The Legend of Samuel Mason Pt. IV

Darkstar operative Samuel "The Blackflame" Mason is haunted by the death of his Guardian, Merrow Rivenlight, as he teams up with Janna Kull, the Aspect of War and fellow Darkstar operative Toby "Lupine" Rufus in locating The Benefactor to obtain his blessing.

The trio venture to Millennium City, to locate remnants of the fallen clan, The Doma, and find the Benefactor. Sam's soul-link companion, Connor "The Sentry" Shel must face and overcome his horrific past as The Dark Masamune, as humanity's fate banks on the unification of The Subjects of Quinta.

Chapter 19

"So... you come here often?" Tob asked Janna, as we made our way to Millennium City.

We weren't able to travel to the Champions Universe properly, as we were dependent on Celestia's teleportation, and Celestia was still suffering from the blow to the head during our chase with Hawk.

Janna ignored Tob and walked beside me. "Familiar of Blackflame, where is the Doma Clan?"

Sentry manifested and walked alongside me. "They were slaughtered, but their base is still present. We will need access to their teleporters."

I wasn't really familiar with this place. Despite being in its alternate version, Multifaria, to help Lazarus and the Grizz, the place was still very new to me. I activated Hunter's Eye, and scanned my surroundings. Several teleporters matching Sentry's description were located near Renaissance Centre. I unintentionally also turned to the distance, glancing at a newly restored Croft.

"Why are you smiling?" Janna asked me.
"Just got nostalgic is all. I found the teleporters."

A couple of heroes were relaxing and socializing, at the front of the cogwheel stood Defender. I heard he was a big deal in this country, but Hunter's Eye said otherwise. With his suit, he seemed to be around Tier Four, at most.

I turned around and noticed that Sentry wasn't hiding his identity.

"Hey Connor, you okay with walking around like this? Wouldn't they recognize you?"

Sentry turned to me. "Will they recognize me, after my face is like this?"

I was silent. I momentarily forgot that Sentry's face was disfigured in our first encounter with Mogul. "Sorry..."
"I forgive you, young master."

Tob stretched his arms. "Good ol' Ren Cen. You know, this was the first place Lazarus introduced Reya and I to. I almost got punched by Defender for asking if Witchcraft was single!"
"Uhh, I don't know if that's something you wanna brag about, dude."
"Punched by Defender? You know what kind of clout I would get from that?"

Janna looked disappointed. "If the Aspects invade, this country has no chance of surviving."

I turned to her. "And that's exactly why we got to do this. We're all that stands between utter annihilation."

"Hey, Sam." Tob called me over.
"What is it."
"Look."

Tob was pointing at one of the heroes, who was covered in fur. A behemoth.
"He's asleep!"

"What?"
"Yeah, I can tell. I can sense him sleeping. I have an idea..." Tob pulled out something from his purple hoodie. A collar.
"Dude what the hell, how did you even get that? Where did you even get that?!"

"HAHA! It's gonna be funny, come on."
"No! Why would I do that to him."
"Come on, can you imagine that guy just waking up and freaking out when he finds the collar around his neck?! What if he bounds up and down like a dog trying to get it off? That would be so jokes!"

The thought of the behemoth jumping around frantically with the collar around his neck was pretty funny. Plus what harm was there? It wasn't like he was going to declare war on us. It would have been too awkward since we were in public.

Celestia fluttered to my face, grabbing my nose. "You're not going to actually follow through with this dork's prank, are you?"
"Uhh..."
"You're unbelievable!"
"Oh come on! I need a laugh. The last few days have been hard on me."

Celestia's pouty face softened.

Janna, unfortunately, didn't seem satisfied with my reasoning. "Ugh, you're both going to embarrass me. I will be waiting at the tailors."

The behemoth freaked out. "WHICH ONE OF YOU TROLLS DID THIS? VERY FUNNY, YOU KNOW. HAHA I'M LAUGHING SO HARD. YOU MUST HAVE THE SADDEST AND MOST PATHETIC LIVES TO FIND HUMOUR IN THIS."

Tob and I burst out laughing at the top of one of the hero statues as the behemoth tried to yank the collar off with his foot.

I wiped my eyes from laughter.
"His face, oh my god. You must have the saddest and most pathetic lives to find humour in this!" I made a mock imitation of the behemoth while Tob was rolling on the statue, laughing.
"Dude! The fact that he used his FOOT! Oh god, I can't breathe."

