The Beast and The Brain.

J stood up. I stared. “What??” She hissed her hands finally released out of their fists, but now I noticed they were shaking slightly.

“Sit down-” the Wisdom pointed to the bed, “-and calm down.

“Calm down?” She didn’t sit. “Calm down? You’re telling me that Asher and I are…are…connecting and you want me to calm down?” She demanded.

“That’s exactly what I want you to do, because I have more to say unless you would like to leave here without any answers?”

J’s hands clenched back into fists and she slowly sat back down. I was still staring. J and I were…are connecting? I glanced and J but she refused to look at me.

“So what does that mean?” I asked bewildered. “I mean… you said it could kill us, or leave us with hardly any powers, but what happens…”

The Wisdom sighed, “I told you. Both of your powers would…expand beyond anything we’ve seen before. The two of you would be able to do things that you never imagined. It has worked differently with each pairing that has happened.”

“What if we don’t want to connect?” J asked. “Is there a way to stop it without consequences?”

The Wisdom shook his head, “I’m afraid that’s a mystery. We only know that if the connection is unsuccessful then the Beast normally dies and the Brain is left with hardly any powers to speak of. If any of you were to die during the middle of the process then it has the same effect.”

“What if we separated and we lived hallway across the world and never saw one another again?” J asked.

The Wisdom shrugged. “It’s never been done before, the Beast and Brain’s that have connected share interesting qualities. I doubt they would have been able to stay apart.” I looked at J again, her face was pale but she had pulled on her default ‘blank’ expression.

“Now, J you have the answer you’ve also been seeking.”

J’s eyes snapped up to attention. “What?”

The Wisdom leaned back. “You’ve asked yourself over and over why the leader of the cult will not simply let you go. I will tell you this. Not many know about the Beast and Brain connection, but he is one that does. This is why he desires you. And of course, he knows about you Asher, your powers surpass his own, and he fears that if you do not join him than you may pose a threat. Ever since you’ve escaped he’s determined to have you.”

“You’re telling me that the leader of the cult is a Beast?” I asked surprised.

“Yes, and J is the strongest Brain currently living, he believes that if he and J connect, then he will finally be able to wage war on this land and win.”

My mouth dropped open. “But that’s insane!”

“Not if you think about it.” He said calmly. “The cult believes that anyone without powers are lesser beings. They believe that normal humans should be serving them and if they will not yield, then they should be killed. The cult has been around for a long time, but when the current leader took over he organized the group and began to hunt and target people with abilities. He’s been massing an army in that swamp, and he’s been waiting for the right opportunity to attack. He’s not far from it either. J is the final piece to his puzzle.”

J stood up and walked over to one of the small windows and stared out it. She kept her back to me. So that was it, all this time J and I were being hunted because she possessed the power this man craved so he could wage war on this land and spill innocent blood. It would be genocide. Suddenly flashes of my family’s faces came before me, and I realized they would all die unless we did something about it.

“You said that they would keep hunting J unless she killed the leader?” He nodded his head. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

J scoffed and we both looked at her. When she turned to face me I was shocked to see a tear running down her cheek. “Typical Asher; all action and no brain. You think it’ll be that simple? That we’ll just walk in, slay the leader and get out and the world will be saved? That there will be peace?” She demanded. “Well you’re wrong. It’s not that easy. The leader of the cult isn’t the only one who believes in what he is doing. All of his followers who have been marked-” She pulled down her collar to reveal the tattoo under her collarbone, “believe that what they are doing is right. They are devoted to purging the world of weaklings; anyone without a power is just a maggot waiting to die under their heel and each one of them would die for that cause. There are hundreds of his followers in that swamp, they guard, they watch, and they kill without mercy or regret. If we go into that swamp its very, very likely that we will never come out again.”

There was a stunned silence. J was actually admitting that she didn’t think she could do something. She didn’t say it out loud but I saw it in her eyes that she was also afraid of what she might find if she went in.

