Part 3
Ace Cooper
continued learning how to meditate in order to help him relax his soul…and
secretly combat the strange power which had plagued him for so long in
his life. During the next couple of months, he was able to go a little
deeper into his soul, but in his mind he started noticing a mysterious
pool of violet light trying to approach him.
One day,
when the pool came to within a foot of reaching him in the dreamscape,
a panic-stricken Ace quickly awakened from the meditation. "What…was
that?" he asked in panted breath.
"What was
what?" asked Master Kao, who had walked into the room. "Why did you
stop meditating? It has only been about 20 minutes."
"Well,
I, um…" Oh, that's just great. How do I tell him I'm fighting
this weird power inside me I don't want any part of? If Master Kao
finds out, he'll kick me outta here faster than a bicycle kick at a soccer
game! What am I going to do now? "I had some…slight breathing
problems. I just need to get some air, that's all."
Ace quickly
stood up and walked out into the open air around the monastery.
Master
Kao knew something was wrong with his pupil, so he followed Ace from a
safe distance.
Standing
alone near the garden, Ace talked out loud to himself. "Why me?
Why did I have to carry this stupid curse? I can't relax, I can't
think, I can't do anything without this nightmare scaring me to death!
I know someone else will get hurt if I allow this…thing to come out.
I've already hurt too many people in my lifetime…my friend Derek Vega,
my girl Mona, her father Jack, my best friend Gus…" Tears started
falling from his eyes. "What did I do to deserve this miserable life!?"
he shouted angrily. "Have no family? No friends!? Maybe
fate wanted me to be alone all my life! Maybe I was…never meant to
be around anyone. I am a freak who doesn't deserve friendship.
I deserve nothing but loneliness and pain. I've caused enough of
both."
At the
edge of the doorway, the priest had heard every troubling word Ace had
just said. He is more deeply troubled than I expected. Why
does he refuse to talk to me about how he is feeling? He is very
frightened of something and truly afraid to face it. I want to help
him, but he will not allow anyone to get close enough to do so. Maybe
I can break this barrier he has placed upon himself.
When Ace
sat down near the garden, he quietly looked at the fruits and vegetables.
"So many possibilities here, yet I can't take advantage of them because
of this lousy curse."
He stared
up into the sky when Master Kao came up behind him. "I think you
can
take advantage of your possibilities."
The young
man suddenly jumped up in fear. "M-Master Kao. How long have
you been there? Did you hear everything I said?" He was so
terrified his eyes started glowing in violet again.
Master
Kao took a couple of steps backwards in slight fear. "Ace, calm down.
I want to help you, not hurt you."
"You heard
me say I could harm someone else, right? Face it, no one can
help me."
"Because
you will not allow anyone to try. You want to stay away from getting
help, and whatever inner demons you try to fight, they are growing stronger
and uncontrollable. Please, just trust me, Ace. I can
help you if you will let me."
Ace closed
his eyes and breathed deeply to calm himself down. After about ten
seconds or so, he felt calmer again, and opening his eyes, they returned
to being blue. "I'm sorry, Master Kao. I've been so scared
of this nightmare I haven't given anybody a chance to help me. I
can't even help myself."
"That is
why I am teaching you meditation. It is a small step for you to be
able to help yourself and face the inner demons haunting you. I did
hear all your sad and painful words. You have dealt with your pain
alone…for a long time in your life. In this world, no one deserves
loneliness. You are worthy of having friends. Let me
be one of them."
The young
man looked at his teacher and calmly asked, "Are you sure you don't mind?"
Master
Kao came up to him and patted his shoulder. "You need someone to
whom you can tell your troubles. The more you keep inside yourself,
the more painful your struggle."
"Will you
be…upset with me after what I'm about to tell you?"
The priest
shook his head. "Ace, one thing a friend does is listen, not interrupt.
Tell me your troubles, so you can at least ease some of your inner pain."
**Present Day**
Angie shook
her head in disbelief. "Wow…you were going through the same things
I did before."
