Finding The Unknown

[Silence Sei]

(Closed)

They were spending a long time in Haidia, the demon continent, all in the name of reviving a dead ideal. It began to worry the father that the daughter appeared too human to be living among monsters. On the same token, however, the daughter was worried that the father would not defend himself properly without proper weaponry. As a result of both of their fears, the father and the daughter both decided to go out on their own agendas to help one another.

The father found sanctuary in Haidia, in the Great Cave Town. Here, he was welcomed, as the vampires there still believed him to be one of their kind. His daughter would be safe here, as no vampire would dare turn the child of 'The Hero of Radasanth'. He explored the town for two goals, one was to make sure that the place was completely safe, and the second was to make his presence known, to let the undead know that none should mess with his child of human blood.

The daughter, meanwhile, had taken away her father's weapons, spread them out to each corner of Althanas until he was able to prove himself to those who held his arsenal. That had been too long, and it seemed as though the Hero was not going to seek out the weapon holders on his own. As such, the daughter wrote a letter to one of those who held her father's weapon, his most recent trademarked weapon to be precise. It was somebody she knew she could trust, someone that had saved her, and that her father had saved. With any luck, he would arrive sometime today, provided he was not already there.

They each had two different agendas, but the common goal was the same. They sought out the to defeat the unknown, the father to defend his child from it and the daughter to aid her father in her defense. The irony of it all was that the unknown was about to come to them, in the unlikeliest of forms...

[Logan]

Logan wiped his face before reading over the letter a second time.

Logan,
Papa has undergone some distinct changes recently and as a result has become inadequate at using his weaponry. I need your help to ready him to use them without hurting himself. If you agree you should meet us in the Great Cave Town of Haidia. I am sure you know of it and the dangers that lurk there, so be careful. We'll be there waiting for you.

Love,
Anita Orlogue

P.S. Don't be surprised by what you might find...

What had happened to Sei? Logan thought back through the various reports he'd heard and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The psion wiped his face again as he considered the trek ahead. Nothing was more dangerous for a man like Logan than traveling into the very heart of the vampire den. It was almost suicide, but the psion owed his life to Sei, and for that, he would do anything for him. Logan laid back on his bed and closed his eyes. Tomorrow would begin the journey to hell, and with any luck, and back.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Logan shot up in bed with cold sweat dripping from his forehead. He wiped his eyes gently regaining the lay of the room and his whereabouts. Shaking his head he wiped the sweat off his forehead and smoothed back his hair. What the hell was that? I...I remember seeing a masked man. Then a voice distinctly not the man's. It said, “The end is near...the demon is unleashed...” What the hell does that mean? Logan thought about the words and his nightmare for only a few moments. He could ill afford to sit around for very long. Sei needed him and that was more pressing at the moment.

The psion gathered his things and left the little inn. The journey had begun. Logan would soon find what he was looking for in a way he'd never expected.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

As Logan stepped through the portal a deep breath accompanied by a sigh of relief escaped. The journey up until then had been easy going. Almost too easy, but he wasn't overly worried. It was a nice change of pace to actually go from one continent to the next on Althanas with little interruption. A smile pursed his lips. He could only hope he'd make it through Haidia in much the same manner, but held no true hope to such a thing.

The Great Cave Town was in great shape for it's age. The psion looked around. He sensed many a presence, but only two stood at him, Anita and Sei. Logan smiled, perhaps this was going to be a walk in the park. As the psion started towards the presence of the two he sought shadowy figures slid in his way. Logan reached for his swords as they attacked. He swung heavily and managed to hit two of the vampires dead on sending them sprawling backwards. Two more vampires slid up behind the psion as they sliced a deep gash in his back.

He fell to his knees in pain, but not from the wound. His head was throbbing all of a sudden. Three more vampires joined the melee. It was hopeless for Logan as they all jumped into the air and aimed their attack right at him. They sliced deep gashes all around his body and one vampire lunged for his neck, but as he did the markings on Logan's head began to glow brightly. They shown like the sun's rays. Accordingly the vampires fled quickly save the one that had tried to bite Logan. That vampire merely crumbled before the kneeling psion. The psion reached up for his head, his eyes to closed, grasping it and trying to alleviate the pain. As quickly as the throbbing began it was over and the psion opened his eyes.

