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Internet Message Format | 1995-12-21 | 73KB

Path: usenet.ee.pdx.edu!cs.uoregon.edu!news.uoregon.edu!news.corpcomm.net!news.pe.net!news.internetMCI.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in2.uu.net!not-for-mail From: figuerae@miavx1.acs.muohio.edu Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.archives Subject: STORY: Darkworld Chapter 8 (2/3) Followup-To: rec.games.frp.misc Date: 13 Dec 1995 13:47:55 -0500 Organization: Miami University Lines: 1367 Sender: smm@uunet.uu.net Approved: smm@uunet.uu.net Distribution: world Message-ID: <4an74r$2m8@rodan.UU.NET> NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net Chapter 8 (2/3) By Tony Figueroa aefigueroa@miavx1.muohio.edu Part Two: The Wraith King ----- Arcanar The sun was rising over the USD. It was another day banishing the darkness of the night. Upon the rays striking the two bodies of the fallen Dawn Saints, the remains were consumed by luminance. Deliria, from atop a tall house in an estate nestled away deep in the woods, watched the approaching light. Glowing forms, appeared at her left and right. Needlez and Torana stood alive. "Blessed be the dawn," they said in unison. "Forever it rise if not all three fall." ----- Dec 22, 10 AM "And that's my life story," Razner said. (Readers' note: For what he said, read the Razner story, excluding all bad comments about Barako.) Barako was listening attentively with a cup of coffee in her hands. "Well, I guess that explains why this is your favorite place to eat." The location of the subject was a rather classy place. The tables were covered by cloths, and roses were the decorations. Red-petaled vegetation hung in pots and grew from rows along the walls. A distinct scent hung in the air from the abundance of the flowers. Food here wasn't cheap, but it wasn't expensive either. The sign outside read, "The Rose Garden." "What about you?" Razner asked. "Well, on my homeworld, my family is royalty. At least, it used to be considered royal. Uru was on the brink of civil war when I left. I actually wouldn't mind returning to see how things were going, but I left because I didn't want to be involved anymore. My aversion to returning has been stronger than my curiosity so far, however, I think that has recently changed. I didn't want to return because I didn't want to end up staying there again, but I know now that this is my home. I'm over my fears about a trip back. I'd like to get around to going back, but I'll wait until the USD has recovered before I have it figure out a way to get me back. How would you like to come with me?" "That sounds like a wonderful idea," Razner said, finishing his eggs. "Do you think your parents would approve of me?" "Of course not, but don't worry. You're far more conservative than what they had planned for me back home. Being royalty and all, they had matched me up with someone royally suitable. He was a Nightmare." "That bad?" "No, I mean he was a Nightmare: antlers, sixteen tentacles, flaming claws, and the rest." "Oh," Razner found he had trouble coming to terms with that. Barako sighed. "But that's over now." "You know, this may sound strange, but your name translates perfectly in Japanese." "That's a type of food, right? Do I taste good?" She widened her eyes and put on an innocent smile. "No, no, it's a language, one from Earth. I learned some at the Cathedral of Seasons." "I thought you said Japanese was from Earth," Barako said. "It is from Earth, but I am too. And, I'm here. The Cathedral picked some stuff up from us humans when we arrived. They liked some of our philosophy and martial arts and mixed it with their own. Say something in your native language." "Boku wa hanashite imasu." "That figures. I tend to think that nothing in this universe is coincidence. You, you're obviously biologically compatible with humans as are many other races. Your language is the same as a human one even though I suspect your world is many light years away from any human populated world." "Hey, what does my name translate to anyway?" "It's your language you should know," Razner said. "Oh yeah, that's right. Bara means rose. We have those on Uru too." "Any other flowers in your family?" "Well," Barako went into thought for a moment. "One of my famous ancestors, great to the twelfth power grandma was. Her name was Ran which means orchid. There's a great story about her, and my great to the twelfth grandma on my father's side, Benten. That was thirteen generations ago when the social structure of Uru was changed to what it is today." "Looks like you're going to have to tell me about it." "It's a long story," Barako said, trying to get out of it. "It's kind of complicated." "You've gone this far. There's no turning back now." ----- Dec 22, 6 PM Chris Mendosa, recently returned from Fork Base, and Kum Lei were in their room dressing up for a dinner party. Kum Lei had been privileged enough to star in a number of low budget films, mostly B-grade horror movies, before she entered military service. These were quite popular as far as these films went, and Kum Lei had even gotten her own fan club. She'd worked under the name Luv Lei which was pronounced "Lovely" as opposed to her maiden name, "Comely." Tonight, she was an award presenter and wanted to look her best before the crowd. Lei and Chris arrived at the hall at 6:30. The ceremony didn't start until seven, so they were doing fine. The actual convention the ceremony was part of, the 133rd Annual Scream Queen Convention, had been underway since noon. Lei steered herself and her husband inside, avoiding one man wearing a heart lapel pin. He was a producer Lei knew, and he had a habit of squirting people with red liquid from his gag bloody heart lapel pin. In other words, he was a loser. Chris got to sit in the crowd. Some were dressed nicely like he was, but the guy next to him was wearing a rubber godzilla suit. The other person to his left was an actual lizard man. It was surprising that all the real non-human people that lived around here hadn't put the rubber creature suit business out of business. Once the awards ceremony had begun, there seemed to be no end to the stream of bad film titles and unusual award categories. Categories such as Best Gore, Best Shower Scene, and Lowest Budget Film to Make It to the Market never ceased. Finally, it was Lei's turn. "And presenting the next award," the announcer said. "is Lt. Lei-Mendosa, better known as the infamous Luv Lei, star of the classic 'Devil Babes vs the Spleen Snatchers' and 'Vampire Psycho Sluts.'" Applause rang out from the crowd when she walked onto the stage and approached the podium. "Well," she said. "It's good to be back. I see that I'm still remembered. It looks like the industry hasn't changed a lot, since I left it. I see many new faces here tonight, but I see many old ones as well. I'm here to give away the award for Best Scream, and the candidates are... " ----- The lock was no problem for her. The door might as well have not been there. Then again, the same could be said about most locks where she was concerned. Barako quickly but quietly closed the door shut behind her. She wanted to complete the assignment Kitimar had given her and get out while Kum Lei and Chris Mendosa were at their dinner party thing. Her magic could have given her sight here, but it was much easier to simply flip the light switch on. What Kitimar wanted was a weapon, named Sight, or more accurately: a magical item, a long staff with a bladed ring at one end. It belonged to one Kum Lei Mendosa of the 51st TDS. Barako had the confiscation papers on her along with a historical sketch of the item. She wondered if maybe it was to be sold for large amounts of money. It could perhaps be a dangerous item that was to be contained. Whatever it was, Barako didn't really care enough to think too deeply about what the truth was. She checked the closet. There were many nice outfits, but they wouldn't fit anyone of human stature. What she was wearing now was what she normally wore anyway, a pink ankle-length dress with sleeves and white frills. Barako even had matching pink slippers. This wasn't the outfit of someone completing a covert operation. Under the bed, there were several boxes of interesting items, but IT wasn't there. Barako went through the dresser drawers. She learned plenty about Lei and her husband's taste in underwear, but nothing pertinent to her search. These certainly were nice quarters. It was several rooms larger than Razner's room, but Kum Lei was a Lieutenant. Lei's quarters opened up into a decent-sized rec