The Lost Continent
Disclaimer: Same as before.
Happy New Year to those who braved the first chapter, here is Apostasy Part I's second installment.
RFKC, Mr. Hyde hails from the Robert Lewis Stevenson novel "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."
This was inspired by the Lost Continent World at Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure.
---
An Unknown Location:
"So what is it you require from me, for a quantity of this 'serum'." Major Bummun Hien, a man in his late twenties with intense almond eyes and a shaven skull clad in the uniform of the North Korean People's Army, asked. His tone implied that the project would be a waste of time.
"I require some of your troops to assist me in a project of some importance." Cobra Commander replied, "I am told you Black Dragon organization is an elite among North Korea's Intelligence community."
"That is correct." Hien replied.
"Then they should be up to the task I have in mind. Several of my vipers will assist them." Cobra Commander began.
Graydon Creed snorted derisively, "Incompetents working with militant fanatics. A certain failed enterprise."
"If I'm not mistaken, Syndrome demands a certain number of your followers as well." Cobra Commander hissed vehemently.
"I volunteer." Duncan Matthews began.
"No, Mr. Matthews." Creed replied, "I have another use for you now."
"But…" Duncan protested.
"Not another word." Creed replied.
"Again, I ask what this task you have for my men is." Hien asked, "I have every reason to be doubtful of your ability to fulfill your end of the bargain, after all, COBRA's glory days have since passed."
Cobra Commander glared death and daggers at the North Korean officer. The North Korean simply stared right back at the Cobra tyrant.
"There are five islands. On these five islands lurk things of use to my organization, things we are willing to pay handsomely for." Cobra Commander replied.
"What things?" Hien demanded.
"I daresay, that with what we find on the islands, North Korea will finally be able to repay the wrongs inflicted by her southern kin." Cobra Commander hissed.
Creed snorted derisively again as Cobra Commander continued his spiel, "And I'm certain the Black Dragon organization will gain a good amount of prestige and power, and possibly even rule over a newly united Korea…"
"I'm listening…" Hien replied.
---
"So what do you do in the real world?" Samantha asked Bryce as the boat cut through the waves, on the bearing Scheherazade had given them.
"Wot do you mean real world, luv?" Hyde asked.
"I meant where I come from, and where Bryce comes from." Samantha asked.
Even if we're the only people here. Even assuming she's from my world, I can't exactly tell her I'm a CIA paramilitary officer. Bryce thought, as he stared ahead.
"Bryce?" Samantha asked, "What do you do? Are you some kind of soldier? A mercenary?" Samantha asked.
Not too far off the mark, lady. Bryce asked, "What do you do?"
Nice try, going for the Socratic approach, answer a question with a question. Samantha thought, and then said, "I'm a reporter for the San Francisco Bay Mirror. But what do you do? I mean that was some excellent shooting…"
"I test off road vehicles." Bryce replied.
"I take it they teach you how to kick ass and take names as a test driver." Samantha asked.
"I was in the Army for about seven years, that's where the weapon proficiency comes from." Bryce replied.
"Oi, I 'ate to interrupt the 'get to know you' part, but I think were coming up on that island." Mr. Hyde began.
Indeed, the shape of the Lost Continent began to grow more and more distinct as the boat cut through the fog. "Look for a place to tie up the boat." Bryce began, "Also look out for rocks; I don't want to run us aground."
The boat continued along the coast of the Lost Continent until Mr. Hyde pointed at a dock. Bryce moved the boat in alongside it and they tossed the lines onto ancient and weather beaten rusty cleats. Samantha stepped off the boat only for her foot to go clean through the rotting boards of the dock.
"Some dock!" Samantha remarked as Bryce and Mr. Hyde helped her up. The trio continued off the dock, down a trail until Bryce raised a hand.
"What?" Samantha whispered.
Bryce gestured towards an area near the dock. Patrolling nearby were two men in military garb, they were Asian with brown uniforms, carrying AK-47 assault rifles and communist chest webbing. "North Korean regulars." Bryce remarked.
"How can you tell?" Samantha whispered.
"The AKs and the chest webbing are my first clue," Bryce replied sardonically, "The caps with the red stars are another clue, and so are the brown uniforms."
"How do you know this?" Samantha asked.
"In the Army they trained us about possible forces we could face. And that included North Koreans. And what the hell they're doing here I can't imagine." Bryce replied, "Not to mention how they got here."
"Maybe Cole sent them?" Samantha asked.
"I doubt the North Koreans would want to share the Ansem reports with us." Bryce replied.
"If they can come here, then we can go back, using whatever they used to get here." Samantha reasoned.
"Yeah, but how do you propose to do that." Bryce replied, "Go up to them and ask if we can borrow whatever they used to come onto this world?"
Bryce regarded her from head to toe, "They'll likely kill me and Mr. Hyde if they catch us. And I really don't want to mention what all those lonely men, who've never seen a Western woman except maybe in movies, might want to do to you."
Samantha gaped at Bryce astonished. "Hey, no one said war was a pretty business." Bryce replied.
"This could be valuable intelligence…" Bryce whispered, "Do you have a camera?"
Samantha nodded, biting back a remark. Some test driver. What are you, some kind of government agent?
She silently extracted a small digital camera from her purse. She snapped one picture, then another. Then one of the NKPA regulars stopped in his tracks, hearing the familiar sounds of a camera shutter engaging.
"Damn it." Bryce grumbled. Samantha stopped taking photos, as Bryce gently moved the safety selector switch on the AK-47 from safe to automatic fire to make sure there wasn't an audible click.
The two regulars began to crouch low, to minimize silhouette, switching the safeties on their weapons from safe to auto. They began to sweep the surrounding area with their weapons and one of them gestured. A trio of Nobodies appeared beside them.
The searchers were moving in the general direction of the trio, and Bryce whispered, "Not a sound. I don't think they've zeroed in on us yet. Move silently towards those griffin statues…"
Bryce alternated the safety catch from automatic to single fire, ammunition wasn't at its highest, and he only had three full magazines of ammunition for his AK. He had two full magazines for the Glock and two mostly empty magazines.
Crack! Samantha's foot stepped on a dry twig.
One of the North Koreans snapped off a burst of gunfire, bullets zinging uncomfortably close. "Go! Keep moving! I'll draw their fire!" Bryce replied, snapping off several rounds in reply towards the North Koreans.
