Arc 4: What families entail

  Road to a Hero:

  Three chances in another world

  Chapter 38. Brothers in War

  Gray wakes up in a soft bed, he quickly gets up to find himself in a dirty crummy cabin. He looks over to see a tall manly man washing the dishes.

  Gray: “Um…hello?”

  “Hey Gray.”

  Gray {That voice…no way…}

  The man turns around, and Gray gets a good look at his rough face. The dirt on his face, bruises, messy black hair, the terrible brand scared onto his eye, and the heavy bags on his eyes distract from Gray's thoughts. But the man's eyes, his stern, serious, and angry eyes.

  Gray: “Edward?”

  Edward: “Yeah…”

  Gray: “You’re alive!?"

  Gray is extatic, getting up with a smile on his face. However Edward is still somber, silent.

  Edward: “Yep.”

  Gray: “And you’re living in a crummy shack?”

  Edward: “Right again.”

  Gray: “Damn…SHIT WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? They said you got wiped out by Moro! They thought you got taken, or worse! I thought...but you're alive!”

  Edward: “I was running towards the castle and I saw some Red Arrows coming out of a secret entrance in the sidewalk. They told me about tunnels under the castle so I went in the tunnels to get to the castle faster. Walking around down there…I found something important.”

  Gray: “What did you find?”

  Edward: “I found a false wall that leads into the castle. I was sneaking around when I heard Caesar, Julius, and some guy with golden hair talking…and I think the man was holding Peter.”

  Gray: “OH SHIT! I FORGOT ABOUT CAESAR!”

  Edward: “Well I think he just walked out of the castle.”

  Gray: “Oh. Continue on.”

  Edwards voice gets more serious, letting Gray see more of the change within him. The rage that was ripping it's way out of him during the Knight exam was present, his mind weakened and his soul unable to fight back. Like he could snap at any moment.

  Edward: “I was going to save Peter but I think Julius knew I was there…and started talking about trading his life for Peters. He told the man to take him to the front gate and wait for you and the rest of our friends to get there. So I snuck back into the tunnels, Julius kept talking so I could find his voice, and I waited. I waited until the perfect moment…I heard you scream Cenic so I grabbed you and collapsed a part of the tunnels so they couldn’t follow. I would have stayed but Arthur was on our trail and the others had left.”

  Gray: “That's pretty smart of Julius, like really smart. And you too I guess. Nice use of tunnles!”

  Edward: “Yeah…so I guess you’ll be going now?”

  Gray: “Wait, tou’re not coming?”

  Edward: “No…I got stuff to do here with the pirates.”

  Gray: “Look, I don’t wanna sound insensitive but you gotta do that later. We need your help now. If Arthur was here then he might be coming back with more forces, and if that happens we lose. We need to strike before Beareguards army is complete!”

  Edward: “I know…but I can’t. I'm not ready for that.”

  As they continued Edward got up, shaking off his darker armor and moved around the small cabin. Trying to walk out his feelings.

  Gray: “Why!?”

  Edward: “Because it's the reason I'm alive! Also, if I do then Lincoln will come help you guys. And you'll win.”

  Gray: “Lincoln? As in, THE Lincoln Valentine? World's Strongest man?”

  Edward: “Yeah, the one and only.”

  Gray: “So where is he?”

  Edward: “Out, hunting…and also I need you to tell Leo something.”

  Gray: “You can tell him when you get to the base.”

  Gray walks up to him, reaching out his hand. Edward snaps, pushing it away and moving toward the door.

  Edward: “NO! I said…no…”

  Gray: “Look I don’t care, we don’t have enough power to win the coming battle. You might not think you're strong, but you're better than Rosemary, Soku, and me all put together!”

  Edward: “That's wrong! You did well agaisnt me in the Knight exam and the others aren't far behind! I'm a Helsing, I should be far stronger! I'm the only one dammit!"

  Gray: "So act like a Helsing and fight dammit! For Walgonia! For us! We have to win!"

  Edward: "EVEN IF WE DO IT DOSEN'T MATTER...You don’t have to win this anymore…in a few months the volcano is gonna blow and destroy Athens.”

  Edward sat down on a weak wooden chair, bending it as he looked to his knees.

  Gray: “WHAT!?”

