By: Shirley Ann Burton
You Know What This
Is!
The Magician, and all other related material, are copyrighted by
Gaumont Multimédia. If you've read every story I've written,
I don't need to explain the rule about using any original characters in
future stories. The important note is…this story tags up just after
Reveal the Darkness Within, so if you haven't read it yet, please do so
before getting to this one.
Part 1
It was a
clear night filled with many stars shining brightly over Electro City,
California.
Within
the confines of the Magic Express, Ace Cooper sat alone in the living room
as he pondered the strange events of the past few days.
Just days
earlier his friend Angela Jacobs, a training magician who also had the
power of the Magic Force within her own heart, had been abducted in broad
daylight. The timing could not have been worse because she struggled
desperately to hold back her buried darker feelings. While a prisoner
of prominent scientist Dr. Gregory Collins, those feelings finally surfaced,
forcing her to release her suppressed anger and rage. Her out-of-control
fury almost caused his death with an extremely intense tornado.
Taking
the long cross-country journey to find Angie, Ace and Lt. Derek Vega went
to Washington, DC, in hopes of being able to help her with her fragile
emotional state.
Angie became
frightened at the fact Ace had seen her welled up feelings escalate and
then explode, so she forced her way past Ace and the others just to get
away from everyone.
With some
help from shifter guardian Gwydion Bright Owl and his panther Zina, the
Magician was able to locate Angie and intercept her at the Lincoln Memorial.
There,
he helped her realize she would not lose any of her friends because
her darker self surfaced.
As for
Angie herself, she started to understand darkness did not always create
hatred, and in order to completely love, she had to acknowledge her shadow.
When she finally did so, she realized herself she did not need to hide
any moments of anger or being upset.
The two
magicians also learned another important secret about themselves:
Angie was able to help Ace escape from the water torture chamber in his
first attempt to break the water immersion world record. The mysterious
part of this incident was she had watched him perform on television as
a senior at Iowa State University…while he performed 1500 miles away in
Electro City!
She sat
on her bed in her room, shaking her head in confusion. "I never knew
I had…that much power inside me," she said slowly, still trying
to make sense of the strange situation that occurred nearly five years
earlier.
The door
opened with Ace standing just outside. "It's the truth, Angie.
You have a lot of power. It's the emotional control we need to work
on."
She looked
at him with a slightly confused look on her face. "Ace…I know you've
been through a rough road yourself in your life, but how is it you can
maintain such control of your powers? I mean, it couldn't have happened
overnight."
The Magician
walked in and sat next to her on the bed. "You're right, Angie.
It took a long time to figure out just what I had and what I could do."
He then put his arm around her shoulder. "Angie, I think it's time
I let you in on a very special secret…one so closely guarded only four
others know about it."
"Let me
guess, the four others are Vega, Mona, Cosmo, and Zina."
"How'd
you know? Read my mind?"
"Nope.
I've been here long enough. Common sense."
Ace chuckled
lightly. "Three years and definitely observant."
Angie gave
him a serious look. "Ace, please tell me. How can I keep my
powers under control when I do get emotional? I mean, if I don't
get angry, I bury my shadow all over again. If I get too angry, I
could lose control again. I mean, in the past, my power would come
to light, and it knew I wanted to help someone. It just came to me.
How?"
"In order
to use your own power, you had to basically surrender yourself to it, which
allowed you to help your father, that group of kids, Ashley, and me."
"What exactly
do you mean by 'surrendering myself'?"
"Sometimes
to get what you really want, you have to let go."
"Let go?"
"Yes, of
whatever holds you back from being able discover yourself, your destiny.
A friend told me about letting go a long time ago."
"How did
you finally understand what you had, Ace?"
"It wasn't
very easy, I can tell you. In a way, I'm a lot like you…not always
open as to how I'm feeling. It started about two months after my
confrontation with Jack Malone, the one where—"
"He became
what he is now," Angie completed. "Ace, if you don't want to talk
about it, it's okay."
"No.
