Fate of the Adepts

And now we're at the final chapter. This chapter was quite fun to write up.

It was early in the morning, the sun having just risen, but already the population of Tolbi had been dragged out of their beds and were gathered in the city square. Their earnest gazes were fixed on the gallows at the centre, where several soldiers were assembled. Apparently, another public execution was taking place by orders of their lord.

"People of Tolbi," Rodan spoke out, standing on the platform and gazing out at the city dwellers. "This morning, I have all called you out to watch a public execution, as I am sure you have figured out by now. These people... they are criminals."

The people gasped and began talking among themselves. Rodan stopped and watched them, smirking. How easy it was to have people on his side, no matter how much he neglected or mistreated them. They would respect someone running their city, someone watching over them. Even if he cared little for the people, they still listened.

"These criminals committed many crimes," Rodan shouted out, his expression hardening. "They are different to us, they have evil powers! You may not believe that, but it is true... they used these powers, abusing normal people like us, and they got away with it. Remember the Venus Lighthouse incident? They stormed through, hurting people in their way, and just carried on... unpunished."

The people gasped in shock, stirred up in excitement by Rodan's words. They were quick to believe him, stunned by hearing of people with strange powers, and even worse, using these strange powers to hurt ordinary people. The Venus Lighthouse... the attack on it, the lighting, they mostly remembered it. Many soldiers had been hurt, mostly by fire.

"However, that's not all!" Rodan shouted. "In fact, not only did these people, or... Adepts, as they call themselves, harm people... but one of them, a young man named Isaac... do you remember that name?"

"Isaac was the one who won Colosso last year!" someone shouted. Many people in the crowd nodded in agreement, recalling how Isaac had got to the finals and beaten Navampa in a tough match, winning Colosso.

"That is correct," Rodan said, grinning. "And since Isaac is an Adept, do you know what that means?" Gasps of shock rose up from the crowd. "That's right! He must have used his powers to overpower those ordinary warriors and win... in fact, he cheated!"

As the crowd shouted and booed, Rodan was unaware of one of the soldiers behind his back glaring and gritting his teeth in annoyance. Isaac lowered his head and sighed in frustration. He was getting fed up of being accused of cheating in Colosso. Why couldn't everyone understand Psynergy was a warrior's power too?

He knew what Rodan was doing. Rodan was turning the Tolbians against them, painting them as wrongdoers so that the people would be cheering as they were executed. Isaac swallowed heavily, trying to ignore the nervous feeling in his gut, and glanced over his shoulder at his friends. They were standing in front of the steps onto the platform from behind, surrounded by soldiers.

Where was Ivan? Isaac looked back, nervously looking at the entrance to the city. Surely he should be here by now. What if he didn't get here in time? Isaac clenched his fists, perspiration forming on his brow. His friends would be executed in a matter of minutes, and him too, if his disguise was uncovered. They couldn't fight their way out with all the soldiers around and Tolbi's people turned against them.

"Bring up the criminals!" Rodan ordered, looking at the soldiers. Isaac was shoved aside as the soldiers on the platform moved to make room. The blond Venus Adept tensed as the other Adepts were led onto the platform and stood there, facing the crowd. The ropes on the gallows hung threateningly in front of them.

"No..." Isaac whispered, shaking his head. His body started trembling of its own accord as he stared in dismay at the gallows and then his companions. If Ivan didn't get here in time... what should he do? Take down Rodan from behind and hope the soldiers wouldn't attack? That was foolish but... they were running out of time.

What was he meant to do? He'd led them into that castle in the hope of infiltrating and taking down Rodan, then come up with that plan. It had all hinged on Ivan, leaving everything to chance, and Ivan wasn't here yet. All their hopes had been pinned on him. Isaac shuddered, a hand moving toward the hilt of his sword at his hip.

Even if they died, he still had to take down the man behind the scheme. Without him, the army would be indecisive, not knowing what to do. Rodan was orchestrating everything, controlling people through fear and threats. Isaac stared at Rodan's back, his throat going dry with nervousness. He had to do something, save the other Adepts in this world.

"Wait a minute," Rodan said, glancing at the Adepts. He carefully scrutinised them and frowned. "Where is Isaac? He is not here!"

