Note: Hello everyone! After a week-long pause, here is a chapter!
Dimension: Provistorian
Planet: Averthon Magnum
Specific Location: The Door
Time: 450 Billion years after the events of Procedure Kappa, four days after Lyric found Summer
The strange man glared at the surprised faces of Gene, August, and Jefferson.
"Well?" he snapped, "Didn't you hear what I said? Blue, I want you and your underlings to turn around and get the hell out of here!"
"Underling? Whatever do you mean?" snorted Jefferson. He seemed more amused than anything, but his right hand slowly slipped under his overcoat to grasp a stiletto that was strapped to his velvet waistcoat just above his set of throwing knives.
"You damn well know what I mean!" snarled the strange man, who now was standing at the ready, with his rapier brandished high.
"No! You're mistaken!" exclaimed August suddenly, "I'm not Blue!"
"Lies!" snorted the man, "You're wearing his armor! And you look exactly like him!"
"But look at me! I only have some of my armor, and I'm fifteen! Blue had to be much older than me!" persisted August earnestly, "Please, you have to believe me!"
The man slowly lowered his weapon. He began to regard August with a mix of hostility and curiosity.
"He's right," muttered the man to himself, "He looks exactly like Blue at a young age… Ah… I know…"
The man straightened up, "No. I will never let you in. You are just going to have to leave whatever plans you had for here behind. Go now."
A red-hot bolt of rage seared through August's brain as the personality of Blue attempted to resurface. He could literally see next scene Blue had planned out play out with alacrity. He would pull out his gun and fire a diversion shot, then shove Jefferson over, relieving him of his throwing knives. He would then throw two in an arc to the man's left, forcing him to dodge right, straight into another bullet. It would be a piece of cake. It would be child's play. This person was interfering with their plans and that made him an enemy. And enemies needed to be mercilessly slain. This worthless piece of muck would have countless holes in him before he even knew what happened. It was so easy… So…. Easy…
August jerked out of the haze of Blue's fury and bloodlust. By some miracle, he had retained control. Still shaking from the ordeal, he slowly nodded at the man and turned around.
"We're going home," he muttered. He pulled out his Kanohi Olmak and prepared for departure.
Casting an alarmed glance at Jefferson, Gene then shrugged and prepared to follow August through a portal.
Then, suddenly, the man called out, "Wait! I believe you now."
August slowly put away the Kanohi Olmak. Then, slower still, he turned around to face the man, who was not looking a whole lot more amiable.
"I am the Gate Watcher," said the man, extending a hand, "I am sorry for being so stern with you, but you look a lot like Blue. I'm sorry for asking but… are you SURE you're not Blue?"
The Gate Watcher's gaze pierced through August's soul as he shook his hand. August took a shaking breath. Then he said, "No. You're right. I truly AM Blue, but I am also August Dellor. I mean that my name is August Dellor, but all of the information to be a John 3 Chapter Inquisitor is stored within me, slowly infusing my brain through the bleeding effect."
The Gate Watcher recoiled slightly, but then immediately went back to being friendly. "I am sorry for that. Blue was a murderous, brutal, fiend who simply earned the name 'hero' through technicalities. However, if you could resist killing me on the spot when I chose to end your mission in an instant, you are most certainly strong enough not to make the same mistakes that he made."
Jefferson chose that moment to cough loudly. "Um, excuse me, Gate Watcher? But what would those mistakes be?" he interrupted.
The Gate Watcher turned his blazing eyes to look at Jefferson. "He razed an entire land in pursuit of an enemy. Three thousand innocents, along with his target, died." The stern, gravelly voice of the man echoed as a shocked silence fell on the assembly.
August looked down at his feet in shame. Whenever someone talked about Blue, he felt like it was as if they were talking about his past, a past that he had no control or memory of in any case.
"However, this young man, August, has shown self-control, much like Blue in his younger days," stated the Gate Watcher, his friendly tone returning, "Thus, I welcome you Blue, or, should I say, August."
August nodded his head as he inadvertently attempted to once again claw off Blue's armor from his shoulder and arm.
Jefferson relinquished his hold on one of his hidden daggers and readjusted his large top hat. "Right," he said, "I do believe we should be on our way then."
The Gate Watcher nodded. "I will show you the way in."
