Chapter 16 - The Knight's Identity
The W1RLD
Written by: The Masked Eidolon
Edited by: Leon the Man
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Chapter 16 - The Knight's Identity
There were only two things on Mox's mind as Rico sliced the mask off his face. Retreat and escape. Of course, he knew he couldn't back away carelessly, or he would find himself at the end of Rico's saber.
Rico was grinning, "Well, what do we have here? A masked warrior not guarding his face properly? How careless. And do I see a scar on your nose?"
Mox tried to hide his fear, "Shut it. You haven't seen my true strength. I'm going to defeat you here and now." Mox replied as he readied his saber.
"Then come and do it."
Rico promptly charged at Mox and they began to cross blades for the final time. During this skirmish, though, they were quite evenly matched, as they both knew each other's style and the techniques their adversary employed. Rico went in for a sideswipe against Mox's central guard, but Mox parried and swung in the opposite direction. Rico easily evaded the strike, and brought his energy saber down like a hammer, aiming for Mox's head. Mox blocked, and tried to lunge at Rico, but he sidestepped and used the centrifugal force to unleash another attack at Mox, who blocked yet again. This time, though, Rico didn't back off, and their two sabers were in the bind, struggling for dominance. Rico was gaining ground, but the scuffle abruptly ended when Mox used all of his strength to push Rico away.
The two men both fell to the floor from the force of the blow.
After a few minutes of going back and forth, Mox knew he and Rico weren't very much different in their skill with a energy saber. And since his foe was on the ground, it was the opportune moment to strike.
After getting up, Mox deflected Rico's one handed job and went in for a thrust, which caught Rico off guard and forced him into the defensive. Mox didn't let up here, though, and capitalized on the leeway he was given with a two-handed sweep and a barrage of other moves that managed to push the Inspector back from his aggressive position.
After the onslaught of attacks Rico had faced, he found that he couldn't hold on to his defense much longer and Mox's energy saber found his shoulder.
Rico's free hand jumped to his wound, "Gah!"
"Hah!" Mox chuckled, his free hand forming a tight fist, "Not so high and mighty anymore, eh, Inspector!"
Rico, despite the injury, still had the strength to form an attack on Mox with his guard down. Mox, of course, jumped away.
"Shut up! I've still got a lot more fight in me. One wound won't keep me down."
Rico then flourished his energy saber before taking his signature form, with his saber in his right arm, parallel to the ground, and his left arm outstretched, his hand forming a peace sign.
"Let's continue." He challenged.
Mox readied his energy saber for a moment, then remembered what the Inspector had blurted during their earlier tussle.
"Sun God give you that info?"
"As much as I'd love that offer, I have some new information to bring to my associates."
Rico's eyes widened as he realized what he'd done, "You won't be taking that info anywhere!" he exclaimed as he charged Mox.
"Too late!" Mox roared.
Rico was overdue in his assault, as Mox had a considerable distance on him. He took cover behind an abandoned house, but by the time Rico caught up to him and searched the area, there was nothing to be seen except charred wood and sand.
Rico deactivated his energy saber.
"Shit."
In his arrogance, he had given away to the enemy that the Virgil Empire knew of the Sun God. It was an embarrassing blunder, but fortunately, this duel was not all for naught. He now knew the face of one of the Dark Knights' soldiers, and soon, all of the Empire would.
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The two guards at the castle door were in shock to find Rico Jacobson, their Inspector, clutching a nasty burn wound across the shoulder that was accompanied with a slight amount of blood.
Rico didn't have his authentication glove with him, "Sorry, I don't have the silver. I have urgent news for King Virgil, can you guys still let me in?"
"Of course, Rico. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. It's just a little scratch. What's a life of battle without the scars to show for it, eh?"
"S-sure, Inspector." one of them said as they opened the doors.
Rico walked in and saw Virgil himself on his throne in the center of the main room.
"Rico?" Virgil questioned. "What are you doing back here so early? And that wound..."
"I got in a fight with one of the terrorists. Do you know where Adam Vaughn is?"
"Adam Vaughn? Our caricature artist? Could you have seen his face?" Virgil said as he formed a slight smirk.
"Yeah, I did." Rico muttered with a hint of disdain.
