“Oh Mikey! Little Mike!” Rebecca greeted in excitement, running toward the confused boy. She grabbed on to him tightly, and Mike felt a beautiful sensation, a warmth that stunned him. “All grown up now! Look at you!” Tears were settled in her eyes. She hugged him tightly.
“All… grown up? You know me?” the boy asked, his heart racing with ideas, with questions.
“Heh! It’s been a while, kid!” one of the men greeted, smiling, reaching up to him. You wouldn’t remember me, but they called my Tiger back in the day.” He was beastly-looking, big and hairy. He had teeth that didn’t quite fit human mouth, and his skin was noticeably coarse. He wasn’t as tall as the other men, but his muscles were even bigger than Silver’s. He gripped Mike’s hand sturdily. Again, there was the weird silver glow and a strange tingling. Tiger laughed heartily, seeming impressed or at least satisfied. “True Ionide blood, kid! The most precious thing in this world!” the man said, sounding quite proud.
“I was a close friend of your father’s,” Copper said. His voice was very different from those of the other men. He had a polished, sleek voice that perfectly matched his face. His face was without scar or any slight roughness. He certainly didn’t look as tough as the other two. He wore a slight, cool smirk that made him look like he was up to something. He had smooth, shiny black hair and could easily pass for a rich nobleman. Copper sat a little distance off, not looking to be so excited.
“My… father?” Mike shook perceptibly.
“Yes. He was the greatest Ionide… I dare say the greatest man to walk this earth after Kizer and Oga,” Copper said.
“My…” Mike walked up to Copper slowly. Tears were in the boy’s eyes. For the first time in a long time. “I don’t understand any of this…”
“You wouldn’t remember… You were an infant back then,” Copper said, sounding like he pitied Mike.
“An infant? … Back when?!” Mike blasted.
“Relax, Mike,” Silver’s voice came from behind. “I will explain everything to you. All your questions will finally be answered… For right now, though, let me show you to your quarters and get you settled in.”
Mike turned and looked at Silver with an expected expression. “Settled in? What the hell’s going on here? I didn’t agree to anything! I don’t know you! I already have… friends!” Mike was still shaking in confusion, nervousness.
“Friends?!” Tiger sounded offended. Mike looked at him. “I suppose you speak of the Icemaker and the witch and the swordsman! Descendants of the races that viciously and unjustly wiped out our people! Silver, don’t let him upset me now! Tell him what he needs to know before I kill him!”
Mike stepped back a bit and looked up at Silver, who didn’t seem frightened by Tiger’s outburst.
“Alright…” Silver agreed. “… Twenty thousand years ago, there was a great war.”
“The Ionide War,” Mike inserted.
“I see you at least know a little,” Silver commended, looking surprised. “Now this war’s purpose was simple. Genocide. None of us was supposed to survive. Now, in the midst of the war, our leader, the leader and commander-in-chief of the whole Ionide race at the time, and the strongest Ionide to walk the earth, Amorphous, along with his best soldiers, including us, captured an arcane witch. There was a league of sorcerers called the Arcanines. The arcane sorcerers were the most feared and powerful. In order to be given the title ‘Arcanine’, one would have to be able to wield the most powerful level of sorcery, seventh grade magic, and would certainly have to be direct descendants of Oga, the god of magic. Now, black magic can be used to perform extremely powerful spells and techniques which are classified as ‘forbidden’. The skill that was in our interest was the ‘Soul Suspension’ technique.”
“Black magic was so feared that sorcerers had to have special licence to exist as a black magician, an arcanine,” Rebecca added.
“That’s right. Now back to the midst of the Ionide War. We took captive an arcane witch. Her name was Syria I remember. We went through hell to get her captured. Even for us Ionides, fighting such high level sorcerers wasn’t too easy. We made her drain her mana to the point where she could not resist us or escape. We brought her to one of our secret bases. Amorphous always told us that the second rule of war, after knowing one’s self, is knowing one’s enemy. Heh! Amorphous took this rule of his to an extreme. He studied magic, down to the science of it. He knew thousands of spells, and knew all about the grades and everything. In his studies, he learnt of an Ogal spell—”
“Ogal spells were those forbidden to sorcerers that were not a part of the Ogal Council,” Rebecca came in. “Only the most powerful sorcerers could perform them.”
