They Found Us!
(This is where the translator key will be used)
The day started early, just as Josie said it would. The group was up at about five thirty in the morning. All except wish, who needed an extra half an hour top be aroused from her peaceful slumber. Josie led them out into the garden area of Cramel. They started by pulling up weeds and digging up carrots. �When do we have breakfast Josie?� Silver whined about not being able to work too well on an empty stomach.
�We will eat as soon as we get this done Silver. Don�t worry there isn�t too much left. We have to pick and water the Bluff berries, and we need to clean out the Bubble Pools and put in the new filters. All in all about another hour to an hour and a half.� Josie was very informative about what needed to be done. �Oh, and we only need to clean the Pools once a week.�
She was also very precise on how well it was done.
Breakfast couldn�t come soon enough for Silver and Wish who were both very hungry, seeing as how they hadn�t eaten since they arrived. Wish just didn�t show it much. Vex wasn�t all that hungry, as he could store energy and use it when he needs to. Geret approached Josie at the breakfast hall and whispered something to her that put a look on her face that Vex himself had never seen before. She didn�t look scared but she didn�t look to fearless either. To Vex this look was confusing. A mix of feelings. Horror, terror, fear, guilt, sadness. Josie whispered back to him and he tore off running. Josie�s look returned to normal as she finished her meal.
�Vex, Silver, Wish. Come to the main entrance as soon as you finish eating,� Josie whispered in a frightened tone of voice that was unnatural for her personality. Now Vex knew something was up. They did as they were asked. They went to the hall and waited for Josie to get there. They didn�t have to wait long. She came running with guns and weaponry of all shapes and sizes. Just then an alert came over the intercom that neither Vex, Silver or Wish knew was there. �ALARM! ALARM! THEY HAVE FOUND US! THE ALBHED ARE COMING! ONLY AND HOUR TO PREPARE! EVERY ABLE BODIED MALE AND FEMALE REPORT TO THE ARMORY AT ONCE! REPEAT THE ALBHED ARE COMING. WE NEED TO TAKE EVERY AVAILABLE ACTION TO PROTECT CRAMEL!�
Vex instantly went for the hilt of his Six-Footer. Silver had her Thug Buster. Josie tossed Wish a gun. �Wish, that is called an E-596 Clear Radius Naughty Boy. Whatever you do, do not use it in close ranged combat. You will not live if you do. You only have five shots, then use this.� Josie tossed her a small handgun, about the size of a water gun. �This is called a P-824 Mini-Maxi. This can be used at close or, if your aim is very accurate, long distances. It uses solar energy so you need to charge it after every shot for about five seconds. Be careful. It has quite a kick.� Josie tossed her another weapon that was a common one for up close action. A shock gun. �Just pull the trigger at a close ranged enemy and cook �em �till they start to smoke, then release. You don�t want them to catch fire or you�ll burn the wires on the gun. I see Vex and Silver already have weapons, so I�ll let them do what they gotta do. Are we all ready?�
Vex was the first one out the door. He had his wings semi spread as to protect Andrea, Silver and Josie from the gunfire. All around they heard shouts of the Albhed. �Gemm dras. Gemm dras ymm!� They heard these words a lot. �Vex, what are they saying? I don�t get it,� Josie questioned hurriedly. Vex simply replied, �Kill them. Kill them all. They mean business guys. I hope you are all ready for this. If you are wounded, return here. I will be here as close to every hour as I can.� Silver ran quick to the left, as her ring somehow became a sort of oversized sniper-rifle looking thing. The real reason it was called the �Thug Buster�. Josie, followed close by Andrea, ran to the right, as Andrea misfires but still manages to fry about three Albhed militia.
Vex pulled his wings back into himself as he drew his plasma blade. It wasn�t the same, for this time, it had a whitish glow to it instead of the usual green.
�I think it�s about time to use my modes. Phase one, White Foot!�
Vex ran at one of the Albhed, catching him off guard and taking out his left hand. The man screamed and began to yell at Vex. He couldn�t catch all the words; the man was talking to fast.
