HuniePop Space Adventures
Chapter 16: The Council of Light
The streets were wet with puddles that were slowly expanding as the rain continued to pour, the skies periodically being lit up by the lightning that was flashing throughout the clouds and the rumble of thunder being heard as the local residents tried to find shelter from the pouring rain. Many of them either covered their heads with their hoods or took shelter underneath some of the balconies, some of which had little stores underneath them which had necessities that the residents were trying to buy. But, amidst the calm and gentle ambience, there was the scent of fear in the air. On the rooftops were the sounds of blaster fire and stone walls being smashed apart. A hooded figure was fleeing from an unseen attacker, occasionally firing his blaster back at whoever was pursuing him. But the pursuer was able to dodge every blaster bolt that was fired. Most of the walls that the bolts hit instead broke apart and several small stones fell into the streets below, nearly injuring the civilians below. As the figure continued to flee from the pursuer, he failed to see another pursuer standing right in front of him until he ran into him. As he looked up in terror at the second pursuer, his armor being illuminated by a sudden streak of lightning flashing across the sky, the hooded figure pointed his blaster at him, but the pursuer sliced it in two with his arm blade before he grabbed the figure by his robes and held him off the ground.
"Please, leave me be! I have done nothing to anger you!" the figure said.
"Then why did you run?" the second pursuer replied before the first pursuer took out a medallion with an 'O' shaped symbol on it.
"Where did you get this from?" he asked, showing it to the hooded figure.
"I-it is a family heirloom! It means nothing!"
"Really? Because the symbol on this matches the symbol that's been associated with a terrorist that we've been tracking for some time. Why did you have this?"
"You have the wrong person! I have nothing to do with that madman!" the hooded figure said, trying to break free from the second pursuer's grasp.
"You're afraid… But it's not us that you're afraid of. It's the Overlord, isn't it? He threatened to kill you if you tried to tell anyone. We're not going to hurt you, but you need to tell us everything you know about him. His base of operations, how many others work for him, everything," the second pursuer said calmly.
"There is no saving us. We are all his slaves. Many of us just don't know it yet," the hooded figure said before he pulled out a hidden blaster and shot the second pursuer in the face. As he recoiled from the sudden blast, the hooded figure took the opportunity to run while the first pursuer tried to help his comrade. But, as the hooded figure climbed onto the ledge and prepared to jump onto another roof, the slipperiness of the ledge due to the rain caused the figure to slip and plummet to his death in the streets below. Many civilians gasped and screamed as the figure's blood began to flow out, mixing with the rain puddles. Both of the pursuers looked down at the figure's corpse as more civilians rushed over to see what the commotion was about, while others tried to help the hooded figure to no avail.
"Celeste. Bring us back up," the second pursuer said before a bright pillar of light surrounded the two of them and they disappeared before the authorities showed up.
Hiro's perspective
Today had been extremely stressful and I could tell that Max was really upset at today's failure. After we had been beamed back to the teleporter room of the Centurion, we headed back to the bridge, where Celeste and Nikki were reviewing a list of the Overlord's acolytes that Selene had supplied us with.
"How did the mission go?" Celeste asked as Max took off his helmet.
"The acolyte bolted before we could talk to him. And after we did catch up to him, he accidentally fell to his death while trying," Max said before he collapsed into a chair and rubbed his head in frustration.
"So, it didn't go well," Nikki said cautiously.
"No, it didn't," I said.
"Did you try what I requested you to do?" Celeste asked.
"I didn't threaten him. I just asked him politely and he still ran from us."
"Because he was afraid of you."
"No, it's because he was afraid of HIM. Every single acolyte that we've tried to question always runs from us because they're afraid that the Overlord will kill them if they do talk," Max said.
"It's true. The Overlord has such a tight grip on most of his followers that they're afraid of suffering an agonizing death at his hands. It makes sense that they're trying to escape any sort of questioning," Selene said as she entered the room.
"OK, but that doesn't help us, Selene! You gave us this list so we could try and find out where the Overlord's main base of operations is so we could take it out!" Nikki protested.
"I never said that getting information would be that easy…"
"Look, yes, it's taking a bit longer than we thought, but until Rhea can find out where this so-called 'secret weapon' is, we can't exactly mount an attack on the Overlord. For now, we should just strategize a new plan and find out where the next acolyte is. Now, Hiro, go get some rest. It may take some time for us to find the next acolyte," Max said. I just nodded and left the room so the others could work. Chasing that acolyte wasn't exactly too bad, but my muscles were still aching from punching I did from the mission before the one we just did. To be honest, it DID feel like I would benefit from a quick rest. But, as I entered my room and closed the door behind me, I saw something that completely surprised me. Zero Two was standing right in front of me with a big grin on her face, but she was wearing absolutely NOTHING except for an apron.
"Welcome back, Darling! Would you like dinner? Or a hot bath? Or maybe… you… want… me?" she said with a flirty and seductive tone. I literally couldn't find the words to answer and I was dumbfounded at this bold approach that she was giving, but I just shook my head to snap myself out of my trance and then looked her in the eye.
"Zero Two, may I please ask what exactly you're doing?" I asked. Zero Two just smiled and twirled around a bit, flashing her naked backside at me as she spun.
"It's wife role-playing, Darling. This is how a newlywed wife greets her husband when he gets home from work."
"OK, but this isn't our home and I wouldn't really consider calling what I got back from 'work'."
"Well, this is apparently a custom on Earth, so I thought I'd give it a shot."
"But what if someone comes in here and sees you wearing that?!" I asked. Zero Two's grin just got bigger as she walked up to me and forced me against the door. Before I could say anything, she then pressed the console beside the door, which locked it.
"There. Problem solved. Now, I'll ask you again, Darling: Do you want dinner… a hot bath… or do you… want… me?" she asked. I was completely speechless, and I was really embarrassed. I mean, don't get me wrong, I was glad that Zero Two was trying to be a very loving wife, but wearing nothing but an apron seemed a bit excessive. Right as I was about to give an answer, we both heard a knock on our door.
"Hiro! Zero Two! I have found something that I must share with everyone! You must come to the command bridge at once!" Rhea's voice said from the other side of the door. Zero Two just groaned aloud in complete frustration and began to get dressed.
"Can we ever get a break around here?!" she asked angrily.
"Maybe we can talk about this later?" I asked sheepishly. Zero Two didn't answer me, but right as she was about to exit the room, she turned her head to me and booped me on the nose with a slight smile on her face. When then made our way to the bridge, where everyone was already seated around the holo-table.
"PLEASE tell me that we finally have something, because it feels like my muscles are turning to jelly from training way too much…" Amki said, crossing her arms.
"Do you all remember the acolyte that we were trying to find back at the Phantom Facility? It turns out that he was never actually an acolyte. He was actually a spy working for a secret organization that we're trying to find: The Council of Light," Rhea said before a hologram of five different individuals showed up on the holo-table. The first figure was humanoid in appearance with orange eyes and a brown robe with a hood covering his bearded face, but his arms and legs looked like they were made of rocks. The second figure looked like some kind of wind-like formation, but it had the appearance of a human with metal parts covering its chest, arms, and hips. The third had the face of a tentacled monster and was covered in red robes with metallic hands poking out of its sleeves. The fourth was more feminine than the others and she had fins on the sides of her neck and fins running down the sides of her arms while wearing a blue dress and holding a trident. The final figure was broader and more muscular humanoid with a beard who had armor on his arms and shoulders and an armored belt covering some simple fur pants. He also had a crown of some kind surrounding his head.
"Who are these guys?" Max asked.
"These are the beings that make up the Council of Light. Each of them represents the five basic elements of fire, water, earth, air, and spirit. Each are from different planets, but they all had a single goal: to protect any universe from a threat only of catastrophic proportions. All of them have been imbued with special powers that they use only for the good of others, not themselves," Rhea explained.
"Wait… only threats of catastrophic proportions? So, they barely interfere with anything else?" Nikki asked.
"The Council of Light believed that it would be best for every species to determine their own fate, although they often tried to help others find a better path. Plus, there are some dangers that lie outside of their own power."
"OK, so where the hell have they been? Because this definitely feels like a threat of catastrophic proportions…" Amki asked.
"They died when the Overlord first came to power. For some time, the location of where their meeting place was had been lost. Until now."
"But, wait, the acolyte said that only someone from the Magistrus clan could decipher that book. So, who wrote it?" Max asked. Rhea just walked over to the hologram of the crowned individual and pointed at him.
"This figure right here is King Aariv. He was the founder and king of Obraxis who was blessed with the wisdom that fortified the foundations of the residents of that planet. There are also legends that state that he lived for over 500 years and he watched his people expand their civilization across the planet and create new ways of living. But some say that he left Obraxis in search of something more… fulfilling," Rhea said.
"So, where exactly was their base of operations?" Eva asked. Rhea just pressed a button, which pulled up a hologram of a planet that looked like it was adorned with lights on every single land mass.
"Their meeting place lies deep in the catacombs on the planet of Altus. The very place where the Overlord's reign of terror began."
"Wait, I thought you said that planet was destroyed?" Amki objected.
"No, the Empire of Altus was destroyed, not the planet itself. It was said that the Council stayed in the underground catacombs of Altus, briefly appearing before the empire's leaders to give prophetic warnings of the future of their government. But the leaders paid no heed to the warnings until the Overlord destroyed them all. After the collapse of the government, the planet became a cesspool of gambling, prostitution, drug dealing, and everything else that represents evil," Rhea explained.
"And yet, underneath all o' this, they got a weapon buried deep down there?" Rhonda asked.
"That is correct. Apparently, according to the book that Rhea had been deciphering, the weapon is the sword that King Aariv used to vanquish the undead armies of Nekros. It functions much like the Crucible, except it absorbs and disposes of negative energy. And it also says that it holds another kind of power, but the book doesn't say exactly what it is," Celeste said.
"So, where on Altus are the catacombs?" Max asked. Celeste responded by rotating the hologram of the planet and zooming in on a large building with lights all around it and a neon sign that read "The Good Time Club and Casino".
"According to the coordinates found in the book, it appears that the catacombs are somewhere beneath the planet's largest casino. But the book also says that there should be a secret entrance and Rhea suspects that it should be on the ground floor of the casino," she said.
"The Council of Light had several defenders that usually guarded the secret entrance. If some of them had survived the fall of the empire, they may know where the entrance to the catacombs is," Rhea added.
"And I assume that getting to the catacombs will be easy?" Rhonda asked.
"Anything but. There's no doubt that the Overlord will have already sent assassins to try and prevent us from finding the weapon. And judging from the fact that the place is densely packed with all manner of people, meaning that we'll need stay alert at all times," Selene said.
"OK, hold up. So… we just infiltrate the largest casino that this planet has to offer… which is filled with all manner of drug dealers, prostitutes, gamblers and party animals… not to mention possible assassins which will be after us… just to find what is potentially the strongest weapon in the entire universe?" Odango asked.
