"Just give up Eon,” Sage panted, “Get out of here; you are beaten.”
“Beaten!” Eon snorted as he raised his sword and pointed it at Sage, “Far from it, I cannot be beaten...”
“You are bleeding,” Sage pointed out, “You can die.”
"Only my body may perish,” Eon laughed, “But I will find another, I will live on. Can you say the same?”
“You know I can,” Sage replied.
Eon smirked and reached behind himself. He produced a small syringe. He uncapped it and thrust the needle into his arm, injecting the contents into his body.
Sage stepped back and gripped his sword tighter. He only assumed that the syringe contained some kind of booster, be it adrenaline or something of Eon’s own creation to speed up his NaNe recovery. Either way, he felt like he had fallen into a horrible disadvantage.
“Move.” Crinnan insisted as he pushed his way to the front of his own mind, “You are finished, you have weakened him, but I am taking over before he regains his strength.” He knew that Sage had nothing left, that he had completely expended his NaNe. He did not know how much longer he could last without it. He did, however, know that he had fought his whole life without NaNe and that he stood a chance against the weakened Eon.
“I am the gun, and you are the sword…” Sage murmured as if he were quoting from something, “Very curious indeed.” He closed his eyes, and Crinnan felt a feeling like he was being thrust through the front of his brain and back into his body. A strange sense of vertigo overcame him, and he looked down at the sword in his hand. He clenched it hard, spun it, and as the rain fell, he began to feel small sparks and pops on his skin, a result of the electric charged NaNe abilities that had recently been born inside of him.
“There you are,” Eon pointed at Crinnan as his shoulders raised and lowered with fatigue. He was kneeling over and catching his breath, but he straightened as soon as Crinnan manifested, “I was beginning to worry that you would not remember me.”
“I don’t,” Crinnan replied. The ground looked slick with rain; the fire flickered over the gloss of water in front of him. Crinnan took a step and bolts of electricity sparked off of him. Eon cocked his head and hummed.
“My friend,” Eon held his arms outstretched as he faced Crinnan, “You must join me. This world will be ours just like the Hells were. We can be the most powerful…”
“Shut up,” Crinnan darted forward and swung his blade at Eon. Eon stepped out of the way and snapped his arm out, grabbing hold of the back of Crinnan’s neck.
“You do not see me here with the same eyes that you had below,” Eon hissed, “We were friends, allies. We turned the Hells on its head, defeated the demons, slew the immortals…” He tightened his grip on Crinnan’s neck and grit his teeth, “You do not understand what kind of power…”
Crinnan’s body shot a wave of electricity into Eon’s arm, and Eon let out a surprised shout. He let go of Crinnan’s neck and stepped backward. Crinnan quickly spun around and launched himself forward. Before Eon knew it, Crinnan had thrust his sword through his belly. Eon grunted and looked Crinnan in the eyes.
“You fool,” He whispered, he stood up straight and suddenly jammed his own blade through Crinnan’s belly.
“You do not recognize power when you see it,” Eon hissed as he raised his blade up, lifting Crinnan off his feet, “You do not understand that this entire world will be mine!”
Crinnan lost grip on his sword. Blood streamed from his wound and down Eon’s hand. He could do nothing to defend himself. It had been less than a day since Crinnan had awakened in Sage’s home, and only hours since Cade had saved him from death in Pado. He kept coming so close to dying; he thought that perhaps he was simply meant to die that night.
“I... came here…” Eon stuttered, “I came... here for youuu…” It seemed as if his words were becoming difficult for him. He was slurring, unable to complete his sentences. Crinnan though in immense pain, could not help but notice the strange behavior.
“I…. you… you…” Eon’s head ticked and shook wildly. He howled and dropped his sword as he grabbed each side of his head and began to spin in circles. Crinnan fell to the wet ground and quickly pulled the sword from his stomach. He shouted tossed it over the edge of the building and looked over to find Eon on his hands and knees.
“C… Crinnan,” Eon bellowed with an immense amount of ferocity. He sounded different; his inflection had changed… his words seemed, pained and desperate almost as if he were weeping, “Crinnan!”
