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Strands of light sliced through a wall of foliage, revealing a path to open land. Tim stormed ahead of the group, hacking at the bushes until he was clear. He took a deep breath, relieved at the change of scenery. The marshlands along Axia’s eastern border were hardly hospitable, though it provided the task force with the only means of heading North undetected.
-----Raea and Maiinverno, the sources of the guiding light, emerged from the dense collection of trees. “Better tone it down; we don’t want to draw attention.” Raea said. She turned a dial on her wrist; her combat suit’s flashlight dimmed to a tight, focused ray.
-----“I doubt its necessary,” Vincentzo added. His light came from a simple incantation: a ball of light floating in his palm. The young wizard cupped his other hand over the light, and when he removed it the ball shrank. “There’s more than enough mist here, and they’ll probably mistake any lights as coming from Crystal City.”
-----Tim could see the border of Cretalia, but from here to his destination the land rose and fell at radical intervals. Thick droplets fell from the grass tips, and the earth below bubbled up over their feet. They weren’t quite out of the marshlands yet.
-----He tugged his sword, just enough to see the blade for a second. “No Drekis forces nearby. If the worse case scenario hits, I’ll know about it.”
-----Raea nodded and raised a fist above her head. A red flash gleamed thrice from her glove.
-----The rest of the team slowly followed them out. The Fallen giant Resho and Uberman led the way. Their heavy footfalls pressed into the mud with an unsettling squish. Resho fell up to his ankles in mud, but the man either didn’t notice or didn’t care. His hands rested in his pockets, and he still wore sunglasses despite the night time operation.
-----“Well, who cares about the lights, when the enemy will probably hear these two sloshing about.” Maiinverno groaned.
-----Resho stared off into the mist. The nearest city, Alpath, was a distant visage beyond the cloudy wisps. “You worry over nothing. We’re much too far for them to hear us.”
-----“We’re much too far…” Maiinverno repeated with a squeaky tone. “Yes, I know that. Obviously you’re the serious type.”
-----“Cut the chatter.” Uberman said. “Treat this as a covert military operation. Even if you’re not a soldier, that’s the only way we’ll see this through.”
-----The Vitamin T forced its way out of the trees. The Unsubtle whistled while the treads kicked mounds of mud up behind the vehicle. On top of the tank, Toc Darkone stood cross-armed, his stance never changing no matter how uneven the terrain appeared.
-----Maiinverno rolled his eyes. “Yes, this makes me think of covert military operations.”
-----The Marauders icy leader signaled a stop, and immediately the Unsubtle hit the brakes. “It makes sense for you to have backup. Rest assured, I don’t plan on pushing this gas-eating contraption within earshot of that wolf. Unsubtle and I will be watching from here; Gazra and Razor will be accompanying you.”
-----The two Marauders who flanked the Vitamin T moved ahead of the tank. Gazra looked like a specter in the moonlight—a body cloaked in robes, showing nothing but a pair of metal gauntlets. Razor was accompanied by Michael Cortelloni, and it was no secret among the task force members that the two disliked each other. Uberman had gone so far as to suggest that Toc choose someone else, but Darkone remained insistent on their combination.
-----“You better not get in my way this time.” Michael muttered.
-----“I’ve gotten much stronger since our last fight. I’ll show you.” Razor shot a large puff of smoke out of his mouth and threw his cigar into the mud. “Give you something to look forward to.”
-----“I doubt it.”
-----“I don’t care for this arrangement either, but even though I’d rather be settling the score, we should just be glad that fate tossed us another nostalgic moment. Just like old times, before you left the syndicate, right?”
-----“Don’t remind me.”
-----The other Fallen representatives brought up the rear. Tundra glided inches above the mud, leaving a trail of frost. Dreiden took a few steps in front of the tank, then turned his head.
-----“Strange, I thought you’d want to see the Syre-Wolf with your own eyes.” The Lord-Tyrant said to Darkone.
-----“I often hold the tall tales and legends of the nexus as very important stories, but when it comes to practical observation, I have little interest in the exaggerated myths of our history.” Toc replied.
-----“I understand. Though your interest in the boy’s power…”
-----Toc grinned. “Yes, I suppose I can’t hide that. No matter how overblown the stories are, the Syre-Wolf is sure to be a ferocious opponent. I’d like to see how it affects him first hand, but there will be no shortage of witnesses.”
-----“I’m not convinced that he’s anything special, even if he was born with an important power. It’s not the boy’s fault either. Before the war, all of his training was for the pursuit of fame in the arena. His recent experience helps, but that doesn’t make him a warrior.”
-----“Obviously. I’m more concerned with whether or not we need him to be one.”
-----Dreiden continued on with the rest of the group. “Devyn wants me to keep an eye on his progress. I’ll see if he meets your standards, but I wouldn’t expect much from a pampered young man raised in uptown.”
-----A long, slender shadow shot over them. The air chilled. Trinkets of ice floated through the fog. Toc looked at the sky in time to see Neva, the ice dragon familiar of the young Powers apprentice. She soared ahead, carrying her master to the front of the group.
-----“Everyone’s keeping an eye on him.” Toc shook his head. “That delusional boy, the way he’s being set up he can’t possibly live up to any expectations.”
---2---
Lord Minions
“I don’t like it.” Grymhet sat on a broken pillar, surrounded by rubble. “Months of hard fighting and now they fall back in retreat. This became too easy.” He slouched over, snatched a wine bottle off the ground, and bit the neck off with his teeth.
-----“You’re always complaining.” Shuradou rested on the hood of a wrecked car. Her sword lay stabbed through the vehicle’s roof, bisecting the driver’s seat. “Its mission accomplished, you should be happy.” She twirled a finger through her hair.
-----Grymhet spat the glass out of his mouth. “I think they’re planning something. I know it. Only Lord Horror’s army has been making a good push. But everywhere else...Shadow Wing’s army has been fighting for Alpath for weeks, and we’ve barely been able to push into Axia at all before now.”
-----“Idiot. It’s not the same as it was back then.” She grabbed a handful of broken glass from the windshield. “Their soldiers get tired—our own get replenished. Same song and dance. And now we’ve got those new hybrid creatures. Honestly, I don’t understand how you can be so clueless sometimes.” She dropped the glass, filtering it one piece at a time through her fist.
-----An explosion shook the ruined city. Several burning cars flew over them. “Yeah, maybe I’m over thinking a little, but I’ve got this feeling…” he raised his other hand, catching a delivery truck before it landed on him. “My feelings are never wrong.” He flipped the truck behind him and read the company logo.
-----“Over thin…you never think at all, let alone ‘over.’”
-----“Must be some kind of restaurant—hey, I take offense to that.” Grymhet smashed his hand through the truck and pulled out a mess of food. “As much as I love smashing things to pieces, I know you’ve always got to take the enemy’s mind into account. Know what they’re thinking, why they’re doing what they’re doing.” He stuffed his face.
-----Shuradou turned her head and surveyed Mez’neragese with a tired expression. Most of the city was already destroyed, reduced to flatland. She remembered the way it looked when they first invaded; a quiet place, like an overgrown town; half of it nothing more than farmland, and the other half a collection of cobblestone streets and houses that were all the same size. “I can tell you why they pulled back: they finally realized it wasn’t worth protecting. This place was a bore. I would have much rather helped with Alpath; I hear they’re feisty.”
-----Grymet licked his sauce-dipped fingers. “Ah, at least Meza-whatever had good food.” He downed the wine and gurgled. “Terrible alcohol though.” He threw the broken bottle back against the overturned truck.
-----“Slob.” Shuradou crossed her arms behind her head and looked at the sky. “I hope when the new universe comes about, that there’ll be better men than you for me to associate with.”
-----“Maybe you’ll have a better personality.” He grinned as he rubbed the back of his head. “Or maybe you won’t even be the same person anymore. I try not to think about what it’ll be like.”
-----She stretched an arm towards the night sky, pinching her fingers over her vision of the stars as if to catch them. “Isn’t it the only thing we look forward to? It’s the whole reason we’re fighting like this in the first place.”
-----Grymhet slapped his knees and slowly pulled himself off the pillar. “I believe its worth fighting for, but I guess I’m comfortable assuming that I’ll never get to see it with my own eyes.”
-----“They say it could happen right after we’re done here, on the nexus.” She added as she inspected her nails.
-----“Yeah…” He sniffed the air and then smiled. “Looks like we’ve got company.”
-----A white ribbon dropped from the sky like a spear, its edge plummeting into Shuradou’s chest; but in that instant, as it moved from the pierced clothing to flesh, Shuradou vanished. The sword, too, was gone, cleanly torn from the car. The strand punctured the vehicle’s hood without resistance, then coiled and reared like a snake, tossing the car aside.
-----Shuradou appeared a few meters away, her sword draped behind her. “What’s the deal Kalia? Lord DarkenFire send you to waste my time?”