Samantha stared at him for a moment. "Go! Damn it!" Bryce replied, taking cover behind a pile of stones, shooting towards the North Koreans. Bullets whizzed uncomfortably close, several 'snapping' sounds of close passing rounds were evident.
The North Korean regulars were obviously professionals, Bryce could tell. They weren't just running blindly at him, firing on full automatic like several third rate conscripts did. They were finding cover, shooting, and changing magazines on the run, making themselves moving and difficult targets.
They were shooting close to him, making Bryce keep his head down, advancing steadily. He hoped to God Samantha had enough sense to get as far away from the gunfight as possible. Bryce returned fire, shooting short, controlled bursts. He lined one of the running NKPA soldiers in his sights aiming just before a large rock that the man was going to use as cover. He squeezed off a burst, causing the North Korean soldier to tumble into the dust, dead.
The other regular fired a long burst and then ran towards a fallen column, running towards grenade range. He tossed a grenade at Bryce who kicked it into a ditch where it harmlessly exploded.
Bryce drew a bead on the other North Korean, he was the greater threat. The Nobodies were fairly easy to dispatch, provided he kept track of them. Where the hell were those bastards? First things first, dispatch that NKPA prick…
The North Korean regular had reloaded his AK and was aiming it at Bryce when Bryce felt a pressure around his neck, as an elongated limb wrapped itself around his throat.
A deranged roar echoed through the air as Hyde leapt on top of the Nobody's arm, breaking it. Hyde began to charge after the Nobodies, roaring, winding the first Dusk's arm around a pillar. He grabbed the creature's other arm and wound it around another column. He picked up a large rock and launched it, smacking another Dusk with a bowling ball sized stone.
Bryce recovered his Kalashnikov, bullets whizzing by, uncomfortably close. He aimed at the muzzle flash he saw and fired off a burst. The other NKPA regular hit the ground, several rounds having torn into his center of mass. Bryce saw that Mr. Hyde had already dispatched two of the Nobodies.
"Where the hell are the other three?" Bryce asked.
Just then, a strange sound could be heard. Bryce turned to see one of the Nobodies heading towards him, flying through the air, almost floating. Bryce fired a burst from his AK, most of the rounds missing, but a couple rounds winging the Dusk, sending it to the ground. Hyde promptly crushed its head with both of his feet.
Meanwhile Bryce fired another burst of gunfire, spraying a Nobody with several bullets from less than twenty feet away.
"ARROOO!!!!" Hyde roared as he lobbed a heavy stone at another floating Dusk. The Dusk dodged the thrown rock.
The creature dove at an angle towards Hyde at top speed, colliding and the two went down, grappling. With a savage roar, Mr. Hyde twisted the beast's neck before brushing himself off and picking up his top hat.
"Between his howling and you shooting everything that moves its amazing the whole Organization doesn't know we're here." Samantha quipped as she came out of hiding.
Bryce grunted a reply as he began to take several AK magazines off of one of the North Korean regulars he had just killed, He now had seven full magazines plus the half full magazine on his webbing. In addition he took two grenades off the dead soldier.
"We'd best get moving, someone will have heard that." Bryce remarked.
"That's what I just said." Samantha remarked, as the three of them wandered further inland.
---
"You three, search the arroyo to the north." Falcon said, "If he's alive, we'll find him."
Pathfinder came back to the cluster of Joes, CIA paramilitaries and Mexican officers and non-coms. The desert tracker had a frustrated expression on his face.
"Any sign of him?" Tucker asked.
"None at all." Pathfinder said, "Aside from his footprints near the blind spot in the fence, I didn't see a damned thing, except for a pair of footprints from a size 10 or 11 dress shoe…"
"Who wears dress shoes in a combat zone?" Ambush asked, brushing his red sideburns.
"Maybe it's from one of the CIA guys." Pathfinder asked, "It didn't look like there was any sign of a struggle over there, it was almost as if Lightfoot vanished into thin air."
"Have you guys run into things like this before?" Tucker asked Falcon.
"Among other things." Falcon replied, laconically, "Ancient civilizations trying to take over the world, giant bugs, demons…OW."
Pathfinder nudged Falcon, "Ix nay on the demonae…"
"Chuckles," Falcon began, inwardly rubbing his sore side from Pathfinder's elbow nudge, "Get on the horn to the Pit and ask them if any disappearances like this match anything in the archives."
The blond CIA operative attached to GI Joe nodded and headed to the tin communication's shack.
---
"He was at Panmunjeom with me for five years." Bummun Hien began as he grasped the dead soldier's hand, "Find and kill whoever did this or you will lie beside him."
"Yes sir." A regular replied.
"Sir," another soldier called out, the soldier standing near the second corpse, "This man's magazines are missing."
"It would appear we have a problem with infiltrators on this island." Hien replied, "Tell our COBRA and Friends of Humanity 'allies' on this island that we have a problem with rats."
---
"Where do we begin this search?" Samantha asked.
"I have no idea." Bryce replied.
"Oi, we'd best get ou' o' 'ere before those Nobodies or those 'North Korean' blokes find us." Hyde remarked.
"Those ruins over there should provide some cover." Bryce replied, gesturing towards a large hand made of stone with a trident clutched in it.
Bryce raised a hand just then, and they stopped. He gestured towards a cluster of rocks. The three hid as a creature came walking by their position.
Samantha felt her blood turn to ice as she gazed at the thing. Two antennae protruded from its head. Most of its skin was as black as tar, contrasting with the white of its human skin. One eye glowed a shade of yellow, the other was a clear blue. The thing, Samantha wasn't even sure it was human anymore, lumbered by and she could see a single tear forming in the blue, human eye. One arm was normal, the other ended in a twisted black claw.
The creature lumbered by. "Half-Heartless…" Hyde remarked, "When someone surrenders to darkness, they begin to transform into Heartless. Sometimes the descent into darkness is swift. Other times they lose their humanity piece by piece…"
"So that thing…it was…human…" Samantha began, "Oh my God."
"I'd love to get my hands on that Ansem prick's throat and squeeze." Bryce replied.
"Be wary, Mr. Lightfoot, all is not what it seems." A voice said.
Bryce turned, aiming his AK at a figure in red robes, his face concealed by red strips of cloth, trailing a red cape behind him.
"Who the hell are you?" Bryce asked.
"A friend perhaps. Or an enemy. You may never know." The figure said.
"Are you with Scheherazade? Or Cole?" Samantha asked.
