“He is mine,” growled Jonny, still holding Max’s eyes.
“I see how my sword has changed you.” Raze bared his teeth. “Just don’t forget your place.”
Jonny had changed profoundly in the short time since Max he had last seen him. Not just his appearance, but his attitude, mind-set, even his speech were those of a different person. Ben was a fool for not intervening before it was too late. Instead, he had let his close friend suffer through this delusional plan.
“You are ill. Let me help you,” offered Max, trying to deflect Jonny’s psychotic intentions.
Jonny’s speed was explosive, or perhaps he had teleported to get so close to Max so quickly, forcing Max’s hand with the electric ball towards the sky. His steely grip was apparently effortless and he grinned wildly at Max.
“I have never felt so good in my life,” he replied. He pulled Max closer, bending his wrist painfully.
“Let me test my power on you,” purred Jonny.
“Release them now,” demanded Maximus through grit teeth.
“You make demands as if you had a power that exceeds mine,” Jonny laughed.
A strong vibration of Max’s power suddenly stirred but Jonny, in his blind rage failed to see the scars burning with power as the gravity shifted, growing immediately heavier.
Max snapped his wrist away from Jonny in an instant, jolting the ball of energy into his stomach and Jonny flew backwards past Raze. Max’s energy level continued to grow and, with a roar, he began to shatter the rock prison holding his friends.
Jonny staggered to his feet, allowing the power of the sword to repair his damaged tissues. His counter attack came swiftly, focusing on Max’s blind spot.
The black flames caught Max off guard and he thudded into the dirt. His vision blurred, but he could hear Hilary screaming and Jonny’s evil laugh, although he could not detect the direction from which they came. Dazed, he struggled to rise. He saw Jonny approach Hilary, grabbing her by the hair and she screamed once again.
“No…” Maximus mustered his strength. He called upon the black flames that Jonny had used, but was disappointed with the result. For some reason, he couldn’t imitate the black flames. He guessed that the black sword was the reason.
His timing had to be immaculate; Hilary was in trouble and she needed his help. He stood still, desperately shuffling through his powers, but a terrifying blankness overwhelmed him.
Suddenly, Chris and Stuart were there; Stuart teleported them to the right location bang on time. Chris leaped towards Jonny and Hilary, sliced through Hilary’s hair with an ice blade and whisked her away from him and her stone prison.
The shock attack left Jonny stunned as he watched them retreat behind Maximus. Hilary threw herself into Max’s arms, embracing him desperately, and Jonny felt sick. Suddenly, his rage knew no bounds and the sword added its effect. The dark lines under his eyes tightened and he leaped towards Maximus, attacking to eliminate, swinging the sword violently from side to side.
“Watch out!” screamed Chris, attempting to advance, but Max was back in control, pushing Hilary towards Chris as he confronted Jonny.
The sword was fast approaching and Max opened his palm and caught it. The power of the strike whirled past Max and the ground split apart from the impact. Chris had just enough time to grab Hilary before they were thrown aside by the powerful blast.
Raze watched with interest, standing next to Ben, who looked on in fear. There was a stunned moment’s pause from Jonny. He couldn’t believe Max had caught the sword. Dodging it he could understand, but here he stood, holding it with a firm grip. Jonny tugged on the sword trying to set it free.
“You accept this power from the sword by sacrificing who you are. Take a look at yourself, Jonny. What good can come from this?” Max pleaded.
“The Dark Lord deems me worthy, and you have no hold over me. I have the power and I will use it,” ground Jonny between clenched teeth.
The two stared at each other with boundless hatred, each battling for power over the other.
Max’s blood began to drip, running down the length of the sword, and Jonny smirked.
“The sword already has a hold on you,” said Jonny.
He was right. Max tried to let go of the sword, feeling the sword stick to his palm as the blood trickled down. He had no choice but to react. He forced magma from the ground and it rolled fast towards Jonny, threatening to consume him.
