A Tale of Tales

Chapter 7: Power

"Are you kidding me? There's only two episodes left, that doesn't give us a lot of time..."

John was pacing back and forth worriedly in their little hut. Even Prota looked a little concerned. It wasn't exactly an unfamiliar scene, but there was now the addition of a third party.

"Episodes? What are you going on about?" Purple frowned.

"Don't worry about it," John dismissed him. "Purple. I need you to keep an eye out for those robot dogs. If you can, you must return it alive, at all costs."
"Well, ok..."

Purple frowned. The events from the last night were still bothering him.

John's sudden switch from friendly to cold, just because Prota had gone out for a bit. His past. John's determination to kill. [Characters], something about being alive, episodes...

It was just too much.

This entire time, Purple had listened to John, but if he thought about it, why was he doing any of this? Why was he listening to the orders of someone he didn't even know?

"Hey. Hold on."

John stopped pacing. "Huh?

"I'm not doing anything. Not until you tell me who you are. How do I know you're not some criminal? What if those dogs are trying to do the right thing?"
John just stared at Purple. "What?"
"Don't play dumb."

John sighed. "Well, he wouldn't be easy to manipulate forever."

"Purple. What do you want?"
"Who are you?"
"We went through this already."
"Well, clearly, we didn't go over it very well! John, you don't just pull a gun on someone!"
"She was... well, I mean, that was a mistake, but we all make mistakes, right?"
"A mistake? John, you're calling that a mistake?! You're playing with people's lives!"

John looked at Purple, and for a brief moment, the coldness in his eyes returned.

"Lives? That's a funny joke. You call this life?"

"What are you-"
"How about this?"

John took out his gun, then placed it aside. "Let's fight. I won't use this. If I win, you stop asking questions. If you win, I'll do whatever you want."
"How do I know you're gonna honour that?"
"Well..." John cocked his head to the side. "If you win, that means you're stronger than me. I think it wouldn't be hard to force me to do something for you."
Purple thought about it, then nodded. "Fine."

Prota looked at John, who nodded.

"I'll be fine. It's about time I warmed up a bit anyways. I'm not gonna be able to hide it forever."

"Hide it?" Purple thought but shook his head. Prota always fought for John. Despite everything, it seemed that the two really did care for each other. If John could fight, then he wouldn't make a little girl do all the work for him... right?

"Come on. Let's go somewhere else, I don't wanna make Prota rebuild the house."

Purple's frown deepened. Prota had built the house? Was she under some kind of slave contract or something?

"Hey, you're not a..."

John turned around. "Hm?"
"...never mind."

The three of them ran off to a field, Prota flying John the whole way. This further disturbed Purple, but it also strengthened his resolve.

He had to beat John, no matter what.

"Here. This is a pretty good place."

They stopped in a flat plain full of tall grass. The breeze blew through the field, causing John's scarf to flutter behind him. His scarf covered his mouth and his nose, leaving only his emotionless eyes visible. Even those were shadowed by the hood on his head, leaving his face almost completely unreadable.

"You think I'm weak, right?" John said, his hands resting in his pockets. "That the only weapon I have is this gun of mine."
"Well, yeah?"
"That's good," John nodded. "It's a good idea to identify your opponent's strengths and weaknesses before going into a fight. It'll give you an edge."

John tapped the side of his head, and his red eye started glowing. It wasn't too bright, but from the shadows, a red light shone dimly.