I do not own Lorien Legacies or any of the characters.
West Virginia
I stare out the window, face completely emotionless. We're in the docking bay, positioned directly over the Mogadorians we'd be slaughtering in a few seconds.
"Everyone ready?" John asks as the docking bay door opens. "Let's go!"
I sweep my arms toward the door and all of the Skimmers in the hangar roll out, plummeting toward the shield, Lexa using them to cover her own descent. If it wasn't dark, or chaos, the Mogadorians may have been able to tell which was the real threat. If we hadn't taken down the Anubis, maybe they wouldn't have wasted ten minutes shooting uselessly at our warship's shields.
Skimmers crash down on the shield around the mountain, balls of white-hot flame pockmarking the shield. Then, we pass through. Blaster fire begins to focus on us instantly. I create a force field around the ship, gritting my teeth. Big constructs are difficult, though not nearly as the ridiculously precise control of creating artificial blood vessels by the dozen. Lexa level the ship out at the last second and lands it on a dozen Mogadorians, crushing them into the ground. Five grabs Six and Adam instantly, Six turning them invisible before I drop my shield and he flies out of the ship seconds before blaster fire begins to assault us. Nine and I step out first, Nine cracking his knuckles as he strides forward but I'm much less patient. The moment my feet find dirt, force field spikes explode out of the dirt throughout the Mogadorians. They explode into clouds of dust as a force field appears around me, blaster fire bouncing off of it. I stride forward, the shield shrinking down to form to my body and I hold my right arm out, a spiked ball-and-chain forming in my hands. I grip the chain, beginning to spin the weapon over my head then let go, allowing it to crash through the Mogadorians. I sprint after it, blaster fire bouncing off of my as I run through the Mogadorians' ranks, all of the blasts bouncing back into other Mogadorians. When I'm far enough from the others, I swipe my hand, force field spikes shooting out of the ground and into blasters all around me. I snap my fingers and the blasters instantly compress into paper thin metal rings around the spikes. The Mogadorians shout in surprise before I snap my fingers again and paper thin shards of metal explode outward into the ranks of the Mogadorians. Behind me, John, Nine, and Marina are all slaughtering Mogadorians as well. I form a very, very long sword and spin, Nine and John having to leap over it as I do. An ash cloud fills the area just before Five streaks past, crashing two Mogadorians' heads together.
I sigh. I was actually having fun testing myself. I turn toward the door and leap forward, racing over the ground as I had in Patience Creek. As I speed toward the Mogadorians, I extend a hand, a large force field disk forming, spikes jutting out from the front. Again and again I'm showered in ash before finally I'm inside and behind the Mogadorians. Several turn to follow me but I pull my rifle around, grinning as I open fire, dropping a dozen or so before turning and sprinting into the mountain, following the directions Ella had telepathically given to me before we left. After a few minutes, I reach the control room, stepping through the door just as Adam reports that the shields are down.
"Sorry I'm late," I say, walking over.
"It's alright," Six says. "No trouble here."
I look down at the piles of ash and bone fragments, then at the one complete body, which has black blood over a fair portion of it but didn't disintegrate. I cock my head.
"Weird when they don't leave a body," Six mutters.
"Yeah," I nod. "Weird."
I raise my rifle and put a shot through her leg. She screams. She lunges for a blaster beside her but before she can reach it I put a second shot through her heart and she drops, beginning to disintegrate.
"No getting shot in the back today, thank you," I say.
"Yeah, we probably should have checked," Adam says.
"Agreed," Six nods. "Alright, let's go help the others.
"Hang on," Adam says. "I have something to tell you."
"Can it wait?" I ask. "I need to get to Marina."
"It can't," Adam says. "Before we attacked the Anubis, John made me make him a promise. If he fails to stop Setrákus Ra, he wants me to blow up the mountain with everyone inside of it."
I grit my teeth, hands curling into fists. It's a sound decision. Setrákus Ra cannot be allowed to live. And yet, rage fills me at the thought of Adam blowing up the mountain with any of our friends inside.
