"We all exist in our own personal reality of craziness." - Alejandro Jodorowsky

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Fear.

The most powerful emotion, capable of defeating even the strongest titans to roam the galaxy. At the moment, Alard was getting an unhealthy dosage of the baneful emotion as he bolted through thick forestry, darting in between thickets and hopping over outstretched branches with only slim rays of moonlight lighting his way.

The fact that his speed was far from supernatural and was in fact hardly what the average human would consider impressive informed Alard that it was a dream. Ever since his first conscious journey to the mindscape, his dreams had been plagued by a nightmare of a new variety.

One that somehow managed to feel just as intense as reliving the annihilation of his district thanks to how real it all felt.

Real enough that he felt the pang of every scrape of low-hanging twigs, the sweat trickling down his forehead and the dread gripping his chest as the rustling behind him got closer and closer.

He dared not look back at his pursuer and risk tripping up or losing speed but as he ran he began to feel the presence looming above him, preparing to strike.

He could only force his eyes shut as his body tensed in preparation for the coming pain...

Something pulled him back, cradling him to a very manly chest as he felt the familiar sensation of being airborne. The jolt woke him up, dissolving the nightmare and replacing the forestry with a view of the starry midnight sky from his upside-down position. Alard wondered if he had indeed woken up as he realized that someone was carrying him at an alarming pace.

He struggled against his kidnapper, his brief confusion being replaced by panic and the will to be free again. He was unable to grab at the person's clothing from his angle so he settled for well-placed bony elbows and kicks but the person didn't react at all.

Dread once again filled Alard's being as he realized how futile his struggle was.

Would he meet his end here, unable to do anything to stop it?

Amidst his struggling, the person finally stopped moving, and as he dropped Alard to the ground, he caught a glimpse of a very familiar piece of fabric.

A purple suit.

"What the hell are you doing?" Alard shrieked. "I thought I was being kidnapped by some sort of demon!"

Akuma smirked, his suit looking as majestically conspicuous as ever in the dim moonlight. "I'd say that guess isn't too far off. I have a bit of an impromptu mission I'm carrying you on."

"One dangerous enough that you had to kidnap me and carry me out of the earshot of the others," Alard asked, noting that they were now quite a few blocks away from the base.

Heck, he couldn't even hear Hayaka's loud snoring from their spot on the rooftop and Alard had learned that particular sound could really travel.

Akuma nodded. "Nice intuition, boy. I'll tell you on the way." He started walking to the end of the rooftop.

"Wait. I'm not going without Hayaka. He's a part of this training too, whether or not you believe he'll be able to keep up you should at least give him the chance to prove he can."

Akuma paused, his eyes bouncing around wildly as he digested Alard's condition. Of course, Alard was well aware that his threat held no value as Akuma could just haul him away against his will as he had done thus far but he hoped that he would agree with Alard's reasoning.

Finally, Akuma sighed, twiddling his thumbs together as he glanced back in the direction they came from. "Very well, I'll go back and get him. Just be aware, should he die tonight it will be your fault and your fault only."

With those words of encouragement, he disappeared into the night like a gust of wind. Alard just hoped that he was bluffing and would protect Hayaka if the need arose.

You could never quite be sure with Akuma.

In what felt like a blink of an eye but was probably a mere sixty seconds, Akuma returned with an extremely annoyed Hayaka in hand. He had Hayaka's mouth covered to stop him from making any noise and only uncovered it when he had thrown him down next to Alard, much harder than needed.

"Now let's get out of this dump," Akuma said, a rare scowl playing across his handsome features.

"And where exactly do you plan on taking them?" A female voice asked from the darkness. Aura stepped into view a moment later, her arms folded as she sized up Akuma.

It was clear that Akuma hated tedious tasks and fetching Hayaka had been what he considered one, which had caused his mood to worsen. Now, Alard could see that Aura's appearance put her at a real risk of falling victim to Akuma's wrath.

"Those ears of yours are too big for their own good," Akuma said, slowly turning to face her. He began to walk purposefully toward her, an innocent smile etched across his face.

Aura, to her credit, held her ground, staring evenly at him as he approached. Alard didn't know what trick she had up her sleeve but he could almost guarantee it wouldn't be enough.

