***
Hours later, Kai and her band made their way across the courtyard of the High Queen's palace. All had the new rifles and all held them ready. "Remember," Kai admonished, "if you see those shadow creatures, fire at full power." She opened a servant's entrance, leading her people inside. They made their way via the serving tunnels to the throne room. The band entered cautiously, unsure if their quarry was about "And that strange woman you told us about?" one of her soldiers whispered. "What do we do if we see her?" "Why, you run, of course," Fourth's voice said mockingly from above them. "Run for your sad little lives." Kai looked toward the throne. Fourth sat there, flanked on either side by Second and Third. First was bound tight to a large machine behind her. Wires ran from the faded Grey Stranger through an elaborate control panel to a series of massive crystalline batteries. First looked nearly transparent, while Second and Third were almost as substantial and colorful as their Mistress. The presumptive High Queen smiled sweetly at Kai. "So Captain," she said, sitting back comfortably in the throne, "come to try again?"
Convergence
"That's it," Mar said, guiding the machine with her hand, "just a few inches more... there. Lower it in." She stood well back as the crane lowered the engine from her ship into Baern's power plant. The plant was among the first things savaged by Jat Loren and his wretched band, though she'd noticed they'd set up temporary generators to supply their own headquarters with power. Typical of his type, she thought. So eager to preach sacrifice and simplicity, though none too eager to lead by example. Well, that was one bit of damage she was undoing right now. Soon all the homes of Baern would have power again, thanks to the crystal in her engine and the Spark it could channel. She just needed to provide the initial motive energy, the engine would do the rest. She turned away as the technicians (she'd marveled that any were left) went inside the plant to make the necessary adjustments that would allow the plant to run off her engine. There was much else to do now. Food was a priority, though she was pleased the water supply had escaped unmolested. Her new assistant, Jermah, approached, his ubiquitous clipboard in hand. "Excuse me, Ms. Dagnae," he said, eyes scanning the pertinent information, "but there are a number of crises that demand your immediate attention." Stifling a sigh, Mar forced herself to smile. "We'll get to them all in good time," she promised. "First, however, an update on our current crises if you don't mind." Jermah cleared his throat, flipping backward through the sheets of paper until he reached the appropriate page. "Yes," he said, "on the subject of food supplies, those farms not torched by the Professor's army have promised half their yield this harvest, and have offered up dried fruits and meats from their stores. Two city granaries escaped destruction as well, so, while it won't be especially comfortable, no one should starve before trade resumes." "If it does," Mar muttered. Jermah simply nodded. "I imagine that depends on events in Vega City, ma'am," he said. Mar grimaced, but gave a curt nod. "I suppose you're right," she agreed. When she'd first recovered from Mandhe's attack, her first impulse had been to gather all able-bodied men and women and go after her. Upon further consideration, she realized that was all the town of Baern had known for weeks. Strangers come to town, rile up the populace, then take their strongest off on some fool crusade to Vega City. Looking at the half-starved miserable wretches that had surrounded her then, she realized it was Baern that needed her more than Vega. Events there would have to play out without her. She could do more good here. She turned to Jermah, indicating that he should walk with her as she made her way to the granaries. He fell into step beside her, reading off Baern's latest problems, and continuing his updates of the old. Whatever Vega City's problems, she thought, their solutions lay in other hands now.
