Renegade Rising (The Renegade Series)

by J. C. Fiske

  “I don’t want you getting the wrong idea and thinking our work is finished. You will prove yourself to me before you become a Renegara, that much is certain.” Perry said as the slight grin stretched into a cryptic smile. Perry ruffled Gisbo’s hair, said his goodbyes and was out the door.

  “Ugh, what did he mean by that?” Gisbo wondered aloud. Falcon merely shrugged.

  “Don’t worry about it. Come on, let's go get you and Rolce some dinner to celebrate,” Falcon said. On his way out, Falcon paused by a vibrant picture of Vadid on the wall. He smiled at it in admiration.

  “You believe he’s still out there, don’t you? ” Falcon asked, turning to Narroway.

  “With my father, anything is possible. IAM knows we need him now. It’s no secret that I never wanted to lead, nor wear this goofy outfit,” Narroway joked, standing beside Falcon to gaze at the painting.

  “And that’s why you were meant to,” Moordin said with an encouraging smile.

  “Thanks, old friend. Mind if I join you bunch for dinner?” Narroway asked.

  “When I said let’s go get some dinner, I meant you too!” Falcon said, slapping Narroway across his back.

  “But one question, what did Perry mean, he’s not done with me?” Gisbo asked, a little perturbed.

  “What does it matter? You just passed! You got your second band!” Rolce said happily. Gisbo looked down at his band and this time all was happiness, there were no thoughts of Ranto.

  “Yeah, you're right and, whoa . . . NO MORE SCHOOL!!!” Gisbo yelled as he pumped his fist in the air and ran to the elevator, whooping and jumping with excitement. Then he froze one more time.

  “Uh, don’t tell Perry you saw that,” he said, gulping nervously.

  “Glad you volunteered to treat me to dinner then! I knew you were all right, kid!” Narroway said to a grumbling Gisbo.

  Chapter Seventeen: The Final Band

  Gisbo couldn’t remember being happier with his life, ever. He had a nice place to live, he was following his dream, he had friends and best of all, he had no more classrooms in his future! What else could a guy want? He especially enjoyed snickering as he watched Grandfield, Knob, and Crass swimming in a sea of notes and papers, all huddled around Rolce, seeking all the help they could get to pass Perry’s infamous exam. Shaved and Whip preferred studying on their own and all the female Renegas sought hope in Kennis’ smarts.

  Gisbo stretched out onto his bunk, letting out an extra loud sigh of pleasure so his friends would hear him. Fao curled up against him, sleeping soundly with her paws stretched out.

  “Would you stop that already? We heard you the first few times! Gah! Damn you, Perry! The guy is out of his mind! This is, like, my entire schooling with all the subjects I ever had to study throughout my entire life jammed into one, then multiplied by like, twelve!” Knob yelled out in frustration.

  “Why twelve?” Crass asked. Gisbo laughed obnoxiously from his bunk. “And as for you, yeah you, up there on the bunk. I hate you! I hate you so much and you know what? I hate you too, Rolce! You won’t even tell us how you got through that lousy exam!” Crass accused.

  “Sorry, that’s how it's got to be, I’m afraid, and stop complaining about this test! I wish I could . . .” Rolce started, only to be quickly interrupted.

  “Rolce, buddy, if I hear one more time that you wish you could take the exam with us, I just might start crying . . .” Granfield said, shaking his head in dismay. This caused Gisbo to break into fresh fits of laughter.

  The boys stayed for about another five hours and all left grumbling. Rolce clambered up on his bunk to join Gisbo, as Harpie fluttered up behind him.

  “They’ll all pass, I’m sure of it. Knob though, he gets test anxiety. He’s just not a good test taker,” Rolce said.

  “So in other words, he’s stupid like me. Jeesh, the thought that it could have been me down there isn’t lost to me. I owe you my life, Rolce,” Gisbo said with a grin. Oddly, Rolce looked downward, avoiding Gisbo’s gaze and his remark.

  “You don’t owe me . . . anything,” Rolce said finally, as he turned over and shut off the light. Gisbo shot up with a puzzled glance. Never had he heard Rolce speak in such an ashamed tone. What had he said? He tried to ask his friend what was wrong, only to be stopped by soft snores.

