"What do you want, Metal Dragon?" Dialgus asked, realising what was flying above him.
"You! You are the one who has corrupted my time line!" Dialgus roared.
"Wait! You are mistaken, Dialgus. It is true that my brothers and I are from the future. But we did not come here by ourselves."
"What are you saying?"
"The only reason my brothers and I are here is because you sent us back through time."
"You lie! I can't see this happening in my future."
"That's because when you sent us back, you also created another time line. This time line will differ from the one I have come from."
"I don't believe you. What happened in your time line?" Dialgus asked.
"Where I come from, Sam does not defeat Chaos. In fact it is the other way around - Chaos defeats Sam and corrupts him with the Chaos Element. Ragnarok then takes over Sam's body and starts destroying the world. My creator created me and my brothers. At that time we were working with Alpha and the other dragons. Alpha told us to go and find the great Time Keeper - the one who sent us back through time to help Sam defeat the Chaos Marines. You don't have to believe me but if you kill Sam then you'll be corrupting the time line even more than you already have," Horus explained.
It took a few minutes for Dialgus to respond.
"I believe you."
"Then unfreeze my Master and his friends, fly off, and don't come back until Ragnarok has come forth."
Dialgus nodded and flew off. As he flew further away Sam and the Marines became unfrozen. Horus landed and walked over to them.
"Horus, what happened?" Sam asked.
"I am unsure, Master. The dragon just flew off."
Alpha, now in human form, ran up to them just in time to see Sam and Horus fuse.
"Are you all okay?" Alpha asked. Sam decided not to tell anyone about Alpha's true form.
"We believe so," Omega said.
14: A Team Once More
Apollo, Sam, Theta and Jareth all stood facing at each other.
"So Theta, how'd Jareth go with the training?" Apollo asked even though he knew the answer.
"We didn't get a lot done and Jareth doesn't have an Elemental Blade," Theta said.
"Sam … show them."
Sam flicked his wrist and called upon his Elemental Blade. Both Jareth and Theta gasped as they saw it.
"Now let's discuss punishment," Apollo said, rubbing his hands together.
Their conversation was interrupted as Alpha's voice blared through the comms.
"Apollo, bring our guests to the command centre."
"Yes, Sir," Apollo replied.
Apollo led Sam and Jareth to the command centre where Alpha was waiting.
"It's about time you two went back to base. They'd be missing you," Alpha said.
"Hah! No one misses us. They think Jareth is still Chaos' second in command and I've got a frigging kill order on my head," Sam said back.
"Sam, I kind of want to go back," Jareth said.
"There's nothing stopping you from going back, apart from everyone will be hating you for abandoning them."
"I didn't abandon them!"
"You left because you thought I'd killed Cheyenne and then you decided to go around killing innocent marines. I'm sorry if that didn't mean you were branded a traitor."
"Alright you two, settle down. There's a tournament coming up and I think that would be a good way for both of you to get back into the marine scene. It's two versus two so you'd both be able to fight," Alpha said.
"We'll give it a shot," Sam said finally. "But if they don't accept us then we need a back up plan."
"Why can't we go back to being a team?" Lachlan asked as he fell backwards onto a couch in the S1 room. Brin, Nathan and Emily sat opposite him in another couch.
"Because Sam's the pin that holds us all together," Brin said.
"This team can't function without him," Steven added. "I mean, just look at Matthew. He hasn't been the same since that big battle without Sam. He's hurting the most."
"So we can all agree that we need Sam back. How are we going to go about getting him back?" Emily asked. The room fell silent. No one could look at each other.
The General's voice came through the comms, interrupting the awkward silence. "Lachlan, can you go and get Matt? He should be back at my place."
"Sure, Sir, but why?" Lachlan asked back.
"Because I need to see him. I need to see all of S1 actually, so can you go and get him?"
"Yes, Sir." Lachlan said standing up. "You guys get up there. I'll go get Matt."
