What Were Their Names?

Ignacio’s heart beat so hard his stomach ached. He leaned his hands on his knees, panting. Blackwell landed beside him with the thunderous clank of his armour, shaking the ground.

“You’re too stiff in your movements,” Blackwell said. “That’s why you can only control the Aspects you absorb when you’re in fight-or-flight.”

Ignacio nodded, straining as four more Kraken tentacles sprouted from his back. “How many of these things can I generate?”

“Eight,” Blackwell said. “You used them quite well last time.”

He gave a rundown of their first training session, showing him how he’d lost and why. And they continued sparring. Ignacio would launch an attack, Blackwell would critique. Blackwell would counter, Ignacio would try and respond, Blackwell would critique.

“Good, Ace, good!” Blackwell barked. “I don’t think you really forgot what happened the last time we trained. It’s like your muscle memory kept what you learned.”

Ignacio flashed out the tentacles in rapid strikes, breathing sharp and fast. He sped up, the tentacles lashing the air in a blur.

“Now, put em’ away,” Blackwell said.

Ignacio drew the tentacles back, drawing a deep breath and relaxing his muscles. He focused on them like they were a limb. Not a thing to be forced, but something that was a part of him. Something that was meant to be controlled by him. And they retracted into his spine with a wet sucking sound.

He dropped to one knee as Blackwell clapped, sweat rolling down his bare body.

“You’re almost there, Ace,” Blackwell said, lumbering over to him. “And remember, the way you control one Aspect is the way you control most of them. In all my years of training Cypher users, I have never had someone differ in their manner of controlling their Aspect.”

Ignacio nodded. “That was the first time I controlled an Aspect so well.”

“You’re still a little rough, but you’ll get there,” Blackwell said. “Let’s practice some more. You got about twenty minutes left of your hour.”

It’s a surprise no one has pulled me out yet, Ignacio thought.

Ignacio nodded, standing straight. “I wanted to ask, how come you’ve been here for so long? It’s been well over an hour since I was here last time.”

“Ah, because I use a Cypher Ascendant. We get to stay in the Ethergeist for three hours thanks to the more advanced tech. That’s three real world days, but we ensure our bodies have the nutrients we need using neuro-pens."

There has to be a way to get one of those, Ignacio thought.

“Anyway,” Blackwell said, “let’s-” his words cut off, eyes moving past Ignacio.

Damn it.

He turned around, sighing. Koharu and Ezequiel stood behind him, their faces the picture of disappointment.

Ezequiel folded his slender arms. “You don’t listen, do you?”

“I’ve made good time already,” Ignacio said. “And I feel fine.”

“He’s improving, Zeeq,” Blackwell said.

Ezequiel turned to him. “Shut up, Blackwell.”

Ignacio crossed his arms. “I said, I’m fine.”

“Just, calm down,” Koharu said, raising a hand. “Ace, you promised not to do anything stupid.”

“But since we’re in here now,” Ezequiel snarled. “We got some time to start heading to the place where Celeste is.”

Ignacio’s arms unfolded. “Is she okay?”

Koharu sighed, placing her hands behind her back. “We don’t know,”

“But we do know that she is being transported to Imperium,” Ezequiel said.

Ignacio’s heart sank. “When?”

“In the next four hours,” Koharu said.

“Which gives us time to head on over there, get out, formulate a plan, and ambush them,” Ezeuiel said.

Suddenly, his own breathing was all he could hear. They were moving her already? He had barely trained, barely had time to learn what he was doing. And now…

He turned to Blackwell. “Will you help?”

Blackwell sighed, lips compressing. He slowly shook his head.

Ignacio nodded. “Thanks for your help.”

“I wish you all the best,” Blackwell said. He leaned his head to the side. “You too, Zeeq, Koharu. I can’t imagine you don’t have some vested interest in hurting Cypher Corp.”

“Who said anything about hurting our glorious Cypher Corp?” Ezequiel said.

Blackwell chuckled. “Yeah, my bad.”

Ignacio stormed past Koharu, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s go.”

Those deep green eyes narrowed. “You promised me you wouldn’t do anything stupid,” she whispered.

“And look what happened,” he said. “I was right. Now, let’s go.”

“The others are waiting outside,” Ezequiel said, walking past them. “We got fifteen minutes.”

“How long is the total trip there?” Ignacio asked.

“About two hours,” Ezequiel said, his jaws bulging as they clenched. “You’re right, boy. Every minute counts.”

