FIND HIM
MARY GRUNTED as she pushed herself up, the others groans and the creaking of the ship being silenced by her horror as she looked at the spot where the portal had just closed. "Tom …" She stood. "They took him!" She turned to the others. "Why'd they take him?"
"Why're you looking at us – I don't know." Marco shrugged.
Star's brows furrowed, the guilt weighing on her. "Mary, I –," A loud bang rocked the ship.
"Looks like they saw the ship." Zarden said and cocked his rifle. "Let's find Tom."
Mary nodded and Marco and Zarden activated their jetpacks and flew out of the ship with her. Star watched them fly out and she looked at her wrist, steeling herself for what she feared was coming. She shot out of the ship and gasped as she and the others hovered before a horde of nearly a hundred sorcerers that'd surrounded them.
"Well, guess they weren't messing around." Marco said.
A wizard yelled out a command in an alien language and the army opened fire, sending a barrage of spells their way. Spreading out her arms, Mary created a force field to shield her and her friends and she was immediately overwhelmed by the power of the blasts. Zarden saw her strain and quickly drew out five black bombs.
"Mary, let down the shield then bring it back up again!" He yelled.
Mary dropped the shield, letting the spells pass through and in a splint second, Zarden threw the bombs and shot at them with his rifle, creating a massive explosion that spread out and threw everyone back. Mary, Marco, Star and Zarden hurtled back from the tower in the safety of Mary's shield and she shut it off, collapsing into Zarden's arms and breathed heavily.
"Quickly, let's get in before the smoke cloud wears out." Zarden said, pointing at a wall to the right of their ship.
The five reached the wall and Zarden gave Mary to Tom, quickly fishing out a bomb from his suit and setting up to the building. Marco looked around in worry and noticed their ship. "Hey, shouldn't we hide the ship or something?"
"Don't worry, I've got cloaking." Zarden said.
"Plot convenience," Marco nodded, "nice."
"Actually, I don't, it's busted – we're losing the ship."
"Well, ain't that some shit." Marco threw his arms up, nearly dropping Mary.
An explosion came and they turned to see the ship erupt in flames. "Hurry, before they catch us!" Star said in a panic.
"Okay, got it." Zarden pressed the button on the bomb and flew back. "Stand clear!" The bomb exploded, borrowing a hole in the wall. "Let's move."
Zarden, Marco, Mary and Star quickly flew into the room and they looked around. "I can't believe you let go of your ship just like that."
"Yeah, well." Zarden moved the dial on his gun. "I had to prioritize and you kids come first." He blasted the wall, sealing it with a plasma shield and causing the room to go completely dark. A soft light came and they turned to see Star emit a warm golden glow.
"Whoa." She looked at her hands in confusion.
"You look beautiful." Marco said in awe.
Star smiled and Zarden picked her up abruptly. "Hey!"
"Sorry, need to take a look around." Zarden said as he held her up. He saw a lamp and grinned. "There it is!" He shot it and it lit up. "Thanks." He dropped her.
"Rude." Star pouted and Marco helped her up.
Zarden squinted as he looked around at the architecture and suddenly the lamps came on one by one, illuminating the room and bringing alight astrology symbols on the ceiling, a map of the multiverse on the floor, and murals and hieroglyphics on the walls. They looked around in shock and the walls lit up with magic symbols that led up to a large, one-eyed pyramid with arms, legs and a top hat at the back of the room.
"What the hell is this?" Marco looked around and stopped at the pyramid. "From occult to stupid … I will never understand magic."
"Some of these look familiar." Star said as he read.
Star's eyes bulged as she realized what the murals were and she began to panic as the others started reading. Zarden, Marco and Mary moved closer as they read more and grew more and more curious as they learned about the Valar and the Dark One. Star looked around and began to feel uneasy and an alien sensation of rage enveloped her as she saw the triangle with an eye.
"What is all this?" Mary asked.
"Star … I think this is about you." Marco said.
"You?" Mary turned to her. "How?"
"Wait, wait, wait, you're some sorta demon god?" Zarden asked.
"No, I'm not." Star said, struggling to hide her worry that was slowly being replaced with anger.
