HEY GUYS! I would highly recommend listening to this piece of art by John Williams while you read (ignoring Darth Vader and Luke, of course). It's almost parallels between this book and Star Wars (I'm not going to spoil much, HAHA). Family issues, amirite? It's called "Jedi Fury", and it perfectly captures the tension that happens in this scene.
(P.S. - You might want to put it on repeat. This chapter gets very long and emotional.)
ALSO GEORGE LUCAS WAS LIKE "ALRIGHT JOHN, GO HAM ON THIS MF," AND HE REALLY DID LIKE WOW I GOT CHILLS THE FIRST TIME I HEARD THIS SONG.
Anyways, have a good day/night everyone! <3
_________
MARA
As Hudson opens the double doors, immediately a cold draft hits our faces, making us both shiver.
My eyes look around the room, inspecting Red's lair but found... absolutely nothing. Did King Red runaway in fear? Was he hiding?
"Red, come out and fight us!" Hudson shouts, his deep voice echoing off the large corridors of the eerie room. I could sense Hudson clench his sword in anger. He wanted blood from Red, and it was long overdue.
The lights were completely shut off. The only thing that allowed us to see were the faint sun rays coming in through the glass panes on the ceiling. It gave the room an abandoned-type feel as I shivered from the cold.
The faint shots of gunfire could be heard in the distance as Rebel soldiers were occupied with taking over Plague control of the Capitol. They still had a lot of rooms to cover.
With my sharp hearing, I could've sworn I heard someone take a footstep that wasn't ours. Was this a setup?
"We shouldn't be here..." I whisper, my eyes foggy as I look down in concern. There was a gut feeling within me, even a sharp pain as if something wasn't going to go right.
Hudson places a hand on my shoulder, trying to bring comfort to me. "Mara, what's wrong? Are you—"
I was cut off, as a deep chuckle rang through my ears and echoed through the hallway behind us. It was sinister, yet only wanted to make me slice off the damn bastard's head more.
"Commander G-R72," Red mumbles from an unknown location. It was impossible to tell where he was at the moment. "I see you've finally come home after your two-week vacation."
King Red's voice sounded hoarse, but excited. Most likely because two mutants were standing before his throne like his next prize.
"My name is Hudson," He growls, standing his ground. "And your days on the throne are long over, Red."
Red's figure finally came into view as he took slow yet menacing steps from behind his massive throne. And boy, had I expected King Red to look entirely different from what I imagined. His eyes were weary from age, as his awful days were finally coming to an end. The wrinkles on his face had become so defined, you could've mistaken him for an 80 year-old man. Maybe he really was that old.
He sits down on his throne, taking a close look at us. "Well well well," Red smirks, as a chuckle escapes his lips. "If it isn't Mara Winters. The girl who dared play hide and seek with the Plague."
Red's laugh triggered a coughing fit deep in him. He was dying. I could sense it with my ability. His lungs were collapsing and it would only be a matter of weeks before he would take his last breath.
Red regroups himself, as suddenly he snaps a finger making us both flinch and prepare to fight. But nothing came, until I heard the sound of electric zaps and a shout coming from next to me.
"Hudson!" Panic suddenly shoots throughout me as I see him kneeling as some kind of electricity net was shot around his arms. He was paralyzed into one position as I felt the pain between our bond. My hands reach out to help him, until Red stops me.
"I wouldn't touch him if I were you, dear." Red looks to me with glowing red eyes, as the green ones I had seen before had completely vanished. Red was an evil mutant, there was no doubt about it. "Now, time to get on with business as usual!" He rejoices, slowly standing up. "Congratulations Commander G-R72, your mission has now been completed. By the authority in me, the position of the throne is now yours."
I scowl at him, wanting to help Hudson. "What do you mean?" I say with a look on my face that could kill. "There is no more Commander, and there certainly was no mission involved with him!"
He simply chuckles. "From all of the moments you've been with that boy, you surely should've seen this one coming, my dear." He plays with his fingernails.
