Training Failures, Secret Singers~PG-13~

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(neo atm

Neo continued to train hard. Spending hours after his mission in China Town...after reuniting with Thana. He was still feeling like if only he could get stronger he'd be able to keep Thana from running away again. He knew her fears and worries. Her stresses and thoughts. He had watched and observed her so much. He managed to get through many of the hologram missions without doing more than defensive evasive or avoidance. However when it came time to strike he hesitated and got his ass kicked. He was sporting bruises. "I am glad I watched and learned from Thana's saying how to activate this...but ouch ouch ouch...its got a punch almost too real." he said.

Sighing and stood up. Pulling to his feet with a groan and going over to the mirror. Lifting up his shirt and studying his injuries. "Less than before..." He moved and went to a music player thingie. After a few moments of just pushing buttons music started to play and he sat there rubbing his aching joints and started to sing. His hair tied back in a ponytail he wore just a ball cap, a pair of pants that he borrowed from her room. His chest rising and falling as he sweated. Singing out loud as he rested. His ears heard the sound of the door opening far away but he was too lost in the music. Soon moving slightly as he sang. (youtube below)

url if it don't work

Last edited by Neo Lancewick on Fri Feb 27, 2015 3:21 pm; edited 1 time in total

Shikon had watched Neo practicing. He was improving, but Shikon thought that maybe he needed an example. So he walked into the room smiling, and whistling a tune. He motioned for Neo to watch. As he got to the console he revved up the mission to the hardest difficulty possible. The simulation started. Shikon was out-maned, out gunned, and to top it off they were wearing protective heat resistant clothing. The machine had a habit of making it harder to use your powers. Shikon moved swiftly from target to target, eliminating the holograms quickly and efficiently.

After a few minutes he was finished, he was breathing normally, and he had not broken a sweat. He smiled over at Neo. "Wonderful singing voice, but what your lacking in your training on these simulations is simply the drive, and acceptance to do it. You can't hesitate. This thing" Shikon tapped the console "Is state of the art, it uses holograms that think like an actual person, if it sees an opening, or it sees you hesitating it will capitalize on that moment. Neo you can't hesitate to strike down your enemy if the need arises, accept the fact that you must another's life in order to preserve your own. That is the first rule of any fight."

Neo jump and flushed as he had been caught singing. "Th-thanks." He said with a flustered and embarressed tone. He liked to sing but...didn't for crowds unless he got into the music first. The street teens learned that...he got stage fright but get him in the music and he'd sing and not realize how many people were there. He moved to face Shikon as he saw the motions out of the corner of his eye. Sitting down and caught his breath. Watching Shikon's motions as he went over to the console. Watching the simulation start. Wow...Shikon always kicked butt like he was dancing. Him and Thana both. They moved like it was second nature to kick butt. He was sure he'd have lost to the simulation level Shikon chose.

He looked down and muttered something but didn't bother to translate it to English. Standing up and walked over to Shikon. "You guys move like you are dancing even when you are kicking butt...its amazing and surreally beautiful." He said softly. Listening to him as he spoke more of that weird conversation Thana and Shikon tended to speak. The console made fake real people...check. He rubbed his other arm. "I'm trying hard...if I can become stronger than Thana won't run away. Then big brother and everyone can be happy too." He said softly.

Looking at him as he thought over Shikon's words. "I didn't hesitate that day in central park...when Central Park became a living venus fly trap...or man eating plant zone. It...it was the first time I've ever used by gifts offensively...or in such magnitude. I wanted to help you...even while being near you while you were on fire made me sleepy. I could do it then...when I was fighting and assisting you and Lakai. I can't figure out how to not hesitate if its just me." He said softly.

Looking at Shikon a bit thoughtfully. Then asked a question he hoped would be alright. He appreciated Shikon's advise and knew he was right. "Can we try the simulation fighting together? I want to see...if I can not hesitating offensively when fighting with someone I care about...again." He asked hopefully. It would prove his theories...but Shikon said you needed to strike the enemy if it arises. Maybe he could do that and just knock out or incapacitate. He'd get this...he'd get stronger.

Shikon looked at Neo with a smile on his face. "You're more than welcome to train with me, but Neo let me ask you this; have you ever thought that maybe your powers don't need to be used offensively?" Shikon walked over to the console and turned the difficulty way down. It was a few levels higher than the lowest setting.

"The reason I ask is because of the type of powers you have. Their not considered offensive powers like mine." To add effect to his point his hand caught on fire, a bright blue flame dancing on his palm. He turned it down and he scorched the floor. "My powers are destructive. They don't give life to something, they take it. Your's though, they give life to the world around you. I saw you use your gift offensively, but I think that wasn't you. You're not the kind of person who wants to take people's lives are you?" Shikon leaned against the console, and smiled waiting for his answer.

Shikon looked at Neo and smiled slightly more. He was trying to become stronger, but Shikon thought he might be trying to become strong in the wrong way. Every mutant's powers were their lifeline. They could defend them, and help them through rough parts of life. Shikon mentally looked over Neo's powers. His were definitely better suited to defense, but the incident at Central Park had him second guessing.

Neo smile brightened when he heard Shikon's answer. That sounded really cool. He blinked a bit and tilted his head slightly to the side. He had come to understand his gift more and more. Even beyond what he'd already known. He'd come to see it in a different light due to Thana, then Shikon and even some from Kelly. Mostly the first two but he'd also learned more about his own gifts due to events over the past period of time. He looked up at him. "I know that Shikon, Thana and Kelly are more what people consider 'offensive fighters' and I am more of the 'Assistive or Protective fighter'. I am happier providing defense, protection, assistance and healing for the offensive fighters. Yet as you and others have said I also need to be able to fight as if you are not able to have my back." He responded a bit but trailed off as he heard Shikon speaking again.

