Biarce and Bell fell in low and hovered close to the water towards the island, the wave movements of the water would keep them hidden from radar detection if the island's defenses possessed it. Moving in closer, they landed by a small stretch of sand isolated from the rest of the compound. After sneaking through a small batch of jungle acres, they approached a fortified military compound teeming with various personnel at the ready to deal with any intruders that came upon them. Bell and Biarce quietly performed superhuman high jumps over the walls and over towards a huge concrete warehouse near the middle of the compound.
Biarce and Bell looked around and over the compound looking for something that would be the best lead for them to find out what it was they were looking for. Of course it didn't take long to notice that perhaps the most notable feature was a single huge dome that only held a single entrance inside, a round lens-shutter type of door that extended from a tunnel that emerged from the side.
"What do you think is in there, Biarce?"
"Only one way to find out, we'll have to move closer and have a better look."
The two kids snuck next to the entrance and waited cautiously for the entrance to give them a brief window of opportunity to slip by without the notice of one of the sentries. Suddenly, the shutter doors opened and a pair of men decked in priestly regalia emerged, talking an enigmatic conversation.
"The tachyon core holding the Seal is much more complex than I thought."
"Indeed, it will take some time before we unlock the Wraithbone matrix that holds it."
"We needn't worry, brother, the Chaplain is already in the midst of deciphering the matrix and soon the field will disperse, and we know he's the only one capable of working the mysteries of the Wraithbone in short order, faster than our own. Any news regarding the Palatine? It is said he would be arriving shortly at dawn."
I'm afraid not, he's been having the Chaplain perform most of his tasks, it would appear something truly important is going on at headquarters. Still, I can only imagine the excitement he must be feeling regarding another step in the plan completed."
None of their conversation made any meaningful sense to either Bell or Biarce, they simply snuck into the dome once they had gone past to parts unknown. Inside, they found a strange series of unusual shimmering flat stones arranged within a white circle expanding across the floor.
"Hey Biarce, what do you think this thing is?"
"I have no idea."
Bell started tapping on the strange stones in front of them, "Hey, they look kinda pretty, what do you think they are?"
"I have no idea," Biarce reached out to touch the mysterious stones, and almost instantly, they shifted further back down the floor, as though pulling back for him, "Whoa."
Bell rushed over to where he was, "What, what did you do?"
"I have no idea," Biarce began making shapes in the air with his fingers and the stones shifted along with him, like they followed his whim, "I think… I can control this thing."
"How did you do that?"
"I have no idea," Biarce lowered his hands and closed his eyes to concentrate; soon some of the stones began to descend in a pattern of stairs leading down into a chamber below. Biarce and Bell proceeded down and towards a huge door to the side.
"Hey, what do you think is through here, Biarce?"
"Only one way to find out," Biarce pressed a switch on the side and together, they entered what appeared to be an elevator leading down a long shaft several miles down under sea-level. The kids hopped on and pulled a switch before heading down to who knows where.
"Hey Biarce, what do you think we'll find down there?"
"I have no idea."
"Are you scared?"
"Not really."
"Nothing scares you?"
"Not as of now."
"That's pretty cool."
"What makes you think that?"
"It means you're really brave, sometimes I wish I were more like you."
"I don't think I'm that brave, I just… I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"There are things about me that I have no idea of, I'm a mystery to myself. When I think about it, it's like I have no purpose for existing." Biarce seemed rather beaten up when she brought that up, nodding his head down looking morose.
Bell placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Hey, Biarce, it's okay, it'll be all right. Look, whatever we find here, I just want to let you know that I want you to be who you want to be. You've always said you wanted to live the way you wanted to, and I'll always be here for you if you feel like you can't find yourself."
Biarce glanced at her and felt a ting of hope with her, "Thank you Bell, you're a good friend."
Upon reaching to the lowest level, the two kids exited through a door to a large subterranean chamber followed by a massive polished wall embedded into the Earth bearing intricate carvings of abstract shapes.
Bell rushed towards the strange edifice and started tapping against it, wondering what in the hell it was. "Hey, Biarce, do you think we can smash through this thing?"
"Bell, I'd prefer we find out more before…" The pounding of tinnitus followed when Bell vaporized the slab guarding them from wherever it was they were going.
"Hey, are you coming? Time's a wasting!"
