MOCKINGBIRD ISLAND - RED MANTIS OOTHECA .
"I'm a child of the mantis....the one true king of the world! Roar!!!!" Young Ryden screamed at the top of his voice as he lifted his wooden sword into the air in pretence of being a warrior. He stood steadily on a pile of sand below the castle and swung his wooden sword.
"Well I am a mantis too!" Leeya replied as she also swung her sword. Leeya charged at Ryden with her sword and a mini battle ensued. They both clanked swords for some seconds but Leeya seemed to be far more experienced and skillful. She ducked most of Ryde's attacks and kicked him in the knee, weakening him and easily knocked him out with her sword. Ryden fell to the ground.
"Hahahaha....whose the mantis now?" Leeya laughed hard and made jest of Ryden who looked disappointed ☹️.
Leeya extended her hands and helped Ryden up.
"You were lucky..." Ryden grunted jealousy as they walked away from the sand.
" you jealous chicken....You were lucky I didn't hit your balls🙂" Leeya replied
"Hey I'm not a chicken and don't talk about my balls!...." Ryden yelled out.
"I heard it hurts a boy really hard when he gets hit in the balls....they say the pain of being hit down there can be compared to child birth" Leeya said.
"How old are you Leeya?" A voice echoed from behind them. They turned around to see who asked the question and saw Ryden's mother, wife to the Chief Mantis of the Ootheca, Lara.
"Mom....I was just returning back to the castle"
"Thirteen" Leeya replied
"And how do you know about all the things you say?" Lara asked.
"My mother told me....she said a boy's weakness is his balls....if a boy ever tried to hurt me, I'll hit his balls hard." Leeya replied.
"Ohhh.....that will be all for now. Let's go Ryden" Lara said as she grabbed Ryden by the shoulders and dragged him inside the castle.
"Bye Ryden....I'll see you tomorrow..." Lara yelled as she watched him being dragged inside by his mom, the queen mother of the Ootheca.
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"How many times have I told you....Leeya isn't someone you should be with...alone" Lara yelled at Ryden as they walked up the stairs to the upper chambers.
"Mom....she's my sparring partner....thanks to her, I've improved my sword skills." Ryden replied.
"She's a low life....she's dangerous and she knows alot of things....things she shouldn't know....right now" Lara argued.
"Things you didn't tell me..." Ryden interrupted.
"I'm trying to keep you safe....you will be Chief Mantis someday and you will lead a clan of Assassins to take back Zone Zero....this isn't the time for you to play child games with a commoner. You need to begin your training with Balzo and so will Leeya"
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10 years later....
ZONE ZERO - CAPITAL CITY OF DALLUS
"You will be Chief Mantis someday....she always told me that." Ryden said as he stood on the tallest building of Dallus.
"She didn't lie" Leeya replied. They were both standing on the building's roof and they stared down from above, the height meant nothing to them. They were grown now and they were bold.
"I can't unlock my mantis abilities....I can't use the sixth sense....I have poor eye sight" Ryden adjusted his glasses a bit and looked away in disgust. Leeya stared at him for some seconds and smiled.
"You are fast....you're the fastest assasin in Ootheca....." Leeya said as he patted him on the shoulders.
"What good is that if I cant see my enemies clearly. Let's face it....I'm a failure of a chief's son." Ryden said disappointedly as he sat on the roof.
"The black snakes and red spiders would be very happy to hear that the heir to the most powerful assasin clan that is or ever was is a weak fucker...." Leeya said boldly.
"What do you mean?" Ryden asked as he scratched his hair.
"This isn't the time to be weak Ryden.....our enemies are gathering....everyone wants to take Zone Zero....you will be Chief and I will lead our forces.....if you command me to." Leeya said and brought out a packet of cigarettes. She opened it and lit a stick.
Ryden stared at her and smiled.
"So father sent us to here....why?"
"We are here to kill someone." Leeya replied and puffed a smoke.
"Who?" Ryden asked curiously.
"We're here to kill a man....an outlaw by the name Warthog" Leeya replied and projected an hologram picture from her Mantis Watch, the picture of William Warthog.
"Warthog?....what part of his body does my father want this time?" Ryden asked.
"His head....and you'll be the one to take it". Leeya replied and closed her eyes. She remained silent for some seconds and the sound of cool breeze took over. Ryden knew what that meant, the sixth sense.
"One guard..... two guards....three.....four by the door....six inside....Warthog is having a nice warm bath two metres away from his guards....one sniper seats on the roof of the building opposite his window..." Leeya said and opened her eyes.
"Looks like our target prepared for us" Ryden said as he stood up.
"I'll take out the sniper.....proceed as planned and bring his head.....we meet at harbor.....and.... don't die" Leeya said as she leaped high into the air weightlessly unto the next building. She disappeared fast like a ninja.
"Hey wait....I can't possibly.....hey...you leaving me to this?" Ryden asked but she was gone with the wind.
He climbed down the building and approached Warthog's residential building. He was fast with it and gained extra time on his mantis watch. He climbed the gate and hopped into the building. Luckily, no men were guarding the gates at the time.
"Looks like Leeya was right....the men have dinner with their boss every Friday." Ryden slid into the veranda and broke into a dark hallway which he wasn't expecting. He stopped on his tracks in fear and surprise.
"Woah...Leeya didn't tell me Warthog loved dark hallways" Ryden whispered to himself as he stared into the darkness and suddenly, he found light. Large florescent lamps lit up in an ordered straight line and revealed the path more clearly. Immediately the lamps finished lighting up, Ryden moved a step closer into the hallway and suddenly he heard something which shook him to the bones.
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*****LEEYA*****
Leeya landed on the building where the sniper was and surprisingly, she saw no one. She looked around and scanned the entire perimeter, she saw no one. She tried to figure out what was happening but nothing was coming until she suddenly remembered.
"Ohhhh no....oh no" Leeya sped back towards Warthog's building. She ran like a cheetah relentlessly, she finally understood what was happening, it was a trap
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******RYDEN*****
Ryden ran deeper into the hallway breathing heavily. He kept on running till he saw a left turn. He took the left turn and saw a shadowy group
To be continued