get some distance,” Perry instructed. The Renegas did as they were told, everyone spreading out across the Courtyard of Strength. The Flarians stood a few more body lengths apart from their peers, just in case.

  “All right, the moment is come. Are all of you ready?” Perry said. Everybody answered with a resounding yes.

  “No, no, I said, ARE YOU READY?” Perry yelled with enthusiasm. The class answered again with a louder “yes!” Gisbo thought it was quite neat to see Perry all riled up for a change. His dry tone had finally taken a back seat.

  “Excellent! Now, all of you, grip your ring hand into a tight fist. Good. This is where things get interesting. Depending upon your race, you will unleash your essence in different ways. The process is entirely linked to your thoughts, memories and feelings. Use your imagination! Let’s start with the Aquarians. You are to think of a memory that is sorrowful; focus on it! It must be a memory that makes you want to rise up from it and compells you to use your power to wash it away! You are the life givers! A caring, thoughtful bunch, able to fit in with just about anyone and masters of adaptation! Use your hearts! Only then will your essence be called forth to aid you!” Perry said with intensity and the Aquarians closed their eyes and began to focus.

  “Soarians! You must think of a great achievement! You are a people of swift action, swept up by the thought of new and curious things. Your great intelligence aids you! You are flyers; one with the air! Use your imagination and think of thrilling times in your life or times you helped solve a problem. Call upon your essence to enhance your natural abilities and take flight!” Perry said, pumping his fist in the air as the Soarians closed their eyes and focused on great experiences.

  “Now for you, Naforians! With me now! You are constantly striving for improvement and sharing it with others. Just like the earth sprouts new plants that grow and spread their seeds, you are always ready to offer your great strength and wisdom to all who will listen. You are one with the mighty beasts! You are never satisfied, there is never a limit for you, no final destination, always the journey! You must imagine beautiful things to protect! You must imagine yourselves constantly gaining in strength! Shoot for the moon! Nothing is limited! Call upon the earthly essence within you to help you achieve your growth!” Perry said, and with that, Rolce and the other Naforians began reaching for images that would release their essence.

  “And finally, you Flarians! You are a beacon of inspiration to us all! Unleash your fiery spirit to aid your fellow races in battle. Think of painful injustices, moments of righteous fury for a cause! Search inside yourselves and call upon the flames within you to quell evil and ignite us all with a burning battle cry!” Perry finished as Gisbo closed his eyes to concentrate. He held his clenched fist in front of his face and focused hard, as images of Thomson came into his mind, followed by the stupid decisions he had made in his former life, followed close behind by the memories of receiving his very first bands in Heaven’s Shelter and the look of pride on Falcon’s face.

  WHOOSH! In a rush of vibrant green energy, Rolce’s ring began to glow. His veins also took on the green glow and pulsated, causing everyone around him to break into applause, especially Moordin, who lost his reserved facade for a moment and exploded into hoots and whistles. Rake was a close second igniting in red energy. Gisbo heard the familiar WHOOSH sound behind him, giving the crowd more reason to clap and cheer.

  Over the next half hour, everyone except Gisbo and Grandfield had successfully released their essence. Gisbo was immensely frustrated, angry with himself, and embarrassed at this point. He was thinking of the most intense memories he could summon and still absolutely nothing came. All of a sudden, he heard a loud roar followed by a quieter WHOOSH and Grandfield's ring ignited red. It was late, but louder even than anybody else’s had been.

  “What the hell did you just think of?” Gisbo snapped. Grandfield grinned.

  “Well, I didn’t eat breakfast this morning so all I could think about was how hungry I was, but the moment I began thinking of my favorite foods: BOOM! It went off! Maybe you should give it a try,” Granfield suggested.

  Gisbo visualized steak and sushi, wincing to the point where he was letting out audible groans.

  Sounds like I’m trying to take a massive dump or something! DAMN IT! Gisbo thought to himself.

  By this point everyone was clapping and cheering him on. The thought that he was now the only one left made Gisbo burn with shame, which in turn, enraged him. He tried to gather together all his memories once more and condense them more intensely, but still nothing happened.

  Come on, you stupid essence! Gisbo thought with desperation when an idea crossed his mind.

  Maybe he was thinking of too much at once. What if he focused on just one thing, one target, and focused? Gisbo knew exactly what to think about: Ranto was the first, most infuriating topic that came to mind, pointing his spiked, brass-knuckled fist at Gisbo on the day of Perry’s field exercise. He focused on Ranto's face; his snide smile and deep, derisive laugh when he suddenly he began to feel the warmth of wrath tingle throughout his body. This was it! He was doing it! Gisbo kept on visualizing himself getting knocked clean to the ground, feeling frustrated and helpless. He winced even harder and with a fierce yell he thrust his arm skyward and his ring ignited!