"That remains to be seen." The figure replied, "In Poseidon's temple is where you may find that which you seek."
"Returning to my original question, who the hell are you?" Bryce demanded.
"DiZ, or Darkness in Zero, is who the hell I am…to put it in your own terms." DiZ began.
"Either way, if I see Ansem, I'll kill him." Bryce replied.
"The incident with that boy in Mexico was most unfortunate." DiZ replied, "You will discover, however, that things aren't what they seem."
"Mexico? Boy?" Samantha asked, "What is going on here?"
"I believe Mr. Lightfoot can answer that question better than I." DiZ replied, as he disappeared into the fog.
"So spill it Bryce, what do you really do? Are you some kind of Special Forces guy?" Samantha asked.
"No, I am an Army officer turned civilian. I work for Vaquero Security Enterprises," Bryce replied, using one of his cover stories, "With some recent instability in the region, we were hired to train security personnel guarding the silver mines in Mexico."
"That explains the fact that you're practically Buffalo Bill reborn with those guns." Samantha replied.
"Oi, let's discuss this later." Hyde replied, "Then I can go back to my swamp in peace."
How easy will it be to simply crush Lightfoot's skull…Hyde thought. However, the Jekyll inside him began to fight it down. Sure the strange gunman annoyed him, but he wasn't about to go and murder him for irritating him.
Hyde trailed behind the two other humans as they headed towards the stone hand with the trident in it.
"That would be our best guess for Poseidon's temple." Bryce began, "After all he was the ancient sea god."
"I did take classical literature when I was at North Western, Bryce." Samantha replied.
Good thing she's not just another pretty face. Bryce thought. But she's such an innocent about everything…
"Good thing you're not another pretty face." Bryce began.
Despite herself, Samantha smiled, "Are you flirting with me?"
"What do you think?" Bryce replied, with a tired grin of his own.
"I think that you're going nowhere, because I'm already taken." Samantha replied, "But I'll give you credit for the nice try."
"Thanks." Bryce replied, with an ironic grin.
Hah, turns out you're no better for her than I am, wanker. Hyde thought. Where is this jealousy coming from? And what makes you think a lovely young lady like her would ever be attracted to a malformed beast like you anyway…especially knowing what you did in London.
The trio came upon a ruined building, crumbling stone façade, parts of statues lying in a nearby fountain of clear water. "If I'm not mistaken, this is the temple of Poseidon." Bryce began, in a mock professorial tone.
They walked inside the temple, and it was immediately obvious that the place wasn't uninhabited. A couple signs with the words Global Discovery Group written on them were placed at random locations.
"Looks like an archaeological dig." Bryce remarked.
"What tipped you off, soldier boy, the signs or the picks and shovels?" Samantha quipped. Amanda would love this place. Samantha thought, thinking of her old college roommate and best friend.
"Hey, I came from the Army, where the obvious was always stated for us." Bryce replied.
"I wouldn't point that weapon everywhere. You might give some volunteer a heart attack." Samantha remarked.
"With what we've seen lately, I don't think we'll be running into too many volunteer archaeologists." Bryce replied.
As they passed through the ruined halls of the temple a radio on a table near a wall began to emit a burst of static followed by a garbled transmission, "Get out of the temple! If you can hear my voice, get out of the temple!"
"I think we should get out of here." Samantha said.
"Be my guest, if you like spending the rest of your life on some Atlantis look-alike of an island." Bryce replied.
"OK, but if we wind up turned into stone, or mummified, or something I'm blaming you." Samantha replied.
"We won't have to worry about mummification, only Ancient Egyptians did that." Bryce replied.
As they continued down the hall they were nearly run down by a bespectacled young man in khaki, with red hair.
"HALT!" Bryce shouted, aiming his weapon.
"Will you put that thing away!" Samantha began.
"And you call me uncivilized." Hyde remarked.
"Who are you?" Bryce asked.
"My name's Taylor, I'm an archaelogy intern with Professor Baxter, Princeton University's Ace of Archaeology…"
"Bryce Lightfoot. Sorry about the gun, we've been having encounters with some pretty nasty characters of late…" Bryce replied.
Hyde belched loudly just then as he munched on a submarine sandwich an archaeologist left on a table. "You mean him?" Taylor asked.
"No." Bryce replied.
"Who are you guys?" Taylor asked.
"Samantha Grayson. Listen, we were taken to this island by this strange guy named Cole and then this strange guy called DiZ told us what we were looking for could be found here in the temple of Poseidon."
"I wish Professor Baxter were around," Taylor began, "He could tell you guys so much about this temple, he'd be the go-to guy for all this."
"Well, you'll do for now." Samantha replied.
"Where are the others?" Bryce asked, "I don't know that much about archaeology, but shouldn't there be other volunteers or scientists or…"
"I don't know, they just disappeared when I was on a lunch break." Taylor began.
"They didn't take their food with them…" Hyde replied, "Which is a good thing, I'm hungry."
Hyde began to gulp down a whole Coca Cola bottle from another lunch bag. "Ah…"
"Well, follow me." Taylor said, giving Samantha a flirtatious smile. He gulped nervously when Hyde glared at him.
"Professor Baxter discovered a secret message of some kind before he disappeared." Taylor continued as they continued into a large chamber.
"Where are we?" Bryce asked, surveying the huge chamber.
"This is the Chamber of Sacrifices." Taylor began, "You see, thousands of years ago a high priest of Poseidon, Lord Darkenon, attempted to seize the power of Poseidon. He used great heart devouring beasts…"
Taylor pointed to the frescoes adorning the walls, several creatures, about three or four feet high, black as midnight, with antennae and glowing yellow eyes were visible. Beside the Shadow Heartless were several spheres with gaping maws and glowing eyes and a trio of tentacle like projections.
"In the cataclysm that followed, all perished. It is said that the spirits of the combatants still haunt this temple." Taylor continued.
"I have a bad feeling about all this…" Bryce remarked.
Another burst of static emitted from the radio that Taylor had picked up, "If you can here me, get out of the temple now!"
Bryce promptly flicked the safety of his weapon off.
"Bryce, I don't think ancient spirits can be killed by bullets." Samantha remarked.
The lights promptly went out. Taylor flicked on a glow rod he had been carrying with him and shined it around the room. Bryce turned on a small tactical flashlight attached to his belt.
Taylor flashed the light around the chamber. Several letters in ancient Greek appeared in a ring around the chamber.
