Act 2: Chapter 18 - The Second Brother (Part 2)

School District 7

Seventh Mist

"Tell me again why we're here?" Theron complains as he and the girls are taking an escalator up to the upper floor where the clothes are being sold at.

"How about you loosen up for once, Theron?" Misaka berates him. "We're just here to shop for clothes, that's all."

They arrived at the upper floor and walk down the halls of the shopping mall as they look at the displays of various clothing such as pajamas.

"So you're looking for new clothes? Or is this just an excuse for wanting the Gekota-related ones?" He says with a raised eyebrow.

"H-Hey!" She exclaims with an embarrassing blush on her face. "That's none of your business!"

"And I don't care if you're into Gekota or not." He shoots back at her. "Just don't let your tsundere facade be your undoing."

This caused Misaka to grit her teeth and give off sparks around her, but she quickly calms down and puffs her cheeks at his unnecessary comment about the things she privately likes and wouldn't publicly admit. Unbeknownst to the group, however, the Inquisitor is closing in on the Jedi as he prepares to lure away people that might interfere with his mission.

...

It was a rather enjoyable late afternoon as the friends went to look at a variety of clothes. Shirai wanted to look at some lingerie for her pointless attempts of wooing Misaka as usual. Misaka, however, went to look at some sleepwear to buy as she has heard a new line of Gekota pajamas are out. As for Theron, Saten, and Uiharu, they went to the swimwear department.

"Hey Uiharu, look at this!" Saten says with excitement as she shows her best friend a bikini.

"Wow!" Uiharu says in awe. "It looks cute!"

"Uh huh!" The Level 0 says before giving her friend a teasing smirk. "Want to try it out? It'll probably look good on you!"

"Eh?!" The Level 1 blushes. "No, no, no! I don't think I have the courage to wear that!"

"Aw, don't be so stingy! It's perfect for you!" Saten pesters her.

"If you want Uiharu to where them so badly, why don't you try them on?" He bluntly asks her.

The girl suddenly blushes and gives an uncomfortable look at him.

"U-Uh, I-I don't know. I don't think I have the courage either." She shyly says. "I can't do it."

"You can't or you won't?" He question her further before realizing something. "Oh, I see. You're secretly a tsundere, aren't you?"

"W-Wha?! No I'm not!" She denies as her blush deepens.

"I agree, Theron." Uiharu smirks evilly. "They might look good on her than on me."

"U-Uiharu!" Saten shouts at her friend in shock with a gasp. "How could you?! Traitor!"

"Don't be shy, Saten!" The flower head girl insists as she grabs her friends hand and pulls her into a changing room.

Saten begins to stutter and argue with her, but it was no use as she is pushed into the room, leaving Uiharu and Theron to wait for her to change into the bikini.

"Phew!" Uiharu sighs in relief. "That was too close. She almost had me. But other than that, thanks for turning the tables on her, Theron."

"No problem." He shrugs. "I'm just concerned that one day her constant teasing is gonna come back to bite her in the ass. So I thought of teaching her on not taking things too far, ya know."

"Yeah, I'd figured you'd say that." She chuckles. "You seem the kind of guy that's not perverted and all. Believe me, Kamijou isn't the type either. Then again, from what Misaka once told us, he has a huge streak of bad luck."

"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck. Maybe he's clumsy." He speculates.

"I don't think so. Misaka says it's true."

"Huh? No way. Tell me you're kidding."

"Sorry, but I'm really not." She shakes her head.

"That so? Curious."

The curtains to the changing room open, and the two had shocked looks on their faces when they saw what type of bikini Saten's wearing.

"Holy shit..." He utters, loss at words, blushing.

"S-Saten!" Uiharu gasps with a red face on her.

Saten is wearing a red and white striped bikini and a pair of tight thongs, completely showing her rather impressive C-cup bust size and cute butt cheeks.

"U-Um..." Saten stutters as she blushes madly and shyly looks away. "What do you think, Theron?"

"Wow." He says, deepening his own blush. "You look... sexy. And that's an impressive rack and ass you got there."

"R-Really?" She shyly questions. "Y-you like my body?"

"W-Well no, I-!" He stutters, making things awkward between them. "Um..."

Saten then looks down and she gasps at what she is looking at.

"Saten, what's wrong?" Uiharu asks.

"Um... Theron's... um..." She stutters again as her eyes look away, already reaching the limit of her blushing as her heart is already beating faster once more.

"Huh?" He says in confusion before looking down. Instantly, he freezes in panic.

"Damnnnnnnnnnnn!" He curses aloud in his thoughts.

...

Soon, curfew came into effect as students begin leaving the mall to return to their dorms, leaving the group by themselves.

"It's getting late, and some of the shops are closing up." Shirai points out as some of the lights in both stores and the entire mall are off. "We should-. Um, why are your faces red?"

Saten, Uiharu, and Theron all had blushes on their faces as they felt very embarrassed about it.

"No. Comment." The Jedi grumbles.