�Vilg oui, oui Cramel kynpyka! Oui femm tea mega dra nacd uv dras! Oui femm caa!�
With a swift flick of his wrist, he slit the mans throat. �Pity, my sword is on it�s weakest setting, and you still cant even evade or defend against it. Weakling.� Vex smirked as he ran into two more militia who were ready for him this time.
�Yna oui nayto du tea?� one of the men asked. Vex cocked back, �Yna oui?� The one growled at Vex as he swung at him with the rifle that all of them seemed to be carrying. Vex ducked and slid to the left as the other soldier fired, hitting his partner, who managed to hit Vex in the right shoulder with the but of the rifle. The one soldier screamed and fell dead as the other fired once more at Vex. He catches him in the same shoulder as the man who swung at him. Vex punched the man with the hilt of his blade and then stabbed it through his left calf muscle. �Huf oui tea,� Vex teased as he kicked the man across the face, snapping his neck. Another soldier jumps on Vex�s back and begins pounding on the back of his head. �Get the fuck off me you SWIRLY EYED FREAK!� Vex threw the man about ten feet away and then shot out his right wing wrapping it around the mans throat. The feathers began to harden. The man looked like he had no regrets, but still didn�t want to die. Vex felt no pity. The wings, rock hard, shot out spines through the feathers tips and into the mans skull. A shallow gurgling was the only sound he made as he bled and suffocated to death simultaneously. Vex looked around for other signs of people ready to kill him. He released the man only to find another trying to creep up behind him. He flung his wings around and hit the man hard. His wings were still hardened. The man couldn�t move. Vex quickly retracted his wings back into his body and drew his blade slitting the mans throat. As Vex began to sidestep to the left, he ran into someone, knocking them over. He looked to his side blade ready to kill anything that would dare attack him. It took him a quick double take to notice that this person was on his side.
�I�m sorry. Here, take my hand.� As Vex helped the lady to her feet, she smiled, thanking him softly. �No problem. Just be careful from now on, okay?� Vex agreed, as he looked her over. �I am Veanna Willard. You are?� The woman spoke softly almost intimidated by Vex.
�I am Vex Windarian. Pleased to meet you. But now is not the time to talk, we have a situation, and I must be going back to my checkpoint. I hope to se you again Veanna.� As Vex began to hurry of, she shouted back to him, �JUST CALL ME V, OKAY?�
Vex looked back and nodded as he headed for the entrance to the hidden tunnel toward the city of Cramel. He thought it was weird how he had no encounters on his way back. Upon his arrival, he saw that Silver, Wish and Josie were all there. His first thoughts were that they all somehow managed to get hurt.
�Are you all hurt?�
�No,� Silver replied. �We are okay we just wanted to meet you here. Isn�t that what you wanted?�
Vex sighed. �No, only if you were hurt were you supposed to come here. But it is fine. We are winning. The fight is almost done. Their forces are depleting fast. They obviously underestimated us all. They sent their weakest soldiers. Oh and I know I am and hour or so late. Sorry.� He was, in fact, two hours late. �I am going to make another round. I will see if there is anyone who needs help okay?�
Silver, Wish and Josie all nodded. They had decided to stay there and wait for Vex to return. He thought it was a good idea as well.
�I will return as soon as possible. I doubt there will be any real trouble�� He paused as he heard a powerful scream that was almost enough to make you sick, or make your ears bleed.
�What the fuck is that? You three stay here. I�ll go find out.� Vex readied his plasma blade, which was already in hand, and tore off after the sound, with the three girls right behind him. They were curious as well. They wanted to make sure Vex would be okay.
Vex stopped immediately at what he saw. An Albhed soldier, a very high ranking and powerful one at that, was cutting through his foes like he was slicing at pure wind. The man stopped to look at Vex, and then beckoned to him. �Oui. Ikmo paycd! Dna ouin milg?� The man was taunting Vex. Only Vex, the man and the other Albhed knew what he was saying.
