Legacies
A Sequel to
Crossing of the Paths
By MMM/AJ
A/N: Here's another whopping 18 pager for you guys! We're getting really close to finishing this part of the story now, I expect only one or two more chunks left before moving on to part two. This has been twice as much fun to write as Crossing of the Paths, even though half as many people have been reviewing. Read and enjoy!
Chapter XXXI – T8
"We need to get to this ship's reactor rooms; there should be a way to lock down the core there." Tanis said, grasping Ashley's arm and dashing out of the now dead bridge.
"I hate to be blunt, but unless you've been taking classes on nuclear physics while I'm not looking, I highly doubt that you know how to shut down a core manually. I certainly know I don't." Ashley said matter-of-factly.
"It's either try or die at this point, and I've always thought that it would be better to die trying than to give up and let it come." Tanis said.
The two of them dashed down more pockmarked halls, stepping over bodies and through blasted and burning doors. The ship lurched violently again, knocking the both of them off of their feet. Tanis stumbled to his feet, the floor was now angled even more. Soon the ceiling would be the floor and they would be plummeting to Earth. He ran down a series of tight hallways and turns, about ready to give up the search when he came into a larger room dominated by a white glowing sphere of light shimmering inside a containment field hovering in the center of the room. Control panels were encircling the column of steel that rose up toward it. Tanis ran over to these controls and began examining them. There were no labels on any of them, the hologram display shimmered mockingly in front of them as they regarded it sideways, standing on the wall.
"All right," Ashley said impatiently, "Time for you to work your magic. We've had dumb luck before and we need it now more than ever."
"Trust me, you know I've read machines before." Tanis retorted, grabbing the base of the holographic projector firmly.
Tanis reached down to the control computer banks of the fusion core's lockdown systems with his mind. He interpreted the electrical impulses that were flowing through it into thoughts he could read. He then reverse translated his own thoughts into signals that would command the machine to re-engage the safeties of the reactor. Suddenly, the ship shifted dramatically and Tanis fell off his feet. The center of the ship's gravity had rotated again and he and Ashley fell from the wall and to the ceiling. Tanis could feel himself starting to get nauseous from this disorienting ride. The ship was now hanging upside-down, no doubt about to fall out of the Aqua ship's grip and crash into the Earth below. He craned his neck up to see the nuclear core shutting down, its glow diminishing as steel shields slid down around it.
"Ok, let's get off of this junk heap before it falls!" Ashley said eagerly, "Teleport us back to the bunker!
"No, we need to do something more." Tanis said, images flooding into his head seemingly from nowhere. "We need to board the Aqua ship, apparently a lesser Blood Acolyte boarded it not seconds ago, leading an attack force. We need to prevent him from being captured now as well."
The ship shuddered and shook around them, threatening to fall at any second.
"Let's get moving then!" Ashley shouted, and the two of them dashed down the upside-down halls of the ship toward where the Aqua ship and the red ship were precariously joined.
All of the debris in the hallways had fell onto the ceiling, the bodies lied in unnatural and impossible positions, positions to painful to be in for any living person. The spent shell casings still littered the ceiling/floor which they walked on, and the blood of the fallen now streaked up/down the walls. To Tanis it was like being inside a freeze-framed kaleidoscope of death. They zigzagged up and down hallways, passed through rooms, and finally found the telltale rifts in the hole with hallways beyond. Though the décor of blood and death had not changed, the main color of the hallways beyond was different, sky blue instead of blood red. Tanis simply lifted the both of them up and through the blue boarding tunnel, which was now twisted around and bent out of shape by the force of the red ship pulling it down. When they arrived inside the Aqua ship, Tanis was relieved to find an actual floor under his feet, a surface that was actually intended to be walked upon.
Tanis and Ashley crept around the blue steel hallways for a short while until they heard gunshots cracking through the air once more. They followed the sound until they turned a corner and saw the backs of the Blood Acolyte and his men. They had dug into this narrow hallway using the piled bodies of the dead as cover from the Aqua members' fire. The black-clad men popped their heads up to fire and ducked down when return shots filled the air. The Blood Acolyte was kneeling a few feet further behind them, only watching with grim pleasure at all the death.
The blue ship suddenly rocked under their feet and momentum caused Tanis to feel like he were being pressed into the floor. The feeling quickly faded, and a rumbling crash emanated up through the steel floor. No doubt the red ship had broken free of the Aqua ship's grasp, Tanis deduced that the feeling he had experienced was when the Aqua ship's engines overcompensated for weight that was no longer there, and the ship and flown up into the air at a good speed. Thee sound of the red ship crashing was not intense either, only the crunching sound and minute explosions, not the tremendous deafening roar of a thermonuclear blast.
Taking an opportunity of temporary disruption in the battle, Tanis crept up behind the Acolyte, and with ninja-like precision, sliced the Acolyte's head-back connection with one quick energy sword blow. The Acolyte screamed, its powers were no totally gone. Tanis quickly finished it off with several more energy sword blows, the Acolyte dissolved into chunks on the floor. The black-clad men turned their assault rifles on Tanis, who raised his shield to block the bullets. Hundreds of them chipped away at his shield, but his energy seemed to be overflowing and he charged at them and began dicing them up with his glowing blades.
