Renegade Rising (The Renegade Series) (36 page)

“Ok! Ok! Take it easy! I had no intention of blowing this. I’ve formulated a plan, but I can’t tell you. You just have to do everything I say, all right? I don’t want you screwing anything up,” Rolce said, pointing his finger at a beaming Gisbo.

“You got it! Anything!” Gisbo said with a toothy grin.

“Good. Now I want you to sit over there and don’t do anything for a little while. Can you handle that?” Rolce asked. Gisbo muttered something rude under his breath as he went and sat himself down. Rolce extracted a writing utensil, grabbed another piece of paper, cracked his knuckles and went to work.

Gisbo sat, bored stiff, as he watched Rolce go about his writing. Just when Gisbo was about to nod off, Rolce finished, wearing a confident smile.

“Done, now follow me!” Rolce said as he breezed out of the schoolhouse with Gisbo trotting behind.

Outside, everything seemed ominously quiet. Perry was right, this no longer felt like Heaven’s Shelter. Both boys noticed tracks in the thin blanket of snow that went left, right, and straight, showing the different paths each synergy took.

“Okay, there are a couple ways to do this. I would rather go the route of not getting caught; makes it easier, so I say we take the stealth route for now. Also, since we waited for everyone to leave first, we can follow their tracks and take notice of any signs of a scuffle, changing routes at the first sign of danger. If only I could summon Harpie! She could fly overhead and scout the area for us. Ah well,” Rolce sighed. “Ready?” Rolce said. Gisbo nodded.

“Good, but first we need to do something,” Rolce said as he reached into his pocket for the scroll and quickly tore the message into bits until it wasn’t readable anymore. Gisbo’s mouth fell open.

“Are you nuts?! What did you do that for?” he demanded. Rolce smiled knowingly.

“Just trust me. Come on, let’s go this way. We’ll have better luck in the woods,” Rolce said as he strode off down the left path to find shelter.

The boys crawled on their bellies, lifting arm over arm and pushing themselves forward with their feet through some thick bushes. They were doing quite well for themselves, following alongside footprints to the left of them, and didn't come across any signs of struggle, until they heard a commotion nearby.

“Let me go! You can’t!” Grandfield's voice subsided in muffled grunts as he was gagged. Gisbo and Rolce spread aside the bush and saw Grandfield, Shaved and Knob all tightly bound. Gamba and his synergy stood over them, laughing together at their captives.

“How do they expect us to get this message to Narroway against people using Elekai’? It's impossible!” Knob screamed with rage before he too was gagged by one of Gamba’s friends. Gisbo and Rolce looked at each other in the bush.

“One synergy down. Can we help them?” Gisbo asked.

“Unfortunately no. See, Gamba is already holding their message, that's game over for them. Besides, Knob was right. We can’t go up against somebody using Elekai’,” Rolce said with a smirk that added, “I know something you don’t know.” Gisbo hated it. The boys watched as Gamba and his crew dragged their captives away and silence fell over the snowy landscape once more.

They continued along their course at a decent pace until both boys were severely drenched and their knees and elbows were beginning to blister from chafing against their wet, icy clothes. They found shelter together in another bush and decided to take a brief break.

“This better be worth it, Rolce, I’m trusting you with my life here,” Gisbo said through tired breaths.

“Oh believe me, we are absolutely fine. I’ve planned for everything,” Rolce boasted, only to hear an unexpected voice ring out from above.

“Oh have you now?” Ernie said, as the boys froze at the sight of their bosses sitting in the tree above them, drinking steaming cups of coffee, clearly enjoying themselves. Gisbo and Rolce flashed sheepish grins as Dave and Ernie dropped from their tree. Gisbo couldn’t imagine how two old farts like them had even managed to climb up there in the first place.

“Your message, please, we’d hate to stun two of our favorite employees now,” Dave said, outstretching a huge hand, beckoning with his fingers. Rolce simply smiled, reached into one of his pockets, and pulled out the other piece of paper he had been writing on in the schoolhouse. He thrust it forward. Ernie and Dave both opened the message and their smiles subsided into frowns.

“What do you call this?” Dave asked, eyeing Rolce suspiciously.

“It is our message of course,” Rolce answered. Dave’s blue eyes twinkled with pride.

