War Of Drekis


Chapter 2:

Prelude To Massacre




-----The Deminites surrounded Vincentzo and POWAAA!!!-Man, grinding their sharp teeth with great fury. The spell of the ‘Hive guard’ had made each of them far more dangerous than they ever were before. Behind them came the Reptillions, the humanoid reptiles who began to wave their broad swords in the air with great ferocity.
-----POWAAA!!!-Man stepped in front of Vincentzo and positioned himself in a keen martial arts stance...or at least what he thought was a keen martial arts stance.
-----Vincentzo could only question Woose’s ignorance, regardless of the trouble that surrounded both of them. “Woose, what the hell do you think you’re doing. You’re going to hurt yourself. Just leave these cretins to me!”
-----The so-called martial artist turned his head, “What? You’re the one that needs help. Only I, POWAAA!!!-Man, have the power and technique to take these villains down.”
-----“You idiot, you’ll get yourself killed. Go back to the city walls.”
-----“No, you go back. You’d be dead now if it weren’t for me.”
-----“Excuse me?”
-----“Well you would.”
-----“How dare you talk to someone of my stature like that. To think that someone like you would have to RESCUE ME!. Utter nonsense.”
-----The scarred captain watched the arguing duo with great curiosity. “Hmmm...for two people who are supposed to be allies, they sure argue a lot. If everyone on this planet is just as stubborn I’d say we’ll have this world in a week. Enough. Deminites, Reptillions, attack these dolts!”
-----Three of the Deminites moved forward first, they held their bodies close to the ground as they ran full speed at the two. POWAAA!!!-Man immediately turned his attention to his enemies and ran ahead to meet his foes head on.
-----“Idiot,” Vincentzo said as he followed his ally into battle. “I’ll not be held responsible if you die a horrible death.”
-----The first Deminite gathered arcane flames into its hands and released them at POWAAA!!!-Man, but the so-called martial artist jumped into the air and smacked the creature in its face with a powerful jump kick. The toxic smell of his feet was enough to kill the creature, but the force of his kick sent it flying into the other two.
-----As the monsters fell, Maiinverno sent out a wave of magic missiles which swarmed the other enemies, piercing their bodies with raw magic power. The reptillioins spread out and encircled their targets, swords in hand.
-----POWAAA!!!-Man and Vincentzo stood back to back and studied their surroundings. “Well,” Vincentzo said. “It looks like we’ll have to establish targets.”
-----“I’ll take the big ugly lizard creature,” POWAAA!!!-Man replied.
-----“They’re all big ugly lizard creature’s you moron.”
-----“Whatever, just run in and beat the crap out of everything, that’s my motto.”
-----POWAAA!!!-Man ran head first into the enemy lines. He tore through two lizard men with a fury of kicks and punches, then jumped into the air and spun around with rather surprising grace. He gave a nearby Deminite a spin kick to the face, then slipped and fell face first into the ground.
-----“Ok, so I’m still working on that one. It worked didn’t it.” POWAAA!!!-Man said. As he stumbled around the field attacking his enemies, he somehow avoided all of their fire attacks with a recognizable grace. Maiinverno could only look on in shock.
-----Realizing that enemies were beginning to gather behind them, Maiinverno cast a spell of illusion to hide himself from the attacking reptillions. The beats stood confused for a moment, then began to swing their swords through the air, hoping to hit something. Vincentzo came up behind one and blew a hole through its chest with an intense beam of magical energy. The other lizard men quickly realized where their target was and began to wildly swing their blades in his general direction. The roar of one of the creatures nearly destroyed the young wizard’s ear drum as it lunged forward with a screech. It struck down with its blade and hit Maiinverno’s shoulder armor hard. Part of the blade sliced through, burying itself into his shoulder blade. The wizard strafed to the side as he released a sparkle of firelights that swirled around the beasts, confusing them and soon after exploding against them. Maiinverno had not counted on the creatures finding him so quickly. Perhaps he had underestimated them...a little. The young wizard cancelled his illusion spell and held his hands to the sky.
-----“Spirits of fire, I call upon your power to destroy these peasants!” Vincentzo shouted in his own tongue of magical incantation A wave of fire spread out from his body, engulfing the lizard men and most of the nearby trees. The reptillions squirmed on the ground and eventually died like scarred ants and the field suddenly became a volcano; the fires spreading from the trees to the grass and beyond. “hmph, that’s what they get for trying to measure up to my status.”
-----POWAAA!!!-Man continued to punch and kick his way though legions of Deminites. Every step he took, the deminites hit him hard with blasts of fire and cut his face with their claws. Yet still, somehow, someway, he managed to survive each attack and continued to march on with untold persistence...a persistence that was either the product of bravery or ignorance. He grabbed one lizard creature by the arm and through it into another, then immediately followed with a kick to a deminite’s face. His foot missed the deminite by a few inches, yet the stench of his feet nearly destroyed the demon’s olfactory sense.
-----Maiinverno sent everything at his enemies. Chain lightning, blasts of energy, chromatic orbs, arrows of light, yet still more came. Even though the duo were killing them by the dozens, the creatures seemed to be even more ferocious than before. “Do these creatures have any sense of fear. Do they not know of the greatness which they face?” he said. “Well, have another taste of my superior power beasts....see if this makes you think twice before approaching me...” he waved his hand through the air and sent over a dozen spheres of fire into the field where the demons were coming from. The grass was set ablaze and the demons began to wail in misery. The resulting explosion sent reptillions flying into the air and crashing down.
-----The young wizard was too busy admiring his own attack to see the reptillion coming down on him from above. Its sword came inches away from his head when a sudden flash of light knocked the creature off course. Maiinverno turned to see POWAAA!!!-Man standing there, surrounded by what seemed like fifty corpses around him. It took the wizard a long period of disbelief before he realized that Woose had just fired off some form of chi energy from his hands. “You owe me one now.” POWAAA!!!-Man said.
