Haze & Chaos - The Hunt Part 15
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“WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL US THERE WAS KIDS ABOARD YOU PIECE OF SHIT?!!!” Will screamed as he tried to punch and hit General Aalders, with Antares and Adrien needing to wrestle him off of their commanding officer. Aalders did not fight back, rather he braced himself and waited for Will to be pulled away.
“AMIGO, CALM DOWN,” Adrien ordered. “Just what the demonios are you referring to?” Will looked too angry to acknowledge his question.
Aalders took a breath to settle his nerves and quietly picked up the papers that had been scattered across the briefing room floor. Some of the other officers present offered to help, but he had already cleaned things up. Knowing the conversation could get personal, he sent them away to take care of other matters. “Will, where did you just come from?”
“Götterdämmerung,” he answered, his anger subsiding to a calmer state so as not to start a fight.
“I’m sorry, Will–it’s been a tricky topic to discuss…”
“General Aalders!” Marcus interrupted as he opened the door, with General Lundberg behind him. “I sensed… oh, Will. What’s going on here?”
Aalders nodded and gestured for them to enter. “Trelawney, Lundberg–Will found out about the orphans.”
“Oh, I see…” Marcus said as the two stepped over to Aalders.
“William, I ask that you arrest your anger towards General Aalders,” Lundberg stated with a calming authority in his voice. “I understand your anger all too well, as I always found secrets held by authority to be a real pain in the rear–I can’t even begin to tell you how annoyed I was when The Madman of Old kept things quiet until just the right moment.”
Aalders sighed and took a seat, leaning back to help himself relax. “This bizarre act of charity Sebastian has been performing has been a complicated subject to handle. At first we suspected it was to further Karnage’s plans, but as time went on and Conquest entered the picture we realized that Sebastian and Anne were becoming more parental. And this is on top of all of his actions in North Korea… We’re at an impasse, Will–”
“Yeah, I figured given the Thule Society meeting I just sat in on,” he cut in with a degree of frustrated snark.
Aalders looked at Lundberg and the two nodded. “The reason we’re not intervening is because we can use Sebastian’s actions to our advantage–you’re aware of Volf Blitz’s tenure as leader of The Eternal Order, right?”
“He should be, it’s the talk of the town in The Unlight,” Conquest pointed out as he made his way into the room, his cane rhythmically clacking on the floor in line with his steps. “Given the hullabaloo Rambert caused in The Great Uncity and Volf’s desire to undo Karnage’s messes, I’d say we have an invaluable ally on our hands. So, my boy, what do you say to this revelation?”
Will groaned a little–not at Volf or Sebastian, but just in general frustration. “I wish things would just calm down for two seconds. Two seconds is all I ask!” He took a moment to collect his thoughts and put his hands on his hips. “You know? Back in November, Barry wanted to take a good shot at Götterdämmerung, and I told him no because I was following orders. I didn’t question those orders because I had no idea what was going on and knew better as a soldier not to speculate. And hey, those orders were actually meaningful, so I can’t complain… but it’s the fact I feel I should have known about this going forward. Remember that issue Valentin had where he realized he told Buster the wrong stuff all those years ago in The Unlight?”
“Again, I’m sorry, Will,” Aalders replied. “Another reason we didn’t talk about this to people like you was to maintain the privacy of the children. Having Sebastian and Anne be your adoptive parents comes with a lot of baggage, obviously.”
“I suppose we’re going to declassify this information then?” Marcus inquired.
“Within reason, I’d say,” Lundberg answered. “Let’s keep it to people who are going to be directly dealing with Sebastian and Götterdämmerung for now.”
Antares patted Will on the shoulder with a sigh. “I know this sounds like I’m just saying this, but I also know how you feel Will. I was clued in upon my promotion, and it took me a couple of days to process it. I wasn’t losing sleep over it, but it definitely got me thinking…”
“Conquest, how do you feel towards Sebastian?” Will questioned.