�Who are you calling ugly beast? You must really want to die.� Vex was already raging mad at seeing the people of suck a nice town being ripped to shreds by some maniac.
�Ah, good. Oui talk a native tongue. I�ll use ouin words than. You will tea, creature. I am Veltork, one of the highest-ranking Albhed in the land. I will be ouin death bringer.� The man smirked and faced Vex, who was telling people to get back and make room; this was going to be a good fight.
�Well, Veltork. I am Vex. And I am sure that you will be the dead one when I�m through with you.� Vex moved a little switch on his blade. It began to shudder, as the plasma became a tint of brown. Phase two, Brown Foot. (Battle scene, switching to real time now)
Veltork starts off by throwing something at Vex and missing. As Vex doges, he jumps at him and swings one of the two bastard swords he carries. Vex moves quickly to doge both and ends up catching the man on his right hand. Vex sniggers, �Just a love tap. Come on, try again.� Veltork swings the sword again and like the time before, misses. Vex strikes him hard on his left hand this time. Vex simply smiles as his sword solidifies, notifying that the second phase is in full effect. �I warn you now Vel, this sword, when in its final phase, has the power to cut through anything, being in a full plasmatic state. This is phase two, solid still, for the most part. A small part is plasma. Don�t let the tip of my blade touch you, or it is over.� Vex swings hard horizontally, but the Vel, short for Veltork, is able to block. He swings one of his swords around trying to catch Vex on his left shoulder, but is met by Vex quick hand equipped with the Cutter Dagger. Vex simply comments, �You get two, I get two.� Vel snarls out, �VILG OUI!� He swings again with his swords in the shape of an x. A classic cross slash. Vex copies and they meet pushing hard against each other. Vel takes a chance and kicks Vex in the right shin. Vex back up and grabs his leg.
�You cheap sonuvabitch!� Vex looks up only to catch a foot to the face. He falls back, half jumping, he lands on his hands and flips over, landing on his feet. �Got me good there Vel. It won�t happen again. You got lucky. I�m going easy on you. I haven�t even release a quarter of my true energy. Are you ready, �cuz I'm gonna come at you with everything I have now. I�ll try to be as nice as I can now, but you angered me.�
�Shut the vilg ib! Just come at sa and lets get this over with. I'm sick of your bullshit. You talk of some strange power. DON�T TALK ABOUT IT, JUST SHOW IT!� Vel lunges at Vex, slashing at his chest, hoping to slice him wide open. But not more than a foot away from him, Vel is launched away after striking some kind of force field.
�You want me to play tough, Vel? Than I will. My mind is far more powerful that your sword, so lets give it a try and see if you can hit me.� Vex stands calm waiting an attack from Vel. Vel gets up and slices again, this time stopping inches from Vex�s throat. Vex simply smiles as Vel�s Blade is shot back at him. Vel ducks and almost at once, swings with his other sword. His hopes of catching Vex off guard were shattered as his own sword swings around hitting him from behind just as he was about to make contact. Vex smiles again.
�Well now. Your own sword is attacking you. Sad, isn�t it? I can control anything you do. But I, as I said, am being nice. But now I'm done and will finish you. You were a great foe. But you made one too many mistakes. And now you pay.� Vex lunges at Vel kicking him in the gut. Vel doubles over still standing. Vex runs up to him and performs a quick back flip, kicking the man in the face and forcing him to catch a couple feet of air. Vex runs under Vel and punches him in the spine as he drops, forcing the man in the air again. Vex begins to spin and catches the man in the air with a revolving heel kick. Vel is knocked almost ten feet back and hits the ground skidding his head first, then his body, hitting with a painful crunch.
Vel can do nothing except scream out in pain. He pleads to Vex to end him quickly. Vex snickers lightly.
�You know what? I saw one of your militia in this same position before I killed him. I also remember how I did it. I think I will do the same to you.� Vex hops back a little leaving about twenty feet in-between him and the paralyzed Vel. Vex looks around making sure he had a clear runway. He tears off running toward Vel. Vel closes his eyes.
