Chapter Forty: Stuff's happening
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Jester limped into the attic room where they were staying. He had just finished another martial arts session with a winged monkey named Stix who got his name from the sticks he carried.
It had been almost a month since the monkey and a red-tailed hawk that was Blade's teacher arrived. The first day was spent focusing on meditation, then he was told to rest for the next five hours for a complete physical workout. Jester had collapsed after a straight hour of running non-stop on a treadmill and was zipped across the room, crashing into the wall across.
Why had he agreed to this again? . . . Oh yeah, because his computer-version looked awesome with the martial art skills. The kid had said he'd make him a special weapon all his own if he agreed completely to their teachings. Blade had agreed so that Jester wouldn't get too hurt during this training, and because his computer version looked awesome as well. Especially when the model showed his knife hand could be switch-able to a shiny hematite hand to his stainless steel blade.
He pointed at the screen and demanded to have it at once. The kid used it as a bargaining chip to get Blade to more agreeable terms with their training. In return, Blade had bargained that they wouldn't be too hard on Jester lest his light frame be splintered or get broken.
Jester didn't like it when Blade would get so overprotective when it came to his light build, but with a martial arts demonstration from both of their teachers breaking five inches of solid wood in half and then broke those halves in half. He could easily be broken to pieces if he wasn't careful.
That was why Stix was his teacher. He was teaching him how to fight with a stick and not use too much of his own physical strength for a fight.
He reached his bed and collapsed onto it, falling asleep instantly.
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Blade had finished his training for the day and was meditating in the garden room. Six had been found and relocated to the attic room, but he was still on watch. Pinhead and Tunneler still had some recuperating to do before they could be cleared.
He had a rough time at first and nearly blew his deal off when Jester had slipped on the treadmill and was flung across the room, crashing into the wall. He would have stopped his treadmill and checked on him if he wasn't being watched, and if he had a proper hand.
Jester had gotten back up and was fine, giggling about wanting to do it again, but one look at Blade and he decided not to. He was excused from the treadmill and went on to focusing on his balance. Blade joined him a few minutes later, finding Jester standing on one foot on top of a pillar with a couple of DVD covers on his head. He wasn't standing straight either, he was balanced in a horizontal position, his arms and other leg stretched out to help with the balance. Blade was ready to go into a panic when he saw there were pins beneath Jester to help with the focus.
With him worrying so much about Jester the kid, the monkey and the hawk all agreed to train them separately. He knew Jester preferred it that way too, not missing the little relieved slump in his shoulders.
He figured it was probably for the best anyways, he wasn't getting any training done himself with his constant worry. Jester had taken care of himself before he was even created, he really should back off anyway.
"I'm sure Jester's fine."
Blade looked to his left and found is mentor floating beside him. He himself was being held in the air with a hover pad, sitting down cross-legged and fully clothed again. He thanked his lucky stars that the coat had kept him covered the whole time he was running around, luring the totems into traps.
"You're just like me when it comes to my own little brother." Kokiri smiled. "I used to fuss over him like that as well. But soon you'll learn. You just need to believe in him, as he does in you."
"Now you're going to go all mystic on me?" Blade smirked, turning his head back and closing his eyes again. Debating was fun.
"Very eastern, I agree, but they do make a point. Now, how would you like to learn how to use your pulse into a sonic boom?" Kokiri asked, peeking at Blade through his glasses.
"Sounds good and tempting. . . . How?" Blade asked.
"The same steps I taught you when you first learned, except instead of a subtle ripple, put as much energy in the ball and set it off like a cannon. But before you do that, maybe we should head outside. The plants won't like you if you damage them." Kokiri said and grabbed Blade off the hover pad and left the room to the cliff bank.
"Now, focus your energy on the ball."
Blade focused on the image and imagined a pale blue river flowing from him to the ball, gathering up.
"To make it effective, you just have to imagine a narrow path in front of you and squeeze all the energy down it in a single push."
"How do you push?" Blade asked.
"Well, that part is up to you. Is it a cannon? Is it a rifle? Is it a laser beam shooting down the hallway?" Kokiri questioned. "This part is on your own creativity."
"I get that, but how do you push? How do you push your sonic boom?" Blade asked and lost his focus at a sudden funny thought and started laughing.
"If you were thinking of a lavatory, I was thinking the same thing." Kokiri chuckled.
Blade just laughed harder. "Okay, back to the matter. How do you do it?" he asked.
"I just focus on wanting to protect my brother. I release my sonic through my hands." Kokiri demonstrated by sending a low boom across the field of overgrowth, bending their stems from the energy. "It doesn't always have to be both hands. Some cross their arms in an 'X' for shielding."
"It's all very good but . . ." Blade said.
Kokiri thought a moment. "How about a big blue button? You need to fire the cannon, why not just hit . . . enter?" he suggested.
"A button? OK, I can try that." Blade said and turned to face the large field and focused on his energy fueling the blue ball, then the ball turning into a button with big OK letters on it and pressed down on it hard. He heard a low boom and opened his eyes just in time to see the weeds bend as if a gust of wind had suddenly picked up.
