Naero's Mastery

by Mason Elliott

  She could sense that Shalaen had healed Tarim very recently of several superficial wounds, probably gained from defending Shalaen from the mindless mob on their way down there.

  The hugging and catching up took a few moments.

  “We’re still sitting ducks down here,” Baeven warned them. “No doubt the enemy knows where we are and they’ll be coming for us soon, I’m thinking. Naero, can you transport us out of here? Up to the surface or onboard The Shadow Fox?”

  Naero checked. “Negative. Not through twenty kilometers of rock.”

  “Hmm…I was afraid of that. Then I guess we’d better hike back the way we came, and fast. Can we all fly?”

  “I can’t,” Tarim said. “Leave me behind. The enemy doesn’t want me. It’s Shalaen they’re after.”

  “Beloved, I won’t leave you behind!” Shalaen insisted.

  “Screw that,” Naero said. She teknomanced her gravwing onto Tarim and sprouted her psyonic wings at will, opening her third eye all at once.

  Next she popped out her four extra arms, each one wielding an advanced weapon that she summoned. “Let’s fly. Stay between me and Baeven. Uncle, you’ve got our six.”

  “Copy that.”

  They streaked ahead, while Om used stealth fixers to cloak, phaze, and shield Tarim and Shalaen.

  Naero linked with Shalaen’s mind and revealed to her how to block the enemy methods to feed off of her own Cosmic energies and take control of people around her.

  They made it to the upper access shafts, the stone chambers opening up into huge ventilation domes and stalled movers.

  With out warning they passed through what seemed to be some kind of energized, Darkforce net that activated only as they passed through it, blazing bright red and orange.

  It nailed them all with heavy, Darkforce shock charges and disrupted their stealth modes and phazing.

  All of them crashed to the ground and struggled to rise.

  An enormous wyrmhole opened up, and a gigantic, segmented Darkforce dynamo mek stepped through and rose up, towering fifteen meters high. He almost reached the top of the dome.

  Naero’s insane brother Danner fueled the monstrosity, contained within the round, shielded facemask, wreathed in Darkforce energy and bolts of Darkforce lightning. He used the voice to chortle and echo his booming words.

  “Ahh…even better. Sister, Uncle. Welcome to the party. Now we’ll make use of all of you and your energies to begin the destruction of your Galaxy!”

  Clouds of Darkforce generators of many sizes poured through the wyrmhole and waited to pour through. There wasn’t enough room for them all.

  Danner blasted his way up to the surface, through the dome and hundreds of feet of earth and rock.

  Naero acted quickly, encasing Tarim in an energy pod and transporting him back to the starport.

  The next instant, she, Baeven, and Shalaen were swarmed upon by the Darkforce generators.

  Together they destroyed almost two dozen of the vile, living machines in the intense, brief fight that followed.

  Most of the generators contained Yattai, energy beings related to Shalaen, and her mother. Once free of the ruined generators, the Yattai quickly escaped back into the planes they came from.

  The other hosts looked to be a few Oden, and other partial energy beings of a type never seen before.

  Perhaps the latter were the Laelor, that Naero had heard mention of.

  The enemy quickly gathered them up, before the weakened hosts could attempt to escape.

  Naero and Baeven had transformed into their partial Dark beast modes, but it did them little good. The three Cosmic defenders were now encased and trapped in Darkforce globes that the Darkforce generators formed around them.

  The properties of these globes constantly drained their energies at a sickening rate.

  They continued to startap, struggle, and resist, but the enemy only collected their energies faster.

  19

  Danner brought them and the Wyrmhole up to the surface. He floated his captives high up into the sky toward the yawning gateway.

  The Shadow Fox attempted to intercept them, guns blazing, blasting many of the Darkforce generators.

  But too late, Danner and the rest escaped within the wyrmhole, dragging their captives along with them.

  Once they passed through it, the wyrmhole closed behind them, cutting off any further chance of rescue.