"Sounds like normal business for us," Zero Two said.
"Well, we can't back out of this mission. If we don't get that weapon, we have no chance of stopping the Overlord. So, everyone… wear your best party dress," Max said before Celeste got back into the command chair and we sped towards Altus.
Philip's perspective
"Why exactly do I need to do this again?" I asked as Info connected an energy cord to some kind of jetpack. Me and her were busy with one of her pet projects, which was a large skeletal monster with armor plating on its shoulders which housed two large missile launchers on top.
"This is the next step in increasing the power of the Overlord's Infernite army: technological enhancement. The energy cord you have contains a special kind of electricity that recharges whenever this Infernite isn't flying. The energy also powers the missile launchers which fires missiles that seek out and destroy their target. At least 50 of these would be a formidable force that could level a small city," Info replied as the creature's armor slowly hummed to life.
"Sounds… pretty boring," I said. Right as Info disconnected the power cable from the creature's jetpack, the Overload and Yoon entered the room, completely silent as they entered.
"How goes your progress, Info?" the Overlord asked as Info placed some kind of neural transmitter on the creature's skull.
"It's progressing well, my lord. We are now about to test the neural-link helmet for the Revenant. Philip, please turn the Revenant's head slightly to each side," Info said. I did as she asked and turned the Revenant's head slightly to the right and slightly to the left, making the rocket launchers move in the direction that the creature's eyes were pointing while the Overlord looked on with interest.
"Very intriguing. I am quite pleased with your progress, Info."
"I'm glad that you think so, my lord. I still have to run a few more tests before we'll be able to put it into action, but be assured, we're closer than we were before."
"That is good to hear," the Overlord said approvingly before the door opened again and a group of armored figures appeared and saluted him.
"My lord, we are ready to deploy on your command, swift as the darkness," one of the figures said.
"You may go. Remember, leave none of his team alive except for him and the girl. Do not fail me," the Overlord said before the figures saluted him again and then left, leaving the rest of us completely confused.
"My lord, who were those soldiers and where are they going?" Yoon asked.
"They are what remains of Taarkin's special army, except they have now been given new purpose. And they are heading to Altus to find something for me."
"And what, pray tell, might that be?" I asked scornfully. The Overlord just looked back at me, his red eyes glowing intensely.
"The only thing that can destroy the Crucible," he replied.
Max's perspective
To be completely honest, I haven't gone to a casino in a long time. The only time me and Nikki ever went to one was when Aiko Yumi invited us to spend a night at Gold Falls Casino. It went about as well as you might expect when you usually enter a casino. Aiko blew most of her money and we spent a few hours trying to help her get it back. It wasn't exactly a fun way to spend our evening, but there are probably worse ways to spend it. As these thoughts were running through my head, both me and Hiro were in the dressing room getting our tuxedos on, complete with some nice shoes and some cute little bowties. But we weren't completely unprepared. Beneath my sleeves were the gauntlets of my armor, with my arm blade being stored in my left gauntlet and Hiro had his battle suit underneath his tuxedo while his gauntlets were merely armbands at the moment. But, if danger were to arise while we were in there, we would be ready. As we were finishing up, Nikki entered the room wearing a vivid blue dress with a sash belt around her waist and a gold bracelet around her right wrist and she was holding a blue clutch purse.
"Well, don't you two look sharp," she said just as I turned to face her.
"And you look beautiful," I replied, kissing her on the cheek. Zero Two wasn't far behind her and she was wearing a similar dress, except it was red and it had an exposed back and she had an armlet on her left arm. She stood in the doorway with her hand on her hip and a smile on her face as she stared at Hiro.
"What do you think, Darling? Does this meet your expectations?" she asked. Hiro just blushed bright red and covered his face in embarrassment.
"Y-yeah. You could say that, I guess," he said.
"So, is everybody prepared?" I asked.
"I know I am!" Nikki replied pointing to her sash belt, which had her armor disc on the buckle and Zero Two moved her skirt to the side to reveal her pistols on both of her legs and her electrostaff on her lower left leg. Before I could say anything, Celeste's voice came over the loudspeaker, which got our attention.
"All crew members: We are about to exit hyperspace and arrive at Altus. Please report to the bridge for mission deployment," she said. We all immediately headed back up to the bridge just as we exited hyperspace and stopped int front of a planet that literally looked like it was completely made of metal, with not a single ocean or forest in sight. The only thing that could be seen were the numerous bright lights that could be seen from the Centurion. It looked a bit like New York City, only bigger and without a touch of green land anywhere. Surrounding the planet were a bunch of towers that had ships parked around them.
"There it is. The planet of Altus," Celeste said. She was in the commander's chair trying to find a place where we could land, and she was wearing a shining silver dress with matching armbands and earrings.
"It looks hideous…" Zero Two said.
"Yeah, it's not for everyone," Amki replied. She was wearing a jet-black dress with jewelry on all of her arms except for her upper right one, which had a spiked band on it instead. As we stared in awe at the planet, Eva and Rhonda walked into the room wearing their fancy dresses. Eva's dress was similar to Nikki's except it was green and it didn't have a sash belt on it, and she had a gold armlet on her right arm and a green bracelet on her left wrist. Rhonda's dress was a smooth magenta with a fur boa wrapped around her shoulders and a cow pattern belt wrapped around her waist.
"When exactly are we landin'? These heels are killin' me," Rhonda said.
"We're not exactly landing. We're just docking at one of the parking clamps and we'll be teleporting down to the casino," Celeste said as she positioned the Centurion in front of one of said clamps before it grabbed onto the ship and Celeste shut off the engines.
"Why exactly are there parking clamps out here?" Nikki asked.
"If someone were to park their ship on the surface, it's liable to get stolen," Celeste replied.
"So, what is the plan, Celeste?" Eva asked.
"Once we teleport down to the casino's entrance, we'll split into groups of three and try to investigate anything that looks suspicious. If one group finds a way to get to the catacombs, they'll radio the rest of us, and we'll converge on the location. Remember to watch your backs and look out for anyone who may be associated with the Overlord. And try not to get intoxicated. Focus is crucial to our mission. Odango, Eila, Goo, Selene, and Ayano will stay with the ship until we reach the catacombs, where we'll set up a transmitter which help them teleport in. Any questions?"
"Yeah, I have one. If there are only 8 of us going down there, how exactly are we splitting into teams of three?" Nikki asked. As if on cue, Rhea entered the command bridge wearing a lavender-colored dress with a waterdrop necklace around her neck. She seemed a bit embarrassed to wearing a dress like that.
"Rhea insisted on going into the casino with us instead of just staying up here. Plus, her magic can provide a distraction in case if things go sideways," Celeste stated.
"Well, can't argue with that logic," Amki said.
"But what about me? You can trust me, right?" Ayano said with a slightly sadistic smile.
"I don't trust you being around other people AT ALL. So, no. I don't think you should go down there with us," I replied sternly.
"If there aren't any more questions, I believe it's time that we head down. Remember, keep your comms open and keep a sharp eye out," Celeste said before we went to the teleporter room and we beamed down to the planet.
3rd person perspective
The first thing that greeted the heroes as they materialized in front of the casino was a bunch of bright lights that nearly blinded them all. When their eyes finally adjusted, they found themselves on the sidewalk in front of said casino, where the entire street was lit up like Christmas on Earth. Even though most of the team could handle the bright lights, Celeste fumbled through her pockets until she found a pair of sunglasses that she immediately put on. Even though she had gotten used to being out periodically during the day, the bright lights on the street hurt her eyes.
"Celeste, are you OK?" Max asked, kneeling down to help her.
"I'm fine. Let's head in," Celeste replied as she stood up. The team then walked through the entrance of the casino and were greeted by the loud music coming through the various speakers along the wall and the laughter and commotion of the crowd inside. The whole scene inside was completely chaotic with some of the guests dancing wildly on the dance floor or gambling their money at the game tables while others were getting high from smoking out of glass bongs or getting drunk at the bar from the drinks being sold. There were also a few strippers that were seducing some of the guys and taking them to their private rooms. Everything was a bit dizzying for the heroes, but they knew that they had to press forward and find what they were looking for. The team split up into groups of three with Max, Hiro, and Amki in one group, Celeste, Rhonda, and Eva in the second group, and Nikki, Zero Two, and Rhea in the third group. Celeste's group took up position at a craps table while Nikki's group sat down at the bar and Max's group made their way through the crowd to try and get to the other side of the bar.
"You weren't kidding when you said this place was extremely lively, Celeste," Zero Two said as she looked back out at the crowd around her group.
"Remember to keep a lookout. See if you can spot anything that looks suspicious or get information from anyone," Celeste said as she pretended to watch the craps game.
"Excuse me miss? Have you seen anything recently that looked like something magical? Like it's associated with arcane magic?" Rhea asked the barkeeper. The barkeeper was a green-skinned, two-headed female alien with four arms wearing a blue tank top, which had a hole that revealed her cleavage, paired with short shorts that looked a bit rugged.
"Arcane magic? Can't say that I've seen anything like that. But I do have something here that I'd consider 'magical'," one of the barkeeper's heads said before she slid three drinks in front of the three ladies. The drinks were a strange kind of rainbow liquid that looked a bit fizzy like a soda.
"What's this?" Zero Two asked, picking up the drink.
"It's good," the barkeeper's other head replied before she turned around to serve some more customers.
"Sure didn't answer my question…" Zero Two said before she took a drink of the liquid. Meanwhile, Max, Hiro, and Amki were busy trying to find their way through the crowd until they were stopped by a waitress who was serving small pink flowers to some of the guests.
"Are you enjoying your stay? Try a Venus flower, they are SO delicious!" the waitress said, giving both Max and Hiro a flower before she took off to serve even more guests. Both Max and Hiro were completely confused by the situation and Max just looked at the flower in contemplation.
"Celeste, do you know what a Venus flower is?" Max asked Celeste through his comms.
"The Venus flower? It's an edible flower that releases a powerful aphrodisiac which makes the consumer more sensitive to even the slightest touch. It's apparently a delicacy in brothels. I would highly advise against eating it, but I would also advise that you hold onto it for now," Celeste replied. Max stuck his Venus flower in his pocket while Hiro secretly disposed of his. But, before they could continue moving forward, a drunken guest bumped into Amki and accidentally spilled his drink all over her dress. But when the guest went to apologize, he looked at Amki's entire figure before looking up at her and giving her a goofy smile.
"Whoa, now… Someone get me a glass 'cause I just found a tall drink of water here…" the guest drunkenly said. Amki just scoffed at him but she tried her best to keep her cool.
"Hey, have you seen anything that looks really suspicious around here? Like it seems out of place?" Amki asked. But the drunken guest started to feel up on Amki's legs and butt without even asking her.
