by CB Conwy
Aki shrugged. "I haven't got a clue. You're doing things nobody has done before. You've just seemed worried the last couple of days."
"Yeah."
"Because you don't know what to expect?" Aki looked at him.
"No. Because I know what to expect. I'm going to attack somebody." Matt hadn't even thought about the Assessor much. It was the principle of hurting someone that bothered him.
Surprisingly enough, it was Robbie who spoke. "You need to take a decision. Either you do it and go with it, or you refuse to do it."
"I've already decided that I'll do it." Matt didn't like Robbie's words.
"No, I don't think you have. You're still doubting your decision, and it's eating you up. It's time to make up your mind." Robbie's eyes were direct and challenging.
Had it been anybody else saying this, Matt would have gotten angry and started arguing. But this was Robbie speaking, and when Robbie spoke, Matt listened. Also, the words reminded him a bit too much of Jerry's reprimand.
"I need to suck it up?"
"That sounds like our friend Sam, but yes," Robbie agreed.
"Jerry, in fact." Matt huffed, a little lost for a better answer.
"The guy actually said something?" Pietr was astounded.
"The guy actually said something sensible?" There wasn't any real rancor in Aki's words, though.
Matt heard a snort behind him. Jerry had come in. However, it was Sam who spoke.
"Matt's already made up his mind. He just doesn't like what he's decided."
Turning, Matt stared at Sam.
Sam shrugged. "I know how it is. We both do." He nodded at Jerry. "So does Aki, by the way."
Aki paled, but he didn't say anything.
Matt wanted to get mad; that was how he usually dealt with unpleasant situations like this. But the anger wouldn't come, and he looked down.
"He's going to be fine." Jerry's voice was a little hoarse.
Matt looked up in surprise, but Jerry just nodded at him. Then the Himiko grabbed a sandwich from the kitchen table and went back into the garden.
He's right, you know. Pietr's presence in his mind was calm and encouraging. Exactly what Matt needed.
"Okay."
"Okay?" Robbie sounded a little bewildered.
"Yes, I've probably already made up my mind. I've just been whining because I didn't like the decision."
And you didn't like being a person who could make a decision like that.
Sometimes, having a mate who was able to read your thoughts wasn't an advantage. Matt would have liked to hide that particular fact from himself for a while yet.
Robbie nodded, not having heard Matt and Pietr's private conversation. "None of us blame you. We just want you to come to terms with it. It's the only way for you to succeed."
It stung a little to hear those words, because Robbie was right. He had used so much energy complaining about his task, and that energy had been taken away from his training. He even had a hunch that he had been doing it as an excuse: if he at least felt bad about it, then he wasn't as horrible a person as his decision made him.
That's kind of complicated, Matt. Pietr was a little bewildered.
"Yeah, I know," Matt said, answering them both. Then he took a deep breath. "I'm going to do it, and I'm standing by my choice. I know why I'm doing it. If I fail miserably, then at least I did it because I tried to do the right thing."
And it was the right thing; he felt it deep down. It was a colossal relief to finally be at peace with his task.
Sam nodded. "Sounds good to me. Tomorrow, we're going to practice with all three of you. You should use the rest of the day to rest. You've been driving yourself a little hard."
Matt really felt like pointing out that he hadn't been driving himself hard; Sam had.
As much as I hate to agree with him, I think he's right, baby.
Matt turned to Pietr in surprise.
You're demanding a lot of yourself, that's all.
Now Matt was speechless again. He didn't think he demanded a lot of himself. He just had things that needed to be done.
Yeah? Like setting up your own firm, and learning how to use every single skill you have, and now this? Matt, you're not exactly taking the easy way out. And I admire you for it.
Pietr wasn't trying to please him with empty words. His mate meant it. The other Himika encouraging him had been nice -- and thought-provoking -- but this was what mattered most to Matt. His mate was his core, and it was such a relief to have his trust in Pietr back.
I can do it. Matt surprised himself a little at that thought. But he really believed in it now.
Yes. And with the three of us, you can do anything. Pietr rubbed his shoulder and then got up to help the others clean the kitchen.
***
It was a certainty that followed Matt the next day. Pietr and Aki were both somewhat hesitant about what they were going to do, but Matt wasn't worried. He knew exactly what to do to make this work.
"So, how do you do that freak thing? You need to touch them, right?"
Matt didn't take Sam's bait, just nodded and pulled Aki and Pietr in close. Then he reached out to split a fallen tree trunk.
The old wood sort of exploded, showering them all with splinters and a considerable number of insects.
"Would you stop that?" Aki sounded irritated as he brushed bits of tree trunk out of his hair.
Sam looked a little overwhelmed. "Uh, yes. I guess that's about it. A little more control would probably be a good thing."
Sam quickly found his old self, though, and began putting Matt through his paces. It was a bit difficult to control all of that power in the beginning, but Matt quickly caught on, and he moved things and split tree trunks and broke branches the rest of the morning. He didn't tire at all, and it felt incredible to be able to keep going and going, feeding on the power from his mate and his mentor.
Please, no more! It was Aki's moan that finally stopped him. He looked at his mentor in surprise.