-----“What? That’s complete bull,” Maiinverno yelled. “I saw him, and I would have killed him too. Don’t ever think that I’ll owe you anything.”
-----“Yeah yeah, you know you’d have died a long time ago if it weren’t for me.”
-----Maiinverno was about to counter that statement when the young wizard noticed that the Hive Guard was moving towards them. Its disproportionate arms stretched out and took a swing at Maiinverno. The scythe-like arms made a deep cut on the wizard’s forehead before he could move back, and the young wizard could only stare at the creature with intense anger as drops of red fell over his eyes. He wiped his face with his cape and gave the beast an icy stare that was instantly returned. The hive guard brought his other arm down through the air with its blade ready to finish the job, but Maiinverno instinctively cast a teleportation spell to avoid the attack.
-----POWAAA!!!-Man noticed Vincentzo appear behind him. “What’s wrong, couldn’t handle the big bad monster?”
-----“Shut up. I’m just re-grouping.” Maiinverno replied.
-----The hive guard fired an optic blast from its blood red eyes, forcing the two to split up in order to avoid it. The beam melted through the ground, leaving a large crater in an area that was once grassland.
-----Maiinverno shouted rude and vulgar remarks at the Hive Guard to distract it while giving Woose a signal to attack the beast. Unfortunately the creature seemed to follow Maiinverno’s tactics, for as soon as POWAAA!!!-Man tried to make his bold move, the Hive Guard instructed more Deminites to move forward. The little horned devils pointed their hands towards the raging fires that continued to engulf the field and began to gesture the flames toward the duo with pure thought. A wall of fire suddenly stood between POWAAA!!!-Man and the Hive Guard, who, despite not having a visible mouth, seemed to display a look of victory.
-----“Those things....their pyrokinetic!” Woose realized.
-----“Damn!” Maiinverno responded. “All those fire spells I conjured have been feeding them more ammo.”
-----POWAAA!!!-Man ran around the creature and attacked it from behind. He jumped into the air and gave it a strong kick in the back, but the hive guard barely moved. More annoyed than hurt, the hive guard swung its massive body around and smacked POWAAA!!!-Man away with its arm.
-----“Bow down before me cretin,” Vincentzo said as he gathered magical energy into his hand. The hive guard continued to walk forward unfazed by the young wizard’s statement. “Very well, you leave me no choice. Die with the rest of your demon companions.” Starhot energy shot out from his palms, striking the mammoth creature in the chest. The hive guard merely shrugged it off and continued walking.
-----“What?” Maiinverno said, completely puzzled. “How could he...but..”
-----“Ha,” the scarred man said, snickering as if he had already won. “I’m afraid hive guards have a pretty strong resistance to magic. Now what will the ‘great wizard’ do?”
-----The hive guard approached the wizard fearlessly. Maiinverno sent waves of fire and lighting at the beast, but it continued to walk forward without giving the slightest indication of pain.
-----Suddenly, POWAAA!!!-Man’s battle cry could be heard as he made his appearance known to the hive guard by punching it in the face. As the creature growled in rage, POWAAA!!!-Man continued to punch it anyway he could. He gave it everything he had: Jabs, uppercuts, low blows, and sharp kicks. The hive guard recovered from his assault and swung upwards with its scythe-like arms, cutting off POWAAA!!!-Man’s right arm. The so-called martial artist staggered and his eyes grew large with disbelief. “My arm! You took off my arm you bastard.” Woose dove straight into the beast and struck at it blindly. He didn’t care where or how he was hitting it, so long as his punches made contact.
-----Maiinverno watched in amazement, mostly due to utter disbelief, as POWAAA!!!-Man assaulted the beast with one arm. The hive guard raised one giant claw into the air and prepared to counter POWAAA!!!-Man’s attack. Vincentzo launched a barrage of flame arrows at the beast’s face to prevent the creature from harming Woose any further. The arrows were a mere nuisance at best, but they succeeded in keeping the creature busy. POWAAA!!!-Man instantly took advantage of the hive guard’s distracted state and gave it a roundhouse kick to the face. Although the creature appeared to have no nose, it obviously smelled through something, because the hive guard fell over dead just moments after it picked up the aroma of POWAAA!!!-Man’s toxic feet.
-----The scarred captain smile faded into a look of anger and disappointment. “Well, what do you know, they won.”
-----“Was there any doubt,” Vincentzo said to his last foe. “Do you actually want me to believe that you and your demon’s came here expecting to defeat me? What a joke.”
-----“Yeah,” POWAAA!!!-Man said as he reattached his arm in classic cartoon fashion. “I, POWAAA!!!-Man, could have defeated you just as easily alone.”
-----Vincentzo rolled his eyes, but kept his attention fixed on his enemy.
-----The captain stared at both of them and smiled, “Well, good job then. I’m impressed. Then again, I should expect this from a world that my master claims to be ‘rich in power.’”
-----“Master?” Vincentzo said. “Hold it right there peasant. Who is this master of yours. Who would dare to attack Arealis, a city that will soon be under my rule.”
-----“I don’t have to tell you anything wizard,” the captain said as he turned around to show his back to the duo. “Consider yourselves lucky this time. This was but a small attack force. It doesn’t matter how powerful you are, Araelis will fall.”
-----“But why do you want Araelis to fall?” POWAAA!!!-Man asked, as the villain began to walk away. “Hey, I asked you a question villain. Come back here and tell me what I want to know or face the feet of POWAAA!!!-Man!”
-----With that, the mysterious man disappeared, leaving no trail.
-----“He vanished,” POWAAA!!!-Man uttered. “Oh well, POWAAA!!!-Man wins again. I am victorious.”
-----“Save your celebration Woose,” Vincentzo said. “We’ve won now, but we must prepare ourselves. It seems that Araelis is in danger, though I don’t know why.”
-----“Don’t worry Centzo,” POWAAA!!!-Man said proudly. “If anyone attacks this city, you can be sure that I’ll put a stop to their evil deeds.”
-----“Oh please. At least I have their dead bodies. If I study them, perhaps I can develop some new tactics for destroying them.”
-----As those words were uttered, a strong wind blew across the fields, and the bodies of the demons vanished, as if they had become a part of the passing wind itself. Only the fire remained, ceaselessly burning the once peaceful grassland.