"Tanis, watch out!" Ashley screamed from around the back corner of the hall.
Tanis turned to look at Ashley with confusion, not seeing the glowing orange rocket flying toward him from the Aqua members' position. It exploded against his shield without penetrating it, but threw Tanis violently backward as if the hand of God and smacked him. He bounced inside his shield, bouncing against the walls as if inside a giant pinball machine. He caught himself quickly, righted, and held his arms out in front of him. An orb of orange energy formed, lightning crackling around it. He tossed it past the wall of dead and into the cluster of Aqua members. It erupted into a great fireball and roasted all who lived in that little corner of the hallway.
"All right, can we leave now?" Ashley said, hysteria clear in her voice.
"Not yet…" Tanis said, scrunching his face up in concentration.
"What, is there another one of those things in need of rescue?" Ashley shouted again, anger spraying from her in a toxic shower.
"The greatest air war mankind is yet to see is about to erupt here above Saffron City. Three of the four factions involved thirst for power so strongly I can practically taste it. If left alone, this battle could spell the end of not only Saffron City, but the rest of this world. The military must win! If any of the others, Aqua, Magma or Ares emerge victorious, they would seize control of all others and rise to dominate all the world. We must find some way of destroying the enemy fleets!"
"But my mother and father are down there! If the reactors on any of these ships go off, it could mean their deaths despite the fact that they're in the bunker!" Ashley said, her emotions close to spilling into tears.
"I know what the consequences are, but unless we do something the whole world could be destroyed!" Tanis shouted back, trying desperately to get Ashley to see the bigger picture.
"Well then what do you suggest? I doubt all the psychic powers in the world could stop all these ships!" Ashley yelled.
"That's where you're wrong." Tanis said.
Just then another horde of Aqua members came scurrying around the corner in front of them. They leveled their guns at Tanis, but Tanis whipped his arm up and pointed it at them. His eyes glowed bright orange and a glowing orange aura surrounded him. Suddenly the Aqua members lowered their guns and simply stared forward, their faces blank of all expression. Tanis stood out from the cover afforded by the pile of bodies and strode right up to them. They stared blankly until Tanis waved them off back down the corridor from whence they had came. They obediently trudged off down the corridor like a line of ants. Tanis looked back at Ashley and smiled.
"Just a little psychic energy can in fact go quite a long way."
Ashley stood slowly and gawked at Tanis. "Well…I…I guess you're right. What do we do now?"
"We storm the bridge of this vessel and take control of it for ourselves. Then, when the reinforcement Aqua ships arrive we fall into formation with them and fight against Ares' ships and Magma's ships. During the decisive point of the battle, we turn on the other Aqua ships, destroying them unexpectedly and allowing the military ships to win."
"And what if Magma or Ares forces outnumber our ships badly? What if we're the ones being eliminated during that decisive point?" Ashley asked exasperatedly.
"We fly to the winning side's flagship and take control of it." Tanis said simply.
"That won't be so easy should it be an Ares ship we need to take, their Blood Acolytes are equally as powerful as you. Controlling an entire crew of them would be impossible." Ashley said.
"That's where we're taking a gamble. Hopefully, luck will be on our side for this one." Tanis said.
"Ah luck, it's never on our side. That's the way life works."
"Let's see if we can change that." Tanis winked as he said this, another squad of Aqua troops had just appeared behind them and he had just grabbed control of their minds as well. Tanis smiled and nodded.
Chapter XXXII – R9
"Quickly!" Kalana's voice suddenly said inside Ruru's mind, "You must escape! They do not know you are here! Go to Kokiri Forest with all speed and tell our people there what has happened! Lie low with them and hide from the Iresians! Their power is too great now, you will have to find some way to escape Hyrule and gather troops for a resistance movement. Go now!"
Ruru hesitated, looking down at her older sister one last time. She then dutifully scuttled across the Inn's shingled roof to the back of the building and climbed down. What was left of Hyrule Castle City was eerily empty, all of the Gorons, Zoras and Gerudos had all gathered around where Ares had landed. She gave thanks for the clear escape as she made her way through the deserted remains of the city and toward the walls. Running past the charred and collapsed buildings was causing a deep foreboding in the pit of Ruru's stomach however, and she couldn't help but wonder what if the Iresians wrought this same destruction upon the rest of Hyrule? Her mind was suddenly riddled with images of the Gerudo plains and palace burning in Iresian dragonfire.
Ruru climbed the abandoned outer wall and looked out into Hyrule Field. The Iresian Army, all thirty thousand of them, were sitting in wait on the calm grasses alongside their dragon mounts. Their swords and armor gleamed in the unforgiving sun and their dragons flicked their horned tails restlessly. The forest was much further southeast, following Zora's River as the waters flowed North up from Zora's domain to fill the moat around Hyrule Castle City's walls.
In an instant Ruru knew that the river was the key to getting to the forest unseen. Unless their troops had not seen the Iresians arrive, they would still be lying in wait among the dense foliage of the forest. The trick for her would be swimming against the river's flow without making a sound and drawing attention.