Listening and watched big brother as he spoke on the type of powers then watched as Shikon demonstrated. Staying away and off to the side. He loved the fire and the pretty color it had when Shikon used it. Listening to Shikon's words on his powers before he realized something. Shikon thought his powers only gave life. He hadn't realized as the main thing he used it for was giving life but he also knew it could do others. It was due to his family of Thana and Shikon. Various events that he wanted to be stronger. He moved over to Shikon and took a seat up on a countertop near the console. Thinking over the words that Shikon said. He pondered how to phrase his answer. Thinking it over a bit. "Gift of Nature....when we first met its what you called what I called voice of nature. Remember big brother?"

He started out his response to the very big things. "Big brother is right...in a situation where Shikon or Thana would not hesitate to kill or end a life I would seek to merely incapacitate or disable. This is true...and why I make a great defensive, protective, and assistive ally. Yet...if I had to chose between saving big brother's life or some enemy who would not hesitate to kill us all..I would do anything it took to protect big brother and myself from death. If that meant the enemy had to die so that I would not lose someone important to me...then so be it. I would not be able to kill just to kill but nor would I be willing to stand by and not do whatever it took to keep people I call family and friend as well as ally alive and safe. I wouldn't hesitate to chose big brother, sister or an ally's life over the enemy who is trying to kill them...I would be sad about it later but if I had to kill to save those dear to me I would." He fell silent for a moment.

Yet his expressions told he was not done yet. "For myself or just to do it...I'm not the type of person who wants to take people's lives...its more the nuturing and protective type. I'm not the type who wants to take people's lives. Well...that is not entirely true...slightly a lie." he looked up at Shikon with a very dangerous yet oddly sexy expression. Though his voice stayed beautiful, angelic yet genderless. "There is one person in this world whose life I do want to take. Her name is Madame Slicer and one day I will be strong enough to take her life...and everything precious to her. She is the reason why the girl I loved and her tribe are dead. I want to see the life fade from Madame Slicer's eyes...like I had to watch Kakania's as I held her dying form in my arms. On a whole...no I'm not one who wants to take life...but that woman...she will die by my hands. To avenge Kakania and her nomadic people." He shook his head and his normal demenaor came back.

He pulled out a seed and held it outwards in the flat of his palm of his hand. "I am like nature....so complex yet generally nuturing and protective...loving even. Gift of nature...my gift...big brother knows almost everything about it....except for its other face. So let me show you parts of my gift you never seen even during the Central Park events. One of the many events that have led me to wanting to become stronger...so I can be the best ally I can to all those who are dear to me." He said with a bright yet sincere heartfelt smile. He then went to that mature teenage expression that often got lost in the rest of all the many complex layers that made Neo...Neo. Moving so that Shikon could see the entire events as they happened. Neo bent over and whispered to the seed in his palm. "Grow for me." Almost too soft to hear. The seed took that yellowish white glow and sprouted. Grew and formed a tomato plant. The plant began to bud. Flower blossom. Then grow plump beautiful red tomatoes that looked vibrant and beautiful.

He ignored it as he looked up at Shikon. "Now watch big brother....my gift is a double edged sword. Its...a gift of nature and nature itself is daulistic to the world around it. So, tes...I prefer to use it to give life and protect. Defend so to speak. Yet like nature...watch as the darker side of my gift rears its ugly head big brother." He was very serious sounding. He stared at the plant and put his other hand on it. His entire form rippled with energy for a moment as he the tomatoes began to shriver and turn dull of life. Wrinkling and going brown then black. The green of the plant began to slowly wilt, wither, turn brown. Then wither away as the tomatoes fell off but turned to dust before hitting the ground. The leaves fell off dead one by one also turning to dust before hitting the ground. The stem wilted and turned lifeless before vanishing into dust.

Neo's eyes returned to a normal blue without glow as he brushed the dust off his hand before it too seemed to fade away. "Nature is double edged dagger...where it gives life it can take life. Where big brother's causes destruction it also can cause creation...so is nature. Without destruction there is no creation." He fell silent and sat there with his hands in his lap. Letting Shikon absorb the events and the words now. "Someone should tell Poison Ivy then...that nature is just defensive and for protecting." He said almost jokingly. Whether he meant the movie villaness or the plant was hard to say.

Shikon listened quietly and watched quietly as Neo demonstrated his powers secondary side. Shikon smiled and shook his head slightly. He then laughed loudly and for a long moment. Had anyone normal heard him they would have thought he was insane. When he had finally collected all the bits of himself he spoke. "Well certainly you're power is very impressive! And it is one of the more powerful ones I've seen in my time of leading the Brotherhood. You are not wrong Neo, in believing that your power is like a double edged sword, all powers are truly a double edged sword. All of our powers can give or take life. Yours, mine, Thana's Lakai's Kas. All of ours can give or take life!"

The smile slowly faded from his face as he thought over a few things. Memories flashed before his eyes. Kills he had done, people who had died for money when he was still a cut throat. He blinked quickly a few times before he spoke again. "Neo I think you misunderstood what I meant. What I meant was that you need to be sure that you want to use your powers to take life away. It's not something that can be taken lightly, your first kill. Your true first kill will change you entirely. It changes the way a person sees life. You can become strong without having to kill. That is why I ask these questions. You have to decide whether you want to be the executioner or the blade that does it. Do you understand Neo?