  WHISSSSS . . . was the sound that came from his ring. Nobody clapped. Gisbo lowered his ring in front of his face for a closer look. Instead of glowing brightly like everyone else’s, it was sparking and dripping with quick pulses of red energy, making a low, weak, hissing noise. Everybody stared on, not quite knowing what to think or how to react, as Gisbo noticed the thin, weakly lit veins running down his arms, barely visible at all. After what seemed like an eternity, Perry approached him.

  “What’s wrong with my ring?” Gisbo asked Perry.

  “There’s, there’s nothing wrong with your ring, Gisbo,” Perry said. Gisbo noticed the restraint in his voice. This was the only time Perry had ever stuttered to get words out. It could not be a good sign.

  “Then why isn’t my ring glowing like everybody else’s? Give me another one! Mine's broken or something!” Gisbo yelled. Perry opened his mouth to say something, seemed to think better of it, and raised his hand as if to say, “Hold on a minute…”

  “All right
everyone! Congratulations to you all, you may be dismissed early. Go celebrate with your class masters and be here tomorrow at the same time. Off you go now! Move! Move!” Perry urged as he began shuffling the students towards their class masters leaving only Gisbo, Rolce, Falcon and Moordin present.

  “Now that everyone’s gone can somebody please tell me what’s going on?” Gisbo asked. Perry, Falcon and Moordin all looked at each other and finally, Falcon answered.

  “Gisbo, here. Try this ring on and ignite it for me,” Falcon said, taking off his ring and sliding it on Gisbo’s finger. Gisbo did as he was told and focused on the same memory as before, investing all his energy in it. Again, the ring ignited with the same weak hiss.

  “I think this one's broken too! What gives?” Gisbo asked.

  “Gisbo, I’m afraid the rings aren’t broken,” Perry uttered the words Gisbo had been dreading.

  “Well? What, what the hell is wrong with me then?” Gisbo stammered.

  “There is nothing wrong with you, per se. It just seems that your body can’t produce enough essence required for combat,” Perry said. Gisbo looked, and felt, shocked.

  “What? What are you trying to say to me?” Gisbo questioned again, although he knew what the answer was. Falcon bent down, put both hands on his protégé’s shoulders, and looked him straight in the eyes, man to man.

  “Gisbo, I don’t know what’s wrong. I mean, you were tested at birth and Honj gave the go ahead that you had the right amount of essence to be an Elekai’ warrior, but it seems we may have made a mistake,” Falcon said in a kindly voice, barely above a whisper.

  “Mistake?” Gisbo asked, dumbfounded.

  “Well, not a mistake, exactly. Sometimes, in very rare cases, people can lose their essential energies while they grow up. It is a rare condition called Skarupulous in which the body concentrates its energies and exudes them through the skin, leaving one able to emit only low energy outputs. It is such a rare disease that it was named after the only other man who ever had it. Gisbo, I’m so sorry,” Perry explained.

  Gisbo took two steps out of the circle where they were all huddled and looked to the sky with his back turned and hands on his waist. Everything he had ever dreamed of, everything, came down to this day. He should feel sorry, he had every right to, but of all the memories he had summoned, one stuck with him and crowded out the others: a memory of a day in the pouring rain, when he had lain beaten and battered in a mud puddle, changed his thought process. He refused to go to that dark, desperate place again. He smiled a weak smile to himself and turned around, startling the others with the positive grin on his face.

  “So that’s it then? It figures. It just seems to be the way my life goes. I knew this whole thing was too good to be true, but it doesn’t matter! I told myself once before that I was done with crying like a little girl because life hit me too hard. I may have this disease, but that doesn’t even matter. I mean, I can still emit something, right? A lot of people can’t even do that! I don’t care, I’m gonna keep going on with the training. I won’t give up, ever. If, of course, you’ll let me continue, Instructor Perry,” Gisbo said with resolve. For the first time, Gisbo saw Perry’s hardened exterior melt away completely; so totally bewildered he was by Gisbo’s response that he looked as if he may shed a tear.

