Renegade Rising

by J.C. Fiske

Chapter 20: The Gift of a Lifetime

  The rest of the week flashed by for Gisbo and his classmates as Perry focused on reviewing the material learned to start fresh with Elekai’ techniques the following week. This allowed Gisbo to fit in with everyone else, at least for a few more days.

  The weekend came and Gisbo loved Saturday mornings, just for the sheer fact he could sleep in as long as he wanted to, sometimes even 'til noon. Rolce was careful not to disturb his friend each morning as he arose with the sun and started his daily routine of studying Elekai’ techniques. Rolce had also received a special book on Sybil techniques from Moordin and he constantly searched for any knowledge that might help in discovering Jackobi’s location.

  This morning was different, however. Gisbo was awoken rather early by an excited Shaved, who normally wasn’t all that excitable to begin with. Gisbo wasn’t even upset, realizing that if Shaved was excited about something, it was definitely something worthwhile.

  “I got a message from Ernie an' Dave. They want you both down at the shop right now,” Shaved said with a smile. Gisbo yawned and stretched.

  “But it’s the weekend! What the hell do they want? Ernie didn’t find the broken scaffold in the sand pile, did he?” Gisbo asked. Shaved shook his head, smiling a bit bigger.

  “Nah, nothing like that, I’ll see you over there. It’s sort of a surprise,” Shaved admitted and without another word he was out the door. Gisbo looked over at Rolce, who shrugged. They both got cleaned up and made their way over to the shop, where Dave greeted them in his normal friendly fashion.

  “Ohohoho! Come to work a few days early, eh?” Dave said.

  “What do you mean? You and Ernie wanted to see us,” Gisbo said. Dave put on a confused look and turned around to shout to Ernie.

  “What? Hey, Ernie! These two guys say we called them over here for something. You know anything about it?” Dave said. Ernie looked up with a grin.

  “Nope, sorry, don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ernie answered as he went back to work.

  “Great, so I got out of bed on a Saturday for nothing?” Gisbo asked. Dave just laughed.

  “Ohhh come on now, only joking with ya, my boy. Step right in!” Dave said, motioning them forward with a big forearm.

  “So, you guys all set to use Elekai’ now, eh?” Ernie said as he got up from hammering away at a fresh sword. Gisbo turned the other way, a little embarrassed.

  “Now now, don’t look at me like that. Shaved told me all about it, so don’t you fret! Now listen here, you guys have been working for us for nearly a year and I can honestly come right out and say it has been the most productive year our shop has ever seen!” Ernie said proudly, causing the boys to smile too.

  “Plus, Dave an’ me were equally proud of the success both of you have made in your training. Now that you guys have shown proper knowledge for a Renega, it is time for you two to buy yourselves your very first weapons, which is why I’ve called you both here,” Ernie said, pausing a bit to smile.

  “It is quite a shame you won’t be able to use natural Elekai’, Gisbo, but heed the word ‘natural.’ Now, this has been something we have been playing with for some time before your little incident and, thanks to much genius work by myself, Knob, Ernie and Shaved here, it's ready. So, if it's all right with you, we have come up with something special for you, Gisbo: Ern an' Dave’s engineering at its finest! Go get the package, Shaved.” Dave said. Shaved nodded his head and went out back.

  “Now previously, you see, this wouldn’t have been possible. This technology is rare and designed specifically for someone like you,” Ernie said, this time smiling with all his teeth in view.

  “So, so what are you trying to tell me?” Gisbo asked, trying not to get his hopes up too fast.

  “What we are trying to tell you, Gisbo, is this. Perry told Narroway of your incident and how you reacted. It was a rare instance to begin with, followed by an even rarer response. Narroway was deeply moved by your determination and since he has known of this secret scheme me and Ernie have been working on, he decided that such a rare case deserved a rare reward. You, Gisbo, are going to be able to use Elekai',” Dave said. Gisbo stood for a moment in shock as Shaved returned from the back of the shop holding a package wrapped in brown paper.

  “Open it,” Shaved said. Gisbo grabbed the long package and unwrapped it; carefully at first, then ripping the paper away all at once. There, in his hands, he held a Talon Sword, his very own Berserker weapon. Gisbo didn’t quite know what to say as he stood there, holding the fine weapon with his jaw dropped.