The horseman chuckled and shook his head. “When us horsemen were mere men selected by the four great archangels to be the protectors of humanity when the worst happened, I had no idea things would turn out the way they are now. I’m still angered by Sebastian’s actions, but I cannot deny that he’s doing some good. If you’re going to steal my power, at least do something meaningful with it. His desire to claim the Korean peninsula and build his great fleet to defend humanity, while arguably misguided given his alliances, is something I can get behind.”
“And I can’t believe I’m about to say this for a former minion of Karnage,” Lundberg added. “But bless his heart for taking care of those children. Will, this isn’t the first time our conflict with The Lost Darkness God and The Behemoth God has gotten this complicated, and it won’t be the last.”
Will could not help but laugh at Lundberg’s statement. “Yeah, Sam can attest to that…”
“Well this is a fine kettle of fish we find ourselves in, amigo,” said Adrien. “What’s that in the box? In your pocket…”
Will took the glass box Ernust had given him and sighed. “Right–I guess Vlad IV needs help… Here…”
Aalders took the box and opened it, immediately closing it with a horrified look on his face as he stood up. “That’s not good, not good at all… Will, I need to address this immediately…”
“Go ahead, General, sir,” Will replied. Despite everything that happened, he could tell how serious the situation was from the look on Aalder’s face.
“Lundberg, come with me–Marcus, Conquest, please talk with Will about the Sebastian situation in my stead?”
“Of course, General,” Marcus replied with a respectful nod as the two generals left the room, with Lundberg giving Will a pat on the shoulder on the way out. “I take it you interacted with Sebastian?”
“Inevitably,” Will said with a shrug. “I sort of lost it when I saw the kids… I–I just talked to them, and agreed with Sebastian that if the cards are down we need to work together…”
“Interesting,” Conquest remarked. “I will reclaim my power in due time, but I am willing to take my time if Sebastian is going to help us get rid of the detestable Extinction Order once and for all…”
“Don’t correct the enemy when they’re making a mistake?” Adrien put in.
“You could say that,” Conquest replied with a subtle nod.
Antares gave a chuckle, but then got a good look at Will and realized the obvious. “If you want to go relax, Will, you’re free to go–take some time off.”
“Thanks, Antares… see you guys later…” Will’s voice sounded tired as he summoned his void door and walked in to head towards Sam’s house.
“Is he going to be okay?” Marcus asked.
“Yeah, he’ll be fine, Marc,” Antares answered plainly. “We just need to give him some time…”
A week would pass where Will did not do much except sit around, watch television and play video games. Sam was concerned when Will had returned as she could sense what had happened, but could not get any answers out of him. After speaking to Antares, she was at a loss for words. It was hard at that point to say anything to Will given the mix of emotions she was feeling (not wanting to say something that would potentially upset him), so the two elected to not talk about the situation with Götterdämmerung unless it was important. Antares would not hear much from Will outside of checking in on him with his communicator every couple of days. Thankfully Will was talking with his friends and family, as he was not going to seclude himself–rather he just wanted to take it easy. The kids were clearly safe, so there was not too much to worry about. All of it was just a lot to take in.
At the end of the week, Will went for a walk in the woods behind the house. He had not asked for Haze back from Ryota yet, so it was just him and his thoughts. Orion wanted to go with him to cheer up his father, but Will asked to be alone just for that walk, promising Orion he could come with him on the next one. Walking through the woods always made Will feel better, as the world around him became timeless while out in the verdant sanctuary of nature. He walked and meandered around, looking up at the tall trees, appreciating the vastness of the woods, marveling at the decaying stumps that looked like ancient ruins, and getting startled when a doe and a fawn hurried away from him. Making it to the halfway point of the trail where a giant stump sat as a resting spot, Will wondered if Gunther and Thorsten would like to hang out with Orion and go for a walk in the woods. Would he actually ask Sebastian and Anne if the two boys could visit? It was hard to say, and Will had no idea how such a proposal would even go.
Will made his way to the property line, looked out at the fields surrounded by woods and darted with trees, and turned around to head back to the house. He would not head in, however, instead choosing to sit on the lawn and look out towards the horizon, enjoying the nice spring day as the afternoon sun began to lower. Orion spotted him through the window and quickly told their guests that he had returned. Will was feeling a lot better after that walk, and planned to go inside and give Antares a call–but then a curious crow flew down from the house’s roof to him. It waddled towards him and squawked with a friendly caw, one that was clearly saying hello. Will immediately recognized it as Ensio. And then he turned around to see Orion hanging out of the doorway.
