Xero Chronicle: Invasion

by Ross Buzzell

  Disa’ani enters the staircase and immediately goes to the left to descend the steps. In his mind he plays his speech over and over again, planning out every word, every inflection and how he can best paint Konner into a box, a tactic he had secretly learned in the Academy. He follows the pull of the electricity in the basement where a number of individuals are working on massive ancient computers to help get the messages from the people in this building out. Disa’ani approaches the men through one of the two open doors that lead to what is labeled ‘server room.’ He looks at each of the men who stare at him in silence for a moment.

  “Get out.”

  Disa’ani speaks softly yet commandingly, the workers glance at each other in confusion for a moment before one responds.

  “But we still have some calibrations to d…”

  Disa’ani interrupts and snaps at them aggressively.

  “I said get out!”

  Without another word the technicians scurry out of the room. As they do Disa’ani closes the door to the hallway behind them, looking around a broom and a dustpan with a long handle lean against the wall. He slides both through the door handles and gives it a quick tug, they budge but don’t open. That would do. Turning to the server Disa’ani opens his brief case, removing his spear, which had been broken into three parts; he approaches a massive bundle of wires and places each piece of the spear on different sides. The weapon holds itself in place around the wires, the suit of cloth is consumed by yellow light energy that flows from the weapon and into him which causes his armor to gradually form around him, minus his helmet. The three pieces of the spear strobe in yellow light before projecting that light onto Disa’ani.

  “Hacking computer.”

  The voice within Disa’ani’s armor calls out. It was ironic, he chose to have more advanced armor and a far more advanced computer within his protective shell at the cost of the electron displacer thinking that he and Konner would be side by side until the bitter end. Now, when it would be of greater use to have an electron displacer he does not and all he is being driven to do is rip Konner’s head off.

  “Global computer hack complete, starting video projection on emergency broadcasting systems.”

  The light that bathes his flashes twice, Disa’ani looks directly at his sectioned off spears as he speaks to the weapons which now project his message across the entire planet, the computer in his armor automatically translating for every other people group in the process.

  “Planet Earth, I am Disa’ani of the planet Boron. I am here to warn you of a rogue alien fugitive here to destroy all life on this world. This fugitives name is Konner Lorian; he is among the most dangerous criminals in the galaxy. He is single handedly responsible for the complete and utter obliteration of an entire star system, wiping out billions of lives and numerous civilizations in the process. I have come to tell you that when my planet fell, at his hands, the High King, Xero, and I followed this scourge here, to this small blue marble in the system of Sol. Unfortunately we were unable to stop his arrival but we were able to track him to a city you call St. Louis. The High King is on his way to destroy this threat before he can turn your world to ash.”

  Disa’ani lifts his hands up, focusing on the image of Konner he projects a hard light copy of him slowly rotating so that everyone can get a good look.

  “This is the criminal that we seek. I could not help but notice from your news that he has already killed two humans who were brave enough to try and stop him. If you see him, stop him at all costs and I promise you, people of Earth, that as long as High King Xero lives he will stand by your side, track this monster down and kill him. Until next time good people of Earth.”

  Disa’ani bows and the light projected by his weapon cuts off. Disa puts a hand out, the weapon floats from the wires and begins to reassemble itself as it floats back to him. As the metal comes into contact with his hand he places the spear on his back, un-barricade’s the doors and throws them open. A small crowd stands in the hallway, all looking at him nervously but with hope. Disa’ani flashes them a quick smile.

  “I promise you, I will not let that monster harm you.”

  He watches their face relax, he has their trust, good. Disa’ani exits the building the same way he had entered, through the cool stairwell and out from the marble lobby. Now it is a waiting game, wait for Konner to make the next move, wait for his master to arrive, overall, just wait. Disa’ani exits the building and once on the street he looks up and with a powerful leap, cracking the concrete underfoot, he flings himself into the air and onto the ledge of the news building’s roof. He takes a few steps in as to not be seen from the street level and keeps his eyes glued to the skyline of the city for any clues of Konner’s movements.

  On the ground people are panicking, yelling at each other, running from one place to another, he is surprised at how easily they were stirred. Disa’ani digs his spear into the rooftop and a light bathes him once more bringing up an image of Xero, who sits cross legged on a ship.

  “It looks like the plan worked, these humans got riled up a lot easier than I had expected. There are mobs of people forming and soon they will be screaming for his head. It is only a matter of time before the police begin to hunt him.”

  “Good, he will try to hide but they will find him. If the cops can’t finish him off you make sure he doesn’t leave the city. I am getting close and will be there shortly.”

  Xero responds. Disa’ani nods in agreement.

  “Yes sir.”

