Richard: Sorry...om
He put the bombs in their head...
Sylvia slowly replies, "Richard, that's got nothing to do with you... There's no need to apologize for that."
He replies telling his bride to be, "Hopefully the memories of the Edson name won't all be bad after this..."
Richard continues to say, "Outside of my dad, Elias was one of my heroes. You know this Sylv...The speech where he talks about Making selfless progress for the world instead of selfish progress really tugged at my heartstrings...So to help the world progress selflessly I joined the armed forces as a pilot after failing at becoming a soldier on the field...When I was in those airships, tanks, and planes I felt like I was continuing that selfless legacy my father and your father did to help stop the war. It was great helping people in my own way...Then I met your father. Meeting my hero changed my life in more ways than one...Because I also met you that day...As we got to know each other I fell madly in love with you...I didn't know it back then but now I do...When I was selflessly throwing my body through battlefields saving innocent lives and looking for survivors. I was making their world a little better giving them a ray of light for a brighter tomorrow. I realized protecting the world means protecting the ones you love. That's where that selflessness comes from...ha... wow...that's probably the reason why I'm where I'm at right now...I'm saying all this because I don't think I'm going to make it when you get here. So Sylvia, from a guy who tried to live his life selflessly I'm going to ask a selfish thing from you...please turn on your vid com so I can see your beautiful face one last time. I don't look as good as I used to right now so I'll keep my end off..."
Sylvia replies, "Okay..."
The video communication turns on and Sylvia pops up on the screen just as he asked for. Richard's pupils expand as he sees his fiancée for what will be his last time. He keeps his end off so Sylvia would not see the bloody state he's in.
The piolet smiles at the vision of his bride to be before him and tells Sylvia, "You were always a pretty crier." Sylvia laughs and says through her tears, "You always say that when you'd see me watch my shows." Richard replies with a smile, "I didn't know what else to say." They both laugh through their tears. Richard looks above him and sees himself surrounded by friends and loved ones. Their faces filled with sadness some with their fists clenched in anger.
Richard smiles and then tells his fiancée, "I guess I will be leaving the Edson name with some good memories After all..." He looks to Maxwell and says, "Hey stupid of me to do that right? I know, I know..." Max struggles to hold his tears back and tells Richard, "Hey man. It was stupid...but it was also the bravest thing you could've done..." Then Richard raises his hand and motions for Max to lean in closer. Richard tells Maxwell, "I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but I'm giving the entire company my dad built to your sister..." Sarah and Max's eyes widen in shock as they hear this. Richard adds on to the news saying, "I was hoping this gesture can make up for the lost time in repairing this world...she's gonna need your help to Max. A great soldier and you've always been that, cannot be beaten with a great engineer by their side. The example of that is everywhere."
Maxwell now with tears running down his face says to Richard, "I hear you Rich...I'll do that..." Richard motions for Maxwell to lean in closer. As he does this. Richard tells Max a final piece of information that changes the emotion he's currently showing. He looks to Richard and simply nods.
Richard looks toward Sylvia's way and now sees his fiancée who's an emotional wreck. His voice begins to weaken. Max notices this and then puts the phone closer to Richard's mouth for Sylvia to hear. He tells her, "I'll always love you, Sylvia..." Through her tears she says, "I'll always love you too..."
As Richard's vision begins to fade. He takes one last look at his friends. To his surprise, he sees his sister with them in the background. Richard's eyes well up as he looks at his sister for the first time in years. Richard says to her, "Madeline...please forgive him...forgive dad..."
Richard's eyes close slowly while he stays locked on to his sister almost as if he was waiting for her to answer. He does not get that answer. At least in the world of the living.
Richard Edson closes his eyes for the final time leaving his friends and family. Surrounded by loved ones Max clutches Richard's lifeless body. He tells Richard, "You won't die for nothing..." Sarah asks Max, "Who's Madeline?" Maxwell tells Sarah, "That's his sister. She died as a hostage when a group of land pirates took her in asking for Caine and Edson tech." Sarah wipes her tears away and says, "This is so wrong..."
Shock and sadness overwhelm the entire crew. No words are spoken for minutes. Only the sadness in the air could be heard and felt. Then Supremeo is the first to speak. He asks the entire crew, "How did this happen?" Everyone looks to Supremeo but can't find the words to answer his question. The look on Supremeo's face takes them back. After all, the aiutu named Supremeo who bares Elias's experience with his friends knows the familiar pain his creator felt when he lost his wife, his friend's daughter, and his friend.
