Chapter CCXIX: Reflex Point ~Dirk

Dirk rubbed his chin as he peered down at C.R, who was apparently not seeing the former despite the fact that he was standing directly over the prone Rip Watcher. "I wanted Nictem."

C.R. looked up at him. "Nictem is a very powerful member of the Council. I'm worried about sending two of our finest into that fight, and you wanted to go it alone?"

"It would be more of a grudge match than anything else, Mister Rip." C.R. didn't catch his wink from this side of the sunglasses. "Yesterday, Mister Nictem not only sealed one of the entrances to the underworld, but also saw fit to collapse the cave around it. Luckily, it was one-way, and as such his intended victim, Mister Canopus, was left totally unaware that such a gesture has been made, but a number of people have complained about the supposed lack of the entrance's accessibility over this day alone. Clearing the debris was of little issue, but that yellow shield he erected will only go down either when he brings it down or when he dies."

"And you were going to kill him and knock out that wall."

Dirk blinked. "Of course not. I was going to take him back there and ask nicely him to turn it off before I let the boss ask him much less nicely. I don't like killing."

Everybody else blinked.

"Though as long as we're on the subject, I would like to call Mister Rebdok. I take some issue with his own affinity for killing, and it shouldn't be very hard to get to where he is."

C.R. thought about his 'map'. "Up there won't be very hard?"

"No."

"And you're not going to kill him."

"Not unless he gets me mad." Dirk opened to a page in the yellow book and showed it to C.R. "I'm a bit worried about him making me angry. If this conversation Mister Havering and Mister Verdemere are having is any indication, you Twilighters are a very arrogant group. I don't like that."

C.R. raised a brow. "I would say we have a right to be."

Dirk shook his head and smiled softly. "Not really. The only reason a Twilighter is the head hero in these chapters is because he is the rival of the arch-villain. Had my rival been the head of this demon council, I would be the hero and by default the most powerful. And I can assure you that I would not talk about other races like this."

"That's sketchy reasoning if I've ever heard it."

Dirk sighed and snapped his finger, causing the book to disappear in a flash of green fire. "Really, you only say that because you're one of them. Just like Mister Verdemere said, he loathed Twilighters until he found out he was one. Twilighters really don't have the respect of many other races, if any. I personally would prefer respect far more than the ability to beat everybody else into the ground."

"You're entitled to your opinion."

"I am. It is my opinion that when your entire existence rides on your ability to fight, once you reach that point at which nobody else will fight with you regardless of the relative power levels involved, you become lonely." Dirk looked at C.R. "Which is why we say the underworld isn't Hell. Utter loneliness, that feeling of no longer having contact with other people, is. A life based on fighting will eventually lead to Hell."

He disappeared in a flash of green fire, reappearing in the room which held Kyanosa and Josh's lifeless bodies.

"Ahh, Miss Glenwater." Dirk said as the woman entered the room a few seconds after he. "I trust you're feeling better."

"You…you're the one who brought me back." Kaye said darkly.

He nodded. "Yes." He reached down and pulled out the Spoon of Dullness with Not Even a Slightly Sharp Edge from Kyanosa's position.

"So you were there? You…you left Kyanosa to die."

"Now, Miss Glenwater, I know you're a little bit upset, but I was aware of Mr. Kyanosa's abilities, and I…"

Kaye covered the distance between the two of them in three strides, pulled back her hand and slapped the man across the face.

He paused, looking down into her furious eyes for several minutes before breaking the silence again. "I guess more than a little bit," he said softly, and with a flash of green fire he was gone.

Dirk reappeared near the group, and that burst of flame always catches somebody's eye. This time it was...um...::rolls a die:: Markior. The tall one himself looked over at Dirk, who was staring at the wall. Tough going?

Dirk raised an eyebrow at him. "I don't like you people, Mister Grey. Not one bit. Not even the inside of my head is safe from you and your power lust."

Markior seethed silently. What I was has little effect on who I am and what I will become. Besides, it's not something over which I have total control. Even a god of the mind can not fathom its innermost depths. Mind-reading relates almost entirely to the immediate thoughts passing through a person's consciousness. If I could tell what you were thinking, it must have been important enough for you to think it.

Dirk decided against blasting gods; his current situation did not suggest it as a course of action. "Regardless, I plan on asking the boss for a mind-block the next time I drop by. Since I've been going through this book, and as such the events from the beginning of this journey until now, I'm convinced that there are things in here that should not be made public knowledge."

Just because I know it doesn't make it public knowledge.

"And you're not our only mind-reader."

So why should you be privy to this information when nobody else is?

"Half, because, at the risk of sounding arrogant, I can remember more than anybody else. I don't suffer from selective recollection like I'm sure some would. The other half is that I wish I didn't know some of this in the first place, and so I wouldn't want to pass it around."

