THE ONE CALLED J

Meeting The Sensei

In a dark room with very poor lighting, there was a king-sized bed at the far end of the room. Other than that, there was no other notable furniture in the room. A black portal suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, out of it came Kronk, his mouth had been gagged with a grey colored metallic material and his hands were tied behind its back with the same material which had been used to gag his mouth. The shadow entourage appeared directly behind Kronk. It pulled its arm into the portal and dragged out a pale-looking Ben, he was also bound similarly to Kronk.

"Madame, I have brought back the two failures," came a voice that seemed to reverberate around the room.

"I don't understand how hard it could be," came a sonorous voice, which appeared to be coming from the direction of the king-sized bed. "Just to capture a young narcissistic megalomaniac who didn't even learn to release his entourage yet."

Ben and Kronk looked terrified as they heard her voice but there was nothing they could do as they kept squirming behind their gagged mouths.

"Not only were you unable to capture him, he now knows how to unleash his entourage thanks to your inadequacy!" the voice paused for a while but it continued. "Though I should thank you, thanks to this development, I now know where the crescent Primordial is, I had been searching for him for years, the only good news is that I now have one Primordial in my grasp, I ensured I had wiped her from the minds of everyone she knew, it was a bit hard trying to take her off the internet, technology these days can really be frustrating."

"Madame!" Ben began, sweat had broken off his forehead. "Don't treat me like this, remember the times in the past when I was useful to you."

"You dare ask me to remember the past," the sonorous voice now had a scary tone to it. "Past glories is as the name suggests, past, only simpletons think of what they have achieved in the past, humans should aspire for the future and how they can do better than they have ever done, you aren't fit to be called human talk less of being in possession of an entourage, Shadow!"

The shadow entourage dashed towards Ben.

"NOOOO!!!" Ben screamed, tears falling from his eyes but the Shadow Entourage didn't stop as it grabbed his head, swiftly, it snapped his neck causing his head to rotate one hundred and eighty degrees. Ben slumped to his death immediately.

"And you," Madame's voice was now directed at Kronk. "You were the most unique in all of creation, an entourage with the free will of a man, I made you my slave when you begged me to separate you from your user, I only let you because you promised you would serve me well and be ruthless and what did I hear, that you had taken in a kid once you arrived in the U.S.A, how could you?!"

"Madame," Kronk answered, he could feel sweat dripping from his forehead. "I found him by the streets, he was starved and homeless, if I hadn't saved him, he would have died on the streets, he was useful in the first capture you assigned us to."

"Again with the word was!" Madame's voice reverberated with anger. "Nothing pisses me when someone tries to get himself out of any situation and refer to things that were as if failure too isn't amongst it, I don't care about things that aren't currently here, the past is gone but the memory of your failure isn't, you have failed and you know the penalty."

"Anything but that," Kronk cried. "I'd rather even be killed than that."

"If it were possible to kill you, I wouldn't delay to do it as I love nothing more than eliminating failures but it's impossible, an entourage can't be killed, that's why I will be returning you to your owner, he will be very instrumental in capturing the last two Primordials."

"Madame," Kronk cried. "Please, you can't do this to me, show Mercy."

"Mercy!" Madame had raised her voice. "You dare utter that abominable word. Mercy is for creatures who can't survive by themselves, Mercy is for creatures who aren't fit to fend for themselves, Mercy is for the weak and a soldier should not be weak, I made you my soldier but if I had known you were weak, I would have pruned you, I can't stand weakness, that is why I can't stand you," she ends with an indifferent tone.

Kronk was about to speak but before he could say anything, the shadow entourage kicked him forcefully on his chest sending him flying above the ground. Whilst Kronk was still in the air, the Shadow Entourage walked towards him, grabbing him by his neck, a black portal appeared directly beneath him, the shadow entourage tossed him in the opened portal like he was some sort of thrash as he turned towards Madame.

"Should I return the entourage to its owner now?" He asks.

"Not yet, his user was an extremely mean brute and his ability is quite fearsome, if he is released now, there will be heavy and unnecessary casualties so he shall only be brought out on the direst of circumstances."

"Alright, Madame."

"That's not to say that this circumstance isn't dire, I read all of Kronk's memories the moment you had put him before me, I also read that of Ben but like he, himself, there wasn't much to say, the Crescent Primordial is being lectured by Sensei."

