Chronicles of the Warriors

The Chronicles of Tyfoon the Chosen One

Prologue

The universe was in chaos. The Council, who was the number one authority of the universe, could no longer keep peace and order in the universe. Evil had become too much and too powerful for them to control. Cyrax Tyfoon, who was The Chosen One, was also unable to control it. The Chosen One was a person appointed by the Council to watch over the Universe and try to limit the amount of evil that came about, even if that meant putting some people down. The Chosen One was the second highest authority in the universe.

Cyrax was one of the most powerful beings in the universe, but the evil had overwhelmed him. Any evil person knew that by themselves they could not take down Cyrax. But a group of the strongest villains in the universe had come together to defeat him. They had also gone to Cyrax’s home world to kill Cyrax’s pregnant wife, Rose, and his daughter, who was seven. Cyrax had lured as many villians as he could away from his home world into space. Rose and her daughter had taken to the woods to avoid the people trying to kill them. Minutes before the villains got to Rose and her daughter, Rose gave birth to a son. She left her baby with her daughter, and went to distract the people trying to kill her, so the baby and her daughter could get away. Rose was killed, and through the confusion of everything, the baby and daughter were separated. Tyfoonica, the Tyfoon family’s personal trainer, found the baby and escaped with him.

Cyrax held out against the fighters as long as he could, but he couldn’t hold out long enough. A sorcerer with the group of villains banished Cyrax to a different dimension, never to escape.

To ensure the protection and development of the baby, the Council created a dimension devoted completely to Tyfoonica and the baby. Tyfoonica felt he had no right to name the baby, so he gave him no first name. He gave the baby only his family name: Tyfoon. Tyfoon’s sister was never found. It was assumed by Tyfoonica that she died like her mother.

Chapter 1

I closed my eyes. I had to focus, to erase all other thought from my mind. I had to become like a crystal: clear and pure. All impurities out of my mind. I had to ignore everything around me. I could feel the past….the present….and…the future. I could see myself as a baby. Forming in my mother’s womb. I could see my sister. And…my mother. She looked at me and said…she said…she said…

"Tyfoon, what are you doing in there?" Tyfoonica called from another room.

"Gosh Dang it!!! I am trying to meditate! You always tell me to focus and to meditate, and become one with myself or some crap like that, and when I finally do, you come in and disturb my concentration!!!!" I yelled at Tyfoonica, who was in the same room as me now.

"Yes, that is true. But I also tell you to ignore all of the distractions around you. You should be able to meditate in a storm. You should be able to sit in the middle of a raging war and be at complete peace. You need to remember everything I say, not just bits and pieces." Tyfoonica laughed. I sighed.

"Sorry I yelled at you. I just got frustrated."

"That’s ok. I understand. Meditating is hard. Pushing aside all of the problems you’re facing, ignoring all sounds, all of the distractions. I had a hard time getting the hang of it when I was trained. But it took me a lot longer to get as far as you are now. You have been meditating for only three years and you’ve almost got it down. It took me almost ten years. I was almost twenty when I finished my meditation training. You’ll probably finish it before you’re 15. Speaking of which, isn’t your birthday in a couple of days?" Tyfoonica looked at me as he asked that.

"Yes, it is in two days. I will be 14." I hung my head down.

"What’s wrong Tyfoon?" Tyfoonica asked with a concerned look on his face.

"When I was meditating…I saw my mom and sister."

"Oh. So that’s why you were so mad when I came in?"

"Yeah." I took a deep breath. "She started to say something, but then you came in. I don’t know if it was just my mind playing tricks on me, or if I really was remembering something she said to me. I miss them so much. And my dad too. I don’t understand though. I have had multiple memories of my mother and sister, but I never have had any about my father. Was he never around me?" I asked Tyfoonica.

"He was around you now and then, but not nearly as much as Rose and your sister. He had a big responsibility. Being the Chosen One, he had to spend the bulk of his time watching over the universe."

"I wonder sometimes." I looked up at Tyfoonica. "If those men hadn’t attacked my father, would he have even been there to see my mother give birth to me?" Tyfoonica smiled at me.

"Cyrax was a very busy person, but he loved his family more than life itself." I smiled a little. "He would have been there."

For the rest of that day, I hardly saw Tyfoonica. Most likely he was tying to get something special ready for my birthday. He always made a big deal about it. But I didn’t care about it too much. It was usually the same thing. A big cake, maybe a present or two. But I didn’t care mush for material things. Mostly my life was devoted to training. The best thing I got to do was meet with some of my friends. I didn’t have many, and only a couple of them were my own age. We would spar with each other and have a good time. The kids my age are the sons and daughters of some of the members of The Council. Troy is a member of The Council. His son, Drake, and me have been sparing since we were 3 years old. We are the same age. We were born a couple months apart; he’s the oldest. We are really good friends, but Drake is kind of a troublemaker. But he’s fun to hang out with. And he is really strong…well, for a 14 year old anyway. Every time we see each other we are about the same strength. I imagine this time it will be no different.

"Tyfoon! What’s your favorite color?" Tyfoonica asked.

"Why?" I asked. I laughed. He was making this too obvious.

"Ummm, well, never mind." He said and continued doing what he was doing.

Later that day Troy showed up along with Drake. This was yet another thing that let me know I was having a party. I went and greeted Troy and Drake.

"Hey Tyfoon, what’s goin’ on?" Drake asked me.

"Nothin’ much. What are you doing here?" I asked, even though I knew the answer.

"It’s your birthday, duh! What, did you forget or something?!" He asked, with laughter in his voice.

"No, but I figured you’d be a little more subtle about it. Tyfoonica’s trying to keep the whole birthday party thing a secret."

"Well, ya’ didn’t expect me to lie to you about it, did you? Besides, I knew you knew." Drake and Troy got settled in a spare room. It was only 12:00 in the afternoon. There was still a whole day ahead. I wondered what Drake and I were going to do.

Chapter 2

"Tyfoon, Drake!" Tyfoonica called out from another room. "Why don’t you two go out to another planet and hang out for awhile! Me and Troy have to work on a couple of things!"

"Ok!" I said. "So Drake, where do you want to go?"

"Let’s go to planet Okella. I think they’re having a fighting tournament today."

"Think they’ll have anyone that’s a challenge?" Drake laughed.

"Not likely!" We both laughed. Even though Drake and I weren’t anywhere near as powerful as Tyfoonica and Troy, we were still stronger than most other fighters in the universe.

We went to Okella and located the tournament. It seemed to be pretty large scaled, and it took a little while to convince the judges to let us participate, given our age. My first match was against a guy name Bull Dog, or something like that. I guess it is a nickname, at least I hope so. Drake’s first match was right after mine. He was against a guy named Red Man Black. We watched the people fight before us. There were a couple of pretty good fighters, but none that were on Drake and mine’s level. Then the time came for ...my match. I decided ahead not to use any energy blasts. I wanted to win strictly using my martial arts skills. My name was called and I stepped into the arena. The arena was completely flat, and pretty big. Almost everyone laughed when I entered. I guess seeing a 13 year old fighting in a top notch tournament does seem a little odd. I laughed silently, anticipating my victory. Then the announcer announced Bull Dog. Bull Dog entered and growled loudly, and the crowd roared. He was about 5’ 10, and a very stocky guy. He looked like he weighed 200+ pounds, and he was ...bald. It looked like he had had a few too many steroids. He walked up me, or I guess waddled would be a better word for it. I, a 5’5 tall kid who weighs about 130 pounds, looked kind of small next to him. But all that would make my victory much more enjoyable.

"So, ya’ little tike. Ya’ ready ta’ get the tar beaten out of ya’?" Bull Dog asked me with a grin on his face.

"Yeah, I guess." Bull Dog grunted and spat at my feet. I laughed and pushed him back. Then the announcer came on and said:

"Fight!!!" Bull Dog clenched his hands together and raised them up in the air. The screamed and brought them hammering down on me. Before they hit, I wondered what to do. I could simply dodge it, and go up behind him and hit him. Or I could hit him in the gut before his attack hits me. Or I could simply let his attack hit me. If it did hit me, it wouldn’t have done any damage, and he would be left standing there like a weak idiot, humiliated. I chose the latter. The attack came down and hit me full force. I stood there, undamaged. A surprised look came over Bull Dog’s face.

"Wh…What?" Bull Dog asked in astonishment.

"What’s the matter, Bull Dog? You attack didn’t hurt me?" I mocked him.

"I…I wasn’t trying hard. I was going easy on you!" He said, as if he had had an ...epiphany.

"That’s bull crap Bull Dog, and you know it. Do you know what happens to bad dogs who lie?" Bull Dog looked scared. "They get punished." And with that, I punched Bull Dog square in the face and he went flying. He hit the ground 20 feet away, out cold.

"AMAZING!!!!!!" The announcer exclaimed. "A one hit KO by a 13 year old!!!!" The entire crowd got up and went crazy…in a good way. They loved me. "My goodness! Well, folks, we might be in for another surprise, because our next contestant a friend of Tyfoon. He is 14 years old, and here he is!!!!!! Ladies and Gentlemen welcome Drake!!!!!!" The crowd roared and screamed for Drake. Drake entered and raised his hands. He was eaten the attention up. "And now give it up for Red Man Black, our former Champion!!!!" The crowd went absolutely insane. They loved this guy. He entered the arena and looked down at Drake, who was about 5’11. Drake was a pretty big guy, even though he was only 14. But this other guy was a freakin’ beast! He must have been over 9 feet tall! He towered over Drake. Red Man Black was a black guy, and he was built. I was interested to see what this guy was made of. "Ladies and Gents, this is a special match we are about to witness. This match is a WEAPON MATCH!!!!" The crowd screamed as RMB (Red Man Black) drew a huge sword from behind his back. Drake of course had no weapon. But he shouldn’t have needed any weapon other than his hands. "Fight!!!!" The announcer screamed.

"Prepare to die little man!!!" RMB swung at Drake with is sword. He was surprisingly fast, and Drake barely dodged. RMB kicked Drake to the ground and tried to stab him with his sword, but Drake rolled out of the way. Drake got to his feet, but RMB swung his sword at him again, this time cutting Drake’s cheek pretty good. Drake’s eyes filled with rage and Drake jumped into the air. He kicked RMB in his face and RMB staggered back. RMB swung his sword at Drake again, but Drake dodged it and caught his wrist. Drake then gripped RMB’s forearm and hit him in the back of the elbow, snapping it in half. "AHHHHHH!" RMB cried out in pain as his elbow bone came out of his arm and stuck out of his skin four or five inches. He dropped his sword and looked at his arm. Drake grabbed RMB’s arm by the elbow and RMB cried out again in pain. He then took RMB’s arm and stabbed him with his own bone in the stomach. RMB’s face went showed no emotion, and he appeared to be going into shock. Drake picked up RMB’s sword and rose it above his head. He was going to kill him.

"Drake NO!" I shouted out to him, but he ignored me. "Don’t do it!!!!!" I screamed, but he still ignored me and the gigantic sword began to come down. I sprinted out to Drake as fast as I could; I had less than a second before the sword would make contact with RMB and kill him. I got to Drake just before the sword went into RMB and rammed my shoulder into Drake, knocking him down. Drake dropped the sword, got up, and stared at me with hatred in his eyes. The crowd’s mouths hung open and they were completely silent. "Drake what are you DOING?????" I asked, almost at a yell.

"What does it look like I’m doing?" He asked sarcastically.

"Why were you going to kill him???" I waited a second for an answer, and then Drake pointed to his cheek. "What??? You were going to kill him because of THAT!? This is a fighting tournament! Expect to get hurt! It happens; get used to it, or don’t fight in them at all!!!" I yelled. I swore. "Gosh. Let’s get the heck out of here."

Chapter 3

Drake and I got home at about 9:00pm. We weren’t allowed in some of the rooms, most likely because they were decorated. We went in my room and just sat there, not talking.

After awhile of silence, I spoke up.

"Why did you do that back there, man?" I asked Drake. "You were really going to kill him!"

"I don’t know. The guys in The Council are always saying that most people in the universe are a nuisance, and that we are higher up in they are. I guys I thought I was doing them a favor."

"Just because we’re ‘better’ doesn’t mean we can just go and kill them. And by ‘better’, I don’t mean that we are better people exactly. Just that we have more influence than they do. There are many people that are better people than us." Drake hung his head down low.

"What’s the difference if one person, or even a hundred people die? Life goes on."

"Well, for one, it gives the Council a bad name. But more importantly, it’s just not right! How do you think Troy would react if he found out you were gonna’ kill that guy?" Drake didn’t answer. "I’ll tell you what he’d do: he challenge you to a practice fight and kick the crap out of you!" Drake and I laughed. "Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should." Drake laughed.

"Never thought I’d be getting a lecture about right and wrong from you." Drake stood up. How’s about a spar?" Drake pretended to punch me a couple times.

"No, that’s alright. Tyfoonica’s gonna’ get me up around 5:00am tomorrow, so I better get some shut-eye." I pushed Drake away with my foot. "You know where you’re gonna’ sleep?"

"I’ll figure it out. I probably won’t go to sleep just yet, though. I’ll probably go outta’ here and cause some ruckus. "I’ll see ya’ tomorrow." Drake turned to leave.

"Alright. Hey Drake!" Drake stopped and turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Don’t kill anybody, huh?" Drake smiled and left.

Chapter 4

I awoke the next day with a bunch of water in my face. I sprang to life to find Drake with an empty bucket in his hands, dying with laughter.

"What the heck!? I was trying to sleep!!!" I screamed.

"Yeah, I know! It makes it funny that way!" Drake tossed the bucket down. I took the soaked sheets and blankets off of my bed and tossed them in a corner in my room.

"You’re gonna’ pay for that later! I’m gonna’ kick your butt!" Drake laughed and left the room. I changed into dry clothes and looked at the clock. It was 9:00am. I was surprised that Drake was up. I expected him to have been out until about 5:00am last night. But whatever. I went out to the kitchen to have breakfast. I grabbed a bowl and poured me some cereal.

"Happy Birthday!" Tyfoonica and Troy both said in unison.

"Thanks. I see you decided to let me sleep in, huh Tyfoonica?" He laughed and nodded.

"So, 14 years old, huh?" Tyfoonica said. "Feel any different?"

"Nope. Same old, same old." I finished my bowl and put it in the sink.

"Why don’t you and Troy go outside and train a little?" Tyfoonica asked.

"Don’t you mean Drake?" He said.

"No. But he can come along too and watch."

"Ha! Do you want me to be dead before my next birthday??" Tyfoonica laughed.

"You’ll be ok. Besides, if he kills you, he knows I’ll kill him." Tyfoonica said. Troy laughed.

"Let’s go." Troy said. He walked outside, and Troy and I followed. Troy was one of the toughest fighters around. I was above average, but he was above above above above average. I wasn’t sure why Tyfoonica wanted me to fight him, but I wasn’t one to back away from a fight. "So, do you think you’re ready for this?"

"What the heck kind of question is that?!" I replied. "Of course I’m not! But that doesn’t mean I won’t do my best!" I got into my fighters stance. Troy, however, just stood there with a smirk on his face. He wanted to play. I waited to see if he would make the first move, but he wouldn’t. I focused my energy and prepared to attack. I fired three quick energy blasts at Troy. Troy simply swatted them away. I took off and ran at Troy. I jumped into the air and fired a few energy blasts at the ground all around Troy. This caused a lot of dust to get stirred up and it clouded the area around us, making it hard to see. Troy couldn’t see me, but he could sense my energy. I tried to kick him in the back, but he turned quickly, and raised his knee. I continued going forward and my stomach collided with his knee. I coughed at the impact, and Troy tossed me into the air. He waited for the precise moment, and then he jumped and did a backwards-roundhouse kick that sent me flying. I landed face first in the ground and slid a few feet. I got up and coughed up some blood. My face was scratched up from being hit into the ground. I ran up to Troy again and tried to keep up with him hand-to-hand. I got one or two hits in, but he got in many. I swung my right fist towards his face and he caught my wrist. I tried to pull back but he held firm. I tried to punch him with my other fist, but he caught fist. I struggled to get loose, but couldn’t. Troy lifted me into the air and started twirling be around in circles faster and faster until finally he let go and I went flying into a tree. The tree fell over from the impact and I laid on the ground.

"….You win…." I said wearily. Troy walked over and looked down at me. He laughed.

"Happy birthday."

Chapter 5

Tyfoonica called us in after I got whipped by Troy. When I came in there was a big birthday cake. We all had some; we laughed, and just had a good time. Something seemed to be bothering Drake the whole time, though. But I couldn’t figure out what. I asked him, but he just said it was nothing and pretended to be fine, but I wasn’t fooled. I asked Troy if he knew what was bothering him.

"He is probably just nervous." He said simply.

