Back with chapter 12! I changed the thumbnail of the fic as it's been long overdue for a change to it. It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out how to get the Ulurant characters to work, but to me it was worth it in the end. Shout out to the person on the bird app who made them usable. Feel free to leave a review if you want, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Caiatl and Satuur both stood within the confinements of their cell. They knew there was nothing they could do to escape. They were trapped by their own technology, and their own people. Despite this, they remained resolute in not letting their captors break them throughout their imprisonment, discussing what they would do. Satuur hummed an old Cabal war tune that, like his species, persevered all the way until the present day. A war tune that struck fear into the hearts of the poor souls who were moved upon by the Empire's legions. His humming was interrupted by Caiatl.
"Valus, have you kept count of how long we have been imprisoned here?"
"Exactly two days, Empress. Why?"
"Two days of this…humiliation. The legions I have rallied over the course of years. What will they think of their Empress?"
Satuur sighed, "You, are Empress Caiatl of the Cabal Ascendancy. You saved our people from utter extinction, from the hands of Calus and the Hive alike. I will not give you a speech of what you should do, as it is not my place as your subordinate. Although, as long as I am alive, I will encourage you to keep leading our people to greatness. We will make it out of this wretched cell, Empress."
Caiatl nodded. The sound of footsteps could be heard, though they weren't the usual metallic and heavy footsteps of a Cabal. Within a moment, they were face to face with Warden Wrath, and two coven guards, who were nearing the end of a routine checkup of all the prisoners, "Ah, who better to finish off our inspection than the alien troublemakers. How are we enjoying the amenities of the Conformatorium so far?" Wrath asked with a sly tone.
Caiatl didn't bother giving Wrath anymore attention other than a few words, "The newest of Calus's servants, I see."
Wrath was taken aback, "I am no servant! Especially not to someone who is as horrifically gaudy as he is. I only think of our cooperation as a mutual benefit in the long run." He looked at Caiatl observantly, "But I don't think you would care about the specifics of our partnership. And with that, I will leave you two to your machinations." Wrath and his escort walked away.
"Another coward joining forces with Calus. Either the ruler of this world is allied with him, or is as dense as a legion returning with nothing but failure in their hands." Caiatl commented. "Nothing but sycophants looking for a higher purpose."
"We'll cleanse this world of Calus's plague the second we escape. If my transport is still here, we'll return to the fleet and bring our armies here."
"Yes, whenever our freedom comes. We'll do the same for this realm. We used to conquer any world we came across, but alternate dimensions?" Caiatl sighed, "It is a strong aspiration, but one I can not agree with nonetheless. As with the majority of Calus's aspirations."
Luz returned home after a long day of school, she plopped her body onto the couch and fell asleep. Minutes after falling asleep, she was promptly woken up by King's yelling. "Luz! Luz! Wake up, don't tell me you forgot!" The little Demon yelled.
Luz fell off of the couch, and immediately got up, "Huh?! Forget about what?!" Something in her mind clicked, and she suddenly remembered, "Oh right! How could I forget? Prison break day!" Luz started to run to her room, "I don't even have any glyphs ready or anything. I should've done that before leaving for school today."
"We're one step ahead of you, Luz." Eda and Lilith emerged in front of her, both strapped with all types of glyphs and potions around them, "I think we went a little overboard with the ammunition." Lilith said.
"I don't think we have enough ammunition. But this'll get our point across to not mess with Witches, even ones without any magic." Eda added.
Luz jumped with joy, "I just love you guys! I'm gonna go get changed, and then we can head out!" She ran to her room, and minutes later, she came back out in her usual clothes, wearing the jacket Eda gave her and stocked up on glyphs of her own. "Ready!"
"Right," Eda looked around, "Your friends aren't coming with us? I figured they would have been here by now."
"I wish they were, but they all had other things going on and I didn't want to take them away from whatever they had to do. It's a good thing I have you guys to turn to though." Luz said. "We'll make 'em proud though!" Everyone nodded, and they all left the house.
The group finally made it to the Conformatorium. They staked out the building from a nearby hill. Luz used a pair of Demon-like binoculars with eyes instead of lenses. She zoomed in on the entrance, spotting two legionaries backed up by two other coven guards. "Four low level grunts guarding the entrance it seems like. We can probably just fly around them and get to the top that way."
"I'm not too certain about those Loyalists," Lilith said. "One wrong step and their weapons could turn us into, well, nothing."
"It's a good thing they're not going to catch us then!" Eda summoned Owlbert, "We can fly right up there and get 'em out, easy peasy."
"I'm starting to feel a bit nostalgic," Luz said as she smirked. Her smirk turned into a frown, "I'm also remembering getting chased by Warden Wrath through the place."
"And I'm remembering the paperwork I had to write through after your adventure here," Lilith grimaced. "I feel bad for the poor sap that has to do that job now."
"I'm ready to free some aliens!" King yelled out.
"Well I'm inspired. Let's hit it!" Eda hopped onto her staff. "All aboard!" Luz and King got on behind Eda. "You aren't coming with us, Lilith?"
"You'll need someone on lookout, won't you? I think I can fulfill that role." Lilith responded.
Eda shrugged, "If you say so, sis. Just try to be quick with the news if anything does happen." The three took off towards the top of the structure. As they got higher, they noticed the windows were closed off by some sort of shield. "Should have expected it wouldn't be as easy as just flying in. It looks like we'll have to work our way up." Eda descended and flew them into a window just a few floors from the top, landing them on one of the main floors. "Just like last time, huh kid?"
"Yeah, except I remember the landing being a little more rough." Luz walked forward, looking up and down at all the imprisoned Witches and Demons, noticing several more inmates than before. "I remember we freed all the prisoners here the last time. Even then, I don't think it was this full. There must be something big going on."
"Maybe our friend Warden Wrath can give us a hand in freeing everyone again." Eda said jokingly. "Come on, let's go." She continued forward with her staff in hand and Luz followed. King climbed onto Luz's back. They made their way up several floors. "You know kids. I just remembered that we can just fly up higher."
"At least you two got some exercise walking up all those stairs while I enjoyed taking a little nap." King said.
"I wish you would have remembered sooner because man are those some long flights of stairs or what?" Luz added. Eda gestured for Luz and King to get on her staff, and they floated up to the top of the spire. They reached the very top floor, they searched around the circular floor. Cells filled with dangerous looking demons surrounded them. After looking around for a while, they spotted Caiatl and Satuur and ran to their cell which was unguarded.
"Caiatl!" Luz exclaimed.
Caiatl looked up, she hid a surprised expression behind her mask, "Human?! How did you know to come here?"
"Let's just say we got a very helpful tip from someone." Luz smiled. "Why isn't your cell guarded?"
"You've come at just the right time. The guards have rotated out, new ones will be here soon." Caiatl responded.
"Then it's prime time to get you out of there." Luz banged on the shield keeping the two imprisoned, "How do we deactivate this stupid shield?"
Satuur walked forward, "We saw them deploy a shield generator when we first arrived. Find it and deactivate it."
"Shield generator, got it." Luz responded.
"Never expected someone like you to get taken so easily." Eda said.