Mary became curious and stepped forward. "Star, what's going on?"
"I …" Star glanced about and huffed. "I'm … I'm a Valar."
"What's a Valar?" Zarden asked.
"They're beings that were there at the beginning of the universe that protected it from the Dark One." Star said.
"And you're one of them?" Zarden raised his brow. "How's that possible?"
"I saw a prophecy in the temple we went to and it said I'm to be a spawn of theirs." Star said.
"What? Like a demi-Valar?" Marco asked and nodded.
"Well, that's good then; if you're powerful, then it'll be easy to defeat these guys." Zarden said.
"No, I can't!" Star yelled, causing the others to jerk back. She blinked and tried to calm herself. "I can't fight him."
"Who?" Mary asked.
"Tom!" Star sighed and ran her hands through her hair. She paced about. "The Valar fought the Dark One long ago and just like they have a spawn – me –, the Dark One has his: Tom."
Mary's brows furrowed as she began to connect the dots. "How do you know it's Tom?"
"Well, I saw this old man in there and he said that I'd know when the time comes and I know that it's Tom." Star huffed. "I know I'm gonna have to face him, but I don't think I can. I mean, he's my friend – why should I fight him?"
"Wait, what makes you think you're gonna fight Tom? It's just some prophecy so it could be wrong." Marco said.
"No, she's right." Mary said.
Marco raised his brow. "What makes you think so?"
"Because there's more than one spawn." Mary turned to him.
A bright light appeared and the four turned to see Ayela step out of a portal with two wizards. Star turned to her and frowned. "You."
"I knew I sensed the presence of a Valar." Ayela shouted at the wizards in an alien language and they spread out. She made hand signs and created shields before her fists. "You will die where you stand."
"No." Star said and stepped forward. "You guys go and find Tom."
"What about you?" Zarden asked.
"I've got this." Star said. "Power of the Multiverse, I Summon Thee," She slammed her palms together. "Cosmic Storm!"
Luminescent clouds started to swirl around Star, releasing lighting and shimmering with small stars within and started to spread. She threw her arms apart and it burst out in a powerful wave that went around her friends, thrusting the wizards onto the walls. Marco shielded his eyes from the light and looked to see Star standing tall before him – her long flowing hair glimmering in rich gold and her body emitting a warm glow.
"Whoa." His eyes dilated.
"Go!" Star yelled.
Zarden, Marco and Mary nodded and ran out of the room, quickly being chased by Ayela's subordinates. Ayela struggled to her feet and Star clenched her fists, ready to fight. The alien laughed.
"So, you think can fight me, youngling?" Ayela asked and Star frowned in response. "Well, we'll just have to see who will earn the prize of the wand." She fished the wand out of her cloak and brandished it. "Come at me, putrid filth."
Star frowned and charged at her.
"WHERE DO you think they're keeping him?" Marco asked as he, Zarden and Mary ran through the halls of the tower.
"Well, it's probably at –," Zarden jerked back as an energy ball hit the wall before him. He turned and saw the wizards running after them. "Man, these guys just don't quit, do they?"
A wizard chanted a spell and summoned six magic circles which she sent at them with the swipe of her hand. Mary erected a shield and the discs bounced off it, smashing against the walls and ceiling. Zarden fired at a disc and it flew into the other five, causing them to bounce and destroy the walls, causing them to collapse and block their way.
"Guys, go and find Tom – I'll handle these guys." Zarden said.
"No, we're gonna stay here and help you." Marco frowned.
"Come on, we don't have time to argue abo –," A wall exploded near Zarden and a monster burst out, smashing into him and sending him hurtling into a massive hall.
"Zarden!" Marco yelled and another monster burst into the hallway.
The beast swung its paw at the two and Mary summoned a shield, blocking its attacks. The monster attacked relentlessly and Mary struggled, putting everything she had into the shield to deflect the monster into the room Zarden was in. She panted and nearly collapsed when another creature lunged at her from behind. She quickly blocked the monster's attack, but was overwhelmed and fell into the room Zarden was in.
