Chapter 4 Taken

It's been three weeks since Arrowny went off to hone his fighting skills. Things have been pretty quiet around the Dragoon Warriors house... Saphir and Justin are doing the 'research' thing, and Brad has been trying to get in touch with Sharod, but with no luck.

Justin and Saphir are taking a small break to check on a couple of different libraries, to see if they have any more relivant texts about the thing they're looking up. They found a couple of local places that might have something.

Justin is at the public library. Apparently, according to a source, they have a massive collection of mystical texts in the third basement.

When he arrives he finds that, although the collection is quite impressive, it doesn't even compare to the books already in the Warriors own library.

Somewhat dissapointed, Justin leaves the public library.

As he turns the corner to take a shortcut through an alley, something flies by his head, and lands on the ground just next to his foot. He looks down to see a small dart...about two centimeters long, and obviously covered in a green substance of some sort.

Justin draws his quarterstaff.

The Knights of Human Purity decend upon him... litterally... they drop in from the roofs of the buildings on either side of the alley.

Six members of the Knights in all, each wearing armour, each carrying a broadsword... each lookign at him as though he were the most evil, vile, and disgusting thing on the Earth.

Justin shakes his head at them...

“So... honour and one on one fighting's probably not big with you guys... right?”

They rush at him. Their stratagy is limited by the lack of space in the alley, and Justin is able to take them on in groups of two or three, rather than all six at once.

One attacks from the front. Justin diverts his swing, causing the sword to strike the brick wall of one of the buildings, and at the same time, kicks out to catch the one behind him in the stomach.

With that one doubled over, Justin turns, and rolls across his back, landing feet first in front of another attacker. He strikes out with his quarterstaff, connecting with the side of the Knights head. An electric shock zaps through his body, and he falls to the ground, unconsious. Justin swings wide vertically, and brings the length of his weapon across the back of the still doubled over Knight. The force is enough to knock him to the ground, and his head hits the pavement hard. He too, is out of the fight.

Something hits Justin hard in the back of the head. He stumbles foward, and narrowly misses being cut by another attacker. He snaps his arm up, bringing the flat of his hand against the closest Knight's forearm... bone snaps, and the sword falls from the broken arm. A raised knee and the crippled Knight falls back, effectivly blocking the other two that are behind him from getting at Justin for the moment.

Shaking the pain from his head, the technomage turns to face the two imediate threats. They rush at him. Justin plants one end of his quarterstaff on the ground, and uses it to push himself up. His feet connect against the wall of one of the buildings, and he again pushes off, using the wall like a springboard, spinning his entire body in the air with only his quarterstaff supporting him. His left foot comes around, and catches the closest Knight around the head. Using this as another point of support, Justin twists around, and brings his right foot heel first into the face of the next Knight. They both fall to the ground, knocked out cold. Justin lands on his feet... his eyes wide at that little stunt.

A quick overhead swing, and his quarterstaff cracks against the skull of the broken armed Knight, adding him to the list of unconsious Knights... only two remain... and in a very anticlimatic end to the fight... they just run away...

Justin hears them talking to eachother in hushed voices as they run...

“We'll get the other one!”

Justin lets out a long, low whistle...

“That can't be good...”

He kneels down to revive one of the knocked out Knights... to get some information from him...

“I... won't help you!”

Justin sighs...

“Okay... you know who we are, right?”

“Yes...”

“Then, here's the deal. You either talk to me, or I take you back to our house, and leave you alone with that Brad guy for a few hours...”

... the Knight tells Justin everything...

* * * * * *

Saphir is extatic.

He managed to find three texts that deal with something which is supposed to rise up about now. It's like Christmas to him... only without having to do all that stupid 'present buying' for other people.

He's heading home, humming his 'I got a new book' song... when he feels something sharp against his neck... like a bug bite.

He brings his hand up, and pulls whatever it is out of his skin to take a look... it's a small dart, about two centimeters long... covered in some kind of green substance...

... and the world goes fuzzy... like Perfect Dark after one too many tranquilizers... everytime he moves, it takes a few seconds for the world to catch up...

... he thinks he might have been druged!

