"All are one and one are all, knight will fall and be born anew!

"The notes will play but fall deaf...

"The angels will rise, but fall...

"Even the light will be revealed but prove useless

"Only the holiest light can make the resonance penetrate the Omega...

"A sign of true love will then be declared through one's tears...

"Then the instruments will play once again...

"Opening the forbidden gates, and allowing the light to serve its purpose...

"And only then will the prophecy be defied…”

“These words were all that filled my head for three weeks! What do they mean?!”

Chapter 49

A Mother’s Wish

Looking up at the night sky, Mike felt somewhat relieved that Paula had come to talk to him. Maybe he could now get some rest, after he took care of some business. “I wonder if Jeff can figure something out for me” Mike thought to himself as closed his eyes, wondering where Jeff could be at. Since he no longer could use light warp, he had to make sure he had the right location before zipping off in Phoenix.

“He would not be at Snow Wood right now. There’s not much he could do there at this moment. Granted, the basement in Snow Wood is loaded with equipment, but he probably wants to work with something more high tech, especially with the probability that these could be our last days and all. The only place I could think of might be his father’s lab near Stonehenge” Mike said as he started to get up, brushing the grass and dirt off his body, and stretching slightly.

“Well, I have nothing else to do for three days. I think it’s obvious that the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse won’t move against us until they are full power. After that last battle, how I could survive Oblivion let alone the fact that Ness could deflect the most powerful Psi attack known like it was nothing would be enough to scare even those four. Well, off to see Jeff then” Mike said as flames started to surround his body and take to the night sky.

At Dr. Andonuts Lab, in Winters…

A loud creek of the old metal door of Dr. Andonuts’ Lab echoed throughout the empty halls. As the light shone through the lab, one could easily see that the place had been left untouched for weeks. Also, the out of place sound of chewing could now be heard throughout lab, appearing only suddenly. “This is the last time I ever let one of my assistants go, especially before I go on vacation” a voice echoed through the lab as the lights soon came on.

A figure appeared, a man to be exact. About fifty some years in age, balding, white hair, thick glasses, and eating a doughnut started to walk through the lab. “It’s good to be home though. After that vacation, I think I need to go back to work now. Considering what has happened in these last few weeks with the chaos and attacks on all these cities, it is probably about time I get back to work. I should probably start on that device I was making for my son before I left” he said to himself as started to hum to himself as he started to happily walk through the lab.

The man suddenly turned his head as he thought he started to hear snoring in his lab. “That’s weird” he said to himself as it sounded like it came from the upper floor. He just turned around and started to look around and started to look for a certain something. At least that’s what his motions and wandering around would conclude. A clearly audible yawn was then heard echoing throughout the lab. “Figures, I thought it might be him.”

Footsteps could easily be heard as a person with blonde hair started to emerge from the stairwell leading to the upper portion of the lab. “Hello son.”

“Ya!” the figured jumped into mid-air about three feet slightly started by the sudden voice in the lab. He turned around to see a familiar figure. “Geez Dad, don’t scare me like that. You nearly gave me a heart attack” said the blonde as immediately recognized his father.

“Sorry Jeff” said Jeff’s father, the legendary Dr. Andonuts.

“It’s great to see you back though. If you’ve heard at all, we have quite the situation on our hands again” Jeff said as he proceeded to explain everything that had happened from Mike’s arrival in Onett up to the current point. “So with only three days left, I decided to come here and improve this bad boy” Jeff said as he pulled out his Gamma Gun. “It’s nuclear powered so I haven’t worked out the problem of the constant energy flow the reactor puts out since the energy is way to high for say any of my storage devices. The reactor is currently deactivated but takes a few minutes to even get going. In a tight spot, I’m not going to have a few minutes. Let alone the stability of this thing is still a reliability. If the reactor even gets cracked the slightest bit, I’m afraid of what the radiation that would leak out would do to us. I’ve been here for about a day trying to use your equipment to make something much more sophisticated so I can eliminate those problems. I mean it’s probably nothing compared to the weapons of light. I feel that any little bit with help against those monsters.”

