The Drake Sagas 2 – Holiday.
Two weeks have passed since Arcabor Drake discovered that he had a brother. He has gone on a holiday to Australia to get away from fighting psychopaths and crime. But you can never escape from your Demons.
Chapter 1 – Beach
Arcabor Drake sat himself down on a bench overlooking the northern part of Bondi Beach, in Sydney Australia. It was mid spring, hitting thirty degrees. He watched the tourists and the locals mingle on the white sand. Waves washed onto the beach and over the swimmers in the bay. It was a picture perfect holiday for Drake, no Sanctuaries bothering him, and most thankfully, no one was trying to kill him. He took in the scene for a further five minutes before vacating the seat in favour to purchase himself a bottled beverage.
He strolled along the paved area in front of the Pavilion. He passed locals walking confidently, and he thought, smugly. There were Asian families taking their families down to the water line for their first swim. Not to mention the English visitors who where turning a shade of bright pink in the bright sunshine. As he lined up out front of a café to buy a drink, from the corner of his eye he swore he had seen a figure in a cloak. He swung his head in that direction for a better look, but he seen nothing. Was someone tailing him? Drake shook his head; he was being paranoid. Out here he wasn't a mage. He was a regular tourist. The thought left his mind as the line advanced closer to the café.
He got to the front of the line and purchased a bottle of water. He handed over some Australian coins he had got for the trip and turned and walked back into the crowd. A local surfer carrying his board passed by Drake. There it was again, a figure in a crimson cloak. As if it had sensed that it was noticed it once again disappeared from sight. Drake followed to where he last saw the figure. Nothing. He swivelled he eyes around the surroundings, then he saw a flash of dark red heading down a ramp to the beach. Drake quickly jogged to the ramp and looked down to the bottom. It wasn't a cloaked person. He simply discovered a slender Islamic lady in a crimson headdress. He sighed and grabbed his aching shoulder, even though the sling was gone the injury still troubled his movements, that short run had done nothing to better the pain. He grimaced and took a sip of his water. He was just being paranoid. "Just enjoy the beach," He murmured to himself. "There's no one following you."
The klaxon blared and red lights flashed. Prime Detective Jack Carter bolted out into a corridor in the first floor of the Australian Sanctuary. Mages were filling the corridors and looking around in confusion. Jack followed the evacuating mages to the main hall of the building where he found the Head of Security issuing orders. He wore a cleavers uniform, albeit without a helmet, adorned with red markings, which pointed out his status as a lieutenant. "Detective. We've got word of a monster down in level three." He called to Jack. The Australian Sanctuary had three levels, the first level was the closest to the surface, and it contained the offices of those who worked there. The second level contained the Repository, the Medical Bay and the Science-Magic facility. The third contained the Jail along with the temporary holding cells, the third level was also used for storage and the Cleaver barracks.
"Grab your Cleavers and follow me to the third level." Jack commanded.
Jack led the Cleavers down the stairs to the second level. They stood aside to let people evacuate. "You four." Jack pointed at four of the Cleavers. "Lock down this area and make sure no one enters the Repository."
The Cleavers moved off at his command. Jack, Lieutenant Gibbs and the remaining six cleavers moved down to the third level. At the bottom they discovered that the lights were out down here. In the distance they heard something growling.
Jack was 5'11 with black, messy hair. He wore a simple white shirt with black trousers; he couldn't stand wearing a full suit. He made a hand motion and the Cleavers moved off in three groups. Jack and Gibbs moved along the central corridor. They passed the tightly locked door that lead to the Jail. They heard a loud grunt as a large shape rammed into Gibbs. He collided with Jack and they tumbled down the corridor. They rose to see a giant Minotaur staring them down.
It charged and Gibbs stepped up to challenge it. It lowered its sharp horns and plunged them straight into Gibbs' torso. His clothing protected him from the bulk of the damage but the Minotaur picked him up and swung him into a wall. Gibbs' head hit the wall with a sickening crunch and he fell to the ground, unmoving. Jack backed up a few meters and summoned fire to his hands. But the creature was too fast and Jack only narrowly managed to escape from its deadly horns. He snuck between its thick legs and sprinted the other way. Ducking as two Cleavers blurred past, engaging the beast. Their scythes flashed and gaping holes appeared on the Minotaur's body. Instead of killing it, this action seemed to aggravate it furthers as roared in a mixture of pain and anger. It grabbed the head of one Cleaver and swung his body around like a club, knocking over the other Cleaver. It left them lying unconscious behind it as it charged at Jack once again. He raised his arms to create a barrier of air between the beast and himself. It hit the invisible wall head on. The collision had stunned the creature, but not for long. Within seconds it was back up. Jack tried pushing at the air, but was unsuccessful and the Minotaur collected Jack with its meaty arm. Crushing Jack against the wall, all the air in his lungs rushed out and he slouched to the ground.
His head dizzy he looked up to see the Minotaur rush down the corridor and squeeze into the stairway that led up to the second level. Four Cleavers dashed after it, one of them turned to down the corridor to attend to them, but Jack waved him away, he was needed much more upstairs where his colleagues were fighting the beast. Reluctantly the Cleaver followed the others up the stairs. Jack picked himself up from the ground. Oxygen filling his lungs he moved back down the corridor. He had an idea.
Chapter 2 – Gruff.
Arcabor Drake walked along the cobbled alley in the centre of Sydney's oldest district: The Rocks. The small alley was home to various backdoors to shops and eateries, lined with bins and the odd pile of trash. At the end of the alley, a dark blue painted wooden door sat in a brick wall. Above the door an old-fashioned sign read: The Dog and Bone Hotel – Owner: Ruben Gruff.
Drake passed his hand over a symbol carved near the door handle. The symbol registered this magic inside him and the door unlocked. Inside stood a flight of wooden steps that lead down underneath the ground. Drake descended the steps and found himself in the interior of a subterranean pub. He took in his surroundings. It looked like a typical nineteenth century pub, except for the high ceiling. On the gritty wooden floors sat tables surrounded by stools. In front of the back wall stood a bar, and behind that there stood, a man. He put down the glass he was drying, looked Drake straight in the eye and said loudly. "DRAKEY BOY!"
He bounded over and embraced Drake's hand in a warm and hearty handshake. The few patrons that where present raised their eyebrows and rolled their eyes at this display. "Wherve yer been?" Ruben Gruff asked him.
Ruben was a long time friend of Drakes. They had met back in 1850, but that was another tale. Ruben was a good 6'8 standing over the smaller Drake. He was bald and wore an apron over a light grey shirt.
"Visiting for a bit of a holiday." Drake smiled.
"Good on yer." He said in his broad accent. "Come 'ere, and I'll fetch yer a drink."
Drake sat himself down at the bar. Gruff walked grabbed a glass poured out a cold beverage.
