Renegade Rising (The Renegade Series) (53 page)

“Hey! Would you guys quit it!” Gisbo yelled.

“This isn’t for your entertainment!” Falcon chimed in.

“It’s best to appreciate moments like these in life, my dear friend Falcon. As one who has lost seventeen years of his own, it’s safe to say I know what I’m talking about. Please say you still have that secret recipe marinade of yours, old friend. Please say it's true! If you could marinate the entire cow, it couldn’t satisfy my appetite!” Shax exclaimed as he put an arm around his son. Falcon nodded.

“For you, Shax, anything. We had assumed the worst about you for so long; good to see the saying about assuming stands true, even after all these years. Welcome home!” Falcon said with a smile.

“Wait, do you mean to say it was your bright idea to name me after a dog? Huh? Not only that, but the Flarian name for dog? That’s heaping insult upon injury! Gisbo? Really? Fido would have been easier! What the hell!” Gisbo accused.

“Huh, you think just because I’m your dad I named you Gisbo?” Falcon said with a gleam in his eye.

“Wait, wait one second! Do you mean, I have a . . . mom?” Gisbo asked.

“Of course you had a mom. Do I need to explain where babies come from?” Falcon teased.

“NO! Of course not! Where is she? Is she, um,” Gisbo asked, only to be cut off by Falcon.

“That’s a story for another day,” Falcon said in a quiet tone.

“Well! I don’t know about the lot of you, but I believe Heaven’s Shelter would be an ideal place to catch up on things rather than doing it here! Let us all leave this place and return home!” Narroway said with gusto.

Everyone agreed and they began their trek out of the cave. To their surprise, the cave’s entrance was crowded by armed men clad in green uniforms. At the forefront stood a man of huge stature, with battle scars crisscrossing his proud, bearded face and brandishing a dark green eye patch. On his green uniform were two long ribbons that stretched down each of his shoulder pads, longer than all the other Strifes.

“Narroway . . .” Chieftain Lamik said.

“Lamik . . .” Narroway answered, with a hint of disgust in his voice.

“I trust you dealt with the traitorous bunch without mercy?” Lamik said. Narroway shook his head.

“They are gone for now, suffice it to say, and everyone is unharmed. That should be enough,” Narroway said.

“As soft as always. Evil deserves death or suffering or it will continue to thrive,” Lamik said.

“Don’t speak to me of your twisted justice, Lamik, I know full well of your Glaknabrade prison. This is Renegade business; just be thankful your son is safe and was never in any real danger,” Narroway said, eyes full of cool fury.

“To me, Malik,” Lamik ordered. Upon command, the boy that Gisbo had pummeled earlier and had been equally pummeled by made his way through the group to stand beside his father. Lamik lifted a hand to the boy's chin, cocking Malik’s head upward to examine the massive cut stretching from his eye to his nose.

“A worthy wound. Wear this scar with pride and know one day you will take revenge on the one that gave it to you. A Strife forever!” Lamik said.
Gisbo placed a hand over the side of his face, fingering the cut that Malik had given him.
Lamik figures it was Purah instead of me, doesn’t he?
Gisbo thought warily. He wondered if Malik knew the true origin of the scar when suddenly, as if reading his mind, Malik turned and gave him a wicked stare, his eye fluttering in pain from the gash across it.

“I look forward to it. A Strife forever!” Malik declared without taking his eyes off Gisbo. There was something about this boy that made Gisbo's skin crawl even more than Ranto, Thomson or Rake - and that was saying a lot. They were just spoiled rotten when all was said and done, but not this boy - not Malik. There was something dangerous behind those eyes, something familiar . . . whatever it was, Gisbo didn’t like it.

“Yours is bigger . . .” Gisbo said, mouthing the words so as not to be heard, and making a diagonal cutting motion across his own eye with a finger. Gisbo was used to Thomson's reaction of rage at such disrespect, or Ranto shrugging him off as worthless in a haughty huff, but what Malik did surprised him.

He smiled, deliberately. There was something maniacal behind it.

