CHAPTER 49: THE STRANGER
The walk down the slope didn't take the gang long to walk, and thankfully there was no one to see them carrying an injured catashire with fours arrows in his back while being carried on the back of a muscle bound unracanid. They got a better look of the small town as they got closer to it, the town had a few thousand people, and several roads leading in and out of it, the place was defiantly the kind of location for travelers to come and rest before heading out again. It was a little past noon as the gang finally got to the towns level and kept an eye out for anyone to not draw attention.
"We're finally at the bottom, how you doing there, Odd?" Ulrich asked his long time friend.
"I'm doing good, despite the fact I have four arrows sticking out of me. Thankfully it doesn't hurt as much anymore." Odd answered with a groan.
"Just be glad you didn't get any in your ass. It might be the only thing that saves your relationship with Sam." Knulgen said with a smile.
"What the hell does that mean?!" Sam shot to him with a sneer.
"Keep it down. We don't want attention, we just need to find an inn and then find someone that can operate on Odd." Z said to quiet them up.
"I can see an inn on the outer side of the town. We can get some rooms and patch Odd up." Kairaree said to them as she pointed to the inn. The inn was a two story building that gave it a homely look and had a vacancy sigh lit up near its doors.
"But how are we going to get in without drawing any attention to the fact that we have Odd riding horseback on Aracane." Yumi pointed out to them.
"You guys just let me do the talking. These inns get injured people all the time, so Odd won't draw much attention as long as they don't see him. So get him in and to his room, and then I'll go look for a doctor." Z said to them as they got near the building.
The gang made it to the inn and Z quickly went in and came up to the inn desk and spotted a catashire man reading a newspaper. He looked around middle aged, had light brown hair with tanned skin, and a few spots on his neck and wearing simple clothes.
He looked up and spotted Z coming in with some of the others behind him. "Ah, hello there. Welcome to my inn, how many rooms will you be needing?" The owner asked him.
"We need about nineteen beds, preferably ones that have multiple beds in a few rooms. I know it's a tall order, but we have the money for it." Z said to the owner.
"It won't be a problem, this isn't a busy month right now. How long do you wish to stay?" He asked as he opened a large notebook and took out a pen for Z to start writing their names.
Z wrote down their names and then payed the man the amount of money for each of them, which was a lot more then they thought. The owner then gave him a few keys that would lead to their rooms that had several beds in each.
"I thank you for this sir, we'll go to our rooms and settle in. We'll be here for a night or two, but I must let you know, we have a friend who is injured, so I'll be bringing in a doctor to help him." Z said to the owner as the others began to come in while keeping Odd out of view.
"Well it wouldn't be the first time someone has brought in an injured comrade or friend. We get all kinds of warriors and soldiers that pass through this area, because the roads in this town cut right through the mountains and get to their destination quicker. I won't ask why you can't go to the hospital, but I do have a room where you can put your friend, it has clean sheets, although I hope it's not major surgery." The owner said to him as he pointed to the room that was down the hall.
"Thank you, sir. We really appreciate this." Yumi said to him as they began to take off their backpacks.
They quickly brought Odd down the hall and into the room where the owner pointed to. The room had a single bed with white sheets, and looked more like a hospital bed then a normal one.
"It seems pretty weird the owner would have a bed you find in a hospital, rather than a inn." Aracane said to some of them as he gently placed Odd on his front as Sam came over to him.
"That's because the owner was a medic soldier himself." Z said as he closed the door to the room.
"How the hell do you know that?" Knulgen asked him.
"Because I saw some medals and pictures of him during his army days over the fireplace mantle in the corner of the lobby. I suppose he must have settled here and opened a inn." Z answered him as the door to the room opened, and the owner walked in with a black doctor bag.
"I was in the 57th unit of, The Enforcer Legion. It's an army that acts as reinforcements and support for allied armies." The owner said as he came to Odd's side and placed the bag on a small table and opened it up. "Your friend has quite unusual injuries on him, I hope you aren't going to say it was a hunting accident?" He said to them as he began to take some medical equipment from his bag.
"We were attacked by some bandits deep in the forest. We fought them off, but as they retreated, they attacked us with bows and arrows to stay hidden, but our friend, Odd was the one that got hurt." Z explained while lying a little.
"I didn't know there were some bandits in this area. But then again, most people don't come to this town through the forest. But I suppose it doesn't matter now, bandits wouldn't come anywhere near a town." The owner said as he took out a syringe to inject Odd with.
