It was currently night-time. Jak was fast asleep in his bed. Suddenly, Jak felt a cold rush of wind making him shiver slightly. Then, the sound of the door creaking slowly was too loud for him to ignore. He was alert for a few seconds, momentarily expecting danger but relaxed again as he thought it was probably his dad entering the house. His dad was the type of person to arrive home at random times. Jonny was an outdoor person. He disliked listening to people who thought they knew it all when they didn't. He hated anyone who'd try to boss him around. He only did what he wanted to do and refused to do things he didn't want to do. He was a man who'd never be afraid to speak up and be honest. Even his boss would marvel at his courage. Even though Jonny was a difficult person at times, he was gifted with the ability to influence others, like his father who was many things: a woodwork sculptor, a security guard, a travelling enthusiast-
D: A travelling enthusiast? Are you insane? Tell me. Do you know what that really means?
W: Fine. It's just a term I came up with. By 'travelling enthusiast', I meant the modern equivalent of an adventurer or explorer. Do you get it now?
D: Get what? I don't get anything from anyone. And you haven't given me anything. Well you haven't given me anything except confusion and a headache.
W: beeeeeeeeeep...
Jonny is a very tall man. This is very obvious whenever he's walking through the streets and the other people walking past him are usually half his height or up to his shoulder at best. Literally! He has long hair and chooses not to tie it, instead, leaving it out. He has shoulder length black hair with a slightly long fringe that's parted into 3 parts. The parting in the middle goes down to the tip of his nose but the other two partings rest on the sides of his face. He has brown eyes and has a paler complexion than his son Jak who was slightly more tanned. He was born with slightly pointy and sharp teeth. He's neither too bulky or too thin. He has a lean physique.
As soon as Jak's heavy lidded eyes were about to close, he heard some slight shuffling and the click of a gun. He gulped and almost jumped out of his skin when he turned around to face the intruder.
"Prepare to fight me now!" shouted the voice. It sounded like a girl but why would a girl break into his house unless his dad left the door unlocked, he thought. He recognized her voice but was confused about why she wanted to fight him. The lights were turned on.
"Lucy? Wha-what's going on?" He stuttered
He heard a gunshot coming toward his direction but she missed and hit the wall.
Looking at the gun she was pointing towards him, he was frozen, his heart felt as if it was about to jump out of his chest. Lucy saw him suddenly clutch his head. He wanted to scream and run but he just couldn't. He simply stared at the gun with fear.
'Come on, son. Why're you so afraid? I know they're dead. People live and then they die. That's how life is! They were traitors, Jak. They wished to harm Lakedaemon our country!'
"No!! They were alive a second ago. Now they're not." Jak mumbled out loud, having flashbacks of events that happened a long time ago.
'Don't disappoint me son! I've injured and slowed him down. Now shoot him!! Pull the trigger goddammit! Have you forgotten where it is again?'
'Stop shivering! Kill him. Shoot him quickly!'
'Dad! I wanna play games with mum and Lu.'
'You cowardly little brat. I'll shoot that old bastard myself!'
'Oh. He's dead now. Let's go home dad. I'm tired.'
'Ok son. I'm proud of you. You're only 5 years old but you'll get better at this one day.'
"Jak. Don't tell me..You-you are starting to remember the events before your head injury. You were 5 years old and-" she whispered softly but loud enough for him to hear.
He ran out of his room and went downstairs along the corridor to the living room. She jogged after him a few seconds later still managing to go to the living room at the same time as him.
"I won't let you get away." she stated as Jak was cornered by her and to his surprise, his friend was stood silently at the corner of the room, watching.
'Some friend he is! He's watching but not helping me out.' thought Jak.
"What do you want from me? Why do you want to kill me?" he asked.
Lucy crouched down to meet his face. Even though she was only 13 years old, she was quite tall already. The windows were open, her long black hair and full fringe was blowing through the wind. Her face looked calm for someone about to kill. Almost too calm, which creeped him out even more. She reminded him of this movie he saw about a cute doll who got owned by an unsuspecting family who ended up becoming alive and mobile killing them all in their sleep before setting their mansion on fire, a permanent smile on it's face as it dragged the family back to that doll's original home, the darkest depths of Hell.
"I want a serious and bloody fight. As you can see, I've invited your friend over to help you out. Now, don't worry if I end up dead. It was probably meant to be." she replied
"Why? I don't want you to die. You're my friend too aren't you?" he stated.
'What a strange kid. He's actually worried about killing me! Doesn't he sense the danger he's in? Even if I was his best friend he shouldn't be so trusting. Just what has his dad taught him?' she thought.
