Awoken

by Alex South

  They walked up over to a nearby flight of stairs at the outer edge of the market plaza. They ascended through several levels of the city until they reached a long ramp that led up to a balcony. There were no shops or stands, just a railing that ran around the edge. Oa leaned out over the edge and looked straight down into the bottomless pit below.

  “So how was Simon?” Oa asked. “Did he know anything?”

  “He was still the same. Not much changes for this city other than the location,” Ohm said lightheartedly. “And no. He hasn’t heard of any other labs, which was disappointing. We should go get Kai now and show her ar—”

  Ohm was interrupted as two figures pounced on him from behind, shoving him up against the railing. The force of the impact sent his newly acquired hat spinning off his head down into the chasm below. To his right, Ohm briefly glimpsed Oa struggle with a third attacker before his pupil tumbled backward over the railing with a yell. Ohm’s hand shot over the railing after his friend. Fractions of a weeble later, Seeker slammed into Ohm’s hand, sticking with an unseen force. He immediately felt Oa’s weight on his arm as the young Awoken pulled himself back up.

  Ohm refocused his full attention on wrestling off his attackers. He threw his right shoulder up and caught one attacker in the neck, sending her tumbling backwards. Ohm threw his elbow back and caught the second attacker in the midriff, causing the foe to lose his grip. Ohm spun around and shoved the second attacker back with his bandaged stump. Ohm’s left arm still hung over the railing, trapping him in one spot as he held onto Seeker. He recognized the three Awoken immediately: the Marauders he and Oa had stolen from. As they rushed at him, Ohm leaned back against the railing and picked both of his feet up. He kicked Jad hard in the chest, sending the Marauder flying backwards to land square on his rear. Ohm leaned forward again and planted his feet on the deck. Fighting the weight on his arm, he pulled forward and swung his handless arm up like a club. The blow knocked Kiri back.

  Bota was much faster than his comrades, and he dodged the strikes, charging into Ohm. “Where are our embers, thief?!” He growled.

  “You idiots just shoved Oa and the embers into the Void,” Ohm shot back. He head-butted Bota, sending blue sparks flying from the slits in his mask and cracking the goggles Bota wore.

  “Then I will take this one at least,” Bota grunted, grabbing hold of the chain around Ohm’s neck. The soul ember Ohm treasured had slipped out in the fight, and the dangling object had caught the Marauder’s attention.

  “No!” Ohm roared, but it was too late. Bota merely had to step back and yank on the chain for it to break free of Ohm’s neck. He was pinned up against the railing, clinging to Seeker as Oa pulled himself to safety.

  Bota backed up, still clutching the chain as Oa came sailing over the railing. He retrieved Seeker from Ohm’s hand as he passed, landing spryly on his feet. Oa saw the soul ember dangling from the chain in Bota’s hands, and suddenly he understood the mystery behind the chain around Ohm’s neck. Seeker bolted from his hand, flying straight at Bota. It stopped abruptly, lightly clinking against the soul ember. After latching onto the stone, Oa yanked Seeker back into his hand. He tossed the ember over to Ohm while Bota stared down in shock at the worthless chain he was still grasping.

  “We really need to talk about that ember Ohm, but right now I want to know how these scavengers caught up to us,” Oa demanded, surprised at his own awesome moves and smooth demeanor.

  Bota pulled out his boltspitter, aiming it at Oa.

  There goes the bravado, Oa thought to himself as he took a nervous step back.

  “We hunted everywhere looking for the cripple with the Ice blade. Every rumor we heard said he was an ancient wanderer and that the one constant in his travels was a hat shop in this city,” Bota said pointing at Ohm.

  “Seriously, Ohm?! Your reputation is hats?” Oa said, turning to his mentor who had recovered from the scuffle and was gently placing the ember into a pouch strapped to his waist.

  “When you have been around as long as me, building a fearsome notoriety gets boring. I decided to go for something less dramatic,” Ohm replied, ignoring the trio in front of them.

  “Shut up and give us the embers back!” Bota shouted.

  “Not going to happen,” Oa said backing up toward the railing. “I took them so you would stop serving Eol and find something better to do with your lives. If you want to give Eol the embers so much, why don’t you consider giving him your own?”

