A cold, windy morning, at the desert of Coruscation, under the heavy rain at the home of the Rogogal tribe, white smoke could still be seen from afar from the burnt out large bonfire along torn grounds, fallen wigwams and destroyed branches of trees scattered around the wet desert ground--stood some distance away 'The Unlucky' among the greatly flapping wigwams in the strong wind, with all these going on, drenched Peirce quietly stared at the wigwam in front of him.
His dripping face seems lost in the void of his own thoughts while the atmosphere around shows every signs of devolvement between the tribesmen and women there, his retreated capturers and the absent of the glowing armoured Inhumanes.
He lowered his head; few brooks of water outlined the wet sand. To Peirce, things didn't worked out for all he hoped; If challenges are what make life interesting, what is interesting about my life being intertwined with great doles? He deduced.
Then a groan was loudly heard inside one of the wigwams just behind him and what followed under the heavy pour were cries of new life brought to the world, Peirce only knew as a place of his condemnation, if one was to ask him.
"You can't just leave!" Another voice yelled out from the same wigwam blended with the cries of the babies,
"--You just finished giving birth and where are you taking your babies?! We haven't done cleaning their skin!" Another screamed.
"Geez! I'm an Inhumane, aren't I?!--Don't follow me," Jamal's wife yelled back to her midwives then her voice lowered as her thudding steps near the exit of the wigwam behind Peirce, "… I'm alright, alright. They just need their father's embrace or… is it a wrong thing to do?" She walked out of the wigwam holding her two newborn daughters wrapped in clothes in her arms, on sighting Peirce standing motionlessly under the rain, right in front of the wigwam where Jamal was treated, she stopped under the shade of the wigwam she came out from sheltering her from the rain.
"Oh, Peirce, are you still here, you know it's raining heavily... Forget about our great endurance as an Inhumane, beings like us still catch a cold."
Peirce just stood in Node's jacket showing his dripping wet sagging back without responding.
Jamal's wife exhaled. Not even a felicitation from him. She said to herself then glanced to her left, saw Lazarus and Node also under the heavy rain approaching them few distance away.
She exhaled once more as she hurriedly walked into the wigwam where Jamal was treated leaving the melancholy kid all alone.
Whereas to Peirce as time passes his thoughts and egos never let him be, each feelings bit every soul of brightness of enlivening left in him... How to be a man of no desire… I'm tired of everything, I'm tired of my story. All I see about myself is nothing special--Pierce tightly squeezed his fists. Then what's the big deal of things not getting better when I thought I had gotten some strength to protect others let alone myself. As all these depressing words overflowed the young child's mind like no other. It resulted to what'd happened few moments back after the retreatment of the Forest Nymphs and the miffed Frankenstein.
Peirce was seen on the ground crying profusely while mumbling to himself as Jamal's desert beast howled near the whimpered boy.
"My fault, it is all my fault because of me… because of me… I can't do anything but run… run, like a coward I am. I should have surrendered to them… I should have, now that things had gotten this far, there's no turning back time. My life is such a mess… My life—"
"… Forget… don't say such stupid words to yourself… Peirce…" Jamal strainingly interrupted, to everyone's amazement he was alive on the sand but bleeding uncontrollably from a large cut on his chest area down to his lower body.
"Gosh… it hurts like hell…"
Peirce raised his head, his wet eyes opened widely and mouth slightly opened, the injured man gave a half-smile then turned his eyes to his pregnant wife, kneeling near him as her eyes watered.
"… how have you been, the children?... Well a wound like these… I don't think I will surv—"
"Shut your trap, Jamal! Help is on the way," Jamal's wife intruded.
She looked at Peirce in a fiercely way but gave him a light slap on his back.
"It's not your fault, kiddo, you don't have to resent yourself for everything that happened so far. It was my husband's—no the whole village's choice to protect you and your friends from them in the beginning, so anything goes."
Peirce blinked turning to Jamal's pregnant wife.
"But…" He slowly stood up, staggered a little before gaining his ground then his teeth clenched, his fist tightly balled as rain dropped on him one after the other before it lightly showered while staring at Jamal. Suddenly many Inhumanes mounting their Kirin landed around them one after the other in their various vibrant armors imitating their glowing skin, out from the well crafted holes and markings on it.
Then one of them without a weapon seen with him, dropped down from his Kirin seems the largest among the mounts there, having epaulets attached on his armoured shoulders decorated in a single star and a Kirin with an anchor in its mouth- holding the position of a commodore admiral of his fleet--He approached Jamal's wife near Peirce then stood in an attention position, "We are the central fleet support group. We were on our way to the Water Nymphs kingdom, when we noticed strange things and auras coming from this part of the desert even spotted an ability from the Forest Nymphs… but to think we met a well-known someone like you here. The next in-line successor of the leader of the shadow's creed. We should have come as fast as we could, sorry for our lateness," The commodore said glowing in navy blue, took a glimpse at injured Jamal on the ground then he stared at Peirce.
