Family Feud (III)

Alex thought he heard a high pitched scream of a man's voice, and the ringing in his ears intensified. His headache returned in full force, making him hunch forward. His sword clattered onto the ground, and he stumbled to the floor, catching himself in the process.

It felt like a woodpecker was drilling into his skull from the inside. His vision blurred and his eyes watered. He picked up the sulfur smell again, and when he looked up, the violent shadow had turned towards him.

Alex stared back from where he crouched on the floor. Though the shadow had no features, he could feel its intense gaze set on him. He knew the feeling of a stare, especially one with malevolent intent. This wasn't right. He needed to leave.

He dragged himself to his feet. The room felt tense and heavy. An overwhelming oppression lay on him. Grabbing his sword off the ground, he left the room as quickly as his throbbing head would let him. This was not a fight he could take on, nor did he understand how to. This creature was out of his league.

His need to survive spiked adrenaline into his system, and his vision cleared. Strength returned. Running through the hallway at full speed, he bypassed the guards like the wind.

"Hey you! Stop!" one from the group of guards yelled out towards him. The guard raised his gun towards Alex, but everything Alex saw was in slow motion. Time to him seemed to slow down and then he felt like the world was working with him.

Dodging out of harm's way from the pointed gun, he sprinted to the guard's side. With lightning-fast reflexes, he sliced the guard's hand clean off. In matter of seconds the sword was back in his sheath, ready to be pulled out again when needed. Both the gun and the hand fell onto the ground, and Alex rushed past him without a second glance. The guard screamed in pain, while the guard next to him began to fire off several rounds.

A couple of the bullets whizzed past him, tearing a small hole in his clothes, but only one slightly grazed him on his shoulder. He felt its sting, but seconds later the pain turned into a numbing sensation where he could not feel anymore.

Alex was not happy he had to run away to stay alive. Usually he would have gotten rid of any opponents that stood before him. But today was a special case and he did not want to take his chances.

Move! Alex cursed in his head. These people were making things a lot more difficult than he wanted. With inhuman speed and precision, he struck them down one by one.

He opened the door to the fire exit and ran down the stairs. Jumping over a couple of rails, he increased the speed of his descent. His steps were light, and he fluttered down the steps as if he weighed nothing. Upon reaching the final step, he bolted towards the door.

He emerged into a fire fight. It had to be the two families, defending their lives to the last. Bullets flew everywhere, and the main lobby was a complete war zone. His misstep almost cost him his life.

He rolled behind the nearest cover, an overturned marble-top table. There wasn't much time. The longer he stayed there, the more difficult it would be to escape notice.

"BlackStar, are you there?" Angel's voice roughly was broken up by static.

"What do you want now?" Alex slightly leaned over and checked for a possible escape route. So far from the heavy artillery, finding a way out was a lot more difficult than he wished. He mentally checked what he had on him: five small pepper grenades, three flash bombs, ten frag grenades, a specialized hornet-nest grenade, twenty throwing knives, two pocket-size hand knives, two damascus blades the size of his forearms, twelve magazines of bullets hidden carefully throughout his outfit, two guns on his waist, poison darts, a vial of deadly poison, and his katana.

"Kuhuhuhu, it seems you are having a blast over there. I wouldn't mind joining."

"That is a matter of opinion. Whatever you want, make it quick. I got things I need to do."

"I can help you out on that."

"Really now, you sure you're not going to send in the dogs and mess up my chance like the last two times?"

"BlackStar. It was to your benefit."

"I did not need it. I would have made it up to my target without the unnecessary attention."

"No matter. Your final mission shall commence right now. Get rid of all the targets in the pictures that I send you through your Alive gear. Don't worry, all of them are in the same gun fight you are in. I have already carried out my end of the plan. The rest, the organization had already dispatched and gotten rid of. It shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Alex's Alive gear screen updated, and six pictures of Mrs. Kim's family were laid out before him. Four targets were males and two were females. Most of them were in their late thirties, while one of them looked to be in her teens.

