Struggle Across the Tyrannical Dawn

Tatianna slid down the alley, moving around with quick, silent steps. She could hear the soldiers as the moved, and the mutter of their voices. She wanted to do nothing but get out of this city, she hated it. She hated everything about it. Her shoes made a loud sound as she came to an abrupt stop. There were men in the book store. Soldiers. She growled under her breath and took a dash in the opposite direction. She ran forward until she came into an invisible wall that appeared to give an "Oof!" She screamed as she fell to the ground, her long staff fell to her side with a thud.

 

The woman didn't even give me time to move. I ended up with donut smashed into my face and my consentration broke and I was revield. Then the scream, my ears rang, and my head hurt I stumbled back against the wall, hands on my ears. "Dang woman, calm down please." I said wondering if she'd take me serious with donut all over my face. "I looked at the bag, and then up at her. "Want a donut?" I offered as I built the invisiblity around both of us as the gaurds ran out looking for the sorce of the noise. I motioned for her to be quiet, they looked down and then continued on down the street looking for the sorce of the noice.

 

Her heart pounded as she looked up at the man with the bag in his hand. Her hands shook uncontrollably as she tried to retain herself. Fear went through her entire body as the faces of all the men that had hurt her over the years ran through mind. She backed away slowly, barely able to move as she managed to grab her staff. Her voice was low as she hummed, the magic of the sound seemed to sooth her mind.

“N-no.” she muttered, “No thank you.”

She took her chance to look at him, and couldn’t help but blush. Her gloved hand went forward as she grabbed the side of his sunglasses. She made sure her hands never touched him, gloves or not. She slipped them off, and managed a toothy smile.

“Why do you hide your eyes like that?”

 

Her voice seemed so beutiful, at least when she wasn't trying to kill me with it. I wondered if it was some power or if she just had a really good set of lungs. She reached up timidly and removed my glasses, I didn't dare stop her after what had happened the last time we had made contact.

“Why do you hide your eyes like that?” She asked kindly, blushing a bit, but at least she was smiling now. She kind of reminded me of... I felt my eyes going watery and snatched the glasses back by the oposite end, quickly putting them back into place.

"It's just easier that way." I said, hopeing he hadn't noticed the lonely look that over came me everytime I saw anyone who remotely resembled her. "Some voice you have there." I said after a moment's pause and hoped she'd warn me if she was going to scream again.

 

"It's just easier that way."

“It’s better what way?” she asked as she held tightly onto her stick. The wood was rough and worn, but still very heavy and thick.

"Some voice you have there."

“It’s just a voice…” she said, “And, your little ability is much fancier. Do you just think it?”

She said nothing of his face just before he put the glasses on, sometimes it wasn’t best to pry.

 

He scowled a bit looking at the ground. It changed, looked clean, and a flower bloomed out of a crack. "Not much help." He said, pain in his voice as the illusion faded revieling the same, dirty back alley road. "Everything just goes back to the way it was once I stop concentrating." He said and he couldn't help but form her face in front of him, vary much a younger version of the girl next to him, but he could see differences, subtle ones, onces that only he could notice. "No matter how much you want the immage to stay it doesn't. I would rather be able to burn this city down." His voice changing from longing at the begining, to a darker, hatred at the end of it. He stopped himself and looked back at the woman.

"You're gift seems much more usefull than mine, more than just a petty illusion." He smiled weakly. "The names Jack." He said softly, and slid down the wall to a seated posistion. He used his finger to begin swiping the donut crust from his face, he imagined he looked pretty comedic right about now.

 

Colonel Faust was nervous about the meeting, the last time he'd been to HQ was when he was first assigned to the Black Ops division 6 years ago. All he knew was that it had something to do with Meyers, the telepath sniper who'd gone crazy during their last mission and executed 4 innocent citizens.

Col. Faust heard the door open and began to stand.

"Stay seated." said General Horace. He had a black leatherbound folder in his hand. General Horace entered the tiny room and took his seat an old, worn, but comfortable looking leather chair, behind a wide black oak desk, his seat had been raised so that he towered over Col. Faust.

"I suspect you know why you're here Colonel."

"Yes Sir."

"Care to explain...?"