"Sensei?"

"I have heard tales about this sensei, none of his enemies had ever seen his entourage and lived to say it to another and his allies are usually not fond of telling, as a result, little or nothing is known about this Sensei character."

"I am sure if I face him, no one would have anything to say about him again."

There was a light chuckle, afterwards, she spoke. "While I don't doubt your skill, I am very practical, for an entourage-user to be feared by other entourage-users for decades is no small feat, what pawn do we have left in the city?"

"Jin Woo," the Shadow Entourage replies her.

"That weird-looking i***t," Madame's voice had a tone of disgust in it. "How many hours does he have for the completion of his last assignment?"

"He was deployed exactly five hours ago, he has exactly nineteen more hours."

"I doubt he will be able to accomplish his job within that set time and I am feeling generous today, I want you to find him, tell him that his completion duration has been extended by twenty-four hours, his new objective is to find out as much information about this Sensei character."

"What's the importance of finding information? I am sure he would be helpless against the other entourage-users we have at our disposal."

"Terry," Madame's voice was imbibed with dread, it sent shivers to the Shadow Entourage as it was frozen in its spot. "Don't you dare to second guess any of my instructions ever again in your short and pathetic life, Information is the greatest weapon given to mankind, Communication is the only way by which that weapon can be mass-produced and adherence to instructions brought about by thorough and proper analysis of gained information is the only way by which that weapon can be maximally utilized, that is what differentiates good generals from bad ones, every general will always have access to information, the problem is analysis and implementation, that's where the problem always lies, I have never failed any objective since the time I had been reincarnated into this body because I have followed this philosophy and I am sure I will never fail, venturing into any territory without proper information is like entering a battlefield without weapons so Terry, if you don't want to end up like that woman you claimed you love, you would do well not to ask unnecessary questions and do whatever I tell you to."

"Her name was Zenaida," The Shadow Entourage thought painfully as it bowed to her. "Yes Madame," the entourage ends as it vanishes from the area. All the black portals too had disappeared.

"J, my reincarnated little brother, you pissed me the f**k off when you had acclaimed yourself the First Primordial," Madame kept speaking. "But this is where it all ends, there shall be no need for us to reincarnate into other bodies as I intend to do now what I wasn't able to accomplish since the dawn of creation, the annoying banter between the Primordial siblings shall end in this age, now, I am going to win."

Joshua, Dave, Hendrickson, Max, and Leon were in Vincent's area, everything was exactly as Dave and Max had left it except Vincent and Ben's body which were gone.

"The shadow guy certainly wasn't kidding when he said he took Ben," Joshua says as he bends down.

"No s**t," Leon replied him painfully. "Is this really how it ends for me, Kronk told me it wouldn't turn out like this."

"What about Vincent?" Max asks still looking around. "Where is he?"

"Right here," came a deep gruff voice from the mobile home, the door opened, Vincent was bandaged all over his body, and on his right arm, he wore a Plaster of Paris.

"Jeez man," Joshua smirks. "I have never seen you look better."

"Very funny," Vincent grins sarcastically but immediately, his face twists to that of pain. "Ouch, God, I can't even smile, even my face hurts."

"What happened?" Max asks, feigning surprise as if he didn't know what had occurred.

"Just this i***t called Ben, I owed him some money, he came by this morning, I told him I would pay him once I got my latest month pay at the mall where I worked but he kept nagging, I had just shoved him aside cause I was tired of his rambling then all of a sudden, I just felt my legs get lifted the ground, you guys might think I am crazy but I could feel these hands around my legs and when I looked down, there was nothing there, I was just flung out of the window and the last thing I knew, I woke up in a hospital bed downtown, I told the nurses at the hospital, no one believed me, did you guys read the news, there were earthquakes everywhere and usually before earthquakes occur, there has to be irregular seismic activity but none was reported, it all adds up, there's some strange power going on, you guys have to please tell me that I am making sense and not crazy, please I need someone to just tell me, I am not crazy."

"Wow," Joshua sighs after Vincent had finished speaking, he walked over to him and placed his right arm on his shoulder gently. "Vin, I heard all you said, it does seem like it makes a lot of sense..."