"And who are you, boy, for you to be these close to have such conservation with the next in line of the shadow's creed even, I noticed everyone here were trying to defend you from the moment we arrived thinking we were the enemies."
Peirce raised his face up while staring back at him with dulled eyes mixed with tears and drops of rain. Far behind him Sniffia and the two little girls arrived at the scene then rushes to where Node was, she turned about running to Peirce, the glowing armoured Inhumanes on their Kirins blocked their way letting no one in just away from Peirce, the Commodore, injured Jamal, his wife and the now growling Jamal's desert beast ready to attack at any given time.
"Give the man 'The Elixir,' that alone will heal his injured body although it has never been tested on a being different from us before, however let's see for now." He commanded as one of the armored Inhumanes got down from her Kirin, slightly bowed her head approached the injured Jamal on the dampened sand, took out a glowing berry-colored fluid inside a bottle hung by her side then gave it to Jamal to drink. "Give this boy here, he's also injured."
"… I don't need it…" Peirce decided gravelly to the ears of the commodore, the young boy's fist squeezed more tightly staring down to Jamal as the injured man obediently received the elixir into his mouth known to be an elixir of great healings mixed with the solutions of the Inhumanes' substances and the Water Nymphs' healing water.
"I never asked for your permission, Boy. It was an order," The commodore in his now dripping glowing armor, accompanied with the slightly heard clanking sounds on his armor hit by the rain, stared into the eyes of Peirce. He saw the rage in the boy's watered eyes making him wondered what had a young boy like him gone through and what was special about him that everyone seems fussy?
"Are you one of us? If yes, show me your glow and before that which house do you belong to?" He curiously asked.
Sniffia blinked she sensed something was wrong as she was about moving suddenly a blade was directly stretched close to her neck from one of the glowing Inhumane mounting a Kirin right in front of her, Node with the two little girls among few tribesmen and women of the desert that arrived there some moments ago gasps as the tribe guards beast-ears around sprung up at alert, unsheathed their weapons as if another fight was about to break out between them and the armoured glowing Inhumanes, without hesitating Sniffia sidestepped from the blade stretched to her, slid under the Kirin about yelling to stop Peirce from glowing suddenly Lazarus landed beside Peirce, given the impression as though he dropped from the night sky.
The Shadow Inhumane placed his hand on Peirce's wet bushy hair.
"Why!" His voice echoed as everyone looked to his direction except from Jamal's wife who was staring only at her injured husband on the wet ground.
"Why are you interrogating my son, have you all gone mad?!"
Lazarus' other hand glowed in wrist reaper ready to fight anyone who dares challenge his words. "If I were you, I will get my priorities straight since everything here is taken care of."
The commodore was slightly surprised along with every other Inhumanes there, they never knew the shadow Inhumane would be here of all places and with a son no one has ever heard of, but still every one of them doubted if truly he had a son.
Jamal's wife spoke out without looking at them as her eyes still fixedly stared to her husband on the sand.
"Let the tribe guards in. I need my husband to be fully treated right away," with a chilly eyes, she gazed into the eyes of the stunned armoured Inhumane with the half empty elixir bottle near her husband then the commodore's. "If you don't want my wrath."
The stunned armoured Inhumane gulped. Her mere appearance alone was hostile; The commodore knew the shadow Inhumane and the next in line successor of the shadow creed were never beings who one could rile, acknowledging if he pressed any further against them it would be their loss, knowing fully well such a thing was proportional to a fight against the shadow creed, a creed their kind mostly feared who believed to house most of the great names and strength of the Inhumanes also rumored the Emperor's sister was among them.
… They are not someone to be taken lightly with. He pondered then he turned.
"We will take our leave then." He went on his Kirin and flew away without a second glance at them as every armoured Inhumanes there followed.
Node looked dumbfounded as he watched.
"They left just like that?!" He looked at Jamal's pregnant wife. "What did they talked about?" He couldn't hear a thing due to how far he was and the light showers of rain and wind.
"Go treat your wound, Peirce." Jamal's wife demanded, Peirce blinked as Lazarus removed his hand from his wet bushy hair went to Jamal on the ground, observing his injury as Sniffia went to Peirce and held his hand, affectionately.
"Like she said earlier, it wasn't your fault." Lazarus pointed out.
Peirce nodded as he sniffled. He looked at the other side of the dripping night sky, dissipating Inhumanes glows could be seen along the darkened clouds, wondering why he was earlier pressured by them.
Present day.
"What are you still doing here, I thought we said we will meet at the pink riverbank, a boat is waiting for us there but we didn't see you!" Node yelled on reaching Peirce. "Foxy, was right. You won't go until you do your lousy-cringy things."
