Al Moreno And the Crystal of Gosia

by Mason J Schneider

  “Well yeah that’s where I did a lot of my training actually, but I don’t see-”

  “Climb onto my back.” Marcie shot him a look like he was out of his mind. “Come on just trust me. If I open a rift and we enter the portal at the same time while in contact, we should be able to get on board since you’ve been there before. Now hurry, Henry let me ride on his back, there’s no shame!”

  Marcie smiled, amazed that Al was still able to crack a joke in this hour of dire emergency. She jumped onto his back as he pulled his blade from his belt and sliced through the air in front of them. Aaron and his men were now climbing up the wall around them, and a few of them looked in awe at the strange portal that had opened in front of the Rift Resolver.

  “Ready?”

  “Ready!” sung out Henry loudly before Marcie could answer.

  Alfred centered their combined weight and leapt forward into the rift. They emerged only a fraction of a second later in a spacious white room. Marcie climbed off of Alfred’s back.

  “Well looks like I used my divine energy right, wasn’t sure about that one. Never tried to rift onto a moving airship- let alone on one I’ve never set foot on before!” Alfred exclaimed.

  “You’re really something else. Come on, we need to figure out where Sham-Bon is.” she replied.

  The two of them ran out of the room through a door which slid up as they approached it. They had come out into a hallway that was constructed from the same white panels as the room they had been in. There was a large logo of the royal family’s crest on one side of the wall. Below it read:

  The Iron Pinnacle.

  “Lead the way.” Alfred instructed, following her closely down the length of the hall.

  They took a right turn at an intersecting hallway and ran past several of the automated doors.

  “Here!” Marcie shouted, pulling Alfred over to one of them. There was something strangely familiar about the blue light that glowed above it. Marcie pushed a button beside it several times but the door didn’t open.

  “Is this an elevator?” Alfred asked impatiently.

  “Yeah but the button isn’t working. Come on, there should be a flight of stairs somewhere around here.”

  “Wait no. These things are voice activated now- a little too voice activated if you ask me.”

  Marcie shot him a strange look but said nothing as Al looked up at the blue light and spoke to the elevator.

  “Hey, hello there- Elevator? We’d like some service if you wouldn’t mind.”

  The blue light flashed brightly and a familiar robotic voice spoke.

  “Hello there sir! Ma’am! How can I be of service to you today?” the elevator asked gleefully.

  “Elevator 041, is that you?” Alfred knew he had recognized the voice.

  “I’m afraid you’ve mistaken me for a relative, sir. I’m Elevator 1167902345765! Elevator 041 is my fourteenth cousin, twice removed!” the A.I. rambled off its name and explained its relation to the other elevator in delight.

  “Oh, sorry for the mix up. Anyway, do you think it’d be too much trouble to take us up to the command floor? We’re in a bit of a hurry.” Alfred responded.

  “I’d be honored to take you both to the command level. As soon as I drop off my current two passengers, I will be right with you- oh would you look at that! They’re getting off on your floor, how convenient!” the elevator sung out.

  Alfred shoved Marcie to one side of the elevator door while he leaned up against the other. He gave her a quick nod which she returned. The light atop the elevator flashed once more and the A.I. proclaimed loudly, “Welcome to floor three, enjoy your stay!”

  The door slid open and out walked two guards. Alfred slammed his elbow down hard on top of the closest one’s head, and the man fell to the floor with a groan. Beside him with lightning speed Marcie had sliced the other guard’s neck with a blade drawn from the end of her armor. Alfred looked at her, surprised by her lack of mercy.

  She looked up at him, nonchalantly adding, “What? I’m an assassin, remember?”

  “Fair enough. Hey elevator you don’t have video capability, do you?” Alfred asked nervously.

  “I’m afraid I’m far past the need for video cameras, I locate passengers by their heat signatures. Ooo it must be a bit toasty on the Iron Pinnacle today, my last two passengers appear to be taking a nap on the cold floor there beside you!”

  “Right yeah, a nap. To the command level!” Alfred ordered, and him and Marcie stepped inside the doors as they closed behind them.

