by Ross Buzzell
“Begin heading north Disa’ani, I am on land now and have begun my journey to the city.”
Xero shuts the orb off before Disa’ani has a chance to respond. Xero leans forward; his body lifts off the ground. Throwing his arms down to his side Xero begins to hover low, hardly high enough to pass over a car but his speeds are incredible. The glass of the ship and surrounding cars shatter as he begins to charge towards the city of St. Louis and towards the target of his rage; approaching the city he comes to a stop as Disa’ani stands at the ready with all three spears attached to his back. Xero lands before his subject and grasps the orb from his belt, holding it out to Disa’ani who, after a moment’s hesitation takes the device.
“I want to take my time with Konner, dispatch any humans that try to interfere and when the time is right activate the device to give me his strength.”
Disa’ani places the orb on the back of his belt, his armor forms a pocket around it as if part of Disa’ani’s own subconscious.
“Why are you trusting me with this m’lord?”
Xero walks past Disa’ani, his eyes locked on the city in the distance. If Konner managed to get his hands on the weapon there is no telling what could potentially happen to either Xero or Disa’ani and he would need both hands to hold Konner in place long enough for the transfer to complete.
“It is all part of the plan Disa’ani, now try to keep up.”
Xero speaks in a hushed tone before leaping into the air once more and taking off at break neck speeds. With each passing second Xero moves faster and faster, he hears Disa’ani’s footsteps behind him, his labored breathing and even the pounding of his heart as he struggles to keep up with Xero. Xero keeps between the two yellow lines in the center of the road and each car he passes is hurled off the road in violent flips due to the air displacement he is causing. Sparks of plasma begin to jump before his vision, they are microscopic but still Xero can see them, if he could move any faster he would ignite the air and be able to cause some real destruction. Alas he moves as swiftly as his dampened abilities allow and a slight tinge of disappointment twitches in the back of his mind as he would love nothing more than to tear through the city and incinerate it just by passing by.
Approaching a large silvery metal arch on his left Xero can feel Konner ahead of him, not by far, so he decides to slow down and eventually come to a stop. He continues to hover as a winded Disa’ani catches up moments later. Xero glances over his shoulder to see the path of destruction left in his wake. Glass is shattered; the black road is softened in some spots and melted in others. Cars are overturned and the air that collapses back to fill the void left by Xero is superheated to the point that arcs of plasma jump around like fireflies while it cools.
Without a word Xero begins to floats towards the cities opening, his presence contaminating the very air the people would be breathing. It is strangely quiet; Konner must have already evacuated most the city. In his tattered pants and bare chest, his shirt being ripped off by all the gunfire Xero lets his vision fall onto Konner who stands tall in the center of the city square. He can see the microscopic changes on Konner’s skin as he tries to stay strong in the face of Xero but the banished prince notices his body’s natural nervous responses.
“Xero!”
Konner yells at the banished prince.
“You are a soldier, you are used to the terms of combat. Here are mine. Leave Earth AND Boron and I will let you live. IF you stay, sure as the suns circle our world, both you and Disa’ani will die today!”
Konner’s voice has changed; it is deep, commanding as if he wishes to display authority over Xero. A sly grin flashes on Xero’s lips, a change of tone would not cause this banished prince to retreat. Xero pauses for a moment as he looks down at the prince before dropping from the air. He does not just drop though, gravity pulls on him but it is not the driving force behind his journey to the ground, his own propulsion is. Xero slams into the ground hard enough to force his knees to bend slightly, but also with enough force to crack the concrete around him. Dauntingly he reaches back to his blade, wanting to be as intimidating as possible, he draws the sword which has slain thousands, maybe more, and slams it into the ground before taking a few steps towards his nephew.
“I accept no terms you can offer me; you have no authority here.”
Xero growls. His taunt works, he can see the rage building within Konner, he can feel Konner’s body temperature rise. This pleases Xero as he wants Konner to come at him with everything he has, he wants his nephew to die exhausted knowing that nothing this ‘King’ can throw at Xero will hurt him.
