Chapter 23 - Escape and Fears

"Where am I?" Creed asked as he began to wake. He only saw the blackness that Feiryon has instilled in him. He was stuck in the depths of darkness in his thoughts, words and deeds. He was in a grip of fear that no one could escape from. Creed wanted to get out so badly because he knew that he would not survive if it went on like this. 

"I have to fight. I can't give in." He said.

"You can't win." He heard someone say.

He looked around but saw no one. Creed figured that it was one of Feiryon's mind tricks in the Fear Grip. He tried to fight by not being psyched out.

"Sure keep ignoring me, like that'll help you get out of here."  the voice again said.

Creed looked around again and now saw someone ahead. The man turned around and he was surprised who it was. It was himself without the eye-patch and the prosthetic steel arm.

"Like looking in the mirror ain't it?" The Assassin said.

"Who the hell are you?"  Creed asked.

"I'm you. Well what used to be you anyway. You locked me away here inside yourself when you vowed never to kill again so in short, I'm your killer instinct." The Assassin replied.

Creed stood his ground and prepared to fight. The Assassin figure did not do anything to respond.

"Relax, I'm not here to fight and besides if I did, I could kill you in a jiffy. I'm here to show you your mistakes, fears, and regrets." The Assassin said.

"Why? What do you want from me?"  He asked the Assassin.

"For starters, What Feiryon and I want is that you give up this facade of not killing because you can't keep it up. You are the angel of death Creed, you know that. Ever since you have joined the Republic and got trained by Slade. You were programmed for this!!" The Assassin said smugly. "If I were you, just let me out and we'll have lots of fun again, you know you want to." he added.

"Never. I'm done with taking people's life."  Creed replied.

"Oh really? What about what you said in the previous weeks?" The Assassin said as he showed Creed the flashbacks of his fight with Falrich and Feiryon.

"You pathetic piece of trash. You'll now get what's coming to you..." (Creed to Falrich)

"Step aside, or I'll kill you myself." (Creed to Feiryon)

Creed saw the flashbacks and he began feeling the fear of being turned back into an assassin who kills without remorse and empathy for his victims.

"No...Stop messing with my head!!!" Creed shouted 

"Ohhh anger I like that. It strengthens the killer instinct more. Seriously though you should just give up the fake life you've been living. Because you know you can't escape it... Once a killer, always a killer..." The Assassin said as he disappeared in thin air.

Creed was now feeling the height of the Fear Grip. He was being reminded about his crimes against the lives he has taken to save the Republic. All the people he has killed has began to flood his mind. Their screams when he took their lives began echoing in the depths of his mind and heart. He began to fall down and lay on the ground as he felt weak and could not move. A midst the event he saw a person that meant everything to him, a person whom he killed to save them all. It was his mentor, Slade.

"Slade? help me..." Creed said.

Slade got nearer to him. She just stood in front of him and did nothing. Slade looked at Creed's body lying on the floor asking for help, but she did not help him. Instead she drew her Bowie Knife and held it on her hand.

"Please....I don't want to die...."  Creed said to her

"Death is part of life. It is a cycle that cannot be broken. If you fear death then you fear the cycle of life. It is the fear of living that connects your fear of death.." Slade said.

Creed braced himself because he knew that Slade would end his torture right there and there. She was a more ruthless killer than he ever was and all that mattered to her was the mission.

"Do not be afraid. I am not here to fight." Slade said as she helped him up and then she sat him down.

She took out a cigar and lit it with her lighter and started smoking.

"I know that you fear death." Slade said as she puffed out the smoke. "You fear not only dying but also you fear bringing the deaths of others. You have managed to suppress the fear of death when I trained you not to fear it, but I was wrong. Deep inside you are wounded and damaged, you fear death because you were so guaranteed that no one could give it to you, but now you are put in a situation between living and dying and now you learn to struggle against it." She added. "I should've taught you more.."

"Slade..." Creed said as he stood up and tried to reach her, but as he was trying she got and farther and farther away. 

"WHY CAN"T I REACH YOU???" Creed shouted as he was about to lose his mind. Then the place where he stood became different. It was raining hard on the place he stood. He had his gun on his hand and he felt blood dripping from his left eye. Creed touched it and it was ruptured by Slade's knife. Then he looked down on the ground and saw Slade lying down on the ground exhausted and wounded. She looked at him without hatred and sadness as a matter of fact, she was proud that he had bested her in combat. It was the scene of two years ago, when Creed was asked to assassinate his mentor for treason against the republic. Creed noticed this and realized that he could change what had happened. He could save her and not kill her.

"Well...you know what to do...hero.." Slade said to him.

