Hell-Divers (The Prelude)

A Story by S.S.SeekerStar

Beginning of the Story Before the beginning

“Get back here you!” Someone yelled, as the boy took off out of a kitchen with a tart. The sand crunched under the young boy’s boots and dust clouds preceded him. The plump baker raced from the kitchen, a pan in hand. Well as plump as a man in the ravaged earth could be. The man began to chase the boy, but stopped and merely smiled.

“Stupid kid…” He then went back into the kitchen and saw not one but many tarts were missing.“Damn, it Noah!” He screeches.

The watcher drops the data pad as a knock sounds on their door. It slides open with a mechanical whirr just as they put the data pad in the mattress. A black uniformed man stands there, the pale blue light silhouetting him.

”Prisoner 15976.” A voice modifier makes him sound robotic as he looks down at the data pad. “Codename: Orion, Class SS Criminal, come with me.” Orion, as he was known, slowly raised himself out of his cell looking back down at his mattress thinking about the data pad hidden within. Though Orion did not notice it, the video from it was still playing.The boy from before stood alone in an abandoned house, staring at a picture of a similar looking woman.

“Prisoner! We will not ask again.” The guard said curtly. His compact rifle rested in hand now.

Orion stared down the barrel and sighed, “If you wanted to kill me, you would have done so already, Hercules.”

The barrel flashed and he was thrown back into the wall. “Do not ever call me that name again, Traitor!” The guard stood over him his black suit trimmed with red neon lights. “Now get up and MOVE.” Orion got up, the shock from the stun blast making him numb.

Slowly, he edged past Hercules and into the hall. Three more guards awaited him. His eyes wandered to them, all of them he knew...once. Hercules shoved him forward, throwing Orion’s long white hair into his face. “I said MOVE.” Orion trudged on guards lined every hall the company proceeded down until he entered a larger room. Blue flame torches lit every corner, a spiraling staircase rolled down from the throne above. He began to walk toward it but was shocked again. The voltage shook his body

“You go no further.” A female voice said. He glanced over to another guard clad in a similar black suit, blue neon etched into its core. The blue eyed falcon mask hid the face within.

“Circe,” Orion struggled to make out. The woman known as Circe held his gaze then turned away from him. His heart stung as she barely held his gaze.

“On your knees,” Hercules said, the muzzle of the gun probed the back of Orion’s head. “NOW” Orion sighed and kneeled “Prisoner 15976, Codename: Orion class SS criminal. Do you admit to your crimes?”

Orion laughed. “My crimes for what?” The muzzle pushed further into his scalp.

“You had illegal intercourse with a primitive species, effectively creating a half-breed,one who is known by our entire council of prophets as the harbinger of doom for our empire.”

Orion laughed, “That is a crime? Having sex, that’s a little stupid don’t ya think?” The butt of the rifle hit his head, forcing him to the ground. His beard absorbed the chill from the cold surface.

“Do not use those simplex terms here, welp!’’ At that moment, Orion’s rage had skyrocketed, all thoughts of forming a plan out the window

Orion, his face still pressed into the ground mumbled, “If I'm such a welp, take off these cuffs and I’ll kill all of your Knights.” Orion finished. There was a brief moment of silence except for the subtle click of someone’s boots oh the spiraling stairs. A Broad shouldered man clad in golden armour, his Wolf mask illuminated by red optic eyes. Behind him his royal purple cloak slid down each step like a sparkling snake.

“You have forfeited your right to combat,” he announced and motioned to the guards to lift Orion up. “Orion, for your crimes against your people you will be sent to the far reaches of the galaxy to die in the pod we launch you in, stripped of your title, heritage and name, what say you?” The king asked.

Orion spat on the floor in front of the king's foot. “I say your kingdom is messed up, and you are a false god, and you know what else I say, you're so high up on your throne you can't even see that it's being cut from underneath you.” He kicked Hercules in the chest, the shock from the impact shield shooting up his foot. The other man, only knocked off balance, did not let go of Orion. He whipped his Plasma blade from its sheath, immediately shaping itself into a scimitar. The relaxed particles hardening into a blade that would cut through nearly anything. He swiped at Orion who twisted allowing the blade to cut off his shackles, the heat from the blade singeing his hands.

