Tag Archives: Unholy Talent Set

Champions of Battle: The Very Best – Opportunity #20

Brisa sat there for a few moments, paralyzed by fear.  Jaquan and his crew took their seats around the table.  None of them said a word.  Jaquan made it a point to sit just to the left of Brisa.  They waited in silence giving Brisa time to think.  Within a few minutes the servers brought food serving Brisa first.

Still, it took a little time for the truth to sink in: Catlin’s friends were the BigBad Crew.  Brisa thought back to their earlier conversations.  Each time Catlin giggled was a reaction to knowing this secret.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”  Brisa was still wearing the mask.  There was thin black cloth covering her eyes along with a painting of a mantis designed to hide were she was looking.  However, it was quite obvious that she was talking to Catlin.

“The first time we met, wasn’t under the best of circumstances,” was Catlin’s calm response.

“What do you mean?  You knocked on my cabin door.”

Neely was sitting to the right of Catlin.  He mumbled something to her.  Catlin whispered a barely loud enough for Brisa to hear, “I dropped it a few minutes ago.  We have to wait for her.”

After a time, she gathered her wits just enough to look them all in the eyes.  Almost all the BigBad Crew was there: Jaquan, Neely, and Liana still in her mech suit.  Even Justice was there.  Brisa wasn’t sure if he was an official member of the crew.  However, he had been with them since the championship victory party.  The only one missing was…

OH NO!

Catlin sat across the table from Brisa with a bored look.  Brisa had missed it all this time.  Catlin’s eyes were different than before.  Not red in black, not glowing, or spouting black flame, they were normal.  Still, there was no mistaking it.  Catlin had attacked her at the shuttle port.  The one she had the most reason to fear had just become her close friend in the last few hours.

Brisa’s thoughts of safety were nothing but illusionary smoke.  Catlin had tracked her down easily.  Within the first few minutes of the flight Catlin was knocking on her door.  Like a fool she opened the door embracing the enemy with open arms.

How did Catlin disguise herself so well?  She must have used something, perhaps an enchantment to hide herself.  She was never malicious and could have attacked at any time.  Instead, they had what Brisa thought was the most wonderful time.  Still Catlin used a trick to get close to her.  If she was truly repentant, she would have apologized at the beginning.

“I apologize for my reaction to you earlier,” Catlin said, “I thought for sure you were a spy.  I was looking for a good time to tell you but it never came.”

“We all apologize for our actions before,” Jaquan spoke up, “but now, let’s eat.”

Brisa was so full of conflicting emotions: ultimate deception by an enemy that had become a best friend; a lady that had given her so much to prove that she wasn’t what she had to be?  Brisa said as she got up from the table, “I’m sorry.  I can’t do this.”  She walked away from the table, back towards her cabin.  She half expected to be pulled back to the table and forced to sit.  Since she was not she assumed she was free to go.  Under the mask a tear left her eye.

Catlin stood almost grabbing at Brisa with her Kin-Po Talents but thought against it.  Instead she called, “We’re planning to leave for Bear Gate at hour seventeen.”

Brisa paused at the information then kept walking.  She was welcomed to join them but unsure if she wanted to.

“So,” Liana said, her mask altering her voice to that of a machine’s, “What do we do now?”

Jaquan simply answered, “We eat.”

#1 – Opportunity #19 – Opportunity #21

Champions of Battle: The Very Best – Opportunity #19

Brisa spent most of the hour in the shuttle’s various shops looking at other items.  She had no idea there was so many amazing things there; bags, parachutes, weapons, and armor.  There were tons of shops filled with whatever a traveler would want.

The fear of discovery had faded completely.  She had just spent a few hours with Catlin without any hint of being discovered by Jaquan or his entourage.  The chances that she would have to worry about the BigBad Crew were small as long as she stayed in crowds.

She saw her past mistake clearly now.  On the platform, she was quite suspicious.  She was standing behind a pillar peeking at Jaquan’s crew and taking notes.  If she were a passerby she wouldn’t trust someone behaving that way.  Someone in BigBad must have seen her at some point.  In the shops minding her own business, she should be safe from discovery.

Thanks to Catlin, she had the confidence to truly enjoy the flight.  She really was on a grand adventure.  She had met an incredibly clever and helpful traveler.  She was going to experience a completely different culture.  Who knows where this road will take her?  If she gets too uptight during the journey, she may miss something truly important.

Brisa headed to the food court were Catlin was waiting with a cart full of weapons and armor.  She seemed slightly, different.  Her eyes were slightly wilder than before.  She had a huge grin on her face and was bouncing slightly in her seat.  She smiled even more seeing Brisa and waved her over to the seat.  “Sit, sit, sit you’re gonna love this,” Catlin started.

Brisa didn’t know exactly what to think.  Catlin seemed a little strange suddenly but she was a fan.  Perhaps fans act like that?  Maybe?  Catlin had genuinely helped her a lot in the last few hours and for free.  Maybe she was just excited to show Brisa how helpful she could be.

