by Samuel Small
“Is that Lady Elizabeth?” someone asked and Jake turned to the voice. Before him were several citizens of the Republic, all now leaving their homes. “So she’s the one who defeated that monster…” There were a lot of them, all checking to see if the city was safe.
Dante walked toward Führer Bellator and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Go ahead. Fucking do it.” Führer Bellator scoffed and turned away, striding toward the administrative building. Dante smirked and called out. “That’s what I thought!” He turned back to Jake, smiling triumphantly. Jake returned it, then looked at Elizabeth as the crowd began to form around her.
“Lady Elizabeth, we’d thought that you…” an elderly man said, tears welling in his eyes. He held his hands out as if to touch her, but kept himself restrained, as if making contact with her would cause her to break. Not sensing the mood at all, Dante called to the group.
“That’s right, Lady Eliza-shit, alive and well. If anything were to happen to her, like say,” he turned his head to the Führer who was walking toward the administrative building, “she disappeared you guys would be pretty pissed, huh?” Before he could make the situation any more dangerous Sara elbowed him hard in the stomach and he doubled over, coughing. The older gentleman asked her what he was on about and she said he was just a local nutcase. Dante tried to contest the point, but Sara elbowed him once again.
“Aw, come on Sara!”
Jake laughed and looked up at the sky. The rebellion was over.
Epilogue
In front of the large space before the administrative building where just a week before Jake and company had fought off a giant Malice that threatened to destroy the Republic, a large wooden platform had been erected. At the front was Führer Bellator himself giving a speech and commemorating the four youths behind him for their service during the attack.
“…and I find it especially inspirational that those loyal to the former King and the current government can put their differences aside and work together for the benefit of this nation as a whole. I hope we can continue to stride forward as one into a bright future for the Republic,” the Führer concluded and the crowd burst into applause, loyalists and commoners alike. Jake, for his part, stood alert with his hands folded behind his back, head straight, although he could see out of the corner of his eye that none of his companions were doing the same.
Dante tapped his foot with his arms folded, annoyed that he even had to attend the event, Sara glared at the Führer, and Elizabeth only looked down. When the applause of the crowd died, Führer Bellator motioned that Jake should come forward and he complied. Speaking into the microphone and placing a firm hand on his shoulder, the man continued. “This is Jake Republic, a guard here who bravely fought against the beast.” He reached into his cape and pulled out a golden medal then placed the ribbon around Jake’s neck. Jake then walked toward the end of the stage and awaited his companions, anxious about what they might do when their names were called.
“Next is the Purist Leader Dante, who was tracking the creature in order to save the entire city. Not only did he eventually catch up and defeat it, he gathered the troops you see before you as well.” He beckoned for Dante to come forward, but the boy only stuck out his tongue. The Führer extended his hand out and the front of Dante’s collar yanked forward and pulled his body along with it. He stumbled in front of the Führer who presented him with the medal. He stuck his hands into his pockets and mumbled as he took a spot next to Jake.
Sara accepted her commendation without a hitch, likely because she saw what happened to Dante when he tried to resist, although she did give the Führer an ice-cold glare the entire time. When her medal was around her neck, she scoffed and stomped off toward Dante.
“And finally, Lady Elizabeth, who was thought to have been lost to us in the throes of battle. It is an honor to have you here today, and I offer my most sincere apologies for the actions taken against your family.” Elizabeth walked forward, defeated, and allowed the Führer to drape the medal around her neck. When it was over, she meandered over to a spot next to Sara.
“Our heroes, ladies and gentleman!” the Führer called out, gesturing magnanimously at the group. The crowd responded with more cheers and applause, jumping up and down and flailing their arms about. Jake felt nervous, but not because of the attention. This ceremony gave him some kind of irrational sensation of dread, as if a noose was slowly tightening around his neck.
The crowd died down once again and Jake sighed. It didn’t matter, Führer Bellator would wrap things up and they’d be free to leave.
“Coming together to improve the state of not only the Republic but the world is what we as a community strive for. With that in mind, I’d like to announce the formation of a new advanced unit, a small squad comprised of the best soldiers the Republic has to offer. This unit will be in charge of investigating the source of the Malice that plagues our world and has now threatened our nation, and they will eliminate it. I’m pleased to announce that Lady Elizabeth will be among their number.”
The crowd cheered as the life drained from Jake’s cheeks. A small squad, bent on investigating Malice, containing Elizabeth. In other words, they’d get her out of the Republic and assassinate her, blaming her death on a failed mission. Jake wasn’t sure why, but he stepped forward and the crowd died down at once. He pointed at his chest with his thumb.
“And I’ll be among their number as well!” The crowd fell silent at the announcement, then broke into further applause. Out of the corner of his eye, Jake looked at the Führer who glared back at him. His attention was soon broken as someone jumped on him, slinging an arm around his shoulder and jerking him forward.
“I’ll be in this super advanced thingy too,” Dante said.
“As will I!” Sara called, taking a step forward.
The crowd continued to applaud as Führer Bellator leaned into the microphone. “That is correct, the squadron will be comprised of these very heroes who saved our nation, the most elite of the elite. I hope you look forward to seeing all that they will achieve,” he finished then turned and stomped off the stage. Jake watched him go and turned to his comrades, noting the Dante had the most devious grin ever, and the four of them left the stage.
