Untitled

by Sola Adeyemi

Thwack! Clarisse Burns sent Trisha Martygroff through the glass panels of the space ship’s operation room with one backspin kick. Her eyes were ablaze as she glared down at her enemy, approaching her carefully. She trained her staff on Trisha as she quickly rolled back up.

“Yield,” Burns growled at Martygroff. Martygroff simply brushed the glass off of her uniform. Burns looked at the symbol sewed into her jacket with contempt. Her scowl deepened.

“Never,” Martygroff replied, carefully taking in Burns’ stance. You’ve been training for this day, she thought to herself. You’re our secret weapon. You can’t screw this up. She slowly reached for her wrist, where her bracelet was firmly secured. Should I remove it?, she wondered. Martygroff expected Burns to be strong; they had been studying Burns’ fighting ability since the war began. She was a member of the opposition’s best family of warriors. She’d have to use her abilities if she wanted to stand a chance, but she also knew the risks.

“Why will you not leave us be?” Burns demanded, charging at Martygroff with her staff. Martygroff lunged to the side, sprinting through the halls of the ship. “You know they are wrong! Can’t you see what they’ve done to us? To our home? They took away all that we had! How could you side with them after what they did to our family?” Burns continued as she kept advancing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Martygroff responded, dodging another strike. All they had? What did that have to do with me?, she wondered angrily. She wouldn’t know a thing about my family! It’s all part of her tactics to get in my head! “Lies!” Burns yelled out and lunged forward again, doing a downward swipe with her staff and taking Martygroff’s feet from beneath her. Martygroff hit the ground, her head hitting the floor with one loud smack. She cried out in pain, but quickly flipped herself upright. She jumped back to put some distance between them.

Martygroff reached for her bracelet again. I need to decide quickly, she thought. Sweat and blood trickled down her head. Martygroff didn’t think she’d be pushed so hard so soon. Graduating at the top of her military class, she quickly rose to the front lines, earning the respect of her peers and leaders. She was one of the few citizens in her class that wasn’t born on the mainland, so she had to work twice as hard to gain the attention of the captains and work her way up the ranks. Finally, here was her chance to prove herself and make her nation proud. Would she still be praised if she used her ability?

Whatever it takes to win, she decided, removing the bracelet. For my country! With a defiant cry, she burst into flames. Burns scowled and stepped back, but Martygroff wasted no time charging towards her enemy. She thrust out her hands and shot white hot fireballs at Burns, who spun her staff and deflected them the best she could. Burns continued to reason.

“Your mother-“

“Shut up!” Martygroff roared, still ablaze. She switched to close combat.

“I will not! You need to hear the truth!”

“I know the truth! You all are the true traitors! Your people refuse to accept our ways of unity. We cannot trust you!” Martygroff managed to kick Burns’ staff away and burn her hand. Burns yelped in pain and started for the staff, but Martygroff tackled her to the ground. Martygroff’s cloak of fire disappeared, but her strength was still enhanced and she got the upper hand in the wrestling match. She tried to press her forearm into Burns’ throat, but Burns still had some strength of her own.

“Are those the delusions that they fed you? That you were living in unity? Do you even remember what they did to your family? Your mother?” Burns croaked out, pushing against Martygroff’s forearm. Martygroff pressed harder in anger.

“You. Don’t. Know. Me,” she growled. With a burst of energy, Burns headbutted Martygroff in the face and kicked her backwards. “I do,” she panted out. “But it seems you’ve forgotten who you are.”

“I’ve trained to fight for this nation all my life! We seek to restore unity and order to this wretched solar system! We’ve united our neighboring nations to fight against those who work to carry out their own agenda and break away from our peaceful ideals! If you continue to resist our agenda for peace, we will put a stop to you. For good,” Martygroff stated.

“Peace?” Burns let out a dry laugh. “Wake the hell up. Your country doesn’t want peace. They want to control you. They want your abilities so that they can take over the solar system. You’re just a vessel of power to them!”

“You lie!” Martygroff lunged at Burns, but she smacked Martygroff aside. “You want proof?” Burns asked. Martygroff began to rise shakily, concentrating on regenerating her cloak of fire. “I’ll show you what your beloved nation is truly after!”

Martygroff let out a warrior’s cry and charged as Burns let out a yell of her own. Suddenly, every water pipe in the hall exploded, and a cylinder of water formed and rushed around Burns, sending Martygroff flying backwards. Martygroff stayed laying on the floor in shock. Impossible, she thought, she can’t be like me. She can’t have the same ability as me. That would mean…

“Power,” Burns spat out. “It’s all they want, sister. It’s why they took everything from us, including you. If they wouldn’t yield, they would brainwash as many as they could into following them and wipe their memory clean of everything they ever knew before their little ‘unity’ project.”

“You…” Martygroff started shakily, but had no words. No. It couldn’t be true. All of the teachings and training she’d had for this very moment couldn’t be a lie. “Sister,” Burns started. Martygroff met Burns’ teary eyes as she reached out her hand. “Come back home.”