"Yeah, how I'm about to blow your brain straight out of your ass?" I shout back, channeling my strength. "I so saw this one coming."
I didn't hesitate, as I send my sword flying straight towards Red's face. But my eyes widen, as some kind of invisible force field appeared in front of him, deflecting the weapon. I channel my powers more, making the beam stronger, but the force field wouldn't budge.
"Stop wasting your energy on me, girl," he spits, standing up. Fear rises in me as he begins walking down his throne. "Hudson's mission all along was to round up the final mutants and being them back to me, isn't that right Commander?"
But Hudson stays kneeled on the ground, unable to talk as the electricity made his body useless.
"And today, he finally did it!" Red exclaims. "He never loved you, or the three other damned mutants inside this Capitol right now! It was all a lie. And now the object he loved all along is his!" He points up to his throne as he rages, summoning his sword and pointing it straight at me. Red was now twenty feet away from me, and approaching quickly.
"Stop it! You're the one who's lying. The bond between us has brought us closer than ever!" I shout, knowing that Hudson truly loved me, and whatever game Red was playing he wouldn't win.
But then, he smirks again as his eyes turn an even deeper shade of red. "Do you want to know more about the bond connecting you both, then?" He questions, and I shake my head.
"No!" I shout. But suddenly I felt my limbs move without my command, as my knees hit the ground with such force, the tiles crack beneath me. I failed to resist, as Red's eyes were compelling me to move as he commanded. It felt as if two tons of rock were being put on top of me, as the pressure around me became impossibly thick. It was painful, as I fight to suppress a cry.
"The bond between you two was never created by your pathetic parents," Red rages, gripping his sword so hard that his knuckles turn white. "It was created by me!"
"T-That's impossible..." I manage to croak as the pressure on me was hardly allowing for me to breathe. I struggled to breathe, as my breaths were labored and deep.
"Anything is possible, dear." Suddenly with his compelling powers, I was sent flying back into a cement wall as the tile cracks around me once more. A sharp cry emits from my throat, before the wind was knocked out of me. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Hudson trembling—but not from the electricity this time. It was anger. And I hadn't felt this much in him ever before.
"What if I told you I was Hudson's grandfather?"
My eyes widen, despite the pain consuming me. So many puzzle pieces clicked inside of my head in that moment.
Priscilla was Hudson's grandmother, which could've only meant one thing. Priscilla and Red were married at one point. Hudson never knew he had a grandfather that still walked the earth today. So the day Hudson left the Rebel base, he must've felt compelled to join the Plague because his bloodline was sitting on the throne, using his powers of manipulation on Hudson this entire time.
"When you two were newborns, I saw nothing but power in you both. You were a threat to my mastermind plan in taking over the throne of the United Sectors. I couldn't kill you both, because your parents would know it was me in a heartbeat. So I created a bond between you two that would one day bring you two together, only for me to rip you apart the next. And you have no idea how much I regret that day..." Red says clenching a fist. "The night I snuck into your apartments and created the bond between you, I looked down to your cribs with such anger. I wish I could've crushed the life out of your precious skulls. But I told myself that the day would come eventually. I wanted you dead."
I shake my head, not believing his words one bit. Or was I?
"After Order S-287 killed almost all of the mutants in the world, the only obstacle we had left to destroy were the Rebels--and your parents, who had miraculously outsmarted the best of our technology. Both the Plague and Rebels risked it all to try and find your parents. They wanted them to join a side so that we could use their powers for greater things. But like ghosts, your parents always found a way to slip through our fingertips."
"Stop... don't you dare go any further!" I shout with tears in my eyes.
"You were too young to know this. But one day, both Plague and Rebel forces found your and Hudson's parents, living in a close vicinity. We even begged them to join our side. But your parents, Mara..." he says as his voice trails off. "Your parents were filled with so much goodness, they were able to keep my son sane, Hudson's father--who was two small steps from joining the Plague."
A rebellious tear slips down my face as I listen to his words.
