Destiny (Anime Style)

Chapter 3: Selfishness

Ravi, Leah, Wire and Cybel did it. They really did it... They managed to repair the ship in less than 6 days. And now, after returning once again to the bunker by using the ship this time, Ravi and Leah packed everything they thought was valuable to take with them before leaving the wasteland.

It was sunset already, and they were almost ready to go... However, Ravi just happened to come up with a very crazy idea at that exact moment.

"Hey! What do you say we leave tomorrow?" the blue-haired boy asked the rest, startling them.

"Tomorrow?" Cybel replied. "Why would you wanna leave tomorrow? We have the ship already... and the earlier the better, right?"

"Well... yeah, but there's one place I would really like to visit for the last time before leaving" Ravi turned over to Leah. "I know you'll love it!" he said to her, very excited.

"I don't know" the young girl answered a bit worried. "Are you sure it's a good Idea? There will be a sandstorm tomorrow, remember? Don't you think it's better to leave now?"

"Maybe, but this is worth it! Trust me!"

Wire and Cybel were still hesitating. Nonetheless, Leah ended up accepting after quite a long time of insistence. And so, they stood outside once more and headed south.

It was hard to believe this was the same Russia from years ago. After many incidents, the landscape and weather changed completely and turned into a giant almost desertic wasteland which was now called as simply... Old Russia.

Either way, after an hour of walking through the vast and almost empty land, Ravi and the others finally arrived at their destination. It was dark already... but ironically, that only made the surprise even better. "This is it!" Ravi claimed, very happy, only to then witness how Leah inevitably gasped from excitement after noticing that Ravi's special place was nothing else... than a big, wide and beautiful oasis.

"Amazing! It's so... beautiful!" the young girl claimed with a big smile.

It was the typical heavenly oasis one could find in movies or video games. Tall palm trees around, and a big and beautiful lagoon at the center with shiny and clear water. Nevertheless, there was something in particular that made the place special and even more beautiful than it already was: the fireflies.

That's right... There were tons of beautiful little lights just flying around and illuminating the whole place.

"How come you never brought me here before?" Leah asked Ravi as everyone moved towards the lagoon.

"Well, repairing the ship was a priority" the bluenette replied.

"Yeah, I guess you are right"

They both kept admiring the place in disbelief while on the other hand, Wire and Cybel limited themselves to watch the pair of teenagers while whispering to each other. "Should we give them some privacy?" Wire asked Cybel.

"Meh..." this last one vaguely answered.

Nevertheless, despite how peaceful and relaxing the whole place was, Leah couldn't help but to tense up and get all nervous at something that Ravi did a few seconds later.

"Well, it's time" the blue-haired boy claimed while taking his shirt off right in front of the young girl.

Leah inevitably startled and then immediately turned around while blushing like crazy. "Wh-why are you undressing?!" she asked with embarrassment.

"Uh? I just said it. It's time. IT'S TIME FOR A SPLASH!" Ravi yelled while jumping into the lagoon as Leah looked at him, surprised at how childish he could be sometimes. "So, are you gonna come in? The water is great!" the young boy asked after emerging from the water.

"Uhmm... I'm sure it's great, but I don't really wanna get wet hehe..."

"What?! You can't be serious!" Just then, he had an idea. "Well, if you don't wanna get in yourself, I can help you with that!" he finally claimed, after which he grabbed Leah by her leg and pulled her into the water with her clothes on.

"AHH! WAIT!"

After a big splash, Leah too emerged from the water while pouting annoyingly. She was angry at first, but after seeing Ravi laughing, she too relaxed and began giggling as well.

On the meantime, Cybel and Wire just continued to stare at the human duo, playing around in the water, with lots of thoughts in mind. "They are like... what is it?" Wire asked Cybel once again.

"Friends?" she bluntly answered.

"Mmmh... no. I'm pretty sure it's something deeper"

"Let's just leave it at that... for now"

And so, both Ravi and Leah kept enjoying the beautiful landscape for a very long time before finally stepping outside of the lagoon.

"Well, I certainly can't go back with these wet clothes" the young girl muttered while trying her best to drain her hair. "Can you give me my costume back, Cybel?"