  With that Disa’ani pulls his sword from the ground. A soft tinge of power itches the back of Disa’ani’s mind and his desire to kill Konner grows. Disa’ani scans the skyline once more only to see his former best friend leap from the side of a building only a few blocks away and fly away from the brown body of flowing water to his right. Disa’ani keeps his distance, he knows Konner would be able to feel him coming from miles away, hopefully he is distracted enough not to notice Disa’ani follow him. Disa’ani begins to leap from rooftop to rooftop, keeping Konner in his line of sight but at the same time using the small protrusions on the tops or buildings as cover from Konner’s line of sight. Eventually Konner lands, Disa’ani approaches and with just a few short jumps stands above the street and watches in pleasure as Konner is slammed into the ground and restrained.

  Disa’ani stands on the top of the building for a time contemplating if he should go down there and attack Konner head on while he is detained and with the element of surprise on his side. He wants to obey Xero’s orders and just keep an eye on him but that tinge in the back of his mind pushes him over the edge, literally. Before Disa’ani knows what happened he is falling from the rooftop and lands hard on the concrete which gives way under him, the sudden stop is jarring but he knows what he must do. Disa’ani draws the spear off of his back, he approaches the station and throws a hand out while focusing on the stored solar energy within him. In a flash of light a burst of bright solar plasma jumps from his hand and slams into the side of the building with explosive affect. Before the rubble even falls Disa’ani is inside of the station, his weapon cuts down three officers in the blink of an eye. A bullet hits him in the side of the head which jerks his head to the opposing side, it hurt, but not badly. A yellow light leaves his armor and forms around his head bringing his helmet back into play; drawing off the bonded Energynium of the spear it is able to recall his helmet.

  Disa’ani dashes across the room; he kills a few more officers and renders others either unconscious or severely injured, knowing full well this is not tactically sound yet seemingly being driven to do it. As the fighting stops Disa’ani turns and notices a single door shut on the far side of the precinct. Stepping over corpse, unconscious or injured bodies Disa’ani approaches the grey metal door and slams his foot into it so hard that it bounces into the room and embeds itself into the far wall. He looks to see Konner in handcuffs, this brings a smile to his face, and he had wanted to see this for years. He notices the cape draped over Konner’s sho
ulders, something he did not have the last time they had met.

  “The High King of Boron finally takes on the colors of royalty only to be chained to a table. Xero would have loved to see this.”

  He hisses finding great pleasure in the situation, now is his chance. Disa’ani draws his spear back and lunges at Konner striking at his former best friend as hard and as fast as he can. Faster than Disa’ani has ever seen him move Konner dodges the spear, grabbing its head and holding it fast. Disa’ani yanks on the weapon but Konner is far stronger and with a powerful yank Disa’ani feels his feet lift off the ground as he is pulled towards Konner, surprise surges through his system and in a flash Disa’ani feels the closed fist of his former commander plant itself directly into Disa’ani’s chest. The blow hits like something he had only experienced once, back on Boron, the first time Konner had hit him. His armor absorbs most of the attack, which he is thankful for since without it Konner’s fist would have punched right through Disa’ani. The warrior flies back through the door that he had just kicked in and bounces off the ground in the center of the station before coming to a stop by slamming into the far wall.

  Disa’ani pushes himself off the ground only to collapse into the wall he had just slammed into. His chest burning, not from the smoke or the dust from the explosion but because of the sheer magnitude of the punch he had just received. Disa’ani’s fingers grip his spear tightly as he makes eye contact with Konner who motions towards the bull pin.

  “Disa’ani, stop this madness! You are going to cause more unnecessary death!”

  Disa’ani glares at Konner from behind the slats in his helmet; using his spear Disa’ani pushes himself to his feet.

  “You are the one who endangered their lives Konner, by not surrendering yourself to Xero. Did you really think he would not send me after you and that I would not have killed every last person in my path… to you?”

  He growls as he points his weapon at Konner.

  “I did not think you would be dumb enough to come out into public like this. What were you going to tell Xero if you had managed to kill me? We both know he is the one that wants that ‘honor’.”

  Typically Disa’ani would charge Konner at this point but he notices Konner’s fingers twitch, he is about to deploy his shield and if Disa’ani were to charge now the fight would be over before it even begins. He smirks as an idea forms in his mind, tightening his grip on his spear he decides to attack at range and draws back to throw his weapon at Konner. Before he throws his weapon a series of loud ‘bangs’ ring out. Each one accompanied by a familiar jolt to his helmet forcing the warrior to stagger back as the bullets fall to the ground at his feet. Disa’ani hears an unfamiliar voice call out between shots.

  “I got you covered Konner, get out of here!”