room with doors leading to the bedroom and bathroom. Razner's quarters were merely a bedroom with an adjoining bathroom. Barako began thinking about what she could do to get Razner a promotion. It wouldn't matter much right now anyway, since these barracks didn't have any more rooms like this available. The 51st was, after all, crammed into the 47th TDS's barracks. Deciding it was time to cast a spell, Barako began softly chanting the words. A few items in the rec room began glowing. She'd been through the entire place. A simple detect magic spell was something she should have done in the first place, but Barako didn't think this thing would be hidden so well. She examined the glowing statuette on the coffee table, nothing but a decorative trinket. The rest wasn't what she sought either. Although, the large cannon in the room was impressive. In the bathroom, nothing glowed, so that was a bust. The bedroom was the last place to check. Lo and behold, a glow shined around the edges from behind the dresser. She moved the wooden piece of furniture which caused a deal of noise. Here the polearm was. She held it in her hands and examined. It glowed blindingly bright. Something with this much magic in it had to be special. Barako ended the spell. The bluegrey metal staff was six feet in length with a foot and a half diameter golden ring mounted at one end. The ring itself was about an inch and a half wide and only about a millimeter thick. According to the file, it was named, Sight. Who knows why? She turned to leave and exited the bedroom. "What are you doing?" A sinisterly-toned female voice said. Barako looked up to see Kum Lei in the rec room, heading towards the bedroom. Lei was standing at her full seven imposing feet of height with her wings folded behind her, and she was built like a shit brickhouse to put it simply (or something like that, Barako was somewhat startled by her appearance). Lei must have entered when Barako had been moving the dresser. That would explain why she didn't hear her come in. She held the staff with both hands, blinked her suddenly enlarged eyes, and smiled innocently. "You're going to be in a lot of trouble really fast," Kum Lei threatened the intruder, "if you don't hand that over and tell me what you're doing here." Kum Lei took a step forward to suddenly be surrounding by metal, rubber, and plastic. She was bound and gagged where she stood. "I'm just following orders," Barako told her. "If you have a problem with that, look up my superiors." She continued on her way to the front door with the staff in her left hand. The front door opened inward, and Chris Mendosa walked into her path. He saw the lady in front of him and then noticed behind her the writhing form of his bound wife. The staff in Barako's hand was offhandedly recognized as something of Kum Lei's. Chris dashed to take down the intruder, but Barako's foot lashed out and took Chris's feet out from under him. As he tumbled backwards, Barako's palm shot out struck Chris in the chin. He fell and didn't get up. Barako was quite upset now. This had turned into quite a fiasco. Kum had seen Chris fall. When she'd seen Chris enter the room in the first place, she'd felt fear. The Mendosa's were overly protective of each other, and this lady who'd joined the 51st just the other day was obviously dangerous. Either Mendosa would willingly give the life for the other, but she was helpless to help her husband now. If frustration could be turned into energy, Kum Lei could have powered a city by herself in this moment. When Chris went down, there were no words to describe how pissed Lei was. As Barako stepped over the still form of Mr. Mendosa, she heard a tearing and rending sound louder than most car accidents. She turned around to see that Kum Lei was free of her bonds. A shock like a lightning bolt went through Barako's nervous system, and her face froze. Nothing should have been able to break those bonds. She had to wonder. If Kum Lei could break those, what could she do to me? Lei's wings outstretched and propelled her towards Barako who responded sluggishly for an instant before raising her right arm. She looked into the face of Lei who for some reason felt it necessary to avoid eye to eye contact. Kum almost noticed it too late, but she managed to break before she impaled her face on the rather large top-loading sub-machinegun in Barako's hand. Barako must have pulled it when she tried her little staring contest. In any case, threat of instant death had calmed Kum Lei somewhat, having broken her charge to turn Barako to paste for hurting Chris. "Back off," Barako said breathlessly. "You should take note of something," Kum Lei said. "What?" "Behind me, to your right," Lei said. Barako looked from the corner of her eye and saw the large three-barreled gauss cannon floating, aimed right at her. "You don't think your trigger finger's faster than a mind-linked gun, do you?" "Maybe," Barako said. "Listen. I mean you no harm. Your husband is fine." "If you so much as screwed up one cell, I'll hand you your lungs!" "Uh-huh, lower your weapon, and talk to my superiors if you have a complaint, OK?" "Why are you doing this?" Kum Lei said in a severely aggravated tone. Her eyes wandered to Chris's prone form. "Orders," Barako said. "I hate 'em, but they're orders." "If there was a good reason, would you have to sneak in here and steal from me? Why covertly?" "I don't know," Barako growled angrily although her mind began to wonder if maybe Lei was right. "This might be something you could be court martialed for being involved in," Lei said. "Maybe you could be court martialed for this," Barako said. "Why? I wasn't asked to comply with anything. How do I know you're actually under orders?" Kum Lei asked and then inquired mentally of Vaaxe through her CHU-link. The response came back from Vaaxe, "No record." "There are papers on me," Barako said. "Show me," Kum Lei said. "My hands are full," Barako growled. "OK, let me hold those for you, and you can get the papers." "Gimme a break," Barako said, watching Lei through the sights on her gun and cracking a smile. She suppressed a laugh. "You want to bring this to a peaceful conclusion? We lower our weapons on three, and I'll grab my papers." "Fine," Lei said. "One, two, three," Barako said and began lowering her weapon and slinging it onto her shoulder. Kum Lei respectively pointed the gauss cannon elsewhere and lowered it to the floor. Barako reached inside a hidden pocket on her dress and withdrew a filing folder. Kum Lei rushed to Chris's side and checked him out. Barako waited, holding the folder. "He seems fine," Kum Lei said and walked towards intruder and snatched away the folder. She briefly gave it a once over and then read through it more carefully. After a moment, she said, "Everything seems to be in order," and handed the folder back. Lei sighed, looked up, and ordered, "Take Sight and get out!" Barako simply left without saying a word. ----- A hospital "All his cells are in place, ma'am." The doctor seemed pretty sure. "Damn, I was looking forward to handing her her lungs," Kum Lei said. Chris grinned. "Well, we might as well start looking into why she was given those orders." "I suppose you're right," Kum said. ----- "Hello, Sergeant," Kitimar greeted as Barako entered with the staff, Sight. "You should have had that yesterday." "The opportunity didn't arise." She placed the ancient weapon across his desk. "In any case, the covert part of the operation was a failure. Lt. Lei came in just as I'd found Sight." A flash of anger came into Kitimar's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. "That's just great, Sergeant." The Major breathed a sigh of frustration. "There's one thing I wish to discuss with you before you leave. I heard you visited the cellblock yesterday," Kitimar said. "Is that what occupied your time?" She wasn't given a chance to answer. "If you want to know what happened to the gryntif, you can read the report on the arrest, trial, and execution. It's online now." "Execution?" Barako sounded perturbed. "She was convicted of Samhain. It's all in the report. Vaaxe made the charges himself." Barako turned to leave. "Wait a minute, Sergeant," Kitimar said too late. The sergeant had closed the door behind her. Assuming that now it would be realized that he had given the order to Barako to confiscate Sight, Kitimar prepared to make a report for the files on the situation. The vague and untraceable documents he'd given Barako would only serve to heighten the effort of any investigation into the matter. I'm safe, he thought, while using a hand