Resistance Forged (Full Story): Written by Exodus, Original Story by Exodus After months of hard work, dramatic events and a little bit of luck, the elite team known as The Resistors, were complete: Just as the empire had their many soldiers, and a few people considered to be their betters, the Resistance had their Resistors to lead them in the ongoing struggle against the empire. And just as an empire army would probably retreat if an Empire Elite Warrior was bested in battle, the same would probably go for the freedom fighting soldiers. There were 10 Resistors, their individual skills enough to be a match for any empire warrior should they be on their own, but something of greatness when together. Kyle Gear was the founder of the Resistors, his expertise was in the field of science and mechanics, he’d created many machines for the group, weapons, robotic attachments, robotic repairs, transporters and many more. He was highly skilled with his blade-like boomerang and other devices, like mechanical weapons and explosive chemical mixing. He was bright and thoughtful, smart, caring and loyal, he lacked the strength of some of the other members, but made up for it in smarts. Ross Rook, Gear’s best friend and a knight in training, he was highly skilled with swords and many blades, but after an encounter with Brutor of the empire, he was careless, and lost an arm to him. It was replaced by a mechanical one with sharp and powerful claws, Ross had some problems and anxieties about being different at first, but after an encounter with a beautiful girl, he undertook an operation to make his whole body strong enough to support heavy objects when using the arm. Ross was protective, kind and brave, but had a short temper, he was now one of the strongest Resistors physically, but had a few things to learn about managing his anger. Rob Ruwin, was a legendary mercenary, trained when he was young, and full of experience, he didn’t ask for payment for his services, he’d given up his mercenary ways and resorted to being a plain old hero, hopefully, to get in the women’s good books. Ruwin was highly skilled, and could pull off many different punches and kicks, he was very acrobatic so he could flip, spin, and leap in many unique ways to help him out. His only weapons were the knuckle dusters. Ruwin chatted up the females at every opportunity, but he had his limits, if the world was going to end, and he could do something about it, he’d save it, rather than talking to a girl, but still, that’s a pretty farfetched scenario, he still asked out girls a lot, but received many rejections, not that they ever dulled his spirits. Ruwin was confident as ever, flirtatious, and very vain, but a valued member of the team, because of his duties at the Resistance’s spy leader, he rarely got to fight alongside his friends, but when he did, he performed extremely well and could be classed as the Resistor’s secret weapon. Kirie Jay, a kind, caring girl, but not respected in her village because of her mother’s curse. She joined the empire at the drop of a hat, wanting to leave after being caused so much mental hurt, but it didn’t go well for her. Morn discovered her Gaian roots and tested a psychic strand on her, it gave her new powers, but left her with many strange burns and scars. A purple veil could cover this up, but it was sad that Kirie never wanted to show her face. She had been training for some time, but was unable to control her powers totally, like her mother. At least Kirie had found happiness, with people who liked her for who she was, and didn’t judge her because of her scars. Edwina Priscilla, as she was known to the group, in truth, she was Princess Edwina Scion, but the empire had twisted things so that she couldn’t tell of her royal heritage. Still, after her ordeals at the empire, she was finally able to see the world by choice, she had a lot to learn in order to hide her secret, but she was progressing well. Ross had offered to protect Edwina from the empire, not knowing that she was the princess. But she could handle herself these days with her archery skills, but it was nice to feel totally safe. Edwina was polite, kind and very curious, she was raised to be that way, but as long as she could live without a life of luxury, no one would suspect she was the princess. Turok Adulen, a kind hearted, strong-willed kid from Grautz, a location that the empire wanted destroyed, he worked for the empire in return for the safety of his village, and never expected to fall in love, but that love led to other incidents, which led to a warrior disliking Turok and handing him over for a new experiment. It was then that Turok was nearly forced to destroy his village, and break the agreement he originally