So much for quick, sorry about the wait guys. I think it was worth it though, I'm really proud of this one.
* * *
Unseen by any but the cold eyes of metallic sentinels, a ballet of masses was dancing across the hard marble floor of an expansive hall. Lines ran haphazard across each other; couples twirled in the clear spaces; children darted and slid amongst it all. Each dancer moved with his or her own frantic energy â even in the nearly motionless lines men were checking watches and glancing around.
At the head of one of these lines, no less affected by the air of tension, stood one weary-looking Modiwan. Engar, dressed in worn black jeans and a faded white t-shirt, was gripping a plain suitcase in one hand and holding his ticket in the other. It had been a long ten minutes but his patience was finally been rewarded. The last couple bustled away and Engar was rewarded with the sight of the counter of his own particular flight.
âHello there,â he was greeted by a professional, emotionless smile held on a vaguely attractive female face, âand where are we going today?â The voice was that of anyone who had to speak to people as an arduous occupation â high-pitched, fluctuating in just the wrong way and incredibly affective when it came to setting a customerâs teeth on edge.
Engar gave her a tired smile and plopped his tickets down on the counter.
âReturn flight to VG, please,â he adjusted his grip on his suitcase nervously, âand.. ugh..â He trailed off under the womanâs unimpressed stare.
âYes âsirâ?â
Engar drops his hand under his shirt and pulls out the jet black hilt of the Double Bladed Rogue Sabre â observing with guilty pleasure as the womanâs eyes widened in surprise.
âIâm not entirely sure what the Weapons Rules are for Modiwans,â he flashed her a hopeful smile. The woman hesitated â caught in the glamour of talking with an
actual Modiwan â and nibbled on her lip absent-mindedly.
âWell.. a âModiwanâ? Really?â
âHey!â snapped a male voice from behind them, âsome of us have a -â Engar kept smiling and snapped his fingers without looking back â the voice falling silent immediately.
âYes, really.â The woman continued to consider it, then sighed and shook her head.
âIâm sorry sir, but I could lose my job.â
âItâs ok,â Engar popped his suitcase open and, not without a sense of reluctance, dropped the Sabre inside, âjust thought Iâd give it a shot.â
Feeling nervous and trying to convince himself that it was just nerves about his flight, Engar watched his suitcase roll away then turned towards his gate.
* * *
Cucumba has gone further than even I imagined.. to abuse his powers so, giving Engar a Sabre! He must be taught a lesson!
Hidden amongst the swirling dance of the airport, a dark trench-coated figure stood with steam wafting up from his body, giving him a demonic presence. As the crowds parted around him his eyes were for Engar and Engar alone.
Earn your name, Avenger. Take revenge for Catalyst!
His eyes dropped to Engarâs belt as the warrior walked away, as though trying to see through the fabric of the shirt that concealed it.
Take. His. Blade.
* * *
His flight stood at the end of an hours wait â that gave him time for a crappy breakfast and a browse through the duty free shop but not much else. There were, of course, other possibilities for a young Modiwan when it came to travel but he doubted Cucumba would have looked favourably on him putting a flight to 'Video Gaming' on the Administration's not inexhaustible budget.
Engar was just polishing off his breakfast â he had made the effort and purchased a large meal rather than through himself on the mercy of the Gods of In-Flight Meals â when the crowd around him fell silent. All around him the mob of businessmen, old age pensioners and young families focussed their attention on the man who stood not more than five feet from Engar's table.
The man's hair rippled slightly in a wind that had nothing to do with air conditioning â jet black strands rippling like the war-torn banner of an undead army. His left hand was still holding the fabric of his coat â having parted it to make his task easier. His right was twirling a silvery blade around and around â apparently oblivious to the fact that he was drawing a crowd. It wasn't hypnotism â Engar was almost sure of it â but the swish of the blade as it parted the air came pretty close.
âYou are Engar, apprentice of Cucumba.â The stranger wasn't asking a question but Engar nodded anyway.