"What does that mean? Is this the hidden message that Baxter found?" Bryce asked.
"I don't know." Taylor replied, "And to translate the message: 'Arise Great Lord Darkenon from the Great Darkness…'."
"Taylor, I don't think you should…" Samantha began.
The sound of stone grinding against stone could be heard and two things happened simultaneously. First a large stone slab blocked the entrance to the chamber, and another stone slab slid aside to reveal a cobweb filled, dank hidden chamber.
Several Heartless began to flood into the Chamber of Sacrifices. Bryce practically shoved Samantha and Taylor behind him as he began to shoot at the attacking Heartless, with short controlled bursts from his AK-47. He watched with grim satisfaction as three Shadows went down, perforated by multiple 7.62x39mm rounds. More of them were approaching, with more of the Spherical Heartless. Bryce felt the AK click on an empty chamber. He swung the AK to one side and reached for the Glock at his hip, extracting it smoothly and then firing steadily, hitting one Dark Ball with numerous 9mm rounds, causing it to fall, splattering black blood everywhere.
"Bryce! Come on!" Samantha shouted from the hidden chamber.
Bryce continued backward, shooting steadily, killing or wounding Heartless with a barrage of 9mm rounds.
Hyde grabbed Bryce's belt and yanked him inside the chamber as the stone slab slid into place. There were no Heartless in the chamber. However there was also no visible exit, either.
"And whose brilliant idea was this…" Samantha said, taking one glance at Bryce in the glowing light of the glow rod.
"It seemed like a good idea at the time." Bryce protested, holstering his Glock and reloading his AK with a full magazine.
"Silence all of you…" a voice boomed.
"Wha-?" Taylor began.
"I am Lord Darkenon!"
"Thanks Bryce, you just got us stuck down here with an armor wearing bad guy with bad Darth Maul makeup." Samantha remarked.
"Silence mortal woman!" Darkenon began.
"What do you bloody want?" Hyde demanded.
"I want the trident of Poseidon." Darkenon demanded.
"Well none of us know exactly what that thing is." Bryce replied.
"Then you will remain trapped here for all eternity." Darkenon replied.
"Looks like there's a portal over here." Samantha replied.
"Unless you have about a few hundred pounds of C4 hidden on your body somewhere," Bryce quipped, "I don't think we're going anywhere."
"Hey, guys, I think I've found something we can use as a crowbar…" Taylor said.
"Some crowbar." Samantha began, "That looks like…"
"The Trident of Poseidon." A female voice began.
"Who are you?" Taylor asked.
"I am the Guardian of the Portal to Atlantis."
"This is heavy." Taylor began.
"Can you get us out of here?" Samantha asked.
"I am sorry, but Darkenon's power is too great. I can open the portal into the heart of Atlantis." The Guardian began.
"Wait a second…" Samantha began.
"It's the only way now." Bryce replied.
"Barring the fact that we're stuck down here because of some armor wearing Darth Maul wannabe, how do you plan on getting us out of here?" Samantha asked.
"I guess we'll find the answer in the Heart of Atlantis…" Bryce began.
The portal opened, a massive vortex of water swirled around it. "I guess there's no way to go but forward." Samantha began.
The group walked through the portal and it closed behind them. They followed a massive corridor, surrounded by a vortex of water until it ended.
"Great another dead end." Hyde remarked, "Brilliant idea Bryce. You got us out of that chamber alright and into yet another dead end…"
"At last! Thank you mortals! You have lead me into the chamber of Poseidon…A god powerless without his Trident…" Darkenon's voice sounded, "Heartless, take the Trident from the whelp and kill the mortals."
Bryce began firing bursts of gunfire at the Heartless that appeared in the chamber from his AK as fireballs, forty feet high burst around the chamber. One of them narrowly avoided incinerating Samantha, because Hyde shoved her out of the way.
The trident began to glow with an eerie light of its own, mingling with the muzzle flash of Bryce's weapons as he fired both AK and Glock 17 in rapid succession, gunning down several attacking Heartless.
"Somebody help me!" came a terrified scream. Taylor turned to see Professor Baxter surrounded by a wall of flames.
The trident glowed again, before levitating in midair, towards a section of the wall. Appearing from the darkness came a man, with the tail of a dolphin and the upper body of a muscular man with a flowing white beard and flowing white hair.
"Thank you, Taylor…" Poseidon's voice boomed, "Darkenon, you have learned nothing in almost four millennia trapped in the Great Darkness."
"I have learned one thing, Poseidon." Darkenon replied, sending fireballs towards the sea god, "How to control even more Heartless! How did it feel to know that your followers, your loyal worshippers were all consumed, their hearts forever lost? How did it feel to be a god with no followers?"
A burst of water launched towards Darkenon knocked Bryce against a nearby wall, knocking him unconscious.
"Bryce!" Samantha shouted, running towards him, only to have a fireball burst just in front of her.
The two immortals let fly, fire and water. Hyde threw a Darkball against a cluster of Shadow Heartless, and dodged a fireball.
"This battle is between us, Darkenon." Poseidon said, "Release these mortals."
"Mortals." Darkenon said, "But I rather like a captive audience. Much as I did when your followers watched us battle millennia ago."
"You forget one thing, Darkenon. The Heartless consume the careless. They have been feeding on your black heart for millennia…" Darkenon began and then clutched at his chest, his body shrinking, antennae protruding from his head.
"Now, you five mortals," Poseidon began, "This battle is between us, and I will take you to the surface…"
Poseidon gestured to them and surrounded them in a cloud of mist, bringing them back to the surface.
Bryce regained consciousness right around the time that a trio of COBRA Desert Vipers with a light machinegun opened up on them.
"Take cover!" Bryce shouted.
"Can you shoot?" Bryce asked Taylor.
"I'm a college student." Taylor replied.
"I'll take that as a no." Bryce replied.
Samantha ducked as low as she could behind the altar where all of them were crammed, hiding from the machinegun.
"Samantha, do you have a mirror on you?" Bryce turned to ask her.
"Wait, what?" Samantha asked.
"This is urgent, do you have a mirror?" Bryce asked.
"I'm a girl; of course I have a mirror." Samantha replied, "Why?"
"I need to borrow it for about two seconds." Bryce replied.
Samantha dug into her bag for her compact. "Do not break this…" Samantha asked.