  “Now that’s not just any old sword you got there. It is also a bit bigger, so it doubles as a skeeting sword, which is why your gonna need one of these to go with it,” Ernie said as he tossed him a basic Knuck Knife.

  “As you know, when you're up there flying, you need something to parry with should an enemy attack come. The good guys aren’t the only ones who know how to Skeet,” Ernie said as Gisbo caught it cleanly.

  “You’ll notice, Gisbo, the handle of your sword is a long cylinder. Normally the steel of an Elekai’ weapon is mixed with ground up elemental stones. Yours will work differently. Remember the various power sources found throughout Heaven's Shelter? This right here is a compressed version of that,” Ernie explained as he held up a bright red, translucent stone that was perfectly round and had a long, thin red spike at the top that tapered to a point. To Gisbo it looked like a rather large nail topped with a circular orb about the size of a hockey puck; nearly weighed the same too, as Ernie dropped it into Gisbo’s hands.

  “We have assumed you and Shaved have about the same quantity of elemental essence, as you are about the same age and at same point in your training. We tested it on him and calibrated it to emit the same power level. As Shaved grows in his training, we will hopefully be able to continue the process, as it is still at its experimental stage. Like I said before, this technology is absolutely new and top secret; it's only known to the Renegades. Such power wasn’t meant for the average person and you are only receiving this privilege because you have shown yourself to contain enough essence. You just have a problem getting ‘er out, that's all! This device was ordered into production by Chief Narroway himself as a precaution, in case evil decides to show its ugly face once more and we need additional fighters. We live in dangerous times and need to prepare ourselves for the worst; even one or two fighters with Skarupulous could tip the scale. Now, enough with all the preliminary crap, I bet you’d like to try it out, eh? Just don’t kill yourself,” Ernie grinned. Gisbo nodded with excitement.

  “But first I gotta give something to your coworker. Don’t think we’ve forgotten about you, Rolce! And don’t worry about Grandfield either. We got him early this morning at the Donut Shack. Shaved, go get Rolce his present!” Ernie said. Again, Shaved disappeared to the back of the shop and returned with a very long, thin package wrapped in the same brown paper. Rolce received it gladly as he unwrapped it, already knowing what might be inside. A long, metallic pole-arm that took on a greenish tint if you held it to the light emerged from the brown paper. Rolce adopted a look of overwhelmed gratitude, a smile Gisbo hadn’t seen for quite some time dawning across his face.

  “That right there was made by your buddy Shaved. It was carved from the trunk of an oak and purified for weeks in a special water mixed with particles of earth stones, then coated in a special steel mixture. Sorry we can’t tell you what it is; secret Dave an' Ern recipe. Just know that it is designed especially for our pole-arms, making them lightweight with the wooden base, but plated with a surface hard as diamond to deflect virtually anything thrown your way,” Dave said. Rolce couldn’t stop grinning.

  “Thanks so much. I don’t know what to say,” Rolce responded.

  “Me either, this is amazing . . .” Gisbo said.

  “Don’t say anything! Go ahead, power those babies up! All you got to do, Gisbo, is insert that power core I gave you into the hilt, needle first, then twist it. It will recogni
ze and attract the spare particles of essence within you and draw the energy to itself rather than putting it out like the Omni-Orbs that power our homes. In a way, the weapon powers you up! So go ahead, start up your first Elekai’ weapons!” Ernie said with a fist pump. Gisbo made eye contact with Rolce, as both boys smiled to each other and nodded.

  Just when Gisbo thought he’d never be able to use Elekai’ again, here he was with the opportunity of a lifetime before him. He was instantly reminded of Falcon explaining that he wasn’t dreaming big enough. Just one year ago he had stood in the castle courtyard in Oak County, wanting to become an Elekai’ warrior and never believing that it was possible to become a Renegade. Now, even in Heaven's Shelter, he had repeated the mistake of limiting himself, believing he wouldn’t be able to use Elekai’. How amazing that he was able to use it normally like everyone else…hopefully this contraption worked. Only one way to find out, Gisbo thought.

  “Ready?” Rolce asked Gisbo.

  “Ready as ever.” Gisbo answered.

