Chapter 13…The Other Side of the Coin
“I have nothing to say to you” Mike spat. “Oh, come now Michael. It’s not often I have a full conversation with my avatar. I’ve done it probably three times in the last 2000 years. Aren’t you even slightly curious to what I have to say?” the Asura asked. “You’re all liars. Even now you’re lying about your appearance” Mike replied. “Everyone lies Michael. Even those holier than thou Yaksha. As for my appearance, I just chose one you’re familiar with to not frighten you” he replied. “You’re fucking with me to get deeper into my head. I won’t help you so you might as well turn off this meditation or jutsu or whatever the fuck this is” Mike said walking away. “Even if what I have to say depends on your life?” the Asura asked. Mike paused. “You threatening me?” Mike asked. “Oh, by no means Michael. Let’s just say Ora left out a few details concerning spiritual contracts. Now, shall we have a civilized conversation” he asked. “And how do I know you’re not lying?” Mike asked. “Ora told you. In the Astral Plane there are NO lies. Ready for my side of things?” the Asura asked. Mike nodded. The Asura snapped his fingers and Mike found himself in a park. “Stamford park” Mike muttered. “Yes I borrowed this from your memories. I remember this day myself. July 4, 2006. Warm sunny day, picnics, kids playing like you over there. Your grandpa…well he was more interested in some of the women than celebrating your holiday. Come and sit” the Asura said.
Mike sat down at a picnic table looking at his younger self playing with kids. “Where should I begin? Well, might as well tell you what my kind really do. Yaksha make us out to be demons hellbent on death and misery. That we want to destroy or enslave the human race. Pfft…no. The Asura are the other side of an equation that must be balanced. A balance that is lost because of you humans. We Asura balance the scales but that’s not all we’ve chosen to do. Okay, every apex predator on this planet is kept in check by various forces of nature. Prey population, natural resources, diseases to name the most common. You humans are different. You evolve to get around these problems. The standard checks and balances stopped working on you. So we Asura have to, prune the tree so to speak” he said. “You mean killing us off to lower the population” Mike scoffed. “To be blunt yes. We feel responsible for this because in many ways we’re responsible for your progress” he said. “What?” Mike asked. “Long, very long ago we Asura argued with the Yaksha about how to guide humanity. The Yaksha argued order and harmony was best. We argued that conflict, pain, misery, and chaos was best” he said. “Yeah I’ll take order and harmony any day” Mike told him. “Little problem with that Mike. An orderly and harmonious species stagnates. It’ll eventually reach a cultural, technological, and genetic dead end” he said. “Even if I buy that, how would your way be better?” Mike asked. “Progress can arise out of conflict. Technology progresses fastest amidst war. Chaos forces change. And of course, survival of the fittest. Consider the everyday mundane things in your life.”
“The Internet was created from the ARPANET as a communications system that could survive a nuclear war. GPS was created by the military. Satellites wouldn’t even be a thing if it weren’t for Nazi scientists. Then you have medicines like morphine, sulfa drugs, penicillin, and whatnot created because of war. So much of your technological progress in the last 200 years is a result of conflict. And because of that progress, humanity has undergone a population explosion. Your progress threatens the world. So we Asura help stem the tide. If it was left to the Yaksha, you humans would still be using leeches for fevers and wiping your asses with leaves” the Asura said with a slight grin. “You hinted my life was in danger. That Ora lied to me. What do you mean?” Mike asked. “You remember that chain you saw attached to your chest? As she said, that’s the connection our contract has. Ora would have you believe that breaking the bond is as simple as snapping that chain with her bullshit therapy sessions. Well, truthfully changes in your personality would sever our contract. However, that chain is deeply anchored in your soul. Breaking it would kill you or at best put you in a permanent coma. A meat puppet with a broken shattered soul. After all, that’s what killed your grandfather” the Asura said nonchalantly. “You killed my grandfather?!” Mike yelled. “No, he killed himself. While you were away in the Army, your grandfather went to great lengths to not shrink and torture girls. At one point he went two whole years” he said. “While you screamed in his mind to do it no doubt” Mike hissed. “Hey, our kind literally feed off that shit. Not everyone can live off of cheeseburgers, pizza, beer, and weed like you. Anyway, during a drinking binge and crying over your mother’s grave, he realized you would one day find out his secrets. And to avoid a repeat of your mother decided to get help. Care to guess who helped him? I’ll give you a hint. It rhymes with Ora” the Asura whispered smirking.
