Icarus

by Samuel Small

  “Y-yes, may I help you?”

  “Hi, we’re with the Republic. One of our allies was recently arrested and we were wondering if there was the possibility of visitation.”

  “Er, yes, I’ll have to get the warden.” The man slumped down and swung the floor open, then descended the steps inside. An underground prison held within a city above ground – marvelous. Jake couldn’t contain his excitement, and he turned to Elizabeth like a giddy child. She recoiled from his goofy, over-excited grin, and he slumped his shoulders and exhaled. You were my only hope of having someone understand, Elizabeth, he thought.

  Disappointed, Jake stared into the dark hole in the floor for several minutes, not even bothering to strike up a conversation with the others. He could almost feel the apprehension radiating off of Sara as she waited for an update on Dante’s condition, but he didn’t see what all the fuss was about. Dante would be fine either way, or had she forgotten about the ancient monument that collapsed on him?

  After several minutes, there was a faint creaking sound coming from deep within the hole. It got steadily closer, until a head poked out, a white hat atop it, slumped to one side. As the person came onto their level, rubbing their eyes, Jake took special note of their lightweight garments. So, the warden had unique…

  No, they were pajamas. Definitely pajamas.

  The man who stood before them was not what Jake expected from a warden at all. He gave a sharp nod, then opened his eyes ever so slightly to take in the group.

  “So you’re the friends of that rascal, eh?”

  Chapter 8

  Sara leaned in and sighed, looking up at the pajama-clad warden. “What did he do?”

  The warden smiled and scratched the back of his head, the dangling strap of his hat swaying by his ear. “Oh him? He’s just a bit rowdy is all. Had me up all night with his escape attempts.”

  That was what Jake figured. He too let out a drawn-out sigh and his shoulders sank. “I suppose that means we won’t be able to visit him, then,” he mumbled.

  The warden nodded. “I doubt that he’d be awake anyway. If you’ll excuse me, I’m very tired. I have to work the graveyard shift to deal with your eccentric friend,” he waved them off and turned around, heading for the hole in the floor.

  “Sorry for the trouble he’s caused you,” Jake said as he was leaving, just wanting his condolences to be known. Hell, he had been on the receiving end of many of Dante’s midnight temper tantrums. The man stopped abruptly, but did not turn to look at him. Jake could only imagine the anger his face must have been contorted into. Dante kept this man awake all night and then they disturbed his slumber. Surely when the warden turned, Jake would receive a swift blast of wind Sol to the chest.

  Only the warden did not turn while shooting a hand out. Instead, he looked over his shoulder, a smile lighting up his features. “It’s no problem at all,” he said, “I haven’t had this much fun in years.” He descended the stairway, his body fading in steady clumps as if being eaten by the floor. Jake stared at his retreating silhouette. Were all the people around here so easy-going? Perhaps Dante just had an air about him that let him get away with anything. When the warden had fully descended, Jake turned to Sara.

  She was not looking at Jake, rather she was staring at the space where the warden had faded, as if doing so would summon him back, and he’d declare that they were able to visit Dante after all. He didn’t understand her concern, and said as much. “I don’t see what you’re so worried about. Dante’s been through plenty worse than this. Prison’ll be a cakewalk for him.” From behind, there was a sharp intake of air that rustled the back of Jake’s head. He turned, a bit annoyed, to see Elizabeth glaring at him. He shrugged at her, extending his neck.

  “You really aren’t good at picking up subtexts,” she declared, crossing her arms for emphasis.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Jake asked.

  “At no point did he mention anything about a release date,” she said, and nodded for the door. Jake took her meaning and followed her as she headed out: this was not the type of thing they wanted to discuss in the middle of the jail, especially since as they were leaving a guard began ascending the steps. They walked along the streets, the sun high in the sky, although Jake did not feel any comfort or warmth from it. A cool breeze flowed through and seemed to pierce his skin. He followed Elizabeth, her leading the way with conviction. She clearly knew what their next destination would be, even if he did not. He trusted her, however, and continued to follow behind, Sara at his side.

