Chapter 7  Preparations

 

Saphir, Justin, and Crystal spend the next few days translating the Journal of Morning Star... hoping to find something they can use against Joseph... a spell they can cast... a weapon they can forge...

 

... but, as it turns out... the journal is written in an unknown demonic language... and is not that easy to translate.

 

Brad and Adam have spent most of the time in the basement... Adam to train, and Brad to play with his hammer and nails.

 

Arrowny has pretty much spent all of his time locked in the study, not even going to his own room in the basement... only coming out for meals and the likes. Crystal and Brad refuse to speak about the failed rescue attempt... which leaves Saphir and Justin pretty much in the dark.

 

It takes a few days... but eventually... Saphir has that ‘eureka’ moment. He slams the journal on the table, runs to grab his coat, and is out the door before anybody can ask what’s up.

 

A few hours later, he returns with an armful of spell components from the closest magic shop.

 

A few minutes after that, the entire group... Saphir, Crystal, Justin, Adam, Brad, Interceptor, and Arrowny are standing around the table in the library... anxiously waiting for Saphir to tell them what they’re doing here.

 

“Okay... Crystal and I managed to translate the journal... and, it turns out that Morning Star was worried about Joseph turning his back on his call to chaos... so he came up with a few spells that would help to stop him.

 

The first spell involves taking the ‘good half’ of Joseph’s life force from Adam’s body, and putting it back in Joseph’s. The spell needs a few components to work, which I got, but... it also needs one of the two of them to... allow... it to happen. If you,” He turns to Adam, “agree to the spell, we can put everything right. Also, Joseph needs to be weakened, and distracted.”

 

Brad laughs...

 

“Right... because that’s so easy to do. We can’t even hurt him... how are we going to weaken him?”

 

“Well,” Adam shrugs his shoulders, “I’ve done it before.”

 

Saphir shakes his head.

 

“No... you have to stay here with Crystal and perform the spell. You have to be here in order to give your permission. I figure... that the four of us,” He points to himself, Arrowny, Justin, and Brad, “can do the actual distracting and weakening.”

 

“And, again I say, WE CAN’T HURT HIM!” Brad glances around to everybody, making sure that he’s not the only one who gets this fact.

 

“Actually,” Saphir points to another passage in the book, “We can. Joseph’s powers are mystical in nature... and Morning Star wrote a spell that takes advantage of that face. If we cast this one on ourselves, when we hit him, or attack him, or do harm to him in any way, he should feel it as though he was a normal person with no powers.

 

Basically, he’ll feel pain when we hit him.”

 

“Okay,” Arrowny speaks for the first time since coming back from the Sacrifice, “so, where do we attack him?”

 

Justin throws a hand drawn blueprint of a very tall skyscraper on the table.

 

“In his home... at the Apocolypse Incorporate head office building.”

 

“Right... anybody else have a plan that doesn’t involve us going directly into the fortress like building that serves as the bad guy’s headquarters? I mean... who knows what kind of security he has in that place?”

 

“Actually, I do. I built the security system.” Justin just shrugs as he says this, and almost laughs to himself at the looks the others give him. “I can get us in, and up to Joseph’s office on the top floor... and the most we’d have to go through would be about ten guards on the first floor. It’ll be easy.”

 

Arrowny looks at Saphir...

 

“So, you can do this spell?”

 

“Well... yes... sort of. I can’t actually read the language that it was written in... but, I did manage to translate it into a sort of ‘all purpose’ demonic language that my family has been using for rituals since... well, since a really long time ago. Normally, you’d have to speak whatever language the spell is in... but this should work fine.”

 

“You can’t give me better than a ‘should’?” Arrowny looks worried, and with good reason. If they go in to fight Joseph thinking that they can hurt him, and then have it turn out that they can’t... it’ll all end very, very badly.

 

“It’ll work...” Saphir doesn’t look convinced... but he seems confident.

 

“Okay then... what do you need for the spell?”

 

“Well, I’ve got it all right here. You just throw some of this,” He throws some shredded roots into a bowl, “in with some of this”, and adds a few magical herbs, “and a little of this,” he pours in some extract of something or other, “and, finally, light it on fire.”

 

He lights a match, and throws it into the bowl. Strange green smoke floats into the air... and Saphir begins the spell.

 

“EAY luaemm ee-baeoo-ha de-raah baeoo-feahn-ku oo-fu TEaen-ge-haah-ku-ku

 

DEoo kuknae-ha-de ee-ku ku-denah-ha-kuk-de-ra ae-kukaeeay-ha-ku-de ohooeen oo-fe-ha kuoom-teeayahn

 

EAY luaemm ee-baeoo-ha de-raah baeoo-feahn-ku oo-fu LU-raaeoo-ku

 

DEoo aemmoo-fe ee-ku deoo peneay-ha-kuk teoo-fe-ha de-raah peah-denaeohahn

 

EAY luaemm ee-baeoo-ha de-raah baeoo-feahn-ku oo-fu SEEoon-haeay-ha-kuk KU-deaen

 

DEoo seeae-geah raeay-see fuahahm baeaeeay-ha ae-ku raah ku-raooeem-te

 

EAY ae-ku-ge TEaen-ge-haah-ku-ku

 

EAY ae-ku-ge LU-raaeoo-ku

 

EAY ae-ku-ge SEEoon-haeay-ha-kuk KU-deaen

 

DEoo kukeay-jaeah ee-ku de-raeay-ku baeoo-feahn”

 

A flash of green flame emits from the bowl... which stops smoking.

