Paragon: The Novelization

[ToaKaita47]

I am considering making this into a video game later when I know how to actually write scripting and all that, but for now, at least enjoy the novelization.


Intro: A Near-Dead World


Daylight had broken out over the towering skyscrapers of New York City. Hover cars and sky haulers began to fill the sky. People began filling the streets, militia troopers and civilians. It was just another dark day.

It was dark because it was another day the Global Sedition was in power. The Global Sedition, a massive superpower led by Warlocks, had taken control of the Earth almost 12 years ago, the year 2293, and reduced the citizens of the Earth to almost nothing. Almost all of the world’s natural resources had been completely used up, and what little was left was used to almost entirely feed the Sedition’s highest authorities.

What was worse, humankind became a slave to the Warlocks. Almost 75% of the total human population was slaves of the Sedition. The remaining 25% were either still at large, or rich enough to avoid Sedition activity.

Even worse still, it seemed that there were no Paragons left. The Paragons, champions of light and guardians of peace, were almost completely wiped from the face of the Earth when the Sedition took power. Almost.

[ToaKaita47]

Chapter 1: A Special Boy





The clock tower struck 9 o’clock AM. The urban streets of New York quickly filled with hundreds and thousands of people, militia troopers and civilians alike.

A boy who was sleeping on a heated panel next to the clock tower stirred a little and opened his blue eyes. His torn clothes barely protected him from a chilly spring breeze. He felt a shiver go down his spine as he sat up.

Opening his eyes a little more and brushing his brown hair out of the way, the boy sat back and leaned on the wall of the clock tower. ‘Just another day in the life of me,’ he thought to himself.

This was Kyle Rowan, a 12-year-old boy with a past he tried to forget. Only one day after he was born, the Sedition took power over the world. His parents took him into hiding on the outskirts of the urban New York City, and for about 3 years they went along rather well. But then they were killed one day when Sedition militia troopers broke into and ransacked the home. They set it to fire and the young 3-year-old managed to survive, amazingly.

Ever since then, he had been living off the scraps of the streets. But he managed to get along just fine, for he had an amazing talent: he was the last Paragon alive.

But he didn’t know. And he didn’t care. All he knew was the fact that he had special powers, and he was one day going to use them to help people.

Kyle shook his head, trying to forget the past. ‘It’s done,’ he thought. ‘And there’s no way I can change it now.’

Just then, a huge man walked up to the unsuspecting boy. He was strong, muscular, and didn’t look happy. “Get outta my spot, kid,” he said in a deep voice.

Young Kyle simply stood up and opened up his fist. And then, out of nowhere, a small blue ball of pure light energy materialized in his hand.

This made the tough guy, well…not so tough. He backed up a few steps, and then ran away.

Kyle smiled as the ball of energy faded and sat back down. ‘I’d like to see him try that again,’ he thought.

* * *

At 1 PM that afternoon, Kyle was walking around the city when he noticed a strange, cloaked man following him. His face was obscured, covered in the shadow of the hood. His dark blue cloak covered almost his entire body.

Kyle started to walk a little faster, but the hooded man kept pace. ‘Who the heck is this guy?’ he wondered as he increased his speed.

Suddenly he heard a cry for help. It was a woman’s voice, only a few yards away. Kyle sprinted towards the sound.

Once he arrived, he saw two Sedition Militia troopers attacking a woman with pulse rifles. The woman was on the ground crying, but the Sedition Militia just kept firing.

‘Bastards!’ Kyle thought as he materialized two light energy balls, one in each hand, and threw them at the unsuspecting troopers. The miniature bomblets exploded at the troops in a flash of light with crushing force. Both troops hit the ground hard, and Kyle managed to get a hold of their own rifles.

Kyle pointed the rifles at the troopers and started firing. Both troopers ran for their lives.

Once the troopers were out of sight, Kyle dropped the guns and smashed them with his foot. Then he helped the woman up.

“You all right?” Kyle asked in concern. The woman nodded as she was helped up.

“Whoever you are, thank you,” she said. “I owe you my life. They would have killed me had you not shown up.”

“Get to the outskirts of town,” Kyle said. “There’s a big chance they won’t follow you once you breach the city perimeter.”

“I will,” the woman said. “Thanks again.”

Kyle nodded as the woman walked away. He smiled in confidence. ‘Well, I may not be able to help the world,’ he thought. ‘But at least I can help like this.’

“Most impressive.”

Kyle whirled around and materialized two light energy bomblets in his hands. He turned to see the cloaked stranger that had followed him around standing right behind him.

“Who the Heck are you and why are you following me?” Kyle asked.

“My name is Sormon,” the stranger said. “You’re Kyle Rowan, correct?”

Kyle nodded slowly. “How do you know that?”

“I know your parents were killed when you were 3 years old,” Sormon said, shocking the boy. Slowly, Kyle called off his bomblet attack.