"So what?" Six asks after a moment.
"So what?" Adam gapes. "What about living to fight another day?"
"I think we're about out of more days," Six says. "This has to end today. One way or another."
"Get back to the ship," I say. "I'm going to be sending Marina up the moment things go south, assuming they do."
The screen flashes and we all look. Our warship is blasting the battlefield outside. I smile. Good. They haven't finished the fight yet. The blasts end and Nine, John, and Marina all emerge from what looks like a stone turtle shell.
"They'll be in soon," Six says as a noise like something moving very fast through the air reaches my ears. "Let's go meet the-"
A sound like a bullet hitting bullet-proof glass interrupts her and she turns. I grin. My left arm is held out to my side and a force field is hovering in the air behind me, cracks spread throughout it from the tentacle that only just barely managed to breach it. The tentacle would have impaled Six if I hadn't blocked it.
"Well well," I grin, turning around, the cracks in my force field beginning to seal. "Phiri Dun-Ra. I missed you at Patience Creek."
Phiri Dun-Ra's tentacle rips free of my force field, shattering it, and returns to her side with the other two.
"That thing really is disgusting isn't it?" I ask, forming a disk over my right hand.
"This bitch again?" Six snarls. "Great. I was hoping to meet her again."
"This time, I think it's best if we simply put her out of our misery," I say. "Any complaints?"
"None," Adam growls.
"Couldn't agree more," Six says.
I nod and throw the disk. It streaks across the room and amputates Phiri Dun-Ra's arm just above where it turns into the tentacles, then, Six hauls her forward with her Telekinesis. Phiri's arm regrows its tentacles almost instantly but before she can do anything with them, Six slams her down into the ground. Adam fires at Phiri Dun-Ra but the first shot hits her right shoulder and the tentacles block the rest. She stands and Adam fires again. The tentacles twist together into a shield, guarding her entire body, until my force field lance punches through it. She shrieks in pain, the tentacles retracting and regenerating as she stumbles backward, the lance in her right hip.
"Oh that's going to hurt," I grin snapping my fingers.
Her right leg is blasted off instantly, the rest of her flying through the air and crashing into the wall. Adam stomps his foot and the stalactites above her break loose and fall. At the last second, the tentacles shoot upward, smashing all but one, which punches down through her left leg. She screams, the tentacles breaking it off above her leg then ripping the rest free.
"This is just sad," I grunt raising my rifle. "I'm tired of this already."
I squeeze the trigger and a moment later there's a hole in Phiri Dun-Ra's forehead. Her body drops, immobile, but not dissolving.
"No," I say, stomping.
A spike explode out of her left side, lifting her up off the ground, thick black blood leaking out of her mouth. I snap my fingers and she's suddenly a ring around the spike, like with the Mogadorian blasters outside. Then, I snap again and repaint the room for about two seconds before the entrails turn into ash.
"Thank God," Six groans. "I hate that bitch. Adam, head back to the ship. The others should be inside by now and me and James are going to go help."
Adam nods and we all head back to the entrance before Six and I branch off, heading downward, deeper into the mountain. After several moments, we stop at a ledge, below which are countless bodies, all looking to have been sucked dry, drained of their Loric spark, and killed because of it. Then, we turn. Behind us is a cliff, overlooking a lake of thick black goo. Part of it is frozen and Marina is on a ledge just below ours. Below her, Setrákus Ra is standing between Nine, who's holding a dagger John had made from the Voron noose, and John, who's hands are ablaze. Setrákus looks different. It takes me a second to figure out why. He's young. He's back to as he was during the vision, from before he fought Pittacus Lore. Even the noose's scar is gone. Marina holds her hand out just as Setrákus begins toward John, firing a volley of massive icicles that impale Setrákus. Thank God. It's over. He's got icicles through every organ in his torso.
"The only thing you've created is pain and suffering!" Marina shouts. "All those bodies up there! For what!? So you could craft those hideous powers?"
I blink. Why is she asking a dead man questions? And why is Setrákus Ra not dissolving.
