Chapter 13

Tom, Aoibhin, Molly and Anna battle Marcel and his followers, until reinforcements in the form of Coral and Ryan arrive to help. But are they in time to save them all and capture Marcel?

Chapter 13

 

“Qualontra, look out!” Tom cried out, and the otter quickly dove back from his battle with the crocodile to avoid the massive rhino as it charged.  “Oh, s**t-“ Tom dove to the side himself as the Praestia thundered past, skidding to a stop.  Petrino turned again to face the scene, large horn now pointed towards Tom himself.  The otter was back in a battle against the crocodile, who was surprisingly fast for its species, and too distracted to help his Praedux.  Tom could feel Qualontra’s panic and adrenaline inside him, and although he didn’t like the feeling, he felt strengthened by the animal’s power as well.  Petrino bowed his head low, pawing the ground and preparing himself to charge. 

 

Look up...

 

Tom did as commanded and lifted his eyes to face the sky, for them to widen.  A blue-tinted sword lowered from out of nowhere, and he eagerly reached up to grab the hilt.  The weapon stopped floating, and Tom was surprised to discover it was light.  He examined it, before saying with a small smirk, “...Thanks, Josh.  Though I have no idea how to use it.” He looked back to Petrino in time to see him charging.  He quickly jumped to the side, before slashing the blade at the rhino’s side.  The sword felt so natural in his hand and easy to use, that Tom nearly threw himself to the floor with that attack.  The metal slashed the rhino’s tough skin, and a spray of water caused Tom to gasp in surprise as the rhino gave a grunt of pain.  Marcel grimaced up ahead.

 

“Oh, would you look at that.” The assassin commented dryly, “You have a pretty sword that blows bubbles... how magnificent.  But I have another test for you, boy.”  The confident expression about Tom’s face faded as Marcel drew his own two daggers.  The weapons wer shorter than Tom’s, but narrower and the point at the tip was enough to send fear piercing his heart... and definitely enough to pierce with more than fear, as well.  As the otter, crocodile  and rhino continued their duel, Marcel took quick steps towards Tom, raising the blade and sending it down towards him with an angry cry...

 

*             *             *

 

“Die, die, die, die, die!” Aoibhin practically screamed as she continued sending slash after slash at the poor grunt in front of her, who was trying to defend with just as much desperation.  The man was covered with gashes and various bruises from the young girl’s relentless onslaught, “Why won’t you die?!  Dieeeee!”  Aoibhin sent a kick between the man’s leg, and he cursed, falling to his knees.  “Hahahaha! And that’s why it sucks to be a boy! Hahahaha...” She paused in her attack to double over, laughing.

 

Rather obviously, the moment of humour passed when the massive dog appeared out of nowhere, pinning her down to the ground.  “Ahhh! W-What?!  F**k off, you stupid, gross-“ She squeaked and forced the great dane’s slobbering and gnashing mouth back from her face.  The Praestia growled viciously as he struggled against the girl’s surprising strength. Aoibhin struggled to breathe as the dog’s legs continued to press into her stomach and chest, the heavy weight of the animal about twice as much as her own.  There was a noise to her right, and she glanced over in time to see the tiny meerkat head butting the great dane off of her.  Aoibhin scrambled to her feet, immediately charging wildly at the Mortalitas grunt, sending him crashing backwards into a tree and crumpling unconscious.

 

“Hell yeah!” Aoibhin punched the air, with a grin, before frowning and turning around, “Alright, you stupid mutt, you’re pissing me off now...”  Her eyes widened, and she jumped up to catch Terrakat as it was sent flying.  She wavered on her feet, and everything blurred...  The meerkat in her arms soon faded away as she re-summoned it away from the danger.  When her vision re-focussed, she gulped and began backing away from the furious dog.  Saliva continued to drip from the dane’s mouth, as it stalked towards her.

 

*             *             *

 

“Can’t you do anything?!” Molly cried in frustration as another of the small ice beams sent from Ghipo flew wide of the rather agile gorilla ahead of her.  So far, the opponent Praedux had simply been playing with her, the gorilla hadn’t sent a single attack her way.  Ghipo had sent many, but not a single one had hit.  The Mortalitas member she faced was a grey-haired, stern-looking woman who looked like she belonged behind a desk in a boring office somewhere.  Even though she was taunting and teasing Molly with her actions, not a single smirk or laugh had emerged from the woman.  That annoyed Molly even more than laughing would have.  Ghipo appeared rather stressed out, and the attacks were becoming even worse in accuracy.  One of them nearly hit Anna, which was quite impressive considering she was currently jumping all over the place and shouting things at her duck. 

