The Dream Shifter

Chapter 198

Terror gripped her face and body. "Where's my brother?" Yumi clutched onto Yuki's tunic digging her fingers into the fabric. The happiness that existed in her heart a moment before completely vanished. All that filled her eyes was sad, cold tears.

Yuki lifted his hands towards Yumi, but stopped. He did not know what he could say to her. Any words that he thought to try to comfort her rang hollow to him. The only thing he could do was let her cry and be next to her. He looked up over at Saki not saying a word. Their eyes connected and that was all they needed.

She nodded to him and disappeared. Around him, Chiharu and Haruo kept their distance in silence, while Fumiko remained departed resting next to Seiji. The only missing one from the group was Ayumi. No one knew anything about her whereabouts. In the quiet still, the disappearance of Yori made them wonder if they took Ayumi as well. Their only sighting of her was from Chiharu, who only saw her vanish.

Any feeling of victory they had spilled out with the new mood. A heavy weight seemed to fall upon everyone. They had no urge to move. Fatigue and soreness filled in where certainty and resolve used to be.

Saki returned after several minutes looking a little short on breath. She leaned over with her hands propped off her knees. "I'm sorry…"

New despair sank into Yumi. "…Yori…"

Late morning became early afternoon as time resumed a faster pace of travel. The fields had workers from the nearby villages tending to crops. Awkward smoke rose in the distance from Skoupa, a faint reminder of the chaotic night. Further away border villages took note of the gray clouds and already sent messengers to learn of their neighbors. Rumors only began to spread out to the next village in a slow web.

No longer possible to hide, the amassing encampment of the South Gate soldiers had soured the mood of the region. Their focus remained on gathering. Only a few soldiers wandered into the village looking for supplies or visiting family members. Nothing happened yet, but all of the villagers remained uneasy of their presence. They trusted the military to protect them, but quickly feared their arrival.

In the camp, there was shouting and running around. The men from the advanced team with the Captain had returned. Stretchers carried all of the Blacks, normal humans, over to the medical tent. While none had life threatening conditions, Simonides ordered an examination of everyone.

The only White still with the mental energy to transport everyone back, Heber, leapt down out of the driver seat. He scanned through the long covered flatbed of soldiers. The vehicle floated off the ground with no wheels, it made for a safer trip. He performed treatments on everyone, but he still had their safety in mind on the ride back.

Two men carried the stretcher for Antipas past Heber. He gazed down at Antipas sleeping off his fatigue. When he arrived to retrieve Antipas from the battlefield, he found his condition strange. It bothered him on the ride back, but he never brought it up to the Captain. He saw the deep calculating thoughts that entrapped the Captain for the entire trip. Once the last of the soldiers departed, the Captain finally came out of the back of the vehicle, helping in the moving of his men. Heber dropped his field and approached him. "Captain…may I speak?"

Simonides shifted his eyes up at Heber before tilting his head. "What is it?"

"There's something about these rebels that doesn't feel right."

"Hmm…" He kept his face stern trying to hide his own concerns and thoughts. Heber spent a little too much time around him. He became accustom to detected minor details from him. A habit he claimed helped him when tending to the wounded or suffering.

"Sir, Antipas had no injures even though he fought with the rebels. His condition means that he lost, but why doesn't have any injures?" He saw the Captain still refraining from speaking. "Eusebios came back the same way even though he reported being gravely wounded by his opponent."

"As observant as always, Heber." He started walking away in the direction of his personal tent.

"But you already know all of this, don't you Captain? And it's troubling you!"

Simonides paused keeping his back to the man. "Don't forget our positions." He lifted his leg to resume his pace, but did not make it fully before the last pause. "Though tired, I would imagine the examinations will be aided by your presence."

The departure of Simonides left Heber alone in western edge of the camp. He knew that frustration at the denial did him little good. While a little cold, he could be of use with the men. They all had been soundly defeated. He could only imagine their morale and fatigue. Heber turned and walked off in the direction of the medical tents.

Brushing the tent flaps aside, Simonides stormed into the sparsely filled tent. The terse conversation with Heber had him a little edgy. He had a lot on his mind, as Heber knew too well. All of the tactics he had spun around. The battle gained him a greater understanding of their enemy, but his gut has an uneasiness that he could not shake. He did not know how it related to the numerous questions and concerns that he still had.

He dropped himself in his chair with a wooden desk set near. His questions made him start from the beginning to reset everything in his mind. 'One day ago they intruded through the barrier. No clear sign that it made any affect on them.' The lack of affect by barrier only meant that they received help. 'The rebel MPs granted them access.' An important question came with the thought of rebel MPs. 'Were they trained by the military or ones that evaded our scouting?' Citizens that displayed the Meso Prosecho required military service. A subject often centered at the core of rebels.

New information from the battle revealed light to something that previously eluded him. 'The teen girl that disappears…her powers are the reason the search party was taken out. An invisible enemy is dangerous. I'll need to have them create a specialized field to deal with her. She'll be more important to stop than the others.' He saw how fast that she wiped out his team. None of his men could react in time. Her powers used on his men still left him a little confused, but knowing that bit of information would change the next encounter.

'The rough teen that relied on strength has been figured out. He showed only high offensive and defensive powers, but they can be broken. He's too slow to be able to do anything.' There did not seem to be anything more need to continue investigation on him. Even in the worst situation, it all remained the same. Simonides knew that he could capture him.

Photine's battle left him feeling uncertain. She lost the battle, but it seemed to be having too many peaks. The unstable nature of her opponent made him question if he knew everything or if there was still something he missed. 'Several times it looked like she was losing only to turn it around and suddenly become stronger. Is it her method of fighting to draw in the enemy or inexperience? Either case, she has some powerful abilities. While Photine was a good match, I'm going to need to find someone with something else…' He thought through the list of Whites under his command. A few names came to mind.

