Authors: Dhayaa Anbajagane
He took a final chance. He held tight onto his sword and charged at Carlos, getting him to dodge. He faked a jab into Carlos’ rib cage. He saw Carlos’ left leg bend to his right.
He quickly stabbed towards the right. This time Carlos was taken by surprise and didn't slide under the sword.
Kai held Carlos at point blank range, his sword blade hovering above his chest. “Surrender,” he demanded.
“
Well done,
” the Brain said. “
A splendid battle.
”
Carlos glow. His entire body disintegrated into particles and sunk into the ground.
“
Level two,
” said the female voice.
“You can’t even give me a break?” Kai complained
The sky darkened. The trees fell down with a huge thud and sunk into the ground. The falling trees made Kai feel a strong urge to yell, ‘timber’. The entire sky rumbled in the wake of terror. Rain beat down on him and the wind howled in his ears. Bright lightning lit up the sky and the thunder shook the ground. Kai waited for his next opponent.
A flash of lightning hit the ground a few feet away, creating an explosion that knocked him off his feet, and out of the smoke came his next opponent.
Taylor.
“C’mon,” Kai yelled at the skies. “What’s with using my friends all the time?!” The sounds of the storm were the only reply.
He scanned his opponent. Taylor was in her regular Dark Knight armor, deathly aura and all. He had to squint hard to even see her in all this darkness. The fact that her suit was black didn't help him a bit.
Taylor moved swiftly, turning into a shadow figure that could be seen only in the lightning.
Kai was very frightened. Humans, as a species, had a natural affinity to be scared by darkness and Kai had a natural affinity to be scared by Taylor. Put those two together and you had one hell of a nightmare.
The wind around him stopped and everything turned silent.
And then it all started.
A blast of lightning hit the ground inches away from him, giving him a precious second of bright light to look at the world.
He didn't like what he saw. Not one bit.
Taylor was right next to him, arms poised, sword drawn. He held his sword up, desperately trying to defend himself. She hacked away at him, her blows as shadowy and silent as her movement. The dim sparks from the sword-on-sword clash were the only things that Kai could see. A faint shadow was all that he could use to predict Taylor’s blows. That and the quiet whisper of her blade flowing through the ghastly wind.
His mind was racing. Taylor was dealing a strike every second, her tremendous strength pushing him back with each blow. He couldn’t let her keep lashing out. She would wear him down in quick time. ‘Run and hide’ wasn't an option here either, and when the most cowardly solution is ruled out, you pretty much know you’re in a horrible situation.
Kai’s heart beat faster and faster, the intense physical and mental pressure taking a toll on his body. He needed to find a solution and fast. Taylor’s blows were getting harder to predict. His initial thought was to throw Taylor off balance to gain some time. He would have to be really skilled to do that, and it would mean certain death if he missed. Was it worth the risk?
Only one way to find out,
he thought.
The Dark Knight began her second range of strikes, fiercer and faster than the first. Kai kept dodging, waiting for the opportune opening. Taylor loved long flowing movements with her strikes. She jabbed at him, pivoting her leg into ground and swaying around to deliver a blow to his right before back flipping straight at him, her sword at his chest. Kai dived out of the way and the sword hit the ground, sinking into it like it was slicing a piece of cheese.
A flash of lightning shone, and she disappeared from his view along with her sword. Kai knew she was making an attacking run. He closed his eyes, focusing his entire attention on the sounds around him. He drowned away the pit-pat of the rain and the rumble of thunder. All he could hear was a calm silence. A small gust of wind blew into his right. He stepped back, and felt Taylor charge right past him. Another flash of lightning shone. He saw her dig her sword into the ground, using it to turn herself around with amazing speed.
“I got you,” he said.
He ran forward, twisting his body to the right. He uncorked his torso and threw the sword right at Taylor in one fluid motion. He heard her slash at the sword, knocking it to the ground. Kai used the distraction, and a timely flash of lightning, to catch her by the wrist and pull her down. She lost her balance, and went tumbling over. He picked his blade off the ground and pointed it at Taylor, who was desperately trying to get out of the muddy slosh.
Kai looked at the sky, “Next,” he yelled out.
A flash of lightning hit Taylor and she instantly disappeared.
“
How about we play two on one this time?
” the Brain said.