"We really appreciate you doing this for us. We're out on our own most of the time, so we have to do what we can to get by." Sam said to him as she moved aside for the inn owner to work on Odd.
"It's no problem. I help when I can, and at least you kids won't have to go out and find a doctor, so consider this a complimentary service for being in my inn." The owner said as he stuck the syringe in a bottle and filled it.
"Is food complimentary too? I can really eat after this." Odd asked him. The owner stuck the needle in Odd's shoulder near his arrow as he groaned from the prick. He then filled another syringe and injected Odd again.
"I have a cook that lives here, he went to get some more food, he'll be back to make dinner. Now if you don't mind, I'll need some help on keeping the wounds covered as I take these arrows out." The owner said to them as he fished something out from his kit.
"I'll help, Odd protected me from those arrows, I should be the one to assist." Sam said to him as she went to Odd's bedside.
"Thanks there, now let me get ready." The owner said as he took out a glass flask of whisky and began to drink it down.
"What is he doing? Why is he drinking? Why is he drinking when he's about to operate on me?!" Odd questioned while freaking out with his purple tail swinging.
The owner finished drinking the small flask and sighed deeply. "When I was in the field many years ago, a mortar shell hit next to me and I got injured. I was fine, other then a few bruises and scraps, and a broken tail tip, but I suffered nerve damage, and I shake when I do small things like this. So having a little drink helps keep me steady." The owner explained to them as he began to go to work on the arrows in his back after putting on a pair of gloves.
As the inn owner and Sam began to work on Odd's injuries, the others went to their rooms to settle in and relax on the fresh beds. They each broke off into several groups since the rooms that were registered to them had a few beds per room.
An hour passed as Sam and the inn owner finished on Odd's back. "Well that's it, you're clear. Amazingly, those arrows didn't penetrate deep, but at least now you have a few more for your quivers." He said to Odd as he put his medical equipment away in his bag. "Although it was a tad hard to work while having both your bow and three quivers on your back since those damn arrows were right in the way."
"At least now you can finally rest on your back, Odd." Sam said to him with a smile as she bundled up his dark purple jacket and underclothes since they were stained with blood and had the four holes through it. Odd's weapons were in the corner against the wall and he was just lying in bed with no upper clothes on.
"You can say that again, although I don't mind lying my stomach, it's just that I don't like having arrows making it hard for me to roll around." Odd said with a chuckle.
"Just remember to take it easy, those arrows were hard to take out, they are designed to pierce deep and rip vital organs. But thankfully the arrows didn't get into anyplace serious." The inner owner said to the two as he got up and headed towards the door of the small room.
"Thank you again sir. And by the way, we didn't get your name." Sam said to him.
"My name is Palkin, and I was happy to help." He simply said to them as he went off and left the two alone.
When he was gone, Sam looked to the ground while glancing at him a bit. She then looked to him and spoke. "Odd...I just want to says-" Sam began as Odd raised his hand with dark purple stipes on his arms.
"Sam, please don't, it's not your fault. That assassin leader was going to fire at us both, I just got in the way of his arrows, that's all." Odd said to her as he leaned back against his bed.
"But I-" She tried to continue.
"There's no point in getting down in the dumps every time one of us gets hurt. This won't be the last time one of us ends up on a bed, injured. Believe me, we've suffered a lot of pain back on Lyoko, even when we came out of the scanners, we felt like we were going to die sometimes." Odd replied with a chuckle.
"I wish I could have been there. You guys sound like you needed an army to fight Xana back then." Sam replied as she thought about what the earth members told them during their battles in Lyoko.
"I wish you were there too. You would have been an excellent addition." Odd praised to her.
The two went on to talking as the sun began to set. They had a long day and were just glad that everyone pulled through. Later some of the gang came in to help Odd to his room as they just took the time to relax without having to worry about danger for a little bit.
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Far off in the desert area near an ocean shore where Xana was revived and holdup in one of his many bases hidden in the small mountain. Deep inside on the lower levels of the base, Smoketay stood near some consoles looking over data as he casually smoked his cigars.
The beastly being Ukai came walking in while pulling some large cables wrapped up in loops. He threw the cables down to the ground and walked to Smoketay. "Have you gotten your workers to install the power dampeners like you were tasked to?" Ukai asked him.
"Huh? Oh yeah, that thing. I'll get the workers on it soon." Smoketay replied to him as he kept looking over the data.
"What?! You were suppose to have those done hours ago! Xana will be back soon, and you are putting everything behind schedule!" Ukai shouted to him.
