Never Heroes: Act I

Chapter 16

Never Heroes

Act I

XVI: Revelations

Tahere did not hesitate to complete the order, even if she knew it wasn't what Walter really wanted. They found themselves back in Chip and Sarah's quaint townhouse, just a few weeks ago. Situated in the kitchen near the dining room entrance, the group took in their surroundings. It was cloudy outside, as springtime rains threatened to fall; the kitchen was immaculate, aside from one spot on the counter top where vegetables were being chopped.

None other than Sarah helmed the knife that cut away at the food. Upon seeing his deceased wife alive and well, Chip attempted to move toward her. He found himself bound by invisible bindings. Of course, he wasn't actually there; this was the past and he had to mentally remind himself of that. As his heart began to beat wildly, everyone felt dread creep upon them.

"This doesn't make sense. No one starts making dinner and then kills themselves," Emily said.

"Not true. Sometimes people go about their routines normally before they off themselves," Doug said.

"And what makes you an expert?" inquired Sarah.

Doug never answered. All of them went back to observing when a soft hum escaped Sarah's lips. Cheerfully she continued on with her songs, and everyone couldn't help but notice that her eyes were aglow with a love for life that couldn't be rivaled. A small bump in her belly revealed the child growing inside her. Emily had heard from Chip that she was pregnant, but this was the confirmation she needed. Taking in the entire scene, Emily became convinced they weren't about to watch a suicide.

A hardy knock at the door ended Sarah's hum and she called out, "Just a minute!" The knife was set down near the cutting board, where half an onion still waited to be chopped. Barefoot feet shuffled across the kitchen tiles as she made her way toward the front door. Tahere kept the group planted firmly in their position, so they could barely hear the exchange between Sarah and whomever waited at the door.

" - here to check your cable connection?"

"Oh, of course. Chip complained about it all night. I'm glad he actually called someone. Come inside," she said warmly. Stepping aside, she gave the stranger room to enter. As the two proceeded back around the small wall that separated the kitchen from the entryway, Chip recognized the man immediately.

"That's the man that was following me all over town!" Chip shouted.

Hesitantly, Walter agreed as he matched the face of the cable worker with the man from the coffee shop. "He does look like him."

Sarah turned her back to the cable man as she led the way through the kitchen and toward the dining room. "We have our router in a really dumb spot. If you just want to follow me," she said to him. A glance over her shoulder toward the man revealed nothing suspicious about him. What reason would she have to suspect a thing from him, anyway? Aside from the gloves he wore, but it was cold and wet out.

The moment her attention was elsewhere, his eyes danced around the kitchen. It didn't take long for him to find the discarded knife she left on the counter top. Within a blink he had the knife, still wet with onion juice, in his hand and against her throat. Barely a gasp emitted from her before his hand covered her mouth, silencing her. Everything happened so fast that no one had a chance to feel anything; he spun her around, pinned her to the ground, and placed deep gashes along both of her wrists.

Immense ire built inside them as their minds settled on the sight. Chip was the cause of the most passion as it flooded their connected consciousness. It was frustrating for Walter, as he never wanted to see and he wished to look away but was forced to watch. Sarah was confused as what had just happened and focused on covering one wrist at a time, but her brain was shutting down in an attempt at survival. As she tried to get up, the cable man kicked her in the head hard enough to knock her unconscious.

As she continued to bleed, he went about cleaning the kitchen. The onion was tossed out, the knife was left by her side, and a forged note placed near the cutting board. Sarah was regaining consciousness by the time the man finished. Before he left, he slipped a pill inside her mouth and forced her to swallow it. Hurriedly, he rushed out the door. The entire situation went by so fast, no one had fully processed it.

"I have lost Chip," Tahere announced, interrupting everyone.

"What do you mean?" Walter asked, concerned.

"The Prince has him," she said.

Indeed, Prince Saeed had pulled Chip back to that dark room, away from the scene and away from his friends. Seething with a strange mixture of emotions that threatened to overtake every sense of his being, Chip did everything he physically could to prevent himself from going on a raging rampage. Heavy breathing through his nostrils, clenched fists, and shaking knees displayed to the Prince exactly how Chip felt about what he just witnessed.

