Once we were out of the alley, I looked around and saw a few soldiers popped out. They were on the rooftop of a building, aiming at Helena and the others. A few more suddenly poured out into the streets from an alley to our right, as Caesar engaged them by himself.
Soldiers on the rooftop fired at Helena and I yelled, "Get away!" As I was about to throw myself in the bullets' path, Lily moved before I could.
A sudden burst of a pink wall from the ground deflected it, saving Helena and the others. The soldiers on the rooftop froze for a moment, and my crimson scythe swiftly cut them in the torso. I looked at Caesar's direction. He was done moping the floor with the ones he fought.
"That wasn't too shabby. At least, they tried," he said.
His yellow spear dissolved into thin air, and he faced me.
I looked around quickly.
No soldiers of the coup remained for us to fight. Helena and the others came out of their cover while Lily deactivated her Full Aegis Form.
"Let's get out of here," Caesar said.
The rest nodded and we moved along the streets to the left. Lily kept her senses sharp, glancing around us as we walked. Caesar was at the back, guarding us, as I focused Bart's Aegis throughout the area.
I needed to do that if we wanted to avoid any nasty surprise coming at us. Honestly, using that particular Aegis was not something I'd wanted. It was from Bart originally, so my emotions sometimes stirred every time I used it.
The memories of him flooded into my mind while I activated it. Shaking my head, I brushed it off. Thinking about him would just make me angry.
'He didn't exist anymore. He's dead,' I thought.
"It's weird," Segma mumbled.
She maintained her support on Tuya's waist while scanning the surroundings thoroughly.
"What is?" asked Caesar.
"There should be more of those soldiers, right?"
Caesar looked up for a moment. "I guess that's all of them? I mean . . . there's no one else here."
"Their comrades must have heard the fighting, or at least, notice something have gone wrong," Helena spoke.
"Perhaps they're stupid?" I said.
Segma snorted. "Well, aren't you one, Ava?"
I glared at her, and she countered with her own.
"Woah, where did this come from?" Caesar said.
"I'm just telling the truth," remarked Segma. "When I think about it, Ava's just a kid that has Aegis inside her. A powerful one at that."
I went over to her side as she supported Tuya. "What do you mean?"
"If you don't have that power in the first place, there's no way you can do all of that just now. All in all, you're just a kid."
A white blade sprouted from my right palm.
"Lady Ava!" Caesar stepped in front of me, halting my movement. "There's no need to go that far!" He turned to Segma. "This is not the time for this."
She clicked her tongue. "Whatever. In the end, Ulii decided to give you this much freedom because of your Aegis."
The group continued to walk along the pavement, leaving me with Caesar in the back.
"Lady Ava," he muttered.
"I know, Caesar. It's my fault." My blade seeped back into my skin. "It's just . . . The way she worded it makes me mad."
"So you admit it? What Segma had said about you?"
My eyes darted to the street. "Maybe. She said the truth. In a way, my Aegis makes me who I am right now. And also because of it, I got to meet Papa and know him."
"Ah . . . Indeed. What do you think your life will be if you never encountered Aegis? If you never been used by Alicia and Bart?"
I looked at him. "They said that they'd kidnapped me from an orphanage. Maybe I get to live happily, with the rest of the orphans. Yeah, I think that kind of life is better I guess."
"Hmm." Caesar crouched and looked at me in the same eye level. "There's no life without suffering, Lady Ava. In today's world, with the Great Corporate United's conquest for world domination, every human life are not safe. I mean, you can't guarantee that a kid these days won't get shot by their soldiers out of boredom. You see, the people in power are corrupt right now. Would you care if the world went back to the dark age one day?"
I shook my head. "That's not my problem."
Caesar's hands grabbed my shoulders. "That's where you're wrong, Lady Ava. What if, the person you love gets taken away by the people in charge during those dark times?"
"I'll kill them."
"Is that it?'
I frowned. "What do you want me to say?"
"Killing won't get you anywhere, Lady Ava. I was once a soldier. My eyes had witnessed a lot of atrocities done by my comrades. My hands were dirtied with the blood of someone who's innocent. But to what end? Those we killed have their own families. They might hate us, loathe us. You feel the same way too, right? The actions you've taken, and the feelings you have, are due to the loss of someone you loved."
