Chapter 6 Necessary Information
The
explosion rocks the area around the
The
scientists in the community figure that it was some sort of energy release from
the old fault line that runs under the area...
The
religious believe that it was a sign from god...
The conspiracy
nuts guess that it must have been secret government tests for some new kind of
weapon...
But it
is only those whom have the ability to see beyond magical barriers that know
the truth...
The
once proud castle that served as the
When he
wakes to the news, Arrowny gets dressed as quickly as he could. He doesn’t even
wait for the rest of the Warriors before he takes off running in the direction
of the Academy. Brad, always assuming the worst, takes a few minutes to grab
Sky Render, the Glaive, and his axe from the weapons rack downstairs.
“Idiots...”
Adam
declines to join the group, preferring to stay with Interceptor at the office.
It
takes Brad, Saphir, and Crystal about twenty minutes to finally reach the stone
walkway that leads to where the castle should be... and they find Ryan,
kneeling on the shore, staring out to the empty Bay.
“I
spent... seven years living there. I got to know the staff pretty well... and
the students... they were friends... it was as much of a home as I’ve ever
had.”
Brad
stands next to Saphir, still holding on to the armload of weapons. He leans in,
and whispers...
“Hey...
did you know there used to be a big castle out there?”
Saphir
gives him an ‘insensitive jerk’ look...
“Everybody
I’ve ever cared about... ever gotten close to... has blown up! My family... and
now all of them!”
“The difference
is,” They all turn to face the source of the voice... and are quite shocked to
see Castor and Pollex standing behind them, guns aimed at their hearts, “the
death of your family was not OUR doing!”
Ryan
and Crystal stand, as Brad passes out the weapons that he brought, mumbling on
about ‘morons not expecting danger’.
Ryan
takes hold of Sky Render, and points it at the attackers.
“You
did this?”
“We
planted one of our company’s smaller bombs in the castle... wasn’t too hard...
after we killed the guy at the front desk.”
The
Warriors prepare to attack, but they hesitate as Justin walks between the
assassins.
“What
are YOU doing here, Justin?!” Castor casts a quick glance at the technomage,
but keeps his gun trained on Arrowny’s group.
“I have
a message from Joseph. He wants these people taken alive.”
“WHAT!”
Castor and Pollex lower their guns, and stare, open mouthed, at Justin. “You
can’t be serious!”
“Actually,
I’m not.” Justin pulls a short metal bar from within his jacket, and with a flick
of his wrist, it extends to become a quarter staff. “I just wanted you to drop
your weapons.”
Justin
spins, and knocks the guns from both of their hands with his staff. Another
spin, and they are both doubled over from electrically charged impacts to their
stomachs. Finally, he strikes each of them in turn with the tip of his quarter
staff in the temple... knocking them to the ground.
Brad
lets out a long, low whistle.
“Wow...
that was cool. Can you teach me that move?”
Justin
turns to the Warriors, all of whom are preparing to fight him.
“Joseph
is planning a sacrifice... we need to stop him.”
Saphir
steps forward, raising his glaive above his head.
“And,
we should trust you why? Because of your, oh so fine coat?”
“No,”
Justin steps toward them, “because Joseph has been using me to further his own
goals. Plus, I just killed his top two assassins with electric shocks to the
brain... so I think I’m in the plus column now.”
“But,
seriously... can you teach me that?”
“Brad!
Back off!” Arrowny turns to Justin. “I’ll kill you if you’re lying.”
“I
know.”
“Um...
guys!”
Sure
enough, when the Warriors look over, Castor and Pollex are slowly getting to
their feet. They both brush the sand off of their suits... and turn to the
group.
“I
thought you killed them!” Arrowny stands glances angrily at Justin... who just
looks quite confused.
“I
did... or... I should have. This must be part of the upgrades.”
“That’s
right!” Pollex turns his head to the side, cracking a kink out of his neck.
“And, that’s not all we’ve got!”
The
Warriors stand in awe as Castor and Pollex... change.
They
each grow about three feet taller... which tears their finely tailored suits to
hell... and their skin starts to turn a sickly light blue colour... and then
the spikes sprout from their shoulders, about two feet tall on either side of
their heads, and elbows, reaching almost all the way down to their wrists...
and knuckles, and face... and all over their skin.
