The Alpha
By Adam Morgan
The Dojo
Four Pillars stood directly opposite each other, supporting a long wooden walkway that looked directly over a vast padded floor. The Paper walls and wide door around the outside and end of the dojo let a few rays of dim light enter the room. A short shadow pointed towards the door, cast by a lone figure, in a tranquil stance, controlled breathing, hands raised, feet pointed, back arched, eyes shut. His pointed black hair stood like an eagle over his head, a single, thick lock of hair dropped over his nose, his mouth open slightly, letting a tiny stream of air pass through his lungs. His loose fitting black robes sagged, revealing his shoulder and part of his arm. He wasn't incredibly well built, but he was intensely strong. For a long time, they thought he was The One. Adam Lennon stood perfectly still, his side still aching slightly, in his very own stance, in his very own martial arts style. He used guns very little, preferring to fight his way out of a situation than use a firearm, he was one of the few people to have survived an encounter with an Agent, he was greatly respected by his crew and the people of his city. A legendary fighter under a legendary captain, Lux of The Alpha had been injured for two months, training himself back into shape to return to duty, fighting the same man every week. The man who had freed him, the man who had told him of the Prophecy, the man who had just opened the doors and was standing at the opposite end of the Dojo in his traditional black robes. 'Morpheus.' Lux's eyes opened slowly, looking straight at the man who had trained him, set him free. 'Adam. Are you ready?' 'How is he?' 'Mouse? Mouse is fine. He wrote a new training program last week.' Morpheus knew what Lux had meant, and smiled warmly. 'He's fine.' 'Do you believe you have found him?' Lux still stood still, his arms raised above his head. 'Yes.' 'How old?' 'We are not sure. We think about twenty five, younger than you were.' 'Will he resist?' 'I do not know.', there was an uneasy pause. 'He is The One, Adam.' 'I believe you.' 'We will free him next month, I have not yet told the Commander.' 'Why?' 'You know why. How is Amoena?' A smile spread across the men's faces. 'She is fine. How is Niobhe? Still playing hard to get?' 'That has passed.' The Captain of the Nebuchednezzer looked away. 'You still love her?' 'Let us begin.' 'Are you ready?' Morpheus smiled, nodded and took a long, deep breath. With that the two men broke from their positions into new stances, tracing odd patterns in the air with their hands, their legs rigid, their chest blown up, their eyes set on each other. For a second their stared each other down, then ran at each other, their feet pounding on the floor, fists raised. A block, a block, a thud. Their hands flew in carefully timed darts backwards and forwards, taking the impact of a shot and then pulling back to deliver a blow. Morphues shins took several shots, weakening his stance, his hands collided with Lux foot and whipped round it to pull his opponent upwards who spun timelessly in mid air and landed with a crash on the floor, the padding offering no protection. Morpheus back another few metres towards the door. Lux stood up, coughing slightly as he steadied himself for another assault. The floor bounced with his steps as he angled his stomach and chest downwards and slammed his hands down into a cartwheel, his body whipping round in mid air to form a somersault before landing three metres in front of his mentor, slamming his hands back to the floor, pulling his body into a round off, his legs arching round so he landed backwards. But before he was even half way round, a hand grabbed his robes and threw him away from his spin. In two seconds he was on the floor outside, his back smashing through the paper walls and tiny wooden supports, his eyes meeting Morpheus' as he was thrown out of the dojo, the darkness of the night sky shrinking his irises as the dirt on the floor crept into his robe, rubbing against his back. He wriggled frantically as a pain ripped down his back. He tossed his body up into a sitting position, wet patches of mud sliding down his robes. A large raindrop of mud had formed on his shoulder, which he flicked aside, leaving a finger line through its centre. He looked back up to the dojo, a large hole had been made in the doors and two feet in front of him lay his original impact point, deep and already filling with water. The doors slid open, splitting the hole into two awkward shapes, the light from inside casting a rectangle onto the floor and revealing the beautiful red wood on the steps of the dojo. In this light stood a long shadow, tall and broad it made it's way down the steps. 