Virgil got up from his throne, "Why, that's wonderful! Go to the medic room, they'll have your wounds treated. I'll accompany you."
Rico frowned, "There's one more thing, my King."
Virgil's smile faded, "What happened?"
"I may have told the enemy that we know about the Sun God in order to intimidate them." Rico pointed at his injury, "Obviously, it didn't work."
Virgil stood silent for a couple of seconds, unable to process the information he just heard, "What? Can you tell me that again? I must not have heard that right."
Rico gulped, "You did hear that right, sire. I divulged confidential information to the enemy."
"Why!?" Virgil queried.
"I believed that I could throw my enemy off if I told him that, but it backfired."
Virgil had a look of utter confusion on his face as he slowly walked down the steps of his grand seat, "Such conceit is beneath you, Rico. There's a difference between confidence and hubris."
"I know that, I just-"
"No. You don't know that. If you did, you wouldn't have told the enemy about our knowledge of the Sun God."
"I'm very sorry, sire."
"Hmm... This time, and this time only, I will let you off with a mere warning. You've served us for years as the Empire's chief detective, and not once have you ever made an egregious error such as this one. I'm very disappointed in you. Just remember that if my disappointment grows, there are many others who wish to take the title of Inspector."
"I understand. Thank you." Rico exhaled in relief.
"Your gratitude is tentatively accepted. But now, we must make our way to the medic's room and to Adam." Virgil remarked as he walked farther from his throne, turning into the hall that leads to the public address speaker.
Virgil pushed a button on the side of the wall.
"Officer 92021, Adam Vaughn, Arts Committee, please report to the medic's room immediately."
He and Rico then opened the door to the physician's room, where Pierce Middleton was waiting for them. The room had two chairs for the patient and the doctor, with an operating table a couple of feet away in case any major wounds needed tending to.
Pierce turned to the two men, "King Virgil? Why, what a surprise! How can I be of service today?"
Virgil sat down in one of the chairs, "The Inspector has been heavily wounded in a duel against an adversary. Can you check out the wound to see if any complications might arise?"
"Sure thing. Show me the gash, please."
Rico folded his sleeve up, "It's kinda messy."
"I can see that." Pierce stated as he looked closer at the laceration, "This contusion... it's very oddly shaped. Almost as if someone dragged a red-hot iron across your skin. I can already tell some of the nerves have been impacted. Say, how exactly did you get this wound?"
Rico pointed at his belt, "An energy saber."
"Ah. That would explain things. I'm afraid this will prove very difficult to heal, and I'd advise you not to heavily exercise at all until you've fully recovered. Of course, that includes training or fighting with your own energy saber."
Rico furrowed his brow, "I don't know if I could do that. I have investigations to run."
Pierce shook his head, "I'm sorry, but you don't really have a choice in the matter. If you overuse your shoulder before it heals, the damage could become permanent."
At that moment, Adam Vaughn entered the room, legal pad in hand.
"You needed me, King Virgil?"
"Yes. the Inspector here got into a duel with a terrorist, and he will be describing to you what his assailant looked like."
Adam clicked his pen, "Got it."
Adam and Rico sat down, both men woefully blind to the repercussions this caricature would have on the grand Virgilian counsel.
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As Rico walked back to his house, the first thing he did was make a beeline for the abandoned shack Ethan was taking his test in. He really could use some good news today. Although, there was a slight issue concerning Ethan that Rico was not unaware of. The issue being that if he passed the test with the dog and killed it, Rico still wouldn't be able to train him to his full potential due to his scarred right shoulder. This was something that heavily bothered the Inspector, as he wasn't used to such failure.
Of course, he would have to come to terms with things, and as he walked up to the shack and opened the door, he found the dog very much alive. Ethan himself was nowhere to be seen. Did this mean he had chickened out and decided to not kill the dog? Rico was unsure, but he didn't have the time to think about it since he had more pressing matters to attend to. Being gone so long, he must have worried Alex.
Rico chuckled and walked back to his house. He opened the door and saw Stone at the dining table, eating some kind of stew.
"Hey, you're finally back! I was worried about you!" she announced as she walked toward him, "You've got a nasty burn on your shoulder, though. Are you gonna be ok?"
"I'm fine, you don't have to worry any more." Rico said with a smile, as he rolled his sleeve back down, "Though, I am quite hungry."