  “Eol can have those embers over our lifeless corpses!” Kiri snarled her face lighting up in anger.

  “Wait, I don’t understand. What are the embers for?” Oa asked in confusion. Fear and regret crept into his mind. Had he made a mistake?

  “We tried to make you a part of our crew. We concealed you because Bota and I saw something special in you. So Eol killed the rest of our crew, our family,” Jad clarified as he stepped forward.

  “After you fell, we fought Eol to try and rescue our comrades,” Bota added, his voice growing hoarse.

  “You resisted? So you weren’t going to trade me in, Bota?” Oa questioned, accusingly.

  Bota just looked down in silence. Kiri and Jad looked over at their leader in confusion, keeping their questions to themselves in front of the outsiders.

  “What makes them more worthy than the embers you fed to Eol in the past?” Oa asked, keeping his tone hard.

  Jad stopped looking to his leader for an explanation and turned to Oa. “We just chose to protect the ones we loved. The Sleepers would have torn us apart if they could have had just one more immersion. Our hands may be stained with ember dust, but our last fight was against Eol to rescue the souls of our crew. That bag is all we have left of our family,” Jad explained.

  Oa felt sorry for them. With deepening regret, he realized he had misjudged the situation, and made a mistake. He looked over his shoulder at Ohm, who merely shrugged. Oa turned back to Jad.

  “I know you protected me, and I’m sorry I stole the soul embers from you. I was only trying to free you from Eol’s grip and protect the embers. We were taking them to the Enlightened City where they would be safe,” Oa explained, revealing his plan to the Marauders.

  “You really think Eol won’t find you there, too? Just give us back our crew and run for as long as you can until Eol leaves you nothing to run to,” Bota scoffed.

  “You’re wrong! You gave up and betrayed your comrades as soon as you decided to bow to Eol. You all accepted his lie that someone had to die; no wonder you couldn’t keep your friends safe,” Oa shot back in anger. He grabbed the ember bag from his satchel and threw it towards the Marauders. “Here have this back.”

  Bota snarled in grief and rage, he was done tolerating Oa’s self righteous attitude. The Lieutenant raised his weapon, pointing it at Oa’s head. Kiri and Jad both stepped forward and quickly pulled his arm down. They stood huddled in silence around the remnants of their crew, grieved by the truth in Oa’s words.

  “Hey, I don’t mean to cut all this ember-wrenching drama short, but the city is about to be swarming with Legion soldiers,” Ohm interjected with grim humor as he stared down at the danger below. Oa turned and peered over the railing. Numerous Legion vessels were swarming up out of the abyss.

  Jad snatched the bag off the deck as his comrades rushed to the railing. Bota leaned out further to look at the lower levels of the city.

  “They already have Void portals planted!” he yelled, spinning around in time to see two Legion soldiers step up onto the far side of the platform. The red eye gleamed evilly from beneath their brimmed caps. Bota rapidly fired his boltspitter, shredding the ghastly demons into a cloud of black dust.

  The group raced over to the platform entrance, gazing down the long ramp toward the city below. There was chaos everywhere as the Legion began to storm the city. Some Awoken had weapons and were fighting back, but the Legion nihilistols brought silence to the rebellion. Each time the soldiers fired, lives were ended. All across the city, death r
eigned supreme.

  Legion soldiers marched up toward the ramp that led to the platform Oa and Ohm were on.

  “It appears we are trapped,” Jad said somberly.

  “I’ll hold them back,” Bota said grimly. He twirled the boltspitter in his hand deftly.

  Jad turned to Oa and grabbed him by the shoulders. “We will cover your retreat, Oa. I hope you have better luck than us. You had better protect our crew. Eol’s Law seems inevitable, so please prove it wrong. Help us believe,” Jad said earnestly. He placed the bag of soul embers in Oa’s satchel. Bota looked over for a moment. Behind his goggles, ocular plates flickered in anger, but calmed as the Lieutenant understood and accepted Jad’s decision.

  “Might as well live it up while we can. If we are going to die, I am going to go out making music, no more fighting for me,” Kiri said, pulling out one of the strange instruments from her pack she sat down and began to play.