"Don't worry. The Alive gear will help you pinpoint your targets. The recent app that you have gotten from the organization will be able to handle this miniscule task. Now all I want to see is your fabulous sword play again."

"Will this be all?" He didn't have too much time to continue on with more tasks when he had things to do today. The Hidden Quest Alpha was in the process, and from his information the raid had begun. Depending on his information, he might have found a clue that led him to the elusive Seed that he was looking for. "I do not have time to continue on with assisting you on your mission."

"BlackStar. This is the last thing I'll be asking of you. And did you do what I asked with Mr. Johnson?"

"No." A stray bullet whizzed past him. Leaving his sword next to him, he pulled out his gun from his jacket. He aimed over the table, honing in carefully to his targets. Taking a steady shot, he found his first target on the other side of the room, hidden between two columns. Four other people were heavily armed around him, shooting off bullets towards the enemies.

He fired five shots in quick succession, each hitting its mark perfectly. They fell backwards, dead on the ground.

"You serious? Romeo and Juliet won't be complete without it." Angel's voice became cold. "Why? What changed your mind?"

"It is not in my mission to do extra things that the higher-ups have not given me." He aimed and shot four more times. Four more targets fell in seconds, making the tide of war slowly shift in the favor of Mr. Johnson's men. "I do not have time for this idle chat. When I'm done, don't contact me." Alex cut off the connection. When the bullets calmed stopped for a moment he dove toward the sofa that was broken in half.

With his back against the sofa, he pulled up a 3D virtual blueprint of the building. His escape route was limited, and his last target was across the room, out of range. He was not stupid enough to go out the front way, nor could he get out till he got the last target.

Heavy fire was concentrated towards him, making it difficult to fire back, but whenever he could fire, his shots hit their marks. Steadily the barrage of fire lessened.

He took out a small grenade the size of his fist. It was his specially modified hornet nest grenade. Pulling the pin, he threw it towards the middle of the room. Thousands of sharp glasslike shards and electrical pellet balls exploded out in every direction. A strong burst of white smoke erupted outwards, blinding and choking the people who were in the vicinity forcing them to take cover. Some reeled from being cut up into thousands of pieces, and others were blinded by the pepper spray.

It cut down the force by half, giving him a bit more room to run from cover to cover, shooting assailants and moving toward his final target. The man was taking cover behind the reception desk. He had a clear shot, so unloading his clip; he quickly took aim and fired.

Three simultaneous shots flew straight like a homing missile to the man's chest. His last target was dead, and his mission was complete. With no time to waste, he fired a couple shots towards the window. Thousands of small pieces of the window glittered like jewels as they came crashing down.

Jumping out through the window, he pulled the pin from a flash bang and threw it behind him. He rolled out to cushion his fall. A bright flash erupted behind him, followed shortly by a loud bang.

His ears slightly ringing, he heard the sirens coming towards the building becoming louder and louder. In a matter of minutes the police would be upon them. He didn't have the time to dally. Escape was priority.

Slipping through the cars and buildings, he darted towards the nearest place where he could change his clothes. It was near a small, secluded coffee bistro that he rarely went to. From the side of the building, he pried out a small loose brick. In it was a wrapped package of clothes. A pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt was neatly folded and compact.

He cast his eyes around for any possible witnesses, but there was no one to be seen. Hiding behind the dumpster, he changed out of his clothes as quickly as possible. He peeked around the bush to see if anyone was coming towards the area. If anyone did he was going to stay quiet and still till they left, but luckily no one was present.

Using his lighter, he set his old clothes ablaze and tossed them in the dumpster. The horrid smell of burning trash and plastic billowed out from the trash. The crackling flames licked and overcame the trash, becoming bigger and bigger.

Heading out towards the street, he blended into the darker areas where the streetlights cast shadows. His job done, he began making his way back to his home.