“I’m here to help you, though,” Sormon continued. “Walk with me.”

Sormon walked away into the crowds and Kyle followed, seeing no choice.

“Millenia ago, there were two types of magicians: the Paragons, the champions of the light and guardians of peace, and the Warlocks, prisoners of darkness and enemies of hope. Both sides vied for greater power, and this resulted in war. Both sides have been fighting ever since then, though they both seemed to be at an impasse. That is, until 12 years ago, when the Global Sedition came to power.

“The Warlocks came onto good terms with the Sedition, and this resulted in the Warlocks eventually taking over the power. Together, the Sedition and the Warlocks managed to wipe the Paragons almost completely off the face of the Earth. Except two. Me…and you.”

Kyle looked at Sormon with a confused face. “But how did you know I was—“

“I know because I feel your power. I know because I was able to feel it from across the world. You are a special boy, Kyle.”

Kyle looked on in disbelief. But Sormon chuckled.

“Come with me,” Sormon said. “I have much to teach you…Paragon.”

[ToaKaita47]

Chapter 2: Three Years Pass…



CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! SWISH—CLANG!

Kyle jumped back as Sormon swung his sword. He fended off another blow with his own sword, and another and another, until he was finally against the wall.

“Now what?” Sormon asked, pointing the edge of his sword to Kyle’s throat.

But Kyle smiled and sheathed his sword. Then he put his arms out to his sides, palms open. In one hand he managed to materialize a fireball, in the other an ice ball.

“You’re going to blast me with those two?” Sormon asked with a chuckle.

But Kyle clapped his hands, resulting in a wall of steam erupting from his hands. It quickly engulfed the young fighter until Sormon couldn’t see him anymore.

Sormon gathered air energy and fired a blast of it into the wall of steam. When the steam cleared, Kyle was gone.

The surprised master looked around frantically. “Show yourself, boy!” he called. “I’ve taught you well! But I don’t think I ever taught you cowardice!”

“You didn’t.”

Sormon whirled around, only to have his stomach meet with a massive blast of light energy with so much force that it sent him into the wall on the opposite side of the room.

Sormon winced at the pain, but he wasn’t done yet. As his back slammed against the wall, he saw Kyle charging fast. Kyle materialized a light bomblet with both of his hands, and he was coming fast.

The master didn’t have time to react, as Kyle was so fast he barely saw him jam the bomblet into his heart.

Kyle backed up and let his master fall to the ground. Sormon was on his knees and panting hard.

“Master, are you all right?” Kyle asked in concern.

Sormon coughed up a little blood, but chuckled. “That…was impressive…” he panted. “…I…didn’t expect…that…”

The boy helped his master to his feet. “Are you OK?” he asked.

“…Yeah…I’m fine…” he chuckled and coughed. “That’s enough practice for today, young one.”

Kyle nodded as Sormon walked towards the exit to the hallway. The training room’s blue-padded walls were almost completely torn apart due to how harshly and intensely the master and apprentice trained.

As the two walked the hall, Sormon looked at his apprentice with a smile. ‘He’s finally stronger than me. He doesn’t need me anymore,’ he thought.

Kyle noticed his master’s strange look. ‘Why is he looking at me like that?’ he wondered.

“Paragon,” Sormon began, “I’ve taught you how to use your powers well. Now you control 5 of the 6 main elements. Earth. Wind. Fire. Water. And Light. But there is one element you must master on your own: Darkness.”

Kyle stared. “Darkness?”

“Correct,” Sormon said. “You must beware of darkness. If you try to control it, it will eventually control you. Trust me on that.

“Darkness can be used by both Paragon and Warlock. Warlocks are slaves to its power, but Paragons know of its danger.”

“What are you saying, master?” Kyle asked.

“In time, there will come a choice you will have to make that will alter the course of your future. You must choose either the easy path or the right path. If you choose the right way, you will truly be worthy of being called a Paragon. But if you take the easy way out…if you take the dark path…it will consume you. Beware of the darkness, Paragon. Do you understand me?”

“Loud and clear, master,” Kyle nodded.

“Good. And remember always that when you believe in yourself, anything is possible.”

Kyle nodded, noticing his master’s tone. ‘Why is he saying this to me as if this is the last time I’m going to see him?’ he thought, confused.

The two soon found themselves in the kitchen. Kyle opened up the bread cabinet only to find that there was no bread left.

“Master?” he said. “We’re out of bread.”

Sormon walked up to him and peered in the cabinet only to find that he was correct.

“Well isn’t that peculiar…stay here,” Sormon said, grabbing his blue cloak. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Kyle nodded as he watched his master walk out the front door. Then he sat in a nearby chair and closed his eyes and began meditating.

* * *

Kyle opened his eyes as the clock tower outside struck 7 PM. It was two hours since Sormon left to get bread. “Where is he?” he wondered aloud. “It shouldn’t take long for him to just get a loaf of bread…”

Suddenly he saw flashes of red and blue outside the front window—‘Red and blue!’

