- Searching For The Hidden Truths -Spoiler!“Every time I walk in here now, I see you sitting there reading that book. Every time. I think it’s time to get up and do something for a change,” preached Sia, leaning against an open doorway.
“Doing anything else won’t help me learn anything,” Yoshi plainly replied, eyes glued to a paperback book in his hands.
For the past few days, Yoshi has been sitting in Sia’s living room reading several books on a variety of topics. The current book of the week being Entry Level Readings: Biology. Having just finished reading a book on genetics, he naively turned to this book in hopes of finding something that could help work out Arethusa’s potential problem, if she had a problem. Being just one of the many found lying on top of a glass and wood coffee table, his dedication to learning has caused him to talk to very few people. He now spends less time with others and more time by himself, learning anything he could, much to Sia’s dismay. Thus, in an effort to get him away from his quest for knowledge, Sia sighed and decided she should take a seat so she could work things out with him.
“Yoshi,” she said in a gentle voice as she moved aside a cushion. “Have you considered taking Arethusa to a museum or a park? You know, to take her mind off of everything?”
“I’ve been considering it,” Yoshi dully replied, still locked onto his book.
“Would you put down the book and listen? She doesn’t need a hero right now, Bitol. She needs a father. She needs you.”
“What good is a father who can’t defend his own family?”
Sia leaned forward in hopes that her gaze would catch his attention. “A good father would seek help. You know… a professional.”
Yoshi snapped the book shut and removed his glasses. “Sia,” he said before pausing. “This is Arethusa we’re talking about. You know I can’t just take her to a doctor, same with you as well. I may know of one but I certainly don’t trust him with you or I certainly don’t trust him with her.”
“What do you mean? I can protect myself you know.”
“Be as that may, I also promised you as well.” Yoshi turned and looked Sia dead in the eyes. “I intend to keep that promise,” he finished.
Out of nowhere, Sia slapped at Yoshi chest and screamed, “Stop that. Would you stop acting this way?” Yoshi blankly stared in response, taking three blows without flinching. “You’re not a demigod or a miracle worker, Bitol. You’re just a person. Stop wasting your time on things you can’t change and focus on the more important things in life. Or…or I’m going to do something really mean.”
“I am focusing,” Yoshi growled, lifting from his seat. “If you need me, I’ll be studying elsewhere. It’s hard to read anything with someone constantly laughing in the background all the time.”
“Laughing?” Sia whispered as the human walked away.
But before he could get very far, an alarm ringed in the air prompting Yoshi to tap at his ear. “Yoshi here,” he said in a serious tone of voice.
“Yoshi,” said a distant Yvonna. “Are you busy? You’re needed for a mission. Don’t worry about the ship. Just meet up at the gateway for a trip to Lillipa.”
“Anything I need to know, commander?”
There was a short pause before Yvonna answered. Starting slowly, as if unsure how to respond, she replied, “The Lillipans have requested for ARKS to defend one of their villages. However, they didn’t want just anyone. They requested you and you alone.”
“Right, I’ll be there momentarily. Mag man, unlatch yourself from the B-01 and meet me at the gateway lobby, Yoshiblue out.” After that, Yoshi lowered his arm and twisted until he could look at the black hair newearal behind him. “Well, duty calls. I’m going to talk to Arethusa before I go, alright? I’ll see you later.”
Just when he began to walk away, he suddenly paused and lifted a finger. “Oh,” he said with unenthusiasm, taking a step backwards. With a snap of his fingers summoned in the air a katana. With sheath in hand, he calmly laid it onto the table and smiled at Sia, saying, “Here, I got this for you.” Not bother to see her reactions, he immediately twisted back around and left the room. Sia only glanced at the katana and waited until he left. Once gone and the maroon door sealed shut, she then slapped it away and cried,
“Katana, katana, katana- it’s always katanas with him. Why does he always have to give me one? I have enough of my own as it is. Maybe I want something else for a change. Has that ever crossed his damn mind, huh? Can you not give me anything else?”
