::Chapter Five::
John blinked as the terrible wreckage of human lives he had just witnessed vanished, and his heart slowed as he reminded himself again that Moram's illusion had been meant only to illustrate the powers he was supposed to be meddling in.
They were back in the study, and the sun had long since set behind the distant mountains. The doors to the cavernous window had shut, and Moram stood at his side, obviously fatigued by the feat she had just accomplished.
What you witnessed was not a trick of the light, as the Phantom Tribe plays with. That was a trick of the spirit, which is why you not only saw but felt how terrible the disaster of the Holy Wars was. That battle, while famous in our lore, was but a small sample of the waste those Wars wrought upon our lands.
The Mother turned to him with weary eyes, and John could sense that she was not just looking at him, she was looking into him, and a part of him wanted to shrink from her gaze. But his stronger half kept him rooted, and he endured her scrutiny, no longer than a few seconds, before she spoke again.
I can see your spirit, John, she repeated to him, and I know that were you to gain these powers I have shown you, you would use them only for good. But I can only read your heart; I cannot tell you the course of action you should take. I offer now to oversee your training in the ways of the ancient arts, if that is what you seek.
he replied weakly. The seriousness of what she proposed hung on him, as the little he had learned of their world began to seem like a puddle next to the ocean of history he would be dealing with.
I've only been here for a few days, a week at most, he managed finally, and from what I've learned you guys have a really great world here. But why are you offering this to me so soon? Aren't there others here who have trained harder, would be more worthy? I'm not trying to say no, but I have to wonder, if there are others that have this same ability, then why me?
Moram began to walk back to her chair, and she said The location of this Temple Home is well known to even our worst enemies, and in all our history no one has dared attack it but once. Their attempt was, shall we say, unsuccessful. As she sat John thought he could see the tiniest glimpse of amusement in her eyes, but she continued before he could inquire into it.
But we cannot keep you here forever. Especially since the knowledge of how you came here, and the accident on the Royal grounds with poor Qawoor's lamp, will be spread across the lands by the next sunrise. With the help of young Nanami, your friend from Earth, you may be safe outside these walls, if we can teach you enough to allow your training outside them.
Johns face was confused. What does Nanami have to do with it? he asked her.
Our greatest fear, contrary to the official belief of the Royal Army, is not that the Bugrom will rise again. We will be able to deal with them well enough when the time comes, if it comes at all. Our fears are based on a threat far more, illusory.
The Phantom Tribe. We still have no idea where they are hiding at present, and if they should ever ally with a more powerful foe their combined strength could be enough to break even our resolve. The Tribe hates all of Roshtaria with a deep, racial passion that cannot be abated, and it is their interference that I worry could endanger you.
John said matter-of-factly, you want me to stay with Nanami so that they won't be able to steal me away in the night.
she confirmed, we feel that once you begin training outside the Temple, it would be wise of you to stay with her at all times so as to negate their abilities. Because when they find out that a man outside of Temple is using the Lamps that they have sought control of for a generation, they will do anything in their power to aquire' you.
Moram sighed deeply. We cannot prevent them from learning of you, my dear boy, and this is the best way that I can see to make sure that their ambitions do not pay off.
John nodded reluctantly. No one would catch him complaining about being forced to be at Nanami's side day and night for the foreseeable future, but he still felt woefully unprepared for what was about to happen.
But at the same time he could not refute the assertion that through no fault of his own, his life was now seriously in danger. And if there was one thing he had never learned, it was how to say no' to someone when they were in need. Even if it was himself.
Allright, I'll do it.
****
The wraith named Kiro, the fastest and most lethal messenger that the Phantom Tribe had ever trained, moved through the trees with frightening speed. Wraiths were taught to be invisible, silent, and absolutely deadly when necessary, but of all those who were skilled it was Kiro who had been selected to deliver this, perhaps the most important single message in the memory of the Tribe.
The Council's response had not been swift, but it had been decisive. The Tribe could not continue to hide from their true enemies; either they must be eliminated, or they would die out themselves. Even if this meant dealing with the corrupt and disgusting Bugrom Empire', a thought that was still hard for many of his people to swallow.
