Talia said, “What the … where did he go?”
Garrison screamed angrily. “Don’t let your guard down. He could be anywhere!”
“He’s right. I can be anywhere,” Gedulah said from behind her.
The she-knight spun around and hurled a fist at him, but he grabbed it and kicked her across the garage. She tumbled and rolled to land by Garrison’s feet.
Gedulah pulled his ax from the concrete pillar. “I can’t believe you two would think it was that easy?”
“How did you disappear like that?” Talia asked as she stood up. She darted towards him and threw her fists at him a few times. The angel dodged them with ease. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her in to wrap his arms around her neck. He could feel Talia struggle to get free as she tried to elbow him.
“Did I mentioned that one of our plans is to collect the activation devices on your arm?” He grabbed Talia’s wrist.
“No,” Garrison said. “I will not let you do this.”
The angel looked at Garrison and pressed the switch to deactivate Talia’s armor. The armor disappeared in a flash of light. “Watch me,” Gedulah said.
Talia tried to pull her hand away, but Gedulah hung on firmly.
Gedulah began to peel away the metal bracelet as he smiled.
Then, out of nowhere, a kick connected to the side of his head, sent him flying into a pillar.
Chapter 21
Zero 2’s Mystery
“Do not tell me this is the guy who defeated you, mate?” A blond man in an Order’s uniform helped Talia up from the floor. “I think you two should get out of here. I’ll handle the angel.” The man reached into his pocket and took out a case of cigarettes.
“Great timing, Michael,” Talia said. “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to make it.”
He smiled and lit a cigarette. “You know I like to make a grand entrance. What fun would it be to show up when you don’t need me?”
Garrison said, “Michael, make this quick. The tower will be rising tomorrow. We don’t need anymore distractions.” He walked over to Talia, and he threw her arm over his shoulder. He carried her to the exit.
Gedulah stood up. “You know, that’s the first time anyone has ever touched my face.”
Michael puffed on his cigarette and slowly let out the smoke. “You know, there’s a first for everything.”
The angel began to clap. “Bravo. I seemed to have met someone who’s almost as witty as I am. You two aren’t planning on sticking around? The real show’s about to start.”
Garrison looked over his shoulder. “Don’t get too cocky, warrior angel. Michael’s on a different level from the other knights you’ve faced. He won’t go down as easy.”
“Really? And here I thought Zack was the most talented of the five. He was the only one who lasted five minutes against me.”
Michael said, “Don’t speak as if I’m not here—and don’t put me in the same league as that traitor.”
Gedulah walked into the direction of Garrison and Talia to stop them. But Michael stood in his way.
“Don’t ignore me, I find that very offensive, mate. I need your undivided attention.”
Gedulah smiled and drew closer to Michael. “So who are you? You don’t look as cruel and evil as the rest of them. What’s the deal with you anyway?”
“You ask so many questions.” Michael shook his head and pulled in another drag from the cigarette. “If you must, you can call me Michael Johnson—second in command of the Naraka Knights. I don’t look as cruel as those two because I don’t feel the need to walk around with a frown on my face. Life is too short to be angry and evil all the time. And I stay loyal to anyone who lends a hand to me in my time of need.”
“Time of need? What do you mean?”
“If you must know, when I was a boy, Garrison took me in off the streets, gave me a place to lay my head, and fed me. He sent me abroad to get some help for a bad condition I had suffered from. Unfortunately, my caretakers passed away while I was with them in Australia forcing me to return to the states. When I came back to the states, I had no one to turn to. A friend of mine reintroduced me to Garrison and I joined his cause. The Order have been watching over me ever since.”
“Interesting story. I guess I can’t hold that against you. True loyalty is rare.”
Michael took off his Order’s official jacket. “But enough with the chitchat. My order is to take you out, and I don’t go back on my word.” He threw the cigarette butt on the ground and squashed it under his heel. After he threw his jacket to the side, he tucked in his black tank top in his black slacks, and began to stretch.
