by: Jim Caswell

Arminious sat in his favorite chair, looking at the multiple boxes surrounding him in the massive storage bay of a cargo ship. He had spent the past six months having his newly purchased furnishings and mansion moved brick-by-brick. He had gotten word from Vanderhoot to come to the island a few days after everyone had left, so he arranged for the move and was now only minutes away from seeing his new home. Rising from the chair, he went up the steps to the deck.

Upon reaching the fresh air, the first thing he noticed was not only the ten acre island that the boat approached, but also that it still seemed to be very dense with vegetation. He had been under the impression that the island would have been renovated by now. Instead, the only sign of civilization that could be seen was a small billow of smoke, curling up from the center of the island.

Using his abilities to create imaginary creatures, Avatar summoned a Pegasus-like horse, mounting the beast and flying toward the smoke. Descending through the thick foliage, he was soon over the controlled fire, which had no one around it. Allowing the creature to dissolve from underneath him, Avatar dropped to the ground, only to be quickly surrounded by six paramilitary mercenaries. An angry Vanderhoot emerged from the forest; frustrated that Avatar had foiled their trap.

Vanderhoot quickly debriefed the new arrival, telling Avatar about the mysterious beast in the jungle that was gradually picking off his men. Now, the group was down to the half dozen present. Vanderhoot also expressed complete outrage over the fact that it took Avatar six months to come to their aid, sparking the hero to want to punch the old man in the face. He restrained himself, though, remembering the advances he had made. Instead, he explained that he assumed it was because the island was ready and he had to move his things. Before he was able to go into detail about the wondrous plans he had for the island, and therefore the need for his things, Vanderhoot interrupted him and brought the conversation back to the beast.

Transforming the trap into a hunting party, the group set out to find the killer. After several hours of searching the dense marshland, Avatar was ready to call it a night when a shadowy figure launched itself out of a tree, slashing at him with claws. The beast turned out to be a man, and the two warriors entered into a slugfest that lasted for several minutes, ending with Avatar summoning his sword of wrath, which subdued the man long enough to spark a conversation.

Avatar learned that the man was named Nightblood and was trained to be a samurai. He had learned of an island where warriors were being trained and had gone there to take over. He had spent the past two years training samurai until three unknown assailants had arrived and leveled the island, killing all of his recruits. As Avatar realized that this man was speaking of IOGWP's island base, he accused the man of being one of their agents and attacked once more. Nightblood had taken the opportunity to recover some, however, and was able to give as good as he had gotten, hacking and slashing until he finally landed a strong enough blow to stun Avatar. Now, with the shoe on the other foot, it was Nightblood's turn to be in charge.

He explained that he believed that the island was his, but learned at the end that his right hand man was actually there to keep an eye on him and IOGWP's property. He had barely escaped from the island with his life and was forced to watch as everything he thought was his was destroyed and sunk to the ocean floor. He had managed to swim to this remote island when a group of military men arrived. Thinking they were there for him, he began killing them off one by one. Realizing that it was Avatar who was leading these men, Nightblood began the battle again, attempting to decapitate the invader. It was Avatar who had recuperated this time, allowing both men to be at their peak.

Seeing a never-ending cycle forming, Vanderhoot stepped in with his men, leveling weapons on both men. "The day I laid eye on you was the worst in my life. I should have laughed in Fredrick's face, but instead I thought I could gain a compound and make some money. And look at what it cost me. I loose a majority of my men and have nothing to show for more than six months of work. Go ahead! Kill each other. Take each other out of my misery. But we are out of here!"

As the military men vanish into the brush, Avatar responds with outrage; they hadn't finished terra-forming the island for the base of operations. Nightblood stopped trying to attack long enough to ask what he needed a base for. Avatar explained how he had been resurrected, sent on a mission to help the world and, despite the fact that on his last three visits to Der Tag he was unable to find anyone to speak to, he was continuing with his plans for forming a globally independent nation to provide a safe haven for disillusioned supers and provide the world with cures for all of its woes. Nightblood expressed that this was also his dream and the reason he was attempting to train samurai, to protect those who could bring about such changes. The two men realized that they had similar goals and agreed that they could work together. They both agreed that they could survive without necessities like fresh water until their first disgruntled super-genius showed up, especially once they rebuilt Avatar's mansion.

Avatar agreed that Nightblood would make a good right hand man, while Nightblood decided that Avatar would make a good right hand man. The two men began arguing over who was going to be who's right hand man, erupting into yet another fistfight for supremacy and whether the base was going to be called "Blood Island" or "Avatar Island".

* * * * *

Wrath looked through the dimensional portal with sorrow as his chosen champion clashed with the immortal samurai. From behind him, another "angel" approached, her form similar in appearance to Avatar's late wife.

"Are you sure this is the right thing, Cherub? It just seems wrong to allow him to walk down this fruitless path without intervention."

"Does it not say that, when one has done wrong, that the first form of punishment is that He removes His presence? We must follow in His example and hope Arminious remembers the proper path."

"But he's making such a mess of the situation, gone completely off the path."

"I know. Remember that free will is not only a gift, but can also be a curse. Let us turn our eyes onto happier things and see what my daughter is up to."

"No thanks. I don't care what you say, I still consider that adventure an error in judgment on your part. Let's see what type of life our brother Seraph is living these days."

"Uneventful, I am sure."

As the two turned their attentions, a thought crossed Wrath's mind. "Cherub. When was the last time any of us has been in His presence?"

The question seemed to catch the female off guard, but she answered as truthfully as she could. "I can't remember, Wrath, but I'm sure that He is still happy with the work we do. After all, we act in His name to correct injustices to the world. It doesn't matter if we occasionally make mistakes."

© Copyright 2004 - James Caswell, Jose Valentin