  As the last shot bounces off of Disa’ani’s armor he immediately gets himself balanced once again, this time his target has shifted to the officer that has just shot him. Disa’ani changes to attack the officer and manages to throw his spear but Konner moves first, he was always faster. Konner disappears from Disa’ani’s field of view, he moves so quickly, and out of nowhere a ball of plasma energy slams into him. The heat and energy from the plasma do nothing to Konner except make him feel more energized, but the gravity well that accompanies the attack sends Disa’ani through the wall of the precinct. The heat energy that accompanies an impact which moves at speeds near the that of light would usually turn an entire city to ash, and that was being optimistic, but Disa’ani pulls all of that energy into himself in order to fortify his body against the gravitational impact and to slow himself down so when he hits the building across the street about four stories up.

  Disa’ani pulls himself from the side of the building to be met by a hail of gunfire. Each one individually does not hurt but combined they begin to sting. Disa’ani flings himself off of the side of the building and clambers up to its roof, calling his spear after him and attaching it to his back. As he retreats back towards the river. A familiar presence makes itself known to Disa’ani and calls to him like a magnet. The warrior changes his direction and begins to leap from rooftop to rooftop up river, as he passes the building he was kicked out of the night before Disa’ani calls his other weapons to him, finally being close enough to do so and within moments his other two spears attach themselves onto his back.

  Chapter: 8

  The ship rocks back and forth, forward and back under Xero as he sits with his legs crossed, meditating on the power source that grows closer with each jump. Xero glances down to see the captain at the helm through a hole made by Xero’s sword, the captain begins to turn the wheel, Xero pushes his sword the same way which causes the boat to begin to turn as a whole. He has no idea the helm is useless and that Xero is the one controlling the ships course and the power that emanates from the ring calls out to Xero like a beacon. Xero isn’t keeping him alive because he needs someone to captain the ship anymore; he is keeping the captain alive for his own amusement.

  Xero grips the hilt of his weapon tightly, he activates the orb on his side and with a surge of purple light that jumps from the orb to Xero’s sword like a slow lightning bolt the entire ship vanishes again and is thrown back together once more. The sound of vomiting fills the air, quickly accompanied by the acidic scent of the humans sick. Xero chuckles to himself; every time they jump the captain is unable to keep his composure and gets sick before returning to his post trembling in fear that Xero would kill him for moving. On the horizon Xero notices something peculiar, the horizon is no longer moving or dancing in the distance, it is solid and stationary, land. Xero stands up and pulls his sword out of the ship and sheaths it onto his back. The pull of the rings stone was still a long way off but they are so close now if he is patient they would only need one more jump.

  Xero walks over to the stairwell that lead into the bridge of the ship, the cool spray of the sea splashing onto his hardened features as he descends before entering the bridge itself. He glances over at the map; the blue ping is still in the center of the country. Alarms begin to sound within the ship followed quickly by flashing lights. Their loud whirring causes Xero discomfort as his sharpened hearing is pierced by the sound. Xero draws his sword.

  “What is this!”

  He roars. The captain runs over to a computer and types onto its keyboard. He looks over at Xero.

  “The ship is taking on water, I do not know how this is possible, we are sinking!”

  He may not know, but Xero does, the teleporting, it is imperfect and unless the object being transported is of immeasurable power when it is put back together it is not put back together properly which leads to weaknesses and injuries. Or in this case, a sinking ship.

  “No matter, I will remedy this factor.”

  With a press of the glyph the ship jumps once again. As the ship is spat out Xero looks at the land on either side of him, the water the ship is on is murky and off in the distance, just over the horizon stands the city that harbors Konner. His jaw clenches as his hatred for Konner begins to grow rapidly once again. He feels the craft shift under his feet as hisses of air begin to exude themselves from the side of the ship as it takes on water. The boat begins to sink and with a look of worry the captain enquires.

  “Will you release me now that we are here?”

  Xero smiles, walking over to the man he places his massive hand on the man’s tiny shoulder.

  “Of course, I will release you.”

  Xero states softly, a look of relief washes over the man’s face. A look of hope and peace, this is what Xero was waiting for, the prospect of survival. Xero grips the man’s trapezoid with his thumb under the captain’s collar bone and slowly begins to squeeze. The captain’s face shifts from happy optimism to that of fear as it dawns on him that he was a dead mean from the moment he had set eyes on Xero. This is what he was waiting for, this is why Xero kept the man alive, even past his usefulness, because he wants to see the hope die just before his light is extinguished. The captain b
egins to groan and reaches up to grab Xero’s arm but the banished prince gives him one final squeeze which shatters his collar bone so completely it cuts the captains carotid artery from within. Xero drops the man to the floor and listens to the helpless spurts and sputters that leaves the man’s mouth as he struggles to breath and with no oxygen getting to his brain Xero hears one last gasp before he leaps off of the sinking ship and lands on the shore. Xero grabs the orb and gives it a squeeze, it syncs up with Disa’ani’s spears.