“Thanks to YOU, I am the ruling High King of Boron. You are of that world and you are subject to my rule, Xero Lorian… Now STAND DOWN!”
He roars, trying to intimidate Xero into submission. His command falls on deaf ears as Xero decides to prod the embers that visibly build within Konner.
“You know, the day my brother told me your mother was pregnant with you, I knew you would be a thorn in my side. I should have slit your mother’s throat before she even delivered you, but alas, your father was the High King… the opportunity never presented itself.”
He is unsure if Konner knows they are kin as of yet, he hopes that the news is jarring enough to cause Konner to hesitate and in that moment he would attack. As if reading Xero’s mind the banished prince can hear Disa’ani move as silently as he can around the edge of the soon to be battle field in an attempt to flank their opponent. Xero can feel the Blue Boronite’s presence but it is not with Konner. He would just have to retrieve it later.
“Unveiling a revelation like that only works if I did not already know we were blood. My only question is why would you try to destroy the human race? All of the war, the disease, the destruction, and the eons of failure, it can all be traced back to you, can’t it?”
His plan had failed, no big deal, he would just do what he has been since the beginning of this planets history, fight. Xero turns his back to Konner, again, giving him a chance to charge in and make the first mistake, while he returns to his sword. To his disappointment Konner does not take the bait. He decides Konner needs to be antagonized a little more.
“Well, not directly… I had a bit of help from a Titan and a snake. I guess it is just what I do. Unfortunately, every time I tried to make this world fall, some pure-hearted noblest would always get in the way… Until, that is, the Dark Seclusion ripped the weakness from my body, turning me into an immortal perfect weapon.”
His mind flashes to all his failures, some who had thwarted his plans were mere mortals, others had abilities gifted by their Boronian DNA. His mind drifts for the briefest of moments to a man, unlike any others he had encountered, who did not fight but came in peace. Xero had managed to get close to this being but the raw power that he emitted was so all encompassing that just being in his presence nearly killed Xero. He was not of this world or any others, in fact the only time he had felt power even a sliver of that magnitude was in the presence of the seraphs corpse and when he had gotten close to a French woman whom he could not defeat by himself so he convinced the Spanish to burn her for him. Almost as if he was the source of THEIR power.
“You are not immortal, Xero, and today, unless you leave and never return to this world… or our own, then you will experience the same death that you have so monstrously dealt to this world since its creation.”
They are both biding their time, in a battle of wits to see who moves first. Xero looks to the sky and slowly raises his hands. He can feel Konner and the Blue Boronite but there are no other signs of power nearby, not that he can detect, only a frail human who can defy gravity cautiously circling overhead.
“How? I have Disa’ani to fight by my side. And you, you have no one; your team has abandoned you, except for that human who can defy gravity. Do you really think she has the power of will to fuse with either of us?”
Xero notices Konner’s smirk, there is something familiar about it and curiosity grips Xero.
/> “Maybe not…”
Konner glances up.
“Every once in a while, a miracle drops right out of the sky.”
Disa’ani gets impatient and blurts out.
“You know, Konner. I really enjoyed killing your father… I want you to know before you die, I’m going to kill your girlfriend too.”
Xero almost cringes, his lazy attempt at eliciting an emotional response from his nephew is pathetic, and it also reminds him that he fully intends to kill Disa’ani when all this is over for slaying his brother.
“That only carries weight if you have not said it before, Disa’ani… she is more likely to shoot you in the face than you hurt her again.”
Konner blurts out. Xero begins to piece a few things together, the flying woman who can fuse with people circling overhead, the ‘drops right out of the sky’ line Konner had said just a few seconds ago but mostly the fact that he could not feel the flyer means that an Emissary must be close and cloaking, intentionally or by accident, their energy signatures. This whole thing was a well laid trap for Disa’ani and himself, and he would call out to warn his servant if he had not let emotions grip him while he screams.