He had no idea what had happened, but could only assume it came from the markings. Those damn strange markings. He didn't know anything about them or why he'd gotten them, or for that matter what the hell they did. Hell, he couldn't even control them if they did anything at all. The psion rose to his feet gathering himself and once again scanned for Anita and Sei. Sure enough he found them at the inn. He arrived within moments and slid into their room without much incident.

Logan was greeted by the sight of Anita and oddly, a much younger Sei. What was going on? The psion resheathed his swords and stepped over to Anita and gave her a big hug. “Hey Ms. Anita! How's my favorite little girl doing,” Logan was always the kind adopted uncle to Anita. The psion glanced over to the more immature Sei and whispered to Anita,”And what happened to him?”

[Silence Sei]

The night hours had fallen upon Haidia, and the Great Cave Town was now infested with the undead. Anita feared that Logan would not come on this day, that she would watch her father suffer longer than he really had to. As the girl began to conduct her studies at a desk, she heard the scuffle outside, and peeked out of the window as he father was not looking. As she did this, a bright flash of light filled her eyes, and the girl stumbled out of her chair, rolling backwards into her father's body.

Sei turned back to his daughter and helped her up, a bit confused as to why she was acting so strangely. "Anita, stop playing around and get back to y---" before the mute could finish his orders, an unexpected visitor arrived to greet the two children. Sei was taken back to see Logan so soon, and had assumed that he was here because his darkness plagued him once more. Sei quickly grabbed hold of his chakrams to prepare himself for battle.

However, when Anita stood and ran towards Logan, Sei knew there was nothing wrong with the man before them. "Uncle Logan!" Anita shouted excitedly, returning the embrace that the psion provided her, "I didn't think you'd come today! Were you the one who flashed that bright light? What was that?! It was simply fantastic! I didn't know you could do that! Could you teach that to...." Anita continued to ramble on like the pre-teen she was when Logan inquired about Sei's condition.

"That's what's wrong with Papa!" Anita exclaimed, pointing at her child of a father now. "When he was patrolling Radasanth, Papa accidentally hurt me when he was fighting a crook. He says I was going to die, so he put me in a deep sleep and went to find something that he said would save me. Whenever he used it, he became a kid again though! That's why he's now unfit for his weaponry, and thats why you have to give him his confidence back and show him he can still use the Gemini Blades!"

Sei blinked, absorbing all that his daughter had just explained to his friend. "She summed it up rather well," Sei spoke aloud, "Anita, why did you contact Logan? I was more than capable of taking care of us by myself, even if I can't use the Gemini Blades." "But that's the thing Papa, you still have all your power, right? You -can- use the Gemini Blades!" Sei sighed at what he thought of as his daughter's overconfidence of his own abilities. As Sei looked at Logan and his daughter however, his eyes caught sight of Logans wounds, which were now just scars.

"It seems you ran into a bit of trouble because of Anita, friend," Sei commented, "I apologize for that. I hope you will accept an invitation to stay here with us tonight, so you are not attacked while you slumber." Sei's voice had retained the same tone and 'accent' that it always had, allowing anybody who actually knew the mute to believe the story Anita explained. Sei walked over to Logan, a slight smile on his face as he literally looked up to his friend.

"It's odd not being able to make direct eye contact," Sei commented, proving his sense of humor was still intact, "I'm sure you are tired friend, why don't you rest for a moment?" Anita shook her head to this question, as if she were answering for Logan. "No Papa! You two have to spar right now! Mister Logan needs to show you that you -can- still use the Blades! Right Uncle Logan?" Anita looked to Logan with a quivering lip and big, tear-filled eyes. Of course, that was just a trait she had learned to turn on and off, but hopefully Logan didn't know that.