Rico walked over to the kitchen counter and found that what he thought was stew had actually been a piping-hot bowl of bisque, "Clam Chowder? You've really improved your cooking skills!"
Alex glanced in the direction of the training room, "I'm not actually the one who made it."
"Huh?"
"Yeah. Ethan himself gathered the ingredients from the crops near here and made it on his own after spending damn near the entire day in that godforsaken shed. To be honest, I don't blame him for wanting a good meal after seeing that poor dog."
"He spent the entire day there?" Rico queried.
"Yup. He seems really serious about becoming a warrior. I don't know if it's because of the current Dark Knight menace, or if it's some sort of intrinsic thing. Either way, he's in the training room as of now performing some sort of ritual."
Rico raised an eyebrow, "A ritual?"
"He said it was something about oxytocin. You should go check it out."
"Will do." Rico said before eating a spoonful of chowder.
"Pretty damn good." he thought.
Rico strode into the training room where he found Ethan sitting cross-legged on the floor with his eyes closed. He was wearing a black surgical mask, which, combined with his black shirt and pants, made for a rather bleak outfit. He also managed to find a hair tie somewhere, and now looked more like an actor in a low-budget martial arts movie than someone who just got out of a jungle.
Rico broke the silence, "So, you ever planning on killing that dog?"
Ethan was swift in his reply, "You gave me until midnight to kill it. The test isn't over."
"I know that. I just wanted to check up on you and see how you were doing." Rico explained, "So, tell me, what exactly are you doing right now?"
"Trying to kill my oxytocin. Logically, the only reason I haven't ended that mutt's suffering yet is because it looks so innocent. If I kill my oxytocin, the dog's looks won't bother me anymore."
Rico was startled, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. All I asked you to do was kill a dog. Hormone suppression is something even I can't do. It's best to not bite off more than you can chew."
"You misunderstand. I've been doing this since long before the war, and I've gotten quite good at it if I don't say so myself. I've mastered the art of sniffing out catfishers due to this technique, and I've never had a crush before in my life."
Ethan opened his eyes, and they flashed red for a second before returning to normal color.
"So, if it can work on girls, it can work on dogs. Although, something has been eating at me lately."
"Something's been eating at you? What, if not the canine?"
Ethan frowned, "It's something a lot worse. I'm afraid that there's no real motive for me to become a warrior beyond personal desire, which, in effect, makes killing the dog meaningless. After all, I understand that the only conflict the Empire has had in years is with the Dark Knight rebellion, which will easily be squashed."
"Easily squashed, you say? I wouldn't be so sure about that."
"Why do you think they'll be hard to deal with?"
"Because of this," Rico said as he rolled up his right sleeve and revealed his wound to Ethan.
"I got in a fight with one of the rebels today, and it turns out these Dark Knight warriors were powerful enough to put scars on me. And do you know something else? I didn't get a single hit off on my opponent during that duel. I know that it's been peaceful for a while here, but it's for situations like this that a strong, capable military is needed."
Ethan widened, "Wow... I had no idea. To think that I was arrogant enough to assume the rebellion was weak."
Rico smirked, "You're not alone, buddy. I'm just glad you're learning to control your arrogance well before I am."
Ethan got up and started to walk towards the door, "Thank you for the valuable insight."
Rico stopped him from exiting the room, "There's one more thing I need to give you before you go."
"Hmm?"
Rico pulled something out of his belt, "Here's a brand new knife. The old one is surely tainted with blood from the shack's floor by now, which will ruin the feel of your first innocent kill. You need to see your first blade run red as it tears through the flesh of another."
Rico had an intense look in his eyes, as if he was recalling terrifying past memories long buried beneath the surface of his cool demeanor. When Ethan saw this, he was reminded of the gravity of the scenario.
"Alright. The more symbolism the better." he said as he took the knife.
Rico immediately looked normal again, "Alright. Well, now that that's settled, I have some business of my own to attend to."
"What kind of business?"
"The eating kind. I'll see you when you get back."
Ethan smiled, "Hey, don't eat all of it. I made that for myself, you know."
Rico returned the smile, "We'll see."
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Alex Stone finally made it to the Dark Knights laboratory at 10:00 PM, much later than Mox had planned the meeting.
