Laguna - North-end - midnight - Proxy

It didn’t take long to reach the other side of the bridge. Ocean, Alex, and I hop off the bus first. Saying that I’m feeling stressed would be one hell of an understatement. Not that I’m turning tail or anything, but knowing what might happen…yeah, can anyone blame me? Ocean is here though, so I doubt things are gonna go farther than insults.

“Ah, here comes the welcome party,” Ocean says, tapping his sword against the ground.

A crowd of bandits, carrying weapons and wearing mean ass faces. This is just a guess, but they might want to use those weapons on us. Ocean draws his sword, standing between us and them.

“Okay, look here boys! These fine people, plus one brat, are here to have a civilized talk and all that.”

I'll let that slide, for now…

“Screw you, you bastard,” one of them spat. “Let’s kill 'em, boys!”

Ocean slashes the ground in front of them, even though he’s 14 feet away. The bandits go slack-jawed, practically shitting their pants with those stupid looks on their faces. “I ain’t gonna say it again. Be good little boys, or there’s gonna be a problem.”

Nice one, old man. Now we can have a good ol’ discussion.

“Bring out a Flame Wraith, I know you guys have one. His name is Wildcard!”

The old man is on Jed’s side, so he won’t be any help, but maybe Wildcare isn’t as crazy as I think he is. If that doesn’t work, then I guess beating them up and making them leave will work, but I don’t think we’ll have time for that.

It takes a while, but Wildcard shoves his way to the front, looking pissed for some reason.

“What…? Why are you guys here? You wanna pick up where we left off,” he jeers, sneering his ugly ass face my way.

“Not now. You guys gotta leave.”

“Seriously!? You couldn’t beat me, now you're begging me to leave?”

“Hell no, you moron! Bad shit is going on right now. All of you are gonna be chop liver if you stay.”

“Bad shit… I did feel something earlier. Something vile.”

“Wait, you felt it too?”

“Too? So it wasn’t just my imagination?”

Puck didn’t feel it, even though we were sitting next to each other. Is it because we have higher senses than normal people?

“He ain’t lyin’, kid. If you felt it, you know things are gonna get rough soon,” Ocean backs my claim.

“What was it then?” Wildcard demands an answer.

“Come on, use that brain of yours. Didn’t your fight or flight instincts kick in when you felt it?”

Wildcard narrows his gaze, not on us, but far off behind us. Not like there’s much behind us, so I don’t get it. His finger points my way. “Start explaining. Being left in the dark sucks.”

Without wasting a minute, I give him the SparkNotes version of events. His face gets more grave as I go on. By the end, dread leaves him speechless.

“So you get it? You guys gotta go before he gets here.”

The crowd behind him gets even more unruly, laughing at us and even slinging curse words our way. Trying to help these dumbasses is harder than beating them.

“Let me ask: you think you can win? If we both felt it, then we know that it’s too dangerous.”

“I know, but I’m not running. Not from this.”

“Do you honestly think someone like you can do this? I mean, you barely stood a chance against me.”

“Yeah, but that was hours ago. I’m not the same.”

Wildcard doesn’t waste another breath. He just gets into a stance. “Then show me.”

“Proxy,” Alex calls, practically asking me if I’m sure about this.

“Don’t worry, this won’t last long.”

I walk over to him while taking off my jacket and throwing it over to Alex.

“Come on and get it, kid.”

My arms move to the front, and my legs are spread apart from each other. Remember everything you learned when you fought Jed. Use it all to beat this guy.

We speed off at the same time. We’re neck and neck in speed and reaction time. Our hands train on the other, attempting to blitz each other. We break when he goes for a sweep. It takes my feet off the ground. Right as he gets up for a follow-up, I plant my hands on the floor. Even like this, I can still get a hit off. My foot swipes past his cheek, leaving a bruise mark.

We didn’t stop there. My defense is good so far, but so is his; blocking and redirecting my attacks, just like me. The pace picks up with each minute that passes by. We aren’t fighting for real, but a slip-up could cost me. Plus, I don’t care if it’s not for real, I still won’t lose to him, not again! So, it’s time to stop playing nice! Blocking one last attack, I kick his chest. Even if it creates a bit of distance, he’s still dazed by the kick. Can’t let this opportunity go to waste.

