Author's Note

I forgot to post these chapters to the CV Fanfic Forum due to working reasons.

So here we go!

I hope you enjoy Echo Praelior Chapter 5! If you want to read the other chapters in the Falcon Universe, or you want to read that failed Kombat Universe, click on my Fic-O-Pedia - Also check out my site. I usually post daily updates of when I am going to post a chapter on my website.

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Chapter 5 of Echo Praelior

“Where are we going?” Cannibal asked as Magna Rex led the group down a series of wide hallways where politicians, servants, and other residents of the palace were bustling to get their jobs done. Nearly everyone they walked passed made a silent nod at Magna Rex due to his new appearance; not being the traditional stumbling down the hallway drunk and vomiting.

“We are going to one of the scientific laboratories. They have something which allows us to go into someone else’s mind. I have done it before with Phadro but you going inside Trogon’s mind honestly worries me.” Magna Rex replied as they reached the end of the walkway and turned right into another wide and busy one.

“Why are you worried for me? I have suffered worse being lost in a part of the universe that I have never explored,” Cannibal replied then thought, ‘And for billions of years with no way to get back home.’

“Trogon’s mind is something of a fear machine. Due to the combined mentality of every soul, there should be about every single fear you can imagine in his mind. Together, he controls it but when someone is messing around in there, it falls apart. Trogon falls apart.”

'Why would they create such a monster?' Cannibal asked quietly.

Trogon heard the thought and decided it would be best to respond, ‘I am not a monster. I am just another person with 200 minds fused together. I may have my problems, but so does anyone with a mind.’

Cannibal thought quietly in his own mental space before responding in the shared one Trogon opened, ‘Where I come from there is no such thing as illness. Technology is so advanced that illness in any form is absent.’

‘If you had brought some of that technology to us instead of just showing up those billions of years ago, you may have returned home by now. Your family has a lot of enemies Cannibal. No matter what anyone says, people can be bought.’ Trogon replied as Rex stopped at a sealed metal door, ‘You have a fear of never returning. As soon as you step into that simulation, you will have to face it.’

“State your name and business.” A palace guard spoke from behind the sealed metal door.

“Magna Rex. We are having another problem with Trogon’s mind. It needs to be immediately resolved.”

The palace guard opened the metal door and motioned the group inside. He sealed it shut once everyone had been accounted for. The room was smaller compared to others in the palace. It was a sphere and had ten tables held diagonally by a robotic arm with a joint that stored the tables in the roof when they weren’t in use. The walls of the room were lined with holographic screens and consoles. The floor was made out pure glass and a bright light shined from the bottom.

Cannibal stepped up to one of the three tables that weren’t stored. It had a cranium shaped device at the top and the rest appeared to be some sort of liquid that would form to the body of the person but also keep it in place. This was designed with Trogon in mind, who started to through insane fits of rage when someone was in his mind.

Trogon started to wonder why Cannibal thought of him as a monster. No one had ever called him that in the palace or outside of it. He always assumed that would change if he ever stepped foot in the I.U.D.B. or Siloteri but he did not expect it from the Falcon family. They were presumably the most progressive on this side of the universe with tales of the Falcon Empire even being banned by the Siloteri.

“Is it my appearance?’ He thought. He looked down at himself and saw nothing but what he usually was forced to wear. It was a red battlesuit with white accents that Rex specifically told Trogon to never take off. But Trogon always wondered why he always had to have it on; even in his own privacy. He then began to wonder why he always needed black bandages around his face. Trogon has never seen himself without the bandages or the armor.

“Trogon!” Skana yelled.

Trogon jumped and saw that the others were already captured and sealed by the liquid in the bed. He lay on it and put his head down. He was no longer in his world but watching his mind through Cannibal’s eyes.

He now understood why Cannibal was afraid of him in the first place.

He wished he never did.

…

Falcon pushed Corvus on the couch and went on top of him. He growled as Corvus slowly then vigorously started rubbing his bulge that was clearly showing through his pants. He pulled Corvus of the couch and teased him as they both slowly undressed.

Corvus grabbed Falcon’s meat and slowly started stroking it making Falcon toss his head back and moan. Falcon grabbed Corvus and pulled him closer. Beads of sweat went down his chest as Corvus kissed his neck then started to suck his nipple.

Corvus continued his pathway down and Falcon gripped his hair as Corvus was just about to reach Falcon’s hard on. He decided to sit down on the couch behind him and rest as Corvus went to work with his length.

‘Why am I doing this?’ Falcon thought, ‘We had a mission to do. So why am I here wasting time on a recreational activity?’

Falcon pushed Corvus to the ground away from him and stared at his naked body for a second before speaking, “Why do you keep trying to fuck me? You did the same thing yesterday.”

Corvus started rambling, “I don’t know. Maybe it’s your hot, muscular physique. Maybe it’s your deep, almost orgasmic, voice or your tight ass that I would really like to fuck or your dominating presence. Maybe it’s,” Corvus looked for one second before looking at something else inside the ships living area, “how big your dick is. I mean, I don’t know how you look under that mask. Just that your body is very desirable.”

Falcon got off the couch and crouched with Corvus still sitting back on the ground, “How long have you been craving sex?”

Corvus thought back, “I don’t know. Jerking off isn’t cutting it anymore and it’s been billions of years since I’ve been with Rubrum.”

“8 billion years.”

Corvus almost looked back in shock, “That’s twice as long compared to the limit before— “

“People start craving sex.” Falcon finished the sentence. When they were still in the Falcon Empire, a genetic update occurred where any humanoid within the Falcon Empire wasn’t supposed to start having a primal drive for sex until the four billion mark of when they last fucked someone. This was done due to the fact that the primal need time limit, which was about one year, that was originally programmed wasn’t adequate enough for exploratory situations where a person may be stuck in an area of the universe with no contact whatsoever for more than ten billion years; much like the situation the Falcon family was in now.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this before when you started having cravings?” Falcon asked as he realized that he stood up, with his hand on his forehead, for more than enough time for Corvus to get up, dressed, and ready to leave. Falcon was still standing naked with the only thing on being his mask. The mask which appeared reminiscent of a falcon, never left his face unless he was in private. The only thing that showed was his bright white hair that Falcon has had since the Experiment.

“Because you don’t have passion,” Corvus said before pressing a button on a holographic screen, “We have to go talk to Kato.” A staircase opened from the floor as Falcon quickly put on his outfit. A green camo shirt with green camo shorts and a black leather jacket. Corvus wore something similar, difference is the jacket was camo green like the rest of the outfit. They were heading out into the jungle of Zotara to find the legendary outlaw.

Falcon took out his phone and touched a few things as soon as they were outside the ship. The ship cloaked itself and took off. It flew high above Corvus and Falcon so that, in the event of an emergency, Falcon could call it and make a quick getaway. Before Falcon put his phone away, he instinctively checked his notifications for news updates. Then he remembered he was far away from any Warp Link and it may take him another billion years just to get a signal.

“Some habits just stay with you for a lifetime.” Falcon muttered as he put his phone away.

Corvus instinctively knew what he was talking about, “I still try and check that emergency locater app to see if there is a ship nearby. While you guys turned that beacon off, I still have it on. I have hope a ship will pass by and we won’t have to continue this ridiculous plan.”

They proceeded through the thick vines and trees that were in their way. They were heading toward a small city that acted as a trading center for one of the major routes between the I.U.D.B. and Siloteri. Kato Slinger was a mysterious one at best. Corvus, during his reconnaissance, could not find a bio other than something labelled “dangerous criminal.”

Falcon motioned Corvus to stop, “Ship is telling me enemies up ahead. Through the trees.”

Corvus realized his bionic eyes weren’t providing an AR view of the jungle, “My eyes aren’t working.”

“My AR vision stopped working.” Corvus informed.

Falcon quickly turned and pulled another pair of eyes from his pockets and gave them to Corvus. Corvus removed both his eyes, bloody and seemingly worn down from use, and placed the new ones in. The white balls transformed back into Corvus’s normal looking, grey eyes. He now had that AR vision.

They both proceeded slowly behind the enemy, eight I.U.D.B. guards dressed in black heavy armor with masks, placed to stand watch over the road for any problems with shipments. Their other job was to watch for the giant animals that were common on Zotara. They were supposed to notify the main city so that others could put up the shields and raise the walls higher.

But, Falcon and Corvus didn’t know this. Falcon attached each soldier to the other in a mind link. This meant that whatever happened to one happened to all the others. Corvus stabbed one in the back and the rest fell at the same time, unconscious.

“There has to be a hatch that takes them somewhere underground. They wouldn’t walk miles.” Corvus commented as he looked around.

Falcon crouched under a huge tree that was next to them and saw a circular hatch inside, “Found it but look up.”

Corvus crouched and went inside and saw a sprawling tree filled with interconnected branches. It was pretty much hollow inside except for the shrubbery and vines that were inside it. Plans, insects, predators, and prey all coexisted under seemingly one biome until Falcon spotted holes in the trees and realized this was more of a sanctuary. He also noticed that none of the animals seemed bothered by the other.

“They aren’t killing each other.” Corvus broke the silence.

“That is the oddity that makes me want to stay here longer but we need to focus on the mission.” Falcon said before crouching next to the hatch and grabbing one of the handles. He lifted it and it opened with a hiss and smoke.

“Air compensation must be different inside. That would explain those weird masks that the soldiers were wearing and why this seal is so strong,” He looked at Corvus who was listening but visually distracted by the interior of the tree, “Come on.”

