“Hold it together”, says Ms. Jones to herself. The children are safe for now, Master Finner gave his word.
The corrupt Defender of El Hat lured her here with some illusionary trick of light; she thought she was following Mrs. Nguyen until it was too late. Now she and the children are locked in the ticket booth of a theater.
She can hear him talking to a man and a woman, from the language he’s using only the woman can hear what is being said. He must be giving them contradictory information. Finner earned his nickname as a trickster for a reason.
She hasn’t much time, she grabs a playbill and stuffs it in her handbag.
“Luna dear, may I borrow your foxy-girl doll? I have an important job that only she can do.”
Luna looks worriedly at her doll, “Will she be safe?”
“She’ll be safe I promise. I need her to carry a message to the real Fighter-Fox.”
Luna’s eyes show her astonishment as she reverently hands over her favorite dolly.
The doll joins the playbill in her handbag. Edith Jones has the playbill to say where they are, the doll to say who they are, she needs to let them know they are confined. She knows what she needs and luckily has left the item in her craft room back at the Nguyen estate.
Now she must make herself unobserved, “Children, I need your help while I do one of my secret nanny tasks. Do you remember what I taught you?”
They both get excited at getting to help their nanny with a secret nanny task. Things always work out when she does one of those. Both kids sticking fingers in ears and closing their eyes begin singing nonsense sounds, “LaLaLaLaLaLALALALaLaLALALaLAaLa…”
That’s all it took, with nobody observing, she oscillates. Her will drives her spirit to oscillate with purpose, she’s simultaneously in the ticket booth and her crafting room inside the Nguyen’s home. She can only move so far or she’ll bump into the children, doing so will collapse her waveform.
“LALaLLALLALLAALLALALALA”
Master Finner’s voice bellow’s, “You kids be quiet!”
“LLAlallaLALALALLALALALLALAlalalaLalala!”
The craft room is dark, the sun will rise two hours earlier, but it’s still too soon. By feel she locates a twig and a short length of string.
She breaks the twig into two short and one long pieces. Ties them together with a hasty knot and drops them into her handbag. Now she oscillates again and is in the ticket booth, her craft room, and the students cabin on the train.
She grounds her spirit in the cabin, collapsing her waveform. She scatters the three clues on the empty bed before her and oscillates back to the ticket booth.
The booth’s door crashes open by an angry Master Finner, collapsing her wave again.
“Quiet!”, the sound of singing children is muted with a thought from the agitated Master Finner.
“I told you to cooperate and nobody will hurt you.”
Ms. Jones easily falls back into her role as care giver, “We are cooperating. Playing silly games is how you keep young children entertained and distracted from real world problems. Don’t you agree, Mr. Finner?”
Damien Finner knows nothing about children but her logic stands to reason.
He finds himself nodding agreement, “No more noise, keep them quiet or I’ll do it my way.
“I’ve finished with the woman’s instructions, when I dispatch the man, I’ll be back for you three. This will all be over in an hour.”
Hours later, Ms. Jones sits back in the booth of the dining car where she finishes telling her story.
Teum is impressed, “That is an amazing ability. Do you have other gifts?”
“I’m afraid not. I’ve tried them all, I cannot hold, see, detect, or use any form of energy. Being in multiple places at one time is simple so long as nobody can see, hear, smell, or feel me.”
Luscin sits quietly through the story telling, she can’t forget the look on Damion Finner’s face as he died. Will she ever be able to forget that terrible moment where he crossed the boundary of life and death? Ms. Jones and her ability is amazing, she should be excited at the discovery but a veil of sadness weighs on her spirit, she feels nothing inside.
Excitedly Teum continues to press Ms. Jones for information, “Do others in your family have this ability?”
“Yes, but my parents don’t like to talk about it.”
The conversation just sinks Luscin further, “I’m no stranger to family secrets and being sheltered from them. If your parents are like mine then they are either master thieves or world-class assassins trying to break the cycle of being exploited by people more ruthless than they are.
“Trust me, it’s best to not question their decision, to not talk about it.”
Teum doesn’t let Luscin’s dark thoughts slow him, “It may be hereditary, let’s leave it at that.
“You said you put the three items in your handbag. I think I know why but can you tell me anyways?”
“Sure, if something is in one location I can’t make it appear somewhere else without first making it disappear. My bag is always with me, so just like my clothes I feel like it’s part of my identity.
“If I were to be in two places and strip naked. I would be naked in both places. If I pick up an outfit and dress. I would only be dressed in the location that I found the clothes.
