Chapter 17: Let' Begin

An eerie silence follows while the tease that Shadow leaves him tickles his imagination, but it also strikes a nerve that irritates Lincoln to his core.

(What does he mean? He owns the power! Argh, I can never really get him!)

His annoyance for Shadow only grows stronger the longer he stays quiet as the vacuum that tugs his skin tightly is making him unable to find justification for his actions. Then, it stops. His mind is clear. Lincoln's chest is free of tension as he floats weightless in another empty void. It feels isolating as it is suffocating, and deeper Lincoln goes. Quicker than he ever does earlier, and the further her dives, the faster the darkness drains every ounce of life he has.

To himself, he admits he is afraid, and that is why he reaches out his hand praying for a miracle; for someone to pull him out of the darkness and save him.

But no one comes. Not even a faint outline.

(Is this how I leave the Earth? In darkness and alone?)

As he ponders the inevitability of his death, his descent stops. He opens his eyes out of relief and surprise, and when he does, he sees a crack of light on the horizon. Huge, and it sucks him in. Another tight tug.

When he opens his eyes again, he lands in the middle of a heavy downpour. He rushes over to the very first source of shade that he finds.

Lincoln's head is still spinning putting launching his head into a spin that he cannot shake off. He wretches, but none comes up.

(This is worse. C'mon vomit, come out.)

He looks around feeling worse than ever, but as he sets his gaze on the towering pile of rubble in front of him, the nauseating feeling disappears.

"Woooooah," Lincoln proclaims, his mouth half-open in awe.

From afar, each section has different colors, and every foundation is of a different make. Others are cement with metals jutting out from its center. Some of them are from marble and other tiles. The majority, however, are from large stones with sand gluing them together. Despite the makeshift foundations that create the fort-like structure, it looks strong. Intimidating. A castle in every sense of the word.

He continues to look at the towering structure scanning for any weaknesses.

(There is not one flaw to this.)

Its perfection only tickles his curiosity even more that without any invitation, he crosses the heavy rain and enters the fortification.

As he enters, he follows a narrow and winding hallway. Its walls mostly of stones, but they are different from that outside. They are rougher. Less shiny. As the ones outside time, heat, and the rain have been kind to them making them tougher. More durable. Crystal-like. Those only have char marks and dents that are long gone. These ones inside crumble far easily. Dent more readily, but that does not mean it is not strong.

Lincoln does not see the end of the path yet, and the deeper he goes, the more he lets his imagination run to keep fear at bay that is why he is cautious as he approaches the light at the end.

He enters, light looms revealing a bedroom at its core, but lies inside is a familiar black trench on someone's shoulders.

"Brotheeeeer!" Lincoln scream, announcing his presence to the man he sees scrambling around. It has a two-level bunk bed on one side, and a single bed in another. In one corner, a weapon stand that holds no weight of any. Then, in the middle is a carpet with a weaving of the castle's outline.

(Quite redundant, ain't it?)

Shinyo has his eyes wide. His mouth is half-open. Shock paints his face all over.

"How?" Shinyo asks; whispers.

"You better put up your best fight yet because I am coming at you with the intent to take revenge," Lincoln proclaims, confidence in every word that he lets go.

Shinyo chuckles in mockery, but he is in shock when Lincoln makes a flash-forward. He swings a kick that barely misses Shinyo's face. He cannot move out of surprise.

"How did you?" Shinyo asks. He puts his guard up as he moves away from Lincoln.

"Let's just say," he replies, "I had some help," strong confidence in his tone. Then, he gears up for another go at it, but he is unable to. The confidence in his face, slowly disappearing but he continues to desperately try, ignoring how Shinyo is looking down on him

(Uh-oh!)

"What's the matter?" putting the blade he unsheathes over his shoulders, "Can't do it anymore?"

In an effort to save face, he puts his finger up and stretches. Shinyo cringes. Ignoring him, Lincoln motivates himself as much as he can, but when he tries again, nothing still, and that is when he starts panicking.

Lincoln looks up at Shinyo, and this time, he disappears in front of him. He is on his guard, desperately trying to pinpoint Shinyo's location, and when he feels a cold breeze, he raises his arms up blocking Shinyo's punch just in time. However, it does not take long before he disappears again.

Shinyo takes his sweet time to reappear, Lincoln's head on a swivel.

(Where is he?)

For a while, there is silence. The air blows an eerie silence that causes Lincoln's ears to start ringing, slowly making him lose his concentration.

When his eyes are about to close from the silence, a series of breezes rush towards him making it impossible to determine where Shinyo's attack is coming from. Lincoln panics. He looks everywhere, and then a blow to his cheek hits him.

Where it comes from makes the impact even worse as his head is heading towards that direction.

Lincoln flies towards the other end of the room. The size of the room does not help lessen the damage as he lands on the weapon rack then on to the cobblestone wall.

"Do you yield?" asks Shinyo as he holds Lincoln hostage with the point of his sword at his neck.

Lincoln gives him an aggressive look and attempts to stand, but Shinyo follows him enough that he suppresses any further movement.

"Why?" Lincoln asks, "How are you this strong?"

"I have years on you," Shinyo explains, he sheathes his blade around his neck, "And on top of that, I started way younger than you are now."

As he continues to condescend, Lincoln sheds tears that he hides from Shinyo as much as he can, but he sees them which prompts a huge sigh from him.

"How about we start that training I promised you before you disappeared?" offers Shinyo as he offers a hand to help him up.

Lincoln looks at him, doubting, but hopeful at the same time. He considered, and takes his hand, but as he does, he pulls him to the ground, but to no avail.

"Read you like a book," Shinyo tells him, a smirk on his lips, "I may have grown, but I was a child once, and those are the same thoughts I had to one-up those who were older than me. I am not naïve."

Lincoln laughs and seriously tries to stand up now with his help.

���But," Shinyo adds, "That doesn't mean you can't use it in battle. Most forget these childish behaviors once they grow and learn new skills. As a warrior and fighter, small tricks like these, I believe, you should never forget."

Lincoln nods.

"How about the others?" Lincoln asks, "Weren't you going to help them?"

"They can handle the Renegades better on their own," he explains.

"Shall we begin?"