"What's the rush? It's not like we have an attack coming after us. Why don't you take a break too?" Smoketay casually replied as he touched the screen to move data around.
"How you became Xana's greatest warrior, I will never know! I am the most loyal, I am the most dedicated fighter, I am the one who has charged the front lines with barely any weapons, fighting against countless opponents! And yet you just coast through this whole operation without even a care for Xana's plans, and what he has in the future. I truly can't stand how you are, and act!" Ukai shouted as he growled while some of the workers carefully watched from afar.
"Down, boy, or I'll have to chain you up to your doghouse in the backyard." Smoketay joked without even looking at him.
Ukai growled very low as he grabbed Smoketay by the shoulders hard and turned him to face each, their eyes locked as Ukai held him. His eyes were filled with anger, while Smoketay's calm an unnerved as he then took a deep breath and blew a puff of harmless smoke in Ukai's face.
Ukai pushed him away and leaped back and waved the smoke away from his face as he then gave out a loud roar, meaning he was ready to fight. Smoketay just rolled his eyes and got ready to fight back against the lumbering beast, as he called him.
In the corner of the massive room, a round plating on the floor began to hum as the two stopped fighting with each other. Four panels lowered down to stabilize what was coming through as electricity began to surge as a figure began to form in the center until it died down, and Xana appeared. He stood up from his kneeling position and began to walk towards Smoketay and Ukai while the workers either bowed before him or quickly went back to work.
Xana stood before them as he looked around. "How is the operation commencing? Do we have a time of completion?" Xana demanded sternly.
"We should be completing our operation within the day or so. Everything is going as planned, my lord." Smoketay reported to him.
"We would be done sooner if you would stop slacking off all the time." Ukai growled to him.
"Enough...get this done, and get it done soon, or there will be dire consequences for all of you!" Xana yelled as the workers quickened their pace after hearing his deadly warning.
"We will have this finished soon, my master. Did you find what you were looking for?" Ukai asked him.
"Indeed I did. At least something good came from this." Xana replied as he grabbed the rectangle shaped item that seemed to be magnetized to his right hip. He held up the strange item that seemed to be a fusion between a magical artifact, and millenniums ahead of time technology. He twirled it around in his hand as he looked it over. "I've looked for one of these things for a long time. And soon, I will finally gain what I've longed for." He said to them as he walked towards the center of the room.
In the center of the room was another massive circle plating on the floor with another circle like machinery with parts, wires, and circuits exposed, hanging a few feet above Xana's head. He stepped to the middle and a circle of light lit up under his feet and expanded out until it was in the shape of Xana's symbol across the circle floor plating as the center circle plating began to expand up in the shape of a cylinder from the floor to Xana's chest level and opened up. Several mechanical arm like objects came out and circled the outer rim of the cylinder as another cylinder came down from above the one below and the objects were a foot between each other. Xana then took the item he found and placed it between the cylinders, and the arms began to move as he let it go, and a transparent barrier formed, and the object began to slowly float around in it.
"This is a strange object, Xana. What exactly is it, if you don't mind my asking?" Ukai wondered as he looked at the floating object.
"Let's just say it's the beginning of my ascent into full power. And once all the parts are found, and this is assembled, even the fools who get in my way all the time will finally fall at my hands." Xana replied as he looked at the object with a smile behind his mask.
"So how many pieces of these strange objects are there? I really hope this doesn't take long." Smoketay asked him as he tapped his cigars ashes off.
"I'm not sure at the moment. I'll be able to tell better, once I get more of the parts. But for now, this piece will help advance my plans by years. Those little punks don't know what I have in store for them, once this is complete." Xana answered as he turned away from it and walked over to a large console control area and began to look over plans on the massive screen.
"I can't help but wonder what these plans of yours are. Will they be messy? I hate clean up." Smoketay asked him with a questionable look.
"Let's just say...the warriors are about to get an attack from the past, that only the earth members of their pitiful group will remember." Xana answered in a riddle like reply as he brought up a image that would shock the earth members of the gang if they saw it. "This place is almost complete, and I know those fools will come charging here like moths to the flames, once they find this place. And when they arrive, they will falter at the sight, once they see my tower standing tall in the sky." Xana said to him as he began to chuckle while the monitor showed several blueprints and digital scales of a massive tower, similar to the ones back in Lyoko, which seemed so long ago.
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The gang had settled in for the night as the sun was almost down and they enjoyed the local food in the dining area of the inn. Odd was already back on his feet, and was wearing a plain white shirt that he borrowed from the owner of the place while his normal clothes were in the wash getting clean from his bloodstains, and have Jack use his alchemy like powers to fix the holes like he did with Ulrich's almost sliced in half clothes when he was cut by that blademaster.