  “You’re all fortunate that I’m a good enough shot to multitask,” Bota said firing several bolts down the ramp. Each blast ripped a Legion soldier apart as more of the red-eyed monsters swarmed up the ramp. Bota pulled down the cloth that covered the lower half of his face, revealing a cone-shaped depression. It began to vibrate, filling the air with the deep, thrumming melody of his voice.

  “Get out of here!” Jad shouted over the music. He sat down next to Kiri and pulled out his own instrument joining in the song. The three Marauders played together for the last time. Their melodies rose to the sky as the Legion’s weapons tried to drown out the beauty of their harmony. Bota stood defiantly at the top of the ramp firing as fast as he could, determined to atone for the lives his crew had taken. Through ferocity of action he would prove that within him resided a spirit of resistance, and a remnant of hope for the way things could be. Overhead, the lights in the sky faded as another cycle followed the Marauder’s final verse into oblivion.

  Oa did not want to leave, but before he could linger, Ohm grabbed him around the waist. The pair aqua jetted off of the platform, dropping backwards into the city. The sky above was filled with Legion fighters, their three wings extended out around glowing red cockpits. Void weapons fired from the edges of the wings, tearing through the city.

  Ohm landed on a narrow bridge outside the market. The Legion soldiers appeared to be concentrated within the area. Awoken rushed by them, trying to escape the carnage. Ohm and Oa ran with the fleeing Awoken into another open plaza. Ohm tackled Oa to the floor as the shots of Legion nihilistols silenced the air, killing several Awoken the friends had been running with. They jumped up and fled down a side passage, taking a short flight of steps up a level to lose their pursuers. They reached another bridge, and Oa was relieved to see the giant energy cables on the other side. Once they crossed under, they would be back at the ARI in no time. He rushed out onto the walkway; Ohm sprinted after him.

  “Oa look ou—” Ohm’s yell was cut off by a deafening emptiness followed by a concussive explosion from a strafing run of one of the Legion fighters. The blast tore the walkway in two, throwing Oa out into empty space as Ohm fell down through several levels into a cavernous statue gallery below. Oa instinctively sent Seeker whizzing out to latch onto the other side of the bridge. He pulled himself up and quickly scanned below.

  “Ohm!” Oa shouted, trying to find his friend; but it was no use. He could not see Ohm anywhere in the chaos. He turned and sprinted under the energy conduits. He knew he had to get back to the ARI and make sure Kai was okay. Together they could find Ohm. Oa ran through back alleyways to avoid Legion troops. He let his sense of direction and keen memory guide him back to the ARI.

  As he ran over a high-arching bridge, Oa spotted the beloved vessel. Some structure had been blown away, leaving a gap between the bridge he was on and the landing platform. Through the smoke, he could see Kai and Susan fending off Legion soldiers at the entrance of the platform. He launched Seeker toward the ramp that the Legion where swarming up. Oa flew in fast, swinging himself into three Legion troops at the top of the slope. The minions tumbled off of the walkway, plummeting back to their home below. Oa skidded across the ramp and off the side, catching himself with Seeker. He hauled himself back up to the deck, Seeker in hand, and ducked as Kai shouted from behind a barricade.

  “Get down, Oa!” She called as she fired her second pistol, sending chords of angry blue lightning coursing into eight Legion soldiers that she had previously hit with her tracer pistol. Oa crawled up the ramp next to Kai on the landing platform.

  “I lost Ohm. We have to get to the ARI and go find him!” he shouted.

  Kai nodded and turned to Susan who lay crouched behind the barricade, panting from a previous attack on the enemy. “Can you buy us some time to get the ARI in the air?” she asked.

  Susan roared in affirmative, swelling in size. Her body blazed with radiance as she charged forward, bolting down the ramp. Lightning extended from her paws; and she swatted the first Legion soldier with the deadly claws of light, flinging it off the ramp in pieces. Arcs of energy crackled out of Susan’s tail as she spun around and whipped it through four more Legion soldiers, shredding them instantly. Bounding through the air, Susan pounced on another Void warrior. Emitting a harsh growl, she snapped at its head. Lightning poured from her jaws and tore the monster apart.

  Oa and Kai ran to the ARI. They sprinted up the ramp and through the ship to reach the bridge. Oa dropped into the pilot’s seat. He looked over at Kai, his face lighting up in alarm.

