by Troy Dukart
“Ahhhhhh,” I moaned.
I was trying to gain back control of my movement. I crossed my arms and flung them down, releasing the red aura and my hair changed color to red.
“AHHHHHH!!!” I yelled. I grabbed Roya and threw her towards the Mag-Sled. She rocketed in the air towards it and shape-shifted her sword into a long, hammer like object. As she reached the peak of her flight, she spun around quickly and with all her strength, smacked the Sled into the side of a building. As she fell down, she changed the weapon back into a sword and stuck it into the ground. She then used it to slow down her fall until she landed safely. I ran over and asked, “What is this power we have? How did we get it?”
She looked back after getting to her feet and brushing off some scrap from her shoulder, “It has been long in my journey to meet you. There are others that share the markings; they are close, we need to find them. When we do, I will explain.”
Chapter 12 /
The Five of us
Strafe
Despite the chaos, I felt at ease.
She twirled her giant weapon in front of me and sheathed it on her lower back after shrinking it to an knifes length. I’d never felt vibes off anyone like this in my life. I felt at peace, even with my adrenaline pumping.
“I’m Strafe and this is my wolf Brutus,” I went to shake her hand but she got startled and stepped back.
“Oh, I forgot about this custom. It has been a while since I’ve done this. Sorry, we do not usually have this same ceremony when we meet people in my country,” Roya smiled as she shook my hand.
“Where are you from? And how did your weapon change shape?” I asked with curiosity.
“I will show you if we make it out of here alive, Strafe-Sah,” Roya replied.
“Strafe-Sah?” I noted.
“It is our way of saying ‘brother or sister.’ We say it to people we love and care about,” Roya explained.
“Ah, I see,” I said.
“Nice to meet you Roya,” Brutus said as he approached.
“Well, aren’t you something different Brutus-Sah,” Roya noted as she rubbed his head.
“I can sense those people you were talking about, follow me,” Brutus told us.
We continued our way through the garden. Most of the fighting had shifted near the Senti warship. I noticed that a Sorian Sky-ship was approaching in the distance, and knew we didn’t have much time left. Roya told me when two warships engage each other, much destruction is left in their wake.
I felt an extreme sadness while we ran through the city. Bodies littered everywhere, and they were accompanied by screams and gunfire. This was hard for Brutus too. Even though his breed was used for war in the past, he was actually a very nice wolf. His heightened intelligence made him more aware of what was going on too.
We both were happy to be around each other, it helped with our morale. I decided for us to walk on foot alongside Brutus so he could save his strength. We made our way to the city center, which was a vast, open space that acted as the heart of the city. Where there used to be clothing shops, restaurants and big business all around, now laid in destruction. They copied Times Square I joked to myself.
When I looked across the center, I felt a rush across my chest. It was the same feeling as when I‘d met Roya. Green and blue lights were flickering in the distance. I had no idea why but my heart was telling me to move toward them.
“Do you feel the connection, Strafe-Sah? This is destiny,” Roya touched my shoulder and pointed toward the lights.
“What are you sayin’? This was supposed to happen?” I assumed.
“You have been invited to a greater calling, all of us are to become Guardians. Protectors of the world,” she replied as she blinked and looked towards the dots of light.
“I don’t understand? Are you saying we were chosen for, for these powers?” more answers led me to ask more questions.
“We’ll talk more later but right now we need to help this city. You with me Strafe-Sah!?” Roya responded with an open hand to me.
I nodded my head as she pulled me over some debris in the road. We fought our way through the streets lined with soldiers and those strange creatures. Three Senti soldiers came at me with their guns. They all aimed and were about to fire. Brutus was fighting some creatures, and Roya as helping him. I really need your help right now, to save this city, I prayed to the God Blade.
