The Witch; Stronghold; Underworld

by Ky Tyrand

  A streak of energy – like green, misty lightning – suddenly shot across the arena, striking one of the monsters. The creature slid back, twitched, and then stopped moving.

  Ki’ara traced the source of light back to a group of four soldiers approaching the pack of Lurkers from the left.

  The attackers all wore hi-tech looking armor, lightweight and well fitted, with helmets that could be only slightly larger than their heads. All but one of them carried a gun, similar to Grue’gan’s blaster but larger. The odd-one-out wielded an ornate scepter instead – the source of the energy blast.

  “That’s CST-1,” said Je’nna.

  The unit moved swiftly through the jungle, using their weapons to cover one another from every angle as they darted between obstructions like a well-oiled machine.

  Gray Lurkers began hopping – lunging at the soldiers with their mouths of long pincers opened wide.

  The guns of the two soldiers at the front lit up, each firing tiny projectiles of white light in rapid success.

  Seeing these weapons, and how they cut into the leaping Lurkers, Ki’ara couldn’t help but be reminded of what had happened to Sir Grue’gan. But these bullets were pure energy, not metal like the one lodged in her Guardian’s back. The speed of each shot left a trail of light that made them look like continuous beams, though Ki’ara could tell that they were not.

  “Boomer, hit it!” a male voice squawked through a speaker near Ki’ara’s ear, making her jump.

  “Yeah, Boss!” Another voice, much deeper. An explosion erupted right in the middle of the Lurker pack an instant before the sound made it up to the balcony – a loud boom that echoed in their ears.

  Through the light and smoke, Ki’ara could see Lurkers flying everywhere, almost the entire pack blown apart by some kind of bomb launched from one of their weapons.

  Orange smoke from the explosion spread across the battlefield as the team continued to advance, their weapons blasting the remaining Gray Lurkers as they sprang up.

  “Alright, let’s mop this up!” crackled the intercom. “Snapper, Boomer: on the right; Sparky: on the left with me.”

  Ki’ara watched as CST-1 destroyed the remaining monsters with little difficulty. She looked at Je’nna, surprised to see a smile on the other girl’s face.

  “Watch this,” chuckled Je’nna, as she reached over her shoulder and unfolded her rifle. Putting a foot up on the console, the girl rested her elbow against her knee as she looked through the offset scope.

  Though unnerving to see Je’nna pointing her powerful weapon down at the people on the ground, Ki’ara knew that – just like her own Niksuru – Je’nna could control the level of intensity with incredible precision.

  Ki’ara assumed that the girl had no intention of harming them. But that was just her best guess.

  The gun was almost silent when it fired – like a sharp puff of air.

  Ki’ara saw one of the four figures below suddenly jump.

  “Ouch!” the leader’s voice squawked through an intercom, “What the hell was that?”

  “What…?” another voice, this one female, “What is it?”

  There was a pause. “Dunno. Something hit my ass.”

  Je’nna was shaking. When she looked up from her gun’s scope, her face was red and tears were streaming down her face.

  Is she laughing? Ki’ara couldn’t help but giggle herself. Seeing Je’nna like this was infectious, and Ki’ara was certain she was witnessing an extremely rare occurrence.

  Below them, the strike team was looking about, with weapons raised.

  Je’nna stepped back and ducked, pulling Ki’ara down with her. She folded her gun and put it over her shoulder, letting her Mu’turi take hold of it as she reached up and began pressing buttons on the dash. It was all she could do to maintain her composure. Keeping a straight face was out of the question. Her fingers stopped clicking with a final pronounced tap, and then she edged her head up.

  Ki’ara followed her lead and peeked over the console.

  A massive dragon, with glittering green scales and golden-yellow eyes, slithered out of nowhere, moving to pounce on the unsuspecting band of soldiers. It opened its giant maw, exposing teeth as long as swords and a serpent-like tongue that whipped in and out between them.

  The man without a gun spotted it first, and began hurling wisps of light from his scepter. The energy crystalized and hardened on the monster’s thick scales.

  The others took notice as the creature reared up.

