by M K Drake
“I do not trust them,” Spitfire replies, as he revs rolling slightly towards the Mecha Knights. “Their other machinery – I’ve spoken to some of them, there are others with souls that they have tortured.”
“Now, now,” Mage Marcus flusters in his group’s defence. “There is no evidence of this! We only seek the greater good, to extend the abilities of Majjaikind, and indeed, Humankind. To give a soul the rebirth of life before it is taken is to prolong life.”
“Not if you strip it of its humanity!” Spitfire snarls again. “But… if this can help, I am required to assist. My honour will not allow me to say no.”
“Wonderful!” Mage Marcus claps his hands twice in quick succession. “Let us begin, shall we? Majjai Pali, Majjai Sameer! Please, wheel over the device!”
The two younger Mecha Knights enter, it dawns on the others that these new arrivals were the ones carrying out the errand; they’re pushing in something hidden under some heavy fabric, it stands only slightly taller than them, but appears to be quite heavy. Khan runs over to assist and effortlessly brings the device over, allowing the two newest arrivals to be introduced by Mage Marcus.
“Welcome, these are two of our youngest members; well, I say young, but they would most likely be your same ages,” he says looking towards Atticus and Joyce. “Majjai Sameer, a very promising young Mecha Knight, has a wonderful way with lightning and has created some very advanced weaponry around it.”
Majjai Sameer reveals himself. He stands about the same height as Ju Long, short haired and quite slim, he appears to take an immediate shine to Safaya, which Khan notices quickly, instigating him to cease assisting and, accidentally, drop the device on Majjai Sameer’s foot, forcing him to hold in the pain with a face full of strained smiles disguising his grimace.
“And last, but certainly by no means least, is a true protégé of ours, our youngest student ever to achieve Mech-Master status, and has almost earned the accolade of Mage by such a tender age of seventeen, Majjai Pali.”
Majjai Pali steps forward and pulls back her hood to reveal her long, flowing hair. Ju Long’s jaw gapes open, but for once, no words are emanating from it.
Olof whispers to Atticus as he points towards Ju Long, “I’ve never seen him so quiet or still. This is quite amazing.”
As Pali walks over to join the other Mecha Knights, Ju Long’s eyes follow her every step. She reaches up to brush her hair over her shoulder, revealing her soft but also strong facial features and ever-so-pert nose. She looks over to Ju Long, noticing his attention, as she gets closer he notices her eyes, a deep emerald like green. Her cloak falls back slightly from her right arm revealing more: it appears to be cybernetic from the elbow down, with what look like glowing tubular pipes attached from the upper arm to the metallic areas.
Pali looks across to the Majjai Six standing in front of her, “Hello.”
“Hello,” the others say in unison, apart from Ju Long, who is still standing, jaw agape.
“This must be Spitfire?” she says as she walks towards to him.
“Yes,” replies Olof. “Ju Long, would you like to show Pali around our friend?”
Ju Long darts a glare at Olof, who merely places his hand over his mouth to hide his wry smile. “Sure, please, this way.”
As Pali and Ju Long head towards Spitfire, Majjai Kayban approaches the other Majjai Six members. “She lost her forearm when we were attacked by a Graigon a few months back. She constructed the attachment herself; she really is quite the genius, my sister.”
“Indeed,” replies Khan. “Ju Long certainly seems to be interested in her conversation – anyone who can keep him silent for more than a minute is most definitely a genius.”
“You mock him much?”
“Only when it is necessary,” replies Olof. “The truth is, he is one of the best of us. His humour keeps us going, and we value him greatly as a member of our family. Just never tell him I said that.”
The others chuckle, but do so with the full knowledge that Olof is right. Atticus looks over as Khan approaches Sameer who still appears to be nursing his foot. Curious as to what the Mecha Knights have brought with them, he turns to Majjai Kayban, “So, what is that thing?”
“It’s a memory restorer. Restoring memories within Majjai is easy, if they want them found and have not been hidden with protective measures. Retrieving memories from machines – sentient machines – is more difficult, and risky.”