Lachlan arrived at Matt's farmhouse around midday, when the sun was high in the sky. Lachlan walked up the gravel road that led to the quaint farm estate. Lachlan wore standard civilian attire of a black zip up top and jeans.
As he neared the end of the gravel road, Lachlan could hear the sound of farm animals. As the gradient of the slope decreased he began to see them as well. Cows, pigs, sheep, chicken and a few horses roamed the several paddocks Matt's family owned. When he wasn't being the General, Malcolm would be on the farm helping out Rachel and their youngest kids, Gem and Will.
Lachlan found Matthew in the shearing shed, where he was skilfully shearing the wool off the sheep in preparation for summer. Lachlan stood and watched as Matthew finished off one sheep and dragged the next one in.
"So that's how you've gotten so buff," Lachlan said as Matthew hoisted the sheep up and held it by its front legs.
It was true. Since Matthew had joined the marines he'd gotten stronger and more muscular.
Matthew took no notice of Lachlan and continued to shear the wool off the sheep. Lachlan was waiting patiently for him to finish, when Rachel came up behind him.
"You know, if you want to get Matthew's attention you're going to have to talk louder. He likes to listen to music when he's shearing, just like his dad," she said, leaning on the metal gate Lachlan was also leaning against. "Or you could throw something at him," she continued, picking up a small stone from the ground. She chucked it at Matthew and hit him square in the head. Lachlan let out a laugh before Matthew could take off his headphones.
"What do you want, Lachlan?" Matthew asked as he switched off the shearer.
"General wants to see us … all of us."
"Oh, fun," Matthew said sarcastically as he exited the shed.
His mum took his place shearing.
"Don't worry about your chores, Matt. You just go and save the world," she said, waving them off.
"Thanks, Mum," Matthew said.
"Are you okay to fight, Matt?" Lachlan asked as they walked down the gravel road.
"I should be, yeah. I just needed some time alone - some peace and quiet. The kind of peace you can only get on the farm," Matthew responded.
"So you're all good?"
"Yeah. Did Dad say what he wanted to see us about?"
"Nope. Let's go and find out."
"What's this about, Dad?" Matthew asked as he and Lachlan joined the rest of S1 in the General's throne room.
"There's a tournament coming up - a two versus two fight. Steven and Emily can be one team. Lachlan and Brin can be another," the General said.
"So why am I here, Dad?"
"Because I think the last team could be me and you, Son. I'd like the chance to see how well we fight alongside each other."
"Sounds fun. What if we come up against our own team mates?" Lachlan asked.
"Then fight like hell but don't kill anyone. This is a fun battle - a way to see who's the best of the best without culling us."
"Sounds interesting. Let's do it," Matthew said.
15: Father and Son versus Brothers
The S1 marines all sat around the arena in their pairs, waiting for their battle to come. Thousands of other marines filled the stands including competitors and spectators. No-one knew who they'd be fighting until they were called. Everyone sat and listened to the announcer who was going over the rules.
"Alright, Marines, this tour
nament will be a two on two fight until you can fight no more. Please refrain from actually killing your opponents - we need every marine alive! The tournament will be split into two blocks: A and B. Each block will consist of four battles: First, Second, Semi and Final. Then the finalists in each block will fight it out for the championship title. Now I've heard rumours that the best of the best will be competing in this tournament so watch out.
"Alright, Ladies, Gents, marines of all ages, the first battle in A block will be … well, well, would you look at that. Folks it seems that for the first match we have two of the S1 teams facing off. Lachlan and Brin versus Steven and Emily. The Kings Boys Versus The Kingdom Defenders. Competitors take your places."
The crowd erupted as the announcers voice faded away.
Brin gave Lachlan a worried look. "We're screwed, aren't we?" he asked.
"Completely and utterly," Lachlan replied, not taking his eyes off Steven and Emily who were seated directly opposite them. Lachlan could make out a smile on both of their faces.
