Darkvizardking: Hello people, yep, I'm bringing this back and do not ask me why, cuz I won't tell. I know this fic was not well received, but I'm sure that will change, so, without any further adieu, LET'S DO IT!
Chapter 2: Preparations, meetings, and match.
Will was chuckling like the joker, as he thought, 'Well, this will be fun, wonder what old Tom is gonna ask for.' Everyone else waited, but they were shocked when Tom said, "You know plenty of creatures right? Would it be alright if I asked you to help me get a few scans for the match?" Derek rubbed his chin, and he said, "It won't be a problem, and I do have a few in mind for you." Derek got off the table, and headed for the central port. Tom grabbed his pack and followed him. On the way, Derek asked, "You have a scan of the Door to the Deepmines right?" Tom nodded, and said, "Yeah, I do, why do you ask?"
Derek smirked, and said, "Because our stop, is to meet a friend of mine. Just stick with me, and you'll be alright." Tom nodded, and the duo quickly ported out of there. Back at the table, Will was searching through his deck, and he noticed a lack of Danian cards. He then got up, and said, "Well I might as well go for a bit too, need some Danians." Sarah was shivering, as she remembered some of the Danians more, dark, abilities.
(Door to the Deepmines)
Derek and Tom shimmered into the area, now standing in the ankle deep waters of the now slightly flooded cave. Derek saw that Tom's feet were soaked and said, "Now do you see why I told you to wear rubber boots? There was a good reason you know." Tom chuckled sarcastically and said, "Yeah yeah, I thought the water would of drained out or something by now." Derek shook his head, and before they went any further, they were stopped by M'arrillian soldiers and four of their higher-ups. These four were assigned to guard the gate, not only from the other tribes, but from humans trying to get in, and learn their secrets. They were Vitar'zu, the anti Mipedian brawler, Rol'dol, the anti Danian, Mik'banin, the anti Underworlder, and Ikub'ra, the anti Overworlder. They along with various M'arrillian underlings, acted as guards, as their abilities allowed them to deal more damage to the tribe they were fighting against.
Tom was nervous, but Vitar'zu slowly walked over and said, "You must be Derek, Lady Aer'dak speaks highly of you, and who is he?" He points to Tom at the end, and Derek says, "He's a friend, we're heading to see Bahrakatan, so please let us pass." Vitar'zu was weighing his options, he could either let them pass, or prevent them from passing, and really get in trouble with Aer'dak, who was protective of the human for some odd reason. Deciding a woman's wrath was worse, he said, "Alright, but try not to cause any trouble, as it will be on my head, got it?" Tom and Derek nodded, and they quickly slipped in past the gates, and Derek lead him to the coralsmithy. Tom still was bit nervous, and it only got worse when Bahrakatan dropped in front of them, the M'arrillian forger saying, "About damn time you got here Derek, as per our agreement, I have the battle gear you asked for." He then lead them to a table where they lay in wait. Derek then said, "Sorry about being late, I had human problems to deal with, I'm certain being a M'arrillian has it's own set of problems." Bahrakatan chuckled, and said, "You got a point kid."
Derek then said, "Let me see your pack Tom." Tom, seeing where this was going, handed over his pack, and saw as Derek loaded the battlegear. Derek then says, "Why not scan one Tom? Your pick." Tom aimed his scanner, and picked one of the battlegear (will be revealed later). Derek then said, "This location might be useful as well, couldn't hurt to find out would it?" Tom shrugged, and quickly scanned the area, his Locations scans locked in. Derek then said, "Thanks for the help again." Bahrakatan smirked and said, "Anytime kid." Derek then led Tom out of the smithy, and Derek then said, "Now it's time we see a friend of mine." Tom raised an eyebrow, and said, "Who is it?" Derek had a nervous smile, and said, "Just don't tell Rin we've been here, and it's Aer'dak we're gonna see." Tom snickered, something that Derek didn't hear or see. Tom was taking in the sights of the M'arrillian city, when they stopped at what looked like a tent of sorts, and Derek said, "Wait here, I'll need to talk to her first, then I'll come back to get you." Tom nodded, and Derek went under the curtain that acted as a door. Tom waited patiently outside the door when he heard, "Hey, what do you think you're doing here?"
