Chapter 218: 216: A Company of Fools: FIN
"I'm so ready to head back to school!" Bo yelled as we walked out of the palace gates. I chuckled as I lead Bo, Jane, Iris, and Baset to where the King's Glaive was parked.
"You have to be the only kid I know who would say that." I said.
Three days had passed since Turak'Kahn forgave Ultia and gave me a royal moniker. I did not like it. After Turak'Kahn announced that he gave me the moniker everyone in the palace started calling me Paragon Kingston. That caused a little confusion at first since they thought that I was taking over the Paragon title from Baset. Something that she quickly rectified.
In those three days I helped the palace staff and military clean up the mess in the garden and the ballroom. The royal gardens was a total loss. Bellial, Bone-lasher, and Alpa'nagia completely laid waste to practically everything. Thankfully I wasn't being forced to pay for the damage. Iris and Jane both went to work cleaning up the King's Glaive interior after I found put how to give them access to the mana train. Bo was the palace page boy, running messages and food all over the palace to help. Most of the palace staff already loved him but now they were calling him a saint.
"So this is the ancient artifact you liberated from the mercenaries that attacked the palace?" Baset inquired as we approached King's Glaive I smiled. The stone and crystal exterior had been washed by some of the palace staff while Iris and Jane worked on the inside so now it gleamed like a jewel in the sunlight.
"Yep! I give you Mana Train: King's Glaive!" I exclaimed and made a broad sweeping motion to all three cars of the train.
"So we're taking this back instead of flying on a terraback?" Bo asked. I nodded.
"Yeah otherwise I'm going to have to leave it here and while I can give people access to the interior of the train, the only one that can actually get it moving now is me." I explained.
King's Glaive was currently in standby mode. The door to the engine car was closed but there was a small set of stairs made of pure crystal that lead up to it. Once the train left standby mode the steps folded under the train. The crystal growths all over the train thrummed slightly with faint pulses of energy. I walked up the stairs of the engine car and the door opened immediately upon sensing me.
"Welcome back Sho'lajah. All systems are currently running at optimal levels. Prepared to set off on your command." King's Glaive welcomed me. I walked over to the control basin at the center of the engine while The others started to climb aboard.
I started to open up the map on the basin and changed it from a local map to a continental map. I learned very quickly that King's glaive map was completely accurate, this was because it was somehow getting information from the space station that I went up to with Jane and her parents. I didn't know how that worked but it did.
I moved the map over to Andromeda city and then zoomed into area view and found the street in front of the shop and selected that street. The map suddenly zoomed out and flew back to the currently location of the King's Glaive and then showed a route to the destination.
"Destination selected, would you like to set off now?" King's Glaive asked.
"Hold on a second. Get everything ready to set off. I'll let you know." I replied.
"As you command, Sho'lajah." King's Glaive responded.
I turned to everyone else and saw Bo and Baset both looking around the engine room in awe. Jane and Iris were standing by the door watching the two of them until they heard I selected the destination. They then walked over to me and flanked both my sides hooking their arms in mime.
"Ok, now time to show you to our new luxury transport." Jane said. I arched a brow and looked at her.
"Our?" I quipped. Iris rolled her eyes and waved a hand at me dismissively.
"Semantics." Iris said as they led me over to the door to the second car.
Iris pressed her hand against the door sensor and it opened immediately. I was immediately surprised by the transformation. When I was last on the train that room was filled with trash and ash. The belonging of dead mercenaries were thrown all over the place and the makeshift galley looked like it was seconds away from blowing up.
Now everything had been scrubbed and cleaned and anything that wasn't originally in the car was removed. That meant the galley was gone, all the tables and chairs were gone and all the makeshift lights were ripped off the walls. The car was completely redesigned.
At the front of the car was a lounging area, complete with a couple of couches from the palace placed against the wall, a elegant rug under each couch, a long coffee table in front of the couch closest to the door. Directly across from the first couch where the galley used to be was a bookshelf that took up half the wall, it was a five shelf bookshelf and only one shelf had any books on it.
The back half of the car was now a was a small café/eating area. There was a medium length table large enough to seat eight tucked away in the corner. On the other side of the room next to the bookshelf was a small fridge that had a stove attached to it and a small preparation station next to the stove.
"How the fuck did you two manage to do all this?" I asked. Jane smirked and looked to Bo, who just walked into the car behind us with Baset.
"Bo let us borrow Gargesh in order to get everything clean and move stuff in here." Jane said.
"Yeah but I didn't think you were having him do all this!" Bo exclaimed as he looked around.