The sword spilled darkness into Jonny as he felt the pure blood from Max, which coated the edge. The dark flames met the magma and Jonny retreated to safety. Max scattered his particles far and wide, assessing the danger level. He clutched his palm, trying to stop the bleeding as it formed small puddles on the dirt.
Max lost visual on Jonny, searching every particle for any hint of a vibration. In a split second, the black sword whistled through the air faster than Max could imagine was possible, drawing more blood as a gash appeared on his forearm.
“How does it feel to be powerless?” Jonny smiled, relishing the moment that he had waited forever since Max had first appeared at Elementrix Pillar.
“I will not crumble to the monster that commands you like a puppet. You are a student of the Pillar, not a murderer. See reason,” insisted Max.
“Reason? You stole my girl, tried to shatter my pride and you stand before me now thinking you are better than me. No, I will not see reason. I will witness your downfall, and this sword will gain me favour.” He gazed at the black sword.
By now, Raze had grown tired of the personal battle and launched his own attack on Max, rushing past Jonny to reach him. Max deflected it, sending a powerful thunderbolt towards Jonny as he roared and joined the battle.
The huge odds against him threatened to overwhelm Max as they both attacked with terrifying speed. An invisible force knocked Raze off his feet as lightning battled Jonny’s black flames. How could the Dark Lord use so many of his powers without thinking about it first? Max could barely remember all the powers he had received.
Vibrations he felt in the air allowed Maximus to duck from the sword that came whizzing up behind him, dodging the burning inferno that followed in its wake. Drawing his second sword, he sprang towards Raze with heavy swings, hoping for an opportunity to finish him off, just as Raze and Jonny flew at him.
The three came to a halt in something of a stand-off, a dense silence falling as they glared at each other.
“You are mine,” said Raze, then, kicking up dirt into Max’s face. Max flinched as he stepped back from the battle.
He closed his eyes and felt the two stealthily approaching, their footfalls sounding like drums beating with every step. He waited for the right moment, listening to their footsteps as they came closer. At exactly the right moment, he released his power, throwing both arms out wide as a force of energy exploded, forming a sphere that expanded, hurling both enemies away.
“You have grown,” murmured Raze as he shifted in the dirt, easing to his feet.
“You don’t know the first thing about me,” sneered Maximus.
“I was the one who watched you get your power for the first time,” spat Raze. “I was the one who burned the dojo to the ground. You should be thanking me.”
Max’s heart seemed to still in his body. Images struck him one after the other, the burning dojo flashing through his mind. He could feel the heat touch his face; the rain in the field wetting his clothes. The memories felt so real and he had to drag his mind back to reality.
It frightened him, the fury he felt when facing the man who had killed his family. He had held his feelings close for far too long and could now feel the darkness creep out from the edge of his mind.
Time slowed as he screamed, releasing both of his swords. He caught Jonny’s dark sword with his bare hands, holding it even tighter than before.
His attention swung to Raze, ignoring Jonny as he tugged madly in an effort to release his sword.
“What did you say?” Max yelled.
“I wiped out your entire
family line, and now it’s your turn,” smirked Raze.
Raze summoned his remaining energy into one last attack, forcing out an invisible wave so strong that it shook the park, but Max remained still, unaffected, as a single tear ran down his face.
Chris tugged at Hilary and they slid past Jimmy and Stuart, the others quickly following suit. Stuart ran at Ben and they fell to the ground in a locked struggle.
Jonny remained planted at the end of the sword, watching as a lightning bolt streamed out of Max’s hand. The bolt struggled, slowly inching its way through the continuous force that kept emitting from Raze.
Max’s rage slowly increased the range of the bolt, but Raze pushed harder. The sword drew on Max’s new darkness and the bolt of lightning immediately turned black, shattering Raze’s force, the lightning hitting him in the chest.
Raze lay lifeless, black sparks continuing to zap around him, and Jonny looked on, speechless. He gazed at Max with new eyes, witnessing the darkness seeping out of him.
