Mishiida Alexander
Aiszar Garrison

“Legends never end, for they continue to thrive in culture.”

Chapter Eight: Long Lives Glory!

You were what others first told you. You are what your memories today make you. You will be where your deeds will take you. And then you will march on, but a ‘you’ will be left behind; the one that was never you, but others believed it to be so. It is this ‘you’ that matters to others’ and all other ‘you’ were merely a secret stowed away inside you. Each one of you lives a double life; one for yourself, and one for everybody else. The closer your two personalities are to each other, purer you are as a human being; not necessarily good, for pure evil too exists.

Honour is bestowed upon the ‘you’ that is publically known, even though it is the inner ‘you’ that cherishes the moment. But it is not the inner ‘you’ that ever was important, for everybody was always only dealing with the public ‘you’. Your story is really the story of this public ‘you’ that lives on in public memory forever. Legends never die, for the stories keep them alive. They are passed on from generation to generation, like inheritance. In fact, your public ‘you’ becomes a part of the inheritance.

So judge your deeds not by how they serve the inner ‘you’, but rather how they reflect upon your public ‘you’. Live a life that fulfils a destiny, rather than the one that is dragged by it. The destiny does not belong to you. The destiny belongs to the society, and it is always searching for someone to fulfil it.

And here we stand today, side by side to five glorious warriors, who rose to fulfil the destiny of not one, but many a society. Today another warrior’s destiny has dragged him unto their path, and what an enviable position we are in, to watch it unfold in front of us.

The defences may have been breached, but the guns too have been lost, thanks to a one last hurrah from our frail warrior Alex, who showed us one final glimpse of his glorious abilities by disarming the four Tyrenes in a quick move that took everyone by surprise, including us. But now he is panting, and Mishiida and Alishiida are both trying their best to ease him down. No, he is not in a position to assist anyone anymore in the skirmish that is about to follow. And so is the situation with Mishiida and Mr. Garcia.

Reinforcements are on their way, for their sirens hoot imminent. But what a warrior it would be who runs out of weapons in a battle he waited an entire life for. The four Tyrenes pull out their daggers to prepare for a hand to hand battle. But so do the Kinemanize President and his secretary. Our friends were not allowed to carry any guns, for guns are not needed on the kind of journey they were undertaking. But Corbett and Hayley had a surprise waiting for the Tyrenes.

“They say this blade cuts through anything natural or artificial in this universe, provided you put enough force behind hit,” Hayley quips as she and Corbett flash their Ubek knives.

“You stay back with your parents and Uncle Jack,” Corbett halts Zenander in his stride, as the charged up lad takes a step forward to answer the call of war. “We will take care of these upstarts,” Corbett exclaims as he and Hayley step ahead of the pack.

The Tyrenes might be weak due to their forced fasting, but the Kinemanize are no warriors in the same class. One Tyrene is enough to engage the President and his secretary, while Hayley and Corbett are left to deal with the three remaining. Ubeks were kind enough to train Corbett in their skills, and Hayley was sharp enough to pick up the skills from her man over the years. There’s a reason why the couple proved as much a deadly combination over the years, as much Alex and Mishiida did. What a treat it is to watch the duo in action once more, taking on the three mighty Tyrenes in a fight straight out of a movie.

“Eat some dirt pig,” exclaims Hayley, flinging one of the Tyrenes into the air, while Corbett ducks a swing from the other, and kicks the third in his abdomen.

The one fighting the President and his secretary manages to dump them for a brief moment, and charges at Mishiida and Alex, surprising Zenander and Alishiida who were not looking out. But Alex shows one more glimpse of his old quick reflexes, as he pushes and rolls Mishiida away, while spinning on his own feet to avoid the direct hit. As the Tyrene’s wild swing of knife swishes past him, he gives a gentle push to the back of his shoulder, disturbing his balance. Alex quickly finishes off the move by putting his foot in front of the Tyrene’s stumbling feet, bringing him down to the ground. The President and his secretary, who have regained their ground, finally get a chance to jump in and finish of the warrior.

Meanwhile Haisheestar manages to avoid both Corbett and Hayley’s moves and charges with a knife aimed at Corbett’s rib cage from behind, while Corbett is busy dealing with one of his men. Hayley however notices the move, but alas a bit late to intercept. Left with no other choice; the brave girl jumps into the way, to take the hit in place of her husband.