Falcon went in first and Corvus went in behind. The hatch closed behind them as they went down a tube which swayed and flipped around like a slide as it got deeper. They both got a notification saying that the air compensation was changing.

“Enemies as soon as you leave this tube.” The ship notified them and it showed up on their vision with about twenty people marked in a room below.

“Oh my fuck. Did you— “

“Already cloaked.” Corvus replied and Falcon looked behind him as he grabbed a small, rectangular device and pressed a button on it. They were both cloaked but the device only lasted two hours.

The hatch opened at the end and they dropped into a relaxation area. There were 20 soldiers sitting around watching a movie on a giant flat-screen. Rows of red leather chairs lined the room as if it were a movie theater. Corvus and Falcon quickly, but quietly, moved from the hatch toward an open door where there was a mess hall.

“Why did that hatch open?” The new recruit asked as she stood up from her chair and closed it.

“It’s a faulty hatch. Don’t worry about it.” A man answered. They were all in a white t-shirt and camo pants with the camo jacket wrapped around the waist. They were on their two-hour break.

“I will worry about it when the scheduled team doesn’t return.” Another woman added.

“Shouldn’t we call maintenance?” A man asked.

Another woman waved at her phone, “Eh, I’m on break.”

Corvus proceeded behind Falcon into the mess hall, ‘Good god. If any soldier were to act like that back home, they would be flogged for their insolence.’

Falcon avoided touching another person as he walked through the rows of cafeteria tables. The kitchen and dispensers were behind them so they didn’t have to avoid the people sitting down to eat. They had to avoid the people coming through the two doors.

‘Hell, I would publically flog them.’ Falcon replied.

They got out of the mess hall and into the main entrance of the base. It appeared to be a sort of lobby, with a check-in desk in the middle, and visible floors flowing in a circle above. As soon as they passed the door it disappeared behind them. They both waited until they were in a street with people and cars before uncloaking themselves.

“A hidden security base? In your reconnaissance, what did you find about the City of Zotarra.” Falcon spoke as they quickly walked through another group of people.

“The original people to arrive here established themselves in order to establish a colony that was not dependent on the I.U.D.B. or Siloteri. Of course, that all changed when our favorite two people started fighting over who knows what. Abraxas still won’t let me inside the Advanced Order’s Archives.”

“So this was a part of the deal that the Siloteri and I.U.D.B. made?”

“Yes, but apparently it becomes more complex than that. The majority of the population was human. Now it is 100% human but back then there was a 20% non-humans living in the city. As you can imagine the Minotaurs and the Reptilia Sapiens lived in slums. The human population was reluctant to let the I.U.D.B. and Siloteri take over until they promised to exterminate. At least, that was what I could get from the Frost Dragons archives until they kicked me out.”

After another five minutes of walking, they final reached the inner part of the city that wasn’t underground. The city was bustling with energy with multiple levels of streets and hundreds of skyscrapers dotting the sky. It started to feel like the Falcon Empire to them.

Falcon accidentally bumped into someone, “Sorry… Wait.”

The person turned around. She wore a brown overcoat and a black fedora, “Sorry sir… it cannot be.”

“Yes,” Falcon removed a pin from his pocked with the flaming symbol, “It is. What is a F.I.D. spy doing all the way out here?”

“My mission was to find you and that seems to have gone pretty well I guess. Your family sent another few spies to try and find you in this section of the universe. In fact, a spy that saw Corvus the other day with a few others in Advanced Order territory reported Corvus to be alive. The news became a big sensation across the Empire until the Novem Order attacked.”

Falcon and Corvus seemed unsurprised by this notion so the spy added, “There was a five-billion-year peace in the eight you have been gone. So it’s a surprise for the rest of us.”

Falcon and Corvus looked at each other flabbergasted. How much had they missed in the time they were gone? It didn’t matter now though. The spy most likely had a ship that they could return home in. But, they had started something and they need to finish it.

After a long silence, the spy spoke up, “I can take you guys back if you want. Finally get out of this situation.”

Falcon and Corvus thought together for a long time, “You can report back can you?”

“Yes. I can. Don’t tell me you are planning on staying.”

Corvus now took over the conversation, “We have new territory to gain and a whole lot of new allies. Its imperative we complete the mission. You say that only I was reported to be alive?”

“So were Tengah and Cannibal who were seen in other places.”

“Report back that the great Falcon himself is alive. That should help boost the morale of the war with Novem Order. Then personally report back to our family with a message.”

“What is it?” The spy asked as both men turned around and spoke into a little device. She stood there for a minute before Falcon handed it to her.

“There’s the message.”

“Ok, I will head to spaceport where my ship is. It closes in one hour and traffic is probably starting to get shitty so wish me luck.” The spy said as she pulled out her phone, unlocked a car that wasn’t hers, and drove it away.

“Do you think we made a mistake?” Falcon asked unsure of the decision he just made with Corvus.

Corvus motioned Falcon to follow him, “No because there is much for the Empire to gain from what we are doing. New territory, new allies, new technologies, new species, etc. We can’t return home without a present can we?”

…

Cannibal spent what seemed like forever watching a younger form of him eat people and others. He couldn’t move and couldn’t say anything as he watched his younger form, with sharp teeth, savagely eat a heart. There was blood all over the scene he was watching. A metal table in an abandoned house with barely any lighting while a naked, younger version of himself consumed the last body of his 20-person meal.

“Oh, I didn’t notice you there.” The younger Cannibal stood up and walked slowly toward him.

Cannibal stood there, he couldn’t think. He was blank.

His younger form spoke in his ear, “That was a delicious meal. Now it’s time you become my next one,” his breathe reeked of death.

Cannibal finally moved, pulled out a knife, and slashed at his younger self in the chest.

“Feisty one. Just how I like my prey.” The muscles of his enemy contorted while he spoke as if savagery had taken over him. He was an animal. A literal cannibal.

“Or, perhaps you would like to enjoy a meal for yourself?”

A body of a man appeared on the metal table. He woke up with the younger Cannibal looking over him with sharp teeth. The man screamed and tried to break out of the chains.

“Come on, older me. Enjoy this delicious meal.”

Cannibal’s urges that were once controlled suddenly came back to him. His greatest fear of returning to savagery was happening. Trogon appeared in front of him and pushed him back into the living room he was just in. The younger Cannibal tried to attack but Trogon held him telepathically in the air by the legs.

“Stop it. Save the man. This is a test.” Trogon finally said.

“But he looks so delicious.”

“Cannibal, listen to me,” Trogon dug his feet into the creaking wood floor as Cannibal pushed him, “Stop. Where is the sensible person I was getting to know before you went into this fear? Where is he!” Trogon screamed the last part.

Cannibal seemed to be snapping back to his senses as he pushed Trogon with less force. He slowly came to a stop and his eyes returned to their normal color. He looked at Trogon in his bright green eyes and finally realized what he was doing.

“Help me!” Cannibal yelled as he untangled the chains holding the man in place. Trogon untangled chains at the man’s feet and stood him up.

“Run.” Trogon said as the man bolted through the living room, with the younger Cannibal screeching, and left through the front door.

“You monster! You let dinner run away!” The younger Cannibal screeched.

Cannibal looked at his younger self, “I’m the one who is a monster? You were about to eat a man! I don’t know why you are still inside my mind but it is time you left.” Cannibal said before stabbing his younger self in the head. Trogon dropped the body headfirst into the wooden floor.

“Only five minutes has passed by the way.” Trogon broke the silence.

“What? Five minutes? That felt like hours.”

“The fear landscape extends time. Do you have any other fear besides never returning?” Trogon asked.

“No. I think that’s it. I have no other fears,” Cannibal replied, “But now you know my origin story. Now you know why I fear you. I was a creation gone wrong and Falcon was able to fix me but not after I killed hundreds of people.” Cannibal’s voice became thick with tears.

Trogon didn’t know what to do. He wanted to comfort Cannibal but something prevented him.

“At least you don’t have five fears like Rex does. He is on the third one. You may reach my mindscape in less time than he does.”

“How long does it take him?”

“15 minutes.”

“Well then, what’s the hold up? Let me beat him at the game he has played many times over.” Cannibal spoke confidently.

…

Falcon and Corvus were in the main square of the city which was alive with activity. They proceeded into the center of the square and looked for a place where Kato would possibly be. Corvus said that Kato was usually seen in the main square when night fell on Zotarra and it was still afternoon on this side of the planet.

“So what are we going to do for the next hour?” Falcon asked as a train passed by overhead at blazing speed on a track.

Corvus looked around and saw that people were either eating, being tourists, or going into the three clubs that were in the main square. He had an idea and he knew that Falcon was not going to like it.

“How about I go satisfy my urge.” Corvus stated as Falcon’s eyes rolled.

“But you go by yourself.”

“Suit yourself.” Corvus turned around and went back down the square. He entered the strip club and saw that Kato was sitting in a booth across from the bar with one woman and one man.

Corvus immediately called Falcon, “Target is in here.”

Falcon, because his ship was near, pulled out a rectangular device like the on Tengah gave to Abraxas and tapped on Corvus’s location. They both stepped through the people on the dance floor dancing to the erotic music. They stood in front of the booth Kato, who was in the darkest part of the seat, was sitting at.

“What do you two want? A blow job?” The man Kato was griping asked.

“Leave.” Falcon replied.