***
Once again, Kai Moxen fought for her life against a seemingly endless supply of foes. Shadow creatures, corrupt Pacifica and the followers of Jat Loren. They had attacked the throne room mere moments after Kai and her band arrived, blue-robed men and women pouring in, clubs raised and guns ready. Kai had become separated from her crew rather quickly, and she was unsure if any still lived. Her gun had lost its charge, and she'd already drained Fourth's two attendants. They knelt, beaten and nearly as insubstantial as the one hanging behind the throne. The woman who would be High Queen, however, had evaded all attempts to drain her, so Kai used her gun as a club, smashing it into the faces of men and women formerly under her command and those lost in religious frenzy. The shadow creatures avoided her now, knowing they could not block her, though she imagined they'd made short work of her team. As she waded further into the melee, she spared a glance for the dais. Jat Loren and Fourth stood there, the latter gently caressing the former's face, staring deep into his eyes. "Mistress," Jat Loren pleaded, waves of ecstasy coursing through him at her mere touch, "I did not expect to find you here." "No?" she smiled. "Mmm. I suppose not. I, on the other hand, anticipated your coming." She directed his attention to the chamber below them, and the mass of struggling bodies. "Look there, my darling," she purred, standing behind him, her arms wrapped around his chest. "We bring chaos to this city, so that order will be all the more welcome when I impose it." Jat turned to face her, smiling politely. "We, Mistress," he said softly. "Excuse me?" "I believe you meant to refer to the order we will impose." Jat said, puffing his chest slightly. Fourth laughed, stroking his cheek gently with her finger. "Oh, my dear little human," she said, "you truly have no idea." She took his face in her hands again. "You have grown so powerful since first we met," she said. "Yessss," he felt bliss overtaking him. "All that worship, all that adulation," she said, her face coming nearer to his, "all of it directed toward you." Jat Loren simply smiled beatifically at her. He was lost. Lost in her infinite gaze. "So much power," she repeated. "All for me." Then she kissed him, and whatever vestiges of grey remained were washed away in a flood of color and permanence. She fairly glowed with power now as she let the withered husk of Amorlia's great religious leader fall lifelessly to the ground. She looked out over the brawling mob and laughed. Her one-time compatriots dwindled to vague memory around her and the palace trembled to its foundations. "Mine!" she cried, "All of this is mine!" Then there was a loud crash, and new warriors flooded the room, all armed with strange-looking weapons, odd bits of machinery grafted to their heads and chests. A woman stood in the doorway. She appeared to be made entirely of metal, thin lines glowing with Spark illuminated the curves of her exquisite form. "How nice for you," the young metallic woman mocked in an echoing voice, "but I'll be taking it now."
Chaos
First hung from his shackles, barely there. He was so deprived of Spark that to the casual observer, he didn't exist at all. All that remained was a faint outline, his own self-awareness and a series of bitter memories. Memories of pain and suffering, of betrayal by his trusted lieutenants. He looked down on them now and would have laughed if he still retained a vestige of humor. They were less substantial than he was, mere wisps of idea fading into distant memory. First tugged again at his restraints. It was a futile gesture, but it was something to- Wait. He strained against the restraints a second time, and for the second time, he felt a minuscule jolt of Spark enter him. It wasn't enough to restore him in the least bit, but for someone in his state, it was a drop of water on a parched tongue. He exalted at it, and strove desperately to get more. He strained harder and was rewarded with yet another small tingle. He noticed out the corner of his eye that Second and Third twitched each time he struggled for Spark. A thought struck him. This little machine Four had hooked him up to... could it possibly... no, she couldn't be that stupid, could she? First decided that she, in fact, could. She copulated with the apes, after all. He renewed his efforts, rewarded by the sight of Second and Third shivering and fading faster. He himself was not quite actual as yet, still more concept than man, but he could feel his abstract nature begin to solidify. It would take a while, but with patience, he just might drain enough from those two clods to be viable again, all without Four even noticing. The battle was a wretched me
ss, the floor slick with blood and piles of corpses climbing the walls. Fourth fought hard to turn it in her favor, but Mandhe's forces were superior to all others by dint of their technological enhancements. Mandhe simply stood amid the carnage and laughed. "When I'm done, Your Majesty," she executed a mock bow toward the seething would-be High Queen, "I plan to tear this entire palace down." "Really?" That took Fourth by surprise. "And here I thought you fought on the side of poor pathetic Artemis or her battered proxy." She gestured toward Kai, who fought tirelessly against hordes of panicked soldiers and religious fanatics, as well as the mechanical humans who caused the panic. She was covered in blood, much of it hers, and her clothes were in tatters. Her gun was naught but splinters on the floor and she fought only with bare knuckles. Mandhe laughed. "Her? No, I don't think so." She waved her hand, and another horde of fresh mechanically augmented men and women rushed into battle. Fourth noticed many of her own Pacifica and a number of Jat Loren's followers among the rabble. Mandhe nodded. "I've shut down their reason and wired them to take instruction only from me. Of course, all I'm telling them to do is kill everyone not like them." She laughed again. "I'm not here to fight for anyone, Grey Stranger. I'm here to sow chaos." Fourth shook her head. "No, that won't do," she said. "A bit of managed chaos, such as I've been up to, is all well and good as it leads to my intended order." She jumped down off the dais and walked toward Mandhe as though strolling across an open field rather than the packed and roiling mass of bloody humanity surrounding her. "But real chaos?" She shook her head again. "I've no use for that. You'll have to go." Her eyes flared, and Shadow creatures appeared as from nowhere, descending toward Mandhe's techno-mob. Mandhe laughed again, Spark running along her arms and to the ends of the wires that passed for her hair. "A good fight! Wonderful! Now we'll truly..." her voice drifted off as the palace began to rumble. Outside, first faintly but getting louder, a series of loud booming noises were heard. Then, with a final wall-shuddering boom, Kel Vega was in the throne room, hovering over the bloodbath, great blue wings beating slowly. "Right," he said, holding the Sword of Vega in his hand. "That's more than enough of that."
