Chap 123: You Again

Several more unruly memories reminded her of the strange feeling of being watched. She began to make out a blue blur in most of her recollections. It was a guard, standing still behind her, who always walked off whenever she turned her head that way. The fact that she didn’t shiver reminded her she was still in a dream. But who—or what—was it?

Devast?

The thought of being the only person in Tetra’s will brought back memories of their time together. Experiment subject or not, Tetra had shown her kindness that never wavered. She knew what Tee was, yet never hesitated to get close. What she gave Tee could not compare to anyone—especially not some boy.

Jack entered through the doorway, followed closely by the man dressed in full black. His black-filled eyes were mostly hidden beneath his silver bob of hair. Thick black boots peeked from the slit in his long coat with each step forward. He leaned against the doorpost, eyes locked on her younger self.

Sade. And Jack, like everyone else, never noticed him.

Tee watched herself try on several turtleneck shirts that matched her black skirt. The last one was fully black, and she spun on the heels of her boots so Jack could see it better.

“See, they all match,” she grinned.

Jack leaned against her room door, looking up from his phone. “Yeah, they do,” he said. “Black is your favorite color, so that’s no surprise.”

Tee smiled and looked down to take one boot off. “Wait till you see the new boots I got. I only got one pair since I won’t really get to wear them much in the Mid-Guard…”

Jack made a soft sound to signal he heard her, but his eyes stayed buried in his phone.

“I got transferred to your Mid-Guard, but you haven’t said anything about it. Aren’t you happy?” she asked, looking up for a response.

“Look, I should go now.”

“No, wait—”

He left. The thud of her dropped boot reached her ears before she even realized it had fallen. She pursed her lips, turned to the mirror, and hung her head. Her shoulder-length hair fell over her face as she rubbed the gem on her shirt with trembling hands.

Tee shook her head. Why did she bother with him?

Her younger self looked back into the mirror. But black filled where her eyes should be, peeking from behind the white strands of her hair.

Tee forced herself to ignore the abnormality and focus on the memory. She had known Sade before her other Sentinel comrades, and something about that didn’t feel right.

“You again,” young Tee said, not looking up to see the man’s face.

The man chuckled but didn’t say a word. Tee knew he was mocking her because of what Jack had done. She packed her boots away with force, as if she didn’t care about ruining them. When she turned around, the man was too close.

Tee remembered that memory, but unlike before, her chest didn’t tighten, reminding her she was in a dream. What came next was just staring—until everything began to turn black.

Tee blinked to the tiled wall of her Primus bathroom. Her chest rose and fell before her loud gasps and pounding heartbeat settled in her ears. She looked around at the tiled ceiling and the jacuzzi to one side of the bathroom.

The sweet smell of lavender in the air pierced through her mind, meaning she was no longer dreaming. She pushed her hands into the smooth tile to stand, but her numb legs refused to cooperate. She stamped her feet several times to get the blood flowing again.

What a creepy dream. She opened the bathroom door, and the time on her digital lock caught her eye. She remembered the hamburgers and the pool party. Crap!

She wrapped herself in a towel and dashed downstairs.

“Somebody took a nap,” Kie said the moment she stepped onto the patio.

It was night, and the large moon provided the most light along with the pool. The lounge chairs were repositioned closer to surround one of the round tables with the umbrella. Burgers and other food were already being eaten.

“Sorry,” she said, grabbing a seat beside him. “The water made me sleepy, and I took a short nap. How long was I out for?”

Kie handed her a burger. “Just thirty minutes.”

“You missed helping us make the burgers. You’re very smart,” Zod commented.

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Tee said, taking a bite.

“Right,” Zod added.

Miko chuckled.

Saeda remained like a statue, staring at the pool.

“Alpha team, suit up,” came the Commander’s voice from a hologram.

The voice made them freeze, and they turned to face the hologram. The uneasy feeling of being watched vanished as the green vortex expanded. They dashed through it in their swimwear.

Once suited up, Tee and her teammates arrived at the mission base. Soon, they were in a darker place. With their backs turned to each other, they kept sight in every direction. Yet, none of them made a sound to reveal the Harbingers’ location. They lowered their swords and focused on the source of the bright light.

The land beneath them stretched left and right before curving inward on a massive scale, forming a giant ring. The light shone like a distant star in the center.

They turned their backs to the light and looked toward the edge of the land, miles away. Darkness stretched above and below, endless. Apart from the main light, other lights dotted the space—irregular orange glows. The distant ones looked like tiny specks.

“Why do I have a feeling those are spills of lava?” Zod asked. He ran close to one and felt the air. “Yup. It’s giving off heat. Definitely want to avoid those.”

“And I’m guessing the light is the fragment?” Saeda asked.

“Did your aura sensing tell you that?”

“No,” she snapped.

Kie dismissed one sword and held the other in an akimbo, glaring at the endless space between them and the light. “We’re not here for the fragment. We’re here to eliminate the Harbingers. So, where are they?”

