The Dragonewt and Group 7 engaged in a tense stare-down. As its source energy rose, it squeezed the hilt of its sword and exhaled steam. As their aura grew stronger, the three established unique fighting positions and augmented their cloaks. It lowered its sword to the ground, its eyes gleaming.
"Here it comes." Su warned.
The sword glowed as it dragged it across the ground before releasing a towering crescent shaped energy. Su and Fred dodged to the right while Kris dodged to the left as the energy tore deep into the wall sending out broken rocks and dust. The demon dashed towards Kris, lifted the sword overhead and struck down on him. He rolled further left letting the sword dig deep into the ground. It squeezed the hilt more, its veins popped and its eyes glowed with a sinister smile. It quickly swung its sword rightwards. Kris lifted his hands to guard and augmented his cloak but the power behind the sword sent him flying to the far end of the room.
"Kris!" Su yelled. The demon turned its attention to her. Jumped from its position, covered the distance between them and struck downwards.
"Thousand-hands defense form!" Su lifted her right hand and multiple hands made of yellow energy trailed behind hers to clash with the sword. The impact caused the ground to depress twice with Su falling on her knees while pushing hard against the sword. Suddenly the demon was blasted backwards by green energy. As it landed, it saw Fred shaking while breathing heavily. He screamed and kept pummeling it with blasts but it used its sword as a guard and was pushing closer to him. Su sprung with intense speed at the demon.
"Thousand-hands attack form!" She struck its guts with her right palm and formed an energy sphere. The multiple hands followed immediately and enlarged the sphere massively before they blasted the demon upwards. From its back, Kris dived down, fists forward and glowing with red source energy. He struck the demon, pushed it into the ground and caused an explosion. Kris jumped out of the blast, but the demon pursued him and swung its blade, which was charged with green energy and glowing. Kris held his hands together, gathered energy at it and swung back at the sword. They clashed and struggled as both Kris and the demon gritted their teeth at each other. Kris roared and finally deflected the sword away. Su had closed in with a flying double kick to its guts. Her cloak formed multiple legs concentrating at the point of the kick before it launched the demon into a wall while she did a back flip and landed in a crouched position. Kris created a blast behind him and landed at her position. The demon burst out of the wall and ran towards them.
Fred, who was gaining a bit of confidence, created a sphere his full height then compressed it into the size of a tennis ball before shooting it at the demon. The blast's intensity pushed him backwards as it accelerated towards the demon. As the blast approached, the demon attempted to slash it, but the impact resulted in a tremendous explosion all around it. Kris and Su charged their auras and as it spiked they dashed towards the demon. It staggered as it walked out of the explosion. Kris slid on the ground while leaving energy spheres behind him. He hit the demons leg causing it to spin and land on the spheres which exploded sending it upwards. Su had launched herself in the air with her energy swirling round her as she spun.
"Thousand-hands attack; spiralling fist!" She roared as she punched through the demon's energy and hit the armor at the base of its chest. The multiple cloak hands fused at the point of impact, breaking a large portion of the armor and hitting the skin thereby launching it into the ground with a thunderous slam.
Su noticed that she wasn't able to damage the skin. She tried to pull back but the demon's whiskers stretched a few meters and wrapped around her. It began to electrocute her. She screamed in pain as the demon stood up to it's feet while charging its sword. Its energy covered the exposed part.
"SU!" Kris and Fred yelled out. The demon lifted its sword preparing to cut her in half while she was being electrocuted. Fred quickly formed two spheres and thinned them to sharp discs. He launched them at the demon and they sliced off its whiskers forcing the current to flow back and shock its face. Kris created blasts from both hands lifting himself towards Su who was falling head first. He caught her, spun himself and landed in a crouched position with his feet dragging against the ground.
With its sword burning and slicing the ground, the furious monster focused its glare on Fred and began rushing towards him. Fred formed a blast his height and as he was about to shoot it, the demon spoke.
"Weaken!" Fred was stunned a bit and his energy reduced. He shot a weak sphere which the demon brushed aside. By the time he realized what was going on the demon kicked him into the air. His eyes bulged, his pupils shrunk as he coughed out blood while being launched. The demon swung its sword releasing a large crescent wave of energy.
While this was happening, Kris shot an energy blast behind him which propelled him quickly to a wall. From the wall, he shot a larger one which blasted a large hole into the wall and pushed him almost instantaneously to Fred while tearing through the air. Immediately as he got to Fred, he kicked him downwards as the energy wave was inches from them. The wave slammed Kris into the wall above while Su caught Fred below. He was knocked out. The demon was shocked to see Su fine and well. Su jumped some distance away from the demon before giving Fred an energy capsule. An energy beam boomed from the wall above and as it got closer to the demon, it boomed a second time becoming larger. The demon blocked against it but it pushed it some meters away before covering it in an explosion. Kris fell from the wall above, but Su moved in time to catch him from hitting the ground face first. Fred regrouped with them. Kris hands and chest had deep cuts on them. Fred gave him one of his energy capsules and the wounds closed. Kris took a deep breath in then out.
