Chapter 37: Attack And Counterattack
Tyria softly moaned as faint noises roused her from sleep. Looking around, she saw that, in the bunk below her bed, Laurel was still asleep, and, in the other bunk bed, Fleur was still asleep on the bottom. Grace, though, was awake. "Do you hear that?" the young Dragon Slayer asked, straining her ears.
Tyria suddenly recalled hearing it said that Dragon Slayers had better senses than normal humans. "Kinda sounds like . . shouting?" With a quick spell, her magic's internal heads-up display appeared in her vision, and she checked the time. Two in the morning.
"Yeah. Lots of it, and it sounds angry," Grace agreed, sitting up. "Hold on, I'll take a look outside," The space rippled around her head, and suddenly Grace's head was gone.
Tyria squeaked in shock; the sight of her friend's headless body was incredibly disconcerting.
But, after a moment, it reappeared, looking worried. "There's an army outside the college," the Dragon Slayer said.
By now, the conversation had woken Fleur and Laurel. "Chillax. The spells 'round this place are impenetrable. It don't matter if they're right outside the College's front gate, they don't know we're here,"
"Are you sure?" Tyria asked.
Laurel thought for a second. "I guess we shouldn't take chances," she admitted. "I'll go see wha's going on. Tyria, go wake the Headmaster. You two wake up the boys and give 'em the run-down," she commanded, getting out of bed. Grace nodded and vanished into a fold of reality, as Fleur silently yawned, waking up.
~P's E~
By the time she had pulled her combat pants on and ran down the corridors towards Headmaster Atsphuria's chambers, the noise had intensified enough that many denizens of the college had woken. Tyria pushed through the massing crowds, and eventually reached the doors to the Headmaster's study, finding her mentor already standing outside and trying to reassure the students who had come to him to find out what was happening.
"Ah, Tyria," Atsphuria greeted her with a nod. "I don't suppose you have any insight as to -"
Suddenly, there was a massive explosion underneath them. The building shook around them, and the floor underfoot quaked and began to shift. Headmaster Atsphuria looked around in panic, before bringing his hands together as a mechanical-looking, golden magic circle appeared around them. "World Gear: Shield!" Atsphuria commanded, his left arm morphing into a purple/gold shield emitter, which projected a field of golden energy that scooped up Tyria and the other students around him.
With an almighty crack, the building toppled sideways, the floor pitching and walls upending and breaking apart. The roof broke away and fell towards the wizards, but collapsed into smaller chunks that fell around them as it made contact with the shield. Atsphuria winced with the strain.
"TechType: Force Field!" Tyria commanded, generating her own shield and synchronising it with her Headmaster's to strengthen it. The man shot her a grateful smile, before the floor slid out from underneath them, sending the group falling forwards towards the ground, two storeys below, as the building collapsed around them.
~P's E~
"Hit!" one of the commanding officers declared, grinning at the distortions in the air that betrayed the location of the invisible College. They had been firing missiles willy-nilly for hours, waiting for one to disappear through the shield and show them the location of the elusive College, which they had pinpointed by tracing the flight path of the Garuda. "Get the Jutsu Shiki wizards over here! We've found it!"
As one, a row of soldiers clad in red advanced and produced magic pens. They spoke and moved in unison, declaring, "Within this space, no enchantment that would render an object or being invisible or otherwise undetectable will function,"
~P's E~
The wizards of Phoenix's Eye, who had been woken by Grace and Fleur, had just left the building and were hovering outside a side entrance that Lync had brought them to, ready to fight, when they saw a missile arc above the campus grounds and explode against the base of the wing where Atsphuria's office was situated. Lync gasped in horror as the building collapsed. "Headmaster," he whispered, pressing a hand to his pocket for reassurance.
"Tyria was going that way," Grace realised.
Sarph took charge as the rubble settled. "Come on. I'm sure they survived that," he declared, starting to make his way towards the rubble when it suddenly exploded with golden light.
Headmaster Atsphuria emerged, a solemn look on his face, with his students, including Tyria, behind him. It didn't take long for the two groups to join, and he smiled briefly at the Fiorean wizards. "I'm glad to see you are all so willing to leap to our defence," he commented. "Come. We will make a stand in the front courtyard,"
Within minutes, the group reached the yard and halted in front of the main doors, joining with a larger mob of students.
