Infinity Legends

Chapter 21: The Infinity Riders

Potathunder pushed himself up, rubbing the bump on the back of his head.

Senses came back slowly, as the environment around him started to come together. The hum of engines, the confined spaces, the smell of sanitizers and alcohol, the bright lights… He was in the med-bay of a spaceship, and had no clue how to feel about it. A med-bay was good news, but an unknown starship probably wasn’t.

But then again, his hands were not tied or cuffed, and the only person guarding him was the little human cyborg, the weakest of the k********g bunch. He was just sitting on a nearby stool, hunched over Lord Potathunder’s lute while stringing a clumsy tune that distantly resembled Stairway to Heaven.

“You play the guitar, don’t you?” Potathunder asked.

The cyborg stopped playing and looked up to the bard on the stretcher. “I do.”

“I could tell from the way you play the lute,” Lord Potathunder pushed himself to a sitting position. “Similar enough to the guitar so you can scratch a tune…”

“Not similar enough for it to be good?”

“You said it, not me,” the bard grinned. “So… gonna tell me where we are?”

“Somewhere between Winner City and the Bibelo system,” Kramen said. “I apologize for the inconvenience, but we couldn’t stay in Winner City after my friend froze a few dozen civilians.”

The bard laughed, shaking his head. He did not seem upset about being unwillingly taken to a planet all the way across the galaxy, nor about being kidnapped and assaulted… even if he had started the hostilities.

“Why did you run?” Kramen asked once the other man was done laughing.

“I knew Takol from another life, thought he wanted me dead. Seemed to me it’d be wise to run for my head!”

“Can we speak openly, please?” Kramen asked politely. “No rhymes or riddles?”

“If you return my lute, I’ll agree to compromise. We’ll get over our feud and that will suffice!”

“I’ve seen what you can do with this,” Kramen raised the silver lute, slightly dented at the points where it had collided with his friends’ heads. “Will you behave?”

“I solemnly swear, violence won’t be deployed. And if I go anywhere, I’ll end in the void!”

Kramen chuckled. As annoying as those rhymes were, they were somewhat clever. It was also surprising how quickly they came to the bard. With a nod, the cyborg returned Lord’s instrument, and the bard immediately got to tuning it.

“So, Lord... Can I call you Lord?” Kramen asked.

“Lord, Pota or Thunder, to me it’s all the same. It’s all a game in the end of the day, and a name’s just a name,” the bard looked up, realizing what he had done. “Sorry. Yeah, Lord’s fine.”

“Okay, Lord. How did you know Takol?”

“Your friend was a Chimera, all those years ago, when the Chimeras were a thing…” the bard said. “So was I, with another character. That was a past I wasn’t ready to face.”

“You were at Spruce?”

“A long story, for another day,” Potathunder smirked. “If you really want to hear it, stop by my bridge anytime, but now why don’t we talk about why I’m here? No! Wait! Let’s start with who the flip y’all are.”

“You already know Takol,” Kramen said. “The icy maniac who chased you down is Serry Frost.”

“Fitting.”

“The other girl, the one who knocked you out, is Gurm, our healer.”

“Ouch!” the bard set his lute aside. “I was knocked out by a healer? The shame!”

“And I’m Kramen. Kramen Blacksky.”

The bard’s face was suddenly illuminated, his lips parting slightly as he scanned the man before him. Lord’s hands hovered next to Kramen’s face, as if touching it would cause the universe to melt.

“I knew you looked familiar…” Lord Potathunder blabbered. “You… really are him!”

“I get it you’re a fan?”

“A huge fan!” Lord had clearly forgotten about his injury, and now jumped to stand on the clinical bed. “My husband and I never missed your matches! He won’t believe I met you! Can you autograph my lute?”

“I have something better than an autograph…” Kramen said, purposefully pausing for added tension. “How would you feel about joining my new Fantasy Stars Legends team?”

The color was drained from Lord’s face as his hands started shivering, then in a flash of light he disappeared, leaving his lute alone on the stretcher. Kramen scratched his head, looking around the now empty med-bay. Fifteen seconds later, another flash brought Potathunder back, and the bard somersaulted from the bed over Kramen’s head.

“Sorry, I had to log-out. I had to scream! I thought I’d pass out, this is better than a dream!” the bard bounced around the room, then grabbed his lute and started playing a crazy tune. “Yes, yes, yes I accept!”

***

“Think he’s awake yet?” Serry asked from the Infinity’s mess-hall couch, where she ate a bowl of ice-cream. Nothing better than virtual dessert. Just as tasty as the real thing with none of the added calories for Sarah to burn.

“Don’t know, don’t care…” Takol shrugged as he bounced a rubber ball against the mess-hall’s walls.

“What’s gotten into you?” Gurm asked from table where she carefully assembled a house of cards. “You’ve been mean since we met Lord!”

“It’s nothing…” Takol said, then continued to bounce his ball against the wall. Four bouncing cycles later, he spoke again. “It’s just… All this Logan Spacebound crap pisses me off!”