He flinched as the scar on Max’s neck glowed full, with the second scar rotating slowly. Jonny was lost for words, struggling to breathe as the gravity grew heavier around them. Blue and black sparks erupted around both of them, the sparks battling for dominance, the good fighting the evil. Jonny’s anger slowly subsided as Max’s grew, threating to take him over completely.
“You killed my only family,” he told himself. His breathing deepened as more and more power flowed through his body. Heightened sensations raced through his body, feeding the urge to let go.
“Maximus!” Hilary screamed as Chris held her back. Stuart and Ben had stopped fighting, witnesses to the slaughter in Max’s wake. Ben could see the struggle on Jonny’s face. It was the first time that he had seen him vulnerable, pleading with his eyes for help. He had no choice but to intervene and shoved himself away from Stuart, plunging into a sprint. He raised his fist to connect with Max’s face, kicking up a cloud of dust with every step. His heart began to pound, not from the speed of his running, rather from the amount of electricity thickening the air.
Ben’s mind had been too fixated on Max’s face and he was too slow to react to the attack already formed in Max’s hand. The electric ball smacked into the centre of Ben’s chest and he choked on the exhaled air as he hit the ground, hard.
He had once been badly winded by his big brother, playing with large boulders as they tested their courage. The boulder had been flung so hard at Ben that it hit him right in the stomach, cracking his rock armour and leaving him breathless.
Now, Ben looked up at Max as he writhed on the ground, struggling to inhale just one breath, his pain clearly visible. Stuart didn’t hesitate, running up and dragging Ben as far away from Max as he could.
“Why?” Ben gasped. “Even after I attacked you?”
“It’s not for your sake,” growled Stuart, watching Max with concern.
“I only want to save Jonny. It’s not his fault. The Dark Lord has twisted his mind,” said Ben, trying to justify all of his actions to date.
Stuart had taken pity on both of them, but was still cursing Raze as he looked for signs of life.
Chris could now hear the echo of approaching sirens. Police vehicles with armed soldiers lined the edge of the park, prepared to stop the chaos with force, called by a dozen bystanders, who had fled from the lightning.
“Ben, I need your help,” shouted Chris, yanking him to his feet.
The plan was simple: barricade the park with ice and rock walls, thus preventing any contact with the Nons. Both men dashed away to either sides of the park to begin their work as the remainder turned their attention to Max.
The power Max released was terrifying. Electrical waves surged out of the park and the city began to lose power. Rows of windows shattered, hurling out sharp shards of glass to litter the streets.
The force struck the police before Chris could construct his wall and they braced on the ground as the park grew thick with power.
Max was becoming disoriented by the darkness of the sword as it turned friend into foe and light into darkness. No one in this city was safe. Hilary screamed a plea as Jonny buckled from the power.
“You were never a match for me,” whispered Max, his eyes wild, as his power threatened to crush Jonny.
Jonny looked up at Max with abject fear, as if he would rather be looking at the Dark Lord instead of him. It wasn’t until a dark shadow appeared, grabbing hold of the black sword, that he began to hope.
Chapter 30
Unknown Guardian
Tears began to pool in Hilary’s eyes.
“Chris,” she whispered as she took in as much detail as the light would allow. Chris and Max shifted nervously. It had been instantaneous. The dark power of the sword had sent waves of energy through Chris, allowing him to view the dangerous power that swirled underneath its black blade. He sensed Max’s power latched onto its source, shadowing Jonny’s, as all three struggled for control.
Chris’s thoughts strayed, feeling his heavy duty weighing on him. He had to rid Maximus of the sword; it now became his number one priority. The darkness had attached itself too deeply.
Jonny panicked, gripping the cold surface of the hilt in his hands as he teleported. All three disappeared out of the park, leaving Hilary crying out as she stumbled forward, suddenly alone.
The scenery changed in an instant as they left the sunny park and arrived in the darkness of a field. The darkness took a few seconds of getting used to, but Chris recognised the grounds immediately. The Elementrix Pillar came into full view as sparks lit the surrounding area.
“Jonny, you idiot,” spat Chris as he pushed him out of the way.