"Isaac's not here?" one of the soldiers asked, looking confused. "We had no idea. We assumed they had all been caught."

Rodan frowned in annoyance then turned away, clenching a fist. "I'll get him later then. But wait, if Isaac is not here, but all his friends who came with him are... this can only mean one thing. He abandoned them!" He grinned, gazing at the crowd who were looking truly scandalised. "Isaac is a selfish coward who left his friends to die!"

Isaac gripped the hilt of his sword, gritting his teeth in fury as he prepared to pull it out. The soldiers would pay little attention to him in this disguise. He could easily take the man down, even if to bring down someone from the back was a cowardly move. Isaac couldn't take any more of listening to Rodan insulting him like this, turning everything around...

"Now let's hang them all!" Rodan shouted, grinning as he turned away and looked at the scared Adepts. The soldiers started moving forward to push them onto the trapdoors below the hanging ropes.

"No!" Mia cried out, throwing a frantic look over her shoulder at Isaac. Her eyes were filled with tears and her entire face was a mask of terror. Isaac's insides turned cold at her expression and he almost cried out her name.

Then something happened to prevent any further action. A horn sounded and horses stampeded into Tolbi, flanked by soldiers running into the city with weapons. The Tolbians cried out and scattered as the soldiers advanced toward the gallows.

"This is Kalay's army!" a mounted soldier on a horse shouted, approaching the platform. "We are here to save friends of Lord Hammet. You are ordered to back down immediately or else we will have to fight."

"Kalay?" Rodan sneered in disgust. "What business is this of theirs? Nothing will stop me now, not when I'm so close! Soldiers, attack!"

The platform almost cleared completely as the soldiers ran off the platform to do battle with Kalay's army. Only four soldiers were left along with Rodan, who laughed as he watched the battle around him.

"Nothing will stop me... nothing..." Rodan whispered in a crazed voice, a wide grin stretched across his face. He did not hear the footsteps behind him but he felt the glancing pain shoot through his back. Rodan coughed up blood and craned his neck to see who appeared to be a soldier standing behind him, their sword in his back.

The soldier tore out the sword and threw aside his helmet, glaring at Rodan. "That's enough out of you!" Isaac shouted, kicking Rodan from the platform. Rodan screamed in rage as he fell to the ground and collapsed, lying still on the ground.

"Isaac!" Mia cried out, running to fling her arms around him. She quietly sobbed in relief as Isaac hugged her back. "Thank goodness... I was so scared... I thought we would die."

"It's not over yet," Felix said, as the remaining soldiers backed away from them in shock. "The soldiers are still fighting."

"We haven't got weapons," Piers said. "We'll have to get them off the fallen soldiers and fight."

"Yes, we should help Kalay after all," Jenna agreed. "They came all this way to save us."

"That was so close," Sheba sighed, as they hurried off the platform. The Adepts quickly grabbed what they could and jumped into the fray, doing battle with Tolbi's soldiers alongside Kalay's soldiers.

The battle ended sooner than was expected. With Rodan fallen, Tolbi's army no longer had a leader and they realised that was what they had wanted all along, for Rodan's cruel influence to be removed. Their families had been threatened, they had been forced to do things, their loved ones had been harmed. Ever since Rodan came to rule, food and water had been scarce and people were rapidly becoming homeless. It was clear Tolbi was suffering because of Rodan.

As a result, most of the soldiers had backed down and surrendered to Kalay's army. Those who were loyal to Rodan and continued to fight were quickly brought down, outnumbered as they were. Finally, the city was quiet as the battle ended. Soldiers lay in the street, of both Kalay and Tolbi, and those who lived quietly observed the results of the battle.

The Adepts regrouped in the square, near the treacherous gallows where they had almost come to an end, all of them smiling in relief as they saw the outcome of things. They had won this battle.

"It worked out after all," Isaac said, clutching Mia's hand tightly. He didn't want to leave her side for a minute. "We got through this. Everyone is safe now."

"I wonder where Ivan is," Sheba said, looking around. "Maybe he didn't come with the army. I'm sure he'll come soon though. He'd better explain why they got here at the last minute though."

"I was expecting them a little sooner too," Piers said, folding his arms across his chest. "But it was at night after all. I suppose travelling would be slightly more difficult in those conditions. At least they got here in time."

