273 Side Story : The Guardian 1 : The Broken & The Hypocrite

"This is humiliating!" Shao Tie's voice blared through the intercom

"Oh come on it's not that bad. At least this way there wouldn't be a conspicuous dragon flying around the sky." Kodak replied to livid Shao Tie as he adjusted the cruising altitude of his airship.

"And in return I have to throw away my dignity and become bonded with this bloody machine. This is an affront to my dignity as an imperial dragon, I'm taking offense to all of this!" Shao Tie shouted, still very angry.

"You've been complaining for the whole of two hours since we left Ethernalia Leonis, you know we don't really have a choice with this. Unless absolutely necessary, Kael ordered that you should not reveal yourself. So get comfortable, because you're going to be in that ship for a very long as time." Kodak said to Shao Tie as he leaned back on the pilot's seat and placed his foot on the dashboard.

"Get your fucking legs off me!" Shao Tie growled out, causing the entire ship to vibrate in tandem with his anger.

Kodak dropped his legs as he shook his head in exasperation. Shao Tie might seem very amicable at the moment, but Kodak knew he couldn't push the dragon. So it was better for him to just stay on his good side as much as he could. They had a very long journey ahead of them after all.

Kodak looked out the wind shield of his airship, taking in the sights as he flew over a large frozen lake. He was just flying above the tree lines of a forest that seemed endless, keeping himself low enough to avoid detection from radar. And while he was confident about Malek's genius in building a very stealthy ship, he had no idea how advanced or powerful technology was outside of the pit. And quite frankly they couldn't use what they built as a measuring stick for the rest of the world.

"Do you even know where you're fucking going?" Shao Tie asked, discarding his regal way of talking for a crass one.

"Not really, however I have a very recent holo-map with some locations mapped out for me by Kael, Asare andlady Xaseah's father Dwayne.There's an outpost about an hour away from here, however it's also a slave depot, and vampires taken from the pit are always processed there before they're shipped off to other parts of Shearath, or off world to whatever race seems interested in owning a vampire as a slave, a pet or an experiment. I'm supposed to infiltrate and get my hands on some logs and records of the sale, transports, destinations and owners of the vampires that have been bought. From there, we'll track them all one by one, saving as many of them as I can." Kodak explained.

"This seems like a suicide mission, and not just a suicide mission, but a mission that might never end. You're just one person, and even though you're a vampire you can't do this all on your own." Shao Tie said in a calm voice.

"I know, but for now this is what I can do. At least until Ethernalia Leonis is stable enough to send it's hunters and envoys out into the world and cosmos to look for our missing brothers and sisters. Even if I'm only making a ripple in a huge lake, or just scooping a drop of water from an ocean, as long as I'm doing something for the good of my people, then it's okay with me." Kodak answered with a soft voice.

"How noble, but you and I both know the truth. And that truth is that you're a fucking coward, a fucking selfish coward who is not man enough to keep his own woman, or man enough to confront her or even end the reptile that took her away from you. And do you know the worst part, you ran away, ran away! Leaving your family behind, people who you're supposed to protect because…..because you have feelings you don't know how to deal with! Disgusting! You're no vampire boy! You're a fucking human being."

Kodak could almost feel the disgust dripping from Shao Tie's words. And it succeeded in making him feel as bad as he could possible be at this moment. He could have used his aura to deal with his emotions, just grab everything and push them out. But just because he wasn't feeling it, it didn't mean it wasn't there. The Aura was temporary fix, a fix that became nothing more than an addiction to the vampires of old, turning them into cold emotionless machines.

Kodak wanted to feel, even if he didn't know how to deal with it. He wanted this hurt, this anger to remain, so that when he returned he wouldn't hesitate to pay Neva and her bloody snake rapist back for all of the pain they caused him. But he couldn't stay, because for one he could not let his family see him like this, to see him broken, and nothing but a shell of his former self.

And with a brother who could read minds, hiding what he was feeling or thinking would have been incredibly hard. He had to get himself fixed, his head focused, and his heart steeled. There was some good that he could do in the world, especially for his people. He wasn't just running away from her, he was running just so that he could strengthen his resolve for the revenge he was going to bring raining down on her for breaking his heart.Vampires and humans had one very startling quality in common, and that was the fact that both races could be incredibly petty and vindictive.

"You're right about me Shao Tie, but you're also wrong. Somethings are never as simple as they seem, and for a dragon who doesn't know shit about feelings and is ruled by his desires, everything that comes out of your mouth is total bull shit! Even if it's the truth. It makes you nothing more than a hypocrite, and quite frankly I hate hypocrites.I'm running away, there's no doubt about that,but it's not really because I don't know how to deal with my feelings, but because I don't want to act on them. Because if I did stay, Neva and her new lover would already be dead, and that would be to easy. I've obviously changed, but I don't want everything about me to be gone, the person who was loved and respected by many others is fading fast, and I don't want that. Because that's the person who believed there was good in the world even though he was a slave, the person who my mother and father loved, and the person I was most proud to be. I need a balance, and I can't find it back home, because right now as bright as Ethernalia Leonis is, all it can give me right now, is blood and darkness."

Kodak, closed his eyes as they both shifted into a dull silence. Shao Tie was an incredibly old soul, being thousands of years old. Of course he was still considered quite young by draconic standards, but in all his lifetime, this was the first time somebody called him out. Kael and Baeki were leagues above him, that they wouldn't even be bothered to give a shit about his personality unless he was a threat to them or their beliefs.

But Kodak, an obviously broken teenager could see through him. Shao Tie knew Kodak was right, he was a hypocrite. But he believed such a trait was afforded to him due to the strength he possesses. He believed might made right, even if you were a rapist or a pedophile. With power no one would question you, no one would judge you, and you could take and take and take and take. Kodak loosing the woman he loves was more than enough proof of that. But this was not the world he thought he understood or knew, at least not the world of these vampires. He could see clear as day, even if they didn't.

In their world, it wasn't might made right, but rather righteousness, goodness, kindness and understanding made right. The young vampire thought he had changed, that he was filled with anger and all that he had in his heart was elaborate schemes and plans for revenge. But after their conversation, Shao Tie understood why he left, and it was not because he was afraid he might kill this Neva, and that would be too short a punishment for her.

No, he left because of a number of selfish and petty reasons. He couldn't bear seeing her happy in the arms of another man, he couldn't be near her because he still loved her, he felt excruciating pain and intense hatred whenever he saw them, he wanted the world to burn for his pain. Those were all true, but the chief reason would probably be that he couldn't bring himself to hurt the woman he loves, or the people who loved her. Not without sufficient resolve and mental fortitude. To put it simply, he left just so he could get over her, so that when he returns, he can confidently kick both their asses without worrying about his own feelings.

He had some darkness in him now, or maybe that darkness was always there and just fi ally got the chance to bloom. However that wouldn't change the fact, that this vampire, with a half demon mother, was good and kind all the way to his core. A newly acquired bloodthirsty and vindictive nature won'tchange that, not at all. Because Shao Tie could see it, this boy had a darkness, but just like his leader Kael Cor. He was a light so bright he rivaled the sun. And for some reason his new found darkness was not stifling his light, it was making it....stronger.