The Book of Fate Part 2: Preparations

Meanwhile in a faraway place, Jekyll is slowly opening his eyes. His whole body hurts everywhere. He attempts to move his body but fails. Some weird lady with odd blue skin appears and grabs his legs dragging him to a pool of water. Once his body is submerged up to his neck, she stops right before turning into water herself and falling back into the source. Jekyll thought he must be going crazy because water ladies didn’t seem plausible even in their super-powered society. He moved his arm to scratch his head in confusion. He then realizes that he can move his arm. He looks at it and notices the damage is slowly fading away. He cups his hands together and splashes water on his face. He looks at his reflection seeing his body slowly return back to normal. The water in the center suddenly rises up and forms a humanoid shape showing a larger version of the blue woman with sea-green hair. She opens her coral eyes and speaks in a tranquil, melancholic voice with a lot of ambience towards it, “You are the one who wishes to stop the power of fate?”

Jekyll says confused, “Power of fate. No offense, I just want to get my map back from Pyro. I would rather not have him control fate but in all honesty, I’m not sure I care enough for that.”

She asks him while circling around him slowly, “So you only wish to stop him, not out of valor but out of selfishness?”

Jekyll responds angrily, “I guess you can call it that. No offense, but I got no power unlike the rest of them. That one guy called me a freaking ‘Null’ for crying out loud! That term has been used to devalue people like me ever since this whole superpower thing started! How do you expect me to possibly stop him from obtaining the power of fate? Which should be impossible I might add.”

She smiles and says, “You are indeed the perfect counterbalance.” She reaches out her hand and it suddenly stretches quickly with a lot of pressure and grabs a rolled-up parchment on a pedestal. Her hand returns to her and she hands the parchment over to Jekyll. “In order to oppose the one you call ‘Pyro’ you will need this map to find him. When you are ready to leave, just ask it and it will take you to the start of your journey. She dissolves back into the water with a big splash. Curious, Jekyll opens it up and the map begins to write words on itself, “Yo, what’s up my homies? Are you ready to beat the crap out of this guy?”

“You have got to be kidding me,” says Jekyll unsure of what to feel.

The map responds nonverbally, “Wow, rude much. Sure, people are always after my big bro, but does anyone even ask about my well-being or even my existence? Nooooo!”

“Why are there two maps anyway?” asks Jekyll.

“Some guy up in the sky said that if there was only one map, it could lead to imbalance or some crap like that. In all honesty, I didn’t care. I’m sure I slept through that class,” answers the map.

“Oh, I see,” says an annoyed Jekyll.

“No comment on a map even going to class? What kind of anti-comedian are you?” asks the map.

An annoyed Jekyll replies, “I see we’re going to get along just fine.”

“So you do understand sarcasm,” replies the map.

“Where are we anyway? Or did you sleep through that class too?” asks Jekyll a little fed up.

The map replies, “Oh, puh-lease. Give me some more credit than that. I live here you know. You’re in the Healing Spring of Celestia ruled by well, the water lady herself Celestia. She’s a really nice person but don’t tick her off. Last time, someone did that. Well, I think you called it the Great Flood of ’93.”

Jekyll’s eyes went wide as he just learned that in his history class just last week minus the goddess actually causing it. Jekyll said, “I thought that happened because the dam burst during a storm.”

“And who do you think caused the storm? Fun fact, some of the waterfalls in your world is where she peed at.”

“I could have gone my whole life without knowing that one,” partially mumbles Jekyll.

“Anyway, are you ready to go?” asks the map.

He looks at himself and notices his clothes are drenched.

He states, “First of all, I need a change of clothes.”

“No problem. I’’ll change them for you when we teleport,” responds the map to his statement.

Jekyll grimaces in disgust and asks, “Can’t you just make it appear here and allow me to change them myself.”

“Alright, that’s cool.”

The map glows and in a golden flash a new change of clothes appears that is exactly like the ones he’s wearing minus water damage. He asks, “Just to confirm, this isn’t your poop or anything is it?”