“Hey!” Gurm exclaimed. “You said a bad word.”

“Like your sister never does…” Takol muttered to himself. “I’m just saying, I was at Spruce. A thousand people were at Spruce. But all anyone ever talks about is Logan Spacebound and his merry friends!”

“You mad at your history teacher for not mentioning every soldier in World War II?” Serry asked between mouthfuls of ice-cream.

“It’s just not fair!” Takol’s throws were getting harder, the ball was bouncing faster. “I saved Spacebound’s butt at some point, you know? I did! But does anyone ever talk about Takol Scaleback? No!”

At that point, the reptile tossed the ball so fast that it bounced off the wall and into the ceiling, hitting a lamp and flying off to demolish poor Gurm’s house of cards. Takol heaved, wanting to apologize but not finding the words.

“You know, what?” Serry left the ice-cream aside and leaned back on the couch, fingers laced behind her head. “I think you should be thankful people like Potathunder still tell stories about that day, and that people like Spacebound made it possible. Would you rather nobody of the new generation even knew about that day?”

Takol remained silent for a while, staring at his reflection on the Infinity’s polished floor.

“No.”

Serry went on: “Because even if people don’t know you were there, that day and the actions you took then still mean something! And knowing you had a hand in making history is something nobody can take away from you…”

Takol heaved again, broad armored shoulders rising and falling in a long breath.

He was still processing the information when the doors to the med-bay slid open and Kramen Blacksky marched out, followed by an ecstatic Lord Potathunder.

“Good news, everyone!” Kramen rubbed his hands. “We might have started off on the wrong foot, but Lord here is the newest addition to our team.”

Gurm and Serry clapped and cheered. Takol only clapped, after seeing the other two do it.

“It is my great honor to be your bard! Thank you very much!” Lord bowed graciously like the entertainer he was.

“And as we talked in there,” Kramen stepped in the center of the room, “Lord is getting a special assignment in our team as PR officer.”

“Why do we need PR?” Serry frowned.

“If we want to play in the big leagues without wasting three years going through rookies and noobs we need to be the people’s choice for Wildcard.”

“Which means no more turning civilians into popsicles, I lament to inform!” Lord chuckled while looking at Serry.

“Humpf, I did lose a few reputation points for that…” Serry admitted. “But in my defense, nobody died! They just need some time in the sun to melt.”

“Aside from that,” Kramen proceeded, “our PR officer already has a first order of business.”

“Our name!” the bard announced with grandeur booming in his voice.

The other four people in the room exchanged pensive glances, most of them just now realizing they had skipped such a vital step in the creation of their team. A name would be their brand, their identity, the one thing they would unite upon…

“I’m not technically part of the team,” Takol said, taking a step back. “So I’ll just…”

“Nonsense!” Kramen interrupted. “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have come back. Not to mention, we’re going around in your ship!”

“Then there’s our answer right there!” Potathunder spread his arms and spun around. “The Infininity… uh… travelers? Crew? Gang? Groovy dudes?”

“How about riders?” Gurm suggested, and all nodded in approval.

“The Infinity Riders!” Potathunder proclaimed to the stars in a powerful tenor voice, and all those present cheered.

Takol hurried to the fridge and opened a bottle of Sprucian Champagne. The five adventurers toasted and cheered, like the newly founded family that they were. Even Kramen had to put down logic and admit the power of something as simple and abstract as a name.

***

Once the drinks were over and the party was dead, Takol found himself alone in the cockpit, green eyes lingering on the void beyond the window, mind anchored to a distant past.

“There you are,” Potathunder said, stumbling into the room. He had had one too many cups of Sprucian Champagne. “I wanted to talk.”

“So did I,” Takol said, not turning around.

The bard collapsed on the copilot chair. “You know who I am, don’t you?”

“You’re Zero Guy.”

Lord nodded. “You hold that against me?”

“I’m no better myself,” Takol admitted. “I was there that day, you know. In orbit over Spruce. I got Spacebound’s transmission,” he sighed. “Had to make a choice.”

“You chose to live…”

“We all did,” the reptile heaved. “Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“Do you really know him? Spacebound?”

“Yes. Yes I do…” Potathunder smiled faintly, gaze lost in the stars.

“And is he really all they make him to be?”

Potathunder’s smile broadened a millimeter.

“That’s what’s funny about Spacebound,” the bard said. “He was never the cleverest of his friends, nor the strongest or the fastest. In fact, when he became a legend, he was at a pretty standard level. His strength came from the people around him. He knew how to make the most of his allies and brought out the best in each of them. The rest was just consequence.”

A shiver ran from the top of Takol’s head to the tip of his tail.

“Yes,” Lord Potathunder noticed his reaction. “I haven’t been around for long, but I can already tell who’s filling that role in this crew.”

Potathunder stood up, then rested a hand on Takol’s shoulder. “Part of the team or not, they need you. He needs you.”

And then the bard was gone, leaving Takol by himself once more. The Infinity’s captain was completely alone when he muttered to himself:

“I know.”