They walked for a while, Dante laughing and making fun of the look on Führer Bellator’s face when Jake made his unplanned announcement. Jake was solemn. His thoughts drifted back to the damp cell, water leaking from the ceiling and pooling at Major Mile’s feet. The Major never raised his head and didn’t respond to anything Jake said, no matter how many topics of discussion he tried to engage him in. When Jake left, he could have sworn he heard the man whisper, “thank you.”
Dante shouted “fuck” at the top of his voice and ripped Jake away from his wandering thoughts. He pointed his hand toward a shop along the way, yelling about how hungry he was. The four sat in the back as not to draw attention from any passersby and discussed their next move.
“Okay, so we’re part of this ‘elite squad’,” Jake began, “and I’m willing to bet that the Führer’s going to allow us to do whatever we want as long as it doesn’t harm the Republic.”
“That being said,” Elizabeth offered, peering at Dante as he stuffed bread into his mouth, “that doesn’t mean we’re just going to screw around. I, like the rest of you I’d imagine, want to finish off this Malice once and for all. With that in mind, I think it’s best we operate under the Führer’s vague orders.”
“I agree, although I hate to do it,” Sara said, “I don’t forgive the Republic for what they’ve done… but that doesn’t mean I want the whole world to suffer. Besides, you’re still loyal to the Republic aren’t you Jake? I don’t agree with it, but I also don’t want to fight with you, and operating against a mutual enemy is the best way to keep us together.”
Jake nodded and placed his hands on the table. “It worked before, didn’t it? Besides, I think all of your issues with the Republic can wait until this is taken care of, right?” Jake was es
pecially sure to direct his words at Dante at this last part, but he only continued to eat as if he wasn’t listening to the conversation at all.
“Still, that puts us in a tough spot,” Sara said, “he said ‘find the source of the Malice’ but where are we supposed to begin?”
Dante looked up from his plate for the first time in the exchange. “You mean you guys don’t know?” he said, a few crumbs falling out of his mouth.
Jake and the group pulled back from him, then he leaned forward. “Dante, do you know something about their origins?”
He put a finger to his chin and looked up as if trying to access a distant memory. “Yeah, but I don’t remember specifically where I heard it, I think it was during that whole Void thing. I just remember seeing that big asshole and he reminded me of this dragon asshole and snake asshole I saw.”
“Dragon asshole and snake asshole,” Elizabeth repeated, clearly confused. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Dante shrugged. “I dunno, just seeing that asshole made me think of those assholes.”
Jake placed a hand under his chin. Although oddly phrased, he couldn’t help but feel that what Dante said sparked something in his brain. He ignored the ‘asshole’ part, and thought back to what he described: a serpent and a dragon, both of which he remembered when he saw that giant beast. It dawned on him and Jake smacked his hands on the table while jumping to his feet to be met with the bewildered looks of his comrades. “Dante, do you mean the three beasts!?”
“You mean from ancient myth?” Sara asked.
“The Behemoth, the Wyvern, and the Leviathan…” Elizabeth mumbled.
“The whosawhatsit?” Dante asked.
“You’re the one who brought it up,” Sara said.
“Nah, never heard of ’em.”
“How could you not have heard of the most basic creation lore of the continent? Even you can’t be that daft,” Elizabeth said.
“That’s right,” Sara said, “back in Niflheim you couldn’t read could you? Dante’s probably never had any formal schooling.”
Dante shot up and yelled. “Hey, that was supposed to be a secret!”
“You never told me to keep it a secret.”
He sneered at her then plopped back into his seat, folding his arms. He scoffed and turned away, his cheeks red.
“He probably just skipped class every day,” Elizabeth said.
“Like hell, they never offered me an education but even if they did I wouldn’t want to go!”
“Therefore, the result would have been the same.”
“We’re getting off track, we can talk about Dante’s lack of schooling later,” Jake said, “what we need to do is get him up to speed. It’s pretty basic lore, Dante. The Behemoth represents the Earth, the Wyvern the sky, and the Leviathan the ocean. They’re just personifications of things that make up the planet, so they shouldn’t be real...”
“Only we just killed one,” Elizabeth said.
“Exactly, so if it is true and these things are real,” Jake said and unclipped his comp. The screen lit up, and he went into the map function and clicked a few times until the destination he wanted came into view, “our next location should be here,” he said, placing the comp on the table so all could see.
“The floating island of Icarus.”
Sol Book Three:
Icarus
Samuel Small
Chapter 1
There were three things that Jake was aware of, all of which made him uncomfortable.
Number one was the sensation of dizziness. All of the blood was rushing to his head, courtesy of thing number two – the tightly coiled tentacle that held him by the ankle and twisted up his leg.
The third was the laughter echoing from below (or was that now above?) Jake coming from the boy with orange hair. When he saw Jake get snatch up by this Malice as they were walking through the marshland, rather than try to help he pointed and shouted something about pornography, though it was difficult to tell through his labored breathing.
