The darker side of control - Prisoner

"Whoa, what was that sound?", said Alex while turning around.

"Turn around, prisoner", said the soldier guarding Alex while poking him with a stick.

"Poke me again and I'll put that stick where the sun don't shine"

The soldier backed off, while throwing the stick on the ground.

"For a Royal Guard, you sure talk a lot", said Count Anthony.

"For a hmm, whatever you are, you don't talk enough, Anthony."

"It's Count Anthony to you, imperial scum."

"Whoa, that was a little harsh, judging me from my uniform, Mr Anthony. I'm sure that once you get to know me, we could become pretty good friends"

The other soldiers just watched the banter between Alexander and Count Anthony. They had never seen the ruthless Count Anthony say any sentence that didn't include threatening someone or swearing allegiance to his cause. They were also awed by Alex's composure, bantering with the person that would most likely kill him without hesitating.

"So, we've been walking for a while now. Where are you taking us?", asked Alex while observing his surroundings.

"You'll find out once we get there", answered Count Anthony.

"Are you looking for any particular tree? Maybe this one, or that one..."

Alex began pointing in seemingly random directions. But then, his finger started glowing. By the time Count Anthony realized this, Alex was already jumping towards him.

"Imperial jolt!"

"Revolution halt!"

Alex's finger clashed with Anthony's palm, resulting in a flash of light. All of the soldiers drew their weapons, getting ready to fight.

"Not bad, Anthony. Not bad at all..." Alex drew his sword.

"I should say the same to you. Pretty brave of you, I could just tell my bosses that you died on the way..." Anthony drew his guns.

The situation was at a standstill. Anthony and Alex didn't move, they just stared at each other, sizing each other up. The soldiers didn't dare move before their leaders attacked. Alex's forces were outnumbered, but Anthony didn't feel like he had an advantage.

"Sir, something's coming!" a soldier shouted, but Alex and Anthony didn't care. They just continued staring at each other.

Suddenly, there was a loud roar. A black apparition appeared out of nowhere and charged towards them. The black apparition landed, hit two of Anthony's soldiers, and stopped.

"Looks like we've found them earlier than expected, Arissa", said Meera as she came out of the Range Rover.

Arissa came out, followed by their captive.

"Go jump of a cliff or something"

The captive followed obediently, running into the woods never to be seen again.

Alex and Anthony didn't care what was happening around them. The dog of war had already barked. They charged at each other with weapons in hand.

"Feel the power of a royal guard!"

"The time of imperialists has ended! Revolution!"