made, but his feelings broke through his robotic shell and he eventually found the Resistors and joined up with them. Turok sometimes felt as if others judged him because of how intimidating he looked, but he found that the Resistors saw him for who he was, and he was treated as an equal. Turok was strong in all meanings of the word, compassionate, and brave. Lucia Corelle, the second of the Mecha Knights created by Morn, and the second one to turn against him, Lucia didn’t get off easily though, as her troublesome sister transformed herself in kind and came after her. Lucia learned how much Turok meant to her, and how to appreciate everyone around her. Lucia was one of the quickest Resistors, with fire, ice and bolt powers, and a set of fighting claws, she was smart but hasty, she looked out for others and was very loving. Naga, an exiled native from the tribe of Yura, she owed Gear and Ruwin her life, but also needed a place to stay, she trained often to become strong and skilled enough to kill a monster that had been threatening her village since before she was born. She used a whip, and a hunting dagger as her weapons. Naga was determined, slightly untrusting of others, and easily irritated and angered, especially when ladies’ man Ruwin pestered her. Samia, a samurai warrior from Qu’nos, her true identity was hidden behind a helmet, and not even the Resistors, or her closest friend Dagger, knew of it. She was skilled with her long sword, but disliked killing, not that she wasn’t prepared to do it at all. She was a little talkative and active all the time (training whenever she could), she was thoughtful, and in tune with her senses, her training taught her to always be prepared. Dagger, Samia’s training partner and close friend, Dagger killed several a while back, and was afraid of someday going too far. The Great Elder did his best to train him as a ninja, and to set him on the right path, but after a trio of demons killed him, and one infiltrated Dagger’s mind, there was a lot of conflict, and the road that Dagger would take, might not be the right one. He was able to tap into the demon’s powers at times, but he could influence Dagger’s decisions, he wanted to see him walk the dark path. The team was very different, but friendships quickly formed, the only thing missing now, was a leader, and each Resistor had been given a chance to prove themselves, during the latest trooper attacks on Grautz, Vilem and Viess, the homes of Turok, Kirie and Lucia respectively. Naga, Dagger, Samia, Turok, Lucia, Gear and Ruwin had decided against trying out, Dagger was too withdrawn, and quite frankly, didn’t seem to care about his comrades a great deal, Samia, Turok and Lucia didn’t give a reason, Gear felt that he wasn’t powerful enough to be a leader, and Ruwin had been a leader once, but was too laid back to force decisions on people. That left Edwina, Kirie, and Ross, and because another trio of attack forces had gone to Viess, Vilem and Grautz, it was convenient for the Resistors as Kirie, Ross and Edwina needed a trial run at leading the team. Kirie, Dagger, Turok and Lucia headed over to Grautz, along with a squad of Resistance soldiers, they had four Resistors instead of three because the empire was more interested in Grautz’s destruction, seeing as they wanted the land, the other two village attacks were just for vengeance for the Resistors that betrayed the empire. “Oh... Looks loike Oi made the roight decision today.” smiled Krytus, “Oi am goin’ ta kill you Turok!” scowled Krytus. “Bring it on farm-boy!” shouted Turok. “Turok, wait, we need your strength, surely someone else can-” “No Kirie, I know this your test and all, but I won’t compromise my village when I’m the strongest one here, you assist in taking care of the troopers and I’ll stop Krytus from hurting anyone!” “Turok...” groaned Kirie, but Turok was a close friend, and if she couldn’t control her comrades’ actions, then what chance did she have of being a leader? But then again, if she made the wrong decision, it would be far worse for her. In the village of Viess, home of the twins, Edwina came in with Samia and Ruwin, while their soldiers took on the empire’s. “Well, if it isn’t the elusive lass herself, its nice tae see ye again, Pr-” Brutor was interrupted by a crossbow bolt that narrowly missed his head. Samia and Ruwin were speechless. “You two are to split up to the sides and nullify the groups of troopers there, I can handle Brutor.” commanded Edwina. “Um... You’re the boss, lady.” said Ruwin, performing a respectful signal by pointing his fingers to his head and raising his hand, he darted off to show off his moves. “You be careful Pris’” said Samia, putting a hand on Edwina’s shoulder and dashing