ASKANI #2: Judgement *working title*

Written by Jfive
Edited by Kingbob 
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Paris, France.

	Gideon looked at the gathered members of his and Candra's 
strikeforce. Blowout, Mindwipe, Upgrade, and Blaze. Three mutants and a human 
that were fiercely dedicated to destroying any hope of coexistance between 
their two races. The only thing that kept them from out right attacking each 
other was the fact that they were all working towards the same goal.

	"What have you got for us?" Upgrade, the self proclaimed third in 
command, asked.

	"I've decided to see if we truly are field ready. We leave in fifteen 
minutes. So get your gear." Gideon said.

	"Were are we going?"

	"Scotland, to take down the Askani." Gideon answered. Then he added, 
"Upgrade, this is a night time battle, so please leave your shades here."

	"Gotcha boss. We'll be ready to rock and roll before you know it." 
Upgrade replied. "Ok, slackers, you heard the man. Get your asses in gear. 
We've got to go kick the shit out these Ask Oni bums, and I'd like to be home 
in time to eat breakfast."

	The four members left Gideon alone as they went to get ready for the 
mission. Upgrade, the last one out, passed Candra as she entered the room. 
Gideon smiled at his co leader.

	"I assume that you have informed Apocalypse of my change of plans?" 
He said with an air of unconcern.

	"Of course. He said that if the plan succeeds, then he will be 
pleased, if it doesn't, then your fucked." Candra said with a smile.

	"And that would please you, would it not?" 

	"Of course. With you out of the picture, guess who gets complete 
control of the team. ME!!!"

	"Then I will make sure that it succeeds. Mark my words, Candra, when 
we return victorious, you will answer to me for your part in telling 
Apocalypse."

	She laughed, then held out her hands. "Look. Controlled fear." 
Another laugh, then she exited the room, leaving Gideon to face the final 
moments on his own.

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Refuge Castle.

	Nile de Gregory shook his head, splashing water across the room. He 
hated hangovers. He should have known, after all his years alive, that he 
couldn't hold his liquer on an empty stomach. Sighing, he ducked his head 
back into the icy water, attempting to rid himself of headache.

	"You 'bout done?"

	Nile's head rose slowly from the water. He wasn't ready to face 
Stick. Although he was many times over older than his friend, Stick always 
seemed to make him feel like a child.

	"I heard about Eric's fight with Gideon. Why did you allow it to take 
place? We're not ready to take on Apocalypse, and now he has a direct line to 
our location." Stick said.

	"I know. I felt terrible after learning of Ororo's death. I wish I 
had a chance to kill that son of a bitch, Daredevil. I don't care if he was 
your pupil and my best friend. He still deserves to die." Nile said with a 
vengence.

	"I know exactly how you feel, Nile. But remember, there are more than 
just yourself that you have to take care of. We need you to be at your best 
possible condition, and you can't be that way drunk." Stick reached out and 
placed his hand upon Nile's back. "You can't take all the world's 
responsibilities on your back. Ororo's death wasn't your fault, so quit 
blaming yourself."

	"I'm not blaming myself."

	"Don't lie to me, Nile! I know that you believe that Ororo's death 
was a direct response to what occured in San Francisco all those years ago." 
Stick said in anger. 

	"It's not that I blame my self, it's just that I feel that there 
should be someway we could reach Nathan and help him through this time."

	A bald faced lie, but one that Stick let slide.

	Suddenly the door burst inward, and Colossus came barging in. "Nile, 
Stick, we're under attack. Eric is trying to organize a resistance on the 
eastern wall, but so far, we haven't been able to stop them."

	"I'm coming. Tell Eric to hold the attackers until I get there." 
Colossus left, leaving Stick to stare at Nile. "Let's head to the Armory, for 
some reason I believe that this is related to Eric's fight earlier."

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	Moments later, Colossus reached the eastern wall, where Eric 
Masterson was organizing the resistance. "How's it going Eric?"

	"Not good. I was right, the attackers are being led by Gideon. I 
should have known better than to mix it up with him at that bar. He probably 
thought that since the majority of us were drunk, we would be easy pickings."

	Eric and Peter watched as a woman carrying a large laser rifle ran 
from one place of cover to another. Each of them thought the same thing. She 
was good, very good. Unfortunately, being very good never mattered when you 
were facing a man who could sneak up behind you without a sound. She was 
unable to hear the teleportation that brought John Wraith within arm's 
length, and after a quick snap of her neck, she never heard another sound.

	Eric felt horror at what he had just seen. To take another's life was 
not uncommon to him, but to kill a woman? "He's ruthless, isn't he?"

	"Yes, but he's one of the best field agents in the world. That is why 
Forge recruited him into the Underground." They stood upon the wall for a 
moment, then watched helplessly as Upgrade approached the apparently gloating 
Wraith.

