Walking through an African city felt different for Jack. He could not say because he landed in Kenya, as opposed to Egypt the year before, since the structure, the busy nature of the people in wartime, the beams of lights from holes above, the underground bazaars etc. all felt similar. In fact, despite the existence of a gaping cavern that allowed ships in and out, it didnโt change anything. Rather, the fact that he went about his journey as an ally of the population (instead of the traitor he once was), gave him a new, relieving feeling. No more worry about getting caught. No more imminent dread of missing some form of assassination deadline. No need to kill to take their identity. At least for now.
Besides him, trudged the ever-gloomy Skilshar and the always-talkative Elivia. He didnโt take part in their conversation yet still listened in as he stepped off the ship.
โAlright! Whereโs our home here?โ Elivia stretched out. โI want to sleep in an actual bed for once.โ
โEhhhh, thatโs what youโre complaining about?โ Skilshar responded, his face buried inside of his hood. โYouโre lucky youโre actually getting sleep.โ
โNot my fault that youโre keeping yourself up at night, depressed at every inconvenience that happened that day.โ
โBut thatโs what makes Shilshar, Skilshar,โ Jack smirked. The once hard stance he had on the captain melted down throughout his travel (more than he would like to admit). โThe hammocks were alright. Much better than what I had coming to Australia.โ
โSee, Iโm not alone here,โ Skilshar emerged triumphant.
โOi, donโt take his side,โ Elivia hissed. โJust because you can somehow sleep like a baby even during storms.โ
โIโm still tired, you do realise that?โ Jack signalled for her to shoo away. โIf anything, all that bad weather did was mess up my knee, Elivia.โ
โYes, yes,โ she rolled her eyes. โIโll have a look at it lโโ
The medic squeaked at the last word, prompting Jack to look back. He found her staring at the floor, murmuring something under her breath. Her eyes glanced to and fro in a certain direction. Whatโs wrong? Jack raised his brows.
It took a while but Jack began to follow her line of sight. He looked down the ramp of the boat, towards the path that led to the main city, then at the city itself. He looked at the stone buildings where nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He looked at the ceiling where the clear, blue skies could be seen from below. Finally, he scanned the massive crowd that moved in and out ahead of them. He wondered if Elivia spotted an enemy or if an unknown traitor blackmailed her into silence.
I canโt see it, the gears whirred in Jackโs mind as he stepped onto the ground. However, as he did so, he heard an unsatisfying quelch beneath him. He looked down at large globules of slime under his shoe. โDisgusting. Itโs not this, is it?โ
Elivia shook her head.
Thought as much, Jack continued surveying the area when, all of a sudden, in the corner of his eyes, he spotted the black and white suit of a tall man. And beside him was the small stature of a man he recognised in an instant. What is he doing here? How did he even get here so quickly?
โYou saw Bastion?โ Elivia whispered.
โMm,โ Jack grunted back.
Skilshar on the other hand took initiative and started a light jog, weaving in and out of the crowd like a shadow. Upon arriving, he sparked a conversation with the king until he looked up and beckoned the other two to come too.
โGuess you need to be your โoldโ self again,โ he remarked. โFinally, some peace and quiet!โ
โYou better zip it too,โ Jack could tell how much she seethed from his joke.
Though one thing did disturb the stealth bestial. The man who stood amongst the crowd, chattering and laughing with Skilshar, was Bastionโฆright? He was the famed king, ruler of the whole of Africa and Australia, right? For goodnessโ sake, he owned whole rooms lavished with devices and technology no one else knew about. Of course, people knew about the living legend. Yet, no one paid mind to him as if Bastion went into stealth instead. Why?
โEy, Jackie boi. Howโs my favourite sneaky-boy doing?โ the king scampered towards him, Alfred and Skilshar close to follow.
