MEANINGFUL DETOUR

The train started moving again. It seems the last stop was just a detour, a break before reaching the destination—perhaps even a lesson before an important test.

“How does it feel, being captured by the winners, huh? Are you mad you weren’t born an Amethystian?” said Riko, poking the hostage with her finger.

“Mister Souta… got killed by his own dream. I told him numerous times we shouldn’t advance too much. He was obsessed with catching you guys. He would have done anything to succeed,” he said, tied up and sitting on the train room’s seats with us.

“Anyway, let’s change the topic to something more positive. Aren’t these little robots amazing? They perform microsurgery like nothing. Your wounds are already closed, Doctor Arata, Ryo,” said Rin, picking one up from the table.

“Yes, all small rescue trains are equipped with our tools. These guys can fix everything, and we’re proud of them. The only thing they can’t repair is crystallization,” said Doctor Arata, picking up one as well. My eyes suddenly went wide, hearing that phrase.

“I gotta answer this. Sorry, everyone,” said Rin, answering the phone and leaving.

“Say, doc, what’s the deal with this disease? Do you know more about it? We didn’t have anyone to ask in the village,” said Riko, glancing at me. 

“It’s definitely an unfortunate condition, and also extremely classified. We can’t look into it very much.”

“Classified? Why would the government make it harder for everyone to learn about it?!” asked Riko, hitting the table with her palm.

“Umm, it’s probably because they’re still studying it, and they don’t want to misinform people. The condition is rare, after all,” he said, panicking a little.

“The train stopped?” said everyone together, noticing we had stopped again.

“Guys, I’ve received a call from the Amethystian army. We have to stop and help the nearby village, the Cuprite village, since it’s being attacked,” said Rin, pulling aside the curtains of the room.

“Help them? This wasn’t stated in our agreement. You said we’d be taken to the city,” I said, my hands on the table, tied together and close to my chin.

“Come on, Ryo, they also need—”

“That’s right, but now all of you are part of the army, so you have to obey any command in order to get what you want,” said Rin, looking seriously at me.

“Let’s just make it quick at least,” I said, getting up from my seat, about to leave already.

“Hold on a second. Take these glasses first. Don’t worry, they won’t break easily or get in your way,” she said, handing them to us.

“What are these for?” asked Masashi while putting them on.

“Zolt Glasses. We can communicate with them, and I can help you guys by downloading data and analyzing what you see on the battlefield. I’ll stay here and guard the train. Those were the orders,” she said, sitting down and opening the table’s projector, which provided a map of the village.

“Let’s move on to the next battle, Masashi, Riko,” I said, accepting the army’s order whether I liked it or not.

“Take these shields too. They’ll help you. The front part of them is powered by solar energy. That’s all I can do for you…”

“Thank you, Captain Rin. We’ll be back soon,” said Masashi, hopping off the train at last.

We began walking toward the village, since the train station was positioned outside of it.

“This area of plain seems very peaceful. I wonder how the village will be when we get there,” said Masashi, looking around the area.

“We’re basically going back to that hell again… seeing that chaos again, witnessing that day again. It never really sank in until now,” said Riko, keeping her head down.  I could see the slight tremor in her hands. She kept them stuffed in her pockets, probably hoping we wouldn't notice.

“Only those willing to go back to hell are able to come back getting what they want. Also, it’s not like you lost anything,” I said, moving forward on the path toward the village, walking in front of them.

“Ryo, that’s enough!” shouted Masashi, about to grab my shoulder from behind.

“He’s right, Masashi. Only you guys could lose someone, but your father and Ryo's mom escaped. I had no one to lose—”

“Someone please help us!!” shouted a woman desperately, a sign we had arrived at the first houses of the village.

“Let’s hurry up and see what’s going on,” said Masashi, sprinting together with Riko, passing by me. I then followed them at a slower pace, watching the sun disappearing into the village.

“Is this where they went?” I said, going into the village too, searching between the houses.

“Ryo, take cover quickly,” said Masashi quietly, hiding behind a fence. “Those humanoids across the street have been hunting the villagers.”

“Hunting? But they don’t have any weapons in their hands,” I said, noticing a robot holding his empty hand against a house. All of a sudden, the wall broke into pieces, revealing a family hiding behind it in their home.

“Dammit, they’re going to die if we don’t do something,” said Riko, peeking at the robot and shooting him with her regular-grade rifle.

“This is bad. He’s coming for us now,” said Masashi, seeing that the robot had left the family and was distracted by her bullets.

“Ryo, do you hear me? Use your shield to block his punch and then hit him with it,” said Rin through the glasses. I jumped in front of the two and blocked it as she said.

“It melted him!? This thing is no joke,” I said, thrusting the shield into the robot’s body even further.

“Electromagnetic field manipulation gloves. When that thing touched the heated front of the shield, it did nothing. Be careful not to get touched on your skin,” she said, analyzing the data I was seeing through the glasses.

“Are you okay? Did it hurt you anywhere?” said Riko, who went to the family.

“Are there only robots attacking the village?” I asked, looking around the destroyed bodies of some of them. It seemed that the villagers fought back.

“No… there’s a man who’s always surrounded by them. You gotta save us from him! He’s destroying our village—”

“You’re talking too much. I’m just following orders,” he said, shooting the father of the family.

“Get back into the house!!” shouted Riko, extending her hand to them.

“You got distracted. Have you kids not learned in the academy to focus on the battle at all times?” he said, opening fire at Riko this time.

“Sorry, but we just enrolled. I’ll keep that in mind,” I said while throwing myself in front of her, holding up my shield.

“It melted the bullets on contact? Interesting. Mind lowering that thing down?” he said, surprised about the shield, taunting us. Masashi returned fire, however—

“The bullets just dropped? Impossible!”

“Everyone, do you hear me? That guy’s antenna can control the magnetic field around him, also the robots—”

“Rin? What happened?” said Riko, hearing the connection cut off and Rin’s voice stopping.

“Guess both of our guns are useless,” I said, looking right at him.

“Sure enough, there’s nothing we can do.”

After that, he dropped his weapon, locked eyes with me, and we both sprinted at each other.

“Ryo, be careful!! There are robots behind him!” shouted Masashi.

“Take care of them for me, please,” I said after already passing half the distance to him.

“This is gonna hurt, kid,” he said, hitting my shield with the baton he had in his hands.

“I don’t have all day. I gotta finish this mission quick,” I said while blocking it. “Huh, why does the shield feel heavier than before—”

“I told you it was going to hurt!” he shouted, striking me again.

“Shit, I can’t hold it up anymore. I gotta block with my arm!”

I didn’t understand why, but my arm wouldn’t respond anymore. It was apparently completely shattered from the inside, simply hanging around my body. I now had no line of defense against him. It seems that I’ve advanced too far. I’ve advanced only by betting on my obsession and desire.