---2---


-----Yagami Shinsuke stared out at the water which stretched out as far as the eye could see. The vast lakes of Thenesiea glistened in the setting sun’s light, and the call of numerous birds filled the air. Shinsuke had always liked Thenesiea for some reason. It was one of the most unique state-kingdoms on the face of the planet. About eighty percent of the entire state-kingdom was water; a gigantic lake that one could swear was part of the ocean itself. Everyone in Thenesiea either lived on land or on cities that had been built on artificial land platforms above the waters surface. Some people were even willing to live in underwater colonies that had been built along the lake floor by an aquatic race. It was a peaceful place to be in either case.
-----Yagami glanced at the restaurant clock as he waited for his friend to arrive. He had been waiting at the table for some time now. He was a patient man, but one can only look out at the giant lake so many times before getting bored. The table was located outside of the restaurant on a wooden dock of sorts. It was one of many artificial land platforms built for the citizens of Thenesiea to live on. Normally, this particular section of the docks would be extremely busy because of all the nearby shops and restaurants, but now it was getting late and people began to head home.
-----Yagami had gotten the call from a fellow SLJ member only a few hours ago. He said that there was something important to discuss and he would like to schedule a meeting with him somewhere. Shinsuke hoped that he would have a new case to work on, or any form of crime fighting. He was an experienced member of the SLJ, but the Fallen had been relatively quite recently, and the Marauders take over of Zel’Mier was being handled by the SLJ base in Axia Prime. Needless to say, he had not seen a lot of action in some time.
-----“Have I kept you waiting?” a voice came from behind.
-----Yagami turned in his chair to see the fellow SLJ member standing there. Daniel Schizan was one of the younger Sentinels members, but he was a true hero. Daniel immediately called a waitress to order his drink and then placed his sunglasses on the table as he sat in the opposite chair.
-----“You’re about twenty minutes late,” Shinsuke replied coldly. He noticed that Daniel’s clothes looked wrinkled and his face was covered by a half-grow beard. “You’ve been slacking off haven’t you.”
-----The younger SLJ member rubbed his chin and smiled, “Yeah, I’ve been on a vacation of sorts. There hasn’t been a lot for me to do lately. But that’s why I’m here Yagami. I’ve got some interesting news and I thought you’d like to know.”
-----“You dragged me out here schizan,” Shinsuke remarked. “What is it.”
-----“Well, as you know, there hasn’t been much going on here in Thenesiea, not since the new government was implemented due to President Pharis’ suggestions.”
-----“Yes, I know,” Yagami replied, “I realize that there hasn’t been much work to do around here, but the changes have brought a new sense of order to this state-kingdom. It was chaotic before.”
-----Daniel took a deep breath and took in the aroma of the massive lake. “Ah, yes, it is good that the city itself can finally reflect the beauty of this environment. I assume you’ve always liked it because of how peaceful it is?”
-----“Perhaps,” Yagami said, “but continue, what did you want to tell me.”
-----“Okay, Okay, I get the picture, you want to get on with it eh,” Daniel said, laughing to himself. “Well, I was contacted by the SLJ council about a week ago. They are considering moving us to the SLJ base in Cretalia, and yes I mean you too Yagami.”
-----“Really?” Yagami exclaimed, puzzled by this sudden decision. “Has something happened in Cretalia? Why don’t they send us to Zel’Mier? The Zel’Mier citizens have needed our help for months now.”
-----Daniel shrugged. “Well, you know how it is, the SLJ wants to avoid a full fledged war in any way possible. An epic battle with the Marauders is something reserved only as a last resort. As is, I believe only a handful of the Sentinels are assigned to the task of liberating the state-kingdom. Anyways, that is not our concern right now, but there are some interesting things going on in Cretalia.”
-----“Is that a fact? Like what?”
-----“There was a recent report from that one girl, Shirai something?”
-----The sound of the water crashing against the docks filled the air for a moment. The temperature was beginning to drop rapidly. “Shirai Natsumi? What’s she up to now?
-----“Well, she’s just as freaked out by her three little cohorts as always. Last I heard she was in Cretalia trying to “fulfill her destiny.” Anyway, she had something interesting to say”
-----“Hmm...you’re starting to become my informer,” Yagami forced a smile.
-----“Yeah, I suppose. Man I’ve gotten really low these past few months. Oh well. She said that Cretalia citizens have been telling stories of demons and green men emerging from Wizard woodlands and then disappearing again.”
-----“Not another monster story,” Yagami shook his head in disgust. “Half of those end up being hallucinations and the other half end up being true. I guess that’s the price for working on a planet like this.”
-----“Maybe,” Daniel said, closing his eyes as he talked. “But Shirai said that when she investigated she saw the demons herself, just outside of Morisato city.”
-----“Is she absolutely sure?” Yagami asked. “She didn’t just imagine it did she?”
-----“Well, half the citizens in Morisato city can testify to her scream.”
-----“And that means what?”
-----“Okay, well, maybe that isn’t proof, but I’ll tell you one thing. Several days ago I met a representative from the GDF.”
-----“The Galactic Defense Forces?” Yagami said, surprised and curious at the same time. “Here, on Khazan? Why would they be here?”
-----“Good question. Well, a few weeks ago a representative of the GDF was down here on Khazan doing a little investigation. Since he was down here in Thenesiea I was able to have a little chat with him on behalf of the SLJ.”
-----“A representative here? Doing an investigation?” Yagami said as he suddenly became more serious. “Khazan isn’t under GDF jurisdiction. Hell, its one of the only planets anywhere that isn’t under their jurisdiction. How...”
-----“Don’t ask me. All I know is that something big is going on if the GDF is investigating on Khazan. You know just as much as I do that the GDF only has the right to investigate on Khazan when something they consider to be an A-21-class situation comes us. They also seemed rather interested in Shirai’s story.”
-----“Do you know if the Khazan’s main government is aware of this?”
-----“Not sure, but the SLJ know, at the very least. They’d like us to investigate the matter, and also keep an eye on the representatives.”
-----“I see...well, its better than nothing I suppose,” Yagami said, looking up at the sky. “I guess its time for me to jump back into action. Do me a favor and inform the SLJ that I’ll be transferring to the Cretalia outpost, at least for the time being.”
-----“Certainly my old friend, and I’ve already arranged my transfer papers. It will be good to be in action again. And who knows, it might be nice to see some old Sentinel friends over in Cretalia again.”

