The Quest Saga Collection: Books 1 - 5

by Dhayaa Anbajagane

  “Welcome, Dr.Trisha,” a feminine voice said and the elevator door opened. Kai checked the corridor one last time to make sure no one had seen them.

  “Get in, will you,” Trisha pushed him into the elevator and hit a few buttons. She looked gleeful, her hands and legs moving all over the place.

  “You sure are excited about this,” Kai said, hoping that her enthusiasm wouldn't let her get carried away.

  “Are you kidding? This is the most fun I’ve had in years.”

  “Being a healer is a pretty boring job, huh?”

  “You have no idea,” she sighed.

  The elevator stopped and the doors slid open. Kai crouched a little, ready to charge out and counter if they were attacked. Unless the enemy was a blank wall, the whole place was completely clear. He double-checked for enemies one last time before they walked ahead into the main control room.

  The interior of the room was completely black, making Kai feel like he was in the depths of space itself. A quiet whirring noise was the only thing he could hear apart from his own heartbeat.

  “There it is,” Trisha pointed ahead of her. “The main computer.”

  A bright sphere of light lay afloat inside a glass box, and the box hovered above a radiant green circle. Flicks of dark blue electricity ran through the bright sphere.

  “Wow,” Kai’s eyes glistened at the sight.

  “We call it the ‘Brain’,” she said. “An entity capable of any sort of computation.”

  “Wait, so the main computer is that sphere of light in there?”

  “It’s not a sphere of light,” she said. “It’s hot plasma. The temperature inside the box is super-hot, turning the Harvium metal inside it into an electron-proton soup.”

  “So the whole mothership is run by this soup being?” Kai found it quite weird that a bowl of soup, even if it were high-tech, could be that efficient.

  “We use Quantum computing in this plasma ‘soup’ to make it exponentially faster and more powerful. The Brain is not limited by any physical form so it can compute at speeds almost a hundred times faster than any computer we know of. We use short pulses of light to communicate with it in binary and it can use the exact same method to communicate with us.”

  “Wait, communicate?” Kai asked. “So that thing is an Artificial Intelligence?”

  “A.I, yes,” Trisha said. “The best Artificial Intelligence unit I’ve seen so far. Those sparks of blue electricity are formed when the A.I is highly active.”

  “Amazing,” Kai stared in awe at this scientific wonder.

  Trisha pushed him forward, “Now go and hack it,” she said.

  “Hack that?” he said, sounding less confident with every word.

  He had cracked open Aliea Academy’s computers hundreds of times, and found the server filled with pictures of cats misspelling words and a personal message from Carlos telling him that he was suspended from having Ice cream for the week. He always managed to sneak the ice cream in anyway, but that’s not the point.

  Right now, this ‘Brain’ thing, or whatever it was, didn’t seem like it had a computer code that he could exploit. Usually with a computer, there were certain lines of data and electricity that he could get access to by trying different things. A machine’s security system had certain conditions, or protocols, and a hacker basically was a wreck monkey, doing all sorts of things to try to overload the system and make it crash.

  Trisha looked at Kai’s face, “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Unfortunately, I’m not an expert at hacking a bowl of soup,” he said and walked towards the glass box.

  The blob of energy inside it glowed brightly, small sparks of blue shooting all around it.

  “It seems to be working at full capacity,” he said. “It might make things easier. You just make sure no one comes in and interrupts.”

  “Done.” Trisha stood next to the elevator. It was the only way into the control room. Kai felt secure. If anyone dangerous came up, Trisha would be ready to knock them out. Hopefully.

  He turned and looked at the computational marvel in front of him, trying to figure out some kind of method to get into its system. He knew he had to activate his powers to have even a slight chance at actually getting into this thing.

  He closed his eyes and tried to focus his mind. He numbed his senses, concentrating on nothing but his thoughts. He felt a strong jerk on his body and he tumbled forward.

