Chapter 7

John had been pacing all day, there had to be a solution to this problem. There was no way that he could let Mitch enter the battle, even with his power increasing every day, John knew that when the actual battle took place Mitch didn't stand much of a chance. Even more frustrating was the fact that Mitch was refusing to back down from being John's second. A week! That's all they had to prepare, even with the week John was afraid that Mitch would die if he entered the fray.

Millie was extremely worried, she understood that John could say nothing of it but damn it she was his wife and she was terrified beyond belief for her husband and Mitch. Even Helen was visibly disturbed by the chain of events that had unfolded, the fact that she couldn't concentrate on her experiments wasn't lost on anyone. Mitch had tried to explain as best he could within the boundaries of the treaty but it was extremely difficult when almost everything was a taboo to talk about. Trey was trying to work even though he still had no control over his new body's muscles as of yet.

Mitch and John had finally started to work on the advanced techniques of battle strategy, finally John was starting to see patterns emerging. Had he not been as powerful as he was he saw that the first Triacarian, would have defeated him easily.

"You have to remember John," Mitch stated, "In the Battle Scape everything that you use, you create, unlike this world, you can heal wounds with your mind. We need to concentrate on this before we start actual battle strategy, we will go to the Miacarian dream sharing field to train you there."

John thought of the 2 of them in the house, appearing in the drawing room Mitch's eyes were wide.

"As my mate recently commented fascinating! That was also my first time being thought shifted without my knowledge of where I was going." Mitch said looking around in surprise.

Both laid down and within seconds were in the dream scape.

"Now John I want you to think heal," Mitch said, " the entire time we are here each time till it is automatic as you put it."

John nodded and did as Mitch advised, damn he thought this is harder than I thought it would be. Mitch explained that they needed to go as hard and fast fighting each other as they could, the exercise would help to increase their basic abilities, this in turn would bring about more powerful and longer lasting abilities when they increased power. They were soon ripping away at each other with energy spikes, whips, spears almost anything they could think of. After a few hours they were both covered in bruises, cuts and blood all of which were fading at a quick rate.

Leaving the dream scape world, John opened his eyes to see a worried Millie and Mica standing over him Mica had her hands on him a strange energy was flowing from her over his body.

"Mica hon?" John squeaked out hoarsely, "What are you doing hon?"

A relieved look come into her eyes as she answered, "I am healing you daddy, Helen taught me, she said I have great healing power, but I can't heal you as fast as Helen can, I almost lost you daddy, it scared me. Please don't do this!" Mica suddenly cried throwing her arms around his neck hugging him fiercely, "I don't want to lose you daddy!"

Wrapping his arms around his daughter, he kissed her tears away, "honey, I have to, if I don't all the bad men will hurt everyone on this planet, probably kill them. Hon, I can't let that happen."

Holding him tighter her renewed tears tore at his heart, holding her till she fell asleep John rose and carried her to her room.

Millie watched the whole time though she feared for him, she realized that yes, he had to do this. A smile crept on her lips their daughter loved her father so much, that emotion had somehow fueled and spurred her healing power to increase when John's vital signs had started to falter. Even Helen had been surprised at the amount of power the small girl had displayed.

"Your daughter will be the greatest healer this planet will have for a very long time, I will train her as much as I can before we have to leave. Her capacity for learning has started to increase far faster than I at first projected." Helen had told her, when she had ran to help John. Millie was just happy that their daughter's love was as great as it was.

The rest of the week they trained, finally the fifth day, John found that he didn't have to think heal it was already going as Mitch had said. In those 5 days they had almost killed each other several times, though John noticed that indeed Mitch's power was most definitely increasing faster than if he hadn't been fighting. John's power it seemed had also more than doubled it took all Mitch had just to keep up with him. Little Mica's healing ability had also increased at least 3 times, Helen found that she was almost as powerful as her self. Helen thought they were well prepared, John had learned almost all the strategies, surprising Mitch, John came up with a few more even more detailed then Mitch's. The day before the battle John was again pacing, true Mitch was far more powerful than he thought he'd get, John was still worried his abilities were more than a match for the sun killer, but the tricky bastard had to have something up his sleeve to feel so damn cocky.

Mitch and Helen were in their room talking to Trey who had managed to build a small machine that they were asking him about.

"This will allow all of us to view the battle the first time I think it has ever happened. I researched the Piracarie many years ago, this is allowed as they once said, they provide the rules, the arena, not much else but punishment for breaking the treaty" Trey was saying.