At the far end of the courtyard, an army of Alvarez soldiers faced them, looking to be several hundred strong.
Resolute, Atsphuria strode to the front of the group, a stormy expression on his face. "Students of Electria! Today we face a cowardly foe who would slaughter us in our sleep. But we will not allow this! We are the beating heart of Electria, her soul incarnate that will never falter! Do not fear these agents of Alvarez; they may hurt our bodies, but they will never destroy our spirit!" he shouted, and the thunderous roar of affirmation that greeted his words from his students shook the college grounds. "And remember! This is our college, this is our home! Use it, and defend it! For the college! For Electria!"
As the crowd roared in approval, the elderly man turned and addressed the Phoenixes plus Lync. "Go, all of you. Get to your ship and make for Teslon. Lord Rolfe's plans need to be stopped," he commanded.
"No! I won't leave you! Not again!' Tyria immediately protested.
"Yeah. We aren't just going to abandon you," Pierce agreed, clenching his fist.
"If Rolfe's plan is not thwarted, and it is as dangerous as has been said, victory here will be meaningless. Tyria, I have burdened you with a great responsibility already, and I am sorry that I must ask you to take on another, but I must entrust you with saving us from this threat," Atsphuria explained.
Tyria nodded. "Alright. I suppose so . ." A hand rested on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll be right here with you," Pierce reassured her, and the rest of the Phoenixes chimed in with various expressions of agreement.
"I'll come too. Face it, you'd all be lost without me," Lync grinned.
"Very good. Go," the Headmaster commanded, and, with this approval, the Phoenixes left, breaking sideways towards the field where the Garuda was docked.
As Atsphuria's gaze turned back to the army before him, a look of such anger crossed his countenance that the people around him flinched. The aura of his magic power intensified, so much that everyone rapidly gave him a wide berth, as he began to chant. "The machinations of the universe are mine to command, I who has studied the clockwork of reality. I beseech Hephaestus, metalworker of the gods, join me with the gears that make the world turn so that I may protect all that I cherish! Gear Realignment: Tenth Stage!" A gear made of solid gold emerged from the ground as he spoke, before liquifying and entering his body. Golden/purple armour coated his body, lifting him into the air on giant mechanical legs, and massive metal arms flexed as glowing purple eyes fixed a condemning stare on the enemies, and Headmaster Gabriel Atsphuria, within his giant golden battle suit, roared, "World Gear Stage 10: Hephaestus' Fury!"
As they left, Tyria actually paused, staring in unbridled awe up at her mentor. "That's his ultimate magic. I've never seen it in person before," she whispered reverentially. "It's said that invoking Hephaestus' Fury gives the Headmaster power equal to that of a god," Lync agreed.
"People, we have to go," Sarph encouraged them, and, reluctantly, the two students turned and followed the Phoenixes to the Garuda, occasionally looking back and catching glimpses of Atsphuria leading his students in laying waste to the army.
They boarded the ship and Kit possessed it, immediately getting them into the air, as the two stood on the edge of the deck, still watching.
Pierce, misunderstanding their reason for not looking away, placed his hand on his guildmate's reassuringly. "Don't worry, they'll be just fine,"
"Oh, I know that," Tyria reassured him. "But it's a pretty rare occasion that the Headmaster goes all out. I don't want to miss a second,"
"You should have more faith in the College," Lync agreed, taking Tyria's other hand. "They'll be fine,"
~P's E~
The city of Teslon, capital of Electria, renowned world over as being the global centre of advancement.
Looking up at the towering, multicoloured spires that dominated the horizon as they walked towards the city, having deemed the Garuda too conspicuous and left it in a nearby forest, Pierce had to admit that it at least looked the part. The place really did seem like a paradise of learning and wonder . . until they got to the main gate, where a black Alvarez banner was flying, as well as several guards checking everyone.
"Don't worry, Grace, it'll be alright. Just try not to call attention to yourself," Pierce reassured the young Dragon Slayer.
To keep from drawing attention to themselves, Tyria and Lync had split off from the group to enter the city via other means, while the Phoenixes, posing as a group of tourists on holiday, entered through the main gate.
"And who are you lot?" a bored-looking guard asked.
