Reloaded 21/09/05

5. The Fleeing Day

Last Part

The water surface flattened.

"Uh-oh", said Kat quietly.

"Seen this before?" inquired Zhane.

"Yes, and it's really bad"

"How bad?"

"Very"

"Aren't you gonna tell us?"

"I'm still hoping to prove wrong"

"This is so not the time to be an optimist", growled Carlos.

"If not now, then when? And show me a pink who isn't an optimist"

That was when the too-smooth surface changed. At first it was only a few flutters, but then it became obvious what was happening. A whirlpool was forming.

"Well, maybe Mr. black was right", said Kat. "I was right after all"

"So are you going to tell us what's happening, or what?" yelled Sago. He had to work hard in order not to be drawn into the whirlpool.

"Franken is coming", said Kat.

"How come you're morphed?" demanded Justin.

"Tommy decided to get the three teams back to action", said TJ.

"I thought the morphers were locked from being used against planet-made threats?"

"Melissa talked the council into it"

"She did?" asked Trini, amazed. "What happened to make them yield, after years of slaughter?"

"I don't know", said Ashley. "Andros is awfully worried about her. She hasn't been sleeping lately, and apparently she's tapping deep into the light again"

"Okay, that's bad"

"Would you care to enlighten me?" asked Kutall.

"Right", said Justin. "I think we're past introductions, and I think Tommy once explained you about Melissa"

"She's a leader of some allies of yours, right?"

"Right". It was Ashley who answered. "She's also a member of something called the Morphin' Council. The Council holds control over tools called morphers"

"Morphers enable humans to morph – very much like you guys going hyper", explained Justin.

"The Council wouldn't let us use the morphers against the Enterrans, seeing as the morphers are only supposed to be used against threats that are not from the planet they protect", continued Ashley. "I don't know how Melissa talked them into letting us use them again"

Just then, a great explosion occurred somewhere across the permafrost, sending great pillars of smoke to the sky and rocking shockwaves through the air.

"What was that?" yelled Trini, trying hard to keep the hover from flipping over.

"That", said Cassie, her voice loaded with grim satisfaction, "Was Ryuma's palace going kaboom"

"Franken", whispered Sago. "King of the water Enterrans"

"Oh shit", said Zhane.

That shook Sago up. "Fly high", he said. "Get out of range"

"Sago, don't be an idiot, you don't stand a chance!" shouted Zhane.

"I'm the only one who can get him!" yelled Sago back. "Now get of here, fast!"

Kat didn't need to be told thrice. She pulled the hover into a speed Sago didn't know it was capable of, and was gone. Zhane was still gliding low, though.

"I'm not leaving you alone!" he told Sago.

"You have to protect them!" yelled Sago. "Get going!"

At that moment, Franken charged upwards from the wirlpool.

Zhane made up his mind, and sped forward and up, catching up with the hover.

"Don't you dare get hurt!" he shouted at Sago. "I'll kill you if you would"

"Thanks!" yelled Sago after him, and switched his comm off. He had other matters to take care of.

"Let's go over this again", said Justin. "Tommy and the guys sneaked into Ryuma's palace, wired the place with enough explosives to rock the moon and got out in one piece?"

"That sort of sums it up, yeah", agreed TJ, sounding awfully smug.

"Well, hell", said Justin.

"Impressive", added Kutall.

"Of course, it was only possible because you guys distracted him so nicely" said Cassie.

"Sure, we got ourselves chased by hundred of Enterrans only so you guys could take down the second king", said Justin.

"Kids, quiet", said Trini. "We'll celebrate later. Right now, I'm worried that whatever survived the blast will come hunting chasing us"

"Speed up", suggested Ashley.

"Can't", said Trini. "Too much load"

"We'll handle them when they come", said TJ firmly. "Cloaks on, you two"

"Aye, Aye, sir" said Cassie and saluted. Within a second, she, Ashley and TJ disappeared from view.

"I hate it when they does it" muttered Justin.

And Franken rose from the waters. He was tall, taller than any Enterran Sago had ever seen, taller even from Mushrambo. Underneath his crown-like hair of dark green spikes shown his eyes like two strange sapphires, for the pupils of his eyes were not black, but dark blue, the darkest navy blue could be without turning black. His robes, made in all the colors of the sea, flapped around in the strong wind. Yet it wasn't his kingly appearance than made Sago shiver and his heart beat faster. It was Franken's presence.

Of Yakumo's three Champions, Sago was the one most tied in with his element: Water. He could sense its presence, whether in underground pools far below or in streams hidden from sight; he could tell if it was fresh or polluted; he could condense the vapors in the air, creating delicate ornaments made of tiny droplets or icicles. In short, he was aware of it in every fiber of his being.

And now, he was very much aware that Franken's rule over this element surpassed his own. Not only that, but he could feel Franken's power calling out to him, pulling Sago to join with the others of his kind. He knew, with utmost certainty, that resisting the ocean's call would cost him his strength: he could feel himself weakening already.

