The Navy managed to secure a good area around the port up to the Odyssey, and Cole, Finn and I headed back. I hadn't noticed, due to the fighting, that the Combustor was at Level IV, and was halfway to Level V. Well, the fighting, and my arguing with Cole.
"Why didn't you say that Seamus was a wizard?" Cole shouted.
"It's a big secret!" I shouted back. "He couldn't have told anyone himself!"
"Why not!"
"Because telling anyone, or using magic would get him expelled from the only magic school in the UK and Ireland, if not a sentence to jail."
"They would put a kid in jail for defending himself?" Finn said.
"Hey," I said, panting. "If you kill an unarmed man who's choking someone, and you have a weapon, then that's manslaughter and overkill."
"Why is there only one school, anyway?" Cole asked.
"I don't fucking know!" I shouted, running past a floating metallic egg, then down the… what the fuck? As I turned around, Cole came back.
"What are you doing?" He asked. The egg had a holographic display, which said 'GrummelNet Vendor'. So, this could let me buy new guns, huh? "What is that?"
"Let's find out." As I headed over, it reacted to the bracelet I had, and changed to a menu interface. It also showed the number of golden bolts I had collected, as well as these crystals. 15, 248 bolts and 350 crystals. On the display were three options. One was an ammo option, to buy more ammunition for the guns (duh). Next was an option to buy guns, followed by an upgrade option. "I guess that it's a weapon vendor."
"You're right at that." HOLY CRAP IT TALKED! "Name's Grummel 1. See you found one of the Combustors that I left around the city."
"Wait." I said. "You left guns around a city, for business, and you think that's a good idea? Why?"
"Hey, I made sure that the Drophyds couldn't use them." Well, that was good. "I thought that it would be good advertising. Well, stick out your arm for a second. The one with the bracelet." When I did, some balls of light went towards the bracelet, and then, a wheel appeared around my right arm.
"Here. That wheel acts as a weapon select. Flick around the wheel until the gun that you want to use is in the highlighted part, then flick your wrist." I tried it, first option was the Combustor, then some 'Fusion Grenades', followed by a Shard Reaper. I took out the Shard Reaper to look at it, then put it away.
"Two more free weapons, and your Combustor was reloaded. Also, your guns, and any more you buy, will have two more free upgrades."
"Well, that's good and all," butted in Cole, "but we're in a hurry."
"Okay, pal, but take these." The vendor then dispensed three tokens. "Set these on the ground at where it would be good for you. One is for a weapon vendor, the other for armor, and the last for devices."
"Cool, let's go." With that, we headed back to the Odyssey, which, luckily, wasn't far. As we got in, we all headed straight to the Café. Zeke was standing outside, waiting for us.
"Hey guys, come on in." He greeted us.
"Zeke, Elena told us what happened. Are you okay?"
"I'm alright." Zeke assured Cole. "Seamus has been pretty nervous. Everyone knows his secret though. The Death Eater attacked us in the car park. Seamus knocked the guy's wand out of his hand, then I shot him. He's scared that he could get into deep trouble from the main governing body of the UK wizarding community, the Ministry of Magic."
"Death eater?" Cole asked.
"Don't ask me. Seamus only said that was the group's name." As we got in, we saw Elena talking with a guy with dark hair, plain shirt and jeans. I recognised him instantly, from my brother's memory.
"Hey guys." Elena said. "Good news and bad news. By the way, Ezio, this is my fiancé, Nathan Drake."
"I saw Raphael's memory of when he distracted the Drophyds." I said. "I recognise him from it."
"Telepathy?" He asked. Yeah, and Telekinesis. You? "Gravity manipulation and immortality."
"How did you find out you were immortal?" I asked.
"When a Militia sniper shot me in the face and I healed in less than 20 seconds."
"Can we get back on track?" Elena asked. "Look, good news is, the NIRA and UVF have wiped each other out. They had a huge fight, here," She pointed at the map, "and what was left were easy pickings. We've expended our range by half a mile."
