Ch 323 - A Blast from the Past

Alex remembered that when Georgina and Zora had been fighting back in Washington, D.C., they had spoken about a man called Xavier Myers. They had mentioned that Xavier had set up a barrier, so they couldn't find him.

"Is this man, Xavier?" he wondered, gaping at the man.

"Are you Xavier Myers?" Alex asked.

"Only I can ask questions here," Xavier said sternly, not denying his identity. "Who are you to Georgina?"

"Her student," Alex said, telling him the truth.

"Oh, no wonder you fight like her," Xavier said, impressed by Alex's skill. "How is she?"

"I'm sorry, she..." Alex trailed off, feeling sad. "Georgina and Zora fought, and they both died. They passed on their internal power to me."

"What?" Xavier asked, stunned. 

He had grown up with Georgina and Zora, all of them studying martial arts together, and now both women were gone, leaving him alone.

"When they died, they were still arguing about which of them you loved more," Alex said. "They were both loyal to you." He wanted Xavier to know how much the women had loved him.

"I know," Xavier said, closing his eyes and sighing. The two women had died because of him, and he was sorry about that. But if he had to do it all over again, he would make the same choice and lock himself away, ignoring them both.

"Why did you come here?" Xavier asked, opening his eyes.

"I came to find a special orchid to cure my girlfriend," Alex said. "But several gangs have attacked the Moon Palace, and now they're under siege. Please help me. The Moon society is Georgina's work, so we can't let it be destroyed."

"I'll come," Xavier agreed. Georgina had died because of him. He felt this was the least he could do for her in her memory.

"Thank you," Alex said, relieved.

Debbie coughed. It was too cold outside, and the poison was attacking her body, making her feel uncomfortable.

Alex's chest grew tight with worry. He knew he needed to give her more of his internal power as soon as possible.

"It's you!" Xavier exclaimed, staring at Debbie with an ecstatic expression. He could never forget that face.

He was so excited that he was shaking as he ran over to Debbie, his eyes roaming over her.

Debbie scrunched up her nose, and a trickle of blood came from the corner of her mouth.

Xavier was shocked. "What's wrong?" he asked. He quickly took her hand and concentrated on passing his strong internal power to her.

Xavier's skill was extraordinary. Debbie soon looked a little better.

Debbie slowly opened her eyes and saw a man with white hair who seemed to be helping her. She smiled at him and said, "Thank you."

"Do you remember me?" Xavier asked, watching her face to see how she reacted.

"Have we met?" Debbie asked, frowning. She was sure she had never seen this man before.

"You had been unconscious for a long time when I found you," Xavier said. "I took you back to the place I shared with my two friends, and I spent days trying to make you better. You were dizzy a lot, but sometimes you opened your eyes and saw me. Then one day, your family came to look for you, and you left with them. Do you remember now?"

Xavier had taken care of the woman and had fallen in love with her. The woman had barely spoken to him, but he had been attracted by her appearance and temperament. When the woman's family had come for her, he had asked for her name, and they had told him it was Cynthia Clifton.

His feelings for Cynthia had made him keep his distance from Georgina and Zora. Eventually, he had hidden himself away from them, shutting them out of his life so that he could dream about being with Cynthia.

He had never expected to see the woman again in this lifetime. But this seemed to be Cynthia before him, in the flesh.

Debbie frowned. She wasn't sure who this man was. But she knew she had gaps in her memory that might be preventing her from remembering him so she couldn't honestly say they had never met. "No," Debbie said, shaking her head. "I don't remember."

"Can you heal Debbie?" Alex asked. Xavier had already helped her more than Alex had been able to, so perhaps he was strong enough to cure her.

"Debbie?" Xavier asked, confused for a moment. He looked at Debbie and asked, "Isn't your name Cynthia?"

"Cynthia is my mother," Debbie said, giving him a faint smile.

Xavier gaped at her. He released Debbie's hand and asked, "How is your mother now? And where is she?"

Xavier was growing old, and he wanted to see the people he cared about before he died.

"She's gone," Debbie said, tears welling up.

"Really?" Xavier asked, sighing.

"Yes," Alex said. "Twenty years ago, Debbie's mother fell off a cliff and died."

"Twenty years ago?" Xavier repeated to himself. "She fell off a cliff and died..." He shook his head. "All this time, I've been waiting for her, and she's been gone for twenty years."

He looked up at the sky and laughed bitterly.

"I'm sorry," Alex said, but Xavier wasn't listening.

"What have I done?" Xavier muttered. "I turned my back on the two women who loved me, and for what? My beloved died twenty years ago. Georgina and Zora cared for me, and I let them down. They died because of me." He shook his head. "I'm cursed. There is no man more damned than I am."

He walked away, looking up at the sky. Then he stopped a short distance away, clenched his fists, and screamed like an injured animal.

The sound echoed through the trees.

"What's wrong?" Alex cried.

Xavier turned and ran at Alex, slapping his hand hard against Alex's forehead and pressing his palm to his skin.

Alex reeled back, shocked. Xavier had hit him so hard that, for a moment, he had thought the blow would knock his head off. But now he felt Xavier's internal power flooding into him, so strong that it threatened to overwhelm him.

"I'm giving you all my internal power," Xavier said, watching him. "You already have the combined power of Georgina and Zora. With mine added to your strength, it will be enough for you to eradicate the men who are attacking the Moon Palace." He sighed and shook his head. "I never managed to reconcile with Georgina and Zora while they were alive, but our power is united within you. That's all I can do."