by M K Drake
“Yes, Colin here!”
“And Pavel!”
For a moment General Crawford wonders whether or not it was wise to assign both to this task, then decides it is best to assign them distinct roles. “Colin, I need you to continue to monitor the surrounding area, Pavel, you concentrate on the heat signatures and the thermal mapping of the structure, tell us where to go.”
“Yes sir!” the two techs reply in unison, both eager to impress their leader.
General Crawford can hear them shuffling positions over the comm link, “Ok, where are they?”
“Keep going down the stairwell, then take a left; there appears to be a chamber up ahead, about 50meters, showing signs of activity, four hot bodies, and something that looks like a car. It is very cold on the imaging map, but it is definitely metallic.”
“Good, Pavel, alert us if things change,” General Crawford looks to the soldiers ahead of him. “Remember, stealth, we have no idea how many of these Majjai may be around.”
The group head towards the chamber quietly, trying to ensure they are not heard. As they approach the entrance, they can hear faint voices. General Crawford puts on a thermal imaging headset, to give him a short range view of any heat bodies ahead. He can count four higher temp bodies ahead of him and his team, talking in a large chamber.
“Thanks for your help, guys, I really want to get Spitfire operational again. I know you all see him as more than just a machine, he is your friend. And Khan, did you find Ju Long? Is he joining us?”
“You’re welcome Pali. Not sure where Ju Long is, he may have gone with Elric, would you like me to find out?”
The surveillance of the voices is interrupted, “General Crawford!” Pavel whispers through the earpiece.
“Yes? What is it? Elric is not in this room. Where are the other heat signatures?”
“There are two more bodies in another chamber ahead of this one, but you need to get through this to get to the other; there is no other way around.”
“Acknowledged.”
The voices stop suddenly, General Crawford indicates to his team to stop in their tracks, as they listen for any more sounds.
“What is it Khan?” says a female voice.
“Someone is here.”
General Crawford, sensing that they have been discovered, removes the thermal headgear and gives the order from behind the doorway. “Take them down.”
The soldiers’ blast through the door; raising their Taser rifles to fire at the Majjai in the room.
Joyce throws up an energy shield to block the weapons fire, which deflects the blasts upwards into the ceiling.
General Crawford shouts to his team. “Tranqs! Use the Tranq darts!”
A rattle of cartridges rings around the room as the soldiers switch from Tasers to loading the tranquiliser clips, which they begin to fire at the Majjai indiscriminately.
Joyce’s shields still hold, while Safaya and Pali take cover behind Spitfire. The darts are unable to pierce Khan’s strengthened skin due to his enhanced might; Khan counters by charging forward towards the soldiers.
General Crawford spots him and launches a grenade which blows a hole into the floor forcing Khan to misstep and fall through. He then points to the door at the back of the room, “That way, we need to go that way, quickly, through that door now!”
The soldiers lead through first, followed at the rear by General Crawford.
Joyce checks that Safaya and Pali are ok before super speeding towards General Crawford.
The General launches another grenade above the doorway once he is through, causing a collapse and blocking anyone else following.
Joyce manages to stop just in time, and turns as Khan jumps back up through the hole.
He dusts himself down and pulls out his communications crystal. “We need to warn Elric. We need to warn everyone! Now!”
# # #
“What was that?” Elric, startled by the loud noise he just heard stands quickly, jostling the chess pieces on the board as he does so.
Ju Long quickly catches a Rook which is about to strike the floor and places it back onto the board, then follows Elric who is now making his way to the door. “That was an explosion; sounded like it came from the training room chamber where Spitfire is!”
Elric feels his communications crystal vibrate, he pulls it out and activates it with a gentle but urgent tap and see’s Khan’s image appear.
“Elric, sir! We are under attack, that General – General Crawford – he is here!”
Elric smirks. “Clever boy, is anyone hurt?”
“No, we are fine, but trapped here with Spitfire, It will take too long to go around, I will clear the blockage on this side and meet you with the others,” Khan turns around to ensure there are definitely no injuries before continuing. “I shall inform Olof that we need his assistance.”
“Agreed, but we may need Sprocking and Mage Callan, too, inform them to meet in the upper hallway above the training room corridor. I have a feeling the General is after me. The Mecha Knights can remain guard over Kazmagus.”
Khan nods and disappears from view as he cuts communication with Elric.
Elric moves as quickly as he can, alongside Ju Long. Elric is not as agile anymore so he gives the nod for Ju Long to hurry on ahead, and the younger Majjai needs no further encouragement as he takes to the air and flies as fast as he can.
Ju Long sees Olof, Mage Callan, and Professor Sprocking appear in the upper hallway ahead of him and stops just in time. “Great, the cavalry is here.”
Olof grins. “Indeed, but where is the enemy?”
Before anyone can answer, Taser blasts are fired from the shadows of the corridor further down, one strikes Ju Long on the shoulder blasting him backwards. Olof creates a shield of ice absorbing the others, and checks to see that Ju Long is ok before blasting blocks of ice in return.