"Had I not been defending the escape of the Human and her friends, I would have easily overpowered my assailants," Caiatl responded. "I also was not prepared. I expected treachery from the Loyalists, but it seems my foresight was merely near-sighted."
"This time, they won't take us by surprise," Satuur added. "We'll crumble this building to the ground."
"Hey, ya mind doing us a favor?" Eda asked. "The kid really hates seeing the people here all locked up, especially since ninety-nine percent of them are here for being themselves. You two wouldn't mind helping us liberate them, would you? Y'know, a favor for a favor."
Caiatl looked to Satuur, and the two nodded at each other. "We will honor your wishes, Witch."
"Thanks, it really means a lot. And also, the name's Eda, not just 'Witch'." Eda placed her hands on her hips.
"My apologies then, Eda." Caiatl replied.
"That's more like it."
Luz found the shield generator for the cell. She looked around it, searching for an off switch. She saw nothing but a plethora of alien symbols and beeping lights with a burning core in the middle. She tried kicking and hitting it, but to no avail. An idea popped into her head, "Hm, I wonder." She took a snow glyph out of her pocket, "Fire meets ice." She aimed it at the core of the generator and activated the glyph. Snow poured over the core and cooled it, causing it to spark out.
The shield to the cell deactivated, but shortly after, an alarm went off as Caiatl and Satuur stepped out. "Of course there's a loud and annoying alarm!" Eda yelled.
"We should expect guards to come and neutralize us. We'll be ready for them." Caiatl said.
Luz and King came running back, "I don't know what happened! I deactivated the shield and-"
"We know, Luz. Just be prepared to kick some alien butt." Eda grabbed a few potions off her belt. Doors opened on both sides of the floor and out of them came four high ranking legionaries armed with slug shotguns. "There's only four of them. This shouldn't be too hard."
The legionaries all slashed their blades in the air in unison. One of them uttered something in Ulurant, before raising their shotguns at them.
"What did he just say?" Luz asked Caiatl.
"He said that if we don't surrender, they'll kill us, and drag our lifeless bodies throughout the town." Caiatl responded. Luz recoiled at the thought of such a thing. "But that won't happen. They'll fall just the same as the rest of them." Caiatl took a defensive stance, "Stay back. We'll make sure they can't get to you."
Luz bravely stood next to Caiatl, "I'm not letting them get off that easy." She took a few glyphs out of her pockets, "They won't get out of here without getting a whoopin' from mama!" She yelled.
"That's the spirit kid!" Eda exclaimed.
The legionaries rushed them all, firing their weapons at them; most of their shots hit Caiatl and Satuur, bouncing off of their armor. Caiatl charged one of the legionaries, smashing him into a wall. She struggled against him, trying to grab his weapon, the legionary ended up headbutting her and pushed her away. She tackled the legionary and pummeled him, knocking him out. Satuur had little trouble with his battle, having a significant size advantage over his opponent. After a small tussle with the legionary, Satuur got the upperhand on him, and sent him screaming down the hole in the middle of the building.
Luz clumsily weaved around the shots of a legionary. She ran under him and casted a fire glyph into his leg, forcing the legionary to kneel. Luz blew a raspberry in his face, and King smacked his helmet. Before he could react, Luz used a plant glyph that sent the legionary careening into the ceiling, and falling back down into the hole below. The two watched as he fell all the way down to the floor. "Ouch." Luz said as she high fived King.
"Nice going Luz!" Eda yelled. She threw several explosive potions at the legionary, causing parts of his chest armor to fall off. He clasped his chest before opening fire on Eda. One of the projectiles managed to graze Eda's arm, causing her to bleed. She gritted her teeth and held her wound. The legionary aimed his gun at Eda, getting ready to finish her off. Before he could fire, Caiatl used one of their shotguns to take him down. She shot him in the head and oil spat out from his suit which made a very loud popping and hissing noise. He screamed in pain, and fell to the ground next to Eda. "Thanks for the save, big mama." Caiatl nodded, only understanding the first part of what she said.
Luz raced over to Eda and crouched next to her, "Oh my gosh! Eda, are you okay?!" She looked at her wound.
"I'm fine, kid. It just grazed me," She took her hand off the wound to see blood on her hand, "But I think I'll need a bit of a patch up when we get home."
Satuur picked up a gun off the floor, "We need to move. Reinforcements are surely on the way." Everyone nodded. Luz helped Eda up off the floor. "I will take point. Stay behind me." The group set off for the exit of the building, getting ready to fight their way out.
On the outside, Lilith was still keeping lookout for anything and anyone that would be a danger to the others. "Still nothing. Maybe I should have gone with them." She pulled out the binoculars that Luz left and looked into them. She saw three Cabal walking toward the entrance of the Conformatorium. "Hm, he looks important." She pulled out her scroll, and messaged Eda and Luz that an intimidating figure was headed for them. She got no response from either of them though. She groaned and took another look in the binoculars and noticed that instead of walking in, he was simply waiting outside of the building. "How interesting. I wonder what he's here for then. I suppose I'll keep watching. Surely Edalyn and the others are fine." Lilith continued looking through the binoculars.
Luz and the others made their way down with little resistance, only facing a few Loyalist soldiers and coven guards along the way. As they got lower and lower, they were met with less and less opposition. Eventually, they ran past the warden's office. The door was open and the room was empty. "Guys, wait. Maybe we can free all the prisoners from here." Luz suggested. "Look around for any buttons or switches that might do the trick." Caiatl and Satuur stayed outside the room, while the others searched. After a while, a large master switch was found. Eda and Luz flipped it up together which in turn freed the prisoners from their cells. A flurry of cheers suddenly erupted. The yells and roars of the freed prisoners could be heard throughout the walls of the building. "Sounds like that did it. I'd like to see them wrangle all of those so-called 'outcasts' up again. Now let's get out of here."
"Are you finished?" Caiatl asked, to which Luz answered with a nod. "Then let us continue. The current turmoil will serve as a distraction for our escape." The group continued on, running past several groups of escaped inmates. They made their way to the exit with ease, but they were stopped by Warden Wrath before they could leave.
"Did you really think you all could get away so easily? I'll give all of you a chance to walk right into a cell and let you live."
"Never in a million years, Wrath!" Eda yelled
"What a surprise. I should have expected the Owl Lady and her Human pet would be the spearheads of this prison break…again." He morphed his hands into the shape of hammers, "I'll make this as slow and painful for you as possible."
"We'll handle this fool ourselves. Go! We'll rendezvous with you shortly!" Caiatl shouted. Luz decided to trust Caiatl, and she ran out the entrance with Eda and King. Wrath tried to grab the three, but was stopped by Caiatl who shot his arm. "I don't know who you are. But anyone allied with the likes of Calus is a traitor to the empire." Wrath let out a short laugh and abruptly charged at the two Cabal, who started to open fire on him. Their shots seemed to be effective, but not enough to stop his attack.
