Revolution of the familiar
Chapter 1:
Rex Salazar was a boy of multiple talents, beyond the ability to smash stuff and make the laws of mass conservation go cry in a corner.
He was every bit the prodigy no one who gave him a once over would have taken him as. Being born from and growing up surrounded by some of the most brilliant minds in the world had led to understand things that would have his peers short-circuit their brains as easily as breathing.
An avid artist, he had a lot of practice during mission debriefing and study time with his tutor Doc Holiday when he wasn't staring googly eyed at her that is...this was also where he developed his stealth abilities seeing how long he could go without being caught.
He'd yet to make any sort of progress with that skill.
Aside from these useful traits Rex possessed a hidden talent unlike any other. A talent beyond the realm of what others thought possible and shakes the beliefs of a thousand generations extending back to the time before fire and the wheel!
Rex could...MULTI TASK!
Right now he was doing several things at once, organising his afternoon TV line up, going over the improvements when he built a new Bobo bot, his homework for Holiday and all while trying to keep the three mouthed dog E.V.O from ripping his face off.
His smack hands instantly began spinning at a high speed causing the mammoth mutant mutt to go hurtling over the boy's head and into a nearby SUV hard enough to cut through it like melted butter.
"Great." He moaned. "That's another months worth of burritos I won't have money for." He got up just as another EVO, this time a panther with a mouth like the super vamps from blade 2 and a spiked club tail.
"Seriously! It's like you're a 5-year-old drawing up monsters with crayons Van Kliess." He swatted it away with a back hand then quickly unloaded a few concrete blasts from his Slam cannon to finish the job while his arch nemesis watched from a reasonably elevated position."
The older man with the golden metal arm smirked while his recently produced minions took on the boy. "I rather like them actually. Not the most imaginative I've ever seen I'll admit but I shouldn't imagine I needed anything more to deal with you." He said amusedly before turning back to what he was doing.
Van Kliess was getting stronger, no doubt about it. Since taking Rex's fully active nanites the ruler of Abysses not only could survive without the counties nanite rich soil but displayed several of his powers if only twisted, the most dangerous being nanite activation.
This power was the reason for their fight today. Apparently some group of non Providence scientists had tried their hands at dealing with the people turning into monsters secretly, but rather than remove the machines or prevent the risk of activation they were looking into ways of controlling the activation, so that if someone really did activate they would turn into an E.V.O more like Rex or Circe rather than the likes of sklallamander that not even a freak show would hire even if they hadn't all been made redundant since the event.
If Van Kliess got away with it he could make any kind of E.V.O he wished from almost any source. He needed to shut him down before a certain extra appendaged psycho appeared for his getaway
Meanwhile, through the vales that separate reality there was another young woman with the power to open doors in time and space. As a matter of fact there was a whole world of the, but it was normally done only once in their lives, this simply being her time.
She was quite frankly gorgeous beyond reason. Hair like spun gold, eyes deeper than the sea, skin like porcelain despite showing signs of her earlier life as a forest dweller. Delicate pink lips that when pulled into a smile made even the sternest of people fawn over her...that is if they aren't passed out with blood covering their faces when they get sight of what many perverse men and jealous women agree is the biggest bosom in all the kingdoms. However if by chance you had the libido of someone who spent their days shoving trays of ice cubes down their pants then the first thing you'd probably notice would be the two unnaturally pointed ears she possessed, signifying her as part of the elven race, the most wicked and cruel beings in all the world!
She was surrounded by an aura of golden light, reaching out several meters around her and high enough towards the heavens that it would be seen from behind mountains. Such was the effect when an already magically gifted race like the elf's spawns a void mage, about to do one of the most significant spells of any magic users life.
Summoning a familiar.
She had to forego much fanfare as was normal with this ceremony. Normally this was almost a sacred ceremony done surrounded by your family and peers and met with their cheers or jeers depending on how amazing or amazingly pathetic it was. However they're was a little matter of...I better just show you.
*FWOOSH*
Flame coiled impossibly into the shape of a dragon's head shot towards a short blue haired girl, a wall of water pulling out of thin air and hardening into ice in an instant to block it creating a mass of steam.
The mage responsible, a tall imposing figure with a beard pointy enough to stab people with sneered and pulled out a sword with a jewel in the pommel just as a boy wielding an old sword flew out of the mist and clashed with him.
"I will not be touched by a commoner!" His wand flashed and the world glowed white for an instant blinding the dimensionally misplaced teenager long enough to be thrown off with physical might that nobles rarely seemed to have.
I'd like to say that this was just one lone man, sadly that was not the case. This man was simply one of the many loyal servants of the void king. The ruler of Tabitha's nation that also happened to be that country's void mage. He had sent his forces against Tristain for several reasons. First being that he wanted a monopoly on void magic, second to get rid of his niece and rightful heir to the throne, and third...because it was there.