"But the area they had was 10 miles in total." Cole butted in. "Does that mean that the Militia and Drophyds have taken over the rest?"
"Well, the bad news is, no." She then showed us. "Drophyds have expanded by 1 mile. Militia by 2. The rest, we don't know. There's a new fraction there, and it wasn't anywhere before. Because of the attack on Zeke and Seamus earlier, we think it could be Death Eaters."
"Who are the death eaters, Elena?" Cole asked.
"Wizards." Seamus butted in. "Pure blood extremists. They think, that since their bloodlines have no 'filthy Mudbloods' in it, then they have the sole right to use and learn magic." Seamus, what's a 'Mud blood'? "By Mudblood, I mean someone who is descended from non magical blood, or Muggles. If a wizard or witch is born from Muggle parents, they're called 'Muggle-born'. Or, to pure blood supremacists, Mudbloods. Wizards born of one Wizard parent, or a Muggle-born, is considered a Half-Blood, like me. Any one of pure blood who marries either a half-blood, Muggle-born or Muggle is considered by them as 'Blood Traitors'."
"So, they're magic racists?" Joked Finn. "We should really get them to meet the Militia."
"What do you know about them, Seamus?" Cole asked.
"14 years ago, they launched a serious hate campaign against the Muggle community. Unexplained murders were common. Mostly in Britain, though. In the main Wizard community, there was a serious war. The Ministry against the Death Eaters, and their leader, some powerful Wizard called Lord Voldemort. He's supposedly dead, killed when a curse he tried to cast on a baby rebounded and seriously harmed him. That kid later became a student at the same school as me. Guy named Harry Potter. Don't know why the Death Eaters are suddenly active again."
"Yes you do, Seamus." I butted in. "I saw the memory of the Triwizard Cup. Harry, after he arrived back at the beginning of the maze test by port key, with the body of a fellow student, said that Voldemort was back."
"Yeah, but the Ministry denied it. The Daily Prophet, the bestselling newspaper in wizarding Britain, denied it."
"Because they didn't investigate it, I bet." I said.
"Seamus, I want to ask two questions." Elena said. "One, as the Daily Prophet is the 'Bestselling' paper in magic Britain, does that mean that it's the only paper?"
"No, there's the Quibbler, but it talks about crazy stuff, and Witch Weekly is mostly like OK magazine. Both are weekly."
"So, yes, it is the only daily paper." Elena said. "Second, how close is it to the Ministry of Magic."
"It's their biggest shareholder."
"Then it's not a reliable paper." Elena said. "As the governing body uses it as a mouth piece, then integrity of truth was thrown out the window."
"Give me one example." Seamus demanded.
"USTV!" All of us shouted.
"What?" Seamus asked.
"We'll explain later." Zeke said. "How do we make sure that it really is the Death Eaters?"
"Well, we could sneak in, take photos, or capture one." Nate said.
"Okay, let's do it." The admiral said as he came in. "Pretty well organised, might as well work with rather you than take over."
"Okay, Seamus, get ready to head out." I said. "Who wants to come?"
"I will." Nate said. "I can cover you with a sniper rifle, hide on the side of a building."
"Okay, I have something to do, first. Zeke, you need to come with me." Zeke followed me outside, and I took out the three tokens. I put them somewhere out of the way, and then, three vendors appeared.
"Hey, kid, what's your poison?"
"Zeke, hold out your arm."
"Okay." He said, slightly nervous. When he learned that he got some free guns and upgrades, he was like a kid at Christmas. This is usually a bad thing. "Well, might as well see what I can do. By the way, how come the guns upgrade when you use them?"
"Good question." Grummel 1 replied. "The guns have nanites that travel with the bullets. When you score a kill, the nanites are released, carrying materials that can be used to improve the gun. By the way, at V.V, the guns can upgrade two ways, which the individual chooses. For example, with the Combustor, you either get two guns, or a heavy duty machine gun. Check back soon, I'll have more guns soon."
"Cool." Cole said as he came up behind us. "By the way, are the guns protected from large amounts of electricity?"
