NEW BEGINNINGS (Ch. 14)

Yanick watches Raven Quizzically,

(Now that i think about it they really are too similar, mannerisms, even their punches look identical, they're both ...wait what's the convenient store boys name? I never learn't it...but i'm pretty sure they know each other...)

Seated at the drivers side Vin watches the battles unfold in silence,

('RELENTLESS' huh, the only one of the five i didn't create...

i came because Ari called but it seems they've handled things,.. 'RAVEN VOSS' huh?...why did boss tell me to watch him?.. and what the hell does the 'SYNDICATE' want with him?),

"Raven you're a trained boxer right?, lets have a match, just a practice match" Jay requests while sporting the Dorian's he'd just 'confiscated' from the brown haired teen

"No I'm not, and no i don't want to" Raven replies swiftly

"We can do it in a ring if you want"

"No!"

"C'mon don't be..."

"Jay" Ari called interrupting him, "lets go study"

"It's ok i don't need t....." Jay starts before a realization snaps him out of his automatic reply and causes him to bolt towards the nearest cab,

(Shit exams!… I'm so fucked!)

Seated in the dark confines of a dim lighted library

"Did you see the boy?"

"Yes sir, he attends saiyan"

"Send her ...she is to observe, make contact and report ....nothing else"

"Understood"

Raven stands behind the counter sporting his usual green employee attire but inexplicably to his side in the small space designated for desk man is Laura who'd insisted to help, 'little raven' out around the store and unsurprisingly his cheap skating boss didn't mind,

(i don't really don't need your help though?, I'm really not in the mood to fight another knife wielding obsessive psycho)

Unknowingly to Raven he'd spoken out loud

"Pfft.." Laura snickers before quickly stiflingly her laughter, "I'm sure you'd protect me again"

"Protect you...?,i might have to attack you next..."

Raven concludes as the two burst into laughter

The mid terms quickly come and go by, with Raven easily retraining first spot with his ability to transfer consciousness on after sleep, studying for the next just before the paper to come, the day comes to a quick end with Raven now naked with ten separately coloured pills in his left hand, inhaling and exhaling deeply and repeatedly Raven clutches the pin in his right hand with ample strength before ingesting all ten, the seconds tick by and slowly but surely Ravens vision begin's to warp, Raven quickly begins the exercise, contracting and tensing muscles while his mental faculties are still somewhat functional, piercing himself with the needle to Retain a bit of his mental faculty and quickly second's turn to minutes and minutes to hour's woth Raven soaked in sweat. His singlet long since soaked like a rain beaten clothe, Ravens veins bulge, each like a poised red serpent threatening to pounce, eat aching and thumping with an overflow of blood, his body fat burning rapidly and almost visible to the naked eye, Raven struggles to stay conscious instinctively aware of what should await him should he fall unconscious, slowly but surely a certain Force present in his body begins to suit the strain on his being, his veins expand, nerves become ever sharper in sensitivity yet paradoxically toucher, more resilient to sudden spikes in physical contact, controllable, Raven contracts is muscles feeling both fat and muscle present in his body, feeling in 'control', exhaling he looks towards his arms then to his singlet and body to find them covered in a pitch black substance that encases his body in whole, breathing weakly and seconds away from giving reign to fatigue a voice calls him from his stupor,

{Congratulations, though i do ardently advice you take a thorough shower despite your lack of strength, allowing it dry provides for an even more problematic situation of washing it off}. Attempting to reply he finds himself unable to link to Silvers consciousness,

{Oh i should mention you're far from the level where you can send mental messages}, licking his lips in response Raven quickly comes to regret that action, the mere taste and smell of the filth especially for one who'd indulged in such a glutenous lifestyle spurs him to his feet as he weakly makes his way to the shower, the heated water quickly cascades down his body while he supports his body with an elbow while using the other to scrub with whatever strength withing his grasp.

Now clean he trudges to his sleeping math before crashing against it and quickly finding sleep, Raven groans irritatedly towards his buzzing phone while shrugging the covers off before picking up his phone,

(mom!?), Picking up with ample enthusiasm and new found strength the call ends quite quickly,

(She's coming for a visit? Again?),

{It seems you have failed to realise you've actually awoken in the same body} Silver states, Raven freezes momentarily, after several tries and advice from Silver he learns to cut off the oxygen to his brain causing ti fall unconscious, waking in his 'school' body Raven sighs heavily in relief before the question finally hits him,

(What happened?, Why did i wake up in the same body?),

{Worry not, this is simply the revelation to an argument that has ragged in the scholar's world of the martial adepts for ages, Does the process to attain the highest realm of shifting start from the first advancement},

(And what advancement is that)

{'BRAIN SHIFTING'}

Seated beneath the chilling serenity of the libraries imposingly huge shelves and it's ever encroaching dark a man seemingly fixated on the brown scroll inscribed and written on with liquid gold yet worn out by the vestiges of time remained still, statue like, despite the intrusion of a subordinate with whom's presence he had since felt

"Sir"

"Is everything going to plan?" His stoic voice, unblemished even by age eco-ed by the walls replies,

"Yes sir, she is to enroll as soon as they return"

"And those 'crews' of yours?"

"Within my tenure sir, either they destroy themselves or i destroy them myself "

"Do not disappoint me" his ever stoic voice booms in response and of course the dark concurs.

"Boss I've tried" he said before a light pause, "Vin's boss is almost impossible to reach, they've even gone as far as blocking us from contacting murim, and i'm sure it's the same with the other crews"

"Is that so?. No matter. Do whatever it takes get that info, it's our only insurance"

"Yes sir"

"Good, when do we start operations in xander?"

"Within the week" he replies

"Are there any issues?"

"The Relentless crew"

"Weren't they preoccupied with their brewing war with the dogs?"

"They are sir, but it seems they've been expanding, but the crew's core are absent. On some school camping trip"

"How long?"

"A week"

"Begin operations, Vin must not find out no matter what, have Tobi hold the fort, i'll be away from Jhevo for a bit"

"Where to? Sir"

"Xander"

Raven is sprawled on the floor covered and dripping with his own sweat, heaving restlessly as his legs contract harshly threatening to clamp up till he screams from the agony, tightening his fist he closes his eyes concentrating on the subtle shift of Force. The flow of Force, from his shoulder to his arm, past his elbow his fore arm then in through his Wrist then into his fist his fingers suffocating the bone with a slightly swollen look, he could tell, the feeling. Intoxicating, inexplicable, like his entire arm existed in a ball of compressed force, he almost couldn't feel past the compression point like grasping a bomb that would explode if dropped everything else, numb, light, feeling weightless, but he could tell, he could FEEL IT, if he unleashed, he felt like he could destroy anything and potentially?, EVERYTHING!,

{This is the first substage and the only one attained naturally, Moving the Force generated from any kinetic energy generated from any motion as well as the tension, weight and strength from the muscles in your body to a giving area. The more adept you become at manipulating the Force in your body, the smaller the area you can compress all this into, for now it is your arm, with practice it will be your fist then potentially a finger, but be ware, the strain placed on the body or area of concentration is proportional to the amount of shifted energy, the good part is the body is continuously tempered with the use of Force, especially the areas most used and frequently used for shifting},

(Well..... that's alot to take in), Raven replies before glancing to the time, (Shit! it's almost midnight… i'll need to hurry to catch the last train home.. I need to see mom!, She really doesn't need to visit again), Raven spends next few minutes cleaning up and packing his bag before calling for a cab.