Chapter 23: Silver Reflection

Ella was now beginning to panic inside slightly even though her face never showed it at all. Her eye was focused and determined as ever, but she was beginning to run out of breath from throwing such a heavy weapon with but a single arm, and its stamina was depleting rather quickly. She also realized that it was possible that he still had some explosives in his arsenal, so she continued to listen for any sign of them, hoping not to have her other arm blown off. Ever so vigilant, she listened and used her good eye to watch for her foe. Just watching her, I felt a sense of peace and calm from this terrible scene. Suddenly, she sharply turned around and launched her giant blade toward the top of the building where the blade reached just as the head of a man poked out from hiding. The shuriken continued on as the head jumped literally off of the shoulders of its owner. The four pointed star circled around and came back just as a small explosion erupted from the location of the body. Ella reached up and snagged the giant blade once more and then collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily and her shoulder and hand now throbbing from the use of the weapon. She struggled slightly to stand back up but she eventually made it to our location and collapsed once again. "I'm sorry sensei, but," She took in a few deep breaths before finishing off her sentence, "This thing is damn heavy and I've never had to throw it so much before." "You know how I feel about that language, young lady." Selina scolded her. "Sorry, 'this thing is darn heavy'." Ella corrected herself. "I hate to break up the 'student/teacher' scenario, but we're not in the clear yet." Eric argued. "From Ella told me, there are still at least four other assassins out there plus an entire army led by the guy that killed our dad." "That's right. Maximus." Ella whispered mostly to herself.

She remembered her brother's story that described how he retrieved his scar when she heard a gruff voice behind her speak, "You father died of his foolishness. But yes, you could say that I was responsible for the attack that ended his life." Eric began to become furious at the mere sound of the voice that addressed us. Eric then burst out of his hiding place and faced the voice's owner. There behind Ella and in front of Eric stood a man in a white military uniform, decorated with many tassels and shoulder sashes. In his right hand, he aimed a saber to our group, deliberately pointing it at me. And on his left hip, he wore a six shot revolver of some kind. He stood fifteen feet from us but still was too close to us for my comfort. He stood perfectly still with his right arm standing out to aim his sword to me. He looked like he stood around five and a half feet tall and hand a medium to heavy build with broad shoulders. His skin was tanned dark and his hair was nearly a silvery color. Upon his head stood a white military cap that was decorated with a pin in the shape of an eagle that had its wings stretched past its head and looking upward positioned in the middle of the cap above the brim. His face was aged and his stare was as stone. His moustache began under his nose and followed his upper lip until it jetted straight downward to the end of his chin. "You are truly amazing as the stories say." He then said in his worn out, gruff voice. "You will not harm her ever, Landwall!" Eric shouted in rage from the memories of his youth. "Oh Eric, you are a fool like your father..." Maximus began until Eric interrupted him, "You have no right to talk about my father, you murderer. He trusted you. You were supposed to be friends" Eric's raised his voice louder and louder as he spoke, his rage beginning to boil over. "Boy, I will kill you where you stand if..." Again he was cut off, but not by anything Eric could say, but by what I did that scared him. I got up from my perch and ran in front of Eric, positioning myself in between Maximus' sword and the boy. Eric stood there in shock while Maximus stood there intrigued. "Stop please." I choked beginning to cry. "I don't understand this at all. I just don't understand!"

I stood my ground, afraid that he would simply run me through with his sword and be done with it. Instead he simply stood where he was, but he felt his arm begin to shake and shiver somewhat unnoticed by the untrained eye. "Why do you have to kill your own people?" I asked him. "He stood hesitant for a second and then answered, because they are my evil enemy." "Who, these innocent people that did nothing against you but live out of your city to escape the cruelty? How are they an enemy? They aren't trained for war. They just wanted to live their lives in peace. How does that merit an enemy?" His arm began shivering slightly more violently now. His breathing even became heavier simply from my words. "I just don't understand. All you do is destroy homes and families. And you think that this isn't evil? Look at them. How many are fighting back?" Without saying anything, Maximus looked around at the battlefield, gazing at the many citizens that simply fled from the field and were shot by a close soldier, never striking back and simply dying with no struggle. He turned his head to witness his assassins slaughtering innocent children trying to run from their perceived bad guy, mothers holding their dead children in their arms and being killed while grieving, fathers and brothers begging for their lives and being executed anyway.

"Oh, God. What have we become?" He asked himself finally dropping his sword and letting his whole body shiver as he fell to his knees. He then lifted his head to look back into my eyes and whispered, "It is said that a gummi bear has the capability to change the hearts of men with naught but words." He then spoke directly to me, "You have a good heart little one. I'm sorry to have shown you such evil. Don't you dare let your spirit become corrupted. Not as mine." He then pulled the revolver out of its holster and turned the gun backward to aim the barrel at his own chest. "I am sorry." He whispered again before pulling the trigger and piercing his own heart with the bullet. I instinctively covered my mouth with my paws to keep my screams down as I witnessed the blood splatter out of the back of his uniform and his lifeless body then collapse to the ground, never to rise again.

Eric grabbed me in his arms to attempt to comfort me from my recent experience when a soldier came up to our group, aiming his gun at Eric and me. He stood there, hesitant for a while turning his visor from the body of his commander to his targets. He then relaxed and motioned for us to escape.