by SJ McGarry
A prophecy foretold in the Book of Twenty about how Centaurius—Earth's twin, mirrored planet—was still a well-kept secret and yet unrevealed to those living on the troubled planet Earth.
On both planets, all creatures big and small, from the land, air, and sea, observed the unusual display in the heavens. Shooting stars exploded in the sky, breaking into thousands of smaller particles of twinkling lights as they fell toward the ground. Meteors and supernovae streaked bright colors of the rainbow between the galaxies, observed by all on both planets.
The Universe announced its proclamation of the beginning of a new era of hope.
CHAPTER 11
Zennibar
Valter, Capitol of Neprede - Whirlpool Galaxy
Deep within the planet, Napix, within the Whirlpool Galaxy, lived Zennibar, an exiled wizard who reigned in bloodshed and terror in the country of Neprede. Summoned to an emergency meeting at his military headquarters in the capital city of Valter, a news flash scrolled across the ancient GIS hologram screen, sending fear pulsating through his veins.
"No. It can't be," Zennibar hissed into his course, black beard, which looked like it fueled its unique electrical source. Untamed and spiked hair grew out of his head in every direction imaginable, making him appear demonic.
The news alert faded in and out, tainted by static, but he understood the fragmented messages well enough as lines of incoming text ran across the screen:
‘Nella Grizel Reiner, Princess Warrior, born the year of the 12th Ring, 48911 —The daughter of King Johan Reiner VII and Queen Megan of Utropia. The baby Princess is the great-granddaughter of Grizel —The Warrior of Old, who reigns as the queen in the Country of Wethersfield.
Nella is next in the royal line to assume Grizel's role as the promised Princess Warrior of Centaurius.’
Cursing to himself, Zennibar moved his huge face closer to the screen. Dull, obsidian eyes, cold as steel and black as his heart, watched the images on an old OMNIS 1 computer. The ancient relic, the first of Keno's Central Systems and now outdated, continued to malfunction.
On one of his seek and destroy raids, he confiscated the CSMC. A battle ensued and turned lethal. Many valiant Centaurian warriors shed their blood while serving their countries, a sad day in the planet’s history.
The wizard's hostile attacks to overtake Montrobius, the King of Centaurius along with the Council members failed. Obsession passed logic in his unrealistic goal to rule over the universe. Manic compulsion fueled his reasoning, spreading havoc to those who resisted his ways while his ambitions were driving him to the brink of insanity.
For starters, Zennibar's wounds included a broken nose. The limp was a direct result of several injuries and ended in the amputation of his right leg and dependent on a prosthetic.
The screen continued showing the Royal Family holding their newborn infant with huge smiles plastered across their faces. Wiry eyebrows squished his eyes into reptilian slits as he monitored the memory BCs downloading. Another newsflash spiraled cross the screen:
Sign: a birthmark
‘A cluster of freckles that spread across the bridge of the baby Princess' nose and continues on each side to her cheeks. shimmers and resembles the Andromeda Galaxy as her powers activate.
Written in the Akashic Records and prophesied in the Book of Twenty, told of a Princess Warrior leading the fight to stop the corrupted decay and destruction of Earth and her own mirrored planet, Centaurius. The Mission: to find and contain the Red Brume and banish or destroy all enemies and traitors of the Empire.
With thick fingers, each one crooked from earlier broken bones in both hands, Zennibar fumbled around with the controls, trying to zoom in on the face of the infant. But the more he tried, the more the image distorted.
"Abigor, get your worthless carcass in here now! The resolution and the DPI need to increase so the visuals will show on this old relic piece of tin." Zennibar roared in anger through his communication system. The frame froze in place when he pushed the button with his crooked index finger.
Zennibar’s first stage of his master plan comprised of spreading evil and chaos on planet Earth by using an ancient, evil force created by his Great, Great, Grandfather. They called it the Red Brume, a creation which poisoned everything in its path, causing mayhem. Once the evil powers of the Red Brume unleashed its bondage, Zennibar was convinced he would have complete control over its powers through his sorcery, or so he thought.