"Like you,"
said Ace, "I had the fear of this power, and I wasn't able to keep it in
good control at that time, not after everything that had happened leading
up to being at the monastery."
Just then,
Ace's panther Zina entered Angie's room and rubbed her head against his
hand.
"Oh," said
a surprised Ace. "Sounds like lunch time."
Angie's
stomach then let out a growl as loud as a bear. "Oh, goodness.
It must be lunch time. I—oh, man! I forgot about the chicken
in the oven!" She quickly ran out of the room and to the kitchen.
She quickly
opened the oven door and discovered the chicken had dried out. "Oh,
no. Lunch is ruined. There's no way we can eat this now."
Ace and
Zina, followed closely by Cosmo, entered the kitchen and saw the sad look
on her face.
"I'm so
sorry," Angie said. "I was so in tune with Ace's story I forgot about
the chicken. It's completely ruined."
Ace calmly
walked up to her and patted her shoulder. Then, he looked at the
chicken. "Maybe not. Is there anything you can used dried out
chicken for in another recipe?"
"Well,
let me think. Um…if I could cut them into small pieces, they would
come in handy for the wrap sandwiches I've been wanting to make.
Ace, could you do me a favor and get the tortilla wraps from the pantry?
Cosmo, there are some shredded vegetables and cheese in the fridge.
Can you get them for me, please?"
"Sure thing,
Ang," said Cosmo happily. He ran to the refrigerator and took out
the canisters of shredded vegetables and cheese.
Ace then
found the tortilla wraps in the pantry and gave them to her. "Okay,
now what?"
"I need
to get this cheese melted. It's the only thing that'll keep the other
ingredients together without falling out of the wraps. Ace, can you
put the cheese into the fondue pot? That will melt the cheese in
probably 30 minutes, if you don't mind lunch being that late."
"That's
fine, Angie," he chuckled. "We don't mind it being late. Just
tell us what we need to do."
"I'm going
to get this cheese started, as well as chop the dried chicken. You
two start placing some of the vegetables into the tortilla wraps.
Hopefully, we'll get a good lunch out of this after all."
The three
had no problems in preparing the wrap sandwiches. Within the 30 minutes,
all three were enjoying the chicken tortilla wrap sandwiches while Zina
ate whatever chicken pieces remained.
"Mmm,"
said Cosmo. "This is so delish."
Angie happily
agreed. "Sure is. I guess lunch wasn't a total loss after all."
"You see?"
Ace said assuredly. "You thought you couldn't come up with a use
for the dried out chicken, but look what happened after realizing what
else you could use it for."
"Yeah,
but that's thanks to your question about using it for another dish."
"Okay,
so I helped a little bit. You just have to open yourself up to more
suggestions instead of trying to do only one thing. You should know,
since you enjoy cooking."
Angie blushed.
"I know. I guess I was so intrigued by what you've been telling me
I just forgot about lunch altogether."
"Don't
worry. You're not the first person to have done that. When
Cosmo and I had to deal with that character Raptor XII, we were
both too busy with what we were doing. We were totally oblivious
to the fact there was a severe thunderstorm in the area at the time.
As a result, lightning struck the Express, and we both lost the programs
we were using…my holographic program with Angel and Cosmo's Raptor XII
game. The character came to life as a result of both programs combining
with a power surge through the Express."
"Wow, that's
so weird."
Cosmo added,
"Yeah, no kidding. It was, like, so crazy to see the character I
saw on my TV screen suddenly alive in the real world. It was really
creepy."
"I can
understand why. I never could get into games like that. Not
my kinda thing."
"That's
okay. Cooking's one of your best things, and I'd rather have your
food than a video game anytime."
"Say, how's
it going on Dance Dance Revolution 27th Mix?"
"Great.
I've almost got one of the hardest songs conquered."
"Aren't
you worried it could hurt your back?"
"What do
you mean?"
