Shattering Humanity-Chapter 269: "... Commiserated By Seiõr..."
"For persecution is far worse than killing. And they will not stop fighting you until they turn you away from your faith-if they can. And whoever among you renounces their own faith and dies a disbeliever, their deeds will become void in this life and in the Hereafter. It is they who will be the residents of the Fire. They will be there forever." -Al-Baqarah 2:216
____________________
Surrounded by darkness, Zeke appears to be unconscious within a void of nothingness.
His own voice, from his childhood echoes all around him.
Each voice progressively gets a little deeper, signifying his growth as a young boy without a father figure.
7 Y.O. Zeke’s Voice: "What’s a Daddy?"
8 Y.O. Zeke’s Voice: "Do I have a Daddy too?"
9 Y.O. Zeke’s Voice: *crying* "I want my Daddy!!"
10 Y.O. Zeke’s Voice: "I don’t know my Dad.
I never have..."
11 Y.O. Zeke: "Maybe if I become a famous fighter, my Dad will want to see me too?"
14 Y.O. Zeke’s Voice: "I don’t care who my father is.
I don’t need that bum’s attention, as long as I got you Jeremiah..."
The grown man unconsciously struggling in the unknown is disturbed by the sound of his own opinion and his innocent realizations prior.
Young Jeremiah’s Voice can be heard coming in every direction from the darkness the same way Zeke’s was.
Young Jeremiah’s Voice: "Hey, why are you sitting alone during lunch?
Where are your friends?"
It’s as though the audio from the day the two became friends is playing out loud.
Hearing it, the unconscious version of Zeke relaxes, thinking about the day and their conversation.
Young Zeke’s Voice: "I don’t have friends.
Me and my mom had to move here over the summer.
We’re always moving, so don’t get to use to me if you want to bully me too."
Young Jeremiah’s Voice: "What?
Why would I pick on you?
...
...
What about your dad?
Where is he?
Why don’t you live with him?"
The real, unconscious Zeke clenches his fists tighter, already knowing his younger self’s answer.
Young Zeke’s Voice: "I don’t know my Dad.
I never have and I probably never will."
Young Jeremiah’s Voice: "Haha, then that means we might have the same dad, cuz I don’t know mine and I never will even if he wanted to.
But it’s okay, I gots my Mumma.
She might not be home a lot, but I know it’s because she works hard for me to be happy...
Everyone needs at least one person to have as a safety blanket, right?
Is that how you feel about your Mumma?
Is she your safety blanket too?"
From his closed left eye, a tear falls down the cheek of the knocked out soldier.
After the audio from their befriending is complete, the audio from another brotherly new bond plays.
This time they are a bit older and the sounds of a crowd cheering on TV makes unconscious Zeke flinch but he stays asleep.
*ding* *ding* *ding*
Young Zeke’s Voice: "Woah!
Is he dead?!
That guy isn’t moving Jeremiah!"
Young Jeremiah’s Voice: "Relax dude, see?
He’s waking up...
Haha!
What have you never seen someone get knocked out before?"
Young Zeke’s Voice: "Wait, that’s what I look like when those bullies knock me out too?!
That’s so embarrassing!"
Young Jeremiah’s Voice: *upset* "Oh...
...
Hey Zeke, have you every thought about learning how to defend yourself?
You know, like, learning how to fight back against those bullies."
Young Zeke’s Voice: "Not really, I just figured one day they would kill me..."
Older Zeke is now having the reaction of someone unable to wake up from a nightmare.
As the uncomfortable noises of punches and kicks landing to the young boy’s bodies, the man who was just fighting Shelly is squirming around in the vast nothingness.
Once the unsettling audio of their relentless beating finally ceases, adult Zeke’s fingers crack as his fingers claw and shift wildly at his side.
Their heavy wheezing breaths eventually slow over a short time and unconscious Zeke calms down as well.
Young Zeke’s Voice: "I’m sorry *cough*...Jeremiah.
You... got dragged into this *cough* cuz of me- argh!"
Young Jeremiah doesn’t respond right away, the unfortunate boy is still wheezing heavily.
Young Jeremiah’s Voice: "Don’t- ah...
Worry about it... brosk-
Owww..."
Now, even though he’s unconscious, Zeke’s got a stern look on his sleeping face, recalling the day he and Jeremiah decided to start their individual MMA careers.
Young Zeke’s Voice: "If the want to fuck with me, that’s fine.
But Jeremiah...
I can’t stand seeing my best friend get hurt just for being my best friend.
Let’s do that self defense training you were talking about.
And when I become strong enough, I promise, I’ll stop those jackasses from hurting my friend.
I’ll be the bully to the bullies and make them realize who the real threat is in this ’Biggest Bully Wins World."
No longer his best buddy’s younger version, Zeke can hear Jeremiah’s muffled yells.