While she was pondering this, Ruru heard a shout from the city behind her, the clashing sound of steel on steel, and the thunderous sound of a Goron battle roar. She ducked down into a shadowed crevice in the wall and saw Ares and Anmor fly up and out of the city and over the wall on their dragons. She heard the other Iresian dragons roar and growl on the other side of the wall as their riders jumped on.
Suddenly the air was filled with a deafening rumble, Ruru heard crashes back inside the city. She looked down into the streets to see the Gorons were storming toward the open gate and out into the fray. Zoras and Gerudos intermingled with them as they charged blindly to certain doom.
"No you fools! You'll die!" Ruru shouted down at the stampede, but her voice was lost among the pounding Goron feet.
Ruru could only watch in horror as the Gorons flooded out of the city and into the awaiting mob. Dragons jumped into the air and dove at them from every direction. Spells from the Zora Mages and arrows from Gerudo archers knocked droves of the beasts out of the sky, and the Gorons began to effectively mash them into pulp, but their numbers were incredibly overwhelming. Ruru was fascinated by the battle, she crouched on the castle wall watching without realizing it.
One particularly heroic Goron was fighting particularly well. He grabbed a dragon by its tail and swung it in circles, bashing and crushing others all around him. He threw the beast into a group that were fast approaching him, bowling them over. He turned quickly and rammed his fist into the face of another dragon, crushing its skull in; a feat that only a Goron's great strength was capable of. He grabbed its rider's head and crushed it like a melon, grabbed the spear out of his hands, and then jabbed it through the dragon's neck. A flying spear appeared seemingly out of nowhere and then skewered his face, causing Ruru to cringe in horror. The unfortunate Goron toppled over and a swarm of dragons descended to feast upon him.
Ruru then caught sight of Dregar, drenched in dragon blood and ripping through dragons left and right. He had just snapped one dragon's neck with his bare hands, he kicked one that was approaching him from behind, throwing off its rider who then fell over a spear. Dregar plucked the spear out of him, grabbed another off of the ground, and hurled them both into the air at a pair of dragons who were descending on a pack of Zora Mages. He had propelled them through the air with such force as to impale both beasts completely from fifty feet away. Then, Ares appeared behind him and Ruru suppressed her urge to shout a warning. Ares swung a giant glowing axe and embedded its blade in Dregar's rock-skin just as if it were regular flesh. Dregar howled in agony and fell. Ares laughed an echoing bloodthirsty laugh that Ruru could hear inside her head. He finished Dregar off by lopping off his head.
The Gorons nearby who had saw this happen suddenly let out howls of rage and sorrow at the loss of their beloved leader. They got a running start and rolled up, blasting through dragons to get at Ares. Ares simply laughed his chilling laugh and swung his axe, slicing right through them like butter. The ill-fated Gorons fell to the ground in seared chunks of gore.
Ruru felt a hand on her should and jumped around, swinging her fist.
"Whoa, whoa, easy there! I'm a friend!" The man said.
Ruru took a moment to really observe the man and saw he was a Zora mage with great bulging water skins wrapped around his waist and the crest of the Zora Royal Family on his forehead.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"My name is Onta Hi'tero, and I'm here to help you escape."
Ruru rubbed her eyes for a second and then looked back out over the battle. Friendly forces were dwindling dangerously. She decided not to question this man who called himself a member of the Hi'tero family, the situations were far too drastic.
"How?"
"The Zora's river, we can swim up it unnoticed during the chaos of the battle. But we need to act quickly, the battle won't last much longer!" Onta said.
Onta grabbed Ruru's arm and jumped off the wall, taking her with him. They landed with a belly flop in the City wall's moat, burning pain splashed around Ruru's front side. She felt Onta grab her ankle and pull her down the moat at a tremendous speed. His natural Zora swimming abilities coupled with the relatively flow slow of the water through the moat helped them gain ground quickly. Soon they had emerged from the moat and into the river itself, swimming southeast at a brisk pace past the last few remnants of fighting.
As Ruru and Onta eventually passed out of view of the dragons, Ruru felt a strange tingling in her side. It grew into a steady radiating warmth that seemed to originate from the right pouch that was attached to her pants where she was keeping the Elemental Crystals. A tingling then appeared in her right hand from where the Triforce had burrowed into her flesh. It too began warming, and she raised her hand out of the water to look at it. It was glowing a faint ghostly blue as it sat in the back of her hand. She suddenly felt a jolt from her side and a jolt from her hand. Small bolts of energy from both leapt up her body and into her head. Her vision was fuzzy for a moment and a ringing echoed in her ears. Then suddenly she saw an image in her mind, a moving image that displayed the battle scene back at the front walls of Hyrule Castle City.
Se saw all of the Gorons were dead now, and the surviving Zora who had run out of magic were being rounded up and shackled. Most of the Gerudos who had fought were dead now as well, a few survivors were being herded and chained. She saw Abaim, Iona and Kalana bound in these chains, standing before Ares at lancepoint. They all glared up at Ares with venom in their eyes, especially Abaim. Ares only laughed, the spine tingling sound carried with the images into Ruru's mind.