"Nervous?" I repeated. "Nervous about what?"

"Nervous about the big tournament that’s coming up."

"I didn’t know that there was a tournament coming up soon. I wonder why Tyfoonica didn’t enter me in."

"Anyway, this tournament is the first of many that will last for the next four years. If Drake is the winner of this chain of tournaments, then he will be granted the privilege of taking my spot in the Council."

"Holy crap. That’s a lot to put on a guy’s shoulders. No wonder he’s so nervous. You said this tournament is going to go on for four years???"

"Yeah," he said.

"That’s a long time. And he has to win every one of them?"

"Yup."

"Do you think that he can do it? That seems like a pretty difficult feat. I’m not even sure if I could do it."

"At your present level, I know you can’t." I frowned at that comment, and he laughed. "But Drake has been training for this for a long time. He is prepared. I think that if you two duel before we leave, you will get you tail kicked. He has really improved. He is a different fighter. I think that in a few years, you will be hearing about the newest member in the Council."

"Man, I had no idea. Well, I hope he does well. What happens if he doesn’t make it. He’ll have another chance, right?" Troy shook his head.

"No. It is considered a disgrace by the other members of the council to be beaten in this tournament, mainly because all of us currently in the Council had to undergo the same thing, and we were all successful." I gulped.

"On second though, I’m glad Tyfoonica didn’t enter it. So the guys in the Council can actually fight, huh? I just thought they were a bunch of old guys who got lucky enough to get on the council. Kinda like the Pope." Troy laughed.

"Well, I’m gonna’ go talk to Tyfoonica. You and Drake can say goodbye. Chances are you won’t be seeing much of Drake for the next four years." After that, Troy left to talk to Tyfoonica and Drake and me came in to say our goodbyes.

"It was good seeing ya’ man." Drake told me.

"You too. Too bad we didn’t have time to fight. Oh, well. I guess I’ll have to kick your butt next time." I laughed.

"Yeah. Keep dreamin’. My birthday’s in about a month." He said.

"All right. Happy birthday in case I can’t talk to you then. I heard about the tournaments. Good luck man, I hope you win." A nervous look came over his face.

"Yeah, me too. Well, I’ll see ya’ later Tyfoon." And with that, Drake and Troy left.

Chapter 6

I didn't see much of Drake after that. I heard Tyfoonica mention him every once in awile. He was doing well in the tournaments. It had been three years since the start of them, and in that time period, he had never been defeated. He was a truly amazing fighter. And not just the fact that he was winning, but the fact that he was the youngest person in the tournament, by at least ten years! I was able to watch some of his fights. Some of the people he beat were much stronger than I was at the time. I was sure he would win it.

Time passed, and my years training with Tyfoonica passed as well. The time came for my 17th birthday. Troy came, but Drake was too busy training. That was all he did anymore. And me, too, for that matter. Birthdays meant less and less to me as the years went by. It was just another year of training complete to me. And only one more year remained until I would leave the confines of my dimmension and go out into the universe for good. Not just to visit, but to make a living, and to find a home. I had completed and mastered my meditation, and I had learned almost all the moves and techniques that Tyfoonica had to teach me. The only thing I had to learn how to use was the elements: water, fire, lightning, and ice. But Tyfoonica said it would take years of training on my own to learn and master those.

About six months after my 17th birthday, my training with Tyfoonica was pretty much complete. Tyfoonica had told me how to use the elemental powers, but I couldn't yet generate any of them. I mostly practiced what I already new. I was really looking forward to living on my own and exploring the universe. I also wanted to see the final matches of Drakes tournaments first hand. I was sure he was going to win. He was getting stronger every day. I had only had the opportunity to speak to him a couple of times in the three and a half years he had been in the tournament. He always seemed...distant. Like he was in a different world, always thinking of the tournaments I guess, thinking he should be training. And he wasn't the joyful guy he once was. He was much more serious, to the point. His rebellion had reached its peak. He never listened to Troy anymore, and he pretty much dismissed the wishes of any other authority. He was turning into a completly different person he was just a few years back. The constant training and fighting had warped him. I overheard Troy talking to Tyfoonica from time to time, and Troy told about how Drake never talked anymore, or very little at least. He never obeyed Troy, and how he would result to violence if ever he felt threatened in any way.

"He...he just doesn't seem like my son anymore..." Troy said to Tyfoonica one day when he was visiting us. "I don't know what goes on in that head of his. It's like...oh I don't know. Like his mind has degraded into this mindless war machine. I could understand this kind of behavior if he had fought a war or something, but Tyfoonica, these are just ordinary tournaments he's in. No killing, no horiffic scenes, no destruction. I just don't understand it."

"Troy, you must remember that all of the council members didn't enter this tournament until they were at least ten years older than Drake currently is. That says two things: one, that Drake is extremely advanced in strength and technique for his age, and two, that he is too young to be in this tournament." Tyfoonica replied, letting loose the therapist within.

"I didn't make him enter the tournament at such a young age. He volunteered!" Troy replied.

"That doesn't mean he was ready. No matter what Drake thinks he is capable of, until he is old enough to make it on his own in life, you should have the final say in things, based on what you think he can handle. That's the job of a parent." Tyfoonica suddenly looked embarrassed and laughed lightly. "Sorry, I know I'm kind of out of place talking about how to raise children, seeing how I've never had a kid."

"No, please. You have been raising Tyfoon single handedly for as long as I have Drake. Not to mention you have helped raise children of the Tyfoon family for many generations." Tyfoonica looked humbled and continued.

"It isn't uncommon for a person as young as Drake to loose almost all characteristics of his old personality when involved in this much fighting, whether it is fatal fighting or not. It confuses him. Drake has made winning this tournament and being the strongest fighter and beating everyone in his path such a high priority, he has started to think that way outside of the ring. That's why he has become so hostile and jumpy as of late."

"What can I do?" Troy asked.

"Pray he snaps out of it after he wins that tournament." Tyfoonica laughed and smacked Troy on the shoulder.

"Thanks." Troy looked at his shoulder. "You know, if you had done that to Drake, you be on your back right now." The two looked intensly at each other for a moment, and then busted out laughing.

As much as I didn't want to admit it, Tyfoonica was right. Drake was going downhill with no brakes, and picking up speed all the time. We all hoped he'd make it through the tournaments, and he only had 6 more months. As for me, my graduation was here.

Chapter 7

"Well Tyfoon. I may have doubted you...Lord knows I doubted you...everybody knows I doubted you-"

"Tyfoonica, I get the picture!" I said with a laugh. Tyfoonica continued.

"As I was saying. We all have doubted you-" We all laughed( me, Tyfoonica, Troy, and some other members of the Council). "But you have made it. 18 years of rigorous training with, might I say, the gosh darn best trainer in the universe has shaped you into a bonafied warrior. And may I say, you are by far..." We all looked at Tyfoonica intensly, waiting for him to finish his sentence. "The sorriest excuse for a warrior I have ever seen!" We laughed together and Tyfoonica continued. "But you made it, and you still have you head on your shoulders and your sanity intact...and that's probably a good thing, so congratulation." Tyfoonica and the others gave a clap, and then stared at me waiting for something. Tyfoonica gave me a little *ahem*, and I jumped up.

"Oh, right. I guess I'm suppose to have some kind of speech prepared that says how much I've enjoyed this training, and how much of a positive influence Tyfoonica has had on me. But...since Tyfoonica did say something along the lines of lieing being wrong, I guess I can't say any of that." Everyone laughed once again, and we went to eat. My training with Tyfoonica was complete. I new everything he could teach me, with the small exception of the elements, and I was ready to go into the universe and start a real life. After the graduation ceremony everyone left, and the following morning, I was ready to head out. I gathered all my belongings, which was pretty much just some clothes, a few books, and a picture of my father, mother, and sister. It was the only thing I had left of them. With a goodbye and a hug, I was off. There was a little place I was going to be staying at until I got my feet planted on some solid ground. It was on a planet called Mesaponia. The planet was known for the frequent fighting tournaments it held. Also, many famous and very powerful fighters visited that planet frequently, some just to visit, others to enter the tournaments. This was what attracted me to that particular planet. I would feel right at home in a fighting environment.

I got my things settled in my new home, and left right away. The final matches of Drakes tournament was being held the next day, and no way was I going to miss it.

Chapter 8

I arrived at the city where the tournament was being held early the next day by way of a two person ship Tyfoonica had given me as a going away present. When I got there I got a room at a hotel and unloaded my suitcase into the room. After that I left and went out to walk around the city and site see. The city was absolutly huge! No so much with big buildings and things like that, but there were a lot of stores, many of them tourist stores, there were a lot of restaurants, hotels, and also attractions like mini golf and go-karts. And there were also a lot of people there as well. I guess it was the tournament that attracted most of the people. I talked to some of the locals and they expressed quite a bit of excitement about the tournament. It was only held once every 10 or 15 years, so whoever wins is pretty much considered the strongest fighter in pretty much the whole universe for about 15 years. People also like it because it was a clean tournament, unlike many that were held back then. No weapons, no killing, and if anyone broke the rules or cheated then they were ejected from the tournament on the spot, no questions asked, no second chances.
I found that almost everyone I talked to had heard of Drake, and most of them were rooting for him. He was by far the youngest combatant, and no one expected him to make it past the first round, yet he made it all the way to the final matches. And with Drakes current mindset, though disturbing to me, Tyfoonica, and Troy, it made him focused only on his fighting. He was in the zone, and there wasn't anyone that could stop him.

As I was walking I spotted a big building that seemed to be getting a lot of attention. As I got closer I realized that it was where the fighting arena was. There was a big area inside that had a lot of food and entertainment for the combatants and their friends, and also a few special guests, such as the president or whatever. The guards wouldn't let me in, despite the fact I insisted I knew Drake, so I simply snuck in.

Surprisingly enough, there were a lot of people inside, though there were only 10 people or so left in the tournament. I asked around a little bit and managed to find Drake. He was sitting down, not moving, and not talking to anyone. He was the only one in the place that was quiet. I went over to him and sat at his table. He didn't seem to be aware of the fact that I sat down.

"Drake?" He didn't move. "Hey Drake, ya' dead, man?" He still did acknowledge, so I biffed him on the head. He jerked and stared at me.

"Who the hel-" He started to say, but then realized that it was me, and he smiled. "Tyfoon!!" We got up and embraced each other with a quick hug. "Man, it has been awile! Almost four years, huh?"

"Yeah! Man, you are lookin' pretty freakin' buff man! And, man, I can feel how much stronger than-"

"Than you?" Drake interrupted me and smiled.

"Actually, I was going to say than before, but yeah, you are stronger than me, I'm not embarrassed to say! I been watching some of your fights over the last few years. Your gettin' some big experiance points, and I've heard that the Council is very impressed with how well you've been doing."

"Yeah? That's definately good to know! I've been working my butt off night and day for the past four years. It's been pretty rough. And I'd like to say that I'm gonna beat the last five guys without breaking a sweat, but these guys are really strong and really good. I've watched every fight they've been in, and they seem to know everything I know, and then some. They're good."

"But so are you. You've got this tournament, trust me." He smiled and I punched him in the arm. He flinched, almost like he was resisting the reflex to lay me out. "Man, you're tense." He nodded. "Let's go get something to drink." He said ok and we walked over to the drink stand. Once we got something to drink, I started up another conversation. "Ya' know, Drake, I heard Troy talking about you not to long ago. He's really worried about you, says you're not yourself."

"Well, I'm not. I find it hard to believe his head didn't get a little messed up when he was in this tournament, even if only temporarily. You have to undergo a lot of extremely rigorous training every day. It's tough on the body, brain, and everything else."

"He thought you seemed like some type of killing machine. What do you think?"

"I don't know, maybe I am." He paused for a second. "I could be." I looked at him seriously. "I'm jokin', man!" I laughed, relieved he wasn't serious. "I guess I'm not the only one who's tense!"

"Yeah, sorry about that, but ya' never know these days. Nothin's the same nowadays." I saw Drake glaring at some guy talking with a two girls and a guy. "Who are they?"

"That, my friend," he said, pointing at the one talking. "Is possibly my strongest competition, my rival if you will. We are on separate side of the brackets. It's very possible we may be up against each other in the final match." Drake stopped for a second and then added: "That young girl next to him is his younger sister, and the older two are his parents."

"Wow." I said. "You seem to know an aweful lot about him. What, do you stalk him or something?" I said, joking around.

"I just like to know a lot about my competition." He said plainly.

"His sister, how old is she?"

"Our age, 18 I think."

"Hmmm." I said, looking her up and down. "She's pretty hot, dontcha think?" He looked at her.

"Actually, know that you mention it, she is. Man, I can't wait 'til this thing is over so I can get drunk, get laid, and get the heck outta' here." We laughed and continued walking around.

"So, when's the first round start?" I asked.

"Actually just in a couple of hours. That's why I was meditating earlier when I was at that table by myself."

"Oh, so that's why you didn't know I was there." I said.

"No, I knew you, or somebody at least had sat down. I just didn't recognize it to be you at the time."

"Well then, I guess I better let you go get yourself ready for your match then." Drake nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so. Hey man, it was really good seeing you, thanks for comin' down. I guess I'll talk to you after I win this next match, huh?" I laughed.

"Yeah, don't get too cocky!" As he was walking away the turned half way around and shrugged.

"Hey, you know me!" He said, laughing. He walked out of sight, so I finished my drink and headed over to get something to eat. On the way over there, I was stopped by someone.

"Hey, you look like a pretty strong fighter. Would you be interested in fighting in a little mini tournament? It is going to be held after the first match here in a little while. It's just a little something to entertain the audiance and the fighters. There will be eight people, a total of seven matches. What do ya' think?"

"Yeah, ok. Sign me up." I said. I always liked to show off my strength in public when I had the chance. "Well, I guess I better get myself ready then, huh?"

"Very good!" He said, and then rushed off.

"Well, can't fight on an empty stomach, now can I?" I said to myself, and got myself a big plate of food.