  “If he didn’t mention a release date…” Sara began.

  “…then he has none in mind,” Elizabeth finished for her, continuing to stride forward. “I think it’s safe to assume that that boy is being detained indefinitely.”

  “Which means we’ll have to find a way to get him out,” Jake said.

  “Yes, but I’d prefer a diplomatic approach first,” Elizabeth said, shooting Jake a smile over her shoulder. His eyes widened as he realized where she as taking them – the training grounds to see Lennon.

  ***

  As Jake, Sara, and Elizabeth exited the tunnel and came into the clearing, they saw that Lennon was standing calmly, four women surrounding him, all in battle stances. They looked in shape, and Jake figured that they must have been the Sisters he had heard so much about. It was odd though, one was sitting against the far wall holding her stomach. As they walked up, she looked at him with pained eyes. Jake had little choice though, they needed to be near someone who could protect them incase Lennon’s sparring session got too high level and a wayward Sol attack came their way. Jake stood at her side, leaning against the wall and folding his arms. He could feel the tension that was the obvious precursor to an important sparring match.

  “They won’t win,” the woman said from her sitting position. Jake was startled by the fact that she spoken to him at all and he jumped, then turned toward her. She didn’t look back. Her eyes were fixed on Lennon, narrowed, and Jake saw envy in those dark pupils. He turned to catch her eye, and noticed that they weren’t waiting to battle: it had been well underway before they arrived.

  The grass at each of the female warrior’s feet twisted and swayed, being acted upon by some unseen force, and Jake knew full well what it was. Their Sol. They were gathering as much of it as possible into their hands so they could unleash the heaviest attack they could muster: all four of them. That had to be it. Jake took special note of how they had Lennon surrounded. Not one of them was standing across from the other, that way they weren’t in the line of fire from one another. That was a strategy that often went overlooked when surrounding enemies with ranged attacks: these girls had earned their elite status, that was for sure.

  Still, as the long grass at each warrior’s feet whipped around more violently, Jake was growing less fearful of those inevitable attacks and more of the man who stood uncaring as they were prepared. He saw Lennon block an attack by Dante and Floff, but those were only two people, and they hadn’t gathered their energy for nearly as long as these women. The way Lennon stood straight ahead, almost impatiently, told Jake that he was going to take the attacks head on, and thought nothing of it.

  The whirling was at its maximum, sending Jake’s blazer and hair flapping. He placed his forearm in front of his face to shield his eyes from the frantic storm, and narrowed them so that he could make out the scene before him. Any second now they would—

  BOOM!

  In complete synchronization, all of the women shot their arms forward. The next thing Jake knew he was knocked clean off his feet and crashed into a wall. He coughed as he landed on his feet, looking at his comrades to confirm that indeed just happened. Sara was sliding up the wall, shaking her head as Elizabeth batted her hair into a less unkempt mess. The blast that knocked them back, it wasn’t even the attack – it was just the shockwave. He turned to the woman, who was still sitting with her arm outstretched. She looked directly ahead and he followed her line of sight with wide eyes.<
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  The area was foggy, but through the thick murk Jake could still make out the silhouettes and already knew what had happened. Four were stretched out on the floor: one stood still, in the exact same spot they were before the attack. That meant Lennon blocked such a massive assault and took the four warriors out before Jake was able to recover from being knocked back. It couldn’t have been more than a second.

  The fog cleared and the four women slowly stood up, grunting and gritting their teeth. Not only had Lennon tanked such a massive attack, he had also managed to deal with all of his opponents non-lethally. Hell, as far as Jake could tell none were even injured, just a little beaten up. Lennon looked at them each in turn, seeming to assess whether or not they were a threat despite his stern gaze, then his eyes rested on Jake.