"Oh no, my dear," Setrákus Ra says, my blood running cold. "Lorien is stingy with his gifts. I had to tap directly into the source to create what you see here."
He runs a hand over his face, clearly believing himself to be the picture of perfection.
"Draining those others was merely a trial run for one of my new Augmentations," Setrákus Ra says. "They died in service to glorious progress."
Phiri Dun-Ra. yup. Definitely should have killed her in Mexico.
"You're mad!" Marina seethes. "For all your supposed beauty, you've never created anything as beautiful as Lorien did!"
Heat suddenly radiates off of Setrákus Ra, melting the icicles before he spins to look at Marina, his skin turning dark, a mop of curly hair growing out of his skin. He's Eight.
"Haven't I?" Setrákus asks, using Eight's voice and floating into the air toward Marina. "Didn't I promise to reunite you with your love?"
I look down and realize Six has turned us invisible. I take her free hand and start to create a force field lance in it, Six keeping it invisible as I do.
"That could still be yours, dear Marina," Setrákus says, his eyes burning with a malice Eight's never did.
Then, John hits him with his stone vision, petrifying his lower half and attaching him to the ground. I fire. My lance is visible instantly and punches straight through Setrákus Ra's abdomen. The moment it's halfway through, I snap my fingers and a dozen spikes explode out of Setrákus Ra. Then, they all shatter and everyone, except Setrákus Ra who's gone limp, look up at us as Six allows us to become visible again.
"James!" Marina cheers and I drop down to her, hugging her.
"Sorry I'm late," I say. "But, I just have to say, I totally called the god-like power back in Mexico."
"I wish you would stop saying things that come true," Marina says.
"Just one more," I say. "Setrákus Ra dies today. Where's Five?"
Marina stares at the ground.
"Setrákus Ra tore his face off then threw him in the sludge," Nine says.
"What no scar?" I ask. "Maybe he's alive."
"He can't be," Nine says. "It's just not possible."
I nod. He's probably right. And either way, we still had a god to fight.
Setrákus Ra roars in rage, suddenly arching his back, thick black sludge shooting out of the suddenly boiling lake, stabbing into him, filling the wounds I gave him. Then, once he's healed, he slams a fist down on the stone over his legs, shattering it. John restores it instantly and Nine sprints forward in a blur. he sprints up the stone, slashing at Setrákus Ra, splitting his face open. For a half second, there's black blood, then the tendrils of ooze traveling through his veins flood the wound, sealing it. John reaches out, squeezing Setrákus's armor. Marina does the same. I reach out, making a fist and the armor compacts completely, crushing his torso. He bellows in agony, ripping the armor off, sludge instantly shooting up to him, crashing together on his mutilated torso, restoring it.
"I love your supercharged Telekinesis," Six says.
"So do I," I say as Nine sprints at Setrákus again.
On Setrákus's chest, exactly where Six impaled him, there's a bulging, pulsing mass of black sludge, not concentrated like the rest of his body. In the blink of an eye, Nine's in front of Setrákus Ra, driving the knife into the mass. My gut drops. They think that's a weak point. It's not. I can feel it. Sense it. Like I could sense the Loric Energy's pain when it was being sucked up. Like I've been feeling the pain and fear of the fragment of the Loric Entity that resides in the sludge Setrákus is using to fight us. I can sense the power within the sludge. Within the spot on his chest. It's not a weak point. I don't know what to call it. A port? An entrance? It was where he absorbed power from the lake whenever it reached up to him. Stabbing him there was a very bad idea.
"Is this a children's story?" Setrákus Ra smiles. "I have spent centuries perfecting my work. And you think...what? That there is a weak point?"
He takes a breath and the knife, along with Nine's hand, are sucked completely into the mass. I reach out, yanking on Nine with my Telekinesis but he doesn't budge.
"Behold, a demonstration," Setrákus says.