Tee moved her foreseeing vision toward the light but was blinded by its brightness. She kept her eyes shut until the circles stopped expanding.

“Look!” Miko yelled.

They all turned toward the dark red glowing circle above the land to their right. It zipped toward the light and beyond the land but slowed as it approached. When it stopped, it expanded massively. Four dark silhouettes leapt out, making the five guardians widen their eyes. The Harbingers had arrived.

The five Sentinels gripped their swords tighter.

A growl filled Tee’s head as she locked her sight on the four beings she needed to kill. She braced for whatever pain it would take to bring a head back.

The four red glowing eyes on the smallest silhouette belonged to Riven. Its bird form vanished as its body morphed into black smoke. The largest silhouette, Legion, and the smaller Lilith also transformed into similar smoky forms.

However, the sorcerer remained in his close-fitting black dress over his human form. He hovered several feet from the shrinking vortex, moving his hands quickly. Five glowing rings expanded around him, and his trapped monsters leaped out.

The beaming light only revealed the monsters’ long silhouettes and two large wings. Sade levitated across the space toward the closer one, aiming to get onto its back. He enclosed himself and his black-smoke members in a bubble, and together they flew toward the light source. As they began shrinking to specks, the five guardians felt deep concern flood their minds.

“No way,” Zod gasped, pointing his sword toward the beaming light. “How were those monsters moving without flapping their wings?”

“Forget that,” Saeda blurted. “Why weren’t the Harbingers already here? That’s some major drop in performance.”

Tee yelled, “Hey Harbingers!” Her teammates flinched as her shout slammed into their ears. “Where the hell are you idiots going? We’re right here!” She threw a sword that spun through the air and beyond the land.

The sword didn’t reach the Harbingers. It slowed until it hovered in one spot. Worse, the Harbingers never looked back and continued shrinking toward the light. That stab to Tee’s self-esteem would have been brutal if she weren’t used to Jack’s burns. But why were they ignoring her? She knew her voice was loud—they must have heard her.

When Kie’s hearing in his left ear returned, he ordered, “Let’s move.”

His teammates followed, evading the floating lava spills to reach the edge of the land. The stronger light forced them to squint, and looking down into the endless drop below made their eyes widen.

Zod dismissed both swords and held his fists forward. “Guys, get back. I’ll blast Sade since he’s the only one in tangible form. That should set off the defense—then game time.”

Only Miko stepped back. Blue energy balls shot from both his fists, traveling yards before his brows sank over his eyes. The balls didn’t reach the Harbingers. 

“So close,” he sighed.

What a blatant lie. Tee shook her head.

Miko frowned at the depressing sight. “Is this how the mission’s going to end? We’re just going to watch helplessly as the Harbingers get the fragment? What if it has the Omega Stone? That’s the end.”

Saeda dismissed one sword, using her hand to shield her eyes from the light. “If we can’t disturb Sade and his Sealed Bond breaking, he’s going to get the fragment. This place will collapse like it does during a reset—before it gets erased.”

“We can’t wait that long,” Kie said. “Breaking the fragment’s defense takes time, and that’s time we can’t waste.”

Zod stopped straining his eyes to track Tee’s distant sword. “If Tee’s sword and my energy balls can hover like that, beyond this land has to be a non-gravity field.”

“You mean… like outer space?” Miko blurted, freezing as her eyes darted left and right. “Wait, then how are we breathing?”

“Sorcery,” Saeda sighed.

“Forget that,” Zod said. “Enter that space, and the only movement we’ll make is with our eyeballs. With nothing to push off, we’ll float aimlessly like Tee’s sword. It’s like Newton’s law of—wow!”

The loud pow from Kie’s hands made everyone step back. Their eyes followed the bursting blue flames racing down to the tips of his swords. Veins bulged at his neck, and his eyes glowed as they remained locked on the distant Harbingers.

“Dude!” Zod exclaimed. “How are you doing that?” He moved closer to Kie’s sword, the light shimmering in his eyes. “Tell me the secret. Maybe all my blasts just need some juice to reach.”

“Easy. I just think about my pathetic father and—” Kie shut his mouth.

Those words hit Tee like a flood after a month of dehydration. Finally, the mysterious, aloof Kie wasn’t some alien-born prodigy. Whoever his dad was, he clearly had something against him. She needed to ask him about it later.

Kie couldn’t engulf his whole body in Ultramana, so his swords had to do the work. He spun on one foot to build momentum, thrusting wind like a tornado. The gusts whipped the hair of everyone around, forcing them back. One after another, he threw the Ultramana-engulfed swords, spinning like razor discs toward the light. In a heartbeat, their blue shimmer vanished.

The Harbingers had disappeared, hidden by distance and the beaming light. After five minutes of waiting, Kie concluded the swords hadn’t reached them. He placed both hands on his hips in an akimbo stance, glaring at the vast space ahead. The low growl that rumbled from him was either deep thought or raw rage.

