Alright, sorry this took so long to get out. I had trouble with the battle scenes (battling is just not my specialty). So would you please R&R this…I'm not sure how it is. Thanx and Enjoy!
The Crimson Pendant:
Chapter 2-One Way or Another
The sun was still hidden beneath its earthen blanket when Janus reached the tunnel to the human's world. He stopped next to Ozzie to survey the large mystic army before them as a soft breeze pushed through the winding cavern, turning the morning's tension into an uneasy silence.
"General
Flea is heading the magic-users while General Slash takes care of the
warriors." Ozzie explained, breaking
the silence, "They will give a signal when their squads are ready."
"And
what shall I do?" Janus queried,
spanning the group before him.
"If
I fall we lose the war," Ozzie stated, trying to mask the delight he felt, "You
will protect me."
Janus
nodded obediently, keeping the disgust he felt concealed. "It figures," he thought, folding his arms
confidently.
A
dim light caught the attention of Janus and his commander. After a moment, another on the opposite side
of the cavern illuminated. A smirk
formed on the stout commander's face. "It's time!" He screeched
enthusiastically. Then, raising his
hands to the sealed cavern wall before them, he let out a soft groan and the
rock began splitting to reveal the morning's dawn.
A
wave of gasps resonated from the militia as many of the mystics took their
first glance on the human's realm. Although it wasn't much different from their own, it had a brighter,
more jovial atmosphere compared to their homeland.
Ozzie
stood there, grinning broadly, as he watched the sun beginning to spray
sunlight onto the dark earth. The light
crept farther and farther across the landscape, soon revealing a sleeping
military camp nestled on a large hill.
"And
now," The portly mystic whispered, "it begins." Immediately, as if by Ozzie's words, the horde of mystics raced
toward the camp, screaming their battle cries and alarming the quiet setting.
Once
on top of the camp, the magic-users began their assault. They sat before the camp, scorching
everything in sight, from camp supplies to half-armored men hurriedly racing
out of their tents. Next, the warriors
began their advancement through the camp, slaughtering everything that found
it's way into their path. Upon reaching
the end of the camp, the warriors halted, and all noise then ceased.
"What's wrong?!" Ozzie shrieked with a disapproving scowl. The mystics had paused at the edge of the
camp and were staring dumbfounded at something beyond the hill. "What's going on here?!" The commander again screamed as he and Janus
reached Slash.
"Commander,"
The general blurted, his face nervous and fear filled, "there are more humans
then we had anticipated, sir!" He
pointed a long, blue finger at the valley before them.
Janus
scanned the area Slash was pointing at and swallowed hard. Sloping down the hill towards the valley
forest was an extension of the camp they had not seen before. The soldiers from these tents had been
awoken by the previous ambush and were ready to battle, an unexpected twist for
the mystic's army.
"What…what
do we do…commander?" Slash stammered,
unsure of the predicament.
"Well…"
Ozzie's tone was firm and authoritative but his face displayed the same
hopelessness his general's did.
"We
fight," Janus interrupted, turning all attention toward him.
"What?!" Ozzie retorted, "What are you talking about
kid! You have no right to…"
"To
do what?" The boy snapped back, "To
make decisions you can't?"
Ozzie
shifted uncomfortably, but did not reply.
"We
are not going to run from this attack! Too many of us will die, leaving us vulnerable and ashamed. The best thing to do now is fight." He then folded his arms in an dominant
manner, "Or what else would you suggest commander?"
Ozzie's
face curled into an angered frown, but he continued to be taciturn.
Slash
then nodded at Janus, easing the tension, "My squad will obey you Janus." He then turned to his soldiers and with a
piercing cry, charged for the enemy.
The
commander gave Janus a jealous grimace, "I guess I'll tell Flea to back us
up!" He closed his eyes in a trance
like state to telepathically reach the general, and then regained consciousness
with a wide smile across his chubby face. "Flea likes the idea," He gleamed, "She says she has an idea too. So just sit back and enjoy the ride!"
Janus
grinned; perhaps they would win this fight after all! He opened his stance and prepared for the first wave of
humans. "Here they come," he muttered to
himself with a chuckle, "This should be amusing." With that, the hordes of enemies, swarmed around him, and his
battling commenced.
Feint
right, parry, slash; one enemy down. Spin, thrust, feint left, sweep; and another. The dead surrounding Janus continued to accumulate. "This is too easy!" He screamed at the near-by humans, "None of
you even pose any challenge!" The next
human advanced; block, swing, feint right, block, energy blast; one more lay
dead at his feet. "You are all child's
play!" He mocked them.
"Not
all of them…" Ozzie remarked in a stupor, his gaze spanning off into the
distance.
Janus
knocked yet another soldier to the ground. "Who then?" He huffed, not sure
whether Ozzie was sarcastic or serious.
"That
one over near the forest's boundary," he pointed in the direction he was
suggesting, "He's wearing the purple cape." His eyes glazed over again, "He's good, too good."
"He
can't be that good!" Janus scoffed,
throwing another soldier to his grave. He then curiously glanced in the route Ozzie had told him to. There stood a boy about the same age as
himself, maybe a bit older. He was
easily slaying every mystic that came too near him. His demeanor and skill displayed the confidence he and his
comrades had in his fighting ability. "How curious," Janus mused, proceeding toward the knight as if by an
invisible force. "With that knight
attacking the way he is," Janus contemplated, "We might not win this war!"
"Wait!"
Ozzie cried, breaking the youth's trance, "What are you doing boy?"