“I put a strength enchant on your maul,” Catlin continued, “It should be a lot easier to lift now.  Also,” she added without taking a breath, “it won’t look suspicious because everyone with big heavy weapons adds strength to them.”

Brisa lifted her maul.  It was indeed much lighter but, everything else was too.  She lifted a plate from the table.  It seemed weightless!

“That’s right,” Catlin noted, “It works on anything.  As long as you have the maul with you, you benefit from the enchantment.”  Catlin pointed at a spot on the maul.  Brisa turned the maul around and looked at that point.  There was a Hanja there that she had not seen before.  It was possibly responsible for the strength enchant.

“I changed the color of your armor,” Catlin said as Brisa admired the Hanja, “It’s more of the same color but it still doesn’t match completely so you still won’t stand out too much.  I added a few special things too,” Catlin was talking a little faster than before.  Brisa began wondering how she kept breathing out for so long.  That didn’t stop Catlin from talking though, “Put it on later and I can help you practice with it.”

“This is what I wanted to show you.”  Catlin was singing now and talking much slower.  She was obviously very excited as she shoved Brisa’s sheathed daggers into Brisa’s face.

Brisa sat down her maul and took them.  The first thing she noticed was that they were much, much heavier than before.  Catlin was grinning again, obviously excited that Brisa noticed the difference.  Brisa sat one of them on the table.  Catlin’s eyes widened as Brisa began to draw out the dagger.

Even after the dagger was clearly out of the sheath, it felt as though it was stuck inside somehow.  Brisa kept drawing until the hilt was a full two centimeters away from the sheath.  The weight of the dagger disagreed with her eyes.  She had to test the illusion by poking beyond the blade with her finger.  Sure enough, her finger hit an invisible blade.

Catlin just kept grinning.

The blade didn’t stay invisible for long.  Black “smoke” seemed to radiate from the visible dagger blade filling the invisible blade.  Before long, Brisa noticed she was holding a two centimeter pitch black machete.  No, it was darker than pitch black.  No light that went into the area of the blade escaped, no reflections, no designs, nothing, just a blade of no light.  Then she realized that her other “dagger” was still on the table.  She had two of them!

“They’re better than enchanted blades,” Catlin sang, “They’re blades of enchantment.  Do you like them?”

Brisa’s look of amazement was all the answer she could give for a few seconds.  She finally muttered a positive response.

“Great, go put on your gear.  I’ll order some food.  My friends should be here soon.”

Brisa stuck the tip of the machete into the sheath and pushed.  The enchantment blade obeyed and disappeared as she sheathed her “dagger.”  Still amazed, she took the gear and went to her cabin.

——-

Returning from her cabin, Brisa looks much more the warrior: she walked easier; her armor was properly enchanted and colored; and her many dangerous weapons are properly equipped.  The youthful inexperienced face was gone, hidden under the frightening veil.

As she reaches the table, Catlin says teasing, “I wouldn’t want to meet you in a dark alley.”

“Yep,” Brisa responds while taking her seat, “I know I can’t fight worth anything but I do feel pretty tough in this.”

“Oh, my friends are here too,” Catlin says while looking behind Brisa.

Brisa turns around to see Jaquan and his crew standing right behind her.  The fear hit her immediately but there was nowhere she could go.  She was caught.  Whatever punishment they had for her, she would have to accept.

Before she can say anything Jaquan speaks up, “So Catlin, is this my new body guard?”

#1 – Opportunity #18 – Opportunity #20

Champions of Battle: The Very Best – Opportunity #11

Brisa had never expected to follow Jaquan and his crew all the way to Bear Gate.  The city had a very dangerous reputation; surrounded by dense dangerous woods; impossible to reach by air.  Only a relative few people knew how to get there.  Justice seemed to be one of them, but how?

She was surprised the BigBad Crew took the travel plans so well.  They were just going to walk through the woods.  That was crazy, even for a professional fighter.  They were going to that insane city to rest, oddly enough.  The tournament was even deeper in the woods!

Mr. Meng, the chief executive of The Champion’s Chronicle, wanted to do a story on the BigBad Crew for some reason.  He seemed to know that something especially interesting was going to happen.  He wanted to expose all of their secrets or something?  Brisa wasn’t sure.  She did know that to make an authentic story, someone would have to follow them wherever they went.

Not her.

Her job was getting the information to pass to the brave/foolish reporter.  She was supposed to get the information unnoticed, a relatively easy task.  It seemed she failed to do even that.

Of course, it was Duard Ban’s fault getting her trapped in all this mess.  That idiot always thought too much of himself.  Jaquan hated reporters.  Everyone, from the fans to the doorkeepers at the hotel, knew that Jaquan Zu hated reporters.  Still, he leaped at the assignment without thinking of her position in this.  He wasn’t scared of Jaquan.  He will be now.