"Wow… You have amazing legs. Tell me, what time do they o-," the guest started to say. But by the time he was about to finish his sentence, Amki punched the guest backwards into one of the game tables, drawing a bit of alarm from those playing. But the rest of the crowd just continued on with their normal business, not even paying attention to the guest who was in an extreme amount of pain. Amki, on the other hand, cleared her throat and straightened herself out as Max and Hiro gave her looks of disapproval.
"Sorry. Someone just had to set him straight."
"Split up. We might get more information if we ask multiple people at once," Max said. Both Hiro and Amki nodded and they all went separate ways, trying to find out what they could. Max worked his way through the crowd until he finally got to the opposite side of the bar where Nikki's group was sitting.
"Found nothin' at the blackjack table. Anyone else learn anything?" Rhonda said.
"There was one patron who said that there was a spot where he could sometimes hear voices coming from the walls, but he was too drunk to tell me exactly where it was," Eva said.
"I was gonna ask the barkeeper what she knows, but all she knows is how to serve drinks apparently…" Zero Two said, her speech slurring a bit.
"PLEASE tell me you didn't have any of the drinks," Celeste said.
"They're passing out FREE DRINKS. That's extremely hard to pass up! Plus, I'm thirsty!"
"Zero Two, I understand that you're thirsty, but those drinks can dull the senses and make you see double. We need to be focused right now, OK?" Max asked.
"Who are you talking to?" a voice from behind him asked. Max turned to see a buxom blue-skinned female alien walking up to him. She had black hair and yellow eyes and was wearing hot pink leather jacket and shorts with matching stilettos. Her lips were slathered in pink lipstick and her eyelids were covered in gold eyeshadow.
"Oh, uh, it's just work stuff," Max said in embarrassment, facing the alien. But she just gave him a sultry smile and got really close to him. Out of the corner of his eye, Max could see that Nikki was watching them and she had an angry look on her face.
"Didn't you hear? This whole place is a work-free zone. It's all fun and games here, sweetheart," the female alien said before she pressed her chest up against his chest.
"I mean, I only came here because my friends asked me to come here, but I got this huge project that I working on and we're kinda nearing our deadline, so I had to ask my secretary to help me out with it," Max said. The female alien just gave him another smile and put her hands on his shoulders.
"So, that's why you're so tense. Well, how about this? Why don't you come with me to my chambers and I'll help relieve some of that tension? My treat," she said. Max didn't know how to respond, but, in his ear, he could hear Nikki trying to give him advice.
"Say no. That woman's probably a gold digger or something! Tell her no and get out of there!" Nikki said in his ear. Max pondered over whether he should turn the female alien down or not, but he felt that maybe she knew where the catacombs were, so he offered the female alien his arm.
"Well, since you asked so nicely, I don't see how I can refuse that offer," Max said. The female alien smiled and took his arm, leading him toward where the brothel was.
"MAX! What are you doing?! I swear to God if you so much as…" Nikki started to say.
"Nikki. Stand down. He might be on to something," Celeste said, interrupting her. Out of the corner of his eye, Max saw Celeste leaving her post so she could follow him. As Max was being led to the brothel, he noticed that there were a fair number of male aliens that looked more good-looking than he did which made him a bit suspicious. But he also noticed a tattoo on the back of the female alien's neck which was a bit small, but its shape was unmistakable. Before long, both Max and the female alien had reached the brothel and stepped into the first room on the left. The room was illuminated by colorful pink lights and had a soft bed against the back wall, along with a couch which stretched across the right wall with a table that had a glass bong and several different drugs on top next to it. While Max was distracted by the welcoming setting, two more female aliens emerged from the dark and grabbed both of his arms, making Max jump a bit from the sudden surprise. Both of the aliens looked like the first one, but the one on his left was wearing red lingerie and the one on his right was wearing green lingerie.
"Why, hello there, big boy. How are you today?" the female on the left asked before the two aliens led him over to the couch and sat him down. As Max was getting comfy, the female alien on his right began to dig through his pockets until she pulled out the Venus flower that he was saving.
"Oh, look, Persephone. He saved a little Venus flower for us," the alien on the right said before she tossed it to the lead alien, who was beginning to slip out of her leather jacket and shorts, revealing the pink lingerie that she was wearing.
"Forgive me. I don't like going out into the crowds wearing nothing but my lingerie. And my sisters can be a bit handsy sometimes. But, let's be honest… you're not here to try and relax, are you? You're looking for something," Persephone said as she stuck a needle inside of the Venus flower and extracted some kind of pink liquid before she flicked it to get rid of any air bubbles. Max began to feel a sudden sense of unease, but he did his best to keep his composure and remain focused.
"OK, yeah, you got me. I heard that there was something of interest inside of this casino. Like… something that was buried underneath this casino. Perhaps you know something about that?" Max asked as Persephone began to walk towards him with the needle in her hand.
"I've heard only legends, but I can't confirm that they were ever true."
"Oh, really? Did the Overlord tell you to say that?" Max asked with a smug smile. Persephone's smile suddenly vanished, and her eyes went wide with fear before she lunged forward and tried to stab Max with the needle. But Max, having anticipated that she would attack, managed to dodge her attack and then threw one of her sisters at her, which knocked them to the ground while the needle rolled underneath the table. The second sister grabbed a small knife from the side of the couch and began to wildly swing it at Max, trying to at least slash him in the throat, but he drew his arm blade and easily destroyed the knife before he grabbed the glass bong and smashed it over the sister's head, knocking her out. Max barely had time to relax before Persephone got back up and tried in vain to get him on the ground, but Max was quick to respond to her assault and he countered each of her attacks before he grabbed the sheet of the bed and tightened it into a rope. Right as Persephone swung her fist, Max used the sheet to grab her arm and reel her in so he could put her in a chokehold.
"Stand down! I have no wish to hurt you!" Max said as he restrained Persephone. But as he was trying to hold her, he put himself in a precarious position and Persephone was able to escape by kicking him in the crotch. But her escape was short-lived because as Max was recovering from her attack, an energy bola flew pass Max and wrapped itself around Persephone, pinning her to the chair. Max looked behind him to see Celeste standing there at the door with her hand on her hip.
"Are you OK?" she asked before the first sister attacked and Celeste knocked her unconscious with a nerve pinch.
"I'm fine…" Max said weakly as he held his crotch in pain.
"How did you know that she was working with the Overlord?"
"The tattoo on the back of her neck. It was pretty much a dead giveaway," Max said as Celeste walked up to Persephone and looked her straight in the eye.
"So, the Overlord sends prostitutes to assassinate us? I expected him to send someone more civilized, but I am surprised that he chose you and your sisters for this kind of task," Celeste said rather harshly.
"Do not belittle me, Tendricite! Me and my sisters may not seem like much, but what we do is crucial for the Overlord's success! You can't save the universe from its judgement…" Persephone retorted.
"Enough of your prattle. Where is the entrance to the catacombs beneath this casino?"
"What exactly makes you think that I'll tell you?"
"We didn't expect that you would tell us that easily," Max said before he grabbed the syringe from earlier, flicked it a bit and then stuck it in Persephone's arm, injecting the pink liquid into her bloodstream.
"What are you doing?" Celeste asked.
"She thinks that we can't make her talk. Well, we'll see how long holds out with her sensitivity dialed up to 11."
"You actually think that you can break me? I have an indomitable will and an equally strong body. You'll get nothing from me," Persephone said with a smug grin on her face. But when Max walked up to her and gently ran his finger down the nape of her neck, Persephone's entire body shuddered, and she let out a loud moan, her blue skin beginning to glisten with sweat.
"Dude, you're not doing what I think you're doing, are you?" Amki asked over the comms.
"Get yer mind out of the gutter, Amki," Rhonda replied.
"How about we start with why you're here? Why did the Overlord send you here to kill us?" Max asked, kneeling down in front of Persephone. When she didn't answer, Max ran his finger across her cheek, which drew another moan from her.
"He didn't… send us here. My sisters and I have been here… ever since the empire fell. He gave us the task… of stopping those who came in search of the Council of Light's weapon. He promised that… if he completed his mission… we would be rid of this place forever," Persephone said as Max moved his finger down to shoulders and moved it across her chest.
"If he already knew where the weapon was, why didn't he just destroy it?" Celeste asked.
"The entrance to the chamber itself is covered in rocks… but it's also covered in some kind of magic that seems almost impenetrable. Not even the strongest of alien species could move the rocks at the entrance," Persephone replied.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Where's the entrance to the catacombs?" Max asked. When Persephone refused to answer, Max put both of his hands on her waist and gently stroked her belly with his thumbs. He really didn't want to have to go this far, but at this point, there was no reason to stop. The intense feeling of Max running his fingers all over her made Persephone's eyes water and her mouth began to drool. She could no longer take the intense pleasure and she was now hanging on by a thread.
"It's in the maintenance room in the west wing of the casino… the entrance leads to the sewers and the second opening on the left is the entrance to the catacombs themselves. That's all that I know," Persephone finally said.
"Did everyone get that?" Max asked as he released his grip on her.
"Yep. West wing, second opening on the left. We're on our way there now," Amki replied over the comms.
"Understood. We're on our way as well… Thank you… for your cooperation," Celeste said to Persephone. But right as she and Max were about to leave, Persephone raised her leg as if she wanted to stop him.
"Please… this feeling… I must find a way to try and quench it. Perhaps… you could indulge me?" Persephone asked with puppy-like eyes and a slight smile. Both Max and Celeste just looked at her with disapproving eyes.
"Maybe I would… but you and your sisters tried to kill me. I think that it's only fair that you be punished for what you tried to do," Max said.
"Better yet, we should bring her with us. Just in case if she's lying…" Celeste suggested. Max just nodded in silence before he untied her and then ushered her out the door. Meanwhile, Nikki was listening to the whole conversation through the comms and she was feeling a bit suspicious of what had gone down earlier. But while she was deep in thought and trying to figure out what had gone on, she didn't realize that Rhea was trying to get her attention.
"Nicole! We need to leave and rendezvous with the others now!" she said, bringing Nikki back to reality.
"Sorry, I was… somewhere else. Zero Two, let's get going," Nikki replied.
"Go where?" Zero Two asked, her speech even more slurred than before.
"What do you mean 'go where'? We need to find the weapon that can destroy the Crucible!"
"Do you know the last time that me and Darling were able to frickin' relax? I swear, it's been work, work, work, and, oh, I don't know, MORE WORK? You guys could do with chillin' out a bit, OK?"
"Are you drunk?!"
"No?... Maybeh?" Zero Two replied as Nikki looked over and saw that there were three empty glasses right next to her arm, all of them face-down on the bar.
"Did you seriously have more than one of those drinks?!" Nikki yelled.