	"John, watch out!!!" Peter Rasputin's voice rang from the wall, but 
it was lost in the winds. He could only watch as his friend was knocked sense 
less by Upgrade. Peter turned to look at Eric and noticed that he was nowhere 
to be found. Looking over the side of the wall, he could see a man 
climbing...down???

	When Eric's feet hit the ground, he turned and started moving towards 
where Upgrade was standing over the fallen Wraith. He slowed down so that 
Upgrade wouldn't hear him arrive. He stepped upon a small stick, and it 
snapped like a whip. "Damn."

	Upgrade whirled around and dropped into a fighter's stance. "Hey, 
meat. Ready to join your friend here in dream land? Have to warn you though, 
I absorb mutant powers and make them my own, so you're not exactly up against 
a normal person."

	"Funny, cause I'm not a mutant." Eric swung, and his fist crushed 
Upgrade's lips into pulp.

	"T'at was s'upid." Upgrade managed to say through his mashed lips, as 
he reached out with his powers, attempting to absorb any power that Eric 
contained. He apparently hadn't heard Eric tell him that he was not a mutant. 
"Oh, god!" Upgrade fell to the ground as he finally found something to absorb 
from Eric.

	"No!!!" Eric watched as his life flashed back through time, to when 
he had been one of Apocalypse's chosen humans. He watched with hate filled 
eyes as he saw the man that he was no longer, the man that would just as 
easily kill a woman or a child as he would a man. "What did you do to me?" He 
yelled at Upgrade.

	But Upgrade was beyond hearing as his mind was overwhelmed by the 
life that Eric Masterson had led as one of Apocalypse's servants. Before the 
Askani, before he was freed by Nile de Gregory. For a single instant, time 
froze as Eric's memory tore through Upgrade's mind, leaving him a shattered 
shell of his former self.

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The Armory.

	Nile de Gregory, the Guardian, ran his hand over the smooth surface 
of the scabbarded sword. The very sword that his friend Jaques de Molay had 
used to knight him when Nile won his spurs. The very same sword that the 
first Askani had sworn their oaths upon. Tonight, it had called to him, and 
he had answered. Now, he reached out with both hands and lifted sword and 
scabbard both from their place of honor. Because tonight, it sought blood.

	"Nile! Quit lusting after the damned blade. We've got to stop the 
attackers or the castle will fall." Stick shouted from the doorway.

	"Go on, I'll be there in a second." Nile watched as Stick left. Then 
he knelt down on one knee and offered a prayer to Baphomet, the name for God 
used by the Knights Templar. When he finished, he buckled the sword around 
his waist and headed towards the eastern wall.

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The Eastern Wall.

	Peter Rasputin looked down at the mind shattered Upgrade. Beside him 
lay an unknown woman and John Wraith. Behind them, stood Eric Masterson, who 
was having some kind of seizure. Hearing the arrival of the others, he turned 
and informed them of what had happened.

	Jubilee glanced at the devastation before her. So many people had 
been hurt defending this very castle, and now it looked as if they might lose 
it. Stick approached her and put his hand on her shoulder.

	"Remember your lessons, Jubilation. Remember those, and you will 
survive." He reached down and pulled a laser pistol from the depths of his 
robe. "Here, I believe that you will find this very useful."

	Jubilee took the gun with a cautious hand. Her very first offensive 
weapon. And not a moment to soon. She sighted down the barrel, and looked at 
the young face of what could only be a mutant. She appeared to be firing 
laser blasts from her finger tips, but Jubilee wasn't sure. She prepared to 
squeeze the trigger, only to be stopped by Stick.

	"NO! We do not kill from concealment. That is the way of assassins. 
If you must, face the child in combat, but I didn't give you the gun so that 
you could fire from cover."

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	Nile stood on the eastern wall, watching the fighting that spread 
from one side of the knoll to the other, at the base of Refuge, he could see 
the leader of the attackers...Gideon.	

	"I see that you favor the sword, Gregory." Gideon sneered up at the 
leader of the Askani. "That being the case, I'm going to enjoy this. I 
haven't fought with a sword in over 150 years." Gideon vanished in a blast of 
light, only to reappear seconds later...with his own sword.

	Nile leapt nimbly from the upper wall, landing at Gideon's feet. 
"Long time no see, Gideon. Wish it had been longer." He drew his sword from 
the scabbard, and their 'audience' immediately ceased their own fighting, in 
preparation of the coming battle between their respective leaders.

	"Tell you what, Nile. Let's make this interesting. If I win, you're 
dead, and so are the rest of your boys and girls."

	"And if I win, you take the rest of this rabble, and get the hell out 
of here." Nile said with a grim face. "Are we agreed?"

	"Yes. Everyone else stays out of this, it's just me against you." 
With those last words, Gideon suddenly lunged at Nile.