Chapter 9

A few hours later, I went into the arena to watch Drakes first match. The arena was huge, and completely packed with people. There was some kind of animal circus entertainment going on that was sort of a pre-show thing. Anyway, once that finished the lights turned off and the place went really quiet. Then came the announcer’s voice, blaring from the speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the final day of the strongest man in the universe competition! It has come down to this, the top ten fighters in the universe, battling it out to find out who will be the strongest man in the universe! It has been a rough four years for these fighters, but they have persevered, and they have made it all the way to the finals, and all of you out there are lucky enough to see it. All of these fighters are going to give their all, and I promise you, this is one day you will not forget!!!" The crowd went nuts and it was a good two or three minutes until the announcer could continue. "The first match will be between the fighter Siron Maroon, coming all the way from the Conedarse galaxy, and his opponent is, the fighter we all know well and love, Drake!!!!!!" The crowd cheered like crazy at the mention of Drakes name. I guess he was a crowd favorite among the fighters. Drake entered the arena solemnly; unlike the other fighter who rose his hands high and soaked up the attention. Drake was all about winning; he didn't care how much the crowd did or didn't like him. Siron took his position, and Drake too got into his fighters stance, which was pretty much just standing straight up. Drake didn't have much of a fighting style, so of course he didn't really have a stance. Drake really relied more on physical strength than actual fighting skill, though he did possess a lot of both. But regardless, he was still the strongest fighter in the universe, or close to it. The announcer began the fight, and Siron immediately charged Drake, which is a mistake. Making the first move always leaves you open to make the first mistake. And Drake was very good at finding mistakes and flaws. Siron, as soon as he got close to Drake, fired an energy blast at Drakes feet, not really doing damage to Drake, but propelling Siron into the air. Siron twisted while in the air so that his head was facing down and toward his opponent. His hands and head lit up in flames and a blaze of fire was emitted from his hands. The two flames twisted together and made their way toward Drake. Drake stood there and let the flames hit him. Siron landed ten feet from Drake. Smoke was all around Drake from the fire blast. When the smoke cleared, Drake was there, unharmed, with an almost invisible shield covering most of his upper-body in a sort of hemisphere shape that curved over part of his body. The shield disappeared, and Drake stood there, waiting for Siron's next move. Siron grunted and flames shot out from his mouth. Drake shook his head and jumped up over the flames. By the time he jumped up, Siron had already met him in the air. The two were able to fly, so they fought hand-to-hand for a while in the air. Siron was exceptional at h2h, better than Drake, actually, but his hits did much less damage than when Drake landed a hit on him, and Drake was coming out on top. It was amazing to watch the two go at it. I, at that time, had not had a whole lot of opportunity to practice my h2h skills with other warriors. I mostly used my hands, and occasionally my feet to kick. But Drake and his opponent were using their hands, feet, and knees, anything they could hit with! Siron went to knee Drake in the gut, but Drake caught it, and before Siron could counter attack, he was on the ground with a nice burn on his stomach from a energy blast from Drake. Drake raised his arms up and charged a big energy blast. He fired it down at Siron, and though Siron was able to avoid the worst part of it, he couldn't dodge the whole thing, and the outside of the blast ended up hitting Siron and sent him flying. Siron recovered midair, but Drake was able to get to him before Siron was ready to attack or defend. Drake used the momentum from his moving toward Siron and head butted Siron. Siron went flying again and this time was stopped by the invisible wall that surrounded the arena, making it a sort of hemi-sphere. Siron fell to the ground and huffed. Siron got up in time to jump out of the way of an incoming energy blast. Siron returned it with a fireball. Drake turned his body to dodge it, but it still grazed his shoulder. Drake appeared more aggravated that his opponent his him than hurt. Siron decided he held a better chance at victory if he stayed on the ground, so he waited for Drake to land. Once he did, Siron powered up. Fire flared up all around him, and then he walked slowly toward Drake, flames still encircling his body. Drake made a shield that covered the front of his body and left the back exposed. Either he was trying to conserve his energy or he could only create half a shield. Either way, it was still a helpful technique. Siron tried to punch through Drake’s shield, but to no avail. But then, surprisingly, Drake punched Siron in the face, and as he did so, his shield molded around his fist so his hand was protected while he punched Siron. Therefore his hand wasn’t burnt from the flames around Siron. Drake kept up the assault, continuing punching and kicking Siron until finally Siron’s flames were extinguished and he fell to the ground, not beaten, but pretty badly hurt. At that time Drake, rather than take advantage of the situation, which is what he normally would do, he stepped back and his shield disappeared. Then he went back over to Siron, who was starting to get up. Drake lifted his leg into the air and kicked Siron in the gut. Again Siron went flying. While his body was still in the air, Drake fired an energy blast at Siron and it hit him directly. Siron continued soaring, and again he collided with the wall and fell to the ground. Siron got up, clearly shaken, and lit his hands up with fire. Drake walked calmly towards Siron. Siron growled and fired two fireballs from his hands. Drake jumped into the air to dodge them, but to his surprise, the fireballs rose up and followed him. Drake flew around, trying to shake the fireballs, but he couldn’t. They were both being carefully guided by Siron. Siron moved one of his hands back and one of the fireballs fell back away from Drake. Drake focused more on the fireball closest to him, which was exactly what Siron wanted him to do. When Drake got close to the ground, Siron made the fireball following him hit the ground. Drake stopped, because he couldn’t see from all smoke created from the fireball’s explosion. While Drake was still in the cloud of smoke, he was hit by the other fireball, which he had forgotten about. Drake flew out of the cloud of smoke from the impact of the fireball and slid across the ground. Before his body slid to a stop, Siron ran to him and kicked him, which sent him tumbling the opposite direction. Drake pushed off the ground while he was sliding, which sent him into the air, where he recovered and landed safely on the ground. Drake looked down at his chest. The front of his shirt was mostly burned off from the fireball. His chest was blackened from it as well, and it was also burned pretty badly. The fireball that had hit him was pretty powerful. Drake was clearly hurt from the fireball, and Siron was clearly hurt from all of the attacks Drake had dealt to him. The fireball was the first major attack that Siron had landed on Drake, but it was a very affective one. Most of the attacks that Drake had used up to that point were, for the most part, weak. Drake spread his body out more and started to power up somewhat, and his hands began to glow. Siron prepared himself by generating a couple more fireballs. Drake quickly finished powering up and fired two powerful energy blasts from his hands, which hit each other and merged into one. Siron fired his fireballs, and the two energy masses hit each other with a brilliant flash! The two blasts wavered back and forth, each person fighting for control of the blast. Then, finally, with one last burst of energy, Drake managed to overpower Siron, and he took control of the blast, Drake’s beam completely overtook Siron’s and the force of both beams hit Siron. The beams exploded when they hit Siron, and dust and smoke filled the arena. Though the arena was filled with debris and the audience, including myself, couldn’t see inside, we could all here the punching and kicking coming from inside. The fight was still going on, despite the nasty hit Siron had taken, and the fact that neither fighter could see in front of their face. Several minutes passed before, at last, the fighters inside the arena were visible. When I finally saw Drake, and Siron, Siron was lifted into the air by Drake, who was holding him by the throat. Siron appeared almost unconscious. Drake screamed and slammed Siron’s head into the invisible wall, and then he threw Siron across the arena. Siron’s body hit the ground and rolled several times before stopping. He lay on the ground, unconscious. Drake, appearing quite worn out, walked to the middle of the arena, and stood next to his fallen foe.

"Ladies and Gentlemen…Drake is the winner!!!!!" The crowd cheered loudly, save a few who were actually rooting for Siron. Drake lifted his hand in the air in recognition, and then exited the arena.

Drake came over to me.

"Hey, nice match!" I said. "You’ve really grown as a fighter.

"Yeah, thanks. I wish I could say the same about you." Drake said. "But I haven’t really seen you fight for a few years."

"Well, you’re about to." I said. Drake looked at me funny, and then realized.

"You’re going to enter in the mini-tournament, huh?" I nodded. "Awesome! I’ve been dying to see how far along you’ve come these past four years."

"Not nearly as far as you, I’m afraid. But I have learned how to do a couple of other things that you probably haven’t mastered, being that you have trained yourself these past years. I think you will be impressed." Drake smiled.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Came the blaring voice of the announcer over the intercom. "We have a special event that is going to take place in just a few minutes. There will be eight participants; four rounds. The first match will be between the fighter Azajoni and Tyfoon!" The crowd cheered as pictures of Tyfoon and his opponent appeared on a giant jumbotron.

"Well, friend, it looks like you are in the first match. Good luck." Drake said with a smirk.

"You think I’ll need it?" I said confidently.

"You’d be surprised. This is a very big tournament, and many strong fighters from across the galaxy have gathered here to watch it. I think you’ll find it is harder than you think. Actually, last time this tournament was held, years ago, there were two people in the mini-tournament that were originally in the main tournament, but they had been beaten, and thus knocked out of the main tourney." I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Actually, the winner of the last mini-tournament like this was someone who had been in the main tourney. So watch out." I nodded.

"The Mini-tournament will begin in five minutes. Participants, please get ready for battle!" I walked over to the arena, which was much bigger up close, he realized, than any arena he had ever fought in.

As soon as the five minutes were up, Tyfoon entered the arena, as did his opponent, Azajoni. He looked pretty strong. His hair was long, and spiked, and black with pink streaks in it. He was tall, a lot taller than me, and he was wearing semi-baggy pants and was without a shirt.

"Nice hair." I said as we walked to meet each other in the arena.

"Why thank you." He said with a lisp. "Everybody likes my hair." He said.

"Don’t you know sarcasm when you hear it?" I said. He giggled.

"If you don’t want to be completely humiliated, I suggest you stop while you’re not as far behind as you could be."

"Really? I was about to say the same thing to you." Azajoni dropped his smile, and backed off a little.

"ARE YOU READY????" Asked the announcer. "FIGHT!"

Azajoni jumped into the air, and then hovered in the air, indicating that he could fly.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" I asked. He just smiled. That is, until I flew up and met him in the air. "Congratulations my *** friend, you seem to have mastered one of the easiest maneuvers: flying." Azajoni growled. He flexed his muscles and flew at me. I easily dodged, and then I flew above Azajoni so fast that he didn’t see me, so he didn’t know I was just above him. He looked around frantically, trying to find me. Then I spoke up.

"If you can’t find your opponent," I said, as Azajoni looked up. "Then look up!" I said and drilled my foot into Azanoji’s face. Azajoni plummeted to the ground and hit with a Kuthud! A dust cloud rose up around him from the impact (the arena floor was like a rocky plain). Azajoni arose as I landed. "That’s rule number one, Azajoni, I expected you to know that."

"You think you’re so tuff?" He asked. "You just wait until I warm up!" He exclaimed.

"You entered a fight without being fully fired up and ready to go? If you know that you are going to be engaged in a fight, you always make sure you are prepared by the time of the fight. That’s rule number two." I said. I teleported and reappeared in front of Azajoni. Azanoji’s eyes opened wide in surprise. I grabbed his head and slammed it into mine. Blood squirted from his nose and his head recoiled and his body fell over backwards. He got up slowly only to be met with my foot kicking him in the stomach. He groaned as his body was propelled into the air. His body hit the ground and tumbled a few feet before stopping. I walked over to him, grabbed his foot, and threw him across the arena. He landed head first, and his head hit the corner of a sharp rock. Blood spurted from his head, almost gushing from the wound. I walked over to him and looked at him. He was spent. He most likely had a pretty bad concussion from the rock, and he appeared to be out of it. The crowd screamed, "Finish him!" over and over. I held up my hand and the crown hushed.

"He is finished." I said and walked away. I made my way for Drake, who was smiling.

"Nice work Tyfoon." He said. "You completely destroyed that guy, as well as humiliated him!"

"Well, he asked for it. He thought he could make a fool of me, and I had to prove him wrong."

"Nice. Hey, I liked that teleport thing you did. Very nice. How the heck did you manage that? I didn’t even know that Tyfoonica knew how to do that."

"Don’t let him say that or he’ll have a fit! We’re talking about Tyfoonica here. He knows everything, and how to do everything! Of coarse he can teleport. But he isn’t who taught me, though." Drake looked confused.

"Then who taught you?" He asked.

"I taught myself." I said.

"How?"

"Through meditation." I said.

"Ah, gotcha. I never did get very good at that." He said.

"It really comes in hand sometimes. I was just meditating one day and it came to me. Like a revelation. I suddenly knew how to do it. It took awhile before I could do it right away. At first I had to sit by myself and really concentrate to do it. Now I can do it right away. It really comes in handy. If there is an attack launched at you that is coming to fast for you to dodge, you can instantly teleport. But I can’t teleport very far; only five or ten feet."

"Speaking of being fast enough to dodge attacks, you have gotten REALLY fast. I mean, I’ve been training constantly for over four years, and I think that you are even faster than me!" Drake said in amazement.

"Really? Wow, I didn’t even realize I was really fast, more than usual anyway."

"I’ve told you you're are fast before!" Came a voice from behind me. I turned around and looked at the tall figure in front of me.

"I thought you were just saying that!" I said.

"Long time no see, Tyfoonica!" Drake said to Tyfoonica.

"How ya’ doin’ Drake?"

"Pretty good Tyfoonica."

"So, what’s this I hear about you doubting my abilities?" Tyfoonica said to Drake.

"Why whatever do you mean?" Drake said in a guilty voice. Just then Tyfoonica teleported and reappeared right in front of Drake. Drake and Tyfoonica laughed and embraced each other in a hug.

"So, I guess you’ve been doing pretty well in the tournament, huh?" Tyfoonica asked.

"Well, we are here at the finals, so I guess you could say that."

"Hey, just because you’re a big time fighter now doesn’t mean you can be smart with me, boy." He said. They laughed again. "So, I saw some pretty nice moves in your fight, Drake. Especially your shield. Very impressive, especially for learning it on your own." Tyfoonica said, nodding his head.

"Speaking of which," I started. "Why did you let your shield down? If you could attack with it up and not have to worry about being damaged, why not just fight with it all the time?"

"Well," Drake said, "I, unfortunately, can only generate my shield for a limited time. The more I attack, and the more I am attacked, the more my energy is drained until, finally, I can’t use it anymore until I recharge partially. I try never to wear it all the way down, because it takes awhile for me to build up my energy so I can use it again if I let it go all the way down. It’s kind of like a battery, actually." Drake said. "Actually, I almost used it to its full capacity when Siron was wailing on me with his inferno body. I must admit that was a very tough match." Drake said as he wiped his brow.

"And, if I may say so, I think you fought it very well." Tyfoonica said.

"I agree." I said. "After this whole things over, we should have a little one on one, you and me."

"Yeah, it would be fun." Drake said.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please give a hearty welcome to our next combatants: Roy Kindrosher and Sid Jerun!" The crowd cheered as the two fighters walked in. With the announcers command, the two began to fight each other.

"Well, I have got a pretty good while before my next match, so I’m going to go grab a bite to eat." I said to Drake and Tyfoonica.

"Yeah, I better go rest up for my next match. I’ll talk to you two later." Drake said.

"Bye." Replied Tyfoonica.

"I’ll see you after I win the tournament!" I said. We laughed, and then headed to our different destinations. Mine was: the food court!

Chapter 10

After thoroughly filling my stomach, I headed back the arena and watched the end of the last fight before the beginning of round two. One of the guys fighting in that match, his name was Azerconi Martini, appeared to be an admirable enough fighter. He had some really nice moves. I had a feeling he might make it to the last round. Well, he won that match, and moved on to the next round.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is time for time for the semi-finals!!!" The crowd again cheered as the announcer announced the names for the next round. The first name was mine, and the second was a girl named G. Azaurel. I entered the arena, and so did she. She was a very beautiful woman. Every one of her features were about perfect. Her hair was white as snow, her skin pale, yet still beautiful. She was about 5’6 and she was wearing an elegant white dress that stretched down to her feet, on which she wore white slippers. Her nails were perfectly trimmed and her facial features were perfect as well. Her body was completely proportional, and her hair was very well groomed. When she entered she took off her dress to reveal a sleeker sort of Speedo outfit that was skin tight, perfect for maneuvering and fighting.

"Greetings, Tyfoon." She said in almost a whisper, though, despite the fact that they were on opposite sides of the arena, she was completely audible. I thought it was kind of weird that she knew my name, but I just figured that she just heard it when I fought in my first round.

"Greetings to you, too, stranger." She smiled gracefully and I smiled back. She didn’t seem at all like a fighter. She seemed more like a…. princess or something.

"Fight!!" Came the voice of the announcer.

"May the best warrior win," She said and smiled in a very curious way. She hummed in a somewhat holy way and her whole body started to glow. Her hair started to stir as if it was blowing in the wind. Her body lifted off the ground and she slowly hovered toward me. I stepped back and got into my fighting stance, very unsure of what she was going to do. Then, in a brilliant flash, light beams came in from every direction: above, left, right, front, and back. I waited until the last second and teleported my butt out of there. The light beams hit each other and exploded, filling the arena and everything around it with light. I avoided damage from the beams, but he was partially blinded from the bright light. Before I recovered, G. Azaurel hit me in the face. My head kicked back and my body flipped over backwards from the hit. She hit me REALLY hard. It was strange. I couldn’t sense her power, like I could from other warriors, and she didn’t look at all like she possessed any physical strength, but my face begged to differ as my head collided with the ground. My body continued to flip when my head hit the ground and I landed on my stomach on the ground. The kick, though the flat part of her foot rather than a pointed part had struck me, had managed to make me bleed. I got up, amazed at the force behind the hit, and prepared myself for what was next. My eyes were beginning to adjust to the light, which, for the most part, hadn’t faded, but it was still pretty hard to see. I could see G. Azaurel coming at me, but she was moving back and forth and it was really hard to focus in on her. I flew up into the air, which looking back wasn’t the best thing to do, because it made it even easier for G. Azaurel to evade my vision. I fired an energy blast at what I thought looked like her, and to my delight it did hit her. She got knocked back from the blast, but didn’t appear to that hurt by it. I flew at her and kicked her in the stomach. She flew back and while she was still in motion I flew at her and punched her in the face, further propelling her forward until the wall stopped her. She fell down, but landed gracefully on her feet. I felt kind of bad for beating up a woman, but the fact that she didn’t appear hurt after all that made me feel better, and worse at the same time.

"You are a very skilled fighter, Tyfoon. Despite the fact that you can barely see, you find a way to attack your opponent and you do it." I landed on the ground and looked at her in awe. Something…something about her just made me wonder. Wonder who and what she was, and why she was here. She didn’t seem like the type of person that would want to fight or enter a tournament, although she defiantly possessed the strength to fight. But she didn’t seem to want to hurt me. She had hurt me, but I got the feeling that she didn’t want to. Almost as if she was testing me. I thought she was stronger than me, and thus could have finished me off rather quickly. Which was why I was so confused by her next statement to me.

"Tyfoon." She said. I was a little unsure of what to do. It was unusual to start a casual conversation in the middle of a fight. But I decided to play along.

"What." I said, preparing myself for a possible trick.

"You are a very unique warrior, though you may not know it yet. You are destined for great things, Tyfoon. I believe we will meet again." I just stared at her blankly, clearly confused. "I give up." The crowd gasped, and so did I.

"You what???" I asked in utter confusion. "But, but you were doing very well, you had a good chance winning." I said.