He sighed, it seemed like butting heads and pounding obstacles into dust was Bell's solution for everything, it goes without saying that some people just aren't interested in the story behind the setting. Biarce followed after he and together they suddenly found themselves in a strange subterranean world with a strange, brown sky looming overhead, with long fang-like stalactites piercing downwards through the canopy of air. Below they found an even more unusual and intriguing sight, from as far as both their normal and peripheral vision could afford: a wide, monochrome necropolis that sprawled on a flat landscape. Biarce wasted no time going airborne over the silent cityscape below.
"What do you think this place is?"
"It's… " Suddenly, Biarce train of thought was interrupted by strange voices in his head, "I… huh?"
"Biarce? What's wrong?"
By the Fifth Seal they cried, and with arms outstretched before the domain of Heaven they called, "Justice, bring us justice, King of Kings! Give us justice that those who trampled upon your honor be enlightened by your light!"
"Ugh!" Biarce gripped his head and suddenly fell towards the city in a tumbling heap.
"Biarce! Hang on!"
He continued his wild descent towards the city, his head still throbbing from the voices barraging his thoughts. He seemed to fall for an eternity until he smashed through the roof of one of the buildings and fell unconscious.
A second seemed to go by and Biarce awoke to an unfamiliar interior, he turned to the side and saw GIR giving him that weird stare.
"Are you checking up on me?"
"Maybe baby," he replied, such a random creature he was.
Biarce sat up and saw Bell sitting by a window surveying the outside, it was evident they weren't exactly alone.
"Bell? How long was I out?"
"Well over forty minutes. What happened up there?"
"I… I don't know, I just heard voices in my head for some reason."
"Well, are they pestering you right now?"
"No, my head is clear right now."
"That's good; I was starting to worry for a sec."
"So what's going on? Why are you looking out the window?"
"Come see." Biarce jumped up and peeked out the window. Outside were ranks of the same men that resided in that citadel in the Himalayas, wearing medieval armor and armed with equally archaic weapons. The eerie quiet was suddenly broken by a loud rumbling noise - which caught the two kids' attention - that came from a large hulking object rolling in. A huge heavily armored behemoth, essentially a giant metal-plated box with large treads granting locomotion, rumbled noisily through the quarter. Looking further beyond the horizon, the skyline between the false sky and the sprawling necropolis below was a massive pillar-like structure that sat squat on the ground and extended infinitely through the crust of the earth.
Biarce and Bell hopped silent hurdles over the rooftops towards the strange tower, keeping up with the rumbling landship. After a few leagues or so of monotonous leaps and bounds, they reached the base of the tower. Strewn about in organized rows were more of the iron clad landships serviced by strange and unusual cyborgs, men with blank faces with their legs fused into a treaded platform and multiple robotic appendages sticking all across his torso.
Embedded into the base of the tower was a large aperture door that shifted open, revealing a small procession of more soldiers, far more ornately decorated than the last. Their armor gleamed like sunshine; they wore mantles lined with mink and carried halberds embedded with some devices near the bladed ends, marching in unison surrounding a rather important individual. A whirring noise, like from a helicopter, could be heard, faintly, but growing in volume the longer they waited.
A strange vehicle, like a ship but levitating downwards from on high, carried by an oblong balloon towards a landing pad nearby while lowering a gangplank for the company of men striding towards it. The group of ornate warriors marched onto the gangplank and after boarding, departed quietly into the false sky. Biarce gazed at the strange vehicle as it made its exit; however, it would appear that the VIP escorted on board knew there was more going on than his silence let on. For a seeming moment, Biarce could swear he was suddenly making eye contact with him, and that brief, speechless conversation jabbed through his mind like an iron spike had shot up his skull, causing a sore throbbing pain to cascade in his head.
"Biarce, are you all right? What's going on, your head has been hurting since we got here."
"I'll be fine, Bell, I just… felt a stabbing sensation rock through me for a second."
Bell raised a worried brow, "Well, when this is over, I'm having my dad have a look at you, all right?"
Biarce, Bell and GIR drifted up and above the oblivious crowd of archaic soldiers and proceeded towards a higher level of the tower. They zipped and zagged about looking for any sign of an opening, but Bell, impatient as ever, considered smashing through the tower walls to gain entry.
"Bell, you might set off an alarm or something if you resort to that."
"I can't wait anymore, I don't like waiting, and I'm sure my Dad doesn't like it either." Bell examined the structure of the tower, and spotted one section that looked weak enough to punch through. "Over here, Biarce! I found a weak spot!" Bell rushed in to smash her way through the wall section, however, she was greeted by an unexpected surprise. The wall suddenly came alive, and gripped Bell as though a ravenous mouth consuming a tender prey.
"Ah, Biarce, help!"
GIR chimed in, "I HAVE FURY!"
