D'Jok had a serious look on his face as he went to the Black Manta, which returned to Genesis.
Sonny was going to lead the entire Galaxy. The last hope the Galaxy had.
Sonny didn't like the idea at all.
This brought him back to the point that they were being tracked.
Did they know Sonny's new mission, or was this another attempt at getting hold of him for their plans?
With Professor Benson captive, he hoped they would get some answers.
The Professor had been very quiet, almost as if he gave up.
Then, there was Corso. That had everyone on edge. They didn't know just how strong the Warlord's hold was on him. And as long as they didn't know, Sonny couldn't get close. For now, Corso was detained in the holding cell on the Black Manta, with a force field keeping him in place. But Sonny had an idea he hoped would help.
D'Jok looked at the hooded man next to him.
A clone of his father. Hopefully that would fool the Warlord.
As they entered the docking area, The Black Manta came into view. The clone looked at him.
"Keep a safe distance Son, let the Warlord come for me." It said,
"Sure thing. Just don't get yourself hurt." D'Jok managed. The clone gave him a wink.
"No worries son, we Pirates do this daily." It said, as they started to exit the car.
Then, they slowly entered the Black Manta to collect the prisoners.
Professor Benson felt drained in a way he never experienced before. He felt like he hadn't been in control of himself for… a long time.
What had he done?
He remembered those years ago on Chissia, where he was approached by someone that looked like a Xenon, needing his expertise to provide his planet with the power to bring it back to its former glory after the accursed Flux Wars.
Only, it wasn't a Xenon. He realized far too late what he'd gotten himself into.
When the truth hit him, he was ensnared in their web of lies, with no other options than to persuade the science team from his own planet, the best they had, and the other half, the Abraxians, to work along. Things should've been going smoothly from then on out. They tried to make a synthetic flux, but that was a complete failure.
In the meantime, two Technoid scientists pulled off what he couldn't, and paid dearly for it.
And now, Sonny was going to be the Warlord's host. Thanks to him.
The Professor laid on the bench in his cell, not having the energy to stand up as he heard people approach.
Sonny stared at him, followed by his son.
"Take him to Shiloh Security. I have questions that need answers." Sonny ordered.
Professor Benson bowed his head, as the Pirates led him into a car to drive him to said location.
Sonny wasn't feeling good about having to conduct an interview, but until they knew more, he couldn't get close to anyone for fear of possession. They had precious little information about what being possessed by one of these creatures really entailed.
So far he, Artie, Bennett, D'Jok, Micro Ice and Kuun, spent hours reading all available reports the Pirates council of Elders had on the matter, and Otis was doing his best to obtain more information.
No results thus far.
"They could have used their powers to possess someone with access to wipe the records clean." Micro Ice mused.
"Our security is top notch. However, we could use some help. Sonny, should I contact my dad for this?" Artie asked, looking up from the computer module he was on in Shiloh Security.
Sonny nodded.
"I'll leave this to you. Stevens, I need you by my side when we interrogate the Professor. I don't trust myself at the moment." He said.
The others nodded, as Sonny walked out of the room.
Callie arrived with the twins and Mei, who carried a sleeping Iris.
"Until this is solved, we all stay together. I just don't feel safe with everything going on." Callie said.
Sonny nodded.
"I need to find a way to separate the Warlord from Corso. I just hope the clone works as a decoy. I'm going to need Clamp and every scientist from Technoid with a level five clearance that I can find. We need to know for sure." He said.
Callie nodded slowly. The stress on her husband's face was evident, as were the dark rings under his eyes. People were asking a lot of him.
Callie gave him a soft smile.
"While the rest of us figure this out, get some sleep. You'll feel better." She said,
Sonny looked at her thankfully. Then, he looked at Otis.
"Will you take charge for now? If you find anything, place it on my desk." Sony requested.
Otis nodded.
"Leave it to me Sonny. You have a good rest."
Corso knew he had to bide his time. The warlord had already made several attempts to fuse with his consciousness, trying to get the information he needed. He just hoped Sonny would stay away from him. People needed him.
Each time the Warlord tried to fuse and take over his thoughts, his own body was creating barriers, preventing the fusion. Guess even his body didn't like taking orders. Still, he felt the Warlord's patience dwindle.
"You're worthless to him. Why else hasn't he done anything to help you yet?" The warlord hissed.
That made Corso's mouth curl into a smile.
"You're desperate, aren't you?" He taunted.
"Tell me his plan. NOW." The Warlord tried to command him. Corso shook his head.
"Even if I knew, why would I tell you?" Corso asked, keeping his voice steady and calm.
The Warlord hissed.
"I'll figure him out, and YOU'LL help!" The Warlord roared, appearing before him in his shadow form.
Corso didn't look impressed at all.
"Like I'll help." Corso said, sounding far more confident than he felt. He had to keep this up. For Sonny. For everyone.
Sonny was trying his best to get some shut eye, but it proved a challenge.
For the last five years, his life had been nothing short of ideal, something he never dreamt of before.
And now, the entire Galaxy was being threatened, and he had no idea how to stop it.
