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Arthur

The next two months felt like two years by the time our fleet was in decent condition once again. The general took this as an opportunity to upgrade much of our weaponry such as our auto defenses, our armor, and increase patrol around the borders of our fleet.

It was a step in the right direction. At least we would be ready in case another fleet attacked us, assuming that that never happened again. We'd have to be ready in case we were attacked again because we weren't out of the fight and the Overlord knew that, so he was going to hammer at us until there was nothing left to destroy. He was going to get a big surprise the next time he hit since we were still on edge since the attack two months prior.

Still, by the end of our repairs and restoration, I was ready to hit the bed. Actually, that was the first thing I did when I was relieved of my duties four hours earlier than I was used to. I wasn't plagued with nightmares like the one with Jupiter much, though they were occasional and gave me a bad mood to work with a few days of the month, yet they weren't anything major.

With Zoey's ongoing advice, I learned to remember that what I was experiencing was just a dream and it couldn't hurt me. She definitely knew what she was doing because it was working like a charm, though I wished that the charm would last every day of the month of every year for the rest of my lifetime until Jupiter died off and this war was over. I doubted he would die of age anytime soon, so I was stuck with the evil guy for a long while, and I wasn't the happiest camper when he decided to intrude into my dreams always unwelcomed. If he didn't die of old age, I was personally going to get him out of my hair if these nightmares didn't stop soon.

But, enough of my problems. Falk quickly recovered from his the prison break out he told us so much about. After what he went through for almost two weeks, I gave him plenty of respect and props for sticking through to the end and rescuing David was even better.

He still suffered dreams like mine sadly. He even told me of the prisoners there that were like the ones I described on the plantation I was forced to labor on six years ago. He told me how lifeless and emotionless they were as if they were just lingering spirits trying to figure out what they were doing. Though they did the tasks others made them do, they had no heart or soul as if they did it but their mind was in another place.

Just remembering the people back in that field made me shudder every time I heard it. They didn't even care if they could die. So long as they worked, they worked until nothing was left. It was almost like their will was just rotting away into nothingness.

God, even that made me shudder now. That was another horrible way to die to me. Falk and I even told Damien who then decided to investigate on the subject, finding many reports of slaves who had very little, if any, will that meant absolutely nothing to them. He even went on to say that they just gave up on their lives and served without question. Was this what the Task Masters and the Overlord are trying to achieve? Is this how they're going to break our will by making us into lifeless husks that care nothing about themselves and do nothing but serve?

They were sick bastards. I was not going to become like those others and just give up on my existence just to serve someone who had little empathy for my own being. Though the reports looked legit, I couldn't help but wonder if there was something else going on that we didn't know about. I just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something we didn't know about that the Overlord was keeping from the eyes of us and the public. Whatever it was, I couldn't get my mind off of it. Had I missed something during that year of slavery? Did I fail to see something that we could use as another game changer? Was there something I missed that could make most of the public change their allegiance to our cause instead?

I honestly had no clue. What I did know was that something was going on, and it had something to do with the slaves. The Task Masters were doing something to them in order to break their will, and I needed to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible.

"Even if I find out," I said under my breath. "I have a strange feeling I'm not going to like what I see or hear."

It was true. If it was something really bad, I probably wasn't going to enjoy the information so long as I knew it. Maybe there wasn't anything to it and I was just getting worked up over nothing. Maybe the slaves finally just gave up and gave in to their owners, doing whatever they pleased without any sort of hesitation. I'll admit, it was a shitty way to live, if they even lived through it, and a great means to suffer until the very end.

Maybe it wasn't part of my business to know, though I had the sudden urge to know the truth even though there were really no leads to it. Just researching the topic was about as reliable as a soldier for the Overlord working for us. If anything, we'd have to get direct information by going to those plantations or prisons or wherever to investigate those slaves. After the stunt Falk pulled, I was more than sure I didn't want to end up in the same predicament that he was in and hope for a miracle to come by and save me. That was too risky, even though I lived on playing it risky from time to time.