“Who would want to wear clothes that are literal crap. No, we’re just allowed to pull some Dues Ex Machinas if need be. For example, my bro teleported you here to act as a counterbalance for this whacko you call Pyro. Just roll me up first though. I don’t want to see you nude.”

Neither did he so he rolled up the map and placed it down. The water turns into a giant hand that points east and Celestia’s voice states, “There’s a changing room over there.” The arm drops backs into the water and Jekyll replies, “Thanks.”

As Jekyll went to change his clothes, a helicopter flies high in the sky. Pyro is sitting in the navigator’s seat instructing the pilot on where to go. Suddenly, an alarm goes off as one of the propellers suddenly starts smoking stopping it causing the plane to start falling out of the sky. Pyro runs out of the cockpit and opens the door. He looks up and sees the remains of the propeller. The map starts glowing, so Pyro unfurls it and it writes, “Your first task begins.” The text disappears, Pyro puts the map in his pocket, and rushes over to the parachutes. “Everyone, grab one!” he orders with absolute conviction his face determined. The ninjas all grab a parachute along with Pyro. He rushes over to the pilot with an extra parachute in hand. “You too,” orders Pyro as he hands the pilot the parachute. He rushes to the open door on the copter and jumps out. He shoots fire out of his hands to propel himself into the forest. The helicopter crashes down nearby at a 35-degree angle exploding on impact. He lands on a tree branch and sees his crew slowly falling thanks to the parachutes. He sighs in relief and the map starts glowing in his pocket. He takes it out and unfurls it once more and the map states, “Thou hast passed the first test. You must walk on foot from here.” The text disappears and the map redraws itself but this time in greater detail.

“Well crap. I guess this is why it refused to teleport me.” He closes the map and puts it in his pocket. He jumps off the tree branch onto the ground and walks over to check on his men. They eventually land and unhook their parachutes. “Is everyone alright and accounted for?” asks Pyro with dignity. Everyone else deliberates with each other on the issue before answering, “Yes, sir Pyro. Everyone is here and accounted for. Injures seem minor given the circumstances. No further medical attention is required.”

Pyro takes a look around taking into account the years of service these employees have given him along with the many glances he gave their files over the years. He sinks into thought for a couple of minutes before replying looking straight at them, “Alright then I’ll take your word for it. This will count as a workplace injury which is covered by your company health insurance so get yourselves checked up once all this is said and done.” He pauses for a moment before continuing, “Apparently, this was a test by the map or some other higher being. We have to remain on our toes.” He reaches into his pocket and grabs the map, unfurls it, and states, “It looks like it’s at least a 3-day trek between here and the temple. How disappointing. Someone call George and tell him that we won’t be needing his services today after all. Before we head out, we need to confirm all of our available supplies at the moment.”

Jekyll comes out of the changing room looking good as new. He picks up the map, opens it, and says, “Ok, now I’m ready to head out.”

The map glows and writes, “Yo, that’s what I’m talking about. One magic octagon coming up!”

An octagon like symbol with yin and yang in its center appears below Jekyll and in an instant, he finds himself in a forest. The map begins to draw itself and he was quite a longs way from Greensburrow. The sun is getting ready to set and he says, “So that’s where he’s going. You sure you can’t just send us straight there instead of me walking all the way?”

The map responds, “Sorry, but that’s a no-can do. Fate dude said that I’m supposed to interfere as little as possible. He’s a bit of a snob.”

“For a map, you’re not very polite,” responds Jekyll.

“If you want polite, you shouldn’t have lost my brother. Now get walking, you’re not going to get anywhere standing here.”

He sighs and furls his map. He places it in his backpack that was included with his new outfit and after he zips it up and puts it back on. He starts walking. Night falls, owls could be heard hooting in the distance. Jekyll keeps walking as he hears a hissing sound. He speeds up his walking. Jekyll steps on a twig and half-expects a monster or something to attack but nobody came. He sees some bushes and once he gets to them, he sees a camp beyond it belonging to Pyro.

Pyro takes a sip from his cup of coffee and states, “It was very fortunate that our camping supplies were intact despite the crash. I would like to thank John for quickly gathering up the supplies and bringing them here.”

