DEATH OF THE UNIVERSE: BOOK TWO OF THE REALM OF ZERROS SAGA

by Shoraz

  Always remember, trust Yokelis and keep him close, and destroy this letter. Your soul is now free my son, you owe me nothing. The time has come for you to be who you were meant to be, and I hope and pray that the One True Creator is watching over you.

  End of letter from Galiac to Manaka

  As Manaka finished reading the letter a wave of emotion unlike anything he ever felt before reverberated through his liquid body. His father was dead yet he was still helping him understand who he was meant to be, and letting him know that he was not alone in the great battle that was about to take place.

  Yokelis then pointed to his fireplace and Manaka walked over to it and threw the letter into it. As he did so, tears of sadness flowed down from his eyes and as they did so, Yokelis put his hand on Manaka’s shoulder and embraced him and said, “We must go Manaka, we must go and warn the others to prepare for war and tell them that the Phoenix is preparing to return home.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  As the submarine descended to the depths of the ocean and made its way to Russia, John, Sarah, Amare, and Stryker sat together and were busy getting the weapons ready for the crew.

  “Thank you Sarah!” Amare said.

  “For what?” Sarah asked.

  “For helping me realize who I truly am, if you and Stryker didn’t escape from me and if I didn’t go looking for you I wouldn’t have been here,” Amare said.

  “Don’t thank me Amare, thank Stryker as he’s the one who decided to help me,” Sarah said.

  “Thank you both, looking back at some of the things I did I can’t believe that I made those choices, I guess this is my way of giving back to balance out the karma,” Amare said.

  “It must be that Amare, I mean, look at us sitting together preparing weapons to attack a major base of the betasapiens, when only weeks ago it was religious folks against vigilantes against outlaws, when in truth we’re all part of the same team, it’s funny how things turn out,” John said.

  “You’re right John, we are all part of the same team, I just hope that we didn’t realize it too late. For far too long the human race has been at war with itself, and our ancestors, may their souls rest in peace, never really saw the big picture. For them it was always a fight, whether it was country versus country, race versus race, religion versus religion, tribe versus tribe, gang versus gang and even human versus human. As humans, we try to complicate things when in truth if we kept things simple, life would be better.” Sarah said.

  “But this war of betasapiens versus humans, this war is different. This is good versus evil. The betasapiens made a decision to eradicate the world of the humans, and we’ll fight them with everything we have,” Sarah continued saying.

  As the conversation ended, Sarah and Stryker headed back to the control room of the submarine, and as they made their way there, Stryker again let his feelings for Sarah be known.

  “Sarah, if I were to die during this war just know that I love you very much,” Stryker said.

  “Thank you Stryker, and I care for you very much as well but now is not the time for this, perhaps when we return safely to Alaska we can talk about it,” Sarah replied.

  “And what if we don’t return to Alaska? What then?” Stryker asked.

  “Have hope Stryker, have hope in Ava, as she is more powerful than anything this world has ever seen. She’ll get us home safely. I’ve dreamt of the savior my whole life Stryker, and although in my dreams I never actually saw the savior I always had a feeling of hope, and this is the feeling I have now,” Sarah said.

  “I hope so Sarah, because when she does get us home safely, and the moment we reach Freedom City, I’m going to ask you to marry me,” Stryker said to Sarah.

  “And the moment you ask me I’ll say yes Stryker, just know that I love you very much and I’m glad that you’re here with me,” Sarah said.

  “Maybe one day we’ll have a family Sarah, wouldn’t that be something,” Stryker said.

  “Whoa there, not so fast. Just the mention of kids gives me anxiety,” Sarah replied. “I mean, I totally adore and love kids I just want to take it one step at a time Stryker,” Sarah continued saying.

  “That’s very funny, you’re in a submarine in the depths of the ocean headed to Russia, and you seem to be at ease, but the mention of kids gives you anxiety. You’re an amazing girl Sarah, and I’m glad that I got the chance to meet you,” Stryker said with a smile on his face.

  Just then, they arrived at the control room and entered, “How much longer until we arrive?” Sarah asked.

  “At our current speed we should arrive there in less than twenty–two hours,” Elizabeth answered.

  “And what about our enemies, do you see any of them on the radar?” Stryker asked.

  “No, we are virtually undetectable at this depth, and given that we are taking the longer and less traveled route to Russia there won’t be many enemies on our way there,” Elizabeth again answered.

  Pops and Zeus then entered the control room and Zeus went on the PA system and called everyone to report to the control room to discuss the strategy once they reach land. After a few minutes, every one of the thirteen kamikazes was present in the control room ready to hear the plan.

  Given that Pops once called the base of Russia his home he took the lead given his very intimate knowledge of the area.

  “As some of you may know we tactically chose to arrive at the town of Norilsk, Russia. In my opinion, and as Zeus, Amanda and Tony have confirmed, this route is far removed from the majority of silver knights that will be there upon our arrival. From there we will head southeast until we reach our destination of Lake Baikal – the home of the silver knights of Russia.” Pops said to the group.

  “And what do we do when we reach the base?” Max asked.