He was bold enough to stand directly in front of Jaquan Zu, trying to get him to stop.  He got a good rib-crushing stomp in the chest for his troubles.  Now, he’s resting in the hospital.  As Duard’s errand girl, Brisa was the only person from Champion’s Chronicle near the scene.

She always wanted to be an ace reporter but never thought her chance would come like the, or be so short lived.  She watched her quarry load onto the shuttle, a large white box of a ship.  None of them wanted to see her again, their glances made sure she knew as much.

She watched each of them file into the shuttle one at a time.  Each of them scared her to death.  For the strangest reason, Neely scared her the most.  Not so much for what he did; but what he said or, how he said it.  His words bore into her consciousness.  Even now, she remembered power behind his words.

Just thinking of his words brought the entire torturous scene back.  The memory was more powerful than the experience.  The fire and frost seeping into her chest while floating helpless in the air.  She was unsure that she would ever forget.  There was no way she was going to follow them.  She wanted to write about safer things.

She was done.  The only thing left was to tell Mr. Meng of her utter failure and probably get fired.  Her hand slowly lifted her handheld to talking position while she carefully dialed the numbers for headquarters.  She wanted to get a good look at her boss perhaps for the last time.

Within moments, she was speaking with Mr. Meng.  A hologram of his torso and face appeared just above her handheld.  She saw a bit of scenery behind him too.  Apparently, he was sitting at his desk.  He was heavy set and sweaty.  His grey suit was quite disorganized with splotches of food condiments.  He had tan skin with thick golden tiger-like stripes all over his face and body.  Never mind his appearance; she knew his reaction to failure.  He yelled at Mr. Ban enough times, and that was for minor errors.  Could she go through with this?

She started slowly trying to sound strong in front of the one Crisho she desperately needed to impress.  She failed miserably.  “Th… they found me.  I don’t know how.  It was… it was horrible.  I thought th… they were going kill me,” Brisa was at the verge of tears by the time she finished.  As she heard herself talk, she realized that she really had no idea how they found her.  She was recording things on her handheld; there was a bright flash; then she was staring into the most frightening pair of eyes she had ever seen.

“Kid, listen to me,” Mr. Meng sounded strangely understanding, “they’re bluffing you.  Don’t fall for it.”  He spoke to her in a calm but firm tone.  “I know these tough guy types.  They put up a good front but when you get to know them, they’re a bunch of softies.”

He spoke like he had been there, but Brisa knew better.  The BigBad Crew was not bluffing, nor were they softies.  They knew who she was.  They knew why she was there.  If they saw her again, they would stop her from doing it.  “B…but.”

“No buts kid,” the chief executive almost started to sound frustrated.  He corrected himself immediately, “Our star reporter is out of commission because of this guy; Zu is hiding something, I know it; and you’re the only one we can tag on his trail right now,” his argument made a small amount of sense. “You want to be a news star, you need a big chance.  This is your big chance.  I’m not asking you to do anything dangerous.  All you have to do is follow him.  I’ll get a reporter to meet you at Bear Gate and you’ll come home.  It’ll be easy.  Just stay out of sight.”

That was easy enough.  All he was asking her to do was follow them.  The shuttle had no windows, there was no way they could see her.  All she had to do was stay out of sight for the shuttle ride to Bear Gate.  Once she was there, the new reporter team would be there, and she was done.  It was an easy job.  “Okay,” it seems a little too easy though, “I’ll do it.” This could be a bad idea.  Despite her doubts, she boarded the shuttle.

—–

The BigBad Crew rested in their private cabin on the shuttle.  They had their own aircraft but Justice insisted they travel like this.  No worries.  Jaquan only had to sign a few autographs for the fans and then ask to be left alone.  The fans knew to give him his space.  Justice filled Jaquan and Liana in on the details of the city and made reservations for their trip.

Catlin sat on a couch right next to Neely and rested on him while he read.  Neely didn’t mind her head on his shoulder.  They had been good friends for a long while now.  Also, with her close to him there was little chance for her to turn wild.  Sometimes it happened while she slept.

Catlin’s Thermal and Motion talents were very active even while she rested.  They were amplified by her Unholy talents.  Each person had a heat signature that moved with them.   Using this skill, she watched all the passengers and crew on the shuttle for a while.  However, she was tired from enchanting the huge jug of healing water for Neely and the activities afterwards on the shuttle pad.

Catlin was on the verge of falling asleep when she noticed a particular heat signature moving towards the back of the shuttle.  This one was altered slightly; it had a unique pulsing signature that only someone using the Thermal and Motion Talents could place.  It also had the shape of a bow-tie.  She spoke just loud enough for Neely to hear, “Brisa Gan from the Champion’s Chronicle is following us.”  She decided to sleep anyway.

“Oh well,” was his simple response.

#1 – Opportunity #10 – Opportunity #12