Shift

[Andromeda]

Another day passed. Each passing day made it feel even more likely for them that Glykeria’s comment would become the truth. None of them were pleased with the situation. No further orders came to them. It meant nothing by waiting on something likely never to happen. Their strength held in reserve as a pointless effort. Others were granted the entertainment.

The five members of the Titans all had different views on the subject. Their feelings on the matter ranged as wildly as their personalities. It was only through power Rheia remained following the General’s orders. Power commanded and kept order, it was the only way with individuals with such extremes. Like Demosthenes to her, she held the Titans in check through the same means.

Rheia dropped her hand on the stone long table. The recent intel from the field agents tracking the intruders faded away. Their failures gave them some thoughts on being able to do something, but the signs remained clear. “That ends the meeting. Report back in twelve hours.” She leaned in her rigid chair as though it was comfortable. “Dismissed.”

“Boring!” shouted Glykeria with a tune in her voice. She darted around the room in an erratic pattern before breaking for the door. The massive stone door made no sign of budging for her. In the last second, a small break in one of the doors cracked and a makeshift door appeared swinging open for her. It was just the right height for her to make it through. Once through, it closed behind her and any sign of it disappeared.

Following behind her, Nereus walked away from the table. “Their continued successes may make them worth some small notice.” There seemed to be a bit of curiosity in his voice as he made for the door. The stone forcibly made an inelegant opening for him. It did not seem to want to touch him or perhaps the opposite. Behind him, the stone returned to normal.

Ourias remained disinterested during the entire meeting. His pace out of the room nearly caught him up to Nereus, despite being slower in acting. “Doors are nothing,” he commented mysteriously. The material of the stone seemed to shift and alter into a mist-like form as he passed through.

“Doesn’t really matter much if they show up or not. It won’t change anything,” Teris remarked on his leaving. He disappeared suddenly from sight in mid-stride not taking any concern for the door.

Her fist tightened up shaking a little. “They better show up.” The aggravated tone in her voice marked something deeper insider her. She stood up sharply and made for the door. Her gaze went somewhere else, not giving the door any mind as she approached. When it came time to meet the door in an unforgiving fashion, she simply passed through it as though it held no form to her. She acknowledged none of it, making for the hallway in a brisk pace.

Chapter 227 – Walking Titans

Even though she left not much later than the other Titans, none of them were in the empty hallway. It was nothing that concerned her. She already knew where she stood with all of them. She knew too well their positions, repeated attempts made no change in it. She was stuck.

Eventually, the halls began to fill with members passing through. They were all eyes she recognized. They knew her. Many kept a wide margin between her.

Such behavior barely even made her notice anymore. She dealt with such fear for so long that she simply accepted it as her way of life. In the past, it annoyed her to no end. It pushed her to rage. Something she never realized, but the reaction they had of her currently was likely the result of her emotions to how she acted in the past. Unfortunately for her, the damage was long done. The effect she had on people could never be undone. It left her in an endless state.

The morning routine for her brought her just outside the main building of Omega. It was a large complex housing hundreds of soldiers, all gifted with the power. Among the Capital, it stood as one of the three most recognizable structures, only the Palace and Academy had equal prominence. The Omega Division complex was smaller than the academy, which had to support thousands, but stretched high into the sky. Its engineering was impossible with the materials it appeared to be made from, just another sign. However, it was not as majestic as the sprawling Palace in form or beauty. It was like a giant needle ugly, but always present stabbing towards the heart a millimeter at a time.

Outside, Rheia turned immediately once she left the threshold. She then started walking up the curved foundation of the build until she was completely horizontal. The walk up the wall was as though it was just the ground for her. About ten meters up the wall, she stopped. The view of the courtyard gave her an unobstructed sight on everyone passing through.

Gravity did little to stop her. Her spiky mess of hair stayed in place with the same look of waking up in the morning, mostly because it was actually the case. If someone looked at her from the right angle, she would have been mistaken for standing on the ground.

Below her, she watched with deep intent at the others passing through the halls of Omega. None of them escaped her sights. A fight between two bickering agents over a mission broke out to the side, few carried about (even less for Rheia). Several ran out, given the state of emergency in the country, they were likely just assigned to hunt down the intruders. Some were just not strong enough, which seemed a bit ironic for the elite of the MPs in Omega. However, the intruders’ strength had been measured and only the veterans deployed.

At the gate of the tall walls surrounding Omega, a young man stepped up to the imposing presence of the Omega Division. He had a clean and prepared appearance looking to make a good impression. However, most of his attention stuck to the giant structure. It was something always seen at a distance during the academy days. Those days reminded him of his friend, which pulled his eyes back to the stone path. It was fortunate for him, as someone waved to him. “There you are, Taras!” He rushed over to his friend’s side.

Taras threw out a hand to welcome him. “You made back safely!”

“Yes, is the news true about the South Gate?”

He shrugged a bit, since most of his intel was rumors. “Heard they were wiped out by a group of rebels.”

“That’s crazy! I never would have imagined I’d be living in another rebellion.”

“It’s a little surreal thinking about it. But that’s why they have Omega, right?”

“Have they already deployed?”

“The halls aren’t as crowded. But enough of that talk.” Taras stepped up alongside his friend. “How you doing, Elias?”

Elias tried to open his mouth for an answer, but failed. Something whizzed by his leg almost knocking him over. It took him a moment to regain his balance with the help of Taras. “What was that?” The blur he saw did not give him any clear sign of what bumped him.

Craning his neck around, Taras looked for what struck his friend. The sight of a bright pink haired child jumped out amongst the subdued colors surrounding them. He knew immediately. “That’s Lieutenant Commander Glykeria, one of the Titans, or rather one of her dolls that hit you. She likes use the courtyard in the morning to play.”

“A Titan?!” It took him back to see a Titan already. They were the elite, so he did not expect to see them around like one of Omega agents. “I heard stories about them, but to actually see them this close.” However, Glykeria’s appearance gave him an odd feeling. “Is she a new member?”

“No, I heard she’s one of the more veteran members. I think she’s been with them for ten years or so.”

“Ten years?” He looked closer at her, questioning his friend’s knowledge. “That can’t be right.”

Taras looked at Elias closely with words in his eyes. “Think about it.”

It did not immediately pick up to him what Taras implied, but it did not take long. “Oh, really?” Taras nodded to him. There was not a lot more that needed to be said. It made sense to him, but it seemed that Taras knew nothing more with the short answer. The sight of her running off to the main building distracted him from his friend, still piecing things together. It surprised him to see her suddenly climbing the wall of the building with only her hands, her feet dangling free with no support.

Glykeria climbed the wall as though it was as natural as walking. When she made it up to Rheia’s position, she stopped and let one hand go free. Her body remained unfazed as she appeared to be leaning against the wall with only the one hand keeping her attached from falling. “What’s up, Ray!” Her bubbly attitude pulled no response from Rheia. “Looking for fresh meat?” She glanced down at the ground.

Rheia caught sight of one she did not recognize entering the walls. ‘A new member…’ Her eyes narrowed as everything focused in on the new MP stepping through. A young man bright eyed still filled with eagerness. Their voices carried to her, despite the impossible distance.

“So Elias…you finally made into Omega,” his friend said with some excitement. “I knew you could do it!”

“Still can’t believe it.” He seemed a little embarrassed. His eyes glossed over everything. It was too much to take in with his mindset. “After I got dumped out in the North Gate, I thought I’d never be able to get in.”

Taras laughed a bit and grabbed him with a hardy hug at his shoulder. “Now we can do missions together here like we always dreamed, Elias! Just remember, things are more cutthroat around here.”

“Uh huh…” Something caught his eye. In all his staring, he discovered Rheia. It was an unusual sight, even if he understood how she managed it. He hardly expected to see someone just standing on the wall staring like a hawk over everyone.

“Something wrong? Getting nervous?”

“Who’s that?”

“Oh stay away from her, that’s Commander Rheia of the Titans.”

The man’s eyes grew in surprise, not expecting to find the infamous Rheia out among everyone. Her name was enough to make him start to sweat a little. Despite only be the third most powerful MP in the country, he was more afraid of her than the others in front of her. “Are the stories true?”

“Worse, she’s killed several of her teachers from what I heard during her early days in Omega. She regularly almost kills anyone that challenges her. So don’t even think about her, Elias.”

A small gasp came out of his mouth. The rumors seemed true. He remembered the Academy always a buzz with stories about her, usually ones meant to scare children. “Is it true what they say? She accepts anyone’s challenge regardless of rank?”

“Yes, that’s why I said don’t even think about her. You know why she’s standing up there, right?”

“Huh?”


“It’s an open challenge. She’s asking anyone that can meet her up there for a fight. There’s too many idiots and cocky bastards in here that can only think of the glory of taking her down.” His friend looked over at him checking on his condition. It seemed he was not afraid enough, more curious. “You know why she asks them to fight up there?”

Elias turned his head back down to his friend, distracted by the sight. “Why?”

“It’s a test she’s giving. Most of us don’t have laws setup in our fields to stand like that. So you have modify your field just to fight her, which will throw anyone off. Then if you’re not smart, you have a ten meter drop if you’re lucky. Most end up with broken backs or bodies just from slipping up in the first ten seconds, if they last that long.”

The more he heard the more it amazed him. She was unlike any other MP he knew. “Is that her fighting style?” Despite her name being widely known, few actually knew what her law set was actually. No one lasted long enough to discover it.

“Of course not! It’s just a test. Though no one I’ve seen has lasted more than twenty seconds against her, except one.”

“Who was that?”

“Sergeant Commander Nereus of the Titans and he’s only the 8^th strongest of them.”

“What?! I thought the Titans were all really close in strength.”

“Most of them are, Commander Rheia is the exception. Even the 2^nd strongest of the Titans doesn’t even compare to her.”

“Scary,” he remarked, despite his curious of her still growing.