"They're FREE DRINKS! How could you NOT want more?! In fact, Barkeep, can we get some more of those rainbow drinks over here?" Zero Two asked, waving at the bartender. But right as she was busy making the drinks, Nikki grabbed Zero Two by the wrist and led her away from the bar with Rhea following closely behind.
"You don't need any more drinks! We need to go NOW!" Nikki said. Zero Two tried to get free of her grasp for the first few seconds, but she then rested on Nikki's back and let her carry her all the way to the west wing of the casino. Meanwhile, Amki, Hiro, Rhonda, and Eva were already at the west wing's maintenance room and were busy looking for anything that looked suspicious when Max and Celeste entered the room with Persephone in tow.
"What is SHE doing here?" Eva asked.
"We thought that it would only be logical to bring her along in case she was lying," Celeste replied just as Amki opened a moderate-sized hatch in the right corner of the room.
"Well, looks like her story actually holds up. You sure that we still need her?" Amki asked.
"We'll take her as far as the catacombs if we can. Plus, we can't risk her telling the Overlord's forces about where we're going," Max replied. As he went to inspect the hatch, Nikki entered the room with Zero Two on her back and Rhea following behind them.
"What happened?" Hiro asked.
"I'll tell ya what happened! There was a whole drink and dance party goin' on out there and this girl carrying me right here said that I couldn't dance even though I was invited! But it wasn't that bad because I still got some drinks, so I really can't hate mai girl here," Zero Two said as she hugged Nikki.
"Uh, what wrong with her?"
"She got drunk off of some kind of liquid and that's why she's acting like this," Nikki replied. Celeste immediately pulled out a breathalyzer and stuck its nozzle into Zero Two's mouth. Strangely, when Zero Two blew into the nozzle and Celeste checked the counter, it read as zero.
"What exactly did this drink look like?" Celeste asked.
"It looked like a rainbow-colored liquid. Why? Is that bad?"
"In a certain way. That kind of drink is meant for first time drinkers and, despite being non-alcoholic, it puts the consumer in a drunken state so they can experience what it feels like to actually be drunk."
"And how long will she stay like this?" Hiro asked as Zero Two began to mess around with his hair.
"It depends. One drink can leave a consumer in a drunken state for about 30 minutes to an hour. How many did drinks did she have?" Celeste asked.
"She had three drinks," Rhea replied.
"Well, I'd say that she'll sober up in about an hour or two, but based on other experiences that other drinkers had, I don't think that she'll have any other side effects. Still, we should keep our eye on her and make sure that she doesn't do anything reckless."
"Hey, I have a question. Why's your hair blue? Were you like an ocean at one point in your life?" Zero Two asked Nikki.
"What?" she replied.
"The ocean's blue… and your hair is blue. So… we're you an ocean once?!"
"My hair isn't naturally blue! It used to be brown before I dyed it like this!"
"Look, can we worry about this later? We still have a job to do!" Max called from the hatch.
"Agreed. We still have a job to do. Let's get going," Celeste replied before Hiro let Zero Two ride his back and they all went down the hatch to the sewers below.
Nikki's perspective
The first thing that I expected to see when we first entered the sewers was a whole river of disgusting junk and god-knows-what-else that was flowing in any direction and I also expected that we would have to wade through it just to get where we were going. But, much to me and everyone else's surprise, the sewers were surprisingly clean with a clean stream of water running through the entire thing.
"Well, this looks surprisingly clean…" Rhonda said as we began to walk down the dark path.
"There aren't exactly that many restrooms in the casino. Plus, not many alien species can…" Eva started to explain.
"Yeah, Eva, we know! You don't need to give us the graphic details!" Amki interrupted. While the two of them began to bicker, I just continued to walk in complete silence while trying to keep my eyes on Persephone, just to make sure that she didn't pull a fast one on any of us.
"Nikki, are you all right?" Celeste asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" I replied.
"It's just that you're more quiet than usual and you have an angry look on your face."
"I'm just upset that we had to bring that HOOKER with us… and I really hate that you had him actually TOUCH HER just to get information from her."
"It was his idea, Nikki. The Venus flower's aphrodisiac was the only available to use on her and we couldn't risk her staying behind to warn the Overlord's forces. But I can assure you, he had absolutely no intentions of cheating on you. If he had taken it further, either me or him would've stopped it. Besides, I think that he was also uncomfortable with what he had to do earlier."
"Yeah? How could you tell?"
"He was sweating like he was embarrassed to be doing it. Look, bottom line: if it bothers you that much, you need to talk with him about it. Although… I would suggest that you talk about it later since we're in the middle of a mission at the moment," Celeste said. I just sighed and rubbed my head in distress before I breathed in and out.
"…OK. I'll talk with him," I said as we continued through the sewers. Before long, we reached the second intersection and turned left as Persephone had explained, which led directly to the catacombs. The passageways were big enough for all of us to make our way down until we finally entered a large open cavern with stone structures and wall engravings lining the caves, a pedestal in the middle that had a large crystal on it, and crystals on the ceiling that were illuminating the cave. But the thing that got everyone's attention was a rock-fall that looked a bit out of place for the entire cave. As we began to inspect the cave and everything that laid within, Celeste set up a teleporter which beamed Selene, Odango, Ayano, Eila, and Goo into the cave.
"Thank goodness. You have no idea how hard it was to keep Eila and Goo entertained while you were gone. I had to try and keep them from pressing something that would've destroyed something," Selene said as she stretched her arms a bit.
"I'm sorry that we had to keep you waiting," Celeste replied.
"It's no problem. So, uh, did you find what we came here for?" Odango asked.
"Not just yet, but I have a feeling that it's behind that rock-fall," Rhea said, pointing to the rocks. Amki just pushed them aside and cracked her knuckles with a confident look on her face.
"All right then, everyone. Stand back and let a true muscle woman get to work," Amki said, stepping up to the rock-fall. But, after she spit into her hands and clenched her fists, a sudden burst of magic exploded her face and sent her flying back right as she punched the rocks. The explosion was so violent that the wall that she crashed into had an imprint of her body.
"You OK?" Max asked before Amki came crashing to the ground, landing flat on her face.
"No… I'm not OK…" she answered, her voice muffled from being face down on the floor.
"Can I try next? I wanna fly like she did!" Zero Two said.
"No, you don't want to go flying!" Hiro replied in alarm.
"You see? That's what happens whenever someone tries to destroy or move the rocks. It's guarded by some kind of dark magic. I don't know how that magic got there or how to get around it," Persephone said.
"Perhaps brute strength isn't the method that we should use here," Rhea replied before her eyes began to glow and her staff lit up, the rocks becoming surrounded in her magic. Before long, on began to levitate, followed by another, and then another, until the entire rock-fall was levitating in the air, uncovering a large door with five statues above it, which all had markings on them. Two of them were a bit broken, but it was clear that they were the members of the Council of Light. Rhea then used her magic to set all of the rocks along the walls, but she made sure that they were all out of the way for us.
"Impressive. How come you never used that sort of magic before?" Selene asked. But the answer became clear when Rhea collapsed to the ground in exhaustion and then struggled to get back to her feet.
"Sorry… if I use that kind of magic for too long, it feels like I have lost all of my strength," Rhea said as Celeste and Eva helped her get back to her feet.
"Well, that takes care of one problem. Now, how exactly do we open the door?" Max asked.
"I'll let you guys try and figure that out. I just need to sit down and let the pain dull a bit before I can help out again," Amki replied as she sat down at the base of the pedestal while holding her arm in pain. I walked up to one of the statues and began to inspect it, looking for anything that looked like it was out of the ordinary. Max must've had the same idea because he also began to search for anything that looked strange. After about a minute of searching, I noticed a large, noncolored circular gem at the base of one of the statues. Below the gem was some kind of plaque with alien writing on it.
"Celeste? Rhea? Could you come take a look at this? There's something weird about this statue," I asked. Rhea came over first and slowly dusted off the lectern to read it while Celeste took a closer look at the gem.
"This looks like a Lumin gem. These gems are often used like batteries that are charged by a special beam of light, sometimes of a certain color. If there's one here, the light source that powers it might not be far," Celeste said.
"And what about the plaque?"
"The language is definitely Obraxian, but what it says is rather cryptic. It says, 'I am sorrowful, but also calming and full of life. Even in the darkest of times, my hope burns bright. What am I?'" Rhea replied.
"That definitely sounds like a riddle of some kind. Anyone have any ideas on what the answer is?" Max asked. Before any of us could answer, we all heard a commotion coming from the pedestal behind us, where Zero Two was holding a blue crystal in her hands and pointing it at all of us as Hiro was trying to calm her down.
"Zero Two, could you please put that crystal back where you found it? That thing's probably cursed or something!" Hiro said.
"No way! This is my crystal! And I'm a god! BOW TO ME MORTALS!" Zero Two yelled, holding the crystal above her head. I just sighed and rolled my eyes as Zero Two continued to rant and dance in her drunken state. But, as she was dancing around the pedestal with the crystal in her hands, she stepped on a brick which sunk into the floor and made a white beam of shoot down from the ceiling and strike the crystal, dividing the beam into five beams of white light that hit the walls next to each of the statues. Zero Two dropped the blue crystal, which landed in the path of one of the beams, turning it blue for a few seconds before she grabbed the crystal back. And then it hit me.
"Wait a minute… this whole thing is a color puzzle!" I said.
"How so?" Selene asked.
"Well, Celeste, you said that those Lumin gems sometimes take a certain color in order to power something. And that riddle sounds like it's describing the color blue," I explained.
"It's true. Blue represents sadness, but it also represents joy and hope," Rhea said.
"And it also stands for the ocean. The ocean is full of life," Max added.
"So, if we put that crystal on the pedestal and redirect the beam of light towards this gem, it might power it and help open the door," I said.
"That's true, but there are five statues with five Lumin gems beneath each statue. And each of these plaques might have a riddle for a different color," Celeste stated.
"It's worth a shot. So how about we see if at least one works," Max said before he walked up to the pedestal and tried to take the blue crystal from Zero Two. But she hugged the crystal even tighter and tried to keep it away from him.
"No! This is MY PRECIOUS! You can't have it!" Zero Two drunkenly yelled, baring her teeth at Max.
"For God's sake, Zero Two, would you just give him the damn crystal?!" Hiro replied. But Max just held his hand out at Hiro to signal him to calm down before he turned back to Zero Two.
"Zero Two, I just want to take a quick look at it. I promise that I'll give it back," he said. Zero Two gave him a pout, but she gave him the crystal and he set it on the pedestal before he redirected the beam of light into the gem under the statue we were at. As we suspected, when the blue light hit the gem, the statue's markings glowed a bright blue and a water symbol lit up above the door.
"Well, it seems like you two were right. That crystal must be one of the keys to getting in," Eva said as she stared at the statue in awe.
"Zero Two, where did you find this crystal?" Max asked.
"I dunno," Zero Two replied, her speech a bit slurred again.