Seventy-nine Knights of Human Purity jump out from behind buildings... or... is it... six... no! It's six and a half... yeah... six and a half... and they're heading right for him.

He throws the heavy books at the first fifteen of them... they get hit in the head, falling over. Four and three quarters of one grab him from behind, but he manages to flip them over to the ground.

He's not really a great fighter... but he's holding his own against all twenty-two of the Knights...

... and that talking raddish plant they have with them.

On his left, Big Bird and Kermit are trying to sneak up on him, but he's too fast for them... he trips on his own feet, and falls before they can grab him.

The raddish plant starts toward him, but is held back by the biggest, meanest looking Knight of all.

“The Saphire Warrior is mine!”

Saphir tries to run away... but it's so hard to do when the world is upside down... and he doesn't manage to move before a really big, really hard fist connects with his jaw...

Before he blacks out, he hears the raddish plant talking...

“Comander Samuel has captured the Warrior!”

* * * * * *

... Should've died with her...

... Should've saved her...

... Should've done something!...

The Master of Arms is trying to break Arrowny's concentration. During their first training session, this mind trick had blown Arrowny's world.

An old magic that the Master posseses gives him the power to bring a person's deepest thoughts to the surface... make them deal with the feelings and emotions that those thoughts bring out right at that moment, without allowing them to be pushed back.

In Ryan's case... his thoughts are of the final fight against Jove... with obvious reasons.

The idea is that if a person can fight while dealing with their innermost private thoughts at the forefront of their consionness, they can fight with any distractions at all.

Over the three weeks of training, this is a lesson that Arrowny has learned well.

He slashes through the practice dummies, using all the fighting knowledge he had from before he 'went away', which, as the Master had said, returned after only a few lessons.

The new stuff that the Master had taught... the agility and balence stuff... that took a little longer for Arrowny to catch on to.

But, once he got it, the trick was to mix it in with his usual stuff.

Like now... he slashes the head off of the nearest dummy, and twists into a single hand spring (using the hand holding Sky Render) toward the second. In mid spring, he graps three throwing daggers with his other hand, and sends one at each of the three dummies on the other side of the room... they each get hit in the head, and fall over.

Ryan finishes the spring, and brings his sword down through the last dummy, cutting it in two.

The Master nods...

“Very good. That's all for the lessons. There's just one final test that you have to perform. You must go to a sacred spot in the woods... and there, you will face your greatest enemy. You must defeat him...”

Arrowny holds up his hand...

“Is this one of those things where I'm going to fight my 'greatest enemy', but it turns out to just be a physical representation of my own inner darkness... fear and hate and anger and the dark side and all that?”

The Master sputters a little bit...

“Um... er... sorta... yeah... yes... it's something like that.”

“With all due respect Master... that got old about three re-releases ago.”

“Um...er... okay then...”

The door of the cabin bursts open... Brad walks in, fully decked out in armour.

“Ryan! Those wicked cool Knight guys took Saphir to their basecamp. They're going to burn him in a few hours... wanna come kill things... and... I guess... save him?”

Arrowny shrugs...

“Yeah... I could go for some killing... unless the Master wishes me to actually go finish my final test?”

Brad's attention perks up...

“Oh, test! What kind?”

The Master regains his composure...

“I wished him to go to a sacred spot in the woods... and there, he would face his greatest enemy. He must defeat him...”

Brad holds up his hand...

“Oh... his own inner dark side... yeah... old... let's go kill.”

As they turn to leave, the Master calls Ryan back.

“Arrowny... Donald Gilbert was a close friend of mine. We fought many battles together.”

Ryan looks a little confused...

“That's... nice?”

“All I'm saying... are you sure it's a good thing to have the guy who killed Donald on your payroll? Can you trust Brad?”

Arrowny just shakes his head...

“If I couldn't trust him, he'd be dead already. Listen... Donald was your friend... that's great. But, to me... he was a father. If I can deal with the details of his death, so can you.”

With no more words, they leave the cabin... the Master contemplates changing his final test to something a little less popcultureish, and keeping his mouth shut about things that don't really concern him.

There is a knock at the door. The Master grunts...

“I suppose you just want to make more fun of my tests... well... come back in here then.”

