Earthbound: Champions of the Future

Chapter Twenty Four

~ Naoma Trudeau's POV ~

Gandamu was right: I was being stupid.

I trembled as I took the first few steps into the room. My steps didn't echo, but I kind of wish they did. My voice couldn't get itself to work in order to make my presence known. After a few moments of standing in silence and working up my courage, I found the strength to speak. "Father?"

The man at the back of the room turned around to face me, and gasped when he did. He was tall and had black hair which faded to white and then to brown at the tips. His hair was quite long and was tied into a ponytail that reached his higher back. His eyes were royal blue and were framed with black glasses. He wore a red jacket over a white tie and black shirt, the black theme continuing with his trousers and shoes.

"Naoma!" He exclaimed, running up to me. He knelt next to me once he had reached me, his hands on my shoulders. "I'm so relieved I finally found you! My generals didn't succeed in bringing you home, so I had to have a go at it myself!"

"Is that why you're here? To take me home?" I asked. "Look, Father, I appreciate your concern. I honestly do, but... I'm kind of doing something really important, so I can't go home just yet."

"Oh, Naoma, don't be silly." Father replied, laughing nervously as he stood to his full height. "The world is far too dangerous for you to be running around like this. Rebecca and I have been growing grey hairs worrying about you."

I said nothing as he pulled me into a hug as he smiled. All of this just felt so alien to me, but it was nice to finally have Father show concern for me. Allowing myself to fall victim to the warm family moment, I hugged him back, a smile on my face.

That smile disappeared immediately when all breath left my lungs, a sharp pain starting in my stomach before spreading throughout my entire body.

I heard Akuro and Azura shriek my name as I fell onto my knees, gripping my stomach as I felt blood slowly drip out the corner of my mouth. I looked up to see my father, a smirk on his face and his eyes filled with madness. "F-Father...?" I choked out.

He reached down and pulled my staff away from my back. "I believe this is mine, thank you very much." He said.

"Y-You..." I continued, struggling to speak. "The thing that... Syo said would trick us... Trick me... I-It was you..."

"I'm glad to see there's a brain in that pretty little head of yours, dear daughter." Father replied. "Oh, and me saying that I was going to take you home? Yes, that too was utter nonsense. I have enough trouble living under the same roof as my lazy oaf of a stepson."

"Don't say that... a-about Romeo..." I whispered. I groaned in pain when I felt pressure on my stomach, right on the area where my dad had kneed me. It was as if I was a beast who he had killed, and was now standing on proudly to show off his efforts.

"I'll say whatever I want, daughter." Father growled.

Kireina unsheathed her katana and ran forward, kicking off the ground and lunging towards Father. With a smirk, he somehow pulled up a shadow and it turned into a giant hand, grabbing Kireina and throwing her across the room. She crashed into the wall, Akuro covering her own eyes.

I felt someone behind me gently lift me from the ground. I opened my eyes and recognised the yellow irises that belonged to Azura. I barely got to open my mouth to speak before she cried in pain. A shadow, most likely created by Father, had hit her in the arm and was gradually growing. It soon consumed her chest and her stomach, the shadows slowly creeping up her neck, Azura quietly whimpering in pain and hugging herself the entire time.

"PSI Thunder Gamma!" I heard Ciar exclaim. Three lightning strikes hit the area around me; one successfully struck Father in the shoulder, while the other two hit the ground very close to me. I used what remained of my strength to glare at Ciar. "Sorry," he whispered in response. "It misses sometimes."

I decided to ignore Ciar for the time being and looked up to track where Father had gone. He was cornering someone. Me, Kireina and Azura were in no position to fight, Syo couldn't fight at all, Akuro was somewhere near the entrance and I'd just seen Ciar. That left Gandamu and S'yan.

It was apparently the latter.

Father went stumbling back as a dark shape, who I recognised as S'yan panther version, jumped away to create distance between them. Father looked up, his blue eyes flaring with rage. "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty." He mumbled. The two glared at each other for a moment before Father began to back away, eventually coming into contact with the wall.

He went into the wall.

"What...?" I whispered, staring at the space where he had been. "How is he... doing this...?"

S'yan glanced around, trying to detect where his opponent could have gone. I was just as confused. It happened so fast it took me a while to register what had even happened; a foot appeared through the wall and hit S'yan, sending him flying across the room and eventually landing on the ground. Father emerged from the wall, his hands behind his back innocently. "This is all far too easy." He taunted. "These are the 'friends' that you've made, Naoma? They can't fight to save their own lives, let alone the world."

"All of this power... where did you get it from...?" I asked before coughing, the force of his kick still keeping me down. "This... isn't PSI..."

"You're right. It's not." He grinned before turning away. I looked up and gasped; Gandamu and Ciar were stood in front of Akuro. Gandamu had summoned a psychic flame into one of his hands, his sword in the other. Akuro, meanwhile, was trembling.

"Y-You... You're really mean...!" She yelled at Father, her voice wavering. She sounded like she was about to cry. "Stop hurting all of my friends, you big jerk!!"

"Oh? It looks like this little kitty cat needs to be taught some manners about talking to her superiors." Father said before slowly stalking towards the trio, shadows crawling up his arm. I mentally pleaded with my arms and legs to move, but no matter how much I wished, they wouldn't obey.

It didn't matter, anyway.

With a sudden gust of wind, Father was sent flying off his feet before eventually colliding with the wall. He looked up as he slumped to the ground, wiping away some blood from his face.

Another individual was stood in the room; a girl. She had long, curly light brown hair and brown eyes. She wore navy blue leggings and black boots. Her jacket was a mix of light green and white. Finally, she had gray gloves on her hands.

"Jae Trudeau," She addressed my father. "I've spent four years looking for you. Finally, I've found you!"

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Yes another character has appeared

Also yes Jae is very mean

AceAttorneyFan over and out!