Bandit's Revenge

by Max Jager

  And this was only the beginning…

  November 25, 1854

  "No!"

  A sweaty Bandit Lane gasped, and his eyes widened when he suddenly awoke from his nightmare. He quickly sat up in his bed and panted heavily, when he realized that what he had just experienced was just a dream. He closed his eyes, and tears fell from them as he shook his head and gritted his teeth.

  He had experienced so many nightmares in his life, but somehow, he had never had a nightmare about that day.

  The day his brother, his flesh and blood, turned on him, and beat him into a coma…

  The day his brother had abandoned him and left him for death….

  The day he lost his brother's love and trust.

  Completely disconcerted, he turned onto his side as he pulled the bedsheet of his bed up so it covered his entire body.

  Oh…God…he thought, extremely distraught, Why…? Why did things have to go that way…? Why did things have to go so wrong…? Red…

  He did not want to cry, but he could not pull himself together. It had been quite some time since his brother's death, but he could not pull himself together even now. Despite all they had been through, despite everything that happened between them, despite all of the suffering, pain, torment and anguish, and despite the betrayals of both parties…he still loved his brother.

  He had dreamt so much of having a second chance, an opportunity to do things over, to right his wrongs and be upfront with his fallen brother, but he knew he would never have the chance, and this was the largest regret he had ever had, even larger and more damaging than the guilt and torment that had come with murdering his own mother. So, despite all the strength he tried to muster to keep himself from breaking down, he ended up sobbing a bit as he thought of the precious mother and brother he tragically lost.

  I should have… I should have done things differently… I should've handled him differently… If I had…he might still be alive… I…may not have succeeded in changing him…but…I'd feel a lot better…knowing…that I had tried…

  As he wept, he suddenly heard the sound of thunder rumbling in the sky. He paid it no attention at first, for it had been raining when he went to sleep, but when he heard more booms of thunder than he had ever heard in his life, he slowly got out of bed, and took a deep breath as he walked towards the window.

  When he looked outside the window, he could not believe what he saw.

  He lived on the fifth floor of the mercenary guild, so he had a pretty good view of the incredibly unlikely situation that unfolded before him.

  Most of the streets in the city were flooded with an unsettling amount of water.

  Dozens of inconceivably large bolts of lightning rained down from the clouds above and struck the entire land with incomparable, relentless force, and the ground itself shook as the event took place.

  A large number of buildings came crashing down, causing a great number of unfortunate deaths and injuries, while a vast majority of the streets were obliterated by the malevolent electricity in a matter of seconds.

  Dirt, dust, and smoke flew throughout the air as the people of Lax screamed in terror.

  Bandit's jaw dropped as he watched the madness unfold.

  What the…? What the hell is going on here?

  It seemed like the whole world was falling apart.

  Unbeknownst to him, the whole world actually was falling apart.

  Everything that he was witnessing in the Ice Lands was happening in all the realms of the entire world.

  In Dante's Inferno, the Desert Sands, Twilight Valley, the Land of Power, and various other realms, the ground shook violently, and everyone ran around in fear as buildings all around them came crashing to the ground, injuring and killing a great number of them.

  Tornadoes everywhere quickly began hurling things all over the place, from small items to entire buildings, and the people of the world screamed in horror as they struggled to avoid these meteoric flying objects, as well as being sucked in by the tornadoes themselves.

  Why the hell is this happening?" they screamed in horror as tears ran down their terrified faces.

  "My God…!"

  "This can't be happening!"

  "Look out!"

  "We're all gonna die!"

  "I'm freaking out!"

  "This can't be the end!"

  The same occurred in Vast Expanse, where Ka, Eul, Otu, and Nem ran around in terror just like everyone else.

  "We can't do anything to save ourselves!" screamed Ka.

  "It's the end of the world!" screamed Eul.

  "We're all finished!" screamed Otu.

  Meanwhile, a severely distressed Nem shook his head in fear..

  "Why…?" he yelled, "I thought the worst thing that could happen to us is what Zor had in store for us! Why? I don't understand! Why the hell is the world coming to an end? Why now? What is the reason for all of this? Why the hell is this happening?"

  Unluckily for him and his friends, there was nothing they could do to save themselves.

  Nothing at all.

  Bandit shook his head in denial as he watched the chaos all around him.

  No… he thought as he gulped nervously, No…!

  He gritted his teeth furiously as he balled up his fists tighter than he ever had before.

  "What the hell?" he yelled, "What the hell is going on? How the hell is something like this…even…possible?"

