Issue 30: Battle Brothers
No one tell Doctor Lanis. This is from the top. Handoff
complete. Yes, even now they both make puns. I thought only my husband went
that far. All of them are dorks to the ninth degree. Even under pressure. That
good old family charm. The shoe is on the other foot now Eliza. Be aware. Oh,
who am I kidding? Of all of us? She deserves all the laughter she can muster.—Captain
Overwatch.
The Twilight Scythe: Usually made to
cut through constructs like the Scorpion. My sister’s spear can be effective
but when the three of us work together? Well? In our world, all sorts of interesting
events happen around threes. I don’t think Overwatch will be able to sleep for
a while. Even she hadn’t suspected our plan.—Dexter Murphy
THAT’S
WHY YOU BROKE YOUR ARM?! YOU LET IT GNAW IT OFF! WHAT IF….—From the Private
Feed of Murphy Residence Circa XX-12 of Arcane Shield World Elysium
She
glaring at me right now but with time…..oh no. I made another pun. Yes dear.—Eliza’s
Private Entry is not to be listed for public discourse along the feeds of the
Starlight Logs.
Union Hall
Floating Island Complex Hub
My left arm twitched as I hurled the
spear into additional Void Walker drones. With my right fist, I sent three more
sub-orbital. A physical fight wasn’t the bigger worry. My ears caught onto a low-key
hum. Ocean bound. It loomed over everything. Blotting out the sun. From the
Veil between worlds, it rose. Primordial. Hungry.
Bloodless and translucent. Scales
that had never touched the sun. The red eyes swirled.
Sunset Showdown hollered into the
coms, <<The Lord of the Triangle!>>
The mythological beast of Florida
itself.
It gurgled, “The famous guardian of
life itself. All I see is a speck of flesh for the King of Kings to devour!”
Its forked tongue lashed out and pulled me into the Veil. Endless rows of
trapped souls wailed behind those lantern-light eyes. My back twitched. It
hissed and dropped me from its clammy grip. “Cripple.”
I danced backward as void wraiths
clawed at the ground. Everyone always assumed I was maimed. I never understood
that notion. I had lived with pain all my life. My spine? The physical symptom
of another barrier placed upon me. One meant to contain me. Contain my brother.
Not yet. I couldn’t release that final seal just yet. Let the enemy think I
barely understand my role. They would not get my brother. I channeled new strength
through that arm. It was not my own.
My brother’s muscle memory
responded.
An exchange of skill. We could each
call upon the other’s domain.
My vision burned. I could see the
necrotic threads. Each bead pulsed a ghostly white.
I didn’t need to see the full picture.
Not now. Maybe never.
My enemy hesitated. I sent my spear
arcing outward.
*****
Aether aimed.
With
each cough of his pistol another Void Walker fell. Drones.
Pale
imitations.
They
were not true Keepers such as Chronos. The berserker cry of Floridians filled
the air. Aether’s blood chilled. The blood curse. They were part Hatheon. The
men and women of the peninsula. It was no small wonder that Sunset Showdown had
made such alliances. Other J’kua railed in the skies overhead. Their saucer
ships joined the Arcane Fleet as monstrosities flooded through the Tear made by
Bullteer’s passage through the Duat. All manner of twisted forms attempted to
suck the life from Earth herself. Alerts sounded, <<Cosmic event
imminent. Cosmic event imminent. Arcane barriers activating. Project Freefall
online. Execute?>>
Y’lansa
barked, “Initiate!”
The
old Typherian Admiral muttered a silent prayer to the Rulers and the Three.
“Here
fishy fishies!”
Jagged
crystalline bulwarks phased into normal space. They spun counterclockwise to
the Earth herself. A thick layer of energy encased the planet.
*****
Chronos sent endless Drones. The
target was never Earth. Not this time. No, he managed the impossible. The
humans had hidden the last components of Noah’s Ark well. But by releasing this
Freefall Project out into the open to defend against the Old Flesh of the Deep?
They allowed a glimmer of the gem to grace his consoles. His daughter’s old
hideout would hide the event. He maneuvered the asteroid. The defenses around
it had been repositioned to defend Humanity’s nest.
Void Walker codes ignited. It
teleported. Black Tendrils exploded outward. Encasing the remaining pieces of
Noah’s Ark. With a snap of his fingers? The asteroid disintegrated completely.
Gunmetal gray lines expanded as the pieces tried to jump to Weave Space.
Chronos laced his fingers under his chin. That Arcane Order had been a menace
to distract. Now? All the pieces would fall into place.
He would have Unity’s position soon.
Abbadon had promised.
From there? The Stars themselves
would weep.
But just in case: There was always a
backup plan. Those like Unity and Abbadon did not give up power willingly. The
Keeper sent one final command to his fleets. “And all their dreams are torn
asunder…..”
*****
Y’lansa highlighted the Arcane Code.
“Fish is away!”
She re-routed 2nd and 3rd
auxiliaries to “rescue” the stolen Ark segments. To untrained eyes it would
appear that over 1 million personnel died in the attempt. Thanks to whatever
Dexter had in mind? Each of those bodies would remain floating in the voids of
space. Until collected for burial. How he managed it? She would never ask. Some
information came at too high a price. The only solace? Sleeves had paid the
price. Not people. Not the souls or bodies of those minds riding within the
Bio-sleeves to make this play possible. It was no easy thing. They would
experience death.
But their lives were preserved.
Y’lansa knew. All the commanding
officers had gone through it as well. They couldn’t ask those under them to do
such a thing without stepping into the breach alongside. She screwed her eyes
shut. Remembering her moment of Sleeve death during the Breach Wars.