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  Edward: “Yeah…and I can’t scare away the pirates or I might not ever find them again. This could be my only chance to get vengeance, you have to understand that”

  Hearing Edwards lust for vengence and his reluctance to help, he knew how Edward felt. That his drive was non-existent, that what was pushing him forward was rage alone.

  Gray: “LOOK EDWARD! If you know this we have to get everyone out of Athens! We can do something, something else that isn't giving up!"

  Edward: “I KNOW THAT! But we have a while so…”

  Gray: “SO NOTHING! WE GOTTA GO NOW! Stop acting like the world stops because we want it to! We need to move, move, move!”

  Edward: “Look Gray, I don’t know how many times I have to say it…we can’t…I can’t and you can’t. We're...You're gonna get yourself killed! You've barley made it this far so just slow down! Take a break! Look at the world!”

  Gray: “EDWARD I GET THAT YOU’RE SAD AND ALL BUT YOU GOTTA SHUT UP AND MOVE, THIS IS LIFE OR DEATH SO NO PERSONAL SHIT!”

  Edward: “AFTER MUSASHI!? KIOSHI!? HELL, EVEN AL AND OPHELIA! YOU CAN SAY THIS WITH THEIR DEATHS ON OUR HANDS!? WE FAILED THE WORLD WHEN WE LET THEM DIE! WE WENT TO BECOME KNIGHTS AND WE LEFT FUGITIVES DAMMIT! LOSERS, FAILURES! HOW CAN YOU GO THROUGH ALL OF THIS, LEAVE US, LEAVE ROSEMARY, AND COME BACK LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED!? HUH!? What the hell is wrong with you!?”

  Grays anger, his want to protect his pride was still there. He gripped his fist, thought of all the hurtful things he could scream out, but instead threw his hands out with a scream.

  Gray: “What are you getting at!?”

  Edward: “I said what the hell is wrong with you!?”

  Gray: “Nothing! I don't know! But that's important! Who I am, what I've done, that doesn't matter! All that matters is that we do our job...So…what the hell is wrong with you?”

  Edward: “Why do treat us like this? Throwing us side-to-side, demanding we follow you?”

  Gray: “Dude! Just shut up, I don't have time for this. The mission is more important, you of all people should know this. Mr. Helsing.”

  As Gray tried to walk away Edward got up, pushing him toward the door.

  Edward: “WHY DO YOU TREAT ME LIKE SHIT!? ALL I’VE DONE IS HELP YOU! AND YOU TREAT ME LIKE AN OUTSIDER! LIKE I DON’T BELONG! WHY, WHY, WHY!? I TRIED TO TALK TO OTHERS, TO YOU! I DID THAT FAKE MATCH, AND THEN REAL ONE! I BEAT YOU, I'M STRONGER THAN YOU, AND YOU KEEP ACTING LIKE I'M A LESSER MAN! WHY! WHY DO YOU HATE ME! WHY DO YOU HATE YOURSELF!?”

  Gray: “I DON’T KNOW! BUT! BUT YOU GOTTA ASK YOURSELF THIS TOO ASSWHOLE!”

  He inadvertently surged with mana, stomping his foot and breaking the bored below him.

  Edward: “Even now…you thought I was dead and when you figure out I was alive you don’t even flinch…You only use me to get further with what you want…you go out of your way for everyone else but me? No, let him die.”

  Gray: “Okay what about in the mansion? I came back for you! We all did!”

  Edward: “Because Rosemary talked you into it. I’ve known you as long as you’ve known Soku and Rosemary…with only a few hours difference. And yet when I first met you, you stood back. Why were you afraid!? Were you jealous?”

  Gray: “Jealous? Of you? I’m laughing! You were quiet and distant for the most part, screaming out and holding everything to yourself! I'm surprised you even care this much!”

  Edward: “No, no you’re not gonna do that. You were standoffish back at the mansion and only talked to me if you had to. Same at Greenvale, and now here. You want me back because I'm strong, not because you miss me! That's all you care about! This whole damn world! I said it back at the exam, all you want is to see the Helsing rage! To fight and win your war!"