It might seem easy to you, but you're doing things neither of us ever learned. We're getting a little dizzy, here.
To Matt's astonishment, Pietr completely agreed with Aki. I need something to eat. And maybe some ReGen.
Matt realized that his mate was right. You do look a little green around the gills.
I... What? Pietr's hands went up to his neck, checking as if to see if there were any fish parts there. Okay, so perhaps Matt's mate really was tired.
It's a saying! When will you start getting your idioms right?
Well, pardon me for not understanding the parts of our language that you've mauled.
We haven't mauled anything. And what do you mean, "your language"?
Well, why do you think English is such a common language on Earth?
Uh, I don't know -- because the Brits were all over the place and brought their language with them?
A language as inconsistent as English? No way. You picked it up from us, of course.
What the fuck? No, we didn't!
"Uh, guys?" Aki's voice was mildly confused. "Could you maybe argue on the way? Because we're really hungry."
Matt looked up to see Aki, Sam, and Jerry watching them with equal parts amusement and resignation, and he blushed slightly.
"Okay, let's go. I can beat Pietr's ass on the way."
That's what you think. Now, about how the language transferred...
Matt groaned out loud as he started walking toward the cabin.
***
It was a little strange suddenly being the one with the strongest powers. Pietr and Aki didn't understand how he did most of the things he did, and even Sam reeled when Matt took a short cut and split a tree in four at one shot.
Things turned tricky when he had to use the power against another being. Sam, without hesitation, forbade him to do anything physical; his trainer looked a little panicked at the mere thought.
Matt was far more reluctant to att
ack any of his friends mentally. "What if I do a tree trunk on one of you?"
A collective shudder went through the Himika as they looked at the remains of the first tree trunk he had tried to split.
Sam wouldn't back down, though. "You just have to keep from doing that. You have to learn how to control it. You can practice on me."
That was either a very brave or a very stupid offer. Matt leaned strongly toward the latter. Then he got an idea.
Pulling together all of his self-control and the power of the three of them, he carefully reached out for Sam's mind.
Sam resisted, putting up a good fight. But instead of using force, Matt dodged Sam's defenses and slithered in where Sam's attention was lowest.
Suddenly, he was in the middle of Sam's mind. It was astounding to be this intimate, especially since he had barely communicated mentally with Sam before.
Sam was shocked and instantly wanted to fight Matt. However, Matt wouldn't let him. Instead, Matt let a layer of soothing thoughts simmer through his mind, forcing Sam to relax. Sam gave in surprisingly easily, and with that, all of his inner defenses went down.
This was someone who had been through hell. Without a mate, Sam was always aware of the fact that he wasn't complete, and it haunted him. Then there were the memories of the war, and the deep pain from witnessing the death of Stor, his best friend and Jerry's mate.
And Sam loved Jerry.
Sam knew it was hopeless; not so much because Jerry didn't like him, but because Jerry couldn't love anybody at all. Not yet, and perhaps not ever. But Sam had accepted the fact that he could at least be close to Jerry and help the other Himiko as much as possible.
It was such a noble decision that Matt got tears in his eyes.
Then he started when he realized what he had done. This was eavesdropping, but a lot worse. This was violating the most fundamental principles of privacy. Gingerly, taking great care not to hurt Sam, he pulled back.
Sam stared helplessly at Matt.
"What? Did it work?" Jerry sounded impatient.
"Yeah. It worked," Sam answered, his voice tight. Then he fell to his knees.
What happened?
Both Pietr and Aki were shouting at him, but it was Jerry who went to Sam's side, gently helping him sit down. Robbie joined them, looking worried.
"I couldn't feel what Matt was doing at all." Aki's voice sounded a little accusing. "It felt as if there was a limit at Sam's shields, and I couldn't see past that."
Me neither. What happened? Pietr was less than happy at being shut out, but it was such a relief that the other Himika hadn't seen what Matt had seen.
"I was just a little too rough," Matt said.
Sam looked up at him.
Matt nodded almost imperceptibly. He would keep Sam's secrets.
Sam nodded back, and there was a deep gratitude in his eyes.
"But you're okay?" Aki had broken their mental connection as soon as Sam fell, and now he was looking at the kneeling Himiko, real worry in his eyes.
Sam nodded, and Robbie did the same. "He'll be fine. We're just playing with hardcore stuff here."
You might say so. Matt took a deep breath.
"The good news is that I think I got it. I know how to use it now."
Thank god. Because that was just a little creepy. Their connection hadn't been broken, so Pietr wasn't in any kind of distress. He just hadn't been able to track Matt like he usually did, and that bothered him.
Yeah, a little. And I can't even say I won't do it again.
I know, Matt. It's okay.
Matt couldn't count how many times he had heard those words over the last few days. Perhaps he should start believing them.
It would save us a lot of work, honey.
The smack that followed was inevitable. Really, Pietr should have learned his lesson by now.
***
"How did the Warriors practice? I mean those who used their abilities for real?"
It was early afternoon, and they were at the meadow again, ready to begin another training session.
"We didn't practice!" Sam sounded outraged.