  WHOOSH! In an instant, Gisbo’s blade erupted into reddish orange energy along with Rolce’s green pole-arm. Gisbo thought the smile would never wash off his face. His veins didn’t pulsate like Rolce’s. After all, he was channeling his power with an outside instrument while Rolce’s emanated from within and was thrust outward, but he didn’t care! He was on top of the world as he swung his ignited blade left and right with both arms, loving the way it left leaping sparks of energy in its trail.

  “This is awesome!” Gisbo yelled. Ernie, Dave and Shaved all clapped for him.

  “It works!” Dave yelled.

  “Sure does! Thank you so much! All of you!” Gisbo answered. The muscles in his cheeks hurt from smiling so intensely.

  “Wonderful! Now as I explained earlier, you are able to use essence, but it will work differently and has slight limitations. Nothing is perfect, you know, but at least you can contend with everyone else,” Ernie said.

  “I don’t even care, this is great! I’ll be able to Skeet now, right?” Gisbo asked with glee.

  “You most certainly will! I suggest you try that later though. That power source within your blade won’t last forever. You will need to recharge it after every day of use. Don’t forget. You don’t want to be up in the air Skeetin' only to discover that you're about to splat to your death. So, you remember that Disc Harmonic in your room, right? All you need to do is drop this baby on it and it will spin and recharge itself from the Omni-Orb in your floor! How long it takes will vary, but you'll know it's done when it stops spinning around and glows brightly. Piece of cake, right?” Ernie said. Gisbo nodded.

  “Good! We are gonna have to work on a portable charge for you when you start your Renegara training with Falcon, for you won’t always be spending nights in your tree house when you are working with him. We'll get started on that right away, so don’t you fret. Knob and Shaved have already begun the blueprints for ya,” Ernie said. Gisbo looked at Shaved.

  “I can’t thank you enough, Shaved, you have no idea what this means to me! I’m so thankful I know at least one grease monkey!” Gisbo said as he charged and gave Shaved a hug.

  “No problem at all, you let me know when your ready to start Skeeting. Only us Soarins and Flarians are capable you know, sorry, Rolce,” Shaved said. Rolce shook his head.

  “The skies aren’t meant for me. I’ll stick with talking to animals, thank you very much!” Rolce exclaimed.

  “Glad you understand. Now, one last thing. You know that essence is naturally produced within us and the stones bring it out. Be wary and don’t push yourself too hard because your energy isn’t made to last as long as everybody else’s. Sure, in a rough battle Elekai’ warriors can deplete their essence and will have to sleep to allow the energies within them to regenerate. Your power core, unfortunately, is sort of a prototype model and wasn’t created with the idea of drawn out battles in mind. Not that you will be in one, but in times like these I suggest you be careful anyway. Best we can do is supply you with backup charges for you can’t be too vigilant. Here are two more; use them only in an emergency,” Ernie directed as he thrust them to Gisbo, who took them gladly.

  “Alright, alright, enough explanation! We have work to do, so off you go! All I can say is that if you try Skeeting, do it in an open area! Them trees can be hurtful. Thank you boys for everything and, Gisbo, keep us up to date on how our brainchild works out for ya. 'Till Monday!” Ernie said as Gisbo and Rolce said their goodbyes to Ernie, Dave and Shaved, shouting even more thank yous.

  Gisbo and Rolce literally ran out of the shop as they made their way back to their tree house, clutching their new presents closely.

  “All right, you first, Gisbo, I want to see you take off! Come on, power that thing up!” Rolce said, eyes wide with excitement.

  “And here I thought you were all scared of flying,” Gisbo commented.

  “I am, but it doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate those who do! Go ahead! Give it a whirl!” Rolce said with a big smile. Gisbo nodded as he threw the Talon sword to the ground, pointed his fist at it, and concentrated. Nothing.

  “You’re doing it wrong. Here, watch, you got to throw it to the ground and concentrate on the weapon, not your ring. Like this . . .” Rolce said as he tossed his pole to the ground and made a fist. Nearly instantly, a rope-like energy strand was thrust out of the ring, attached itself to the pole-arm and with a quick jerk, it returned to Rolce’s open hand.

  “You could have just told me! Didn’t have to show me! I know you're good at this stuff, you jerk. Now stand back, I’ll show ya how it's done,” Gisbo said as he tried again.

  “Just be careful, yours is sharp, I don’t want to lose any body parts,” Rolce said.