  Naero clearly spotted the Plane of Annihilation speeding ever closer, and the glowing cracks surrounding the G’lothc pocket dimension, pulsating with destructive energies.

  Globules of unstable Darkforce energy swelled up from the cracks.

  She began to have a very bad feeling.

  Naero sensed what was going on and the fear of it ripped through her. Om, has the enemy gone completely insane?

  I’m sure of it, Naero! They’ve somehow used psyonics, biomancy, and teknomancy to link trickle feeds to the Plane of Annihilation itself. They’re attempting to trigger a massive cataclysmic feedback blast across the dimensions and into the Prime Material Plane. All of reality could be shattered, rents and tears ripping the universe wide open!

  Shalaen linked with Naero’s and then Baeven’s mind. The enemy means to destroy us all! Look at what they are planning.

  Baeven assessed the situation with them. They’ll still need a catalyst for the chain reaction, like setting off an atomic, but on a dimensional scale. A concentrated blast of Cosmic energy to trigger the far greater detonation. Where are they going to–

  Danner suddenly loomed over them all, he and his horde of bloated, Darkforce energy collectors sweeping them toward their rendezvous with oblivion. That’s where all of us come in. The explosion I set off using all of our Cosmic energies will blast a gaping wound across the universe! Danner laughed with genuine maniacal glee. Only he would agree to such a mad plan.

  Danner, this is beyond cosmicide; even your masters will be killed. They’ll be destroyed along with us.

  Hee hee! As if I ever truly had any who could be my masters. That’s the glorious risk they take, and oops–they’re already dead! It’s just as probable that they’ll be set free of their prison, and scattered across several shattered dimensions, weakened and ripe for conquest. They’ll have their pick of hosts then.

  But Danner, you’ll die as well. You will cease to be.

  I know. Isn’t it spectacular? Everything dies; why not us? Wahoo!

  Shalaen cried out, A massive energy wave is fast approaching us from the Astral Plane, I’ve never seen anything like it!

  Baeven noted it as well. What the hell is that?

  A building wave of shining white fire rushed toward them at miraculous speed.

  No, no, not here, Naero muttered in terror.

  Danner panicked. Get to the cracks. Detonate. Detonate!

  By then the blinding wave swept through them all.

  Shetharra was at the core of the wave, blazing like a star.

  She severed Danner’s massive head from his mek neck with one blow.

  When the gigantic body fell upon and attempted to enveloped her, she exploded it into melting pieces that shot in many directions.

  By that time, Naero and Baeven burst free from their energy prisons and helped free Shalaen.

  The horde of Darkforce generators swarmed at Shetharra, almost covering her shield sphere completely, struggling to drain her of her powers.

  An expanding wave of impossible force flung them all away from her at high speed, destroy some outright, and damaging others.

  The horde quickly regroup around Danner, regenerating constantly, maneuvering and preparing for another attack.

  Naero rushed to her daughter’s side, with Baeven on their right and Shalaen on their left.

  Shetharra, you should not have come here, my girl.

  Her daughter spoke with the voice without even thinking. I couldn’t let them destroy you, mama. I had to come. I could feel it, and it made me hurt inside. they were going to do a very b
ad thing. I couldn’t let that happen. We must stop them!

  Ahh…Danner said, My little meddling niece, come to crash the party. Far too late fools! You are still outnumbered and outmatched. Drive them into the fissures and finish them. We can still do this. Glory is our destiny!

  There upon the edge of Oblivion, the four Cosmic champions fought to decide the fate of their universe.

  Yet even with Shetharra’s mighty aid, the power of the enemy was still very great, and slowly drove them back by force toward the volatile, destabilizing fissures surrounding the prison dimension of the vile G’lothc.

  Shetharra blasted Danner out of the mek head, but he was still wreathed in the Darkforce, his body contained in Darkforce armor.

  Danner had merged with the Darkforce almost completely.

  Naero went on the attack with everything she had. Her third eye open wide, she summoned her extra limbs and all of her most powerful Cosmic weapons. Beams shot out from her eyes, and sonic blasts from her open mouth. Still more attacks blazed from her hands.