"You didn't… find it just lying on the ground somewhere in here?"
"I dunno."
"Doesn't matter. I've found three more," Amki replied as she walked over while holding a red crystal, a green crystal, and a yellow crystal in each of her hands.
"And we've found three more right here," Rhonda added as she and Ayano carried a purple crystal, an orange crystal, and a black crystal over to the pedestal.
"Rhea, can you take a look at the next plaque and read the next riddle for us?" Max asked. Rhea complied and went over to the statue to the left of the one that we just activated, dusting off the plaque so she could read it.
"'Fear may try to take hold, but my joy, happiness, and energy will help me to remain bold. What am I?'" Rhea said.
"Wait… fear and happiness? Those things are represented by the color yellow!" I said. Max immediately grabbed the yellow crystal and placed in the path of one of the other beams of white light before he redirected the beam to hit the gem underneath the statue, which caused the markings on the statue to turn yellow and made an air symbol appear above the door.
"That's two down. What's the next one?" Amki asked, prompting Rhea to run over to the statue on the far right and read the next plaque.
"'My mixture of calm stability and fierce energy truly define me, but even my magic remains a mystery. What am I?'" she said. That riddle left us all completely confused.
"Oh… that's a tricky one. Anyone have any ideas on what the answer is?" Max asked. Ayano silently held up the black crystal as if to answer, but Max just gave her an unamused look and she backed down with a less sadistic and more innocent smile.
"Hmm. Well, calm stability and fierce energy must refer to the colors blue and red… and when mixed, they form purple. And purple often represents magic and mystery. Perhaps that's the answer?" Celeste suggested. Max just nodded and took the purple crystal from Rhonda before he placed in front of another white beam and redirected it at the third gem. Sure enough, the statue's markings began to glow purple and a spirit symbol appeared above the door.
"Looks like you were right. What's next?" Rhonda asked. Rhea responded by walked to the next statue and read the next plaque.
"'My willpower is as strong as nature, but my harmony and safety are also what make me pure. What am I?'" Rhea said.
"Green. The nature bit gave it away," Amki replied. Max took the green crystal from her and placed it in front of the fourth beam of light before he aimed it at the next gem and the statue's markings lit up. After an earth symbol appeared above the door, a fifth plaque slowly rose out of the ground just a few feet from the door and Rhea walked over to it to read it.
"'The fires of rage encircle me and danger stalks me at night, but my strength, my power, and my determination are what will help me set things right. What am I?" Rhea said. None of us answered as we all knew exactly what the answer was. Max picked up the red crystal and aimed the final beam at the final gem, which made the middle statue's markings glow and made a fire symbol appear above the door. Without any warning, the entire cave began to slowly rumble as the door began to finally open, revealing nothing but darkness inside. Max came down from the pedestal and walked up to the doorway, staring into the pitch-black room as if he was confused by what laid before us. But when I went over to try and help him, I collided with some kind of invisible wall and fell to the ground in pain. As I was recovering from the sudden pain, Amki picked up a small rock from the ground and threw it in the direction of the room, only for the rock to hit nothing and land next to Max's feet. But when Celeste came up to where I was, she reached her hand forward and touched the invisible wall.
"Seriously? Forcefields? How come he gets access and the rest of us get bounced?" Amki asked.
"Perhaps only one person is allowed to enter the chamber," Rhea replied. Max continued to stare into the darkness for a few more seconds before he looked back at us.
"I have to go in. We've come too far just to stop here," Max said before he prepared to go in.
"Max… be careful…" I said as he went into the room and the door closed behind him.
Max's perspective
Everything was dark that I couldn't see even an inch in front of me. I was literally stuck walking in the dark for several minutes and I had no idea where anything was. But I just kept walking forward from where I had entered with my hand out in front of me and hoped that I would finally touch something that would have some kind of importance. But, as I continued to walk forward, a blue flame suddenly lit up to the right of me, followed by another on the left, followed by several more on either side until the entire room was illuminated by the fires, revealing six thrones arranged in a circular pattern around what looked like a larger and more ancient version of Celeste's holo table that had some kind of switch at the front. This had to be it. This had to be what we were looking for. But when I took a step forward, my foot touched something that made a loud clattering sound that almost sounded like… bones. Sure enough, I looked down and saw the skeletons of four different individuals lying on the ground in front of me, all decayed and sprawled out in death poses with the stone floor showing signs of some kind of fight that had occurred. But as I was looking down at the bodies, I suddenly felt a cold shiver run down my spine and heard a ghastly whisper coming from out of nowhere.
"Why are you here?" it asked. I had absolutely no idea where the whispers were coming from or why I was suddenly getting chills, but I didn't let that deter me from the mission at hand, so I kept moving forward towards the thrones to try and find anything that would at least show me where the weapon was. As I got closer, I noticed that there was a stone coffin with glowing runes all around it sitting behind on of the thrones, but I also noticed that the switch that was sitting in front of the holo table was also glowing. I didn't really know what I had to do first but I had seen way too many treasure hunting movies to know that simply going for the coffin would probably activate some kind of trap that would more than likely end with me dying a horrible death, so I decided to activate the switch first. After I had pushed the button in, the pillar it was sitting on sank into the ground and a burst of blue light suddenly blinded me. When I was able to see again, the thrones now had the members of the Council of Light sitting in them as they were looking at the holo table, their faces filled with sadness. But, when I reached out to try and touch one, my hand went directly through them. They were nothing but holograms.
"Aariv, what is it that bothers you?" the female Council member asked. King Aariv was looking down at the holo table, which was showing the hologram of a destroyed city with people rioting in the streets and fires running rampant everywhere.
"I fear that I may have unleashed something on all of Altus. Something destructive," Aariv replied, not taking his eyes off of the holo table.
"Aariv, you had good reason to trust Galaxor. He wished to help us so that we could help the people of Altus find peace without the need for endless violence," the Council member on the far left said.
"You forget, Tempest, the very being that we trusted to help us save the people of Altus was also the same being who has destroyed most of the city with the help of his own unit and now he has nearly destroyed all of the Empire. When this is all over, the people will blame us for this afront!" the Council member on the far right protested. Aariv just held his face in shame and sadness at that statement.
"If they do, Erebus, then we will help them rebuild. If it is by the Council's hands that this evil has come upon the people of Altus, then let it be by the hands of the Council of Light that we set things right," the Council member to the left of Erebus replied.
"Cephas is right. It is up to us to set things right if we're responsible for the evil we create, no matter how long it may take to win the people's trust," the female Council member said.
"That may be harder than we may think. The leaders of this planet may try to persuade the people to spurn our efforts to help them. They've already turned their own weapons against my own people because I urged Galaxor to stop serving them. It could become far more catastrophic if this continues any further," Aariv said.
"That may be true, but Thalassa has a point, Aariv. You brought us all together so that we could protect the universe from the worst of disasters and help those in need wherever they were," Tempest replied. Suddenly, I heard the sound of rumbling behind me and turned back to face the door. Weirdly, the door wasn't open, but I saw the hologram of a familiar-looking robed figure wearing a mask suddenly appear from that direction and he walked up to about where I was before he pulled out the severed head of some kind of alien and threw it at the feet of the Council, drawing shocked and concerned gasps from all of them.
"Galaxor, what have you done?!" Cephas asked.
"Apparently what I should've done from the start. Better yet, what WE should've done from the start. The Empire was a disease and now I have completely eradicated it," Galaxor replied in disgust.
"Galaxor, there is no virtue in any of this! It may be true that their actions were not righteous, but they did not deserve death!" Tempest said.
"They were more than worthy of death! They poisoned our city with their deceit! Enslaved people from this planet and countless others! But I have done Altus a service by ridding this planet of these vermin!"
"And how many more have you condemned?! How many people did you kill just to destroy the Empire?!" Erebus asked in rage.
"You speak to ME of condemning the innocent? You condemn the innocent simply by sitting on your thrones and doing NOTHING. Even if they begged you to help them, you wouldn't do it," Galaxor said scornfully.
"That is both cruel and untrue! We all agreed that we should let all individuals choose their path whether it is for better or worse and we made a vow to help those affected by war and greed to make a better choice, only interfering with disasters of catastrophic proportions! Killing the leaders of Altus just because of your personal grudge against them doesn't justify-!" Thalassa started to say.
"THEY MURDERED MY WIFE!" Galaxor finally said, a hush falling over the entire Council.
"Galaxor… what…" Cephas started to ask.
"My former superiors… they unleashed a pandemic on all of Obraxis. After we were able to kill the soldiers that they sent, me and my unit came here to get the cure. But I could sense that she died not long after we had captured the leaders. The remaining population were barely able to escape before the charges that the Empire's soldiers had set up destroyed the planet. And what did all of you do to help? NOTHING."
"I am truly sorry for your loss, Galaxor. It pains me that my own people have suffered this fate. But you have stepped out of your role as an enforcer of this Council. You have killed many who were not deserving and have started something that will echo across the entire universe. But it isn't too late. Please, turn away from this path. You still have your sons and daughters. What will they think if you turn to the path of evil?" Aariv said in a calm tone as he walked up and put his hand on Galaxor's shoulder. But Galaxor angrily shoved him away in response.
"I served you so that I would finally be free of my superiors and their bloodshed. But you are no better than they were. You refuse to take action against even the simplest of matters all because of your pointless laws. But my eyes have been opened and I now know what I must do. I must destroy our enemies before they destroy us. Erase every trace of rebellion or war. That is what I must do to ensure order throughout the universe," Galaxor said with a low, angry voice. The Council members all had looks of horror on their faces after that speech, safe for Aariv, who just had a look of sadness.
"You dare obstruct our justice?! Do not think that your sacrilege will go unpunished, you-," Erebus started to say before Aariv held out his hand to silence him.
"Galaxor, please. Do not do this. What would your wife think?" Aariv asked. Galaxor just looked down at the floor in silence for a while before, in the blink of an eye, he drew a blade and plunged it into Aariv's chest. The rest of the Council immediately leapt into action and used their various powers to try and take down Galaxor, but he dodged them with ease and then held out his hands which made couple of green beams shoot out and envelop all five of the Council members, making all of them scream and yell in agony. When the green beams stopped projecting and he released the Council from his grasp, Thalassa leapt back into action and tried to stab Galaxor with her trident, only for him to transform his arm into stone, which he used to break the trident before he then tossed her away. Tempest managed to recover and tried to conjure up some lightning to hit Galaxor, but only a few tiny sparks flew out of his hands.
"I knew that you all would react this way. And I won't let any of you stand in the way of my goals. I have lived in your shadow for too long. If it is by bloodshed that the universe can obtain peace, then so be it. Every being will bow to me and every rebel will be crushed," Galaxor said with a demonic voice as metal claws wrapped around his fingers and he carved a familiar face into his mask. The face of the Overlord. As he turned to leave, Aariv grabbed his wrist while still clutching his chest wound.
