Galen and Aria turned to see more guards had arrived, and to his displeasure, he saw that it was the captain of the guards that had been tasked with protecting him.

  Some guards they turned out to be.

  He turned to Aria, noting the sword she had sheathed at her waist, and asked, “Well, do you want to fight or run? Because I sincerely doubt they’re going to want to talk.”

  The elf girl considered for a moment. The captain of the guard approached them slowly, a look of befuddlement on his face.

  “Champion,” the captain began, “what has happened? Did that knife ears attack our men?! And did you manage to capture it?”

  Galen’s eyes narrowed at how they called Aria a “knife ears” and “it.” He took a deep breath, and responded, “I told the guards that I wasn’t going to hand this elf over to them. They didn’t want to respect my authority as the Champion, so I taught them a lesson.”

  He glared at the stunned captain, “I now ask you the same thing I asked your men. Will you respect my authority as the Champion, or will you make the same mistake the others did?”

  The man paused, looking to consider his words. Considering his luck so far, Galen figured things weren’t going to end as well as the captain taking his remaining men and leaving.

  He whispered to Aria, “Well? Do you want to fight if need be. Or run?”

  The elf girl was stoic as she whispered back, “My priority is to escape, so running would be preferable.”

  Just as she said that, the captain looked to have made his decision. He set his jaw, “I’m sorry, Champion. I’m afraid I can’t let you leave, especially not with that tree hugger.”

  Galen rolled his eyes, What a surprise. Why do people always insist on causing problems?!

  The captain and his men all drew their weapons. “Now it’s my turn to ask you, Champion. Will you cooperate with us peacefully? Or-”

  “Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” Galen interrupted.

  The captain smiled, “A shame.”

  You don’t look all that disappointed, he irritably noted.

  Thankfully, he hadn’t been merely doing nothing in this whole interaction. He’d had Redian ready to cast another Art, and the Sentient Weapon had just finished charging it.

  Galen quickly unsheathed the sword, its blade red hot once more, and quickly threw a Flame Slash at the guards. The blast of flames burned at them and pushed them back. At the same time, he turned to Aria, and she nodded in understanding.

  Galen and Aria both turned and bolted, both using Ether to enhance their speed.

  His brows raised as he noticed Aria was quite a bit faster than him, though he managed to keep up with her somewhat. They sprinted at speeds that would have made Usain Bolt look slower than an average human in comparison.

  They both ducked and weaved through the alleyways, heading in a northern direction. They soon made it past the half constructed section, and had crossed into the dry plains. Plains that were familiar to Aria in an unpleasant way, but were completely new to Galen.

  He noticed Aria began to slow, and Redian informed him the elf was likely running low on Ether. His own stores were being quickly eaten away, though he figured they ought to have gotten away by-

  “Incoming, boss!” Redian screamed in his mind.

  Instinct allowed Galen to sense the incoming spear that had been thrown their way. The weapon was hurtling right for Aria. Gritting his teeth, he let loose a burst of Ether, using the temporary boost in speed to tackle the elf as she was slowing down.

  The spear impaled the ground merely a few feet ahead of them.

  Galen quickly got off Aria and shot to his feet, the elf following closely behind. Though he noted how she quickly grabbed the spear and pulled it free from the ground, brandishing it as she returned to his side.

  The captain had been the one to throw the spear. He panted, some of his body covered in slight burns. He glared at them both, now wielding a curved sword in each hand.

  Galen could see the captain left behind his men, and had no doubt they would soon arrive. He whispered to Aria, “I’ll try and distract him. Use any opening made as you see fit.”

  She nodded in response.

  The captain raised one of his blades, pointing it at Galen, “As I said. I cannot allow you to leave, Champion. ESPECIALLY not with that knife ears!”

  He spat the last part in Aria’s direction. She merely glared back at him, holding his spear in her hands.

  Galen shot his own glare as he said, “And who the hell are you to tell me what to do?! I will tell you the same thing I told Milton. I’m. Not. Your. Puppet! I CHOSE to work with the Dominion. And I’m free to revoke that decision as I see fit!”

  The captain shook his head and chuckled, “Oh, Champion. If only you knew your true worth. You are far too valuable to simply let go.”

  “You lot sure have a funny way of showing it,” Galen spat.

  “You will understand in due time,” the captain said as he began to approach, twirling both swords in his hands.

  “Could you have said anything more cliché?” Galen muttered as he quickly drew Redian.

