The Venerate Redemption

by Troy Dukart

  The meeting room was extravagant. On the base floor rested wooden tables that were layered in rows in front of each other in a circle. From the looks of it, over 200 nations were going to be represented here today. We sat up in the elevated stadium-like seating, along with local media, soldiers and translating personnel. We didn't have to wait long for the leaders to enter the floor and take their seats. I kept my eye out and soon enough, the Senti leader, Zhanist Ganser, came and took a seat at his table. Up in the stands across the room I also noticed a few familiar faces, ones with which I had unfinished business with, namely General Taleri Ganser, Captain Knight Hendrick Valender and Gain. If Tiras had made it, it would've been a chance to get some real payback, but he must've been recovering from me blasting his face off.

  Rousseau began to see red when King Abel Othen the VII walked in. His cousin Marcio sat in the stands above the King. He leaned over to me, “There's a lot of asshats here mate, I don't like the looks of this.”

  “Yeah, but if we make a scene, that won't make us look any better. We have to just wait for our turn to speak,” I replied.

  “I had to use my pseudonyms for all of us to gain access into the conference today. Apparently we are wanted terrorists in Yuwheria,” he informed me.

  I looked back at him puzzled, but wasn't surprised to hear us labeled so. We did shoot a hole in their castle after all. The conference began with the Crotonan President, Frédéric de la Croix, welcoming everyone, “Esteemed Colleagues from around the world, Bienvenue à Crotone, welcome to Crotona. We have gathered today to speak on dire events that have cascaded around the world. We wish to resolve this peacefully and delicately in order to restore tranquility to our planet. We will begin by discussing the events that happened in Soria and move from there. Each leader will have five minutes to speak on each subject.”

  After de la Croix was finished, the conference began. One by one, the leaders would speak their minds on the recent events, most of whom were disturbed by the aggression of the Senti. Beneivian President Lorena Maldonado said she was deeply irked by the destruction left in the wakes of Senti-led island collapse in Zindaqe and demanded they give an explanation. Dennar President Nils Oye called the attack on the capital of Dhenfen'Ce “an unjustified atrocity of aggression.” Every time the Senti leader Zhanist Ganser spoke, he told the room that the Senti were on a mission of justice and peace, not aggression,

  “Sentium does not wish war, we only wish to unite the world. Differences in thought and action have forced us to defend not only ourselves and our interests, but our planet as well. We cannot live in a world any longer where we are divided. For as long as we are, there will be war. While we are moving toward this inevitable future, there have been those whom have tried to stop our progress. And we are willing to defend our progress with force if we must.”

  The only countries that seemed to be buying it were Yuwheria and Shinjo, to Zon's disappointment, “Why is my Prime Minister siding with the ones who attacked us!?”

  “Maybe they have deceived them still?” Roya suggested.

  “They wouldn't be the first country to get duped,” Argenta agreed.

  “Strafe, I'm seeing something bad happening here. I can't make it out clearly, it's like there's a Siopi Stone around,” Yessa informed me.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the Sorian President, Thomas Kennington, stand up to begin his speech. He reminded me of our President back home, a man who radiated greatness, “Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for your time. I have come here today to cast light on the shadows that Commander Zhanist has been casting on you all. It has been three months since my country has been attacked and we have been at war against aggression. We've been in talks with many of our allies and they too have witnessed extreme acts performed by the Sentium Empire. Unjustified land grabs and acts of terror have no place in our world and I am calling on Sentium to immediately end their campaign of war and death. Their true reason is world domination, and we for one, will never bow down or back out. I am here on behalf of my nation not to negotiate out of fear, but because we never fear to negotiate. My friends, this madness must end.”

  As elegant as his demeanor and suit, President Kennington sat down and was greeted with applause. The next leader to speak offered to give his speaking time back to Zhanist for a response but he declined. So it passed on to the next leader, whom also offered Zhanist a response. Finally, after the third leader offered their time, Zhanist accepted the offer and stood up slowly with a look of determination and melancholy, “I have listened to you all with tender respect. Unfortunately our mission to save the human race is too important to stop. My friends, I hope one day you will look back and see we did the right thing.”

