Well, Chapter 21 and 22 had to be split up into two chapters, so this one is about the same length as Chapter 21. I was already halfway done with the Psychosis, but I knew that it was going to be long.
Oh, and by the way, my last update was a major update. It included both chapters 20 and 21 with it. I noticed that there are fewer hits for chapter 20 than 21. Since this one is the counterpart to 21, I'll still keep 20 and 21 up as a recent update. Don't miss 20, guys! Anyway, here's 22.
Chapter 22: The Psychosis, Part 2
The currently ensuing moment was quite unusual in Tsau's mind. The nighttime has already passed through, and the morning was misty…foggy, almost.
Elizabeth looked at him strangely. "Tsau? Will asked you a question."
Tsau looked over at Zi. "Hold up. I have to check up on Izzi."
He went over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "How're you feeling now?"
"Uh…I think I'll be fine…" she said, trying to stand. "What's happening here? Why is Jack here?"
Tsau slightly smiled. At least her state of trance was keeping her away from this odd moment. "Okay…good. Stay close."
"I'm about to seal the Necromortalis," Jack said. "I get the Dutchman, Will gets his heart back, and you still haven't told us what you wanted, Mr. Assassin."
"Can't it wait for another moment?" Tsau asked darkly. "Why the rush?"
Will stepped forward. "Err…well…I don't want to be the captain for another moment."
"Is that right?" Tsau said. "Well…you would be the captain of the Dutchman, Mr. Turner, if you didn't have your heart."
"What are you talking about?" Elizabeth asked.
Tsau quickly drew his trigun and shot Will in the chest. Will flew backwards and fell unconscious on the floor. After Will was dead, Tsau raised his weapon and shot Jack and Elizabeth next. Zi stood up in shock, apparent to have escaped her state of abstraction.
"What are you doing?!" she asked him outrageously.
Tsau looked at his surroundings. "You won't fool me. Show yourself."
The foggy surroundings began to rumble, and the darkness of last night returned. Everything was back to its original state. The burning ship was still there, Jack was not present, and Will and Elizabeth were still on board the burning ship. Ramadi was still dead, however. Out of thin air, the Psychosis appeared and fell to his knees as if tired.
"NO!" the Psychosis exclaimed in failure. "That was a perfect simulation! How did you know?!?"
Tsau quickly reloaded his weapon and shot at the Psychosis, but he seemed to know that it was coming, and dodged out of the way.
He reloaded his gun again and looked at his adversary. "That simulation was far from perfect. You overlooked too many subtle details, and tried to get to the point too fast."
Zi was still behind Tsau, noticing the changing surroundings. "What the hell happened to the setting? The music…it's gone, too."
Tsau quickly drew a shuriken and hurled it at the blind samurai, but he dodged it once again. His psychic powers were helping him avoid all attacks.
He didn't answer her after her question, but kept his eyes on the Psychosis. "Why? Why do you want to know my reason for getting rid of the Necromortalis?"
"Not me…" the blindfolded samurai said, standing up from his last evasion. "…Drak Nesirus wants to know."
"Then why does he want to know?" Tsau asked. "And why didn't you just read my mind? You had to go through all the trouble of trying to fool me."
"Tsau…" Zi said from behind. "I think you should refrain from asking those questions." She walked around and stood in front of him. Her hand came up and embraced the back of his neck. "It doesn't matter anyway…right?"
Tsau looked at her oddly. Her eyes seemed a dull, rose color, and her voice was very soothing. "Stay…out of my way…"
"All that matters is us, Tsau," she spoke. The Psychosis's voice was speaking the same words, completely in sync with her voice. "Do you love me, Tsau?"
"Stop it," Tsau said towards the Psychosis. "She has nothing to do with this."
"Psychosis?" she asked in a seductive tone. "I don't want Psychosis, Tsau…I want you…"
As she came in for a kiss, Tsau just stood there and waited for the moment to pass. Before he knew, she backed away and took his trigun.
"What's the matter Tsau?" she asked, pointing the gun at him. "You don't love me?"
"Izzi, put the gun down," Tsau commanded. "Fight his manipulation, Izzi."
She scoffed. "The only manipulation that I've ever had is from you!"
Tsau walked forward towards the mind controlled Zi. "So you're going to shoot me, then? Do you absolutely want to pull the trigger?"
"You better believe it," the Psychosis said, floating over to the rail and sitting down. "All I needed was her to escape her trance…and now I have her under my spell."