"My goal today was never to win. But that is not important. It was good to have met you, Tyfoon. Good luck in this tournament, and in your various adventures that lie ahead." And with that, she left the arena.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, G. Azaurel has withdrawn herself, and is threefold disqualified. Tyfoon advances!" The crowd, who normally cheered after every statement from the announcer, this time appeared disappointed, and the applause was much less and much less enthusiastic. I left the ring and went to Tyfoonica, who was there waiting.

"That was interesting." He said.

"Yeah, to say the least. Man, I feel like I was just rejected because I wasn’t good enough to fight her." I said, hanging my head down.

"That’s not it. Though, I’m not sure what that was about. I think she just wanted to meet you, but I don’t know why. You aren’t very well known, not like Drake. You’ve won a few small time tourneys, but nothing big. And she seemed like she would be a pretty important person. I didn’t recognize her, and I think I know pretty much everyone that knows about you. But I’ll look into it." I nodded and sat down. "But you did well just the same. The fact you were able to find her and then hit her with an energy blast when you were practically blind says a lot."

"Thanks." I said. My voice kind of trailed of; I was still preoccupied with G. Azaurel. I had to know who she was, but nothing came to me. I wondered what the G. stood for, but I couldn’t tell.

"Give your mind a rest, Tyfoon." Tyfoonica said.

"I can’t. I have to know who she is." I said, frustrated.

"Just meditate, Tyfoon. You will find all the answers you need through meditation."

"Yeah, I guess you’re right." I said. I headed to the stands and picked out a seat so I could watch the other semi-final match. Tyfoonica followed me and sat down next to me. I looked at the warrior that I had noticed the last round. Azerconi Martini. He was doing very well, and he was dominating the match. But he was still no match for G. Azaurel. It was so weird. I couldn’t sense any power coming from her, yet I could feel that she had more power than me and anyone else here. I couldn’t physically feel it, but I just knew. But at any rate, my next fight with Azerconi was going to be a good one.

Chapter 11

"Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come for the final fight in the mini tournament. Tyfoon and Azerconi Martini have both dominated their other matches, and they have progressed to the final match. For those of you who don’t already know, Azerconi was an entry in the main tournament, but was knocked out of it in the last round before the finals. And as you have seen today, he is a very strong warrior. He had been undefeated for four years, and now he is up against a common fighter, Tyfoon. Both fighters have shown a great skill for fighting, but the odds are against Tyfoon. So, without further a due, I give you the last match. Enter the arena Azerconi and Tyfoon!!!" The crowd roared, but for Azerconi, not me. Drake was right. Azerconi had been in the main tourney, and had made it very far along, too. If I won the match, I knew that I would make myself pretty well known. It was a pretty big deal for a "commoner" like me to beat a warrior as strong and well known as Azerconi. The last 30 or so people in the tournament were known by just about all the respected fighters in the universe. That would mean that a lot of people would know about Azerconi, and if I beat him, the news would spread like wildfire. That thought perked me up a little. I looked at Azerconi once we were both in the arena. He was a strong looking warrior.

"Nice to meet you, Tyfoon." Azerconi said in an unfriendly voice.

"Nice day to lose, isn’t it?" I replied.

"Yes, indeed. Although the people I fight don’t usually feel the same way by the end of the fight."

"Well, I don’t pity my fallen foes." Azerconi laughed.

"It wasn’t pity they were feeling." He said.

"I don’t feel regret either." Azerconi frowned as he realized I wasn’t being intimidated. "The only thing I feel is udder joy as I stand over the limp body of the poor soul who felt he needed to be beaten by me."

"Fight!" Screamed the voice of the announcer.

"You need to learn to hold your tongue when talking to a superior warrior, or I will have to do it for you." He said.

"You should take your own advice." Azerconi laughed again.

"Just keep talking. The more you talk, the worse it will hurt when I defeat you." I decided to break my normal routine and make the first move. I wanted to embarrass this guy, and I was going to, even if he was strong. When I was really close to Azerconi, he tried to kick me, but I teleported behind him. He was expecting it, so he threw his elbow back around him, trying to hit me from behind him. I, being determined to make the first his, carefully dodged, and jumped up into the air. I fired an energy blast at Azerconi, but he deflected it and flew up to me. He tried to punch me, but being that I had the higher ground, it was easy for me to dodge and then I kicked him back down to the ground. I smiled in satisfaction at making the first hit, and I looked out to the audience to see their reactions. Some stared with their mouth’s open, awed at how well I was doing against such a strong warrior. The others seemed unfazed, intensely watching the fight. While I was busy sucking in the glory, the recovered Azerconi tackled me in midair. I flew and collided into the wall, but instead of falling down, I pushed off the wall and head butted Azerconi in the stomach. He gasped for air because the wind was knocked from him from the hit. I grabbed his leg, and swung him around and let go. He went crashing into the ground, and right away I began firing energy blasts at him. The arena was filled with dust and smoke. I waited until it cleared to do anything else, and when I could see clearly again, I saw that most of my attacks hit Azerconi, and he was looking pretty roughed up. But nevertheless he was still in good condition to fight. He charged up an energy blast and shot it at me. I returned with an energy blast of my own, and when they hit each other they exploded. Azerconi leapt at me from the ground. He tried to uppercut me, but I tilted my head back and let his fist move up, barely missing my head. I grabbed his waist and drilled my knee into his stomach. He coughed up some blood and spit from the force of the hit. Then, I grabbed his head and slammed it against mine, and then I whirled my body around and did a backwards-roundhouse kick, hitting him straight in the face. His body kicked around, but he used that momentum to kick me in the stomach on the way down. I took the force of the hit and ignored it. I grabbed the leg that had kicked me, and I threw Azerconi to the ground. He turned his body around and landed on the ground. He waited for me to land and then he ran at me. Instead of jumping over me, he just ran right into combat, punching and kicking. I blocked most of his hits, and I landed most of my attacks on him. Finally, after I had dealt enough damage, he jumped back to catch his breath. He panted a little, and then I flew at him. When I got close to him, he tried to punch me, but I dodged and went around him. He threw his leg back to try to kick me, but I flew around again. He smiled, thinking that he could extend his elbow and hit me in the head when I was flying around to the front of him. But when he brought his elbow out I teleported to his other side. I drew back my fist and hit him in the side of the head as hard as I could. His body flipped over and he hit the ground hard. I had possibly broken his jaw with that last hit. He got up slowly, but before he was off of his hands and knees I kicked him hard in the side, fracturing a couple of his ribs. He flew towards the invisible wall and hit it. I powered up for the final hit and fired a powerful beam of energy at Azerconi. It hit him, and I knew it was finished. Azerconi was Coed.

"…Ladies and Gentleman…. Tyfoon has beaten Azerconi and is therefore the mini-tournament champion!!!" The crown roared at the announcer’s…announcement. "Tyfoon has proven to the universe that he can go head to head and hold his own against one of the strongest fighters in the universe! Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t think this is the last time we will here his name. Congratulations Tyfoon!!!!" I walked out of the arena where G. Azaurel was waiting for me.

"Congratulations, Tyfoon." She said. I paused and there was a long silence between us.

"Who are you?" I said in bewilderment.

"Perhaps one day you will know." I stared at her in wonder, awaiting her next thought. "You are destined for great things Tyfoon. I look forward to the day we meet again. Goodbye."

"No, wait, I-" But before I could finish, she vanished before my eyes.

"Well done Tyfoon. I’m impressed. It’s been awhile since you have fought against anyone other than me. You did better than I expected." Tyfoonica said to me.

"Nice work!" Drake said as he walked up to me. "That guy was really tough. I know; I was the guy who knocked him out of the tournament." I looked at him in surprise.

"You?" I asked.

"Yeah. He is a really strong guy. But you fought really well." I thanked him. "Well, I’m gonna’ go prep. Myself for my next round. Look, I’m sure you are pretty worn out. Why don’t you go rest. I’m not that worried about my next round. Just come back in a little while for my final match. It’s going to be a good one. Besides, there’s guy that wants to talk to you. He is in the food court. I think he wants to talk to you about your match."

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Don’t worry, you’ll know when you see him." So with that I left Drake and went to the food court, which was closed down because the tournament had started. There was only one person there, so I figured that was who wanted me. I recognized him immediately. His name was Damion. Prince Damion, that is. He was the ruler of, like, half the universe, or close to it. He had an immeasurable amount of power, not just physically, but politically and every other way. The fact he wanted to see me was a BIG deal. I approached him slowly, a little intimidated.

"Ah, Tyfoon. I’m glad you got my message to meet me." He said. I sat at the other end of a circular table and faced him. He was a very built, stout guy. He was only in his mid twenties, and was the youngest ruler of his family. His father, the King, had supposedly gone crazy and couldn’t handle the responsibilities of ruling, along with the fact that his sons were always battling each other. Prince Damion's brother, Dakon, had long before left the kingdom. No one knows for sure where he was or what he was doing. But ever since he and Damion were children they had a dangerous rivalry that went as far as almost killing each other on several occasions. And from what I had heard Dakon was actually the stronger of the two brothers, but he was not the respected one, and so Damion was chosen to rule the kingdom instead of Dakon.

"I’m honored that you would even see me, Prince Damion. It is a very rare privilege to meet someone of your importance." I said.

"And it is a very rare privilege that someone of your fighting ability arises from seemingly out of nowhere." Damion replied. "And especially at such a young age. I have paid very close attention to Drake these past years. His strength and fighting ability are extremely good for his age. No, for any age. And then, on the final day of the tournament you come up out of nowhere. And now I’ve learned from a reliable source that you two know each other and even trained with each other in your earlier years." I nodded.

"That’s right."

"Yes. You are both very skilled warriors. You have been given a gift by God almighty, a gift better used serving others rather than yourself." He said. He looked at me expectantly.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"My kingdom is always in need of leaders. Without powerful leaders, any kingdom will fail, that is just the way it is. I am a good ruler, all my people will tell you that. But even so, one good ruler is not enough, and in the ever-growing evil universe, it is increasingly more difficult to find a warrior that has a good enough heart, a strong enough will, and a powerful enough being to help lead my people."

"You can’t possibly expect me to serve you as a leader!" I said, completely astonished at the thought.

"I think you will make a fine leader, young Tyfoon. Wisdom comes with age-"

"But I’m only 18!" I said, interrupting him.

"Wisdom comes with age…and as such, Tyfoonica, your mentor, possesses much of it. I found out that he was the person who trained you, which partially explains you skills. I talked with him, and he told me of his expectations of you. He agreed that, even at such a young age, you would make a fine ruler of my people." I was speechless. My mouth was wide open, and I had no idea what to say. "Tyfoon, you have power. For that reason alone people will respect you. And beyond that, you have a pure heart, and that, too, is what would make you a wonderful leader."

"You could choose anyone from the universe to lead your people. People older, wiser, and stronger than me. So why would you choose me over them?"

"Tyfoon, you are new to this universe. You have been sheltered your entire life. This universe is far more corrupt than you give it credit for. It is true that there are people possibly more…qualified for this position of leadership. But those people lack the passion for it. Most would reject the opportunity to lead, some out of laziness, other because of their selfish nature. The others who might take the position simply wouldn’t care enough about it to make use of their power. They would rule over the people with a dictatorship rule, and the people would be miserable."

"And how do you know I will be any different." I asked, testing Damion.

"I can feel it, see it in your eyes." He looked straight at me, deep into my eyes. "You are not an evil person, Tyfoon. I know, as does Tyfoonica, that if given this responsibility you would use it to it’s fullest and make my kingdom an even better place to live." We sat in silence for a long time before he finally spoke again. "Tyfoon, you have two choices in you life that will determine how you live the rest of your life. One choice is living you life on your own. Never doing anything for anyone, or anything. Just focusing on yourself, and trying to get by. But the other choice, the one I’m offering you, is to choose a life of servitude. To serve something, or someone, greater than yourself. To try to make the things around you better, and to make this universe a better place. The choice is yours. Just be sure that you choose wisely." I sat in silence for a few more minutes before replying.

"I will defiantly consider your proposal. But, as I’m sure you can understand, I have a lot to consider, and I can’t make a sound judgment until I can weigh my options a little better." I stood up. "Thank you for seeing me. It has truly been an honor." I shook his hand as he stood.

"The pleasure was mine, Tyfoon. And I look forward to when we shall meet again." And then we left. That day had been so weird for me. First, meeting the mysterious G. Azaurel, and then meeting Prince Damion. Things were getting weirder and weirder all the time.

As I got to the arena I saw that the final round had already begun! I got so carried away with my conversation with Damion that I had lost track of time. Drake was going all out against his opponent. They looked like they had both already taken damage, but Drake by far had taken the least. Drakes opponent was the guy he pointed out to me when we had first saw each other. His name was Paragos Puntari. He strong, but it was obvious that Drake was stronger. Drake hit the other Paragos in the stomach, and he went flying away from Drake. Drake knew at this point that he had the match one, and he was obviously happy about it. Drake liked to toy with his opponent, as did I, when he knew he could win. Paragos recovered from the hit, and fired a big energy blast at Drake. Drake let the blast hit him at full force, without using his shield, which is very stupid. This was stupid because the blast, though not hurting Drake very much, did make a big cloud of smoke, which prevented Drake from seeing Paragos. And this stupid, foolish mistake was going to cost Drake the match. While the smoke was still around Drake, Paragos Puntari began forming another attack. The audience and myself could plainly see what was about to happen, though Drake had no idea. Paragos launched his attack, which was a razor sharp energy disk. It wasn’t capable of killing someone as strong as Drake, as killing was against the tournament rules, but it was capable of severely injuring Drake. At the last possible moment Drake became aware that he’d been tricked, and he tried to move out of the way to dodge what was coming, though he still didn’t know what was coming. By the time he realized what it was, it was too late and he couldn’t power up his shield. Drake got hit hard. The smoke prevented me from seeing how badly he was hit, but I did see the blood squirt from the cloud of smoke, and that was all I needed to see. When the smoke cleared, Drake was left there floating, with a huge gash in his stomach. Blood was pouring from the wound, and Drake looked down at it. He looked shocked, and he might actually have been in shock. He gasped and looked at Paragos in horror. No warrior could win a fight that badly wounded unless they had rejuvenation. But Drake refused to give up. He flew at Paragos and punched him. Paragos was barely hurt by the punch because Drake’s strength was getting quickly drained. It was only a few more moments before Drake passed out from blood loss.

Chapter 12

Drake’s eyes slowly opened. He squinted at the brightness of the light shining down upon him. He looked around the room, unaware of where he was.

"Where…where am I?" He asked to anyone who could hear him.

"Hey, he’s awake!" I announced. I came over to Drake, who was on the hospital bed with some stuff hooked up to him, and bandages wrapped around his waist.

"You’re in the hospital, man." I said. Tyfoonica and Troy entered the room.

"You’ve been unconscious nearly three days." Troy said.

"You’re lucky you aren’t dead. Someone out there is looking out for you." Tyfoonica said. Drake looked like he was straining himself to remember something.

"I…I didn’t win, did I?" Drake asked, afraid of the answer, but already knowing what it was.

"No." Troy said in a sorrowful voice. There was a long silence in the room.

"But I can still get in the Council, right? Right??" Drake’s voice made us all feel for him.

"I’m afraid not, son. I’m sorry." Troy lowered his head.

"But I…I, I…." Drake couldn’t seem to find the words. "I was, I mean I am stronger than that guy! I had that match won, I just made one mistake! One mistake in four years of fighting!"

"I know, I know. But the Council doesn’t see it that way. They are perfectionists to the highest extreme. The way they see it is that you messed up when the pressure started to pour on. The last round came up and you couldn’t keep your cool."

"But that’s not the way it is!" He said.

"I know, but that’s the way they see it. Believe me, I have done all I can, but the Council doesn’t compromise. Not even with me." Troy walked over to his son and kissed him on the forehead. "Don’t worry, everything will ...work out." And then he and Tyfoonica left he room.

"I’m really sorry, Drake." I said.

"I worked for this everyday for the past six years. And for what? Nothing. Where is he? Where is that weakling that made a fool of me???" Drake’s anger was rising.

"Drake, calm down. He left the day after the tournament ended. Just let it go man."

"I will find him." Drake said in a low, hateful voice. I left the room and let Drake be by himself for a while.

"How is he?" Troy asked when I came out of the room.

"His life’s dream has just been shattered. How would you be?" I asked.

"Yeah. I feel so bad for him." Troy said. "But I have no ...idea what to do."

"Just give him his space." Tyfoonica said. That day I just hung around town and explored the sites. I had won a pretty hefty prize from winning the mini-tournament, so I had a little spending money. When I was around shopping at about 12 o’clock, I remembered about Prince Damion. I had thought about it for the past three days or so, and I had finally made a decision. But I had no way to get a hold of him. So I went to Tyfoonica. I explained the situation to him.

"Don’t worry. I’m sure he will find you in time, when he feels you’ve had enough time to think about it."

"Ok." I said.