"Not bad. A good three feet for a first timer." Kokiri said and lifted him up with his magic. "Now let's teach you how to sense other magicals."
"Other magicals? How many are there in the world?" Blade asked, crossing his legs.
"Thousands, hundreds of thousands. We've transported some who were traditionalists to other uninhabited planets so that they could continue on in the ancient ways. There used to be millions before that. We've had a recent transport from Britain, they were getting ready for a war. A salvation from stagnation, but the one who wanted to save that world negotiated with Chugs and we made a deal after he was hit with several rolled up newspapers, Sunday Edition. He agreed to gather his followers and leave the world to a new one. Some of the opposing army went along with them and they've been prospering." Kokiri answered and lied back, pulling Blade into a similar position, but he didn't mind.
Ever since that night when the brother first gave him magic they've been having little get together's to just talk, meditate, bicker and debate. Occasionally they would just sit outside and watch the moon rise, the stars coming out as the sun set or just listen to the ocean.
It helped him with his meditation and focus on the martial arts when he had the time. Most times he just slept the day away as his body and mind rested from such harsh training.
This time they were watching the stars, a crescent moon high in the sky and the ocean crashing on the shore below. Soon enough the crickets started chirping and he found himself being gently lowered to the ground.
"To sense other magicals you first have to feel natural magic." Kokiri said. "Normally one would have to be in their bares for this, but as you are strongly against being bare, we've got to find another way. Do you remember how to bind your touch to your core?" he asked.
"Yeah." Blade answered.
"Well, do that, but send it through your IV cord and imagine the cord branching out like veins connecting to your little wooden body."
Blade closed his eyes, found his core and took a strand to his IV cord and let it flow through and then branching out like the brother said and a few seconds later, he could feel the grass in the back of his head. "The grass under my head." he said.
"Now, add it to your coat. The coat will sense you, but don't let it startle you. It is a part of you."
Blade pictured his coat and imagined his core bathing in every thread and letting the coat surround and embrace him. Now he could feel the grass under his back, his legs, his boots, even his knife and hook. "I can feel the grass." he breathed. "I haven't felt the grass in ages."
He let the cool grass touch every nerve, every fabric, every thread on his person and the feeling of sensation engulfed him.
"See their colors." Kokiri whispered.
Blade imagined green grass and bright green grass appeared in his black void. But he remembered it was dark, there were stars out, the crescent moon and the ocean crashing below the cliff and it all appeared in his vision.
"Now that you can see the world in your black void, send out a pulse." Kokiri said.
Blade sent out a pulse and a dull thud hit next to him on his left. He sent it out again and Kokiri appeared as a white silhouette.
"Can you see me?" Kokiri asked.
"Yes, but you're just a white shadow." Blade answered.
"That's because all six of me are working together." Kokiri said. "Which core do you want to see?" he asked.
Blade thought a moment and asked for Water. His pulse picked up an ocean blue core swirling like a watery ball. Then he asked for Earth and an emerald green core showed up, swirling like leaves caught in a whirlwind. Air was like a storm, complete with thunder and lightning but Fire was scary. It burned bright red, swirled like a tornado and wobbled a bit. He could even feel the heat coming off it.
"The fire side is the most powerful one, and it takes a lot of focus to keep it under control. Now, there's two more." Kokiri said.
"Uh, Light and Dark?" Blade asked.
"Here's the Light." Kokiri said. The core was an almost white-blue crystal ball, swirling slowly and felt cold as ice, he shivered.
"Why is it so cold?" Blade asked.
"That's a whole different philosphy. My Dark core is one you don't want to get too near to. It reeks of poison and death and a little insanity." Kokiri said and sat up, breaking their connection. "The energy that brought the totems is almost strong enough to send another troop through. It'll be in a few days, but you guys aren't gonna take part just yet."
"Why? That was the whole reason Jester got into the program in the first place." Blade said, standing up.
"Because these next traps are not for you. They're a lot more dangerous and are more equipped for the arachnids."
"I've worked with the arachnids on a few runs, I think I can handle it." Blade said.
"Not when the traps involve a heavily concentrated acid. This troop is going to be killed, not captured and contained. Come on, let's head back to the hotel." Kokiri said and picked him up. "Besides, it'll give the kid some time to work on that new arm you wanted and you have to be there for the whole caball of measurements, posing, modelling-"
"Good God, no! Not another experiment!" Blade wailed, making Kokiri laugh.
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Torch had woken from another nap and was finally feeling better. It had been weeks since he had fallen sick. Master had been very worried and he was worried about Master facing the totems by himself. But Master didn't face them by himself, he didn't even leave the room. He pulled up the pink video ghost screen and watched Blade run around, making the totems chase him into traps. Master had been typing away on the screen, setting off traps, guiding Blade to another location and caught all the totems by himself without ever leaving the room.