“By adding the item to my bag where I am no longer observing them, I can bring them with me when the wave collapses.”
“That’s why you had to leave the ticket booth; I knew it!”
“Correct, If I were still in the booth and craft room, the three items would have stayed where I found them.
“Moving items like that takes discipline. I have to believe the item is now a part of me or it will not join my waveform. Adding them to my bag is symbolic and helps me include the added contents across all my positions.”
Teum notes that Luscin is barely listening as they are learning of a gift unknown to the world. The scholar in her should be as excited as the inventor in him.
“Ms. Jones, I could use the wooden box from my satchel right now. Do you mind going and getting that for me, while I stay with my wife?”
“Sure, give me a moment to tidy my things.”
Turning sideways Teum caresses the side of Luscin face and gently nudges her to look up at him.
Luscin presses her cheek into his palm and closes her eyes for a moment, enjoying the warmth he always exudes.
Ms. Jones clears her throat before speaking, “You two need to be careful. When you’re together you can become so attuned to one another that you become unaware of your surroundings.”
To prove her point she pulls a small wooden box from her handbag, “I believe you wanted this?”
Teum accepts the box, “Thank you… for this and for your council. I’ll try to be more alert in the future.”
Opening the box he offers the contents to Luscin.
She smiles and a small glimmer returns to her eyes. After eating a second chocolate her mood is decidedly better.
“I’ll leave this here while I check on the Nguyen’s,” says Teum as he slides off the bench seat.
Luscin watches him leave before commenting, “It’s cute that he thinks it’s the chocolate that cheers me up. When it’s the effort he goes through to always have it on hand that pleases me.”
Edith, with eyes on the wooden box, “May I?”
Luscin gestures to the confections, “Help yourself.”
A distant boom rattles the plates and glasses on their table.
Teum crashes back into the dinner car and stops below the roof access hatch, “You two join the family. I have this.”
Punching his arm overhead the access hatch explodes outward and Teum disappears through it.
He doesn’t have to look far to find Master Ta Raha, he’s standing on a second-class passenger car, about 50 yards towards the back of the train.
Dropping back to the dining car roof, he notes that he’s wearing one of his favorite band shirts. Using his expanded senses to watch his foe he risks pulling his shirt over his head and tosses it back into the train car below.
The two size each other up as the train continues its unabated progress through the southern corner of Vorg Province. Teum with the wind to his back, begins to close the distance between the two at a brisk pace.
Master Gideon Ta Raha walks forward unaffected by the buffeting wind and draws from his back his short sword and baton.
Teum takes a steadying breath, he knows how much deadlier the Master just became. He’s thankful for the drills he worked with Malo in Akido and Judo. Two fighting styles he didn’t think he’d ever need. Being reminded of Malo brings up a memory where Malo was able to strengthen his body to be denser than stone. His opponent broke his hand trying to punch him.
He doesn’t know how to make his true spirit perform that feat for that matter Malo claims not to know either. Malo says he asks his spirit to do things and they sometimes happen.
With nothing to lose he gives it a try, “Spirit, you’re new to me and I’m new to you. I’m asking you a favor, harden my hands so I may defend against this swordsman.”
A deep ache in his hands tells him something has happened, knocking his fists together generates an unrecognized clacking sound instead of the expected dull thunk of flesh covered knuckles.
This just became more interesting; he picks up his pace and begins to run atop the onrushing train.
Gideon doesn’t know what to make of this student’s confidence. The girl must be the strongest one of the two, because she is clearly in charge. All the disciple’s cells are led by their strongest members. But that doesn’t explain why she was subservient to the man posing as Dorson Milnor. Are they in the same cell or were they cooperating? It won’t matter, they have standing orders to kill anyone that can expose them and the fleeing headmaster could do that easily.
Gideon marches towards the oncoming student bent on killing him, the girl, that family and even the bloody nanny.
Luscin watches everything by opening her senses to the extreme ends of the electromagnetic spectrum. She’s confident Teum will prevail but can’t help fearing something could go wrong.
Ms. Jones senses Luscin’s worry and places a hand on her shoulder as a gesture of comfort.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Above the train the two combatants clash, Teum keeps his line of attack off center to make an effective lunging attack by sword difficult.
Gideon saw the move and changed his attack to using the baton instead.
The change of attack allowed Teum’s momentum to carry him inside the swing and to deflect the master’s arm with a backhanded block.
Having traded positions, they both spin and face off.