"Man this food is good. My steak is huge." Odd said with a smile as he ate another piece.
"I hope you don't ask for seconds, or the owner might add more onto our bill then what we've already paid for by being here." Ulrich said to him while cutting up some of his meat strips.
"Relax. The food is at a lower price because of what we spent for our rooms." Yumi said to him.
"Which brings the next topic about our money situation." Z said to them as he stopped eating for a moment. "We need to come up with ways to get some money in our pockets again. We're running low, and we need to earn more to get around, so in the morning we should go out and find some odd jobs and add up our money by the end of the day and try to head out after that." Z explained to them.
"Work? Forget that. Let's just rob some crime lord and take their money, or some shit like that." Knulgen said to them as he put his booted feet on the table.
Kairaree groaned and made him take his boots off the table. "And where are we going to find a crime lord in the middle of a small mountain town? And on top of that, your plan to rob a crime lord is beyond farfetched. How the hell did you even come up with something like that?" She questioned him. But he just shrugged his shoulders in response.
"Not to mention, when people like that have money hidden away, it usually means it's dirty, and would be used as evidence in an investigation." Deotalus added.
"Despite robbing a crime lord, getting some extra cash on us is a good idea. But what can we do as far as jobs?" Sam asked them all.
Leadonus grabbed a pitcher and filled his glass with some more tea. "There's always something out there. We just have to sweep the town and offer our services, like courier, or our someone who needs assistance, or help around a store, or restaurant. We just have to go all out." He said as he took a drink.
"The only problem is, Alpha will have to stay in one of our rooms. A robot with a mask and cloak over him doesn't make a very employable person." Jeremie said to them with a chuckle.
"Alpha can take a break. We'll do fine out on the town without him." Aelita said to him.
"So I guess it's settled, we'll go scrap up some money and then leave this town, and try to find Xana's hidden base. Where ever that could be." William shrugged as he continued to eat.
"Alpha told us it was across the ocean, so we're gonna need some kind of boat ride. But that's all we know at the moment." Jack reminded them.
"We can deal with that later. So let's just get to bed and earn some money tomorrow." Eli'ton said to them as he finished his dinner.
"This day really passed us by, right guys? But then again, being chased by assassins all day will do that to you." Bel'la joked to them as some of them laughed a little.
A few hours later the night was finally over them, and the gang settled in for the night and tomorrow would do something they haven't done before. Look for work to earn money. Which at one point, Yumi slugged Knulgen in the stomach after making another crude joke about earning money with their bodies as the gang went to bed for the night.
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Far off in Xana's hidden base during the middle of the night with the three moons shining overhead on the small mountain. Inside the base, the workers were working double time as Xana. Smoketay, and Ukai overlooked their construction. The lowest part of the base had a massive hole about half a mile wide in diameter. In the hole was the very tower Xana had under construction, and was nearing completion.
"Work faster! Xana wants this tower up in the air soon! Do not stop for a moment! The construction is almost complete!" Ukai called out to the workers as he overlooked their work.
The workers were beginning to leave the hole as the construction neared its end while installing the last bits of machinery, plating, and other electrical components into Xana's dark tower.
Above the construction was a platform where Xana and Smoketay stood, putting together the last of their plans with many computer monitors in front of them as Xana was programming something on the center computer system.
"These workers can really get moving when they have a mutt barking at their heels." Smoketay said to Xana with a chuckle as he looked down at Ukai. Xana didn't even respond as he continued to program on the massive terminal in front of him. "I suppose comedy isn't for everyone." He shrugged as he lit a new cigar.
"I have no time for your jokes and quips. My tower is almost complete, and soon the next phase of my plan will begin. Victory is within my grasp." Xana said as he began to type in the last of his programming.
"I would still like to know what you have planned for your stalkers. An attack, a new weapon, or something dangerous and diabolical? I really don't like surprises." Smoketay asked as he tapped some ashes off his cigar.
"In time Smoketay. Because after this, there will be no more delays in my plans, and my conquest for this world will be within my grasp." Xana replied as he typed the last of the programming into the computer, and the monitors began to flash.
After a few more hours and the construction was complete, and the workers were out of the massive hole below them. The platform Xana and Smoketay were standing on began to extend out and lowered to the massive hole in the center of the bottom floor as the workers began to move out of the way from the construction area with their tools and other equipment as Ukai joined up with them as they reached the edge of the hole.
