Lord Ipos strolled slowly down the great hall of the capital city of Stolas, known as Ackanges. Lined along his path were rows of masked soldiers, The prince's personal guard…they all turned their backs on him as he passed them, one by one.
Ipos' mask was still off, his head hung in shame, as he looked up slowly, ever so slowly, towards the regal figure sitting at the end of the path, resting on a large golden throne, with the images of magnificent animals of the planet carved into it.
Like a stoic god, the figure of Prince Abadon gazed over the approach of his disgraced lord. His head was covered in a mask made of the finest gold and platinum, lacking the dark visor that many of his subordinate's helmets had.
His eyes were visible, which was also acceptable in Stolian culture, as the face of the mask was carved as well with a precision laser…the golden face had a very stoic, and neutral look about it, as was to be expected of royalty. He sat dressed in a white uniform, his form currently draped with a golden, furry robe, like a much fancier version of the robe that Ipos had over his own body.
The Prince stood as Ipos walked up to the base of the throne, and kneeled slowly, the other warriors also kneeling out of respect for their lord.
Abadon then slowly descended the throne's stairway, his eyes fixed on Ipos as if he were one of the gods himself, about to pass judgement. He slowly reached into his side, and pulled out a ceremonial dagger with a golden hilt.
"Lord Ipos…" his calm, deep voice spoke from within his mask. "For many years you have carried my standard through the universe with great success…" He then raised the knife, for all to see. "But today, you return to us, as a great disappointment to me, and a disgrace among your own people…"
Ipos kept his head down as he kneeled before the prince, who walked closer to him. "I am truly sorry, my lord…" He closed his eyes slowly.
"Are you prepared to pay the penalty for this trespass?" Abadon asked him, bringing the knife closer to his face.
"I am…" Ipos responded, preparing himself.
Abadon nodded slowly, and brought the knife to the left side of his face…slowly, he drew the blade across his flesh, cutting deep and leaving a trail of blood. Ipos winced slightly, but kept to his strength and made no cries of pain.
Abadon then cut into Ipos' right cheek, leaving a similar blood trail, before finally making one final cut along the center of his chin. He then finished his work, and cleaned the knife with a kerchief he kept handy.
"Your penance has been paid…" Abadon spoke once more. "Rise, and begin your path to redemption…"
"Yes, sire…" Ipos nodded slowly, his face still bleeding as he rose to his feet. Eventually, the wounds on his face would set, and become permanent scars, the shameful mark of his disgrace for showing his face to an enemy. He then reached over and picked up his new helmet, which a servant was holding near him.
Ipos' face was written with deep anger as he slipped the helmet on…from there he made a silent vow, to find the Balaur, and exact revenge for his current condition…one way or another, this vile creature was going to die by his sword.
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A great force shot though the darkness of space, the flames of propulsion jets in its boots sending at an incredible speed, exceeding that of even certain fighter craft in the Stolian fleet.
Shorty had moved into his new life as a Balaur rather easily, much quicker than even the Progenitor himself had expected. It seemed bizarre to himself, and everyone around him…but for the first time in his life, he felt like he made a lot of sense to this universe. He had grown never knowing of a mother to raise him, or a father, until Bron came along.
But ever since he got over what he once saw as a painful time in his life, he was now filled with a whole new sense of worth…he mattered…not just to those who knew him on earth, but to those who would soon know him throughout the galaxy.
His armor had just gotten a new paint job, reinforcing the green and silver reflective glow. He had also done some work on his helmet, as he felt his first one was too sterile…the mouth section of the helmet now displayed painted teeth with blood dripping off of them, and accented the eye-pieces with black and yellow paint, giving his outer face a rather menacing death-grin.
He swooped past a few oncoming asteroids, practicing his flight skills, until he heard the voice of his master echo in his ear.
"Are you done with your exercises, child?" The Progenitor asked him, sounding a little impatient.
"Yes, master…" Shorty responded as he floated still in space now. "Sorry if I took too long."
"Do not despair…" The Progenitor answered. "You may have gone slightly off course, but you are still a mere meters away from your destination."
"Oh right…Udlow." Shorty had been exercising to take his mind off the stress of travelling far outside of his own solar system, coupled with the heavy mission that he had been charged with.
"That is correct, Shorty…the Udlan rebels have nearly breached the fortress of the Stolian-backed Chancellor, and are well on the way to freeing their world from Abbadon's grasp. You shall descend to the surface to make certain that this happens."
"Why do I need to go down there if they're about to win, anyway?" Shorty asked.