Kyle jumped from his chair and pressed his face to the glass to see what was going on. Outside he saw 8 Sedition Police Militia cars, 20 Sedition Militia troopers, and Sormon, with his head on the trunk on one of the cars.

“NO!” Kyle screamed as he bolted for the door. But something stopped him dead in his tracks.

‘…Paragon…’

Kyle heard a familiar voice in his head.

‘…Paragon…listen to me…’

Kyle recognized Sormon’s voice in his head. He stopped to listen.

‘…Paragon…listen to me…the Sedition has captured me, and it doesn’t look like I’m going to make it. But you don’t need me anymore. Use my knowledge. Use your magic. Use them to destroy the Sedition once and for all.’

Kyle fell on his knees as he listened. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

‘…You’re the strongest boy I know, Kyle…I know you can do it. Take care.’

Kyle heard a car door slam outside. He looked out the window and saw the Sedition hover cars taking off—one of them with Sormon in the back. They soon disappeared among the skyscrapers.

Kyle began to shed tears. He couldn’t believe it. His master was captured by the Sedition.

‘…Those bastards are going to pay if they hurt him…’ he thought retributively. With nothing else to do, he walked through the house and went to his room on the second floor. He fell on his bed and cried himself to sleep, knowing he would avenge his master.

* * *

Kyle awoke early the next morning. He roamed the sole hallway on the second floor, his hand against the smooth wall.

Then he felt something move in the wall. Startled, he stopped and looked at the small hatch in the wall. It was square-shaped, and as he moved his hand away, the hatch reintegrated itself with the wall.

‘Strange,’ Kyle thought. He pushed into where the hatch was, harder this time, and then he heard a click.

A large section of the wall sank into the rest of the wall, then the section moved slowly to the right. It was a secret area.

The section moved to reveal two large closet doors. Curiously, Kyle opened them, and they revealed a large suit of armor, complete with gauntlets, boots and a crown.

The armor was shiny and blue, with spikes shoulders, a cape, and a glowing gold diamond in the chest piece. The gauntlets matched the blue of the armor, and they also had diamonds on where each knuckle was supposed to go. The matching boots had gold diamonds on each ankle. The crown had 3 spikes, two on the sides and one on the front, and on the front spike was another gold diamond.

And below the armor rested a large silver staff, with one end looking like a very short broadsword, and the other end having a curved edge.

Kyle looked in amazement at the armor. He had never seen anything more incredible, or more powerful.

The boy stripped himself of his robes and put the armor on. It fit him perfectly. When he put on the last piece, the crown, he felt an instant surge of power course through his body. He felt like he could take on the world now.

So he did.

[ToaKaita47]

Chapter 3: Mission Improbable



The Sedition troopers walked the streets of New York City steadily and cautiously, with their pulse rifles at the ready. It was just another day on the job for them; another day wearing their silvery-red armor, another day with their high-tech helmets trying to spot good deeds or light magic…just another day.

Or was it?

KABOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

All 16 members of the squad of troops whirled around to see a massive cloud of smoke erupt from a large metal drum. Bits and pieces of a Sedition hover car whizzed through the air past the troops.

Out of the clearing smoke walked a boy, no more than 15 years old, wearing shiny blue armor.

A Paragon!

The troops opened fire on him immediately. But the pulse bullets bounced off the kid’s armor easily.

Suddenly the boy lifted his right hand, palm out. The troopers turned to see one of their own floating in the air!

“AAH! PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN!” the trooper screamed. The boy flung his hand to the right, and the trooper was flung to the right. He screamed as his back slammed into the wall of a building, which cracked from the force of the impact.

“Where is Sormon?” the boy asked. There was fire in his eyes as he telekinetically lifted another trooper and slammed him into the first one.

A brave soul fired his rifle at the boy, and so the boy turned and telekinetically ripped the rifle from his hands. He pulled the rifle towards him and grabbed it and killed the trooper with it.

“Where IS he?!” the boy screamed. He lifted his hands, palms facing the sky. A massive ball of light materialized in his hands. He flung the ball at the whole squadron, and once it hit the ground near them, it exploded with so much force that it flung the whole squadron backwards.

One of the troops sat up. He was instantly grabbed by the throat by the boy.

“Where…the hell…is Sormon?” the boy seethed. The trooper couldn’t say anything because his throat was being crushed.

“…Sormon…is…dead…” The trooper managed to say before his neck snapped.

The boy threw the dead soldier into the same wall the other two landed on. Shedding a tear, he walked into the dark sunset.

* * *

Window lights made New York seem brighter at night than it was in the daytime. Hover car traffic was increasing, and more Sedition Militia troopers started filling the streets.

But in the depths of New York lurked a human time bomb, just waiting for the right moment to explode. And when he exploded, he planned on taking out as much of the Sedition as he could.

