blinked his eyes of dizziness while shaking his head feeling his raging mood still within him.

  He heard sounding loudly “Mindbender, your in the High Council’s presence so turn around now.”

  He shook his head recognizing the voice as Anubis obeyed to focus his eyes onto the High Council seated in their seats with a familiar Highlander standing in their speakers’ spots.

  He willed himself to calm as the Highlander spoke “Says Anubis, hand him the drink for he needs it."

  He got handed a cup holding white liquid and sighed holding it up towards his lips only to hear a whining squeal sound and a hand Keo like clamped over the cup. He looked off his left with his mood becoming fouler to glare at a Keo a Gihon standing next to him. The Keo made his senses blare warning as he felt a stinging pain in his neck. He glared at the Keo and with such force removed the Keo’s hand and again brought the cup to his lips.

  He wound up only to hear from the Keo speaking loudly “Tom don’t, remember you already tried to take in nourishment by drinking it and what happened after that.”

  He heard the familiarity of the Keo’s voice shifted his eyes towards the High Council to find Anubis and fellow gonoid twin guards standing on the steps with stick weapons thrust in front of them. He then looked at the Keo hearing his name spoken by the male in a pleading tone. Tom threw the cup towards the wall off his right and charged towards the Keo growling of anger to find the male stepping aside and tripping him which he hit the floor with a grunt. Tom twisted his form onto his back and felt a foot feeling Keo like gagging him on the throat along with zapping pains whenever he moved. He kept his form still to glare at the Keo that bowed its form towards him.

  He heard a male voice sounding in his mind “I never stopped caring about you Tom as my son. I will not stop that care period. I’ll see that you are not harmed even while underneath the High Council’s care.”

  Tom widened his eyes as he stiffened with shock realizing that the Keo was his father Thurin himself. Thurin he saw removed his foot from his neck and straightened up his form.

  Thurin he heard spoke in a loud tone making him think it was shouting “We’re watching you Tom!”

  Tom saw Thurin his father fade from view and he swung himself up with an acrobatic move to stand facing the High Council with hands fisted. He jerked feeling a hand Keo like touch him on the neck as a stinging pain was felt then the hand removed itself. He eyed the High Council as Anubis and twins moved in some fast blurring speed from standing on the steps to appear standing next to him. Appearing to be flanking him with Anubis standing off his left he glimpsed.

  He continued to eye the High Council as the Highlander speaker spoke “Says talk Mindbender on what that Freeloader was warning you about.”

  He stiffened as he recalled abruptly his body’s reaction to drinking the liquid in, by cup. He then later recalled throwing up the substance along with passed out asleep. He recalled feeling large amounts of nourishment was injected into his injector that woke him up. He stiffened being told that his body while asleep started showing some blue lined look by a Keo. The lines went away after being injected five times and he woke up. Tom remembered feeling a weakness feeling hitting him that required him to sleep for two suns straight before waking up. He remembered feeling his strength returning after giving an injection of nourishment.

  Tom heard from Anubis whispering loudly “Talk Mindbender now as ordered by the High Council.”

  He obeyed speaking the contents of his memory involving what he just remembered. Including what happened when it comes to drinking liquid through mouth and his body’s reaction to it. He added told what happened to his body and what it took to wake him up along with his recovery to get back to normal.

  He clamped his mouth shut once done and heard from the Highlander speaker “Says talk Mindbender on what the nourishment injected into you makes you feel now.”

  He felt his mood stop feeling raging as a headache of his mind scanned was felt then the head pain stopped which he sighed.

  Tom spoke “I think the best way to describe it is feelings of my strength returning after feeling weakness hitting me from not taking in the nourishment after a period of time.”

  He clamped his mouth shut and formed a frown as the Highlander speaker he noticed bowed his head. This was followed by the High Council behind the male shaking their heads sideways and waving their black gloved hands in some sort of gestures that made him think of Thura and her finger spelling. He figured that the group was talking among each other in a discussion that seemed lengthy to him.

  He eyed the Highlander speaker focusing on the male who raised his head and spoke “Says Ramses transport Mindbender to the General now.”