"So, it wasn't you who put her in that trance, then?" Tsau said.
He shook his head. "It must have been the Executives."
Tsau looked back at Zi and started approaching her slowly. "Are you going to shoot me, then? Don't let yourself fall towards his control, Izzi. Can you live knowing that you've killed me?"
Behind the mind control, Zi began to hesitate pulling the trigger. The Psychosis scowled at her hesitation.
"Foolish girl!" he exclaimed. "If you can't kill Tsau, then you'll kill yourself!"
The gun in her hand immediately came up and pointed at her head.
Tsau then quickly smacked the gun away and struck her in the side of the head, knocking her out temporarily. He rolled forward and picked up the gun, aimed it at the Psychosis, and unloaded all of the bullets. The Psychosis fell backwards out on the deck, and lay there.
He kneeled down to check on Zi if she had been hurt.
"You okay?" he asked.
Zi stood up and rubbed her forehead. "I-I'm fine…"
Tsau nodded in acknowledgement and walked over to the Psychosis, who was still alive. Traveling down the stairs, he watched Will and Elizabeth swing back from the burning ship, carrying a small child with them. It was the same child in the simulation that the Psychosis applied on Tsau.
The only thing apparent was his breathing. "I…I couldn't see the future…I couldn't see it coming…"
Tsau put his gun away and kneeled down to check on the fallen samurai. Zi walked down the steps and joined him. Will took the child into the cabins, and Elizabeth headed over to see what was happening.
"A true warrior doesn't need to see the future…" Tsau replied. "He makes his own."
The samurai smiled. "…Perhaps…but I have read your future…"
"So have I," Tsau said. "Because of what I chose to do."
"No…Tsau…" the Psychosis disagreed. "Not that…the…the path you walk on…the things you do…they won't end…I had trouble reading yours…I can't come up with an absolute conclusion…"
Tsau looked down at him. "That's because I haven't made mine, yet. Because I choose what to do. I won't be a prisoner to fate."
His enemy laughed, with blood trickling out from his mouth. "Be careful of what will happen when you look for Sparrow…I sense something bad. Keep yourself sharp, Tsau…"
"Why are you telling me this?" Tsau asked.
"I…I can read people's minds…" he replied. "I can control them, I can kill them, I can cause them to go mad…but…in my lifetime, I have read the pasts, the presents, and the futures of hundreds of thousands of men and women…"
Tsau reached over and removed his blindfold. Underneath were a missing set of eyes, but everything was scarred. There were scars and traces of former infections, diseases, and cuts. Elizabeth and Zi backed away slightly from the sighting.
"…in my lifetime…every life that I canvassed…was stuck with that one single obsession…" the Psychosis said in his raspy voice. "…that selfless desire…that complete acquiescence to fate…that feeling to pass on one's genes…that happiness in knowing that they were content with their lives…their neighbors. It was enough to make me sick. Every living thing on this planet always mindlessly accepts their destiny. That is why wars exist…because people always accept things for what they are…
"…but you…Tsau…you are different…you choose to walk a different path, an endless one…you're the same as us…you have no past, no future…we, Tsau, we live in the moment…we live to kill…and that's our only purpose…we have no destiny. Humans weren't designed to bring each other happiness…humans like us…we're thrown into this world to only bring pain, and misery…that is our purpose from the moment we are born…"
Tsau listened to him intently. He was not just another bad guy, but just another soldier…another killer, like him. Their purposes weren't so different, and the fact that Tsau cannot even answer why he does what he does proves that he has no destiny.
The Psychosis continued talking, with Zi and Elizabeth listening. "The first mind I dove into was my father's. I saw nothing but disgust…and hatred…for I was weak…and frail…not the type of samurai he'd imagined. My mother died from my conception…and he despised me for it. I thought he was going to kill me…and that's when my past and future disappeared…when I was finished…everyone in the village had killed each other…children killing their parents…noble samurai killing their neighbors…"
"So you destroyed your village to bury your past?" Tsau asked calmly.
"…I see that you have tried to do so…" the Psychosis continued. "But…you are different…you disregard the past…you don't care…Well, we are almost the same…heheh…the world is a more interesting place with people like you in it…I…never agreed with Zhao's attempts to liberate his peoples…I didn't care for his cause…I just wanted another reason to kill as many people as I could."
Zi had an angry face. "You monster—"
"Let him talk," Tsau said. "He doesn't have much time."
She turned her back to Tsau and the Psychosis.
"Monster…" the Psychosis said with more smiles. "I've seen true evil…the real monstrosity…Tsau…seeing you calms my soul. You're just like Nesirus…no, you're worse…compared to you, Tsau, I'm like a saint. You are alone…you have no reason…the path you walk on won't end…the killing…there is never enough to satisfy you. I've read the girl's mind as well…"
"Izzi's?"
"I saw you there. You have a large place in her heart," he stated. Zi turned around and looked at the dying man. "…and getting bigger…"
He looked over his shoulder and watched Zi turn around again in slight embarrassment. "But…I do not know if your futures join together…I don't know if your destiny intertwines with the Dutchman and the Pearl…you will have two choices in the end…Tsau. Either you will choose to die…or you will prevail…and walk your path once again. I have to thank you for freeing me of my suffering…the losers are freed from the battle…but the winners have to stay and fight…"
"I have a reason…" Tsau said. "I will be the first to quit fighting once this is over…"
The sightless man laughed. "It's not that easy, Tsau. And Tsau…there's one last Death that is Zhao has…he goes by the name of the Macabre…he is dressed in knightly armor…and he's the personal bodyguard of Zhao."
"I'll keep that in mind," Tsau said.
"I…I have one last request…"
"That is?" he asked.
"Please…put my blindfold back on…and leave me on a small boat out to sea…I…I want to be alone when I die…I want to be in my own world…the only one that we understand…"
Tsau nodded and placed the blindfold back on him. "Okay."
"I will push your ship in the direction of Port Royal…if you want to find your destiny, go there…" he said. The ship began to move again, and he smiled. "This is the first time I've used my powers to help someone…strange…it feels good…"
Before he could talk any longer, his breathing ceased and he died, with only the sound of the burning ship. Tsau lifted the dead samurai and placed him on one of the boats, and lowered him down to sea. As he watched the Psychosis drift away, he thought about the words that were given to him. More than ever now, Tsau wanted the nightmares to end. He wanted to stop doing what he did. Zi and Elizabeth looked at him while he was in a state of thought, watching if he was going to do anything. Tsau let his mind roam for another moment, but let his thoughts subside. He still had a mission. He couldn't let a moment like this stop him. Zi walked up to him but didn't confront him.
"Tsau?" she said. "I'm…sorry…"
He didn't turn around. "About what?"
She bit her lip. "How could I let him control me like that? How could I be so weak?"
The White Falcon looked over his shoulder. "If you're going to doubt yourself, then I'll leave you in the moment."
"R-Right," she nodded.
Tsau turned back and sighed. "Don't regret your mistakes, adapt to it. Learn. Regrets only make you weaker."
"And remorse?"
"I try to ignore it," Tsau said. "I can't allow it to interfere with my work."
She let that statement sink in. "So…have you ever loved anyone?"
"I've never been interested with anyone else's life," he replied.
Zi let out a subtle smile. "So you are all alone, just like he said."
"Other people just complicate my life," he stated. "I don't like getting involved."
She almost couldn't believe what he was saying, even after what happened between them last night. He was a totally different person from yesterday.
"Then you're a sad, lonely, man," she stated. "I'm sorry for you."
"Don't be," he said. "I get what I deserve."
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Farah began to change out of her clothes in her room, but noticed a presence hiding in the shadows behind her. She stood there with the only piece of clothing being her pants.
"Are you going to kill me or wait for me to undress first?" she asked.
Tsau stepped forward with his gun aimed at her. "Put your clothes back on."
She slipped her top back on and turned around. "I know you. You're the one who killed all my servants."
"And now I've been sent to kill you," Tsau stated.
"Are you?" she said.
He was smirking under his hood. "You're not afraid?"
"No," she said, shaking her head. "There's always somebody that will take my place. And, knowing you…as the Reaper…if you were going to kill me, I wouldn't have seen it coming."
"What is going on in this small cult you're running?" he asked her.
Farah smiled a bit and walked forward. "Come now, Reaper. Allow me to start from the beginning…" Tsau followed Farah out the door. "…there was once a man named Rufus Blackwell, but he called himself Rufus the Black…"
I took quite awhile to formulate the speech of the Psychosis, so hopefully you enjoyed it. They'll reach Port Royal at Chapter 23, so don't miss out on it!