to scratch his recently replaced ear. ----- Dec 22, 6:58 PM Carla opened the door in response to the knock. A glum- looking Razner stood there with a grave-expressioned Barako behind him. "Jake's not back yet is he?" Razner asked. "No," Carla said. "He won't be happy to hear this, and I don't think you will be either. Mind if I come in?" "Not at all," Carla said, stepping aside so the two visitors could enter. She eyed Barako suspiciously, having heard from Kum Lei what had happened earlier to her and Chris. Razner sat in the couch and cleared his throat. "Aclipsa was executed last night." From Carla's expression, the news must have been like a splash of cold water. For a moment she sat in silence, both Razner and Barako breathed a sigh of relief when she looked up again. "I wish that Shliff were here," she said. "I always felt uncomfortable about him for some reason. Despite him acting like a normal person the times I was around him, I always remembered that he was a necromancer in the back of my head. If he were here now though, none of this would be happening." "I never met him," Barako said. "Perhaps we should do some investigating on what happened to him. We know that Aclipsa did nothing to merit being arrested. It was the incident with the arrest itself that justified the arrest. Knowing that, it's obvious that something very wrong is going on here. His disappearance may be at the root of it all." "I did here that an investigation was being done," Carla said. "Then that's where we should start," Razner said, getting up. "I'm going to stay here and wait for Jake," Carla said. "Tell me if you find out anything though." "No problem," Razner said. ----- "I believe you ordered something confiscated from my room, Kitimar" Kum Lei said. Chris stood behind her. "Are you having a memory lapse, Lt?" Kitimar asked. Torridan occupied the space behind him. She'd been receiving orders when the married couple had knocked. "I want to know what you thought you were doing," Lei said. "That's hardly the way to address your superior officer, BUT," Kitimar added. "I can answer your question. It turns out that your artifact may have some very dangerous qualities. Vaaxe can sometimes be a little over protective of us officers. It's being examined for your own safety." "Why did you send someone to steal it," Lei asked. "I was worried the object might have some hold over you. We wouldn't have wanted to risk an incident." "That's exactly what we got," Chris said. "Well," Kitimar said. "A wise man once said, 'Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong.' I'm sorry it turned out the way it did, but at least everyone's all right. If you want to read it, the report is in the computer now." Lei wanted to get angry and give him a good whack, but Kitimar appeared to be right. Chris and Kum could think of little to say except, "Goodbye," and, "Thanks," much to their distaste. "Anytime," Kitimar said. ----- "Look here," Barako said to Razner, who leaned in closer to the monitor. The pair were in the basement of the barracks inside the computer lab, the easy place for research, finding mission assignments, and other computer-related tasks. "It says that a sword in Shadowkeep's possession, called the Sword of the Darklord, was used by an unidentified entity to kill three Blackwood Agents in Shadowkeep's quarters. They were responding to a powerful evil force that was tracked to his quarters." "That definitely sounds interesting. Do you think this unidentified entity has anything to do with Shliff's unexplained disappearance?" Razner asked. "Maybe. We do have the sword's name which very well might have something do with the entity. Let's do a search on it." Barako typed in the appropriate commands and waited two seconds. "Here we are. 'The Sword of the Darklord was the personal weapon of the Wraith King. Little is known about it, and it was banished to the netherworld with the Wraith King in AY4991. The drawing in Figure One from that year shows a symbol etched into the blade's hilt. This symbol can be found on the ruins of the island, Salum, off the eastern coast of Arck. How the sword came to be on the other side of the world during that time period, a time without technology, remains a mystery that can only easily be answered by magic. No trace of the civilization that constructed the ruins on Salum have been found elsewhere.'" "The sword was banished along with the Wraith King?" Razner asked. "Apparently, it managed to get back here," Barako said. "Well gee, if we can find out where the Wraith King was sent, we might find out where Shliff is," Razner said. "That's a possibility," Barako said. "Unfortunately, we don't know where that is. The netherworld could be any number of places. This happened a long time ago, so an archaic reference like that could mean practically any plane of reality. Let's see, AY4991 minus 3000 is Y1991, so that happened 409 years ago." "Bring up something on the Wraith King," Razner said. "OK," Barako typed in the commands for a brief summary. "'The Wraith King's domain was discovered in AY1476 by Darthanar, the earliest surviving kingdom on the Zinx continent. A force of 1200 was sent in to investigate, but only 27 returned. The Wraith King was reported to be a powerful sorcerer who controlled a realm of the undead.' That sounds pretty icky. 'Darthanar decided to respect the Wraith King's territory from henceforth on, but they remained ever vigilant against the possible threat the Wraith King posed. In AY4990, the Wraith King left his domain, and Darthanar stormed it with the help of the newer kingdom, Tekaire. The Wraith King returned in AY4991 to find his domain being taken. Even with the help of the Demon Saint Shiyama, the Wraith King couldn't save his dominion. Shiyama was slain by the Silverclaw Saint Sarko in single combat, and the Wraith King's body was destroyed. Believing the Wraith King's spirit to have inhabited the Soul Citadel, a Tekairian wizard banished the Soul Citadel into the netherworld.' That's pretty cut and dry," Barako said. "Yeah, but how does it help us?" "Well, if I teleport us to the right netherworld, and we have a clairvoyant with us, we might just be able to find him." "We can try and requisition ourselves a clairvoyant." "With our ranks and Mr. Happy Shiny Person in the Major's chair, I don't think there's a very good chance of that," Barako said. "Maybe we could persuade one to help us in their off time," Razner said. "Still, this could be a wild goose chase," Barako said, leaning back into her chair and folding her arms behind her head. ----- The Soul Citadel The tower was lonely at the top. Reaching 200 meters high in its demi-plane prison, there was an illusion of it being utterly alone. Loneliness was exactly what the tower's king felt, but it wasn't the same loneliness that normal beings felt. It was the loneliness that a megalomaniac feels in a padded cell, but this king had the power to back up such delusions of grandeur. "My loneliness is almost at an end," the invisible spirit of the Wraith King said. Soth made no response. Shliff's eyes opened slowly. He wasn't surprised by what he saw: a convex wall with a single window looking out into the thunderclouds and lightning. The captive didn't notice the strange hot dryness that had accompanied the storm. In singed black armor, an undead knight stood, hands resting on the hilt of the Sword of the Darklord that rested point first on the floor. "Good morning, butcher," Wraith King said. "God, no," Shliff moaned. "What have I done?" The answer was there, but he didn't want to believe it. His position was most compromising. Suspended in the air, Shadowkeep was held in a crucifix position, his arms outstretched to his sides and his legs bound by the ankles by some force. "The King," Soth spoke in his hollow voice, "has waited a long time for one such as yourself to come along." "If you're going to kill me," Shliff said, his voice held the tone of a man waiting to die (and wanting to be done with it). "That isn't our strategy," Soth said. "Why not," Shliff yelled, angrily. I'm here with you, Aclipsa said. Who did this? Shliff asked. The chill of the death knight broke through the heat and began freezing the sweat on Shliff's skin. Soth had come closer. "I must die," Shliff said, the chilling cold bringing him back into the world outside. It was all he could do to not lose himself beyond communication in remorse and self-hatred. "That will not do," Soth said. "Until we are through with you." "I am evil!" Shliff screamed at Soth. "I am a worm!" The captive narrowed his eyes at his captor. "Like