Xana's symbol lit up in a blue color as a rumbling sound was heard. Out from the circle came Xana's tower, but it stopped after it came out twenty into the air, which was only the top part of the tower as a large door slid open on the outer side of the tower in front of the three and they walked in.
As they went in, a crane moved over above the top of the tower that had the very item Xana found was floating in a new type of holding container machine. It was smaller, and in the shape of a cylinder with protective glass all around the floating artifact. The crane made it to the center of the tower as a hole below it opened, and the crane began to lower the protected item into the tower.
Inside the tower on the very top floor where Xana and the other two entered in. The place was massive and filled with countless cables, machinery, and other electronic devices. Xana walked to the center as a hole on the very high ceiling opened, and the item in its new protective container lowered down into the room. Xana's symbol lighted up yellow and the cylinder case began to float as the cable hook detached and reeled up out of the room as the hole in the ceiling closed and the cylinder machinery lowered and connected to a system that locked in place and slowly spun around a few times and stopped.
The item in its container glowed a little as Xana looked it over. "Everything is online and working. Readings are stable. Now with the power of this item, it is time to activate my next plans." Xana said as he smiled behind his mask.
"This tower is almost ready to rise, and I can't wait until those little runts get here. I'm going to crush each of their heads in between my hands, and have that robot broken down in it's exact weight in spare parts!" Ukai growled as Xana walked to another part of the room where a massive terminal system was.
He clicked on a few buttons and the massive screen turned on as it ran diagnostics. "All systems, activate!" Xana said to the computer system.
"Systems, activate." The monitor responded. The tower began to rumble as the door into the tower closed, and all the machinery began to turn on.
"Open all levels leading to the outside." Xana said next.
"Opening all levels." The machine said next. Above the tower on the outside, many levels began to open until the levels lead outside of the mountains and between two of its points as the last and top platform that was hidden under the sand between the mountains began to open as the two massive sliding doors dropped sand into the base as the workers, scientists, and other personnel throughout the levels watched and waited for his tower to rise.
"Begin tower ascension." Xana said next.
"Beginning tower ascension. Estimated time until full extension, five minutes." The computer informed.
The tower that was sticking out of the hole began to slowly go up as Ukai and Smoketay braced themselves from the downward force the tower was making, but Xana wasn't even bothered by the force as he waited for his tower to rise into the sky. Finally the tower burst out of the mountain base as it continued to go up into the dark sky, the tower was round like the ones in Lyoko, but it was a more darker color then usual, and didn't have the black bulges at the bottom, and it didn't have the floating disk on the top.
"Lock tower in place." Xana said, giving the last order.
"Locking tower in place." The computer repeated. At the bottom where the tower came out, large machines extended out and locked the supports in place throughout the inner levels of the base. Massive cables were connected into the very bottom of the tower by robotic like arms and put power into the whole dark building as it hummed to life and gave a light glow like it did in Lyoko.
"My tower... is complete! And this is only the prototype to many more I have planned." Xana laughed maniacally.
The rest of the room began to light up and show the complete circle area of the walls in the large room. Now that the room was fully lit up, it showed that the inside of this room wasn't as massive as it was on the outside, showing that the inner walls of the tower are built thick to withstand a possible attack by enemy forces. Around the room where the walls were, laid three dozen massive round panels on the floor, only inches from each other, and going almost all around the metal room in the north corner.
"What are these round panels on the floor suppose to be?" Ukai asked Xana.
"The next phase of my plan, Ukai." Xana answered as the computer terminal began to process the data that he put in. "It is time to bring the digital world and all its data power, back into this game." He answered as the machines in the room began to work at full power.
Many cables came down the ceiling and connect into the cylinder of the container that held the floating item. The cables locked in as the round panels near the north wall began to slowly spin as big cylinders came out from the floor and lock in place. The dozens of pod like cylinders had lines going down the front parts, showing that they were doors. Cables came down from the ceiling and connected to each pod with large sparks flying, they were all connected to the container in the middle of the room as both the item and the pods began to hum to life.
"Well this should be an interesting. I take back what I said about surprises. I can't wait to see what pops out of these pods." Smoketay said with a grin as he walked next to Xana. He then leaned over to Ukai as the beast watched the machines begin to work. "Get ready, Ukai, you might end up lower in the ranks than usual." He whispered to the beast. Ukai glanced to him with a growl as they watched the machines powering the pods as the massive computer terminal began to load data into the pods as Xana's plans began to form within the metal cylinders.
