by Sean Davies
- - -
The Trinity hit squads exited their secret Catacomb portals all over the city. Some were in alcoves down alleyways, some were in basements, some were in sewers, and some were even in people’s cupboards and attics. They snuck into the city fast and tried to keep a low profile until the Inquisition had begun their assault.
The squads were shocked at how quiet the Capital City was. There was no traffic except for enemy activity, and the streets were almost completely empty. They assumed a curfew had been put into effect, but that didn’t explain why some people still loitered about casually; a little too casually considering the sky above was a plate of purple, dark grey, and black clouds. The impending merger drew their attention for a few moments. Even the more experienced members of the hit squads had never seen anything of the like. It was strange seeing magic used so liberally, so overtly. The squads only stared for a few seconds, a minute at most, but it was too long. Almost every squad was approached by the city’s residents.
“Beat it punk,” a Trinity Vampire said to a scruffy looking man in a hoodie.
The man just stood there smiling strangely, and then some others came to join him.
“What is with these weirdoes?” his butch female Werewolf companion asked.
“They’re creeping me out,” a short male mage said shakily.
“Afraid of a few humans, are you?” the Werewolf woman joked in a snidely tone. “How did you even get to be on a hit squad?” she asked harshly, right before her head was blown off by a bolt of sickly green lightning.
Elsewhere down an alleyway, a pale looking woman in a corset and hooded cloak stroked a female Mage’s hair, making her flinch. “Don’t you want to play?” the pale woman asked with a smile.
“You’ve got a human girlfriend now? I’m jealous,” her female Vampire comrade chuckled.
“Get away from me, bitch, or I’ll make you regret it!” the Trinity Mage said angrily.
A woman in an elegant little black dress stepped out of a shadowy recess. She was the spitting image of Marissa Aluniana. “Hear that girls?” she spoke in a scary, inhumanely distorted voice. “She does want to play.”
Mortissa and her needle maidens descended down upon the two Trinity ladies, stabbing, slashing, and slicing as they cackled horrendously.
- - -
The airships were in firing range of the walls, and the walls came into firing range of the airships.
Brooke pulled the trigger and sent a high explosive armour piercing round into her target’s glowing circular rotor. The shot connected and blew a section off, causing it to spin and drop slowly to the ground. She tutted, disappointed in herself. Brooke doubted that any would die in the slow-fall crash, but at least it would be one less in the air to worry about.
MPK’s fired at will with rocket launchers, high powered machine guns, and the wall mounted cannon, flak and missile batteries. The Mages and Vampire Bloodmages amongst them cast shields as far and as wide as they could, and the Werewolf Shamans began summoning violent storms, although they were nothing in comparison to the one that Winston was creating behind them.
Simultaneously, the airships opened fire with lances of plasma beams, miniguns, and flashing blue missiles. The rectangular side sections of the Arbiter detached and flew off as eight unmanned drones with pointed fronts sent beams of plasma shooting from the tips. Cannons and machine guns folded out from their sides, and they too let rip at the Inquisition’s foes upon the wall.
Plasma energy and gunfire collided with magical shielding, and missiles exploded in passionate blue fire atop the wall, breaking the shielding in places and sending both MPK’s and Supernaturals flying into the air before they were completely immolated.
Magical lightning shot down from the sky onto the top of the airship, cackling and cracking the lighter top armour, and interfering with the rotas. The anti-air weaponry from the wall smashed into the thick under armour, penetrating in places but mostly just scratching the paintwork. The missile batteries were more effective. One salvo got lucky and managed to shatter the cockpit of an airship which then exploded from within, making the whole craft go up in a sphere of blue fire and sending the wreckage slamming into other nearby airships.
There were losses on both sides, but it was still practically a stalemate. The Arbiter, its drones, and a six other airships flew over the wall and decreased their altitude briefly to allow the shock troopers to cable their way down. The other remaining Inquisition craft stayed put to pester the wall forces, or circled the inner city to pick off the MPK vehicles. The damaged airships did their utmost to land, or crash, inside the Capital’s walls to get their troopers into the fight.
