19.
Lose the Illusion
Dark rainclouds continued to churn overhead, plunging the sky around the
Kantor District into darkness. Below, Cliff, Vance, and Eden stood at the foot
of the crater, watching their malicious new opponent rush toward them.
"He's coming to attack us?!" Eden shouted, panicking.
"Eden, I want you to run to the left," Cliff said quickly.
"Vance, you go to the right. Both of you have to focus on that machine, whatever
it is, and stop any projectiles that come out. Remember, you can cancel psynergy
out with your own!"
Eden and Vance heeded their orders and circled around their new enemy.
The caped, goateed man smirked at their attempt to thwart him and kept his eyes
firmly fixated on Cliff.
He's smart. Cliff pulled
out his shotgun from its strap and cradled it firmly in his arms. He's already
decided that he needs to take me out first. But I have the high ground,
and two allies on my side.
Nevertheless, the man continued forward, steel-toed boots digging into
the dirt as he ascended the crater's slope.
"I’m Cliff Walden, Vice-Captain of the 4th division of
Dimensional Knights," Cliff said, trying one last-ditch attempt at peace. "I
mean you no harm. I’m simply trying to recover my captain."
"And I’m Black Rylan, the famed magician-assassin. You Knights really
did it this time!"
"I’m here on a rescue mission," Cliff continued. "Not to
attack anyone. There's no reason for us to fight!"
"Ah, but there is." Rylan laughed. "Thanks to you Knights,
I’m out of a job now!"
Black Rylan kept a bloodstained card tilted up toward the sky and used
his free hand to pull another out from his pocket. Cliff hastily channeled his
psynergy through the shotgun, aiming a small tan orb toward his attacker. He
fired, and Rylan held up his new card. The blast collided with the center of
the card's glowing eye and disappeared.
Cliff could tell that Rylan was channeling condensed psynergy into his
cards, which made it hard to tell how much force would be contained in each
strike. The slim cards created the illusion that they would be quick, sharp
strikes, but Rylan could use his power to make them feel as heavy as wrecking
balls.
Then, Cliff noticed the shuffler in the sky had just launched out three
more cards toward him. He had no choice but to jump back, giving Rylan time to
prepare another attack. The Dimensional Knight fired his shotgun and dissipated
the three projectiles, wasting precious psynergy.
On opposite sides of the crater, Vance and Eden tried to shoot down the
shuffler. Vance cupped his hands together, trying to summon up as much power as
he could to create a blast worthy of nuking the device. The first time, he lost
his concentration and it disintegrated, but the second time, he was able to make
a fist-sized ball of energy. He tossed it at the shuffler, and while his aim
had been true, the shuffler swung to the side at the last minute. Eden tried the
same with a ball of equal size, but her attack also flew right past the agile
machine.
The shuffler produced another pair of cards as Eden clenched her fists
in frustration. This time, she created two small orbs in each of her hands and
tried to aim carefully. The first one missed entirely, but the second collided
with a card. Unfortunately, it seemed as if her blast hadn’t been strong enough
to nullify the entire thing. And so, both shot onward as five more phased in
behind them.
"Too weak!" Vance shouted across the crater. "Put some
more force into it!"
She watched as Vance powered up his own right hand, holding it firm
with his left. He was able to produce a larger ball and heaved it at the next
group. Not only was it powerful, but its size allowed him to take out two of
the cards at once.
"This will take forever!" Vance yelled in exasperation.
"He's obviously controlling this thing, so we should be attacking him
instead!"
The three remaining cards flew at Cliff, and he did his best to shoot
them down as he had done before. Black Rylan quickly took advantage of the
Knight's sacrificed defenses and tossed a new card of his own into the mix. It
cut into Cliff's upper arm, producing a tiny wound that sent him sprawling
backwards as if he had been hit with a bowling ball.
Rylan brought out yet another card. "You were unwise to separate
from your allies."
Eden ran around the side of the crater, arms charging a bright orange blast.
"Thanks, but we already figured that out!"
"Splendid," the magician-assassin scoffed. "But you won’t
be able to touch me with that measly thing!"
"No." Vance's voice sounded from the left side, his own purple
blast in tow. "But you're going to have to block one of these, aren't you?"
Vance was the first to launch his attack, which Rylan spun immediately to
block – once again, using a psynergy expulsion from his card to nullify the psynergy.
