by Vee Bosse
“Then, I suppose I’ll make this fortress disappear. If that other guy that disappeared comes back, he could probably use it against us. Thanks, Westin.” There was one less obstacle in reaching Jayce, and they lingered around on the White House grass to see if the #1 would make his presence known before they jumped back into the Oval Office for a quick throttling of their leader.
“That guy, he had the ability to disappear...and since we weren’t able to see either of those guys back when we first saw Jayce, it would be reasonable to conclude that he can also make other objects disappear as well. We need to be on the lookout for anything since I don’t think that this #1 guy will be as easy to get through.” Westin nodded at Haynes’ query.
“It won’t be since I can’t send my death energy through something that I can’t see, and my third eye isn’t picking this guy up anywhere. It’s troubling, honestly.”
“Mr. Anderson, thank you for coming. I will let all of you know...the reason that you could not see either of us earlier, is because I took our essence of vision away. To explain further, I took away our ability to be seen. I am currently retracting my ability to be seen right now, and that is why even Westin Anderson’s third eye is not able to see where I am standing.”
The five friends glanced at each other, attempting to pinpoint where Keirkess’ voice was coming from. “I wonder? You can take the essence of anything away? Meaning you are as overpowered as Westin and Christian are. This is admittedly impressive.” Haynes said, holding Portfold in eager anticipation.
“My name is Keirkess Kincaide, agent #1 in Jayce’s Shadow Project. Just try to stop me as I approach one of you to take away your ‘Essence of Life’...your hearts will stop beating, simply because it’s purpose will no longer be the sustainment of your lives. All it takes is for me to touch you. Now, LAMENT!!”
“Shit!! What do we do? I can’t understand how to defeat this guy!” Winkle admitted, hesitating to summon her dragons in the face of this overpowered foe. “I’ve sent my psych energy through the entire landscape, but I can’t detect him!” Andrea said, while Haynes sent a dimensional aura through the area as well; he found himself also unable to detect their enemy’s presence.
“I can just as easily take away my ability to be detected through aura. It took years to develop my ability this far, but I am absolutely unable to be seen, heard, felt, sensed, smelt...unless, I choose to be! I wonder, which one of your hearts will I stop first!?” Panic hit the proverbial ceiling, and they were now gazing around in a desperate hope to detect into their invisible opponent.
“Anybody?! Can’t anyone do anything against him!!?” Winkle collapsed to the ground, lifeless. The other four stared at her, shaking in primal fear.
“My god...we’re,” Westin was interrupted, also falling to the ground lifeless. Christian began to tremble uncontrollably as well, as Andrea and Haynes looked at him with desperation in their eyes.
“This...wasn’t supposed to end this way,” Andrea said, also suddenly feeling her heart stop in an instant.
“Haynes I...I failed. I thought no one would be dying anym,” Christian was finished. Haynes was now the only one alive and standing, and he dropped to his knees in hopelessness. He raised his hands to his face, unable to cope with the fact that his life was about to end.
It was over. The five rebels were now on the ground, lifeless and conquered. Jayce Wolfgain’s only remaining agent had won the trophy, and they were free to hold the entire world in their hands. “Indeed, the day is won,” Keirkess declared to himself, as he allowed himself to reappear in the middle of their corpses. “Mr. Wolfgang, we have finally earned our right to stand on top of this world.” He suddenly turned around, making his way to the hole in the Oval Office to report the splendid news to his leader.
“You let your guard down! Dimensional Prison Technique, CONFINE!!!” Keirkess’ eyes grew wide in disbelief as Haynes held Portfold in his direction. He had instantly been surrounded by the alternate dimension, engulfed in its absolute darkness without even a chance to take away his Essence of Vision.
“What...no! But I felt your hearts stop!! This...is impossible! My prestige is not to be endangered!!” Keirkess turned around to see a small hole of light had remained, and it was just big enough to see the five rebels standing on the grass in front of Haynes’ dimensional opening.
