Rise of the Zealots
Rebels of the Darkness
Chapter 28: the fourth villain
Hey everyone, Rico here. Not sure if you're all aware, but there's a little confrontation going on between myself and another author. I can assure you all that it was a misunderstanding and that I have apologized and talked to one of the other author's also involved. Don't worry, we'll solve it soon.
With their new business relationship established, Blu and Arvo prepared to get down to business immediately. However, Blu had another question he had yet to ask him that needed answering immediately. Blu, along with Jewel, Arvo and Nina had made their way to a briefing room where they had their plans lined up with a map of the jungle and pictures hung on the walls.
"Arvo." Blu spoke up, catching the dark macaw's attention. "There's something I need to tell you. It's important."
"Of course." Arvo nodded and allowed Blu to speak away. "What is on your mind?"
"I...I had a dream last night." Blu began while he thought that this may be a weird question to the dark macaw, but he started so there was no going back now. "I saw you, leading the light macaws to battle in the middle of the woods. I saw you confront someone named... Kalûr. He was wearing a grey cloak."
Arvo appeared surprised. While Blu claimed that this was a dream, Arvo knew different. "This is certainly strange that you would dream of that, but what you say is indeed true. I trust that everything was not clear in this dream of yours. Allow me to explain what happened."
"Years ago during a battle against my brother's army when we were trying to rescue a group of prisoners that were being escorted to the dark macaw prison."
In the middle of the dark path deep within the woods, a group of dark macaws traveled together while using a lizard to pull a cage on wheels filled with prisoners. Sitting at the edge of the cage was Kalûr who was wearing a grey cloak. As they were around halfway to the prison, they were unaware of the danger ahead.
Arvo, along with his fellow rebels and group of light macaws were hiding within the trees and bushes. When Arvo gave the signal, they leaped out into action and ambushed the convoy, catching all of the dark macaws off guard that gave them the advantage.
"We attacked the convoy to rescue our people. They were being led there by Kalûr; he was famous within the dark macaw ranks. He was the leader of the elite guards and served as Nexus' apprentice. When I saw him there too, I took this as chance to take him down. This would have without a doubt delivered a blow to Nexus' army."
As the rebels and light macaws subdued the dark macaws, Kalûr took out his sword and leaped into action. A few light macaws moved forward to stop him, but with incredible speed and skill, Kalûr easily dispatched them and killed them with ease. As more of his enemies came closer to him, Kalûr swiftly ran away into the woods to escape rather than fighting all of them at once.
"After we freed the prisoners, I led a strike team to capture Kalûr. This was the only time he had left the castle without an army and it was a chance we had to take to stop him."
"We can't let Kalûr escape!" Arvo shouted as he pointed his wingtip towards the direction Kalûr had run towards. "Let's get after him!"
Arvo led the light macaws after Kalûr before he escaped. He was armed with multiple weapons: a sword, a dagger and a bow with arrows. Despite the fact Arvo could have easily flown away, he chose to run instead. Why he did this was a mystery, but that was not the point. The point was to find him now.
As Arvo and the light macaws charged through the woods, they eventually caught up with Kalûr who had just reached the edge of a cliff. Without anyway else to run, he turned around and confronted his enemies, who outnumbered him with high odds.
Arvo stepped forward with a sword in his wings and pointed his wing towards Kalûr "Give up! You can't win, Kalûr!"
Kalûr did not respond. Instead, he swung his sword around and prepared himself for combat. Arvo raised his weapon and prepared to duel with his enemy. As they prepared to clash swords, a purple flash had come out of nowhere and landed directly at the edge of Kalûr's talons. Before anyone could even blink, the dark essence grenade exploded. Kalûr's lifeless corpse flung into the air and began to plummet towards the ground below.
"Someone threw a dark essence grenade and killed Kalûr. At first I thought it was one of my own men, but then I looked around and was surprised to see who it was."
Arvo appeared shocked, but his expression changed when he turned towards the bird responsible. He looked to his left where he was greeted by Nexus' four elite guards who were armed with a variety of weapons: a sword, two daggers, an axe, and a spear.
"Nice shot, Lee." the elite guard with the axe praised his ally holding the sword.
"Thank you." Lee thanked with a grin and spun his sword around in delight.
Arvo stepped forward with his sword raised. "You're Nexus' elite guards! Why did you just kill your commander!?"
"Simple." Lee grinned and placed his sword into the ground to lean on. "I am tired of being ruled under Kalûr and wanted nothing more than for the four of us to take his place. We wish only to take orders from Lord Nexus himself, not his so-called apprentice."
This was not surprising as Arvo knew the dark macaws were filled with nothing but greed and power. He frowned and spun his sword around. "Either way, Lee, you are going to pay for your crimes."
Lee chuckled in response. "As much as I would love to tear you apart right now, I have work to do. Ciao."
Arvo charged towards Lee with his sword raised above his head. As he got closed, however, a cloud of smoke appeared around the four elite guards, blinding Arvo from seeing them. When the smoke had dispersed, the elite guards were no longer present. They had escaped.
