Ryuzio awoke in a room with an unfamiliar smell. It was very off-putting, since he was very accustomed to his smelly bed, and smelly sheets and—
He quickly got onto his butt, the bed feeling a little too soft. He looked around, finding Lyla asleep on a chair next to the door of the room, beneath the audiophone on the wall.
Ryuzio gasped, looking down at his arm, memories of before he went to sleep hitting him. He immediately covered his mouth, trying not to make even a hint of noise.
He gulped, hanging a foot down the bed. Then the other one. As he climbed onto his feet, he glanced toward Lyla. She was still fast asleep.
Ryuzio exhaled softly, relieved. He tiptoed toward the door, keeping his head toward the blue-haired doctor—
Lyla smacked her lips. Ryuzio froze, holding his breath. She turned away.
Ryuzio sighed of relief, wiping his forehead. He turned back to the door, slowly turning its handle, then opening it just wide enough to fit through.
He looked at the sleeping doctor before sliding through the doorway. "Thank you for helping me, Lyla," he whispered before he stepped out. "Now I can go and save Melga—"
He froze in his steps as his eyes fell upon the man sleeping on a chair just a couple steps ahead of him, outside the room. He gulped, covering his mouth once again. 'Old Man Jenro?'
He tiptoed sideways, keeping his torso turned toward the sleeping chief. After getting a safe distance away, he took a couple deep breaths. 'Safe… But what're you doing here, old man—?' His eyes fell upon the blood on the old man's sweater. 'Heh?'
Ryuzio remembered how he'd coughed blood before he blacked out in Melga's.
'Old Man Jenro…' he thought. 'You…were also coughing blood.'
He bowed, whispering, "Hope you get well soon, Mr. Jenro." With that, he turned away and walked toward the entrance. After wearing his shoes, he opened the door with as little sound as possible. Then he stepped out of Lyla's clinic.
Ryuzio knew where he had to go to find Melga—the forest at the foot of the mountain to the west. So he dashed toward the woodland without a second thought.
'Just you wait, Melga,' Ryuzio thought, gritting his teeth. 'This time I'll punch him so hard he won't be able to get up! I'm feeling tough as a dragon after that nap! Bring it!'
###
Lyla woke up to a sharp sound. She rubbed her eyes, yawning. 'Water…'
She got up from her chair, walking to the bedside to get some water. 'Guess after I called the skyguards I just crashed.' She poured some water into a glass, downing it just after. 'But I saved Ryuzio, so I've already done my part—"
She spat out the water onto the empty bed, the kid being gone from there. "Ryuzio?" She looked at the far side of the room and even underneath the bed. "Don't tell me you ran away…" she said aloud in panic. "How reckless can you be! You're going to die…! No…I can't let this happen…"
Lyla swiftly paced across the room, yanking open the door and walking out—
"Lyla!" Jenro said, sweating, holding a chair to his front as a shield. "Run away! Go!"
"Dad!" Lyla said, heart beating faster as she looked down the hallway. "What's going on?"
Then she found what her father was holding that chair for. Three unknown figures stood ahead, blocking the main entrance.
The middle one had white hair and hung a coat on his shoulders, and was wearing some sort of metallic headband. The one to his right clearly had a sword behind him that was too massive to hide, and the one to his left was sickly pale and creepy looking. Were these the Volants Ryuzio was talking about?
Lyla gulped, ducking behind her father, hands on his shoulders. "Dad, who are these people?"
Jenro was breathing heavily as he spoke. "There's no time for that, Lyla! You should run away! Now! These men just broke in and when I asked them for their identity, they claimed proudly that they were Volants!"
"No…" Lyla breathed out, eyes widening. The one thing she was afraid of all along just came true.
Ryuzio wasn't supposed to survive. These men failed to finish the job the first time and had returned to correct that. However, Ryuzio… The boy was gone! But even if he hadn't run off, these men wouldn't be foolish enough to leave witnesses. Not after their last failed attempt in ending the kid's life.
But why, why did they want to kill Ryuzio so bad?
'Calm down, Lyla,' she thought. 'Think rationally. Don't just assume stuff. Maybe they don't even know who Ryuzio—'
"Is Ryuzio here?" the man in the middle said, stepping forward. "I just want to know if he's safe, that's all."