Marco ran to Mary's aid and he threw a swift punch, only to be met with excoriating pain as he its hard scales. The creature turned to him and whipped him with its tail, sending him falling far back. Marco pushed himself up slowly and breathed heavily as he saw monsters fill the room and surround Zarden and Mary. He felt a pang and touched his lip, seeing blood on his finger.
Zarden fired at two monsters before him and another clawed at his back, grazing his suit. He turned to it and another beast pounced upon him. Mary struggled against a barrage of attacks from beasts all around her and her shield was slowly being broken down. All the while, Marco watched, helpless as his friends were being overwhelmed.
He looked down at his hands, losing the will to fight when a dim glow came from them and on his palms appeared two large stars. He raised his brow and energy exuded from his body, one of a warmth that he recognised. "Star?" The energy erupted from him and he knew she was with him. Clenching his fists he ran toward Mary and gave a monster a roundhouse kick, knocking it to the ground. "Yes, it works!" He looked at his hands and beasts ran up to him. "Let's do this!"
Four monsters charged at Marco and he leapt into the air, downing a beast with a swift heel kick and he sidestepped away from another's massive paw. With a swift knee and chop, he downed the second beast and jumped up to the third, barraging it with a rapid triple kick. He back-flipped twice and landed a butterfly kick on the fourth beast, landing into a fluid karate pose.
He felt the energy rising and he smirked as monsters turned to him. "If I have Star's power, then I can do what I've always dreamed of doing!" He waved his arms around and held his hands open at his side, spreading his legs wide into a strong stance. "Ka …!" He felt the earth rumble, "meh …!" his hair slowly glowed, "ha …!" he slowly left the ground, "meh ...!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, "ha!" he thrust his arms forward and felt energy rushing through his body.
Nothing happened.
"Oh, come on!" Marco groaned and the monsters lunged at him.
STAR SIDESTEPPED away from massive spinning magic circles Ayela chucked at her and she ran off as they exploded near the back wall. Ayela ascended into the air and did hand signs, quickly chanting a spell. She summoned a magic circle and she threw several energy balls at her. Star conjured up an aurora shield, deflecting the blasts and she slapped her hands together.
"Power of the Multiverse, I Summon Thee: Crimson Harpoon!" Star thrust her palms out and nothing happened. "Huh?"
Ayela slapped her hands together and the magic circles collapsed onto Star, exploding and forcing her down. Star pushed herself up and gasped as Star chanted another spell. "Celestial Wind!" She conjured the energy around her and it spread out a few feet, only to blow up around her. "What the?"
"Now, Abyss of the Multiverse, Pit of Darkness: Horde of the Underworld!" Ayela made a series of hand signs and spread out her arms, summoning several portals around her.
The gateways opened into dark, void dimensions and searing heat flew into the room as several glowing eyes shone from other dimensions. Furious wins blew in and Star was flung back against the rocks. She pushed herself up and her eyes dilated in horror as several humanoid demons of varying size walked in, crushing the rubble around her. A force pinned her to the ground and her body felt weaker and weaker as the monsters drew closer.
"Now, you repugnant worm, prepare for the full fury of hell; a pain far sweeter than the rage of the Dark One!" Ayela said as she slowly descended to the ground. "Your body will be destroyed, your worlds destroyed – the universe brought to nothingness! You will feel a never-ending pain and your kind will be wiped away forever!"
Star clenched her fists slowly, grazing her nails against the dirt as the winds grew stronger and an aura slowly exuded from her body. The pain of her wounds slowly left her and the alien rage became more powerful. She felt a great strength well within her and her eyes glowed bright white.
"Now, demons of Muspelheim eviscerate her!" Ayela yelled and the demons charged at Star.
"Enough!" A beam of energy burst out of Star, burning everything and incinerating the beasts and destroying the portals in the room. Ayela jerked back in horror and she saw the girl before her quickly become an intimidating force. Getting to her feet, Star's body erupted with fierce energy and her eyes started to glow.
"Oh no ..." Ayela's eyes dilated and she fished out the wand. "It must be the source of her power."
"Give me my wand!" Star yelled with an ethereal voice. Ayela threw the wand at the ground and it stopped in mid-air as Star released a wave of energy. "I Call Upon The Power Of The 88 Constellations!" The earth rumbled. "Rulers of the Heavens, Give Me Thy Power: Supernova!" Star yelled and a bright energy burst out of her, incinerating the demons in their wake.