"This ones on the house." He reminded him as Drake reached into his pocket.
Drake took a gulp of his pint. "How's life?" he asked.
"Good. Business is on the up as well. Yourself?"
"Ah, the same old stuff. Solving cases', catching criminals."
Behind them a mage entered the pub. Drake turned to the newcomer and seen that he carried a Sanctuary clearance pass. He listened as Gruff engaged him in small talk. He nearly spat out his drink when he heard what the man had just said. Everyone in the room looked at him.
"Haven't you heard? The Sanctuary was just attacked."
Jack staggered over to where Gibbs was lying unconscious. He had a gash above his right eyebrow, which was bleeding profusely. Jack ripped off the sleeve from his right arm and tightly wrapped it around Gibbs' forehead. He moved past towards the Cleaver barracks. He pushed the door open and moved past the empty area. Most of the Cleavers were off site due to a training camp. Was it a coincidence? Jack went through to the armoury. The place was cluttered with various weapons, scythes, swords there was even a bow and arrow hung up on the wall. Jack made his across the room past the racks of Cleaver suits next to the wall; he tore open the gun cabinet. Inside contained all manner of firearms that the Sanctuary used. He grabbed a rifle and moved across and grabbed a sword, the sword was about as long as a baseball bat and was made of a shiny light grey metal that could slice through bone. He sprinted back past the still unconscious Gibbs and climbed the stairs. The second level was awash with carnage.
Three Cleavers lay on the ground, either unconscious or dead. Off in the distance the sound of something pounding a heavy door could be heard. Jack raised the gun and slowly made is way to the noise. He peered around a corner and saw the Minotaur trying to bash down the Repository doors where evidently the remaining Cleavers had barricaded themselves. Jack whistled once to get the attention of the creature. It turned to face the noise, as soon as it turned Jack fired the rifle.
The bullet hit the beast in the neck. It staggered back, howling in anguish. Jack chucked the gun to the side and summoned a flame to the hand. He pushed his hand forward and a stream of hot, orange flames shot forth and enveloped the Minotaur. The beast stopped in its tracks and looked at itself in a shocked confusion. But instead for dying the beast roared and jumped at Jack, in a split second it was upon him, hitting Jack in the shoulder with its muscled fist. Jack was flung like a ragdoll; luckily he landed on his feet. His world spun, but the heavy breathing of the Minotaur made him come-to. He pulled out the sword from its scabbard and brandished it out front of him. The Minotaur charged at him. Jack watched the flaming beast go until it was just about on top of him. He let his legs give way underneath him and the Minotaur passed over top of him. Using the air to propel him, Jack jumped on the beast's flaming back and plunged the sword deep into its chest. The Minotaur collapsed to the ground and Jack jumped off and slumped against the wall, his clothes were burnt and his skin bruised. The Cleavers blurred past and put out the burning Minotaur with a fire extinguisher.
After a short moment of respite Jack got to his feat and trudged up the first level. As soon as his tired feet hit the top step, two Cleavers grabbed him and escorted Jack along the main corridor to a set of heavy double doors. They swung open majestically and at the other end of the room sat the Grand Mage Hugh Aubrey.
Chapter 3 – Lucifer
"Detective." Greeted the Grand Mage. He was tall with short brown hair flecked with grey. He wore a suit the colour of a stormy cloud.
"Grand Mage." Responded Jack.
"I want to commend you for defeating the Minotaur. But a new crisis is arising as we speak."
"I'm not sure what you mean."
"Less than ten minutes ago I got the report that notorious criminal and supporter of Mevolent has just landed in the country." Aubrey paused to take a breath. "Lucifer Grimskull is here."
No one spoke for nearly a full minute when Jack spoke again. "So you want me to catch him?"
"Yes. But were going to prepare a crack team to help you, Grimskull is too dangerous an opponent. He was responsible for the battle that resulted in the Tunguska Event as well as orchestrating hundreds of murders over the years. He is too dangerous for just Jack Carter. No offence."
"None taken. So whom am I working with?"
"I've prepared a short list of people that are known to be in the country right now. We don't have time for international reinforcements, going to have to work with what we've got."
Jack grabbed the list that Aubrey placed in front of him and read out the names.
"Adler van Dyke, Adept, healer. - Mason Stark, Adept, energy-thrower. –
Polly Hunter, elemental. – Sen Tarkus, Adept, pyromancer. And last but not least.
Arcabor Drake – elemental.
So this is the team that I lead into battle. Not bad."
Lucifer Grimskull stepped off the plane in into the airport. He bypassed the baggage claim area; he had no baggage after all. Outside in the warm Australian evening, a man in a crimson cloak was waiting for him. "Good evening." The cloaked man said. His voice was hard. "I shall escort you to the hideout."
He was quite polite for a psychopath. Affably evil, Lucifer always liked that in his allies. He jumped in the waiting car and sped off into the city. There was a black car following them. "Pull over down a side street." Ordered Lucifer.
The car pulled off the highway and parked in the shadows. As expected the black car went in after them and a man in a suit got out. He looked around, wondering where his targets had gone. The man in the crimson cloak, whose name was Ammet, moved silently behind him. Ammet cleared his throat loudly, the man, who Lucifer thought was from the Sanctuary turned at the sound. Ammet grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. The guy gurgled something incomprehensible, to which Ammet responded with a laugh. He then brutally slammed him down on the road and gave him a good kick. His suit tearing and ripping as he was flung up the road, his body twisted and distorted unnaturally. They both laughed to each other as they looted the valuables from his corpse, using his keys to unlock his own car. Lucifer pulled some explosives from the glove box of Ammet's Toyota. He rigged them to the Sanctuary car, so that when they tried to remove it, the whole street would go boom. He finished and returned to the Toyota, laughing as they drove back up the highway towards the city.
A knock on the door awoke him. Drake sat up in his bed at the sound. He got up, careful to remain silent. He skirted the walls up to the door. Slowly, he opened the door to find Gruff standing there. Drake let out a sigh of relief. "There are some Sanctuary people here. Tellin' me they need you immediately." Gruff revealed to him.
"Can't it wait till morning?"
"They say it's a matter of life and death. And you're very important to what's going on."
Drake nodded and went to collect his jacket; it contained everything Drake could ever need inside its pockets. He followed Gruff to the bar. There was a man Drake didn't recognize flanked by two Cleavers. Drake nodded his goodbye to Gruff and followed the people out the door. They ferried him outside to a waiting van which is going to take the to the Sanctuary.
Drake descended the stone steps into the Australian Sanctuary. Cleavers clad from head-to-toe in grey stood around the walls watching proceedings. The Cleavers that accompanied him pointed him towards a set of double doors beyond the foyer. The doors parted and Drake walked into what could best be described as a throne room that had been converted into a war room. In the centre sat a table that was covered in papers, two men stood around it. The younger man looked up and greeted Drake.
