"Nathan, here!" He back flip-kicked the axe and it flew toward Nathan who grabbed it with his free hand. Nathan sprinted toward Matthew with his new weapon. He swung the axe and Matthew tried to block but Nathan's axe cut right through his own. Nathan kneed Matthew in the face, sending him sprawling onto his back. The impact forced him out of his armour. Matthew was now defenceless on the floor.
Nathan walked over to him and reversed his grip on his sword. His axe had disintegrated when Matthew's armour had deactivated. Nathan held his sword directly over Matthew's heart and began to thrust it downward.
Matthew opened his eyes to see a gold-orange shield around him which was stopping Nathan's sword from piercing his heart.
"Hey, Matt."
Matthew looked beside him to see Sam was lying next to him with Defender activated. He was the one who had saved him.
"Aren't you suppose to be-"
"In the tournament, yeah. But I won that. Now, I'm gonna drop this shield soon so I need you to run," Sam said calmly.
Matthew nodded. Sam dispersed his shield and rolled out of the way of Nathan's sword. Sam got up and twirled his trident in front of him.
"He's here," Nathan said loudly.
"Fall back then."
Sam heard a voice come from somewhere out of sight and a Chaos Portal opened at the far end of the hallway. Nathan and his team ran through it, leaving the S1 marines alone and injured.
"Fill me in when we get back to base," Sam said, panting.
4: A New Perspective
Sam and the S1 marines were all either sitting or lying down in the Med Bay beds. All but Cheyenne had taken damage from their fight with Nathan and his team.
Matthew was the first to speak. "I'm sorry, Sam. I had no idea that Chaos had actual people there. I thought my marines could handle it."
"See, now, this is why Matthew shouldn't be second in command. I should be because I'm Sam's brother and I have the most experience," Jareth stated loudly.
"Most experience? Jareth please, I'm the only member of Sam's original team that's still alive. I'm sorry for bringing it up, Sam, but frankly I think I should be second in command," Cheyenne said, adding her own argument as to who should be Sam's second in command.
"Oh, come on. If anyone should be second in command it should be me. I've already led a team for a few years. I think I'm the most qualified," Lachlan said over everyone's arguing.
"Would you lot shut the hell up! My decision of Matthew being my second in command is final! I don't care what any of you think. I trust Matthew a hell of a lot more than any of you and he's proven how strong and capable he really is! Now don't tell me that none of you have messed up a mission because I can think of times that you all have. Shut the hell up about who is my second in command because it's Matthew! Now let me recover in peace!" Sam yelled at his team. He turned over onto his side and tried to get some sleep, leaving his team looking gob-smacked.
Taine walked in. "Sam, the General wants to see us," he said, leaning against the doorway.
"Goddammit, Taine. Can't you see I'm trying to recover?"
"Sorry, Sam, but he says it's urgent."
"Okay, fine. Let's go," Sam said, standing up and following Taine.
"My Lord, I apologise for my team's failure. If you feel the need to punish them, then please punish me instead," Nathan said, kneeling in front of Chaos and four Chaos Generals.
"Come now, Nathan. No harm will come to you or your team."
"My Lord?"
"The fact that you were able to survive until Samuel got there is enough to reward you. Come forth, Nathan, and you shall have what you are worthy of."
Nathan stepped up to the throne in which Chaos was perched upon, and knelt down in front of the Chaos Lord. Chaos stood up and put his hand on Nathan's forehead. A loud scream came from Nathan as Chaos's hand spewed darkness. The darkness crept into every opening on Nathan's face including his eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth. Nathan's team watched from the sidelines as Chaos sat back down on his throne.
"Rise, Nathan, and join my Chaos Generals."
Nathan stood. His eyes were pitch black and darkness seemed to waft off his body.
"I can feel the power - the Chaos," Nathan said, creating an orb of darkness in his hand. "My Lord, I wish to stay with my team instead of joining your Generals."