  When he opened his eyes he saw that the room had morphed into an empty void. Black and white shapes of the weirdest geometry surrounded him. They didn't seem like anything harmful though, and just floated about still and lifeless. He cranked his neck around like an owl, trying to figure where the heck he was. He wasn't exactly fond of geometry and this seemed like his nightmare was gaining life.

  “Who dares tread upon my territory?” boomed a voice, each word pushing Kai back with amazing force.

  The unfamiliar objects in front of him spread out, leaving a tunnel of space clear and void of anything. He could see the faint image of a sphere of white light on the other side.

  Kai’s mind clicked. Everything suddenly made sense. He knew where he was now. Inside the ‘Brain’. Inside its consciousness.

  “I will ask one last time,” the Brain said, “Who art thou?”

  Kai floated silently, wondering what to do. He couldn’t just go up and say ‘Hi! I’m going to hack into your system. Could you help me?’ Maybe if he lay very still the Brain would think he was one of those shapes and leave him alone.

  “Metal user, heed my call,” Its words blared through the quiet space. “Show yourself to me else thou will needlessly fall.”

  Two things went through Kai’s mind. First, he was astounded. How did this being know about his Elementa of Metal? It had never seen him use it. And second, this guy had amazing poetry skills.

  “What does thou want?”

  Kai remained quiet, desperately trying to summon the courage to face what was possibly the strongest mechanical entity built.

  “Very well,” the Brain said.

  Kai seemed confused. What was it trying to do?

  “I shalt give thou control of the ship if thou art able to beat me in a duel.”

  Kai’s mouth literally dropped open, his hands manually closing it a second later to make sure the smaller cones and cylinders didn’t float into it.

  “The powers of mind reading do not evade me. I can see what it is thee desires.”

  “I should have figured,” Kai grinned. The Brain was the enemy, sure, but it was also a darn good piece of machinery, a God-like one at that. He couldn’t help feeling impressed.

  “We shall begin,” it said. “Thou will face the foes I set up against thee and emerge victorious. Are the terms agreeable?”

  “It’s a deal,” Kai said, smiling. All he had to do now was take down everything that stood up against him. It sounded pretty easy when he put it like that.

  A small rumble escaped through the field of shapes and dissolved the black and white figures of geometry into absolutely nothing. The darkness around him disappeared and the scenery changed.

  Bright greenery flashed all around him, some sort of tropical forest, no doubt. Large trees created a canopy that blocked the sunlight from entering the forest. Flowers of every kind and color bloomed across patches of the ground, like a beautifully painted picture.

  “We shall begin,” the Brain’s voice echoed from the sky. “Thou will have to win four battles before thee can face me.”

  “Level One,” a female voice ran through the air.

  Kai wondered if the Brain was talking in the female voice or if he had some sort of assistant to help him out. He was quite intrigued at the thought, but his mind was alert to the dangerous situation. It diverted himself to the scene unfolding right in front of him.

  Glowing particles rose from the ground and came together in front of Kai, forming a humanoid shape. When the light died down, he could finally see who he was going up against.
r />   Was it an A-level beast? Maybe one of those griffins, or maybe even a wyvern.

  He shuddered when he realized who he was up against. Kai wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. The Brain had faced him against one of the worst opponents he could imagine.

  Carlos.

  ***

  Kai couldn’t believe who the Brain had brought up to be his first opponent,

  Carlos stood right in front of him, in a long blue robe embroidered with stars and planets, his regular outfit at Aliea. Kai realized what was going on, and he wasn’t too surprised that the duel had turned out this way. This Brain was pulling memories from his mind and then using them against him. This machine was really crafty.

  Carlos lowered his legs and crouched, his hands close to his body. Before Kai could move, Carlos pivoted his left leg into the ground and swung around, letting his right foot thunder into Kai’s chest and throwing him through the air.

  Kai landed hard and lay still, trying to get some air into his lungs. He pushed himself off the ground and took a fighting stance. He felt his energy within him and summoned it all around his body. He was going to need a tremendous amount of power and concentration if he wanted to end this as the winner.

