Part 11
…
The war cries filled the air like a grim, agonizingly irritating symphony. It was the blades of the Knights of Motoko colliding with the brute force of the Rent-A-Orc army in the battlefield that was the KFH border territories. Edwards and Mint, oddly enough, were not on the front line or anywhere near the battle. It didn't look like the well-trained, honor-bound Knights had a stable commander at the time but they were winning. The skirmish with the ENE a few weeks before left the KFH army and defenses battered, weak and barely even able to fight off a squadron, let alone an army. Eijentu stood on a small hilltop, her two handguns firing rapidly, Forte's missile launcher adding support fire. They knew they were losing.
"Damn Knights pop out like crabgrass." Eijentu commented with frustration. "Shoot one down, ten more pop up. It's like fighting a damn zombie army."
"Do we retreat?" Forte asked as she fired another round of missiles gleefully.
"No. We can't afford a retreat right now." She grunted. "We have to hold them here for a few days, long enough for the civilians and Boss Kitsune to evacuate."
"Then we're going to die in battle."
"Not likely. We're of high rank; the KoM will most likely prefer taking us alive." Eijentu sighed as she reloaded. "They'll probably pull out the old 'decadence is evil, join us' sales pitch in an effort to get some information from us. We have to make them swear they won't kill us."
"And why is that?"
"Because, as Knights, they can't break promises. That's why."
"So, we get them to do that and they won't execute us?"
"I guess."
"You guess? That's not exactly the reassuring speech I came to expect."
"Well, you'll have to live with it." Eijentu smiled at Forte. "Now keep firing!"
…
"Cry, scream and then…DIE!" Naru had gone mad by now. She had made Leon make a less than willing exit from the Death Roach's cockpit and sent him back to Imperial territory. She wanted to control the carnage herself. "This is fun!"
"Empress, if I may ask, why invade the SASA? Aside from that single attack, they never really did anything to you." Kebinu asked from his marble slab prison.
"I'm just being sadistic."
"I wonder if it's not too late to switch sides."
"What the Hell is that?!" Naru's jaw dropped as she saw the SASA's ultimate weapon, the Tama-zilla. "Is that what I think it is?"
"It's a gigantic, mechanical, bipedal turtle." Kebinu sighed. "Why am I not surprised?"
"We'll its no match for my Death Roach!" Naru pressed a button on the control panel, causing the monstrous mechanical bug to rise up, using two pairs of legs for balance. "Attack!"
As the two mechanical monstrosities charged at one another, the Tama-zilla's claws and the Death Roach's own appendages collided, the sounds of screeching and scratching metal filled the air. Naru was no less than trigger-happy with the Death Roach's near infinite amount of explosive ordinance, firing countless continuous barrages of missiles at the Tama-zilla. To counter, the gigantic mechanical turtle blasted the Death Roach with a blast of energy from it's mouth, destroying one of the antenna blades. Naru persisted though, charging the giant turtle with the Death Roach's power, knocking it down to destroy half of the city. A tail swipe of the Tama-zilla knocked down the Death Roach, decimating the other half of the city.
"This is insane." Kebinu nervously thought. "I knew I should have joined the KoM…"
"Shut up back there!" Naru scolded her marble slab. "I hate back-seat drivers."
…
"Are you absolutely sure about that?" Talon asked the wounded Shiara. The healers among the neutral forces were significantly less effective than the SASA clerics but they did their job well.
"Yes. He has the Book of Shadows and he's probably on his way to the Cathedral for the Necronomicon right now." She answered. "Someone has to stop him, to warn everyone…"
"Wait a minute…" Silver thought as Talon paced around his stronghold's medical bay, hands about ready to pull out his hair. "Andrew isn't it…"
"Isn't it impossible for him to contain that kind of power? Yes, it is." Talon concurred. "The only physical form capable of surviving with such power would be…divinity."
"Then if he knows what those two are meant to do, he knows he can't take the power as his own."
"That's true but…it is possible to…" Talon raised his head and immediately made a dash for his office with Silver in tow. "We have to contact the others!"
"What in the world for Andrew?! Those idiots will never agree on anything!"