you." The flash of a finely honed blade was all he saw. Then Shliff screamed for a new reason, pain. "You're a lucky man, necromancer," Soth told Shadowkeep, placing his left gauntleted hand on the necromancer's right stump of a shoulder. A cold of icy death froze the wound and stopped the escaping pulsing blood. Get a grip! Aclipsa yelled at Shliff. I'm not going to let you do this to yourself! Grabbing his consciousness, she threw him into the back seat of his mind, taking over. As her first action, she cast a spell to deaden the pain, which was excruciating to both of them. The Sword of the Darklord dripped sanguine fluid. "If duplication is indeed a compliment," Soth completed his statement. Shliff's eyes looked to the floor. There, his severed right arm writhed. Tissue bubbled around the stump as the thing appeared to crawl about in circles. He'd felt the lifeforce in the arm sliced and disperse. A blade that cuts the soul, despite the situation, he was impressed. "What do you think you're doing?" Shliff/Aclipsa demanded. Soth looked back with orange flaring pits behind his helm slit and then looked back down at the floor. Grey substance flowed from the open end of the limb. It hardened and grew into a collar bone. The end of that bone then melted and flowed away. When the course had been run, the flow hardened and formed a new bone. Then the ends of that bone melted and flowed off, and the process continued. Ooze bubbled out of the limb's stump, forming musculature, organs, and other things of the flesh. The entire process took a minute and a half during which Shliff watched transfixed. When the final stretch of skin closed over the heel of the left foot, Soth said, "It is done." "A living worthy body with no soul," Soth said. A blue light flared, and a shockwave emanated from around the two living bodies in the room, hurling Soth at a wall. The room's size had been increased by two inches. Negative had integrated with positive, becoming one. Shliff took the moment to take control from Aclipsa. It wasn't your fault, she told him. Yes, it was. I lost control, but I won't anymore for your sake. I still have at least one thing to live for: you. You won't go unavenged! Shaking himself back into working order with a mental shriek at which Aclipsa cringed, Shadowkeep prepared for the situation at hand. Shadowkeep's second body stood six feet before his own, the one in bound levitation. It was a perfect mirror image, down to the last cell. Between them, a blue flame connected them. It faded from sight as the loose forces within the chamber calmed. The new body turned its head towards the prone form of Soth. "I'm alive." Soth brought himself to his feet. "Again," Wraith King said. "My diadem," he asked of the death knight who approached and held out the Darklord Sword to him, hilt first. Upon his new body grasping the weapon, a blue wave of energy passed down to its tip, illuminating the symbol, a half circle, on the blade's flat edge directly above the hilt. "My end of the bargain," Soth said, "is done." "Now that I'm not in a body of stone, I can complete my end," Wraith King told him. He held out his right palm, the hand not holding the sword, and a blue beam traced a doorway near Soth. A view of another place appeared within once the rectangle was complete. Beyond the door was a cliff face behind a red keep. The shape seemed flower-like to Shliff. "Krynn," Wraith King said. "Just as you left it, just after you left it." "May Takhisis bless you," Soth replied and walked through. Behind him, the doorway collapsed. A moment of silence passed in the increasingly cold and dimly lit chamber. "Now it's just us," Wraith King said. "Is this the part where you kill me?" He asked. "Don't you know the answer?" Shliff thought on that comment, and the answer came to him more quickly than he'd expected. "You can't because that blue line I saw was the connection between our souls." The Wraith King must have a shapeless soul to fit fill the void in my double, Shliff thought, to himself and Aclipsa. Our souls are harmonized and will eventually become one, just as ours will if we remain in such close proximity. "Soon," Wraith King said, "you will lead my army upon the world. You may rest here until then." "If you're going to control me, why don't you do it now?" Wraith King failed to answer immediately. Realization hit Shliff, and his evil twin's answer came too late, not that it would have mattered. "I'm going to go look for more suitable attire," Wraith King said. Shadowkeep exercised control. Wraith King flinched. "You can't control me because right now, your portion of our soul is weak. Our souls are of the same shape, therefore we'll be one in time. Your half hasn't conformed to the shape of its vessel yet. Thus, mine is stronger." Mine as well, Aclipsa said. "You cannot prevent my elevation," Wraith King said. If I die, you die, Shliff thought. No! Aclipsa said. If I completely snuff out my life force, he dies. Right now, his and mine aren't just linked. They're almost one. When that finishes, I won't have the power to resist him. I have to act before his will surpasses mine! Self-sacrifice is not the answer, Aclipsa thought. Your soul would still survive, Shliff replied. That's not good enough, and how can you be sure. If I remain here long enough, our linked souls will become one as well. Our minds will meld into one if you what you've said is right and neither of us will survive! We'll be absorbed into each other! "If you continue, your suffering will be only greater," Wraith King warned. The force of Shliff's control was like a whip in Wraith King's back. Jolted forward, he opened a dimensional gate with magic from his right hand. The view led to Relo. Devastated landscape of the city state was all they could see. "Maybe I'll take this back," Shliff advanced on the Wraith King with the Darklord Sword in mind. Wraith King managed to win against Shliff's control with the loss of his crown being threatened. The sword came as a blur, but Shliff caught on to his loss of control in time. As the blade lashed out in a sideways cut, Shadowkeep was leaping through the portal which fell shut behind him. Shliff finally had a moment to rest. The connection to the Wraith King here was faint. It was doubtful any domination could be exercised through it even when the Wraith King gained more power. Separation by dimensions was usually enough to stop anything. Then again a soul wasn't just anything. It took a moment for the construction crews to comprehend what had happened. A worker approached Shliff who was on his hands and knees (and in rags). "Hey, are you all right, man?" Shadowkeep stood up. For a moment, Shliff looked lucid, but he collapsed after one second. With the rags he was wearing, the bloody frozen stump of his right shoulder was easily seen. "Hey, somebody get a medic!" ----- Wraith King was angry, but there wasn't much he could do about it. He'd never perfected the Soul Citadel's dimension control to the point where he could access it remotely. If he stepped through one of its portals, it would be a one-way trip. It was really of no matter. The mortal necromancer was of no concern. If he ever appeared again, he would become a puppet for him to command. Shadowkeep's soul would be the strings. Now, the time had come for it all to begin. All of the patterns that been worked over the centuries were coming together, and a world would fall to its knees. He only hoped he'd be able to see the expression on Sou-Raine's face. It was time to raise the beast. ----- Arcanar Buffer Thirty-Two The installation was expansive (about 3 miles in diameter) although tiny in comparison to something like a city state. Here, Kitimar was in charge. This would be his sole responsibility once a new captain was chosen for the 51st. Northwest of Relo and near to the city of Naga, it was one of hundreds of such buffers that served to guard the USD's border. With its two Army squadrons, it had more than enough manpower to keep itself running. This was also where Kitimar lived. Commuting to work was no problem, a fifteen-minute trip if he drove quickly. This place was secluded from the high levels of scrutiny that existed in the city states and held more than enough room for officers who wanted more spacious living quarters. Kitimar's house fit the description of white, two floors, and a pool on top much like the other two officers' places here. His expression was one that hid nothing. Upset was not the word. Angry was definitely a possibility. "How could things have gone this badly?" Kitimar asked with calmly suppressed