  “Gisbo, in all my years as an instructor I’ve never seen such fiery will and determination. Never. I would not have expected such a response from a man, let alone a boy. If you are willing to put in the work, then who am I to stop you? Heaven's Shelter is your home now and as far as I am concerned, the heart of a Renegade lies within you even if the power does not, which is far more important. This is not going to be easy for you. You may or may not be able to master even the most minor skills, but I doubt that I can convince you to do otherwise. You’ve made yourself clear and I am proud of you, as, I’m sure, is your class master,” Perry said and, giving Gisbo a rare smile, he embraced him in a rarer hug. Giving him a pat on the back, Perry continued. “Even so, we will check you out with the Medical Department. Can you take him there tomorrow, Falcon?” Perry asked.

  “Not a problem, I supposed it's what I signed up for, eh?” Falcon said. Perry nodded and set his gaze on Gisbo once more.

  “You are something else, boy, I’ll give you that, and as long as you aren’t all talk, I will do everything in my power to make you into a fine warrior. Even so, there is still a chance you may not have this disease. I will go schedule an appointment for you right now to clarify. Falcon, Moordin, good day to you both,” Perry said with a short wave and went off to the Medical Department.

  “You know what, Gisbo? If you have Skarupulous, there have been many people working on a cure for your condition for years in the Medical Department, just in case this rarity shows itself again. I think I’m going to follow Perry and tell them to work a little harder. Just as Perry said, this is your home now and you're not going anywhere,” Moordin said with an encouraging grin.

  “That’s right, Gisbo, just because you can’t use Elekai’ fully doesn’t mean there aren’t ways around it. We’ll look into it, me and Moordin, but once again, Gisbo, never let that fiery desire of yours dampen. You inspire a lot more people than you realize…” Falcon said as he ruffled Gisbo's hair.

  “Falcon and I got some business to attend to also. Don’t be late for class tomorrow, you hear?” Moordin said. Gisbo and Rolce both nodded as they said their goodbyes. The boys stood for a moment, watching their class masters fade into the distance.

  “It's always got to be you and me, Rolce, eh? Something always has to go wrong,” Gisbo said with a sigh.

  “I’m sure Jackobi feels the same way. He’ll fit right in, soon as we get him back. Now that I can use Elekai’, I’m not going to quit studying until he’s back,” Rolce said as he ignited his green ring.

  “You mean now that WE know Elekai’,” Gisbo corrected as he ignited his ring in a weak, sparking hiss. Rolce chuckled.

  “Of course, now that WE know Elekai’. Trust me, Gisbo, I’m studying every night and practicing every free moment I get. We’re going to get him back, I promise,” Rolce said. Gisbo nodded.

  The next day came in a hurry and Gisbo found himself seated on a cold steel medical table wearing nothing but a white cotton robe.

  “Is this stupid thing necessary?” Gisbo grumbled to himself only to shake in surprise when the door opened and somebody answered him.

  “Yes, it is. We need to have the lowest amount of germs possible in here and IAM knows a Renega’s clothes are covered!” The woman was dressed in a white robe, but still wore her blue Renegade headband. Gisbo noticed she was a Nazarite as he detected the familiar blue robe dangling below her white one.

  “Gisbo Falcon, hi! I’m Doctor Kalloway, better known as Kinny’s mom,” the doctor said as she outstretched a hand.

  “Oh! Well, nice to meet you! I never would have guessed you were Kinny's mom, you're just so much taller and, um, nicer,” Gisbo said. Doctor Kalloway laughed at this.

  “You haven’t been the first to say it! Nope, my daughter decided to take after her father, Gilfrid. She got my brain, but her father's mannerisms and test anxiety, I’m afraid. So let's get down to business. I just need to take a little bit of your blood, that’s all, and we can run the tests. Is that all right?” the doctor asked with a smile, sitting down while she prepared a needle about the size of a small dagger.

  “Uh, what are you doing with that needle?” Gisbo asked.

  “I have to sanitize it first, then you're going to turn your head, feel a little pinch in your forearm, and it will be all over! See, if you flex, it's going into that big blue vein running up your arm,” Doctor Kalloway explained. Gisbo’s face went white.

  “Are, are you for real?” Gisbo asked, his face twisted in fear.

  “Oh, come on now, you big baby. You are almost going to be a Renegara, don’t tell me you're afraid of one little needle?” Doctor Kalloway said.

  “Well, I,” Gisbo muttered.
<
br />   “Good to hear! Now roll up your sleeve for me. It will be over before you know it. Relax,” Doctor Kalloway said in a no-nonsense tone. Gisbo did as he was told. He felt his sleeve roll up and the doctor grabbed his arm firmly.