“I’m with Kato right now so I’d rather…” At that moment Falcon’s eyes flashed white.

Everyone in the club left after Falcon let out the most demonic, horrifying scream that even Corvus had never heard. People rushed out almost immediately and the man and woman Kato was griping fell as they tried to get out of the booth. They only three people left in the club were Kato, Corvus, and Falcon.

Kato stood up and emerged from the dark corner he was hiding in. He was muscular, had brown skin, and dark hair with purple accents that was done in a mohawk. His eyes were a cloudy red symbolizing greed. A black hat that was on the table, red tank top, and black jeans topped it off for possibly the most scumbag looking person Falcon had ever seen but also probably one of the most handsome.

“You two better have a good explanation as to why you decided to scare everyone off. It better not be the ‘I’m Falcon and I need your help’ type explanation either.”

“I don’t need your help because if I truly needed something I would have asked Abraxas to do it for me.” Falcon replied.

“Then why are you here?”

“We are going to force you to do something for us.” Corvus added.

Kato Slinger, the most dangerous bounty hunter on this side of the universe, looked at both of them as if they were insane, “This is how it works. You pay me for my services—“

Falcon and Corvus disappeared from sight and Kato slid over the table and stood in the middle of the club. He had his pistols, two revolvers, loaded and ready to fire.

‘If there is something that greedy people fear about losing.’ Falcon thought as he pressed something on his phone. The lights immediately went out and a metal gate sealed around the doors.

‘It’s their life.’ Corvus punched Kato square in the jaw sending him flying into the bar. Falcon grabbed him from behind the counter and threw him back on the ground.

Kato tried to fire his revolvers and missed as Falcon and Corvus grabbed one and reloaded it in Kato’s face, “Please, don’t kill me. I will do anything you want just don’t take my life.”

Falcon and Corvus stood Kato up and sat him on a stool. They handed him back his revolvers. Kato looked confused as Falcon and Corvus stared at him curiously.

“So… are you two just going to stand there?”

“No. We were just communicating mentally.” Corvus replied.

Kato’s confused looked turned into one of surprise, “What?”

“We have a mission for you which if you refuse, well we can just kill you right here and do the I.U.D.B. and Siloteri a favor.” Falcon stated.

Kato nodded quickly.

“We want you to infiltrate the I.U.D.B. this afternoon and work through the night to make sure that everything is prepared for an invasion we are planning. It will occur tomorrow morning. If you fail, your death is inevitable. Understood?” Corvus said as Falcon took something out of his pocket.

“Understood.” Kato replied.

“Take this. It will allow us to communicate with you and guide you.” Falcon handed a phone to Kato to which Kato quickly grabbed and started playing around with. He was skilled in technology but not as skilled as one of his cousins. The phone was very advanced from what he could tell. Not even the Siloteri had this technology.

Falcon grabbed a spoon and handed it to Corvus. When Kato lifted his head up, Corvus scooped his eyes out and Falcon placed two bionic ones inside. Kato screamed in pain during the process.

As the new bionic eyes readjusted, Kato looked at both the people in front of him, “Are you insane? Woah.”

Kato could now see the fact that there were many I.U.D.B. soldiers closing in on the main square as Falcon replied, “We should all leave. Corvus and I will escort you to the spaceport where I assume your ship is.”

…

Trogon emerged in a desert with Cannibal by his side. He had just helped Cannibal with conquering his second fear and they were the first to arrive in the landscape. Magna Phadro quickly followed and Rex was the last one to arrive.

Cannibal quickly hid his blushed face and calmed himself before looking at Rex in the eye, “You were worried about me. So how did I do?”

“Considering you were the first to arrive you did great.” Rex replied and Cannibal realized Trogon was no longer by his side.

‘I will appear if you need me.’ Cannibal heard a voice in his head.

‘Thanks Trogon.’

They all climbed toward the top of a sand dune, which seemed to be higher than the rest of the desert. Once at the top, they looked in all directions and saw nothing. The sun was beaming and it was getting hotter by the second.

Cannibal noticed a white wave would form at the top before meeting the ground at the bottom in a hemisphere, “What’s that?”

Phadro responded before Rex could, “That marks the end of Trogon’s fear landscape. Why we are in a desert instead of a sprawling city makes no sense to me but for some reason it seems Trogon just became afraid of being alone instead of being with people.”

Cannibal immediately thought back to what Trogon said while he was in his own fear, “I usually get the fears of the person I feel closest to. That has changed from Rex to you.”

“Draw the symbols, Rex.” Trogon’s voice boomed through the desert. Rex immediately crouched and drew five symbols. Each was the crest of each of the five clans. The Exofirma Empire, Advanced Order, and Frost Dragons were on the bottom part of the circle while the I.U.D.B. and Siloteri were at the top.

"The two ruling clans at the top and the three craving that power at the bottom.” Rex spoke when he noticed that Cannibal was looking at the circle.

“That changed from before.” Phadro mentioned.

"I can't figure out why it isn't working."

“I can.” Trogon’s voice boomed through the desert as he grabbed hold of Cannibal’s body and drew the Falcon crest at the top of everything. The symbols started glowing in green.

Rex looked curiously at Cannibal, “He helped you in your fear landscape didn’t he.”

“How did you know?”

“He did the same thing to me long ago and that’s how I gained control of him from The Titans. The weird thing about Trogon is that he analyzes you before he allows you into his mind. His mind changes with who he grows most attached to and you are the person who will permanently be attached to him.”

Cannibal thought for a second before responding, “How do you know its permanently?”

“Because I wrote it in the magic that created him that the ‘Third person Trogon grows attached to is the final person in the cycle of control,’” Rex replied before two souls emerged from the symbols, “All yours Cannibal.”

These two souls were the ones causing trouble in Trogon's mind. They looked like I.U.D.B. officials, with suits and a professional stance. Their hands were chained together.

“What were you two doing?” Cannibal demanded.

“We are dedicated to the I.U.D.B. and no one will ever—“

Cannibal grew in size as his anger peaked and he screamed, “The next time you two do such a thing you two will die. Understood?”

“Understood.”

“Now, I came here to ask about a circular prison facility you two were largely in charge of building. State the facilities weaknesses.”

Both the souls started laughing. Cannibal quickly realized there must be no weaknesses in the facility. Trogon felt his anger quickly reaching critical and tried to calm Cannibal. But Cannibal did not calm down. He formed a pistol in his hand and he shot both the souls, removing them from Trogon’s mind.

“He now has 198 souls.” Cannibal stated as Rex looked at him in shock.

“I have never done that. Why would you do that?”

From one moment to the next, Phadro, Rex, and Trogon all appeared in the room. The liquid let go of their bodies and they each stepped away from the beds.

“Don’t worry about it Rex. My head feels much clearer with only 198 souls to keep track of.”

…

“The Falcon’s grow more powerful,” One of the Titans spoke up breaking the meditation, “I saw one take control of Trogon.”

“We grow weaker and sicker as the odds get stacked against us. We have to do something before Falcon is more powerful.” Another Titan added.

“Call for Zeus and Imber. I have a plan that just might be able to stack the odds back in our favor.” Another Titan responded.

“What about the I.U.D.B?” One of the Titans asked.

“Leave them. They aren’t important to the larger goal and will cause no harm. In fact, order the Siloteri to break the relationship with them. We no longer need their services.”

“Understood.” The rest of the Titans replied.

Author's Note

I forgot to post these chapters to the CV Fanfic Forum due to working reasons.

So here we go!

I hope you enjoy The New Empire Chapter 5! If you want to read the other chapters in the Falcon Universe, or you want to read that failed Kombat Universe, click on my Fic-O-Pedia - Also check out my site. I usually post daily updates of when I am going to post a chapter on my website.

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Chapter 5 of The New Empire

“It’s been seven days since the amazing victory at what is now being named the Battle of Exercitus and more good news is coming for the Falcon Empire. Word of Falcon’s survival during his disappearance has been vague and dispelled by rumors that he may have in fact died.” Rubrum, Orage, Ouragan, Morbus, Andro, Donovan, and Rapere immediately gathered around the television when they heard the name and keenly watched the anchorman. They were all casually dressed in outfits that had two contrasting colors, red and black.

It had been one week since they left the Novem Order temporary base and a number of issues had come up. They all decided to stay in the capital city of the Falcon Empire in order to tackle these political issues individually. Utopia was the name of the city and its planet was named Aurora.

Rubrum and Ouragan had been dealing with concerns from the Falcon Parliament about the F.I.D. while Morbus, Orage, and Andro have been representing the political changes that will happen in the parliament eventually. Donovan had been responding to allegations of the Tueri’s demise and Rapere spent his time attacking his family. He blamed them for childhood abuse and his slight insanity.

Together, they all became the public face of the Falcon Empire outside and inside its borders. Together, they have secured a valuable alliance with the Avalon Republic. Together, the family has convinced the people that going to war with the Novem Order is the only way they could reason with “savages.” Together, they were a well-oiled machine and nothing was capable of breaking it down.

“With Corvus, Tengah, and Cannibal being the only ones reported alive. Now we have confirmation from a top F.I.D. spy that Falcon is indeed alive. A private message sent specifically to the Falcon Family will arrive at their house in seven hours. They may choose to either keep the message private or to share it with the public. Whatever the case is, we will be the first to report it to you. From the F.M.C, thank you for watching.” An animation with the name Falcon Media Company appeared before the channel resumed to a commercial it was playing.