"Yeah, I saw that lightning bolt you called." The vendor chuckled. "Relax, the guns actually depend on electricity to fire. You'll be fine."
"Okay." Suddenly, he held out his arm, and had a bracelet for himself.
"Hey, by the way, the Drophyds, where are they from?" I asked.
"They're from the Polaris galaxy, same as me." He said. "By the way, the 'Emperor', Percival Tachyon, is a Cragmite."
"Percival?" Zeke snickered.
"Yeah. Everyone was shocked when he showed up. Most of the Cragmites were banished to another dimension by scientists of the Lombax race. They were considered heroes… Until Tachyon started a genocide against them and forced them to flee from this dimension."
"Whoa. That sucks." Cole said.
"Yeah, the ungrateful bastard. The Lombaxes raised him, after all. How does he repay them? Stealing their technology and starting a war with them!"
"WHAT!" Was the only thing we could say.
"They found his egg, and raised him. Although, when he took over, for the more dangerous inventions that they couldn't take or destroy, they hid them all over the universe, on mostly backwater worlds."
"How backwater is Earth, our world?" Asked Zeke.
"There's a galactic committee in your galaxy, and you're not a part of it."
"Well, bet that Tachyon attacked planets in our galaxy for the Lombax tech."
"Actually, he attacked several galaxies. Solana and Bogon after he traced two Lombaxes to those Galaxies."
"So, there are still Lombaxes in this dimension?" I asked.
"Yeah, but they were probably left behind."
"Hey, what are Kerchu, anyway?"
"Second most unpleasant race from Polaris. Behind the Cragmites, of course. If one sees you, get ready to fight, or run."
At that, I upgraded the guns, and checked out the other vendors.
After buying a new cheap armour (Blackstar Armour), and got some combat devices called Groovitrons (These would be helpful for some distractions, or can be used to leave enemies open, and can be loaded with different songs. They cause anyone to dance. ANYONE!). After I helped Seamus and Nate with load out, we headed out.
Mission Start: Magic Recon.
As we headed out, we decided to use stealth for this, and to keep the gunfire to a minimum. Seamus said that he had a guess as to where to go, as the wizards may be based in the magic streets that are hidden from the Muggle perspective. As we got there, I noticed that there were thoughts moving around us, but weren't aware of us.
"Hey, Seamus, I can feel people moving fast around us. They don't see us. How?"
"Well, they could be Apperating. That's using magic to teleport."
"Great, this will be easy." Nate said. "So, how do we get in?"
"Hold on." Seamus told us, as he took off his glasses and put them on his shirt. "Stay here, I'll sneak in, see how normal it is. I'll text about how the situation is." With that, he went in.
"So, what do you think the Drophyds are looking for." I asked Nate.
"Long golden tube, embedded with glowing jewels, like a puzzle." He said. "Sorry." Wait, did you take it here?
Yeah, I did. Stole it from some guy in the US. Some guy from this group called the First Sons, thinking that it helped open the potential of a person.]
Why Belfast?
Ever seen Torchwood?
"You took an artefact that some insane little alien wants, to Ireland, thinking that people would think of more mainstream areas?" I asked.
"Didn't know he could isolate some signals to Europe."
"Wait, the First Sons, Cole said that they were responsible for the incident in Empire City."
"Yeah, too bad the Militia has the damn thing. One of their members stole it during the initial attack." He suddenly went and looked around the area. "Just hope I'm wrong about it."
"About what?"
"It could be similar to the Ray Sphere." Suddenly, we got a message from Seamus. 'Place is mostly abandoned. Got the photos. Let's head out.' We got ready, when Seamus came out. He nodded at us to leave, when suddenly, I felt someone Apperating. They were going to Apperate next to us, and they were going to attack. I was certain of it. I suddenly pushed when they began to appear. The result was gruesome. "Whoa, whoa, what the hell?" I felt more.
"They're coming!" I shouted. We all began running, and they were attacking. I was able to disarm a few of them. But they were casting anything to stop us. Seamus was using spells to trip them up, get their wands away, paralyse some. Nate somehow floated through air, and turned around to get a better shot.