"So, you've all played your little games, now its time for you to take your medicine." Ares laughed. "You were too headstrong to see fate dangling right in front of your noses, and now it has caused you immeasurable losses to your people! I think the price is fitting!"
Ares laughed again, his armor clinking on him like it was alive. Abaim suddenly exploded in rage, his voice ripping at the air. "You monster! Your black heart beats like that of the damned re-deads of the Shadow Temple!"
"Now now, is that any way to talk to your new lord and master?" Ares said, relishing the words.
"I will never serve you, even if it means death!" Abaim roared.
"As you wish then." Ares said, sighing heavily.
A glowing sword appeared in Ares' hands and he stabbed it directly into Abaim's skull. Instead of blood flowing out like that of a normal wound however, it just created a blackened, cauterized hole in his head from which only smoke flowed. Abaim fell backwards slackly, his eyes rolling back in his head. Ares only sighed.
"Though the prospect of having him as a servant would have proven rich with entertaining irony, I still relished his death." Ares said, turning to face Iona and Kalana. "I did use him as my wedge to start the war in Hyrule, so a merciful and quick end was due in gratitude. You two will suffice for my ironic entertainment."
"If you expect me to submit, then you're sorely mistaken." Kalana said proudly, looking down her nose at the face of her own death.
"I don't expect you to submit of your own will. Nor do I intend to kill you either. There are ways that the body can be used to influence the mind however, and I think you'll find yourself submitting after a few days with my best torture artists."
Suddenly Iona burst out into tears. She was yet the youngest monarch that the Zoras had appointed, and now her weakness was apparent. "Please, I'll do anything! Just don't put me through that kind of pain!" She begged.
"Well now, I guess I needn't work on you after all!" Ares chuckled.
"You're pathetic." Kalana suddenly said to Iona, and spat on her. Iona only cried more. "Go ahead fiend, do your worst. I have fasted for days on the fringes of the remnant deserts! I know physical pain well and you cannot break my will with it!" Kalana then said to Ares, and prepared to spit at him as well.
Before she could conjure the insult though, Ares raised his hand and pointed it at her. He glowed an ill crimson and Kalana suddenly jerked rigid.
"Well then, I'll just have to use another method. Now bow to me!" Ares commanded, his eyes glowing red.
"Never!" Kalana's mouth spoke, but the force Ares had conjured suddenly forced her to her knees. Her body was betraying her will.
"Now, kiss my hand!" Ares ordered, removing his gauntlet and holding out a knobby, three fingered hand.
Kalana shouted incoherently in defiance, but her body lowered her head down to his hand and she pressed her lips against it. But then, she also managed to slip out of his control for a moment and bit into his flesh. Blood flowed out freely and Ares tried to jerk back, but her teeth had sunk in and he was caught. He suddenly glowed an even brighter red.
"Enough!" He bellowed, and Kalana was suddenly thrown backwards like a rag doll, the chains dragging the crying Iona and dead Abaim along with her.
"I tire of your resistances! There will be no more beating around the bush!" Ares growled, and waved his hand at Kalana.
Kalana jerked into spasms and fell limp on the ground, as did Iona. The both of them then suddenly stood, moving in a jerking, clumsy fashion. Their eyes were suddenly blank, the pupils had disappeared entirely. They stood rigid before Ares, who smiled and revealed his rotten teeth again.
"Whom do you serve?" Ares asked.
"Lord Ares." The two chanted in a horrifying monotone.
"Excellent." Ares said, and turned to Anmor. "We are done with the rebels. Now, take the men into the Castle Keep and take Sirpala prisoner. I'm done fooling around; Hyrule and all its hidden powers will belong to me!"
"Yes milord!" Anmor said, and mounted his dragon.
"Now then, you two will accompany me back to Iress, I have important business back in another world and I'd like you to be with me." Ares said, his glowing weapon suddenly disappearing.
"Yes master." Replied the two prisoners. They climbed onto Ares' dragon and the vision ended as he flew off into the distance.
Ruru found herself sobbing uncontrollably as the vision faded. She had no clue how he had did it, but Ares had reduced her sister to a walking automaton. There was little left of her, she saw it in her eyes. Ruru was too overcome with emotion to recognize the great power building in her, an energy gifted by the Crystals and the Triforce. She could only cry as Onta towed her across Hyrule in the Zora's deep blue waters. Her tears merged with the river and were lost amongst it.
Chapter XXXIII – J3
It was eerily familiar to be inside Air's rock again. Jenna had been here before, she and her friends had been here in an attempt to stop Alex from obtaining the Reveal Psynergy many months ago. Now they were here to prevent Isaac from acquiring it. But it was different this time because Jenna could have killed Alec had she needed to, and now she wasn't so sure she could kill Isaac when, or if he arrived. All they could do was sit on the center platform as it hovered in the strange magical ether of the tablet room. Winds whipped all around her and her party of friends, winds that seemed to tease and taunt them.