"We can't drag this any longer. We just have to get through it's energy and skin. Then its core will be within reach," Su noted.
"We could use Javeline..." Fred suggested.
"She doesn't think it would work all the way."
"What's that?" Kris asked.
"It's a move she and Fred practiced. She would charge her energy till it spiked then Fred would launch her towards the target while she uses eagle claw to pierce through it. She might get into the skin, but she's not sure she'd go deep enough to get the core."
"Shit! Why did it have to be a guard type!" Fred hit the ground in frustration.
"Hmmm. I have a plan," Kris voiced out after a brief moment of thinking.
"Huh? really?" Fred asked. The demon roared from its direction.
"Less of a plan, but more of do as I say type stuff," Kris responded as he got to his feet.
"Hmmm..." Su thought.
"Do you have anything in mind at all?" Kris asked in a sarcastic tone.
Su wanted to reply but she held back. She pouted at Kris before saying, "Fine, what does she have to do."
"You two focus your energy to the max! I'll handle the rest," Kris said as he stood to his feet.
He walked towards the demon as he charged two energy spheres in his hands. Su began increasing her energy and so did Fred.
"I don't know what you are planning but..." The demon spoke.
"No need to worry too much about it. I'll be taking you down before you can see it," Kris cut it short.
It grunted and its energy became thicker. Kris smirked as he closed his hands on the spheres and when he opened them, small spheres were on each finger. The demon crouched a bit and squeezed the hilt of its sword while it glowed. Kris pointed his right index finger.
"Bang," He uttered softly as he shot the sphere from his right index finger.
The demon noticed it when it clashed with its energy at its shoulder. The sphere drilled in and as it touched its armor, it exploded. The demon felt a sting as its right hand vibrated. It widened its eyes to look at Kris who had a grin on his face.
"You..." It scowled.
"Yes... ME." Kris shot the spheres from his middle,ring and pinkie finger and they hit the demon on its knees and left shoulder. After exploding, the demon fell on its face.
It was infuriated. It launched itself at Kris holding firmly with both hands on its sword. Kris shot from his right thumb and it hit the demon in its guts. It exploded causing the demon to cough out as it staggered in its run. It vexed more and stabbed the blade into the ground. Green energy spiralled around it and as it pulled it out of the ground, it released a towering sharp crescent wave at Kris. Kris crouched as he focused energy at his feet. He blasted it and it sent him high into the air just barely dodging the tip of the energy wave. The demon had made its jump and it was closing in on Kris.
"You are mine!" It roared, its eyes bulging, its veins popping, its hands bleeding from how much it squeezed onto its blade as it pulled it with both hands ready to strike Kris. Kris smiled as he shot two energy blasts from his left ring and pinkie finger. They spiralled around each other before separating to attack each eye of the demon. Everything moved in slow motion. The spheres drilled past the energy. The demon watched as it was about to touch its eyeballs and upon slightest contact, they exploded, taking out the demon's eyes in the process. Time seemed to resume its normal pace. The demon screamed, dropped its sword, which fell with the energy gathered on it causing a large crater in the ground, and brought its hands to hold the eye sockets in pain. Kris sent energy blasts from his boots, propelling him closer to the demon and punched it in the face, sending it crashing onto the ground as it dragged on it. Kris landed on his feet after spinning around. Su's energy spiked, and he noticed it.
"Now!" He yelled as he ran across the ground for a few meters before jumping into the air. Fred created two energy spheres on his hands and Su back flipped onto it. The demon roared as it got to its feet and started shooting energy blasts randomly to all directions. Fred aimed at the demon but Kris called out to him.
"Fred! To me!" As he opened his plam. Fred aimed Su at Kris and launched her towards him just before a blast hit the ground where he was standing. Su was surprised but all she saw was Kris' right hand stretching out to her as energy blasts passed below and above her. She gulped as she stretched her right hand towards him and he caught her.
"We'll call this..." He burst out his energy and it surrounded her. He spun her one rev around himself while focusing and merging the remaining energy spheres to a point above the middle finger. It shaped itself like a bullet.
"LOTUS SPEAR!" He roared as he shot it at the base of the demons chest (where the armor had broken) Then hurled Su after. A large energy blast came directly at Su from the demon but the flash shot peirced through dispersing it in the process. It drilled through the demon's energy, touched its skin then exploded Su hurled in with her right hand curved like an eagle's claw and she tore through the demon's torso.
"Kuh...kuuukuu...kuh" The demon coughed as blood dripped from its mouth. It took a few steps then finally collapsed.