'Hmm.', Morpheus smiled. 'Need help?' 'No.', grunting, Lux clambered up, sweeping his hands down his robe, mud slapping on the floor. He couldn't look Morpheus in the eye. He was angry now, he thought he was ready and, dammit, he was. He knew he could do it, he just wasn't trying. He hit his head, a large blob of mud dripping onto his hair. He was focused and he knew he could win. 'Again?' Lux's answer came in the form of a straight right to Morpheus' jaw, knocking him back, up the step. This was a mistake, the step gave Morpheus the height to leap up and hook his foot round to throw Lux off balance, setting him up for a low roundhouse to the thigh. Lux was caught off guard continually, retreating, being pushed back until they reached a tall redwood bridge that lay over a tiny pebble river. Lux pressed his back against it and managed to claim a few metres of Morpheus' ground with some hard shots. Then, as Morpheus readied himself, Lux was up, his back foot powering him off the bridge's supports, he flew forward, his legs in a split kick, and caught Morpheus with two swift kicks and then an instant sweep. As Morpheus fell in mid-air to the floor, Lux was back up and kicked a field goal into Morpheus stomach. Lux's breath hung heavily in front of him, he thrust his hands in front of him for another attack as Morpheus got slowly up, his black robe dripping with near invisible mud. He almost smiled, 'Excellent'. Lux was feeling better but was still angry with himself. Lux ran again at his opponent and launched himself into a clumsy but powerful flurry of low kicks and medium shots. Whenever his opponent even tried to respond he was blocked and hit repeatedly. The rapid combo was finished with a straight kick into Morpheus' throat that sent him in the air and still he wasn't done, Lux leaping up to kick him a further ten metres ahead and back towards the Dojo's stairs. Feeling bad instantly Lux ran to the Dojo and helped up Morpheus, who in between grunts and groans seemed to be positively beaming at Lux. 'Well Done.' Not quite sure what to say, Lux smiled back. As they looked out at the destruction, when a sudden jerk erupted through their navel as their mind rejoined their bodies and they awoke, onto rusty old chairs and chewed rags under the heads, home.
By Adam Morgan
The Dojo
Four Pillars stood directly opposite each other, supporting a long wooden walkway that looked directly over a vast padded floor. The Paper walls and wide door around the outside and end of the dojo let a few rays of dim light enter the room. A short shadow pointed towards the door, cast by a lone figure, in a tranquil stance, controlled breathing, hands raised, feet pointed, back arched, eyes shut. His pointed black hair stood like an eagle over his head, a single, thick lock of hair dropped over his nose, his mouth open slightly, letting a tiny stream of air pass through his lungs. His loose fitting black robes sagged, revealing his shoulder and part of his arm. He wasn't incredibly well built, but he was intensely strong. For a long time, they thought he was The One. Adam Lennon stood perfectly still, his side still aching slightly, in his very own stance, in his very own martial arts style. He used guns very little, preferring to fight his way out of a situation than use a firearm, he was one of the few people to have survived an encounter with an Agent, he was greatly respected by his crew and the people of his city. A legendary fighter under a legendary captain, Lux of The Alpha had been injured for two months, training himself back into shape to return to duty, fighting the same man every week. The man who had freed him, the man who had told him of the Prophecy, the man who had just opened the doors and was standing at the opposite end of the Dojo in his traditional black robes. 'Morpheus.' Lux's eyes opened slowly, looking straight at the man who had trained him, set him free. 'Adam. Are you ready?' 'How is he?' 'Mouse? Mouse is fine. He wrote a new training program last week.' Morpheus knew what Lux had meant, and smiled warmly. 'He's fine.' 'Do you believe you have found him?' Lux still stood still, his arms raised above his head. 'Yes.' 'How old?' 'We are not sure. We think about twenty five, younger than you were.' 'Will he resist?' 'I do not know.', there was an uneasy pause. 'He is The One, Adam.' 'I believe you.' 'We will free him next month, I have not yet told the Commander.' 'Why?' 'You know why. How is Amoena?' A smile spread across the men's faces. 'She is fine. How is Niobhe? Still playing hard to get?' 'That has passed.' The Captain of the Nebuchednezzer looked away. 