Knowing that there were too many dangers investigating this head on, I decided to move on from the topic and hope for the best that we could get an actual lead. I doubted that that would even happen, but I was aware of the weird things that had happened in the past. As far as I was concerned, anything was possible with the right resources.

Aside from all of that, everything had been relatively calm for us since the attack. Lucian was busy juggling his new book--the one that would help us a great deal--and the responsibilities of being a father once more. I barely saw him out of his room anymore, but David came and went as he pleased and was treated like a prince. I was glad to know he wasn't a spoiled brat or something. The kid had humility and honor...two things that were quickly dying out on this world. He handled things himself and handled himself nicely, so I was glad to not have any complaints from him. He still spent the majority of his time with his father in their cabin, so I guess that was a good thing. They had plenty of catching up to do in the meantime anyway.

For some reason, I felt like I was forgetting to do something. There was nothing else we were ordered to do for the time being, and Damien barely sent anyone out on missions, fearing that with the low numbers we had that we might be vulnerable to another attack. Anyone he did send on a mission, it was generally a small posse that got the job done really quick and was back at the fleet before anyone even noticed they were gone. It may have been a small raid or an assassination mission which generally didn't take very long, or it could've just been a tag and bag operation.

Whatever it was, it kept us in the game. We were still a threat to the Overlord's plans and to the rest of the Task Masters who worked under him. Even though we weren't in fighting shape, our other fleets were still pounding away at his ego as much as they could as a method to throw him off. In some cases, he lashed at the public with his rage and lost followers that way, yet he made up for it by donating thousands, sometimes millions, of dollars to charities and services. Of course the media knew it was just a publicity stunt to get the attention off of his bad behavior, yet they were cowards by not stating their opinions more often.

I could see why they were scared, though. This one man had the power to do whatever he pleased. He could make people, places, and communities disappear in one night if he wanted to. He could attack anyone he perceived as a threat, yet can't bring us down. He could buy and sell any person he wanted. Even though the media knew about his tyrannical power, they did nothing out of fear for their own lives.

The man was smart, I gave him that. By keeping the media from saying bad stuff about him that could ruin his reputation and the reputation of anymore Overlords, he could keep himself safe and keep the people blissful and ignorant as long as he pleased. If they knew, there would be more people on our side than we could ever hope for. It was a minor problem, yet it was also a problem that we've been dealing with for decades. We tried blackmail, to no avail. We tried framing crimes on him, which didn't do us any good. We even sent highly trained assassins to just take care of the job for us; however he merely killed them and made them a statement for the people never to cross him.

I sighed. Just when I thought we had the advantage over him, he was always two steps ahead of us at every single fucking turn! How did he know what we were planning before we even put it into action? With Carlos leading many of our forces directly into battle, we all knew that he didn't just squeal out information like that anywhere. If he did, he'd be court-marshaled and exiled from the Revolution. Luckily, we found no evidence of him crossing us over the years. He even told us he had no idea how they knew most of our plans when it was kept on a strict need-to-know basis. He even suggested that there was a mole within the fleet that was just giving information away. Unfortunately, none of our soldiers ever showed signs of working for the other side, and we double-checked everything just to be sure. Documents, profiles, health information, historical backround, etc. Nothing came. He was clean as far as our computers could tell, and the soldiers he had by his side never told a lie.

If we did have a mole, they were smart. They were able to keep themselves from being known and did it with probably minimal effort. It was probably their fault we lost so many men in the battle month ago, but then again, the Overlord probably coordinated it himself as a means to cripple us. Spy or not, we had to keep our channels constantly monitored whether or not there was even a mole within our fleet to begin with.

Walking down one of the ship's corridors, I thought all this to myself. When Falk and Zoey weren't around, I felt like I could think clearly without either one of them butting into things. I loved them to death, but I needed some time alone for myself once in a while.