"So, since we’re on the subject, what is your decision?" He asked.

"Well, you will just have wait and see." I said. He frowned. So I left again. I was walking around town, thinking about all the things that had happened to me that week. I graduated from my training, was introduced by G. Azaurel, was propositioned by Prince Damion, and then saw Drake get defeated. I felt bad for Drake. I couldn’t have imagined training for something for like six years and then, at the last moment failing. When I was at my ...hotel, lazing around and watching TV, there was a knock at my door. I got up and answered it. There was a pretty woman there, probably in her late 20s or early 30s.

"Hello Tyfoon. I have been sent by Prince Damion in regards to your decision about serving him as one of his great leaders."

"Oh, come in, please." I said. She came in and sat down. I sat in a chair across from her and then she asked:

"Have you made a decision about his proposal yet?" She asked me.

"Yes I have. After much consideration over the past few days, I have decided that I would be honored to serve Prince Damion." The messenger smiled and hugged me.

"Very good. It will be a pleasure to work with you Tyfoon, I’m sure. We, the Prince and his kingdom, are very pleased with your decision. I will tell the prince at once. I assume you will be back staying here for at least the next day or two?" She asked me.

"Yes." I said.

"Good. There will be some people to pick you up tomorrow. They will take you to Prince Damion, and he will explain everything to you. I look forward to seeing you again." She stood up and I led her to the door.

"Bye." I said. She waived and left.

After she left, I waited a few minutes, and decided to walk around and think about things. When I walked out the door, Tyfoonica was right there waiting for me.

"Do you have something to tell me?" He asked expectantly. I thought about it for a moment.

"Not that I can think of." I replied. He laughed.

"Congratulations! It is a very big honor to be offered this kind of opportunity." I nodded.

"I know. I’m a little nervous though." I said.

"Don’t be. Leadership runs in your family. You’re born with it. You father was a leader, and his father, and so on and so on. And they didn’t have any prior experience. Trust me, you’ll be fine."

"I wish I had your confidence." I said. "I still can’t believe that he’s going to trust me with half of his kingdom, even though he doesn’t even know me."

"Yeah, but there’s just something about you Tyfoons that gives people a comforting and safe feeling. Just being around a Tyfoon gives people comfort. Not many people have that gift. I don’t, and Drake certainly doesn’t. But you are different than most people. And Prince Damion recognizes that. So, when do go to meet with him again?"

"Tomorrow." I said.

"Well then, tomorrow starts a new life for you. You have grown up Tyfoon. I’m already proud of you."

"Thanks." I said.

"Well, I’m going to let you have some alone time to relax now. After you today, you are going to be busy all the time. Think you can handle it?"

"I’ll manage." I said with a smirk.

"Well then, I’ll see you later."

"Bye." And then Tyfoonica left. I wanted to go tell Drake the news, but when I got there, he was gone.

Chapter 13

I yelled for one of the nurses right away.

"Yes sir, what is it?" She asked as she entered the room.

"Where the heck is Drake??? You didn’t release him, did you???" I demanded.

"I wasn’t aware that he was gone." She called a doctor and he came in.

"I’m very sorry sir. He must have sneaked out of the room."

"Drake is in no position to be up and about, especially not in his current state of mind. He has his mind set on getting revenge on Paragos, the guy who beat him. I have to find him. You need to find Troy and Tyfoonica and tell them everything." With that I left. I wasn’t very good at that time at searching for specific people’s energy, especially when I had no idea which way to look. I caught what could have been his energy, but it was extremely faint. Not only was Drake probably far away by now, but he was also still weak from his fight a few days earlier. The good news is that when people signed up for the tournament they didn’t have to provide their addresses, so it would be a good while before Drake was able to locate him. But if I knew Drake, which I did, he would find him eventually. And it wouldn’t be too difficult considering the fact that Paragos had just made a huge name for himself and everyone would know him.

I headed out for what I thought felt like Drakes energy. He had already gone really far, and was already off the planet. I went to my hotel, checked out, and got in my little spaceship and took off. Drake had a really nice ship, and it was most likely faster than mine, but as long as he didn’t know I was following him, I should have been able to find him. I contacted Tyfoonica by means of telepathy after I had taken off. Normally I couldn’t communicate with telepathy with someone who was more than a few miles away, but I could use the ship to amplify my powers and reach much greater distances. Tyfoonica on the other hand could use his telepathy to communicate with just about anyone anywhere, but I was nowhere near his level.

<Tyfoonica, can you hear me? > I asked.

<You need to focus a little harder. I can barely hear you. >

<Sorry. Do you know the situation? >

<Yeah, the doctor explained everything to me. Troy is not happy. >



<I’m listening. >

<Tomorrow some people are going to show up at my hotel looking for me to take me to Prince Damion. Can you tell them the situation? >

<Sure thing. Good luck finding Drake. And be careful. Once he gets his strength back he will be more powerful than you. >

 I ended the telepathic link and focused on finding Drake again. Since Paragos was going to be known by just about everyone in the universe by the end of the month, it wouldn’t take too long for Drake to find him. Plus, since Paragos finally won the four year long tournament, he is probably resting, but Drake would be training all the time. By the time Drake finds him he will have passed Paragos’s power ten times over.

After I had been traveling for about five hours, chasing what I thought felt like Drakes energy, I decided to take a break. I was much closer, I could feel that, but I wasn’t sure how close I was. And the longer it took for me to find him, the stronger he would be when we met. I wasn’t sure if he would be hostile towards me or not, but the possibility was there. I was faster than Drake, but Drake was by far stronger. I stopped at a rest stop/restaurant/souvenir store. I got a bite to eat, and went in the rest area part and sat down on a couch and rested while I sipped at a cup of coffee. I was worried about Drake. He never used to get upset when he lost, years ago. Granted, the steaks weren’t as high as this, but Drake wasn’t the kind of guy to kill someone over it regardless. He wasn’t raised that way. He never held grudges or anything. He first started going downhill when he first started training for the tournament. That was the last time I got to see the real Drake. Now, even when we have a good conversation he seemed preoccupied all the time. I had to find him and help him out of whatever trance he was in.

I was about to fall asleep when a familiar name read over the TV caught my attention.

"The ‘Strongest Man in the Universe’ tournament was finally concluded just a few days ago, and the winner, Paragos Pintari, can finally let out a sigh of relief and go home. Paragos, at this time, is keeping his location a secret, so he can relax for a little while, but Paragos has promised to reveal his location and his plans now that the tournament is over in ‘due time’. Mary Colinner will have an exclusive interview with Paragos when that time comes. In related news…" Well, that’s good news, I thought. Paragos keeping his location a secret was very fortunate, but rumors would spread, and if there was someone that knew the location of Paragos, Drake would find them. I decided I had rested long enough, and after I picked up some drinks and snacks, I headed out again.
I was getting closer to Drake, now, and I could feel his energy getting stronger too. He was recovering at a high rate. Faster than I would have expected. I was entering the Minarse Galaxy, which was where I believed Drake was. The Minarse Galaxy was known for civil wars, and chaos everywhere. At any given time there were dozens of wars going on at every planet, and between planets too. No one in this Galaxy was happy. I couldn’t imagine why Drake would be here. I found it hard to believe that this was where Paragos was. Paragos could go anywhere in the universe he wanted to, and this was the last place and sane, or insane, person would want to go. As I entered the galaxy, I could feel the hurt and the pain radiating from the planets and moons. I hoped that I wouldn’t have to stop on any of the planets, because no one in this galaxy like visitors, and no matter which planet I chose, I would be met with violence as soon as I landed.
There was a beep on the screen in front of me and when I pressed the receive button Prince Damion’s face appeared on screen. I jumped in surprise, and then sat up straight. I had been driving for near ten hours and I didn’t look very good, and I was very tired. Needless to say, I was not looking suitable to be in front of the Prince.

"Prince Damion, I…I’m sorry. If I would’ve known you were going to call me I would have cleaned myself up a bit." I said in a shaky voice.

"I wouldn’t dream of it, Tyfoon. The people I work with are like family to me, and I treat them like family. Likewise I want you to treat me the same. I don’t expect my family to look good 100% of the time. Besides, I know the situation. That is why I contacted you. I wanted, first of all, to congratulate you on your initiative and bravery. Not many people would want to chase after someone to try to save the life of someone they don’t even know. Especially when that person is stronger than you. Yet you do, for some reason. And it is qualities like that that make me so sure you will make a wonderful ruler of my people. And you may think that you are off doing your own thing right now, instead of working for me, but in fact you are doing your job right now. Drake is a potential threat to many people, not just Paragos. By neutralizing this threat, you will inadvertently save the lives of many other people."

"Wow. I never thought of it that way." I replied.

"I wanted to ask you if you needed any help. I know that if I got some of my people to help you could find Drake much faster, and they could help you detain him."

"I appreciate the thought, but I believe the only help I could accept would be to help me find him. But I don’t want any help when I confront him. I might be able to convince Drake not to go through with this without it becoming violent. But if I’m not alone, he will just assume I have come to take him down and he will fight me. Also I don’t want there to be any casualties. If I bring people with me, someone WILL get killed. You haven’t seen the full capabilities of Drake. He can be a ruthless killer if he wants to be. I have sensed it when I talk to him and I have personally seen him almost kill someone just because they cut his cheek. It won’t take a lot to make him snap right now if, that is, he hasn’t snapped already. He has had to tone his abilities down a lot during the tournament so he wouldn’t kill anyone. I could feel him holding himself back when he was fighting. That’s why he is so upset that he lost. Because he knows he could have won. He thinks it was just a fluke, and I agree with him. But none of that matters now."

"I understand. Just be careful. It would be very unfortunate if you got hurt." He said.

"Thank you for your concern."

"You’re very welcome. I must be going. If you need anything at all, you can get a hold of me through this frequency." And with that, the screen went blank and revealed the openness of space outside. I felt Drakes energy was near. He was definitely on one of the planets in this solar system. I still didn’t know why Drake or Paragos would be staying in a place like this I set the autopilot on the location where I thought Drake was. It would be at least ten or twelve hours before I got there, and I hadn’t slept in almost 20 hours, so I was pretty wiped out. I sat the seat back and closed my eyes. It wasn’t long until I was encompassed by the deepness of sleep.

Chapter 14

I was awakened by the beeping of the autopilot that was letting me know that I was near my destination. I rubbed my eyes and got up. I had slept for nearly 12 hours, and I was feeling refreshed. I took over the controls and it wasn't long before I was coming upon the planet that I thought Drake was on. I could feel his energy more now than ever, and I was sure this was the planet he was on. The planet was barren and empty looking. I could tell, even from several hundred miles away that the planet couldn't have much life on it. I typed the coordinates of the planet in my computer and checked out what information it had on it. There wasn't a whole lot of info. that turned up on my computer but it had enough to confuse me even more as to why Paragos would go there. I read aloud as I studied the information on the screen in from of me.

"Planet Name: Nabooratoo -- meaning planet of uncivil destruction. Population = zero." I raised my eyebrows in utter surprise and confusion and continued. "The people of Nabooratoo were always in constant civil war with one another. This civil war lasted for several hundred years, ever since people started to live on the small planet. Small?" I said to myself. Just then I looked out the windshield of my ship and looked at the planet. I realized then, for the first time, just how small the planet was. It was only the size of most planets' moons. Probably around seven or eight thousand kilometers in diameter. It wasn't long. I continued reading. "After many years of warring, the entire population was finally wiped out by a total nuclear attack. Both sides launched massive nuclear weapons and no one survived." This confused me more than anything. If no one lived there than why would Paragos go there? He had just won the biggest tournament in the universe. He should have gone home to his family!

Well, it wasn't long before I arrived at Nabooratoo. The planet looked very barren and dead. The ground was dry, with no grass or other vegetation. The ground was covered with rocks, many of the jagged, and there were several large rock formations spread out all over the place. Some were 10 or 20 feet high, but many others were 50 or 100 feet high. The bases of the rock formations were anywhere from five or ten feet in diameter on some of the small ones, to over 100 feet on the larger ones. There was a lot of dust in the air, which didn't allow for much sunlight to come through. There was I saw no sign of any life, intelligent or not. Once I landed and got out of my ship, I focused as hard as I could to find Drakes energy. I located it after awhile, and began tracking it down. Drake wasn't too far from me, and as I began to feel Paragos's energy, I realized that I wouldn't make it to Drake before Drake made it to Paragos. I sped up and tried to make it to Drake. I thought about why Paragos would be on the planet the whole way there. Nothing came to me. Perhaps, I thought, when I got there some answers would come. And boy was I in for a surprise.

After about an hour or two of flying, I began to see bright flashes of light in the distance. I flew as fast as I could and got there in a flash. I saw Paragos, cuts and bruises all over his body, and blood coming from several places on his body. He had had quite a beating. And there was Drake, too, with only a few scratches.

"Drake, you-” Paragos tried to say, but he was uppercut in the jaw before he finished his sentence.

"Drake!" I called out. Drake stopped the beating for a moment.

"I knew you would come. I felt it." Drake looked at me. With all the hate and dread in his eyes, with his face twisted and evil looking, I could barely see the Drake I knew in there at all. "Tyfoon, just leave."

"Drake, you know I can't do that." I said flatly.

"Why, because you work for the almighty Prince Damion now?"

"How did you-"

"I intercepted a transmission between you two." Drake smiled. "I always knew you were destined for greatness. But this isn't your concern. This fight is MY business. So LEAVE now." He said again.

"I'm sorry Drake. I can't. I have a responsibility, whether I am working for Prince Damion or not. I can't let one of my friends kill someone. Especially if they didn't do anything wrong!" Drake just stared at me coldly. "You knew when you entered the tournament that there was a chance, even if not a big one, that you would lose!"

"But I didn't just lose, Tyfoon. I lost to someone weaker than me. I am stronger than him. The fact he beat me is a fluke, just a fluke. And even only a few days after the tournament I'm even stronger now than I was then. Paragos is nothing next to me. Like a spec in the universe."

"Not a spec, Drake, a person. Just like you and me."

"Do NOT compare him to me!!!" Drake screamed. "He is nothing!"

"Drake-"

"He is nothing!!!" A tear formed in one of Drake's eyes. He had officially broke down. I knew Drake. And this was not Drake. This was just a little piece of what Drake once was. Drake had become a different person. And I could tell by the look in his eyes that there was no going back. It started years ago, before the tournament, but I didn't want to see it. I first saw it on that day long ago on my 14th birthday. Training for the tournament started Drake's downfall, and losing the tournament was the breaking point. Drake had snapped. The only thing I could do now was to try and save Paragos's life. But that meant putting my own life in danger. I was a very skilled and powerful fighter, even at that young age or 18, but Drake was much stronger than I. Drake wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Drake, I...” My sentence trailed off. I didn't now what to say to him; nothing I could've said would have calmed him down.

"Tyfoon,” Drake said more calmly. "You have two options. You can go away. Pretend that this never happened and go about your life as normally as possible. Or...you can continue to stay in my way and try, the keyword being try, to save Paragos's life, and most likely fail. The choice is yours, but be warned: if you choose the latter, we will cease to be friends, Tyfoon. We will cease to be friends and you will be my enemy. So what will it be?" Drake stared hard at me.

"So this is what it has come to, huh Drake? One decision decides the fate of our friendship, which has existed since we were born? That's it, huh Drake?" Drake didn't respond. He just stared blankly at me with no emotion. "If our friendship means that little to you, than I guess the choice is easy. I'm sorry Drake. I can't look the other way while you kill Paragos."

"So be it. Tyfoon, it was good while it lasted, but I guess all good things must come to an end." I shook my head in disappointment.

"Drake, that's just something people say who need an easy way out of something they can't handle." Drake growled and leapt from the ground right at me with incredible speed. I barely dodged in time. Drake flew past me, stopped in midair, and came back at me twice as fast and this time hit me hard in the middle of the back, striking me before I even had a chance to turn around! I was knocked into the ground, which had sharp rocks all over it. The rocks cut me up, but not too badly though. I tried to get up, but Drake was already on me before I had a chance to get up. He grabbed my head and slammed it into a large rock by my head. My head made contact with the rock and blood spurted from the middle of my forehead when it hit. Drake grabbed me by the neck and threw me into a rock wall. The force of the impact from the throw caused the rock wall to crack. Drake tilted his head, disappointed that the wall didn't break, and then fired an energy blast, which finished the job and sent the rock wall tumbling down on me. Drake was even stronger that I had anticipated. His power had grown since the tournament, and I could see now that he was holding back in the tournaments.

I emerged from the rocks and immediately prepared for battle again. I was getting my tail whipped, and it wasn't about to get better. I had several cuts and bruises from the rocks, and my head was throbbing. The worst thing about all this was that the fight hadn't even been going on for a minute yet and I was already messed up.