Time meant little inside that strange room, its magic qualities seemed to bend and distort it. It certainly amplified the principal that states that time passes more slowly when one is bored or anxious. Certainly, everyone in the group, including Jenna, were suffering from both of these afflictions. So none of them could guess how long they had been in there when finally something strange began to happen. The winds around them seemed to fluctuate. At times they blew harder, and at times they died down. There was a sudden strange rattling noise at the door from across the void. There was quite a distance across the emptiness from the door to the platform on which Jenna's party and the tablet rested, a distance which was spanned only by a few sparse hovering platforms that one would have to cross to reach the tablet. Apparently someone or something was about to emerge from the door and attempt it.
The door rattle harder and flew open, and Jenna and her party jumped to their feet. From the doorway emerged a group of assorted monsters, including all the strange oversized rodents and mutant saurian creatures which normally only roamed the Gondowan continent. The creatures were ill-footed and many fell as they attempted to cross the hovering stepping-stones. Jenna helped one along with a fire psynergy that knocked it completely off its footing and into the abyss. Hardly any of them even managed to get close, and the few who did were knocked away to fall to their deaths. Then from the door emerged a new threat; a group of bandits armed with swords and axes. These men were agile and light footed compared to the beasts from before, but they still weren't experts at navigating such dangerous pathways.
Jenna and her party members again effectively sniped the men off of their platforms as they got close, sending them to their deaths below. Three of them did manage to make it across safely and they found themselves outnumbered seven to three. Felix and Piers dealt with them swiftly and efficiently; one sword strike to stun and they tossed them off of the platform and into the void. Jenna admired to tactical advantage that this chamber seemed to afford them, but a pit of worry was welling up in her stomach. She knew ever since the disaster at Kibombo that Isaac wouldn't hesitate to kill her now, but she knew in her heart that she couldn't do the same to him. But she also knew he wouldn't use any of his extremely powerful summons without first obtaining the psynergy, so they would have some leverage against him if they managed to keep him away from it. Jenna saw him emerge from the door and she knew that it was time to test that theory.
"Look who's here!" Isaac exclaimed, his evil grin so out of place on his still young and wholesome looking face. "You've got more power than I thought! To be alive after the Judgment summon, you've got great talent!"
Jenna could only scowl at him for what he had become.
"Then again, I should know after having fought beside you all for over a year and a half. But, right now you're standing between me and my goal, and that's a deadly place to be. I'll only warn you once, give me the psynergy or die!" Isaac said, contempt marring his young voice.
"You know what we're here for, give us the Djinni." Felix said calmly.
"Fine fine, I guess I'll just have to finish the job I started in Kibombo then." Isaac said.
Isaac suddenly raised his hands into the air and a flash of psynergy flickered over him. The room around them suddenly rumbled, or at least seemed to. None of them knew if empty space could rumble. But they all knew something big was coming. Abruptly, a glowing black psynergy symbol appeared in the air, and from it came the ghastly armored form of Dullahan, the Lord of Despair. His headless form struck a familiar terror into the hearts of Jenna's band; they had fought him once before and only barely won. Now they were missing a member and were minus all their Djinn. To make matters worse, Dullahan was not the only figure to emerge from the psynergy portal. Out dropped the robed form of the Star Magician, a warlock of tremendous power with the ability to summon helpers to his side. All one could see within his enveloping robes are his two glowing yellow eyes. From the portal emerged also the hollow steel armor suit that is Sentinel, a master guardian wielding powers of strength and lightning. Finally came Valukar, the gigantic hulking beast. Valukar hefted his great war hammer and roared, his massive bulk looming in disturbing propinquity even from across the room. Things obviously were looking extremely grim for Jenna and her comparatively motley crew. But she saw that something was wrong with Isaac's strategy.
"Very impressive Isaac, but I'm afraid your friends are going to have a bit of a problem reaching us, considering their size and weight. It would be unlikely to see Dullahan even fit one of his massive boots onto one of those tiny stepping stones!" Jenna shouted, trying not to show how utterly terrified she was at the sight of all four of the summon guardians standing opposed to her and her friends.
"Though you are very right about that my dear Jenna, you must know that there is a solution to every problem." With these words from Isaac's mouth, the blood ran cold in every member of Jenna's party.
Isaac suddenly whipped his right fist up into the air, where the glowing triangle rested within his skin. "You see this artifact? It has afforded me tremendous power, a power that is not limited to a certain application like psynergy. No, this is raw, unformed power that I can mold to my every will! Observe it in action now!"
Isaac suddenly flattened his right fist and waved his palm over the void in front of him. Glowing gold energy flowed from his hand and spread out across the room, forming into a thick and solid surface. It completely bridged the gap between the platform where the door was and the platform that Jenna and her party stood. Isaac laughed and pointed at Jenna.
"Go now my minions, kill them all!" Isaac laughed.
Dullahan stepped forward onto the glowing floor, his boot meeting it with a solid, dull thud. Sentinel followed in step. Star Magician floated forward and waved his hands in mystic patterns. His magic summoned up the familiar glowing, floating orbs that granted his abilities of healing, self defense and explosive attack. Valukar broke into a run, his hooves slamming against the energy floor. He raised his hammer into the air and charged at Piers, swinging it madly.