God, was I getting prissy? Oh, god, I hope not! Just the thought of acting that way made me lean against the nearest wall for support. There was no way I could ever deal with acting like that.

I needed someone to talk to through, yet I don't think Falk and Zoey were the best to help me out. Zoey was already helping me out with my dreams, and I didn't want to bother her with trivial things that were constantly surrounding my mind and sanity. Damien was way too busy to even consider talking to me, even though he could use a distraction to get himself away from all that tiresome work. Lucian was wise and smart, so I considered asking him for help.

"Only problem with that is he's writing a book that could help us," I spoke to myself. "And if I had to guess, he'll want to spend any free time he could with his son and not with a problematic guy like me."

Okay, maybe I wasn't turning into a priss, but I was starting to talk to myself. Though some thought it was a sign of intelligence, I just found it incredibly crazy when no one else was around. It was a sure fact, I hope, that I wasn't starting to become crazy. So, I wandered who could possibly help me out. I just needed someone to talk to, and everyone I could think of was too busy or just didn't fit the critique I needed.

"Well, there's always Shock," I said again, shaking my head. "I wonder if he can stop from me from talking to myself."

I made my way through the long corridors and found him at his usual room filled with dozens, possibly hundreds, of weapons and explosives. He sat passed out on one of his recliners holding a newly shined AK-47 in his lap while he was dozing off into dream land.

Even though I didn't want to wake him, he didn't look like he was too busy. Unless sleep was a job, then he was very busy with that. Since I couldn't think of a good sleeping job, I knelt down and shook him a few times, only getting a weak groan from him in response. Whatever he was dreaming about, he was certainly deep into it enough that he didn't notice a few shakings. I guess he must've been tired after fixing many of the weapons that had been damaged during the attack and now he was almost done.

I shook him a few more times, this time being a little rougher. He continued to groan and stir only slightly, shifting himself in his seat until he lay in a more comfortable state in his seat. He mumbled something inaudible and went back into his deep sleep.

Growing frustrated, I leaned close and shook him harder. "Shock, wake up! I need your help!" I whispered loudly.

He showed no signs of acknowledging my presence. Sure, a battle for the fate of this fleet could wake him up, but apparently one lone fox couldn't wake him up just for a small talk. Well, bullets and explosives were a good means to wake up someone in case of emergency.

Now that's an idea.

I smirked at him and walked over to one of the nearest pistols, finding it loaded with ammo already. Shock had a knack for leaving firearms loaded while he wasn't around, and I suppose it was going to work in my favor this time. I cocked it and aimed it at one of the targets that had been installed into his quarters, making his room a loaded powerhouse with a small shooting range fit for one person. Damien thought he could test weapons better this way, which he did, but I was going to use it as an alarm clock.

Quickly, I aimed my pistol at the target and shot. Shock snapped awake and jolted out of his seat, falling onto his face with a loud thud, dropping the gun he had resting in his arms, and groaning in pain.

"Who's there?" he snapped. "You picked a bad time for..."

"Shock, it's me," I stopped him, grabbing his attention.

He shook his head, wiped his eyes, and gave me a puzzling look. "A...Arthur? That th' hell...Ugh, kid, I love you to death, but promise me you'll never do that again, eh?"

I chuckled. "That's a promise I can't keep."

He mocked me while he got to his hooves. "'That's a promise I can't keep'....my ass. Ugh." He groaned, snapping his back into place with a few twists of his body before yawning. "Sorry, I snapped. Thought you was some sort of assassin."

I handed him the gun. "Sorry, I just needed to talk to you."

He took the pistol and placed it back into his slot. "Alright, take a seat."

As he pulled up a seat for me, I started to talk. "Thanks, I just...really had to talk to you about something."

He took a seat right in front of mine. "It's alright. Don't worry about it. Now, what was it that you needed to talk about, eh? You want to learn how to build a gun? Having problems with your friends? Is it relationship advice?"