“Dad? Valentin and Bethany want to talk to you…”
Will smiled and nodded. “Sure…”
Valentin and Bethany were both dressed casually, looking like they had been taking it easy too, and took a seat next to him. “Hey, Will,” Bethany said as she got comfortable. “This is a nice place you and Sam got here, did I tell you that?”
“Yeah, it’s definitely got a nice view,” he replied, pointing towards the hills.
“Sorry I wasn’t present for the recent mission, Will,” Valentin said as he positioned his legs in a criss-cross. “Sylvia had a last minute mission come up for me.”
“It’s alright, Valentin,” Will reassured him. “Did Antares send you two?”
“Well yeah, he’s still worried about you,” Bethany pointed out. “We’re all worried about you.”
“I heard you found out Sebastian’s ‘secret,’” Valentin said as he lightly tossed a twig across the grass for Ensio to fetch.
Will sighed, thinking back to September. “Did you know back during the Red River City Incident?”
“Yes… I did. I was… it was a strange thing to learn, and I was tempted to say I didn’t care about the children, but I wasn’t that heartless…” That warranted a chuckle from Will and Bethany. “Would you believe me if I said I was secretly second-guessing everything I did, but masked it under all of that ‘I’m going to steal your ULTRAMagic’ bravado?”
Will gave a laugh that was more of a soft wheeze. “Yeah, about that…”
“I was a mess back then… and I’m not much better now given what Sylvia confirmed for me… Will, Sebastian didn’t actually kill Uncle Ensio–he was about to, but someone else took the shot…”
“And then he ran with it to mess with Uncle Val,” Bethany added.
Will was quiet for a moment as Ensio came hopping over with his twig after Valentin had thrown it again. He then picked it up and tossed it across the grass for Ensio to fetch once more. “So what about your mission to get revenge on Sebastian?”
Valentin sighed and said “Oh forget the mission at this point–there’s no point to it anymore. Will, I am not an evil man. Sebastian has a family now, and I can’t break that up–I’d be just as bad as Karnage if I did. This fight still needs to be finished though, but I’m not sure who to fight anymore. I may not have aged thanks to some deals I’ve made with Delphine, but I certainly feel old now. Will, as ridiculous as this may sound, I… I want to pass the torch onto you, so-to-speak…”
“How so?” Will was intrigued to say the least.
“I don’t really feel like I need to be on the front lines anymore. I helped you guys drive Sebastian away from Red River City, I went back in time and helped Buster get to safety, and now I plan to settle down and start a family with Lia. I’m a member of The League, so obviously I am not going to completely retire, but I feel my time in the spotlight has concluded, and it's time to let the next actor step in. Will, are you going to keep fighting the good fight?”
“Of course I will–Ultinn’s still out there causing trouble. I mean, if nothing else, at least for Sam’s sake.”
Valentin smiled and patted Will on the back. “Will, I want you to continue where I left off, because you don’t have the same rage in your heart that I had. Your perception isn’t clouded by hatred and anger, rather it’s looking for answers wherever it can find them. I think you got what it takes to finally solve this issue of mine and then some.”
“And don’t worry, Will,” Bethany put in. “I’ll be there to help out regardless–just because I found out more of the truth doesn’t mean I’m going to sulk about it… Also Valentin lied to me…”
Bethany’s annoyed tone made Will chuckle again. “Really? How so?”
“He told me about The Jailbreak War and The Extinction War during that weird ‘ACF-100 incident,’ and how he sent The Xanthous King after those Extinction Order goons.”
“Ah, I see… Well, I mean, I can’t really fault him there.”