So he shivered, and tried hard to hold his hands from shaking or his fear from showing. This, he knew, will be no battle of blows and counterblows: this will be a battle of wills.

For long moment they hovered in midair, watching each other fiercly. Then, Franken spoke, and his voice was like the crashing of great waves on a rocky shore.

"You are Enterran", he said. "Not Human"

"True", answered Sago. He wanted to say something smart and daring, but his lips seemed not to allow it.

"Yet you fight alongside with them, and utilize their pitiful toys"

"Those 'pitiful toys' cost many of your warriors their lives"

"Yes, they have", agreed Franken. "But I have been watching, and they were so successful only because of your help"

Sago wasn't sure what to say to that – or if saying anything was the right thing at all.

The two opponents stared at each other again, the gazes measuring.

"Do you know who I am?" asked Franken suddenly.

"You are Franken, king of the water Enterrans, one of the mighty Seven Generals"

Franken nodded curtly. "And you may be?"

"I am Sago"

"Sago, a water Enterran" The words hit Sago like a physical blow. He could feel the pull of Franken's power growing stronger for the briefest of seconds, testing him.

"I do not dwell in the water" he answered bravely.

"Ah, but you are a water Enterran. Do not deny; I've been watching, I saw you fight. You are a great warrior. Those humans by whose side you fight, they are only a liability to you. You could have carded more of my warriors if you would've fought without them. Imagine what you could do if you fought with others of your kind"

"I fight alongside with my friends", said Sago, through gritted teeth.

"Are they your friends?" challenged Franken. "Humans are no true friends to any Enterrans. They may befriend an Enterran when they have need for us. Is it not why they created us? To find a cure to an illness that killed many of their kind? We are but a tool to them, nothing more"

"Wrong" answered Sago. "Those humans are my friends"

"Are they? Are you certain there is nothing that they need from you?"

"Y…" begun sago to reply, but halted. Was he so certain? The ocean's call – which he was resisting still – was growing stronger by the second, blinding him to almost everything else. Then he remembered Mushra, up above him, and Kutall, in the far north, and Yakumo – a small child asleep somewhere, and Emma and the others too. They all depended on him. "Yes", he answered. "Yes, they are my friends"

Franken's eyes narrowed, as if he could read Sago's mind. "It's your affection for them that you think of", he said. He spoke very quietly, and yet Sago could hear him above the sound of the waves and the wind. "It's your own loyalty you draw strength from. Would they stand up for you as well?"

"Yes", answered Sago without hesitation. "They are what family I have, Franken, and you can't turn me against them". With that, he charged.

It was a brutal fight. Franken waved aside Sago's aquatic attacks as if they were nothing, and soon the two were fighting close up, their long knifes clashing loudly. Sago has abandoned his glider: in such close quarters, he was better off relying on his own flying skills.

The battle was not only brutal, but short. Having to fight of Franken in both the physical and mental planes, Sago's strength, already dwindled, didn't last long. A serious of hard blows penetrated Sago's defenses, and finally the hilt of Franken's knife hit him hard below his chin. That last blow did it, and Sago fell back in a long arch. The waves rose up to meet him, catching his body. He lay there, panting, trying to stop the world from spinning around him.

Franken landed next to him. "This should have never happened", he said. "This battle between us. I don't want to fight you, Sago, surely you have realized that: if I wanted to, I could've killed you several times by now. But I don't want to; I don't want to see you dead. I want to see you alive and well, fighting by my side"

"Never…" whispered Sago, but his voice carried very little resistance now. He was weak and dazed from the fight. Lying there, nestled gently in the water and sensing the truth in Franken's words when he said that he did not want them to be enemies, it was very hard to remember what he fought for. Still, he tried.

Franken sighed, very much like a father in front of a stubborn child.

"Why, Sago?" he asked sadly. "I'd kill you if I have to, believe me. Please, don't make me do it. You are courageous and loyal. You were born to be prince among our people, not a rebel against them"

Sago closed his eyes against Franken's penetrating gaze and outstretched hand.

Franken kneeled by his side. "You're working against your nature", he said. "Surely you can feel it? Feel the call of the waves and the great depth, imploring with you to listen? Surely you can feel the tear in your soul, growing and deepening as you resist?"

Sago groaned. He could feel the pain increasing even as Franken spoke. He nodded minutely, not even aware he did so.

"Why, Sago?" asked Franken again. "Why deny who you were meant to be? Let go; let the ocean take you. You shall be reborn from it, prince and general of out people"

"Prince?" whispered Sago. Prince?

Franken smiled, though Sago could not see it; his eyes were still closed. "Yes, prince", said the king. "I have no sons, no wife. You could be my prince, if you wanted to". He laid his hand to Sago's forehead. "You're burning up", he said. "You will not last much longer. Will you choose? This is such a shameful way to die, and you are an honorable Enterran. Please, Sago: for your own sake, if not for any other reason". He hesitated, than added softly: "Please. Sago, my son: I beg you to Live"