I could tell what spells they were using. 'Wingardium Leviosa.' They were throwing stuff around them at us, getting it to float before throwing. 'Expelliarmus.' Trying to disarm us. Seamus hit one in the face with a paralysing spell, 'Petrificus Totalus.'
When Nate was floating, I suddenly heard one voice scream, "Avada Kevadra!" Seamus instantly screamed, "Nathan, look out!" It hit him straight on, but didn't do anything. He shot the caster, though. Suddenly, Militia started shooting at our attackers, and we used that to get into an alleyway and catch our breaths.
"So, what was that last one meant to do, Seamus?" I asked. "Avada Kedavra?"
"'Let the thing be destroyed'." Said Nate. "In Arabic texts, it was said to be used by healers to treat illnesses, where this thing that would be destroyed was whatever was afflicting the patient. It's where 'Abracadabra' originates from. However, from Seamus' reaction, I would say that it was slightly different?"
"Healing? It was used for healing?" Guess it was different. "That was a killing curse! And you brushed it off."
"Guess you actually are an immortal." I said.
"What?" was the expected reaction from Seamus.
"Immortality, I can't die, and gravity manipulation."
"Well, we have the pictures, right?" I said.
"Better. Pictures, and an arm from that poor bastard at the entrance." Seamus held out the severed arm, which showed a tattoo of a skull with a snake coming out of the mouth.
"Why are you carrying it?" I asked.
"Well, we need to show proof to Elena." We decided to head back to the Odyssey, and show our evidence to the boss. Hell, I need to use the weapon vendor, the Combustor is Level V and I need to see how to get dual wields.
Mission Complete. Awarded 500XP. 15 Enemies Defeated. Awarded 3 X 15= 45XP. Skills Performed: Enviro-Takedown (2 X 10XP) Total Award: 565XP.
"Hey, guys," Elena said, "I'm going to scan the phone for the pictures that Seamus took and- IS THAT AN ARM!" She shrieked.
"Yeah, Elena, but it's proof." Seamus said. "See the tattoo?"
"Yeah, hold on, I'm taking a picture through the ARI's camera." With that, there was a sudden flash from Seamus' glasses. "Alright. Good news for all, and great news for Ezio. First off, the port workers came over, said that they set up a few ferries as shelters, so that the Navy could protect some of our civvies. One of the Navy officers is a healing Conduit, so we have a clinic, and Liz can rest for a while, but they also delivered something that you all should see. Ezio, you have to get here."
"How come?" I asked.
"Liz revived Raphael, he's awake, and asking for you." I literally bolted when I heard this.
When I got in, Liz stopped me. "Hey, Ezio, Raph's over at the top floor in W5."
"Okay." I ran over to the elevator and ran back over to Liz, and kissed her straight on the cheeks. "Thank you." I then went up to the top floor, and looked for Raph. As I got up, I looked all over for him, but I couldn't see him.
"Looking for someone?" I heard from someone behind me. Then I turned around. Cocky grin, cocky comment, that was Raphael O'Malley, alright.
"Raph!" I went over and hugged him, but he winced in pain.
"Hey, watch it." He said. "I'm not immortal." He was dressed in loose clothing, probably to reduce the strain of his injuries. He was quite heavy set, mostly from playing rugby as a hobby, and his hobby of power lifting, however, he appeared to be quite larger since before the attacks. He had dirty blonde hair, like me, however, he preferred to have it cut short, and he had brown eyes. And if anyone is concerned, he's 21.
"What are you doing out of bed, anyway?" I helped him over to where his stuff was. "You know Liz would give you a beating if she saw you moving like this."
"Had to take a leak." As he laid down, I tried to read him mind. He was scared, wondering how bad his injuries were. Wondering if the kids were safe.
"Don't worry, Elena and Nate got all of the kids you saved to safety. And your injuries have improved."
"So, which of the two lovebirds told you what I did?"
"Neither."
"So, the kids wanted to thank the brother of the guy who almost died saving them?"