Valentin nodded as Ensio lost interest in the twig and began pecking around for snacks. “Sometimes perpetuating the cycle of violence is unavoidable. As much as we like to adhere to the teachings of Hermes Tringesitus, our nature as humans manages to peak through eventually…” Valentin went silent for a moment as the three relaxed to let that insight sink in. “Will, Ernust told me about your parents. You should go talk to them about all this–Aoife also mentioned this to me…”
Knowing this topic would come up, Will groaned and sighed. “And what do I tell them–that a former nazi is taking care of orphans in his war zeppelin? Which I might add is top secret… Plus I only found out about it because Ernust told me about it…”
Valentin shook his head, recognizing the conundrum Will was facing. “True, but you should at least confide something in them–Will, don’t take this for granted. You still have your parents–I don’t. I’m handing you the torch here because I know you can come to the right decision–have you done anything about the orphans?”
“No–why would I? Sebastian isn’t hurting them, and they looked quite happy with him and Anne, despite all of the chaos those two have caused…”
“And that’s why I trust you to handle this,” Valentin said as he patted Will on the back. “You’re not out for blood, you’re out to do what’s right. You’re not going to break up a loving family and you shouldn’t break up yours. Will, it’s natural for you not to get along with your parents when you grow up–you’re older and wiser, and can see past your childhood biases. You can see them for who they really are and that’s not a bad thing–it means you’re accepting the fact that things have changed. Right now you need them, and they will be there for you, even if you don’t see eye-to-eye with them. Sure, they’re not perfect, but that is why we are here and why we exist. Take Aoife to go meet them, and do your best to talk about the issue that plagues you the most. Don’t adopt the same tunnel vision I had…”
Will looked out to the hills darting the horizon and sighed once more. “I… I suppose you’re right… You’re nearing a hundred after all…”
“And if things go poorly or something frustrating happens, I’ll make it up to you–sounds good?” Will smiled and shook Valentin’s hand on that one.
Bethany had a smile on her face and nodded along. “Will? I didn’t want to interrupt because Uncle Val said it perfectly, but my parents are gone too–so I think you should also go talk to yours…”
“Aw man… Now I feel bad…” Will groaned.
“So what are you going to do about it?” Valentin inquired as he stood up.
Will stood up too and brushed himself off, knowing exactly what he needed to do… and one of those things was related to his stomach. “You two want to stay for dinner? Antonio was thinking about making spaghetti tonight…”
Next:
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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“WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL US THERE WAS KIDS ABOARD YOU PIECE OF SHIT?!!!” Will screamed as he tried to punch and hit General Aalders, with Antares and Adrien needing to wrestle him off of their commanding officer. Aalders did not fight back, rather he braced himself and waited for Will to be pulled away.
“AMIGO, CALM DOWN,” Adrien ordered. “Just what the demonios are you referring to?” Will looked too angry to acknowledge his question.
Aalders took a breath to settle his nerves and quietly picked up the papers that had been scattered across the briefing room floor. Some of the other officers present offered to help, but he had already cleaned things up. Knowing the conversation could get personal, he sent them away to take care of other matters. “Will, where did you just come from?”
“Götterdämmerung,” he answered, his anger subsiding to a calmer state so as not to start a fight.
“I’m sorry, Will–it’s been a tricky topic to discuss…”
“General Aalders!” Marcus interrupted as he opened the door, with General Lundberg behind him. “I sensed… oh, Will. What’s going on here?”
Aalders nodded and gestured for them to enter. “Trelawney, Lundberg–Will found out about the orphans.”
“Oh, I see…” Marcus said as the two stepped over to Aalders.
“William, I ask that you arrest your anger towards General Aalders,” Lundberg stated with a calming authority in his voice. “I understand your anger all too well, as I always found secrets held by authority to be a real pain in the rear–I can’t even begin to tell you how annoyed I was when The Madman of Old kept things quiet until just the right moment.”
Aalders sighed and took a seat, leaning back to help himself relax. “This bizarre act of charity Sebastian has been performing has been a complicated subject to handle. At first we suspected it was to further Karnage’s plans, but as time went on and Conquest entered the picture we realized that Sebastian and Anne were becoming more parental. And this is on top of all of his actions in North Korea… We’re at an impasse, Will–”
“Yeah, I figured given the Thule Society meeting I just sat in on,” he cut in with a degree of frustrated snark.