  “This isn’t part of the simulation,” said the voice of the man Je’nna had shot. He and the other figure with the assault rifle ignored the dragon and looked up at the viewing balcony.

  The other two attacked the monster…

  “Wahoo!” a deep, male voice, “Die lizard face!!!”

  Explosions burst all around the giant dragon, forming a cloud of orange smoke that floated up toward the gray-sky ceiling.

  “Someone’s in the control room.”

  It was then that Ki’ara noticed several moving images on the console monitors under her chin. Two showed video of the exploding dragon, while two others were zooming in on something … Je’nna suddenly appeared on the screens, her head moving with her laughter as she waved at the cameras – live feeds from the soldiers’ perspectives. The images of Je’nna panned over to a confused looking girl with her head tipped down. It took Ki’ara a moment to realize that it was herself she was seeing, staring down at the monitor.

  “It’s Hardware,” said the girl’s voice.

  “Very funny, Je’nna,” said the leader. “Simulation: STOP.”

  The dragon froze.

  “Aw,” the deep-voiced boy groaned his disappointment. “We had him.” He launched another explosive round at the dragon – now a statue – for good measure. “Next time, lizard face!”

  “Simulation: CANCEL.”

  The monster vanished, and the explosive attack fizzled to little more than a puff of orange smoke.

  Ki’ara watched in awe as the jungle and stone terrain began to vanish, giving way to gray cubes – thousands of them – like colorless kid’s building blocks that had been pieced together to form the framework of a giant model. The cubes then dropped down into the floor, walls, and even disappeared up into the ceiling, which had now lost its appearance of a cloudy sky. When the movement stopped, there was nothing left but a huge empty room.

  Shaking her head in disbelief, Ki’ara couldn’t help but chuckle to herself. A moment ago, she had been impressed by the sliding door.

  The soldiers appeared beside the girls, riding up on an elevating platform. Ki’ara expected it to stop when it reached the level of the balcony, but it seemed to keep going… And then she realized that it hadn’t – the members of CST-1 were just much taller than she had thought. They looked so small down there on the battlefield, it never occurred to her that they would be this big in person. Not as massive as Sir Grue’gan, mind you. But they were tall and broad, and had an athletic look to them that made Ki’ara think they could sprint all the way to a battle and still be prepared to fight. Perhaps it was just the thin, fitted armor accentuating their muscles.

  There was a hiss, and then a buzz as a short yellow gate swung open and the four soldiers stepped onto the balcony next to the girls. One by one, their helmets seemed to open automatically. But instead of popping off, the components somehow broke down and slid back, vanishing over their shoulders. Ki’ara couldn’t see where they went, but it was yet one more impressive display of technology unlike any the girl had ever witnessed.

  The first to step forward was the tallest of them all. He had dark brown skin, and golden eyes that lit up the room almost as much as his smile. Ki’ara could tell by his special gun, and a supply of small canisters around his belts and over his broad shoulders, that he was the one that had been launching the explosives. “What’s up, Hardware?” his voice thundered as he scooped Je’nna up into the air like she was a toy doll. It made Ki’ara realize that Je’
nna, who she assumed was an equal to these soldiers, was tiny by comparison.

  “Put me down!” she demanded, but the big man ignored her command and pulled her into a hug, before planting a kiss on her cheek.

  Je’nna cringed, but Ki’ara could see that the girl was trying to mask a smile.

  “Uck, let me down,” Je’nna repeated, wiping her cheek with her arm after the big man plunked her to the ground and moved on to Ki’ara.

  “Who’s your friend?” he asked, picking Ki’ara up in a hug before she had a chance to back away, or Je’nna could even reply. At least he didn’t try to kiss her.

  “Oh…” Ki’ara expelled, caught completely by surprise. She had never been handled like that before. It was strange, and inappropriate, and … she just didn’t know what to make of it.

  “Put her down, Boomer,” Je’nna ordered. “Do we need to have another talk about personal bubbles and boundaries?”

  “Hi Je’nna,” said the voice of the group’s leader.