"My boy, I thought you ran away." Lazarus said, stretching forth his hand while Node folded his arms with his face staring intently at Peirce, his mouth squeezed in disgust that he was soaking wet under the heavy rain.
My boy? Peirce blinked with the thought of Lazarus' sudden change of behavior overnight as he stared to the middle aged man's hand.
"I… actually came to say good bye and to thank him for protecting me before leaving."
"See… suit your self," Node sneered, "You've done enough by over thanking the whole village this morning."
Peirce swallowed turned as he scratched his wet bushy hair. "Actually, Node, could you go for me. I don't think I'm ready to see him, yet."
"I thought this morning your cowardliness were lost in you. Tch!" Node refolded his arms in disappointment.
Peirce dropped his arm. "Well—"
"Peirce!" Sniffia called from afar as she ran towards him. He turned with a smile seeing the two little girls behind Sniffia running also. Peirce waved at her. On reaching Peirce, she stopped right in front of him. "Are you hurt anywhere?" she asked, scanning his body distinctly, like a mother worried for her son's well being despite the heavy pour, embarrassed Peirce touched where he was Injured, to his amazement, the Elixir completely healed him then shook his head.
"I'm all good."
"…Good. Then!" Sniffia threw in a strong punch with her right fist deep into Peirce's belly producing a shock wave, distorting the drops of rain falling around them. "This is for not listening to me immediately, I told you to run away from them."
Peirce held his belly tightly, his eyes popped out, unable to breath for a second as he shakingly kneeled while Node scurred behind Lazarus, the two little girls just stared wondering what was going on between the two of them. Is these some kind of a way of showing affection?
"Chai... I'd answered you… didn't I?" Peirce strainingly grunted as words manageably slipped out from his mouth, more like his last words.
Node swallowed. Lazarus only helplessly watched them. Sniffia's eyes immediately flooded with tears and rain as she knelt down in front of Peirce hugging him passionately.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness you were not taken. I won't ever forgive myself… I won't!"
"Yeah… but I'm really dying, Sniffia~" Peirce wheezed out.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, for the punch... My hand just slipped." Sniffia sniffled, clasping her arms on Peirce's body.
"My bubbles… I never knew… it could slip this hard…" Peirce grunted, tightly holding his belly.
Who was hurt, who was crying?... Node and the two little girls blinked out of confusion.
"Can you stand?" Node questioned but in his right mind, he knew a direct punch that powerful against the belly, Peirce won't stand upright for days.
Lazarus laughed. "I missed this. Is good to see we are all back to our normal selves, most especially you, Peirce."
Peirce staggeringly stood up, supported by Sniffia's muscled shoulders and the two little girls'. Then he sneezed as his nose suddenly runs.
"I… think I have a—Achoo!" He sniffled while putting his hand on his nose.
"Great. He catches a cold. And you called yourself an Inhumane." Node turned, Lazarus turned also going to the pink river bank then Sniffia, the two little girls holding Peirce helped in moving him along with them.
"Let's get a change of clothes, shall we?" Lazarus said in front.
Above them, the heavy rain suddenly stopped as the clouds parted ways for the morning star which warmth and shine in great splendor over the desert of Coruscation once again, revealing an atmosphere around the boy called the Unlucky, that the ones who stayed with him when things were hard were considered to be his true friends. Smiling Jamal thought while holding onto his two newly born daughters near his wife just outside the wigwam he was treated while staring from afar at the boy fated to bring damnation or joy to the world he and his beloved family lived in.
.
.
.
In another strange location, somewhere around the unexplored Yorub-an ocean. under the darkened sky an bloodcurdling ocean many feared to reach, inhabiting terrible sea monsters along strong waves and great storm that droves and in turns splitting against the towering, wide and menacing white-crystalline barrier with much force. Suddenly on the surface of the raging sea a grapple snagged the ankle of an shadowy figure with eight arms, jerks him up in the air effortlessly, yanked him forward to it grappler then the shadowy figure with eight arms was smashed in the face by the grappler's fist which caused a seismic wave that divided the waters in certain depths as the punched shadowy figure smashed against the barrier creating many thunderclaps above, unsurprisingly the barrier absorbed the hit with no effect.
The shadowy figure who was smashed, slid down the barrier then kneeled on the raging sea near a standing little figure, surprisingly none of them were sinking. The shadowy figure with eight arms groaned as he stood. Within the great storm that blew viciously, the grappler with a noticeable large turtle shell-like on the back stood unshaken appeared as though he was dominating the fight against the two shadowy figures standing just behind the towering, wide and menacing white-crystalline barrier then the dominating shadowy figure with large turtle shell-like on the back spoke in an husky tone.
"Seems her words were true all along."