Teum drops and tries a leg sweep.
Gideon hops gently, making the sweep miss. But the forward motion of the train brings Teum closer by a few inches putting him in arms reach.
Seeing an opening Teum punches Gideon’s forward right knee.
Teum’s hardened fists along with the weight of a braking train, gathered that morning on approach to a wooden bridge, busts open skin and leaves a hairline fracture in Gideon’s kneecap before the energy can be fully absorbed.
Gideon slashes with his short sword viciously in response to the unexpected pain of a physical wound.
Teum, unable to duck any lower from his crouched position pushes himself backwards with a momentary burst of his spirit against the time stream at eight times free fall. The sudden gravity increase pulls him violently away from the dangerous sword tip.
The momentary pull moves him at a speed of 300 miles per hour but doing so in 1 second moves him 140-yards and beyond the end of the train. The sudden acceleration also brutalized his body. Blood vessels all over his body burst. His shirtless chest, back, and arms blossom with purple and black bruises. Minor internal damage effect every organ, for a moment he is dying.
Alighting on the tracks behind the retreating train, Teum wipes the dribble of blood from his nose as his true spirit clears the blood from inside his eyes and stops his blood from clotting any further. Damaged organs are tended too in order of importance.
On top of the train, Gideon needs to keep his weight off his knee while his own spirit knits bone, it will take at least an hour so long as he doesn’t put his weight on it. In one motion he returns his baton to its place behind his shoulder and raises his sword up in an en-garde salute. He exerts his own will against the flow of time and rapidly ascends, inviting Teum to fight him in the air.
Ta Raha doesn’t waste time and drives ahead of the train at twice the speed of sound.
Still covered in a mottled collage of purple and black, Teum explodes skyward and opens his senses to detect anything moving fast, needing to reacquire his target.
Easing the pressure against time to slow-walk his way up the g-force scale, Teum knows he’ll have to exceed the Masters velocity to have a chance in this fight. His first sonic boom is quickly followed by a second as he accelerates to five times the speed of freefall, reaching 1,550 miles per hour. Exerting more sustained willpower than he’s ever attempted, he pushes himself to seven times the speed of freefall, approaching 2,170 miles per hour. If not for his spirit forcing blood into his brain he’d pass out for sure.
One mistake at this speed and he’ll be helplessly tumbling through the air. The cold air bites his bruised flesh.
The shockwave that proceeds Master Ta Raha produces its own potential energy in a radius that is readily detected. That potential energy acts as both beacon and impact warning.
Teum has put some thought into how to fight in the air at high speed since their matchup last night. His first thought was to gain the high ground and attack from behind. That won’t be effective when they are both traveling at the same speed. The relative difference when they collide would be diluted.
The way to maximize damage is to collide head on and may the stronger man live. Teum hopes he’s the stronger man. Teum turns in a wide arc to lure the Master into chasing him. With the hope he can double back and line up that collision.
Master Ta Raha does turn to follow but also rapidly climbs generating another sonic boom.
Teum can only surmise the Master intends to attack from above. Other than using the sun as a visual blind spot there is no tactical advantage to that approach when gravity is whatever you want it to be.
Teum continues his turn but dips lower to give himself more room. By the time he’s completed a 180 degree arc he aims his feet skyward at the massive wavefront of potential energy aimed at him.
The two are now on a collision course with a combined speed of over 4,500 miles per hour. The amount of energy that’s about to be released is staggering and is more than Teum has ever attempted to capture.
He’s about to alter course when a memory from his early days at Mammatus when the other students would taunt him into doing stupid things. This is exactly the kind of dare they would issue. The memory of them chanting his name galvanized his resolve.
If Master Ta Raha thinks he can survive this collision, then it must be survivable.
Both combatants are speeding up their perceptions. Each with an action in mind that will take precise timing.
When they are about to collide, Teum releases every bit of kinetic energy he’s holding, out through his legs. A crude tactic for sure but what else could he do?
Master Ta Raha has been drilling himself in the maneuver he’s about to perform in the hopes to one day use it to kill Leonis Terius. He’s giddy with excitement to finally use it on a real opponent. A sudden release of kinetic from the onrushing student is his signal to attack.
Bending his left leg at the knee causes him to cartwheel, instead of their boots colliding, Master Gidion Ta Raha body rotates until he’s traveling headfirst slightly above his previous plane of attack. His direct momentum is converted to angular momentum with his left knee as the axis and his right fist traveling at the maximum speed.
