25. Dirge
of the Rat Queen
Deep in the oil fields of Bakersfield, smoke billowed into the sky. Below
it blazed a fire composed of charred metal and two smoldering automobiles.
I can't believe it... Grayson
thought to himself, staring up at the sky. He really did it. He destroyed my
Benz!
Grayson was careful to keep his body still during the crash, because if
he moved or shifted something around, his aura would have been disrupted, and
he could have been seriously hurt. If this had been in any other dimension, it would
not have been a problem. In any other dimension, he could have easily knocked
both cars aside. This, however, was Earth, the dimension with a powerful
vacuum that made it very difficult to channel psynergy. Not only did it cause a
splitting headache, it also took ten times as much exertion.
Although he hated to admit it, Grayson had barely made it in time.
Frank had caught him utterly off guard – mostly because Grayson would have
never thought the meek little Earthling actually had the guts to try and kill
him.
Despite his handicap, Grayson had successfully been able to produce a
considerably thick layer of psynergy around his body during the crash, protecting
himself when his body was flung through the windshield, then again when Frank's
car fell on top of the whole mess.
All in all, it had felt like a hard tackle. It certainly wasn't pleasant,
that was for sure. Grayson reeled, but made sure to keep his aura steady around
him. Frank had really done a number on him. That was two strikes, now.
Grayson channeled some more psynergy into his hands, trying to lift the
Benz off himself. In another dimension, this much psynergy would have been
sufficient to destroy a small town, but because of the vacuum, Grayson had to
work much harder just to remove himself from something as insignificant as an
automobile accident.
Although it felt like someone was drilling into his brain as he did so,
Grayson summoned up his strength and pushed up with his hands and his back,
barely keeping both the Benz and Geo from completely crushing his body within
the blazing mess.
Things were going nowhere fast, so Grayson decided to take another
route. If he couldn't push these troublesome objects off with force alone, then
he'd simply have to destroy them. All it took was a spirited injection of some volatile
psynergy, and soon Grayson was ejected from the death trap by a powerful explosion.
He hadn't been able to fully protect his body, and was even thrown a good twenty
feet from the catastrophe.
His glasses were caked with ash, his suit was in tatters, and worst of
all, his blond hair had been singed. Grayson craned his neck upward from the
ground and could see the flames of the vehicles dying across the path. I'll
let you get away this time, Frank... Grayson thought with a smile. I
have to say, you've done an exquisite job of outdoing yourself. You deserve a little
vacation.
He slipped an aching hand into his suit and pulled out his cell phone
from the inside pocket, then pushed a speed dial button. It rang once, twice
*************
and then three times, but the owner neglected to pick it up. The cell
phone rang as the fake Grayson kicked Edward square in the jaw, sending the man
stumbling backwards into a table. Finally, on the fourth ring, he gave in and
whipped it out: a compact, pink phone with multi-colored straps attached to the
corner.
"What?" the fake Grayson asked in an irritated tone.
"I'm kinda busy here."
"Madeleine..." Grayson's sharp voice came across the
line. "What have I told you about taking on my form? Emergencies only! Or
have I mistaken my own rules?"
There was a bit of silence inside the records room before the one named
Madeleine replied. "I figured it'd be the easiest thing to bring Edward
back with. I mean, he trusts you a lot, doesn't he?"
"Did it work?" Grayson asked.
"Actually, no. The plan backfired completely."
Grayson sighed. "Well, what is his condition right now?"
"I had to knock him out," Madeleine said. "The guy was ranting
and raving about wanting to know where his son is. I don't know how much he knows
now, but it seemed like he got a good look at most of those files."
"Interesting..." Grayson chuckled. "Well, we can't lose
him. There are too many ways he can be utilized in the future."
"Whatever you say," Madeleine responded listlessly.
"Want me to take him back home?"
"That's a good idea," Grayson replied. "Then, I want you
to come pick me up."
"Pick you up?" Madeleine asked. "Why, what happened?"
"Some complications." Grayson said. "Just get going, before
Edward wakes up. Stay on the line so I can guide you here."
"So you're not gonna tell me what happened?"
"That can wait," Grayson replied flatly. "I'm injured,
and not in the best condition to begin a detailed narration."
"Hah!" Madeleine chuckled. "You got injured? What
were you doing? Did you get into a fight or something?"
"My car fell onto me, then another one fell on top of it, then I
blew them both up," Grayson spoke humorlessly.
"Oh."
"Focus, Madeleine, focus, and get going. We have no time to waste."
"Whatever you say, Snake."
*
Cliff raised his hands from his master’s shoulders and pointed his
shotgun at the Rat. "Release her!"
Mephistoclessia’s fingers twitched in response. Green psynergy sparked
through the ruined assembly hall, and soon countless bodies rose to their feet,
surrounding the Knights. Mephistoclessia stepped backwards into the crowd, allowing
the zombies to form a solid barrier around her.