But it is neither Brad nor Arrowny who enter... it is Comander Samuel of the Knights of Human Purity... followed by ten of his most loyal troops.

The Master of Arms stands, and grabs some weapons from nearby racks.

“If it's a fight you want...”

“I assure you... it is! You are guilty of using magics...”

“I am not!”

... my daughter... my wife...

... must kill... must take vengance...

“Fool...” Samuel lightly taps his head with his finger... “You're using your magics right now... getting into my head... but it won't work. Knights!... take him.”

The Knights advance on the Master...

* * * * * *

“Justin... when did you get a helicoptor?”

“I stole it...”

“Oh...”

They made the trip in record time... thanks to Justin's unknown ability to pilot helicopters. They ditched the loud chopper far enough from the Knights campsite that they wouldn't have been heard. Now, they're making their way through the woods, each armed as usual, and with Justin carrying Saphir's Glaive and Cards...

Arrowny pauses for a second...

“Tell me this story again?”

Justin sighs...

“Okay... for the fourth time... Knights attacked me... I won. Knights attacked Saphir, but he didn't. They want to burn Saphir as a message to the rest of us... we're not going to let them. We followed the GPS signal from Saphir's cellphone, which he still has on him, and tracked them here. Now we go fight.”

Arrowny nods...

They can see most of the camp from their position within the woods. It's pretty much just a few cabins around a big pole set in a fire pit... with a person tied to it... who looks just like Saphir.

“So... the plan is for us to just rush down there and save him?”

Brad nods...

“Yeah... and with the fact that one of those cool Knight guys is carrying a torch towards Saphir right now, while the rest of the camp is gathering around to watch, probably means we should hurry.”

“... right...”

As quickly as they can, they sneak around to the other side from where the large group is advancing. Just as the torch carrying Knight is close to the fire pit, Arrowny and Justin jump out from behind the nearest cabins.

Arrowny rushes toward the torch bearer, and puts his hand into the flame. In the blink of an eye, the fire becomes ice, and the torch itself freezes solid. He pulls the iced torch from the Knights hand, and uses it to beat him over the head... repeatidly...

... then he turns on the other Knights.

“Cut him down!”

One of the nearest Knights steps foward...

“He will burn... for he is a mage!”

“Maybe... but he's our mage...”

Arrowny throws a bolt of lightning at the Knight, sending him flying back into a group of his comrades.

“... so cut him the hell down...”

Justin sighs impatiently...

“I'll cut him down!”

Arrowny nods...

“Okay, fine. Which one of you guys is in charge?”

The General steps foward from the group. It's easy to tell that he's in charge... he just looks the part. Impressive armour and flowy cape...

“I am General Braxtius of the Knights of Human Purity.”

Arrowny nods again...

“Cool... BRAD!”

Brad charges out from behind a building on the other side of the group. He rushes right for Braxtius, who tries to draw his weapons for defence... but it is too late.

Brad's broadsword knocks his weapon away, and Brad's axe comes crashing down on his head. By the time Brad pulls his axe from the ground, all that's left is a pile of grey and pink goo held in a twisted bit of metal.

The other Knights are speachless... Arrowny smiles.

“Okay... who's in charge now?”

The next most obvious choice steps foward...

“I am Comander... no... General Samuel.”

Arrowny nods.

“Okay... you going to let us out of here peacefully?”

“You just killed our leader... you are all guilty of poluting the human race with magics... those two crimes alone mean you will never leave this camp... but, beyond that...”

A look of pure hatred comes to Samuel's face...

“I... would NEVER... let you leave my sights alive Arrowny!”

Ryan and Brad both look rather confused...

Meanwhile... while all the talking is going on, Justin cuts Saphir down from the steak he was tied too.

“Saphir... wake up!”

Saphir's eyes open slowly...

“... watch out for the raddish plant...”

“What?!”

“Oh...” his eyes open widely, and he sees that it's Justin talking to him... “Right... I'm being saved... yay for me.”

Once he's down, Justin hands him the Cards and the Glaive...

“We're going to need a quick exit in a few minutes...”

Back to the confused Brad and Arronwy.

