Vincent ran at Lars winding up a punch as flames spew out from his body.
Lars looking to his left and his right searched for a source of water.
"Damnit I'm too high up in elevation!" He thought. "I'm screwed!"
"You little rascal!" Vincent screamed swing at Lars.
Back stepping Lars dodged his attack.
"What?" Vincent thought. "Since when can he dodge?"
Throwing three more punches at Lars, Vincent couldn't wipe the smile off his face as he saw Lars avoid him.
"Why is he looking at me like that?" Lars thought.
"Heh... so that's how it is..." Vince muttered.
As Vince hesitated, Lars spotted a huge cantine of water in a tent someone was resting in.
"Sorry!" Lars yelled using his powers to launch the cantine towards him.
"Wait whast!" Vincent said.
"Water... Buster!" Lars yelled smashing Vince with his fist.
Vince was blown back a few inches, dousing out the flames on his head.
"Im.. impossible" Vincent said. he lay frozen unable to move.
"THere's no way that was enough to be you!" Lars screamed. "Is that all you...-"
Lars droped his arms to his sides as he saw a tear fall from Vincents eye.
"No way! That's water right? Right?" Reggie said.
"Ax..." Vince said. "You've done it."
"I've done what! What are you talking about!"
"You finall awoke your powers!"
"Ehh? Why do you care!" Lars yelled.
"This has gone on far enough!" B said stepping in between Lars and Vincent. "I understand you don't want to see him right now. But pretending like you don't know him! That's no way to treat your older brother!"
"BROTHER?" Lars asked.
As the word rang through his mind a memory came to his mind.
(Lars remembered)
In a room full of flames Axel was pinned against a wall as a man wrapped un mummy robes approached him. His body was wretchedly wrapped in some kind of paper from the bottom of his toes to the bridge of his hair that poured out of it like confetti.
As Axel fought and struggled to free himself from the invisible impedance, the fire began to warp and transform itself revealing the outline of a man. This dreadlocked sarcophagus, slowly crept toward Axel, swinging his arms side by side as he approached.
"Please stop!" Axel cried
"If you want to stop me! Awaken your powers!" The voice yelled.
"I.. I can't!" Axel cried. "I'm to weak! Stop your hurting me!"
With a snap of his fingers, the mummy removed the flames and showed Aaxel his face.
"I'm sorry!" Vincent said. "Please forgive me brother! I was trying to make you strong! I was just trying to help you survive!"
(Back to present)
"Vincent!" Lars said. "A tear came to his eyes as he realized the signifigance of his strength."
"Axel must have been really weak. Vincent was doing all of that, just to make his brother strong! And now he thinks I am ignoring him because I've gotten stronger! No wonder he's so mad!"
"I understand..." Vincent said. "Your taking missoins now... you have powers... you don't want your friends to see what a lame brother you have... its ok, you just want to hang out with kids your own age." Vince said walking away
"Your wrong!" Lars yelled stopping his brother.
"THink Lars!" Lars thought. "How can you explain this... I've got it!"
"I was just trying to fulfill the missoin! I didn't want to reveal we were related!" Lars said.
"Wait! So you don't think I'm lame!" Vincent yelled.
"Not at all! Your nothing like Lance! Your awesome bro!" Lars said smiling.
"SAY WHAT NOW!" Lance boomed.
"AHHAHAH" THe group laughed.
(A few moments later)
"So... hopefully none of the poeple here heard us earlier..." Vince said scratching his head. "So tell me what are you doiing here? What is your missoin?"
"Were trying to locate a Pandora!" Lars exclaimed.
"A pandora... here?" Vincent said scratching his head. "Why would such an important thing be here at Lagara? If that was the case, all hell would be breakin glose in here!"
"The thought is this is a big find so they are keeping it lo-key" Lance said.
"And they sent 5 Cadets to retrieve it?" Vincent said.
"Not retrieve it... just locate it! We are confirming whether its here or not!" Lars said.
"Hmmm" Vincent said rubbing his chin. "This is fishy, this isn't how the S.P.A does stuff" Vince said.
"What do you mean?" Lars asked.
"The S.P.A has agents specifically for going undercover even in these situations, as well as information gathering that would easily help them figure out if there is infact a Pandora here... This sounds like someone in the S.P.A is selfishly trying to take all the glory for themselves... some higher up with a manifest destiny"
"I see" 6 said silently.
"So what are you saying that our cammanding officers are up to no good?" Lance asked.
"Not at all, all I am saying is this is not best practice... there are only two circumstances to explain this."
"One, what you are looking for is so top secret, so need to know that normal agents cannot be trusted with the information"
"Or?"
"Tsk..." vincent said looking away.
"What is it?" Lars asked.
"The Pandora your after is no normal one, and the situation is so incdredibly dangerous the commanding officers are using your ignorance to further their goals"
"Or both.." Lance said shaking his head.
"Yes, or both" Vincent said.
Back in Lagara, Seymour walked into a comic book store and picked up a copy of Xmen. Looking over the title he tried to see why people traded these illegal pieces of paper, but he couldn't see its value.
"Can I help you find something?" A black man with glasses asked. Walking out in boots and overalls he sat at a desk at the counter.
"I'm looking for information" Seymour said. "I hear you sell more than comics is that correct?" Seymour asked.
"Be you a family man... or an agent poorly dressed as one" The man said laughing."I always sell stories, for the right price, there's a story I heard of that Lagara that I think you would be very interested in" The man said. "The main character of that story is Sahara Sherief"
"Tell me more" Seymour said closing his comic.
(Back to Lagara heights.)
"I see so your missoin is to locate the Pandora and deliver it to the S.P.A then?" Vincent said.
"That's right" Lars said.
"I'm sorry but I can't let you do that!" Vincent said.
"What do you mean!" Lars said.
"If the S.P.A... no if the N.H.A gets a hold of this Pandora..... things could be dire for the people in the Badlands!"
"What are you talking about? What's the N.H.A? I thought we were the S.P.A?" Lars said.
"Damn humans" Reggie scoffed.
"They control everything" Lance said.
"Humans? What about them?"
"Lars" Vincent said. "Your still jsut a Cadet, you have no idea what this missoin is or what ou signed up for did you?" Vincent said shaking his head.
"I'm going to tell you a story, the story of a small town called Niri, if after you here this story and you want to help the S.P.A I won't stop you. but I'll warn you now Ax..."
"Your missoin... may end up hurting more poeple than it saves"
"What!" Lars yelled.
Deep in a dark room a man with white hair and a soldiers uniform spoke into a hologram.
"We must find it, and no one must know what it is" The voice said to him.
"Don't worry" The man answered. "The secret of the Matryoshka Pandora is known only to us. As soon as Shereif finds it, he will have no choice but to hand it over"