Akkadian Forever, Part 3 of 5

Is this the final chapter of the Akkadian Knights?

Akkadian Forever, Part 3 of 5

Wyldcard slowly picked himself up from the rubble of what was left of this wing of the keep.  The sun had risen above the horizon and he reached up to feel his head.  He pulled his hand back with a little blood on it.  He felt something grip his shoulder harshly and looked up to see Batman pulling him from underneath the rubble.  “Get up.  We have to move.”

Batman pulled him away from the building and Wyld heard a crashing sound behind him as more of the structure fell on the spot he just occupied.  He may be nearly invulnerable, but he could sure feel pain just like anyone else.

The team had gathered near the hanger bay and Wyld got his first look at the mansion.  It was in ruins.  Smoke rose from the remains of the Eastern wing and little was left of the central core of the mansion.  Fortunately the western wing was intact, although many of the windows were smashed.  Vexator was flying over the mansion, periodically blasting the ground with bright beams of light from his hands.

Seeing the confused look on Wyld’s face, Batman answered his obvious question, “he’s just cleaning up the rest of the undead.”

Wyld looked around.  Cal, Doc and Quan were nowhere to be seen.  “Where are the rest?  Has anyone contacted the Defender?”

Batman held up a small communications device.  The red light flashing on the front indicated he’d already thought of that.  “Quan is over there, injured.  Cal and Doc are missing.”  Batman motioned towards the hanger bay doors.  Wyld got up and stumbled towards the open door.  When he entered, he saw something he didn’t expect.  Quantum Elemental had changed his form.  He was no longer the luminescent being he had been for the last year.  He now looked human again.  On top of that, he was badly burnt and covered in dried blood.  Batman had obviously bandaged him and he was breathing shallowly.

Vexator landed on the ground nearby, his Scooby Doo pajamas in tatters.  They were simply not made for battle it seemed.  Even given the situation, Vex’ appearance was amusing and Wyld couldn’t help but grin.  

“OK!  Enough with the pajamas already!”  Vex was miffed.  “How’s Quan?”

“Not sure.  I’ve never seen him this way.  Cal’s our healer.  Where is she?”

Vex hesitated.  “I’m not sure.  I’m pretty sure she’s not dead, but I can’t find her.  Do you know what happened?”

Wyld was silent for a moment.  “I’m not sure.  I saw something… something attacking her.  After that, everything went dark.”

Batman stepped up to the doorway with a bone fragment in one hand and a spectrum analyzer in the other.  “This is interesting.  I recognize this energy signature.”

Both the other heroes stood up and took a look.  The mathematical gibberish was a little beyond either of them.  Batman continued, “This is the same signature we saw when Barthandalus entered our world.  This radiation is also common amongst many types of magic that tap into Ley Lines.  I don’t understand it very well.”  

“Cal would.”  Vex’ statement was shared by the other two.  

Wyld, finally gaining his senses, looked at Vex, “Go find her… and for God’s sake find yourself something to wear.”  Wyld was grinning.  Vex was too easy a target this morning.  Grimacing, Vex shot off into the morning sky.  

Turning his attention to Batman, “Find a way to stabilize Quan.  I’m headed back to the control room to see if anything else went wrong… the control room is still there, isn’t it?”

Batman nodded.  At least they had that.  With the loss of the moon base, this control room was their link to the world.  Losing it would be bad indeed.  

Wyld found his way though the rubble in the main hallway towards the sealed chamber.  Although he appeared human, Wylde was in fact a cybernetic organism.  Most of his body had been lost years before and the technology to save his life was way ahead of its time.  When people asked, he’d always reply the same way, “ever see Terminator?”  That had the side effect of ending most conversations about the topic.

Touching his palm to the door, he transmitted a code that turned off the defense mechanisms.  The heavy steel barricade receded into the floor, allowing him egress to the room beyond.

The interior of the command center, surrounded entirely by thick steel walls, was unharmed in the attack.  The computers were lit up and flashing red lights illuminated the room.  Extending his finger towards a strange looking outlet in the nearest terminal, he inserted it.  As he did, his finger changed shape and took on the form of a jack that allowed him direct access to the computer systems.  Immediately, the condition codes returned to normal and the alarms and lights ceased.  A holographic display of the keep shot up, displaying the damage.  

Across the comm. system, a familiar voice echoed through the room.  “… again, this is Drax.  Batman, you there?”

Wyld concentrated and activated the microphones, “We’re here.  We need you to return to the keep.  There’s been an attack.”

“Wyld?  What in the hell is going on down there.  The sensors on the Defender show massive damage to the keep.”

“Just get down here, Drax.  We’re gonna need you.”