Derek saw that Aer'dak's home was more of a lab, but seeing as she was a muge, it was to be expected. The next thing he knew, he was tackled, a long green tail wrapped around him. He felt scales nuzzle his cheek as Aer'dak said, "It's so good to see you, I almost thought you forgot about little old me." Derek had the decency to blush, but said, "Trust me, I wouldn't, but sadly this isn't just a social visit, I have a friend that needs help, as you remember our Chaotic battles right?" Seeing her nod he continued, "And he personally asked if he could meet you." He saw Aer'dak smile, and she said, "Of course, any friend of yours is a friend of mine, as the saying goes." They both heard, "Hey, What do you think you're doing here?" They quickly looked outside, and saw that Tom was cornered by Phelphor, the M'arrillian scout they met before.
It looked like he was about to attack him, when Aer'dak blasted him away with a power pulse, sending him straight into a wall. Phelphor got up with a grunt, but froze when he saw Aer'dak giving him a death glare. Trembling, he slowly backed away, fearful of the muge, and they heard a bit of laughter coming from above. But the odd thing was, the laughter was heard in their heads, not ears. Tom looked up and saw Milla'iin, the chieftain that took control of the Underworld. He floated down, and they heard, "What has that blowhard done this time? Wait, no need to answer that, I can plainly see it." Milla'iin looked down, and saw Tom and Derek, and said, "It's nice to see you again Derek, and I see you have a friend this time. Wait, I remember you, I chased you out of Lava Pond, I will admit, it was fun."
Derek chuckled, and said, "Good old Milla'iin, it seems having to run the tribe along with the other chieftains while Aa'uune is trapped hasn't changed you one bit." He reached out a hand, and to Tom's surprise, Milla'iin used a tentacle, and gave an improvised version of a handshake. Milla'iin gave a chuckle, and said, "No kidding, thankfully with all the chieftains acting together, it's much easier then you think. By the way, I saw that friend of yours yesterday, and he was helping Neth'uar with politics, he's an odd one." Derek chuckled, and said, "Well now that introductions are done, Aer'dak, would you allow my friend here to scan you? It's the help I was telling you about."
Aer'dak nodded, and everyone gave room, while Tom raised his scanner, and the beeping of his scanner showed it was done. Looking over her stats, Tom whistled and said, "Wow, I saw from when you knocked Phelphor for a loop, but you're one heck of a powerhouse." Aer'dak giggled at the compliment, and said, "Why thank you, I hope your match goes well." Tom chuckled, and said, "Oh it will, and thanks again." Derek then coughed to gain his attention, and said, "Okay Tom, head back to the port court, save your scans, and meet me at the Underworld Colosseum, we still have much to do." Tom nodded, he quickly shimmered off. Milla'iin then thought, 'Things are gonna get crazy soon, I can't wait.'
(Port court)
Tom rearrived on the transport pad, and quickly ran to the nearest free table. After setting his scanner, he quickly made sure that his scans were safe, but to his displeasure, Tom ran into the one person he didn't want to at the moment, Klay. The snobbish player couldn't resist a jab, and he said, "Well if it isn't Tommy, heard you're facing Codemaster Hotekk. Last I checked, he beat you terribly, guess we can look forward to a repeat?"
Tom was about to make a comeback, when Will tapped Klay on the shoulder, the shades hiding his eyes, and said, "How about you back off? Cuz last I checked, Tom here has beaten you on more then one occasion, but you still carry that pole up your butt. What? You beat a few noobs and think you're cool? What a joke." Looking over at Tom, he said, "Go on, Derek's waiting for ya, says he got something good." Tom nods, and quickly ran back to the Transport station.
Klay quickly got angry, and said, "Fine, I don't care who you think you are, you, me, in the Betadrome, now. I'll teach you a lesson." Will held a devil's smirk, and said, "Fine, just don't be too afraid." Klay held a condescending smirk all the way to the Betadrome, too bad it won't last long.