The sorceress summoned a magic circle to shield herself and her skin slowly cracked, breaking apart and turning to dust. Ayela mustered as much energy as she could, but got overwhelmed and the light broke through the shield, incinerating her as well.
A silence fell and the energy quickly dissipated, causing the wand to collapse on the floor. Star's eyes slowly dimmed and she descended to the floor, looking around in confusion. "What happened?" She scratched her head groggily and saw her wand. "My wand!" She gasped ran up to it, grabbing it quickly and kissing it hastily. "I'm never losing you again!"
Kissing it one last time, Star skipped happily out of the room, not noticing the pyramid's eye flow her as she moved. It frowned and turned red. "It's them, they've found this dimension …" the eye squinted, "We have to get ready."
ZARDEN, MARCO and Mary battled the monster horde furiously and managed to push them back. Zarden fired at two monsters, jumped back from another that pounced at him and he threw four bombs, knocking several others back. Marco landed a spinning high kick on a beast and punched an oncoming monster in the face, causing it to fall back on others behind it. Mary shielded herself against four creatures and she grew overwhelmed when an idea came to her. Pouring all the energy she had into the shield, she threw her arms apart and sent the shield exploding out, shattering the ceiling of the room and sending the monsters through the walls around her.
The room began to rumble and Zarden turned to see Mary collapse to her knees. Hearing the monsters stir again, he ran toward her. "We need to get out of here now!"
Picking Mary off the floor, Zarden ran toward a hole in the wall and blasted at the ceiling, causing it to collapse faster as they escaped. The three looked around at the dim hallway and Zarden placed Mary down, lifting his rifle and training it around as they walked onward. Rubbing her arm in pain, Mary battled the worry in her mind and realized it'd been an hour since Tom's abduction.
"Where do you think he is?" Marco asked.
"We might have to split up; we still left Star alone with that wizard." Zarden said.
"I don't think splitting up is such a good idea – this place is infested –,"
"Shh!" Zarden pointed at a wall and listened closely as footprints echoed down the hall. "Let's move." He said quietly.
Zarden, Marco and Mary ran on and reached a corner when Mary stopped suddenly. "Wait!"
"Mary, quiet or they'll hear us." Marco said.
"No, I can hear him." Mary said and looked around.
"Who?" Zarden raised his brow.
"Tom! I can hear Tom." Her brows furrowed. "He's in pain."
"I can't hear anything." Marco shrugged.
Mary became confused, but then realized and placed a hand on her chest. "Come, I'll lead the way to him." She ran on.
"Wait, how do you know where he is? How can you hear him with all the noise around?" Zarden asked.
"Trust me, I know." Mary grew determined.
Zarden and Marco looked at each other doubtfully and though they were confused, they decided to trust Mary and follow her lead. The three moved through several halls in the tower, encountering clusters of wizards and avoiding them. After nearly twenty minutes of looking, they came upon a massive door covered in alchemic symbols like those in the room they were in earlier with Star.
"This is it." Mary said.
A frown slowly grew on Marco's face. "Here? Are you saying that what Star said was true?"
Mary didn't answer and Zarden frowned. "Well, let's find out." Zarden kicked the door open.
The three entered the room apprehensively, met by an immense purple aura and wave of energy as they found themselves in a massive hall with a black domical roof, magic symbols on the floor and a purple luminescence coming from the centre which several wizards sat around. They were meditating and chanting, completely ignoring the three intruders and the energy began to swirl around, forming a magic circle. A low rumbling sound came and Tom's unconscious body levitated from the floor, rising and slamming onto the magic circle.
"Tom." Mary panted and looked at the wizards, seeing Valkur stand from amongst them. "You bastard!"
"Welcome, humans and Valterean to the reawakening of the universe." Valkur said.
"Let him go now!" Zarden pointed his rifle and Mary and Marco tensed up, ready to fight.
"You can try to interfere if you want, but there's nothing that can be done now." Valkur turned to Tom. "The ritual is in progress and soon this universe will meet its end and a new one shall awaken. The Dark One will return."
