Renegade Reborn (49 page)

“Mortal? Me? You say that as if I’m someone you can push around, who follows the rules? You forget why you brought this, this legion, with you. You forget who you speak to. I am Vadid the Valiant, son of IAM himself, and should you raise your voice to me again, death, will be the least of your worries!” Vadid snapped, as he raised the blade of the Phoenix and pointed it straight at the General. The General, took a step back.

“Of that, you are correct. I am merely the messenger, please, for-forgive me,” Camatsu said, raising up his clawed hands.

“Messengers, in time and places elsewhere, tend to get shot . . .” Vadid said.

“It is a blood warrant. Should I not return with proof of your demise . . .” Camatsu started, gulping.

It was at this, that it all began to make sense to Gisbo. Vadid, this whole time, he used some sort of, illegal, Dragon controlled ability to give him the five years he needed. He, he sacrificed everything, his very life, all, all for him, all for him to pick up where he left off on Thera. He couldn’t take it anymore, Gisbo flew at the invisible energy field again, slammed against it, and fell back. The tower, controlled by Vadid, wouldn’t let him get through.

“YOU BASTARD! YOU DAMNED OLD BASTARD! LET ME OUT! LET ME HELP YOU! DON’T YOU DARE! DON’T YOU DARE DO THIS WITHOUT ME!” Gisbo screamed, but his cries were not heard.

“Seems you have a problem and it seems I have a solution, right here,” Vadid said, flashing his sword. “If I’m to leave this world, I have just one decree, one wish, will you listen?”

“I will,” Camatsu said.

“Everyone has a way they want to go, whether it be on a death bed, a woman in their embrace, or a beverage in hand . . . me? If I’m to leave this world, I want to go out doing what I do best. I want to die, fighting against impossible odds, only to make it seem possible! Now, HAVE AT ME!” Vadid screamed, in a way he only could, where even though the Maras, had him beyond hopelessly outnumbered, nobody wanted to be the first to move.

“As you wish . . .” Camatsu said, and with that, the order was given, and the legion moved and the Man-Phoenix of Thera, with nothing left to lose but his life, moved against the very legions of Hell itself with his head held high, a smile on his face, and a wicked gleam, in his eyes.

When it was over and the dust had settled, Vadid had not only put a dent in Camatsu’s Legion, he had turned the Legion, into a squad. Without a word, beyond embarrassed, they took the lifeblood, the lifeblood they were so unworthy of, back to their master, and vanished from the plains of existence, and once gone, so with it, went the invisible force field.

Vadid, was not only losing his power, but his life . . .

Gisbo ran to him, Fao, barking beside him. He bent down, and cradled his grandfather, pierced by not a hundred, but a thousand blades, but despite it all, even the blood, he now coughed up, he did not lose one single tooth, and with those blood stained teeth, he smiled up at his Grandson, the focus of his fight, and his sacrifice, all along.

“What is this? What was the reason for all of that? Come on, old man, talk to me!” Gisbo said, tears, falling down his face like rain, onto the bloodied face of Vadid, cleaning his features with every drop.

“I, I’ve been a little dishonest with you, grandson. When I said, I was going to give you five years, I meant it.” Vadid said, coughing hoarsely. Suddenly, Gisbo felt Vadid’s shoulder, literally sink in, and the skin grow loose.

“What, what are you saying?” Gisbo asked. He felt his Grandfather’s once strong hand, raise up and touch his face.

“Your mother’s eyes, my eyes, so much . . . anger . . . behind them. All of it justified, of course it is, but as I told my daughter, I tell you now. You either control that anger, or it controls you . . .” Vadid said.

“Shut up about that, what was that all about?” Gisbo asked, feeling stupid at his choice of words, but now knowing what else to say.

“I’m, I’m leaving this world, Gisbo. The five years I gave you, everything, everything comes with a cost, and what I’ve done, the training I gave you, to manipulate Time and Space as I’ve done, for your benefit, to literally, cheat fate, change the rules, I had to give up something in return, and the only thing worthy of such, was my own life . . .” Vadid said, his face growing thin, and his voice weaker with every word.

“You bastard,” Gisbo said, tears rolling down his face. “How, how could you keep this from me? I, I just woke up today, thinking it was going to be just like any other day! And you couldn’t have at least warned me? How? How could you just, just leave me like this?”