"Sir i have been consistent in my reports concerning the mental instability of Corporal Meyers. He'd mentioned to me once that he was starting to lose control over his powers. That he lost the ability to filter whose thoughts he could hear and when. He said that when this happened he would become confused and scared. I believe that this is the reason he was--"

"The actions of Corporal Meyers are not what we're here to discuss! We're here to discuss why you gave the order to kill him!"

Col. Faust looked at General Horace incredulously. "Sir... he was killing innocent people... Civilians... He shot Corporal Jennsen."

"Do you know who Corporal Meyer's parents are?" General Horace fixed Colonel Faust in a deadly glare."Lets just say that they hold considerable power over the politics within the army, and they aren't too pleased with your handling of the situation."

"Sir..."

General Horace raised a finger to silence him and began looking through the file...

"We've no use for incompetent leadership Faust. You've proven that you're no leader of men, and so, we are stripping you of your rank."

"Sir!--"

"Interrupt me again and I will have you killed..."

 

“We can’t burn the city down though, Jack.” She said as she took a seat not far from him. She put her legs to her chest, and placed her chin on her knees.

“If we burn it down we’ll…. Hurt the people too. They don’t deserve that.” She looked to the side as she heard the voices of soldiers, but they seemed to only fade away. She fumbled with her staff as she leaned it close by, the end leaned onto her side.

“I’m Tatee.” She said, “Well… Tatianna, but… you know. No one ever calls me by my full name.”

She nodded at him.
She couldn’t help but feel secure around him, it was a different feeling for her. But she would still stand her guard, men were still dogs.

“My voice can either sooth, or harm. It’s nothing special. You have a gift, and I think it’s amazing. Doesn’t matter what you say!” She said, sticking out her tongue playfully.

 

I felt bad about haveing said that, I didn't want the city to burn, cityhall maybe, but not the whole city. I listened as Tatee talked, her voice seemed to be musical, and magical. Which was exsplained when she got tot the end. She stuck her tongue out and I felt a sharp pain in my chest, she had done that too. Teased, me and stuck out her tongue playfully. I had to remind myself that they were two completly different people, and exsept a few quirks she really didn't act the same.

I pulled out another donut, hoping I could eat this one with out getting ran into. It was a challenge eating and keeping the illusion up but I could manage it, as long as no one ran into me, I thought with a smirk. "Tatee, why do people let the government do what it wants? With out the people there is no government, if that's true why do people let it continue?" I asked, she was alot older than me, though she probably didn't know the awnser anyways. "I'm not going to let the government do anything else." I said and smirked as some gaurds started to walk by, I illusioned an unlevel part to look level and one of them tripped, falling to the ground, small illusions were never noticed. He stood up and continued on his way. "Just gona start small." I said with a wink.

 

"Tatee, why do people let the government do what it wants? With out the people there is no government, if that's true why do people let it continue?"

She couldn’t help but smile at him. He was a good a kid. She nodded her head, and let her head fall back.

“He’s a tyrant. We’ve got no power over anything, because he makes sure we are taken control of. Divided we fail.”

She knew it sounded awful, but it’s what it was. There was no fighting against it, there was no hope for them. Not that she would tell him that, never.

She reached to pat him on the head, but recoiled quickly. Her hands grasped eachother and she rolled herself more tightly. No touching. Never again, even with the cloth between them.

“See, look at that skill!”

She smiled and sighed. She began to sing a light tune, her voice was barely more then a blow in the wind. But it quickly raised her spirits as it sent a shiver down her back.

 

I sat listening to her as I finished my donut and stood up slowly. "Well, breakfast is over, were to now?" I asked her and gave her a smile. "Any were you want, no one can cautch us if they can't see us, right? So were do you want to go, heard theirs a new place in town with great food, quiet a hike though so if we want to get in we'd best get walking."

 

There was a long minute of silence as General Horace perused the contents of the folder. "It says here that you're a pyrokinetic." he looked up from his file. "Let's see a demonstration."

Faust lowered his head. "I... I wouldn't advise it sir. I can't control my powers. I'd most likely reduce the entire building to ash, besides, my powers are reactionary. "

General Horace whistled "Can't control soldiers, can't control your powers. Just how did you manage to make it to Colonel? Here's the deal Faust. After a great deal of negotiating i've made mutually beneficial arrangements with the parents of the deceased Corporal Meyers regarding your punshment." He pushed a button on his desk and muttered something into a microphone. "You will be stripped of any and all ties to govenment. Your rank, lodging, weapons, pay, everything. You will be thrown into the normal civilian populous. And you will become that which you hate most."