Kris and Fred rushed towards Su. She was drenched in blood as she panted heavily. She smiled as she showed them the demon's core. Fred and Kris yelled out at the top of their lungs as Su opened the black box and kept the demon's core in it.
"Group 7 have successfully completed their first task. Making them the final group to complete the first stage." A voice sounded around them. The ground began to elevate taking them out of the dungeon. They all fell to their backs and chuckled in relief.
"Really? Lotus spear? I thought you didn't like tacky names." Fred teased.
"What are you saying? It sounds cool! Right?" Kris responded.
"Well she thinks it's a fine name," Su and Fred laughed.
"Whatever," Kris sneered.
BACK AT ELIZABETH'S office,
"You have very interesting cadets this year Elizabeth." Louis praised.
"They are disjointed, scattered and roudy. It pains my eyes to see them fight in that manner..."
"Ah come on..."
"I haven't finished."
"Oh okay."
"Despite all that they found coherency in disjointment and that led to their victory. Adaptability is a key factor in facing demons. For the fact that they pulled this off regardless of the odds, they have my praise," Elizabeth responded with a light smile.
"Oh wow... I guess I don't have much to say then. Although that Su... Su seems to be hiding something. I am curious to find out," Louis noted.
"Group two and six had relatively easier matches. Not much to say. They focused on their teammates strengths and found a way to balance each other out thereby leading to swift victories," He added.
"I agree, thus far group 6 showed even more decent teamwork. I'd like to see how they perform in the next round," Elizabeth replied and Louis nodded.
"Alright then, Shall we begin the next stage." She added.
Su's team were finally elevated to a room which Kris recognized. It was a transport facility. The man who had addressed them earlier was sitting in it.
"Congratulations on completing the first stage. I shall now give the instructions for the next."
"Not even a moment of chill" Kris hissed.
"There is a hidden core within New York city. You are to search and locate it to end the second stage. Alternatively, you are to retrieve a second core from another group, either before the twenty four hours time limit or the hidden core being found."
"Wait, could you repeat that?" Fred questioned.
"No" The man retorted as he walked out of the room.
"Have a safe trip..." He waved and a white light engulfed the room teleporting them.
When the light dispersed, they tried walking out of the room. They all fell to their knees as their heads began to ache.
"Shit its that thing again." Kris muttered as he placed his hand on his head and sent source energy into it. Su and Fred noticed what he was doing and did the same. Their heads calmed but they felt exhausted. The walked for a bit when suddenly...
"So... You are the last group to make it here." A voice came by. The three grouped up back to back and took guard stances. From the shadows in front of them came out three cadets, all blue sources.
"Tchh... Raul. Of course you'd do something as underhanded as an ambush." Su hissed.
"Come now Su. You don't have to look so scary. We are all friends right? We don't want any trouble. As long as you give us the core you are holding that is." Raul replied with a smirk.
"Our answer is no. So, kindly piss off." Kris sneered at them.
"Kris was it, we would so much like to do this the easy way. You just got out of a battle with a demon. You are exhausted. We have rested enough. Let's be logical on what we are about to do. I wouldn't want to use any unnecessary force."
"I noticed that your ears are blocked. I said piss off" Kris sneered.
"Is it ready?" Su whispered to Fred.
"Almost." He responded as silently as possible.
"Well then, I tried." Raul spoke out and his cloak formed. His teammates cloak formed also and they walked closer to Group 7 as their Aura rose slowly.
"Anytime now" Su hastened.
"I really wish it didn't have to come down to this Su." Raul smirked as he got closer.
"Everyone duck!" Fred yelled as he clapped his hands and released a large green energy wave around them which flashed blinding everyone except him. He dragged Su and kris out of it and headed for a wall which he Kicked through to get them out of the facility. He noticed something glowing as they exited, but couldn't focus on it because he realized they were falling from a twelve-meter height into a dumpster. They rolled out of the dumpster and coughed out. It was night time. There was a bright moon in the sky that illuminated the area. Suddenly an energy blast was shot at them which Su deflected.
Raul and his team began descending while Group 7 raced out of the scene. Raul's team gave chase shooting blasts at them which they dodged or deflected depending on the situation. As they got closer to a high way, Kris recognized the route and asked the others to follow his lead. Raul and his team had to relax their cloaks because they weren't ready to give off their locations to other groups who were in the city and could potentially third party them.
Kris led his team behind buildings, through garbage sites, and finally into a tall building. Raul's team were relentless and still gave chase. They ran up the stairs of the building and were followed. While ascending Kris spoke out, "Fred! be ready to do that thing you did before on my signal!"
"But i need time to charge it"
"Do we look like we have the time for that?"
"Tch... Alright, but if it doesn't work don't blame me!"
As they burst out the door on the highest floor, they headed to the edge. Raul's team followed suit and were gaining on them and as soon as they got close enough to catch them, Su's team got to the edge and jumped over.