---3---


-----A strong force of wind swept over Sevarian city as the sun began to set behind the champion mountains. The force was not that of a tornado or storm, but merely the force of two figures who swept across the city in a heroic fashion. The clouds parted as the duo ascended higher and took a good look at the city.
-----Uberman and Supercomrade scanned every street of the city meticulously. There were a few cars on the streets, and some civilians of variable species roaming around the shopping areas trying to buy whatever they could from the Khazan imports before nightfall. Other than that, the city was quite calm, but the two heroes knew better.
-----Ever since Uberman had become the leader of the SLJ he had been plagued by an old nemesis from his days back on his home planet. Blitzkrieg was the complete opposite of Uberman, and the sinister nazi had been trying to kill him for more than a month. Uberman looked over the lit streets of Sevarian city but could find no trace of his all-too-familiar foe. Still, he had a feeling that he was close by.
-----“I was certain that he was in this area comrade,” Supercomrade said as he continued to survey the scene.
-----Uberman sighed in frustration for a brief moment. “Dang, we could have ended this tonight. Blitzkrieg you nazi scum where the hell are you hiding?”
-----“If we had managed to keep up with him perhaps he could of led us to the Fallen’s encampment eh?” Supercomrade exclaimed.
-----“That’s true,” Uberman responded. “Unfortunately, Blitzkrieg is far too fast to follow. Still, we were very close, and my radar didn’t indicate that he had left the city. Are you absolutely sure he came this way?”
-----“Absolutely my friend. My good Russian eyes never fail me, even against such fast moving criminals.”
-----“Well then, I’d venture to say that he’s down there,” Uberman said. “Though unfortunately he could be across the Falcon River by now for all we know.”
-----“Let us go investigate on the streets,” Supercomrade suggested.
-----The two landed in an alley and began to move down numerous streets as fast as they could. Sevarian city was a big place, and it would take a long time to find one man amidst many.
-----“It will take us forever to find him,” Supercomrade said. “Hmmm...you know Blitzkrieg best comrade. If you were him, where would you hide?”
-----Uberman looked south towards the mountains and saw the setting sun, its orange light glowing on his mechanized armor. “It will be night soon. Scum like him will stay where the shadows are.”
-----The two heroes walked around searching the area until they came to what looked like an abandoned warehouse made of rotting wood. The building was dark and looked like it might collapse at any moment, the perfect place for a Fallen member to hide out. Uberman and Supercomrade walked up to the doorway, which was naturally void of any door, and carefully entered the warehouse. The sound of roaches and rats scattering across the rooms at the time of their entrance was expected. Looking towards the center of the chamber, which was filled with empty wooden boxes that may have been used for storage in the past, Uberman saw a single lamp that was turned on, dimly lighting the room.
-----“I’d say someone has been here recently,” Supercomrade said.
-----“Yes, but my radar doesn’t detect anyone,” Uberman said. “Of course, Blitzkrieg can be quite tricky sometimes. Be on your guard Supercomrade.”
-----The two worked their way towards the center, carefully observing each wooden box and looking down each hallway. It was dark enough to blind vision, but Uberman and Supercomrade had other, superior methods of finding their opponents.
-----Uberman examined his radar every few moments, as he was suspicious of the lone light in the middle of the room. It was likely to be a trap...a method of drawing attention away from a real threat. The two heroes sneaked around the wooden boxes, hiding in the shadows and approaching slowly. They spread out to cover more ground, but kept within sight distance so as not to get themselves caught off guard by the enemy.
-----Suddenly, Uberman’s radar let out a loud noise, and the mechanized hero saw a small blip flash across the screen. “Supercomrade!” he shouted in warning.
-----The warning came late, and Supercomrade was surprised to find an entire tower of wooden boxes falling over. The Russian hero jumped back and avoided the falling materials with ease, but it proved to be a minor distraction. By the time the boxes had fallen, Blitzkrieg had moved around the two heroes in a complete circle. His blinding speed made it almost impossible for the two heroes to follow, even in the closed areas of the warehouse. Uberman felt a strong force pass by, and saw the blur move towards him at blinding speed. He readied himself for the impact, but the diabolical nazi moved past him and zoomed over to Supercomrade.
-----Supercomrade tried to raise his own defenses, but Blitzkrieg’s attack was too fast. In a second, Supercomrade was sent flying into stacks of boxes against the far wall by a punch that hit his face at several hundred miles per hour. Blitzkrieg smiled and turned to face Uberman.
-----“So, Uberman, we meet again, hopefully for the last time,” the nazi snickered.
-----“The war ended decades ago Blitzkrieg,” Uberman said. “Why you still continue to bring death and destruction to every person you meet is beyond me, but I’m going to stop you, once and for all.”
-----“You’re wrong, Uberman, the war is far from over,” Blitzkrieg yelled. “The Fallen and the SLJ are no different from our forces back during the old days, and our war will never end until one of us is dead. Now, its time for you to join your beloved Lady Liberty, she’s been waiting for you for a long time.”
-----Uberman clenched his fists in anger. “How dare you..” he pointed his fists towards Blitzkrieg and fired two blasts from his concussion lasers. The floor beneath the nazi was torn apart by the incoming energy, but Blitzkrieg disappeared in a blur. Uberman continued to follow his movements, firing blast after blast with perfect aim, but in each case he was just one second too late. Eventually he lost track of the Fallen member and was forced to go on guard.
-----“You think you can hide from me Blitzkrieg!” Uberman shouted. He checked his radar and found that the nazi was behind a small lifting device against the north wall of the warehouse. “There!” The SLJ leader sent another blast of concussive force at his target, blowing a large hole into the vehicle and sending it into the nearby wall.
-----Blitzkrieg had moved out of the way beforehand however, and this time ran right at Uberman at top speed.
-----Uberman fired multiple shots at the incoming enemy, but Blitzkrieg gracefully dodged each blast with acrobatic moves so fast they could barely be seen. Before he knew it, Uberman was struck in the face by Blitzkriegs expeditious attacks. Uberman’s mechanized armor protected him from the first attack and he regained his momentum quickly. He motioned to retaliate, hoping to unleash a wave of concussive force just as his fist struck the villain, but by then Blitzkrieg was behind him. A burst of hard punches struck Uberman with destructive force. The hero struggled to defend his enemies rapid kicks and punches, but he was continuously forced to be on the defensive, never once gaining an opportunity to strike back. He was a skilled martial artist, but Blitzkrieg was simply too adept at fighting at super speed.
-----Just then, Supercomrade flew back into action, striking Blitzkrieg in the face with a fist powered by his inner energy. “You okay comrade?”
-----“I’m fine,” Uberman said, standing tall once again and brushing off his mechanized suit. Part of the suits inner systems had nearly been damaged by Blitzkrieg, which could have been very damaging indeed. Uberman himself could not move his arms and legs, so he relied on the systems of his battle suit to move and fight. “The suit has taken a bit of punishment, but I’ll be alright.”
-----“You’ll be dead!” Blitzkrieg yelled as his moved towards the heroes at supersonic speeds. He struck at Uberman once and knocked him to the ground, but then he focused on the hero who had hit him. Supercomrade stood up to the first few attacks, but he was hit with an endless barrage of furious punches that wore the superhero down.
-----Supercomrade tried to punch the villain again, but then Blitzkrieg was behind him, and the superhero received a burst of kicks to his back. Landing on the wooden floor, Supercomrade tried to get up as quickly as possible, but Blitzkrieg stood above him and continued to strike at top speed.
-----In his attempt to finish off Supercomrade, Blitzkrieg had momentarily forgotten about Uberman, who had recovered from the villain’s blow quite confidently and pointed both of his wrist blasters at the nazi. Blitzkrieg motioned to move away, but Supercomrade quickly reached up and grabbed his leg.
-----The Fallen member struggled to tear himself away from Supercomrade, but the hero was holding on with all of his might. “Let go of me you fool!”
-----Uberman fired his concussion lasers at full power. The double shot struck Blitzkrieg in the chest and sent him flying across the warehouse and through the wooden walls.
-----“Heh, he is a pretty good fighter I will grant him that,” Supercomrade said. “But he’ll have to do better if he thinks he can defeat both Supercomrade and Uberman.”
-----Both heroes flew through the large opening that had formed when Blitzkrieg had been tossed through it, but found no trace of the villain outside.
-----“He must have run away!” Uberman said angrily. “I was hoping to finish this fight tonight.”
-----“With that last blast you game him I doubt he could have been traveling at top speed,” Supercomrade said.
-----“Blitzkrieg isn’t too be taken lightly,” Uberman replied. “Like all nazis, he’s quite stubborn.” -----“I see,” Supercomrade responded. “Well, it doesn’t matter how many times he gets away, because eventually we will succeed. Justice always triumphs over evil comrade.”
-----“Agreed,” Uberman said. “Let’s return to the main SLJ base, I think we’ve done enough for tonight.”
-----“You mean return to the Khazan mainland?” Supercomrade asked.
-----“Yes, we have some discussing to do. There have been some rather disheartening reports from major cities recently. I fear we may have more to deal with then the Fallen.”
-----The two took off, leaving Sevarian city through the skies and heading east towards the Khazan mainland where the main SLJ base was located. As they left, Uberman looked back at the city and thought of his lost love Lady Liberty. I am sorry, but it seems that I must wait a while longer to avenge your death.