We calmed down. Tob leaned back on the stone statue. "Bro, I've missed this. It's been so long since we've messed with people. Remember when we used to play pranks on the others in Darkstar?"
I laughed. "Of course."

How could I not forget? The day we replaced Junon's conditioner for hair bleach and she ran out of the shower screaming that her hair was all blonde. Or that time we replaced Kronus with a kitchen knife the morning of the mission, and Jason was forced to use the kitchen knife to fight.

It didn't matter how much we had been through. Who I was before, or what happens in the war. My time with Tob, pulling pranks as the "Darkstar Hooligans" always put a smile on my face.

"If we don't stop the Cleansing, just wanted to let you know, I feel like the luckiest guy ever to have been your friend."
"Why?"
"Because none of this-" Tob spread his hands. "None of this would have happened. We never would have met Jason, never would have started Darkstar, beat up those New Militia goons. I would have kept living my life as Toby Rufus, not knowing I was a demigod. We wouldn't be pulling pranks, and we wouldn't be the best looking guys in Corinth."

We jumped down once the behemoth left. Probably went to some police station to complain or something. We went to the tailors to look for Janna.

"Which one do you guys prefer?" Janna held up two blouses. I couldn't figure out the differences between the two. Both white, same style, same buttons. She had to be joking.
"They look the exact same." Tob and I said at the same time.

Janna shook her head really fast. "No, they're not. Look, one of them really brings out..." Janna started talking about measurements and a bunch of fashion jargon that I didn't really comprehend. I looked at Tob, and he was just as lost.

"I have no idea what she is talking about." I whispered to Tob.
Tob turned to me. "Dude, she's a girl, it's easy. Watch."

Tob interrupted Janna's fashion lesson. "I think the one on the left is better, really brings out your rack."

Janna's jaw dropped, clearly offended. Well, I guess this was it.

Before Janna could blast Tob out of the tailor with the Power Force, Sentry interrupted us.

"The teleporter is ready. Destination, the Doma base."

Chapter 20

Teleporation was not my thing. Especially Millennium City's teleporters. The moment I stepped in, it felt like my insides were unravelling. I closed my eyes as everything became warped and I lost consciousness.

I woke up. Where was I? I looked around. A bunch of people were walking around in a building, carrying bags. I looked down at my clothes, which was no longer my parka and tank top. My hair hit my eyes.

I was in a flashback.

I looked up at the clothing store. Designer clothing, as Merrow had described it. I got up from the seat that I was asleep in. Walking around, I noticed a bunch of people my age, hanging out in groups. Many of them were holding hands with their partners.

I saw my reflection in one of the glass windows. A lanky eighteen year old wearing clothes that were way too large for me. My magenta eyes gazing back at me with a fierce aggression.

"Decen, you're going to scare everybody off when you're looking like that." I turned around. Merrow was holding a bag with clothes in it.
My mouth moved on its own. "Real funny. Why are we even here? I thought we were going to the maw."
"The mall, m-a-l-l, yeah."
"WHAT?!" I growled. Several young couples jumped and looked at me.

"Hey! Calm down, you're going to embarrass me. It's bad enough I have to drag you around when I'm shopping. Can you at least try to be less.... you."

"You said we were going to the Maw. I was prepared to battle the hound-dwellers."

"Well, my clothes are getting old, and you technically agreed.... so...."

"Your clothes look fine. Why are you getting new ones."
"Clearly, you wouldn't understand. You wear the same thing every day."

My eyes glowed a brighter magenta. "You watch your words, fish girl. I am a Paladin, the most feared warrior-"

"Merrow!!!" A bunch of girls ran up to us. One hugged Merrow as she laughed along. "Sasha! How have you been? Looking good, queen!"

One of the girls looked at me. "So is this your little brother? He's adorable!"
"What? We're not that far apart-"
Merrow interrupted me. "Yeah, I'm forced to take him with me everywhere I go."

I couldn't believe what I was listening to. Merrow wasn't older than me by much. But then again, it wouldn't make sense to go around telling everybody in the mall that I was a Paladin capable of destroying the entire building if I wanted to. The fact that Merrow was taller than me by a good few inches probably fed into the cover.

Merrow hung out with her friends, and I walked from behind, at least a few feet away. Something caught my eye. A man. No... this wasn't part of my memories. This part never happened.