Ignacio’s hair whipped around, his hat clutched against his lap with one hand. The other held to the edge of Kiyomi’s carpet, her red dress rippling in the wind.

They flew beneath the clouds, the sprawling scenery so vast his eyes couldn’t take it in at once. Jagged mountains stood in the distance. Hills ran in rows along the green earth, like knuckles along the back of a hand. On their left a giant lake stretched far into the distance. Aquamarine veins of what was apparently algae ran down it like they do on a forearm, the dim sunlight glittering over its shifting surface like tears on a cheek.

To their right a dense forest of trees sprawled, their leaves a range of blues. From deep navy to the same pale shade as Koharu’s light.

Koharu flew beside him, the sparkling hiss of her blue-light emanating from her hands.

They had about eight minutes left before they had to exit the Ethergeist. Eight minutes that could not be wasted.

His eye caught the star-gem tied around her neck, its surface glowing.

She turned to him, her hair wisping around her face. “What?”

“Why are you doing this?” he asked.

“Ace, is now really the time-”

“Just,” he said, holding up a hand, “tell me. If you’re comfortable telling me.”

She paused, lowering her head. “What Beltran said, about all of us having lost someone to Cypher Corp?”

“Yeah?” Ignacio said, his voice low.

A single tear fell from her eye, streaking across her cheek in the wind. “He was right.”

Ignacio swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”

“She was so young,” Koharu said. “Our little sister. She was eight, Ignacio. And they turned her down. They wouldn’t treat her when she got sick because we couldn’t afford medical care,” Koharu said, more tears streaming down her face. “And when our parents tried fighting back, when they just lifted their voice,” she said, her nose wrinkling with rage. As if the Koharu from the real world possessed her. “They took my brother and I away from them.”

Ignacio closed his eyes, lowering his head. Kiyomi began to descend as their time ran out.

They just took, didn’t they? They didn’t care. No one cared about the herd. No one saw the sheep suffering at the claws of the wolves. Only the other sheep, who were powerless to do anything about it.

Only those who are told that they are powerless to do anything, he thought, slowly standing on the back of the carpet.

A company whose owner has a net worth greater than entire countries, Doctor Ivo’s words echoed back to him. And you and your band of buddies are gonna take his organization on?

“Ace, what are you doing?” Koharu asked.

“Practicing,” he said, his legs wobbling.

“You can’t just-”

“Koharu,” he said, meeting her wide eyes. “What was her name?”

She swallowed. “Rin. Her name was Rin.”

“And your parents,” Ignacio said, the wind threatening to push him over as he slowly stood higher. “Tell me their names.”

“Hiroto and Alondra Hoshizora,” she said, holding a hand out to him. “But Ace, what does this have to do with-”

“Hiroto, Alondra, Rin,” Ignacio said, crouching as a strong gust hit him. But he climbed back up, arms out at his sides as he balanced. “Now there’s one more person they have to kill to make us forget.”

Kiyomi glanced over her shoulder at him, her eyes widening. “Ace, what are you doing?”

He smiled up at Koharu. “You hear me?”

She nodded, swallowing again. “Ace, don’t-”

Ignacio leapt off the carpet, backflipping through the air… and plummeted. The wind whipped his jacket back, his hat flying away.

Come on, he thought, gritting his teeth.

Koharu’s blue light ignited around his hands, then his boots, the tongues of light whisking around in the wind.

“Come on!”

The blue tree-top careened towards him, the wind growing from a whistle past his ears to a roar.

Don’t force it.

He flexed his hands and legs, as if he were leaping on all fours off of something solid.

Just… use it.

The tongues of blue light on his hands flared, then straightened. And his stomach lurched as he rocketed forward.

“Woo-hoo!” he screamed, laughing as he swooped over the blue tree canopy.

“Yes, Ace!” Koharu shouted from above.

Wind whistled past his ears, heart racing as he grinned. His smile faltered as a creature cawed above him. He glanced up as a giant pair of dark wings descended from the clouds.

The creature turned its head, its yellow and grey beak glistening in the cloud-washed sunlight. But it couldn’t have been a bird, not with four legs tipped with dragon-like claws. It screeched at Ignacio.

Is that a Griffyn?

Beltran’s head popped over the creature’s shoulder, and he raised his top hat. “What’re you doing down there, Ace?”

Ignacio laughed, body stiffening. The light flared again, and he zipped ahead of the Griffyn.