Condition Evolution 4 by Kevin Sinclair (books for 10th graders TXT) 📕

we bonded, but it wasn’t that stockcubey thing you were just talking about. I didn’t even know I was a hostage!”

“Well, that’s convenient, isn’t it?” she said, smiling no longer.

“Nothing happened!” I protested.

“Did you want it to?”

I slumped; I’d fucked myself over here. She would keep going now until she was satisfied. “You know what, Ember? Vakuna, who didn’t know anything about you, did want something to happen. Shaun, who is obsessed with you, most definitely did not.”

“But technically you’re both now, right? I mean, you retained all of the information and memories pumped into you as Vakuna?”

“You know what, I’m not having this! How come I get here and you’re like, ‘oh, by the way I killed Rufus, and sorry, Astrid and a few others have also been outcast.’ And I’m like, ‘cool, they must have deserved it!’ Yet you’re giving me all this crap about something that was outside my control.”

She smirked. “You best get in control of it then, bestn’t you!” she said as she caught me in the nuts with a playful jab, then disappeared from my Mindscape.

I growled in frustration. I’d flinched from the shot, although it didn’t hurt, and I took a moment to regain my composure.

“…so he’s only bloody level 259,” Ember was saying to my relief, not even looking at me.

“My, my, that is a remarkable increase,” Ogun replied.

“It’s huge!” she answered before turning to Ialos. “Shaun was going to ask you if we could get any of those machines on the Uprising, or the new ship. I mean, we could pay for what we need.”

“I will certainly discuss it with Jezai. He should have the council's ear for some time after this debacle and payment won’t be necessary.”

“That would be amazing. We need all the help we can get,” Ember replied, then turned to me.

“Honestly, Shaun, more than doubling your level in a few weeks, and gaining a new power unique to you… if I didn’t bloody love you so much, I’d hate you.”

“Oh, thanks! It’s not my fault, you know,” I complained. “Hey Ogun, you don’t love me, and you don’t hate me, do you?”

“Oh, I most certainly do love you, Shaun! It’s why I left the Thoth and Seshat because I couldn’t live with the guilt of leaving you behind.”

“Meh, thanks. Mick? Hate me?”

“Shaun, dude! I’m seriously in love with you. You're like a hair behind Gus, man,” he laughed.

“Ah, right, shouldn’t have gone there,”

“Ha ha! Not like that, man, you're my captain and you're a goddamn hero. You saved all our bacon on that first supply station, and seriously when you went flying through the air on Xonico, I swear ‘There Flies My Hero’ was playing in my head.”

“That just got even weirder, very quickly. But it’s good to know no one hates me.”

“You didn’t ask Ialos,” Ember said, watching me with an evil smile.

“Well…”

“Oh, believe me, I love Shaun. Even mindwiped he made me laugh more than anyone else I’ve ever met.”

I went red and so did Ember for different reasons. My face went redder as Ialos kept talking. “He was so cute trying to levitate through the obstacle course at first.”

“Cute?” Ember asked.

“Oh yes, without doubt the most inept performance I’ve witnessed a grown man produce, and he did it all with a smile on his face. I almost feel like he’s the son I never had, or maybe a little brother. As well as the Vakuna, of course.”

I looked at her sharply and she hastily added, “I mean no offence, and I didn’t actually call you Vakuna.” She laughed. “But either way you are still the Vakuna, we just can’t say it in front of you anymore.”

“Please don’t, it makes me feel a certain way towards Apochros, which I’m trying extremely hard to avoid.”

“Oh, I can see that. I will not say the word again.” She looked suitably chagrined.

Thankfully, Ogun brought the conversation back on track. “Is there anything else you can do with the energy?” Ogun asked.

“Not that I know of. It's just done its own thing so far in protecting my mind, though its level drops every time. Oh shit! I did give Havok some energy too and powered him right up with ten percent. I...”

“Now you will share my love of harvesting the souls. We need all the energy!” Havok said with an evil little chuckle, causing me to laugh out loud at the mad bastard.

“Shit, man, knock it off,” I thought back.

“Shaun?” Ember said.

“Huh? Oh sorry, just talking to Havok.”

“You know you were in the middle of talking to us, right? And that you just left the room and started laughing?”

“Bet that didn’t look good, but hey you know that this means? I barely have to work on my Mental Resistance!”

“Don’t be stupid, of course you do. You’ve just said the energy depletes. What if you run out of it?” Ember snapped at me.

“Yes, Shaun, please stop continuously trying to avoid the more uninspiring tasks,” Ialos added.

Ember raised an eyebrow at her, but she seemed not to notice, and I moved the conversation on. “Okay, guys, I get it! I still need to get to 99 percent Potential, anyway. Gotta open that door. I'll be like the friggin' Lord of the Universe or something!”

Laughs greeted that statement. “What!?” I said petulantly. “I'd be a good Lord of the Universe.”

“What would you do?” Ogun asked, appearing to be genuinely interested.

“Dunno, chill mainly. Rig up some Earth tv, kick back, content in the knowledge that no one can kill me. I’d make sure all you guys were alright first though.”

“Classic Shaun,” Ember joked. The conversation slowly drifted into a less Shaun intensive mode, which was a relief.

Chapter 20

The Plan

We landed back on Accre. Despite everyone’s eagerness to get off the scruffy ship, and the seats they’d been sitting and sleeping in for the last two days, I had them all remain where they were. Only my close team came with me to find out what developments had been made in