Vincent's moody face had already brightened up, at the moment, his face was now lit up with smiles, he had finally found someone who believed him. "But I just gotta tell you, you aren't just crazy, you are definitely bonkers, am I right? Guys?" Joshua turns to his friends.

"Yep, definitely crazy," Dave and Max say together. "That sounds like all those whacked-up Reddit theories."

"Are you on drugs?" Hendrickson asked with a look of concern.

"Ahh," Vincent frowned, clearly frustrated. "Why did you guys even come here?"

"We dropped by here earlier," Joshua said. "One of us had suddenly collapsed on your porch, we had to quickly drive downtown to get a doctor," he motions over to Hendrickson. "And I got him but he ain't here, you wouldn't happen to have seen him, would you?"

"Your guy doesn't look like a doctor," Vincent had a puzzled look on his face as he looked at Hendrickson. "I would say he looks more of some company's CEO or politician."

"I like to cross-play," Hendrickson says. "It's good so the mental patients don't know they are in a hospital."

"I thought those kinds of doctors were called psychiatrists and they don't exactly tend to people who pass out," Vincent was beginning to get suspicious.

"Who said I was here to treat anyone who passed out," Hendrickson smiles evilly as he points at Joshua. "I was just letting my newest patient play outdoors."

Joshua turned towards Hendrickson, he wore a grave look, if looks could kill, Jolie would be fatherless.

"f**k," Vincent quickly jumped away from him. "Geez man, when did you get mental?"

"He was just joking," Joshua had a frustrated look on his face.

"Am I?" Hendrickson had a puzzled look on his face.

"You dumb...!!!"

"ENOUGH!!!!!"Leon shouted, he couldn't bear the bicker between them anyone, he turned towards Vincent. "This is actually serious, when you came back here from the hospital, did you see anyone on your porch?"

"You guys don't mean Ben, do you?" Vincent said as he got into a small chuckle. "I saw the fucker on my porch when I came back, the motherfucker was all beat up, he was missing his two front teeth, he looked like he was thrown in a cage match with Big Show, I had gone back to my room to get my phone, I knew I had to take a few pics."

"And so why didn't you?" Leon further asks.

"Cause when I came back, he was gone."

"That's a bummer," Dave sighs. "It's a good thing we took Vincent to the hospital earlier."

"Yeah, I agree," Max had a sarcastic edge to his voice.

"Vin, I'd see you some other time," Joshua says as he turns to leave.

"Alright, guys," he waves at them.

"So I think we can all agree the shadow guy was here," Max begins.

"He knew much about us," Dave interjected. "I don't think he was just monitoring Kronk and Ben, he had also been tailing us."

"This is all your fault," Leon gritted his teeth as he pointed at Joshua. "Kronk didn't want to give you up to Madame."

"Then why did you try and kidnap me?" Joshua asks.

"Cause Kronk wanted to take down Madame, he hated doing her dirty work, the plan was to take you to Russia cause that's where she stayed, he would have explained it all to you, he wanted to use you as bait into stopping her once and for all."

"That still doesn't explain killing that woman unjustly."

"Killing unjustly," Leon retorted. "Do you think that's what he did, my entourage's ability is extremely dangerous to normal humans who can't cover themselves with entourage's miasma, even though you had warmed her, her cells had already been fundamentally altered, if you had left her, she would have kept suffering from severe cold, catarrh, the flu, pneumonia, you just name it and if she ever tried to get medical help and was diagnosed, they would have found nothing wrong with her, Kronk saved her from a lifetime of sickness and agony, her fate was already sealed from the moment she touched the wall."

"It doesn't matter who is in the right or not here," Dave says. "What matters is what we do from now? Kronk is certainly still going to be alive, after all, he is an entourage, he must have known that it wasn't death he was afraid of, it was something more sinister."

"And I suppose you have the answer to that," Leon scoffs. "Mr. Know it all."

"I don't, I didn't know entourages could operate without the jurisdiction of their user until I saw Kronk, we have to meet Sensei, he's the only one who can shed light on this issue."

"While I would love to follow you, young lads, to meet this sensei guy," Hendrickson smiles warmly. "A dangerous r****t sorta threatened to make my life hell, and the only way my life can be hell is if my family is taken from me, they are undefended at home and I can't exactly call cops for help, I am the only one who can protect my family, you wouldn't be offended if I go back now, would you?"