Faust grimaced... Rebels

"You will become a rebel. Once you have infiltrated their network you will report back to me regarding their hierarchy, weapons caches, imporant locations, etc... i want everything on these bastards Faust. Should you succeed in giving us everything we need to take them down, your rank will be re-instated, your infraction forgiven."

"And if i refuse?"

General Horace removed his glasses and peered at Faust, almost instantly Faust felt the sensation of intense pressure around his neck. He gargled as he struggled for air.

"Anymore questions?" General Horace smiled as he released his telekinetic grip on Faust's throat.

The doors opened and two armed guards stormed into the room pushing what looked to be a woman's corpse in a wheelchair. Her arms and legs were bound with thick leather straps. She was draped in a white hospital gown and her shoulder length blonde hair was tied back in a single braid. Her eyes were covered with a black satin mask, her body was perfectly still.

"What the?"

General Horace smiled. "Faust, I'd like you to meet Sophia. She will be accompanying you on your mission... "

 

She lifted herself up, using her staff as a third leg. She nodded her head.

“Sounds all right… we’re not stealing are we?” she bit her lip. She didn’t like the idea of stealing. Tatee’s hands went to the sack on her back as she flung it over. She quickly rummaged around until she found a small coin purse. It was nearly empty, barely enough for room and board. Maybe she did need it. She frowned, and placed it back, but grabbed the homemade cigarettes. She quickly lit it with her lighter, and put it to her lips. She deeply inhaled, and let out a sigh of smoke. The most calming effect of them all.

 

The kimono person was still in his bookstore, but Allan wanted to get some fresh air. He wasn't suppose to leave his store until costumers were gone. But Allan needed fresh air. Allan walked out of the store, he couldn't stand in that thick air anymore.
Ever since Diablo came to power life isn't how it use to be. Life was either a very short life or being controlled. Allan walked down his favorite road or it use to be his favorite road. It use to have flowering trees all the way down it and now it dead trees. Gray and dead trees.
Allan felt that if this control continue no one would be able to live.
"A man is one who chooses to rebel. A man must will rebel when his freedom is in jeopardy..." Allan said the words of his grandfather lingering on his tongue.
Allan set his mind to it. He was no hero, but he wasn't a coward. He might not have the power to harm people, but other people did. He was going to rebel, but how could you meet people secretly without getting caught by Diablo.
"I am a bookstore owner and there isn't anything suspicious about a Book Club,"
Allan ran back to the bookstore as quickly as he could. He got onto his computer and started making fliers. Of course he would have to get a soldier's permission before this.
Allan looked at the person in the kimono.
"By any chance how do you think I would get permission by a soldier for a book club?" he said.

 

"No not stealing, just aquireing through less than legal means." He said with a wink, and a smirk. He made a little version of him standing on his shoulder, with some horns sticking out and a pitch fork. "It's not like we'll take anymore than we need, we arn't robbing a bank, just little bit here, and there, to make sure we survive." He said, reaching up and flicking the little devil that exsploded into confetti. He always enjoyed flairing up conversations with a little chaos, even if the chaos was just a little fake demon conceince.

He noticed the book store ownerr running back inside after what appeared to be a walk. Whats up with him, he thought to himself.

 

Allan's hands fumbled with the fliers he mad. He looked at the person with the kimono on.
"Stay here and when you see the soldiers hide....I am locking the door," Allan said.
Allan looked at the person with the kimono.
He handed them a flier.

 

General Horace stood and began making is way around the desk until he stood between Faust and the woman in the wheelchair. "Sophia, is a very talented individual. And she has the most beautiful eyes."

Sophia's gaunt frame began to shake and she began to breathe raggedly as her mouth twisted into a demented smile. General Horace removed the mask. Her eyes were huge, the size of silver dollars, both were pitch black, and although there were no pupils Faust could tell that she was looking directly at him. The pain was crippling. Faust tried to scream but no sound came... He fell to the ground as the world went black.

 

When Faust awoke he was in a vehicle, he was dressed in a dirty white t-shirt, blue jeans and dirty white sneakers. He felt his throbbing head, all of his hair had been shaved. He looked across the cabin to see General Horace staring back at him.

"We had to shave it my friend. Rebels might get suspicious of a recruit with a military haircut."