Xana smiled behind his mask again as his twisted plans began to come into fruition, and actually wanting the gang to come find him and see the next nightmare he had in store for them.
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The outside of the tower showed in the moonlight, and would be even easier to see in the daytime. But that wouldn't be the case as the tower gave off its red glow as it suddenly began to shimmer and finally disappear from view, showing that the tower had a cloaking system that made it impossible to see unless you hit right into it.
Six miles away from the base and only a few miles from the ocean shores was something that no one would have expected. Between some large rocks in the sandy ground was a camouflage tarp that covered a long military like truck that was built to drive through the roughest of desert terrain. It had long track wheels like the ones on a tank in the back part of it, and four large and wide wheels in the front that had powerful suspension springs to maneuver over uneven terrain with ease. The back part of the truck was filled with all kinds of monitoring systems, making it a mobile command system, and even had a built in closet filled with many weapons and gear.
The cold night air of the desert blew as a telescopic device that was focused on the tower retracted back under the tarp it was poking out of. The device was built onto the top part of the truck roof and under where the drivers were, along with several other electronic devices, like sonar scanners, radio communication, and monitoring.
The drivers of the truck sat in the seats as the one in the passenger seat looked over the recorded footage on a small computer monitor as he typed in data. They were both dressed in black military like uniforms, and didn't seem to be with any form of army, and even their helmets covered their faces, making it almost impossible to tell what species they were. They sat in the pitch black of their truck as they began to make decisions on what to do next.
"I suppose now would be a good time to make the call. We've confirmed the location of Xana's base. I'll contact our watcher and let him know." The passenger said to the driver as he took a wired military grade phone and began to dial a number.
"Make sure the transmission signal is secure. We don't want to risk them finding us." The driver said to him.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever." The passenger mumbled as he held the phone upside his head and waited for the signal to go through to their contact.
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In the very town where the gang was staying, the moons shined over bright, it was a few hours passed midnight as a person stood on the flat roof of a two stories building that was a few blocks away from the inn the gang was staying in. The person wore a dark brown coat with a long split down the back part, the front of the coat near the stomach had six large buttons in two rows of three with a long matching belt that went with the coat around the waist. The flaps of the coat went down the chest and the collar ends near the neck were long and turned up, hiding the sides of the persons face, and he wore a detective like hat that helped keep the rest of his face hidden. The rest of his clothes consisted of knee high boots with thick shoelaces, and black pants and long sleeved top with black gloves. All in all, the person had a very cliche movie detective look going on, and would be seen as either an enthusiastic cos-player, or just a weirdo.
He stood with one foot over the edge of the roof, watching the inn, as if something would happen at any moment. Suddenly his phone gave a light ring, and he quickly reached in his deep pocket and hit the answer button and held it to his covered side.
"Yeah, what is it?" He asked in a young and cheerful and tad sly voice. "You found where he's hiding?...I see...That far, huh?...Good work guys...Yeah I found them too, they're in a small town, staying at an inn...I understand...I'll make contact with them in the morning and take it form there...Yes I know I'm not suppose to reveal myself yet. But that doesn't mean I can't give them a little test before sending them in the right direction...Just get the next phase of our plan ready, and we'll see in time if these young warriors are who we think they are...Okay, take care, and stay safe." He said into the phone and hung up and placed it back in his pocket.
The stranger continued to watch the inn for a little while longer before he left the roof and waited until later the day he would make contact with the gang for whatever reason it is suppose to be.
DAY 27
The gang got up and dressed at their usual time in the morning. As they got ready to go down, they noticed William wasn't up and ready yet.
"Is William still not up? He's going to miss breakfast." Odd said to them as he put his mended coat on, thanks to Jack and his magic last night.
"He's still asleep? Some of you guys shared a room with him, why didn't any of you make sure he was up?" Yumi asked the guys.
"I'll get him. You guys go ahead and we'll meet up." Ulrich said to her as he went to the room he and some of the other guys slept in.
William was still sound asleep and on his bed. He wasn't wearing his top, and only in his boxers. His closed eyes were twinging as he made light groans as if he was having a bad dream. Ulrich opened the door and walked into the room to where William was.
"William? Hey William, wake up." Ulrich called to him. William's eyes shot open as he lunged up from his bed while panting. "Geez William. I didn't interrupt anything, did I?" Ulrich asked as he looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
William placed a hand on his head as he took a deep breath. "What? No, no I'm fine. I just...I just had a hard time sleeping last night, so I didn't get much rest." William answered him as he began to get out of his bed.