His friend grabbed his shoulder tightly. “So just listen to my warning, don’t even think about approaching her. She’s out of your league, everyone here in Omega in fact. She won’t even think for a second about killing you if you consider challenging her.”

The young man nodded to his friend, understand his worry. “Alright, I get what you’re saying.”

“Good, because I want you to live a good long life. We’ve got missions to do!”

Rheia’s brow lowered a little when they finally started moving again. It looked to be another fruitless day for her. However, she would remain waiting against hope.

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

A pointless meeting. It was over. Nothing was ever going to happen. That was the reality. The others wished or hoped against reality. It was pointless. Nothing would change. Accepting the facts as they always had been was the only way. Nothing would happen.

He only kept going because it was an order. She commanded it. The look in her eyes was very clear. He saw how much she wanted it. They were but trash. ‘Rheia should not be giving them even a moment of her attention. They aren’t worth our time.’ All of the forces sent against them would be enough. Nothing would change.

“Nereus!” shouted a familiar voice through the stone walls. They purposely made their voice difficult to pinpoint by making it travel through the walls. “I’m going to take my rightful spot back today!”

Nereus ignored the voice even though he knew exactly who it was. He continued his slow walk through the hall. Only one other person was in the hall making it the usual perfect timing to stage an ambush without having interruption. However, the hallway closed off suddenly. The stone grew out in uniform shapes seamlessly to seal off his path forward.

A ripple came out from his feet. He tested the area making evaluations. Passing him with no interest in the quarrel, Ourias made a brisk pace for the blockage. “A wall of stone is but like a mist in the forest, without form.” The stone suddenly change form to turn into thin particles of vapor. He passed through without interruption. A few seconds later, it reverted to stone again.

His eyes narrowed a little, already working out the factors. ‘How strong is that man?’ thought Nereus. The words themselves were meaningless against a like person. His field gave him strength and the real reason it worked. However, the distance he affected it from was more than Nereus believed the man capable. ‘He’s only ranked twelfth among us, but he made easy work of it. Their strength should not be very disparate.’

The matter required more thought, but it was not something afforded for him. Several extrusions from the wall shot out for him. However, they came to a halt a meter away stopped by something. It was almost invisible, but a ripple ran through the impossibly thin surface. It was water. “You would better spend your time challenging Ourias than myself. It was not I who took your seat.”

“Silence!” they shouted again. Rumbles ran through the stone reacting to their voice. “You’re the reason I’m no longer a Titan!”

Another barrage came after him, but it had the same effect. The difference was clear. “It was the 8^th seat I took, not the 12^th.”

“You displaced me!”

“You were the weakest. It’s only natural. It is the way the Titans work.”

“Arrogant bastard!”

A bit of his eyebrow raised. Nereus began walking forward forcibly using his field to make a path for him. “Despite the number of times you call me arrogant, I only speak the truth. It is just the way things are. Until you become stronger you will not be able to join.” There was no condescending tone in his voice, just matter of fact. He did not seem to hold any ill-will towards the man. And why should he, he was not his equal or comrade. He was at least alive, unlike so many others. “I’ve given you your opportunity. Good day, Seilenos.” Nereus had nothing more to say to the man and left.

Chapter 228 – Peak Walkers

Outside the confines of Omega, Ourias walked through the crowded streets of the Capital. He forewent his uniform, preferring more simple cloths, a tunic and pants. Amongst the smaller structures he felt a little more comfortable. The giant needle behind him of Omega still cast a long shadow. But under the cloth overhangs and sandwiched buildings, he felt like he could hide a little from their sights. It was better being outside.

He went up to a storefront, it was just a table with a handmade goods. Inside, he could see it was their home. Many of the shops in were just like it. He browsed through casually not completely sure for what he searched. The middle-aged woman smiled at him waiting for him.

It took him a few minutes, but he found it. “I’ll take this one,” he answered, picking it up. However, when he started to hand it over someone bumped into him. It was enough force to turn him part way around and lose hold of the item. He looked back to see what happened.

Two MP users stood behind him. The one that bumped into him looked annoyed at the disruption. It did not help that Ourias showed no sign of fear towards him, unlike the woman. She immediately recognized his white uniform and started to try to pull away. “What you looking at old man?” they barked, leaning in to invade his space.

Ourias no longer held any interest in them. He saw where it headed fast. ‘Typical…’ His eyes looked down in search of what he dropped.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought!” The young man started to walk away with his friend following up. It seemed like they would let things go.

However, when Ourias moved to pick up the trinket, acid bubbled moving for his hand. He was able to get away in time, but the trinket was almost completely ruined. The acid destroyed the paint and carved into the metal making it two pieces.

The same as before, just enough to scare, but not to actually harm. There was never a danger of that. Even they knew not to act so reckless.

Ourias stood up holding the remains of the accessory in his hand. He started to dig around for coin. “How much was it?”

The frightened woman needed a little more time to recover. She could not answer him immediately. It took Ourias helping her back to her feet to be able to speak. “Are you hurt, sir?”

“Just a little startle, nothing more,” he replied, shaking his head. He played it all off. “How are you?”

“Oh fine!” She tried to look brave. It was a common occurrence, but it did not change that each encounter could turn dangerous with the slightest of mistakes. “If I didn’t feel so damn much about the home I’ve lived in my whole life I’d pack up and leave. Adelpha is always telling me how nice it is outside the Capital. They’re still out there too, but as long as you don’t live in the border towns it’s much better.”

He smiled a little, seeing that she looked to have recovered. “I’m same. If it wasn’t for my family I’d be out there too.” Ourias passed over the trinket to the woman.

“It’s broken! I’ll get you something else.” She started looking over her table in search of something better.

“How much?” he insisted. His free hand held out a few coins.

The woman jumped up to her feet. She tried to refuse him. “But sir, it’s broke! I can’t ask you to pay for it.”

“It was my mistake, I’ll pay for it.”

She could see the stubbornness in his eyes. There was no chance of her convincing him otherwise. “Two brass.” Unfortunately, her answer did not go over well for him. He could see through her lie and insisted further. “Fine, it was four silver.”

“Thank you,” he smiled, handing over the coin for it. Ourias walked off. Once out of sight, he closed his hand over the broken accessory. “It returned to its original form as though the acid never touched it.” Lifting his hand, the trinket was no longer damage, returned to its original condition.

A distant explosion broke the peace he held. Everyone around him ran off frightened at what happened. He tilted his head back in the direction of the explosion. Smoke rose from damage on the spire of the Omega complex. ‘Teris again...’ Ourias turned away no longer concerned.

Coughing escaped through the heavy clouds of smoke. Nothing could be seen through thickness. The explosion left everything ringing. Light broke in through the hole carved out roughly by the blast.

Sifting through the smoke, a young man fumbled around in search. “Where are you, sir? Are you alright?” He could not find the one he sought. The smoke was still too thick for him to find anything. In his search, he did find the table, which he knocked over by accident, at least the remains of it. He stumbled around trying to recover his stance. “Captain Lieutenant!?”

Another couple of coughs turned his head. He found a direction to move. Broken glass crunched under foot as he rushed over to the sound. Some of the smoke thinned enough for him to make out a shape. “Captain Lieutenant Teris! Sir!” He came rushing to his superior’s side finally discovering him propped up against the wall, next to him the wall stopped with a startling view of the city below.

Teris grimaced a little as he looked up to his approaching aide. “Didymos…” The more smoke cleared out the scene of carnage unveiled itself. Blood dripped on the walls and pooled out across the floor. He seemed to ignore or not notice this fact as he pushed off the wall trying to stand. The moment he stumbled and almost fell, he realized something was wrong. “Oh right, my left leg and arm were blown off.”

“Sir!” yelled Didymos, running out to help Teris up. “You’re missing your leg and arm!”

His face went a little flat hearing his aide. “Yes, thank you for repeating me.” A chair materialized in his surviving hand allowing him to setup a place to sit. Didymos immediately started healing the damage. “You’re an idiot, Didymos.”

“Eh? Sir?” Didymos tilted his head up away from his work.

Testing his restored arm out, he confirmed everything worked correctly. “You have power used it when you need it. If there’s smoke in the room create a law to remove it. I wouldn’t have had to hear you shouting like a blind fool.”

His aide blinked a little not expecting to be berated by his superior, who nearly seemed to have killed himself. “But, sir—“

“You panicked and that’s a mistake. In the time you tried searching for me, I was able to administer a numbing agent and a clotting agent to slow the bleeding. You’re an Omega agent, you need to be able to act calmly and rationally even in dangerous situations or you’re useless. You’ll just get yourself killed.”

“Yes, sir!” It was the only thing he could say. He knew Teris was right. It was his mistake. The work on Teris’ body finished quickly. Freed up, Didymos could look around at the room. It used to be a laboratory for Teris, a well-reinforced one too. “What happened in here, sir? It looks like a bomb went off.”

Teris scratched his head. His mind was already sorting through the failure and understanding what went wrong with it. Didymos’ word eventually caught up to him mixed among his thoughts. “I was working on a new compound. I got the proportions wrong.” He stood up already better. “Like I always say, one failure is another path explored.”

“But, sir! It could have killed you! With the power you have, you could have made what you wanted perfectly the first time!”

The tall Atlantean looked back down at Didymos. His face narrowed a bit turning serious. “You can’t let your powers do everything otherwise you never learn anything.” He pushed his hand through the air causing it to ripple. Everything up to his elbow disappeared before he retrieved it along with a spherical vial. He took the cork top off and drank the contents. “Like this, in lame men’s terms it’s a restorative. The average citizen wouldn’t know it any different from the stuff people peddle on the streets. It actually increases the production of red blood cells to make up for the blood I lost. As a side effect, it boosts alertness and energy with making you very hungry and causes dehydration. So I know to drink plenty of water and snack frequently.”

