If you were looking for a brawl, then this fight would bore you. However, if you wanted a showcase of budding brilliance, then you would be crying. The gloves weigh our arms down. It was the only way either one of us was capable of avoiding the fatal blows. Ekko's blood-stained glove grazed my cheek, and I dug my fatigued cross into his ribs. Same mistake, he always fell for it. He stumbles back into the corner, and I collide against him. With his guard up, I pick at the openings, and then the scene changes. The memory took over. My mace slams against his thick green sword. It's not meant for blocking, but Ekko has been using it that way anyways this entire time. My other mace has been thrown to the side, courtesy of this annoying bug. My legs swept his, and he went flailing, or so I thought. Flipping to the side, I felt his boot slam against the side of my head, sending me to the ground. Instinctively, I rolled sideways, seeing him narrowly miss cutting my head off. Ekko wasted no time chasing me, slashing and hacking at the ground, missing me by near centimeters. He's getting better, while I'm inching closer to regretting fighting fate. It was unspoken, we don't want to kill each other, but the way we fight, it's bound to happen, eventually. There were many occasions where we could have rightfully ended the war by ending each other. At any time, we could have laid down our weapons. Cutting down a childhood friend—that's a burden I don't want to carry, not even for Zaun. Using his acceleration rune was the error I needed. The energy it gave off let me know exactly where he was, in turn, know where he's going. Slamming the head of the bird in his foot made him stumble and crash to the ground. Frantically, I swung my mace downward. Ekko sideswipes with his sword. At the last second, I brought my mace to that angle as well and pushed off the sword's flat end, causing Ekko's arm to fly over his head, momentarily blocking his view for the strike I need to end this once and for all. Time slowed, my cybernetic implants awaken. I can see the panic in his eyes. As his arm reached over his head, those eyes widened in shock. He knows it's over, I've won. But as I hold my descending mace over him, I realize that he can't make it. His acceleration rune hasn't recharged yet. The mace clashed against the ground of the once humble firelight base, beside his head. Staring into his eyes, I can see the boy that once believed in bettering Zaun beside me. The boy who led with a heart bigger than his idol. The boy who took on too much responsibility and still made time to hang with us. Ekko's head slammed into my face, opening a cut below my eye. My exhausted body crumbled backwards. Lying on my back, looking around, blinking, not knowing just what the hell happened. Moans and groans of disappointment erupt from outside the ring. Ekko reacts as if he had woken up from a daydream, which was correct.
"Break!" Vi instructs Ekko to stay in his corner and pulls me to my feet. Inspecting my wound, her face turns sour. "You're bleeding, the fight's over."
I raised a brow and felt a painful sting while doing so. "Seriously? All over a little cut?"
Vi reached into her first aid kit on her hip and started treating it. "Letting you two go on like this will make things worse." She smiles as Powder rushes in to place a stool behind me. "Besides, you two are still kids, you can fight like this when you're older."
I wince as I try to tilt my head to see Ekko, but Vi forces my head to remain still. "I've been through worse than this, Vi, I can still fight."
The two giggled, and Vi placed a bandage over the cut. "I want to keep hearing you say that, without ending up in a wheelchair."
Powder's face pushed into my view. During their shift, I saw Ekko's figure, he looks absolutely ashamed. "You think he needs stitches?" she asks as she pokes at my bandage, and I pull my face away from her.
Vi shook her head. "Nah, not over this. The cut isn't that deep."
I untied my gloves and dropped them. "I just want to say thanks." Patting Vi on the arm and pinching Powder's arm, I walk around them and towards Ekko.
His head hung as he turned his back the moment he saw me approach him. Benzo was in the middle of reprimanding him for the headbutt. Then he saw me and nodded towards my direction. But Ekko refused to see me. His head remained lowered, shame weighing him down. I pull him into a hug by his shoulders.
He hardly resisted as I wrapped my arms around him. "It's alright." I spoke in his ear as I pat his back.
He shook his head, which was pressed against my chest. "I'm sorry, I just got...desperate."
