Chapter 4: Paradis
"I caught it, Dad! I caught it!"
A young boy shouted in delight as he came sprinting up from a stream, water dripping from his sleeves, a huge grin plastered across his face. His drenched clothes clung to him, and his crimson hair stuck to his forehead as he held up a small, wriggling creature like a trophy.
A man with raven dark hair spilling over his shoulders and emerald eyes that mirrored the boy's own, looked over with a smile beneath his dark beard and mustache. Despite the twin sun's scorching heat, his skin was smooth and flawless. Almost like he had never worked a day in his life.
"Oh, that quickly? Good job, Arbus,"
The boy, Arbus, slowly opened his hands, showing his father the creature. It was a pixie, creatures that were very common on the planet of Tarok.
"Oh, a green one. How lucky," the man said, leaning forward slightly. "It's said that those who manage to capture a green pixie are blessed with boundless luck and great fortune."
The pixie resembled a Mornan in shape, only green and far smaller, with cute wings on its back and a single eye. It looked bored, having already accepted defeat.
Arbus smiled brightly.
"Really? That's awesome!"
".....But what do I do with it now? It took me a while to catch it, but I don't really want to put it in a little cage or something," he added, looking stumped.
The man smiled, pleased by his son's reaction.
"You don't have to keep the pixie to receive its boons. Catching it is already enough. After that, we usually just let them go," he said, gesturing to the pixie to take flight.
The creature fluttered its wings and slowly rose into the air, sticking its tongue out at Arbus in a final act of defiance, before flying off as fast as possible.
Arbus wasn't exactly a fan of it leaving just like that, given the time and effort it had taken to catch it. Still, he was glad he didn't have to take away its freedom just to be lucky.
The man chuckled as he finally stood up, brushing away the dust from his robes before patting his son's head.
"I know you're a bit sad, but you really shouldn't be. Tell me the truth, didn't you enjoy yourself more when you were chasing it around? I'm sure you weren't that satisfied by just watching it sit in your hand?"
He looked towards the stream, then back at Arbus.
"Something I want you to remember, son, is that the journey is often more interesting than the end result. That's why you have to make sure to enjoy it while it lasts."
The man looked up at the suns and realized the day was coming to an end.
"That's enough for today. We should head back home now," he said to Arbus as he pulled two bracelets from his pocket.
He placed one on his arm and activated it. The device slowly turned his skin red, making him resemble a Red Mornan. Then he fastened the second bracelet around Arbus's wrist and turned it on, causing his son's skin to shift in the same way.
Arbus frowned at the bracelet.
"Dad, why do we always have to wear this? Is it really that bad for people to see our real skin?"
The man's expression turned somber, then serious.
"Listen to me, Arbus. No matter what happens, you must never take off your bracelet in front of others. I know that you hate them, and the fact we have to do all this, but sometimes..... you have to endure certain things for the greater good. No matter what happens, no one can know that we're human. If they ever found out... everything would change."
_____________
Arbus sighed as he pulled his mind away from his memories.
The time before that fateful day had been very peaceful for him and his parents. Knowing what he knew now, he couldn't bring himself to wish for those times again.
Arbus chuckled.
"You're such a terrible liar, Dad,"
His thoughts drifted back to the pixie he had caught. The myths didn't seem so accurate after all, considering how his life had turned out.
"Are you talking to me?" came the voice of the knight sitting across from him.
Arbus glanced over. At the moment, he was being escorted by this Vanguard team to meet the Sentinel of the solar system.
This reminded him of the last time something like this happened, although he was in a far better situation now. He hoped that he would be given a reward for his efforts, unlike the last time.
Right now, the only reward he wanted was advancement. He had been a Sentry for far too long, despite his talent and accomplishments.
He had already guessed that the High commanders most likely wanted to keep him stuck on Terytl-b, a planet where nothing ever happened.
At least, not until today.
Tired of reminiscing, Arbus decided to distract himself.
He glanced around the ship he was being transported in, quietly marveling at the design. He had never been aboard a Vanguard ship before, at most, he'd been asked to clean the outside of one.
The main area was spacious and exactly what he would expect from a ship of this caliber.
He counted eight doors in total. Four most likely leading to resting areas. He guessed that one led to a medical bay for emergencies, while another led to a kitchen and lounge. The 7th one most likely led to a storage room, and the last, of course, led to the cockpit, where the pilot was currently stationed.
"Nice ship," Arbus said to the knight sitting across from him.
The room was mostly empty, just the two of them.... and the silent Vanguard resting further away, watching his every move.