  “Just chill will ya?” Gisbo said as he closed his eyes to concentrate like Rolce instructed. Suddenly he realized what was the matter.

  “Duh! I gotta turn the stupid thing on! That’s why,” Gisbo said as he walked forward, twisted the red orb to the right, walked back and tried again. He thought again of Ranto and visualized a stream coming from the ring to power up his weapon and make it float. Just as he finished the thought, he heard Rolce cheering beside him. As quickly as he envisioned it, his dream became reality as his new sword glowed with bright red essence and hovered about a foot off the ground.

  “Stay focused now,” Rolce coached on.

  “I know, I know, shut up,” Gisbo said as he slowly walked forward, one foot in front of the other, and stood in front of the weapon. Gisbo raised one foot in the air and placed it gingerly on top of the blade, only to push it down from his weight. It hit the ground with a thud, but when he lifted his foot again, the sword fluttered upward once more.

  “What gives?” Gisbo asked, flustered, as he repeatedly tried to step onto it, causing it to bounce up and down.

  “Alright, now that you got the floating part taken care of, you have to envision yourself weightless; only then will it work. Remember, your body has to coincide with it and, oh, wait, no, that’s wrong. That’s how Soarians have to do it, hold on . . .” Rolce said, thinking hard as Gisbo gave him a look of, How do you know all this stuff?

  “I just like to read. A lot, about everything. Even if I don’t like skeeting or flying, I’m still interested in the subject. Ok, I remember now. You see, the Flarians weren’t able to fly for some time. Soarians have the innate ability for flight and don't require a skeet, which was created just for Flarians to take flight. A lot of Soarians still enjoy skeeting over straight up flying. Through extensive research on fireworks, they tested whether, with enough fire power, they could jettison themselves upward. Thus, the skeet was born. So, I suggest that you hop on it as-is and try to jettison yourself upward with raw power. Go for it,” Rolce said, folding his arms and awaiting Gisbo’s try.

  Gisbo jumped on his blade with both feet and it sank to the ground. He clenched his ring hard. This was it, he thought, time to really cut loose. Gisbo let all sorts of painful memories wash over him as well as
exhilarating ones and with a yell and a pump of his fist, he powered up his essence and . . . BOOM! The sword shot out from under his feet, sending Gisbo into an awkward mid-air cartwheel. The sword whizzed right over Rolce’s head and struck point first right through the side of their tree house. Gisbo sat rubbing his butt as he and Rolce stared at the protruding sword.

  “Um, too much I guess?” Gisbo said with an awkward smile.

  “You guess? You guess! You nearly killed me! That thing went right towards my head! And, NO! DON’T DO THAT!” Rolce yelled too late. Gisbo stretched his arm forward, calling upon his essence to retrieve his sword from the house. A quick tug wasn’t enough, so Gisbo pulled again, very hard. The second time, a small explosion rocked the house, freeing the blade and leaving a boulder-sized hole in the wall. Singed planks of wood and insulation flew everywhere. Fao and Harpie both appeared at the hole within seconds, looking up and down frantically. Rolce slapped his hand to his face and let it slide down in frustration and disbelief.

  “Damn . . .” Gisbo mouthed.

  “Why is everything a process and a problem with you? I swear to IAM, you belong in the special needs department!” Rolce exclaimed, shaking his head. Gisbo walked over, picked up his sword, disengaged his essence with a twist of the orb, and looked at his friend.

  “Oh I get it, so you’re calling my new sword a crutch, huh? A wheelchair? Is that it?” Gisbo asked with a dangerous edge to his voice. Rolce’s face flushed.

  “No, no, I didn’t mean it like that!” Rolce said. Gisbo laughed out loud seeing the dismay on Rolce’s face.

  “Oh man, you’re so sensitive. You think I would get so easily offended? Please, I just needed to lighten the mood before you got all upset,” Gisbo said.

  “I wouldn’t expect much else of you. Well, just when I think I have a whole weekend full of books on Elekai’ ahead of me, now I have to add the coveted first edition of What to do when your roommate trashes the side of your dorm with his first attempt at skeeting,” Rolce said.

  “Whoa, was that a joke or something?” Gisbo replied. He thought for a moment and then continued. “Let’s just go talk to Ernie again. I’m sure he has a prepared speech for such a situation as this,” Gisbo said as they began walking back to where they came from.