I rub his white hair. "We know the truth, should we tell them?"
He shook his head again, backing away. "They wouldn't understand, but we'll talk about this later," he decides as he slipped out of the ring.
These dreams put us in a messy situation. Ekko left with Benzo, probably to get his mind off the match. I slipped out to speak with Sevika.
Her expression remains as stern as ever. She pulled me to her side with her human hand. "Still got a lot to learn, people don't fight fair, they just fight." she plainly states.
I lean against her. "I avoided fighting him this entire time."
Sevika scoffs. "What? Is he your best friend or something? Don't tell me you're getting soft on me."
I shook my head. "He's more like a brother to me. We are going to change Zaun together, with Powder too, everyone. Everyone is going to help."
She rubs my shoulder. "Yeah, yeah," she chuckles. "You've already told me that, time after time again."
I grab her hand. "Just to let you know how important it is to me. And if I ever forget, I want you to remind me, in your typical way."
She snickered as she pushed herself off the wall. "I'm not that mean, but since you asked so nicely, I'll put a knot on your head to jog your memory. It always helps Silco's goons recall details."
The look in Sevika's eyes suggests she's lying, head trauma does not help memory at all. "Know what...never mind....I'll ask Vander." I hug her leg. "Thanks for showing up, Sevi."
She pats my back again with her meaty arm. "Get off me, softie," she huffed in annoyance but couldn't help but fight against her amusement.
Vander and Silco bid each other farewell as he left with Sevika. Vander kneels and looks over my injuries. "Marked each other up pretty good, eh?"
He inspects my bruises and the cut below my eye. I wonder if I should tell him about what I've done and what I decided to do. "Did I look good?" I asked, with the longing for his approval.
Looking up to him, I can never be him. It may be the reason why I used to do stupid things. Thinking back on it, it's the only reason I behaved like that. Playing the hero gave me plenty of enemies. Back then, I had to be a cheating, ruthless scoundrel, but now, I'm not alone, I have trusted people that will look after me. But that doesn't mean that I should get comfortable at all.
"With all the experience you have, you should have wiped the floor with him," he observes, as he looks at me with his disarming eyes.
This time, I didn't drop my gaze. "I didn't want to hurt him. It's a weakness, I know."
He nods in understanding. "So you decided to fight him officially, to cross that line."
My shoulders relaxed, he knows a lot more than I thought. I waited a moment before I couldn't handle his know-it-all face. "Do I have to ask?"
He chuckled, breaking his stare down. He stands up and guides me to my bed. While we're talking, everyone has already dispersed to do their own thing. Powder is busy with Vi on her bunk bed, showing her all the designs she wants to achieve. Claggor holds his special chamber, showing Mylo all the intricate details of its assembly on the bench press. We sat on my bed. Vander's weight is drawing me towards him.
"Huh," he adjusts his position. "Should think about building a proper bed for you."
I rub the spot next to me, feeling for the comfort that I'm used to. "I told Claggor that I wouldn't mind sleeping on bags of dirt."
Vander's face fell flat. "You are NOT sleeping on bags of dirt, Owen." He placed his hands flat on his knees to avoid clenching them.
I pushed further. "But I was thinking of fertile dirt, because it smells nice and it's soft." I reasoned, and they were good reasons.
He thought about the absurdity of my reasoning to counter my points. "Owen, I don't want my basement to smell like fertilizer, knowing what goes into fertilizer." He eyes me with a knowing look.
I returned the look. "Yeah, I know, food, right? I see people use food to make dirt fertile."
Raising a brow, he looks surprised to see that I know something about fertile dirt. "That's one way to do it, but then there are...other ways."
"Really?" I listen carefully. "What are they?"
He breathed deeply. "Well, you're growing up to be a man, so...people use corpses and fecal matter."
My mind absorbed the information provided in a calm and mature manner. Thinking back, I have slept on dirt before. Don't quite remember how often I've done that. However, I have, more often than not, chose to sleep on fertile ground.
"Owen?" Vander pats my back. "You got that far distant look in your eyes again."