"This car is for relaxing during travel and eating now. There's not much Herr because there was only so much we could sneak out of the palace without people noticing." Jane said. I paused and frowned at her.
"Wait…you guys stole all this stuff from the palace?" I asked. Iris and Jane looked away from me shook their head.
"No we…borrowed it…" Jane said unconvincingly. I sighed and shook my head.
"Gods above…I'm the one that's supposed to be doing the morally corrupt stuff." I said. Baset chuckled and walked over to the bookshelf looking at the books that were on it.
"Wait till you see the next car!" Jane said excitedly. The girls dragged me into the door to the last car then opened it.
They'd cleaned and overhauled the last car and threw out anything that looked remotely like a mercenary owned it. A wooden partition that started five feet in front of the door and went all the way to the back of the car and stretched all the way to the ceiling. On both sides of the of the partition were two signs that were in front of a curtain that blocked the entry into both side of the car.. The one on the left said men's, the one on the right said women's.
"This is now the living car! The car is split into men and women sides. Each side has four bunk beds that can accommodate eight people. There is also a toilet and a small shower at the very back of the car." Jane exclaimed. I arched a brow again and looked to Jane.
"More furniture you 'borrowed' from the palace?" I asked. Jane rolled her eyes.
"Just be glad Iris and I were able to find all this stuff and get all this set up in three days." Jane said patting me know the shoulder. I shook my head as the girls turned around and lead me back to the engine car.
"Now as long as we plan ahead we can travel in comfort and luxury." Iris said.
"No more riding on evos to get around. Not only that but this can be the flagship of Sho'lajah Artifact Company. Once we get back to Andromeda city we can have the orkands paint the company logo on the side. It'll be a moving advertisement." Jane said unlinking arms with me. Iris did the same and the two walked over to control basin and leaned against it.
"King's Glaive, how long will the travel be from current location to final destination?" I asked
"Estimated time of travel…two days and four hours." King's Glaive replied.
"So we'll get back to the city the last day of the semester." Baset said as she walked into the engine car. "We'll have class that day too...getting injured at the ball and forced me to stay here I had to cancel the other classes."
"I'm sure that pissed off Astrid and Damon." I said. Baset scoffed and crossed her arm.
"I got shot and hit with a fireball, they can stay angry if it makes them feel better. Not everyone can heal as fast as you" She said almost bitterly. I chuckled then heard someone gasp loudly outside. Curious I walked over to the door and poked my head out.
Leon and Viola were standing outside with a squad of soldiers escorting them. Iscara and Ultia were nowhere to be found, actually deciding to take the leave that Turak'Kahn offered them along with Jurirai.
"Come to see everyone off?" I asked the royals. Viola smiled at me and waved.
"Yes! I really wanted to try and convince you to stay and let me study the mana train but I know you all have to return to Andromeda so I might as well send you off with a smile." Viola said cheerily.
Jane and Iris both poked her head outside the door behind me and saw Viola and Leon as if on queue. I laughed and stepped off the mana train with Jane and Iris right behind me.
"Mother…" Jane said slightly hesitant. Viola smiled and pulled Jane into a tight hug.
"Be safe Jane. Being known as a princess is mire challenging than you think it'll be. You have a dedicated group of friends that would die for you…trust them, treasure them, and don't give up on finding yourself." Viola said. Jane stayed silent for several moments before she stepped back.
"Thank you…I'm sorry for…everything." Jane said bashfully. Viola smiled sweetly at Jane then reached up and brushed a hair out of her face.
"You're forgiven. Just remember, beating you is like swatting a fly to me, next time you get mouthy." Viola teased. Jane blushed out of embarrassment and looked away.
"Yes mother…" Jane replied. Viola looked to Iris.
"Thank you for everything you've done for Jane. I know you're returning to Andromeda as Jane's classmates and not her guardian but I hope you'll continue to look after Jane. Though not babying her like you used to." Viola said.
"I will. She's my friend after all." Iris replied. Viola looked pleased with that answer and then she looked behind me. I looked back and saw Bo poking his head out the train.
"Auntie Vi!" Bo exclaimed then ran down the stairs of the train and rushed over to hug Viola. Viola reached and hugged Bo happily.
"Make sure you all take care of little Bo too! I will not have our nephew hurt!" Viola said sternly. I scoffed then looked at Bo with a smirked.
"We won't let anything happen to him. Though we can't guarantee his parents won't strangle him when he gets home…." I said with a evil glint in my eye. Bo froze then looked back at me.
"I forgot! I was going to be grounded!" Bo groaned. Viola rubbed the back of his head.