away while drawing her sword, they had recently become close friends. “Pris’ now, is it?” smiled Brutor, “Nice cover up. Sae that’s how ye got those wee terrorists tae trust ye, bah lyin’ tae them aboot yir identity.” “They are not terrorists, your evil empire has tainted my family’s ways and invaded villages to do what you please, you are the terrorists.” said Edwina crossly. “Funny. Cos that’s nae what the world thinks, ask anyone an’ they’ll tell ye that all these attacks are the work o’ King Edward’s demonic daughter, who enslaves the people aroond her tae dae her biddin’. Even the other kingdom leaders believe it.” explained Brutor confidently. “Not all of them.” thought Edwina, “Two kingdom leaders are wise to the empire, but aren’t in a position to fight back, that is why they funded the Resistors.” Even under pressure, Edwina wouldn’t give away a secret like that, she was getting used to holding secrets. “Sae, Princess, Edwina, Scion.” said Brutor slowly and loudly, “Where’s yir heroic knight?” “You killed him!” shouted Edwina, and charged forward with help from her magic to fly into Brutor. He caught her and threw her away, but she landed safely. “Ah wasnae talkin’ aboot that cry baby we killed, Ah meant the one wit’ a metal arm, the Rook lad, rumour has it that ye’ve got him protectin’ ye, if only he knew who ye really were.” “I’m glad that he isn’t here, not only would he discover my identity, but he lost an arm the last time he tackled Brutor, I have to beat Brutor by myself, without anyone’s protection. Its the only way to prove myself, as a leader, or a worthwhile Resistor. They know that the empire is behind the attacks, but they still fear the possibility of an ‘evil princess’ that killed her father.” thought Edwina, “I’m going to need every ounce of magic I have...” With that, she yelled out, and a green essence took over. “The royal powers, but ye’re naewhere near as good as yir father... Ah’m goin’ tae kill ye now.” grinned Brutor. “But... Morn and Iyaxxl would kill you if you performed such an act.” said Edwina, before Energen took over her mind. “Ah don’t know where ye heard that, but it doesnae matter, Ah was told tae destroy this village at all costs, therefore, Ah have every right tae kill ye...” And finally, in Kirie’s home of Vilem, Ross, Gear and Naga were ready for the attack force, while the soldiers took on the larger part of the empire army on the outskirts of the village, the Resistors faced the leading warrior, and several soldiers that slipped into Vilem. “Gear, are you sure Kirie’s okay with me protecting her village, what if this doesn’t go to plan? Surely she should be here.” said Ross concerned. “No Ross.” answered Gear, “Not only would it not be fair to put pressure on her during this test, but she told me herself that she’s ashamed of this village, the people here didn’t respect her, and it wouldn’t do Kirie good to have them react negatively to her scars.” “I understand, I’ll beat all these troops to help Kirie, and then I’m going to help Edwina!” Ross replied. “Ross...” groaned Gear, “She’s got Ruwin and Samia, if she needs help, she has it, plus, she needs to stretch out a bit, she needs to see if she’s leader material.” “But that’s ridiculous, its too much of a strain, leaders do a lot of work, and they have to be strong, they represent the heart of the group.” explained Ross. “Are you saying that your new strength makes you better than everyone?” scowled Gear. “No Gear, I’m saying its a necessity for the job, that Is why you’re not bothering to try out, right?” questioned Ross. “I suppose so...” sighed Gear. “Um, guys, I think your attention should be on the battle.” said Naga tiredly but politely. “Destroy the village.” said a sad voice, “But Ah don’t want tae see any unnecessary casualties.” “That’s...” said Ross confused. “The black knight Angus... Why are they sending someone like him here?” questioned Gear. “Kirie said he was a trusted friend.” added Ross. “And because of that, please Ross, don’t kill him, I know he’s on the empire’s side, but he’s different.” “I’ll see what I can do...” Kirie couldn’t seem to control Turok, so she stuck with the others. “One or one hundred, I can take these troopers down.” yelled Lucia, charging up her jets. “I think, for once, we’re on the same wavelength.” smiled Dagger. “Lucia! Dagger!” shouted Kirie, but to no avail. “Its all your fault! You killed ‘elena, and fer that, you’ll keep ‘er company!” screamed Krytus, clawing forward. “Seems like punishment in itself, the being dead part would be a walk in the park compared to Helena.” joked Turok, but in a serious tone. Dagger went from trooper to trooper, disarming each one and threatening to kill them with a simple look and action, while