Negotiations wouldn't work, not with the Andro Zygnans, and an all out war would be too dangerous.
He would need help, something to get the upper hand.
If he could only neutralize the threat, the Guardian could go back to being just a title, and he would have his normal life.
But right now, the entire Galaxy needed him.
Sonny took a few deep breaths, as he tried to drift into sleep, to see if he could find solutions inside his dreams.
Ta'Nakh was fighting a losing battle with his new host body. This was one stubborn Chissian. And calm, at that. He fought his mind tooth and nail, and he couldn't reach inside. This wouldn't do. He had to go for the first available host body once they opened the cell.
And then he would go through them one by one until he could finally latch on to Sonny himself.
Professor Benson was led to the interrogation room, and was waiting for someone to enter.
He still felt drained, as if the entity sucked the very life force out of him.
When the door finally opened, he looked up. It was Sonny with his son. Despite everything, he felt relieved.
"You can understand we have questions. And you better have answers." Sonny told him coldly. Professor Benson nodded.
"I'll tell you everything I know. I wasn't what he made me. I didn't want… any of this to happen." He said. Sonny looked at D'Jok, then he took a seat.
"We're all ears."
The group approaching the Black Manta was larger than normal. Sonny brought the scientists from Abraxor with him, as well as a large group of soldiers. The soldiers were armed with cannons filled with a liquid that would freeze the shadowy figure, long enough for him to be contained in a bubble. Sonny also made sure to have the best doctors available on stand by.
No one had any idea what kind of damage the Warlord could have caused to Corso, so they wanted to be careful.
Sonny ordered a few extra shields as barriers, before he entered Corso's cell.
Corso looked up. He noticed the group behind Sonny, and frowned.
"Don't come near me." Corso said in Ancient Shiloh. Sonny smiled gently at Corso, as his hands began to glow.
"Don't worry, it will be fine." he replied, also in Ancient Shiloh. Corso smiled back before he stood up. He could feel the entity that used him as a host rise as well.
"You'll be an excellent host." The Warlord said.
"You're not going to get me. You're not strong enough." Sonny said.
The Warlord laughed.
"You've talked to the Guardian, haven't you? The coward who won't even step up." The Warlord taunted.
"You're not worth his time." Sonny replied, as the soldiers got ready. Corso stiffened as Sonny opened the cell door.
The Warlord made him launch at Sonny.
Sonny slowly opened the barriers as he locked eyes with Corso.
"Hold back, let him come for me." Sonny said in Ancient Shiloh, as he removed the last barrier.
Corso felt as if he was pulled forwards, but he leaned away, slowing the Warlord's leap.
Sonny used the Breath and the Seed to make a barrier that locked the shadowy figure in place, while the military approached with a special tank, spraying a liquid over the shadow.
He approached Corso, using only the Breath, at the thin cord that was still connecting the Warlord and Corso.
Corso sank to the floor the minute he felt the cord snap.
Within seconds, he was surrounded by doctors.
Corso felt himself drift into darkness, exhausted from fighting the Warlord.
Sonny smiled as he scooped him up and placed him on a stretcher.
"Get him to the hospital, and make sure he gets all the rest he needs." He ordered.
As soon as Corso was on his way, Sonny turned to the Warlord, who was stirring inside the tank. He looked at the scientists.
"Is it strong enough to hold him in this state?" He asked.
The head of the Abraxian scientists checked the gauges.
"It's at 98%, it should hold him." The scientist reported. Sonny hoped this was true. The Andro Zygnans were from another Galaxy all together. That might complicate matters. Sonny looked at the scientist.
"Put up extra shielding. We can't let him escape and cause more grief." He said. The scientist nodded.
"As you wish, our Guardian." He replied. Sonny bit the inside of his cheek. The Warlord had also heard it.
If Sonny Blackbones was the Guardian, he knew too little about what was going on.
Only one Pirate Leader ever really did. And when she died, that information died with it. The Warlord felt good. There was nothing they could do to stop him.
At the war room, Sonny summoned the Pirates Council of Elders for their advice. He tried to do it on his own, but a threat of this scale… he needed help.
If the Andro Zygnans took The Zaelion galaxy, it would be picked clean and they'd move on to another. It had to stop.
After explaining what he knew, Sonny looked them over.
One of the Elders, Aya, stepped forward.
"We need to activate the keybearer. We should not let Flora's sacrifice be for nothing." She said. Otis agreed. Sonny looked at them.
"They're all Abraxians. And all but one of them are dead." Sonny said. Otis looked at him.
"There's another one. Kept from his true purpose for his own safety." He said. Sonny sighed.
"You need to stop doing that. Or I will as the Guardian." He said. The Elders nodded. He was given information, but it was overall very vague and unhelpful.
"Can you all be a bit more specific?" Sonny said. The Elders nodded as they showed him a picture.
Sonny gasped.
It was Kuun.
We are closing in on the finale.
Is corso alright after his ordeal?
Will all of this be too much for Sonny, or will he be able to send the invaders back to where they came from?
All this and more in the upcoming chapters.
Massive thanks to Paranoid girl for her Beta reading.