  After being set back down onto the floor, Ki’ara spotted the boy stepping off the lift. He wasn’t as tall as Boomer, and didn’t light up the room with his smile. But his crystal blue eyes were hard to look away from. There was a ruggedness to him that made him look older than his young features would suggest – like he’d seen real combat outside of the simulator. They all looked that way. Like Je’nna. Hardened warriors, yet barely older than kids.

  “Hey,” said Je’nna. Apparently she was trapped by his eyes as well.

  “You shot me.”

  Je’nna looked offended. “What makes you say that?”

  “Because you shoot me every time you catch me in there.”

  “Oh.” The girl nodded, like she was piecing together a puzzle. “Well then, I guess I can see why you might think it was me.”

  A hint of a smile touched the boy’s cheek. “It’s good to see you, Je’nna.”

  The girl nodded her agreement. “I’m sure it is,” she said, finally able to pry her eyes away.

  This was enough to complete the boy’s smile, as he looked down at the floor and shook his head.

  Following the young man was the only female of the bunch. Her eyes were as blue as the leader’s, though her face was not nearly as friendly. Pretty, but not warm. Though not as tall as the men, she wasn’t far off. Ki’ara found herself looking up at the girl’s chin, which was held high as she entered the room. She barely acknowledged Je’nna, which was reciprocated. Her brilliant blue eyes looked over, not at, the other girls.

  Behind her was the boy with the scepter. Black hair sprang straight up off the top of his head the moment his helmet opened. His skin was olive, his eyes deep.

  “Hey Kai’ji,” said Je’nna.

  The boy didn’t reply, but he bowed to her. His brown, almond shaped eyes looked almost everywhere but at Je’nna, or anyone else in the room.

  “In case you’re wondering,” hissed the tall female soldier, “we took care of Hammond for you.”

  Je’nna sneered. “So, let me get this straight… after I did all the legwork, and figured out exactly where Hammond was going, it took four of you to do what I was going to do myself?”

  “Aha, girl.” Boomer laughed and held up his fist so Je’nna could knuckle-bump him. “Nice one!”

  The female soldier, who towered over Je’nna, looked ready to bite. “We cleaned up your mess and brought back a Level 4.”

  Je’nna shrugged. “I got called to more pressing matters.”

  Eyebrows went up.

  “What’s more pressing than a Level 4?” asked Boomer.

  All eyes followed Je’nna’s, who turned to Ki’ara.

  “Her.”

  7

  With everyone staring at her, Ki’ara slowly picked up a hand and waved, while hoping that her cheeks hadn’t changed color.

  The suspense killing him, Boomer dropped his hands in an exaggerated gesture. He had to know, “Who’s your friend???”

  “This is Ki’ara,” Je’nna told them.

  They started to say hi, but then a silence fell over the group.

  “Wait…” Boomer sputtered.

  “Yes,” Je’nna confirmed. “That Ki’ara.”

  “Princess Ki’ara?” asked Boomer.

  “No,” replied Je’nna. “Queen Ki’ara.”

  “Nice,” grinned Boomer, nodding his approval, before realizing the other two men had each taken a knee. “Oh, is that … Oh.”

  He put a leg back before Ki’ara frantically waved her hands at them, “No! Please, not that.”

  They looked at one another uncertainly, while Ki’ara urged them to their feet.

  “I’m not…” Ki’ara let out a breath, “Please, no kneeling. Or bowing.”

  The tall soldier girl shook her head and left without a word. Her attitude reminded Ki’ara of Je’nna, except – Je’nna was laughing again! Scratch that, she reminded her of the Je’nna that she knew before stepping foot into this Simulation Room. The Je’nna in here was different. Fun and happy.

  “That was Snapper,” said Je’nna. “She’s a bitch.”

  “Je’nna!” hissed the blue-eyed boy, while Boomer chuckled.

  “Sorry. I mean…” the girl amended, “She would probably want you to call her Ashley.”

  “Okay,” nodded Ki’ara.

  “Blue-eyes, here, is the Boss,” said Je’nna, before adding with a wink, “At least he thinks he is.”

  Ki’ara smiled. “Hi Boss.”

  “Darius,” he said, holding out his fist with a smile.

  “Ki’ara,” she said, forcing her eyes down to his knuckles, before pressing her own against them. She wasn’t familiar with the greeting, but at least it was simple.