"The pathetic Rebels somehow heard rumors that the remaining mutants were going join the Plague, when in reality, they weren't. And dear Wes... what a lovely man he was," Red spits, recalling a memory. "Wes knew if the final five mutants joined us, their battle against us would be a lost cause. And out of fright, Wes killed them."
A tear rolled down my face. It was too much information all at once. So much, that my sanity was hardly able to take it. He began to take slow but large steps towards me, making me feel threatened.
"The Rebels were an insignificant spark about two decades ago. But when the leader, Wes, kills your son?! I wanted revenge in an instant! This is why we've been at battle for so long, Mara. All because of that idiotic man!"
Red released me from his compelling powers, as I fall to my knees in anguish. Wes wanted the throne—but it was never a game of power to Red. It was a game of vengeance all along.
"And now, my lovely grandson is here with his prized possession," Red pouts jokingly making himself laugh. "Hudson was so easy to compel. He was just a young boy who's feelings had been hurt by my precious ex-wife, Priscilla. I knew there was raw power in Hudson. And that's why I was going to use him to destroy the Rebels and continue our worldwide expansion. But then... you," Red chuckles evilly. "I actually forgot about you for years, Mara. Until one day you come into his life and soften him up until there wasn't a single ounce of evil left in him. Never did I expect the bond between you two to grow this strong."
His happy-evil expression turns to serious now, as his sword drags along the ground, past Hudson. His footsteps were moving straight towards me as I struggle in fear. But his compelling powers were much too strong as I surrender in retreat. The thought of my parents made me weak.
"What do you want from me, then?" I manage to whisper. My lungs were hurting—scratch that. Everything was hurting. And if help didn't come soon, then I was dead meat.
"I truly admire you, my dear," Red chuckles. "You led an insignificant army to victory. Converted my grandson from evil to good. Lived a relatively peaceful life. But what happens next? To me, and to the Plague?"
"You're dying." I somehow found the courage to speak up. "You don't have much longer to live."
Red's lips curl up into a smirk. "And so I am. Death has become an insignificant part of life to me. But you, my dear, have taken away what generations aspired to build. The Plague was built by generations of hard workers. And now it is gone because of you!" Red roars. "I want your precious friends and soldiers to feel the same amount of loss that my predecessors and I are feeling right now. And maybe... after I turn the lights out in that pathetic brain of yours, I'll even use that body for some... other pleasure," he smirks.
The feeling of helplessness was suddenly replaced by disgust and pure hatred for this hideous man standing just feet away from me.
"Guys!" Connor exclaims over our earpieces, but all I heard was static. The pressure from earlier must've damaged the small headphone in my ear. "You have... get out! Wes..."
But I couldn't understand him, as suddenly the earpiece in my ear was pulled out by Red's powers.
"Tell your precious little Rebel friends, that you two will be no more as—" Red starts off, but is suddenly cut off by a long shout coming from Hudson.
We both turn to see him, and our eyes simultaneously widen as the veins in his arms were glowing a prominent red. I had seen him like this before at the mountain home. But never did I ever expect the next events to unfold.
A sudden blast comes from his position, making me fall backwards. It was a good thing I was far away from his position, because the columns that lined the walls of the throne room fell to the ground in a heap of rock. The blast was enough to make me lose hearing temporarily as my ears ring and throb. I reopen my eyes from the cloud of dust that had caused me to close them before.
The electric trap was now clear off of Hudson's chest. A look of fear was present on Red's face, as a gasp falls from my lips as I take in his appearance.
Hudson's eyes were glowing to the extent that you couldn't see the whites on either one. He was mad. His fists were clenched to the point where I thought his arms were going to fall off, as he begins taking slow steps towards Red.
Hudson was struggling to control his breathing, probably from his anger and the amount of physical pain he just went through. Red, on the other hand, looked as if he was about to shit himself.
"Tell me, Red." Hudson mutters lowly as his eyes narrowed in on him. "How does it feel, knowing that your entire family has been ruined because of you?"
