A/N: I haven't touched this in a while, huh? Life's been a bit nuts, but I'll try and actually start posting more regularly here until I'm caught up to where I've actually written, because I won't lie, I'm already in the process of writing a sequel. Anyways, with that being said, onto the chapter!
Chapter 4 - The Attack.
Three days later, in Arkansas...
Kara groans softly as she sets down on her sleeping bag, bruised and battered. "Sorry for pushing the training this far, Kara. It's just if we're going to work together, we need to be able to fight with weapons. I'll lay off, and we can get a day of rest." I apologize.
You see, I'd decided I'd craft another wooden vibroblade, so we can practice fighting. I'd also developed a healing power after we went through a particularly rough fight with a rather vicious drunk, roaming around some neighbourhood the previous night, so it didn't do much harm.
Anyways, I knelt down and ran my fingertips across her arm, a soft blue glow emanating from my hand as the bruises and cuts disappeared from her body. "Ding!"
Power Evolved!
Cure - Heal: When you trigger this power, your allies recover HP equivalent to ⅓ of the used FP in the power.
FP Cost: Varies in cost.
That's when I spot something out of the corner of my eye. A car. "Actually, let's take a few days here while I figure out how to fix this, because I'm assuming it's wrecked. It's getting tiring, carrying you and running the whole day, superhuman abilities or not. Not saying you're heavy, though. Just a long time doing it." I explained.
She nods weakly, and I grin, jogging over to the car, opening the hood to see what was malfunctioning. I reach out my senses, and frown when I feel nothing wrong. I stretch my senses to cover the car, and not a single thing is missing or damaged, aside from a little dent towards the back end, and a strange bumper sticker depicting a set of binoculars.
"Kara, pack up camp. We need to move. This car isn't wrecked. Someone's here." I call, turning around to find Kara struggling in an agent's arms, kicking around.
"Let her go! This has nothing to do with her. If you touch a hair on her head, I swear you will regret it." I snarl, letting Bloodlust activate and flare out, a flash of fear appearing in the agent's eyes. He holds a gun to her head, and a whimper escapes Kara's mouth. I sigh in resignation, and sit on the forest floor. "Do you really want to do this? Hurt an innocent civilian, who just wanted to escape their family, just so you can get to another innocent civilian you want to abuse?" I ask shortly, subconsciously letting the Force wrap around the agent's body, freezing their torso, and the gun. "Ding!"
"You call yourself innocent? You've killed three agents!" He yells angrily, not realizing, by some miracle, he is almost completely frozen. "In self-defense, you bastard. I've been running, killing, hurting, to keep myself safe, so I'm not some lab rat for the rest of my life!" I hiss, and his face contorts into panic, as I hear the now ever-familiar crack! of the agent's bones as I unconsciously use Force Crush. "Ding!"
"If you think you're so righteous, fighting for this government, you can go burn in hell. This isn't righteous, this is corrupt." I snarl as the light fades from their eyes.
I help Kara up, and my expression darkens. "If this is what this government will do, and I can't live any kind of life without being a guinea pig, then I'll fight back. I wanted peace, to be alone, to be happy. I'll do what I have to in order to fix this. Even if I have to tear this government down piece by piece and rebuild it." I growl.
"I can't stand by. This ends now." I finished. "Ding!" Kara nods grimly, her complexion pale from the experience. I sigh, trying to calm myself, so my FP can recover, so I decide to read the notifications.
New Power Unlocked!
Stasis, Level 1: When this power is activated, the target will freeze everywhere except for the head, so further conversation may continue, for the sake of peace, or knowledge.
FP Cost: 10 FP per minute.
Dark Side Points Gained!
Journal Entry Added!
"Journal." I think to myself, summoning the Journal entry.
Journal Entry: Savior, Observer, Conqueror?
After the attack on your camp, you cannot stand by any longer. You have to overthrow the government who wronged you. You have chosen the path of the Conqueror. For deciding the path you are going to take, you gain the Shop, +2 Cha, +2 Wis, the Conqueror title, and ?!
"Ding!"
Journal Entry Added!
Journal Entry: The Conqueror.
Now that you have decided the only answer is violence, you need to figure out how to conquer the corrupt government.
I sigh, really wishing I could find another way. Pushing all this aside, I realize I never looked at what I earned as a mystery reward in the first quest, and I haven't checked for this quest yet, of course.
"Claim rewards." I think, bringing up a screen listing two items.
Rewards!
Lightsaber crystal (Color of choice)
3,000 credits/5 Power Credits (Choose One)
My jaw drops for a second, closing it quickly, before I swipe the screen away to think over another time. I turn to Kara, and I grin. "Well, we might just be in luck." I smirk, car keys lifting from the agent's pockets as it lands in my outstretched hand.
"Well, I'd imagine where there's one agent, another follows. Are you up for a little bit of racing a car through a forest?" I quip, as a small smirk tugs at her lips.
I think it's safe to say we were fairly successful. It only fell apart halfway through Oklahoma, and considering how many trees I hit, and my lack of experience driving, I'd say it was a win.
"So…" Kara started, grabbing my attention as we walked through the open fields, just about a mile off the road, "We're really doing this? Overthrowing the government?" She asks, the reality of the situation setting in.
"Honestly, Kara, it's up to you. I'm here with you, and I'm not going to abandon you or hurt you. I can't just sit by and watch people get hurt because of this government, though, so we'd at least start a safehouse, if anything. But before anything is decided, I need to train. I may be powerful now, but that's only against one agent at a time, nothing more. If we faced another agent back there in Arkansas, we'd be dead or captured, all because I rely on Force powers too much, and I lack the training to work with a sword." I confessed. "Ding!"
She stopped and turned to look at me. "Cyrus, I want to make this clear. We're a team. I'll follow you wherever I can. But this is your fight, y'know? I'll fight if I have to, as much as I don't necessarily like it. You can call the shots, but that doesn't mean I'll die for it. You saved my life, and I owe you everything for it. If that means we start a safehouse and you train, and then we conquer, then go for it. But I'm not putting my life in absolute danger for it. We'd need to hide." She says carefully.
"I'm not saying I wouldn't pay off that debt I now have, because I would in a heartbeat. But I wouldn't die for the fight that's not mine, unless you're at immediate risk of dying. But we need to be clear with each other, and we need to find a safe place to hide, right? I guess we should talk about it when we do have that safe space, but I guess I just wanted reassurance of what we're doing, what our true goal is, and our plan of action." She finishes.
"Alright, I understand that, Kara. I appreciate you being clear with me. I'll be honest, I woke up only a couple days ago in this new world, too, and I haven't had all that much time to sit and think about it. I agree, we need to talk about this. Just not now." I say, a smile flickering across my face as I wrap her in a hug. She hesitates for a moment, then hugs back.
"We'll work through this together. We're a team, and nobody will keep us apart. Together, we'll get out of this, and we'll get to actually live how we want, and see the world the way we want it. Hell, Kara, I know you come from a nasty home. You could get your revenge, and we can be in charge of things for once. We'll be in charge of our own destinies." I declare. "Ding!"
She breaks from the hug, and glances in my eyes, and she smiles a little back at me. "Alright then. Let's go kick some ass." She states defiantly.