  “Just hope we don’t need a sand pile or a broken scaffolding, I’d hate to hear that speech,” Rolce said with a grin. At this, Gisbo laughed.

  “There ya go, you're getting better! Now let's get this little project out of the way so we can enjoy the weekend. Me and you are gonna practice controlling our Elekai’ before we completely trash the place!” Gisbo said.

  “Me? You mean before YOU trash it,” Rolce said.

  “Hey, hey, we’re a team, bud, everything I do affects you! Now how does that grab ya?” Gisbo said with a snicker.

  “Not particulary well,” Rolce said as they continued their trek through the woods.

  The boys spent the rest of the day and the next morning repairing the side of their dorm with supplies and help from Ernie, all the while listening to stories about building most of Heaven’s Shelter by hand back in the day, when Ernie himself was head of the construction team. Gisbo and Rolce were thankful for his help. Everything looked good as new and they had the rest of the afternoon, as well as the following day, to do whatever they wished.

  Rolce did just as he had promised, spending the remainder of the day outside by the picnic table, alternating between sitting with a book and getting up to try out the techniques he learned from them. Gisbo spent the time outside playing fetch with Fao and wrestling with her on the ground, joining Rolce only when he powered his essence. By the end of the day, Gisbo and Rolce were both exhausted and Gisbo had used up all the energy in his first sphere. Rolce believed he had just enough power to try one more technique before dinner.

  “I think we made pretty good progress for one day. At least you can maintain a steady stream of power now, Gisbo,” Rolce commented.

  “Sure can!” Gisbo said as he threw his powered-up weapon into the air and, with one neat tug, returned it, handle first, into his outstretched hand.

  “I think I finally got it! Best of all, the cuts stopped bleeding too!” Gisbo displayed his battered forearm, covered in gashes from failed attempts.

  “That’s . . . yeah,” Rolce said, grimacing. “Alright, I want to try one last technique now. This one is different though, it’s a Sybil ability,” Rolce said.

  “Really? I thought they were too advanced to use, even for you,” Gisbo asked.

  “Yeah, it's true, my body needs to be more powerful to handle them. When my essence nears its power limits, my body will be ready. I do want to be fluent in all the Elekai’ abilities available to me first. I just can't help myself from trying this,” Rolce said.

  “Always the overachiever. All right, shoot with this Sybil thing, I’m getting hungry,” Gisbo said.

  “Ok, it's sort of an introductory technique that doesn’t require much power to use. It’s called ‘Mind-Link.’ Basically, as the name suggests, it allows me to connect with someone’s mind and review their thoughts in addition to transferring my thoughts to them. It’s an exceptional ability that allows for large amounts of information to be shared between two people almost instantaneously,” Rolce said. Gisbo gave him a blank, empty stare of wonder.

  “Right, um, for example, I could read you an entire book if I wanted to, if I memorized it, without saying a word. Normally, to read an entire book out loud would take hours, but with mind-link, I skip the process and put that information right into your brain as if you had heard it or read it for yourself. When I use the technique, it puts us both in a quick trance. To us, it will feel like hours have gone by, but in reality only seconds have passed. Pretty awesome, huh?” Rolce said, smiling.

  “Ok, so basically you think you can link with my head and share a butt-load of thoughts or information in seconds?” Gisbo asked.

  “I guess that’s the rough cut,” Rolce agreed.

  “And, you’ll be able to read my thoughts, anybody’s thoughts, when you do this?” Gisbo asked.

  “According to the book it says I can,” Rolce said.

  “Then NO WAY! That is freaky stuff, Rolce! You digging into my head like that,” Gisbo protested. Rolce shook his head.

  “Trust me, it would be no picnic for me either,” Rolce said. Then, a new idea dawned in Gisbo's mind.

  “Wait, so you could do this to anyone, right? You could touch people and read their thoughts? Anybody? Just like that?” Gisbo asked.

  “Well, yeah, apparently the book says once I’ve mastered this power I wouldn’t even need to touch them, it only helps along the process. I’d be able to read minds from anywhere as long as I was in appropriate distance from the target,” Rolce said.