I charge at him, telegraphing a punch. He immediately readies himself to block it. My punch never comes. I spin around on the lamp pole on the rail of the bridge. I let go, hurling myself toward Wildcard. It’s too much for him to guard, let alone keep his footing. Wrapping my legs around his head, I shift my body weight down to toss him like a sack of potatoes. Although it was a sick maneuver, he rolled and then pushed himself back up. That was a nice recovery, but he still didn’t see it coming. However, I gotta respect his skills for that reason. He managed to recover despite my surprise attack. If this was serious, would I be able to win? Shit, dude, this guy is amazing!

“Stop!” Wildcard’s sudden shout stops me dead in my tracks. “...Seems like you weren’t lying. Your fundamentals have changed, or rather, you broke away from your bad habits as a fighter. Before, you were trying to overpower me in hand-to-hand, but that was never gonna work; plus, you lacked the overwhelming strength to rely on brute force. However, you must’ve seen how crap you were.” Asshole. “Now, you understand your fundamentals aren’t brute strength, but in your agility and speed. So tell me, how does it feel not to suck as badly anymore? Feels good, doesn’t it?”

“It feels…liberating. Like I threw off weighted clothes. I thought it was because of my lack of strength, but it wasn’t just that. I didn’t understand how I was supposed to be strong.”

“Exactly.” He claps my hand. “Understanding the self and combat are essential ingredients for strength. Without one, a person can’t call themself a true warrior. Never forget this.”

I won’t ever forget that, and the feeling I got when I decked Jed in the liver. The sensation of my fist tearing through the air felt, unlike anything I ever felt before. Like a spark of lightning running through my very fist; is this euphoria?

“Please, you all need to evacuate,” Alex says. “If you do not, you will all be slaughtered.”

Again, the clowns behind Wildcard go mouthing off like a bunch of dumb gorillas. Seriously, how stupid can these guys be?

“Shut it!” Wildcard’s shout made them all zip their lips. “...I think I fought this guy we’re talking about.”

“Seriously…!? Oh, right, this morning! Cade popped up while you and I were fighting.”

“Before, I got a bad feeling from him, but it wasn’t this bad. So what made him go off the deep end like this?”

“There’s a dude named Jed on his team. He’s a creepy guy who wants him to get pissed, for some reason. Also, the old man, he was there too.”

He points to Ocean. “That one?”

“Can you bastards stop it!? I’m in my goddamn early 30s’!”

“Not him, the one with you guys. Ya know, the tall one that’s too damn calm.”

The lights in Wildcard’s brain light up a second into thought. “Come to think of it, he isn’t here at all.” He turns to the idiots behind him. “Hey, anyone see that old bastard?” Unsurprisingly, they all shrug their shoulders at the question. “That sneaky… So, he’s trying to kill us all, huh? The question is why…?”

“Don’t believe us?” I ask him.

“Nah, I do. I never trusted him to begin with. The guy is crazy. He even went to that prison near the kingdom just because he heard about some fighting arena there.” When you put it like that, yeah, it is crazy… “Anyway, I guess there’s no point in staying here if we’re all gonna get screwed.”

“Exactly what I’m thinking.”

Finally, we’re making some headway. Now that they get the message, things are–

“Are you sure this is what you desire?” My body turns around to see who that elderly voice belongs to. Like I needed to, I already know who. “Is retreating truly the best option?”

“Butt of this, you old man!”

“It’s Santa now. I believe that’s what you referred to me as.”

“I did?” Oh, yeah, I think I might have. Though, why the hell is he using that as a name?

“Why would I want to get myself killed? That just sounds stupid as shit,” Wildcard retorts.

“I was not asking you, boy…” He moves past us and Wildcard. His attention was on the group of bandits. “All of you, every one of you, fight to the death for the ultimate battlefield…!”

…/Richard

The warm midnight air that brushes past my body is oddly soothing during a situation like this. My body is as ready as it can be, and my mind is still sharp. I’ve been practicing my Source control while I waited. Not that I need to, but it doesn’t hurt to do it.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Cade is approaching. His Source is different from that body-snatcher; it isn’t creepy, but mired in overwhelming rage… He isn’t malevolent, far from it, but he is dangerous.

