| Chapter 89 By the time Brian got out from between the two massive ships, his fighter was almost up to full power again. He held back as the two ships separated and then flew around them. Both ships were launching their fighters and he joined in the formation, heading back to the battle. He glanced at the fighters pouring out of the earth ships as he passed by them. One of the leaders caught his eye. He slowed his ship down and came up beside it, looking over. Quickly he flipped his radio frequency, "Drew, is that you?" The man in the other ship glanced over and Brian could see a huge smile on his face, "Brian?" "Yeah man, it's me," Brian said. "Brian! Man, I never thought I'd see you again," Andrew said. Brian laughed, "You know you can't get rid of me that easy." "Yeah," he laughed. "Say Drew, do you have a wingman, cause I kinda lost mine," Brian said. "Ya know Bri, that'll get you a bad rep, always losing your wingman," Andrew teased. Brian rolled his eyes, "You wanna or not, we're almost there." "Sure Bri, It'll be just like old times," he said. Brian sighed, "Alright, try and keep up, cause I'm not slowing down for your sorry ass." Andrew chuckled, "Sure dude, whatever you say." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Anthony ran into the control room, the large book held tightly to his chest. "We have to stop him!" he yelled, running over to Mason, tears streaming down his face. Mason turned from the screen he was watching, "Stop who? What's wrong?" Anthony shoved the book into the older mans hands, "Nick. We have to stop him, he left letters and the prophecy says that .... we gotta get him outta there!" he cried. LaDonna came over and pulled Anthony into a hug, "What's wrong, did something happen?" Mason shrugged, setting the book down and opening it up. He gazed at the letters in front of him, chills running down his back. He glanced at LaDonna seeing the same worried expression on her face. He took the letters out of the book, setting them aside. Anthony pointed to the page, "It's the prophecy." Mason nodded as he started to read. The more he read, the more numb he became. When he finished he looked up with worry and horror in his face. "What is it? What does it say?" she asked, not liking his reaction. Mason cleared his throat, the entire room quieting down to listen, "It's to long to read it all, but the last lines read ......... His blood shall enter the ground and awaken the rulers of the past, his sacrifice will bring new life to Celeste and all it's people." Everyone glanced at one another. "So what does that mean?" A.J. asked. Ana left her console and walked over to a screen that was showing Nick. She reached out and touched the screen as tears left her eyes and traveled down her cheeks, "It means he's going to die." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Whhhooooo hoooooo," Brian yelled, soaring through the debris of the ship he just demolished. "I think you're having to much fun," Andrew laughed. "Might as well, it could be the last fun we have," Brian said, banking his fighter and heading toward the big ships. "Bri, where are you going?" Andrew asked, following him. "Hang on a sec, Drew," Brian said, switching his frequency again, "This is Angel one, all craft form up." "Hey Drew, call all your fighters in, I've got an idea," Brian said. Andrew raised his eyebrows, "Why am I scared?" "Oh shut up and do it," Brian laughed. "You heard the man boys, form up," Andrew ordered. Brian watched as both squadrons formed up behind the two. He sighed, it was half the ships he started out with. "Drew, switch to a private channel for a sec," Brian said. "Ok, what's up?" Andrew asked. "We're gonna take the big one right over there," he replied. Andrew looked over seeing one of the X class enemy ships firing everything it had at the Celestian and Earth ships. "Are you nuts?! We can't take that thing," he said. "No I'm not nuts, and yes we can. Look at it, see there close to the back, that big round thing with the gun turrets next to it," Brian said. "Yeah, what about it?" Andrew asked. "That's the shields. Didn't you pay attention when they went over this?" Brian teased. "I kinda missed that day. Ok, so it's the shields, how we gonna get close enough to do anything?" he replied. Brian smiled, "You leave that to us, just take your guys and head straight for it." Andrew bit his lip, "Alright Bri, but if I get killed, I'm coming back to haunt your ass." Brian laughed, "It's a deal. Tell your guys, I'll tell mine. Wait for my signal, then we run." "Got it." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick plunged his sword through the chest of one of his attackers, at the same time he flicked his other hand toward a large group of men that was heading for him. The entire group flew backwards, landing on those behind them. Nick pulled his sword out of the man as Thomas kicked another in the face, sending him to the ground. Nick chanced a look back, seeing Kevin and Rowland trying to make their way to him. Thomas reared up, and brought his attention back to his own fight. He raised his hand again and formed another ball of light. The men in front of him saw it, and turned to run. They didn't get far. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "What the hell do you mean he's gonna die?!" A.J. yelled, standing up, Howie right next to him. Mason turned to face them, "For the prophecy to be fulfilled, he will." "Screw the prophecy, we can't let Nick die!" Howie said. A.J. looked over shocked that that statement came out of his friend, but agreeing wholeheartedly. LaDonna grabbed Mason's wrist, "You can't let him do this." Mason looked down into her eyes, seeing her panic. She'd already lost him once, he couldn't let her lose him again. "If it's destined to happen, we can not stop it," Joseph said. "We have to try," LaDonna begged. "My queen, Count Dumal is right. We cannot interfere," Nathaniel said. "Guys?! This is Nick we're talking about here, your freaking King! You can't tell me you're gonna stand here and debate this! You can't let him die!" A.J. yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. Everyone in the room glanced between the two council members and LaDonna and Mason. Ana brushed her tears from her face and walked between them towards the door, "You can debate all you want, I'm going to get him." Nathaniel reached out and caught her arm, stopping her, "You can not. We can't interfere with something as important as the prophecy." Ana tried to pull away, but she couldn't. A.J. glanced at Howie, then nodded toward the two. Howie nodded back. Suddenly both were running towards the Count at full speed. They tackled him, sending them all to the ground. Ana got to her feet, looking back. "Run Ana! Go get Nicky!" Howie screamed, grabbing Joseph as he moved to stop her. Ana turned and ran out the door as fast as she could. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Almost got it," Andrew called as his fighters approached the large shield generators. "Hurry up man, we can't take much more of this cat and mouse," Brian called. His fighters were drawing the ships fire as the others came in low. Andrews ships flew over the large ball of metal pouring every ounce of firepower they had into it. "Got it Bri, get out of there!" Andrew called. "Fall back guys, they hit it!" Brian called to his men. Fighters scattered everywhere as the big ships continued to exchange hits. The large metal ball exploded, and the big ships took advantage of it. Concentrating all their efforts, they fired on the ship. Several explosions rocked the massive ship, then the sky was filled with a massive white light as the entire ship broke apart. "One down, forty-nine more to go," Brian said, pulling his fighter out of his turn. "Not funny Bri," Andrew said, coming up next to him. "Not meant to be," Brian said, looking for their next target. Suddenly his ship jerked and his console dimmed for a moment. "Oh crap," he said. "Oh crap what?" Andrew asked. Brian looked back towards the Celestian ships. If he tried to make it back and his ship went out again, he'd be right in the middle of the fight. "Dude, something wrong over there?" Andrew asked again. "Um, my ships blinking out on me. I'm gonna have to land before it dies again," Brian answered. "Land where?" Andrew asked. Brian looked down at the large planet beneath him, then looked back at the ships. "Down there," he said, banking his fighter. Andrew followed him, "Are you sure? Can you make it through the atmosphere?" "I can if you can. Listen, Drew you don't have to go with me," Brian said. "I know man, but what are friends for if they can't watch each other's back?" he replied. Brian laughed, "Yeah, or watch them crash." "Don't say that," Andrew said. "OK, just follow me in and stay back, I don't know wh........ing is gonna do," Brian said. "Bri, your starting to break up on me," Andrew said as they headed toward the planet. "I know, it's starting to short out," Brian said. "I'm right behind ya buddy, lead the way," Andrew said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ana raced toward the fields. She pushed the open air transport she'd taken for all it was worth, praying she'd make it in