The whir of sabers was in the air as the day progressed. David had been beaten by Codee twice already, and the two were back up and preparing for yet another round. Codee lunged straight for david's chest, but it was easily sidestepped. David matched Codee with a lunge of his own, nearly piercing his master's back. Luckily, Codee had miscalculated the power of his attack, and was now lying flat on his face. As David prepared to pin Codee to the ground, Codee used his legs to push David onto the ground, then rolling over to pin David to the ground thus ending the round.
"Now why did you lose David?", Codee asked as he helped him to his feet.
"Probably because I actually believed that you overcalculated, then took too long to finish it".
"Exactly. Always think your opponent is deceiving you, and any match can be won. Again."
As David began to contemplate his next strategy, a strange feeling came over him. It was similar to the hatred felt towards enemies, and it was giving him strength. David was puzzled as to where it had come from. Codee chose that moment to attack, swinging for David's arm. David blocked it, and returned with a swing of his own. The strength of the swing suprised both combatants momentarily. David quickly took advantage of the situation, using his new found rage to swing again and again. A red fog enveloped David's senses, growing ever thicker as the anger hreu within him. The strikes became more and more violent, with Codee trying desperately deflecting them. With each stroke David's rage grew. Pushing Codee against the wall, he prepared for the swing that would end Codee's life. Before he could complete the move, an energy sphere hit him squarely in the chest. Groaning from the pain, David stumbled and fell into unconscienciousness.
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When David regained conscienciousness, he found himself inside the Arena hall, on one of the benches portruding from the walls. The red fog that had obscured his mind during the fight was gone; he could now see what had happened. He was appalled at what he had done, what he had almost done.
Standing up, he slowly moved towards the courtyard. His chest still felt sore from Codee's energy sphere. Finally reaching his destination, he saw that lunch had arrived while he had slept. The transport ship stood outside, its frame bright in the noon sun.
David saw Codee waving him over to a seat next to him. David hesitated momentarily, still ashamed at his actions. Codee seemed insistent though, so David gave in and sat down.
"Feeling better?" Codee asked, handing David a sandwich.
"Not really. My stomach feels like you hit me with a ship lnstead of an energy sphere." The thought of the impact made the pain return for an instant.
"It was the only way to stop you."
The sandwich in David's hand, although barely eaten, no longer had any appeal in his mind. The final seconds of the duel continued to haunt his thoughts.
Codee took the sandwich out of David's hand, tossing it into a nearby plasma incinerator. "Come with me. I need to talk to you for a while".
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The forest was lush and green as David followed Codee down a small path through the dense underbrush. Around him, the forest bustled with birds and insects going about theur carefree lives. Alexia was a planet that had very mild seasons, recieving snow only at the poles. The forest was in full force all year round, especially here, close the equator. Although it looked as if it had been there for years, it also showed signs of being recently travelled. David had not known that people came down here for a jog. Perhaps being away from civilization, it helps to clear your mind, he thought.
Suddenly, The path forked to the left and right. One side looked well cared for. THe other seemed to be overgrown, and was permeated with the smell of darkness and mold. Code took the dark one, not even looking to check if it was the right one.
David began to wonder after about ten minutes of blindly following Codee. "Master, do you know where you are going?"
"Look ahead. We happen to be there now."
David looked into a small clearing. A river surrounded the edges of a small hill in the center, with a bridge straight across from them as to cross it. On top of the hill, a round pod sat, moss and weeds covering parts of it, as if it had been neglected for years. Unlike the forest, it was quiet here, with no traces of life save the grass covering the hill. The two walked more slowly now, until they finally reached the top and David saw it was.
"Is this what i think it is master Codee?" looking at both the master and the pod.
"Yes, this is what brought me into this dimension in the first place. I did not bring you here merely to show this to you, but to talk about what happened today."
"I have no clue what came over me. I saw a red haze, it covered al my senses and rationality. I had no idea what was going on until you hit me. I almost killed you..."
"Now you know what the formationists see. When they battle, they let their anger consume their mind, and use their rage to fuel their blows. It is dangerous, because you can forget why or who you are fighting. YOu lose al purpose but to kill al around you."
David sighed. "I thought that this only happened to Formationists. I thought I had finally destroyed that part of my past. Looks like I was wrong."
Codee walked up and looked him straight in the eye. "Even the best Elementalist has a bad day. Where you were born has nothing to do with what you can or will become. Who knows what will happen. All I know is that you can control this, no matter how often it occurs. Focus on your purpose, your reason for living when moments like that happen. It is what will keep you from your own destruction. I have faith in you. Prove to us the power within."
David had been listening, but now he knew that he had failed. All of his training to counter it had been useless. THe formationist side was returning.
"I will try master, I will try."
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Back at the Arena, classes had resumed, and David had been paired up with master Jodie. After losing twice, he quickly caught on to Jodie's style and began winning. The lesson progressed well into the night. The blind rage did not return again. David went to sleep feeling like his old self again.