Equally terrible were Jake’s other comrades who, rather than save him, began to chastise Dante. Sara yelled about how rude he was being and Elizabeth continued to call him an idiot. Jake wanted to shout for help, but the probing tentacle of the beast slid around his neck and tightened.
“Dante, seriously – it isn’t funny.”
“That’s, pha, not what I-eheheh see. It’s gonna-PHAHAHAHA!”
“You’re an imbecile.”
“It’s gonna slide up his ahahass!” Dante jeered, then fell to the floor, kicking at the air frantically. The rest of the scene became blurry, but Jake could make out the vague shape of Sara, only on account of the smudge of silver at the top of the blob, reach her arm out and point it toward him. The tentacle was severed, and he fell into the warm marshland with a graceless splat! Jake stood up, ankle deep in water, and wiped the mud out of his eyes only to see Dante in full focus, now laughing even harder than before.
Jake clenched his teeth, pulled out his sword, and plunged it into the many-armed creature’s big round head. It twisted and thrashed its tentacles about in the water, but that didn’t stop Jake, who drove his blade even deeper into the beast, wanting it to feel as much pain as he was feeling embarrassed. When he was satisfied that the creature’s suffering was at its apex, he tore his sword out, sheathing it as the creature burst behind him. He took a step out of the murky water and onto the slightly more even tree root that they’d been walking on before the attack.
“Aw man, you killed it already?” Dante said, clearly disappointed, though a faint line of freshly dried tears still shone on his cheeks.
“Yeah, no thanks to you.”
“Seriously Dante, he could have been killed,” Sara said.
“I was gonna step in. I just wanted to see it molest him some more first.” His face broke into a wide smile and he almost laughed again, but Sara’s palm found its way to the back of his head in time. He sprung up, rubbing it and calling her a bitch.
“With this one’s wonderful cooperation in mind, we should try to be more careful moving on from here. There could be any number of Malice hiding in the marsh, waiting to attack,” Elizabeth said.
“Noted,” Jake replied, then took a step forward on the tree root, the rest of his team following suit.
A dark and dense wetland surrounded them, most of which would have been virtually untouchable had it not been for a giant tree that grew in the center, the roots of which Jake and company were now traversing. His clothes felt heavy underneath the weight of mud and marsh water that now stained them, in no small part thanks to Dante, but he was more than willing to forget all about it as he made his way to the floating nation of Icarus.
“Do you think we’re making a difference when we kill the Malice, now that the big one’s taken care of?” Sara asked.
“Of course,” Elizabeth responded, “most of the larger creatures originated from that one, and when they were defeated they were usually replaced. Without its presence, any defeated Malice are now gone for good.”
“The shit monster who shat out shit monsters,” Dante said, nodding.
Elizabeth eyed him as if a second skull was slowly budding out of his forehead, but then softened her features and nodded. “Yes, I suppose if that’s what you want to call them, although the rest of the sane world is going with ‘Malice’.”
“I don’t see why they’re—”
“Big, wet, and a pain in your ass, we know,” Sara said.
“How many times are you gonna use that line?” Jake asked.
“When you lot start to appreciate its eloquence,” Dante replied.
“I don’t see what could possibly be eloquent about excrement,” Elizabeth said, crinkling her nose.
Jake continued to step forward, his boots splatting water over the root with each step. He didn’t like being wet. Technically it was spring, but an eerie wind rustled through the trees and it sent every inch of Jake’s skin into a chill-fueled frenzy. He grasped at his
arms, shaking. “Do you think we can find a place to dry my clothes?”
“Just take ’em off and hold ’em for now. We’ll dry ’em toward the end of the day.”
“Dante, that’s fucking disgusting,” Sara said.
“Completely undignified,” Elizabeth agreed.
“Why?”
“They don’t want to see me running around in my underwear, Dante.”
“Well don’t you have a change of clothes or somethin’?”
“I do but they were in my bag, which is now also soaking wet. I just hope my comp still works…”
“Just let him borrow some of your clothes,” Elizabeth said.
“No way,” Dante said, then batted his hair back with his hand, “he can’t handle this level of fashion!”
Sara sped up so that she was walking beside Dante, her arms folded behind her back, but her eyes were narrowed in a suspicious stare. “What’s the real reason why you won’t let him borrow any of your clothes?”
“I just don’t want him stealin’ my look, that’s all.”
“Bullshit, let me see your bag!”
“No way!”
Sara reached around Dante’s back to grasp his bag, but he kept her at bay with his arms. She pressed forward, pushing past his palms, and grabbed his backpack firmly. He gasped then shot in, picking up her feet and dropping her to the ground. She wrapped her legs around him and his eyes widened.
“Elizabeth, grab it!”
“Shit,” Dante mumbled and tried to rise to a stand, but Sara pulled and brought him down. He kept swearing and fidgeting but Sara held him tightly. As he continued to try to force himself up, Elizabeth grabbed his backpack and tore it off, then tossed it over to Jake. He caught it and heard Dante plead for him not to open it, and he probably wouldn’t have had the boy not been laughing as he was attacked by the Malice just a few minutes before. Happy for some revenge, Jake flipped the backpack open, then raised an eyebrow.
