Rangers Endgame

Chapter 107: Two Sides

TWO HOURS EARLIER:

ELLA:

Ella chased after a sunleaf butterfly along the Sotiri River with other children tailing her, her flower-shaped pendant bouncing with each footfall. She swung her net in a carefree way, laughter ringing in the air as she and the others raced to catch the elusive butterfly.

Aru, a boy with black wavy hair who was more athletic than she was, dashed past her and leapt super high in the air but barely missed by a few inches. Al, another boy who happened to be her neighbor, with a funny bowl cut, waited ahead of us. He said he had "recognized the butterfly's flight pattern"—whatever that meant—and swung where he thought it would be, but it dodged out of the way, causing him to stumble and fall.

Ella couldn't help but burst into laughter as his plan had failed horribly. Sara, a girl with wheat hair styled into a cute braid, began to outpace Ella in the process and decided to challenge it head-on. The butterfly dipped down unexpectedly and flew between her legs, making her do an awkward somersault.

As it was still low to the ground, Ella took that chance to capture it and steal the glory for herself. She kicked dirt in its path, causing it to turn back, then dove dramatically with her net outstretched.

Her friends ran up to her with hopeful excitement.

"Did you catch it?" Aru asked.

Sara lightly smacked him on the arm, making him flinch. "You should be concerned about Ella." She turned her attention to her still-prone form. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay." She smiled as Al caught up to the group, huffing.

"You guys..." He took a second to catch his breath. "I don't know how you guys do it..."

"If you would take my offer and run with me every day, you wouldn't have eaten dirt trying to catch the thing." Aru teased with a snobbish tone.

Al fixed his glasses, the lenses catching the sunlight. "My plan was foolproof until you disturbed its flight path. Not every problem can be solved with talent. Maybe you should..."

Aru had already looked away and mouthed the words spilling from Al's lips, the same words they'd heard a hundred times each time they bickered. Sara just giggled as Al gave up on his argument and turned back to Ella.

When the dust settled, the four of them gasped. Under Ella's net was the butterfly fluttering helplessly in its confinement.

"I got it!" Ella elated.

Her friends praised her for catching the butterfly. They all gathered around it, amazed by its alien appearance. Ella put her finger in the net and it landed on it, making her giggle as its little legs tickled her. Its long, deep gold wings were soft and complemented the bamboo around them. Al took out a notebook and a pencil and started scribbling something down. Aru blew harshly on the butterfly to scare it, but only earned him another slap on the arm from Sara.

As they all debated on what to do now that they'd caught it, a soft voice called out nearby. "Ella, the garden's ready!"

Ella turned to find her mother, a woman with blonde hair tied into a ponytail, waving her over. "Coming!"

Ella looked back at her friends apologetically. "I have to go now." Getting up from her stomach, she dusted herself off, took her net, and released the butterfly as they said their goodbyes. As she began walking away, Aru elbowed Al with a smirk.

"Race you to the watermill." He said, purposely getting a head start, knowing Al was already out of breath.

Al dragged his feet tiredly, trying to chase after him. "No fair!"

Ella rushed to her mother. The thick brush of leaves above leaked light droplets onto a pretty garden of multicolored plants. The air was sweet with the scent of roses and lilies as the dim sunlight cast a soft glow over the wide selection of flowers.

Her mother already had a watering can in her hand as Ella slid to a stop before her. "I'll do it, Mama."

Her mother chuckled at her enthusiasm. "I know you will, sweetheart. Thank you."

Handing over the can, she set her net aside and got straight to work.

As usual, Ella started with the plants in the far back, watering a pot of lunar lilacs. Their spiraling petals always stood out against the neighboring flowers. Making her way down, she watered the plants next to them, the water splashing from her awkward hold.

She moved from violet dancers to roses, then to a bed of buds. They weren't much to look at in the daytime, but they bloomed at night and glowed a soft gold that always charmed her with its beauty.

Tipping the can further, she made sure the buds got a little extra love. Though stumbling and clumsily splashing water in the process.