Who is this kid?
Gisbo wondered as he returned the smile with one of his own. It was then Gisbo felt it: the strange sense of destiny overtaking him. He couldn’t explain how he knew, only how he felt, and Gisbo realized exactly what he saw in the boy’s face. The eyes, and teeth, of a lone wolf…

Chapter Twenty Four:
A Million Dreams Ahead

Gisbo rolled out of bed the next morning in his usual fashion, slamming hard against the wooden floor. As Fao licked his ears to see if he was all right, the scenes from the night before flashed before his eyes. Rising to his feet, Gisbo began wondering if all of it had really happened, for both Rolce and Jackobi’s bunks were empty save for a furry creature snoozing upon the Shininja’s bunk.

“What the? What’s a fox doing in here? Fao, get him!” Gisbo yelled in dismay.

“He’s of no threat to you. Meet Chara, my Boon; just showed up here this morning,” Jackobi said. Gisbo turned his head and saw Rolce and Jackobi enjoying two cups of steaming hot tea. Just the sight of Jackobi at the table made Gisbo smile. He hadn't been dreaming after all.

“He’s your Boon? Geez, Rolce! Wouldn’t it have been great if OUR Boons showed up on our pillow one morning? But noooo, instead our Boons almost get us both killed!” Gisbo complained as he looked at Fao shamefully cowering behind his leg.

“Chara told me he’s been hanging around Foxblade’s for about a year. Foxblade was taking care of him. He ran here this morning when he felt Jackobi’s presence. Pretty cool stuff, huh?” Rolce explained.

“So you guys psyched for the celebration today? Narroway told me we are all gonna get our bands from Perry and become official Renegaras! A few special guests are supposed to come too! Wonder who . . . wait . . .” Gisbo said, realization dawning. “Jackobi…you missed this whole year! How are you gonna become a Renegara?” Gisbo asked.

“Why don’t you explain the situation, Rolce; I hate repeating myself,” Jackobi said as he sipped his tea.

“Well, Gisbo, Jackobi is actually almost a year ahead of us in his training. He’s already a Renegara, he just doesn’t have his bands yet,” Rolce said.

“Really? But how?” Gisbo asked.

“Well, Jackobi was sent away just like we were when we were kids. He was given the special assignment of throwing whoever the traitors were off track, as he had the highest outputs of essence at the time. He's kind of a prodigy, if you will. Foxblade has been back and forth, training him in special shininja techniques secretly for his mission to protect you, the real Man-Phoenix,” Rolce said.

“Trust me, it's been no picnic! The crap I endured for you all these years . . .” Jackobi said, looking in Gisbo’s direction. Gisbo remembered it all now: the monstrous voice, the eyes of fire that spoke to him, the order to make friends.

“To think, all this time me and Rolce have been trying to save you when in fact,
you’ve
been saving
my
ass,” Gisbo said in a guilty tone.

“No, Gisbo, it was necessary. You're the new Man-Phoenix, the one to replace Vadid the Valiant. You have no idea of your importance and it was equally important that I succeeded in maintaining my facade. I have no regrets and would do it all again. I don’t know the full ramifications of your new role, but I do know that as of right now, only the people in this room, our class masters and Narroway know of your identity - and we are to keep it that way,” Jackobi said.

“Yeah, yeah that’s fine. This whole thing is just so new to me. I wish I knew more.” Gisbo said.

“And you will, soon as I’m done with ya,” Falcon said, standing in the doorway.

“Why do you always do that? Just walk in and tell us you’re here! It’s really no big deal!” Gisbo said.

“Apologies all around. You and me have got a lot of training to do. If you thought everything you’ve done so far was tough, you ain’t seen nothing yet, mister. It won’t be a rare occasion for you to find yourself immobile for a period of days…you should know that,” Falcon said, grinning, causing Gisbo to gulp.

“But that comes later. If anybody will be able to explain to you the importance of your new role as Man-Phoenix, it would be me. You remember, I trained under the original wonder himself: Vadid the Valiant, IAM bless his memory, which brings me to the reason why I came here. Gisbo, for all your hard work, I have a graduation gift for you.”

Falcon walked toward Gisbo and pulled a necklace off from over his neck. On the end of it was a dark, metallic looking medallion carved in the shape of the Phoenix. It was beautifully crafted and twinkled like polished coal. He put the necklace around Gisbo’s neck and stepped back.

