The Watch – Part 129:

Slowly, I climbed back onto my feet and up out of the crater. My knees were weak, but thanks to my powers, they quickly regained strength, but If I want to beat him, I have to increase my strength. If I can find a way to break through his invisible barrier around him, I can then take the staff out of his hand. Then he will just be an ordinary human being, hopefully. From the looks of things, he knows how to use his staff well, meaning he has had it for quite some time. I reached for my watch and upped my strength some more. My muscles now had the same strength that they had back when I stopped all those rockets back in that parallel world. As well as my strength, my speed needed to be increased. Now, when I run towards him, I’ll be much faster and so much stronger.

I readied myself to launch another attack. He stood there, waiting. Waiting for what? Whatever it is, I don’t like the look on his face. It’s as if he’s waiting for me to do what I did before. No, he could just be waiting for me to attack so he could launch another counterattack, unsuspecting of my increased strength of my powers. He smiled. It wasn’t broad, nor was it subtle. It was packed full of meaning, I just struggled to decipher exactly what he meant, but I couldn’t shake off the thought that he knew I had just increased my powers. If he does know, why didn’t doing anything about it. Is he confident that he can deflect any attack of mine? How strong is that staff of his?

‘Are you going to do anything?’ he asked. ‘I doubt you’ve given up already. Oh, are you trying to figure out why I’m just waiting. No, you’re trying to figure out how best to beat me. Yes, I get it now. Well then, give me your best shot,’ and he raised his staff up, ready to attack. He’s not waiting for me anymore; I’m waiting for him now. He wants me to give him my best shot, yet he knows how the watch works. He wants to procure the watch for himself because he knows its abilities, yet he is teasing me by wanting me to give him everything I have. That sounds rather contradictory.

‘Will you just stop thinking,’ he snapped impatiently. ‘I know I said that I have all the time in world, but I did not mean for you to use it. Fine, if you are not going to do anything, I will just have to do it for you,’ and he launched another attack, this time, running towards me instead. I tried to dodge, but I found myself stuck once more inside an invisible cage. His speed allowed him to gain momentum, and that, in turn, allowed him to build up enough strength in his fist, smacking it hard into my chest, forcing all the wind from my lungs. I was unable to bend over in pain due to being stuck upright. This allowed him to keep torturing me with his beatings. Left, right and centre, he punched every inch of my stomach, chest, head, and back. Finally, he let the barrier fade, and I collapsed onto all fours, breathing hard, wincing in pain, and out of energy. Then, for one final blow, he pointed the crystal towards my chest where it started to glow once more. I wanted to move, but I was in so much pain, all that I achieved was falling to the floor.

‘And I thought you were going to be more of a challenge,’ he said. Then my vision lit up with purple light again, draining what energy I had left from my body. Once it had faded away, I was left lying on the floor, defeated. I just wasn’t strong enough, fast enough, invulnerable enough, and more importantly, I wasn’t experienced enough, smart enough. I may have done some great things with this watch. Its power has been a blessing, almost infinite, but, in the end, there is always someone that has more power than me, more skill than me, more intelligence that I. All that is left is for him to take the watch and leave me lying here, feeling normal.

Then, for reasons unbeknownst only to him, he picked me up. I was hovering about a few inches off the ground so that my weak legs wouldn’t have to go through the problem of trying to support me.

‘I’m being unfair,’ he said. ‘I’m not even giving you a proper chance. For all I know, you could have been on the brink of discovery; formulated a perfect plan to defeat me, but I grew impatient, did not I. I made you too weak to fight.’ He stepped up to me, and started brushing the bits of dust and dirt from my ruined clothes. ‘There we go,’ he said after a minute, ‘always help to recover when you feel a bit cleaner, more refreshed, does not it.’ This man is clearly insane. What the hell does he want from me? ‘I feel that my intentions were not a clear as I hoped,’ he continued. He then stared directly into my eyes.