Taking moment to look at it, Sia rose to pick it up while Yoshi roamed about upstairs by Arethusa’s room. Once there, Yoshi entered inside to see Arethusa dangle her keychain in front of her eyes. Upon seeing this, Yoshi closed his own and thought to himself for a moment. This must have been how Sia felt seeing him on the couch earlier, he thought to himself. What to do. What to do. Father, fatherly; what would a father say at a time like this? Taking a deep breath, he walked inside and sat next to the wondering blue hair girl. “Am I really just going to wing it?” his mind asked.
Doing his best not to hesistate, he hugged his daughter and warmly began, “Arethusa, I’m going out on a mission, okay? I’ll be back soon.” Arethusa, didn’t budge. She only kept staring at her trinket. “Until then, I want you to enjoy yourself and maybe spend some time with Sia. If you get hungry, try bugging her, maybe I’ll get her off her rear and make something for you, okay?” he chuckled, rubbing his daughter’s hair. Uttering a halfhearted giggle, Arethusa leaned against her father without saying a word. “If there’s any problem, don’t be afraid to call me, Sia, Shiomi or Ijiraku. We’re all here for you. Also, I want you to know that I love you. I hope you know that.”
“I love you too dad,” Arethusa weakly responded.
Giving her head one more rub, Yoshi got up and walked towards the door. Just as door open and he was about to leave, Yoshi paused and looked over his shoulder. “I’ll be back soon. Don’t throw any wild parties while I’m gone,” he joked.
“Dad,” Arethusa glared, at a laughing Yoshi shutting the door behind him. Once that door closed, Yoshi took a few moments to tap at his head in frustration.
It took a half an hour for Yoshi to get from Sia’s ship to the gateway lobby. As usual the moment he arrived he found it brimming with all sorts of adventurers, all of them looking forward to their next journey. Though some kept to themselves within the corners of the grey meeting grounds, others ran around to get from place to place and some even shouted their heads off looking for likeminded individuals. Seeing this though, Yoshi rubbed his forehead and looked down. What a hassle, he thought to himself. Upon looking back up, he noticed Yvonna and Stamato sitting by the exit corridor waiting for him. Because they haven’t seen him yet, both of them looking outside at the camp ships at the moment, Yoshi didn’t feel like waiting and began his approach. As he did, he couldn’t help but notice their usual black armor. Seeing this made Yoshi feel a bit self-conscious of his not as uniform mission attire. Luckily for him, once he grabbed hold of their attention, they made no mention of it and friendly greeting him back instead. After exchanging a few hellos, the trio traveled down the long hall and boarded the first camp ship scheduled for Lillipa. Since this was mostly an unplanned trip, Yvonna decided to request a free mission this time around while Yoshi went on his mission. That way they could all go back together, knowing all of them were safe and sound.
In-between the trip to the desert planet, Yoshi tried his best to keep his mind occupied. To keep him mind off his studies. Seeing as a voice inside side his head would laugh every now and then, the last thing he wanted to do was freak out and have a breakdown out of nowhere. Though as hard as he tried to keep his mind busy, eventually his mind came looping back around, around how his daughter could suffer the same things. From there other fears would take hold of him. Sia’s health and how her life could be in danger without him. How Ijiraku could be hunted down for using an illegally stolen body. How Shiomi could be killed for being diga born. With all these thoughts swarming in his head, he couldn’t help but staring blankly into space. Due to his concern over the safety of everyone, his sudden heavy breathing and widen eyes caught Yvonna’s attention. At first she wanted to poke him, but something told her not to.
“Yoshi, are you okay? If you want to opt out, I’m sure we can reason with the Lillipans and get you a replacement.”
Unaware of his surroundings, he finally snapped back into reality once Yvonna said something. Now fully aware of himself, Yoshi blushed and attempted to regain his composure by quickly replying, with a palm held in the air, “I’m alright. I’m just worried about the settlement is all.” After that, Yoshi looked to Yvonna and shrugged. “Not sure what to expect, heh,” he chuckled.
