Chapter 4: A Measure of Power
<i>It was only a moment. It was just like any other portal Arto had entered, but something felt off. A mixture of wetness combined with hesitation. He had just become his hero’s enemy, yet now, an unfamiliar ally? Could he trust this new person? What answers would he find on the other side? </i>
As Arto peered through he looked upon an empty and hollow world. There was only light that outlined the horizon of a black dark landscape. There were outlines of trees and grass in the distance, but it was as if it waited for the sun to rise for it to be uncovered. Boom continued to walk forward, and his large dark form minimized into a young man walking forward. Arto could see a cape with an odd insignia.
“Come on now.” He pointed forward to a ship planted in the distance. “That’s where they will be!”
He swayed his foot over the ground as if to estimate the ground before him. Feeling carefully for a ledge. “Trust yourself,” The voice said faintly as he jumped down what seemed to be a ledge.
“Woooooo!” He yelled.
"Wait!" Arto yelled. He walked forward and looked down. He only saw darkness. Ahead he could hear Boom''s voice echo. He didn''t wish to lose his track. He shook his head and sighed. “Aquarius wouldn’t be scared would he.” He copied Boom’s motion, swaying his feet until he felt something in his foot. It was a pressure entering his feet towards his hip up to his throat. The foreign feeling pulled him off the cliff, and pulled him forward through the air.
“Ah!” He yelled. He was being pulled through the air towards the ship. As he looked back something seemed to change. It didn’t seem like he was moving fast but as he looked behind him the distance behind him grow, so much that he was no longer on the dark sphere.
“What is going on?” he wondered.
“You’re often oblivious…” A voice said startling Arto, who still had no control of his movement.
The entity''s voice went back into the darkness, but Arto could feel the presence near him. It gave him goosebumps. Arto couldn''t tell if he was falling, or flying. He couldn''t tell which direction was up nor down. All he knew was he was moving.
“Boom! Now!” The voice yelled.
From the darkness, a spark of lightning, coiled through the mysterious air, creating a sparkling display. It was then that Arto saw any sort of environment. Ahead was the ship he was speaking of and around it an endless ocean.
Boom concentrated, holding out his hand in front of him, folding his hand onto an unknown and dangerous energy. Covering his hand with his other, he took a stance, and thrusted his arms forward, opening his hands like a flower. The energy became a large beam of energy, coming towards Arto. The energy moved at tremendous speed, skittering through the airway, with an innate voice of destruction. As the world uncovered, he looked next to him and for a second saw a blur of a person.
“You must defend yourself to reach our island from here on.” it explained to him. “We won’t let you join us so easily. Use it.”
Then the whisper was no longer.
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??? Unknown Trail
The area became clear as if all purity in a cup was spread to the side. The sky blue with clouds, a plain world with a mixture of grass and plain. Arto was happy to stand on solid ground. The air was fresh, and unadulterated. Ahead of him the beam of light was still coming his way, but as he approached forward he could tell it was going to miss him. He moved forward, moving plants out of his way to move forward. Finally above him the beam passed and hit a tree.
“Defend myself? Is this a test?” He thought. “Aquarius wouldn’t falter from this.”
“Aquarius this, Aquarius that. What would you do.” It was the voice from before finally in a form.
Before Arto was a young woman, with long red hair. She wore white shirt with blue jeans. In her hands were two daggers.
“Can you read my mind?” The question was slow as Arto felt a presence come close to his face. To the side of his face he could see the edge of a blade. In the split she disappeared. Arto turned his body, and jumped back. She reappeared striking Arto in the stomach raising her leg to kick him. Arto placed his hands up to defend the attack but then she remained in place. “What?” He thought. He took a step back, and with insurmountable speed her foot moved and kicked Arto, sending him flying to the side. She jumped once again, and as Arto opened his eyes he could see her body still in a running motion towards him. He moved his hand, adjusting himself to plant his hand to raise himself. Her full body was came closer. He rose, and now her body was entering a stance with its knee towards his stomach.
A short realization, yet he came to an inquiry. “Everytime I move, she does. But she moves much father than I do. How do I defeat someone who is capable of that?” He closed his eyes and thought of Aquarius. “What would Aquarius do.”
The knee connected with his stomach and sent him flying into the sky. He remained stationary in a propelled position. “You gotta'' be kidding me. Allies he said. Allies?”
Just then, a dark energy wrapped around his hand manifesting the orb from before. He looked at the orb and suddenly his field of vision was filled with information.
Arto 3
ZAP 13
ZAP 16
ZAP 22
“What is initiative?” He looked at the young woman. He gripped the orb and looked at it.
ZAP 1
ZAP 13
ZAP 23
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Arto 50
“For some reason when I move, the number lowers. ZAP’s own as well.” He looked at the orb wondering what it did. “Come on!” He yelled. His body flowed through the air, where the young woman appeared, landing a blow to his chest sending him towards the floor.
Pain wrangled through the boy’s body. He rolled outward with the orb in his hand. “What does it mean? “She keeps hitting me. When is it my turn?”
The orb spiraled, displaying new information in a tangible ephemeral form.
Arto - Flee. Attack. Defend. Bag.
Arto didn’t understand, but he didn''t wish to fight. He wished to flee. He touched the Flee. The orb displayed the message cannot flee.