I scanned the area for Drake, but I didn't see him. I did, however, for the first time see a group of four or five men, or women, in cloaks standing by a large ship. I had been so caught up in Drake and Paragos I didn't think to see if there was anyone else there. Paragos was going over to the cloaked people. He said something, and then they all made their way into the ship. Good, I thought. They were going to escape.

"Here I am!!!!" The voice came from above me. I jumped out of the way, but Drake still managed to land a kick to my temple. I hit the ground and experienced vertigo from the kick. The sound of loud engines starting up roared. Drake looked over at the ship about to take off and flew over to it. I got up, still feeling dizzy, and flew after Drake as fast as I could. He was faster than me, but I could still stop him. I fired a small but fast energy blast at Drake. It hit him in his left shoulder, sending him into the ground. Before he could get up I kicked him as hard as I could in the small of his back. He growled in pain, pushed off the ground, and then turned to roundhouse kick me. I duck under it and lunged at him, head first. I head butted him in the side, and then quickly turned and kicked him in his back. He stumbled, but didn't fall. He turned and threw an energy ball, which hit me in the chest and exploded. The explosion knocked me back into a big rock wall, and Drake flew at me and kicked me in the gut. I gasped for air as the wind was knocked out of me. I elbowed Drake in the cheek with my left arm, and the punched him in the other cheek with my right. I jumped into the air and kicked him square in the face, and his body went to the ground, feet going up over his head. His head hit first, landing on a sharp rock. He got up off the ground. I looked at the rock his head hit. There was blood on it. Drake looked hurt; not from anything I did, but rather from the rock cutting open his head. Just then the ship shot off into the air. Drake looked up as it left and screamed.

"TYYYYYFFFOOOOOONNNNN!!!!!" Absolute rage filled his eyes. He concentrated and energy swirled all around him. Wind blew through the area we were in from the energy from Drake. His muscles bulged, and his clothes almost ripped. With a flash he disappeared, moving so fast I couldn't trace him. I tried franticly to locate him. All of the sudden I felt a sharp pain in my jaw, which I concluded must have been Drakes fist, but he moved too fast for me to see it. I felt a series of hits to my face, stomach, and ribs; all over my body I was being hit. Drake was on a rampage, and he could be stopped. At least not by me. Suddenly a bolt of lightning hit Drake and sent him flying into a wall. He hit it with a loud CRASH! I looked to the source of the lightning and saw Prince Damion standing there.

"Thought you could use some help." He said, looking over at me.

"I told you I didn't need any help." I said in between breaths.

"No, you said you didn't want reinforcements." He replied. "I am hardly reinforcement."

"Well, at any rate, I'm kinda' glad you decided to show up." I said, still out of breath, and suffering form a lot of pain.

"Well if it isn't the famous Prince Damion. Is this a friend of yours, Tyfoon? Well it won't make a difference. I will take both of you out at the same time!!!" Drake suddenly flew to us faster than I could even see. He kicked both Damion and I in the face. We both went flying in different directions. Damion quickly hopped up to his feet and drew his sword from its sheath on his back.

"You are strong Drake, but you aren't the smartest person I have ever met. Rule number one: Always know your enemy." Damion said as he lifted his sword into the air.

"I am suppose to take fighting advice from you? Ha!" Drake said. He ran at Damion with astonishing speeds, but Damion thrust his sword into the ground. Lightning flew out in every direction, and Drake flew right into it. The electricity surged through Drakes body and he cried out in pain. He was slammed into the ground, but hopped back up to his feet and disappeared and reappeared in front of Damion (he had actually just moved to fast for us to see him). He kicked Damion in the face, slammed his fist into his stomach, and then delivered a roundhouse kick that sent Damion flying into me behind him. We both tumbled on the ground a bit and got up. Drake flew at us and punched me. As he did so, however, he left himself open to an attack by Damion. Drake didn't figure Damion would have had time to attack him, but Damion proved to be stronger than expected. When Drake lifted his right arm to punch me, Damion, who was on Drake's right side, swung his sword cut Drake under his arm by his ribs. Flesh and blood were thrown and splattered on a nearby wall. Drake stumbled back, holding his side as blood ran from his side. He winced in pain, and appeared to look faint. He didn't say anything, he just pointed at me, and disappeared. Moments later, I heard his ship start up and quickly take off and fly away from the planet.

I walked over to Damion. We were both beaten and battered.

"Your friend Drake...he could've won that tournament without a fight." Damion said.

"Yeah. He knew it too, as soon as the match had begun. That's actually the reason he lost. He got cocky and fooled around. He thought it would make the victory sweeter I guess. That backfired." Damion nodded.

"I had no idea that he was that strong. Tyfoon we have a lot of work to do. Right now Drake is stronger than you, all my people, and me. To tell you the truth, there are probably only a handful of people in the universe that are as strong as him. It is so unusual that you and Drake are so strong at this young age. I've never seen, or heard of anyone growing in strength as fast as you two have. And right now there is no one that can stop him." Damion knelt down and picked up his sword. He put it in its sheath as he stood up.

"What about Tyfoonica? I know, at least with how long he has been around, that he must be strong enough to take Drake. And if not, he could team up with us."

"I admire you optimism, but I doubt seriously that you will be able to convince him to fight." Damion said. I looked at him puzzled.

"...Why?" I asked in bewilderment.

"Ask him. If he is ready, then he will tell you why. But it isn't my place to say." Damion said. "Look, I'm sure you have some recovering to do, and even more thinking. I have to go and tell my councilmen about Drake. I'm sorry I must go so abruptly, but I can't waste any time."

"I understand. Thank you for your help. I may not have wanted it, but I surely needed it. Be careful." I said.

"You too." And with that, he left.

Chapter 15

I was woken up by the sun coming in through my window. I had returned to my home after Damion left and rested. I got up and, after freshening myself up, I left to go and explore my new planet. It so happened that the planet I know lived on was within the area that I was going to be watching over. So I thought that I would start my job just by looking around and observing the various things that were going on.

Nothing really went on for about a week. But after the week interval Prince Damion invited me to a special announcement. I traveled to his planet, which was called Zyruef, and met with him in his castle. After we talked for a while, he kindly informed me that the special announcement was going to be about me.

"Tyfoon, I have a slight problem." Damion started. "My brother, I'm sure you have heard of him, has been trying to kill me for some time. He and a small group of followers has been trying to assassinate, and has almost succeeded several times." I nodded. I understood of course. The story about Damion and his brother (his twin brother actually), Dakon, wasn't exactly a secret. Dakon and Damion, ever since birth, were enemies. And by the time they were 15, Dakon had already gone AWOL and left. Also, just a couple of years prior to my meeting with Damion, the King, whose name was Zorak, also went AWOL, which is why Damion is in charge of the kingdom now. So it came to no surprise to me that Dakon was trying to kill Damion. "It is pretty well known that Dakon and I are enemies, but it isn’t so well known that Dakon's strength far surpasses mine. And so it is by sheer luck that I haven't been killed thus far. Anyway, what I am trying to say is that I am going to be leaving for a while, not to hide out, but rather to try to find Dakon and his group of rebel followers and dispose of them. In the meantime I have to have someone watch over my kingdom." There was a moment of silence between the two of them as I pondered what he was going to ask me to do. "Tyfoon, if you feel yourself an equal to the task, I want to ask you if you will assume the roll of ruling over my kingdom while I am gone." I couldn't keep my mouth from gaping open when the question came out. I couldn't believe it. The thought of me, an 18-year-old young adult who has never had to have the responsibility of looking after anything, ruling over an entire kingdom.

"But, but...” I tried to say.

"Tyfoon," Damion interrupted. "You family has always been great leaders. And I am not the only one who knows that. There are many people that know all about your family. In fact, your name is probably one of the most well known names in the universe. Tyfoon, it has only been 18 years since your father's death. And there are many people that still remember the comfort and peace that they felt when he was watching over them. That is the same feeling that I know you will bring them. You are someone people can trust and rely on. And you have a good, pure heart Tyfoon. That is something that most, if not all, of my followers and leaders lack. I am afraid that if I left my kingdom with anyone else that my kingdom, and my people, would suffer, and that whoever I leave control with might get power hungry. But you, Tyfoon, I know I can trust. You are much too humble to let the power go to your head. And I know that you would do everything within you power to ensure that my people stay happy and safe." Damion stopped talking and waited to see if would respond. But I was speechless. A woman walked in and came over by Damion.

"It is almost time for the announcement, my lord. Almost all of your people have their attention focused, waiting for your announcement." She said.

"Thank you. I will be out shortly." Damion replied. "So, what do you think? I know it is a lot to ask of you, and that you have a lot of things on your mind. But I would not ask you if I didn't know for sure that you could do this. My kingdom is very happy, and it is very safe. This is because I make very few mistakes in my decisions, so I fully trust myself in this one." A million things were shuffling though my mind. Damion was right about my family. My family did have a history of always being there when needed, and not letting anyone down. But it is so much harder to admit that when you are the person being offered the position.

"Tyfoon,” Damion started. "I know this is a lot to put on you all at once. But this is something I must do. If I stay here, I will get killed. It is a very unfortunate thing, and I wish I could leave later so I could mentor you, but I believe that you have gotten all the mentoring you need from Tyfoonica. He has taught you how to be responsible, even if you don't know it." Then I finally spoke.

"When...when will you be leaving?" I asked.

"Tomorrow. I will leave tomorrow whether you decide to take this burden or not. It is something I must do." He replied.

"Will I be able to call on Tyfoonica for assistance or advice?" I asked. Damion laughed.

"You will be in charge of everything. You can do whatever you want to do." I took a deep breath.

"I.... I’ll do it." Damion smiled.

"Don't sound so depressed my friend. I think you will find that you like this position. I do. And thank you very much for doing this. Now let's go tell my kingdom about your news!" We began to walk to an area where we would be taped live for the entire kingdom to see.

"What would you have done if I refused? What would you have told your people?" I asked him just before we got to the taping area.

"Tyfoon, my young friend, I knew you wouldn't refuse. It's not in your family's blood to disappoint people. I smiled and we sat down and the announcement was made before the Damion's, or rather my, whole kingdom.

Chapter 16

Four years later...

The darkness of the night was all around me. Branches from the forest trees grabbed at me as I ran past them. For a moment my path was illuminated as lightning danced across the sky, and then it was dark again. I couldn't see where I was going, but as I ran I closed my eyes. I could feel the energy of all the living things around me: the animals, the plants, the trees, and him. I didn't know who he was, but I knew the information he possessed. With my eyes closed I could sense the energy of the obstacles in my way, and I could dodge them before I collided with them. With my energy now focused on him, and the obstacles in my way, I opened my eyes. I was gaining on him. The planet of Jaodsuef was unwelcoming, and the roaring thunder told me that my presence was not appreciated. I focused to tune all my senses. Sight was almost useless. To many things grabbing at me to rely on touch. Too far away from my target for smell to be any use. But I focused hard on my hearing. Raindrops became like giant bass drums beating into my ears. I strained to listen pass them. The sound of the raindrops faded away until everything became silent, save the occasional thunderclap, which now sounded like a distant rumble. I blocked out all noises. Everything was quiet. I tried to listen in the distance. I could here a slight panting. It started out as a faint pant that could barely be heard. But then, as I focused in, I could here the panting more clearly. And then there were words.

"He's gaining on me!" I heard in between breaths. " He's faster and stronger than I am. What should I do?" He was talking to someone over a communicator. I strained every muscle in my body to hear the response. The other voice was so quiet I could barely hear it, but I could just barely make it out.

"Whatever you do, you do not give away ANY information. Tyfoon is the best there is. If there is a way to get the information out of you, he will find it. But whatever the cost, do not give him anything. Don't give in. If he promises you safety in return for any information, just know that I will find you anyway, and I will make you suffer. Dakon doesn't allow for any slip-ups, and you have already made plenty. If you mess up here, it will be the end of you, do I make myself clear?" There was a long pause before there was an answer.

"Yes." And that was the end of the conversation. Something about the other voice puzzled me. I thought it sounded familiar. But I couldn't think about that now. He was only a couple hundred feet from me now, and I was gaining on him all the time. I heard his footsteps slowing down, and then all of the sudden they came to a stop. Is he resting? I thought. But this wasn't the case. He was giving up. He knew that fleeing any further was futile. I quickly caught up with him. I stopped when I came within 15 feet of him. He looked at me through burning eyes, burning not from hate, but from exhaustion, from pain. I took in heavy breaths, also winded from the chase. I had been chasing him for three days solid. And I finally caught up with him on the big planet of Jaodsuef. I stood there, looking at him. He looked right back, not saying anything. I half expected him to drop to his knees and plea for his life. But he did no such thing.

"The people I work for...they are horrible people...” He said. I didn't stop looking at him as he spoke. I had no idea where he was going with this. "I started with them long ago. Back when it just sounded like a fun game. That was before all the killing and stealing came about. No, long before then, back in the good days, the fun ones. But everything has changed since then. I tried to get out, but I guess once you are involved in something like this, there's no getting out. And what's worse, they confided in me, made me one of their top guys. Heh. They disgust me." I looked at him, almost pitied him. He wasn't a villain. He was a victim. And I felt for him. "I'll tell you all I know. I'll do whatever I can to help you hunt those monsters down." I swallowed hard.

"Who were you talking to just a second ago?" He looked surprised to know that I knew he had spoken to someone.

"His real name is not known to anyone but Dakon. He is the second in command of our group. We all know him as Kezebah. I can't tell you where to find him, but I can tell you what he is planning. Damion, he has been trying to find him for some time. He knows where he is. Dakon has tracked him down. If you don't hurry, Damion will die at the hands of his brother." I could tell by the way he said it that he was telling me the truth. "When Kezebah finds out what I have told you he will kill me."

"Don't worry, I will make sure he doesn't get to you."

"He will find a way. He always does. Just do me a favor. Take him down." And with that, he lifted his hand to his head and let out an energy blast and took his own life.

I didn't have time to worry about his death. I had to get to Damion to prevent his. I went to my ship and tried to communicate with Damion. An error came up and said that the communication lines weren't working. It looked like Dakon was a step ahead of me. I was to far away to communicate telepathically, so I got in my ship and took off.

Ever since Damion had left about four years ago, I had, in between my normal duties of watching over the kingdom, been trying to help Damion in finding Dakon. We communicated every so often, just when one of us found something really important. And now that I finally knew where Dakon was going to be at, I feared I would be too late.

It took several hours for me to get to the planet that Damion was currently staying on. I didn't even know the name of it. He had only been staying there a couple of days.

I tried to contact a bunch of my people, but every time it didn't go through. Not many people knew that Damion and I were working together, and not many people knew what Damion was doing either. Damion simply told his people that he had some very important business to attend to and that I was going to be in charge while he was gone. Damion was right, though. The people were very pleased to hear that a Tyfoon was going to be leading them. So even if I did contact someone, it would mean I had to spill about Damion and me. As I went into the atmosphere of the planet, and then finally landed I thought about what I would do. I didn't know how strong Dakon was. But I knew it would be a challenge for me to say the least. But Kezebah...I knew nothing about him. His voice sounded so familiar, but I couldn't put a face to it. But then, it could've been my imagination too.

I searched hard for Damion's energy. He was good at concealing it, but I was better at finding it. I managed to track it down and I took flight and started making my way there. I could fly pretty fast, so it didn't take me long before I got to the area he was in. There was nothing but woods and forests as far as the eye could see. I had to look for a while before I finally spotted a small cottage. It was only the size of a small house, which probably meant that it was a temporary home for Damion, just somewhere for him to stay in between traveling.

I landed by the cottage and rushed in. Damion was right there in the front room looking at some papers and he looked up immediately, ready for anything. He sighed when he saw it was me and said:

"Tyfoon, what in the world are you doing?"

"Getting you! I tracked down one of Dakon's henchmen. He didn't tell me much before he killed himself, but he did tell me that Dakon knows where you are and he is coming here. He didn't say when, and I don't know for sure if he was telling the truth, but regardless, better safe than sorry. We need to get you out of here." Damion didn't ask any questions. He told the two people that were with him they had to leave, they grabbed a couple of things, and then they walked out the door. Damion and I left the cottage moments after the other two. When I got outside, we found them on the ground, dead.

Chapter 17

I looked at Damion, and he at I. We both looked up and saw who I knew must have been Dakon staring down at us.

"Hi there brother." He said. "Been hiding from me, have you?" He said, mocking Damion.

"I've hardly been hiding. I've been looking for you. And I guess I've found you."

"Or rather I've found you."

"Whatever the case, you are here." Damion looked at me, and then spoke to me telepathically. <Tyfoon, Dakon is very strong. He may very well be stronger than both of us together. Be careful. >

<Of course I will. > I replied.

"Privately conversing, are we?" Dakon said. I looked up at him surprised, but Damion didn't.