Gedulah noticed that the young man was toned, had a slight tan and he had big strong arms. He was almost as tall as the angel was. His morpher on his belt was much bigger than the others he had seen. Michael’s antibiosis morpher was modeled from a wasp.
Michael said, “Aren’t you going to take that coat off and warm up too? That coat is too heavy. You might pull a muscle.”
Gedulah raised his index finger and grinned. “No thank you. I’ll be fine. Besides, I’d already warmed up fighting against the girl.”
“You call that warming up? You hit her from her blind spot. And you did say she’s just an innocent little girl.”
Gedulah chuckled. “Blind spot? You just kicked me without me noticing you.”
“Stop whining. You had it coming. I was paying you back for what you did to Talia.” He stood in his fighting stance.
Gedulah said, “From your stance, I can tell you’ve had martial arts training.”
“Yes. I hold several black belts in different forms of martial arts while I was in Australia.” Michael ran toward Gedulah, ready to throw the first blow.
Gedulah gasped after he saw him picked up speed in a short distance. When Michael was ten feet away, the angel lifted his right hand and said, “Wait just a minute. Aren’t you gonna put on your armor?”
Michael slid on the pavement as he stopped running. “For what? I like to test the water before I jump in. I heard you were tough, but I’d rather see if my natural abilities are enough to take you down.”
“Okay, your call.” Gedulah folded his hands across his chest. He underestimated the young man.
Michael smiled confidently. He jumped up and did a 540-kick toward the angel’s head.
Gedulah raised his right hand and blocked the strong kick. He threw his left leg out at him and Michael summersaulted backwards.
The knight recovered to throw numerous kicks at the angel and he barely avoided them. ‘The kid is fast.’
Michael did a double spin and kicked the angel in his gut. When he landed, he did a back kick that connected with Gedulah’s chin and he almost lost his balance.
When Michael was about to land a roundhouse to Gedulah’s face, the angel blocked it. He grabbed Michael’s leg and pulled him.
The knight did a split while the angel hung on to his leg.
Gedulah threw the leg to the side to throw him off balance, but he sprung up off the floor with his hands in a screwdriver to Gedulah’s chest.
When Michael saw Gedulah tumbled, he jumped in with a sidekick. But his surprise, the angel sidestepped the attack and connected a back kick in Michael’s chest, sending him ten feet back.
“Woo-hoo! I’ve never seen anyone moved like that,” Gedulah shouted. “That was some fancy footwork, kid.” He brushed the dirt from his white silk shirt.
Michael crawled from the ground and shook the dust from his pants and tank top. “That kick was pretty weak. I heard you were strong. I wasn’t wearing my armor, and I still managed to kick you around.”
“Oh, really?” Gedulah chuckled. “You actually think you had a chance? I was boosting your ego a bit to make you believe you stood a chance against me.”
Michael laughed and walked closer. “Now that’s a lie. I thought angels don’t tell fibs? You’re leaving a bad impression. Come on, you know I almost had you.”
“All right. We’ll see about
that. Are you ready for round two?”
Michael nodded.
“Are you sure you don’t want to put on your armor?”
“Trust me. I’ll be fine. This time, I won’t use the fancy footwork. How about some Chinese boxing? Wushu mixed with good old boxing.”
“That’s fine with me. By the way, what is your antibiosis ability?”
“Don’t be so impatient, mate. If you survive this round, I promise to show you my Zero 2’s armor. Trust me. It won’t be a disappointment.”
“I can’t wait.” Gedulah stood in a boxing stance and threw the first punch.
Michael blocked it and threw a combo of four straights and a hook. They were fast, but the angel blocked them all. To throw him off, the knight raised one of his knees and spun around. When Gedulah looked down at his feet, Michael threw a punch to his face and knocked him back a bit.
Gedulah regained his footing and dodged the other punches to his face. When Michael launched a hook, Gedulah sidestepped and pushed him away.
