The Complete Atlantis Series, Books 1 - 5: Ascendant Saga

by Ellis, Brandon

  “He had to fulfill the prophecy,” responded Mya. “And —” She jerked back and stared off into the sky. “Wait.” She chuckled and stood, jumping up and down. “He chose a different path.” She walked toward a bird and faced it. She motioned for it to lower its head. It complied and bowed, touching its forehead against Mya’s.

  For a few minutes, they didn’t move and quiet filled the area. The wind died down. The birds stopped chirping. The leaves ceased rustling. It seemed all went peaceful to allow Mya to hear.

  Mya took a step back, moving away from the Avion. She dipped her head and pressed her hands together at her chest. A smile enveloped her face. “Thank you.”

  Drew went to get up. His legs shook, too weak for the attempt. He slapped his weary thighs. “What’s going on, Mya?”

  Mya spun, intertwining her fingers, making a double fist. Her smile brightened. “He’s alive.”

  “Who,” inquired Megan.

  “Jaxx,” she said.

  “Then he didn’t fulfill his prophecy,” added Drew, sliding a finger across the dirt, confusion weighing over him. “Where is he?”

  Mya bent down. She was eye to eye with Drew. “The Agadon are gone. It means he fulfilled what he was supposed to. Somehow, he didn’t pass into the next transition in life, but I don’t know exactly where he is.”

  Drew looked around, trying to spot Jaxx hiding in the trees or readying to jump out from a bush like he used to do when Drew was little. He was a practical jokester and perhaps this was another joke? His shoulder’s drooped, knowing that wasn’t going to happen. “Where are you, Jaxx,” said Drew, quietly.

  Megan put her hands on her hips. “So, what next?” A short giggle came out of her. “Can they give us a ship to get off of this mountain?”

  An Avion nodded.

  Drew’s mouth dropped open. “He’s going to give us a ship?”

  “It’s not a he. That’s a she,” said Mya. “Yes, they’re going to give you a ship.” She stared at the Avion for a few seconds and nodded her head. “She also says you’re going to be an ambassador to Earth. So will Megan. Together, you are to help humans stay on a positive course to make Earth a vast living ground of heaven on Earth for the rest of the galaxy.”

  Megan shook her head like a dog. “Say what?”

  “You will rule a portion of Earth. The majority of Montana will be gifted to you. There, the Avions will teach you what you need to teach humanity, and those who have the hearts to see and hear will come to you.”

  Drew was still stuck on the ship. “And we’ll be given a ship?”

  Mya folded her hands over her chest. “In time, yes. You’ll be taking sojourns to other planets in the galaxy to learn things you can’t learn here. You’ll be taking humans back and forth for the time being until they can assimilate what they’ve learned. Eventually, they will use it to live heavenly lives on Earth.”

  Drew pushed off the ground, his legs a bit weak, and he fell on top of the tree in a sitting position. “You can’t be a six year old. What six year old speaks like that?” He shrugged. Mya wasn’t an ordinary child. He extended his hand toward an Avion. “This sounds like an interesting proposal. I’ll take it.” What else would he do besides sit at home and smoke more weed?

  The Avion grabbed his hand with both of hers. She bowed a second time, touching her forehead to Drew’s.

  Drew stiffened, and a throng of electricity went through him. His muscles strengthened, his bones energized, and the world around him began to spin.

  He let go.

  “What was —” He stopped speaking. He was back in Whitefish, Montana and standing. Megan and the children were by his side, and the four big birds were in front of him. “How did they do that?”

  Megan stepped forward, grabbing a hold of Drew’s arm. She was as shocked as he was. “How did we get back here?”

  The Avions gestured for Drew to turn around.

  He did and his face went slack. A myriad of Beings he had never known existed, all different shapes and sizes, stood before him. Some were human-looking, though twice his size. Others were as alien as could be with purple tentacles, or ant-like red Beings, or giant praying mantis lookalikes. They were calm, exuding a sense of love and peace.

  A ten foot tall Being resembling a Polynesian human walked toward him. A golden glow emanated from within, radiating like a saint. He pulled out a scroll and handed it to Drew. “Welcome to the Galactic Federation of Light.”