He watched curiously as Eon sat up. His movements were jerky and wild, and while he was still on his knees, he reached up and grabbed his mask.
“You need to get… out of here!” Eon ripped off his mask and tossed it aside. It skidded against the ground and came to a stop in front of Crinnan. He looked down at it and then back up and felt a sudden wave of emotion and pain overcome him at what he saw. His mouth hung open, and his heart seemed to tremble. After the couple of seconds of disbelief had passed, tears welled up in his eyes and Crinnan reached a shaking and bleeding hand outward toward the face of his brother Rubaan.
***
“Fuck there’s a shit ton of them!” Ryban belted as he slammed his maul into one of the skeleton’s skulls. The bone splintered and the skeleton’s battered body flew to the side. Unfortunately for the Centurions, however, for everyone, they killed three more appeared.
“You okay Cedric?” Ryban shouted as he noticed the bearded and bandana-wearing engineer was struggling to keep the skeletons at bay with only a sword. The blade was doing him no favors as it was quickly dulling from deflecting attacks and cutting through bone.
“I’m fine!” Cedric grunted as he ducked out of the way of an axe. He leaped backward and thrust his sword through the eye socket of one of the skulls and ripped it to the side, tearing the head from the spine.
Alec crashed the head of his axe through skull after skull, roaring in fury as he did so. He watched in dismay as the numbers of the undead grew and pushed them further back toward their frozen squadmates. The thought of the skeletons swarming and slaughtering his helpless friends fueled his rage and as he smashed in another skull, he quickly knelt down and scooped up the battle hammer that the creature had been wielding.
With a weapon in each hand, Alec fought tirelessly, but his feet did not stop moving backward. He glanced over at Ryban and Cedric and watched as they struggled in the same way he was. Every minute drove them closer to the rest of Century squad, closer to losing everyone. Alec could not give up; he grit his teeth and pummeled his enemies with his weapons.
“The power my king has is unmatched!” Heklaar roared as he slammed a fist into Bran’s cheek. Bran staggered a few feet back and raised his sword to block an incoming swipe of the undead Gaian’s maul. He pushed back against the monster and swiped at him. His sword deflected off Heklaar’s thick armor, and Bran growled.
“What are you!” Heklaar swung his weapon once again, and Bran jumped back. The head of the maul crashed through the roof, leaving a hole behind.
“Reborn!” Heklaar clamored as he pulled the giant hammer free, “Brought to life by dark magic forgotten since the Age of Blood. My king let me die and made me stronger!”
"Stupid,” Bran retorted as he swung his sword. The tip of his blade caught Heklaar in an unarmored spot on his right arm between his bicep and forearm. Heklaar grunted, and his maul fell to the ground. With a malicious laugh and a demonic sounding snort, Heklaar snatched out and grabbed the wrist of the hand Bran used to hold his sword. Bran slammed his free hand into Heklaar’s helmet over and over, but Heklaar squeezed harder until Bran finally dropped his blade.
“Show me your strength, Gaian!” Heklaar shouted, “Fight me like the man that you are!”
Bran sent an uppercut just under Heklaar’s chin, knocking his helmet off and snapping his head back. In one quick motion, he pulled a knife from his hip and planted it in Heklaar’s exposed neck over and over again. The undead Marauder
staggered backward and Bran wrapped his hand around the back of Heklaar’s head slammed their foreheads together. Heklaar staggered in place for a moment, and Bran snickered.
“You learned how to fight by slaughtering, murdering and pillaging people who didn't know how to fight back!” Bran declared as he pounded his fist against Heklaar’s temple, “Primitive, savage. You may be the strongest Marauder, but you are like a damned cockroach under my big ass boot. I’ve been fighting in wars since before I could write, I was slaughtering trained killers before I learned that I could play with my pecker!” He planted his foot into Heklaar’s knee, bending it backward and dropping him to the ground.
“Yeah, you’re big,” Bran said as he knelt down and picked up his sword. He stood and hovered over the disabled Heklaar, “Bigger than me. But you're about to learn something you'll wish you'd known before fucking with me. I’m Bran the Damn Phils.” Bran heaved his blade downward and separated Heklaar’s head from his shoulders.