I slowly nod. "We should order some wool or something. Why not rebuild everyone's bed?"
An excited smile spread across his face. "No one bothered to say anything, but now that you mention it, I'll get right on it."
"Wait, I want to pay for it." I insist, as I stood to my feet.
He looks at me with the pride in his eyes that I always wanted to see. "Well, what do you know, I have my own little man." He reached his hand out, and I shook it. "I'll let you handle the order and the bill then."
I smiled widely. "Thank you, Vander, this means a lot."
He let out a loud chuckle. "I've rarely been thanked for passing on the bill."
I let his hand go. "I just want to show them how much I care. I love them." I look at him. "I love you all."
He snickered, shook his head, and stood to his feet. "We've been over this, Owen." He hugs me into his leg. "All you need is us. And just having you here is enough."
With that, he left for the bar. "You all deserve the best life possible." I mutter to myself as I walk towards the workbench. "And I'm going to make sure that happens." I grab a pen and begin writing formulas involving the basic elements. The materials needed for the utopia that I envision will come to pass. Metals, oils, and liquids are simple in my head, but application will always need experimentation. My siblings are going to flip if they see me writing formulas again. As I glance over my shoulders, they're engrossed in doing what they've always done, before me. Hmm, when was the last time we did something that wasn't related to work? A time when we just did something fun? Blasting fireworks is always fun. Then there was Vi's rocket, that's about it. Otherwise, it's been tragedy after unfortunate tragedy.
Laying the pen down, I fold the paper. "This is it," I mutter to myself. Within my hands is the foundation of what can bring Zaun to heights no one would have thought possible. First things first, I shoved the paper in my pocket. I need a new bed. Immediately, I filled out an order to bring proper materials for a comfortable bed. The order was fulfilled by the evening. I personally brought down most of the materials when my siblings were at the academy. Vander was bartending, so I was on my own, learning how to make a bed for myself. It was just how I wanted it. I need to learn how to do things on my own. Placing all the clothes that made up my bed back to their rightful owners. Measurements and clever corner connections took up most of my time. Pattering feet revealed the face that makes my heart flutter. The familiar, excited rhythm of her feet brought my attention to the stairs. Upon eye contact, a smile spread across her face.
"Building a bed for yourself? Finally!" She dropped her bag to the side and fell to her knees next to me. "Let me help!"
Looking at her and handing her the hammer. "Did you have to ask?"
With the persistent smile on her face, she grabs the hammer with renewed vigor. There, we tried to contain our excitement. I need a bed, not another experiment. The first layer of the foundation was finished, the sturdy wood around it makes it unshakable. Most steps rattled down the steps, along with energetic conversation. By that time, my bed will have been completed. It's logically and minimally built to serve one purpose: to sleep comfortably. It's not pretty to look at, the opinion of Powder that I have stored away in my mind, and I will use it as ammunition for when I build her bed. In my eyes, its simplicity is its beauty. My siblings and Caitlyn froze in shock, as our usual expectation of their living space has altered drastically. Our building materials are piled up next to the staircase. We alternated the responsibility of retrieving them. This time, Powder ran out to grab more wool. That's when she squealed at the sight of Vi and everyone else. Sabotaging Powder's bed requires the peak of my concentration. I suppose that's why she decided to cause as much noise as her little lungs could muster. Then the rest started to join in on the noise. To add to my irritation, upstairs decided to join in on the noise soup by cranking up the jukebox. At this point, I'll sabotage that blasted box next, then gladly suffer the consequences later. My trap is set, it will be slow and miserable. It will be up to her to decide on how to find the source and solve it.
"Owen." Caitlyn's lovely voice rang around the room. That's odd, the room sounds more spacious than usual. I turned around to see her face, curious and ever analyzing. She stands in the doorway with her arms crossed and says, "Your craft is better than I expected."
That was one heck of an honest compliment. I placed my hand over my heart. "I can always depend on your forwardness." I stood to my feet and approached her. She reached her hand out and ruffled my hair. In retaliation, I pushed against her hand like an angry bull. It was our game. Without saying it, she had adopted me as her little brother.