Westin stepped forward with a victorious smile. “Yes, but you should have known, I have the ability to conquer death, to a degree. I had placed my aura inside of my four friends before we even entered the White House. In case one of us were killed, my Third Eye would be able to automatically restart their life-force without any action on my part. Using my abilities in this way is limited and must be done before someone dies, but it was the only strategy we could use against someone as powerful as you.”
Westin’s words made their opponent lose his composure, as he desperately struck the invisible wall that Haynes had placed in his dimension. “It won’t be like it was with #6. This is called the Dimensional Crush...I will shrink the proximity of my dimension into nothing. I am the one that will be revoking your universal existence. Good riddance,” Haynes said, plunging his sword into the dimensional rift as it blotted out the Number One agent’s screams. He was crushed in an unimaginable way, painfully crunched into nothing.
They had taken a moment to ponder the fact that they had humiliated Jayce’s top two agents, but the ultimate threat had suddenly appeared before them. Jayce Wolfgain was now leaning against his White House; his arms were crossed in relaxation. “You’ve forced me to personally defend the territory that I have claimed. So, I’ll reward your efforts by letting you five know that you are all wrong.”
They were the rebels that had defied all odds. Overcome authority, defeat, and loss of life, all to get to that moment. They now stared at their final opponent, with stern resolve in all of their eyes amidst the morning sun. Jayce felt a comical madness rise from inside of him as he delivered a warning to his opponents.
“I am your worst-case scenario.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Jayce Wolfgain
“Jayce, are you ready for your Aptitude Determination Test? Be completely honest when you enter the holographic room, since the situational decisions that you make will determine your Educational Vantage for the rest of your life.” A young Jayce Wolfgain from the distant past understood his instructor’s words, but he had decided that he really didn’t care about the outcome of his test. He was able to do strange things that would surely result in his capture by the Western Latitude government. Yet, those abilities did give him a unique feeling that the educational norms around him were annoying and useless.
There were many who considered this teenager a genius, considering that he was extremely proficient at anything that he had attempted. Yet, with mass unemployment through the propagation of androids having been the norm for many decades, education for the purpose of societal role accommodation was no longer in existence throughout the world. It was now a system of universities that had been designed to promote the isolated civilization that had taken root in the Western Latitude. Jayce expected that his adolescent transition into adulthood would be marked with rigorous philosophical studies, meaning that he would be a part of the rare few in the world that would be allowed to occasionally break through the boundaries of isolation. ‘Who cares’, he told himself.
He remembered that back when he was very young, he had stumbled across a strange Sapphire Stone that had been buried in his backyard. It was an odd feeling: he felt as if the stone itself had given him all of its energy. It took him nearly a decade, but he eventually discovered that he could channel his unique aura into the form of a sword. At the age of fourteen, he admired the silver and sapphire skull that was directly above the sword’s grip; the blade itself was made of a radiating silver that had a bright, gold glow emanating from it.
His parents were not extremely concerned with what their son was up to, as they had decided to let the norm of
isolation consume them. This was contrary to how many other families operated: Isolation from society, but not their loved ones. Jayce Wolfgain only had himself, thus creating a lonely and isolated existence. As he entered into the holographic room that would determine his destiny, he knew that he would break the system that had enslaved him into isolation. One day, he would stand on top of the world, and he would have it all to himself.
“Mom, my results have been sent. Across the last four years, I’m the first person in this state to receive the Philosopher’s Hallmark.” His mother and father whittled away with brain games on their tablet devices. His father didn’t acknowledge him, yet his mother simply gave him a distracted nod. Jayce was going to be 18 in a couple of years, and he was well used to this treatment from his parents. Having been mainly raised by a child rearing android for the entirety of his early life, he was unusually detached from ‘normal’ emotions.
