Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2005 15:49:22 +0000
From: Douglas DD DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Boys of the Lady Lex Chapter 57

One of the interesting side stories of the Lady Lex is that of young Brian
McDowell. He's faced his demons a few times, and managed to show strength he
didn't know he had. Yet he can't get over the one hump that keeps him from
being whole. Will the teaches of Zjan-Ren finally come to fruition, or is
Brian doomed to be a cripple with no confidence in his considerable
abilities?

The Boys of Lady Lex
Chapter 57
"Rise of the Dragon"
Written By Douglas DD and Benjamin T. Collins

	"I am not beaten, for my spirit is not dead," said Brian as he read from
one of his favorite books. "And as long as long as my spirit lives, I am not
beaten. For the only way to truly beat me is to kill my spirit long after my
heart stops." Brian was stretched out on the floor, with a sword between his
side and his arm, looking like it was stabbed into his body.
	"Ahh, but Sir Franklin, I have beaten you," recited Trevor holding up one
of Brian's swords. "Your heart barely forces the stubborn blood through your
veins. And with each dying beat of your heart, your spirit dies along with
it. And I will slay those who, like a dragon, try to keep your spirit alive.
For your spirit isn't strong enough to defeat this might dragon master."
	"You think you are going to kill my spirit, but you are badly mistaken. For
my spirit will always live on. You are a brutal and arrogant King, and it is
that that blinds you. The harder you try to kill my spirit, the stronger it
will become."
	Trevor pulls out his sword from Brian's side. "Perish you demon knight."
Trevor thrusts the sword back into the side of Brian. Brian grimaces, acting
like he is holding back the pain that King Randall had instilled into Sir
Franklin.
	"I am not the demon, for it is you who kills your own people; it is you who
robs them of their dignity, their honor, their self respect." Brian starts
acting like he is taking his final breaths. "You compare my spirit to that
of a dragon and my body to that of a demon knight but beware, because long
after the worms consume this shell, the dragon will rise." Brain then acted
as if he died.
	"Wait!! Hold everything!! I don't get it," said Trevor breaking character.
	Brian sat up and leaned up against his bed. "What don't you get?"
	"Sir Franklin is the good guy and he dies and the bad King wins. That's not
right."
	"Trevor, this is just book one of three. In the first book, The Call of the
Dragon the reader is introduced to Sir Franklin and King Randall. As you
read, all through the book Sir Franklin is always compared to dragons or
referred to as having dragon type qualities. In book two, The Rise of the
Dragon, you will find out that, even though Sir Franklin's flesh ceases to
exist, his spirit lives on and it is that spirit that causes turmoil and
trouble for the evil King Randall. Plus, we are introduced to a new
character named Wriggly. But I won't tell you anything, because I want you
to be surprised."
	"Except for the ending, this was a pretty good book. What's the third book
called?"
	"'The Resurrection of the Dragon."
	"Resurrection? Does that mean Sir Franklin comes back to life?"
	"I'm not telling you. You just have to wait and find out." Brian stood up
with some difficulty and started put his swords away. After he finished
cleaning them up and putting them away he sat down on his bed, with Trevor
sitting on a chair near the bed.
	"So when do we get to read the next book?" asked Trevor.
	"Tomorrow is a busy day. You have your baseball game and I have my fencing
match. Maybe we can start it tomorrow night, if we are up to it."
	"Yeah, I'll be up to it. So, are you ready to kick some Kriton ass
tomorrow?"
	Brian's look of contentment and peace turned into one of pure fear and
depression. "It won't happen Trev."
	"Sure it will. I know you Brian. You're a Bird of Prey."
	"Trev, say what you want. But I am not a Bird of Prey."
	"Sure you are."
	"For one to truly be a Bird of Prey, he has to be accepted by the others
and you and Ian are the only ones who accept it. Look, I enjoyed playing the
capture-the-flag games and cruising with you guys, but I don't have what it
takes to be a true Bird of Prey. But I'm ok with that," lied Brian.
	"Say what you want, but you are a Bird of Prey." Trevor was one never to
give up easily.
	"But Spencer even said..."
	"FUCK SPENCER!!! Spencer is King Randall and you are Sir Franklin. If you
let your Bird of Prey spirit die, then Spencer wins. You have to let the
dragon in you rise, show Spencer that you are a Bird of Prey."
	"Trevor?"
	"Yeah?"
	"Can you come see my match tomorrow?"
	"I'll be there, I promise. I have a baseball tomorrow, but it should be
done in plenty of time before your match."
	"I'm going to need you there."
	"When the Hawke is around there is nothing to be scared off. I will be
there. Don't you worry. I know you can kick that Kriton's ass."
	Brian stared at his best friend. He felt things he hadn't felt before. He
wanted to try things that he had never tried before. He so much wanted to
try one of those rumors he heard about some of the boys on the Lexington. He
wanted his nocturnal fantasies about him and Trevor to become reality. But
how could he tell the coolest boy on the ship that he wanted to make love to
him?"
	Trevor realized it was getting late. So he said goodbye to his friend and
headed back to his cabin where Ian was waiting for them. As Brian jacked
himself off thinking about the Hawke, Ian was taking it up the butt from
Trevor. Something that Brian wished could happen to him.