Wrath stretched both his arms to smash the two Cabal in their abdomen. They were hurt but could keep fighting. "Give up now! Resistance against me is useless!" Wrath groaned as he was shot in the leg by Satuur. He retaliated with smashing the colossus into a wall. "You're a heavy one." Caiatl fired bursts into Wrath's face, knocking his mask off his face, revealing monstrous teeth. He breathed fire into Caiatl's direction, which she rolled out of the way off. Satuur got up and returned fire at the warden, shooting him in the legs. Wrath fell to his knees, setting him up for a running punch from Caiatl, instantly knocking out the warden. He groaned as he drifted from consciousness. Caiatl and Satuur tried to leave the building, but were stopped by the mass amount of prisoners running out.
Outside, Luz, Eda and King were facing down Calus who was expecting Caiatl and Satuur. "Human! It has been a long while since we last met, has it not? What a pleasant surprise!" Calus exclaimed joyously. "I must ask. What is someone like you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing!" Luz snapped back, grasping a few of her glyphs.
"I'm only here to check on a guest to the Demon Realm. Now, move yourselves if you will."
"We aren't going anywhere until you move yourself!" Luz responded. "And by that I mean turning around and leaving, of course!"
"Yeah, turn tail and get out of here you oversized bully!" King yelled.
"Remove yourselves immediately. My mercy can only go so far."
"It'll take a whole lot more than empty threats to deter us." Eda said
"So be it." Calus reached his arms out, summoning tendrils from the ground that entrapped the three in a makeshift prison. The tendrils slowly started to twist their way to them, "I took the courtesy of enhancing myself with your magic. It pains me to have to use it on you, but you got in my way." The tendrils continued to move, "I recommend covering your heads, the egregore has a tendency to pierce the flesh and bones of those it comes across. That is, unless you do wish to be fed upon."
"Seriously?! He can use magic and I can't?" Eda yelled as she tried swatting away the tendrils with her staff.
"Really bad. What are we supposed to do?!" Luz said worriedly. She and King tried their best to keep the creeping tendrils away from them
As the tendrils drew closer, Lilith flew in on her staff and smacked a fire glyph on to Calus, burning him and making him lose his control over the tendrils. The egregore began shriveling and dying. Lilith landed next to them, "I tried contacting you two, Edalyn! But I suppose you two were busy?!"
"Yeah, we were a bit busy. It took ya long enough to get here." Eda responded, "So, you got any ideas to get us out of here?"
"Well-" Lilith was interrupted by a flurry of prisoners running out of the Conformatorium.
Calus recovered from his burn, rubbing it off. He growled, "Gah! What is it that you are trying to keep me from?!" As the prisoners ran out, Calus caught a glimpse of Caiatl amongst them, "Ah, I see." Luz and the others turned around. "Daughter. What have you done?"
Caiatl's expression changed from angry to furious. A fire raged in her eyes that only the sight of one person could set off, "Calus."
"Have you escaped just to see me, child?" Calus held his arms out, "Come to your father. I will give you the second chance I should have all those years ago."
"It was never your decision to give me any chance. You were no more a father to me than you were a competent leader for our people. Before I even shed my first tusks, I knew straying away from you and what you stood for was the right choice."
"You still bear the shackles of Ghaul's influence. I can change that."
"No. I still bear the weight of what Ghaul left for me as leader of the Cabal. As for his influence, that is something I have shed long ago."
"If that is so. Then why do you refuse to come back to me? Why defy me?"
Caiatl responded with simple words. A phrase that Calus would remember from so many years ago, "Father," Caiatl said, "I will not be weak."
These words made Calus feel like he was in the middle of the Midnight Coup once more. "Your words cut me like daggers, daughter. So be it." Calus extended his arms once more, but instead of summoning more tendrils, all he could feel was a splitting headache, "Agh! This soreness, it plagues me! My body is not yet used to this magic!" He fell to a single knee, covering his head as he screamed in pain.
Luz and the others backed up to Caiatl and Satuur. "Eda, Lilith. Do you two know what's wrong with him?" Luz asked.
"I don't know," Eda responded, "But this looks like a chance to take him down once and for all." Everyone looked at Caiatl, waiting for a response from her.
Caiatl shook her head, "No. It would be reckless to kill him now." The others, save for Satuur, gasped in surprise. "It may seem short-sighted of me, but Calus's death would only enrage his followers. They'd raze this realm to the ground if he dies now." Caiatl and Satuur began walking away, "Leave him to writhe. There will be loss of life whether he lives or dies, for now at least. We will return soon to cripple Calus and his Loyalists."
Luz looked at Calus, who was agonizing in pain. "Wait! We're going to come with you." She yelled out.
"We are?" King, Eda and Lilith said.
"Yeah. I've been itching to see some more good guy aliens for a while, and I'm sure you all have been too."
"Oh, what the heck. We're already this deep in it, we might as well go." Eda said.
"I could use a break from the craziness I guess." King added. Lilith heavily nodded in agreement.
"Then let us hurry before Calus recovers. Satuur, lead us to your ship." Caiatl said. Satuur nodded, and took charge, grasping his weapon.
"Wait, do not leave! I am not done with you yet!" Calus reached an arm out. He got back up on his two feet. "That pain was excruciating. Does my body reject my new power?" Calus clenched his hands, "This will not do." He started down the group as they left. "Whatever Caiatl is planning, I will stop it. This pain however, will not stop me from growing more powerful." As Calus regained his strength, Warden Wrath appeared behind him.
"Calus-" Wrath corrected himself, "My apologies, Emperor Calus. I tried to stop them. But they overpowered me."
Calus summoned tendrils once more, trapping Wrath within them, "You let her escape?! You fool!" The tendrils threatened to impale Wrath, until Calus relinquished his control over them, leaving another shriveled husk of fungi. "No matter. Tell your Emperor Belos to send his own coven dogs after them. I have more important matters to attend to. Do better, Warden. I doubt Belos would show the same restraint that I have today." Calus walked away, "Never again shall you escape my grasp." He whispered to himself, "No more chances, daughter. My dear daughter must die."
As Calus walked, the Collector summoned, and began floating around the defeated emperor. "Having trouble controlling your magic, buddy?"
"I will tame it in due time. What is it that you want?"
"Well, I want your end of our deal, buddy." Collector's shadow followed Calus on the ground as he walked. "I think you should really help a friend out."
"I have told you, Collector. For the hundreds, or even thousands of years I have been in this incessant realm. I will free you, but that will take time. Time that I can not afford to waste now. Everything is falling into place now. I have ensured that the dominoes of fate will fall unto your freedom soon, my friend."
Collector squinted his eyes at Calus, "I'm starting to think you're lying to me, Calus," He said inquisitively.
"No," Calus decided he made his point clear with that one simple word, "You will be free. You have my word, or it is my soul." Collector rolled his eyes, and retreated to his own pocket dimension.
Despite being in broad daylight, Luz and the others were surprisingly not spotted by any Loyalists or Emperor's Coven scouts at all. They still tried their best to discreetly make their way to Satuur's ship, which wasn't too far. "This seems kind of close to Amity's house. I hope the Loyalists don't know where it is."
"Yes, the purple haired one and her ilk came to my ship when I first landed. I would not rule it out that they were followed back to their home after our encounter with the Loyalists at the Empress's ship," Satuur said. He looked at Luz who had a worried look on her face, "Although, I severely doubt they would consider them a threat and do anything. Loyalist leaders are soulless, not the soldiers."