-----Jon Avalon’s Advocate landed at the car’s former location. The one loose ribbon whipping out from her hips pulled back and once again wrapped around the woman. “Just making sure you’re not getting lazy.” Kalia said.
-----A muscular figure stormed onto the scene. The other Lord Minion of General Avalon: Korruptus matched Grymhet in size and build. The minotaur carried his signature axe over his shoulder.
-----“Korruptus, you bull-faced slacker!” Grymhet smiled. The two brutes each threw a punch. Their knuckles collided. Both came to a stop. The rubble around them flew away. “Ha, you haven’t gone soft even though you’ve been cooped up in Xaelon. Nice.”
-----“Good to see you in such high spirits you flat-nosed crab of a man.” Korruptus snorted. “Although your armored skin has changed…the residents of Khazan been too much for you?”
-----Shuradou picked at her ears and leaned against her sword. “If you’re here, I guess that means the whole army is coming down?”
-----Four ribbons spun away from Kalia’s legs, revealing her bare skin; they curled and solidified into stalks, allowing her to sit in mid air. “The last of Khazan’s presence in Xaelon took the canal and fell back to Alpath. Drekis decided it was time we moved on.”
-----Grymhet let out a loud groan. “Three Generals all attacking together! He’s not taking any chances with Axia is he? Then again it did take help from Shadow Wing’s forces just for us to break through this city.”
-----“I’ve heard that Lords Aigonis and Shadow Wing have been seen plotting together.” Korruptus bellowed. “But Alpath is still a struggle; now that we have them boxed in, perhaps we’ll crush them from both ends.” He shoved the head of his axe into his palm.
-----“Not quite.” A voice added. Stalker stepped down from a collection of toppled houses. His sword was drenched in fresh blood. Behind him, the elderly Ecar Solstice floated.
-----“This is becoming quite the reunion.” Kalia smiled. “I take it you know what this is all about.”
-----“Not every detail.” Stalker wiped a sharp finger over the bloodied sword. “We’re going to leave Alpath to Regulous. The fool wants to prove himself so bad, let him.” He licked his finger clean.
-----Shuradou leaned to one side, deep in thought. “Morikai was it? A city wide campaign is a lot to ask for someone who isn’t a Lord Minion.”
-----Ecar raised an arm and spoke, his raspy voice resonating through the city ruins by aid of magic. “Lord Shadow Wing believes it will be a good test for him. Moreover, while he deals with the resistance there, we can move forward.”
-----Grymhet sniffed the air. “So who exactly does ‘we’ entail?” He looked east. Six more figures were shuffling through the rubble. Deminites quickly bent away from their stature, scurrying to the sides to allow a clear path.
-----In front of this group, a man dressed in multiple layers of grey cloak crept ahead. His hood and capes bobbed up and down with his steps, yet no legs appeared to be touching the ground. “Isn’t it obvious?” The ghostly figure bellowed. His haunting words seemed to come from all directions.
-----“Genaedrel the Reaper.” Stalker said through a toothy grin. “And I was beginning to think you were taking it easy up on the Fallen isle with your master.”
-----The faceless cloak grunted. “No such luck. I’m stuck leading you fools around. I hope you’ve already put your usual banter behind you.”
-----Kalia sneered as she noticed the two young women behind Genaedrel. Young beauties with a charm that was almost palpable, an otherworldly appeal that could take the heart of men and women alike—but it only left Kalia feeling cold. Elisa Daemon: a statuesque, long legged girl of lavender hair and eyes of infinite depth; Faresha Daemon: a short but able-bodied girl of bronzed skin and fiery eyes; together, the two children of Jon Avalon and Veronica Daemon were a constant reminder that Jon was beyond her reach.
-----Even worse, the girls were ruthlessly efficient, utterly likeable. She had no reason to hate them outside of her petty jealousy. “The kids are here? I know Lord Daemon is still in that water nation…so that means.”
-----“Yes.” Geneadrel hissed slowly. “The Einherjar is being formed.”
-----“At last, the great chaos legion, together again.” Korruptus added. “This should be interesting.”
-----“Hardly.” Shuradou looked over the rest of the group. “I don’t recognize any of them, and where are the others?”
-----A visible breath of green mist escaped from under Genaedrel’s hood. “Lord Horror has some last minute orders for Sinril and Skye. At the very least, Sinril will join us before our operation begins.”
-----Avalon’s young daughters stepped aside to give them a better view of the strangers. “Two new Generals have been appointed, so it’s only natural that new Advocates and Disciples be chosen.” Elisa said, waving an open hand towards the new recruits as if highlighting a prize.
-----Faresha nodded. “Go on, get the introductions over and done.”
-----A young woman with silver hair and a dispassionate face politely bowed. “I am called Graviga; I serve Master Attragon.”
-----The man next to her, a dark, brooding figure by comparison, dropped the brim of his hat over his eyes. “I’m Vander.” He shrugged. “Or so I’ve been told. I was recently created.”
-----“I’ll say.” Grymhet pinched his nose. “You both reek of corpses. The new blood must have received clearance to use the spoils of war to make their Lord Minions.”
-----Kalia chuckled. “You’re a spoil of war yourself, from some world none of us even remember.”
-----“I wasn’t made from scratch.” Grymhet retorted with a grunt. He pointed at the last recruit. “And you…I know I’ve seen you around the hives before.”
-----The man opened his cape, and a cold wind flew out around him. “Seryko Rheomyr. It’s an honor to be counted among you at last.”
-----“So they promoted you then?” Stalker covered his mouth. “Morikai’s face will be priceless.”
-----“Abicion will also be joining us later,” Genaedrel bellowed, “and I hear he has a new toy.”
-----“Good for him.” Shuradou rubbed a hand up and down her sword’s hilt. “But what are we doing together?”
-----The Reaper’s cloak spun up, caught in some invisible gust, and beneath it fluttered even more layers of cloak and withered cloth. “Soon, the combined armies of our Master will storm through Axia—and beyond, to Khazan City; but first we have a job to do.’
-----‘The Avalon girls acquired some important information; it appears that if Axia Prime is under attack during a time of war, the Queen and her family move from the palace to a secure facility located in the city’s natural monument, Dres’garra Falls.”
-----Stalker stabbed his sword into the ground. “Ha, I like where this is going. So we’re to assassinate the royal family then?”
-----“We will provide the lesser minions with the means to penetrate their outer defenses,” Genaedrel continued, “but after that we are to group together and make for the Falls. Yes, we will cut off the head of Axia’s leadership; however, Drekis has asked that we take the Princess alive, and kill her only if this becomes impossible.”
-----“Taking hostages! Since when do we do something like that?” Stalker spat at the ground. “Sure, it sounds fun, but you can’t expect me to get excited over just one target, I don’t care how important she is.”
-----“Oh no, Stalker,” Genaedrel’s right sleeve drifted in his direction, “In fact you have another task as well. Drekis has someone else that he’d like you to kill.”
---3---
Fortress
Tim stabbed his sheathed sword into the mud, using it to maintain his balance while he climbed. Their journey took them uphill, where they ascended out of the fog to view the outskirts of Axia. Emerging from the mist felt like escaping from a weightless sea. Drops of water formed on his cheeks and quickly cooled. He took in the salty air and smiled; their destination lay near.
-----Behind him, the task force emerged from flowing waves of light. Tim looked eastward, where he caught his first glimpse of Crystal City, the capital of Evangeles. Although it sat adjacent to Khazan City, Tim had never ventured there: the famed State-Kingdom—center point of the old religions.
-----He saw why it earned its name; from this distance, the many spires and buildings appeared as meticulously sculpted crystal; gems of green and blue gleamed in the distance, their flawless surfaces reflecting the city lights into the valley fog where it became a haunting, prismatic hue.
-----A beautiful world. The image set him at ease, and for a moment the fatigue of their long travel disappeared. That anyone would ever desire these things to be destroyed—that very thought felt unreal to him. Even something as simple as this should be precious.
-----“Are you alright?” Raea nudged him. The lights on her suit dimmed as she moved ahead.
-----“Yeah. Just enjoying the view.” He continued on. Immediately the pain of the climb returned to his knees. Each step up the hill met with a muddy footfall. Twice the effort was needed to make any headway.
-----Then the ice dragon Neva fell from overhead, its pristine body sliding along with ease. Tiara sat on Neva’s neck. “We’re entering Cretalia now,” the young apprentice told them, “it shouldn’t be much further.”
-----Tim nodded, but Tiara just looked back with a worried expression.
-----“Would you prefer to ride the rest of the way on Neva?” She offered. “You’ll use less energy.”
-----He frowned as he looked behind. Uberman and the others were having discussions while the SLJ leader checked his scanners for any sign of the enemy. Cortelloni and Razor grumbled as they stormed ahead, competing to finish the climb first. “No thanks,” he replied, “I don’t need any special treatment.”