I was silent.
My mind flashed a few memories of Luca and Alice. Those two suffered from the loss of someone they loved. They could've taken the same path as me, taking a few steps to exact revenge on the Great Corporate United. Luca would've joined a rebel group for that cause. But she didn't.
Even though she had Alice to take care, I was certain those thoughts never came to her mind. They accepted what had happened, and moved forward.
They knew if they had taken my path, it would bring them more suffering. They were content with what they had, and it would remain that way for a long time.
"Lady Ava," called Caesar.
I snapped back to reality.
He sighed. "Look, I'm not the one whose choices shape how your life will be from now on. You're the only one who can do that. Whatever options you will and would take after this, remember, your life is affected by it."
I nodded slowly.
"Always think of yourself first, Lady Ava. Everyone else comes next. That way, you'll not have many regrets in your life. You will still have it, but for the most part, you'll be content with the choices you've made." Caesar stood up and looked at me. "If you want to find that angsty blond teen, remember, you're the one who've decided that. It's your choice alone."
I nodded again. "Why do you follow me, Caesar? I'm sure your goal is to get rid of the system that the Great Corporate United has now."
"Ah, that's because, helping you will bring me a step closer to that, Lady Ava. Neo Africa is moving towards that as it is. And you are a pivotal piece for that cause."
I looked down. "That's because of my Aegis, right?"
"You think? Perhaps it is, Lady Ava. You just don't know who you are yet. Once you realize it, I can be proud I was at your side once, helping you achieve that. I'm sure that angsty blond teen feels the same way too."
He started to walk towards the group far ahead, and I just stood at my spot.
"My choices are mine alone," I mumbled.
Deep in my heart, I knew the actions I've taken could become something else entirely. I could choose to not pursue Hope and lived a life far away from everyone.
But, Hope was the only person that I cared for. His very existence had shaped me into the degraded human being I was. Many people could've been saved if I focused on saving them from the wrath of The Great Corporate United.
I clenched my fists.
"Until now, what have I been doing? Killing people just to see him. Breaking bonds between the new people I've encountered just for him." My right hand clutched onto my jacket's collar. "I should prioritize myself first, huh."
My heart thumped harder against my chest.
'What is this?' I thought.
A part of me was being taken away somehow, leaving a sense of void inside my heart. It was not because of my feelings towards Hope. It was like a burden had been lifted off my shoulders. My breath became heavier, trying to grasp the new emotions welling up inside. A little spark of happiness crept into my tainted heart.
"Hope . . . The atrocities . . . This commitment . . . Everything until now was . . . Because I love him. Genuinely. From the bottom of my heart."
Oddly enough, the word Papa had been changed to Hope.
Perhaps my mouth only knew to utter that word, because two years ago, I felt that way towards him. A father and daughter type of relationship.
The inner me somehow recognized it all along, that family love for him was not true. However, right then, something grew inside me.
A genuine sensation. I initially registered that person as my parent since my mind always thought of Hope as a fatherly figure. Even so, my heart insisted on the possibility of something else.
Maybe it was a different feeling, but not far-fetched.
"I love Hope . . . But what kind of love is this?"
My brain thought hard but it couldn't put that feeling of mine into words.
I snapped from my rail of thoughts and saw the group was waiting up ahead. Caesar jerked his head.
"Lady Ava! You're smiling!" he shouted.
"Huh?"
A white blade manifested from my left palm and I held it in front of my face. "I'm smiling?"
That foreign expression of mine was engraved into my head. I felt different somehow.
"Why was I smiling?"
I thought about it hard, but it was no use.
"I love him."
That word kept coming out of my mouth. "Every action I'll be taking from now on is my own choices."
It felt strange. It was not like I'd come out with a different goal in my life. However, my brain kept shoving that notion at the forefront of my mind.
"A new goal . . . I want to . . ." My eyes looked up at the clear, blue sky. "What is it, I wonder?"
"Ava!"
I shifted my gaze to Lily, and she was smiling too.
One thing I was certain about, was that I didn't have to pick the choices that leaned towards Hope. He was still my goal, but I could choose what was best for me. Any choices for my best interest.
My heart held onto that resolution. Slowly, I walked towards those new people I'd met.