“Stay dead this time, shithead… or shithead-less.” Bran smiled at his joke and hurried over to join the other Humaans. He saw that they had held off the skeletons up to that point, but they were moving back toward the rest of Century fast.
"Push, boys!" Bran shouted as he crashed into the side of the undead force. Skeletons shattered at the impact and Bran swung his sword, slicing through two at a time. He roared as he stomped the fallen one's heads in and ducked and dodged out of the way of their weapons. As he carved himself a path through them, he finally emerged on the other side in time to see that Cedric had become overwhelmed.
"No!" Bran yelled as he tossed skeletons off of Cedric's downed body, "Get the fuck off him!" As he tossed the last of the undead from the writhing and bleeding body of his comrade, he noticed that the rest of Century was beginning to regain movement of their bodies. Bran grabbed Cedric and slung him over his shoulder as he spun around to ward off the rest of the skeletons.
"Alec, Ryban, Bran!" Mace Tarnfell, one of Bran's sergeants, shouted as he gained control of his body, "Fall back!" At that, the Humaan Centurions disengaged the skeletons and hurried backward. Gunfire erupted as they joined the line of Centurions behind them and the skeletons began falling row after row until they were nothing but a quivering pile of bone.
"Everybody get in the transport!" Bran ordered as he handed Cedric over to Ryban, "Fire it up, let's get ready to get the fuck out of here! Mace, on me. Let's go take care of that Ancient fuck!"
***
“Crinnan,” Rubaan wept as he spoke. He had at least for the moment, regained control of his body. “I don't have much time, man... I am sorry. I’m so sorry...” Rubaan sobbed
“Rubaan," Crinnan had crawled over to his brother and the two laid side by side on the ground. Seeing his face was more than he could handle, knowing that he of all people was the one behind the mask… “How could you…”
“It's not me,” Rubaan whispered, his words were jerky and forced, it seemed he was speaking through his teeth as he fought against Eon, “He possessed my body, took over my mind… just like the person... in your mind… Sage… our father… you have to get out of here! Save yourself and your friends. Make sure… make sure Amaria and Roc are… okay.”
“Rubaan!” Crinnan cried out as he shook his head furiously. He forced himself to his knees and crawled to his brother, “Rubaan we can fix this! We can make you whole again! You need to hold on; you need to fight!”
“No,” Rubaan smiled and pursed his lips together. He too found the strength to push himself up. As he got to his feet, he pulled a pistol from a holster at his side. He lifted it to his own head and pressed the barrel firmly against his temple.
“I have… I have to stop this. I can finish this now. I have to… to save everyone!”
“Rubaan no!” Crinnan tried to stand but tumbled forward; he held his hands outward toward his brother and wailed. Rubaan closed his eyes and sighed.
"I'm sorry brother,” He whispered as he squeezed the trigger.
“Fool!" Eon cried out as he reclaimed Rubaan’s body. He caught the hammer of the pistol before it could discharge the bullet. Eon eased the hammer so that it rested and looked down at the gun.
“Your family will pay dearly for this… insolence!” Eon fumed. He pointed the gun at Crinnan and fired over and over. Sage, however, would have none of it. He had regenerated enough power to phase Crinnan out of the way of every shot until Eon had expended the magazine. Angrily, Eon tossed the pistol aside and phased forward, wrapping his fingers around Crinnan's throat.
"You fool, you fucking damned fool!" Eon seethed as he squeezed harder and harder. Sage threw NaNe charged punches into Eon's ribs, but he would not relent. Eon's face twisted in a fury and he threw Crinnan to the ground, straddling him as he struggled to squeeze the life out of him.
"I could send you back to the Hells!" Eon growled through clenched teeth, "But that would be too good for you. No, I will end you. Purge this world of your NaNe that you may never betray another again!" Black tendrils of energy emerged from his fingertips and seemed to wrap around Crinnan, binding him. Sage seemed to be out of power, the phasing and failed NaNe blasts had drained him.
"I'm sorry son," Sage cried out from within Crinnan's brain, "I should say that I have failed you. I only wanted you to live."
