"Please, just let me go!" Hyde shouted, struggling around, his hands were handcuffed, unable to be raised from his back. Leather pouches covered his hands which were covered by his gloves.
He couldn't touch anything with Rotten Touch now. Lying down on the ground he looked up at Xena with wide eyes.
His legs were tied-up by rope, he'd given up on moving those a long time ago.
"I was sealed off from the world, throughout my entire life. Don't you know how much it sucks to only see a brick tower for 17 years!?"
Xena only looked down at him, she took a step back. If Hyde keeps wriggling around he'll end up reaching me.
"I needed permission to exit my room. I couldn't move around the castle freely! I've only seen the outside twice in my life now."
She looked the other way at some trees, the leaves were rustling around with the breeze, a flock of birds flew in a V shape a couple meters away.
"Don't you know how it feels having to dream about the smell of rain!?"
"And tell me, how does that make a massacre justified?"
Hyde's face turned into a frown and he gave a low growl. "Everyone is an abuser. The king, the guards, the workers, the slaves. No one spoke out, they all knew what was happening. No one is innocent. You are who you tolerate."
She looked down at Hyde before speaking up with a clearer voice.
- - -
Vimar gently hovered his hand over Karelos's neck, who was laid down on the moss, recovering from Hyde's lash-out at him.
The neck wounds reversed almost immediately. Karelos could feel the skin and flesh stretching to cover the holes up.
A faint green glow was coming from Vimar's hand as he healed him. What remained from the wounds were faint X-shaped scars, the skin had a lighter tone at their center.
Using a small piece of bright, reflective polished metal, Karelos took a look at his neck, giving a slight nod of approval at Vimar's work.
"The scars look kinda cool." Vimar pointed out, standing up and reaching his hand out for Karelos.
Karelos took Vimar's hand and used it as a support to stand up. "You think so? They give me an edge, don't they?"
The two men were a couple meters away from Hyde and Xena at the far ends of the moss circle.
"The healing thing is pretty powerful... How come?"
Vimar laughed under his breath at having his technique complimented. "Well, I'm a vessel just life your sister. I have a Divine Link with Kamidral, the God of life."
Karelos raised an eyebrow. "So that makes 3 vessels. Do you think there's any left?"
"I don't know." Vimar looked up, losing himself in thought. "Kamidral said there would be more, but 3 vessels doesn't seem as enough, did yours' say anything about the number of vessels?"
"I talked directly with the goddess of Elements. She didn't say anything about it either."
"So, we'll just have to guess..."
"But she did mention something about vessels naturally attracting each other by fate."
"We'll we just saw that happen, didn't we?" Just a few minutes earlier, Vimar had appeared from out of nowhere and saved Karelos's life.
"You're from Kamidralia, don't you? What made you come down all the way here?"
"It must be what the Gods meant by fate. We'll just randomly meet the next vessel one of these days."
Coming from Xena's direction they could hear a loud thump and the raised voice of a man.
- - -
"Your father should've sealed you off in that tower." Xena had a cold look on her face. Hyde's eyes were teary at the ends and he looked frustrated.
In an instant Hyde had raised himself off the ground. Showing his fangs, hands ready to lash out at her. The leather gloves and pouches scattered on the floor.
The handcuffs had broken off. His hands found contact with Xena, gripping her arm aggresively.
Hyde's eyes were wide open, pupils constricted, every muscle in his face was tensed up, and his blue eye was shining like it hadn't done so before.
Xena froze in place, her fear was what saved her. Hyde's hands didn't find actual contact.
Her Myrn technique had activated automatically as a fear response. Her body was charged with negative electric energy.
The elemental skill allowed Xena to manifest and control the 5 elements; water, fire, earth, electricity and wind.
Her electric skill charged Hyde's hands with negative energy of their own. Making the two bodies repel each other.
No matter how hard Hyde pushed forward, how hard he tried to grip the imaginary body, he wouldn't ever fully reach it.