"I understand, Mr. McCarthy," Max smiles. "Thanks for all your help today, I greatly appreciate it."

"You welcome, lad, also just call me Henry," Hendrickson smiled at him as his entourage suddenly appeared by his side, his entourage touched him lightly, he suddenly vanished and in the spot where he once stood was a bottle of shampoo.

"Leon, you sure you wouldn't need that," Joshua had an evil grin as he turned towards him. "Your hair practically hosts the biggest colony of lice."

Leon turned towards him with a grave look. "Shut the f**k up!" he growls.

"Alright, there's no need to get physical," Dave had an uneasy grin on his face as he picked the shampoo from the ground. "Let's just go and see Sensei."

"I am not gonna walk back to the city with him," Leon says harshly as he points at Joshua.

"Cause you'd look bad in comparison," Joshua smirked at him.

"Bastard!!!" Leon shouted as his body suddenly encloses in silver miasma, his entourage had already fully formed, it was right beside him.

"Aww, you brought out your toy to play with," Joshua grins back at him as his body suddenly encloses in blue miasma, his entourage at his left-hand side. "But first, you have got to catch me."

Joshua ends as jumps on his entourage's shoulders. His entourage dashed away leaving the three of them in the dust.

"Come back here!" Leon shouts as his entourage moved towards him, his entourage began to partially immerse himself in him. After a while, he ran off in Joshua's direction.

"I am guessing neither of those two know where Sensei's place is," Max shook his head.

"Don't worry about it," Dave smiles at him. "J knew Leon would be hesitant to go, he was also counting on my time skip ability, it's why he had intentionally run in a linear path, he just wanted to coerce Leon into coming with us without saying it." Dave's entourage had already formed behind him, he held Max tightly. "Hang on tight."

As he spoke, his entourage dashed off holding both of them and leaving dust in its wake. Dave kept skipping five seconds forward in time continually till in seconds by his perception, he had gotten to Leon's position, he skipped further in time a couple of times until he had gotten in front of Joshua.

"You aren't half bad," Joshua smiles at him. "You knew what my plan was without I even saying it, I should get you a gift."

"Shutting the f**k up once in a while would be a very nice gift, " Dave smiles warmly at him. "Apparently, when you talk, you have a knack for pissing people the f**k off."

"What can I say," Joshua had his most devious smile on his face. "It's my charm."

Soon, the trio had arrived in front of a brown duplex, their entourages had vanished, the three now stood before the brown building.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Dave smiled as he pulled open the door, it revealed a room with Japanese mats and several Chinese swords etched on the walls, there were several quotes and sayings by famous historians decorated all over the walls. Sitting on a mat, in the middle of the room was a bald Chinese man with beards so long that it touched the ground, he was dressed in white linen.

"I see," the old man began when they had entered inside. "So you were able to find the first Primordial."

"I told you I would," Dave grins sheepishly. "Though I have to admit, I was shocked when I found out it was him, I thought it was gonna be someone different."

"And you brought another," the man said as he pointed in Leon's direction. "I sense great pain and bitterness emanating from him, he has lost someone dear."

"Not lost," Leon replied sharply. "He's just missing for a while, I am gonna get him back."

"The lies we tell ourselves to sleep at night," Sensei shakes his head regrettably.

"Bastard!!" Leon gritted his teeth as he moved hastily towards him but Dave extended his arm to stop him.

"That's right," Leon tells him. "You better hold me down, else your old man would have something other than high blood pressure to complain about."

"I know you are unable to think straight because you lost your Guardian," Dave whispers. "I am not holding you down cause I am scared for Sensei, I am holding you so you don't join your guardian, if you go against Sensei, you wouldn't last a second."

"If your Sensei is that strong?" Leon now has an overconfident grin on his face. "Does that mean I can count on J being hospitalized for a while," he ends as he points over to Joshua who was striding towards Sensei.

Dave turned in the direction he was pointing to, he shook his head. "Ooh gosh."

"So old man, you know about me," Joshua began with his most arrogant smile. "It's only normal, even great men know who the J is, after all, the J is the greatest."

"You have a mouth on you," Sensei smiled. "Though if you stay in that position for six more seconds, you are going to die."