"Yeah, sure" Cybel added and then, in flashing beam of light, Leah's clothes changed back into her guardian costume once more. The skin-tight black suit, the armor pieces, even the hood and short cloak were there.

"Wait, what?! How did you do that?!" Ravi asked Cybel while in complete shock. "How did you change her outfit that fast?!"

"I can digitize and store whatever Leah wants. And whenever she needs it I can give it to her or replace it for something she doesn't need anymore, like her clothes. Every ghost can do that"

"Amazing! Does that mean Wire can do it too?"

"Yeah, I can" Wire replied. "But I can only do it for my guardian. And since I don't have a guardian yet, I can't do it at all"

Incredible, to think a ghost could be this useful, but only for his or her guardian.

In any case, after drying themselves and getting dressed, the group finally decided to go back. However, something happened just then... Something completely unexpected that put their entire plan at risk... The Fallen arrived.

That's right... Those four-armed creatures had been watching the pair of humans and ghosts the whole time while waiting for the time to strike. And according to them, this was definitely the right chance to do so.

"WHAT THE...?!" Ravi yelled in shock while witnessing lots of Fallen suddenly coming out from their hiding spots, surrounding them completely.

"FALLEN!" Wire claimed out loud.

The first thing those monsters did was aim straight for Leah. They knew how dangerous the young girl could be due to her powers, so obviously, she was the one they were worried about the most. "HEY! STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Leah yelled as a wide group of four-armed monsters kept her from using her daggers by restraining both of her arms and legs.

"LEAH!" Ravi yelled while trying his best to fight back as well.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Cybel added, desperately.

They tried to help her but suddenly, even more of Fallen backup arrived. There were simply too many of them, and as Leah kept on attempting to free herself without success, one of the many Fallen creatures punched her in the gut really hard.

"AGH!" The human girl groaned as she inevitably fell unconscious from lack of air, only to then hit the ground.

"STOOOOP!" Ravi kept screaming with anger. "STOP! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HEEER!"

At that precise moment, something even more surprising took place... Ravi tried to punch back one of the enemies... but instead, a bright and very hot blast of fire came out of his hand.

"Wh-what the hell?!"

Not only the one he punched, but many of the enemies surrounding him before were now down for the count thanks to such powerful attack.

Ravi's hand was on fire, but not burning at all. And the Fallen evidently couldn't help but to stare at him in surprise, but also... in fear.

"THAT'S IT!" Wire yelled. "Ravi, those are your guardian powers! You just awoke them!"

Ravi was shocked, but relieved too. Not because he awoke these powers out of nowhere, but because he now had a way to fight back for real and save his friend.

Without a second thought, the flaming boy rushed towards Leah while burning whatever was getting in his way without holding back and also... without caring about hurting himself due to the extreme heat. On the other side, the Fallen were scared... But then, just before Ravi successfully freed Leah from the enemies restraining her, another group of fallen riding pikes suddenly arrived, only to then blast the whole place, creating a big smoke cloud.

"NO NO NO! LEEEAAAAH!" Ravi yelled with concern while being blasted away.

Then, when the dust settled, he found himself laying on the ground, hurt, while on their side, the Fallen scum were already gone along with the young human girl. Though not without leaving a message for Ravi.

...

...

...

An hour later, back at the bunker, Cybel and Wire were thinking of what to do. Though it would be more accurate to say that it was Cybel the one who was at the verge of desperation. "We have to find her! We must save her!" the female droid anxiously claimed. "I can't let my guardian die! She's... she's MY guardian! She's my friend!"

"We know!" Wire added while trying to calm her down. "We know she's your guardian and friend! And don't worry, she'll be fine... We'll help you save her, right Ravi?"

Ravi didn't answer. He was still thinking hard about the message the Fallen left behind...

...

If you want the girl back in one piece, bring the ship and the Scavenger to these coordinates: XXXXXXXXXXX. We'll be waiting until tomorrow morning. Don't show up and the girl dies.

...

"Hey Ravi!" Wire yelled as he finally snapped the boy out of his thoughts. "Are you listening?"

"Yeah... yeah, I'm listening" this last one replied with doubts.

"The Fallen mentioned something called the Scavenger. What do you think they meant?" Cybel asked this time.