I need to tell you what I went through, so maybe I can help you deal with
your emotions. I was feeling so unsure of myself because of this
little tuft of white hair and the Magic Force. Not knowing what I
was really capable of doing, I decided to leave Electro City for a while,
hoping to find myself…"
**18 Years Earlier**
The young
man had never felt so lost in his life. The last few months had been
nothing short of nightmarish for 17-year-old Ace Cooper. First, he
ran to the history museum and saved Detective Derek Vega from a terrifying
explosion with a power he had suppressed for a number of years. Then,
after learning Jack Malone lied to him about the fate of his friend Gus
Moreland, Ace turned on his boss and had a frightening battle above a huge
fire. Jack fell into the flames and just barely survived, but he
was permanently scarred, disfigured, and debilitated. To make matters
worse, Ace's girlfriend Mona, who just happened to be Jack Malone's daughter,
was very upset with him for what he did to her father, hence she broke
up with him and never wanted to see him again.
Ace walked
alone through the streets of Electro City. "I can't stay here," he
said to himself. "I could hurt someone…or worse, if I stick around
in this place. I need to get away."
He made
his way to the docks along the piers of the Grand Canal, hoping for a chance
to find a boat that would leave Electro City.
His hopes
for finding a way out nearly faded when someone on a barge yelled, "Hey,
kid, you lookin' for work?"
Ace looked
up and saw the gentleman, a 50-something man with graying hair and brown
eyes. He was dressed up to be the captain. "Yes, sir," the
young man said loudly. "I could use a job." One that gets
me away from Electro City before I harm someone else.
"Well,
I need another hand to keep these cars clean as we ship 'em to India.
You interested?"
"How long
is the trip?"
"About
six weeks."
Ace smiled
and quickly said, "Permission to come aboard, sir."
"Permission
granted, lad. Come aboard."
The young
man ran up the boarding plank and straight to him. "Whatever you
need me to do, I'll do it."
The captain
whistled in delight. "My goodness, lad, you're anxious to get started,
aren't ya?"
"Yes, I
am." Anything just to leave here.
"I'll give
you a tour of the ship and the job you'll have. I hope you won't
change your mind after I show you around."
"I don't
think I will, sir."
A little
further down the stern of the ship, at least ten men were looking at their
captain with hidden disgust. They were not very thrilled to get someone
so young into their crew.
One noticed
Ace's little tuft of white hair. "What's he think he is, a punk rocker
from the 20th Century?"
Another
wickedly said, "If he thinks he'll become a favorite around here,
we'll show him who's boss."
"We'll
make sure he doesn't last a week out in the ocean. He'll be cryin'
back to his mama when we're done with him."
As the
tour continued, the captain asked, "You ever been out to sea, lad?"
"No, sir,
I haven't. I guess I'm a real landlubber."
"Hmm, you
may experience a little seasickness for the first week or two. Once
you get adjusted, you'll do fine."
"I appreciate
this opportunity, Captain…"
"Name's
Captain Balken. What's your name, lad?"
"Ace…Ace
Cooper."
"Welcome
to sea life, Ace."
"Thank
you, sir."
"Oh, by
the way, I should warn you…my crew can be very unnerving, considering I've
got someone very young in the ranks. Try the best you can to ignore
them. I wish I could get rid of them, but they're all I've got as
an effective crew."
"I understand,
Captain. I'll do my best to steer clear of them."
Captain
Balken smiled at the young man and could see the determination in Ace's
eyes. "Now, I'll show you the cars you'll have to keep an eye on.
They're down in the cargo hold."
When the
two entered the cargo area, Ace was amazed. "Wow…these cars are going
to India?"
"Yeah.
Ever since we started trading with India 20 years ago, we've been able
to export cars over there for a change. Your job will be to keep
them as steady and as clean as possible. Think you're up to it?"
Ace nodded
happily. "I think so, Captain. When do we leave?"
"We leave
first thing in the morning. Now, how about I show you to the cabin?"
The rest
of the crew had followed the pair from a safe distance as they tried to
listen in on their conversation.
One of
those crew members, though, had second thoughts about mistreating the newest
crew member. He seems like a loner…like me. This member
was in his mid-20s, with blonde hair and hazel eyes. He had been
part of the crew for about four years, but he never felt comfortable about
taking part in the crew's hazing initiation whenever a new person joined.
