Two

The war of wits and skills between the two sides begins.

CHAPTER TWO

"You", he said.

"Yeah it's me", Shawn said. "It's been awhile since our last encounter. I mean we've only met three other times but this is the first time we've actually been face to face alone", Jason said.

Shawn held his sword, which was still unsheathed and slung it on his shoulder. "What? You're going to fight me? Kill me?"

"Fight you, yes. Kill you, that's a different story", Shawn said. He unsheathed his sword and ran straight at him. Jason's eyes widened slightly in shock then pleasant surprise. "Good. You're better than those trash. We should have fought back then. But then it would probably have been you instead of Matthias who would have been left behind. Then all my problems would have been over".

Shawn swung his sword at him. Left and right. With his hands in his pockets, Jason casually dodged both. "How did you find out? Did one of your spies tell you?"

Shawn stopped to answer. "No. I know your MO. You killed those four men and dumped them on that couple's doorstep. I know the way you think".

Jason's eyebrows went up. "Do you now? I think you're getting a little cocky just because of one little victory", he said. He jumped up and planted his feet on one of the pillars. Then jumped from pillar to pillar and then jumped down with his blade pressing his weight against it and pushing Shawn back.

He proceeded to support it with an onslaught of attacks. Shawn countered each blow. Jason increased the flurry of his sword strikes. "It's amazing you can keep up", he said. "Don't look down on me", Shawn said.

Jason stopped. "Before you go any further, can I ask you a question? Why are you fighting me? For what purpose? Have you even thought about what happens after you win? What next? Who's going to become the next ruler? You? I don't think so. We both know, you're not ready", he said.

Shawn looked down. "You're a rebellious group fighting for freedom. And you don't want to be in charge. So who do you want to be in charge? Hugo? Or someone else? If you don't have someone then don't oppose me!"

"True. But your way isn't any better. You're just a child throwing a tantrum because the world isn't the way you want it to be".

Jason sniggered then guffawed. "You hypocrite! We're all children! We all don't like the way the world works. From childhood we've always wanted to change the way things are for our good, foolishly believing that what's good for us is good for everyone. When we grow up we don't mature it's only our pursuit of this that does. You're no different from me, wanting to change things without even thinking it through. You're more of a child than I am!"

"I know your people are surrounding me even as we speak. I wonder what they will think of you now. You speak of being condescending. But did you ever dream that I saw this trap? That I also brought backup?"

There was the sound of a scuffle outside. Then a wall was blown in and Lisa and Thalia walked in. Thalia dusted off her hands. Thalia responded to Jason's glare by saying "they were a piece of cake. We can go now".

Lisa looked at Shawn. Then she looked away. "Where's junior?" Shawn asked. "Oh I'm here", came a voice. "You just can't see me". "I hope you aren't beating yourself about that loss. You made the right choice. Jerry would have annihilated whoever stepped into the ring", Jason said. "He's not as...restrained as I am". Jason saw Thalia shaking her head. "Don't worry. Teslar likes it fun. He's particularly interested. He gave me the go ahead".

"Are you sure?" Jerry asked. "Why are you scared?" Jason sneered.

"Jason", Thalia said. Jason regained his cold calm composure. "Sorry. It seems our time is up. Let's play again, shall we? I hope by then...you would have found someone fitting to be ruler", he said . The three of them turned to leave.

"Lisa", Shawn said. Lisa turned around. The two stared at each other and meaning was transferred through their eyes. Shawn wanted Lisa to turn. Lisa's response. You're mistaken if you think you can manipulate me. I'm not the weak link you think I am.

Sherry came up behind Shawn. "Should we give chase?" she asked. Shawn shook his head. "Hey, are you alright?" Shawn nodded. "He's right. We have to find someone suitable".

Sherry looked worried. "But Shawn, there's something else Jason said. Maybe you missed it".

"What's that?"

"How are you sure that even if you find a good leader they won't end up becoming like Teslar or Jason?"

 

Nascar looked up as the crew returned. "Well you all look simply radiant", she said. She was referring to the depressing mood that seemed to follow us as we came towards the camp. She had been against the plan from the start. I hated it when she was right. She loved to rub it in.

"Where's Max?"

"Asleep", she said. I scowled. "Doesn't he give a crap?" I asked. She shook her head. "Not unless it's actually going somewhere no."

"Well if he has some plans of his own why not share them?" I asked exasperated.

"You don't approve of his methods, remember? Besides why so uptight? What happened?" Nascar said turning to Sherry.