"That doesn't change the fact they'll do whatever they're told." Lilith said.
"Humanity believes that we Cabal only follow the strongest warrior our species has to offer. They could be no more wrong, Calus is not strong as a warrior, his ego is the only thing that carries his strength," Caiatl said. "They follow him because they believe he will give them something more than honor and glory. A testament to his need to be adored."
Eventually, the group reached Satuur's ship. It was seemingly left untouched. "I'll make sure the pilot is still there. Wait here." Satuur walked into the ship, checking around, "Pilot!" He yelled.
The harvester's pilot stepped out from the cockpit, "Valus Satuur. Your abrupt disappearance was beginning to worry me, sir. Have you found Empress Caiatl?" He saluted.
"Yes, actually." Satuur responded. He signaled that it was safe for the others to enter. "We need to leave for the fleet immediately."
"We'll return with the legions and crush the Loyalists, like we should have long ago." Caiatl said.
The pilot bowed, he looked at Luz and the others, but decided against saying anything. "We'll leave right away, Empress, Valus. Although, are you not worried they will try to shoot us down?" He asked as he walked back to his seat.
"It is a risk we will have to take." Caiatl responded. The pilot nodded in response, activating the ship. After a short while, its engines roared to life and the ship quickly took off, blasting away into the sky.
Calus arrived back at the Loyalist base, which had made considerable development, using resources from the Emperor's Coven to bolster its defenses. The Loyalists were preoccupied with building up the base, sacrificing patrols for construction efficiency. The upset emperor trekked through the base, receiving bows, salutes, kneels and any form of respect the Loyalists could think of. He made his way to Za'aurk, who was standing in a central command center, "Primus! The engineering of our species never fails to amaze me. You've got a base up and running and on a pitiful beach nonetheless. Although, it is embarrassing to have it built from supplies from those Witches."
Za'aurk bowed, "Emperor Calus. You grace me with your presence. Yes, it is unfortunate we could not build the rest of our base from our own resources, but we've lost all connection with the Leviathan. After our last encounter with the Human and her Witch companions, we were in urgent need of stronger fortification against intruders."
"The Human? Intruded upon the base? Do you know why?"
"That, I do not know, emperor. But that leads us to another discovery we made at the expense of our poor defenses. I understand most of it, but it would be better if the soldiers who we deployed for the situation explained it. I will retrieve them for y-'' Za'aurk was cut off by a Psion delivering him a datapad. He checked it to see a Cabal ship in the atmosphere, "It must be Caiatl. That coward is finally retreating. Emperor Calus, should we make sure she can't return to her traitor legion?"
"That won't be necessary, Primus. I have taken precautions should Caiatl escape. Her legions will catch word of her follies here in the Demon Realm. And once they do, they will go flocking to someone who can lead them. Someone who will take charge without the help of lower life forms. Me and Caiatl's former advisor have made sure of that."
"How do you know they will rally behind you, my lord?" Za'aurk asked.
"I do not know if they will. But they will tear themselves apart from the inside. A schism, if you will, Primus. But I am certain the stragglers and the irate will find their way here. And when they do, we will bring Caiatl down with her own soldiers. Now, fetch me those soldiers of yours. I wish to see the discovery you've made, Primus." Za'aurk bowed, and left to fulfill Calus's wishes.
"Emperor Calus. The ones who saved you from your own mind." Za'aurk extended his arm out to introduce them. "And those who made an extraordinary finding."
"Interesting." Calus said. He watched as Za'aurk returned with Khuun's squad. They all bowed, "Speak. What discovery have you made?"
Khuun stepped forward, "Emperor. The base commander ordered us to step into a portal of some sort to the past in pursuit of intruders on the base, though I am sure you already know the details of that encounter." Calus nodded, "When we were there, we encountered your past self, experimenting with some sort of creatures that you described as 'magic-sapping'. We do not know the outcome of such experiments as we were on a mission."
"How intriguing. I do remember such events. 'Basilisks' I believe they were called." A revelation hit Calus's mind, "It would be very beneficial to me to restart those experiments. Especially now."
"Emperor Calus, there was something else. A giant body of some sort of blue liquid, we had no idea what it was. But perhaps it could be something to use in the future?" Khuun said. "We found it in the Knee of this land when we traveled back."
After hearing this, Calus spared no time thinking of the potential outcomes, "Primus! Prepare search teams to look for those Basilisks, have them brought back here, and send recovery teams to find this 'blue liquid'."
"Yes, Emperor Calus." Za'aurk bowed and left. "Khuun, bring your squad with me. Show me where this blue liquid of yours is." Khuun nodded and followed Za'aurk.
Luz and King settled down next to Eda and Lilith on the floor of the harvester, as all the seats were so incredibly high up compared to them. "It's real comfy in here, huh?" She asked jokingly.
"This floor feels like pointy triangles constantly poking at me. So yeah, super comfy." Eda responded.
"I'm sure the trip will be over soon." Lilith said.
"I can't believe they just let us get away like that. Did they just forget about us or something?" Luz asked out loud.
"No, they didn't forget. Calus is planning something, he wouldn't let us escape so easily if he wasn't." Caiatl responded. Luz let out a quiet 'Oh' in response. "Whatever it is, it will cease soon." The ship neared the still mysterious portal in the sky. "Brace yourselves. We are approaching the portal."
"Wait, a portal?" Luz asked, "Can we see it?" Caiatl nodded, and picked the group up. They stood in her hands, watching as the ship drew closer to the portal. "That's like…the portal to the Human Realm?! But…why is it in the sky?! Did you have anything to do with this, Caiatl?"
"No, it was already here when I arrived. I only ventured into it out of pure curiosity and suspicion of Calus being here. There is no telling how long it has been here."
"Hm. Another mystery added to the case." Luz raised a finger into the air, "Nothing Detective Noceda can't solve though! Especially with her trusty partners." The ship eventually entered the portal and passed through it. They were now in the vast expanse of space. The portal still lingered in place. Everyone's eyes widened, save for the Cabal. "Are we in space?! That portal was just sitting in…space?!"
"It's…beautiful. I've never seen anything like it." Lilith said, awestruck at the millions of stars suspended across the expanse.
"Eh, I've seen more impressive sights. But there is something mesmerizing about it all." Eda commented.
"It's like looking at black soup with a bunch of eyeballs in it." King said.
"Hey, are those your ships?" Luz pointed to Caiatl's fleet.
"Yes, that is where we are going. To rally my army to overpower Calus's forces. Although now, since he has the power of magic, I do not know how easily we can achieve that now. But we will succeed in the end." Caiatl replied.
"And…who's scary looking ship is that? It looks like something straight out of a terrible nightmare. Like if you had a phobia of ships with mouths." Luz pointed to the Leviathan. Its presence empty without the Loyalists occupying it, but still ever imposing.
"That is the Leviathan. Calus's ship he was exiled on. We cleared it of his followers when we first arrived here. Though there are certainly still Loyalists lingering within the depths of the ship. Thank whatever god you pray to that the Leviathan is too big to fit through that portal. Otherwise your Demon Realm would be turned into the wine Calus drank." The others shivered at the thought of being turned into wine. Wine for Calus no less.
