Justice by R.T. Adams (big ebook reader .txt) 📕

“So, the second time,” he said, “How many times are you going to make us visit?”

“Wasn’t my intention,” I shrugged and laughed, listening to him laugh as well.

“Looks like your thigh hasn’t healed yet, either,” he said.

“It’s slowly healing, but it isn’t there yet. The hole’s been sealed together, it’s rather a surprise it didn’t bust open on the fall,” I said, looking at the somewhat torn bandage under my pant leg.

“It might be better to change out the bandage,” Randolph said, “I’ll go find the bandages.”

“No need to search, they’re in the second cabinet over there,” I pointed over to them. He nodded and walked over, opening to cabinet and taking down the bandages. He lifted my pant leg and started unwinding the previous bandage. When it came off, I noticed that the stitches were gone, only a scar left.

“Hold on, you said it was in the process of healing,” Randolph said.

“I did, but,” I was absolutely astonished.

“What the hell is this then?” he pointed out my leg.

“I’m not sure,” I said, completely unsure of how to process this. We just continued with our pointless chattering. Somehow, the best times seem to be when I’m stuck in the hospital, having fun with them. However, being in the hospital also reminds me of those who have died on this journey and before the journey, along with those who are to die in the future. Though they’ve been lied to and have been pushed to some of their limits, they still continue to fight alongside me. I wonder why they continue to stay by my side regardless what happens. Even when Arcanum died, Randolph still had the strength to stand back up and keep fighting. I’m not sure I could keep fighting when one of my greatest friends died in front of my eyes. It just proves how strong he is. And Alicia, with her speed, is nearly impossible to match, except for a select few. Then here I am, some average man who came along and practically said “Hey, let’s get together and take down Justice!” And in the end, I somehow end up as the person they adore most. Though I think of this now, our journey is yet to end, and so it’ll be a while longer until we come to our end.

By the time four days passed, I had full ability to use my left leg once more. It would appear that both Alicia and Randolph had stayed with me overnight for the last night, as I found them both resting in the room. Surprisingly, I was awake before anyone else, but I suppose that was due to my sudden irregular sleeping schedule. When I looked over to the clock, I noticed it was just before seven o’clock, when Randolph usually wakes up. Rather than waiting for one of them to wake up, I got up out of the bed and walked over to the window, opening it and leaning slightly out it, looking down at all the people walking around, some of them with their children. I suddenly started to think of how it’d feel to have a child of my own. Someone to pass all my legacies over to, someone to carry it all on. Someone who, if I failed to demolish Justice, would be able to destroy Justice. I smiled for a moment at the thought of having a child. The hardships, the joy, the pride, the fun, all the good moments, and even bad moments, in life with a child would all be so much better. The more I thought of it, the more distant it felt, the more it felt as though it would be unachievable. I suddenly heard shuffling behind me, so I turned to see who it was. Apparently, Alicia woke up in the middle of my daydreaming.

“Thinking of something?” she said.

“Nothing in particular,” I said.

“Perhaps I’ve had the same thoughts before,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“The thought of children?” It was rather scary how spot-on she was, and I also began to wonder exactly how she knew.

“How did you know what I was thinking?”

“Your smile gave it away. I’ve seen it on many people. It almost seems like the smile of a parent,” she said. The smile of a parent, huh? What exactly does that look like? I suppose I wouldn’t know, considering I’d been thrown out of the castle when I was young, and my adopted father never actually smiled much, except in a few photos.

“My smile, is that right?”

“You know, I’m not incapable of carrying a child,” she said. Suddenly, it struck me. I forgot entirely she was a woman, and just thought of her as a companion of battle. When I looked up, she avoided eye contact entirely, blushing at the cheeks. Was it that she was offering herself to me?

“You know, when I’m in battle, I forget about female, male, and age. I forget about everything and just attack whatever’s in front of me, regardless what or who it is, unless it’s an ally. I guess I forgot that you were a woman,” I said.

“That’s a bit rude, don’t you think?” she asked.

“I guess so, but it’s who I am,” I chuckled a bit. Abruptly, the door opened, halting our conversation entirely.

“You’re free to leave any time you like,” a female nurse said, “And, sorry to eavesdrop, but a child wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe you could come here so I could see it if it ever happens?”

