She nodded and both of them worked on their respective consoles, swiping through complex path calculations one after the other.
A few minutes in, a bright light shone through the ship, and the tremors and creaking stopped at once.
Kai saw a dark silhouette behind the blinding light.
Shades down, he thought.
The system picked up his thoughts and shutters came down, blocking out the bright light.
The view screen’s image shifted to what was at the front of the ship.
A translucent sphere of white was covering them, and at the source of the sphere was a small humanoid form.
“Wait a minute,” he murmured and activated the intercom systems.
“Finally figured it out huh?” a voice called through.
He saw Taylor’s eyes widen almost immediately.
“No way,” she clasped her hands to her mouth.
ETA: 1 minute.
“Get in,” Kai said into the intercom. “We’re going to get out of hyperspace.”
“I’ll use the hatch?”
“Of course not. I’ll airlock the hangars and open the doors.”
“Fine,” the voice said and the intercom shut down.
Soon a humanoid walked into the room dressed in a dark black suit with a red circle on its chest.
It removed its helmet.
Q smiled wide, “Hey guys.”
***
Taylor ran over and put her arms around Q, “You’re alive,” she whispered.
He held her close, “Yup,” he smiled.
She honestly didn’t know what to feel.
All these emotions were so extreme she didn’t know which one to let through.
“Okay, cuddle time is over,” Elizabeth pulled them apart. “Now, is this really you?”
“What kind of a question is that?” he laughed.
“You died.”
“Ouch.”
“But you disintegrated from the Pandora Cannon. Kai and I saw that happen.”
“Well. I thought I died too. Apparently I didn’t.”
“Teleportation?”
“I’m not sure. I found myself in some region of space, and my body just felt weirded out. Then this happened,” he thrust his hand out, and a beam of white light extended.
Not like as a blast, but more like a stick of white light.
“What in the world is that?”
“A light Elementa,” Taylor went wide eyed.
“Isn’t it cool?” he smiled. “I can form all sorts of shapes.”
And he went around forming circles and spheres and triangles and whatnot.
“This is insanely rare,” she said. “How in the world did you get control over this?”
“I really don’t know,” he said.
“So you used this as a shield?” Kai asked.
“Yeah. Light interacts with everything, and it’s got a ton of energy. So if I concentrate hard enough I can pack in just enough light to actually create strong shields.”
“How long does something like that last?”
“Well it depends on the strength of concentration so in my case umm… like twenty seconds?”
“Well you can work on that part later,” he laughed.
“How did you even get out into space that quickly?” Chris asked.
“What?” he asked.
“Kai said he didn’t even notice you head out of the Orion, and all of a sudden you were in space.”
“Ah that.”
He told them all about the Masked Magician, how time had stopped.
“Are you sure it wasn’t a hallucination?” Taylor asked.
“Does me actually jumping out the Orion seem like a hallucination?”
“Teleportation is a sorcerer's ability. You could have hallucinated and just teleported yourself out there.”
“I don’t feel like I have teleportation powers.”
“You didn’t feel like you were a mage either,” she laughed. “How long were you out in space after the Pandora hit you?”
“For probably twenty minutes.”
“His perception of time is slower,” Chris said immediately.
“The gravitational waves must have affected the space around him,” Taylor caught on. “Slowed time down in just a small region of space.”
“Is that a problem?” Q asked.
Kai knocked on Q’s head, “Is the brain functioning normally though?” he laughed.
“Shouldn’t you take us out of hyperspace?”
“I did it as soon as you came back into the ship. We’re out of the gravitational pull.”
The ship jerked hard, throwing everyone to the ground.
“Why does this keep happening?” Kai yelled and ran to the console.
“I don’t think I can use that shield anytime soon,” he said.
“We’ve got to think of other ideas.”
“Or you can just leave it to me” a voice rang through the intercom.
“Wait who was that?” Q asked.
Kai fidgeted with the controls, and the shutters opened up. They saw an ocean of black waves ram through the ship. In seconds the scenery around them changed. They were on some black stone surface, and in front of them was a black crystal tower.
“I, my dear Q,” the voice said, “Am your precious anomaly.”
***
Q’s mind was going for a spin right now. He had no clue what was going on.
First he’d been hit by the Pandora canon.
He thought he’d died but all he did was end up in some other region of space, and his friends found him. And now he was facing some sort of dark tower.
The Orion’s hatch opened up.
“Careful now,” Kai said.
Q jumped off, and landed onto the stone ground. “Gravity seems fine,” he said.
Kai nodded and soon everyone else was on the ground as well, armored and ready to go.
“Welcome,” the voice rumbled through his ears and made the ground quake violently.
He looked around. The place was void of almost everything. It was just a flat piece of land with a wide tower on it.
A loud creak hummed through the air and a large section of the square tower collapsed like a drawbridge.
“An invitation?” Taylor asked.
“I guess we have no other choice,” he said and walked towards it. He entered the tower, not paying attention to whether everyone else was with him.