-----Neva reared up a little. “This isn’t about special treatment,” Tiara said, a little perturbed. “But I suppose even the young recruits have pride.”
-----“I know what this is about.” Tim mumbled. “I appreciate it, but things aren’t the same now. I know what I have to do.”
-----Raea’s hand flew back and lightly smacked his shoulder. “They’re just worried about you, don’t be so defensive about it.”
-----“I did my part when I brought you to the Queen,” Tiara informed him, “so my job was finished some time ago. I’m just concerned.”
-----“About what?” He asked.
-----Tiara looked back. Dreiden, Resho, and Tundra formed the rear of the task force’s formation. “Lots of people seem to have taken an interest in you. They’ll make a guinea pig out of you if you don’t watch yourself. Just keep focused on the task at hand—don’t do anything more than you have to.”
-----“Right…I just have to beat Drekis when it comes down to it.”
-----They arrived at the peak of the hill, and from there descended into Cretalia. The relatively thin strip of land East of Nemo City was unpopulated, making it the perfect place for a secret military facility. The land evened out, and soon became packed with dense rows of trees and vegetation. Giant triangular leaves flopped over their heads as they scraped through. Dreiden swiped at the bushes, cleaving himself a path.
-----Beyond the trees, where they expected to be greeted with the distant ocean, they found a series of small mountains arrayed in a half circle.
-----“This is the place.” Uberman’s naked arm closed up as metal parts folded in to cover his wrist sensors. He leapt in front, leading the way through the circle’s gap. At the center of the mountains, amidst an expanding rise of slanted trees and rocky overhangs, they found the military fortress.
-----A year without human contact had rendered it a moss covered facility; giant spider webs connected the walls with the nearest trees, and not a single light shined. It could easily be mistaken for a black castle of ancient design.
-----“All of this just after one year?” Tim shook his head.
Gazra looked around. “A fitting place for a dog. Walled off from almost every angle.”
-----The massive wall, also a half-circle, backed into the mountainside, where it cleanly disappeared into the rock. On the inside, the facility was open ground populated with individual buildings, dark rectangular shapes that formed hallways throughout.
-----“The place is a labyrinth.” Vincentzo said. “The military knows nothing about grand design.”
-----“We’ll have no idea where Bramd is while the force field is up.” Raea said.
-----Tundra scoffed. “So what? Even after we get through the fortress barrier, there’s a good chance the wolf’s own shield will mask his presence.”
-----At the front gates, they were greeted by a well-dressed man standing in the darkness. The Chronomancer tipped his hat up. “What took you so long?”
-----Dreiden dismissed the comment. “Given your talent for prediction, one would think you’d prevent yourself from being too early. Admit it, you like the wait.”
-----The Fallen Council member grinned. “Too true. For a man like me, only the time between events holds excitement.”
-----“I think you get excited running off your mouth.” Cortelloni spat out. He leaned against a tree that was bundled in webbing. “You gonna tell us how to get through the shield or not?”
-----“That’s good, prepare to use all of that spunk.” Chronomancer pointed at the ex-Marauder. “You could, of course, force your way through. But a military assault would draw the attention of Drekis’ armies, not to mention alerting Bramd inside. Still, a barrier like this has an Achilles heel that I can exploit.” He pointed the tip of his cane at the gate.
-----He continued, “This shield happens to fluctuate at different intervals. At one point, the shield is completely down—for all of one tenth of a second.”
-----“No one would be able to make it through, not even with perfect timing.” Uberman added.
-----“No problem.” Chronomancer held out a hand, his white glove standing out amidst the dark. Seconds later his fingers snapped.
-----“What did you do?” Tim asked, not able to see anything different.
-----“Stopping time itself is a terrible crime in the eyes of the Powers that Be,” Chronomancer said, “but to isolate the flow of time for specific objects—that much I can certainly do for you. I’ve slowed the barrier’s interval to the point that it’s down for one minute. Now hurry up and slip inside. From that point on, the show’s all yours. Good luck.”
---4---
Covert
The team scurried past the barrier. Moments later the air flashed behind them. The shield was back on.
-----Dreiden leaped to the top of the wall. Like a cat he braced himself on the edge, his head darting left, right. He held up one hand, made a tight fist, and promptly dropped over the other side.
-----“What kind of security can we expect?” Gazra whispered. He crouched in the shadow of the wall, barely visible to his own team.
-----Uberman shook his head. “Motion sensor lights, gun turrets maybe.” He answered. “I don’t know how skilled a Syre-Wolf is with technology. We certainly never set security up when we left.”
-----A soft click sounded off behind the main gates. One of the giant doors slid open a few feet.
-----“Leave the point to us.” Razor said with a proud grin. He and Gazra stormed ahead, not making a sound despite their pace. Together they slipped through the small opening.
-----Cortelloni groaned. “That’s right, he thinks he’s a fucking ninja.”
-----Raea put her back against the closed half of the gates and slowly inched herself inside. When she spied Gazra’s signal, she gave the rest of the team the all clear sign. One by one the team entered. Resho came last, having to push the door open a few more inches.
-----Immediately, Raea drew up her scanners. A hologram beamed near her face. A downloaded map of the interior. The image rotated, showing the ground level and a series of levels beneath. “Most of the space is in these hangars below. That’s where the mecha squads will be.”
-----“And Bramd?” Tim turned his head sporadically, shifting to every possible hall or path. One hand rested on his sword.
-----“I think they were right…I can’t pick up any life signs except ours.” She replied. “His shield could be masking him.”
-----“Or he’s out hunting.” Tundra added. The icy fallen drifted ahead, scoping out the long, narrow stretches between buildings.
-----“So we do it the old fashioned way.” Michael said.
-----Gazra and Razor signaled them to move deeper. They decided on a path and slowly advanced, stopping at each building entrance. Razor took the right, Gazra the left; together they cleared the buildings, and the team moved up, one at a time.
-----They reported broken machinery and computers, and the scatterings of bones from both man and beast. Bramd appeared to have been in each building at some point, perhaps choosing his nightly dining room or bed chamber at random. One facility turned out to be a major control room for the lights and power-flow; they found its consoles in perfect condition, but preferred to keep the operation in the shadows. At the end of the line they turned down a second path, moving in the opposite direction.
-----“The one on the left is too small for him.” Gazra whispered. He eyed a set of crisscrossing stairs along the side of the short building. “Wait, I think I’ve got something here…you check out the warehouse.”
-----Razor approached his target, which gave him the impression of an oversized shed. From the front there were twin garage doors, both sealed. He moved to the side, spotting a more traditional door. Across the way, Gazra darted up the stairs. From the top, his partner jumped up to a platform on the next building’s third level. Razor pressed against the cold, ridged metal. From the door’s flank he grasped the knob, turned it an inch at a time until it opened, then disappeared inside.
-----“They’re experts at this stuff aren’t they?” Tim whispered. “I can see why Toc vouched for them.”
-----“Well, they are with the Marauders after all.” Vincentzo replied. “They’re all thieves by trade.”
-----“Does it bother you?” Tim asked, “That we’re relying on the skill of crooks?”
-----“Bother? I’m uncomfortable just sneaking around like this.”
-----“Cut the chatter.” Uberman whispered back at them. He tapped the side of his head where human ears would normally be. Even though they were deathly quiet, Bramd’s hearing might be exceptional if he were truly built like a wolf.
-----Razor reappeared from the same door. He gave the all clear sign. The group moved on.
-----Uberman stopped in front of the warehouse and held his hand up. Gazra hadn’t returned yet. He nodded at Razor and then pointed his mechanical arm at the building they’d seen the Marauder last enter.
-----Shrapnel burst out. A metal shard cut across Maiinverno’s forehead. They all spun, frozen in place. The garage doors unhinged; a darkness flailed out, blinding everyone.
White fangs flew; Uberman was in the air. Sparks crackling, his right arm hanging by exposed circuits.
The snout took shape, tunneling through the hole in the warehouse. The SLJ leader brought his fist down, striking an ambient blue haze above the wolf’s nose. He grasped for a silver whisker, but his fingers were repelled from these as well.
Bramd reared up, his fangs biting deeper into Uberman’s frame. The Syre-Wolf’s yellow eyes gleamed, and the black slivers at their center darted to each of them.
-----“Son of a bitch!” Tim readied his sword as he jumped back. “This is a Syre-Wolf?”
-----The creature shook itself out into the open; pieces of the warehouse fell around him. Crimson wings spread out from his back. The wolf stood twenty feet tall, adorned in dark silver fur. At the base of his neck he wore a mane of thicker strands, easily mistaken for quills.
-----“I thought you cleared that place?” Raea yelled, firing her beam cannon at the wolf’s neck. Each laser vanished against blue waves that rippled around the monster’s throat.
