All I could see right then were Alicia and Bart.
They took everything away from me. And so, I would do the same to them. Killing them alone was not enough to satiate my hatred and anger. They would die slowly, as I tortured them.
Painfully slow.
"Uh, miss Ava?" said Caesar.
My crimson blades were pointing at Caesar's neck and one of it even grazed his skin.
Agatha was aiming at me with a gun that I knew too well. She held the plasma radiant gun in her hands.
I took a deep breath and glared at Caesar. "What do you mean by that, Mister Caesar? I never told anyone I was searching for them." My blades pulsed for every second that passed, anticipating me to instruct them into going for the kill.
"Before that, you would want to deactivate your Aegis first. Your body is pretty drained out right now, miss Ava. It is dangerous for you," said Caesar.
"And for you too, right?"
"No, no. I will be fine."
The confidence in Caesar's voice was astounding. He sounded like I could not deliver a major blow at him the way I was.
"Ava, put that thing away," said Agatha.
I glanced at her. "You wouldn't dare to fire that."
"Why is that?"
"There's a risk the people in this inn would notice. That alone should be enough."
Agatha shifted her feet closer to me, and a crimson tendril from my back darted to her neck and paused in mid-air.
"Don't move..." My head swirled for a few moments but I persevered through. I could not show my weakness in front of my potential enemies. "I know you saved me and all. But, there's no telling what you would to me from now on. Your statement just now, Mister Caesar, proved to me that I could not trust you."
"Ava! Put that thing away! Or else!" shouted Agatha.
Caesar raised his right hand and one of my blades cut it away from his arm. He looked at it in surprise as if he did not notice my blade even moved from its spot. "Miss Ava, even in your condition right now, you still could use your Aegis at this kind of level? Fascinating."
"Does it not hurt?" I asked.
"Hmm, not really. If you're used to it, the pain is manageable."
'Used to it?' I thought. There was more to Caesar than how he looked. He was mysterious indeed. "Mister Caesar, you're holding yourself back," I said.
"Yes, miss Ava. I need you to trust me so I won't move or anything. I just want you to hear me out, and of course, I'll explain why and how I knew about your goal all along," said Caesar as his hand stitched itself back.
I could not see what his face was like behind the mask but his words were definitely pulling me.
"I would have put you down, miss Ava, however, I don't want to. Your Aegis is terrifying as it stands."
"Then, explain yourself." My eyes were focused on Caesar, ignoring Agatha behind him.
"We were watching you, miss Ava. I knew about your connection to Alicia and Bart after I had done my own investigation since I left Mansel Island. So, I followed you when Agatha confirmed your arrival in Yellowknife. You aimed officers who possibly knew about both of them, in order to take revenge on what they had done to you," said Caesar.
My eyes flared at his explanation. "Then, you don't bother to approach me way back then?!" My blades beheaded Caesar with blinding speed and his hand caught it. Sprays of red blood stained my blanket. Tangles of muscles and blood vessels formed around his neck before it stitched the head back.
"Caesar!" shouted Agatha. My tendril kept her in check.
"Young miss Ava, if you keep using your Aegis like this, you will be not able to access it anymore," said Caesar casually.
"Momentarily," I stated.
"Yes. And miss Ava, I had intended to disclose this information to you sooner, but Agatha was really against it. And so I thought about it. Your mental health back then was unstable and if I walked to you two years ago, there's no telling what you would do," said Caesar.
"You used me... Instead of you happily observing me as I suffer, you could have helped me."
Caesar sighed. "That was an option, miss Ava. And indeed I regret not taking that option. Though I also have my own things to take care of. Simply put, you were not at the top of my priorities at that time."
"And right now is a good time?!" I could taste blood coming out of my lips as I bit it with all my might.
"I couldn't afford to have you dead. You're User number zero. The Aegis User no one knew of except for Alicia and Bart. And your Aegis developed a very unique... How to say this? Er, characteristic. Yes, that's the word," said Caesar as he adjusted his yellow mask.
My crimson blades retreated a bit. "Then, when Hughes attacked me, were you there?" I asked.
"Yes, young miss Ava. I was watching your fight. I wanted to step in when Hughes clearly overwhelmed you." Caesar paused. "But it seems that my help was not necessary."
His explanation for everything he had done was understandable. Still, it was hard to accept that the solution to my problem was there all those years. It was frustrating and despicable of him to do so.
I hated him.
"I hate you, Caesar..."
"I will accept your hatred, miss Ava," said Caesar as he lowered his head.
I forced myself to cease the blades and tendril back to me.