  He took a step back and slapped his hands together, placing them in front of his face as if in prayer.

  He dipped his head and spread his hands apart. A sparkling poof of light emanated from the Being’s hands and erupted into a cloud, covering the entire mass of aliens.

  It faded away a few moments later, and behind it, every Being was gone. Drew spun back around, wanting some answers from the Blue Avions.

  He paused and looked around. The Avions were gone as well.

  Megan splayed her fingers on her neck, dumbfounded. “Where —”

  “Don’t ask me,” interrupted Drew. “I’m trippin’ right now.”

  “What does the scroll say, Drew?” asked Mya, laying a hand on Drew’s arm.

  Drew eyed her. “Yeah, what else is going to blow me away right now.” He shook the scroll in the air. “Probably this.” He opened it.

  It was covered in symbols that probably only Jaxx knew. “I don’t know. I think —” Shadows of the symbols lifted off of the parchment and swirled in the air. They moved toward Drew and touched the skin between his brows, then slipped through his cranium and into his brain.

  He went rigid, his body and mind now able to translate the message like it was simple English. He spoke, “We of the Galactic Federation of Light Beings have chosen you, along with a special few others across your world, to represent the human race in our Federation of Light. You have all graduated. You’ve evolved and passed the many tests set before you. Congratulations. Your world has now changed and the shackles that have bound you to your egos, to your negative systems that brainwashed you your entire lives and for the entire life of the human drama, are now lifted. Welcome.”

  The scroll heated up and turned scorching hot.

  “Ow.” Drew dropped the scroll and wiggled his hand, trying to ease the burn taking over.

  The scroll hit the ground, shattering into a million pieces of light that shot into him and washed through his body. Every planet, race, creed, and philosophy encompassing all of the Milky Way Galaxy penetrated his body, overwhelming his nervous system, and sticking to every nook and cranny in his mind.

  He fell to his knees, the sensation becoming too much. Megan rushed to him, bending down to help him up.

  He shook his head. “I’m fine, but damn, that was a rush.”

  “Now what?” said Megan.

  Voices and footsteps filled the air. Drew looked up, seeing a horde of people — maybe in the hundreds or thousands — at the edge of the city and walking in their direction.

  Drew pushed himself into a standing position and watched the people coming closer. “What’s going on?”

  “These are your people to train. They are the first to arrive. The second wave will be a larger population,” answered Mya.

  “Train them to do what?” asked Megan.

  “To be a decent Human Being.”

  Drew shrugged. He had no idea how to be such a person. “I’ll need help.”

  Mya dipped her head. “That’s why I’m here. You’ll need a lot of help.” She smiled and put out her hands. Lily and Damion grabbed a hold of her fingers and began laughing, jumping, and playing.

  Drew shot Megan a look. “We’re supposed to teach these people?”

  “The first lesson, Drew, is joy.” Mya spread her arms out and spun in a circle. “And don’t worry,” she screamed in delight. “The Federation of Light is sending down a school. They’ll be teaching us how to get along not only with each other, but with an entire galactic race of peoples. We have a lot to learn.”
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  “Alright,” said Drew. He put his arm around Megan’s lower back. “I guess…spin?” Drew twirled her around, grinning.

  Megan let out a giggle, spinning around with him. “This is odd.”

  Drew slowed down. “Hold on. We need to welcome those people.”

  “They can welcome themselves. Just tell them we aren’t going to teach them anything until we get some good rest and some damn good food,” replied Megan.

  “They’re almost here, so you tell them yourself. You’re good at that.”

  Megan playfully rolled her eyes, something Drew was finding adorable. “Is that how it’s going to be? I do the hard work, you do the playing? Remember —”

  Drew put his index finger up and smiled. “Remember what? Remember that kiss that you gave me in the Andes?”

  Megan bit her lower lip. “It was sweet.”

  He pulled her in, locking his eyes on hers. “Yes, it was.” He leaned his lips toward hers. Megan leaned in as well, touching her soft lips against his. They closed their eyes and kissed long and hard. The lowering sun’s pink and orange hues highlighted and shadowed them across the Montana landscape.