#####

<Zeraph>

Who would have thought that hanging out underneath the castle in the city of Terra would be so boring? Zeraph munched on beef jerky that he had saved for a snack. He was not happy that he had to eat his emergency stash at this moment. He wasn't sure how long he had been walking underneath the castle. The winding intricate passageways moved around like a tangled snake, and he had to keep track of them mentally lest he and Scion be lost.

The damp stagnant air made it difficult to breathe, and he hadn't felt a single breeze since he entered. Only the soft dripping sound of water could be heard. The cold stone walls were slick and slimy, and heavy brown dead moss covered the walls and floor with different varieties of small mushrooms.

He reached down and plucked one of them with a glove. Carefully examining it, he remembered what it was. It was one of those deadly kinds that he used often.

"What is that, sir?" Scion asked, peering at it curiously.

"Amanita bisporigera, also called destroying angel. This mushroom was considered the fool's mushroom because of how it look like the edible mushrooms that people are used to collecting. You can tell by the puffy white caps and slim stalk." Oh how he enjoyed the fatal uses of its amatoxin. The symptoms would not appear until five to twenty-four hours after it was absorbed and the damage to the kidney and liver were irreversible. It usually resulted in vomiting, cramps, delirium, convulsions, diarrhea, and finally death. He'd stopped to collect many since he'd entered the dungeon.

"I suggest that you not eat these," he continued.

"Why not, sir?"

Zeraph grinned. "You'd die in about twenty-four hours."

Scion gulped. Zeraph got back up and continued forward.

Their lamps barely lit a small portion of their way. They ran into many small booby traps that he had to personally dismantle, and other times, there were small frog-type monsters that were easily dispatched.

"Are we there yet, sir?" Scion asked while hurriedly following behind him.

"No," Zeraph replied again. This was the thirty times he'd had to answer this question.

"Then when are we going to be there?" Scion replied with concern. "I don't like this dark place, sir. Something doesn't feel right." His feet shuffled behind Zeraph in a hurry.

"We'll get there when we get there," Zeraph sharply answered. This child was starting to get on his nerves.

"But sir, you said that a while ago," Scion whined.

Zeraph sharply turned around and stared coldly down upon Scion. If words could describe it, his elegant nature was no more but instead was replaced with an ice-cold expression that could freeze over a continent.

Scion slinked back, hunched over in fright. "I'm sorry, sir. I won't say it again," he quickly replied.

Zeraph face softened and he continued walking through the deep labyrinth of tunnels. Almost every turn they made was a dead end, and the others were just roads that looped with one another. Only a few were correct choices. He had to diligently mark the pathway with a red paste-like marker to remember which way they had already traveled.

"Sir. I have a question," Scion whispered.

"What is it?"

"When will I be able to go to school?"

Zeraph was taken aback. He did not expect to hear those words coming out of Scion's mouth. During his days of going to public school he absolutely hated it. He always wondered when he would be let out early and skipped class as much as possible. The only thing that allowed him to pass was being number one in school. He always showed up for tests, and he skipped several grades and graduated at the age of sixteen.

Aside from school, his teenage years were filled with bloodshed: fighting with the local gangs, misusing his abilities that he learned from the group, and doing things that normal people would not dream of doing. Even in those times, he was sent to do missions that were dangerous, each one more thrilling than the next.

"Everyone else is going to school to learn something. When will I go as well?" Scion bravely asked.

"Why, do you have a specific subject in mind you wanted to learn?"

"Yes. I want to be a scholar, sir," Scion replied with excitement.

"A scholar?" said Zeraph, a bit surprised. Lately he had been teaching Scion the ways of assassination, so for him to choose a more peaceful path was completely unexpected.

"Yes!" Scion stated excitedly, almost to the point of jumping up and down. "I want the amount of knowledge one could learn and use to help this world. To find the secrets of the world, study the nature of magic, and find places where hidden artifacts are hidden. Don't you think that's exciting?" Scion's eyes sparkled at the adventure he would go through.