�Tyga sa �u sekdo munt. Ed ec so desa.� Vel is silent. Vex lifts one leg as he gets close enough, and brings it down with so much brute force and momentum, that not only is Vel�s neck broken, it sends his head spinning on his shoulders.
�No lord will accept a fiend such as you. But you wont be forgotten.� Vex looks down at the once proud form of a decent warrior.
�Vex,� Silver began, �What will we do with all the bodies of these soldiers? Where should we put them?�
�We will put them into a big container,� Josie answered, �And then we will cremate them. It is the least we can do. Then we will put them in the earth together. As they came , so they leave, fast and together.� Josie moved toward the body of Vel and picked up something that fell out of his belt.
�Vex, check this out. It looks kinda like the ring that Silver has. Except the gem is black, not red.�
As Silver walked toward Josie to see what she was talking about, the rings, both the one on Silvers finger, and the one from Vel, began to glow, almost as if sensing each other�s energy. At that moment, Veanna ran up to the group. "Hey everyone, guess what," Veanna began. "They're all gone. We got the Albhed. But I fear they will return, in waves I believe."
Josie closes her eyes, sighing in greif and shuddering from a pure adrenaline rush as Vex pockets the ring.. "In that case, what are we going to do?" Wish has a puzzled lok on her face.
Josie sits down, speaking softy, "We cant do anything right now...But this place is well protected. We were caught off guard, adn from now on, I will make sure we have a watch at all times making sure the area is secure." One of the soldiers of cramel slowly paces up to the group. "There are many wounded, many more dead. What is to be done Mayor?"
"I have already informed my group that we will be cremating the bodies of all the dead. We will use an empty silo if there are any. But please, I do not wish to speak on this anymore. I just need to rest." Josie stands up and begins to walk toward the entrance to the hidden city, the group follows, the sound of soldiers working and people crying heard throughout the city walls. Veanna stays behind for a moment, wiping a tear from her eyes, and covering something on her arm. She run to catch up to the group, looking at the bloody masacre behind her, she nearly slams into Vex, but he manages to catch her, as he was already facing her, ready to call to her.
"Im sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Veanna closes her eyes and faced downward. "I'm just not focused, I've never killed anyone before...I feel so wrong."
"Death is a common thing in war V. It may take a while...But you will feel better. Im not saying its right, but think of it this way, Do you think any of them would have hesitated to kill you had they gotten the chance? You can't let them have that power," Vex says with a stern yet caring voice. He holds Veanna close and smiles, speaking softyl in her ear, "Everything will be okay, I promise. You wont be hurt." The group watches as Vex and Veanna speak, then return to them. They all look at V and give her a few encouraging words, and then begin walking back to Josie's room. They enter the room and all find a place to rest, Josie, V and Wish on the couch, and Vex on the recliner. He moves his seat to face them, speaking with a tired tone, "We should all rest, we got a tough day tomorrow. Im sorry to have put you all trough this, but you do know now that following me, you will go through much more of this." Vex jumps as he reaches in the makeshift pocked he made with his wing to hold the ring, only to pull it out.
"Damn, this thing was burning me. What the hell is it? And why does it look like yours Silver?"
"I don't know. But I know that mine is supposed to be unique, one of the..." Silver falls silent.
"One of the what?"
"The ring has a twin...A dark force...But if used right, can be used for the same things as my ring. Try it on. And I pray that it fits you."
Vex looks at the ring, knowing it would be far to small. He tosses it to Silver motioning for her to wear it. "You got the other one. I think it would only be right for you to wear its twin.
Silver places the ring on the same finger of the opposite hand as the other ring. They glow and then settle, together at last.
And with that, the day is done. They all decide that no more words are needed for the rest of the day as Josie heads to her room, Silver and Wish to theirs, and Vex taking up a spot on the couch. They sleep, not well, but it was sleep none the less, and at this point, that was all that mattered to them.