John replies, “Ah, thanks boss.”

“By the way, you all can take off your uniform. At this point, you’re not going to need them unless that one guy shows up but what would be the odds of that?”

His map starts glowing and he unfurls it. It says, “The odds are very likely as he should have been transported nearby by now.”

“Ah crap, really?” says Pyro in annoyance and disappointment.

“What did the map say?” asks another ninja.

“It said that he should be nearby,” answers Pyro.

The same ninja asks, “Is that really a problem?” as Jekyll walks back slowly and bumps into someone. He looks behind him and sees a ninja towering over him who grabs him by the hood and walks out the bushes with him interrupting Pyro’s conversation.

Pyro says, “Excellent job, Sal. Put him down gently.”

The ninja puts him down and Pyro walks up to Jekyll. He starts, “Listen, we got off on the wrong foot when we last met. How about I cut you a deal? We just travel together to the temple and when we get there, I give you your map back along with a ride home and we’ll call it even.”

“You tried to kill me! Burned down my house!” reminds Jekyll furiously.

Pyro interrupts, “Actually, we didn’t. When you disappeared, there was no point.”

“Even so, you still stole my family’s most precious heirloom and you expect me to work together with you just to get back my property? Give me one good reason why I should…”

Fire appears in Pyro’s hands. “Last time I checked you were just a Null. An uninteresting irregularity. Now you have to choose one of two options. Accept my offer where you’ll travel with us as one of our colleagues or we burn you into an unrecognizable shape and take you by force. What will it be?”

Jekyll gulps and asks scared, “Isn’t that a little uncalled for?”

“Why even give him the choice, sir? Wouldn’t it be better to just burn him alive here and now?” inquires the ninja who questioned Pyro’s motives a moment ago.

“Do you not know how counterbalances work in ancient legends?” genuinely asks Pyro.

Jekyll tries to take the moment to flee but the ninja freezes him in a block of ice. The ninja answers, “No, I don’t understand about counterbalances at all.”

“Ok, before I unfreeze him, let me just make sure we’re all on the same page. Anyone who doesn’t understand, please gather round,” states Pyro.

The ninjas all gather around Pyro. “Many legends talk about the existence of a powerful entity or artifact. A counterbalance is someone or something in order to oppose said entity or artifact. This is believed to represent both sides of any conflict that could occur because of the entity’s actions or the artifact’s potential for both creation and destruction. In this case, we are dealing with an artifact. I’m sure you all heard the tale of Excalibur, right?”

Everyone nods.

“Ok, good. Remember that Excalibur can only be wielded by the chosen one of the tale and is needed to slay the dragon in it. This would mean that the combination of Excalibur and the chosen one is the counterbalance in the tale, therefore a big problem for the dragon. Now what we seek is an artifact called the Book of Fate. Since the map referred to him (he points to Jekyll) as a counterbalance, Null or not we cannot simply ignore him. For now, we need to treat this with the upmost caution. Any questions?”

The ice ninja raises his hand.

“You may speak, Troy.”

Troy asks, “I understand the whole counterbalance thing now, but if that’s the case why not just kill him right here and now?”

“An excellent question. Some legends have the counterbalance interwoven deeply into its narrative to where if the counterbalance isn’t alive, it may render us unable to acquire said artifact. That’s why we shouldn’t kill him, yet. We can maim and torture him, but not kill him until we get the book. Understand?”

Troy nods his head.

“Any further questions?”

No one answers. Pyro says, “Good, now let’s unfreeze him.”

The fire appears back in his hand and he blasts the ice in a small stream on low heat. Just hot enough to melt the ice. The ice starts melting. Once Jekyll’s head is exposed, Pyro stops.

Jekyll stutters, “I…can’t b-b-believe you…froze m-m-me.”

“Well, let’s add this to the previous offer. You accept it and I’ll unfreeze you. If not, you’ll go back on deep freeze and we’ll drag you with us anyway.”

Jekyll ponders it while he freezes in his icy prison. Pyro leaning on it with a smug expression. Jekyll knows he is cornered and that there’s only one option, “Fine, I-I-I accept your o-o-offer. However, I want to see my m-m-map. I need to make sure you haven’t d-d-damaged it.”