-----“I did!” The Marauder retorted. He couldn’t believe what he saw. Missing something of that size was inconceivable. “I swear he wasn’t there just ten seconds ago.” As he spoke he whipped out three shuriken. Wielding them in one hand, he flung them in an arc, sending them straight into Bramd’s eye. Again the shield intercepted, and the weapons broke against the beast’s defense.
-----“This is a complete mess.” Maiinverno said, weaving his fingers through the air. Bright lines followed his fingertips, tracing into a magic circle. “But this is the way I prefer things—Basilisk Dagger!” The mid-air circle widened, and from it spewed a barrage of stone knives.
-----A scratch from even a single dagger could result in partial petrification, or even momentary paralysis in a more resilient adversary, but each wave of stone splashed off of the shield.
-----“Looks like his shield has no weak spots.” Tim gripped both hands around his sword; blue flames shot up the blade. “Guess I’ll just have to hack through it until I make one.”
-----“Wait!” Raea shouted. She stumbled back as one of the wolf’s black paws slammed toward them. “We need to get Uberman away from him.”
-----“Damn it, just shoot down his throat!” Cortelloni yelled.
-----The SLJ leader’s right shoulder began to buckle. He sank as the exposed wires snapped. “My right cannon is offline!” Still he punched, kicked, and hacked at the wolfs teeth. Even though the fangs clearly pierced him, his attacks found no mark. The shield afforded Bramd complete protection and didn’t hinder him at all.
-----“I’ll just have to force the dog to let go then!” Tim dashed ahead, propelled by a burst of energy released from his feet.
-----Dirt kicked up into Raea’s face. She covered her eyes, and by the time she dropped her guard Tim was running head first towards Bramd. “Wait, don’t just…”
-----A shadow dashed by. Tiara’s lithe frame darted over the pavement. “I’ll guard him.”
-----The Syre-Wolf snarled and raised his left arm. As it fell upon the charging swordsman, a whirlwind sprung up around Tim. The wind had little effect, and the wolf’s paw plunged and tore through the funnel to crush the ground.
-----But Tim was not there. Propelled by Tiara’s wind, he hurled himself from the wolf’s strike to Bramd’s other paw. The sword clashed against the field, just above the knee. Blue flames rushed outward, growing, flickering until it appeared he wielded an ungodly thing that might cleave the entire arm.
-----“Is he doing it?” Razor said as he watched the young man press the blade further. The flames and the field mingled, and with their similar color the team could not tell the outcome.
-----“I’m not waiting to find out.” Tundra pointed two clenched fists ahead. Misty beams sprayed from his hands, hitting the wolf’s face. The shield still appeared.
-----“Enough!” A deep voice pulsed down the alley, hitting everyone with a breath smelling of dried blood and wet rags. Bramd shifted his weight and flicked his right paw at Tim. What might have been a light tap by his standards swatted Tim to the side and through a wall. Bramd’s head swung violently, and then he released his grip. Uberman’s body shot out.
-----“Uberman…” Raea’s voice died into a hoarse whisper as she watched her leader skim over the rooftops and smash into the buildings beyond.
-----“So Tim couldn’t muscle through?” Tiara still rushed forward. Air waves flowed in a circle around her arm and gathered at her right hand. She aimed for the same spot that Tim struck. A drill of frosty wind formed over her fist. The wolf knelt down in a hunting pose. His eyes focused on her.
-----Darkness swept over the street. Shadows seemed to sprout out of nowhere, engulfing Tiara. The wolf blended with the inky mass, but she lashed out at his fading presence. What she thought to be a sure hit fell against nothing. The world shifted back into view—the darkness fading from right to left. And from her left the shadows parted. Bramd lay behind, already close. Too close.
-----No where to run; the wolf’s mouth was already twisted to the side, all around her, clamping down. Even flight couldn’t carry her fast enough to avoid those fangs. She froze. Saliva rained at her side.
-----Then she drifted back. The teeth shut; giant canines inches from her nose. The world ahead of her seemed to pull away. Tiara realized that she was being dragged, strung through the air by telekinesis. She looked back in time to see Cortelloni’s hand tap her back.
-----“You say you’re going to protect the kid, then you go and almost get yourself killed?” Michael chided.
-----“Did you see…?” she started to reply.
-----“No, I don’t know what the hell that was.”
-----Bramd hunched his back. He held his head low to the ground, closely inspecting his prey. “They sent a large group this time.” He bellowed. “I was beginning to think they’d finally given up.”
-----“You’re more clever than we thought.” Dreiden said. The Lord-Tyrant remained calm and poised. “You were expecting us this whole time.”
-----“This is my territory now,” the wolf replied, “you had no chance of ambushing me here. I could smell the lot of you outside the gate. I don’t know how you slipped through the fortress barrier so easily, but that doesn’t matter to me.”
-----“Listen to me.” Raea held her wrist blaster in place, even knowing that it would have no effect. “We came here to retrieve military resources. A war’s going on outside. I’m sure you know about it. As a creature of reason, surely you…”
-----Bramd laughed, his canine mouth twisting up into a smile. “So the Sentinels finally return. Before it was just mercenaries, all paid to reclaim this base for those interested in controlling it. And not one of them ever tried to reason with me.”
-----“But maybe she’s on to something.” Tundra said. “Couldn’t we strike a bargain? Let us take the mecha from this base and we’ll leave. I certainly have no desire to fight you for the Sentinels benefit.”
-----“You think I care about the war outside?” Bramd stepped forward. “You think I care about the suffering of those who purged my race, who burned our land to make way for their cities? I desire no bargain. Even if you’d leave me alone, I still gain nothing from just letting you walk away with your machines. But as a meal…you’re far more useful to me there.”
-----“Well, no surprise—don’t just stand there Resho,” Maiinverno looked back at the bulky Fallen and pointed a demanding finger at the Syre-Wolf. “This is what you’re bred for right? Get going!”
-----Resho clapped his fists together. “Don’t order me around little one.” He smiled, veins pulsing at his neck. His arms and shoulders rippled. “I don’t need any encouragement to fight!” He took off like a freight train, leaving craters behind with each bound.
-----Bramd’s upper lips curled. Sparks flashed in his teeth. When the Fallen warrior came within one more bound he snapped; lightning shot from his mouth, a white-blue bolt that pummeled Resho’s torso, knocking him down and dragging him back to where he started.
-----“Brilliant, he breathes lightning.” Vincentzo said as a partly charred Resho rolled past him. “Maelstrom Fireball!” The young wizards ball of flame joined with Raea’s beam cannons and Tundra’s ice.
-----Tiara waved her hands through the air, directing powerful bolts of wind and hail to rain upon the wolf.
-----Then the shadows once again crept among them. This time they watched carefully, and in disbelief they witnessed all of the natural shadows—even their very own—bend and lean towards the wolf. Bramd drew the natural dark towards him, bathed in it, wrapped it around his form.
-----Their attacks seemed to hit, but always the shadows veered and shifted to the side. They changed shape, formed holes for their shots to pass through harmlessly; and through it all they barely saw Bramd’s form.
-----“Some kind of illusion?” Maiinverno watched as one of his eldritch blasts struck a force field. No, the wolf was still there, but their eyes could not be trusted. Within that cloak of shadow, Bramd weaved left and right while the shadows seemed to do the opposite.
-----“Nuke the area!” Dreiden yelled. The shadows neared.
-----The primitive command was not lost on the desperate team. Tiara hurled a vertical tornado large enough to blast through the entire street. Tundra followed through with a blanket of freezing mist, and Maiinverno launched a buckshot of magic missiles.
-----Together the combined blasts tore the darkness, digging through its center and scrambling the shadows back to their proper homes. Nothing appeared.
-----“Above!” Resho, still on his back, pointed to the sky.
-----The wolf’s shadow fell over them. Bramd twisted in the air, devil-wings spread, facing the ground. A burst of lightning roared down at the center of the team’s formation. For a brief second the hallway was ablaze. In the wake of the explosion, the team found themselves scattered.
-----Bramd landed in the middle. The ground quaked and rocks began sliding down the mountainsides. “I had thought you all to be Sentinels.” The wolf sneered. “But many of you smell otherwise. So it has come to that…” A giant pipe smacked the side of his face; it bent around his field and fell limp.
-----Gazra stood on a nearby rooftop. The Marauder rolled up his right sleeve, revealing a clawed gauntlet wrapped in a soft, purple glow. He thrust an open palm at an adjacent building, and immediately a bubble of hazy, distorted space enveloped a section of its wall. Then the bubble moved; the section it covered broke free from the rest. With a striking motion he directed the wall piece as a projectile.
-----The wolf battered it with a flap of his wings. “You can’t harm me with these tricks.” Bramd fired another electric round; the thunder pierced the building, blasting it apart beneath Gazra’s feet, but the nimble thief dived off the roof, tucking his head in and rolling across the ground where he fell.