[Logan]

When Anita spoke of the bright light Logan shook his head,”I assure you sweetie, I have no idea what you're talking about. I was attacked by a bunch of vampires on my way here, and then I got this throbbing headache, and then I opened my eyes and the vampires were gone. Though, one of them was on the ground partially disintegrated.” The psion turned to Sei,”Any idea what might've caused that?” The psion had become increasingly comfortable with this new version of Sei because his presence was the same as always in the psion's mind.

As Sei spoke of the wounds Logan shrugged his shoulders,”Actually, I'm not sure what you are talking about either, friend. I'm clueless. Fill me in bud?” Logan really had no clue what either of them were talking about except for the Gemini Blades and Anita's puppy dog eyes and quivering lip. Logan couldn't help but nod,”Sei, I'm fine, really. Let's not worry about poor ol' Logan. You're the one with the problems bud.” Logan pulled out a small wrapped package and explained himself,”These are your blades, Sei. If you want them, you must prove yourself to me. Should you fail, I will keep them until you have proven yourself capable of using them on your own.” The psion smiled.

The invitation was there, and yet, something felt unfinished and open. Almost as if they'd hit on something but Logan didn't know what. Internally he struggled with the questions about his wounds. He felt no pain and didn't remember any wounds to his body during the scuffle with the vampires. Logan's eyes closed as he focused on Sei and Anita,”Enter my chosen battlefield, the ultimate place for Sei to prove himself worthy to me, my mind.” With that Logan found himself amidst nothing more than emptiness.

A smile crossed his face. Sei was the stronger of the two telepaths, and Logan knew this. Logan had a lesson to teach, and Sei a lesson to learn. Anita was merely along for the ride, and the psion didn't mind. If anything, she might take away something valuable from this little battle. When Sei entered, Logan looked a bit shocked. The image before him was not that of the adolescent Sei, but the true man himself. The psion smiled, it was quite a funny scenario, but it made total sense. Mentally, Sei didn't change, it was all physical, so if Logan could help Sei see that, it would be easy to let Sei regain some of his confidence back. ”Let us begin.”

[Silence Sei]

Logan had asked Sei what his daughter was referring to, which simply caught a shrug out of the orange haired child. "I had my back turned to Anita when all of a sudden, she rolled into me. I can't honestly say I know what she's talking about either..." Sei then raised his eyebrows when Logan denied the wounds that Sei claimed he had. Something strange was happening with Logan, but Sei could not quite put his finger on it.

Logan then proposed the challenge to Sei, flashing him a parcel which apparently held the mute's trademark weapons within it. Logan claimed that they were the Gemini Blades, but Sei had a hard time believing something. After all, the mute left the weapons with Anita, so why would Anita give them to Logan? Then it hit Sei like a ton of bricks, his daughter had given all of the mutes weapons to his friends, to make him go through trials such as these to reclaim them.

A grin was wiped upon his lips as he thought of how devious his child was becoming. She would make a great strategist very soon. In the meantime, Sei had to protect her, and to do that he had to get through Logan apparently. Sei nodded in defeat, accepting Logan's challenge. Before the mute could even decide a field for battle, however, his opponent chose for him. They would battle inside Logan's mind.

Sei had been here before, when he liberated Logan of the evil that was swelling up within him. The terrain was familiar to the mute as it had always been, surrounded by black nothingness. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Logan?" Sei asked, not having to actually use telepathy since he -was- in Logan's mind, "I've been here before, I've fought here before, I'm not sure this is such this is such a good idea..."

Sei was disobeying one of his own rules without even realizing it, he was getting overconfident in his own abilities. Even if it was Logan's mind, Sei had been there before, fought an opponent he thought of as more powerful than Logan, and defeated him. Surely, in Sei's mind this would be a piece of cake for the mystic. Then again, Logan was always a good warrior in real battle, and Sei was fighting an unknown opponent within Logan's mind. Each side had it's own advantages, so it was hard to predict an outcome.

"Well then....this should be interesting..." Sei smiled as he removed his chakrams from his hips.

[Logan]

Logan turned to Anita and smiled. "No matter what happens, do not interfere. I have a plan worked out and no matter what, your father nor I will be injured in the process," the psion whispered quietly to his little adopted niece. She nodded her agreement and the battle was then set.