"You cannot do this. Even if you claim that you want peace, your actions will be viewed as evil. There will be many who will oppose you. Many more will fear you. And when they know of what you did here, they will rise against you," he said.
"I don't plan to kill you, Aariv. You and your entire cult will stay in this tomb for the rest of your days. Long enough to think about your failure. Then again, with all that infinite wisdom of yours, you won't have to think for very long, will you?" the Overlord said before he left and used his powers to bring a large amount of rocks down in front of the door. Cephas immediately ran to the door and tried using his powers to move the rocks, but he was only able to make them nudge a bit.
"My power… he has robbed me of my power…" Cephas said with a concerned voice before the door began to slowly close and he walked back towards the rest of the Council.
"He has robbed us all of our power, Cephas," Thalassa said as she tried to help Aariv.
"But without our power we cannot leave this place! If Galaxor plans to repair the universe the way he wishes, he will no doubt go after the Crucible!" Tempest exclaimed. But Aariv slowly got up and began to walk toward the thrones again, clutching his chest as his blood began to drip onto the floor.
"I'm afraid we can't. He has blocked off the only way that we can get in or out. And he has wounded me too greatly. I'm afraid that my time is almost at its end," he said as he took the cover off of the coffin that sat behind his throne.
"Aariv… what are you saying?" Thalassa asked as the rest of the Council walked up to him while Aariv took out the hilt of a sword.
"My friends… I am responsible for this tragedy that has befallen us. I thought that Galaxor was strong enough to bear the weight of his losses… but I was wrong. And now we have all paid for my mistake," Aariv said.
"Do not say that, Aariv. As Tempest said before, you had good intentions in recruiting him so he could help with our goal of helping others. He was the one who failed you. And none of us ever regret joining you for the sake of the well-being of the universe."
"She is right, Aariv. I know that I have often questioned your methods and have spoken out against some of the decisions that you have made, but you've been like a brother to all of us," Erebus said, earning a smile from Aariv.
"You brought us together when we almost had nothing and you gave us all a purpose that was worth living for," Cephas added.
"I am truly grateful that I have had the honor of knowing all of you. But we must also not give up hope that there will be those who wish to give the universe a fighting chance. There are several who know of what we have done. They will try to send champions to come to find this place. And when they do, they will find the only thing capable of destroying the Crucible…" Aariv said triumphantly before he began to cough up blood and his strength began to fail him. The other Council members helped Aariv back up before he climbed into the coffin and laid down in a knight's burial position with the sword's hilt on his chest.
"Safe travels, Aariv. Perhaps we shall meet again in another lifetime," Thalassa said. Aariv just gave a nod before he slowly closed his eyes and the rest of the Council placed the top of the coffin over him and Erebus started to recite a prayer, which ended the hologram. I was completely speechless by what I had just seen, and I dropped to the ground in shock with my head low. The entire Council of Light were responsible for the creation of the Overlord. And when they refused to help, he robbed of their own power and left them to die. And now they were just a distant memory that very few would ever remember. But, as I was thinking about all of this, the room began to light up with the same bright blue light, which blinded me again, but this time it was just Aariv that was standing in front of me. And it looked like he was looking at… me?
"You now see the tragedy that befell the Council," he said. I was taken aback by the fact that he was looking straight at me that I struggled to find words.
"A-are you talking to me? Like, right now?" I asked in fear.
"In a way. Even though I have died, my spirit remains tethered to this realm. It is how I am able to converse with you right now. And I have been watching you and your friends for some time now. I am quite impressed with the feats that you all have managed to accomplish. All the lives that you have saved. And now your travels have led you here."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why didn't you help him? His family was in danger… but you all did nothing to help him. And he became the monster that's terrorizing this entire universe. I get that you have laws that you follow but… couldn't you have broken the law just to help him?" I asked. Aariv just looked down with a melancholic look as he walked back to his throne.
"For years, the people of Obraxis have constantly been at war with each other. We constantly slaughtered each other in our conquest to be free and establish order. When I became ruler of my planet, I made a law that we would no longer involve ourselves with war, whether it was amongst ourselves or against other species. I have carried that law with me since the day I was given the throne. The other members of the Council of Light shared my beliefs, as did Galaxor when he first joined us. And yet, even with the wisdom that I had acquired so long ago, I didn't even see that there were consequences to my code of conduct. I wanted to help Galaxor. I did. But I was afraid that if I did break my code of conduct, then the leaders of Altus would use that against me and everything that the Council of Light and I had fought for would have been lost. But, even then, the weight of my failure still haunts me to this day," he explained.
"…I… I never knew that. Rhea never told me about what the planet's history was like…"
"She has good reason for not telling anyone about our planet's history. The bloodshed and violence of our ancestors has always been our greatest shame."
"Listen, the Over… Galaxor has the Crucible. We were told that there was a weapon that could destroy it. So, is it here?" I asked. Aariv just looked at me with another sad look before he pointed to the coffin that was sitting behind his throne. I immediately went over to the coffin and prepared to open it, but Aariv grabbed my hand before I could.
"Just answer me this: Why is it that you have come to this place looking for a weapon that is more powerful than the Crucible?" he asked.
"I was the one who pulled the Crucible from the stone on Gaia Prime. I was infected with the energy that would've given him god-like powers. And me and my team are the only ones standing between him and universal domination. I can't just stand by as he destroys everything," I replied. Aariv just stared at me for a little before he took his hand off of mine and I opened the coffin. Sitting inside was the decayed corpse of Aariv, which was still clutching the hilt that I saw in the hologram. The hilt was metal with the grip wrapped in some kind of leather with a circular shape with two spikes on the side of it that made up the cross guard, accompanied by two closed up claw-like parts at the side. In the middle of the circle on the cross guard was a symbol of kind. I gently took the hilt from the corpse and carefully inspected it before the holo table opened up to reveal some kind of lava pool that was strangely blue for some reason. But, when I got close to it, a few sparks flew out of the lava pit and struck the symbol on the hilt, which made it glow and made the two claw-like parts flip down. Instinctively, I dipped the top part of the hilt into the lava for a little while before I slowly took it out, the lava creating a thin blue blade that looked like the blade of a medieval knight's sword except with runes on it. After it had been fully formed, the blade suddenly exploded into flames while some kind of magic began to envelop my arms for a few seconds before it disappeared completely.
"The Peacekeeper… It was this very sword that helped me strike down the undead forces of Nekros. Today, I pass it on to you. But there is one final thing that you must do before you can leave. While the Peacekeeper is quite powerful as it is now, but it still has yet to unlock its full power. To obtain such power, you must free the souls of the other Council members. By freeing them, the Peacekeeper will absorb what remains of their power for you to use," Aariv said. No sooner than 5 seconds after the words left his mouth, the corpses of the other Council members began to rise up from the ground and stare at me with menacing green eyes. The first member, Thalassa, picked up the top part of her destroyed trident and then threw it at me. I used the Peacekeeper to slice the trident in half before I then plunged the sword into Thalassa's chest when she leaped at me. As I took the sword out of her chest, Thalassa's body exploded in a flash of green light before her soul was released which also made a few small streams of water circle the sword's blade before the flames were doused and the water created a sheath of ice. I barely had time to question what had happened before the second Council member, Tempest, grabbed my arm and tried to wrench the Peacekeeper from my grasp. I tried to at least hit him with my fist, but because he was literally made of air, my fist just went through him. Quick-thinking, I got my arm free and stuck the tip of the Peacekeeper into his chest which began to rapidly freeze him until he became an ice sculpture. After I shattered Tempest's decayed body and released his spirit, a gust of wind began to surround the Peacekeeper's blade until it began to supercharge the blade and it became like lightning. The fourth Council member, Cephas, picked up a boulder and threw it at me as if to crush me, but I used the Peacekeeper to slice it clean in half horizontally before, quite literally at lightning speed, I jumped onto the bottom half of the boulder, sprang off, landed behind him and thrusted the sword into the back of his chest. After Cephas' body exploded and his spirit was released, a few rocks from the ground began to surround the blade until it became encrusted with the very ground itself. The last Council member, Erebus, summoned a bunch of spirits from the ground to hold me by the legs as he picked up a rock and infused it with whatever was left of his power. However, the spirits he summoned we're all trying to fight for position as they were trying to hold me, which gave me an opportunity to escape as I stomped on one's head and hit another with the pommel of the Peacekeeper's hilt. After I had gotten free, I slammed the Peacekeeper on the ground which created a small shockwave that made Erebus stumble to the ground. I wasted no time in piercing his decayed heart, which freed him and made a magic green aura surround the Peacekeeper before the blade looked like it was made of souls. As I started to try and catch my breath, the spirits of the rest of the Council of Light began to rub their heads in confusion before they began to take a look at their surroundings.
"Free… at last!" Tempest's spirit said with joy.
"Aariv? Is that you, my friend?" Cephas' spirit asked. Aariv simply outstretched his arm and gave Cephas a forearm handshake with a warm smile.
"I don't understand… Galaxor left our spirits imprisoned in our own bodies after we died. How is that we are free?" Thalassa's spirit asked.
"It is because of him," Aariv said, pointing to me. When the rest of the Council turned theirs heads towards me, I knelt down with the Peacekeeper's blade in the ground. But the Council members just looked at me with confused looks until Erebus stepped forward and inspected my arm. When I looked down at it, I saw a very faint red glow coming from it. It didn't really come as a surprise to me, but Erebus immediately backed away in fear when he saw it.
"He is infected with that cursed energy! Are you sure that we can trust him?" he asked.
"I am. He has proven himself worthy by freeing your souls. And I can see in his heart that he has made peace with his inner demons and he is in complete control."
"Are you certain that he is even up to the task? He is just a human!" Erebus protested. As if to answer, Thalassa walked over to me and signaled for me to stand before she put both of her hands on the sides of my face and closed her eyes. After about a few seconds, her eyes opened again, and a tear slid down her cheek.
"So much pain… so much suffering… And yet, you've somehow been able to bury it deep within you. How is it that you are able to cope?" she asked.
"I have my friends. They've helped me get this far. And we'll all continue to support each other until the end," I said.
"And what makes you so sure that you can defeat the Overlord and his army?" Erebus asked.
"Because I have hope. Me and my friends have fought through hell and high water to try and put an end to the Overlord's evil. As long as I have my friends with me by my side and as long as I have hope in my heart, we WILL prevail against him," I replied. All of the Council members went silent for a brief moment before Aariv gave me a smile. He actually looked… happy. The rest of the Council members also looked content with my answer.
"Then you have not a second more to lose. Go back to your friends. Go forth in the name of the Council of Light and see to it that the Overlord sees the error of his ways," Aariv said. Before I left, Tempest put his left hand on my shoulder and put his right arm over his chest in a gesture of respect.