"Jason and Shawn talked. It wasn't pleasant", she said.

"He ambushed"-"I wasn't talking to you Shawn. I was talking to Sherry. Besides you need to wake Max up. He's been idle long enough. He needs a job".

I grinned. "I know just the thing".

 

Max looked at me. "Really, you want me to find potential alternatives to Jason? Isn't that kind of job demeaning?" he said. There was no other way to say it. Max was lazy. The only thing he did with full energy was dangerous jobs. And since he had been idle for some time now we thought of nobody better than him for the job.

"Not at all", Sherry said. I nodded. "Jason knows that any alternatives would be a threat to his position. I'm sure his soldiers are hunting them down as we speak. It's a dangerous job. In fact he's probably already killed most of them and the others..." my voice trailed off.

Nascar looked at Max. "You better take this job. Or the next time you have injuries and come to me to fix you up, I'm going to do some tweaking", she said glaring at him. And she meant every word.

Max yawned. "Fine. I'll go". He paused as if thinking about something. "Come to think of it. There were two rulers who I had the chance of meeting some time back. One was Barbara. She used to be the 'ice' queen. But ever since she lost her crown I hear she became a different person. I think losing her daughter to Teslar had something to do with it".

Shawn got ready to ask Max a few questions when Nascar caught his eye. Back off, the look said.

"The next is Mira. She has a score to settle with Jason. She doesn't like him one bit."

"That's great. We can use someone like her. But what did Jason do to her?" Sherry asked.

"Oh, he killed her father".

Max got up and stretched himself. We looked at each other. A ruler bent on revenge wasn't exactly what we were looking for. "Are we sure we want someone like that?" I asked the question that was on everyone's minds.

Nascar jerked her thumb at Max. "Leave it to Max. He usually a good judge of character", she said.

 

Her name was Mira-neth. She was sixteen. A hunter living in the woods, away from any civilization, she bid her time. Her father had once been the ruler and owner of the Castle that Teslar resided in.

Mira herself knew little about Teslar. Who he was and how he came to be. All she knew was that he'd managed to turn her father's generals against them, promising them great power. And then...he wiped out all the people with abilities. It was terrible.

Many of them died from losing their powers instantly. Their bodies couldn't adjust quickly enough to the change. It was the biggest mass murder in history.

But it wasn't Teslar who had killed her father. Years later whilst living quietly in their village, a boy in his late teens showed up and killed her father. Mira herself had been away gathering fruit. She came back to see him standing over the corpse with a gaunt expression on his face. And then it was gone. The transformation was so quick she wondered if her eyes had tricked her.

"You're Mira right? Daughter of the fallen king?"

Mira grit her teeth. "His name is Jared, you", she rushed at him. He slapped her with the back of his hand. "Whatever." He turned around and started walking towards her. "Should I kill you now?" he said. He swung his bloody sword around, causing the blood to splash on the walls.

I moved backwards. My cheek was throbbing like crazy. But not as crazy as him.

"Who are you? Why did you kill my father?"

He shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Since you will be following him". Mira raised her hands to shield herself as he raised his blade to attack. Then he stopped. He looked at her queerly. "Why don't you use your ability?" he asked. Mira looked at him confused. "What ability?" she asked.

He stroked his chin, deep in thought. "I guess it's been sealed. In that case"- he placed his sword back in its sheath. "I guess I will have to postpone your execution. I hear the abilities of the royal lineage are something to behold. I wouldn't want to kill you before you develop them".

He exited.

Mira ran to her father, even though she knew it was too late.

Her tears fell on his face. As she looked down, she saw the locket around his neck. She tore it off. And it glowed in her hands. She clenched it tightly.

 

Max

He used to be naive, in some way just like Shawn. However his own experiences had taught him that one couldn't hope to win without sacrificing something. However in his case he hadn't learnt that lesson until by trying not sacrifice anything, he'd ended up sacrificing everything. Personally, Max preferred to see what path Shawn would take and what transformation he would go through. He didn't care about the war or its outcome even if it meant dying.

Both he and Nascar were over ninety years old, yet they seemed as vibrant as any normal thirty year old. Science had finally reached the stage where immortality was within reach. Extending life wasn't simply about lying sick in a bed on life support. But everything came with a price.

Max didn't know much about Nascar's physiology. But he knew his own pretty well. He had an amazing healing factor, and wings of fire that could become tentacles or just flames for defence and attack. His wings of fire were blue, flames black. Different shades for different attacks. In some cases he could even produce smoke.