Forces swarmed the school. The rulers first target naturally being were the largest concentration of mages where with the fewest fortifications outside of military bases and the capital itself. It was a miracle that none of the students had been killed yet, but it was only a matter of time.
They needed something to tip the scales in their favour. The Gandalfr was holding his own against the legions well enough for now, but they needed more power. Like another void mage familiar.
"Not to worry you, but we could really use another darling out their dear!" A tanned skinned fire mage who saw no problem in showing cleavage during a battle called to the half elf in the circle, scorching enemy soldiers as they came near alongside her much shorter and less developed friend.
"Can't rush it." She said in a monotone even as she looked metaphorical horns with no less than three other mages and held her own with surprising ease.
"I'm trying!" Tiffania called from within the swirling light. To her credit she really was, I mean it's not like there was a war raging all about oh wait yeah there was.
"I call to you...!" She began her chant, her voice distorting like she was repeating then within nanoseconds of first speaking them. "...you are joined with me across all! Whose heart beats with mine, whose soul is one with mine...!"
The grounds rocked with a series of huge explosions, curtsy of the pink haired void mage sweeping her wand. Her face singed and her hair in disarray.
"WOULD YOU HURRY IT UP!"
*CLANG*
She looked scared behind her to see her own familiar blocking a large axe being held by a large knight.
"If I had a gold coin for every time I saved your ass! *GRUNT* I'd make your family LOOK LIKE BUMS!" He pushed the knight of balance and slashed at him, cutting through his steel armour like butter.
*WHACK*
"This is no time for insolence dog!" A throbbing lump swelled on Saito's head, he groaned slightly before leaping back into the fray.
"...In my darkest hour. I beseech you from across the farthest reaches of eternity..."
"...ANSWER MY CALL!"
"YOU AIN'T getting BY ME!"
*ZING*
"MY ARM!" Skalamander fell to the ground, screaming in agony while clutching the stump of his former appendage. Weeping at the pain.
"Hey estupido I cut off the crystal one, not the real one!" Rex said before literally jetting past his.
The perpetually skyward facing lizard froze for a second then got up, coughing embarrassed. "Yeah I knew that."
"Know what else?" A sudden weight rested on his shoulder. "This is gonna sting."
His word went red, followed quickly by black."
The fez wearing chimp twirled the blaster on his fingers. Feeling immensely pleased with his one liner, that is until he saw the humorless suit wearing swordsman crossing with Biowolf's claws raise an eyebrow in his direction.
"Tch. Nobody gets the monkeys sense a humour."
Rex blasted at his unguarded arch nemesis, whose cyber arm was to busy controlling the device to be used for defence, nor the earth beneath him laden with enough abysses nanites to control. His only hope now was...
A red swirling light appeared, easily big enough to swallow him and the machine.
"As usual Rex I snatch my victory just as you were about to claim yours."
"NOT HAPPENING!"
Deep within him, the miraculous machine known as the omega 1 nanite surged with power. The device responding to it's hosts needs ran through literally millions of ways to best suit the scenario until it finally chose, then acted.
Without thinking Rex swung his Axes at his enemy even though he wasn't even close to him. Across the build blue lines lit up all over the surface like an impossibly detailed roadmap. Altering it just enough to fit the purpose.
*ZING*
Two blue arcs of energy fired from the blades. One heading right for Van Kliess and the other for Breaches portal.
"NO!" The villain shouted, but it was too late. He dodged just enough at the last second to avoid getting bisected but not in time to remove his arm from the machine. The blade of energy sliced through the mechanical appendage like butter and continued into the machine, leaving a deep sparking gouge. One would expect him to be screaming in pain or denial, but instead that scream would be one of rage when he saw the attack impact the swirling portal just as it had swallowed a third if the machine, causing it to sputter and twist like paper in the wind.
"You IDIOT!" The man screamed in a rare display of anger. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE!
"Uh duh. Better it broken than in your hands." Rex said like it was obvious.
"You like twit." Kliess seethed. "You just destabilised a machine built to stabilise nanites, just as it was being pulled into a portal leading to the worlds biggest concentration on unstable nanites!"
"OK even I know that ain't good." BoBo commented just as he and the rest of providence caught up. Guns trained on Van Kliess
"It's worse than that." the voice of Dr Beverly Holiday filled the boys ears. "If the nano stabilizer blows up in Abysses then a corrupted version signal it sends for nanite control will sweep over the entire country and cause every nanite there to go berserk. It'll be like our last trip they're at a thousand times the intensity."
"It'll be bad got it." The axes vanished and were suddenly replaced by his trusty smack hands.
"Then I'll just drag it out before that can...happen."
A chill went down Rex's spine...no not a chill. It was more like...heat? The hairs on the back of his neck stood up straight but it didn't feel creepy. The warmth spread throughout him and he felt...something.
He found himself just staring at the scene in front of him, the chaos he'd unleashed, but it wasn't that he was looking at. No he actually found his eyes focusing beyond the villain, beyond breaches swirling door to just behind it on the edge. A portal appeared out of nowhere, but this wasn't an angry red void. This one was a calming and very solid green one.
