by Ted L C
“You see, children. Just because one brings someone back from the dead does not mean that they aren’t afflicted with what took their lives in the first place.
“For example, Rainy. A cursed blade has taken her life—pierced her trachea. Unable to breathe, she suffocated. Now if I bring her back, and her esophagus is still gashed.
“Will she jump out of that bed and praise Sekhemet?”
“No—” the boy says.
A tremble pulses throughout the walls and flooring. Alyssa’s feet drag her body to the window.
“We have your Yama blood,” a chrome pod wedged into the foliage through the window appears within Alyssa’s sight. “Straight from the source.”
“That aura,” Ajir’s robes quiver. “One of the most powerful egos in the known universe. I feel the tendrils of darkness emanating from his body.”
“What do we do about Rainy—”
“We are found”, Warden faces through the window as another figure materializes. Rays of light reflect off its golden shell. An intense aroma of frankincense bursts through their noses. “Young ones, this is how one end the cycle of Adalfieri. One must take risks to unite a culture.”
* * *
Door to Nirvana
“What about Achilles?” Derek peepers peers through the window. Two figures exchange glistening stares. “Why didn’t he come?”
“The man is not blinded by greed as these Betas are.
“On the contrary, he drugs himself each day. Neglecting the troubles life inflicts upon us. These men; however, continually hunt for my life.
“Leave them be. Observe their fighting styles. There is nowhere we can run. Now the two have faces they can follow.”
“Does the true Zeresh stand before me?” Zeresh’s crimson glare reflects off Alexander’s helmets coated surface. “The man who slain my Midna thousands of years ago?”
“The mad king!” a glow fills Yama’s eyes as they narrow. “It appears that fate dragged us together for a rather touching reunion.”
“The Warden is not going anywhere, Zeresh,” a fleet of NanoLites swarm from the king’s chest armor and into his palm. “Thus, we may partake in our greatest pleasure.”
The robots mold the shape of a scythe. “Tell me old friend, has your long life sown fulfillment? Has it sparked joy in your existence?”
“Not until the present, ‘my lord’,” a claymore materializes in Zeresh’s hand. His feet carry him in a circular formation surrounding Alexander.
“So you’ve been bored?” the king plants the weapon’s blunt edge into the soil. “I grant you life for all these years, yet you tell me that this existence bores you?”
“The timing wasn’t right, ole’ friend. One needs an efficient time frame to initiate a battle of Betas—”
“My hunt is complete, today,” both Betas murmurs drift throughout the forest. Scraping against the innards of Derek, Alyssa, and the Warden’s ears.
“Ready to suffocate on your innards, buddy?” Zeresh’s tongue brushes against his lips while removing his hood.
“You have always been a man of many words,” Alexander’s hands swim toward the handle of his scythe. He aligns them with his left shoulder. “Poetic and full of spirit. I’d love to add your tongue to my collection. Artemis, feed upon this Beta’s—”
Zeresh transforms into an ivory blur. Alexander’s body mutates into an onyx silhouette.
The brother of Sekhemet’s blade rises a foot from his neck—
“Impossible—” Warden’s head twists and faces Derek. “The mad king can teleport now? But how?”
“He’s never been able to do that?” Alyssa cocks an eyebrow whilst drumming nails against her thigh.
“Nay, he hasn’t,” the room around the Warden spins. “All recordings state he manipulates plasma and can lift planes—”
Artemis pivots behind Zeresh.
He ducks.
Golden fingers intertwine into Yama’s arm and fade. Fluids ooze from his shoulder.
An armada of NanoLites cascade throughout Zeresh’s arms, sculpting a new limb. He stands. His eyelids collapse.
The warrior garbed with golden armor appears several feet ahead of him and dashes. Thunder roars as the king’s body morphs into a haze.
Fames arcs sideways. It catches the scythe’s innards. Yama yanks his sword upward and fires a fist into the king’s stomach. His blade flutters as a blur.
Alexander hurls his body backward. Artemis lunges downward.