  All of her attacks hammered Danner without let up, punching and driving him burning and spinning ever closer to the event horizon of the Annihilation Plane’s own, Great Destroyer.

  Then Danner countered, with tentacles of Darkforce energy rippling out from his body and enveloping his older sister, drawing him in with him.

  Is this the fate you planned for me, sister? No, no, no! I think I’ll fling you in instead, and you shall die alone and be torn asunder for all time, screaming in torment until the end the universe! How delicious will that be?

  Shetharra slammed into Danner and tore her mother free, nailing her mad uncle with shocking punches and kicks in blazing fury.

  She is not alone. We are not alone. You evil ones have enraged many others with your actions. Now they come for you!

  Thousands of shining, humanoid energy beings appeared in a cloud all about the enemy, and closed in on the servants and living machine abominations of the Darkforce.

  The Yattai! My kind have at last come in force to deal with this scourge. Shalaen wept with joy and wrath, and rose up to fight beside her mother’s people against the foes that strove to enslave and obliterate them all.

  The rage of the Yattai could be felt all around them.

  Get to the cracks! Danner commanded his remaining force of slaves. Detonate. Detonate anyway!

  The enemy forces struggled to reach the unstable fissures, even as the Yattai fell upon them, seeking their revenge.

  Danner exploded the Darkforce protective suit around him and all of his tentacles at once, stunning even Shetharra for a time.

  He was revealed in his true form, riddled with Darkforce disease, a broken, twisted, misshapen freak.

  But he wrapped his weird deformed limbs around his glowing niece and hurtled toward the event horizon of doom laughing.

  Well, if I can’t drag you in with me, sib. I guess I’ll have to settle for your little brat!

  Naero slammed into the insane fiend with all of her might. She shattered one of his arms, nearly tore one of his twisted legs off.

  Finally Shetharra was free.

  Naero shielded her and sent her hurtling back away from certain destruction. The Great Destroyer was tugging hard at both of them now.

  Danner tried to spit bloody Darkforce into her face. Naero blocked it with one hand.

  Ahh…yes. Back to what I planned in the–

  Naero screamed, “Eye of Annihilation!”

  The combined beams from all three of her eyes drove into Danner and shot him forward. He continued shrieking and laughing, until he tipped over the event horizon and was taken.

  At last his sick laughter was silenced.

  Naero snarled, “Farewell, brother.”

  From there it was all that she could do to claw and fight her way back herself.

  A knot of Yattai protected Shetharra as she came around.

  Yet at that moment, some of the Darkforce generators managed to reach the Cosmic cracks before Baeven, Shalaen and the Yattai could cut them down.

  Naero tried to scream psyonically to all present. Protect yourselves!

  She barely had time to throw up shields around her daughter and then herself.

  Then the detonation struck.

  The enemy did not succeed in tearing a hole across the dimensions. Yet many Yattai close in to the zero point were vaporized, along with the rest of the enemy generators.

  As a result, the prison dimension of the G’lothc was blasted wide open, and their Darkforce spirits began to boil out by the multitudes.

  They immediately assailed the Yattai and tried to burn out their minds to take them over as hosts.

  Get back. Regroup. Don’t let those things touch you! Shalaen warned. For some it was already too late. Their Yattai comrades combined powers to destroy the possessed, rather than let the enemy use their energy forms.

  Even Naero was horrified. How could they stop something this big?

  A group of G’lothc spirits swept forward, enveloping an entire swarm of Yattai, quickly melding into an enormous Darkforce behemoth. It roared at them in fury. We are free! Now we take you all!

  Baeven sliced through the monster in his partial Dark beast form, with all of his glowing green Cosmic blades spinning.

  Shut the fuck up, you gutless assholes!

  The Guardian of Chaos energy also controlled the Darkforce.

  For good measure, Baeven detonated an orb of Darkforce energy inside the thing, and it ceased to exist.