Bryce opened the compact and angled the mirror until he could see the machinegun. "Good…"
"What do you mean good?" Taylor said, "We've got a machinegun firing at us."
"The machine gunner's obviously inexperienced." Bryce replied, "If he keeps shooting continuously he's going to heat the barrel up. If the barrel heats up he's gonna have to change it out. And he's gonna overheat in five…four…three…two…one…"
The gunfire stopped and Bryce promptly ran to the nearest bit of cover he could find, shooting as he ran.
"Is he out of his mind?" Professor Baxter asked.
The two other Cobra Desert Vipers were shooting steadily, their rounds nearing Bryce, who kept moving. Bryce pulled a pin from one of the grenades on his webbing, let it cook off for a second and then lobbed it into the machinegun position.
The grenade exploded, destroying the machinegun. It also set off numerous secondary explosions, blowing up the fuel for the expedition's generator, the COBRA's ammunition, and some excavation charges. The explosion promptly blew a hole in the roof of the temple of Poseidon.
"GAAAHHH!!!!!!" Professor Baxter screamed. The short, potbellied, salt and pepper bearded older gentleman lost all pretense of academic gentility.
"What?" Bryce asked.
"You – you Philistine!" Baxter shouted.
"I saved your life." Bryce replied.
"My greatest find! You blew a hole in the ceiling!" Baxter shouted.
"Well this temple was in ruins anyway." Bryce replied.
"It certainly didn't need you helping it along!" Baxter shouted, "Get out! Get out!"
---
Lauren Shannon Callahan checked her watch. "It's about two-thirty, do you think Samantha's gonna pick us up?"
"I think she said she might not be able to get off work today." Her companion, Amanda Christina Walker replied.
Amanda took her cell phone from the pocket of her jeans and turned it on. She was a slender, athletic brunette, with the build of a cross-country runner, with the classic cute girl next door look. She checked her voice mail messages, nothing.
"Nothing?" Lauren asked, Amanda nodded to confirm.
"This isn't like her. If she was going to be late, she would've called." Lauren continued.
"Well, if she's got a big story to cover, she probably lost track of time. That sounds like the Samantha we know." Amanda replied.
"I have enough for a cab." Lauren said.
"I'd hope so, you being the daughter of two successful Denver surgeons." Amanda replied to her red headed, pale complexioned Irish friend.
"I remember the address to." Lauren replied.
The two women hired a cab, who took them to Samantha's apartment building. "Where do you think Samantha keeps her extra key?" Amanda asked.
"What makes you thing there is an extra key?" Lauren asked.
"Remember senior year, when we threw that huge surprise party for Samantha on her birthday, when she was working late?" Amanda asked.
"Yeah, I remember you calling us, from her apartment." Lauren replied.
"Well," Amanda said, with a grin, "how do you think I got inside?"
"I figured you picked the lock." Lauren replied.
"No." Amanda replied, as she searched around Apartment 12A's front door. "Aha…"
Amanda reached underneath a small decorative table with a flower arrangement that adorned the hallway. Underneath there was a key taped underneath with a '12A' tag on it.
The two women entered their friend's apartment, looking for clues. As usual her place was a jumbled mess only Samantha could really decipher. The more things change…
Amanda found Samantha's date book and noticed one thing about Samantha's schedule – that she had a story to cover that day, a fashion show.
"I think we should head to the Bay Mirror and see if we can surprise her at work." Amanda said.
"I don't think that's such a good idea, I mean she's probably busy and…" Lauren began.
"Oh come on," Amanda said, "What's the worst that could happen…"
---
"OK, so the Temple of Poseidon didn't lead to anything but a pissing contest between two gods and knowledge that a terrorist group is somehow aligned with these 'Heartless'." Bryce said.
"Well, if someone didn't give the temple of Poseidon a new skylight…" Hyde began.
"Excuse me." Bryce replied, "Who saved your asses out there?"
"OK, next time let's try to do things with as little destruction as possible." Samantha replied.
Ahead of them was a ruined castle. "Try not to give this building a discount remodeling job." Samantha quipped.
"If the bad guys cooperate, I won't fire a shot or toss a grenade." Bryce replied, as they entered the dank and musty remnants of the castle.
"Something tells me the inhabitants of this castle aren't the friendliest blokes." Hyde remarked. Indeed. The skeletal remains of several knights in plate armor were strewn about the place. The knights had either been incinerated, or frozen. Several of the knights were plastered to the walls by several feet of thick ice.
"Gee, what was your first clue?" Samantha asked.
"The crispy critters over there." Bryce began.
It was then they heard the sound of a taunting voice: "Turn right for Ice and left for Fire! Now, pick the dragon you desire."
"Dragon? Fire? Ice?" Hyde asked.
"I get the feeling we're not going to like the answers to any of those questions." Bryce replied.
"I think it's a little late to turn back." Samantha observed, as a heavy portcullis closed down behind them.
"The left burns hot, the right turns cold, whichever you chose, you'd best be bold." The voice taunted.
"OK, so there are two dragons here, and somehow we're supposed to choose one?" Samantha asked.
"Past this point of no return, your only choice is to freeze or burn." More taunting.
Samantha was about to say something when a blonde haired man in a hooded black robe stood at the intersection with a blue sitar in his hand.
"Ah, the paramilitary man, the nosy woman reporter, and the swamp hermit Dr. Jekyll. Or should I say Mr. Hyde." Demyx said.
"It doesn't matter, I think you three have a dilemma. Which dragon do you choose? Well, for one of you I will choose the dragon. I believe Miss Grayson might be most comfortable with the Ice Dragon." Demyx continued and he caused several of the frozen armor suits to converge on Samantha.
Bryce started shooting at both the reanimated ice knights and Demyx. The bullets had no appreciable effect on either of them.
The Ice Knights dragged Samantha away, down the corridor, to the claws of the Ice Dragon.
"I guess we'll need fire to stop this prick." Bryce began, as he and Mr. Hyde ran down the hallway, up a stairwell towards a battlement. By the time they reached the top, the Ice Dragon had flown away, with Samatha clutched in its talons and Demyx riding atop its head.
Another dragon, the red Fire Dragon lifted Bryce and Hyde in its talons as it flew off in pursuit of the Ice Dragon. The two dragons flew parallel to one another and Bryce tried to aim his rifle at Demyx. He held his fire. He'd been trained to shoot from helicopters, but that was with a sniper rifle from a hovering helicopter, not with a Russian made assault rifle from a flying dragon.