"And now Rodan's gone," Garet said, glancing over his shoulder at the fallen lord. He hadn't moved since falling off the gallows. The Mars Adept turned away and smiled. "All the other Adepts are safe now too. Nobody will have to die."

"It's kind of sad though," Jenna said, sighing as she gazed at the bodies around her. "So many innocent people were killed... and these soldiers, they believed Rodan... they let him lead them on to their deaths."

"Well, at least no more people will die," Felix said. "We got rid of Rodan. I just hope Tolbi can pick a better lord next time."

As they all stood together, watching the soldiers and the people of Tolbi wandering around, none of them were looking at the gallows or the ground where Rodan lay. They assumed that he was dead, slain by Isaac's sword.

Rodan twitched, an eye creaking open and staring at the nearby group. He gritted his teeth in anger, fury surging through him. Those cursed Adepts had deceived him and ruined his grand plan to take them all down. That Isaac had cheated, dressing up as a soldier and taking him down from behind.

How foolish of Isaac, thinking he had slain him like that. He could not be defeated so easily and he refused to back down now. Rodan struggled painfully to his feet, gazing at their backs as he reached for the sword in his belt. His mouth stretched into a grin as he pulled it out and began to advance on them. He would take down the closest one first...

Sheba suddenly had the foreboding sense that something was about to go terribly wrong. Her power of foresight had grown enough for her to know what it was and she swallowed, slowly turning to see Rodan approaching Jenna from behind, grinning as he raised his sword. There was no time to act.

"Jenna, look out!" Sheba screamed in warning.

Jenna whirled around, time seeming to slow down as she looked into Rodan's crazed face and saw the glint of the sword as it prepared to come down on her. With no time to do anything, she could only raise her arms and scream as the weapon started to come down on her.

The sword came slashing down, striking through flesh, and a pained scream split the air. The sound of a body hitting the ground followed.

Jenna fell to her knees, her eyes widening in horror as she gazed at Garet who lay in front of her, groaning as he bled from the wound Rodan's sword had dealt to him. "Garet!" she cried out in shock, frantically placing her hands over the wound in an effort to stop the bleeding.

Felix ran forward and slashed with his sword, striking Rodan through the chest before the lord could do anything else. Rodan let out a gargled cry and fell back, blood bubbling from his mouth. A slash to the throat finished him off and he went still.

"Damn it, Isaac, couldn't you have finished him off properly?" Felix yelled, turning around to look at Isaac.

Isaac pressed his lips together, biting back a retort. He knew Felix didn't mean to hurt his feelings, he was just upset at seeing his sister almost be killed by Rodan. Isaac turned and watched anxiously as Mia and Piers ran to heal Garet. Luckily, the wound wasn't too serious.

"Ugh," Garet said, getting to his knees. "Taking the blow sure is painful."

"Garet..." Jenna let out a sob and threw her arms around him. "Why did you do that? You scared me... I thought..."

"I couldn't let you be hurt, could I?" Garet hugged her back, smiling. "I'd do anything to protect you, Jenna."

Jenna tearfully gazed up at him, biting her lower lip. "You'd even let yourself get hurt... to save me..."

"Hey, guys," said a familiar voice, interrupting the moment. Everyone turned to see Ivan approaching the group, looking around at the scene. "I guess everything worked out then."

"Barely," Piers said. "Kalay's army turns up right before we get hung and then Rodan needs to be taken down twice before he finally dies."

"But at least we won," Mia said happily. "Rodan's gone and the soldiers who remained loyal to him were taken down by Kalay. It's finally over."

"Sorry it took so long," Ivan said, looking slightly chagrined. "Hammet was out on business and didn't get back until about an hour after I arrived, and the army needed to get ready after he told them to go and save you all. Nighttime isn't easy to travel in either, but at least they made it in time."

"It's thanks to you, Ivan, that we're all alive," Isaac said. "And we're grateful to Lord Hammet for immediately sending out the army too. We should go to Kalay and thank him in person."

"Yeah, let's do that," Garet said, getting to his feet along with Jenna. "I haven't been to Kalay in ages. Maybe we'll get a free meal."

"Do you always have to think about your stomach?" Sheba sighed.