 

They each look around... wondering if the spell had the desired effect.

 

“I thought I’d feel different.” Arrowny clenches his fist repeatedly...

 

Saphir shrugs...

 

“I think it worked... but we won’t know until we actually hit Joseph.” He sits down at the table, and starts copying some text from the journal onto another piece of paper. It takes him about ten minutes... everybody just stands around, waiting for him to finish.

 

When he’s done, he hands the paper to Crystal.

 

“Here’s the spell. You’ll need to start it right after we leave, and keep chanting until... something happens... I guess.”

 

“SO,” Brad claps his hands together, “When are we going?”

 

Everybody turns to Arrowny...

 

“Now... we go now.”

 

Justin, Saphir, and Brad all head toward the basement to get ready... Adam follows, to give them any last second hints on dealing with Joseph that he can think of.

 

Crystal walks over to Ryan...

 

“I know what happened at the Sacrifice.”

 

“Brad tell you?”

 

“No,” she smiles slightly, “I’m a Seer... remember. I didn’t have to be told.”

 

“Right...”

 

They stand in silence for a few minutes... Crystal looking down at her feet, and Arrowny glancing around at the walls.

 

“You know,” Arrowny keeps looking at the walls as he speaks, “if your spell doesn’t work... we’re gonna lose. We might be able to hurt Joseph... but even with that, he’s going to kick us all over the place... and he’ll hardly break a sweat.”

 

Crystal takes a deep breath...

 

“I know... I’ll try not to let you down.”

 

“No... I didn’t mean that. All I meant was... that today, you’re the one that matters... the one that’s important. You’re the one that’s gonna save the world.”

 

He turns and heads for the basement door. Just as he takes the first step down, he calls out to her...

 

“Today... you’re the hero.”

 

Ryan walks slowly down the basement stairs... and as soon as he hits the floor... his eyes widen in shock...

 

“What the hell!?”

 

The old weapons cabinet is gone... and a brand new, quite nice one is in its place. Not only that, but there are several smaller shelves and display cases along the wall, and fixtures in the very center to hold the Glaive of Ceruleus, the axe, and Sky Render...

 

“What happened to my weapons?”

 

Brad steps forward, a big smile on his face.

 

“You haven’t been down here in a few days. This is what I’ve been building... but, with the research inclined folks upstairs, I’ve had nothing to do but build... so I built.”

 

Ryan just stares at him... shocked...

 

“You... built these?”

 

“Yup.”

 

“Cool!”

 

He steps forward, and gets loaded up for war.

 

He packs his inside jacket pockets with throwing knives, and slips a thin dagger into his left jacket sleeve so that the handle is toward his hand. On the other forearm, he straps a thin metal bar which stretches from his wrist to his elbow. Finally, he grabs Sky Render from the special spot in the middle of the wall.

 

He turns to the group, watching Saphir put the rest of his Cards in his vest. Brad seems ready, polishing the edge of his axe... and Justin is standing back, with his quarter staff in plain sight.

 

Everybody gathers in the middle of the training room...

 

Saphir pulls out the Fenrir card.

 

“Ready guys?” When they all nod, he touches the Card to the blade of the Glaive. “FUah-haneayn FEaen-bae”

 

A bright flash of light later, and all four of them are standing on a street in L.A., staring up at a very, very tall building, with the words ‘Apocolypse Incorporate’ in big letters across the front door.

 

As Brad tilts his head back to get a look at the hundred plus storey building, he lets out a long, low whistle.

 

“Shpdoinkel!”

 

Arrowny just shakes his head, and turns to Justin.

 

“So... a hundred floors of full security... a private army of mercenaries...”

 

“And autoguns...” Justin adds in, “don’t forget about the autoguns.”

 

“Right... autoguns. So... how do we get past all that?”

 

Justin shrugs...

 

“We don’t.”

 

He pulls a small television remote looking thing from his pocket. He presses a few buttons, and then puts it back in his jacket.

 

“Right now, the building is locked off... nobody can get from any floor to another. The automatic defences are shut off, and the only elevator working in the entire building is the private direct one that goes right from the ground floor to Joseph’s office on the top floor. We only need to go through about ten guys, and we’re there.”

 

Arrowny, Brad, and Saphir just stare, wide eyed at him.

 

“How...” Saphir just sputters... “How... did you do that?”

 

Justin responds in a perfectly calm voice...

 

“I... am a technomage.”

 

Accepting the explanation, they all turn back to the front door, readying their weapons.

 

Brad takes a deep breath...

 

“Well guys... this is it. We’re more than likely going to die in there... and we should take the time to realize that if we do, our deaths will be for absolutely nothing... useless deaths. We can live these last few moments knowing that even if, by some random chaotic event, we do come through this alive, we are not the heroes today... we’re just the decoy. Nobody will ever know what we’re doing... nobody will ever give us credit... nobody will ever congratulate us... which doesn’t matter... because, again... we’re gonna die.”