โGood afternoon, sir,โ Jack kneeled down. He looked around as he did so. However, no one batted an eye at Bastion still. โCan I ask something?โ
โAh, I know exactly what you wanted to say,โ the man in boyโs clothing held out his hand. โYouโre wondering how we got here so fast. Well, show them, Alfred.โ
The always-suited butler pulled up a rolled-up sheet of paper from his pocket. He unravelled it, revealing a map from Australia to their current location. On it contained two lines. The first belonged to Skilsharโs ship with a straight line going from city to city. The other, however, went in all sorts of directions and did several loops across the ocean before landing in Kenya.
โBy all means, it doesnโt make sense, does it?โ the king beamed with joy.
Another reference to something? Jack got an understanding of those sorts of whims bit by bit. โNo, it doesnโt. Although that wasnโt my question.โ
โIt wasnโt?โ Bastionโs face crumpled. โItโs that woman, isnโt it? You can tell her to f*** off if thatโs the case, you know that, right? Donโt let anyone give you a hard time unless itโs me.โ
Jack almost burst out laughing. Sure, the โrealโ Elivia took him by surprise, but he wouldnโt say she gave him a hard time. Despite that thought process, he could feel glares stabbing him as if she didnโt believe his opinion of her.
โNo, sir, itโs that you areโฆhow should I say it? The one at the very top, no? Then why is no one paying attention to you?โ Jack composed himself. He looked up and saw Bastionโs face crumpled. The king did not speak nor move. Instead, he turned his back and began walking in a slow, step-by-step, manner. Did I do something wrong?
โAll of you, follow me,โ Bastion instructed.
Jack gulped a little, turning to Elivia who kept her head down then to Skilshar who appeared as oblivious as always. At last, he turned to Alfred who gave him a glance of contempt.
โOver here.โ
They stopped outside a tall mound of dirt, about two Jacks in height, in the middle of nowhere. The other residents of the city didnโt interact with the monument at all but rather treated it as some form of natural structure. They walked past it without worry, too busy with their duties to stop and inspect it.
โPull the lever, Alfred!โ Bastion exclaimed all of a sudden, drawing some attention before everyone carried on with their work.
The butler nodded and felt around the sides. He found a dirt-covered rod which he dusted off before yanking at it when, all of a sudden, the ground began to shake. The mound of dirt started to collapse on itself, dust flying everywhere, until a staircase formed beneath a gaping hole left inside. Jack watched in awe. However, when he fancied a glance at Bastion, he did not look impressed in the slightest.
โGod dammit, Alfred! You were meant to pull the wrong lever then the right one afterwards,โ he threw a tantrum.
โApologies, sire,โ Alfred gave a simple, apologetic bow.
โUgh. Whatever, everyone come down. Make sure no one follows us,โ Bastion made a hand signal.
With a nod to one another, Skilshar, Elivia and Jack headed down the staircase while Alfred took the rear. Once everyone climbed a fair way down them, a door rose up from behind them, filling the hole in the mound once more. Alfred then flicked a switch which caused several luminescent lights to shine on either side of the walls.
โHereโs a question for all of you: What does it mean to be a king, mm?โ Bastion asked with his back still turned and arms clasped behind him.
Elivia stayed silent. Meanwhile, Skilshar went for an immediate, โI donโt know.โ
โAnd you Jackie boi? I already know that Alfred knows my answer.โ
Jack thought about it. If he wanted to, he could give nothing answers like the other two. Although, now that he pondered some more, he didnโt want to. These sorts of serious interactions didnโt come often; an opportunity he could not miss out on.
โI think itโs being the ruler. Itโs impossible for people to be fully in sync together,โ Jack stopped at his words as visions of Esper flooded his memory, โSo what we need is someone to make the decisions on our behalf. And a battalion leader or mentor or whatever are just lesser forms of a king who governs everyone instead of a handful of people.โ
โInteresting. Veeeery interesting,โ Bastion slurred his words. โYou see why heโs my favourite, Alfred? He knows whatโs up!โ
โYes, sire,โ Alfred agreed.