"No!" Jenro shouted, pushing forward the chair he held. "We don't know who that is! So, back off! Go away!"
The man with the sword sighed, shaking his head. "No need to shout, old geezer. You think we got same ears as you?"
"You got a talent of making things worse, you know that," said the sickly man. "Try to act normal every once in a while."
The swordsman snorted. "Have you ever looked at your mug? What do you even know about normal, Boneman?"
"Sorry for not being a musclehead like you," said the baggy-eyed man. "Not everyone has the power to feel superior just because of the way they look."
"Don't feel so sad," the swordsman replied. "I absolutely swear you'll find someone someday who can understand your language—"
The man in the middle turned to them. "Out."
The swordsman turned around and started walking toward the front door along with the sickly man. "This is only happening because you can't make more butterflies to search the area!"
"Fireflies, meathead," the sickly man said dryly.
They exited the building shortly.
"Are you more comfortable now, old man?" asked the white-haired Volant. "Even if you're not, just let me see Ryuzio once. We need to go take care of some other business after that."
'He's talking about Melga!' Lyla thought. 'They're going to take her away!'
"Who told you that a kid with that name will be here?" Jenro said loudly. "You clearly have a misunderstanding, young man, so turn around now or I WILL be forced to use violence against you in self defense—"
The white-haired man closed the distance between them without hesitation. "I don't think we have any misunderstanding here, old man." He leaned to look Jenro in the eyes. "In fact, now I know for a fact that Ryuzio is here, since I never mentioned anything about him being a kid."
Jenro gulped, sweat dripping off his chin.
'This guy's good,' Lyla thought. 'Come on, Lyla, think of something… HUH! Wait…'
"That…doesn't prove anything," Jenro said, voice quivering, waving around the chair. "This is a tiny village; of course we'd know the names of our fellow villagers. However, there's no one inside of here with the name—"
"Yes, he's here," Lyla said, stepping aside and pointing to the door of the operating room. "Ryuzio is in here. He was badly injured, so we brought him here to treat him. I'm a doctor and I operated on him. He's stable now, so you can see him." What were these sentences she was spouting? She hoped she sounded convincing enough—even after all of this being true.
Jenro looked up to her with a shocked expression. "Lyla…?"
The white-haired man's expression softened, almost to a smile, as he grew taller. "You saved him! Thank you! Can I enter?"
"Um…" Lyla said, opening the door of the operating room. "Sure…go ahead. I'll be right behind you."
"Alright!" he said, entering the room.
Lyla swiftly turned toward her father, grabbing him by his shoulders. "Run, dad! Run through the back exit as fast as you can! I have a plan, but this guy's friends are not something we can take on. So get out of here while I deal with him."
"Lyla…" Jenro said, still not fully convinced. "How could you tell him that Ryuzio is here…? I mean, yes, we also want to save ourselves, but—"
"Dad!" Lyla said with urgency from the doorway. "If you ever thought of me as smart, now's the time to believe in it. This plan relies on you getting away, since I don't have a large window of time to execute it."
"But, Lyla," Jenro said, eyebrows furrowing. "That is a dangerous man—"
"I lost mom," Lyla said, eyes watering as she closed the door of the operating room. "I won't lose you too."
Jenro's face sunk as she left him outside the operating room and turned toward the white-haired man.
She walked closely to the wall, and facing the Volant, she picked up a pair of sharp scissors. She carefully got behind him.
"Where is Ryuzio?" the man asked, facing the bed. "Is he in the toilet?"
"He must be." Lyla inched closer to the man, hiding the pair of scissors behind her back. "Where could he have gone otherwise?"
The man turned around. "Don't tell me you lied to me—"
"What're you going to do if I did!" Lyla shouted, bracing her will as she aimed the scissors tip-first at the man's neck. "DIE—!"
The scissors broke upon contact with the man's neck.
"Wh—?" The disbelief of what just occurred widened Lyla's eyes.
"Using your medical knowledge to hurt others," said the white-haired man, unfazed by such a lethal strike. "I know a man who does the same. Though, I think he's a bit shorter than you. Or maybe a lot, actually."
Lyla stepped back, gasping. "What…are you?"