  Before any of us or the leaders could even act, Zhanist was nowhere to be seen and a legion of Senti stormed into the hall with weapons. I looked across the room and saw Taleri, Hendrick and Gain all jump down and start attacking the Crotonan soldiers that were guarding the hall. Marcio was nowhere to be found, but neither was Rousseau or Argenta. “Where'd they go?” I asked.

  “They ran after Marcio and King Othen. They were quicker than a cut from my sword,” Zon told me.

  Apparently King Othen must've known about the surprise attack and had also vanished. “Shit! I ain't letting these assholes go down without a fight!” I yelled.

  “Let me help you Strafe, I'll tell you what to do!” Yessa told me.

  Chaos had erupted on the debate floor. People were running everywhere and there were brawls all over the place. Many of the politicians, including President Kennington, actually stood and helped fight against the Senti soldiers that were shooting at innocent civilians. We jumped down to the debate floor to help. Without my sword I was left with only my mitts, but I always loved a challenge.

  One Senti soldier saw me and aimed his rifle at me, ready to shoot but I didn't see him. “Get down!” Yessa yelled.

  I ducked as the shots passed over my head, then I picked up the large wooden table and threw it across the room at him. When it hit the soldier, it shattered into pieces and sent him flying on his back, motionless. Moving as fast as I could, I went to help President Kennington. He seemed to be the one leading the charge against the Senti. Protecting him was critical.

  He had with him the Protective Service or as they called it PS members. They surrounded President Kennington as he was making his way out of the hall. I stayed near them as they moved toward the exit. The PS noticed me and threw me to the ground and put handcuffs on my wrists. I didn't fight back but my California ID fell out of my pocket and caught the eye of The President. He took it in his hand and looked into my eyes, “Are you hurt son? I've heard about you.”

  I replied, “No Mr. President, I'm fine. We came here to warn the world about the Senti. We need to get out of here before their assassins find you!”

  He nodded. PS un-cuffed me and I stayed with him as we got through the chamber doors and into the Greeting Hall. Here again, violence ensued. Senti soldiers fought with the Crotonans and other PS. I could overhear the PS with President Kennington talking with Sorian Special Forces coordinating an emergency evacuation on the rooftop. One group of Senti soldiers raised their weapons toward President Kennington but the PS drew their guns first and mowed them down. We ran toward an elevator and called it down. Fires were beginning to spread across the entire Grande Galerie de la Paix and bodies laid everywhere.

  “I'm afraid the ink is running dry in this world,” President Kennington remarked.

  There was a ding as the elevator doors opened. Half of the guns faced outward while the other half of the PS kept their eyes locked on the elevator. It was clear when it opened, and we all tried to load up. I was the last person in and when I stepped in, the elevator dinged at us and they noticed the weight limit had been reached. President Kennington tried to hit the upper level but the elevator would not budge. Trying to find a solution to the problem, one of the PS grabbed me by the shirt and pushed me out onto my back and said, �
�Sir, we don't have much time! We need to go!”

  With look of disdain, President Kennington looked at him and said, “What do you think you're doing throwing him out like that!?”

  “Sir, we don't know who this is or where he's from. Marinius 1 has landed on the roof ready for our extraction,” the Serviceman replied.

  Pushing him out of the way, Kennington extended his hand to me to help me up and said, “That is not how we treat people. This man was here to testify against the Senti for their crimes committed in Dhenfen'Ce. Mr. Strafe Rocknus from New Santa Barbara.”

  My eyes glazed over in amazement of the President. He knows who I am? After he got me to my feet, he patted me on the shoulder and smiled. Something caught his eye to the right of me, and everything seemed like to move in slow motion. Every sound went mute, my sense of smell diminished and my reflexes crawled to a snail's pace. With a smooth push, President Kennington moved me to his left just as a beam of light passed through his chest. I fell to the floor and covered my face. I saw the PS holding the President by his arms and pulling him inside as his heels dragged across the floor into the closing elevator doors. There was a blood stain at the spot where he was hit, and all I could do was sit there with my mouth to the floor, trying to digest what had just happened. The President had just took a bullet for me.