"Where there is hate, a symbol of light exists within that person. Despite what or who you hate, there's certainly a thing or two that you can cling onto in order to vanquish that darkness. Remember that, miss Ava. I'm afraid without that light, you will lose your way in this quest of hatred. Your vengeance may bring you to take the lives of your loved ones," said Caesar.
"My symbol of light has vanished long ago." I continued, "I do not love anyone in my life. If someone gets in my way, I will kill them."
Caesar tilted his head. "Something... has happened to you, miss Ava. I also wondered where that angsty blond teen is. He's not with you, is he?"
I clenched my fists. Caesar did not know what happened. He only knew I was apart of Alicia and Bart's experimentation. I was confused whether to feel mad or relief of his ignorance in that matter.
"I see. My apologies," said Caesar.
The sound of rain spilling outside filled the silence for a while. It could be that the clouds understood how I felt and decided to cry for me. Agatha put the plasma radiant gun into her backpack and leaned onto the wall with her back. She stared at me but not in a hateful way. It was as if she was merely observing me, like what she did for the past two years.
"I proposed a plan."
My head turned to Caesar when he said that. "A plan?"
"There's also one more thing I wanted to tell you, miss Ava. You see, Alicia and Bart are currently at Sweden as we speak. I based this on my trusted information. And to get to Sweden without our plane getting bombarded with missiles, I had sought someone."
"Sweden..." I repeated. "Wait, who do you refer to? This is a trap."
"Ah, it's up to you if you want to believe me or not, miss Ava. But, my objective also involves getting into Sweden. This plan actually benefits both of us," said Caesar.
I waited for Caesar to state the name of that person he had asked for help, but a few minutes passed and there was only rain and thunder outside to be heard. "...So, who is this person you spoke of?"
"He's the ruler of Neo Africa. It covers one-third of the whole world. My plan involves us aiding Neo Africa's military force when they launched an attack against the Great Corporate United."
I gasped. "Is that possible?! To attack a country as large as that? How powerful is Neo Africa?"
"You will see when we get there. Young miss Ava, do you agree with my plan? The leader himself already approved of this," said Caesar.
I was in deep thought. I did not have any lead on Alicia and Bart's location, and only then that I knew they were in Sweden. Caesar was correct in the fact that even I could not just fly into Sweden by myself and hoped to find them easily. Assisting another country in attacking the Great Corporate United was not that far off in what I was trying to achieve. In fact, I could unleash my fury against the damned soldiers at least and satiate my hatred albeit a little.
They would eventually attack Sweden and from the chaos that it caused, I could draw out Alicia and Bart from hiding.
"I'm in," I said to Caesar. "But how do you know about Alicia and Bart in the first place?"
"I already told you I was a part of the Great Corporate United long ago, remember? Alicia and Bart are both a couple and powerful Aegis Users. They served under the supreme leader, and so was me."
"Oh, I understand now." Processing all those information made me dizzy.
"You should get some sleep, Miss Ava. The day after tomorrow, we'll have to leave for Chad, Africa," said Caesar.
"You... already booked the tickets?"
"Of course. I already foresaw your involvement in this plan." Caesar laughed and Agatha ridiculed him for being too noisy.
"Then... I'll just sleep."
In a matter of seconds, I was already asleep. That night was a dreamless sleep as I savored the needed rest that my body deserved.
. . .
We were in an open, green field and waiting for our flight. I already changed my clothes into newer, cleaner ones. A red scarf was draped around my neck while I wore a thick, blue jacket and baggy jeans. My jet-black hair was clean and tied into a ponytail across my shoulder.
"Um, aren't we supposed to be at the airport?" I asked.
"I can't get in an airport with my mask, young MISS AVA!" said Caesar as he eyed the gray, monotone sky above him.
"Oh...okay."
Agatha and Caesar both looked at me. "Our flight has arrived."
I frowned. "Where?"
A small jet descended from the grey clouds and landed on the field, a few meters from us. "A personal jet?"
"Yes. From Gheel Folami himself," replied Agatha.
We stepped into the jet and placed our belongings in a provided space. The inside of the jet was bright, with all the golden decoratives and orange wallpaper throughout.
"It's too bright," I stated.
"Hmm, yes. I believe Gheel Folami has quite an obsession with the color orange," said Caesar.
"Why this jet did not get shot down?" I asked.
"About that, Gheel Folami has his own method in steering those annoying air force and anti-aircraft units out of the way," said Agatha.
I nodded.
Soon, the jet departed into the sky and we were on our way to Neo Africa, to meet its ruler, Gheele Folami.