"Now!" Kris yelled and Fred released the energy wave and it flashed blinding the pursuers. Raul (despite blinded) stretched his leg forward, stopped his motion by touching the edge, pulled his teammates back and they fell on their backs. After a short while He stood to look over the edge and there was no trace of Su's team. He banged his hand on the edge.
Kris was able to lead his team through paths he knew up untill they got to a remote brick house. Kris knocked hastily on the door.
"Who's there! I have a gun!" A very familiar voice yelled out.
"Open the door old man. It's Kris." He panthed heavily as he rested on the door. Fred fell to his bum, while Su crouched to her Knees. The old man unlocked the door while holding his gun.
"Kris? Ha! You look like shit." Mr Darwin Jested. Kris laughed as he fell on the old man.
"Friends of your's I suppose?"
"Hi" Su spoke weakly.
"Hello" Fred followed.
"Let's get you all cleaned up. You all look like shit. As expected of Kris's friends." He laughed as he helped them in.
There are two bathrooms in Mr Darwin's house. The boys went in one after the other while Su had one to herself. Mr Darwin had set up some of Kris clothings for them before going to fix something for them to eat. Kris and Fred came down from the room first.
"God i've missed this" Kris expressed loudly as he stretched his body.
"Right! A home to rest and relax" Fred jumped onto a sofa as he wriggled his body.
"I never knew a day would come when Kris would bring over friends. It's almost too good to be true." Mr Darwin teased as he brought food for them. Kris rolled his eyes as Fred giggled.
"I mean, always getting into trouble, being excessively violent and coming home with bruises. This kid has been a case. To see him looking all smartish and somewhat calm. I mean the bruises are still there but this is basically great improvement." He placed his hands over his face and began sobbing.
"You really plan on teasing me all day don't you old man!" Kris clenched his fists as he grinned his teeth.
"Yes as long as my breath can take it!" Mr Darwin pointed at Kris and started laughing till he began coughing. Kris sighed as he poured water into the glass cup and gave the old man then helping him to seat.
"Don't go croaking on me old man."
"You wish."
"How's your health been?"
"Better than ever actually." Mr Darwin sips the water from the glass.
Su walked down from the stairs wearing Kris brown shirt with a crescent moon insignia on it and a white short. The shirt looked baggy on her and she let her hair fall down her left shoulder.
"Hey.." She waved. The men in the house were tongue tied.
"Wow." said Kris
"So cute" Spoke Fred.
"Which one of you is marrying her." Mr Darwin uttered out.
The Kids began yelling "No!" "We are still kids" "Marriage Definately not now!" "Are you serious!" "we are just friends" and so many other roudy statements before they calmed down and looked away from each other while embarrassed.
"Kids..." Mr Darwin chuckled as he shook his head, after a brief pause they all burst into laughter. Su sat down with them as they ate. Mr Darwin made some jokes and ended the conversation with how Kris messed up a new teacher that came to his school (Check chapter 1 for that).
"I am beat! I haven't had this much fun in a while." Mr Darwin yawned as he got up and headed for the stairs.
"Your medicine is due by 5 right?" Kris asked.
"Not anymore, I am done with that stuff. The new one is once a week. hehe..." Mr Darwin replied as he went up the stairs. Kris sighed as he gave a light smile. There was a brief silence in the room.
"So..." Fred called their attention and the others looked at him.
"Erm...This may not be the right time to bring this up, but i think i know where Group 2's core is located."
"Wouldn't it be with them?" Su asked.
"I thought so at first, but wouldn't it make more sense for them to keep it hidden in the eventuality they get jumped by a stronger team?"
"So you are suggesting it's somewhere at the transport center? Based on what?"Kris questioned.
"It sounds crazy but i think i saw it. It's worth checking out as soon as possible before they change locations."
"Damn right it's crazy. We barely got out of that situation and we haven't even rested enough. But you want us to go back there based on 'you think'?" Kris fretted. Fred turned to Su.
"We have one energy capsule each. We can take them and..."
"What if we end up running into multiple groups on our way back? Are you certain that we can take them all?" Su cuts Fred short.
"Come on Su. I feel this is worth the shot. I may not be too useful on the battle field but you know my guts are usually right when it matters."
"She knows, but She thinks Kris is right. There is too much of a risk with no gurantee. It's 4am here, let's wait till day break and we'd look for them." Su replied.
"You might be right and you could also be wrong. I don't want any trouble. I can't afford them tracking us all the way back here." Kris mentioned.
"Alright, fine. Let's get some rest." Fred sighed as he took a Sofa and laid on it. Kris sighed as he went to put off the lights.
7 A.M. IN the morning, there was a radical knock on the door. Kris and Su got up and gathered energy in their hands.
"Who's causing that racket so early in the morning." Mr Darwin called out. Kris walked slowly to the door and as he opened it, a badly beaten Fred stood out there.