But the deed was done, Kiro had been sent on his way, and by long tradition the message a wraith carried could not be retracted once he left to deliver it.
Finding the Bugrom had been the easy part; that incompetent leader' Jinnai and his bitch queen hadn't bothered to hide their tunnel network very well, and while the Tribe had no doubt that the Roshtarians would never be able to follow them, it had been easy enough to hide amongst the ever-mounting traffic through those tunnels and follow them until they found the hive base.
Despite their assumptions about the reproductive limitations having only one queen would place upon them, the Tribe had been astonished at the progress they had made in rebuilding their ranks. While the Council had doubted very seriously that the Bugrom would risk destroying them in an all-out operation, since that would clearly alert the Roshtarians to prepare for an attack on themselves, they had worded their proposal so as to very carefully placate the mad ruler who drove them. The level of pandering in their words had turned Kiro's stomach; since their message could never be given the chance to fall into enemy hands, a wraith always memorized it exactly so that there would be no hard copy to find. But if it brought them closer to their ultimate goal, then almost any amount of bowing was acceptable.
The moonlight caught a faint cloud against the clear starlit sky, and there was no sound nor sight at all to warn the Bugrom of what approached.
****
Katsuhiko stood up abruptly from his new throne, spilling the mug of tea at his elbow.
Aaaaarrrgh, I KNEW IT! That dastardly Mizuhara has done it again! He's going off to find some new and hideous evil power to use against me OH! this is Terrible!
Diva watched as he paced back and forth, willing to wait out the storm that blew through their shared command area with increasing frequency. It seemed that the closer they got to their planned activation point, the more nervous Jinnai became. It was the exact opposite of his earlier unflappable self-confidence, and Diva worried that the, change, in their relationship had something to do with it.
It had been awkward at first. She could admit that easily now, since there was so much else to concentrate on with the preparations for Jinnai's Operation: Run Silent, Run Deep. What he had proposed initially when they were preparing to bring about the new Bugrom Empire had been highly disturbing at first. To Diva, who had been responsible for the last generation of her empire, the idea of Bugrom warriors was a personal affront, and seemed a terrible waste of resources considering that they were building up from bedrock.
But Jinnai had found a way to make the tradeoff worthwhile. Each Bugrom warrior required an enormous amount of energy to function, which they were provided through the sugar-sweet dried epoxy that formed in place of their basic hive structure. But if you halved their size, you could produce two for the price of one, in a word, and actually reduce total required logistical overhead while doubling the amount of covering and raiding forces you had at your disposal. And based on the ease with which their warriors had defeated the puny Roshtarian troops the first time around, the new Bugrom should be able to take them on again, no matter how well they thought they were doing with their new
The original idea had come out of Jinnai and Groucho's time spent in Cretaria; strength in numbers. And while he had described his own experience with the alternate world's Diva as being anything but pleasant, she had to admit that he had certainly come back to them motivated.
But his infamous temper had taken hold now as their scouts had reported seeing his old schoolmate Makoto traveling with the three Muldoon Priestesses towards some kind of holy place. There was only reason that Makoto even existed, in Jinnai's opinion, and that was to foil every evil scheme he came up with. Diva had never fully understood their rivalry, if indeed one existed on the other end, and the reasons for his singular obsession with tracking this poor boy's every move were still a mystery.
Diva realized that he was still ranting, and she interrupted him sternly.
Mr. Jinnai - they had long ago agreed to refer to each other by their old honorific names in public - what has you so upset? Surely a little side trip into the mountains is nothing to be concerned about?
Jinnai stopped himself short, then cleared his throat. Normally I would agree with you Diva, but wherever those foul harpys go, there's something of incredible power that they're either sealing or unsealing or using against us in some hideous way! And that weird American kid who somehow has similar powers; no, they're up to something, I just know it.
He began to pace back and forth again in front of their shared throne, and he continued speaking absentmindedly. I know Mizuhara's been working on gaining control of the Eye of God in order to get Ifurita back, and I know he was responsible for bringing that stranger from earth. But what's the connection? Why didn't he bring Ifurita back instead? Unless... oh yeah! Makoto knows he can't best me in military strategy, so he brought someone back who he thinks can!