"Sir?" a light macaw spoke up in concern for their ally.
"Let's...Let' just help our own back to base." Arvo ordered as he placed his sword back into his back strap.
"Lee had betrayed Kalûr in the blink of an eye and in the aftermath, we heard from our spies that Lee had blamed us for killing him." Arvo concluded his story to Blu and Jewel. "That is the story of Kalûr."
This answered everything Blu wanted to know except for one little detail.
"Arvo, is it possible to explain how I dreamed of this?" Blu inquired with an eyebrow raised. There must be a reason why he dreamed of this.
"I'm afraid I cannot think of any explanation." Arvo admitted while shaking his head sideways slightly. "Maybe with some research, I can find out why. It may have something to do with your time in the World of Darkness. We'll find out after we have defeated Lee. For now, let us get to work."
Blu nodded in agreement and walked with Arvo to the planning board.
At that moment, the door to the planning room had burst open with a dark macaw running inside. "Sir! Our spies have located dark macaws within the jungle! Lee is with them!"
"What!?" Arvo question, swiftly jumping around. "Are you certain?"
"Yes!" the dark macaw confirmed with a nod. "We have located their base a few miles from here. They're set up well and look as if they are preparing to announce their arrival soon. No doubt they will be causing trouble."
"Then we must go at once!" Arvo ordered and made haste to go and fetch some equipment.
"Let's go!" Nina told the blue macaws and escorted them through their base, following Arvo to the armory.
Arvo arrived at the armory and grabbed his unique weapons: his personal sword and his personal bow with arrows. After he strapped on all of his weapons tightly, he made haste to get going, bring Blu, Jewel, Nina and a couple of dark macaws with them.
"Arvo, what are we going to do?" Blu inquired while they were running towards the exit of the base.
"We're going to scout out this base and see what we can learn." Arvo explained in a fast tone. It was quite clear he was anxious to get going.
The small group of birds exited the base and immediately took flight into the sky, setting course for this base of Lee's. The dark macaw who had informed them of the base began to lead the small group towards where claimed they had found the base. It was important that they kept a small group to avoid being spotted easily.
It took some time but they eventually arrived at the small base. Taking camping positions on top of the trees, the small team began to scout out this base. Looking below, they began to identify areas of the base. Small bird-sized tents were set up all across the base, cages were hanging from branches and enemy dark macaws were positioned on the trees around the base to keep an out for intruders. They certainly had this place fortified and it would take an expert to get inside unnoticed.
Arvo looked through the area with a pair of binoculars. He spotted a familiar face at the center of the case speaking with other dark macaws. "Lee."
"He's there?" Blu questioned while trying to see what was happening, but without binoculars, it was difficult to see.
"That's right." Arvo confirmed and passed the binoculars to Blu. "See for yourself. He's the one in the center standing on the stage."
Blu searched around the area for a moment until he located the dark macaw Arvo was referring to. There was Lee, giving a lecture to his men within their base. This was the final villain Blu was going to face. At least he had a head start this time since the other three villains had caught him off guard during their encounter, but now he knew who he was up against.
"I see him." Blu replied and passed the binoculars to Nina. "I've surprised I never met Nexus' elite guards when we last fought against Nexus."
"I assume they were busy fighting with light macaws." Arvo assumed. He had not been present during Nexus' fall and was unaware of Nexus' fall until it was confirmed by his spies. "It does not matter. Three of them are dead now and only Lee remains. For the dark macaws to return how it should be, we must bring him down."
"What's the plan?" Jewel spoke up. "Gather your forces and attack now?"
"No." Arvo shook his head in disagreement. "This isn't all of them. I know that they have a full army somewhere. If we take Lee down now, it will not matter. They'll just find another suitable high ranking soldier to take his place. We must allow them to gather their armies and then we can strike them all down at once."
Blu raised an eyebrow with an unsure expression. While he could understand why Arvo thought this plan was a good idea, he failed to see one thing that Blu pointed out. "Arvo, we have no army to fight them with. We're heavily outnumbered."
Arvo sighed in response. "I know, but what other choice do we have?"
"I think I have an idea." Nina spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "Blu, you must know many locals here, even tribes. We can gather up forces, convince them to work together and then attack the dark macaws when it is time."
Everyone seemed to agree with this idea.
"That's a good idea, Nina." Arvo praised with a smile and a nod. "I am unfamiliar with the locals here, but I am certain that Blu and Jewel here can gather some forces."
"It will be our pleasure, Arvo." Blu agreed with a nod. He thought back to his previous and new adventures and had some ideas on who he could go to for help against the dark macaws. "When we get back to camp, I'll set off immediately to-"
"Look out!" Arvo yelled and suddenly pushed Blu off from the tree.
An arrow flung past them and would have hit Blu had Arvo had not pushed him out of harm's way. Everyone jumped down and descended towards the ground. Blu had been completely caught off guard and did not get the chance to position himself in a flight position. As he fell down below, he felt himself being slowed down but it certainly was not Blu doing that.
He looked around to see that Nina had flown beside him and placed her talons around Blu to slow down his decent. When they reached the ground, she let Blu go and helped him stand.
