Chapter 34 - Rebellion

Tetsuo and the newly freed rebels that had agreed to join him stood above the rooftop overlooking a worn out inn. Pia had told him that allegedly, this is where they chose as the head of their operations.

“Just so you know, any Earthen already knows this. I’m just telling you common information. This doesn’t count as helping the rebellion. Keep me out of this.”

Only four of the rebels had agreed to join him, which was fine. For his plan, that was more than he needed anyways. The one he had fought, who had finally introduced himself as Trevor, nudged him and pointed to the front of the Inn. The wall above the entrance was broken open, turning a second story room into a podium of sorts to the people standing outside the inn. A crowd began to congregate in front of the inn, raising wooden pikes, and metal weapons. The main roads leading to the inn were guarded by what seemed to be standard civilians with some Ficium tools. It was hard to judge how difficult they would be to handle, so Tetsuo decided to stick to the original plan for now. The five of them watched from a rooftop as Bianca stepped out to the opening on the second floor. The crowd began chanting upon seeing her.

“FOR EARTH! FOR EARTH! FOR EARTH!”

She matched them, pumping her fist up and down to the rhythm of their cries. Despite the darkness of the night, the crowd was alight with torches and spirit. She moved to the front of the opening, sitting at the edge, letting her legs dangle off it. She raised her hand and the crowd went silent. She then turned it to a raised fist and the crowd shouted in uproar.

Trevor looked at Tetsuo with concern in his eyes. “Dude, your wife’s scary.”

The compliment made Tetsuo blush. “She sure is…”

“There has to be at least a hundred people in that crowd. Are you sure about this?”

“Completely.”

Bianca began to give a speech to the crowd, as Trevor and the others began to lower a rope that would reach to the ground.

Tetsuo whispered to Trevor. “Remember, keep an eye out on things but stay out of it. Warn the rebels for knights, and any other fishy business. It’s alright if the plan fails, but we can’t afford for this to get messy.”

Trevor nodded to him, and with that Tetsuo began to rappel down the rope. As his feet reached the ground, he tugged on the rope, signaling to the others to pull it back up. Tetsuo slipped his hood over his head and began making his way to the crowd. The crowd was quiet, but anxiously shifting as they listened to Bianca’s speech.

“WE WERE TAKEN FROM OUR HOMES! FORCED INTO THEIR PROGRAMS! TAUGHT TO ACCEPT THIS DUMP OF A TOWN AS OUR NEW HOME!”

The crowd booed in response. Tetsuo attempted to travel through the crowd, avoiding drawing attention to himself.

“THEY LIE TO US! THEY MAKE US WEAK! THEY KEEP US DESPERATE SO WE DON’T REALIZE THAT WE DON’T HAVE TO BE!”

As Tetsuo neared her he could see her dressed in leather armor that made her seem more monolithic than she already was. Her hair was tied neatly into a braid that treaded behind her back. The fire of the crowds torches lit caught in her eyes, reflecting beautiful golden embers of passion.

“I SAY NO MORE! IT’S THEM OR US! AND I SAY… WE CHOOSE US!!!”

The crowd cheered once more, clattering their weapons together, the sound of metal clanging filling the streets. Tetsuo sighed. Between the two of them, she had always had a much easier time getting along with people. He hated that even when it came to rallying people, she was far more talented than he was. That would make the following step of his plan far more difficult.

Having reached the front of the crowd, Tetsuo snapped the index fingertip into place and raised his gauntlet into a fist. A bright light filled the area blinding everyone, the crowd collectively reeling at the flash. Tetsuo was the last one standing, in front of the crowd, in front of Bianca.

Tetsuo cleared his throat, pulled back his hood. and reached deep inside himself for all the volume he could muster. “I SAY… WHY DON’T WE CHOOSE BOTH. LET’S… all… just… talk it out…” He trailed off while looking around and felt the collective glares of an entire angry mob. Bianca cringed and shook her head, clearly recognizing Tetsuo, who most likely, was about to become a red mist. Immediately, one of the members of the mob tackled him to the ground, as another wrestled to pull his gauntlet off.

“Wait! Urg–! Just give me a sec–!”

Bianca descended from the second floor landing on top of the staircase leading to the inn's entrance. “Bring him here!” She commanded and the crowd did so. The man dragged him up to the staircase throwing him in front of her, tossing the gauntlet beside him. She bowed, the man mimicking her before descending down to the crowd.

Tetsuo looked up to see her coldly looking at him, as he knelt on the ground. He sighed and picked himself off the ground. “That wasn’t very elegant…”

“Tetsuo.” She spoke to him in a silken cold voice. “Are you here to arrest me?”

“No…” Tetsuo rummaged underneath his cloak before pulling out the Alvanian crest he had torn off his armor. He tossed it to the ground in front of her. “I’ve decided I’m done with the knights.”

“Please don’t tell me you’re–”

“I’m not! I’m not. This isn’t about that. Or us. At all. Although if it makes you think I’m cooler that wouldn’t be–” Tetsuo shook his head. “Nevermind. I’m here to stop your rebellion.”

Bianca shook her head again. “I thought you’re done with the knights.”

“I did.” Tetsuo cleared his throat again and mustered all the courage in his heart. “This is for me. I think the way you’re doing this is wrong, and I’m here to stop it.”