112

 

112.  Enemies Closer

 

Frank Arazia sat cross-legged in his simple black swivel chair in his simple white office. Well, it wasn't really his office. This office, like many other things in the Zexaron HQ, had once belonged to a man named Grayson Lee. And now that Frank thought about it, they probably still did. The thing was, Grayson himself was nowhere to be found.

 

It felt like the world had changed overnight. In the time he had been gone, the entire Zexaron Corporation had been restructured, and was now planning to release a product called the "Greymatter" to the general public. On top of that, Edward Darcouver was their new headliner.

 

After catching himself up on all the news he'd missed, Frank guessed that Grayson had traveled to the new branch office in Houston in order to get Ed set up there. He probably had also intended to starve Frank for a few days until he returned later to check on the results.

 

Midst of all the chaos, there had been one gleaming ray of light. Frank's wife once again had no idea where he was, but he at least knew that they were safe. Aside from the few co-workers who had seen him this afternoon, no one else knew that Frank was free.

 

In Frank Arazia's heart, hatred and rage burned. Of course, it was all directed solely at one man: Grayson Lee, Vice President of the Zexaron Corporation. There would be no forgiveness, not under any circumstances. His memories of torture, sadness, and despair prevented Frank from giving up on that.

 

He didn't want to give up Ed, either. There was also the possibility that the Edward that had been appearing on TV was actually Madeleine, the sadistic little shapeshifter who had been an accomplice to Grayson's madness.

 

But if that's the case, then where's the real Ed?

 

The fact that Ed might be dead crossed Frank's mind. But if Grayson had wanted to kill Ed, he would have done so much earlier, and probably in front of Frank just to heighten the cruelty.

 

No, Ed is definitely alive. That's the problem here...

 

Within Grayson's office, Frank had found another oddity: a new blinding white portal within the hidden room that Edward had once ransacked. Grayson had apparently changed the lock to the forbidden door on the far side of his office, but no lock would ever stand in Frank's way again, thanks to his new ability. The portal he found within was of a different size than the one Frank and Edward had used to reach Enmetropolis, so Frank suspected it led to a different place.

 

Frank had only begun to think about where it might lead when someone came walking right out of it. Slowly, dark permed hair appeared through the portal, and soon Frank saw what looked like an Asian man with thick sideburns, clad in a sharp black suit and a thin black tie.

 

He also had a yellow-sheathed katana strapped to his waist.

 

This feeling... Frank could sense a violent, copper-colored glow rising from the man's body. It's psynergy.

 

Frank's visitor scanned the room, then started to walk out of it.

 

"H-hey!" Frank called out. "Who the hell are you?"

 

The suited man spun around on his heels. "I am Saito Hajime."

 

"Saito?" Frank racked his mind. "Well I'm Frank Arazia, and I've never heard of you before."

 

Saito was silent for a moment. "I've come to deliver the monthly report on the Greymatters."

 

The word registered with Frank, so he chose his next move carefully. "Shouldn't you be going to the Houston office for that?"

 

Saito cocked his head. "I was ordered to deliver the reports to Grayson Lee's office – in other words, this room. Why do you not know this?"

 

Frank narrowed his eyes. "Actually there's been a little hold-up on our side. You know, because we just started releasing the product here."

 

"You mean the standard Greymatters." Saito shook his head. "Those aren't the ones we've been using."

 

"Yeah, well anyway..." Frank stammered. "Grayson went to the Houston HQ to help our new president, Edward Darcouver, get situated. Maybe you'd better just call him?"

 

Saito immediately pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and began to dial. As he did so, Frank concentrated carefully on the device, and in a flash, it appeared on his desk.

 

"Is this some kind of joke?" Saito's countenance faltered as he moved to retrieve his phone. "Or are you merely enjoying the benefits of your new Greymatter?"

 

Frank said nothing. His eyes were frozen on the phone as he desperately tried to burn the flashing numbers into his mind.