The human had a scar on his right eye, and wore camouflage armor. He was wearing a large bandoleer, which went around his right hip and connected with half of another at his chest. Every bit of the bandoleer was covered in pulse rifle magazines, hand grenades, or shotgun shells.

His eyes burned with fire and hatred for every last man belonging to the Sedition terrorist group as he clenched both of his rifles. He believed that this would be the day he would finally die. He thought EVERY day would be the day he would die, but he felt something strange about this one.

He soon stepped out of the dark alley he was hiding in, facing an entire legion of Sedition troopers. He counted about 600 of the bastards, divided into 50 lines.

The whole squadron stopped and aimed their pulse rifles at the wayward human.

KABOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!

A bright blue ball of energy exploded in the middle of the squadron, sending almost two-dozen troopers flying. ‘What the hell…’ the one-man army thought.

Out of nowhere, a small child dressed in shiny blue armor armed with a staff flew right into the squadron. Taking advantage of the confusion, the one-man army fired his pulse rifles at the troops, incinerating almost two lines of troops.

KABOOM!!! KABOOM!!!

Two more bright blue energy balls exploded, knocking out about half of the remaining troops. Still the brave man kept firing his rifles, until, after incinerating about 20 more lines, he ran out of ammo.

He quickly threw his rifles to his sides and drew his shotgun, which was attached to the back of the bandoleer.

BOOM! Click-click…BOOM! Click-click…BOOM!

Mercilessly, the superhuman assaulted the Sedition troopers. The area he was standing in soon turned into a bloodbath.

KABOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!

One more ball of energy exploded, finishing the troopers and revealing the boy, who looked very much like a…

“Turn your back, Paragon,” the human said, pumping his shotgun and aiming it at the kid. “Unless you want me to shoot some rounds through it.”

The boy put down his staff and placed his hands in the air and said, “Relax. I’m on the same side you are.”

“If you were on the same side as me,” the human said, “Then why haven’t you been helping me much?”

“I just recently finished my training; I couldn’t have helped any sooner. I’m Kyle. What’s you’re name?”

The superhuman still had his shotgun aimed at the boy. “My name is not for you to know, boy,” he said. “So call me “X.” And don’t call me anything else.”

“X,” Kyle said, “I AM a Paragon. I want to try to help you—“

“I don’t need help,” X seethed. “I want all you magic-users dead.”

“X, listen to me,” Kyle said, “Just because THOSE magic-users did something to you doesn’t mean I’m going to. I want to save the world, like you—“

“I don’t want to save the world,” X said. “I just want you out of my way so I can kill the Sedition.”

“You can’t have one without the other,” Kyle responded.

“I plan on dying,” X began. “I don’t plan to kill the WHOLE Sedition. But I’m going to take as many of those assholes with me as I can.”

“I want to get rid of the Sedition too, X,” Kyle said, his blue eyes sparkling with pride. “But killing yourself isn’t the answer. Neither is getting killed from planning stupidly.”

X sighed. “You’re not giving up, are you?”

“No chance,” the Paragon said flatly.

X thought for a moment. “All right,” he finally said after a few seconds. “You want to help me kill those bastards, then fine. But you’re going to have to prove you’re worthy.”

“Anything,” Kyle replied with determination.

“See that building over there?” X pointed out a large skyscraper, and Kyle followed with his eyes. “Underneath that building is a large Sedition Research and Development facility. You’re going to take it out. Alone.”

“I’ll do it,” Kyle said, grabbing his staff and sprinting towards the building as X watched after him.

* * *

[ToaKaita47]

KABOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!

Using his light energy, Kyle bashed the door down with his fist. He hit the door with such force it sandwiched an unsuspecting militia trooper into a wall.

Three other troops fired their pulse rifles at Kyle, who used telekinesis to gather all the bullets into his hands and concentrate them into a massive ball. Soon enough, the troops stopped firing. Then Kyle shot the ball of bullets right back at the troopers. The ball split in 3 and hit each trooper, killing them on impact.

Kyle smiled and walked into the middle of the small room. Then he placed his palm on the middle of the floor. Concentrating his energy, he was able to push down on—and through—the floor, revealing a large hallway below him.

Kyle jumped through his hole in the floor and landed in the middle of the silver-walled hallway. There were troopers on either side of him, with pulse rifles at the ready.

Then they fired, and the young Paragon jumped. Not a single bullet hit him, but every one did manage to hit a Sedition trooper. Every single trooper went down instantly.

Kyle landed on the floor, smiling at the fact that his trick had worked. Walking over the dead bodies of the militia troopers, he moved on.

As Kyle walked through the metal-plated halls of the underground base, he felt a feeling of rebellion growing inside of him, almost a feeling of freedom. ‘It’s weird,’ he thought, ‘The Sedition has been controlling the world all my life; I’ve never really felt this…freedom before up until now…’

His thoughts were interrupted by a blast from a pulse rifle, missing his face by only an inch. He turned to see a small group of about 10 troopers, rifles pointed at him.

