Chapter 08: Held Back

 

“Hey...”

 

Manny and Axess were already far away from Kahli Bugan, on the way to their homes.  Kahli Bugan was just on the other side of Calle Raon, hidden behind walls labeled “Under Construction”.  None of them said a word, until they got on the hover-bus.  Given how late it already was, they were the only one onboard this AI driven vehicle.

 

“Hm?” Axess replied

“Don’t you...” Manny began hesitantly, “think it’s strange?”

“I do...” Axess replied, seemingly aloof and indifferent

“No, not that!  I mean, don’t you think it’s strange that they let you keep that thing?”

 

Manny was looking straight at Axess’s right wrist, where the Blue Moon was.  As if trying to come up with an honest reply, Axess moved it closer and examined it.  But in reality, he was just staring emptily into the blue orb – the very thing that turned his life upside-down just now.

 

“I... I really don’t know...” he said, sloppily lowering his right arm back down.  “What happened today...” he suddenly lowered his voice “I wasn’t controlling the power that defeated that... that... whatever that dragon-thing was...”

“Just because I wear glasses doesn’t mean I’m blind!” Manny replied, also lowering his voice “I – no, WE – saw everything: you were using that as if it were a gun or something.”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t pulling any triggers or anything.  That was the Blue Moon talking to me!” Axess said, lowering his voice further

“Look: I’ve known you for two years now, and I can tell that’s not the real reason why you’re having doubts.”

 

Axess suddenly looked dumbstruck

 

“I knew it...” Manny said

“We...” Axess began, slightly shivering “We have all these powers... and we’re supposed to use them to beat some bad guys, right?”  Axess suddenly held himself, in an attempt to suppress the already obvious shivering he was having. “But isn’t this just like the ones we see on 3D-TV?  The ones where the bad guys keep getting stronger and stronger, and finally manages to finish off some of the good guys?” He then curled himself up, shivering more than before

“So that’s it...” Manny replied in a rather disappointed tone, leaning his back further on the chair.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘THAT’S IT’???” Axess shouted, grabbing Manny by the collar.  His voice was completely the opposite of how it was just now: loud and angry.  “Don’t you realize that lives are at stake here?  And it’s not just anyone’s lives – they’re ours, for crying out loud!”

“I know that...” Manny replied, grabbing Axess by the arms, trying to break free from his grip.  “B-but don’t you also realize...” Manny was having a hard time talking, with his collars grabbed like so “t-that the person who gave y-you powers... still c-continued... even though h-he too must have realized... that his life was also at stake?”

 

Axess suddenly let his grip loose, wearing that same dumbstruck face he had just a while ago.

 

“GAH!” Manny said, gasping for breath “Y-you were... You were bestowed with such incredible powers.  But along them, came incredible responsibilities as well.  Find out what those are, and fulfill them.  Only then will you find out why it had to be you, and not somebody else.  At least, that’s what I’m going to do about mine.”  He then straightened his collars.  “This is my stop.  I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” He said without any concern, as he stood up and got off the hover-bus.

 

Axess now remained by himself for the remainder of the ride, like he always was for the past two years.  But it was different this time:  for the very time, he felt as if he was alone in the world; not only because of the time, but also because of what just happened. 

 

‘What the HECK did I just do?’ Axess thought, slapping himself in the forehead with his right palm.  He then felt the handgrip of the Blue Moon “AHHH!!!!” he shouted in frustration, scratching his head ‘All this is confusing me up, damn it!’

 

DOKK~AN!!!

 

Out of nowhere, something exploded beside the hover-bus – right at the window where Axess was looking out.  The force didn’t only push the hover-bus back, but it also made it turn onto its side.

 

“Uh... AGH!!” Axess said as he opened his eyes, now lying against the window on the other side of the bus from where he was before.

 

Axess noticed that there were shards of glass on top of him, which he assumed probably came from the broken windows that were just in front of him.  He also noticed a circular depression on the other side.

 

“Just what the hell is going on here?” He said, carefully moving about the broken glass, towards the exit.  Thankfully, the explosion also seemed to have disabled its electronic lock.

 

“What the...”

 

As he climbed out, he suddenly felt the drastic difference in temperature between the inside of the hover-bus and the outside.  Of course, that would happen every time.  But now it was really noticeable – something was being consumed by blazing flames.  Since the road he was on was exclusively for hover-buses, no other vehicles seemed to be involved.  However, the road he was on was far from other roads.  Moreover, the part where this road joins up with others was a long walk – he wouldn’t even reach it by sunrise.

 

“So that’s him...”

 

Suddenly, the Blue Moon started glowing on its own. 

 

“This is bad...”

 

“W-what now?” Axess asked, examining the light surrounding his right arm.

 

He then noticed that it was suddenly getting hotter and hotter.  However, the flames didn’t seem to intensify nor spread further out.  He didn’t mind it at first, until it started to feel as hot as noon. 

 

“Wait! Something’s wrong here...” he told himself

 

He had four distinct shadows, each cast at different angles.  But there were only three possible sources of light that could produce such: his right arm, the flames, and a nearby street lamp.  The one right in front of him was slowly growing longer and longer. 

 

And just like earlier today, he was able to see what was behind him without needing to turn his head around.  He found out the source of the fourth light: a fireball that was coming straight at him from above.