"Tourists from Fiore," Pierce promptly replied.
"Move along,"
They walked through the gates, entering the city. "That was anticlimactic," Boomer observed.
"Indeed," Sarph nodded, creating an Archive screen with a complicated diagram on it. "I had an entire fictitious backstory mapped out and everything,"
Hare inquisitively glanced at the screen, before turning and slapping Sarph as a dark, demonic aura surrounded her. "You were going to say that she was Totomaru's girlfriend?!" she demanded with eyes that, as a result of a peculiar trick of the light, seemed red and cartoonishly exaggerated for a second, while gesturing at Fleur, who blinked and cocked her head in surprise.
"Well, yes, their relationship has lots of chemistry," Sarph pointed out. "It's only a matter of time until their mutual affection and emotional bond blossoms into love,"
By this point, Fleur was blushing, and Pierce had no idea how Totomaru, walking briskly in front of them, had remained oblivious to the conversation. But that was nothing to the way that Hare was fuming. Her dark aura had reached the point that Pierce was wondering if the road underfoot was likely to spontaneously combust. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? I have so much more 'chemistry' with Totomaru than that skank!" She probably would have continued, but a blast of petals knocked her away and sent her flying to the other side of the street.
Fleur sheathed her rapier with a mischievous smile.
Before separating, Lync had given them a rendezvous point; that was where and when they would meet up with each other, and his contact.
The group stopped outside it now, looking up at a building coloured rusty orange, with lines of small windows and a roof that looked as though there had once been more to the building, but a divine hand had removed all traces of the uppermost floor with a scalpel. "This is the place," Sarph informed them.
They paused outside the door. "Should we wait for Lync and Tyria?" Boomer suggested. "This Kay guy doesn't know us. I think the idea was that Lync would be a go-between,"
"We can't just sit around," Pierce shook his head, stepping forwards and knocking on the front door.
There was a pause.
"Maybe no one's home," Totomaru observed.
That was when the stairs they were standing on fell away beneath them, sending the entire group plunging into darkness.
~P's E~
"Who are you? Why have you come here?" a deep voice asked.
Pierce struggled to get out from underneath a dazed Sarph. "What just happened?" he asked, looking around. Behind him, Boomer and Fleur had collapsed against the sides of the cage they were in, while, somehow, Hare had landed in Totomaru's lap - and didn't seem willing to leave. He noted with relief that Grace was absent, and hoped she was off somewhere trying to help.
"Are you agents of Alvarez? You certainly don't look Electrian - though that doesn't mean anything either, does it? Look at that bastard Lord Rolfe," the unknown man, who was tall, hulking and Electrian, with bright yellow hair and a dark coat, mused, glaring at his unwanted guests.
"We're from Fiore. We're friends with Tyria and Lync," Pierce informed him, finally getting out from beneath the unconscious S-Class. He reflected that Sarph was slipping if he'd been knocked out by that fall - then noticed the fact that his arm just so happened to be sprawled inches from the hilt of Solamion. Which meant he was probably faking and awaiting an opportunity to take their potential foe by surprise.
"Fiore, eh? That's interesting," Kay leant forwards. "So, I suppose you're in the same guild as Tyria, then?"
Pierce held up his hand, showing the Phoenix's Eye logo, while simultaneously gesturing to his blue shirt, also printed with the logo. Hare had enough presence of mind to twist around and show her own mark on the back of her neck.
"Not bad," Kay admitted, frowning. "But tattoos can be duplicated. How did you find me?"
"Lync gave us directions. He said he and Tyria would meet us here,"
"I'm afraid that won't be happening," Kay's frown grew more pronounced, and he pressed a button on a small piece of plastic in his hand. A screen behind him flickered on, and played a recording of what looked like some kind of news broadcast.
"Breaking news," the reporter, an Alvarez lady, declared. "Two traitors to the Alvarez empire were caught trying to sneak into our fair city of Teslon," Footage cut to a still, blurry image of Tyria and Lync using their respective spells to fly over the wall. "Upon arrival, they were immediately captured and taken for incarceration in the Council Headquarters,"
The footage stopped, and Kay turned his gaze back to the Phoenixes. "Awfully convenient that the people who would have vouched for you can't be here," he pointed out.
