The Legends of Nethiah Page #5

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You think it'll

never happen, but it does.

I didn't want to hit him.

It just sort of happened.

He was saying things,

and I got mad.

I don't remember even

throwing the punch.

He's my best friend.

Thing is, best friends are

best friends for a reason.

A good friendship

can survive anything.

So what do I do now?

What do you want to do?

Tell him I'm sorry.

Sounds like a plan to me.

Hey.

Hey.

Whatcha doin'?

Nothing.

Yeah, me, too.

How's the eye?

It can be like this

for another week or so.

Does it still hurt?

Not anymore. It looks

worse than it is.

What?

I don't know.

It makes you look tough.

Yeah?

Yeah. Like a boxer or something.

Guess what? What?

Mary Peterson asked me

about it yesterday.

Mary Peterson? What'd you say?

Said it was nothing.

She thought I was

being mysterious.

She left a note in my locker.

No way! Way.

Dude, she's, like,

a year older than us.

I know! Glad I could help.

Need to be a friggin' NASA

scientist for these games.

Something's wrong

with this game.

I can't get it working.

You have to hit

the color buttons

when it goes to a circle

and strum at the same time.

Isn't it easier

to just play the guitar?

Didn't they have video games

when you were a kid?

Yeah. They were called "sports."

And where were you?

Taking a shower.

Before that.

Playing ball with Tully.

Ah. I see.

Then I made up with Doug.

Well, I'm glad to hear that.

Look, uh, this guy...

Tully is his name?

I don't think that's

the kind of person

you want to be

spending time with.

Why not?

Well...

there are three kinds

of people, Gabriel...

the good, the bad,

and the ones that were good

but went bad along the way.

I think this Tully

might be the third type.

You don't even know him.

That's true. It's just

a feeling I get.

I'd hate to see you getting,

you know, influenced.

If, I'm wrong, I'm wrong.

I just want you to be okay.

You ever heard of Larry Bird?

Who hasn't?

I'm surprised you have.

Why do you ask?

No reason.

Are we okay?

Yeah.

Old age, kid.

Makes you want to make sure

that all those you love

are taken care of.

Wait'll you get

to be 40 years older.

But that's, like,

a million years away.

Yeah.

Are you gonna finish the story?

I was thinking about

getting some coffee.

I'd rather hear the story.

Oh, you would, would you?

You can't smoke inside.

Okay. So where were we?

When Nethiah found

his parents and it got ugly.

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Well, as it turned out,

his amulet did save him.

As he lay beaten,

he entered a dreamlike state,

and his mother came to him,

his real mother.

I'm not here to harm you.

My son.

You must listen to me

very carefully.

You are the last hope

of our kind.

These creatures

manipulated your mind.

They are committed

to destroy us.

This place...

is not of your own memory.

It's something

they have created.

You must rely on faith.

This represents

something forgotten.

I told you once

to close your eyes.

I ask you now to open them.

Fight the overlord.

Break free from the confines

they have created in your mind.

Open your eyes, my son.

Be nameless no more.

For you are...

Nethiah.

It was then he knew

that to put things right,

he had to drive

the Strifers out of the land,

to avenge his parents

and to set his people free.

I have not...

forgotten.

Now, he would have to

fight their evil king,

which meant he would

probably be killed.

Striving for a goal,

a really difficult one,

takes more courage

and inner strength

than anyone suspects.

In these moments,

your character is formed.

Whether you achieve it or not,

success is measured

by how hard you try.

And Nethiah tried hard.

He sought out the Strifer King.

Everywhere he went, there were

signs of his presence,

but no king.

He was starting to wonder

if Thoran was just a story

made up to keep people in line.

So Nethiah freed settlements

from Strifer imprisonment

to send a message

that he was looking for Thoran.

The Strifers went to their king

and told him how they were

losing the control

that they had ruthlessly

enforced for 20 years.

The king was impassive.

He paced as he listened

to their stories of Nethiah...

that he was fierce, unstoppable.

And the more his legend grew,

the more his people stood up

against the Strifers.

He inspired them,

strengthened them.

The king said nothing.

But he didn't harm

his followers for failing

as they feared he might.

How come?

How come what?

How come he didn't punish them?

Ah, good question.

There comes a moment

when the inevitable

is gonna happen.

And the king knew that.

You can't enslave

a people forever.

At some point, they're

going to rise up.

And that moment was now.

The big battle

was about to begin.

It was a fight

that they both wanted...

and got.

Now, to give you

some perspective...

throughout history, there

are only a few battles

that compare to what Nethiah

was about to go through.

The Battle of Thermopylae,

where 300 Spartans

fought against millions

of their enemy;

The gladiator uprising

against the Romans;

And Horatius Cocles'

lone stand on the bridge,

protecting Rome against

the invading Etruscans.

And there was the battle

between Nethiah

and the Strifer King.

First, he had to get through

the king's best warriors.

And they came at him

with everything they had.

Strifers are vicious

fighters, relentless,

with one purpose in mind...

to vanquish their foes

or die trying.

Throughout history,

none had been able

to stand up to them, until now.

Nethiah had honed

his fighting skills

as a pit fighter

against the fiercest

in the galaxy.

400 times he had been

lowered into that pit,

and 400 times

he had come out alive.

And back then, he was

only fighting for survival.

Now he was fighting

for his people.

One by one, he killed

the Strifer warriors

until only he

and the king remained.

The challenge was issued.

Everything was riding

on this fight.

If Nethiah died, the

Strifers remained in power.

If the Strifer King perished,

then Nethiah's people

would go free.

When the king asked

by what right

did he make this challenge,

Nethiah smiled

and showed him his...

Amulet!

Right.

The amulet was more

than just a symbol.

It had survived wars,

famine, disease.

Simply put, it was hope.

Hope that wrongs

could be righted.

And that was something

that the Strifer King

never wanted to see.

Now, Thoran looked up

at the stars,

searching for an omen

of the battle to come.

Some people believe that

fate is written in the stars,

and that by studying

their positions,

we can see what's to come.

Now, maybe Thoran didn't

know how to read the signs,

or maybe he just was trying

to change what they meant.

Either way, their battle

came down to a duel of wills

between two great warriors,

each determined

to prove their resolve

and fighting skills.

Thoran's moves were effortless.

He fought with a grace that

belied his size and his age.

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