MVR - Round 2

R15

BOOM

"Mommy! Daddy!" I screamed, as I ran into my mother's arms.

"It's going to be okay, Johnny. Mommy wants you to run from this house. Don't look back. Everything is going to be okay!"

I watched as the sky became swarmed with... metal things, as people were slaughtered left and right.

Dad ran up to me and grabbed my shoulders.

"Son, starting today, you need to go and survive on your own. Listen to that voice in your head. He will guide you. Our great Paladin of War will always be there for you. And so will we. But you need to live. You must!"

I snapped awake, as the lights from the curtains of the run down shack shone in my eyes.

"Gah. Blasted sunlight. Ugh." I muttered, as I shifted off of the couch, making my way to the desk, where I picked up my gun, performing usual maintenance and cleaning.

"You're awake." A woman's voice called out to me. I turned around.

"Yeah. How was your morning, Corey?"

Corey smiled weakly, as she made her way to the living room. She was still in crutches.

"Seeing you grow up everyday is enough to make me happy, John."

Corey noticed the weapon in my hands, and pursed her lips.

"I still don't approve of you playing around with firearms. A 15 year old boy shouldn't be owning a gun."

"That's not up to you to decide." I said, as I strapped the handgun to my belt.

"It's big bro's decision. And he would have wanted me to master it."

Corey sighed, as she poured some coffee into a cup.

"That's the problem. I don't want you to end up like Sparty." Her bottom lip quavered.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to trigger it, Corey."

It has been ten years, since Ben had rescued me from those crazy fools. We had been on the run since then, running from them. And running from Mogul. The entire world had become a wasteland, and in the ten years since the Iron Council invaded our world, mankind did nothing to fight back.

Because there was nothing we could do.

I left the living room and chugged some coffee, as I looked at myself in the mirror.

Corey told me guys turn super hot once they became 24-25 years old. I guess in my case, another ten years?

"Hey, Decen." I muttered, staring at myself. Ever since Ben had rescued me and fought off the entire Iron Council Specialist force on his own, buying time for the rest of us to escape, I had made it a mission to grow strong for his sake. I got myself a razor and began trimming my hair to look like his. A buzz cut. But even so, my face, remained unchanged. Still a kid. Still naive. Still weak.

I grimaced.

"It's about to be the 121st month since you stopped contacting me. What's going on, man. I'd really appreciate it if you even showed up to say hi once in a while."

I gripped the sink, as I left the bathroom. This was stupid. I made my way to the med room, to visit my brother.

"Sup, Big Bro." I said, as I sat in front of Ben, who remained catatonic. His face emotionless, as I could still see the servos and components from his body trying their best to come together, but his brain was still missing a huge portion from when Turbo set off an explosive on his face.

My vision flashed to that memory, as I clutched my head.

Go! Get outta here, John!

"No! Ben I can't leave you! Please!" I pleaded, sobbing and trying to grab Ben's leg before Corey ran up to me and scooped me up.

I watched as Ben turned around to try to fight off Turbo, but it was too late, as the more superior cyborg smashed my brother in the side of the face, deforming his metallic endoskeleton and stuffing the charge in the gap. I watched as Ben's eyes widened, realizing what was going to happen. The explosion, tearing and ripping away at both his flesh and his components.

Ben's look of desperation to get me back.

That was what ultimately made me determined to get stronger.

My vision flashed back to reality, at Ben's empty eyes, as he stared at the dusty floorboards. Slumped on the ground. Half of his body missing.

I needed to find more components. If it meant repairing Ben, I'd have to keep killing and hunting those damn Angels one by one. I glanced at the pile of electronics next to us. Pieces of the angels that Corey helped me slay. Even if we had all the tech in the world, was it enough?

I didn't know jack shit about tech. Only Corey knew, and her knowledge of electronics was still limited. After all, undergraduate engineering was as far as her degree took her.

I clenched my fist.

"If only I was smarter. Dammit." I grumbled.

I took out my gun. It was a modified SPARTAN battle pistol, with multiple firing options. Ben's classic and iconic firearm before he ended up like this. I didn't have his power to fuel it, so since then, I'd been using energy cells from fallen Iron Council angels, converting it into a usable form of energy supply. Something like that. Really, it was Corey who made the conversion device for me.

She surely was amazing.

Guess I could sorta see how Ben fell in love with her.

The old version of me woulda found that sort of thing gross. Back when the two of them kissed and made love, I would always close my eyes and to make sure I didn't hear the sounds of "adult playtime". But now, even just hearing the two of them flirt, would make me a little bit happier.

I missed those days of just the three of us and the other Ben.

I went up to Ben and kissed him on the forehead.

"Gotta head out. Gonna go on another hunt. I'll be back for you Ben."

I followed Corey out as she drove on Ben's motorcycle. I held on tight to make sure she didn't fling me off the bike as we raced to a potential Council camp.

"You know the drill. I go in, and cause the distraction. You pick them off at a distance. No doing anything reckless." Corey shouted.

"Yeah." I replied.

I wished she would stop treating me like a little kid. I was after all, stronger than her. I was a Remnant of Decen. She was just an ordinary human being. But Ben would have wanted me to listen to her.

We approached the camp, as Corey got off the bike, planting explosives in the proximity of the camp and lit a flare.

"Hey, Iron Bastards!" She shouted.

The Angels turned to her direction.

"Dispatch Orion and Enya to her position. Most likely a diversion. The rest of us will stay-"

"You're half right, idiots." I said, as I took the moment of their battle planning to shoot them all down with my gun.

