Chapter 3: Moonlight
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A/N: Moonlight takes place during the Ancient Warrior. Please, please review.
Shayla's words continued to haunt me. She had told us everything. She had told us who Zen Aku really was.
The thought sickened me. There was a man buried within that org. There was a person in there who was unaware of who they truly were.
Even as we fought him under the cover of night, I thought about her words. The fact that he was human kept replaying in my mind. Could I destroy him now that I knew the truth?
He was stronger than us. I fought him but I couldn't hold him off. I felt the world shatter under me as I collided with the ground.
I saw him fight the others. He sent them all flying like it was nothing. We were nothing compared to him.
I saw in horror that Zen Aku had the blade to Cole's throat. With just a little pressure he could kill Cole. After he killed Cole would he kill the rest of us? Would he hold that same blade to my throat and watch as my life's blood poured out?
He was going to push the blade in. I closed waiting to hear some sound. It never came.
The moon which had been a bright torch lighting the way was suddenly darkened. I watched the eclipse blocked out all light.
At stared at where Zen Aku had been. I could no longer see the duke org. Instead I only saw a man.
His face was covered by a helmet but he pulled it off in a hurry. I gazed upon this man that Shayla had called Merrick. As Merrick began to tell his story I listened in rapt attention.
He told us of watching Animus being destroyed. He had been desperate to help any way he could. So he had taken the cursed mask of Zen Aku and used it. With that power he had destroyed Master Org but it had come with a price. He had been cursed and felt the spirit of the mask consume him. Instead of destroying him the ancient warriors sealed him away.
My eyes clouded as he continued to telling us the story. He had been locked away for three thousand years. His world was gone and he was an outsider in ours.
As the eclipse ended Merrick began to struggle. He felt the curse pour over him once again. Cole and Danny tried to hold him down but he broke free from them. He ran deeper into the forest turning his back on us.
My heart and head waged war over Merrick. How could I fight him now? I knew his story. I knew that under Zen Aku there was a warrior. There was a man who risked everything and suffered a curse to defeat Master Org. Yet there was still Zen Aku. Zen Aku was willing to destroy us at any cost. He had to be stopped before he hurt or killed someone. What was I going to do? I knew I didn't have it in me to kill Merrick.
It was a sleepless night as we searched for Merrick. As I was searching my mind began to piece back together the puzzle. Merrick had seemed awkwardly familiar to me. As I had listened to him I had a strange sense of safety. It came to me as the moonlight once again illuminated the forest.
It had been the sound of his voice. Where had I heard that voice before? The way he spoke as if he was weighing out his every word was familiar as well.
My mind began to speed faster and faster. It raced between memories and the dream.
Gentle hands wrapped the bandages around me. I could feel the hands move carefully as not to hurt me. I was unconscious but I still was aware of a comforting presence. For the first time in a long time I felt safe.
I had never known who had bandaged me. I had been alone in the forest Zen Aku claimed as his own. Had Merrick been the one to help me? The same feeling of safety had radiated off of him in the camp. His presence like his voice had been comforting.
"Won't you stay?" I pleaded.
"I'm more of a lone wolf," he answered as he turned.
"Wait!" I called at him.
He turned around to look at me. I still could not see his face but I knew that his eyes met mine. "Will I see you again?"
"At lunar eclipse," he answered before walking to the forest.
The voice was the same. He was the same man from the dream. I continued to search the moonlight pouring around me.
What did it all mean?
To be continued…..