"If that is what you wish, you may continue to work with your team - on one condition. When I am in need of my Generals I would like you to be at my side with them."
"Of course, my Lord."
"Now go. You have a country to take over."
"Yes, my Lord." Nathan stood up and led his team through the Chaos base.
"General, I am sorry to inform you that the Chaos Marine attacks are becoming more frequent and much more powerful. I fear that we may lose our outposts on several planets," Commander Pike said, walking into the General's throne room.
"Ahhh, Pike, how I've missed you and your optimism."
"Anytime, Malcolm … anytime."
"I am well aware of the Chaos Marine threat and I assure you that I have the matter well at hand. Don't worry, Pike. Sam and his team have it under control."
"Yeah, well, tell that to the marines your son just sent to their deaths. Oh look, here comes his leader who probably let it all happen," Pike said, seeing Sam and Taine enter the room.
"Go shove your opinion where the sun don't shine, Pike. Matthew did nothing wrong on that mission and, to the utter disapproval of my team, I'm happy to have him as my second in command."
"If the General wasn't here I'd whoop you into next year."
"I'd like to see you try, Thickhoof. We both know my team would beat yours in less than a second."
"Oh, why, I outta…"
"Enough! Both of you shut up and separate!" the General yelled at the two. "Pike, you're like three times Sam's age and for some unknown reason whenever you're around him he seems to be the more mature one."
Taine snickered, which got him hateful looks from both Sam and Pike.
"You must be the Taine I've heard so much about," the General said while keeping an eye on Sam and Pike.
"The one and only."
"Taine!" Sam scowled "Treat the General with some respect."
"Oh, come now Sam. Your team's not one for formality when it comes to the chain of command."
"Well, yeah, but Taine's not part of my team."
"And that is why I called you both here. Taine…" The General gestured for Taine to kneel in front of him. "Taine, I hereby bestow upon you the Rank of S1. Sam will now be your leader. You will follow his every order and live and serve him until you die."
"I, Taine, will now and until I die serve under Sam's every word and order. I will fight alongside him until my dying breath."
"Welcome aboard Taine."
As Omega slashed his blade down, another life was extinguished. This one was of a young boy no older then ten, who had made no attempt to put up a fight. Omega looked around the red living room - well it was red now, now that it was stained with the blood of every member of the innocent family he had just slaughtered. Everything from the floor to the ceiling was painted with blood.
Omega wiped blood from his visor. Sure, he himself was drenched in it, but he only needed his visor to see. He stepped out of the house and headed home. He became cloaked in a harsh light and his surroundings quickly changed from a quiet cul-de-sac to a windswept rocky outcrop looking over the sea.
"I see that you've changed the look of your armour. Red looks good on you," a voice said from deeper in the cave, along with the scraping of metal against wood.
"Oh, shut up, Delta. I don't need any of your crap right now," Omega said, staring out at the ocean.
"Hey, I'm not judging. I know it's what we have to do…"
"It's what we need to do to survive. You saw what Gamma saw. That's a future I don't want to live. We need to kill these people before it can unfold."
"Which means we'll need him. Are you sure that you can c
ontact him?"
"I'll have to."
Sounds of whittling came from Delta as he used a knife to shape a piece of wood.
"Hey, yeah, so while you're doing that could you maybe pick me up some candy when you're down there?"
"Delta, you are the laziest son-of-a-bitch I've ever met. How did you even make it onto this team?"
"Theta wanted me. Well, that and, you know, I am pretty handy with swords when I have to be."
"I don't know what he saw in you but I trust Theta. If he thinks you're up for this then so do I."
"Thanks, dude. It does mean a lot to hear that from you."
Delta leaned forward and stopped whittling for a second. His words spoke truth.
"Tell anyone I said that and you'll lose your most valuable body parts."
Delta defensively put his hands over his genital area.
"No, no, no - that won't be necessary. My lips are sealed."
"Hmph. When are the others gonna get here?"