  The elevator buzzed in excitement as it began to climb up the levels of the warship.

  “So what’s the plan once we find Sham-Bon?” Marcie whispered to Alfred in a hushed tone.

  “How thrilling! The two of you are here to thank the royal king for saving the planet, aren’t you?”

  “Wow, you are so much smarter than your cousin- yes as a matter of fact we are! Could you tell us where his office is?” Alfred asked innocently.

  “I’d be delighted! When you step out my doors you’ll see a large glass wall- there’s a door in the center that will take you to his Highness’ office. It also happens to lead out onto a deck, for a marvelous view of the sky!”

  Marcie and Alfred exchanged a determined look- now they knew where he was. The elevator wished them well as it opened its doors and let them out on the command level of the warship. In front of them a little ways there was a large glass wall, so clear that it was almost impossible to tell there was anything between them and the office at all. In front of the doors there stood just one man, wearing a bright neon pink tuxedo with sunglasses covering his eyes.

  “It’s one of those neon guys from the roller-rink! What should we do?” Alfred whispered urgently over his shoulder to Marcie.

  “I don’t remember any of the men in the roller-rink wearing pink. Trust me, I killed more of them than you. Let me handle this, you just try to get through the gate while I distract him.” she replied as the man approached.

  “Who are you two? Why are you on the command level of the ship? This floor has restricted access. Now back on the elevator- both of you. Hey! Where are you going?” the man turned and yelled to Alfred who had slowly been creeping around him toward the glass doors.

  “Uh I’m uh--” Alfred stuttered.

  “He’s looking for a bathroom, it’s an emergency. We’re friends of the royal family and have been staying on board as guests of His Lordship. Say, don’t I know you? Your name wouldn’t happen to be Pink, would it?” Alfred watched as Marcie acted out her little show.

  “Hey yeah, that’s crazy! My name is Pink, how did you know?” the man looked dumbfounded and the hostility had left his eyes.

  “Oh, I’d recognize that handsome face anywhere. And that dashing tuxedo- my I fall so easily for men with a sense of fashion.”

  Alfred could have erupted in laughter from the astounded look on Pink’s face, but instead he said, “Hey Pink, so you think you could let me use the can or not. Cause things might be getting messy in this hallway soon and I wouldn’t want you to be the poor sucker mopping up another guy’s piss, you know what I mean?”

  Pink turned and looked at Al with disgust as he replied coarsely, “The lavatory is down the hall over there, third door to your left.” he turned back to Marcie who smiled.

  “What was that about handsome and stylish you were saying?” Pink smiled dumbly back.

  While Marcie continued to distract him, Alfred had now reached the glass door. He tried to open it but it must have been locked from the inside. Alfred couldn’t see anyone on the other side so he pulled his Rift Blade from his belt and made a small circular cut into the glass near the handle. A purplish cloud had filled in where he had cut into the glass, and slowly he reached his hand into the portal and pulled the door open by the inside handle. He pulled his arm back through and the portal closed, but he managed to catch the door before it landed back in its place and walked silently inside the office. The rule of the rifts didn
’t apply as long as some portion of his body remained on the original side.

  It certainly appeared to be an office fit for a king. There were ornate leather sofas and armchairs in the center of the room. They sat on an enormous rug which had the Huck Family crest sewn into it. The walls on either side could hardly be seen at all, with the lustrously polished wooden book shelves that surrounded them. On the far side of the room there was a grand desk that was adorned with gold accents. The chair behind the desk was empty, but Alfred walked out past it to see a well-dressed man standing on a large open balcony overlooking the sky and ground beneath the warship. The man turned around, holding a mixed drink in his hand. Alfred’s muscles tensed when he saw it was the face of Sham-Bon.