(Underworld Colosseum)
Tom shimmered in and saw Derek standing near an entrance. He then asks, "What are you waiting for?" Derek looked back at him and said, "Just waiting for a friend to let us in." Tom raised an eyebrow, and said, "And who is this, friend." He saw Spyder crawling down the side of the building, and in his hiss-like voice, said, "Come quickly, Master Chaor is waiting for you." Derek and Tom followed Spyder to behind the announcer's booth of the Colosseum. Chaor noticed their arrival, and got up from his throne, Takinom at his side, and he said, "Good to see you again, you got the gear as promised?" Derek nods, and he opens the pack to retrieve the gear, Chaor looks at Tom and says, "Hey, I remember you, you're Kaz's friend, Tom, You Derek's new partner or something?" Derek chuckled, but said, "Nope, he's not, he's just helping me out a bit, that's all." Chaor gave his usual grunt, as he inspected the gear, he said, "It checks out, you'll have your payment at the place we agreed, and she'll be safe." Derek made a bow of respect, as did Tom, and he said, "Pleasure doing business with you, I'll keep in touch."
The duo were then escorted out of the room, and once out of earshot, Derek then said, "You got a scan of Mount Pillar?" Tom nodded, and said, "Yeah, I've been there a few times before, though not exactly pleasant." Derek chuckled, and said, "I get it, that's where we're going next." Tom sighed, and in a shimmer, they were gone.
(Mount Pillar)
The moment they arrived, Derek led Tom to the library, evading the guards, and he said, "We'll be going to Kiru city after this." And once they got there, they Ibiann waiting, passing the time reading it seems. Once he saw the duo, he closed the book he was reading, calmly put it back on the shelf, and said, "Come on, follow me." He then opened a tunnel, and the trio quickly walked into it, and at the end, was a chamber where Odu-Bathax was waiting. He chuckled and said, "Good to see you Derek, and it's a surprise to see Tom with you, as if I don't remember you, last time I saw you, was when you were escorting Raznus."
Derek said, "That may be, but let's get down to business." Odu-Bathax nodded, and Derek handed him one of the remaining battlegear, and after examining it, he said, "This is perfect, your payment will be where we agreed." Derek smirked, and said, "It's a pleasure doing business with you." Odu-Bathax nodded, and left the chamber, Tom and Derek merely grabbing their scanners, and porting out of there.
(Kiru city)
Derek and Tom arrived at the arsenal, and Tom was thinking, 'There's no way we're getting in there, only reason I did before was the plan with Maxxor.' To his surprise, the guards parted, allowing them both to pass. He then thought, 'He's got connections all over Perim, interesting guy.' Aggroar came out from behind the shelves, and he said, "Good to see you Derek, you must have been busy lately." Derek nodded, but said, "Yes, I have, but sadly I need to cut this visit short, as I have a lot to tend to still." Aggroar nodded, and inspected the battlegear, and saw it was in perfect shape. He then nodded his approval, and said, "We have a deal. Your payment will be where we agreed." The duo then left the arsenal, and Derek said, "Alright, we're heading to the Mipedian Oasis." The duo then set their scanners, and shimmered away.
(Mipedian Oasis)
The duo appeared near the entrance to the Royal palace, and upon approaching the gate, Derek asked, "Is the crown prince at home? There is a matter I wish to speak with him about." A royal adviser bowed and said, "I'm sorry, but he's not in. Inflar and Mudeenu went to the Royal Mipedian Academy of Melee Arts, to speak with Headmaster Ankhyja, and will not be back for some time." Derek nodded, and said, "Thank you for telling us this, we'll head there ourselves." After a quick bow, the duo walked the streets.