  Gisbo sprawled out on his bed once more. Ever since Rolce found out the truth about Shax being his father Gisbo had noticed that, in moments of leisure, he was sort of distant. Who could blame him? He had seen his own father murder a kid, only to find out that he also murdered the mother he had never known. Gisbo had no idea how much pain Rolce had built up inside him, but nonetheless he felt for his friend, quite possibly best friend, and wished he could help him.

  Gisbo was familiar with pain after all, knew it well, but he fought it with rage. Rolce had the opposite reaction; he seemed to delve into his sorrow to the point of drowning within himself. That night, Gisbo found he couldn’t sleep at all. Good thing he didn’t have to wake up early for exams the next morning! This thought alone sent him off to dreamland with a satisfied smile on his face.

  Around noon, nearly on the button, Gisbo rolled out of bed in his traditional fashion and slammed his noggin against the floor. He gave a quick thumbs up to Fao who looked down from the bunk in concern and was off to ready himself for the day. Rolce was already gone, so Gisbo called Fao to him and the two life partners made their way to the commons for some sushi. At least Fao enjoyed sushi; she practically enjoyed eating everything, but no matter.

  Gisbo figured the commons would be the best spot to wait for everybody to get out of their exam and see who managed to pass. He was right, for as soon as he sat down to start his meal he noticed everybody pouring out of Perry’s little schoolhouse whooping and hollering, holding out their biceps to show their classmates. In no time at all, everybody crowded in around Gisbo’s table, pulling up more chairs so they could all sit together.

  “It was wonderful! We all passed! Perry graded them right there on the spot with some kind of technique and before we knew it he was passing out the bands!” Kennis said, blue eyes beaming.

  “Is there something wrong with you? There was nothing wonderful about that exam at all! I barely made it through! I mean, all these numbers, essays, matching, short answers . . . it was the exam from hell with teeth and claws, claws? Crullers? Donuts! Oh yes, YES! Ugh, excuse me . . .” Grandfield said as he sniffed the air and ran quickly to a stand to grab some of the freshly baked treats.

  “I agree with Grandfield. It was a nightmare, but at the same time, it felt like a worthy adversary for everything Perry threw at us. All of the stuff he taught us will help us get our next band,” Shaved admitted as he took a bite from his cheeseburger.

  “I’m just glad it’s over. Tests and I don’t mix well. I’ll do much better away from a stupid classroom,” Kinny announced with a sigh of relief.

  “Yeahhh I know exactly how all of you feel!” Gisbo said, as he leaned back to stretch with another annoying sigh and a snicker.

  “You are just one lucky bastard! You had Rolce for a teammate!” Kinny yelled accusingly. Gisbo put on a look of pretend hurt.

  “Hey now, you had Kennis! She’s like the female version of Rolce! Plus you had one more member! It was equally fair,” Gisbo retorted.

  “Yeah, but Kinny never stole my homework from me! She did it all herself! Pretty pathetic, if you ask me. School is very important!” Kennis scolded. At this, all eyes turned to Gisbo who broke into a huge fit of laughter.

  “Oh man, that was priceless. Textbooks won’t do a damned thing when you're out fighting, that’s for sure. Besides, do you really think you're going to remember everything you learned in that class? I maybe remember two things, no wait . . . ok, never mind. So who got the other Instructor's band?” Gisbo asked. Kennis pointed at her forearm proudly.

  “Cripes, I just had to ask . . .” Gisbo said, rolling his eyes.

  “Yeah, but it was a tie again. Rake ended up getting the other
one,” Kennis said.

  “Really?” Gisbo asked.

  “Oh yeah, the kid is obsessed with anything to do with improving himself. He's an absolute perfectionist. All the kid does is read and train,” Whip piped in.

  “Well, why didn’t you just go to him for help?” Gisbo asked. Whip frowned.

  “Um, have you talked to the kid? Besides, I got my own secret methods for studying, thank you very much!” Whip said.

  “Point taken. Well, I’ve got to head into work for the day, but I’ll see you guys at our new class tomorrow! And we get to learn Ele . . .” Gisbo started. He stopped short for a moment, realizing the weight of what he was about to say. He, Gisbo Falcon, was going to learn Elekai' . . . tomorrow! Without a word, Gisbo rushed to work, trying to stop his insides from exploding with excitement.

  Work flew by quickly, with thoughts of flying around on a brand new skeeting sword filling his mind. Still, Gisbo couldn’t help but feel a little saddened by the thought that Purah would not be his instructor and just who would take his place? Filling Purah's giant shoes would be no easy task, so it must be somebody good, but who? The long day over, thoughts turned to dreams as both Gisbo and Rolce found themselves falling asleep in spite of their anticipation, awaiting the next day.

