My body raced towards the ground as if an anvil was attached to it. I fell against a small cot that was set up on the floor. It was the first time I had stopped moving since the Doomaki had disappeared. Several other cots were set up all round my in one of the rooms in the conference center that hadn’t been damaged in the attack. It was late, around two or three in the morning. I had spent the entire day assisting the wounded and clearing the bodies of the dead. Local medical teams were still bagging up bodies of those who died in the attack, but all the wounded had been taken to hospitals nearby.

In the room with me was Troy, Drake, and a few of The Council members that hadn’t been badly injured during the attack. Four of ten Council members had been killed. Of the remaining six, three of them were badly injured, and the other three were in the room with me. Zorukai and Tinjur were there, as well as a Council member named Askari. All three of them were skilled fighters. They were all pretty beaten up, but not badly injured. Troy was still shaken up, and his jaw was swollen from the kick he had taken to the chin, most likely fractured. Drake looked like he had taken the lightest beating. Drake was a very strong fighter, even stronger than I was.

“Troy…” I started. I was still at a loss for words, even though several hours had passed since the attack. My words seemed to cut through the silence in the room like a painful shriek. This had been the first opportunity we had since the attack to talk. “What….” I stopped short, not even sure what question to ask, but knowing I wanted some answers.

“I’m not sure…” Troy replied slowly, clearly struggling to talk through his swollen jaw. He winced in pain as he pushed his words out. “It was the Doomaki, there’s no question about that.”

“There have been plenty of attacks by imposters that have claimed the name of the Doomaki,” said Tinjur, “but these warriors were not imposters. The attack was too coordinated, and the warriors were far too strong; these were the real deal.”

Troy stared solemnly at the floor. “It has been 18 years since the last time I fought the Doomaki…” He said calmly. He paused a long time before continuing. He continued, with disgust dripping off every word that came from his mouth. “But I still remember their ki, their fighting style, their ruthless killing….the wretched odor of blood thirsty destruction and lust for power on their breath…” Troy gritted his teeth and forced his words out through clenched teeth. “These weren’t just Doomkai fighters. These were the same ones we fought 18 years ago!” Troy shouted. He thrust his fist forward and punched a hole in the wall in front of him. “These weren’t new recruits, these were the same fighters we fought before! I remember their ki! I remember their fighting style! These were the same people!” Troy cursed under his breath and withdrew his fist from the wall. Blood trickled down his hand and made a small puddle on the floor beneath him. “I recognized every one of them...all except one fighter.” Even before he said who, I already knew who he was referring to. “The fighter that defeated me, I had never fought against him. But he was by far the strongest Doomaki there.” Troy walked back toward the cots and slowly leaned over and sat on one and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

“Still…” Zorukai said slowly. “There was something familiar about his ki...I feel as though I’ve felt it before…” Tinjur and Troy nodded their heads in agreement.

“Do you think he was a new recruit, someone that joined the Doomaki after they disappeared 18 years ago?” Drake asked.

“No...I don’t think so.” Zorukai replied. “It would be strange to have a new member with them in this attack considering all the others that attacked are original members. Not to mention that his ki was by far the strongest among them. In fact, he was much stronger than any of us…” Everyone in the room nodded. “The Doomaki are strong, and they are known for their deception and secrecy; even so, I don’t think The Council and the Peacekeepers would have missed the presence of such a powerful fighter in the galaxy. I’m convinced we would have felt the presence of his ki long before he would have been at a level strong enough to gain the interest of the Doomaki. I think it’s more likely that he is an original member of the Doomaki that has either greatly increased his strength since they last fought us, or he never engaged in a battle before.”

“If he is an original member, given his strength, why wouldn’t he have been involved in their attacks 18 years ago?” I asked.

“Likely because he is a coward without honor.” Tinger replied flatly. I could tell by the expressions on the others’ faces that they understood what he meant, but I didn’t.

“You think he was too afraid to battle?” I guessed.

“No.” Tinger answered. “A Doomaki of this strength doesn’t take orders. He gives them.” At this I understood what he was saying.

“You think he’s the leader?” I asked. Tinger nodded.

“A leader that was too concerned about himself to lead his followers into battle. Instead he sent them into battle while he stayed behind in safety. Perhaps not out of fear, but it is a disgraceful thing to do just the same. I’ve seen it before. Leaders that prefer to throw their soldiers into battle as if they are worthless weapons, not caring whether they live or die.” Tinger shook his head in disgust, obviously convinced that his theory was the correct one.

“An honorable leader takes to the front lines, and leads his soldiers by example. They see the fearlessness and strength of their leader and it in turn gives them strength and courage. It shows that their lives have meaning and gives them hope for the cause because they see their leader is even willing to lay down his life for the cause.” Zorukai added.

“Why do you suppose he decided to show up now since he never did before?” I felt silly asking so many questions, but my head was racing with them.

“I imagine to make a statement.” It was Drake who spoke up this time. “They want people to know their back, and that they are strong as ever. And they want us to know that they have someone in their ranks who is stronger than all of us.”

“I think you’re right.” Troy said. I understood what they were saying, but there was still questions I had, ones I knew The Council probably didn’t have answers to. But there was one question that rose in my head above the rest, the most important question, to me at least. I knew they didn’t know, but I asked anyway.

“But...but why did they take Tyfoonica?” I fought back tears as the words quivered out of my mouth through trembling lips. I forced myself to remain composed. Tyfoonica was the closest thing I had to family; he was like a father to me. The thought of losing him made me physically sick.

“I wish I knew.” Troy said. “I really wish I knew.”

We sat in silence, all of us trying to wrap our heads around the situation. We were all exhausted and needed rest. Eventually, one by one, each person laid down on their respective cots and tried to get some rest. I was the last to lay down, but even with as tired as I was, I couldn’t get to sleep right away. Tyfoonica was all I could think about. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing him. The Doomaki were responsible for the loss of my father as well. I didn’t know if he was dead or if the Doomaki still had him. The latter seemed highly improbable; it had been 18 years. I couldn’t imagine any reason they would have to keep him imprisoned so long. Surely after that long they wouldn’t have any use of him. That thought made me sick to my stomach. The likelihood that my father was already dead wasn’t anything new to me; I had considered it countless times throughout my life. What made me sick was Tyfoonica was now in the same boat. The only reason I could fathom that they would want Tyfoonica was to get information out of him. He wasn’t a politician, he wasn’t a leader or ruler, he wasn’t significant on a galactic level at all. Aside from the small influence he had on The Council due to their long history together, he didn’t have any real power of influence. He was important to me, but all his time over the past 18 years had been devoted to my training and upbringing. This didn’t allow any time to be involved with anything outside out training for the most part.

I tried to figure out how any of that explained his kidnapping. He didn’t have any political power or influence. However, since he had devoted himself to my training so exclusively, what information could they hope to get from him? I couldn’t think of any other reason they would have taken him. Perhaps, I thought, it was for the same reason they took my father. Maybe they had tried to get some information out of my Father and failed, and are now instead seeking to get the information from Tyfoonica. If that was the case, they would be sure to fail. I didn’t know my father, but I knew Tyfoonica, and he was the strongest willed person I had ever met. The fact he was willing to basically cut himself off from the rest of the galaxy to train and raise me for 18 years was testament to that. He believed so much in the importance of raising me that he gave up everything for me. Given his devotion to that, I was sure they would never be able to break him. But if they couldn’t, his life wouldn’t have any value to them...he would die. Even if they did somehow get the information they were seeking, given the ruthless reputation of the Doomaki, I feared he would be killed anyway.