Mike sat there stunned beyond belief. “Didn’t you find it strange she knew exactly what buttons to press? How to go about precisely helping you? Contracts and those that make them, are all unique. She wasn’t even shocked you showing up at her door with an artifact. It’s because she did it before with your grandpa. She never told you any of this. Doesn’t sound like someone I’d trust” the Asura said. “But she said she knew my problems because of the Astral Plane, her spiritual sight” Mike muttered. “The Astral Plane is capable of great things such as revealing hidden emotions, but it cannot reveal the causes behind them. She let you draw your own conclusions using your memories like a fake Coney Island psychic” the Asura said smiling. Mike’s heart was pounding. His breathing deeper. “Good, embrace it” the Asura muttered. Mike glared at him. “The anger. Embrace it because angry GETS SHIT DONE” the Asura said excited. The Asura stood up and sat next to him. “If you embrace my power. Concede that you’re my avatar, I’ll grant you more power than just shrinking magics and a healthy body. Immortality. Mind control. Psychokinesis. Lightning. Real fucking power!” the Asura yelled. “Promise Katie and Kanya won’t fall under your gaze and you got a fucking deal” Mike hissed. “DONE” the Asura said with a booming voice. The sky in the scenery grew stormy. The wind picked up. Lightning crackled overhead as they shook on it.
“He looks like he’s coming out of it” Kanya said looking up at the giant. “Get back! His aura shifted!” Ora yelled having the two shrunken girls on the floor scoot back a few feet. Mike focused his eyes and stretched his neck. “Michael?” Ora asked wary floating in front of him. His eyes narrowed on her. “You lied to me” he said coldly. “Lied? What…what are you talking about?” Ora asked. “You…fucking…lied to me!” Mike yelled. “The Asura…whatever he told you was a lie” Ora said. “We were on the Astral Plane. You yourself said lies don’t exist there” he said slowly standing up. “Mike what’s going on?!” Katie yelled. “This half-truth selling bitch lied to me. Her ability to break the contract the Coin has on me was true but what she conveniently left out was doing so would most likely kill me. Ain’t that right Ora?” Mike asked. Ora saw his aura grow darker, but more troubling was the magics she sensed in him earlier had grown considerably stronger.“Is this true Ora?” Katie asked. Ora didn’t answer. “You bet your M&M sized ass it’s true. Not only that, but she’s also the main reason my grandfather is dead. She helped him break his contract and it killed him. That’s why you weren’t shocked at all when I showed up here for the first time. You already knew about the Coin. That my grandfather had a grandson. Also explains why the Asura shouted in my goddamned head to squash you. He knew how big a threat you truly were” Mike said coldly. He suddenly grabbed Ora as she hovered in the air. Instinctively, she began to use her magic to strike him down or at least let her go. “No bitch” Mike hissed as he commanded lightning to course though his hand painfully shocking Ora. She cried out and went limp. If it wasn’t for her near immortal body and natural inborn magic defenses, she would’ve been electrocuted.
“How did you learn about him? He come to you? You went to him?” Mike asked flicking her in the face with his giant finger. “I was meditating when a blip of shrinking magic registered in the Astral Plane. A freak chance really it happened when it did. It led me to him. When I found him he was a broken shell of a man and wanted to be free. It took nearly a year and a half before he was ready to be freed but he did it himself all alone in the end. Try as I could, I couldn’t find the Coin. But…but I knew…”
“You knew he had a grandson which would find it for you and make a contract of his own. Then all you had to do was bring me here and making sure the contract is broken here you could finally contain the Coin. Me ending up at the only Buddhist temple with someone that could point me your way wasn’t coincidence was it? WAS IT?!” Mike shouted squeezing her until a rib broke. “No, it wasn’t. My son cast a weak persuasion spell on you when you neared it” Ora whimpered. “With all your talk, you’re no better than the Asura” Mike said tossing her away. Mike put his shoes back on, shrunk his grandfather’s diary, and put it in his pocket. “But the curse…” Katie said. "I made a deal, so you and Kanya are immune from it. We’re leaving " Mike said coldly as he plucked up the girls. Mike walked to the front door. “Please…don’t leave. I admit I was wrong not telling you everything, but I truly wish to help you. I was struggling to find a way to save your grandfather at the end. A safe way to finally break the contract but he faced his final fear on his own and broke it himself. If you leave now the way you are, you may never be free of it” she said holding her side. Mike paused. “Please! Don’t give into your anger the way your grandfather did!” Ora yelled crying. “…you cross my path again and I’ll kill you” Mike said with glowing eyes. Ora fluttered down to the floor weeping. “I’m not going” Kanya said softly. Mike looked at her in his right hand. “Suit yourself. Katie?” Mike asked. “I’ll…I’ll stay with you” she whispered. Mike bent down and placed Kanya on the floor. “Look after him” Kanya whispered to Katie. Mike stormed out of the cabin. “This is all my fault. I should’ve told him everything, but I was too scared” Ora said crying. “Is he truly lost?” Kanya asked walking to her. “No, he let me live so some of him remains. But that light in the darkness is now flickering” Ora replied. As Mike drove home, Katie, sitting in the cup holder could see him wiping tears away. She realized he wasn’t just angry. He was hurt from being betrayed…again.