  The morning started in it’s usual fashion, with Gisbo falling out of his bunk yet again. He was reaching up to rub his head when he noticed the red ring on his finger. I might be able to get this sucker to glow! Gisbo thought. He giggled to himself in excitement as he shook the legs of Rolce’s bunk back and forth to wake him up, chanting “Elekaiiiii’,” and soon both boys were dressed and off to face a beautiful spring morning.

  Lilacs were beginning to bloom all along the forest pathways, making their brief, splashy spring hello and the outrageous ripening crop of pollen gave Gisbo the gift of sneezes and a stuffy nose. Good to see you, too, Spring! Gisbo thought to himself as he put one finger to a nostril and blew a snot rocket, much to the disgust of Rolce.

  Moordin told them to report once again to the Courtyard of Strength and that everything would be held outdoors, much to Gisbo’s delight. No more classrooms, as promised. When they arrived, Gisbo couldn’t help but smile, seeing the closed schoolhouse in the distance. Never again, never again, Gisbo thought. The boys had arrived a bit earlier than expected; only one synergy, made up of all females, was there before them. They had never gotten a chance to talk to these girls before, so Gisbo, out of dislike for awkward silence, figured now was a good time to do so.

  “So, any of you know who the new instructor is?” Gisbo asked, as he stretched with a yawn. The girl who answered was the one Gisbo recognized as the Flarian girl he had stood in line with to get his ring when he punched out Rake. She was standing rather rigid in Nazarite attire with tightly braided red hair and a set of light brown eyes.

  “Don’t know in the slightest and I don’t believe we’ve properly met. You’re the one who made Roarie scold me because of your lack of self-control. My name’s Glinda Bicknill,” she said without a smile as she thrust a hand forward. Gisbo took it rather reluctantly, with a pained look on his face, forcing a weak smile.

  “Yeah, that tends to happen from time to time, um . . .” Gisbo paused, unable to think of anything else to say to her. “ . . . well, this is my synergy mate, Rolce!” Gisbo said, putting on a fake smile.

  “Oh, the one who passed Perry’s test! My, how impressive of you!” Glinda said, clearly more interested this time around as she greeted Rolce with an actual smile.

  “Well, I helped too!” Gisbo said.

  “I’m sure you did,” Glinda said without looking at him. “Well, Rolce, these are my two friends. Meet Ashlin Nora,” Glinda motioned to a girl in Berserker attire with big blonde hair, a shapely figure, and a bright face.

  “Hi there,” Ashlin said with a flirtatious tone and a wink to Rolce, who blushed.

  “And this is Anakah Loorin,” Glinda finished, as she motioned to a cute girl dressed in Shininja attire with long dark brown hair and deep brown eyes to match. Gisbo was glad to see she didn’t wear a facemask and instead wielded a pretty grin. She gave a slight wave, saying “Hello” rather shyly, looking only at Gisbo as pink rose in her cheeks. Seeing this caused Gisbo to flush with color as well. Suddenly both sides couldn’t find anything else to say as the dreaded awkward silence entailed in spite of Gisbo's efforts to prevent it. Thank goodness Knob broke the silence by arriving on the scene with Granfield and Shaved by his side.

  “Hey there, ladies! So Anakah, you decided where you want to go tonight for our date?” Knob said with a big stupid grin.

  “Well I, um . . .” Anakah said in a nervous tone of voice, as if she wanted desperately to refuse him, but was too kind to do it in such a public way. Gisbo didn’t know where the feeling came from, but he really, really wanted to slam Knob to the floor. Why he felt so enraged by Knob asking out Anakah he didn’t even know. He had witnessed him do it countless other times to girls who laughed as they turned him down. A familiar feeling that he was about to do something stupid washed over him. Before he realized it, words were coming out of his mouth as his mind took a back seat. Gisbo hated when this happened.

  “No, she hasn’t, because she’s going out with me tonight,” Gisbo said. What? Rolce’s expression said the same thing Gisbo was wondering. Gisbo felt the familiar twinge of déjà vu as countless memories of stupid things flashed through his mind. Knob put on a look of surprise as he took a quick step back.

  “Whoa, sorry, bud! I had no idea you already claimed her. No worries, mate! Good for you! It's perfectly fine because I got two or three on the side anyhow, don’t even worry about it!” Knob said, as he punched Gisbo's shoulder, buddy-buddy like.