"Ah, Detective Arcabor Drake, from the English Sanctuary. Welcome. I'm Jack Carter, the Prime Detective here. And this is our Grand Mage: Hugh Aubrey."
Drake shook his out stretched hand. Aubrey had been the Grand Mage here since its inception.
"And what is going on that requires me to meet at three in the morning?" Asked the confused Drake.
"We'll fill you in when the other arrive as well." Answered Aubrey.
As if on cue, the doors opened and a massively tall man walked in. Drake noted that he was just shy seven foot, about 6'10. The customary handshakes took place; Jack announced that he was Mason Stark, from the USA. They engaged in small talk about why they were in the country and discussed theories on why they were called in. The doors swung open again and this time two people walked in. Drake immediately recognized them. The first one, a female who went by the name of Polly Hunter, she was English and they had worked together before on a few cases. The second person was male. Shorter than Polly, but was a renowned medic, his name was Adler van Dyke and came from the Netherlands. They joined the others and introduced themselves. They spent the next few minutes nervously chatting about why they were here. The Grand Mage cleared his throat. "Everyone that needs to be here is here." He announced.
Drake looked around in confusion because they were still waiting on one more person. There he was, standing next to Aubrey was an odd looking man. He was 5'7 with blond hair and had fire dancing in his hands.
"Excellent. Now, we've received word that Lucifer Grimskull is in the country. He landed here last night and the agent tracking him is yet to report in again." He stopped to let that sink in.
"You've been gathered here to catch him before he does too much damage. It is important that he is captured alive. Jack Carter here will be leading this mission."
"Do we know anything about what he is doing?" Asked Polly.
"Nothing." Said Aubrey reluctantly.
"Does he have any associates?" Asked Mason.
"We know of one. A unknown man in a crimson cloak."
Drake and Polly both jumped in surprise. "What is it?" Jack looked concerned.
Polly was the first to speak. "There was a guy in a crimson cloak following me. He was there for about an hour, he fled when I chased him."
"Same here." Seconded Drake.
Grand Mage Aubrey looked solemn. "Here's the plan. We are going to spilt up to see what's going on. Drake, Tarkus and van Dyke, go to where the agent last phoned in and see what happened. Jack, Polly and Mason, find out anything about this Crimson Cloak guy. No questions. Get going."
Chapter 4 – Tarkus
Jack Carter looked at the second entrance to the Sanctuary. This door led to the secret car park and served as an emergency exit. The only was to get through was to match the symbol on the door with the one you carried. This meant that, if Jacks theory was correct and that the Minotaur had been smuggled in through here, then the smuggler had to have either been a Sanctuary employee, or killed one, to be able to access this door. He turned to the others. "I'm fairly certain the Minotaur was smuggled in through here." Jack pointed at the door. "To get through here, you need an access card which the corresponding symbol is on."
"So your saying they had inside knowledge?" Asked Mason.
"Yes. They also somehow managed to disable the cameras here."
"So we have no idea who done this."
"Correct."
Jack began to walk up the exit, the others following. "I suspect the smuggler was Crimson Cloak. A Minotaur is a good distraction so we missed Lucifer entering the country."
"How did he get the Minotaur in though?" Asked Polly.
"There's a group which one can hire. They fetch you a monster from the Outback, which is brimming with monsters, for a fee of course."
"Do you know their name?" Inquired Mason.
"Of course I do, that's where we are going now."
Meanwhile, Drake's group pulled up next to the agent's abandoned car. It was a neighbourhood that had been long rejected, there was no one around. They spotted his body lying mangled down the road; van Dyke sprinted and knelt by his side. "He's dead." Van Dyke announced.
"Do you know how?" Drake approached the body.
Van Dyke rolled the corpse over for a better view. Drake leaned down and looked at the body. "He was strangled." Pointing to the hand marks on his neck.
"It also looks as if he was flung down the road at a great force. As you can tell from the scrapes on his exposed skin and ripped clothing." Drake scratched his chin in thought.
"Injuries that are typical of a high speed motorbike crash." Pondered van Dyke.
"Not to mention the incredible bruising around his ribs on his right hand side. Wait, where's Tarkus?"
They turned around to find him sitting in the passenger seat of the car. He was poking around in the glove box for something. Drake shrugged and turned back to the body. Van Dyke pulled out a foldable body bag and began to feed the corpse inside. Drake walked up over to Tarkus as he slipped over into the drivers seat. "Oi, Drake. Why do you think they left the car?" He yelled out in his Australian accent.
"I'd get out of there. It's probably a trap knowing Grimskull."
"Nah mate. I'll see if it still works."
His hand reached for the key in the ignition. Drake looked on in silent horror as the key clicked and the car engine roared into life. Tarkus looked at him as if saying: "what problem." Time stood still as Drake, who seemed to be rooted to the ground witnessed the dashboard of the car rip apart. Tarkus' smile turned upside down as he was flung from his seat as the car expanded outwards and split into many fragments. Drake erupted into action at first sight of the fireball appearing. He stuck his arms out and brought in the air to form a dome to smother the fireball. The fireball hit the side of the air dome and extinguished itself. Drake released the air and sprinted over to where Tarkus was flung. He slid next to the body, van Dyke not far behind. Tarkus lay on his side; part of the dashboard had impaled itself straight through his torso. "Van Dyke, use your magic. I'm going to call the Cleavers."
"Right." Van Dyke's hands started to glow and he held them over the wound. Drake sprinted back to the wreckage, grabbing his phone and called for backup.
He sifted through the smouldering wreck until he found the detonator. Written on the metal was a name: Lucifer Grimskull.
Chapter 5 – Truck
Jack hung up the call and turned to the others nearby. "It was Drake. There was an incident and Tarkus is in a bad way."
Polly looked concerned "Will he be OK?"
"He should be, right now we should focus on our job."
The others nodded in agreement. They entered the compound of the Penn Brothers. A group whose business was to capture monsters for paying clients. The yard was silent. Three trucks stood silently in the dawn air. They approached the door to the head office. Jack pushed open the door, strange, shouldn't it be locked at this hour. The foyer was a clean, well-maintained and professional looking foyer. Nothing suggested anything about monsters. A sign on the front desk read: Ryan, Bryan and Cyan – Heavy Haulage. Jack rang the bell for attention. No one answered. Beside him, Polly leaned over the counter and let out a shriek. Jack looked over the counter himself and lying there was a headless body.
In a flash they all whipped their guns out. Mason moved back to the door and peered out. "Nothing."
"We've walked into a trap."
