Chapter 48 - Liar

15.09.1642

The City of Above

16:19

Nothing much has happened with the stranger and the very guardian of the machine in the past few days. They both just stood to talk how those past two centuries were and try to bring X4NDER's memories back. Of course, they didn't succeed in that, but at least they had some good conversations, almost filling up everything missed while the outsider was gone. But CHE5TER wasn't present at them at all. Given how He has felt during the past days, He didn't manage to go in the City of Above. But it's not like any of those two felt His absence.

Truth to be told now, Leo isn't really attached to CHE5TER yet because He barely knows this young man, while the outsider stays with Him just because they are connected through the ore and if anything happens to the Great Leader, then X4NDER will disappear too. But given that the stranger couldn't find Him at all, He probably stopped caring. What He does care about though is the fact that the Great Leader might be the only one that actually knows something about what truly happened after the war. After all, Leo was only hearing the story from the M soldiers' perspective. And what's even worse is the fact that those past days, X4NDER has suffered of sudden energy loss out of nowhere, which were recovered of course, and gave Him a rather unpleasant feeling about what is going on.

With that idea in mind, the stranger did try to find Him whenever He felt like searching for this man in two whole cities, but He never succeeded. And that's what happens right now too, as X4NDER leaves Leo's building and starts walking around to find a close entrance towards the Underground City that CHE5TER showed Him. But before He leaves for good the area, He gets rather curious for the first time to look at the statue that stands right in front of Leo's building.

He goes to have a better look, observing the strange statue of a General with the head of a C born in his sword pointing at the sky while standing on the skulls of sinners. He looks just for a few seconds, but it feels like He recognises the faceless General of these people, titling His head and squinting His eyes as if He tries to know who exactly is this familiar face. Strangely enough though, He does see that person in a vision, but still cannot recognise who exactly that is. And even more strangely is the fact that something about the pose is also familiar, with the sky and the environment changing just a bit in His view before He snaps back to reality and makes up His mind with the fact that He just doesn't know who the person is.

When He does snap back to reality, X4NDER proceeds to start hiding and finally searching for the entrance that He wanted to find from the beginning, not before looking back at the statue as He begins going away from it for one last time, trying to decipher the puzzle. Nothing. But it's strange since we already know that it is General 4RTHUR. Even so, let the stranger be a stranger till the end.

The Underground City

16:37

He arrives underground at last, walking around the city while protecting His identity just as He did when He was with the Great Leader. Maybe because He doesn't know if He should hide Himself or just act like any normal citizen. After all, nobody actually knows who He is in this entire city.

At this hour, the city is just waking up and beginning its routine like always. X4NDER wasn't so surprised though, since it seems that every time He came to look for the Great Leader, the same things were happening everywhere He went. He just surfs through the crowd, looking at every person possible as fast as He can to try and find the man He actually needs to. I mean, if He is here with us, then CHE5TER couldn't be dead, right?

After minutes of walking, He notices a figure dressed up in crevaator clothes just as the ruler does, so He goes quickly to put His hand on the person's shoulder and calling the name of the man He wants to see...

[X4NDER]-CHE5TE--

--only to find just a crevaator. After all, it is pretty confusing to try and find a single person that is not a crevaator but dresses like one from that entire clan. The crevaator was confused too, backing off and being kind of defensive.

[X4NDER]-...O-Oh, sorry! I thought you were someone else!

He has done a mistake. It is normal. So as a consequence, X4NDER apologised and started looking around the city once again. This time though, He thinks of looking around the places that He knew and were more closer to the ruler, starting with the area in which He remembers that His work place should be, trying to find out whether CHE5TER was still alive or not.

But why shouldn't He be? Leo did say that if the ruler dies, then X4NDER disappears too. So in the end, CHE5TER makes His appearance near an area around the part of the city in which His base should be present. From this alone, to not let Him get away and lose Him all over again, X4NDER uses His blessing to get there in the quickest way possible in front of the Great Leader, even managing to almost give Him a heart attack from the sudden appearance.

[X4NDER]-...CHE5TER!

When the lightning manages to appear and disappear in just two seconds in front of the ruler, it forces Him to act purely on instincts just for a moment over the whole unexpected come of the outsider. He takes two steps back and puts His left hand on His chest while His right hand is ready to reach out for His weapon. But when He recognises the familiar face, His position gets rather weaker as He relaxes His muscle.