Teris tossed the vial carelessly behind him. It vanished into particles before ever hitting the floor. “I know the exact composition of this and all the effects.” He walked around the mess towards the only thing in the room that did not look affected by the blast. Almost nothing remained in the room, yet the tall closet in the corner looked brand new. He opened the doors, shelves empty. “If I had the materials, I could create it by hand. The same goes for everything in there.” Teris motioned with his hand causing a large rift to open up next to him. Suddenly, vials started to pop on to the shelves filling it. “To use your powers means to understand them. If you don’t understand what they do you can’t use them to their fullest. This is basic field theory.”

Didymos had a little trouble still accepting Teris’ lecture. He understood what he said. It was commonsense, but he could not agree with the results. “But, sir! You destroyed your lab! Almost killed yourself! Maybe some knowledge is too dangerous. You’re one of the Titans, if we lost you—“

“Didymos!” snapped Teris, cutting him off. The unpacking finished and he closed the closet. He started to walk over to the hole in the wall. A ripple came out of his feet. “It’s just a title. It doesn’t rank my importance any higher.” The wall began repairing itself. “Besides, I knew how much I was using and the worst possible outcome. I wouldn’t have died. If you remember one thing from me. There is nothing, nothing, too dangerous to know. Growth is not possible without more knowledge.”

“Even if it is something you shouldn’t know?” He should not have said anything. Didymos knew it, but his mouth moved anyway. It was one too many questions.

Clapping his hands together, the lab started to rebuild itself. His wall returned to being the same clean white special reinforced concrete mix. “Of course, each has its uses. Knowing what you shouldn’t is even more important, because you can see when someone is going to come after you. If you know too little or just enough, it’s worse than knowing nothing or too much.”

Everything was fixed. Teris returned to his table with vials of his materials once more. He was ready to resume, undaunted by his failure. It did not take his eyes to know Didymos tried to sneak out. “Didymos.”

He froze, feeling caught. Thoughts of helping with the experience ran through his mind. Sweat dripped down his face. “Yes, sir?”

“It’s important to remember what I said. The times we live in hinge on you taking that to heart or else you won’t survive the future.”

Didymos felt relieved, but a little disturbed. He did not expect such an ominous warning from his superior. The almost deadly seriousness of his words made him take it to heart. “I understand, sir! I’ll carve your words into my mind.”

“You do that.” He began to lift the vial. His aide reached for the door wanting to leave quickly. “Didymos.”

Another chance, he dreaded it even more. “Yes, sir?”

“Close the door on your way out.”

He nodded and flung the door open. “I will, sir!”

Teris grinned a little. “Now this is where it started last time. So if I take this instead…”

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

It had finally happened. The lengthy journey of days had the end goal in sight. It seemed almost in reach. There was not going to be anything more to stop them. All they had to do was just going forward and cross the finish line. That should have been all that needed to be done.

Of course, nothing could be easy.

If it was easy, Yuki’s friend would not have to fight their entire way through Atlantis just to stop those wanting him dead. However, the ease or challenge of reaching the Capital was not important. The important matter for them was that they were stopped, again.

Yuki brought their traveling disc to a halt. “Damn, I thought I threw him off our trail.” The past hour had him trying to out-run or just simply out maneuver against their pursuer. Every time it seemed he succeeded the man showed up again. Escape seemed pointless.

“It was bound to happen, especially with how many we’ve been avoiding,” commented Ayumi. She leaned a little forward examining her surroundings. The risk for others was very high. They slipped past or escaped so many that she stopped keeping track of them past twenty.

Some frustration seemed to bubble up in Yuki. He looked back at the way they came. “You were doing so well, Ayumi! We only needed another twenty minutes and you wouldn’t have hit twenty-four hours!”

Sweat dripped down Ayumi’s head hearing his response. “That’s what you’re upset about? Our record being broken?”

“What?” he replied, almost completely obviously to the danger. “The travel is boring unless you make a game out of it.”

She could only sigh, dropping her head into her hand. “So much for maturing…”

“Huh?”

“Never mind…” Ayumi did not know why she should have expected anything different from him. But the comedy act had to come to an end. Their pursuer did not enjoy the lighter tone. He launched an attack quickly in the form of a purplish orb of energy. She lifted her arm up to deal with the attack, but Yuki appeared behind her. His arm stretched out matching her.

The particles of his power spread out in front of Ayumi. It deflected the orb away into the sky until it disappeared. Immediately, Yuki counterattacked swiping at the man. The particles hardened into an edge that sliced through the makeshift barrier setup. Their pursuer went down in an instant. “It’s done,” he declared.

Ayumi looked up over her shoulder at him. It caught her a little by surprise the face she saw. The moment the attack happened Yuki changed completely. It was not even just him becoming serious. She could see something else in his eyes. “Yuki?” In the past, he hesitated and did not strike immediately, but it was different. “I could have—“

“Wait…” Yuki looked around the area again. The disc they sat on disappeared forcing them to stand on the ground. A ripple came out from his feet wiping out everything that surrounded them. Rocks, trees, even the hills. He forcibly made everything a flat plain of grass. His eyes narrowed. It was as he thought.

Surrounding them on all sides, more than a dozen MPs carefully spaced out in a manner that avoided each other in a meaningful way. Their fields still would have interfered with the other, but none of that matter. Yuki’s field nearly wiped all of their fields away.

She guessed as much. They were all ones they tried to escape and thought to have avoided. ‘It was just simply a trap. They wanted us to think we lost them and that he was the only one. Even Omega knows how to work together when they need to do so.’ Unfortunately, the numbers were too great. She looked around for any weakness in their encirclement.

Looking over at Yuki, a heavy shadow fell over his eyes. His features hardened in preparation to act. She could easily read his plans. Ayumi stepped out in front of him. “This is more than we can handle, Yuki. We need to focus on escape.” Reason needed to be the source of their action, not emotion. However, convincing Yuki out of his plan appeared difficult.

“Maybe for you, but not for me.” Mists of energy began to build up around him. The volume grew larger with each second.

“You’ve improved, but don’t get cocky! These are Omega agents most likely. They aren’t like the border soldiers you dealt with.”

Yuki pushed Ayumi aside to stand in front of her. Determination lowered over his eyes like a veil in front of a deeper emotion, covering it away. “My fight with Vangelis showed me a few things. It’s only been a couple of days or so, but I’ve got a better handle on this now.” Gesturing with his hand, he closed his fist.

Suddenly, in the distance the terrain he cut into began to restore itself, as his field shrank. It sped in towards Yuki quickly covering meters. The distance slowed down after covering more than twenty meters. The border of his field pushed and released struggling to keep a hard line.

Ayumi measured out the distance roughly. ‘It’s not a completed a fold, but he’s getting very close…’ She stared ahead at Yuki’s back, insisting on being front of her. ‘If he manages to complete even a single fold, doubling his power from what he already has…’ Yet, doubled or not, she saw it did not even matter. Yuki’s power was still on a completely level than the grunt Omega agents.

In mere seconds, Yuki wiped out the entire encirclement with his mist. He made the elite of Omega look like children on their first day at the Academy. ‘His power is already…’ Ayumi stifled as much of her surprise as she could.

Yuki turned away looking back at Ayumi. He dropped his field and started walking past her. “Don’t worry, I’m here,” he whispered to her, placing a hand on her shoulder briefly. The disc they rode on appeared again, though the design changed a lot from their previous. It had harsher lines and less detail work.

Everything caught back up to Ayumi in a few moments. She shook it all off her and started to follow him. The peace was brief though, when she discovered that they were still not alone. Several more MPs came out of hiding determined to stop them. “Even more…they must have emptied the entire building for us.”

Pausing, he looked over his shoulder. The ready-to-attack look did not have enough time to leave. “Seems they didn’t understand my message.” Yuki started to turn, but Ayumi stopped him.

“This is pointless, Yuki. They are a different breed, intimidation is not going to work with them. Many are people that actually enjoy the challenge brought on by someone strong and you just flaunting your strength is only going to entice them further.” Ayumi searched through the area again. She had a bad feeling about the situation. In the distance, the Capital had finally poked over the horizon. “We’re closer to the Capital, meaning all of those stationed in the Capital are finally reaching us. We’re only going to keep getting overwhelmed by numbers and not make any progress.”

“What are you suggesting then?”

Ayumi looked at Haruo, silent the entire time (maybe forgotten?). “Haruo remains behind to hold them off. His animals can let him take on several at once.” She immediately glanced over at Yuki to see his reaction. The last time with Saki was a struggle.

It was only a second, but it seemed longer. Yuki looked over at Haruo. “You’re right. You good for it, Haruo?”

The silent one had little reaction to the surprising acceptance. He started walking towards Ayumi. Haruo stared at her in silence. The lack of any sort of emotion made it difficult to read if he was upset with her or not. It easily made them want to read him as angry, but they waited for his response. “Move.”

Chapter 229 – Silence Doesn’t Stand

Ayumi loaded back onto their transport, Yuki already waiting. They looked back at Haruo. His broad back seemed willing to be the wall to hold everything back. Even the tide of soldiers fast approaching did not sway him. Several lights expanded out around Haruo, signs of his animals.

She sat down holding carefully to the edge of the disc as it began to move. “We’re still going to have trouble getting out. Last time, there wasn’t anyone else, but not this time. This close to the Capital, the area is going to be crawling with MPs.”

He nodded to her. “Then we’ll just need to make it difficult for them.” The disc started rising into the air. Below them, flashes of lights and explosions went off. The fighting started. Yuki had to dodge a few projectiles tossed at him as he got into the air. They were not making it easy on him. The disc rocked around buckled by the attacks. “Ayumi can you keep them off us, while I fly.”

Given the situation, she had to look at him a little in disbelief that he would ask such a question. However, Ayumi saw he was serious. The look on his face told her he had a plan, but likely one she was not going to like. “What exactly are you thinking?” she asked, immediately regretting it.

“…well…”

Haruo kept his animals moving around the area holding back the attacks. He had to keep some of the soldiers from trying to go after Yuki. It was a little more intense of a situation than he was familiar with. The numbers was not something outside of his experience, just not all of them having powers. He had to play more defensively with so many attackers. ‘Saki never ended up returning. It’s likely this is where I’ll stay, with these numbers.’