The knight had already taken off his mask when they got on the ship. He was a Red Mornan with green hair, and an extremely youthful appearance despite him already being In his late twenties.
The knight looked at Arbus with a smile.
"It is, isn't it? That's what I said too. I'm the reason we picked this ship, the others just felt too stale. I'm Bridge by the way, what's your—no wait, I guess I already know your name from the files. Arbus Kaelen right?"
The knight's attitude caught Arbus off guard. He wasn't expecting such a jovial personality from a knight. Especially since that knight was talking to him.
"Arbus. Just Arbus. That's my name. Don't add the last part," Arbus said calmly.
Bridge nodded apologetically.
"Oh, umm, Sure, my bad."
An awkward silence settled over the room again.
Bridge considered his words for a moment, then spoke again.
"So I was just wondering... How did you do it? Kill The Reincarnator I mean."
Arbus didn't respond immediately. He wondered if there was any need to tell him.
Bridge scratched the back of his neck.
"It's not like I'm doubting you or anything like that, but, umm... how do I put it. I would've thought that feat would be a bit too impossible for you. Heck, it's impossible even for a Knight like me."
Arbus remained silent for a moment.
"It wasn't really as impressive as you're probably imagining it to be. He made a mistake, a mistake that I took advantage of, that's all"
"Ronin arrived in front of our base after he'd already massacred the rest of the planet and the other Renegade stations."
"We didn't get a single emergency call while all this happened. We didn't even realize we were under attack until it was our turn."
"That didn't make any sense, considering how much he liked playing with his victims," Arbus said, a hint of disgust in his voice.
Yome took note of it from across the room.
"When he finally attacked, it was far too late for us to get any help."
"I'm not exactly sure what it was, but some kind of tech he had on him was dampening our communications. That's how he wiped out the planet so silently."
Arbus's expression darkened.
"He didn't attack at first. He just watched us. He was being cautious. He probably thought the main base might have multiple commanders waiting to ambush him"
"It gave us a little bit of time, which we used to come up with a few plans."
Arbus sighed dejectedly.
"Most of them didn't amount to much. Our best one was something Vanguard Tick thought of. He decided to disguise himself as the commander of the base, hoping to use Ronin's nature against him. When the slaughter started, Ronin made sure to torture him more than the others. He wanted him to watch his soldiers die in vain."
"In a moment when Ronin let his guard down, Commander Mitz tried to kill him with all his might. Ronin managed to dodge effortlessly, already on guard for something like that. When commander Mitz had already given up, he launched a casual attack that almost cost Ronin his life."
"That was how I figured out that his ability wasn't passive. And that it wasn't what we initially thought it was."
"After he was done killing everyone else, he noticed that I was still alive. I had slowed down my regeneration to make it look like I was near death. It was then that he had finally realised that I was a half-human Renegade, something he found amusing. Since I was the last toy left, he decided not to break me too fast. That was what gave me the chance to surprise him."
Bridge's expression changed as his eyes widened in shock.
"Wait, time out. Regeneration? Is that a power that Tarokians have? I thought you guys only had mountain smashing strength and incredible physical stats. I've never heard of that.
He paused for a moment, then added slowly.
"Or..... do you have a Heart shard?"
Arbus slowly shook his head.
"No, it's an inherited ability from my father. Also, I didn't really inherit most of those incredible physical capabilities from my mother's side"
Bridge gasped in amazement.
"You guys can inherit abilities from your Reincarnator parents? That's insane. Wait.. if that's true, then why haven't the Renegades seen more half humans with abilities running around"
"The Renegades most likely have. We're just not high enough to ask questions about it," Yome said flatly from across the room, as she took off her mask.
She was a beautiful young Mornan with flowing blue hair that stood out against her red skin, her bright orange eyes sharp and cold.
Arbus stared at her in silence for a moment, stunned by how much she resembled his childhood friend Arora.
Memories he'd rather keep buried rushed back, causing his expression to darken.
"Anyways, that's enough of that. Bridge, stop conversing with our 'guest' about matters we're probably not allowed to ask about. And you, Sentry, stay quiet. Don't talk so casually to those who rank above you," she said, her voice firm.
"Sorry, Yom–I mean, Vanguard Yome," Bridge said, giving Arbus an apologetic look. He was already used to his leader's personality.
A knock sounded from the cockpit, where Caster sat, a few minutes later.
"Seems like we've arrived," Yome said, glancing out the small window to the side.
Arbus followed her gaze. There it was — the biggest moon in the solar system, as large as four middle sized planets in one. It was called Paradis, home to the current Sentinel of this Star system.