  Everything in my body went numb. I couldn't do anything but lay there and shiver; the thought that the Sorian President was struck down flabbergasted me as I curled into a ball. The fire was spreading fast and after a few moments the heat momentarily restored my senses enough to look around to see who might have shot him. As I looked to my left, I felt an eerie feeling of vile and hatred emanating from behind a dark cloud. Someone was standing in it and making their way through. With his hand raised and still smoking from firing the shot, stood Barzakh.

  I gasped. With a sinister smile on his face, he licked his dark black glove as if to be licking the blood off of it. He pointed his index finger and thumb at me and mimicked a gun shot. I could even read off his lips, “Bang.”

  Then, with the same hand, he turned it towards a wall and blasted a huge hole through it. I had to shield my eyes from the dust and debris that followed, but after the smoke had cleared I put down my arm. Barzakh had disappeared. I got to my feet and ran after him through the hole he had made and noticed that it led to a ladder for the rooftops. I climbed it as quickly as I could and found myself on top of the Grande Galerie de la Paix. There was a harsh wind and the smell of burning wood in the air. I looked around but saw nothing but the moonlight and fire cascading over the building. “SHIT!” I blurted in disappointment.

  Before I could notice it coming, a blast of energy hit me right in the chest and sent me flying back. I laid on my back cringing in pain as I pushed up with one hand. Standing about fifty feet away, was Barzakh.

  “You don't have the President here anymore Strafe, you have to mind your surroundings,” Barzakh snickered. In a flash, he pounced over to me and grabbed me by my shirt and held me off the ground in front of him. He examined me from top to bottom, and then looked me in the face, “I really wanted to kill you both in one shot, but both in one night is almost as sweet.”

  The more I looked at him, the more the striking resemblance I noticed. He was in my dreams, he looked just like me. Who was he? My brother? Or something else?

  “Why do you look so much like me? Who are you? Why do you enter my dreams?” I demanded.

  “Shut up!” he said as he backhanded me across the face, “Do not compare me to this bastard I inhabit. I am nothing like you humans. I am this one's master!”

  “I remember you, you're from New Santa Barbara,” I said with one eye open, “I, I, I thought you were dead.”

  When I looked into his yellow eyes, for a split second, like before, they reverted back to blue, the same color as mine. “Zixin,” I whispered.

  An awakening look shot across his face and he dropped me to the floor. As I looked up at him, I noticed he dropped to one knee and had his hand on his ribs, like he was in pain. There seemed to be an internal fight against something inside his body. After a few moments, the twitching had stopped and he rose back to his feet and tilted his head up. Then he opened his eyes, and they flickered from blue to yellow before finally staying yellow.

  “Hehehehehehhehehehe,” Barzakh snickered again.

  “What have you done with my brother!? What have you done!?” I screamed.

  Barzakh pointed at his face and replied, “If you're going to mad at anyone, be mad at this weakling for being gullible, hehehehe! He wanted more power, and that's what I gave him.”

  “Why!? Why did my brother fall in love with power enough to let a demon take his soul?” I pleaded.

  “Long ago, your mother told you your father had taken your brother and ran away, do you remember that? I know you do because you still cry about it every night! What had really happened was that Zixin had powers Earth had never seen before. Power that a plebian like you could never understand. Your parents sought advice and counsel to help Zixin find a way to harness his power without falling victim to it. Ahhhhrrgg, and that's where I came in,” Barzakh snapped.

  “Why the hell would my brother have sided with you?” I shook my head in disbelief.