  "Why do you think?" he heard a voice say in his head.

  His eyes widened in complete surprise upon hearing the voice. It was completely unexpected, but despite that, that was not what made the voice the most terrifyingly shocking. No…what made the voice the most horrifying thing he had ever heard in his life…was that it belonged to someone he knew…

  Someone he once looked up to.

  Someone he once loved and cared for so very deeply.

  Someone who he thought had left the land of the living.

  Sweat dripped down his face as he trembled in complete awe.

  "No…" his voice trailed off as his heart began to race faster than ever before.

  "Yes," said the voice indifferently, "It has been quite some time since we last spoke…"

  "…brother…"

  Completely dumbfounded by the sound of his brother's voice, Bandit dropped to the floor as the voice continued to speak.

  "What's the matter, Car? asked the voice, "You're speechless. That's not like you…"

  The reality of the situation slowly sank into Bandit's mind, and he gritted his teeth in wrath when everything became clear to him.

  "Everything…" he began with rising anger, "Everything that's happening right now…is because of you… You…are… What are you…?"

  "That…is an excellent question… It's not a very important one, though. If you really want to know, however, then I suppose there's no harm in telling you. I am something all-powerful… Something…unstoppable… Something…almighty and supreme… I…am…"

  "…God…"

  Complete unamused by his brother's words, Bandit cracked his neck before he responded.

  "This ends now, Red" he said matter-of-factly, "Everything…ends now."

  "I couldn't agree more," said Red, "This is the end… But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I am the one who is omnipotent, who is more powerful than anyone in this world could possibly hope to be…and I am the one who controls this situation."

  "Fuck you!" spat Bandit angrily.

  "I would be more careful if I were you," said Red, "I am in control… It's about time we hashed things out once and for all… I have apprehended Rachel…and I am going to kill her."

  Bandit's nose flared as fiercely as ever in fury as his brother continued.

  "Don't get the wrong idea… I didn't capture her because I want revenge on you… I captured her because, with the inner power she possesses, she may very well be the second most powerful person in this world, making her the one most capable of defeating me, and I cannot allow her existence to cont
inue. I am going to kill her, Bandit…but first…I want you to meet us at a particular location. You know exactly the place I'm talking about. That region is the only part of the Ice Lands that completely lacks destruction. Oh, and be sure to come alone. Otherwise, I will kill Rachel in the most unimaginable way."

  "Be quick about coming here, Bandit…or Rachel will die without seeing your face one…last…time…"

  Bandit grunted in anger before he responded.

  "Stop this shit right now, Red!" he shouted in extreme agitation, "I will not tolerate this!"

  "You will tolerate whatever I tell you to!" asserted Red angrily.

  Bandit panted nervously as his brother continued.

  "I have spent…so…long…thinking about this day... Make haste, Bandit. The time for our final confrontation draws near, and after it is done, I can predict three things that will have happened…"

  "…Rachel Thomas's body will lie dead at your feet…"

  "…her blood will spill all over…"

  "…and you…will finally taste…all of the torment, all of the anguish and suffering I have felt for the past seven long years… This…"

  "This…is a new beginning!"

  The Choice

  November 24, 1854

  The Desert Sands were a large desert expanse located far away from most other civilizations.

  The land seemed to be the complete opposite for Vast Expanse, for while Vast Expanse teemed with wildlife and wonder, the Desert Sands were an immensely dry and mostly barren land that, though it expanded one hundred miles, only acted as a home to a single city, to a species that, over the centuries, had adapted to be able to survive in the land with the little water the land provided them.

  The people of the land were mostly primitive, tribal, and old fashioned; only a small percentage of them, the elite, were otherwise. Most of the people of this land lived in huts, worshiped false gods, and had statues of their gods located in various places throughout their city.

  They interacted with no other realms in this world, and never did, from the moment of the city's establishment.

  This behavior was not particularly different from that of the other realms in the world, but if they did interact with other realms, they might have known about a particular threat.

  A threat that had subjugated the Ice Lands for too long.

  A threat that had been knocked out of the Ice Lands and now existed in their own land.

  Aparticular redheaded threat.

  It did not seem to matter much if this threat was in their land, though. For the most part, everything looked normal in the desert expanse, or at least, as normal as it had been since the desert's existence.

  There was only one major fact about the land that eluded its inhabitants, though.

  The city had been built over an underground temple, and after having wandered the desert for several days, the redheaded threat had fallen into a mysterious well, and landed right in the middle of it.