Turning his attention to the holographic display, he attempted to expand it beyond the walls of the keep and immediate grounds.  The image started getting very fuzzy.  Apparently the apparatus that surveyed the surrounding countryside was damaged in the attack.  All he could get was the keep and the hanger.  

As he looked more closely, he noticed something odd.  The hanger was untouched.  Only one red light deep underneath the hanger bay was lit, indicating that a security breach had been made.  

There was nothing under the hanger bay to breach.  It could be a glitch.

A different voice came over the comm., drawing his attention.  “Wyld, you there?”

“Yes, Vex.”

“I didn’t find Cal or Doc, but I did find tracks headed West into the moor that may belong to Cal.”  

“Follow them as far as the moor and then come back.  I don’t like this.  The rest of the team will be back shortly and we will all go together.”

Wyld withdrew his finger from the computer.  All he could think about was what Eron would do.

After a moment, he accessed the computer once more and tied directly into the GODS network…

 

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Quite a few miles away, in a rather dark section of forest, Cal tore through the trees and underbrush.  Her quarry was very close now and she was intent on finding him.  

She had erected an energy field just in time to save herself from the onslaught Curse had levied upon her, but couldn’t react fast enough to stop him from taking off with Doc in tow.  It was all she could do to grab her costume and charge off after him.  It would have been wiser to wait for her team to catch up, or even take them with her as she left, but this was a personal battle and one in which the others need not be involved.  

This was her doing.  She should have just killed him when she had the chance all those ages ago.

She shivered.  The thought was reprehensible.  Of course, killing him was preposterous and the thought was gone as soon as she had it.  In the first place, it wasn’t in her nature.  She couldn’t bring herself to kill insects on most days, let alone people.  She came to this world to protect life in all its forms, not destroy it.

The second reason was even more compelling.  The nature of Curse’s power meant that a demon, most likely Legion, had literally stolen his soul at a young age, turning him into the hulking warrior she helped to defeat so many ages ago.  To kill Curse would be to turn him over completely to the demon and extinguish any chances of his salvation.  She could not put out the fires of hope and had instead bound him in an eternal slumber.  

She stopped for a breather and put on her boots.  She would have taken to the air a while back had the canopy on the trees not been so thick.  No, she would be on foot for this confrontation.  Looking down at the moist earth, she saw footprints still spaced rather far apart.  He was still running, but she wasn’t far behind.

As she continued forth, she began noticing a clear trail through the brush and broken thickets.  Curse was making no effort to conceal his tracks.  Finding him would not be the hard part.  He apparently wanted it.

The sad thing was that she knew it was a trap.  She knew he was trying to separate her from the remainder of the team.  

This was her mess.  She should have kept closer tabs on his tomb. She had to do this alone.

 

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The Red Pharaoh fired up the motor of the small Spanish vessel still anchored off the coast, exactly where he had left it.  The old diesel engine came to life quickly and within minutes he was on his way back to the Americas with his prize.  His masters would be very pleased.  

Entering into the captain’s chambers, he set the package wrapped in silken cloth down on the bed and carefully unwrapped it.  Underneath the folds was his prize, the object of his desire.  

Reaching down, he picked up the small bauble.  It looked like nothing more than a pearl, a marble if you will.  Its appearance was milky white and it was little more than the size of a lemon.  He could feel warmth coming from its interior and he sensed a great deal of power within it.

As he studied it, a sensation overtook him.  A thought began to form in his mind.  Why not keep it?  Why not use it for his own purposes?  Why give such a thing over to the Order when it could be his own?  The power it contained was evident, so why not?

He shook his head and put his hand to his temple.  These were not his thoughts.  Looking over his shoulder at the cabin’s open door, he sensed something amiss.  He wrapped the bauble back up and set it back on the bed.  Turning, he went through the door to the deck beyond.

“Ah… I see you cannot be so easily corrupted.”  

The voice sent shivers up and down his spine.  The Red Pharaoh turned and saw Legion, the grotesque demon that he was, some 10 feet away.  Its gaping maw sported hundreds of razor sharp teeth atop a body that looked black and slick.  The beast sat upon the roof of the cabin and it looked down at him, if ‘looked’ aptly described a creature with no eyes.

“I know you.  The Order said you might come.  You will not get what you are looking for!”

“Oh… poor little hero,” the demon cackled in a mocking voice, “There are no shadows you can hide in today which I did not create.  You think you are doing the world a favor working for your precious Order.  We shall see…”

Legion descended upon Red Pharaoh.  The skirmish was short and one sided.

A few minutes later, the ship changed course, heading South.

Screams of agony were plainly audible across the still waters.