He proceeded to his bedroom, satisfied that his parents would not be bothering him while he honed his Sapphire Radiance abilities in secret. “Take down, complete. This is the Western Latitude Police Force, please do not panic. Your household will now be subdued. Please, do not resist.” All three of them had heard the automated message loud and clear, yet Jayce’s parents became unusually panicked.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment.” Jayce knew it was now time to act, as he had been expecting the government to show up at his house for a long time. “Sorry mom, dad. This is the way it has to be, if I am to achieve my ambition,” he said, pressing a couple of buttons on his tablet device. His parents had raised their hands in submission, as the soldiers broke through the doors and windows of their house; they were armed with the appropriate Diamond Radiance staffs to subdue any aura wielder.
Jayce also put his hands in the air and dropped to his knees, feeling the excitement of the moment brewing up within him. ‘Now those mental override chips that Julius gave me will come in handy’, he thought to himself, while the police force placed him in aura-repressing handcuffs. As they escorted him downstairs, his parents suddenly looked up with confused expressions on their faces.
“Oh, this is about him?” They didn’t look very concerned, as they became annoyed that their evening had been interrupted because of their son. Jayce smiled at them sadistically, waiting to see the mental override chips that his friend had given him to go into effect. “I guess this is goodbye...ugh!” His father had decided to throw Jayce a tiny amount of concern, when he felt his muscles begin to move on their own. “What...what’s happening?” Without being able to stop themselves, their arms reached to their back holsters to pull out their auto-aiming pistols.
“Wait, we aren’t resisting!!” his mother shouted, as the pistols had suddenly taken aim at a couple of officers that had been standing above them.
“If you resist, we will put you down.” Their automated voices had made it clear, but to no avail. They were unable to stop themselves from pulling the triggers, forcing the Western Latitude Police Force to gun them both down. Jayce watched his parents die, as they slipped away in a pool of blood in their own kitchen. He had masterfully taken their lives as he left his childhood home, for good.
“Officers, please take me to the hovership that will deliver me unto lifelong captivity. My plan will now move forward, with no delay.” The officers ignored his callous words, ushering him forward into their kidnapping van. Jayce Wolfgain didn’t need parents, nor did he really need anyone else in the world that he so despised. He would be taken aboard that hovership that was destined for Haven Island, and use his Sapphire Radiance energy to break out of his aura-repressing shackles with ease. No one would stand against his sword.
The scene shifts to the present time, outside of the White House. “No...I actually think that you are our best-case scenario. All five of us, we are ready to take you down, at full strength. No more obstacles, it’s a win-win for us.” Winkle declared, while Jayce suddenly formed his sword as its golden Sapphire glow seemed to slow down time itself.
Jayce carelessly shrugged his shoulders, “I won’t be giving any long speeches, unlike the speech I’m sure Dylan gave. Yes, I am aware that he likely had a lot of hidden strings that I could have uncovered...after all, he had decades to plan. Honestly, I’m not really concerned with any of that. Although, I'm curious to find out where your fallen friends are. With that newly discovered ability of revival that Westin possesses, I expected more of you to be present.”
The five rebels had looked at each other, curious to see how far their final opponent’s apathy reached. "I don't think...that I will tell you about the limits of my ability," declared Westin, looking determined.
“I’ll tell you all one thing before I attack, and then you’ll understand why I have always been such a carefree person. My ability’s name that manifests itself in my sword is called ‘Negation’. With one strike, I will be able to repel, and nullify any possible ability that my opponent may have. Do you all understand? I don’t need to be cautious, as I have the allowance to be carefree. My power is absolute...no ability will ever reach me. I am truly invincible.”
Westin suddenly stepped forward, as the rest of the group remained silent in resolve. “Everyone thinks that they are invincible, until they get taken down. Prepare yourself, Jayce Wolfgain. You will not stand on top of the world today.” The time for talking was over, and Jayce had heard enough. Westin had suddenly thrown his death energy forward with his Third Eye, forcing Jayce to raise his sword in front of him for in defense.