Quickly thinking, Kyle placed both his hands at his sides, and between them, he materialized a small light bomblet. He threw it at the squadron, and once the bomblet hit one of the troopers, it exploded with enough force to send the whole squadron flying forward, knocking them all out in the process.

Kyle flashed a smile as he walked into what appeared to be a control room. There were multiple computers built into the walls, and several forming a small circle in the middle of the room. However, the room still retained its silvery-plated floor, ceiling and walls.

“The Sedition could stand to add a little beauty to their more militaristic areas,” Kyle said to himself, peeved at the plainness of the room. He walked up to a computer and began to search the internet for the schematics of the base.

Finally, he found them. He found his location and saw the base had 2 more levels.

‘Meaning 2 more levels of Sedition lackeys,’ Kyle thought. Logging out, he walked slowly to the opposite side of the room, where he found a small lift. He opened the door to the lift, hopped in and rode it down to the next level.

When he got to the next level, the door opened and he walked out of the lift to see—‘Big surprise,’ Kyle thought—more Sedition Militia. There were 12 troopers, each one with a pulse rifle aimed at him.

However, before they could even give the order to fire, Kyle threw his staff like a spear into the trooper commander. The broadsword side went through the commander’s heart. The rest of the troops gasped in horror as they watched the commander’s body settle to the floor and spew a bloodbath.

Kyle reached for his staff using telekinesis and so it flew back into his hand. He smiled and said, “Now what?”

The troopers shook off the sight of their dead commander and aimed straight for the Paragon’s head. But before they could fire, he disappeared.

Frantically the troopers searched for Kyle. But he was gone.

Kyle snickered as he hid right above the troops in a ceiling corner. He was able to hold on by jamming his staff into the wall. He had the perfect position on them.

After a few seconds, he let go of the staff and landed right behind the troopers. Using his command of wind, he pushed the whole squadron into the lift and locked the door.

Kyle smirked as he moved on.

* * *

After what seemed like an endless journey, Kyle finally managed to reach the last level of the base, where the main command center was located.

He opened the door to the command center and saw a massive room, with literally hundred of computers built into the walls. It almost looked like a submarine bridge, only much bigger and with more computers.

“They’ve got quite an op here,” Kyle said to himself. “Time to ruin it.”

Kyle walked right into the middle of the room. Then he spread his legs and opened his fists. In his hands he materialized two very large light energy bombs.

Then he threw his hands into the air and clasped them together, and channeled all his energy into his hands…and fired.

A massive beam of light energy erupted from his hands and went through every floor of the whole building. The beam was so powerful that it began to collapse the building.

The Paragon stopped channeling his energy when he saw this and quickly jumped through the hole he had created before the ceiling collapsed entirely. Calling on his power over air, he quickly lifted himself through every floor of the building before it collapsed below him in a mighty crash that almost shook the Earth.

As he glided down on the air cushion he had created beneath him, he noticed X sitting on the top of another nearby skyscraper. He manipulated his air cushion to land on the same skyscraper X was on.

When he finally got to him, he called off his air cushion and landed next to X. X got up and looked him square in the eye.

“Well?” Kyle asked. “I did what you wanted. Now do you trust me?”

X said nothing for a few seconds. Then he wore a smile on his face that was almost creepy. “Well done,” X said. “I still don’t trust you yet. But you are worthy.”

X held out a hand, which Kyle shook with a smile. “That’s better than nothing,” Kyle said.

X looked out into the sunset. “If we’re going to take out the Sedition, we need to start a rebellion,” he said solemnly. “So where to start…?”

“We need a pilot,” Kyle said. “If someone were to become our pilot, we could have our rebellion spread around the world.”

“I’m sure that it would already begin to spread if we strike only one location, but then again, if we had our own pilot, we would be able to spread much quicker. Good thinking.” X paused for a moment. “But how and where in the world are we going to get a pilot…?”

The young Paragon smiled. “My master taught me that if we look deep enough and long enough, we will find what we are looking for. And speaking of deep, maybe we should start with the cantinas in the lower city.”

Kyle began walking towards the edge of the building, noticing that X wasn’t following. He turned towards X. “Come on,” he said. “We have one Heck of a mission ahead of us.”

[ToaKaita47]

Chapter 4: The Dark Angel





Old alternative rock music played heavily in the background. Lights of thousands of colors flashed every second. Millions of people were walking, carrying drinks, chattering. This was Daihak’s Cantina, one of the most infamous joints in the lower city of New York. And it was packed.

Kyle, wearing a strange, mercenary-like clan armor, and X, in his soldier attire, walked around. On their way to Daihak’s, they saw a flyer for a pilot that needed a job. The flyer stated that they needed to meet him at Daihak’s, in a private booth.

Kyle pointed. “There’s the booth,” he said, and walked to the booth.