I looked away and shook my head. "No...no...no."

"Well then, spit it out, kid," he chuckled. "I can't help you if I don't know what I'm dealing with."

I sighed and looked at him. "There are just so many things I'm so confused about that I don't know where to begin."

He nodded. "Just start from th' most important and work your way down."

With that, I began to list off what had been bothering me. I started with the nightmares Zoey had been helping me overcome and how they were tied to my past, making me even weaker than I usually was. I then told him about the slaves that acted like they were mindless and careless of themselves, acting like they were just shells that could be replaced. I then finished with how I was feeling all these different emotions about our efforts and how they seemed to be insignificant to what was really going on with the world.

Shock listened intently to me. He seemed too lost in deep thought trying to discern what was going on with me. Though Zoey did her best to dispel the evil lurking in my dreams, I felt like I needed someone wiser and more mentally stable that could have little trouble figuring out what was wrong with me.

After a few minutes of silence, he spoke. "Okay, I'll start with what you talked about first. Personally, Zoey seems to know what she's doing with those dreams of yours, and her idea is very sound. Th' only way you're going to feel closure is if you eliminate the root of the problem, and the root is Jupiter." He sighed and shook his head. "I can see why you find it difficult since he is a Task Master with much power. That part, you're going to have to handle personally if you want to feel better."

"As for th' next part--the mindless slaves?--I can only assume that their will is entirely broken. If they're crazy enough to toil until their souls give way, then they're broken people who can't be recovered. If you and Falk encountered th' same type of people at two very different locations, then there is something going on and the Overlord or his Task Masters are causing it. They're growing stronger by th' day, and th' slaves that toil for them are growing weaker as they grow in power. Whatever is going on, I haven't the slightest clue. I'll investigate further and find anything and tell you everything I find, okay?"

Though I looked unsure, I nodded. "Okay, and thanks."

He warmly smiled. "No prob. Now...what was the last thing you wanted to know? Oh, how you were feeling about our cause. Well, Arthur, that's a tougher question to answer. I guess it honestly depends on how much you believe in this cause--how you believe in us really. If you're questioning whether or not this is for you, then I'd take that up with Damien to see what he might say. Whether or not you feel up to the task of working with th' Revolution is your choice, but I wouldn't leave a group of people more dedicated to benefiting this world better.

"But..." I cut in. "What we try to do doesn't seem to work, and I constantly feel like we're fighting an uphill battle."

Shock chuckled. "Well, you wanna know what I think about uphill battles?"

I raised my brow in curiosity. "What about them?"

He smiled, leaning back in his seat. "It's only a matter of time before you reach the top and level the playing field."

"What if you're tired when you get it there?" I asked.

He retained his smile. "Then you retreat to fight another day, and if that means having to start from scratch then so be it."

I looked away, unsure about what he was saying. He tilted his head and sighed. "There's a benefit to that, though."

"Then what is the benefit?" I nearly snapped.

He brought my gaze to his. "You become stronger while the ones at the top stay exactly where they are, and eventually you become stronger than them and defeat them."

The equine didn't let me leave his gaze for the longest time. All I did was stare intently into his eyes which seemed to be filled with intense gravity that never let my sight waver. I could tell what he was trying to do. He was trying to let his words sink into my head until I finally understood what he was trying to say, which took a few minutes of silence.

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I was looking at the bad side of things, never looking forward to the positive side of things. There was still good and honest work to be done to help fix what the bad and evil work was trying to create every day. Maybe our efforts weren't completely futile. We were still making some sort of headway against the Overlord and his army, and I wasn't dead yet so Shock could be onto something. If I was still the person I was when I first joined the Revolution, I probably wouldn't even be alive right now. It was my conviction to finish what my parents helped start and to avenge their deaths in all the right ways so that this world could prosper on the right path instead of down a dark road it may never recover from.