Her mother, watching her work while guiding an old couple to a pot of lunar lilacs nearby, couldn't help but smirk as she approached. "Are you sure you're watering those amber blooms or are you giving them a bath?" She teased.

Startled out of her concentration, Ella looked up with a mix of surprise and pouting. "I want them to be extra happy."

Her mother laughed softly. "I know, sweetie," she guided her to another bed of plants and gently fixed her posture. "Here, you don't have to bend so much."

Ella let her tender touch guide her as more customers started walking into the garden. Her mother got up to tend to them, but stopped and turned back to her daughter.

"Your birthday isn't for another few days, and we'll be really busy then. So before I don't get the chance..." She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small box, handing it to her. "I thought you might like this to go with the pendant Papa got you."

Ella opened the box, and her eyes brightened at the sky blue bow with black spots lying inside. Immediately, she tried fixing it to her hair, but her struggle only made her mother giggle with amusement. With gentle hands, she helped orient the bow on her head.

"There."

"I love it! Thank you, Mama." She hugged her tightly.

"Of course, sweetheart." Her mother returned the gesture as she looked down at the empty watering can. "Why don't you go fetch more water from the river? I'm sure there are a lot more flowers you could make extra happy too." She tickled her stomach with her finger, making Ella squirm and giggle.

"Okay, okay." She picked up her can and towed it towards the river. "I'm gonna show Sara too!"

"Don't get too distracted." Her mother gave a playful look of warning.

Ella couldn't wait. She could still see her three friends playing by the water in the distance. They splashed and chased each other, carelessly getting their clothes all wet. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to join them. But she didn't want to possibly wet her bow.

As she approached, something further in the distance made her stop. Her friends ahead stopped their playing as they heard it too. The villagers around her noticed too, turning in the same direction.

Someone was yelling. Then their yells turned to panicked screams as people began running from something Ella couldn't see. Her excitement dimmed as the villagers in the distance scrambled. Her mother must've sensed something was horribly wrong because she came up and stepped in front of Ella protectively.

Aru, Al, and Sara stared at the commotion, dread and confusion on their faces. Ella jumped violently when a building suddenly went up in a sharp explosion, her hands instinctively clutching onto her mother's blouse.

"Get back, baby. Get back." Her mother urged.

Strange men in white clothing rushed from the smoke, followed by dozens of men in armor. Villagers were already fleeing from the chaos, but the men were faster, snatching up anyone on the streets and dragging them away.

Hooded figures, once wandering harmlessly through the village, rushed to the commotion and drew weapons. Their swords and axes shone with dark gold energy, but before they could stop the invaders, a man in white casually waved his hand. Strands of gold flicked out and wrapped around their throats before slamming them into the ground, earth bursting into the sky from the craters formed.

Fear had locked Ella in place as her home erupted into a horrific cacophony of screams and clashing steel in mere moments. 

"Ella, come on!" Her mother grabbed her by the hand to run back to the safety of the garden.

As she was hauled away, she looked on horrified to see Aru and Al being dragged away, kicking and sobbing. Their parents tried to reach them but were too seized by more armed men.

"Sara!" Ella cried, reaching out a desperate hand as her friend was also ripped from the others.

More hooded men bolted to stop the intruders. The second man in white stepped up challengingly as he raised his shield, humming with ominous energy. He walked behind them, leaving behind a distorted double. The men didn't even notice him and swung harmlessly at the clone as it fizzled away. Before they could react, his sword had already sliced through their necks.

Ella tried to pull her eyes away, but they stayed glued to the gruesome scene even as their heads rolled off their shoulders. An armored man had wrenched his sword out of his body and made eye contact with Ella as she and her mother disappeared into the garden.

"Halt!" She heard him shout.

Her mother didn't stop, the screams muffling as they pushed through the garden towards their house. Some villagers had either already taken refuge in the garden or scrambled in a panic.

Another hooded man burst through the garden, tearing her from her mother's grasp and knocking her back into a bed of flowers, dampening her fall. Wood crackled as a nearby bamboo stalk shattered from the force. Ella watched with trembling eyes as it toppled towards her, but her mother leaped on top of her to shield her.