He would strip both planets of their natural resources. Over time, it would turn Earth and Centaurius into hostile and inhabitable environments for any life form. The Red Brume would spread throughout the galaxies and destroy any life forms on other planets as well as those who refused to adhere to the wizard's rule.
Zennibar's next step was to rebuild a mega metropolis empire within the New Milkomedia Galaxy. It would become the headquarters for all the galaxies in the Universe, positioning him to rule with terrifying power as the King.
His most significant barrier was his most fearsome rival, Grizel, the famous and revered Queen Warrior of Wethersfield, along with King Johan VII, King of Utropia. By adding Princess Nella to the mix, the chance of total failure would certainly confirm his worst and imminent fears.
With his plan buzzing around his crazy head, Zennibar seemed obsessed that he could outsmart everyone and gain complete control of the galaxies. Unleashing the Red Brume, he hid deep within the core of planet Earth, would be the final step to exploiting its already weakened state of decay and pollution, a process he had instigated thousands of years prior.
With recklessness as his guide, Zennibar reached out from the Whirlpool Galaxy with his tentacles of terror. His electrical energy shot forth a sizzling branded letter ‘Z’ towards the newborn at the Cygnus Parental Portals Medical Hospital. Zennibar's signature gave warning of his potential power of destruction and a personal threat against King Johan.
Since his exile from Centaurius, Zennibar no longer had access to the Book of Twenty or the prophecies. He had stopped his research of the birth of the Princess Warrior and the threat it imposed on his plans. Thus, he was unaware of the connection to another significant birth of a warrior on another planet. He sensed the energy of his warning splitting and also spiraling towards Earth, which was something he found strange and unexplainable.
CHAPTER 12
Abigor
A tall, muscular warrior walked into Zennibar's command center. His hair glimmered like a reflection of a super moon. Three giant strides ate up the length of the room in his crossing, and all-powerful limbs carried his body in such a way that said, ‘This man wins his battles.’
His presence commanded attention; whenever he entered a room, everyone stopped whatever they were doing, riveted to his every move with silent envy. There were none like him throughout the universe; the one and only Abigor, Duke of the Demon Warriors from the country of Auria, planet Crion in the Fireworks Galaxy, hired by Zennibar as the commander of his military fleets.
Dark, indigo eyes zeroed in on Zennibar, whom Abigor detested. "Did you summon me, Wizard?" he asked.
"What took you so long? I pay you enough to expect you to answer when summoned, not during the next whirlpool orbit!“
"Unfortunately, I was out in the field with the fighter teams, overseeing their drills. I came as soon as possible.”
"That's no excuse. Find out what's wrong with this piece of junk and fix it. I need to zoom in on the VIVs."
Abigor sat down and flipped and turn the switches on the GSI panel. "It's like I told you before Wizard," he said, holding back his lack of patience with a man he thought was an idiot. "This model is outdated, and many memory chips are useless. Tiny tin whiskers infested the internal working parts, and in time will destroy all your electronic components. It needs a major repair and overhaul, To make this easier on yourself, you should buy or upgrade to a new system.”
"I'm well aware of what it should do," Zennibar snapped. "Seeing how I don’t have a choice, that is why I
hired you among other reasons. How do you propose I carry out this task when I stole it from Keno in the first place?"
Abigor swiveled around in the chair with a crooked smile on his face and suggested, "Steal another one?"
Zennibar's face filled with rage. Seeing his feeble attempt at a little humor did not go over well, Abigor continued, "I've increased the DPI resolutions. Press down on the switch here while wedging something in-between the two sliding levers to keep them in place. For now, the resolution is enough to enlarge the area you are interested in viewing." Abigor stood and motioned for Zennibar to sit and take control.
Zennibar looked like an insane cretin, as he struggled to work and manipulate all the dials. His large arthritic fingers pushed several wrong buttons at once, which only made things worse. Under his breath, he grumbled and cursed with every gawky move he made.