"It's not a thing what they are talking about, it's a person. And that person is me"

"You?!" Both Wire and Cybel asked in surprise.

"Yeah, that's how the Fallen call me. Apparently because I just keep stealing whatever I can from them to survive"

"So, they want the ship... and you?" Wire asked.

"Yeah... but I won't give them what they want. No way" the young boy claimed in a serious tone while clenching his fists.

"You mean... you'll fight to save Leah?" Cybel asked this time, after which she received a very long and kind of worrying silence from the bluenette in return.

Nonetheless, when Ravi finally stated his answer, neither of the ghosts could believe it. "No" the young boy finally denied while looking downwards with troubleness.

There was yet another really long silence after that, but then, Cybel finally broke it with indignation. "Wh-what do you mean... 'no'?" she muttered in surprise. "Aren't you gonna help her?!"

"It's not that I don't want to. But, it's the most logical choice for me"

"Most logical choice?!"

"That's right... For me, my dream is a priority. I wanna leave this place no matter what. If I give up the ship, I won't be able to do it. And if I try to fight the Fallen, I will most certainly die" Ravi said this with a very convinced expression, making it very clear that he really wasn't planning on rescuing Leah at all.

"You... YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!" Cybel yelled after finally snapping in rage. "LEAH IS THE ONE THAT WANTED TO HELP YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE! SHE HELPED YOU THE MOST WITH THE SHIP! AND I'M SURE SHE MADE YOU FEEL LESS LONELY IN THIS DUMP!"

"I KNOW!" Ravi claimed out loud. "THAT'S WHY THIS HURTS ME! BUT IT WOULD HURT ME MORE TO STAY IN THIS PLACE ANY LONGER!"

"Is that so? I'm not so sure about that!"

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Throughout these days, you 2 have grown really close, haven't you?! You even sounded so angry when the Fallen were attacking her! Back at the oasis, you 2 even laughed together!" Cybel paused for a moment, and then continued with a more calm and teary voice. "Leah laughed, she really... really laughed... I don't know what kind of hell you might've gone through in this wasteland, or what is your backstory... but I do know Leah's. And to see her laugh for the first time in such a long time... was simply incredible"

Ravi couldn't help but to widen his eyes and remain in complete silence.

"I didn't like you at first" the female droid continued. "But then, I thought you might actually be a good influence for her. I guess I was wrong... You talk about hard work, but if you base your life in pure fun, logic and selfishness... THEN IT WOULD'VE BEEN BETTER IF SHE HAD NEVER MET YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE!" she finally yelled, only to then head outside in a rush. "I don't know how much help I can be, but I'll go for Leah, even if I end up dying"

And so, Cybel left... and surprisingly enough, Wire too began leaving a few seconds later. "Wire..." Ravi called the tiny droid in a hesitant voice. "Am I... selfish?"

Wire thought of what to say. "Remember when I said I was driven to you because of your potential? I guess I was wrong too" he finally stated in a sad and disappointed tone. "I can't really read you, Ravi. You were so cheerful, but now you've changed into such a jerk. I don't know what you are thinking, but I do know something: the greatest duty of a true guardian"

"Duty?"

"That's right! A guardian's duty is to put the welfare of others in front of his!" Wire finally claimed with determination, only to then follow Cybel outside, leaving Ravi alone.

...

...

...

Meanwhile, at the meeting spot with the Fallen, Leah was being held captive and unconscious inside some kind of metallic structure. Nevertheless, a few minutes later, she finally woke up.

"Ugh... what happened?" the young girl muttered while still a little numb.

"Ohh? You finally woke up" said a grave, menacing and unknown voice.

When Leah finally recovered complete consciousness, she startled at the fact that she was handcuffed to a pole, making it impossible for her to move at all. "What the hell? Wh-what's going on? And who's there?!"

The mysterious voice finally showed itself. It was a big and muscular Fallen Archon. "I'm the leader of these Fallen. The ones you've been beating up these past few days" he claimed with anger. "You don't have to worry though, soon your predicament will be over... when I kill you of course"

Leah was shuddering in fear, and not without reason. She was surrounded by more than 20 Fallen and their huge leader after all. "What... what will you do to me?"