  Mya ran up to Drew and wrapped her arms around his leg. “Welcome to your new life, Drew. Here, you will be happy. Here, you will grow and cherish every day of your life from this moment and beyond.”

  Drew opened his eyes. Mya flashed him her pearly white teeth. He tussled her hair with his hand. “You’re incredible, do you know that?”

  “So are you,” she replied. “So are you.”

  38

  Unknown

  Jaxx shot like a streak of lightning through the apex of another pyramid, penetrating the thick crystal capstone and into a chamber deep inside.

  He landed hard on a granite slab stone atop a sarcophagus. He bounced off of it and landed chest first on a limestone floor.

  He slowly stood, slapping his palms together. “That hurt.”

  He dusted himself. It was cold and dark inside. He figured he was inside a queen’s chamber. But on which planet? Earth? Planet Leonia or Taiyo? Maybe an entirely different planet far off in a different sector of the galaxy?

  He walked around, his hands in front of him, palms out, making sure not to bump into anything hard or sharp. He stopped, his hands touching a cold, flat surface.

  He placed hand over hand, moving around the room, knowing that there had to be a door in here somewhere. He nodded when the wall changed from thick limestone to granite.

  That had to be the door.

  He searched for something — a trigger, a handle, anything. He jerked back when a click echoed. The granite slowly spun and light began pouring in, along with a cold draft.

  He stepped through the opening, noticing a thin, shallow, descending tunnel with copper rods lining it. He dared not touch them. If they were active, he would be a dead man.

  “Dead?” he said, shrugging his shoulders, chuckling. With Chi running through his body, his toes and fingers tingling, it felt like nothing could kill him.

  He sat and shimmied down the tunnel, quickly making it to the tunnel’s end. He touched his boots on thin snow and crawled out of the pyramid and stood. With a deep breath, he smiled.

  Callisto.

  But where? East Rise? Flood of Dawn? Maybe near Slade’s human factory farm that he, Rivkah, Fox, and the rest, took over, freeing the children from their impending doom?

  He nodded. “Here we go.”

  Walking toward a hill, he noted the hills around him looked familiar. Behind him was a path to East Rise.

  Cresting the hill, he rubbed his hands together for warmth, and halted. In front of him was a vast city surrounded by walls and highlighted by terraforming lamps left by the Kelhoon invasion. This was Numah Farms, which hopefully had been renamed. For a short stint, Slade held children here against their will, fattening them up to feed to the Kelhoon.

  Thank God it never came to the feeding. They had been rescued in time.

  His boots crunched upon light snow as he trekked forward and down the hill. Eventually, he made it to the walls and glared up at the towers.

  Good. They were empty. Hopefully, it meant that no threat currently resided on Callisto at the moment.

  He walked to the big, grand entrance, grateful the doors were open.

  There he stared inside. The city was quiet. Vacant. Perchance abandoned?

  Then movement. Someone walked into a building. He lifted his hand, shouting, “Hey!”

  Without hearing Jackson, the person stepped inside and shut the door.

  Dropping his hands, he made his way toward the building, ambling down a long, unused four-lane street. At the building’s steps, he glanced around.

  It was a ghost town, and if it wasn’t, it sure as hell was quiet as one.

  Up the steps, he came to two large glass doors. He placed his hand on the door handle and pulled.

  Talking, laughter…children.

  “Listen up, ladies and gentlemen…,” a man’s voice said. And for all the shits and giggles in Jaxx’s life, it sounded like Fox.

  “We aren’t ladies or gentlemen,” came a kid. “We are children.”

  “Well, whooped-dee-doo,” replied the older man.

  Jaxx continued forward, heading toward the voices. He came to a hallway and veered left.

  He came to a room and leaned up against the doorway. To his shock, there was Fox sitting in the middle of the room and a handful of children in front of him. Was this a classroom? He hoped not because to have Captain Richard Fox as your teacher would be a nightmare.

  Fox held up a holopad. A holographic image shot out and displayed in front of him. “You see the damn ‘A’ kids? Yeah, that’s an ‘A’. Learn it.”

  A man in the back raised his hand.

  Fox turned off the holopad. “Yes, Mr. President?”

