Vonayz continued to throw his z-com into
the air and use his powers to make it float there.
“Vonayz,” Mantra said, with an air of
closure. “I know that there’s good in you.” He glanced at Ion. “As
there was in Ion, too. I had secretly kept my faith in Ion, despite
what he had done. And secretly, I kept my faith in you as well. And
I know that you will do this as Ion did, to redeem yourself.”
Ion was inwardly amazed that Mantra set so
much store by Vonayz. After living and growing up with him, he had
known him far better than Mantra. And that was why he felt that the
words the elderly master spoke were hollow and meaningless. The boy
standing in front of them would not put his selfish, brutal ways
aside and come over to their side to help the world … And Ion was
thankful for it. Because the last thing he needed was this creature
ahead of him … A reminder of what he had once been, and the reason
he had been so.
“Can you put that away, and listen to me?”
asked Mantra, with a bite in his voice, as Vonayz played with the
z-com.
Vonayz scowled at Mantra. “I’m not your
student anymore for you to boss me around. And thank god for
that.”
Mantra simply sighed tragically. “Indeed you
aren’t … as much as I wish you were. As much as I wished that I
could go back to those days, so that my err in training you could
be righted.”
“There was no err in training me.”
“Yes there was. Why else would you be what
you are now?” Mantra took a step forward, placing a gentle hand on
Vonayz’s shoulder. “Deep down, you know I tell the truth, when I
say this: you belong with me … with us. With the noble cause of
protecting the world, and not destroying it.
Ion gazed across the land, at the cluster of
huts near the large black ship. Overhead, dusk was slowly pulling
over the skies like a blanket, as the glow of the morning faded in
the blue skies.
“What do you say?” asked Mantra finally.
“Join us, because we need you. Force one has a thousand or so
mystics that we could desperately use for our battle now.”
Vonayz slipped his z-com into his robe pocket
and finally held his master’s eyes.
As he was the whole time, Ion kept his fists
clenched, trying his best not to let his anger ruin this task. As
much as he wanted it to.
__________
Flicking a strand of his black hair off his
face, Zardin gazed into the holo screen over the z-com in his hand.
It was a verbal message. A verbal message from Vonayz:
MANTRA AND ION ARE HERE. WITH ME, RIGHT
NOW.
YOU MIGHT WANNA COME GET THEM FAST.
A cold smile gleamed on his pale features.
Vonayz, along with the rest of force one, had come to join their
side just recently. It was too bad Mantra and Ion didn’t know it.
Too bad for them.
He punched in a reply, and sent it to
Vonayz:
I’LL BE THERE.
AS YOU KNOW, WE’RE CLOSER THAN YOU THINK.
He turned and walked back down the metallic
floor, pocketing his z-com.
__________
“The time is upon us.” said Mantra, his hand
still over Vonayz’s shoulder. “We have very little time to gather
our armies and if you join us, you and force one would be our most
needed alliance.”
Vonayz lifted an eyebrow, a look of dawning
interest on his face.
“Gather your armies?” he asked slowly. “And …
how exactly are you doing this?”
Mantra considered the question for a moment,
and said, “With the aid of a most needed force we have by our side
… the army of watchmen.”
Vonayz’s breathing stalled as his eyes
widened. “ Watchmen? They’ve returned?”
“Yes they have.”
“You have the watchmen with your side
now?”
“Yes we do.”
The shock lingered for a few moments on
Vonayz’s face, before sinking back to the same uninterested look
he’d been wearing. But Ion couldn’t help noticing that something in
his eyes almost looked … unsettled. Troubled. He sank
the air and use his powers to make it float there.
“Vonayz,” Mantra said, with an air of
closure. “I know that there’s good in you.” He glanced at Ion. “As
there was in Ion, too. I had secretly kept my faith in Ion, despite
what he had done. And secretly, I kept my faith in you as well. And
I know that you will do this as Ion did, to redeem yourself.”
Ion was inwardly amazed that Mantra set so
much store by Vonayz. After living and growing up with him, he had
known him far better than Mantra. And that was why he felt that the
words the elderly master spoke were hollow and meaningless. The boy
standing in front of them would not put his selfish, brutal ways
aside and come over to their side to help the world … And Ion was
thankful for it. Because the last thing he needed was this creature
ahead of him … A reminder of what he had once been, and the reason
he had been so.
“Can you put that away, and listen to me?”
asked Mantra, with a bite in his voice, as Vonayz played with the
z-com.
Vonayz scowled at Mantra. “I’m not your
student anymore for you to boss me around. And thank god for
that.”
Mantra simply sighed tragically. “Indeed you
aren’t … as much as I wish you were. As much as I wished that I
could go back to those days, so that my err in training you could
be righted.”
“There was no err in training me.”
“Yes there was. Why else would you be what
you are now?” Mantra took a step forward, placing a gentle hand on
Vonayz’s shoulder. “Deep down, you know I tell the truth, when I
say this: you belong with me … with us. With the noble cause of
protecting the world, and not destroying it.
Ion gazed across the land, at the cluster of
huts near the large black ship. Overhead, dusk was slowly pulling
over the skies like a blanket, as the glow of the morning faded in
the blue skies.
“What do you say?” asked Mantra finally.
“Join us, because we need you. Force one has a thousand or so
mystics that we could desperately use for our battle now.”
Vonayz slipped his z-com into his robe pocket
and finally held his master’s eyes.
As he was the whole time, Ion kept his fists
clenched, trying his best not to let his anger ruin this task. As
much as he wanted it to.
__________
Flicking a strand of his black hair off his
face, Zardin gazed into the holo screen over the z-com in his hand.
It was a verbal message. A verbal message from Vonayz:
MANTRA AND ION ARE HERE. WITH ME, RIGHT
NOW.
YOU MIGHT WANNA COME GET THEM FAST.
A cold smile gleamed on his pale features.
Vonayz, along with the rest of force one, had come to join their
side just recently. It was too bad Mantra and Ion didn’t know it.
Too bad for them.
He punched in a reply, and sent it to
Vonayz:
I’LL BE THERE.
AS YOU KNOW, WE’RE CLOSER THAN YOU THINK.
He turned and walked back down the metallic
floor, pocketing his z-com.
__________
“The time is upon us.” said Mantra, his hand
still over Vonayz’s shoulder. “We have very little time to gather
our armies and if you join us, you and force one would be our most
needed alliance.”
Vonayz lifted an eyebrow, a look of dawning
interest on his face.
“Gather your armies?” he asked slowly. “And …
how exactly are you doing this?”
Mantra considered the question for a moment,
and said, “With the aid of a most needed force we have by our side
… the army of watchmen.”
Vonayz’s breathing stalled as his eyes
widened. “ Watchmen? They’ve returned?”
“Yes they have.”
“You have the watchmen with your side
now?”
“Yes we do.”
The shock lingered for a few moments on
Vonayz’s face, before sinking back to the same uninterested look
he’d been wearing. But Ion couldn’t help noticing that something in
his eyes almost looked … unsettled. Troubled. He sank
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