Act 1 - Chapter 4

Familiar of crystal

"Wait, as in the prophet? The Messiah? The Kane!?" Clarity asked in shock, not entirely believing what was just said. Emelia merely stood there in dazed shock.

Kane stood there and nodded. "Yes, those are names I have been called. I did not quite catch your name however, Miss. May I know it?"

Clarity looked at Kane for a moment before realizing what he meant and bowing slightly. "Clarity, daughter of Fouquet the Adamant Earth."

"A good name, your parents chose well." Kane said calmly, as he stepped back and placed a hand on the makeshift hologram projector. "But tell me, how did you find us here? Our pilots came in this direction specifically because our long range scanners did not pick up any human life signs."

Clarity looked to Emelia and nudged her slightly in the arm, bringing her out of her shocked stupor. "Oh, um, sorry. My mom wanted to make sure Nexus would be safe if the Halkeginian technology advanced or if the Scrin appeared again, so she had our stealth spikes altered so that they could block all form of scanning equipment unless they had our specific bypass code." Emelia explained quickly, unsure about what she should be explaining in detail and what she could leave out."

Kane nodded for a moment before looking to Emelia. "I could ask much about what you have said, but I shall leave it to Louise herself to explain. What I will ask is this, what is Nexus?"

"Nexus is our . . . city, one of the two we have." Clarity said.

Kane looked to Ajay and smiled, "They have not just one, but two entire cities all their own. I'm rather envious, actually."

"Yeah, how safe are they?" Ajay asked quickly.

"Um, no other cultures have found us really, and we keep a good watch on our borders." Clarity said carefully, still not entirely sure how she should be acting.

"I see. That is good news indeed. How far away is it?" Ajay asked quickly as he grimly looked past the girl at the doorway behind them, "A lot of people are wounded, and we haven't the supplies to keep them stable for long."

Emelia nodded as a smile crossed her face. "That's what mom sent us to do actually! Nexus is just south of here."

Clarity nodded in agreement, "It's only about one hundred kilometers away. How many vehicles are capable of still being used?"

Ajay shook his head angrily. "Not enough. All of our Vertigos were shot down by Fire Hawks, and the few Venoms that can fly can only carry a couple people. We have a few raider buggies that were in some of the carryalls, but not enough and none of the carryall's can fly; if they could we wouldn't be here."

"Indeed, what Ajay says is true. If even just three of the nine carryalls could fly we would be able to get just our people moving." Kane added calmly as he moved the hologram around in his hands, doing some basic calculation on it.

"Hmm, then let's use Kalakros then!" Clarity said, looking to Emelia as she did.

Emelia eyes lit up with joy. "Oh hell yes, that could work. If we cut the carryalls up we could turn them into large metal sleds!"

"You mind letting us in on what you girls have thought of?" Ajay asked, stopping Emelia and Clarity form continuing on their own.

"Oh right," Clarity said meekly as she stepped up to the hologram projector. "May I?"

Kane nodded and stepped back, allowing Clarity to bring up a hologram of a carryall as she spoke. "If we take apart the carryalls we can use the tops and bottoms of their hollowed out hulls as large land sleds. They should easily be able to carry all of the people and important equipment, though the ride may be a bit bumpy."

"Alright, but how do you plan to move them?" Ajay asked as he placed his hands on his knees. "The average weight of a carryall is many tons, even with just the hull, it will be very heavy. We can't just push them!"

"And we won't push them, we'll pull them, or Emelia's familiar will!"

Both Kane and Ajay looked at each other before looking back at the two girls. "Her familiar?" Ajay asked carefully.

Emelia grinned. "Oh, he can pull it alright. My familiar is the strongest one in all of Nexus."

"That is not what I meant." Ajay said simply.

"Don't worry about it Ajay. We shall trust the plan these girl have come up with." Kane said as he walked past Ajay and the girls and moved to the doorway. "Come, we must inform every one of the plan, and what awaits us.

Minutes later Kane stood atop the highest angled carryall, visible to all around. Down from him on the carryalls inactive turbine Clarity and Emelia carefully stood, waiting for what Kane was doing. As the masses of Nod before them, almost 500 strong, became quiet as Kane raised his hands to the sky, garnering their attention.