“Let me see that for a second” Dr. Andonuts said as Jeff handed his father his gun. “You say that this has been going on since Mike defeated Godan, and you had only three weeks to accomplish this task because he didn’t come meet Ness until five weeks later. Let me ask you something, do you know happened after the Destined Ones defeated Godan?”

“Something about Mike going comatose for about ten days and then ending up in an insane asylum for about another three weeks once he woke up for some unknown reasons” Jeff explained remembering the explanation he got in Saturn Valley.

“From the sound of everything, it would explain the attacks happening all around the world. How are things in Onett right now?”

“After it fell under attack, we helped the people mourn for their losses and helped clean up the mess as quickly as possible. There are mourning services going on for the next week with Onett being shutdown completely for the first two of those days. It was the most gruesome thing I’ve ever seen. I never want to witness anything like the again” Jeff said as he clenched his fist and a tear rolled on his left cheek.

“I see then…” Dr. Andonuts said as a long pause soon endured. “While I look at this weapon of yours, I think it’s time you looked at this. You may not have much time left in this world, so I think it best that you knew now” Dr. Andonuts finally continued as his voiced started to nervously tremble as he placed the Gamma Gun on his desk. He slowly turned the combination lock on the top left drawer. As he pulled the drawer open, the doctor reached in and pulled out a notebook. He quickly handed it to Jeff and returned to his work.

The notebook was handed to him face down so when Jeff turned it over to the front side, he immediately got the shock of his life. The front read:

“To my loving son Jeff,

Eliza ‘Langley’ Andonuts”

“Mom…” Jeff thought to himself as he looked at his father who’s back was to Jeff. He had kept something so important from him for so many years. Jeff was in absolute disbelief. “He kept this from me but why?” He slowly opened the notebook with his hands shaking as he lifted the cover, he remembered his mother.

Eliza Andonuts was definitely one heck of a person. When she and Dr. Andonuts fist met, it was love at first sight. It was at a lecture on the possible affect of technology on the next fifty years. With Dr. Andonuts as the main speaker of the night, the lecture was held at Snow Wood, the then rising school of academia. Eliza Andonuts, then Langley, was the youngest headmaster of Snow Wood ever at the young age of twenty-two. From what Jeff remembered from what his mother had told him, it was that night his mother and father met. Granted, his father did not make the best first impression, he completely botched the speech since he did not have the slightest amount of public speaking ability. It was an absolute embarrassment for him since he only made one real part of the speech work for him making conclusion of the “Phase Distortion” theory. One that he would prove later on by making the Phase Distorter one through three proving that time travel was possible. It was that device alone that allowed he and the others to meet against Giygas head on in the past and finally defeat him after a hard journey.

Eliza had actually watched the speech and felt for the doctor but never had planned on even speaking with him that night. At the after party that night, since the lectures were such a big event, she had accidentally bumped into Dr. Andonuts while getting some punch. The two looked into each others eyes and it was all history from there. They were married within six months and Jeff was born one year later. At the age of three after both his mother and father had noticed his great intellectual talent, they had enrolled him at Snow Wood. Jeff would never see his father again until that faithful day when Paula called out to him from Threed, trapped inside that dark room.

His mother would be the one who would raise Jeff for the next few years. Since she was the headmaster of Snow Wood, it was very easy for her to watch over her son and his progress while she did her work in her area of research. Eliza, was absolutely no slacker by any stretch of the imagination, in fact, she was probably more brilliant than Jeff himself. She was the world’s most famous linguist and codebreaker. By the age of ten, she had already learned ten languages and was accepted into Snow Wood where she graduated at the top of her class. Her accomplishments even foreshadowed Jeff’s father’s as she had only graduated at age sixteen, only eight years after Jeff’s father did the same remarkable feat. By that time, she had become famous in the communications field being the world’s foremost translator, knowing almost every language known to man at that present day. Even ancient documents with “lost” languages, she could translate even if she had no knowledge of the language beforehand. Also, she could crack the most complex supercodes in a day that could take even present day supercomputers weeks to crack. It is rumored that she even did work with the Apple of Enlightenment at one point, but then stopped only two weeks afterwards for some odd reason. She was also a phenomenal speaker because of her linguistic skill.