He'd been tortured endlessly. Being one of the only people with such healing abilities, their first attempts to kill him didn't work. A swift death was too quick for me so they decided to bleed me dry. Unfortunately for them he used them as blood banks. It was the first and only time he fed on humans.

Yes, immortality came with a price. He couldn't walk in the sun for days on end like most humans and thus he got his energy from feeding from other day animals.

Max had only mentioned Barbara's name. He had no intention of recruiting her. She had been the one who'd ordered his torture. He didn't care if she'd changed. There was no guarantee that she wouldn't change back if they won.

He had been travelling for twelve days. By camel, foot or any means of transport he could find.

He was now close to the last place he'd seen Mira. Deep in the woods away from all civilization. The wooden shack was still standing. He sniffed around. In addition to his flames, Max's senses were heightened. His sense of smell and hearing rivalled that of wolves and his eyes that of raptors.

He could still smell Mira's scent. It was very strong, meaning she still lived in the area. He heard the sound of something approaching very fast. He moved out of the way in time. It sank into a tree. It was an arrow.

Mira herself followed seconds later. "Hey you", she said. "What are you doing here?"

They'd met once in the past and had become quick friends. Max wasn't someone who made friends easily. Mira was living in the jungle miles away from any other humans. Both were outcasts and they quickly bonded.

"What are you doing here?" Mira repeated. "Hey, is that anyway to address a comrade you haven't seen in awhile?" Max said.

Mira shook her head. "Quit it, I can tell when you're faking", she said. Max stopped smiling. "You got me", he said. "You're not just here to say hi, are you?" she asked looking him in the eyes. "No. I need your help", she said.

She turned around. "Wait, where are you going? You haven't heard what I have to say yet".

"I think this is going to take some time. We'll have to talk over some dinner", she said. "So come one let's go inside".

When Max finished speaking Mira was silent for awhile."I see. So you want me to help you bring down Jason?" she asked sceptically. "Yes." "I'm just trying to make sure we're on the sam page. You do know that there's a chance that I will"-"Give in to revenge and become a ruler even worse than Jason? Probably", Max said nodding. "Something tells me you're limited in choice if you had to pick me."

"Oh don't be too flattered. You're one of our prospective rulers not our final choice".

"Who's the other one?" Mira asked.

Max didn't bother to ask how she knew there was only one other candidate. "Barbara", Max said in a gruff voice. Mira sat up. "That Barbara?" she asked. Max nodded. Her face creased with lines of concern, her eyes washed over Max. "Are you...sure?" she asked slowly. "I'm not going to kill her if that's what you're asking. At least not yet. I thought about it but I will only do it if she turns against us".

Mira nodded. "Then again you could just be saying that because telling someone like me that you would accept her outright would be the dumbest lie you could tell".

She examined him. And he looked back at her. "I'm close to a hundred years", Max said. "It took almost half of that to become what I am. You're only sixteen. What the hell happened?" he asked.

"Do I detect a hint of sympathy or concern in your voice?" Mira teased. She picked up the paper plates and disposed of them. Then she turned around to face Max. " I thought we were like minds and we understood each other", she said. "I know why you are like this I just don't understand why you go this way so fast". "And you also know that our kind don't like to talk about the past", she said.

She moved into another room and opened up her drawer. "I'm going with you", she called out. "Any opportunity to get back at Jason is one I'm open to. To be honest I thought you would come sooner." "You mean you've been waiting all this time?" he asked feigning surprise.

"Come on Max. You're not that stupid. I told you . You can't hide certain things from me".

Max got up and decided to move around the little house, examining how it had changed since he'd last been here. It hadn't. Everything was exactly in the same place, including her pictures of her family. One was a beautiful one taken of her mother.

"You never talk about your mother", Max said. "Oh, yeah. She left us when we were little", Mira said, still busily packing.

"Us? You never told me you had siblings", Max said.

Mira stopped packing. "Listen Max", she said. "I'm fine. I don't need your help. And if you ever feel the need to help me. Do me a favour, don't".

Max grinned. "Aren't you forgetting something?" he said, his eyes gleaming.

"What?"

"Our kind never listen", he said.

 

 

"So what was that about", Shawn asked Nascar for the umpteenth time. Nascar rolled her eyes. "Will you give it up already?" Nascar asked. Shawn shook his head. "If Max and Barbara share a connection then I need to know what exactly it is. From my observation he and Barbara didn't part  on very good terms. It has something to do with her daughter perhaps?"