"What do you mean, almost? You were brain dead when you were brought here." I said. "And, the kids didn't say anything either."
"Wait, how was I brain dead, then conscious a few days later?" The same way that I read your mind when you were comatose. Super powers. That last one definitely startled him. "Dude, how'd you do that? Are you Psychic?"
"Yeah, I am. And if it wasn't for Liz's healing powers, you would be a vegetable. Hell, she saved most of the people here, even me."
"Whoa. What else can you do?" With that, I caused him to float in the air for a while. "Hey, put me down, this isn't funny!" I put him back on his bed, then got ready to leave. [Rest up, Liz will be here later to use her healing powers on you. Be nice to her.]1
Okay. he replied. Can you get me something to drink, though? I'm thirsty.
Water okay?
I'll drink anything.
As I headed down, I stopped by the weapon vendor to see Seamus talking with the Armour Grummel.
"So, why do you use bolts as currency, anyway? Couldn't con artists just paint regular bolts gold?"
"Actually, no. All technology that deals with currency in the Polaris, Andromeda, Solana or Bogon galaxies can tell the fakes from the real deal. Real currency bolts are larger than the commonly used machine bolts, and are actually heavier due to the way that they are made. Also, real bolts have a small chip in them that, if removed, would stop working."
"What about the main committee here?"
"They primarily use electronic funds transfers for all purchases."
"So, how do I get bolts?"
"I don't know, blow the shit out of the Drophyds or something." That was funny, considering that that Grummel had a posh British accent.
"Hey, kid, see your combustor is maxed out." the weapons vendor said. "Which upgrade will it be? Dual, or heavy?"
"Dual, how much?"
"Nothing." That's good. "It's standard in four galaxies, that maxing out the nanites makes the gun into a more powerful version. Of course, GrummelNet has being able to choose which as a standard feature." With that, he upgraded the Combustor, into a pair of Duo Combustors. "Have fun." I headed over to the Café to speak to the others.
"Hey, how's your brother?" Zeke asked.
"Thirsty. Going to get him some water." I looked over at table, which had some weird glowing, purple crystalss on it. "What are these?"
"They're called Blast Cores. They can give you some more powers."
"Like what?"
"I don't know, they're different for each person. When you go to turn in for the night, let me know. We want to use one on you, and rest of the Conduits. Except Cole, but he's pretty powerful already. He wants others to get stronger. They'll knock you out, so you need someone to supervise."
"Thanks, I'm gonna get something to eat, first, though." I saw the time. 10:30. Late. I was starving. "You want anything?"
"I'm cool." He replied. "By the way, I just rigged the arcade games in the bowling alley. If you have some free time, go ahead and use them. At most, you get three goes per session."
"Thanks." I headed up to see that a few Navy men were using the canteen. Must be resting up from patrols. Saw this black haired woman working there with Sully, very tanned.
"Hey, Sully." I greeted. "Who's the hot chick."
"Chloe Frazer." She introduced herself. Australian. "Time manipulator. You?"
"That's the psychic I was telling you about." Sully said. You do know that he's staring down your top, right?
I noticed. She then asked me what I wanted. I got two plates, one for me, and one for my brother. "So, time control?" I asked. "Pretty big deal, when you think about it."
"Not actually." She said. "I can only go back by at most 6 minutes, some future sight and I can pause time." She then handed me my food, before she stopped me from going away. "Hey, can I ask you to do something for me?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"Well, Sully and I have a job to do tomorrow, and I can't find anyone else but a Navy chef to do the canteen. You only have to serve food."
"Sure. When do you need me?"
"ASAP?" I gave a nod, then delivered the food up to Raph. We got talking for a while, talked about my powers, how the UVF and IRA killed each other, how aliens are searching for some relic, and how racist wizards are invading the city. He didn't believe me. Then Seamus showed up, with a big envelope.
"What you got there?" Asked Raph.
"An owl just delivered this parcel." Seamus replied. By the way, Raph, Seamus is a wizard. Just for reference, as they lack logic.
"What's in it?" I asked.