[CHE5TER]-...ALEX4NDER?

[X4NDER]-Where have you been!? I've looked everywhere in both of the cities and I couldn't find you anywhere!

[CHE5TER]-Why do you care so much?

[X4NDER]-Well, I have my questions, you have your questions! You want us to co-operate or not!? Do remember that we also have the issue with my memories to solve! We can't just disappear and give up on what we've promised we will do!

[CHE5TER]-Really? Rather strange to hear it from your mouth.

[X4NDER]-What's that suppose to even mean??

[CHE5TER]-...Never mind. I just had an issue to solve in the city, not a big deal. You can stop acting like a child now.

[X4NDER]-You are kidding, right?

[CHE5TER]-Who says I am? Now if you excuse me, I still have some things to do on my own.

CHE5TER tends to leave, but the stranger gets rather mad at the man that just passed right besides Him without giving any explanation. So when it looks at the ruler just leaving with His back turned towards the outsider, His fury manifests in such way that He takes out the red glowing sword, uses His power again and creating such a hurtful lightning right next to the ruler, cutting a part of His right hand and stopping the lightning, or Himself, in front of the man to watch Him endure the pain, all of this in a matter of a second.

The ruler though feels this new wound, stopped completely and held His hand to stop the bleeding and suffer on His own, while His C colour lights up as His body tries to heal what is now damaged. Then He looks perplexed at the stranger, but His own eyes being rather strange, changing their form from normal to abnormal and then changing to normal again, repeating this action while the ruler looks at the boy. He notices the seriousness in His eyes though, something that probably didn't exist before or at least since the ruler met Him, holding His sword as if He is ready to strike again.

[CHE5TER]-Why did yo--

[X4NDER]- --You either choose to co-operate and make it simple or just complicate your own life from now on. I already used more than half of my Inhumanity Energy and I am not afraid to lose more, even if it means for me to lose consciousness. Now, would you like to help me get my answers and get rid of me faster? Because I am sick of playing children games.

[CHE5TER]-...And in what way do you believe that I am able to help you, genius? I know nothing about you.

[X4NDER]-Yet you must know what happened those past two centuries, so you must know what happened to me!

[CHE5TER]-Why don't you ask your little hooman friend to help you? He knows better than me about everything in this world. I don't even know who you truly are.

[X4NDER]-He is not able to know what happened to your kind's past, CHE5TER! He wasn't even aware that there is a city under the one above when I told Him about this! There must be a history that is told here but not above, and you must know it!

[CHE5TER]-...You told him about the Underground City?

[X4NDER]-I am the one seeking the answer first, bastard!

[CHE5TER]-Why does it matter so much though? Why do you wish so badly to know what happened anyway, and especially from me? You already died, you can't just change the past now! So why do y--

[X4NDER]- --Because I want to know what happened to my people!

The boy got even more angry, but also rather sad at the same time, which He also chose to hide. Though a past, maybe it hurts this stranger the fact that He doesn't know what truly happened which caused Him to lose His memories and life and also not know what came for the ones He once knew after. Though His face expressed seriousness, His voice was shaking and even the ruler knew the feeling the boy now lives. Probably being the only man alive to know it the best.

Truth to be told now, X4NDER maybe has waited too much for an answer on what has happened, as well as we did. And seeing that not even His own friend that is suppose to have all the answers doesn't know the truth behind the history of the C borns, He is now obligated to take drastic decisions and learn the truth by forcing the only C born He currently knows the best to tell Him everything about their history. And maybe He did get a bit angry on the fact that CHE5TER refused to show His face those past days, making Him think that His only chance of getting the answer has gone.

Even so, all the ruler did was to turn His back on Him after thinking about this for a while, starting to move on His own which pissed the Hell out of X4NDER. Even though the ruler was indeed trying to co-operate.

[X4NDER]-...Don't try to leave, you son of a--

[CHE5TER]- --I suggest you keep your mouth shut if you want me to help you with an answer, even though I also don't know what truly happened in the past. Follow me and just don't talk until we arrive where we should. I am not going to talk about this subject outside of a private place, do you understand?

So, the boy didn't say anything anymore, though He wasn't so trusting of the man's words this time. Still, He followed the ruler, putting His sword back on its scabbard.