Alard stepped into Akuma's path with his arms outstretched. The act was meaningless if Akuma really wanted to get through or around him, but he hoped it would at least give the man pause as he quickly thought of an excuse that wouldn't end in Aura's brains on the pavement.

"Her presence could be beneficial," Alard pleaded, "If Jarek does find out that this mission happened, you could say that Aura was the supervisor from the team."

Hayaka had been watching the exchange groggily but now, he planted himself next to Alard with his arms folded, sending a clear message of his support.

Akuma paused, his face abruptly morphing back into a lighthearted smile. "Relax, amicis. I was joking, the girl can follow along if she doesn't get in the way." His eyes darted between the three, landing finally on Aura. "You won't get in the way, correct?"

Aura had a strong silent confidence about her but she evidently wasn't suicidal. "No."

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Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Akuma updated the trio on the objective after some probing from Hayaka. Apparently, he had been tasked with dispatching rogues that had been spotted in the southeastern region of Penrith. Aura informed the boys that such missions were given to only a few key figures due to how powerful rogues tended to be.

Immediately, the revelation made Alard wonder if such a dangerous mission could be viewed as training for newbies but he would just have to trust that Akuma knew what he was doing.

Not that having to trust in Akuma's ability to plan ahead didn't worry him.

After about thirty minutes of traveling at a pace that would make a NASCAR driver question reality, Akuma stopped, turning to address the group.

"This is the general area where the rogues were spotted," Akuma announced. He glanced at Aura, "any sign of them yet?"

Aura paused for a second, closing her eyes and seeming to focus hard on something before reopening them and shaking her head.

"Very well, we have time then." He started to pace back and forth on the rooftop with his hands clasped behind his back. "I brought you two here today to witness and experience true unadulterated power. In years past, humans have always considered strength to stem from mastery over some sort of martial art or some other bland fighting technique, but rogues have proved that thinking wrong." He paused theatrically, waiting until Alard and Hayaka were practically leaning forward to continue. "Rogues are Parasytes which have taken over their host, meaning that they have access to their full physical capabilities but, most importantly, they have full access to their instincts."

He stopped pacing, his firm stare emphasizing his next words. "Rogues are the biggest threat to Parasyte users of either affiliation. Even one who's less impressive is able to defeat most Parasyte users due to their lack of a fighting rhythm. Their attacks are raw and chaotic; the absolute peak of the mountain known as spontaneity—which is what truly makes them so dangerous."

Alard was beginning to understand Akuma's obsession with spontaneity during their sparring, it seemed to be how he judged ability, which certainly didn't work in the tactical Alard's favor.

Aura suddenly flinched, her head jerking forward violently. "They are...coming."

Akuma casually nodded. "I imagine they are, I've been broadcasting my presence after all."

Aura cursed under her breath and muttered, not that it stopped any of them from deciphering the muttered "psycho".

"Broadcasting your presence?" Alard asked curiously.

"Rogues go out of their way to kill Parasyte users. It's believed that this is the case because our presence brings up bad memories of their own imprisonment, thus they tend to enjoy killing us."

"Sounds like a good reason to broadcast our location then," Hayaka said, smartly taking a few steps away from Akuma.

"Oh, come on," Akuma said, spreading his arms wide. "Life is short, you should never pass down some fun."

As he finished talking, what Alard could only describe as a monster appeared. It was a humanoid figure and had clearly once been a Parasyte user, but now, its limbs were deformed and with the eerie frothing building up on its mouth, it felt like a representation of a zombie from a low-budget movie. What was the most chilling however was its eyes.

They were the same eyes he had seen in the mindscape. The true eyes of the Parasyte.

Alard moved to intercept the rogue as it leapt at Akuma from behind but the speed difference was massive. To call the thing fast would have been the understatement of the century.

Akuma, who had seemed to not notice the development behind him, spun on his heels without warning and fired a punch into the rogue's stomach, sending it flying right back off the rooftop.

"They're not as strong as I would've liked but they'll do," Akuma said quietly. His hand dropped to his side and Alard noticed a nasty bruise forming on his knuckles.

"They'll do for what," Aura asked, her voice laced with concern.

Before Akuma could reply, the overwhelming presence of a second rogue assaulted Alard's senses. He hadn't noticed the smell from the one before but now, it was an overbearing attack on his nostrils. It had a certain rawness about it that immediately challenged the gag reflex, much like being in close proximity to rotting meat.

