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Chapter 9: Storytime

There was a quiet, peaceful silence, that was disrupted by a man's scream. I had reawoke, and felt nauseous, with a throbbing headache. My forehead was purple, and when I tried to touch it, was when I noticed that there were straps holding back my arms and legs. My blade was unable to be seen from where I was, and I was growing afraid. Then I saw Ducky. He was looking at me, sitting down with an I.V. still in his arm. "So you finally woke up, huh?" I was a bit surprised, because only a day ago he was in a bed lying down as though his life was ending. He looked at me, then said, "You've been asleep for almost three whole days, kid. You must be hungry, so have some pork." "How?" I asked. There were so many questions I had, How are you alive? How am I here? How has it been three days?, but my most prominent thought out of it all was, "How was I knocked out?" he laughed, then started talking about what happened. "You started taking everybody out, yes you did. But as I listened, it seems like they were actually afraid of you, kid." I was going to ask who, but before I could, he cut me off. "... as I was saying, you were takin' em down without hesitation, and soon, you all came to the leader of the raiding group. Everybody else was trying to hold him, and try to knock him out so they could interrogate, but you sir came from behind, and after killing so many, your clothes were so bloody, they barely knew it was you! But anyways, you didn't know the plan, and went right after him. He was occupied by the others, so he didn't see you until you cut his jugular, where then the team watched as you continued to kill, even when the rest started to run." I was flabbergasted, and as he was about to continue, he was cut off by another person. "Then Ghost, Engraver, and some other guy came in and held you down so Rumbles could knock you out. Ain't that right, Ducky?" she came into view as she said that, and when I saw her, she was still in her Purple and Pink uniform. She looked so similar to DUcky, that it was hard to tell the difference other than color.
"Yes, it is," said Ducky. "This is JawBreaker, Mason. My daughter." I then knew why they looked so similar. I said hi, and was about to extend my hand, when I remembered that i was strapped down. "Hey, uhh, can I be let out of these straps now?" They both laughed, and helped me out. It seemed that they weren't wrong. My clothes were a bit more ripped than I remember them being, and most of them were stained with red, and smelled of iron. I was about to head out and get more clothing, when the door opened in my face. "Ahh... ow.. Hrugk-" Engraver was holding my neck, one hand, holding me up, while the other was going I guessed for something to hit me with. I tried to speak, and by the time I said that it was me, He still hadn't noticed. I decided to instead grab his attention by letting go. That got him to look at me, and notice me finally. He let go, and I gasped, finally having blood flow back to my head, and oxygen being pulled into my lungs. "Why is he out?" asked Engraver to Ducky, and as they started to argue, JawBreaker came over to me, helping me up. "Why do you two bicker, when our newest trainee is literally coughing on the floor? I understand some of it, but with one of our own on the ground? Please..." I was so caught up in getting my head not to lul around, that it took me an entire minute to figure out what she said, though when I did, I was surprised. "Wait, cough, cough, I'm a trainee? What for?" "You killed over fifty men, and probably were the reason that they ran away so quickly. If that isn't enough, you built a weapon from some old driftwood, leather, and screws! I mean, seriously, you rival the skills of Ducky in your imagination." I looked back at Ducky, who smiled, and said, "It's true! My first weapon though, wasn't even a weapon, and was built so I could get from place to place even faster. Now, I don't need to fight, and we have two trainees for the Houses Branches." I guessed Peter was the other Trainee, and decided to head out again, this time trying not to hit anything. I made myself towards the door, and when outside, found myself in the middle of the branches, between the towers in a nice little wooden mansion-like building. Rumbler and Ghost were downstairs, talking. When they heard the door they looked up at me, and began to run and yell. Ghost made it first, and sweeped my legs before placing her Staff at my throat. "How are you out?" "Please don't kill me, I already almost died at Engraver's hand." She dropped the staff, and Grrga finally made it up. He watched as she lent a hand down to me. As I got up, I heard behind me his voice. "I'm guessing you finally calmed down?" "Yeah, where's Peter?" He's out in the field, practicing his stance against Blast." I thanked Grrga, and went out to see Peter with the Yellow and red suited person. Peter noticed me almost instantly, though Blast was still fighting against the dummy. "Mason!" He yelled. Blast looked over at me and looked like he almost had to change his suit. I was still in my original clothes, and so was still covered in blood. Blast ran off in the opposite direction, and soon returned with a silk-like pair of pants and silver shirt similar to Peter's new clothing. "Put this on in that room, then come back. Ugh, maybe take a shower too..." he said, pointing to a seperate room to the far right. I took his advice, and came out wearing my new ninja-like clothing, smelling like some sort of fresh mint. I felt amazing, and decided to go and meet up with Peter. "Hey Peter, do you know where they put my blade?" "Yeah, they said they took it into A1, their cleaning room." I said thanks, and told him that once I got it I'd come out and spar with him. "I'll be waiting!"

Turns out he'd be waiting for a while, because by the time I found my blade, I had gone into almost every hallway until I finally found it. It was cleaned, yes, but still had a dark red tint to it, and it looked much better that way to me. I was set, with my sword, and my goggles, I ran out into the halls, then back the way I came. pushing past Grrga and Ghost.as I saw Peter still waiting, he looked a little bit out of breath. ''Are you ready for some training?" he said, waking back up. I set myself in a defensive position and was about to start, but before I could, another person intercepted, blowing a whistle. "No battles shall be held here." he said, looking at Peter. He then turned over to me, and glared as he spoke. "And who might you be? Another fan, or somebody who needs to be beat?'' He didn't even look at my weapon until he finished, but by the time he did, I had been insulted to a point at which I didn't like it. "Somebody who needs to be beat? I don't think you're looking at a mirror." Blast was watching, and as I finished that, both he and Peter looked at each other, then at me and the man. He glared at the blade I carried, and I saw he now knew who I was, though that didn't matter to him, for he had challenged. "Fine, if you want to run down that rabbit hole, I challenge you to a battle!" he yelled. "Challenge accepted." Engraver and Ducky were running over from inside the building, and looked at the man before stopping. "Mason, you're crazy..." "Why do you say that?" I asked Peter. "That was Taken Kirgen, the king of Kirgen House." I was a bit dumbstruck, but seeing as how the man insulted me, I decided against showing any remorse. Engraver and Ducky showed up soon after, with a bit of fear in both of their voices. "Who did he make the challenge to?" asked them both. Peter pointed at me, and they started to look worried. Ducky was still running around with the I.V. bag, but he was just as fast an Engraver. "Kid, you aren't gonna last a second against him, what were you thinking?" Ducky said. I responded saying that he insulted me, and that I hold a grudge hard. Engraver piped up, saying how he didn't feel any of it was fair. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Well, unless you can do what you did to those men a couple days ago but on a smaller scale again, your luck is gonna be the only thing standing between you and a broken leg." I found what he said pretty well, and started walking. "Where are you going?" asked Ducky. To which I responded saying I need a piece of driftwood. "Well watch your step, the sixth and seventh branches are still being cleaned from your mayhem.'' It was good that he said that, because as I entered the town, there was a lot of gossip about the newcomer they nicknamed, 'The Force-Blader.' I was in some new clothes, and had put my weapon in a backpack. Back in the seventh branch, I passed three different blood stains, seeping deep into the ground. And as I passed them, little slips of my memory came back, but only for those few. I left the house, and went on through a nearby cavern, where water must've once flown.