Lucia used her jets to push through the crowd. “Lucia! Pull back! One of them has a robotic weapon!” shouted Kirie. Lucia hadn’t even noticed, what with the soldiers falling everywhere, but she was straight on course towards him, a higher-up soldier in red armour, who held a large rifle, and fired a ray of red ring pulses, which blasted Lucia and sent her crashing through a tree trunk, causing the whole tree to collapse on her. “Lucia!” shouted Kirie, running towards her, and leaving a group of people open to attack. A trooper in green armour charged through, grabbed a young girl, and held a knife to her throat. “Stop everything, unless you want this girl to have an extra smile...” The girl was terrified and screamed out. “Shut it-” He stopped dead, literally, and fell back onto the floor with a shuriken embedded deep in his head. “I’m sorry you had to see that.” apologised Dagger, and he blocked the way of more troopers trying to get at the villagers. “Oh my goodness... I nearly got that little girl killed...” said Kirie shocked, before turning to Lucia, who crawled out of the leaves safely. “Kirie, I could have reached that guy if you hadn’t distracted me.” she groaned. “I’m sorry Lucia, its because I was so wrapped up in protecting everyone, so much that I’m afraid to let my friends take risks... Just like with my powers...” said Kirie. “Kirie, being a leader means you have to trust us, if you’re overprotective, then we’ll never achieve anything, we’re here to protect the innocent, and we’re not afraid to take risks. You know that we’re capable, so please, let us go all out this time.” explained Lucia. “Of course Lucia... If this is what being a leader is about, I guess I’m just not ready...” Lucia pushed away another group of troopers and flew towards the guy with the pulse rifle. “Back for more, eh?” “Uh huh.” replied Lucia, “But this time I’ll do what I came here for.” “Fat chance! Agh!” screamed the guy, as Kirie used her psychic powers, to control the gun and slam the huge metal item into him. Lucia drew out her fighting claws and slashed the machine, it fell down, and sparkled with electricity. The defeated soldier retrieved the deactivated gun, and ran away, along with many of the troopers. Turok was busy blocking a frenzy of clawing attacks from Krytus. “She was moi joy! She was moi inspiration! She should ‘ave been moine! But you used ‘er an’ took ‘er away from me!” “She went too far!” shouted Turok in reply, tired of holding back on Kirie’s behalf, it just wasn’t the way to beat Krytus. “She tried to take Lucia away from me, that should destroy this innocent picture you’ve painted of her!” said Turok, swinging his gun arm forward and batting Krytus to the ground. “On the contrary, tha’s the reason Oi loved ‘er!” shouted Krytus, picking himself up. “I’m done taking the blame for her death, I’m afraid you’re looking at the wrong guy.” smiled Turok darkly. “What?!” “It wasn’t me, and don’t think I’ll tell you who did it.” said Turok snidely. “It was one of yer friends!” screamed Krytus. “Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. I guess you’ll never know.” “Oh yes Oi will! You’ll tell me when Oi do an experiment of moi own, on yer insides!” With that, Turok fired a powerful blast that he had been charging during the conversation, Krytus dived forward and over the shot, but the blast radius resulting from it hitting the ground was bigger than he thought, and lifted him uncontrollably into the air. “I’ll give you plenty of time to think this over, but if you ever try to harm those close to me, I’ll send you to Helena myself.” said Turok, aiming his fist back and shooting his arm forward to punch Krytus as he came down towards Turok. His fighting claws shattered, and he received a lot of damage from the fall, and coupled with the punch and the blast, and without his claws, Krytus would stand no chance against Turok, he glared at the robot and signalled for his squad to retreat, Krytus walked away, full of rage. Somehow, he thought, he’d get stronger and beat Turok, but he’d do it with his own hands, and not of Morn’s handiwork. Edwina, or Energen as she was currently, was laying into Brutor, he’d underestimated her and lost his weapons, now he was a punching bag for the powerful entity, and it would only stop if she chose it. “Ah suggest ye stop it, demon. The princess’ friends are close enough tae hear me, all Ah have tae dae is yell, an’ they will turn against her, ye’re obviously protectin’ her from me, will ye gae all the way tae protect her?...” questioned Brutor between punches. The Energen entity gave Brutor a curious stare, and then delivered one final punch to make him fall beyond the reach of his weapons, before reverting back to Edwina. Ruwin