 

“Hit the freaking gorilla, he’s big enough!” The girl snapped, and Ghipo trembled at the frustration of her mistress, before stopping still, “...What are you doing?!  Attack!  Shoot ice! Freeze it!  Do something!”  A laugh finally escaped her opponent, a simple, short ‘ha’.

 

The woman now looked to Molly with cool, grey eyes, “Let’s finish this nonsense.  Squash the pathetic creature.”  There was no urgency, no smugness, or any hint of satisfaction in the woman’s command.  The gorilla lumbered over to the still mouse, before lifting his stumpy leg up, preparing to send it crushing down.  Molly continued shouting orders in panic, but the mouse remained still.  The gorilla lowered his foot... only to roar in pain.  The woman screeched with it, falling to her knees.  The gorilla continued jumping around in agony, and Molly looked to his foot, wide-eyed, seeing a large icicle jammed in it.  “Argh!” Finally, a look of anger crossed her opponent’s face, as she got back to her feet, “Enough games!  Go!”

 

“Well done, Ghipo!” Molly shouted, now smiling.  The mouse sensed her new confidence, and immediately pounced at the gorilla, the beams of her ice now hitting the gorilla dead on.  The primate began to retreat, holding his large arms up as if to try and shield himself from the moves.  The woman looked more and more frustrated, and reminded Molly of a dragon.  “We’ve got this... now freeze that thing!”

 

“You’ve got this?!” The woman cackled, eyes widening rather crazily, “Please!  Fight your way out of this one!” 

 

The gorilla now lowered his arms, making eye contact with Ghipo, who stopped, ears twitching a bit.  Frowns creased Molly’s forehead, before suddenly, the mouse turned and pounced at her.  “Ah!” Molly ducked to the side, and Ghipo landed behind her, turning back to face her.  The girl turned her panicked gaze from her own Praestia, in time to see the gorilla swing his powerful arms towards her face...

 

*             *             *

 

“Go, ducky, go, go, go!” Anna squealed, jumping up and down, clapping her hands.  “You’re a total... ninja duck!  Dodge that! And again! Dodge, dodge, and dodge!  Noooooow... dance!” The duck and bear both seemed confused, and Anna pouted, “Aw... I was hoping you’d obey; you’re such a good duck... Oh well!  Send another green air wave thingy at it!”  A loud quack came from the bird, and the bear quickly began retreating along with her master, both seeming petrified.  Not fast enough, however, for a green wave of air shot from the quirky duck with a humming noise, sending both bear and Praedux flying through the air with powerful force.  “Yes!  I shall name that attack... hm... Something... something serious... the green cloud of kick-butt doom!”

 

The young man ahead of her staggered back to his feet, looking dazed, long hair all over the place.  “E-Enough!  You... you freak! Stop talking... for a second...”

 

There was a second’s pause.

 

“Okay!” Anna chirped, tilting her hat slightly while beaming, “I was silent for an entire second!  I think my mum loved me more whenever I followed that order...  Do you love me too, now?”

 

“N-No, I don’t love you!” The man shouted, running over to his concussed bear and shaking it forcefully, “Get up! Up!  Move, you great lump!”  The bear gave a swat of his paw, punching the Praedux right in the mouth and knocking him back to the ground.  The Praestia then grunted, climbing back to her feet with a big yawn, before slowly approaching the duck, who was currently preening himself.  The bear considered the small bird beneath him, before in one swift movement, clamping his jaws around the entire bird and closing.  There was a moment’s silence between the two humans and two animals.

 

“..D...D...” Anna stuttered, wide-eyed, staring at the bear whose mouth was moving oddly, “...Ducky...” A distressed quack came from the bear’s mouth; before Anna suddenly pounced at her, landing on her face, “Let him go, let him go!  Ducky, use the green cloud of kick-butt doom again!”  The bear began to look uncomfortable, before Anna felt herself being thrown backwards, screaming.  The bear was blasted back herself, crushing her Praedux, while Anna and the duck were forced the other way.  As Anna replaced her hat upon her now messy hair and adjusted her glasses, she looked smugly to the un-moving bear and man.  “And that’s why you don’t play with food!”  She pet the quivering duck on the head, and watched the rest of the battle, sat back against a tree.

 

*             *             *

 

“This is it?!” Marcel snarled, parrying another of Tom’s feeble attacks, and sending his own, which Tom only barely managed to duck.  “This is what the prophecy has to offer...?  A mouthy, cocky arrogant b***h of a little girl... one who has no clue on how to use their Praestia’s power and just shouts to attack and then gets angry... a lunatic girl with absolutely no sense of what is real, with a messed up duck... and a geeky boy who is only a mediocre Praedux and useless at fighting.  Oh, and let us not forget Miss Hasty there who nearly had her Praestia cut in two on her first day.  I must say, child, that I had hoped for a bigger challenge- Ha!” Marcel countered a sudden attack from Tom, and with one flick of his wrist, sent the sword out of his opponent’s grip and down the ground. 