  He saw the captain’s eyes flicker to the blade, which was glowing with heat once more. He was wary of the Sentient Weapon, and rightfully so. However, Galen had counted on that.

  With his attention briefly diverted to Redian, Aria had used the distraction to hurl the spear in her hands right at the captain. It flew with startling speed and force. No doubt Aria had used Ether to make it so.

  The captain, shockingly, just barely managed to dodge with a quick sidestep, moving just enough so the spear glanced off his armored shoulder. Off balance, he failed to react as Galen threw another Flame Slash his way.

  The Art hit him full force, and the man was sent flying back, flames licking and burning his body. Aria charged in right after, drawing her sword.

  Not one to be left behind, Galen followed after her, brandishing Redian. Being the faster of the two, and with a headstart, Aria naturally reached the captain first. The man had shot to his feet, and parried Aria’s first strike. He’d been about to counter with his other blade, but Galen had managed to make it in time to force the man into the defensive.

  He and Aria took turns engaging the man, and Galen was finding the captain was far stronger and more capable than his men. That made sense given he was a captain, after all. He honestly doubted if he’d be able to defeat the man on his own. Perhaps when he and Redian had been topped off with Ether, he could’ve pulled off a win. However, he was now running low on the power, and he was still unpracticed at drawing Ether from Redian’s reserves.

  Aria herself was also running very low, as far as Galen knew. So they both knew they had to finish this captain off quickly. Because if they didn’t, then even if they managed to somehow win, they’d then have to deal with his men who were no doubt almost here.

  Galen managed to land a cut on the captain’s side before disengaging. Aria followed up with a series of stabs, some of which managed to hit exposed or weak points in the man’s armor, inflicting more wounds.

  The captain, however, had managed to parry one of her strikes, and took the offensive for himself. Aria did her best to defend herself, though she suffered a few knicks and cuts before Galen managed to come in and draw their foe’s attention.

  He’d tried to stab at the man from behind, but the captain must have sensed him coming, for he side stepped the stab and would have smacked Galen on the side of the head were it not for Redian’s instincts making him duck under the blow. The two engaged one another for a while before Aria returned to the fray.

  Eventually, the man managed to throw a kick at Galen. Though he had blocked it, the force of it had sent him sliding back. The captain then slashed at Aria, and like Galen, she had been sent sliding back even though she blocked the attack with her sword.

  The captain huffed and puffed as he regarded both Galen and Aria, who were even more tired than he was. He smiled, and began to gloat, “Just how much longer can you two keep this up, I wonder? Time is on my side, you know. Soon my men will get here, and you will lose the numbers advantage.”

  Galen and Aria didn’t charge at the man, electing rather to catch their breath. The captain didn’t attack either, as he looked more than happy to take a breather and waste some time. It was then that Galen, out of the corner of his eye, saw Aria frown in confusion. Before he could ask her what was wrong, he heard the captain say, “Any second now, they should arrive…”

  Now Galen was also frowning. He looked past the captain, and saw no signs of his men. The man began to look exasperated, as he risked a glance back to see the same thing. “Where in Athanasius’s name are they?! They weren’t THAT far behind.”

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  Galen noticed Aria tense, and he saw seconds later someone finally approaching them in a sprint. The strange thing was that it was a SINGLE person.

  The captain turned and seemed to grow more irritated at this development, “Where are the rest of my men?!”

  Aria shot Galen a glance, as though asking him what to do. It was then that Redian chimed in his mind, “That person… no way! It can’t be!”

  An individual quickly arrived, stopping beside the captain. He was a tall man, and clearly muscular even under the armor. He wore a helm that hid his features.

  Redian?! Galen thought back, what is it?! Do you know that person? Who is it?

  Redian seemed to be holding back his reaction for some reason.

  Redian?! he yelled at the sword.

  The captain snarled at the taller man, “It’s about time! Where the hell are the rest of you?!”

  “Apologies, sir. There has been a complication,” the new arrival spoke.

  The voice sounded incredibly familiar to Galen, though it was muffled enough by the helm that he couldn’t fully make it out.

  The captain turned his gaze, wide eyed at his ally, “What complication?! What’s happened now?”

  “Your men,” the man replied, “have been captured.”

  Before the captain, Galen, or Aria could even begin to process that, the man’s figure suddenly blurred. Galen blinked, and when he opened his eyes, he saw the captain falling to the ground, his helm crumpled and caved in from a heavy blow. He then noticed the new arrival had a sword in hand when he hadn’t before.