With no other choice, I ran towards them and drew out the weapon. The orb shined bright red, and when they fired their bullets at me they were stopped by a red translucent shield that the God Blade created. The soldiers and I were taken by surprise. After they stopped firing I ran forward and swung upward and cut through all of weapons. Using my momentum, I smacked them out of the way with a roundhouse kick. They flew in a different direction and crashed to the ground, knocking them out.
“You really have a mind of your own don’t you?” I observed.
I looked into the orb and it was glowing with various colors. How do you know when to help me like this? I could see auras in the distance getting closer to us but we were still blocked by destroyed Mag-cars and other vehicles. The heap was fairly high, and it looked like the Senti soldiers had created the obstacle on purpose. After leaping down from the heap, Roya and I were surrounded by soldiers, with their rifles aimed and ready to fire at us. We looked around for Brutus but couldn’t find him. We then heard a menacing sound approaching us and I saw a Mech that looked a lot like the one from the cave, only it was military grade. It had spinning saw blades on its arms and mounted guns on the shoulders.
We stood back to back as we became surrounded. Something white caught my eye as I looked to my left. The quick flash was one I was all too familiar with. The Mech began to spin it’s turrets, ready to fire, but I heard a large growl. Brutus pounced on it and smacked it down, crushing the cannons. Brutus had turned on his aura and had splashes of orange all through his fur.
“Brutus!!!” I yelled.
“Strafe look-out!” Brutus barked.
“Get down!” Roya commanded.
I ducked and before they could fire at us she twirled her lengthened blade like a helicopter. She scooped them up and shot them up in the air.
“I got this!” I shouted.
With her sword out, I jumped on the edge and into the air where the soldiers were. The orb of the God Blade was bright red and pulsing, overflowing with energy. As I reached them, I pulled my arms and legs in to form a ball. Then, with a burst of energy, I turned on my aura again and knocked them away and scattered them across the street. I fell back to the ground and landed with a tuck and roll.
“For a rookie, this is not bad!” Roya smiled.
“I may just be a pilot, but there’s a lot more where that came from!” I smiled back.
After we defeated the soldiers, we climbed over the smoking heap. Brutus joined us and stayed by my side. Orange streaks ran down his whole body and his eyes were orange as well. When I touched his fur, it glowed like my aura.
In front of us a flash of blinding light hit my eyes. I put my arm up instinctually and waited until the light faded. When the dust settled, we could see them.
They were crouched down, back to back. All of our auras receded and the two people looked up to us. I knew, from the battle I had in the beginning of this crazy journey, that I would be fighting alongside them until we finished this fight.
“The Power of Elation and Power of Pride,” Roya indicated while she admired the two men, “It seems like your wolf has been chosen as well. He has the Power of Joy.’”
Roya ran her hand through Brutus’ fur, and he rubbed his head on her chest. I looked back down to the two others. They noticed us and we approached each other. It is Zon and Rousseau.
“So, the prophecy was true,” Zon said as he scanned us.
“Zon?” I acknowledged, he looked at me puzzled.
I had never felt a moment like this in my entire life. Why did I meet you all on that battlefield?
&nb
sp; “We are as one now,” Roya said calmly. Her eyes didn’t leave the two.
“Sorry to burst everyone’s bubblegum, but we either get the hell out of here or we are gonna go to heaven early!” Rousseau nervously stated.
“Rousseau? What are you guys doing here?” I asked.
“As you can see from the Senti on the ground, we are not their friend,” Zon replied coldly. He sheathed his katana-style sword with a quick flash, “My family name is Zon Yoichi, and I am on a mission to avenge my clan. It seems fate has destined for us to meet.”
“Zon-Sah, to meet you is honoring. My name is Roya, I carry the Power of Love. This is Strafe, he carries the Power of Passion, and his wolf Brutus has the Power of Joy. We need your help to save the city,” Roya explained.
All of this was coming at me very fast. How does she know this?
“That makes two of us mate. Name’s Rousseau, and all I came here for was a little sight-seeing honestly! That’s a nice wolfie right?” Rousseau said pointing to Brutus.