When Jeff was growing up, she was his role model. He did not have her skills in languages, but his skills in all areas of science astonished even his brilliant mother. Rumors started to circulate that he might even one day surpass his father. When he was only eight years old, he could not be happier. He only had a few friends, especially his best friend Tony, but it was enough for him. The world was his playground with so many mysteries to unravel.

That almost ended in one day for him though, his mother had passed away quietly in her sleep two days after New Year’s at the young age of thirty-two when Jeff was only eight years old. She had passed away from a heart condition she seemed to have as a child, and she was not to even live pass age thirty, but miraculously lived little over two years over that. Jeff threw himself away from everyone and cried himself to sleep for the next year. The school wanting to honor his mother and help the young Andonuts in anyway they could, adopted Jeff since his father was nowhere to be found and he had no other living relatives to the school’s knowledge.

Jeff’s mother had only left him one thing that really stuck out in his mind, besides her fortune that he swore to never touch. It was a small silver box that he took care of daily. It never left his side. It had an engraving that read “Do Not Open until you know the time is right”. He never did open it, even to the present day. As he read the first page of the notebook his mother had left him, he was even more shocked by what he read than his mother’s unexpected death.

“Hello Jeff, I hope by the day you read this you are alright. Also, I am writing this on my very last night. I knew this day would soon come, but I was hoping it never would. I have a heart condition that at time keeps my heart from beating at random points, so as a young girl I had a pacemaker implanted to shock my heart whenever it would stop which was never often. Tonight though, I can feel my heart failing. My pacemaker keeps going off but to only some avail. I’m sorry I can not be with you any longer, and I’m sorry you have to know the truth behind my death like this as well.

“What I have to tell you is important. You remember that job I had for about two weeks translating something and then just quit out of the blue. Well, I did that because what I found was disturbing. It was a prophecy called the Apple of Enlightenment. What was so disturbing was that you, my dear son, were in that prophecy. You, with three others, will defeat a being called Giygas in the distant past somehow. Your father will probably be the one to get you there, no doubt. What is also intriguing is the fact that I found something else. Turns out Giygas is only one of the four Horsemen of Apocalypse, who will be reborn after you defeat him and his brother Godan. I’m sure you’re already past that point if you are reading this so I will cut to the chase. It seems that one scroll here has a very complex alien language that I have translated but have told no one and no one will know but you that I have. What this scroll has is a riddle which I will not write because I need every second to convey everything else to you. There are some things here that are spoken in double tongue and not even I know their meaning because of it. One that I know is one that seems important since that it says that ‘the instrument that is broken can play once again’. In here, it also gives descriptions about abilities called Psi and Fates. Psi I have heard about, a.k.a. psychokinetic intelligence, but these Fates I have not. But these descriptions are in tremendous detail, to the likes I have never seen anything described before. There are weapon technologies in here that I have not been even been able to find anything about in every book in Snow Wood.

“It also says that Four Horsemen of Light exist, and will come to together to defeat the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse but will ultimately fail. I do not like to be the pessimist, but I think it describes the final fight for this world and that they will fail. I have a feeling that that instrument sentence I wrote earlier is the key is someway. The details of the fight are not described here in anyway I can confidently convey to you as correct details of the battle. It says to me under certain conditions you will lose, and in others you will win. Others scrolls of this prophecy give contently conflicting views on everything, including this one, but since this one was in an alien language, I believe it might have some importance or at least be the most correct.

“Jeff one last thing, in my last will and testament I am giving you a box that I’m sure you have by this point, since you are reading this. I also engraved on there not to open it until the time is right. My son, you must open it now! The contents could tip the scales in your favor!

“I’m sorry for passing away and leaving you alone so soon, but I have already made arrangements for the school to care of you when I finally pass away tonight. I maybe have an hour left, so I will finish this now. You have always made your mother proud and you must know that she will always miss, and that I will always miss you.