The inside of the tower was filled with bright white light. Almost like an alien spaceship, he thought. A deep rumble came from within the tower, and a section of the wall above the opening slid down, completely covering it up. Everyone else had come in as well and he honestly didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“What is this place?” Taylor asked.
“The voice said this was the anomaly right?” he said.
“I’d take that with a pound of salt if I were you,” Kai said.
“My, my,” a voice echoed through the walls.
A man appeared before them, dressed in a black suit, his face hidden behind a mask.
“You,” Q muttered.
“Ah, I see you were able to save your friends,” he said. “Although I’m quite surprised to see you yourself managed to survive. Those energy beings really know how to ruin a guy’s fun. Such a tragedy really, and I put so much thought into killing you that way.”
“Energy beings?”
“Yes. Those so called peacekeepers of justice intervened on my little fun and saved you from the Pandora. What a bunch of spoilsports eh?”
“What do you want from us?”
“I think I’ve already stated that earlier,” he pointed his cane at him. “Your imminent death.”
“You just want me don’t you? Stop this gravitational radiation now, else the Megethos will be let into our world.”
The man laughed madly, “Someone apparently thinks a little too highly of himself,” he tried to control himself. “You think I did all this just
to kill you? You may be a sorcerer, boy, but you’re not even a measly pawn on my chess board.”
“You seem to be going through an awful lot of trouble to kill me.”
“Good point,” the Magician seemed pleased. “I wondered to myself. If I do start a Great War again, who’s the one guy people will rally around? And well, that’d be your brother, the Commander of Aliea. Now I could try killing Carlos, but that’s just too easy. So I found a better way,” he grinned. “Kill his little brother.”
He paused, as though he was admiring his own plan. “It’ll cause him so much pain he won’t do anything other than mourn for the rest of his life,” he laughed madly.
Q eyes went bloodshot with rage. He raised his hands and a lightning bolt smashed into the man. But he didn’t even bat an eyelid.
He walked towards Q. “But I do have to say, killing you is going to be quite fun. And who knew it would be this hard?”
He counted off, “I first sent the Phalatopian. That failed. Then that one Corein idiot went to Earth. He never even got to killing you. I got the Corein and Indiff giants to attack S.P.A.C.E, but that killed everyone other than you. You’d think they’d have killed you considering I got the pirates to share their Pandora Cannons,” he swung his hands in frustration. “I finally put Griffin and his pirates against you, and even got you take a hit from a Pandora. But noooo, you didn’t die. Turns out the energy beings are nice people. Not only did they save you from the Pandora blast, but they seem to have unlocked your control over the Elementa of Light as well.”
He stood there beaming, as though everyone was going to appreciate the intricacy of his plan.
“All this terror,” Q said. “It was you.”
“Ah yes, it was was me. But you know,” the man smiled. “For all it’s worth I’m glad the Seraphian didn’t kill you when she could have. That’d have just been unsatisfyingly simple.”
“What?!”
“Oh, she didn’t tell you?” he acted confused. “Now why would she do that? Oh! Of course! Because she’s a spy. I sent her to Aliea to kill you and the idiot ended up escorting you all the way here. But I must say, she did help me out a lot. If she hadn’t injected you and the knight with my concussion I’d never have gotten to toy with your dreams.”
Q turned to Elizabeth, his eyes wide, his mouth gaping. She refused to meet anyone’s eyes, and kept staring at the floor. “You were the intruder that day,” he said. She kept staring at the floor. That was a good enough answer. He couldn’t believe it. This couldn’t be happening.
“Don’t you all want to know why she did it?” he laughed. “Stories are so, so interesting you know. I could go on and on.”
“SHUT UP!” Elizabeth yelled and the ground around the Masked Magician sprouted ten stone pillars, each one ending in a sharp spike.
The Masked Magician ran his hands along the spikes, “Such good artistry don’t you say? I’d say you got it from your dad,” he paused. “Such a pity you murdered him.”
Elizabeth fell to the floor, her face in her arms, sobbing quietly.
Murdered. The word rang clear in his mind. Elizabeth was a murderer.
“You children have such nice stories, makes me want to listen to every last one of them.”
“You,” Q walked towards the Masked Magician, his hands forming balls of fire. “Leave us alone!”
He threw them straight at him but this time the attack didn’t even hit him. The fireballs stopped in front of the Magician and just dissolved.
“Such disappointment,” he said. “I’d expected a better fight. Maybe I should rustle you up a bit.” He put his hand up, and Kai flew into the white walls. His body slumped to the floor, and Q instantly knew he’d been knocked out.
He turned to the Magician, “Stop this. This is madness.”
“Have you even listened to what I’ve been saying? I am madness.”
“You don’t have to be that way. You can change,” he walked closer. He needed to buy time for now.
“Oh really? I don’t have to be madness?” he said. “Let me ask you something Q. Have you ever seen death?”
Q stopped cold.