“Just don’t call me a ‘doggy’ and we’ll be just fine,” Brutus responded.
“And he talks? Wow, didn’t think this day could get any stranger!” Rousseau laughed.
Chapter 13/
Barzakh
Strafe
We stood in the shadows ofsky-ships.
One was Sorian, the other Senti. Both were ready to engage the other in an aerial showdown. Impressively, each ship measured around a quarter of a mile long. Rousseau said they packed enough firepower to destroy multiple cities. They were the greatest weapons on this planet.
As I looked up at the Senti sky-ship, I felt that same feeling I got when I met Roya. Something inside me was telling me there was someone with Guardian Power on that ship. Someone I knew. We noticed each ship deployed Mag-Sleds and Mag-Destroyers, which were smaller warships. Soldiers from both sides flew to the ground like rain, using hover devices to glide around.
Rousseau drew his weird looking sword from his thigh and clicked a button on it. The blade on his sword formed out of thin air. The sword was a gunblade, able to fire bullets. He pulled out a gun-stock from a sachet he held and attached it to the gunblade. Rousseau pushed the stock into his shoulder as he aimed down the sights. Instead of shooting bullets, the gun shot laser rounds. He shot at the falling Senti soldiers. He was deadly accurate with it, hitting over twenty that flew up in the skyscrapers.
“How is this possible Rousseau-Sah?” Roya asked.
“Oh, this? It belonged to my father, and I modified it. I call her The Light Volcano,” Rousseau said with pride as he admired his craft. He put it over his shoulder.
“Just don’t point it at me, or I will slice it to pieces,” Zon grunted.
“Guys! I think we should move, or else we’ll be shot down by those Mag-Sleds,” I called out.
We made our way to the upcoming river and clearing to get a better idea of what was going on. There were two usable Mag-Sleds, seemingly abandoned by the Senti, so Rousseau and Zon hopped on them and flew in the air to gauge the battlefield. Roya and I jumped on Brutus’ back and kept moving.
Ships of all shapes and sizes were twirling around, dog-fighting above the city. The two sky-ships kept maneuvering around each other, trying to avoid the incoming fire. We also saw cruisers on the river shooting toward the ships in the sky. It was complete chaos. Civilians were running and screaming in all directions. This beautiful city was getting torn to pieces.
“How could they do this?” I lamented.
Roya patted me on the back and said, “Do not mistake the decisions of a few to look into the hearts of them all. I feel in my soul that this is the truth Strafe-Sah. We must find out who has condoned such evil.”
As we looked out at the destruction, I saw a face I would never forget flying around on a Mag-cycle, Tiras. No mistake about it, they were even flying their Federation colors. They were returning back to the Senti sky-ship. My blood boiled hotter than the sun.
Rousseau flew down to us, “Listen, I’m hearing on the enemy chatter that they’re planning to use their rail cannon on the city. This weapon has the power to crack open mountains. We need to get out of here!”
“I need to get that bastard Tiras! He knows where my friends are!” I insisted.
“Strafe, we will all be blown to rubbish if we stay! I found an empty cruiser you all can use to escape with us!” Rousseau replied.
“Rousseau-Sah, will you keep running away from your demons of the heart or will you learn to face them? Now is your chance!” Roya revealed, looking deep into his eyes.
Rousseau facial expression read as if she looked into his soul, “What? What are you talking about? What do you know about me?”
Roya responded with, “We are all fighting for what is right, as well as fighting battles beneath our own skin. We need you Rousseau-Sah to fight both for us. We need your speed.”
“You. . .you are right Roya. I can do this, it is time to stop being afraid. I do charge an extra ten percent hazard pay though chap, so please have your government on speed dial, right Zon. . .” Rousseau looked around but couldn’t find him, “Oh, that’s right! Zon has already gone into the ship. He got very serious and gave me the ‘don’t mess with me face’ when I asked what he was doing. Anyway, you can bring your doggy, err, wolf with! I’d actually feel safer with him around. Follow me!”