  Both Galen and Aria stared in complete disbelief at what had just occurred. They both tensed as the man regarded them through his helm. Galen knew that if the man could move as fast as he had just now to knock out the captain, they had no hope of defeating him.

  However, he needn’t have worried about that.

  For when the man took off his helm, a sight for sore eyes greeted him.

  “Well, now. Not how I imagined our reunion would go, eh lad?”

  The man, who had come out of nowhere was Aleksi.

  To say Galen was shocked would be a massive understatement.

  And it was at the moment of this stunning reveal that Redian stopped holding back and began to roar with laughter in his mind.

  “Aleksi?! What… how?!” Galen said, a smile forming on his face.

  “It’s been a while, lad,” Aleksi said, a bright grin on his dark skinned face.

  Aria looked to Galen, and asked, “Is this hume a friend of yours?”

  “Uh… yeah! At least, I think so? Right?” Galen asked Aleksi, a bit nervous at the answer.

  The man chuckled, “Of course! Why else would I have knocked out your foe?! Just for kicks?”

  Aleksi shook his head, his demeanor growing serious, “No, I’ve come to get you out of here. Your friend too, if she wants to come with us.”

  “I’m not his friend,” Aria spat as she glared at them both.

  Galen winced at that, a bit surprised at how much that statement hurt.

  Aleksi seemed to notice, “Ouch. A bit harsh, lass. Especially considering he just about threw aside everything to save you.”

  Aria frowned. She turned to Galen, who avoided meeting her eyes. Wanting to change the subject, he looked back to Aleksi, “So… why are you here? I was told you’d been transferred to another mission or something?”

  “Is that what they told you?” Aleksi shook his head, “no. That was a lie, lad. The truth is, the Dominion tried to have me assassinated.”

  “What?! Why?!”

  “Because they realized I was putting your best interests first and foremost, and didn’t like how close we were becoming. But even more than that was that they figured out my true identity,” Aleksi answered.

  Galen frowned, “What do you mean? Who… who are you really?”

  He was beginning to fear that the mentor he’d grown close to, the only real person in this world he’d come to trust, had actually been putting on a facade like the others the entire time.

  A fear Aleksi was quick to alleviate, “I haven’t been putting on a false persona, lad. The man you came to know is the real me. What I refer to is my real identity. I’m not a soldier or even a citizen of the Dominion. No, I am one of the leaders of the Rebellion, whose goal is to free humanity from the tyrannical and totalitarian reign of Athanasius and his empire.”

  Now THAT was a bombshell. All the happenings of today, now combined with this revelation, made Galen feel dizzy. It was simply too much for one freaking day!

  Noticing his knees buckling, Aleksi was quick to reach him and help keep him on his feet.

  “Sorry to drop that on you, lad. Especially after everything that’s happened. Trust me when I say that today hasn’t gone how any of us expected it to.”

  Aleksi turned to Aria, “As for you, lass, it is in your best interest to come with us.”

  She crossed her arms and glared at him, “Is that so?”

  “Yes, though we are not the Dominion. We won’t force you if you don’t want to. However, without our help, I doubt you will be able to make it to Vindanna. Not on your own.”

  Her eyes widened, “How did you-”

  “We have many elves who are members of the Rebellion,” Aleksi answered, “and they are in the know with what is going on with your people. The Rebellion is bigger than any one race, lass. We ALL suffer under Athanasius’s reign. Though your people have suffered more than the rest of us.”

  That seemed to shock Aria as much as Aleksi’s reveal had done to Galen.

  Aleksi then added, “Many rebels are currently trying to provide the elf slaves who have started an uprising a way to escape. We even managed to save some survivors from Ignis. I don’t know how many we’ll save, but we’re doing our best to make that number as high as possible.”

  He looked to Aria and asked again, “So, will you come with us, lass?”

  Aria was silent for a moment, one hand clutching at her chest. She slowly nodded.

  “Great! Now, what about you, lad?”

  “I get a choice too?” Galen blurted out.

  Aleksi looked damn near offended, “Of course!”

  Galen chuckled, “Well, it doesn’t seem like I have much a choice.”

  “True,” Aleksi smiled, “but you DO have a choice.”

  His mentor’s smile melted, “I won’t lie to you, lad. Following me likely means completely forsaking the Dominion and cutting all ties with them.”