---4---


-----As the sun set, fires and electrical lights alike were put into action inside of the endless caves. Normally, the caves would be darker than any man’s nightmares, but since the Drekis empire had turned a large portion of it into a massive hive, the hallways and chambers were dimly lit by orange flames and bright blue light.
-----In a large chamber over a mile in width, numerous minion of all types rallied themselves. Deminite soldiers, Ptera-Deminties, Hive Guards, Demon Knights, Hybrids, Reptillions, Reavers, Hunter Killers, Sorcerers, and more. Weapons that ranged from high tech, to medieval, to magical were passed on to the demon soldiers. The time of action was near.
-----The sound similar to a large gong shook the chamber, and soon the howling minions silenced. The crowd parted in some areas, creating six open walkways between the droves of beasts from different directions. The generals of Drekis each entered the chamber simultaneously, each travelling down one of the open pathways towards the center of the massive room. When the six arrived in the center, they stood in a circle facing one another with cold stares.
-----Jon “Darkenfire” Avalon raised his head towards the ceiling, then glanced at his fellow generals. “The time has come. Drekis himself has given us the word.”
-----Relinqiest smiled in a sinister fashion. The dark wizard and general held a golden staff with a silver skull at its tip and dressed in elaborate red cloaks. His eyes glowed red with an unmistakable evil, his thin hair was jet black, and his pointed ears and pale skin gave the impression that he was an elf back from the grave. “At long last, We....the generals of Drekis, will lead our armies to victory on this accursed planet.”
-----Veronica Daemon raised her hand into the air as she spoke to the lesser minions, “We have remained here, in the endless caves for many years now, but no longer. Now is the time we reveal ourselves!” The minions that filled the chamber howled once again with happiness and a strange form of pride. Veronica was a beautiful woman by human standards. She was human in appearance, but had striking violet hair that contrasted with her eyes that shined like rubies. She dressed herself in thin white robes and cloths and swirled around her body and limbs, often loosely hanging off of her arms. She seemed to be like every other innocent woman, but she was just as vile and chaotic as the other generals. “So, have we come to a decision on how the attack shall be made?”
-----“In the years that we have been here we have studied the Khazanian’s closely,” Horror said. He was a tall and imposing man with long black hair and an emotionless face. He was void of most feelings and held a deep, almost prejudiced form of hatred for anyone outside of the Drekis empire. He wore solid black armor that covered him from neck to toe, and his long black cape enigmatically waved in the air regardless of whether there was a wind or not. “Both the heroes of this planet and their enemies have been observed. The plan is to ignore the Fallen for the moment. If they see that we are only attacking the SLJ and the Maniacal heroes, it is quite possible that they will see us as potential allies, not enemies.”
-----“Which will give us the opportunity to crush the heroes of this world without interference from the others,” Jon Avalon said. “Once they are defeated, we concentrate all of our efforts on the Fallen.”
-----“We have also decided to use the same ploy against the Marauders,” Aigonis Zekruel stated. He was a monstrous creature, easily the least humanoid of the group. He was structured like a human, but was much taller and had a face with very little details other than a gaping mouth full of bloody, razor-sharp teeth. The blue light that filled the cavern glistened on his smooth armored skin, which was a bright white. He had long wings like a giant bird retracted into his back and carried a long weapon that resembled a halberd. “My armies have already scouted along the southern areas. We have seen Araelis and Zel’Mier both. One of my commanders claims to have met the so-called leader of Araelis in battle. It would seem that Araelis should be on of our prime targets, while Zel’Mier should only be considered for attack if the Marauders prove to be a problem.”
-----“A wise choice,” Reliqiest said. “Zel’Mier will be under close watch in the next few days to see how the Marauders react to our actions. Horror, I assume that your spies are capable for the job.”
-----“Of course. Already my servants stalk the grounds of the occupied state-kingdoms as we speak.”
-----“Good, then all that is left to do is to make sure we all understand our roles,” Relinquiest said.
-----Ellsia looked towards Shadow Wing, the last of the six generals, a seven foot tall man with grey hair. His dark purple armor was actually his skin, and he possessed two large wings that resembled that of a dragons. The tips of his wings extended out with long, shiny blades that nearly reached the ground below. The female general gestured towards him, “So, Shadow Wing, have you prepared the map?”
-----Shadow Wing nodded, then glanced over at one of his sorcerers, who then began creating a rather realistic illusion of the Khazanian continent in the middle of the general’s circle. “This is a full image of this continent,” The general said. “Our goal is to begin our attack tonight against the major state-kingdoms of the western area. The Khazan mainlands are to the far east, but we will progressively travel in that direction once the other state-kingdoms are eliminated.”
-----“In each case, our mission is to conquer the territory and turn it into a new base for our forces,” Jon Avalon said. “That way, we will have the opportunity to create new hives and overwhelm our enemies.”
-----“My forces will travel to the central valley as quickly as possible and rally to attack Cretalia from the southern end,” Shadow Wing said. “Horror’s forces will attack the state-kingdom of Xaelon, and will then rendezvous with my forces for the final attack on Cretalia.”
-----“My forces shall stay here on defense for the moment,” Relinquiest said. “If Zel’Mier becomes a problem, it will become my responsibility. Veronica, your forces will move west of here and conquer the aquatic lands of Thenesiea, and will then move east to join with the main force. Jon, you will join Horror in attacking Xaelon, but will then head to the Central valley to prepare yourselves for an attack on Axia afterwards.”
-----“Understood,” Jon replied.
-----“My forces shall take control of Araelis,” Aigonis said. “I wish to meet this...leader that challenged my minions so confidently.”
-----“My forces shall make the attack in the dead of night,” Horror said. “When the citizens are all asleep.”
-----“Scouts and sorcerers will keep us informed of our individual progress,” Aigonis exclaimed, “I will begin my attack on Araelis exactly thirty hours after I hear of the fall of New Xaelis.”
-----“And I will make my first attack against Cretalia at the word of New Xaelis’ fall as well,” Shadow Wing said.
-----“It is agreed then,” Relinqiest said. “Let us make our individual preparations then.”
-----The chamber was then quiet, and the generals departed along with their respective armies.

---5---


-----The Unsubtle walked down the streets of Zel’Myas, the capital city of Zel’Mier, where the Marauders still held authority. The streets were dirty and almost every house and building in the city had been ransacked by numerous Marauder members. Many Marauder councils were against the occupation of Zel’Mier because they felt that it drew too much SLJ and hero attention. However, other members felt it was key to making the citizens of Khazan realize that the Marauders were a true world power, easily capable of standing up to the SLJ or the Fallen.
-----The Unsubtle herself didn’t really care either way. She was an assassin at heart, and if she got paid to do a job, well, he did that job. Currently, Toc Darkone was paying her to stay in Zel’Mier, and that is what she would do. The brown haired woman entered the Marauder’s main outpost, which had originally been a political building where the President of Zel’Mier had lived. Now, however, he was doing some time in a locked safe somewhere in the building.
-----She ascended the many stairs, griping about how the elevators had been destroyed during the initial stages of the occupation and how their mechanics were too lazy to fix them by now. As she walked down the hallway to the main chambers she saw a fellow Marauder coming her way.
-----“Hey there, how ya doin?” The Unsubtle asked.
-----“Ah, so you’re back I see,” The Marauder responded. “I hear you ran into little bit of trouble earlier this afternoon with the SLJ.”
-----“Hmph, I didn’t ask you about my job now did I.”
-----“Oh, yes, of course, I’m sorry. I’m getting ready to go over to the dark shadow forest with some others. They say that some sort of elven culture lives in their and that they have a lot of cool stuff. I thought I’d go and enjoy the plundering, you know how it is.”
-----“Yeah, sure, hey, look, have you seen Toc Darkone around here? I need to speak with him.”
-----“Toc? Hmm...I believe he went to some city in Zel’Mier close to the Falcon River. I think he was going to help quell some of the rebellious citizens there.”
-----“He’s not back yet? Damn, and at his hour. I guess I’ll have to report to someone else.”
-----“Falaris is in the main chamber at the moment. He just returned from running errands in the northern areas of this state-kingdom.”
-----“Very well,” Unsubtle said. “Good luck on your little mission.” The Unsubtle continued walking until she was finally at the door to the main chamber.
-----She pressed a small button on the side of the door to activate the comm system. “Requesting permission to come in sir.”
-----“Who is it?”
-----“The Unsubtle. I have something to report.”
-----“Come in.”
-----The Unsubtle walked into the large elliptical chamber. The far wall was nothing but thick glass windows and the floor and furniture was in perfect condition, just as the original leader of Zel’Mier had kept it. Izohn Falaris stood with his back to the Unsubtle; his hands behind his back as he stared out at the city of Zel’Myas. He was a tall man, but no one truly knew what he looked like. He was a strong leader, quite manipulative, and also deceptively powerful. Not even his fellow Marauders knew the true identity of this man who hid his face behind a mask that featured a frozen expression of sadness.
-----“Mr. Falaris, I want to talk to you about something,” Unsubtle started. “I think that Toc would be interested in this as we...”
-----“You speak of the demon creatures you found in the Endless caves, and the one called Drekis that you talked to earlier.”
-----The Unsubtle was surprised. “Uh, yes I do in fact. How do you know?” She had known of his rumored mental abilities, but she had no idea that Falaris could read minds.
-----“Word spreads around fast in this city,” Izohn said, turning his head slightly to stare at her through the eye lids of his mask, “especially when it is spread around by you.”
-----The Unsubtle scratched the back of her head. “Oh, yeah, I see.” In fact, she had been talking about it at almost every place she visited since. “Well then, I can skip the explanations. What do you think of it?”
-----“It is very intriguing, though I believe that the occupation of Zel’Mier deserves our full attention. Toc is in the process of talking with the other Marauder leaders in hopes of securing plans to dominate other areas in Khazan as well...we simply can’t be bothered with it.”
-----“But can we trust them.”
-----“No, we can not, but that doesn’t mean we should attack them either. I am unaware of their true intent, but if they attack the SLJ and the Maniacal heroes as they say they will, then it will give us a good opportunity to take even more land for the Marauders cause.”
-----“I see, but if they can’t be trusted, how will we keep an eye on them.”
-----“Not to worry, I have already taken care of that. We have spies who will keep an eye on their actions. However, whatever we find will not be reported to the SLJ or any other hero. If this...Drekis wants to destroy the SLJ, by all means, let him.”
-----“I understand. So Toc will be informed of this as well.”
-----“He already knows.”
-----“I see. Well then, I shall leave you know. Thank you.” She turned to leave, but was stopped by the sound of Falaris’ voice.
-----“Wait.”
-----“Huh?”
-----“A new shipment of supplies arrived. They are located next to the southern border of this city. You will find weapons to replace the ones you lost earlier.”
-----The Unsubtle smiled, then walked out. Alright!! More weaponry.