Orage was the first to jump up in excitement while laughing, “Falcon is alive!” She jumped around like a small little child.

Ouragan grabbed her arms and started jumping with her, “I can’t believe it. He is truly alive!”

They all broke off into excited discussion about the news and they all knew that the streets below them were probably filled with people cheering. Everyone was happy that Falcon is coming back. Even Rubrum, a person who has fought with Falcon before, couldn’t help but join in the excited discussion.

The penthouse that was lit up with noise was the Falcon Family’s. The whole apartment was covered in a neutral brown paint with dark blue tile accentuating the color. The television and living area was toward the middle of the penthouse while the kitchen was smack in the middle behind the couch. The kitchen itself was one large, wooden, flowing counter where someone could prepare food while enjoying the view of the city from its third tallest building. The pool was located outside on the patio with infinity glass and the upstairs of the penthouse had rooms, each complete with a bathroom and another living space, a movie theater, and an indoor Jacuzzi.

“I wonder what the message is,” Andro commented and everyone went quiet, “What’s wrong?”

Rubrum, Orage, and Ouragan looked at each other before Ouragan replied for them, “You guys aren’t family. Maybe in the public eye you are but it’s just not the reality. None of you can listen to the message except for us three.”

Donovan and Rapere looked at each other with an expression of betrayal. This side of the family was always open with them when it came to private messages. Something was going to be different about those messages. Even Morbus and Andro could sense it.

They all knew that when the Falcon’s want to keep something hidden, it stays hidden.

Orage stared seriously at all of them before she and Rubrum burst into laughter, “We are only joking! Your faces of disappointment. I could almost feel the anger!”

There was something a little funny about it to the rest of them. So they all started to laugh. Maybe it was Orage’s face and voice of sadness when she said that she could feel their anger. Maybe it was the happiness of Falcon returning. Whatever it was, everyone was hysterical except for Ouragan.

“I am being serious!” He screamed and everyone fell silent.

Orage stood in front of Ouragan, rolled her eyes, and stared, “Why can’t they listen to it?”

“Because they aren’t the Falcon Family. We are the Falcon Family.” Ouragan spoke in a stubborn sternness that his sister has always hated.

Orage replied with a little bit of anger in her tone, “So Donovan and Rapere can listen to it but Morbus and Andro can’t?”

“No, I never approved of Donovan nor Rapere listening to it. I just decided not to say anything.”

Orage and Ouragan both held death stares, “Then why didn’t you say anything before?”

“Because it wasn’t of importance then. Now it is! What if that message is specifically meant for us?” Ouragan started yelling.

“Falcon always knew that Rapere and Donovan would most likely listen to a message if he ever sent one!” Rubrum motioned for Andro, Rapere, and Donovan to leave. He wanted Morbus to stay so that he could take her away from the apartment.

“Oh shut up and stop trying to be all inclusive! You just want your angry-faced, shit-head boyfriend to know everything about our lives!”

Orage’s face twisted with anger, “Lazy-ass, cock-hoarding bitch! You never fucking do a thing in this family! All you do is call whores and fuck them while Rubrum does all the goddamn work!”

Ouragan’s face contorted with anger. He doesn’t care if you insult anything about his appearance or personality. But he worked harder to keep the Falcon Empire together then what Andro, Morbus, Donovan, and Rapere did combined.

“I have done my fair share of the goddamn work! You talk about me fucking when there is a video of you and this Scruffy ass-wad terrorist,” Ouragan pointed at Morbus, “on The Network! You are one to talk about always having sex if you have fucked the same guy more than 267 times!”

Orage slapped her brother and knocked him down to the floor. She punched him in the face till he had two black eyes and she was going to continue before Rubrum pulled her off.

Orage’s voice screeched in anger and she was crying, “Let me at that little bitch!”

“Orage, go calm down and when you come back, you and your brother can talk like adults.” Rubrum ordered.

Ouragan pulled out a pistol in anger, “I am going to fucking kill you.”

He fired it and missed as Rubrum spun around and knocked his arm off target. Rubrum pushed his fingers into Ouragan’s shoulder so that he knelt down in a sort of bowing position. Orage stood there, pale-faced and scared of her brother. For the first time in her life, she was scared of her brother.

And she wasn’t scared because he fired the pistol at her. She was scared because he fired the pistol at Morbus. That terrified her more than anything in the world.

‘He was always open minded. He has screwed around with Orcs before. Does he feel neglected? No, that can’t be right. Something is wrong with his head.’

“Morbus, take Orage somewhere else until I tell you to come back. I’m going to take Ouragan to the Google AI–Enhancement center so they check his neurological implants.” Rubrum ordered while he still had his finger stuck in Ouragan’s shoulder.

Morbus turned his head and motioned Orage toward the elevator, “Come on.”

Orage managed an okay before she walked toward the elevator with Morbus behind her.

Her brother continued to scream, “Scruffy Terrorist. Scruffy Ass-hat. The worst of all is Orage. She’s been converted.”

Orage turned around and regretted seeing her brother’s insane looking eyes. She immediately turned back around and saw the metal surrounding of the elevator disappear into a clear inside view of the Falcon Industries building. The floors were open for anyone in an elevator to look at and there were many shops, stores, and exhibits for people to visit. The Falcon Industries buildings were usually the showcase for many corporations. Even start-ups and small businesses usually had their first store or exhibit opened in one of them.

They reached the ground floor and Morbus and Orage walked together passed a circular desk where the representatives of the building usually worked. In the middle of the circle was a giant art sculpture created out of white marble by the famous artist, Madeline Holder. Orage personally met her at a family vacation.

Morbus stopped Orage before she walked out of the building, “You didn’t say anything about your favorite artist like you usually do.”

Orage snapped out of her thoughts, “Oh she is very pretty and talented. I hope you meet her one day.”

“You said that the first time we walked in here a week ago. You usually tell me a fact about your good friend. What is wrong with you?”

Orage stared into the beautiful eyes of the big, red Orc. She didn’t want to talk about her brother and his insane fits that he sometimes got. Or the insane fits that she sometimes got. It was a side effect of all the stress and problems that you had to deal with when you were a Falcon.

“Just hold my hand when we walk out that door.” Orage ordered and Morbus looked at her with a surprised reaction. The public doesn’t know about their relationship yet.

“But Orage, shouldn’t we wait before we…” He trailed off and just stood up and held her hand, “Let’s just do it.”

They both walked out to a huge crowd of paparazzi. The crowd was barely being held back by all the F.I.D. soldiers assigned to the family’s protection. Eyes focused on Morbus due to his red tank top and contrasting black jeans. Orage was a little more conservative due to the fact that her cleavage wasn’t being shown by the red short-sleeve, black skinny jeans, and luxurious leather coat she wore. They both waved with only their right hand and that’s when people started focusing on the hand-holding.

“How about a kiss!” A photographer got passed a soldier and screamed. Orage motioned the soldier away right before he nearly tackled the photographer.

She turned Morbus toward her and kissed him passionately. The soft feel of Orage’s lips and the softness of Morbus’s lips was enough for both of them to feel a little horny after. They released before kissing again, this time closer and Orage secretly rubbed Morbus’s erection. He nearly moaned in public but he knew Orage would kill him if he did such a thing. This was a secret part of the moment only both of them would know later.

The crowd cheered and the photographer got many pictures in before being escorted back into the crowd by a soldier. Morbus walked around the car and Orage waved one final time before they stepped into their Bentley coupe. Morbus started the car and the crowd cleared away from the street as he took off and turned left down another.

Orage looked at the beautiful skyscrapers that passed by before looking back at Morbus, “How did you enjoy that little rub?”

“Why did you do that back there?” Morbus’s tone expressed concern. Orage never acted wildly in public unless there was a special occasion.

“What they didn’t see it.”

“Orage, you can tell me anything.”

Orage hid her face and blinked the tears away before Morbus put the car in self-drive and looked at her, “My brother has never done anything like that. Even when he has had insanity attacks, he has never actually tried and shoot anyone.”

“The moment he called me Scruffy, I instantly knew it wasn’t him talking. Don’t worry about it.”

“No, it’s not that. What if I have an insanity fit and start talking like he does?” Orage couldn’t hold the tears back, “What if I kill you in the process?”

Orage didn’t like being comforted, so she removed Morbus’s hand that magically started massaging her head while she talked, “I am not weak. I am expressing a concern that I may have for your life.”

Morbus got a little annoyed, “What is it with you and your family not liking when someone is there to coddle them?”

“We are not weaklings! You shouldn’t willingly coddle someone either. Do you know how this society works or have you been stuck too long managing your own!” Orage shot back.

“Why can’t I try and comfort someone?” Morbus’s voice changed from annoyed to curious as he wondered.

Orage looked back out the window, they were passing over a bridge out of the hundreds that went over the huge river, “It all started with augmentations. People’s sympathy for pain and emotion started disappearing. There were few kind, helping people before but slowly they disappeared. Everyone turned cold. Now it is considered weak to be seen helping, receiving help, or being comforted by someone in public. That happens in private but not in a park or walking down the street.”

Morbus was almost saddened by what Orage told him, “But, what if someone seriously needs help? Like, what if they are dying because someone tried to murder them?”

“That’s different. Someone’s life is about to be sacrificed due to someone else. The hate naturally goes to the person who committed the crime because being human dictates that.”