"I'm sorry!" He forcefully spoke out as he fell forward but Su caught him and he was dragged inside the house.
"What is this? What did you do?" Kris,in shock and anger, tried to speak calmly.
"What happened to him?" Mr Darwin asked as he came down the stairs. Kris and Su could feel source energies rising.
"GET DOWN!" Kris roared as tiny energy blasts began tearing into the building from all angles. One blasted the stairs causing Mr. Darwin to fall and land on his shoulder. Kris eyes beamed with intense rage.
"YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!"
More energy blasts kept tearing through the building. Two headed for Mr. Darwin, who was already on the floor, but Kris used his body as a shield to protect him. He carried the old man gently and rested him behind a chair. Su carried Fred and placed him beside Mr. Darwin. She was also pissed. She looked at Kris and he nodded. Kris burst out through a window to the left, while Su burst out through a window to the right. Their eyes glowed as they looked at Group 2. Raul's teammates focused their energy blasts on them. Kris ran through the blasts, tanking every single one till he got close and punched one of them in the face. The punch pressed deep into his face, and you could hear the cracking of bones before he was launched a few meters away. Kris stomped his leg into the ground and dashed past him till he was some distance behind him. He caught the guy in a bear hug while his feet dragged a bit. He squeezed the guy's bones till they cracked, making him scream out. Kris did a suplex, landing him headfirst deep into the ground, knocking him out completely.
Su, on the other hand, dodged the other teammates' blasts while getting close enough to give him a barrage of punches before hitting his guts with her left palm, causing him to vomit. She punched his jaw so hard that some of his teeth broke out as he spun in the air.
These two events occurred so fast at the same time that Raul couldn't react. Su glared at him as her eyes glowed yellow. He walked back and turned just to see Kris glaring with an equally intense red glow in his eyes. They both got close to him.
"Ermm... Su.." He tried to speak, but Su kicked his face from his left ear while Kris kicked the back of his head from his right ear at the same time. They dropped their legs with their backs facing him. His body paused, his eyes rolled back, then his teeth broke out as blood flowed from his mouth, nose, and ears before his body shriveled to the ground. Everywhere went silent for a bit as the wind blew by. Fred walked out of the house and slowly towards them.
"Hey, guys, I'm..." Kris moved quickly and gave a heavy punch to his face. Fred spat out blood as he walked backwards a bit before falling on his back. He staggered as he tried to sit up, but his eyes shrieked in fear as they met with Kris' glowing eyes.
"I warned you not to go. I told you I didn't want to risk them tracking us here. We agreed not to do anything till we had rested fully!"
"I'm sorry, I'm... I'm..."
"Kris let it be. He made a mistake, but we have handled things," Su cut in.
"Handled things? Mr. Darwin got hurt due to his recklessness. Nah, nothing is handled until I beat the shit out of him." Kris spoke in a cold tone as he walked closer to Fred. Fred was trying to move away, but his body felt heavy. Tears filled his eyes as Kris beamed closer to him.
"I said... Let. It. Be!" Su held Kris' shoulder and squeezed it as her eyes beamed a dark yellow color.
"Are you going to stop me, Su?"
"I'll only say this once. Lay a finger on him and I'll break every bone in your body."
Kris stared Su in the eyes as he clenched his fist. His cloak began to form slowly. Her eyes widened and her cloak began to form while her aura rose. Fred felt the tension like a heavy boulder pressing against him. He wanted to stop them, but he could barely catch his breath with the tension in the air around him. Mr. Darwin hastened towards Kris and whacked him in the head with his shoe.
"Is that how to treat a lady? Kris! Why don't you ever learn anything I teach you!"
This action diffused the tension. Kris took a deep breath before shrugging Su's hand off his shoulder and walking towards the back of the house. Su sighed and moved closer to Fred to help him up.
"You okay?" She smiled as she asked him.
"Yeah..."
"That's good." She turned around and walked towards Raul and his teammates.
"Erm Su..." Fred began.
"Yeah?" she responded as she looked over her shoulder.
"I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."
"She knows. She is glad you aren't hurt too much. Just don't go off on your own next time. Okay? " She smiled as she dragged Raul and one of his teammates to the position of the other. She bound them with source energy and then dusted her hands before walking into the house.
"Well, that's quite the morning." Mr. Darwin said to Fred.
"It's all my fault. I was just trying to follow my guts and I ended up ruining everything. I am sorry you got caught up in all that."
"You are apologizing to the wrong person, Kid. This is the most fun I've had in a while! " Mr. Darwin laughed. Fred didn't respond as he was looking down.
"Ah...ha. Well, you have to make things right. You go talk to Kris, I'll speak to the girl. "
"What! He's going to kill me! Why don't you talk to him!" Fred trembled.