"I guess we better head down there then," Brin said, getting up from the stone seat and jumping into the pit. Lachlan stood and followed suit.
All four marines stood facing each other, waiting for the announcer to give them the mark to fight.
"Alrighty, Marines, on your marks, get set … armours activate!"
"Anubis!" Lachlan yelled over the crowd.
"Hammer Armour activate," Brin said calmly.
"Morph Armour activate!" Steven and Emily yelled simultaneously.
All four marines activated their armours. Lachlan and Brin's silver and gold armours glistened in the sunlight while Steven and Emily's clothes became hard as steel as their Morph Armour turned their clothes into armour.
Brin flew straight at Emily with his hammer pointed at her heart while Steven ran at Lachlan with his sword ready to strike. Lachlan jumped, using his ice powers to create a pillar of ice to launch him upwards. Steven followed by creating his own ice pillar, launching him up to Lachlan's altitude.
"You're an Ice Elemental?" Lachlan asked as they fought in midair.
"No, I'm an Unbound. That's why I can do this," Steven said, blinking somewhere.
Lachlan felt a boot on his back as Steven began to push Lachlan downwards. As they neared the sandy ground, Lachlan engaged Anubis' thrusters and managed to fly low along the ground and avoid getting slammed into it. Steven landed softly on the sand like he hadn't just fallen out of the sky, and resumed his attack. Lachlan flew straight up and Steven followed him once more.
"Master, I am sensing something unusual," Anubis said into Lachlan's mind.
"Now's not the time, Anubis," Lachlan said aloud, dodging another one of Stevens relentless assaults.
"But Master, I can sense Horus nearby."
"Wait! What?" Lachlan said, stopping in mid air. Steven took the opportunity to fly at him again and kick him, sending Lachlan spinning though the air towards the ground. As Lachlan fell, thoughts of Sam came flooding into his mind.
"Master, I do believe we are about to crash into the ground," Anubis said, snapping Lachlan out of his trance but they were too close to the ground for Lachlan to react. Anubis quickly took control of his body and forced him to change element to the Earth Element. As they crashed into the ground, sand and dust flew in all directions.
Lachlan stood up and dusted himself off. "Anubis, what the hell did you do?"
"Nothing, Master. I just changed your element so we wouldn't die."
"So I'm now an Earth Elemental?"
"No, Master, I have changed you back to being an Ice Light Elemental."
"Good. Never do that again without at least asking my permission, okay?"
"Yes, Master, but for now I suggest we duck."
Lachlan dropped to the ground as Brin's hammer flew through the dust cloud. Lachlan could hear a bang behind him, which meant the hammer had hit the wall of the arena and there was a possibility that it may be coming back.
"Master, might I suggest staying low until the hammer has passed us again."
Lachlan ignored Anubis' warning and got up and ran in the direction that the hammer had come from. He saw a large shadow which he thought was Brin. As he came nearer he realised that it wasn't Brin and went into a knee slide as Emily's fist appeared through the dust.
As Lachlan got up the dust cloud dispersed and he found Emily jumping at him with her sword ready to slice him in half. He put his arms up to block and heard a loud bang as the two metal surfaces clashed. The crowd roared as the two marines clashed again and again. The announcers voice blared over the screams of the crowd.
"The first battle in B block will be, Matthew and Malcolm versus a duo that calls themselves The Brothers. Head down to the other arena and fight it out."
"Master, I sense that Horus is fighting in that fight."
'So Sam is here. Does that mean that Jareth is here too? Oh no, what if they're both still Chaos Marines?' Lachlan thought while dodging Emily's attack.
"Master, I believe Matthew and Malcolm can handle themselves. Just focus on winning this fight."
"You got it, Anubis," Lachlan said, going on offence.
Matthew walked alongside his father into the arena and found two marines in identical black armours waiting for them. One carried a blade which looked like it was made out of light. The other had no visible weapons. Matthew wore his Cerberus Armour and his father wore Hades.