 

Marcel chuckled darkly, regarding the boy as he placed the cold steal of his left dagger to the boy’s throat, the other prepared to counter any surprise attack.  “You know... my master gave me orders to just scare you, and leave you alive... But I am sure you will not be missed. I doubt that someone such as you has any relevant part to play in the prophecy... Or maybe, I can just leave you blind.  Or unable to talk... Maybe even with no arms and legs. As long as you are alive, everything is fine, yes?” A ghost of a smile crossed the pale man’s face, as he moved the dagger gently up from Tom’s neck, across his face and beneath his glasses, where he gently pressed the point into Tom’s lower eyelid, causing the boy to flinch in fear.  “I just need to apply a little force... and your eye will probably just pop out.  If I am honest, I have never done it before... I am not sure how exactly it will work... Shall I try?”  He traced the smallest of cuts across the eyelid, and he chuckled again as a small tear passed over the blade.

 

But then the dagger was withdrawn, for the entire battle had stopped to listen.  Sirens suddenly blared, and seventeen blue-clad people burst into the scene, each one pointing a gun at the four standing members of Mortalitas.  Tom immediately backed away, weak-kneed, crouching down beside Lolly’s unconscious body.  He looked to the right, where Molly lay in the same state, a substantial bruise across her forehead.  Anna, meanwhile, appeared to be snoozing against a tree, the great bear and her owner unconscious a short distance away.  Finally, to his left, Aoibhin had several cuts to her face and body, and a large bite on her right arm.  Otherwise, she was alive and well, the dog unconscious at her feet.  He finally looked to Qualontra, who appeared injured.  The rhino was stood beside his master, glaring at the newcomers, while the crocodile was down.

 

The leader of the uniformed group stepped forward, gun pointed at Marcel’s head, “Marcel... We’ve never met before, but as I’m sure you’re well aware... you are the second most-wanted person in Otellus.  I don’t think I need to say anything more than you’re arrested.”

 

Marcel smiled at her rather sincerely, “Second most wanted...?  Why, I am offended... What lucky soul is your number one wanted, hm?  I must say I am jealous.”

 

“Don’t talk to her like that, you-“

 

“Shut it.” Coral snapped, sending a pointed glare at the young man who had spoken angrily.  She then smiled forcefully, approaching Marcel, gun still raised, “Now that is rather obvious.  Your master, the so called self-proclaimed ‘king’ of Otellus.  Now tell me, Marcel, what kind of king hides from his subjects?  What king cowers away from the real fight rather than making himself known?”

 

Marcel’s smile grew wider as he followed her with his eyes, ignoring the gun pointed at him, “Mind games... tricks... None of that will work against me, dear woman.  Lord Xagraver remains away because your queen banished him there, of course.  He wishes to... erm... replace her the honourable way, with as little blood as possible.  By winning the public over.”  Coral gave a short laugh, and began pacing around him, Marcel’s emerald eyes following her every move.  “You do not believe me, of course...  I care not.  The point is, m’dear, that Xagraver will one day be the king.  And there is nothing you can do that will stop it, and nor is there anything you can do to me that will help it in any way.  If you arrest me, he will come for me.  If you kill me, he will come for you.  No-one has died here today... except poor Gordon over there.” He gestured to the broken body, where the bear had just roared in pain and collapsed.  “And that makes the... er... oddity over there more of a criminal today than me.”

 

“More of a criminal?!” Coral snapped, eyes narrowing to a glare, “You murdered an entire village worth of people in their sleep! You gave them no chance to fight back, no warning!  Don’t tell me to let you go free, after all you have done.  Nothing you can do will prevent me from seeing justice served.  Real justice would be to just shoot you now, and screw the consequences.  But unlike you, I have a few morals.  And I am not a killer, I uphold the law.  You are going to jail for the rest of your miserable little life, so stand down!”

 

Marcel tutted, shaking his head as he gazed at her, “I am thinking my answer to that is no... but thank you for the invite.  I am sure the jails of Silagost are just wonderful, dear woman, but I must decline.”  With absolutely no warning, his dagger whipped through the air much like it had done with the golden monkey earlier, and Coral cried out in pain as the gun clattered to the ground.  He grabbed her, spinning her around to face the other police officers, grabbing her hair and weapon to her throat.  “Ladies and gentlemen, the process is quite simple.  Let me go free, and keep the lady.  Or shoot and kill us both, while my allies go and fetch help, coming back and killing all of you, and Aurin Village.  Ta-ta.” He’d by now retreated to the edge of the clearing with his allies, before throwing Coral forward with all his might and disappearing into the trees.