The pilot radioed into Caiatl's flagship, requesting authorization to land. After a short while, his request was authorized and he began the landing process. The ship's landing gear hissed as they dropped and safely landed the ship in the hangar of the flagship. The engines died down, and the ramp lowered. Out the ship came Caiatl and Satuur first, receiving all types of respectful signs from those who happened to be there. And after them, Luz and her friends, who were spared no type of respect, but instead judgeful and contemptuous stares.
"More Humans? Really? They have done nothing but try to tear our species down. And the Empress brings them here once more." A legionary whispered to another.
"These ones look harmless, but why would she allow them passage here?" The other legionary whispered.
The hangar burst into a slew of whispers everywhere as everyone returned to their duties. Even the Cabal felt they weren't above gossiping at the moment. Caiatl and Satuur led the others throughout the halls of the ship, passing by all types of units. Several turrets chirped as they detected unknown life forms, following their movements as they walked past. Luz fell back a little. She had a particularly worried look on her face, "Caiatl, I don't think your soldiers like us very much. I'm starting to think coming here was a bad thing." Her voice was slightly shaky in its tone.
"Remember that it was your choice, Human. But do not panic, no harm will befall you or your friends either way." Caiatl replied.
"You may wake the war beasts with your fear, Human. They can smell such weakness." Satuur said. Luz gulped, and speedwalked, keeping close to Eda and Lilith. As the group walked the corridors, they came across a former high ranking Red Legion Incendior, wearing armor inspired by the fallen Val Ca'uor.
The Incendior spoke, his voice slightly distorted, a trait shared amongst those in his role, "Ah, Empress Caiatl, Valus Satuur. We thought you both to be dead and gone. But it is a relief that has not happened yet."
"Val Vu'lam, the aspirant of Ca'uor himself. What news do you bring us?" Satuur asked.
"Nothing, Valus. Although I have heard-'' The Incendior looked down, noticing the small life forms next to his superiors. He stared at them intently, challenging their very being just for being there, "I have heard that you and the Empress…have been receiving help from…Humans and those like them. Is this true?" He asked, still staring at Luz and her friends.
"Hey! You've got no right to question them like that!" Luz said out loud. Realizing what she just said, she covered her mouth at the speed of sound.
"You dare step to my station, weakling?! I could sear right through the flesh of you and your companions on a whim." He extended a finger and poked Luz and the stomach. To another Cabal, it would barely feel like a tickle, but to her, it felt like a punch to the gut. "Remember that.
"Val, enough!" Caiatl yelled. Vu'lam backed away, keeping his eyes on Luz. "I will not tolerate any further bickering with our esteemed guests. Dismissed, Val." Vu'lam let out a 'tsk' and walked away. "Some members of the empire are still against an alliance with Humanity, whether it be here, or on Earth," She said, "A shame they don't see that their gripes aren't what shape our triumph." Once he was out of earshot Caiatl apologized to her guests, and continued escorting them through the ship. The group finally reached their destination, the War Council meeting room.
"Where are we?" Luz asked.
"A meeting room. Where I speak with my most trusted advisors. Though after recent events, I am not sure if I can speak those words lightly anymore." Caiatl responded, "Keep yourselves scarce. They are not all as open-minded as I am." She said, referring to Luz and her friends. They nodded, and followed Caiatl and Satuur into the room, staying discreet and out of the way.
A group of helmetless Cabal in standard armor adorned by dark blue robes gathered around a large holoprojector in the middle of the room. Caiatl and Satuur joined them in their gathering, "Councilors, advisors and generals of the Cabal Ascendancy. I come to you in a time of need." Caiatl spoke out loud.
"We hear you, Empress Caiatl." A female voice spoke out.
"As you all know, we have tracked the Leviathan here. Upon our arrival to this sector, our bridge engineers found an energy source emanating from a portal in the middle of space. I should have informed you all first, but I ventured in, engulfed by curiosity, but with a drive to find Calus. He is indeed within the portal, but it is a completely different realm to ours. It would make sense to launch a full-scale invasion to crush the Loyalists, but I do not wish to destroy the world of innocent bystanders in the process. I have come to you for guidance," Caiatl explained. She bowed as she finished speaking.
The council members all turned to each other and murmured, speaking amongst each other to reach a conclusion. After a minute of conversing, they stopped, and one of the councilors stepped forward, he spoke with a booming voice, "Empress Caiatl, we have decided that an invasion of this new 'realm' you have discovered is the best course of action to take." Luz and the others gasped quietly. The council member continued, "Your father will under no circumstances stop and not allow his vile plans to come to fruition, and allowing him to fulfill whatever it is he plans to do can and will not stand, even at the expense of another species. Unless you wish to come forward with an alternative to the situation, that would be your best course of action."
"I can not think of any other way to attack these affairs. I do not wish to turn away and leave a world under Calus's rule, but I feel it to be wrong to subject it to our war," Caiatl responded.
One of the council members slammed his fist on the holoprojector, "Empress! Do you forget that we are Cabal?! I am not attacking you for not taking action, but this is outrageous! When has the destruction of a single species stopped us from achieving our goals?! We destroyed planets for the crime of being in our way!" He yelled.
Satuur interjected, "You would change your mind had you been there for yourself, councilor. A beautiful world plagued by Calus and those he allied himself with. Its inhabitants aren't mindless creatures to be turned into his slaves, let alone be subjected to war."
"I'm sure my mind would be set in stone either way, Valus." The council member butt his head with Satuur from across the table. He then turned his attention to Caiatl, "I say you ready the troops, Empress, all of them. Everything we have, every soldier, every vehicle and all our equipment. There is no time to waste discussing the ethics of war, because there are none. I am certain we have more important issues to attend to far away from here."
"I am not against striking Calus with everything we have. I want to slaughter those Loyalist dogs as much as you do, but we should not rule out any 'safer' alternatives." Satuur clapped back.
The council member prepared a counterargument, but Caiatl stopped them, not wanting the room to break into chaos, "Enough!" The room fell dead silent, "It is clear the majority of the council wishes to take the fight straight to Calus." Those who agreed nodded their heads. "But there are some who would rather us preserve a world that we never had any right to stumble upon. Despite this difference in thoughts, I refuse to bring this to a conclusion." The more aggressive of the council members broke into uproar over Caiatl's decision, "Quiet!" Caiatl yelled with authority. "That is why I have brought guests of honor with us. Or rather, they decided they would come with us. I introduce you to Luz, the Human and her companions." Caiatl gestured for them to join them at the table. Luz and her friends walked over.
The council members were confused, as they were unable to see them over the height of the table. Caiatl lifted them up and placed them on top of it and they all waved, looking around nervously. An older council member made his voice heard, "Empress, we have already made one alliance with Humans and some of our men made it apparent that they believed it to be ill-advised. Do you believe another one would be the best course of action for keeping their trust?"
"I will address them when the time comes, right now, we are focused on how to deal with Calus." Caiatl responded, "Now, let our guests speak."