  *****

	Brian McDowell stood in the corner of the arena by himself. He looked
around as the Kritons were warming up. Ghargh, the Kriton he would be
dueling it out with in the broad sword event, not only looked intimidating,
but deadly. He showed no mercy to his practice partners, and he definitely
showed no mercy to his opponents. He was the only one who had not yet lost a
match, of all the cadets participating in the Fencing games. But behind the
fear, Brian admired Ghargh. His stance, his technique, his style were
unbelievably good. Before the accident, Brian would have given anything to
challenge Ghargh to a duel. It would have given him such a rush, and a
natural high, but now it only gave him fear.
	"He's not unstoppable you know," said Zjan-Ren as approached Brian.
	"Well, it won't be me who will stop him. I haven't won a match yet. And
there is no way I can beat someone who hasn't lost a match yet."
	"You already lost the match. Might as well forfeit."
	"I can't forfeit."
	"You are going in the image-maker already determined that you will lose.
Young McDowell, that is the most deadly sign of not having balance. Your
team is depending on you. Danny and Peter both won against their opponents,
so we Kritons aren't totally unbeatable. Your team is relying on you. I
don't have to tell you that if you beat Ghargh we win the game against them
and it would put us in third place. There is no way we can knock the Kriton
team from first. They already earned that, and the Orion already earned the
silver. But the bronze is still out there and it is yours for the taking.
You just need to go into that image-maker with balance. That is the only way
you will win."
	Brain felt tears building up. He did his best to fight them off. He looked
over again at Ghargh. The fear rose all the more inside his crippled body.
He felt nauseous and just wished that the weight of the bronze wasn't on his
shoulders.
	Brian glanced up at the stands. All of Danny's, Peter's and Cliff's friends
were there. They had seen Danny and Peter win and Cliff losing in a grueling
and record long dual. He was surprised that they were still there. He
glanced around looking for the Hawke. But he was not there. None of the
Birds of Prey was there. Douglas and Ben weren't there. As usual, he was
alone. What bothered Brian the most was that the Hawke had promised him that
he would be there to see him fight. But Brian thought that the Hawke had
given up on his too, otherwise he would have been there.
	Brian took in a deep breath to help fight his upset stomach. He took his
sword and stepped into the image-maker. He knew that he would be dueling
against a hologram generated from the real Ghargh in the image-maker next
door, but those holograms felt too real at times.
	Brian could hear the faint humming of the room. With a 10 second count of
warning beeps, the dull gray room turned into the Arena. He could look up
into the holographic images of what was actually happening outside the
image-maker. His eyes then took him to the holographic image of Ghargh.
	Ghargh stood tall and proud. He showed no mercy and had a look of
determination to end this match quickly. The starting whistle sounded and
before Brian could even get into position, the game was over. Ghargh came
right at him and cut his holographic head off.
	With the Kritons winning two matches and the Lexington winning two matches,
it was a tied game. So a tie break match would take place. The team captain
from each team would dual the other in each of the four weapons, the epee,
the foil, the saber and the broad sword. Whoever won the best out of the
four matches would win. If there was still yet another tie, the person who
earned the last point got to chose which weapon would be used in the fifth
and final match.
	You didn't even try," snapped Danny Scully. He was by far the best
swordsman on the team and always felt that he should have had the title of
captain, not Brian. He always held that resentment towards Brian. He
wouldn't care if Brian was good and tired, but he was just a scared cripple
who had no reason to be fighting for them. After all, he wasn't a juvenile
delinquent like the rest of them were.
	Brian looked to the floor. He was ashamed and embarrassed, but he knew
Danny was right. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
	"Now, we're not gonna get the bronze because YOU are the team captain and
you have to fight in the tie breaker."
	"Young Scully, that is enough," snapped Zjan-Ren.
	"I don't know why you ever chose him to be the team captain. He hasn't done
anything to earn it or even deserve it."
	Zjan-Ren shot a look at Danny. Danny knew he spoke too much. And he backed
down.
	"Young McDowell. The first match is with the epee. Get into your safety
gear. You fight against Ghargh again. But this time it's not in the
image-maker. Brian nodded his head and went to get into the proper gear.