"You have other take responsibility for your actions." Viola said.
Jane looked over at Leon who had been standing a few feet behind his mother watching our exchanges silently. However his gaze never really strayed that far from me, even when he was looking at Iris or Jane his eyes would keep darting back to me.
"You also here to see me off, brother?" Jane asked. Leon shook his head then looked to me me.
"Actually I am here to see Paragon Kingston." Leon replied. I groaned and shook my head.
"Oh gods please don't start with that Paragon shit!" I grumbled. Leon looked surprised but still kept on with what he was saying.
"Chase 'Revolutionary Paragon' Kingston, I challenge you to a duel!" Leon exclaimed. Every gasped except Iris and Bo.
"YES! YES! I WIN THE BET!" Bo bellowed and jumped around.
Iris threw her head back and groaned then pulled two enchanted rings off her fingers and held them out to Bo who eagerly rushed over and took them from her.
"So close!" She growled. I rolled my eyes at them then looked to Leon.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked.
"Exactly what I want to know? You know you can't beat him." Jane asked. Leon clenched his fist, hos jaw clenching as he looked up at me.
"I couldn't do anything…people were dying around me and I couldn't do anything but hide behind Iscara! My family was getting attacked around me but I…but I…." Leon growled. I reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder and looked conformingly at him.
"I know how you feel. I was around your age when I had to fight for survival. I saw my grandmother die right in front of me…and I couldn't do anything to save her. I felt weak and powerless, I couldn't protect one of the few people in my life that actually gave a damn whether I lived or died." I said. Leon's eyes grew wide as he heard me then looked to Jane for conformation, I guess. Jane nodded at him with a sad look in her eyes.
"But you're so strong! Your evos are all national treasure grade! How can you be defenseless?" Leon exclaimed.
"I only got this strong recently. I didn't even get my first evo until a few months ago." I said. Leon looked at me in disbelief.
"Only a few months! That's impossible! Nobody can get that strong this quickly." Leon yelled and pointed a finger at me.
"Frustrating, I know, he's impossibility talented…but he works hard..." Jane said then looked to me and back to Leon. "…he's just a genius. The only thing you'll learn from fighting him or his evos is how weak you are. Trust me."
Leon stayed silent for several long moments before he growled under his breath and looked away.
"Fine…I retract my challenge." Leon muttered. I felt bad for Leon. I has been where he was so many times in my life, feeling weak and wondering if I was any use to those around me.
I channeled mana into my void pocket enchanted ring and cast the axiom spell sigil then pulled out a few spell sigil cards that I had made over a months ago. They were two offensive spells: Shadra bolt and Fire blitz Lance. Two utility spells: silent step and wound stitch. And one Axiom spell: Tricky movement.
"Here. These are a few custom spells I made. Learn them all and next time you challenge me I'll accept." I said as I held them out to Leon. Leon looked at me in surprise then reluctantly accepted them.
"Fine…you better keep your word then!" Leon exclaimed. He started to turn and walk away then stopped and looked back again. "Did you take care of that problem…the Perkit problem?"
"Yeah…you won't have to deal with that anymore." I said. Jane and Viola looked suspicious at me and Leon but surprisingly didn't say anything.
"Chase, Jane, Iris, Bo, we have a lot of distance to cover and it's already going to take two days! Can we get going?" Baset asked from the door of King's Glaive.
"Yeah we're coming!" I exclaimed.
***
Now seated on one of the couches in the lounging car with Iris sitting next to me and Jane sitting on the next couch over. Baset was in the living car at the back of the mana train and Bo was eating a sandwich on the table at the end of our lounge car. The mana train was on its way to Andromeda with the royal palace walls quickly fading into the scenery behind us.
"So Chase what was that problem that Leon asked about?" Jane asked. Iris and I shared a look which made Jane even more suspicious. "What did Chase do?"
"Before you get mad Leon made this decision." Iris said.
I stood up and channeled mana into my void pocket enchanted ring and cast a axiom spell sigil again and then reached into the pocket and pulled out a really large suitcase. The moment I pulled the suitcase out of the pocket its real weight and I dropped it on the ground.
"Ow! Fuck!" A voice yelled from inside the suitcase. Jane jumped up from her couch and then pointed at the suitcase.
"Who is in the suitcase?!" Jane demanded. The suitcase was one that I had brought with me from America only now it was covered in a runic spell sigil. I reached down and opened it reveling Perkit inside the suitcase, curled into a ball.
Jane's eyes grew to the size of saucers when she saw Petkit, dressed in a pair of clothes that I had lent him. He looked up at Jane and a look of guilt spread over his face. Jane looked to Iris and I then took a deep breath.