“We’ll if they’re only asking for only one person, it can’t be that bad, right?” she smiled.
“Yeah,” nodded Yoshi. “Good point.”
Yoshi looked away and out the campship’s wide window into space. Yvonna could see the frown written on his face through the reflection. When she looked at Stamato for guidance, he only stared in silence. Now concerned for Yoshi health, Yvonna convinced a pilot to take a ship with them to the ground instead of using the usual normal warp gate. By the time they have entered orbit, the trio boarded one of the camp ships few vessels, exited out of the open gates towards the front of the camp ship and slowly dissented towards the planet, chattering the whole way there. During this time, Yvonna tried to work out information out of him with Stamato’s aid. They didn’t get anything. Yoshi kept changing the subject. Upon reaching the desert landscape by a water tower, Yoshi noticed three Lillipans walking in the shadow of the vessel as its ramp lowered into the sand.
“We’re going to be in the area for a while. If you need us, just give us a call,” yelled Yvonna as Yoshi walked down the ramp.
Yoshi in turn turned around and waved at them. “Right,” he replied. “I’ll see you around commander; you too, Stats.”
“I look forward to your report, Enigma,” the jet black CAST responded, his head slightly tilted to show that he was serious.
“Yours as well,” Yoshi smiled.
Brown boots entering heated sandy floors, the two watched as the much cooler metal ramp acceded off the ground and back up into the sky. Leaving Yoshi in the middle of a sunny sand dune with the Lillipans, he turned away from the zigzagging blue and yellow space that made up the environment and turned towards the much more stable structures that stood behind him. After the ship had finally disappeared from view, the Lillipan greeted the human with a bow and merrily escorted him into their colorful village, fill with plenty of music and life. From right to left, several striped tents littered the area. Some of them organized in a row, others placed as if space usage was an afterthought. Some of them sheltered supplies. Others sheltered shops. The majority of them acted as housing for the somewhat nomadic creatures. Going to and fro between several tents, Yoshi finally arrived at a much larger one. It stood tall and used up most space in the very back of the settlement. Taking a few steps back, almost tripping over a passing carrier, it appeared similar to that of a general’s tent. The kinds used in the distant past. As Yoshi looked around at the amazing sight, the two critters opened up the flaps and beckoned him inside.
[“Hello,”] said a familiar voice. [“Take a seat.”]
Flaps closing as soon as Yoshi entered, he looked around at the surrounding purple walls before returning the gesture. Looking towards his host, inside sat Lilliman and his Vargr companion behind a colored map table. [Mind the others,”] he continued, lowering his scarf so that Yoshi could see his smile. [“It’s not often one of your kind speaks our language. They still try to communicate through gestures.”]
“Hopefully, my Lillipan hasn’t gotten too rusty,” commented Yoshi as he took a seat across from the furry critter.
It appeared to be a stuffed chair full of cushion and sand. Very unlike the photon chairs used back on the ship or anything he has ever sat on. It had just enough sand to support the weight but not enough so that if felt hard as a rock. Covered in a thick woven material, Yoshi almost spent the whole time wondering how the sand stayed inside until he noticed the look on his friend’s face.
Black eyes locked with brown ones, Lilliman said, [“Try as you may, I see that look in your eyes. Dark times must have fallen unto you, haven’t they?”]
Yoshi shifted in his red patterned beanbag like seat and worked up an uneasy smile. “In a manner of speaking,” he replied, looking slightly away.
[“That makes two of us. The enemy moves fast and our weapons grow thin. My kind likes to think we’re untaintable and now because of our foolish actions, I have several skirmishes to look after.”]
After that, Lilliman glanced at Yoshi’s mag, then at Yoshi with lowered brows and nodded. Somehow catching his drift, Yoshi shut off his mag and nodded back. Though as soon as Yoshi looked back at the creature, he noticed Lilliman remove the gun of his Vargr and lay it on top of the map table. With a ray of sun shining on it, Yoshi could already tell it wasn’t in good shape. Besides the cuts and scrapes etched within its white grey surface, a large gash could be seen just behind the barrel.