"Because the Chancellor has a couple of powerful warriors, on loan from Abbadon…" His master responded. "If the rebels try to take them on by themselves, they'll all be obliterated in mere minutes…they need the power of the Balaur on their side."
"Understood…" Shorty nodded to himself slowly. "I'll contact you again if I survive all this."
"You are capable of much more than you know, Astyanax…" The Progenitor reassured him, as he referred to Shorty by his Balaur name. "May the spirits of Erufit be with you."
Shorty then felt his comm.-link separate, as he took a big breath, and sped towards the surface of the planet…
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On the surface of Udlow, the rebels were laying waste to the capital city, and Pro-Stolian Stronghold. The silver-faced centurions of the Chancellor's personal guard stood their ground with their plasma spears and blasters, but their legions were fast crumbling under the blaster fire of the rag-tag humanoid rebels.
The Rebels, also known as the "Rage of Klajin" (Named after the last native Udlan Chancellor), had also stolen some Stolian fighter craft, and were bombing many of the city's last major defense systems against them. Ground troops, many of whom had also stolen the armor of the colonial officials, ran towards the outer defenses of the Chancellor's fortress, wielding the same plasma spears.
It was then that Agares, one of the powerful Stolian warriors who protected the Chancellor made his entrance. He was a towering monster of a man, the result of experiments with numerous enhancement drugs and hormone therapy. His muscular body didn't have much armor on it, as a long silver mask, resembling the face of a stoic, bearded man, covered his face. He carried a frighteningly large battle-axe, which only he could lift.
Slipping out next to Agares was the other Stolian warrior, known as Danjal. Danjal was shorter than Agares, but was an even more fearsome sight. He was a Stolian, but he lacked a helmet. His twisted face bore numerous scars, some of which he inflicted on himself out of an odd, perverse pleasure. Many of his natural teeth had been ripped out, and replaced with sharp, metal ones. His fingers were chopped down to stubs, and replaced with long, razor-sharp blades, fused right to the bones of his hands.
With a bone-chilling howl, Danjal made his first strike at the rebels, wasting no time. He leapt onto the chest of one fighter, and jammed his right hand claws into his face. The warrior screamed and fell back, as Danjal pulled the claws out, and stuck them in again…and again…and again…blood spewed freely from the face of the corpse, as Danjal then gouged, and pulled out his eyes…he kept them skewered on his claws for a moment, before he licked them and tossed them away.
"Bloodthirsty as ever, I see…" Agares observed as he took a few practice swings with his axe.
"This is just what I need…" Danjal hissed in pleasure as he attacked another warrior, quickly slicking off both of his arms, before impaling him through the chest with his claws in another shower of blood. "I stood by and watched the chancellor play it his way for so long…now it's time for the REAL fun!"
Agares didn't respond to this, as he saw a couple of warriors running to face him. He spun and performed a backslash with his axe, quickly separating one from his lower body as his top half fell to the ground in a pool of blood. He then brought the axe up, and slammed it down onto the other fighter, cutting him in half vertically, as both parts fell over in a spray of blood that stained his axe.
"Yes…." Agares rubbed the blood on his weapon. "Drink the blood of those we hate, and grow stronger!"
For the first time in this siege, the rebels saw themselves being pushed back. Agares struck hard with his axe, while Danjal pounced freely at any who dared to get close to him. The land near the entrance to the Chancellor's fortress was fast becoming soaked with blood, and littered with the body parts of many men.
The Centurions soon joined up with their two larger companions, and aided the effort to suppress the ground forces, jabbing away with their spears.
All seemed grim for the rebels…until something came zooming down from above to their aid.
The first to feel the Balaur's presence was a random Centurion. He had raised his spear to deliver a deathblow to one of the younger fighters, before something came out from nowhere to impale him through the chest. It was one of Shorty's arm blades, attached to the cord inside of his arm. With a powerful yank, he sent the hapless warrior into the air, where he met up with him, and quickly slashed him with his other blade, cleaving the body in two as he came down.
He landed just a few feet in front of the rebels, staring at their enemies.
"My turn…" he simply spoke.
He then grabbed the spear of an attacking centurion, and broke it in two with his arm blade, grabbing the pointed end and jamming it through the warrior's head. The supercharged end of the spear made the man's head explode in mere seconds, scattering some of the other centurions.
He then spotted another centurion running towards him with his own spear. He responded by grabbing the spear and rolling onto his back. He kicked the warrior over with his foot, and extended the blade of his other arm. The warrior's mouth then went into the blade, as it then impaled him through the head.
