CHAPTER THREE: MEMORY OF A BATTLE

"Right, men," called Portius to a group of trainee Knights, barely old enough to command that title. "Here's where we stop. Choose your battle stations and set up." He turned to his pack, but stood up suddenly when he heard weapon fire. "I though I told you to set up, not--" he stopped as a green bolt of energy illuminated the dark night and hit his shoulder.

"Sir! It's Fear!" called a promising young Knight, named Ace Lightning.

"Men! Prepare for battle. This is not a drill!" Portius warmed up his wrist cannons as a skeletal sorcerer, who went by the name of Lord Fear, and his many minions came into view.

"Another fresh batch, boys! Get 'em while they're hot!" laughed the skeleton. He fired at Portius, who returned his fire.

The young trainees, most of whom were fighting for real for the first time, struggled against the minions. They were outnumbered and outclassed, and many of them were destroyed, still to young to have been given the ability to power up.

"Lightning! Zalik! Get over here!" Portius called his two finest trainees to his side. "We need to separate Fear from his minions. That's the only way for us to win this." He dodged another blow, before returning it. "I'll draw his fire while you two attack him from behind, got it?" He didn't let them answer. "Good. Move." He ran to the other end of the alleyway that had been selected for a routine training exercise, effectively drawing all of Fear's attention.

Ace and Zalik ran quietly through the shadows, staying out of the battle that was raging around them as effectively as they could, then fired on the skeleton with their low-power trainee weapons. The skeleton turned on them, and Portius fired from behind, but not in time to stop Fear from attacking the trainees. Zalik took a full blow to his chest, and stumbled backwards, crashing into some over-turned rubbish bins.

"Zalik!" Ace ran over to his friend, but the young man was already dead.

"No!" Ace dropped to his knees as Portius fired at Fear again. The skeleton was defeated, and called together his minions before leaving.

Portius walked over and placed a hand on Ace's shoulder. "Tron!" he yelled to one of the dazzled trainees. "Call for assistance, then give me a fatality count."

The young man nodded and carried out his grim task. "Ten dead, and another seven injured, Sir."

"He was . . . friend . . ." muttered Ace, still leaning over Zalik's body. He and Portius both turned at the sound of two strangled gasps.

A middle-aged man and a young girl, both dressed as Atmos, although the girl clearly wasn't one, were staring at Zalik. They both ran to the boy's body and dropped to the ground beside him. Portius quickly pulled Ace to his feet and stood him to the side. They watched as the man laid a hand over Zalik's chest. As he looked up at the girl, a tear spilled from his eye. The girl bent down and pressed her face into Zalik's chest, her shoulders shaking.

Portius stepped forward. "Uh, excuse me, but--" he stopped as the girl jumped and pulled a long sword from her belt.

"You killed him!" she yelled, her voice cracking. She brought up her sword and sliced it at him. Portius jumped out of the way, and the girl was about to strike again when the man called out.

"Sparx! Stop it! This is not how Zalik would want to be remembered."

The girl lowered her sword and turned to him. "But father Remus! I have to defend his honour! His life will not have been taken for nothing!"

"If you kill these men, what will you achieve? A life in prison will not bring honour to Zalik. I have lost one child today, Sparx. Do not rob me of another."

The girl sighed and put her sword away. The man scooped up Zalik's body, before turning to Portius.

"What was my son doing here, with you?"

"He was training to become a Lightning Knight, sir. We were attacked by an enemy, and, as you can see, your son was not our only fatality." Portius sighed as he looked around at the fallen bodies.

"A lightning Knight? He never told me that." The girl looked hurt. "I don't believe you! Zalik tells me everything! Told me everything."

Ace stepped forward. "It was a surprise. He wanted to honour your family by telling you on his graduation day." Ace felt a flicker of a smile as he looked at the girl "He told me about you. He said you'd make a good Knight."

"So it was your enemies that killed my son?" the man asked.

"Listen, Master Remus, right? Your son was one of my best recruits. He would have made a great Lightning Knight."

"So who was it? Who killed him?" the girl asked, grasping the handle of her sword.

"I afraid I can't tell you that, young lady." Portius glanced at her. "You look familiar, have I seen you somewhere before?"

"You'd remember." The girl glared back.

"Come on, Sparx. We have to leave." The man turned to go, and the girl took one last look at the Knights before following him.

- -

She saw them again at Zalik's funeral, the Knight Portius and his student Ace. "I want to join and take Zalik's place. And if you refuse to tell me who killed him, I'll make every Evil I meet pay."

Portius looked at her for a long time before answering. "Do you know anything about fighting? How to use that sword properly?"

"Of course. I was trained by Master Remus himself."

"Well, if your . . . guardian approves, then I can't see why not. What's your full name?"

The girl had frowned for a moment before answering. "Sparx. Just Sparx."

"Right then, Sparx. I can't say it officially yet, but welcome to the Academy of Lightning Knights." He held out his hand, and she took it.

A/N: Feedback of all sorts will be welcomed.