  He turned his hands to the ground and focused, his fingers and wrists vibrating with the intense energy that flowed through them. The fine sand rose all around him and shot into his outstretched palm all at once. A multicolor light flashed in his hands, and when it stopped glowing, he was wielding a full-fledged sword, its sleek blue blade ready to raze anything that came at him.

  “Impressive,” the Brain’s voice came from the sky. “You used your life energy to turn your hand into a magnet and bring out all the metals you could use. Truly a spectacular technique.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Kai waved the Brain off. He didn’t need a supernatural distraction during a crucial battle. He summoned his strength and charged forward, his sword pointed at Carlos’ throat. Carlos, though, was agile, and dodged it easily. Kai kept striking, slashing, and hacking as fast as he could, but Carlos seamlessly evaded all the attacks.

  “Stay still!” Kai yelled out, his frustration getting to him.

  He tried studying Carlos’ movements. He hacked away, this time focusing more on where his opponent was going rather than where he could hit him. Once he switched over to that state of mind noticing the dodging patterns was easy.

  Carlos’ dodge always started with him swaying to one side, and then shifting to the other almost immediately. His feet were the biggest giveaway. One of his legs always bent to the side he was really trying to dodge to.

  Kai had found a pattern. And now he could exploit it.

  He waited patiently for another chance. He wanted Carlos to attack him this time. It would give him the perfect opportunity to dodge and head in for a counterstrike.

  He lingered around Carlos’ attack range, and Carlos charged at him, just as intended. Kai got ready to strike, planting his feet on the ground to get as much force as he could into the jab.

  But Carlos seemed to have other ideas. He didn’t sway away this time and instead slid to the ground, unleashing a furious uppercut-like kick onto Kai’s chest.

  Kai was given wings as he flew high into the air, and then gravity stole his wings and threw him to the ground. He really didn’t enjoy being in a tug of war game between Carlos’ kicks and gravity.

  He took a final chance. He held tight onto his sword and charged at Carlos, getting him to dodge. He faked a jab into Carlos’ rib cage. He saw Carlos’ left leg bend to his right.

  He quickly stabbed towards the right. This time Carlos was taken by surprise and didn't slide under the sword.

  Kai held Carlos at point blank range, his sword blade hovering above his chest. “Surrender,” he demanded.

  “Well done,” the Brain said. “A splendid battle.”

  Carlos glow. His entire body disintegrated into particles and sunk into the ground.

  “Level two,” said the female voice.

  “You can’t even give me a break?” Kai complained

  The sky darkened. The trees fell down with a huge thud and sunk into the ground. The falling trees made Kai feel a strong urge to yell, ‘timber’. The entire sky rumbled in the wake of terror. Rain beat down on him and the wind howled in his ears. Bright lightning lit up the sky and the thunder shook the ground. Kai waited for his next opponent.

  A flash of lightning hit the ground a few feet away, creating an explosion that knocked him off his feet, and out of the smoke came his next opponent.

  Taylor.

  “C’mon,” Kai yelled at the skies. “What’s with using my friends all the time?!” The sounds of the storm were the only reply.

  He scanned his opponent. Taylor was in her regular Dark Knight armor, deathly aura and all. He had to squint hard to even see her in all this darkness. The fact that her suit was black didn't help him a bit.

  Taylor moved swiftly, turning into a shadow figure that could be seen only in the lightning.

  Kai was very frightened. Humans, as a species, had a natural affinity to be scared by darkness and Kai had a natural affinity to be scared by Taylor. Put those two together and you had one hell of a nightmare.

  The wind around him stopped and everything turned silent.

  And then it all started.

  A blast of lightning hit the ground inches away from him, giving him a precious second of bright light to look at the world.

  He didn't like what he saw. Not one bit.