“He’s almost here.”

His army isn’t too far off now. Actually, it's more like a cascade of kids ready to take out their anger on those who wronged them. To be honest, they deserve to get their vengeance. The bandits wronged so many people over these last 7 years. It’s logical to think that, but without thinking of it logically, would it heal the hole inside them? And say that it doesn’t, then those holes would grow even larger, and their anger and bitterness would expand as well.

That pain is unbearable to hold. It doesn’t magically go away, nor does the feeling fade from your mind completely. But with the right people, you can grow around that pain… I know I don’t know any of them, but as someone who knows loss, I can’t sit by and do nothing.

“Let’s do this!”

I did all I could, prepared the best way I know how, and now, all I can do is act.

Cade leads the march, moving through the streets with a menacing pressure. Each step he takes matches the beat of my heart, they both grow louder as the seconds roll by. Calm down, you know what you were signing up for.

“A bandit!”

He doesn’t recognize me? It wasn’t even an hour but he referred to me as a “bandit” rather than saying “you again”. Is his ability to recognize people impaired?

“I’ll kill you…all of you!”

He’s coming!

Dust scatters from beneath Cade's feet. My body automatically jumps out of his path. He slides onto the spot I stood on, his knife in front of himself. I chuck the rock from my pocket for his temple. It breaks apart on impact like an egg hitting a brick wall.

Seriously!? I threw it as hard as I could! Was it because he's enhancing himself? Shit! It figures that's the case. That rock was nothing more than a nuisance.

But I guess that'll have to do. Cade's full, undivided attention is on me now. He’s easily provoked into a battle, so as long as I keep his attention on me, he won't go to the bridge, but they aren’t stopping their march. Damn, taking on all of them would be ill-advised with Cade behind me, and I’m not exactly someone who would go and fight a hoard of people. For now, I better lead him on a goose chase. I escape into a dark, narrow alleyway, littered with rubble.

Right now I’m not worried about him catching up, but more about him giving up his pursuit. Fighting him is definitely out of the question without Nunnalé here to assist me. That being said, it doesn’t mean I am out of options. For now, I need to think about my opponent's weaknesses and strengths.

From what I can tell, Cade’s Source is leaking out; he likely has no control over it. And when you enhance, you’re using up Source. Combine this with the fact he’s continuously using it, he’ll have to run out eventually, his defense will grow weaker from the amount he’s able to put in. And I bet summoning those monsters is tiring him out. All I have to do is outlast him. If I can do that, and perhaps pile damage on him somehow, then it’ll make it easier for everyone else…or maybe, I can defeat him here? Ridiculous, I can’t see that happening.

Turning a corner, long, thick, strands of black hair immediately catch my attention. I leap up to a 3-story building, dangling from the ledge. Patrolling the alley below with a slow, eerie pace is the woman who keeps disturbing my Source. Hm? She isn’t looking up here. Does she have a limited field of vision? Ripping off a piece of the roof I’m hanging from, I throw the chunk at her. It landed against the back of her head. She disappeared from just that one attack. Does he already know where I am? Hmm…too early to tell.

I climb back on top of the roof. Cade is still running around the alleyway but from the other end. If he doesn’t know where I’m at, then how was that thing able to find me? But if he was sure I was over there, then why didn’t he send it over there, or for that matter, summon the other monster to scan the alley from the sky… Hang on, it can’t be, it’s almost ludicrous, but does he have no control over his own technique; whether he can activate it or not?

“Show yourself, bandit!”

Running and hiding might do me good, but that black-haired monster might show up if I stay put for too long. Besides, if he gets impatient, then he might leave to go after the bandits at the north end. Besides, I already decided to dedicate my life to this, just like everyone else. I’d never be able to face them if I ran away to save myself.

“Over here!”

My voice reaches him. He directs his bloodthirst at me. Time to go!

Cade leaps off of several buildings leading up to this one. He crashed into the building right when I jumped off. I catch the neck of a lamppost below. No time to relax, gotta keep moving. Ocean’s signal could come any second, so I need to keep an eye on the sky, specifically to the north.

