Fifty - Tarka

I had told Alden all I knew about Lesion. I knew he hated surprises, because he wanted to always be in control of everything. I knew that he didn't get his hands dirty, so he had his men do all of his work for him. He was incredibly charismatic and had a tongue born for persuasion. A tongue fit for a snake.

I had very little information to give, but it was enough apparently. The wheels in Alden's head started turning. With arms crossed, he started pacing. I looked over at Tristram and his new wife, and I envied her. Not because Tristram loved her, but because she was beautiful. And from what I've seen of her, she was good and kind, loved by all around her.

I envied her, because she was everything I was not.

My head snapped quickly to Alden's direction as he uttered a sound of revelation. "Well, we know the best way to overthrow Lesion is to surprise him. Obviously, he wouldn't expect it, and we have so many people to back us up!"

"Nice thinking, smarty. But HOW would we go about doing that?" I asked with a little more pride in my tone than I wanted to be communicated.

"Well, we tried to surprise him before, but that didn't work. We're going to need some more people on our side."

"I've got a whole army," Tristram chimed in as casually as he could. Alden looked his way with slightly furrowed brows, even if he didn't intend to communicate that to Tristram. It was really obvious that he was still struggling to treat Tristram the same as he used to. Alden looked down at his feet for a second and barely spoke, "Yeah." Tristram's wife wrapped her arms around him, noticing the dejection in his face.

"Is everyone on board with fighting against Lesion, though? Would anyone betray us?" I couldn't help but think of ways our possible plan could go wrong.

"Yes, I have discussed this with my men, and they are ready to fight this villain!" Tristram exclaimed enthusiastically, revealing that he was ready as well.

"The question that Tarka has brought up earlier still stands," Alden added dryly. "We're not just going to march into his camp and arrest him now, are we?"

Tristram grinned. "That wouldn't be a bad idea. There's definitely more of us than the Viridians, why not?"

I shook my head. "Even so, they're more cunning than you think. We'd need more on our side to make sure our attack would be complete."

"It is possible to do so. I'm sure with a little coaxing and persuasion, you could convince the Palkins to join the Brackins." Rhythmus had been quiet up until this point, but he now stood up. "One of us would have to do the convincing, though." He looked toward Alden.

Alden sighed. "They wouldn't believe me. I'm the punk little brother of a scientist who no one ever took seriously, and I was banished, remember?"

Rhythmus took a few silent steps towards that young dejected man, took a hold of his shoulders, and looked deep into his eyes. "Young man, are you going to let your past define you? You seem to have no idea of the potential you possess, all three of you. You are representatives of three very different peoples. And yet, you are united under one single cause. Do you have no faith in your abilities?"

Alden hung his head, looking even more defeated. I sensed his fear. I was scared for him. I was scared of what could happen. None of us knew what would happen, but the Palkin, the Brackin, and the Viridian all knew what needed to be done. After a minute and a deep breath escaped his beautiful smooth lips, he lifted his eyes up and turned to face his comrades. He started to walk away from us. When we didn't follow immediately, he turned around. Hope was shining bright in those darling eyes.

"Well, gang, there's no use sitting here like bricks. We've got an army to build. Let's go!"