“That makes eight total casualties,” an optio said.
A centurion nodded. “Excellent. We are still well under the average.”
Another centurion sighed. “Still, a shame we didn't get to this one in time.”
The first centurion shrugged. “He took a stupid risk. Besides, the next trial is the bad one.”
Terra looked at the fiery landscape, wondering how the next trial was worse. The heat already made her sweat.
The centurions turned to go and Terra went back to rummaging through the rubble. After a moment of fruitless searching through debris, she climbed a tall ruined skyscraper to get a better view. The climb was difficult as the fire escape lay broken in many sections.
After searching, Terra found a set of stairs that led to the roof. She opened the door to the roof to see several rusting air conditioning units. She sighed as she stared at them and wondered if there was a way she could fix them with a shieldwatch. Although she could use her shieldwatch to regulate temperature around her, she didn't dare waste power.
Terra walked to the edge of the roof to see she was on an island in a sea of lava. There were other large land masses that floated on the burning ocean of lava. It was as though all the world's continents had shattered. Above, she could see the underside of Saturn City as well as a couple of salients floating in the distance. The pillar of light now appeared larger than when she was in the last salient.
She was about to walk to the other side when she noticed a small fist sized, bright white device lying on the ground. It had a blue glass orb in its center.
Terra paused before taking a step towards it. However, someone else climbed onto the roof.
Hikari stood without sweat on her brow despite the temperature. She drew her aeon edge that possessed a dozen of the devices that now lay between her and Terra. Upon seeing Terra, Hikari sheathed her aeon edge. “It's just you.”
Terra halted. “Hikari. What are you doing? Where is Zaid?”
“Zaid? He is wasting his time trying to find you.”
Terra glanced to the device on the ground before looking at the devices attached to Hikari's aeon edge. They were the same.
Hikari followed Terra's gaze. “Yes. That is a key. I have already collected many, all taken from others in a Trial of Blades.”
“Do you really need that many?”
“No. But it was fun taking them. Now I take this one, so move aside.”
Terra did not move though she felt a rising panic. She knew she couldn't beat Hikari.
Hikari glared. “You should know better than to get in my way.”
Terra felt her face flare hot and not just because of the fiery landscape around them. “Why did you get so much talent? You don't deserve it.”
Hikari looked at her aeon edge as the light of the distant lava cast her in a fiery glow. “Two types of people exist in the world. Fire and tinder. Those like fire have power and they shine brightly. They create and destroy. All others are nothing more than tinder to fuel the fire. That is what this training is, separating the fire from the tinder. The weak burn away and turn into dust and ash while the strong burn brighter. There is no need to guess which you are. Now get out of my way.”
Terra wanted to step aside, to run as Hikari approached. There was no way she could ever beat Hikari, no way Terra could compete. Yet that smug attitude, that ego, that wasted talent. It made Terra burn with anger. Terra had always held her ground against such people, but she had never tried competing. She never tried to beat them, to prove that she wasn't a pushover.
Taking a deep breath, Terra closed her eyes and steeled herself. “No.”
Hikari stopped.
Terra opened her eyes and drew her aeon edge. “No. You have done nothing but walk over everyone, tearing everything apart like a wild fire. I will not let you do whatever you please.”
“No weapon forged would help you against me. No training would make up for your sad lack of skill.”
Terra gritted her teeth, but continued to face Hikari. “Maybe not, but I can last longer in a sparring match against you than anyone else. Even if you win, you won't have enough energy to even pick up that stupid key. Do. Your. Worst.”
Hikari charged in a blur of motion as Terra Sped her movements to match Hikari's speed. Terra blocked Hikari's punch before counter attacking with her aeon edge. Hikari dodged the sloppy blow before tripping Terra. With fast reflexes, Terra rolled with the momentum of her fall before standing.
Terra entered into a defensive stance, facing Hikari. Thinking fast, Terra formulated a strategy. She could not outfight Hikari, but she could outlast Hikari so long as she fought smart.