"I—"
Hudson interrupts him, as he lifts his finger immediately closing Red's jaw and most likely cutting off his air tubes as well.
"How does it feel to be weak? To be stripped of everything you've put your life into?!" He shouts with so much emotion, I thought he was crying for a moment.
Suddenly, Red's face literally turned... red as Hudson controlled something inside him that made his limbs shake.
A horrid scream comes from Red, as blood begins to trickle out of his eyes and nose.
"Do you know how awful my life has been because of you?" Hudson questions, his voice lower. "For years I was beaten black and blue, stripped of all confidence and hope in me. And you took pleasure in it?" He rages. "Some grandfather you are!"
Suddenly, Hudson jerks his arm violently and sends Red flying a hundred feet all the way to his throne, crashing him into pure marble.
"Then you go around saying you want to fuck my girl?" He roars, as suddenly the rock that had fallen from his explosion earlier begins to levitate. "You're a damn pedophile, and a shame to our family!"
Two tons of rock then go flying straight towards Red's already injured body on the throne. A sound greater than an explosion echoed through the hallways as I cover my ears.
My left leg was currently useless. When Red had crushed me against the wall, I felt something pop in my calf—which wasn't good.
"Now how does it feel to be on the bottom?" Hudson mutters calmly as I manage to begin walking towards him. "I bet it feels just lovely," he spits pacing back and forth.
And as Hudson says his final words to Red, I heard the click of a gun from the doorway. Turning my head suddenly, I see Wes standing there with a very large weapon pointing towards Hudson's back, locked and loaded.
And as his finger moves to the trigger, Hudson was in danger. And I was going to do everything in my power to protect him.
Limping but still running, the next few moments in my life happened in slow motion.
Without hesitating, Wes pulled the trigger. My body flies in front of Hudson, as I create a massive force field that should've protected us.
Should've.
I hardly felt it at first. But then like a forest fire, a pain spread along my right hip so rapidly, I began convulsing from the pain momentarily before collapsing to the ground in anguish. My force field had failed.
I had been shot.
"NO!" Hudson roars, as he sees me on the ground.
Red begins to laugh hoarsely with his final breaths, taking in the sight of something he had lived to see. "Finally!" He begins gasping for air, until his lungs could no longer provide for him.
"You took everything from me!" Wes bellows to Hudson. "You took her, then my army and then my sanity! My life's work, gone because of y—"
But Wes couldn't speak as Hudson puts his fingers together in a pinch form, cutting his airways off and sending him flying into the wall with a loud crunch. A trickle of blood streams down his nose, as nothing but pain mixed with satisfaction shows in his bloody eyes.
Hudson suddenly runs over to my position, crouching down and taking me in his arms. I wasn't sure what was happening to me, but I was slowly losing feeling everywhere. And by the look on Hudson's face, something wasn't right with my body.
"Mara," Hudson chokes out, as a tear forms in his eye. He doesn't know what to do with his hands as they were shaking uncontrollably in fear. Fear that he was going to lose me. "Keep those eyes open, o-okay?" He stutters, as I hear the pure heartbreak in his voice. "Please, fight it for me. Fight—"
I shakily reach up to him as I attempt to put my pointer finger to his lips, but instead my arm gave out on me as it falls to the floor with a thud. I was slowly slipping as a sob escapes Hudson's mouth.
"Please don't go..." he begs as a tear falls into my shirt. "I can't..." He shakily inhales. "I can't be without you."
"Hudson..." I breathe, using my last bit of strength to cup his cheek. It hurt. Everything hurt.
I love you," I croak out smiling, as a tear of pain falls from my eye. "A-And I'm... going to be okay."
For a moment, I could've sworn I saw a light above me, welcoming me with grand arms as all sounds drown out around me. With one final shaky breath, I knew I had done the one thing I swore to do.
I had saved him.
___________
The End.
SIIIIIKEEEEE! NOT THE END! How many did I just fool?😈 We still got a few chapters left, people. Hold onto your horses!🤠