  13 ABOARD THE IRON PINNACLE

  Marcie was starting to grow tired of pretending to listen to Pink talk about how important he was to Sham-Bon and the Huck Family. A million thoughts raced around her mind as she stood with Pink’s arm around her, feigning interest in some story he was telling. She needed to get to Alfred and help him kill that conniving bastard before Bratvia got demolished. She doubted that Aaron and the villagers would be able to hold off an army of that size for long, especially the royal military. They had a tank and a giant warship and hundreds of men. Bratvia had a couple dozen married villagers armed with arrows and spears. Marcie’s attention snapped back to the present as Pink asked rudely,

  “Are you even listening to me? Hey you! And where’s your friend, he’s been in the bathroom an awful long time. Wait a minute. Your armor looks kind of--aaargh...ugh.” Pink was interrupted by Marcie’s blade piercing into his chest, where she then jerked it hard to the right.

  Pulling her arm and the blade back out she made as if to run toward the glass doors but something grabbed her leg.

  “Wow, you’re fiesty! That was a nice shot, but it’s going to take a lot more than some special armor to kill me.” Pink spoke from the ground, his tuxedo was covered in blood and cut down the middle. Marcie’s eyes opened wide as she noticed the wound she inflicted had sealed itself back up.

  Thinking quickly, she tried to shake Pink’s grip off her leg, but he was incredibly strong. Much stronger than even Ardmon, she thought. Raising both her arms she slung them down quickly at Pink who was still on the floor. Four throwing stars stuck into him, pinning him down by his arms and legs. He gasped in pain and released Marcie’s leg. She stepped away from him quickly and glared down at him with a look of triumph.

  “Now, maybe you can answer a few of my questions since it seems you’re a bit pinned down at the moment. First off- why do your wounds heal so quickly?”

  “Because I’m not a delicate human, like you. The king has blessed his most loyal servants with the ultimate gift- immortality.” he sneered the last word as if in spite that Marcie wouldn’t be able to kill him.

  “You mean you can’t die? And Sham-Bon- he can’t be killed either? Surely you can’t be invincible?” Marcie questioned the man in disbelief.

  “As if I’m going to give away how you can kill my leader, let alone myself. What do you take me for? To tell you the truth I don’t even know how one could kill an immortal! Surely you’d have to be a god or something.”

  “Damn it Alfred, you’re going to get yourself killed and it’s all my fault for dragging you into this.” Marcie spoke to herself.

  “What’s that? The little bathroom boy is in on this too? Well, he must not care much for you if he left you here with me while he goes running off to his death. Anyway, I believe I’ve had quite my share of lying around for the day!” Pink howled in pain as he pushed himself up, forcing the throwing stars to rip through the tendons in both his arms and legs.

  The wounds began to seal themselves up rapidly now that the tissue was no longer being blocked by the metal stars. He lunged with stunning speed at Marcie, who wasn’t expecting him to be able to attack while his skin was still regenerating. She managed to sidestep to the left and duck, pushing upwards with all her force and sending Pink flying over her shoulder.

  “Hey, not bad.” he praised. “You’re pretty quick. Too bad you’re not immortal, I wouldn’t mind spending an eternity with you. What do you say you give this whole rebellion thing up, and I’ll have Sham-Bon perform the procedure. Man it’s a crazy ride, but if you survive it- the power is out of this world!” the man laughed maniacally and smiled, exposing two rows of bright white teeth.

  “I’d never join the likes of the Huck Family. They’ve brought nothing but endless suffering to my people and this entire planet.”

  “If that truly is Altarian Rue Armor that you wield, then I suppose that makes you a liar. You must be Marcie- yes there’s no doubt about it. And you certainly have joined the likes of this family before, why you’ve done more than that girl! You were raised in it. Little Marcie Huck- my haven’t you grown up!”

  “Shut your mouth. My last name isn’t Huck- it’s Devlash, and yes it’s true Sham-Bon took me in as a child and trained me but he is nothing to me. Once I learned the type of man he was I only stayed to plot against him and steal Gosia’s Crystal to save Hemphion myself.”

  “Foolish girl. I suppose you would have been quite young when it all happened. Your last name might as well be Huck, for that is the name of the man who saved your pitiful existence. I was there, oh yes, I remember the day well. It was the task that earned me my immortality. Poisoning two Bratvian villagers, parents of a little girl only a few years old.”

