“Listen, I know how we can end this,” she said. “Not kill him. But stop him for a while.”
“I could use my last Yen,” Jin said wearily. “Force him to be immobile.”
“No,” Aidan said. “Bailey’s right. We can’t just rely on these Yen to fight our battles for us, or we’re never going to win in the future. Bringing back Jin was noble,” he said, turning to Makana and Jessica. “But the consequence is that you’re limited now to the abilities you have. Leah, what’s the plan?”
They heard the smashing of ice behind them.
“The children in Onyx Minor taught me that a battle is not just about your opponent, but also your surroundings. We don’t have the strength to beat Necrosis, but we can stop him. Trap him under the earth, in such a way that he’ll be unable to move no matter how strong he is.”
“I already know how,” Aidan smiled, nodding towards her.
“This is going to be highly dangerous,” Leah said, creating an ice spike and drawing out the plan in the grass. “We might be killed in the process. But if everyone does their job, we have a good chance of coming out on top.”
A roar broke through their discussion as Necrosis removed himself completely from the ice.
“Bailey, Ticker and Elias, you three stay back. Makana and Jessica, do what you were doing while Aidan and I prepare. George, help to keep Necrosis off balance. Isaac and Jin, distract only when necessary.”
The group broke. Bailey, Ticker, and Elias ran off as far as they could while Teller once again took to the skies.
“Ready, hubby?” Leah asked. Aidan nodded with a smile. Necrosis sprinted towards them all, but Makana ran over to meet him and drop kicked him in the face. Jessica and George pulled the Omega onto his back with the momentum and their abilities. Leah and Aidan ran opposite of each other, while the others fought Necrosis in the middle. The married couple each slapped their respective hands together, concentrating on the great power they were about to unleash.
Leah took a deep sigh and began hollowing out the earth beneath Necrosis and the others, siphoning off the dirt, and letting it travel behind her, and then up into the sky, forming another large rock like she had hit the Omega with earlier. Aidan closed his eyes and tried not to concentrate on the grunts and groans of his comrades. He had to trust them now, for everyone to do their part. No longer was he burdened to fight alone. No longer did he have to turn. No liveshad to be lost. Not this day.
Makana fought as fervently as she had when they first engaged Necrosis, but Jessica was beginning to get woozy and so more of George’s winds were holding Necrosis’s fists back than her gravity, and the potency wasn’t enough. Necrosis grazed Makana’s left arm and it broke instantly. She cried out in agony but continued her assault.
“We have to do it now!” Teller cried from the skies.
“NO!” Makana bellowed. “When they’re ready! No sooner!” Jessica redoubled her efforts and Teller fought back the urge to intervene. Isaac began swinging his sword in and out of the attacks at the right moments before Necrosis’s eyes, blocking his vision for a second at a time, giving his friends a little more room to maneuver.
“Get ready!” Leah shouted, with her eyes still closed. “I’m doing it...now!”
With the end of her shout, the ground beneath them began to shake. Jin and Isaac ran away from the scene. And five seconds later, the floor beneath them, a quarter of a mile in diameter, became nothing but dust. All that were fighting in the middle began to fall.
George took Jessica with him in a gust of wind that spiraled them upwards, but he was unable to catch Makana as Necrosis had grabbed her ankle in the drop. He squeezed and held on tight, but George didn’t deviate from his purpose. He carried Jessica to safety. Teller dove down into the crevice and into the dark until he heard the grunts of his friend. Makana was still fighting the Omega to the best of her ability, swinging at him with her one good arm and her one good leg. But he couldn’t get a hold on her or Necrosis. Not in the dark.
Then a light illuminated his path, as Aidan began his part of the plan.
Floods of lava began filling up the hole from deep below the earth, filling the bottom of the cavern. Teller wasted no time. He jumped on top of the Omega’s back and stuck his fingers into his enemy’s eyes, forcing him to release his grip on Makana. Wounded and still in free fall, she was unable to reach the cavern lining.
Teller jumped off the Omega’s back and flew to her side, putting her into his arms, but Necrosis managed to grab his ankle in the exchange. He didn’t care. With all the strength he could muster, he carried her to the rock lining and made sure she had a grip on the wall.
Then he let go, allowing his abilities to no longer carry him.
Both Lowsunn villager and Omega hit the sea of lava below, and only one survived. But it didn’t matter. The mission was complete.
“I got her!” George yelled out from above. “I got her!” With his winds feeling out the rock walls for both Teller and Makana, he retrieved her and carried her back to surface.
“Teller’s gone,” she muttered, as he placed her onto the solid ground. “Close it up.” Elias rushed to her side as Leah steadied her woozy head and concentrated one last time. She let the large rock above them free fall until it was half way into the pit, and then it broke up, filling in the surface and the upper half of the pit.
Once she was finished, she collapsed to the grass. Still, before she passed out, she managed to gaze upon Aidan, who was still concentrating, still working to ensure their victory. She knew he would keep a steady hand. She fell asleep with confidence.
Once Aidan was finished, he gave a heavy sigh and plopped down onto his butt. Jin carried over Leah’s sleeping body and laid her next to him. They all sat down, weary but grateful. Bailey rubbed the seals on her arms, but Ticker patted her back. She looked to him, and he shook his head.
“They would be of no use, my friend,” he said. “It would take four seals to bring him to safety. Three for his life, and one to teleport him out of the lava. Teller wouldn’t want that. He would be happy, knowing that his sacrifice was not in vain.”
She nodded, and they sat in silence over his memory. Elias, exhausted, but feeling the sense of calm in the air, spoke up.
“So Necrosis is trapped down there?”
“For a long time anyways,” Aidan sighed. “He might even die there. The lava won’t hurt him, but he certainly can’t swallow it. Of that I’m sure. And there’s no food. No water. I don’t know if he needs those things…but even if he doesn’t, he’ll be constantly swimming to stay afloat. Leah’s created false walls in the lining of the cavern so even if he swims to one end and tries to climb, more lava will pour in, knocking him back. If he makes it somehow to the top, it’s unstable ground. There’s nothing to hold onto.”
“But theoretically, he could get out someday, couldn’t he?”
“Definitely,” Aidan sighed. “If he doesn’t need food or water, and the lava can’t hurt him in any way, then yeah, he has plenty of time to get out. Days, weeks, months. No one knows for sure.”
“So what do we do in the mean time?”
“We live,” Leah said, awakening from her slumber. “We don’t focus on the problem we have no control over. We concentrate on the ones we do.”
“You mean Lowsunn?” Elias asked.
“That’s right,” she smiled, looking at Aidan. “We’ll take care of matters there –”
“– and then we get stronger,” he said with a smile. “Our teamwork today was amazing. It doesn’t matter how you look at it. We felled an Omega today. What’s a few Elders?”
Chapter 22 – Unfinished Business
There were a lot of jaw drops when Aidan and Leah came strolling through Lowsunn. The group had all taken the weakened shield entrance by the Elder’s compound and quickly made their way to the village center. They were sure that after the Elders saw so many of them alive – opponents that should have been dead by the hand of Necrosis – they would do a
ll they could to strengthen the shields, but it didn’t matter now. The Movement was inside. And they weren’t leaving until all was well.
Still, they decided not to confront the Elders first. The opted for the people. The only ones that truly mattered. And once Aidan walked out into the village center and simply stood there, word of his return spread like wildfire. The inhabitants came out of their homes in droves. Those on missions received messages via teleport and returned home quickly. They didn’t know what his return meant. But they had all heard and felt the sounds of battle nearby. They had to hear what he and his group had to say.
“What happened out there?” they asked Aidan. “Why were you in Onyx Major?”
“Why did you leave?” they asked Leah.
“We heard sounds of a great battle out there,” they inquired of Bailey and the others. Makana spoke up for all of them.
“We were in battle,” she said proudly. “We were attacked by Necrosis, the Omega, and we emerged victorious.” The villagers were in awe, murmuring amongst themselves, unsure of the validity of their words.
“Look here,” Jin said, handing them the parchment containing the details of their mission. “The Elders sent us to Darken, knowing full well its impossibility. But they didn’t realize how strong our teamwork could be, and we have felled that monster!”
As the parchment exchanged hands and curious eyes widened with realization, the people began cheering and patting their heroes on the back, jumping up and down and chanting their names. If this group could defeat Necrosis…there was no enemy too strong. They may not have found the Choate, but Lowsunn was surely saved.
“What are we doing?” Aidan asked Bailey as the crowd began talking of celebration. “When are we going to expose the Elders’ corruption?”
“We’re gaining the trust and favor of the people first,” she said. “We’ll be seen as heroes and leaders in the community now for our accomplishment. This is far more important. Just showing off our mission details doesn’t prove any corruption. But the Elders will be a lot more careful before they make their next move.”
“But it doesn’t solve the issue. It just delays it, and makes the Elders more cautious.”
“This is the way it must be,Tallawah. Accusing them outright will make us no different from Duncan. Let us not ruin the reputation we have established tonight. This is not just a win for Lowsunn, but the Movement as well. We all have a reason to celebrate. We have all survived.”
“You do know that I won’t stay here much longer. You have Leah and I for a couple more days, if that. I can’t help you after.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“No, I don’t understand. I don’t understand at all. But this is a favor, because you’re my friend.”
“Thank you all the same.”
“Excuse me, I’ll be back,” he said, patting her on the shoulder. He grabbed Isaac and pulled him aside to whisper something in his ear, then he motioned for Leah to come with him just as the crowd began breaking out in song and dance. Aidan and Leah had to wave back a number of pats on the back and congratulations. A couple even apologized to him as he passed, saying how they should have believed in him earlier. He paid no attention. There was still work to be done.
“Where are we going?” Leah asked.
“Just play along with me. I need to find something out. If Bailey and the others aren’t willing to confront the Elders and get the truth tonight, then I am.”
“What’s wrong? The truth about what?”
“The Elders aren’t stupid.”
“Yeah, so?”
“They love Lowsunn, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then why would they put it in jeopardy? Why would they send Necrosis here in the first place? Knowing full well he could come kill us all? I need to know what they were thinking.”
“It was a crazy move. Maybe they wanted to crush the Movement that badly.”
“No, I don’t think so. Like you said, whether it’s the Elders or the Movement, we all want the same thing: what’s best for Lowsunn.” He pulled Leah into the shadows. “Summoning Necrosis accomplishes none of that. It destroys it. I wanted to confirm my suspicions by speaking with the Elders, but I’m not going to get an audience with them without Bailey. So I have to approach this a different way. Tell me, if the Elders and the Movement both love Lowsunn, which of them sent for Necrosis?”
“Logically…” She thought it over. “It would have to be neither.”
“Which means that someone who doesn’t care about this village is really the one pulling the strings.”
“Who would that be?”
“There’s only one person I know who pulls strings,” he said. “Eugene Balthasar is the only man living in both worlds, and deep enough to get all the information he needs.”
“But for what purpose? Why now?”
“I guess we’ll see.”
“But if this man is behind everything, why didn’t Bailey figure it out? Or the Elders?”
“It’s because they’re not looking around them,” he said. “Their focus is only on their opponent, not the bigger picture. The Elders only see the Movement and vice versa. Meanwhile, Eugene is in the middle, watching us both destroy each other and helping himself at the same time. This victory over Necrosis does ruin the Elders’ pull on the people, and the Elders will fight back in their own way, but still, nothing gets accomplished. The war between both parties continues.”
“I don’t understand all of this…”
“Just tag along. Knowing how he is, he won’t join in the celebration. He’ll need time to revise his plans.”
Aidan put the Choate piece back in his pocket and took Leah’s hand, leading her through the shadows until they wrapped around the village and reached the schoolhouse. A light was flickering from the inside. Aidan smiled back at Leah as they came upon the entrance, and he slammed open the door, startling Eugene inside.