Motioning for the trio to follow him, he strolled through the colossal doorway. A score or so meters in they were met with a vast void that stretched thirty or forty meters across, separating the doorway with the first strip of land of Averthon Magnum. In the middle of the void there was a massive wall of pure energy that split the gorge of darkness in half. In the distance, through the crackling, rippling surface of the energy wall, the group could pick out a mountain range, forests, and perhaps a few waterfalls.
The Gate Watcher pulled out what looked to be a pocket watch and toyed with it for a moment. Suddenly a massive bridge of brass, chromium, and iron clock faces and hands assembled itself from thin air, spanning the void. A hole in the wall of energy opened up to facilitate the bridge.
Jefferson, who was just pulling out the handle of his Tron glider, blinked in surprise. "Well," he said, "I can say quiet sincerely that that makes our journey a tad bit easier."
The Gate Watcher (who was now leaning on his large rapier like a swagger stick) nodded his head amiably. "Go on your way."
August bobbed his head in thanks to the Gate Watcher before turning. With a short breath, he put a foot on the bridge. In an instant, he was sucked into a vision.
In the vision, Blue was fighting with the Gate Watcher. Or, it looked like the Gate Watcher, but a little older. Blue had his longsword out, and he was combating the Gate Watcher with incredible skill. Though it was obvious that the Gate Watcher was on the losing side of this death match, he held his ground rather well. That is, until Blue spun in close, and slammed a fist into the Gate Watcher's chest, breaking every single rib. The Gate Watcher gasped and fell to his knees. That was the last thing he ever did. With a swinging uppercut, Blue relieved the Gate Watcher's head, right shoulder, and almost a half of his chest from the rest of his body. The poor man was dead as a doornail before he hit the ground. Suddenly, a wail of pure grief echoed out from behind Blue. Pulling out his Inquisition Blaster, Blue whirled to face two people. One looked to be the Gate Watcher's wife, and the other appeared to be the Gate Watcher's little boy. The wife swiftly reached inside her dress as if to pull something out. That was all the incentive Blue needed to pull the trigger. The blast blew a massive hole in her, and she dissolved into nothing before she even managed to fall to earth. The little boy closed his eyes and covered his ears, falling to the ground in fear. Blue pointed the gun and the little boy for a moment, then twirled it and holstered it.
Suddenly Sunflower and Dark appeared.
"We've got the coordinates of the fugitive," said Sunflower nonchalantly, not yet noticing the carnage before him, "We have till 4800 before the extraction point becomes hot, now we need to calibrate the… Um… Blue? Why is Mr. Gate Watcher and most of his family dead?"
"He attempted to stop our crossing," murmured Blue quietly, "I stopped him."
Dark strolled over to the bisected body of the Gate Watcher and searched him unashamedly. In a moment he pulled out the pocket watch. He fiddled with it, creating the bridge and opening a hole in the vast wall of energy. After that, he tossed the device to the little boy who was huddling on the ground.
"Shouldn't we do something about the child?" said Sunflower after a beat.
"No," said Dark, "What happened to him and his family is a casualty of war. This is for the greater good. We either need to shoot him now to put him out of his misery, or be on our way. Blue?"
Blue shook his head wordlessly and crossed the bridge.
August snapped out of the vision with a body-racking gasp. His memories/visions had never extended back that far before. It seemed the more armor he retrieved the more he remembered about Blue, and what he did far before the hiding of his armor. A nauseating sensation spread through August as he immediately realized who the little boy in his memory was.
Slowly August turned to look at the Gate Keeper. "One of the innocents Blue killed… he was your father wasn't he?" he whispered.
The Gate Keeper's eyes deepened in sadness. "Yes, August, he was. But he was only doing his job, and now that you are Blue, I can rest in peace."
August felt a lump appearing in his throat.
"Wow. I knew you would be ancient or something, but I did not know you were THAT old!" snorted Jefferson. Everyone promptly ignored him.
There was at least a minute-long moment of silence as August and the Gate Watcher stared at each other. Finally Gene placed a hand on August's shoulder and said, quietly, "We need to be on our way. Did you have any other visions pertaining to where the armor might be hidden?"
"No," replied August in hushed tones, "Just how Blue killed this man's father. But you are right, we need to get to the Scriptorium. Perhaps more visions will appear when we draw near."