I walked away from the group and to the corner, a space wedged between two stores. The man regarded me with silver eyes. Close cropped hair, black nano weave jacket, tank top, cladded jeans.
"Decen." Samuel Mason spoke.

I looked behind me and realized the store was gone. Everything was gone. I turned back and the man changed. He was me. Not the current me, but the Decen me. His hair, now covering his eyes, dyed with magenta.

"Child of war's final stand."

I backed away, but ran into someone from behind. I turned around and realized I bumped into Jason, his silver eyes regarding mine.

"Hands of purity, stained with night." He spoke robotically.

"No... stop." I muttered. I tried to escape, but a bunch of white chains stopped me from moving. A man in plaid, with a snake around his shoulders.
"Killer. Killer. Killer." Icarus chanted.

More people began to surround me. Joining the chant. Amana, Darkstar, Jonna, the Inquisition, everybody.

KILLER, KILLER, KILLER, KILLER

"STOP!!!!" I yelled, transforming into Form 2 and unleashing a torrent of Darkfire, vaporizing everybody.

Someone emerged from the darkness. An aged woman with green hair. Her eyes bloodshot from crying.

"No... stop... please. Not her..." I sobbed.

Merrow looked me in the eye, face to face. "You killed me."

"No. I DIDN'T. I DIDN'T!"
"Your past, your actions. If you never killed those people, I never would have died."
"YOU'RE LYING."
"If you didn't, you would have escaped Ulthreal's spell. I would never have sacrificed myself."

"SHUT UP!" I screamed, blasting everybody away.

Amber ran up to me. "Stop! Sam!"
But I didn't listen. I was hysterical. I tackled her to the ground, and began to squeeze.

"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!!!" I screamed as Amber began choking.

Suddenly, the rage dissipated. Amber's lifeless eyes staring at me.

I began to cry as the darkness closed in on me.

Chapter 21

"AAAH!!" I screamed, clawing the air.
"Hey, hey. Relax. Stop!" Janna grabbed my hands with crazy strength.

Tob snickered. "I didn't know you were the type to pass out from teleporters. What happened?"
"No idea, guess I'm not used to these types."

Janna leaned in closer to me. "You're sweating up a storm! Are you sure you can do this?"

I took a deep breath, calming myself down. It was just a dream. Get a hold of yourself, Sam.
"Yeah." I lied.

We approached Sentry. Sentry opened up the main terminal and was typing on a keyboard.

"How's the investigation, man." I tried to act cheerful.
"No one is here. I cannot find any records of Master Kabito."

"That's too bad." Tob replied, walking up to the round table. "Is this porcelain?"
"Stop touching things." Janna scolded Tob.

Janna had a point. This wasn't our place. The only person who belonged was Sentry, and he was banished. So basically none of us were technically welcome.

"Yeah, the last thing I want is to defile this place. I don't even think we are welcome here."

"No, you are not." Before I could react, a blade was at my neck.

I put my hands in the air, despite knowing there was no way that sword could realistically kill me.

Everybody turned around. Sentry unsheathed his katanas. "Release my master."
"You have trespassed on our land. We show no remorse to invaders." The woman replied, her voice cold.

I concentrated, purple lightning arcing from my body as I blinked out of the woman's grasp, appearing next to Sentry.

Janna stepped forward, but Sentry stopped her. "Search." Janna, Tob, and I ran to the terminal and began typing.

"The hell is he thinking?" I muttered.
"For a Paladin of War, you are quite uneducated." Janna whispered.
"What?"
"Sentry wishes to fight the samurai alone. It's an act of pride and honour."

I glanced at Sentry, who was facing down the woman. The woman wore silver armour, but with samurai plating similar to Sentry's. Her hair was chin length, like a bob, but something about her face felt similar. Sentry and the woman circled each other, their katanas drawn.

"You trespass on our territory. It is not only illegal, it is immoral."
"The Doma Clan has been long gone. There is nothing here."

The woman suddenly leapt forward with blinding speed, her katana glancing off Sentry's sword. Sentry whirled around and slashed at her, but the woman's skill was... astounding. The two exchanged blows, but it was clear that despite Sentry's strength and power advantage, the woman's skill was on another level.

Sentry slashed downward, which opened himself up, which the woman took advantage of. The woman slashed at both Sentry's legs, causing him to fall to the ground.