"Man up boy and face him! Don't you want your squad to get back together? "
"Yeah, but I want to live to see it happen!"
"That's the spirit. I wish you the best of luck!"
"I don't think you're listening!" Fred called out, but Mr. Darwin was making his way slowly into the house.
Fred's face became pale as he looked in the direction of the back of the house. He gulped as a cold shiver ran down his body. Mr. Darwin opened the door to see Su cleaning up the living room.
"Just leave it, I'll take care of it myself."
"Sorry, but she can't do that. Her group caused trouble for you. It's the least she can do."
"Don't bother too much about it, besides you seem worried. Is it about Kris?"
"No! Not at all! Worry? Definitely not? she's all good! Yeah, good!" Her body shriveled as she waved her hands to deny what the old man said before turning around, Mr. Darwin chuckled as he sat on his chair.
"Don't fret too much about Kris. He can be quite a difficult kid."
"Difficult, stubborn, and doesn't listen. Fred was wrong, but despite being already in bad shape, he wanted to beat him even more. Fred was not the enemy, yet he wasn't ready to spare him. It's just wrong! " Su paced around as she explained. Mr. Darwin took a deep breath and smiled.
"That just shows you the length he's willing to go to for those he cares about. To have someone do all that for you is something special. In that regard, isn't he somewhat similar to you?"
"Similar?"
"You were ready to 'break all the bones in his body. Your words, not mine."
"But that was only if..."
"If he was going to hurt someone you cared about." Mr. Darwin smiled.
Su calmed as she saw the old man smiling. She pouted as she finally sat down and crossed her hands.
"I see that you finally got it."
"It's not fair. Using her actions against her like that, "Su replied, still pouting.
"Even the worst of us get blessed with people like you in our lives."
The worst of us?"
"Yeah. Let me tell you a little story about me. I hope you care to listen."
"Of course."
"Alright then. It's a story about my life before I met Kris. I was never really that good of a person. I was a policeman who had a serious drinking problem. I would often get home so drunk and have endless fights with my wife. My son was always caught up in the middle. He was a very bright and smart young lad, about your age now. My problems always caused a rift between us and often when he spoke out of turn, I'd give him a good beating, which further caused more problems with my wife. One day, while I was out drinking, some burglars came to my house. My wife tried to protect my son and got shot in the process. I got home late to meet an ambulance in front of my house. They rushed her to the hospital, but she died on the way. My relationship with my son soured from then on. He hated me so much. I was an eyesore to him. He blamed me for his mother's death and cursed at me.
'It should have been you.' He would often say.
'You let the only person who would care about a piece of shit like you die, while you were out drinking. You disgust me. I hate you. He'd reject my efforts to be there for him. And so rightly so. I was a pathetic man who didn't deserve to have a family like them." Tears flowed slowly from Mr. Darwin's eyes. Su couldn't say anything. She just sat quietly and listened. Mr. Darwin wiped the tears from his face as he sniveled.
"I got frustrated. I thought I could do right by them by finding the culprits. Maybe he'd be happy if he saw justice come to those that took his mother from him. I used my skills to track down the people who had killed her. I was only able to find one of them. I shot him in the legs to make sure he couldn't escape, and then I beat him into a coma with a steel pipe. I wanted to make sure his death was painful. Unfortunately, someone called the cops, and I got arrested. They took my badge and I served time in jail. I later found out that through the guy I caught, they were able to catch the other culprits. But they put them in a separate prison for fear that I might kill them. " Mr. Darwin giggled a bit.
"For most of my stay, my son didn't come to visit. I felt it was a given. He wanted nothing to do with a criminal. But one day, he did. He was there with a lawyer, a dad to his friend. He had been doing his best to find a way to get me out, and the man promised I'd be out soon.
'I never thought you'd do something so foolish. I didn't even know you had it in you. You might be a piece of shit, but I am glad you gave that bastard a good beating. ' He giggled as he smiled at me.
For the first time in years, he smiled at me. We had a good conversation. He said he hadn't forgiven me for abandoning my family, but he was willing to give it a shot if I was ready to change. I promised myself that once I got out, I was going to do everything in my power to seek his forgiveness and strengthen our relationship. I was going to be the father that he deserved, for his sake and my wife's... But that was not to be."
"What happened?" Su asked.
" 'The Night of Demons' What they called the blood moon twelve years ago. The night my son was taken from me. I was to be released the next day when I heard on the news that the family my son lived with had been murdered by demons. I was shown my son's body at the morgue. They said they pulled out a sword from his chest. My baby boy." Mr. Darwin's voice cracked.
"He just lay there. Gone. I wasn't there to protect him. I don't even know how much he suffered before he was murdered. Once again, my absence led to the death of someone I cared about. "More tears rolled out of his eyes. Su leaned closer and hugged him from the side. He sobbed as he continued speaking.