---6---


-----It was 3:00 AM in Sevarian city. The bright lights had dimmed, and the city streets were quiet. The citizens were now in bed, and heroes and villains were no longer fighting within the city grounds. The night sky was silent, and the only noise that could be heard in the entire area was the sound of the wind blowing numerous “urban tumbleweeds” across the ground.
-----In one instant, the silence was broken...the darkness parted.
-----A brilliant flash of light streaked through the sky over the horizon, landing in the center of the city with a thunderous boom. The ground shook and glass broke from the impact of the energy. A tremendous shockwave sent parked cars and other vehicles soaring into nearby buildings. The city street burned with a terrifying flame that consumed everything within a five hundred meter radius. Structures collapsed and house fell apart as the flames cut through them.
-----A second flash of light appeared over the horizon, this one striking the Mayors house, destroying it on impact. Three more blasts struck down like thunder if different areas, then a fifth, then a sixth...the turmoil was endless.
-----Citizens untouched by the chaos came out of their houses to see what was happening. What they saw were blasts from unknown sources tearing their city apart. Explosions shook the earth, and fire raged out of control. People began to run incautiously, desperate to escape an enemy they could not see.
-----The number blasts continued to rise, and soon there were ten or twenty shots firing every second. The city burst into flames, and pillars of fire and dark energy took to the skies, forming a flare of sorts that was a symbol to all who could see.
-----The Khazan military post in Sevarian city was immediately made aware of the situation, their warriors, soldiers, and rangers forced themselves out of bed and armed themselves with any weapon they could find. The soldiers bravely marched outside of the city to find the source of the rain of death. Over the horizon they spotted a tremendous wave of darkness approaching. Buried in the shadows of night, they could barely see who their enemy was until they were too close for comfort.
-----Demons. An army of demons and strange creatures the likes of which the brave defenders did not recognize. They aimed their crossbows, assault rifles, and energy guns at the enemy. They could see their uncountable numbers marching towards them like an approaching hell, but they stood fearless and fired without hesitation. Blasts of energy and a barrage of gunfire tore through the approaching creatures. The monsters fell in great numbers from the attack, but more continued to approach, seemingly without any relevance for their own lives.
-----The soldiers and rangers continued to fire, left and right, at the hordes of enemies. For every demon they shot down, five more took its place. It was then that the soldiers realized that while they had been shooting at the much larger demons, small three foot tall creatures with deadly scythes for hands were marching under the cover of darkness at insane speeds. The soldiers tried to respond, but the creatures lunged at them and tore through their armor with deadly blades and razor teeth. The other demons in the horde began to launch blasts of fire among the lines of defenders, and before long the entire defense line was breached by an insurmountable number of beasts.
-----Standing on a nearby hill just under the light of the moon, Horror and Jon “Darkenfire” Avalon stood watching as the flames consumed the city.

---7---


-----The sun rose over the Khazan mainlands four major sectors as Raea arrived at the Uptown district SLJ base. She was still worried by Tim Shinestar and was hoping to put in a good word for him with the SLJ, but was surprised when she heard all of the murmuring going on inside. She saw Amy Coleman and Captain Khazan talking and decided to see what was going on.
-----“Hey, what’s happened. Looks like something big?”
-----“I’m afraid so,” Captain Khazan responded. “Though unfortunately, we have yet to piece all of this together. Some things still remain a mystery, but that is why the SLJ council is having a meeting today.”
-----“Today?”
-----“Yes, immediately, and I have to be attending soon as well.”
-----Raea turned to Amy Coleman, “What? Does this have to do with the Marauders again?”
-----Amy shook her head and began speaking with sign language.
-----Raea had been a member of the SLJ for some time now, and had learned how to communicate with people like Coleman. “Demons? You said Demons?”
-----Amy nodded.
-----“Coleman and myself encountered them ourselves, deep within the Endless Caves while in the pursuit of a Marauder,” Khazan explained. “People in Cretalia have also been talking about demons near the borders of their cities.”
-----“Have they been causing trouble?”
-----“Well, they attacked us rather violently, that’s for sure. However, earlier this morning, when the sun was still down, Sevarian city was attacked.”
-----“In Xaelon? It was attacked!?”
-----“Attacked...and destroyed,” Captain Khazan said, clenching his fist. “Its a horrible act. There are a handful of survivors, but they are the ones who took off immediately. They never saw the attacker.”
-----Loud shouting could be heard in the back as a lone figure pushed his way through opposition. “Get your hands off me you fools,” Maiinverno said. “I don’t care if this meeting is for the council only, I’m just as much a hero as they are. What? I said get away, this is important!”
-----“What are you doing here Vincentzo?” Raea asked.
-----“Ah, there you are Captain Khazan,” the wizard said, walking over to join the group. “I demand an audience with at least one member of the council. This is serious. My state-kingdom was nearly attacked!”
-----“Attacked?” Captain Khazan said. “By whom.”
-----“I don’t know who they were. They were some sort of demonic creatures. They appeared in the north western grasslands. Thankfully I encountered them outside of the cities and was able to take care of them. Still, there are a lot more of them, and I believe that Araelis is in danger.”
-----“Who’s watching Araelis right now?” Raea said.
-----“I left POWAAA!!!-Man in charge of my defense units. In the meantime I want to consult the council about this.”
-----“Calm down Maiinverno,” Captain Khazan said. “I will bring this up in the meeting. We are already scheduled to talk about these...demons...as well as the Marauder occupation of Zel’Mier. Just return to your state-kingdom and don’t worry.”
-----“Don’t WORRY! Urgh, fine, I won’t pester you anymore at this moment, but I’m not leaving the mainland until I hear the results of the meeting.”
-----“Fair enough,” Captain Khazan replied. He nodded to Raea and to Amy Coleman, then took off for the meeting.