Morbus and Orage stayed silent for a while, “Anyway, where do you want to go for lunch?” Morbus asked.

“Well, I would like to know where we are going.” Orage said.

“We may have to pick it up before we get to where we are going.”

Orage looked at Morbus as he went on tapped away at his phone which was hooked up to the Bentley. He sent a different set of directions to the car and the Bentley jumped across four lanes before turning left. Orage held on to the door and felt a pulse of excitement as the Bentley made the dangerous maneuver.

“I know where we are going now.” Morbus spoke confidently.

…

“Scruffy.”

“Stop saying that word.” Rubrum ordered as he drove.

“Why? Is it bad daddy?”

“Oh my fucking god I hate it when you have an insanity attack.” Rubrum cursed as he aggressively changed lanes and parallel parked by the Google AI building.

He got out and walked around the car before grabbing Ouragan and walking next to him. He held Ouragan by the wrists and went inside the building. Rubrum looked at the lady in the front desk and said, “We haven’t seen each other in a couple of years have we.”

The lady looked up from her integrated tablet, her eyes were a deep blue and her hair was red and short, “Rubrum, is this one acting up again?”

“Unfortunately yes. The scientist said he wouldn’t have this problem again.”

The lady swiped a card with her ID number and a secret door opened in the front desk and she stepped out, “Well, we fired him. He found employment in a factory saying that he preferred it over medical work.”

Rubrum followed her to an elevator and noticed her white blouse with red, skinny dress pants and blue high heels, “Interesting combination.”

She looked back as she stepped into the elevator, “Oh yes. I got the outfit from one of the startups inside the Falcon Industries building. I like their clothing. You should check it out because from my years of being a designer, that startup is seriously going to disrupt trends.”

“Send me the name in a message and I just may take a look.” Rubrum already had an idea of what the company’s name was. The company was the only startup in the entire building to be categorized under Fashion in the Falcon Industries portfolio.

The lady led Rubrum into a room located in the middle of a lab were they seemed to be testing robots and other things. The room was a clear glass so Rubrum could see the scientist before he even got inside. There was a chair in the middle of the room with a cranium-shaped device and a tablet that the scientist was holding.

“Next patient.” The lady said as she opened the door for Rubrum.

“Ouragan Falcon, found his file. Thanks for sending it to me.” The scientist nodded at the lady before she closed the door and left.

“Whatever Google’s new architect is doing I like it a lot.” Rubrum commented as he looked at the lab which looked like something out of the future. The floor was a bright white which made it glow and everything seemed to be clean and never dirty.

“Well, it was because of his invention that we no longer need people cleaning.”

Rubrum was shocked, “The architect is none other than Noah Selis?”

“Met him one day on a retreat the company paid. You worked with him didn’t you, for new standards when it came to building?” The scientist asked as he grabbed Ouragan and placed him in the chair. He placed the cranium-shaped device around his head and Ouragan’s eyes immediately went blank.

“Yeah, one of the standards deals with his invention. It’s what makes every single skyscraper in every Falcon Empire city look absolutely glowing and amazing.” Rubrum replied.

“Now let’s see here,” The man spoke as he tapped away at his tablet, “It looks like the last time he was here the neural augments weren’t properly calibrated to his mind. He has weird patterns from what I can tell which is why he may have these insanity attacks. They are quite a common occurrence.”

“Sometimes progress also brings problems.”

“You are right.” The man continued started typing something and Ouragan woke up from his blank state before his eyes went white again. He then woke up after five minutes and Rubrum asked him a question.

“Can you think clearly now?”

“Yes, I don’t know what happened, Rubrum. I… have to apologize to her.”

Rubrum check his chiming phone and saw that Morbus sent him a text, ‘We are going on a picnic. We will be there as soon as the message arrives.’

“Well, looks like you are going to have to wait.” Rubrum replied.

…

“Your name is Sicarius Tueri. Is that correct?”

Sicarius was pushed by an F.I.D. soldier toward the judge. They were in a Falcon Parliament courthouse in the same city Rubrum and the others were located. The courthouse was extravagant and the rooms for trial were decorated with metal art pieces. The chairs for the jury were also pretty comfortable.

“Yes.”

“Do you need me to read the charges pressed against you?”

“No. I understand what I have done.”

“Do you admit to these charges.”

Sicarius looked at his wife, who was sitting at a table in the middle of the courthouse, “Yes, I admit to treason.”

“You do not want to fight for your freedom?” The judge asked an interesting question, “Create a scandal like a political traitor should.”

“Wherever my wife goes, I go. I know that she will admit to the same charges and be put in prison.”

“Fine. You are sentenced to 500,000 years in prison where you will be punished through forced labor. Next.”

The soldier nudged Sicarius to the left and held a gun to his head. Sicarius walked along a path marked in red to an elevator which will carry him up to the roof of the building. A helicopter awaited him and his wife where they will be transported to a mining colony.

The judge called Lusus Tueri up. She pleaded for Sicarius to go first and the judge allowed it. She did not want him to see what she was about to do next.

“Your name is Lusus Tueri, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want me to read the charges pressed against you?”

“No, I understand what I have done?”

“Do you admit to these charges?”

“Yes. I admit to treason.”

“Do you not want to fight for your freedom?”

“I would like to speak to Rubrum Falcon before I leave.” Lusus stated and the whole room seemed quieter compared to before. They were all there to see if a fair trial is being made. As soon as Rubrum gets involved, the trial may not be as fair as the law says it to be.

“I will contact him.” The judge spoke before leaving to his left, or Lusus’s right, and entered an elevator which carried him up to the Falcon parliament.

The Falcon Parliament room was vast and huge. The entire building, which was built like a stadium, was about to become bigger as it needed to accommodate 500 more party members. He walked up to Aurum Dator, who sat in the middle of the stadium on what seemed to be a raised metal throne with a table in front, and spoke to him about Lusus’s request.

Aurum Dator, Head of the Falcon Parliament, replied, “I will call him but make sure he doesn’t get involved in the actual trial. Also, I plan on resigning tomorrow.”

The judge stared at him, “What?”

“The honor of being Head of the Falcon Parliament will hopefully belong to you Victor Evans.” Aurum Dator said before removing his phone from his jacket pocket and dialing Rubrum’s number. He was quite stylish with a black Armani suit.

“Hello, Aurum. What do you need?” Rubrum answered while he was driving back to Falcon Industries.

“Lusus is requesting to see you.”

“I will be right there in fifteen minutes.” Rubrum replied before hanging up. He put the car in self-driving mode and slammed his fist into the middle console, breaking the touch screens that were there.

“I can’t suspect that was good.” Ouragan commented.

“No, it isn’t Ouragan. As if we needed to be more involved in Parliament. Lusus is requesting to see me.”

…

“Do not open your eyes yet.” Morbus spoke as he guided Orage through the many trees that were at his planned eating spot.

“I really want to see.”

“Wait,” Morbus turned her toward a beautiful, picturesque view of the ocean which you could see from the mountains, “Now you can look.”

Orage gasped as she witnessed a beautiful sight. She was standing near a cliff’s edge and a downhill slope that led to a beach with people playing. The ocean could be heard as it rumbled peacefully. Her feet were in soft grass so she took of her red high-heels in order to feel it. She fell and started rolling in the grass.

“Come on, get up now. We came here to have lunch.”

Orage looked to her left while still in the grass and saw her favorite food lined up on a black and white picnic blanket. Her potential future partner sat there and motioned for her to roll toward him. Well, he probably wanted her to get up and walk but Orage just rolled in the grass. She landed face up with Morbus looking down on her laughing. He fed her a cherry and she sat up.

“This is absolutely beautiful.” Orage commented as she looked at the ocean.

“Should have come around sunset. I hear it is beautiful on Aurora.”

Orage looked at Morbus as if he was insane, “Of course it is. When we terraformed this place it was mostly because of the sunset.”

“You guys terraformed Aurora?”

“Do you not know basic history? Anyone in the Falcon Empire knows that Utopia and Aurora would have never existed if we hadn’t terraformed it. This place was pure ice at one point.”

Morbus was impressed. Orage talked about terraforming planets as if its such an easy thing and yet the Novem Order is years behind when it came to that technology.

“You know after I came here from the Novem Order and founded the Radical Army, I never really traveled after that. I didn’t study either.”

“Why didn’t you study?”

“At the time, I honestly was angry at the Human High Culture that existed.”

Orage looked curiously, “I didn’t know we had a problem with that in the first place. Then again, we were incredibly focused on producing products as distractions from the horrible Seventh Universal War that we forgot about the people. We invented so much stupid shit you wonder what we were thinking back in those years.”

“Are you kidding me? The biggest thing in Nerva City when I founded it was the Nike Boomsound shoes.”

“Ugh, that was Ouragan’s idea. I don’t know why we put a speaker in the sole of a fucking shoe. Did make for good audio in clubs though and we still produce them and reiterate them. Sales success,” Orage quickly stole a glance at Morbus, who was attentively listening, and felt badly, “I’m sorry. I could go for days and years talking about business and politics.”

“Don’t worry. I can talk about the Novem Order for years. Want lobster?” Morbus offered a giant lobster to Orage. She quickly accepted and started eating it and then she checked her phone.

Orage screamed, “Fuck my Life! We have to go.”

She showed the text from Rubrum to Morbus, “Well, at least we ate one lobster. Let’s take the rest.”

