Chapter 17: Chapter 5: Dreams Delayed Part 3

“Why did you come here?” Zavier figured a question was his best bet. If Shen knew his ruse there was nothing he could really do but if not a question was the best way to tempt the man to talk.

There was another long pause as the echo from Zavier’s question began to die down. Zavier was getting incredibly nervous at this point and was only barely hiding it. Then, as the last echos died out, Shen slacked his jaw and spoke. “I don’t want to kill you.” His voice was low and growly but was not adversarial in a way that would cause Zavier to doubt him. “I have a friend who’s dying to meet you soon and I would like for you to survive long enough to make that happen.” Zavier's heart sunk at this last statement. If Shen was being genuine with his posturing, he saw little threat from Zavier.

Zavier had to prioritize getting this man talking as much as possible now if he wanted to give Yafu the best chance. “Why did you come here using me?” Zavier was definitely still playing the game but he had a genuine interest in this. The alleged use of him as an anchor might be the cause of his death in the most spectacular way possible that would have been unimaginable twenty four hours ago. He really did have to know on some level; Why him?

“You were my only way through. My brothers, sisters, and I were forced to use you. There are forces beyond comprehension on this planet that would kill us if we tried any other way. Believe me when I say I did not intend to make you an enemy.” Shen paused and smirked, “I was under the impression you were unaware of us and our arts entirely. Perhaps Cirko doesn’t know Earth as he claims.”

Trying to lean into the narrative of strength again Zavier responded in a cold and forceful manner. “I am very aware of soul energy and request that you leave my world at once.” By the end of the sentence Zavier was imitating comic characters he liked growing up. Hopefully his demeanor wasn’t as played out in Shen’s world.

Shen’s face lost its friendliness and contorted into a fearsome snarl. He was definitely a master of intimidation whether intentional or not. His anger started crescendoing with each passing word, “Cirko wants to meet you so desperately and I do not want to deny him that after he has helped me more than I can ever repay but if you stand in my way, I cannot grant you the leincency I have denied so many others.” Shen eyes and arms began to glow a piercing yellow. It was a much brighter and more intense arua than Yafu’s. The man was in a rage.

Zavier really should have tried to run but he was frozen in awe and fear. It was like watching a bear charge at you. Shen began to lean back and the glow around his arms appeared to vibrate like a ripple in a pond. As he kept leaning back the ripple got quicker and quicker, like a sound wave increasing in pitch. Zavier clenched his fists. At this point, his only chance was to jump out of the way after the attack was released. Maybe Shen could be tricked into thinking he was a stationary target. Either way Zavier could not shake the looming feeling of mortal danger.

Shen slowed his wind up to a complete stop. The moment flashed like a still picture. Zavier braced to react as quickly as possible. Shen then extended, Zavier got into a slight squat to leap but stopped when Shen directed his force ninety degrees to his right. Zavier was stunned for a half second. Did he miss? Or did he lose control during the windup? These questions were answered a half second after this moment in devastating fashion. The discharge left Shen figure tips like lighting and moved into a straight line until they suddenly stopped halfway toward the wall and was diverted upwards, causing a huge chunk of the ceiling to come crashing down. Zavier heard a huge impact at the other end of the room. As the dust settled, Shen stood turned towards where he had directed his strike, with Zavier in his perififories. Lying sideways on the floor covered in dust and drywall was Yafu. He was wincing in pain and clutching both his arms in a halfway fetal position. There was a large human-sized dent in the wall directly above him.

“That trick isn’t working a second time, boy!” Shen yelled across the room. Zavier was dejected. Yafu’s camouflage was really something. Zavier hadn’t noticed him at all and he had walked into the room and nearly crossed it. But even that wasn’t enough to get even one cheap shot on Shen. It was clear to Zavier that they were now at a tremendous disadvantage against a superior opponent.

Zavier began to sprint toward the exit. He didn’t feel great running, but hopefully if Shen tried to chase him it would give Yafu a chance to recover. He was their only chance at this point. Shen flipped his wrist and shot more of the lightning-like discharge at the doorway. Hitting just above it, he caused debris to come crashing down and block the door covering Zaiver’s best exit. Seeing this development Zavier stopped his running and turned to face Shen. His only chance now was to dodge again. He was very unconfident though. The attacks from Shen definitely did not move at the speed of light but it looked to be in the class of sound to Zavier. Whether his assessment was marginally accurate or not, dodging it successfully would be more of a lucky guess than a well- timed move.

Shen wound up again, this time moving much quicker to get to the end of the wind-up. Clearly he had wised up to the lack of soul energy resistance from Zavier and wasn’t packing as concentrated a punch with him. Zavier braced himself once again to try to dodge. Suddenly at the near crux of his wind-up, Yafu shot out of the fetal position and in one smooth spinning motion launched a short burst of yellow energy toward Shen. It was clearly not a very strong attack but the genius of Yafu was trading strength for the element of surprise. It occurred to Zavier that Yafu might have stayed in his crumpled state longer than he otherwise would to have Shen lower his guard. At the very least Shen must have subconsciously expected to see Yafu get up before worrying about another attack. Shen twisted his body towards the oncoming attack, putting his arms up in front of his face in a defensive position. The glow around him had gone from violent vibrations to a still outline around his extremities as he focused on protecting his body from the attack. Yafu’s plan appeared to work, as Shen was still rotating over when the attack struck him. He did not go flying into the wall as Yafu did but he stumbled back a few feet and crumpled to the floor. 

Yafu wasted no time sending another attack, this one having a little bit more bite to it. Despite the increased charge on the second attack, Shen was much more prepared and it made all the difference. As the attack approached him, Shen slammed the ground with his glowing hands from a sideways prone position. This caused him to fly up about ten feet into the air. Easily clearing Yafu’s attack, Shen did a double spin in the air. Both spins sent a slashing attack outward. One towards Yafu and one towards Zavier. Zavier to this point had been watching in awe at the fight. It was the most spectacular thing he had ever seen. This left him wholly unprepared to be involved so abruptly back into it. As the yellow razor’s edge of the slashing attack came hurtling towards him like a tomahawk, Zavier could only stare at it frozen in shock. He was certain he was going to die. The first two times he had been bailed out by Yafu’s machinations. They did not appear to be coming a third time. At the last second, as a sort of intuitive survival instinct Zavier put his arms up to shield his body even though he would not repel this attack at all with his forearms. At the same time he felt a sudden tightening around the back of his head. It felt a little bit like he was somehow clenching his neck muscles but the sensation was originating deeper in his skull. He then felt a surge of energy pass through his body from his upper spine through to his finger tips. A brilliant bout of blue light exploded from his fingertips leaping toward a collision with Shen’s attack. The two convergent energy pulses collided about half a yard away from where Zavier was standing. There was a loud crackling noise like a roaring fire and the attack dissipated into a brilliant green flash. Zavier must not have gotten all of Shen’s attack blocked because as he witnessed the collision he grimaced and felt a sharp cut wound on the left side of his face just below the eye. It thankfully did not feel like it had cut into the bone but stung like crazy and Zavier could tell he had blood trickling down his face. It was clear even while spinning in the air that Shen had a sniper’s accuracy. If he hadn’t disrupted the attack, Zavier would have been decapitated.

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