"You have our gratitude, brother. May the light show you the path to victory," he said. I gave him the same salute before I turned to leave.
"There is one more thing you must know. Even though you possess the Peacekeeper, only a true leader can help you truly defeat the Overlord. And that true leader has been fighting alongside of you for quite some time," Aariv said.
"Who? Celeste?" I asked, turning back to him. But Aariv just gave me another mysterious smile.
"That is for you to find out. Now go," he replied. I was confused by the cryptic riddle that he gave me, but I didn't question it. I just made my way back to the door with the Peacekeeper in hand and my spirits lifted.
Hiro's perspective
"Can you pass meh that rock?" Zero Two drunkenly asked me. She had begun constructing a small stone fortress since Max had gone into the tomb and she was almost done with it. I just begrudgingly gave her the stone and she added it to the wall the front wall. Meanwhile, Amki was bouncing a rock off of the walls of the cave, throwing it with enough force that she was able to catch it again before throwing it again, and Celeste was busy sharpening one of her katanas with her sharpening stone. Everyone else was just sitting against the rocks, waiting patiently.
"Zero Two, I get that you're just trying to keep yourself entertained, but why exactly are you building that?" I asked.
"It's our love shack! When it's done, we can make lots of babehs in here!"
"It's only been ten minutes! Plus, we aren't exactly alone in here!"
"No, but we will be when I get this finished," Zero Two said with a big goofy grin on her face. But her grin didn't last long because, without any warning, a rock flew in and knocked over the entire back wall of her "love shack". Zero Two looked down at the destroyed wall for a second before she turned to Amki with an angry face.
"Whoops…" Amki said in a sarcastic tone before she picked up another rock and went back to what she was doing before. Zero Two just stuck her tongue out at her (even though Amki didn't see seem to notice) and she went back to building.
"Y'know, it would've been a lot easier to relax if she hadn't gotten drunk," Rhonda stated.
"Well, I find you a lot easier on mah ears if I kicked yo ass!" Zero Two retorted. That insult set Rhonda off as she took out her revolver and prepared to shoot at her, but Celeste quickly stopped her before she could completely unholster her revolver.
"Relax, Rhonda. That's not her talking. It's her drunkenness," Celeste said. Rhonda just nodded and put away her revolver. As she laid back down, I noticed that Nikki was walking over to sit beside Persephone, who was sitting with her knees close to her face, almost like she was embarrassed to face anyone.
"Hey, I hate to ask, but… what exactly did the Overlord offer you in exchange for getting rid of us?" Nikki asked.
"…Me and my sisters came to Altus looking for work. We didn't have much in terms of money and we heard that they were looking to hire some part time dancers. At first, the job seemed pretty easy and most of our customers were well-behaved, but in time, some of them were really abusive and dangerous and we frequently had to take some days off so I could tend to my sisters' wounds. Of course, no one else cared what happened to us. They just go on with their own business. Eating. Drinking. Dancing. When the Overlord came to me, he promised that, if I helped him, me and my sisters would finally be able to go somewhere nicer than this," Persephone replied.
"I wouldn't put too much trust in his words. Altus' empire was responsible for his suffering and now the planet itself has fallen into depravity. If the Overlord gets what he wants, this planet will be the first one that he destroys," Rhea said.
"OK, as sad as this all sounds, where the hell is Max? If he didn't find the so-called 'weapon', he should've left, not spend hours combing the entire place," Amki said, sitting up.
"We cannot leave this place without the weapon, Amki. Plus, as Hiro said, it's been only ten minutes. Be patient," Eva said. As soon as those words left her mouth, the doors to the tomb began to slowly open again and out of the darkness walked Max. He was clutching the hilt of some kind of sword and had a rip on the left shoulder of his tuxedo. Nikki immediately got up and ran over to him before embracing him.
"Are you OK? You're not hurt, are you?" she asked.
"No, I'm fine," Max replied. Meanwhile, Rhea noticed the hilt that he was carrying, and she took it for a brief while to inspect it.
"Is this it? Is this what we seek?" Rhea asked. Max started to say yes, but he suddenly went completely silent with a blank stare on his face, almost like he was staring at completely nothing.
"Uh… Max? Are you OK, man?" I asked.
"Ooooh, look. His eyes are all shiny…" Zero Two said. Sure enough, when I looked at Max's eyes, I noticed that there WAS something up with them. Instead of the normal green color that they usually were, Max's eyes were a vivid light blue color that seemed to illuminate the area around him. After ten more seconds of blank staring, he closed his eyes in confusion and rubbed his head before he looked back at all of us with a worried look, his eyes back to their normal green color.
"Max, what's wrong?" Nikki asked.
"The Overlord's soldiers. They're here," Max replied as he took the sword hilt back from Rhea and then positioned himself behind one of the rocks.
"Are you certain? How could you tell?" Celeste asked.
"I just do! Trust me!"
"Well, if they're coming, you might need this!" Odango said before she pressed a button on her wrist and Max's shotgun materialized into her arms. After she tossed him the shotgun, my own shotgun materialized into her arms and she threw it to me. Once we were ready, all of us then took up defensive positions around the cavern so we could flank the Overlord's battalion. The first one that entered was wearing black armor with a red visor and red highlights all over the rest of his armor, complete with spiked shoulder pads and spikes along the forearms. Strapped to his back was a combat shotgun similar to mine and he was holding a spear with an energized tip in his right hand. After he entered the cavern and saw that the coast was seemingly clear, he signaled for the other soldiers to follow in behind him. All of them had black armor like the commander did, but their armor was less spiked around their arms.
"Spread out. If they're still in here, they have nowhere to go. You are to make sure that no one gets out of this cavern. Leave the human and his lover alive. Everyone else must be eliminated," the commander said, showing a hologram of both Max and Nikki to one of the soldiers.
"And what of the assassin? What do we do with her?" the soldier asked.
"Kill her as well. She is nothing but a liability now," the commander replied. Persephone began to cry in in fear as Celeste took out her katanas and prepared to attack the closest soldier. Zero Two nearly gave away her position simply by peeking her head out but right as she was about to yell at Celeste, I pulled her back down and covered her mouth with my hand. But, right as the soldier was nearly within range, he noticed a faint glinting on the ground that I also noticed. It was a small knife. I thought at first that someone had accidently dropped it and had given away part of our team's position. But, when the soldier went to inspect the knife, Ayano silently emerged from her hiding spot and plunged a second knife into the soldier's helmet. I thought at first that the knife didn't go all the way through the thick armored helmet, but I saw that the soldier was bleeding profusely from where Ayano had stabbed and he then slumped lifelessly to the ground. The others soldiers immediately noticed Ayano crazily stabbing the soldier she brought down and they aimed their weapons at her, but before they could get even one shot off, Max, Nikki, Eva, and Rhonda aimed their own weapons at the soldiers before firing, landing a few direct hits on the soldiers at the front. Celeste snuck in from behind and decapitated two more of the soldiers at the front before she scraped the top of one of her katanas with the blade of the other, which created a ball of energy that she then launched at some more of the soldiers, setting them ablaze. Amki followed that up by throwing a giant boulder which some of the soldiers had to dodge. But even with our relentless assault, the soldiers didn't back down and the room soon became overcome with blaster bolts and shotgun blasts flying all over the room. As I was patiently waiting for an opening so I could fire a sticky bomb, Zero Two blankly stared up at the blaster bolts firing over our heads.
"What's up with da fireworkz?" she asked.
"They're not fireworks! Keep your head down!" I yelled as I fired a sticky bomb near a cluster of soldiers that were grouped together. The explosion knocked them aside, but it didn't really kill anyone, and the soldiers began to return fire as I took shelter behind the rock again.
"I guess that makes sense… But how come they're firin' the fireworks at us? Shouldn't they be firin' them at the ceilin'? Also, we're in a cavern. If they want other people to see the fireworks, they shoulda taken 'em outside…"
"OK, look, I can't talk about this with you right now! You wanna ask them why they have fireworks in here? Be my guest! But, for now, just stay down there and shut up!" I yelled. Zero Two just gave me a confused look in response, but she did as she was told and stayed where she was as I prepared to fire another sticky bomb at the Overlord's soldiers. But when I emerged from my hiding spot to shoot, a stray blaster bolt grazed my cheek and made me fall back behind my hiding spot.
"OW! OK, ow, that smarts!" I said as I held my cheek. It was only a scratch, but it hurt like hell. However, when I looked back at Zero Two, she had a look of absolute horror and disgust and she immediately grabbed my face without any warning.
"They shot your beautiful face?! THEY SHOT YOUR FACE?!" Zero Two yelled.
"It's just a scratch! It's not a big deal!" I objected. But while Zero Two was busy inspecting my face, one of the soldiers had managed to sneak up behind us and he took aim at both of us. However, Zero Two immediately unholstered one of her pistols and whipped him with the butt of it before she then shot him point blank through the head. Just as another soldier had rounded the corner, Zero Two took out her electro staff and proceeded to beat the soldier to the ground until he was no longer moving before she took a few grenades from his belt.
"Zero Two! Keep your head down or you're gonna get hurt!" I warned as I continued to fire more shots at the soldiers. But Zero Two just continued to fight (even though she was still drunk, and she looked like she was having a bit of trouble keeping her balance) until she angrily stared at the rest of the soldiers that we were fighting.
"These assholes… they ruined your perfect face. It's obviously clear… they don't know… who they're FUCKING WITH!" Zero Two yelled before she pulled the pins of the grenades that she was holding and then threw them at the group of soldiers that were firing at us. The soldiers didn't notice that she had thrown the grenades until it was too late as the blast decimated a whole bunch of them while the rest were knocked aside. However, a couple were unable to get up in time before Selene rushed in, grabbed one of the soldiers with her whip before she snapped his neck, and then killed the other by biting down into his neck with her sharp teeth and ripping out a chunk of his throat. But she soon had to take cover again because another wave of soldiers moved to the front and began raining blasterfire on us. I grabbed Zero Two before she got shot and we both went over to where the rest of the team was just as Rhea created a bunch of ice shards and then threw them at some of the soldiers at the front of the pack. One of them went straight through a soldier's head and into the chest of another before it froze him to one of the rocks that he landed on, creating a sheet of ice that froze some of the other soldiers to the ground and gave Eila an opportunity to attack them with a ball of lightning. However, the commander, who must've had insulated armor, because he was unfazed by the attack and used his spear to shoot a beam of energy that nearly injured Celeste. As he continued to keep us pinned down, a bunch of soldiers began to attach some kind of explosions on the walls of the caves. Max was intrigued by their sudden arrival, but he couldn't stare for long because of the commander still raining fire down on us.
"What are they doing back there?!" Max yelled to Celeste as I fired another stickybomb at the battalion.
"High-grade military explosives! Explosives like that can level an entire city block! I think that they plan to bury us in this cavern!" Celeste replied before Max looked up at the ceiling of the cave.