…

Rubrum was already there when Orage and Morbus arrived. He was leaning against his car and Orage, who drove faster than Morbus, almost hit him. She got out in a fit of rage before calming herself when she saw her brother.

“Feeling better, Leech.” Orage spoke with the intention of hurting Ouragan.

“You know I didn’t mean to say Scruffy.”

“I don’t care if you said it. You have to apologize for trying to shoot my boyfriend.” Orage got closer to Ouragan and Morbus was about intervene but Rubrum stopped him.

“I’m sorry about that.”

Orage suddenly hugged her brother, “I’m sorry if you feel neglected by me.”

After a long and relaxing hug, Ouragan and Orage proceeded in front of the group while Morbus and Rubrum were behind them. They walked passed a giant glass fountain and entered the Falcon Parliament building. The entrance to the Falcon Parliament room was also a grand spectacle.

Aurum bumped into Ouragan on purpose, “Seriously?”

Aurum turned around before he exited, “What? The fact that you can’t say sorry for running into me?”

Rubrum entered talking with Morbus and offered his hand, “Hello Aurum.”

Aurum didn’t shake it and immediately noticed Morbus, “Who’s this? Oh right the new Falcon Family member. Look at all of you dressed in red and black as a unit. Scruffy doesn’t look that bad, which is a surprise.”

“Really, do you think a derogatory term is going to work against me? I already hold a higher position of power compared to you sitting on that throne all high and might thinking that you actually make decisions.” Morbus held a straight gaze.

“Oh well, good thing he’s leaving tomorrow. Hope you find a job somewhere that isn’t Falcon Industries. Oh wait,” Rubrum did a fake gasp, “We own every place you can work at.”

“First of all, how did you find out?”

“Judge replacing you contacted me and told me. You tried to surprise the nation, well that’s not happening.”

Aurum Dator suddenly appeared to be bigger as he stepped closer to Rubrum, his piercing purple eyes, brown beard and hair, and menacing look didn’t intimidate Rubrum, “This is exactly what is wrong with the Falcon Family. Getting friends to run the government instead of elected officials. No wonder the Falcon Family is so corrupt.”

“And what’s the alternative? The Tueri’s who tried to use sensationalism in order to get into a position of power they previously held. You off all people know that democracy doesn’t work if people live for an eternity.” Orage shot back.

“What have you done? You are an elected official yourself but all you do is sit on that throne and do nothing. Absolutely nothing. You think that we are corrupt but we were the ones that fucking brought no poverty to the Falcon Empire. We were the ones that brought an 100% success rate in business entrepreneurship. We are the ones who made the military vast and feared.” Ouragan continued adding reason after reason before Rubrum interrupted him.

“What he is saying is that you, Aurum, are in fact a leech in society. When you leave tomorrow, don’t be surprised when there are reports of your corruption in the Falcon Parliament.” Rubrum and the others walked away while Aurum stalked off in a fit of rage.

What the Falcon Family didn’t know is the fact that Aurum recorded the whole conversation.

‘That is going to stir up quite the fucking rumors when I release it on The Network tonight. Right after they reportedly have listened to Falcon’s secret message.’ Aurum thought as he pulled out his phone and hooked the recorder in his jacket pocket up to it.

Author's Note

I forgot to post these chapters to the CV Fanfic Forum due to working reasons.

So here we go!

I hope you enjoy The New Empire Chapter 5! If you want to read the other chapters in the Falcon Universe, or you want to read that failed Kombat Universe, click on my Fic-O-Pedia - Also check out my site. I usually post daily updates of when I am going to post a chapter on my website.

And if you have a Wattpad, please follow me and vote on my stories. It will greatly help me on that site.

Chapter 5 of Exitium

“We need to land.” Nick spoke over the ships speakers as he made the ship hover high over the country of Japan. Vitae and Mortem were resting in two of the ship’s bedrooms. Nick had already prepared for the arrival by changing his clothing to a dark, unnoticeable outfit knowing that the only places to land in Japan would be on the northern, government controlled, side. They needed to get to the southern, corporate controlled, side but unfortunately they couldn't land planes there. They would be hit with a rocket on sight.

Technically they were supposed to tell an airport authority that they wanted to go to the corporate side but they all knew that wasn't an option. They would probably just be captured and executed on the spot.

Vitae awoke from his deep slumber and replied, “Ok, I will get ready. Is Mortem awake?”

Nick looked behind him and saw that Mortem was adjusting a watch on his left wrist, “Yeah, I’m awake. Didn't exactly have the mood to rest.” Mortem was ready long before Nick or Vitae. He had prepared a small bag with supplies and gotten dressed in dark clothing. Difference is that Mortem preferred his tank top, black jeans, and black boots over Nick who had to put on a black overcoat.

Vitae stood up from his bed naked and made a gesture to the wall that made a holographic screen appear with a view outside the ship. It was nighttime meaning it would be easier to cross borders.

‘Probably if we didn’t have to fly so low in order to avoid detection, we would have arrived earlier.’ Vitae thought as he pushed a spot on the walk across from his bed.

The wall transformed and drawers, a small kitchen with a slide-in table, and a television appeared. Vitae opened the fridge and grabbed an egg which he left cooking while he went into his closer and picked out something to wear. A black jacket with black cargo pants and combat boots was what he picked out. He went back to his eggs and ate them from the pan.

He went into the bathroom and didn't take long showering. While quickly brushing his teeth, he checked his phone and looked at the map for a place to land. He knew that Nick didn't think where he was going to actually land.

Vitae quickly looked in the mirror before heading back into the room. He was very muscular and appeared twice his size because of it.

‘Mortem has the same type of body. Years of that goddamn factory has at least some benefit.’ Then Vitae remembered that people easily gained that much muscle by just changing their genetics, ‘Everyone is healthy and fit. That's the good thing. Just wish I lived a pampered life since birth instead of growing up in terror.’

He walked out of his room and into the pilot cabin, “Land here,” Vitae marked a rooftop on the screen in the console.

Mortem noticed Vitae approaching him, “Well how’s the morning, bro?”

Vitae folded his arms, “One, don’t call me that. Two, it’s nighttime.”

“You called me that yesterday.” Mortem chuckled.

“No I…. Oh my god that’s right.” Vitae quickly averted his eyes from Mortem’s gaze.

"Some habits don’t die.” Mortem commented as the hidden staircase opened and Nick walked into the living area.

“Ship is cloaked but you still may want to dissolve it. Your call.” Nick stated as he followed Vitae and Mortem outside.

“How should people approach this issue inside Great Britain?” An anchorman asked The President on international television as they all stepped out of the ship. Vitae, Mortem, and Nick watched the giant holographic screen from the rooftop of a tall skyscraper overlooking a giant avenue. The six-lane street divided into two as it passed a triangular building.

They were in Japan and that's what the whole thing was known as to anyone who has lived outside the country. After the enslavement, corporations with government approval started making inroads on the environmental sections of the country. The entire island no longer has one single tree that isn't artificially planted and was dominated completely by skyscrapers. Eventually, a civil war ensued, mostly between corporations and government, which caused the land to be divided in half. Vitae, Mortem, and Nick were trying to get to the corporate half, which was the bottom of the country.

Meanwhile, The President and anchorman were sitting in the United Nations building. They had the logo at the background of the two men the camera was focused on. What The President said and did next would completely destroy any love for that branding.

“It's a showcase of power by the United Nations and should be treated as such. Any more protests that occur, peaceful or violent, will be immediately disbanded.”

Vitae and Mortem stared in shock while Nick looked relatively calm.

The anchorman looked almost a little to closely at The President, “Why the peaceful protests? Are you just trying to remove freedom of speech?”

“I’ve had enough of this.” The President waved to someone off camera. From one moment to the next, the anchorman dropped dead at the table. Another gunshot followed killing the cameraman. A technical difficulties screen showed up before the holographic screen immediately disappeared.

"They are going to do literally anything to stay in power.” Vitae commented as they walked to the edge of the roof.

“This is nothing new.” Nick replied.

Vitae looked back, “I guess you working with him directly made you insensitive to his actions.”

Mortem jumped, rolled, and took of running toward the waypoint with the bag he packed slung over his shoulder. Vitae and Nick followed him as Mortem wall ran across the back of a giant billboard to get to the next roof. Vitae caught up to him and was on his heels before Mortem launched himself and barely coiled over a barbed wire fence onto a roof that was slanted.

An automated stationary drone popped up out of the roof and started shooting at him. Mortem dodged and took cover as Vitae kicked the drone, breaking it into millions of pieces. Nick arrived just after the drone was destroyed.

“Where are we going now?” Nick asked, “I don't see a way to the other rooftop. We may have to go street level.”

Vitae and Mortem looked down from the edge of the slanted roof. There was another skyscraper in front of them and a wide street prevented them from going further. Mortem focused on the ground and saw police stationed at ever street corner and realized that they were going to have to stick to the rooftops.

“There are a ton of cops down there.” Mortem commented.

Vitae jumped to the top of a cell tower and fired a line of metal rope across the huge space to the next skyscraper, “Don't get rope burn,” he yelled as he grabbed the metal rope and flew across the wide street. Mortem and Nick followed while Vitae fired another line across a wide street.

Together, they continued running across the rooftops and it took them ten minutes to reach the space between the corporate and government sides. They all stopped before continuing.

“Can we make it across quietly?” Vitae asked as he stared down at the border patrol. Some cars passed by while others were sent back.