"You don't want to know." Uiharu says, agreeing with the Jedi.

Saten didn't say a word, not wanting to explain what happened in the swimwear shop.

Before Misaka and Shirai could question them further, Theron's backpack starts moving and the Child opens up the top of the bag with a confused look before yawning from taking a nap. While Saten and Misaka already knew about the baby earlier, Uiharu and Shirai had surprised looks on their faces.

"Hey little guy." Theron turns his head with a smile at the kid in the bag. "Seems you're awake."

"What is that?!" Shirai shouts as she has never seen a creature like it before.

Uiharu gasps and walks toward the bag on Theron's back.

"Oh my gosh, he's so cute!" She gushes over the baby who then tilts his head curiously. "Hi there!"

The Child coos in response and reaches out to her. Uiharu giggles and let's him hold her finger in response. Shirai on the other hand, gave a look at the Jedi as she wants an explanation.

"Long story short, I went off-world and ended up finding the kid." He briefly explains, not wanting to explain the whole thing again.

"What?!" Shirai and Uiharu exclaimed.

"We'll explain it to you later, guys." Misaka says to the Judgement girls.

Shirai gave an annoyed glare at Theron but nods in understanding from her roommate.

"So" Shirai changes the topic and looks at the kid on the Jedi's back. "Who's this?"

"A kid I found on a planet all alone." He explains. "I couldn't leave him for someone else to find him, so I brought him in for the time being until I can find a home form or his homeworld."

"So in other words, you're planning to find a home for him?" The Teleporter concludes as she points a finger at the baby.

The Child looks at her finger and instead of reaching out for it to hold onto, he bites it.

"Ahhh!" She yelps in pain, pulling her finger back and holding it. "What the hell!"

"He really doesn't like you for some reason." The Jedi comments as the baby laughs, earning giggles from the other girls.

"You think?!" She says while blowing on her bitten finger. "I didn't do anything wrong that made him not liking me!"

"I don't know, Kuroko." Misaka begins to wonder. "Maybe he doesn't like you because you seem to be perverted whenever you decided to sexually assault me."

Shirai opens her mouth to give a pathetic excuse and quickly looks at the Child, who then coos in response. The Level 4 then shuts her mouth closed and sighs in defeat.

"Damn it." She curses under her breath. "There's something about that baby that's keeping me from arguing back at Sissy."

"Hey, is it okay if I carry him?" Saten asks, wanting to spend more time with the baby.

"Sure." He answers with a smile and hands the backpack to her.

Now in her hands, the Force sensitive girl looks at the Child, who laughs happily at her, and smiles warmly at him.

"Wow, Saten. Looks like you have a motherly trait after all." Uiharu teases her friend.

Saten's cheeks turn red and nervously chuckles.

Meanwhile, Theron senses a disturbance in the Force as he looks behind him for anything unusual. His friends notice his suspicious expression.

"What is it?" Misaka asks.

"I'm not sure." He answers. "It seems there's a disturbance in the Force."

With the child on her back, Saten also senses it too.

"Yeah. I feel... darkness from it." She says as her eyes widen.

The Child whimpers and hides inside the backpack.

"It's a trap, isn't it?" He asks blankly.

The girls became confused with his question and suddenly, the security shutter instantly slammed down, cutting Theron off from his friends.

"Yep. It's a trap." He sighs in annoyance.

Turning around, he sees the Inquisitor standing before him.

"I thought we hunted down what little is left of your kind centuries ago." He speaks (in his Sam Witwer voice) aloud to the young Jedi. "Strange. I've never heard of any Jedi that's been hiding out on this backwater of a planet. No known records from the old Jedi archives back in the old Galaxy, and yet... you're the last of them and their dogmatic Order. Still, I've been tasked in bringing you in alive, but that doesn't mean in one piece."

Theron remains silent as he observes the Inquisitor turning his back on him as the latter continues monologuing.

"But most importantly, I'm here for the child." He continues and turns his head. "So tell me, where have you hidden him?"

The Jedi's only reaction was retaliation as he ignites his sapphire lightsaber blade in the barely lit halls of the Seventh Mist.

"Persistent." The dark side user says with no surprise in his voice before turning face to face with the Jedi and takes out his own lightsaber, igniting the red blade.

The Inquisitor makes his first move and jumps in the air before striking down on Theron who rolls out of the way, leaving the former's blade lodged into the floor. He then pulls his red blade out and parries the boy's Form IV attacks with his Form II Makashi one handed fighting style. He breaks the boy's stamina and Force pushes him down.

"Pathetic like the rest of your fallen Order." He mocks him with little emotion in his voice.

Theron gets back up and quickly strikes at him, but the Jedi hunter just keeps blocking each blow.

"Your attacks and defenses are sloppy." The Inquisitor taunts and comments as he now goes on the offensive. "It seems you haven't fought an opponent with a lightsaber in years. I sense that you are weak in the Force. And you call yourself a Jedi."