"What happened?... who was that woman?"

"Sophia is one of our best agents. She's a mind jumper and a powerful telepath. She can protect you against telepathic attacks and can prove useful against telepathic defenses. She's in your mind. If you have anymore questions just ask her yourself. She is the Officer in charge of this mission, so i suggest you listen to her or she can deliver mind-shattering pain. Once you have completed your mission she will inform me, and i will send men for you... until then you will have no direct contact with us. Good luck Faust.... You're going to need it." One of General Horace's goons opened the door of the moving vehicle and kicked Faust out...

 

The courtroom blazed with fire of all kinds of colors except magenta, auburn and blue. It was forbidden for the fire performers to do such vile colors, according to Diablo who pulled out his teddy bear as the fire flames reach a paramount position in the court. A smile unwillingly trickled on one of the performers, at which Diablo got up and stopped the performance.

"Him - who is he?"

"Kevin Spears."

He croaked, at which Diablo threw a blazing torch towards his face, which gulped the most of his features, leaving him scorched. He laughed and then gestured the performers to leave.

"They are here to work, not laugh."

He added before his courtiers disappeared, and he summoned the screen once more.

"General Horace, you wanted to speak with me?"

General Horace bowed down immediately, speaking like a robot:
"Sir, Colonel Faust has been deported. He has been sent on Mission 129865-A43G4."

Diablo nodded and then said coldly:
"Now, you are deported Horace."

General Horace didn't look up, knowing the punishment for being stunned.

"If I may ask with my sinned vocal cords..."

He whispered, at which Diablo switched off the screen and laughed.

"Courtiers!"

He roared, and men ran into the court. All of them were kneeled down at Diablo who jumped off from the throne and dusted his uniform.

"I want General Horace to be sent to the dungeons for hiding the fact that he is married."

The soldiers nodded and then started to leave, when Diablo halted them.

"And I want his wife and children to be brought here."

The soldier nodded unemotionally, and left, which Diablo cackled to himself.

 

Ares is lost in his own world. He looks through the books in the history section. Studying the leaders of old. The great men and women that seemed to be able to move mountains with their words and will their armies to victory. People like Leonidas, Alexander, Julius Ceasar, El Cid, Joan of Ark, Sun Ce, Martin Luther King, and General Patton. None of them would have allowed Devil to control them. Ares puts back the book of ancient history and puts the flyer down on a table. He looks around and sees that no one is looking in his direction. He goes to the window and looks out at the people. He whispers to himself "I don't know if I can match the great leaders of old, but I will still try. Unlike these people, I refuse to allow fear to control me. I stand here as a free man, and there is nothing Devil can do, to take that freedom. Devil, I am what you fear most. Someone who will never back down." He goes over and looks at the flyer. Ares thinks "A book club huh? It doesn't take a genius to figure out what you're really thinking. I'll definetly join up."

 

Tatee couldn’t help but laugh. He was a cute kid, very goofy. Almost reminded her of her little brother before he changed too. She sighed.

“Yeah… I’m not so sure about that.” She didn’t like the idea, no matter how much she needed the money. She started to walk off, but turned around. She didn’t want to leave him, he seemed like one of the few good people she had met in the city, and she needed to keep close.

“We’ll meet again, right?” She smiled and briskly walked off. She stopped at the bookstore, it appeared to be locked. She sighed, and knocked on the glass.

 

Ares heard the knocking on the door and turned to see a woman there. He walks over and unlocks it. He looks down at the woman and says "Please come in. The owner is away right now, but I don't think he'll mind it if you had a look around."

 

Her eyes went wide but quickly went back to normal as she looked at the… erm. Man. In front of her. She gave him a bright smile, and glided past him into the bookstore. She couldn’t help but feel at home there. Books were something close to her heart, though she could never really afford them even with her simple bustgirl job.

She looked back at the man, “Thank you…” she muttered, “I’m Tatee, and you?”

 

Ares gives her a smile and says "That's a pretty name. I am Ares. Its nice to meet another book fan. Also, I must say, you have a unique voice. It sounds quite beautiful." Ares wonders to himself "I wonder if she is like the other's who have given away their freedom."

 

She blushed a little as she went towards the shelves, her hands gently glided along the book’s spines.

“Thank you.” She muttered, she looked at him, “Were you born here, Ares?”