The woman aimed her katana at him, her eyes expressionless but cold. "You fight like us, but your technique is tainted with brutality. The elegance of The Doma is no longer a part of you. It is impure.

"I don't know how you learned our ways, but treason is treason."

Sentry tried to get up, but the woman stomped him back onto the ground. "You are holding back. Why."

I got up, but Janna held me down. "No."

Sentry looked the woman in the eye. "Because I... cannot strike down my own mother..."

Chapter 22

Nessa Akatsume. That was the name of Sentry's human mother. It was her who taught him the ways of The Doma, which Sentry taught to me.

Nessa walked up to Sentry. "Connor..."
Sentry only regarded his mother. "I thought you were dead. I had slain everyone in my blind, feral rage."

Nessa put her hand on his mask, and Sentry grabbed her wrist. "You do not wish to see my face, mother. I am..."
"It's okay. Let me see." Nessa took off his mask as Sentry's arm went slack. Tob hid behind me, much to my annoyance.

Sentry's face was hard to look at. He used to have a chiselled face, decorated with lines of the Hellspawn around his cheeks. But now, ever since Mogul had disfigured it, his nose was bent, and his face was horribly scarred. Sentry's dark hair, just like Nessa's flowed to his shoulders neatly.

I had never seen Sentry take off his mask ever since that day, until now.

Sentry's face was full of shame. But Nessa looked up at him and put a hand on his face. "The pride of a Doma warrior is not dictated by their appearance, but their honour. Are you saying that your worth is dictated by how you look?"
"No." Sentry muttered.

Nessa turned to me. "I sense a degree of loyalty between you and my son."
I nodded. "Yes. I chose to make him my familiar after I bested him in combat."
"I see."

Sentry shook his head. "You are supposed to be dead. How is this possible?"

Nessa put away her katana. "I was slain, yes. But after you had left, I was tended by a healer who had stumbled over our base. I was the only one left, along with Master Kabito."

"Where is Master Kabito?" I asked.

Nessa went up to Sentry and smoothed his hair. "Master Kabito left our base, in search for the strength to take down the Dark Masamune. However, after he learned that he was slain, Kabito isolated himself."

Sentry clenched his claw for a hand. "What I did was unforgivable."

Nessa knelt down in front of Sentry, who had sat down. "Connor, your rage is justified. I never thought your father would conspire against his own son. I was the fool to have believed him. I should be the one to apologize."

Janna approached Nessa. "We're looking for Kabito, we need his help in our journey. May we enlist his services?"

Nessa regarded her. "You emit a strong warrior's aura, but it is plagued with regret and hesitation."

"That's for sure." Tob finally spoke, but Nessa suddenly shot him a look.
"You on the other hand, emit too much confidence."

I held back a snicker. Destroyed.

Nessa continued. "To answer your question, that is not up to me decide. Master Kabito can be found at the top of the mountains, the devil's fingers."

"Where the hell is that?" Tob blurted out.
I glared at him.

Sentry spoke up. "I know where it is, but the journey will be long and the conditions will be harsh."
"Perhaps you should stay the night." Nessa said. Sentry hesitated.

"Good idea, I'm exhausted." Tob muttered.

I had a hard time sleeping. You couldn't blame me, after the last time I went subconscious. I lay awake as I listened to Tob snoring. I overheard Sentry and Nessa talking. I knew it was probably not cool to be in their business, but... Sentry was my familiar, and my companion... so by the distributive law...

I leaned in closer.

"You've grown so big."
"It was from my countless battles alongside Decen and Mason."

"If you were free from the Paladin, would you come home?"
"Do I still have a place in the clan... or even in this city? After what I have done?"
"We can always rebuild. Perhaps foster another clan. One that is built on trust, not strength."

"Eavesdropping?" Janna turned to me.

"Oh.. uh..." I stumbled with my words. Janna scooted closer to me.
"It's okay. I'm guessing you can't sleep, huh. Nightmares?"

"Yeah."
"You're still haunted by her death, aren't you."

I had to change the subject before I started bawling like a little baby. "Whatever, better question is, why is it that you sometimes change from a serious, ancient tone, to a valley girl accent?"

Janna snickered. "I like talking like this. It makes me feel... free from my roots. But millennia speaking in the tongue of the Aspects is a really hard habit to drop."