âI am known as Avenger, I have been sent here by my faction to take your blade and â if needs be â your life.â The blade came around again â rising up from his wrist to be caught balanced on his forefinger, just down from the hilt. âMy orders do not specify your death but do not misunderstand me; if you resist I will not show mercy.â
That left Engar caught, he couldn't give up his blade as he didn't have it but the man wouldn't accept that sort of answer and Engar would end up appearing foolish trying to give it. Sometimes reality isn't the most important thing. He didn't make a move to stand up â quick motions did not end well when dealing with swordsmen â but instead leant back against his chair.
âI'm afraid I can't give up my blade. I am Modiwan, in spite of what some might think, and will not be bullied into giving that up. Should you survive this, be sure to deliver that message to your superior.â
Avenger nodded â as though he had expected that answer all along â then lifted his hand up sharply and sent his blade spiralling into the air. To Engar's perception the blade appeared to freeze.. no, just slow down so much that it almost appeared frozen. Everything slowed down, the crowds had barely reacted to Avengers sudden movement, even Avenger and himself.
Twirling around, Avengers right foot hooked around and snapped the steel leg of the table away and sent it spiralling into the distance â the table hovering against gravity for a split-second before succumbing to the irresistible force and dropping towards the ground. Not getting a chance to drop with the table, Avenger caught one of the full trays with his foot and flipped it up into the air â plates fountaining upwards.
His legs straightening with infuriating slowness, Engar followed Avenger as he kicked off the ground and snapped his foot around and around â catching two large dinner plates dead on and sending them whirring like a buzz-saws towards Engar's head. He had just enough time to witness Avenger land with his back to him, catching two further plates without looking, and see his katana land on the hard marble floor â blade sliding a foot deep into the rock â then he pushed himself off.
Catching the table with his right foot, Engar launched himself backwards across the smooth floor spinning like a top; he whizzed past one table and caught a firm plastic tray with his left hand with barley a glance. One hand swept around and knocked the plate out of the air â the tray taking a severe dent yet holding â while the other reached out and flexed fingers that had nothing to do with the physical. The table leg which had just recently departed from the table tore through the air, arriving in his hand with a smack before twirling around and shattering the second plate.
In the silence that followed a person could hear whether a gnat lived or died.
Only seven seconds had passed since Avenger's foot touched the table-leg Engar held in his hand.
âNicely done,â murmured Avenger, hand resting on the hilt of his blade.
âSame to you,â Engar grinned and Avenger returned it â in such a crazy world passing comments with an opponent didn't even seem odd.
âI've still got to take the blade.â
âAnd I still say you aren't getting it.â
âSo, game on?â
Engar glanced around himself and shook his head.
âNot here, I
am a Modiwan after all. Can't risk innocent lives.â
Smirking, Avenger drew the katana from the stone and hefted the blade professionally. The dishes clattered for a moment, the tables all shunting a little further from the warrior as though scared to be near him; all a result of him drawing on slightly more energy.
âThen I suggest you run.â
Avenger darted forwards, closing the gap between the two faster than Engar expected, and thrust his blade forwards â Engar twirled the metal bar between his fingers then sent sparks flying as he parried the blow. An outright block would never stop the blade but that didn't make the leg useless.
He ducked under another slash, feeling hairs part company with his head, then kicked himself off the ground into a backwards somersault before Avenger could make another attack â he landed on the table of two shocked businessmen and leapt from that before he could endanger them.
Engar landed by the stairwell and ran up it two steps at a time, literally pulling himself out of the canteen area and back into the 'airport proper'. There were still crowds here! And without the Rogue by his side things were not going to go well!
Moving on the intuition that had guided him through all his fighting life, Engar rolled sideways and came up against one of the marble pillars that supported the airport's massive roof â turning in time to see Avenger land with his katana drawn.
âWhy don't you draw your sabre, Engar? Why don't you fight me?!â
Avenger threw himself into the battle, his blade becoming a whirlwind of death that sliced chunks from the pillar Engar stood against even as he ducked and weaved around the blows.
You didn't need the Rogue to fight before, Engar! You were a warrior then and you're a warrior now!