The dragons split in two different directions.
Samantha felt herself be so nauseated by the spiraling and spinning of the Ice Dragon as it flew away from the Ice Dragon. She could see the Fire Dragon invert as it climbed before it headed leveled off towards the Ice Dragon, spewing fireballs. Demyx urged the Ice Dragon to fly upward, dodging both the fireball and the Fire Dragon.
"Damn we missed!" Bryce shouted.
"What was your first bloody clue!?" Hyde demanded, looking green.
"Don't puke yet, we've got to get Samantha way from that Ice Dragon and that blonde haired fruitcake." Bryce remarked.
"NO ONE CALLS ME FRUITCAKE AND LIVES!!!" Demyx shouted as he heard Bryce's remark.
The two Dragons came within a hairs breadth of each other again, before the Fire Dragon looped upward and then spun around. Then they flew towards each other.
Samantha shut her eyes in terror, sure that the two lizards would collide, the Ice Dragon would let go and she'd fall several hundred feet to her death.
No such thing occurred. Samantha opened her eyes again just as the two dragons both looped upward, belly to belly. Hyde tried to reach out for her, and actually grabbed a hold of her ankle for a brief instant.
The Dragons both dived, to about treetop level, chasing each other, climbing above or diving below one another, corkscrewing and blasting fire or ice at each other. Samantha knew if she didn't try and reach one of the two men on the Fire Dragon she wouldn't live to see tomorrow.
A lucky fire burst from the Fire Dragon clipped the Ice Dragon and reflexively the Ice Dragon let go. Samantha felt herself tumbling through the air, seeing the ground rushing up before her, shutting her eyes for her last few seconds of conscious life.
She wasn't dead. She was airborne again. Clutching her around the ankles was none other than Mr. Hyde.
The Ice Dragon flew off as Demyx shouted, "This isn't the last you've seen of Organization XIII!"
The Fire Dragon alighted, and dropped its three passengers before flying off to parts unknown. "Ah, you've survived the ordeal of the Dueling Dragons."
The three people turned to see a man, with a white beard and long snow-white hair clad in the garments of a medieval wizard.
"I am Merlin. I am here to help you on your quest." Merlin began.
"DiZ a friend of yours?" Bryce asked.
"You could say we are acquainted." Merline replied, cryptically, "A horse of the air, bearing a horn will lead you to that which you seek…"
With that Merlin vanished. "OK, first we get involved in a battle with an Ancient Greek sea god and his bad Darth Maul impersonator priest. Then we get picked up by dragons and taken for a wild ride I'd rather not repeat again. What's next…?" Samantha asked.
"I don't know, but I'm up for round three, to get us out of here." Bryce replied.
---
"So what did you find out, Chuckles?" Tucker asked.
Chuckles handed Falcon a printout of the e-mail he had recently received. Falcon said, "Apparently Lightfoot isn't the only person who's vanished during operations."
"What do you mean?" Tucker asked.
"Before I got assigned down here," Falcon replied, "I received word that some members of our team had vanished without a trace."
"Has there been any word on what caused it?" Tucker asked.
"We don't know, yet." Falcon replied, "But we're going to find out."
---
Greek Gods, Dragons, and now Unicorns. Samantha thought. What else does this world have in store for us?
Bryce gestured for them to halt. "Wot now?" Hyde asked peevishly.
"COBRA." Bryce began.
Indeed two Range Vipers were patrolling around the area. They moved so close to the hiding trio that Bryce was surprised the Range Vipers didn't find them.
"Bang! Ha ha ha ha!" A bearded fellow with some kind of modified goggles and a nasty assortment of rockets attached to his body.
A rocket streaked from his body, flying through the air before blasting a stone statue on top into tiny pebbles.
From the brush, a very startled unicorn flew into the air. "Bang! Ha ha ha ha ha!" Metal Head shouted, firing a rocket at the unicorn.
The rocket exploded several feet away sending a net into the unicorn, causing it to tumble awkwardly from the skies. The Range Vipers headed for the unicorn and began dragging it into the clearing. The creature struggled fruitlessly.
"Where's Mr. Hyde?" Bryce asked.
"He…oh no…" Samantha grumbled.
"AROOOO!!!!" Hyde shouted as he barreled out of the underbrush, lifting Metal Head into the air bodily and then airplane spinning him over his head in a spiral before body slamming him onto the ground like a WWF wrestler.
The two Range Vipers turned to face Hyde. "COBRA!!!!" came another shout.
"I knew those bastards weren't operating alone." Bryce grumbled, "Stay there."
"While you what, pull some insane Rambo stunt?" Samantha asked.
Meanwhile, Hyde was spinning Metal Head by his ankles in a fast circle before lobbing him into the two Range Vipers. He tugged the net off the unicorn and the creature followed him to where Bryce and Samantha were hiding.
The unicorn nuzzled Hyde, licking his fingers. "Eyuck…Unicorn drool…" Hyde grumbled as the Unicorn led the three of them toward their next adventure.
"Hey fellow," Samantha began, smiling despite the situation, "There's something tied around your neck."
Samantha untied the ribbon and out of it fell a small note. On the piece of papyrus were the words: In the lair of the sorceress Miseria, a princess holds that which you seek…
"How many more twists and turns could this quest possibly hold?" Bryce grumbled. The guys at Langley are never gonna believe this…
---
The unicorn led the three to a cave in a bay on the far shore of the island. Inside the bay were several wrecked ships and skeletal remains of crew members. Two men, dressed like ancient Persians, approached them.
"I am Sinbad." One of them declared.
"Funny, you're as white as my friend's blouse." Bryce remarked. Samantha fixed him with a dirty look.
"And I am Shish Kebab."
"Good, I'm hungry." Hyde quipped.
"Are you one of those strange men of the Far East with the sticks that spew fire?" Sinbad asked.
"If you're asking if we're North Koreans, no we aren't." Bryce replied, "How many of them are there?"
"Twenty of them came ashore two days ago, after our ship was wrecked." Sinbad replied, as his eyes narrowed, "And how do I know that you are not one of their number?"
"They tried to kill us earlier." Samantha replied.
"So why are you here?" Bryce asked Sinbad.
"I am no fool." Sinbad replied, pointing his scimitar at Bryce.
"Bloody 'ell, we're 'ere because the bloody unicorn had a message 'round 'is neck that said what we sought was on this island in the 'ands of some sorceress named Miseria!" Hyde replied.