I guess she had a point. "You think we can get this blessing? This Master Kabito guy sounds real intense."

Janna paused. "This Benefactor, he is a deity, and I have a feeling he is a warrior who prioritizes honour above all else. I don't know. But I have a feeling he's going to want more than a pretty please to get his blessing. Probably some kind of trial to prove your worth."

Great. If it wasn't one thing it was another. "If it's honour, then maybe we should have gotten someone else to do it."

"And there you go again. If you keep beating yourself up over the past, you'll never move on and become a better person, Champion."

I sighed. "I wish my past was something I could move on from. If only it was that easy."

Janna shifted and repositioned herself to face me, her blue eyes were stunning. Not like it mattered.

"Want to hear a story?"
"What are we, in second grade?"
"Aww, okay Mister Grownup. I guess I'll just leave you to your own self pity as you spend the night staring at the wall."
"Fine." I grumbled.

"Long ago, there lived a Spartan, his name was Vitruvius. He served under a great general. I knew him and watched his life back when I was still an Aspect."

"Okay."

"He was a great warrior, and he was unique from the rest of his brothers. He always smiled. Had a big goofy grin on his face despite the worst of times. His smile gave his brothers hope, in a life that was grim and full of bloodshed.

"Vitruvius's smile served as a symbol of strength, and was recognized by his general. As a result, he became one of the most renowned Spartans in his cohort, and many admired him greatly... to the point where he was considered a hero to his brethren."

"What happened to him?"

Janna regarded me. "It turned out, Vitruvius had a terrible past. He killed his family in a fit of rage, because he struck a deal for power in exchange for his soul. It was a foolish choice that he didn't take into heart at the time, because when he made the deal, he was on the verge of death."

Janna continued. "To cope with it, Vitruvius buried his past and put on a smile. To always smile despite how dark his future was. One day, Vitruvius' cohort was tasked to raid a village. There, the general commanded his Spartans to slaughter everybody. Men. Women. And Children. When it was time for Vitruvius to bring down the sword on a family, it all came out."

I was silent. I saw where this was going.

"Vitruvius' past was slowly eating him up from the inside, and because he had kept it all a secret, his cohort was not aware of it. Vitruvius, like his Spartan brothers, believed that strength meant the neglect of their weaknesses. But that was exactly what caused the Spartan's downfall. His past came out, and Vitruvius lost his mind. Killing his allies, and attempting to kill the general.

"The general had to put Vitruvius down. The fall of their smiling champion... it led to the fall of the entire cohort. And everybody was vanquished."

I realized that I was tearing up. "Worst bedtime story ever." Janna laughed.

"Do you know who in this story you remind me of? I'm sure you know the answer."

I was silent. Janna put her hand on my shoulder. "You can't let your past eat you up. Sometimes, the greatest strength comes from opening up to those who care about you. I care about you. Toby and your allies all care about you. Don't bury it deep inside anymore."

Chapter 23

Freezing. That was what the devil's fingers was like.

"We are approaching the tip of the formation. I hope you guys are all ready to meet Master Kabito!" Janna shouted over the wind.
"So.... cold..." I muttered.

Tob gave me a smirk in his wolf form. Easy for him, he had a bunch of fur. I had to put up with the occasional lump of snow entering my parka through the opening in my neck. I didn't bring a scarf.

"Come on, Champion. You're almost there, don't give up on me!" Janna shouted as I trudged up the mountain. Sentry was giving me an inspirational speech, but between my shivering, and Bridget's requests for hot chocolate, I wasn't able to hear it.

By some miracle, I managed to reach a space that was secluded from the wind. We decided to stay there for the night, before all my joints froze up from the cold.

Janna spilled the branches she had collected along the way, and lit the fire.

Tob tried to cozy up to Janna in his wolf form, nudging her waist with his snout. But Janna wasn't having it.
"Nice try, Rufus."

Tob whined, in disappointment.

Janna turned to me. "You should have dressed for the weather. I warned you that it would be cold."

I managed to regain my voice after a few minutes sticking my head over the fire. "I didn't think it would be that bad."
"You literally froze up fighting the bandit in Earth XIX."
"That was different."
"Uh huh."

Tob crossed his paws, and rested his snout on them, eyeing Janna, whining.
"No." Janna told him.
Tob whined louder.
"Ugh. Fine."

Janna stroked Tob's snout, causing him to wag his tail. What a simp.