“I WILL CRUSH THEM!!!”
The banished prince nearly rolls his eyes as Disa’ani sounds confused more than anything. Xero looks up to see the woman flying in a circle split off from a man who appears to be made of stone.
“Actually, Disa’ani, traitors get crushed first… you know why they say that?”
Xero lets his vision fall to Disa’ani, if he was going to be this reckless then Xero is just going to let him learn the hard way.
“And why is that?”
Disa’ani retorts, Konner points to the rapidly approaching man.
“That is why!”
Xero watches as Disa’ani looks up and his eyes widen.
“Oh…”
The stone man lands on Disa’ani with such force the entire ground shakes as if it were struck by a meteor and both men disappear under the ground. Xero pulls his sword from the ground, as Konner is now completely focused on Disa’ani and charges Konner. The rage built within him releases itself in the form of a roar. In the blink of an eye Xero is on top of Konner and swings his sword down towards Konner’s head as hard as he can but before he can even process what happens his forward momentum stops and he staggers backwards, turning his back to Konner, his face encompassed with a dull, numb throb. A ball of heat slams into Xero’s back with the gravitational force of a star, Xero staggers forward. Typically Xero would absorb the heat and the gravitational energy but since the ‘split’ he is unable to do so and endures the heat as if it were a warm blanket.
Xero hears Konner speak softly to himself, he must be conversing with the computer in his armor. With blue plasma dripping from his back and smoke billowing from his regenerated flesh Xero inhales the scent of his own burning body, it makes him smile. The banished prince faces Konner and bares his teeth like a rabid animal, gripping his weapon so tightly his knuckles turn white. Xero points his blade at Konner and growls as he notices that the Lorian family crest is not ignited on his chest, a sign of cowardice or treason among the Boronian people.
“You say you’re High King, you wear its colors and yet decline your family seal… you call yourself a Lorian?”
Konner ignites his shield, its sparks and the violent surge of energy it gives off, crackling with thunder, as it forms tells Xero he has finally struck a nerve with his nephew.
“At least I am not a traitorous shell of the man I once was!”
Konner snaps back, good, finally he is behaving emotionally, just what Xero wants. Konner lunges at Xero and slams the edge of his hard light shield into Xero’s gut; he had forgotten that those things could be used like that. Xero staggers back as he catches his breath, the blow having winded, but not hurt him. As Xero rights himself Konner dashes at him once again, picking up a piece of concrete, Xero thrusts his sword at Konner but his nephew dodges the attack by leaping over Xero, whose vision flashes black and white for a moment, similarly to when he had fallen from the Nidhogg all those years ago.
Xero spins and swings his sword at Konner, whose speed gets the best of Xero as the piece of concrete slams into Xero’s face hard enough to snap his head back. Xero moves with the backward momentum, spinning his body once again he passes his sword from one hand to the other and hurls his massive blade directly at Konner. Xero’s nephew moves so quickly that had Xero not been part of the royal family Konner’s movements would have been less than a blur. Konner dodges to the back end of the blade and creates a micro gravity well in his hand before slamming it into the tip of Xero’s sword and pinning it into the ground.
Xero watches as Konner charges him, with no weapon in hand Xero moves in for hand to hand combat. Both men have the same training and had been brought up in near identical ways causing both men to block, parry and dodge each other’s attacks with relative ease. Konner has one advantage over Xero and the banished prince begins to notice his nephew use that skill. Xero begins to fall behind as Konner increases the speed of his attacks. He pushes himself as far as he can but Konner is just that little bit faster which forces Xero to back pedal. Out of nowhere Xero feels his feet knocked out from under him and before he can react Konner slams a shield empowered fist into Xero’s chest so hard that the ground craters under Xero and a nearby concrete statue shatters like glass. If he were whole that would have really hurt but instead the powerful blow feels like a forceful pat on his chest.