"I had lost all hope after his burial. For days, I wasted myself crying, drinking, and rolling in my own mess. When I had enough of it, I wanted to end it all. There was nothing left for me anyway. I decided to slit my wrists. As I picked up the knife and kept contemplating and basically yelling at myself to do it, I heard a sound. I walked out the door and was attacked by a skinny, shriveled, beaten-up child. He was trying to rob me, so I gave him a good smacking. Tenacious child. He kept trying till I pinned him down and sat on him. He had no memories of who he was and spent days being cast out or shunned by people. I asked what exactly he was trying to do, and he refused to respond; rather, he wriggled himself loose, and we had to go through that struggle again till I tied him up. I asked him what he wanted to do, and then he responded,
'Get some food and hopefully find something I am not looking for'.
I laughed for the first time in so long. What was that supposed to mean? What did a little brat know about anything? I decided to let him in and maybe help him find 'what he wasn't looking for.' I had nothing else to do. It could be fun. I found out his name and age on a locket that said "Happy fourth birthday, Kris." I didn't know it then, but by letting him in, I got a second chance at life. He gave me hope that a failure like me could be useful. We didn't always agree on things, but we managed to work it out. Before long, I fell ill. Then the kid began to take care of me and support me. A man like me, who deserved nothing, got so much that he couldn't spend the rest of his life being thankful enough for it. "
Mr. Darwin looked at Su and smiled, "Kris might be thick-headed, stubborn, immature, and a pain in the ass. But deep down, he is a very good person and one who would give his all to protect those dear to him. Whether you notice it or not, he does care about you guys. If not, he wouldn't have thought of bringing you to here in the first place. Have a bit more faith in him."He got to his feet and began to head upstairs. She smiled as she rested her back on the sofa.
At the back of the house, Fred saw Kris sitting and circling his energy gently. He was contemplating whether to approach him or not.
"If you stop being creepy, I will not punch you again." Kris voiced out, getting slightly irritated.
"Promise?"
Kris rolled his eyes as he calmed the energy circulation.
"I'll take that as a yes," Fred mentioned as he walked towards Kris.
"I understood what you were trying to do. I understood the importance such a discovery would bring us. But if you are going to do something alone, be ready to deal with the consequences that come up if you mess up. Don't drag anyone into your mess. That's the principle I live by. I won't say I have always upheld it. But I've always tried my best to make sure the after effects always end with me."
Fred sighed as he sat beside Kris.
"Look man, I'm sorry. I had a gut feeling and it's usually never wrong. I saw something and I needed to confirm it. I didn't mean for all this to happen... If it makes anything better, I was right."
"For real?"
"Yup!" Fred pulled out a black box and showed the core to Kris. Kris' eyes widened.
"You crazy bastard. You actually did it. I am not apologizing for punching you though, but I do have a little more respect for you now."
"Thanks, since you guys took care of Group 2, I guess we have basically cleared the second stage."
"I guess so too." Kris laughed out loud, and so did Fred.
"You and Su... You two have something good going on." Kris commented.
"Something good?"
"She was ready to throw down, the moment you were hurt. To have someone like that for you. It's quite nice. "
"Bruh... Su and I are close, but just as friends if that's what you are asking. I mean, I have someone I am interested in."
"What No! That's not... I am just saying your bond is strong!"
"Sure..."
"Want me to punch you again?"
"No no... you were definitely not implying anything else. I read it wrong."
"Yes, you did. Jeez, man." Kris scoffed.
"This was my first time seeing her that way. She's usually all smiles and determined. But this was different. I genuinely felt the need to be on guard. " He added.
"It's not my first though. If anything, her cheerful and smiling nature just kind of returned recently. " Fred sighed.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Su and I are actually childhood friends. She's the second child of four sisters. Her father, Lu Ming, was a famous red source soldier in France. Su was particularly close to him; I dare say his favourite. I admired him a lot too; he was our hero. We planned to join the Special Ops when we grew older to become just as strong and as famous as he was. We'd always play this game where we'd both take turns being the great Lu Ming, as we played to 'defeat the demons.' One day, Su's dad had to go for a de-extraction. His core was unstable, and it had to be removed. It is said to have some nasty side effects, but better that than letting the person be turned into a demon, right? My family moved from France to Egypt three years ago. So I can't exactly tell how things worked out with them, but I did hear from Su that they took care of him and he regained his strength and kept his sanity. She said that he slowly began to go back to the man she knew him to be. Then, last year, a blood moon occurred. Their family was evacuated to a human protection dome with a capacity of 500,000. Unfortunately, the dome was breached by a chimera. Su's dad took it on. He had no core, but after being a source soldier, you retain some trace elements of source energy in your body even if your core is removed. He fought the chimera alone till everyone evacuated successfully. Su said she returned to tell her dad that he didn't need to fight anymore and he could try to escape with her, but what she found was the chimera dead, its head twisted to the back and its hand through her dad's body. She rushed to him and was confused about what to do. She just knelt there and cried. He opened his eyes and shakingly placed his hand on her face. He smiled as he told her not to cry anymore. He was proud to have a daughter like her and asked her to take care of her mom and siblings for him. It was only after he died that a source soldier arrived. He was a white source who took her and her father's body away from the scene."