Nascar , whose back was already turned continued fiddling with her scientific instruments. "Not telling", she said.

"Come on", Shawn pressed. Nascar turned around, her eyes flashed in anger. "Don't you have something to get back to?" she asked. She was referring to Oreus's training. Shawn rolled his eyes.

Oreus appeared behind him. "You ready?' he said eagerly. Shawn scowled.

The two of them left.

 

Jason sat in his couch idling away. Thalia came in. "They've began to move", she said. "How do you know this?" he asked.

"They were spotted moving around in the forest".

Jason immediately sat up. "They? How many are they?"

"Just two. Max and a girl with dirty blonde hair", Thalia said glancing at Max suspiciously. "Was that the special someone you were eager to see? Could it perhaps be Mira, the daughter of the king?" she asked. She folded her arms. "Why is she still alive?"

Jason sighed. "Teslar likes to have fun and I do too. So far as I have everything planned out nothing will go wrong. And if it does it will at least be a little entertaining. It's kind of boring if you're playing without any handicaps. Especially when everyone else is so slow", he said.

Fury started to build up in Thalia but she said nothing. "What will you do when you've had your fun?" she asked. Jason stood up and stretched. "Isn't it obvious? By the time I've had my fun they will already be dead", he said.

Lisa entered the room . She could sense the tension in it. The two of them stared at her. "Whoa", she said. "Did something happen?" she asked. "Yes. Could you do something for me? I want you to pay a visit to ...a playmate of mine", he said

"It's Max and Mira isn't it?" Lisa asked. "What? Who told you?" he asked. "You did. Right now", she said. Jason covered his forehead. "I told you not to do that", he said. "I feel... violated whenever you use your telepathy on me".

"Max could be a problem. Lisa isn't exactly suited to fight someone like him? Wouldn't it be better if I went?" Thalia asked.

Jason shook his head."No. I need Lisa to draw out Mira's abilities. If someone like you went you might end up killing her with your brute force", he said. "Besides. Don't worry about Max. I have a plan to deal with him", he said.

"Raven?" Thalia asked. Jason looked at her, startled. "I don't need to read you mind in such cases. You're cruel Jason", she said smiling. "Not half as cruel as you", Jason responded.

 

"Hey Shawn", Oreus asked as we sparred. "Do you ever wonder what your life would have been like? If you didn't have to be the rebellion leader?"

I paused. "Well, I've usually been so busy trying to live up to my parents image that I haven't really given it much thought. I guess I'm afraid I might actually ran away and become something else if I entertain the thought".

"But still", Oreus said. "Your parents are dead. You're your own person. Do you really have to do what they want?"

I sighed. A memory flashed in my head. "Even if I decided to quit and ran away Nascar and Max would just hunt me down and bring me back", I said.

Oreus laughed. "That's a joke right?" he said. I shook my head. "It actually happened once. Almost nine months after the incident. I wanted to leave because things weren't going well. Even though I was half a day ahead, they managed to catch me in two nights".

Oreus whistled. "Yeah. Apparently Max' senses are more acute than most."

I looked at Oreus. "What about you? You seem awfully chatty. Why don't you tell me about your past?" I asked.

Oreus bowed his head. "Well, I don't know", he said. I knew about his past. He'd been found as a baby in a war torn town and adopted and raised by Atlas's crew. But I was testing him.

"Come on Shawn, that's cheap". I turned around. It was Sherry. I smiled. "You want to take charge here?" I asked. "No", she said. 'I think he's had enough training. He needs to see a real battle."

Oreus had been trained but not the same ardous training I had been through. He had been kept out of the battlefield as well. So he hadn't seen a real battle before.

Oreus sat down and looked at us eagerly. "Fight!" he yelled. I smirked." He's just like a kid", I said.

Sherry took out her sword. It shone in the sun and blinded me for a second. I instinctively moved backwards. A second later I saw her sword hurtling through the air right towards me. I dodged it but it parted into two swords. I kicked one aside and dove in straight for here.

A spear crashed into the ground right in front of me, stopping my advance. "I'm not as defenceless in short range as you think", she said.

I looked up as I started to run sideways. There were more than two dozen spears in the air.

"Shawn", Nascar said. We stopped fighting and I turned around. "Stop playing around", she said. "It's time for your daily session".

My daily session. Even after five years I was still undergoing therapy. Not just because of what happened during the incident but what I had been forced to do in the subsequent years. Killing people always left its mark on a person. But Nascar was there to help me through those times.