But looks like Corbett’s keen robot eye has betrayed her one more time, for he turns around in a flash to pull her out of the harm’s way, and take the unforgiving Tyrene blade straight through the middle of his chest. A horrified Hayley looks on grabbing her throat, as if it has dried in a flash. This distraction was all that the Tyrenes at the receiving end of their beating so far needed, as another one takes the opportunity to drive his heartless blade straight through Hayley’s back, it’s mean tip sticking out of her chest in front.

“No,” is the painful shriek from a failing Corbett, who digs in all his reserves and in a last ditch effort pushes his own blade straight down Haisheestar’s heart.

“Hayley, Corbett,” a painful cry escapes the mellow Jackie’s lips as he makes a desperate dive to pick up a fallen gun, and in two quick shots, take out the two remaining Tyrenes.

“Uncle Corbett,” is the cry from Zenander, as he and Alishiida rush to the falling heroes, “Oh what has happened?” The two kids are in tears.

“Damn your robot eye,” cries out a hapless Hayley, struggling with her own pain, as she staggers to her beloved, and the two grab each other in their arms, and sink to the ground, “It betrayed me again.”

A painting and hurting Corbett takes a few deep breaths, as Jackie rushes by their side, supporting their bodies in his arms as he kneels down behind them. The Kinemanize President and his secretary walk around to the duo’s side too.

“My robot eye was never my master sweetheart,” and Corbett finally reveals the truth to her, “I was the one always in charge.”

“Oh why then, just why did you have to push me away,” cries Hayley in protest, her words struggling through her pain.

“Because I love you more than my life,” Corbett puts it out the way it always has been, “Just like you love me more than yours.” And the two share a small peck as their pain makes it hard for them to stay locked for any longer.

“Please do something to help them,” Zenander pleads to the President.

“Help is on the way,” the President replies, “But there is something you need to know.” Now what’s that soft music that has just overwhelmed the atmosphere? It feels so calming, and so completing. And is that a ceremonial mass of Kinemanize men and women marching out of the Presidential Palace? Is it really appropriate for a welcome like this, in the light of what has just happened?

“I am extremely sorry for your pain and suffering my friends,” the President addresses the fallen duo this time, “But we couldn’t have informed you of this.” He then turns around as two beautiful Kinemanize girls walk up to the group, with golden plates in their hand, each carrying what we have come to know now as the famed “Invitation for the Great Warriors”. The President gestures the girls to present the invitations to the fallen duo, and continues, “We tried our best, so please don’t doubt us. We have lost nearly a quarter of our force in this little skirmish right in front of you, for we are not really big in numbers. But this was your destiny, and we couldn’t have revealed it you any earlier. But may I please have the honour of presenting you these invitations, to rest here in Aiszar Garrison as your worthy permanent home?”

“Really, is this true?” a crying Corbett asks as he takes his invitation from the girl’s plate, and so does Hayley.

“Your acceptance would honour this place as much, as much it is an honour to be a part of the family of legends,” the President continues, “And please don’t assume that you are lonely in your last few moments, for we had sent another ship alongside the one sent to bring your friends; to bring your family, even though without your knowledge.” We might as well turn around and have a look at what the President is pointing out behind our backs. Is that really Minas, Marista, Nihang Surpavitar and Jason Whitaker arriving on the flying chairs, coming from the spaceship docks? Yes indeed they are!

“Dad, mom” is the painful cry in unison from the kids as they jump off their chairs and rush to the side of their parents.

“Oh I am so glad and so proud right now,” Corbett exclaims as he turns around and looks at Hayley, who puts in all her effort to smile back at him. Their pain might be debilitating, but their grace is infallible. “Why are you so silent my stalking death,” Corbett finally turns around towards Alex, “Say how you feel about your robot eyed monster now?” But Alex and Mishiida are not there anymore! Yes their bodies are.

“They are finally resting,” the President informs everyone as we look on stupefied, at the slumped bodies of Alex and Mishiida, still holding each other in embrace, but collapsed onto each other. “The pain of watching their most cherished friends suffer, sniffed the last few breaths out of them, and their hearts probably stopped,” the President explains just as Zenander and Alishiida rush towards their parents.

“Mom, dad,” the duo cry as Jackie joins them by their side, and the elderly Surpavitar walks up to them, and puts a caring hand on both their heads, to comfort them in their moment of grief.

“Why did I have to live to see all this?” a hurt and crying Jackie exclaims, “Why didn’t I leave them all behind first? Why is it always me left behind to bear the loss of my loved ones?”

“It’s a part of our penance brother,” Jason replies to him, wiping his own tears, “Our penance wouldn’t be complete without suffering this pain, for it is the pain many in this universe have experienced because of the work that we did, for whatever time it was intentional, and whatever time unwanted.”