Tom took the time to look around the city, the structure of the buildings and the markets reminding him of what he saw of the Middle East in textbooks, and Derek said, "Surprising huh? Our worlds are different in some ways, but similar in others." Tom took notice of the children playing in the streets, watched by their parents. He then thought, 'Yeah, they're not so different after all.' They soon reached the school, they saw guards at the gate, Brathe leading them. Recognising Derek from the times he saw him with the Mipedian Royals, he ordered, "Allow them to pass, and you two, (pointing at two of the guards), escort them to the Prince, now." Bowing, the guards led them to a room where Inflar, Mudeene, Ankhyja, and Kalloban. Kalloban, seeing that they have guests, dismissed the guards, and said, "Ah, hello Derek, how have you been, has my gear been working well for you?" Derek smiled and said, "Yes, perfectly, hasn't been a single jam, or misfire, it's perfect." Kalloban gestured them to sit down, and Ankhyja says, "So, you are the human friend Kalloban has been telling us about, it is nice to finally meet you." He holds out his hand.
Derek gives him a handshake, and said, "The pleasure is all mine." Ankhyja notices his tea was ready, and poured a cup for all in the room. Mudeenu then said, "I'm glad to hear the buster rifle has been a success, with it, we can use it to further defend our homeland." Tom, hearing this thought, 'Has the whole fight for the Cothica been about protecting the homeland? I can understand that if any one tribe got their hands on it, the rest of Perim would be threatened by invasion, and it would be worse then the M'arrillians.' Derek then said, "Speaking of the rifle, I never properly gave compensation for letting me scan it. I believe this will work." Retrieving the last battlegear from the pack, he slid it over to Kalloban, who after inspecting it, said, "Wonderful, yes, this is perfect. This is exactly what we need." Derek then asks, "Have you heard of any rumors flying around?" Tom was scanning the school, in case he needed to get back here again.
(Port court)
Peyton, Kaz, and Sarah were watching a betadrome match with a mix of admiration, surprise, and horror. Rin and Mary told them about Klay challenging Will to a betadrome match, and Peyton grabbed them and ran to see it. When he plopped them down, he said, "Just watch, you'll see how good he is." Even Christella, Klay's partner in crime, was shaking her head at how foolish Klay was acting. As they watched them load their decks, the battle board showed it was a one on one match. Klay picked Van Bloot, which was expected by any who knew him. But what scared them was Will's choice. It was Aa'une, ex-leader of the M'arrillians, who was now trapped under the lake he was slain in. Klay spun the randomizer, and it was set for the Riverlands. They changed into their respective creatures, and the battle began.
(Drome: Riverlands) (I will refer to the characters by name, not creature)
Klay was flying as fast as he could, water drills hounding him constantly. He was regretting his choice, and he felt one of the drills slam into him from below, a dark smirk on Will's face the entire time, only made worse that it was Aa'une's face looking down on him. He then heard, "How pathetic, you claim to be so great, but look at you, on the ground like a dog, how pitiful, and yet, completely expected." Klay bit back, "Shut up, you loser, I'll beat you." He raised his hand, and launched a Lava lance, but it was blocked by a water wall. Will chuckled evilly, and said, "Game over." He raised a clawed hand, and a giant water spout blasted Klay into the air, two water drills spiraling up after him. When the spout stopped, the drills slammed into him hard, and he was blasted back to the ground, and was coded instantly.
(Betadrome)
The players returned to the drome, Will's form turning back from Aa'une's. He tilted his sunglasses, and said, "Now beat it you worm, it's disgusting to even look at you." Klay was furious, and said, "How did you use water attacks like that? I've never seen that before." Will, deciding to humor him, said, "M'arrillians are masters of water, as well as mental powers, so for the strongest of them to fight with water like that is second nature. The Fluidmorphers can attest to that." Klay then stormed out of the drome, fury written on his face. Will walked to where he saw Kaz, Sarah and Peyton, and said, "Enjoy the show?" The group nodded, as they loved seeing Klay get knocked down a peg or two. Will called over one of the waiters, and ordered some lunch. He then thought, 'I wonder how Derek and Tom are doing?'
AN: ANNNDDD CUT! Man this was overdue, but I'm glad I did it. Well, you all know what to do, REVIEW!