Love,

Eliza ‘Langley’ Andonuts”

Jeff, immediately wanting to know the contents of the box, pulled it out of his pants pocket and opened it. What he saw almost gave him an immediate heart attack. He knew what it was, but not even he thought it was possible. In theory yes, but actually having one made was another story. It would not tip the scales though. Jeff could not use it since the technology was too advanced. He could make a weapon using it but there was no way he could complete it in three days. It would take him a month just to get the proper materials. Jeff then closed the box back up, “Thank you Mom.”

Jeff did not know what to say to his father. He did not know whether to thank him or scold him for keeping his mother’s last words from him for so long. He then thought about what it said in there. It was like his mother wanted him to read her words just then. That it was planned all along.

Jeff just stood in a stunned silence. He could not believe that his mother knew much so early on. Not to mention, now he knew his mother knew she was going pass on while he was still a kid. He would have understood, but would he have accepted it? He did not blame his mother for not telling him at all. Imagine telling and eight year old child that you were about to die and that you knew why. It would be more heart-wrenching for the parent than it would be for the kid.

Jeff’s concentration broke when he thought he heard something outside. He ignored it and tried to get back to his current train of thought until someone started to pound on the front door of the lab. “Jeff, I’m still looking at this here. Could you get the door?” Dr. Andonuts asked his son.

“Oh yeah, sure thing Dad” Jeff said as he quickly stuff his mother’s notebook into his school uniform blazer and put the box in back in the pocket.

Once Jeff opened the door, a body engulfed in flames fell right to the ground face first once the door was opened. “Mike! What in the world are you doing here?” Jeff said immediately recognizing Mike.

Mike slowly started to get up to where he was on his hands and knees breathing heavily. “Next time… I’ll call for directions… before I fly anywhere in Phoenix ever again” he said while the flames surrounding his body started to extinguish.

“That might have been a good idea” Jeff said as he helped Mike to the instant revitilization machine. “Have you even slept?”

“No, why do you ask?”

“Well, your eyes have some serious bags under them right now” Jeff replied.

“Okay, I guess even being fully revived by a Sanctuary will only last so long if you do not get any sleep huh?” Mike asked rhetorically as Jeff put Mike into the machine. In a few second, Mike felt like he had slept for three days. “Now that’s better” he said as he stretched his arms and legs once he was out of the machine. “Now that I’m not too exhausted to say it, hey there.”

“Hey. I suppose you know my father already” Jeff said as he looked back to see his father still working on his Gamma Gun.

“Hello there Mike, what brings you to my lab for the first time” Dr. Andonuts said as Mike just got a blank stare on his face right then.

Jeff immediately took notice, “Mike, you okay. Hey Mike, you there”. Jeff waived his hand in front of Mike’s face but Mike wouldn’t even blink.

"All are one and one are all, knight will fall and be born anew!” Mike suddenly said.

"The notes will play but fall deaf...

"The angels will rise, but fall...

"Even the light will be revealed but prove useless

"Only the holiest light can make the resonance penetrate the Omega...

"A sign of true love will then be declared through one's tears...

"Then the instruments will play once again...

"Opening the forbidden gates, and allowing the light to serve its purpose...

"And only then will the prophecy be defied…”

“These words were all that filled my head for three weeks! What do they mean?!” The words Mike suddenly spoke fluently with his natural speaking voice threw Jeff and Dr. Andonuts aback. Mike then reached into his quiver and pulled out a scroll and threw it to Jeff. “That thing has caused me more despair than anything I could ever imagine. I don’t even know how to read that language, yet I know that riddle. I have a feeling I subconsciously read that riddle off a small section of that scroll there after defeating Godan.” Mike’s entire body start to shake, part of it was from the fear of what those words could possibly mean, and the other part was from the shock left over from when those words tortured him to complete insanity.

“It’s okay Mike, just have a seat and calm down” Jeff said as he guided Mike to a seat nearby. “I think one other person might have seen that riddle before Mike did. If I’m right, this changes everything” Jeff thought to himself as he felt the notebook inside of his blazer. It took Mike a good five minutes to finally calm down.