"Mom and
Dad played the 3rd Mix and the 5th Mix games for about a
year when they were in high school. Unfortunately, Mom had to quit
because she started having severe back pain. She was so devastated
because she loved that game, but Dad said, 'If you can't play the game,
I'll get you the music.' He ordered the soundtracks from the 2nd
Mix to the 6th Mix for her, and she was so thrilled just to
be able to hear the tunes from all the games."
"Whoa,
cool! You can't even find those soundtracks in regular music stores.
You gotta order them online or something."
"Exactly.
He went on auction sites to find them all. Mom gave them all to me
for my 16th birthday, and they are so wonderful to listen to…all the techno
sounds and everything."
Ace nodded.
"That must sound very interesting. In fact, it gives me an idea for
a future show…a sort of fusion of magic with music."
"I'm one
step ahead of you, Ace. I wanted to suggest doing a show with a 1950s
music theme. I know it's a bit way back, but what I want to do is
make us dress up for the time, poodle skirts, leather jackets, ponytails
and excessive hair grease. Pick some selective music from that era,
the earliest days of rock music."
The Magician
smiled at her suggestion. "Why not? Most people in this generation
have no idea about the origins of rock music. Maybe we can try that.
Find the right music to use, the most useful tricks, and this could really
work. We'll work things out on that later in the week."
"Sounds
good," said Angie. "But, I want to know more about your time at the
monastery. You must've had nightmares struggling to hold back the
Magic Force."
Ace, Cosmo,
Zina, and Angie all walked into the living room together and took seats
around the sofa and recliners.
"Angie,"
started Ace, "nightmare is an understatement. It was more like night
terrors…and the biggest terror was trying to explain to Master Kao how
my life had been so miserable because of what I thought was a curse…"
**18 Years Earlier**
Ace and
Master Kao were alone in the "quiet room," as Ace had termed the isolated
room.
"Now,"
said the priest, "please tell me why you are so troubled. Maybe what
you say can help you somehow."
"Well,"
Ace started anxiously, "I, um, have this little…thing inside of me.
It's…very hard to explain. There are times when it comes out and
causes all kinds of trouble. I've had this problem since I was a
kid."
"This 'thing,'
as you call it. Do you know what it is?"
"No, absolutely
no idea. It's scaring me to death, too. I can't do anything
without this thing coming around to haunt me."
"I wonder
if the demon you fight has caused all the strange happenings around you…the
broken pots, the incident with the scrub brush and the potatoes, and your
glowing eyes."
"No matter
where I go to try to find peace, I can never get it because of this curse."
"What happens
when this curse comes to light?"
"Just about
anything. On a barge trip prior to being here, lots of weird things
were going on, like exploding light bulbs, unbuckling belts on cars, ropes
coming undone…being able to protect myself and a friend from a ruthless
crew…saving the captain…"
"Hmm, you
have the same number of good things which happened as you do the bad things.
I think you worry more about the bad things than award yourself after you
have done the good deeds."
"But Master,
how can something good come out of the curse?"
"You said
you saved the captain of the barge. Why did you do it?"
"Because…I
couldn't bear the thought of seeing someone else get hurt. I had
to stop that car from crushing him. I had no choice but to let this
curse come out." Ace then put his face down in shame.
"Ace, what
you have can be either a gift or a curse, but it depends on how you
look at it. You think of it more as a curse because you think more
about the bad than the good. There is good in what you have.
You must give it a chance."
"I'm scared,
Master."
"Only because
you will not reap the benefits. Think of the good your ability
can do."
"I don't
know…"
"Listen
to me, Ace. You are doing very well in learning your meditation techniques,
but you continue to stop because of something within you. What is
it you do not want to see?"
"There's
this…weird purple pool I see in my mind. It's getting too close to
me, and it's frightening."
"Perhaps
this pool is the source of what you fear. Have you ever considered
coming face-to-face with this pool?"
"No, I
can't," Ace responded quickly. "I want to live a normal life."
Master
Kao looked ruefully at his pupil. "Ace, you cannot hope to even control
your life unless you get control of yourself first. You must be able
to face what you fear. Understand that everything you have done has
a reason…a purpose. All the events of your past are leading towards
what may be your real destiny. You may have to accept your true path
in life."
