Chapter 3- A Warriors Heart; Secrets Revealed
Morning, breakfest time inside the Pheonix Mall, home of the Mallrats. Again, breakfest was loud as usual. Everybody started chattering away as they came in, all talking about going to where to find more of the antidote. To be frank, he didn't understand a word they were saying, not all since he was watching Amber from the other side of the cafe'.
He could remember what Tai-San said to him, of course trying to get over their so called one night stand though. Soulmates she said. He had to laugh at that. He didn't think that anyone could be HIS soulmate, that he was actually meant to be with someone. The only person who made him believe in the word soulmate was Lillian, his love, his fiance'.
He had to admit, Amber did remind him a lot of Lillian, almost. They both looked the same, acted the same way, except Lillian had much more of a sense of humor while Amber had the personality of stump like she didn't believe in having a good laugh. There was no way they could be soulmates, just...not possible. Yeah, that was it. Tai-San can't tell the future, nobody can.
Besides, maybe it wasn't Amber. It could have been Lillian, but she was dead. Thanks to Top Hat, he lost the single most important thing in his life. What if, though, just what if he was really meant to be with Amber. What if he walked over to her now and talked to her.
NO! She was with someone else who happened to be his best friend. He could never do that to Bray. Their friendship was too treasured to be ruined by stinkin' love. No, Stryfe was right. It was best to keep a big and strong wall around his heart, and more better to fight. Yes, that would be his code, to never love. Hell, it was the same code he went by since Lillian died...until his night with Tai-San though.
His thoughts were interruped as Patsy came up and sat by him. The little girl had become quiet close to him. They were like brother and sister now, but he felt like a protective father towards her. She looked a bit upset as she looked down at her plate, and he knew why immediately as he looked at her plate as well. She didn't have any honey bread, and it was her favorite. They must've been out, he thought. He then gave her his honey bread which he barely touched on his plate, and she thanked him with a smile.
Downstairs, Cloe and KC were arguing over who his trading items. "I'm telling you, KC! You're going to get into trouble if you start making people believe that this is the antidote!" "And I'm telling you, Cloe! People won't notice the difference! It looks just like the antidote that we saw, so it doesn't matter!"
She crossed her arms and scowled at him. "Fine. Do whatever you want. Go ahead and get killed for tricking people, see if I care!" She began to storm up the stairs until the alarm went off.
The chattering stopped as everybody quickly ran downstairs. Lex got in everyone's way from the bottom of the staircase. "Before everybody goes crazy...Amber, you and the girls get the tables. Jack, KC, you help them." He looked over at Jett. "Jett, you and I are the defense line, buddy." Jett only grinned. "Sure you don't need me to fight them alone?" "Now that you said it, thought did come to mind." Lex smirked as the rushed up to the main entrance from the sewers.
"Jett!" Amber spoke up. He slowly looked up at her. "Good luck." Since when did she even care. He was given his answer when he saw Tai-San smile. Did she..?! No, he couldn't concern it now, just this situation. He quickly stood beside Lex and prepared himself. In minutes, a figure slowly walked towards them, hidden by a black overcoat...very similiar to Jett. Jett noticed it, and his eyes went wide as the figure came into better view.
"Who are you?" Lex asked very sternly. Jett rushed forward to the figure as they fell forward. The figure looked up at him. It was a boy, no more older than Jett and Lex. He was bloody, bruised, and cut badly. He looked like he was beaten to death. "Jett." The boy whispered.
Lex looked up at Jett. "You know him?" "His name is Sio. He's of the Storm Raider tribe in the forests." Lex's eyes bugged out. "Storm...Raider? Oh my...the tribe of the trained assasins known as the Storm Raiders!" Jett slowly nodded and looked back down at the broken boy. Sio weakly opened his eyes to the great fighter. "J-Jett...so you...you were here after all...in the city."
"Sio, save your strength." "No, I...I'm just glad I got here before I go unconcious. Stryfe...he sent me to..find you. We...need your help. We were hired to kill....Phantom." Jett's eyes went wide in panic and anger at the name Phantom. "You...fucking idiots! Stryfe said we would never take part in trying to kill him!" "Jett, please. When we started out to find this Phantom...oh Jett, it was horrible."