Legion
Heroes and Villains
Kel and Kai stood back-to-back as a horde of Shadow creatures swarmed over them. Kel sliced them in half with the Sword of Vega, while Kai simply tore them free from where they latched onto her and tossed them across the room. "How is it they don't block you like they do everyone else?" he shouted over the shrieks of their attackers. "It's a bit of a story," Kai answered, tearing a Shadow creature in half, "I'll tell you later. What about you? And how did you get your wings back?" "The sword protects me," Kel said as he stabbed another one. "And what do you mean, get them back? I've-" A massive burst of Spark shredded the creatures, causing no small amount of pain to Kel and Kai in the process. "Gaahhrr!" Kel growled. "What in the Broken Hells was that?" "That would be me, Kel." Mandhe stood before him, smiling and holding up what used to be her hand. In its place was a still-smoking Spark-powered pulse cannon. She aimed it at the two weary fighters. "I wanted a clear shot." "Mandhe," Kel pleaded, "don't do this. I don't know what's happened to you, but maybe I can-" "I've become a goddess, you ignorant cretin!" Mandhe shouted, hysteria evident in her voice. The echo had become shrill, her optics flashing rapidly. "I see you found a way to get your wings back," she sneered. "Congratulations. Now you'll finally have the chance to be the flawed copy of a second-rate hero you've always wanted." She looked down her nose, smirking. Then her face changed. She seemed scared, overwhelmed. Her eyes were pleading. "Kel, please," she whispered, no hint of echo in her voice. "Please do something. Please save me." She screamed and fell to her knees. Kel stood over her, eyes wide with grief and worry. All around him the room was still. Mandhe's mechanical warriors were stumbling about, clutching their heads. They'd lost her signal, and their true personas began to assert themselves. What others remained stopped their fighting to take in the scene before them. Mandhe tilted her head back, howling in pain and anguish. A loud mechanical screech accompanied her voice. Without thinking, Kel swung the Sword in a wide arc, bringing it down on Mandhe's head. A great explosion of light and sound occurred, knocking all but Kel and Kai to the blood-slick floor. When their vision cleared, the heroes saw their friend lying on the floor, once more herself, her clothes in tatters and clutched to her in shaking hands. The Faery creature Emfex stood over her, his mechanical face set in an expression of grave concern. He looked up at Kel. "I-I am sorry," he said. "This should never have... I'm sorry." He bowed his head as Mandhe began to stir. Kel knelt to tend to her, but was brought back up by Fourth's low chuckle. "Well," she said from her dais, "the grand and mighty Emfex, returned to us at last." She shook her head as she regarded Mandhe, still struggling to wake. "What have you done to that poor girl?" She shrugged. "No matter. She'll soon be dead with all the others once I've-" With a roar, First launched himself at her, arms locking about her neck. He grew more substantial, his grey blooming into color as her colors faded to grey. Then she bit down on his arm, and the colors flowed the other way. Spark crackled around them and the air itself shimmered before being rent open. "You imbecile!" she shouted. "I'd already opened a portal to that other Amorlia. But you attacked before I could call the Shadows through! Help me stabilize the portal before we're dragged in!" "No," Emfex said, diving at them. "No, let me help you on your way!" Before anyone could move, he tackled First and Fourth, still locked in desperate battle, into the hole that had grown behind them. With a final resounding boom, the hole closed, leaving the remaining fighters from all sides to stand about in stunned amazement. Up on the dais, Second and Third faded into nothingness, the last of their energies drained off by First and Fourth during their fight. Finally, everyone looked around at one another, and a lone officer of the corrupted Pacifica asked the question on everyone's mind. "Should we get back to fighting?" Kel stood from where he'd been wrapping a blood-stained cloak around a dazed Mandhe. "No," he said, looking about the room at each in turn. "This fight is over. All will lay down arms and await healing. Those not injured will tend