 

“Don’t shoot!” Coral shouted as a single bullet fired, burying itself in the tree Marcel had just disappeared behind.  The new blonde-haired officer darted forward to help her to her feet, causing a gasp of confusion from Tom.  Coral accepted the boy’s help, climbing shakily to her feet, “Thank you, Ryan...”

 

“Ryan?!” Tom exclaimed, eyes widening, “How did you...?”

 

“...I don’t think he has awesome hair.” Anna commented from the tree, “Sorry.  You’re still cute, though!”

 

Ryan frowned at the strange girl, before smiling awkwardly to the others, “So... hello.  Pretty cool world we have here, huh?  I guess I have a bit of explaining to do.”

 

*             *             *

 

“It is done, Xagraver.” Marcel spoke aloud to the device on his wrist, not bothering to look at it as he marched through Aurin Forest, his three companions trailing behind.  “Four of the children were there...  Two of them ended up unconscious, while the other one was left at my mercy.  However, the Silagost police arrived on the scene, so I had to leave rather quickly, so to speak.”  There was a deep sigh from the watch, and Marcel brought his arm up to face Xagraver, smirking.

 

“I thought you were meant to be sneaky?”

 

Marcel snorted, shaking his head, “The mission you gave me cannot be done sneakily, my lord.  You asked me to attack them, and to scare them, with four others.  If you had asked me to kill them, they would all be dead now and no-one would know for another few days, if at all.  Nonetheless, I fear nothing.  One of us died from that stupid girl with the duck, got crushed by his own bear.  A waste, if you ask me.  However, besides some arrogant rude-mouthed brat, no-one put up any decent fight.  As for the other four of the prophecy, I have no idea.  There was one other boy at the hotel last night, but I have no other clues.”

“No matter.” Xagraver replied bluntly, “You did well, very good.  Next time you meet them, kill one of them.  The one with the duck.”

 

“And as you know, that is not possible.” Marcel turned on his heels to see a cloaked boy standing in the shadows, hood covering his face, “For until the eighth child meets one of the others, the prophecy cannot start.  None of them can die without dooming all of Mortalitas.”  The boy pushed himself away from the tree, approaching the green-haired man and giving the leader of Mortalitas a careless wave on the watch.  He came to a stop in front of Marcel, nodding, “Marcel.  Long time no see.”

 

Marcel smiled thinly, “Indeed... Shadow.”

 

Xagraver snorted, “Bah.  Do tell me, Shadow... how do we know who the eighth child is?  How do we know that it is not one of the five Marcel saw?  The prophecy may have already begun.”

 

“If the prophecy has begun, then one of them shall die very shortly.” Shadow shrugged, “Though, unfortunately, we still don’t know.  The eighth child shall reveal his or herself eventually... I believe it will be obvious when the prophecy has been triggered.  And as soon as it has, I strongly suggest you kill them all before they grow powerful.  The main prophecy is that they will rise up and defeat you.  The lesser known part is that, with the right... happenings, you can defeat them.”

 

“And what are you doing, Shadow?” The old man’s voice lowered to a hiss as he glared at the hooded teenager, “What are you doing, while Mortalitas prepares for open war?  What are you doing to help?”

 

Shadow stared at him, not replying for a while.  Eventually, he replied in a quiet voice, “I am doing my part. I am keeping track of the children, I am searching for the eighth and seventh child.”

 

“And when you find them?”

 

“Then I shall, of course, let you know.”

 

“Then you are truly with Mortalitas, Shadow?” Xagraver questioned seriously, sounding almost desperate.  Shadow laughed softly, but gave no reply.  “I am not joking!  I need to know you are on my side.”

 

Shadow folded his arms, ignoring Marcel as he gave a hinting yawn, “You have nothing to fear, Xavy.  As long as you don’t screw it up, I work for you.  As soon as Mortalitas shows any sign of failing, however... Well, that may be a different story.  Keep going as you are, and keep me at your side, you will be victorious.  That, I promise you.”  He gave a slight bow, before nodding to Marcel, “I shall see you soon, greeny.”

 

“I see old nicknames stick.” Marcel said bluntly, glaring at him.

 

“I see old grudges do, also.” Shadow laughed slightly, before waving, “Try not to get anyone else killed under your command.”  Leaving Marcel to mimic him angrily, Shadow disappeared back into the trees, where the eighth child was currently sleeping next to her wolf.