“Right.” Silver sounded a bit annoyed with Rebecca’s interruptions. “Yes, he learnt of a technique called ‘Soul Suspension’. With this technique, a magician could suspend souls in time. According to our leader’s understanding of this technique, we would appear dead. Our bodies would decompose and return to the earth just like those of dead men, but our souls would still be in existence, in a magical, timeless realm. Now, the trick about this spell – you don’t know when your soul will be returned to your realm. The time span, according to Amorphous’ studies, was random, ranging from the very next moment to a moment short of eternity. Only Oga, the father of magic, could control this time span.”
“Some theories—”
“Rebecca!” Silver blasted.
“Sheesh! Aight!”
“As I was saying…” He seemed to lose track for a moment. “Yes. Present there with the witch were myself, Copper, Tiger, Rebecca and the great Amorphous. Another great man was also there with us – though not near our levels of strength, but a friend of our leader – Rhino. Unfortunately, not long ago, he was found trapped in a prison of what appeared to be black ice… no doubt the work of that Icemaker…”
Mike’s eyes widened.
“Our leader’s plan was to have the sorcerer use the Soul Suspension spell on us so if the Ionides lost the war – and our defeat, by then, was quite imminent – our race would have the hope of one day being reborn. Amorphous told the old hag that her life would be spared if she would use that spell on us. She told us that she hadn’t enough mana and skill to carry out an Ogal spell, and we would have to capture several other arcanines for even a slight chance of success. Amorphous left to go fetch his wife and child in the midst of the war. He would return with them so they too could be saved by the spell. He told us that his son would possess the legendary powers that he himself had, and would be strong enough to lead the new Ionide race had the war been lost. Tiger and I were assigned to seek out more arcanines. He told us that if we could not capture anymore, we should get at least one who used the ‘purple magic’. He said such a sorcerer should be enough for success. He would retrieve his family in the meantime.”
“Copper and I remained and guarded the witch,” Rebecca said.
“Right. So my partner and I moved back into the midst of the war. We saw that this spell was the race’s only hope. The situation was dismal. We, the great Ionides, were dying like dogs at the hands of the powerful Icemakers and sorcerers. We managed to capture a powerful wizard and bring him to the hideout. We waited for nearly an hour, then Amorphous returned. He had his son in his arms. We didn’t have to ask about his wife… She had hidden the baby safely, and he had found it. There was no time for grief. Time was of the essence. On our command, the witch stole the wizard’s mana, draining him to the point of death. By how Amorphous spoke, she knew he wouldn’t be tricked by any con she might have had up her sleeve.
“The boss went through the trouble of preparing the hideout for that very moment from years before, just in case such a thing would be necessary. He was a genius who left nothing to chance. He lined the room with some strange, rare gold metal and some other stuff, and told us that it was impossible for a sorcerer to teleport from there.
“While the war was in its bloodiest state, we waited for hours until the witch mad
e a portal that our leader was satisfied with. He confirmed that everything was done correctly. Amorphous gave Rebecca his child, and told her to care for him and be his mother should he not make it back to the portal. He told us that our sole duty, in his absence, would be to guard and guide him, and bring him to his full potential. He knew from the start he would not be coming with us… He returned to fight in the war. He told us he had to fight to the end for his people, though I know he knew there was no victory for us… But that didn’t matter… He had a people to defend… We who remained entered the bright portal of light, the portal of hope. I felt… my body… my flesh and bone and armour tear apart… leaving only my soul to exist in the timeless realm indefinitely.
“Fourteen years ago, after about twenty millennia of existing outside of time, our souls returned to this world. Empowered by our destiny, our purpose, given to us by the great one, our souls stole the bodies of humans. Our original bodies were destroyed by the spell. Our power, though, our blood, was restored. It seemed nevertheless that we had to start from scratch with training, as we were in new, feeble bodies.”