time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Angel one, you'll be coming over the battle sight. Stay above the vids, if you hit one it could damage your engines," a tech said. "My engines are the last of ....... ries," Brian said, as he fought the stick. Not only was his fighter shorting out, the steering was going too. The ground was coming up quick and he leveled out, seeing the battle ahead of him. "My God," he mumbled seeing the carnage. As he flew over, the sight of dead men littering the field burned into his mind. "Drew can you hear me?" he called. "Yeah buddy," he answered. "When we go over, shoot the hell out of them," Brian said. "You got it," he affirmed. As the two fighters approached the fighting, Brian picked out targets. He didn't want to hit any of Nick's men, so he picked the back lines of the opposing army and fired. Andrew followed suit and as they passed the fields it was safe to say that half the opposing army was now toast. Brian's fighter jerked again, and this time it died. "Oh crap, here we go," he said as the ground came at him fast. Andrew hung back, watching as Brian dropped to the ground. "Bri, your to fast," he called, "Bri?" All he could do was watch helplessly as Brian's fighter hit the ground hard and skidded to a stop, dirt and debris flying everywhere. He landed as quickly as he could a safe distance away and jumped out, running to the downed fighter. Smoke was rising from somewhere in the engines. Andrew climbed up onto the craft. The cockpit was still sealed. He could see Brian moving around in there, but it was filling with smoke. He banged on the glass, Brian looking up. "It won't open!" he screamed. "Try your manual release," Andrew yelled. Brian pulled the lever, and nothing happened. He coughed, "Drew get me out!" Andrew moved around the top of the ship. Somewhere on the outside was a manual release, he just had to find it. He knew where it was on his ship, but Brian's fighter was a newer model, and as luck would have it, the releases were not in the same place. Brian banged on the glass, coughing violently. The smoke was so thick inside the cockpit he couldn't see. "Where the fuck is it!" Andrew screamed, running his hands along the edges. He glanced over, only seeing Brian's hand on the glass. The rest of the cockpit was full of smoke. "Hang on!" he yelled, finally finding the small lever hidden under a shield. He flipped it and was relieved when the glass started to rise. Smoke billowed out as Andrew reached in and grabbed Brian by his flight suit and pulled him out. Brian was coughing and gasping for air as he drug him away from the ship. "Easy," Andrew said, stopping and lowering Brian to the ground. Brian looked up at him, tears in his eyes from coughing so hard, "Th-thanks ...man." "No problem, now don't talk, just breathe," he said. Brian smiled, taking slow deep breaths. As he did so, Andrew sat down next to him. He couldn't help but stare at Brian's mark. Brian noticed and held his hand out for him to see it better. "God Brian, what did they do to you?" Andrew asked. Brian sat up slowly, "They saved me." Andrew looked at him confused, but then looked over as a noise filled the air. Someone on a transport was coming at them fast. Andrew helped Brian up as the machine slowed down. "Ana? What are you doing here?" Brian asked. "Get on, Nick's in trouble," she said. Both men jumped on and she sped back up. "What do you mean he's in trouble?" Brian asked. "He's gonna die if we don't get to him," she answered, pushing the transport as fast as it could go. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "She has picked them up," a tech said. "Is Brian hurt?" Marie asked. The tech turned to ask, when another spoke up, "My lords, there are ships exiting .645." The council members glanced at one another. "All our ships are in, who are they?" Mason asked. The tech smiled, "They're Jeptimian." "What?" Nathaniel said. A.J. leaned over and nudged Howie, "Is this good or bad?" Howie shrugged, "I'm not sure, Nick was friends with Ambassador James." The guard that was next to them glanced down. A.J. sighed, "What? We're just talking, we aren't gonna jump up and tackle anyone." Marie put her hand on A.J.'s arm and smiled at him, "I don't think he believes you." All eyes were on the screens as the ships exited and launched their fighters. If they came to fight with the opposing ships, Celeste was done. The fighters circled around what was left of the Earth and Celestian squadrons and the big ships came up behind Celeste's fleet. LaDonna glanced at Mason, tension on her face. "My lord, we have a message coming in," a tech said. "Bring it up," Mason instructed. A hologram of Tunk appeared in the middle of the room. He nodded, "My lords I'm sorry we're late, it took some convincing that this was the right side to be on." Mason smiled, "Welcome aboard Ambassador, feel free to blow up any ship you like." Tunk laughed, "Thank you, we shall do that." And with that the transmission ended. Everyone watched as the Jeptimian ships opened fire, and their fighters joined with Celeste's and Earths. Joseph looked over to Nathaniel, "We may have a chance after all." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick swung his sword with all he had. The man in front of him fell to the ground. Then, just as in the dream, the large warrior appeared in front of him. Nick jerked back for a moment, the sight startling him. But he was determined, he knew what he had to do. He swung at him, and missed. The man stepped forward and grabbed him by his armor and pulled him off Thomas. Nick hit the ground hard, but sprang back up to his feet, his sword at the ready. The two circled for a moment, then both lunged forward, exchanging blows. The sound of clanking metal could be heard all around as the two fought viciously. Nick moved to block the oncoming sword and the man flipped his at just the right second, sending Nick's sword out of his hand and to the ground below. Before Nick could react, the man was standing in front of him, a menacing grin on his face. Nick blinked a moment, then looked down, seeing the man's sword in his chest. It happened so fast he didn't even feel it. But now as he realized what had happened, the pain hit. He winced and staggered back a few steps. He was determined to stay on his feet, and not show any weakness. The man stepped forward and put his hand on Nick's shoulder, grabbing his sword and twisting it. Nick clenched his jaw and stared at the man. His attacker seemed to enjoy Nick's reaction, and moved to pull his sword from Nick's flesh. Nick grabbed him, "You have just sealed your fate." The man laughed, yanking his sword free of Nick's body. Nick cried out in pain and dropped to his knees, holding his chest with both hands. Blood covered them in an instant. He fought to breathe. He placed one of his hands on the ground beside him, trying not to fall over. The blood on his hand seeped into the ground. Nick lifted his head and closed his eyes. A cool breeze swirled around him. He heard a huge gasp, and looked up. All the fighting around him had stopped, and everyone.... his soldiers and the enemy.... were staring at him. The man that attacked Nick was slowly backing away, fear in his eyes. Nick felt someone touch his shoulder and looked up into a pair of familiar eyes. For a moment the two stared at each other, then Frederick looked back. Nick followed his gaze and saw the past kings standing behind him. They were as real as anything, but all had an eerie glow about them. Nick coughed, his injury momentarily forgotten, but now back in full force. Frederick squeezed his shoulder, then walked past him. As each king passed Nick, they touched him. And with each touch, Nick could feel himself dying. It seemed as if they were taking his energy, his strength. The opposing army started to run, but they had nowhere to go. Every direction they went, the kings appeared in front of them. Then the kings moved into the sea of men. Nick had to turn his head. He couldn't watch what was happening, for each man the kings touched burst into flames. Nick's army stood back, afraid to move, save two. Rowland and Kevin ran to Nick. "Nick, oh god," Kevin said, kneeling beside him. Nick coughed, sinking to the ground. His strength was gone. "Medic!" Rowland yelled. Nick shook his head, "No, I .....have to fin......finish this." "No Nick, you're hurt, we gotta get you to a hospital," Kevin argued. Nick shook his head as a transport sped up to them and stopped. "Nick!" " Nicky!" Ana and Brian yelled as they jumped off the machine and went to Nick's side. "Ana?" Nick asked. She took his hand, tears streaming down her face, "I'm right here." "Take me to ....... the throne room," he said. "No we gotta get you to a doctor," Brian said. Nick closed his eyes and mustered what little strength he had left, "I am still king, do as I ask!" The group glanced at each other. "Alright Nick, we're going," Brian said, helping the others get him into the transport. Ana stayed by his side in the floor as the others sat down and Brian took the controls. "Hold on to him," he said, hitting the accelerator. The transport looped around and headed in the direction of the palace. Chapter 90 |