I had friends who were willing to put their lives on the line for the greater good of this world, and I was here questioning whether or not I was cut out for the job. Giving up would only shame me further. I couldn't just abandon this family that I had grown to love.

I shook my head, cutting my gaze from his. Time felt like it was going incredibly slow, like slower than walking through deep molasses. Neither one of us said a word to each other until I was ready to speak again. It took a few more moments of head shaking and deep breathing until I felt like responding.

"T-thanks, Shock," I stated, standing up. "You have no idea how much you advice helped me."

The guy just stood up and smiled, patting my shoulder. "Don't worry about the dark side of things, Arthur. So long as you look forward and never back, you'll continue to grow and prosper until you reach your peak as an individual so you can finally look back and face your past head on. No one said you had to face it right now."

I blushed, rubbing the back of my neck. "Yeah, you're right. I've been feeling sorry for myself for a while now, and I shouldn't. I'm here still fighting for a just cause and I'm not leaving anytime soon."

He chuckled. "That's the spirit. So, is there anything else I can help you out with? You need a gun fixed or something?"

Shaking my head quickly, I responded. "No, nothing yet. I'll let you know though if I need something." I then turned and slowly walked myself out of the room.

Before I was three feet from the door, Shock stopped me. "Hey, wait! Did you ever talk to Carlos?"

Surprised, I turned back to him. "What're you talking about?"

He then looked puzzlingly at me. "You told me a few months ago that you needed to talk to him about th' picture. You know, th' one with him and those other soldiers."

Well, crap! I knew I was forgetting something! I don't know what was more frustrating right now! The fact that that forgot to talk to him about that picture almost three months ago, or that I forgot it practically three months later and never even bothered to remember it?

I really needed to get my shit together.

Smacking my forehead, I groaned. "Oh, shit! I forgot!"

He snickered teasingly. "Just go and talk to Damien if he's here or not. And try not to forget that this time."

I was already jogging down the long corridor towards the Hub before the sound of his voice faded. I still couldn't believe I had forgotten to talk to Carlos until now. Well, we were fighting a battle a week after he arrived and I was completely busy trying to bring the ship back to working condition. Still, that was no excuse talking to him nearly three months later.

I jogged by several groups of soldiers, all of them looking at me puzzlingly as I made my way up the stairs to the Hub. The operators inside quickly buzzed me in and allowed me to see Damien, who was where he usually was--standing right beside the holographic monitor of the world. Whenever we see him, he always looked like he was in deep thought or something. Whatever he was thinking of, he turned his attention to me.

"Arthur?" he asked, obviously shocked at my presence. "I didn't call you up here."

"I know," I replied, stepping forward towards him. "I just needed to ask you something that is if you're not busy of course."

He smiled. "No, no, no. I'm not busy at the moment. I was just contemplating a few more raids on Overlord supply manifests that we could use to our advantage. Go ahead and speak your mind."

I cleared my throat. "Well, I need to ask you. Have you seen Carlos around by any chance? I kinda need to talk to him."

Before I even finished, he looked away from me. From that moment, I knew that he knew something that I didn't. He was hiding something from me, and I had a feeling it involved Carlos. Whatever it was, I needed to know what it was ASAP.

"What's wrong?" I asked, taking a few more steps forward.

He cleared his throat, yet refusing to meet my eyes. "It's...nothing, Arthur. I know nothing of Carlos thus far."

I squinted my eyes and frowned. "And you call me a terrible liar."

The white fox let out a long, drawn out sigh, still not meeting my eyes. "Is it that obvious?"

I nodded. "You made it too easy. Please, what're you keeping from me?"

He sighed again and shook his head. "I'm not sure if you want to know, Arthur."

I took one more step forward, keeping a firm yet now squeaky voice. "Where. Is. Carlos."

Damien took in a deep breath of air then let it all out and turned to me. "As of right now, we have no idea where Carlos is."