“This guy had better be worth it,” X said.

But in the booth were no guys, but a girl, no more than 17 years old. She was wearing smuggler’s clothing. She looked tough, but very beautiful.

“Are we being led on??” X said in surprise.

“Let’s find out,” Kyle replied, walking into the booth.

The girl took notice to the two guys. “I’m Kyle Rowan,” Kyle introduced. He pointed at and introduced X.

“Kristen Mayko,” the girl said. “Captain of the Dark Angel.”

“Nice to meet you,” Kyle said. “So…is the Dark Angel a fast ship?”

Kristen looked surprised. “You’ve never heard of the Dark Angel?”

“Should we have?” Kyle asked in response.

Kristen sighed. “She’s the fastest smuggler’s vessel on the planet. She broke the record for the highest speed ever recorded in the Belfast Race.”

Kyle and X both knew what the Belfast race was. Unfortunately for them, they weren’t into that race TOO much, therefore they never heard of the Dark Angel’s victory.

“Why do I feel something of an old 20^th century movie here?” X asked.

Kyle looked at him confused. Then he turned back to Kristen. “Are you fond, in any way, shape or form, of the Global Sedition?”

Kristen shook her head. “Not in the slightest,” she said.

Kyle smiled. “Suppose…just suppose…that my friend and I were to organize a rebellion of sorts. How much would we have to pay you to be our permanent pilot?”

Kristen thought for a moment. “5 million credits.”

X’s jaw dropped. “We could by our own ship with that much!”

But Kyle kept his smile. “We’ll pay you 2 million now,” he said, pulling out of his back pocket an equivalent of 2 million credits.

“And,” the Paragon continued, “An added bonus. All you have to do is close your eyes.”

Kristen looked at him dumbfounded. “Is this some sort of trick?”

“Just bear with me,” Kyle said. “Just close your eyes and open your mind.”

Kristen did as she was told. With that, Kyle put his two forefingers on her forehead. His eyes started glowing blue.

After a few seconds, tears started rolling down Kristen’s cheek. X noticed this immediately. ‘What the Heck is he doing to her?!’

Then he heard Kristen whimpering. Kyle’s eyes were now closed and his teeth were clenched. But he remained perfectly still.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Kyle opened his eyes, which were normal again. Kristen was crying softly.

Kyle knelt down and smiled and wiped the tears from her face. “You’ve endured a lot of pain; I am impressed,” Kyle said, removing his fingers from her forehead.

Kristen stopped crying and found herself smiling.

“How do you feel?” Kyle asked with care.

Kristen said nothing for a moment. “I feel…” she began. “…I feel as if a massive pain in my heart has been cured…as if it never was there.”

Kyle smiled in confidence. “Good.”

Kristen sniffled. “How…how can I repay you for this?” she asked.

“We need a ship,” Kyle asked. “We’re starting a rebellion against the Sedition. Are you in?”

Kristen nodded. “I’m in. Just tell me when you’re ready and I’ll get you out of here.”

“We’re ready to leave now,” X said, getting up. “But first, I need a Black Mist.”

Kyle nodded as X walked to the stand. Then he turned to Kristen and looked in her brown eyes.

“I can’t thank you enough,” Kristen said, giving Kyle his credits back. “You can keep your credits, I don’t need them.” Then she stared. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were a Paragon.”

Kyle smiled. “I am a Paragon.”

“That’s what I thought,” she said. “You have to teach me that trick.”

Kyle chuckled. “When you believe in yourself, anything is possible.”

BOOM!!!

Kyle and Kristen looked to see a large Sedition force barge into the bar. There were about 28 troopers, guns drawn.

Kyle and Kristen got up, and X dropped his drink.

“Go with X and start up the Dark Angel,” Kyle said. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Kristen nodded and grabbed X and went up a nearby flight of stairs. Kyle brought out an unusual looking clan sword, which was straight for the first 3 feet and curved into an S at the end. He held it wing style, with the blade pointing behind him.

“There he is! Open fire!” one of the Sedition trooper called. The troopers pointed their guns at him and began shooting.

Kyle hit with his sword or dodged every bullet fired. He was very acrobatic as he moved in for the kill.

Finally, in an explosive barrel roll, he leapt up and used both hands—and his mind—to knock every single Sedition trooper out the door that they came in.

‘This place is going to be crawling with these guys in less than a minute,’ Kyle thought as he landed on his feet. He darted to the stairway and sped his way up.

The stairway led to a large parking lot for ships and hover cars. He looked around frantically until he finally saw Kristen and X getting into an unusual looking freighter by a ramp.

The freighter was a sleek black color, and looked more like an interceptor than a freighter. It had two large engine ports on either side, with a large wing that swept downwards on both sides. On the right engine were two smaller wings, both of them facing inward, on the top and the bottom of the engine port. It really looked like a Dark Angel.