The earth cracked open in a fissure and two glowing humanoids climbed out. The storm hadn't gone away and neither had the darkness, but Kai could still make out who he was going to face. He knew these two were people very well, one much more than the other.
Who were they? Well, one was dear to him. And the other?
It was him.
***
Chris’ face froze in a scream as she watched the massive chunk of metal plummet down from the battle camp’s roof and towards her still body. Someone tackled her just as the block came crashing into the floor.
“That was a close one,” a figure gave her a hand up.
It took Chris a few seconds to realize that Lisara was the one who had just helped her.
“You two! Are you coming or what?!” A bulky man yelled, probably one of the General’s subordinates. “The transport ship won’t wait any longer.”
Chris looked around. Everyone other than her and Lisara had disappeared. She rushed out of the camp with Lisara right next to her.
A huge black ship lay in the snow right in front of the camp. Lines of neon purple highlighted the ship beautifully. A panel on the side of the ship slip open and a ladder extended to the surface.
Chris and Lisara climbed the ladder in haste, mainly because the general was yelling at them for being late, and also because the wind was threatening to blow them away on an ‘Around Zygrade in 90 days’ special.
The inside of the ship was a complete opposite of its dark exterior. Bright lights flashed everywhere. The white walls and furnishings reflected back the light so fiercely that it looked like they were shining as well. The cadets were the only ones who were non-luminous in this pure white ship.
Chris and Lisara sat themselves down in a row of seats at the end. The ship rose a few seconds later and headed towards the mothership. Chris wondered what Kai was up to right now. She couldn't wait to meet him on the mothership.
Her mind focused on the extra time at hand. The trip to the mothership wasn't going to be a short one, so she might as well get some information from Lisara while she was at it.
She turned to Lisara, “So when did you join the organization?” she asked.
“It was a long time ago,” she sighed.
“So did you know what you were signing up for?” Chris asked. It was a weird question, but she had to ask because she couldn't comprehend why a person would sign up for this kind of an organization.
“I didn’t,” Lisara confessed. “It’s not like anything would have changed if I’d known.”
“How come?” Chris asked.
“They have my sister captive,” her face braving a smile.
Everything suddenly made sense. Lisara never seemed like she fit in such a place. She was far too nice, far too ethical to do something like this. The only way someone could get her to do something like this would be to threaten her.
Chris didn't know how to react to the situation.
Should she tell her it was okay?
she wondered. But she knew it definitely wasn't okay.
A huge shockwave knocked the ship and threw them onto the floor. A holographic screen formed at the center of the ship and showed them the view of the outside.
The storm had receded. The dark storm clouds had vanished from sight. The stars shone brightly in the night sky. Chris reminisced at the sight. It had been so long since she had seen those stars.
“Thank god the storm has stopped,” she said. That was one thing less that she had to worry about.
“No,” Lisara pointed to the screen again.
Chris saw a dark fuzzy image on the horizon. She had initially thought it was a dark cloud that was still lingering about. Then she realized that it wasn't a cloud.
It was a wave. A really big one. And it was heading straight at them.
Chris jumped out of her seat and rushed to the front. All around her, cadets were chatting noisily. It didn't seem like anyone had realized what they were looking at. She doubted that the pilot had noticed the gigantic wave either. She headed to the General’s seat at the front of the spacecraft.
In contrast to the dire situation they were in, the General was sleeping peacefully on his chair.
“General!” she yelled out.
“Huh? Cookies? No thank you,” he mumbled.
She realized mere words weren't going to wake him up. She held the General by the collar and threw him to the ground. The cadets around her gasped in surprise. They couldn't imagine a cadet ever doing that to one of her higher ups.
The General rolled on the ground and stood up straight, but his eyes were still closed! He was doing everything while he was asleep. Just how well trained was he to be able to defend himself even while he was asleep?
She swiped a bottle of cold water from a cadet and uncapped it.
“Good morning, General,” she said and threw the water on him.
The General’s eyes shot open. Chris waved at him to make sure she had his attention and then pointed to the feed on screen.
His eyes widened, “Those idiots! They weren’t supposed to activate the Poseidon so early!” He scrambled out of his seat in haste. “Pilot,” he yelled as he ran to the pit.
He stopped halfway and ran back to Chris
“We have to talk about your attitude, cadet,” he said and rushed off to meet the pilot.