	Nile's sword, an extension of his body, rose and deflected Gideon's 
blade to the side. Their bodies moved in tune with each other, neither able 
to gain an advantage. Back and forth they fought, captivating their audience.

	"Unbelievable..." Jubilee muttered, unable to tear her eyes away from 
the scene taking place.

	Seeing Nile stumble, Gideon tried to press home the advantage that it 
affordeed him. Although Nile managed to stop Gideon's killing attack, he lost 
his sword in the exchange. Gideon reached down and grabbed Nile by his hair.

	"Remember, boy, this is a fight to the finish!" Gideon spat the words 
into Nile's ear. He drew his sword back away from Nile's side, and prepared 
to drive it into his heart. As Gideon's sword started its final descent, Nile 
drove his elbow into Gideon's solar plexus. Gideon grunted in pain, and 
stooped over to catch his breath, as he did this, Nile dove for his sword.

	Gideon looked up and saw Nile was ready to continue the fight. 
"Foolish boy! You had me at your mercy, and you didn't strike. I'm really 
going to enjoy killing you." Gideon smiled. Then he struck, only to find that 
Nile had anticipated his movement.

	Nile's sword swept Gideon's up into the air, then he attempted to 
deliver the finishing blow. Except that Gideon had other plans. Seeing that 
Nile would connect with the sword, he activated his mutant power, attempting 
to overload Nile.

	"No!" Candra roared as she rushed towards Gideon. She drew a dagger 
from her belt, then sliced his windpipe. Not a killing blow, but definately a 
painful one. *You knew that anything that affects him affects me, but you 
used your damned power anyway.* She looked at the pitiful excuse for an 
External. *For this you will die!!!*

	The 'audience' stood around, dazed at this shocking turn of events. 
Candra walked over to where Gideon's sword lay upon the ground and picked it 
up. She moved back to his side, and spoke.

	"Gideon. You have been tested by battle, and judged unfit to survive. 
Death is your sentence." With that last word, the sword arced through the 
air, and Gideon's lifeless, and now headless, body crumpled to the earth.

	Stepping over Gideon's body, she walked up to Nile, then motioned to 
the remaining members of HER team. They prepared to teleport away from the 
carnage. "Nile de Gregory. You and yours have won a reprieve from the mighty 
Apocalypse tonight, but realize that everyone must be judged oneday."

	Nile looked at the 'spectre' before him. The woman whose face haunted 
his dreams and nightmares. Her lips brushed his for a fraction of a second, 
and Nile thought he heard her murmur the words "I...still love you." Then she 
vanished, leaving him surrounded by the Askani and the Underground.

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Later.

	Stick, followed by Colossus, walked into Nile's office. "We've 
patched our wounded up as best as possible, Nile. What do you want us to do 
with the bodies?"

	Nile never looked up. "Burn them." He was lost in memories of his 
past. Memories of a beautiful blonde woman with flashing blue eyes. A woman 
named Candra. "Burn them to bloody ashes."

	"Done." Stick motioned for Colossus to follow him out of the office, 
leaving Nile to his thoughts. After they had reached the outer wall, Stick 
looked at Peter. "So, what do you think it is?"

	"Something about that woman disturbed Nile greatly." Colossus said 
with a grim expression. "It was almost as if they were...lovers?"

	"Let's go boy, we've got to get these bodies ready for the funeral 
byre."

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Paris.

	"My, my, look what the cat dragged in." 

	Candra whirled around and faced Revanche and two others. Mindwipe and 
Blowout spread out behind her in a defensive position. "What the hell do you 
want, Kwannon?"

	"Just came to say hi."

	"And..."

	"Let me think for a second." Revanche stalled, gloating in the fact 
that Candra was already shaken up. "Oh, yeah, Apocalypse wanted us to test 
you, Gideon, and y'alls team." She looked around. "By the way, where is the 
rest of the team?"

	"Dead." Candra said.

	"Gideon, too?" Revanche asked with a little bit of amazement. 
Although she had cockily told Apocalypse that she could handle the Externals, 
she hadn't been 100% sure.

	"Yes. Gideon too." Candra said, then tiring of the conversation, she 
added. "Look, unless you have something important to say or do, get the hell 
out of here."

	"One last question, then we'll start our 'discussion'."

	Although Candra didn't like the idea of this 'discussion', she nodded 
her approval to Revanche's question.

	"Ok, how did Gideon die?" Simple enough, maybe she would learn a 
little more about the Askani this way.

	Candra looked her in the eyes. "I killed him. What is this 
discussion?"

	"Oh." Revanche mentally adjusted her assessment of Candra. 
"Apocalypse sent us to test you..."

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Next Ish:

CANDRA and the remaining members of her team are tested. The survivors join 
with REVANCHE, and prepare to assault REFUGE CASTLE. Will they be crushed, or 
will they succeed in pushing the ASKANI out of their stronghold? Check out 
ASKANI #3 for all the answers and more.