Loki’s Successor System

"Damn it!" Cliff snapped. "I forgot I'm out of cigarettes! I smoked the last one minutes ago!" his eyebrows knotted.

Dobby snapped back. "And you were getting that nasty stuff in my lungs, arsehole!" pointedly insolent.

Cliff glanced back at Dobby. "You're the bad one in the group, aren't you? The tough guy—the moody, doesn't-give-a-shit guy?"

Dobby simply averted his eyes. He saw the man's glare and yielded. He didn't dare counterattack.

"I thought so…"

Tristan took a right turn, veering the car to the right, smiling. "Dobby can be cold, but he can also be so warm at times. He doesn't give a shit, he's really, really rude. You're gonna have to get used to him."

Jin asked, "Used to him? That stranger's staying with us?"

"Yeah," Tristan glimpsed at the mirror, "for a long, long time—whether you like it or not. He said he'd explain himself to you when he gets the chance."

Jin leaned forward and looked at Cliff. "Hey, guy? Don't you have the chance to explain yourself … now?"

Cliff gagged. He quickly clutched his hands to the door handle, pulled it, and pushed the car door open. He neglected that the car was moving rapidly. The road appeared to be zooming blurs, in just as much motion as the vehicle.

"What are doing all of a sudden?" Tristan snapped, taking his eyes off of the road to look at him a few times, confused.

Cliff stuttered. "I'm uh … I-I'm … gonna get some cigarettes! You can go home, I'll find you…" he said nervously.

"Wait, let me pull aside for you!"

Suddenly, Cliff jumped out from the car, and bolted into the air.

Tristan quickly mashed down on the breaks. The tires shrieked. The door—Cliff had left opened—slammed shut. The car was at the side; black tire trails perceptible.

Tristan grimaced. "What the fuck? Did he just leap out of a speeding car?"

Ashton adjusted his glasses. "He just leaped out of a speeding car…"

Tristan looked for Cliff, but to no avail. He tapped his hand upon the steering wheel, nervous. "Guys? Do we uh … wait for him, or…?"

"I mean, he said would find us, so…."

"Yeah, you're right," Tristan started driving again. "Crazy lad."

Ashton folded his arms. "I wonder how strong is he truly. He scared the demons away and he managed to kill Krod. Though, we didn't find the body … only blood."

"Well," said Tristan, "he must be really strong. However, not stronger than Nyx. He said it himself when I asked."

Ashton raised a brow. "Then … why would Nyx run away from someone inferior to him?"

"Cliff probably has some tactical advantage over him. If Nyx wasn't very discreet and patient, he would have attacked Jin on day one, assuming he wanted Loki's system that is.

"What I'm trying to say is … Nyx seems to be the kind of guy who'll—only—do something if he knows he'll succeed for sure. At least that's what I think. If he waited so many days until he finally attacked Jin, then I see him as that kind of guy."

Ashton slumped in the seat. "You're right. I think so as well. Probably he's a pessimistic one. He literally manipulated Jin. He attacked at the right time, even going as far as to hold his friends hostage."

Suddenly, it started to rain water bullets. Water droplets were darting down from the sky, showering the surface. Thunder and Lightning already perceived.

Ashton sighed. "It's always raining nowadays…"

"I wonder why…"

Dobby was looking out window, not peering at the others. "The great flood I told you about … that's why." his tone was extremely calmer than ever.

Ashton tinged. "That's what you're gonna say to us after not speaking for so long!? Something that silly!?"

Dobby hadn't responded.

"Waw … just waw…"

Jin was the most quiet. He was lost in his thoughts. Thoughts that flooded his mind. The death of his parents, the betrayal of the people he deemed his friends—all of it. He couldn't stop thinking.

This certainly wasn't a reverie either.

He couldn't accept how weak he was. So weak he couldn't fight to save himself. Somebody else had to save him. He hated this with all his heart.

He had to get stronger. Now that he knows that people are after the Successors, he needed to get stronger … with the help of the asset. The asset he hoped would make him unstoppable.

The car was driving down a straight road. They were nearing Jin's house. As the car zoomed down the streets, Tristan could not help but notice a figure—appearing as a dot—in the middle of the road. A familiar figure.

"What's wrong, Tris?" asked Ashton.

Tristan began to slow down a tad. "Nothing … there's just … someone in the road. I think it's—"

Suddenly, the figure raised its hands. Strangely, it just raised its hand, not doing anything else. Then, water began to manifest. The water appeared as a hovering sphere, but then it broke loose as the figure thrust its hands toward the vehicle.

The volume of water grew, and grew. It started to rise. As soon as the figure had thrust its hands, the water was pushed, and took form of something reminiscent to a tsunami.

The tsunami was fast approaching their vehicle, running into everything in its path. Utter destruction.

"Guys, we're about to get hit!!!" Tristan mashed down on the reverse.

The car began to reverse with a lot of speed. Tristan's eyebrows furrowed, infuriated. He knew exactly what was happening. But he had no time to explain.

Dobby snapped. "It's the great flood! I've been telling you about this for days—now it's happening!" his tone rose to a shout. His eyes gaped.

Tristan nervously clenched his teeth. The tsunami kept inching closer to the fast reversing car. "Fuck, fuck!"

"We need to—"

The water bashed into the car like metal against metal. The vehicle was thrust in the direction of the tsunami. The pressured water shattered the windshield into hundreds of facets. Glass pitched into the passengers' flesh.

In no time whatsoever, the entire interior of car was swathed in the stinging water. Water enters their nostrils and hits their bodies like boulders of giant rock.

Agony.