and Samia returned, having caused the troopers to flee. “Idiot!” called Brutor, “Yir little Pris is nae what she seems, she’s really the-” Edwina flung a ball of plasma at Brutor, who dodged it, and then a second, and a third, until he ran away, the remainder of the army leaving with him. “Edwina, whut is he talkin’ ‘bout?” questioned Ruwin. “Samia, Ruwin, do you trust me?” asked Edwina. “Uh huh.” “Of course.” “I have been hiding things from you, I’m not what you think and-” “But you are yourself? You’re the gal that’s been fightin’ wit’ us fer a peaceful kingdom, right?” interrupted Ruwin. “Yes, but-” “As long as ya ain’t some demon intent ta kill us all, ya don’t have ta worry ‘bout a thing.” he added. “Pris, no one has forced me to come clean about my true identity, why should you? I’m sure you have your reasons. I’m curious about how and why the empire knows and wants you, but not if its going to bring you fear and misery.” explained Samia nicely. “Guys... Thank you... But this does ruin my chances of becoming leader, leaders should be true and honest, they shouldn’t represent a group if they are hiding things.” said Edwina sadly. “But Edwina, yer strategy worked, ya shouldn’t have ta throw it away cos of yer past.” argued Ruwin. “Ruwin, let it go.” said Samia, “But I’m making it my duty to put in a good word about you, you could assume command on non-empire missions, how does that sound?” “That sounds... great. Thank you...” smiled Edwina. And in Vilem, Ross was locked in a battle with Angus. “Angus, why are we doing this?! Kirie said-” “Ah dinnae care what she said, she allied herself wit’ terrorists, everythin’ she told me was a lie!” “No Angus, you’ve been lied to.” said Ross firmly. “Ah don’t care what ye have tae say, ye hurt mah brother!” shouted Angus. “He hurt me first! He killed my father! And sliced off my arm!” shouted back Ross. “Ah’ll beat you, an’ he’ll finally respect me.” Naga was whipping away at the troopers, but they weren’t pulling back, and Naga would rather not kill people with her dagger. Gear was far away, taking care of troopers with his chemicals and blade boomerang so she wouldn’t get assistance from anyone but Ross. He could see her struggle, and believed that a leader should be there for his friends, be the hero of the group, something everyone could look up to, the Resistors had enough problems after the empire had branded them as terrorists, and if they ever wanted to be respected and accepted, they needed a clean leader that was willing to go all the way. Ross clashed swords with Angus, and gave him a sly smile, before punching forward, Angus blocked it with his shield, but it bent out of shape and left a large dent, Ross’ metal arm was stuck, so Angus struck with his sword and sent Ross’ blade flying, but Ross retaliated by yanking the shield away and blocking the next hit, the shield came loose and Ross punched forward and sent Angus into the air with his metal fist. “Sorry, can’t stay, your empire friends don’t know the real meaning of friendship, but I do, and it means being there for others.” He then ran towards Naga, and punched back a line of troopers, but others started to beat down Ross, even with the metal additions to his bones, it still hurt. Naga gasped, and growled at the soldiers, before pouncing on them and scratching their faces. Gear returned from his battle, and threw an explosive mix to blast a group of troopers, he then added his blade to the mix, and sent it spinning around to distract the guards. More came at him, it seemed that with Angus’ previous records, the empire wanted to insure victory by placing enough soldiers to counteract his unwillingness to kill in cold blood. Angus stared at the three, going through thick and thin for each other. He hadn’t felt that way in a long time, not since Kirie, and Turok... But they lied to him, they turned against the empire for selfish reasons... or did they?... Angus had felt very confused since his parents died and the empire was born, perhaps he was being lied to, for his own good, and perhaps the Resistors were just messing with his head? Anyway, he wasn’t willing to just go against the empire because of a hunch. “Fight me, knight!” shouted Angus. Ross punched a trooper that was coming for Gear, before approaching Angus. “I have to protect my friends...” panted Ross, “I have to be strong...” The battle against Angus had been hard on him, and the beating from the troopers wasn’t pleasant either, Ross felt obligated to show how heroic he was, but he was trying too hard. A lone trooper leapt up from behind with a dagger, and Ross was too tired to hear him coming. “Ross!” shouted Gear, throwing a vial at the man and blowing him up with it, he fell down blackened and