Cade isn’t too far behind. In terms of speed, he beats me. However, my jumping strength is better since I’m only enhancing one of my legs. Cade’s enhancing his whole body from the looks of it, so not one limb is stronger than the other. But, perhaps that means my strikes can work if I outdo him in enhancing. Though, that’s pretty risky since one mishap can get me killed, and since I’m not as battle-savvy as Proxy or Nunnalé, I doubt I’d be able to read him properly.

I’ll have to keep him from catching up somehow. These buildings are my best bet. If I can use them to surprise attack him, then I may be able to keep this up for a good while. I just need the right one with the best conditions to enact a sneak attack on him… There!

Jumping into a building that satisfies my needs. The interior’s roof is unstable, barely held up by a wooden beam running across it. It’s perfect! Cade will enter through the roof or the front, whatever he chooses will cause the roof to give. Knowing him, it’s going to be the front!

On cue, he busts through the front, almost tearing it off its hinges. My fist smashes into the wall, resting an imbalance for the other floor above. I make a break for the door, tearing it off by the hinges. Debris rains down around Cade, burying him underneath it all… That’s not enough to keep him down. We did this last time, and back then he just burst out of the building.

Like a broken record, Cade breaks out of the debris. Next, he’s going to attack me! Grabbing the door next to me, I block his incoming attack. The top half of the door is split apart from the lower one. I stomp his chest. There’s no telling if that was enough.

More importantly, I’m recognizing more and more of Cade’s weaknesses. His cognitive abilities seem to be somewhat impaired for whatever reason. Maybe it has to do with his sudden use of Source, or is it because of his technique? Either one is possible.

Cade summons that muscle-bound monster. He can probably summon them, but beyond that, they have their own autonomy.

The monster slams its fist into the brick-layered ground right behind me, scattering bits of it at me.

“Whoa!”

That was too close. There has to be some way to damage this thing without trading blows or getting close to Cade. Once again, its fist smashes into the ground, and debris scatters everywhere… This is the worst idea I’ve ever had, but I seriously have nothing else to work with. I just hope this doesn’t blow up in my face.

I jump and land on top of a house, waiting for the monster to catch up. Cade follows behind the burly monster. Its massive fist hones in on me. Wait for it…wait… Now!

Stomping the roof, I created a hole for me to slip through. This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy! The house explodes and a cloud of dust lies in its wake. This is my chance to get something done!

Visibility isn’t a problem since I can see his Source through the smoke. There won’t be another chance like this. Better make it count. Powering my left arm, I swing it his way. My knuckle hit his ribs. He lets out a yelp as he hurls through a building behind him… It worked? Holy crap, it worked!

So if my enhancements are stronger than his, I can do damage! Okay, that’s good to know. Now, time for the next step: running away! I’m aware of how cowardly it sounds, but that punch was already pushing the fringe of my luck. For now, I’ll just run away and– A blur lands in front of me. My heart pounds against my ribcage, each beat more painful than the other. Cade’s arm flashes across my chest. Blood splashes out of my chest. He follows up with a nasty kick to my chest.

Saliva spews from my mouth, and blood spills from my wound. A stone wall stops me from barreling onward. Mind-numbing pain bites at my nerves when I try to stand back up. Carrying on with a wound like this is an insanely bad idea. Healing it is going to take a bit of time. Albeit, I need to get out of here first.

Just then, as I was about to make my move, the muscle monster charged at me from behind Cade. There isn’t any time to get away! I enhance my arm as best as I can. There was nothing that could prepare me for the monstrous blow. It carries the force of a wrecking ball slamming into a building at full force. The strike itself blows my senses out of focus, forcing an out-of-body experience for me. In my haste, I failed to understand the raw power behind this punch. Even with my arm enhanced, it didn’t stop it from flinging me back. My body crashes through a small house…

Sh–shit…! Everything is a blur, sound is muffled, and a horrible sense of nausea. Most likely a concussion. Blood seeps from my chest, pouring onto the ground… Funny, my Source isn’t wrapping itself around my blood… Why is that? Actually, now that I think of it, my Source wraps around my clothes, but when I take them off, none of it follows them, not even if it was because it was on my body…

Source flows around one's body, always present, no matter what. It is the power that comes from one's soul, from what teacher taught me. So without the soul, that means Source wouldn’t exist. Then would that mean…that without the body, would not be possible? The body…

No, not now. Becoming preoccupied with my thoughts will not relieve my wound. Concentrating my Source around the palm of my hand, a soothing sensation washes over my wound, lightening the pain. For now, I just need to keep Cade on me. Speaking of, he marches through the hole in the wall, scowling as he approaches. Just a bit longer. Everything will be fine, I know it will be!