Deep down Supremeo feels he's failed at one of his duties Elias and Sylvia made him for. That duty was to protect the innocent.
Supremeo looks around. No one says anything.
Until he hears a voice. It says, "I'll tell you..." To Supremeo's surprise the medic droid who knocked him out steps forward. King Yafeu replies, "Speak Cibor."
Moments ago within the coliseum.
To the left, an inekium staff crashes against a combat droid's torso breaking it in half.
To the right, a trio of combat droids gets their bodies destroyed by crackling purple electric arrows. They rip through the bodies shutting the heads off and leaving them on the floor. The arrows reverse back like a rocket and reattach themselves to the attacker's gauntlets.
The attacker was Sarah. She balls her first up looks to her companion to her left and says, "These new attack arrows are awesome." The companion to her left is Diwata, she sarcastically says, "I'm surprised these droids have got you flashing your new attacks so early Sarah."
She laughs and replies, "Guess I was just anxious to see what our new weapons tech can do."
Sarah notices Diwata is just using her staff to take out the combat droids. For a moment Sarah catches herself in awe as she moves with enough skill and grace she that doesn't need the aid of any other piece of tech other than her staff at the moment. Then she looks around at everyone else within the coliseum they're fighting the droids as well. Sarah tells herself, "Wow the people of Avalon are badasses. Droids and humans fighting side by side. Amazing!"
From out of nowhere a combat droid jumps on Sarah's back. The droid wraps an arm around Sarah's neck. Choking her while raising its other arm. A scythe-like blade pops out of its arm and SLAMS it against Sarah's body.
Luckily for her, the armor she was wearing was strong enough to withstand a blade from a low level combat droid.
The droid notices the blade has been shattered. And proceeds to ignite its laser beams.
Sarah motions for her gauntlets to shoot the combat droid's neck. But is unable to aim and get a shot off. Luckily for her, she's saved from an attacker who shoots the droid's neck from behind leaving a hole big enough to see right through it.
The droid's head falls backward shooting the laser intended for Sarah's head to the skies. The droid releases his grip and topples backward after Sarah pushes it back. Shocked at her potential death. She then hears a voice. It says, "Hey!! I'm not one to ask for too many favors. But I just got your back! Would you please help watch mine?" Sarah looks to see who saved her and to her surprise it's Cibor. He shot the robot with the powerful gun he uses as a cane. With it still smoking from the barrel. He says, "Sh!t...I think that was my last round."
Out of nowhere two combat droids jump behind Cibor readying an attack, but they are shot down instantly by Sarah's purple arrows. She then unhooks a holstered item and says, "Catch!" Cibor catches it and looks at it. He thinks to himself, "This is just a metal oval?" "Now back to back!" Sarah continued to say. Cibor guards Sarah's blind spot and she guards his. Cibor a little annoyed shakes the metal oval to Sarah and says, "What do I do with this? Just bash em?"
Sarah Replies, "push the switch dude." Cibor examines the object further and sees a red button. He follows her direction, the oval breaks open and starts to take the shape of a high-tech cannon. Cibor flashes a grin and says, "Now that's what I'm talking about!"
While being back to back Cibor shoots the cannon at a duo of incoming combat droids while on the other side Sarah uses the purple tech arrows to take out a few more. Cibor tells Sarah, "Haha! This is amazing your highness! It's been a while since I had to protect something other than myself! Forgive me if I seem too excited at the wrong moment!"
Sarah tells Cibor, "Your highness? Please call me Sarah. And no I don't have a problem at all. You can thank Sylvia Caine for that blaster." Cibor smiled then says, "Hmm Caine Tech?! Lucky me! Haha!"
Cibor continues to mow down Sigmond's horde with the blaster. Droids fall to his trigger finger one by one. If Cibor was human they would say muscle memory kicked it. But he is not, Sarah sees Cibor attack with such accuracy speed, and determination. She remembers the conversation between her and Bast she tells herself, "This droid is simply living out his purpose to protect." She takes another look around her and sees the citizens of Avalon in a different light again. "They all are trying to protect each other!" is what Sarah thinks to herself.
Cibor shoots down a combat droid Diwata didn't notice behind her then they both guard each other's back. Sarah continues to ponder the droid's current battle while being in the middle of that same fight herself.
She thinks to herself, "There can't be such thing as a rogue droid!... These droids were attacking us because of a human creating a mind control device....this is so wrong. They were banished here because of us! We gotta make this right for these guys."
Another droid from Sarah's blindside gets taken down with Cibor's help.