Pierce paled, realising that Tyria was in danger. And tried not to think about her being alone, in a cell, with only Lync for company . . . no! Keep it professional! Either way, he had to do something. "Let us out!" he demanded, leaping up and rattling the doors. "We have to help her!"
"I'm afraid that isn't likely. I'm not going to break my cover for the sake of a doomed rescue attempt," Kay shook his head. "And I also can't let any of you leave, or you might trade me to Alvarez for her. And that's assuming that you all aren't working for Alvarez to begin with,"
"We're not!" Pierce protested. "How can you be so selfish?" he demanded.
"Good instincts of self-preservation, I suppose," Kay shrugged dispassionately. "I want Electria to win the war, but I'd rather live under Alvarez than die for Electria. Don't worry, though. On the off chance Electria actually wins, I'll let you all out then,"
Pierce was about to protest this, but a thought struck him.
There was no particular reason why he couldn't use his magic. The cage seemed to be ordinary steel.
"I think we're getting out sooner than that," he smirked, and his flute appeared in a flash of Requip, and, before Kay could react, he played a rapid tune, reminiscent of a snake charmer.
With a hiss, Cubelios emerged, rapidly analysing her surroundings, before eyeing Pierce with an emerald iris. "Cubelios, use your acid breath on those bars," Pierce commanded.
While training with Cubelios, Pierce had discovered that she had more breath attacks than just poison gas. She was also capable of exhaling a mist of acid, a chemical that acted as a sleeping agent and spraying a flammable gas - unfortunately, that last one was rarely used because she had no way to ignite the gas, at least not by herself.
The acid, carefully directed, corroded the bars within seconds, and Pierce, hanging back until the attack dissipated, gestured. "Could you restrain him too?"
Obediently, Cubelios, who of course was immune to her own acid, lashed forwards with blinding speed and coiled herself around Kay, preventing him from making any moves, and Pierce set about getting the others up and moving.
Eventually the Phoenixes were extricating themselves from the cage. Pierce smiled at Cubelios, patting her head. "Thanks. Good job," and the snake shivered in pleasure.
"Alright," Sarph, who obviously had been faking and was totally up to speed with the situation, glared at Kay. "Where do we need to go to rescue Tyria?"
~P's E~
Tyria and Lync, bound in Vengestone cuffs with their hands behind their back, were uncomfortably dragged by several large Alvarez men through a series of corridors and staircases within the Grand Headquarters of the former High Council, the massive rainbow palace in the centre of Electria. Eventually, they stopped outside a pair of doors that put the ones outside Headmaster Atsphuria's office to shame, painted in a garish pattern of bronze and yellow.
They swung open, and the guards bustled the two prisoners inside, revealing a massive, long chamber with walls and arches made of exquisitely shaped curves of metal, matched by decorative sheets with iridescent sheens in every colour of the rainbow that cast brilliant hues of rainbow light all throughout the room from the massive glass ceiling above. The room was dominated by a large table made of solid platinum, with eight chairs seated around it.
However, the chair at the head of the table had been replaced with a high-backed bronze throne with yellow satin cushions that put the rest of the multicoloured chairs in the room to shame. The throne was also the only one that was occupied; the rest were barren, but it contained a dark-skinned, Electrian man of medium height with a shock of yellow hair and tinted, half-moon glasses that hid his eyes, languidly lounging in a bright yellow cloak with bronze trim in the throne. The man looked up in interest as the two prisoners were brought to a standstill at the far end of the table.
"You," Lync spat the word, glaring with unbridled hatred at the man before them.
"Indeed. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Lync Volan. I have heard ever so much about you," the man simpered with an insincere smile, before focusing on Tyria. "And you. The errant daughter returns," he raised his eyebrows. "We meet at last. My name, as I suppose you might not be aware, is Lord High Protector Rolfe,"
Tyria didn't know much about Rolfe beyond the fact that he had been a member of the Electrian High Council before Alvarez invaded, and that he was a supporter of Alvarez who had been established as a puppet monarch. However, the expression on Lync's face as he clutched at his pocket told her everything she needed to know . . except why he kept patting his pocket. She had to ask him about that sometime.