But, Mr. Jinnai, you've said yourself that the forces of Roshtaria cannot possibly know where we are. As long as our warriors remain hidden we have nothing to fear.
He stopped his pacing abruptly, and gulped in that strange high-pitched tone only he could manage, then continued more humbly, Yes, well, you can never be too careful. Whether they know of us or not, it never hurts to gain as much knowledge of the enemy's positions as you can.
He looked up, and there was a dangerous light in his eyes.
he said, no matter what kind of preparations they've made, they'll never expect what I've got planned for them.
And then he laughed.
****
Two empty bottles now lay on the table between them, and the three men sitting around it laughed in unison as one of them tipped over, seemingly by itself.
Mr. Fujisawa, Makoto and John had become fast friends over the past week and a half. Whether this was because of their shared experience of being superhuman in a totally new world, or if they just had enough in common to make bonding easy given time, or the copious amount of booze they'd just consumed, it hardly mattered. Despite everything that was going on around them, at this time, in this place, they were nothing more than three good buddies sharing the night.
Now John tipped over and fell on his back to imitate the bottle, and this awoke fresh bursts of laughter from each of them. Makoto leaned over to help him up, but lost his own balance and collapsed in a heap next to John, and it was two minutes before either of them could stop laughing enough to get back up.
Whoop, you guys both fell over! exclaimed Fujisawa as he took another swig. Be careful around here, you don't know what people might think of us. He he he ha ha.
Makoto sighed as he rested his head on the table and looked at him. Sensei, do you think we'll ever get home?
This seemingly simple question had a profound effect on the teacher. He stopped in mid-sip, and set the bottle back down on the table.
Yeah, aren't you like, married, or something? John asked, and made a random gesture above his head to indicate that Fujisawa should have thought of this already.
Fujisawa nodded reluctantly, Yeah, Miz is great and all, I just don't know what'd happen to us if we went back. I mean, I'm not Superman over there, you know? What if she comes back and meets someone else?
While his words were slurred, the worry and pain behind them was real, and Makoto tried to reassure him as best he could.
Oh, come on, sensei. She'll always think you're a super hero. Besides, you've got a kid now, too. Shouldn't Mika be enough to make you happy?
The issue of what the trio from Shinonome (it was always assumed that Jinnai would remain with the Bugrom, on the grounds that no university would accept an application for entry that listed Leader of the Roshtarian Invasion Forces under extracurricular activities) would do if they got back had been growing rapidly thornier, because every day they spent in El Hazard was one they didn't spend on Earth. If they came back after all that time, and tried to get away with the alternate dimension story as the reason for their sudden disappearances, they'd be locked away for sure. But they had to have a story, and while several had been proposed, it was also getting harder and harder to believe that they would ever make it back.
The problem was compounded when Mr. Fujisawa not only married, but produced a child and earned a job at the highest center of learning in all Roshtaria. How could he say that there was a better reason to live on earth, with all that he had built here for himself?
All these questions and more had weighed heavily on Masamichi's mind this past year, but he'd been able to hide it from his friends behind his roguish personality. In truth he couldn't say that his bachelor lifestyle held any more merit, and he did love Miz deeply. Just why that was he could never say, but every time he looked into his wife's eyes the whirlwind of life around him died, and everything fit neatly into place. So what if the woman of his dreams didn't even come from the same dimension? He'd found a happiness that he knew he could never get from his teaching, and every time he thought of returning to Earth without Miz he felt a hollowness inside, as though he knew he would never be complete again without her.
But he told Makoto and John none of this, and as he endured their scrutiny he felt an instant annoyance at them for being so curious.
Oh, what business is it of yours, anyway? You know I'd never leave them behind! How dare you suggest such a thing?
But sensei, replied a half-stunned and half-drunk Makoto, I never said anything of the sort. All I asked was if you were happy.
'Course I am! Why wouldn't I be? I've got as much right as anyone else to a normal life, if there's even such a thing in this crazy world. Besides, you've got all kindsa issues with the girls, dontcha?
Makoto looked confused. Whaddaya mean, the girls'?
John put his arm around his friends shoulder and sighed, Oh Makoto, Makoto, what ever shall we do with you? You mean to tell me that you really don't notice?