Theron grits his teeth as he then uses the Force to lift items from the shop displays and telekinetically throws them at his opponent, who easily cuts them down or sidesteps the thrown objects. This left an opening in his defenses and Theron changes to Form V, using his brute strength to break the Inquisitor's guard as Form II's fencing style is weak against Form V's heavy, brute attacks. The Jedi then kicks him down and slams his blade onto the Inquisitor's three times. Now in a saber lock, Theron chokeholds the Inquisitor who at first, struggles in breaking free.

Now seeing a small opening the Inquisitor surprisingly unleashes Force lightning onto the Jedi, electrocuting him. Unlike Misaka's own lightning, this Force power causes pain to the opponent and weakens him. The lightning telekinetically sends Theron crashing through a window outside the mall. The Inquisitor sheaths his blade and jumps outside just as the shutter reopens thanks to Misaka's and Uiharu's teamwork as the security systems have been upgraded to prevent another Graviton bombing that occurred last July.

"Oh no." Saten says in fear as she notices the broken window.

She then runs to it with her friends behind her and she gasps. The girls see that Theron's dueling an armored figure with a red lightsaber.

"We have to help Theron!" She says as she then makes for downstairs, not wanting to jump out of the window and help him.

"Saten, wait!" Uiharu follows her, leaving Misaka and Shirai looking outside of the broken window.

...

Theron's lightsaber is knocked out of his hands and was then Force pushed down on the quiet streets. Grey clouds started giving off thunder, covering the sunset.

"Do you have anything to say?" The Inquisitor asks. "I would like to hear you speak before I break you apart. Piece by piece."

"W-What... are you called?" Theron asks.

"I am known as the Second Brother. And you will know the power of the dark side of the Force."

"Um, Second Brother? Yeah, um, listen. I noticed that your helmet is cool looking. Are you by any chance a Mandalorian or did you made that helmet out of durasteel just so you can mock them?" Theron trolls at his enemy.

The Second Brother growls in anger and Force lifts him up, grabbing him by the face as the Jedi struggles to break free. He then has his red lightsaber blade close to Theron's face.

"I will make sure you stay awake long enough to feel every cut. You will suffer and crack... as I and others once have."

"Go to hell."

Just then, lightning from Misaka is fired at the Inquisitor as he dislocates his shoulder and tosses him aside before raising his lightsaber up and blocks the lightning, absorbing it. Theron, meanwhile, held back a scream of agonizing pain as he grits his teeth and held onto it.

"I'm guessing the Empire sent you to kill my friend." Misaka guesses.

"This doesn't concern you, girl. He's coming with me."

"Like hell you are!" She shouts in anger.

Just then, Shirai appears from thin air and shows him her Judgement armband.

"In name of Judgement, I'm placing you under arrest for manslaughter, murder, and trespassing in this city!" Shirai announces as the Second Brother remains unfazed by her words.

"How quaint of you." He says before chuckling. "This is your only warning. Leave now and I will spare your lives."

"That's not gonna happen!" She refuses, earning a nod from Misaka. "You think you have power over Academy City? You don't. You would use your power to help enslave entire worlds and kill anyone that gets in your way."

"I do have power, primitive. One that you're not aware of."

He then notices Saten and Uiharu run out of the mall and they noticed Theron injured as he is on his knees, gripping the dislocated shoulder.

"Let him go!" Saten shouts in anger.

"And what if I don't want to?" He questions and notices the Child on her back.

Before he could do anything else, the Second Brother senses something behind him and unleashed Force lightning onto Theron who blocks it with both hands. It didn't last as it then went out of control and created an explosion, creating a blinding white light.

...

Saten wakes up on the streets with a headache alongside her friends. Then they noticed that the Second Brother isn't here. And even if he was dead, there would've been a body.

"Ow, my head." She says before noticing that the baby isn't in the bag on her back. "Wait, where is he?!"

Her friends looked around, hoping that they didn't lose the Child. Just then, they heard babbles coming from the baby as he pokes out of hiding behind small debris.

"Awww, were you hiding from us? She gushes at the baby who reaches out to her and she carries him. "Yes, I know. That was really loud for your big ole ears, weren't they?"

"Saten, over here!" Misaka shouts. "You need to see this!"

The Level 0 hears her and meets up with her friends as they are looking at something with shocked looks on their faces. Saten gasps and notices that Theron has his clothes torn up and is injured from the explosion, bleeding. Theron was unconscious and She crouches beside him in panic.

"Theron!" She cries out. "Oh my God!"

"Uiharu, I'll contact Anti-Skill about what happened while you call for an ambulance." Shirai says to her partner.

"I'm on it." Uiharu nods as she does so.

Saten notices Theron's lightsaber on the side and picks it up before keeping it safe for him. She then looks at his unconscious body and starts tearing up.

"Hang on, Theron! Help's on its way!" She cries out as she covers her face on his torn jacket, hoping that he'll make it.

"We better hurry. He looks bad." Misaka says aloud in full concern as rain starts falling.

To be continued...