[10] End Game

[Kaden]

“So,” Kaden summed up, “I’m going to blow a hole through that door.”

Using a store at the end of the city’s main street, Kaden had taken cover with Trisha and Oliver. Both ex-solider’s looked at Kaden with varying degrees of skepticism. Really, the courier couldn’t blame them. He was easily the least intimidating person there. Jackson and Oliver were both much bigger than the courier and even Rosemary and Trisha had that “don’t mess with me” aura about them.

“You?” Oliver cocked an eyebrow at Kaden. “You’re just going to punch a hole through the middle of that thing?”

“Not the middle,” Kaden shrugged as he spoke. “But that’s the basic idea, yeah.”

It was a daunting task, of that there was no mistake, but Kaden had to do something to pull his weight. Opening a door, admittedly, was not nearly as impressive as fighting off armed minions, but… one step at a time. Or so the courier told himself.

Closing his eyes, Kaden took several deep breaths. Extending his sixth sense was something he had had difficulty with in the past; it preferred to work whenever it wanted, not when Kaden asked it to. Fortunately, Kaden had found something of a work-around for that particular problem. Even through his own eyelids, the courier could See the faint wisps of light that drifted through the ground.

Tracing the flow of the light below him, the courier following the faint flow towards the stone door that blocked his path. Taking in a deep breath, Kaden expelled a small wave of ki. He watched as the wave of energy followed through the ground he was standing upon and up to the massive stone door. Almost immediately, his senses locked onto that small burst of his own energy and “followed’ it as it traveled through his surroundings.

In the courier’s mind, he could see the door. He could make out the elaborate indentations and ostentatious jeweled animals that adorned the front of the door. Kaden was actually glad that Kai had made the decision to “dress up” the slab of stone. It wouldn’t be a lot of help, admittedly, but it had definitely made some parts of the structure weaker than others. As the image of the door turned in his mind, Kaden began stepping forward with the intention of beginning his task. Another yank of his collar, however, made short work of that.

“You insane?” came Trisha’s voice.

“What?” Before turning to face the woman, Kaden opened his eyes and snapped a hand forward. A small bolt of ki crashed harmlessly against the stone door, leaving only a small burn mark. “I already told you. We need to get through that door. I was… y’know… going to do that.”

“You were just going to walk into a gun fight?” Oliver said.

“What? Those guys are still out there?” Kaden leaned his head around the corner of the store. Sure enough, there were plenty of guys milling about with guns. Kaden sighed. “Well… I’ll need a little bit of time…”

“We’ll just ask them to stop shooting as us, then,” Trisha replied, her voice thick with sarcasm.

“I’ll get them to back off, you keep me safe.” Having already set his mind to something, Kaden was growing annoyed that he couldn’t actually do it. “Sound like a deal?”

Without actually waiting for a reply, the courier took in a deep breath and turned his focus inward. With a great deal of concentration, Kaden used his energy to peel back the seal on his chest. Through these openings, his energy flowed outward, coursing freely through his body for the second time since Friend or Foe had begun.

As wisps of cerulean energy wafted off of him, Kaden tried to step back out into the main street. Another volley of fire halted his progress. Swearing, the courier turned towards his attacks and waved both of his forward. From either hand, a Salvo of ki blasts rocketed outward, striking all along main street and forcing Kai’s soldiers into hiding. For the moment, at least.

Spinning in place, Kaden turned his attention to the massive stone door. Taking in a deep breath, the courier thrust his hands forward, expelling a massive wave of energy. The singe mark that he had made earlier was quickly enveloped as Kaden’s blast struck.

To Kaden, the force of the impact seemed thunderous. He was certainly aware of the stores of power within him, but he had never employed them to their potential. Even then, though, it felt like Kaden had more within him than he’d ever need. His face set in determination, the courier cried out as he thrust his hands further forward, pushing the energy out.

Though it was hard to see anything beyond the glow of his own energy, Kaden could feel the stone give in. He could feel his energy push on through to the other side, so to speak. As his beam of ki finally crashed through the stone door, Kaden grunted in effort as he began to slowly pull his hands apart, as though he were trying to physically open the door.

Stone crumbled to the floor as Kaden’s arms dropped to his side. The mist-like aura of the courier continued to float off his body, but his task was pretty much complete. The courier had actually surprised himself; the task had taken a little less effort than he had anticipated. Nonetheless, there was still a lot to do. As Jackson, Trisha, Rosemary, and Oliver darted through the opening in the door, Kaden hurried after them