Ace shook
his head. "I don't even know what that is."
"You will
know when the time finally comes. Now, try to meditate again, but
try not to fight this pool. Please, for your sake, just try."
"I…will,"
said Ace softly. "I will try anyhow. I can't make any promises."
"I understand.
The first step to understanding what you fear is facing the fear itself.
You will need time to be able to face it."
Over the
next two months, Ace's techniques were improving, and the pool kept getting
closer to him, yet he started to feel less afraid of the pool.
Also, in
his dreams at night, he took Master Kao's words about things happening
for a reason to heart.
In his
dreamscape, Ace saw the doors of his past, yet he was not as afraid as
he used to be. Instead, he opened them and nodded. "I had to
do all these things to get the truth out."
"Yes,
you did," said a whispered voice at the top of the hill.
Looking
up for the first time, Ace said, "Who are you? Can you please tell
me who you are?" He finally got out the front door of the odd house
and ran up towards the top of that particular hill.
When
he got there, Ace noticed something very peculiar. He was unable
to see a face, but he did see a mysterious outfit: A dark-grey bodysuit,
a yellow belt with a red/black buckle, black boots with yellow trim, blue
gloves, and a dark cape. On the bodysuit was a strange marking…it
appeared to be a half-face of all red with a yellow eye.
"Who…or
what are you?" Ace asked very curiously.
"I can't
tell you yet," he answered in a whisper. "You will have to learn
for yourself who I am."
"But
how will I do that?"
"You
will know when it's time. Just trust me for now. You will know…when
you let go."
"Let
go…just like what Master Kao said when I first met him. How do I
do that?"
"You
must learn that for yourself. I can't help you with everything.
You have survived life so far on your own. You just need a little
more time." It then started to walk away.
Ace
pleaded, "No, wait. Please, don't go."
"Remember,
to get what you want, you must let go…"
Ace jolted
out of bed with a cold sweat and heavy breath. "Let go? It
still doesn't add up. What do I let go of?"
Master
Kao noticed a pleasant change in Ace's attitude and overall personality.
"You are feeling much better and much calmer, are you not?"
"Yes, sir,
I am. I am beginning to understand myself, but I'm still not so sure
about that purple pool."
"You still
fear the strange pool…it will be up to you to face that pool without fear.
Listen, I am going on my excursion into the marketplace tomorrow.
Will you come with me? We can finish the task quickly if both of
us go."
Ace was
pleasantly surprised. "You would let me go with you? Even with
this…"
"Remember
what I have told you. It can be a gift or a curse. You need
not to worry about this tomorrow, as we will be concentrating on other
tasks."
"I understand,
Master. And, thank you."
"Sleep
well, young one. It will be a four-day journey. Will you be
all right on the river?"
"Yes, I
will. Good night."
As Ace
tried to sleep soundly, he found himself in the dreamscape again, with
the weird pool of violet light getting closer to him.
There,
he was outside the strange house of doors which were parts of his past.
Looking up at the top of the hill, he saw the strangely dressed man and
the pool of light.
On the
stranger's command, the pool of light started floating towards Ace.
He started
running away in fear, thinking this pool was out to hurt him. "No!
Stay away from me! I won't let you catch me! I will have my
normal life!"
The
stranger said, "This pool is the key to your destiny. You mustn't
run from it. Your true destiny will be revealed soon. Maybe…sooner
than you think."
Ace's
eyes widened in fear. "No! I'm not going to let you do this
to me! I want my normal life!" He continued running for his
life, even though he was only in the dreamscape. "I don't want to
be a freak anymore!"
"You
can't run away much longer. Your time will come soon…your time to
let go…"
Just
as the pool was so close to him it was nearly touching his back…
The young
man quickly awakened, again with a cold sweat and panted breath.
"I can't let this keep going on. I'm going to find a way to put a
stop to this once and for all, starting with my trip tomorrow."
Ace went
back to sleep again, his mind active in trying to stop the curse from haunting
him ever again…or would it?