  Marcie was starting to freak out, how could this man have killed her parents? Her memory was fuzzy, but she remembered her parents growing very sick with disease and dying in the sanctuary when she was just eight years old.

  “That can’t be true, my parents died of the disease from Hemphion’s- no, wait the sun…” Marcie’s eyes clouded up and she fought back tears as Pink picked up where she left off.

  “The sun was never going to explode, that’s right. Put it all together now, come on. You must be a smart girl if Sham-Bon raised you.”

  Marcie glared back at Pink with a newfound hatred.

  “He never raised me- I saw him less times than I can count on one hand throughout my childhood. He paid for everything though- the best instructors, combat trainers, swordsmen. But now I’ll use it all against him. I see that he must have had you force my parents to get sick. But why?”

  “Why to make the whole thing even more believable, of course! Your parents were the very first ones we introduced the disease to in Bratvia. And what do you know, it spread like wildfire over the years. Sham-Bon had the disease developed to kill off everyone middle-aged or older throughout the villages and compounds across Hemphion. By doing so, he has now gained the faith of all Hemphion’s youth. Not only for saving the planet, but for putting an end to the so-called sun disease that killed off all their loved ones.”

  Marcie was done talking. She couldn’t believe her parents had been used as poison apples to kill of the others in her village. There must have been so many others that had perished in the rural villages all across the planet. It makes sense, she thought, that the city people and Parliament would have been more likely to evacuate sooner when news of an epidemic and an exploding sun reached them.

  “You shouldn’t have told me you killed my parents!” Marcie screamed as she slid out two long red metal blades from each of her arms.

  Pink looked at her in surprise as she slashed into his side and arm, sending a gush of blood out onto the glass wall behind him. The look of agony faded quickly from his face and he reached his hand into his side, pulling Marcie’s blade out and lifting her up by her arm.

  “I told you that hurts. And you can’t kill me- so enough already!” he swung and threw her by the arm, sending Marcie crashing through the glass wall.

  ***

  “Al Moreno, I must admit it is so wonderful to see you again. You are too kind to have gone through all this trouble to bring me my crystal.” the man flashed a sinister smile as he spoke in a snobbish tone to the Rift Resolver.r />
  Alfred studied him, taking in everything he despised about the man that stood before him. His unnaturally black beard that should have been gray for a man his age. His face that showed no wrinkles and the only sign of aging was that his hair was speckled with grey. He was tall and slender, and carried with him an aura of confidence. He no longer wore the black tuxedo he had on in Jenni’s Roller-Rink. Instead he wore jet black pants that carried into an expensive looking pair of golden boots, likely the sacrifice of a rare animal’s hide. Around his exposed chest there was a black silk robe, truly fit for a king and covered in golden patterns. On top of his head there sat a crown, shimmering with a gold that rivaled Gosia’s Crystal.

  “I won’t let you get away with all this. You’re a monster Sham-Bon. A phony. The little prince who had to wait until he was far beyond his years to take the throne. What, did you kill daddy to speed up the process too?” Alfred taunted the king.

  “Evil as you may see me to be, no I was not responsible for my father’s death. He was a good man who simply lacked the ambition necessary to put an end to the mockery of our family. He played his meaningless part in the parades and ceremonies and whatnot- but never did he seek to restore the power that the Huck Family has forever been entitled to on this planet.”

  “You went about it all wrong Sham-Bon.” Alfred began. The king raised his eyes with interest as he took a drink from his glass.

  “Do go on, tell me how I could have done better. It’s not as if I’m moments away from demolishing this village. And then who will they listen to, you? They’ll believe an outsider over their king who has saved them all from death?”

  “You spent your life waiting to take over. Somewhere along the line you likely wasted countless years chasing immortality- just so that you could keep your ambition alive. And yet, had you campaigned through the people and won their trust fairly as your father had- you could’ve brought back more genuine influence to the royal family. But you were greedy, you wanted it by all means possible. It didn’t matter if that meant killing the people you wanted so badly to rule over, or sending them away scared for their lives from the planet they’ve always called home. You disgust me.”