Piers was able to dodge, Valukar moved extremely slowly compared to him. The psynergy spells suddenly filled the air as both sides attacked. Jenna decided that they should attack the biggest threat first, namely Dullahan. She and her fellows concentrated all their attacks on him. Jenna cast Searing Beam, Piers cast Diamond Berg, Ivan and Sheba cast Shine Plasma, Garet cast Liquefier and Mia cast ply on the rest of the party as opposing spells found their marks.
The spells struck effectively, but Dullahan himself could take an extraordinary amount of punishment without even flinching. He simply took the spells and kept on coming. He approached the party and cast his most deadly spell; Formina Sage. It formed a glowing pillar of yellow energy which he grasped and swung down at Ivan. It reduced Ivan to a smoldering, crumpled heap. At the same time, Sentinel used his Armor Crush ability on Piers, winding the Lemurian and knocking him backward several feet. Piers struggled to yank off his destroyed chest plate, which had suddenly cut into his front. He was interrupted by Valukar's hammer, which dented his head and sent him spinning unconscious across the room. A star mine from the Star Magician sent Sheba flying, burns covering her body. Felix cast Odyssey on Dullahan, and the ethereal swords pierced the hulking beast through. Dullahan only took it and then knocked Felix away like a fly. Sentinel then struck the downed Felix with a barrage of lightning psynergies to make sure he stayed down. Mia crouched down to cast Ply Well on him, but she was caught by a Stun attack from Valukar and fell to the ground as stiff as a board. Jenna was suddenly the last one standing, as Kraden had sensibly stayed behind. She looked over into Isaac's eyes pleadingly as the four Guardians approached her. She saw only anticipation for her death, it was a blow that struck her harder than any blow that the four approaching creatures could ever inflict on her. She fell to her knees and raised her arms out to them. Dullahan raised the glowing yellow energy of his Formina Sage; Valukar raised his hammer, and Star Magician wound up to toss another Star Mine. Then, suddenly the room around them rumbled again, and the guardians stopped and looked around confusedly.
The door which stood behind Isaac was part of the only physically tangible wall in the room, and suddenly this door and the wall around it buckled and bulged outward as something burst through. Isaac ran to get out of the way and his four summoned servants turned to see what had threatened their master. From the rubble emerged the strangest thing that Jenna had ever seen. It looked like a steel, egg-shaped vehicle crushing its way through the wall. It wasn't the reflective, silvery sheen of steel though; it had been painted crimson red and bore a crest of three crossing bloody swords. As it completely emerged from the wreckage, Jenna saw it hovering above the ground. Strange, stubby looking tubes on its front suddenly turned to face Isaac's summoned creatures and barked fire. Jenna could only guess as to what kind of psynergy or strange power this was, the tubes emitted harsh chattering like firecrackers she had lit off in festivals as a child. Suddenly the four summoned creatures staggered, dents and then holes appeared in Dullahan's armor as she watched. Valukar was riddled with these holes, he shrieked madly and fell forward into a pile of his own blood. The protective field that surrounded the Star Magician shimmered brightly, flickered, and disappeared. His robes suddenly fluttered and ripped, his blood spilled to the ground and he fell. Sentinel emitted a series of tortured clanking sounds as sparks flashed across him. He became more and more dented until he was eventually turned into a twisted pile of scrap. Dullahan suddenly charged at the interloping red vehicle and smashed his Formina Sage psynergy into it. The glowing yellow energy sliced right through it, and Jenna was suddenly blinded by the flash of an explosion. She blinked and saw that the red vehicle had erupted into a ball of flames and shrapnel, and now Dullahan was lying on the ground, ripped entirely in half by the explosion. She also noticed that she was lying on the ground; the shock from the explosion had blown her backwards. She felt the impossibly smooth energy floor that Isaac had cast underneath her and knew she was lucky to be alive.
Isaac stood dumbfounded, he had never seen such an extraordinary display. Equally shocking, figures began emerging from the smoking wreckage. Those same familiar black-clad men walked and crawled from the smoking rubble. Several of them were injured, some even severely. Those who had escaped without injury were now spreading out around Isaac to encircle him. Then, three more figures emerged. Jenna did not recognize the red robes, but Isaac did and he knew what kind of creatures lurked beneath them. He had fought them before, they had powers much the ones he had now.
The leader of the three robed ones stepped forward and removed his hood. Jenna gasped at the horrible creature she saw, its egg shaped head, spiraling, sharp horns, blood red skin and purple eyes were like nothing she had ever seen in her life. It looked at Isaac and smiled.
"Our master is coming to see you and he'll be here soon. Why don't you come peacefully and give us your Djinn and your piece of the Triforce?" It said.
"Let him come." Isaac scoffed. "Look what I did to your steel chariot! I can do it to him and I will do it to you if you insist on taking my power!"
"You cannot comprehend the forces you mock with your limited mind, you pathetic little human. Though you do indeed hold great power, so does master Ares. You will meet him soon, and it would be wise to comply now while you have the chance."
"I'm more than willing to bet I'm ten times more power than he!" Isaac bellowed.