Hikari wasted no time with strategy, instead attacking again. Her fast attack gave Terra little time to react. This time the full force of the punch hit, but Terra held fast and struck back with her aeon edge while Speeding her strike. There was a flash of motion and metal rang on metal. Hikari stood, crossing blades with Terra, having drawn her own aeon edge.
Hikari's expression turned hard as Terra grinned. Terra had made Hikari draw her aeon edge. Then Hikari attacked with full force, swinging her aeon edge with savage, quick blows. Terra countered every blow as each stuck faster than the last. Hikari panted, but her speed did not slow. Sparks flew each time their aeon edges crossed, yet Terra held her ground.
After another blocked stroke, Terra backed against a large broken air conditioning unit with Hikari facing her. Terra realized she was trapped between metal and Hikari. Trapped between an anvil and a hammer. With Terra unable to fall back, Hikari advanced and landed blow after blow. Heat flared from her exertion and Terra found herself hard pressed to block. Sparks flew while the heat became almost unbearable. Still Terra remained standing after Hikari stepped back.
Both stood facing one another, winded. Terra panted, standing straight backed while Hikari gasped, standing with a slight hunch.
Hikari moved to attack again when the ground shook. A bright orange glow flared around the building as the structure twisted and snapped in half with one half sliding down and the other jutting upward. Terra and Hikari tried to keep their footing on the half that fell while the key slid onto the part that jutted upward.
They both peered up at the half of the building that loomed over them before glancing back towards each other. After a still moment, they both climbed. It wasn't long when Terra looked back to see a newly formed volcano consume part of the building they had stood upon. A large pool of lava was now at the base of the building and the heat raised upward.
Terra slipped a few times as she climbed. When she could, she grabbed bits of the metal rods that stuck through the concrete rubble. Hikari used her shieldwatch to pull ahead, Slowing gravity to launch herself high into the air. But as they neared the top, Terra noticed she had bridged the gap between them. Hikari slowed, trying to conserve her power while Terra's steady, but slow pace had preserved most of her shieldwatch energy.
They reached the top at the same time. Terra glanced to the key still sitting on the edge of the roof before looking back at Hikari who stood gasping for breath, but still focused on Terra.
The lull didn't last long. Hikari attacked, Speeding her charge into a blur. Terra moved to block, but was too slow. Hikari slashed her aeon edge, phasing through Terra's right arm which made her drop her blade.
Terra moved fast, using her shieldwatch to Restore her body. She then Sped her reflexes and movement to weave around Hikari and grab her aeon edge before Hikari could kick it off the roof.
Hikari attacked again, using a burst with her aeon edge. The burst froze the area around Terra in stasis, but her shieldwatch blocked the blow. Once the burst passed, Terra stood exhausted despite the shieldwatch restoration. The mental fatigue was almost too much for her to even stand.
Hikari also looked wearied. Still, Hikari moved to attack and just as they crossed aeon edges, both of their shieldwatches beeped.
“Battery power critically low. Shutting down non essential functions,
” Minerva said from both of their shieldwatches at the same moment.
Hikari frowned, but then charged Terra anyway. Terra blocked with her aeon edge, but Hikari's blow was so powerful it knocked both of their aeon edges out of their hands. This still didn't stop Hikari who then attacked Terra with a series of savage hand to hand strikes.
Terra blocked what she could, but Hikari landed most of her blows. After several strikes, Hikari tired and stumbled back, gasping for breath.
Terra tried to retaliate, but wobbled as she attempted to walk. They both fell to their knees at the same time, staring at one another. Both sat facing one another for a long while, gasping for air and soaked in sweat. The ground shook, again shifting the roof. Terra and Hikari watched, unable to move, as the key slid off the roof and dropped into the lava below.
Terra sighed. “Well there went my hour of sleep. I hope you are happy.”
Hikari sat for a long moment, out of breath. She spoke in a weak voice. “I was wrong.”