It was Makoto's turn to act with false indignity. You know, I don't think they've ever actually said a word to me. Except Nanami, she's hinted a few times that people must think we're a couple.
But they know who you're really after, Fujisawa interrupted, don't they, Makoto?
His cheeks heated, and then he hung his head and turned to John, You know what? I'm really, really really sorry for what happened. Really sorry. I just, I wanted so bad to get her back, and I thought I knew what was goin' on, but I just couldn't do it, and now you're here and you've got no life and...
John interrupted him this time, Stop, stop it. I mean that. He took a final swig from his glass and reeled a bit before going on. All of them were well past drunk, and their words were beginning to slur more and more. I've already said that's allright, I don't blame you for it, and at least I've still got my car with me. That, I think, is important. And, I think, I'm not going back to school ever again!
At this a huge grin crossed his face, and he began to giggle, and the other two men joined him. Their laughter carried out of the windows of the tavern and into the empty streets of the town they stayed in, an no one guessed the pain it hid.
****
Shayla and Qawoor sighed in unison when they stepped into the tiny sleeping quarters. The windows had been closed and shuttered, and only a few sunbeams broke through to illuminate the mess. There were at least five empty bottles lying around that were visible, and offhand Shayla guessed that three of them belonged to Fujisawa alone. There were probably more hiding underneath the sheets and dirty clothes that were strewn about the room, and she set to wading through them.
Geeze, would ya look at this? she remarked to her blue-haired companion, looks like the boys really let loose last night. She managed this time to hide her resentment that they (or more specifically, Makoto) hadn't invited her along. Again.
Qawoor took a hesitant step into the mess and looked around. Miss Shayla? Are you even sure they're in here? I can't see them.
Shayla stood and looked around the room, and her eyes picked out a pile of towels that was moving up and down gently with suspicious regularity. Slowly she moved to the shuttered window and removed them, and then yanked the towels off the breathing mass suddenly.
Rise and shine, Makoto! Come on, you'll sleep the whole day away!
replied John from beneath a bright floral pattern. What the, ow! He threw his hands up over his face to block out the sunlight, then moved them to his temples and began to massage them brutally.
Oh, it's you, Shayla stuttered, I didn't mean, I, uh, well...
Qawoor stepped in before John's addled brain could cope with any of this. John? Where are Mr. Fujisawa and master Makoto? Are they in here somewhere too?
John's eyes moved with slowly dawning comprehension from Shayla's face to Qawoor's. So that was why he felt utterly wretched; he'd woken up. He groaned to himself and tried to stand up, but a pile of pillows and towels was pinning him down. What were all those doing here? He looked around the room and realized that they must have taken every spare piece of cloth in the entire inn. But why? What could possibly have possessed them to scrounge up clean cloth diapers and handkerchiefs and comforters that way? And why was there a small pile of crushed exotic fruit rotting away in the corner?
Then it came back to him.
I think we were just trying to get comfortable, he said slowly, as though unsure of his own words. The beds, you see, had lumps in them.
Qawoor quirked her eyebrows at his explanation, and Shayla did all she could to not burst into laughter. He probably didn't even realize how ridiculous it sounded.
Um, yeah, she said behind a chuckle, well, what about the other guys? Makoto? Mr. Fujisawa?
Qawoor went over to the second window to open it, but she couldn't get the shutters open. She tugged at it for a bit, but it was as if there were something incredibly heavy tied to the handles on the outside.
Miss Shayla, can you help me get this window open?
Shayla walked over to the window, and they both heaved backwards on the window. They parted slightly, and Shayla heard what sounded like an incredibly loud snore come in from the outside between the shutters, but then the weight pulled back on them and they both fell forewords into the window sill.
I don't believe it, Shayla said to herself, John, is that Mr. Fujisawa hanging outside the window in a sheet?
Makoto rose suddenly from behind them. He stretched out silently, then hiccuped, and both girls jumped and turned around to face him.
Master Makoto, what are you doing underneath those bed sheets? Qawoor asked. We came up here to wake you. It's almost midday now, they're waiting at the temple for you.
added Shayla, you guys are in serious trouble. Afura's furious; she's been ready for hours. She's waiting downstairs for John to wake up.
he said at length. Oh good morning Shayla, Qawoor. What time did you say it was?