‘Give me a fight worthy of winning,’ he demanded. ‘I do not care what I have to do to get what I want. Oh, but where are my manners. I haven’t even introduced myself nor have I explained how I got here. Oh, dear, my etiquette is atrocious. Please, bear with me whilst I explain, I promise it won’t take too long.

‘My name is, the one and the only, Magician, and I have been searching for the watch for so very long now. I found this staff,’ he continued, pointing to his staff as if I haven’t a clue what he is talking about, ‘and it has taught me so many things. So many things indeed. Unlimited power at my disposal. I can do whatever I want.

‘But you want to know how where I am from and how I got here, do not you? You are going to love this,’ he smiled. ‘It is really something special indeed. I did not have to search for the watch any longer for you pointed out exactly where it was. You created four new Universes. That amount of energy being concentrated in one spot does not go undetected, especially by me, leading me right to you. I have been searching for the watch for years, never coming close, and you give its location away in only a matter of days of having it. Oh, how silly of you. You are now going to lose that watch.’ I couldn’t believe it. It was my fault he’s here. By saving Tom’s parents, I brought him here, putting the very person I wanted to save in danger. It’s all my fault.

No. It can’t be all my fault. Like he said, he has been searching for the watch for years, so it was only a matter of time before he eventually found me. But it was my actions that allowed him to find me, otherwise would he have. I can’t think like that. What has happened has happened, and I have to try and put it right. I just have to. Somehow…

‘Now, I’m going to release you now, so you had better be prepared to support yourself,’ and he let me drop. It was unexpected. My legs hadn’t recovered properly. I dropped like a tonne of bricks, back onto my all fours.

‘What did I just say?’ he shouted before yelling. ‘GIVE ME A FIGHT WORTH WINNING.’

He was giving me a second chance. He’s not letting me give up so easily. What am I doing? I am giving up so easily.

‘There is the determination I want,’ he said, noticing my eyes flare up with energy once more. Then he kicked me in the stomach. I fell hard onto my side, gasping for wind. He’s trying to provoke me. I rolled over onto my side, forcing my limbs to react the way I wanted them to. Using every bit of energy that I could muster, I pulled myself up. Slowly but surely, I climbed back up onto my feet.

‘There you go,’ he said, smiling, ‘now why was that so hard earlier,’ and then he punched me. Once again, trying to provoke me. I spun around on the balls of my heels, but I was determined not to fall over. Instead, I fought with my balance, but it just wasn’t enough. I fell to the floor once more.

‘This is just getting ridiculous now,’ he said not happy. ‘All this fight is consisting of is you falling to the floor. I want more action. I’m giving you a chance here. I’m literally opening myself up for an attack and you are not even bothering to do anything about it except battle with your emotions. Fine, if that is the way you want to play it. Let us dance the foxtrot instead of the Tango.’

‘Don’t you dare,’ I said with gritted teeth since I knew he was going to attack my friends again.

‘I will do what I have to,’ he said creating a box around all three of my friends.

‘Stop this now,’ I said, struggling to get to my feet. I cannot allow this to happen. I will not let him hurt my friends.

‘I must do this,’ he said in fake sympathy. Anger boiled up in my body. I scrunched up my knuckles so hard that they turned white. My nails were digging into the palms of my hands. I was shaking with rage. It was through my anger that my legs remained strong. I’m going to put a stop to him now.

There has to be a limit to the strength of his shield. It must crack eventually. I just have to hit hard enough that it will shatter.

No, but it is magic. If it’s the right type of spell, it can keep out any amount of strength I throw at it. Does it follow that logic? I don’t have time to try and figure all that out. I have to act fast. Now.

What if I fight fire with fire? Magic on Magic? I have to try. My previous attempts to break through his shield with pure strength and speed didn’t work. I have to try this. I don’t have time to stand around and question it. I just have to do it now.

‘Interface,’ I called inside my mind.

‘Yes, Sebastian,’ he answered.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)