  *****

	Brian stood with the Epee. It was much lighter then his broad sword. It
didn't weigh down his bad arm as much. Brian checked the stands again and
still no Hawke or any other Birds of Prey. Even his teammate's friends had
left. Everyone knew it was over and the Kritons would win the game.
	The starting whistle was sounded. But soon the match was over. Ghargh
managed to score one point effortlessly off of Brian. Ghargh was smug and
confident. He knew this human was no match for him and the game was theirs.
Ghargh knew he would bring honor to his people and to his Kalair.
	Brian took the foil from Zjan-Ren in exchange for the epee. Brian looked up
at the stands and still saw no one there for him. Everyone had given up on
him. No one wanted to be there to support him. Even his teammates weren't
paying attention and already give up the idea that they would win the
bronze. The whistle sounded and again without any effort, Ghargh won the
match. Ghargh just had to win one more and the game was theirs.
	Zjan-Ren handed Brian the saber. When he returned he looked at his old
adversary, Colonel Chu-Qun. He knew Chu-Qun was eating this match up. And if
Brian lost, he knew Chu-Qun wouldn't show any mercy to him.
	Brian glanced up at the stands again. Still no Hawke. Then he heard a
commotion over by the entrance to the arena. He looked to see what it was.
Still in his baseball uniform covered in dirt and sweat, Trevor and Ian came
running in both out of breath. Brian felt a smile come on his face.
	Trevor looked at his friend and mouthed "Sorry, extra innings."
	Brian got into his starting stance. He looked up at Trevor who was now in
the front row of the stands. Trevor made a fist and shook it, willing Brian
the strength he needed.
	The whistle sounded and Ghargh came in for the kill. Brian quickly raised
his saber and counter attacked. The stands erupted into cheers because this
was the first time Brian didn't lose on the first attack.
	Both the Kriton and Human parried, flicked and lunged. Then Brian pulled a
broken time, which is a change of tempo, in his action. The move worked, he
fooled his opponent into responding at the wrong time and with a whip over,
Brian scored his first point.
	Trevor and Ian erupted into loud cheers. Trevor even yelled "Eat his
shorts!!!"
	Zjan-Ren looked over at Chu-Qun. He was livid. He was yelling and screaming
at Ghargh like he made a fatal error. And perhaps he did. Brian quickly shed
his gear and prepared to entered the image-maker once again. The fear he had
earlier started to return again. Even the confidence that he gained from the
last match wasn't enough to help him get rid of the fear he had.
	When the image-maker turned on, Brian noticed that Trevor and Ian took the
15 minute break to put on their Birds of Prey costumes. They sat there
wearing nothing but  their long black T-shirts and shoes, their faces
covered in make up looking like  raptors. Brian could tell that the make up
was put on in a hurry, unlike the other times he has seen them wear it. Then
out of the corner of his eye he saw someone enter into the arena. It was
Falcon, Phoenix and Harrier. All of them wearing their Birds of Prey
uniforms. But no Spencer. Brian knew that Condor wouldn't show. But the
others did.
	The whistled sounded. Ghargh attacked, but Brian blocked his attack and
fought strong and hard. By this time Brian was getting exhausted and his arm
and leg was hurting him some. But he still had a chance at this. He wasn't
going to let the Birds of Prey down. There were holographic sparks flying
and the clanking of the swords. Then Brian did something that no one else
had been able to accomplish. He severed Ghargh's head from his body. Brian
won the match. The stands erupted even louder then before. The score was now
2-2. Now there was going to be one last duel and this time Brian got to pick
the weapon, since he earned the last point.
	Chu-Qun's temper flared. He kept yelling at Ghargh about how to beat
someone like Brian. Ghargh was mad at himself for losing two matches in a
row to a human, one that was crippled no less. Chu-Qun had called for a time
out.
	Brian took advantage of this to go to the bathroom. Now the tension was
building up. He wasn't sure if he had it in him to win one more match. He
splashed some water on his face and dried off. He looked into the mirror. He
was trying to determine if he was all used up or not. His strength was
starting to fail again. Doubts started to flood his brain again. The fear
started to over take the confidence he had gained from the last two matches.
"Choke" was the only thing that was bouncing around in his head.
	Brian looked up in the mirror as he saw the reflection of the door open; in
walked Spencer, wearing his Bird of Prey costume. Right behind him was
Hawke, Eagle, Harrier and Phoenix. Spencer had finally managed to see what
Brian had accomplished for the Birds of Prey, both during the rescue of Matt
and during the games. He finally saw that maybe it was up to him, Spencer,
to join the Birds of Prey, not Brian. Brian was the one being accepted.
Spencer finally saw that he was quickly falling away from the group that
meant so much to him.
	Spencer began to speak. "Brian McDowell will lose the tie breaking match."
Those words just fueled the fear and doubts that were going through him.
"But Osprey, a bird of prey, will win." In Spencer's hand was a rolled up
black T-Shirt. He unrolled it with flair and handed it to Brian. Ian then
stepped towards the front with the make up in his hand.

