(The final chapter to Shadow of the Past. Enjoy!)
CH20
Far from the action in the T-Tower, deep in the heart of Jump City was place no one else knew existed. Inside the darkest abyss where the nightmares thrive, where no brave Titan would dare venture. Hidden from society, hidden from the world to conspire, waiting for the right time to strike!
Inside a massive hall, where hundreds and hundreds of Eternals stood, while in the middle of the room was a huge sage with a podium that was surrounded by the black flags and V shaped crescent of the Eternals might. Lying before the stage was a dozen coffins draped with the flags as one Eternal made his way past them and stood on the stage, his red shrouds brightened the room where black surrounded it, his crown glistened in the light as his walked to the podium.
"Totus hail ut victoria, vel cado ut mucro of cruor quod ferrum!" the leader of the Eternals yelled. The room erupted in yells and shouts of "Hail!" or "Victory!" and soon was being chanted till the leader held up his hand and rooms went quiet.
"We have suffered a massive defeat." The leader said. "We have suffered massive loss. But we have not lost our cause. Comrades, these fallen men have shown us a new enemy far greater than the Teen Titans themselves. He managed to kill all of these men with him dying himself."
"Murderer!" Someone in the mass shouted and the room burst with other sayings to back that one up. Again the leader held up his hand and the room fell silent once more.
"Despite our loss, we managed to hurt him far greatly. Shadow, as he is called, has shown many of our qualities. He hates the Titans much as us that before we were engaged, Shadow fought and defeated them. Shadow even managed to neutralize the heathen witch, Raven's powers without the anti-hero bracelets." The room cheered mostly for the fact the Titans were defeated, but not for Shadow's reason. "None the less, Shadow has fought against our noble cause. Shadow had killed our brethren and we must seek our vengeance against him!"
"What of the Titans?" an Eternal shouted.
"What about them?" the leader asked.
"Do we engage Shadow first or the Titans?"
"Neither for now. Shadow has proven that we aren't as prepared as we hoped. Since he has allied himself with the Titans, together they may defeat us!" the leader said, the room began to murmur as the leader let the words sink in. "I know our noble traditions calls for the use of swords and its skills, but Shadow has proven our equal even worse, our better." Again the room murmured. As the mass was distracted, the leader pushed a button on the podium and from the ceiling and two giant screens began to descend. When the crowd noticed it they were silent as the screens stopped.
The room fell into darkness, as the lights turned off. "But desperate time calls for desperate measures." The leader said in the darkness. From the ceiling a film projector lights were projected on the screen. Soon images of tanks and helicopters, men with high tech guns and cannons inside a factory. Then the film changed screens and it saw soldiers testing the new guns and tanks with deadly perfection. Targets were shredded by bullets, shells shattered buildings and explosions evaporated anything nearby.
"Today, I am here to tell you the truth and the truth is we will have our troubles from the Titans soon if we continue our old tradition. Now I am telling you, with these new weapons we can destroy Shadow with ease; not only will the Titans fall but we will fulfill our destiny as rulers of a perfect world." The leader said pounding the podium and raising his arms in the air to give his speech more effect.
When the film ended and the screens returned back to the ceiling and as the room lit, the leader spoke back into the microphones. "Nothing can stop our cause. Not the Titans, not Shadow not even America! We will crush our enemies and all those standing in our way. Not one man, nor ten men, not even a hundred can as wade us, we will have salvation!"
"Victory!" "Victory!" "Victory!" the room shouted. The leader felt good about himself. Even though he hates to modernize himself, but at least his fellow Eternals felt it is needed. As the room shouted more "Victory!" shouts, the leader could see every Titan dying before the might of his army; he even pictured Shadow joining his side. Underneath his mask he smiled at the thought.
When the room quieted on it own, the leader continued, "Once we gain the mastery over these weapons as well as our traditional weaponry our cause will spread to the others. And once our cause is big enough, our purification of the evils of this world will begin. First, we need to finish the Titans, who for too long have brought sickness and disease to the world. Thinking that their curses, 'gifts' they would call it are for good. When they are actually using them for the opposite reasons. So they can gain their trust, to make others believe in them when they are only going to backstab them."
For the next few moments he left his speech there to let it sink in into the Eternals conscious. Finally, "Our job is to exterminate those who would use others for their own selfish reasons and the gifts God has given them for the wrong reason. No matter what, our cause will destroy them. And once everyone sees our side, it is inevitable that they join us!"
"In conclusion my comrades, for us to advance to destroy our enemies and humanities, to destroy those who seek to exploit the world, are for us to modernize and take the initiative to full heights. And it is my solemn vow to promise you that before the New Year, the Titans tower will burn and fall! Before the end, the Titans will die and we will have victory!" the leader said as he listening to mixture of hand clapping and shouts and whistles.
But the most gratifying sound has to be, "Victory!" they shouted over and over. The leader didn't stop them from doing it. He was glad that everything was going his way, despite minor defects. My dear Raven, you won't survive. I'll make sure of it personally. Your lover will die beside you and not even Shadow will save this time for I have something better for him.
No matter what, the Eternals stand together. They will fight to the death and they will succeed, no matter the cost. As the leader watched his fanatic followers cheer and roar, he knew nothing could go wrong. He had the cause; he had the men and soon the equipment. When the time comes, the Eternals will strike, and the Titans won't be able to do anything to stop it.
And nothing proved it more than the shouting…"Victory!" "Victory!" "Victory!" that seemed never to end…
(Sequel coming up...Present Darkness, all I can tell you is it's continueing where this story ends Review and tell me what you think? And finall thank you all for enjoying my fisrt stroy and hope you enjoy my second. -N2Darkness)