A week had gone by since Victor and Avon agreed to make a move against humans. They had done a lot of planning, got their supplies ready, and talked over their ideas until, at last, they felt prepared. With a strong force of one hundred and fifty thousand Eidolons, they seemed like they couldn't be beaten. The main problem, though, was still how to move such a huge number of them at the same time. The only real answer was to split their group: Victor would lead the first group of fifty thousand, and Avon, with the other hundred thousand, would come later as backup. Their current spot was still a well-kept secret, so they had to move without anyone noticing. Luckily, Eidolons looked a lot like humans, so one or two could sneak around pretty easily. But moving all of them together in a big group was the real challenge. Still, even though Victor was known for being quick to anger, he was also good at finding answers, and this time would be no different. He was set on figuring out the best way for them to move quietly.
----
At the same time, back at the hideout, life seemed to have gone back to normal in the week since Ace had told Nyah his secret. The biggest change was Sam, who was getting more and more worried about things, a quiet nervousness the others hadn't really picked up on yet. Ace himself spent more time trying to get a handle on Quant, but his progress had strangely stopped. Before he told Nyah, his powers had been growing quickly; now, it was like something important had been cut off. This evening, everyone had gone to their rooms, and Nyah was now sharing Phiona's room – something Phiona was happy about.
It had been a while since Ace had talked with the Eidolon inside him; it only showed up when it wanted to.
"Nice job," the voice echoed in his head, sounding dark and a bit like it was making fun of him. "I see you're making amazing progress with controlling Quant," it added, with a lot of sarcasm in its mental voice.
"Finally," Ace cut in, not paying attention to the teasing. "I've been wanting to talk to you."
A bit of surprise, but it was quickly hidden. The Eidolon hadn't expected Ace to start a conversation, but it quickly pushed that feeling down. It didn't want Ace to think it was getting soft. "Talk about what?" it answered, its mental voice sounding confident and almost proud again.
"You," Ace replied simply. "What are you, really? What do you want? I don't think you chose to do this... this joining. I feel like you were forced. So, tell me, what do you really want?"
The Eidolon paused. "You want to know, huh? You really want to understand?" A moment of silence. "Then I'll tell you everything. But first, you answer me. Why are you asking? And more important, who are you actually fighting for?"
Ace thought about it. "First, we can't just say everyone is the same, that all Eidolons are bad. From what I get, Eidolons often attack humans because of a basic instinct, like how some animals hunt other animals. I can't completely blame them for that. Second, we're stuck together now. We might as well try to understand each other. As for who I want to protect... to be honest, there isn't one single person I feel a super strong need to keep safe from everything. But if I had to pick someone, it would be Pisce."
"Okay," the Eidolon agreed. "Then let me tell you. To be honest, I don't know the very start of it all, but humans always wanted more power, and that led them to do experiments. They figured out that the real way to have the strongest army was to have the strongest soldiers. Before World War Two, a secret group of countries started trying to make the best warrior by putting some newly found, strange DNA into humans. This experiment created the first Eidolons – the Pure ones. But they only really got it right about nine years ago. I was one of the first of those 'perfected' experiments." Its mental voice turned sad. "I was taken from my wife and daughter. I have no idea how they're doing, or if they're even still alive."
It paused, and Ace felt a wave of old sadness from it, before it went on. "There got to be more of us, and as we grew, we realized how strong we were together. We demanded our freedom, and after a while, we made a deal: humans would leave us alone, and we would never go near them again. We moved to a big, faraway island, far from other people. For a while, things were calm. We didn't live like humans anymore; we lived close to nature. Then Verado came along." It said the name with hatred. "He was newly chosen as the Eidolon leader and right away started pushing for revenge. 'Humans turned us, their own kind, into monsters,' he would shout, 'so why don't we become the monsters they made us?' He started planning to attack humans. As the leader before him, I begged Verado to change his mind, but he wouldn't listen. He began killing any Eidolons who disagreed with him, forcing most to join his side. Even though I was the strongest Eidolon back then, I was outnumbered, especially against Verado, who was the second strongest and had a loyal army. There was no way I could win if we fought directly."
"So," the Eidolon continued, "I went to the humans, hoping to warn them about the danger coming and maybe get their help. But instead of working with me, they thought it was a trick, that I was a spy trying to get into their group. They caught me and locked me up in a special cell made to hold Eidolons. I lost the desire to fight for people who had not only turned on me once but now wouldn't even believe me. I just let things happen. After the Great Eidolon War, I ended up in the same cell as Verado. A few months later, they used both of us in another experiment... which is what led us to this... situation now."
"Wow," Ace said quietly, the seriousness of what he heard sinking in. "I... I don't even know what to say. That explains so much, but it also brings up scary new questions. So, there's a chance that Verado is out there, somewhere, in a human body just like you're in me? This is... really, really bad."
"We need to work together," Ace pleaded. "Please. We have to stop all this."
"It won't be as easy as you think," the Eidolon warned. "We're up against humans, the Pure Eidolons, Originals, the ones who escaped, and even the Masked."
"Then we'll just have to try harder," Ace said with new determination. "By the way, you've never told me your name."
"I don't have one," the Eidolon stated. "I gave up my human name a long time ago and decided not to take another."
"Well then, I'll give you one," Ace decided. "I think we should go with Alexos. It means 'defender of mankind.' It was a name from an old video game."
A moment of thought. "Hmm, Alexos. I like that."
"I hope we can talk even when I'm not asleep," Ace said.
"No, we don't talk when you're just asleep," Alexos explained. "We communicate when you're unconscious. But, I can sometimes speak to you from inside, even when you're awake. Just listen carefully; you might hear me."
"Goodbye for now, Ace," Alexos said, and Ace heard that dark little laugh again, as if it was still a bit of a bad guy. "I'll try my best to help you from in here."
Ace woke up to a pounding headache, so bad it felt like his skull might break. He was confused for a second, then looked around and saw everyone gathered, all looking at him.
"Finally, he's awake," Xavier said, putting the familiar, coffin-shaped case – the one that held his twin blades – onto the bed. "We have to go."
"What's wrong?" Ace asked, his face immediately serious.
"One of the Originals has just attacked," Wei told him, her eyes still on a screen showing quickly changing information. "They're leading a big group, about fifty thousand Eidolons. We need to leave now."
Ace managed a tired smile. "Well, Alexos," he muttered, "I think it's time to go."
"What was that?" Phiona and Nyah asked at the exact same time.
"It's nothing," Ace replied, but then a grim look came over his face. "No, actually... it's something. It's war."