The shock troopers, in their thick white power amour, clashed with the MPK’s in the city, exchanging plasma and regular gunfire liberally. Grenades were thrown, cars detonated, and buildings ravaged. The Inquisition gained ground quickly, until the Shadow Circle Supernaturals joined the fray and tipped the odds back in the city’s favour.
In the shadows and darker corners of the city, the Trinity’s hit squads and assassins fought desperately with the reality fuelled Gloom Alternatives. Pistols, rifles and shotguns, swords and claws tore through the Alt’s stuffing and limbs, but they soon got their revenge with their weird disturbing magic, rusty melee weapons, cackling flashes, and brilliant bursts of bright green energy from the ridiculously dangerous weaponry from Pollutia. Mortissa and her needle maidens were death incarnate as they danced and skipped through the city’s back alleys, laughing ecstatically.
- - -
The group atop the World GOVT watched nervously as the Inquisition fleet approached and the city below descended into open warfare. Those around Winston struggled to keep their footing as his power kept radiating outwards in ever increasing magnitude.
“Winston, could you please... hurry up a bit?” Lewis called.
“This isn’t easy...” Winston struggled to reply.
“We’re going to run out of time, that mammoth airship seems indestructible!” Xavier shouted over the din.
“If you’ve got a secret plan, now would be the time sweetie!” Veronica yelled.
Veronica was right, of course. She’d either read his mind, or she just knew him well enough by now to know that he wouldn’t have calculated this chain of events. As the Supernaturals within the building started to shoot their spells into the seven Inquisition ships, and bright lances of blue energy shot back in retaliation, missiles and gunfire were deflected frantically by a struggling Veronica, and Winston pulled his trump card.
Portals opened on the ground and in the air. Alt-filled Spidercars and Spidertanks charged into the city discharging evil green bolts, beams, and blasts from their magical energy weapons. They were followed by a mob of raging Alternatives, the Mayor’s retinue of altered troopers, and then the Commodore’s men who marched proudly into the city and assembled in formation to shoot the Inquisitors in organised waves of gunfire. Combined with the Shadow Circle Supernaturals, the mismatched loose alliance between the Trinity and the Inquisition stood no chance.
From the air, the Archmage’s old dragons flew into the battle and blasted the airships with purple and black streams of fire from their jaws. It burst and melted the weaker top armour, and soon the dragons were landing on top of them to savagely tear through the metal with their long claws. The airships tumbled down into the city at random, crashing into the roads or buildings before exploding dramatically and spreading blue flames all around like wildfire. It wasn’t long before only the Arbiter and its drones were left. Dragons raked their claws across its hull, but couldn’t penetrate its tougher amour. They blasted it furiously but the drones intercepted them quickly and chased them off. Some of the old beasts were shredded in a haze of bullets and energy.
Despite the interruptions, the Arbiter continued its attack on the rooftop without mercy. Veronica called upon all her strength to deflect wave after wave of attacks but her powers were dwindling fast. L
ewis hurled his most powerful spells at the craft but they just ricocheted off the sturdy armour.
- - -
Kevin Wallace had a feeling the assault on the Capital would be bad, but he never imagined that it would be this insane. His forces were diminishing quickly and the death toll of both Inquisition and innocents below was continuing to rise. Most aggravating of all though was that he was so close to ending this madness but unable to land a hit on the fiend on the roof. Only one option came to mind, and it was a bad one.
He activated the Arbiter’s loudspeakers. “Winston Reynolds, surrender now and you will not be harmed. My leader, the head of the Inquisition, wants to talk with you. Please end this insanity now before there is any more death. I can and will stop you if you do not comply.”
He wasn’t surprised when there was no reply from the evil creatures on the roof, so he activated the ship’s self-destruct sequence.