A smirk of satisfaction slid across Abigor's handsome face as he watched Zennibar fumble to bring the equipment to working order. "If you require nothing more, I must return before the men begin to badger and harass the female warriors. I can’t afford to lose crucial time needed in combat training."
"Why exert yourself? You know both sides love it."
"Because Wizard, if it becomes necessary to defend ourselves against the Empire, all the soldiers need to know the drill and be at their best. Otherwise, we are wasting everyone’s time and your money."
"Excellent point, Abigor. Sometimes great wisdom comes out of your mouth, despite having to bypass your putrid demon breath."
Gritted teeth loaded with venom hid behind Abigor's fake smile as both men's eyes locked in a pissing contest. Abigor realized it was a waste of time to spar with a lunatic. He’d learned the hard way and long ago to pick his battles carefully with this imbecile!
As he assessed the situation, having little respect for the wizard, Abigor still had a keen sense of survival tactics never to underestimate Zennibar's devious and diabolical wizardry, which could turn lethal to anyone who crossed him. Psychopathic didn't begin to describe Zennibar unstable mind. Abigor knew he had to handle him with care and under the radar. In the meantime, he would bide his time. The time he spent in serving the Wizard’s every whim was enough in helping to fund his personal master plan. So, Abigor appeared to give in to Zennibar's verbal tirade.
Both men turned their heads to look as the picture lit up the screen and zoomed in to show the markings on the baby princess' face.
"Good Gorbit! She is the one," Zennibar hissed an uncontrollable curse. "We must take immediate action before she reaches the age of 1,800 Centaurian rings or we will miss our chance. It will be impossible to fight against her father, the King, and her great-grandmother, Grizel. Their joint forces are too powerful, but if something separates them, I can win!"
Zennibar barked out orders. "Abigor, call the commanders of all your divisions. We need to map out a means to intervene and send Nella to one of our outer rogue satellite galaxies to keep her from reaching her full power."
An idea to outwit Zennibar's evil proposed actions took shape in Abigor's mind. With a little creativity and magic of his own, he could overpower Zennibar and substitute his secret maneuvers, which were essential to his final coup. He hurried back to his quarters to activate his counterattack to outwit Zennibar at his wild and lethal game.
CHAPTER 13
In and Out of Memory
48911 Spiral Ring
The development of BCs created the ability to communicate with all intelligent life forms throughout the Universe by combining sophisticated telepathic spiral energy. At birth, enhanced intelligence developed their BCs abilities before one's physical birth.
Vibrations of past spiral memories continued downloading into Nella’s central BCs for future retrieval. BC knowledge exchanging from the mother to the daughter to enhance her powers.
The ersun (or nurse in the English language) at Cignus Portals wheeled mother and child out to their awaiting transportation as Johan taxied up to the front of the building. Megan's cheeks regained their rosy coloring bringing relief as she left the medical center and all the noisy activity to return to the safety of the castle. Energizing power continued to flow within the Airstream. The warmth of Megan's arms around her baby daughter brought comfort and peace to both.
Leaning over the middle console, Megan placed her hand on Johan’s arm before he started the engine and kissed him.
"What did I do to deserve your love?" He turned to return her kiss.
"Loving me and being you. I could never express in words how happy I am that our sweet baby is here. She is perfect."
"I am too sweetheart, but in all honesty, I'm looking forward to getting back where we can enjoy our privacy and a little quiet time." His tone of voice matching the wiggle of his eyebrows.
"I couldn't agree more." A humorous laugh vibrated the interior of the Airstream. Her smile gave confirmation to the aura of their love surrounding them.
As the engine roared to life, the Airstream took off in a smooth, upward glide above the city's traffic.
Nella’s eyes popped open at the sudden noise of the engine intruding on her peaceful slumber. She tried to focus on what went whizzing by the window of the big machine with wings and wheels. She later found out the noisy machine was the Royal Family's flying car, called a Centaurian Airstream.
Regardless of all the excitement, Nella eyes waged war on staying open or closing. An invisible weight seemed to press on her eyelids sending them in a downward motion. The ride and motion lulled her back to sleep. Her parents’ voices became muted and growing fainter with each breath she took. Nella's awareness kept fading in and out.