“Well, I’ll be a monkey’s pappy! Glad to have such a smart employee crunching numbers for us at the shop. Well, since we can’t read it, then I guess we never saw it, eh? Well done, boys. Now go get this to Narroway. Renegades will admire your cleverness, but those Renegaras won’t. There's a slew of them just up ahead so you better head north, directly toward the tower. Don’t worry, the commons are empty. Nobody expected a straight on approach,” Dave said. Gisbo sighed.

“See! My idea was great! Can I hold the message?” Gisbo asked.

“No,” Rolce ordered. Dave and Ernie gave them both encouraging grins and handed Rolce back the parchment.

Dave and Ernie waved goodbye and proceeded to search for another tree to sit comfortably in. Gisbo was more confused than ever as he raised his voice to ask what had transpired. Rolce only waved his hand and shook his head, motioning for Gisbo to follow him.

The boys managed to snake their way forward through the bushes once again, until they spotted the commons. Rolce grinned in glee to find it deserted, with the front door of the tower in plain view. Gisbo playfully punched Rolce's bicep, he was so pleased at their good fortune.

“You want to make a break for it?” Gisbo asked. Rolce nodded. They were gearing up to sprint when they heard a loud WHOOSH behind them. They spun around in concern, desperately wishing to see anyone but Ranto. Tough luck. His big frame loomed over them, flashing a fist covered in spiked brass knuckles, aglow in fiery red.

“How goes it, kids?” Ranto taunted with an ironic wink.

“Up yours!” Gisbo snarled. In a flash he was on his feet, rearing back for a punch despite Rolce’s warning. Gisbo’s swing flew true, hitting Ranto right in the face. He thought he might come out on top until something felt terribly wrong. Suddenly, his entire body was wracked with pain and, before he could register what was happening, he shot backward. Gisbo’s body hit the snow like a plow, leaving a long trail of green grass in the wake of his painful slide. He grabbed his fist, screeched like a wild animal as his knuckles pulsated, glowing red for a few moments, then quickly turned to four neat bruises. Ranto shook his head in disbelief.

“Idiot! Please explain to him what just happened, Rolce. I don’t have the patience for it,” Ranto scowled in absolute disgust at Gisbo’s stupidity.

“Gisbo, I tried to warn you! Don’t you remember what Perry said? If you strike against somebody whose essence is fully powered and yours isn’t, the physical damage is instantly rebounded back on you. We won’t be able to hurt him as long as his essence is powered up,” Rolce admonished with a defeated sigh.

“That’s more like it.” Ranto said. Gisbo rose to his shaky feet, cracked several joints and dusted himself off.

“Well, good to know I hit pretty hard at least,” Gisbo said aloud, not at all phased.

“You’re pathetic,” Ranto chimed in, rolling his eyes.

“Oh yeah? Well this pathetic guy right here creamed you in the eating contest on his first day here an’ embarrassed you in front of all your Renegara buddies! You’ve been sore ever since!” Gisbo shouted back. Ranto closed his eyes and chuckled before replying.

“Absolutely meaningless, I really don’t understand why people get so down about losing in sports or competitions like eating for example. Sure it's fun, sure it feels great to 'taste' victory, but in the end none of those things matter. You face opponents to find out two simple things: your worth and who is better,” Ranto said, taking a pause to enjoy Gisbo’s growing rage.

“Take clash for instance. I know many who live their lives by it. They call it a passion and for what? Little do they realize that it doesn’t matter how many points you score, all it means is you are good at scoring points in a silly game, that is all. When it comes right down to it, the best can only be determined by how well one fights. One body against another, spilling themselves in glorious conflict using Elekai’, reflexes, strategy, strength, speed; all that you are against all that somebody else is. A straight-out fight to the point of unconsciousness or death determines outright who is better. Nothing else. You may have beaten me in a silly eating competition, Gizzy, but don’t you see now? It doesn’t matter! In the grand scheme of things, you are nothing and the day you learn Elekai’ you will be just that, nothing. That is why I’m going to let you go win your silly game, for that’s all it is. Go ahead, no tricks,” Ranto challenged as he pointed to the door. Gisbo stood staring at Ranto with unmitigated hatred.

“Ya? Well in that case, let's cut to the chase. Take those stupid knuckles off and fight like real men do,” Gisbo challenged.