“In what way?”
“Memories are powerful things, think of them as an imprint of the past; for machines, that imprint is a snapshot of their very being. If done incorrectly, the power surge created by a dual existence could be terminal to the host.”
“So, we could risk losing Spitfire?” Atticus, now concerned, shares a glance with Elric, who appears to know all-too-well what they are discussing.
Majjai Kayban senses Atticus’s concern. “Do not worry, the device has a failsafe mode. It will shut everything down if the power surge is too intense.”
“Shall we begin?” Mage Marcus seems quite eager to start proceedings.
Elric turns to Spitfire, “This is a question only our friend can answer.”
Pali takes a moment and walks towards Spitfire’s driver’s door, she leans down and whispers softly, “Do not worry, I’ll look after you.”
Spitfire revs his engine loudly, shaking his entire body, the engine returns to a low, deep rumble before he speaks. “Yes, for the greater good, I am ready.”
Mage Marcus smiles as wide as possible. “Wonderful. Come, Sameer, and Majjai Khan, could you please assist? Wheel the device over to Spitfire’s bonnet, will you? Chop-chop.”
Atticus does not really trust Mage Marcus, his tone and demeanour do not sit well with his gut at all. If Atticus has learnt anything at all during the last year and a half, it is to be very careful of who to trust. But his own internal battle conflicts with Spitfire’s last words: ‘For the greater good’ – a phrase that is becoming far too common for his liking.
Khan and Sameer finish positioning the memory restoration device; Pali moves across and pulls away the heavy fabric cover revealing a silver and black cube-like box. Several cables protrude from the top, and a large flat screen display is on the near side, facing the Majjai. Also on the top appears to be some sort of projector lens. Pali flicks a switch on the near side of the device, and the whole thing hums into life. The projector lens emits a glowing blue sphere which floats higher towards the tall ceiling and expands in size.
Pali then opens Spitfire’s bonnet, with Ju Long all-too-eager to assist.
“Thank you, Ju Long, now hand me that long cable over there please,” Pali points to the cable closest to them.
Ju Long darts over and almost trips, but recovers swiftly, trying to disguise the near fall as a swift turn whilst he grabs the cable. He ignores the giggling from the other Majjai and hands the cable over to Pali, “He… here you go, my lady.”
Olof bursts out laughing, holding on to Khan’s shoulder, “My lady!” he snorts, trying to cover his mouth.
Pali does not react to any of the comments, and holds her hand out to Ju Long to retrieve the cable, “Why thank you, my lord.”
Ju Long smiles, then laughs.
“Everything ok?” Pali asks, concerned that she said something wrong.
“No, you’re the first person to make me laugh in a long, long, time. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, but…, uhm…, we have an audience here waiting for something to happen, shall we get to it?”
Ju Long nods and turns around to discover everyone staring at them. Olof sends him a wink and a little thumbs-up, just out of sight of Pali, who is busy attaching the cable to a port on Spitfire’s engine.
She moves back to the memory restoration device and pushes a few buttons next to the big screen. The device begins to hum louder, and a large pulse of blue energy flows over the cable and into Spitfire, who shakes violently.
Pali waves her hand behind her, “Step
back, this could get quite loud and maybe a bit messy.”
The device whirs and starts to vibrate. Spitfire begins to morph into different mechanical shapes, some familiar and some the Majjai have never before seen, before settling back to his car form.
The giant sphere begins to project images within it, creating a three hundred and sixty degree image. There are flashbacks of the Battle of Aria last year, of Spitfire rescuing Marcellus after he was injured by Scourge.
“Arrrggggggghhhhhhh!” Spitfire screams in pain.
“Turn it off!!” orders Atticus, “It’s killing him!!”
Mage Marcus stops Atticus from going forward, “No, the process must complete or you will do more harm than good.”
Majjai Kayban steps forward and beckons for his sister to follow, “Quick, the failsafe, we must trigger it.”
Pali nods, and they both input a code on either side of the large LCD display. The machine’s hum soon returns to its initial level as the images disappear.