“They are most likely going to detect us either way. Right now, we have a height advantage. So shoot a line to that apartment building,” Nick pointed, “and then we will escape.”

Vitae fired a line and as they passed an alarm went off. Gunfire ensued upon them as they flew across the wide space. They landed on the roof and ran faster compared to before.

A scary red and white VTOL began to chase them down the rooftops. They quickly got to lower buildings in order to evade it since it was so large it couldn't fit between the massive skyscrapers.

The VTOL started firing upon them and missed. Chaos ensued as lasers blasted through glass and people started screaming. They were unaware of the trips presence.

Vitae quickly dodged an automated turret which fired a missile at the VTOL. It hit one of the sides and the VTOL crashed into the street. A few seconds passed before a massive explosion happened.

Nick was right; they were able to clear out quickly and escape at the expense of burning wreckage. Vitae quickly looked into the past and saw that no one had died from all points of perspective. The VTOL was computer operated. Also, he knew no one died otherwise Mortem would have had a massive panic attack as he saw the burning wreckage hurling toward him. Just like he saw the future of The President killing Vitae in that room. They were now on the corporate side. Vitae kept why they were going there a secret but he decided to tell them now.

“You guys have blindly followed me and not asked why.” Vitae stared at the burning wreckage.

“Well, what other option did we have.” Mortem replied.

“The corporations are the only possible people who will offer us refuge. We just needed to get to a place where a clear, most importantly guarded, divide existed between our enemies and our allies. From here, we can start the process of bringing the system down.” Vitae stated.

Nick and Mortem nodded in approval before Mortem replied, “Politics sometimes needs someone watching.”

Vitae found a pipe and began to climb down with Mortem and Nick above him, “What do you mean?”

“We need our own political spies. Some of the corporate executives might do.” Mortem spoke as he scurried quickly down the pipe. Vitae jumped down and Mortem and Nick followed.

“I'm going to have to get support. Follow me.” Vitae ordered as he walked down the street.

The corporate side of Japan was by far the most elegant in design compared to the government side. The corporations made an effort to make a showcase out of what they won in the civil war. The buildings were never just bland rectangles but interesting shapes and designs. Every skyscraper had a feature that differentiated it amongst the others.

"This is so beautiful.” Mortem commented.

Vitae jumped around and walked backwards, “You are such a tourist.”

“What, did you forget the fact that this doesn’t exist in Old São Paulo.”

Vitae thought for a moment before responding, “So you are saying you have a right to act like a tourist.”

Mortem rolled his eyes before responding sarcastically, “Yes, it is my right to act like a tourist because I am so uneducated.”

Vitae turned back around as Nick brought up a similar subject, “You two bicker as much as my brother and I do when I got to family gatherings.”

Vitae stopped before crossing a street and turned around as cars began to pass by behind him, “You have a family! You told me that you were created in a lab as an experiment.”

“I don’t necessarily mean he is my ‘brother.’ He technically isn’t but I consider him to be a ‘brother’ because we pretty much grew up in those conditions together,” Nick replied, “Besides, I had to survive when we were put in prison somehow. My brother is quite a lot bigger than me.”

Vitae turned around and started walking again, “Well you never told me anything.”

“Where are we going anyways?” Mortem asked.

“The CC building just two blocks that way.” Vitae pointed at a skyscraper which stood much higher than the others surrounding them.

“CC building?”

“The Corporate Conglomerate building. CC is their official name and they have ten seats in the United Nations.” Vitae informed.

Nick added, “I’m pretty sure they no longer hold ten seats.”

They crossed the next street they had to pass and entered a huge courtyard completed with metal sculptures and genetically-edited blue trees. The courtyard surrounded the building which was in the center. The skyscraper stood up in an odd spiral which seemed to stop at some points and continue at others. There seemed to be an exposed part of the building at the very top but it was just extremely clear glass.

Vitae opened the door and entered. The first floor was a showcase of all of the Corporate Conglomerate’s products. Everything was featured there and cool futuristic concepts were also a part of the showcase. Vitae didn’t care for any of that and walked directly up glass stairs to a balcony with elevators. He entered one and pressed the top floor.

‘Has he been here before?’ Mortem questioned as the elevator shot up.

Vitae stepped out and greeted a tall, green-eyed, man with brown hair, “Jake, it's so nice to see you again.”

Jake looked up before responding, “Fuck and I thought you were never coming back.” He stood up and went around the desk just to hug Vitae.

The entrance to the head of the CC’s penthouse was extravagant, the actual apartment was divided by a rough aluminum wall, and more beautiful things awaited inside. That is if one of them didn't have a rage fit at the sight of him. Vitae knew the man for many years but Mortem was definitely going to possibly kill him.

‘That is if he doesn’t see the future and tries to kill me beforehand.’

Mortem and Nick stood with shocked faces as Jake introduce himself to Vitae’s best friend, “You must be Mortem,” Jake held out his hand.

Mortem looked back up and down, “Pass. Who are you exactly?”

“No need to be hostile, Mortem.” Vitae warned.

“No. I want answers and I want them now!” Mortem shouted, “Who was your mother, oh don’t give me that look Vitae. It’s not like you would exactly have been able to get in bed with the goddamn Corporate Conglomerate.”

“And we will all be able to discuss that in my office.” A deep-voiced, green-haired, blue-eyed, blonde man emerged from a door and stepped into the room. He nodded at Vitae as he walked in.

Mortem immediately recognized him and his eyes ignited with fury, “You fucker!” Mortem punched the man and knocked him down. He grabbed a knife from his combat boot and was about to stab him before Vitae grabbed his arm.

“Let go of me you asshole!”

“Mortem, stop.”

Mortem shoved Vitae away, “You expect me to stop when you know the goddamn man who was a major part of the Enslavement in the first place! It was his guards, his fucking protection, that kept us working in that goddamn factory!”

Nick stepped further away from Vitae and Mortem who were both about to murder each other, “That’s Lancer.”

Lancer stood up from the ground and eyed Nick, “You can say my last name.”

“I would rather not.”

Lancer then eyed Mortem and smiled, “I am truly terribly sorry for that… event long time ago. I didn’t want to do that but the government forced my hand.”

Vitae then seemed to switch sides, “Shut up Lancer. Don’t think I am kissing your ass either. You wanted the Enslavement and just because the governments profited from it doesn’t mean that you came up with the idea.”

Lancer’s face seemed calm but he was truly furious, “Well, I am sorry for the loss of your mother.”

“Oh, one of her ex-husbands who is a very good mischievous, greedy, executive is sorry for her death. You know we planned it and the CC is going to benefit so much from destruction.” Vitae replied.

“So my assumptions are correct,” Mortem stated. He felt betrayed by Vitae and mostly confused.

“This is much bigger then what you understand Mortem. My higher-ups are going to literally murder me if nothing turns out the way they planned it.” Lancer seemed to be able to subside the tension in the room.

Except Mortem didn’t really calm down, “Higher ups! You are technically the owner of every single fucking corporation!”

“Your opinion doesn’t matter.”

“And what does yours matter. Do you people realize who is the most powerful right now? The United Nations and its governing bodies are. There have been no protests ever since the Massacre of Britain and now whatever that murdered news reporter incident will be called.”

Lancer and Vitae looked at each other before Vitae replied, “Crap, you’re right.”

“Unfortunately. Hopefully you have come up with an idea that will benefit us all.” Lancer stared at Mortem attentively and with that he admitted defeat. Mortem’s opinion did matter after all.

At the same time he was kind of annoyed, “Political fucking spies. Do you not have any bought politicians or hidden corporate executives who would gladly revel in basking in Corporate Conglomerate’s wealth? Like oh my fucking hell its right in front of you!”

“What could that possibly do?” Lancer truly questioned making Mortem even angrier.

“You know how much blackmail you would have and how much people would be less afraid if a pornographic film of a fat-ass is the most talked about news of the month?”

Vitae then realized where they could start, “The United Nations elections.”

“No, Vitae, we would be so late to that.” Lancer was skeptical.

Vitae rolled his eyes, “You control the media and have thousands of marketing teams and you can't gain at least the ten seats you lost when you pulled that stunt with the Head of the Secret Service.”

Lancer looked at the view before his mind returned to the matter at hand, “Gun to my head, I have no other options.”

As soon as they entered the apartment, Mortem couldn't even see anything inside it as Vitae dragged him to a room quickly and shut the door. The room was nice a big with a living area. It was possibly bigger then most houses and like the rest of the interior of the building, everything was white with some sort of black contrast.

“What was that!” Vitae screamed quietly.

“What the fuck are you doing with the person who enslaved us in the first place.”

Vitae turned away from his friend and rubbed his forehead, “He’s the reason I am still alive. When we first arrived here, The President set to make an example out of us. We were going to be executed as soon as we entered the goddamn country. My mother and I knew it.”

Mortem eyed his friend and stayed quiet. Vitae was never the type of person to owe debt to someone. But this is something more than debt and Mortem knows it better than Nick. Vitae has a lust for power. Ever since they were little, Vitae would always talk about politics and owning the world as if it were his property.

“How much do you actually hate Lancer?”

“I don’t hate Lancer. He’s just another puppet.” Vitae replied.

“How can he be another puppet. Are you talking about his superiors?”

Vitae flipped back around and looked at Mortem, “I have a lot of reason to believe that his superiors are the Falcon’s themselves.”

Mortem considered all possibilities and considered the fact that this planet was under Siloteri rule long before the Falcon’s arrived, “It could be the Siloteri.”