Shushing the others Jack moved down a side corridor, his pistol held out front. He pushed open a door to an office and was greeted with another headless corpse. Jack cursed and charged through another door into a warehouse. They heard frantic running from the other end. "Polly, get the rifle from the car." He whispered to her. She nodded and exited the way they came. Jack and Mason sneaked to the other side, carefully seeking cover behind anything. From the other side they saw a man in a crimson cloak raise a sword chasing another man around the warehouse. He tripped and Crimson Cloak was on top of him, sword flashing. Before he could react, Mason sent a bullet towards him. With reactions Jack had never seen before he used his sword to deflect the bullet.
He swung again and took of the head of the man on the ground. A fountain of blood splashed onto his cloak. Mason tried to shoot again, but Crimson Cloak swatted his gun away and slammed his foot down on the top of his knee. Mason fell to the ground as Jack unleashed a stream of flame at the cloaked man. He jumped to the side, losing grip of his sword. Seizing the opportunity, Jack pushed at the air behind him and used it to propel himself towards Crimson Cloak. He flew into him shoulder first and went down. Unfortunately Jack wasn't the first to rise and the cloaked man raised his fist and drove it into Jacks head. Jack moved at the last second a the punch only glanced his cheek, even then it still felt like he had been hit with one of the trucks outside. Mason grabbed him in a headlock, but Crimson Cloak manoeuvred out and picked Mason up and threw him into a nearby forklift. Mason hit the forklift hard, and flipped over it. He was out of the fight.
He heard a rifle shot and looked up to see Crimson Cloak duck out the way of Polly's hailstorm of bullets. Jack ran back to join Polly. "I've got a plan."
"Is it good."
"Probably not. Can you hold him for a few minutes?"
"Why not."
Jack sprinted back out to the office and grabbed one of the keys to the trucks. He rushed out into the yard and inserting the keys into the first truck. Didn't open. Jack cursed and tried the second truck. The door opened and he jumped behind the steering wheel. He put the key in the ignition and the truck roared into life. Jack slammed his foot on the accelerator and aligned the nose of the truck up to the warehouse wall. Picking up speed he smashed through the metal walls.
Both Polly and Crimson Cloak looked up at the truck that had ploughed through the wall. Before the cloaked figure could move, the truck was rolling over him. Inside the cabin, all Jack felt was a small bump.
Jack rushed out and checked on Polly. She was fine, they both moved to the unconscious Mason, who was stirring and gurgling on the ground. Jack turned around and lo and behold. There was man standing next to the stationery truck. His cloak was gone and underneath he wore Cleaver armour, albeit as black as the night sky. He had shaggy hair and light stubble on his chin. He laughed, "You think you can kill the unkillable Noxious Ammet? You be joking."
He charged at them. Grabbing Jack by the collar and throwing him underneath the truck and through to the other side. From behind the truck he could see Ammet lifting Polly up by the throat. Then everything happened at once. Arcabor Drake burst into the warehouse with a squad of Cleavers. Seeing Polly in trouble, he fired from his revolver. Ammet seeing Drake fire his gun, dropped Polly and jumped out the way. Jack, observing from behind the truck, put his to the side of the trailer and gathered the air in his hands, and, using the air, pushed the trailer over on Ammet's head, squashing him flat. Drake and the Cleavers rushed over, helping Mason to his feet and picking up the injured Polly. Jack stood up to face Drake. "I see you had a bit of trouble." He said.
"Nothing I can't handle."
"Find anything out?"
"Nothing, they were dead when we got here."
"Nice trick with the truck." Drake let out a chuckle. His phone beeped. Drake took it from his pocket at put it back just as quick.
"It's the Grand Mage. He tells us to get back to the Sanctuary quick smart, there's been a shocking development."
Chapter 6 – Tower
They all now stood in the Sanctuary's Medical Bay, gathered around Tarkus' bed. He had recently come out of surgery and was making a swift recovery. The Grand Mage walked in and told them what he just found out. "We've received news that Lucifer Grimskull has acquired Pandora's Box."
"The Box?" Asked Jack.
"Yes. The very same box that last time it was opened, it caused the Bubonic Plague."
Everyone looked around in shock. Dumbfounded by this.
"And he plans to open it over the city today."
Everyone cursed in unison. Except for Drake, who stared at the ground in silent thought.
"The tower." Everyone looked at him. "You know the tower in the middle of the city, it's the highest point around. He'll be opening the box there. If I remember correctly, it maximises the effects of opening the box. The plague would've been ten times worse if it was opened from a great height."
"How do you know this?" Asked Aubrey.
"A few years back, someone threatened to open it unless I solved an unsolvable crime. There was no solution so I had to bluff my way out. Stole the box and learnt some of its secrets along the way."
"What did you do with the box afterwards?"
"After carrying it around with me for a week, I ditched it. Threw it off the White Cliffs of Dover. Last I saw of it. This was around a hundred years ago."
"Enough chit-chat. We have to gear up to take out Grimskull. I'll send some agents over to lock the place down."
Twenty minutes later, two vans pulled up outside the service entrance to Centrepoint Tower. Fourteen people dressed in grey stepped out, some wearing helmets, some not. Nine of the group split off and headed up into the elevator at the rear of the building. The other five spread out and placed themselves around the front main entrances, as if keeping watch.
Inside the lift stood: Arcabor Drake, Jack Carter, Mason Stark, Lieutenant Gibbs and five Cleavers. They stood there awkwardly listening to the lift music, today it was Africa by Toto, it was good song Drake thought. The lift beeped as the door slid open to reveal the top floor of the tower.
It was an open area with a few tables and chairs, but the most stunning point was the floor to ceiling windows that wrapped around the whole top floor.
They spread out and made sure there was no one up there. When it was clear, they hid behind the information desk, in wait for Lucifer. Polly radioed to them that three men had entered the building and were heading up the centre lift. They waited in silence for the lift to beep to signal their arrival. Everyone was tense. The lift beeped. As Polly said, three men got out; the first had long white hair and a look on his face that could make roses wilt from the evil. Drake recognized the second man as Ammet, the guy they dropped a truck on, and how'd he survive that? The third man caused even more shock for Drake. His nose was bent at a angle because it had been broken, his left eye had also been damaged so badly that it was closed shut and a scar ran across it, they had met two weeks ago, his name was Ian Matthias.
"Freeze!"
Drake, Jack and Mason raised their rifles, the Cleavers fanned out around them. Lucifer simply stood there smiling, as if he knew this was going to happen.
"We knew you were going to be here. How do you think you came to know about our possession of the Box?"
Drake cocked his head in thought,
"We also didn't come here without backup."
"What?"
"Just ask your friend downstairs."
Drake brought up the radio. "Polly. Are you there?"
Static. At that same time the lifts beeped again and ten Cleavers got out, but there were dressed all in black. They were out numbered.