  Taylor was right next to him, arms poised, sword drawn. He held his sword up, desperately trying to defend himself. She hacked away at him, her blows as shadowy and silent as her movement. The dim sparks from the sword-on-sword clash were the only things that Kai could see. A faint shadow was all that he could use to predict Taylor’s blows. That and the quiet whisper of her blade flowing through the ghastly wind.

  His mind was racing. Taylor was dealing a strike every second, her tremendous strength pushing him back with each blow. He couldn’t let her keep lashing out. She would wear him down in quick time. ‘Run and hide’ wasn't an option here either, and when the most cowardly solution is ruled out, you pretty much know you’re in a horrible situation.

  Kai’s heart beat faster and faster, the intense physical and mental pressure taking a toll on his body. He needed to find a solution and fast. Taylor’s blows were getting harder to predict. His initial thought was to throw Taylor off balance to gain some time. He would have to be really skilled to do that, and it would mean certain death if he missed. Was it worth the risk?

  Only one way to find out, he thought.

  The Dark Knight began her second range of strikes, fiercer and faster than the first. Kai kept dodging, waiting for the opportune opening. Taylor loved long flowing movements with her strikes. She jabbed at him, pivoting her leg into ground and swaying around to deliver a blow to his right before back flipping straight at him, her sword at his chest. Kai dived out of the way and the sword hit the ground, sinking into it like it was slicing a piece of cheese.

  A flash of lightning shone, and she disappeared from his view along with her sword. Kai knew she was making an attacking run. He closed his eyes, focusing his entire attention on the sounds around him. He drowned away the pit-pat of the rain and the rumble of thunder. All he could hear was a calm silence. A small gust of wind blew into his right. He stepped back, and felt Taylor charge right past him. Another flash of lightning shone. He saw her dig her sword into the ground, using it to turn herself around with amazing speed.

  “I got you,” he said.

  He ran forward, twisting his body to the right. He uncorked his torso and threw the sword right at Taylor in one fluid motion. He heard her slash at the sword, knocking it to the ground. Kai used the distraction, and a timely flash of lightning, to catch her by the wrist and pull her down. She lost her balance, and went tumbling over. He picked his blade off the ground and pointed it at Taylor, who was desperately trying to get out of the muddy
slosh.

  Kai looked at the sky, “Next,” he yelled out.

  A flash of lightning hit Taylor and she instantly disappeared.

  “How about we play two on one this time?” the Brain said.

  The earth cracked open in a fissure and two glowing humanoids climbed out. The storm hadn't gone away and neither had the darkness, but Kai could still make out who he was going to face. He knew these two were people very well, one much more than the other.

  Who were they? Well, one was dear to him. And the other?

  It was him.

  ***

  Chris’ face froze in a scream as she watched the massive chunk of metal plummet down from the battle camp’s roof and towards her still body. Someone tackled her just as the block came crashing into the floor.

  “That was a close one,” a figure gave her a hand up.

  It took Chris a few seconds to realize that Lisara was the one who had just helped her.

  “You two! Are you coming or what?!” A bulky man yelled, probably one of the General’s subordinates. “The transport ship won’t wait any longer.”

  Chris looked around. Everyone other than her and Lisara had disappeared. She rushed out of the camp with Lisara right next to her.

  A huge black ship lay in the snow right in front of the camp. Lines of neon purple highlighted the ship beautifully. A panel on the side of the ship slip open and a ladder extended to the surface.

  Chris and Lisara climbed the ladder in haste, mainly because the general was yelling at them for being late, and also because the wind was threatening to blow them away on an ‘Around Zygrade in 90 days’ special.

  The inside of the ship was a complete opposite of its dark exterior. Bright lights flashed everywhere. The white walls and furnishings reflected back the light so fiercely that it looked like they were shining as well. The cadets were the only ones who were non-luminous in this pure white ship.

  Chris and Lisara sat themselves down in a row of seats at the end. The ship rose a few seconds later and headed towards the mothership. Chris wondered what Kai was up to right now. She couldn't wait to meet him on the mothership.