General Crawford emerges and skilfully shoots down each flurry of ice sent from the Norse warrior with his own Taser rifle, followed by another barrage of fire from his soldiers.
Mage Callan launches fireballs to counter, aided by Professor Sprocking.
General Crawford is distracted as Joyce super speeds ahead of him, her wake spinning the General into the wall.
Olof takes advantage of the distraction to trap the feet of the soldiers in solid ice and then encasing their weapons.
General Crawford recovers quickly and reaches for his electrical whip, which he launches towards Olof, but before it can strike, Khan gets there just in time. He yanks the whip from the General’s grip and tosses it aside, then grabs his opponent by the neck and presses him against the wall.
“Enough!”
Elric bellows down through the corridor, the loudness of which ensures everyone holds still. He looks directly towards Khan and General Crawford.
“Let him go, Khan.”
Khan follows the order, but stays close just in case the General tries to attack again.
Elric sighs before continuing. “First, allow me to commend you on your incursion. Our sentry systems are set up to detect demonic intrusions, human intrusion is one we were clearly unprepared for – we’ll need to look into that. Secondly, why are you here?”
General Crawford looks around him, sensing that there is no easy way out of this situation, he decides to interact, and use this time to garner as much information as possible. “We came for you; you are Elric Griffin, are you not?”
“I am, and what do you want with me? You know you could have just knocked?”
Ju Long groans as he stands up, and walks over to Elric gingerly, holding his injured shoulder. “Yeah, man, you guys have doorbells, so do we. Push a button not a trigger.”
General Crawford almost smiles, but refrains from showing any emotion that he sees as a weakness. “Why do you think? You are dangerous,” he waves an arm to gesture at the rest of the Majjai. “You are all dangerous. Things are happening around the globe, and I believe you are directly responsible for it!”
“Calm, Olof,” says Elric. “I think we need to educate our friends. Obviously the mind wipe has not deterred you, so how about full disclosure?”
General Crawford nods, touches his earpiece and initiates communication with Pavel and Colin, “Tell the backup team to stand down, we are going to have a little chat.”
“Sir! Sir!” Colin’s voice can barely be heard trying to battle through the static.
“What is it, Colin?”
“Big things, huge things! On approach from the west! Their energy signature is off the scale! One looks like that…”
Before Colin can finish his sentence a massive explosion is heard and the entire manor shakes violently.
General Crawford catches his balance and looks quickly at Elric. “I thought you had things in place to detect this!”
“We do – unless someone has turned them off!” Elric looks towards Mage Callan knowingly. “The west wing can only mean one thing: Kazmagus! Everyone, to the Tomb, quickly!”
General Crawford gathers his weapons and the military team runs after the Majjai.
Professor Sprocking stops him and his men before they get too far. “It is not safe for you down there. If this is an attack of a demonic nature, your men will die needlessly. I’m more worried in case it is not.”
“What do you mean?” asks the General.
“Long story. No time.”
“Look, if you want us to trust you, you need to trust us. These men are trained, and I can handle myself just fine!”
Professor Sprocking looks General Crawford right in the eyes; he can see the burning desire to do what is right, and he has seen the General in combat. Knowing that time is of the essence, he makes his decision quickly. “Very well, but stay behind me, and at the first sign of real danger, take cover. We can’t afford to be distracted; the enemy will not think twice before striking us down.”
General Crawford nods, and as they run to join the others, Pali and Safaya catch up with them.
It takes some moments before they reach the Tomb and the dungeon area.
“Don’t let her in!” Elric shouts towards Professor Sprocking.
The Professor takes one glance ahead and immediately holds Pali, preventing her from going any further.
Pali struggles “Unhand me! What is it, what happened?”
General Crawford and his squad enter, and immediately turn away. He looks towards Pali. “That is no sight for young eyes. Do not enter.”
Pali begins to cry, thinking the worst. “No! Let me in!” She stamps on Professor Sprocking’s foot and escapes his grip, then runs into the dungeon and halts immediately, falling to her knees. “Nooo!”
Mage Marcus is lying in a pool of blood, his body is mangled, and his head twisted from his shoulders; the other Mecha Knights lay broken, charred-looking silhouettes are all that is left of some.
Pali shouts out, “Where is my brother! Where is he?”
A faint groan, and some movement underneath debris at the far wall, answers.
Khan rushes over quickly and uses his strength to lift the heavy rock and rubble. “He is alive!” he shouts as he pulls Majjai Kayban free.
Joyce quickly rushes over, tending his wounds with her healing ability.
Majjai Kayban opens his eyes slowly.
Pali hugs him tightly, sobbing. “I thought I’d lost you. You know we are the only family we have left, do not scare me again!”
Majjai Kayban groans again. “It will take a bit more than that little sis.”
Elric checks the room, the prison where Kazmagus was kept is empty, but the force of the explosion is facing inwards. He glances towards Pali; she was right about the cell not preventing something from breaking in, but he does not call attention to it; it would be the last thing on her mind right now. He observes another hole through the outer wall before turning his attention towards Majjai Kayban. “Do you remember what happened?”