Jeremiah: "Yo Zeke!
Zeke, where the hell are you!?
Are you good!?
Please, say something!
Ah!"
Zeke’s eyes open and his IceEye pops off to 2nd Stage, and a smokey aura explodes from it.
[Sanpaku Destroyed Entrance]
Shelly is covered in her breathtaking protective coating of her own soul’s personal supply of the univeral energy.
The blonde angel of war has gone airborne when making contact with her opponent’s sword and she uses a flying knee to connect with the red mohawked man’s sternum.
He bounces off of the wall again and with the sound of the sharp blade cutting the air while she twirls, Mach 1 Shelly double spin roundhouse kicks her enemy square in the chest.
Now including the force and strength with her majestic Seiõr involved, Shelly’s kick creates a visible shockwave on contact.
Spit and the wind get knocked out of the prideful "damage sponge" of a man as he goes flying back in the direction the two intruders came from.
With velocity that makes Jeremiah’s jaw drop, he watches his life long friend soar into the metal and plywood wall that hides Inner Sanpaku from the rest of the dangerous world.
To the dismay of those who built it, the wall was not very stable in the first place, and as soon as the 21 year old man makes contact, the entire makeshift structure comes down on top of him.
Jeremiah: "Zeke!"
Almost one hundred sheets of wooden or metal building supplies crashes down on the projectile fighter and a dirty, dusty cloud gets pushed down the old traffic tunnel in both directions.
Originally unaware of the action happening at the "gates" of Inner Sanpaku, the citizens with tent living spaces deeper in the tunnel can now hear the echoes are feel the vibrations of the combat caused commotion happening in their only reliable place of safety. A few start to panic, bringing their children further away from where the unsure noise is.
Two older men playing chess look at each other with looks of stern concern.
Sanpaku Older Gentleman 1: "What the Hell do you think that was?"
Sanpaku Man Older Gentleman 2: "I don’t know..
Do you think it could have been those damn aliens breaking in?"
One of the mid 50’s men slowly gets up with a couple of cracking joints and he quickly stretches his not so young legs.
Sanpaku Older Gentleman 1: "I’ll go let the kid know he might have to update security.
Don’t you cheat and touch my pieces before I get back, you old dirtbag."
As fast as he can possibly move the man scurries deeper in to try and find Daisuki.
...
...His dirtbag friend moves a piece on the board anyway.
...
Back where the destruction happened, Jeremiah is pulling sheet metal and plywood away from the pile in an attempt to locate his buried friend.
Jeremiah: "Yo Zeke!
Zeke, where the hell are you!?
Are you good!? 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
Please, say something!
Ah!"
The young man cuts his hand on metal and his blood drops.
Holding his cut palm and hysterical, with tears in his purple eyes, Jeremiah turns to look at Shelly...but...
Shelly: "Looking for me?"
Jeremiah gasps and turns back around to see Shelly looking down on him, with her terrifying burning glare.
Jeremiah goes to grab one of his SunSwords at his hip, but before he knows it, Shelly has already kicked his wrist away.
While taking out her toothed weapon, Shelly backhands him once, the man looks up and Jeremiah gets to feel for himself, what Zeke was so adamantly wanting to rematch by himself.
The young woman’s Valkyrie blessed strength can not be compared as she grabs his throat and lifts the Squad 4 member off his feet.
Shelly: "Now tell me, why are you two here?
Did MamMon send you to try and weaken us before this weekend?"
She lightens her grip just enough so Jeremiah can barely get his words out.
Jeremiah: "H-How are you-?"
Shelly looks over at Katsu and with him back to his goofball self, the Izanagi Captain shrugs with a funny confused expression.
Jeremiah: "How are you so s-strong?"
The woman warrior looks back at her interrogation victim with her stone cold glare.
Shelly: "Oh, my bad.
I think you might be a little mistaken about the position you are in right now, caddy boy.
I am the one asking the questions.
Now I’m only asking you one last time, why did you two HFF soldiers destroy my Sensei’s barrier to his sanctuary?
Did MamMon or did Nephilim send you?
So help you God, you better answer me."
However, before the personal trainer to her original opponent can choke up an answer, both Katsu and Shelly can feel a spike in Seiõr around them.
Immediately Shelly drops the weaker enemy and just below her, Zeke bursts from the rubble of the Inner Sanpaku wall.
Shelly lunges back all the way to Katsu, standing in front of him, protecting her purpose while strong gusts off wind begin to blow within the underwater tunnel.
Shelly: "Careful Katsu..."
They both look over to where Zeke is standing.
The man has a pitiful blue SeiõrShield surrounding his body, just like Laban did when she was frustrated and given a form of strength from the conscious universal energy’s pity.
Shelly: "... This guy is so commiserated by Seiõr, it’s given him assistance, even without mutual acknowledgement."