"Me?" the man said with a smile. "A real Volant. Someone's whose wings can't be tore apart, since I have none to begin with." He stepped toward her. "Anyway, what was that all about just now? What's your next move?"
Lyla gulped, eyes rolling leftward. 'I need to get a knife—"
The Volant offered her the tray of surgical tools. "Is this what you're looking for?"
"Huh?" Lyla said with horror in her eyes. "When did…? How did—?"
"Please," the man said softly. "I need to save Ryuzio. For that I need you to tell me where he is right now."
Lyla fell to her knees. "Alright, I'll tell you everything. But please…don't kill my father…" She looked up, meeting his eyes. "I beg of you—!"
The Volant cocked back his head in confusion. "What're you on?"
Only now Lyla properly looked deep into those blue eyes of his. Such pure eyes. Had Lyla and Jenro been the one misunderstanding the situation all along?
The Volant sat with one knee on the floor, lowering to her eye level. "I came here because someone in Melga's restaurant got hurt. If it wasn't Melga, I don't know who it was. But whoever it is, I don't want it to be Ryuzio. Since this is the only medical place here, I knew if Ryuzio was found by someone, he'd only be brought here. But if that's not the case, then not only Melga, but Ryuzio has also gone missing."
"You…" Lyla said, covering her mouth. "You know Melga?"
"Yes," he said with a nod "She's missing as of now but I'm hoping she's okay. My squad has blocked every path to Klanta, and we're already searching the whole border, so no one is leaving this village. But if you know anything about either of them, this would be the perfect time to tell me. You're information can make a big difference in saving their lives."
"Um…" Lyla collected herself, trying to think straight. "Everything I told you about Ryuzio is true… My dad and I did bring him here, and I did treat his wounds… He told me some Volants took Melga away. Ryuzio wanted to go after them, so I sedated him because I know how reckless he can be. But when I got up…"
The man placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for helping Ryuzio. You've done enough. Now leave the rest to us." He stood on his feet. "Do you think you might know where he ran off to?"
Lyla tried to get back onto her shaking feet—
The man pulled her up gently, making her stand straight. "I said everything will be fine. You have my word on that."
Lyla gulped, looking again into those deep blue eyes—
'They said they're taking her to a hideout they have in the forest!' Ryuzio's voice echoed in her head. 'I don't want Melga to get hurt!'
"Ryuzio mentioned them having a hideout in the forest!" Lyla said with urgency. "That's where they took Melga! Ryuzio must've run off to find that place."
The Volant nodded. "I see…" He walked toward the door. "Your help is appreciated. I'll make sure I make the most out of it."
Lyla gulped. "H-Hey…"
The Volant turned, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah…?"
"So, you're not the Volants that hurt Ryuzio and took away Melga, right?" Lyla asked hesitantly. "Just making sure."
"Um…" he said, looking confused by the question—as he should've been. "No…?"
"So…" Lyla said, not looking him in the eyes. "You're a…good Volant?" That was an oxymoron since there were no actual "good" Volants. Criminal was a replaceable word for Volant. There were no "good" criminals. Them not being good was what made them criminals in the first place.
But still… This Volant's actions had intrigued Lyla. So she had to ask him.
The white-haired man smiled. "I'm Zyon, a real Volant. I don't play with good or bad. I do what I think is right." With that, he left the room.
A "real" Volant? What did that mean?
'Zyon…' Lyla thought. 'Hope you can save Ryuzio and Melga…'
Jenro entered the room shortly.
"Dad—!"
He walked up to her and embraced her tightly. "I knew you were a smart girl, Lyla. You saved both of us."
"Dad, it hurts!" Lyla said with a smile. "I'm happy that you're fine. But, we just misunderstood the whole situation."
Jenro let her go. "What do you mean?"
"That man was not a Volant, Dad," Lyla said happily. "He was a REAL Volant!" Whatever it meant…
###
Zyon walked out the medical building, stepping up to Brythe and Erixon.
"So," Brythe asked. "You got something?"
Zyon nodded. "We're going to search the whole forest to the west. I'll go to the middle, you go left and right."
Erixon nodded. "Should I call back some fireflies for assistance?"
Zyon looked thoughtful.
"If you do that," Brythe pointed, "communication from a section of the border will be cut completely. Only audiophones work in a village like this. We don't have those. So we only have your glowing butterflies to rely upon."