  Gray: "We don't look at you this way! And you are my friend! I'm...I'm sorry that I treated you so badly! And I know it wasn't your fault...it's just...I've never had relationships like this. Not ones I cared about. When you got thrown in I got scared the group was changing...I got scared I was going to get stuck at the bottom again...but I don't feel that way! I like you, and I'd like to - "

  Edward steps even closer, pushing Gray outside into the mud and ran. Slamming the door behind him, he screaming out, holding his helmet and sword.

  Edward: “Oh, because you’ve changed? You haven't changed, you act the same way you always have. Loud, obnoxious, whiny, and like a child. You got lucky, you were gifted with immense mana, a great spiritual connection, and a you're damn prodigy at that. Then your giant ego gets stomped on, you cried about it…you screamed at Rosemary and acted like some broken man…but you’re just…a loser. Your life was boring so you gave up, and then of course you got blessed. Get chance after chance, and waste it.”

  Gray: “OHHHHH! YOU’RE JEALOUS! Your life sucks so much you’re mad that I’m better than you. You get born into a rich and famous family, you get gifted with wondrous strength and a great future. But you wasted it, and that’s not on me.”

  Edward: “You know nothing about me…NOTHING! MY LIFE IS HORRIBLE; I HAVE NOTHING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! I was raised without ever meeting my father, then I watched my stepfather and mother get murdered…DAMMIT! I saw my mother's head get eaten off… watched my island burn to the ground, and then I trained and trained until I dropped with no luck…then I saw my grandpa get murdered, my home burn down, my cousin get turned into a pool of blood by a madman, and my last family member get his soul ripped out…then I see the man that set me on this endless path…and he tosses me out like trash…I mean nothing to a man that means everything to me. I have talked to other kids born into high wealth and they all talk of wanting exciting lives, lives like story books…all I’ve ever wanted was a calm, boring, no-stakes existence… something you had and gave up. You want so much, want to prove yourself to the world. I just want to live."”

  Gray: “DON’T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT!? I gave up because I was stuck, I had no hope, no want, I had nothing…but in hindsight, I abandoned everything I needed…I LEFT THEM! AT LEAST YOU KNOW YOUR FAMILY IS DEAD, I’LL NEVER SEE MINE AGAIN! MY MOTHER, MY FATHER, MY HOUSE, MY WHOLE GODDAMN WORLD WAS TAKEN FROM ME! I WILL NEVER GET THAT BACK DAMMIT! TO BE HERE, TO BE ALIVE WITH YOU ALL MENT TURNING AWAY EVERYTHING I KNEW! But...But I'll gladly do it for you guys, because I care for you!"

  And for a moment, they were quiet. What they had said, true or not, was everything they had held in until now. The stress, anger, sadness, regret. The question Gray had kept asking himself, "What should I do now?", continued to be answered by, "Follow the mission". The problems he had faced all resulted from his eternal struggle, so if he did all of the things people told him to do then he could never mess it up by being himself. A solider, instead of a person. But Edward's lived this life, but Moro, that man that took everything, it was a source of rage and pain he had held as his goal for so long. But being a solider meant to push that down, however, he just couldn't. So with Edward and Gray standing at opposite sides of the line constant they just seemed to need to meet in the middle, and they did this by screaming at each other until they and absolutely nothing left to say.

  In the silence, Edwards loud foot echoed through the mountain. Scaring off a wave of birds behind them. In a fit of rage, sweating and drenched with rain, Edward covered his crying eyes with his helmet. Bursting forward in the next second.

  Gray: "CALM DOWN!"

  Gray uses his mana, flowing as even as he could around his body as he jumped back.

  Gray: "We both lost everything, but you gotta keep your world…this isn’t even my home…and my family in my real home just think I took all they gave me for granted…and left them alone forever…they’ll never hear from me again…worrying about me, missing me, hatting me…I don’t know but I do know that I have to use all they gave me to live! We both do!”

  Edward: “THEN MAKE IT! STOP TAKING THINGS FOR GRANTED, STOP OVERTHINKING, STOP GOD DAMN WHINING! AND LET ME LIVE MY LIFE!"

  Edward started chasing him, pushing him, trying to get him away. But Gray didn't stop. Even if it was scary, even if Edwards words hurt, he couldn't leave. And so he rushed around, using his cloak to swing with the cloak. Sending out weak spirit slashes that Edward clashed with his blade.