The former Pharaoh’s fingers catch the weapon’s handle. His arms tremble as Alexander launches an elbow downward.
An edge of the phoenix’s wing digs into Zeresh’s skull. An electrical current travels through the sword’s shaft and into the brain. Zeresh’s legs retreat.
Fames slips from the man’s fingers.
Good boy.
I control my mind—I control my mind—I control my own mind.
No, you do not—
Artemis shifts backward.
A dagger wedges inside of the scythe’s crescent. Pushing forward, the knife shoves the massive weapon to the side.
“Alexander, if you are going to finish this man, do it in a worthy manner,” Warden’s collapsing pupils lock with the reflection on the king’s helmet. “Though this man is evil incarnate, he is also a beacon of life. For without d-death, there cannot be life.”
“That is what I am for, Ajir,” Alexander’s shroud faces Zeresh. “This man, as you might call him, is a symbol of weakness. He shrouds himself in cowardice by hiding amongst his clones.
“If he was modest, he would have faced me many years ago. And now, he is just a part of a vicious cycle that plagues our cosmos.
“For breaking a taboo among the HESTEKS, your fate must mirror Zeresh’s”
The armor-clad man bursts into ashes.
The Warden eyelids collapse as his blade dances with the air. A dink echoes through the forest. His unveiling eyes face a golden chest piece, free of scratches.
“During my thousands of years of being alive,” Alexander appears several feet away from the two. “I have found the meaning of life. A hack to transition into a higher plane of existence. An escape from these frail temples which humans labeled as bodies.”
Battalions of NanoLites flee from his hand. The scythe evaporates. His body lowers. His legs cross over one another. “Behold, for I am your shepherd!”
A frigid gale yanks clusters of leaves through the forest—The puddles turn to ice. Webs of electricity hover above the ground, dancing with Alexander’s body.
The Warden’s feet tip-toe toward the armored being.
The glimmering red visor on the warrior’s helmet transitions into a cobalt hue.
Warden and Yama collapse—with eyes open.
Two ear-piercing howls soar through the army of trees and shrubs.
Zeresh’s body liquefies, sizzling through the dirt.
A symphony of chips reverberates. A medley of foliage sprouts and matures from the soil surrounding the Wardens corpse.
“Shit,” the NanoLites crawl toward Derek’s fist, mutating to the Revelator’s mold. “What do we do?”
“He’s weak to where you might be able to get a shock into him,” Alyssa utters. “Make him forget about what we look like for a while. Otherwise, you and I are done. However, the man’s not drained enough to finish him. My intuition tells me that he didn’t use the full potential of his Final Offer.
“Blitz him. Now, I will cover you.”
“Let’s do it!” Derek’s body vanishes.
The boy’s crystalline eyes examine their reflection. He rests a palm against the king’s chest—
* * *
Alyssa shimmies a ruffled skirt across her legs while staring at Derek. His gaze glues to the coaster sleeping on the glass table. “What are you doing, Derek?”
“I’m waiting for you to call Liam.”
“I feel gross. I need to get into the shower now; otherwise, I’ll go crazy.
“Afterwa
rd, I must retire to my sensory deprivation chamber. Haven’t gotten a decent sleep in almost a year thanks to this whole situation.”
“What about Alexander?” Derek leans toward the saucer. “The dude still wants to off us. He can figure out what we look like just from watching the news—”
“Derek,” Alyssa’s pajama’s obstruct the hologram of a woman facing the boy and arcs her body forward.
His eyes drift toward her cleavage for a second and back to her eyes.
“Use some sense. He’s known our faces like the entire time. If he truly wanted to end our lives, he could have come to Faxian and capitalized on our dilemma there.
“Could have offed us when we were distracted in Japan and Germany. Hell, he could’ve even drugged us, taken advantage of both me and you, and slit our throats with no effort at all. The man toys with his prey. With the knowledge he possesses, if we pass on, there’s no more hunt. Other than Achilles, who is now just a stoner, no one else poses a potential threat to Alexander other than us.