“I don’t think we have a choice.” I said back calmly. “What are two lives compared to thousands? I will gladly die trying to protect the ones I love, but I cannot, and will not stand idly by while a crazy group of people try to wage war and kill humans just because they don’t have abilities.”

“He will only wage war if he has me.” J said. “So I’ll keep running, I’ll run my whole life if I have to.”

I shook my head and stood up. “No, no that’s not true. Each day becomes more difficult, you told me yourself. You’re tired, you want this to end and even though I know you’d run until you couldn’t do it any longer it wouldn’t matter. More and more men keep finding us and each time it becomes more difficult to escape. Sooner or later you’ll slip up or get hurt and then they would have you. You’d be dragged off against your will.

“I say we end it. And if we die trying then so be it but at least you’d be able to say that you went freely and you did so with a purpose. We might even succeed J, can you imagine that? You wouldn’t have to run, you could finally settle down somewhere quiet and sleep at night without worrying about someone trying to drag you off.”

J slapped me. Not soft either. Her palm cupped and it slammed into the side of my face with sharpness. My head snapped to the side and as a reaction my hand instantly touched my face where it was already begging to burn. The Wisdom remained seated, simply observing the two of us. “Don’t you dare talk that way when you have no right? You speak of fighting for loved ones? Well where are they?” She demanded. “Because last time I checked Asher when I found you, you were rotting in a prison tower without anyone giving a care in the world. Last time I checked I was the only person who even stuck their neck out for you and didn’t run at the first feeling of your ability. Everyone else ran scared but I didn’t. So where are all these loved ones you talk about protecting? You and I have nothing, no one! Why should we give a damn?”

I let her yell. Because I knew she needed to get it out of her system. She wasn’t really yelling at me or about me, she was actually talking about herself. And I knew it. J had been on her own for so long, the world was a cruel place and yet it was up to her to help it. Another tear slid down her cheek, and I realized that this was only the second time I had seen J cry.

“You’re right.” I said simply. “There was no one there to help me out of that prison. There wasn’t anyone who didn’t cower at the sight of me because of what’s inside of me. But you are wrong, because I do have something. I’ve got you, and you still have me. We’re partners you and I, that may mean nothing to you, but it means a lot to me. And we have people to protect, what about Charles and Grace? What about Jeremy, Jake, and Gavril? And all the others we’ve helped and made friends with? They deserve to be protected. Even the people who have abilities would be killed if they didn’t join the cult, and you know that Jeremy would die first, so would Grace and Charles. Even Gavril knew the cult was bad when they came after him and Jake.

“You say we don’t have people to protect but you’re wrong. Besides, I may have not seen my family for a long time but I still want them safe. And anyway, who’s to say this leader fellow won’t just get tired of waiting and simply decide to attack us anyway? He might not be fully successful but a lot of people would still die. I know you try to be heartless but even you couldn’t watch thousands of innocent people die without cause.”

J didn’t say anything; she wasn’t even showing any emotion. So the Wisdom spoke up. “He speaks the truth. You know the leader better than anyone J, he’s rash. It won’t be long before he tires of waiting to catch his prey. Sooner or later he will step out of his swamp.”

J glared at the Wisdom. “Well if you want him dead so bad then why don’t you go kill him?”

He smiled sadly. “I may be safe behind my boarders J but that would change in a heartbeat if I stepped off my lands and gave up my neutrality.”

“You’re no more neutral than I am.” J snorted. “How many members of the cult have you actually helped when they came to call?”

The Wisdom shrugged and smiled. “Depends on what you define as ‘help’.”

I liked the Wisdom more and more.

J finally looked at me and I didn’t lower my gaze. She let out a harsh breath of air. “Damn you Asher. Damn all of you.” I smiled, because I knew J was seeing sense. I knew I had made a point. “Why can’t you go back to the way I found you in that prison? You used to do as I say without any issue.”

“That’s what happens when you keep me in the dark J. I was lost and you were like a bright light in the woods so what else what I suppose to do?”

J sat back down on the bed. “I should have kept it that way.”

“You don’t mean that.”

J didn’t reply.