"You could be a carpenter." Caitlyn placed an arm around my shoulders. "Or teach others to build, like you."
Teaching others to build...building. My prideful face melts into a knowing loathing of the future that won't go away. "We know what's awaiting us." That sentence alone gave Caitlyn all the information she needed to know where I'm coming from.
"I hope you didn't get started on mine already!" Mylo's voice rang out. I heard his feet sweep across the floor before he patted our shoulders. We parted, and he entered, along with Claggor and Ekko.
Ekko glances at me. His previous smile of comradery shifts to that of wounded pride and shame. It was only for a moment. An exchange of understanding and foreboding cross paths. The brotherhood that's hanging on by a thinning thread. He dives inside to join Mylo's side.
Claggor's large hand ruffles my hair with surprising control. "Got to my bed too?" He peers inside, sees his bed, and then his jaw falls as he walks inside.
That brought my grin back. "You bet I did. Your bed looked so worn down, it made my back hurt just by looking at it." Caitlyn covered her mouth to disguise her scoff as a cough.
Claggor kneels beside his bed and runs his hand over the cushions. Once, a major impression of his weight, a crater he has to sleep in every night. Now he has a second chance to make a better impression. A bed that can handle his soon-to-be Vander frame.
I turn to Caitlyn. "I think he likes it."
Caitlyn taps my chest and nods behind her. I followed her around the corner. Her face turns serious, and her eyes wander over to my sisters. "Did you manage to decipher the message on that paper?" she asks in a hushed tone.
That thing that Lis has trusted me to figure out, it stumped me. "No, I haven't managed to make any sense of it." I disclosed as I watched Powder lift my mattress to show Vi how everything was arranged.
Caitlyn inhaled and blew out her mouth. "We have to know what secrets it holds. Owen," she looks at me with that serious gaze. "It could mean everything, the future...our future." She emphasized the last part with a gentle face.
It's best to leave that bond unspoken and unrecognized. Don't want to give the future any excuse to hunt me down, giving me another field trip to that dreadful fate. "I have someone in mind. But he's pretty busy."
She snaps her eyes on me with determination on her face. "Then convince him of the paper's nature, we must uncover it," she hissed.
She looks like she's channeling her future self, losing control of herself when she's losing control of others. I mock saluted, as I'm sure future Owen would. "Ma'am, yes, Ma'am!"
The sisters snapped their heads up and looked over at us. Caitlyn grabbed me by the shoulders and turned our backs to them. "What. Are. You. Doing?!" she continued hissing.
I smiled arrogantly. "Making you nervously angry, it's a great combination on you."
Bafflement adorns her face. "Vi and I have a strong bond, you cannot jeopardize that by acting this way!"
My next move: feigning ignorance. "I'm just confirming your command...Commander." I replied condescendingly. A deep frown began to lower her brows, but then she smiled and pulled her shoulders back. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to imprint the thought in her mind.
"Caitlyn." We turn to see Vi standing there with her arms crossed. "What was that all about?" she asks as she looks at me but focuses more on Caitlyn.
This is exactly what they need, alone time, and exactly what I need as well. "I'm going to clean up my mess." I slipped past them and took the old bed materials in my hands.
Powder strode over. "Let me help too," she volunteers as she collects a few materials as well.
Vi watches us. "Yeah...you go do that." Then she turns back to Caitlyn, who is caught between being flustered and frustrated in the predicament I put her in.
We climbed the stairs and entered the busy bar. It was difficult to move through the crowd. Even now, they still have trouble making way for hardworking kids, shame on them. When we finally reached the outside, we were greeted by none other than Viktor. He peers down at me with what I assume to be gentle eyes. However, his eyes carry a distant wariness, as if he's lived this life countless times over.
"You two have been busy, haven't you?" He asks as he directs me towards Benzo's Shop.
For some reason, I felt compelled to follow him. "I always try to stay busy." As I moved, I discovered why. The world is deathly still. I stepped to the side and felt nothing as the materials I held just stayed there, suspended in the air. Looking around, I slowly came to the stunning realization that Viktor froze all of time. Checking on Powder, she was looking around too. She's awestruck as she messes with the materials suspended in midair.