“Sorry about that Jeff, I guess that still does crazy things to me. Still, can you interpret any meaning from it?” Mike asked.

“No, I can’t. I do not think anyone can” Jeff replied with a slight sigh.

“Well then, I guess I should be going then. I have other matters to attend to” Mike said as he got up and started to head towards the door.

“Were you successful at getting your Sanctuary, Mike?” Jeff asked before Mike went out the door.

“Of course I was” Mike said as he pulled out his Eden Sword. “And this thing in my hands now is the reason I have to leave.”

Jeff immediately saw the sword and shook his head in conformation as Mike’s body quickly engulfed in flames and disappeared. “Where was he going in such a hurry?” Dr. Andonuts said as he turned around to face Jeff for the first time after giving Jeff the notebook.

“He was probably off to go see Poo. I’m guessing he wants to learn how to handle that sword he just showed me. I’m guessing his focus is on defeating the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse right now, nothing else” Jeff said to his father as he started to ruffle around in his blazer for the notebook. “Dad…”

“Yes Jeff”.

“Well after Mom died, why did I never see you until six years later? Why did you never pay your respects to Mom? Why did you leave me alone at the school without any family?” Jeff said silently trying to contain some pent up feelings inside. Those that still seemed to linger from after his mother died.

“Simply put Jeff, those were your mother’s wishes. I knew of your mother’s condition the night since the night we married. I also wanted to see you and have full custody of you, but what good would it have done for either you and I. Not to mention your mother wanted you to grow at that school instead of some lab, as did I. Can you think of any good that would have come if you stayed at the lab?”

“I see your point there” Jeff admitted. He never thought of it that way. What good would it had done either him or his father if he were to come to live at the lab after his mother’s death, absolutely none. “I guess coming to see me was out as well. I could imagine how everyone at that school would have rushed you the second you were step onto the grounds of Snow Wood.”

“Just know that I did everything that I did because were the world to me, Jeff. Now, I’ve finished looking over this Gamma Gun of yours. It seems that there would have been no way for you to contain the high energy flow with the equipment you could normally make and carry with you. I have the stuff here in the lab required to finish the job, as well as some other stuff I would like to finish before you leave. You up for it?” Dr. Andonuts said to his son.

Jeff only had one answer. “We only got three days, so let’s give it all we got!”

“Now you’re starting to think like an Andonuts my boy” Dr. Andonuts said to son as they got to work, father and son.

Chapter 50

A Prince’s Heart

Dalaam, dawn…

As the morning sun slowly crept into the Dalaam palace, all was at peace in the small kingdom. To the villagers, the war that was going on outside of their walls was nonexistent to them. Most of them knew no details of the war since mass media had not yet set its foot in Dalaam. Yet, just outside the Dalaam palace, a young boy’s swordplay could be heard and seen very clearly that morning.

A quick downward slash, a spin into horizontal slash followed up by a combo of kicks, with a perfectly rhythmic dance with the sword seeming to cut through the wind instead of it traveling through the wind soon to follow, a quick flip backwards traveling about ten feet back, he landed in a split formation with legs spread across from each other and then he thrust his sword with both hands straight forward. He soon got up and dusted off his clothes and started to walk towards the palace. “I think eight hours of practice should be enough for right now” he thought to himself as he sheathed his sword, showing that he was done for the moment.

He soon turned around and was quickly tackled to the ground out of nowhere, making a loud thud in the process. “Brother Poo!” a young girl’s voice said in absolute glee. “You’re technique seemed to be perfect this morning. You will play with me now” she said to him as Poo tried to get up, but could not.

“Katrina…” he said.

“Yes brother Poo…” the young girl responded to her name.

“Can’t… breathe…” he replied.

“Oh! I’m sorry brother” Katrina said as she quickly got off of her brother’s diaphragm. “Can we play now? You promised you would once that sword was sheathed”. Poo put the palm of his hand right on his forehead.

