by Greg Ramsay
The hall Lia found outside the elevator was a large steel rectangle like a giant ventilation shaft. Lia couldn’t shake the feeling she’d become a trapped rat in someone’s cage. Every step Lia took echoed, reverberating down the shining hall. She walked farther, forced left by a curve in the hallway that lead into a small square room. The room appeared to serve as a security checkpoint, based on the security stands with scanners attached to revolving bars to allow the authorized in. As she approached the nearest kiosk she heard a familiar whirring as another camera scanned her. The bars closest to her unlocked with a sudden clicking sound to allow her passage.
Does someone know I’m coming? If not, who is doing all this and why?
Lia became slightly more paranoid in the silence of the halls that preceded the checkpoint; her own footfalls echoing as though someone was following her. The feeling in her gut seemed to verify the sense that someone was hiding in wait for her somewhere in this steel maze. The place had appeared to be locked up tight at least, until it opened its doors to her. The halls became increasingly like a maze when she encountered three more identical halls branching off the one Lia followed. She opted to stay on the same path. As quietly as possible, Lia moved forward. Eventually her hallway led to a room reminiscent of the structural styles of both the exterior of the complex above, and the lobby of the smaller complex she had almost died in days before. It opened into a grand chamber. Semi-circular arches adorned the ceiling. Massive steel pillars supported the room, stopping it from collapsing due to the weight of the massive complex above. A large golden chandelier cast a brilliant yellow glow on the pillars surrounding it as fires burned in dark dishes mounted to its slender arms.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
Lia spun her head towards the voice, cursing herself for not seeing him before. He sat there, watching her from his high backed black chair behind a large desk covered in monitors. He smiled a garishly white smile, a mild contrast to the gold and steel tones of the room filled with freezers and other lab equipment. They were the background to his presence, a dissuading unthreatening facade. Distrust filled her instinctively; she somehow knew something wasn’t right.
Regardless she asked, “You’re Barton, aren’t you?”
“Indeed I am,” he replied affirmatively. Lia felt rage building in her.
“The man who created the virus that made those monsters everywhere?” she inquired aggressively, as she began to advance towards him.
“Simmer down now,” he mocked as he waved his hand to either side of himself as though waving her off. Her hand instinctively poised itself on the kynari. Barton looked at her bemused. “Is that what I think it is?” Lia smiled, holding it up in her fist before him. “The kynari...” he said, a spark of recognition came into his eyes.
“The tool that’s going to end your miserable life if you don’t give me a cure,” Lia stated.
He laughed at her, his mocking laughs very close to that of the Leader within her. “Is it now?” he asked sarcastically. “I created the kynari; I know its true power. What do you understand of it?”
She ignored him. “What I want to know is why you led me here!” He just looked at her like she was a dunce.
“You come all the way here, fighting to survive, with the stated intent to take my life. Then all you can think to ask me is why I led you to me?” He thought for a moment. “I suppose I understand your confusion; why would I openly let you come to hurt me? Simply because you can’t hurt me no matter the lethal capacity you may possess. I want to test you, play a little game if you will, to see how well my children stand against you. That way I can judge whether you’re worthy of my time. If not, my pet alphas will just pick your flesh from your bones.” He paused for a moment staring at her intently with a cold sneer. “Game on.”
He snapped his fingers then began a calm walk to a hall at the back of the room. Lia ran for him, directing her kynari’s tip towards him. Above the rush of her footsteps, she could hear heavy clawed footsteps rapidly approaching from the hall. Multiple alphas ran past Barton while he calmly passed through them. Before she could try to stop Barton, the alphas barred her path. Lia watched as he disappeared.
“WAIT, you coward!” she yelled. Her rage radiated from her as the mask in her mind began to form. She could feel the Leader within her, his lust for death joining with her exploding rage.
Shall we end this then? he asked her. Lia felt herself nod in response. Join your rage with mine. We will cut these weaklings in half!