The
first thought that goes through Arrowny’s mind is that they look like blue
giant walking cacti.
Brad’s
first thought, which he voices out loud, of course...
“Whoa
uglier!”
Castor
and Pollex start toward the group... Saphir pushes Arrowny toward them.
“You
take the ugly one!”
Arrowny
looks back at him, shocked.
“Hell
no! You take the ugly one!”
Justin
steps forward.
“I’ll
take the ugly one!”
“Um...”
Brad just shrugs his shoulders, “which one’s the ugly one?”
“Alright!”
Arrowny stops backtracking, “I’ve got a plan!
Arrowny
and Brad lunge at the one on the left, while Saphir and Justin concentrate on
the other... none of them knew whether they were fighting Castor, or Pollex...
the identities of the brothers had become rather lost during the
transformations.
Saphir
lets lose with a force wave, which only manages to slow the monster down, and
Justin attempts to contain it in a force field, but it doesn’t even hold it for
a second. It moves much faster than it should, and manages to knock the two of
them over with a powerful swing. They scramble to get to their feet before they
get crushed under its foot.
Arrowny
and Brad try a more direct approach... both slashing away at the tough, spiky
skin with their respective weapons. Even Sky Render bounces harmlessly off its
skin, but Brad’s axe does a little more damage, and the monster lets out a growl
of pain as a small drop of blood seeps through an equally small cut on its arm.
But it knocks Brad away with a swing of its arm.
Justin
and Saphir, each with longer ranged weapons, manage to keep out of their
opponents reach, but they have very little luck inflicting damage. Saphir
realizes that it is too dangerous to attempt to use one of his Cards... in the
time it would take to summon the magic, he’d be dead. And, although the glaive
is very sharp, it doesn’t seem to be able to cut through its skin.
Brad
slams the broad side of his axe into its face, forcing it to stumble back a
small step, but it catches him in the stomach with its fist, knocking him to
his hands and knees. Arrowny runs forward, and jumps off the crouching Brad’s
back, spins in the air, and kicks out at the assassin’s head, catching it in
the side of the head.
The
assassin lunges at Saphir, but stops short, and throws a hand up to his
throat... and starts gasping for breath... Saphir looks confused... but then
notices Justin standing back, holding his hand out. The technomage uses his
powers to create thousands of microscopic force fields within the skin on its
neck... destroying the intercellular bonds... weakening the skin...
“Hit it
in the neck!”
Saphir spins
around, and plunges the blade of the glaive through the monster’s neck... its
arms fall to the side... it stops moving.
Brad
takes a wide swing at the other one, which ducks out of the way. The axe only
comes into contact with one of its shoulder spikes... and the monster gives
another howl of pain as the spike basically gets torn off of its body.
Arrowny
rolls forward, grabbing the spike. He slams the pointy end forward and up,
catching the monster in the stomach, and pushing it up through its chest.
It
falls to the ground... dead.
The
Warriors and Justin gather around the fallen assassins, wiping sand from their
clothes... sweat from their brows...
Arrowny
turns to Justin.
“You’re
gonna tell us everything... once we get back to the office.”
“Okay...
one more time, from the top.”
Arrowny,
Saphir, Crystal, and Adam are standing around the chair that they pretty much
pushed Justin into the minute they returned to the Dragoon Warriors office. Brad
is sort of wandering around the room... not really paying attention... figuring
he’ll be filled in on the important details sooner or later.
The
technomage gives a quick glace over to the corner table where he was forced to
lay his weapon before he was allowed into the study... Ryan follows his gaze,
and shakes his head.
“I
wouldn’t even think about it.”
“I
wasn’t. I just want everybody to know that they should not try to handle it. It
will shock anybody who is not me.”
“Fine...
we get it. Now... about this ‘sacrifice’ thingy...”
Justin
nods slowly.
“The
Sacrifice of Erythnul... I don’t know what it’s about... just that it’s
happening soon, and they already have their victim... a young girl. That’s all
I was able to find out without raising too many questions around the office.”
Arrowny
rubs his eyes... this day is just not getting any easier. He looks over at
Saphir...
“I need
to know about this thing.”
“Well...
I can probably finish researching it by tomorrow morning.”
Ryan
shakes his head...