She howled as the tough bamboo struck her back and rolled to the ground with a thud. Blood trickled down the side of her head and neck, but her focus was on her weeping daughter, frantically checking her for injuries.

"It's okay, baby, I got you. Shh, look at me, you're okay."

To Ella's left, the hooded man raised his axe, the blade flaring with unbridled power as he prepared to swing at someone to her right. Before she could check who, a beam of light roared over them and punched through his chest, staining the colorful garden with his splattered red fluids.

The light soared into the bamboo canopy behind him, and an explosion tore out after it had struck something.

Through the leaves of the fallen bamboo stalk to her right, Ella saw another hooded figure fleeing for his life. As he cut through the garden, however, threads of amber emerged out of the shadows of the nearby bamboo and snatched him by the ankles. He fell forward, desperately grabbing onto whatever his hands could reach, pulling out plants and foliage before he was swallowed up by the shadows, his screams cutting out abruptly.

Her mother gritted her teeth as she tried to right herself, her tunic torn and exposing her bloodied and bruised back. "Come on, baby, it's alright." She wiped the dirt from Ella's face.

Ella took her by the hand again, her vision swimming. Her mother limped as fast as she could, pushing her daughter forward gently but with urgency.

"Hey!" A deep voice shouted from behind.

"Keep going, Ella." Her mother urged as they reached the edge of the garden, approaching the canopy of bamboo.

As she pushed her through, she was suddenly yanked back. Ella turned, horrified to find an armored man hauling her mother away by the arm. She stood frozen, unsure of what to do as her mother struggled.

"Keep running, Ella!" She managed to grab a watering can and smashed it against the man's head. He jerked back for a moment but grabbed her by the wrists, preventing her from resisting. "Ella, go! Run!" She begged.

Her cry snapped her out of her daze, and the girl turned and dashed into the canopy. She heard the man bark commands and moments later she could hear the haunting sounds of rapid footfalls growing louder.

This time, she didn't look back. Rather, she didn't dare.

Even as she ran until her feet ached and knees screamed, she didn't stop. Even as the branches lashed at her skin relentlessly, she didn't stop. Even when she knew she couldn't outrun her pursuers, she didn't stop.

She followed the freshly made trail created by the beam of light from earlier and, by some miracle, she found something she hadn't expected. A boulder that had been shattered. But it wasn't the boulder that got her attention; it was the hollowed-out ground it likely used to cover.

Having no time to think, she grabbed a broken stalk of bamboo and dragged it over the entrance to who knew where as she carefully descended into it. The leaves still attached to the bamboo covered the hole and she heard the footsteps above her stop.

"Where'd they go?"

"Keep searching, they couldn't have gotten far."

Even as the footsteps receded, Ella's sheer fear had overridden reason, leaving her not to trust the outside. Instead, she clumsily slid down a rocky slope, cutting and tearing at her dress, and heedlessly ran down the dimly lit tunnel.

Each tunnel she turned down was devoid of life. The creepy atmosphere hadn't even registered for her as she navigated the labyrinth. The damp musty air began to choke her lungs, smothering her adrenaline and slowing her to a jittering walk.

She clasped her hands against her pendant, her head darting back and forth. Every hall looked almost identical. She tried to backtrack but couldn't remember where she'd come from.

Each step sent waves of heat through her feet and her throat had dried considerably. Time lost its meaning as she wandered aimlessly, passing the same rooms with vials and scattered papers. The echoes of her footsteps got lost traveling through the halls.

Then, she heard something from further down the tunnel. She stopped, a spark of hope flickering inside her, but that hope was snuffed out as quickly as it came when the noise came closer.

Her trembling grew more violent as the harsh sound of something metal clawed against stone. As she stared wide-eyed, she saw sparks flash menacingly down the hall, illuminating the partial form of a beast-like silhouette trudging its way on its hind legs.

Scurrying into a room on her left, she squeezed herself between a bookshelf and wall on the far side of the room. With her teeth chattering uncontrollably and her knees tucked into her, she waited for whatever was coming to pass—prayed for it to pass.