"Wow, I didn't know..."
"Well, if you came earlier, you'd have witnessed it. I saw Su again at the start of our cadet training. She was not the same person I knew. She became a loner and was basically cold to everyone around her. Her goal was to become a stronger source soldier than her father in order to protect her family and loved ones. But when we got our cores implanted into us, she fell further into frustration and anger. Her dad's core was what was implanted, but rather than give her the same red source as his, she ended up with a yellow source. Of course, people began to talk. She felt pathetic and lashed out at anyone who said shit about her or her dad having a weakling of an offspring. She would get into regular fights with other cadets and be beaten up completely. I couldn't stand to watch her go through this. But I wasn't particularly strong enough to stop them from hurting her. I was also a bottom feeder. It hurt to watch until I couldn't stand it anymore, so I challenged her. " Fred took a deep breath.
"I didn't know what else to do. I thought if I could get all the fight out of her, I'd be able to get her to talk. I thought I had the advantage because I was a class above her. How wrong I was. I couldn't do anything but serve as a punching bag. I got beaten for hours, till I lost the concept of time. But all I could remember as my face was being punched in was the tears flowing down her eyes. Then she was stopped by Captain Oumar. The legion squad wanted to use the training room we were in. He asked them to take me to the infirmary while he talked with her. I don't know how long I slept, but when I woke up, she was beside me. She hugged me and cried as she apologised. From then on, she kept getting stronger and kept encouraging me to be better. We trained together as much as possible, and she didn't give up on my strength. In a short a time, she became the top of the set, and gradually she's been returning to the cheerful Su she once was."
"I see..." Kris said, as he took a deep breath.
"I just want you to understand her. I would hate for you guys to be at odds with each other. Su is most terrifying when someone insults or hurts people she cares about. Aside from that, she is actually caring and accommodating. That's one of the few things that make her a wonderful person in my opinion."
A beeping sound started coming from the house. The boys moved in to check what it was. Su held her camo and the badge on it was blinking. She tapped on it and a voice came out.
"Group one has found the hidden core, thus signifying the end of the second stage. Groups 1, 6, and 7 progress to the final stage. Everyone is to return to the transport centers for final evaluations. "
There was a brief pause, and then the three jumped and yelled.
"You mean you got the core, Fred?" Su spoke with her eyes teary. Fred flicked his nose and smiled. Kris gave him a light punch on his shoulder while Su moved in to hug him.
"You did good," Kris commented. He looked at Su, and they both looked away from each other.
"Maybe I'll give you guys a moment," Fred mentioned as he went upstairs. The two stood in silence for a while.
"Kris"
"Su"
They spoke at the same time and then paused.
"You go first." Kris mentioned.
"She is sorry for threatening you like that. She is the group leader, and she should have found a better way to handle it."
"Oh okay, well I just wanted to say that I am glad things didn't escalate too much and I appreciate you asking me to be a part of this team." He lifted his fist upwards and smiled awkwardly.
"You call that an apology, Kris? You suck! " Mr. Darwin called out from his room.
"Shut up old man, and stay out of this!" Kris yelled back with a vein-popping on his head.
"Ha!"
"Damned old man." He muttered.
Su began to laugh as she gave Kris a fist bump. The two looked at each other and smiled. Fred came down fully dressed in his camo, so Su went up to change, and lastly, so did Kris. Mr. Darwin came down to bid them farewell.
"You guys take good care of Kris and Kris, don't give them too much trouble." He mentioned.
"Yes we will," Su responded.
"Alright, alright, stop treating me like a kid, old man."
"Goodbye, Kris. I wish you the very best. "
"When I am done with this graduation exam, I'll come back to visit." Kris smiled as the three waved to the old man while taking their leave. Mr. Darwin smiled as he watched them disappear into the distance.
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Night time came, and Mr. Darwin was sitting on his chair in the living room.
"You are sure you want to leave things this way?" Dr. Yu Lock asked as he walked down the stairs.
"I have already said my goodbyes. I am satisfied."
"Alright then." You held his hand and infused source energy into his body.
"This will make it painless. I am sorry, it was already too late by the time I came to see you."
"Don't worry much about me. You gave me the gift of seeing him one more time. He is in good hands. Now I can go and see my family with my head held high. " Mr. Darwin smiled as tears rolled down his eyes.
"Do you mind telling me about them once more?"
"Of course not. Now, where do I start from, Ah yes. I was a policeman who..."