-----A familiar voice cried out, “Burning Felblade!” The spinning crescent passed over everyone’s heads and collided with the wolf. There it continued to spin, sawing at the force field.
-----“Tim?” Raea dug herself out of the rubble and looked back.
-----Tim slowly stepped out of the damaged building he’d been flung through earlier. “We’ve got a fight to finish here. I intend to see it through!”
-----Bramd eyed the volatile energy that still assailed him. “This destructive power. You…”
-----A blast of force fell on the wolf’s back. The shield blocked, but still Bramd was pushed down by the sheer pressure. Above him, Uberman’s rocket boots flared.
Uberman’s right arm remained a mess of circuitry, but he could still transfer the power of both concussion blasters into his sole working one. “Focus on holding him!” he ordered. “Pin him down!”
-----“What a nuisance; I’m going to need some help with this one!” Vincentzo threw his arms out and chanted. “Titan Grip!” His hands clapped shut. Giant hands formed at Bramd’s flanks; together they clasped around the wolf, their fingers slowly interlocking until they were like a cage. His fingers trembled as if he were hanging from a cliff. Normally this spell produced hands large enough to ensnare a human, so to hold a foe like Bramd required ten times the energy.
-----“This is your job isn’t it?” Razor pointed at Cortelloni.
-----Michael shrugged. “Never held down someone this big before, but what the hell.” He focused on the wolf’s head and forearms, both of which were steadily creeping out of the wizard’s constructs. The telekinesis took hold, but Bramd fought. Each muscle in the beast felt like ten men pulling against his will. “All I can do is force him down—can’t keep this pressure up too long.”
-----Then Dreiden rushed in. Before Bramd could react, he leapt onto the wolf’s snout, landing with a powerful punch. The ground beneath them collapsed. Dust hurled into the air. The creature now knelt in a six foot crater, but the shield had done its job.
-----“Even when it knocks him back, we can’t get through,” Dreiden observed. He smiled. “In that case…” He drew back his right arm, spread his fingers. His digits sharpened, shot out until they became like long spider legs.
-----As the bladed fingers wrapped around Bramd’s face—scratching, piercing every encroaching inch—the wolf fired a jolt of lightning; but this bolt stopped, frozen in midair as if an electric tongue. Then it arced back, its tip branching out into the shape of a hand.
-----The lightning hand snatched Dreiden and flung him away. The Lord Tyrant flew to the ends of the street, colliding into one of the taller structures and leaving a short-lived trail of sparks behind.
-----“All of this trouble, just for a meal.” Bramd hunched up. His wings began to expand against the many forces that were holding him down.
-----“It’s not holding!” Vincentzo yelled.
-----Gazra formed a psykokinetic bubble around Bramd’s head, but the extra power did little to deter the creature.
-----Uberman and the others attacked relentlessly. Sword, blaster, and cannon flailed at the shield from every angle. Another Burning Felblade hit. The shield shook, and for a moment the indomitable animal of legend looked worried. Maiinverno’s constructs cracked. Cortelloni fell on one knee.
-----“I think we’re getting through!” Tim said. “Resho, you’re the only one left; get in there and punch through!”
-----The towering Fallen warrior brushed off his chest and rotated his right arm. “Even the kid’s getting cocky now. When are all of you gonna get it through your thick skulls!” His muscles flared. “You don’t have to tell me!”
-----“You won’t get the chance.” Bramd spat out a vat of lightning. These bolts separated and took shape on the ground, becoming a visage of horse-sized wolves.
-----Raea glanced at the new creatures in disbelief. “Is that what I think it is?” The wolves looked around, took steps forward; by all appearances they appeared to be separate entities, but their bodies were certainly formed from lightning. Their bodies glowed, and what should pass for fur quickly flickered with sharp, crackling edges.
-----“I thought so,” Tiara said, remembering the hand that attacked Dreiden. “Syre-Wolves must be electrokinetic.”
-----The Thunder Wolves scattered.
-----Tim raised his sword as one tackled him to the ground. Its teeth clenched on the blade as it pushed towards his neck. “Get—off.” He slashed through it. The wolf stepped back, its face bisected. Lightning bolts surged between the separated pieces, but they were beginning to come together again. Tim raised his weapon and charged. A wave of blue light fell on his target as he smashed it. Electricity flew in all directions, and then the wolf was gone.
-----“Don’t let him break free!” Raea twisted a knob just below her neck. Her armor morphed into its second stage; nano-sized machines multiplied across her body, building extra layers of armor and new weapons. A long-barreled cannon grew attached to her right forearm. She knelt, took aim, and blew apart a lunging wolf that neared Maiinverno.
-----A second wolf weaved between the rubble, attempting to catch Raea off guard. As her cannon reloaded, she spun to face the wolf, drawing out the double blaster on her left arm. Two shots fired. The wolf disappeared in a shower of sparks.
-----Resho made his approach, not intimidated by the lightning creatures. One wolf came upon him, biting on his shoulder. “What’s this?” Resho withstood the pain, grabbed his attacker’s head between both his hands and crushed it. He tossed the thing aside, only to be smacked by a second that became like a bolt of lightning as it hurled. Resho spun away from the impact; his feet slammed into the ground and he regained his composure.
-----“Won’t let me get close? I don’t need to!” Resho clenched his left fist and leaned forward with a mighty blow to the ground, producing a massive shockwave. The street ahead of him lifted in pieces. Large chunks of rock shot up at angles; cracks webbed out, nearby buildings lost their foundations and began to crumble.
-----Maiinverno’s eyes widened as he saw the ground cave in. Below was nothing except hollow darkness. “The underground hangars! You just…” His voice gave way as his foothold vanished.
-----Tim looked back, saw the young wizard plummet, only to fall as well. Darkness washed around him. He looked up, seeing the crumbling earth and the last glimmer of light; and there he saw Bramd’s immense body fall, still weighed down by crumbling hands of light.
---5---
Preparation
“I’m sorry, run that by me again?” Kurt said. He wiped grease stains from his face and closed his toolbox.
-----“Don’t use that tone with me Corporal.” Sara replied sternly. She eyed several nearby mechanics who started to eavesdrop on their conversation. They didn’t get the message. She crossed her arms, tapped a finger against her sleeve; the mechanics jumped to attention and took off.
-----Kurt held his arms up. “No…Lieutenant Foster, sir, I meant no offense. I just don’t understand the orders.”
-----“You’re to remain here, stationed at the factory.” She repeated. “You will wait for further instructions, but you won’t be joining the counter offensive.”
-----He clenched his wrench, almost threw it at the ground. If the rest of his team was going, there should be no reason for him to stay behind. She glared at him, expecting the angry vent. Sara stood her ground, locking one of her legs off to the side. He knew that stance: she was prepared not to budge on this one.
-----Arguing with the Lieutenant hardly felt productive; every time he thought of something to say, he immediately realized what her obvious rebuttal would be.
-----But she couldn’t fault him for feeling this way; the higher ups couldn’t expect him to take this kind of order lightly.
-----Every soldier at the Volandia factory spent the last four hours preparing for the offensive. At every corner torches blazed, metal grinded. Anticipation for the counteroffensive was high; he hadn’t seen morale among his fellow pilots this high since the start of the war.
-----“You understand Corporal?” Sara continued. “Work on the Stormbringer is taking longer than expected. Since your machine is offline, the 478th will operate without you.”
-----“With all due respect, Lieutenant, I could operate a tank unit like I did in our last operation. Very few people can be spared for this mission, so I—”
-----“You have a problem with the orders?”
-----He choked as he saw the look in her eyes. He could admit to acting differently around the Lieutenant, but lately she was guilty of the same thing. Whenever he found her alone, there was warmth in her, plainly visible. Now she became the textbook example of the cold military leader; and yet, all the while her eyes occasionally darted to the others soldiers who watched their exchange.
-----“In our last mission you nearly went out with that tank.” She explained. “Without your craft, we can’t have you out on the field. Please try to understand, it has nothing to do with your skill.” She picked up her helmet and turned away.
-----“Lieutenant, sir.” Kurt uttered. “May I ask: did this order come down from above?”
-----She stopped, still facing away. She cradled the helmet against her hip. “That isn’t important Corporal.”
-----He wouldn’t let that slide; even if he must keep up appearances, he had a basic right to know this much. “I signed on with the Khazan military to fight. If I have an order to step down from that duty, I’d like to see it. I still have twenty four hours to file for—”
-----“It wasn’t an order from command. This is my decision.” She said. “Captain Kitazawa asked me to make arrangements for our team.”
-----“In that case, I’d like to request that you rescind the order sir.”
-----Sara turned her head to the side. “Making that kind of request? You’re out of line.”
-----“Even if Stormbringer isn’t online, I can join the ground forces and use one of the procured mecha from the base. I want to fight, sir! I don’t need an excuse to stay on the sidelines while my brothers and sisters die out there. Sir, if you could reconsider at all.”