The remaining fight he saw as the most straightforward. The others gave him some uneasiness and left his gut with a feeling that he could not calm. However, Antipas's battle went as he had seen past battles between MP users go. 'The teen was unable to use his powers because he had no field up, while the others immediately had their fields. That means inexperience, yet what I saw makes him possibly the most dangerous one of the group. He's defeated Eusebios and Antipas. Eusebios received personal training from the General.' The defeat of two talented MPs with little effort came with great implications. 'I watched him take down Antipas' barriers through sheer field influence. If I use that as a measure of his field strength only the Omega Division has the personnel strong enough to surpass him.' Simonides contemplated the dilemma further. 'If I can't beat him through power, then I'll have be smarter. Antipas is the right direction…'

One new unknown came out of the fight. The black clothed figure that rescued the headstrong teen only briefly displayed their powers. Simonides did not have much chance to gain much. He knew the next encounter that he needed to draw the black one out again to learn more. 'They were skilled enough to handle Miltiades, though it was only after a prolonged fight. The appearing out of surfaces is a strange power to use. But they're strong for their size to be able to carry the brute.'

Three of the intruders remained a complete mystery to him. None of them took part in the fighting. The number of MP users actually had him a little surprised. He did not expect to find so many rebels free. 'The rest are probably normal humans, but they must serve another purpose or they would not be here. That purpose I will find out…'

Simonides stood up taking note of the time that passed. '…lost track of time…' He walked out of his tent. His eyes had to adjust a little catching the afternoon sun. The camp remained busy with his men still putting the site together for the late arriving soldiers. He still had to wait for the remaining troops from the furthest reaches of his border before he could launch his full strength. Numbers did not always make the difference, but the strength the rebels called for everything he had to put them down fully.

Across the grounds, the medical tents looked calm once more. The Captain made his way to the tents. He checked on all of his men as they left the transport and they deserved another visit. They all followed his orders and came back alive. He could not ask any more of them, especially against such a foe.

The first tent he entered held Abeiron's team. He sat down on the box next to one of the beds. Simonides learned that Abeiron already made his stops to his men earlier. While none of them had severe injuries, they did all receive a strong trauma to knock them out. The doctors insisted on some rest before resuming duties. His presence in the tent seemed to raise the spirits of the men. Speaking with each individually, he saw how their defeat left them all feeling useless. They told him that the Commander said they all served their orders and should be proud, but Simonides knew such feelings did not change easily. When he left, their eyes held a stronger flame than before.

His next stop ran very similar as he made the rounds to all of the regular soldiers that participated in his information gathering. He re-enforced to them all that their work helped him. Even the work that they did ensured their later victory.

Simonides' final stop came to the ones holding the Whites. He knew them to be the most exhausted mentally and physically from the fighting. However, they also fought the hardest against the enemy so they had some questions that only they could answer. His arrival in the tent alerted the three of them. "Be at ease," he ordered with his hand motioning them to remain still.

Stubbornly ignoring the order, Antipas tried to push himself up in an attempt to stand. "…Captain…I…" The soreness caught up to him and made him slip back into his cot.

"You three worked harder than anyone. You deserve the rest." Simonides stepped into the center of the tent making sure they all understood his order. "I won't keep you for long."

"I'm sorry, sir…I failed…"

He raised a hand back up to stop Antipas from apologizing any further. "Success isn't always measured in victories. Your objective was not to beat them, but to gather information. And you all succeeded." The looks from around the tent were just as clear as what he saw from the others. None of them had known a real challenge or defeat. The border patrol, while important, was highly routine. Capturing and returning the random intruder was all they needed to practice. They expected to win again, even knowing the risks. Told they succeeded and still lost did not improve the mood.

The Captain crossed his arms leaning against the center pole. "There's something I need you to answer. It's important." His grave tone snapped them all out of their distant haze. "Having fought with them, what are your assessments of them? What sort of individuals are they?"

His question left them all in silence for a moment. They gathered their thoughts and replayed the battles in their minds. Miltiades broke the empty void first. His battle left him with very strong impressions. "The one I fought was very strong and not just physically. He seemed to have a determination and resolve to keep going, which might even blind him. It was a heavy feeling, but it also felt…" He looked over at the others before back to the Captain. "I don't know if it is the right word, but if I had to say it…pure, almost innocent."

"I felt similarly, Captain," replied Photine. She drew herself up from the cot a little. "The girl almost did not seem to fit the battlefield at times. Yet when she became serious, there was something else I saw in her eyes. The innocence disappeared, replaced with a strong resolve and will."

Miltiades hand tightened up on the sheets of his cot thinking about the fight. He looked back at his Captain. "But sir, there's something strange about them. They don't feel like any other Meso Prosecho I've fought before."

"He's right, sir! I sensed it as well. It almost didn't feel like they were using Meso Prosecho, but that's impossible! Sir!"

Simonides narrowed his eyes further. The same gut feeling, the one that he could not calm. They felt it. "I see…"

"I was able to speak to mine, sir," Antipas commented. An uneasy chill came over him still remembering the events. "He said his name was Yuki Hayashi. I don't know any Atlantean with such a name, even if he was nobility with a last name. My impression is a little different from the others. He was definitely a MP user. He seemed confident and almost arrogant at times as though he knew that I was no challenge. He puts a lot of faith in the strength of his powers, but he's capable. He seemed to be highly intelligent to figure out the laws of my field from a single battle." He leaned his head down thinking about the end of the fight. The feeling still lingered. "But he was naïve. He told me to retreat and that he wouldn't follow." The young soldier looked back up at Simonides with confused eyes. "What sort of person is that soft when fighting?"