Alard saw the rogue as it leaped over the roof, aiming its descent directly at him. His mind was screaming to move, observing angles of escape from the path of the speeding missile but his legs refused to cooperate as he lost himself in the swirling mist of those eyes.

Luckily, Akuma didn't have such consternations and slid in front of Alard to intercept the rogue. In a show of adaptability, the rogue ducked just as Akuma swiped swiftly at its head, managing to ram its shoulder into Akuma's midsection and tackle him to the ground.

The rogue attempted to hold down Akuma from on top of him with one hand, raising the other with a malicious grin staining its face. It brought down its hand with speed Alard couldn't even dream of stopping, but of course, Akuma managed to slide his head out of its way with seconds to spare. Before the rogue could recover its balance, Akuma threw a lightning-quick knee into its stomach, launching the rogue high into the sky.

Akuma regained his footing, dusting off his suit as he muttered to himself. "Beautifully chaotic...yet somehow lacking in grace." He looked up at the rogue who had finally reached his peak at a good forty feet in the air.

He aimed his hand at the descending figure, forming a makeshift gun with his fingers. "Pew."

For a confusing second, nothing happened, then out of seemingly nowhere, the rogue erupted into a shower of blood, a gaping hole displaying the starlit sky where the rogue's chest had been a second ago.

Akuma embraced the raining blood, not bothering to avoid it as it splattered across his suit and face. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying it. The rogue's body landed with a bone-chilling thud. Its eyes were wide and its body motionless, a now permanent portrait of shock etched across its face.

Akuma turned back to the group, the splatters of blood on his suit somehow complementing him and his goofy but sinister smile. "Impromptu lesson over. It's your turn."

"What?!" Hayaka asked incredulously. "You can't possibly mean..."

Akuma nodded. "The first rogue is on its way back and it's all urs."'

Alard couldn't believe the level of recklessness that Akuma repeatedly showed. It's like he was trying to top his last insane idea every time.

"You can't possibly be serious," Aura said with a shake of her head. "Even esteemed Underground members rarely get given such a task because of the dangers. This is-"

"And that's exactly why I'm letting them take it on. My students won't be average, and the best way to improve as a Parasyte user is during battle when the parasyte and user come together as one in a desperate fight for self-preservation. What better way then to guarantee above average results than pitting them against beings of true power."

Aura scoffed. "Still-"

In a blink of an eye, Akuma moved, driving a solid kick across Aura's head and sending her sailing over the side of the rooftop. A glance showed that Akuma had kicked her in the path of the first rogue who was on a vengeful return.

The rogue's eyes seemed to shift, as he positioned his airborne body to collide with Aura who barely seemed conscious.

Without thinking, Alard jumped into action, flinging himself over the wall after Aura. His desperation granted him extra speed as he rocketed toward the two, but it still seemed like he wouldn't reach her in time.

In a stroke of luck, or perhaps unearthly precision from Akuma, Aura's momentum started to falter and she began to fall to the ground before the rogue could get its hands on her. Of course, the rogue didn't seem bothered by the development as Alard replaced her as its target.

Forcing away the tendrils of fear that threatened to snake into his limbs and render him immobile again, Alard instead poured rage into his very soul, something that seemed remarkably easy thanks to an overflowing reserve he appeared to suddenly have.

Or maybe it had always resided inside, building as the injustices he faced stacked up like a Jenga tower. As he neared the rogue, he pretended to go for a simple jab before shifting his body so his windup turned into a flying uppercut. The rogue didn't even bother to dodge as Alard's fist smashed into its mentum with a satisfying crunch, all of his rage channeling itself in his attack.

Yet, the rogue was unstirred.

Even with a broken jaw and god knows what else, the rogue grabbed onto Alard's hand, wrapping its legs just above his shoulder and twisting hard while holding the tip of his hand in place.

Unlike the rogue, the blinding pain sent tremors throughout Alard's body, leaving him helpless as the rogue pushed down on his body, so the ground greedily sped up as they fell.

Akuma might have to rethink the whole chaotic no technique thing that he called rogues fighting because as far as Alard was concerned; the grappling lock he found himself in would put the greatest UFC fighters to shame.

And it sure hurt like hell.