DEATH OF THE UNIVERSE: BOOK TWO OF THE REALM OF ZERROS SAGA

by Shoraz

  “Achilles, we have been notified of a missing knight, and he is nowhere to be found within the Invisible Dome,” said the white knight.

  “How long has the knight been missing and what is his name?” Achilles asked, and the white knight replied, “Sir I cannot tell how long he has been missing, but I do know his name, his name is Zeus.”

  As soon as Achilles heard the name he knew who Zeus was, “Damn it,” he said.

  “What’s the matter Achilles?” Frank asked.

  “My master, a knight named Zeus has been reported as missing and in the past he had worked alongside Milo for a long time, and the fact that they are both rogue knights leads me to believe that any knight who worked alongside Milo could be rogue as well,” Achilles said.

  “If we had only known prior to reprogramming Milo we could have retrieved the names from him, but now we are only left with speculation,” Achilles continued saying.

  “This is not what I want to hear Achilles, when we first found out about Milo and Roma I knew there was a slight chance that there were others like them, but now that we know for sure that Zeus also went rogue I am fairly certain there are many other rogue white knights within the Invisible Dome. They must all be reprogrammed Achilles,” Frank said to him.

  “As you wish my master,” Achilles said, and with that, he left Frank and headed out with a battalion of knights in search of the white knights who worked with and knew Milo.

  As Achilles searched through the database for the list of knights that associated with Milo, he came across a list of almost fifty knights, and he, along with his battalion then headed to the headquarters which controlled the knights.

  “What’s the plan Achilles?” one of the knights named Donovan asked.

  “We’ll head to the base and disconnect each one of them,” Achilles said.

  “What if they have disconnected themselves from the source?” Donovan replied.

  “Then we will hunt them down and kill each and every single one of them,” Achilles replied.

  Then as they entered the main control room, Achilles led the way and one by one he called out the names of each knight ready to disconnect them and then reprogram them. As they prepared to disconnect the first knight they did so and to the dismay of Achilles, the AI voice said, “Knight not found, it has been disconnected.”

  Agitated at the thought of the first knight being disconnected, Achilles then moved onto another name on his list and then disconnected that knight and again the AI voice said, “Knight not found, it has been disconnected.”

  Achilles then continued down the list and for each knight he tried to disconnect the AI voice kept repeating the words, “Knight not found, it has been disconnected.”

  Upset at the fact that all of the knights had successfully disconnected from their main source; Achilles pounded his fist against the wall. He was not only upset that the knights were nowhere to be found, but he also was worried about how Frank would react to the news of this, given the fact that this newfound threat lurking within the Invisible Dome posed a sense of insecurity if news of this were to spread among the betasapien public.

  Achilles then contacted Frank and broke the news to him, at first Frank was extremely upset, but he soon realized that he had to focus his time and energy on the more important task which was leading the fight to destroy Freedom City and rid the world of the last batch of humans and superhumans that stood in his way of total world domination.

  “Achilles, I have the utmost trust in you, and I know that you will find these rogue knights and reprogram them all,” Frank said to him.

  “Yes my master, they will all be found and reprogrammed,” Achilles said to him.

  Meanwhile, unknown to Frank and Achilles, from the moment that Milo was captured there was a protocol that Milo had put in place that all rogue white knights were to follow. The first step was to disconnect themselves from the source and the second step was to meet at their secretive spot deep in the Australian desert.

  As the rogue white knights arrived at the secretive spot they all silently stood beside each other knowing fully well that they would be hunted and searched for by Achilles and his army of white knights. As they looked around at each other one of the knights broke the silence and said, “Fifty–three versus an army, we don’t stand a chance.”

  “Believe and have hope and faith my friends, and pray to the One Great Creator and hope that your prayers are answered,” said another knight.

  “This is madness you speak, where is this coming from?” the knight asked.

  “This comes from our leader, Milo; he taught me this. These were his words to me when we returned from helping Chandra escape the clutches of the evil Frank Brady, and I swear to each and every one of you that Milo will return and help us overcome this great evil,” the rogue knight said.

  “What is your name knight?” asked another knight.

  “My name is Usain,” he replied.

  “Well Usain, I will fight to the death and do anything to protect you all, but I saw them take Milo and Roma away, and they are probably already reprogrammed and will help hunt us down,” the knight said.

  Usain then looked at the rest of the knights and said, “Have faith my fellow knights, for they may reprogram Milo’s mind, but his soul still lives within him, and it will follow him until his death. We must now prepare for the return of our leader.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  As Ava, along with many others walked back to the main facility she looked at her father and could tell that he was extremely sad over Jonah’s death, “I’m sorry that I couldn’t save him dad,” she said to her father.

  “It’s not your fault Ava, Jonah loved you very much and would have wanted it this way,” Dean said to her.

  “I know dad, he did everything he could to protect me, he put a force field around me to save me from dying, and I couldn’t do anything to save him,” Ava said as she began to get emotional.

  Dean then held her tightly, and Max came over to comfort her as well.

  “Max also saved me dad, I was barely holding on, and Max did everything he could to keep me from falling over into the ocean,” Ava said.