  For a moment Jake felt it cut right through him, then the eyes softened, Lennon smiled, and raised his hand. “Oh Jake, hey!” he called and walked across the field. Jake took a few steps to meet him halfway, Sara and Elizabeth following at either side. When they reached him, Lennon surveyed each of them in turn, then placed a hand to the back of his head. “Sorry, I must’ve knocked you all for a loop, huh?”

  “Don’t be,” Jake said, shaking his head, “that defense was simply incredible. If taking a few bumps is the cost of admission to witness such a spectacle, then I’ll gladly pay it.”

  “Right, anyway, did you come here for something?”

  “Yes, in regards to Dante…?”

  “You’re thinking about negotiating an early release for him?”

  “Yes, if possible.”

  “Unfortunately I have no control over the prison system directly, and I doubt if my opinion would carry any weight. Besides,” he narrowed his eyes at the ground, “he attacked the Sisters, and that’s something I have to oppose. Sorry.”

  “You’ll never get on their good side, you know, regardless of your behavior,” Elizabeth said. When Jake turned, shocked that she figured it out too, she gave him a tight and perfunctory smile, as if it was no big deal.

  “I have to at least try,” Lennon said.

  “They’ll treat you poorly regardless, so—”

  “That may be true, but I don’t want to make my situation any worse – it’s bad enough as it is,” he said, then turned his back on them. He was about to walk away, but Sara called out to him.

  “It’s bad already. Your government is allowing its citizens to die without raising a hand to defend them. At any time that monster could—” Her fists were clenched and shaking, her eyes raking into Lennon’s back, who turned his head to look over his shoulder.

  “That ‘monster’ is an important part of our history. Dealing with it may be difficult, but legend says that killing it will lead to something far worse.” He finished and walked away. His final words had a palpable effect on Jake, and he could almost feel the air chill as Lennon’s words dashed their last hope.

  Jake and his comrades watched Lennon walk into the building, his robe blowing in the breeze that likewise flapped at Jake’s clothes and bedraggled hair. He became increasingly aware of the dirty looks the Sisters gave him. Whether it was because he was an associate of Dante, or that they didn’t want Jake to see their secret combative arts, Jake didn’t know. Probably both.

  He wasn’t going to stick around with those eyes burning into him, it was almost as bad as the Purist village. He turned and headed for the tunnel, his comrades following close behind.

  The three wandered around the island for the rest of the day in silence. Jake didn’t even think and just allowed his body to carry him. He imagined the same feeling of defeat hung over the girls, as neither uttered a word the entire time. Before Jake knew it, the sun began to dip and they had to return to their rooms for curfew.

  As they entered the space between their two dorm rooms, Jake’s crappy and now lonely lodging on the left and the pristine one of the girls on the right, Elizabeth suggested that they go over things one last time, just in case there was something they had missed. Jake and Sara agreed, and they sat at their usual bench. Elizabeth recounted the relevant events and the strange things that stuck out to her, such as the gender-based discrimination facing Lennon and the odd fascination with the holy monuments.

  “Still, if that’s the case,” Elizabeth said, “then why were they so concerned when you two were looking around there?”

  “I don’t know,” Sara said, sinking her chin into her chest.

  “I know this is a long shot, but are you sure Dante didn’t mention anything important before he was captured?” Jake asked.

  “Like what? Do you suppose that idiot managed to figure something out that the three of us couldn’t?” Elizabeth challenged.

  “I’m not saying ‘figured out,’ but he does seem to have some kind of instinct about this stuff. Like with the Voids, or even you—”

  “Like I said, he only mentioned the fruit…” Sara mumbled, so low that Jake almost continued defending himself to Elizabeth, but it just soft enough for his ear to register, and both he and Elizabeth jerked their heads toward her.

  “He mentioned something about fruit but Lennon attacked him before he could explain what he meant.”

  “Fruit?” Jake said, placing a hand under his chin. What the hell is that supposed to mean?

  “Maybe he was just hungry,” Elizabeth offered.

  “No,” Jake said, “this is Dante. He could have yelled anything at her, but he chose ‘fruit’.”