Another of the attackers revealed their power. Water spread everywhere making it difficult for his wolves. ‘I wonder how many I’m able to maintain… I haven’t tried to stress this power yet.’ He directed the wolves away, letting the birds swap in for them. Their agility and flight made the water almost pointless. ‘I still don’t even know how it functions. I only know how to make it work, not why it works. It’s very unsettling not understanding this…’

He tossed another few items into the air triggering lights. Tigers grew from the light along with a squirrel. The size of the tigers made the squirrel almost impossible to see. It scurried up the leg of one of the tigers before the group charged off. ‘That’s everything on me. I don’t feel tired yet…’

Kneeling down, Haruo dug his hands into the grass and dirt. He tore back chunks, crushing it in his hands. Light suddenly grew from the thin slits between his fingers. A moment later, he tossed everything in his hands out in front of them. A pack of huskies materialized along with several flocks of sparrows. The count of animals out on the field just tripled. Their light did not glow as strongly as the other animals. ‘Hmm, that felt a little weird. I might be hitting a limit, but it is as I thought. I can do this as well, but it seems it’s not as powerful. I wonder why.’ Questions continued for Haruo as he explored his power in the middle of a battle.

“This is a really bad idea!” shouted Ayumi, back up to Yuki. As she believed, she did regret hearing him out and even more going through with it. Unfortunately, she did not have much of another plan.

“What?!” yelled Yuki, unable to hear it.

“I said, I never should have agreed to do this!”

“What?!”

“I hate you so much right now!”

“Can you talk louder? I can’t hear you!”

“Nevermind!” She heard him shout again, but ignored it. Ayumi had worse things to focus on. She looked down at the ground. It was a good twenty or thirty meters away and they were still interested in stopping them. Yuki had to dodge again, it sent her swinging around. Her hand gripped onto the rope harder.

Yuki’s plan, Ayumi suspended herself underneath the disc with only a rope attached between them. The rope was real and Yuki held onto one end while Ayumi tied the other end off around her waist. It anchored on the disc for more security. Ayumi’s purpose, she had to use her powers to deflect any incoming attacks to give them a better chance of escape.

The dodging Yuki still had to do made the ride for Ayumi rough. Her field damped the effects, but she had to be careful with Yuki above her. Most of her power was only pointed down, due to Yuki’s field overcoming much of her above. “Next time, I’m coming up with the plan and you’re doing this!” She projected an ice wall below her to halt a fireball. Throwing out her sword and spinning it around in front of her deflecting smaller projectiles coming at them.

She started to notice fewer attacks. It seemed the bulk of the MPs dropped out of their range. The show still made them an easy target for anyone coming for them. Ayumi hoped it would end soon.

Calmer skies, allowed Yuki a moment free to level out the disc. Unlike on the ground, he had a better view of the Capital in the distance, their goal. He could only see a thin shape before. From the sky, he could see so much more. It was still far away, but the Capital was huge judging the distance. He saw a massive spire along with a couple other large structures. Everything else blending in together, but it still looked beauty. The white of the Capital shined brightly against the sun, catching the edges with a glow ever so slightly. “It’s like out of a book…”

Ayumi caught the distant glow of the Capital. She deflected a couple of attacks, but could not help but stare for a moment as well. “It’s been two months, but I’ve returned…finally. Things will be different this time.”

Haruo looked up to the sky, freed for a moment. He caught sight of Yuki leaving in the distance. Their escape did not go smoothly. Yet it seemed that they would succeed in time. ‘Ayumi…what’s your end game? You got exactly what you were wanting since this all began. You’ve got Yuki by yourself and the rest of us isolated.’

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

A complete disaster. That was what it felt like from what she could sense. Earth torn apart. Grass burned away until only a dry cracking earth remained behind. Trees up rooted without care. It was a disaster. A tainted mark upon the land. Another scar they used to mar the countryside.

It made her angry. Even though she could not see sensing it was enough. Her muscles tightened up just thinking about what they did. Everywhere they went they left behind a path of ruin. They had to be stopped. The killing would not end until then. ‘They’re savages. There’s no reasoning with such wanton death and destruction.’

Athene marched deeper into the warzone. She could still feel some of the heat that scorched the earth. The wide sweeping devastation soaked into her mind the more her power allowed her to see. Every crumble under her foot and burnt smell poured inside her, trapped as an indelible memory. It strengthened her as she went towards the future. A future she could see clearly without the need of her eyes.

As she started for the edge, she found something. It broke up the flat ground. Her powers only provided a rough shape of everything as her mind could not handle all of the information. She knelt down with some curiosity. The peripheral disappeared around her. Everything focused in on what was at her feet. It was still difficult for her to make out the form. The pattern was irregular.

She picked up one of the smaller pieces. Rubbing her thumb over the surface revealed it to be brittle to the touch. The outer layer chipped off easily with a slightly hollow sound to it. It seemed strange. She thought it was a branch from a tree that miraculously survived, but it was not. Her mind started to fill in more of the blanks. It was not long before she understood. ‘Bones! They’re were inside the inferno!’ She immediately dropped it. The rest of the person was mangled remains that she felt grateful for once of not being able to see such horror. ‘Those bastards! They killed another. Their crimes only continue to increase against them!’

Searching around the burnt remains, she found a second person. They were just out of reach from the first one she found. ‘They must have been trying to reach each other even while burning. But they ended up just out of reach dying so close.’ Athene turned her power off briefly and activated it again. Two trenched appeared in the ground. ‘Least I can do is bury you together, at each other’s side. Maybe you’ll find each other in the next life.’

Athene went around the area to look for any more signs of dead soldiers. She remembered Abeiron’s words. ‘Omega’s on the move. There might be others around here. Maybe even one that’s still alive.’ Near to the most identifiable fighting, she found nothing. Expanding her powers, Athene saw uneven destruction further away.

It took some time to cover the new ground, but it was worth it. She found someone still alive, unconscious yet alive. A little of her power was all she needed to get him awake. “You fought them, right?” She dispensed with any sort of introductions.

“Huh? Right, that child knocked me out.” He was in his own world, catching up events.

“Hey! You fought them, right?”

Looking at Athene, he had a suspicious glance checking her over. After he finished, the tone in his voice changed as well as his stature. “This doesn’t concern you.”

Her hands tightened up. He clammed up over a difference of branches. “I don’t care about what orders you have. Everyone’s involved now!”

“Go back to whatever base you belong to woman.” The man started walking away from Athene breaking off any further discussions.

Athene was not about to let things end. A ripple came out from her feet. Stone ripped up from the ground on all sides blocking any path out. “Now listen here!” Dark shadows fell over her eyes. Her face developed harsh features to accent her emotions. “I don’t give a damn about any sort of orders you got you Omega bastard! I only want two things answered from you! Did you fight them? And if you did, how long ago was it?” She took a few heavy steps towards the man. “Now answer! Immediately before I extracted it personally!”

Chapter 230 – Alone on the Void

The explosion from the Omega spire caused enough panic in the Capital to make travel difficult. However, enough back alleys existed to make it easier. After a few minutes, the smaller less used roads ended up almost completely empty, the citizens already fled the area. It gave him enough to make it back.

Ourias leaned up against the corner of a house. He stared into the distance with his sight focused on a house. It smashed up against the rest in the neighborhood. Everything was falling apart with little signs of repair or maintenance to keep it from collapsing the rest of the way. Yet, the condition of the homes did not seem to affect the mood. Children ran around playing with no regard. Adults worked out of what they could keeping life continuing.

He watched for an hour unmoved. Every so often, he would smile at something and then force himself to hide it. Something kept him from move either forward or backward. He wanted to leave, but could not bring himself to do it.

It was another hour before anything happened. One of the kids in the neighborhood chased after a ball, kicked too far by their friend. The boy ran after it. He stopped a house away from Ourias, finally catching up to the ball. Because Ourias’ attention was on something else, he did not notice the kid until it was too late. He slipped back behind the wall of the house, a futile attempt.

The boy turned around and ran back to his friend. “There’s a Whitey here! Whitey!”

As though an alarmed sounded in the street, everyone ran off in different directions. It only took three seconds for them all to vanish from sight. Silence fell upon the entire area. An eerie quiet, everyone knew.

Ourias poked his head back out. He sighed to himself. It was a sight he was familiar with, yet one he hated for different reasons. ‘Five years ago that was me.’ He started walking into the street. A few curtains still not shut quickly closed upon his appearance. ‘The moment one of them showed up…each time hoping nothing would happen. Until that day turned out to be me…’

The sudden desolation of the street made the walk feel longer than it actually was to the house. It only took a minute, when it seemed more like an hour. Each step was painful. The roles reversed. He was the one that sparked fear in others by his mere presence. Nothing needed to be said. The sight was more than enough for anyone to flee.

Worse for him, he could not disguise himself. Every one of them knew him too well. He tried it before, but it only made the situation even worse. The images of his children crying in the corner the moment they saw him as though he had tricked with a horror fueled nightmare. They burned the images into the back of his eyes never to forget. He could fool some, but not everyone. Not the ones that mattered to him.

For his mistakes, he had to live with the walk. For his misfortune of such a destiny, he had to struggle to hold on to the important things.

He cursed it all.

He knocked on the door.

Child’s voices leaked through the weak walls of the house. “He’s here! It’s the Whitey!”

“Whitey’s here!”

“Don’t answer the door!”

“He’ll go away.”

Ourias pursed his lips into a thin line. He lowered his brow a little, hardening himself.

Another knock.

He was not leaving. He was committed.

Scrambling feet faded into the distance. They tried to get further away from him. However, he persisted. The third knock brought the echo of a different set of steps. They reached closed until pulling the wood door open.

A young woman, just barely hitting her thirties, appeared in the threshold. Even before she appeared, a hard lined scowl carved deeply into her face. “What do you want?”

