Ow. Okay, the next time I do that shockwave thing, I'm going to remind myself not to. I mean... Wait. What's going on? I got up to see... nothing. I wasn't sure where I was. Everything was white in contrast to the usual black. I could make out a few things. Trees, grass and some rock formations. I looked around. A mist was everywhere when I saw a figure wearing a pure white costume a few feet away from me. He looked like some kind of ancient warrior and he was armed with a bow and arrows. Great. He aimed and I dodged the arrow, but when the second one came at me, I caught it and threw it away.
"You're going to have to do better than that," I told him. He drew out a sword and came closer to me.
"Done," he said a rusty tone of voice. I summoned my sword and we started trading sword blows. Side slashes, descending cuts even while spinning his sword, we weren't getting anywhere. He was good, but so was I. I blocked one his sword attacks and hit him in the face. Staggered, I kicked him away with a spinning back kick and grabbed his arm. I twisted his wrist to release his sword and kicked it away. I got him in a joint lock, but I saw him pull out a knife. As I let go of his wrist, I flipped right over him and kicked him in the back of the head. He didn't see that one coming, but it didn't stop him from blindly throwing his knife at me. I caught it, but I was shocked just how accurate he was.
"Okay, not bad. Time to change the game." I launched myself at him, but he just ducked out of the way. I managed to grab something, tore it off and when I landed, I looked at what I had. It was his mask. When I saw the warriors face, I almost fainted. "What the hell?"
"Nice to see you too, Tristan," the warrior said in such a familiar voice, it was too hard to forget. The warrior was Jay. Jacob Tristan was here and I was just fighting him.
"What are you-?" Before I could finish, I realised something. If he's here, does that mean...? "Am I dead?" Jay smiled a little.
"Not in the slightest." His warrior costume disappeared with the mist, revealing a sensible buttoned shirt and jeans. "You're still alive. Your mind is, kind of, at a meeting point."
"What?" I asked, but the mist slowly dispersed. I could hear something behind me. My sword disappeared as well. "How? What is this place?"
"I think I should let her tell you," Jay said indicating someone behind me. I slowly turned to see a woman emerge from the mist. When she appeared, I thought I was going to die. With a simple top, jeans and sneakers, it was my mother, Talia.
"T-Talia?" I stuttered. She gave me a wide smile and looked at me. Seeing me made her tear up.
"My beautiful boy," she said as we hugged. How-? How in the world was this possible? She felt real. I'm at a such a loss for words, but at the same time, I couldn't be happier. I met my mother. My dead mother. We parted away and I finally managed to get a question out.
"How is this possible?" Talia wiped away her tears and she walked over to Jay, but she still looked right at me.
"Where we are is called a Soul Bridge," she explained. "It's a place where the living can meet those that have passed on."
"Not many legacies experience this, but only in dire need of help." Jay finished. I get it. Some of it anyway...
"So," I started. "You two aren't really..." I stopped because I didn't want to repeat what I saw in night terrors. I saw how they died and I didn't want them to feel guilty. I shook and Talia just stared at me. "What is it?" She snapped out of it and just sighed with a smile.
"It's just..." She was having a tough time getting her words together. "You look so good." Her smile turned to sorrow. "I am so sorry that you had to go through the visions alone." I sighed. "If I was alive, I could have-" I raised my hand to stop her.
"Talia." Wait, that didn't sound right. "Mum." That's better. "You saved my life. Don't mind the fact I grew up with the visions for eleven years. Despite that, I had a great life. I have a family that loves me. Friends that look out for me." Hope you don't mind this, Delinda. "And I have your stubborn best friend for an aunt, so I'm pretty good here." Talia and Jay burst out laughing and looked at me. I didn't see that coming.
"I told he's got my sense of humour," Jay jabbed, only to receive an elbow to the gut from Talia. "Ouch. Even dead, that still hurts." They were acting so normal. Like nothing happened.
"I have so many questions." I started, but I saw they both got a pained look on their face.
"Sweetheart," Talia started. "I know you do. But..." She was upset. Why? "But we can't stay long." No. No, that was so not wanted to hear.