Spitfire hisses and fizzes, with sparks flying from his engine. A final surge of energy shoots out from Spitfire into the memory restoration device bringing the giant sphere back to life. An image appears of Barmak next to what looks like a massive time vortex, with two scrolls inside. A bright flash of lightning almost blinds everyone in the room as it bursts into life within the projection. From beyond the Time Vortex an image of a person can be seen.
It is Ju Long.
In the projection, Ju Long is struck by another blast of electricity from the time vortex triggering a transformation. The room is silent as they watch Ju Long morph into a demonic, Draconus-like Dragon.
Spitfire roars once more, before powering down, and completely shutting off.
The only sound left is the low hum from the device, while everyone stares directly at Ju Long.
A Majjai History, Vol 2 Chapter 8: The Order of Dragons:
Dragons are wonderful creatures; they are a society of their very own. Unfortunately, the vast majority of good dragons left our plane of existence to join the other magical creatures within the third realm. In Volume 1 of this record, the existence of Scrolls, created many thousands of years ago by a Pharaoh that had the ability to cross over to the third realm, was mentioned; but alas, these devices have not been seen for almost the same amount of time they have been in existence.
Those Dragons that stayed - save those of Nordic origin - mostly remained under the command of Draconus. He had armies for many eons, and his second in command, Drakor, was his chief when invading the Realm of Earth, often co-ordinating his master’s many awful wishes.
It is rumoured Drakor once went against an order and defected to the side of good, but these are just rumours, which led to stories of a being called the Dragonheart.
Anecdotes can be found in various transcripts throughout time of this Dragonheart helping people and saving lives. One story even suggests he once fought off the entire army of Draconus to protect a single human baby girl.
Again, there is no basis or actual evidence that we can construe as fact about this Dragonheart, but many believe his story to be true. If so, it could be an explanation as to why the Order of Dragons is so diminished in these times.
If this Dragonheart does exist, his whereabouts have not been known since the early reign of Razakel.
For now, apart from the Norse dragons, Draconus is the only living dragon that we know still exists.
Chapter 7
Hunting the Dragonheart
Ju Long steps away from the other Majjai in the room, backing away to the main doors.
“You?” asks Olof. “You were responsible for Barmak’s death?”
“No….no…,” Ju Long, shaking, and visibly scared, continues to move backwards, “I couldn’t be, I do not even remember that.”
Elric walks slowly toward Ju Long, passing Spitfire’s now lifeless husk. He glances towards his old friend, who looks empty and brittle, then looks at the young Majjai, “Ju Long, come, we can figure all of this out, you must trust us. Tell us what you know.”
Mage Marcus misinterprets Elric and Olof’s actions as distractions; he glances towards his Mecha Knights, “Wilson! Julius! Now!”
The two Mecha Knights tap into their wrist pads, and draw out a pair of energy bolt-like daggers which they throw towards Ju Long.
Ju Long flies into the air, dodging the attack, he soars to the other side of the chamber and turns to see the two Mecha Knights charging another attack.
“No!” screams Olof, who sends a blast of ice to freeze the tech on the arms of Majjai Wilson and Majjai Julius. “Ju Long, my brother, let us help you.”
Ju Long hovers, and looks down towards his friends, to Elric and then to Pali, “Timing sucks.”
Atticus slowly and carefully hovers up to Ju Long, nervous, not knowing what to expect after what they have just witnessed, but he knows Ju Long would not knowingly hurt any member of the team, “We can help you – there must be an explanation, the device could be wrong.”
“I can’t, even I do not know fully what I am,” Ju Long says sadly. “I just know there is some darkness there. I must leave.”
“No, wait!” before Atticus can stop him, Ju Long claps his hands together and teleports away. He looks down towards Elric, “Can we track him? Is there any way?”
Elric looks towards Mage Callan for an answer.
“Maybe, but it could take a little bit of time to implement. I will get started.”
Atticus floats back down to the others, looking scornfully towards Mage Marcus, “Why did you attack him?”