rage. Intimidated, Morteaux took four steps back. Marty suppressed a giggle, morphing his fingers into the shapes of farm animals. "I don't know, sir," Morteaux said. "They attacked with surprise. We were set up!" He expected support from those who were there. The three Dawn Saints were present and sitting down in one of the many couches around the oversized living room. "They got their money. We got our goods, and they're perfectly good goods too," Kitimar said. "You'd think they'd give us shit if they were planning on killing you." "Oh, I don't know if the money is of any use to them now," Deliria said. "The large metal man stepped on the van it was in." "That would be Ikonn," Kitimar said. "There can't be too many who fit his description running around. He's in our files. He's worked for us on occasion. If you see him again, feel free to kill him." "Guaranteed," Torana said. "So, Ikonn destroyed their payment?" Kitimar said. "Maybe this was just his plot then." "I had him under delirium," Deliria said. "He didn't do it on purpose." "I see. Still, I don't know Viktor's motives. If the Empire wanted me, why don't they just try and expose me." Thinking about it a moment, he then glared at those before him. "Maybe someone just had a vendetta against one of you." "We didn't recognize any of them," Needlez said. "What I want to know is this: You have the Blue Rose now. Correct?" "Yes," Kitimar said. "You promised her to us," Torana said. "Why don't we have her?" "She'll be yours once you've completed your stay here," Kitimar said. "You did promise three months of service." "Don't you trust us?" Deliria, Needlez, and Torana said in unison. "We'll serve our time," Needlez said. "You wouldn't want to keep vengeance waiting would you?" Torana asked. "I was thinking I'd pay you for your service once you'd finished your job here," Kitimar said. "But, I suppose you're right. She'll be yours within a week." "That's acceptable," Deliria said. "So, what are we doing tonight?" "Guard my privacy. I don't want to be disturbed." Kitimar picked up coat up off the rack. "I'm heading back to Cidaluz. I'll return in a little while. You ladies behave yourself." Marty morphed into a female form. He then looked strangely at Morteaux and giggled. Morteaux punched him. "Stop it!" Kitimar yelled. "He started it," Marty whined. "I don't care. I just don't want a repeat of last time!" "Yes, sir." They said in unison. ----- USD City State: Cidaluz cellblock 12 Torridan had her hands around the bars as she looked in at the cell's occupant. "So tell me, Maria. What makes good saints go bad?" Maria looked terrible. Unbrushed sandy-blonde hair spilled around her yellow-clothed shoulders. Her face The painful rush she'd just felt led her to believe that she'd just been injected with another dosage of flow. Nullcuffs were clamped around her wrists which rested in her lap. She knew something must have been implanted in her. A slight headache was the least of her worries. The flow made her feel as if dipping her hands in someone else's blood would be the only thing to make her skin stop tingling. Most frightening of all was the drug's temptations that it would feel good to do it. Now, the winged demon bitch had returned to interrogate her. Maria's blue eyes turned to look at Torridan. The demon was still wearing the same slutty outfit as before. "You think I was a good saint?" Her tone was that of someone bored while waiting in line for the gallows. "The rose is generally supported by Demeter," Torridan said. "She certainly wouldn't condone what you're charged with." "I don't remember them," Maria replied. "Drug-trafficking," Torridan said. "Damning peoples souls and turning their minds to shit." "No, that's what happened to me," Maria said. Torridan's folded red wings twitched. "You should have just said no," she said. "Hey baby," someone yelled from an opposite cell. "Can I be interrogated too?" Torridan turned around. "Silence!" She unfurled her wings angrily and turned back to Maria as her wings re-folded. "You act as if you're not in on this," Maria told her visitor. "I'm here to make sure people go where they belong. I should believe that your destination is where I came from. For some reason, I want to be sure." "If you want to be sure, do some research on your captain. He's the one who did this to me." "Kitimar? He's the most dedicated soldier I've known." "He's the sneakiest son of a bitch you'll ever know. If you stay with him, you'll be used all your life. That is if you live that long." "You have a strong connection with the place I used to call home, Rose," Torridan said. "It stinks like a balrog's backside." "Blame it on who drugged me. I think your wonderful doctors here put something in me, so I'll have a lifetime supply of flow." "Impossible," Torridan said. "It would explain what you're sensing." "Hey honey," a voice from the opposite cell called again. "Can you fulfill a doomed man's last request?" Torridan turned around again with a very serious expression on her face. "What would that be, dog?" Now looking at the man, she could see that he was a well built human. The right side of his face was covered by a metal sheath, and his eye was a red point. Wasn't he in the Mortal Kombat movie, Torridan wondered. "I want to be one with your hooters." Laughter could be heard several cells down. "If you bother me again," Torridan began. "Yeah, darling," he said. "Your suffering will be legendary! Even in Darkworld!" "You'll send me to Detroit?" "I'll tell the friends I still have left in hell to expect you," she said. "Now shut the hell up!" He thought about it a moment. "I think I'll shut up now," he said. Torridan turned back towards Maria. "I might just do some research," she said. Torridan considered what to say as goodbye. She walked away silently. "May you not end up where I am," Maria said. ----- "I can't tell you that, Private," the doctor told her. The balding man in the white lab coat had been backed against some cabinets. Torridan hoisted him up with her right arm and slammed him against the fortunately durable cabinets. "Are you going to start talking, or am I going to have to do something nasty to you?" Torridan looked around the lab that he'd been putting back in order. Looking back at doc, she noticed something. Balding? That was so easily correctable. He could do it himself if he'd wanted to. "You don't have the rank to be asking me questions," he said nervously. "Leave now, and I won't report you." "Oh yeah? How about you tell me, or I'll..." She grabbed a nearby vial. "... put some hair on that shiny head of yours!" "You don't want to open that vial," he said, sweating heavily. "I'm asking a simple question here, doc," she said. With her right wing, she easily sliced a button off the front of his lab coat. Her wings were more flexible than her arms, and slicing off buttons was as easy as snapping her fingers. "What did you do to Maria Quixote today? You've already refused to answer my question, so I know you did SOMETHING." "Fine, I installed an automated insulin regulator. I was ordered by Major Kitimar." "Was it an insulin regulator? Her file says nothing about being diabetic." "It didn't look like one, but he didn't let me ask questions. He also ordered me not to tell anyone." "Duh! And you didn't find that strange? You didn't check up on it or tell anyone?" "I did, he had Vaaxe authority." Torridan dropped him, and the doctor landed on his butt. "Do you have anymore of the devices you put in her?" "It's a standard chemical regulator. I don't know what Kitimar put in it though." "Thanks. Oh, and if you're smart, you won't mention my visit here to anyone. Kitimar's up to no good if you couldn't tell." Standing up, the doctor got ready to report the crazy woman. Then for some reason, he had second thoughts. Now, where was she supposed to go? Having been placed under the direct command of Major Kitimar, Torridan would no doubt have to go to an even higher authority, but who would believe her? She was a low-ranking demon half-breed. Torridan decided that she would find someone. These things she knew wouldn't be forgotten. There was a bug somewhere in the system. ----- Primearth Former USA state of Illinois 7:34 PM All was normal in the capital fortress city of the Allied Human States. Eden was possibly one of the most imposing and impressive features on Primearth's war-torn surface. Almost a mile and a half high, it was sixteen city levels above ground. The base of the structure was 5 miles in diameter, and its top stretched three miles across from which a small fleet of aircraft were ever ready to launch. Around