Rock spikes propelled from the canyon, twisting towards them, but Max easily controlled them and both boys rolled out of the way, unharmed.
The black sword swished through the grass as Max dragged it behind him, pacing purposefully towards the school. His smile made Chris cringe. It was as though he was enjoying the torment he was inflicting.
“We need to draw him away from the school,” he pleaded to Jonny. The lightning’s frequency had increased, filling the sky with blue and black rods that turned night into day. The school came alive, with lights and with screams that echoed through the buildings.
Time seemed to slow for Chris, Max fading from his sight as shock took him, and he stood helplessly, waiting for Max to strike.
Then Max jolted from the darkness. Jonny streamed a jet of red and yellow fire that blocked his path. Max swung the dark sword through the fire, evaporating it as he turned to Chris. His speed was deadly, leaving mere seconds for Jonny to teleport. Max’s sword swung through Jonny’s dust as both boys relocated some distance from Max.
“What is the meaning of this?” Alexander bellowed at the students who gathered fearfully in the hallway. A boy pointed with a trembling finger and Alex’s attention was drawn to the fight outside the window.
The Head Master gaped at Max’s uncontrolled state, immediately summoning the NPA guards to his location.
“The stadium,” said Jonny, pointing over the canyon.
“Now,” muttered Chris. The weird sensation of teleportation tingled through them as Jonny grabbed Max’s sword. The stadium beamed into view as all three left the school grounds.
Alexander stood speechless, watching as the lightning vanished with their departure, engulfing him in darkness.
Seconds passed and then the lightning reappeared over the new stadium, whipping him into action as he strode with renewed purpose. It was clear to him that something had taken hold of Max, but he struggled to imagine what evil could have hijacked Max’s innate goodness. Was the Dark Lord involved? How did Maximus gain such power? Who was trying to stop him? His many questions had to wait as he rushed to Dozer’s side.
“Get hold of the Ministry immediately, and get these students back to bed,” he barked as he rushed into Dozer’s office.
Chris had managed to disarm Maximus as they landed in the stadium.
The added pressure of saving the school slowly started to trickle away as the black sword was thrown to the dirt.
“Listen, you need to snap out of it!” Chris shouted into Max’s face, but he got no response. Max simply stared at him with an alien hatred in his eyes.
It was hard for Chris to deal with this. His good friend trapped by a dark power, a struggle he was clearly losing.
His attacks on Max had been harmless, not meant to hurt him, as he struggled to gain the upper hand over the evil within Max. That was clearly not the case with Maximus when he charged an electric energy ball and fired it at Chris without hesitation. Chris leaped out of the way with a cry as it crashed into the stone foundation behind him.
The stone cracked in a circle formation, causing maximum damage to the back of the structure and pieces of the wall began to scatter down from everywhere.
Hot blood trickled down the side of Chris’s body and he realised he hadn’t fully escaped the devastating power. His breaths became short and sharp as shock took hold of him. Max slowly inched his way closer and closer, sensing Chris’s weakness. Jonny stood frozen, waiting for Chris to defend himself as Max approached.
Closer and closer Max strode, feeling the success of winning already flowing through his veins. His over-confidence was his downfall, however. As he stepped into range, Chris launched his final attack.
Five ice slabs formed from above, falling around Max to create a solid ice prison. He had used the remains of his energy to make the slabs as thick as possible, in the hope of preventing his escape.
Jonny gasped in relief, admiring Chris for his determination. At the school, he had thought little of him, and even in the Assessments he had turned a blind eye. He had been so caught up with Maximus that nothing else mattered. His guard slowly began to lower and he sat back, exhausted.
Following the removal of the black sword he could feel his outlook change. Why he had resorted to the sword, he didn’t know, and he cursed his competiveness as he slowly lay down in the dust.
Chris rubbed the cold surface, looking into the clear ice block. Max stayed perfectly still, but his neck glowed. For a short moment, Chris believed he had accomplished his goal, but as he watched, small sparks began to bounce from wall to wall. Fire followed and the prison began to melt.
Maximus Thatcher Page 35