Chapter 38: Chris vs. Riley

Riley runs forward, making the first move. He jumps into the air, boosting himself with Aura. He goes for a drop kick. I use a Force Palm to push against him. He points his arms down and uses a Dual Force Palm, leaping over my attack. He goes behind me. I hear another blast, then charge Aura around my right arm. I turn around and get ready to punch. Riley is nearing me, drawing his fist back. I punch at him, but his arm moves faster, expelling Aura. I am blasted back. I roll on the ground as I try to recover. The wind is knocked out of me. I get up, albeit shakily. "How…?" I murmur.

I look at Riley. He shakes his head. "You still don't understand, Chris."
"Understand what?"
"Why would I tell you that?"
"You're my mentor!"
"A mentor is someone who puts you on the right path. You are supposed to find things out for yourself."
"Damn you."
Riley sighs. "You won't get anywhere like that, Chris."
I growl and run after him. I surround my fists with Aura. Riley keeps leaning out of the way. "Stand still!"
"Will Charon stand still, Chris?"
I wind a punch, but he grabs my shirt and knees me in the stomach. He lets go of me. I hold myself up and try not to throw up. "You're presenting your attacks too much. Anyone can dodge you if you do that. Fix it now!"
I growl and do a low kick. Riley is caught off guard as his legs are swept out from under him. I jump up ready for his next attacks. Riley gets up and smirks. "Congratulations," he says sarcastically. "You got off one good attack, but what if Charon has one of your friends in danger. What would you do then?!"
I grit my teeth. "Stop it…"
"What if he kills Barry or Roark or me?!"

I curl my hands into fists. "I said stop it."
"What if he kills Dawn right in front of you?!"
"STOP IT!" I yell, flaring my Aura around me.

Riley grins. "Use that anger to-"

I grab his arm and drag his body over my shoulder. I step on his chest and twist my foot into it. He yells in pain. "Stop, Chris!"
I take my foot off of him and kick him. He lands on his stomach and he rolls down the hill. My Aura grows more intense by the second. I feel lightheaded as I walk towards Riley. Suddenly, I feel arms around me. I turn around and see Dawn. She's smiling. "Stop. Don't hurt him anymore."
I smile and calm down. My Aura fades and I turn around. Riley gets up and grins. "That hurt."
"Sorry about that."
"You lose control when you get angry. Your Aura grows to the point where it overwhelms you. That isn't good. Your body can't handle that much power yet, Chris."
I nod. "I get it."

"Good, then let's continue."
"No. I understand why you made me angry."

"Oh? Then tell me."
Dawn goes back to the group. "My Aura is part of me, not an extension of myself. I still see it as something I summon, but in reality, it's just my own power."
"You finally understand."
I nod, this time not showing my Aura, just like Riley and Cyrus when they fought me. Riley runs forward and jumps. He doesn't move his arms or legs. I see a vision of him punching. He moves his real arm. I dodge his punch. Riley looks back at me and smiles. "Detect. It's how I knew what attacks you were going to use. The only problem is, it exhausts you as you use it."
I nod. "Got it."
Riley goes for a low kick, but I jump and use Force Palm. He forms a barrier, but is pushed back still. He stumbles for an instant. I run forward and jump into the air. I do a Dual Force Palm on the ground. Riley grins as I jump over him. "That's my move, Chris."
He turns around, but I use Force Palm in front of me. He gasps and I blast behind me, kicking him from behind. He struggles to breathe as I knock the air out of him. He drops to the ground, gasping for air. I kick him onto his back and lift him up. He smiles. "Amazing."
I suddenly feel fatigued. I drop him and fall onto my back. I take deep breaths. Riley chuckles. "You used your Aura too much in a short period of time. I wouldn't try using that quadruple Force Palm any time soon."

He reaches down. I grab his hand and pull myself up. We both grin and shake each other's hand. "You are done with your training under me, Chris. You fought well."
"You didn't teach me combat at all, though. How did I even stand up to you?"

"As an Aura user, fighting using Aura is in your blood."
"I see."

Barry and Dawn run over to me. "Chris!" Barry shouts. "That was awesome!"
Dawn smiles. "You did really good."

"It's nothing, really."
Riley laughs. "Let's get some rest and something to eat."
I nod. "We're going to need energy to take them on in a few days."
"At least a few days," Roark corrects, walking over. "We don't know when the Red Chain will be done."
I nod. "Yeah…"
"Let's not think about that right now, though," Dawn says, holding her stomach. "I need some real food."
I chuckle. "Let's go."