Shorty swiped his blade away then, separating the fighter's head from his lower jaw as blood shot out from the massive wound. He then got up and looked around at the other centurions, all seemingly too scared to make another move.
"Out of the way, you chicken-shits!" Agares growled, pushing aside a few centurions rather forcefully as Danjal slipped out from behind him.
"Aaaaaaahhhhh…" Danjal hissed in pleasure. "You must be the new Balaur we've heard so much about." He flashed his claws for a moment. "I have always wanted to taste the flesh of one such as yourself."
"I'm not impressed. Frankly…" Agares readied his axe. "See, I killed the last one of your kind, boy…and he was much larger than you…so what chance do you think you've got?"
"Are you gonna talk, or fight?" Shorty responded, not intimidated at all.
"As you wish!" Danjal yelled, as he launched himself towards Shorty. Shorty quickly rolled out of the way, but Danjal was just as quick, pouncing him with an almost animal-like quickness. He then began to jab down towards Shorty's face with his right claws, as Shorty blocked each attempt with his arm blade, and, reached up to grab Danjal's face with his other hand.
Danjal tried to bite with his metal teeth, but he couldn't bite anything, as Shorty had him right by the nose. With a hard squeeze, he began to crush and break Danjal's nose, making blood seep out. Danjal shrieked in pain, as Shorty then kicked him off, and got back on his feet.
"Ohhhh you're gonna pay for that one!" Danjal hissed, as he then threw himself at Shorty again. He slipped past him this time, and slashed him across the right leg. Shorty yelled out in pain as blood seeped out of his armor, and fell onto his knees. Danjal then hopped onto his back, and stabbed him repeatedly through the shoulders and back, causing more blood to leak out.
Shorty flailed and yelled in pain as he did this, before he regained his bearings, and channeled his rage, just as he'd done before. He waited for the right moment, and reached up with his right hand to grab Danjal by the wrist. Danjal grunted and struggled, as Agares was busy fighting off other rebels. Shorty roared lowly, then loudly as he increased the grip on Danjal's wrist, and began to pull on it. Bones could be heard snapping, as he then broke Danjal's hand most of the way off, leaving it dangling by flesh.
Danjal howled out in pain as blood gushed, making him fall back and run away, as Shorty then faced the other powerful warrior. He shot his arm blade back out on its cord once more, just as Agares was about to cleave another rebel in half.
To Shorty's surprise, the blade didn't go in too far. Agares had very tough skin, causing the blade to go in only a few inches. Agares simply chucked at Shorty, as he quickly retracted the blade.
"I'm afraid I won't be as easy to drive away, boy…" Agares growled a bit, before swinging his axe a few times, and bringing it down towards Shorty. Shorty rolled out of the way as the axe smashed into the ground, making the earth shake around the two. He then jumped onto the long hilt of the axe, and used it to jump onto Agares' chest, driving in one of his arm blades.
Agares grunted and fell back a bit, only a little bit of blood seeping out as Shorty took his other blade, and rammed it repeatedly into the warrior's chest. Agares simply grunted in frustration as he reached around and gripped Shorty around the back, putting him into a bear hug.
"It's useless…." Agares laughed a bit. "My skin's been enhanced to take the hardest forms of punishment…" He then squeezed harder, as Shorty groaned and yelled in pain from the increasing pressure on his spine…surely there had to be one spot on him that was vulnerable…maybe that big mouth of his…
It was then with a burst of strength, that he was able to pull his one blade out of his chest, and jam it up under the helmet of Agares, puncturing his lower jaw with it.
Agares yelled out in pain as blood began to gush from under his helmet. He tossed Shorty to the ground, and gripped at his wound for a moment. "Why you miserable…" he grunted, as he picked up his axe once more.
"Agares!" He then heard a voice in his head speak…Prince Abaddon's. "Retreat!"
"Retreat?" Agares was befuddled at this order. "Why?"
"Because you let the Balaur stall you…because of your wasting time fighting with him, the rebel leaders have already discovered and executed the Chancellor!" Abaddon chastised his warrior. "Udlow is lost! Find Danjal, and come back to Stolas at once!"
"But sire!" Agares protested. "If we let the Balaur live…"
"That shall soon be remedied, Agares…do as I say!"
"Yes Sire…" Agares nodded, begrudgingly, as he then ran away in the midst of the cheering rebels. "Kill you next time, boy!"
Shorty, who had been preparing for another attack, looked on, puzzled, as Agares ran off. He looked over the cheering throng of Uldlan rebels, as he smiled under his helmet, and reactivated his comm.-link.