She let his rage flow into her, letting their power combine. She then channelled it all into the kynari. Her red power exploded from the device, flying out, scorching the steel room black, as a deeper tone of black like the depths of Hell burst into the red. When the two combined they created a crimson cyclone that looked like it was formed of pure blood, as though it rose with the power of the fallen. The enemy alpha shifted backed away, as though fearful. Lia could see the blade they made in her mind’s eye. Drawing in the death cyclone around her, she gave all the power to the vision of the black katana. The kynari seemed to glow with heat as crimson and black energy washed over it, melding together with tendrils raging from her hand to reform its shape.
The transformation ended as soon as it began; the katana sat in her hand ready to destroy. It had a crimson red line trailing down its keen run as though it was forged with the steels of Hell and hardened by the blood of dammed souls. With absolute confidence Lia ran at the enemy alphas. To throw them off, she ran up the surface of a pillar in front of her, flipping in midair, and sliced the head off one of the alphas. Tendrils shot from her armoured back ensnaring two alphas. She turned, violently throwing the katana which she attached to her hand by a series of small tendrils joined to the spiked pommel like a chain. As she spun, the impaled alphas were slowly torn apart from the tendrils ripping through them before the blade cleanly finished them off.
Lia drew in the tendrils from her wrist. The blade flew back to her hand, disconnecting before the spike hit, allowing her to smoothly catch it before she sliced clean through the midsection of an alpha to her left in one swing. Two of them remained; one charged at her from the front while the second dropped down on her from above. She jumped up, propelling herself off a nearby pillar. She was so fast she disappeared and reappeared above the falling alpha. She slammed the katana’s spiked pommel into its back, the force propelling it to crash into the alpha below. Lia brought the katana’s blade above her head as she descended on them. As the blade made contact with the alpha on top, she screamed, “RELEASE”, her voice joining with the Leader within her in a raging growl. The blade ripped through the alphas, cleaving them both in half as crimson energy colored like blood fused with fire exploded from its run.
The energy instantly turned all the fallen alphas to dust as it burned outwards from her. The light emanating from her sheer power was all that remained to illuminate the room. The blade’s single release of her energy had destroyed the chandelier and scorched the steel room to a burnt black. Slowly and angrily Lia walked towards the opening Barton had retreated into, the blade of her katana trailing along the floor at her side melting a molten line in the steel as it passed through.
As she walked through the opening she found herself in a hall that had a narrow path and angular walls. The resulting hallway resembled an upside-down triangle that cut through into the next room. Footsteps echoed from ahead of her, so she advanced cautiously. Another small sound emanated from behind her; Lia raised her blade to block whatever was attacking. The blade rang out metallically like a war cry when she deftly swung it from the red line it had cut in the floor. A series of fire sprinklers engaged in the chamber behind her finally responding to the heat generated by her final attack. She spun the blade in her hand calmly as she turned back towards the direction Barton had gone, bringing its rotation to a halt in a prepared stance in front of her. She began to increase her pace as she heard Barton’s footfalls growing more distant, cursing her reflexes for distracti
ng her, allowing him to get farther ahead.
Barton wasn’t hurrying to get away, only slowly heading toward what Lia had to assume was another chamber of his ‘pets’. Upon entering, she noticed the chamber was smaller, although designed identically to the one before. Barton stood on a small platform three steps in height, his back turned to her. Lia could see he was about six foot tall, with bleached blond hair combed back on his head. Lia raised her blade to him. “Barton!”
He turned to her, giving her a slow bow in mock courtesy. “Sirionous Barton, head scientist of MiraiCorp biotech labs, and master of the new world, at your service,” he said grandiosely without a hint of irony. He looked quite pale in face, his jaw jutted out a little, his beady grey eyes observed her, as his slender arms crossed on his chest.
“I beat your little grunts; the game ends here!” Lia responded.
“Not at all,” he said. “You think I’d still be here if I couldn’t deal with you? I created the virus that bonded with you, and have altered myself beyond that version. I’ve learned to control my children, including the one in myself. Although even without them, you still couldn’t stop me.”