Drake raised his rifle and fired into Lucifer's shoulder, making him drop the box. Drake leapt of the counter and dived towards the Box. He grabbed it and looked up to see Matthias come towards him with a sneer. In a flash Mason ran over and crash tackled him down. On his other side Jack was in a boxing match with Ammet, hitting him and moving away before he could return the punch. Lucifer jumped on him and grabbed Drakes throat. Drake moved on his back and launched a kick into Lucifer's ribs, his grip loosened, Drake kicked him again and he let go. They both got up at the same time. Seeing this opportunity, Drake lifted his foot up and drop kicked Lucifer towards the glass. He smacked into the glass, cracking it. Drake lifted his foot again and kicked him again; this time the glass broke, sending him through the broken window. Everyone in the fight stopped.
The lifts beeped again and Polly and her Cleavers stepped out. The enemy Cleavers were trapped. Jack and Mason had Ammet pinned down. Matthias was lying on the ground, in obvious pain. Drake looked over to see his Cleavers pin down the Black Cleavers. He turned to see Matthias rise up and thrust a knife at Drake. The knife bounced of the grey armour but that didn't stop Matthias tackling Drake to the ground, the Box being tossed away. Matthias reached out for it but his leg got caught in Drakes hand, using the air to pull the Box towards him, and push Matthias away at the same time. Matthias got to his feet and swung a haymaker right hook towards Drake, who ducked underneath it and jabbed at his rib cage, Matthias went down coughing but got up just as quickly. Snarling, he pulled out another knife.
He slashed at Drake's head but missed, he followed it up with a left hook that Drake could do nothing about. His fist hit his jaw and Drake went down. From the corner of his eye he saw Ammet fighting the Cleavers. Matthias was on him again, one hand trying to take the Box, the other holding Drake's throat. The Box was ripped from his hands and Matthias ran off to the other side of the building. Still dizzy, Drake tried to follow, but couldn't maintain his feet. Struggling to his feet Drake spotted Matthias waiting for the lift. It beeped and Matthias jumped into it, Drake using the only option he had left, dived in after him.
Inside, it was a brutal close-quarters fight. Both of them threw punches that landed. Spitting blood, Drake summoned fire to his hands but Matthias closed that option with a kick to the thigh. Drake fell to one knee and the lift beeped and the door opened. Drake pushed the air and Matthias flew out into the building at the base of Centrepoint Tower. Drake followed him to a souvenir shop, filled with stuffed animals and key chains that resembled the Tower. Matthias stood there throwing branded drink bottles at him; Drake dodged them and ran in close to Matthias. He rammed his shoulder into him and knocked over a rack of stuffed kangaroos. Matthias stood up, only to see Drake deliver a punishing uppercut to his jaw. Drake watched him slump to the ground and picked up the Box, running back to the lift to join the fight.
Back upstairs Ammet was outnumbered. He ducked under a punch from the detective. His only option was to keep ducking and weaving. He backed up to the window, narrowly dodging a Cleaver scythe. There was one way out. He turned to the window and looked out at the city skyline. Then jumped.
It seemed to happen in slow motion. As Ammet jumped Jack had tried to grab him but was too late, he peered out the window as a speck hit the roof of the building below and splattered everywhere. Also at that time the lift opened. Expecting Drake they were shocked at who stood there. Lucifer Grimskull was back.
Chapter 7 – Turbulence
Lucifer Grimskull, a man who should be dead, now stood in front of them carrying an unconscious Drake. He threw Drake's limp body down in front of them.
"A good fight my friends. But you've lost, I've got the Box and you're a step behind."
He brandished the Box in front of him as the lift doors closed. Taking him down away from them. Van Dyke walked over and began healing Drake. Before long he was awake and talking. "I know where he's going. I put a tracking device on Matthias."
An hour later they sat in the seats of a private jet chartered by the Sanctuary. Tarkus had joined them after the battle at the tower. Two squads of Cleavers and Lieutenant Gibbs was leading them. They cut through the air in pursuit of Grimskull, who, according to a GPS tracker that Drake had slipped onto his person, had landed at a private airfield in the outback.
Their plane started descending towards the airfield, if they were lucky, they'd get they jump on them. In minutes the plane hit the tarmac and skidded to a stop. Everyone undid their seatbelts and prepared to exit the plane and storm the building. Jack was first outside. "Bomb! Get down."
Everyone dropped to the ground in preparation. There came an almighty boom as the rocket propelled grenade exploded next to the plane, sending the front end spinning around so that the rear faced the hanger. Bullets came through the wall as a sniper took shots at them. "I've got a plan!" Yelled Drake above the carnage.
He pulled two sniper rifles from a bag and threw one to Polly. "We'll cover you as you run for the building."
With that everyone except Drake and Polly ran from the plane towards the cover of a nearby hanger. Drake fired his sniper at the control tower where he seen the muzzle flashes from the enemy sniper. Drake took a moment to reload and take note of his surroundings. There was a hanger on the left of the runway the team had gone into, behind that was an office building and the control tower. Another feature Drake noted were the tanks of jet fuel between the hanger and the control tower.
Lucifer Grimskull stood in the control tower, watching Matthias fire on the plane. He watched them run into the hanger and into their trap. Inside was a small army of Black Cleavers, sent by his benefactor. He laughed at their misfortune.
Drake got the message over the radio that they had been ambushed in the hanger by a group of those Black Cleavers. Drake done the first thing that came to his head. Using the scope on his gun he took aim at the tank of jet fuel, and pressed the trigger.
Click. Out of ammo.
Drake cursed. "Polly. Shoot the tank of jet fuel."
She aimed and fired at the tank. The bullet was on target and a massive explosion ripped through the desert air, swiftly followed by a mushroom could of fire.
The windows in the tower smashed into a million pieces. Spraying Lucifer and Matthias with shards of glass. Dropping the gun, Drake sprinted from the plane to the hanger. Inside was carnage.
Black Cleavers lay on the ground, having been hit by the full force of the blast. Sanctuary forces were staggering to their feet. Jack walked over to him. "Hell, you've out done yourself there. We weren't expecting that."
"Thank you. Get the others, it's time we go for the tower."
Drake ran out the hanger towards the control tower, Jack and Gibbs following close behind. From the desert came an ear-splitting roar. Drake stopped in his tracks and saw a large monster come tearing into the airfield. Walking through the fence like it was nothing. It was big, and ugly. It stood at the height of two men. Matted fur covered its body. Sharp, infected teeth filled it's surprisingly human like mouth. Seeing the beast Gibbs called the Cleavers into a scythe wall, backed by Polly, Mason, van Dyke and Tarkus.
"Go!" Gibbs called out to them. "Drake, Jack. Go find Lucifer, we'll hold the beast here."
"Good luck lieutenant." Jack called back. Before sprinting away to the tower with Drake.