Konner lets up for a nanosecond, Xero exploits this and throws a knee at Konner who slams his hands down deflecting the blow and pushing himself away from Xero in the process. The block gives Xero the momentum he needs to pull himself back up but Konner is right there to slam his fist back into Xero’s chest which bounces him off the ground once again. Konner has the high ground, and the advantage, which makes it easy for Konner to block each and every attempt at a punch or a knee that Xero makes at Konner. His nephew is relentless, delivering a barrage of attacks against Xero’s neck, chest and face which keeps him down but no pain howls through Xero even though a beating like this should be excruciating. Xero decides to call his weapon to him and throws his hand out. Konner grabs Xero’s wrist, twists it to the side and forces it away from Xero’s body. The torque and pressure against Xero’s joints is tremendous, Konner is clearly attempting to break his arm, but it does not give way. Xero stops fighting and begins to laugh as Konner applies enough pressure against his arm to pull it straight from his body but nothing happens.
“Do you think the spell that created me would allow for anything to break that I don’t snap myself?”
While Konner was trying to break his arm, Xero had managed to summon his sword; the whistle of the weapon slicing through the air gets Konner’s attention. Xero watches in enjoyment as his sword slams into Konner’s head, snapping his head back and releasing Xero’s arm. Xero pulls himself to his feet as something seems to distract Konner. Xero draws his weapon back once again and swings it at Konner, who throws a shield up and stops the weapon less than an inch from his face. The force of the impact reverberates through the blade and into Xero’s hands causing a tingling sensation to vibrate through his bones as the sword bounces back behind his head. Xero steps back as the resulting explosion of their contact shatters the glass in the surrounding buildings.
Chapter: 9
Disa’ani crashes through a ceiling as the ground quakes around him and Protolith. The impact of the landing felt like he had been hit by a planet. Disa’ani bounces off the ground and rolls away from the Protolith. Disa glances up at his opponent, attempting to get his bearings but Protolith was not disoriented from the impact giving him a distinct advantage. Protolith slams his fist into Disa’ani’s head so hard that Disa lets out an involuntary grunt and slams back into the ground, he feels his helmet wearing differently, it has been dented. Knowing he has the low ground and the disadvantage a straightforward attack would certainly fail. Disa’ani r
olls to his right just as Protolith’s fist slams right where his spine was.
Disa’ani looks up at his opponent to see that Protoliths arm is elbow deep in the ground, he tries to free himself but to no avail. Disa’ani takes advantage of the situation and climbs to his feet. The impact had knocked two of his three spears free but the warrior has one left, gripped firmly in his fingers. His hatred for this human burns with the fury of an exploding sun as a familiar metallic taste washes over his tongue, the taste of his own blood. Disa’ani lets out a primal roar, saliva and blood spew everywhere as he thrusts his weapon at Protolith. His opponent moves swiftly, so much in fact that Disa’ani blinks and misses the movement. Disa’ani’s spear is deflected from its target. Like a battering ram Protoliths fist slams into Disa’ani’s chest which lifts him off the ground and bounces him off the ceiling of the basement they have landed in. The impact causes Disa’ani to drop his weapon as he plummets back to Earth.
Disa’ani gasps for air as the three impacts have nearly caused his lungs to collapse due to the vacuum created because of the loss of air. He holds his hand out and calls his nearest spear to him but the weapon never comes. Disa’ani looks up in horror as Protolith stands above him with his own weapon, holding it in place with ease. Immediately Disa’ani calls for his other two weapons as Protolith aims Disa’ani’s own weapon at his neck. Protolith jabs at Disa’ani but misses as his other two spears arrive just in time and deflect his third into the ground. Disa’ani throws a fist in the air which pulls his other two spears towards him, knocking the Protolith’s legs out from under him. Both men, now on the ground throw punches, kicks and jabs at one another but are unable to land anything decent. After a few moments they roll away from each other.