Aalders looked at Lundberg and the two nodded. “The reason we’re not intervening is because we can use Sebastian’s actions to our advantage–you’re aware of Volf Blitz’s tenure as leader of The Eternal Order, right?”
“He should be, it’s the talk of the town in The Unlight,” Conquest pointed out as he made his way into the room, his cane rhythmically clacking on the floor in line with his steps. “Given the hullabaloo Rambert caused in The Great Uncity and Volf’s desire to undo Karnage’s messes, I’d say we have an invaluable ally on our hands. So, my boy, what do you say to this revelation?”
Will groaned a little–not at Volf or Sebastian, but just in general frustration. “I wish things would just calm down for two seconds. Two seconds is all I ask!” He took a moment to collect his thoughts and put his hands on his hips. “You know? Back in November, Barry wanted to take a good shot at Götterdämmerung, and I told him no because I was following orders. I didn’t question those orders because I had no idea what was going on and knew better as a soldier not to speculate. And hey, those orders were actually meaningful, so I can’t complain… but it’s the fact I feel I should have known about this going forward. Remember that issue Valentin had where he realized he told Buster the wrong stuff all those years ago in The Unlight?”
“Again, I’m sorry, Will,” Aalders replied. “Another reason we didn’t talk about this to people like you was to maintain the privacy of the children. Having Sebastian and Anne be your adoptive parents comes with a lot of baggage, obviously.”
“I suppose we’re going to declassify this information then?” Marcus inquired.
“Within reason, I’d say,” Lundberg answered. “Let’s keep it to people who are going to be directly dealing with Sebastian and Götterdämmerung for now.”
Antares patted Will on the shoulder with a sigh. “I know this sounds like I’m just saying this, but I also know how you feel Will. I was clued in upon my promotion, and it took me a couple of days to process it. I wasn’t losing sleep over it, but it definitely got me thinking…”
“Conquest, how do you feel towards Sebastian?” Will questioned.
The horseman chuckled and shook his head. “When us horsemen were mere men selected by the four great archangels to be the protectors of humanity when the worst happened, I had no idea things would turn out the way they are now. I’m still angered by Sebastian’s actions, but I cannot deny that he’s doing some good. If you’re going to steal my power, at least do something meaningful with it. His desire to claim the Korean peninsula and build his great fleet to defend humanity, while arguably misguided given his alliances, is something I can get behind.”
“And I can’t believe I’m about to say this for a former minion of Karnage,” Lundberg added. “But bless his heart for taking care of those children. Will, this isn’t the first time our conflict with The Lost Darkness God and The Behemoth God has gotten this complicated, and it won’t be the last.”
Will could not help but laugh at Lundberg’s statement. “Yeah, Sam can attest to that…”
“Well this is a fine kettle of fish we find ourselves in, amigo,” said Adrien. “What’s that in the box? In your pocket…”
Will took the glass box Ernust had given him and sighed. “Right–I guess Vlad IV needs help… Here…”
Aalders took the box and opened it, immediately closing it with a horrified look on his face as he stood up. “That’s not good, not good at all… Will, I need to address this immediately…”
“Go ahead, General, sir,” Will replied. Despite everything that happened, he could tell how serious the situation was from the look on Aalder’s face.
“Lundberg, come with me–Marcus, Conquest, please talk with Will about the Sebastian situation in my stead?”
“Of course, General,” Marcus replied with a respectful nod as the two generals left the room, with Lundberg giving Will a pat on the shoulder on the way out. “I take it you interacted with Sebastian?”
“Inevitably,” Will said with a shrug. “I sort of lost it when I saw the kids… I–I just talked to them, and agreed with Sebastian that if the cards are down we need to work together…”
“Interesting,” Conquest remarked. “I will reclaim my power in due time, but I am willing to take my time if Sebastian is going to help us get rid of the detestable Extinction Order once and for all…”
“Don’t correct the enemy when they’re making a mistake?” Adrien put in.
“You could say that,” Conquest replied with a subtle nod.
Antares gave a chuckle, but then got a good look at Will and realized the obvious. “If you want to go relax, Will, you’re free to go–take some time off.”
“Thanks, Antares… see you guys later…” Will’s voice sounded tired as he summoned his void door and walked in to head towards Sam’s house.