Chris smiled. She had expected to get pulverized or thrown off the ship, but a talk seemed like a pleasant surprise compared to those prospects. She walked back to her seat and sat down. The ship started picking up speed. She looked at the feed on the screen. The monstrous wave became smaller and smaller until it disappeared. They were moving away from it.
She breathed a sigh of relief. They were finally out of danger. It took her a second to realize that she had just saved the enemy as well, but her conscience wouldn’t let her kill them anyway.
“The General’s not going to let you get away with that you know,” Lisara chuckled.
“We’ll see about that,” Chris smiled.
They sat in silence for a while. Chris couldn't think of anything to talk about. Grilling Lisara for information right after she had opened up about her sister seemed like a heartless thing to do.
“Look,” Lisara pointed to the screen.
In front of them stood a huge spaceship, still and timeless. A black ship with lines of neon purple running all around it - the same theme as their ship. Chris recognized that this was the mothership, the machine that had caused all this havoc. She stared at the massive piece of weaponry. How could anyone ever take that thing down? It seemed impossible.
The white lights in the ship dimmed down. The holographic screen flickered and turned off. The General stood up at the front and looked at everyone. “Now listen up,” he started. “We’re heading into the mothership. I want all of you to maintain top discipline. You will all be directed to your duties after we land inside. That will be all.”
She felt the ship slow down and land. They were finally inside the mothership. The doorway opened and a ghastly mix of purple and white light entered the ship.
Chris heard voices come from outside.
We’re in the hangar
, she confirmed.
“All right cadets. Move out!” yelled the General.
Everyone formed a line and moved out of the ship. Chris felt a sense of excitement.
Kai was out there, and she was going to find him.
***
Carlos lay on the floor utterly defeated. The air inside the top floor of the Demon Riser was cold and silent, as though it was mourning for him.
“It’s the end of the road for you, Commander,” Jake stood before him, his hand right next to Carlos’ face.
Carlos stared at the sphere of explosive wind in Jake’s palm. His legs tried to fight immense the air pressure Jake had created to hold him down. He had mere seconds left before he was blasted into oblivion.
I can’t fight the spell,
he realized.
I have to fight the caster
.
He summoned his last bits of energy and thrust his hand out. A sharp blade of wind shot out at Jake. It rammed into him and a huge explosion shook the entire room. The air pressure over Carlos disappeared, and he tried to find cover.
A bellow resonated through the room. He heard a swish come from within the smoke from the explosion, and the gray cloud dissolved into nothing.
In the center of it all stood a dragon!
It was almost twice as tall as Carlos was. Its whole body was a bright gold, its wings long and graceful, and its talons sharp and deadly. Carlos was completely stunned.
A sphere of white light formed at the tip of its mouth and the dragon shot an immense beam of energy straight at Carlos. He dodged the beam, which went on to hit the wall behind him. Another explosion shook the room, knocking everyone off of their feet. The dragon screeched and curled up into a ball, glowing with a brilliant white light. When the light died down, lo and behold, Jake had taken the dragon’s place.
“Oh my god,” Juliana gasped.
“He’s a manakete,” Carlos muttered under his breath.
A manakete. Half-dragon, half-human. The beast could alter its life energy signature and seamlessly change from dragon to human and back, but it could only be either dragon or human, never both. Though the manakete wasn't as strong as a regular dragon, it made up from its lack of strength with its trademark cunningness.
Jake laughed, “Never saw it coming, huh?” he said. “You’ve got no chance, Commander.”
Carlos walked closer to him, “My turn,” he drew back his hand. He flooded his fist with his life energy and surged forward, ramming his fist into Jake’s chest. The manakete-man flew off the floor and smashed into the walls with a thud. The blow should’ve have knocked Jake out, but instead he jumped right back onto his feet, focused and ready to attack.
Carlos had no intention of waiting for him to get ready. He charged again and pinned him down to the floor. A bright object rolled out of Jake’s pockets and along the floor; a small crystal vial with a fluorescent green liquid inside it.
“The potion!” Juliana exclaimed.
Both Jake and Carlos leaped towards it in a desperate attempt to reach it before the other. Suddenly, Carlos’ vision blurred. Spots appeared in the scene before him and he froze as though his entire body were still and paralyzed.