Shayla replied furiously, Well past the time you should've been up! Ah well, I knew you guys couldn't hold your liquor. Afura should've known better than to trust you to be on time. She folded her arms together and turned around, and Makoto looked at her wearily.
Oh give us a break, would you Shayla? It's not like we meant to be late. Why do you always have to be so pushy?
His words were slurred and slow to come out, but as soon as he'd finished speaking Shayla had him up by the collar of his shirt.
I am NOT pushy! she yelled. You take that back!
Makoto obviously couldn't yet form the words he needed, so all he could do was flail about and groan a bit as hands like iron clamps held him immobile. But before Shayla could speak again, something hideous climbed through the window and fell into the room.
sighed Mr. Fujisawa as he stood up in front of Qawoor, Nothing like a good nights' sleep out in the cool mountain air! Yeah, I feel great!
Qawoor said, Um, but Mr. Fujisawa, we're not in the mountains.
He ignored her statement, and began to look around the room he had slept just outside of. He finished his slow sweep, and then looked to Makoto, and asked him, Ah, just what did we do last night?
John answered from the corner, I think Qawoor said something about being comfortable? Mpf mm hm mm-mmmpfmph hundred towels. His words were muffled through the sleeve of the shirt he was putting on.
Fujisawa grinned. Oh. Well guys, I guess that sake was a bit harder on you than I expected. Let's get all this cleaned up, come on now, look alive! Oh, and Shayla-Shayla?
She looked over at him through narrowed eyes, and raised an eyebrow in question.
Put Makoto down so he can help, would ya?
The three friends stepped out of the saloon-style doors lockstep into the daylight, and two surly priestesses followed them out. Mr. Fujisawa, John, and Makoto paused at the steps that led down to the cobblestone streets, and took a deep full breath in unison, as though returning the everyday life they'd tried to escape to themselves.
It had taken a while to sort out who all the linens belonged to, almost an hour and a half since Qawoor and Shayla had gone to wake them. In that time, Afura had absolutely refused to move; when they came out she would be standing there, arms folded and face a mask for her disappointment, ready to kick and cajole her new charge into flying the straight and narrow.
And wasn't quite the misnomer it might have been, for in her infinite wisdom, Mother Moram had decided that the ideal trainer for John would be Afura herself, and to that end a special Lamp had been designed just for him. It was a bracer in the traditional style, like Afura's or Shayla's, but instead of just one gem it had six. The one at it's center was a white semi-translucent quartz, unlike anything that the other priestesses wore. Arranged around it were five much smaller gems, each a different color.
The obvious ones were Ruby for fire, Sapphire for water, and Diamond for wind. The other two were Amber and Emerald, used for manipulating light and earth, respectively. While the size of each gem did not necessarily indicate the power it represented, these smaller ones were imbued with a lesser spiritual energy than the normal lamp's.
The gem in the center was something entirely new, however. It had been determined that John's gift was more than just the simple ability to use the lamps that the more common (but still vanishingly rare) Priestesses had. Not only could he control it, he could augment it through some natural spiritual harmony that no one yet understood. For now it was accepted as the side effect of his trip through the dimensional portal, but if it had existed before his journey...
That was also the reason for the smaller gems. To keep his powers from becoming too great, the Seminary had reasoned that he would need only a fraction of what was normally provided a priestess when she first accepted her duties. But through the quartz at the center of his lamp, John had in theory the ability to use all of the elemental energies he had been provided, and to combine them with those of another Priestess.
Of course, this was nothing short of astounding and totally without precedent. And if it had been anyone else, the Seminary would have laughed them out of this dimension all together at the proposal that he be given such monumental power. But, for reasons only she understood, Mother Moram had been adamant that John be trusted totally. She had seen' him, she said, and apparently that was enough. The boy from earth had the potential to become the most singularly powerful magic user of the current generation, and if Moram's other suspicions were correct, his powers would be needed soon enough.
But that would never be true if he couldn't even be taught to wake up on time. This was the first day of their training together, potentially the most important one of all, and Afura allowed herself to be furious when he finally showed up, hung over and dirty from drinking last night away.