"Well, first we'll wait for the Scavenger to arrive. And after killing him, we'll see about you"

"The... Scavenger?"

"Yeah, you know. The blue-haired i***t"

Leah's face didn't just show fear anymore, it also displayed concern now that she knew it was actually Ravi who they wanted to kill. However, she was filling with determination as well, because no matter what happened, she wasn't gonna let anyone hurt Ravi by any means.

...

...

...

Back at the bunker, Ravi was still there, arguing with himself. He had a lot to think about this time, specially because Wire and Cybel's words just didn't stop resonating inside his head. And so, as he turned around to see the messy room he used to call home, a feeling invaded him... A feeling he stopped having since last week but that reappeared once again thanks to Leah not being at his side anymore.

That's right... The feeling of loneliness was back...

'What am I doing?' the blue-haired boy asked himself with a troubled expression. 'This feeling... is even worse than I remember' He then turned on his fire on his right hand and gave it a really long stare. 'A guardian... huh? I don't understand what's going on... My brain tells me to take the ship and leave. But some other thing inside me has the urge to go save her'

That other thing... was what he truly felt. Ravi lived his entire life up to that point by just looking for fun and survival. However, there was now something else... something new... something that, for the first time, caused his feelings to go against his logical sense. And all because, for the first time, he had a friend... a bond... and he certainly didn't want to lose that.

The bluenette kept on hesitating for a bit longer. But then, he finally stood up with determination and headed towards the ship with conviction of what to do next...

He was going to save Leah... no matter what.

Ravi headed towards the ship in a rush and, even though he had never flown one before, he didn't really care. The young boy did what he could until he finally caught 2 little signals: Wire and Cybel. The 2 ghosts were still half way to the meeting spot, and they would never get there in time at that pace. So, Ravi decided to land close and take them along with him.

"Why are you here?" Cybel asked with annoyance, only to then startle at what the young boy said in return.

"Because I don't want to lose the feeling that Leah has produced in me since we met" he bluntly replied while still focused on flying the ship.

"Ravi..."

"By the way, Wire" the human boy continued with a grin. "Maybe being a guardian isn't as bad as I thought, if it means I can be surrounded by such good friends"

Both Cybel and Wire were surprised at Ravi's sudden change of heart. Though the truth was... it would be more accurate to call it an awakening. Something awoke inside the bluenette boy, a new feeling... a feeling that had been dormant for a very long time, but finally reacted after meeting the human girl he was planning to save at all cost.

Either way, when they finally reached the meeting place, Ravi immediately startled at the fact that the coordinates the fallen left behind belonged to none other than the Skywatch.

Paralelly, some really powerful explosions could be heard and seen from the top of the metal tower. That was Leah. She incredibly managed to free herself and was now fighting back the annoying creatures. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY!" the girl yelled, angrily, after which she kept on beating each of the four-armed monsters until finally, the archon himself decided to intervene.

"DON'T GO FULL OF YOURSELF!" shouted the archon while attempting to land a hit on Leah.

This last one managed to dodge the attack at the last second. However, such attack then crashed against the floor breaking it completely. Leah was sent flying due to the shockwave and lots of broken pieces of metal began falling from the top of the skywatch, one of which just happened to fell over Leah's left leg.

"AHHH!" Leah screamed in pain. She pushed the giant piece of metal away, but she could feel it, her leg was broken. She really couldn't move anymore.

This was bad... The fallen archon was a totally different opponent. A lot faster, stronger, bigger, smarter...

Nonetheless, that didn't stop Ravi, who had been watching everything from above, from jumping out of the ship and straight into the fight.

While Ravi was still falling however, the giant archon approached Leah once again with murderous intent. "Time is running out, maybe the Scavenger abandoned you after all" the big monster said in a ruthless tone. "Well if that's the case, it doesn't matter whether you live or die anymore, don't you think?" he finally claimed while getting ready to finish Leah off.

On her side, the young girl had a rush of feelings suddenly coursing through her mind. Feelings which were mostly of regret, fear... and guilt... Guilt towards her parents to be precise. 'Mom, I'm sorry... Dad, I'm sorry' Leah thought while almost breaking down in tears, after which the ground beneath her crumbled in pieces in a clear sign that the Archon... had just finished attacking.