“Have you ever watched the people you love die? Stared at their death from far, far away while you’re alone, helpless? Have you ever looked at your past and felt so much pain you’d do anything to change it?”
“Listen, I don’t know what exactly happened.”
“Galactic year 1953. At 1452 hours the Atarians detonated a god-level nuke at the core of Valkyrie. Blasted it to bits. My home planet,”
Q remained quiet.
“Organizations. People. Cadets. Weapons. All a pointless cause. This reality doesn’t even know how to protect an innocent race. The only time our system was perfect was right after the Great War ended,” he smiled. “Sometimes you need to make history repeat eh?”
“You’re can’t be serious,” Q’s eyes went wide.
“Did the energy beings teleport you properly or did they mess up your brain?” he turned to everyone else. “You should take better care of him. He can’t tell if I’m serious or not.”
“You won’t get away with this.”
“And who do you think will stop me?” he laughed. “You?” The Magician threw his hands up, and everyone, including him, shot into the air. “You don’t know my Elementa boy,” he laughed.
Q’s eyes went wide, and he could hear gasps through the intercom.
The Magician brought his hand down and they all crashed into the floor.
Q felt the breath knocked out of him.
The Magician kicked him onto his backside. “Gravity is such a pain, eh?”
***
Q’s breathing became more rigid, and his vision started to blur.
The Magician caught him by the neck and lifted him straight off the floor.
“Do you still think you have a chance?” he said and threw Q away like he was swatting a fly.
He hit the floor hard and rolled over before crashing into the white wall. There was no way Q was going to beat this man. He was too strong. He controlled gravity for god’s sake! How was he supposed to beat something like that?
Q lifted his head up, and looked around him. Everyone lay on the floor, completely knocked out. He knew he was probably going to join them soon.
“You better beat me quickly, Q,” the Masked Magician said. “A few more hours and the gates to the other world will completely open.”
Q lifted himself off the floor, and instantly a sharp pain shot through his leg.
Broken ankle, he thought. He limped over to the Magician.
“Ah, back on your feet,” he said. “We can go for round two if you want.” He lifted Q off the ground and rammed him into the wall, the Magician’s Elementa holding him to the mini crater he’d caused.
“This is fun, you know,” he said and threw Q straight down at the ground.
Q’s mind was going blank. He knew he’d broken bones. There was no way he was going to be able to move after this.
The Masked Magician stood beside him. He put a foot on the armor over Q’s chest. “Sad to see that my so called nemesis is this weak,” he said.
Q’s hands trembled as he tried to reach the Magician’s leg. The masked man kicked aside his hand, causing more unbearable pain.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he smiled.
Now, he thought.
His hands shot out a flamethrower, propelling toward the Magician.
He tackled the man and pinned him to the ground. The Magician tried pushing him away but Q held on tight.
Q’s mind focused on his inner energy and he imagined it flowing out of his body, he imagined sucking himself completely dry.
“You’re going to have to do much better,” the Magician levitated both of them into the air. “Bon voyage my boy. It was a fun trying to kill you. Sadly, even I have an obligation to put my toys to rest, permanently.”
The Magician clasped his chest and screamed out in pain. They dropped to the floor
and crashed hard. The Magician desperately tried to escape Q’s grasp but Q wasn’t planning on letting go anytime soon.
“What….have….you….done?”
The walls of the towers started to distort and collapse. The debris around him started floating, and so did Taylor and the others.
Gravity was going crazy.
Perfect, he thought.
He focused as hard as he could, searching the innermost depths of his conscious and summoning every bit of life energy he had.
The Magician threw his head back in agony, his whole body glowing with a dark aura.
Q finally let go of him and charged away, which with a limp leg, was just sort of a crawl.
Luckily for him, Taylor was back up.
“Taylor, we need to get everyone out,” he said, hoping the intercom hadn’t broken.
The Dark Knight nodded and headed towards an unconscious Kai and Chris.
He limped to Elizabeth and lifted her over his shoulder.
He felt a mild pull acting on his suit.
The walls of the tower started to crack and fall onto the floors.
“Taylor. Leave. Now!” he yelled and half-limped, half-walked out the broken gaps in the tower walls.
Taylor left those two in the Orion and came back to help him and Elizabeth.
“Get us out,” he told Taylor, and finally removed his helmet.
The Orion left the surface as the tower slowly collapsed into a sphere of darkness that seemed to suck in everything around it.
He fell into his chair and hoped there weren’t any more obstacles left.
He was done for the day.
***
5-5
When Q opened his eyes he noticed he was in the Orion’s infirmary.
“You’re awake,” Taylor smiled at him.
“More importantly, I’m not dead,” he laughed.
She walked towards him, “For a moment, we did think you were though. Your heart stopped.”
“Figured that would happen when I exhausted my life energy.”
“Everything has started to move back to normal. The anomaly disappeared, and the black holes have all stabilized again. That guy seems to have caused everything. What did you do to him anyway? ”
The Quest Saga Collection: Books 1 - 5 Page 25