those who are until a healer can be sent for." Everyone obeyed. They were all exhausted, and no one wanted to argue with the large winged man. Some recognized him for who he was, but even those who remembered Kel as their old Champion's protegé saw a different man before them that night. Weapons were swiftly discarded, and those who could immediately set about tending to the fallen. Kel turned to Kai, his hand in a pouch at his side. "I have much to tell you," he said, "but it can all wait. I was charged to give you this," he held out a goblet filled with clear cool water. "I think it could be of much use here today." Hesitantly, Kai took the goblet. When her fingers closed around it, knowledge hit her brain with a brutal jolt. She stumbled back. "I know," Kel said, reaching out an arm to steady her. "The sword did the same to me." "This is Anya's Chalice," Kai whispered. "With this I can heal most any injury. Because I am..." she glanced up at Kel, "...an Adept of the Cup?" He nodded. "As I am of the Sword. Go," he gestured toward those in need. "Time enough for talk when the work is done."
***
Finally, the work was done. Kai had healed as many as she was able with the water from the Chalice. No matter how much anyone drank, nor how she tilted it and shook it, not a drop was ever spilled and it always remained full. She was only able to save those who's injuries were not mortal, though she knew that a day would come where she was proficient enough with the Chalice as to reverse death itself. She shuddered at that thought, and a few others that now filled her mind. Still, possessing the Chalice was calming, something she spoke to Kel about later that night. They were seated in the common room of Artemis' old quarters, waiting on Mandhe, who'd excused herself to the bedchamber when Kel had presented her with the Mystic Gun. Kai was clad in a long robe and cloak, a far cry from her old Pacifica uniform. She examined the Chalice in her hand. "It has something to do with my immortality," she explained. "When I ate the fruit from the Tree of Life, I changed. I would have just been
another Adept of the Sword, when all was said and done, but having the gift of Life bestowed upon me like that, made me the first candidate for the Chalice." She smiled, nodding. "I'll be a healer," she said. "That suits me. After all the death and pain I've had to deal out lately..." her voice trailed off and her smile fell. "Well," she cleared her throat, "let's say I'm happy to serve the cause of Life for a while." "You aren't the only one," Mandhe spoke from the door to the bedchamber. Kai and Kel turned to look at her. She was clad mostly in leather. Freshly tanned pants covered hard leather boots, and she wore a long leather coat over a shirt of rough cotton. A wide-brimmed hat shaded her eyes, with the Mystic Gun slung from her hip. A loaded pack rested across her shoulders and it was clear she intended to leave. "Mandhe," Kai whispered. "You're the very image of a Gunfighter, Mandhe," Kel said, smiling. Mandhe nodded. She had not smiled once since recovering from her merger with Emfex. "The Gunfighter," she said. "That's what I'll be calling myself." "Oh?" Kel raised an eyebrow. Mandhe tugged on the straps of her pack and walked to her old friend. She gripped his arm tight and looked up at him. "You and Kai will have Vega under control in no time," she said. "But what about all the other towns and cities across Amorlia? The chaos and lawlessness brought on by Jat Loren and the Grey Strangers won't just end with their deaths." She released his arm and hugged Kai. "Someone needs to tend to that," she said. "And that has to be you?" Kai asked, still holding her young friend. "I have things to tend to myself," Mandhe replied. "And I should put this gift I haven't earned," she patted the Gun, "to some sort of proper use. Plus," she added, "there are still those other Adepts out there, the ones who will bear the other Totems that Kel saw. Someone should look for them. And again," she nodded to her friends, who now stood together as Mandhe crossed to the door, "you two will be busy for a while." Kel nodded. "You take care of yourself," he tried to keep his voice from wavering, though his eyes shone wetly as he spoke. "Aye," Mandhe said with a very small smile. "You too." Then she stepped out the door and was gone.
Amorlia: Age of Wonder Page 12