“You mean fight like uncivilized, unintelligent people do? Please, I’m practically a Renegade prince. Elekai’ is a part of every one us, as close and useful as an arm or a leg. You want me to just throw all that away and come down to the level of brainlessly throwing fists? Come down from the dinner table, get on all fours, and fight the begging mutt? Never! As I said before, Gizzy, I want worthy competition. Now we both know you have no chance of passing Perry’s exam, so I want you to go win your contest for one reason,” Ranto said, a slight smirk stretching across his face. “When you get your band, I want you to always look down at your arm knowing full well, for the rest of your life, that you wouldn’t be a Renegara if it weren’t for me,”

Ranto said, his smirk turning into an evil smile. Gisbo shook with utter fury, unable to think of anything to say. Ranto laughed.

“Brain not working again? Such a waste; you want to hit me so badly I can taste your animosity in the air. Don’t worry yourself, kid, I may like having worthy foes, but I also love crushing the weak. I’ll be back for you, Gisbo. Do train hard . . .” Ranto said with glee as he turned and walked away without looking back.

“Don’t listen to him. He may say it didn’t matter to him, but you embarrassed him. He’s obviously still sore about it,” Rolce reasoned, trying to calm his friend.

“He’s obviously a giant nut sack that needs kicking . . .” Gisbo said, staring off into the distance.

“Well, maybe a little of that too,” Rolce admitted.

“I swear to IAM, as soon as I learn Elekai’, I’m gonna’ kill that kid. I don’t care if he is Narroway’s son! Lets see how smooth princey boy talks when he’s swallowing his own teeth,” Gisbo raged as he punched a nearby tree, not even caring that he split open his damaged knuckles.

“Control yourself, his time will come. Now let's go pass your exams!” Rolce encouraged with a friendly smile. This, at least, caused Gisbo to wipe the scowl off his face. They made their way in a sprint to the tower entrance. Luckily no one else saw them.

“Why so quiet?” Gisbo wondered.

“Nobody expected a Renega to make it this far. Everyone who uses Elekai’ is practically invincible to those who can’t use it, like us. This is why Perry said we need to use ALL that we learned. Don’t worry, I’ll explain inside, but what do we do with this door? There’s no handle to open it,” Rolce asked. Gisbo smiled.

“Well, at least I’m good for something! I’ve been here before. How funny, with all that planning, Rolce, and in the end you need me to open the door. Why don’t you say please, huh?” Gisbo taunted.

“Fine, don’t open it. I can pass the exam and get mine later. Your choice, I mean…” Rolce said, folding his arms. Gisbo’s eyes turned the size of saucers.

“CHIEFTAIN NARROWAYS DOMAIN!” Gisbo interrupted, cupping both hands to his mouth in a scream. The black doors swung open and Gisbo and Rolce entered the elevator. Just as before, it lurched in every direction and shot much higher than Purah’s office. Finally, the doors opened, showing a surprised Chieftain Narroway seated at his desk. The place was absolutely huge, with broad, tinted windows encircling the room, so all of Heaven’s Shelter could be viewed. Narroway jumped from his chair as he quickly shuffled the boys out of the elevator.

“Well done, my boys! Welcome! Welcome! Please say you have the message and this isn’t just a friendly visit?” Narroway said excitedly. Rolce fished out the message and handed it to Narroway, whose smile increased ten fold before he broke out in a loud guffaw.

“Oh, you two amaze me! Simply brilliant. Come now, sit down, talk me through your procedures and make yourself at home! Don’t feel bashful, sit anywhere you wish! My father’s office is your office!” Narroway said as Gisbo and Rolce grabbed some chairs by the fireplace.

“This was Vadid’s office?” Gisbo asked as he surveyed the room, especially impressed by the view.

“Yup, I left it just as it was from the day he, well, disappeared,” Narroway said, a little saddened, but he quickly changed his tone. “Never mind all that! Tell me everything!” Narroway said, looking at Gisbo.

“Well, I knew how the elevator worked. You’ll want to talk to this guy,” Gisbo said, cocking a thumb in Rolce’s direction. Narroway quickly shifted his attention.

“Thanks. All I did was put everything I learned into perspective. First thing I thought of, as I was telling Gisbo earlier, was that there was no way we were going to get past an area filled with people who knew Elekai’. It was literally impossible and that was the point of it all. On top of that, we had to deliver a message that couldn’t be read by the enemy. If it were read, we’d be eliminated. The message itself was way too long to be memorized in such a short amount of time, even by me,” Rolce said as he paused to take in Narroway’s interested, yet proud face.