“In the beginning of our new lives, we were not together, though,” Rebecca took over. “We were scattered throughout Libson, where I suppose the spell was performed twenty thousand years ago.”
“Correct. In two years, after constant and thorough searching, I found Rebecca.”
“Hey, I found you, hotshot!”
“Whichever! Four years down the line, we found Silver and Copper, who had just found each other. It was quite strange. Their bodies were different, but we knew them instantly, and they did not look like strangers. Our souls were drawn together by the bonds of our past, the bonds of our destiny. We found this place, an old military base, and fixed it up. We’ve been training here every day. Even now, we’re nowhere near the levels we were back in the day of the war. Only a few months ago, after years of searching, we got word of a boy with an iron fist. We searched. We scoured. But there was no success…”
“Then we saw a poster,” Rebecca came in. “On it was an Icemaker, a witch, a swordsman and a boy with an iron fist. They were wanted for killing the queen.”
“Heh!” Silver snickered in interest and pride.
“Yeah, we know! You have a hell of a story to tell us, Mikey!” Rebecca said, sounding excited. Mike was still dumbfounded.
“I had made a few friends a few years ago,” Silver continued, “hard-core criminals. I hired them to help us hunt you down. Told them I’d pay a heavy sum if they brought you to us…”
“Ha! Seemed they missed those wanted posters!” Tiger said.
“Well, they themselves are wanted by the state, so they had to settle for whatever I could pay,” Silver said.
“… I… I am the son… of Amorphous?” Mike finally managed to speak.
“That’s right,” Silver confirmed, “and the destined leader of the Ionide race.”
Chapter 20: We are Ionides
The scent of tantalizing deliciousness woke Mike, who had had quite a decent rest, probably the best sleep and the best dreams he had ever experienced. He jumped up from his bed, for a moment, cursing himself for waking from such a wonderful dream. His eyes brightened and his heart raced as he noticed where he was – in the world he had long wanted to be. The crisp morning air and early morning sun gave him strong energy. He looked around in his room. It was his first time having his own room, and he really fancied the idea of it. It wasn’t fancy, but it was alright. In the couple of hours he had spent there, he had already gotten attached to it. He turned his head to the door as he heard knocking. Mike hardly knew how to respond to this. “Um… Come in!” The door opened instantly. Before him stood Rebecca. She was so pretty, seemed even more pleasant to look at than the day before.
“Come, Mikey, breakfast is on the table! Hope you like it!” she invited with a lovely smile.
By the way, how do they know my name? How do I know my name? Mike put aside those trivial thoughts, as a wonderful day was before him, and he was quite hungry. “Oh, thanks! Yes, I’m coming. Love it already!” Rebecca smiled and left.
Mike relaxed in his bed for a moment longer, still thinking deeply. He closed his eyes, trying vainly to remember his distant past. If I could remember even one thing…My father…My mother’s face… Could all this they say be true? Me? Son of Amorphous? Me? Destined leader of the Ionide race? His mind went back to what the oracle had said once more. “Well I might as well get some food in,” he said to himself. He left the room and headed to the table. The others were already there, sitting and eating like a bona fide family. His heart raced again as he came to grips with what he was a part of. They looked much more familiar than they seemed yesterday, and he just had the feeling that he had known them for much more than a day.
“Good morning, Mike,” Silver greeted, barely glancing up from his plate.
“Morning, people,” Mike greeted, smiling. He noticed that a seat was there just for him. He slowly walked to it and pulled it out, his hand shaking. Rebecca smiled at him.
He sat between her and Copper. “Kid,” the man greeted in a low voice.
“Hey.”
Tiger nodded at him and he nodded back. He looked down at the plate before him. It was crammed with steaming chicken, far more than he had ever eaten in a single sitting. And there was this green thing; some vegetable, no doubt, and rice and peas. Also, all for him was a huge mug of thick nectar. He slowly took up his fork, wondering where to begin. Tiger laughed a little, watching Mike, as he himself had just finished eating and was ready for more.
