by Ross Buzzell
Konner asks, his brow furrowed. Danielle gives a soft smile and taps his armor.
“Anything you have experienced has been recorded as well, Konner, which includes the Trigzell ship you came across in your final test for the O.W.S. But that is not why I brought you out here. There is information that needs to be told to you, information that has been hidden from not only you, but all of the new generation of Boronians.”
The sobering tone in her voice causes Konner to pay close attention; his heart nearly skips a beat as it would when his father would call out his full name back home, when he got himself into trouble.
“What has been hidden from me?”
Danielle pauses for a moment. Konner can see she is struggling to get the words out, fighting to figure out just how to place her sentences as to be as delicate and as to the point as possible.
“You have heard of X’Lor, have you not?”
Konner nods in agreement.
“Once or twice, he was apparently one of the greatest Boronians to have lived. Why?”
“And Xero, you have heard of him as well?”
The moment she speaks the name he was forbidden by his father to bring up again, it feels as if a hammer slams into his chest. She does not need to say more; he knows they are one and the same. At the same time, he feels a little nag of shame pull at his subconscious. How could he not have put two and two together before now?
“They are the same person, aren’t they?”
he states calmly. Danielle nods slowly as if dreading what was to come next.
“But that is not what I needed to tell you Konner.”
Konner’s mind puts more of the puzzle pieces together. “Lor is short for Lorian,” he thinks to himself. The moment he does, the rest of his mind howls in defiant protest, instantly going into denial. Immediately, the soldier feels a surge of emotions overtake him that range from anger to loss as his mind tries to grapple with the tiny thought that whispered from the recesses within him. There is a part of him that does not want her to go on, and yet another part needing to hear the truth. A part scared of what he would hear and a part so curious that it hurts. After a long moment of tormented silence, Konner forces out two words. His mouth has gone dry and his throat is tight as his body and his mind fight for wanting to know and desiring to stay in the dark.
“Tell me.”
his voice is hoarse and cracks a little; he gives a hard swallow and clears his throat in an attempt to regain control of his voice. Danielle looks him square in the eye. Her voice is unlike his; it is even keeled, matter of fact, and strong.
“He is your uncle.”
Konner feels his heart sink and almost break as the thought of his own flesh and blood slaughtering those related to him in such a gruesome and merciless manner. It results in his knees going weak and Konner nearly collapsing into the railing, which had it not been there, the warrior would have probably hit the floor. Konner feels Danielle’s hand slide to the upper part of his shoulder, where his neck transitions. Her strong fingers hold the back of the prince’s neck, he can feel her trying to help bring him peace, but the raging war of emotions within him as he pictures Xero slaughtering his wife and child play over and over again in a loop in his mind prevents the peace from ever coming. Danielle quickly removes her hand from the back of his neck, standing; she staggers back a few steps as a tear rolls down her cheek.
“Oh my god, Konner, I am so sorry… I knew what happened, but to see it… no one should have to suffer that fate.”
Her voice trembles as having tried to calm Konner, he has inadvertently projected into her. Something that is not supposed to be possible with Emissaries. Given her human DNA, this would result in different power sets, like the other human/Boronian counterparts. Danielle takes a few steps forward, leaning into Konner. He feels her arms wrap around him; she does not try to bring him peace with her gift but rather just tries to empathize with her new friend.
The embrace helps the heartbreak that immediately began to tear the prince apart to subside, he does not reciprocate but rather leans in a stunned, nearly broken silence as what would be his worst fear is realized; his own family is responsible for what almost wiped out his people, for the slaughter of his family, and for killing his son. The sensation of Danielle’s embrace helps Konner calm just enough for him to do what he was trained his entire life to do, show no weakness, suppress anything that could be considered as weakness, and had any back on Boron seen this display, he would have received an earful. Konner takes a deep breath; he clenches his jaw as he forces the heartbreak to a place within himself that he cannot feel it. He raises his hand and gently pats Danielle’s arm as he whispers:
“Thank you.”
As a way to tell her politely to release him, she obliges. The prince takes a deep breath and is about to speak. Before he gets a chance, a bright flash of light beams through the window of Emma’s living room. Danielle glances back before looking at Konner. He stands in silence for a moment before asking:
“What was that?”
“Oh no…”
Danielle mutters before turning to the door and throwing it open. Konner is right behind her as the two enter. Emma stands in front of a mirror, looking at herself. Her appearance changed ever so slightly but enough to be noticeable. Panic has overwhelmed her face. She looks over at Konner. Her voice is rigid and a little deeper than before as she fearfully pleads,
“Please tell me this isn’t what you meant by molecular fusion!”
Konner looks over at Danielle. He has never seen anything like this; he is just as confused as Emma appears to be, only nowhere near as scared.
“What just happened?”