"Well, the Daily Prophet, letter from a friend, letter from Hogwarts, notice from the Ministry… Peruvian instant darkness powder?" He then took out a small parcel, which had a fuse. I'll ask later. He was shocked by a red letter, though. He had a face that screamed, 'Oh, Crap!'
"What?" Raph asked.
"This is a Howler." Seamus replied.
"A howler?"
"It's a magic letter used… to express anger at someone." Seamus said. "It's from my mam." He replied after a pause.
"Hope it isn't that bad." I said.
"SEAMUS FINNEGAN!" It shouted, in a woman's voice with a thick south Irish accent. So, that's why they're called Howlers. The letter suddenly folded itself, origami style, into a mouth. "WHY ARE YOU BEING INVESTIGATED BY THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC! THEY SAID THAT YOU USED MAGIC IN FRONT OF A MUGGLE! YOU WERE ONLY MEANT TO GO TO BELFAST TO VISIT YOUR GRANDMOTHER!" Where is the volume on this thing? "I SWEAR, THAT IF YOU DO ONE MORE THING TO SHAME ME, I WILL COME UP THERE AND SMACK THE FRECKLES OFF YOUR ARSE!" Suddenly the envelope tore itself up, after teasing Seamus.
"…Whoa." was all that Raph could say.
"Write her back." I said.
"But she'll kill me!" Seamus said, close to tears.
"Listen." I said calmly. "Just point out that what you did was an act of self defence, that you and the Muggle were almost killed by a rogue dark wizard, and that THIS IS A WARZONE AGAINST ALIENS, DEATH EATERS, AND MUGGLES WITH SUPER POWERS!" That last bit must've shocked him. "You scared that she'll kill you? Go ahead and write it. I'll kill her when she shows up, or hopefully, she'll be a casualty, because someone who hides behind a magic letter on max volume while they're too scared to show their face is nothing more than some pathetic bitch who thinks they're a big dog." I stormed out. Then went back in. "Why'd you open it anyway, man?"
"If I left it, then it would've opened itself, and would've been louder."
"Whoa." Raph said. I just got out my phone and called Zeke.
"Hey, Zeke, ready to use the Core."
"Okay, by the way, someone is complaining of shouting. What's going on up there?"
"Tell you tomorrow."
FILES:
Daily Prophet Headline:
HARRY POTTER MISSING
Report by Rita Skeeter
Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, has apparently went missing after the Ministry of Magic reported that his claims that 'He Who Must Not Be Named' had returned were false and vicious lies.
Potter had gone missing from the house that he was staying with his Muggle relatives in Surrey. Although there are no signs that there was any form of foul play, the Aurors are investigating.
[I can't read the rest of this garbage, it's nothing but vicious libel. This 'Skeeter' woman should be fired, or working as a fictional author].
Letter From Dean Thomas:
Seamus,
Can you believe it? Aliens are attacking! I told you that they were real.
Anyway, there's a problem. Where the hell are you? All of the students were evacuated to Hogwarts, even that git Malfoy and his crew.
By the way, do you know where Ron and Hermione are? Apparently, Harry ran off to Ireland and they went to find him. If you're nearby, please find them. They're in danger, and Harry is less than fragile, since Cedric's death. And with the Daily Prophet spreading lies about him, he could be extremely pissed if you say you or your mum believe it.
I've included a packet of Peruvian puff powder with this letter. Carry it with you, in case of an emergency. And please write back to let me know you're alive.
Lots of concern,
Dean
Letter From Hogwarts:
[The letter is a list of materials that Seamus needs for the next school year. I've hardly heard of most of these. It's hand written and signed by the Headmaster, a man named Albus Dumbledore.]
Ministry Notice:
Mr Seamus Finnegan,
We have been made aware that you used magic in front of a large group of Muggles. We are currently investigating the incident. If we call upon you to give evidence, we expect you to give evidence.
[The rest of the letter includes a list of laws that were broken by Seamus. It also appears to be signed by a woman called, Amelia Bones, the head of the 'Auror's Office' which I believe is a position in the Ministry of Magic.]