โBut youโre making one incy wincy misstep, Jackie boi. Youโre thinking way too literally,โ the king looked over his shoulders for the first time. โYou see, becoming an image gets you into too much trouble. Our target is called Gin Julius Gale according to our traitorous bastard of an ally, yes? Well, my great grandfather knew of another Julius who was an emperor. Guess what happened?โ
Bastion paused for a moment, imitated a knife and began stabbing motions. His eyes brimmed with joy as the violent nature of the shanks got more violent. When he had his fill of the make-believe bloodshed, he carried on walking and resumed his speech.
โYou get the message. People, manush especially, are never uniform in thinking. You could never appease everyone. Be kind? Some people will see you as soft and want to kill you. Youโre dead. Be more authoritative? Now some people will see you as a tyrant and start a revolution. Youโre dead. Be smart, youโre a smart-ass. Youโre dead. Be cheerful and optimistic, youโre not realising how badly everyone else is suffering. Dead. Too young? Dead. Too old? Dead. Cause a mass genocide to root out the discontentsโฆ Ha, well, letโs just say youโre f***-king dead for sure there.โ
Silence filled the passageway.
โEh? Nobody? Bloody spoilsports. That was a good pun too,โ Bastion grumbled. โBut the point stands. No matter how or who you are, someoneโs out to get you. Some things you canโt even control like who your family are. Simply being the king causes jealousy amongst brothers or people donโt like your cousin twice removed. Itโs all b*******, I tell you! Now, for an immortal genius such as I, I cannot allow that to happen. Iโm immortal, not invincible, remember.โ
The stairs stopped and so did Bastion. He held out his hand to another one of those metal pads which beeped, whirred and all other noises before another stone door opened in front of them.
โThis way,โ they all went forwards as the conversation continued. โNow to answer your question, my faithful servant, I simply found a solution to the age-old conundrum. I made the king not a person but an ideal. Now everyone is working for a being theyโve never seen with an authority that they can never usurp. After all, who are they gonna overthrow? Some random pleb and call him the king? Pfft, donโt make me laugh. Iโve worked too hard on the MBP for any of that to happen.โ
โDo you not care about people looking up to you?โ Jack asked without thinking. Regret crept up on him as he could tell Alfred looked down on his informal approach.
โPfft. Donโt make me laugh,โ Bastion wasnโt bothered, however. โNever wanted the job anyway so let me have my freedom. I can work in the shadows without a massive target on my back constantly. When youโve lived as long as me, you start becoming less like an egotistical prick and actually enjoy the little things in life: like the revival of the manush!โ
Before he knew it, Jack found himself inside a large room with a simple set of furniture: a round table, several chairs, torches and a whiteboard. Someone already sat on one of the chairs. Thatโs the hairy guy from the mission, right? Rob, I think.
The sasquatch bestial rose up, bowed his head at the king, then went back to his seat. โItโs good to see you, Bastion. Been a while, hasnโt it?โ
โIt has. Give me the good news pronto,โ Bastion snapped back with a click of fingers.
โTurns out you were right about the manush. I confirmed it myself.โ
Bastion burst out in laughter. Not the kind where he heard something funny but rather a manic one. The one youโd hear when the mad scientist found the answer to his experiment. โBrilliant. That makes this mission all the more exciting! Settle down, everyone!โ
Those standing up took a seat at the round table. They watched as Bastion waddled towards a specialised chair made with steps at the bottom and a throne-like visage on top. With a hefty climb (for someone so small), he sat on top, higher than anyone else in the room, accompanied by the greatest smile Jack had ever seen out of him.
โAs my trusted men, I will give you my plan. Itโll involve the tactics of Napoleon, the guile of the British navy, and the deceptive nature of Troy,โ Bastion smirked harder and leant forwards, โbecause if we play our cards right, I get not just one, but several manush all in one go.โ