  *****

	"What the fuck are you suppose to be?" said Danny as he saw Brian wearing
nothing but a long black T-shirt and face paint that made him look
ridiculous.
	"I'm a Bird of Prey," Brian replied.
	"Young McDowell, have you chosen which weapon you will use for the tie
breaker?" asked Zjan-Ren trying to ignore how Brian looked.
	"Yes I have. I chose the Baklava."
	"Young McDowell, a Baklava requires great strength of the body, the mind
and spirit."
	"Elder Zjan-Ren, I have made my choice."
	"Young McDowell, Ghargh is from the House of Fire. He was taught by the
best on how to use the Baklava."
	"Elder, you kept emphasizing that I have to have balance if I am to
succeed. If I don't go in there with a Baklava, a true tester of balance, I
will never get it. But if I go in there with the Baklava I know that, win or
lose, I will have balance restored in my life. That's because I was taught
by the best."
	Zjan-Ren stared at his young pupil. Just a few moments ago, he looked silly
and ridiculous in his new outer wear, but now he looked bold, confident and
brave. The characteristics of having balance.
	"Lexington, your weapon of choice?" asked the referee.
	Brian didn't break the stare. His eyes pleaded and beg Zjan-Ren to let him
do this.
	"Aye," said Zjan-Ren. "Young McDowell chooses the Baklava." Zjan-Ren's tone
sounded soft and defeated.
	"Say again?" questioned the referee as Chu-Qun and Ghargh both looked up
surprised and bewildered.
	Then with a great deal of confidence and pride Zjan-Ren stood tall and said
"Young McDowell chooses the Baklava as his weapon of choice."
	The referee couldn't believe his ears. "But that is not one of the weapons
of choice."
	"He made his decision."
	"He is to chose the epee, foil, saber or broadsword."
	"As Kalair of Young Ghargh, I have no objections and neither does my pupil
on humoring the human in his request. We will fight with the baklava."
	"Alright, if both sides agree then the same rules are applied here as if
they were using broad swords."
	"Very well," said Zjan-Ren.
	"Excellent. It will be rewarding to see Young Ghargh decapitate the human."
	"Contestants, enter the image makers with your weapons."
	Zjan-Ren took his Baklava off his belt and handed it Brian. "Remember the
first day you tried to use my Baklava. Remember the second time you tried
using it. You failed both times because you had no balance. But, as you go
in there, your balance will be true. Ghrgh's balance is based on a false
balance. Use that to your advantage."
	"I will." Brian took the Baklava and entered the image-maker.
	The arena grew deathly silent as the holographic images appeared before
them on a special stage, to make it seem like a real fight instead of
watching it on viewing screens. A large group of Kritons stood proud and
tall, knowing that this match was theirs. The humans sat on the edge of
their seats, nervous, not knowing what to expect.
	The whistle blew. Ghargh took his baklava and a blade of flame rose from
the handle. It was red and brilliant. It gave off vibrations of power and
strength. Brian took Zjan-Ren's baklava and a watery blade emerged from it.
It shook in Brian's hands. He felt the power within it. But unlike before,
he wasn't thrown against the wall. He was using all his energy and power to
control the weapon. Doubt start to seep through again, and the weapon was
becoming harder to control.
	Unlike previous matches, Ghargh changed his approach. He was pacing around
Brian, his eyes not moving from Brian. It reminded Brian of a Lion stalking
his prey. The Baklava started to shake in his hand more. He was losing
control.
	"SCREECH!!!" squawked the Hawke. "SCREECH!!" The Eagle joined in. Then the
Falcon, the Phoenix and the Harrier. All of them were screeching like birds
of prey before the kill. Then Spencer the Condor joined in.