  “Tony and I will knock on the door and they will let us in, once we are inside that’s when the hard part begins,” Pops replied with a shrewd smile on his face.

  “What do you mean?” Dean asked.

  “Once Tony and I have gained entry into the base, we will be allowed to walk to many places within the base freely. But the one place we need to go – the main control room – is heavily guarded and is almost impenetrable especially when its two knights versus hundreds of knights,” Pops said to the group.

  “And what do we do then?” Dean asked.

  “Once Tony and I enter the base and get to a certain point we’ll radio the rest of you to enter the base, and once we’re together we’ll do what we have to do in order to overtake the main control room,” Pops said.

  “So what you’re saying is that we have no plan after a certain point?” Dean asked.

  “That’s correct Dean, there’s no way that we can plan for this,” Amanda answered.

  “So we’re relying upon a hope and a prayer?” Ava asked.

  “Unfortunately, yes,” Amanda replied.

  “Perfect, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Ava said, and with that, the group dispersed; some to rest their bodies and some to rest their minds.

  As Ava walked away with her father, she knew that there would be no rest for her body or her mind. For although her body was cool to the touch on the outside and she seemed perfectly fine and normal; on the inside, a fire was burning within her as the Phoenix continued its torrid takeover of her body and mind; cell by cell, molecule by molecule, atom by atom and thought by thought.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Back in Freedom City, Alaska; the superhumans, humans and rogue knights led by Gannon had just about finished setting up their defenses for the incoming betasapien attack. And although they knew that their small army would be of no match to the massive army of the knights, they still held onto the hope that the thirteen kamikazes would somehow find a way to win this unfair battle that was only hours away.

  As Gannon sat in his office going over the details of the plan to ensure that nothing was missed or overlooked, Chandra walked into his office.

  “Hello Gannon, my name is Chandra, do you remembe
r me?” she asked.

  “Yes, of course I do, I may look disorganized, but I have a very good memory. You’re the one who gave us warning of this attack and I am grateful for that. Thank you for helping us!” Gannon said to her.

  “You’re welcome,” Chandra replied, “Is there anything I can help with now? I am feeling somewhat useless so please if I can help in any way please let me know,” she continued saying.

  “There’s not much to do Chandra, our weapons are not nearly enough to attack the betasapiens, so all we can really do is defend ourselves against them, and hope and pray that somehow we get through this alive and safe,” Gannon said.

  “Yes that would be great, I would love to see my daughter again, she’s such a wonderful person and I miss her so much. I hope that at the end of this war that I can see her beautiful face again, and hold her tightly.” Chandra said.

  “I hope that you see that day and I will do what I can to make your wish come true,” Gannon said.

  “You’re a very kind man Gannon, and I could only wish that the leader of the betasapiens could be as kind as you,” Chandra said and she then turned around to leave Gannon’s office.

  As she did so, Gannon called out her name and as she turned back towards him, he threw a laser to her and said, “Take that, and you don’t have to leave. You can stay with me and I’ll do what I can to protect you,” and with that Chandra held the laser and then sat on a chair in Gannon’s office as they both waited for the invasion of the knights to begin.

  Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Freedom City, Jenna and her crew of rogue knights and superhumans sat in wait for the inevitable attack.

  “Look around Jenna, I can’t believe that it has come to this,” Maurice said to her.

  “I don’t think that we were ever ready for this Maurice, we just lived here peacefully in hopes that the betasapiens would never attack, but now the day has come and there’s nothing we can do about it,” Jenna replied.

  “We’ll fight Jenna, please don’t lose hope,” Maurice said.

  “I’m just being realistic Maurice, don’t get me wrong, I’ll fight to the bitter end but when the opposing army is dozens of times bigger than ours, I’m not sure how much hope I can have,” Jenna said.

  “Maybe the kamikazes might come through, and perhaps they’ll be able to do something to help us,” Maurice said.

  “I hope so,” Jenna said, “Do you want to come with me? I’m going to do a walk around to make sure everyone is ready,” she continued saying.

  As they prepared to start their walk, a voice from the main control room came over their radios, “The knights have been spotted on our radar, they are coming in fast, and their expected time of arrival is approximately two hours.”

  As the voice repeated the message over and over again, Jenna and Maurice looked at each other knowing fully well that this could be their last two hours alive on earth, and they then continued on their walk to ensure that everyone in their area was ready for the fight of their lives.

  Meanwhile, out in the field, everyone was busy getting ready and ensuring that everything was in place as they all listened to the message from the main control room, “The knights have been spotted on our radar, they are coming in fast, and the expected time of arrival is approximately one hour and forty–five minutes.”

  Upon hearing the news of the knights, Gannon and Chandra made their way to the main control room and as he looked at the radar, it was unlike anything he had ever seen before. The screen was filled with a cloud of yellow which represented the large army of knights that were headed their way.

  As he continued looking at the screen in a confused and dumbfounded manner, he knew that they would need a miracle to survive the onslaught that was headed their way. He then held Chandra’s hand and looked up to the sky and said a prayer hoping that somehow it would be answered by the Creator of humans and machines and everything else that existed within the universe and beyond.