"And what part of the casino are we under?"
"We're under the main lobby… If those explosions go off, they could kill thousands of innocent people above us…" Persephone said in fear and terror. Max also adopted a look of horror on his own face before he fell below the rock wall that we were hiding behind and then looked down at the sword hilt as sweat began to drip down his forehead. After he sat there in silence for a while, his eyes widened before he got a determined look on his face.
"Tell everyone to get behind me. NOW," Max said. All of us just looked at him like he was crazy, but Celeste just nodded before she turned on the comms.
"Everybody fall back! Stay behind Max and keep a tight formation!" Celeste yelled into her comms. As the rest of the team began to regroup with us, Amki threw another boulder at the battalion before she ran back to us, but the commander simply sliced the rock in half with his spear before he took out his shotgun and fired a stickybomb that destroyed the rock wall that we were all hiding behind. As the dust began to settle, Max stood out in the open with the sword hilt in hand before he activated it and a blue fiery blade sprang forth from the hilt as he stared down the army in front of him, who had strangely stopped firing at us. The commander gave the rest of the soldiers a signal that made them drop their blasters and pull out all sorts of energy melee weapons. Swords, pikes, axes, war hammers, spears, maces. Each of them adopted a battle stance, waiting for the commander to give the signal. As they stood there, ready to fight, Max brought the sword up to his face and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths.
"It is foolish for you to think that you have a chance of survival. Not even that sword can save you. MEN! YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO! SMASH THE HERETICS!" the commander said before he gave the signal to attack to the rest of the squadron. All of them came running at us, shouting a battle cry with their weapons raised high. But, before even one of them could get to us, Max opened his eyes, which were light blue again, and then plunged the blade of the sword into the ground. And what happened next, no mere words could possibly describe it. The second the blade hit the ground, a large wave of fire engulfed the entire area in front of us, the flames so intense that we all had to cover our eyes. But even though the flames were intense, I could still make out the silhouettes of some of the soldiers that were caught in the fire, their armor melting and the flesh burning as the flames burned. After a few minutes, the flames finally died down and Max pulled the sword up from the ground and deactivated the blade as the rest of us took a look around at the damage. The entire area was completely scorched, safe for the crystals that were sitting on the pedestal that we used before. All of the soldiers had become nothing but charred bones and melted armor, along with the dust that used to be their own weapons and the bombs that were once attached to the walls. We were all completely speechless at the carnage that was all around us. Well, except for Zero Two, who had fallen asleep in my arms for some reason.
"OK… that thing is SERIOUS," Amki finally said as Max picked up a piece of charred bone before he threw it back to the ground. Celeste, on the other hand, searched through the rubble behind us until she found one of the teleporter devices that fell off of her belt during the battle.
"We have what we need. We should head back before there's more trouble," she said before she activated the teleporter and we all beamed back to the Centurion.
Max's perspective
"Things on Altus are certainly lively when nighttime comes! But tonight, the air has been filled with fear… As of a few hours ago, the streets around The Good Time Club and Casino and several more blocks erupted with fire, causing some of them to collapse and create large cracks in the roads, as you can see behind me. Thankfully, nobody was killed, but many have been injured by the sudden phenomenon and hundreds more are heralding this destruction as the return of the fabled Council of Light, who had once taken up residency on this planet before the fall of the once great Empire of Altus. But is this actually the work of the Council of Light, who had mysteriously vanished after the Empire fell? Or could this be the work of the terrorist that many call the Ov-," a newscaster said on a holographic screen before I turned it off and sat there, rubbing my eyes.
"It appears that our actions are starting to get noticed," Celeste said from behind me.
"Yeah, but I'm starting to wonder if that's actually a good thing. The Overlord keeps sending these soldiers and assassins to try and stop us and innocent people get hurt when we try to help them," I replied.
"Yes… but we should be thankful that there were few who were hurt. Plus, we've finally obtained the one thing that can destroy the Crucible. We're closer to defeating the Overlord than we were before," Rhea said as she placed her hand on my shoulder.
"How are the others?"
"Everyone else is resting right now. I managed to send Persephone and her sisters to a more secure location where they can find more honest work. And they'll be safe from the Overlord or any of his soldiers," Celeste said.
"Hey, I've been meaning to ask… How come you didn't teleport us out of there before the Overlord's soldiers showed up?" Nikki asked as she sat in a chair beside me.
"Unfortunately, the portable teleporters that I have right now have an atrocious recharge time. Whether I teleport a few out of the Centurion to a certain location or teleport a group back onboard the ship, it takes about 25-30 minutes for me to be able to use it again," Celeste replied before I got up from the chair and stretched my arms.
"I think that I'm going to go turn in as well. Wake me up if you figure out where his other lackeys are," I said. But before I could leave the room, Rhea grabbed my arm.
"Max… when you were in there… what did you see?" she asked. I just looked back at her with a distressed look.
"He killed them… the Overlord killed all of them when they refused to help him. But they looked… hurt. Hurt that their own fear of having everything they achieved fall apart if they helped him got in the way of doing what was right…"
"Not using their power just to help one individual was possibly the hardest thing that they had to do…"
"But… there was something else. Aariv's spirit told me that only the hands of a true leader would help me defeat the Overlord."
"…You mean Celeste?"
"He didn't say. He that it's up to me to find out."
"Then it's something that we should worry about tomorrow. We should get as much rest as we can and prepare for what lies ahead," Rhea said. I just nodded and I began to walk toward my room with Nikki following behind me. When we were about halfway there, Nikki grabbed me by the arm and stopped me in my tracks.
"Max, there's something I need to discuss with you," she said. That sentence alone made me cringe as I knew what was coming.
"Nik, I-," I started to say before she cut me off.
"Don't talk. Just listen. I'm not pissed off because you put your hands on another woman just to get information. I'm pissed because you saw that as the ONLY option that you had just to get information from her. I mean, you couldn't let Celeste do it? She was LITERALLY right next to you and she just LET YOU do it yourself! Or how about using a drop of water just to set her off?! Or what about-," Nikki said. But as she was in the middle of her ranting, I drew her in and kissed her just to get her to shut up. I knew that it wouldn't make things better, but I had to get her to stop somehow. After I withdrew from the kiss, Nikki just lowered her head, still angry but much calmer, and then pressed her forehead against my chest.
"Look, you're right. I should've thought of a different way to get information, but time was of the essence and that was the fastest way that I could think of getting it. But you're my girl. You always have been. And nothing will ever get in the way me loving you, even if it was a woman with tight clothing and… too much makeup," I said. I bit my tongue after that because of how stupid my speech sounded but Nikki just gave a slight chuckle and wrapped her arms around me, giving me a warming hug.
"God, you are so silly sometimes. I mean, I'm still a little mad. But… that was very romantic of you," she said before she then wrapped her arms around my neck and we both kissed each other. We were so lost in each other's embrace that we almost didn't hear the door to Hiro's room open. Well, actually, he had just opened the door when we had finished and now everyone was just standing around silently, looking awkward.
"I am so terribly sorry… I'll just come out later…" Hiro said sheepishly as he started to shut the door.
"No, no, no! We were just finishing up! What's wrong? What do you need?" Nikki asked as she tried to stop him from shutting the door.
"Oh, nothing. It's just that Zero Two needs another ice pack for her head."
"So, she's sobered up a bit? How is she?" I asked as me and Nikki looked into the room to find Zero Two sprawled out on the bed with a wet towel over her eyes and forehead.
"Everything hurts… It feels like complete agony is piercing my skull and set everything in my body on fire… And my mouth tastes bitter…" Zero Two said with a dry voice.
"Wait a second… how is she having a hangover if the drink she had was non-alcoholic?" Nikki asked.
"Like I said before, it mimics all the properties of a standard alcoholic drink, all the way down to mimicking the aftereffects of overconsumption," Celeste answered as she was passing us, giving me an ice pack. I wasted no time in putting it on Zero Two's forehead as we all sat down beside her.
"Darling… can we do ourselves a favor and never drink alcohol-like stuff ever again? Like… for the rest of our lives?" Zero Two said as she held the ice pack on her head.
"Actually, if we ever drink alcohol, we'll just limit ourselves to just one for everyone's sake," Nikki said, making me and Hiro laugh.
3rd person perspective, the Overlord's ship
The blood splattered on the floor as the Overlord relentlessly hit and clawed the commander, who had extreme burns on his arms where his armor had melted. The pain was unbearable, and it didn't help that no one was trying to stop this onslaught of pain that the Overlord was piling on to the commander. All of his other allies were just sitting around as the Overlord finally tossed the commander at the wall, the blood spilling out of his mouth.
"YOU HAVE FAILED ME! Your directive was to find and dispose of the weapon that was sealed in the tomb! And you failed miserably!" the Overlord snarled as he walked up to the injured commander.
"I am sorry, my lord. We thought that it would be easy to capture the human and dispose of his comrades as well as the weapon, but we had no idea that he would've already have known how to wield the weapon… I swear to you, we will be ready to defeat him the next time that we face him…" the commander coughed as he tried to stand back up. But, before he could fully get off of the ground, the Overlord grabbed him by the neck, digging his claws deep into his flesh.
"Oof… you shouldn't have said that pal…" Philip taunted, earning an angry glare from the Overlord. But it wasn't for very long because he then turned back to the commander and created an ice dagger before pointing it directly at the commander's eye.
"There will not be a next time… Your entire battalion was decimated with complete ease… By a simple human no less. You have clearly shown that you are incapable of handling the simplest of tasks. Your life is forfeit," the Overlord said as he raised the dagger and prepared to strike. But, before he could bring it down on the commander's chest, Info reached out and grabbed the Overlord's arm, preventing him from striking.
"Actually, my lord, I have a different proposal in mind. One that's far better and more… deadly. You see, I have a special project that I'm working on that will create a small handful of genetically modified soldiers. Soldiers that are stronger, swifter, and more deadly than they were before. But, in order to create such soldiers, I need some volunteers. Perhaps this piece of scum would like to enroll?" she said as she pressed a button on a small remote, which made a metallic coffin rose up from the ground before opening, revealing a bunch of tiny arms with various tools on them. The commander immediately began to panic as he tried to get free, but the Overlord's grasp was too strong. For a brief moment, the Overlord was silent as he pondered over what to do. But, without any warning, the Overlord then picked the commander up by his neck and brought him over to the coffin before the cuffs inside locked the commander's arms and legs in place and the Overlord now stood in front of him, looking much calmer than before.
"Do what you will with him," he said to Info, who just gave a sadistic look of glee before she pressed the button on the remote again, which closed up the coffin. The commander could do nothing but scream in fear as a needle injected some kind of red liquid into his arm, which began to turn his pale and a set of horns began to sprout from his head.
And, soon enough, his screams of fear became a terrifying roar of rage.
To be continued…