"Chase…why is a former member of the Royal guard inside a suitcase of yours." Jane asked in a eerily calm voice. I motioned to Perkit inside the suitcase.
"Your brother. This is Perkit. When the other palace guards were going to kill Leon and Iscara, he defended the both of them…admitted he only did it because he wanted to die with honor like a royal guard instead of getting ripped apart by my evos. So Leon decided he deserved a fate worse than death." I explained. Jane's face frowned then looked down at Pekit.
"Perkit…? The one Leon told father and mother that he heard bragging about being the one who was whispering in Aziza and Rowad's ear?" Jane asked. I nodded then looked at Perkit and motioned for him to stand up. Pekrit quickly did and saluted Jane.
"He said his punishment was watching his death and the destruction of his good name. He's no longer Pekrit. He's nobody." Iris explained said. Jane looked at me, then Perkit.
"So what is he doing here?" Jane asked. I smiled deviously then walked next to Perkit and clapper a hand on hos shoulder.
"I'm his jailor…" I started then lifted his shirt up to reveal a large spell sigil tattooed on his stomach. "…he's getting a second chance at life for being willing to give up his for protecting Leon and Iscara but it's not going to be an easy life. That spell tattoo on him is tied to our locator bangles. As long as he's alive, we'll know where he is."
"I will spend the rest of my life atoning for that attack!" Perkit exclaimed and bowed deeply at Jane.
Jane pinched the bridge of her nose then groaned and shook her head. She looked like she was about to have a fit when she suddenly sighed and looked at me.
"Fine…Leon was the one who decided this and I don't want to ruin his confidence." Jane looked back at Perkit and crossed her arms. "You are going to work for Chase. That way I can be sure that you won't try to run away. He has people that will kill you without a second thought if you step out of line."
"He has a bunch of evos that would kill him if they even thought he was insulting him." Iris said. At the very mention of my evos Perkit paled and stood up straight.
"I understand!" Perkit exclaimed.
"Geez, weird things are always happening around you guys." Bo exclaimed from the dining table. "If this Perkit guy's name is dead what is this guy's name now?"
Everyone paused and looked at each other in confusion for several minutes before Iris spoke up.
"Tikrep! Tikrep Heartman!" Iris exclaimed. I arched a brown then looked at her with a smirk.
"Tikrep? You just reversed his name, Tri-clops." I teased. Iris frowned and slapped my arm.
"Then you think of one, smart ass!" Iris snapped.
"Chad Princeton." I said almost immediately. Iris narrowed her eyes at me then huffed.
"Fuck…that is good actually." Iris muttered.
"That settles it. You are no longer Perkit whatever your last name was. It is now Chad Princeton. Do your best to live up to Chase's expectations." Jane said. Perkit now Chad nodded and bowed almost great fully at me and Jane.
"Thank you for this second chance!" He exclaimed. I started to say something when King's Glaive suddenly spoke up.
"Sho'lajah, a secondary full diagnostic has been run. Eleven hours could be cut from our current travel time if the secondary power core is ignited. Would you like to ignite it?" King's Glaive asked.
"Secondary power core?" I asked looking up at the roof as I asked.
"The secondary power core is a supplementary power source that is smaller than the primary power core." King's Glaive replied.
"Sure." I replied with a shrug.
"Please proceed to the engine car. Mana is required to activate the core." King's Glaive requested.
Without a second thought I walked into the engine car and saw a pedestal had risen in the front of the car. It's surface had a hand print groove made out of crystal. Without being prompted I walked over to the pedestal and placed my hand on the handprint then channeled mana into it.
The whole pedestal glowed a bright green color. A loud whirling and gaining noise could be heard over resonating all over the car. The whirling got louder then a loud deep thump reverberated through all the cars and I felt a sudden burst of speed as King's Glaive sped up.
"Whoa!" I exclaimed and grabbed the pedestal to keep from falling over then heard a loud crash in the other car.
"CHAAAAAAAAASE!" Jane and Iris bellowed.
"Secondary power core activated. Estimated travel time: One day and twenty hours…"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Hutexa_The_Djinn
Hutexa_The_Djinn Massive chapter dump before vacations! (3 of 3)
As today is the first day of my hiatus I wanted to wrap up the Company of fools saga. If anyone is worried about this being rushed I wrote the last three chapter about a month ago, just recently got to finally editing them. Thank you to everyone who wished me well on my vacation and I'll be back on October first with brand new chapters of Evo-Lution! Thank you!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone