by Vee Bosse
“Oh yes, Hiroko, Australia is my golden secret. My dear continent cannot be truly free without my presence!” said Maputo, who paced back and forth at the sight of the petrified rebels. His eyes suddenly fell upon the four unpetrified teammates, and Commander Revenant’s lifeless form. “From my African home of Sierra Leone, to my decoration upon Africa’s unification with the Eastern Latitude in 2054, my largest honor has been in becoming this massacred land’s true godsend. How else can anyone explain the death of the Western Latitude’s golden son, Schilling, on its tear-struck Haven Island?”
Hiroko stepped to Maputo’s side, nodding in respect to his crazed sentiment. “We have been blessed to witness before us the victims of his presence. What shall we do with the petrified ones who threaten to defile the Earth’s sacred symbiosis further?” Maputo gave in to a sudden sense of annoyance and anger, pointing at them madly as he furiously paced back and forth.
“They shall be witness to my unbounding honor, as I am the one that shall bring them to justice for defiling the name of the Earth’s aura, and using it to paint black on its canvas! Bring them to the ships for transport, and let the dead ones feel the sorrow of this continent’s steady tears.”
The soldiers who had an armored appearance combined with ninja’s attire leapt forth out of the fleet of ships to comply with their general’s orders, using large teams to carry their heavy and statuesque forms onto their decks for transport to Tokyo. They discovered quickly that Westin was the only one not turned into a statue that was still alive.
“What should we do with this one?” asked Hiroko. Maputo suddenly stopped pacing, smiling curiously.
“Ahhh, yes. This one has an unusual aura surrounding him. It is almost similar to our own energies. Take him as well.”
With that order, they carried Westin into a prison quarters on the ship, making sure to shackle him with chains that emitted a strange, black energy. All the commotion woke him up suddenly, as he gazed around in the cabin room he had been locked alone in. He gazed outside of the windows, looking at his three fallen teammates and Revenant below the ship on the shore.
“Ugh, what a headache,” he muttered with his sand covered glasses barely hanging on top of his nose. But then his wits reemerged, realizing everything that had just occurred, and that he was locked on the deck of a mysterious ship in shackles. “What the hell!?” he yelled, attempting to break free from them at no avail. The chains were attached to the back wall, preventing him from charging at the door. “Where are they!?” he yelled, when Hiroko’s face suddenly appeared in front of the barred window.
“Please relax at once. We are transporting you and your petrified friends to Tokyo. Thank you for your understanding.” At that, Westin suddenly felt the ship begin to hover, moving out to sea. He locked eyes once again on his fallen teammates, feeling an overwhelming sadness overtake his confusion. “Dane Wilder, Thomin Kasper, Dee King.” He said, as tears fell down his face; Hiroko bowed in respect for Westin’s grief. She then turned away to join Maputo who was standing at the very front of the warship’s bow.
“I won’t forget you guys. I’m sorry.”
Maputo threw his arms out on the hovership’s bow, letting out a jovial laugh. The ship sped away in the midst of the sun now setting under Melbourne’s long-forgotten and decaying skyline. “Australia...though your life was taken from you long ago, you are truly alive for having found me! The regal and kingly Djimoun Maputo! Until we meet again, do not despair!” Hiroko adjusted her glasses in silence while they began their prisoner transport to Tokyo, the Eastern Latitude’s capitol.
It had been roughly sixteen hours since they had departed from Australia, and Maputo’s fleet had finally arrived in Tokyo at the peak of the midday sun. Westin had allowed himself to sleep for most of his imprisoned journey, but a fleet of automated hovercars were now transporting him and his petrified teammates to the center of the massive city. The buildings and cars alike all ran on solar energy that was captured and harnessed using very small panels, engineered to capture up to a year’s worth of energy in just one day. Westin gazed out of the window amidst his black energy shackles, marveling at how brilliant and refined Tokyo’s buildings were compared to the small Western Latitude buildings he had always known.
“Where are we going?” he asked, noticing Hiroko and Maputo were sitting in the hovercar right beside to him.
“Rest assured, we are going to the Grand Arena. Your petrified nakama are being transported in the vehicles behind us.” Westin was too amazed at the city he beheld to be worried. He noticed that all the hovering cars had small solar panels that were barely noticeable on the back of their hoods. They seemed to all be driving themselves, automatically stopping at intersections and speedways.
Maputo smiled gallantly, crossing his arms with an assuring laugh. “You will soon witness the incredible respect I have garnered here in the Japan Territory. I am the African Pioneer, the one who merged our two continents into one Latitude. Europe fell to the infamous Bain because it didn’t have the abounding energy of someone like myself. Bain couldn’t become great as I am, and that is why those that followed him fell into the Ocean of Tears,” Westin glanced at the general with a feeling of trepidation and anxiety welling up within him. He wondered just what this conceited and delusional man had in store for all of them as they approached the center of the city.
He suddenly remembered the strange power within him that he had used to end Revenant’s life, and he felt an odd sense of disgust at the thought of what his unique ability’s nature was. He was a wielder of death itself, and he had felt Revenant’s life force synchronized with his own somehow. He understood that being paired with someone’s life energy in that way meant that he could snuff their energy out with ease, or perhaps even his own life on accident.
But just as Westin was deep in thought, he suddenly realized that his extreme exhaustion had overtaken him once again. He was helpless to remove the black shackles, which he could feel completely drain all of the energy he had into nothing. He woke up in a grand arena a couple of hours later, amazed to see the many thousands of Japanese spectators gazing his way. He looked around some more to see all his comrades as petrified statues, wearing the same black chains that were attached to him. They had been placed in the middle of the arena, as the coliseum’s lack of a roof allowed the afternoon sun to shine against the dirt that they were all sitting on.
He suddenly heard a familiar voice, as he looked directly forward to see that Maputo and Hiroko were sitting in an executive enclave below all the excited spectators. “My Japanese friends, I have gathered you all here at the pinnacle of our glorious Eastern Latitude in the midst of the ones we truly loathe. These petrified Westerners are the by-product of decades’ worth of abuse of our sacred Golden Radiance energy. They have unleashed their defiling energy once again upon our own life force, slaughtering each other in blind agony. Yes, they are truly blind to my awesome presence, and the Earth’s sacred peace.”
Westin gazed in silence at the Japanese onlookers, noticing that they sat in peaceful observance above. “We...didn’t ask for any of this,” he said, with a powerful feeling of hopelessness suddenly bringing him down. Maputo ignored his exasperated words.
“Since our glorious leader Xu Xinling is currently bringing the Western Latitude to justice as we speak, it is only fitting that I take the glorious helm in his absence. Truly someone as glorious I am will be a fitting ruler of justice, bringing the Earth’s energy to peace once more in our latitude.”
The stadium sat silent in peaceful agreement with the general, as they accepted the idea of their deaths leading to peace with their planet’s energy. “So now, I will command that they all be unpetrified using our conditional antidotes, and face their appropriate judgment! Begin!” The fear came up inside of Westin as he contemplated whether someone with his ability to control death should be allowed to live. He observed several Japanese doctors in white coats suddenly emerge from the arena’s entrances below, ca
rrying syringes that contained a fluid that was glowing the same brilliant white hue that Jassa’s antidote had possessed.
“I wonder...if maybe this is for the best?” Westin uttered, feeling his despair take over his mindset. Suddenly, he was surprised to see that the doctors had sprayed a little bit of their fluid onto his friend’s necks, which caused the petrification to dissolve away in isolated spots. This allowed the doctors to inject them directly with the all-curing liquid, causing their stone shells to dissolve away in a matter of seconds. Westin suddenly felt a surge of hope upon seeing all his friend’s revived faces once again.
“Where...where the heck are we?” asked Winkle in confusion, gazing upon the arena looking perplexed.
“You guys, I killed Revenant after he had turned you all into stone, and then these guys showed up and brought us to this coliseum here in Japan.” Westin’s information gave the entire team looks of amazement as they stared at Westin in wonder.
“Westin, you...took him out! That’s so...bad-ass!” Sarge yelled, smiling his way. Westin only looked back at the ground despondently, ashamed of the power that had allowed them all to survive.
“I suppose it’s good that we are alive, yeah?” Westin said, happy for the others more than for himself.
“I recognize that you are all still barely human despite your unforgivable transgressions. So, I will give you some parting knowledge about the people of your homeland before your judgment is brought upon you all.” The team gazed up at Maputo, perplexed by his exuberant and silly mannerisms as he spoke.
“The hell is that?” asked Derek in annoyance, as the team realized they were bound by the dark energy chains that were around their wrists. The doctors went back inside the stadium as their captor spoke on.
“We have successfully infiltrated the supposedly impenetrable defenses of your Western Latitude. Using our Way of the Dark Aura, we have begun the mass execution of your people with a great starting success.” The entire team’s eyes grew wide, in utter disbelief at the thought of all their families being slaughtered at the Easterner’s hands.
“Wait, what do you mean!?” yelled Haynes, demanding more information.
“It’s just as I have said. Our fearless leader: Xu Xinling along with the One that Commands the Dragon Sword, O’ Ren Ichinaru, have been successful in finally bringing true balance to this Earth after all these decades of your atrocious existences.”
Maputo’s earth-shattering words brought the team to their knees in disbelief, as they felt a new sense of purpose in saving their families back home. “Guys, we have to stop them! We have to save our families!” Christian declared, desperately straining to try and get his shackles from his wrists.
“Those shackles are filled with our Way of the Dark Aura. Our leader led the way in discovering our precious gift from the Earth nearly two decades ago inside of Mount Everest. Opal Radiance is what we call the pitch-black material, giving us the ability to become one with another human’s life force. The Earth has given us this substance so that we may seek out the ones that defile her, and destroy their life force instantly at will. We have judged you all, and truly you have been found unworthy of sharing my glorious planet’s radiance!!!”
The Japanese audience shouted a chant of approval Maputo’s way, as Hiroko stood up and bowed at her people in appreciation. She then took out her own tablet device, pressing a button on the screen which caused a transparent dome to emerge around all the Western teammates. Then, with another press of a button, all their shackles unlocked and fell to the dirt below. “Now, in my great magnificence, I will summon forth Tokyo’s chosen executioner. Come now, Toshiro of the Beautiful Prayer!”
Just then, an opening appeared from inside of the arena directly underneath of where Maputo and Hiroko were sitting. A Japanese man emerged, walking towards the dome that had entrapped the group for their executions. He looked to be nearly the same age as all of them were, sporting long, black hair with a streak of red highlights. The Japanese spectators shouted a gesture of respect for Toshiro, as he confidently walked forward with little emotion.
“Furthermore, the Westerner and the Australian that aided them shall also be judged today. They have truly been found to be as blind as they are in the presence of my justice. Bring them out!” Maputo shouted in fervor while his eyes began to grow wide in excitement.
To the collective horror of the team, they saw a door in the back of the arena open up behind them. Reylina and Melas appeared in shackles, along with two guards at each of their sides to escort them to the execution dome. The fear in their faces felt tangible, as a hole in the back of the dome opened for the nomads of the sea to be ushered in to join them.
“You guys, the Easterners came out of nowhere and bombarded our ship. They took control of it after boarding by force, and we were helpless to resist,” Reylina said, as the team moved close to them in an effort to try and help them feel at ease.
“I get it...just wait, we’re going to come up with a plan here,” said Laran, who also had made sure to try and console a frightened Milli.
“I will say a prayer for you, and send you all on your way,” said Toshiro, with a stern and focused look on his face. He entered his opening in the dome before both entrances were closed to seal them all in. “Bow your heads and close your eyes,” the executioner announced to the people of the arena, as everyone except for Maputo did as he instructed in peaceful harmony.
“The divine radiance of the Black Opal will now fill this dome, and Our Way of Justice will fall upon you all. Come forth!” Westin felt the familiar bleak energy he had come to know fill the inside of the dome, suffocating their life force with a fury. Toshiro extended his hand, signaling the beckoning of the energy that he would use to end their lives in an instant.
“Oh no, what is this feeling?” yelled Jassa, as the team felt panic against the idea of instant death coming at them unstoppably.
“Go!” yelled Toshiro, as he raised his arms to snuff out their lives, causing a brilliant white energy to flow forth from his fingertips.
A frightening silence came over the arena, as time seemed to stand still. The team’s eyes opened in dismay, surprised to see that they were still alive. “Westin?” Isaac asked, shocked to see that someone had somehow been able to stop the Eastern Death Aura. Westin was indeed standing ahead, holding out his arms to hold Toshiro’s aura at bay. He realized that he was somehow able to wield Opal Radiance in the same way that the Easterners had been able to, and Maputo and Hiroko stood up along with the rest of the arena’s onlookers, in horrified shock.
“How...how could this happen?” Maputo asked in frustrated disbelief, seeing for himself that there was a Westerner that possessed the same powers of death that they had commanded. Their executioner winced in frustration, as Westin had been able to repel his energy like an opposing magnet, putting them in an instant deadlock.
“I never could have imagined that there was another...a Westerner of all people,” Toshiro said in shock.
“My grandfather brought home a rare opal that appraisers had said was unlike anything they had ever seen before. He found it after he had attempted to climb Mount Everest many decades ago, and it has been passed down through my family’s generations ever since. I guess this planet decided to give the gift of Opal Radiance to me first. Who knew, huh?”
The people of the Eastern Latitude had been defiled and humiliated in the worst possible way, as Maputo began to shake in a state of fear-driven madness. “This...this is...you are a demon! YOU!!!” Maputo’s words were like a mess of vomit as he paced back in forth, letting himself break free from the unacceptable reality before him. Hiroko and the rest of the Japanese onlookers remained standing in silence, true despair reaching them in full form.
Toshiro suddenly dropped his hands in surrender, as his sense of purpose had been stripped from him in an instant. “What...what is this reality I see before me?” he asked, with a ghostly look on his face. Westin also subsided his deathly energy, gazing ahea
d at the silenced masses.
“Cigarette cravings are back,” declared Dre, as she summoned her psych energy to form a giant shockwave that broke the transparent dome they were trapped in with ease. Christian suddenly turned to Reylina and Melas, as the entire group began to feel their confidence fully reemerge at the thought of them using their powers to save their friends and families back home.
“If these guys are slaughtering everyone back home, then we’ve got to get back to our homes in North America right away. How can we get there quickly?” asked Christian, determined to make up for the deaths of Dee, Dane, and Kasper by saving everyone that he could. “I won’t let my family die! I’ll stop at nothing!” he further declared.
Haynes stepped forward, anxious to ask him about his elemental abilities he had witnessed in Melbourne. “Christian, do you remember when you went on that rampage? How you controlled the elements at will?”
Christian thought back to recall what had happened. “Yes, I barely do. I saw them dead, and I just lost it. I never imagined I could have such an all-powerful ability though.”
Woolfing suddenly stepped forward to speak. “Well, since Westin killed the strongest guy on this planet, all of our abilities should be more than enough to stop these Eastern bastards. With Westin, their unstoppable power of death means nothing.” The team smiled with purpose, allowing themselves the confidence to face anyone that stood against their resistance once again.
Melas and Reylina also stepped forward, smiling with purpose as well. “You kids have done a lot to get revenge for Reylina’s Australian people. Let’s go to the coast to get my hovership back, and I’ll get you to the coast of Old Mexico in no time.” The team nodded in approval, ready to set their new plan of intervention in motion.