"Well, since everyone already has their armours on, let's get ready to rumble!" the announcer said and the crowd roared again.
Almost instantly the earth erupted out of the ground, creating walls around Matthew and Malcolm. The marine carrying the Light Blade jumped over the wall and aimed for Matthew.
"You handle the Light Elemental, I'll take care of the earth one," Malcolm said, opening a portal to the other side of the wall and stepping through it.
Matthew switched both heads to blades and used the walls to jump up to the descending marine. As they met, Matthew blocked a slash of the Light Blade, before bringing his other blade up and trying a swipe at the marine's head. The marine blinked out of the way and onto the ground below. Matthew switched both heads to his cannons and pointed them at the ground.
"Twin Cerberus Cannon!"
The cannons fired filling the enclosed space with his beam. Once the attack died down, Matthew landed and found that the marine was nowhere to be found. The walls dropped and Matthew saw his father furiously attacking the Earth Elemental with Darkness.
"Shadow Buster."
Malcolm fired at Matthew, who ducked just in time to see the blast hit the marine who was behind him. Matthew wanted to call out but the crowd was too loud for anything said to be heard. He got up and turned to see the harsh light from a blink fade down. He furiously turned, trying to see where the marine had blinked to. Finally he saw the marine right in front of him, bringing his fist up to punch Matthew. Matthew fired his cannon into the marine's chest, sending him flying backwards and shattering some of his Armour. As the marine landed Matthew could see there was a bright yellow armour underneath.
A scream came from where Malcolm and the other marine were fighting. Matthew turned to see that his father had the marine's arm bent out of shape and the marine was on his knees. His arm had been broken.
The marine Matthew was fighting ran to the other marine's side and kicked Malcolm away. He helped the marine up while Matthew and Malcolm regrouped. The two marines were talking but Matthew couldn't hear them over the crowd. Lachlan and Brin must have been having a fierce battle against Steven and Emily.
The Light Marine ran at Matthew and Malcolm while the earth one fired several boulders at them. Matthew used his cannons to blast as many as possible before the marine reached him. Matthew could see his father fighting the Light Marine. He was winning but Matthew could see that the marine was holding back.
Matthew's concentration faltered and a boulder slammed right into him, sending him back into the wall. When he regained his footing
, the Light Marine was walking towards him. He went into a run and created another Blade of Light. The marine jumped and tried to stab Matthew. Matthew dodged the attack and fired his cannon right at the marine's face. The marine was launched backwards, his helmet now shattered. As he landed Matthew and Malcolm found out just who was under the helmet.
"Of course it was you, boy. I should've expected as much from you, Sam," Malcolm said, seeing Sam's face under the remnants of the helmet.
"Well, now you can fulfil the kill order you put on me," Sam replied.
"That wasn't me! The people above me want you dead. I was just the messenger," Malcolm explained.
"Who the hell is above you? You're the frigging General."
"Only of this base. The High Council controls all of the bases, and they're the ones who want you dead."
"Well, now what? Do we continue this fight or do we stop?" Matthew asked.
"I wanna see how this fight ends," Jareth said.
"I agree," Malcolm said, smiling.
"Very well then. Volcanic Destruction!" Sam yelled.
Lachlan dodged another one of Steven's attacks and looked up just in time to see a column of fire erupt from the B block arena. The crowd went crazy and everyone stopped fighting, staring at the column.
"Holy shit, Sam must be serious about killing Matthew and the General," Lachlan said.
"Wait, Sam's over there?" Steven asked.
"Yeah, he and Jareth are fighting Matthew and the General."
"I wish we could see that."
"I just hope everyone survives."
Once the fire died down, Sam's armour was gone and now he wore his Solid Light Armour. He could see Matthew and Malcolm both lying in the ground with their armours damaged.
"I think you went a bit overboard, Sam," Jareth said from behind him.
Sam turned to see his brother lying against a wall. Sam ran over to him but stopped as a chain erupted from the ground.
The Chaos Saga Page 26