I hope I can be friends with him, so he won't feel alone.
"Here's
your cabin, Ace," the captain pointed out. "You'll be sleeping here
at night, but be ready to work hard while you're out on the open sea, okay?"
"Understood,
Captain. I'll be ready."
"Very well.
It's getting dark, anyhow, so you may as well stay here and sleep off tonight."
"I appreciate
it, sir." Ace went to his cot, which actually felt more comfortable
than the bed he used in the orphanage. Lying on top of it, he said,
"Good night, Captain, and thanks for this chance."
"Sleep
well, lad. Your strength's gonna be needed when we start the journey."
Ace quickly
fell asleep and thought about nothing for a little while.
In the middle
of the night, two of the crew members burst into Ace's room and grabbed
him.
"Hey!"
he yelled. "What are you doing to me?"
The eldest
crew member, a man of about 35 years of age with dark brown hair and blue
eyes, said, "What we always do to newbies in our crew…the initiation.
If you can get past it, you'll be officially a member of the crew."
Ace had
fear in his eyes as he tried desperately to break free of the two men's
tight grip on his arms. "Let me go…let me go! I need to be
ready to work tomorrow!"
"Listen,
pal, you want to stay on this crew, you're going through our initiation!"
The two
dragged Ace into a small room where the rest of the crew had waited with
anticipation of their brutal initiation.
Soon, they
started beating on him with nightsticks to make him feel a lot of physical
pain.
They had
no idea they were also affecting him mentally and emotionally. No,
he thought. I can't be beaten up like this…not now. I need
to gather some strength against these guys. This initiation's gonna
kill me!
Starting
to lose control of himself again, he felt his suppressed power attempting
to come to the surface. Mysteriously, the one light in the room exploded,
causing the whole room to go dark.
Ace managed
with all his might to pull himself free from the two men and quickly made
a run for the door. He slammed into the door, forcing it open to
give him the freedom to try to reach the captain.
The other
crew members quickly ran after him to force him back into the hazing initiation.
The young
man thought he would not be able to survive the initiation while he continued
fleeing for his life.
"Quick,
over here!" yelled a different voice.
Ace ran
without hesitation into the broom closet and stayed hidden until the other
crew members passed by.
"Thanks,
friend," Ace said in relief. "You saved my life."
"I've seen
all these horrible initiations…I can't stand them anymore. Hurting
someone just to make a person prove himself worthy of being on the crew?"
"Have you
ever told the captain about it?"
"No, I'm
too scared. I'm afraid they'll retaliate on me."
"Oh, I
see…still, I'm grateful to you for helping me. I'm Ace."
"Nice to
meet ya, Ace. I'm Floorer. If you need a friend in this bunch,
I'll stand up for ya."
"Is there
anything I can do to pay you back for helping me?"
Floorer
shook his head. "Nah, no need. I don't want you to feel alone
around here. I'm a kinda loner myself."
"Really?"
Ace questioned curiously. "How come?"
"I'm not
as belligerent as the rest of the crew. I like getting to know a
newbie, unlike the others. I've been on this crew for almost five
years now, and I'm usually the one getting beaten up because they still
think I'm a newbie."
"I'm sorry.
Perhaps we can stick up for each other, look out for one another."
"Yeah,
that'd be good. Okay, we promise to look out for each other through
this voyage, and try our best to outwit the others."
"The captain
did warn me about the crew, but I didn't expect them to do something this
heinous."
"They do
it to all newbies," Floorer noted seriously. "It's always
behind the captain's back. You're the first one to escape from their
clutches."
"I am?"
"Yeah.
Before you came, no newbie was ever able to get away from the initiation.
I'm glad you did it."
"So," started
Ace, "when we go to breakfast tomorrow morning, they'll act like nothing
ever happened?"
"Right.
They're great at acting innocent. Let me look through and find out
if they're gone." He creaked the door open and noticed the empty
hallway. "The coast is clear. Let's get back to the cabins
as fast as we can."
Ace and
Floorer quickly took off from the closet and ran back to their quarters,
which fortunately was next to each other as well.
"Whew,
made it," said Ace.