 

"I'm in a hurry," Saito said, lifting the phone to his ear. "Hello, this is Saito Hajime. I've come to the Bakersfield HQ to deliver the monthly Greymatter report, but was told to phone you first." A look of confusion crossed Saito's face, and he lowered the phone. "He says he never gave such an order."

 

"Oh, really?" Frank's eyes gleamed, and he outstretched his hand. "Here, why don't you let me talk to him? I'm sure we can

 

*************

 

do this," Winslow heaved, as sweat and blood dripped down his body. "We got a hit on him, Bruce!"

 

At the bottom of a cliff, Averyl stood with his cloak in tatters. Bruce's body was covered in slashes, but flames still blazed around his body. Once Wendy had gotten Vance out of the way, it had taken little time for Averyl to catch Winslow when he attempted to escape while still holding off Bruce's fiery onslaught.

 

From that point on, it had been simple. Averyl refused to let Winslow leave, while Bruce refused to leave Averyl alone. Out of necessity and fear, Winslow decided to team up with Bruce, assuming that the two of them together could stun the man long enough to make a break for it. But this proved to be a more challenging task than he'd imagined. Bruce was acting as the shield, while Winslow had acted as the sharpshooter. There was no way for either of them to overpower Averyl, but Bruce's brawn and experience allowed him to withstand the man's cruel assaults.

 

Averyl was a mastermind of war. He read their every move and anticipated every attack. No matter which angle they came from, no matter how much they planned in advance, it always seemed like Averyl was one step ahead. After every failed effort, he was always there standing tall, looking down on Winslow and Bruce with arched eyebrows and confident eyes.

 

But there was one thing that Averyl did not foresee: the fruit of Winslow and Bruce's combined efforts. Together, they had caused the metapsynergy master to falter, if only for a second, but that was more than enough time. After combining their psynergy, Winslow and Bruce had discovered a new weapon that had taken Averyl completely by surprise. This filled Winslow with hope. For the first time in a long time, he was finally able to look inside and analyze himself again, and it was fulfilling. It stimulated the young man's gifted mind, and temporarily suspended his demons of inferiority.

 

Keeping his eyes on Averyl's movements, Winslow concentrated his electromagnetic field and expanded it, making sure to intertwine his psynergy with Bruce's as much as possible. As he made contact with Bruce's orange aura, Winslow could feel the fire enter his body, overpowering him with heat. Then, he sensed the ions colliding in the atmosphere, responding to the magnetic field.

 

From the air above Bruce and Winslow, balls of atmospheric matter exploded outwards, crackling through space as they materialized. Not wanting to miss this moment, Averyl stood still and fortified himself with a sphere of knives pointing outwards.

 

The minute the plasma filaments collided with Averyl's psynergy, its protons and neutrons were instantly ionized. All surrounding energy was dissipated by the new matter, leaving Averyl completely defenseless against the remaining orbs.

 

Winslow watched his masterpiece in excitement. It's working. By heating up and ionizing the particles within my electromagnetic field, I can transform them into plasma: the fourth state of matter. Combine that with my psynergy, and...

 

The final ionized blobs of energy slammed into Averyl, obliterating his knives and knocking the once invincible man against the sharp crags behind him. Winslow continued to pump out more psynergy, giving birth to more filament orbs and clusters.

 

"Now!" Winslow shouted.

 

Body ablaze, Bruce dodged around the psynergy-charged plasma and prepared to give Averyl one hit he wouldn't forget.

 

It was then that a hole in the sky opened over Averyl's head and spit out a black shadow. He moved with unparalleled speed, came down hard on Bruce and punted the 230-pound man across the ground like a soccer ball.

 

Vance locked irisless eyes with his uncle. "Averyl!"

 

"Vance..." Averyl straightened himself up with a smile. "You look different. Have you lost weight?"

 

"Vance!" Winslow threw his hands up in frustration. "What are you interrupting us for?!"

 

"Nice to see you too," Vance muttered. "Averyl's mine now, so go take a hike!"

 

"The hell we will!" Bruce came charging back. "You know how long we've been working on him?"