Nella slept in the comfort of her mother's arms. The sound of heavy breathing seemed to invade her semiconscious mind. Her senses peaked to high alert. A peculiar odor began permeating the area around her reeking like an infestation of tuber worms.
With her sensory perceptions on high-status alert, Nella scrunched her face and peeking through her eyelashes, trying not to alert the intruder. A small, furry creature full of wiggles had a goal in mind and did everything possible to do a take over of the copilot’s seat. Nella decided to name the creature wiggles as it couldn’t sit still and was close enough to whiplash her with its long, pink tongue hanging out the side of its mouth.
"Who are you?" Nella's spiral BCs sent her question to the little gray blob.
The creature's ears fell in a dropping position. Two tiny teardrops went trickling down from its cute, button eyes. "I'm Scruffy, the Royal Family dogbot. Don't you remember me?"
"Well, I'm not sure. Have we met?"
"Oh, my, no, I mean at least I don't think so. Oh dear, how silly of me. All Centaurians know about your birth. You are a famous Princess, and we’ve waited a long time for your birth. I forgot we've never met in person."
A wrinkling face resembling a prune stared back at the little dogbot in confusion. The swirling motion of Scruffy’s wagging tail gave off a hypnotic effect. Regardless, not even a meteor storm could compete with her fatigue. "Well, even though it’s nice to meet you, I’m tired. I need to go back to sleep."
The little furry face lit up as she swished her tongue in and out. "Princess, don't you worry about anything. We can talk later after you rest. I'm excited you are here, and I hope we can become friends."
"I'm sure we will,." Weariness prevailed causing Nella’s eye to close. Visions of floating on soft, heart-shaped clouds in peaceful slumber, blocking out all outside interference.
When Scruffy tried to lean over to kiss Nella on the head with her long, pink tongue, Nella's mother thwarted her intentions with a quick swat. "Scruffy, how did you sneak in here? Don't lick!”
King Johan face gave away his sheepish look of guilt. He knew their royal dogbot Scruffy jumped into the family’s Airstream before takeoff. Everything was in such a frenzy, he didn’t see her or have the time to shoo her away. “Honey, I forgot she snuck in when we in a rush to fly to the Parental Portal. Sorry!”
&n
bsp; “Oh, it’s not a problem. I don’t want Scruffy trying to kiss baby Nella. I understand what a little sneak she is in wanting to be by your side 24-7.”
Turning a little sideways so she could look at Scruffy she continued, “Now be a good dogbot Scruffy. Go back to your seat and finish eating your tuber bone snack.”
Scruffy immediately did as the Queen asked. The last thing she wanted to happen is taking a chance of being locked up in the dogbot house instead of having the freedom of the family castle. Being locked away tonight would be a catastrophe. She did not want her name to land on the Queen's naughty list and be in time out.
The Princess Warrior is here; Scruffy reflected as she sat back down in her seat. She couldn’t help but marvel over how the Council Members selected her to be the communication leader during mission I-PERM, choosing her over all the other creatures and critters from both Earth and Centaurius. Her excitement filled her to the brim with happiness, and she was humbled to receive the high honor to serve.
Scruffy's first item on the list was to request the audience of the castle's Fur and Feather Warrior's squadron for a secret meeting with the Princess, without alerting the King or Queen.
Preparing to send her BC updates to the King of the Centaurian Empire, Scruffy eyes closed as she began her BC transmission. "King Montrobius," she said, “I completed the first order of business. Stage two is now in progress. Over and out."
CHAPTER 14
Every Castle Needs a Princess
The Royal Family had a full-time pilot, but King Johan always insisted on flying their family's Airstream. Flying was his passion, and so he used every excuse he could think of to pilot the Airstream himself.
Johan glided his pride and joy up a wide landing strip that leads to a large hangar built on the side entrance of the castle. Bringing the Airstream to a smooth landing, he turned off the switches, and the engine succumbed to silence.