  “Now look the other way for me, please,” Doctor Kallaway instructed. No problems there. He was never afraid of shots before. It wasn't the needle going in that bothered him or something going in. He just didn’t enjoy the thought of something coming out. The pinch came quickly and Doctor Kalloway was right, it didn’t really hurt. Gisbo breathed a premature sigh of relief and suddenly felt a bit lightheaded and dizzy.

  “Done!” Gisbo heard Doctor Kalloway say.

  That wasn’t so bad, just feel a bit dizzy, that’s all, Gisbo thought and smiled.

  “So, you want to see your blood?” Doctor Kalloway said as she shook a small clear bottle full of red fluid in his face. Bright specks and sparkles flashed in front of Gisbo’s eyes before everything went black. When he awoke, Falcon was standing over him and he was still in the same room, laying down on the metal table top. He rose up to a seated position and the back of his head felt like it weighed ten pounds extra.

  “Don’t touch it, you got one nasty bump,” Falcon said. It took a few moments for Gisbo to get his bearings as he stared dizzily at the closed door in front of him.

  “What happened this time?” Gisbo asked.

  “Apparently Doctor Kalloway,” Falcon said before being interrupted.

  “Kalloway! That lady’s nuts! She talked about blue veins! Showed me this massive needle thing, then she shook my blood in front of my face! She . . .” Gisbo yelled, trailing off as the door opened again.

  “And for that I’m sorry. Sometimes I forget other people aren’t as fascinated by the human body as I am. The good news is you were out long enough for the lab results to come in! So let's sit down and go over all this, shall we?” Doctor Kalloway said. Gisbo looked at her with a mistrusting glare.

  “No needles, swear to IAM,” the doctor vowed, sitting down and opening both her hands for emphasis. “Now, the good news. You don’t have Skarupulous,” Doctor Kalloway said. Gisbo and Falcon both looked at her in surprise.

  “He doesn’t? But how can that be? It’s the only option. We checked him at birth and he had enough essential energies flowing through him to be full fledged! That sort of essence doesn’t just get up and walk away unless he has Skarupulous!” Falcon insisted.

  “Yes, that is true and that’s the strange part. All of his essence is intact, but it is different from any other essence I have encountered,” Doctor Kalloway said.

  “Fantastic,” Gisbo muttered.

  “Essential energy is supposed to be constantly in flux, always moving. Your essence seems to have simply stopped,” Kalloway said.

  “Wonderful,” Gisbo muttered again.

  “We did some quick scans on your body while you were unconscious and made some strange discoveries,” Doctor Kalloway announced.

  “Scans? What?” Gisbo started. This cannot be legit, he thought.

  “Hey, would you let her finish please? Go on, Doctor Kalloway,” Falcon interrupted.

  “As I was explaining, it seems your essence has been building and concentrating to one point near your heart. It is here that it is rotating itself; moving, yes, but it is not traveling throughout your body as it should. When you try to call upon it, all you can muster are trace amounts that have leaked out from the source. It is as if your essence has a mind of its own and is almost hibernating,” Doctor Kalloway said.

  “And you’ve never seen this before?” Gisbo asked.

  “In all my years as a doctor, never. Neither has anyone else on staff,” Doctor Kalloway said. Gisbo shook his head in frustration.

  “Great! A brand new disease. They going to call it ‘Gisbo’ after me, since apparently I’m the only one who's got it? At least I’ll be known for something, even if it's nothing but a big disease in the end. I bet everyone in Oak County would love the irony in that,” Gisbo said.

  “Now don’t jump to conclusions. There is just one thing that worries me. We noticed that the essence within you seems to be enlarging as it spins.” Kallaway paused a bit before continuing. “Now this behavior worries me because, as your essence expands with the rotations, it is building pressure within your chest. You won’t be able to feel it, no, not now. Probably not for some time, but possibly down the line, if this keeps up . . .” Doctor Kallaway trailed off, not wanting to finish. Gisbo got the gist of it either way.

  “Even better! So I’m going to explode or something? Is that it? Just like that? One day, BOOM! No more Gisbo?” he shouted.

  “Again, don’t jump to conclusions. This is only a theory. We are going to work on this and figure out some way to possibly stabilize it. There is nothing wrong, as far as we can tell, with your essence concentrating into one place. It just seems to act out of its own accord, as if it were separate from you. This won't hurt you, you just won’t be able to access its power. The problem is the growth of the essence. Essence gets more powerful as it adapts to your growing body, but I have never seen it grow spontaneously. We need to watch this and keep it monitored. I have faith we will come to a solution to stabilize your condition. You have my word, Gisbo,” Doctor Kalloway said. Gisbo sighed.