"Now what do we do?" Vance asked Averyl.
"Maybe," Averyl rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "you
should run."
Vance and Cliff blasted the dead to pieces as they attempted to wrench Azuka
away. Still at the throne, Eden was busy taking down a separate horde.
"Is there any way to remove those psynergy threads?" Vance pointed
to Azuka. "We could just do that and run."
"Hmm..." Averyl studied Azuka, swatting a zombie away with his
hand as he did so. "Yes, there is a way. Allow me to have a look at her
while Mephistoclessia's preoccupied..."
Cliff eyed Averyl ferociously and aimed his shotgun toward the Zodiac.
"You keep away!"
Averyl frowned. "That's not very nice."
Vance quickly caught up. "Wait, Cliff! Averyl's going to help
her."
"Why the hell would he do that?!" Cliff shouted angrily.
"He’s on that monster’s side, Vance!"
"No, he isn't!" Vance screamed back.
"Actually, yes, I am," Averyl corrected.
"He knows how to remove the psynergy from your captain,"
Vance went on. "We could have her back to consciousness in no time. Then
we can get out of here!"
"It's no use..." Cliff bit back his despair. "She's been
killed...just like the rest of them."
"Not true." Averyl lightly placed his hand on Azuka's
shoulder. "You can feel her psynergy, can't you?"
"Yeah." Cliff watched Averyl's every move. "But that's
just because she’s being controlled!"
"No." Averyl stared at Cliff. "When a person dies, their
psynergy instantly extinguishes, like a flame. Mephistoclessia likes to leave
strong, skilled warriors alive so that she can use their talents as she wishes.
Your captain’s body was merely frozen."
Vance saw hope rekindle within Cliff's eyes. "How can you remove
the strings?"
"Vance, this may take a moment or two..." Averyl cradled Azuka's
body carefully in his hands. "You need to keep Mephistoclessia preoccupied
somehow."
Vance spun around, only to come face to face with an approaching
zombie. As the dead man shot toward him, Vance quickly channeled his psynergy
and punched it in the face. For the moment, it was out of his way, and he tried
to scan the perimeter for any sign of Mephistoclessia. His eyes were inevitably
drawn to Eden, who was still madly firing psynergy blasts at the crowd of meat puppets.
Coating his fists with psynergy, Vance stepped around Cliff and Azuka. Nine
zombies stood ahead of him, and he'd have to go fast if he wanted to grab Eden
and make it back before Mephistoclessia found out what was happening. Seizing his
chance for a pre-emptive strike, Vance punched the first zombie in the stomach
as hard as he could. The effect was less than he’d wished for, but he still
made it stumble backwards into the others.
After a few moments, the zombies spun to face him. Is she watching
me? Is that how they’re doing this?
He glanced at the two pillars on either side of him, then energized his
foot to kick the next puppet. As he followed through with the attack, it not
only ducked, but spun around and grabbed his leg.
"Wh-what?" He tried to shake it free, but the grip of his assailant
was far too strong. Vance tried to stay on his feet, but his efforts were in
vain and more zombies began to close in on him.
One sunk its teeth into Vance's elbow, and he cried out in pain. While
more decomposed hands reached out toward his body, he desperately tried to pull
himself free.
"No! Dammit!!" Vance screamed, eyes wide in fright as they
swarmed over him. He struggled as best he could, reaching
*************
for Azuka’s body, Averyl calmly set her on the ground and stretched out
her appendages. Cliff did his best to shoot down more approaching bodies as he listened
to Averyl.
"Mephistoclessia's threads grant her control over the synovial joints,
and therefore the motor skills of a human body. In order to control a living
person, however, she must subdue their brain as well."
Averyl ran a pale finger down Azuka's toned, muscular arms. With expert
control, he covered his finger in plum-colored psynergy, shaped in a sharp
point extending from his fingernail.
Averyl lowered his finger slowly toward the green line of psynergy lining
Azuka’s right arm. "Now, hopefully those two can keep Mephistoclessia busy..."
He glanced at Cliff's panic-stricken eyes. "Don’t worry...I won't make any
mistakes. I wouldn’t want to disappoint Vance, you see..."
The psynergy he currently employed was small, compact, and molded for
precision. Exercising shrewd care, Averyl slowly lowered his finger. The
psynergy knife sliced cleanly through the thread, and the green psynergy
dissipated.
"One down," Averyl whispered, "five to go."
Cliff brushed rivers of sweat from his brow and quickly shot down a corpse.
In the momentary break, he desperately scanned the room for Eden and
*************
Vance unleashed another blast. He’d been firing at the puppets for the
past five minutes, and his body was slowly starting to feel like a lump of
jelly. To make matters worse, over twenty of them were dogpiling him.
From behind, Eden released a massive orange blast toward the group surrounding
Vance. Citrus light exploded from her hands, enveloping them and doing something
different than what she had intended. Instead of simply smashing into them, the
psynergy seemed to flow through them. The dead failed to react as their flesh burned
and blistered. After a few moments, all the psynergy dispersed from the charred
bodies, leaving them smoking and immobilized.