“This necklace once belonged to Vadid the Valiant. It was given to me by him upon my completetion of Renegade status but, I feel from what you’ve been through, you deserve it a bit early. If you look on the back of it, that poem that you liked, is engraved upon it, see here,” Falcon said, lifting it up and pointing. Gisbo was at a loss for words. He couldn’t explain it, but there was something powerful about it. It flooded him with tingles just looking at it.

“This, this really belonged to, to him?” Gisbo stammered.

“It certainly did. It’s brought me tons of luck over these years. Now I feel, it’s about time I pass onto that luck to you, as Vadid once passed it onto me. Take care of it Gisbo. There isn’t another like it in all the world,” Falcon said. Rolce came over to inspect it, along with Jackobi.

“Wow! What is this made from? It’s like nothing I’ve come across before,” Rolce said. Falcon just shrugged.

“Hell if I know,” Falcon shrugged comically.

“Thanks, thanks so much . . .” Gisbo said, pausing. He was about to say, ‘Dad’, but couldn’t bring himself to say it. “ . . . Falcon.” Either way, Falcon beamed.

“Anytime kiddo. Keep it safe and one day, you’ll pass it off to your student,” Falcon said.

“Hey, Falcon, I sort of have a question…well, now that my father's back, I would assume he would take over my Renegara training, but Moordin has been there all along and everything . . .” Rolce said, before being interrupted.

“That’s nothing to worry about,” Moordin said as he appeared on the threshold. Gisbo and company all looked up in surprise at his presence.

“What? Do you guys have an assembly line out there or something? Are Foxblade and Shax behind you?” Gisbo asked. Moordin shook his head.

“I will be covering your Renegara training personally for this year, teaching you the ins and outs of Elekai’ in the Naforian tradition. When you are finished with me, Shax will take over and teach you the ways of the Sybil. You have much work ahead of you, young Rolce, and we have much traveling ahead as well after your summer break,” Moordin explained with a smile.

“Traveling?” Rolce questioned.

“Oh yes, much traveling - for you too, Gisbo. It is tradition that class masters and their subordinates pilgrimage to their country of origin for Renegara training. There, at the epicenter of their essential energies, they will master much. You will all travel beyond the protection of Heaven’s Shelter to distant lands where all sorts of untamed terrors await you! Rest well this summer, boys, for the training of a lifetime awaits you at the end,” Moordin said with a deep chuckle, causing both Gisbo and Rolce to gulp.

“All of you are expected to be at the celebration in one hour to receive your bands, so shower and dress accordingly - clean uniforms now! We will both see you there and know we are proud of all three of you!” Falcon said, and with a wave, they were both gone.

“So, where are we going? Do you have any idea, Jackobi?” Gisbo asked as he and Rolce leaned in, interested.

“Please, just call me Jack. Hmph, you both are in for one hell of a year, I can promise you that. You, Rolce, will be traveling to the rainforests of Naforia, where the most ferocious animals reside, none of which you’ll find here in Heaven’s Shelter. I’m talking animals you’ve never heard of nor seen before. If you thought the lions, tigers and bears that reside here are scary, they are mere kitties and puppies! As for you, Gisbo, you will be going to the desert plains of Flaria. If the weather alone doesn’t kill you, the soldiers of Warlord Karm surely will, as well as the variety of old Flarian hermits living out there. Tough as nails they are and don’t forget, of course, about the various monsters lurking over there. You’ll have such fun!” Jackobi said with a grin.

“You know, you were quite scary just then. Stupid prodigies,” Gisbo said.

“This prodigy saved your ass and will be enjoying his year off with rest and relaxation!” Jackobi said.

“I bet you will! And now that I can use Elekai’ as normally as everyone else, I’ll return just as good as you! I don’t need a protector anyway!” Gisbo said.

“Sentry is the correct term. I’ll be resting and relaxing here, that you can be sure of, but I have a special training ahead of me - just cleared from Narroway this morning. You’ll be needing me in the future - that you can count on - but for now, I’m gonna take a shower,” Jackobi said as he closed the cleansing room door behind him. Gisbo sat across from Rolce and smiled.