Crystalline Universe: Team Fortress 2 Overwatch - Volume 3: Crystalline Universe: Bloodline's Curse Chapter 73 Karson Tristram
Karson Tristram was born in 2054 in a poor family living an average life in the city of London, England. His father was an obsessed gambler despite their poor condition and lost a huge amount of money due to constant poorly put gambles. As his last name suggested, Karson is somewhat related to The Spy from Team Fortress 2 with the name “Tristram”.
Back when he was still an infant, his father was seriously indebted to many small mafia associations, so the family faced constant dangers from the many angered mob bosses. At the time, Talon, under Sniper’s project “Imperial reformation”, desperately needed loyal recruit, so one day, Karson’s father was asked to give them their only child in exchange for clearing all the debts he owed.
It was under tears and regret that the family agreed to hand over Karson to the association in hopes of a better life than the current misery for their son. Soon after, Karson’s parents divorced and his mother went missing.
Karson was found to be a physically active and mentally energetic young boy with great potential, so he was put under special training protocol to be incorporated into the XX. The training consisted of heavy brainwash to assimilate the child’s mind to the one of a mindless soldier that will die for Sniper’s cause and harsh physical and mental training.
But in contrast to other children, Karson was a rogue and undisciplined boy who often refused to obey or take the lesson seriously. He was almost excluded from the XX program when he ventured out into the wood during a training exercise to practise shooting on some wild animals after beating up his comrade for being a big mouth about his allegiance to Sniper.
To Karson, there is no one that can dictate his actions. In his mind, he’s free to do whatever he wants, he’s not a born soldier who follows orders but a born scoundrel with manner. One second, he could be sitting quietly in class while drinking tea and another second, he could be beating up a classmate mostly for them to shut the f.u.c.k up about Sniper.
Through his reputation as the only rogue student amongst others, he caught the attention of Mike, who often enjoyed roaming around the building to fill his boredom.
Due to both of them being rascals who often denied orders from their superiors, they became best friends. Through this relationship, Karson was brought into the XX crystal executioner program with Mike’s help.
In the long corridors, Mike and Karson walked toward the executioner quarter through classrooms full of new recruits.
[Karson] – “Then the instructor was so mad that he charged toward me with his axe, then guess what? ”
[Mike] – “Go on, I think I know what will happen. ”
[Karson] – “I outplayed him and cracked his nut with my axe, both of them! ”
[Mike] – “Oof! Bloody hell, you’re awful! what if this wanker never recover from his injuries? ”
[Karson] – “Mate, none of my business. It’s him, he did all that show-off and thought he was like the best, so I put him back to his rightful place. ”
[Mike] – “I don’t blame you. If it was I, I would have gone more lethal. ”
[Karson] – “I sense savagery coming from you. ”
[Mike] (in an evil smirk) – “I encountered a situation similar to yours in the past and all I can say is… That day, I played golf with 2 balls. ”
[Karson] (with a nervous laugh) – “Shit! I see… Never mess with Mike the boss. ”
As they walked beside a class, an instructor suddenly called Karson into the room for a presentation to the new recruits.
[Instructor] – “Hey, young man, mind if I use a minute of your time? ”
[Karson] – “To do what? ”
[Instructor] – “Just a simple presentation to the new recruits that arrived today. ”
[Karson] – “Psst, Mike, what do you say? Should I? ”
[Mike] – “Man, it’s a show, you will be famous to them, they admire people of your position. I mean, if I was a new recruit, I would be amazed to see a real executioner. Make a scene in front of them, inspire them, be their idol. ”
As he entered the class with almost 30 children students who silently all stared curiously at him, Karson quickly felt an uneasy feeling of being expected to not fail.
[Karson] (in a whisper) – “Oh boy, I’m nervous. ”
The instructor stepped beside Karson and asked him to make a self-introduction to the class. Karson glanced by the door and saw Mike giving him the thumb up. Before giving his speech, Karson thought to himself: “I must not fail, I must not fail, we expect from you, Karson, you can do this, make them look up to you, inspire them. ”
After a few seconds of thought, Karson took a deep breath and looked all the way across the class.
[Karson] – “My name is Karson, I’m an executioner… a crystal executioner to be precise… Um… hi, class… I… well… train with bal- I mean with instructor Leo… who’s in the hospital after a small incident… um… I also well… (shit)… that’s it. ”
[Instructor] (In an awkward face) – “Yes, thank you, mister Karson… You can now leave. ”
Seen the situation, Mike stepped inside the class and raised his head in front of the instructor.
[Instructor] – “Mister Mike? Oh my, I… class, politely salute and bow to mister Mike. ”
The instructor crossed his arms in the air to form the executioner salute while all other students followed his example before all bowing to him.
[Mike] – “No need for such formality, mister instructor. And all of you, listen, from today on, you all shall not bow or step aside when you see me as I see all people as equal, I don’t wanna appear superior to anyone. ”
The whole class shouted: “Yes sir! ”
[Karson] (in a whisper) – “Then I think I should leave… ”
Mike hastily grabbed Karson by the shoulder and dragged him toward the center of the room before coming face to face with one of the young students in front of her desk.