"Sure did.
I'll see ya at breakfast tomorrow morning."
"You got
it, Floorer, and thanks again."
The pair
went to sleep without any further problems from the crew.
The next
morning, Ace and Floorer sat by themselves at breakfast while the other
crew members stared at them both angrily.
"What's
wrong with them?" Ace whispered.
"They're
not happy they didn't get the initiation done last night, so they'll keep
dogging us for the whole trip."
Just then,
the captain joined the twosome. "Morning, gentlemen. How was
the sleep last night?"
Ace wanted
to tell the truth, but he feared his new friend would get hurt. "It
was very sound, sir. I can't wait to get started on my duties today."
"Ah, I
love someone eager to work. As soon as you're done with breakfast,
you can get started on taking care of those cars."
"Yes, sir."
The other
crew members sitting by themselves were embittered by Ace's suddenly good
standing with the captain.
"I don't
know how he did it," said the eldest one, "but he's gonna pay for getting
out of our initiation."
An hour
after the morning meal was completed, Ace immediately went to his duties
to keep the exporting cars clean. "Okay, let's see…the wax, squeegee,
water, yeah, that's it. Time to get to work."
The young
man quickly grasped his job and had no trouble keeping the cars as shiny
and clean as possible.
Meanwhile,
Floorer worked at his special job on the barge, maintaining the engines.
Not a simple job, since the ship and its crew would eventually be at the
mercy of nature's fury. "Whew, it's a good thing I fixed the slight
oil leak at engine four. Last thing we need is something to go wrong."
Capt. Balken
then walked in. "Just to let you know, Floorer, there's a big storm
about two days away. Do your best to maintain the highest quality
in these engines."
"Don't
worry, sir, I won't let you down." He then turned and whispered,
"I don't want to let you down."
"What did
you say, lad?"
"Oh, um,
nothing, sir. I, um, just thought out loud."
Balken
noticed the mate's pale face. "Are you okay, Floorer?"
"I'm…fine,
sir."
"I'm not
sure. You look scared about something. Want to talk about it?"
Floorer
considered the option but soon noticed two of his crewmates looking his
way. "Um, no…it's okay, Captain. I'll be all right."
"Okay,
just making sure, that's all." He then walked away from the engine
room.
The two
crew members then came up to Floorer.
"You're
lucky, pal," said one of them wickedly, "'cause if you told the captain
about our initiation, you'd be sorry."
"Yeah,
and we know it was you who helped that newbie get away."
Floorer's
eyes widened in fear. "You don't know it was me. Someone else
may have done it."
"Don't
give me that," said the other crewman, who grabbed Floorer by the shirt.
"You're the only one of us who hates how we do the initiation of newbies,
and we know you're waiting for the chance to tell the captain on us!"
"Hey, lemme
go! I've got engines to maintain, remember!? If I don't, we'll
be at the mercy of the storm in a couple of days!"
The crewman
abruptly let go of Floorer. "There is a storm coming in two days?"
"Ask the
captain. He just told me that."
"Well…okay,
we'll let you off the hook this time. After all, you are the engine
man of this crew. But I'm warning you, don't you dare tell Balken
about the initiation, got it?"
"I won't.
My lips are sealed on this matter."
"Good.
Because we'll get that newbie initiated whether he likes that or not."
He then walked away in sarcastic laughter.
Floorer
had a serious dilemma on his hands. If I don't tell the captain,
Ace will get hurt or even killed. Then, I could risk getting myself
hurt if I become the stool pigeon. I just don't know what to do.
Balken
then went to check on Ace in the storage area. "My heavens, you're
doing a fantastic job, young man."
Ace looked
at the captain and smiled. "Thank you, sir. I've got a pretty
good understanding of my task."
"You certainly
do. You even know how to wax the vehicles off. Why don't you
and Floorer join me at my table for lunch?"
"You're
asking me, sir? Why?"
"I like
hard workers who like their work."
If you
only knew what I had done back in Electro City, Ace thought sadly,
you
wouldn't see it that way.
The young
man agreed to the lunch meeting, and he was basically spared the initiation
treatment for the next couple of weeks…
As the trip
continued, inexplicable things started happening all over the ship.