Such as?

"Can you imagine how utterly hopeless Mister Renil must have felt when he died? Because when I'm done here, he gets to tell me about it."

They were both silent for a minute. So you have the spoon.

"As well as Mister Renil's dagger and revolver, both still electrically charged. The only thing that I think beats your former power lust is the Twilighters' current power lust. With these, I think I can carry out exactly what I have planned."

Which is?

Dirk grinned. "There's a reason you can't read it yet. At a certain point, I plan on making it up as I go along. I have no idea what will happen from then on."

Terrible planning.

He shrugged. "I haven't died yet." He clapped his hands and began to climb up the cliff face.

*          *          *

Rebdok's lair wasn't overly hard to find, being the only stone building in sight on an apparent plateau. Dirk walked right in the front door, immediately taken back by the sheer number of weapons, tools of torture, and other unfortunate devices covering the walls, only a few hanging from the ceiling. Even more fun was that Rebdok wasn't even hiding out or lurking in a corner. When Dirk entered, the demon was simply sitting in a chair at the far end of the room, chin in his hands and elbows on his knees, with his trademark scythe leaning against the chair. He smiled when Dirk entered. "Now you I don't remember."

"I am a bit new to the group, but I figured that as long as I'm here, I shall contribute. And I take some issue with your profession."

"Fair enough. But I warn you, I won't be as easy as the other Twilighters."

"From what I've read, people say that a lot. I believe it was mentioned by two of your three fallen comrades."

Rebdok sat up. "Three? Just Orson and Cydak."

Dirk shook his head. "I'm afraid that Mrs. Karukylis has taken care of another Twilighter. Harsh blow. And a number of fights are also in progress."

Rebdok quickly jumped up, grabbed his scythe, and tossed his chair at Dirk. However, before it had even moved a foot, Rebdok lashed out quickly and repeatedly with his weapon, slashing the chair into mostly harmless splinters that scattered themselves about the room.

"Then I should deal with you quickly and go assist my companions!"

The demon rocketed at Dirk for maybe a good yard until slamming into a green energy wall and bouncing back. Dirk remained immobile.

"Hang on, I have a proposition. You are intent on a deathmatch, correct? You go through your moves one by one, and so do I, and eventually somebody wins?"

Rebdok stood back up and rubbed his head. "Yes, that's usually how these things work."

"If I give you a certain advantage and still win, will you agree to forget the rule that I have to kill you?"

"Hang on a minute. You will help me out in this fight on the condition that you're not allowed to win?"

"Oh, I'd still win. But instead of being my victim, you would be forced into the role of...say...a servant or sidekick."

Rebdok scoffed. "A Twilighter accepting any role other than that of master? You're more off than that kid with the large metal cat."

Dirk produced the spoon. "The advantage in question is the use of the Creation Weapon that created that large metal cat."

A minute of silence for anybody who didn't see that one coming.

Rebdok nodded. "Deal."

Dirk tossed him the spoon, recalling his energy shield as he did. "Good. Then I suggest we go someplace else for a bit. No purpose in ruining your collection before the battle even begins. If you'll allow me, I know a nice, open place where you can use the full extent of your new power."

Rebdok looked the spoon over. "And if this place gives you some kind of advantage or I just don't like it, will we still fight there?"

"Of course not. A fighting ground should be neutral."

"Fair enough."

Dirk walked up to Rebdok, placed a finger on his shoulder, and made them both disappear in a flash of green fire.

An instant later, they appeared in a large field, with not even a tree visible on any horizon. The grass was nearly waist-high and swayed in waves to the force of the winds passing through. Above the combatants, the night sky twinkled with scattered stars of various colors and a bright moon, illuminating the area much better than a moon should.

Rebdok looked around. "I like it."

Dirk nodded. "Good. Shall we?" He walked a couple of yards to the side

Giddy like a demon schoolgirl, Rebdok jogged a good distance away, held up the spoon, and chanted something in Rhenzin. The utensil glowed bright grey and floated into the air, expanding it aura in all directions. Once the grey was about twenty-five meters tall, it began to harden into a humanoid shape, covering itself in black and red metal. A large silver rod appeared on its back, snugly between the figure's rear plating and four black cylinders attached to it by smaller rods. Two large, coffin-shaped shields appeared on the backs of its lower arms, each with a smallish cross about a fourth of the way from the top.

Rebdok jumped onto the rope that dangled from the figure's neck and rose as it retracted, gesturing at his grand creation. "Behold, the Gundam Condemnation!"

He quickly entered the mecha through the tunnel in the base of its neck and activated it. Its eyes started glowing a dark shade of red that shone through the night, and it settled into an attack position.

Dirk grinned and bent his knees a bit, holding both fists near his face in a general Street Fighter pose. "Bring it!"