"What happened?" Jett asked while Lex and the others looked on. Tears started to roll down his bruised and bloody face. "When we found...we couldn't even touch him. He was fast...he was strong...just as you. He kept saying he wanted to see you. Then Stryfe...." He started to sob and cry harder. Jett had never seen him like this. "Sio, what happened to Stryfe?"
"He told me to find you..as he...he challenged Phantom. It was just them, one-on-one. I-I'm not sure what happened to him. I just quickly left. to find you." Sio started to control his emotions. "Jett, I'm scared. For the first time in my life, I'm scared. I hate to think what happened to Stryfe. I mean....I don't know if he's dead or alive..." "Sio, don't think that way! Don't you ever think that way!" Jett growled at the battered and bruised up child. "Stryfe is the strongest of us, that's why he's our leader."
"Leader?"
Jett looked up to see everybody staring at him. He suddenly sighed, knowing it was time that the truth be told. Another truth he wanted to leave behind. But first, Sio needed medical treatment.
Later on, after Sio was given medical treatment and rest. Everyone was in the cafe' of the mall, staring at Jett who leaned against the staircase, looking down at nothing. They were waiting for an answer, and Lex was not the one to be patient as he said, "So, tough guy, you gonna tell us who the hell you really are, or just leave us to believe a bunch of lies. Like Lillian for instense..."
"She's not a lie. She WAS my fiance, and I DID love her very much. But she IS dead. It was Top Hat who killed her. That's another reason I'm here in the city." "But we're not here to talk about your deceased girlfriend...rest her soul...but who you are."
He sighed. It was time to tell the truth. "During the evacuation, when Zoot and the Locusts were running around and spreading fear. I lost contact with Bray and Trudy, so I was on my own. Then, I met a kid named Stryfe. He was muscular like the incredible hulk, but fast with moves. When I met him, he was already leader of a tribe. I was ok on my own, but I was really tired of being alone."
"So you joined them?" Trudy asked. Jett looked up at her. "Not before taking the test, I had to beat his best fighters under 15 seconds. My record time was 5 seconds. I impressed him that day, so I became the champion of the Storm Raiders, the greatest band of hardcore trained assassins."
"I remember them." Ryan spoke up. "Me too. They were the main rivals of the Locusts. But what happened to you guys?" Jack asked. "Stryfe is what happened. He decided that a city life was no place for kids now. It would be better to live out in the woods."
"Like I always say." Dal said.
Patsy looked up at the boy that become like a brother to her. "Jett, if your tribe left the city...is that when you fought Zoot?" "Yeah, Pats. Before I left with my tribe, I had to go and see Zoot. After all, we were friends back then, and I had to give it a shot to win him back for Bray and Trudy. Of course...you know what happened then. We fought and neither turned out to be the victor. That was a very important day to me as well. During the fight, he told me that you two were still in the city somewhere." He looked over at Trudy and Bray.
"And that's when you left the Storm Raiders and starting searching for them?" Jett nodded at KC.
Far off in the corner, Salene looked shooked up. She sat next to Ryan, but he didn't notice her expression until Jett saw her and asked her if she was ok. All eyes were on her.
"J-Jett. Your leader...you said his name is Stryfe? The leader of your old tribe?" "Yeah. Why?"
Salene looked down before she replied, "No reason. I just thought...he was somebody I knew...once."
"Hey....hey, I know you!"
All eyes turned turned back to Jett, who behind him was Sio, bandaged and all. Jett sighed and tried to bring his friend back to his room to rest. "Sio, come on. Your weak, you need all the strength you can get...."
"No, no Jett! That girl, the one with the pink hair. I've seen her before." Sio said as he pointed to Salene who started turning pale.
"What do you mean you've seen her before?" Lex asked.
"That girl. Stryfe has a picture of them together. You must be Salene, right?"
She looked down, not meeting anyone's eyes or replying to Sio's question. Zandra was a different story. "Yes, her name IS Salene. Why do you care?"
"Just curious, that's all. Stryfe keeps saying the name Salene in his sleep a lot. I thought it might be you in that picture he's got."
Ryan looked confused at his girlfriend. "Salene, what's he talking about?"
She was silent for a moment, but then her eyes looked up at everyone who stared at her. She opened her mouth and began to speak.
