Change This World

Upon arriving in Artimia, the trio's excitement quickly faded into shock as they met with a harrowing sight. The town lay in ruins and complete disarray. Its once peaceful streets flooded with armored soldiers brandishing their swords and flames. Men on horseback galloped through the town, their weapons ready as chaos terrorized the townspeople who fled for their lives, desperate to escape the onslaught.

As they surveyed the destruction around them, Theo couldn't help but question the scene before him, "What's going on?"

"The town is..." Dawn replied, her face creased with concern, visibly disturbed by the devastation. 

David's mind raced to find an explanation for the carnage they were witnessing, "A raid?"

The trio hid as they watched in horror as the flames consumed buildings and people trampled over each other to escape the soldiers' wrath. The destruction continued before them as crowds fled from the soldiers who mercilessly wielded their weapons.

Without hesitation, Theo suggested, "We should split up." Hoping to cover more ground in their search for their families.

David strongly disagreed, his voice stern with conviction, "No, we have to stay together."

The tension between the two was discernible as they locked eyes, but Dawn quickly intruded to mediate the argument, urging Theo to reconsider. 

"Theo, listen to me... David is right. They taught us what to do if something like this happened."

Assured that their families were waiting for them at the designated meeting place, David added, "I'm sure your parents are fine."

"They're probably waiting for us as we speak," Dawn said, and finally, after a moment of contemplation, Theo conceded, "Yeah, you're right."

While traveling alongside the burning buildings, Dawn pointed out the soldiers ransacking shops and houses. "What are they doing?" she whispered to the group.

Theo observed as they watched the soldiers effortlessly break into houses. 

"Seems like they're looking for something."

David's sharp eyes soon spotted something else. "Over there, look," he directed their attention to a group of townspeople kneeling as though in prayer.

Sedgwick Fullerman, the Section Commander of Sector Five, moved with an air of authority as he stalked the townspeople. Though of average height, he stood out from his underlings in light armor that contrasted with their heavy armor. 

A cosmic cloak flowed from his shoulders down made of royal blue linen with an exquisite prism pattern that shimmered like stars. His face was immaculately polished, so finely crafted that it could easily have been mistaken for that of a woman by those who had never met him. He was a flashy figure, wearing his hair straight down with a long braid that wound around it, adding to his theatrical flair.

"I wouldn't need to do this if you had just paid your taxes! Why haven't the taxes been paid?" Sedgwick demanded to know, pacing back and forth along the line of townspeople. Finally, he halted in front of a terrified man.

"Sir, we've been experiencing a drought for quite some time now. The crops aren't growing, but with some support, we might be able to pay," the man stammered, detailing their struggles to Sedgwick, who seemed uninterested in what he had to say.

"What? Are you suggesting that His Grace doesn't support you disgusting Wasteland scum enough!?" Sedgwick shouted, reaching for the man's head. 

Hovering his hand over the back of the man's neck, Sedgwick revealed a noticeably sized implanted microchip. The man cried out, bawling as tears poured from his eyes. "Please, no! Please! I apologize, Section Commander Sedgwick!"

"You're lucky to be breathing the God-King's air!" Sedgwick hollered, and a dazzling light radiated from his palm over the microchip. 

The glow intensified, and the microchip began to fume. The man started to froth at the mouth, his face taking on a soulless expression as he collapsed to the ground. A handful of the townspeople scattered in fear, while Sedgwick permitted his men to kill as they pursued the fleeing townsfolk. 

"There's nothing like a good mind-wipe to brighten my day," Sedgwick mumbled, taking a deep breath, the euphoria from the previous kill still fresh in his thoughts.

Theo frantically asked, "What was that? What did he do to him?" but David and Dawn were overwhelmed by what they had just witnessed and couldn't hear him.

Dawn finally shook her head, "No idea..."

"It looks like he did something to his KC," David whispered, referring to the implanted microchip.

"Once again, I will ask you all! Where are the children in this town!? Or are you trying to tell me that they all had a growth spurt since the last time I was here!?" 

Sedgwick's voice boomed, his fury real. He paced back and forth, his eyes scanning the line of townspeople knelt before him. The townsfolk remained silent, each avoiding Sedgwick's piercing gaze. A sense of dread hung heavy in the air as if they knew what was coming next.