  As the bloodied, massively dehydrated, barely conscious redheaded threat crawled through the temple ever so slowly, he looked around in awe at the many pillars that supported it.

  His mind was so damaged after having been exposed to the sweltering heat of the land; he could not tell if the pillars were real or just another one of the many hallucinations he had experienced since he had been in the land.

  Panting heavily, he continued to crawl around the temple for ten more minutes, when he saw something glowing behind a pillar several yards away. He slowly walked towards the light, and when he looked behind the pillar, he saw an altar, with a glowing object of some sort resting on it.

  The man looked at the object like a crazed animal, for just as he could not tell if the pillars were real or a creation of his imagination, he also could not tell if the glowing object was real or imaginary. But despite this, despite the fact that his body and mind would most assuredly fail him in a matter of hours, or quite possibly, in a matter of minutes, he still possessed a certain curiosity, so he could not help but slowly crawl closer to the altar to get a better view of the object.

  Upon crawling closer to the altar, his deranged eyes widened slightly, and had he possessed more energy, he would have gasped in surprise when he saw that the glowing object was a purple crystal.

  This was no ordinary crystal, though. No, this particular crystal was a crystal that shone so bright, it seemed to be made out of light.

  This particular crystal was something he had desired to obtain several years ago.

  This crystal was something he had murdered all but one of the War clan to obtain.

  He ever so slowly crawled over to the altar, and looked at the magnificent crystal in awe as he touched it, and despite his fragile state of mind, he had a feeling he knew exactly what the crystal really was.

  The Manna Ascending.

  November 25, 1854

  In the city of Edaro, Bandit took a deep breath as he stood just outside a mid-sized house. Despite its appearance, however, this was no ordinary house. No, to Bandit and Red…

  …this was their home.

  I haven't been here since I was a kid, he thought as he slowly placed his hand on the doorknob, Red…

  …what the hell are you planning to do?

  He was deeply nervous about what would happen when he walked in, about what kind of situation his older brother intended to put him in, but he knew he had no choice but to face whatever Red threw at him, for Rachel's life was on the line. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath before opening the front door and walking into his old home, which looked exactly as it had when he was a kid.

  Despite everything that had changed for the members of the Blood family over the past seven years, their home remained completely untouched by all of their troubles, all of their suffering.

  If only their home had been enough to protect them from the harsh reality of this world.

  If only…

  "You finally made it," said Red's voice in his head, "Walk towards the living room. I want you to witness the end of it all."

  Bandit vigilantly walked towards the living room of his old home as Red's voice echoed throughout the house.

  "I wasn't around…to see you kill our mother…"

  Upon hearing his brother's voice, Bandit quickly created a spear of ice, and gritted his teeth as he gripped it tight.

  "Red…" he began, "You need to stop this now. You've gone too far!"

  "On the contrary," began Red, "I have only just begun. Tell me something, Bandit… Was it easy…? Was it easy for you to kill our mother? Was it easy for you to take me and Scarlet's mother away from us?"

  "You idiot…" began Bandit with rising anger, "Sh… She… She was my mother, too!"

  "Is that right?" asked Red, "And what son do you know who would kill his own mother…and for some girl who isn't even related to him?"

  "I had no choice!" shouted Bandit, frustrated.

  "You did have a choice!" yelled Red, "You did! You chose to kill our mother!"

  "I had to save Rachel! She didn't deserve to die!"

  "But our mother did? I already told you to choose your words carefully, Bandit. You're on thin ice as it is…"

  "I didn't want to kill our mother…and I know you know that… She deliberately put me in that position. You should be able to understand that!"

  Bandit raised his hand as he came closer to the living room, and quietly placed his back against the wall next to it. He created a mirror of ice in his free hand, and used it to see Red effortlessly keeping a struggling Rachel in a firm chokehold.

  Can I get him from this angle? he thought as he furrowed his eyebrows.

  "Do you think I cannot sense your presence?" asked Red fiercely, "And do you think you can defeat me so easily? I said it before, Car… I am more powerful than anyone in this world could possibly imagine… Drop the weapon and show yourself, Car."

  Despite his older brother's demand, Bandit remained where he was, and continued to look at Red from his ice mir
ror. He gritted his teeth nervously when he saw his brother tighten the hold he had on Rachel's neck.

  "Do what I say," he demanded fiercely as Rachel whimpered.

  Initially reluctant to play Red's game, Bandit realized that he had no choice but to face Red on his terms. He dropped both his ice mirror and his ice spear, and stepped into the living room to face Red one last time.