"Theta said he wouldn't get here, Gamma said she'll get here if she can, and I'm not sure about Bravo," Delta said, laying back in his chair, continuing his whittling.
"I'm gonna wash all of this blood off my armour. Can I trust you to stay out of trouble?" Omega said, only tilting his head to the side as he spoke.
"Yeah dude. I mean, come on, what can I do? We're in a frigging cave in the middle of nowhere."
Omega left without another word to head down to the water. He found a small pool with a waterfall gushing into it. He stepped under the waterfall and let the cool water rush over his armour. Omega wore a dark blue armour that had the symbol of his codename on its chest plate. There wasn't really anything special about his team's armours. They were all the same apart from the colour and their symbol was placed differently.
Omega created an earthen copy of himself and let it hold up his armour under the water while he stepped out of it. His real name was Lucas Driver. He was a nineteen year old who had light brown hair that flowed just past his ears, and striking blue eyes. His very stern face had often left his friends somewhat scared, and he had a very annoyed-looking resting face.
He descended into the pool and let the water consume him as he recalled what Gamma had shown them. A world - Earth - ravaged by war … a war that Earth was losing. Red demons running through the streets killing everyone and everything. Beings in black armour brutally slaughtering marines in blue armours, one of which he knew - Sam.
Lucas had been training under Malcolm when Sam's dad had brought him to the base and left him there. Lucas could remember seeing the young boy quickly learning the ropes of being a marine. Even at a young age Sam had excelled. The thought of Sam made Lucas smile.
The image of the demons and black marines flashed into his mind. They all seemed to be commanded by another marine in black armour but this one had a feeling about him - a feeling of chaos, hatred and anger. This thought made Lucas shudder.
He resurfaced and put his armour back on. It sparkled in the sunlight. Whenever he had his armour on he was no longer Lucas Driver. Then he was Omega, Second in command to Theta, and Battle Brother to Delta, Gamma and Bravo. His team was the same. They had a nice enjoyable life without their armours but when the time came, they would change into beings without hearts and without souls. They would don their armours and do what was needed of them, whether they liked it or not.
5: A New Advantage
Sam stood next to Taine in front of the General. Pike had been dismissed after he and Sam had a go at each other.
"Sir, I'm worried," Sam said with his hands behind his back, his head lowered and his voice shaky.
"Worried?" the General asked, leaning forward in his throne. Taine gave Sam a concerned look but said nothing.
"I'm worried that the next time my team goes up against Chaos, we won't all come back alive. The few times I've battled him I've found myself losing horribly and I think that my team needs a new way to fight. We need something more than armours to take down Chaos."
"I agree. I've known about this for a while but it seemed to risky to me. I don't want my son, or any of you, hurt by what I'm going to do next."
"What are you talking about, sir?" Taine asked.
"Sam, you know about my team - how we can control the elements. Well, I think it's about time for your team to have your own powers. Get your team ready and head down to the deepest floor of the base. I'll meet you down there."
"Yes, Sir!" Sam and Taine stood at attention before going to find their team.
Omega dangled his feet over the cliff, looking over the sea. He found comfort in seeing the waves go back and forth. He swung his feet back and forth, waiting for his team to arrive. He'd been waiting for nearly an hour for Theta, Gamma and Bravo.
"Hey O, anything good wash up on shore today?" Delta came up behind him, sat next to Omega and dangled his feet over the edge too.
"Oh, hey Delt. Nah, nothing good today."
Omega looked at his battle brother. Delta's armour was the same as his but Delta's was red and had the delta symbol embedded on his helmet. While Omega was an Earth Elemental, Delta was a Lightning Elemental.
A grunt came from behind the two of them and another person sat beside them.
"Oh jeez, Bravo! Give a guy a heart attack, why won't ya!" Delta jumped as the brute of a man sat beside them.