“That
might be too late. If Joseph is sacrificing this girl to a demon, or a god, he
might be getting something in return... power, strength... long life.” He turns
back to Justin. “Do you know where it’s happening?”
“I can
give you a street address... it’s an old church in L.A..”
Arrowny
once again turns to Saphir...
“Can we
trust him?”
“Well...
the address he gave us as Joseph’s headquarters did match the one we got when
we did the chrono-variant locater spell... but that just means it’s a place he
likes to hang out at a lot.”
“I
think we should trust him. I don’t see any evil coming from him... just
confusion...”
BBBBBBBBBZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTT! “AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”
Justin
looks around, confused by the sound... until he sees Brad lying on the floor in
the corner... with his electrified quarter staff on the floor beside him. The
technomage points over at him...
“He...
tried to pick up my weapon... wasn’t he listening?”
Arrowny
shakes his head.
“No...
he wasn’t.”
“Aren’t
you going to help him?”
“Not
really. I figured he’d try... sooner or later.”
Saphir
nods his head...
“It was
just a matter of time, really.”
“Bound
to happen...”
Justin
glances over at Adam, who just sits, absent-mindedly scratching Interceptor’s
head...
“Shake
your head, boy... your eyes are stuck.” The tall scary dead man doesn’t even
try to hide the distain in his voice...
“Sorry...
it’s just... it’s been a standing order for all employees of Apocolypse
Incorporate to try and bring you in if we ever get close enough. Now... here I
am... sitting right next to you... and I’m trying to help you out.”
“Life’s
funny sometimes...”
Arrowny
claps his hands to get everybody’s attention.
“Okay,
here’s the plan. Justin, you give Adam the address of the church. You’ll take
Brad and I there through the fog, and we’ll do some reconnaissance... try and
figure out just what Joseph’s up to. Best if you drop us a few blocks away...
in case he’s got something that can track your powers.
Saphir
and Crystal will stay here... baby-sit the bad guy,” Justin rolls his eyes at
this remark, but keeps any complaint he has to himself, “and researching. I
want to know what kind of powers Joseph plans on getting from this deal.”
He
starts to walk toward the basement door... but turns back toward the group...
“Get
Brad up... and tell him to get ready.”
He
heads down the stairs to get his weapons...
“Do you
really think we can trust him?” He doesn’t even turn around to ask her the
question.
“That’s
not why I’m down here right now. I need to tell you...” He turns to look at
her, “I see no good in the near future if you go on this mission. You should
wait... at least until Saphir knows what it’s all about.”
“Is
this another ‘vision’ thing?”
“Well...
sort of. Usually, when people make choices... one of the possible futures that
I can see, which could come from the choice, is perfect.” She stands close to
him... and he shifts uncomfortably. “I do not see a perfect possible future
coming from your choice to go to
He
places a hand on her shoulder...
“Everything
will be fine... trust me.”
*
*
*
*
* *
The sun
is just on its way down now... Brad and Arrowny have been waiting in an
alleyway on the other side of the street from the old church. They’ve been
there for hours...
“It
doesn’t seem like anybody’s coming by tonight.” Arrowny rubs his eyes... trying
to work the tired pain out of his head.
Brad is
sitting down on the ground, polishing his axe...
“Well...
we can wait for a few more hours.” He glances out at the church... and watches
as a stretch limousine pulls up to the curb. “Or... we could just watch what
they’re doing right now!”
Arrowny
looks up just as Joseph and Kenneth step out of the limo... Kenneth is pulling
a small girl... hands tied behind her back... duct tape across her mouth.
Behind them, two guards, armed with guns, step out, and take their places on
either side of the entrance to the church.
They
get ready... weapons out... but before they rush in, Arrowny turns to Brad.
“We
have to get one thing straight right now, before we go in there... we’re here
to stop Joseph... right? That’s the main priority. That’s why I brought you
here... Saphir, and Crystal... they would be here to save the girl... that’s
not what we’re here for.”
Brad
nods... understanding what Ryan means...
“I get
it man... I won’t screw up. We’re trying to save the world... right? Sacrifices
have to be made.”
Arrowny
nods... and they head out.
Under
the cover of darkness, and with the added bonus of having a big freakin’
stretch limo to hide behind, they’re able to keep out of sight of the guards.