Nine screams in agony. His arm begins to turn blue, then grey and withered. The grey begins to reach up his arm but before it can get higher than his elbow, I send out a force field disk, removing the arm halfway up the bicep, then yank Nine with my Telekinesis just as Setrákus again breaks free of the stone, Nine's arm melting into black sludge and being absorbed by the mass. I catch Nine and pass him to Marina, who begins to seal his stump of an arm as I step off the cliff onto a barrier, crossing my arms as I float out toward Setrákus as he stomps on the stone pillar, shattering it.
"You're late James," Setrákus Ra grins. "I already killed Five."
"Thank you," I growl. "It would have been a pain to try and keep him locked up after all of this. Now, do me a favor and die."
I shove my hand at him, impaling him with a lance. He smirks at me, beginning to fly forward, impaling himself further on it.
"No, really," I growl. "Die."
I snap my fingers, compressing him on the lance. Then, I snap again and black ooze splatters around the room. The others stare in shock, except Nine, who's beginning to go into shock. I open my mouth to speak but am cut off by a deafening bellow. My force field shatters and I fall, managing to just barely cushion the fall with my Telekinesis, though my hands are clamped over my ears and I'm in the fetal position, like the others. As the bellow of rage and pain continues, I feel blood beginning to run out of my ears. Then, the lake, now boiling, explodes upward, massive tendrils of it coiling around and around until finally, Setrákus Ra was restored, this time in the form we knew him in. He roars in rage, shoving his hand at me. Tentacles of black goo explode out of his palm and fly toward me but I roll aside, forming a force field sword and removing them then flipping to my feet and slashing another just before it could impale me. Setrákus roars in rage but it's muted by my damaged ear drums.
I hurl the sword at Setrákus and pull my rifle around, switching it to full auto and holding the trigger down, gritting my teeth against the strain of keeping up with the fire rate. Force field bullets blast through Setrákus Ra too fast to know how many I fire. Setrákus Ra backs away, roaring in rage, holding an arm over his face instinctively. Then, finally, he thrusts his hand out, making a fist and my rifle is crushed into a ball of metal, only barely missing taking my trigger finger with it. I hurl it aside, holding out a pair of finger guns and beginning to fire again, punching bigger but less accurate holes in him this time. Setrákus Ra backs away again, roaring louder in pain. Then, he swipes his hand in front of him, hurling me into the wall, where I form a crater and get stuck. goo from the lake shoots up to Setrákus Ra, entering through the thing on his chest and filling the holes back in. He turns to glare at me before his glare turns into a sneer. I instantly know his plan.
I look left. Six is unconscious beside Nine, seeming to have passed out from the sheer volume that deafened me. Understandable. I was barely conscious for part of it. Marina was the one that concerned me at the moment, however. She was sprinting toward me. I look back at Setrákus Ra just as he holds his hand out toward her, three Tentacles exploding out, flying at her. She notices them but there's no time for her to react. I can't move. She can't dodge them. She's going to die. My curse has won. I'm going to lose her. Desperation fills me. I have to save her. I know instantly that no amount of force fields will save her and I can't move her out of the way fast enough, even with the full power of my Telekinesis.
Suddenly I remember one of the last things Eight ever said to me. I'm watching over you two now. Nothing's going to hurt her again.
I do the only thing I can think of. If Eight really is watching over us, only he can save Marina.
"Eight!" I shout.
Then, my chest and abdomen explode into agony. I blink, looking around, my head moving sluggishly. I'm not in the wall. I'm in front of Marina. I have one tentacle through my heart and left lung, one through my right lung, and one through my stomach. I teleported. Or I got teleported. Eight. He is watching over us. He saved Marina. Setrákus Ra blinks in surprise before wrenching his tentacles free. I drop on the spot, entire body numb. Marina drops to her knees beside me, already sobbing.
"James!" Marina sobs. "No! You can't! You bastard!"
"It's alright," I smile. "He's watching over you. You're safe."
"You can't die!" Marina sobs. "I need you!"