"But if there's a stronger possibility to find Ryuzio in the forest," Erixon added, "it would be more sensible to use the fireflies to scout, especially because I can't cover a large area without them, and Zyon's tracking skills are questionable at best."
"Fluck!" Zyon cursed. "Should've worked on my Outsurge when I had the chance!"
"Regretting will only help us in wasting time," Brythe said flatly. "And I don't think we have the luxury to do so at this moment."
"You seeing this guy?" Zyon wrapped an arm around Erixon's shoulders, speaking into his ear, a finger pointed at Brythe. "Just because he has a better Outsurge than us, he thinks he's better."
Erixon sighed, shaking his head. "Can't believe such arrogant people exist."
Brythe shook Zyon by his shoulders. "Absolutely not the time for this sort of thing! Let's get going."
Zyon tightened his headband. "Right!" He turned toward Erixon and gave him a thumbs-up. "Do what you think is best for this situation, Erixon, you're smarter than me."
Erixon faced the direction of the forest. "If anything goes wrong, it's on you."
"Sure!" Zyon smiled, cracking his knuckles. "Let's go."
"RIGHT!" his squadmates said in unison.
###
Ryuzio walked into the building in the middle of the forest, suppressing his fear. He was feeling fatigued after running all around the forest to find this place, but there was no time for rest.
"What're you doing here, boy?" said the captain of the Volant squad, exhaling smoke from his nose.
Ryuzio gulped, the glaring eyes from around the giant room tensing him. Most of the men were standing beside large vehicles carrying cages. It was not bright enough for Ryuzio to tell what lay inside those big cages. But it was all unimportant, since the man he had to punch was right across from him, sitting on a couch, three men sitting on the couch to his right, two on the one to his left.
"I did sense some Ether in that puny punch of yours, boy," Aksel said with a demeaning grin. "But who knew I forgot to put any Ether behind mine, otherwise what could explain you being alive?"
The man who first showed Aksel's bounty—Dref—was sitting to his right. "You're so kind, Boss. Guess you did go soft on him because he's just a kid."
Ryuzio took steps toward the couches in the middle of the room—
"Ryuzio!"
Ryuzio's eyes widened as he turned his head leftward. He found Melga tied to a metal beam. "Melga…"
'She's alive! I have to somehow get her out of here!'
"Huh?" Aksel said with a sour expression. "Don't tell me you've come to rescue her. Not even Wanney could be that dumb."
A man next to Dref snorted. "Agreed."
'There are so many of them. How will I get to Melga?'
"What's the reason you decided to come back, boy?" Aksel asked dryly. "Are you this eager to see the angels?"
'This time he will kill me if I get too close… I have to keep my cool and move slowly—"
"You spending your time with those wannabes too much, huh?" Aksel said, waving his smokestick. "You really believe they're the real deal? Do I need to remind you your place?
"Just like I reminded that white-haired witch his?"
The annoying cackling of his squadmates broke out. Aksel leaned back into his couch, laughing with his mouth wide open.
Ryuzio felt the same sensation he felt before he punched Aksel in Melga's restaurant, a surge of energy inside of him raging. "Take it back…"
"Huh?" Aksel said, looking confused. "You said something, boy? You're so below me that the voice just doesn't get up here!"
The cackling of his men continued.
"You're the frauds here," Ryuzio shouted. "Zyon is a real Volant!"
"So why didn't he fight me, huh, boy?"
Ryuzio pointed toward the large bearded man. "Because he's a great man!"
"HAH!" Aksel laughed loudly. "What do you even know about anything, boy? Nothing! Can you even go to the toilet alone in the night?"
One of the men on the couch to his left slammed another to the ground, laughing along with others as they did so.
"Tell me," Aksel said, snorting. "How in the fluck do you know that? You don't!"
Ryuzio inhaled, burning hotter with every second. The red energy he saw earlier on his fist started wrapping around his entire body. However, this time, it was wispier, almost like a weak fire.
"Oh, that's a good Ethersurge you got going there," Aksel said with a chuckle. "FOR YOUR AGE!" His squadmates laughed—obviously.
Ryuzio sprinted toward the "9 million guy", fist pulled back.
"I know because I'm also A REAL VOLANT!"