Danielle lets a sly smile form on her lips as she shrugs.
“I am afraid that is what I meant.”
“Okay, but what just happened and where is Doug?”
Konner asks once again.
“I don’t know. Doug and I accidentally touched and WHAM! He fused into me… Danielle, how do un-separate! You’re a ‘walking lexicon,’ as Doug keeps putting it… please, he is seriously freaking out inside my head and it is NOT pleasant!”
Emma’s tone is panicked. She runs her fingers through her hair as she begins to pace. Konner glances over at Danielle, who is chuckling to herself.
“You think this is funny?”
Konner asks, not sternly but more out of curiosity. The Emissary nods.
“I actually do. I am sorry, Emma. I cannot help you with this. I only have facts. Abilities are based off of emotion and personality. You probably felt close to him when you touched.”
Emma turns and faces Konner and Danielle. Her eyebrows are arched, her eyes wide, nostrils flared, and her mouth is in a deep frown as she shakes her head and her voice becomes dusky.
“I’m not feeling close to him now!”
Konner laughs at the face and her words, not meaning to make light of the situation but enjoying her reaction to it.
“Why don’t you two try going opposite directions?”
Konner suggests as he watches the two struggle. Peering into different wavelengths of light, he can see each individual’s distinct body heat signature reverberating from the single body. He watches as one throws themselves one way and the other throws themselves the opposite. The heat signatures separate slightly but are snapped back together. Konner brings his vision back to the normal range before walking up to Emma/Doug. He waves Danielle to follow and she does. He places his hands on her shoulders, looking into the two different-colored eyes. Konner gives her a soft smile.
“Emma… Doug, this is what I need you both to do. Take a deep breath, calm your minds, both of you. I saw you two begin to split. Perhaps if your minds are clear, you can get away from each other enough for Danielle and me to pry you apart.”
Emma pauses for a moment, as if having an internal conversation, her eyes darting back and forth. After a few seconds of silence, she nods in agreement.
“Okay he is in. On one?”
> Konner positions himself on Emma’s left side, Danielle on her right. Konner looks over at Emma.
“Okay, ready? Three.”
Danielle continues:
“Two.”
Emma takes a deep breath and nods:
“One!”
She throws herself towards Konner; light begins to spark and flare from her as Doug separates partially at the shoulders. Emma glances up at Konner; her face is pale again like it was when they first met and both of her eyes are blue. Konner grabs her by the shoulders and begins to pull her towards him. Danielle does the same for Doug, and after a few seconds of fighting, Emma and Doug are snapped back together like a rubber band. The amalgamation of the two slumps her shoulders.
“Great! Now I can’t land and there is a guy stuck inside me… That sounds dirty. We are going to need so much therapy after this.”
Konner bites his lower lip as he tries to stifle a laugh; Danielle does not hold back and explodes in laughter. Emma gets visibly upset:
“This is not funny, guys! It is actually terrifying!”
“I know. I’m sorry. Just think about it from our point of view.”
Emma retorts,
“I will think about it from your point of view after I shove my foot up your ass! And Doug agrees! He is also having a serious break down.Will one of you two please do something about…”
Danielle immediately stops laughing. Konner feels a slight tug at his core, similar to his cape getting caught on something but only from within. Konner looks up over at Danielle with worry on his face as the pull grows stronger.
“Do you feel that?”
Konner asks as an eyebrow raises and the pull grows even stronger, nearly pulling Konner towards Emma/Doug and Danielle.
“What is it?”
Danielle asks.
“Feel what?”
Emma interjects. Konner looks around. It felt like a portal but to a level he has never before experienced.
“It feels like a…”
Just as he is about to finish his sentence, a wormhole explodes open in-between the three. On the other side, he sees the beautiful redhead being attacked by an individual that used to be his closest friend. He would have leapt into the portal had its pull not been so all-encompassing that all three of them are violently yanked through. As Konner is pulled through the wormhole, he can feel the tiny bits of energy he lost in the fight with the terrorists restore and the damages to his armor are undone. The three are spat out just inside the doorway of what appears to Konner to be a residence. Konner watches as Disa’ani is thrown back and slides across the ground. The wound of his betrayal still fresh in Konner’s mind, it takes everything he has not to charge his old friend and slaughter him on the spot.
His mind goes to the three spears that Disa’ani can control with his mind, should the former O.W.S. member decide to fling them at his new friends it is unlikely they would be able to survive the attack without Konner generating a shield to protect them. Disa’ani pulls himself to his feet; his eyes meet with Konner’s, which brings a twisted smile to his face.
“Konner, it is good to see you again… the last time I saw you, wasn’t I killing your father?”
Rage begins to boil within the solder as he focuses on his target at the cost of everything else around him. His shield violently ignites from his left arm, sparking as it comes to life. From behind clenched teeth, the soldier growls.