its armored walls, a smaller city had grown up around it. This Eden was this world's utopia. The A.H.S.'s policy was rule through ignorance. Anything inhuman was the enemy, and Primearth had gained many non-human citizens over the years since the Shifting. Thus, AHS had many enemies. They advocated war on the monsters and demons that roamed the night and day, but their law and military would attack any being if they differed from the human norm. Many peaceful settlements of elves had been wiped out. The humanoid race's pointy ears gave them away as did their use of magic. Magic and powers of the mind was also a sign of the demonic according to AHS. Tonight, their indiscriminate racial cleansing would be justified in their eyes. Red was the main color of the sunset, and the sky was cloudy without a hint of bad weather, making the vortex of black clouds above Eden easily assumable a supernatural event. Among the swirling thunderheads, traces of other colors, violet and red, could be picked out by the observant. The surface of Eden's top was that of an airbase. Jet fighters and VTOLs were all present in ready to go condition. The black lightning that streaked from above changed that condition as it struck Eden, fracturing its ceiling and setting off several vehicles like bombs. Within Eden, black lightning surged upward from the ground level like a dragon rising from its volcano lair. The energy was a continuous force, pushing upward and letting nothing stand in its way. Branches of the limbo lightning lashed out sideways, slicing through buildings and residents. Above, the top collapsed inwards, and limbo met in the middle of Eden. From between the dark limbs of energy, a hole opened, and crimson haze spread into the city. Like an amoeba, the red void crawled into Eden, seeking its residents. Evacuation alarms were going off throughout the city. Armed forces rushed towards the cause of the disturbance, but the red death enveloped those not fast enough leaving and those to quick to charge forward. Upon contact with the red void, the souls of the living spread into it. As air rushes into space from a ruptured vehicle, so did the lifeforces of the living explode into this crimson nothing. Bodies fell, some lifeless before they hit the ground and others with hearts beating their last beat like electrical appliances that continue to run off power in the wire for a second after being unplugged. Having sought an area on the planet with a large concentration of life energy, the Soul Citadel made its appearance at last. Wraith King's small limbo realm melded with that of Primearth, and the lightning stopped. The death cloud could be seen crawling out of the cracks in Eden from the cities that had built up around it, but it did not progress any farther. Wraith King, clad in shining silver armor wrapped in lavender cloak, looked from a window into this new world. Raising his sword he proclaimed, "Sou-Raine! This world is yours!" He hurled Darklord Sword downwards, out of the tower. It sank to the hilt in the soft brown earth. Shapes began stirring within Eden. The dead arose. Soldiers dead only a few moments got back upon their feet and readied their weapons for the living. As the death cloud began fading, Wraith King ran down the flights of stairs within the Soul Citadel. Outside, the slaughter had already begun. Reinforcements were cut down by those they came assist. Citizens not yet out were cut down, and those that fell got back on their feet newly undead, ready battle the living. Long ago, Legion had sown the seeds of what now was growing. When Legion had brought Wraith King here, he was introduced to a new world of the living. Sou-Raine Soulbane was thus introduced to it firsthand by her loving follower, Wraith King. It was then that she'd told him the secrets of this world, a world she'd never obtained a foothold in. This was a planet that had never before had worshippers of her name although she knew of the zinzor who had once held influence here. She knew their plans. This knowledge of Baal's plan was her gift to Wraith King. If he could somehow find a way back to Earth, he could become "The" Wraith King of it. Now, the power of Wraith King's knowledge began its work on Primearth's former inhabitants. Those that were not intact were not any less susceptible to the gift from Sou-Raine, Goddess of the Undead. Parts dismembered by limbo lightning began twitching. Fingers began pulling themselves along, searching out those still alive. Only the blackened to ash were of no use. Around the globe of Primearth, the dead became undead. Any corpse with parts still attached began digging upwards out of their graves. Bodies at open casket funerals sat up. Shrunken heads began gnashing their teeth. A wave of energy even passed over every ash that had ever been tossed into the ocean although they were unable to accept the power. War had been declared on the living, and the living were outnumbered. Wraith King walked forth from his citadel's entrance. Reaching down, he drew the Darklord Sword from the soil, and the ground shook. The living leader of the undead watched and waited. An explosion blasted dirt into the air, and a draconic head rose forth. Brown scales covered the head that sat on the neck extending twenty-feet from the ground. Its mouth was large enough to swallow four men whole. The obsidian pupils eyed Wraith King as a second head burst from the ground. A third and fourth followed, and a fifth and sixth came after that. Six heads now looked down upon their summoner. When the seventh head, the final head, rose up, the body of the beast began its ascent. "Bularion!" Wraith King shouted up. "Court is in session!" "It has begun, has it?" Each of Bularion's heads took turns speaking one word. The shattered rhythm of the beast's voice was enough to make even Wraith King's nerves tremble. "You are not someone who should have awaken me," Bularion said. "It doesn't matter," Wraith King said. "The prophecy has its rules." "Yes, you are right," Bularion said, "but I don't believe you know what those rules are." "He who awakens the beast shall lead the dead upon the living," Wraith King recited. "His sword will be my arm, and the beast will be his throne." Bularion's heads growled with low rumbling. "Is that all?" He asked. "All that matters." "Then you are a fool," Bularion said. "I am yours to command nonetheless." "We wait and watch." ----- Primearth, Chicago 7:41 PM "That really sucked!" Jake cursed. He lay smoldering in a broken street of the Chicago ruins. Being a diplomat was a lot more combat intensive than he'd expected. A streaking aircycle passed overhead. "How are you doing, Jake?" Shawn yelled. "Not the best," Jake said, getting up. His hardsuit had been totally obliterated by the blast. If it hadn't been for Crysta diving down from the air to help, they might all be toast by now. Ninapuma's Cougar power armor was well done but still functioning. Jake saw that the three soldiers from the Liberty Imperium weren't doing much better. "Looks like she got them all," Ninapuma said. The armor squadron that had jumped them lay in smoking piles, having been hit by a plasma cannon of their own design. It was fortunate Crysta had mounted one on her airbike. "Looks like all those cyber-elves are finished," Jake said to the Liberty Imperium Librarian. He still thought their rank titles were whacked out, but their power armor was fear-inspiring enough to overlook that. It was big and bulky, and the skull- shaped helmet combined nicely with the very large gun and powersword. "They're called Alder," the Librarian said. "I like the term 'toast'," Shawn said. "Have we proved ourselves worthy of an alliance yet?" Ninapuma asked. "Yes, I believe the Emperor will think favorably of you," the Librarian said. "But there's still something we want you to see. The rogue might be just around the corner. I'm sensing movement up ahead. The USD soldiers winced at the mentioning of the Emperor. All they needed was another Emperor. As this one was apparently on their side, they figured they could get used to it in time. Jake, Shawn, and Ninapuma charged along with the Imperium troopers until they came to the intersection. Behind them, the Alder troopers began standing. "We're too late," the Librarian said. Down the street to the left was a man hunched on his knees. Purple bolts flew around him as his back began twisting into something inhuman. "This is what we have to deal with. You say espers on your world don't have this problem. Here, anyone with psychic gifts is a potential host." "How long has this been going