  “Because of his power, your father brought him all the way to Eternia, to the Temple of the Dead. He was told by local clerics in Zindaqe that there was such a place he could bring his son to cure him, to set him free of the burden. Now how selfish is that, to waste such a beautiful talent of bloodletting, destruction and carnage! Hehehehe! You see, your father was tricked, like an idiot! It took five years to find the place, and by the age of ten, Zixin had become the most powerful human-being on the planet. In the Temple, the clerics, actually members of Federation, performed an ancient ritual. Zixin decided against it at the last moment, but they then turned on your father and went forward. They said if the ritual wasn't performed, Zixin would never see his family again. What a stupid little bastard, huh!” Barzakh explained.

  “He will see his family again. Mark my words I will destroy you demon and return my brother and father home!” I stated.

  “Oh, is that so!? Hahahaha! Think what you like, but your father has been dead for a long time boy! He was the first person I killed,” Barzakh said as he licked his lips.

  I wasn't ready to hear those words. All my life I'd hoped of one day reuniting with my father, it was like part of me died. I felt like falling over; the only thing that kept me up was the vengeance that my heart was calling for. This demon had to die.

  “And guess what Strafe! You will never win this war! You will never see your family again! You will never be worth a shit to anyone! And, you WILL NEVER FREE YOUR BROTHER!!! HE IS MY PET AND HE WILL BE MY VESSAL FOR ALL OF TIME!!!” Barzakh hissed at me.

  I looked up at him with my fist clenched and eyebrows down and yelled, “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU BASTARD! I AM FREEING MY BROTHER AND KILLING YOU IN THE PROCESS! I'M NOT RUNNING AWAY ANYMORE! YOU WILL NOT HURT MY FAMILY ANY LONGER!”

  It was go-time. Barzakh shot an energy blast at me but I jumped out of the way. I kept dodging the blasts that were a hairs length away before jumping up to an outpost.

  I had to wall-run up and grab the ledge to make it up before Barzakh's blast shot a hole in the wall. I looked around for anything I could to help me fight him. There was a dead soldier that had a rifle on him which I grabbed quickly.

  I took the rifle off safety and looked over the ledge to take a shot at him but he vanished. The blasts had stopped and it was eerily tacit.

  My heart was beating out of my chest. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of black and I shot a few rounds toward it. There were sounds of footsteps on the roof and I could hear Barzakh chuckling. I poured some shots at where the noise originated which left small holes that let the moonlight seep through. I had no time to react before Barzakh swung down off the roof and kicked me with both of his feet in my chest. The hit knocked the rifle off
the outpost and me to my butt. I got up and turned on my aura, ready to go toe to toe with this bastard.

  “Alright Strafe! That's more like it! Let's see what you've got!” Barzakh yelled in excitement.

  He threw lightning fast punches at my head and I managed to dodge and block a few, but not before he clipped me in the cheek with a hard right. I went stumbling before I caught myself on the ledge, which gave me an idea. I was going to toss his ass on the roof! I came back and he licked his hand trying to taunt me. I faked him out by cocking my right fist back but instead kicked him in the knee with my left foot. He screeched and grabbed his knee in pain. I took advantage and threw everything I had with a right handed haymaker to his temple and sent him to the floor.

  He hissed and shook his head and levitated back up to his feet sinisterly. Barzakh pointed at me and then started spinning very fast. He looked like a tornado of black as he moved all around the outpost. I had no idea what he was doing.

  Before I could react he hit me with a high backwards roundhouse kick to my jaw. I hit the wall of the outpost again; my back slammed against it hard. I feel to my hands and knees; it took a second to get up after that hit.

  There wasn't even time for a second breath before Barzakh had lunged at me and had his hands around my neck, pushing my body over the rail. His fingers dug in like knives and my throat felt like it was going to be crushed. I threw some punches at his ribs but he didn't flinch. “That's it! Time to die like the dog you are!” Barzakh smiled.

  Black spots were dotting all over my vision as the oxygen was leaving my brain. I heard a strange sound, like a spinning blade from a helicopter as I laid there suffocating. With the small mobility I had I looked around but saw no vehicle. Instead, a small glimmer of silver raced toward us from the valley below. I heard a voice in my head say,