Well, it's about time. She tried, but couldn't quite keep the petulance out of her voice. Do you know how long I've been waiting out here for you?
John's thoughts were somewhere else entirely, and when he didn't respond right away Shayla jabbed him hard in the middle of his back.
he cried out, Watch it! My head still feels like it got ran over.
Well, you should have thought of that before you sent yourself down the hatch! Afura replied. Then she looked to Fujisawa, And you, I suppose you're responsible? What kind of role model are you really going to make at the Royal Academy when your students find you one day in your office passed out over a bottle?
Oh, that could never happen, he replied, a little too cheerfully for Afura's taste.
Oh no? she asked him coldly.
No, it would take way more than just one bottle to knock me out! He began to laugh noisily, and Makoto and John joined in, almost doubling over in front of her.
Both Shayla and Qawoor began to back away instinctively, and as Afura began to laugh with them they both ran off around to the other side of the tavern. They knew that laugh, and it wasn't a happy one.
After a few good seconds the boys stood back up, but then Fujisawa noticed that Afura had been laughing with them.
Uh oh, he said.
Afura's voice was carried on the wind, amplified off every surface in the area, which produced a rather stunning stereo effect that would have been quite lovely, had it been amplifying something less totally threatening. How dare you insult a Priestess of Mount Muldoon to her face? This sort of behavior will NOT be tolerated!
As she finished the winds began to pick up, and soon they were swirling around Makoto and Fujisawa, and as though they were caught in a giant's grasp, they both were lifted off the ground up above the rooftops, and carried away towards the plains in the opposite direction of the Temple Home.
Through the torrent John cried out, Hey! What'd you do that for? It wasn't their fault! but he could barely be heard.
They will have quite a day's journey on their hands for this incident, said Afura in that same stereophonic effect, and you will too. You will come to the Temple to receive your lamp, and I advise you to move quickly. You've already wasted enough time.
With that she took off towards the mountains, and John called after her, What, you mean I have to walk all the way there? but she couldn't hear him at all.
****
No no no NO! Don't put that there! Oh, am I going to have to show you imbeciles how to do EVERYTHING around here?
Jinnai whacked Harpo over the head with a rock, and Harpo humored his master by rubbing the area like it hurt. Intellectually, Jinnai knew that he had no hope of damaging his soldier's biometallic armor with his puny strength, but it felt good to release a bit of tension.
They were installing the secondary command center that he would eventually control their first offensive from, deep behind enemy lines but totally hidden from them. Despite the Bugrom's ability to move messages over land with incredible speed, he had felt that the kind of coordination this first strike would require could be better accomplished if he were closer to the action. But he would take no chances with his own security, and the stronghold they were building was totally impenetrable. Not only were there guard posts hidden throughout the tunnels connected to it, there were at least a hundred of Chico's Warlord bugs holed up in here permanently. Add to that the delicate net of sensory antennae he had placed in a two-mile radius around the base and extensive sentries posted at every entrance, and not even he could have found a way to get through it.
Which was why Kiro's materialization in the middle of the room came as a total shock.
Their super-sensitive organs noticed him before he became completely solid, but the guards could do nothing to stop him from making it to Jinnai and placing a very evil-looking blade at his throat.
Call them off, Kiro whispered into Jinnai's ear, and the bare steel in his voice froze Jinnai solid.
The soldiers continued to advance slowly, and the blade dug in ever so slightly. Jinnai felt the blood trickle down his neck and yelled out in panic, STOP! Stop, you imbeciles! He's going to kill me! STOP!
The Bugrom were still and silent as statues, and they watched Kiro whisper into their master's ear. Every one of them could hear him, of course, for no matter how low he pitched his voice, if there was the slightest vibration in his vocal cords they were capable of picking it up. Which was what made his infiltration so incredible.
I am not here to kill you, but you must tell them not to harm me in any way. Do not doubt that I can dispatch you any time I please.
Jinnai gulped, frozen in terror, but some elemental part of him was able to respond, and he heard his voice (which didn't sound particularly leader-like at this moment) say, don't harm him! Let him be! Ghaaaaak!
