The Spectre

Chapter Eighteen

"You do realise that he was on our side, don't you?" the woman with spiked red and black hair said, glaring at Robert with anger. "He was going to betray us, I'm sure of it!" Robert replied, anger poisoning his voice, and the woman sighed. "Well there is nothing more of it we can do now," the woman grunted, leaning over the wooden desk of the small room. "Well, the best we can do now is prepare the Resistors for battle." Robert stuttered several times at the woman's words, shock in his eyes as he finally managed to blurt out, "What do you mean battle?" The woman laughed, looking at Robert with disappointed eyes before saying, "Look at what you have turned into, Robert! Where is the famed Prodigy, who helped fight back the Zodiac Empire all those years ago? Where is the one person I trusted?"

Robert looked down, feeling his face grow hot under the woman's glare, and the woman finally looked satisfied. "We are planning to head out to the Arena where the Spectre Games take place. If we are successful in our mission, then we will be able to push the Zodiacs back from the area completely. They will not like it, I assume, considering they are about to complete their new construction." Robert looked up again, confusion on his face, "What do you mean their new construction?" The woman sighed, apparently expecting Robert to know what she was talking about, but then she explained. "The Zodiacs are working on extending the whole of the Arena to be a Super-Arena. There will be three separate battlegrounds, with Spectres fighting at the same time. The first is a large pirate ship on the water, even though it's inside its large section. The second is a large wooden walkway full of the old-styled markets, as a dock beside more water, and the final one is a sandy place with a large wooden clock-tower in the center."

Robert's mouth hung open in surprise, "When did this start?" the woman picked up several pieces of paper, read through them quickly, looked back up at Robert, and said, "About a year ago." Robert groaned, thinking quickly as the woman set aside the papers. "Cleo...I'm sorry," Robert whispered, and the woman, Cleo, looked into his eyes. "Robert, you need to sort yourself out. The only way we can hope to push back the Zodiac Empire is with you." With that she made sure her sword was secured to her waist and hurried from the room, leaving Robert alone.

***

"Sir," the Black Knight said as he entered the room, standing in the doorway and saluting the man before him. "Did you manage to exterminate them?" asked the gravelly voice, and the Black Knight shook his head. "They were more than a match for me and my men. However, we did bring back the lost soldier." The man whom the Black Knight was speaking to seemed surprised, "I don't recall having any soldiers near there before." The Black Knight shook his head yet again and said, "This time he is here to stay." The Black Knight stepped aside, and Jez stepped forwards. He gasped loudly, almost fainting from the shock of whom he was staring at. "Hello, son," said the General, not a single mark or dent on his skin from the explosion that Jez was so sure had killed him.

"You're alive!" Jez shouted, unable to believe it, and the General chuckled. "I am not killed so easily. Why have you returned?" Jez was too shocked to answer, so the Black Knight stepped forwards, "He thought he was doing the right thing, sir, but then the Spectres betrayed him, and he was left alone with me. He realizes his mistake and, more importantly, is willing to begin work with us again." The General did not seem surprised by the last part, because he sighed, stared at Jez, and nodded. "If you think this is the right thing to do then you can help us again," he muttered with a sudden warmth in his voice that Jez had not heard before. Creak. The sound made Jez suddenly turn on the spot, seeing a Zodiac Soldier with a gun aimed at his forehead.

Jez instinctively dropped to the ground as a loud bang resounded around the room, and the Zodiac fell back, staggering until ultimately falling with blood pooling from a wound in his chest. Jez looked over his shoulder to see his father lowering his pistol, his eyes clouded with confusion. "I thought you told them to not harm my son?" the General whispered to the Black Knight, but to his surprise, the Black Knight nodded. "I did! Just before we attacked I told them that if we bring your son back, no one was to harm him!" The General looked even more confused and then turned to Jez, gazing at his son. "I tracked down someone a day or two ago. They released a contract on behalf of the Zodiac Empire. If someone kills me and brings my body to their organization, they will receive three trillion dollars." The General groaned loudly, sounding exasperated.

"So now my own soldiers are trying to kill you, even though you have finally realized we are the good guys," the General whispered, and Jez nodded, feeling ashamed as the General began pacing around the room. "There is something I would like to show you," he muttered, his head snapping up as the idea popped into his head, and he headed towards the door. "You come to, as well as some of our best swordsmen, and the Kernel," the General said to the Black Knight, who saluted and followed the General out. "Should our Elite Guards come as well?" the Black Knight asked, and the General nodded. "The Prodigy has been underground for years, and without their leader, the Resistors are weak. We just need to show the power of this new Super-Arena," the General said, and the Black Knight nodded loyally.

"Where is it we are going?" Jez asked curiously, and the General turned to look at him, reaching up to the mask around the bottom half of his face and tugging it off, revealing his face completely. He tossed the mask aside, apparently deciding there was no longer a need for it, and Jez hurried to catch up. "We are going to the Arena. Or should I say, the improved Arena," the General said, and Jez felt a shiver run down his spine. It was not a shiver of fear. It was a shiver of excitement.

***

"Please, just let me make things right!" Robert said as he followed Cleo down the staircase and into the main warehouse, and Cleo sighed. "If you really want to help, you will fight and help us defeat this threat before it is too late!" Robert looked down, trying to find a way of answering, but he could not think of any. "While you are...thinking about it, I am preparing to send my people to battle!" Cleo hissed, and she marched off once more, leaving Robert to hurry to catch up again. "We can still go back for Jez! We know where we left him, he could still be there!" Robert said desperately, and Cleo stopped again, looking angry. "We can't! We were watching your little cave. We watched you kick him out of the truck, and we saw the Black Knight, of all people, helping him out! We have now confirmed he is working for the Zodiac Empire!"

Robert paled, and Cleo began walking again, each step sounding like a battle cry. "Robert, just stay here while we sort this mess out!" Cleo sighed, coming to a stop beside a wall of weapons, where she picked out a sword. The sword's blade was made of complete gold, the style itself looking like a rapier, while the actual hilt of the sword was wooden, the guard looking like the skull of a small animal. "You still have it," Robert whispered, and Cleo chuckled, nodding her head as she sheathed the sword to her belt. "The Prodigy sword. I have taken the mantle, more or less, but I am not the true Prodigy." Robert sighed, gazing at Cleo with something like admiration in his eyes, and Cleo turned away from him. "What do we do now?" Zack asked, stepping forwards from a group of Resistors and standing before Cleo.

"Prepare yourself," Cleo declared, "Because we are going to battle!" It took them almost an hour to move all fifty Resistors out, but by the time the final truck of armed soldiers left, Robert was left alone at the entrance of their secret warehouse, feeling more alone than ever. Something glinted out the corner of his eye, and Robert turned to see something he had just been thinking about. It was his old sword, the one he had had before he had become the full Prodigy. It was silver, the style of the sword a foil, and the silver hilt rested again the green tunic of the Prodigy's suit. Robert sighed and took a step towards the suit, picking up both of the boots and holding them in his hands. They were the old Flights. Robert sighed and dropped them, but they didn't hit the floor. They floated before his eyes.