Lieutenant Gibbs looked back towards the Monster.
"Hello beastie."
Chapter 8 - Fight
Two figures entered the office at the base of the control tower. They were greeted with a hail of bullets fired from the direction of the stairs. Ducking behind desks Drake and Jack took a moment to compose themselves. They shot their guns towards the stairs, hoping for a shot to ricochet towards Matthias. There was a lull in the fight as Matthias went to reload. Jack moved towards the stairs when a grenade came flying out towards them. Reacting quickly, Drake stepped forwards and kicked the grenade back towards the stairs. It went boom and rocked the foundations of the building. Matthias retreated back up the stairs giving Drake and Jack the opportunity to charge up the stairs to the control room.
Meanwhile, down on the airstrip, the Monster charged at the Cleaver line. Those who still had guns fired as it bore down on them. The bullets done nothing to faze the beast as it charged straight through the line of Cleavers, scattering them through the air. Two more Cleavers ran towards it and the beast swatted them away like they were nothing. Mason charged up energy in his hands and released a beam of light at the creature, which backed up at the attack. Mason ran out of energy to sustain the attack and the Monster took that opportunity to jump on top of its assailant. Bullets raked across it's ribs as Gibbs opened up a rifle on it, hoping to distract it long enough so that Tarkus summon a stream of fire that engulfed it. The Monster riled in pain. In a rage it swung its big front leg and knocked Mason and Gibbs flying. Polly and van Dyke ran around behind it, firing their guns all the way. Two more Cleavers ran up to the other side of the beast and slashed their scythes across it, cutting it's back leg and forcing it to the ground, the second scythe opened a gaping gash on it's torso, big droplets of black blood splashed to the tarmac. The Monster lashed out and one of its claws penetrated a Cleaver, the Cleaver dropped to the ground, the second one fell to the ground, its leg broken by the flailing arm. Polly ran up to the Monster and grabbed the scythe of a fallen Cleaver from the ground. The beast swung its claw and the scythe was knocked from the hands. Van Dyke, seeing her in trouble raised his hands to the fur of the beast, his hands glowed red as he unleashed pain upon the Monster. Before the creature could attack him, the remaining Cleaver scooped up van Dyke and hobbled out of range of its swing. The world got hot as Sen Tarkus walked up to the Monster, a great ball of hot flames swung around him as he prepared to fight the beast.
Drake and Jack ran up the stairs of the control tower, only to be greeted by Lucifer Grimskull. Matthias sat in a chair, holding his shoulder that had been injured by the explosion. Jack backhanded him across the cheek and Matthias slumped in his chair, unconscious.
"Oh no. You have me trapped and outnumbered." Said Lucifer mockingly.
"Outnumbered and outplayed. It's over. You've lost."
"Oh really now. Can't you see that I have the Box?"
"Oh, looks like you win. Open the box." Said Drake, lowering his gun.
Jack looked at them in confusion, which turned into shock as Lucifer opened Pandora's Box.
Nothing.
"What's going on?!" Screamed Lucifer.
"You've been duped, outplayed. The real Box is long gone. Before the fight in the city I had a replica made, and swapped them just before you jumped me."
Lucifer was shaking, his eyes wide. The rage in his face was unbearable.
"I'm. Going. To. Kill. You!" With that he let out an unearthly howl. And the control tower collapsed.
Van Dyke healed the injured Cleaver while Tarkus assaulted the Monster with his fire attacks. Polly ran over to collect the discarded sniper rifle, reloading it with bullets. Turning around in time to see the Monster slam Tarkus against the wall of the tower. He struggled against its grip. Polly took aim at the beast's head just as the tower collapsed. The force of the explosion from the jet fuel, doubled with the grenade had caused damage to the structure of it. It now came down upon the Monster, dust plumed up into the air, blocking the view.
The dust cleared to reveal parts of the control scattered across the breadth of the runway. The Monster had died underneath the rubble; Tarkus was nowhere to be seen. Lucifer was getting to his feet, Drake staggering towards him. Jack was lying on the ground off to the side.
Lucifer walked over to the stunned Drake and punched, it hit him flush on the shoulder, knocking him backwards. As he stepped towards the fallen Drake, a bullet went through his shoulder, courtesy of Polly. Unfazed by the bullet in his shoulder, he continued to kick Drake in the ribs, lifting him from his feet and winding him. Polly fired again, this time the bullet hit him square in the chest, but Lucifer simply ignored the wound and kicked Drake again. This time Polly took aim at his head, and pulled the trigger.
She cursed; she had missed his head, but managed to take off his ear. This time Lucifer seemed to notice her and started to run towards her. There was a blur of grey as the last Cleaver engaged Lucifer. They traded punches as van Dyke ran over to heal Drake. Polly ran over to back him up. Suddenly, there was a flash as Matthias launched an RPG at van Dyke and Drake. Moving and firing with surprising speed and accuracy, she snapped up the rifle and fired, the bullet hit the RPG mid-air and caused it to explode half way between Matthias and van Dyke. The air sizzled and Polly fired more shots at Matthias, who dived for cover.
Lucifer ducked under the punch from the Cleaver and put his hand on its gut. A beam of light shot from Lucifer's hand, almost dissecting the Cleaver, who fell to the ground, a pool of blood starting to spread. She looked over to see van Dyke and Drake chase after Matthias. Polly turned back to Lucifer; she clicked her fingers and summoned fire, throwing it at Lucifer, who dodged the attack. She quickly launched a punch that hit him on the cheek, he responded by grabbing her and lifting her into the air. He squeezed and she had trouble breathing. Suddenly, his grip relaxed and she fell to the ground, Lucifer was flung off in the other direction, and standing in front of her with flames in his hands and a smug look on his face was: Sen Tarkus.
Matthias ran towards the gate in the chain-link fence. Van Dyke caught him and tackled him to the ground. Matthias kicked him in the nose and jumped up, van Dyke lying on the ground, cradling his broken nose. He jumped to the side as a fireball from Drake whizzed past. Matthias blocked the right hook, Drake followed it up with a quick left, falling short due to his injured shoulder. Taking advantage of this, Matthias tried to flip him over his hip, but collapsed bringing down both Drake and himself. Staggering to his feet, Matthias failed to notice van Dyke's clothesline. Matthias done a full flip, his head bouncing off the ground, he returned to an unsteady standing position. Van Dyke's right hand glowed red; he brought his hand back and slapped Matthias across the face. Matthias rocketed back and collided with the fence, almost knocking it down with the force of the slap. Van Dyke turned around to heal Drake, but he was already running off to fight Lucifer.