	The Arena erupted into a deathly battle cry of the Birds of Prey. Then with
no sign, Ghargh attacked. Brian twisted himself around, blocking the attack.
The fight had begun. Cheering and screaming was now overflowing the arena.
Spectators, coaches and players from other sports who were passing the
arena, stopped when they heard the magnificent call of the Birds of Prey.
They felt themselves drawn in. The stands started to overflow onto the
floor. More and more people were coming in seeing the awesome and gallant
fight between Young Ghargh and Young McDowell.
	Everyone was standing now, cheering, screaming, and yelling. The energy in
the arena was beyond belief. The longer Brian held his ground and blocked
the countless, merciless attacks, the more comfortable the baklava felt in
his hand. At this very moment, Brian was no longer a cripple. He was no
longer the boy who lost all hope of accomplishing great feats. He was now
Osprey, a member of the Birds of Prey.
	Brian ducked, tucked and rolled to escape a deathly swipe of Ghargh's
baklava. He landed on his back with a sharp pain going through his bummed
leg. He lost his grip on the baklava and it skated across the floor. Ghargh
looked down at him and smiled. For he knew he had won.
	"False balance," mumbled Brian to himself, reminding himself what Zjan-Ren
had said. Brian quickly used his good leg to swing and wrap around Ghargh's
leg, causing him to fall to the ground. Ghargh was caught off balance and he
fell hard, his own baklava being knocked out of his hand.
	Brian looked by his side and Ghargh's baklava had rolled close to him. He
quickly grabbed the flaming baklava and, with one fatal swoop he brought it
down on Ghargh's neck, thus ending the match.
	The Arena shook as if it was in the middle of an earthquake because the
cheers that erupted within its walls were tremendous. Not only did Brian
beat the Kriton in a baklava duel, but he beat him with the Kriton's own
baklava.
	The image of Ghargh disappeared and was replaced by the dull gray room. The
door flung open and the Birds of Prey soared into the room, picking Brian up
and carrying him out on their shoulders.
	Zjan-Ren stood off in the distance. Pride was flooding his body. "You did
well, Young McDowell," said Zjan-Ren to himself. He turned and saw that
Chu-Qun was beside himself. He knew that one day he would see the wrath of
revenge from Chu-Qun and, when he did, he hoped he could show the same
gallant behavior that Brian had shown..
	The Birds of Prey set Brian down and Danny came up to him. "You were
great...Captain." Brian Smiled and then Danny took Brian into an embrace.
When he broke off, he held out Zjan-Ren's baklava that he had retrieved from
the image-maker for Brian.
	Brian was having a hard time on his leg. It hurt beyond belief. He saw his
dad there smiling and glowing with pride. He saw that in his father's hand
was his cane. He looked and saw the baklava in Danny's hand being offered to
him. He then looked and saw, off in the distance, Zjan-Ren standing tall and
proud.
	Brian saw the cane once again. His leg was hurting bad. He could barely
walk to his father. He then gave his father a big hug. His father squeezed
him hard back.
	"Here's your cane," said Major McDowell.
	"Thanks Dad, but I don't need it." Brian then turned to Danny and took the
Baklava. And with great courage and in great pain, he hobbled over to his
Kalair. Once he reached Zjan-Ren he gave the Baklava back. "Thanks," said
Brian, now with the emotions flooding out of him and tears of joy flowing
down his face.
	"Stick out your hands, palms up," said Zjan-Ren. Brian did as he was told.
Zjan-Ren knelt down before Brian, placing his baklava into Brian's open
hands. He closed Brain's hands around it and push his arms towards his
chest. "You earned it." This was the third and final time a Kriton kneeled
before a human.

To Be Continued...