She got out another pistol and a dagger and tossed them to the living room floor.
"Now choose your weapon. I've got my gun. Lucy stated"
Shaking slightly, his hands struggled to pick up the gun, now sweating from his hands and forehead. He immediately dropped the gun and picked up the dagger instead.
'Even looking at this gun frightens him. I wonder if he truly remembers his life before that awful head injury. Jonny always was harsh when training us. Poor boy!' she thought still stood up waiting .
He charged with the dagger and jumped to attempt to stab her arm, hoping that if he succeeded she still wouldn't die. She stepped in, catching the dagger he flawlessly threw, catching it between her index and middle finger. She wasn't cut at all and using little force, the end of the dagger broke off! Now, Jak was left without a working dagger and Lucy had put her gun down looking calm and confident. Jak's friend who previously stood at the corner of the room charged forwards to defend Jak. "No! I won't let him die." He launched a volley of punches and kicks and Lucy blocked them easily.
"STOP!" she shouted
"You two over here. You've passed my test. Well done. You've learnt that not losing the will to fight is crucial if you want to survive. Having the courage to survive and deal with hardship is one of the most important things.
If you would've picked up the gun and had the murderous intent to kill me, I will have dodged in time and you will have failed. If your friend abandoned you during this test, you would have also failed for not choosing the correct friends. If you failed, I would stop being friends with you immediately, but you've passed so well done! You've shown me that you have the potential to become a fantastic warrior who acts justly. A calm but strong fighter like Kall, 'The Demon King' . Fear is just something you can overcome. It is normal to fear. Now, for the final stage of this test, what will you do?" She explained
Jak watched as she closed her eyes, breathing in and out deeply as if she was searching for something deep inside her mind. She crossed her arms, her knees bent slightly in a comfortable but intimidating looking stance. The winds blew in a spiral around her, getting stronger and stronger like a tornado. The floor shook slightly and cracked a little because of all the pressure. Jak was trembling and looked up at her, noticing that she had many electric sparks surrounding her body, very dark purple in colour.
Both onlookers were frozen and Jak noticed the pupils of her eyes turning red and what looked like a shadow of black wings appeared on her back. A dark aura covered the rest of her face and also made her appear even taller and stronger and more fearsome.
Similar to how a predator in the animal world looks to a prey that is about to be killed at any moment, frozen as it sees the larger animal come face to face with it unable to do a single thing. She was special for a human. She had so much power from a young age that it frightened anyone who knew her. She was good person and simply learned to suppress her powers so that people wouldn't be so afraid of her.
Jak and his friend had without thinking kneeled down on the floor with both hands on the floor unable to move from that position.
"The King's Battle Cry had all the living things that once opposed him dropping to the floor like a magnet, trembling and awaiting their fate. Well done. You've passed this secret test. Sorry about the damage done to the floor. And sorry if I traumatized you. Your dad told me not to go easy on you." she smiled
'It was dad's idea? Yeah. That explains everything. He can be so strict sometimes. But why? Why? Why am I so weak? If me and Lucy fought for real, I wouldn't stand a chance! I wish. I wish. I wish I was much stronger! Strong like Lucy and even stronger like dad!' Jak thought
She returned to her normal state and Jak was finally able to stand up and stop shivering.
Jak felt ashamed and felt weak and powerless. He hated that feeling. He wished to be much stronger!
"I couldn't defeat you. I wanted to defeat you without killing you. I WANTED TO BECOME..."
"Much stronger. Right, Jak?"
Jak was crying and the tears flooded his cheeks. They were silent tears but not completely silent as he was still sniffing from time to time.
"I was just like you but for 2 years, your father trained me to become much stronger. As brutal as his methods were, I'm thankful for it. In a few years I am sure you'll be able to surpass me if you work and train hard. Have confidence in yourself. Be realistic and know your real strengths. You can do it. Bye for now. The next time we meet, you and I will become much stronger." Lucy smiled
"Lu." Jak called out, wiping his tears away and starting to smile again
Lucy hugged him and picked him up.
She even tucked him into bed.
***
"Lucy wait. Can you sleep on my bed today? It's late and dark outside so please don't go. Or maybe bring that mattress over there down to the floor to sleep on-"
"Jak. Are you scared that you're all alone in the dark? You're 8, not 4 years old. Anyway, I don't mind. I'll sleep next to you like old times." Lucy replied
"Thank you. And I'm not afraid." He lied, crossing his arms
"Don't get used to this." she told him
They slept next to each other on the same bed as if they were actually family members.
Both Jak and Lucy slept peacefully.