Hours later, Mike was sitting quietly on his sofa watching tv. “We going to talk about what happened?” Katie asked. “There’s nothing to talk about. You heard everything” he replied. “Is this what you really want in life? Shrinking and torturing innocent girls?” Katie asked. “…no” he replied softly. Mike stood up and grabbed his keys. “Where are you going?” she asked nervous. “I’m in the mood for hot wings” he said. “Are you going to…hurt another girl?” Katie asked. “It’s just wings dammit!” Mike yelled slamming the door behind him. Mike drove to Hartford which was about 35 minutes or so away. It gave him a little bit of time to really think on what he bargained for. It was true that it wasn’t what he wanted but seeing how freedom meant death, he saw little choice in the matter. The silver lining to him was at least if he went into withdrawals, Katie and Kanya would not be a target. He parked at Joe’s Wings and Beer. Best wings in town but the crowd left something to be desired. Biker gangs took it over so by no means was it a family diner. Think Buffalo Wild Wings with more felonies, tattoos, and fistfights. Mike walked in and it was like a cliche record scratch. Everyone paused at the strait-laced guy walking in. Mike sat at the bar table. “30 hot wings. Heavy on the sauce. To go. Meantime a beer on tap” Mike ordered. The bartender, wary of how others looked at Mike, served him up. A few minutes passed as Mike sipped his beer.
“You lost or something?” someone asked behind him. Mike turned around to find a rather large man in classic biker outfit staring at him. “Not really” Mike replied quietly. “Figured you might be as this is for Bikers. Diablos Bikers” he said pointing to a patch of the devil on the back of his jacket. “Thought this was a free country” Mike said sipping his beer. “Friend of yours baby?” a woman in her mid-20’s asked feeling his right shoulder. Dressed in a shirt too tight, chubby, way too much makeup, with boots to her shins. Mike found her unappealing. “Just saying he might want to find another place to drink” the man replied. “Look pal. I just want a beer while I wait for my wings. I’ll be out in 10 minutes. I don’t want trouble from you…or her” Mike said scrutinizing the man’s woman. “You got a problem with my wife?” the man asked catching Mike’s tone. Mike sighed. The man slapped the beer out of his hand sending its shattering onto the floor. “Now Lou, we don’t want no trouble” the bartender said. “Ain’t no trouble if this cockwart apologizes then fucks out of here” the man said. Mike stared at the spilled beer and broken glass on the floor. “I just wanted a fucking beer and wings” Mike hissed. “Tell me something…Lou was it? When you fuck her, is it like throwing a hotdog down a hallway? I mean does she even still have tread on the tire?” Mike asked smirking. “You motherfucker!” the man yelled throwing a punch.
Mike caught his fist and instantly fired off a lightning spell making the man scream as if being hit with a taser. The others went to get up. “You ain’t seen shit!” Mike yelled hitting them all with a mind control spell. All of them sat where they were talking and drinking once more as if nothing happened. Mike turned his attention to the woman who was too shocked to move. Mike grinned as he shrunk her where she stood to three inches tall. Getting off his barstool, Mike plucked her off the floor. Unconscious as expected, she just flopped around in his grip. “Get your ass up” Mike commanded Lou. Lou weakly stood up. Mike immediately placed him under his control. “No matter where I go there’s people like you. People that think they’re King Shit because they rule their sandbox. Well guess what Lou? I’m the new kid that just kicked sand in your fucking face telling you your “power” ain’t shit. And to prove my point, you’re going to eat your wife” Mike said with burning eyes. “One moment. Last thing I want is you to choke. Let’s get these ho ass starter kit clothes off little lady” Mike said tearing the shrunken clothes off his now tiny wife. Took him a moment with her boots and socks. Now with her naked, Mike focused back on Lou. “Open wide” he commanded. Lou opened his mouth and Mike placed his shrunken wife headfirst inside.
“Close your mouth and savor her flavor. Act like she’s the most flavorful piece of steak you ever fucking ate” he said. Lou sucked and ran his tongue all over her as he quietly moaned. Her tiny bare feet sticking out between his lips moving about as his giant tongue batted her around. “Good. Work up some saliva and swallow her” Mike said. Lou paused and slurped her in. Then he swallowed. Mike watched as the bulge passed down his throat disappearing past his collarbone. “You won’t remember a thing about tonight except in your nightmares. Let it drive you fucking crazy” Mike hissed as he sat back down. Mike dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “Your wings are up sir” the bartender said giving him the bag. “On you right?” Mike asked with glowing eyes. “Y…yes sir. On the house” the bartender stammered. Mike left and got into his car.
“Well now. It seems you’re enjoying your new powers quite well” the Asura said. “Let’s get something straight. I’m not your ride or die murder buddy. We do this it’s going to be my way. You’ll get your tributes, but I call the shots” Mike said starting the car. “Whatever you say Michael. Whatever you say…” the Asura said softly.
At the moment, the tiniest crack in the Coin formed…