Orion and Enya fell flat on their faces, bullet holes in their face as the other Iron Council members turned to me.

"Kill him." The leader said.

It is only when a warrior is backed in a corner, do their true colours show.

That saying, first told to me by Decen himself, then by Ben.

Maybe ten years ago, I would have cowered, and ran to Corey in fear.

But that was ten years ago. The Jonathan Ko now is a different breed.

"Soul Link: Paladin Decen 60%"

My hand extended, as red and black glowing shards replaced the skin. I slammed the ground, creating a Spike Clad shield to block their energy blasts.

I ripped off pieces of the Clad and fed them into the device Corey made, and converted the pieces into bullets as I took aim.

"Get wrecked, BITCHES." I said, as I set my gun to full auto mode, spraying and peppering the Angels with the clad bullets.

The squad stumbled back.

"Foolish. Do you think such human technology can stand in the face of-"

I smirked, and closed my fist. The bullets expanding into massive starbursts of spikes, impaling and killing the Angels as their corpses littered the ground.

One of the members, the Leader, I'm guessing managed to survive, but barely, as he tried to crawl away. But I put my boot on the top of his head.

"You ain't getting away." I said, coldly, as I reloaded my gun, and set it to Charged Shot mode. There was no surviving a Charged Shot point blank.

"Wait. We can... negotiate. Please spare me. Please." The leader pleaded, as I aimed the barrel to his head.

A maniacal smile showed up on my face.

"I love it when they beg. Revenge is the best feeling ever." I said, as I began to squeeze the trigger, when suddenly, Corey ran in front of me.

"John. That's enough."

I paused, looking at Corey.

"What do you mean that's enough? I'm going to kill him, just like I did with the others. We need the parts to save Ben."

"That look on your face. Killing is never a good thing. But what's worse is when you enjoy it. Give me the gun. I'm finishing him off."

I clenched my fist, as I glared at the leader, who began hyperventilating in terror and sobbing. Heaving.

"Before you die. Know this. A member of ASCENSION, who went by the codename, SPART205, fell victim to your people. This man, was my older brother, and is the only family I have left. I watched as you Iron Council bastards tore away at him. And now he's comatose. I'll also let you in on another fact. I am Jonathan Ko, the Fifteenth Remnant of Decen.

"I am the Remnant of War. I don't take lightly to those who disrespect my loved ones. Know that your kind picked a fight with a Paladin's Remnant. I'm coming for all of you."

The leader looked at me in terror as I smiled, pulling the trigger. The angel's head burst into green fluid and tech as I killed the last of the squad.

Corey and I spent the next ten minutes picking up as much tech components as we can, and loading them into the bag on the motorcycle.

"John." Corey said.

Great. Here it comes.

Corey got up and closed the trunk to the bike compartment.

"I know whatever I say won't influence how you live your life. But finding joy in other's suffering is never a good thing. It'll turn you into the very monsters you hate."

I crossed my arms.

"You're not my mother. I don't need to hear that from you."

Corey tensed up as she gripped the handlebars of the motorcycle.

"I... I know." She muttered, as we drove back to the shack.

I watched Corey kneel down in front of Ben and began to inspecting his components, and made modifications to the tech we had in the pile. She occasionally cursed and sighed. Clearly, the frustration was getting to her. But she tried to remain calm.

"John, fetch me the pliers."

I handed Corey the pliers as she tried to pry off the cover to a component.

"Need some help?" I asked. Corey handed me the part as I ripped it off with my bare hands.

Corey smiled.

"Are all Remnants showoffs?"

"You can say it's a Decen thing." I responded, leaning back and taking the sunset.

Corey paused.

"God, you look so much like Ben. From back then."

"Wasn't the Ben from back then like 20 something?"

"22. Yeah. But he had a childish face. Hard to distinguish."

"You miss him a lot." I said.

"What gave it away?" Corey let loose a weak laugh.

"We'll get him back up and running soon. Then he can give you that thing you wanted so badly."

Corey's cheeks flushed.

"Ben! Such things are extremely inappropriate."

"Come on. Literally it's just the two of us here. And I've seen enough shit to get an excuse. Besides...

"Ain't nothing wrong with wanting a baby. I mean. I don't mind being an uncle."

Corey sighed as she set down the screwdriver. "The last thing I want is my children to see someone like you as an uncle figure."

"Is that a roast?" I joked.

Corey scooted closer to me.

"You're still young, so you don't fully understand it. But Ben and I can't have kids. I don't want my kids to grow up knowing they won't ever see their father again."

"My dad got himself killed and that was how I was born."

"Well, you're different, John."

"I like to use the word special."

I left Corey alone with Ben as I went to my room, putting my gear on the desk and sitting on the mattress.

Another day another batch.

I wanted to feel like I was making a difference but I couldn't tell if what I was doing was working. I could only hope.

Ah shit. I forgot to say goodnight to Corey. That was one of the things Ben wanted me to do.

I got up from the bed and went downstairs, knocking on the door.

"Yo." I said.

No response.

"Hey Corey? You in there?"

My heart began to race. Come on. This wasn't happening now. I opened the door.

"Corey, I'm coming in-"

I paused, my eyes full of terror, at what I was seeing.

Ben and Corey, both being carried by a familiar towering orc. A horribly scarred face, and red demonic eyes.

"What... the hell..." I whimpered, as I took a step back. My body trembling as the Prime Aspect regarded me.

AH. THE FIFTEENTH. WONDERFUL. LET US HAVE A HEARTFELT DISCUSSION. LOCATING THE PALADIN'S TWO TIME DISPLACED REMNANTS WAS NO EASY TASK.