on?" Jake asked. "Three months," the Librarian replied. "This isn't the best time to be discussing this," Ninapuma said, her armor blasting away with the two Imperium suits at the twenty-foot demon. The purple thing was advancing. It looked ugly, had rather oversized talons, and was apparently anorexic. Ninapuma looked at her gun. "This weapon isn't doing shit," she said. "Ours won't work any better," the Librarian said. "It's time to get out of here." "Let's try these," Jake said, holding the two Santovaskun blades he'd salvaged from his hardsuit's wreckage. "Whirling Tornado Punch!" Shawn yelled as he slammed into the warp demon with his fist. The creature staggered and swatted the Tornado Saint from the air. Jake's swords then rammed home, and the demon screeched. A kick sent Jake flying into Shawn. "Let's try that one more time," Shawn said. Jake rushed forward and sliced through the monster's ankle. The thing fell forward into Shawn's punch which removed its head from its body. Jake ducked forward just enough so that the demon didn't land on him. "Stick a fork in him," Jake said. "This kiddo's done." "Wait a minute," one of the Imperium troopers said. "There are some things coming up behind us." Shambling around the corner, the humanoids were well toasted and carrying bits of Alder tech with them. "Looks like undead cyberfaeries to me," Jake said. "This isn't normal," the Librarian said. "And that was?" Ninapuma said, pointing back to the warp demon. Turning back to the five undead Alder, all six of the USD and Imperium soldiers opened fire, blowing the elves to pieces. Sparks of violet energy flew from the severed parts which began twitching once the landed. "I agree," Jake said. "It's time to get out of here." A shuffling sound behind him was noticed by all. They turned to see the headless demon getting back on its feet. "This whole day is going to suck. Isn't it?" ----- Arcanar Cidaluz City State 9:56 PM / 9:03 PM Primearth Time Military Sector SubLevel 3 - General Lour waited for the mage's dimensional teleport spell to take effect. Both men were wearing the standard black USD uniform. Behind them, a three- person medical team was standing by. A golden glow washed over the marked off section of the metal-walled plain-looking room. Jake Phoenix, Shawn Michaels, and Ninapuma stood before the general. Jake's ripped what-might-have-been-a-uniform was a combination of burned and soaked with blood. Shawn was looking a little worse for the wear, but his Saint armor was in shambles. Ninapuma was bright and chipper. They'd been through hell (Ninapuma smiles cheerfully at you), and they looked it. "Mission accomplished, sir," Jake said. He held out an armored scroll case which Gen. Lour took and opened. Shawn looked at the medical team about to pounce on him and Jake. "It's OK we're fine, really." After looking the document over, Gen. Lour appeared much relieved. "Good job, soldiers. We now have a new ally on Primearth. You'll be debriefed in room 330." "Sir," Jake and Shawn said, saluting as Ninapuma extracted herself from the Cougar powered armor. ----- Relo, Council Chambers Blackwood Base, SubLevel 15 11:00 PM The chambers of each city state's Cochise Network were full with all fifty members, twenty-five civilian senators and twenty- five military generals. In Relo, Vaaxe, the computerized entity, was the twenty-fifth member. The rooms were circular, with all members sitting at a round table with a cylindrilical viewscreen in the center that showed a view of the other six council chambers. "This is not about the Jral fleet," General Cochise, the fourstar general of Relo and Network Chairman, said. "I'd say this is truly the most horrible thing I've seen in my career, but I can't with what's happened here recently. Primearth is under siege. Reports from various teams have told us that the dead of Earth have risen up. The civilizations there are under siege by undead armies, and as we have signed alliances with many small groups, we have a duty to lend them aid. We need to decide how much. The only significant loss I can tell you of at the moment is that the AHS's capital city, Eden, has been destroyed by some unknown phenomena. The floor is open." "We shouldn't send too much over. The Jral are going to be back," General Mechete said. "We should send aid to those allies in immediate danger," Senator Olen said. "That sounds like the reasonable choice," Gen. Lour said. "We'll take a vote on that," Cochise said. "All those in favor of only sending aid to those in immediate danger, vote now." The response registered at 60%, a majority. "Then it's settled," Cochise said. "Now, how much of our forces can we spare?" ----- Dec 22, 11:00 PM Carla's day had been a long one, but it had also been fun. The results of her Christmas shopping with Rachael were in the closet. Now relaxing on the couch and having an ice tea, she watched the 11 o'clock news. There was a knock at the door. "Coming," she said loud enough for the person to hear. When she opened the door, Jake hugged her and lifted her into the air. "I'm so glad to see you," he said. He then kissed her. After he set her down, she said, "It was that bad?" Jake was walking over to the center of the room. "It was worse," he said, setting himself down in the couch. "Apparently something has happened to Earth, but they told me to watch the news which I see you already have on." "I haven't heard anything yet," Carla said. "I did get this though," Jake said, pulling outward the right lapel of his new uniform to show the golden pins. "A promotion?" Carla said, astonished. She'd hesitating briefly as she wasn't knowledgeable on all the uniform symbols. How about we celebrate? Jake thought but didn't say it. He intently kept one eye on the CV, waiting for the bit of news he knew he was going to hate. Something was terribly wrong. It was bad enough that they didn't want to tell anyone for fear of spreading the information before it was released publically. "Yes, Captain Jake. How does that sound?" Jake asked. Carla had been dreading this moment. She had to tell him now. It couldn't wait. "Jake, I have some bad news and no good news." "OK," he said. "Kitimar had Aclipsa killed." "What?" "The MPs came to take her away, and she killed two of them. The next day we heard that she'd been executed. I..." Carla's eyes were watering. "...couldn't do anything... She didn't deserve to die." Carla trembled. "She was just scared." Jake was standing in front of her now. His face wore a stone-chiseled expression of something like anger. "It's alright," he said, holding her at arm's length. "It wasn't your fault." He then walked towards the door, and she followed. "I'll be fine," he said over his shoulder. "I'm going to go talk to someone." Jake kept on walking. The door shut behind him, and he was gone. Carla stood worried. "We have a special military bulletin," the news man said. Carla turned and looked. The news changed view to a military broadcast. "Do not be alarmed," the man behind the news desk said. "The following events are taking place far from here." An image of the ravaged Eden fortress city occupied the CV. "This is the AHS capital of Eden city at this moment. At 8:27 PM today, Eden was destroyed from within by an unknown force. Following this event, a plague of reanimated dead has been attacking major population centers across Primearth. The USD will be sending reinforcements to our Terran allies, but it will be limited to 10% of the Military forces due to the Jral threat. More as..." If Carla had been holding her ice tea, she'd have dropped it. Although far away, the news struck close to home. My family, she thought. They lived just outside of the Chicago ruins. My friends... The response was similar throughout all of the USD. Chris Mendosa and Shaun Michael's reactions were frighteningly similar to Carla's as they were all from Primearth. ----- Command Center One: It was an unimposing structure, a three story whitewashed building. CC1 contained the offices of most of the officers for Cidaluz's west side and was where most TDS Division operations were run from. Jake strode on in. Nobody should give him undue attention if he acted like he knew what he was doing. There was security here, but security was so tight around the whole area that what was in this building was simply on call if something should arise. All Jake faced was an AMS (Aura Monitoring System) above the outside double door which had clicked green as he passed under it. It wasn't as if it was unusual for people to drop by unannounced anyway, but what Jake was stopping by for was unusual. I should