“Carlos!” Juliana caught him as he was about to fall.
Jake held the crystal vial between his fingers and twirled it around carelessly, “Too bad you couldn’t get the potion,” he grinned in delight.
Carlos saw a quick shadow pass by Jake and the next thing he knew Jake had collapsed onto the floor.
“Yeah. Too bad,” Elizabeth stood over him with her wings outstretched, the crystal vial safely in her hand. Before anyone could react, she ran towards Juliana and Carlos, picking them up in each of her arms, crashing through the glass windows, and heading out of the Demon riser.
She smiled gleefully, “Boy that felt good.”
***
It took Elizabeth just a few seconds to head back into the underground tunnel from before. The real problem began when Carlos started acting stubborn about a particular issue.
“We need to head up to the surface,” he said.
“We won’t be able to do anything,” Elizabeth said. “The entire surface is flooded with an artificial ocean.”
“Carlos,” Juliana said. “I didn’t want to tell you this before, but the Aliea force field has been down for a while now. This disaster we’re seeing is not confined to just Aliea. It’s happening all around Zygrade.”
Carlos was frustrated, “This is exactly why we need to get out there and look at what’s actually going on!” he threw his hands up. A circle of wind spiraled into his palm.
Elizabeth rushed forward to tackle him, but she was too late.
A twister of wind shot upwards, cracking through the tunnel walls and leading them into the ocean. The wind hurled them as well, and in an instant they were underwater.
Carlos and Juliana made a break to the surface. Elizabeth turned back down and used her Elementa of Earth to seal the gap Carlos had made.
Idiots
, she thought.
Her wings flapped hard as she powered herself towards Juliana and Carlos. She grabbed onto them and rose to the surface, leaping out like a dolphin. She spread out her wings and took to the sky, knowing that she had to find some sort of place to land. She had to make Carlos take the potion first.
She looked down. The entire surface was covered with an endless ocean of violent waves, but she hoped she could find some sort of refuge. Luckily, she could see the distinct top of a building a few miles from them.
She shot forward, powering through the screaming winds. Juliana tried to say something, but Elizabeth couldn’t hear a word she said. She flew through a minute of silence, and landed on the rooftop.
“-Carlos is unconscious!” Juliana was screaming at the top of her voice.
Elizabeth froze. She turned to Carlos. He lay limp on the rooftop, his breathing heavy and intermittent. His condition was getting worse by the minute.
“Here,” she took the vial out of a metal pocket in her suit and handed it to Juliana.
Juliana opened the vial and emptied it into Carlos’ mouth.
The antidote worked immediately. Carlos coughed hard and his eyes fluttered open. He looked at everyone, confused and lost.
“You’re all right, Carlos,” Elizabeth said.
“Where are we?” He asked.
“On the rooftop of some building” she said, “It seems to have survived the power of the Poseidon.”
Carlos sat up immediately. “Oh god,” he said. The Poseidon part seemed to have gotten to him.
“What’s wrong?”
“We have to get out of here,” he said. “And fast.”
***
Carlos looked around him. The Demon Riser was the only other building that stood up to the raging waves. He regretted coming out here. He had made a terrible mistake. He knew the waters would be violent, but he didn’t think it would be this intense.
It’s advancing much faster than it should
, he thought.
He had to find some other way out of this deluge of water. If the Poseidon got any stronger they wouldn't be able to make it out alive. He knew the cadets underground were safe, for now. The Poseidon wouldn't affect them, as long as all the tunnels to the surface were completely blocked off.
Carlos put his ear to the rooftop and listened. A hollow sound vibrated from within. He infused his fist with energy and punched hard into the roof. A part of the surface crumbled to pieces and gave way, revealing the floor underneath. He looked through the opening and exclaimed in delight. There were huge tankers and aircraft inside the building. The building’s interior was quite dry, except for a few trickles of water. The walls of the place though, were horrifying. They had been ripped apart in many places, but every crack and tear had been completely sealed by an abundance of ice.
The Zeus must have done that,
Carlos realized.
“You didn’t have to break the roof you know,” Elizabeth said. “There’s an opening on the other side,” she pointed to riff on the other end of the roof.
Carlos ignored her, “Stay here, I’ll go check.”
This time Elizabeth ignored him. She latched onto him and Juliana, and glided to the bottom in an instant.