  “I forgot! We don’t have Fred. How will we fly with no power?” he asked.

  “It appears that Fred has been storing backup energy in the ARI for an emergency; I found the reserve coils during my inspection. We should have enough until the next cycle starts,” Kai responded.

  She reached under the console and flipped an important looking switch. The ship came to life. Oa immediately lifted the ARI up above the platform, angling down so they could see Susan below. Kai pulled down a contraption on the wall next to her; it flipped out, revealing a visor and two handles. She put her face in the visor and gripped the handles, squeezing a pair of triggers. Two keen blue bolts tore through the ramp, taking the Legion with it.

  Susan looked up from below. When she saw the ARI in the air she raced upwards, zipping through the open deck and into the power-hub chamber. The varl returned to her normal size as she floated into the cockpit to join Oa and Kai.

  “Thank you Susan! You’re purple and fierce as always,” Kai said with a pride as she fired the ship’s weapons again, taking out another chunk of the city and several Legion with it.

  “We don’t have much time, Oa. Use those piloting skills and get us to where you lost Ohm so we can scan for Fred; this ship needs its power source back,” Kai commanded.

  Oa nodded and tilted the ARI so it was pointing straight down. He slammed the throttle forward and sent them spinning down through the hole that Kai had made with her potent weapons.

  ***

  Ohm picked himself up off of the ground. He was dazed and his vision was bleary from the blast and subsequent fall he had suffered. He instinctively reached for the spot on his hip where he had hidden the soul ember. When Ohm didn’t feel the ember, he panicked and lost focus on his efforts to maintain his balance. He stumbled and keeled over onto his face. The old Awoken glanced up and saw a pair of imposing black boots standing several paces in front of him.

  “The Destroyer lost something, but the piece has been found,” Eol said. His whisper filled the air with menacing calm.

  Ohm lifted his head. His blue ocular plate burned brightly. “Don’t get too attached to that title. I wiped away all traces of the Destroyer; and I will do the same to you, Eol,” he replied coldly as he pushed himself to his feet.

  Eol merely chuckled, as if he had a joke he desperately wanted to share. Ohm stood facing the shrouded figure. The demon stood a head taller than Ohm, his face concealed, save for the two red eyes that shone out of the darkness. As wind blew through the city, it pull
ed at the numerous ends of the winding sheets that wrapped him, opening them enough to reveal two black metallic hands. His boots made a dull ring on the deck as the fiend took several calm steps toward Ohm. Eol held out his closed fist, slowly opening it to reveal a familiar gleaming crystal. The dead eyes of the lightning varl pelt atop Eol’s head glared down at Ohm, daring him to take back his beloved treasure.

  Ohm reached out toward the ember, but Eol’s fingers began to curl around it. “Please don’t hurt her,” Ohm pleaded, his resilient defiance melting away at the sight of the soul ember in Eol’s palm.

  “She has a name, Ohm,” Eol said. His voice was keen, piercing through Ohm despite the chaos all around them. “Ari,” the demon hissed. The name echoed through the air, haunting and bitter.

  “Don’t hurt Ari,” Ohm pleaded one last time. He stepped toward Eol, his hand still stretched out in desperate longing. His tired soul dreaded what he knew would come next.

  “There it is!” Eol snarled with satisfaction. He tossed the small stone in the air; it glimmered in the light one last time before the monster caught it. Eol tightened his grip and crushed the soul ember. With a loud crack, frantic light exploded out of his hand. Ari’s essence tried to escape Eol’s cruel grasp, only to be pulled back into the Void of his closed fist. He sighed a pleasure-filled rasp of death before opening his claw to reveal the emptiness that remained.

  Ohm stared for a moment then dropped to his knees. His head hung forward limply, shadowed beneath the hood he wore. He spoke no words as Eol softly laughed in elation. Ohm was still as he let the grief find its way to the corner of his mind where he never dared to tread. He extended his arms out to either side of him. From within the veins of his body, water surged forth, spiraling in streams around him. To Ohm’s left, the disk of a shield formed, to block a world that continually sought to break his will. To his right, he cast the sharpest of blades, with which to exact his vengeance. His icy will drained all energy and life from the liquid’s existence, hardening it down to the solid cold he felt inside. Ohm lowered the ice weapons to his sides.