---8---


-----The SLJ meeting was about to begin. Uberman, the leader of the Sentinels of Liberty and Justice, took his position at the elliptical table and awaited the seating of the SLJ council. They sat in intricate chairs positioned around the table. There was a computer terminal on the table in front of each chair which was connected to a holographic projector in the center, allowing them access to a large database of information that they could both read and view.
-----Captain Khazan, Supercomrade, Elwin D’arthi, Joe BIGG GUNNS, and GrayMalkin took their places.
-----“I assume we all know of the current situation?” Uberman said.
-----“At about 3:00 AM this morning, Sevarian city in Xaelon was destroyed,” Joe BG said. “No trace of the culprits.”
-----“This is a serious situation,” Captain Khazan said. “We can’t afford to have this kind of situation get out of hand, not with this whole Marauder incident.”
-----“Agreed,” GrayMalkin said. “We’ve been holding back using the Khazanian army in our attempt to liberate Zel’Mier, hoping that we could liberate ourselves without causing a large incident that could endanger its citizens. However, it seems that we have no choice now.”
-----“The Marauder occupation and the appearance of these demons are two different things,” Elwin said. “I believe we should focus on Sevarian city and these demons first.”
-----“Very well,” Uberman said. “What do we know about them?”
-----“I believe I am the only one who has encountered them, at least amongst ourselves,” Captain Khazan remarked. “I only saw a few of them myself, and Amy Coleman can testify to it as well.”
-----“I do not doubt the truth behind your words comrade,” Supercomrade said, “but if these demons have been in the Endless Caves for some time, why were they not discovered?”
-----“I can’t really answer that,” Khazan said. “But recently Vincentzo Maiinverno informed me that Araelis was almost attacked by what he called ‘an army of demons.’”
-----“An army of demons is even less likely, though stranger things have happened in Khazan before,” Joe said.
-----“Could an army of Demons really hide from us for so long?” Supercomrade asked. “I mean, a large swarm of disgusting creatures from the darkest hells doesn’t go unnoticed.”
-----“Sevarian city seemed peaceful just before we left it,” Uberman said. “Then again, many hours had passed. I believe that it is possible that an army of these things exist, and I say this because I don’t see how Sevarian city could have been destroyed by just a handful of them, assuming they are responsible.”
-----“We must also take into consideration the comments about Demons in Cretalia,” Elwin stated.
-----“I agree with you Uberman,” Captain Khazan said. “Sevarian city had its own military outpost. It would have taken a strong force to take them out.”
-----“They were taken out quickly too,” Graymalkin added. “We never received much information from the army forces there other than static.”
-----“So far it seems that they are a danger to the eastern part of this continent,” Joe BG said.
-----“Yes, but it is still a threat to all of Khazan,” Elwin said. “We know that the demons exist, and we know that Sevarian city was destroyed. I say an investigation of the Endless caves should be put into action. In addition, I believe we should look into asking President Pharis for use of the Khazan army.”
-----“We haven’t used the Khazan army in a long time, not like this,” Uberman said. “I can see what you mean though. We have no choice in this situation. This is a matter of saving innocent lives, and that is what the SLJ stand for. I want the Khazan military, the Rangers, and the Mobile Police informed of our decision.”
-----“Once the demons have been taken care of, we can use the military to liberate Zel’Mier,” Supercomrade said.
-----“Two birds with one stone,” Captain Khazan said.
-----“We can only hope,” Uberman replied. “Elwin, I want you to organize the investigation of the Endless Caves. The rest of us need to inform the military and make sure that both Xaelon and Araelis get our full protection.”
-----“Our last order of business is the GDF officials,” Graymalkin said. “They have been on Khazan for several months now, maybe more. We don’t know if their investigation was approved by President Pharis or not.”
-----“We can’t worry about them right now,” Uberman responded. “Let them do as they like unless they start to challenge the authority of this planet’s leaders. If you want, Graymalkin, you can have them watched.”
-----Graymalkin nodded.
-----“I received word today that Yagami Shinsuke and some others are going to Cretalia to investigate. I will personally travel to Xaelon along with whatever forces we rally to meet these so-called demons.”
-----“I shall also contact the Maniacal heroes to find out if they have reached a decision,” Elwin said.
-----“Good, then it is agreed.”
-----The SLJ leaders made a note of the recent events and their decisions in the database and left to prepare. Such elaborate preparations had not been made since the battle with the Fallen when they were still led by Quietus himself.

---9---


-----Shadow Wing prepared his ranks of deminites and other minions deep within the endless caves. Jon Avalon and Horror had both been successful, and no doubt all of the major factions in Khazan were making preparations to stop them.
-----“This is where things get interesting,” Shadow Wing said to himself.
-----Then, a lone Phantom Sorcerer drifted into the room. They were creatures of dark sorcery, a spirit entity like a ghost or wraith, but capable of using dark magic. The sorcerer lowered himself down to the Drekis General. “My lord, I have something to report to you.”
-----“This better be important sorcerer!” Shadow Wing yelled. “I have no time for trivial news when I am preparing to march my army out into open territory!”
-----“Oh, but I believe that you will find this interesting,” the sorcerer said. “A single starship entered the Khazanian star system just now. I am certain that they are on a course for Khazan.”
-----“Ships come to Khazan all the time, what of it?”
-----“I think you should see the ship for yourself.” The sorcerer created cast a dark spell, implanting his own memories of vision into Shadow Wing’s head. With his own eyes the general saw the small, sleek vessel drop out of hyperspace and continue on a course for Khazan.
-----“We clearly detect GDF technology on board,” The sorcerer continued, “But the vessel itself is unknown to us. I thought that you would be most suited to making a decision on whether or not it was a threat general.”
-----Shadow Wing looked closely at the ship. It was unknown, true, but the general saw a recognizable symbol on the port side of the vessel. A small symbol, but it couldn’t escape his keen eye. “Ah, so it seems that we haven’t been completely successful in keeping our position a secret.”
-----“What do you mean my lord?”
-----“Its a seeker vessel, I’m sure of it. The GDF must have hired more of them to come after us, the fools.”
-----“But how could the GDF know that we are here.”
-----“They are fools, but they are not to be underestimated. No one is to underestimated if you want victory,” Shadow Wing snickered. “It doesn’t matter though. Send some Terror Beasts to attack them. Make sure they are cloaked so no one on Khazan sees or detects them leaving. I want that Seeker ship destroyed.”
-----“Yes my lord, no one on board will survive.”