Biarce dashed towards the section of wall as Bell and GIR sank inside it, he started hammering and punching at the wall Bell and GIR ended up through, "Bell, Bell!"
He threw whatever he could at it, but it wouldn't give way. He gave up and rested against the wall, trying to gather his thoughts together. He was almost considering smashing through the front gate at the bottom when he felt his hand sink into the wall, and he turned his eyes to see his hand had formed a hole of receding cubes, they reformed when he pulled out, only to recede into a hole again when he extended towards the wall. Gaining an idea, Biarce reached into the wall again, and flared his fingers outward, and just with a simple gesture, the wall opened up into a spacious hollow of the tower with asymmetric branching crystal stems scattering whichever way downward towards pitch-black darkness and upwards towards a blinding light.
The darkness below didn't seem like the wisest course of action to partake in, so Biarce proceeded upwards scanning across the area looking for any sign of Bell and GIR.
"Obey me! Obey me, Tiberium!" GIR was waving his arms in a futile attempt to get the crystal to dislodge an unconscious Bell from its surface. Biarce drifted towards them, examining Bell's condition, she wasn't hurt, but the crystal held onto her tight, her body from the waist down was encased in the crystalline material, so was her left hand and most of her right arm, while a collar of the material wrapped around her neck, almost as though she was being choked.
Biarce placed hands on the collar and another near her waist and closed his eyes, concentrating and trying to interact with the crystal to release Bell.
Elsewhere…
Sitting comfortably on a plain and polished silver throne, the stranger guarded by the decked guards gestured with his hands and a disembodied digital screen flashed in front of him, he fiddled with a keyboard and soon, a face of one of the troops popped up.
"Lord Chaplain, may I help you sir?"
"Destroy the tower within the next eight minutes."
"What? But sir, the Seal hasn't even been removed yet."
"Trust me, my child, it will."
The screen closed only to be followed by another screen with a robust man with white, military cut hair and a square jaw appeared.
"Chaplain, how have you been with regards to your progress to the Seal?"
"Very good, sir, in fact, I anticipate that the Seal will be released very soon. What information can you enlighten me with regards to the Marienkind?"
"We have reason to believe he may be there beneath the Atlantic. Has your psionic senses detected anyone out of the ordinary?"
The Chaplain paused for a brief moment to consider, having seen a few uninvited guests some time ago, "No, I'm afraid I haven't felt any unwanted presence within the area."
"Very well, I look forward to seeing you return for next Sunday's sermon."
"I shan't be tardy, my lord."
There was more on the Chaplain's mind, namely the girl and boy he spotted some time ago. He mused to himself, the lad grows up so fast, and already he was with a companion just his age. He turned back towards the tower before the fireworks exploded throughout the mighty edifice.
A few minutes earlier…
Biarce had released Bell from her crystal prison and proceeded upwards, however, it looks like Bell must have had quite a shock since she was largely unconscious, and he ended up carrying her in his arms until she recovered. Until then, he had to navigate the interior of the tower towards the glowing light, GIR was not behind either.
Hopping from one branch to another, GIR managed to stay in step of Biarce, "Nin, nin, nin!"
Biarce penetrated the barrier of light and emerged on the edge of a circle crystal slab almost the diameter of the tower. At the center was a trunk of crystal that shot up some hundred feet upwards before terminating into a mass of mineral tendrils again.
Lodged in the center of the trunk was a huge sphere of sapphire blue, and inside was a floating medallion of an autumn-bronze shade, etched with a strange glyph.
"Mm… mm… what's up?"
"Bell, you're awake."
"I… hey!" Bell jumped out and away from Biarce's arms, "What's the big idea? Carrying me like I'm… I'm…"
Biarce responded in his normal deadpan response, "You're what?"
"I'm…" Bell was blushing across the cheek, "…nothing."
Biarce walked up towards the strange sphere, which GIR already began chipping away at (albeit in vain) with a mattock shouting "Rally-ho!"
Biarce observed the strange token embedded within the sphere, pondering to himself what in the world it could possibly be.
"Hey Biarce, what's that pretty little trinket inside?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"Because you're the smart one."
"What makes you think that?"
"I dunno, you seem pretty smart to me."
"Sure…"
Biarce ran his hand across the surface of the sphere, suddenly, the token inside shifted ever-so-slightly towards him.
"Hey, did you see that? It moved!" Bell started fiddling her hands around the sphere, but it didn't move for her, "Hey, what gives?"
She started waving her arms wildly, calling out to the strange token in the sphere. "Hey! HEY! Come on out little guy!"