"Whoa...whoa..." is all she could utter as she finally stumbled over to me. Her eyes dart from every frozen Zaunite. Mid walk, mid conversation, mid fight, they all were as still as death.
Viktor walks through the walls halfway before he motions us to follow. "You can follow, trust me," he calmly stated with his unbothered expression.
Powder looks at me and shrugs and walks through the wall. I stepped through while Powder was stuck being fascinated with being intangible, shifting from side to side. It took me a while to notice, but Viktor is walking without his notorious limp. Well, it wasn't as noticeable at first, just a slight limp every other step, but he's recovering. He now stands before a glass display.
"Viktor...your leg." I point at his once lame leg. "It's better?"
He glances down and gives a half smile. "Not completely. I'm wearing a brace. The muscles aren't strong enough without it."
My face contorts in deep thought. "That's all it needed?"
He shook his head. "No, the leg lacks natural nutrients and blood circulation, but that's not why I visit." He points into the display case and pushes his hand through. Powder and I watched as his hand glided seamlessly through the glass and grabbed a glowing blue ball. "This is what started it all." He holds the ball in front of us, turning it in his fingers with longing animosity.
I shift my eyes from the orb to Benzo, who is frozen, leaning on the counter using his elbow, reading a book.
"What happened?" Powder asks as her eyes remain fixed on the orb.
Viktor rotates the orb over, almost invitingly. "We used the hexorbs to fuel our path to prosperity. But then, other variables began to use them for war." He looks at me, almost accusingly. There was no offense to be taken. From what I've seen of the future, I know that I have dabbled in the arcane. I unknowingly grabbed Powder's sleeve, not wanting her to get any closer to the orb. He then begins to relive his story from his perspective. The last time he was in physical form, Zaun fell into unrest. A few of the Zaunites began to change things, challenging the powers that hold authority in both cities. He either refused to elaborate, or he genuinely didn't know who these people were.
"Go ahead and finish." I look at him with hardened eyes. Viktor doesn't seem intimidated by them at all. If anything, he appears bored.
He levels the orb to his chest. The light within flickers, then stabilizes. "The energy pulses with a hum. That led me to the source that nearly consumed all life from our world." He pulls the orb in his hand. "All sources of energy need stabilization, both the arcane..." He lowers his hand and looks at us, "...and ourselves."
Powder shifts her eyes between Viktor's hand and his eyes. "I know what you mean. I saw Jinx doing horrible things and justifying it because..." She glances at me, and I catch her glance before she returns to Viktor. "...of what others have done."
Viktor nods in understanding and lowers his hand, revealing the orb again. "Then you know what to do, yes?"
Powder drops her gaze. "Well...I...we..."
From the settled look on Viktor's face, I can tell that he's waiting for me to play into a scenario. "We don't want it, take it with you, all of them."
Viktor raised his brows, and Powder snapped her eyes on me. "What!?" Powder looks at me in disbelief, while Viktor shows emotion for the first time: offense. It was quick, but I caught it as he covered his face in stoicism.
"We have a plan of our own. We've seen our fates, we're changing ourselves to avoid that world from ever becoming ours." Each word is final, direct without offense, but filled with confidence.
A smirk pulls the left side of his lip. "Understood. You are driven, Owen. I had that drive ever since I was a child." He placed the orb in a coin sack he pulled from his pocket. Then he levitates the other orbs from the glass display and places them in the sack as well. "I have also stayed busy, stabilizing an arcane artifact. I will give you a tour..." He locks eyes with me. "...once you've turned 18."
I frown. "Why are people making fun of me?" Honestly, this is getting annoying.
Viktor replaced the hexorbs with replicas.
Powder pats my shoulder, appearing sympathetic. "Don't worry, Owen. I'll let you know when you look like a man," she offers condescendingly.
A frown deepens my scowl.
She giggles and rubs my forehead with her finger. "See? You already look like an old man." She rolls into a laugh.