snap that sneaky bastard's neck, Jake thought. I really should wait until General Cochise is available, Jake decided against it. This is stupid, he ignored it. Kitimar doesn't deserve patience. Jake's mind was made up. Matching his heartbeats with his footsteps, he tried to focus his anger on constructive thoughts, like how he might go about beating some understanding into Kitimar. Two flights of stairs and he was on the third floor. The turbolift would have been too easy. Jake wanted to stomp on something on the way up. He was just in time. As he walked down the hallway, someone was leaving Kitimar's office. Looks like he's ready to see me, Jake thought. He caught the door before it finished closing and walked on in. "Major..." Jake said. "I'd like to have a word with you." Kitimar looked up from his computer console. The light from the monitor washed out the color of his face. There had obviously been something rather interesting on the screen. "Captain Phoenix," Kitimar said casually. "How was your mission?" "What were you thinking when you had Aclipsa arrested?" Jake tried to keep his voice as monotone as possible. Any slips would reveal his anger, and he did make a few slips. "Who?" Kitimar said in a friendly voice. His eyes followed Jake as the captain paced around the room. Out of the corner of his eyes was the progress he'd made in packing his stuff into boxes. As soon as they placed someone qualified in charge of the 51st, he could move on to bigger things. "The wife of Sergeant Shadowkeep of the 51st TDS. You had her arrested and killed." "I wasn't the one who passed judgement on her. Vaaxe did." The end justifies the means, he didn't say. "She was my best friend's wife!" Jake grabbed the back of Kitimar's head and slammed it into the desk as hard as possible, breaking a head shaped hole in the desktop. "You directly undercut the decisions of several generals, Kitty. Aclipsa was an honored guest yet you had to have it your way didn't you? Now what does he have to come back to when he returns? A bunch of misery thanks to you!" Kitimar raised his head out of the hole. If his CHU didn't have the same molecular resiliency systems that Jake had in his CHU unit, his face would've been shattered. As it was, there was blood running from his forehead and his nose. "It really fucking pisses me off that you could be so stupid. I'm taking this to higher authority, and I'll be coming back to see you if they don't kick your ass!" "You're through," Kitimar seethed. Jake's hand reached out, grabbed Kitimar's collar, and dragged him out of his desk. "You're gonna eat that wall, asshole," Jake said right before Kitimar kicked him in the face. The tirok's hands became a blur as he let Kitimar go and then let him have nine punches before he hit the floor. It was at this moment that Jake realized there was a whole lot of activity going on in the CHUnet. Kitimar had been on it the whole time, and the MPs were on their way to stop an assassin! Kitimar struggled to get the strength to speak. Pain coursed through his body from all the places that'd been impacted. "You're pathetic," he managed to say. The door burst inward from the kick of the MP in black combat armor. Assailant and victim recognized, he fired. Jake threw himself to the right the moment the gun had been pointed at him, but the rifle's antimatter stream still lanced through his side, disintegrating all it touched and setting off a matter to energy reaction that shot across his torso before stopping. "Enough!" Purgatory yelled and shoved the armed MP aside. She didn't know him very well, but she did recognize Jake and wasn't about to have him die here and now. Kneeling by his side, she slapped her nullcuffs on him and applied her healing touch to the lethal damage. His eyes became lucid again, and Purgatory yanked him to his feet. With her aurasight, she saw a soft light glow around him although it was marred by anger and more recently fear. "You don't look like an assassin," she said sternly. "You should have seen him fifteen seconds ago," Kitimar said, getting to his feet with effort. "Get him out of here." "He murdered my best friend's wife," Jake said, using anger to cover his other emotions. Fear or sadness, he wasn't sure what he was repressing or even that he was repressing something, since he was doing it so well. "Likely story," Purgatory said, pulling him along with her down the hallway. Three armed MPs in Blackwood combat armor trailed behind her. ----- There was a knock at the door, so Carla answered it of course like she did normally although the three armed MPs weren't normal at all. "Can I help you?" She asked, not sure what she should be feeling. Had something happened to Jake? Hidden behind his mask of black combat armor, the MP said, "Carla Phoenix, you're under arrest for assisting a known criminal and involuntary manslaughter. Place your hands behind your back and turn around." ----- A green swirl of air on the floor before Maria's cell grabbed her attention. Although just recovering from another shot from the internal flow injector, she managed to walk over to the bars. A rune under the swirling activated, and the figure appearing from the vortex cursed in agony. Still, it didn't deter him. The gryntif's dark hair hung forward as he straightened himself up. With a hacking cough, he stood up and smiled, his scintillating green armor still smoking. "Salen! Can you get me out of here?" "I'm only here in illusion, Maria. If I had manifested for real, I might be dead. They probably already have guards on the way. I just wanted to let you know I haven't forgotten." "Kitimar has my Vatari, Salen. I have to get out of here and get it back. He's insane." "I see. I'll return for you soon. Stay alive." Salen's image broke up as the armed guards came charging down the corridor. ----- Dec 23, 15 AM Maria laid sleeping. A spark ignited, energy trailed down her arm, and the lightning limb traveled down her leg. Her eyelids flashed open, and she burst into flame. Screaming, she rolled off the bunk, impacting on the ferrocrete ground. The flames had died, but she still rolled about, green, blue, yellow beams dancing about her, diving into and out of her flesh. Everything was gone. Only pain remained. Then there was black. Sensory overload. Four hours later. Her eyelids slid back up. She was alive but in agony. In her mind, she knew the Blue Rose Vatari was in pain as well, and like her, it had survived. ----- Barako had checked various files, records, and inventory lists. Sight wasn't where it supposed to be. What had Kitimar wanted with it? Not only did she not trust the major, she wanted to see him fall hard. That jerk definitely needed some reigning in. It was late, so she shouldn't take the news to Kum Lei now. The decision to do so was already made. Barako just didn't want to pay a visit if the Caraxxian was still pissed about earlier. Then again, she might as well get it over with. Gathering her courage, she stood before Lt. Lei's door and knocked. No answer. Twisting the knob, she found it was open and went inside. Lei was inside and wasn't happy. Upon seeing Barako, she marched forward, "You're going to pay for what you did!" Casting magical restraints upon the Caraxxian stopped her. "What's wrong with you?" Barako asked. Her eyes widened as Kum Lei broke the magical restraints and continued charging forward. Her husband, Chris, made the mistake of crossing her path, and Lei decapitated him like swatting a fly. Paralyzed, Barako watched the four clawed hands close in. Barako sat up and screamed. It lasted two seconds, but it was enough. Trying to control her heaving breathing, she looked at the clock: 9 AM. "What's wrong?" Razner asked, opening his eyes. "I'm trying to forget." Barako let herself collapse back down into bed. "Well, it's about time we got up anyway." Razner managed to lift himself up and swung his feet off the bed so that they touched the floor. Barako had by then already made it the bathroom. Flipping on the lights, she looked in the mirror. Razner heard a scream from the bathroom and ran over to see Barako running her fingers through her hair. It was run through with black streaks. Two very defined lines started at either temple and ran down to the hair down her back. "What happened?" She really scared me shitless, she thought. Not answering Razner, she lifted a shoulder-mountable cannon and blasted the mirror. Not asking where the hell she got the cannon from, Razner dodged out of the bathroom to escape the explosion. Looking back, smoke was curling out of the doorway. "I'm taking a shower," he heard her say.