"You seek the hand of Princess Amora as well?" Sinbad asked.
"Actually no." Bryce replied, "I'm happily a bachelor."
"There's still the question of how we're going to defeat this sorceress." Shish Kebab began.
"It is said that the way to defeat Miseria is by the Heart of the Sultan." Sinbad began.
"Alright, where's this bloody sultan. I'll tear 'is 'eart out myself…" Mr. Hyde began.
"First of all, Hyde," Samantha began, "That's disgusting. Second of all, I'm not about to let you waltz into a palace and rip the heart out of some helpless old…"
"The Sultan's Heart is not a human heart." Sinbad replied, "It is a large ruby, the largest ever seen. And it is said that it is a key to the power to defeat Miseria."
"Alright, point made. So we save the princess, find the Sultan's Heart, and find the Ansem reports so we can get the hell out of here." Bryce began.
"And just how do you plan to do that?" Samantha asked.
Bryce grinned as he held up a wine bottle from a nearby wreck.
"You're going to get Miseria drunk?" Samantha asked.
"By Allah do not burn those precious spirits!" Shish Kebab began.
Bryce took a cigarette lighter from his pocket and tore some rags from a rotted sail. "No, I'm going to start a fire or two."
"OK, cavern full of wooden shipwrecks plus fire. Bad idea." Samantha remarked.
"If we can distract her with the fire, we could nab the Sultan's Heart and free the Princess and be on our merry way." Bryce replied, "At the very least the fire will distract the other bad guys hanging around the area."
"It will also scorch everything in its path." Samantha replied, "Which will mean yet another ancient structure you've destroyed."
"First of all I did not destroy the Temple of Poseidon because it was already in ruins to begin with. Second of all I think the skylight was a hell of an improvement." Bryce replied.
The group walked deeper into the cavern, past a rotted ship's mast in front of several caves. "Should we split up?" Shish Kebab said.
"No, we should stay together. We stand a better chance if…" Bryce began when a fireball erupted in front of him.
"Looks like you don't need to start that fire after all Bryce!" Samantha commented.
From the caves poured several Heartless and misshapen half human monsters that were part sea creature, bearing axes, swords and picks. Bryce lit and tossed one of his impromptu fire bombs into a cave and the sound of inhuman cries of agony could be heard.
"Welcome fools to your deaths!" came a shout from above. Perched high on a rocky outcropping stood a woman in black and purple robes, with a long flowing black cape.
"Miseria! Your time has come!" Sinbad shouted, as he fought with his sword against two axe wielding ogres.
"Help! Somebody!" came a scream.
Suspended from a yardarm by ropes around her wrists was a slender, athletic looking woman, fair skinned and blonde haired clad in pink silks.
"Hyde, do you think you can get up there?" Bryce asked.
"That mast is almost rotted, friend," Shish Kebab said as he gulped down a bottle of wine, holding a torch in his other hand. He blew on the torch after taking a deep breath, spitting fire onto several Heartless.
"Sinbad should be able to get up there." Bryce replied.
Just then bursts of gunfire sounded, narrowly missing Bryce. "As if we didn't have enough problems!"
A squad of NKPA regulars charged out of another cave, shooting as they went.
"I'll draw their fire," Bryce replied, running as he went, moving laterally and shooting in short bursts.
Samantha looked around at the carnage. Hyde was fighting like he was in a bar brawl, knocking around attacking Heartless and various creatures. Meanwhile several North Koreans and Cobra Vipers were chasing Bryce, who was shooting while retreating. Shish Kebab and Sinbad were practically back to back, surrounded by Miseria's minions, slashing out with their swords. Samantha didn't know what to do, she was a reporter, not some action heroine. But she wasn't going to run and hide.
She saw a cargo net stretching up the side of the yardarm and grabbed onto it, climbing for all she was worth. How many feet up am I? Don't ask! If you think about it, you'll freak out…
She crawled across the yardarm, trying desperately not to look down, trying not to think she was about fifty feet off the ground.
"Hey, you!" Princess Amora shouted, "Can you lower me a little?"
"Why not all the way down?" Samantha asked. All those feet down…
"I just need a little slack…" Amora replied. Samantha complied, and Amora swung back and forth in the air before catching the cargo net with her feet and then climbing up to the yardarm.
"Thank you…" Amora said to Samantha who was now clinging to the yardarm with all the strength she had.
Amora untied the knots on her wrists and released the rope. "You are brave, my friend."
"Actually I'm scared out of my mind right now." Samantha said, "I hate heights…"
"Hold on to me." Amora began, as she took hold of the rope that had been suspending her. Samantha complied. Amora grabbed hold of the rope and swung to a rock ledge some feet away. She swayed unsteady for a few moments and Samantha swore she was going to fall to their mutual deaths.
Amora leaned forward and practically pushed Samantha forward as well, causing them to land, rather heavily on the ledge.
"That was some trick." Samantha remarked. From the height they stood at, they could watch the battle taking place, they could see Bryce running from rock to rock, shooting and retreating.
"Your friend with the fire-stick certainly has courage." Amora remarked.
"It won't do him any good if he gets himself killed…" Samantha remarked, briefly forgetting her fear of heights as she saw Bryce shooting back at the North Koreans and COBRA Desert Vipers chasing him.
"If we take the Sultan's Heart, we can defeat Miseria…" Amora replied.
Sinbad and Shish Kebab were running through the caves, sword fighting against bands of Heartless or Miseria's minions that were all over the tunnels. "The Sultan's Heart must be in here somewhere." Sinbad said.
"You mean after all this questing, all this fighting, and all this running you have no idea where the ruby is?" Shish Kebab demanded.
"Eh heh heh…" Sinbad began.
Meanwhile Bryce ran inside a cave, jumping over a small ditch at the cave's mouth filled with pitch. He lit his last Molotov and threw it into the ditch causing a wall of fire to spew up in front of his pursuers. With grim satisfaction he watched as a Desert Viper rolled on the ground, trying to put himself out.
Looks like I'm not going out that way anytime soon. Bryce thought.
Another gout of flame burst up and narrowly missed incinerating Bryce. From behind the fireball came a monstrous Half-Heartless clad in the tattered remnants of a COBRA uniform. Bryce gunned him down with his AK, running and changing magazines as the creature fell dead to the ground.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Bryce thought, I have no idea where in this damn cave system I am.