Majjai Kayban nods. “Scourge, Alvarez, and some kind of shadow. They came through the wall without warning. We tried to fight them off, but they were too strong. Mage Marcus, tried to run, the coward! Where is he? He left us to battle alone.”
Pali comforts her brother. “Do not worry about him anymore. The main thing is you are ok.”
Majjai Kayban grabs his sister’s hand, thankful for his well-being. “I do not remember much else. Scourge threw me against the wall and then it collapsed on top of me. I thought I was done for.”
“Do not worry my friend,” Elric says, unable to hide the concern in his voice. “You need to rest now.”
Mage Callan approaches and places his hand on Elric’s shoulder. “They have him; they have Kazmagus.”
Elric nods. “Indeed, but why have they taken him? Surely they know how powerful he is?”
General Crawford overhears them. “Convert the strongest to your way of thinking. If it was me, I’d want the biggest players on my side. And if you are implying this…, Kazmagus…, is that powerful, then maybe that is exactly what they want. Him on their side.”
Elric and Mage Callan look at each other as they realise the gravity of the General’s analysis. They remain silent as they tend to the bodies with the help of their new human friends, hoping that the good part of Kazmagus wins over the dark.
The Majjai Journals:
Stupid honour. Stupid rules. Will he ever change? This is beginning to get ridiculous. He won’t even accept me relieving him of his duties, spouting that he reports to a higher power, and only he can release him from his oath. I’d love to find out who this person is but neither Khan nor Elric will tell me.
I do wish my brother was here, he would certainly have told Khan to buckle up, but… if those times were still present, if those same rules were in place, would a Princess ever be allowed to marry a soldier? Even one as gifted as Khan? My brother would have backed my decision on who to wed; but society, with my bitch of a sister Attossa there to spread wildfire lies and hatred at any opportunity… would I have had any chance?
My brother would have done things right by the people, and I would have accepted his decision; but now? In these times, it has to be different, right?
If the League of Aria still has a presence, then they must be led by someone. I will find this leader and get to the bottom of all these secrets.
Pali has been such a breath of fresh air, another girl to speak to within the group. She has fit in perfectly. After we are done with these Scrolls I may see if Joyce and I can persuade her to join Wysardian Manor. But let us see, who knows if we will survive this one. The Horseman is a formidable enemy; I do wish the others would study the texts more. The encounter near Dragonclaw Mountain was, I’m sure, just a tiny subset of his ability. I fear much this time around, there is much going on that is being disguised. But we must still continue, we do not have a choice. We fight, or we die.
Princess Safaya Mirza
Chapter 17
Enemies Within
The Horseman, Vengeance, looks beyond the rocky peak he finds himself upon, observing Little Proudwater from its tallest hill as the quiet little town goes about its evening business. Multi-coloured lights flicker across the streets below and inside the multitude of differently-shaped buildings. This randomness, this chaos in something as mundane as different filaments burning away, is beautiful to him. The anarchic nature of it is nothing more than a lack of rule, a lack of order, but only to the immature. Vengeance knows there is a mandate to everything; and just as things having their linear notion of time, everything having a birth of sorts, these things must also die; he can see the order in the dancing light’s chaos, what is random to others is a perfectly timed set of events, a set of linear actions trapped in a mortal world, their end is inevitable. The single constant of the universe is that the physical essence of everything dies – even th
at of Gods, even that of World Enders. Their essence may live on, may be reconstituted by the governance of reality through some form of reincarnation, but their very matter will cease to exist in its known form. It is their souls that will continue. Souls live on, the consciousness of life.
The soul is the gateway to Time Infinite, it is life everlasting, but humanity and the demon world, their eyes are too closed to understand. They want only for destruction, and because their blindness will not allow them to form a synergy with the plane of existence where time is endless, the pathway to their heavens will be blocked. The damage this would cause to existence is something he cannot allow. This disease needs to be smitten, eradicated before its time; humanity especially, with its lack of compassion and failure to appreciate the gift they have.
Vengeance sighs, and takes comfort in his own dark plan; so far it is all falling in to place, but the puzzle has two linked pieces that do not seem to fit: Atticus, and the arrival of Kazmagus. The very presence of these two beings is clouding his foresight, and he must find out why. The Horseman then takes a tiny, slug-like creature from inside his heavy cloak. He blows onto it, coaxing the tiny being into life. He gently lays it to the ground as it squeaks and then slithers deep underneath the mud below the grass, “When the time is right little one, you will serve me well.”
“My Lord!”
Vengeance turns to see Shadow Wolf, Scourge, and Alvarez dragging the limp, still unconscious body of Kazmagus along the ground. “What took you so long? The plan was to be here much sooner. The schematics I provided should have allowed you direct access.”
Alvarez pants heavily. “Yes, my lord, but this fellow is much heavier than he looks.”
The trio drop Kazmagus to the ground just in front of the Horseman with a loud thud.
The World Ender snorts, “Fools, be careful! Do you have any idea how powerful a being this is? You’re lucky he is unconscious – we all are.”
Scourge looks Kazmagus up and down. “He is human. A single Majjai could not possibly take on all four of us, not even Elric or that runt Atticus would dare.”