ZAP 4
ZAP 12
Arto 15
ZAP 20x100
ZAP 30
ZAP 41
Arto could tell that this was trying to decipher the information. “Each time she moves her number goes down, and each time I do anything my number goes down. But she has way more numbers than me. Why? Is it because she is that much faster than me.”
The young woman appeared towering over the boy. “Chadow spoke highly about you. Said you even went toe to toe with the God of Purview, Aquarius. Seems like a lie to me.” She formed a dagger in her hand.
“Why is that number 20 x 100?” He thought. “Does that mean she is about to do a barrage of attacks. “If I can;t run then maybe I can defend!” He lunged his hand forward with the only this he had in his arsenal. The orb. His only move as the young woman, began a volley of attacks at Arto. With each attack, sparks of fire shred the air, as it parried her attempts, absorbing them. The young woman jumped back with no weapons in hand.
“”He was right.” That is an interesting anomaly you got there. She then forged daggers in her hands once again.
What happens if I choose Attack.
A menu opened up showing him his current moves.
Midnight Sunset Move List
Shing!
I have no choice. Arto decided on using the Shing! Move . He felt a sudden warmth surround his fingers as a weapon made of darkness formed in his hands. He looked at the Orb.
ZAP 1
ZAP 2
ZAP 4
ZAP 10
ZAP 15
I got to act in between her actions but how? If only there was a way to measure my speed and mine. A comparison he thought. His blade began to sparkle, with a single question. “What would Aquarius do?”
Arto had seen Aquarius in many situations, and one in particular came to mind.
Aquarius was in a battle, with more assailants than himself. They attacked over and over but he blocked and waited for their attacks. When they attacked, he deflected their attack with a swaying motion. “Was that a parry?” He then noted ZAP’s numbers. If she is about to attack then If I defend now. He raised his newfound sword SHING! “Like this?” he thought. As he moved the young woman''s attack came down but then was deflected. He looked to the orb in his other hand.
SHING! 100% ATTACK
ZAP 100
“Since I blocked her attack it has changed.” He looked closely at the young woman. She was standing still, but her body was off balance falling backwards, with her weapons being flung away.
Arto ran forward and looked at the orb.
SHING 70% ATTACK
ZAP 80
“It seems the numbers are lowering which means…”
As he ran he moved behind her back and clenched crossed his sword. If he attacked now, he could hit the young lady, hopefully stopping the fight. But why was she fighting him? He thought. This is a test. If that''s the case then. One more glance at the orb left him with his final resolve.
He dropped the SHING! And placed his hands out. As the number would lower, the young woman fell backwards into his arms. She turned to face Arto.
“What are you doing!” she yelled embarrassingly. “Get your hands off me!”
Arto immediately dropped the woman and began to walk away towards the darkness in the distance. “I’m going home. I need to find Aquarius.”
‘What are you doing fight me!” she yelled.
Arto turned to face her. “Aquarius would never fight anyone without a weapon!”
The woman turned to see her daggers logged into the dirt in the distance. She began to run towards Arto with her fist. But just as she did a quick glimpse of light and dark crept in front of her. In her mind she felt a terrible feeling. Artos'' eyes glowed an intense white glow. Behind him she could see a large round object in the sky where he come from.
<i>Crack. Crack. Budge. </i>
<i>A large eye appeared behind Arto. He couldn’t see but behind him a planet sized eye opened and looked at the young woman. </i>
So that’s the Midnight Sunset.” she said. She gulped. and trembled.
It closed. Shaking the feeling from the young woman. “What power.”
She raised her hand to her ear. “BOOM I didn;t think anything could beat my speed but this. This is different. He’s not faster than me. He can act before me.”
“It seems so.” a voice said from the side. It was Boom.
Arto was surprised to see the young man who had saved him once again in his form. He had a chiseled face, worn with a beard and grizzled hair. He wore a dark cape with a business shirt slightly unbuttoned, with green kaki pants and large black boots.”I read the numbers…”
Arto was quite confused. The young woman got up with a distraught look in her eyes. She looked to her side and the earth that the SHING had dropped on was gone.
“You seemed to have dropped something SHING!” Boom yelled.
Arto looked at the floor, and his eyes widened. “I’m so sorry! Aquarius would never!”
Arto looked down, trying to summon the SHING! into his hands, but it was no use. He checked his bag of equipment and noticed its item’s details.
SHING!
Equipped. <i>Distance 2 worlds away.</i>
“I can sense it.” Boom said nonchalantly. “We''ll have to postpone your test. For now. We must save the <i>underworld</i>. “You ready ZAP?”
“The underworld! Why do we have to save them? They deserve this!” she said impatiently.
“I’d rather not start a war like this. Especially with the <i>God of Frontier</i>.
“Arto!” he yelled giving him a stern look. “This is your mess! What would Aquarius do?” Boom then jumped down the edge, sliding onto the carved earth downwards towards the unknown.
“Meet you down there.” ZAP spoke. Before he knew it she was gone with a spark of lightning behind her.
Arto looked up at the black orb. “Midnight Sunset. I still don''t understand anything” He looked down, and a new resolve sparked within his heart. “Aquarius would do this.” He looked down, and jumped headfirst towards the darkness.