[Mike] – “What’s your name, young girl? ”
[Girl] (in a shy voice) – “…My name is Mergiann, sir. ”
[Mike] – “You see mister Karson here? You will one day become him, a warrior serving for lord Sniper in his conquest of peace, justice and equality around the world. You will have the honour of a hero the status of a legend, a legend that will never be forgotten, a legend that will mark history. ”
Mike stood up and addressed to the whole class as if it was a performance of some sort by using his ability to float in the air.
[Mike] – “All of you can see, he’s no ordinary man, he’s a legend. He fought those corrupt fat businessmen and politicians sitting in their comfy chair, eating the finest food and snorting their disgusting white powders while your family and you are starving. Wanna make mom or dad proud of you all? Then work hard, compete, and become a legend. You can make the lives of other children like you better or make your own better, either way, you all are flowers that will bloom. ”
By extending his hands, Mike caused a small wind storm to form around him. The young ones, impressed by what they saw, cheered in joy while Mike kept on performing amazing little tricks with his ability, all the while promoting the advantages of becoming an executioner like Karson.
At the end of the class, each of the students came to shook hands with Mike and Karson in admiration and excitement before the instructor himself came to salute Mike and Karson.
As the two of them walked through the hallway, Karson still felt shame for being so stupid in front of the students.
[Karson] – “You’re just better than me in any way… I even need you to save my face in front of boys and girls. To think of it, I’m just shit. ”
[Mike] – “Look, don’t say those worthless words because, in truth, they serve to nothing. You are not bad, you just need to improve, my friend. Success doesn’t come in one day, sometimes, it could take years, a lifetime or a price to pay for. ”
[Karson] (in a frustrated voice) – “I’m stuck in this state. I can’t get a girlfriend, nor respect from others. I’m stuck with a shit team, where one of the members, Azur, is a total piece of trash. ”
Mike glanced at the clock and arranged his clothes a little before making sure that his hairstyle is intact.
[Mike] – “Karson, as long as I want to stay and chill with you, I have to go attend some important business. ”
[Karson] – “Go on, mate, and thanks for earlier. ”
[Mike] – “No problem, mate, anytime. ”
Mike rapidly turned in a corner, ran down some stairs and opened a set of mirror panels, behind which Mike met up with Kadyn in a secret room.
Meanwhile, Karson marched through the hallway alone before being stopped by an 11 years old girl, who he recognized as the girl Mike spoke to earlier in the classroom.
[Karson] – “May I help you?… What was your name again?… Oh, yes, Mergiann! ”
[Mergiann] – “Teach me your ways, mister! ”
[Karson] – “Um… gosh… I… ”
Karson panicked as he didn’t know how to respond to her since, once again, he was expected to impress and not appear as a chicken behind a wolf’s mask. He hated deceiving those who expected much from him. He thought to himself: “What would Mike say in this case? “.
[Mergiann] (in a resolute way) – “Mister! Take me as your disciple! Teach me how to fight bad guys! ”
[Karson] (hesitantly) – “Well, the path to great power is… to give it all out… like… really going all out like going all way… like… like… ”
[Mergiann] – “Like explode? ”
[Karson] – “Yes! Explode with all your fury, go boom on your enemies and decimate them all with a single blast of your hand… like… like… ”
Through his excitement and nervousness, Karson accidentally activated his ability which with a single swing of his hand, blew a huge hole on the floor in front of him.
[Karson] (nervously) – “Like this! ” (“Oh f.u.c.k! I’m in serious shit! “)
[Mergiann] (in an agitated voice) – “Wooooah! That’s holy amazing! ”
Mergiann kneeled to Karson’s feet and grasped his legs with her hands before staring at him with her big shining ruby coloured eyes.
[Mergiann] (in an agitated manner) – “I won’t let go unless you take me as your disciple! Teach me the way of explosions! ”
Karson has felt for the first time of his life, the sensation of admiration from someone. He didn’t fail this time, he managed to put up a scene, a performance worthy of an audience who thinks that he’s not a loser but an artist.
At first, Karson refused Mergiann’s proposal to become his disciple but after some time, he couldn’t hold himself back from showing his skills in front of Mergiann and other students. Finally, through the constant pleas of his young followers, he accepted to introduce Mergiann to the executioner program, in which she was accepted with Mike’s secretive help.
But the mask Mike put on his face could not stand the test of time as, slowly, Karson’s young followers discovered their hero’s true nature as an undisciplined soldier who was often mocked by other executioners, so they turned their back on him. But throughout it all, Mergiann remained the only one believed in him while ignoring what others said since, to her, he’s still the legend she first encountered.
*Back to the present days in the story
Darlynn’s eyes gradually opened as she was woken up by the sound made by the wind colliding with the hole in the c.o.c.kpit. She painfully crawled toward the hole and took a small peek outside before falling down onto the ground again.
She’s still too weak to move due to dehydration but it didn’t stop her from knowing that something bad happened since Karson and the executioner were both missing. Afar, she saw a bottle of water laying on the ground.
To be continued… Next Chapter: [Struggle for survival]