“Is he going to be okay?” Marcus asked.
“Yeah, he’ll be fine, Marc,” Antares answered plainly. “We just need to give him some time…”
A week would pass where Will did not do much except sit around, watch television and play video games. Sam was concerned when Will had returned as she could sense what had happened, but could not get any answers out of him. After speaking to Antares, she was at a loss for words. It was hard at that point to say anything to Will given the mix of emotions she was feeling (not wanting to say something that would potentially upset him), so the two elected to not talk about the situation with Götterdämmerung unless it was important. Antares would not hear much from Will outside of checking in on him with his communicator every couple of days. Thankfully Will was talking with his friends and family, as he was not going to seclude himself–rather he just wanted to take it easy. The kids were clearly safe, so there was not too much to worry about. All of it was just a lot to take in.
At the end of the week, Will went for a walk in the woods behind the house. He had not asked for Haze back from Ryota yet, so it was just him and his thoughts. Orion wanted to go with him to cheer up his father, but Will asked to be alone just for that walk, promising Orion he could come with him on the next one. Walking through the woods always made Will feel better, as the world around him became timeless while out in the verdant sanctuary of nature. He walked and meandered around, looking up at the tall trees, appreciating the vastness of the woods, marveling at the decaying stumps that looked like ancient ruins, and getting startled when a doe and a fawn hurried away from him. Making it to the halfway point of the trail where a giant stump sat as a resting spot, Will wondered if Gunther and Thorsten would like to hang out with Orion and go for a walk in the woods. Would he actually ask Sebastian and Anne if the two boys could visit? It was hard to say, and Will had no idea how such a proposal would even go.
Will made his way to the property line, looked out at the fields surrounded by woods and darted with trees, and turned around to head back to the house. He would not head in, however, instead choosing to sit on the lawn and look out towards the horizon, enjoying the nice spring day as the afternoon sun began to lower. Orion spotted him through the window and quickly told their guests that he had returned. Will was feeling a lot better after that walk, and planned to go inside and give Antares a call–but then a curious crow flew down from the house’s roof to him. It waddled towards him and squawked with a friendly caw, one that was clearly saying hello. Will immediately recognized it as Ensio. And then he turned around to see Orion hanging out of the doorway.
“Dad? Valentin and Bethany want to talk to you…”
Will smiled and nodded. “Sure…”
Valentin and Bethany were both dressed casually, looking like they had been taking it easy too, and took a seat next to him. “Hey, Will,” Bethany said as she got comfortable. “This is a nice place you and Sam got here, did I tell you that?”
“Yeah, it’s definitely got a nice view,” he replied, pointing towards the hills.
“Sorry I wasn’t present for the recent mission, Will,” Valentin said as he positioned his legs in a criss-cross. “Sylvia had a last minute mission come up for me.”
“It’s alright, Valentin,” Will reassured him. “Did Antares send you two?”
“Well yeah, he’s still worried about you,” Bethany pointed out. “We’re all worried about you.”
“I heard you found out Sebastian’s ‘secret,’” Valentin said as he lightly tossed a twig across the grass for Ensio to fetch.
Will sighed, thinking back to September. “Did you know back during the Red River City Incident?”
“Yes… I did. I was… it was a strange thing to learn, and I was tempted to say I didn’t care about the children, but I wasn’t that heartless…” That warranted a chuckle from Will and Bethany. “Would you believe me if I said I was secretly second-guessing everything I did, but masked it under all of that ‘I’m going to steal your ULTRAMagic’ bravado?”
Will gave a laugh that was more of a soft wheeze. “Yeah, about that…”
“I was a mess back then… and I’m not much better now given what Sylvia confirmed for me… Will, Sebastian didn’t actually kill Uncle Ensio–he was about to, but someone else took the shot…”
“And then he ran with it to mess with Uncle Val,” Bethany added.
Will was quiet for a moment as Ensio came hopping over with his twig after Valentin had thrown it again. He then picked it up and tossed it across the grass for Ensio to fetch once more. “So what about your mission to get revenge on Sebastian?”
