The sound of gunfire and shouting men filled the air, walls shaking and crumbling as Tori ran further into the building, his closest comrades and friends clustered around him. The Gaiden Mechs were advancing, he could feel it in the shaking of the ground. There soon would be little point in running. A soft cry grabbed his attention, watching as Tallis pitched forward and smacked hard into the floor, blood quickly pooling beneath her. He wanted to turn around, to stop and go to her, pick her up and continue on. Save her, somehow. But he knew the moment he stopped to help her, he'd be dead as well. Pushing his anguish down, he set his azure eyes forward. The group ran into a small room, Brayden and Yvette hurriedly blocking the door off with shelves and tables. It took a moment for Tori to realize that his group was setting up a barricade.
"Are you out of your minds?! You can't hold your ground against them!"
"Aye, but we can buy you some time." Tori found himself at a loss for words, looking between the faces of his comrades. Brayden gave a gruff scoff before continuing on, "Ye be ta fastest of us all. Sarge needs t'know what 'appened here. Needs t'know The Gaiden's be on the move." He spat for good measure, setting his sights and aiming for the barricaded door. "Now, don't be givin' me no sad eyes an' sorry excuses, ye hear? You get your arse in gear and move!"
But he couldn't. He couldn't just leave them all here to die. Not like Tallis… Not like Jayden. He took a step forward, readying himself to stand and fight with them. Yvette span around and fired a shot not a hair's breath from his head, forcing him to stumble backwards.
"Dammit kid, we're not dying here for you to pull off some bullshit heroics. Get back to base!"
He didn't need to be told a third time. Tori turned on his heel, slipping through the back door, and made a mad dash out into the field. His going was slowed by the muddy footing, stumbling as he ran, the sounds of battle never far behind. Sudden pain ripped through his side, causing him to crash to the ground. Gasping, he laid a hand on his side, feeling the warmth of blood seeping through his fingers. He wasn't going to make it back to base. His comrades were more than likely all dead, and he'd failed to warn the others of the approaching attack. Coughing up flecks of red, Tori forced himself on to his back, staring up into the grey skies, lifting his hand to see just how much red covered it. A glint of metal drew his eyes to the ring on his finger, the silver offset by bands of swirling green, almost as though it were glowing. Wishmaker, Jayden had called it. A ring that granted wishes. A defeated smile pulled at the corners of his lips. There are no non-believers in death.
"I wish…" God it hurt to talk, his lungs burning as he coughed up more blood. "I-I wish… to go back. To go back to a time before all this shit happened. Before anyone died in this war… Just before the assassination of Gerome Wight."
It started out as a tingling in his hand, quickly moving up his arm to spread to the rest of his body, growing in intensity, sending his vision white, before it all stopped. The tingling was gone, as well as the pain in his side. Sliding open his eyes, he found himself staring up into a crystal blue sky, soft grass underneath him. It was silent, save for the soft chattering of distant voices. Sitting up slowly, he took stock of his surroundings. This… This was the home of Gerome Wight, before it had been changed into the headquarters of Gaiden, which his rebellion had successfully blown up months ago. Slowly, Tori examined himself. He still looked a mess, covered in mud and blood, his bullet wound still seeping. Yet, he couldn't feel any of it.
He glanced down at the ring, the Wishmaker, in wonder. Was he truly back in time? Then this was moments before Gerome Wight was to be slain. He could stop it. He could stop it all. Scrambling up to his feet, he was both relieved and surprised that his weapon was still strapped to his back. Quietly, he went searching for an entrance, an open window allowing him into the building. He wasn't exactly being stealthy, tracking mud and blood everywhere, but he didn't need to be. He just needed to prevent the death of Gerome. Murray would never rise to power. His search led him upstairs, closer to the voices, beginning to make out a few words, standing just outside a large set of doors. Though, now that he was here, he wasn't sure what to do. If the assassin was in the building, he could prevent them from getting in the room. But there was also the chance they were already in there, or there was another way in. Too many unknowns. He'd need to do something drastic. Readying his weapon, he kicked in the doors. Gerome lept to his feet behind his desk, scattering papers to the ground, shock and panic on his wrinkled face.
"Hands up!" The man did as he was told, swallowing hard as Tori advanced on him, gun continued to be pointed in his direction, though his eyes darted around in the search for any sign of danger. Nothing so far. "Okay, move towards the exit." He prodded the man's back with the tip of his weapon, making sure to keep his finger off the trigger. He wanted to scare the man into calling security, thereby making an assassination far less likely, but that would all be for naught if he accidentally shot the man himself. For his part, Gerome was being very compliant, though a bit too quiet. No begging for his life, though he was obviously scared. It was strange. The sound of crumpled paper briefly brought his attention down, the red text striking him as odd. "Hold up… what is this?"
"Y-You mean that's not why you're here?" Gerome babbled, turning his head slightly to look at the man. "You don't know?"
"Don't know what?" Tori eyed Gerome suspiciously, pressing his rifle forward when the man seemed hesitant to answer. "Oh no, don't clam up on me now. What did you think I was here for?" More silence followed, the man's face warped with guilt. Tori growled, grabbing the man by the back of his shirt and throwing him into the the desk. "What are you planning!?"
"O-Okay! Okay… Just don't hurt me!" Tori stayed silent, waiting, as Gerome straightened his shirt. "…Ksaria is having a bit of trouble. You must know how high our unemployment rate has risen?" To be honest, he didn't. Coming from a wealthy family tended to leave one blind to the problems outside themselves. Gerome didn't seem to notice, turning to face away from the young man. "We just don't have the funding to educate and create jobs for them all. Hell, we're struggling to pay the workers we do have. But… imagine if we had a free labour pool!" Tori's eyes widened, the rifle barrel lowering slightly. Where was this heading?
"Our plan is to take these lower class citizens, and make them work for us. They would not get paid, but they'd be given basic shelter, with all their simple needs met. It wouldn't be cozy by any means, but they'd survive. Much better than living on nothing, wouldn't you say?"
Tori was silent for a moment, mulling it over in his mind, steadily growing angrier. He glared at the portly man in front of him. Fat, wealthy, living in excess. Short on money? It didn't take a genius to know where it had gone. "And I don't suppose the wealthiest of us would be subjected to the same?"
"Good heaven's no! We are above them. Surely even an urchin such as yourself can see that. I mean, just look at you."
He felt sick, he was so angry, it boiling in the pit of his stomach. He came back to save this… this monster? Was this future better than the one he came from? "You're just as bad as Murray." Shaking his head, Tori raised the barrel of his rifle. "No, you're worse! At least against Murray, we have a chance! You… no one else knows about this, do they? You're going to implement it slowly, keep people in the dark, make sure no one can resist when the time comes. And who would believe you'd do it? Who could accuse peaceful, diligent, generous Gerome?!"
Gerome himself was fearful again, staring down the barrel at the angry youth. "Y-You won't shoot me. You'll never make it out of here alive! They'll catch-" He didn't even have time to finish his pleading before a bullet was lodged in his brain, jaw going slack as he crumpled to the floor. Tori glared down at him, lowering the barrel. Glancing around, he quickly gathered up all the notes, all the papers, and tossed them in the fireplace. When the assassin did finally show up, they'd find their work already done for them.
And then the thought struck him. Maybe it had been him? Maybe it had always been him.
"…Oh fuck. I started this. I started this whole mess." The young man dropped to his knees, head clutched in his hands. "It's my fault. I started it all." And now, he had inadvertently set everything in motion once again.