<And he is very perceptive. > Damion said. I nodded.

“Ah, Damion, why did we ever grow so apart?” Dakon asked in an innocent, holier than thou art type of voice.

“Because you killed our mother and raped the only person I ever loved. Literally.” Damion glared at Dakon through cold, dark eyes.

“ Oh, you took that personally? I was just playing.” Philippe laughed.

“That’s the worst part. You don’t think what you did was wrong.”

“No, you see that’s where you’re wrong. I know what I did was wrong, Randal. I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t think it was wrong. I’m not some stupid, twisted, retard that doesn’t know right from wrong. Well, I might be twisted, but I know right from wrong. I simply choose to do things that are wrong because it is fun. If I didn’t hate you so much, I might have let you join me.”

“I’d rather than die than join you Dakon.” Damion said.

“Well that is very convenient, because you are about to.” Dakon laughed sadistically. “Damion, you always were an admirable fighter. But ever since we were children, I have been the better person. I have been stronger, faster, smarter, and better looking than you. I always won when we fought. In fact it is a miracle that you aren’t dead yet. But that is a mistake that I will soon rectify.” Dakon dropped to the ground and stood there. “Well, I’ve had enough talk. Let’s do this. !” Dakon held his hand in the air and with a flash a double bladed spear appeared in his hand. Damion drew his sword, and I just stood there, looking helpless, not having a weapon. Dakon sped toward us. He twirled his spear around and attacked Damion. He swung his spear at Damion. Damion blocked the first swing, but the second one landed a hit, resulting in a crimson streak of liquid to run down Damion’s cheek. He stepped back, wiped his cheek, and stepped back in and engaged in the battle. There was a brilliant series of clings and flashes from the metal-on-metal battle. I felt kind of intimidated about going in and fighting with them, considering they both had weapons, but Damion needed me just the same.

I waited for the right moment when I didn’t think Dakon would notice me to enter into the fight. When I saw his back was turned, I quietly snuck up behind him and was about to attack him. He continued fighting with Damion, and as I was about to attack, he kicked Damion in the chest, who stumbled back from it, and turned his spear and thrust his behind him. My eyes opened wide as the spear pierced the skin of my upper arm. The spear continued moving back until it emerged through the other side. He twisted his spear, which had sharp, jagged edges along the sides, and then pulled it out. This action opened the wound even more, and prevented it from being able to close up right away. Plus, because of the serrated edges on Dakon’s spear, it tore the muscles on the inside of my arm. So basically with one move he had completely disabled my arm.

I stepped back with my mouth gaping open, staring at my wound, which was now beginning to throb. Dakon had already jeopardized the chances of Damion and I winning. I could only use one of my arms now, and Dakon knew where to hit me. But just the same I prepared myself to enter the battle once again, this time more carefully. I charged up an energy blast, and I launched it at the ground behind Dakon. Immediately after I launched another aimed at Dakon’s face. Dakon pushed off Damion with his foot, and instinctively turned around to block the energy blast that I fired at him. But to his surprise the blast hit the ground right in front of him, knocking big chunks of dirt into him. Dust swirled up around him from the unearthed ground, so he was temporarily blinded and as such didn’t see the other energy blast until it hit him right in the face. Damion took advantage of the moment and swung his sword at Dakon. His sword cut through the air, catching flesh as it swung by Dakon. Flesh and blood was thrown as the sword made contact with Dakon’s back. Dakon fell on his back, still following the momentum from when he was hit by the energy blast. Dakon brought his feet up to his chest and kicked himself up to his feet. Damion delivered a backwards roundhouse kick that hit Dakon in the face and sent him flying. Dakon recovered, midair, and hovered silently in the air.

“You’re smarter than I thought, Tyfoon. Maybe-” Dakon tried to say, but he was interrupted when Damion almost took off his head with his sword. Dakon growled and returned Damion’s swing with an attack of his own. He swung his spear at Damion and I heard a loud clang as the metal hit metal.

Damion and Dakon were going at it, and I could do almost nothing. Damion was doing well, but the only one who was occasionally doing any damage was Dakon. He was definitely the better of the two. After while, Damion’s attacks started to slow down, and his reflexes got duller and duller. Dakon, on the other hand just kept getting faster and faster. His endurance was astonishing. I tried to help out when I could, but Dakon was quick enough to dodge my attack and hit me before Damion could attack him. My arm was healing, enhanced by my natural ability to quickly heal wounds and regenerate, but at the rate Dakon was going, Damion would have been finished by the time my arm healed.

Damion made one last effort to finish Dakon. He threw his sword at the ground, which threw lightning everywhere once it stuck in the ground. Dakon was slightly rattled by this, and it provided time enough for Damion to kick Dakon to the ground. Damion held out his hand and his sword flew to it. Damion quickly tried to finish Dakon off with his sword, but Dakon quickly thrust his spear into Damion. Because he had to do it so quickly, he didn’t have time to aim well, but he still managed to stab Damion in the shoulder that Damion was holding his sword in. Damion dropped his sword, unable to grip it now. As Dakon ripped out his spear, the jagged edges of it grabbed hold of flesh and muscles from inside Damion’s arm. Damion growled through clenched teeth in pain and took several steps back. Dakon rose to his feet and looked at his spear. Pieces of flesh and muscle dangled from the jagged edges, and blood rolled down the spear down to the handle, and on to Dakon’s hand. Dakon wiped the blood off his hand and made his way toward Damion. I raised my hand and was about to attack him, but suddenly Dakon stopped, raised his hand, and looked at me.

“Don’t bother. You and I both know it won’t make a difference.” Dakon said plainly. I lowered my arm, speechless. Dakon smiled, satisfied, and continued walking to Damion.

“You know, I have waited a long time for this; ever since we were children. I don’t know why I hate you so much. I guess I was just cursed with a loathing for everyone when I was born. But whatever the reason, I can finally rest knowing my worst enemy is dead.

“If you kill him, you’ll make yourself a lot more enemies!!!” I yelled.

“Shut up boy!!!” Dakon yelled back, and turned his gaze again to his brother. “I hope you have enjoyed your time in the realm, because you life is now over!!!” Dakon raised his spear over his head, and electricity began to spark out everywhere. Just as he was about to kill Dakon, a gust of wind so strong I could actually see it and feel its energy hit Dakon and threw him into a rock wall.

“You won’t be killing anyone else today Dakon.” An angelic voice said. A beautiful woman came down from the sky and hovered by Damion a few feet from the ground. She had white hair, and had white wings protruding from her back. Her body seemed to emit a cool glow. Her voice was soft and quiet, but almost echoed when she spoke.

“Well if it isn’t the white little witch. Nice to see you Oni.” Dakon said. She ignored him and looked to Damion.

“Are you okay?” She said softly.

“Y-yes. But you shouldn’t have come here.”

“Perhaps, but if I hadn’t you would be dead.”

“You can’t always save me, Oni.” Damion said. Oni knelt by Damion, making contact with the ground for the first time.

“You are right. But so long as I’m able, I will try.” She smiled and kissed him lightly on his lips.

“Oh, isn’t that sweet.” Dakon said sarcastically. “Oh, and by the way, I’m fine too Oni, thanks for asking. Oni stood up and gave Dakon an evil look.

“What makes you think I care about you?” She said coldly.

“I thought we had such a good thing going, you and I.” I could see the hatred well up in Oni’s eyes.

“Why, because you raped me, you psychotic freak? You disgust me.” She spat in Dakon’s direction.

“Need I remind you that you are my guardian, just as well as Damion’s? You are in danger of execution right now. It is completely against the rules to harm either Damion or myself.” Dakon said.

“True, but I am also to protect the both of you at all costs, even when you are fighting each other.” Oni fired back.

“Fine, but you aren’t protecting me, you are protecting your lover over there.”

“Well, as I recall, I was given the responsibility by your father the king. Where is he? He has been AWOL for years now, driven away by you no doubt. And now that Damion has assumed responsibility for the kingdom, my fate rests in his hands.”

“And I won’t let anything happen to her.” Damion said.

“And you think she can protect you, right?” Dakon laughed. “What makes you think she can defeat me!?”

“You are blinded by your arrogance. I am not only your guardian, but I am the Guardian of the Wind. My powers are more than your will ever be!” Oni stood tall and gusts of wind blew all around here and nearly knocked Dakon and I over.

“Ha! We’ll see about that!” Dakon twirled his staff around and ran at Oni. Oni flew into the air effortlessly, guided by the wind, and Dakon leapt to follow.

“I see you can fly young warrior; a mediocre ability. For one to fly is to master the ability to push off from different objects. This can be useful when trying to leap long distances, by physically pushing off the ground, or a wall. But when flying, you have to push off the wind, which is the reason that very few people can fly in space: there is no wind there. So what happens wind the wind you rely to fly on is taken away?” Oni extended her arms and legs out, and in an instant the cool breeze that swept the area, and the wind itself was gone. It was an odd feeling, like being in still, unmoving water with you body suspended in place. And as the wind was taken away, Dakon fell to the ground. Dakon twisted his body so he would land on his feet, but just before he landed, Oni threw a gust of wind at Dakon, which hit his upper body causing him to rotate and land on his back. Dakon got up, slightly winded from the hit.

“Nice trick Oni. But it’s going to take more than that to defeat me.” Dakon said.

“Have you ever had the wind knocked out of you?” Oni asked. Dakon didn’t respond; he just stared hard at Oni. Oni fired a gust of wind that couldn’t be seen at Dakon’s feet. Dakon fell and landed on his back. Then Oni fired another blast of wind that hit Dakon in the chest, knocking all the air out of his lungs. Dakon gasped desperately for air, and while he was in the middle of recovering Oni swooped down and grabbed Dakon by the neck. She threw him into a tree, which collapsed from the impact. Oni flipped her long hair back and stood there patiently, waiting for Dakon to appear. But the only thing I could see was a quick streak that went from the tree and disappeared into the distance.

“Is…he gone?” I asked.

“Yes, he has fled. Dakon is a despicable person, and a cheap fighter, but he knows when to retreat.” Oni walked over to Damion and helped him to his feet.

“Thank you.” Damion said. Oni smiled and kissed Damion again. Then she turned and looked at me.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“My name is Oni. When Dakon and Damion were mere children, Dakon killed their mother. The King, Damion's father that is, appointed me to be their guardian after their mother died. I raised them both, and I trained them to be powerful warriors, and great leaders. But unfortunately Dakon was an evil person with a black heart; I couldn’t control him. I have long since given up hope on him.”

“You’re control of the wind, it’s astonishing. You said you were the…”

“The Guardian of the Wind, yes.” Oni said, and at that moment the cool breeze returned and blew Oni’s hair behind her. “I have been the Guardian of the Wind for many thousands of years.”

“Why would they choose someone who already had so much responsibility to be the Damion’s guardian?” I asked.

“I have known Damion’s father for a long time. He knew my ambitions, he knew my heart, and he knew that I loved his children. So he asked me if I would accept the responsibility. I gladly accepted the it.”

“Well, I can’t thank you enough for saving me and Damion. We would have both been dead by now if it wasn’t for you.”

“It was my pleasure, Tyfoon.”

“…How do you know my name?” I asked.

“Tyfoon, do not be so modest. There are not many people that don’t know your name in this kingdom, or in this universe for that matter. You are almost as powerful a man as Damion himself. You take sole control of the kingdom when Damion is absent.” She replied kindly.

“Oh.” I said, feeling kind of stupid.

“I hate to leave you Tyfoon, but Damion and myself have some important business to tend to. Will you be alright by yourself?” Oni said. I looked at my arm. It was already almost healed.

“No, go ahead. I’ll be alright.”

“Goodbye then, Tyfoon. It was nice meeting you.” Oni said. I nodded. They left, and I did shortly after.

Chapter 18

I returned to the mansion on planet Zyruef (Damion’s planet) after I left. I couldn’t sleep; I had too much on my mind. The fight with Dakon had been the second fight I had ever been in where I had almost been killed. My job was getting tougher. I was getting stronger everyday, but there were still too many people that could kill me. And too many people, now, that wanted to. I was one of the most powerful people in the universe, not only in strength, but also in political power. I was on a lot of people’s hit lists.

Things were pretty uneventful for the next few days. I mostly worked on training and trying to hone new abilities. I had master many new techniques in the four years since I had taken responsibility of watching Damion’s kingdom. I had been striving to master not only my energy blasts, but also my elemental strengths. I could generate and control fire and water, though using them in a battle was still difficult, and I had completely mastered electricity; Damion had helped me with that since that was the element he and Dakon had mastered. But I still couldn’t generate ice; that was the hardest one. Also, inspired by what I saw Oni do, I now wanted to learn how to control the wind also. But all of this would come with time and practice I knew. And with all the riots and people trying to kill Damion and I, I had plenty of opportunities to practice.

After about a week of steady training, and nothing really happening I got a call from Damion via telepathy.

<Tyfoon, are you busy? > Came the call from Damion.

<No, I was just training. What’s up? >

<Medallions? Care to be more specific? >

<Yeah. What about them? >

Damion said. I hesitated for a moment before replying.

<Look, there is a lot you don’t know about the medallions, Tyfoon. Did you ever ask Tyfoon about joining with us to take down Drake? >

<No. I figured you knew what you were talking about and just took your word for it. >

<Wait, what about the medallions! > I said.

<I’ll tell you after you talk to Tyfoonica. > And then the communication was cut off.

After Damion and I finished talking, I headed over to my dimension to talk with Tyfoonica. When I got there, Tyfoonica’s face lit up.

“Well look who it is! To what do I owe this pleasure?” Tyfoonica asked.

“Damion has something for me to do, but I can’t find out until I find out all I can about the medallions. He said you would know the most about them. He also said that the medallions are connected to why you don’t fight anymore. What can you tell me?” I asked. Tyfoonica was silent for a couple minutes before he spoke.

“I suppose it is time that you knew. A long time ago, back in the beginning of time, there were two races that struggled for control of the universe, one good and one bad. The bad race was made up of seven wizards. The other race was made up of an unknown amount of beings. They were called the Mystics.”

“Mystics! I thought they were just a myth.” I said, dumbfounded.

“Most people do. Those two races fought until finally the Mystics overcame the Wizards. After that the Mystics disappeared, and it is assumed that they also died in the war, but no one knows for sure. But the leader of the Wizards, Sef, made five medallions and two swords before he died. If Sef is ever reincarnated and he finds those relics, he would gain all of his powers and strength back. But those artifacts would also give any normal person immeasurable power if they were to get their hands on them. Thousands of years ago a warrior by the name of Inferno sought out those medallions and the swords. Out of the five medallions, the gold, silver, black, rainbow, and crystal, Inferno had gotten three. And he had also gotten one of the swords: the Sword of Agony. Tilon Tyfoon, one of your ancestors who was at the time the Chosen One, was trying to keep Inferno from getting the medallions. He had gotten two, the silver and crystal (though he didn’t know he had the crystal) and he had possession of the other sword. But Inferno and Tilon fought each other for possession of the medallions and Inferno killed Tilon.” Tyfoonica stopped.

“So what happened?” I asked. Tyfoonica paused and then continued.

“I couldn’t let Inferno get Tilon’s medallions. He would have been too powerful to overcome. So I stepped in tried to stop Inferno. But Inferno encased himself in a crystal tomb and teleported out. He was never seen after that. After so many years, he must be dead.”

“That’s great! But why would that make you stop fighting?”

“I was a member of the council back then.” He said.

“You?”

“Yes. And it is forbidden to interfere with the Chosen One’s affairs if you are in the Council for a reason, which I don’t know even to this day. So I was ejected from the Council and I haven’t fought someone except my pupils in training since.” I paused and then realized the severity of the situation.

“Damion said that Dakon is trying to get his hands on the medallions!” I said frantically.

“Idiots.” Tyfoonica said. I looked at him puzzled.

“What?”

“They will never find them. Only the Council and myself know the status of the medallions.”

“Not even Damion?”

“No. But I can’t tell you what I know. Only the Council can, if they choose to tell you.”

“I have to tell Damion about this. Thanks for your help, Tyfoonica! I’ll talk to you later, I have to go!”

I left and contacted Damion right away.

<Damion? Can you hear me? > I asked telepathically.

<Yeah. >

<Sort of. He told me how they were created, and about Inferno, but he said he couldn’t tell me where they were at. > Damion growled.

<That’s strange. And he wouldn’t tell you why? >

<No. He said that the Council are the only people that could tell me. And I can’t exactly just go up and ask them. >

<Yeah. > Damion seemed to be thinking. <My source told me that Dakon was very close to finding one of the medallions, the Gold I think. I wonder what else they were talking about. > I though for a moment.

<All right. I’ll let you know if I find anything. > I said.