One of the black-clad men who had walked behind Isaac suddenly produced what appeared to Jenna to be a black painted steel tube with handles. It suddenly spat a burst of light and sound, and a hole appeared in Isaac's back. Jenna was totally astounded by the power these people seemed to have. Isaac clutched his back and grunted. He used his curative psynergies and the wound closed itself rapidly, but it was a sobering dose of reality for him and Jenna could see his confidence suddenly falter.
"Each one of us can do that to you hundreds of times within the span of a few seconds. If you move, I will paralyze you and your body will be pulverized by a hail of steel from our guns." The blood red one said, his robes flapping in the breeze.
Isaac looked affronted, like a child who had just had his hand slapped. He scowled in rage at the red one in the robes. He suddenly sat and regained his air of confidence.
"Although that is impressive, I could be behind you with my sword before you would even see me move. But, I am intrigued by what you have said. I wish to meet this one who you speak of; he has been a thorn in my side for many months. You and your brethren have caused me much annoyance, and I shall take it out on him." Isaac said, pride and superiority dripping off his voice.
"As we thought you would say. It won't be long." The red robed one said. He then cocked his head up toward the ceiling as if he were trying to look through it, his purple eyes squinting slightly. "Not long indeed."
Chapter XXXIV – A9
After the initial battle between Ares' ship and the Aqua ship had ended, the skies over Saffron city became momentarily silent. The Aqua ship hovered alone a few scant miles North of the city limits, in plain view of anyone who had been stupid enough to stay around and watch. Most people had fled the city or had retreated into shelters, so the streets were empty. Wreckage from the buildings that Ares' ships had destroyed smoldered silently, debris piling in the streets. The columns of smoke roiled up into the sky and eventually were dispersed and carried away by higher altitude winds. A few brave men and women at the city streets pointed their cameras to the sky so that the world could see what was happening. Ash, Misty and Ashton watched anxiously from their bomb shelter's holographic TV. The Aqua ship simply sat there, almost gloating over the burning corpses of the other ships that had wrecked at its proverbial feet. That portion of ground just north of the city was now a flaming, pockmarked graveyard for once proud and sinister crafts.
Nobody but Ashley's family knew that she and Tanis were up there in that sky-blue battle carrier, and because of it they may have been the most worried family to see the events being covered on the TV. Word was spreading quickly now, the entire United Nations Fleet was coming, and the Red Cross would arrive at the city after the battle to help rebuild. Most were optimistic, the collective power of all the world's military might could stop one ship, couldn't it? But then, none of the newscaster could know that Teams Aqua and Magma were sending all of their fleets as well, and all of Ares' forces designated to invade Earth were about to converge on this point as well. Outside of the leaders of these forces, only Ashley and Tanis understood the collective scale of the battle that was about to occur. They were now leading a battalion of mind-controlled Aqua members up to the Aqua ship's bridge to capture it. Even Tanis could not comprehend or predict the final element that was also converging, despite his now honed abilities of precognition.
As Ashley had suspected, the bridge of the Aqua ship was easily taken. All Tanis had to do was control every one of its members, and he used the command crew to control the rest of the crew without actually using his powers to intrude on their minds. He had the ship's captain announce orders to them over the ship's com channels. He would only control the people necessary to run the ship and destroy anyone who still had retained their free will and decided to object to the idea of firing on other Aqua ships when the time came. Tanis and Ashley sat in the captain and first officer's chairs on the command platform in the center of the bridge, observing and giving orders as necessary. Tanis needn't even lift a finger to control any of them, he thought his instructions to them and they obeyed soundlessly with their empty eyes. Ashley knew she could never adjust herself to the blank, mindless expressions of the mentally enslaved. Even if it was for the greater good, it still sent shivers racing up and down her spine.
"Hmm, the approaching Aqua ships are querying us." Tanis observed dryly.
"Is that bad? Are we going to be found out?" Ashley asked urgently.
"Oh no, these bridge crewman know all the proper code words and responses. I'm just afraid that the Aqua team leader might hail us and try to speak with us directly." Tanis replied, shifting uncomfortably in a seat designed for humans.
"How long until they arrive?" Ashley asked.
Tanis titled his head down at the ops officer, who was working diligently at his station. "Five minutes." Tanis said tersely.
"Do we know when the Ares, Magma, and UN ships will be here?" Ashley asked.
"Roughly five minutes as well." Tanis said.
"Is there anything we can do to prepare?" Ashley asked nervously.
"Psych up." Tanis said, turning to face Ashley with a frank look. "What may happen next could test all of our emotions and nerves to the very breaking point. It is likely we will see Saffron City obliterated during the battle, along with your parents should be the destruction be intense enough. No matter how durable and strong their shelter is, it will not protect them if there is more than one nuclear blast in the city. Three in a row would be more than enough to breach it." Tanis said in a calm, almost calculating fashion.
"How can you make a judgment like that? You haven't even seen a nuclear explosion before!" Ashley cried, emotions rising quickly.
"No, but neither have you. Remember my father played a visual history of his entire life for me, and he had witnessed the power of thermonuclear explosions many times in his life. I think I can estimate just from remembering seeing ships explode from his memory." Tanis said.