More fire appears in Pyro’s hands as he agrees, “That can be arranged.” He walks back a bit before turning around to face the ice. He blasts a much bigger stream of fire than earlier making Jekyll feel both hot and cold at the same time. The ice starts melting and as less and less ice remains on Jekyll’s person, Pyro gradually decreases the heat of the flames to avoid cooking Jekyll alive. Once Jekyll thaws him out, he snaps his fingers and John brings a towel over and places it over Jekyll.

“First and foremost, dry yourself up. If you have a spare set of clothes, I suggest changing into those first,” suggests Pyro before calling, “John!”

John turns around and asks, “Yes, sir?”

“Escort him to your tent so he can change his clothes. If he doesn’t have a spare set, loan him some of our backup clothes. Make sure he doesn’t try escaping, either. Afterwards, bring him to the fire to warm himself up,” orders Pyro.

John salutes, “Sir, yes, sir!”

John takes Jekyll over to his tent and opens it for him. He asks, “Do you need any spare clothes?”

Jekyll unzips his backpack and checks its contents before answering, “No, I got plenty of spare outfits.”

He closes the tent and stands watch. Jekyll considers consulting with his map, but because of John’s presence he decides against it. However, he takes the map out for a brief moment to make it easier to get into his backup clothes that were also provided by the map. He dries himself off before changing into a plain white t-shirt, pajama pants, and a new pair of underwear. Jekyll considers making a break for it but figures it would be futile trying to outrun the ninjas. He exits the tent and John escorts him over to the fire.

Pyro is already sitting there on a log holding the map he took from Jekyll. He hands it over to him and Jekyll unfurls it seeing it draw itself in front of him closely examining it. He sees no damage, not that he was expecting any, but he does notice something else but chooses not to say anything. He looks at Pyro trying to figure out his game. Pyro comments, “I know, suspicious right? But as they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Besides, it’ll be easier for us if we don’t have to literally drag you everywhere.”

Jekyll’s stomach growls and he asks cautiously, “When all this is said and done, you will give me my family’s map back right?”

Crickets chirp in the background as Pyro answers, “Yes, I am a man of my word after all.”

“I doubt that considering you tried to kill me when I wouldn’t sell you the map,” replies Jekyll.

“I never said I wasn’t. Besides, that’s not breaking any contract. That’s just acquisition. Hungry?”

Jekyll stomach growls again and he hands the map back to Pyro and answers reluctantly, “Yes.”

Pyro starts ordering, “Troy, get our guest some food. I think we got some rabbit left over from our hunt. Sal, call Greg and tell him he can go home.”

As the ninjas go to do that, Pyro asks, “By the way do you know anything about the counterbalance the map mentioned? None of the legends said anything about it.”

“Legends?” asks a confused Jekyll.

Pyro sighs and says, “I guess I need to catch you up to speed then.”

The ninja arrives with food for Jekyll. He accepts the food and starts eating it. Pyro mentions to him, “No sense in staying in your uniform all night long. Go on and get comfy. We move at dawn.”

The ninja bows and leaves. Pyro starts, “Now where to begin? In the ancient pyramids of Giza, there are many hieroglyphs referring to a book that can control fate itself, its origins unknown. Many have tried to locate the artifact, many have failed. While Egypt is one of the earliest recorded instances of this artifact, there has been evidence that numerous other cultures have tried to get their hands on the book such as the Sumerians or the Mayans. We looked into various mythologies and the closest thing we could find to it is in the sacred text of the Worldbuilders, a religion dated back to 12th Century England. They say this world is supposedly a stage. A mere show meant to entertain the masses of another world. This almighty creator supposedly put the book in as a means to an end. An object to seek for his sole entertainment. That book is supposed to be our world. Everything written in it becomes true. Utilizing its power, we could ultimately do anything. Stop world hunger, bring the dead back to life, give the hopeless singles a girlfriend. Not that I have any trouble with that. They say the only way to find it is with a special map dating back thousands of years when the book, and the world, was created.”

