Fan Fiction ❯ Endless Power ❯ Universal Tournament ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2

Universal Tournament

"No, no, no!" cried Agatha in her delirium. "They're coming, you have to stop them, you have to…" she paused and looked up at the ceiling.

"Agatha! Have to what? Tell me, my daughter!" cried the lady beside Agatha's bedside table. "What are you saying?"

"They're coming," she said in a barely audible whisper and collapsed on the bed.

"Those earthlings are fools, no doubt," said Balem. "Even the Makoons would have reacted by now."

"Yes," said Ali, "but I've seen the lot… big tanks, missiles, supersonic jets with invisible shields, they are powerful indeed."

"Humph, their weapons will be no good in space," replied General.

"True, but I'm afraid of something else," muttered Yosho.

"And what's that?" retorted Balem.

"I don't know. You see, I have a hunch that those earthlings have discovered something new. More powerful than their current power level; magic power, isn't it?" said Yosho.

"It's no matter. They will remain fools as long as they live. Now to deal with matters at hand," Balem replied. "I've decided to host a tournament, in which you three will be competing in of course. This tournament will test your strength and abilities. Once you eliminate the strongest fighters in the universe, we shall take over the universe!"

"Yes, Balem," the trio replied.

"Good, very good. We shall prepare well. The tournament will be held next week. Those earthlings won't stand a chance," Balem laughed evilly.

Max groaned. His head hurt and his arms ached. His whole body was crying for mercy. Using his last once of strength, Max pulled himself up from the ground. He blinked. The liquid from the test tube was splashed all over the walls and equipment. Glass shards lay every few feet. The patient was nowhere to be found.

"Neo," cried Max, "Are you there?"

No answer.

"Where could he have gone to?" thought Max.

"I'm right here Max," replied Neo almost instantly.

"Jesus Christ!" cried Max. "You scared the hell out of me!"

The patient merely blinked.

"You know I'm not good at hearing from a distance. But the instant you contacted me telepathically, I felt like I was shaken awake," replied Neo coolly.

"How long have I been out?" asked Max.

"Five hours," Neo replied.

"What? That can't be right. The others must have found out by now," thought Max.

"I know what you're thinking," said Neo, and Max nearly jumped out of his skin. "The others would have found out by now, but they have been called away."

"But the scientists can't leave this place with out the W.B.'s permission," retorted Max.

"They were called away by the W.L.T.W. Max," replied Neo. "I know this is all very strange to you, but John Hopkinson himself came down here and took everyone else away."

John gulped. "But didn't he see you?"

"Yes," replied Neo. "He told me to wait for you to wake up first. Then we have to go to the W.B. I think he has an assignment for us."

"Assignment?" said Max, puzzled. "Assignment? Since when did the head of the W.L.T.W. give out assignments? I must be going mad!" he laughed crazily.

"You are not going mad Max! Now get a grip on yourself and let's go!" shouted Neo.

Meanwhile, the Universal Tournament was already well under way in the gigantic stadium of Zybort, Proxima Mana's biggest planet. Balem watched delightfully from his control room high above the stands. Everything was going as planned…

Neo and Max stood nervously in the conference room of the W.B. Cars were speeding so fast past the windows that Max thought that at any second now, one of then would hit the building. He wasn't the only one. Neo, who had barely even gone outdoors, more or less see a car, stood with his jaw open, trying to keep up with the speed of the cars. John, however, seemed undisturbed. Frowning, he paced up and down the glossy floor and began talking.

"In the year 3577, man dawned upon what we hoped to be our last war. However, more than a millennium later, this is still not the case."

John looked up sadly at Max and Neo, his eyes almost looking for answers in their souls.

"Recent events within the last 24 hours must be taken into consideration. As you have probably heard, we lost contact with Herosaki's fleet approximately 10 hours ago. We assume that they are dead."

"But how?" questioned Max.

"Ah, we think they were ambushed by aliens," replied John, as he continued to pace to and fro. "The media's gone berserk and this whole "alien" thing has gotten out of hand! Now, the whole world is getting ready for war!"

"What does this have to do with us?" asked Neo.

"Well you see, you are the key to winning this war. This whole psychic training program was designed to see whether we were right about this new type of energy harnessed within psychics. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of people who have to potential of doing this. However, you have this gift Neo."

"I have this new energy?" asked Neo, surprised. "Who else?"

"We have located another psychic. A female."

John paused, almost snorting at the thought.

"Her name is Agatha, but… well, I guess the only way I can describe her is that she's not quite normal."

"What do you mean?" asked Neo. "I'm not what you would call normal either right?"

"True," agreed John, "but this Agatha has such strong psychic ability that she is not able to keep a normal human state. She is currently at Felitzer's Hospital for the Mentally Retarded with her mother.

"So," inquired Neo once again, "what do we have to do with this whole war thing?"

"Well, believe or not, we have a mission for you two. We're putting you on the front lines and enrolling you two into a 6-week training course that will help you control your powers."

"You want me to fight?" asked Neo, dumbfounded.

"Well, what do you say?" asked John, extending his hand.

Neo hesitated. He felt bombarded with a bunch of confusing thoughts at once. Suddenly, he thought about all the people that depended on him for what could be their very lives. Slowly, he extended his hand.