-----“You think fighting is some glorious thing?” She muttered. “You told me you wanted to protect the 478th’s attitude—their smiles, their happiness. To not let them become disgruntled, disillusioned. Is fighting the only way you know to do this?”
-----Kurt looked around. They were near the south garage of the immense factory, but he felt as if they were center stage, with all the lights turned towards them. “If it’s about that—Lieutenant, I request that I talk this over with you in private.”
-----“Forget it.”
-----“Just outside, at least away from everyone else,” he doubled over as her helmet flew into his chest. He barely caught it as he reared back up.
-----“The system link is having problems. See if you can fix it.”
-----He looked down at the helm’s visor, unable to see his reflection in the fogged glass. By the time he looked back up, she was already at the door.
---6---
Tune Up
“Doesn’t look too good for the Corporal.” Patrick spun a foot-long wrench between his fingers. “You missed a good show.” He raised a brown coffee mug to his lips, but found that he had already reached the last sip. Four cups already—and it probably wouldn’t be enough to get him through the tedious repairs.
-----Cecelia’s slender body crept out from a crevice in Derringer’s chassis. Her blue jump suit was peppered with fresh black smudges. “Lieutenant isn’t going to like it if she sees how interested you are in her business,” she teased.
-----“Her business you say?” Patrick sat in Derringer’s open palm and placed the mug on the mecha’s thumb. “Do you agree with her decision?”
-----“Frankly, I don’t care.” Cecelia replied as she wiped her face with a white cloth. She stepped up into her machine’s open chest cockpit and checked a few consoles. “Isn’t it enough that she’s looking out for one of her soldiers? To get that kind of consideration from her...I don’t think Kurt understands how big a deal it is.”
-----“All I know is if it were me, I’d be telling them to prep the nearest empty mech so I could get out there on the field.”
-----“He’s a tough kid, give him some credit; he’s not all testosterone like you.” She curled the cloth around her hair and ran it down her side-tails. “When he realizes why she gave him that order, he’ll probably jump for joy.”
-----“Oh, I think miss ‘frankly don’t care’ does have some interest here.” Patrick smiled.
-----Angelhart leaned into the opened chest plates, resting her chin over her arms. “Sergeant, why do you keep hanging around here trying to start gossip? Get to work on your hulkish machine already.”
-----“I enjoy watching an expert at work,” Patrick said, “and besides, working on Senki is always a pain.” His combat style and role in the 478th often stuck him with the heaviest machines, but that became a nuisance when it came to the body shop. Senki required a more meticulous eye and nearly twice the time for prep or repair compared to smaller models.
-----Cecelia casually tapped a console button and the Derringer’s hand bobbed up and down, shaking Graham with it.
-----“Hey, easy now!” Graham caught his mug.
-----“You’d be an expert yourself if you spent more time working at it.” She smiled and lifted a finger towards the Senki.
-----“Ouch.” Patrick slid out of the mechanized hand. “No bogey’s ever gonna shoot me down more than you.”
-----“I should hope not; you don’t have that many lives.”
-----“Right, right.” He waved as he walked off.
----- Moonlight poured into the shop, illuminating Derringer. The main sliding doors parted, and a giant flatbed rolled in. The damaged machine it carried was not a standard issue military model, but Cecelia recognized the design.
-----“Mobile Police units? I guess they took a beating too.” She powered down Derringer’s consoles and leapt onto the lift platform.
-----“Careful with him, careful!” A young officer instructed from the side of the flatbed.
-----The mech had burn marks across its chest, and it looked as if numerous armor and weapon attachments had been added to the existing design, but they had all recently been lost. While it was in no condition to be up walking around, it was no where near unsalvageable. Cecelia exited the platform when it reached the floor.
-----“Were you at Mez’neragese?” Cecelia asked. She watched the flatbed truck take the mecha to an empty corner. The pilot looked ready to zip past her, following after her injured companion. Apparently the stories were true: Mobile Police officers treated their mechs as partners.
-----The young woman took a deep breath and then shook her head. “I was part of the Northern border; when we pulled back, some of us tried to reconvene at Mez’neragese, but it was already lost.”
-----“When?”
-----“Don’t know. I heard most of the survivors already packed up and made for Prime, but it was pretty much wasteland when I saw it; we double-backed here as fast as we could.”
-----Cecelia frowned. “Then Volandia is the last chance the Northern front has. Shit, and right when we’re planning an offensive.”
-----“I think we’ll be stuck here on the defensive.” The officer removed her helmet and shook the sweat from her hair.
-----“We can’t back down from the mission now. Once we receive a certain signal, we’re supposed to make a push for Cretalia.”
-----“At this point you’d be abandoning Volandia if you did that.”
-----“I know.” Cecelia bit down on her pinky fingernail. “That’s probably it though; we need to clear the North or there’s no way we’ll hold out.”
“I’m Officer Chase of the Mobile Police by the way.” The woman saluted. “Only a handful of Officers are left, but if we can assist the military with this mission, we’ll be there.”
-----“Chase?” The name conjured unpleasant memories of melting mechs and desperate soldiers pulling away from a tide of fire. “I remember now, you took control of the evacuation back then. Things might have been a lot worse if you hadn’t come through for us.”
-----“Well, my partner paid the price.” Chase said. She cringed a little as heavy chains lifted her mech into the air. The machine dangled like a puppet, but a bright light rolled across its visor-like eye. “Metalneck’s a true officer though. He knows he went down saving lives.”
-----“You pilot a 550 right?” Cecelia could already feel the gears turning in her mind. This could be an interesting opportunity.
-----Officer Chase tilted her head to the side, eyes wide. “Oh, you know about MARS units?”
-----“I used to fiddle around with the 400-lines a few years back.” She held a decisive thumbs-up in front of the Officer’s face. “Some things probably changed, but I bet I could make some of the same modifications I used to do.”
-----“Modifications…?” Chase raised an eyebrow.
-----“Nothing too life-changing.” Cecelia said with a hand wave. “But if you’re going to help out with the offensive, well then we should get you decked out and ready for heavy combat.”
-----Chase’s face lit up as if restored to life. “You mean, you could get Metalneck up and running in time for that!?”
-----“Well, with those extensive injuries…yeah, give me about two hours.” Cecelia said with a wink.
---7---
Trust
Cortelloni stood in a dark field, lights flickering around him. He looked around, but could find no source for the light. The wind licked his face; something warm washed across his cheek, so he touched that spot gently and then pulled his fingers away. Blood.
-----It was thick, and fresh, but as he checked his body he found no sign of injury. A new presence stirred behind him; he turned, reaching instinctively for his pistol. He found no weapon, and the person before him was Shinsuke.
-----The guy’s face was blank, even by Shinsuke standards. The kid’s mouth opened and closed, and Cortelloni read the words off one by one, only later realizing that he could hear nothing. Yagami continued his mute talk.
-----Shut up, Cortelloni wanted to say, but he was just as mute. He swung his fist, longing to deck the idealistic little brat for once. And this he felt…
-----On his own face.
-----Michael woke up in time to see a hand slap across his face. A backhand nearly followed through before he threw his arms up. “Stop, God damn it!” He immediately thought of giving his ‘assistant’ a solid hit in return, but he couldn’t see anything. A few vague shadows hung over him in the dark.
-----A flashlight clicked on, its beam hitting him right in the eyes. “Fuck.” Cortelloni groaned as he forced himself to take the light.
-----“Good.”
-----He recognized Razor’s coarse voice, and the light slowly peeled his ugly face into view.
-----“I’m not carrying your sorry traitor ass.” Razor stood up and turned another flashlight on. “On your feet ‘Ragemaster.’” He dumped one of the lights on Michael’s chest.
-----Michael raised himself with telekinesis, tapping his shoes to find the floor. “Where the hell are we?” He strafed his flashlight. Half a dozen people surrounded him, all battered and bruised. He remembered the team, the mission; but only half of the task force was here. The last thing he recalled was falling alongside the wolf; he lost sight of the creature when he concentrated on bracing his fall; obviously he didn’t brace it well enough.
-----“These are the hangar bays they mentioned earlier.” The hooded figure, Gazra, said. “At one time it looks like these were hallways, perhaps interconnected rooms, but it’s all in ruins now.”
-----“Does us no good to stand around here when that wolf can probably already hear and smell us.” Vincentzo Maiinverno’s insistent voice cut through the dark. “We should look for the main hangar where the mech’s are kept; there’ll be more space over there, and we can get our bearings.” The wizard produced a ball of light in his hands, casting a camp-fire glow over the group.
-----“That’s where the wolf will be.” Resho added.
-----“We need to make finding the others our top priority.” Tim’s exclaimed. His sword was sheathed, but his right hand rested on the hilt. “We don’t stand a chance against Bramd with just us.”