"Well, even if you don't know much about me, having been away these last couple of years, I know plenty about you, Tyria," Rolfe assured her. "For example, I know that you were an only child and your mother died in an accident six years ago, while no one has heard from your father since the war began, which unfortunately means I do not have the liberty of using them as hostages," his countenance darkened at this, before lightening once more. "I know that after you joined Headmaster Atsphuria's College of Practical Education - which, incidentally, is one of a very small number of colleges that have continued to elude my troops," he irritably muttered, "Gabriel Atsphuria took you under his wing and came to see you as an adoptive daughter. I also know that nineteen months ago, you fled Electria at your Headmaster's insistence and sought refuge in Fiore, where you tried several times to get a job but failed at each attempt, and spent a miserable few months as a bandit under the alias of - what was it? The Shellshocker?"
Tyria reluctantly nodded, and Rolfe's smile grew imperceptibly wider. "I thought as much. I also know that just under six months ago, you retired from a life of crime and joined a wizarding guild. An unassuming little place called Phoenix's Eye. Is all that correct?"
"It is," Tyria admitted, and Rolfe grinned. "Good. Because that's not all I know. I know that, before you left, your beloved Headmaster entrusted you with something. A treasure chest of sorts known as the Electrian Compendium," he leered. "So, you see, there's only one thing I don't know. And that would be where exactly you hid that Compendium,"
"And if you think I'm gonna tell you that, you got another think coming! I'd rather die than let you get your grubby hands on its secrets!" Tyria declared, glaring at this annoyingly smug man.
"Oh, but if you die, then no one will know where the Compendium is," Rolfe pointed out.
"Good," the tech wizard nodded. "Better that it remains lost forever than Alvarez gets it!" Lync grinned at her words.
"Oh dear. I was rather hoping you wouldn't be so brash," Rolfe sighed, rising from his seat and walking around the left side of the table towards them. "Come. There's something I would quite like to show you, Tyria," He regarded Lync with faint disdain. "I suppose you should come too. Though I have little interest in a former member of those upstart Vexos . . hmm. Have a ship prepared. I rather think the Vestal government would be very happy to have you in their custody once more,"
Tyria blinked and raised an electric-blue eyebrow at Lync, who shrugged. "Tell ya later?"
The guards suddenly began to bustle them forwards once again as Rolfe left the room, leading them through the Grand Headquarters once more as Tyria processed this revelation. "Wait, so do you know Mylene Farrow?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at Lync.
The salmon-haired Vestal raised his eyebrows in shock. "Mylene? How do you know her?"
"I beat her up two months ago," Tyria shrugged.
Lync rolled his eyes. "That's Mylene alright," He twisted in his bonds to get a closer look at Tyria. "Tell me you smashed that butt-ugly Macubass thing,"
"Sure did. I stole her coat too," his schoolmate grinned, and Lync chuckled. "Good. She had it coming,"
~P's E~
Eventually, the party stopped outside a door. "I very much hope that what you're about to see will change your mind," Rolfe admitted. "I want you to join us, Tyria. The might of the Alvarez Empire is unstoppable, it's only a matter of time until the entire world bows to Emperor Spriggan. And no secret can remain buried forever, either. No matter what backwoods place you hid the Compendium, it will eventually be found. But besides, I would much prefer to have someone like you on our side. You could do your country a great service under Alvarez,"
"Any aid I could give Electria would be nothing compared to the suffering I'd put it through if I helped Alvarez conquer it," Tyria spat.
"Well said," Lync approvingly chorused.
Rolfe mulled this over, and shrugged. "You'll change your tune when you see this," he declared, swinging open the door and leading the party inside.
Tyria gasped as she took in the sight that towered above them. At first, she thought it was a massive yellow building, but buildings didn't have rockets mounted on the sides or what looked like a bronze submarine attached to it. It took a while to place where she'd seen it before, because she'd only ever heard of machines like this in books, never in reality.
She was staring at a massive rocket.
"Impressive, isn't it? And we're only a scant day or so from launch," Rolfe explained.
Lync frowned. "I don't get it," he admitted, rubbing his pocket. "Rockets are built to go into space. What could you possibly want in space?"
"Oh, it's quite simple, really. As primitive as Fiorean magic is, it does produce the occasional feat that even we Electrians find impressive. One of the most noteworthy of these is a certain orbital weapon,"
It didn't take long for Tyria to remember hearing that before. "That, uh, thing that the Magic Council uses in times of emergency? The - right! The Satellite Square: Etherion?"