  Gray: “I’M TRYING! I AM A DIFFERENT PERSON THAN I WAS! HE WAS A FAKE, A LIAR, USELESS AND BORED…I’M HAPPY NOW! I HAVE A PURPOSE, A FAMILY I BUILT! THE TIME AT GREENVALE, IT WAS LIKE THE MANSION! BUT...BUT SAFER! WHAT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN, WITHOUT THE GUILT OR NIGHTMARES, WITHOUT THE SECT! RYO HELPED ME, BEING A KNIGHT HELPED ME, YOU HELPED ME! I’M HAPPY! I…have to be…I love Rosemary more than I’ve ever loved someone…and Soku’s my best friend…so I’ll make sure that they’re safe!"

  Gray swung onto his back, causing Edward to scream in rage. As Edward threw him off with a jolt of strength Gray flung onto the trunk of a tree, staring into his eyes as he turned.

  Edward: "BUT YOU LEFT THEM!"

  Gray: "TO SAVE THEM! BUT LEAVING, THAT'S NOT SAVING!"

  He blasted forward with uncontrolledly mana, breaking the tree bark as he charged a swirling pit of mana into his hand. It quickly swirled, slamming against Edwards sword. The power let of a wave of wind within the forest, but Gray had been sent tumbling back in the mud. Forcing him to pull in the mana, to beg and pray to the spirits as he coursed their energy into their body.

  Gray: "HELPING AND GETTING HELP FROM OTHERS, SPEAKING FROM THE HEART, BEING TRUE TO YOURSELF! BEING TRUE TO OTHERS! THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN SHOWN LIVING IS! TRYING TO AVOID EVERYTHING ONLY LEAVES YOU ALONE, TRAPPED WITH YOURSELF! BUT WHEN YOU START TO LET GO OF HATING YOURSELF, OF ONLY THINKING OF YOURSELF, AND SHIFT YOUR MIND TO EVERYBODY! YOUR BURDEN SHIFTS! THE WEIGHT IS GONE!"

  Edward: "HOW WOULD YOU KNOW! HOW COULD YOU RELATE TO MY LIFE!?"

  He screamed out, his voice breaking as he did. His sword waved, the grip tightening and loosening. He swung out, breaking through tree after tree as he closed in. Gray rushed in, using the spirit sense along with his mana flow to barley dodge each swing.

  Gray: "I CAN'T! AND YOU CAN'T RELATE TO MINE!"

  Gray jumped back but Edward lunged forward, grabbing onto his cloak and throwing him into another tree trunk.

  Gray: "...But...but that's why we can talk, help each other. I'll do what you can't and you do what I can't. That's what friends...brothers are here for."

  Edward stopped, dropping his sword and falling to his knees. In the silence of the rain he cried, he didn't want to but he did, and Gray approched him. Holding his swore body, he rested his hand on Edwards shoulder while he got down.

  Edward: "....I don't want to start a new family again, just for them to vanish...I just want to be alone, die alone..."

  Gray: "As long as you're still fighting for the right cause, for the right people, then you can't have that dream. Because me and the others won't leave you alone. We'll chase you down, annoy you, and beat you up if we have to. I left...and they let me come back. But I have to show how I've changed, to prove it to them. Come back, don't make the mistake I did. And if you do, we'll forgive you all the same!"

  His smile caused Edward to smile, even if only a small one.

  Edward: “I agree…and I’m sorry…I want to be a part of this family that’s been building, I really do. I like you guys, and for better or for worse, we're all made for each other. A family made from conflict, from war. Making us brothers in war, but if we're gonna be a real family…we need to win this damn war first.”

  Gray: “There you go, speaking with some sense! And I'm sorry. Earlier, I was just screaming out my own stupid feelings. In truth, your the strongest guy I've ever met. You even remind me of my dad a little bit."

  Edward: “Really? That means a lot...all of what you've said has meant a lot, even some of it that sounded a bit mean. So yeah, I'll go. I’ll come with you. Because you're right, the mission is more important. And what's even more important, is you all. Beating them, helping you and the people of this country. That is why I'm here.”

  Gray: “Then we better get moving, and I promise, you'll get your revenge someday."

  Edward: “Thanks. Oh, I gotta leave a note, would be rude if I didn’t.”

  End of Chapter thirty-eight