  CHAPTER TWENTY–ONE

  In the skies not too far away from the stronghold of Freedom City, the knights continued their scorching pace towards their destination. The commanders of the knights sat in their thrones on board the large carriers waiting for commands from their leaders within the Invisible Dome as to when to commence their attack upon the humans, superhumans, and rogue knights who they so despised for reasons that were unwarranted.

  Back inside the Invisible Dome, Frank and the betasapien leaders along with Bernard sat in the war room patiently waiting for the army of knights to reach Freedom City. As they did so, Frank sat in jubilation at the fact that his vision for complete and utter dominance of earth along with ridding the world of his perceived enemies was almost complete.

  He was also extremely happy that his new and unparalleled device for controlling matter was complete and he was also tremendously pleased to be able to use it. Nowhere in his power crazy mind was a thought for Bridget, and he was completely focused on his life’s goal which was to be the ruler of the world.

  “Can you feel it Bernard?” Frank asked.

  “Feel what my leader?” Bernard asked in response.

  “Can you feel their fear coming from Freedom City? I can feel it Bernard, I feel their loss and emptiness knowing that their miserable lives are about to end. I feel their despair and their lost hope as they have finally realized that their prayers will never be answered as they pray to a god that doesn’t exist.” Frank said.

  “Yes my leader, I feel their despair and it is only through you that we have achieved this great triumph,” Bernard said.

  “Bernard, do you know why their god doesn’t exist? Do you know why the prayers of the humans and superhumans will never be answered?” Frank asked.

  “No my great leader, I do not know,” Bernard said.

  “Because I am their god Bernard, I am the one who decides who lives and who dies and who prospers and who suffers. If the humans and superhumans were to pray to me, I would listen to them and answer their prayers. But they will never pray to me because of their arrogance and their jealousy of what I have accomplished. This is why I will watch them suffer until each and every last one of them breathes their last breath.” Frank said with the utmost hatred in his voice.

  As Frank continued his bold and arrogant statements and thoughts of his self–acclaimed god–like status ran through his power crazy mind, a white knight came onto the screen and said, “We are less than one hour away from our destination my leader.”

  As Frank heard those words, he looked at Bernard and to the board of the betasapiens and said, “Our time has come, the world will soon be ours.”

  He then looked at the knight on the screen and said to him, “Send my message to them, and save those who believe in me and destroy those who do not,” and with that the knight gave Frank’s command to the leaders of the army of the knights and they prepared to pass Frank’s words of pride and arrogance to the people of Freedom City.

  “O great one, wouldn’t it be more appropriate if you passed your message onto the people of Freedom City instead of the knights passing it onto them on your behalf?” Bernard asked.

  “That is madness Bernard, they are not worthy of seeing or hearing me until they believe in me, and until they believe that I am their savior and also until they believe in my power and my glory. Only once they truly believe will I allow them to see me in all my magnificence and omnipotence.” Frank said to Bernard.

  Frank then seated himself and as he looked at the board of governors, they looked back at him. Some of them looked at him with thoughts of joy as his promise for a world ruled by the betasapiens was almost complete, while others looked at him wondering when the madness, pride and sheer arrogance that roamed within the demented mind of Frank Brady would end.

  CHAPTER TWENTY–TWO

  As the submarine carrying the thirteen kamikazes arrived in Norilsk, Russia, everyone on board was happy that they had arrived safely on land. They knew however that the underwater journey from Freedom City to Norilsk,
Russia was the easiest portion of the voyage and that the rest of the trip to Lake Baikal was only going to get more and more treacherous as they got closer to the base of the silver knights.

  As the submarine came out of the water onto the land, Pops kept a close eye on the radar to ensure that there were no enemies close by and that the coast was clear – which it was. The group then made their way to the back exit of the submarine, and as they arrived at the back exit they separated and boarded individual and group airmobiles to begin the trek on land.

  Leading the way and flying alone would be Pops and Tony; and they would be accompanied by Bismarck who would be acting as their prisoner. Meanwhile, flying in individual airmobiles would be Stryker, Amare, and Max, given their previous experience in battles and their expertise in flying the airmobiles. And finally, flying in the large airmobile which stored their cache of weapons and supplies, along with two extra smaller airmobiles, were John, Sarah, Zeus, Amanda, Elizabeth, Dean, and Ava.

  As everyone exited the large submarine and brought their airmobiles on land, Zeus went back into the submarine and guided it back into the Kara Sea where no one would see it, and it would be safe and ready for them, if it were needed, upon their hopeful return. As the submarine made its way into the water, the group knew that there was no room for error and that this trek would end in only one of two ways – success or failure, the latter meaning certain death at the hands of the knights.

  As Zeus made his way back up to land after guiding the submarine into the water, everyone was waiting for him and as the group stood together, ready to begin the most dangerous and arguably the most important journey of their lives thus far, Ava cleared her throat and said the words, “I’m ready to die, and I’m ready to give my life to save this world. My brother, Jonah, gave his life to save mine, and I’m ready to give my life to save you all. To Lake Baikal.”