The next
morning, Ace and Master Kao were already on their way to Tsetang by the
cart ride first, followed by the ferry ride. Ace found the trip very
relaxing, as he could use the time to meditate and improve his chances
of leading a normal life.
Kao noticed
Ace's calmer state. He has done very well in his meditation, but
he is still worried about what his true purpose in life is. I hope
he will be able to learn that and soon. I fear the more he holds
back, the greater the risk to his soul. I pray he will be all right.
A couple
of days later, they were in the Tsetang marketplace.
Master
Kao gave him a piece of paper. "You will find all the herbs and spices
on this list. I have also written the instructions as to where each
of them are. You should have no trouble finding everything."
"Okay.
We'll meet back here in about three hours."
They split
up and soon started their task of getting fruits, vegetables, herbs, and
spices.
While Ace
was working on his task, he noticed a strange purplish light behind one
of the marketers. What the—? No, it can't be. Could
that pool have come into reality? Nah, I'm just losing it.
Oddly enough,
he started seeing the purple light appear almost everywhere around him.
What's wrong with me!? Have I finally lost my mind!?
Finishing
the shopping list in a mere 1 ½ hours, he waited near the ferry
dock for his teacher to return.
When Master
Kao came to meet him, he was very surprised. "Ace, you finished much
faster than the three hours. Are you all right?"
"I'm…fine,
Master Kao. Let's get on the ferry and get back."
The two
quickly boarded the ferry boat to get to the point where they would take
their wagon back to the monastery.
On the
first day of the trip, Ace continued seeing the purple light all around
him. "Master, do—do you see it?"
"See what,
Ace?"
"This purple
light. It keeps following me everywhere! Why won't it go away!?"
Master
Kao looked all around him. "There is nothing here. Unless,
this is the strange light."
"Make it
stop! Please, make it stop!" Ace yelled, his eyes changing into violet
again. He clutched his head in fear.
"Ace!"
shouted the priest in concern. He quickly came up to the troubled
young man and held him. "You must calm yourself. Use the techniques
I have taught you. I know you can do it, but you must believe in
yourself. Just breathe."
Ace closed
his eyes and tried to calm himself.
In his
mind, he saw himself running away from the purple light. It was about
to catch up to him again when he yelled out, "Leave me alone!"
Back in
reality, he took control of himself, and his eyes returned to normal.
"Whew, I'm glad that's over." He looked around and noticed the light
was gone. "I hope that's the last I see of that purple pool.
It's been giving me nightmares."
Master
Kao decided that saying anything about that pool could scare Ace all over
again, so he simply said, "I understand. It is almost dark.
Let us camp out here for the night."
"Okay,
Master. I used up a lot of energy fighting that crazy pool.
I'm tired."
As they
slept through the night, Ace's dreams kept getting stranger, but he managed
to keep control and prevent the pool from entering his dreams.
They embarked
on the next day of their journey through the mountainous terrain, and Ace
did not see the purple pool around him at all.
"Finally,
I think I'll be living the normal life I've been longing nearly forever!"
Ace said excitedly. "I think this curse is out of my life at last!"
Master
Kao lightly chuckled. "I certainly hope you have. You do not
see anything right now?"
"Nothing.
I think I'm finally in total control of my life."
Suddenly,
a group of nomadic thieves jumped in from nowhere.
Before
Ace could do anything, one kicked him hard enough to knock him out of the
wagon and onto the ground. He was completely unconscious.
Master
Kao found himself completely surrounded by the group of criminals.
"What do you want from me?"
The group,
all dressed in black, started walking towards the wagon.
The leader
of the group said, "We want your valuables, old man! We know the
monks have a lot of treasures on them."
"You are
mistaken," said the priest. "I do not have any valuables. I
already used what I had to buy foods and spices."
"You lie!
We know you're carrying something of value, and you will your valuables
over now!"
As Ace
lay on the ground, still out cold from that kick, his dreamscape suddenly
came alive.
"Ace,
Ace, wake up, quick!" yelled the stranger. "Master Kao is in danger!