"Brothers! Sisters! Children of Nod! We are here in this land, chased here by GDI's failings and blindness, dropped into this land we thought unknown. But this land is not unknown to us, and knows the touch of Nod already! Many of you know the story of the third Tiberium war years ago, and many know and have met the commando that joined us in that war, our great sister, Louise Vallière, who left us to save the world she hailed from. This is her world! This is her world and she is here working to save it from the idiocy and fallacy of those like GDI. Here, her people, calling themselves Crystalists in honor of the beautiful crystal, have built a land for themselves, a country to call their own!"

Roars of interest, happiness, and intrigue erupted form the masses of people as Kane took a moment to catch his breath, to allow him to continue his grand speech.

"Louise's own daughter stands here with us and can bring us to the city's safety, but we must first get there! To do this a plan has been forged! The carryalls will be dismantled and made into large land sleds, then shall be dragged to the city. This may sound strange to you, but as many of you know Louise herself held a strange power, and her daughter does as well! Safety is near, but we must continue to work toward it, and then and only then may we begin to work to undo what GDI has wrought! Peace through power!"

"Peace through power!" the masses of Nod called as they immediately went to work. Some went back to tend and move the wounded, other began tearing the excess electronics out of carryalls, and a few began grabbing what few torches they had and began cutting into carryalls; but everyone went to work immediately, all of them knowing what they could do to help with their ability.

Kane looked down at Clarity and Emelia as Ajay ran off to help with something. "Can I ask you both to assist as well? If you have ways to cut the carryalls, we likely need it."

"No problem! I'll tear into them like their paper!" Emelia stated as she leapt off the carry all and ran over to the nearest one that was being dismantled, a look of sheer pleasure plastering her face.

Clarity shook her head and looked to Kane. "Unfortunately, my weapon cannot cut metal cleanly or easily. I shall help move the wounded."

"Thank you. Clarity. With luck, I will be able to meet both your parents, and thank them for sending you to help.

"I know so." Clarity said a she dropped own off the carryall, following the direction that Ajay had taken not a minute before.

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"Move over boys, those little torches can't beat my blades!" Emelia called as she walked up to a group of Nod soldiers grumbling over their blowtorch.

"And you are . . . . . . Louise's daughter perhaps?" the oldest Nod soldier asked as he looked to Emelia.

Emelia smiled as she pulled out both of her blades, lighting them with frightful red flames as they left their sheaths. "Yes. Now move aside and let me show you what Crystalist magic can do!" Emelia said as she walked past the men and swing both her blades down at the connection to a torn rotor blade that protruded from the carryall. Her blades met no resistance as they slid through the metal, and half a second later the rotor dropped to the ground, the cut spot glowing like molten metal.

"Whoa, that thing must be insanely hot, how are you holding that!" one young soldier asked in astonishment.

Emelia grinned back at them and answered simply as she plunged the blade into the side of the carryall and began walking around it. "Magic!"

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Hearing a heavy crash from the center of the area Clarity looked over to see Emelia leaping around and cutting entire sections of unneeded metal off of carryalls, and could also see a bunch of soldiers pulling the top off of one that she had likely already cut.

"You're friend seems quiet energetic," Ajay stated casually as he placed a first aid kit beside Clarity and began changing the bandages of a wounded soldier behind her.

Clarity nodded as she looked at the soldier before her and began changing his now soaked bandages as she spoke. "Yes, that would be the words to describe Emelia. She's very energetic, dislikes not doing things, and is one of the best combatants in Nexus, though she doesn't have much foresight."

Ajay let out a short laugh. "Yeah, seeing that I have a hard time believing she's Louise's daughter. Though I have trouble believing she has a daughter honestly."

"Why is that?"

"I knew Louise during the third Tib war. She seemed always unsure of herself and her actions despite the fact that she initially acted on her emotions and impulses. She was very skilled, but her lack of experience showed through easily, and she was constantly worried about her home."

Clarity was quiet for many moments before nodding to herself. "That's, kind of strange to hear considering how Emelia's mom acts. She's so dignified and powerful, and always seems to know what to do."

"That sounds interesting. I look forward to seeing that." Ajay said with a light chuckle. "On the other hand, you seem far more calm, and cool than your friend."

"I, that's . . . . . . my mother was rather strict, and my father is very analytical. I guess they rubbed off on me. I overthink things sometimes though." Clarity said quietly.

