Chapter 257: Drawn Out, Three To One

"So, you are back among the living now? Am I finally able to rest, or is there another trick?" Davo asked as we entered his cavern.

"Nope, we have work to do; not even the dead get to stay that way this time! You and Killiada and I will be creating the greatest battleship this world has ever seen! For now, Shiva will become pilot and propulsion, and then Luna will take her place after. No matter who wanted to be the emperor, you and I always had the same goal, to leave this cursed planet," Rai Cait told Davo, and he sighed but was smiling.

"You never liked to do things the easy way. You know, we could just die and become freighters; I hear they don't get into fights with the world that often," Davo joked but then became serious. "Do you really believe that this is worth our entire race?"

"You know that you will never actually die, right? You are a prison inside the construct that you create, and we know this. My grandfather still walks the empty halls in a section of the city that has been shut down. We don't ever die; there are constructs that are buried under others; nothing ever changes for us after we are born! I am going to find the answer to the end, and I am taking you all with me!" Rai Cait said with determination as he stepped forward, making Davo step back.

I had been curious about the Meccat, but the next question was, what happened to them when they were killed in battle?

"Umm, hey, Rai, what happens when you are killed? If you don't die normally, then what happens if someone kills you?" I asked, and Rai Cait turned to me.

"You can't kill us. While we have these bodies, most of us are given a random timer until we transform into a structure, but you can't kill a Meccat," Rai Cait said, and then his chest started to open up.

I watched as a five-inch square ultra-black cube was revealed. It had black veins coming from inside of it that covered the inside of the compartment.

"Our Black Boxes are indestructible, and we have vaults filled with them. After we have to tear down a building or decommission a ship, we have to store the people inside of them. They are no longer active, and this means that their cubes can't shift anymore, but the soul inside is still there. If you touch the cube, you can hear my spoken thoughts eleven now. The same is true for all my people," Rai Cait explained to me, and my eyes went big.

What kind of perversion was this? What was with all of these souls getting stuck on this planet?

"Sakura, what happens to your people when they die? Are you also stuck in your Gem Heart?" I asked, turning to Sakura, and she nodded grimly.

"Yes, but normally we don't die, and we are impossible to kill, but the Meccats found a way to prevent us from regenerating," Sakura said as she glared at Davo.

"That was done long before any of us were in power to have any control of it, and the ones that did it are locked away like everyone else! You know just as well as me how easy it is to control the monsters. Your people aren't the only ones locked inside of them, and there is an arena filled with them. For every one of your people, the old emperor from three hundred years ago created the abominations saying that they would be our army! But they were just lies to force living people to give their lives!" Davo raged, clenching his fist.

"What do you mean to give their lives?" I asked in confusion.

"The false Fallen Hero King was the one that collected all the injured Ninetails before they could recover and then imprisoned them. After that, he forced living Meccat's to combine with the Ninetails; three Meccat to every Ninetails. They had said it would be worth it; I remember the lines," Rai Cait said solemnly, but then Davo snapped back.

"You only watched! I was picked and then tossed out of line by my older brother! Targe took my place and is trapped like the others! You can't even fight one, or you couldn't before you were a God; maybe you could now! Regardless, you can't fight the arena filled with them, and she won't let you! You and I both know that she is the true ruler of us, even if she doesn't want it! Not even a god-like you could stand before Skala of the Red Sands!" Dave roared, and I put up my hand.

Davo looked at me with surprise, and I spun my finger in the air. I had already said that I was in a hurry, and this was becoming a bit drawn out.

"Great speech, but can we talk about this later. I will help you with whatever, but only after we get my people! You say you all can make me a ship? Then get on it because there are a lot of people waiting for help right now, and my people are in trouble!" I said, trying not to lose my temper. 

While I understood that all of this was relevant and important, it could wait till we were in the air and heading to the destination. I would have to hope that the four of them and my skeleton crew of vampires were going to be enough to deal with the Sky Folk.

"Yes, sorry! Let's go get the general, and the men and I will head up topside. Shiva will help get you there and back fast, right, my love?" Rai Cait asked with a reassuring voice, and Shiva turned to him.

She had a vicious-looking smile, and I was sure that she had made herself even taller so she could lean over him. I was slightly regretting letting my emotions get away from me when she pledged herself to me, but only slightly.