Edulcore Cicciotto stepped into the courtyard of the winter garden and was surprised to see a very familiar figure sitting there, apparently in deep meditation.
"Rama?" Cicciotto blurted out before he realized that his fellow Vanguardian, the immortal known as the Swordsman whose most recent form was that of an Indian warrior named Rama Avatar, was not in a position to hear him. Yet the spell had been broken. Rama Avatar's concentration wavered, and he finally opened his eyes with frustration, only to see his comrade-in-arms standing before him.
"You?!" the Swordsman exclaimed, rising to his feet. "Ah, I see. And I suppose the other Vanguardians are here as well...?"
Cicciotto was somewhat taken aback at this turn of events but not displeased. He and Rama Avatar had not been friends but merely comrades-in-arms, and the Swordsman's former incarnation, Mason Templar, had displayed outright hostility towards him on a number of occasions. Still, he was glad to see a familiar face. "Not at all," Cicciotto admitted. "I had to leave La Perdita suddenly due to an emergency and hadn't had a chance to contact any of our fellow teammates before my departure. But you? Are you not with--?"
"No," Rama Avatar replied. He became silent for a moment, considering whether or not to unburden himself and deciding in the affirmative. "I left Vanguard, apparently at the same time as you did, though for different reasons. Something has weighed upon my mind for several months, now, ever since my most recent death and resurrection. I have been troubled by glimpses of memory from my previous incarnation that should not have been. I have had the strange feeling that I have been a pawn in a most insidious game -- one that would have resulted in my eventual betrayal of Vanguard had my death not ended the life of Mason Templar, my former incarnation. I had never exactly been sure why I had joined Vanguard in the first place, and not until now have I finally begun to learn the reason. It was not until after our most recent battle with Jack Merlin and his Strikeforce that I realized that these vague feelings of dread centered on one individual: the wizard Aurochs."
Cicciotto's eyebrows rose in surprise upon hearing the name of his arch-enemy. "And you came here for help? I was unaware that you knew the Old Man."
The Swordsman smiled dourly and replied, "I am immortal. Myrddin is immortal. There are few of us upon this earth who have survived into the present. Is it that surprising that two immortals know each other? In truth, my history with Myrddin goes back for a longer time than I can recall. Unfortunately my most ancient incarnations have been lost to my memory. Only Myrddin remembers all. He has been an uneasy ally of mine but one with whom I have had to seek assistance from time to time. I have made it no secret that I distrust wizards."
Edulcore Cicciotto nodded and said, "We seem to have the same goal, then, Rama. I am also here to seek assistance from Myrddin to capture Aurochs but for different reasons. He has taken my son."
"Eddy?" Rama exclaimed, remembering a time from his previous incarnation one year ago during Christmastime, when he gave a strange gift to the strange young boy. "Then we will stand together as warriors, Cicciotto, and slay the foul mage."
Cicciotto said, "I did not think it right to involve any of our teammates on so personal and urgent a mission, but... well... I'm glad to have my fellow Vanguardian at my side, after all."
"Aye," Rama answered, his face remaining stoic. "Yet I came here also for another reason. I have learned that Quantos is dead."
Edulcore Cicciotto nodded sadly. "Yes, I knew."
"You learned this before you left the island, then?"
"Yes, Axel told me," Cicciotto said.
Rama Avatar's stoicism shattered in surprise. "The boy is here as well?"
"He is," said Cicciotto. "He was already with Myrddin when I learned of my son's abduction."
"Ahh..." Rama said, as if some puzzle had become clear to him.
"At least Doctor Quantos died peacefully," Cicciotto said as the two began walking back into the house. "He suffered a stroke, followed by cardiac arrest some hours later. He was already unconscious when he died. He suffered no pain."
"And who else is with you?" Rama asked. "Are there others who will follow our cause?"
"Rose is with me, of course," Cicciotto said, smiling as he thought of his wife. "And with her my newborn daughter. I cannot afford to remain apart from them for very long -- it's bad enough that Eddy has been abducted, but it could've been much worse. Also, a woman named Tanya Landsvitter is with us. She has taken the name of Ameristar due to the retirement of Jackie Munroe, the former Vanguardian who went by that name."
"Aye," said Rama, nodding as he remembered the name of the former member of Vanguard. "She was before my time, but I have heard tales of her prowess as a warrioress."
"What are you doing now?" asked Cicciotto. "I assume you'll be at the dinner tonight at six?"
"Don't you mean eighteen?" Rama said with a wink. "And yes, I'll be at the dinner tonight, though I am not pleased with Myrddin's lack of forthrightness. He, like all cursed wizards, keeps all of his cards close to his chest, never revealing more than he has to. It saddens me to see young Axel now following the same path. I would make him a warrior if given the chance. As for your first question, I had planned on an afternoon of meditation, but this news has broken my concentration, and I fear there is no hope of attaining it once more. If you would be so inclined, there is a large hall full of ancient weaponry. It has been too long since I've had the chance to practice with a fellow warrior of equal prowess. I need a good battle to work up an appetite for tonight. What say you?"
"It sounds fine to me."