Xena didn't know she could do that, she was as surprised as Hyde currently was, she couldn't quite process the view. A slight tingle could be felt at the spots where Hyde's hands would've been.
Shaking off the confusion, Xena prepared, looking more focused now. With all her might, she raised her leg, lining it up with Hyde's chest in an instant.
And she pushed him back. The sudden impact, along with the shock from Xena's technique made Hyde fall backwards onto the ground.
Karelos and Vimar looked at Xena, noticing Hyde on the ground after a loud thump, and Xena just standing there.
Xena was slightly shoved back by Karelos, him standing in the way between her and Hyde, acting as a human shield.
Vimar got Hyde back down onto the floor, restraining him with his leg and tightly grabbing both of his hands by the wrist.
Hyde tried to escape again but Vimar's grip on him was far too strong, and without Rotten Touch working, he's nothing.
"We can't keep him in jail through conventional means, he'll kill a guard or a cellmate after minutes."
Karelos looked back at Xena, he gently pushed Karelos to the side, the two siblings now stood side-by-side, looking down at Hyde.
"Unless we managed to keep him in handcuffs and gloves all day, every day, forcing guards to not sleep through the night. Its simply unrealistic."
He can't go free. A crime of such severity must have an appropriate punishment. But a death penalty is too light for him. He'll go through rehabilitation.
"Vimar." Xena looked at Vimar who was trying to calm Hyde down via force. He looked up at Xena instantly. "You'll have to take care of Hyde in jail."
He pointed at himself with a confused look on his face. "Me?"
"Don't worry. You haven't done anything bad. Hyde is a prisoner who can't be trusted in jail. And your regeneration makes you the only person in the world capable of overpowering him. I'll tell the guards to treat you like a guest. I'll make sure your stay in jail is as comfortable as possible."
Xena kept looking at Vimar, he looked down at the floor and at Hyde who was still trying to struggle his way out. "Sure. I'll take care of him through rehabilitation."
She kneeled down to Vimar's height. "You're a continent's hero." She stood back up and dusted off her hands.
"Well that's it. To make it clear, Hyde, you're hereby sentenced by the Kortarian royalty to thirty years of rehabilitation in the Mazhak Ham'n National Jail. You have no right to speak."
Karelos looked at Xena with widened eyes of shock. "Are you sure thirty years of rehabilitation is fair?"
"He killed over a hundred people."
"Do you know what they do to the people in rehabilitation? War criminals only get a year and come out traumatized, although well-behaved... Shouldn't we give it a little more thought...?"
"No. I've thought about it. I believe thirty years will be enough."
Vimar didn't look too concerned about the thirty years part. Hyde seemed devastated, burying his snout in the moss below them, as if trying to dig his way out.
"Are you alright with taking care of Hyde for thirty years?"
"Don't we have to save the continent from a catastrophe!? We're all vessels here, in the name of Kurviz!" Hyde shouted after pulling his snout out of the moss.
"We'll be fine without you." Xena said coldly. "If we save the world and eliminate monsters from existence we'll send you a letter about it."
"Don't you know how powerful I am!? I could be swiping through monsters left and right, anything that was on your way to saving the world. I could be there."
"Yet you wasted that power on killing innocent people."
"They're anything but monsters themselves!"
Xena stepped on Hyde's head, burying his snout back in the moss. "Vimar, Karelos. Go to the nearest city from here, it should be a little further up north, ask for a carriage and get him to Mazhak Ham'n. There should be 20 skirlias in this leather pouch."
She handed Karelos a heavier leather pouch, Karelos took a small peek inside and could vaguely count the 20 skirlias.
"I'll go back to Geortaria to inform the scavenge team about our find. I'll meet you in the capital and I'll deal with the media and press."
Vimar picked Hyde up, his feet dragged on the ground, but it didn't seem to affect Vimar's pace. Karelos trailed behind him before looking back at Xena.
"You're doing well, princess." He bowed down at Xena before disappearing into the forest.
What am I about to become?