“Why is that?” Lia asked. He looked at her like a patronizing teacher.
“I told you I built the kynari, didn’t I? Do you think someone as meticulous as I wouldn’t have built another model?” he asked her.
She watched him as he bent down and pressed his hand to the platform below him. A section of the platform hissed as it rose from the floor. When it finally finished extending toward Barton, Lia could see it was a hermetically sealed capsule. What he withdrew from it shocked her. Its golden body was almost half the length of her blade; its smooth surface was lathed down to create a two-handed contour. Its tips weren’t points like Lia’s were, but with two double-edged blades; their silver forms extended menacingly from the body. Barton held it in one hand, blades at each side so she could see its full length. He smiled at her, his pasty white face highlighting his sly smile.
“What do you think?” he asked her.
“Enough talking, if you won’t end this madness I’ll beat you until you do!” she said as she raised her katana, then ran towards him.
He stood still, his new kynari rested in his fist waiting; he easily blocked her downward strike. No signs of effort showed on his face as he gracefully re-directed her blade as he spun his kynari in his hands bringing its second blade towards her exposed back. Thousands of small tendrils shot from her back instantly, forming into one of the scimitars that the Leader had absorbed just in time to block his strike. The blade flew outward towards Barton’s face, forcing him to jump back to avoid it. As he stood, the scimitar blade receded back into her armour.
I’ve got your back, the Leader growled, now show this fool our power!
Lia raised her katana while running at Barton. This time she jumped fast, disappearing to reappear behind Barton. He swung his kynari behind him. He blocked her strike as their joined voices screamed, “RELEASE”, her blade struck one of his, drawing sparks on contact as her crimson power exploded into him. Lia was blown backward by the force.
Unbeknownst to her, Barton had said, “Release” with her very quietly. The area around Barton was scorched black like the flame emitting from his blades, her attack not even scathing him. He stopped spinning his kynari. The release of his energy spinning at the point of contact had formed a shield like the vortex of a black hole around him, easily deflecting her attack. He held his kynari out in front of him, ready for more. A black flame burned from its blades like wicks. He smiled at Lia as his eyes began to turn gold where they were once white.
“Don’t you remember anything my dear, what happened to you, what you did?” he enquired.
Black fangs replaced his teeth, back tendrils shot from his scalp, joining with his hair, then reformed into black and bleached spikes. Black tendrils covered his face, forming a mask that made jagged lines on his cheekbones and chin. Two wavering lines ran across the mask diagonally like waves of fire. The fang-like smile surpassed the space in his mouth, overrunning the top and bottom when he closed his mouth. On completion, his mask looked like a predator pleased with its catch. The masked Barton laughed at her; a growling sound emitted from the mask. They ran at each other. Spinning her katana, Lia ran towards him; Barton did the same.
Their clashes continued, neither one gaining an advantage over the other. Lia jumped backward her feet connecting solidly with a pillar. Propelling off it, she flipped in the air to kick out at him. He blocked her kick as she used his blade for leverage. Backflipping again, Lia swung her blade upside down in a spinning upper-cut. Barton was unable to block her arcing blade so it cut a deep gash across his midsection. He staggered backwards. Lia struck again, forming a gory X in his torso, then kicked him across the room. Barton slammed into a wall. She disappeared and reappeared to strike him a third time. He recovered in time to deflect the blow as her blade struck the wall.
“Apparently you adapted your training well,” he said with an annoyingly calm tone as he swung his kynari upwards, copying her uppercut attack, his blade striking her armoured shoulder. She jumped back, her arm almost entirely disconnected from its joint. Barton leapt at her, seeking to sever the appendage entirely, but she blocked his strike just in time. One of the Leader’s dark scimitars shot from her wound. The rough blade glanced Barton’s mask as he quickly jumped back. Both combatants separated, creating a space between them. The scimitar that had shot from Lia’s shoulder broke into thousands of small tendrils to quickly re-attach her severed arm. Similar tendrils shot from Barton’s body, repairing his mask, and the wounds caused by Lia’s last attacks as quickly as the Leader had repaired hers. Fully healed, they faced off again. They struck out at each other, parrying each other’s blows, both seeking a fault in form.