Saeda—and Miko, to a lesser extent—could also make their swords glow by channeling energy. But throwing a sword with the intent to reach the Harbingers seemed pointless, especially after Kie’s attempt.

Zod thought of his father and the dreadful prospect of failing to become the lawyer he wanted to be. That rage fueled two powerful energy blasts, but without a visual on the Harbingers, the blasts vanished into the void. He slumped his shoulders.

“Why couldn’t I fly?” he groaned.

“Who says you can’t?” Saeda asked, her gaze fixed ahead. “With the will to do the impossible, you can do anything. Just jump.”

Her calm, unenthusiastic tone carried a weight that struck him. He closed his eyes, thinking deeply. He could already make energy blasts at will, had super strength, and could heal from anything.

His leg muscles tensed with determination. He opened his eyes and pushed off the ground with a tremor that cracked the earth beneath. His teammates held their ground, eyes locked on him as he soared forward.

Zod’s eyes widened at the incoming lava spill. He shrieked and summoned a sword to block it, but the molten flow burned through the blade, splitting it in half. He tilted his head to dodge the burning residue. When the tip of the sword passed his face, he gasped and squinted—but it wasn’t the light ahead causing the strain.

He released the sword and clutched his neck with both hands. His chest tightened, and he gasped for air, but none came. Panic surged through him as heat exploded in his lungs. His vision blurred, and his eyes threatened to roll back, until he realized he was suffocating. His hands moved instinctively, firing energy beams from his palms. The continuous blast pushed him backward along the path he had soared.

To his comrades, Zod’s body vanished into the distance, until a blue beam appeared. The light split into two distinct orbs and flared brighter at an alarming rate. Tee tried to foresee what was coming but blinked out of focus at the sight. She dashed aside and yelled,

“Get out of the way!”

The others leapt aside as the fast-moving object zipped past them. The deafening zoom blew their hair back. When their feet hit the ground, they stamped harder to steady themselves against the tremor from the crash.

Miko was the first to dash toward the impact site. The sound of heavy coughing hit her ears. She squinted through the dust cloud and saw the black of Zod’s shirt peeking out.

She knelt near him and fanned the dust from her face. “Zod, are you alright?”

Zod pushed himself up from the bottom of the long trench, coughing, head bowed. When he looked up, his bloodshot eyes terrified Miko. She shrieked and stepped back.

Tee, Kie, and Saeda reached him as the air cleared. He sat there, patting his chest as if giving himself CPR.

“What was that?” Saeda asked. “That was not flying.”

“We’ve… got a problem,” Zod coughed out. “There’s no oxygen out there.”

A heavy silence fell as everyone stared at the ground.

Zod rose to his feet, standing stiffly like a pole beside his teammates. “What do we do now?”

Kie turned and began walking back the way they had come. Miko matched the pace, following her teammates to the edge of the land.

“Why couldn’t it be water that separated us?” Miko muttered, staring down into the endless void. “If it were, I could run to the fragment.”

Her gaze lingered on the light until tears welled in her eyes. The intense focus reminded her of the dark waters she had stared into, hoping to find Tee before teleporting there. She had once believed that staring hard enough would make her teleport.

But would she be able to breathe wherever she teleported? And what if the Harbingers took advantage of her being alone? Worse, being that far from her teammates, they wouldn’t be able to teleport.

The touch on Miko’s shoulder snapped her out of her trance. She blinked and turned to her right to see Zod withdrawing his hand.

“Miko, are you alright?” he asked.

“Huh?” Miko said, blinking. She turned fully to face him. “Yes, Zod. Why?”

Zod’s green-hazel eyes darted to the side, and he scratched his head. “Oh… I-It’s nothing—”

“Nothing?” Saeda cut in, looking up from the timer on her telecom. “Miko, you’ve been standing there like a statue for the past forty-five minutes. You call that nothing?”

Miko’s eyes widened, and she turned to see Saeda, Tee, and Kie seated on the ground sitting.

Tee stretched out her legs and knitted her brows at Miko. “Wait… Do you mean to tell me you weren’t in some spirit form battling the Harbingers this whole time?”

Miko blinked, lost for words. Tee huffed and turned her head away. “Man, the Commander is going to yell at us.” She stretched her legs farther and leaned back on her palms. “I’m so glad I’m not the team leader.”

Kie kept his gaze on his folded legs, his black bangs shadowing his eyes. He said nothing.

“Forty-five minutes?” Miko gasped, furrows deepening on her forehead. Her lips trembled as the troubling reality sank in. “How is that possible?”

A strong tremor swept across the land, making Saeda, Tee, and Kie spring to their feet.

“What was that?” Tee blurted, summoning two swords.

No one answered. Their ears twitched at the deep boom resonating across the endless vacuum, a warning that something was about to happen.