"Nothing,"
Janus assured him, "I'll only be a minute." He then sprung into the air and began gliding quickly toward his prey,
ignoring the helpless pleas of his deserted commander. "I have to fight him," Janus thought,
beginning to form a dark matter ball as he proceeded, "I have to test myself
against him." Once in range, he shot
the black orb straight toward the unsuspecting soldier.
Nimbly,
his victim turned just in time to see the blast make contact with his
chest. His eyes began nervously searching
his body as the dark energy began slowly engulfing him. "Gotcha!" Janus snickered, watching as his opponent hurriedly tried to save
himself. When the knight had been
fully consumed, the energy ball exploded into an array of colors. The knight fell to his knees, a look of
surprise and overwhelm pasted to his now bloodied face.
Janus
inched closer to his enemy, waiting to see if he would fall. With a soft grunt, the youth placed his
hands down to support his weight, gasping for air as if he had been suffocated. Again, Janus edged up to his adversary,
carefully studying him.
* * *
After
a moment, the young knight noticed a silhouette of someone standing next to
him. Curious, his glanced up to see who
it was. The knight glaring back was
about as young as him, his skin as pale as the white beach sands and his eyes
as red as blood. He was definitely a
mystic and probably the one that shot that strange blast at him. But how was it possible for anyone,
especially someone so young, to use such powerful magic. He swallowed hard; this was going to be a
tough battle. Then, with the last of
his energy, he jumped up to attack his waiting challenger.
* * *
Janus
sprung back as the knight's blade swung tightly across his chest. A haughty grin formed on the side of his
lips as he struck back with his own weapon, forcing the contender to step
back. The young knight again lunged at
Janus. "He's stronger than he looks,"
The boy mused, throwing another thrust at his opponent, "I used one of my most
damaging attacks at him."
Again,
the human soldier sliced at him, catching a small portion of his shoulder. "Why you!" He growled, rapidly springing back into the air. He began bombarding the human aggressively,
not giving him a moments rest. "This
human will not beat me," He muttered through clenched teeth. Janus continued his pursuit, backing the
human farther and farther past the battlefield and into the forest.
Gradually,
he wore the boy down until he could no longer lift his own weapon. Grinning broadly, he lunged at his
competitor one last time, slicing a deep gash in the soldier's left arm with
such force that the overwhelmed boy fell to the ground. "Now to finish you," Janus mused, again
forming a dark energy mass in his hand.
The
defeated foe slowly rose up to a crouching position, his eye's glazed over and
his breathes short and stagnant. Janus
smiled viciously, he had beaten a very strong adversary, Ozzie would be
pleased. An arrow whizzed passed boy as
he sat in thought, compelling him to turn around and see what was going
on. The clashing troops were moving
into the woods themselves, bringing the battle back to him.
A
rustle came from his enemy's location, alerting him that his opponent was
up. He quickly snapped his head around
to see a swift shine flash by his face. The crack of armor was heard just as Janus felt the sting of cold steel
sweep across his abdomen. The boy's
eyes grew wide in astonishment while the cold numbness of his body began
swelling into a warm tingling sensation. The youth targeted the offender, rage filling every inch of him. "You'll pay for that!" He cried, immediately throwing the dark orb
he clenched at his rival.
The
human boy hurriedly tried to escape the oncoming blast, but was
unsuccessful. The blast struck his hip
and again he fell to the ground, this time motionless.
"Huh!"
the victor scoffed, strutting up to the lifeless body. "Vagabond!" He kicked the knight angrily. The youth didn't move, a good sign he was dead.
Then
Janus turned away, ready to head back to his commander. As he did, a small cough forced its way up
the boy's throat. He covered his mouth,
catching a liquid along with it. Confusion ran through his mind as he glanced down at his open palm.
"Blood!" Janus's heart began to race, "Where did
blood come from?" He forced another
cough into his opposite hand, confirming his fears; it was his own
blood. He thought for a moment, perhaps
when the knight had caught him off guard. "You are such a fool!" The boy
screamed into the desolate forest before him, "You know better than to turn
your back on an enemy! How could you
have been so stupid?!" His frustrations
continued to pour out as he searched his frame for a wound of some kind.
"How
did I not notice this!" He again spat,
after he had found the gape. There,
running from his right rib to the left side of his stomach was a long rip
through his armor. He turned to check
if the battalions were headed any closer, then pulled off his chest armor to
inspect the cut. Upon laying eyes on the
injury he gasped, suddenly nervous. It
was beginning to bleed and from the looks of it, it was deep.
The
boy placed a hand against the gash, checking the severity of the wound. Then, he hesitantly pressed against the
wound, trying to limit the flow of blood a bit. An unimaginable pain shot across his belly, spreading out into
the rest of his body as well. He
released the pressure, trying to dull the pain that was tearing through
him. But even then it pounded through,
causing him to sit. "I…I can't…" He
murmured, his vision growing blurry. "Can't…pass out…" The pain continued to increase, causing his mind to
become more and more fuzzy. The boy
then began staring at the wound, trying to keep a focus on it so that he would
stay awake. The bleeding was more
profuse now and it seemed a brighter crimson. He swallowed hard, the pain and blood loss were getting harder to
bear. "They…are…coming…" He
contemplated, dropping his head to the forest floor, "Ozzie…Ozzie will find
me."
Again
he swallowed, his parched throat sticking together, "Please…please don't
let…me…d…"His mind couldn't handle the pain anymore, and before he could finish
speaking he had passed out, not even sure if he would revive again.