August then set out across the bridge, indicating that Gene and Jefferson should follow him. Jefferson, still not really sure he should be feeling touched or not, took off his hat and twirled it in the air. Then he placed in back jauntily on his head and strolled after August, his coattails sweeping out from behind him. Gene immediately followed suit, and the trio disappeared over the other side of the clockwork bridge.
"I… was… a… MONSTER," hissed August, more to himself than anyone else as the trio stepped from the bridge into a grassy meadow that stretch on to a range of small knolls.
"You are not," replied Gene soothingly, "That was Blue, you're not Blue."
"And you have no idea how contradictory your last phrase was," snapped August, his eyes starting to slightly tear-up, "These are my memories I am experiencing, I am being infused with them. Next thing you know, I will only be a shadow of myself."
"As Doxia said," interrupted Jefferson toying with his top hat once more, "It is all about strength. If your conviction is great enough, then you will be able to push it down. Now it is time to see if your morals and principles are greater than the joy of being able to brutally dominate everything in sight."
"Wow," snapped Gene sarcastically, "I had no ideas mercenaries like you had such wisdom stored up like that."
Jefferson rolled his eyes, "Don't be so cynical. It's a gift."
"Stop it you two!" shouted August, "Jefferson, I thank you for your insight, I will keep that in mind. However, I would really appreciate it if you two keep it down now, I think we're coming to a town."
That very moment the group crested one of the green hills. Below them, in a shallow valley, surrounded by oak trees, was what looked to be a small town that appeared to be stuck in the 1700's.
"My! What classical taste," commented Jefferson airily as his expert eyes drank in the situation, "I prefer Victorian-style myself, but this looks good all the same…"
Gene gave August a side-long glance. "Are we going in there? Are you up to it?"
August rubbed the back of his knew with his unarmored left hand. "I guess we really have no choice. I cannot see the Scriptorium from here, so we will need directions."
"Well, let's hope you don't end up killing everyone for the information," joked Jefferson.
Both August and Gene turned to glare angrily at him.
Oblivious to the hostility he had just sparked, Jefferson shrugged. "What? Too soon?"
August pointedly turned away from Jefferson and started down the hill with Gene in hot pursuit. After a pause, Jefferson straightened his top hat and jogged down the hill after them.
In several minutes the team entered the town, immediately eliciting stares from any passersby.
August tried to start up a conversation with anyone who would listen, but it seemed that no one was in the mood to talk. Finally he gave up and turned to Gene in frustration, "Is there something wrong with me? Why will no one talk?"
Gene shrugged. "I can think of many possible answers. They might not like strangers, they might be wary of people with weapons, they might possibly hate the way Jefferson is dressed…"
"Or they might recognize the armor that young man is wearing from the tales of old," interrupted a voice behind them.
A searing bolt of shock jolted through August. Whipping out his gun, he whirled around and pointed it, causing the inn keeper who had snuck up behind them to jump up and raise hands.
In that moment, August started to sweat bullets as his finger inexorably moved to wrap around the trigger. It would be so simple to kill this man. He had snuck up on them, this posed a breach in their team's self-insured security. If he did not eliminate this threat now, the inn keeper would be free to sneak up on them again. August gasped as he forced his hand down and rammed the weapon back in its holster. The inn keeper let out a long breath.
Now that no one was in danger of being shot, Gene said, "What do you mean by 'tales of old'?"
The inn keeper pointed to the pieces of Blue's armor attached to August's right arm. "Ever since a man wearing armor akin to that destroyed this whole land in search of a target, any armor of that shape, color, or style has been considered cursed. No one will talk to you because of what this young man is wearing."
"Well, if it is bad luck, then why are you talking to me?" said August, half-touched, half-confused.
The inn keeper cocked his head to one side and stroked his beard stubble. "I don't know. Mayhap I recognized something different about you. You do not seem to fit the personality profile of the man who ruined our land so many years ago, though you seem to fit every other profile. I think you may have also proven me right by virtue of the fact that you did not shoot me when I snuck up on you three."
August looked down at his feet and mumbled an apology.
The inn keeper cracked a grin for the first time. "Do not worry, young'un! Now, tell me, is there anything you need? A place to stay? Information?"
"We do need some directions," said Jefferson, "We are attempting to locate the Scriptorium."