Accessing the ship’s PA system, he gravely addressed the crew. “Crew of the Arbiter – the only way we will stop these damned creatures and their malicious intentions is to detonate the ship’s plasma reactors at point blank range. If you wish to leave then use the cables and do so. You have done your duty and served me well, and this will be your only chance.”
“We’re staying, Sir,” the pilots said, and the rest of the crew followed suit.
Kevin nodded proudly. “Take us in closer then, and let’s end this.”
- - -
Veronica groaned as the last remaining airship began to fire again. This time it was getting closer and closer, so she had to work extra fast to protect Winston and the others. Luckily the dragons were keeping the drones busy, or else the others and herself would’ve been finished a long while ago.
The Arbiter began to cackle and throb with blue lightning, its rotors whining oddly, and the whole thing shimmered as its temperature increased to dangerous levels.
“You close, man?” Lewis cried as he sent another pointless blast of magic towards the airship.
“It’s getting there!” Winston shouted back. Je hoped the merger would happen soon or else his whole body would give up the struggle.
“They’re going to blow it,” Xavier said to Veronica. “It’s self-destructing,”
“Oh fuck!” she said, while shielding more bullets and sending more missiles off course.
“You look after Winston,” Xavier said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Good luck with the wedding. I’m really happy for you both.” He smiled sadly. “I wish I could’ve been the one to give you away.”
“What... are... you... talking about?” she strained to ask, but she knew he was up to something drastic.
“You already know, Veronica. Thank you for working with me for all these years. It’s been... fun.” He smiled, and sprinted towards the edge of the building.
They all watched on helplessly as Xavier leapt towards the Arbiter and smashed through its cockpit feet first.
With an expert roll and swift manoeuvre, he had shot both pilots and was in good form to take down the General. Although he was only human, his power gave him the strength to deflect a few of Xavier’s blows, but ultimately it was futile. With a super quick strike, Xavier stabbed him up through the chest and upwards with his spell-forged blade. Taking only a moment of time, he shot the crew in sight with his pistols, moved to the cockpit, and slung his precious blade out of the shattered glass. It landed point down into the concrete of the roof.
Veronica dropped to her knees and screamed for him to come back, tears streaming down her pretty face, but Xavier was already at the controls. He quickly learned the layout and flew the Arbiter upwards and out, until he was out of range of the city. It exploded in an enormous spherical blue blast just outside of the Capital’s walls. It was so powerful that there wasn’t even any visible debris; just smoke and ash.
- - -
Alice had ordered the retreat to the remaining forces as soon as General Wallace’s ship had stopped transmitting.
She had left the control room straight after and made her way to the top Central Tower, to the ruins of Edgar’s study.
The workmen doing the repair were standing around, not working but just staring into the distance. She couldn’t blame them, because when she followed their eye line to the horizon in the direction of Rura, she could see the strange purple clouds curdling in the sky.
Alice knew that she had failed. It was too late.
- - -
With one last push of power, Winston completed the merger. A flood of white and black magic jolted into the black and purple sky, and a wave of energy surged outwards from the World GOVT building and throughout the city. The Archmage had arrived.
The fires went out and the fighting temporarily stopped. Some buildings stayed the same, others became darker and decayed, and a few were a weird cross between both. All the Alternatives, creepy crawlies, and other creatures from the Gloom now populated the Capital alongside its usual human, Supernatural, and regular wildlife occupants.
The city wall was a strange mix of its normal concrete self and the serrated metal Gloom version and the World GOVT building was a hybrid of Omniosis’ tower and a modern skyscraper. The corners of the building were white stone blocks with floor-to-ceiling windows in between, and the protruding masks at the top of the building were now glass.
Completely outnumbered and overwhelmed, the remaining Inquisition and Trinity forces inside the city walls reluctantly surrendered to the Alternatives, Military Peace Keepers, and Shadow Circle Supernaturals.