Wherever Ace had passed, something strange would occur.
When he
would overhear some crew members planning on getting him through the painful
initiation, he became so angered his eyes actually started glowing in violet.
Something
weird took place when his temper would grow short…such as light bulbs exploding,
ropes to sandbags untying unexpectedly, welding torches suddenly blowing
flame, and buckles to the cars would nearly come unfastened.
Ace would
quickly fix the buckles before one of the cars would come loose.
"What is going on here?"
"That's
what I'd like to know," said the captain, standing just behind him.
The young
man suddenly faced him in fear. "Captain Balken, I, um, I mean…"
"It's okay,
lad. I'm not angry with you, but since you got on, strange things
have happened. Are you cursed or something?"
"Maybe…I
am. I don't know anymore." Ace then turned away in shame.
"Ace, listen
to me. If you need to talk to someone, I'm an open person.
You don't have to face things alone."
"Really?"
"Yes, lad.
I'm not a mean person. You can talk to me if you need to, anytime."
"Thanks,
sir. I'd better get back to my duties here."
"Sure,
lad. I'll see you at dinner time."
As the
captain made his way to his quarters, he noticed a small piece of paper
on his cabin door. "What's this?" He then took the sheet and
unfolded it.
On the
piece of paper was a note:
Captain Balken,
There's something you need to know. Something has been going on in
the middle of the night…something behind your back. You may want
to check around midnight. I can't reveal myself for fear of retaliation
by the others. I hope you understand. Just trust me, please,
for Ace's sake.
Balken was
very puzzled by this strange note. "Check around midnight?
I wonder why."
Little
did he know he would be in for the biggest surprise of his life this night.
At about
midnight, Balken awakened by the words in the note and soon overheard two
crew members making their move towards Ace's cabin. He put on his
robe and followed them from a safe distance. "Whoever wrote the letter
was right on target about this," he whispered. "Now to see what happens."
The pair
burst into Ace's cabin again and quickly grabbed him. "Let's go,
punk," said one of them sinfully. "You're gonna get the initiation
one way or another!"
The captain
was shocked. "I don't believe it…what are they doing to him?"
"Let go
of me!" Ace yelled loudly. "You can't do this to me!"
"Oh, no,
kid? Think again…you'll get it this time!"
They made
their way towards the small room again, but they failed to notice the captain
following them.
When they
got to the room, they closed and locked the door.
"You're
finally getting what you deserved, brat!" yelled the eldest member.
"Get him, guys!"
Again,
they started beating Ace senselessly with the nightsticks again.
However,
something within Ace himself wanted to protect him from harm, and mysteriously
enough, a small shield formed around him.
As the
crew members tried to hurt him, they discovered they could not penetrate
the shield.
"What blasted
curse is this!?" the eldest crewman screamed. "This boy has a blight
upon him!"
The crew
kept trying to break through the shield, but they exhausted themselves
in the process.
When the
barrier disappeared, Ace passed out and lay unconscious on the floor.
Balken
had heard enough and burst through the door. "So, this is what you've
been doing to all the new members of my crew! I wondered why the
new crewmen wouldn't last a week here…it's because of you scallywagged
scoundrels! I've got a good mind to lock you all up!"
The crew
found themselves surprised by the appearance of Balken, his face extremely
angered.
"So, Captain,"
said the eldest, "you've found out our little secret, huh?"
"Yes, I
have…and I can't believe you would stoop so low. How dare you try
to harm this young man just to prove himself! He had already proven
himself to me by his eagerness to work on this ship."
"Who told
you about this?"
"I don't
know, and at this point I don't give a damn about who did tell me.
Now get out of my way!"
They let
him through to reach the young man, out cold from the fear of the strange
power within himself.
However,
as Balken picked Ace up into his arms, the eldest crewman hit him from
behind with the nightstick!
Both Balken
and Ace fell to the ground again, with Ace slowly starting to come around.
"Wha…what
happened?" Ace asked groggily. When his vision came around to being
clear again, he saw Balken out cold. "Captain! Captain, are
you all right!? Please answer me!"