“I wanted to see you. Did I need more of a reason?” He glanced around over her shoulder in search. The way she stood in the doorway made it clear she did not invite him inside.

His response only made her scowl worse. “Don’t you have to some mission or some other place to be ruining someone’s life?”

A twitch flickered in his eye for a moment as he tried to refrain from showing any reaction. “I’m not on a mission right now. As a Titan I choose what I do.”

“Must be so nice for you.” She was not even trying to hold back her venom. The longer he talked the worse it seemed to grow.

Ourias wanted to reply immediately, but he felt himself getting dragged along at her pace. He had forgotten how many times they fought like this. Each time pushed the dagger in a little further. “I became a Titan so I could be with you again. I’m doing this for you.”

“I don’t need your help. I didn’t need it for the five years you were gone out of our life without so much as a letter! I sure as hell don’t need you coming back now! I’ve already told you the fifty other times you’ve come crawling back here, yet you keep showing up.”

“I live here too. They’re my children as well. I want to be their father.”

“They don’t need a father that never shows up! And when he does only terrifies them!”

He had a response, but he knew it was pointless. It was a mistake he made not realizing the consequences. Every time he tried it only came out as an empty excuse. It was just more fuel to the fire. “I’m still their father, even if I’m different. My heart hasn’t changed.”

“No, you’re one of them. You’re just the lap dog to the King and his whims. You only cause fear and bring tragedy.”

“I’m the same man that loved you before all of this. Please let me in.”

“You’re not welcome here.” She began to close the door. “I don’t care if you show up every day for the rest of your life, nothing will change the differences between us.” The door closed immediately after. It was the final word.

Ourias sighed. ‘That went about as expected. It’s not like one more visit is going to change her so easily, not after I’ve left her alone for so long.’ He pulled out the accessory he bought from the woman earlier. Walking over to the closed window, he placed the item on the ledge. ‘You’re wrong. I’ll keep trying and prove to you I’m the same man you fell in love with.’

He still had hope. It was the only thing he had left.

Glancing around the neighborhood, it felt less welcoming than before, which was difficult to achieve considering how it started. He knew when to leave. Ourias stepped away from his home. Unlike before, the walk away was over too fast. He tilted his head to look back one last time.

He disappeared.

A few hours passed quickly for him. Eventually, he made it back to Omega. The flow of agents went more out than in as to be expected. They continued to recall more to throw into the defense of the Capital. Only a wide search net could find them.

Ourias walked up the wall, noticing Rheia still standing alone unmoved. The height she had gave a good view of the Capital and Atlantis. He leaned against the wall with only the air to support his feet. “Still challenging?”

“Of course,” she answered immediately, “The invitation is always open.”

“I see.” He expected such a typical response from her. Their time together was short, but she seemed the easiest to figure out of the Titans.

“Another failed visit with the wife.”

His eyes slid over to glance at her briefly. She never even made eye contact with him. ‘It’s a little unsettling how much you know.’

“You keep trying anyway, even though you know how it’ll end up every time.” Rheia stopped stared at the entrance. Her head tilted back to look at the city. Slowly, she began to move higher up with no action. Ourias matched her pace. The higher they went the better the view of the countryside became. They could see the sun painting the mountains and trees in a soft white glow and green as far as could be seen. “That’s why I picked you.”

“Oh? I thought it was because I defeated the twelfth seat,” he joked.

“I could see it in your eyes when I saw you walk through those gates down there. The eyes are very important. They tell you everything.”

He was getting more out of her than he expected. Small talk was not something he planned from her. A change of scenery was all he wanted. “You pick everyone in the Titans that way don’t you.”

“Naturally. When I see their eyes I know.” A strange smile seemed to come across her face in a rare moment not fueled by aggression.

Ourias had some curiosity listening to her. “What did you see in mine?”

“Infinite determination. Nothing was going to stop you. You would achieve exactly what you wanted no matter how dirty you had to get to reach it. It’s your power. You have zero ambition, even more so than someone like Teris. You only wanted the seat on the Titans to see your wife again. That’s why you lost your second fight even though I know you could go much higher.”

“Is that so,” Ourias said, keeping a poker face through her surprising insight.

“But even for that lack of ambition, I know you’ll fight when they come.”

Her comment made him even more curious. She did not have the same view as the others any longer. “You believe they’ll reach the Capital?”

“It’s the eyes. I could see it in that boy the General’s claimed. Nothing’s stopping him.” Rheia seemed finished and started walking down the wall. “So prepare yourself for the fight. They’ll be here soon.”

A glance down at the back of Rheia told him enough. Ourias stared back out at the horizon. ‘You’re out there. And you’re coming. Rebellion or destruction. None of it matters to me. Whatever you’re planning I will stop you. I will protect them!’

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

The sun was almost hiding once more, late afternoon. It was quiet for the moment. All of the excitement stood behind them. A brief reprieve from the chaos. It often seemed as though it would never end. A continuous struggle forced to repeat in great frequency. When the calm came it could be felt through the entire group.

Despite their group being no larger than when they started their journey into Atlantis, it felt bigger. In fact, they were short one to have the original count. Yet it felt almost unmanageably large. Too large for anyone to hold together. Everything seemed ready to fly apart. No one knew what held it all together. They just kept going forward.

It was not even the presence of their newest friends that kept everyone quiet. It happened naturally. Everyone had their own problems. Something kept their thoughts elsewhere. Only a few stayed vigilant, keeping them ahead of their pursuers. A couple of skirmishes interrupted the pace, but nothing not handled quickly.

Appearing next to Yumi, Chiharu leaned a little towards her. “There’s someone moving ahead. They’re coming in our direction.” Her eyes slid back towards where she sighted the figure.

Motioning to Nerine, their transport slowed down. “Can you tell who it is?” She looked head over the front of the truck even though her sight would never find anything, not at such a distance.

“No, it’s just movement right now. They’re using the forest to avoid being seen.”

“There’s a lot of these forests,” she commented. They already had to deal with ambushes from anything that obstructed their sight. It made everyone paranoid the moment they saw another if there would be an attack. “Alright, Miss Nerine please avoid the forest ahead.”

“I understand!” The vehicle responded her request pulling to the left and increasing speed. They had less of a need for moving straight with the spire in the Capital on the horizon as their signpost. They could not be lost with it in sight.

Yumi leaned over a little to Chiharu, while watching ahead at the forest moving to their flank. “What are they doing?”

“They’re moving to intercept. They spotted us.”

Her eyes went down briefly. Then she pushed back looking at Saki. “Saki, we’ve been spotted. I need you to handle it.”

She nodded in silence to Yumi. Checking with Chiharu, she received the location pointed out. Immediately disappearing, her wake made the truck rock a little. Saki seemed like a person driven and hardened. A different look was in her eyes since talking to Yumi. She handled most of the problems before they became ones. Nothing would stand between her and what her eyes locked upon. It was far ahead of her, but she never let go.

Opening the window into the driver’s seat, Yumi poked her head through. “How are you feeling? How much longer can you go before you need a rest?”

“I’m fine,” she insisted. Nerine tried to motion with her body to dismiss any concern for her well-being.

Yumi’s eyes narrowed a bit. “I know you’re trained for this and a soldier, but you’re still human.”

The way Yumi said it made Nerine turn her head back. She tried to hide her surprise, but it was not something she heard every day. “Thank you for your concern, but I can keep going.”

“You don’t need to push yourself to breaking. We still have more than a day’s travel. You’re going to need to be able to act when we reach the Capital.”

Nerine could see the insistence of an immoveable wall out of Yumi. She would press the issue until she relented. All she could do was face forward. “A couple of hours.”

“It’ll be getting dark by then, sounds like a perfect time to rest.” A bit of a smile moved through her lips as she pulled out. Yumi glanced back to Chiharu. “What’s the word?”

“There was something briefly, likely her attack, but it’s been silent since.”

Yumi looked over at the forest again. It did not make any sense. “If Saki dealt with the problem, she should be back by now.” Thoughts immediately went to the worst cases. It was all just speculation, but it was possible to have run across someone Saki could not defeat.

However, before any plans could be made, Saki appeared to dispel any worry. “Found someone.” She threw back her hand pointing with her thumb. The figure Chiharu tracked surfaced from the shadows of the trees.

Haruo appeared.

Chapter 231 – Silent Progress

Loaded up and moving again, they all surrounded Haruo. Everyone sat in a circle almost as though he was in for an interrogation.

“Weren’t you with Yuki and Ayumi?” asked Yumi, needing to confirm it.

He nodded. “Until a couple hours ago.”

“Hey man!” shouted Seiji. He patted him on the back genuinely glad to see another friend. Everyone seemed to returning. “It’s good to see you’re still in one piece!”

Haruo glanced at Seiji. ‘He’s a lot like Yuki. Overly familiar.’ It something he tried to get used to dealing with since meeting Yuki. His caution in dealing with others left him with no way to deal with people like Yuki and Seiji.

“Sorry again for attacking you,” Saki inserted, clearly bothered by her mistake.

“You attacked him?”

“Yes, Seiji! Shout it louder why don’t you!” She received a penetrating look for Seiji. It already made her feel bad for the accident, she did not need him making it worse. “I didn’t know it was him. Chiharu spotted someone, we assumed it was another of those Omega people.”

He stared Haruo up and down. “You don’t look harmed. I’m impressed you took her first strike. She’s pretty ruthless.”

“I was holding back! I wasn’t using my full strength! I wouldn’t have hurt him.” Seiji grinned at her. He teased her. “Give it rest.”

“Haruo,” opened Yumi, she had the moment important question that everyone had on their mind, “Why aren’t you with Yuki? What happened?”

“We were ambushed.”

Everyone looked a little bothered by the short answer. A lot could be extrapolated from the answer, but they needed details and real information. Haruo’s brevity could not pass this time.

“By more from the Omega Division?” He agreed with Yumi. “Are they still out there?”