“What?” Terra asked, still trying to find the strength to stand.
Hikari's breathing slowed. “I was wrong about you. You appear to be neither fire nor tinder. You are something tough and unyielding. Like a stubborn piece of ore my father once used in his forge.”
Terra's breathing evened, but she still felt like she burned. Her sweat had evaporated from the heat and her mouth felt dry. Then Terra's nerves left her when she sat up and saw Hikari smiling.
Hikari laughed as she struggled to stand. “That was fun! You didn't flinch at all. Not like the others. For a moment, I thought I might lose.”
“Are you going to insult me again?”
Hikari stood though she still fought to find balance. “No more insults, Terra.”
Terra struggled, but stood to face Hikari. She tensed as Hikari walked over to her aeon edge and picked up it. For a moment Terra wondered if Hikari would attack again. Instead Hikari took a key device off her blade and tossed it to Terra.
Terra caught the device and almost fell over in surprise.
Hikari grinned. “You earned it. Since I arrived at the city beyond time, I only wanted one thing; the aeon edge sword. It is the perfect blade. But after I began the training, I came to desire something else.”
“What's that?”
Hikari walked over to the edge of the roof and looked out over the burning landscape, her slender form illuminated by the red glow of the fires below. “When I was a child, my father never let me take part in games with other children because I always won. He told me that since I helped him with his forge work, it made me strong and gave me an unfair advantage. He said that the other children came from homes where they did not have enough to eat. I was alone.”
Terra leaned back onto the metal air conditioning unit. Her breathing and heart rate slowed, but her shieldwatch had yet to recharge. “So you never got to compete with others?”
Hikari shook her head. “I never found anyone worth competing with.”
Terra raised an eyebrow.
Hikari turned and looked Terra in the eyes. “At first I hated you. It was the first time in a long while that anyone had bested me. I thought you naive and your victory simple luck, but you have just shown me Terra Mason at her best. You are one of the few people who have earned my respect. You are a worthy rival.”
Terra stared at Hikari, her brow raised. Respect? She had earned Hikari's respect? Hikari was beautiful and seeing her fight was like watching art come to life. Terra had always thought of Hikari as someone beyond her. Though when Terra thought back to the training, Hikari had bested every tiro who had challenged her. However, one tiro always gave Hikari trouble. That one tiro was good at staying in a fight and enduring whatever Hikari could throw at her.
“Attention all tirones,” came Lycus's voice from the shieldwatch. “The gate is now open. You have one hour to make it to the gate, with or without a key.”
∞
Everyone soon gathered at the gate and all had found a key. The centurions told them that so many tirones had failed or died that there were now enough keys for everyone. This knowledge dampened their spirits.
Beyond the gate was a series of cool rooms that provided a respite from the heat of the last Trial. Before anyone was allowed to rest though, a centurion went to each blade and activated the key attached to it. The device clicked and fell to the ground taking the safety lock with it.
“You can set your aeon edge to a lethal setting now,” Nikias said to Terra. He looked her in the eyes. “You will need it for the next Trial. Are you sure you are ready?”
Terra nodded.
Nikias smiled. “Good! Be careful in the next trial. It's the worst.”
Terra shuddered at that, but was more interested sleep. Precious sleep. The centurions promised them not one, but three glorious hours of sleep as a reward for finding a key. None argued that Lycus had promised them only one hour.
After laying down, Terra fell asleep in seconds. She didn't wake until she heard her shieldwatch beep. At first she tried to ignore it, but then she smelled a foulness in the air. After a moment, Terra heard Minerva’s voice saying something. She focused on the words.
“Warning,” Minerva said, repeating the message again. “Biological hazard detected.”
Chapter XXVIII
Trial of the Beast
Accessing log. Apologies. This small written excerpt is all I can find. I am afraid Consul Prometheus ordered the rest purged from the Archives after the First Temporal War.
Excerpt begins.
“Great Kali!”
“Cerberus! Cerberus is here!”