“Oh I hate the Tarandil people so much,” a crying Alishiida exclaims, “Why doesn’t someone just kill them all?”

“Because nobody can,” Jason answers her query, “They are the only people in this Universe who have the ability to teleport, not just themselves, but their entire planet to a new place in a matter of minutes. Nobody has ever been able to set a foot on their land.”

“But why do they have to poison everyone,” Zenander asks.

“They don’t poison anyone because they are bad,” Jackie replies to his question, “They only test the warriors for how good individuals they are. They test the warrior when his need is dire, when he can only save either himself, or those under his care that he desperately wants to save. They give the warrior a choice; drink their poison and they will teleport everyone to the first safe place that had come to the warrior’s mind before the Tarandil had arrived to make an offer, or refuse to drink their poison, and they would only save the warrior if the warrior wants to, but not the people under his care. If the warrior’s first choice place was far away from where he could have received help, it was warrior’s destiny to die of the poison, and not their fault. They even inform the warrior of his chances of getting help, before the warrior makes a choice.”

“That is true,” the President adds to the information, “More than half of the warriors that rest here were killed by their poison, while nearly ninety percent of them were tested by them.”

“Can I ask; how come Zaiyeshin uncle didn’t get an invitation to rest here?” Zenander asks of the President, as he wipes his tears, still holding his father’s head in his lap, while Alishiida caresses her late mother’s face.

“Because just like Haisheestar, who has proved his self to be an equally great warrior today, Zaiyeshin’s reason to go to the war was self serving glory,” the President’s answer shocks everyone.

“What do you mean?” Jackie asks the Kinemanize President.

“While both Zaiyeshin and Haisheestar went to war because they wanted to fight for their people, Zaiyeshin died trying to save people he loved and cared for, while Haisheestar died trying to avenge people he loved and cared for,” the President explains the reason to all of us, “Those who rest in Aiszar Garrison however are people who went to war simply because there were people much beyond those they loved or cared for, beyond their own kind, who were at risk of grave harm, and they couldn’t have left their job to someone else, for who better than your own self, to answer the call of duty.”

If one thing is true about duty, it is the fact that it cannot be relinquished for someone else to fulfil the destiny when you are the only fit and proper person to answer the calling, or perhaps the best available. Duty is not about someone else telling you what you need to do. But duty is about realizing what you should be doing anyway.

It is gut-wrenching, when those you love are laid to rest. But it is heart warming to know their glory would forever be undiminished. No words will fill the void left behind in our hearts by the dynamic couples; Alexander and Mishiida, Corbett and Hayley. But we can take heart in the fact that they lived a life to emulate, and their stories will forever live on.

The night was tough, for the day had left everybody crying. The medical aid did arrive for Corbett and Hayley, but they didn’t wait for it once the fate of their best friends disclosed itself to them. No, we didn’t want to bury them, but we couldn’t have kept looking at their lifeless bodies any longer. The feeling of hollowness today thus is haunting, and worst of all, we still have one more warrior to say goodbye to. Hopefully he will wake up for another day, for we do want to hear him say something one more time, just for the old times’ sake.

“Uncle Jackie hasn’t come for breakfast yet?” Zendander asks Minas, as he and Alishiida arrive at the breakfast table at the Presidential guest house on Aiszar Garrison.

“We haven’t seen him up yet,” Marista replies to his question, her swollen red eyes clearly indicating she didn’t stop crying for much of the night. But so does everybody else’s!

“That’s not like him,” Zenander replies, “He is always up and ready before everyone else. Something’s wrong!”

“Let’s go and check up on him,” Alishiida quips as she grabs Zenander’s arm and pulls him away towards the door.

And with a sudden strange fear gripping our hearts, we march behind the kids, as they head to Jackie’s room.

“Uncle Jack, are you in there?” Alishiida asks as she knocks at the door, but the door creeks ajar. Zenander steps closer and slowly pushes the door wide open.

Jackie however is still in his bed, a picture frame lying on his chest. He won’t wake up today!

“Uncle Jack,” a cry escapes Alishiida’s lips as the kids rush to the resting warrior. It’s a picture of him and Siyesta holding hands and looking deep into each other’s eyes. And it is too much for us to see!

Oh how we wish this was the end of journey for us too! But alas we are the fourth witnesses; cursed to witness silently for eternity. Alas it is never fun all the way to the end, and it always ends in tears. Alas we always fall in love with those who we know are not going to last. Alas we cannot stop time right at the moment where we love it the best. Alas we are not the writers of someone’s destiny, but only their witnesses!

It’s time for us, the fourth witnesses, to depart on a new journey!