Chapter 25
Lucas smiled as he watched the building explode, it was a perfect victory, an impregnable fortress from which to launch his other plans. For what are the powers of a god for, if not for control of the world or perhaps even more. He felt that it was his destiny, his birthright, to rule, to command, to dominate the world and everything within it.
He had a path he was following, one he had followed for his entire life, a path leading to violence and conquest, wars and legends, he would be the stuff that the tales and histories would speak of. He was the one to conquer the fairies and rule from their throne. It was a disappointment that they ruled as the surface did, by committee, though he would be the conquering king who takes control and reigns supreme over them.
He remembered how he had learned of this place, this choice key to world domination and immortality. He remembered the one that had offered him technology that she believed secret and hers alone.
* * * * *
Opal Koboi had entered the ancient stone fortress he owned after giving up her own magic to escape from the fairy prison of Howlers Peak. She had searched for months as to find the most powerful ally she could, settling on this man, a powerful man whose source of power was shrouded in shadow, a veil on his past that even her own quite proficient hacking skills could not crack and she had beaten even Foaly.
She had barely succeeded at getting her name on the list to enter a place that made every place she had seen before seem as secure as Central Park in New York City. It was borderline absurdity even for a paranoid pixie, she counted seventy five different identification protocols for the main entrance and many more for the side ones, and that was just the first lair, if you failed one of them, enough firepower was pointed your way that you would be lucky to have enough left of you for them to identify you by DNA.
She eyed yet another pair of laser weapons and a disrupter array built into an alcove as she was met by a heavily armed and armored figure.
"I assume that you are Opal Koboi," the man said as he opened the entrance.
"Yes, I am," she replied quickly, "And you are?"
"You may call me Markus."
* * * * *
Lucas smiled at the naivety of the fairy who thought that she was a criminal mastermind. He had pumped the creature for all the information she held, he used her one more time to empower his blade and himself with immunity to the fairy glamour, or mesmer as these ones called it. It seemed strange that these fairies were weak compared to some of the legends, something he had determined, he had at least one more force to eliminate in his path to rule the universe.
Markus was someone who would be helpful in acquiring people needed for various things, Opal Koboi was one of them, but the man was almost to the point of being far to useful. Alexi was primarily just hired muscle, Marcus had arranged the assault on what the fairies called Haven, though it was not much of a refuge for them now.
Alexi and Marcus were to him as Queens to a chess player, pieces, powerful pieces, yet just pieces, he was the king, if he was lost, everything would fall through. Everyone was a piece, something that could be sacrificed to keep him going for his goal.
He reflected on what had brought him to this point, in his opinion, paranoia was a survival trait. It had allowed him to withstand many things, assassins being the least of which had threatened him, he had gained the power to go directly up against the conspiracy that he had once worked for. His one failure had turned out to be his trump card, they didn't know he was still alive.
Opal Koboi had served her purpose as a pawn in his great game, a piece that's sacrifice had given him yet one more tool to use to keep his foes turned around.
* * * * *
Foaly was nearly in tears as he saw black armored troopers come bursting into LEP headquarters, guns blazing alongside captured fairy weapons. This was currently the last pocket of resistance against the mudmen. A grenade shattered the barricades they had erected before the elevators as gunfire ripped through the officers that had been holding the line there.
The defense of haven had been a series of spectacular series of defeats that was only matched in its dismal failure by the audacity and boldness of their foe. Outnumbered and outgunned the LEP had retreated to every stronghold it could have, most of the children had been evacuated to Atlantis where they would be safe for at least the time being, they also cleared out everyone they could from the chaos. The hospitals had been the last ones evacuated, they were evacuating everyone they could through the pods at the moment, hoping that they could at least have a slim hope of planning and enacting a counterattack.
He had at least sent a warning to the few elves still outside, Root had tried to lead an assault on the chute the intruders were using. It had been partially successful, they had managed to take down half of the shuttles the enemy was using before they were routed and captured, the survivors anyway. Commander Julius Root was one of the few in the group that went that were still running hot, it had let him survive the immolation of the rest, he was one of three survivors of the two hundred that were part of the raid.
Foaly activated the total lockdown of the facility, dropping blast doors everywhere in the building. He was now trapped in the operations booth with no way to be forced out, though he couldn't physically help them, he could lead.
Yeah, he thought sarcastically to himself, all those hours of playing strategy games the mudmen made against them online would be coming in handy, even though Root and Holly had scolded him so many times about their time wasting qualities, they would come in handy, the techie centaur would have to play general.
Suddenly his eyes got wide as he saw a sight he had least expected, Chix Verbil becoming a war hero.