“How can we even do this? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?” Lia screamed above the turmoil in her mind.
Somehow, she could still hear the Leader within her calling out, We need to get more aggressive... Let me take over for a bit.
Lia agreed as his mask joined entirely with her armour; he was now in complete control. The Leader spun his katana above him as he held out his other hand. Tendrils shot forward, forming a scimitar in his free hand. He charged for Barton, blades at his sides like deadly folded wings. The blades carved through pillars as he ran towards Barton. Leader form Lia swung forward with his katana as he swung sideways with the scimitar. Barton jumped on his side, evading the scimitar, then raised his kynari above him as he lay on the floor, easily blocking the Leader’s descending katana. Leader form Lia struck out again, bringing both blades down to overwhelm Barton. Barton spun his kynari to form a black vortex shield. Leader form Lia was blown back. He recovered in the air, violently kicking off a pillar, breaking it with the force. In midair, the Leader focused their energies in his blade, and the crimson energy trailed from his katana eagerly. He added more of his black energy to the scimitar. He swung his raging blade forward and struck Barton’s first blade, then clashed his scimitar with Barton’s second blade.
Barton shook from the force, struggling to break free of Leader form Lia’s raw strength. The Leader shot tendrils out from his chest, wrapping them around Barton’s hands. With his kynari entirely pinned, another scimitar began to emerge from the Leader’s chest, advancing towards Barton’s heart. Realizing he was trapped, Barton screamed, “RELEASE”. The scimitar grazed the body of his kynari, cutting a sizable gash just as black flames of energy exploded from the blades of Barton’s kynari arcing towards them. The energy forced the Leader to back off as Barton held his smoking kynari forward. Looking through the Leader’s mask, she could see black energy seeping gently from the broken body of Barton’s kynari.
Lia said to the Leader, Look at his weapon, it’s damaged, and may overload if we can damage it further.
The Leader within her laughed menacingly at Barton as he charged in again. You do pay attention. Good girl.
His blades poised at his side
s, his frightening speed almost took Barton by surprise as he again attempted to force Barton to release his power, thereby destroying himself in the process. He swung his katana’s blade, focusing its energies into the run, allowing his sharpening ability to take effect. Barton blocked the blade as was hoped for. The Leader brought his scimitar in a pincer movement. Both blades met their mark in the centre of Barton’s kynari’s body, digging in violently. Black sparks raged out from the desecrated weapon. Barton tried pulling it sideways to force the Leader’s blades into one of his, to no avail. Barton screamed in rage as spiked tendrils shot from Leader form Lia’s chest again, wrapping around him, constricting him while the spikes ripped into his flesh. Barton roared like a demon. Suddenly black plate-like armour covered in spikes formed from his body as they exploded out of him. The released armour broke the tendrils ensnaring him, even cracking part of his mask as they sprung apart due to their proximity.
With another roar, Barton pushed Leader form Lia to the floor. He brought his kynari up holding it above Lia like an executioner. He brought it down hard as the Leader swung Lia’s head to the side; the blade pierced into the steel floor. The Leader formed a small blade with tendrils in the armour of Lia’s foot and kicked it up at him. Barton swung his kynari at her foot, cutting the small blade off easily. He kneeled on Leader form Lia, pinning them down. The Leader lay waiting for his next move. Barton brought his kynari’s blade across Leader form Lia’s throat. The Leader turned his blade in his hand, pointing upward. Before he could tell the blade to release, Barton lifted his left leg from Leader form Lia’s chest, then kicked the blade from his hand violently, bending Lia’s arm back as the blade clattered across the floor. The Leader rolled towards him suddenly, escaping Barton’s grasp by attempting to slice his throat. He rose to his feet and ran to the blade as Barton appeared beside him. He swung his blade, but the Leader blocked it with his scimitar. With a crash like boulders snapping, the scimitar broke apart.