As Sei released his chakrams from his sides, Logan smiled a very wiry smile. It had been a long time since the two fought within his mind, and even then, it wasn't Logan that Sei fought. It seemed like almost yesterday when the psion had become almost completely controlled by the voices in his head from the demon that had possessed him, and then Sei came along and suddenly Logan was released from the voices and the demon.

The freedom that had come from such a release had overpowered Logan for a long while. He took many breaks to focus on his mental trainings and abilities in order to one day do to others as Sei had done for himself. It was no surprise that in some ways, Sei had been an inspiration, and in turn, a hero to him as well. The two were friends, yes, but Logan knew that at that moment it was better for Sei to endure some pain than to begin to believe he was stronger than the psion.

It was strange, while Sei had felt before like an older brother to the younger psion, in that moment and the moments that followed, Logan began to feel almost as if he was suddenly the older brother and that the roles had reversed. He wondered if Sei had felt the same shift in power, or if perhaps the fact that mentally Sei was still his old self meant no change in the way he saw Logan.

The psion smiled as he revealed his Silence Blades. He had become so familiar with him that they were more like extensions of his body than actual weapons. Graceful and swift were his movements with the blades in battle. Many of Logan's old friends even commented on such, mentioning how good he'd gotten with them. Some even feared his new found abilities with them. Some merely scoffed at them. Either way, Logan was ready to teach Sei his lesson.

Logan leapt forward his left blade slicing through the air in a downward arc aimed at Sei's right shoulder in an attempt to negate the telepath's ability to use that arm. The psion's other arm shot forward with a forearm shot aimed for Sei's face, while his right hand held his other blade at the ready for a counterattack. All the while Logan could sense Anita's worry, and deep inside the psion, he continually reassured her.

[Silence Sei]

Anita felt it odd that her father and uncle were now just husks preoccupied with a battle of the minds, so she decided to leave the shell that was embracing her. Wresting herself from Logan's arms, Anita made her way to the bed and sat, starring at the two for a few moments before realizing something. If she could sense that these two were just shells of themselves, sure the undead outside of these walls could as well. Anita's eyes widened after this thought, and the girl began to dash towards her bookbag, and began to rummage through it for her best weapon against vamps.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sei smirked as Logan began to attack. Logan had fought Sei for so long, he apparently knew that the mystic never strikes first unless he's overcome with rage. This thought struck Sei as odd, as Logan was not the type that would allow himself to fall for a trap such as this. Surely he knew Sei was going to use Mystic Protection for his first move, didn't he? Perhaps it was Sei who overestimated Logan...

Logan lunged at the mute, attempting to slice him good with one of his blade. As soon as the blade came to within an inch of the telepath's body, however, the sound of glass shattering could be heard, and what appeared to be a glass barrier shattered around Sei. The mute smiled as he waited for his glass shards to explode and hit Logan, but Logan had other ideas. A forearm came surprsingly into Sei's face, which caused the mute's eyes to widen. In that short period, the glass had exploded, but because Logan was physically touching Sei, he would be uneffected by the effects of Mystic Protection.

Sei stumbled back, holding his nose. "It's always been as simple as that, so why hasn't -anyone- else ever tried that?" Sei said sarcastically with a grin, "I'm impressed Logan, this should be way more interesting that I first thought. It's a shame I don't possess all of my abilities, even if I am an adult in your mind." Sei said, just trying to make idle chat with his opponent before he made a move.

Sei looked up, tossing one of his chakrams upwards, with enough strength that the bladed ring disappeared into the darkness. Sei then charged Logan, running at him with all the sppeed he possessed. When Sei got a few feet away from his opponent, however, he jumped, two large butterfly wings springing from the mute's back. Sei quickly flew over Logan and landed, the wings retracting as Sei was now back-to-back with Logan. Without warning, the mystic spun around, seemingly trying to slash at Logan's spine, when his real objective was the ring that Sei had thrown, which was now coming down at Logan's chest.

[Zieg dil' Tulfried]

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