Over the energy blasts, bullets, lasers, and metal clanging against each other. Cibor yells a message toward Sarah so she could hear it. He tells her, "Hey! Please pay attention! Kinda hard to be in two places at once!"
Sarah smirks and tells herself, "Cibor is right."
She flips over a combat droid pulling its head clean from its body.
Sarah shoots down another two. Then stands with Diwata and Cibor with their backs against each other mowing down Sigmond's horde the best way they can.
Moments Later.
Exhausted, Diwata plunges her inekium staff into the dirt.
Sarah unhooks her armor and plops to the floor.
Cibor walks between both of them and says, "Haha! If I could feel it I'd be dead tired myself!"
Sarah looks up and sees Cibor handing her blaster back. She smiles at Cibor and tells him, "Keep it you're pretty good with that thing."
All three companions take a look at their surroundings and they see almost every combat droid from Sigmond's horde destroyed. Maxwell and Zachary are in the corner dismantling a few handfuls that are left.
Cibor walks toward a pile of droid heads and talks to them. In a calming manner. He says to them, "sorry we had to put the lot of you through this. I promise you we will set you right back up! Brand spanking new!" Cibor smirks and leans in telling a droid head, "If you want to know how I know it's because I'm kinda cool with the King, and he promised to do the same thing for me! Trust me! He has a soft spot for the droids that served in the war. I'm one of them! Bast told us you all were under mind control and to save your memory cards so we can restore you."
Cibor tilts to the side and sees Richard in the distance talking to the droid heads just like him. He minds his business then looks back at the droids and continues to say, "Cool thing about being broken is you have a story to tell at get-togethers." Cibor feels a presence over his shoulder. He knows its Richard. Cibor turns around and says to Richard in the most authoritative tone, "What the hell do you want?" Richard nervously stutters, "Oh I um... Forgive me. It's just amazing seeing you try to brighten these guys' day when it looks like you've already been through so much..." Cibor softens his glare toward Richard then tells him, "That's all we have here." Richard asks, "And what is that?" Cibor replies, "The hope for a better tomorrow. When all things get dark. There's always tomorrow and the work you've put in to build a better tomorrow also." Richard's interest in the droid's perspective shows in his body language. He nods as Cibor continues to say, "Without hope Avalon's infrastructure would still be decimated, without hope we wouldn't have seen peace with the humans who also live here in Avalon. Without hope, we wouldn't have seen generations of humans come after their first inhabitants...Without hope, there would be no light to shine on the good in this world to give it the will to prosper and beat the evil that also inhabits it."
Richard has his arms folded and smirks. He tells Cibor, "I like that...That's something similar my dad used to say before he..." Richard hears a small beeping sound and looks around to see where it's coming from Cibor ignores this and asks, "Before what??"
Richard looks around and asks, "Where is that sound coming from?!" Cibor looks as well. Richard sees the Combat droids decapitated heads flickering a red light through their eyes. His eyes widen as he looks around the entire coliseum every droid head is flickering the same way.
Richard now in panic mode screams, "EVERYONE!! MOVE AWAY FROM THE DROIDS!! "Richard looks at Cibor noticing he is on one leg. Richard picks up the droid and runs for his life. As Richard runs looking for an open area he notices there isn't one for as far as the eye can see.
Richard keeps going and doesn't give up. Then through Cibor's eyes as he looks back a white light blankets itself over the coliseum. Pushing Cibor and Richard forward. Luckily The rest of the heroes armored in high-grade force field tech turn their shields on in the nick of time saving people in the range their tech would allow. But unlike them for Richard, he wanted to explore the center pile of the fight. Metal shards pierced through his back, neck, legs, and head. He collapses. While still clutching Cibor who was facing away from the explosion.
Cibor shocked tells Richard, "No! No! Why did you do that!?" The wounded piolet/driver tells the droid, "Seen you had 1 leg, looks like you coulda used the help...That whole thing you said about hope...it ain't too different outside these walls to...A guy like you would be needed to stay alive..."
As Richard says this his grip weakens and Cibor manages to break free. Cibor instantly runs screaming for help, "BAST, GUARDS, SOMEONE PLEASE HELP! PLEASE!!"
PRESENT TIME.
Cibor looks toward the entire crew and says, "A..and that's how it happened." Then he bows asking for forgiveness. Everyone tells Cibor, "it's okay."
Supremeo however is noticeably silent. He grimaces in anger to hide his pain. Then as every one notices this. Supremeo launches himself in the air. He ignites his meteor mode and flies away from the land of Avalon.
The entire crew looks up in confusion and wonder where could Supremeo have headed off.
ns 15.158.61.50da2