"But we can help you right now," Jay said in a collected tone. "You remember that burnout you interrogated? Simon?" I nodded. "Well, we can help with that."
"How?" I remarked.
"Alright," Talia continued. "Remember the origin story of the Legacies?" I nodded. "Well, the sorcerer that gave the First her powers made the same deal like with the Progenitor: Shed no innocent blood. If she did, she would lose her powers."
"I'm not following."
"Okay," Jay tried again. "Legacies were created to take down vampires, not humans."
"So, when someone, like Simon, kills a human being in cold blood, they begin to lose their powers," Talia continued. What? "The more they kill, the more the powers will degrade."
"But's it's more than that. Even though the memories of your Hero don't haunt you anymore, they still subconsciously guiding you, helping you learn things quickly, help you fight and adapt to enemy strategies."
"Burnouts lose that connection, causing them to rely on brute force and aggressive tactics to beat their enemies." Wait...
"Okay, I'm getting it a little," I admitted. "But, what about them personally?"
"Their personalities shift," Jay explained. "They become shells of who they were, driven more by vengeance than justice." Wait, hold on. Something's bugging me.
"So, if we kill someone, we burn out?"
"No," Talia corrected. "If you were trying to save the life of another or in self-defence, you won't burn out." That makes a lot of sense now.
"Okay, murdering people equals burning out. I think I got it."
"Good." Jay began again. "Next we can tell you what Nash wants with the Aegis."
"Okay." I was unsure about this next part.
"You met him," Talia said with scorn. "He says he's doing this out of some twisted revenge mission for me."
"Which is how he tried to justify his actions. Not that I'm defending him."
"Well, that's what he says," Jay said. "The truth is he blames both sides for what happened to Talia and you." Huh? "He doesn't want to just wipe out the vampires. He wants to wipe the whole war." Okay, I'm not liking this.
"I'm not liking this," I admitted in fear.
"You won't like this either," Talia admitted. "The spell he's planning to use with the Aegis will draw out all of the mystical energy from all of the Legacies around the world to create a worldwide vampire extinction event." Oh, crap with a capital c.
"So, what? It'll kill us as well?" I asked her and all she did was a nod. Oh, great. "How am I supposed to stop him?"
"You already know how," Jay told me. "Nash may have pulled himself back together from what Talia did to him, but the truth is it's still happening."
"The Glyph I used on him was called Release," Talia told me. Gabe was right. "It's still trying to expel all of the magic he has stolen and that's why he can't use his full strength."
"Because if he does, he'll die," I concluded.
"Tristan." Raya's voice echoed throughout the white space.
"What was that?" I asked, but their faces said it wasn't good.
"You're waking up," Talia admitted. Oh, no. Not yet! "We don't have long."
"Wait!" I told them. "I still have so much to ask you."
"I know, honey," Talia started crying. "But you have to stop him. Only you can."
"She's right," Jay said with a sad smile. "Even with all his power, he can't win against you. A magician's power with a Legacy's instincts is a powerful combination." Talia still tried to fight back tears and I was trying to do the same.
"Alright, but I need to ask you something," I told them. "I heard what happened when you saved me from Nash the first time. You knew that portal you opened would lead me to my parents. Did you know them?" Talia wiped away her tears.
"Yes," she admitted tearfully. "It was years ago and just after we got engaged. We both took a trip down to Sydney. They didn't know our real names, but we knew they were good people." They did know them. "The portal was only a last resort and I didn't know Delinda survived her attack on Nash at the time. So, I sent them to Brian and Mary because I knew, above all else, you would be loved." Talia sent me to them, knowing they would care about me? She... did save me. "To know that you grew up loved is the only thing I could have asked for." We came in for a group hug. I felt my tears soak into their clothing. This one experience. This chance to finally met them... I wouldn't have traded this for the world. I finally know who I was. Who I am. I, at last, know the truth.
"I love you, mum. Dad," I muttered.
"We love you too, honey," she cried.
"We'll always love you, son," Jay said while trying to keep strong."Always." Then, everything faded to white...