"Well alright then, meet you downstairs for breakfast when you're ready." Ulrich replied as he turned and left the room.
William got up and groaned as the strange dream he had seemed to fade away in his mind while he got dressed for the day.
He soon joined up with the others as they sat down for breakfast and talked over a few possible places where they could earn some money and eventually join up with each other later as they looked at the local newspaper.
"I still can't believe we have to go around town begging for money like hobos." Knulgen grumbled as he ate some of his eggs.
"We need to work for money if we want to be able to afford comfort means every now and then." Z said to him as he placed the newspaper down on the table.
"The real question we should be asking, does Knulgen have any skills to even hold down a job?" Yumi asked them as they laughed a little. Knulgen growled at her as he continued to eat his breakfast.
After they were done, they soon went out and gone their separate ways into the town. The inn owner, Palkin, showed the gang a map he had of the town, and even made a few phone calls to some friends and other business people to tell them about the gang that was coming to make some quick cash.
As they all said their goodbyes and headed off to their destinations into the town, across the street and leaning against a telephone post was the very stranger on the roof, earlier that night. He was reading a newspaper and lowered it down from his view a little and watched the gang go off their own ways as he then went back to reading his paper.
The gang quickly made their ways to the place they chose to look for work while Alpha stayed behind since he would only draw attention, being that he was a robot wearing a cloak and metal mask over him.
So the day went on as the gang spread out into the town. Ulrich, Odd, and William found a package delivery place and took several jobs that involved taking packages to their addresses. The Surfane brothers found a place to help people move their equipment into their new business while Aracane came into a warehouse to help load stuff, once the owner saw him, he practically wanted to hire the large muscled warrior, but Aracane had to decline and just wanted to work for a few hours. Jeremie and Aelita found a computer place and helped the owner set and program both the computers and security system. The rest of the girls, Yumi, Sam, Kairaree, and Bel'la found a furniture store and helped move stuff around while Jack went to the park and entertained the crowd with his magic as Eli'ton and Z assisted him with his magic tricks.
Knulgen didn't find a single job, both because of his attitude and the fact that he looked a lot like a thug. He walked down a quiet sidewalk while grumbling to himself. "Man I haven't found shit. If I come back empty handed, they'll bitch me out forever." He muttered as he then came across an alley. He suddenly heard people talking and cheering and walked down it without a second thought on what it could be.
He walked down the alley and spotted a group of ten people, a bit older then him, or young adults. They were gambling with dices with a opened up cardboard box placed against the alley wall and ground, and bet the amount off money depending on what number they called out. He walked up to them without a care as they took notice to him.
"Hey pal, you lost or something? You got no business here, so get out." An unracanid man said to him.
"Not really, I heard the noise down here, and I wanted to see what the fun is, and now that I see it, I want in on the action. You guys don't have a problem with that, do ya?" Knulgen said to them as he walked closer.
"Ha, you got money on you? Because if you don't have any, then you can forget playing." A lizargian man said to him.
"Hmm, tell you guys what, I got something better to offer." Knulgen suggested as he reached for the sheath on his back and took it off to show them. He grabbed the handle and pulled some of the blade out of the sheath as it shined a little in the light. "This sword is worth a lot more money then any of you got on you. So what do you say? Play a few rounds, and if I lose, you get my sword." Knulgen said to them with a cocky grin.
The human gangster that was in charge of the whole thing looked at the sword and smiled. "Alright kid, you got a deal. We'll play a few rounds and add more money to you, depending on how many rolls you win." He said to Knulgen as he allowed him to come closer to the action.
"Alright, let's get this party started." Knulgen said to him as he placed his sword back over him.
"Okay kid, the rules are simple. You throw four dices and call out odd or even numbers, you get more money depending on how many odd or even rolls you call out. You get the wrong rolls, you lose money, or in your case, your sword." A aquariora gangster explained to him.
"Whatever, let's just get this going." Knulgen said to them as he took the dices.
Knulgen's luck wasn't with him in this, he had only a few successful rolls that got him some money, but then he started to lose roll after roll as the people in the alley cheered as he kept losing. Finally they gave him one last roll, which he lost as he slammed his fist on the ground in anger since he was in a kneeling position in front of the opened up cardboard box where they threw the dices.
"Sorry kid, but that was your last roll. So hand over the sword." The one in charge said as he held out his hand.
Knulgen groaned as he looked at the man and the rest of his buddies. "Awe, screw it." He said as he turned to the gambler kneeling next to him.