I grab her hand and look at Viktor. "See what I have to deal with?" I calmly highlighted.
Viktor shrugs as he finishes covering his tracks. "You must put your foot down, Owen, don't let her push you around," he advised as he walked through us with his strange intangible ability.
We followed him. Powder turned to me and nudged my arm. "Yeah, don't let me push you around," she further teased as we grabbed our materials, as if we never left our spot.
Viktor stood in the same spot he was before.
Then, i remembered. "Wait a minute Viktor." I request as I retrieved the scrap of paper, with symbols, and hands it to him.
He frowns slightly. "What is this?" he said as his thumb ran over the paper, to reveal the drawings.
I grabbed the materials again. "I'm hoping that you would tell me."
He shoves it in his pocket with lingering interest. "You've given me another reason to stay inside the lab Owen, thank you."
And time resumed just like that. The crowds parted way, seemingly not focused on acknowledging us as people but as obstacles to avoid. "You are a wise boy, but there is still much for you to learn. You are correct in your mission to enjoy your childhood. Let us set the path for you to walk, we will be waiting for you." With that, he turns to disappear within the crowd of Zaunites.
Powder shifts the materials in her grip. "Well, he's nice," she commented as she turned to place the materials next to the bar. I followed her example.
I wipe my forehead. "That's all you have to say? The guy stopped time, and he's just...nice?"
Powder gave me a smirk with a side eye. "Are you jealous, Owen?"
I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. "No, actually, I'm hungry." I turned to walk towards the bar.
Without fail, Powder skips gracefully next to me. "Me too." We pushed through the doors and quickly took an empty booth, meant only for us. "Finally, we have time for ourselves."
Now that she mentioned it, she's right. Powder scoots closer to me and laced her fingers with mine. Vander spotted us with his sharp eyes and signaled Gert to deliver drinks. Like an expert, Gert navigated through the crowd and took the tall glasses. She reached us and placed the glasses in front of us.
"Courtesy of yours truly," she said with a soft smile. "Your dish is coming."
We thanked her and watched her leave. "I think I should try bartending." Powder wondered out loud as she sips her drink through a straw.
The thought of Powder's talent being wasted in a loud, disgusting place like this is...profoundly offensive. If I were in touch with my emotions, I would be furious. However, my mind is racing over what happened. I haven't seen Viktor in weeks, and he just shows up and puts on a show of a lifetime. Lifetimes...hmm...I'm not really sure how to sum up Viktor's journey. Who was that guy? So much power, and...I put my forehead to my hand.
Powder squeezed my hand. "Hey, I don't get it, and you don't see me tearing myself up over it."
Gert placed a plate of steamed seafood in front of us. "Enjoy." Just as she walks away, Ekko takes her place. He looks like he's caught between being ashamed and being excited to be with us again, or with Powder again, either is fine.
"Can I sit?" he asks as he eyes the dish.
Unknowingly, Powder has already chewed down a few steamed sea creatures that I can't identify. "Yeah, sure! Sit your butt down," she commanded as she clops her boots together.
Ekko plops down across from me. He hardly looks at me as he eyes the food.
To hell with this. "Ekko, come on." I reach my hand out to the side. "I forgive you, man, cut it out."
He looks at it, and he met it. We did our handshake, but his enthusiasm was halfhearted. "It's not just the headbutt. Its..." He looks at Powder.
She nods in understanding. "I think I already know," she said with a full mouth, just like her sister.
I grab a tentacle bit. "We can balance responsibilities with childhood, right?" I reasoned as I chewed on the surprisingly tender cube of meat.
Ekko took a piece as well, seeming to have forgiven himself over his actions here and in the memory. "Yeah, now all we need to do is convince the rest."
The thought of breaking the news to everyone else, breaks my head instead. To my annoyance, they come in hot, scooting into the booth, ready to devour food that I wouldn't have bothered to finish myself. Caitlyn was particularly disgusted at the sight of it. Vi took full advantage of hand-feeding her the grub we've all grown up eating.