“Where do you find these guys?” Brutus shook his head.
“That whole ‘doggy’ thing is a touchy subject for you isn’t it? You and dogs are related you know,” I added.
“You and monkeys are related, so should I call you a chimp? How about a gorilla?” Brutus retorted.
“I think you’ve gotten too smart Brutus,” I joked.
We followed Rousseau down the river to a parked ship that was floating near the opening to the sea. We got off Brutus and tried to open the door but it was shut.
“It’s no good! It’s locked!” I noted as I looked up to Rousseau.
“Don’t worry mate. . . There you go!” he said. He hacked directly into the cruiser’s central computer.
“You gotta teach me how to do that!” I requested.
“Ha, good one! You’re a pilot right mate? That thing will probably be a piece of cake for you to fly then! I’ll see you up there mates!” he said as he rode away.
We opened the side door and entered. It was a nice sized ship; about the size of a large Mag-truck. Roya and I sat in the two pilots seats while Brutus sat behind us with his tongue out. We buckled in and I began to start up the ship.
“Listen, I can handle flying this thing. Can you hop into the weapon system back there Roya?” I asked her.
“Yeah, no problem. You’ve flown one of these before?” she assumed.
“I’ve flown planes like this many times where I’m from. I’ve never fired a weapons system before. You kick ass though, so you got this right?!” I said as I winked at her.
“This is like, easy as cake, you say?” Roya said.
“Easy as pie Roya! Let’s do this!” I cheered.
“I believe in you Strafe,” Brutus told me as he rubbed his head against mine.
“That’s more like the old Brutus! Not so cynical!” I laughed.
We put a few seatbelts around Brutus and Roya headed to the weapon system behind the cockpit. She stepped into what was called the Defense Circle or DC. Instead of a typical gunner seat, weapons systems were controlled through Virtual Reality or VR. The DC operator put on the VR glasses and got into a big ball that was at the heart of the ship. She strapped in and was able to rotate the battle camera in any direction around the ship. This way missiles, turrets and defenses could all be managed at once. There was an artificial intelligence that could have operated it, but I trusted Roya to get the job done.
With a rev of the engines, we were off. Rousseau flew next to us as we headed toward the Senti sky-ship. It was engaged with the Sorian one, fighting over the cracked dome shield. Now was the time to sneak on. We hit full throttle and wer
e on our way. The Senti sky-ship was hovering about a half mile into the sky and it looked like an angry hornet’s nest with all the smaller ships fighting around it.
Out of the corner of my heads-up display I saw an incoming battleship. It was headed straight toward us and had already fired some heat-seeking missiles. I pulled up hard as Roya popped up the flares. The missiles didn’t fall for it as they simply flew through them. The distance was closing between us even as I pulled us straight skyward.
“Shoot them!” I screamed.
The DC spun around and Roya was looking straight at the missiles. She hit the trigger on the turret control stick and began to barrage the missiles with gunfire. Roya hit one of the three right on but the other two were out-maneuvering her gunfire. The more I tried to avoid them, the more frantic they got. My pilot screen was flashing of imminent impact, I had to act fast.
I decided to maneuver the ship to bring them closer together in the hopes that if Roya shot one the explosion would take out both missiles. Roya shot around them to put them directly under the ship. As they raced toward the engine, Roya deployed another set of flares to act as a screen and shot a missile of her own directly in the middle. She then pushed the detonation trigger, blowing them both to pieces.
“YEEEEHAAAWWW!!! WE DID IT! Nice shooting!” I boasted.
“WOW! I can’t believe it!” Roya said to me over the telecom.
Our small escape didn’t last long though, as now we were flying directly above the Senti sky-ship. Before we even had a chance to enjoy our victory, we were shot by one of the turrets.