The inn keeper peered curiously at the trio for a moment before answering. "The Scriptorium? The tallest mountain of Averthon Magnum? Hmmmmm… Very well. You will be heading north of here. Keep heading north until you reach the Great Hedge, which separates this land to the frozen lands of the northern plains. Find a way around the hedge and keep heading north. In the epicenter of the ice lands you will find the Scriptorium. It is as simple as that. Just keep heading north."
"Just keep heading north? I think that that is not too terribly confusing," replied Jefferson, "Thank you my kind man."
The inn keeper nodded. Then, with a surreptitious glance about, he disappeared back into his inn.
"I guess our course is clear," said Gene, "Let's get to the town outskirts and then take to the air that should cut down any amount of travelling that has to be done by a considerable amount."
"I concur," agreed Jefferson, "Let us go."
The trio then set off for the outskirts of the aged town. For the most part, they went unobstructed. Everyone in sighed steered clear of them, going so far as to run into the nearest buildings and bolt the door.
August bit his bottom lip hard and looked at the ground. "They're terrified of me."
"No," said Gene, "They're terrified of Blue."
"You do realize that those names are fairly much synonymous with each other now, correct?" pointed out Jefferson as swept off his hat and winked at a nearby harlot, causing her to faint (out of pure, gripping, fear, nothing more).
"Shut up Jefferson," snapped Gene.
Jefferson threw up his hands and exhaled in exasperation. The group lapsed into silence once more. They continued to work their way through the town without any more incidents.
"Look on the bright side," said Jefferson as they exited the town, "Since everyone was so terrified of you, no one thought of confronting you about the deaths Blue caused."
Suddenly August held up a fist. Jefferson and Gene stopped. August looked about and whispered, "I heard something…"
Suddenly August dove to the ground. The moment that happened, a gunshot went off. A bullet whizzed through the spot that August had been standing before. August leapt up, his head sweeping around in search for the attacker.
All of a sudden, a young man, holding a smoking pistol, leapt up on nearby stack of wooden crates and held a sword high.
"Blue you fiend!" he roared, "I remember the stories. You were the one to kill my great-grandfather, ruining my family line forever! You… shall… pay!"
Jefferson began to laugh. "Oh my gosh! We're being challenged by a mewling youth! This is ridiculous. Come, let us leave this place before this kid hurts himself while swinging that sword around."
The young man fired off another round from his pistol, striking August in the right shoulder. The metal pellet crumpled upon itself and fell to the ground, smoking. Not a single scratch was on the armor of Blue.
With a roar, the young man rushed August, his sword held high.
"I'm not Blue!" yelled August, trying to back up, "I'm not a monster! I'm a hero!"
"You… are… a… monster!" screamed the youth, thundering towards August.
Gene attempted to step in front of the young man, but Jefferson grabbed him and pulled him back.
"I may be a mercenary," said Jefferson under his breath, "But I know a man-on-man situation when I see one. August needs to sort this out and come to terms with himself."
August spread his hands wide, teeth bared. "If you want to kill me, do it!" he hissed, struggling with the personality of Blue that was pushing to resurface in the face of danger, "I am sick and tired of being accused of atrocities that I truly did not commit. Do it!"
The youth yelled at the top of his lungs as he jabbed with the sword. Then… August snapped.
With a sweeping turn, August dodged the sword point. Locking the blade between his armored right arm and his shoulder, he slid across the blade until he reached the young man. Then, with his left hand, he seized the boy by the throat. Then, with a heave, August hoisted the youth in the air, slowly squeezing the life out of him while relieving him of his blade. Then, swinging the boy's own sword over his head, August drove the blade into the boy's stomach. Once, twice, thrice.
The boy was long dead before August finally dropped the dead body and broke the sword over his knee.
"August," whispered Gene, "What have you done…?"
Suddenly August blinked. "What have I… huh?"
Then he noticed the body on the ground and remembered what he had done before Blue had seized his mind. The young man, the attacker, was dead on the ground with three massive sword holes in his stomach, chest, and abdomen.
August slowly fell to his knees, his eyes wide with horror.
"No…"
Note: What will become of August? Stay tuned to find out! Anyway, gimme reviews! If you give me reviews, I will give you a action figure of Blue! It's all the rage! Okay, anyway, I think I will be able to post up until Thursday. I have been really busy, so I have had very little time to write. I am sure you all understand. Thanks!