Ryan takes the one on the left... slamming Sky Render through his side...
hitting both lungs so that he can’t scream out. Brad brings his axe down on the
other... making a large mess... but very little sound...
They
step inside the church...
The
entire building is lit with candles... short candles on nearly every surface,
outlining a wide path to the back wall, where a stone altar, marked with
archaic ruins lays against the wall.
On the
path, halfway between the door and the altar, stands Joseph, looking at Brad
and Arrowny... with a smile on his face. Kenneth stands on the other side of
the path... holding the little girl by the arm.
She’s
crying...
“Well...
I’m not sure how you found out about this ritual,” Joseph shrugs, “but what
exactly are you planning on doing?”
The
Warriors remain silent... Arrowny stares down Joseph... Joseph stares down
Arrowny... Kenneth looks menacingly at Brad... Brad sticks his tongue out at
Kenneth...
Joseph
shakes his head...
“Are
you here to help her?” He nods toward the girl, and reaches over, pulling the
tape from her mouth.
“PLEASE
HELP ME!” Ryan closes his eyes as she begs for aid... “They’re gonna kill me!
Please... please...”
Joseph
laughs... dust falls from the rafters at the force of his bellowing voice.
“Listen
to her! ‘Help me... help me’... but you can’t. You won’t be able to play heroes
in this situation.”
Arrowny
slowly shakes his head...
“We
never claimed to be the heroes.”
Joseph
looks quite surprised...
“Oh...
so... you’re not here to save the girl then? You see... typically, when a bad
guy takes a hostage... the good guy tries to save them.”
“I’m
not the good guy either... I’m not here to save her... I’m here to stop you. I
won’t let you get whatever powers you’re planning on getting from whatever
demon you’re worshiping.”
“Demon?”
Joseph looks perplexedly at Kenneth... who looks equally confused... but only
for a few seconds... after which he just smiles. “Well... if you are here to
stop me... then by all means, try! We all know that you won’t do anything while
I have the girl. She is my hostage... my guarantee.”
Arrowny
takes a deep breath...
“First
rule of hostage negotiation...” He pulls a throwing knife from his jacket
pocket... “Kill the hostage.”
He
throws the knife...
... the
girl lets out a short scream as the blade hits her in the center of the chest.
She falls to the ground...
Kenneth
takes a step toward the Warriors... his hands clenched... but Joseph stops him.
“We’re
done here... they have...” He smiles widely, “... succeeded in stopping me.”
They
turn, and head off toward a back door...
...
Ryan drops to his knees... and throws up.
“It was
the only way.” Brad shrugs his shoulders. “We needed to stop Joseph.”
“I
know...” Arrowny wipes his mouth with the back of his hand... “It’s just...
I’ve never... I mean, yeah, I’ve killed... just not somebody... who didn’t
deserve it.”
“Well,
dude... you can feel better knowing that we stopped Joseph from getting
whatever powers he was gonna get. That’s a good thing, right?”
Arrowny
nods... and slowly gets to his feet. They turn, and leave the church... heading
back to meet Adam.
*
*
*
*
* *
“It’s a
useless sacrifice!”
Those
are the first words Saphir says when they walk through the door. He’s standing
there, pointing to a paragraph in some book. A questioning look from Ryan lets
the Glaive bearer know he needs to explain in greater detail.
“The Sacrifice
of Erythnul... it’s useless. It won’t grant him any powers... he gets nothing.
It’s just a ritual killing for the sake of having a ritual killing! I think
he’s just planning on using it to mark an event of some importance.”
Arrowny
closes his eyes...
“You’re
telling me... what?”
“We can
save the girl without having to worry about Joseph becoming really powerful.
It’ll be easy. We just Warp in... and Warp out with her.” Saphir sets the book
on the hallway table. “So... what did you two find out?”
Arrowny
starts to walk... or stumble rather... toward the basement door. Brad turns to
Saphir...
“It’s
too late. The sacrifice was tonight. It’s over.”
“You
couldn’t save her... he killed her.”
“Joseph
killed her?” Saphir glances at Brad, waiting for an answer...
But
Brad is just staring at
Saphir
pokes Brad in the arm... breaking him out of his stupor...
“Um...
yeah... Joseph. Joseph killed her.”