“You know, Mike,” Silver said as they ate, “you’re not a prisoner here. You’re family. You’re one of us. You’ve always been.”
“… I know,” Mike answered, digging into one of his drumsticks.
“You should feel at home. This is your home… And after you’ve learnt the truth about who you are… you may choose if you will to leave us and return to those whose forefathers destroyed our people…” A serious tone of imploration was in his voice. “The choice is yours to make…”
***
The little group sat in a small meadow in despair. They were nearing Pirates’ Town, and had stopped to rest and let their horses drink and relax for a short while.
“Damn it! Where the hell could he be? Why the heck would they take him anyway?!” Kyle raved.
“Stay calm, Kyle. Getting upset won’t help us,” Blade said.
“Stay calm?!”
“And how will I find Azar in all this?!”
“You shouldn’t rush to find him, Lex,” Blade advised. “Besides, you’ll have a better chance of beating him when we recover Mike,” he said.
***
“Good, but just before we begin, let’s see what we have to work with,” Silver said. They stood about in the training room.
“Let’s go outside,” Rebecca suggested.
“Right,” Silver agreed, and the Ionides left the building for the warm morning sun. Mike had just noticed the rustic beauty the place sported. Rays of golden light streamed seamlessly through the lush, green mountains straight ahead. Only a calm warmth reached them as the rays were filtered through sweet-smelling trees that made the air tasty.
“Heh! Let’s show him a little of what we can do first!” Tiger said, a grin of pride an arrogance present already.
“Alright, Tiger. Do your thing!” Silver permitted.
All eyes were on the rough, beastly, almost giant-looking man as he took a serious stance and clenched his fists. Mike watched in anticipation. This was the moment of truth. Iodium soon covered his hands and feet. Mike gasped, but he hadn’t seen anything yet. The metal soon spread to his arms and legs, and then his thighs and belly, his chest and neck. Even his head was covered in the hard armour.
“Amazing!!”
Tiger laughed proudly. He squeezed his fists tightly. Malignantly sharp, three-inch long spikes stemmed from between his knuckles, three on each fist. Then, three long, thick spikes extended fro
m his back. Two of them, which grew out from his shoulder blades grew slightly inwards, while the spike between them was certainly straight.
“Heh! Lookin’ good, Tiger!” Silver commended.
Tiger laughed proudly.
“Copper,” Silver said.
“Very well.” He seemed a little hesitant, or at least unexcited. He locked his hands together and lowered his head slightly, probably in focus. Spreading from his hands, the silvery metal covered his body swiftly. His entire body was covered in about two seconds.
“Woah! How’d he do it so fast?!” Mike exclaimed.
“Practice,” Silver said. “He’s a bit modest, so he won’t show you his best I’m sure.” Finally, he separated his hands and folded his fists. Small, hollow projections jutted out from over his knuckles, four on each hand.
“Those things shoot bullets of Iodium at a rate of ten per second,” Silver said. “Even I am baffled by how he can generate Ionic energy fast enough to keep up with such an ability, but he does it somehow. The bullets cut through half mile of distance each second, and his accuracy is illogical. In the Ionide war, those bullets tore through armours of stainless steel, and distance was no matter.” Copper relaxed his muscles and breathed deeply, and the metal around his flesh quickly disappeared.
“You go now, Silver! Save the best for last!” Rebecca said.
“Ha! Can’t do both at once, but anyway…” Silver stepped forward and stretched his arms forward. Slowly, iodium covered him, spreading from his hands and feet. In a few seconds, he was completely covered. He clenched his teeth and a look of strain came up on his face. Mike watched with wide, curious eyes as his hands vividly transformed. His right hand slowly morphed into a long, sharp sword, and his left hand morphed into a huge, thick, impenetrable-looking shield. As sounds of strain continued to escape his mouth, long lengths of iodium, each covered with tiny spikes, extended themselves from his back, forming a straight, downward line of seven three-feet long spikes running from the top to the base of his spine. Finally he relaxed a bit, releasing a heavy sigh.
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