"Sometimes that is what makes a pair of people good. People that can be completely different can work great together under stress, as the can pick up the slack of the other."

"I guess so . . . . . either way we should hurry up re-bandaging these people," Clarity quickly said to end the conversation. "Knowing Emelia, she'll be done cutting everything up quickly."

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Three hours later Kane, Ajay, Clarity and Emelia stood on a hill and looked as almost everyone was on the long metal sleds that used to be carryalls, all of them cut and smoothed so that they were safe to be on.

"Impressive, that this could be done so fast. But how will they be moved? You said your familiar would do it?" Kane asked Emelia calmly

"Yep, I'll call him. Make sure to have all of those cables and wires we saved ready so his tail can grab it." Emelia said as she walked further up the hill. Standing on the hill Emelia looked down to see Clarity, Kane and Ajay check the cabling, and then get onto the closest sled themselves. Everything was ready.

Cracking her neck and rolling her shoulders to relief her tense muscles Emelia took out a small shard of red Tiberium and held it in her hand. Unlike her parents whose familiars were always with them in some way, she let hers roam around Kania as it wanted, and could call him at a moment's notice. The primary reason for this though wasn't that she didn't want him near, it was because he was simply too big to be anywhere in the city.

Kissing the shard of red Tib Emelia threw it onto the ground a dozen meters away from her and let out a whistle. "Kalakros, we have work to do!"

For a moment nothing happened and everyone on the sleds began to become worried, then the constant wind that had been blowing for the past hour abruptly cut out completely. The ground began shaking slightly as small rocks and boulders began slipping down the nearby hills. Then as the vibrations died down, massive towers of Red Tiberium shot up out of the hill near Emelia, throwing rock and dirt in every direction as they came out with the force of rockets. As each spire of red Tib stopped moving it shattered into pieces, the shards then littering the ground and slowly gathering in front of Emelia, glowing vibrantly. The shards gathered into three piles before her, then sunk into the ground, leaving the landscape battered, yet deathly silent. Blasting apart the earth before Emelia a massive creature burst out of the ground. As large as a Redeemer, the creature shook dirt off of its body as its great tail rose up high into the sky. The creature was a scorpion, it's carapace as black as Nod steel and it's eyes as red primordial flame. It's claws were massive and seemed to be made entirely of Red Tiberium, and like the claws it tail as well was made of red Tiberium, light filtering through it and illuminating the area around it in a red glow. Its red Tiberium tipped legs crashed forward as it took a few steps toward Emelia, stopping with its head just in front of her.

Emelia smiled and caressed Kalakros's mandibles. "Good boy."

"That, what is that!" Ajay said in shock as he looked up from the sled. "It's bigger than an avatar!"

"As big as a Redeemer I would say. It is an amazing specimen." Kane added as he looked at Emelia's familiar with ever increasing interest.

"Kalakros is the biggest familiar in Nexus," Clarity explained, "It is also the largest Tiberium evolved creature in Kania, no other Tiberium stalker has ever reached even half its size."

"A Tiberium stalker? Is that what it is called?" Kane asked as he looked to Clarity and then back to the hill as Emelia climbed onto Kalakros's back.

Clarity nodded. "Yeah, Tiberium infused scorpion have a habit of becoming as large as trucks, and wolves and cats end up being large Tiberium fiends. Kalakros however, is different from other Tiberium species, as instead of naturally generating green Tib for its body, he generates red. It still has my father confused as to why, but he believes it's because of Emelia's blood."

"Because she is Louise's daughter, I see." Kane said to himself as Emelia and Kalakros lumbered own the hill and flipped the various wires and cords around Kalakros's tail.

"Hold on everybody!" Emelia called from atop Kalakros's back, "we're going to get pretty fast!"

"How fast exactly is she meaning?" Ajay asked as Kalakros began moving forward, and the sleds with him.

Clarity dropped to her knees and grabbed her staff, stabbing one end into the sled and gripping it tightly. "Kalakros has past buggies, bikes, Tib fiends and even venom aircraft. We've clocked him at a top speed of almost 200 kilometers an hour, though I hope Emelia goes slower to compensate for the sleds."

"Hold on and don't let go! Don't let anyone fall off!" Ajay yelled as the sleds began to pick up speed behind Kalakros; it was going to be a very bumpy, and very fast trip.