'You still love her?' 'Let us begin.' 'Are you ready?' Morpheus smiled, nodded and took a long, deep breath. With that the two men broke from their positions into new stances, tracing odd patterns in the air with their hands, their legs rigid, their chest blown up, their eyes set on each other. For a second their stared each other down, then ran at each other, their feet pounding on the floor, fists raised. A block, a block, a thud. Their hands flew in carefully timed darts backwards and forwards, taking the impact of a shot and then pulling back to deliver a blow. Morphues shins took several shots, weakening his stance, his hands collided with Lux foot and whipped round it to pull his opponent upwards who spun timelessly in mid air and landed with a crash on the floor, the padding offering no protection. Morpheus back another few metres towards the door. Lux stood up, coughing slightly as he steadied himself for another assault. The floor bounced with his steps as he angled his stomach and chest downwards and slammed his hands down into a cartwheel, his body whipping round in mid air to form a somersault before landing three metres in front of his mentor, slamming his hands back to the floor, pulling his body into a round off, his legs arching round so he landed backwards. But before he was even half way round, a hand grabbed his robes and threw him away from his spin. In two seconds he was on the floor outside, his back smashing through the paper walls and tiny wooden supports, his eyes meeting Morpheus' as he was thrown out of the dojo, the darkness of the night sky shrinking his irises as the dirt on the floor crept into his robe, rubbing against his back. He wriggled frantically as a pain ripped down his back. He tossed his body up into a sitting position, wet patches of mud sliding down his robes. A large raindrop of mud had formed on his shoulder, which he flicked aside, leaving a finger line through its centre. He looked back up to the dojo, a large hole had been made in the doors and two feet in front of him lay his original impact point, deep and already filling with water. The doors slid open, splitting the hole into two awkward shapes, the light from inside casting a rectangle onto the floor and revealing the beautiful red wood on the steps of the dojo. In this light stood a long shadow, tall and broad it made it's way down the steps. 'Hmm.', Morpheus smiled. 'Need help?' 'No.', grunting, Lux clambered up, sweeping his hands down his robe, mud slapping on the floor. He couldn't look Morpheus in the eye. He was angry now, he thought he was ready and, dammit, he was. He knew he could do it, he just wasn't trying. He hit his head, a large blob of mud dripping onto his hair. He was focused and he knew he could win. 'Again?' Lux's answer came in the form of a straight right to Morpheus' jaw, knocking him back, up the step. This was a mistake, the step gave Morpheus the height to leap up and hook his foot round to throw Lux off balance, setting him up for a low roundhouse to the thigh. Lux was caught off guard continually, retreating, being pushed back until they reached a tall redwood bridge that lay over a tiny pebble river. Lux pressed his back against it and managed to claim a few metres of Morpheus' ground with some hard shots. Then, as Morpheus readied himself, Lux was up, his back foot powering him off the bridge's supports, he flew forward, his legs in a split kick, and caught Morpheus with two swift kicks and then an instant sweep. As Morpheus fell in mid-air to the floor, Lux was back up and kicked a field goal into Morpheus stomach. Lux's breath hung heavily in front of him, he thrust his hands in front of him for another attack as Morpheus got slowly up, his black robe dripping with near invisible mud. He almost smiled, 'Excellent'. Lux was feeling better but was still angry with himself. Lux ran again at his opponent and launched himself into a clumsy but powerful flurry of low kicks and medium shots. Whenever his opponent even tried to respond he was blocked and hit repeatedly. The rapid combo was finished with a straight kick into Morpheus' throat that sent him in the air and still he wasn't done, Lux leaping up to kick him a further ten metres ahead and back towards the Dojo's stairs. Feeling bad instantly Lux ran to the Dojo and helped up Morpheus, who in between grunts and groans seemed to be positively beaming at Lux. 'Well Done.' Not quite sure what to say, Lux smiled back. As they looked out at the destruction, when a sudden jerk erupted through their navel as their mind rejoined their bodies and they awoke, onto rusty old chairs and chewed rags under the heads, home.