Michael recovered and shot back with a fist to the angel’s face. The angel stepped to the side and threw a punch to his rib. Michael flinched and barely dropped his elbow to absorb some of the other blows. When Michael swung a left hook, the angel ducked and threw two more punches to his stomach. Michael countered and threw an uppercut to Gedulah’s chin. When the angel stumbled, the knight jumped in with his fist to strike him down.
Gedulah did a jump kick and knocked him away again. “What happened? You almost had me, but it seems you were running out of steam.”
Michael stumbled, rolled, and landed on his knees. “Yeah, I almost did. You had me believing you weren’t gonna use your legs. That was sneaky. I smell fear, warrior angel.” He stood up and used the back of his hand to wipe his mouth.
Gedulah smiled. “Fear? Come on. But I must admit, Garrison was right. You are different from the rest. But I want to see it. Now show me the magic you promised me.”
Michael stood with his hands crossed over his chest. A shrieking sound and a heavy vibration erupted in the underground garage. When the bright light and dust settled, Michael could be seen in his magnificent looking armor.
Gedulah's eyes were lit up when he saw Michael unusual looking armor. ‘Astonishing.’
Michael’s black and gold helmet looked more like a hornet's face with antennas pointing out from the forehead. A gold breastplate was on his chest and he had layers of black dragon scales on his arms, legs, and lower back. The golden alloy covered his forearms, knees, and feet. He had two pairs of nine-inch talons on each elbows. Confidently, he stood with his fists on his sides.
Gedulah laughed, slapped his knees, and pointed at Michael.
“Hey, what’s so funny, mate?” Michael’s voice squealed in the armor.
“You look like a …” Gedulah couldn’t get the words out. He was laughing too hard.
“Look like a what?” Michael was getting annoyed.
“Dude, you look like a Power Ranger.” Gedulah continued to laugh.
Consumed with rage, Michael darted towards Gedulah abruptly. He kicked him in his face, sending him two hundred feet away, crashing on one of the pillars before he settle to the floor.
Gedulah managed to get to his knees and felt another heel to his face. He rolled and twisted before landing on his back. When he opened his eyes, Michael was coming toward him with a knee to the chest.
The angel rolled out the way, and Michael’s knee left a crater in the garage floor.
Though he rolled out of the way, he was still caught in the strong energy from Michael’s attack. It pushed him away, and he fought to keep his balance before he fell on his behind. As the strong force pressed on him, he shielded his face with his hands.
After everything felt calm, the angel removed his hands from his face. He looked around for Michael, but he couldn’t locate him.
“Hey,” Michael shouted.
When Gedulah looked behind him, he saw a fist heading toward his face. He flinched and closed his eyes.
But then, Michael began to laugh.
Gedulah opened his eyes to see him stumbling back from laughter. “Hey, what’s so funny? What’re you laughing at?”
“It’s just that your face… You look so funny when you make a face like that before I hit you. You were so scared.” He continued to laugh with his hands resting on his knees.
Gedulah stood up and brushed himself off. “I guess I had that coming. Not bad, kid. You have some cool moves. To be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve been pushed that far. You’re as strong as a Hellbound.”
“Guess I can take that as a compliment.”
“It is—and I didn’t know you could activate your weapon without touching the switch on your belt. That’s pretty cool.”
Michael chuckled. “It’s something I picked up a few months ago. I’ve mastered this weapon.”
Gedulah nodded and smiled. “Now I got to see your true power.”
Michael deactivated his helmet. “What does that mean?”
“Well, I wanted to learn about the true power of the antibiosis. You were the last one I didn’t gather any data on.”
“So you’re trying to tell me you were just fooling around with me—testing me and pushing me to see my true power?”
Gedulah continued to brush himself off. “Sort of.”
“There is no way you can be stronger than me … there is no way.”
“Okay, try me.”
“On one condition …”
“And what would that be?” Gedulah asked with a perplexed look.
“I don’t want you to hold back against me. And I want you to use your weapon.”