Tarkus stood over Lucifer and raised his fist, which was covered in fire; he threw his fist down at Lucifer, hoping to deal the final blow. Instead, Lucifer grabbed the flaming fist and threw Tarkus away. He got up and launched a stream of fire at him. Lucifer stepped out of the way. A bright light shone from his hand, engulfing Tarkus, who fell to his knees, blinded and his skin boiling, he tried running out of the light, only to meet Lucifer's fist. Tarkus was knocked out of the fight and Polly took his place, throwing her fists into his nose and jaws. He retaliated by kneeing her in the stomach, knocking her unconscious. Lucifer picked her body up and threw it at the two figures running to join the battle. She hit van Dyke and they fell to the ground. Now it was just Drake and Lucifer, the others had failed. It was up to Drake.
Drake hit him on the jaw and moved down, launching a sharp jab into his ribs. Dropping to the ground behind him, Drake grabbed his leg and toppled Lucifer to the ground. Springing back up, Drake clicked his fingers and summoned a flame, pouring energy into it he put his hand out and a stream of fire hit Lucifer in the back. His Black Cleaver clothing protected him. He picked up a chair from the toppled control tower and smacked it into Drake's bad shoulder.
He fell to the ground grimacing in pain. Lucifer smirked and picked him up by the neck. Smiling, Lucifer squeezed his hands, and with a sickening crack he broke the man's neck. Lucifer let Drake fall to ground. Knowing he was unable to move, Lucifer moved foot over the crippled Drake's face, and dropped his foot.
Chapter 9 – Oracle.
He awoke to find himself in a giant marble hall. There were huge marble columns along the sides of the hall; it seemed to be about the same size as Westminster, albeit wider. There was light, but it didn't seem to have a source. In front of him stood a figure draped in a purple cloak, the hood concealed their face. Approaching Drake, it spoke in a soft feminine voice.
"Welcome. I am The Oracle. This is my realm. Only I live here. You are Arcabor Drake, and you are dead."
"Well I do remember someone stepping on my face."
"Indeed. Before you passed on, I snatched your soul so I could speak to you."
"Who are you?"
"I told you before, I am The Oracle. I observe your realm and see that the Legacy of the Ancients lives on."
"The Legacy of the Ancients. I've heard that before."
"When the Ancients left your world, they left behind balance and harmony and banished the evil of the Faceless Ones. This harmony is in jeopardy."
"Oh great, a prophecy."
"Do not mock this. You will all die if you fail."
"Eh, stock standard prophesy. What now? Am I the Chosen One? Is it my destiny to rid the world of evil?"
"Don't be silly. Lucifer Grimskull is only the beginning. You must defeat him and defeat the vast conspiracy behind him."
"Tell me more."
"I can not tell you. I can only direct you to where you have to go."
"You don't reveal much. The mysterious brooding type you are."
"I may be mysterious, but not 'brooding'."
"Then what's with the hood and the empty hall then?"
"This is my realm. You must leave now."
"What? I need to know more."
"I will tell you this: There is another person I have spoken to."
"Who?"
"A young girl, from Ireland."
Drake raised his eyebrow in surprise. The hall faded to black, The Oracle disappearing from view.
He awoke on an airstrip in the searing heat. Suddenly remembering why he was there, he jumped to his feat. His neck was healed, as well as his shoulder. He looked over to see Lucifer had Polly and van Dyke trapped in the ruined office building. He picked up a bloodied scythe off the ground. Running towards the building he noticed a silver short sword on the ground, he picked it up. The blade was about two foot in length. There was a cloud-shaped symbol near the leather bound hilt. Drake sprinted into the ruins of the tower to see Lucifer stand over Polly and van Dyke. "Hello stupid."
Surprisingly, Lucifer turned around to see Drake. They all looked like they had seen a ghost. "Looks like I'll have to kill you again." Lucifer growled.
"Good luck."
Lucifer ran at Drake, Polly and van Dyke bolted for the runway. Drake ducked away from Lucifer. Backing up, Drake waved his arms and the air around them started to move. It swirled around Drake like a tornado; Lucifer was caught in it and was buffeted by fallen bricks and chairs. The air slowed down and Drake compressed it into the palms of his hands. He thrust his hands forwards and unleased the pent-up air; it slammed into Lucifer with the force of being hit by a truck. He was thrown backwards about fifty meters. Drake ran towards him, grabbing the scythe that he had attached to his back. He ran up to Lucifer and swung the scythe, Lucifer ducked the swing and rammed his shoulder into Drake's chest. He followed it up with a series of punches that knocked the air out of his lungs. Lucifer aimed a right hook at Drake, who dodged it and ran round behind him. Placing his hands of Lucifer's back, Drake used the air to push him away. Unfazed, Lucifer jumped to his feet and a bright light shone from his palms. Blinded, all Drake could do was to cover his eyes. Lucifer grabbed him by the collar of his Cleaver suit and picked him up. He was carried over to the side of the hanger, where Lucifer slammed him against the steel wall.
"Today is the day you die Drake."
"You always overestimated yourself. You're weakening; you've been shot, been in a collapsing building and single-handedly fought four powerful mages."
"Your wrong. I can go all day." Lucifer snarled.
"Please, don't kid yourself. You are sweating, not to mention that you're loosening your grip. Getting tired."
"Still strong enough to kill you." Lucifer pulled him off the wall and swung him around. Drake smashed through the side of the hanger, landing on a stack of wooden pallets.
"Your fighting is predictable."
Lucifer jumped through the hole that he had made and picked Drake up again, lifting him by his throat.
"Your first mistake is that you always try to grab an opponent first. You just gave me an opening."
Drake lifted his knee and smashed it into Lucifer's jaw and Drake fell to the ground.
"After that you try a right hook. I'll dodge and you'll follow it up with a kick."
Lucifer swung his right fist at Drake. He ducked under it and caught the knee that was heading for his face. Drake punched the other leg and Lucifer tumbled to the ground. Drake backed off and got his breath.
Lucifer rose to his feet, staggering from his injuries. Drake retreated behind a large box and equipped his sword; it was silver and had a leather hilt. Above the hilt, the word 'Oracle' was written.
"A sword. Is that really the best you can help?"
Lucifer swung a large metal rod that he picked up from the debris. The sword and the rod met between them with a metallic 'shink'. The sword cut through the rod and clipped Lucifer on the shoulder, forcing him to drop his weapon.
"How the hell are you still fighting!?" roared Drake.
Lucifer simply snarled in response and a bright, white light shone forth from his body. Drake leaped to the side behind a pallet of wood. He peered around the corner to catch Lucifer sprinting from the hanger and out into the searing hot runway. Drake followed him, sprinting. Outside, Lucifer had noticed the weaker opponents in Polly and van Dyke.
Polly looked up as Lucifer rammed into her, flinging her into the side of the plane, and she tumbled to the ground, out cold. As she hit the ground, Lucifer grabbed van Dyke the neck, and slammed his head into the side of the plane with a sickening crack. Once, twice, on the third time the body that once contained Adler van Dyke. Lucifer dropped the lifeless corpse on the tarmac, turning to see Drake walk towards him, unusually calm.
