Weaver's Knight ~ A Modern Fantasy Web Serial

Ch. 16.3 - Alex (double-sized anniversary issue)

In this episode: From the day he Empowered, Alex's ability to hold off the Skeptic has made his reputation. Now that ability will be put to the test, as Gray Company's most terrible agent comes to erase the blot on his record once and for all...

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This is it, Alex decided, bracing himself physically and Majestically. Before he realized it, Captain Bastion had dropped into the first defensive stance Molly had taught him. Now we find out if my rep is based on anything real, or just dumb luck.

Outside, the ground shook from the clash of dragons. Around him, lights flickered and concrete flaked. The Bastion's eyes flickered in the direction of the shockwaves, until a colorless, toneless nothing he'd truly felt only once before reclaimed his attention.

The Skeptic came into view, so unchanged Alex wondered briefly if he'd imagined the past several months. No, the Prime insisted to himself. That's his doing. The black suit was immaculate in spite of the mess. Mirrored sunglasses reflected Captain Bastion twice in miniature. He could just make out the Company agent's white earpiece as the man came to a halt. "You," the Skeptic whispered, eyes hidden and expression unreadable. "More ridiculous than ever, somehow."

Alex flared his cape with a flicker of Blaze, and it billowed in a non-existent wind. "Prove it," the Captain retorted, almost smiling.

In one smooth motion, the Skeptic drew a pistol from his jacket and fired twice at Bastion's head. Without thinking, Alex raised his sword, deflecting both bullets. Holy-! he thought, barely suppressing a shudder. The brief wave of terror vanished. Alex smiled. "Keep trying," he said.

The Skeptic stared for a second, motionless. Then he fired three more times, each at a different part of Bastion's body. Alex held out his hand and stopped the bullets, holding them front of him for a few seconds before letting them drop. The Captain shook his head, still grinning.

Only a short grunt escaped the Skeptic as he holstered his gun, drawing a short baton in its stead. A quick, sharp flick of his wrist extended it to over half the length of Alex's blade. A brief spurt of electricity rippled around the rod. Without a word, the Skeptic charged.

Alex braced himself, filling his mind with the Ghost Dragon arts Molly had instilled in him. He drew forth every implanted Vision-echo, every moment of training. Empty your mind, he told himself - remembering immediately that thinking "empty your mind" is still thinking - and became a vessel for the Ghost Dragon Way.

Weapons, fists and feet became a blur of motion. The Skeptic's attacks came in an economical staccato of violence. Bastion's defense was a dance of flowing deflection. Alex's occasional counterstroke pressed the agent, slowing the impersonal barrage. The duel came to a sudden halt when the Skeptic threw a jab at Bastion's nose. Alex stopped the punch with a well-placed palm. The Skeptic slid back, reassessing Captain Bastion with a twitch of the neck. "You've trained," the agent admitted.

Bastion smiled coolly at his black-clad foe. "I know kung fu," he quipped.

"You know a fraction of Ghost Dragon style," the Skeptic scoffed. "I've studied martial science for decades."

Alex slid into a ready stance, crackling sword raised behind him. "I had a really good teacher."

"It won't be enough." The Skeptic circled the Bastion, and Alex wondered if he would try to use the corridor wall as a springboard.

Without warning, the opposite wall exploded, a blur of brass obliterating it. Alex erected a shield of Blaze, blocking for them both. The Skeptic dodged anyway, evading the few chunks of masonry faster than the Bastion's force wall. The agent stared briefly at Alex, face still unreadable. Both then turned to look out the massive hole, seeing the draconic Ekaida breathe fire at Molly, who leaped three stories through the air to evade. Alex looked past them to the horde of camera crews jockeying for position, chattering rapidly while they sought the best angles that wouldn't get them crushed. "How can they see that? Shouldn't the Schism be doing something?"