Anti-bandit army camp - Midnight - Puck

I circle the campsite, waiting, watching, and listening for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing so far, but I doubt it’s going to say like that for long. Jed is going to be a problem if he arrives. Luckily, these guys had a bunch of stuff I could use to make traps. Me and that purple-haired girl, Nunnalé, are setting them up. She doesn’t speak much, and her face shows no hint of emotion; similar to a human-like doll.

Strangely enough, I can’t but find her beautiful for it, like she was created like that.

“These traps will not stop him,” she says, still setting up the wire trap.

“I know, but if we can catch him off guard, then that’ll be enough. It doesn’t need to kill him, just get him on edge.”

“I see. If it were to work, it would give me long enough of a moment to finish him.”

“Yeah.”

Come to think of it, shouldn’t she be angry at me? I mean, I almost killed her the last time we met. Then again, she almost killed me too, so that evens things out, as much as they can be anyway.

“Why are you still here?” I ask her. “The rest of your army went, so why stay here with me?”

“I am not here for you,” she replies, lacking the anger that should be associated with such a statement. “Marie currently resides inside the medical tent. If an enemy were to arrive, I must defend her.”

“That bandit?”

“Correct.”

“You don’t trust me around here, do you?”

“Considering our past encounter with you and Cade’s goal, I cannot disregard the possibility.”

The stark difference between her and Proxy is apparent. No matter how sorry I am, leaving me with their ally is terrible. But she doesn’t seem angry at me. She has every right to hate me, yet I don’t get that from her.

“I hate all the bandits, every single last one of them,” I state without provocation. “They murdered our families, took whatever they wanted, and then acted like they were better than us. I’ll never forgive them, no matter who they are…” I face her beautiful yet passionless eyes. “So tell me, how can you work with someone like that? Someone who was a bandit? Do you even know she is one?”

It’s not like I’ll hurt her, but I want to know what that bandit means to this doll of a person. What is a bandit worth to her?

“I already know of her past as a Fire Wraith bandit. However, I do not see why it matters now?”

“What?”

“Her time as a bandit does not interest me, nor does it pertain to my current objective.”

“Seriously? You can ignore it, just like that?”

“Of course, if she were to attempt to end my master’s life, she would then become my enemy, and I would dispatch her without hesitation.” She places a hand on her chest, bothered by something. “...However, she has not once shown any hostility towards my master. The bandits are violent, bloodthirsty, and even psychopathic. Marie has not once shown herself to be this way. She commands a great deal of respect from the members of the anti-bandit army, and shows them the same.”

“Then what makes her so different?”

She ponders for a moment, then, raising her head a little, she turns to me. “I am…I lack an understanding of human emotions, and how people may feel. However, when she and I spend time with one another, we talk about meaningless things, yet I cannot help but feel relaxed around her. Whenever she would pat my head, the warmth in her hands, it felt…nice, I think.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes. But I still believe that she is different from our enemies. I believe it is her kindness for those around her, and towards me, even though I am a doll.”

That’s strange. It’s like she’s not sure what emotions she’s feeling. Although, in a moronic way, it makes me believe her dedication toward that person… Almost reminds me of me.

Nunnalé stands when she finishes setting her trap. I’m done with mine, too. As I stand up, the back of the purple-haired girl’s thigh suffers a sudden deep cut on her leg. A long, slim strip whips upward to the building behind us.

“Puck, I was worried sick for you and Wedge.”

The enemy repels from the building by using his weapon. He faces us with a hideous grin, exposing their disgusting nature as a person. Their terrible attempt to sound polite boils my blood.

“I knew you’d come, Jed.”

He twirls his weapon with one hand. “Come now, I am not that predictable, am I?” he rhetorically asks, giggling at the end. “...But it is a shame…I detest killing my allies, so it’s a shame it has to be this way.”