He needs your help right now! Oh, why won't you wake up!?"
The
young man did not respond to the stranger's shouting, as he just lay on
the ground, believing there was no hope. I'm
useless. I can't protect myself, let alone Master Kao. By the
time I wake up, he'll probably be dead, and it'll be all my fault.
The
stranger could hear what Ace was thinking. "Stop it, Ace Cooper!
What about your friend Derek Vega and Captain Balken? When you thought
all hope was lost, you reached down deep into yourself to find the power
within! Don't lose hope now! Master Kao needs you! Do
you want to see another good friend getting hurt!?"
As soon
as Ace heard that, he suddenly snapped to his feet. "No! Not
another one! I can't let that happen again! But, I don't know
what to do. I don't know what I can do to help him."
"Stop
running away," said the stranger. "Your destiny is at hand."
Back in
reality, Ace slowly awakened to find that Master Kao and the group of thieves
were gone. "Oh, no. Master Kao. Where are you?"
He got
to his feet and started running in the direction of the monastery, where
he and his teacher were going. A sense of responsibility overwhelmed
him. "Master Kao?" he yelled desperately. "I'm coming!
Hang on!"
Ace had
never felt this determined in his entire life, until he realized what the
stranger had said in the dreamscape. I don't want Master Kao to
get hurt. I've got to find him before it's too late!
He kept
running hard, using up a lot of energy, but he would not give up finding
his teacher and friend.
Finally,
he heard the sinister laughter of the group of thieves.
"All right,
old man," said the leader, "you will take us to the monastery, and hand
over all your riches to us."
"I cannot
do that," pleaded Master Kao, tied to a tree by the criminals. "The
treasures we have are for the purpose of assisting others. Our main
treasures are our foods and spices."
Another
of the crooks said, "You can't fool us, old man. We know that monasteries
hide untold wealth, and we intend to become the richest in the world!"
"If you
don't tell us where they are," said the leader, "you won't be going back
to the monastery…alive."
Ace soon
noticed the group and Master Kao in a small valley not too far below from
the monastery. "Master Kao…he's tied up and helpless. He's
my teacher…and my friend. I can't bear another friend getting hurt."
He then started to cry. "I just wish I could do something to help
him."
You
can, said the mysterious voice of the stranger from the dreamscape.
The time has finally come…you must face your destiny now.
"I…don't
know if I can," said a highly anxious Ace. "I don't want to hurt
him."
You
can't run any longer. He will get hurt much worse if you do not face
it now.
"I can't.
I just can't."
In the
dreamscape, the weird purple pool, which was bigger and glowing brighter
than ever, was quickly approaching him.
"No,
not again! This is what I get for holding back!?" The purple
pool began showing the image of the battle between Jack Malone and himself.
"No, get away from me!"
He ran
for his life again, trying to stay away from the pool of light. Unfortunately,
he tripped himself on a rock and fell to the ground. The pool then
overtook him completely. "No! Please, leave me alone!"
Back in
reality, Ace felt himself losing the battle against his inner demons as
he curled himself, but his entire body started glowing in violet.
"What the—? I feel so…strange, it's warm. I…hear…words…coming
to me." He then stood up, feeling the warmth all over his body and
more importantly within his soul. "Something…about magic."
Next, he started whispering the words. "Magic…Magic…Magic Force…Magic
Force?" His voice grew louder as he quickly yelled, "Magic
Force, reveal the power within!"
Suddenly,
his body was surrounded in a purple-tinted tornado as he felt himself changing
into something else. After the tornado disappeared, Ace instinctively
pounded his left fist into the right side of his chest.
The moment
Ace opened his eyes, he found himself in a completely different outfit:
the dark-grey bodysuit, the yellow belt with a red/black buckle, black
boots with yellow trim, blue gloves, and the dark cape. "I don't
believe it!" he whispered in shock. "It's the very costume I saw
in my dreams…even the weird face and yellow eye! Was this outfit…meant
for me?"
He considered
learning more, but then remembered about Master Kao. "I've got to
help him first…but then again, I don't even know what I'm doing."