“I could have just jumped down you know,” he said. “I
can
use the Elementa of Wind.”
“You’re welcome,” she said and began searching around for anything useful.
“Look at all this stuff,” Juliana said excitedly.
Carlos could understand her excitement. Around them were high-tech tanks and aircraft, the latest laser blasters, the most advance phaser cannons and much more. Every single piece of tech in the building was just brilliant.
Carlos grabbed one of the blasters, “These aren’t Aliea’s,” he mumbled.
“What?” Elizabeth said.
“These aren’t Aliea’s weapons,” he tossed it aside. “I’d know if they were. They don't have the standard seal that we use.”
“What are you saying?” Juliana asked. “Is this the enemy’s?”
Carlos nodded.
“Wouldn't that make this building the place where the enemy set up camp?”
Carlos nodded again.
Elizabeth looked around the empty building, “Then where is everybody?”
“I don't know. This place seems completely abandoned.”
“They must have headed back to their mothership,” Juliana suggested.
Everyone went quiet. The thought of the huge warship silenced all the voices.
“If only we had a ship like that,” Carlos said dreamily.
“Yeah,” Elizabeth said,
“We could just infiltrate the war ship you know,” Carlos said.
“Um… how can we do that again?” Elizabeth asked. “The guys protecting the mothership should have much better tech than what they left behind. The enemy treated this tech like junk. Imagine the insane kind of tech they have back on their ship.”
“It isn't about how hard you hit,” Juliana activated the blaster in her hand. “It’s about where you hit them.”
Carlos nodded, “We use the ships they left here and head to the mothership. They will let us in once they see we’re one of their own ships. Then we find our way to the control room and take control of the whole ship from there.”
“That’s it?” Elizabeth asked.
“Simple as that,” Carlos smiled gleefully.
Elizabeth looked at Juliana, who just shrugged, “It may be simple plan but I don't think there’s anything wrong with it.”
“Sometimes the simplest things are the most effective,” Carlos added with a wink.
Elizabeth sighed, “Let's do this then,” she smiled.
Carlos was already halfway through boarding one of the ships. They all got into a standard spacecraft. It was as large as bus, and since none of them wanted to sit in the passenger seats they had to cramp together in a one-man pit.
“Taking off,” Carlos said. The ship hissed as it rose through the opening in the roof and shot forward. The soft hum of the wind traveled through the ship’s walls. It was funny how something so terrifying in one situation could sound so soothing in another.
“Where do you suppose Q is right now?” Juliana said.
“I don't know- woah!” Carlos swerved the ship sharply.
Elizabeth bumped her head on the walls, “Ow! What was that for?”
A huge 200 foot wave passed by the ship.
“Oh,” she said while rubbing her head.
“Poseidon is becoming stronger,” Carlos said. “We don't have much time left until it reaches its final stage. The Hades.”
“Zeus creates a storm. Poseidon, a flood,” Elizabeth said. “What does the Hades do?”
“Hades is the lord of the underworld. What do you think?”
“It destroys the planet from within.” Juliana said.
“What?!” she asked.
“When Hades is done with this place, there won’t to be a Zygrade anymore.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened, and she fell silent. Carlos empathized with her. Knowing that Aliea could be destroyed was one thing. Knowing that Zygrade itself was on the verge of destruction added a much more sinking feeling. Aliea could always be rebuilt, Zygrade couldn't.
“There’s the ship,” Juliana pointed through the windshield at a huge black spacecraft. The mothership lay right before them, its stature towering over the storm. It trembled as huge waves washed over its surface but it held its position solidly.
“You want to take over that thing?” Elizabeth asked. Her confidence level dropped the moment she caught a glimpse of what they were going up against.
“Well,” Carlos said. He didn't know how to boost her confidence. Frankly, he too was feeling a little intimidated by the immense stature of the ship.
“No point turning back now,” Juliana chided.
A voice blared up on the ship’s main panel. “
Spacecraft alpha-niner-omega-roger. You are clear for landing,
” the voice crackled. A huge door opened on the side of the mothership. Two men stood there and waved at the ship with plasma-light beacons, signaling for it to head in and land.
“This is it,” Carlos said and piloted the ship towards the landing bay.
“Umm… what do we do once we get in?” Elizabeth asked.