Paragon sprinted to the ramp and it closed behind him. Then he entered the ship through a door at the top of the ramp. The inside was dark grey and pretty small.

He walked to the cockpit of the ship, where X and Kristen had already strapped themselves in. There were two extra chairs, and Kyle took the one behind Kristen and buckled up.

The Dark Angel took off with a loud blast from its large engines. It was hit several times by Sedition gunfire but she held together.

Once the ship entered the sky lanes, they quickly lost notice of the Sedition troopers.

“Well, that was pretty close,” X said. “I thought we would never make it.”

Kyle glared. “That was unusually light for a Sedition attack, and you of all people should know that,” he pointed out.

“I was being sarcastic,” X replied.

Kyle thought for a moment. “So, does anyone know of our first target?”

‘…Paragon…’

He heard a voice in his head. It was so familiar to him…

‘…Paragon…’

It was his master’s voice! It had a somewhat dark tint to it, however.

‘…Paragon…You’ve done well so far…I have a mission for you…you must gain the attention of the Sedition…any way you can—‘

“Let’s check the news, we could probably find some targets there,” X said.

Kristen looked to her left, where a small monitor screen was embedded in the computer. She turned it on with a small red button. On the screen came the news channel.

“Hello, I’m Jimmy Daaz with today’s top headlines,” the newscaster said. “In today’s top news, the Sedition has completed its first skyhook, a large space station attached to a tractor tower on the Earth. The Sedition leaders hope to use it as a prototype to begin the construction of other spaceports elsewhere on the Earth.

“In other news, Sedition troopers are believed to have found the lost city of Atlantis far beneath the Atlantic Ocean. They have revealed the coordinates of the possible sunken city at coordinates 0 degrees North, 58 degrees West.

“Finally, in news relating to the skyhook, Sedition troopers have reported that their Watchtower space station has completed repairs on its defensive grid after killing two troopers about 3 weeks ago. Sedition workers say it was just “some faulty wiring.”

“And today on our collaboration with Zione, the internet’s top search engine, the highest search today is the BFG, the codename for an attempt by the Sedition to create an array of destructive superguns. The Sedition believes that these guns will be useful in quelling almost any attempt to rebel against them. One is already completed in Sacramento with another well on the way in Tokyo.

And that’s it for the news, I’m Jimmy Daaz, and we hope you click on us again tomorrow.”

Kristen turned off the monitor with that.

“Is it just me,” X said, “Or have these broadcasts gotten shorter over the past few years? They used to be 30 minutes long, now they’re, like, 5.”

Paragon looked out the window. “This is too convenient.”

Kristen and X looked at him. “Care to explain?” Kristen said.

“My master just gave me a message that we needed to get the Sedition’s attention. That newscast was for us. But what doesn’t make sense is how he managed to get that message out…” The young boy thought for a moment.

“It could be a trap,” Kristen pointed out.

“Agreed,” X replied. “He could have become like one of those Warlocks.”

“I don’t think he’d break that easily,” Kyle replied. “He’s stronger than that. But the point is he got a message out for us. So let’s get to it.”

“OK,” Kristen said. “Just tell me where you wanna go first and I’ll get you there.”

Paragon thought for a few minutes.

[ToaKaita47]

Chapter 5: Atlantis



The Dark Angel hovered over the water. It was clear, and therefore the water was calm. The engines of the Dark Angel hummed quietly.

The bottom hatch opened from the Dark Angel and Paragon stepped onto the edge of it. He created an air bubble for himself so he could breathe underwater. Kristen was right behind him.

“I’ll keep the ship parked here, for when you need us again,” Kristen said. “You sure you don’t need an oxygen tank?”

“Positive,” Kyle replied.

“Well, good luck,” Kristen said. “You’re gonna need it.”

“Thanks,” Kyle replied, and with that he took a graceful leap into the water.

Kyle dove beneath the surface. The air bubble that he breathed through also allowed him to see. He saw in front of him nothing but an endless gradient of blue-green, which went black as he looked below him.

He began swimming to the bottom of the ocean.

* * *

After what seemed like nearly an hour, Paragon noticed small specks of light at the bottom of the ocean floor. He began swimming faster towards the lights, which appeared to take the form of some kind of city.

Finally, he was able to make out the lights which were indeed in the form of a city from above. Every light was bright blue in color, and there were literally millions of them, all of them looking trapped in some kind of massive dome.

Kyle swam towards the dome and put his finger to it. His finger went immediately went through it. The one thought in his mind was ‘Oh, S**T! I broke it!’

But he felt no water pouring out at all. In fact, his finger felt dry.

‘What the…?’ Confused, Kyle put his whole hand through the dome. It felt dry.

‘A hydrostatic permeable membrane!’ Kyle thought in amazement. ‘It keeps water out but organics in! Not bad at all!’ With a smile, Kyle pressed his whole body through the dome, and he phased through it.

Kyle then began to fall.