wounded. Angus simply stared at the act of compassion, no one in the empire would do that for him. Ross breathed heavily, and looked at Angus, “Why aren’t you fighting me?” “Ye’re wounded, ye’re nae threat, deal wit’ this.” said Angus, turning and walking away. Ross gave him an inquisitive stare, but had to recover quickly and fight the troopers. “Ross, Naga, stay together, the problem here is that we’ve been too spread out to cover enough ground. We fight back to back.” The two nodded and fought together, each of their sides almost locked to another in order to fend off the surrounding circle of troopers, and being able to help the one next to them if need be. Naga whipped, Ross punched and Gear exploded troopers until each one decided to give up and run. “They’re leaving.” said Naga a little surprised, “But you didn’t beat their top officer like you usually do.” “Angus is... different.” said Ross, “He’s not like the other bloodthirsty warriors, he probably knew they would lose, and so, didn’t want unnecessary blood to be spilled...” “Either way, let’s get back to the base and organise a meeting, our group really needs a leader.” said Gear firmly. “And so, after today’s performance, the role of leader... cannot be decided.” sighed Gear, “Kirie’s overprotectiveness didn’t allow people to fight at their best, Edwina’s hasty actions made her unpredictable, and Ross simply takes on more than his fair share. The only way I guess we can decide, is to vote, and then I’m sure whoever is picked, can learn from their mistakes...” A box was passed around the conference room, and each Resistor put in their vote, Ross carried the box to the main table afterwards, and counted the votes. “And the results are, 2 votes for Edwina, 2 for Kirie, and 2 for myself...” “Wait, that doesn’t add up.” said Gear, scratching his head in thought. “... And 4 votes for Gear.” “But, I wasn’t participating.” spluttered Gear. “You didn’t have to.” smiled Kirie, “This whole test made me think about what a leader is all about.” “But I’m just a scientist.” said Gear nervously. “And a brilliant strategist.” added Kirie, “My problem is that I’m overprotective, but you’ve managed to judge whether a feat is possible or not while considering our skills.” “The way I was going, I would have got myself killed just to look good and act responsible, leadership just isn’t the right thing for me. But I’ve known you to be decisive and thoughtful, you’re only human in terms of strength, but your decisiveness and creativeness is what’s going to get us through this war.” explained Ross. “Ya practically founded this base, an’ ya brought in members that had whut it takes, ya bestowed trust in all o’ us an’ always looked out fer us, Gear, you rule as a leadin’ figure.” grinned Ruwin. “You don’t have to be a muscle-bound warrior to lead a team, I failed myself on that level.” said Naga, “You have to know your team’s strengths and weaknesses, and that of your opponents, I believe you have what it takes.” “I agree.” said Edwina, “With you as our leader, the world will quickly see what you represent: Kindness, intelligence and hope.” The rest of the group started to add to the praise and confidence in selecting Gear, but all spoke at the same time. “Okay then!” said Ross loudly to get silence, “Its unanimous, as of now, Gear is the leader of the Resistors.” The group cheered and yelled out. “Hey hey hey guys, I’m not totally sure about this. I can’t do this alone.” shouted Gear. “You won’t be.” smiled Ross, “Even though I can’t be leader, I wouldn’t mind being second-in-command, that way, you wouldn’t have to go on every little mission, and I promise to only fight my share, and look out for myself a little more often.” “Yes, I agree with that, and I select Edwina to be a leading figure too, on non-empire missions since they’re all out to capture her.” explained Samia, Edwina gave her a smile, and she replied with friendly eyes. “And I’d like to help you out a little more in the labs.” explained Kirie, “I’m not a smart as you, but I want to learn from you...” “Well?...” questioned Ross, “How do you feel now, ‘leader’?...” Gear couldn’t help but smile, “I feel like I have butterflies in my stomach, but otherwise, I feel honoured. I’ll do it, and I’ll make you all proud of me.” “Come on everybody!” shouted Ross, “Three cheers for Gear! Hip Hip...” “Hooray!...” And so, the Resistors finally had a leader, they were doing fine without one before, but now the team could only rise to new heights, and with Gear’s help and a continuation of their efforts, the kingdom would someday see peace again. End Back to “Warrior Couple” Click to read the next story: "Put into Practice”: Part 1 Back to “Past Heroes and New Beginnings” Back to the Library