Crinnan choked for air. He could not move, could not fight. He looked up into his brothers face, and darkness began to envelop his vision. His body went limp, and as he started to close his eyes, he heard a mighty roar and Eon went flying off of him.
Crinnan gasped and sat up. He touched his neck and for a moment watched as Bran sat on top of Eon, pounding his fists into him. He pushed himself off the ground, grabbed his sword and hobbled over to assist.
Bran's massive body went flying as Eon came to. Mace fired his rifle at the Ancient, who in turn phased away from every bullet. As he fired the last of his magazine, Eon blasted him too, sending him through the air nearly twenty feet. Mace crashed into the ground just as Bran dove toward Eon who once again phased out of the way.
Eon appeared in front of Crinnan, who quickly swung his sword. Eon evaded the attack and knocked the weapon from Crinnan's hand. Sage had gathered some energy and sent a blast into Eon's chest which cracked his armor and knocked him back a few steps. Eon scowled, and his beam of dark energy once again emerged from his hand. He snarled and stepped forward, but suddenly stopped as a confused look spread across his face.
The blade of an axe emerged through the front of his chest. His cracked armor had shattered, and Eon grunted. As he weakly turned around, he saw Alec standing before him. Alec slammed his fist into Eon's nose, and the self-proclaimed King staggered backward as two consecutive shots rang out from Flox's rifle. Bullets tore through Eon's lungs, and he fell to his knees.
"This... is not over..." Eon promised. What looked like pitch-black smoke seethed from his wounds and trailed into the sky. Alec raised a pistol and fired three more shots into Eon's chest. Blood painted the ground behind him, and as he fell backward, Crinnan ran up and caught him in his arms.
"He... He is gone, Crinnan," Rubaan choked as blood trailed from each of the corners of his lips and down onto his chin, "I am... finally free."
"No," Crinnan sobbed as he held his dying brother, "I'm sorry Rubii... I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Rubaan looked up at his brother and smiled, "This is... it's all finally over for me. Take care of Amaria... of Roc... I love you brother."
"I love you too Rubii," Crinnan lowered his forehead onto his brother's, and Rubaan went limp in his arms. For a moment, he sat and cried as the rain fell on the two brothers. He knew it was all his fault. His brother, his own blood had paid the price of Crinnan's escape from the Hells, and at that moment, Crinnan wished he were still dead.
"I'm sorry," Alec whispered as he knelt in front of Crinnan and Rubaan, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean..." Crinnan sniffled and shook his head at his friend. His body was in pain from the damage he had taken, but he was someho
w able to take care as he gently laid his brother's body down. When he was finished, the two friends stood.
Alec and Crinnan embraced and silently wept together. For the time being, it was all over. Crinnan did not know what the future held, but he did know that he was alive and that he was finally going home. He looked around at the blood and the bodies. He saw the living licking their wounds, and he saw the dead - the unexplainable silence of the dead.
Bran walked up and gently grabbed Crinnan's shoulder. He turned around, and the Gaian captain handed him a lit cigarette.
"Come on boy," he gently said as Crinnan took a drag, "Let's get home."
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sarasin XIV
24th of Ramlia - 346AG
0:00 - Base 21
Sarasin’s hands were bound, and she sat silently in a dimly lit room with her parents. She had not seen Gerard for hours, and her son had been taken with the other children by Amaria to a secure location. Rubaan had left them to find help and Emerald was off with Card planning their defense strategy.
Little Sarasin stood before the three of them, and Ladia wept at the sight of the child. For over twenty years the face that she looked upon had haunted her. Ladia thought that she had lost her daughter, that she would never see her again. She knew that Little Sarasin had to have been some kind of apparition, like the ones she had heard of in the stories from the Age of Blood. She also knew, however, that whatever Little Sarasin was, she was real.
"What are you?" Ladia asked amid her sniffling, "Why have you come to us?" Commander Crinnan did not see the child like the other two, but he was not about to cause a scene. He sat silently and watched as his wife and daughter seemed to speak to the air.
"I am that which once was," Little Sarasin shrugged, "I am what your daughter abandoned so long ago."
The Black Knight Box Set Page 81