Quickly thinking, he called on his air powers to create an air cushion to soften his fall. He managed to land on a circular platform with a soft thud.

Kyle looked around and gasped in amazement.

He saw buildings made out of solid gold, and each one with rounded tops. He saw hover cars and haulers made out of solid gold as well. The organics that walked the silver-lined streets looked and walked just like humans, though slightly more pale.

‘So this is Atlantis…’ Kyle thought. ‘…It’s more incredible than I thought!’

Suddenly a long-haired, blonde Atlantean took notice to him. He walked up to him and asked, “Are you from the surface world?”

Kyle thought for a moment. “Yes, I am from the surface.”

The Atlantean gasped. “Come with me,” he said. “Lord Agua will be pleased to meet one of you.”

“Er…OK…” Kyle said, following the Atlantean into the city.

A few minutes into their walk, Kyle asked, “So what’s your name?”

“My name is Damiscarus Plekazzi,” the Atlantean said. “But my friends call me Dami. What’s your name?”

“I’m Kyle. Kyle Rowan.”

“Nice to meet you,” Dami said. “Are you a Paragon?”

Kyle stopped. “How did you know that??” he asked.

“Because you emit power from your being like a radiator giving off heat.”

“…Oh…” Kyle said with a smile. “Sorry.”

“No worries,” Dami said. “Though your power level is incredibly strong for a human.”

“Thanks,” Kyle said.

Dami smiled and continued walking through the great megalopolis.

* * *

Finally, Kyle and Dami made it to Lord Agua’s massive castle, smack-dab in the middle of the city.

Kyle and Dami entered the King’s Grand Hall, where his throne laid at the end of.

“Dami, my son,” a deep but friendly voice rang out at the end of the hall. “What have you brought me?”

“Father, I have here a surface dweller, one that may be able to help us.”

“So I see,” the voice rang again.

Kyle spotted movement at the end of the hall. An incredibly strong-looking Atlantean began walking towards them. He had a tall trident in his hand and wore a silver suit.

“So you are the last Paragon,” the large Atlantean observed. “It is an honor to meet you. I am King Agua, and I welcome you personally to the city of Atlantis.”

Kyle was shocked at his size. He was three times as big as the young boy!

“It’s…an honor to meet you…” Kyle had trouble hiding his fear.

But Agua chuckled. “There is no need to fear me, my boy,” he said in a booming voice. “I am a gentle soul much like yourself.”

“But I’m afraid you’re going to step on me…” Kyle said in a wry, humorous voice.

Agua chuckled. “Come with me, my boy,” he said. “I will treat you to a feast as a token of my goodwill.”

* * *

Kyle, Dami and Agua ate like kings at the King’s Grand Table. The glasses they drank from and the plates they ate from were massive, much like the food and drinks.

After they were finished stuffing themselves, Kyle grew serious.

“My Lord,” Kyle asked, “Do you know of the Global Sedition from the surface world?”

Agua put his massive glass of non-alcoholic cherry wine down on the table. “I do,” he said seriously. “And I also understand that they have found us.”

Kyle took a sip of his own non-alcoholic wine. “Then you must know that you are in grave danger—”

But Agua chuckled. “The Sedition will not take Atlantis without a fight, my boy,” Agua said. “And besides, we are Atlanteans. We are ten times stronger than the average human. Fortunately for you, you’re not average.”

Kyle chuckled at that. “Well, neither are the Sedition troopers.”

Agua took another sip from his glass. “You’re right. And that’s why we could use your help, my boy.”

Kyle looked at the king in almost complete shock. “My help?! Look at you! You’re 3 times my size! You’re…you’re a king! I could never—“

“My boy, you are stronger even than me…you are just too ignorant to see that.”

“But…”

“I may be a king, yes, but your control over the elements is much stronger than mine. Why do you think I carry this trident?”

Kyle sighed, unbelieving.

“Whoever your master was, he trained you well. You have more control over the natural elements than any Atlantean. Even myself.”

Kyle didn’t believe it. He was even more powerful than the king of Atlantis!

“You’re serious?” Kyle asked.

“Truly,” Agua replied.

Kyle let out a long breath. “Well, my master is gone now. And I am flattered that you think of me as such. Thank you, your highness.”

The king smiled and sipped the last of his wine. “You are most welcome, my boy.”

RUMBLE…RUMBLE…

The whole room shook. Kyle looked at Agua.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Kyle said, getting up from his chair along with Agua and Dami.

The two made their way into a massive chamber, with a huge dome window as the ceiling. It provided a crystal clear view of a Sedition undersea fleet.

“Oh, great…” Kyle said with full sarcasm. “How did they get here so quickly?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Dami said, “All that matters is they are here now.”

Agua pushed a nearby alarm, and klaxons went off everywhere. Red lights began replacing the white lights all over the city.

‘If this rebellion is successful, the Atlanteans would be a valuable ally,’ Kyle thought as he prepared for battle.

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