* * * * *
Chix grunted as a bullet grazed his right shoulder and he saw red. It was a surprising feeling, he remembered the pain from when he had been shot in the wing, it angered him and he, with his free hand, grabbed one of the blasters from one of the fallen officers and flipped the indicator to full power, or bloody hell everything in its path dies, as the few officers that used it consistently, its use also cut the battery life way, way down, about a hundred or two shots per charge.
He opened fire with it and his own as he stood up from behind a desk, a smile seemed to cross his face as he saw the only female officer still in Haven, and the one he was still hitting on, crawling for cover as he opened fire on the mudmen.
Stepping from cover and walking forwards, he tore up the lobby with both Neutrino 2001's on full auto, there was no thought in his eyes as he ripped through the invaders with anger seeming to flow from him.
He and Lilly Frond were the only survivors of the detachment that tried to hold the line while everyone that could was evacuated with as much equipment as could be shipped out before the LEP pod vents were eliminated, the shipments continued, but they wouldn't last for long.
As if in answer to that thought the flare of a rocket tore through the air to hit the tubes and detonate in a flash of silver flame. No one else was leaving now. Chaos was filling the fairies world, and they were failing to contain it.
Chix grabbed Lilly's arm and helped her run, as he began to collect weapons for their use. He felt bad taking battery packs and other gear from his dead comrades, but it was something that he had to do if he and Lilly were to survive this encounter with an army of psychopaths.
He and the female elf exited into the shadows and confusion of the streets, narrowly avoiding two platoons of foes heading into the LEP building.
It was something that would have been inconceivable, and was until it happened, a mudman had declared war on them, and it wasn't a military unit, it was a rogue group with weaponry more advanced than much of what the LEP was armed with. Foaly had been shocked when he announced that, Chix new that because he liked to listen in, well for the time when he thought it would impress the ladies.
But they appeared to just have highly advanced military technology, the rest was still at the normal mudman level.
He heard a low whirr and spun to see a glistening pod enter the alley he and Lilly had hidden in, twin hover rotors kept it aloft as the weapons, two chain guns, spun empty, but unarmed at the moment as it searched for prey.
Chix held his breath and shushed Lilly who hadn't stopped clutching him. Normally it would have been something he'd love, but as it was a grip tight enough that he couldn't feel his left wing, it was bad.
It moved past, not noticing them as it swept trough the alley, he was glad for the helmet as he and Lilly slipped off into some of the less damaged sections of what had once been the safe haven of the fairies.
Lucas smiled as he watched the building explode, it was a perfect victory, an impregnable fortress from which to launch his other plans. For what are the powers of a god for, if not for control of the world or perhaps even more. He felt that it was his destiny, his birthright, to rule, to command, to dominate the world and everything within it.
He had a path he was following, one he had followed for his entire life, a path leading to violence and conquest, wars and legends, he would be the stuff that the tales and histories would speak of. He was the one to conquer the fairies and rule from their throne. It was a disappointment that they ruled as the surface did, by committee, though he would be the conquering king who takes control and reigns supreme over them.
He remembered how he had learned of this place, this choice key to world domination and immortality. He remembered the one that had offered him technology that she believed secret and hers alone.
* * * * *
Opal Koboi had entered the ancient stone fortress he owned after giving up her own magic to escape from the fairy prison of Howlers Peak. She had searched for months as to find the most powerful ally she could, settling on this man, a powerful man whose source of power was shrouded in shadow, a veil on his past that even her own quite proficient hacking skills could not crack and she had beaten even Foaly.
She had barely succeeded at getting her name on the list to enter a place that made every place she had seen before seem as secure as Central Park in New York City. It was borderline absurdity even for a paranoid pixie, she counted seventy five different identification protocols for the main entrance and many more for the side ones, and that was just the first lair, if you failed one of them, enough firepower was pointed your way that you would be lucky to have enough left of you for them to identify you by DNA.
She eyed yet another pair of laser weapons and a disrupter array built into an alcove as she was met by a heavily armed and armored figure.
"I assume that you are Opal Koboi," the man said as he opened the entrance.
"Yes, I am," she replied quickly, "And you are?"
"You may call me Markus."
* * * * *
Lucas smiled at the naivety of the fairy who thought that she was a criminal mastermind. He had pumped the creature for all the information she held, he used her one more time to empower his blade and himself with immunity to the fairy glamour, or mesmer as these ones called it. It seemed strange that these fairies were weak compared to some of the legends, something he had determined, he had at least one more force to eliminate in his path to rule the universe.
Markus was someone who would be helpful in acquiring people needed for various things, Opal Koboi was one of them, but the man was almost to the point of being far to useful. Alexi was primarily just hired muscle, Marcus had arranged the assault on what the fairies called Haven, though it was not much of a refuge for them now.