"Easy Bell, I'll get it out for us." Biarce reached out, and with a bit of focus, slowly brought the token towards him from its containment.
Bell sat off on the side of the disk while Biarce tried pulling the token out on his own. Her casual idling was disturbed when a faint rumbling resonated within her ears.
"Hey, what's that noise?"
As if to answer her question, a much more powerful rumbling erupted beneath them and Bell was thrown off her feet.
"Biarce, this place is blowing up!"
"I know Bell, come on!" He grabbed her and as she held onto Girly and they flew off as the platform beneath them fell down the shaft of the tower into a shattering whirlwind of flame.
The three smashed through the edifice and into the outside. After regaining their bearing, Biarce, Bell and GIR watched as a part of the tower crumbled and crashed like thunder towards the city below.
Staring long and hard in a thousand-yard gaze, it ended when a lightning fast shadow emerged from the falling rubble and collided with the two super-powered kids, crashing into one of the structures down below.
Bell pulled herself out of the rubble, rubbing her sore temples from the impact. She scanned her immediate environs, and Biarce didn't appear to be anywhere in sight. She didn't have time to look for him when the soldiers bore down on her with their strange weapons. Bell dashed away from them with Girly in tow before they could get to her.
Their disparate attacks gave way to a huge, shimmering ball of crackling light that arced across the sky towards her. It exploded in a cascade of super-heated light behind her, and Bell jumped out of the way and into a nearby trench to hide.
She continued running with GIR, jumping over assorted obstacles while a rain of missiles continued to pour down on her position, jumping up to the roof of a nearby structure only to be cut off by a huge, imposing robot shaped like a giant eagle that screeched an otherworldly shriek, it lunged towards her with its enormous, adamantine beak. Bell jumped out of the way a little too late and one of her legs was caught in its beak.
"Gaah! Let me go!"
That was when GIR sprang into action.
"Hostile intruding upon VIP, initiating self-defense mode."
GIR's robot head popped open and a spiked Morningstar mace linked to a chain emerged, he swung it around and, through some unknown force of highly advanced science, it expanded until it was the size of a car, then he threw the weight of the blunt weapon towards the robot, smashing the beak and freeing Bell.
Bell responded by giving the eagle a strong jab that threw the metal monster back. She grabbed for GIR and proceeded to leap towards the robot eagle.
As soon as she was in proximity, Bell jumped towards the joint that connected the wing and the main body and gave it a good kick with her heel, splitting its limb in twain and knocking it out for a moment. It recovered and grabbed Bell by its talons, and then threw her against the top of a nearby monolith, punching a sizeable crater on its side.
Bell rubbed her pained temples and looked out towards the horizon. The large robot opened a few pods on its remaining wing and proceeded to fire against Bell. With quick precision, Bell leaped and hopped over each missile and finally reached the eagle again, punching through the head and right into its mechanical brain. She continued by running at the speed of sound across the back of the monstrosity, splitting the beast in half once she reached the bottom.
Bell continued running for the exit of this place, hoping that Biarce managed to make it out okay as well, she was worried about him, but she was more worried about herself and GIR.
After a few leagues of quickly moving through the edifices of the necropolis, she could vaguely make out the way she came in, escape was within her grasp.
She approached a clearing within reach to the exit, and she was almost home-free, at least she would have were it not for a stranger standing in her way.
He was a tall, lithe stranger who looked to be in his late 30s, he wore a long leather overcoat, a tall wide-brimmed hat and armed with assorted weaponry that wouldn't look too foreign on a Van Helsing-type vampire hunter.
"Hey, old man, get out of my way, you don't want to get hurt now."
The stranger didn't flinch, he just pulled out his archaic rifle and popped a shot towards Bell, but instead of a bullet, out flew a massive ball of swirling energy that flew straight towards her, Bell shifted sideways and just barely managed to avoid the shot.
There was no time to react when the old man was upon her in a flash, drawing a rapier that hummed with an ethereal hum. Bell raised her arms in a futile attempt to divert his attack.
Just as his lethal blow was about to make contact, Biarce came charging out from the nearby structures and shoulder-tackled the stranger before he could hit her.
"Biarce!"
He dusted himself, "Did you wait long?"
"Not long enough," she crossed her arms and tried to look self-important, "I coulda handled him myself."
"Sure you could…"
The stranger fired off another blast from his rifle at the super-powered children, releasing another sphere of power aimed for them.
Biarce and Bell braced themselves for impact.
Bell glanced at him, "Talk later?"
He nodded, "Why not?"