  “So? He yells things all the time.”

  “Yeah, but he didn’t yell ‘fuck you’ or ‘these ninja bitches are a pain in the ass,’ did he? If this fruit thing wasn’t important, he would’ve opted for something like that.”

  Elizabeth leaned back and crossed her arms. “I suppose I can’t contest that. It must have been terribly important for him to decline an opportunity to be obscene.”

  Crunch

  Just then, there was a slight noise in the darkness. Jake swiftly turned his head, trying to focus on anything, but he could see nothing in the haze. He focused on the spot where he thought he heard the noise come from, watching for any sense of movement. He supposed it was possible that they were being tailed by the Sisters, but it seemed odd to him. They’d just seen them training, so they couldn’t do both, unless they only worked at night. That too would be odd however, as they were awake by midday, and pulling all-night duty would—

  Crunch

  Jake jumped up and off the bench along with his companions. He was sure he’d seen movement that time, and his eyes remained locked on the spot where it stopped as he slowly rounded the bench and approached. He could tell that the figure was humanoid, sporting some sort of cloak, but it had to be black as night as he could barely make it out. The figured turned toward him swiftly, then faced forward and took a creeping posture but moved far too quickly for it to be anything but conspicuous. Jake called to them, and they stopped abruptly, slowly turning their head toward him. When they were sure he was staring straight at them, they bolted away at a frightening speed that let out a burst of air, leaving Jake dumbfounded and blinking at the black figure that was now lost in the night.

  Sara was not as confused as Jake, as she shouted, “Not that easy,” then slammed her foot into the ground. Several meters ahead, a large wall of ice erupted directly in the path of the figure, who slammed right into with loud smack. It fell straight onto its back, and Jake and company rushed to catch up to it.

  When he was standing over them, Jake could hardly believe his eyes. It was a member of the cloaked group, just then sitting up and rubbing their head. “Another assassination attempt then?” Elizabeth said as she pulled out her sword, jabbing it toward the figured on the ground, who ducked and reeled back on their hands and knees, again at a pace that seemed almost inhumanly pathetic. Sara used her Sol once again, however, and the man smacked clear into ice once again, jumping to his feet and turning to take in the wall that had suddenly sprouted behind him. Elizabeth ran toward him and placed her rapier to
his throat. He turned, almost slicing his neck open on the blade, then relaxed his shoulders.

  “Awwww man, it wasn’t supposed to go down like this.”

  That voice. It was speed Sol user Jake had encountered several times before. “Thanos…?” he mumbled.

  He sprung back up at the mention of his name, turning the folds of his hood toward Jake. “How did you…?”

  “One of the members called you that back when…”

  “When you allowed my country to die!” Sara shouted. She held a hand up and gathered a massive amount of Sol there, the tiny crystals swirling and shifting under immense pressure. She knocked Elizabeth’s sword away from his throat, and grabbed the man’s coat, slamming him well into the ice wall behind him. “You knew about it… you knew it was going to happen. And yet!” Her right arm, with the energy swirling within, pulsed, and Jake was sure that she was considering unleashing the attack point blank at the man, which would certainly kill him. Jake was ready to tell her to stop, but Elizabeth placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder before he could do anything.

  Sara jumped back and saw the conviction in Elizabeth’s features, furrowed her brow, nodded, then allowed the swirling energy in her hand to dissipate. She let go of the man’s cloak, taking a step back and folding her arms. He rubbed the spot that she had gripped.

  “Geez, it wasn’t as if I didn’t want to tell you… but I had my orders.”

  “Are you here to kill me? Kill us all?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Nah, and I don’t think Raph is gonna do anything until after you take out this one,” he said, then slowly walked to the other end of the ice wall, peeked behind it, then looked around. “Actually, you weren’t supposed to see me so,” he clasped his hands over his head and bowed.

  “Please forget we ever saw you, right,” Jake finished for him, then glanced at each of his comrades. “I don’t think he’s here to cause us any trouble, at least not right now.”