  Jaxx gulped. Was that President Craig Martelle? Jaxx had forgotten all about that guy. “If you want, I can take over. The kids might like a different, more calm approach.”

  A woman’s voice echoed down the hall. He lurched back and shoved off from the doorway, his heart lightening.

  Rivkah?

  He quickly strode down the hall, seeing a classroom with the entrance wide open.

  Reaching the doorway, a large grin grew on his face.

  Rivkah sat, her back to Jaxx. She held a book and softly read to several children. She was happy. She was calm. Most importantly, she was the love of his life.

  He knocked on the door frame.

  Rivkah put her hand up, keeping her eyes on the book. “Hold on.”

  Jaxx knocked a second time.

  Rivkah slammed the book on her lap and took a deep breath. “Excuse me. Who would interrupt at a —” Turning, she blinked a few times. A frown crept on her lips as if her eyes deceived her. “J-Jaxx?”

  Jaxx nodded. “It’s me, Rivkah.”

  Almost as if in caution, or if she’d witnessed a ghost, she rose slowly, dropping the book on the floor. “I —”She put her hands out, her eyes welling up. Jaxx stepped forward and into the room. They met halfway and she put her hands on his cheeks, sinking her lips onto his. They embraced, kissing. Jaxx pulled her in tightly.

  Quiet laughter filled the room. Rivkah pulled away and glanced at her students. “This will be a second.” She pulled Jaxx into the hallway and shut the door. “How —”

  Jaxx pressed her against a wall and kissed her longer, deeper, their breaths coming fast and heavy.

  “What the hell do we have here?”

  Jaxx glanced down the hallway. It was Fox, his arms crossed, his eyes penetrating Jaxx’s like Jaxx was still the double-crossing traitor Fox wanted to rip apart.

  President Craig Martelle came around the doorway. His eyes widened, then narrowed in on Fox. He put his hand on Fox’s shoulder. “Now, Fox…”

  Fox swiped Craig’s arm away and walked toward Jaxx, chin down, eyes forward.

  Jaxx unlocked from Rivkah and activated his Chi. “Not now, Richard.�
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  Fox marched faster, closer, and curled his hands into fists.

  About ten steps away, Fox’s downturned expression lifted. He uncurled his fists and put his arms out. “Jaxxy-boy!”

  Jaxx, let out a hefty breath. “Holy shit. I thought you were going to try and kick my ass.”

  They wrapped their arms around each other and embraced in a bear hug. Fox lifted Jaxx off the floor and then back down. He released and slapped Jaxx’s shoulder. “I can’t believe you’re back.”

  Jaxx eyed the hallway and everything around the building. “What’s going on? Is this a school?”

  Rivkah interlocked her fingers in Jaxx’s, nodding. “Yes. We’re teaching the children. Fox here is having a go at it, but I don’t think the kids like him…at all.”

  “They hate him,” said Craig. Seeing Jaxx’s expression, he put his hands up. “I’m not a bad guy anymore.”

  “Says you,” chimed Fox. “We have our eyes on you. You mess up once, and into the brig you go.”

  “Shut it, Fox,” responded Rivkah. “Craig has been a valuable asset. He’s more than changed my mind about having him here, helping us rebuild Callisto.”

  “Where’s the rest of the Atlanteans?” inquired Jaxx.

  Rivkah leaned against Jaxx. “Rebuilding their cities. And holy shit are they fast. They’ve gifted us this city, though. We’ve renamed this town, Abdu, after our Leonian friend who gave his life to save us.”

  “And it was well deserved,” came another voice.

  Jaxx twisted around, seeing a beautiful, glowing Leonian heading his way. It was Zara, the leader of the Leonians. She dipped her head, her cat facial features shifting in what Jaxx hoped was a smile. Her tail wagged back and forth.

  “Welcome back, Jaxx,” said Zara. “It’s good to see your peach-fuzz face again.” She stopped a few feet in front of him, leaned on one leg and crossed her arms.

  “She’s the principal,” said Craig.

  “I insisted on it,” replied Zara, twitching her whiskers.

  “Now what?” said Rivkah. “How long are you here?”