One of
the other relentless crew members grabbed Ace by the shirt. "He won't
hear you, punk! He's out like a string o' Christmas lights!"
"You told
him about this, didn't you!?" yelled the eldest.
"No…I didn't.
You've got to believe me!"
"You're
the only one who could have, unless…hey, where's Floorer?"
Floorer
told the captain, Ace thought in surprise. He was willing
to risk his own life to protect me, so he went ahead and told Captain Balken.
Thank you, my friend. I owe you my life.
"Find Floorer
and get him in here! He'll pay for ruining everything!"
Ace's temper
started to get the better of him again. "No! You won't harm
anyone else!" His eyes began to glow in violet again, which forced
the ruthless eldest member to drop him to the ground.
"What blight
has cursed this one? He's a freak of nature!"
Ace kneeled
next to Balken. "Captain…please wake up, please be okay."
Slowly
coming around, the captain looked around. "Where am I? Ace?"
"Thank
heavens. I was scared."
"You all
right, lad?"
"I think
so, but I think this crew's about to turn on us."
"The mutiny
they've waited for…c'mon, we have to get out of here, now."
Both Balken
and Ace dashed out of the small room as fast as they could and basically
started running for their lives as they were being pursued by the other
30 or so members of the ruthless crew.
"Let's
hide in the storage hold," Ace quickly suggested. "All those cars
could come to our advantage."
"Good idea,
young man, it'll be safe there."
The two
quickly ran into the cargo hold area of the ship, where they could hide
between the cars.
The pair
hid behind two four-door sedans and figured they would be safe.
"Oh, no,"
said Ace. "Floorer…I forgot about Floorer."
"What do
you mean?"
"He wanted
to tell you the truth about the hazing, but he was afraid the others would
attack him, so—"
"Of course!
Floorer wrote that note and left it at my cabin. He made himself
anonymous, until the rest realized he wasn't in the room. He's in
more danger now than before."
"Where
is he?"
"I told
him to stand by in the engine room in case the seas got rough."
"I don't
know if I can help him or not."
Balken
put his hand on Ace's shoulder. "Go help him, Ace. I'll be
all right here."
"You sure?"
"Yes, now
go. Hurry."
Ace slowly
opened the door to see if the rest of the crew had gone. "Looks like
it's clear. I'd better find Floorer before he gets hurt."
Running
towards the engine room, he heard a lot of commotion. "I'm too late!"
He burst
into the room and saw the crew going after the engine man. "No, stop!"
The rest
of the crew looked up at the young man. "So, you, the captain, and
Floorer here were working together. Should've known you had something
against us."
"No," said
Ace angrily. "You had something against us. Balken
was right about you…you're ruthless and heartless!"
"Why you
miserable excuse! Let's get him and Floorer!"
Ace saw
Floorer trying desperately to run for his life. "Quick, come up here!"
Pushing
his way through the mob, Floorer made it up the stairs and joined Ace.
"What's going on?"
"They know
it was you who told Captain Balken, and he's hiding in the cargo hold.
We've got to get in there; it's our only hope."
The two
friends made it into the cargo hold and joined Balken in hiding.
"You okay,
Floorer?" asked the captain in concern.
"Yeah,
thanks to Ace. He saved my life."
"Mine,
too."
"No," said
Ace, "you both saved mine. Floorer, why did you risk your life for
me?"
"Because
I had had enough of this senseless violence at new crew members.
Someone had to say something, even if it meant risking my own safety."
Ace felt
very appreciative of his new friends. "You have no idea how much
that means to me."
Just then,
a buckle on one of the cars suddenly snapped, and the car started moving
forward towards the captain!
Floorer
yelled, "Captain, watch out!"
As for
Ace, he was basically reliving a nightmare from a couple of months earlier,
when his friend Derek Vega was nearly killed in a bomb explosion.
He could not watch another caring person be killed. "NO!"
he screamed as he stood up and put his arms forward, his eyes glowing in
violet again.
Unbeknownst
to anyone in the room at the time, a strange spirit had appeared on top
of the car…the animal spirit of a stunning black jaguar clawing away at
the hood, as though it were trying to stop the car from hitting Balken.