-----“Dreiden and your SLJ leader know what they’re doing.” Razor replied. “Let’s just find the wolf, and if we get to him first, the ruckus will lead the rest of them to the fight.”
-----Cortelloni stretched his neck side to side. “And what are you going to do to it, throw more fancy knives its way?”
-----“I didn’t see you do any better.” Razor grunted.
-----“There must be a weakness we can exploit,” Gazra said, “His species didn’t go damn near extinct by being invincible.”
-----“But it’ll take all of us to break that shield,” Tim said, “so it’s a waste of energy to fight him as we are now.”
-----“You’re just worried about your girl.” Razor spat.
-----“I…!”
-----“Tim, stop.” Tiara jumped down from a broken pillar and grabbed the young man’s shoulder. “Raea will be fine; if a battle was breaking out anywhere nearby we’d hear it.”
-----“If you’re going to spend all this time fussing over the redhead, you probably shouldn’t even be…” Razor started, but Cortelloni snapped his fingers in front of his face.
-----“How about you shut up for a minute?” Michael looked at Tim; the young man was agitated, though clearly trying his best to suppress it. Cortelloni had tried to give up attachments in his life, to set himself up so that he’d have nothing to lose again; but it had not been so long that he’d forgotten what it was like—that fear. Despite being so on edge, Tim’s grasp on the sword was firm. He was ready, or at least willing, to accept that fear and take action in spite of it. “If you’re worried about your friend, then get moving. Don’t let us slow you down.”
-----Tim slowly backed away from Tiara and began to follow Maiinverno. “I can’t do this alone.”
-----Cortelloni let them have a head start. Once Maiinverno’s light flickered off around a corner, he turned to the Marauders and said, “Well, you going to let the kid do this alone?”
-----Gazra and Razor followed.
-----They caught up with the rest rather quickly, as they found no easy path through the area. The collapse earlier must have destroyed whatever corridors were here to begin with. Tiara jumped ahead, guided by Maiinverno’s spells, and gave an all clear sign. Resho paved a way through the rubble, tossing large rocks and piles of metal to the side. Burn marks on the Fallen muscle-man’s body still sizzled.
-----“Are you even in any shape to fight?” Maiinverno scoffed. “You’re still burning from the wolf’s attacks—and you smell like overcooked ham.” He pinched his nostrils shut.
-----“This is just a testament to the wolf’s strength,” Resho lifted a final piece of debris and tossed it behind the group, “I wouldn’t recommend a little man like yourself going through the same.”
-----“Wasn’t planning on it. Just like I hope you’re not planning on caving the ground in again.”
-----They made their way to the main hangar, heading towards faint sky-lights in the distance. Once there, they found a massive chamber, dimly lit and stretching down farther than they could see. The floor was smooth, stainless steel, and not a speck of rubble had landed here.
-----“I expect he is lying in wait.” Gazra said.
-----“In that case there’s no point in being subtle.” Maiinvenro launched his light globe into the air, and with an incantation of the guiding novis spell, the globe expanded, shedding its brilliance over a few hundred feet.
-----Far ahead of them, still barely visible, they noticed the sharp outline of humanoid mecha, standing at ease in long rows.
-----“We found them!” Tim said.
-----“If they go down to the end of this hangar, that means there’s far more than the report suggested,” Gazra stated, “I guess we can’t take Khazan’s military too lightly.”
-----Cortelloni shrugged. “This planet’s been badly burned too many times to count. With all that goes on in one day in the nexus, it’s about time the government kept something hidden like this to pounce on any threat at a moment’s notice.”
-----“Let’s hope they still function.” Vincentzo said, still eyeing their surroundings for movement.
-----“It’s been just a little over a year,” Razor cracked his knuckles, looking rather eager, “so it should be fine, but let me play around with ‘em a while and I’ll let you know.”
-----“Wait.” Tiara held a hand out, stopping the Marauder. Her gaze was fixed on their left flank.
-----“Did you see him?” Tim readied his weapon.
-----The weather-witch closed her eyes, breathing steadily. “I created some air currents in here,” she whispered, “Something large just disturbed them.”
-----Vincentzo followed her eyes and took a few steps in that direction. He held his left arm out, fanning it side to side as if walking blind. “Is that so?” The young wizard said slowly. “Where?”
-----“Not far, straight ahead.” She nodded.
-----“Could be one of the others.” Tim said.
-----“And maybe not.” Gazra added. He and Razor were already spreading out.
-----“Well if it is someone from our team,” Maiinverno said as a bright flame ignited in his palm, “they’ll be tough enough to survive this anyway.” He clenched his fist over the fire, then shouted “Corona Wave” as he released it towards their unknown guest.
-----A red ring shot from his palm, pressing forward into the dark while expanding wider in a circle. The searing heat between the ring turned space hazy, and the floor ahead of them gleamed for a moment.
-----Then the shadows parted, pulling away from the familiar form of Bramd. The wolf’s shield withstood the heat, but he sneered at his being discovered. “Clever little rodents!” He spewed lightning along with the words. A white flash arced toward them.
-----Tiara countered with a cyclone, drilling into the projectile and scattering its energy around them; but where the bolts fell they took horrifying shapes: the wolves of lightning reared up again, snarling and flickering. They encircled the group, trapping even the Marauders in the middle.
-----One of the fiends snapped at Cortelloni, inching closer and bearing its thunderous fangs. He tried twisting its neck from afar, but he found it difficult to secure a telekinetic hold on the insubstantial creature, and what he did manage meant little to a thing with no bones. The wolf lunged, and Michael quickly changed his focus to building a wall of force, pushing everything away. With a thud, the wolf smashed into the invisible power, and Cortelloni sent it scurrying off in fragmented pieces.
B-----ut another rushed him from behind. He turned, trying to form a hold on it. The fangs already neared his fingers. A pulse of electricity ran down his arm, stood his hair up. Then a spiked chain fell on the beast’s head. A shower of sparks dissipated around Cortelloni.
-----“Ignore the little ones, I’ll handle them.” Razor instructed. “Concentrate on the wolf.”
-----Maiinverno and Tiara fired bolts of magic and pressurized air into the lupine crowd, bursting them apart one by one, stopping only when their targets stopped reforming.
-----A wolf pounced on Resho’s shoulder, sending a visible shock through his towering form, but the Fallen giant ignored the pain and ripped the wolf away. “Gazra, give me a boost!”
-----The cloaked Marauder held his gauntlet up, encasing Resho in a bubble of mental energy that then propelled him towards the winged wolf.
-----“You won’t keep me away this time.” Resho shouted. At face level he brought his fist down on the wolf’s snout. The resounding shockwave shook the lines of mecha in the distance, but the barrier still absorbed it. As Resho fell he unleashed a second punch, aiming for the vulnerable knee-cap, but again nothing.
-----“Stop moving around.” Bramd boomed, bringing a paw down on Resho, pinning him to the floor. The wolf licked his lips, but Tim interrupted his potential meal with a powerful strike; waves of blue energy cascaded over Bramd’s shield. The wolf stepped back, dragging Resho over the cold steel. “Begone.” A bolt of lightning from his mouth shaped itself into a hand and swatted the young Sentinel away.
-----“Damn it, this is all going to hell.” Cortelloni ran into the front lines.
-----“Get back here you idiot!” Razor shouted. “You’ll be swatted just like he was.”
-----“The kid’s the only one getting a strong reaction out of that shield. We have to protect him or we’re all dead!” He stood in front of Tim’s prone body just as the wolf launched another assault. A dome of telekinetic energy spun around them, pushing the lightning away, but Bramd continued to breath the electric currents into the shield.
-----“Get back up kid, come on!” Michael yelled. Tim still lay on the ground, twisting and groaning. Some bolts crackled along his armor, but he was more dazed than damaged. “I’m not here to babysit you; you wanted to protect your friend, you get up on your own two feet and do it.”
Just as the words started to reach the young man, Bramd’s lightning took on the form of spindly fingers, clawing their way through Cortelloni’s defenses. Too much force was coming down on the shield; he felt as if walls were closing in around them.
-----“Cortelloni…” Tim said, trying to pull himself up.
-----“Too late…” Michael lost his breath. The shield collapsed. No time to spare: he grabbed Tim and hurled him away. The lightning closed in. Everything fell white.
-----The thunderous jolt left Michael’s ears ringing. He opened his eyes, unsure of what happened. To his surprise, the pain in his chest subsided; he checked himself in disbelief: no burns. He’d been blown back, but the lightning missed its mark; instead, a half-charred man lay in front of him.
-----“Wha…what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Cortelloni demanded.
-----Razor forced his head up, gritting through the pain. He clutched the smoking mark on his chest where his body armor began to break off in small pieces. “Stupid fool. Complaining when others jump out like that and then doing it yourself.” His lips curled up into something resembling both a snarl and a smile. “That’s your problem, fucking ragemaster. You never follow your own advice.”