  “Thank you very much for saving her Max, it means the world to me,” Dean said to him.

  “You’re welcome Sir,” Max replied as they all entered the main facility and gathered in a large room to discuss a strategy for the incoming attack of the betasapiens.

  As everyone sat down Gannon said, “Our defenses are in place, and I can only hope that it is enough to keep them at bay.”

  “It is not enough,” a voice from the back of the crowd said, “I know the betasapiens and their leader Frank Brady very well, I lived amongst them for years and I know the hate they have for you all,” the voice continued saying.

  As soon as Gannon heard the voice, he knew who it was, but from sheer stubbornness, he wouldn’t listen to her advice.

  “Chandra, you have been a great asset to us, and you gave us the warning that an attack was imminent but I can only work with what I have, and I have positioned my defenses well in preparation for this attack,” Gannon said.

  “I know that you have done your best Gannon, but I must let everyone here know what they are up against; as you have instructed me I have kept my mouth shut but as the attack draws closer what choice have you left me with,” she said.

  “How about the choice of giving them hope Chandra,” Gannon said.

  “Tell them the truth Gannon, don’t give them false hope,” Chandra shouted back, “We cannot survive this attack, they have almost ten or twenty times the army we do, and their weapons are superior compared to ours,” she continued saying.

  “There is one way we can have a fighting chance at surviving this attack,” Zeus said.

  “And what would that be my metallic friend?” Gannon replied.

  “If we can attack the base in either Russia or Africa we can shut down all knights that report to that base. This will drastically lower their numbers and g
ive us a chance to defeat them,” Zeus said, “It would mean an almost certain death for those that have to go to the base in Russia or Africa, but from what I am hearing, at least this gives us a chance. They would not be expecting an attack from us, so perhaps it will surprise them,” he continued saying.

  “There are rogue knights who still have a connection to their base, if we do this, they will surely die. How can we do this to them?” a rogue golden knight said.

  “What choice do we have my friend?” Zeus asked.

  “I’m not sure, I’m just torn between what to do,” the rogue golden knight replied.

  As the knights continued their conversation, John injected himself into it, “I know what we can do,” he said.

  Everyone then turned towards him a bit surprised that he would have any valuable input given that his experience with knights and war, in general, was minimal to say the least.

  “Look, Zeus said if we can reach the main controls of the knights we can shut them down, but I don’t think an all–out attack is the right way to go given that they greatly outnumber us. What I think we should do is send a small team to covertly infiltrate the closest base which would be Russia,” John said.

  “Are you crazy John?” Stryker shouted. “That is certain death, who in their right mind would do that?” he continued saying.

  John then said, “I’ll go,” and then glanced towards Ava hoping that she would agree to join him in this kamikaze mission deep within the Russian base.

  Another voice then agreed to join John in his trek to Russia, and as he looked to see who it was, it was Bismarck, followed suit by his friend Zeus.

  “Wow, this whole time I thought that I was the craziest son of a gun in Freedom City but you three have me beat by a country mile,” Stryker said as he laughed.

  “I’ll also go with them,” another voice said and as Stryker heard that his heart almost came out of his chest.

  “No Sarah, please don’t do this. You’re the best thing to ever happen to me, and I don’t want to lose you,” Stryker said to Sarah in hopes of changing her mind.

  “I’m sorry Stryker, this is my destiny, but no matter what happens I’ll forever be grateful to you for what you did for me,” Sarah told him.

  “If you feel that strongly about it then you must go Sarah, but I’ll be joining you,” Stryker said to the surprise of everyone there.

  “If my brother in arms is going, someone has to look out for him, so sign me up too,” Amare said as he walked up to Stryker and embraced him to show that the past was forgiven and they were now about to embark on the trek of a lifetime to save the people of Freedom City from the attack of the knights.

  “I know this base very well, I was created there, and I spent many years of my life there. I and my three fellow rogue knights would be glad to join you in your fight against the betasapiens,” said a rogue silver knight named Pops.

  “Thank you very much, what are your names?” John asked.

  “My name is Pops, and these are my friends, Tony, Amanda, and Elizabeth,” Pops replied.

  John then glanced at Ava again, and this time as their eyes met they stayed locked on each other and somehow Ava began to feel John’s thoughts, and as John felt her mind connecting to his mind, he lowered his eyes away from her unsure of what was happening. Then suddenly John heard the words he was hoping to hear.

  “I’ll join you John, your bravery will lead us through this, and I will follow you until the end,” Ava said.

  “No Ava, you can’t do this, I already lost you once and I’m not about to let it happen again,” Dean said to her.

  “I have to do this dad, I can’t explain it but I just feel it, I’ve been trying to push these feelings down but I can’t do it anymore. Something is beginning to take me over and I have no idea how to stop it,” Ava said as she began to cry. “I’m sorry to put you through this dad but I can’t stop it, if I don’t do this I’ll regret it forever, I can feel it,” she continued saying.

  “Then I’m coming with you, I love you way too much to be apart from you ever again,” Dean said as he walked towards Ava and hugged her.