Luz looked at her friends, and nodded at them. She stepped forward to the middle of the table, intending to say her piece. The councilors looked at her intently, and she dared to look back. It was like they were staring into her soul, judging her every thought before she could even get them out. After a brief moment of silence, she mustered the courage to speak, "Um, hello everyone. My name is Luz Noceda, I'm from the Human Realm, or Earth, whichever name you'd prefer. I really don't have too many words since I didn't think I'd be doing this, but hey. You only live once." Luz laughed awkwardly and let out a forced cough before continuing, "Now I won't share too many details on how I got there, but the Demon Realm is like a second home to me and having a war brought in because of someone like Calus would devastate me, and more importantly its inhabitants. I ask kindly that you reconsider bringing the entire force of your army there. I know you want revenge on him, but there has to be a safer way to go about this." Luz finished her plea, she shrunk herself down in embarrassment.
The council members continued to stare at her, not saying a word, though their facial expressions said a thousand all at once. They turned to each other and whispered. The female council member from before spoke after a minute of talking with her equals. "Luz, the Human. It is rare for someone of your status and stature to come before our War Council. And not to mention vastly gallant. Hearing it from you, there has been a change of heart to say the least, when it comes to this situation." Luz smiled, looking back at the others giving them a thumbs up. "But ultimately, the decision is up to Empress Caiatl, and then the willingness of our legions to protect this 'Demon Realm' from the Loyalists. The council has spoken."
Everyone turned their heads to Caiatl, waiting on a decision from her. After quite a while of thought, Caiatl spoke, "I will take with me a legion of soldiers. Luz, Eda, and your companions, ever since I arrived in your world and met you I have always said that I can not guarantee that no harm will become of your world, but I will assure you that any damage done will be repaid with assistance from the Cabal Ascendancy. This, the entire council can vouch for." All the council members nodded in agreement. Luz and the others also nodded. "I advise you to prepare your people. I will arrange for a transport to take you back home."
"And what will you do?" Luz asked.
"Satuur and I will stay here and gather suitable soldiers to return with. Once we are there, we will engage the Loyalists. Find somewhere for the people of the Demon Realm to hide themselves from the chaos, whichever location you decide on, tell me using this." Caiatl gave Luz an earpiece, which by the standards of the Cabal would seem obsolete.
Luz grabbed the earpiece, it had the mark of the Red Legion sloppily engraved on it, "Is this…an earpiece from Earth?" She furrowed her brow, "It looks kind of futuristic and 'Cabal-y', if you know what I mean."
"A device scavenged by Red Legion soldiers who once had no communication with each other. I figured that you as a Human would be familiar with such a device. Satuur will escort you to a ship to be taken back. I will contact you when we arrive back. If anything goes awry, then try to contact us." Caiatl said.
Satuur picked the group up off the table, and walked out of the room with them. Caiatl stayed in the war room, while the councilors left. One of the councilors stayed behind though, "Yes, Councilor Taurun?"
Taurun walked next to Caiatl, standing next to her, "Empress. The council refrained from telling you this out of fear of being reprimanded, but we believe there is a mole aboard the ship."
"Yes, I am aware. Though the mole is not here on the ship. My former advisor, Vruzra, was a traitor. She will be dealt with and punished along with Calus."
"No, Empress. They are aboard this ship, I am certain. I do not know if they are one, or involved in a group, but there have been soldiers coming to your generals and informing them of Psionic Propaganda slandering your name. Telling of your association with the inhabitants of the Demon Realm. That you were captured and imprisoned."
Caiatl tensed up, "How can you be certain it is coming from this ship and not from Vruzra?"
"I ordered an investigation of the incident. Our communications officers have tracked the source of the Psionic messages back here. Whoever is spreading this information wants to be found. And whether it is effective or not…several Red Legion deserters on the Leviathan have cut communications with us."
"What else do these messages entail? Are they only about me?"
"Those who weren't persuaded have told us that the Loyalists welcome any deserters with open arms. Perhaps when you were captured you did not notice, but I've heard we lost several transports due to them leaving for this portal you spoke of. I, unfortunately, did not believe it at first, and neither did anyone else on the council. My apologies, Empress." Taurun bowed, "If there is anything I can do to atone-"
Caiatl sighed, she was frustrated, but she kept herself composed, "Do not brood over your oversights, Taurun. The damage has been done already. Were you able to pinpoint the exact location of the transmissions?"
"Yes, Empress. They are operating from the communications center on the lower deck."
"Attend to your duties then, Taurun. I will deal with these traitors myself." Caiatl walked out of the room and two Imperial Guards followed her.
"But Empress! What of the soldiers on the Leviathan?!" Taurun yelled.
"We will deal with them when the time comes." Caiatl responded. Her and her guards disappeared out of the councilor's sight.
Satuur entered the hangar with the others and walked them over to an empty harvester. "Wait here, I'll find a pilot to take you back home." Satuur walked off.
"Nice words back there, kid." Eda playfully punched Luz's arm.
Luz laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, I kind of just winged it. I wasn't intimidated by their big scary faces at all."
"Hey, you went with your gut and got through it. Now we can finally get that Calus guy out of the Demon Realm." Eda responded.
"Calus isn't the only corrupt 'emperor' in the Demon Realm. We still have the Belos problem. I feel like we've been way too lenient with the Emperor's Coven lately." Lilith added.
"Maybe they'll help us get rid of Belos too. We did save Caiatl from captivity and all." Luz said. "I don't want to sound entitled but, they do owe it to us kind of."
"Yeah, Belos can't get off the hook that easily. Especially with all this weirdness going on." King commented.
"We'll deal with Belos soon. With, or without help. He's going down all the same." Eda replied, smashing her fist against her palm.
Right next to the ship the Witches were waiting at, a pair of Red Legion legionaries loitered. They could be heard talking, "Communications have been cut with the Leviathan strike force earlier this week. The timing is too convenient when you think of those broadcasts some of us have been receiving. Saying Empress Caiatl is a weak traitor, that she employs the help of Humans and some magic wielding beings. Hell, they even mentioned the Loyalists would welcome deserters with open arms."
"I've heard rumors that they slaughtered their own officers. Even with communications being shut off, at least one of them would have reported back by now."
"It is all so strange. I didn't recognize any of the soldiers who went to the Leviathan, save for a few officers. Although, we did pick up a few Red Legion holdouts before we left Sol, that may explain why."
"I can tell that some of them were stationed aboard the Almighty before, only the best of Ghaul's warriors were there. It does not make sense for the best of the Red Legion to oppose Ghaul's successor, and go to Calus."
"Whatever the reason may be, it isn't worth being marked as a traitor and hunted down. I wonder what the Empress will do once she finds out."
The legionaries began walking away at the sight of Satuur coming back, "Only time will tell. Let us go."
Satuur arrived back with a pilot at his side, "Make sure to land somewhere secluded. They should be able to find their way home." Satuur patted the pilot on the back, "Make sure they get there safely." The pilot nodded and entered the ship. Satuur prepared to walk away, but was stopped by Luz.
"Hey!" Luz yelled. Satuur walked over and crouched down, "I overheard some of your guys talking about like, traitors and stuff on the 'Leviathan', was it? Did you know about that?"
"I've learned not too long ago from a centurion who was there before. He lost contact with his squad after coming back here."
"Are you guys going to be okay? It seems serious." Luz responded.