  But that only bought them a short respite. The defenders still fell back, before the expanding wave of horror that continued to flood out at them.

  Shetharra took her mother’s hand. The Song of Summoning, Mama. Sing it with me. The shining lights love us. They will come if we sing for them.

  Naero took her daughter in her arms, closed her eyes, and together they sang at the top of their voices, against all powers of destruction and evil that loomed and roared before them.

  Then all things went still. The roaring babble of the G’lothc legions was cut off and silenced.

  When Naero opened her eyes, Shetharra broke into laughter, the sound like the ringing of clear bells.

  All around them, large glowing spheres of bright energy filled the air, and even the celestial Yattai were amazed and moved to awe.

  As insane as it felt, Naero was overwhelmed with the strong impression that she should know who and what these things were. How could she?

  A mighty voice boomed from out of midst of one of the glowing orbs into their minds.

  We are, and we have come from the beyond to prevent reality itself from being altered. who hath done these things? These things should not be at this time. The time of the Cosmic Prophecies is not yet at hand.

  It is too soon for the dark souls of the stubborn and misguided G’lothc to be unleashed from their self-made prison, to finally decide their fate for all time. there is a time set for all things. These things will be amended and properly restored. Never again shall any be allowed to interfere with destiny and the Cosmic prophecy in these ways. that is all.

  After a bright flash, the G’lothc prison dimension stood not only restored, but reinforced, with them howling back inside it. There were no more glowing cracks or fissures.

  Apparently, destiny was back on track after the enemy tried to cheat and rig the game in their favor. There were forces keeping watch that weren’t going to allow that. Yet it appeared that all things would have their day.

  The glowing orbs began to shrink down and fade away.

  Naero covered her mouth and gasped.

  She finally recognized them in their smaller forms.

  Two of them drifted near Shetharra, and the spacechild caught them in her hands like fire flies and giggled. They know you, Mama, I feel their great love for us. Can you hear their voices?

  I was Bahan, beloved friend Naero.

  And I was Iika. We did not expect to meet with you again in this life. Your daughter is as
beautiful as you are Halaena.

  Alas, we cannot stay long. We must return to the Beyond and our stations there.

  We serve the Great Mystery here, and in the Beyond as the Tua always have. We help test and guard all of the universes against reckless madness and folly such as this. Such things cannot be allowed.

  The destiny of each universe is meant to play out as it will, and all things will be tested and decided at the proper time, directed by the choices of all involved. That destiny cannot be circumvented or destroyed.

  In extremely rare cases such as this, we are sometimes forced to act.

  Their voices blurred together for a bit, but that did not matter. Naero did have a question she wished to ask, whether they would answer it or not.

  What is the Beyond like?

  Iika laughed, as she did before while she had lived. Sister, you know we cannot say.

  You will take your next journey when it is your time to do so, Naero. Not before. What do you think it will be like?

  Naero grinned and touched the soul orbs pulsing in the palms of her little daughter’s glowing hands with overpowering affection.

  I think…I think everything is a test.

  Now it was Bahan’s turn to laugh. Well answered. Master Vane and Lady Hashiko are with us in the Beyond. Now we are testing them.

  I’d sure like to see some of that.

  They still have so much to learn, Iika said. Master Vane is learning powerful lessons of humility and endurance in his current new form of a helpless young Tua girl, who faces many challenges at the hands of difficult and demanding masters. A lesson he was incapable of even perceiving before. But I think now, he is beginning to have some valuable insights into the hearts of others, and his own.

  Vane? Naero could hardly imagine any of that.

  And what of Hashi, Bahan? Naero asked.

  She is learning to truly love herself and others. A vital lesson that is as difficult for her in the Beyond, as it was for her here in this life. But we have not given up on her yet. There is hope for both of them still. You know how patient the Tua can be.

  Naero chuckled. Well, good luck to them.

  Suddenly she had a sobering thought about what tests and lessons might be awaiting her. But that was far off in the future…she hoped.