Bravo's armour was exactly the same as the others but his was green and had the bravo symbol on his right shoulder. Bravo was a fierce Ice Elemental.
Bravo said nothing to his team. He was a quiet kind of person and hardly ever spoke. He let his actions speak for him. Bravo's real name was Bradley Anderson. He lived - had lived - on a farm with his grandparents before being put into the team. Bradley had dark brown hair that, when he had no helmet on, was usually spiked up at the front. He was a buff person even though he didn't work out. It was a family gene that he had inherited from his dad, or so his grandparents had told him. Bradley had never met his mother or father but he knew that he had a brother, and that was the reason he was fighting for a better future. His unusual red eyes were hidden behind the red of his visor.
"I don't think Theta or Gamma are coming," Omega said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, well, trust them to not show up. I mean it's not like we need our team leader or our top tactician," Delta said sarcastically.
"Well, then, we should head off and go ahead with the mission. Grab on," Omega said, standing up and filling his lungs with the fresh salty sea air. Bravo and Delta grabbed his shoulder and the three of them became cloaked in a blinding light.
Even though Omega was an Earth Elemental, he could blink, which was a Light Elemental's power. It enabled him to travel vast distances in a flash by becoming one with the light and re-emerging in the desired location.
The first thing that hit Omega after the blink was the heat. They had blinked to a black sand planet with a blue sun high above their heads. Large imposing sand dunes surrounded them. The blue sun, together with the blackness of the sand, cast an eerie dark blue light across the barren planet.
"Why is Theta so interested in this boy?" Delta asked as they began their trek through the mountains of sand.
"He says that the boy can turn the tide of the Chaos war and restore peace to the universe."
"Overkill, much. Why do we even trust Theta if he's not even going be on these missions with us?"
"Because he's our team leader and we have to trust him. Now be quiet. I think it's just around this dune," Omega responded as they neared the edge of a sand dune. His team became silent out of awe as they rounded the corner and the sight before them stole their breath away.
Below them was a large silver factory-looking building with large plumes of black smoke rising from several chimneys that lined the slanted roof of the building. The sound of metal clanging against metal reverberated though the crater that housed the factory. Screams could be heard from a large red building east of the facility, that was smaller then the factory. That wasn't
the thing that took the boys' breath away though. No, it was the thousand or so Chaos Marines assembled outside the buildings, all in formations ready to defend the factory at all costs. They stood motionless. If it weren't for the boys' night vision visors the Chaos Marines would have been camouflaged against the black sand.
"I have a plan. I'll head over to the red building to the east of the main compound and see what's going on over there while Bravo charges head first for the Chaos Marines, killing as many as possible and creating a distraction for Delta to get into the complex and rescue the boy," Omega suggested.
"Do you have a death wish, mate? I mean, look at them all. I doubt that even Bravo can take out them all while we do our parts." Omega didn't need to see Delta's face to know that he didn't approve of the plan, but Delta went along with it for the time being.
Omega climbed - more like fell - down the sheer cliff of sand that stood between him and the eastern building. He could see Bravo smashing Chaos Marines with his ice powers and Delta sneaking around behind the main building. Omega himself had created a hand and a foot hold out of the sand so he could watch over the fight and also see into the building next to him. He could see men and woman tied up and dangled from the ceiling, the majority of them naked and beaten. Omega knew that Chaos Marines couldn't function without a General nearby. That was a weird Chaos presence thing that Omega didn't fully understand. What he did know was that they had to destroy this place once they'd rescued the boy they were after.
Omega let go of his hand hold, fell a few feet and landed silently on the sand. He ran to the door of the building, which luckily was around the back, and knocked a few times. It was a silent knock, enough for the people inside to hear but not loud enough for anyone else to notice. Omega cloaked his hand in earth and waited for someone to answer the door, but no-one came. He slammed his foot into the door, sending it across the room and flying through a Chaos Marine. It literally flew through him as he exploded into shards when it made contact.
The Chaos Saga Page 11