“Goodness!” he jumped, glancing behind him to see who it was. “Oh, Aidan it’s you.” He turned back to the teacher’s desk and gathered up his loose papers into a pile, rolled it up, and tucked it into the pocket in his jacket. When he was finished, he turned to face them. Leah took a seat in one of the pews while Aidan stood in the middle, giving Eugene a smug smile.
“Surprised to see me?” he asked. Eugene clutched his chest.
“You scared me so bad,” he chuckled, finding a seat on the desk. “I am, actually. Last I heard, you were doomed to fight Necrosis, then a group saw you near Onyx Major, and now I just overheard! You defeated an Omega! Few in this world can boast such a feat!”
“I had some help,” he said, crossing his arms. “What I can’t understand is why you didn’t ask the Movement for help with your mission in the first place.”
Leah gave Aidan a quizzical glance, but she quickly dismissed her gaze. All she needed to do was watch and play along.
“I don’t understand,” Eugene said, wiping his forehead with his sleeve.
“We’re the finest warriors that Lowsunn has to offer, and you can’t ask us to go get the Choate for you? At the very least you could have asked me. What did you think? That I was indebted to Bailey for saving me from the big, bad world? That I had integrated myself into the system? Haven’t any of my actions told you what I’m all about?”
“Aidan, you’ll have to be more specific,” Eugene said, calming down. “Are you accusing me of something?”
“I’m accusing you of being blind, and not seeing a friend when he was right in front of your face.” Aidan dug into his pocket, produced the Choate piece and threw it to Eugene. The professor’s eyes widened once he saw it, and he caught it eagerly, turning it over and over in his hands. “You know what that is, don’t you?”
“Is this…is this –”
“- it’s a piece of the Choate,” Aidan replied. “Found it in Onyx Major. That is what you wanted, right?”
“But why – I…a piece? I don’t understand.”
“All I want is to be a part of it. Sylvester told us about how the second Advent could be localized. I want to be involved. To gain more Yen. We learned that once all four pieces are together, more than one person can gain its benefits.”
“But I don’t understand…”
“What don’t you get? Why I would keep this a secret from my friends? I have no friends here. Leah’s the only one I care about and she’s on board. She’ll do whatever I tell her. Other than her, this whole village can be burned down for all I care.”
“No, I don’t understand…why you brought Isaac to life,” Eugene said with leery eyes. “That was the test. To see if you would leave him to die or wish him back. When you used a Yen to save him, I figured that you were too connected to them.”
“Isaac’s been working with me against Bailey,” Aidan said quickly. “He does a lot of my dirty work behind the scenes, and I figured that bringing him back to life didn’t matter if we found the Choate soon anyways. My Yen will be replaced.”
“I see,” Eugene said, straightening up. “Well, I’m surprised you found this so soon.”
“With Duncan so adamant about forming an army in this exact spot, I figured it had to be close. It would have worked out better for him to set up a base of operations here since he knew how the village worked already. That’s why I’m still here...and why you’re still here too, isn’t it?”
“It’s true. I’m not very sociable so I decided it was better to work with the conditions I know rather than new ones to find the artifact.”
“But you would have destroyed all of that with your plan. Necrosis told us he was going to destroy everyone in Lowsunn after he was done with us.”
“It was a risk I had to take,” Eugene sighed. “The Elders concoct the mission lists but before they’re handed out to the villagers, I make the final changes and finishing touches. I’ve been at it for years and I’ve gained their trust over all this time so now they don’t recheck my work anymore. Even when they read the names aloud during announcements, they never take a quick glance. I had to get the Movement working for me, and I knew you were my best bet. You weren’t going into that fight to die like the rest of them would. But you understand why I did it, don’t you? Sending something as big as Necrosis towards the Movement was the only guarantee I had that you and some others would get off your butts and actually go out into the world. I needed someone to look for the Choate, and in places the Elders would never send its villagers to. Without my interference, the endless battle between the Elders and their Movement would have went on forever. I didn’t expect it to go as far as it did. But it worked out in the end, I think. How did you end up fighting Necrosis anyways? I thought you were running.”
The Works of Julius St. Clair - 2017 Edition (Includes 3 full novels and more) Page 55