A cool feeling floods through me. She's healing me. She'd probably succeed if she has enough time, but I know I'd slip into a coma. I look down. My shirt's gone, exposing the three gaping holes and the scar left by my first fight with Setrákus Ra. The same that should have claimed Eight. Perhaps it's irony, or maybe poetic justice, or some other cliché supernatural force that he and I should both be originally intended to die at Setrákus Ra's hands. Perhaps this is to make up for Eight's death being delayed. I'm not sure. I don't care. Setrákus is coming. Nine leaps at him but Setrákus backhands him, sending him flying then picks up Marina. She slaps him, her healing Legacy still active and suddenly he recoils, dropping her. His face has a gash in it where Nine slashed him and a chunk of it falls away. It's almost instantly restored again, but John and Marina both saw. He does have a weakness. Healing. Now that's ironic.
"Please James!" Marina sobs, already trying to heal me again. She manages to get my left lung and heart healed but then I push her hands away, pushing myself up.
"Leave," I say, blood flooding my still punctured lung. "Take Six and Nine. Get out."
"No!" Marina snaps.
I surround her in a force field and send her up to Six, who's awake now. John quickly tells her to get Marina and Nine out and Six picks both up, Nine apparently coherent enough to give her his strength. And his antigravity, apparently, as Six sprints up the side of the cliff and away from the battle, Marina screaming and flailing, trying to get free all the while. I turn to John who gives me a knowing look. I could have left too. He knows what he has to do and he is not going back to survive. We both know. But I'm not going to make it either. In the time it took Marina to heal my heart and lung, I lost more blood than my first fight with Setrákus. I'm going to die whether she seals my wounds or not. I run my hand over each wound and force fields appear in each, stopping my bleeding. Now, I keep Setrákus in place. Should be easy.
Setrákus growls in annoyance, small spikes growing from each of his knuckles as he lands in front of me. I grit my teeth, glancing at John. John's waiting for me to give him an opening to start. Okay then. An opening I can do. I coat my hands and feet in force fields and throw a punch at Setrákus Ra. He doesn't dodge the punch, so the impact blasts him backward several feet. He slams a foot down, stopping himself then sprints forward, swinging at me. He's fast, like Nine. I sidestep it, smashing my fist into him again. He's ready this time. He recoils a single step and I jump, spinning and kick him in the side of the face. He flips, crashing down then rolling aside just before I slam my fist down into him. He kicks at me and I flip over it. He spins to his feet like a kung fu master and steps forward, swiping at me rapidly.
I avoid his punches, one after another then throw one of my own. It collides with his side over his kidney and he grunts in pain, staggering sideways into another spinning kick. Then, he flies across the room into the wall, a trail of dark black blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. He rips himself free of the wall, sprinting at me and I grit my teeth. The next part's going to hurt me. A lot. John is sprinting to intercept Setrákus Ra. Before he can, Setrákus needs to be slowed a bit, to give John time. I raise my hands, the force fields on them and my feet shattering and fading. Setrákus Ra skids to a stop. Then, force fields begin to explode out of my body, tearing me apart. I hear John shout in surprise. He stops. My force fields tear into Setrákus Ra. They sever muscles. They dislocate bones. They shred skin, and they turn ligaments to dust. But most importantly, they tear that mass of pulsing black ooze out of his chest, shredding it into a million pieces. Through the pain, and without his core, Setrákus is unable to draw on his lake of goo. But the core is already regrowing in his chest. Soon, he'll be able to. The rest of the damage is insignificant. It's gone in seconds. But his core is taking longer.
I drop, what little blood I have left pooling below me.
John, do it now. Before his core regrows. He can't draw on the lake right now. Get him now!
Just as John leaps onto Setrákus, slamming his hands into the sides of his head and beginning to heal him, my vision goes black. I feel a tickle at the back of my mind. Ella. Except I can feel Marina. Ella's playing telephone.
Goodbye Marina. I say through Ella's connection. I love you. I wish I could have kept my promise to protect you. To marry you. John is going to remove that shit from Setrákus Ra. He'll just be an ancient Lorien again. You have to bring the mountain down now. Tell...Adam...to...
Read and review.