But then, a voice spoke up. A man called forward with his chin held high with pride. "There are no children here," he declared, a smug grin spreading across his face.

Sedgwick's hand began to glow with an eerie light, the same glow that had preceded the mind-wipe of the previous townsman. He hovered his palm over the man's KC, and with a burst of energy and dazzling light, the man collapsed to the ground, frothing at the mouth.

Impatience etched itself onto Sedgwick's features as he scanned the line of townspeople once more. "Lies!" he bellowed. "Why must you all lie!? I do everything to ensure your happiness here in Sector Five! And this is how you repay me!? With lies!?"

Theo and Dawn exchanged worried glances while David began to walk away, his caution overriding any desire to get involved. "Let's go. We have to get to the meeting place," he urged his friends.

As they turned to follow David, two soldiers approached Sedgwick, dragging a man and a woman behind them. The soldiers flung the two before Sedgwick, saluting him in deference.

"Section Commander Sedgwick, sir!" they called out.

"What is it? Can't you see that I'm busy!?" Sedgwick growled.

"Our sincerest apologies, sir! But we found these two," one of the soldiers reported.

"A man and his whore...? And what use do you imbeciles think I would have for them!?" Sedgwick spat.

"They were escorting children out of the town, sir," the second soldier replied.

Sedgwick's eyes narrowed, his face contorted in rage. He would stop at nothing to uncover the truth about the missing children, and anyone who stood in his way would face his wrath.

"Children...? How many?" Sedgwick asked the soldiers, his voice echoing throughout the muted area around him.

The first soldier stepped forward and replied, "Three, sir."

"Only three? That's better than nothing," Sedgwick replied, his eyes scanning the decimated landscape of the town. "Good work, keep searching."

The soldiers saluted Sedgwick and dashed off in the direction they came from. Sedgwick turned his attention to the man and woman cowering below him.

"Tell me where the rest of the children are," Sedgwick demanded, his tone menacing. "Then maybe I'll let you beg me for your life. You vile, worthless, disgusting vermin of the Wastelands."

Sedgwick's words dripped with contempt as he ridiculed the couple. Theo, their son, watched in horror as his parents became victims of verbal abuse. Alvin and Alicia remained defiant, their faces twisted in anger.

"As if we'd ever cut a deal with the likes of you... Section Commander," Alvin sneered, spitting on Sedgwick's boot.

Infuriated, Sedgwick pressed his boot against Alvin's face. Alicia cried out in protest, tears streaming down her face.

"Mom... Dad..." Theo whispered, his voice trembling with emotion.

David grabbed Theo's arm and motioned to stay back and hide.

"Take a look at what we've got here! Seems to be such a happy couple, wouldn't you say?" Sedgwick jeered, his soldiers egging him on.

"To honor you in holy matrimony, I'll send you to the grave together!" Sedgwick cackled, his laughter echoing across the burning town.

Alvin and Alicia clung to each other, their love and defiance unbroken. Amidst their torment, Alvin caught sight of Theo and his friends hiding in the distance. Relief flooded through him, and he smiled. Life returned to Alvin at that moment, and he knew that even in the face of death, his family's love would endure through Theo.

With a fierce grip on Alicia's hand, Alvin's voice reverberated through the air. "Live! You hear me! Live and change this world!" 

Alvin's words were a sincere cry to his son, Theodore, and the heavens above, his desperate plea for hope in a world that had lost its way. But Sedgwick had other plans. He mind-wiped Alvin and Alicia in one swoop. Their lifeless bodies crumpled to the ground. Sedgwick's cruelty knew no bounds. He raised his finger, aimed it like a gun, and fired a beam of Dyna through Alvin's skull, adding insult to injury. 

His men cackled with laughter as Sedgwick taunted the trembling townsfolk who remained in line. "What a lunatic. The man just started spouting nonsense out of nowhere. So, who is next?"

Theo's world shattered before his eyes when he watched his parents' murder in cold blood. Consumed by rage, he couldn't sit idly by any longer. Something inside him snapped, and with a fierce determination, he broke free from David's grip. In a frenzy, Theo charged toward Sedgwick and his soldiers, driven by a burning desire for justice.