“Yara and Tsubasa are in the next life. They were both powerful enough to execute the hulking mother fucker. However, as strong as Alexander is, the man is a coward—”
“What?” Derek watches as her pupils deflate. The girl straightens her posture and goes toward the bathroom. “Are you well?”
“Call Liam,” she says.
* * *
Attachment
“Silence—” an army of denizens watch their reflection within the hulk’s helmet.
A medley of body language shuffles throughout the crowd.
“Is what I desire from the masses after today’s happenings. Since the worlds watch from the comforts of their homes, I will remove the mask of the number one conglomerate across the cosmos.”
As the Nanos surrounding the figure’s face crumbles, a patch of facial hair appears.
“No” Derek’s stare magnetize to the hologram recording. The final unit of mirrored robots disintegrates. A set of emerald eyes unveils.
A massive flag with a pallid background rolls over a sheet with a skull. A towering crimson-hued Reivscere logo rests within its center. “Liam Reivscere.”
“I’ve been around for quite a while, Derek,” Liam says.
As his body temperature rises, Derek’s skin reddens.
I’ve been around for quite a while, Derek.
“No—”
I’ve been around for quite a while, Derek.
“Alyssa! I need a c-c-cigarette!”
I’ve been around for quite a while, Derek.
Pupils dilate as Alyssa gazes at the hologram. “This whole time, he was equipping us. But why—”
“Derek O’Brien.” Liam’s voice echoes throughout the city and through the pixilated structure. “I follow the Ark HESTEK code as being the strongest warrior in the four galaxies. Only you and two others stand a fighting chance against me. You have been armed for this moment in time.
“Come now, HESTEK. Face me.”
His helmet forms as Artemis manifests.
Gothic metal music emanates from the speakers.
“Otherwise, this blood bath—will be on you—” a symphony of screams pulsate from the crowd. People cycle in a myriad of directions. “Exterminate—”
The armored character bursts into ashes.
“He knows how to teleport, now?” vibrations circulate through the boy’s palms. “How—”
“Derek, tell me about how you realized your symptom to teleport matter,” Liam’s finger illustrates itself inside of Derek’s mind. It brushes against his beard.
“Because of you,” Alyssa’s arms fold over one another. “He somehow didn’t realize he could teleport. Since you explained to him how you did it, he is now a significantly higher threat.
“It’s a shame; the ego held a man back for thousands of years, blinding him from his true potential. I don’t think we can take him at this level. He’s in his prime now.”
“We must—I don’t know—z-z-Zeresh was one thing, but this guy, h-he’s different.”
“We need to make him forget about his ability to teleport, my love. Otherwise, he will be a significant threat.” Alyssa’s voice echoes within the confines of his mind
“Derek, I understand that I’ve taught you a lot about how to conquer your comfort zone. How to face conflict—however—”
“What—” she says.
Alyssa’s hands grip the boy’s wrist and yanks Derek toward her. Glossed lips mash against his. Her tongue enters his mouth, brushing his. The boy watches her collapsed eyelids.
Oil brushes from Alyssa’s cheeks to Derek’s.
A hard, yet warm sensation pulsates through his lower body. Silken fur mixed with tingles whisks the surface of his brain.
He shoves both palms into her stomach as his legs pull him backward. Clips of him ripping off her clothes rush through his thoughts. A scene of him pressing her against the counter and entering her streams.Not now!
Alyssa rests her fingers on his shoulder.
“Let’s go to the Cartesian Galaxy, Derek,” her hand slides against his chest. “Live in Vulcanis. On the waterfront, we could watch the four suns fall asleep behind the forest of redwoods every night. It’s the most romantic setting one could ever experience.
“I can use my D.M.T. reserves—even sell my dagger. That would keep us afloat for ten years in my castle. Reivscere can’t enter Vulcanis; therefore, we’d be safe.”
“A Zeresh clone got into your castle,” Derek says. “Anyway, I can’t let those people perish.”