Valentin sighed and said “Oh forget the mission at this point–there’s no point to it anymore. Will, I am not an evil man. Sebastian has a family now, and I can’t break that up–I’d be just as bad as Karnage if I did. This fight still needs to be finished though, but I’m not sure who to fight anymore. I may not have aged thanks to some deals I’ve made with Delphine, but I certainly feel old now. Will, as ridiculous as this may sound, I… I want to pass the torch onto you, so-to-speak…”
“How so?” Will was intrigued to say the least.
“I don’t really feel like I need to be on the front lines anymore. I helped you guys drive Sebastian away from Red River City, I went back in time and helped Buster get to safety, and now I plan to settle down and start a family with Lia. I’m a member of The League, so obviously I am not going to completely retire, but I feel my time in the spotlight has concluded, and it's time to let the next actor step in. Will, are you going to keep fighting the good fight?”
“Of course I will–Ultinn’s still out there causing trouble. I mean, if nothing else, at least for Sam’s sake.”
Valentin smiled and patted Will on the back. “Will, I want you to continue where I left off, because you don’t have the same rage in your heart that I had. Your perception isn’t clouded by hatred and anger, rather it’s looking for answers wherever it can find them. I think you got what it takes to finally solve this issue of mine and then some.”
“And don’t worry, Will,” Bethany put in. “I’ll be there to help out regardless–just because I found out more of the truth doesn’t mean I’m going to sulk about it… Also Valentin lied to me…”
Bethany’s annoyed tone made Will chuckle again. “Really? How so?”
“He told me about The Jailbreak War and The Extinction War during that weird ‘ACF-100 incident,’ and how he sent The Xanthous King after those Extinction Order goons.”
“Ah, I see… Well, I mean, I can’t really fault him there.”
Valentin nodded as Ensio lost interest in the twig and began pecking around for snacks. “Sometimes perpetuating the cycle of violence is unavoidable. As much as we like to adhere to the teachings of Hermes Tringesitus, our nature as humans manages to peak through eventually…” Valentin went silent for a moment as the three relaxed to let that insight sink in. “Will, Ernust told me about your parents. You should go talk to them about all this–Aoife also mentioned this to me…”
Knowing this topic would come up, Will groaned and sighed. “And what do I tell them–that a former nazi is taking care of orphans in his war zeppelin? Which I might add is top secret… Plus I only found out about it because Ernust told me about it…”
Valentin shook his head, recognizing the conundrum Will was facing. “True, but you should at least confide something in them–Will, don’t take this for granted. You still have your parents–I don’t. I’m handing you the torch here because I know you can come to the right decision–have you done anything about the orphans?”
“No–why would I? Sebastian isn’t hurting them, and they looked quite happy with him and Anne, despite all of the chaos those two have caused…”
“And that’s why I trust you to handle this,” Valentin said as he patted Will on the back. “You’re not out for blood, you’re out to do what’s right. You’re not going to break up a loving family and you shouldn’t break up yours. Will, it’s natural for you not to get along with your parents when you grow up–you’re older and wiser, and can see past your childhood biases. You can see them for who they really are and that’s not a bad thing–it means you’re accepting the fact that things have changed. Right now you need them, and they will be there for you, even if you don’t see eye-to-eye with them. Sure, they’re not perfect, but that is why we are here and why we exist. Take Aoife to go meet them, and do your best to talk about the issue that plagues you the most. Don’t adopt the same tunnel vision I had…”
Will looked out to the hills darting the horizon and sighed once more. “I… I suppose you’re right… You’re nearing a hundred after all…”
“And if things go poorly or something frustrating happens, I’ll make it up to you–sounds good?” Will smiled and shook Valentin’s hand on that one.
Bethany had a smile on her face and nodded along. “Will? I didn’t want to interrupt because Uncle Val said it perfectly, but my parents are gone too–so I think you should also go talk to yours…”
“Aw man… Now I feel bad…” Will groaned.
“So what are you going to do about it?” Valentin inquired as he stood up.
Will stood up too and brushed himself off, knowing exactly what he needed to do… and one of those things was related to his stomach. “You two want to stay for dinner? Antonio was thinking about making spaghetti tonight…”
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ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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