"Stryfe and I....we were together before the virus."
Morning, breakfest time inside the Pheonix Mall, home of the Mallrats. Again, breakfest was loud as usual. Everybody started chattering away as they came in, all talking about going to where to find more of the antidote. To be frank, he didn't understand a word they were saying, not all since he was watching Amber from the other side of the cafe'.
He could remember what Tai-San said to him, of course trying to get over their so called one night stand though. Soulmates she said. He had to laugh at that. He didn't think that anyone could be HIS soulmate, that he was actually meant to be with someone. The only person who made him believe in the word soulmate was Lillian, his love, his fiance'.
He had to admit, Amber did remind him a lot of Lillian, almost. They both looked the same, acted the same way, except Lillian had much more of a sense of humor while Amber had the personality of stump like she didn't believe in having a good laugh. There was no way they could be soulmates, just...not possible. Yeah, that was it. Tai-San can't tell the future, nobody can.
Besides, maybe it wasn't Amber. It could have been Lillian, but she was dead. Thanks to Top Hat, he lost the single most important thing in his life. What if, though, just what if he was really meant to be with Amber. What if he walked over to her now and talked to her.
NO! She was with someone else who happened to be his best friend. He could never do that to Bray. Their friendship was too treasured to be ruined by stinkin' love. No, Stryfe was right. It was best to keep a big and strong wall around his heart, and more better to fight. Yes, that would be his code, to never love. Hell, it was the same code he went by since Lillian died...until his night with Tai-San though.
His thoughts were interruped as Patsy came up and sat by him. The little girl had become quiet close to him. They were like brother and sister now, but he felt like a protective father towards her. She looked a bit upset as she looked down at her plate, and he knew why immediately as he looked at her plate as well. She didn't have any honey bread, and it was her favorite. They must've been out, he thought. He then gave her his honey bread which he barely touched on his plate, and she thanked him with a smile.
Downstairs, Cloe and KC were arguing over who his trading items. "I'm telling you, KC! You're going to get into trouble if you start making people believe that this is the antidote!" "And I'm telling you, Cloe! People won't notice the difference! It looks just like the antidote that we saw, so it doesn't matter!"
She crossed her arms and scowled at him. "Fine. Do whatever you want. Go ahead and get killed for tricking people, see if I care!" She began to storm up the stairs until the alarm went off.
The chattering stopped as everybody quickly ran downstairs. Lex got in everyone's way from the bottom of the staircase. "Before everybody goes crazy...Amber, you and the girls get the tables. Jack, KC, you help them." He looked over at Jett. "Jett, you and I are the defense line, buddy." Jett only grinned. "Sure you don't need me to fight them alone?" "Now that you said it, thought did come to mind." Lex smirked as the rushed up to the main entrance from the sewers.
"Jett!" Amber spoke up. He slowly looked up at her. "Good luck." Since when did she even care. He was given his answer when he saw Tai-San smile. Did she..?! No, he couldn't concern it now, just this situation. He quickly stood beside Lex and prepared himself. In minutes, a figure slowly walked towards them, hidden by a black overcoat...very similiar to Jett. Jett noticed it, and his eyes went wide as the figure came into better view.
"Who are you?" Lex asked very sternly. Jett rushed forward to the figure as they fell forward. The figure looked up at him. It was a boy, no more older than Jett and Lex. He was bloody, bruised, and cut badly. He looked like he was beaten to death. "Jett." The boy whispered.
Lex looked up at Jett. "You know him?" "His name is Sio. He's of the Storm Raider tribe in the forests." Lex's eyes bugged out. "Storm...Raider? Oh my...the tribe of the trained assasins known as the Storm Raiders!" Jett slowly nodded and looked back down at the broken boy. Sio weakly opened his eyes to the great fighter. "J-Jett...so you...you were here after all...in the city."
"Sio, save your strength." "No, I...I'm just glad I got here before I go unconcious. Stryfe...he sent me to..find you. We...need your help. We were hired to kill....Phantom." Jett's eyes went wide in panic and anger at the name Phantom. "You...fucking idiots! Stryfe said we would never take part in trying to kill him!" "Jett, please. When we started out to find this Phantom...oh Jett, it was horrible."