 

An impish grin slid onto Averyl's face, and in a flash, he leapt up to a ledge above the three.

 

"Dammit, Averyl!" Vance shouted. "You'd better not run away again!"

 

"Me... run?" Averyl raised an eyebrow. "I would never conceive of such a thing. I'm merely waiting for you to come join me, Vance."

 

"Fine..." Vance glared at Bruce and Winslow. "Just give me a minute."

 

Averyl's shrill laughter echoed down through the canyon as Vance rocketed himself toward Bruce and Winslow.

 

"C'mon." Vance held out a pulsating arm. "I'm in a hurry here."

 

Winslow hurried to create another electromagnetic field. "Keep him still, Bruce!"

 

Bruce's hulking mass blocked out the setting sun as his body arched into the sky. Before he could even lunge at Vance, a glowing purple fist materialized over his head and took him completely by surprise. Vance's punch connected with Bruce's head, and he went sailing downwards into the dirt.

 

Winslow's jaw dropped just as Vance hopped through another portal and cleared the distance between them. Another fist connected with Winslow's stomach, and Vance tossed him over to Bruce before he could make any kind of counterattack.

 

As the two struggled to pick themselves up, Vance pointed a finger outwards and focused his psynergy onto a single point.

 

"Now..." Cracks rippled through space as Vance released his ray. "Take a hike."

 

The beam sliced into the rock just centimeters in front of Winslow and Bruce, cleaving the plateau in two. A landslide ensued, flattening trees under a deluge of stone.

 

Without another moment of hesitation, Vance shot up to the peak of the hill. On the edge of the crag, sitting cross-legged over the mountains and trees, was Averyl.

 

"I would compliment you, Vance." Averyl winked. "But I always knew you had it in you."

 

Vance frowned. "Just needed a lot of pain and torture to pull it out, huh?"

 

"Desperate times call for desperate measures..."

 

A thousand questions assaulted Vance's mind all at once. There was so much pent-up inside, so many things he wanted to say, but a new sense of self-control kept him calm. "I want answers, Averyl."

 

"Hmmm." Averyl raised an eyebrow. "Elaborate."

 

"I'm thankful for some things you've done for me," Vance said. "Emphasis on some."

 

"Some?" Averyl couldn't help but let loose a sinister smile.

 

"There are some other things that I'm not so sure about."

 

"Well then." Averyl pulled two Yamato pears from a pocket and tossed one to his nephew. "Let us hear about these 'other things' you speak of while we eat. You're hungry, aren't you?"

 

Vance caught the pear and devoured it. "I understand now. You left Eden up to me. You trusted in me, gave me freedom...and I failed."

 

 "Eden's gone, Vance," Averyl said. "I scanned the cave after you disappeared. I also noticed an Apostle drop in during all the fighting."

 

"An...Apostle?" Vance murmured.

 

"A servant of God," Averyl spoke slowly. "They've taken his daughter to go meet him."

"Wh-what does that mean?" Vance stammered. "Where are they? Isn't there anything we can do?!"

 

"We aren't of God," Averyl went on. "And Eden is now closer to him than we could ever get. Far beyond you, and far beyond me."

"No..." Vance shook his head. "I want to help her...I have to..."

"You don't have to do anything," Averyl said coldly. "Just like I trusted in you, Vance, you need to trust in her. She has her own destiny...she must find her own path."

 

Images of Victoria, Eden, Averyl and Wendy swirled in his mind. Suddenly it all made sense. And in the center of that vortex was Grayson. toiling the memories into an agonizing pool. Vance trembled.

 

"If you don't want to save Eden," Vance insisted. "You're my enemy."

 

Averyl threw his head up toward the sky and let out a deep, hearty laugh. It was the first time Vance had ever seen his uncle filled with such glee, and his voice sounded much happier than usual.

 

"I'm serious," Vance replied. "What's so funny?"

 

"Oh, nothing..." Averyl refocused his slender black pupils on his nephew. "It's just... what you said sounds so much like what I once said to the man who trained me..."