He was barely able to spin again and catch Eden's blast in time, smoke rising from
outstretched hands. By that time, though, it was far too late.
Cliff was inches from his assailant now, holding his shotgun at his
hips like a fire hose. A stream of tan psynergy erupted from it, slamming into
Rylan's side. Even with his psynergy guard up, the killer was thrown backwards
by the serpentine stream. As he neared the center of the space above the
crater, Cliff abruptly cut off his attack. The blast disappeared, and Black Rylan
went sailing to the ground.
"You two..." Cliff smiled. "You just can't listen to
directions, can you?"
"Wait." Vance stared ahead with wary eyes. "That thing’s
still in the sky."
"So what?" Cliff peered down at the crumpled assassin's body.
"He won't be moving any time soon. If he thinks he’ll be able to snipe us with
those measly cards and get away with it, he’s got another thing coming."
Black Rylan raised his head from the dirt slope, a mixture of dirt and
blood trickling downward. He looked over to the center of crater. Next to some
rubble was a hole with a thin steel ladder leading downward.
"You're planning to go in there, aren't you?" he coughed.
"And to think, I was going to give you such painless deaths."
"Let's go." Cliff motioned to Vance and Eden, ignoring the defeated
man. "Our goal here is to save Captain Azuka. We can't waste any more
time."
The magician-assassin squeezed his fists in frustration. "You'll
die in there! Die, I tell you!"
"We'll take our chances," Vance muttered, as he made his way
to the bottom.
"Wait," he shouted, abruptly changing his strategy.
"Wait, help me! You can't leave me here like this, in all this pain! It's
too cruel!"
"Allow this to be a time of reflection for your crimes."
Cliff spoke sternly as the three walked past Black Rylan. "We'll pick you
up on our way out."
The man's screams, cries, and death threats all began to fade as the trio
descended the thin ladder, passing through into the underground.
*
Bruce Wernhart stood on the balcony of one of the most prestigious,
expensive hotels in all of Enmetropolis, the Neon Mirage. Beneath
him, a sea of lights illuminated the sleepless city.
"See what I mean? This is the difference between me and that psycho
cyborg. I've got common sense. Sure, Van Kaen's strong, but how would he have
handled that rendezvous yesterday? The messenger would have been dead like the
rest of 'em. I like a good rampage just like any other man, but I know where to
draw the line, y'know?"
Bruce turned back into the hotel suite to confirm that his roommate wasn't
listening to a word he said. Mumbling a resigned expletive, the Tiger turned
back to the excellent view of the busy city. Below, gigantic holographic advertisements
and massive signs blocked his view of most of the streets. The Zodiacs would be
in Enmetropolis for a while now, scoping out the tournament location while also
training for the upcoming battles. The Belmarcian Tournament wasn't for months,
but Bruce liked the city. It had its fair share of dark alleys and shady street
corners, and no matter how rotten the citizens were, they sure knew how to
party.
Bruce picked up the glass of wine he had left on the table. And they
never run out of alcohol, either.
In the bedroom sat Bruce’s longtime ally and drinking buddy, Saffron
Morrigan. Saffron was lying face-up on the king size bed wearing thick cotton
long-johns. His freshly-polished armor lay on the floor, gleaming in the light.
Bruce would never be caught dead in such archaic gear, just as he doubted
Saffron would ever be inclined to try on any of his mesh tank-tops.
Saffron's medieval sensibilities did not extend to cosmetics, however.
Ever since he’d been introduced to modern products, the man had been loading
his wild, spiky mane of blond hair with a shameless amount of gel, spray, and
mousse. Even now, as he rested his head back, his beastly locks had taken reign
over most of the pillow.
"I'm telling you, man, you should just shave it off." Bruce
rubbed his striped head affectionately. "Way easier to deal with."
Saffron casually filed his fingernails. "The Monkey hath yet to return
from his lengthy vigil."
"He's still missing? Says who?"
"Roufas reporteth no wit of the knave's whereabouts." Saffron
moved on to his left thumb.
"Who the hell does he think he is?" Bruce growled. "When
he gets back, we gotta confront him. He does this way too much."
"Forsooth." Saffron continued staring at his fingernails.
"But however contemptible Averyl's aim, whatever cautel or crime may cometh,
I reckon he shall grace us before the festivities begin."