“You won't let ME leave alive? What'd I ever do to you? Did I kill your pet demon?”

The hatred in Samuel's eyes grows...

“Or... did I stop your evil plan to take over the world?”

And still... growing hatred...

“OR! Were you an employee of Apocolypse Inc.? Lots of those guys are real pissed at me?”

And more hatred. Ryan turns toward Brad, and whispers...

“Do you know who this guy is?”

Brad shrugs...

“No... but he's real pissed at you.”

“He looks sorta familiar... but I can't place him...”

“ARROWNY!”

They both turn back toward Samuel, who is now carrying a very disgusting looking headless, burnt to a cinder body.

“I wanted to send you a message... I was hoping that it would be your friend there... but this one will have to do.”

Arrowny shrugs...

“Nice message... I don't know who the hell that is.”

“Actually... I believe you do.”

One of the Knights beside Samuel rolls the head belonging to the burnt body towards Ryan. When it gets to his feet, Arrowny can see clearly that it is the head of the Master of Arms...

Brad blinks a couple of times...

“Wait a second... hold on! He was alive when we left his place. Then, we took a stolen chopper right to here. There's no way you could have had time after we left to fight him, kill him, bring him back here, burn him, and then set everything up for the 'Saphir BBQ'... what gives?”

Samuel drops the body, and shrugs.

“I know... it doesn't really make sense... does it? Oh well... Knights... kill them all!”

A hundred or so Knights rush at them...

... they run. Justin and Saphir are already in the woods waiting for Brad and Ryan. Saphir quickly warps them out of the area...

... they get away without having to kill a single Knight...

... and without dying themselves... always a plus.

* * * * * *

When he enters the main room of the temple, there are a couple of things that jump out at Sharod.

Firstly, the Hetron are still working to complete the building, but there are a great many more of them than he ever thought existed.

Secondly, there are two demons standing beside Minion at the head of the temple. One is the Chaos Bringer, Morning Star. Today, he is in the shape of a short, old man... Sharod is told that this is the shape he was last 'destroied' in, and is, as such, having dificulty changing it. The other is Skree... leader of the Maylor demon race. Once brutal, a peace treaty with a powerful human family kept them in line for hundreds of years. Though, their first loyality was always to the Four, and Minion was easily able to convince Skree to break the peace.

The mage approaches his master.

“My Lord Minion... I have found a human worthy of leading the fight against your noble Demon army.”

Minion turns to look at him...

“You are sure he is worthy?”

“My Lord... he already has command of a large army, and he has killed many of our kind. The humans will follow him... and that is the most important thing, is it not?”

“Yes... yes it is. Show me.”

Sharod steps aside as his 'worthy human' steps foward from the dark.

He is clad in amazingly detailed black and gold armour, with a large red and black cape flowing behind him as he walks.

“My Lord... this is General Samuel.”

“Samuel? You understand what it is that I am asking of you?”

Samuel nods...

“Yes. You wish for me to lead the armies of man against your demon armies. It is a simple task.”

“Simple though it may be... can you do it?”

“Leading the everyday, average human will be no problem. But, I will need some assurences if you wish for my Knights of Human Purity to join in the fight.”

“From what I hear, they are exelent warriors. I would not want them to be left out... what do you need?”

“To the Knights... the only thing worse than a demon is a magic using human. They will do as I say, and follow your plans, if you allow us to kill every magical human on this planet. We must have free reign over the mages.”

Sharod grunts...

“My Lord would never agree to such a term!”

“Actually Sharod... I see no problem with that demand.”

“But... but... my Lord! I am a mage! They will want to kill me!”

“Yes... I imagine they might. General Samuel... I agree to your terms. You will lead the human race against my demons. It will be utter chaos. If the demons win, I will have slaves... if you win, your people are free forever. It is a good plan.”

Samuel nods...

“Yes... yes it is. But, I have one more favour to ask. I wish to kill the Dragoon Warrior 'Arrowny'.”

“I see no reason why you can't have that honour. I will contact you when I need you.”

Samuel leaves the temple... Minion turns to Sharod.

“Now... my mage... you will approach, and we will discuss the fact that the Knights will want to kill you... and how I am going to allow them the chance.”