She scanned her electronic key and then opened the door to find Mox and Neon waiting for her, with heavy bags under their eyes.
"You're late, Alex. Very late. So late, in fact, that I already told Neon everything." Mox rasped.
"I know. I had some unforeseen scheduling issues due to Rico's new apprentice. Speaking of the Inspector, how'd your little tussle with him go?"
Mox grimaced, "Not very good. I managed to get a hit on his shoulder, but he sliced my mask off and now the entire damn empire knows my face. That means no more stealth missions for me. Oh, and he also somehow knows about the existence of the Sun God, Alex."
"What? He knows about me!?"
"Yeah."
"Shit! I'll need to be even more cautious with my trips here, then."
"What's our next move?" Neon asked.
Alex crossed her arms, "I'm not sure we have a next move. Mox here is the only one strong enough to take Rico on in a duel, but his face has been publicized to the entire empire. So, our entire plan concerning Ethan naturally goes out the window."
"Maybe you can kill him instead of turning him. We'd cut our losses." Mox suggested.
Alex wasn't impressed, "Why exactly do you think it's a good idea for me to blow my cover in order to take out a half-wit that'll pose absolutely no threat to us? The whole point of hiring Ethan wasn't to use him as a warrior, but as a technician."
"Exactly, we'll be killing off a valuable technician."
Neon corrected Mox, "It won't matter in the long run. They already have a great technician going by the name of Pierce Middleton. And it doesn't hurt that he's an expert in the medical field as well. If we want to be assassinating any engineers, it's him."
"Okay, then. I see. But just sitting on our asses and waiting for the Virgil Empire to blunder doesn't feel right to me. We need to strike, somehow."
Alex glowered, "I don't think we can strike. The Virgil Empire's forces outnumber us by a very large margin. A direct attack would be foolish. The only thing we really can do at this point is guard the train tunnel entrances."
A shadowy, unfamiliar voice near the roof spoke up, "But there is something we can do."
Everyone in the room turned to look at the spot where the voice came from, and saw nothing but shadow. Then, two figures dropped down from the ceiling of the room into plain view, vicious looks in their eyes.
It was Dane Porter and his lead advocate, Gus Hansen.
Dane spoke up first, "You all neglect the fact that I am powerful enough to take the Inspector out. Just give me an energy saber and I'll have the job done by dawn. Of course, it would be under the condition that you forfeit leadership of this organization to me."
"Who are you to give us orders, Dane? You haven't contributed anything to the war effort." Mox snapped.
Alex sighed, "He thinks he's a better candidate for leadership than us because I sent Fred on a dangerous mission, and now he's started a stupid little rebellion. I'll deal with this."
"It's not a little rebellion." Gus interjected, "We have about 55% of the organization supporting us."
"Alex." Dane continued, putting his hand on his katana, and taking a fighting stance, "If you will not see reason, I will be forced to kill you to bring competence back to the Dark Knights."
For a moment, everyone was silent, but Alex was forced to respond to Dane's challenge.
"Fine. I'll duel you for an executive position in the Dark Knights."
Neon comforted Alex, "You don't have to do this."
"But I do." Alex responded, "I need to prove to our comrades that I'm the stronger candidate. Simply refusing this challenge will decrease my popularity as a leader."
Dane unsheathed his sword, "Enough talk. Let's begin."
Alex's horns sprouted from her head, "Sure."
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As Joseph Yossi was exiting the Virgil castle after finishing his paperwork, Adam Vaughn, the caricature artist walked up to him and handed him a paper with a face on it.
"What's this?" he asked Adam.
Adam scratched his head, "Rico's assailant. I was told to hand this paper to everyone in the castle to see if they could identify it."
"Ah." Yossi responded as he studied the paper intently. Something was quite familiar about this face, he knew he had seen it before the war. Although, he couldn't quite place his finger on where. As he was racking his brain, he noticed a gold-plated trophy on the wall. A trophy...
Yossi's eyes widened in fear as he backed away from the drawing and crashed into the wall, falling to the floor.
"Are you ok, sir?" Adam asked.
"Let me see that paper again, Adam."
Adam showed it to him without hesitation, and he remembered where he had seen that face before. He knew who it was. And the prospect of that being the truth was utterly horrifying.
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