As he dodged another attack, the blade skimming mere centimetres from his cheek, Engar made the bar in his hands
blur! Before Avenger's very eyes he snapped the bar around and smacked it as hard into the assassin's face as he could â sending him reeling backwards. Then, bar still spinning with that ferocious energy, Engar span around and brought the iron bludgeon down on Avenger's flailing wrist with the same strength â forcing him to release his blade.
Before Avenger had taken a step backwards Engar had caught the blade with one hand, spun around once more and hammered his elbow into Avenger's face â blood spurting even as the nose broke.
Engar span the bar in one hand, the blade in the other, then hammered the katana into the ground until it was two thirds of the way in.
âEw mnastard!â spat Avenger as he stumbled away, one hand trying to hold back the blood dripping down his face, âAye bnucking gnose!â
The two were drawing something of a crowd, the masses of bored or nervous travellers all taking some bemused pleasure in the sight of two warrirors. Being tourists at heart they weren't particularly worried about their own safety; they were on holiday, this had
nothing to do with them. Besides security guards were coming.. must be coming.. right?
But the crowds didn't hang around any longer because, in some undefinable way, Avenger was making clear that he had time for everyone. His entire body was pulsing with furious energy; hair flickering back and forth from raven black to pure white; his hands began to glow with their own angry power.
âI'll ake ew ay..â Avenger shuddered and closed his eyes, âew.. shall..
pay!â
And, before Engar's very eyes, the flow of blood ceased. In fact, if it were not for the blood caking around his mouth, Engar wouldn't have believed that he had even hit him.
â
Palms of Will!â
The glow of Avenger's hands became that of twin suns â outdoing the poor fare the airport provided effortlessly â and he put them to work immediately. Avenger leapt forwards with such speed that Engar was ducking before he was fully aware that Avenger had arrived; he avoided the blow that did for the pillar what a dozen sword strikes couldn't through pure intuition. Even as the pillar shattered and shards of rock rained down on the two of them, all Engar could think of was how unreal the change is.
He can't have this power.. I would have known.. I would have-
Then Avenger hit him.
The blow tore Engar from the ground, rending him from gravity without even a moments warning, and sent him spiralling backwards through the huge gap the airport provided. And yet such was the strength of the blow that he found the far wall looming before him.
He didn't even have a chance to consider how to protect himself, having gotten Engar into the air Avenger did his level best to make use of the situation. With katana in hand he launched himself from the ground, the terrible power that followed his Soul Awakening carrying him up to the ceiling where he spun around nimbly and kicked off again â giving gravity no chance to catch him.
Avenger came into Engar's life like a meteor â swift and destructive. As the warrior turned Avenger caught him with a foot to the side of the face â causing Engar to spiral even faster. Still Avenger refused to quit, as he touched down on the wall he summoned all the energy he had at his disposal. The Soul Reaper glowed pure white in his hands, a glow outdoing even his hands, and when he rebounded off the wall he swept it around in an attack that should have cleaved Engar in two.
He was not cut â not scratched â but still Engar crumpled in mid-air and fell lifeless to the floor.
. . so cold . .
He landed with a boneless thump, making no move to cushion his fall. He did roll once â a fluke of how he came in contact with the ground â and ended his movement facing upwards; staring with unseeing eyes. His face was slack.. vacant of any life. His entire being seemed to have vacated his body.
. . so very cold . .
Amidst the screaming, Avenger landed with a mute click and once again spun the Soul Reaper between his hands before pacing towards his target. Or what had been his target.
. . oh god . . why is it so cold . . ?
Avenger twirled the blade one last time then, standing over the vegetable that had once been a warrior, caught the hilt with the katana pointed straight down. There he held it, blade steadier by far than the building it was surrounded by, and summoned his energy once again.
. . please . .
This time there was a perceptible flow of energy, the white that consumed his hands leaking down into the blade itself. Empowering it with his might, causing a light so bright that it forced the masses backwards clutching at their eyes.
âEnd game, Engar!â
He drove the blade deep into the warrior's chest and Engar's eyes tightened in terrible sentience â purple light leaking out of his mouth as it opened in an unholy scream.