“Yes.” The lack of more details made the situation seem worse than Haruo intended. He could see their eyes shifting around already concerned about their next attack. “They aren’t in the area.”

“But you won?” Yumi had trouble getting a clear picture of what happened with Haruo in the ambush. He held back so many pieces she was not sure what happened. It seemed at the very least he survived, somehow. However, she guessed they might never know what happened. “But why did you remain behind? You didn’t fight together?”

“No. It was Ayumi’s idea.” Glances went around the circle. He confirmed some of their fears. Things continued to look worse for Ayumi. Unfortunately, none of them knew anymore of what she planned. Haruo could tell they had their suspicions about Ayumi, just like him. “There’s something else. Yuki agree with her without any questioning her.”

Saki nearly jumped up to her feet, but stopped herself. “Yuki wouldn’t do that! He’d want to stay behind and do it together not wanting you to fight alone!”

“Yes, I agree. Ayumi is planning something that she wants us out of the way.”

The quiet one of the group, Simonides held his words to try to be more of an observer and not press his new relationship with the teenagers. However, he needed to add his point of view. “We still don’t know if they’re the real Eudokia or not.”

“Does it really matter?” barked Seiji, having trouble controlling his emotions. The thought of Ayumi manipulating them all to get to Yuki clearly did not sit well with him. His friend was in danger and he could not do anything. The helpless was carving away at him.

Yori nodded, previously in thought. He lowered his hand from his chin. “No, he’s right. We don’t know what they’re planning. It’s going to be difficult to even speculate on their plan without knowing if it is the real Eudokia.”

“Correct, it comes down to motive. If we understand their motive, we can make plans, but we don’t know who they are.”

“How’s that going help?”

“You don’t know the real Eudokia as well as I do, but she is intensely loyal to Atlantis, but above all else to the late King.” Simonides thought back to the times he met her in the Capital after her new posting. “I only saw her a few times, but it was clear to see in her eyes. When she was with the King, he was the only one in her eyes. I’d say in a way, it probably blinded her.”

Yumi started to follow where they were going. She stepped into the discussion. “And if it is not the real Eudokia, they probably have something different in mind with Yuki than the real Eudokia.”

Simonides nodded with the conclusion. “Because of that, an easier guess is that someone is faking her appearance to take advantage of her position and Yuki Hayashi’s important to their plans. He’s extremely powerful, if he truly is the heir of the King. The power he represents in the wrong person’s hand could be devastating for Atlantis.”

“But Yuki’s never met Eudokia before. What would they gain from pretending to her? They could have said anything.”

“It’s likely Eudokia is important to their plan just like he is.”

“Seems like a lot of work for something that could easily collapse.”

“Yes, it’s why I said it’s the easy answer. I’d prefer not to believe Eudokia is capable of treason, but it’s more likely given the situation that it is the real one.”

“But you said she had an intensity to her,” reminded Yori. He was sure of the direction Simonides was leading them. “Something that intense can make you do things that you normally would not and justify them very easily out of a sense of loyalty.”

“That’s what I fear. I can only imagine how hard it was on her with the King’s death.”

Yumi realized it as well. “You think his death sent her over the edge.”

“It’s a powerful emotion, loss.”

Seiji scratched his head a little annoyed with all of the talking. Everyone was making leaps he could not follow. The last little bit he understood clearly enough. “I don’t get what most of this has to do with anything. But you’re basically saying she’s angry over this King’s death?”

“It’s a little more complicated than that, Seiji, but yes.”

“How does that help us? You’re assuming she’s the real one, not some fake. We still got those Omega guys out there hunting us.”

“He’s right.”

Simonides was at the same dead end as the other. He gave the whole thing days of thought with no answer. None of them were any closer to understanding the truth. The only thing they could do was follow her tracks.

“Besides, I thought she just wanted Yuki to be King and the other guys didn’t want that to happen.”

“It’s not that simple, Seiji,” reminded Yumi, “The way she’s going about her actions do not make sense for that. Removing us from the situation makes it harder for her to achieve that goal, not easier. She must be planning something else.”

“How much of that matters?”

He did not seem to get it. Yumi did not know how else to explain to him. “If we don’t know what her real objective is we can’t move to counter her.” She thought on what else she could say to him.

Seiji shrugged. The plans did not really matter to him. He had a very clear sight on things from his view. “She’s still going to the Capital with Yuki. Whatever she’s got planned is in there. So even if we don’t know what she’s doing we know where she is going.”

Simonides could agree with Seiji on that assessment, but it went deeper. He worried about once they got to the Capital. “The problem is the Capital is vast with a deep underground. Millions of Atlanteans live in the Capital. It’s going to be easy to lose her if her goal is not the King’s Palace.”

“We have to start somewhere, right?”

“The wrong plan is worse than no plan?” It was not a sentiment that Simonides could easily get behind. He looked around at the teenagers. They all seemed to have a similar look as Seiji. It appeared their course was set. He was not going to convince them.

Yumi shrugged a little with a bit of a grin, seeing how troubled Simonides looked. She was use to dealing with Seiji a little already. “It’s worked out for us so far. Now that we’ve got Haruo back all that is left for us is to rescue Yuki and end this all before it gets any more out of control.”

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

The return of Haruo improved the overall mood of the group. Tensions still ran high with the uncertainty focused around Ayumi along with the pressure from Omega. But it started to feel like the group was together again. They had a more focused goal than before. The goal still seemed difficult with some impossible odds against them. If Ayumi proved to be the real Eudokia, getting Yuki back would not be an easy course.

All of the concerns would not slow them down. Yuki all meant something to each of them. They could not let the fears or uncertainties of the future weigh them down.

Their scheduled stop came with the need for Nerine to rest from using her powers all day. It took a little bit of effort to find a safe location. Even safe was actually relative, since all they managed to get was a cliff with some rocky overgrowth and a river nearby. Nothing for good protection or hiding. They were very exposed, but nothing came up to them for a while.

It was evening with only the moon keeping things lit. Yet Yumi could still see the strange thin shape in the distance. Simonides informed her that it was the Omega Spire, the tallest building in the Capital and the easiest landmark to find. The fact that they could see it meant the Capital was close. ‘Tomorrow we’ll be at the Capital’s doors. So close to the lion’s den. How hard will the fighting be?’

Everyone spread out into their own groups. The two Atlanteans naturally kept to themselves, still not feeling like part of the group. Chiharu disappeared to take the first watch along with Saki. Haruo and Seiji both appeared actually to be asleep neither seemed to be overly concerned about the dangers. Her brother isolated himself, something that subconsciously relieved her mind. While Fumiko seemed dull again distracted by something.

Yumi received an internal nudge. She stepped forward with some reluctance. It needed to happen. Her approach was hardly quiet, but it was not something she tried to do. It had to be apparent. The slightest hint of hesitation would ruin it for her. “Fumiko,” she started, standing immediately behind her. The two women had only a few centimeters between them. “I need your head on straight tomorrow. In the past, we’ve been able to get by, but they’ll be throwing everything at us tomorrow. I need to know you can fight.”

A bit of a shake went through Fumiko’s body. It was clear her words triggered a reaction out of her. She held in the desire to act out.

The knife was already inserted. It woke her up, but she had to keep her focused. She had to twist it. “You’re not the only one that’s killed someone. They’re out for our lives. Killing is going to be the only to stay alive here. This isn’t going to be a happily ever after ending. We’re going to get dirty, if you want to protect something you’re going to need to be willing to do it.” Yumi clinched her fists up.

She could not hold back any longer. Fumiko tilted her head back around to glare at Yumi. “Don’t concern yourself on my account. The day will come when all actions receive their consequences. I just hope I’m able to be there when it all comes back on you.” The conversation was over. Fumiko walked away no longer able to stand in the presence of Yumi.

Yumi turned away. A minute later, she was able to walk in her own direction. Once she alone, she collapsed to the ground slamming her fists into the earth. ‘Why’d it have to turn out like this!?’

‘You motivated her. It was necessary to get her back to fighting. She falls back into depression to easily.’

‘She was distraught over killing all of those soldiers! She can’t control her power! It’s reasonable to be afraid!’

‘Reasonable, when you’re not in a war setting.’

‘We’re just teenagers! Not soldiers!’

‘You need to be soldiers if you plan to survive this. Those out there won’t all act so mercifully. If someone is unable to function it’s only a liability for the group.’

‘Things aren’t just numbers and logic. People have emotions, hearts! They need time to deal!

‘Your enemy isn’t giving you that luxury. You need her power for tomorrow. This is the most efficient way for the results you need.’

‘But it isn’t the best way!’

‘Then think of another way.’

Yumi hesitated. It was not the first argument she had with her new voice in her mind. Unlike the other one that she no longer heard, which supported her even if it seemed aggressive, the new voice only seemed to worsen matters for her. It was right, but not right.

‘The reason you did what you did was because you don’t have another plan. If you can’t think up an alternative means to reach your goal then don’t criticize the ones present to you.’

‘This isn’t right!’

‘Then become stronger and find another way. If you don’t want to rely on my opinions then become strong enough to make your own. Until then all you’re doing is just pretending.’

Chapter 232 – Strengthening Resolve

Staggering a little, Fumiko’s emotions still ran high after her confrontation with Yumi. It made it difficult for her to focus on where she walked. She also was not paying too much attention to where she walked. The further away from Yumi the better at the moment. She would deal with where she ended up later. “Damn her! She doesn’t know what she’s talking about! She doesn’t know what it’s like—“ Fumiko tripped over something and fell on her face. “Damn it!”

“Fumiko?” checked Yori, who she ended up falling on. He helped her to get back on her feet. “You alright?”

Fumiko batted away his hand, annoyed with everything. “Fine!” She started to stomp away, but Yori grabbed her wrist. “What?!”

The reaction turned him a little blue, but it worried him. “What happened? Something’s wrong.”

“Nothing happened! Let go!”

“No. It’s not that hard to tell. I’m willing to listen.”