“Yes, you can, Derek. You let him commit genocide on Faxian and start wars that have taken millions of innocents. Now, let’s—”
“How could I have let him? That happened 200 years ago according to the documents. And I’m only twenty-one—”
“Derek, I haven’t had this feeling before—” her hand slides toward his abs.
“Wait—” a hologram of a man in a suit forms inside of his head.
“A man by the name of Alexander and his Quantum group declared a cleansing of the citizens of Faxian—”
“I haven’t had this feeling in over 150 years,” Alyssa’s toes girl as her body drifts closer to his.
“This all seems familiar.” An image of Alyssa paints in his mind.
“I haven’t ever had this feeling before, Derek—”
“Derek, I love you!” her hand shimmies into Derek’s pants and grips his package.
A memory of Alexander’s mirrored helmet forms.
“Come find me when you’re more skilled. You are not ready for me, yet.”
“My memory—” his mind switches from a series of sexual visualizations to poses of Alexander. “He erased it.”
Warm air beats against the skin of the two. Alyssa hurls herself into him, slamming his back into the marble. She tugs his shaft, alternating directions by the second.
The stage where the armor-clad man once stood surfaces inside of his thoughts.
Derek bursts into a silhouette of ash.
The black dust forming a human collapses.
Alyssa’s body falls to the floor as obsidian dust soaks through her clothing.
“No—no—no—” droplets slide from Alyssa’s eyelids and on her cheeks. “This isn’t supposed to happen.
Her body transforms into a blur. Her normal form manifests beside a mannequin. She taps her wrist several times—a symphony of rings follows.
“What can I do for you, Alyssandra?” an upbeat voice emanates from the watch.
“Meet me in our spot in Luxembourg, we’re hunting.”
“Bitch, are you serious? He’s in his prime.”
“I’m ready to sacrifice everything. Remember, you owe me a life debt.”
* * *
Derek rematerializes.
A cerulean aura with the shape of a blue fireball envelopes the boy’s body.
As Artemis propels through a woman’s abdomen, it jolts toward Derek. It, along with the glistening armor bursts into ashes.
The lad leaps toward the king’s last location and vanishes.
A palm grips Alexander’s forearm as the boy appears.
The limb transforms into ashes.
With another flash, an arm appears with a wrist blade ejected. The sharpened edge scrapes across Alexander’s visor.
Derek arcs his arm sideways. The Revelator propels downward upon manifesting. Hammering the scythe into the ground.
The glimmering hulk dissolves.
* * *
Alexander manifests in an office.
Derek appears behind him and swings.
The warrior jerks a strand of wire from a T.V. screen while whipping it at his opponent’s fingers.
The boy’s grasp releases as he tightens his grip around the sword’s handle on his other hand.
Derek hurls his fist at the armored figure.
The mad king curves his wrist inward, deflecting Derek’s.
Another fist rams into Alexander’s visor.
An electrical burst circulates through the boy’s hands and into the armor. The Nanos molding his shell crumbles.
A snap comes from Liam’s fingers. As the temperature rises, white light fills Derek’s vision.
Claws clamp Derek’s skull. A shock surges through his head.
He vanishes.
* * *
The boy reaches downward to grip a squishy object. He spins while swinging it—with sight filled with darkness.
The plaza lined with blood-drenched corpses appears. Eyes magnetize toward a severed leg in his grasp.
“Holy shit!” the limb falls from his hand as Alexander’s sapphire gaze illustrates within Derek’s mind.
He disappears.
* * *
Nanos march toward Derek’s hand, dragging particles of beige dust along with them. When nearing his grip, they interlock, forming the base of the boy’s Revelator.
“Is this your element?” Alexander kneels while reaching downward. “No—the desert—it is your place of bliss. Why is that?
“Because it is empty?” his fingers arc inward and at the ground. Moist brown powder circulates through his appendages. “Like you wish your mind to be?”
Revelator rises above the King’s body. Taps exude from it as droplets beat against its surface.