When should I start shooting?

“No time like the present.”

Nathaniel squeezed the trigger.

The local guards jumped back holding their ears. The bang from the gun and the sonic shriek hurt the ears. Nathaniel himself suffered the same, even more then them, and he looked around for something to plug his ears.

I need to fined something to use as ear plugs.

“Just ask the guards, they putting ear plugs as we speak.”

Nathaniel turned around. The guards were high lighted in blue, and they were putting ear plugs in their ears.

Nathaniel turned to the closest man. “Excuse me, can I get a pair of ear plugs too?”

The guard looked confused. “I… you?”

What’s his problem?

“Try to hurry up, yell at him. It will be funny.”

You’re an evil Siri.

“I was created be evil cult, remember?”

Shut up.

He looked at the frightening guy. “I need ear plugs, and I need them fast.”

The man nodded. At that moment, the young leader approached Nathaniel. “What is the problem sir?” he asked

“I need ear plugs.”

“You?”

“I don’t have all day.”

“Sorry.” He turned the man Nathaniel spoke with. “Give him yours and go get yourself another pair.”

Equipped with ear plugs, Nathaniel turned his attention back to the battle field.

I should do as much as I can.

“Then start shooting, and don’t stop.”

Nathaniel positioned the cross on the red figures that was closer now.

He squeezed the trigger again, and again, and again.

It was hard to keep the cross on the red figures, and he did what he can.

Very fast he finished the magazine. He conjured a fresh one, but now both his hands were occupied, so he un-conjure the old magazine from the rifle and inserted the new one.

He put the cross back on the much bigger red figures. To his surprise, the cross flickered green red green red and stayed red.

The explosions continued, but the riders were spread out now, so the explosions weren’t very affective. There were blue lightning arks jumping around as well. It looked like a lightning storm erupted there.

Nathaniel shouldered his rifle, and dumped the magazine into the red riders.

He conjured another magazine and dumped it.

It became a frenzy, conjuring and duping, Nathaniel entered a trance. He could see Bloom jumping around and sending lightning everywhere, he saw Jenifery obliterating people and horses alike, he saw David and Tiki dancing around in a weird dance causing explosions everywhere, Velony was nowhere to be seen except of a blur circling a rider a moment before he died.

The riders were in chaos, their advancement became slower by the second, while they were trying to overcome the five people that were dancing in the middle of their fighting force. The riders were sure they killed the lightning girl and the explosions sword girl twice, but they were still right there fighting. The kicking and punching guy was indestructible, the other guy kept exploding, and the last person they couldn’t even see. And on top of all that, unseen objects struck riders and killed them, or flew past them with frightening shriek.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The rider’s advancement now stopped entirely, they were trying to fight people that kept killing them, but it was like chasing the wind.

Nathaniel stood there and dumped magazine after magazine into the riders. They were fewer now, and Nathaniel started thinking about the need to stop killing and start taking prisoners, but at that moment Bloom jumped to the middle of the battle field. She stood still and a cage of lightning erupted around her, she rose to float inches above the ground and a flurry of blue and red lightning burst out of her and struck the remaining riders.

Silance filled the area. Nathaniel stood there his rifle in his hand, and watched the five walking toward him.

----

“Your rifle is very effective.” Bloom told Nathaniel when they were back in the gym room. “Usually there’s cooldown after you use an ability, but you seem to spray those bullets of yours nonstop.”

“Yeah, how is it possible?” Velony interrupted. “Those bullets move as fast as I move, how is it possible for you to use so much power without cooldown?”

“I think I know how.” Nathaniel told them. “The magic is only conjuration, and I have five seconds cooldown between magazines. The power and speed are not magic, its physics. And physics don’t have cooldown. And it takes me more than five seconds to empty a magazine, so you can’t notice the cooldown.”

“what’s physics?” David asked.

“it’s the magic of the universe.” Nathaniel answered.

“But magic is the magic of the universe.” David insisted and they all nodded.

I can’t do this, its going to be a long argument with everyone that I’ll ever meet.

“So just tell them that it is a different type of magic.”

Good idea. Siri you’re a genius.

“Thank you.”

“Physics is a different type of magic.” He told the others.

“Tolverstov will bombard you with questions when he hears about it.” Tiki told him.

Shit. She’s right.

“So don’t tell him.”

Right.

“I think I won’t tell Tolverstov about it.”

Bloom laughed. “I’m afraid you’re out of luck there. You’ll have to tell Tolverstov about that if you want him to help you with the right level powder.”

“Shit.”

“If you want, I can blow you up.” David suggested.

“No thank you.” Nathaniel told him. Then he turned to bloom. “It was impressive what you did in the end. But it bothers me. We didn’t have to kill them all, we could force them to surrender.”

“Why?” she asked looking surprised.

This threw Nathaniel off. “What do you mean why”?

“Why not kill them all” she explained.

“Because killing is wrong.” He told her.

“You killed a lot of people today.” She reminded him.

“Yes, but that was so they won’t kill the people in the city.” He argued back.

“And you think that because we killed some of them, they would stop?” she asked him.

“I’m sure they would flee if we’d gave them the chance.” He told her.

“Sure.” She told him. “And then they would go and kill the residents of the next village they encounter.”

“But we could capture them.” He tried to argue.

“And what would we do with them”? she asked him.

“Lock them up.” he told her.

“Where?” she asked him. “In the local jail? So that their friends would come to rescue them and kill every one? Or should we take them with us everywhere we go from now on?”

He thought for a moment. “I understand what you’re saying.” He told her. “But I don’t agree with it. There has to be another way.”

“Feel free to look for it.” She told him and storm out of the gym.

Nathaniel looked after her surprised. “What did I say?” he asked the others.

“Bloom was a little girl in the grate war with Torpitia.” Jenifery explained. “She lived in a village with a big transportation center. Both her parents worked at the transportation center. When the Torpitian soldiers came, she was playing in a warehouse where her father cataloged food supply. Her father hided her in a garbage bin, and she could see thru holes in the bin how they melted him. They were probably acid specialists.”

Jenifery stopped for a moment. “After that.” He continued. “They burned the whole village except for the warehouse she was in, they wanted the food supply. She was rescued by the transportation specialists from the Provix clan that moved thru the village and found the horror. They took her to one of the clan centers where she was adapted by Kila Provix, a very respected member of the Provix clan. And when the FAO was established, she joined the organization and swore to protect every life in danger she encounters. And now you coming here and suggesting that she’s a cruel soldier killing people…”

“Oh, I understand, I really fucked up here.”

“Yeah, and it hurts more when you realize that this is the reason that she’s helping you.” Jenifery added.

“Oh shit. I need to ask for her forgiveness.”

“No need, you didn’t now.”

Nathaniel jumped and turned around. Bloom stood there with a sad smile. “It’s okey.” She told him. “Now. Its late everybody, I’m going to the hotel, are you coming?”

----

Nathaniel sat on the bed in the room the hotel gave him. He didn’t have to pay for it, the hotel owner was happy to help the FAO people.

“Nathaniel, I looked thru the system, and you need to open the control panel before you talk to Tolverstov.”

Why?

“Open it.”