Saeed's voice brought him back when he said, "I feel partially responsible for Sister Sarah's demise." The declaration caused Chip to look to his face in a quest for proof of sincerity. No eye contact was made. Saeed was focused solely on a red and gold helmet in that he cradled. "You see, Lancer, when I was a boy, I watched you heroes save my Kingdom like all the others. Yet I was granted a gift at the end of it. Given the choice to stay as an Order of the Church for eternity, or to give herself to you for eternity, Sarah looked into your eyes before the final battle and made her choice. With the final defeat of Interfector, she granted her eternal light and the duty of her life to me. Her immortality is now mine, and with it, her obligation to protect you."

It was protocol for Saeed to kowtow to Chip, but he didn't do it. Sarah never did, either. Instead, he handed Chip the helmet in his hands. The golden face plate was stained with blood and dents marred the red top. Chip knew it well. For countless battles he had worn it as a child, and it always felt a tad too big to him back then. Shyly, he took it from Saeed and placed it on his head. To his surprise, it was a perfect fit.

"Anything you want, Lancer, I will give you," Saeed said. There was very slight bow with his words this time, but nothing extreme.

Chip's voice shook when he requested, "If you have the same powers as Tahere, can you show me what our lives might have been like? Can you show me what would have happened if she was still alive?"

Saeed said nothing. Instead, he merely waved his hand and gave Chip what he wished.

An illusion befell both of them. Warmth seeped into every pore of Chip's body as he found himself positioned in his home once more. This time, not in the past that was but the future that could have been. Despite being in a time and place that could never be, he felt a sense of peace wash over him.

In his arms he held a small child, no older than a few months. In the face of that baby girl he once more saw all that the universe could have ever offered him, the only reason he needed to exist or love. With Sarah's cute nose, his round chin, and set of blue eyes that captured his entire soul, he never wanted to leave. There was no need to tell him that this was their child, as he felt it the moment he saw her and instantly knew of a love that could never be duplicated.

"Why don't you come to bed? She's been asleep for an hour now," Sarah's voice called out to him. He looked up to her and found her standing in the doorway to the nursery. Dressed in his favorite nightgown - a silk, sleek garb that always got his heart pumping - he knew exactly what she meant.

Still, his attention left her and turned back to the girl in his arms. "I can't, babe. She's too cute," he said. It was strange how naturally his body was accepting this future, with no desire to return to reality. He'd already bought in.

An adorable giggle came from Sarah as she entered the room and approached him. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and she said, "My knight and my child... no sight makes me happier." Then, she leaned down to kiss him on the cheek.

His eyes closed.

When they reopened, he found himself back in reality. Saeed stood in front of him still, his expression revealing that he felt a deep sadness for Chip's predicament. Unable to prevent his emotions from appearing, tears clouded Chip's vision as he was forced to accept what fate had given him.

Soon, those tears were gone. Replaced with uncontrollable rage, the sadness was gone for good. He commanded, "Bring me my sword and the rest of my armor. There's a man in my hometown that needs to learn what retribution means."

Just as those words left his lips, Walter and the others were brought back by Tahere. Doug and Emily still toiled with their emotions, while Walter had already decided that they were shown a mere illusion and not the truth. Upon hearing Chip's declaration, Walter was ready to stop him at all costs.

As Saeed handed Chip parts of his armor and helped dress him, Walter snatched Chip's shoulder and said, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to do what I have to do, Walt," Chip said, his voice strangely even despite his emotional state. This was a cold, calculated decision.

"We can't be sure what we were shown is the truth or not, Chip. What if it was just a lie? Then you'll murder that man for nothing," Walter argued.

"Tahere showed you. She wouldn't lie to you," Chip said.

Walter turned to Tahere without thought, as though he were assessing the truth of Chip's words. Without a doubt, she appeared trustworthy to him, and even in the deepest part of his gut he felt as though he could place his eternal soul with her. Yet there was a bit of reluctance in his mind as his rational brain started to pick apart their situation. Based on the look Saeed kept shooting him, the Prince felt betrayed by the accusation. Walter kept his mouth shut.

Finally, the sword that Chip first held as child, that which was still engraved with the family crest of General Hasih, was given to him. A wave of realization and nostalgia hit all at once when they beheld Chip in his getup. Memories cascaded on them relentlessly. There was little doubt they had seen young Chip dressed in armor before.