"I… I can't let them die…" Ashley whispered.
Tanis turned his head down toward the ops station for a moment, and then turned back to Ashley. "We still have a scant few minutes left, just enough time for me to teleport down to the shelter and retrieve them." He said.
Ashley wiped the tears that had just started coming and looked up at him. "You would do that for me?"
"You know that they will be in just as much danger up here with us, probably even more?" Tanis asked.
"Yes I know, but should we fail, I would much rather die with them as a family." Ashley said.
"You have a warm heart indeed, Ashley Ketchum." Tanis said, smiling sincerely at her, and then disappeared into thin air.
Ashley sat back into the first officer's chair and breathed deeply. She felt a lot of relief at the prospect of having her family at her side, but she was still gravely worried about what was about to happen. She knew the immense risk of Tanis' gamble here; his plan was what many rational people would call totally insanity. Just betting everyone's fate on numerical dominance of the Aqua or Magma sides was far fetched, they were crime syndicates with no governmental ties and it was astounding to see that they had gathered enough funds to create even one ship of this scale without some sort of sponsors. Ashley corrected herself, they were international organized criminals and they could find despicable ways to make money after all. The very chair she was sitting on may have been bought and paid for with blood or drug money.
Somewhere in one of the bridge's stations a frantic beeping sounded out, and Ashley jumped up. Her nerves were drawn taut as a violin string and with good reason. The main fore camera blinked onto the main screen and focused on a line of dots forming in the distance. The zombie-like bridge crew automatically magnified the image, and Ashley saw an immense fleet of drab olive UN ships approaching, their numbers unbelievable even from a distance. Her mind suddenly flooded with hope, maybe this force was powerful enough to stop Ares!
In an eye's blink and a flashbulb's flash, Tanis reappeared on the command deck surrounded by Ashley's family. The lines of middle-age were set in striking relief on Ash's face, and Ashley knew at heart that it was only the tip of an iceberg of age. Her little brother Ashton was the polar opposite, his shining youthful eyes seemed to glow with energy. In the span of a few sparse moments, several things happened. Tanis whipped around and looked at the main screen, which was now viewing from the aft camera array and viewing a fleet of oncoming Magma ships. Misty ran over to Ashley and embraced her like any other worried mother would. Ash and Ashton looked around the Aqua ship's bridge, amazed by the technological power that the syndicate had managed to muster.
"I was so worried about you!" Misty said, her vice grip forcing breath out of Ashley.
"I'm alright mom! Let go, your hurting me!" Ashley said, only frustration showing and covering up the worry she had felt for her mother.
Ash turned and saw them and rushed over to make sure Ashley was alright as well. "You're okay, right Lei –Lei?" He said, looking for any injuries on her.
"Dad, how many times have I told you not to call me that anymore?" Ashley asked, embarrassed that her father would call her by her babyhood nickname in front of Tanis.
"Oh man this is so cool!" Ashton raved, running around the command deck and looking at the glowing holographic stations. He ran up to Ashley with excitement in his eyes. "I want an adventure just like yours!" He said, hopping energetically.
"I won't have it!" Misty said sternly.
"Aww mom!" Ashton wailed.
"I'm sorry to interrupt this family reunion," Tanis burst in, "But the battle is about to start. You might want to hold onto something."
The ship lurched under their feet and Ashley's family found seats to brace themselves in. Everyone was quiet as Tanis doled out orders to the emptily obedient bridge crew. The ship turned aft, toward the fast incoming Magma ships. They grew quickly in the camera's view, the massive M's painted on their sides making Ashley and Ash both subconsciously think of Mewtwo's name.
"Fire all weapons now, bring them swift oblivion." Tanis said.
Trails of smoke tipped by points of silver and fire traced the space between the ships as missiles were released. The Aqua fleet ships, following orders sent out by Tanis, warmed their energy cannons, released fightercraft, and empty their missile bays. The Magmas responded in kind. The UN ships decided to hang back and let their enemies damage themselves. Above them, Ares' ships descended from the clouds to join the fray.
Ashley watched the screen intently, her eyes tracing missile paths. She saw flashes as they impacted, and Magma ships staggered and fell out of the sky. Beams of red light arced out from the Magma ships and diced into the Aqua ships, piercing effortlessly. Blue beams responded in kind, dicing more Magma ships. Ashley didn't see a missile heading straight for the camera until it was only a scant few feet away. There was only the red, pointed nose of the missile, and then the screen displayed static and the ship shook and rumbled around them.
"That was so cool!" Ashton exclaimed, his face beaming.
Truly, Ashley thought, he must think he's inside some form of video game.
"This is just like a video game!" Ashton shouted. "Make it do that again!"
Ashley sighed rubbed her forehead as the foreshadowing lance of pain in her skull foretold a monumentous headache. She knew she would be lucky to see her birthday next week.
A/N: And so the battle for Earth starts! What will happen to Isaac? Where will Ruru find aid against the Iresians? Once again, this was incredibly exciting to write and I hope it was as exciting for you to read. Keep with me as this part of the story draws closer to conclusion!