“You fool!” The King shouted, pulling out his own Plasma blade, shaped into a long chain-blade whip. His arm tensed as he took a few steps forward, He spun the whip around his head like a deadly ribbon wand. A haunting laugh could be heard as his mask began to amplify his voice.

He whipped at Orion, catching his shoulder. The Blade softened and hardened inside his shoulder, effectively ripping tendons and ruining his left arm. Orion didn’t hesitate,twisting ripping the blade free as he gripped its end. The King changed the tip of his sword into a morning star which pierced through Orion’s hand. He howled and raised his right hand above his head. It began to glow a piercing red and he brought it down, slicing the sword in two. The King and his knights stood aghast, starstruck.

Orion slapped his hand onto his shoulder and grinned, “I told ya, king.” He stood up straighter as the wound cauterized, “Fighting me out of those shackles was a bad idea.” He smiled, tied his overgrown hair behind his head and taunted Hercules.

Hercules charged Orion. His sword spinning in a fury of strikes. That was Hercules’ style, continuous attack and keep his opponent on defense. There was one flaw, though. He was fighting in raw fury. It made his movements sloppy and easy to guard even with one hand, or so Orion thought. The king had snatched another Plasma Blade from his second sheathe. It whipped across the room racking Orion’s back. Orion spun only to get whipped across the face with the chain blade. He felt the blood seeping down his his face as it dripped down onto the ground, his eyes burned with rage at the king’s cheap blow.

“Damn you, Fenrir!” The King whipped at Orion once more, who dodged, allowing the blade to slam into the wall. He grabbed the sword so its blade couldn’t dig into his glowing hand. In one smooth arc, he pulled the chain blade whip and its user across the room.Orion roared and punctured the King’s chest with his weaponized hand. The King grimaced in pain as his lifeblood poured out of him. His mouth moved, but no words arose. The prideful light in his eyes slowly faded. Orion didn’t need to hear his words to know what the king was saying. He would see him in Hell.

“Orion has killed the Mighty Fenrir” He spat on the king’s face and threw his dying body to the ground. Hercules began to scream in rage as more guards entered the room. Circe had fetched them all.

“Orion, halt!” she boomed, the amplifier,making her voice echo around the room. Both combatants stopped fighting. Every guard in the facility had been called and were aiming their pulse rifles at Orion. He knew they wouldn’t shoot as long as he was close to Hercules.

“Circe!” Hercules cackled. “You’re finished now, Orion, the lowborn former Knight. Best among us!” He laughed placing his hand over his helm, the insanity clear. It popped open with a hiss as it revealed his face within. His eyes were pure white, reflecting the moon. The blonde hair concealed by the rest of the helm drooped down due to the sweat.

“Orion!” Circe howled again, “Step away from Zeus and we will kill you quickly.”

Orion smirked. “Oh, he goes by Zeus now. That’s wonderful.” He lunged forward and bashed his fist into Zeus’ skull three times in a blink of an eye. Zeus’ laugh replaced by a sick cracking sound like a pencil snapping. “Kill me.” Orion cursed. “But I will take every last one of you out before you could try.” There was an eerie silence as one by one all of the soldiers lowered their guns down.

“Orion, My brother, .” Circe stepped forward, her falcon-headed mask parted to reveal her crimson eyes underneath. “My brother, I do not wish to kill you but I cannot allow you to escape. She drew her Phase sword, which split apart into two. “I will duel you,” She spins her swords in two wide arcs and stops in front of Orion. “If I win,” She spits. “You will step into the pod and at least take the chance of life.” Orion smirked. He knew this would be a pointless fight, he was far more skilled than his sister.

“And When you lose, I will have no choice but to kill everyone here.”

Circe stepped back aghast, “Brother, He is an abomination surely you cannot-”

“HE IS MY SON!” Orion boomed. There was a silence a brief silence that filled the room.

“Can you not see that I do this all for him.” Orion yells, the pain evident in his voice. “I would not just turn my back on my people for were it not a cause. After he was born, I could see everything wrong with our empire, We’ve come back to this side of the universe to kill...US!”

He looks around the room, tears streaming from his own eyes. “He has NO ONE, I have no one, not even you dear sister. I will not fail here, the humans are primitive, but they have just not reached their pinnacle of their society yet. They will rise further than us and will break the chains our empire has set.” He holds his glowing hand to his face, the heat evaporates the tears. “My son will be the bane of you all, even if you manage to kill me here.” He pointed to the milky way galaxy on the giant map overhead.