Pinhead, Tunneler and Jester were all watching Blade on the screen, but Master was the one doing most of the work. When they were done Blade came back through the window on a small scorpion-thing. Master had repeatedly told him what it was called and never got mad when he forgot, but still. Blade came in and then a mean looking bird and then a monkey with wings like the mean bird came in.
Master called them teachers and gave them to Blade and Jester. Master still looked after him even though he was super busy, but he always took time off to look after him, give him some liquid called me . . med . . . med-di-cine. It was suppose to help bring his fever down. His flame still felt low even though Master said a fever was a high temperature, but his flame felt low.
Pinhead and Tunneler had gotten better and were in classes with Jester with the mean bird and monkey. The brother had stopped by before that to collect something from them that they didn't want. Sometimes Blade would go off with him and other times he would go with the others with mean bird and monkey.
The totems had struck again but the others didn't go after them. Master didn't bring the screen up to watch either. He worked on Blade's knife arm. It didn't take long and soon Blade had a new shiny hand that he could switch back to his blade.
Six Shooter had finally showed up and was also sent with the others to class. Six seemed a little worried when he asked about Torch and Master had said he was still sick, but Torch didn't understand. Six didn't like Torch. He had said he would be glad to be rid of him and wouldn't miss him.
Torch curled up under the blankets he was under and fell back asleep, wishing for his master to come and hold and sing to him.
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Chug crawled into his bed, snuggling up to his wee bairn. He was getting really worried about Torch when all he did was sleep, but now that his temperature was starting to go down after six weeks, he was hoping for the better. Torch was like a child in many ways. His short memory, his tendency to throw tantrums when he didn't get his way, his incapacity to read properly and never wanted him far away.
Being the last born and the youngest of a large family with little memory of your parents tends to make one a little hot-headed. He knew this because he was just like that. He was the last one born in his family, his mother died when he was very young and both of his parents and grandfather weren't around much when he met Kokiri and was courted off to the Academy after that.
Torch was the same way. The youngest, no memories of his parents, and shunned by his own brothers. Well, there was the only difference.
Torch had woken when he brought him into a little hug and snuggled up to him.
"How are you feeling?" Chug whispered.
"A li'l bet'r." Torch mumbled.
"How much better?" Chug asked, tucking the blankets around Torch.
"Bet'r." Torch sighed. "Song, es-pease?"
"'Baby Mine'?" Chug smiled, Torch nodded and Chug started singing.
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Six Shooter could feel something about him was off. Ever since he came back from the garden room he'd been feeling off. Not sick-wise, he felt fine, but there was . . . . something. When he arrived at the attic room and saw the kid working at his desk he asked about Torch and how he was fairing. Torch had been sick for several weeks now and has yet to get better.
Six thought about that and became worried. Not just because he might lose his general but because, despite having animal brains as his life force, Torch was their baby brother. He found that part confusing the most. He didn't really care about Torch as a person, just as his general. But the brothers had bothered him about his reasons for his war and how pointless it really was.
Why fight a thief when he could befriend the original brewer himself? His great-grandparents had passed on and his parents and grandparents from a war they had designed. So what was he really fighting for?
After his return and asking about Torch, he was told to take some class with Jester, Pinhead and Tunneler with two new additions of the household: A red-tailed hawk and a winged monkey. The class turned out to be a martial arts class and he had quickly learned that it wasn't the best idea to make fun of the monkey because he got his little wooden cowboy ass handed to him five times. Then the hawk had a turn.
For a meat-eating flying overgrown chicken, that bird was sure mean. He was confined to the bed on his stomach for three days after that.
Then as he calmed down and apologized to the teachers, he was allowed some advanced classes because of his six arms. Jester was the one who excelled in the sport though and was soon granted two katanas, a dowel and some little shiny stars.
He also later found out from the brother that Pinhead and Tunneler had turned down their magical cores. The excess particles that had gathered would make them sick and the brother would gather it from them, putting the magic with his own core.
"WHY?!" he demanded of the two. "Do you have any idea of how useful magic can be?! How much easier your lives could have been?!"
"We saw." Tunneler said.
"We don't like nor want." Pinhead said and both walked past him to continue their class.
Pinhead had learned a few new wrestling techniques and merged some martial arts with it. But he wanted to learn engineering and so started taking classes with the kid to learn about computers, doo-hickeys and what-nots. Tunneler and Jester had volunteered for some medical training once their teachers had left, but Blade was a whole 'nother matter.
He was hardly at any of the classes, spending most of his time with the brother and when the totems had made another attack he was sent to the kid for another surgery that he requested and had gotten a new hand in two hours. The hand was able to switch back into his blade whenever he wanted so he wasn't all that different.
And Torch was all alone. . . . Perhaps now was the time to get at him.
He took a step towards the area where the kid kept disappearing, assuming that he kept Torch in a separate secure area away from the others. EMFs be damned, he was a Sorcerer. He had magic.
But . . . .
A sudden loud blaring, red flashing lights and a dozen spiders and scorpions surrounded him, lasers pointing at every surface of his body.
"I wasn't going to do anything." he said, putting all six arms in the air.
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