The scraping stone grew so agonizingly loud, she pushed her hands against her ears. To her horror, the beast-like silhouette stopped at her door. The talons on its feet raked along the stone entryway as it took a step through the doorframe. It sniffed the air with suspicion, the razor-sharp daggers in its mouth glinting dangerously in the dim light as its metal jaw hung open.

She snapped her eyes shut and her hands shot to her mouth to muffle her breathing, but she was almost certain that it could hear her heart ramming against her chest.

'Please. Please go away.' She pleaded.

"Keep it moving," a thin voice said, and she opened her eyes again. The beast-like thing stumbled when the long pole attached to its neck jerked it out of the room. "They'll begin the ambush any minute now."

The beast let out a deep, animalistic growl, but didn’t resist. As if answering her pleas, the beast abandoned its search, and the two continued down the hall. Her body couldn't move. She refused to move anyway if she could. Instead, she sat there.

Tears began to roll down her dirt-stained cheeks again as the scene of her mother being ripped away from her played again in her head.

No parents, no friends, and no home.

Alone.

PRESENT:

FUYUMI:

Fuyumi listened intently as Ella recounted her horrible experience. Her home was attacked without warning, her mother was taken from her, and she watched as people were slaughtered...something inside her softened from the familiar scene she’d described.

"And where's your father?" She asked more out of curiosity than anything.

"My papa always goes to work early in the morning." Ella answered.

"Does he work within the village or outside?"

Ella looked down regretfully. "I...I don't know."

Either way, her father was most likely evacuated and back at the camps behind the perimeter along with her mother. However, what she didn't know was the direction she needed to go to find the exit, let alone her parents.

Ella subconsciously licked her dry lips again. Fuyumi turned to grab the canteen still sitting halfway to the other side of the room, and held it out to her. The kid reeled as she stared at it with uncertainty.

"It's just water." Fuyumi said, still holding the canteen to her expectantly.

Ella inspected it from different angles before carefully taking it from her hand. Unscrewing the lid, she greedily downed the water in large gulps. Within seconds, the canteen was empty and she handed it back to Fuyumi.

"Thank you." Ella whispered, her words barely audible even in the dead quiet, as she wiped her mouth.

Fuyumi wordlessly took her canteen back. "And you said you don't know your way back?"

Ella shook her head. Fuyumi let out another sigh through her nose as she doubted the girl would be of any use. So far, the child had only been leeching off her resources inside unknown enemy territory. However, that didn't mean they were completely lost down there.

She reached into her satchel again and pulled out an artifact that had been surprisingly reliable in many situations.

She held out the talisman tracker, its ethereal glow waving away the shadows. Ella's big almond eyes sparkled with interest at the rather unimpressive artifact.

"Oh wow," she uncoiled on her hands and knees, gravitating towards it. "That's so pretty."

Fuyumi stood and headed towards the door. She wasn't sure how far the tunnels stretched, and if she could even reach Yakeru from where she was. But she didn't have many options.

Looking back, the girl was now on her feet with her hands clasped around her pendant, reflecting the anxiety in her eyes.

"Are you still going to leave?" Ella asked, looking scared of her answer.

The girl would no doubt serve as a hindrance. And where Fuyumi was going was no place for a child. Fuyumi was better off going alone.

"...if you can keep up, then come on." She said, immediately loathing herself for contradicting her own reasoning. She started to move, forcing the kid to make a decision.

Ella took a hesitant step forward then a step back, contemplation etched onto her expression. When Fuyumi left the room, Ella soon peeked her head out and looked left and right as if the hall wasn't already clear. When Fuyumi began making distance, she fast walked after her, her hands still clasped.

Fuyumi glanced over as the girl followed while looking around nervously. She wasn't too thrilled at the prospect of babysitting so she hoped they could get to Yakeru without any resistance.

If they were to run into a Second Grade, she could handle it for the most part. A Third Grade on the other hand...she didn't want to think about what kind of complications an enemy of that caliber would bring.