"Our people know how to deal with traitors, Human. We can have them all crushed before the day is up. Let us worry about our people, and you worry about yours. Safe travels." Satuur stood up and walked away. Luz nodded, and they all entered the harvester. The ship's engines energized and lifted the vessel off the ground, boosting it out of the hangar and right into space. The ride to the portal was short.
Luz caught another glimpse of the Leviathan as they passed by. Its ominous presence sent chilling shivers down her spine. The gaping maw of the vessel stared back at her, looking as if it threatened to devour the transport whole. She felt like she could hear the Leviathan communicating with her, beckoning her with glorious trumpets. She ignored it and looked away. The ship soon entered the portal, and they were back in the Demon Realm.
The ship went undisturbed by any Loyalists and landed safely in a secluded area. The back of the ship opened up and the ramp was let down. And everyone walked out, excluding the pilot. "Thank you, Mr. Pilot sir!" King yelled. The ship's rear closed, and took off into the sky.
"Wow, that was space, huh? Kind of disappointing." Eda said.
"It's not as nice as the good ol' Boiling Isles, that's for sure." King said. "But there was something mesmerizing about it all. Oh well! It's good to be home."
"We can talk later guys! We gotta warn the town!" Luz said urgently.
"Hold on kid. I'm as eager about this as you are, but how are we going to tell the entire town about some war that's gonna happen soon? You'll just be the girl who cried Slitherbeast." Eda responded.
"And with our reputation, it's not like anyone would listen to us anyway." Lilith said.
Luz thought to herself, "I have an idea. If you all will hear me out, please." Everyone nodded, "You'll get a little startled from this. But what if…we told the Emperor's Coven?"
Eda furrowed her brow, "No, no, no, no, no. That's literally the worst idea I've heard from you, Luz. And here I thought the whole wizard thing was as bad as it could get."
"I agree with Eda, Luz. Going to the Emperor's Coven, saying there's a war coming to the Isles?! They'd think we're mad and throw us right into the Conformatorium." Lilith added.
"It's not like they don't already want to do that." King said.
"Don't worry guys. I wasn't planning to go straight to Belos's castle and just tell them. That's the backup plan, of course. The real plan is to get a friend to tell them, someone on the inside." Luz told them.
"And who's your person on the inside, hm?" King asked. "No, no, wait. Don't tell us!" He gasped, "It's not Kikimora is it?!" Eda and Lilith gasped, staring at Luz waiting for her answer.
"No! Not at all! That's the second to last person I'd ever want to trust. It should have been obvious, it's Hunter, guys." Luz responded.
"The walking teenage angst? How do you know he'd help?" Eda asked.
"He's helped us before. At this point, I'd say we can trust him to not turn around and snitch on us." Luz replied.
"If you say so, kid." Eda said.
"The plan is easier said than done. First, we'll have to lure him out, and then we'll have to persuade him, and after that, it's all a matter of rounding up all the townspeople." Luz said. "We can figure out a way to lure him out on our way back home. Let's go." The others nodded and they made their way back home.
Back on Caiatl's ship. The angered Empress was making her way to the lower deck to weed out the traitors spreading Loyalist propaganda. She had the intention of exiling them, but kept her hand on her knife in the event of the traitors being hostile. She and the guards following her took a life to the lower deck. Once they reached the lower deck, they exited the lift and walked toward the communications room. The three passed several Psions who looked to be distressed, they all swerved and scattered out of their way, not out of respect, but out of fear. The group finally arrived at the communication's room, where all the crew members consisting solely of Psions were performing their usual duties. They all turned to face Caiatl and bowed, before returning to their work.
Caiatl stepped further into the room, "I will ask only once. Who amongst you will be marked as a traitor to the empire and exiled forever? Refuse to answer me, and being exiled will be the least of your concerns." None of the Psions answered, they all stared at Caiatl, coming to a standoff with the Empress. "I will give you all another chance. Reveal the traitor spreading defamatory propaganda. The Psions still refused to respond to Caiatl, "Fine then," Caiatl took hold of her knife, pointing it at them, "I will personally interrogate you all if I have to." Her guards entered the room, weapons at the ready.
The Psions began nodding to each other, speaking to one another in their metaconcert. Caiatl knew what they were doing, but not what they were planning, despite this, she stayed at the ready. Taking advantage of her nescience, they all summoned blasts of Void energy under the Cabal's feet, sending them into the air and crashing back down to the ground. A Psion rushed Caiatl with a hidden blade, but before he could strike, his face was pierced by her knife, her blade ran with his blood. She stood back up on her feet, her guards also stood up, immediately opening fire on the insurgents with their Bronto Cannons. One by one, they fell. A Psion tried to make a dash out of the room, but was grabbed by Caiatl before they could even make it to the door. She grabbed the Psion by the face, and slammed them into the floor, crushing their skull instantly.
There was one final Psion left, cowering in a corner. Caiatl's guards charged up their cannons, but she ordered them to stand down. She walked to the cowering Psion and crouched down, coming face to face with him, "Your co-conspirators have already invoked my ire. Why do you persuade my forces to defect en masse?"
The Psion trembled as he talked, "The Conclave believes you to be weak. Our race will not thrive under your rule, Emperor Calus will lead us to salvation." He spit on the ground below Caiatl, and relaxed his body, "I face my death knowing I aided the downfall of Ghaul's tyrant heir."
"Then also face it with the knowledge that you will ultimately fail." Caiatl took her blade and slit the Psion's throat. She turned around, "Get these bodies cleaned up. I will address the legions." Her guards nodded, and began radioing for backup. Caiatl walked out of the room and left the ship's bridge.
After a while of walking, she reached the bridge deck. The crew all bowed as Caiatl entered, but they stared at her. There was a creeping silence as she stared back. She furrowed her brow, looking down, she realized a mixture of oil and blood on her armor. She wiped the substances off of herself, and walked to the window of the deck. She began staring out of it, "Now, we wait. Hurry, Human. Calus won't wait for you."
Back in the Demon Realm, the Loyalists were preparing to deploy squads into the time pool, which have since then been contained to prevent them from dissolving or being entered by anyone else. Calus approached them with caution, looking over the walls they were contained by. "But…this is just sand." Calus said.
"Watch, my lord." Za'aurk said. He ordered a legionary to jump into the pool. Calus watched in amazement as the legionary disappeared into the sand, making ripples as he left his eyesight. The legionary suddenly popped right back out of the pool, unscathed and perfectly fine. "It is more than just sand, my lord. It is nothing more than a portal to the past, as you have been told. We already know of the resource potential, the potential power. But there is one thing we haven't considered yet." Calus raised a brow, anticipating Za'aurks answer, "We can bring Loyalists from the past to the present. Caiatl is surely gathering her forces, getting ready to mount an attack. But we can have double the manpower, perhaps even triple if we bring warriors from the past here. It is foolproof."