Alexi and Marcus were to him as Queens to a chess player, pieces, powerful pieces, yet just pieces, he was the king, if he was lost, everything would fall through. Everyone was a piece, something that could be sacrificed to keep him going for his goal.
He reflected on what had brought him to this point, in his opinion, paranoia was a survival trait. It had allowed him to withstand many things, assassins being the least of which had threatened him, he had gained the power to go directly up against the conspiracy that he had once worked for. His one failure had turned out to be his trump card, they didn't know he was still alive.
Opal Koboi had served her purpose as a pawn in his great game, a piece that's sacrifice had given him yet one more tool to use to keep his foes turned around.
* * * * *
Foaly was nearly in tears as he saw black armored troopers come bursting into LEP headquarters, guns blazing alongside captured fairy weapons. This was currently the last pocket of resistance against the mudmen. A grenade shattered the barricades they had erected before the elevators as gunfire ripped through the officers that had been holding the line there.
The defense of haven had been a series of spectacular series of defeats that was only matched in its dismal failure by the audacity and boldness of their foe. Outnumbered and outgunned the LEP had retreated to every stronghold it could have, most of the children had been evacuated to Atlantis where they would be safe for at least the time being, they also cleared out everyone they could from the chaos. The hospitals had been the last ones evacuated, they were evacuating everyone they could through the pods at the moment, hoping that they could at least have a slim hope of planning and enacting a counterattack.
He had at least sent a warning to the few elves still outside, Root had tried to lead an assault on the chute the intruders were using. It had been partially successful, they had managed to take down half of the shuttles the enemy was using before they were routed and captured, the survivors anyway. Commander Julius Root was one of the few in the group that went that were still running hot, it had let him survive the immolation of the rest, he was one of three survivors of the two hundred that were part of the raid.
Foaly activated the total lockdown of the facility, dropping blast doors everywhere in the building. He was now trapped in the operations booth with no way to be forced out, though he couldn't physically help them, he could lead.
Yeah, he thought sarcastically to himself, all those hours of playing strategy games the mudmen made against them online would be coming in handy, even though Root and Holly had scolded him so many times about their time wasting qualities, they would come in handy, the techie centaur would have to play general.
Suddenly his eyes got wide as he saw a sight he had least expected, Chix Verbil becoming a war hero.
* * * * *
Chix grunted as a bullet grazed his right shoulder and he saw red. It was a surprising feeling, he remembered the pain from when he had been shot in the wing, it angered him and he, with his free hand, grabbed one of the blasters from one of the fallen officers and flipped the indicator to full power, or bloody hell everything in its path dies, as the few officers that used it consistently, its use also cut the battery life way, way down, about a hundred or two shots per charge.
He opened fire with it and his own as he stood up from behind a desk, a smile seemed to cross his face as he saw the only female officer still in Haven, and the one he was still hitting on, crawling for cover as he opened fire on the mudmen.
Stepping from cover and walking forwards, he tore up the lobby with both Neutrino 2001's on full auto, there was no thought in his eyes as he ripped through the invaders with anger seeming to flow from him.
He and Lilly Frond were the only survivors of the detachment that tried to hold the line while everyone that could was evacuated with as much equipment as could be shipped out before the LEP pod vents were eliminated, the shipments continued, but they wouldn't last for long.
As if in answer to that thought the flare of a rocket tore through the air to hit the tubes and detonate in a flash of silver flame. No one else was leaving now. Chaos was filling the fairies world, and they were failing to contain it.
Chix grabbed Lilly's arm and helped her run, as he began to collect weapons for their use. He felt bad taking battery packs and other gear from his dead comrades, but it was something that he had to do if he and Lilly were to survive this encounter with an army of psychopaths.
He and the female elf exited into the shadows and confusion of the streets, narrowly avoiding two platoons of foes heading into the LEP building.
It was something that would have been inconceivable, and was until it happened, a mudman had declared war on them, and it wasn't a military unit, it was a rogue group with weaponry more advanced than much of what the LEP was armed with. Foaly had been shocked when he announced that, Chix new that because he liked to listen in, well for the time when he thought it would impress the ladies.
But they appeared to just have highly advanced military technology, the rest was still at the normal mudman level.
He heard a low whirr and spun to see a glistening pod enter the alley he and Lilly had hidden in, twin hover rotors kept it aloft as the weapons, two chain guns, spun empty, but unarmed at the moment as it searched for prey.
Chix held his breath and shushed Lilly who hadn't stopped clutching him. Normally it would have been something he'd love, but as it was a grip tight enough that he couldn't feel his left wing, it was bad.
It moved past, not noticing them as it swept trough the alley, he was glad for the helmet as he and Lilly slipped off into some of the less damaged sections of what had once been the safe haven of the fairies.