He found himself reaching out for it, could swear he heard a sound like angels sighing coming from it. He could just...
"REX!" Six's commanding voice pulled him out of his stupor.
"R-right." He brought his hands down on the ground and pushed himself forward in a huge leap. Landing right next to the device, with no time to spare he dug his metal fingers into the base of it and heaved.
"Guh Ngh! Why can't you be small and unassuming like other macguffins?" He groaned and grunted, but the device simply would not budge.
While this was happening Van Kliess decided that this was as good a time as any to leave.
"Breach!"
A smaller portal appeared next to him. All providence personnel trained on him fired but to know effect as he simply ducked behind the portal, better Breach than him.
*BLAM*
He was sent onto his back by the force of the barrage. The portal tearing like tissue.
"What?" He said weakly while clutching his battered body. It was at this time that Breach just fell out of the warp, struggling for breath and sweating with her eyes screwed shut.
"Can't...stop it. Something making me wobbly...huuurrtttsss!" Red dots flickered around her randomly dazzling all watching her.
"Your...not maintaining the portal?" He looked over at red void, still intact even though it was pulsing and flowing like cherry jello and still halfway holding the stabilizer. What was even more curious was that a green colour began to bleed into the red, making it more violent as it did.
He looked about the room, joined by six to see what could be interfering with Breach.]
"Rex's blast should have only caused a temporary distortion, nothing like this. It would take another spacial distortion entirely to cause this."
"NNNhhhh! You mean...like that...green portal behind the red one!"Rex grunted out, his tan face going flushed red.
"Other portal?" Six said, running behind the giant red mass to have a look. "Rex there's nothing here."
"What're you *grunt* talking about. Big. Green door in the middle of nothing!" The floor underneath started to give way. The portals movements became violent lashing while it became almost completely green. "Kind of like this!"
"Rex I'm telling you nothings here!" He waved one of his swords through the area Rex had tilted his head at. Only for it to pass through nothing...and suddenly have much less sword when nothing sliced off the end like cheese. He backed away when he noticed green electrical arcs flitting between Breaches portal and the not so empty space.
"Rex you were...REX STOP!"
It was too late. With one mighty grunt Rex had ripped the machine from the ground, shaving what he had away from the parts still in the machine.
"Umm...oops." He offered weakly.
The machine sparked wildly. The portal grew brighter and shone with an ethereal light, getting bigger and bigger until it was almost blinding.
Of course nothing would happen quite yet. At least not without one last wise crack from the sidekick.
"...I got nothing."
Well nuts to you then.
The golden column of light descended from the heavens like a rock. As soon it rejoined with the runic circle it had come from a huge amount of smoke and dirt kicked up, blinding everyone from whatever was inside.
One mage. A rather gaunt man who looked more like he would fry in the sunlight than burn didn't want to take any chances "BLIZZARD CLUB!"
A tornado of frozen wind shot out of his staff directly at the spot Tiffania had just been moments ago. Ripping winds blowing away the smoke and tearing up the ground.
Well almost.
The smoke cleared, and what he aimed at had been torn up. It just wasn't what he expected, or anyone else would have believed.
A frozen heap of scrap had shattered to bits under the spells power, but had protected the boy standing behind it, a boy of an ethnicity they'd never seen before. Wearing a bright red jacket and two GIANT METAL ARMS! Close to him laying unconscious was an overfed chimp holding what looked like small rifles with barrel that made them look more like hand-held cannons.
A girl with two gigantic arms and a horribly slashed up and frostbitten back was pushed away, wide-eyed and gasping for breath while the one-armed man who used her as a shield dusted himself off. Casually looking around at the frozen statutes which had formerly been enemy agents.
A man in a green suit and dark glasses was still standing, having used the sheer force of his awesomeness (and swords) to redirect the blast to either side of him, hitting a crystal stumped lizard and a large man in a wolf costume.
The group looked around. The building they had previously been in was gone, replaced by a beautiful clear sky and open courtyard of a majestic castle ground.
The people in wherever they'd landed dressed kinda funny. Medieval armour, capes and sticks.
"Did Breach send us to a renaissance fair?"
"KILL THEM!"
The glow coming from dozens of sticks told them no. No Breach did not send them to a renaissance fair.
Guess whose back!
Between college, work, clubs and a variety of other factors (my old enemy writers block) I quite literally hadn't time nor thought to write much. However I have been possessed by the spirit of the holidays which for this day have given me the ability to let words flow from my brain and through my fingertips.
Seriously though I have been working on my other stuff, and there is a chance I'll have a little more time in the future to write more. I'll also try to write much shorter chapters rather than the thirty pager's I'm used to doing. This however was done as a request to someone I'm hoping to make good on as a sort of Christmas gift.
So until next time this is Wolvenstrom wishing you good life, good luck, happy holidays and a great new year.
Peace out.