“And wasn’t I sending you through a wall?”
Disa’ani lets out a demented laugh, leaning backwards slightly as he does.
“Patience, boy, you will get your turn. First your girlfriend will die, then those two you brought with you, and then… only after I’ve killed your friends will I put you out of your misery.”
The thought of him killing any more people close to him ignites a raging fire in Konner’s gut; his heart begins to pound so hard he can feel it shaking his body. Focusing solely on Disa, Konner charges at him, sprinting at his former friend fully prepared to incinerate him with the energy from his shield. Konner’s shield arm gets a punch to protective energy barrier; its loud sizzling sound brings Konner’s focus back to the room as a whole. Disa’ani stands with his hand outstretched. His spear, having deflected off of Konner’s shield, sticks in the wall behind the warrior prince.
Konner’s vision flashes black, then white rapidly as a lightning pain shoots through his skull from the back. He falls forward but catches himself just in time to deflect the third spear from impaling his chest. The prince buys just enough time for him to right himself. Standing tall, his eyes track the movement of two of the spears floating before him as they drift lazily around as the third spear is drawn back to Disa’ani’s hand. Natalie sits on the ground, groaning and holding her arm. His cape lies next to her, having fallen from her shoulders, and the ring no longer glows. She is defenseless now. Konner glances over at Danielle and the amalgamation of Doug and Emma; they both nod as if knowing what Konner is thinking before he even says it. Disa lunges at Natalie, who lets out a scream of terror. Konner, not having enough time to teleport, attempts to get between the two, but the relentless barrage of the spears prevents him from getting close. He hears Emma call out from the doorway:
“I got this!”
There is a blur and a gust of wind that passes Konner with such force even the floating spears are swayed. Konner watches in horror as Disa’ani’s blade, the one Konner himself helped him obtain and trained him with, moves at blinding speeds towards Natalie’s chest. The blade is halted as Emma seems to appear out of nowhere, her hand a grey stone and her fingers wrapped tightly around the shaft of Disa’ani’s spear, preventing it from striking its target by less than an inch. The stone begins to spread over her body like a rockslide as Emma taps into Doug’s powers. With a powerful yank, Emma does something Konner has never seen before. She twists the spear to the far side of her body, spinning as she does, and slams a foot directly into Disa’ani’s chest so hard he flies into the other room, leaving his weapon in the hands of Emma/Doug.
Disa’ani’s spears begin to attack Konner once more; one attacks high, the other low, forcing the prince to dance around the attacks and block strikes where he can. He has never trained for anything like this, fighting something that has no physical form to strike. Danielle gives both battles space as she makes her way over to Natalie to ensure she is okay. The spears move with such speed that Konner has trouble tracking them, even “overclocking” his senses, slowing the world around him. They still move faster than just about anything he has faced before. A loud “crack” followed by a burst of light fills the room. Konner squints as the spears briefly cease their attack just long enough to see Emma fly through the air and Danielle catch her. With a glance, Konner sees Doug deliver a powerful kick to Disa’ani, the likes of which he is not sure the traitor has experienced before as it actually draws blood. Impressive.
With the momentary reprieve over, the spears begin to attack once more, this time with greater ferocity. The prince, having been able to hold his own, has to step back to keep himself from the wrath of the weapons he is indirectly responsible for forging. With a quick glance, the wall behind him is rapidly closing in, and with the speed of the weapons attacks, he does not have time to open a portal without risking his safety or that of his team. Within moments, his back is against the wall and he is unable to back pedal anymore. The two spears charge at him to kill him but are stopped before they get very close to the prince. A smirk forms on his lips as he sees Emma and Danielle on the back end of the weapons, holding them tightly.
“Get the girl out of here!”
Danielle roars. Emma chimes in:
“Yeah, we’ve got this!”
In the blink of an eye, Konner dashes out of the path of the spears. The girls release the semi-sentient weapons, which imbed themselves into the wall. Konner slides to the stunning redhead’s side. He looks her over and immediately notices the dislocated shoulder, and there is no blood, just minor scrapes and bruise
s. A look of relief fills the woman’s face as she puts her good hand on his cheek. The soft warm touch of her skin brings a smile to the prince’s face. His heart begins to race and a chill shoots down his spine like a bolt of lightning. He has never felt this before as he struggles to control his breathing and heartrate. This is a battle field and being distracted could get people killed.
“You didn’t have to cut it so close, you know,”
she says with a relieved smile. Konner moves to the side with the dislocated shoulder. He gently folds her arm over her stomach and places a hand behind her shoulders and one under her knees. The battle between Doug and Disa’ani continues to rage while the spears come back to life and Danielle and Emma struggle with holding two of them in place.
“Thank you for keeping my family’s things safe,”
Konner states as he opens a portal to the street level.