"They will when they find out about this!"
…
The roaring of the eight Dragons outside of the Knights of Motoko's main stronghold echoed through the air. Most everything around was charred by their flames or clawed apart by the massive, reptilian engines of destruction. Kana took in the carnage more so than Kanako, who stood watching the flames burn. The Dragons would make short work of anything short of divinity thrown in their path; the horde of undead that followed would simply eliminate any survivors that resisted. Without hesitation, they entered the innermost sanctum of the KoM stronghold, where a few vampire lieutenants awaited them. It puzzled both Kana and Kanako though, that Motoko chose not to fight but instead, to wait for them to come.
"Is it just me or is the Cathedral the ONLY faction headquarters that doesn't attempt to imitate a part of the Imperial Palace, Hinata Sou, somehow?" Kanako asked as she looked up and around the interior of the KoM's main fortress. "This place is modeled like a much, much larger version of one of the rooms."
"Where are the prisoners?" Kana asked one of is minions.
"You are a cowardly, vindictive, demented snake! You minion of evil! A sneak attack! You have no honor!" Edwards berated him. "Let me go and I'll finish you off man to man!"
"I like his personality." Kanako smiled oddly. "Let him live."
"That was my intention." Kana snickered. "The dishonor of defeat is torment enough. Isn't that right, Mint?"
"Yes, your darkness." Mint bowed before her dark master, who was smiling victoriously.
"You betrayed us?!"
"Wrong, Edwards-san. I never betrayed you because I never really served the KoM, or Talon. I was planted among the mercenary ranks from the beginning as a spy." Mint smiled before turning to Kana. "May I have him as my personal slave, your darkness?"
"Do with him what you will." Kana smiled as he moved forward. He entered into the small meditation chamber in the back of the stronghold, Kanako walking beside him. There, he found Motoko in a meditative stance, sipping tea. He bowed as a sign of respect before entering. "I am curious about something, Motoko."
"It is coming." Motoko answered as she stood up. "The evil is coming."
"Impossible, Motoko-chan…the two books are separated. He cannot be revived." Kanako answered, knowing what Motoko was referring to. Kana knew as well, being keeper of the Necronomicon, it was part of the knowledge he was to partake in. "Besides, the body of divinity would be needed for him to have any power over the physical world."
"None of you would be foolish enough to do what is needed." Kana said as he let Motoko pass to the outer room. "That would be ludicrous."
"I can feel its power slowly emanating form the books." Motoko said with genuine fear. "The light that the darkness fears is about to be awakened again."
"Provided the books can be united and one of us is present to provide the power with the physical form it needs." Kanako said as she walked with Motoko, using the shadows to release Edwards from his bindings. "Without both, it would be impossible. The power would be too erratic and spread to be of any use to anyone. It would prove to be a waste of time."
"What's going on?" Edwards asked as Mint used her telepathy to keep his hands bound.
"We'll have to forego this petty war for the time being, Edwards. We have another problem to attend to; one that will need all of us to deal with." Kana answered as he walked behind Kanako and Motoko. "Now, pick up your sword. We're going."
"Are all the others accounted for?" Motoko asked, knowing the extent of the CoKGB's reach.
"We know where they all are with the exception of Naru and Shinobu."
"Talon? What is it?" Kana asked as he answered his communicator. "What do you mean Baka-Alaskan has the Book of Shadows? I thought Naru stole it from Mutsumi?"
"Apparently, he stole it from her." Talon answered. "I'm calling a ceasefire; we have to stop all this fighting for the time being. We have to deal with this problem first. World domination can wait."
To Be Continued…
Kanako: Edwards, you are a baka. You do realize Mint is 16 in season 1? Roughly 18 in season 2? As for the prequels, I have entrusted one officially to Talon. Silver, if you're willing, say so and I'll send you the details for the other one. As for my statement "So, you guys will have to make the events that follow on your own…" yes, I do mean you get to do spin-offs but I, technically, own the legal rights to the names of the factions and I'd appreciate it if you don't do anything set BEFORE the War. And don't screw up the endings I plan to give them.