  “Why couldn’t I just have Skarupulous! Now I got a freakin’ bomb in my chest! And quit looking at me like I’m some sort of medical marvel!” Gisbo accused.

  “It wasn’t my intention, forgive me. We will get to work on solving this problem. I am somewhat excited in a way; this is something new and challenging to tackle when I'm not dealing with nosebleeds and the common cold. Don’t worry, Gisbo, you can go about your life normally without fear. We caught whatever this thing is early and time is on our side. Try not to think about it,” Doctor Kalloway said.

  “Easy for you to say!” Gisbo said.

  “Everybody has their issues, Gisbo, everybody. You are no different. Let's go back to your tree house and I’ll cook up dinner for you and Rolce and talk everything over. How about it?” Falcon said. Gisbo grunted and they were out the door.

  Rolce greeted them with Harpie and Fao flanking him. True to his promise, it looked like he was studying up a storm. Dozens of books were laid out on the kitchen table with various notes scribbled on paper.

  “So how’d it go? Oh! I have been learning a bunch of cool techniques I’ll have to show you later!” Rolce rambled.

  “Well, I don’t have Skarupulous. Instead I have an energy bomb in my chest that is gonna blow up and kill everybody one day. Wanna see?” Gisbo said, lifting up his shirt. Rolce looked horrified. Falcon shook his head.

  “Excuse me? Gisbo, that is horrible!” Martha exclaimed as she stormed through the door. “I came back from my scouting mission as soon as I received word. Oh, honey, everything is going to be ok,” Martha said as she embraced Gisbo in a hug.

  “He’s just overreacting. It’s only a condition they’ve never heard of before is all. As long as they keep it monitored, he should be fine. How goes the search? Any clues?” Falcon asked Martha. She looked relieved by the news.

  “Oh, thank IAM then. I received the message from Norse and returned as soon as I could to make sure you were all right. As for the search, nothing has come up yet. My squad just finished clearing the outskirts of the Soarian territory. No traces of Shax or that snake, Lokin,” Martha revealed.

  “I’m really sorry, Gisbo, I don’t know what to say,” Rolce looked as if he was about to cry.

  “There’s nothing to say. What did I tell you about that mopey dopey crap? I can still function normally, I just wish for once in my life I’d get dealt a good hand or something, but enough, enough complaining! I'm going to sit and eat this meal and enjoy my life and the bomb in my chest!” Gisbo said as he slumped into his chair with finality.

  “And a meal you will get! Rolce, clean this mess up! It is filthy in here. And clear the table while I throw on some dinner,” Martha ordered. Hearin
g this, Gisbo perked up.

  “I thought Falcon was cooking for us,” Gisbo asked. Martha’s eyes smoldered at this comment.

  “You mean to say you enjoy Falcon’s cooking over mine?” Martha asked.

  “No, no I didn’t mean it like that at all, I,” Gisbo stammered.

  “Here I come all this way to make you a hot dinner and you refuse? Such ungratefulness!” Martha scolded.

  “No, it's not that, it's just Falcon is really good with steaks and that secret marinade he’s got,” Rolce tried to pitch in and defend his buddy.

  “That confounded marinade! Steak is best clean and salted! Why I never!” Martha said, then started to get herself under control. “I’m sorry, dear, I just took that the wrong way. Don’t know what came over me,” Martha apologized.

  “Don’t worry, that happens to me all the time,” Gisbo smiled. Martha grinned as well as she went about preparing the vegetables. Falcon bent down to whisper in his ear.

  “My steak beat hers in a taste contest years ago. She’s been sore about it ever since,” Falcon whispered with a wink as he fired up the grill. Within a few minutes, all was calm and forgotten as they shared a nice meal and the boys said goodbye to Martha and Falcon for the night.

  Later that night when they were in bed, Gisbo found himself laying on his back and staring out at the stars above through his sky window. Why was it him, Rolce and Jackobi that had to deal with so much baggage? Life just wasn’t fair. Looking down at the empty bunk only infuriated him more. He supposed there were people worse off in the world, like the kids kidnapped by Shax and Lokin, and he'd heard rumors there were many Flarians clinging to life, hiding out in the deserts of Flaria. He couldn’t let himself feel like a victim. He had friends, he had shelter and he had food. Most out there didn’t even have that. For a while Gisbo had been pondering the thought of a caring God. Never. We are all on our own, Gisbo thought, before drifting off to sleep.