“That sounds like a bunch of nonsense,” retorts Jekyll.

“I agree. But with so much evidence of the book’s existence I do believe that it itself is real. However, this world being a mere stage. That indeed does sound preposterous.”

Jekyll finishes his rabbit as Pyro gets up and starts walking away. He states, “I’m heading to bed. Justine, pitch him a tent.”

A young woman with long dark red hair says with an old Japanese accent, “As you command, Master.”

Justine and Jekyll left to pitch another tent and a black guy with a roundish face and curly hair walks up to Pyro. Pyro whispers to him, “Keep an eye on him. When he falls asleep, search through his belongings and get rid of any weapons he might have, especially firearms.”

“Yes, sir. By the way, I’ve been wondering. Why do you have such a disdain for guns anyway? You don’t let a single one into the building even if they have a concealed carry permit, not even your bodyguards,” asks Jeff.

Pyro suddenly freezes as he recalls the image of the corpses of the two people he once held dear. The gun’s metal shining as its barrel was aimed at him. He snaps back to reality and answers partially mumbling, “Let’s just say I have my reasons. I don’t think anyone with invulnerability has been discovered yet but even if that is so, it doesn’t help me any.”

Jeff scratches his head in confusion as he states, “I don’t know what invulnerability has to do with your hatred of guns, but I won’t pry.”

He just vanishes as despite not having his mask on, he is still a skilled ninja trained in the ancient art of ninjutsu. Pyro walks back to his tent unconcerned about this new situation. Meanwhile, Justine is pitching Jekyll a tent. Jekyll can’t help but admire her precision in the task. She moves on to the next bolt. Jekyll grabs a hammer himself and helps out on the opposite side. Justine warns, “If you dare to harm my master Pyro, I will not hesitate in eviscerating you.”

Jekyll responds while hammering, “Noted. I’m surprised that he even has an army of ninjas anyway. Isn’t he supposed to be an archaeologist?”

She finished her current bolt and answers, “His passion for archaeology is indeed great. He has a spark when it comes to researching ancient civilizations. However, he truly wants the book. I think it may have inspired his love for archaeology.”

Jekyll dusts off his hands and goes over to the next bolt while asking, “Which brings me to another question? Why does he want this book so badly anyway? His life is great. He’s rich, famous, and everyone practically loves him minus a few old coots.”

Justine laughs and answers as Jekyll hammers, “True. But he was not always this way. Something happened when he was younger. I don’t know what, but the only person he will tell is his therapist.”

Jekyll stops hammering and asks in shock, “He has a therapist?”

“Yes, Dr. Hyde. From my understanding, he’s been visiting him since he was little.”

“Ahh, ok.” Jekyll goes back to hammering and finishes pitching the tent.

Justine bows and walks away presumably to her tent. Jekyll walks into his tent and places his backpack down and opens it up. He pulls out his map and it starts glowing drawing him his map. The maps seem to be roughly the same but the path isn’t exactly alike, as he noticed earlier, “Hey, why are you slightly different that the other one?”

The map writes, “Because we encourage both sides to take separate routes if need be. Usually, these people don’t tend to get along with each other. There’s usually a lot of stabbing involved.”

Jekyll says with a grimace, “You didn’t have to mention the stabbing.”

The map says, “That’s just the PG version. You want the R-rated version?”

“No, I’m good,” replies Jekyll.

He furls the map again not wanting to hear its responses to him running into Pyro and being forced to team up with him. He places the map back in his bag. Afterwards, he zips it up and crawls into his sleeping bag. He goes to sleep while John watches his tent from the treetops, back in uniform.

A few hours later, he jumps down and zips open the tent. He walks in not making any unnecessary sounds and sneaks over to the backpack. He zips it open and sees Jekyll’s map. He picks it up and unfurls it. It writes, “Who the heck are you?” He rolls it back up and places it on the ground. He rummages through the contents of Jekyll’s bag looking for anything and everything that resembles a weapon. He found nothing and places anything he took out including the map back into the bag. He zips it closed and exits the tent. Once he’s out, he zips it back closed and walks away to report to Pyro.