Zeraph couldn't believe what this kid was so excited about it. Things came to Scion easily. Memorizing facts was simple, but to get excited over being a scholar was kind of surprising. The majority of his contracted kids were in specialized schools for being soldiers, healers, magicians, and other practical common jobs. Out of all the kids, Scion was slightly different.

In reality, he didn't hate that about Scion. During the time he spent with him, it was surprising that he picked things up the quickest, but he was slow in physical activities. His use in battle was the worst out of all twelve of his slaves. The only reason he kept Scion near him was because of what he had inside of him: the fallen king.

Maybe sending him to a school wasn't a bad idea. Improving his knowledge and skills would help Scion protect himself instead of constantly relying on Zeraph. He did not want another mess up like last time, where he had to save his sorry ass from a group thugs. It was a complete embarrassment, even though he had taught Scion how to defend himself.

Zeraph thought for a long time as they walked, debating on what he should do. The pros outweighed the cons on sending him to school to become a scholar, but where? He wasn't sure. There was that kooky old rabbit that was some kind of scholar. What was it, a historian? Maybe taking him there would be a possible benefit in the long run.

He sighed.

"Sir?" Scion worriedly glanced up at him for the fear of saying the wrong thing.

"I'll take you to someone I know. Don't ask me anymore," he sharply replied.

"Yes sir!" Scion excitedly whistled and skipped in happiness.

It truly was an odd thing to see a kid skipping in a dark maze dungeon, especially in the current location where it was mostly dark and dreary. Even Zeraph could not hold off a small smile that quickly disappeared when Scion turned towards him.

"So who is going to be?" Scion excitedly asked, completely forgetting about Zeraph's warning. "Will my teacher is some great grandmaster or maybe the best known scholar in the world?" His voice was hyped with excitement.

"I told you, don't ask."

Scion's face fell with sadness and he moped. "But sir…" His face looked like it was ready to cry. "How come you told everyone else who their teacher will be but not me? It's not fair," he whined. "Even Cyrus goes to the best fighting school. I want to go learn from the best." Scion accentuated the word best to get across to Zeraph how important it was.

"Does it matter?" Zeraph asked.

"Yes it does, sir. If I want to be known as the greatest scholar in the world, I've got to go and learn from the best."

Zeraph thought for a moment about what Scion said. He had a valuable point, but to see such dedication in someone young impressed him.

"You will learn from Garrett, then. When this is all over, we will go and see him."

"Really!" Scion stood on his tiptoes. His bubbly excitement almost made him trip over a rock that he did not see. "Thank you!"

Zeraph snatched him backwards just in time before an arrow trap almost impaled him in the heart. "Watch where you're going. Do you want to die?"

"I-I'm sorry." Scion stumbled backwards onto the wall.

"What did I tell you? Pay attention."

Scion fell silent. Zeraph continued on. Scion rushed forward next to Zeraph and absently hummed a tune.

For the next two hours Zeraph and Scion continued to walk through the dungeon maze. The longer they stayed underground, the more time felt like it had slowed down. Turning right at the next bend, Zeraph and Scion arrived in front of a long stone bridge. Both sides of the bridge were pitch black, and it spanned across a very deep pit.

"Sir." Scion's voice echoed. "I think we are almost to our destination. We have never crossed over this before." Scion rushed to the edge of the bridge and looked over. "It's a long way down. I wonder what's at the bottom."

Scion rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a copper coin. Leaning over, he let it go, and a small splash could be heard at the bottom. "Sir. There's water." He looked at Zeraph, shocked.

Zeraph came over and smacked him over his head. "What did I tell you? Stay close to my side and do not cause unnecessary problems. Have you ever thought that there might be something lurking down there? You set off a couple of traps and now you might have set off a monster trap. Think, boy. What is that brain for?" He poked Scion's head a couple of times.

"I was just curious," Scion mumbled.