“Oh no, I forgot I promised to play with her after my training was done. Oh well, at least I finished early so that I’ll have time with her as well” he thought to himself as he slowly got up. “Alright, I am a man of my word, right Katrina?” Poo said as she shook her head up and down and grabbed her brother’s right left arm. “So what do you want to play today?”

“Ummmm…why don’t we go to my room and plays with my dolls, or maybe that new board game I got…” Katrina kept spouting out suggestions all the way up to her room. As being second in line to the Dalaam throne, she did not live in moderation like her older brother did in many ways. Poo could never get over the fact of how he and his little sister were so different, even if they were only five years apart, he fourteen and she nine.

For Poo, it was a much needed break for him. He had not seen his master in a while and his father was busy with royal matters as well as the stress from recent events needed to be lifted off his shoulders. He and Katrina just started to play around with anything Katrina suggested: dolls, board games, imaginary games, and traditional Dalaam card games. Poo was actually enjoying himself enough that he had not realized how much time had passed by, five hours to be exact. Not to mention, Poo forgot all about the conflict he was involved him. All that mattered was that he was spending time with his sister. “Ah, this is what I needed. Not I did not need to train because think about those four. But when I see Katrina, her kinder spirit just makes all of that seem irrelevant to me, and this time with her has been nice. This is what that uptight Mike needs to start doing, relax. He would be a much better warrior if he did things like this”.

Poo started to lie down in the middle of Katrina’s room and let out a sigh of relief. “Brother Poo, you okay”. Poo had an odd look on his face, one that Katrina never saw much, since her brother was the serious type.

“I’m fine. It’s the first time in a long time I’ve been able to just relax. With the current situation, my princely duties, and Mu training, I do not get the opportunity to do this much” Poo replied with a twinkle in his eye. His eyes suddenly went up to the clock in Katrina’s room. “Hey Kat, I’m gonna go take a bath now alright” Poo said as Katrina nodded her head.

As Poo started towards his bathroom area, he was humming to himself thinking about the great day he was going to have in about an hour. He would actually get some alone with her. When he first laid eyes on her, he knew there was something about her that he could not resist. The thing that loved the most about her is that she was her own person. No one told her what to do and how to do it. He thought as he turned the handles to get the bath water just right.

As Poo took off his robes and got into the bathtub, he thought about the days to come. He had definitely decided that he was going to see everything to the bitter end. For one, Poo had made a promise to Ness when he suddenly appeared in Summers and declared himself the fourth Chosen One that he would serve him and be by his side no matter how bad it got. “This is as bad as it will ever get. Even with the weapons of light Casie, Ness, Dave, and hopefully Mike have all earned, this will still be a challenge. It took absolute miracles to even defeat Giygas and Godan” Poo then sighed as he came upon a sudden realization. “Those miracles though, there is something else about them. The power I felt from that final prayer Paula had let out was nothing short of amazing. It took Giygas out in one fell swoop. Also, Mike’s sudden realization of time speeder and varying it into a Fate that could defeat Godan is nothing short of something else. I have a feeling something else intervened with Mike to allow him to tap into such a power, and the same goes for Paula” he thought as he sunk lower into the tub.

*Knock, knock, knock* Poo was nearly asleep in tub when the knocking at the bathroom door woke him up. “Uuuhhh…huh?” he mumbled as he looked around from being startled by the sudden knocking.

“Prince Poo, you in there?” a voice spoke as if in a hurry.

“Oh, Grandfather…” Poo mumbled to himself. “Yeah just taking a warm bath, what is it?”

“Someone is here to see you” Poo’s Grandfather replied.

“Who is it?”

“He didn’t give me his name. He just said he needed to see you when it was convenient for you.”

“Well, this isn’t all that convenient” Poo thought to himself.

“He’s a boy only a little older than you. We have no clue how he got here. All we know is he’s wearing a black shirt, blue jeans, has a very long white sword, red hair, and glasses.”

“That’s a perfect description of Mike with the exception of the long white sword. I know that meteo sword is pitch black. Unless, he got it” Poo immediately got out of the tub and started to run outside.

“Poo wait!” his Grandfather said.

“What, I don’t have time for conversation right now” Poo said as he started to pick up speed.