His soul was driven back, driven out of his body, by the first strike; it could not take such pure punishment. There it hung, connected to him by mere threads that kept him himself. There were, however, other connections. Somewhere out there another piece of his soul glowed like a diamond in the moonlight, something he had infused with his very being. The Rogue Sabre
. When the second attack came the pain ran across those connections, followed them to the untameable power of the Rogue, and was driven back! As he had empowered the Rogue, so it empowered him â giving Engar
back to his body.
Horrified, Avenger took a step back and drew the Soul Reaper with him. It wasn't possible â no one could survive such an assault â yet there he was.. slowly getting back to his feet.
âYou were right about one thing, Avenger.â
Engar turned as two security guards appeared â forewarning of the others who would soon swarm over the two of them. If he really wanted to save innocent lives things were going to become awkward. He flexed his fingers and stroked them down across his chest, grunting in surprise. His shirt was cut and stained with blood â that attack had not been on his soul alone.
âWell?â
He glanced up from his wound to meet Avenger's impatient glare; he hadn't expected the fight to continue after that. With a grunt Engar concentrated the Force on his own body, closing the gap across his chest with nothing but energy â he would have to finish the fight and finish it quickly.
âSorry.. as I was saying, you were right about one thing.â
Smiling, Engar extended both hands and summoned more of the Force â the two guards crying out as the handguns leapt from their holsters and landed in his grip. He hated guns with a vengeance but desperate times..
âIt
is Endgame.â
His arms moved without a moments notice, one gun cracking to life and sending splinters flying where Avenger's feet had been. The warrior had leapt up into the air seconds beforehand but there Engar had him; he couldn't adjust position while in mid-air.
Tracking him with steady eyes, Engar let the guns sound off twice more each but Avenger was not so easily defeated â he drew the Soul Reaper around in a blinding flash and sent the bullets ricocheting into the far walls.
Can't keep this up, no telling where one of these could end up!
True to his thoughts, Engar back peddled before Avenger had even begun to drop from his ascent â turning and bending low so as to increase his speed. He vaulted over one line â kicking off and catching a luggage cart with one hand â then ducked under a young couple who were making the best of a bad situation, leaving a cry of surprise behind him.
The tunnel that led to the 'Gates' was looming before him when Avenger caught up; drawing his katana back he flung it overarm and were it not for Engar's command of the Force â heightened by the use he was putting to it by keeping his guts on the inside â the young Modiwan would have gone home a heck of a lot shorter.
Instead Engar spiralled around and landed on his back â sliding backwards across the smooth marble floor and firing his guns empty. The first volley skimmed inches from the katana â even with the Force he wasn't a great shot at the best of times â but the second caught it dead on and sent it spiralling backwards where it was caught by the still sprinting Avenger.
Flicking his hands around, Engar dropped both empty guns into two litter bins without a thought then pressed down hard on the ground and vaulted himself back onto his feet. A second later and Avenger was upon him.
This time Engar had the advantage, Avenger having no time to slow himself from his run. The assassin had time for one slash that Engar ducked under â then the Modiwan went to work.
He caught Avenger in the gut with one extremely solid punch â Ki crackling off his knuckles and grounding itself in the warriors stomach â spun around and rose up to catch his fist in his other hand and smack his elbow hard enough into Avenger's back to cause black dots to flare before his eyes.
One foot hooked out and swept Avenger's feet away even as he stumbled forwards, sending him crashing down onto the unforgiving marble floor. The white glow of his hair died â dark black swept through it as his eyes returned to their original colour.
Engar, meanwhile, caught his fallen Soul Reaper with his foot and kicked it up into the air â snatching it easily and offering Avenger's prone figure a humourless smile.
âNow I have your blade, Avenger. If you want it back I suggest to follow quickly. I've got a plane to catch!â
Before Avenger could pick himself up and restart the battle, Engar was running through the tunnel â air blurring around him as he stepped onto the moving platform and ran down it fast enough to give sports car a headache. It was as he sped his way away one hand flicking around and tore the gears out of the platform even as he stepped off the platform at the far end of the corridor, that he realised how apt that comment had been. The clock by the entrance to the 'Gates' told him that his flight was lifting off in ten minutes.
And it would be taking the Rogue Sabre with it, whether he was on board or not.
And he still hadn't gone through customs yet!