"How can this precipitate victory? How is the viewing of said battle able to gain dominance?" Helen asked.

"It will allow you to heal certain areas faster to reciprocate better efficiency in the battle." Trey responded.

"Ah! I perceive a 79% further chance for victory, excellent extrapolation Tretyondalivinon!" Helen breathed out.

"I too, believe that this will facilitate victory, though I am concerned for John's mental capacity it has grown faster than anticipated, is there any detection of cerebral damage?" Mitch asked

"None detected, soon he might be at our children's levels." Helen replied.

"Good, soon I hope the fourth race will emerge," Mitch said a wry smile on his face.

The next day everyone had prepared as much as they could, all there was left was the waiting for the Piracarians to call them to the battle field. John and Mitch had been going over mental exercise to help sharpen John's mental reactions further. They had just finished there was a booming noise in the house, the Piracarians alerting them that it was time to start the final conflict. Helen and Mica were between Mitch and John prepared for the worst if it came down to it. Finally they heard a voice say it was the appointed time, laying down they were soon floating in an area not unlike the Miacarian dream sharing field. John looked around expecting the sun killer to be there but only an empty gray expanse met his vision.

<I thought that we would all be brought here at the same time, > thought John.

Mitch shook his head, <we are all here but the Piracarians appear to be allowing us to adjust to our new environment before we start.>

John nodded as he started to make small weapons, then larger weapons, soon he was making mechanized shapes. Mitch was staring at John just when had he learned this? Mitch wondered he'd shown no inclination toward things of this nature when they had been training, was John truly that much more advanced than Mitch thought?

Finally there was another almost deafening boom then John and the sun killer were inside a rounded circle, from the looks of it the circle had a powerful shield around it.

The sun killer sneered when he saw Jon, <enjoy your last moments human! We are in my medium now I am all powerful here!> With that several bolts of energy flew toward John, John just glanced at the alien smiling when the bolts fizzled when they hit his shield. <Ahh! good and here I thought this might be boring, I like to make my enemy suffer and beg before I completely crush the life from them.>

John waited almost an hour watching the other attack over and over his attacks slowly growing in strength, till finally the attacks were actually making his shield flare.

Finally John sent his own bolt at the sun killer, twice as strong as the strongest that had hit John's shields.

Smiling the sun killer reached out then a look of surprise crossed his face, the bolt hit his shield and stuck there for a good minute and a half.

<What are you trying to prove human? This is nothing to me! with that he tried to absorb the bolt then suddenly flung it away. <How dare you! Those aren't allowed!> John looked at him with contempt, <They are allowed in response to the bolts that you were directing at me! You think I am that backwards that I couldn't detect the energy syphoning effects of your bolts? I just took back what you tried to take from me that is all!> With that John sent an even more powerful bolt at the sun killer, this one the alien actually had to avoid. Both sent extremely powerful energy at the other, hours later the 2 were starting to feel the exhaustion of using as much energy as they had.

Another few hours saw them actually starting to injure the other John's first had finally penetrated the sun killer's shields striking him on his right side burning him to the point that side looked devastated, but John knew the alien was healing even as they were battling. Their energy finally failing to keep their shields at full, was starting to allow them to be injured, John could almost feel Mica healing his body along with Helen. 12 hours had passed John and the sun killer had no more energy blasts left, they had both sent all the weapons they'd made at the other. The sun killer was cut across the face, his right hand and arm, both legs had multiple cuts from the thighs almost to the feet.

John was fairing not much better, both his arms were cut, his forehead, his legs, like the sun killer he had bruises to almost every exposed part of his body. Both of the combatants were barely on their feet, the sun killer began to think he might lose this if they didn't hurry up. Suddenly John heard Mica scream, John paused only a moment, the sun killer knew he had him, smashing John in the head with a spear like weapon and thrusting it through John's side, surprised John felt limp and tried to catch his self as he started to fall.

Knowing he had to act before he passed out John thought out <second!> With that John fell to gray landscape then faded enraged more than he'd ever been Mitch stepped into the circle, his face a twisted mask of rage.

The sun killer thought he had more than enough energy to kill Mitch a thought that was soon squashed. Mitch's power had risen to the point that it threatened to take him over completely just like las ... Smiling Mitch raised his arm to block a thrust by the sun killer. Roaring, Mitch put everything into the punching blast he hit the sun killer with, a scream rose from his mind, <NO! you can't defeat me! I am far superior to you, NO!> The sun killer fell bouncing a few times before finally not moving, like John the body winked out.