The captain
braced himself for the killing blow from the car…until he took another
look and realized the car had stopped. "How is this possible?"
He then looked at a brightly glowing Ace. "My goodness…you aren't
cursed, you're blessed!"
The power
was becoming very strained on the young man. "Get…out of…the way…I
can't…hold it…much longer!"
Balken
scrambled to his feet just in time and ran out of the way of the car.
Ace could
no longer hold his power over the car. He finally passed out as it
moved forward and crashed into the wall, totaling the vehicle.
Both Balken
and Floorer came up to Ace to check if he was all right.
"I can't
believe it," said the captain. "My eldest crewman said he was cursed,
but I know he's been blessed with something special."
Floorer
suggested, "Let's get him back to his cabin. He looks very pale and
definitely needs to rest."
Floorer
and Balken carried Ace back to his quarters, where he awakened about 20
minutes later.
"Wha-what
happened?" said an exhausted Ace. "Where am I?"
"Back in
your cabin," Balken stated. "Are you all right?"
"I…think
so. Wait…did you see me—"
"Yes, I
did, Ace. You've got something special inside you."
"No, I
don't," he quickly responded. "The crew's right, this is nothing
more than a curse."
"Why would
you say that?"
Ace began
to cry. "This is the reason why I wanted to get away from Electro
City…I thought I could escape this by going somewhere else, but it'll never
work. I'll never be able to flee this nightmare."
Balken
patted Ace's shoulder calmly. "Why don't you tell me what happened
to you that made you decide to leave your home."
For the
next couple of hours, Ace told his story to Balken and Floorer, who listened
intently to every detail.
Upon completion
of the tale, Balken said, "You can't run away from destiny. Who knows?
This may be what you were meant to do."
"No…I can't,"
said Ace sadly. "I'm afraid I'll hurt or even kill someone with this
thing."
"You don't
know that," Floorer added. "You just gotta take control of your life."
"How can
I? I can't even control myself, let alone whatever I have inside
of me."
"Don't
worry about it, friend. You'll be able to find yourself somehow.
Think you'll be all right for the remainder of the trip?"
"I'll try.
What about the rest of the crew?"
Floorer
chuckled, "After what you did tonight, I don't think the others will give
you anymore trouble."
"I agree,"
said Balken. "So we lost one car. We usually lose an average
of five cars in the trip. If we can go two more weeks without losing
a car, we'll have a personal best. Besides, I think the rest of the
crew's gonna fear you, but in this case it's for the best. Finally,
when we reach port, I'll make sure they're all fired immediately, and then
maybe I can get a better crew."
Ace felt
a huge relief sweep over him. "I'm grateful to you, Captain, for
giving me a chance."
"You deserve
a chance, my friend. I always believe people can get another chance,
when opportunity comes."
For the
remainder of the voyage, there were no other problems at all.
The barge
arrived in India, with only the one car being lost in the trip.
As for
Ace himself, he decided to leave Captain Balken. "I wish I didn't
have to go, but I still don't feel comfortable yet."
"I understand,
Ace. You still need to find yourself. I'll never forget you,
Ace Cooper. You were meant for something special, and I hope you'll
find it."
"Thank
you, Captain Balken. I'll never forget the chance you gave me."
"Same for
me," added Floorer. "I'm now in charge of hiring an all-new crew,
and I am now first mate of the barge."
"That's
great. I won't forget you, either, for sticking up for me."
"As far
as I can see, all three of us stuck up for each other. Good luck
on your journey, Ace."
"Thanks,
Floorer. Good luck on your new job." With that final comment,
Ace left the ship and started walking around the Bombay area.
"I hope
I can find myself," the young man said quietly.
**Present Day**
"Wow," said
Angie, finding this story more intriguing at every turn. "You had
to rescue the captain the same way you saved Vega?"
"That's
right. Captain Balken and Floorer went out of their way to keep me
safe, so I wanted to make sure they were safe, too."
"What about
the Magic Force, though? How did you figure out just what it was?"
"Well,
that part of the journey would take me high up into the Tibetan mountain
range, where I could finally receive some help about understanding the
power I had within me…"