Grimly Bryce continued deeper into the tunnels, hoping to find his way out when the ground fell out underneath him.
Elsewhere Samantha and Amora continued their way towards the chamber of the Sultan's Heart. As they did so a Soldier Heartless leapt out towards them. Amora promptly let the creature have it with a flurry of kicks and hand strikes driving the creature into some spikes on the cavern wall.
"Where did you learn to do that?" Samantha asked.
"My father gave refuge to some Shaolin Monks a number of years ago. In exchange he requested they teach me their art…" Amora replied.
Samantha decided not to say anything.
Sinbad stabbed a Dusk through the midsection, causing the creature to fall dead to the ground. "Are you sure this is the way to the chamber?" Shish Kebab asked.
"I'm sure, this time." Sinbad replied, dodging a sword from a Bandit Heartless.
"So far you've done a bang-up job navigating us through these tunnels." Shish Kebab snapped, "First we wind up in that filthy privy the guards use. Then we nearly fall down a precipice and…"
"Look out below!" came the shout and Bryce promptly landed on the two men.
"Are you alright?" Sinbad asked.
"I'm OK, I landed on something soft." Bryce replied.
"Ow my head…" Shish Kebab groaned.
Bryce helped Shish Kebab to his feet before firing off a burst of gunfire that tore up a couple pursuing Heartless. "Don't fire that thing too close to my head again…" Shish Kebab began.
"Shut up!" Bryce shouted, shooting down a Cobra Desert Viper that had been heading towards them.
"Are you alright?" Sinbad asked.
"What?" Shish Kebab asked.
"Do you have any idea where we are?" Bryce asked.
"No." Sinbad replied as they stood at a y-shaped junction.
A scream of surprise echoed from the tunnel to their left. "This way!" Sinbad and Bryce both said.
"What?" A deafened Shish Kebab asked.
"Come on!" Bryce said, dragging Shish Kebab.
Samantha held the Sultan's Heart in her hands. Standing between her, Amora and the exit tunnel, however was Miseria.
"Return that Sultan's Heart to me, now. And I'll make your death painless…" Miseria threatened.
Samantha heard running footsteps just then and saw Sinbad, Shish Kebab, and Bryce running through the tunnel. "Samantha, Amora, duck!" Bryce shouted as he pulled a soda can sized cylinder from his chest webbing.
The CIA paramilitary threw a smoke grenade at the feet at Miseria. He promptly grabbed Samantha's arm and practically dragged her down the tunnel.
A Heartless leaped towards Amora, intent on cleaving her apart. Sinbad swung his sword, cleaving the Heartless into two twitching halves.
"My hero…" Amora said, sardonically.
They continued down the tunnel, Miseria in hot pursuit until they reached a hole in the cavern's roof, the sunlight streaming inside. The second that the ruby was exposed to sunlight a red beam shot from the ruby, streaking into Miseria. With a horrified shriek the sorceress began to disintegrate into nothing more than a pile of dust. Lying atop her remains was what looked like some sort of document.
"Oi, we 'ave a problem 'ere!" Hyde said as he ran up to the group.
The cavern shook and vibrated violently. "Wait!" Samantha shouted, running towards the dusty remains and picking up the report, narrowly dodging a falling stalactite.
"How are we going to get out of here?" Amora asked.
Bryce pointed at a couple rubber Zodiac rafts beached in the cove. The group needed no urging, they raced, dodging falling stalactites, rocks, and falling wooden debris. They jumped into the raft and paddled out of the cave to the shoreline.
"What was that?" Bryce asked as they stood on the beach.
"I think this was the first of the Ansem reports." Samantha replied.
The sound of clapping could be heard just then. The exhausted survivors turned to see DiZ walking towards them, "Excellent work. You have done well. You are now getting closer to returning to your world…"
"Why didn't you warn us what we were about to go through. Thanks to this adventure we've been stuck between warring gods, snatched off the ground by Dueling Dragons, and then faced a wizard and her lackeys...Not to mention some nasty characters from our world." Samantha replied.
"A quest entails some difficulty. And more lie ahead, even should you return to your world…" DiZ said, "And remember, Bryce, all is not what it seems."
DiZ vanished just then.
"Bryce, there's just one question. Why is DiZ continuing to harass you? What's this incident he keeps referring to?" Samantha asked, pulling him aside.
A long silence followed before Bryce answered, "Cartel members were harassing workers around the mines."
Not really a lie. We were fighting near a silver mine. Bryce thought. "It got so bad that we had to travel in convoys to get supplies in town. Some Cartel guys tried anyway, and we got into a fire fight."
Samantha listened and Bryce continued, "There was one, wounded. He was a kid, maybe sixteen at the oldest. We got him back to the infirmary and treated his wounds. Because I spoke Spanish fluently, I was assigned to question him."
"Why did you interrogate him? Didn't you turn him over to the authorities?" Samantha asked.
"We wanted intelligence, in case there was a second attack." Bryce replied, "All he had to say was that he couldn't answer my questions because Ansem would kill him…"
Bryce paused for a long time before finishing, "And then he suddenly turned into one of those things. I was forced to put him down…He was a kid for God's sake, a damn kid!"
"We should read this." Samantha said, "After all it is about Ansem."
"Know your enemy." Bryce replied, as he began to open the report, reading it...
---
My efforts these many years have come to fruition; with the world I govern having become a paradise worthy of being called "Radiant Garden."
Nurtured by the pure water that is the source of life, fragrant flowers bloom in abundance, and the people face each day with hopeful smiles.
But where there is light, darkness also lurks.
As noted in my earlier reports, I must solve the mystery of this "darkness of the heart." This paradise depends on it.
I shall perform an experiment to probe the depths of a person's heart. One of my own apprentices, Xehanort, has volunteered to be a subject.
The young man has served me ever since I nursed him back from death's door some years ago.
He had lost all his memories at the time, but later showed remarkable intellectual curiosity and readily absorbed my teachings, gaining deep wisdom. Any mental immaturity is surely due to his young age.
If I explore Xehanort's heart with psychological test, I may be able to recall the past locked away within. My apprentice Even has also shown great interest in Xehanort's memories.
But is he really the right subject? Xehanort does indeed exhibit extraordinary talents…
Too extraordinary…
Perhaps they are even superhuman.
---
TBC – Up next the villains scheme, and our heroes find out more about the Five Islands.