 

That being said, he walks forward, towards the front doors to the office building, leaving the other three standing in stunned silence...

 

“Um...” Justin glances over at Arrowny, “what was all that?”

 

“Oh... I guess... he’s just not good at the pep talks.”

 

They start forward... and Saphir mumbles under his breath...

 

“We few... we happy few.”

 

It takes only a few minutes to run through the unsuspecting security personal on the ground floor...

 

The luckier of them runs into Justin, who renders them unconscious with quick electric shocks, or Saphir, who uses force waves to knock them out against a very well built, sturdy wall.

 

The unlucky ones... either end up as a fine red mist on the end of Brad’s axe, or have random body parts cut open and off by Ryan’s sword.

 

They meet up at the express elevator, and when the doors open, they step inside.

 

*        *        *        *        *        *

 

“So, you know how to do this spell, right?”

 

Adam glances at Crystal from across the library table...

 

“Well... sure. Saphir gave me the translation of the procedure... and I’ve got the chant written out here phonetically. As long as you give your permission, it should be fine.”

 

“And... how exactly do I give permission?”

 

“In theory... you’ll have to make yourself bleed, and let a drop of blood fall on the runes,” she indicates to a few demonic symbols drawn on the table top with chalk. “If you do this at the right time, and really want the spell to happen, it should work.”

 

“Good... ‘cause I don’t want it to go wrong, and end up blowing my undead arm off my body or something.”

 

“Well... that shouldn’t happen...” she gives him an apologetic look... “In theory.”

 

He rolls his eyes...

 

“Right... theory.”

 

*        *        *        *        *        *

 

The elevator doors open, and the four ‘good guys’ step out into a long, wide hallway leading to oversized double doors. Standing in front of the doors... is Kenneth. He shakes his head as he sees them step out.

 

“I had hoped that you did not betray us, Justin... I now see my hope was misplaced.” He turns to face Brad. “And you... are a very insolent one... and rude, as I recall. Well... you are here to see Joseph...” Kenneth steps aside, allowing them to get to the doors. “You are expected.”

 

As Saphir, Justin, and Ryan move forward, Brad stays put.

 

“Go ahead... I’ll take care of this guy.”

 

Arrowny nods, understanding, and pushes the large doors open, giving access to the inner office. He, Saphir, and Justin step through, and let the doors close with a loud bang.

 

Kenneth slowly shakes his head...

 

“Why fight me? You cannot win.”

 

Brad smiles as he readies his axe...

 

“I figure that if we just walk past you, eventually, you’re gonna come bursting through that door to try and pincer us. I’ve seen too many movies to be caught by that kind of move. This way, they’ve got a chance of taking out Joseph while you’re too busy being distracted to give the boss man too much help.”

 

Kenneth reaches up, and loosens his tie. He pulls it over his head, takes his suit jacket off, and unbuttons the top two buttons on his dress shirt.

 

“Last time I saw you... you made a very rude gesture. Now... I look forward to ripping your tongue from your mouth.”

 

Brad laughs...

 

“You’ll never believe just how many people say they’re going to do that to me... apparently, I talk too much.”

 

*        *        *        *        *        *

 

The door shuts behind them, and they find themselves suddenly locked within Joseph’s large office... standing face to face with the man himself.

 

Joseph is standing in front of his desk, near the full wall sized window at the back of the room. His arms are folded across his chest, and he’s shaking his head...

 

“Justin... I truly did not think that you would betray me.”

 

“You tricked me,” Justin’s tone is even, “you told me that you were using my skills to help protect the human race... you lied.”

 

“Of course I lied! I am the bad guy after all. But still... if you think I’m too evil to follow, why are you here with that one?” Joseph points to Arrowny. “At least I never killed a little girl... well... I was going to... but he took away my chance.”

 

Saphir and Justin, lowering their weapons only slightly, glance over at Ryan...

 

“You... said you didn’t get there in time.” Saphir keeps his weapon trained on Joseph as he asks...

 

“I was there to stop Joseph... not save the girl. I thought... I thought it would have worked out better. I didn’t know...”

 

“Oh... this is just... neat.” Joseph smiles widely as he steps toward Arrowny. “You didn’t even tell them... you lied to your friends. You were right... you really aren’t the hero.”

 

Arrowny clenches his fist at his side... Joseph looks at him and laughs...

 

“You want to hit me... go a head. You’re not strong enough to do anything.”

 

Ryan raises his right hand, and slams his forearm, with the metal bar strapped to it, into Joseph’s face. The big man’s head snaps to the side, and his eyes widen in shock as he wipes a trickle of blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

 

“That... hurt...”

 

Arrowny shrugs...

 

“Morning Star was on to you.”

 

“Oh... it’s just magic.” Joseph stands... and backhands Arrowny in the head, sending him flying across the room to slam hard into the wall.

 

With a sadistic smile on his face, Joseph turns to Saphir and Justin.

 

“I can deal with magic!”