Kiro tightened his grip for just a second to drive the point home, then slipped the knife back into his sleeve and stepped back. All it would take was one wrong move, and...
He waited, but apparently the Bugrom were obeying their , so he closed his eyes for a second, and began to recite the message he had been tasked to deliver.
I bring words from the mouths of my elders, from the Great Council of the Phantom Tribe, for the unquestioned leader of the Bugrom armies. The vile Kingdom of Roshtaria has overseen our oppression for generations, and have murdered thousands of Bugrom soldiers to maintain their corrupt rule. While the Tribe does not wish to compare our struggle to the violent tragedy that nearly wiped out your empire, we do at least share a common enemy. Therefore, the Tribe believes that the time has come to put aside any past differences, and form an alliance, one whose might will be unchallenged and will crush the Roshtarian government and all it's peoples into dust.
Jinnai stood still for a moment, pondering, then addressed Kiro in the tone he normally used for scolding his troops, And just what makes you think that my armies need an alliance with you freaks? My soldiers don't need your help to crush the puny Roshtarian army'! What an insult!
That's foolish, replied Kiro in a perfectly respectful tone, if your ranks can be broken through once, what's to say it can't be done again? Besides, we have information on your clumsy attempts to dismantle the Trigger of Destruction's weaponry. I can tell you now that you have no chance to succeed.
Jinnai clenched his fist and yelled back, More insults? Is this how you gained the trust of the Roshtarian people? No wonder you were cast out of society, you're totally without tact! With or without your help I will be the ultimate ruler of El Hazard, and then what's prevent me from crushing you in turn?
What's to prevent me from killing you where you stand?
Jinnai gulped, and after a second his response was more measured. You've made your point, but you still haven't answered my question. Why should I ally myself with you people if I can conquer my enemies without your help?
Kiro stared back at him with well-concealed contempt. It was a wonder this idiot had risen as far as he had without his own troops killing him off! Because if that boy Mizuhara gets Ifurita back, or gets the Eye of God working again, no matter what nifty surprises you've got planned for them they will wipe you out entirely this time.
The mention of his ancient enemy caused Jinnai to steam slightly despite the chill breeze that blew through his tunnel network, but before he could say anything more, Kiro continued.
Do you know just how big the Roshtarian Army is?
Well, our information is a tad less detailed than I would like it to be, Jinnai admitted, making a point to glance in the direction of a handy scoutbug. The bug stepped backwards and cowered behind a Harpo-warrior, and he looked back to Kiro.
What would you say if I told you that they have already recruited over 80,000 soldiers, and are gaining more at the rate of a hundred every week? Kiro said.
Jinnai's jaw dropped despite himself. That was over five times the size of their original guard! And if it really was expanding at the rate Kiro had suggested... but then he recovered and replied smugly, So what? My first offensive will take them totally by surprise, and that will be enough to even the odds.
And if Ifurita should appear before your troops? Would you seriously send them into battle against her power?
said Jinnai, while I hate to admit it you've got a point there. But what can you do against her? As I recall you couldn't even stop Mizuhara from killing your king.
Kiro bowed his head and acknowledged the hit. Perhaps nothing now. But if our scientists could discover the secrets of the Eye of God with the limited access we had, imagine what we could learn from the Trigger if we had it in our possession.
Jinnai laughed out loud. HA! Do you really expect me to hand over the most powerful weapon ever built just so you could use it against me? How foolish do you think I am?
Kiro chose not to answer the second question; it just wouldn't do for the messenger to kill the intended recipient, no matter how much he may have deserved it. So he answered the first one instead. Of course we don't expect you to give it to us. But arrangements could be made to allow us to study it while it is in your care.
A thoughtful expression crossed the face of the student-cum-megalomaniacle ruler, and he said to himself, I suppose we could keep the labs guarded heavily enough to make sure that nothing got out. And that kind of weaponry fully at our disposal would be nice to have as a backup. Humph. Addressing Kiro again, he said, allright, I'll consider your proposal carefully. Of course, I'll have to consult Diva about this, but I suspect that Makoto Mizuhara is about to get a very nasty surprise. Waaahh ha ha ha ha ha ha wah ha ha ha ha!