The Prodigal Son

There would be a buzz in the air as Tyler Cage made her way to the office of the Rogue Commandant Kyasho Mirakama.  It was just one day before the entire team of law enforcement officiers were scheduled to move out and make their way to Crysworn, the site of their latest efforts to enforce a global law.  However, before they left, they was something that needed to be dealt with.  This was something that had been hanging over the head of the faction for some time, and while Kyasho was content to simply wait the situation out, a number of his charges were not so keen on the idea. 

The issue was one of Hyaku Yagami, the first of the young prodigies which the Rogues had recruited for their field team, a channeler that proved to be Tyler’s predecessor on the team.  Hyaku was actually the first member of the elite squad that Kyasho had envisioned for his field team, having spent most of his younger days following the lead of Harry Benet and the other members of K-Four, when most of the other channelers on the team were still mastering their abilities at the number of channelling academies around Terra.  However, Hyaku’ prodigious abilities tended to often be overshadowed by his jaded bitterness and his general arrogance with regards to more casual channelers, which tended to make people rather dismissive of his abilities despite their levels.  Even the current leader of the faction, Tyler Cage had taken more of a liking to her newer charges such as Roun and Paco than the channeler that she had come and found on the team.  Hyaku’s bad attitude had essentially alienated him from the rest of his team, with even Roun and Paco who had initially tried their best to be friends to the generally cold channel, eventually giving up on him.

Over time, Hyaku would withdraw even further from his team, only staying in contact with his subordinate and suspected romantic interest, the young Erika Eefeiya.  This would be only further compounded after the fusion of the worlds, when the young channeler would learn of his role as the host of the Obelisk, Roun’s counterpart and the champion of the Destroyer race.  This only served to further alienate the already troubled youngster, eventually driving him away from the faction while he did some self searching.  Even as Roun had managed to convince him to return to active duty, it was clearly obvious that his heart was simply not in the job, forcing the young channel to once again retire from active duty on the Rogue Special Forces as he continued to sort things out in his life.  During this time, the Rogues would also see Erika take a leave of absence as she attempted to assist Hyaku in working through his personal problems, until finally the two channelers were ready to meet with their superiors and explain their course of action for the future.

This was the reason for the meeting that Tyler was so quickly hurrying towards.  Upon arrival, she would find Roun, Nicola and Roderick waiting, while the members of K-Four and Kyasho himself sat quietly around a large table awaiting her arrival.  Nicola would flash her a condescending look as she entered, drawing an inaudible growl from Tyler that caused her younger sister to smile now while Tyler took up her position ahead of the field team and awaited the beginning of the meeting.  Once everyone was settled, Hyaku would be given the floor and allowed to speak.

“Go ahead son.”  Kyasho started now, drawing a light growl from Hyaku, who rather disliked being addressed in such a familiar tone during such a formal event.

“Thank you, sir.” He stated, emphasising the word ‘sir’ as he did, drawing mild amusement from those in the room with lighter senses of humour.  Kyasho would not be one of them.

“Go ahead Hyaku.”  He prompted now, not wishing to keep back the field team or Harry, who had an entire installation to run.

“As you may or may not know, I came to my decision regarding my post on the Rogue Special Forces.”  Hyaku stated now, drawing everyone’s attention to him.  “It should be common knowledge by now that my I’ve been a Rogue for a while, my tenure dates back to before the creation of the field team in an official capacity, and as such I would like to consider myself to be an integral part of the organisation.”  He stated now, drawing a masked smirk from Roun.  “I would like to, but obviously I can’t.  Even with this rag-tag team, the faction appears to be getting along just fine without me.”  He stated now with an uncharacteristically solemn tone.

A silence would come over the room as everyone waited for Hyaku to continue, but they could tell that what would come next was clearly hard or the usually emotionally constipated channeler.

“If given the opportunity, I’d like to make myself an integral part of this team again.”  Hyaku would finally state with some difficulty, causing both Roun and Tyler to smile with amusement.

“I see...”  Kyasho stated now, somewhat intrigued by his young ward’s decision.  “And what of your other obligations?”  He inquired now, causing Hyaku to scoff loudly.

“I have no other obligations... I just want to be a Rogue... and nothing else.”  Hyaku replied with venom.

“Somehow I don’t think your buddies in SABER will be too pleased to hear this.”  Roun stated now, having a vested interest in the prophesised conflict between the guardians and destroyers.

“The members of SABER are not my buddies, and furthermore, neither are the guardians.”  Hyaku stated now.  “I don’t care for all of this prophecy, predetermined fates and grandiose wars that solve nothing.”  He explained.  “All this time I’ve been picking my brain, trying to pick a side, only to realise that I don’t care for either camp, one way or the other.  The Destroyers are insane and the Guardians are fools. Period.”

This drew audible laughter from Roun now, the only one in the room who had a particularly personal stake in the battle, being the former host of the Archetype, the Monolith and an ally of the senior guardians and their compatriots.  “So what’s your plan then Hyaku?  You just gonna sit on the sidelines and let this all go down?”  He inquired now, drawing a scoff from the tall white haired channeler.

“Of course not.”  Hyaku replied sharply before Tyler interjected.

“So Hyaku, when the Destroyers go after the world and try to destroy it, will you be with the rest of us Rogues trying to save it?”  She inquired slyly.

“If I’m a Rogue then that’s my job.”  He replied in his usual detached tone.

“And if you’re not a Rogue, then what will you do?”  Kyasho himself inquired now, far more concerned with his son’s moral compass than his foreseen obligations.

“If I’m not a Rogue... then I’ll end this war once and for all.”  He stated calmly, drawing raised eyebrows from all around.  “These wars have been going on for too long... clearly the guardians are not enough to get the job done.  Maybe it’s time that they passed the torch.”  Hyaku stated, drawing a slight smirk from Kyasho, who just learned back in his chair.

“That’s quite an ambitious goal, Hyaku.”  Kyasho replied, looking straight at Hyaku.

“I was taught not to limit my ambition.”  Hyaku replied with his ever serious expression.

“Indeed you have.”  Kyasho replied with a smirk before he turned back to everyone in the room.  “Well I think we’ve heard enough, now it is time for us to vote on whether or not Hyaku should be reinstated as a member of the field team of the Rogue Special Forces.” Kyasho stated formally.  “Hyaku you may take your leave.”

Hyaku would make his way out of the room and he would be forced to wait some time as those inside debated his fate.  It would be about half of an hour before he was allowed back in and Kyasho would give the final ruling.