“They are going to take you down.” He snatched the phase sword off of Zeus’ corpse. “I apologize sister, but If you continue to stand in my way.” The phase sword began to extend its former blue hue corrupted into a piercing red as it curved into a scythe. “I will kill you.”

Circe raised her swords, “I'm sorry, brother.” She lowered her swords and all of her men fired. Orion slammed the scythe into the ground, the few laser blast that arrived first burning his skin as the scythe became a large U shaped shield. Circe leaped over the shield bringing her sword down in a wide arc with the intention to kill Orion swiftly. He raised his glowing hand and her sword stopped mid motion.

“Always the fan of cybernetics, aren’t you dear brother?” Circe grinned.

“They’ve saved my life many a times,” Orion admitted.

The exchange of blows were lucid and smooth, Orion had taught his sister everything he’d ever learned, almost everything he knew about combat. Their blows would have rang about the halls were it not for the blasts of Circe’s own men. Circe went for an Overhead, which Orion easily parried. He spun like a whirlpool, slashing and beating down on his sister’s defence. They continued to fire even though their leader was engaged in combat. The shield flickered a bit losing power as the siblings exchanged blow for blow. The sense of intensity was lost as a sense of rhythm and grace were gained. Circe swept for her brother’s leg in a wide arc. She wanted him to jump into the bombarding blasts of her soldiers. Instead, Orion took a step back and grabbed her leg, throwing her onto the ground just as the shield flickered out. The rifle blasts stopped as Orion held his hand and a stolen sword at her throat.

“Now sister, do you think that you and your soldiers even have a chance?”

Circe made a motion and all of her men saluted and slowly parted. Another figure, one who Orion had never seen before, entered the room. “Orion,” they muttered slowly. Their Armour was slim and navy blue with many phase daggers strapped across the chest. The way they walked filled the room with confidence as each and every soldier they passed bowed.

“Time, is up.” The mysterious figure purred deviously. “Your cause…” He said, throwing the data pad to Orion. “Time passes far more quickly up here, doesn’t it?” Orion looked down and saw a tall young man standing in a sandy arena his white cloak billowing in the wind. The Man chuckled. “That is your cause, isn’t it? Then go.Your Son is the reason you fight? Then go. Fight with the humans and die with the humans, I need not for your skills any longer.” Orion flicked blood off of his blade and looked at the newcomer.

“Who are you?” He pondered.

The armoured figure laughed. “GO, before I change my mind, you’ve already killed my father and his heir,” he spat on Zeus’ corpse. “What a weak man he was, falling to a piece of trash like you, Now….” he said turning his attention back to the bewildered Orion. “There is a pod waiting for you. Don’t worry. It's not rigged. Why you’ve done me such a wonderful favor by giving me control of the empire.” He spread his hands in a warm gesture.

“Hades-” Circe began.

“Silence, I am sparing your brother, woman.”

Orion grabbed the datapad and looked back to the corpses and the kneeling men, the man standing before him. He is the one who should’ve died. Orion could feel the coldness radiating on him. Orion snapped himself out of his thoughts and slowly backed out of the room, sword and datapad in hand. The door closed behind him.

Hades looked to Circe. “Is the tracker on him?” He asked impatiently.

Circe forced herself from the floor and nodded. “Yes my-”

He pushed her back onto the ground, boot on her back. “Who said you could get up? I merely asked a question.”

Circe gritted her teeth, but stayed on her knees. “Yes my Lord, the tracker is on him.”

Hades smiled and smacked Circe. “Good, Now.” He straightened his sheathe on his back. “Clean up the bloody mess.” Circe assembled her men without a word as they all began to clean up the hell created by Orion.

“Not my father.” Hades said, “He was a tactical king so as the new Warrior king, I will dispose of his corpse.” Hades eyed all of the carnage in the room and smiled. His whole plan had played out perfectly. His deviousness would have made it impossible to acquire the throne, his father always said. He held in a chuckle as he watched Orion’s pod slink away into the blackness of space, his finger on the detonator.

“I could kill you right now, Orion, but I will let you live.” He bit his lip trying to hold himself back as his fingers twitched, blood began to seep from his lip. Hades looked at the window and an animalistic shudder passed through him.“You will, lead me right to him, so that only one of us may remain...Orion Crimstone.”