  Tom felt himself still in the High Council’s throne room as the Highlander continued speaking “Ramses!”

  He heard from Ramses “Sorry High Council, Barry anticipated a problem with that order you just gave and commanded me not to do it.”

  He heard from the Highlander speaker “Says transport Barry to us now.”

  Tom saw a light flash off his right to look and saw Barry standing there that looked in his direction before shifting to face the High Council which the male spoke “It’s the Freeloaders. One of them contacted me and told me in some rude tone that Mindbender has a weakness when it comes to fighting manoids in physical combat battles. His oxygen mask according to the Freeloader at my voice order when worn gives Mindbender an ability to physically defeat manoids in battles. This ability is focused on using mental orders something when he was raised by them. He’s undefeated in that area but it wears him down too easily. Also according to the Freeloader, Mindbender fighting physically without his oxygen mask on, is undefeated when fighting First Ones even those with similar Combative Art training. Mindbender among Freeloaders using their mental abilities can easily defeat him. He's nearly equal to Freeloaders using Freeloader's physical strenthy. Mindbender can only defeat Freeloaders if they are in a certain mood which is this First One term of anger.”

  He frowned hearing Barry’s words to recall the male wasn’t lying on what he said. He recalling fully in his mind from being trained in combative art moves by the Queen’s guards. He recalled fighting with various Keos over the cycles of his training to suffer multiple defeats when not wearing his oxygen mask.

  He heard from the Highlander speaker loudly breaking his thoughts “Says Mindbender confirm or deny what Barry just said.”

  He focused on the High Council to speak loudly “Barry isn’t lying on what he acquired from the Freeloader.”

  He clamped his mouth shut figuring that he’ll refer the Keos in the High Council’s presence and servants as Freeloaders but as by them the Keo name to himself and to them when in the Keos’ presence.

  He eyed Barry as he heard from the Highlander speaker “Says Barry produce a Freeloader now.”

  He heard Barry speaking in foreign language sounding to him in some voice tone that made him feel creep out. He heard a whining squeal like annoying sound. He frowned as the noises cut itself followed by groaning noises off his left as the male cut his talk. He looked to see the twins had a Keo by the arms which the male was shaking his head looking disorient to him. Tom looked away towards the High Council to see the familiar speaker had his head bowed. Tom eyed the Keo to see the male was still shaking his head with a grimace on his face whose eyes appeared to be focused on him by them narrowing. He stared at the Keo back in response feeling himself not angry but felt disgust. His mind was abruptly scanned which he felt the emotion continued to take hold within him. He continued to feel his mind scanned sensed it was from the Keo who shifted form into a Banshee. Tom heard awks from the twins as they released the Keo followed by the Banshee shifting back into a Keo who faded from view. Tom frowned as he felt the headache of his mind scanned remained to feel the emotion of disgust stop hitting him.

  Tom continued to frown as the headache stopped and looked away towards the Highlander who spoke “Says Ramses
transport Mindbender to interrogation room. Have prisoner number five sent to there with orders of recorders to be turned on in that room now and have them both fight each other physically to the death.”

  He heard Barry speaking foreign language followed by Ramses’ familiar voice speaking “Sorry High Council, Barry commanded me not to do it.”

  Tom heard from Barry “I wouldn’t recommend that prisoner to fight Mindbender. That's from knowing he would tear off Mindbender’s oxygen mask off his form in the process of fighting and cause him terrible pain to be put down easily.”

  He felt disgust take hold to hear from the Highlander “Says what prisoner do you have in mind Barry and speak it now?!”

  He looked at Barry who spoke “Not a prisoner but army soldier call sign Excuser with orders to not to tear off Mindbender’s oxygen mask. Have Mindbender and Excuser fight a knock off the feet fight along with trying to immobilize the opponent till they voice surrender. Besides this servant of yours has reached the end of the General’s patience when it comes to using various excuses to getting out of doing things related to life at the army barrack. The General in question has conversed with his second in command on having Excuser put down on a permanent basis. It’s obvious that the soldier doesn’t want to do anything he orders