The Patron Quadrilogy: The Legend Begins

Chapter 33

Monday, October 16th, 4:40 p.m.
Outside the Tree of Beginning (Brendan)
Brendan continued scanning the environment, leaping over the various gorges, using his flames to propel himself forward. He could hear the sounds of battle in the distance.

"Sounds like Lady Ilene really pulled through for us," he thought. "We'll have to thank her later. But first.... Alright Bogdan... Where the hell are you?"

He kept on moving, and eventually saw a lone figure running in the gorge. Brendan could tell it was Bogdan, and he smirked.

"Found you," Brendan thought, flicking his hand and causing flames to engulf his fist. "Fire Burst!" He threw a punch, and a massive gout of flame erupted from his fist and barreled towards Bogdan from above, expanding in size. The flames burned a sizeable scar into the earth, and even slightly melted some boulders, leaving them dripping with fresh lava. "That one move wasn't enough to take him down. I know that full well. The only question is... Where is he going to appear from?" Suddenly there was a large breeze off to Brendan's left side, and he quickly raised his arm just in time to block a kick that would've otherwise hit his head.

"A Quick Attack, huh?" Brendan growled, pushing him away. "You're gonna have to do better than that, Bogdan." The two Patrons landed on the ground and stared at each other.

"I knew you were going to come after me, Birch," the Patron of Genesect smirked. "You're playing right into my hand. This attack is going exactly as I planned it."

"Exactly as you planned it, huh?" Brendan repeated, his anger rising. How could this man, who's attack was failing, who hurt his best friend and adopted daughter, be so sure of himself? "Your attack has failed! All you've done is completely destroy your own team! Your plan was little better than mass suicide! How can you possibly say this is all going according to your plan!?"

"Ha! Did you honestly think I cared about any of those disposable pawns I gathered together?" Bogdan exclaimed, laughing. "All of them can go to hell for all I care! Team Thorn was a ruse! A cover for my true objectives! After all, it's so much easier to get away with illicit activities when you have a horde of scapegoats, isn't it?"

"Your true objectives? What the hell are you talking about!? Do you mean Harley!?" Brendan demanded. "Why follow him!?"

"Oh, please. Do you honestly think that I'm doing this for Harley?" Bogdan sneered.

"And why tell me this?" Brendan asked, somewhat skeptically. "After all, this doesn't sound like something you should tell your enemy."

"Isn't it obvious? I can see you don't believe anything I'm telling you, about there being a larger threat than Harley. But the way I see it, one of us is going to die out here, Birch. If you die, then this secret is safe, and if I die... Well, I suppose it wouldn't matter, would it? Not even you will be able to stop him, or any of them. As I said, this is all going according to plan."

"Harley said something similar to me when I encountered him in that dream," Brendan thought, remembering his words. "So I guess that's why Bogdan's telling me then. Because they genuinely believe that they can't be stopped."

"What is your plan, exactly?"

"Oh, it's not mine," Bogdan said simply. "It's an order I was given. We were told to capture the Patron of Kyogre, and to bring her before Harley. Simple as that. There is one other Patron who also has this exact same mission. Me getting you away from the Tree of Beginning was my job. Once you were away, then the second man could move in on his target. I think you know who that target is."