  “We didn’t know YOU ‘claimed’ her either,” Glinda flashed back as she folded her arms and looked at Anakah. Gisbo met Anakah’s eyes for a moment as she looked back and did something that plowed away all his worries and anxiety. She smiled.

  “Yup, it’s true,” Anakah said. If she was faking the grin, it was award-worthy, but Gisbo didn’t think so as she looked him right in the eyes.

  “I thought you just met him here and now. Why didn’t you tell us you’ve been talking with him, Anah?” Glinda said, sounding a lot like a condescending parent. Anakah just shrugged.

  “Well, I stopped by where he worked yesterday to return my rental snow skeets and he asked me out, out of nowhere,” Anakah said with another genuine-looking smile. Gisbo could have sworn she winked at him. “We were all sort of excited by today. I just never thought to tell you 'til now is all,” Anakah finished. Glinda looked satisfied for the moment, but she still eyed Gisbo and the grin stretching across his face. It looked even more stupid than Knob's.

  “Well, he better not get you in trouble. That's all I got to say,” Glinda declared. Gisbo was so thankful for Anakah’s quick thinking and utter bravery. What a day this was, he was about to learn Elekai’ for the first time and now he was going out with a girl for the first time. Privately, Gisbo believed the latter task would be far more difficult.

  By now everybody had arrived on schedule as they awaited the arrival of their new instructor, whoever it was. It was then Gisbo spied a familiar bald head glistening in the sunlight from afar.

  Oh no . . . Gisbo thought. Instructor Perry seemed to enjoy Gisbo’s shocked face as exclamations of dismay replayed in his head. Gisbo couldn’t help but gulp now.

  “Hello again, gentleman and ladies. It seems you all will have the pleasure of going one more semester with me, what luck for you all,” Perry announced with his usual dry tone and slight grin. Gisbo hadn’t felt more nervous in his life. It was as if Perry was looking at him the entire time he spoke.

  “It is unfortunate you will not be able to have Renegade Purah instructing you in the ways of Elekai’ for, I admit, he possessed quite a deep knowledge of the subject and what's more, he could express his knowledge to others brilliantly. You should know that I will still be following along with Purah�
��s original curriculum and will do my utmost to make sure his teachings will be made known throughout this class. On second thought, I wouldn’t really describe this as a class at all. The word ‘class’ makes you think of books, pen, desks and paper. Isn’t that right?” Perry asked, and this time he really was staring right at Gisbo. Needless to say, the entire class giggled.

  “No, this is something much more involved and hands-on. Elekai’ is the art of taking all that you are internally and expressing it outwardly in any situation. It is equal parts inner strength, mental toughness and physical strength. Now is the time to put into practice what you have learned and get dirty. I will not come out and say that Elekai’ is a way of life; no, life is for living and you cannot live off Elekai’ alone. Elkai’ will, in turn, enrich your life, making it more beautiful and more enjoyable to yourselves and those around you. This art form is no laughing matter. It requires much responsibility for it is no child’s toy. You will learn passive abilities as well as dangerous ones. Always use caution. Always use discretion and let discipline be your guide,” Perry said, refusing to take his eyes off Gisbo to much of the class’ amusement.

  “Let's recap, if you will, what you have accomplished up to this point. In Roarie’s class, you have learned to train your bodies and prepare the essence within you, keeping you strong: Body,” Perry said as he thrust a fist outward.

  “You then attended my class, where you expanded upon your elementary education and learned the various philosophies, theories and origins of Elekai’ as well as life. You learned mathematical battle formations, politics and historical accounts. You cannot fight just for the sake of fighting. There needs to be a reason with everything: Mind,” Perry said as he raised two fingers to his forehead.

  “Now, I am very thankful to be allowed to finalize the process. With the body and mind prepared, you are ready to find your heart; a true Elekai’ warrior finds strength from it and lives by it. Discovering Elekai’ is a spiritual journey as well as a physical one. You will learn proficiency in weapons, basic hand-to-hand combat and the importance of your classroom knowledge in battle situations. You will then learn to unleash your essence within those three areas effectively. By doing so, you will find out more about yourself, your talents and how you may use them to help others and discover your passions, which will in turn fuel your strength: Heart,” Perry said as he lowered his fingers and stamped a fist across his chest. The class nodded along silently.