“You saw what he turned in to did you not? He is a spawn of Draconus, the Demon King’s pet. No demon dragon has ever been turned, they have no souls. How on earth is he a member of this fabled Majjai Six?”
“He is one of us, he has the mark, that is all we need to know,” Olof says as he steps besides Atticus, “He fights with honour, and has saved my life in battle; he has the courage of a thousand knights. Every single one of us would lay down our lives to save his. Do not question him again.”
Mage Marcus backs away and looks towards Elric for assistance. “Elric, my old friend, please, calm your students; this is no way to treat a guest.”
“And your treatment of one my students is also uncouth. I think we all need to be calm, Pali, please see to Spitfire. Mage Marcus, ask your men to stand down,” Elric looks towards Atticus, “You, too, Atticus, this will not help Ju Long.”
Atticus nods, and looks to the other remaining Majjai Six, “We must find him,” he turns to Majjai Kayban, “Could the device be wrong? Has it ever been wrong?”
“No, it is fool proof. I’m afraid your friend is a demon – or at least he used to be.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, there is a legend of one dragon who broke ranks from the armies of Draconus, but this was a long, long time ago, the timeline of events is confusing. It may have occurred during the early rule of Razakel, perhaps even during the reign of Asmodei.”
“Bah, fairy tales! Dragons with souls, preposterous!” scoffs Mage Marcus, “The hold of Draconus is unbreakable.”
Princess Safaya has heard enough, she marches over to Mage Marcus, “You need to be quiet. You come here, you disable Spitfire, you attack one of us, and you belittle your own members, these are not the actions of a leader. These are the actions of a…”
Khan quickly intervenes and pulls Safaya away before she says something he knows she will regret, “Come Princess, let us go check on Spitfire.”
Atticus agrees and they gather around Pali, “Can he be fixed?”
Pali is busy tinkering; she has a set of tools that look completely alien to the others. Pali uses one of them that looks like a fibre optic camera with a blue glow at the tip, she uses it to probe behind the engine as an image appears on the screen on her arm, “I think so, the failsafe did its job and protected the soul container crystal. Although, the power crystal is overloaded and needs to be repaired, but…”
“But what?” asks Atticus.
“It is risky, if the soul container is damaged during the recharge, we could lose him altogether.”
Majjai Kayban steps towards his sister, “Trust in yourself, bring our friend back,” he looks over to Mage Marcus, who is adjusting his robes, “Sir, can we have a word please?”
Atticus pays close attention as Majjai Kayban and Mage Marcus move out of earshot to talk, he considers using his gift of insight but is worried that someone of Mage Marcus’s status and experience would detect the intrusion. Mage Marcus begins to look agitated and waves his hands angrily.
“How dare you? Know your place!” His voice is raised, aimed directly at Majjai Kayban who responds in a much calmer manner.
“Sir, I only think we should allow them to handle this. They know this Ju Long best, and if they trust him, maybe we should too.”
Mage Marcus is about to launch another tirade when he turns to see everyone else looking at them “Uhum…, yes…, yes…, ok, we shall allow them to lead,” he steps away from Majjai Kayban but looks at him scornfully as he does so, before turning back toward Elric. “So, how will we save your friend?”
The sarcastic tone is not missed by Atticus and his fellow Majjai, but before they can respond Mage Callan returns, holding his old Detector of Life compass in his hands, “Here, I’ve managed to modify the compass to search only for Ju Long; it should give us his direction and approximate distance.”
“Does that thing still work? It took a bit of a beating when you were in the Demon Realm fighting Alvarez,” quizzes Elric.
“Yes, Serenity helped me repair it. She regards it as a lucky charm as it also led me to her to save her life.” Mage Callan activates the compass, which whirs into life and immediately projects a blue arrow hovering above it. “So, that is the direction he went,” he points to the arrow’s approximate south westerly direction, before impatiently tapping on the compass to coax the distance. The trick appears to work as some numbers appear next to the arrow. “Hmmm, that is some distance – he has teleported about 7,000 miles away; that would put him close to India.”