That smell... Vance
heaved. That stench of rotting flesh...it’s so horrible.
His eyes drifted up to the ceiling, and he realized how Mephistoclessia
had kept such close watch over the situation. The Rat hung from the rafters by her
own thick green psynergy cords, busily controlling the undead horde with her
arms.
She shouldn't be able to dodge from that position...now's my chance.
Gathering psynergy into his hands, Vance took a deep breath. With eyes
on his target, he brought up a large orb with both hands and aimed it menacingly.
"And what are you going to do with that?" Mephistoclessia
taunted him.
Vance smirked, and then quickly phased the energy down to his feet.
When he stomped on the ground, it exploded and propelled his body up toward the
Zodiac. Mephistoclessia made no move, but Vance whipped his arms out, ready to
rip her down.
"Gotcha!" Vance screamed as he finally made contact and wrapped
his arms around her. "You're going do–"
"What," Mephistoclessia murmured, "are you trying to do?"
Even with his arms hooked around her waist, Vance was unable to dislodge
the woman from the ceiling. He panicked, trying not to lose his grip as he dangled
and realized his plan had been far too naive. In a last-ditch effort, he
raised his right hand up and tried to rip off the Zodiac's mask.
Mephistoclessia's hand flew out, slapping him away. "Pathetic."
The force was overwhelming, and he tumbled downward toward a new mob of
meat puppets ready to tear his body apart. It was then that he saw sharp green psynergy
flying out from Mephistoclessia's body. He tried to move out of the way, but in
the air, it was futile. Just as suddenly as he’d been thrown down, his body was
caught mere inches from the ground by the Rat's threads. Soon, he could no
longer feel his left leg...then his right leg...then his left arm...then his right
*************
arm was freed. Azuka's appendages had been completely released from Mephistoclessia's
psynergy now, and there was only one last thread to sever.
Cliff's shotgun ripped through the skull of another dead assassin as he
kept the Rat's soldiers away from Averyl and his captain. Slowly, but surely,
the zombies were thinning out.
"Hey!" He felt a sudden shift in Azuka's psynergy and whirled
around to face Averyl. "What happened?!"
"Silence. This is the most complicated one..." Averyl stared at
the glowing green thread on Azuka's head. "If I push too hard, I'll enter
her skull. Just in case I mess up – sorry in advance..." he grinned
eerily.
Cliff stared at Averyl, frozen in fear. The dark-haired man turned back
to Azuka and placed his knife on her forehead. Cliff's eyes pleaded
*************
with him to stop. "Vance!" Eden shouted. "Don't let her
control you like this!"
Vance flexed his arm and released a shockwave of psynergy that went rippling
along the ground. Bodies were torn to shreds as the wave of power continued straight
through the wall.
Eden barely evaded the blast, shaking her head in disbelief as Vance raised
both hands, targeting her once more. Terror paralyzed her, as the dread that
had been put to rest at the four-way intersection now came back to life. Vance
really was going to kill her.
In Vance's left hand, a dark purple orb crackled with psychic death.
The young man's face was blank, boring through her soul with his tiny, black
pupils as he moved in to slaughter her.
Mephistoclessia watched from above, marveling at the abilities of her
new puppet. She was so entranced with this surprisingly potent plaything, in
fact, that she was completely oblivious as Averyl successfully sliced the last of
her restraints on Azuka. Psynergy snapped away, and the Captain of the 4th division
of Dimensional Knights was finally free.
Cliff watched with profound relief as his superior opened her eyes and
sat up. She glanced at Cliff, then Averyl, and quickly stood.
"Where is she?" Azuka spoke in a deep, powerful voice. Her
eyes scanned the scene with the precision of an experienced warrior.
"Captain?" Cliff asked, leaning forward for recognition. "It's
me, Cliff! What's–"
In a flash, Azuka shot off from the ground, legs burning with psynergy.
Cliff stared at the singed tile that she had been standing on and quickly understood.
"She’s pissed."
A mass of dark psynergy rippled up Vance's left arm, growing ever
larger as Mephistoclessia continued to charge his body. Eden tried to move, but
then his right arm clamped around her throat. His skin felt so cold and lifeless,
as if he was already dead.
Suddenly, Eden heard a deep, guttural roar, and a flash of bright light
exploded. Vance's body was knocked to the side, and Azuka's psynergy nullified
his attack. Eden felt a soft breeze, and as she regained her sight, she noticed
the shadow of someone standing above her.
On the top of the golden throne stood Knight Captain Azuka Ingram, brimming
with fluorescent psynergy. Her feet stood perfectly balanced on the golden edge
as she brandished her bamboo sword.
"Hey, bitch," Azuka spat up to the dangling Rat. "Ready
to die?"
Next: Rainbow in the Dark