She stared down at him for a moment. “There’s not much point talking to you about it. Not with your complex.” Fumiko ripped her hand free from his grasp. However, she only got a few steps away before Yori blocked her path. “I’ve got nothing to talk to you about!”

Yori narrowed his eyes a little figuring out a few things. “It’s about my sister.” He received no response from Fumiko, but the look in her eyes told him enough. “You’ve got nothing to talk to be about? Try me.”

Some reluctance still prevented her from accepting him. “Right, because you’re not going to side with her on everything.”

Crossing his arms, he did not plan on leaving her alone after this. “Like I said, try me.”

Fumiko stepped back to where Yori had been. She was still not sure about talking to him about it, but he had been one of the few in the past that was easier to talk to, when things were different. So much changed since Yori was away. She sat down waiting on him.

The atmosphere became a little stifled for him. He could see her already judging how he acted and what he would say. Her continued silence only made it more difficult to get things started. “I’m guessing this has to do with Yumi and the way she’s been acting recently,” he opened. Yori did not know where it began, but he noticed the odd rift between the two on the truck. He hoped this would air out the grievances.

“That’s putting it lightly.”

“What did she do?”

Thinking back to the start of it, Fumiko suddenly clammed up. “It was a private matter.”

‘That’s not explaining things.’ He felt things become significantly more challenging. It also made him even more curious as to what Yumi said or did to Fumiko. He could feel the intensity of the emotions coming off Fumiko when he confronted her. Yori wondered if she would not have punched him. “Can you explain in a way that doesn’t compromise yourself?”

Fumiko glared at him again. The classic metaphor of daggers for eyes could not do the look justice. Yet she did agree to talk to him. “It started back when we found Saki.”

Recalling it, Yori tried to piece together everything that might have happened between the two. “Chiharu and Seiji were fighting, I remember. I remember the two Atlanteans discussing who they could be fighting and then…” He remembered Fumiko taking action, but no reason why. It came back to him that he saw his sister with her. “Yumi said something to you then, before you helped out.”

“Yes…” she said as though she had more to had, but refused.

‘This is going to be like pulling teeth.’ Yori struggled with the words he needed to keep things safe. It required more awkward silences than he would have wished. Anything less he felt would have sent Fumiko away. “It was something she said to then. She was vague about what she said when we asked. If she said something, it had to have been a plan.”

“There was no plan.”

“Then what? Did she insult you?” He did not like having to guess, but it would make a little more sense with how angry Fumiko was recently.

“No.” Fumiko fumed on her emotions thinking about what she said. It whispered in her ears adding fuel. “Your sister’s a manipulative bitch!”

“I don’t understand, what do you mean?!” He reacted quickly taken back. His words were not careful.

“Your sister took advantage of me so that I would kill those two! She made me murder them! Your sister is a murder, a cold blooded killer!”

Yori leaned back not really expecting to hear that from Fumiko. He could not say anything for a minute from the shock. It still did not make a lot of sense. “I-I…Yumi’s…shy and…introverted…” Each word was a struggle for him. He thought back to the Yumi he saw recently and compared her to the one he remembered.

“I knew this was pointless!” Fumiko started to stand up, but Yori grabbed her hand.

“Wait!” It happened so fast. He did not know when it happened. He was gone for only a short time. “She is different, from how she used to be.” The words seemed to be enough to at least stop Fumiko. “Ever since I woke in the middle of that battle, I’ve been asking myself where the little sister I remember go. She’s changed so much. I’m not sure what’s happened to her!”

Fumiko measured out his words and his face. He seemed to be almost desperate. He did not understand it anymore than her. “She’s been trying to shoulder everything since you were captured. But I can’t forgive her for the way she’s acting now!”

“I don’t know what she said to you, but there has to be a reason for it!” He searched for anything. It felt like everything was slipping away. He just wanted to hold on to his memories. The sister he knew seemed lost forever, replaced with some calculating women he did not recognize. “Maybe it’s that persona!” He just remembered.

Confused, Fumiko’s face narrowed at his excuses. “Making up excuses for your sister now? She doesn’t get a free pass! Not after what she said!”

“No! During the fight with the South Gate soldiers, don’t you remember what happened to Yumi?”

She tried to think back to what happened, but her memory was hazy. Everything stopped for her after her power went out of control. “The last part of it is a blur.” After killing so many of them, she did not feel like talking to anyone. She never found out what happened. She did not know how it ended, just simply accepted the fact. Her mind did not really pay attention to any of the details.

“You don’t remember us talking to some second personality inside Yumi?”

“What are you talking about? Second personality? You’re not making any sense.”

“I think it took over Yumi during the fight so we could win. She wasn’t acting like herself. Saying things that she would never say.”

“What? Are you saying that this second personality is control Yumi?”

It was a struggle for him to keep things sounding sane. He could not explain what was happening to his sister. Things were beyond his control. “It’s possible. We don’t know what he did to her when changed her.” Yori’s eyes went a little eye becoming fueled by the idea. “You all have powers that shouldn’t be possible. Not to mention he screwed around with your bodies making you faster, stronger and even more resistant to injury. We don’t know what else he screwed around with.”

Fumiko backed away a little from Yori’s crazed rant. It seemed too illogical. “I can’t, won’t forgive her. There are some lines you don’t cross. If you think she’s been controlled, you figure it out.” She stood up done with him. “You won’t get any help from me. I’ll make sure to fight, but it won’t be because she told me to do so.” Fumiko left promptly at the end of her declaration.

Alone, Yori tried to make sense of everything. “What’s going on? My sister…I have to protect her! I have to do something!”

Across the camp, Chiharu appeared out of the shadows next to Seiji. She looked down at him for a moment. A sharp kick from her woke him up. Hardening her expression, she spoke, “We’ve got company.”

“Huh? The hell’s the matter with you?” Seiji rubbed his ribs from where she hit him. “There are better ways to wake someone up!”

“You’re awake. Does it matter now?”

“Brat…” The rest of it finally caught up to him. He jumped to his feet looking around. “Where are they?” His fists rubbed together looking ready for a fight.

Chiharu’s face went flat a little at the sight of his eagerness to fight. “Help with waking the others up. We’re not here to fight.” She stared a little longer at him. A different thought came to her. “Save your need to restore your lost honor from the last fight for later when it actually matters.”

Seiji tilted down to look at her. Some confused spread over his face. “What? Someone needs to keep them off our backs while you prepare to leave.”

“Leave that to someone faster then, she’s already intercepting them.”

“Saki is?!” The ground suddenly rumbled as though to answer his question. He turned in the direction. Another echo came from the unknown. Something about it felt wrong to him. “I can’t keep letting her do everything!” Seiji charged off after Saki, following the vibrations.

Chiharu’s voice disappeared from his mind, even though she shouted at him. He no longer cared about it. The only thing on his mind was Saki. In his gut, he knew something did not sit right. It did not make sense, but he had to see.

Each of the quakes brought him closer until he was on top of it almost. He could see her in the distance along with someone else. “Saki!” Seiji did not have a chance to say anything else. He watched as she fell over covered in blood, her body littered with wounds.

His fists tightened up. He ground his teeth, his anger came up to the surface. Seiji charged into the battle without a second thought. “You bastard, what did you do to Saki?” Something stopped his fist. A metallic sound rang out. His eyes focused upward. The atmosphere felt very familiar to him. Seiji’s eyes widened when he saw their face. “You bastard! It’s you!”

Cosmas grinned with delight beaming from his eyes. One of his prey appeared before him. “The muscle bound idiot. This is my lucky night! Tonight, you will have the pleasure of dying!” His lips grew wider as it became a wicked smirk.

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

Chiharu’s voice disappeared from his mind, even though she shouted at him. He no longer cared about it. The only thing on his mind was Saki. In his gut, he knew something did not sit right. It did not make sense, but he had to see.

Each of the quakes brought him closer until he was on top of it almost. He could see her in the distance along with someone else. “Saki!” Seiji did not have a chance to say anything else. He watched as she fell over covered in blood, her body littered with wounds.

His fists tightened up. He ground his teeth, his anger came up to the surface. Seiji charged into the battle without a second thought. “You bastard, what did you do to Saki?” Something stopped his fist. A metallic sound rang out. His eyes focused upward. The atmosphere felt very familiar to him. Seiji’s eyes widened when he saw their face. “You bastard! It’s you!”

Cosmas grinned with delight beaming from his eyes. One of his prey appeared before him. “The muscle bound idiot. This is my lucky night! Tonight, you will have the pleasure of dying!” His lips grew wider as it became a wicked smirk.

The sight of the face of the man was enough to set Seiji’s blood on fire. Everything in his body tensed up with images of their last encounter flashing through his mind. He could not stop thinking about what he did to Nerine. “She’s missing her arms because of what you did?!” Seiji threw his fists into a barrage against the swords acting in defense of Cosmas.

“Concerned over your new friend?” A devious look sifted through Cosmas’ eyes at the mention of Nerine. “She’ll be dead soon after yourself. So you won’t need to worry for long!”

Such words only made Seiji more enraged. He threw his fists at Cosmas wildly without any focus. Another hand stretched out and grabbed his bandaged right arm, stopping him in mid-swing. Seiji tried to break free, but they were strong. Turning his head to the right, it seemed to him to see her. “Saki?!”

Breathing slowly and her face covered in blood, her eyes still have the same fierceness to be unable to back down on anything. Her blood soaked hand dripped over his bandages staining them red. “What do you think you’re doing here, Seiji?” Despite her steady words and determination, she still appeared ready to collapse.

“You’re all sliced up! Why are you standing?”

“I asked you a question first,” she turned back on, refusing let Seiji dictate the flow. “You shouldn’t be here.” Her voice wavered a little from the even tone.

“This one’s mine!” he shouted, ripping his arm free. Seiji shoved Saki away from him. It was not her fight. His eyes locked back on Cosmas. The ends of his fingers felt on fire just staring at him. He ground his teeth trying to withstand it.