In her lab she had a brain machine. It was a virtual reality machine and a brain scanner combined.

I sat down and entered the arc shaped thing. Then I closed my eyes.

When I opened them I was in a field, drenched with blood. Corpses everywhere. Max and Sherry, Nascar and someone who didn't look familiar but I felt I should know. By her young appearance I guessed it was Mira. Barbara was nowhere to be seen.

And standing in the field, surrounded by all their corpses, was him. Jason.

He smiled at me. I had seen this scene before. Many times before. In my dreams and here. And it got me every time. Every time it was a different simulation. 'It's just an illusion", I muttered under my breath. "Just an illusion". But it felt so real, I thought. Sometimes, a lot of the time, I got lost in this reality and Nascar was forced to pull me back out again. She was placing me in the worst case scenarios. Letting me get a handle of the worst if it ever happened.

Today's lesson however took it up a notch.

Teslar was right behind him. I could have sworn he wasn't there a second ago. What was going on?

We both stared at each other. "It's been awhile since we last fought", he said in a tone that sent a chill down my spine. "This time I won't be holding back", he said. "Well, what will you do?" he asked. "All your friends are dead. Aren't going to try and avenge them? Or can you even dare?"

He was trying to push my buttons. But that wasn't like the Jason I knew. Jason didn't try to push my buttons. He just knew. He knew what made me upset or what made me angry. And it was his silence that pressured me the most. Not knowing what new trick he had up his sleeve.

"When we fought, you didn't seem to have real killing intent", I said. "Your focus was somewhere else. On someone else. There's someone you want dead even more than me. And we both know who that is", I said.

He smiled again. "Who said I wanted you dead?" He took out his sword. "I'm only going to keep you alive so that you can suffer for the rest of your life knowing that you failed and not being able to do anything about it. Enough talking", he said.

The conversation had helped calm my nerves. I was able to focus more on him and as I did the field of crimson disappeared and a white field of cotton replaced it, surrounded by buildings. I didn't think much of it at the time.

He moved first. Since we had no idea what Jason's ability was the program always came up with a new ability for him every time.

Our swords clashed. His speed increasing with each strike. I was being pushed back and I could barely keep up. Would I be forced to use my ability so soon, I thought. But that would be disadvantageous.

"Aren't you going to attack? At this rate, you will be dead before you get a chance to counterattack", he said.

I decided to use my ability. Nothing happened. I blinked and tried again. Still nothing. No way, I thought. He somehow managed to nullify my powers. "Like I said. At this rate", my sword missed his last strike and his sword moved towards my chest area, "you will be dead". My eyes opened in fear.

I started to move back but then changed my mind and moved forward. "As expected", he said. His sword struck my flesh and I bit my lip to stop from screaming in pain. I grabbed his hand and swung my sword in his direction.

His hand slipped through my fingers and he moved out of the way in time. Convenient.

At least I had his sword still in me. Without his sword he would be considerably handicapped. All I needed was to take a healing potion and take it out...

He held his hand, brandishing another sword.

I pulled his first sword out and brought out a healing potion. He didn't wait for me to get it before he attacked. I parried his attack with one hand whilst I drank the potion for another. The potion would enable me to heal from any wound for three minutes. Which means I had three minutes to find out his weakness. Three minutes or die. Without abilities I had a zero percent chance of winning against him.

But if Jason did have abilities, why hadn't he managed to kill me? Was there something preventing him from doing so? Or was it...?

"Your ability is your speed", I said not realizing I had spoken out loud. "What rash behaviour", he said. "You're going to wish you had kept that knowledge to yourself. Because even if you know my ability you won't be able to defeat me".

He launched a flurry of attacks at me. His attacks before were at a turtle's pace compared to this. And yet he didn't go for the killing blow. Of course, he'd said he didn't want to kill me. But he could still wound me, what was he waiting for.

"Behind you", he cautioned. I turned around. His sword was already halfway to my throat. Stretching out this fight was going to be disadvantageous to me. His speed would wear down my stamina.

His left leg lashed out and kicked me, knocking the wind out of me. He reached for my head and smashed it against his knee.

Then he smashed his elbow into my belly.

Teslar came up behind him. "Don't manhandle him", he said. "If you do he won't be awake for the show", he said. I could barely sit up. "What show?" I asked.

A beam of light burned through his shoulder. "That show", he said. My eyes opened when I saw where the light came from.

"Dad?"

 

Reviews

[Nana]

Nice one there. That virtual reality thing sounds creepy.