“I will nullify...even death!” The universe itself seemed to momentarily get jolted as Jayce’s sword absorbed the death energy, seemingly nullifying it in an instant. “I will seal your abilities off, with one strike of my sword!” Jayce’s superhuman speed went into effect, as Westin’s eyes struggled as hard as they could to follow his movements.
“Psych Shield!” Dre had already spread her Psych energy around the area; its invisible presence was like a thick fog. Jayce found himself unable to move, his sword was frozen in mid-air by Andrea’s technique.
“Speed means nothing against me, Wolfgain. My energy hangs around, like cigarette smoke.” Jayce had indeed been caught as Haynes pointed his sword at his frozen opponent.
“Dimensional Prison! You’re finished!” It took no further time for Jayce to find himself trapped inside of Haynes’ dark dimension, as the dimensional wielder was lightning fast in sealing the opening of his portal. Jayce would be stuck in his dimension for good, and it was an unbelievably quick ending to their ultimate fight.
“Well, that was easy,” Winkle admitted, as the portal to the dimension rippled away into nothing.
“He didn’t stand a chance against us in the end...his nullification is useless with our abilities that work at a distance.” Haynes queried, adjusting his glasses with an accomplished look on his face.
“This is nothing.” The five rebels’ eyes suddenly went wide in disbelief, as Jayce’s sword had literally shattered out from the empty air in front of them. He sent Haynes’ invisible dimensional boundary to the ground in pieces, casually stepping back onto the grass to resume their battle. “Did I miss anything good?” their oppressor asked.
“You are wrong to think that my Nullification is limited as even dimensional boundaries are not immune to my sword. Then again, not just my sword,” They continued looking on in shock, as Jayce’s sword evaporated into thin air. “That annoying psych ability, the invisible force that is all powerful...I will nullify that without delay.” Andrea extended her arms, suddenly feeling her Psych Fog disappear in an instant.
“You guys, I can’t regenerate it!! It’s gone!” Jayce held his hand out, quickly reforming his sword out of midair. Dre was forced to reform the psych energy in her hands, as her fog technique had seemingly been cancelled out in the atmosphere around them. “Shit,” she muttered, as they all saw Jayce swing around to Haynes’ dimensional opening.
“There is no more use for this,” With yet another swing of his sword, H
ayne’s portal had completely shattered before them, sublimating into the atmosphere. The view of the White House lawn went completely back to normal as a concerned look was now etched on the rebels’ faces.
“Understand that with my Nullification Techniques, once I cancel out a particular ability of yours, it is finished in this space. I will systematically crush you all, just as I had planned from the moment you chose to attack the Shadow Project!!” Westin poised his Third Eye to again strike Jayce down, as Christian prepared to strike with his Diamond Edge Sword. “Westin Anderson, the one who controls life and death itself! Prepare to be nullified, and sliced to bits!!”
There was no more psych energy or dimensional techniques to cancel out Jayce’s superhuman speed as Westin’s eyes grew wide in frustration. “Shit...I can’t follow his speed!!” Westin yelled, as he looked ahead to find that Christian was suddenly standing before him in a deadlock with Jayce. The Nullification Sword and the Diamond Edge Sword were now battling each other, as the two massively strong opponents attempted to push the other back.
“You may have incredible speed, but I have the elements on my side. The wind tells me where you are flying, the ground tells me where you are leaping. You can’t elude me, and I won’t let you touch my friends with that sword of yours! Jayce!!” The Nullifying One allowed a perplexed smile to come on his face, as Christian showed off his fierce determination.
“You are perhaps the one I should look out for here...Christian Rivers!” Jayce suddenly sent his nullification energy through the diamond sword without warning, causing the sword to suddenly shatter. “Or...maybe I’m just talking out of my ass. Maybe I shouldn’t worry at all.” It was a crushing blow, as Jayce’s sword completely shattered through Christian’s. As the elemental wielder attempted to leap backwards, he found himself suddenly unable to match Jayce’s speed as the Nullification Sword plunged though his chest. His friends were in utter disbelief as they began to feel overpowered, completely.