Vadid reached up, and wiped Gisbo’s runny nose with his bloodied sleeve, then, across his face.

“Oh, Gisbo. You’ll be fine. You have people who love you, who care about you, so, so much, I . . . I’m back? Oh, Thera . . . how I’ve missed you . . .” Vadid said, only just taking in, that for the first time since his absence, so long ago, he was back upon the planet that birthed him, and together, side by side, there was not one Man-Phoenix, but two. “But, but there’s, there’s no moon, there’s no stars, he, he took it all away, didn’t he?”

All Gisbo could do, was nod.

“Did he now?” Vadid asked, blinking fiercely. “Take my hand a moment, Grandson. Empty your mind. I need your power, linked to mine, for but a moment.”

“What are you going to do? Please, don’t stress yourself! Let’s get you inside! There must be some machine in there to . . .” Gisbo started.

“Nothing, can stop my death now . . . I can’t, I can’t undo what Drakearon did, not fully, but what I can do, is show the people of Thera, that Drakearon, is not the only light Thera has to offer . . .” Vadid said, and closing his eyes, he gripped Gisbo’s hand tightly, wincing, as the two of them burst into blue and white flames, and with his free hand, and a triumphant yell, Vadid fired a small, condensed ball of energy into the night sky, then, fell back into Gisbo’s arms, breathing hard, his face soaked in cold sweat, and together, Grandfather and Grandson watched that ball of energy rise and rise into the night sky until they could no longer see it, and only then, did the magic happen.

There was a brilliant eruption, as if the entire sky was loaded with oil droplets, and it all caught fire at once, and spread, and spread, until the entire night sky was enveloped in beautiful, blue and white, dancing flames, and for one moment, just one moment, Thera had the illusion of a blue and white sun, shining down upon them, and what a moment it was, for when it was gone, another gift was waiting for them.

“The moon, the stars . . . you brought them back,” Gisbo said.

“No, we brought them back. I can’t bring back the sun, but the moon, and the stars, well, that’s always been your thing, hasn’t it?” Vadid said, forcing a pained smile. “Look at me, boy. Just let me look at you,”

Gisbo let his Grandfather feel at his face, his tight cheek-bones, his strong jaw-line, as well as beard across his face, and all the while, Vadid smiled, so proud, so happy, so, trusting, as if he knew, all the decisions, all the sacrifices, on his account, for Gisbo, was worth it twice over.

“My whole life, my whole legacy, is yours. I am so proud of you. Just, I . . .” Vadid started when suddenly, he reached up, and grabbed at Gisbo’s necklace, and a broad smile stretched across his dying face, a smile that Gisbo knew, hurt him to maintain.

“My necklace, carved this myself, oh, so long ago from the very material that makes up that black tower behind you. This, Phoenix pendant, do you know why I carved this?” Vadid asked.

Gisbo shook his head.

“I carved this medallion, for your father, Gisbo. The moment he left us, to join with Drakearon. I carved this for him, and upon his return, I gave it to him, to symbolize that no matter your hardship, no matter your sins, there can always be a rebirth. Just like your father, and now, just like you, you both, are the living meaning of this necklace, but, may I?” Vadid asked, reaching up.

Gisbo without a word, took off his necklace, gently raised up the back of his Grandfather’s neck, and put the medallion around his neck. Vadid’s fingers closed around it tightly, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s funny, that now, here I lay, at the end of my days, with timelines, the cosmos, what could be, what couldn’t be, firing and howling in my head like it always does, and yet, above all that, I think of my wife, I think of your mother and your father. Such fun times we all had, Gisbo.” Vadid said, coughing up more blood. He then reached up and held Gisbo’s hand tightly.

“Well, guess it’s that time,” Vadid said. “Time for me to give you one final piece of advice or something, to, to . . . remember me by, yeah?”

Gisbo’s face tightened and new tears came down. Vadid wiped them with a finger, and stared at the glistening moon and stars reflective in the tear drop.

“These, this is how I know you won’t fail me. Remember your Aunt’s words, Gizzy, The day you don’t feel something, the day you don’t cry, is when you should be worried. So many people have touched your life, given you so much wisdom. You’re a lucky little bastard, you know that?”