Knulgen didn't give a single warning as he nailed the boss of the group right in his nose and sent him flying with a trail of blood as he hit the concrete ground. The others quickly leaped at him, but Knulgen was counting on it as he jumped up and kicked one gangster in the jaw, then turned and slugged another in the stomach and then took him down with a fist to his face.
Two came at him with pipes, but knulgen dodged the weapons and slugged each of them in the face as another one came after with a knife, Knulgen turned and elbow the guy in the face as he took the knife and stabbed it into the shoulder of another attacker, he screamed in pain as Knulgen kicked the man between the legs and sent him to the ground clutching his bruised balls. One thug grabbed him from behind and held him tight as another came charging after him, but Knulgen quickly raised his legs and kicked the man in his chest and sent him flying into the wall as he then forced the man holding him into the wall behind then with a hard slam, he hit the back of his head against the wall and was quickly knocked out from the force. Knulgen turned to the last one with a wicked smile, ready to take him on, but the last gangster screamed and ran off, leaving the rest of his buddies.
"Damn, these guys sucked. Good thing they got a lot of money on them." Knulgen said as he began to pilfer their pockets and took their money, one by one. He then counted the cash up and smiled as he walked off. "This may not be what the others had in mind, but I still got some cash for us, and that's what matters." He chuckled as he walked off to find the gang.
()()()()()()()()()
It had been a long morning for the gang, and it was almost noon as some of them met up at the park. Z, Ulrich, and Odd sat down on a bench near the park as they waited for some of the others to come around.
"So how much did you make at that courier job, Odd?" Ulrich asked him.
"Eh, about a hundred and fifty. How about you?" Odd replied as he counted the money he had.
"I didn't get much either. Those people tipped, but not that much. You would think seeing a person perform magic would bring in a little more." Z said to them as he leaned back in the bench.
"We'll just count up the money once Jack and Eli'ton find the others. I could use the rest after running several packages all over the place." Ulrich said as he took a deep breath.
"Finding a place to earn quick cash can be hard, especially if you're from out of town. But at least you kids are earning an honest pay." A voice said to the three.
They turn to their right to see someone in a dark brown coat leaning against a telephone pole and reading a newspaper right in front of his face.
The three didn't know what to make of the situation, they've never had a person just come up and talk to them, considering the fact he wasn't there a few minutes ago as he flipped through pages. They couldn't see his face because of the large collar flaps pointing upward, and his hat with wide brims.
"Uh, I suppose it is. Are you not from this town too?" Odd asked him.
"I travel a lot. I'm somewhat of a info gatherer, informant, and detective. I go from town to town, looking for leads and anything else that might be helpful. I don't suppose you guys might need to know anything important, or info on someone or something you're looking for?" The stranger asked them as he flipped to another page in his newspaper.
"Sorry, but I doubt you would have any information on what we're looking for." Ulrich declined to him.
"Really? Are you guys sure about that?" He asked again while lowering the paper a little, but still keeping his whole head hidden in the shadow created from his hat and big collar.
"Are you playing some game with us? Because if you are, we're tired of it, and I think it's time for you to leave." Z said to him sternly as he secretly reached for one of his handguns at his side, growing suspicious of the man.
"Well that's too bad. I was really wanting to inform you kids on your enemy, Xana, and his current location." The stranger said as he lowered the paper down and grinning at them through his shadow.
The three suddenly jumped up from their seat after hearing Xana's name, only making them far more suspicious and concerned on the man. "Who the hell are you?" Z demanded slowly as he kept his hand on his guns holster.
"Are you with Xana? Because there's no way someone can know about him." Ulrich said as he began to reach for one of his sabers on his back.
The stranger then folded the paper and held it in one hand as he looked at them , still keeping his face hidden. "Seems like I got your attentions now. I won't beat around the bush for you all, I know more to this then you guys think, I am also willing to help you kids find the bastard. But first, I need to see if you kids are real deal." The stranger said to them with a chuckle.
"Stop playing games with us. You really expect us to believe that you know Xana, and yet you don't work for him?! Sorry pal, but we've been through too much hell to let our guard down. So I suggest you come clean before we beat what you know out of you." Odd said to him with a small growl, which also surprised Ulrich and Z, since Odd was rarely serious.
The stranger just chuckled at Odd's warning as he walked a little closer. "Well you have the heart, but do you young warriors have the power? There's only one way to see. So come on warriors, I want to see what you got." He said with a smile as he got ready to begin their first test.
END CHAPTER.