Winston sat on the new white stone floor, in between four tall stone prongs that rose upwards from the corners of the rooftop, in the centre of a persistent pillar of hazy white light that punctured the strange blackish and dark purple clouds that covered the city and the surrounding grassland. With his tired eyes, he saw that from this circle of darkness, purple and pink clouds above veined outwards at random in every direction.
Veronica wiped the tears away from her face, and with Lewis’ assistance they helped Winston to his feet and through a new wooden trap door to the tower below.
- - -
Archmage Omniosis got up from his white marble throne that sat in the middle of the room on a circular platform that he could rotate at will. He placed his feet on the chequered floor and walked over to one of the glassy faces which protruded outwards from the throne room. He looked down upon reality for the first time in a millennia, and most of his faces smiled beneath their masks.
“Did it work okay?” the Mayor asked grimly.
“It did. Very well, in fact,” Omniosis replied, surveying the city. “I just need a make few changes here and there...”
He raised his armoured hands and sent his own wave of power through the city. Being back in his home dimension was invigorating, and the connection to the source of magic in the Gloom kept him fuelled nicely. He couldn’t wait to bring it over too and regain his rightful godlike powers.
Omniosis’ magical energy wave transformed all the buildings and streets into ancient styled but modern looking white and grey stone buildings, with big white glass windows, water features, and hanging gardens. The roads remained the same, but the pavements took a fancier turn with the same white and black chequered theme that the Archmage enjoyed using in most of his manipulation magic work. Streetlamps were replaced with green, blue, purple, and red magical orb and fire lamps that took an edge off the persistent darkness from the strange thick clouds in the sky above. The city walls transformed into a ring of white stone with black stone recesses and tall sharp blades spaced along evenly. The large World Banners that were painted on the wall were now black rectangles with a plain white mask in the centre, and Omniosis took extra care to replace all the existing Imperian and World Banners across the city to his own personal one.
Satisfied with his work, Omniosis turned to the Mayor. “Winston is coming. Remember to be happy and enthusiastic.”
The Mayor nodded sadly, knowing it w
as pointless to resist. The Archmage was the puppeteer that held all of the strings.
“Congratulations, Winston! You have successfully taken your first steps towards your true destiny!” Omniosis said proudly as the three entered the throne room from the roof access. “Here, let me help.” He held his hands out and revitalised the group.
“Yes, well done my boy!” the Mayor said happily. “Well done indeed!”
“That couldn’t have gone better...” the Archmage begun.
“Yes it fucking well could have!” Veronica interrupted, before storming out of the room.
Winston went to follow but Lewis grabbed his arm. “Leave her, dude. She just needs to blow off some steam.”
Winston wriggled free and addressed Omniosis. “Sorry, but I’d better go check on her. I’ll be back later.”
“Not to worry, Winston,” the Archmage said kindly. “Go tend to your lover, she needs your support.”
“Thank you, Omniosis.” Winston left the throne room and he hurried after Veronica.
When Winston finally caught up with Veronica, he held her tightly as she sobbed into his shoulder. He was also saddened deeply by the loss of his primary protector, and he would miss his stern and fastidious manner. With Xavier around he always felt safe, and now he was gone forever.
Veronica went back to Winston’s room in the newly transformed Hotel Noir which looked even more lavish than before, while he broke the bad news to Lucius.
Lucius didn’t say much to the grim tidings. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, but he was obviously taking it hard beneath his composure. Winston suggested having a celebration in his honour that night with the rest of the gang, and Lucius agreed. He began phoning around, and Winston returned to Veronica. Omniosis could wait while they honoured the dead.
That evening, the Shadow Circle and Military Peace Keepers celebrated Xavier’s life along with the others that had fallen during the battle. The hotel was bustling with activity inside and out, and soon the party atmosphere had spread so that even the Alternatives and humans in the city joined in with the festivities, until the newly altered Capital City was alive with drinking, laughter, dancing, fornication, and drug and sugar abuse.