-----Michael stood up. In front of him several newly created wolves approached. The rest of the team was spread out, fighting against their own enemy packs. “What kind of moron takes a bullet and then bitches at the guy? I didn’t ask for some bodyguard here.”
-----“Don’t give yourself too much credit,” Razor spat out, “it’s just like you said; the kid’s important here, but he’s gonna need you to hold the wolf down—I…I can’t do any of that. I can’t…so, if anyone had to take a fall, it was going to be me.”
-----Michael watched the wolves encircle them. “Always the mission eh?”
-----“That’s right.” Razor forced himself to sit upright. He grinned as he took hold of his chain weapon. “Always the mission. Now go get that son of a bitch; I’ll take these things on.”
-----Cortelloni scoffed. As the wolves came closer, he waved his hands, pulling in sheets of metal and crumbled rock from the ruins they’d walked through earlier. He clasped his hands together, and at once the collection of stone and steel bent to his will, smashing and welding together around the two of them. The wolves crashed against the barricade, but he left no crevices for them to seep through.
-----“What the hell is this?” Razor asked.
-----“Never mind,” Michael said, breathing heavily, “Your sorry ass wouldn’t last 5 seconds in that condition.”
-----“Is that how soft you’ve become Ragemaster!? That kid needs your help; Always the mis…”
-----“I don’t feel like being indebted to anyone, least of all you.” Cortelloni replied. “It would leave a bad taste in my mouth.”
-----The sounds of battle raged outside, but they could no longer see it. Michael took a deep breath and looked at the roof of the metal dome he’d just put together. “You’re going to have to trust that kid now.”
-----“What?”
-----“Might be hard for people like you and me to believe it but—now I…I have to trust that the kid knows what to do on his own. He can finish this fight.”
---8---
A Single Second
Tim braced himself with his sword. A wolf lunged and he quickly turned, bringing the blade around. The wolf split in two, collapsing at first but then reforming as two smaller lightning hounds. They flanked him, lashing out with paw and fang. He spun again, weaving circular strikes through both until the sparks died down.
Resho still fought from under the Syre-Wolf’s paw, punching at the shield to no avail. Bramd seemed to be enjoying watching his prey fight against his lightning constructs.
-----“I can keep this going all day.” Bramd laughed.
-----Gazra landed in front, clawing through a lightning wolf. “Get ready to attack,” Gazra told him, “don’t even worry about dodging, I’ll do that for you.”
-----“Are you still plotting something?” Bramd inquired. “I’m not amused with these games you keep having me play. It’ll all end the same way!” His breath poured a wide stream of electricity towards the team, but a monstrous figure appeared in a blue flash to intercept the bolts.
-----“Neva!” Tiara exclaimed. The ice dragon responded to the call, skating to its target. Neva struck the shield, but rose up at once and then slid around Bramd, slowly constricting him.
-----“Still not getting through, but at least we can pin him.” Vincentzo summoned a series of alchemic runes; he pointed at the floor beneath the Syre-Wolf, and with that command the steel transformed into giant chains that wrapped around the creature.
-----“Now or never!” Gazra yelled.
-----Tim took off, his sword radiating blue energy. Bramd snarled in his direction, but Tim stayed on a straight path, trusting in Gazra’s instructions. Small blasts of lightning came his way, but without thinking he shifted side to side, just enough to avoid each one. Gazra controlled his movements.
He raised his sword above his head. “Heaven Breaker!” The blade cut into the shield, bringing with it a blue flame that scorched across the surface of the protective bubble. The attack assailed the wolf on half its body; the shield trembled.
-----“Keep pushing forward!” Gazra shouted.
-----“I’m losing it!” Maiinverno warned, falling to his knees. Several of the chains burst apart. The wolf rattled, pulling an arm free.
-----“You’re even stronger now?” Bramd’s voice echoed in the hangar. “I’ll remove you before…” His paw reached for Shinestar, but then a dark figure lunged into Bramd’s right side like a bullet. A powerful impact rocked the shield, and Bramd stumbled away. “What’s this? The rest of you?”
-----Dreiden Adonis landed near a freed Resho and helped the giant to his feet. Uberman flew overhead, firing his wrist cannons. Raea arrived with her nanotech armor in its second form, and Tundra drifted into the battlefield.
-----“Not a moment too soon, my Lord.” Resho said.
-----“Yes. Time to finish this.” Dreiden looked at his fist. He vanished from sight, reappeared in front of Tim.
-----“Thank God, Raea and the rest of you…” Tim began.
-----“No time for that.” Dreiden declared. “Just now I struck the beast’s fur.”
-----“Then the shield has weakened.” Vincentzo moaned, slowly rising.
-----“It’s not about breaking through with power,” Dreiden shook his head. “If I’m right, the shield gets weak if it’s forced to distribute its power over too much space. The key isn’t the combined power, but attacking him from all sides.”
-----Tim channeled all of his available power through his sword. Waves of azure energy pulsed along its edges. “I can do most of that myself. If I…”
-----“No.” Dreiden interrupted. “Yours must be the attack that lands. The rest will be up to us.”
-----“Are you sure?” Tim said, surprised.
-----“Neva is losing her hold!” Tiara warned.
-----Dreiden turned to face the creature. “Aim for the neck. We probably won’t get another chance at this; you’ve got one second we can buy you; make it a fatal blow. Don’t disappoint.”
-----Bramd regained his composure. Tim eyed the Syre-Wolf’s throat. So that’s the only chance they had? A single second, one opening, one shot or its over. Fine. They’d come too far to lose now. “Alright. I’ll make the hit, count on it. Just give me that opening!”
-----The Wolf shook free of Neva’s grip. His wings battered down on the ice spirit’s head, knocking her to the ground. Bramd roared, his eyes flared with lightning.
“Spread out!” Dreiden yelled. “Attack from all sides!” He took off at full speed, disappearing just as a bolt of energy struck his previous location.
-----Uberman flew above, prepping his cannon for a long duration shot. “Hold on, just a bit longer.” He fired, bearing down on the enemy’s shield. By the time the Wolf looked up to see his attacker, another beam assailed his right side. Raea’s particle beam illuminated most of the hangar.
-----Vincentzo chanted. Sweat poured down his face. “This will…be my last spell for the day. Mana Flare!” He thrust his palm towards the wolf, and a bright orange beam shot into Bramd’s chest. The shield shook.
-----Tiara conjured a miniature cyclone, and directed its strikes, hammering at Bramd’s left side. The shield trembled with each blow. Tundra followed through with blasts of ice. The shield flickered.
-----“Now!” Dreiden appeared behind, stretching his fingers out into long blades. His piercing claws shot out. Small cracks appeared in the shield where they fell.
-----“Gazra, let’s go.” Tim ran as fast as he could. His legs throbbed, but he transferred energy to his feet and propelled himself.
-----“Right here.” Gazra dashed alongside him.
-----Bramd turned all of his attention to the young swordsman. “I can see what you’re planning,” he growled, “I won’t let you!” A bolt of lighning escaped from his mouth. It nearly plummeted on top of Shinestar, but Gazra pulled him closer and out of harm’s way.
-----The wolf roared as a second bolt rang out, much larger than the first. Resho darted into the front, tucking his arms over his head and charging straight into the blast. The flash washed over Tim’s face, but he didn’t lose sight of his target. One chance. He needed that one second to come.
-----“Die!” Bramd shouted, but as his next blast prepared to launch, Resho leapt into the air and pummeled the beast with an uppercut to the lower jaw. The shield waned and then collapsed. The Fallen Giant’s fist struck bone and knocked the wolf’s head to the side.
-----“That’s it!” Tim said.
-----Bramd launched his bolt in spite of his angle; the lightning curved, heading straight for Tim.
-----“Go for it kid!” Gazra raised the psykokinetic bubble holding Tim and threw it just as the bolt rushed by. Part of the blast struck the Marauder’s shoulder, sending him spinning in the air.
-----Bramd’s head reared back in place. His eyes locked with the swordsman. Lightning coursed through his fangs.
-----“Heaven Breaker!”
-----A blue and white wave cut through each other. An explosion shook the entire hangar. Mecha fell over; the ground above them trembled. The attacks ceased. The team fell into resting positions. That was their last chance.
-----Tim lay on his back, lightning surging through his upper body. Every movement of his muscles caused more currents to jolt through him. The sword fell to the side of his face, embedded in the steel floor. He eyed the blade, but he could not reach for it; his body responded only with a weak shake.
-----Bramd stood there, having not moved an inch. His wings folded in and his snarl faded. “So this is it? After all this time…I never thought it would be from such a young…fool.” His body fell limp. A pool of blood expanded below his neck as blue flames burst out of the wound and began coursing through his whole form.
-----“Your kind…really are the inheritors of this world.” Bramd’s final words faded.
-----The last of the Syre-Wolves was no more.
End Chapter 27
Next:
Chapter 28
Counterstrike
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