"I don't know how you've survived this long. But it stops now."
"That's what you've said all day. But you've failed." Lucifer growled.
"Oh you have had plenty of chances to count your losses and leave."
"I've been ahead all –"
"Shut up. I was SPEAKING!"
The anger in that last word caused Lucifer to step back.
"As I said. Even when your plan falls around you, you just keep on fighting. IT DOSEN'T WORK! Look where it took Mevolent. It got him killed. Oh that was a good day. His plan failed, his Generals fell. But he kept fighting. In the end he failed, in the end it was us standing over his dead body.
"Your buffi –" started Lucifer
"SHUT UP!" Yelled Drake. "How many times have you failed because you fail to realise that you've lost? Don't answer. You're too stupid. You kill. You kill innocent people. People with friends, families, lives. And you kill them and walk away like it's none of your business. You look at them and ignore that they had lives."
"Oh, I know that they have lives. That just makes it even more fun."
"And just like that you've lost the right to even speak in MY PRESENCE!"
Lucifer tried to run towards Drake, was pushed back and buffeted by gusts of wind. Drake held up his sword and the air swirled around it. He clicked his fingers and the air lit up. A tornado of burning, fiery air twisting violently around the weapon. Lucifer tried to turn and run, but was held in place by the air. Drake was slowly walking towards him. Lucifer fell to his knees, and began to beg. Mumbling and spluttering out incomprehensible words. Only demanding a single word from Drake.
"No."
He brought the burning sword down on top of the man kneeling on the ground. A red flash erupted from the sword and consumed the day.
Chapter 10 – End.
The charred and twisted mass of limbs that used to be Lucifer Grimskull lay in a heap next to the damaged plane. Drake looked around, taking in what had transpired. Adler van Dyke was dead; as well as two thirds of the Cleavers that accompanied them. He looked down at the sword. Strangely, it had shrunk down to a miniature version of what it was before. He pocketed the weapon.
Over the hill two black helicopters appeared. Drake watched them land and the Grand Mage Hugh Aubrey stepped out. Medical teams swarmed around, checking on and picking up the unconscious fighters and helping them into the second chopper. The Grand Mage walked up to Drake.
"What happened?" He asked.
"We stopped him." Responded Drake. The Grand Mage followed his eyes to the lump of charred flesh, and let out a disgusted moan.
"Did he fall for the switcheroo with the Box?"
"Yes he did. Also, please never say that again."
The Grand Mage chuckled at his wording. "Let's go home. We're done here."
Three days later Drake sat in the front bar on The Dog and Bone, with him was Jack Carter and the Grand Mage. Polly and Mason had already left to go back to their own countries. Tarkus had also left, but no one knew where. They'd been there for a while, Gruff serving them drinks.
"I hear you fought a Monster. Did yer give em' the ol' one-two." He chuckled.
"You can't give a Monster 'the old one-two'." Frowned Jack.
"Sure yer can matey." He said as he walked off to serve someone else.
"Here's to van Dyke." Said Aubrey, raising his glass.
"Where you off to after this Drake?" Asked Jack.
"Back to London I suppose. Solving more crimes, might even look into what Lucifer was doing, see if there was anyone behind him."
"Good luck. We're preparing for the big decadal meeting between the Grand Mages from the major countries next year." Said Aubrey.
"Oh that. Hopefully the Sanctuary personnel can organize that without too much issue."
Aubrey laughed. Gruff turned towards them, unused to seeing a Grand Mage laugh, he wasn't very used to seeing the Grand Mage at all really, he looked very shocked when he seen Aubrey enter his establishment.
"Do say 'hello' to Strom for me when you see him next." Chuckled Aubrey.
"Here's a packet o' chips for yer." Said Gruff throwing down a large bag of crinkle cut potato chips in front of them. "Only for you Mr Grand Mage."
Aubrey watched him walk off, a confused look on his face.
"Lovely bloke. He's a bit gruff though."
A look of pure shock dawned on Aubrey's face as he realised what he said. He slumped down in his seat, cursing himself. He took a breath and looked up, both Jack and Drake were nearly keeled over laughing. Aubrey sighed and looked back at Gruff, "Hey mate, give us your best and strongest please."
A big smile cracked over the big mans face. "I think I'm startin to like you." He said as he picked a bottle of whiskey from a shelf.
"Course you should, I'm the mighty Grand Mage of horrible puns." He said, laughing as he finished the sentence.
And so the night went on. Laughing and joking in the company of his friends, Drake turned his attention to getting back home and what would be waiting.
Australia was much warmer than England. This was the thought that had stuck in Drake's mind ever since he had returned home. He reached his front door only to be greeted by his neighbour.
"Hello Archie." Cried out Mrs Smith, Drakes neighbour. Drake introduced himself as 'Archibald' to her, as he didn't think she'd take 'Arcabor' to seriously. "Have a good holiday?"
"Oh yeah, it was wonderful." He told the old lady, she was in her seventies, and wore a wig to cover over he declining head of hair, even though it never sat on her head very well. "Australia's excellent this time of year."
"Do you know that a young girl's been hanging around here lately. You haven't secretly had a daughter all these years have you?"
"Well I hope not."
"Always with the funny answers. I'm Glad your back." With that, she tottered off down the street, probably off to the shops, or a game of bridge.
Drake climbed the few steps to his front door, disabling the security, magical and mortal.
He walked through the entrance room into the drawing room, depositing his bag on an armchair. He sighed and fed his frogs some mealworms, they croaked in delight. He sat down in his favourite chair, positioned in front of the television.
"Alright. Come on out."
As he said this a young girl, scarcely older than ten stepped in front of him. She wore a black dress and had black hair.
"Who are you? How did you get in? And are we related?"
"Oh, you might remember me. I'm the Oracle."
"WHAT!?"
"How else would I have gotten through your security. Also, I look like this because this is mortal form I am forced to take."
"I thought you couldn't directly interfere."
"I'm not interfering. I only request help. I am being hunted."
"What do you mean 'you're being hunted' Your virtually a god."
"True. But I'm being hunted by the most dangerous, ruthless hunter in existence."
Drake readied his hand on both his gun, and his sword inside his leather jacket. "Who. Who is hunting you?"
"A man that can jump dimensions in his hunt. A man whose abilities are exceeded by only the Ancients and the Faceless."
"WHO!?" Drake was on his feet now. The gun in his right hand and the sword in his left.
"A man who is simply known as 'The Ghost'."
The room fell deathly silent. The only sound came from Drake's light breathing. Then, they heard it. The sounds of footsteps on wood outside the drawing room door.
"He's here. He's found me."