A world without the Star-Spangled
Banner.
Her husband’s strong hands gripped
the back of her command chair. His blonde beard was trimmed close to his face. She
was not alone. Ta’len whispered, “You shall never be alone. Not while I live.”
She prayed that Eliza would forgive
them for the deception. Her reactions would have to be real for any of this to
work. Then they would lock all access from Chronos’ spy globes settled within
the Oort Cloud.
*****
Lt. Brightmark of the Terran
Alliance jerked in his relay seat. His hands rose to throw the helmet off. The
visor went dark as his “body” died. The Puzzler’s data recordings on the Sleeve
operation hadn’t prepared him for this. He would never joke about dying again.
The feeling of losing that connection had disturbed him. He crossed himself. If
they hadn’t put up a valiant defense the enemy wouldn’t have bought it. He glanced
over as countless shipmates disconnected from the decompression of their ships.
One
scrambled to the side and vomited into a waste receptacle.
A
nurse dashed over. “Breathe!”
He repeated the mantra.
I
fear no evil for thou are with me.
His family was safe. That was all
that mattered.
His fingers shook as he lit up a cigarette.
*****
My eyes bulged. Death.
Over
1.2 million souls winked out. I howled. White spots of rage danced before my
vision. Everything narrowed down to the fish-scaled devil directly before me.
It gurgled, “There is nothing you can protect. False Lifebea---“ I flung my
spear skyward. The sigils smoked. I charged. My knuckles struck hardened cartilage. Its
spine segments turned to jelly as they smoked.
People
I wouldn’t be able to get back. I screamed as the monster’s innards collapsed
around me. It laughed. A harsh grating noise that made my eardrums bleed. “You
see? I shall never die.” Even as I tore it apart the necrotic influence of
Abbadon reconstituted its dead flesh.
Rage
consumed me.
I
had failed them. I had relied too much on the Ur-Flow.
Again
and again, my closed fists struck slimy flesh. My spear slammed down at near
FTL speeds. It bisected the creature. Black Scrawl filled my nose. My vision
darkened and I was expelled from the tear between realms.
I
gulped in the fresh air. Spat out the black ichor.
My
grip tightened on my spear.
White
padded over to me. Her fur was matted with scorch marks. She curled around me.
Her
voice joined mine within the Veil.
*****
Fredrick Marshall III picked over
the rubble. Bits of earth swirled around Eliza Murphy. Her shoulders shook with
repressed sobs. Phase Two was set. Chronos’ eyes still lingered on Union Hall
so the play must continue. He knew the words.
The ones that haunted them all.
I know the taste of your tears. Of
her tears. His. The object never mattered.
The phrase had been twisted to his benefit.
The Lord of Flesh.
Tears. The mark of moments. Joy.
Sadness. Redeption. Regret.
Renewal.
A three-eyed White Tiger stiffened.
He spoke, “Earth is….”
She curled tighter around Murphy.
She snarled quietly, “Saved. But at
what cost?!”
Women lived in the here and now.
Marshall halted his advance.
To save Trillions upon countless
Trillions. Chronos’ holographic image shimmered all across Earth and its
territories, “Now you see the weakness of your Heroes.”
*****
I brushed my face against White’s
fur. Forced the tears to dissipate with a flash of my old cosmic glow. My eyes
ignited. Yellow-white energy flowed. I held my spear aloft.
“Not
one more.”
Chronos
spared me a glance. “By my tally? You have failed to uphold the sanctity of life.”
Others
joined me in my defiance. The entire Blue Defender division circled Union Hall.
Cooper landed next to me. Resplendent in his Green Defender uniform. The Keeper
reclined against his high chair. “It is of no consequence now.”
Blood
drained from my face as he panned out to the complex behind him.
“The
Ark is mine.”
*****
Deep within Noah’s Ark the code
activated as it rejoined its sister pieces. Each compartment rang true. Time
slowed. Chronos gloated. As the final cog rang out within the ancient Elysium
vessel, energy curled outward.
Hooked
into each atom of Keepers detected.
Space
rippled.
///Orders received. Jumping to
Temporal Coordinates. Engaging.///
*****
My mouth hung open. Chronos was
gone. In a flash of light. Nothing remained.
Aether landed beside me, “Now we
begin.”
The
J’kua’s black and gray eyes were unperturbed.
I must have looked shell-shocked
because he added, “Check out the Ur. In this respect, I hope you forgive Y’lansa
and Eddie. They came up with the idea. To sell the….” He motioned with his
hands. Of a ship careening off the side of a waterfall.
White glanced up at me as I floated
there. I couldn’t feel my legs. I rubbed my face.
“Anyone have a cup of espresso?”
I sucked in a breath through my
mouth. Funneled it through my nose.
I repeated this for a solid 5
minutes.
I added quietly, “All because I have
a horrid poker face.”
Marshall clapped me on the back, “I
know. But we love you anyway.”
The tears fell. I found I couldn’t stop.
A pang of relief amidst the cloud of
after-battle madness.
*****
Lorain Lanis triple-checked the
final readouts on Golden Bulleteer.
He gave her a thumbs up, “I feel
alright. Considering.”
He
indicated the Arcane News Network feeds. “I’m concerned for Star though!” No
one knew his secret ID so he had to play things off second-hand. Lorain dashed
from the medical station.
White
Lily said, “Now! Where were we?”
She
leaned in to kiss him resoundingly on the lips.
In
his peripheral vision, he could see the twin obsidian statues.
Their
frigid regard followed.
Anubis
Guardians. He held his wife tighter.
Dexter
would know.
Issue 29: Here
Issue 31: Here
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