"Yes, that. A magic weapon of such power that it can annihilate entire cities with a single blast. And is is completely immune to tampering, because it is up in space, where no one can reach it," Rolfe smiled wickedly at the thought. "At least, that's the theory,"
"You're going to hijack Etherion," Tyria whispered in horror.
"And once I have an orbital superweapon at my disposal, your puny resistance will be crushed within a matter of hours," Rolfe crowed, before looking down at Tyria. "So, what do you say now?" he asked.
'I've gotta destroy that rocket,' the wizard realised. 'But I can't do it alone,' she thought. 'Who do I know that's good at destroying things?'
Her eyes widened, and slid to the pink guild mark on her shoulder, and she almost chuckled. She was part of one of the most destructive guilds in Fiore and Electria alike. And several of its best and brightest wizards were in the city at that moment. All she needed to do was signal them, and for that, she had to be free. The cuffs were Vengestone, but they didn't look very thick . .
Rolfe was taken entirely by surprise when, using her legs, Tyria launched herself into the air, backflipped, and as she came down, slammed her wrists hard into the ground, putting all the weight of her body and the force of her momentum into the impact. At this, the rocky cuffs cracked, and broke, shattering around her hands as she landed ungraciously on her back. Hooray for budget cuts and limited Vengestone supplies.
In a fluid motion, she leapt to her feet and stared down Lord Rolfe. "No deal, mister," she declared, snatching Lync's wrists with her left and and invoking, "TechType: Tectonics!" with her right. A single blow destroyed the wooden door, and then they were out of the courtyard and running back down the corridor. Lync winced as, as they ran, Tyria yanked his arm upwards and swung her still-transformed fist, but he let out a small gasp as the expertly aimed metal club smashed his cuffs into pieces too.
"We should split up," the boy immediately suggested.
"Agreed. I'm not really sure which way leads to the exit," the Electrian admitted, and they paused, coming to a junction. "If you get out before me, find the rest of Phoenix's Eye. Tell them about the rocket and that they have to destroy it,"
"Can they do that?" the Vestal asked, and Tyria grinned. "We're Phoenixes. We burn everything down as we rise into the sky," she quoted, before dashing down the left-hand passage. "Try not to die!"
Lync, blushing a little and rubbing his hand where she had touched him, nodded. Footsteps from behind him warned him that Lord Rolfe was in pursuit, and, reasserting himself by quickly rubbing his pocket, flew down the corridor to the right.
A/N
A/N
It bugs me that, for the sake of plot progression, I ended up having to get Tyria captured again. This is supposed to be an arc that focuses on her character and her strengths, damnit. She's not a damsel in distress! -,- Hopefully the last few paragraphs, and the stunt she pulls next chapter, will make up for it.
So, Lord Rolfe. The overarching villain of the Electria arc finally appears. I considered bringing in a member of the Spriggan 12, but after Seilah showed up in Sonic Boom, it didn't really sit right with me, because Seilah was and is way too powerful for Phoenix's Eye to beat at present. She was playing with Sarph and Grace, the two strongest members of the team, like toys, and Grace had to nuke her with reality magic to win - and even that didn't technically defeat her. It circumvented her magic/Curses and atomised her body. It wasn't a 'real' victory. No, there is no practical way that Team Pierce could face off with even one member of the 12 and not get themselves killed. So I came up with an OC.
But as for his character design? I was kind of going with an 'evil Albus Dumbledore' vibe. But, more than that, Lord Rolfe is the thematic antithesis of Gabriel Atsphuria. He's everything that Headmaster Atsphuria is, only twisted and perverted into evil. Where the Headmaster wants to use magic and technology alike for kind and selfless reasons, Rolfe only cares about furthering his own progression in the hierarchy of Alvarez. Gabriel Atsphuria is like a father to Tyria, but Rolfe is her worst nightmare.
And while on that topic, I did make one distinction that I think everyone should be aware of; Atsphuria's World Gear is gold and purple. Tyria's TechType is silver and blue, and Lync's Airnvention is silver and green. However, Rolf's DeStructure is bronze and yellow. Just a neat bit of symbolism I threw in. XD Peace!