"Yes, they did." Aki's voice was quiet. Matt remembered Jerry's words about Aki being close to Stor's murderer.
Sam turned to Aki, a shocked expression on his face.
Aki looked away. "They played with other Himika. I don't think they ever did it with the intention of killing someone, but they were definitely bullies."
And Aki had been so close to becoming one of them. Matt could sense his mentor's revulsion at that thought.
"Okay, so that's not an option." What the fuck was he doing now?
"I think it actually might be." Aki sounded a bit surer of himself now. "You leave us behind anyway when you do it, so you don't really need to use the combined power of the three of us to practice. It was really easy keeping up the connection."
Matt nodded. He hadn't even had to think about that.
"Then we just spar. Like we did when I taught you how to shield. You try to break my shields, and I try to defend myself. Just don't fry my brain."
After what had happened to Sam -- and to the tree trunk -- Aki had to be very, very brave to suggest this. Matt really appreciated it.
He still did his very best to kick his mentor's ass.
Aki reeled back when he felt Matt's attack.
"Jesus, Matt! What have you been doing since I trained you?"
Matt thought about apologizing. Then he remembered: sucking it up. He attacked again, and this time he almost got through an opening in Aki's defenses before he gave his mentor a break.
Aki bent over, gasping, while supporting his hands on his knees. Robbie was watching him with raised eyebrows, and Aki looked questioningly at his mate when he got back up.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. You did ask for this," Robbie answered.
Matt grinned and attacked again.
***
Matt had been practicing all of the last three days, Sam and Jerry pushing him as much as they could without exhausting him. It wasn't as hard as it used to be; Aki and Pietr had almost unlimited power when they united with him in their strange trinity of energy, and they stopped getting queasy after a while.
Even when he practiced mental attacks on his own, he did all right. He was fed and ordered to drink and to sleep at regular intervals. If the reason for his friends' babysitting hadn't been looming over him, Matt would have lost his temper a long time ago. As it was, he worked harder than he could remember ever doing before -- and he had worked his ass off after bonding with Pietr.
"We better stop now. You have a good grasp of it, and we don't want to tire you out too much before tomorrow," Sam finally said the evening before the demonstration.
Sam looked grim, but he wasn't overly pessimistic. Matt knew that this was another of those things he wasn't supposed to know without Sam telling him so, but it was still nice to know that the Himiko wasn't sending them all on a suicide mission.
"Aren't you forgetting one thing?" Aki looked skeptical. "How are we going to explain that we're bringing a human to the meeting?"
Sam opened his mouth to answer. Then he shut it again.
Pietr saved the Warrior, though. "That's easy. I can just say that he's having a bad day. Everybody knows that he's been injured, and, well," he looked a bit sheepish, "I've sort of kept his power hidden to everybody."
Sam looked at him in surprise.
Pietr shrugged. "I didn't want them to assign him to something he didn't want to do." Like he had been himself.
Matt hugged his mate, unconcerned about the other Himika in the room. Thank you, baby. After this, we're... "Going on vacation" sounded a bit lame when they were about to save the world from an evil mastermind. But there was so much they were still learning about each other.
Pietr understood, though. There was gratitude and a quiet, undemanding love in his mate's mind, and Matt let himself absorb it. Then he p
ulled back.
"I'm ready to go now."
10
It proved very easy to get Matt into the room where the meeting was being held in Washington, DC. The meeting room was near the Mall, enhancing Matt's suspicion about the purpose of the meeting. They saw a glimpse of the demonstration on their way; it looked like there were tens of thousands of people there, and it was still another hour and a half until the demonstration was supposed to begin.
Pietr wrapped an arm around Matt's shoulder as they neared the building. It was a part of his disguise as injured human, but it felt really good. He let his mate know it, know exactly how grateful Matt felt to have met the Himiko. In spite of everything and no matter what happened to them today.
Pietr leaned in and kissed him. I love you, okay? And I'll be here for you every step of the way. Even if he messed up. Even if things went horribly wrong. More than all of their exercises back at the cabin, this made Matt feel calm. He would do what he could.
The guard in the foyer gave Matt an unusually sour look. Pietr did his thing where he grew right before Matt's eyes.
I have a meeting with the Assessor. This is my mate. Let us through.
After that, there were no problems whatsoever.
Matt clung to Pietr, letting his steps go a little unsure and looking down as if his eyes were too sensitive to the light. He had his shields built up as solidly as he could. But he kept a fake layer on top on them, a disguise if anybody dared defy Pietr and impose on Matt's mind.
The Assessor did, as soon as they stepped into the Himiko's office. Matt had been prepared, although he couldn't bring himself to believe that any Himiko really would do that, even this one. But the Assessor did, without doing much to conceal the rough search of Matt's mind.
Matt whimpered and swayed. He didn't have to fake his discomfort, but he added a sense of bewilderment at the confrontation with such overwhelming power. Unfortunately, it wasn't an exaggeration; the Assessor's energy felt different from anything Matt had ever encountered. Their very rudimentary plan suddenly seemed deeply insufficient, and a single week of practice was laughable in the face of this solid, impenetrable wall of immense power.