Just
let it come to you, said the stranger's voice in Ace's mind.
You
will know what to do.
"I'm coming,
Master Kao. I'll save you." Ace felt the power flowing through
him. He still felt very nervous, but not as scared as he was minutes
earlier.
The leader
of the group of criminals angrily said, "If you will not tell us where
your treasures are, then we will make certain you die now!"
Suddenly,
everyone heard a voice screaming, "Leave that man alone!"
Master
Kao looked up and noticed a strangely-dressed person, yet he saw the little
tuft of white hair. "Ace," he whispered. "I cannot believe
it."
"Who are
you!?" shouted the leading thief.
"This man's
friend!" Ace screamed in anger himself. "I will not allow you to
harm him!" He then jumped down into the valley and somehow landed
on his feet. "Now, get away from him!"
"You are
in no position to order us around! Besides, this is not a costume
party! Get him, men!"
Ace suddenly
realized he was dangerously outnumbered, until he felt something forming
in his right hand. With a quick flick of the wrist, a playing card
appeared, but it felt like steel. Whoa! Where did this come
from? What the heck? What have I got to lose? He
then threw the playing card at one of the thieves, which strangely flung
the knife away from the thief's hand!
I just
did…that!? Ace himself could not believe what he had just accomplished.
"I don't
know how you did that," said the leading thief, "but you will pay for your
insolence!"
As each
of the thieves approached Ace, he felt his power coming to him. He
just put his hands forward and flung each thief backwards into the trees.
"If you want to see another sunrise, get out of here now!"
The thieves
had had enough and quickly ran off in fear.
Ace shook
his head in disbelief. "I did it?"
"Yes, you
did, Ace," answered Master Kao. "You found your destiny."
The young
man quickly untied his teacher. "Are you all right, Master Kao?"
"I am now,
Ace. I see your clothing…and your hair has changed."
"My…hair?
What happened?"
"You have
a white streak around the sides and back of your hair."
"Oh, no!
I've aged prematurely!"
Master
Kao chuckled, "No, Ace. I think this is part of your real destiny."
"Maybe…but
I wonder if this costume was meant for me. It's the same one I saw
in my dreams before."
"It is
certainly possible."
"I just
remember these weird words coming to me, something about this…Magic Force
or something."
"Hmm, perhaps
this Magic Force is the curse you were thinking of all this time."
"I guess
so, but there's something else. I kept hearing this voice in my head.
It wouldn't leave me alone, like it kept nagging me about what this curse
was. I still don't know what to think at this point."
"All I
can tell you is, just try to understand what you have now. It is
possible that this will become your life now."
"Guess
it's goodbye to the normal, ordinary life," Ace said while putting his
face down.
Master
Kao said, "Perhaps it is not as bad as you perceive this to be. Now
come. We must get the wagon back up to the monastery."
"Wait a
minute. I can't go up there looking like this."
"Do not
worry. The others will not look at you for your costume. They
will look at you for who you are."
"I sure
hope you're right, Master."
**Present Day**
Angie's
eyes and smile both widened in surprise. "That is absolutely incredible!
You were so nervous when you got into the costume for the first time?"
"You bet,"
Ace answered straightly. "I never thought the costume from my dreams
was really meant for me to have. Plus, I didn't know my hair changed."
"So that's
where the streaks came from. I always thought they were painted on
or something as a gimmick, at least, the first time I saw you on television."
"It's no
shocker to me. When most people see me for the first time, they think
the same thing about my hair."
Angie shook
her head. "Wow. I guess that's the end of the story, isn't
it?"
"Actually,
no. It's not quite over yet. You wouldn't believe what happened
to get me back here."
"That's
not the only mystery. I'm still thinking about the time I saved you
from the water torture chamber. I don't even remember doing that."
"Don't
worry, Angie. When I finish my story, we'll concentrate very closely
on your situation. Besides, I'm also intrigued about the events of
that night because it's possible you unknowingly used your powers a fourth
time…to save my life."