"Yes, genius Za'aurk! This is why you are the Primus, my friend! Let us begin! There won't be enough of them to stop us then. I have great plans for this realm. Emperor Calus shall rule the Cabal once more. This…is only the beginning!" Calus laughed boisterously, before leaving Za'aurk to fulfill his machinations. As Calus left, his head started to ache once more. He clutched his head as he caught glimpses of the future, "A town on fire. Witches, allied with Cabal. The Leviathan…here, sieged." Calus gasped, "No, I…fall?" He shut the glimpses down, closing his mind from any more precognitive thoughts entering, "It isn't right. I won't believe the magic of a Witch can accurately tell the future, let alone my future." A Centurion went to check on Calus, to which he responded with a dismissive palm. The Centurion nodded and walked away. His head continued to ache, "These headaches can not be allowed to persist if I am to cement my power here. I will confer with the Psions." Calus walked to a secluded part of the base to hopefully treat his ailment.
Back in the past, Calus approached the tower the Collector directed him to. He stared up at it, pondering if he should enter or not. He sighed, and continued forth, passing the statue that he had hoped to erect in the town of the Witches. "Collector, I have meant to ask." The Collector appeared next to Calus, floating around the Cabal as he walked, "The portal. Where did it come from? Is it a phenomenon solely on the edge of space? Or is there some sort of external entity?" Calus asked.
"It's simple! I made it! That's it 'n that's all." Collector said. "I didn't intend for it to be there, believe it or not. But by some luck, I found you through it. Now it'll be there forever, till the end of all things material."
"Ah, I see. Could this portal be expanded? Perhaps to a massive size?"
The Collector placed a finger on his chin, and furrowed his brow, "If you wanted to expand the portal that much, you'd need a whole lot of Titan Blood, and I mean like a whole lake full of it! I unfortunately used the last bit of Titan Blood I could find to open that one."
Calus gasped, remembering the lake full of blue blood from where he held the Basilisks, "Of course! We were so blind. How did we not see it! After this, we must return to the Titan." Collector nodded and disappeared. Calus finally made it to the entrance of the tower, he immediately entered, not wanting to spare any time. He passed multiple rocks stacked atop each other, with crescent shaped 'heads'. The inside was overgrown with fauna and plants, not unlike an egregore infestation. It reminded him of the Leviathan's elegant interior to some extent. He lit a torch he kept from his travels in the Titan's body. "There is something oddly familiar." He touched one of the rock statues, "These remind me of Caiatl's training dummies." He kicked it over, "She spent more time with them than me." He continued down the path, accidentally knocking over the statues as she passed them. Calus could hear the sound of crawling, he pointed his torch at all the walls, finding nothing. He cautiously continued, taking out a knife he intended to send to Caiatl once more.
Calus found a hole in the ceiling that led to the top of the tower. There was but a spiral of dilapidated stairs that Calus wouldn't even dare to step on, "Collector!" As Calus yelled, he heard the skittering in the walls again. The Collector appeared on a rock next to Calus, "I believe I've found your last Titan, but I have no way of reaching it. I suppose this endeavor has come to an end." Calus turned around and began walking away, until he was stopped by Collector who yelled for him to stay. Calus reluctantly obliged, he sat down on a nearby pile of rocks. He played with the knife, accidentally cutting his finger. He shrugged it off and got up, "While you figure out a way to reach this Titan of yours, Collector. I will wait outside." He got no response from his accomplice, as he drew closer to the entrance, he was pounced on by a golem-like creature. Calus grunted as it pierced his arm with one of its sharp tendrils, but was able to pull the creature off of himself and throw it to the ground. "Vile beast! Stay away!" He stabbed the creature with his knife, it laid lifeless on the ground with a major stab wound through its abdomen. Believing he had killed it, Calus started running away to the entrance of the building. His leg was suddenly grabbed by the creature's arm, he tried to cut it off, but it only regrew with each stroke of the blade. The creature slashed at his back and ankle with an axe shaped hand.
Luckily, Calus was able to make his way out of the tower, and the creature ceased to chase him. The Cabal was left limping away, breathing heavily. Prior deterioration and blood loss effectively left Calus as a walking slab of meat. "That insolent child. I should have never agreed to this." Calus grunted trying to hold the blood from his arm. He arrived at his effigy, and fell to his knees. "I can't continue on this rotting body." Calus pulled out a beacon of some sort, and set it off. Within seconds, two Psion councilors appeared before him, "I need your power, my body is decaying and my mind is not fit for an ordinary Cabal clone. It would take years to perfect a new body for me." He coughed up a bit of blood, "Transfer my mind to this statue of myself, I must be preserved. You will know when the time is right to retrieve me. Write stories of the great Emperor Calus for this wretched world to read. Order our scientists to create a new body for me when you are done." The Psions began floating in the air, they extended their arms and using their psychic abilities, transferred the mind of Calus to his own statue.
The body of Calus went limp, turning it into an empty shell of what he once was. The knife fell out of its hand and onto the ground. Suddenly, the statue started to speak with Calus's voice, echoing throughout the air, "What a spectacle! It worked!" He sighed, "Though it will be centuries before I fully recover." The egregore spores around the statue began to protrude tendrils. "Though my mind is trapped in this effigy, the egregore will try to corrupt it and I'll soon be lost to it for some time. Although now, it hardly matters. Now go back to the Leviathan! I will return to my people soon. And that knife, take it with you. As many times as it takes, deliver it to her. If it returns, it goes back, whether she wants it or not, she will take the weapon." The Psions both picked up the knife and teleported away with it. "Now, I rest. Free from the daggers of life for some time. There will be a reckoning for this world when I am freed." The body of Calus laid lifeless next to the statue. The egregore tendrils started to simultaneously find a way to pierce the statue, and eat away at the emperor's corpse.
Meanwhile, the Collector had finally thought of a way to reach the top, "I got it! Why don't we just fly up there!" He exclaimed, "Good idea, right buddy?" Collector got no response from Calus, "Buddy, you there?" He searched around for Calus, completely unaware of what he had gone through while he was trapped in his train of thought. "Strange. I don't sense him anywhere. Maybe he got homesick? Kind of rude, leaving without saying goodbye. I'll wait to see if he comes back then, I guess." Collector retreated into his own pocket dimension, confining himself to wait for Calus to reappear once more.
And that's the end, I got straight into the action with this one, toning it down every so slightly throughout. Now I have a few things to say, or maybe a lot of things to say. This was supposed to come out earlier, but Iron Banner and Pantheon, which I have to say is a very fun mode so far. I highly suggest playing it if you're into raiding. Also, I felt like I wrote myself into a bit of a corner with this fic due to the earlier chapters, it's been getting a little 'retconny' in my opinion. With the way things are going now though, I think that's just the way things have to be. I'll be sure to keep things more aligned in future entries from now on though. I tried to keep everything as jankless as possible for that exact reason. I also intended for this chapter to be longer, but I felt it'd be better to split things up this time around. Finally, I will try to tone up magic and other types of powers in the future because I'll be damned if Calus doesn't use flaming egregore tendrils or something. I always forget this is Destiny AND Owl House damn near anything is possible, though I am somewhat restricted since the Cabal are just guys with guns and blade n shiet (excluding Calus). Anyways that's it for this chapter, if you enjoyed it, leave a review, if you hate it, leave a review decrying my name. Or don't I ain't yer ma. Thanks for reading and see you in the next chapter!
PS: thanks mr. penguin for the reviews on the last few chapters, it means a lot. go read this guy's fic if solely cabal ain't your style, it's pretty good!