He wanted a headshot but initiated the spin too early and punched the student in the chest. It caves-in in a satisfying manor. A lot of energy got through; the student might already be dead.
Gideon lets off his speed until he drops below the speed of sound as he sweeps his senses across the sky in search of his prey.
Teum absorbed as much of the blow as he could, the portion that leaked through both sent him tumbling and cracked his sternum significantly enough to damage a lung.
Recovery from the tumble is his first concern, ignoring the pain in his chest he extends his arms and legs in a star form. This maximizes resistance, by slightly bending his knees and angling his arms back he makes himself shaped like a bowl and his tumble levels out to only a spin. He uses his hands to slow the spin until he’s stable enough to resume the feet forward form.
Teum analyzes the maneuver Ta Raha just performed. He needs to rethink his attacks, it’s not all collisions after all.
While struggling to breathe, his true spirit finishes repairing his lung, and begins stitching his sternum.
He has no idea where his opponent is presently or the train, he performs another 180-degree swoop and begins backtracking at a slower double freefall, avoiding a pressure wave that would broadcast his position.
A low-lying black trail of smoke shows him the train’s location, Teum scans the sky above for his foe but doesn’t have to look for long as Master Ta Raha is still flying above the speed of sound and is now easily spotted. Making his best guess at an interception course he pushes hard against time and booms his way back to three times the speed of sound.
That was what Gideon was looking for, he adjusted his course to repeat the last exchange.
Teum has kinetic energy banked from the Master’s last attack. He’s going to use it to feint a repeat of his previous attempt.
Now both are traveling at three times the speed of sound. Their combined speed at impact will be nearly five thousand miles per hour. Both opponents are running their thoughts as fast as possible to aid in the timing.
With a mere yard separating them, Teum blasts kinetic energy at the black clad defender.
As on the first pass, this prompts Gideon Ta Raha to bend his left knee.
Teum bends his left knee in tandem. Instead of rotating 180-degrees they collide at 90-dgrees.
The Master flyer was not prepared and his fist is only halfway to the apex of its trajectory when Teum lands a glancing blow to the side of his head.
Both go flying in wild spins, Teum repeats his recovery as before.
Gideon Ta Raha is unconscious and falling.
With no more than a hundred yards before impact the master recovers and expertly orients himself to land on his feet.
Teum drops his speed and crashes to the ground a dozen yards away, collecting as much energy as he can.
Master Ta Raha draws his sword.
The combatants rush one another. Gideon, seeing his opponent is still unarmed, aims a viscous slash to Teum’s flank.
Teum smacks the short sword aside with a hardened backhanded swipe while throwing a roundhouse punch with his right hand.
Gideon surprised at the barehanded block but is experienced enough to duck Teum’s wild swing.
Their momentum carries them past one another again. They turn in unison and attack.
Gideon lunges with sword point aimed at Teum’s bare stomach.
Teum read the attack and leans to his right keeping Gideon’s center of attack out of alignment, the sword narrowly misses his exposed midsection. His attempt to grab the extended sword arm was expected and failed.
Teum stays within grappling distance by advancing as Gideon tries to gracefully retreat with sword in the en-garde position.
Gideon is left with no choice but to punch with his left hand.
Teum reverts to boxing and brings up both hands as the Master alternates punching and smashing his sword guard into him.
The exchange of kinetic energy is nearly unobservable as the two pound one another, each round increasing the total force exchanged.
Teum blocks with his raised hardened hands and Gideon opting to allow the blows to hit his body and face.
Master Ta Raha speaks, “Did you enter this fight empty handed?”
Teum says nothing.
“Because I did not. I’ve been holding back thinking you had more in you.
“Prepare to die.”
Master Gideon Ta Raha imbues his next round of blows with everything he has left. All the fire, lightning, and blunt force he was capable of holding wrapped into a series of three blows, two with the sword guard and one with his left fist.
Teum keeps his guard up as the three heaviest blows he’s ever received from a human pummel his raised hands.
Capturing the energy laced onslaught hurt but was not more than he’s held before. He’s not even close to his limits.
Smirking back at the depleted master, “When’s the part where I die?”
Master Ta Raha is looking at his bloodied fists and mutilated fingers. He hit Teum so hard that he crushed the swords guard into his fingers, nearly severing them.
Gideon can’t believe what he’s seeing, “You’re one of them aren’t you. The healing, the unnatural flesh.
“I will serve you instead. Spare me and I’ll rebuild our cell and serve you.”