  “Now that is cool! You could, like, scan any girl's mind to see if they like you! Hell, you could know tons of things! You could, wow, the possibilities are crazy!” Gisbo said.

  “Yes, they are. Hence, Sybils must be a holy, principled sort. I’d never let myself be drunk with power and I think IAM knew this and it's why he has blessed me with this. It is said Sybils channel their powers directly from IAM himself and the closer we are to him, the more we can learn and do,” Rolce said.

  “If that’s true, then why would IAM choose somebody like Shax to have such power?” Gisbo quickly caught himself as he saw Rolce’s head sink. “Sorry! I didn’t mean it like that, only thinking out loud, Rolce,” Gisbo apologized. Rolce shook his head.

  “Don’t worry about it. It is a good question. One I don’t know the answer to, but forget it for now. I want to try this thing out and then we can go get some food. Also, please don’t spread around that I can do these things. I’d rather people not know,” Rolce said.

  “Secret's safe with me, bud, don’t even worry. So what do I need to do?” Gisbo asked.

  “Here. Just stand still, relax, and close your eyes. Try to empty your thoughts. Imagine yourself sinking into absolute b
lackness. That's it! I will try to reach out, grab your thoughts, and make the connection,” Rolce said. Gisbo did as he was told. He stood still and imagined himself falling slowly into a vast blackness. He felt Rolce touch his forearm and continued to concentrate.

  At first nothing happened. He felt Rolce squeeze a little harder on his wrist and his hand began to feel very warm, yet soothing. It was then he felt it, saw it, in his mind. He saw Rolce’s arm break through the blackness in a ray of golden light. It was beautiful how much the light contrasted with the void of darkness and connected with Gisbo. Upon contact, Gisbo shook as a jolt of energy passed through him, but this was different than the feeling of Elekai’. The warmth that spread from Rolce’s touch now filled his entire being. He felt lightheaded and carefree, as all of a sudden moving pictures of Gisbo’s memories appeared before them both.

  Gisbo tried to lift his eyelids and found he couldn’t while the moving pictures of his memories began to play rapidly, going backwards in time, all the way back to the day when they arrived at Heaven’s Shelter, and then even further back. Suddenly, the moving picture stopped at the schoolhouse of Oak County. The image immediately fizzled away and a strange feeling passed through Gisbo. He began to feel sick with guilt and embarrassment. His stomach regions felt as if they were doused in acid, the pain of this guilt was nearly overbearing. Gisbo tried to open his eyes once more, but still couldn’t while Rolce gripped his wrist. He felt like a prisoner within his own mind and just when he thought he couldn’t take it anymore, Rolce finally let go.

  Gisbo fell to his knees as Rolce dropped beside him, both panting hard.

  “Wow, it worked, but what the hell just happened?” Gisbo asked through deep breaths. Rolce took a moment to respond as he too caught his breath.

  “I . . . I don’t know,” Rolce said, his face looking like the embodiment of pain. Gisbo knew Rolce was good at a lot of things, but one thing he couldn't do was lie or hide his feelings. Gisbo knew there was something wrong here and he had a feeling that sudden twinge of guilt and embarrassment had come from Rolce's mind, not his own. He couldn’t believe the extreme pain of it. Was this how Rolce felt all the time? How could he even walk and smile? Gisbo figured he would play dumb for now. It was just a theory and at that moment, he didn’t want to know if it was true or not. He figured Rolce didn’t know that he had felt it. Since Rolce always responded well to positive remarks, Gisbo said, “Well, at least you did it, right? And with more practice, you’ll get it down in no time!” Rolce forced a smile and nodded.

  “Yeah, yeah, you're right. Still, it takes a lot out of you. Whew, I got to get stronger. At least I know I can do it now,” Rolce panted as he breathed out a big sigh.

  “Well, I don’t know about you, but food is calling me from the commons. I told Crass and Knob I’d eat with them in a bit to show them my new sword! Come on, let's go, Sybil in the making!” Gisbo said.

  “Thanks a lot for your help, Gisbo. I think I’m going to practice on Harpie and Fao for a while later. I just wanted to see if it would work on you. I don’t want to drain your energy along with mine,” Rolce said.

  “Anytime, pal, don’t worry. Now come on, let's get some grub,” Gisbo said as both boys stood up, stretched, and were off once again on the endless cycle of filling their stomachs.