Saki blinked a little surprised to see Seiji acting in such a manner. She appeared in front of him, between the two men. “Damn it, Seiji! I don’t need this right now! You’re supposed to be helping Chiharu with the others! Get going n—“

He heard enough of her voice. Seiji grabbed her by her tunic and slammed Saki into the ground shattering the earth with the voice. “NO!” His voice erupted from his mouth with enough volume and intensity to shake the trees in the distance. Seiji struggled with his words, his jaw shaking. “He’s mine! Don’t interfere!”

The impact made Saki cough, but most of her stun came from shock in seeing Seiji’s face. She had never seen him look so wild before. ‘Even when he was a random kid in junior high looking like a gang leader, he never looked like that. It’s like he’s an animal…’ Saki did not know what was going on. She knew she did not have time to deal with him. “You leave me no choice, Seiji!” Her body suddenly disappeared from Seiji’s hold.

Reappearing, she came in from Seiji’s right flank with a bloody kick ready to lay him out. Seiji turned into her attack and stretched out his arm before she reached him. His hand wrapped around her neck. “I told you!” Seiji dragged her in close to his face. “Don’t interfere! I owe him for what he did to her!”

It took her a moment, but Saki figured out what Seiji was going on about. “This is about revenge?! Seiji!”

“NO!” he screamed. Everything went silent. His face twisted into a more and more wild depiction. “This isn’t about revenge!” Seiji’s hand shook violently. His hold tightened around Saki’s neck. “I’m going to kill him!”

Her eyes went wide at his response. ‘This isn’t the Seiji I know! What’s happened to him?!’ Saki grappled with his arm trying to break free. She put everything she had into it, yet nothing seemed to work. Seiji’s already inhuman strength seemed to have increased. “Do you hear what you’re saying, Seiji?! Kill?”

“YES!”

“Fine then!” Saki wrapped her whole body around his arm. Using everything she to twist, she threw Seiji down to the ground using his arm against. Once on the ground, she quickly switched to a submission hold fighting against his strength. “Seiji! You will not murder anyone, no matter the justification! This isn’t who you are! Seiji!” She had to bring him back to his senses. The animalistic look in his eyes only seemed to be growing worse.

Slammed into the ground, Seiji’s wrinkled face broke for a second. The intensity remained, but there was a moment of lucidity cracking through. He turned his head over to Saki. “…please…Saki…I need to…do this…for myself…”

A faint sense of his self seemed to break through. Saki found her hold on him loosening. However, the moment of weakness she showed him he took advantage of her. Seiji threw her off him with ease casing her aside. “Seiji!” called Saki from the ground.

Breathing heavily, he glanced over at her. Flashes of different parts of him went through his face. “…Saki…” His arms shook at his side.

‘He’s struggling… What’s going on Seiji?’ Saki slowly stood up. Pieces fell a little bit into place for her. Most of it still did not make a lot of sense to her. She did not know the whole story, but still felt she understood enough. “Alright, Seiji. He’s all yours.”

“Thanks!”

Cosmas started laughing, previously only watching the scene with great interest. “So you’ve suddenly decided to support killing, girl?” he teased with mocking tone. “I do love the taste of hypocrisy.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Smirking widely, he nodded slowly in a manner that only made him seem creepier. “Oh I do, little girl. I saw it in your eyes. Yours are different from his.” Cosmas enjoyed every moment deeply, especially the changing look on Seiji. “You didn’t know did you?” He laughed loudly. “Oh this is great! I love it!”

Seiji looked over at Saki in confusion. “What’s he talking about, Saki? You wouldn’t…Saki.”

Guilt surfaced in her face, as she wanted to look away from him. She knew what she did. It was something she had to do. “Seiji this isn’t the time for such things.” Saki began to walk away from the field. “If you really want to know. Ask me after this is all over.”

“Saki! Wait!” Seiji stretched out his arm towards her even though he was nowhere in range.

She continued to walk away, undeterred. “Sometimes there are just things you must do even when it is wrong.”

“Saki?” He still was not sure of what happened. Something huge was missing. Suddenly, Saki was not the same person he knew. She was missing.

Cosmas clapped loudly. He slowly walked towards Seiji. “This is so much more than I could have hoped for by just simply killing the two of you.”

“Shut the hell up, you bastard! What do you know?!”

“More than a child like you. She’s an adult.”

He threw up a fist in Cosmas’ direction. “Killing doesn’t make you an adult!”

“I wasn’t talking about that. Nothing is simple in this world. She understands better than you what must be done. I like her.” The look in his eyes as he glanced in her direction almost seemed filled with lust. He drowned in the intoxicating atmosphere.

Seiji’s teeth ground together and bared a little. “Stay away from her! This is between us!”

Swords materialized up around Cosmos ready to strike. “You’re right. I do have a traitor and a child to kill.”

“I’d rather be a child than an adult!” The air thickened almost instantly with the killing intent increasing. He slammed down his feet setting himself into a fighting stance.

Two swords appeared in Cosmas’ hands last, as a final sign of his readiness. “You’ll die a child with that sort of thinking. You’ll always be immature!”

“Fine by me!” Seiji charged forward. The life or death clash began.

Chapter 233 – Death’s Bet

The two forewent any sort of warm-up round. The battle was a continuation of their previous encounter. Cosmas immediately started out with clones and tossed around his swords in all directions. A frantic dance played out with Seiji dodging and breaking down the clones. His fists had greater power behind them than before. Each punch that destroyed a clone blasted out a wide cone of wind kicking up dirt across the entire field.

A few nicks came from swords during the opening of the fight. He could tell the swords’ sharpness was the same as he remembered. During the few punches he threw, Seiji kept watching how everything reacted. ‘Damnit! I’m seeing more disruptions. It’s not like last time. I’m not going to be able to find him the same way. Hiding bastard!’ Seiji jumped into the air and slammed his fist into the earth breaking it up into cracked crater. Tossed debris wiped out several of the clones.

“You’re using your same tricks. So naïve, child!” One of Cosmas’ clones looked down at Seiji in the crater. An array of swords appeared around Seiji. “Did you really think I wouldn’t analyze the fight?”

Seiji bared his teeth in annoyance. “You bastard! Always hiding behind tricks and copies!” He threw up his fist at the clone. “You’re a coward!”

“If you’re dead, it doesn’t really matter the means to which I achieve it.” He laughed again, but it did not hold up the attack. Several clones came sliding down the torn earth as the floating swords came in for Seiji.

A faint glow came off Seiji’s bandage arm as he went to take the blow. The sword deflected off him spinning away into the earth, leaving him unharmed. He grabbed the second with his teeth using it to parry several swords before Cosmas saw what he did. When it vanished, Seiji grabbed up another sword swiping away the rest just in time.

The clones reached him. He still had the sword. Enough force swung through the metal that he shattered both weapons immediately. Shards of metal flew past him scrapping his face in thin lines before he finished off the clone. Continuing to move, he lifted a large chunk of rock in one hand to smash the other clones in a single motion.

Once finished, Seiji leapt back into the air. Swords followed him up. He blocked some with his arm and the rest he deflected away with temporary weapons before they disappeared. ‘There you are!’ Seiji’s body fell back down to the earth with no control over his landing.

Landing on the edge of the crater, Seiji found himself surrounded again. Clones were everywhere. He fought through the few immediately in front of him. The last he grabbed and charged with using as a shield against the other coming for him.

At the end of his charge, he met the one he wanted. He grabbed onto the invisible Cosmas, the real one. “Found you! You bastard! This time you’re not getting away from me!” His hand shook a little as the temptation to snap his neck was unbearable.

Cosmas smirked, as he appeared to Seiji, not seemingly affected by being caught. “So you’ve learned a little.”

Seiji ground his teeth not liking the way he looked. ‘I have him! Why does he look like he’s the one in control?’ The arrogant look in his eyes just made his emotion boil more. “I’ve gotten more practice dealing with your kind. This isn’t going to play out the way you think.” His body started to shake more and more.

“You’re right this isn’t going to be same.” The smirk widened further across Cosmas lips. He lifted up his hand to rest on Seiji’s bandaged arm. “Oh you’re shaking badly.” His lips thinned a little with excitement. “It’s finally starting to affect you.”

Suddenly, Seiji’s left arm went numb. He lost hold of Cosmas as the shaking in his right overwhelmed him. Everything in his body seemed to be cold in one moment and burning the next. He staggered around swiping at whatever was near him. “What did you do to me, you bastard?!”

Cosmas walked casually up to Seiji. He grabbed a hold of his right arm at the wrist. It was the only support Seiji had when his legs buckled. “I poisoned you, naturally.”

Seiji gasped for air. “You—“

“Oh don’t worry. It’s not deadly. No, it just paralyzes you and gives you a few other fun side effects that I decided to toss in for my entertainment.” Cosmas lifted up a sword in his free hand placing it against Seiji’s wrapped hand. “Can you feel that? The cold steel.” He grinned maniacally. “You can’t can you. It’s numbed your ability to sense temperature.”

Sweat dripped down Seiji’s face. He could not move his body. Nothing responded. “B-bast-ard!”

“Yes, keep that attitude! It’ll be so much better when I do this!” The sword in his hand cleanly cut through Seiji’s pinkie. Cosmas held up the severed finger for Seiji to see the blood dripping out.

It took him a moment, but a massive wave of pain attacked all of his senses at once. As much as he wanted to hold it in, nothing could keep his lips sealed. Seiji released a blood curdling scream. He felt as though every part of his skin was being peeled off millimeter by millimeter and they plucked his muscles like an instrument. It made his head want to explode before wanting to pass out.

“Oh no, you can’t faint on me. The poison won’t allow you.” The devilish grinned seemed to curl up. “No, I’ll make you feel new heights of pain enhanced by this poison until I’m finished with you.” Cosmas leaned in only centimeters away from Seiji’s face. “I too learned some things about you. You aren’t like us. Meaning I have greater control over your own body than you do. You’ll suffer greatly before you die!”

To be continued…