Luscin explained how they think she’s one of them but they don’t know who she serves. Gideon Ta Raha must think he’s the one in charge.
“Why would you think I’m one of them, what have you been told?”
“Nothing, I swear! It is plain to see you have abilities that defy the natural order. Only hundreds of years of research and thousands of sacrifices can unlock such abilities.
“It’s no wonder Damien and Elora fell so quickly to your acolyte.”
Teum feels sick to his stomach being compared to these filthy degenerates. He knows they spill the blood of innocent people to steal their spirits, “STOP!”
Master Gideon Ta Raha falls silent and through excruciating pain kneels in submission.
“You make me sick. I won’t pretend to be one of you. I’ll hunt every last monster, every disciple, I’ll hunt the Free’er himself if that’s what it takes.
“Stand up and fight or I’ll slay you as you are.”
Gideon processes those words and realizes Teum just repeated some of his arena chatter from that bush-league dueling circuit. Face flushed from humiliation he regains his feet. Humiliation is replaced by anger that grows with each thought. This fool has somehow bloodied him, a Master Defender. Tricked him into believing he has the abilities of a Devastator or an even higher power. He throws insults as if he’s somehow an equal to those that are better than him. Now his anger has turned to rage. Rage that fuels his resolve to accomplish his goal at any cost.
“You could have had me and you let me regain my feet.
“For that mistake, you can watch me kill every last person on that train.”
Gideon Ta Raha doesn’t waste a moment with altitude. He launches himself a yard off the ground and away from Teum, heading for the train; a pair of sonic booms accompany his departure.
As before Teum knows he’ll need to exceed his opponents speed to defeat him.
“Spirit, thank you for my hands. I need you again. I’m going to fly fast. Faster than a human body can survive. Do what you have to do to keep me alive.”
The same ache he felt in his hands now washes through his body. His head feels light and his vision wavers. He hopes this is a good thing and launches himself at ten times free fall, in a span of fifteen seconds, taking him from zero to 3,100 miles per hour, four rapid booms bespeak his speed. The resulting shockwave digs a trench and generates a dusty-rooster-tail marking his passage.
Gideon doesn’t hear the booms as he is flying at 1,600 miles per hour and the sound waves can’t catch him. He does feel the potential energy of a massive shockwave closing on him. Confident that as exceptional as this student seems he couldn’t possibly catch him, to do so he would have to be more than human, nobody but a Disciple of the Free’er could withstand more than eight times free fall for more than a few seconds without passing out.
The train is somewhere ahead he can see the dark streak of grey smoke wafting in the distance. The pressure wave behind him is gaining, he must be pushing himself hard. Master Ta Raha increases his speed to seven times the speed of free fall.
The potential energy building behind him keeps growing, it can’t continue.
But It does, the potential energy building behind him keeps growing.
Master Gideon Ta Raha pushes himself to eight times free fall and moves up to three times the speed of sound.
The potential energy building behind him keeps growing.
No longer searching for the train, he crossed the empty tracks miles ago. He pushes himself to nine times free fall.
The potential energy building behind him doesn’t grow, it arrives.
Two powerful hands grasp his shoulders and he’s forced down into the ground. He should be tumbling but those hands don’t yield control as they relentlessly grind his body into the ground leaving a quarter mile furrow, highlighted with flesh, blood, shattered bone, random viscera, and offal.
Master Gideon Ta Raha of the El Hat Study is no more than a stain upon the land of Vorg Province.
Luscin counted the distant booms and tracked the pressure waves across the sky. When the two waves terminated, she could wait no longer and took her leave by darting out the open hatch of the dining car.
She didn’t dare break the sound barrier, for fear of missing him as she headed for the last place, she knew her husband to be.
She comes across a quarter mile long crater dotted with blood and chunks of flesh and bones. She lands at its terminus and starts running when she spots the motionless form of a man twenty yards away.
She finds her husband; his body is twisted unnaturally. His skin is one solid bruise. His pants are torn to shreds. His grin is from ear to ear.
“I went four times the speed of sound and ground that stupid-face into dust.
“Don’t ever let me do that again.”
Luscin would laugh but he looks bad, really bad, “Do you want me to straighten your limbs?”
Teum thinks for a moment before answering, “Let’s get it over with, this is going to hurt either way. Grab my right hand and yank. If we align the bones, they’ll knit faster.”
Husband and wife work together to assist Teum’s True Spirit in the healing process. Unknown to both of them, her True Spirit soothes his nerves, halving the pain he would otherwise have felt.