"He sure as hell better. This is serious shit."
"Lest we forget," Saffron said, finally moving his blue eyes
up to meet Bruce's. "‘Twas he who retrieved the clock."
Bruce snorted. "That's our fault for expecting that Winslow could
deal with it on his own."
Instead of offering another comment, Saffron hopped from the bed and
entered the bathroom. As he walked, his hair spiraled out down to his
shoulders.
"So, what's everyone else up to?" Bruce stretched out his
long arms.
"Rose hath escorted Roufas and Cecilia to the opera, while our other
pew-fellows succumb to their usual vices," Saffron's voice echoed from the
bathroom.
"Alright." Bruce yawned. "Just trying to stay current
with the news."
Saffron inspected his face in the mirror before he got dressed to head
up to the spa. Changing from his long-johns to a royal purple robe with gold
trim, he admired himself in a mirror – he was a king, in his own way. He possessed
great power, was well-versed in pain and torture, and the Dark Zodiacs had
acknowledged that. Being members of the strongest shadow organization alive
meant limitless access to a plethora of dark tools. Through serving the machine,
both Bruce and Saffron could go wherever they wanted and do whatever they
liked.
And right now, Saffron felt like getting an herbal face pack.
*
"Rylan was on the surface," Cliff explained as the three Knights
entered the underground base. "Which means he was the weakest of the
weak."
"You know Cliff, now that I've started practicing psynergy,"
Eden said, "I can appreciate how strong you really are. That huge blast you
shot was amazing!"
"Anyone can do it with practice. It just requires time for preparation,
a luxury I didn't have against the Dragon. He caught me off-guard. Repeatedly."
The ladder from the surface stopped at one end of a long catacomb. Iron
panels rose high off the floor, with a string of light bulbs continuing down
into oblivion. Haphazard, rusty screws fastened each panel into place, revealing
the chiseled foundation beneath.
"This is a pretty crappy secret base," Vance said. "What
exactly do they do down here, anyway?"
"Not sure." Cliff stepped forward. "Just be on the
lookout for any danger, and be sure to sense for any psynergy auras."
They didn't have to move far to find their first corpse: a plain-looking
man in a suit with multiple stab wounds. As they moved on, the body count piled
up, and the walls grew more wrecked.
"I've never seen so many dead bodies in my life." Vance wrinkled
his nose. "They just leave them to rot here like this?"
"I don't think giving them a proper burial is at the top of their
list of priorities right now, Vance," Eden answered sarcastically.
"Most of the fighting's already finished," Cliff said.
"But then why aren't the Knights back? Something's not right here."
Not much about the scenery changed as they walked on. Although the hallway
did branch out at several points, Cliff opted to walk the length of the main
strip first before they went anywhere else. After another twenty minutes of
walking and passing crude doors to other smaller rooms, they finally came to a
diagonal three-way fork.
"It's a maze?" Eden asked curiously.
"Don't be stupid. This is their base, why would they build a maze
in it?" Vance berated.
"They would, and this is." Cliff answered Vance's questions
as he inspected the passageways. "This'll slow us down."
"Well, we can always split up!" Vance quickly stepped ahead.
"Are you insane?" Cliff turned to him sharply. "Don't
even think about it, Vance!"
"Relax, I can always search for your auras and run if I get into
some trouble." Vance waved his hand in goodbye one final time before he
broke into a run down the right passageway. "Later, guys!"
"Vance!" Cliff shouted. "Haven't you learned anything yet?!
You can't survive on your own!"
"I can take care of myself!" Vance called back, his figure
growing smaller and fainter.
"We're going to have to go after him," Cliff grumbled.
"Maybe you should just let him go," Eden shrugged. "It’s
reckless, but if our goal is to find Captain Azuka, then splitting up is
probably the most efficient way to search."
Cliff gave Eden a curious look. "Aren't you worried about him?"
Eden sighed. "I don't assume that people need me to protect them
no matter where we go."
Cliff let out a frustrated grunt. "Eden, I know what you’re trying
to say, but this is a different matter entirely. Remember Winslow? What if he
runs into a Zodiac here?"
"Come oooon..." Eden insisted, grabbing Cliff's arm and
leading him down the middle passageway. "What are the chances of that?"
Next: A Palpable Phantasm
