Enmity of Atlas

Kiva stood atop the balcony connected to her room, watching as the light slowly faded from the artificial sun. Where was he? Kiva had been intent to leave Trenton alone after everything that had happened last night, busying herself with menial tasks, getting Karfice settled, some simple magic practice, and so on. But as faux day slowly swindled to a very real night, Trenton was still nowhere to be found. There was no way he could’ve slept in for this long, right?

“Something on your mind?” Karfice said as he stepped onto the balcony behind her, Leo held in his arms.

“You could say that,” Kiva replied, giving him a weak smile. “Is there a reason you’re carrying him with you?”

Karfice shrugged, “Thought I’d give him a bit of fresh air. I don’t really know how conscious he is, but it seems wrong to just treat him like an object. If he’s in there somewhere, I’d like to think he’s grateful.”

Kiva looked down at Leo’s charred form. In the back of her mind, she knew that Leo was still alive, but it was hard to believe. He was practically statuesque, frozen completely in time, not a hint of the boy she’d once known anywhere in his broken body. In a way, it looked almost peaceful, Like Leo had been put into a long, beautiful dream, one from which he’d never wake up.

“Yeah, I think he is. Any day now we’ll find Wimbleton and get him all healed up, Garrote, too. It’s just a matter of time.”

“What was he like? I never got to actually meet him. My only impression of him is that spell he cast…in a way it almost reminded me of…”

“Of who?”

“...my father. I guess I was just curious if they were anything alike.”

Kiva looked at Karfice, trying in vain to gauge his emotion from his one available eye, “I didn’t know Leo all too well. I’ve only traveled with him for about 2 months myself. But from what I could tell, he’s practically the polar opposite of Trenton, messy, barely put together, lost and confused, scared, but…strong. Unbelievably strong. I mean, when we saw that spear shoot out of the ground, that unyielding presence Trenton exuded, Leo looked terrified. I’d never seen someone so frightened before. But despite that, he didn’t hesitate, charging forward with full intent to kill himself at a moment’s notice. I’m not sure what happened out there, or why he was suddenly so intent on killing Trenton, but whatever it was, somehow I know he was making the right choice. He was taking the high road no matter how much it hurt him, no matter how difficult it was. So I guess in that sense, he’s honorable, more a man than most others. His flaws just also happen to be a bit more prevalent, his demons more visible. Sorry, I don’t mean to ramble. Does that answer your question?” Kiva finished, looking over at Karfice. “Are you alright? Was it something I said?” At some point while she had been talking, Karfice started to silently weep, an unbroken stream trailing over his mask as he gazed out over the city, his eye glassy.

“...he sounds just like my father…a good man. Thank you. I…needed that. I hope we can find Wimbleton soon. I’d like to meet him,” Karfice said, looking down at Leo cradled in his one arm. He stood there for a moment, embracing the silence, before looking back up at Kiva, “...sorry, I didn’t just come out here to talk about myself. I’m curious what’s bothering you. You’ve been awfully quiet all day.”

“Well,” Kiva said, looking for the best way to express her jumbled mess of thoughts, “last night, Trenton received a message, more bad news if you’d believe it. But when I asked him about it…he said something odd. I’ve been trying to leave him alone, not bug him about it, but it’s really hard. And now he hasn’t been around all day. I hope he’s alright, but I don't know. I feel like I hurt him somehow, and…it’s just all too much to bear. I-I don’t know what to do,” Kiva said, tears starting to drip down the sides of her face.

“Kiva, look at me,” Karfice said, suddenly dropping his usual laid back tone. Kiva looked up at Karfice, wiping the tears from her eyes, doing her very best to not break down completely. “Trenton is a reasonable man. He doesn’t seem the type to just leave when his feelings are hurt. He’s probably just got a lot on his mind, especially if he’s just received more news. If you ask me, he’s probably just figuring out what to do next, looking at our next steps just like always. Here,” Karfice said, nodding towards the door back into her room, “let’s go talk to him. I’ll come with. I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you.”

Kiva hesitated, a slight panic rising through her body. Could she really just go talk to him? Seek forgiveness? But had she even done anything? She didn’t know. She had no idea. He’d never acted like this before, especially in the face of conflict, “...y-yeah, you’re right. I should talk to him…thank you, Karfice.”

“My pleasure. Now come on,” Karfice said, doing his best to guide Kiva while still holding Leo in his only arm. After a couple minutes of wandering through the tower, they made it outside of Trenton’s room. Kiva had been there just last night so she remembered the route well. But now standing before the solid metal door, she was quickly losing her nerve. What if he really was mad at her? What if he started yelling? What if-

“Now’s not the time to double guess yourself,” Karfice said, using his foot to knock on the door.

“I don’t know. I don’t think we should do this. Let’s just go back,” Kiva said, tugging at Karfice to get him to move.

Karfice didn’t budge, instead staring intently at the door as if trying to see through that. For some reason, it was completely quiet. Was he sleeping? “...huh,” Karfice tried again, knocking harder this time. But again, there was no answer.

“See, he doesn’t want to talk. We should-”

“Kiva, open the door. I don’t feel his presence,” Karfice said, his eye wide.

“Wait, you mean…” Kiva ran to the door, twisting the handle and shoulder bashing it open.

Kiva and Karfice spilled into the room, Kiva frantically sliding her hand along the wall to turn on the light. She couldn’t see anything, but she could feel a stray breeze flowing freely through the room. Had Trenton left his balcony door open? Finally, Kiva found the light switch, light washing over the room.

The room was empty, Trenton nowhere in sight. And at the far end, where the wall should’ve been, there was a massive, gaping hole easily big enough for a person to enter through. They both ran towards the hole, leaning out the side in a vain attempt to see what had happened.

“Shit! When did this happen!? How didn’t we hear it!?” Karfice shouted. “Soundproofed. The tower is soundproofed. This could've happened hours ago. How the hell are we supposed to find him?”

“He warned us,” Kiva said, falling to her knees, her tears beginning anew. “The letter said enemies were closer than we knew. We weren’t ready. They got him.”

“Calm yourselves! Both of you!” A voice from behind them shouted. Sitting on Trenton’s bedside table, his presence unnoticed in their panic, was Raligoth, an odd golden ring laid just next to him. “Trenton is fine. He’ll probably be-”

Raligoth thought to reassure them, to keep them from running off and doing something rash, to quell their panic. Unfortunately, what he hadn’t considered was that they were still standing next to an open hole in the wall, a breach in the tower’s defenses. And unlike a moment prior, Karfice and Kiva were no longer paying attention to the hole, instead focused entirely on Raligoth. In this brief moment, this fraction of a window, from behind them, a massive steel bird bigger and more fluid than any other slammed into the side of the tower, grabbing Kiva and Karfice, who was still holding Leo, in one fell swoop.

Kiva tried to fight against it, panicking as the bird began to swing away from the tower, flying hundreds of feet over the city's brilliant array of night lights, but it was hopeless. The bird's grasp was nearly crushing, its foot bigger than her entire body. She had no hope of escaping a machine designed specifically for combat, no matter how much strength she summoned. Yet as they continued moving, Kiva realized something. The bird’s grip was tight, but not unreasonably so. The bird wasn’t trying to kill them, nor was it going to drop them. It was taking them somewhere, a carrier vessel. And based on their current heading, that somewhere looked to be none other than the city's other landmark tower, the building keenly labeled “D.I.”