[“I need to ask you a big favor, one that requires a bit of stealing.”]
“How can I help?”
[“Simply put, we are in need of line shields. The Vargrs have provided us with the knowledge for basic shielding but we need more supplies and more information.”]
“And that’s where I come in.”
[“There is a trail not too far from here that leads into the underground walkways. You are to infiltrate the area and gather what you can there. It will be dangerous and leave you vulnerable as well. Think you’re up to the task?”]
“I take it you are in need of weapons as well?”
[“It would be nice but-,”]
Several rifles and launchers were thrown onto the table.
[“You’re not concerned over the punishment of giving us arms?”] asked Lilliman, cautiously scanning over the scattered weapons.
Yoshi crossed his arms in response and grinned at the creature. “Walking in the grey areas of life is what the Diga do. Don’t worry. I’ll get your supplies. Besides, once you take those things apart, I seriously doubt they could tell it was one of their guns anyways. Take them.”
Hearing this, Lilliman instantly jumped out of his chair and smile a very wide smile. Jumping in place out of sheer joy, he gleefully said to the man, [“Thank you, Yoshi. I knew I could trust in you. Thank you very much.”] Afterwards Lilliman led Yoshi out of the tent and into a crowd of curious Lillipans waiting outside. [“Get those weapons stripped and find a way to mount them on our Vargrs,”] he barked to a Lillipan left of him. [“Men, not only have we found weapons, but we also found our smuggler!”]
All the Lillipans in the crowd began to cheer and swing any loose clothing they had in the air.
[“Come,’] he continued, [“We march to the Gates of Death.”]
Afterwards he mounted his following mechanical wolf creature, and gripped his weapon’s hilt. Once he did, Lilliman looked to Yoshi and pointed behind the human. [“Leave your mag and line shield here. I’m sure your people will be tracking any movement outside the settlement. We need to make sure they think you’re still here. In the meantime, take the cloak and Vargr from that her. If you look like one of us, they may not think you have left at all.”
“Right,” replied Yoshi, accepting a bleached orange clock from a rather excited Lillipan.
Drawing his dagger, several Lillipans mounted their Vargrs as Lilliman pointed his blade the air and shouted, [“Onwards warriors. We shall cut through the desert like my blade to the wind.”]
And with that they were off. Eleven clocked beings rushing across the high noon desert at speeds never experience before, to the average Lillipan at least. From the village, they jumped past the sand-less crevasses, around rocky vistas and through hollowed tunnels. Deeper in the desert, they roamed over metal walkways and under broken structures until they finally reached a kicked in doorway. A blasted doorway shaded by the rock that held it up with signs of dried blood and explosive residue all over it. For the gate way of death, it’s dark hole didn’t seem to instill fear into any of the critters as they stood close behind the man who peered inside.
Looking behind him, Yoshi asked, [“ehh... So why is it called the Gateway of Death?”]
[It used to be used as a fort for the enemy. The blood is not either of ours of course but it’s blood all the same.”]
Yoshi struggled to remember the Lilipan language as he formed his question. [“Right, ehhh... anything...uhh ... I should... look out for?”]
[“For the most part, it’s still intact. All you need to worry about are the traps that lay inside.”]
[“Got’cha.”]
[“Be careful, Yoshi. There have been reports of darker activity in the area. They’re spares in these parts but they’re here.”] After that, Lilliman waved his hand and demandingly said, [“The powder.”]
On command, a Lillipan rode on by and handed Yoshi a small sack fill with a strange material.
[“Rub it on yourself. It won’t provide the same amount protection and will dry your skin but it will act as your line shield for now. This Vargr will stay here for you and patrol the area. Should you need its aid, use the whistle in the bag.”]
[“Thanks,”] said Yoshi, absentmindedly applying the powder on.
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He's already got piloting experience so I guess it wouldn't be a stretch for him to become a pilot. It would be an interesting twist if he did!
Originally Posted by yoshiblue
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