 

Vance's cold glare faltered for a minute, and Averyl held up his right arm. Out from the top of it slid out a TV screen encased by a scorched, rusting frame. Gradually, static began to scatter, and two figures facing each other came into view.

 

One was a towering man dressed in a dark blue cloak with purple fringes and golden buttons. He had a wild, black mane of hair, coupled with a thick mustache and goatee that accented his chiseled face. Under bushy eyebrows, two stone-cold, irisless eyes glowed.

 

The second figure was on the ground, propped up on his elbows and staring up at the cloaked man with disdain. Inky hair dropped down to his shoulders, contrasting with his pale skin. The dark tunic protecting his lithe body was ripped and torn in numerous places. With a sharp chin and a thin nose, this young version of Averyl looked shockingly similar to Vance.

 

"Why?" The young Averyl shook his head in grief. "Why would you let her go off like that, without even telling me?!"

 

The older man folded scarred hands in silence.

 

"She's your daughter!" Averyl screamed, rising back to his feet. "I thought we Albavitreans had to look out for one another!"

 

"Do not make me repeat myself." The man's voice was like a cannon. "I told you that you may pursue her, but only if you get past me."

 

"But I want to know why!" Averyl sobbed. "Why did you have to send her away?!"

 

"Victoria's presence makes you weak. Come now, Averyl, how do you expect to grow stronger if she's always here to pick you up when you fall?"

 

Two ivory knives slipped out from Averyl's palms. "Victoria makes me stronger!"

 

"Is that the only thing you can materialize?" The man asked calmly, immune to his son's emotions. "This may take years..."

 

In frustration, Averyl launched the two puny weapons at his father. In response, the man quickly raised his palm and materialized a pentagram in the air, immolating the knives with fuschia psynergy.

 

"Anyone who tries to keep my sister and I apart will die..." Averyl spoke with cold eyes, as he slipped more knives out from his body. "That includes you, father..."

 

A torrent of violet psynergy blotted out the TV screen, and Averyl's arm returned back to normal. Moments of silence passed.

 

Vance raised an eyebrow. "Did you beat him?"

 

"Malachai, last of the Albavitrean Lords?" Averyl replied. "What do you think?"

 

"Where is he now?" Vance asked. "Why didn't he do anything to save my mom? Why isn't he helping us?"

 

"He's gone..." Averyl answered slowly, looking deep into Vance's eyes as he did so. "Years ago, he and his comrades got into a little scuffle with the Church, and he was never seen again."

 

Vance furrowed his eyebrows. "Just like mom?"

 

Averyl frowned. "I have no idea what happened to him."

 

"And my grandmother?"

"Suffered the same fate."

 

"The Church kill them all?" Vance shook his head. "And Eden's with them now. Okay, fine, I get it, but before anything else, I need to know if you're on my side or not, Averyl."

 

A thoughtful look crossed the phantom's face, and Vance watched it closely. Compared to the youthful qualities that the young Averyl had possessed, his current face seemed eons older.

 

After a minute of deliberation, Averyl had only this to say. "What are your goals?"

 

Vance's answered instantly. "To find mom, stop Grayson Lee, and, and..."

 

Averyl's eyes lit up. "What? There's more?"

 

Protect Eden. It was on the tip of Vance's tongue. But suddenly, it felt wrong. He felt he had to trust her, just like Averyl said...but it was more than that. I failed her. Who am I kidding?

 

"If those are your only two goals, then I suppose I'm on your side." Averyl held out a hand. "Shall we shake on it?"

 

"Hold on a second!" Vance raised a hand. "I know there's something you're still keeping from me, Averyl...I just can't put my finger on it. Now tell me the truth!"

 

Averyl's blank expression crumbled to one of sadness, and then pity. "If you stay with Eden, Vance, she will kill you."

 

"What?!"

 

"She is your enemy," Averyl whispered, "the enemy of all unholy creatures, a divine weapon, created to rid this world of chaos. And once she realizes this, Vance, you and I will be first on her death list."

Next: Masters of Insanity