“I know,” Gisbo said, through sniffles.

“My son Narroway, Dave, Ernie, Foxblade, Moordin, Martha, your mother, Roarie, Perry, hell, even Vice, ugh, all good people, all gone now, and now, I go to join them . . . what was it again? What was it your jackass of a father told you when he died? I don’t want what I say to be some flub of a repeat,” Vadid said.

“Something about the world needs fools, then he farted a lot,” Gisbo said, suddenly finding himself giggling, despite the tears, and Vadid giggled along as well, until they both bursts into fits of laughter crying not tears of sadness, but of joy.

“Oh, oh that turkey, look what he’s done, made me cough up more blood all over myself. Oh, that father of yours, he was a piece o’ work all right,” Vadid said taking in a shaky breath. “Ok, son, look at me, and look at me good,”

“I’m listening, Grandpa,” Gisbo said.

“You called me, Grandpa? Oh, you spoil me,” Vadid said. “You’re a good man, Gisbo Falcon. If I could sum up the greatest lesson in my life, Gisbo, it would be this, hell, if I get a gravestone out of this, write it on it, and that lesson would be, you’ll never get anywhere in life by listening to the guy next to you. Chances are, that guy’s an arsehole, and probably double dips in the chip bowl.” Vadid said. Gisbo laughed at this.

“No, you’ll never get anywhere looking at the next guy. Instead, look at the first guy, the sucker in the mirror staring back at you. Ask him what he wants, ask him what makes him happy, and no matter what he says, or how embarrassing it is, you go and do that.” Vadid said, pausing, he smiled a shaky smile. “You know, I had a dream once, when I was, but a lad. It was an embarrassing one too. Wanna hear it?”

“Of course,” Gisbo said.

“Won’t laugh?” Vadid asked.

“Never,” Gisbo said, giving Vadid’s hand a pump.

“Above all I’ve ever done, I, I wanted to be a performer,” Vadid said. Gisbo grinned at this and before he could say anything he was met with Vadid’s shaky finger in his face.

“Won’t laugh, I promise,” Gisbo said, raising a hand in pledge.

“Damn right you won’t. Now, I’m telling you this because, even now, I have this hurt in my gut, knowing, I never pursued it. Why? Mostly, because once, I told my father about it, and, well, he didn’t take too kindly to the idea of his son being in a traveling performing group.” Vadid said. “So, I never spoke of it again . . . until now, and let me tell ya, Gizzy, I wish I had pursued it. It’s the one regret I have, that I, I never got to perform on stage.”

“What kind of performance?” Gisbo asked.

“Well, acting, music, I wanted to do it all, but one night, on my many travels throughout Time and Space, I, found myself in a smokey, dungeon of a bar, and there, I came across a man, and let me tell ya, this man, he got up on stage, and he sang a song that hit my heart like a thunderbolt. Maybe it was the way he sang it, or the lyrics. This song, it had a lot of different singers, I’ve heard it before, but this man, oh, to me, he sang it like no one else. Even to this day, I don’t know who that singer was or where in time I was. I was a little too drunk. I asked around, but all I got was one name . . . they called him, ‘The King’.” Vadid said.

“The King?” Gisbo asked.

“Yes, and by my beard, Gisbo, oh, that song of his, I lived my life by it, save for the irony, that, never once, have I sang, in front of anyone . . .” Vadid said. Gisbo then pumped Vadid’s hand again.

“Sing it,” Gisbo said.

“What? No, no way . . .” Vadid said.

“You don’t want to die with regrets, right? Sing it. My Dad told me that the moment you can die without regrets, is the same moment you start to live.” Gisbo said.

“Ugh, he stole that from me,” Vadid said.

“Sing it,” Gisbo said. “Please?”

Vadid looked at Gisbo for a long moment, then, breathed out a defeated sigh.

“If you ever figure out how to use that tower, or, should Rolce figure it out, please, do me a favor, find out who sang this song, and just who this ‘King’ was, would you?” Vadid asked. Gisbo’s face brightened.

“So, you’re gonna sing it?” Gisbo asked.

“Shut up before I lose my nerve.” Vadid said, his breathing stifled, and dry now. A long minute passed, as Vadid stared up at the moon and stars, and Gisbo knew, that he wasn’t going to do it. That he had had enough.