“Yeah, sure,” I nervously said, a bit hesitantly as well. She closed the door. I was stiff as a board from absolute embarrassment. I suddenly began giving a few nervous laughs. Soon, Randolph woke up, as well. He said he didn’t want to be in the hospital anymore, so we decided to leave town. Soon, we were on the road again, headed to another destination. Our destination was the heart of the terrors and agony. Justice’s home base, Algora. Algora is an island in the middle of an ocean, on top of a mountain which so happened to form there. From here, even, we could see the mountain in which Algora was on. There was no bridge to get to Algora, only ships. Algora wasn’t a base, rather a city made for the Emperor and high-ranking Justice officers, such as Alicia’s elder brother, Avecia.

By now, we were in an entirely different city, a city where the ships to Algora could be found. Not all of the bases and strongholds had been destroyed yet, but if the capital was taken down, then perhaps the rest would die down. However, we didn’t have the ability to head to Algora just yet, as it was getting dark and heading to Algora during nighttime was extremely dangerous, we had to remain in the city. Randolph and I went straight for a bar, getting drinks while Alicia went to a few stores. After finishing her own business, she came into the bar with us. She sat down next to me, her form rather noble-like. Her body was curvaceous, suddenly, making me feel differently for her. I suppose Randolph noticed, because he jabbed me with his elbow and grinned at me. I waved him off and looked back down at my drink. I could feel someone tapping my shoulder and I looked over. Alicia leaned to my ear and began to whisper.

“Are you sure about this? After all, your real father lies in wait in the throne room in Algora,” she said.

“Don’t worry, I’ve prepared myself,” I said.

“And,” she hesitated, “Have you thought any deeper about the thought of children?” I pulled back a bit and looked her in the eyes. I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I just turned my head back to my drink and took a sip, then looked over to Randolph for a moment, who just looked back and took a drink of his drink. It’s rather obvious he wouldn’t have a clue what we were just whispering about. I turned back to Alicia.

“I have, a bit,” I said.

“Come closer,” she said, and so I obediently came closer to her. Taking me by surprise, she leaned in and our lips met, even if only for a few seconds.

“Wh-” I was completely shocked by what she just did.

“Hey, whoa, when did you two start doing things?” Randolph said.

“I’m not sure?” I turned to him, confused, myself.

“Don’t worry about it,” Alicia quickly left the bar in embarrassment. I could feel eyes on me, crawling all over my body, making me extremely uncomfortable. I was tempted to leave, but I remained in my seat, drowning out all the thoughts of eyes with other thoughts, such as annihilating Justice. After Randolph and I finished our drinks, we went out and looked around the city a bit, seeing what there was to see just before we went out to fight against the superior power of Justice. Apparently, looking around at all the activities and festivities around, a festival was going on. The festival was in honour of the man who founded this city. Later tonight, there would be fireworks. However, as of now, we decided to walk around and see the shows put on and get a few rare-to-find snacks. There were even some games, some including finding objects placed around the city. We ended up finding quite a few objects, winning a few of the games, tasting all of the rare snacks, and saw about two or three of the shows, one of them being a musical performance that wasn’t all too bad. All-in-all, the day was definitely great. At the end of the day, we left to go to a hotel nearby. While headed to the hotel, Alicia suggested that I get two separate rooms, and so I decided to do so. We went into the hotel and I paid for two different rooms. Randolph took the separate room, room two hundred and eight, and we took the other room, room two twenty, only six doors apart, considering there were doors on both sides of the hall. There had been a balcony aimed towards the sea, as well as towards Algora’s Mountain., as it came to be called. As of now, Randolph was with us, each of us sitting in a chair on the balcony, chatting away, when suddenly a boom echoed from the distance. We all shifted our gaze towards the unexpected sound. We looked up a bit and noticed colours in the sky. Suddenly, more explosions came, along with more colours. The fireworks had started. Colours filled the sky and noise filled the air. The beauty of the colours was astonishing, nothing like what I’ve seen before. In the end, a large amount of fireworks were released, creating a beautiful, intricate design in the sky. It ended with a big boom, something I’d like to happen when fighting against the Emperor. We said only a few more words before Randolph went to his room. I walked over to the bed, removing my clothes as Alicia went into the bathroom. I could hear water running, but not from a bath, from a sink. I crawled into the bed, under the covers. Soon, I noticed Alicia come out of the bathroom, only in her underwear as well. She walked over to the bed and, as she got closer, I felt more obliged to look away. I could tell she was embarrassed, even if I couldn’t see her face but only from the moonlight outside. As she crawled under the covers, I could feel her soft skin against my own, a relaxing sensation.

The next morning, I found myself naked in the bed, Alicia already awake and getting dressed. I didn’t decide to ask about anything. Instead, I looked around for my clothes, soon finding them on the floor. I picked up my boxers and quickly put them