“You know of Redemption? But I’m not surprised.”
“Of course I do. You used it to defeat the nine lords and closed the Hellgates.”
Gedulah smiled. “Are you sure you want me to use it?”
Michael nodded.
“I only use Redemption on special occasions—only against the enemy.”
“You don’t see me as the enemy?”
“Not really.” He pulled out the axe from his back, threw it up, and twirled it around like a juggler and rested it on his shoulder. “I can tell you have a good heart. You remind me of my nephew. I also have one proposal.”
“And what is that?”
“If I win, you have to promise to leave the Order.”
Michael frowned and then chuckled. “We shall see about that, mate.” His helmet covered his face.
In a flash, Michael was in the angel’s reach. He threw a roundhouse kick that the angel barely blocked with the helve of the axe. The kick caused the axe to vibrate.
Michael turned and threw a back kick.
Gedulah blocked it and threw his leg out at Michael.
Michael avoided it and did a somersault above him and he maneuvered to come down with a knee to his face. It connected and Michael smiled. He threw his elbow and the talons sliced the angel’s shirt.
When the knight spun around, throwing his elbows to slice him again, Gedulah pushed him away with his foot and swung his axe at him.
The knight blocked the axe with the bottom of his foot. He grinned under the helmet.
Gedulah swung from the opposite angle, and Michael jumped over his head to avoid it. When Gedulah turned to face Michael, the knight punched him in the face, sending him flying twenty feet. After he bounced a few times on the floor, the angel maneuvered his body around a pillar and rocketed back toward the knight. He raised the ax over his head. When he got close enough, he swung the blade at the knight.
Michael sidestepped the swing, and the ax connected to the floor.
A loud bang rung and the force almost knocked Michael off balance. When he regained control, he kicked the ax from Gedulah’s hand into the air and threw a punch at his face. The punch barely connected before Gedulah grabbed his hand, swung him around, and slammed him to the ground. He pinned Michael’s hand to his back, and Michael couldn’t break free.
Gedulah raised a hand to catch the falling ax and sheathed it. “Well then, it seems you lost this round too, mate.” He teased.
Michael struggled to get free, but then he felt Gedulah’s knee on his back. “I guess I did. Why don’t you let me go and fight me fairly?”
“I don’t think so. Sorry to let you believe you could win.” He chuckled and squeezed a bit harder. “I’m so sorry about that. Now I have to remove your morpher.”
“It’s not over yet. I still have a trick or two up my sleeve.”
“Come on, Michael. We had a deal. Give up.”
“I never give up.” Michael strained to get his hands free.
The angel could feel his strength building.
“I almost forgot to mention, mate. I am also an expert in grappling, and I studied a bit of yoga.”
Michael twisted and bent his leg back and grabbed Gedulah around his stomach. He then threw an elbow at him. The angel swayed to the side just in the nick of time. Michael was about to get free but Gedulah pinned Michael on the ground again.
“You almost got away, but I’m still stronger than you,” Gedulah said.
“That may be true, but I don’t think you’re smarter than me.”
Gedulah struggled to keep Michael down. “What’re you gonna do in your situation?”
“Don’t you sense that? Someone is coming … maybe two of them.”
Gedulah used his keen hearing to check it out. He smiled when he found out that the presences were familiar.
“Yes, I do feel them, but I won’t need their help.”
“No, you misunderstood… I do.” Michael’s body began to vibrate. The ground trembled, and everything around them began to rise off the ground. Gedulah was forced to free him when his hands simply fazed through him. ‘What the…how did he…?’
Michael rolled to his knees, and a black cape appeared on his back. “I won this round too. Seems like we are tied up, two for two. See you around, mate.” Michael shot up like a rocket through the roof, demolishing the foundation of the garage.
Gedulah attempted to go after Michael, but he was too late. The knight flew away at hypersonic speed before he vanished. Gedulah gasped from shock. “Remarkable…” He mumbled.
Hellbound Second Advent Page 20