  Max then shouted, “I’m coming with you too Ava,” and with that, the fates of the thirteen kamikazes were forever knotted and sealed.

  As the small group looked at each other, they knew that this would not be an easy mission, but as destiny would have it, they were the ones chosen to stop the knights of Russia from attacking Freedom City. Throughout the attack so far, they had survived whatever came their way and their stories would be told throughout history as the ones who bravely chose to walk into the belly of the beast; a beast as large and ferocious as anything the earth had ever witnessed, and now this infinitesimal spec was ready to do battle with it.

  As they left the large room to prepare for their improbable journey, John looked at them and hoped that he was making the right decision. Ava then turned back and looked at him and without her saying a word, he felt her power and the desire that burned within her. She wanted revenge for Jonah’s death and this was just the beginning of the journey.

  As John pondered upon his dream of Luanne, some of it was beginning to make sense to him now. Ava was the Phoenix and she was getting ready to take him on a journey, and he then wondered what the black hole in his dream meant.

  Then, as he watched the rogue silver knight named Pops walking among the group he now knew that the black hole in his dream was referring to the base of the silver knights of Russia, as both he and Ava had to make it there together in order to save the human race. Finally, the cryptic pieces of his dream were coming together now and it all began to make sense to John, or so he thought.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Furious at the thought of the large swath of rogue white knights within the Invisible Dome, Achilles stomped his way to meet his small army of white knights who patiently awaited his command. As he arrived the knights could tell that he was upset and not a word was said by any of them.

  “If any of you are rogue, please tell me now, and I will peacefully reprogram you, I do not wish to hurt any of you,” Achilles shouted to the almost two thousand knights who were ready to hunt down their fellow white knights.

  “I am not rogue nor will I ever be a traitor, the betasapiens created us, and they are the ones I will serve until my death. All hail Frank Brady,” one of the knights named Olivia said, and with that, the small army of knights raised their hands in salute and praise of their master Frank Brady.

  “Yes, praise be to our master, but we must head out now and find the traitors who oppose him,” Achilles said, and with that, he began calling out the names of the knights and showing their pictures to his small army.

  The battalion of knights were then split up into groups, and each group was assigned a section within the Invisible Dome to search. As they began to head out Achilles reminded them, “Remember, do not let the betasapien public know that you are searching for rogue knights, as this will cause further panic which will lead to chaos.”

  “What do we tell them Achilles?” a knight shouted.

  “Tell them that we are doing standard security searches given the events that occurred earlier,” Achilles replied.

  “And what do we do if we see one of the traitors?” another knight asked.

  “Apprehend them, they will not resist nor will they want to put any of the betasapien public in danger, their hearts are soft, and we will use that to our advantage,” Achilles replied.

  Then group by group the white knights headed out to their assigned sections of the Invisible Dome in search of their fellow knights.

  Meanwhile, in the middle of the Australian desert, the rogue white knights pondered upon their next move, “What do we do now? We can’t just stay here, and we cannot take on an army of knights?” a rogue white knight named Carlos asked.

  “No we will not do that, Milo instructed me to tell you that we must shut ourselves down and bury ourselves in mud lake,” Usain replied.

  “No I refuse
to do that, it doesn’t make sense. I chose to be a rogue knight to fight the forces of evil and to help the humans, I did not become rogue to shut down and bury myself while Frank Brady oversees the destruction of Freedom City and those that live within it,” Carlos fired back.

  “Carlos, there are things in life we understand, and there are even more things in life that we don’t understand, and this is one of those things that we don’t understand, but we just have to believe and do it as we were instructed to do,” Usain said to him.

  “I’m sorry my friend but I cannot do this, I rather head back to the city to fight against those on the side of evil. Who is with me?” Carlos shouted, and to his surprise, about fifteen knights raised their hands and sided with Carlos.

  “Then so be it, I and the others will follow Milo’s instructions and hide in mud lake. All I ask is that if you are captured, please do not reveal our location,” Usain said.

  “We will not betray you my friend,” Carlos replied, and with that, he and the rest of the knights who sided with him flew off and began heading back to the city to begin their fight against Frank Brady.

  As they left, Usain wished them good luck, and then the rogue white knights that remained back with Usain began walking into mud lake, and as they entered it one of the knights asked, “Why didn’t you try to convince them to stay Usain?”

  “My job is just to convey the message, it is up to each of us to believe in it or not, they have made their choice, and I wish them the best. What is meant to happen will happen.” Usain replied.

  Then one by one, the knights powered themselves down and sank to the bottom of the lake unsure of the reasoning behind this abnormal command from Milo through Usain. As Usain looked at the knights and the last of them sank to the bottom of the lake, he remembered his conversation with Milo and him telling Milo that he wanted to understand why Milo prayed to the One Great Creator. And now that day had come, where Usain finally understood what it meant to truly believe in God.

  He also vividly remembered Milo’s words of, “Hope and pray my friend, pray that good will overcome evil, pray that one day there will be no more bloodshed and fighting, pray that we can all live in peace, and hope that the One Great Creator is listening to you and answers your prayers.”