Arc 6. A seemingly endless loss

  Road to a Hero:

  Three Chances in Another World

  Chapter 47. On the way buddy

  Gray lays on the couch for a few days, saying nothing to Rosemary and barely anything else to the others. Without the ability to warn the mayor of a possible attack, their only chance is on New Year's when she will have a speech before they set off fireworks at the mayor’s office. Soku had informed them that there is a chance Lincoln would appear, but that would most likely be after New Year, or not at all. Strangely enough, a few days ago while they were sleeping, the Silver Chariot vanished from the backyard, killing everyone’s hope of Peter’s return, but Gray knows where he is, or where he was. So, after a few days of waiting to tell everyone where he is due to his hope he’d just show up after they talked, he finally decides to inform them on the day of New Year. Then, right as he walks up at three in the afternoon, he seeps into his mind and tries to locate Peter. His astral form is dragged miles and miles across the land, out of Constal and to Valatrositce’s capital. He’s then taken to one of the Montgomery companies' facilities and dragged under the ground to a secret area of service tunnels. Then, he’s pulled into a back room behind a metal door to find Peter shoveling Fire crystals into wooden boxes.

  Peter, unable to see Gray, pushes through the pain of his torture-formed injuries and shovels away. Gray is horrified and confused to find Peter here, and being enraged he leaves his astral state and returns to his body, but is surprised to find himself surrounded by everyone. Rosemary, Soku, and Edward stand around Gray, understanding what he had just done.

  Soku: "You searched for him didn’t you?”

  Edward: “And why did it take you so long!?”

  Gray: “Because…I knew where he was…”

  Edward is enraged by this while Rosemary is dumbfounded. Edward stomps his foot on the ground and raises his voice at Gray.

  Edward: “WHAT!? You knew where he was and you didn’t tell us!?”

  Gray: “I wanted him to have his peace!”

  Edward: “What if he was dead, starving, or beaten on the street!? What would you have done!? Just get over the fact you didn’t check!?”

  Gray: “LOOK! I have…had faith in him. He was in a nice house with a family…but something bad happened.”

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  Rosemary: “What happened Gray…?”

  Gray: “He’s been taken…and he’s hurt.”

  Edward: “You’re kidding…DAMMIT, ALL! We shouldn’t have let him run off….I shouldn’t have.”

  Gray: “Look, I know it’s bad, but I know where he is. If you give me my cloak, I can sneak in and get him. I’m the best for the job, they can’t detect my mana, I’ve been practicing stealth, I can stick to walls with my cloak, and if I get caught I can fight.”

  Edward: “No…I have to be the one to do it…I'll let you stop me…I’m supposed to be the closest to him…hell, I live with him…”

  Rosemary: “Edward I’m sorry but Gray’s the best choice, or Soku in a close second.”

  Soku: “Yeah, sorry Edward, but we can’t risk it.”

  Edward: “Don’t you think I know that!? I can’t just let everyone do things for me, I can’t just let people solve my problems!”

  Gray: “Edward I understand, but I’m the one that let him go, and I have the spirit senses and my astral form. I can scope out the area without them being able to see me, and even if I don’t I can sense the presence of people. If there’s anything I’m the best at, it’s this.”

  Edward: “No. I said no.”

  Everyone is a bit uneasy, but Gray folds under the pressure and gives in to Edward's demands.

  Gray: “Whatever, I can walk you through it. But I’ll have to tail you in my astral state. He’s in Valatrositce, and it takes hours to get there by train. So if we’re attacked you may not be able to return in time to help.”

  Edward: “It’s now or never, I won’t let him stay anywhere where he can be hurt any more. He’s our family, and we’ve failed him.”

  Edward walks upstairs and gets his armor while everyone else stands around a bit awkwardly. Soku leaves with a small smirk on her face, meaning Gray and Rosemary are by themselves. Not having talked since their argument, it’s a great opportunity to clear the air. Gray goes to get a word in, but Rosemary gets Gray to follow her upstairs into their room. Once they’re inside, Rosemary pats the bed, signaling Gray to sit down while she grabs something from her bag.

  He stares at the ground, rubbing his feet on the floor's wooden paneling. He feels a brush going through his long, wavy hair, soothing him.

  Gray: “You haven’t brushed my hair in forever…it’s been getting messy.”

  Rosemary: “Yeah I know, but if you want long healthy hair, you’ll have to take care of it.”

  Gray: “Well, you know me. I’m as lazy as it gets, so I usually just keep my hair short. I only recently started letting it grow out because I don’t feel like cutting it.”

  Rosemary: “Don’t you dare cut your hair without my permission!”

  Gray: “Alright…not to sound mean…but do you wanna get the point now….I’m trying not to dance around it as we speak.”

  Rosemary falls back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

  Rosemary: “We should have sent you out to get Peter…and I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you…I know you feel weird about this whole Peter and cloak of darkness thing…but it’s not your fault I swear.”

  Gray: “You getting mad at me was deserved and I’m sorry for the way that I acted…It is my fault…I had a judgment call, a bad one. And I knew that the cloak of darkness made me pouty…but I still wore it.”

  Rosemary: “We’ll just have to make you, so don’t pout.”

  Rosemary turns Gray's face to face, coming onto him. While they begin to embrace each other, Edward begins walking to the train station. Unbeknownst to him, he’s being tailed by not one but two people, one sneakier than the other. Edward begins sweating, having put on clothes over his armor to cover it, and has a bag to hold his sword, making sure he doesn't stand out, but wearing all of this on top of already thick armor makes him stand out even more. He makes his way through the surprisingly crowded street, even though it’s so early in the morning. Families and businesses setting up their homes for New Year while he goes out to find a lost part of their family. Once he buys a ticket, he gets onto the train and takes off, not realizing that both of the people following him have gotten on as well.

  End of Chapter Forty-seven