"Well, I think he might at least deserve one," Felix said. "For his crazy heroics, anyway."

"At least I didn't nearly fall to my death this time," Garet muttered. Jenna grinned and clutched his hand.

"Thanks, Garet," Jenna said. "I'm glad you saved me. A blow like that would have been pretty nasty. Just try and be a little more careful, okay?"

"What did I miss?" Ivan asked, looking confused.

"Garet jumping in front of Rodan's sword as he tried to take Jenna down from behind," Piers answered.

"Let's go to Kalay now, ok?" Isaac asked. Everyone nodded in agreement and they went to leave Tolbi, triumphant in their victory and knowing that all the Adepts in the world, them included, were safe now.

After coming over to thank Hammet, the Adepts were asked to stay in Kalay for the day, and Ivan also wished to spend some time in the city, so they had happily obliged. Vale could wait a little longer to hear that they were all safe and sound. So now, for the moment, they were relaxing in the city and recovering from the trials of the past couple of days.

Isaac sat on a bench next to Mia, gazing thoughtfully at the sky. Mia glanced at him, noticing his serious expression.

"Hey, Isaac," Mia said, tilting her head. "What are you thinking about?"

"Rodan said a lot of stuff to the Tolbians," Isaac said regretfully. "He probably managed to convince a few people we were evil incarnate. I'm not sure how Kalay coming to save us made us look... but it's disheartening to think there are people who might believe him."

"He did say a lot, didn't he?" Mia shook her head and sighed. "But I'm sure we can fix the damage somehow. Maybe when Tolbi gets a new lord, we can talk to them and sort it out... I'm sure they will end up with a decent ruler who listens to people."

"They deserve it after all the trouble they have gone through," Isaac said, nodding. "I took down their cruel ruler too. I'm sure they will see the justice in it, even after everything they heard."

"It was scary, wasn't it?" Mia murmured, gripping her dress with her hands and crumpling the fabric. "I really thought I was going to die then. The people were shouting at us and there were ropes dangling in front of us. It was terrifying."

Isaac glanced at her, recalling the look of fear on her face and the tears in her eyes when she looked back at him. He'd wanted nothing more than to run and save her at that point. "Mia," he spoke, causing her to look up.

"What is it?" Mia asked, gazing at him.

"I want to protect you," Isaac said, taking her hands in his. "When you were taken by the soldiers and then when you were all about to be... executed... I was so worried. I couldn't bear it to see you in danger again. That's why I want you to stay by my side so I'll take care of you."

"Isaac..." Mia whispered, her eyes shining with tears. "Of course we'll stay together... I want to be with you too. Let's always be with each other."

The two melted into a soft embrace upon the bench, their arms wrapping around each other as they kissed. They both swore never to be apart again.

Ivan walked along the street, gazing around at the city. He felt relieved, knowing that the future would be peaceful. The Adepts were safe from danger. Kalay had definitely helped out, thanks to his idea of asking Hammet for aid. In the end, it had been too difficult alone and he knew Kalay's army were strong and capable of facing another. It had been a tricky situation, but one that worked out well.

"Hello, Ivan," said a familiar voice, pulling him out of his thoughts. Ivan stopped and looked in front of himself, his eyes widening as he saw the person who spoke. Hama stood there, smiling at him.

"Hama," Ivan said, gasping and rushing over to her. "Why are you here?"

"I figured I'd see you here," Hama answered. "Well done. You managed to overpower Rodan in the end."

"It was a bit complicated though," Ivan said, biting his lip. "We kept getting captured and if I hadn't asked for Kalay's help in time, then everyone would have been..."

"You tried your best," Hama said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder. Ivan looked up at her with a pained expression. "And it worked out, didn't it? You can't expect to defeat a powerful foe without going through some trouble."

"I guess so," Ivan said, smiling faintly. "The future... it will be a good one, won't it?"

"There will be no more trouble from Tolbi in your lifetime," said Hama. "But don't expect a trouble-free future. Anything could happen."

"Right." Ivan nodded in understanding.

"While I'm here, I suppose I'll go say hello to Hammet," Hama said. "Let's go see him."

"Alright," Ivan replied, smiling as they walked to the palace. With Tolbi no longer a threat, the future had been saved. At last, he could relax somewhat.