“I just thought it would be nice if you were to put some clothes on!” With that statement, Poo stopped in his tracks, and his face turned as red as a ripe tomato as looked down.

Five minutes later…

“Yah!” a voice came from the same field near Dalaam’s palace where Poo was training earlier that morning. A red head was swinging a white sword as long as he was tall like it was light as a feather. He only held it in one hand in his classic reverse position as he had wielded the meteo sword. People from the palace had come to watch his incredible speed and fluidity while he handled the blade. He suddenly stopped in absolute awe. “My God, this is incredible. This sword handles so nicely, as if it is just another part of my body. This is my first time practicing with this Eden sword yet I’m already using like I’ve had it for years.

*clap, clap, clap* Mike turned his head to suddenly notice the crowd that was watching him to hear one slow applause. The crowd started to part away so someone could walkthrough without having to push through everyone. “I must admit, Mike, that new sword of yours is impressive. You’re already handling it like a pro, horseman of time.”

“Thanks Poo, I guess they didn’t waste anytime getting you” Mike said as he saw Poo as the one walking down the path the crowd made.

“Did the prince just say…” said a person in crowd.

“Could it be that this boy is…”

“No wonder he’s so good with that sword.”

“He’s as elegant as the prince with a sword.”

“Why has the horseman of time appeared now? Isn’t he only supposed to reveal himself when the Earth is facing its greatest threat?”

“Greatest threat, then surely the…”

Poo had heard enough of it. He spoke the wrong words in front of the crowd. He knew his people knew of the legends, but he slipped when he called Mike by the title bestowed upon him by the Apple. “Don’t worry everyone, he is what I just said but there is no need to worry. He’s just here to see me about something I need to talk to him about and some lessons, that’s all.”

Mike looked a little confused by the reaction of the crowd and the fact that they were even watching him. Then not to mention what Poo had said… “Lessons, I just came up to see him and get to know him better. I was going to go see Dave after today so I could get to know him a little better as well. After all, I’ve been around these guys for too long and yet know nothing about them.”

“Mike, if you can hear me just play along with it okay. I slipped up by saying you were the horseman of time so I have keep this crowd here from thinking that’s something horrible is going on right now. They know nothing about what has been going on around the world right now. To be honest, I would like to keep it like that so these people can live in peace even if the world ends. It’s better for as many to live out their lives happily than to live in Hell, okay”. Mike gave a small confirming nod as he knew how important it was for Poo to keep everyone he could happy right now. Mike knew that was valuable, especially after just seeing what he did less than a day ago.

“Everyone, you can leave now. There’s nothing to see here” Poo said as the crowd quickly dispersed.

“You know Poo. I’m sorry that even happened. I had some time to kill and I thought I give this new sword a go, that’s all. Especially since time is something that I none of us have a lot of. I did not think a crowd would form around me though. Then again, I did not expect to be able to do what I did with the Eden sword. But…”

“But what Mike. It’s alright. Great swordsmanship like that is always looked upon with the greatest level of honor in my country. They were just showing their respect for your skills. Tell me though, where did someone like you learn to handle a weapon with grace instead of strength. The way you even use that sword is a method I’ve never seen before. I must say I’m impressed” Poo said complimenting the show Mike just put on.

“Thanks Poo, at least I know someone in this world can appreciate that type of style. Also, I’m self-taught. I would like to see the art form that’s your swordsmanship sometime” Mike said with a slight grin. It was almost a smile.

“Not bad for self-taught, well would you like to come into my home and talk? I have plans today but you are more than welcome to stay for as long as you like” Poo said as he pointed his hand at the palace.

“I was planning on being here just for a while, but I can’t refuse kind hospitality like that. Anyway, I think this is what I need. A nice tranquil setting, maybe I can relax for the first time in seven years” Mike said as he put his hands behind his head.

As Mike started to walk away he made one more comment, “Poo to be honest, I would give up all this power I have to even be respected like you are. God, respect, that’s an unfamiliar feeling shown towards me. Maybe once I can get back to a normal life, whatever that is, I can know what that feels like, for once.”