"No... I won't... I could still save you." Creed said as he dropped his gun and tried to lift her body, but he noticed that he could not touch her. His hands just went through her body like it was an intangible object. He then looked at where he dropped his gun and noticed that it had disappeared. He tried to walk away and stand up but as soon as he did, he saw himself standing over Slade's body. 

"Well hero...set me free..." Slade said to the man that stood over her body.

Creed saw that it was himself pointing the gun at his mentor. He then tried to reason with himself and saying that he should not kill her.

"She was your mentor!!! Don't kill her!! You'll just regret it..." Creed said as he tried to stop himself from killing his mentor.

But he couldn't stop himself. He pointed the gun on his mentor's head. Slade closed her eyes and accepted her death firmly. Creed just watched as he saw himself shoot his mentor on the head and kill her completely. After everything that she had done for him, teaching him, loving him and being a mother to him. He had none of it, he still shot her in cold blood. Creed saw himself as how he killed her. He was expressionless and felt no regret. He left her body there not even giving it proper respects. He never knew that he was this ruthless. Tears ran from Creed's face as he saw his dead mentor. 

"No....I could've saved her.... I COULD'VE SAVED HERRR!!!!!"  Creed shouted as he was now back on Feiryon's world which was the all black vortex. Creed was still crying but he noticed that he was now being affected by the Fear Grip.

"I told you it's useless to fight."  The Assassin said.

Creed did not say anything anymore. He had to too much pain to deal with after he saw himself kill his mentor.

"You were supposed go by the script in that last flashback. It seems as if you are really intended to continue living the facade of a life you are living now." The Assassin said to him.

Creed still did not reply.

"Feiryon's getting to you now huh? Finally, but you know... It's not over yet.. I still more in store for you. He said as he transformed into Feiryon.

The trucks were now miles away from Etto city. Jade noticed that Creed still had that lifeless look on his eyes. He was not saying anything but he had a pulse and he was breathing. He just did not have the will to live like he used to.

"Will he be okay?" Jade asked one of the resistance men.

"We have a very good doctor that will check his condition. He has healed countless numbers of our men afflicted with rare conditions. I know he will be better when he sees him." The resistance soldier replied.

"I hope so..." Jade said. She was worried about Creed. She had so much more to tell him.

Jephtah looked at Creed and he practically saw a living corpse. 

"Sure he's still alive but he's having a turmoil from the depths of his mind and body. He's lucky if he holds out long enough to see Tenzan." Jephtah thought.

"How long till we get there?" Jephtah asked one of the resistance men they are riding with.

"We are nearing now." One of the Resistance Soldiers said. "We can see the tents are that are in the resistance camp. It would take us about 30 mins to get there." 

"Finally, we'll get Creed checked up by Tenzan. I know he's seen cases like these before." Jephtah said.

In the depths of Creeds mind and heart, he has lost the will to fight and be free of Feiryon's grip. He has seen two of his fears in his time in the void which are the fear of reverting back to the assassin and the fear of dying. Creed had a lifeless look on his eye and just sat in a corner. He knew that he had no chance of winning against Feiryon's grip now that he had lost all hope. 

"Do my eyes deceive me? The great Creed sitting here like a child who's given up?" Feiryon said. "The fun's just beginning." He added.

Creed did not answer.

"You've lost all hope? What about the girl? Do you want to lose her too?"  Feiryon said to him.

"Creed help me!!" A familiar voice said.

"Jade?"  Creed said as he heard her voice. He stood up and began looking for her. He knew that he could not forgive himself if he had lost her. 

"Creed help meeee!!!"  She shouted again.

"Where are you?!!!" Creed shouted as he ran around and began looking for her. Suddenly the place where he was began changing again. This time it showed Jade being held hostage by Nero. She was tied down to a chair and Nero was there setting flames around her.

"Nero! Let her go!" Creed said as he attacked Nero and engaged him in combat. The two of them fought and Nero sent out flame bursts from his blade. Creed evaded the attack and he began to hit Nero hard with strikes that landed flush on his body. He got quickly to where Jade is and untied her.

"It's okay Jade, I got you." Creed said as he carried her on his back. He then felt Nero's presence behind him. He dropped Jade's unconscious body and then drew his gun and shot him in the head with out looking, but as he began to look at whom he shot he did not see Nero's body on the ground with a bullet hole, instead he had seen Jade's body with a bullet hole between her eyes. 

"No....I shot Nero...She was safe..." Creed said to himself.

The Assassin appeared and said

"Nero was never there. Jade was never in trouble. She just wanted to ask you something, but then you pulled your gun out and shot her in cold blood." 

"No....No....NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Creed shouted as he was about to go insane.