  “This is Sparkles,” said Je’nna, getting a confused look from the boy with the scepter.

  He looked about to protest, when Darius corrected, “Sparky. We call him Sparky.”

  “Sparky?” Now Je’nna looked confused. “Are you sure?”

  The boy was nodding his agreement, which Je’nna seemed to ignore.

  “Huh,” she finally acknowledged. “Since when?”

  “Since always, Je’nna,” said Darius. “Ki’ara, you can call him Kai’ji.”

  “Hello Kai’ji,” said the Princess.

  The boy’s dark green eyes darted about, touching on Ki’ara’s for only an instant before looking away. Unlike Ashley, with her nose tipped to the sky, it wasn’t arrogance that kept him from looking at her. Ki’ara could tell that he was extremely shy.

  The Princess held up her knuckles, thinking she would do the local greeting, but Kai’ji backed away.

  “He doesn’t like talking,” explained Darius. “Or touching.”

  Je’nna added, “He wants to bow to you, but you told him not to.”

  “Oh,” said Ki’ara, dropping her hand. “I’m sorry. You can bow if you really want to … but you don’t have to.”

  The boy didn’t hesitate to tip forward.

  “He’s kind of shy,” said Je’nna. “But his sparkles are awesome!”

  Kai’ji’s face turned red, and he almost smiled.

  “And you’ve already met Boomer.”

  “Yah, you did,” said the big young man, moving in for another hug.

  “Boomer!” shouted Darius. “Inappropriate.”

  The boy frowned and stuck out his fist, instead.

  Ki’ara bumped his knuckles. “What should I call you?” she asked, expecting a real name to go along with his military codename, or whatever it was.

  “Boomer,” he said, as if it should be obvious. “Call me Boomer.”

  Ki’ara smiled. “Okay, Boomer.”

  His grin returned, and he winked at her.

  Je’nna turned to Darius. “Right, so now that we made it through that, Mother has a mission for you.”

  “What is it?” asked Darius.

  “Retrieve that crazy Witch, Sirona.”

  “Sirona?” Darius seemed surprised. “Why?”

  “Ki’ara�
�s Guardian needs her healing powers.”

  The boy looked at Ki’ara. “Must be serious, to need her.”

  Ki’ara nodded. “It is.”

  “Alright,” said Darius.

  “Alright!” agreed Boomer. “Going on a mission. Wahoooo!”

  Ki’ara couldn’t help but smile as the energetic boy scooped her up again before anyone could stop him.

  He gave her another squeeze before setting her down, and shouting, “Let’s do this!” Boomer slapped Kai’ji on the shoulder – which garnered a terrified look from the other boy – and steered him to the door. “Let’s go get ready, Sparky!”

  The door slid open, and he nudged Kai’ji through. But before Boomer exited, he turned back to Ki’ara and said, “I’ve never met a Queen before. I like you,” and then disappeared. But even through the door, Ki’ara could hear his deep voice echo to Kai’ji – “I like her!”

  Ki’ara liked him, too.

  Darius was the only member of CST-1 left with them.

  “Better go find your girlfriend and get going,” Je’nna instructed.

  “You know she’s not my girlfriend, Je’nna,” argued the boy.

  “Yeah, whatever.”

  8

  The next two days were slow and agonizing.

  Je’nna’s fun and friendly demeanor had ended the moment they stepped foot out of the Simulator Room, and she was right back to her grumpy self.

  At one point, Ki’ara had asked about her relationship with Darius – which was clearly not the best thing to bring up. Je’nna made Ki’ara feel foolish at the mere suggestion that she could possibly have feelings for him.

  Ki’ara didn’t dare go so far as to point out that it was obvious Darius was interested in Je’nna.

  Je’nna continued to show Ki’ara around, but their tour carried little conversation, other than the odd snarky comment.

  Though Ki’ara found the entire place and its incredible technology utterly fascinating, her thoughts remained with Sir Grue’gan.

  She visited him several times, but he was even more miserable to be around than Je’nna. He couldn’t move from his bed, and it was clear that he was in a terrible amount of pain.