“Fire! Open fire! Protect the civilians!”
Note: Original audio was interrupted here by loud noises. Likely weapons fire from Kalian Nagaastra energy weapons. This is followed by several screams.
“Kali help us!”
“Please! I surrender!”
Note: Audio is interrupted again by screams.
“You two! Go! Get out of here!”
Note: More energy weapons fire from a pistol class weapon. This is followed by a low grunt before a splashing sound.
“Crashing idiot could have gotten away. Why did he stay?”
Note: Audio ends after two more screams.
-Log of unauthorized Archives access
Terra jumped awake before taking in her surroundings. This new dimly lit, but massive salient made Terra feel uneasy. Maybe it was the awful reek or the snaking maze of iron pipes that crisscrossed the area. The pipes loomed large overhead, blocking out any light from the outside while an ambient green glow filled the cavern between the ceiling and floor. Foul smelling, miasmic fog hung low in clusters.
She looked at her shieldwatch.72 hours read on the face along with text naming this test the Trial of the Beast. Then Terra remembered what bothered her. After the Trial of Blades, the optios had removed the safety lock from everyone's aeon edge, allowing it to do lethal damage. For this trial, they would have to be ready to kill.
“This is Zaid,” Zaid said over Terra's shieldwatch. “Strike team report in.”
Terra touched her shieldwatch's holoface. “Terra here. I'm fine. I am in a salient with a lot of pipes.”
“Me too,” Zaid said. “I have the rest of the strike team on the cipher lines. Let's see if we can meet at a common landmark.”
After a moment, they triangulated a position based on the formations of pipes and Terra moved towards the rendezvous point. She ran atop the large metal pipes while stopping to check for danger every few moments. A faint echoing from inside the pipes gave her pause. She crouched, putting her ear to the metal to hear scratching, scraping, and clawing on the other side.
The sounds faded within seconds and Terra moved again. She leaped from pipe to pipe, running along the tops when they aligned with her destination. Terra looked out over the salient again. This colossal maze of pipes compared only to the Trial of War in size. It would take almost a day to traverse to the other side even with a shieldwatch.
>
Terra stopped again when she found a portion of the piping busted. She approached with caution and found other scattered piles of metal debris that didn't match the rusted iron pipes. Pearl colored metal lay twisted as though something had ripped its way free. She paused when she found an odd piece of the wreckage that had DCLXXXII inscribed on it. Terra guessed the remains were a much larger version of the pod she had seen near Samael, but something huge had clawed its way out.
Terra moved back only to step in a batch of slimy moss. Strange plants sprung from the moss that gave off neon green bioluminescence. The growth seemed to follow the path of destruction left by whatever had burst from the pod.
“Warning,” Minerva said from Terra's shieldwatch. “Biological hazard detected. Activating hazardous environment stasis shield.”
The static grainy distortion of Terra's stasis shield formed a transparent sphere around her before fading. Before she inspected the growth further, a green misty miasma rolled into the area. Terra left before the haze engulfed her, not wishing to find out if it was toxic.
Terra ran atop the pipes again. She would run, Speeding her movements in short bursts before jumping. Then she would Slow gravity while keeping her moment Sped. This saved her energy since it avoided fatigue accumulated while Speeding her running.
Soon she closed in on the meeting point and found several strike teams had gathered there. Terra spotted Zaid on the outskirts of the fledgling camp. He stood alone. After landing, Terra marched up to Zaid and pointed at him. “Why did you leave me behind?”
Zaid stared at Terra. “I tried to return.”
Terra put her hands on her hips. “And after you said you were my friend. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. Everyone in this training spends most of their time looking out for themselves. I had always thought you might be different.”
Zaid frowned. “I am telling the truth.”
Terra glared at Zaid for a moment before crossing her arms. She sighed. “Well I guess I believe you. You are better than most of the team leaders who just tried to get rid of me.”
Aeon Legion: Labyrinth Page 36