"What happened?" Jett asked while Lex and the others looked on. Tears started to roll down his bruised and bloody face. "When we found...we couldn't even touch him. He was fast...he was strong...just as you. He kept saying he wanted to see you. Then Stryfe...." He started to sob and cry harder. Jett had never seen him like this. "Sio, what happened to Stryfe?"
"He told me to find you..as he...he challenged Phantom. It was just them, one-on-one. I-I'm not sure what happened to him. I just quickly left. to find you." Sio started to control his emotions. "Jett, I'm scared. For the first time in my life, I'm scared. I hate to think what happened to Stryfe. I mean....I don't know if he's dead or alive..." "Sio, don't think that way! Don't you ever think that way!" Jett growled at the battered and bruised up child. "Stryfe is the strongest of us, that's why he's our leader."
"Leader?"
Jett looked up to see everybody staring at him. He suddenly sighed, knowing it was time that the truth be told. Another truth he wanted to leave behind. But first, Sio needed medical treatment.
Later on, after Sio was given medical treatment and rest. Everyone was in the cafe' of the mall, staring at Jett who leaned against the staircase, looking down at nothing. They were waiting for an answer, and Lex was not the one to be patient as he said, "So, tough guy, you gonna tell us who the hell you really are, or just leave us to believe a bunch of lies. Like Lillian for instense..."
"She's not a lie. She WAS my fiance, and I DID love her very much. But she IS dead. It was Top Hat who killed her. That's another reason I'm here in the city." "But we're not here to talk about your deceased girlfriend...rest her soul...but who you are."
He sighed. It was time to tell the truth. "During the evacuation, when Zoot and the Locusts were running around and spreading fear. I lost contact with Bray and Trudy, so I was on my own. Then, I met a kid named Stryfe. He was muscular like the incredible hulk, but fast with moves. When I met him, he was already leader of a tribe. I was ok on my own, but I was really tired of being alone."
"So you joined them?" Trudy asked. Jett looked up at her. "Not before taking the test, I had to beat his best fighters under 15 seconds. My record time was 5 seconds. I impressed him that day, so I became the champion of the Storm Raiders, the greatest band of hardcore trained assassins."
"I remember them." Ryan spoke up. "Me too. They were the main rivals of the Locusts. But what happened to you guys?" Jack asked. "Stryfe is what happened. He decided that a city life was no place for kids now. It would be better to live out in the woods."
"Like I always say." Dal said.
Patsy looked up at the boy that become like a brother to her. "Jett, if your tribe left the city...is that when you fought Zoot?" "Yeah, Pats. Before I left with my tribe, I had to go and see Zoot. After all, we were friends back then, and I had to give it a shot to win him back for Bray and Trudy. Of course...you know what happened then. We fought and neither turned out to be the victor. That was a very important day to me as well. During the fight, he told me that you two were still in the city somewhere." He looked over at Trudy and Bray.
"And that's when you left the Storm Raiders and starting searching for them?" Jett nodded at KC.
Far off in the corner, Salene looked shooked up. She sat next to Ryan, but he didn't notice her expression until Jett saw her and asked her if she was ok. All eyes were on her.
"J-Jett. Your leader...you said his name is Stryfe? The leader of your old tribe?" "Yeah. Why?"
Salene looked down before she replied, "No reason. I just thought...he was somebody I knew...once."
"Hey....hey, I know you!"
All eyes turned turned back to Jett, who behind him was Sio, bandaged and all. Jett sighed and tried to bring his friend back to his room to rest. "Sio, come on. Your weak, you need all the strength you can get...."
"No, no Jett! That girl, the one with the pink hair. I've seen her before." Sio said as he pointed to Salene who started turning pale.
"What do you mean you've seen her before?" Lex asked.
"That girl. Stryfe has a picture of them together. You must be Salene, right?"
She looked down, not meeting anyone's eyes or replying to Sio's question. Zandra was a different story. "Yes, her name IS Salene. Why do you care?"
"Just curious, that's all. Stryfe keeps saying the name Salene in his sleep a lot. I thought it might be you in that picture he's got."
Ryan looked confused at his girlfriend. "Salene, what's he talking about?"
She was silent for a moment, but then her eyes looked up at everyone who stared at her. She opened her mouth and began to speak.
"Stryfe and I....we were together before the virus."