"Master…it's done." He sighed happily. "The Chancellor's been killed, and I kept his two hoods at bay."
"Good job, Astyanax…" The Progenitor responded. "You are now looking at a free Udlow…something that has not been seen in nearly 50 of your Earth years. You have now become a part of history. How does it feel?"
Shorty grunted a bit as he clutched at his wound. "I think I'll feel a little better about it after I come home for a little R and…"
Something then suddenly zoomed onto the planet, and rammed itself right into Shorty, lifting him its arms and flying him to the very top of the former Chancellor's fortress.
Shorty had no time to realize what was going on, before he then found himself falling towards the top of the building. He landed on his feet and rolled a bit, as he looked up and saw the magnificent, white-feathered creature flying down towards him.
"Forgive my intrusion…" Kyrie spoke in her distorted voice. "But our quarrel does not belong with those mere mortals below."
"Who in the world are you?" Shorty gazed up at the Seraphim.
"I am your destroyer…" Kyrie responded. "You need know nothing more than that…"
With that, she launched herself at Shorty with her wings extended. Shorty tried to block her with his blades crossed, but soon found that her large sword carried a powerful force behind it, that nearly sent him over the edge as it smashed into him.
"Wow…" He mused as he readied his blades again. "You're not the average, run of the mill grunt working for Abaddon, are you?"
"Abaddon is the light of this universe…" Kyrie responded. "The light that no darkness shall overcome!"
She then slashed her sword at Shorty to the left and right. Shorty expertly dodged these moves, as he parried away another swing with his blades.
"Fancy sword-work…" Shorty sharpened his blades a bit as he faced down the Seraphim. "Got any other tricks to show off?"
"How about this?" She retorted, as she threw out her left arm. The Shield attached to it then came off, connected to a cord, similar to the one that connected Shorty's blades to his arms. Shorty quickly tried to deflect this with one of his blades, only to find the cord wrapping around his arm, before the shield then spun around and smacked him across the face, putting a dent in his helmet.
Shorty grunted and fell back, retracting his blade. Kyrie then pulled the shield back into her arm for a second, before launching it at him again. Shorty once again crossed his arm blades to block this move, but found himself getting hurt once more, as she was able to keep the shield out and spinning for a few seconds, the shield smacking away at his armor and blades as it spun.
Kyrie then whipped the shield back into her arm once more, and took to the skies on her wings. Shorty whipped his own armblade out in an attempt to catch her, but she simply swerved to avoid it, before she swooped down and snatched him by the shoulders with the claws on her feet.
Shorty grunted and growled in pain as he felt the talons crunch into his armor, and the wounds already left by Danjal. He then reached up and grabbed at her right foot with his right hand. He squeezed at it for a few seconds, and with another burst of strength, he dislodged Kyrie, and threw her face-down to the ground.
Kyrie grunted as she hit the stone below rather hard, before quickly rising and turning to face Shorty. The two readied their weapons, and rushed in to clash again…before something shot in and smacked her in the chest.
Kyrie growled a bit, and looked up to see another familiar face rushing to Shorty's aid.
"Talos!" Shorty shouted to his ally.
Kyrie Prepared to take them both on, until the voice of "Agnus" pierced her brain.
"Run, Kyrie!"
"Agnus, I'm perfectly capable…" Kyrie responded.
"Let's not leave anything to chance, child…" He responded. "Let us wait until both Agares and Danjal have recovered…We have lost too much for today."
"Yes sir…" She nodded slowly…she then took to the skies, and vanished, just as Talos came to his friend's side.
"What…what was that thing?" Shorty panted just a little as he looked to the sky, then to Talos.
"I have no idea…" Talos responded. "It doesn't resemble anything I've seen on any of the other planets I've been to."
"Perhaps I ought to track it down…" Shorty spoke as he prepared to fly away, only to stumble a little bit.
"I don't think you're in any shape for that right now…" Talos cradled his friend as he opened a portal back to their ship. "Let's get you in the tube for a few hours…you've had a rough day."
"You're the doc…" Shorty chuckled a bit, following Talos into the portal…
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"Remember Kyrie…This power is a gift from Prince Abaddon to you…if you find yourself near a Balaur, or any other creature that dares challenge your power, then don't hesitate to use it…let your anger, your hatred for all things evil and impure flow through your body…It might scare you at first…but don't be afraid of it…embrace it!"
"Yes Master…"
The memory of one of Kyrie's lessons reverberated in her head as she flew through space, her wings once again having changed into the glowing energy for this purpose…She may have fled this time, but she was determined to kill the Balaur the next time…