"Take me to that man," Chip said to Saeed. The order was carried out, and Chip left the room in a flash.

Tahere motioned to the table, and a view of their hometown came into view. Saeed placed Chip right in front of the cable man as he was about to enter the small town coffee shop for his breakfast. Confused, the man jumped back, but it didn't take long for his brain to kick into gear. A pistol was drawn from a hidden holster and the man prepared to fire off several rounds.

"Protect him!" Walter ordered. Both Tahere and Saeed motioned; whichever power was used, no one was sure, but they watched as the bullets stopped midair and rained onto the ground, useless.

For Chip, he felt no fear at all when he stared down the barrel of the gun. In fact, he never even registered the shots being fired. He walked right on top of the discarded bullets as though they weren't even there.

Through clenched teeth, he spoke, "You... you murdered her. I'm going to make your family suffer the way you made me suffer!"

The golden mask that protected his face allowed his mouth to be uncovered, so the man heard every word clearly. Panic was hitting this supposed cable man as Chip advanced. It took only a few steps before he was within striking distance. The sword was raised above Chip's head for the first time in nearly fifteen years; he swung down as hard as his body would allow.

Bone prevented the heavy weapon from cutting the man in half. Struck between the neck and the shoulder, the blade cut fairly deep before getting lodged. It took a bit of a wiggle from Chip to free it. The sickening noise of the man's blood being forced out went unheard to Chip. As the man fell onto the ground, Chip raised his sword again, intent on cleaving through the man's body repeatedly until he felt satisfied.

Sword never met flesh again. Instead, it clanked off a shield that appeared and parried the attack. Staring Chip down was none other than Walter, his hazel eyes clearly displaying his disgust of the situation.

"Get out of the way," Chip commanded.

"You're out of control, Chip! Killing him isn't going to bring Sarah back!" Walter shouted.

"That isn't the point," Chip said.

"Then what is?!" Walter demanded.

"Get out of the way."

"No."

Walter fixed his feet solidly onto the bloodied sidewalk. His sneakers slipped a bit but he kept his balance. Behind him, he heard the man gasp his last breath of air as death consumed him. There was no point in continuing the confrontation.

The fight wasn't over in Chip's mind. Once more he swung his sword, his target clearly Walter. Shocked and confused, Walter barely had time to block the attack. Fortunately, Chip had always been a tad lankier than Walter, so he was able to hold his own against the ferocious attacks Chip sent his way. The blows continued and were all largely ill-thought out. Swing after swing connected with Walter's shield until, finally, Chip tired himself out.

Hidden behind his shield, Walter only dared to peek out because he heard Chip's armor hit the sidewalk. Exhausted emotionally and physically, Chip let his sword hit the ground; he nearly collapsed face-first into the cement but he held himself up with his hand which became stained from the blood that had pooled there. Tear drops soon mingled with the red as he let himself become overcome with his emotions.

Walter knelt beside his friend and placed a hand on the cold armor that protected him. "Come on, Chip. Get up," he said.

"I just don't know what to believe anymore. I don't know what I did wrong anymore. I never did, but now, I just - "

"You never did anything wrong. If it was suicide, it wasn't your fault. If it's some stupid conspiracy it still wasn't your fault. You're not that powerful, Chip. You're not that important. No one is. At least, not to the universe. To each other, yeah, we're pretty important. And that's what matters. You hear me? You matter to me. You matter to Doug and Emily, too. And you definitely mattered to Sarah. So get up, Chip."

One more sniffle and Chip nodded. As he slowly got back to his feet he said, "You're right. I'm sorry."

"You just murdered someone, by the way," Walter informed him. The information seemed to pass through Chip's ears as he made no mention or motion that the situation bothered him.

"We need to get Doug and Emily and we need to settle the business between our world and theirs as soon as possible," Chip said. The tone of his voice revealed the strange whiplash of emotions he felt, as he again sounded calm and in control.

To this, Walter said nothing. He merely nodded, signaling that he had Chip's back regardless. Even if his body was shaking from the vibrations of the deadly blows Chip nearly delivered, or the sensation of the dead man's blood soaking his shoes, he felt a need to display utter devotion to his friend.

Walter's voice ordered, "Tahere? Reunite us."