  Galen frowned, “Haven’t I already done that?”

  Aleksi shook his head, “No, if you went back now, you could likely convince them you were tricked by the young lass here. They’d likely chalk it up to your naivety, though you will likely lose what little freedoms you had going forward.”

  Galen considered his mentor’s words for a second, before quickly shaking his head and saying, “I’d already made my decision when I decided to help Aria. Aiding the Dominion… even if they are the only ones who can send me home… it’s just not right.”

  Aleksi smiled, “I’m sure that was a difficult decision to come to. I’m proud of you, lad.”

  Galen took a deep breath, once more confronted with the thought that he’d never see his parents or Earth ever again.

  “Though,” Aleski suddenly added, “I wouldn’t be so certain about the Dominion being the only ones who can send you home.”

  Galen jerked his head to Aleksi, and his mentor was quick to clarify, “I’m not saying that I know of another way, lad. Not for certain. However, to say only the Dominion and Athanasius know how to send you back to your world… that was likely a lie they told you to get you to cooperate with them.”

  He blinked, a bit shocked at the news. Although… should I really be all that surprised? They’ve lied to me about a lot already. This doesn’t seem too far fetched for them to do.

  “As for whether they lied about being able to send you back home,” Aleksi scratched at his beard, “or about them being the only ones who can do it, I don’t know. But lie to you they did. And there is much, and I mean MUCH, they have lied to you about, lad.”

  His mentor pat his shoulder, “Come with me, and I’ll give you the truth as I know it. I swear it.”

  Galen took it all in. Once again, he thought about how he really didn’t have much a choice here. That, and…

  He glanced to Aria, who met his eyes. Her face, identical to the woman from his dreams, was completely stoic and unreadable save for the curiosity in her sapphire eyes.

  She already made her decision go with Aleksi, and Galen still had a lot he wanted to ask her and talk about. With that, he met his mentor’s eyes, “I’m coming with you.”

  Aleksi gave him a paternal smile, “Good man, Galen. Now, let’s get out of here. We need to meet with my allies and get to one of our hideouts.”

  Once Galen was steady on his feet, the trio began to move into the plains.

  ***

  Aria Tufani didn’t know what the future was going to have in store for her. For all she knew, this Aleksi hume could have been lying to her. However… her gut told her he hadn’t. She’d been shocked to learn that the Champion, Galen, had made the decision to turn his back on the Dominion when he’d decided to help her.

  Looking at him, her mind was filled with nothing but questions. Questions she was determined to get the answers to. But more important than that, she was determined to learn more of Aleksi and his Rebellion. She hoped they would be able to help her in some regard to get to Vindanna.

  Aria glanced back, a sorrowful look in her eyes as she looked in the direction where Anila Tufani had died. Her eyes then wandered to the ruined capital. She grit her teeth as a powerful wave of hatred washed over her. She glared at the destroyed Axis Mundi, her wrath only barely surpassed by the sorrow of her mother’s death.

  She would one day return, with Vindanna’s army in tow, and she would make the Dominion suffer. Then, she would personally slay Athanasius Durai and put an end to his blasphemous reign. But that was further in the future. For now, she focused her drive on getting to Vindanna. And even more immediately, on getting some answers.

  ***

  Galen Daxton couldn’t help but glance back at the distant, ruined city of Ignis. He had spent half a year in that place, working with and learning under the Dominion. Now, he was leaving it all behind to walk a new path.

  He could only hope that, this time, he wouldn’t be manipulated and lied to like he had before. Looking at the broad back of Aleksi, he felt reassured that, at the very least, his mentor would have his back.

  “Don’t forget about me, boss!” Redian chimed in his head.

  Galen’s lips formed a small smile, Of course, Redian. Though, quite a pickle I’ve put you in, huh? Now you’re with a traitor to the Dominion.

  He felt the sword mentally shrug, “Meh, they were jackasses anyway! And I already told you that I’d take your side over theirs, didn’t I?! We’re partners, boss, and I mean that.”

  Thank you, my friend, Galen thought back.

  Redian actually seemed surprised by the genuine sentiment, but quickly recovered, “Of course, boss. What are friends for?”

  With that, Galen walked a little straighter alongside Aleski and Aria. His eyes wandered to the young elf girl. Why did she look identical to the woman from his dream? Why did her name resonate with him so? He didn’t know. He hoped, among many other things, that he would find the answers somewhere down this new path.

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