<Okay. Be careful Tyfoon. Dakon is going to be looking for the both of us. >

Chapter 19

I went to a library back on my planet (Damion’s planet) to see what I could find. It was one of the biggest libraries in the galaxy, or the universe for that matter. If I was going to find anything, I would find it there. I looked at various books and encyclopedias, as well as the Internet, for several hours. Nothing was coming up. I found several things about medallions, but none seemed to be anything out of the ordinary, and none seemed to have a story behind it. Most of them were just old artifacts.

After I was there for about seven hours (and man was I tired) I finally found something. It was an article on the Internet. It was about a museum that had found a gold medallion. The medallion seemed to cause electrical shortages all around it. The museum had to have a special case that was metal and went deep into the ground so the medallion wouldn’t cause any shortages. When the medallion was tested to see how old it was, the researchers were unable to determine the age of it. They said this was because it was too old to use any kind of dating technology on it. Also when they were testing it, the medallion gave off a lot of energy.

“This must be it.” I said, but then I paused. “This doesn’t sound like a decoy. This sounds like the real thing.” I tried to contact Damion, but I couldn’t get a hold of him. Hopefully Dakon won’t be there. I thought. If he was, I would get myself killed. Any of his henchmen, however, I thought I should be able to take.

It took me about a day to get to the planet the museum was on. Once I got there, I got something to eat and headed over to the museum. On my way over there, I thought I felt someone else’s energy. It felt like they were keeping it suppressed. But I knew it was someone strong.

“I hope that isn’t Drake.” I said to myself. I had tried several times on my way to the museum to contact Damion, but he must have been busy because I couldn’t get a hold of him. When I finally got to the museum, I was surprised at what I saw. The museum looked abandoned. When I walked in it was dusty and messy; it didn’t look like there had been anyone in there in years.

I walked around trying to find the medallion; the museum was really big and there was no one to tell me where it was. I heard something in one of the rooms that was about 100 feet away from me. I figured that must have been the energy I felt. It was most likely one of Dakon’s henchmen. I carefully and cautiously made my way over to the room. When I walked in I saw the medallion. It was in a strange looking case; no doubt the case described in the article. The medallion was simple looking. It was round and flat, and it had a beautiful gold shine. Next to the case there was a shady looking character who was about to break into the case.

“Hey you! Stop!” I said quickly, before he could break the case. His body was turned so I couldn’t see his face. He wore a black trench coat with black straps and silver locks on it. He stepped into the shadows so he could look at me and still have his face hidden.

“Well look who it is. I am impressed and you and Damion found out about the medallions. Dakon thought Damion would be too hard headed to figure it out.” He said. His voice sounded familiar.

“Well I guess we are just smarter than he would like to admit.”

“Or you’re just lucky.” Then it hit me. The man on Jaodsuef was talking to someone just before he committed suicide. He said his name was…Kezebah. That was who this was, I was sure of it. But I wanted him to tell me.

“Who are you?” I asked, seeing if he would tell me his real name.

“My name is Kezebah. I am the second in command of the group called Ekaxarikhu.”

“What is your real name?” He laughed.

“Funny you should ask. That, in a way, is my real name.”

“Don’t badger me with riddles, Kezebah. What is your real name?”

“Don’t you worry about that Tyfoon. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to take this medallion and go.”

“Yeah right, like that is going to happen. Just surrender now and I won’t have to put you through the embarrassment of losing.”

“Awfully cocky, don’t you think? I doubt you can beat me.” He laughed and stepped out, but had his head lowered so I couldn’t see his face.

“Well, let’s find out!” I ran at Kezebah and threw a punch. I don’t usually take the first move, but I decided to make an exception. Kezebah ducked, but unfortunate for him was that he ducked right into my knee. I grabbed his head and slammed it into my knee again. From the darkness of the shadow I saw crimson liquid fly into the light. Kezebah uppercut me, and though my head jerked up, my body didn’t move. I grabbed his hair and threw him into a glass case. I then grabbed his head and looked at his face for the first time. I couldn’t believe it. I realized then why I recognized his voice when I heard it in the forests of Jaodsuef. It was Paragos.

“You…” I said. Paragos smiled.

“None other!” He said, and then slammed his head into mine. I backed up, temporarily stunned, and then Paragos kicked me in the stomach. I caught his leg and threw him into a wall.

“So that’s what you were doing on Nabooratoo when Drake and I found you. You were meeting with Dakon’s people about the medallion!” Paragos got up and wiped some blood from his mouth.

“My, my. You are very perceptive. Did you figure that out all on your own?”

“Screw you.” Paragos laughed.

“Well, I hate to ruin this little reunion, but I really have to be going now.”

“I’m not finished with you yet.”

“Too bad.” Paragos held up a yellow pendant that was around his neck. “Illuminate!” He shouted. A bright light came out from the pendant and blinded me for a moment. Paragos took advantage of the moment to get away. But he first wanted to get in a good solid punch. He walked over to me while I was still unable to see and went to punch me. Though my vision was at the time useless, my other senses were still fully functional. I could feel the air around me change as his fist cut through the air. I judged where his fist was and how fast it was going and ducked just in time to dodge it. I then fired a punch of my own and made contact with his jaw which sent him flying. I heard the satisfying crash as he hit the wall. “Tyfoon! This isn’t over!” He said, infuriated. And then I heard him leave. Moments after he left, I got my vision back.

I walked over to the case with the medallion in it. Kezebah had taken it while I had been stunned. I decided to go to my dimension and tell Tyfoonica. I couldn’t help but think the medallion, though it wasn’t a decoy, wasn’t really the medallion. Maybe it was connected, but something about it didn’t seem right. Before I went to my dimension (I could transport there no matter where I was) I tried to contact Damion again. I still couldn’t get a hold of him. So I went ahead and went to my dimension.

“Tyfoon, back already? You have only been gone a day or so.”

“Yes, and I found the gold medallion. But I don’t really think it was a medallion. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain. But Kezebah was there, and he got away with it.

“Don’t worry about that. I think you’re right. I don’t think it is the real Gold medallion. I’ll tell you why shortly. I think we need to take a little trip.” I gave Tyfoonica a puzzled look.

“Where?” I asked earnestly.

“To the realm of the Council.” My jaw dropped open and it felt like it hit the ground.

“The Council? You can just go up and visit the Council whenever you like!?” I asked.

“Well my best friend is a member, and I also used to be. I may have gotten kicked out, but it was a bitter departure. And they still respect me just as much as they did then.” I was speechless. I had seen members of the Council and their children at parties before, but actually being in the presence of the dimension of the Council where they made all the decisions that affected the whole universe! That was enough to make you sick! The Council, like me, had their own dimension that they met in. Not very many people were aloud to go there.

“When are we going?” I asked.

“Now.” Tyfoonica said. I blinked, and when my eyes opened, I was standing in front of the Council. I looked around in awe. It was such an honor to be in the presence of the Council.

“We have been expecting you, Tyfoon.” Troy said to me.

“You…you have?” I asked.

“Yes.” Alkor, the head of the Council, said. “You seem to have found something very important.” I held out the gold medallion.

“Yes, the gold medallion. But I wasn‘t able to get it..” I said. I lowered my head.

“Tyfoonica told you about the medallions, right?” Alkor asked. I nodded my head. “But he didn’t tell you why Dakon would never find them, did he?” I shook my head. “Did Tyfoonica tell you about Inferno?”

“Yes.”

“Well, when Inferno teleported away, he took the Sword of Agony, one of the swords the Wizard Sef created, with him. Also, the silver, rainbow, black, and gold medallions were held in the sword.”

“Wait, the gold was in there too? Then what the heck was I chasing?” I asked.

“I‘m not sure. It definitely gives off the same type of energy as the medallions, but it doesn‘t really feel like an actual medallion.”

“I felt the same thing” I asked.

“It is amazing your instinct and intellect regarding the medallions seeing how you know very little of them.” I smiled awkwardly.

“Inferno has, in his possession, all of the medallions, save one. We thought Inferno had died long ago, but recently we have felt what we is his energy. But his energy is always moving, we can’t get a fix him, so for now we can do nothing.“

“And what of the other medallion??” I asked.

“The Crystal medallion, the strongest of all the medallions, and ever moving.” I looked confused. “Someone has the Crystal medallion.”

“What?! Who?” I asked frantically.

“Don’t worry about who. But it is in good hands.” I let out a breath of relief.

“If Inferno can’t really be traced, then why are you worried about someone getting them?” I asked.

“We are very cautious. In the past we didn’t worry about it, because we thought that Inferno was dead. But with the possibility of him still being alive, we prepare for the worst. And we fear that there is someone else trying to get the medallions, someone even more powerful than Kezebah and Dakon combine.

“What? Dakon’s bad enough by himself! How do you know this?”

“Over the past couple thousands of years we have felt a strong force growing gradually in power over time. But their ability to hide their power level was astonishing. We were never able to locate him, even in a thousand years.”

“Wow. You said that Inferno had a sword called the Sword of Agony. What role does it play in this?” I asked.

“There are actually two swords that Sef made, one of which is the Sword of Agony, and the power of the medallions cannot be harnessed, or even released without one or both of them. We possessed both swords for many thousands of years, but somehow Inferno was able to break the barrier to our dimension and steal it. He tried to steal the other sword also, but he wasn’t able. And he almost got the other sword when he killed Tilon, your ancestor. But Tyfoonica stopped him.”

“So what do we do now? Kezebah had the… fake medallion, but I think we can agree that there is still some significant purpose for it. But we don’t know what it is, and he might. So what can we do, just try and get it back and risk having the power of whatever that thing was unleashed upon us.” I asked.

“As of right now, we do not have a full plan set in motion. The Council will meet about that after we are done here. I’m not entirely sure that Kezebah will be able to harness the power of the medallion he has. Inferno never had the chance to use them, and Tilon didn’t dare to. But what we do know is this: Sef was one of the, if not the, strongest fighters that have ever existed. And he made the medallions and the swords to hold his power so that he would be as strong as he once was if he ever was brought back to life. So that tells me that they are really powerful. But we had seem in the generations prior to Inferno that only a few people every millennium could even feel the power of the medallions. We think that Sef made it this way so that the person that could track down the medallions would be the person to resurrect him. However people are more concerned about their own evil ambitions. The reason we never tried to use the powers of the medallions or the swords prior to Inferno was because we feared their power. Sef, a very evil being, made them, and his evil presence lies in each of those artifacts. It would be very easy for a weak fighter to be engulfed in the evil and turn evil themselves.”

“Is there anyone that can safely use them?” Alkor looked around at the other Council members, who had, all except for Troy, stayed quiet the whole time. One by one they nodded, and then Alkor continued.

“Once every few thousand years, each of the swords ‘chooses’ someone to be the holder of the medallions. The two people chosen are one in an extremely limited few that can use the power of the medallions without getting power hungry and going insane. Sef made the swords like this because he didn’t want any person to get the medallions. Sef knew that if anyone got the medallions, they wouldn’t necessarily use them to bring Sef back. But this didn’t work out either. Even though Sef made the medallions and the swords respond only to a few people, they could still fall into the wrong hands, and even the chosen people didn’t use the medallions to bring him back.” I thought on this for a moment.

“So only the chosen people can use the medallions without being warped by their power?”

“Exactly.” Alkor said. “The Sword of Agony chooses someone with an evil heart to be the bearer of the medallions. Conversely, the other sword chooses someone with a pure heart. We have discovered that the latter person is the only person in the entire universe that can successfully lead the universe into an age of prosperity. And it is for this reason that we have named the sword that chooses that person the Chosen Sword.” It slowly came to me, and then I realized it.

“That’s how you choose who will be the Chosen One! Whoever the Chosen Sword chooses you know will be a great leader with a pure heart, and that person is the Chosen One!” Troy smiled.

“Yes.” Troy said. “Sometimes such a person is not born every generation. It is not uncommon for the swords to skip several generations.”

“Who has been chosen for this generation?” I asked. And it was then that Tyfoonica spoke.

“You have, Tyfoon.” I jerked my head and stared at Tyfoonica.

“Is that true?” I asked Alkor.

“Tyfoonica speaks the truth. You have been chosen. But you don’t have to accept this responsibility if you don’t want to.” I stood there, speechless.

“Tyfoon, fate has an interesting way of preparing us for what is to come. You have for four years now been completely in charge of watching over a huge part of the universe. Being the Chosen One will not be much different. And it runs in your blood, Tyfoon. Many of your ancestors, and even your father, have been selected to be the Chosen One. You are the right choice. I’ve known it since you were a child.” Tyfoonica smiled at me. “I know you will make the right choice.” Tyfoonica was right. I felt a sense of obligation to say yes. Not a bad obligation, but like it was what my life was meant for.

“I am honored and humbled. I gladly accept this responsibility.” If I had thought of how I would have reacted to this before, I would have said I would have freaked out. But I felt a sense of comfort and pride in taking this position. It was what my father had done, and my grandfather, and so many of my ancestors. And now I was chosen. And it felt great.

“I am very happy with your decision, Tyfoon.” Alkor said. “As we have done with all the other Chosen Ones, we have a gift for you.” A bright light filled the room, and when it was gone, a sword was in Alkor’s hand. Alkor stepped down from the giant podium he was sitting behind and walked over to me. “This is the Chosen Sword. Use it well Tyfoon, and master it and its abilities. It will prove to be very useful. And this sword has a will of its own. It will protect you when it can. When you don’t need it, it will go off to its resting place in a different dimension. And when you need it, call upon it and it will come.” I took the sword and the sheath it was in.

“Thank you.” I said.

“There is one more thing.” Tyfoonica said.

“What is it?” I asked him.

“The holder of the Crystal medallion we talked about. You are he. I gave it to you when you were a child, do you remember?”

“Yes.” I replied. “You said it was passed down from generation to generation in my family.

“Yes it is. I started that tradition after Tilon got killed. I gave it to you for safekeeping.”

“Why couldn’t I feel the power of the medallion when it was so close to me?” I asked. This time it was Alkor that replied.

“The powers of the medallions right now are dormant. But now that you have the Chosen Sword, you will be able to awaken the powers in the medallions and use them. But be careful. If you use the power of the medallions now, you still risk being turned evil. You have to get used to the power of you sword before you can use the medallions.”

“I understand.” Troy stepped down and walked over to me.

“Any or all of the medallions can be stored in the sword you hold, and only you can get them out. It would be wise to do this with the Crystal medallion to keep from it being taken.” I nodded. I took the Crystal medallion from around my neck and held it up. I watched as the crystal medallion liquidized and became one with the Chosen Sword. “And there is one more thing. There is someone very important who needs your assistance. Tend to them while we are deciding what to do about the situation regarding the medallions.” Troy said.

“Where are they?” I asked.

“Just feel them out. You will find that your Chosen Sword will bestow you with many new abilities. Farewell for now, Tyfoon.” Alkor said.

I left that dimension and came back to the normal dimension in the universe. I had gone from the Council’s dimension to Zyruef. I tried to feel the energy of the person who was looking for me. I found it and without thinking I teleported to that spot.

“Whoa.” I said. “That was cool.”

“Tyfoon, I was hoping you would find me.” Oni, Damion’s guardian said. “I heard of your promotion. Congratulations.”

“How did you find out!? It just happened like five minutes ago!” I said.

“I am a Guardian. It doesn’t take long for me to find things out. We Guardians are kept pretty well informed. But I must ask for your assistance.”

“Sure, what do you need?” I asked.

“I’m sure you have noticed that Damion has been out of contact.”

“Yes, I have.”

“That is because Dakon has him. He captured him and is keeping him alive as bait. He wants us to go and rescue him so he can kill us. Dakon is furious with you constantly bothering him and interfering with his plans. He wants you dead.”

“I can’t fight him alone. He is much stronger than me.” I said. I was amazed at how much Oni already knew about what had happened in the past day.

“That is why I will be going with you. Can you handle Kezebah?”

“Yes. I found out that Kezebah is actually Paragos. Though I think he was holding back when we fought. I think he has more at his disposal than he let me see. But I believe I can take him.” I said.

“Good. Then we must make haste. Every second counts.”

A word from the Author

Well, this is the end of my first full-length story. I hope you enjoyed it. I remember when I was reading books as a child (well, technically I am still a child), I always used to hate it when the author of a book ended the book on a cliffhanger. And now that I have written my own book, I have ended the book with a cliffhanger myself. I know there are probably a bunch of questions shuffling through your mind: What is going to happen to Damion? What about the medallions; is anyone going to collect them all? What ever happened to Drake? What is going to happen with Oni and Damion? Are they really lovers? And who was the other girl that Tyfoon thought he was seeing in his visions? But don’t worry; all those questions will be answered in my next book, which will conclude the story about Tyfoon the Chosen One. But until then, I hope the anticipation drives you mad so you will want to read my next book! Thanks for reading!

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