Blu had never once expected to be saved by a dark macaw, but nevertheless, he expressed his gratitude. "Thank you, Nina."
Nina nodded in response.
Jewel jumped beside Blu and hugged him for a quick couple of seconds, relieved to see he was alive.
"I apologize for pushing you, Blu, but an arrow would have pierced through your head." Arvo explained. He took out his bow when he noticed that they were no longer alone. "It seems we have company. You three!" Arvo pointed at the three dark macaws who had accompanied them to the base. "Head back to the base and ready the troops, I have the feeling we're going to be expecting trouble! Go!"
The three dark macaws nodded before departing away towards the direction they came from. Only Blu, Jewel, Arvo and Nina remained. The four of them turned around when multiple dark macaws arrived from their base and leading them to battle was no other than Lee himself. The four of them prepared themselves for battle, knowing that they had to stand their ground or die.
Five dark macaws moved to the left while the other five moved towards the right. To their front, Lee stood forward with two dark macaw enforces accompanied with him.
"Arvo, Nina, it's been so long!" Lee greeted in a sarcastic enthusiasm tone. He placed his wings towards and narrowed his eyes towards the blue macaws. "Well, well, aren't you both a sight for sour eyes. This must be the infamous Blu and his mate Jewel. I have heard so much about the both of you and have been looking forward to meeting you for quite some time now."
"Lee." Blu hissed and raised his wings in defense. "You're the final and fourth villain. Who hired you and the others?"
Lee appeared confused before chuckling in response. "Villain you say? Well I admit that I am no peaceful loving bird, but as for the others and who hired me? I have no idea what you speak of."
"Don't lie!" Blu snapped and looked as if he was about to lunge forward. He would have if not for Jewel and Arvo stopping him. "I know you worked with Steiner to delay me!"
"Oh that." Lee responded while rubbing two of his wingtips together. "It is true, Steiner and I were working together to stop you. He was to keep you immobile while I took over. As for these others, you must be mistaken. I work for no-one now, only myself. It appears Steiner failed, but no matter, he delayed you long enough. Now that we're back, I will finally bring justice to our world by destroying the blue macaws and the traitor."
"I am no traitor." Arvo responded, knowing that Lee had been referring to him. "I seek to bring an end to these pointless wars while you intend to destroy all for no purpose."
"That's what our kind were destined to do, Arvo." Lee calmly replied. "And you betrayed your own brother."
"No." Arvo shook his head in disagreement. "You are the traitors. This is not how are kind were destined to be. I promise you Lee that soon you will fall and the World of Darkness will be restored to how it should have been a long time ago."
Lee chuckled in response, unfazed by Arvo's threats. "Say what you wish, Arvo, but I know the truth and so do you."
"Oh really?" Arvo questioned, pointing an accusing wingtip towards Lee. "What about when you betrayed Kalûr, Lee? Do not think that I have forgotten that!"
"Kalûr was weak." Lee calmly responded. He turned towards his people who all did not appear to be concerned over this sudden news of Kalûr. He chuckled and gestured towards his people. "You see? They did not care what I have done for they know my actions were justified. Now, enough talk. Arvo, I am going to give you one chance to surrender to me. If you refuse, then I shall be forced to take action. I don't wish to kill you, Arvo out of respect for your brother, but I will do what I must."
Arvo shook his head in disagreement. "Never. I would sooner die than become a pawn in your game."
"Then. I am sorry that I have to do this, old friend." Lee responded. He beckoned for his people to move in and attack.
Arvo, however, was one step ahead. As the enemy moved closer towards them, he turned towards Nina and nodded towards her. Nina nodded in response and before the attack could begin, she swiftly took out a smoke pellet she was carrying a backpack. Before anyone could blink, she tossed the smoke pellet towards the ground, causing it to explode and release a cloud of smoke to hide their presence.
The other dark macaws coughed as they tried to wave the smoke out of their way. All except for Lee that is, who calmly began to walk through the smoke in search of their targets. The smoke cleared away a moment later, but now there were less people than before. Arvo and his people had escaped.
Lee, however, did not appear to be worried by this. He smirked and looked up towards the sky. "Go ahead and run, Arvo, but you will only delay inevitable."
A dark macaw ran towards Lee, waiting for instructions. "Sir, should we pursue them?"
"That will be unnecessary." Lee assured as he began to lead his people back to their camp. "They may know where we live, but that does not matter. We have them outnumbered and have stronger weapons. Our army will be gathered soon and then we can take them all out in a single strike. But first, go and gather up a small squadron."
"Yes sir." the dark macaw nodded, but before leaving to follow orders, he asked the obvious. "May I ask why, sir?"
"That blue macaw was responsible for our king's downfall. We need to prove to him what the consequences of trying to be a hero will get him." Lee explained with a sinister grin. "And I have the perfect plan."
That concludes this chapter, ladies and gentlemen. We are introduced to the fourth villain of the story: Lee, one of Nexus' former elite guards. The dark macaws return and no doubt trouble is soon to follow. Chapter 29 will be here soon.