---10---


-----The RavenStorm flew past the many moons and planets of the Khazan system en route to Khazan itself. The small silver vessel was about seventy-five meters long, though fifty meters of that was devoted entirely to its power generator and engine/thruster systems. The rest of the vessel was composed of holding cells for captive prisoners, and a “bridge” cockpit which only had room for four people.
-----The Ravenstorm was a Seeker vessel, a ship designed by a member of the elite bounty hunter force. It was a mullusk-shaped vessel with a pointed tip and two crescent “wings” that curved towards the ships aft.
-----Inside, Telissa Ravan monitored the ships sensor reports and she continued to scan Khazan again and again. Her partner, Robert Neil, sat back comfortably in his chair while the autopilot guided their ship to Khazan. The Seekers were unlike any other bounty hunter group in the universe. They were not the scum that everyone expected. Rather, they were just as good as any other hero or civilian. The Seekers, by rule, only accept jobs from legitimate law enforcement or legitimate governments.
-----“Are you sure their here?” Robert asked.
-----“For the last time, yes,” Telissa responded. “I know it, I can feel it.”
-----“Woman’s intuition?”
-----“Shut up.”
-----“Sorry.”
-----“That bastard thought he could get away from me, but I’ve found him.”
-----"Look babe, I know how much you want to get this guy for what he did to your civilization, but this obsession is going to get us both killed. We’re too people, we can’t face an entire empire.”
-----“Drekis killed almost all of my people, and he did the same thing to over 20,000 other planets. I’m not letting him get away with it.”
-----“So if you are so sure that he’s on Khazan, why don’t we call the main HQ and tell them?”
-----“I already told them my theories,” Telissa said. “They launched an investigation, but they don’t know Drekis like I do. An investigation isn’t good enough. Drekis’ true power all comes with time. The longer you take to stop him, the more powerful he and his empire become. Once I find proof that he is on Khazan, I have to contact the nearest Khanian leader and persuade them to go into military action immediately.”
-----Robert sighed. “Hmmm...I didn’t become a bounty hunter for this. One week I was being hired to take out drug lords and criminal leaders...when exactly did I start going around with some crazy, vengeful girl on a quest to stop a devilish dark lord.”
-----“Quit your complaining,” Telissa said. “Here, look at this, look at this scan.”
-----“What is it.”
-----“That’s darkstone matter,” Telissa said. “I’m sure of it. I’ve detected it on other planets where Drekis dwelled.”
-----“That’s the stuff the Hive drones create and use to build all their stuff isn’t it?” Robert asked.
-----Telissa nodded, a serious look on her face. “He’s here, no doubt about it now.”
-----Suddenly, the lights began to flash red and the radar focused on three incoming objects. The computer voice alarm sounded: “Alert!!! Alert!!! Incoming enemy vessels. 3 confirmed. Identity: Terror Beasts.”
-----“What the hell!” Robert shouted. “Where did they come from?”
-----“They must have cloaking,” Telissa guessed as he readied the weapon systems.
-----“Damn it!” Robert yelled. “They’ve been on this planet long enough to spawn Terror Beasts! How long have they been here.”
-----“A lot longer than we originally though apparently. The situation is a lot worse.”
-----Telissa took control of the RavenStorm and pushed the engines to their maximum, hoping to rush past the terror beasts at all costs. Nothing would stand between her and Khazan now.
-----The three Terror Beasts lined up in a delta formation to face their target. They were huge kilometer long bio-starships that were both alive and sentient. They had no crew, but otherwise were exactly like a full warship. Canon-shaped appendages motioned in the direction of the approaching Seeker Vessel and spewed forth a burst of particle beams.
-----The RavenStorm maneuvered left and right to avoid the blasts, but too many were coming in and parts of the RavenStorm gave way.
-----“Crap, we’re not going to make it,” Robert said.
-----“The armor hasn’t buckled yet,” Telissa replied. “Lets see how they like this.”
-----The RavenStorm retaliated with its own burst of particle weaponry. High yield molecular disrupters and anti-ship lasers struck against the Terror beasts, taking off house sized chucks and filling the vacuum of space with their greenish blood. The terror beast ignored the damage however, and soon they began to heal at an incredible rate. Within ten seconds their wounds were gone.
-----“What the hell!” Telissa shouted. “Damn it, they’ve evolved.”
-----“Evolved?” Robert said, getting worried.
-----“Okay, only one chance. I’m transferring power from weapons to engines. Lets see if we can zoom past them.”
-----“What! Are you crazy.”
-----“Yep.”
-----The RavenStorm took off, heading straight through a burst of laser fire that chipped away at the hull. The ablative armor began to buckle as the RavenStorm flew between the three ships and made its final attempt to pass them.
-----Fortunately, most of the Insectoid Terror ships could not turn fast enough, but their aft cannons continued to fire. The RavenStorm began to spin and drop in an attempt to dodge all of the attacks, but it proved futile as a swarm of energy torpedoes launched from one of the Terror Beasts came at them, all of them locked on.
-----“Brace yourself, I can’t dodge all of them!”
-----The bright sparkles of energy passed by the ship, but one torpedo struck the RavenStorm, ripping off one of its crescent wings.
-----“We’re going to make it. We’re going to make it,” Telissa said again and again with determination.”
-----The ship entered the atmosphere. Its heat shield activated, but it nearly collapses due to the insane speed that they entered. The Terror beasts were still shooting, piercing the atmosphere with their shots.
-----“Telissa, do you still have control?”
-----“Don’t worry, I’m not going to die now. Not like this”
-----Four shots hit the RavenStorm, blowing the ship in half and separating the cockpit from the rest of the vessel. The two halves burst into flames as they fell through the remainder of the atmosphere towards Khazan.

---11---


-----Timothy Shinestar raised his sword up and blocked the incoming strike from his friend Randis, then struck back as hard as he could. “You’re holding back on me!”
-----Randis stepped back to avoid the attack. “You saying I shouldn’t?”
-----Angered, Tim rushed head on and brought his sword down, though Randis easily blocked it and pushed him off. Tim went into rage, striking any way he could, but the ex-soldier blocked each strike with ease. Finally, Randis went on the offense and knocked Tim’s sword out of his hands with one strike.
-----“Damn, you win again,” Tim sighed, wiping the sweat from his face.
-----“You did tell me not to hold back,” Randis said. “I admit, you are getting better. I can see it, though you still have some areas of confusion. You use too much anger in your fighting, you need to control that. You also seem obsessed with strength. I can tell you now that strength won’t help you master than sword in any way.”
-----“I know,” Tim said. “Thanks Randis, I know I need more practice. I’m just frustrated that I didn’t make the tournament this year.”
-----“Patience is a virtue my friend,” Randis grinned. “Trust me, I learned everything I know today the hard way, just as you probably will.”
-----Randis had been a good friend of Tim ever since his father died when he was a little boy. Randis was about sixty years old and was a good fighter, but he had retired from the Khazan military many years ago. He had been involved in many battles, as pointed out by his mechanical arms and his glowing synthetic eye.
-----Randis scratched his small beard, still black without a trace of grey even after all of these years, “Well, I think you should go home now. We’ve been practicing since breakfast. Get some rest for a while okay.”
-----“Right.”
-----Tim left his friends house with his fathers ancient blade in hand. He knew that it had many secrets, but he didn’t know anything about them. Sadly, whatever ancient powers the sword had, they were different from everything else on Khazan, and no ancient master could enlighten him about his past. He walked down the streets towards his house when he noticed a sparkle in the sky. It was coming down far too fast to be a ship, perhaps a shooting star.
-----It was then that he saw the trails of fire from the object, and realized that it was a starship. A rather damaged starship at that. The burning craft fell from the sky and landed just outside of the Uptown sector, between the sector and Selni city.
-----Worried that someone could have been hurt, or worse, Tim rushed off in his hovercraft vehicle. He arrived in rocky valley that separated Selni city from the rest of the Khazan mainland and say the thick sheet of smoke that covered the crashed starship. By the time he arrived, most of the flames had been put out, which led him to believe that either someone else got their first, or that someone survived.
-----He approached the ship on foot, his sword in hand just in case. Behind the wreck he say a woman pulling another man across the ground. Tim couldn’t tell if the man was unconscious or dead, but the woman had escaped with minor injuries. She was a tall woman with long blonde hair who wore clothes that looked like some sort of law enforcement costume, though Tim could not recognize it. She looked to be of about 25 Khazanian years, and she was bleeding from the arm.
-----“Uhm, can I be of any assistance?” Tim shouted. Oh crap, that sounded so corny. What the hell are you thinking Tim, OF COURSE they need assistance!
-----The young woman spun around suddenly and reached for a weapon.
-----Tim through his arms up in the air, “Wait a minute. I mean you no harm.” He quickly sheathed his sword. “I’m here to help.”
-----The woman stood and gave him a suspicious look from head to toe. Afterwards she shrugged and holstered her gun. “I need to be taken to the nearest city.”
-----“Of course, I can give you a ride. You’re in the Khazan mainlands.”
-----“I don’t care where I am!” the woman shouted. “I have to speak with your leaders right now.”
-----“Leaders? What do you mean. Shouldn’t we worry about your friend there.”
-----“Get him to the nearest hospital,” the woman said, “but we have little time, I have to speak with your leaders. The ruling council, the president, whoever the hell runs this planet!”
-----Tim, still confused, walked over and picked up the man and carried him to the hovercraft as quickly as he could. “I don’t understand, why is it so important to talk with my leaders?” Who are you people anyway?”
-----The woman sighed angrily and reached into her pocket and pulled out an identification card. On it was a symbol of some sort. It looked legitimate, though Tim had never seen the symbol before.
-----“My name is Telissa Ravan, and I need to speak with your leaders immediately,” the woman said, becoming more and more serious. “Your planet is in serious danger.”

To be Continued.

Next:
Tides of Darkness