“No, it definitely isn’t.”

“Then who else can it possibly be?”

Vitae looked at his friend and realized Mortem may in fact have the answer, “You can see the future! I forgot about that.”

“I am not going back to that realm of thinking. All the math that went through my head just to undergo a simulation of a possible future made my head buzz. That and I don’t want to see another scary President killing me by stabbing my chest repeatedly.”

“This could provide answers Mortem!” Vitae pleaded, “If we can at least see something of the future we can understand what has happened in the past.”

“You can see the past!” Mortem shouted, “You don’t need me to do that.”

“I can’t see that far. Come on, I will be there with you as you experience the future. I have to know for reasons of my own if the Falcon’s are behind all this.”

Mortem looked at his friend and realize Vitae was kneeling down almost begging. He had never done that before and felt a new sense of power inside him.

“Fine, but I stop when I want to stop.”

Author's Note

I forgot to post these chapters to the CV Fanfic Forum due to working reasons.

So here we go!

I hope you enjoy The New Empire Chapter 5! If you want to read the other chapters in the Falcon Universe, or you want to read that failed Kombat Universe, click on my Fic-O-Pedia - Also check out my site. I usually post daily updates of when I am going to post a chapter on my website.

And if you have a Wattpad, please follow me and vote on my stories. It will greatly help me on that site.

Chapter 6 of Echo Praelior

Kato started the landing process for the ship from high up in orbit. He maneuvered the ship and it shot straight down at high speed. A red halo encompassed the entire craft as the planet encompassed Kato’s entire view.

‘It’s getting fucking hot in here but if I don’t want to be caught by their detection systems it's necessary.’ Kato thought as he quickly readjusted as the ship came closer to the ground.

He cloaked the ship quickly and let it hover over the planet. Kato didn’t know what this planet was other then it had an abundance of trees, water, and life. It was almost like Zotarra but everything seemed almost artificial. There was more of a beauty to the planet compared to the randomness of Zotarra.

“Can you tell me where I am now?” Kato asked over his comms. He knew Falcon was going to be online.

“The I.U.D.B. calls it Mars. A terraformed planet they made after the sun started expanding and the Earth was destroyed.” Corvus replied instead.

Kato now knew where he was as he looked up and saw the Asteroid Belt. He had never been this far into the Origin Diatasis since a while ago. At least it felt like a while ago. He looked in another direction and saw a white dot in the sky.

“They remade Earth in case you didn’t know. After they extended the life of the sun by a few billion years.” Kato informed Corvus.

“You mean they remade Earth 5.”

Kato listened but didn't comment, ‘Are these people insane?’

Kato composed himself and asked calmly, “Where is the base coordinates on Mars?”

Corvus told Kato the coordinates and he set them in the ship before going down a corridor into a loading bay in his ship. He grabbed a package that was sitting on a box and went down a corridor to his right. He pushed a door open and went into a kitchen. He opened the package and placed it into the microwave.

“This is an odd ship design.” Corvus was watching Kato’s every move through a tablet. Kato’s new bionic eyes allowed Falcon and Corvus to watch what he was doing. They would remove the software after once Kato could no longer betray them.

“Do you have to see my entire personal space and what do you mean by odd?”

“Most of the Falcon Empire’s ships have a set design. The living area is the first thing you see and it's always circular. Then the rooms are either placed in a hallway to the back or front of the ship or they are extensions from the living area. The loading bay is an advanced matter-forming technology. The pilot cabin is of course in the front and weapons are AI controlled and stored safely in the hull.” Corvus explained his reasoning.

Kato listened as he took his food out and ate it, “So wait, do you guys do that for a reason? Sounds very boring if every ship looks the same,” Kato scoffed, “Sounds like communism if that's an appropriate word.”

“Not every ship looks the same inside. Certain interiors have different colors depending on what a person may choose. You can also get a designer. The part most companies focus on is the exterior. Beautiful, sharp designs are the norm.”

Kato was extremely interested in the conversation and continued to ask questions during the 15 minutes he could before arriving at the base. Corvus continued to tell him different things about the Falcon Empire and it almost made Kato want to join. Corvus realized this and then offered.

“For someone so interested in the bullshit I talk it's almost like you want to be a part of the madness.” Corvus commented.

“Nah, I’m a loner. I don’t do good being a part of anything.”

“For a person, who just turned 2,061, that knows the fact that Earth 5 was reformed and that literally happened just 100 years ago, I think something drove you away.”

Corvus was right. Something did drive Kato away from the I.U.D.B. and he hoped he wouldn’t find that reason today.

“Well if you keep watching my every move you might find out for yourself,” Kato then became irritated with one fact, “What the hell do you mean by Earth 5?”

“There are many different Earth’s all with a similar history. How can you not know about this if the Siloteri controls three?”

Kato’s eyes widened in shock as he listened to Corvus, “The Siloteri hides so many things.”

Corvus quickly looked around and saw that Falcon was still sleeping, “So do we.”

“You haven’t exactly hidden anything from me during this conversation.”

“Because this was unimportant information,” Corvus swiped and tapped on his tablet and a map of the base appeared with a pulsing dot, “If you need any help whatsoever physically, there’s a F.I.D. spy that may be able to help you.”

“What are you talking about?” Kato asked.

“Falcon Industrial Defense spy.” Corvus quickly looked around and saw that Falcon was still not there next to him.

Kato got a little annoyed and more so angry, “I thought you guys were stranded!”

“That’s what Falcon told you.” Corvus replied as he saw Kato return back to the loading bay.

“What’s the truth then! The fact that the Falcon’s have been here for billions of years just to cause trouble!” Kato screamed as he pressed a button on a console and the loading bay opened up.

“I am going to tell you something that you can never say to anyone.”

“Is it another lie?” Kato asked sarcastically.

“No, the reason we stayed here for billions of years is because our ship was broken. It couldn’t return to anywhere near the Falcon Empire so we put ourselves in stasis for a long time. We awakened later and found the Siloteri could fix our ships but they refused.”

Kato jumped out of his ship and landed in the mud, “Goddammit. Thought this patch was dry. Continue.”

“We went back into stasis for another billion years before Falcon awakened us and started rambling about how he was tired of being stuck here. So we slowly then quickly started campaigning against the Siloteri.”

“He told me that part. Get to the point!”

“The point is that don’t trust Falcon. Before we found you, we came across another spy. The Falcon Empire had been searching for us and they finally found us. The Falcon I knew would have returned home but he didn’t. He decided to stay.”

Kato walked through the jungle toward the base and continued listening as Corvus’s speech became more rapid and panicked, “You need to calm down.”

“I can’t because I swear I am near a mad man. I went along with it but I just want to go back home. Falcon is out for some revenge plot against someone in the Siloteri and I don’t know why.” Corvus finished and realized he was breathing heavily.

Kato replayed the entire story in his head and it began to remind him of something. It was distant, a childhood memory. He remembered it was a song The Titans used to sing to him but he couldn’t remember what it was. He figured maybe Corvus could look for it.

“Can these bionic eyes access memories?” Kato asked, “I remember something that the name Falcon reminds me of but it isn’t coming to me.”

Corvus started tapping on his tablet and he stood up from the couch, “Sure.”

Kato started running through the thick jungle and didn’t notice a guard that was keeping watch, “Who’s there?”

Kato stopped and hid behind a bunch of vines. He waited for the guard to turn around and then jumped at him. He snapped the neck of his opponent before hiding the body at the bottom of a tree. Kato stared at the corpse and got an idea.

“I’m probably going to use this guys armor. They won’t be able to tell it's me and another plus is that guards can’t talk while they are in the armor. So I won’t have to fake a voice or anything.” Kato spoke as Corvus continued fiddling with the tablet.

“Ok, do that then.” Corvus replied as he continued searching through the bunch of memories Kato had. A whole lot of the recent ones were a bunch of nude women and intercourse.

“Well then can you stop watching me for a second.” Kato requested.

“If you are worried about me seeing your goddamn package, let me remind you I’m going through your memories. The amount of sex you have kind of makes me think you are actually an addict.” Corvus put emphasis on the last sentence.

“Can you just jump to childhood memories? Key word is childhood.” Kato started with his shirt and undressed.

“It isn’t that simple. Your memories are organized based on images and all I can do is tap through. Maybe if you had a neural augment it would be easier but since everyone in this section of universe doesn't have a robotic augment, things are much harder to accomplish.” Corvus replied.

Kato put on the armor which was a military standard I.U.D.B. soldier outfit. It was black with a gray under armor that was supposed to make the outer armor more comfortable. There were no weaknesses or exposed parts in the armor from what Kato could tell.

“See, was that so difficult?” Corvus commented when he saw Kato was done and was back on the move, “If it's any consolation, at least it's big.”

Kato actually felt a genuine smile coming to his face, “Thanks… I think. Can you find anything like a hatch near me where I can enter the base? Or is this not like Zotarra.”

Corvus quickly searched in another app on his tablet for a hatch or secret entrance and found nothing, “Nope. There's nothing that indicates a secret entrance. However, there is a car about a couple hundred feet from you.”

“How are you seeing this?” Kato asked as he started running toward the car which was marked in his vision. The bionic eyes certainly had their uses.

“How else are we having instant communication? Let me mark it for you.” Corvus tapped an image on his tablet that looked like Falcon’s ship.

Kato looked up and saw a massive thing in the sky that followed him as he ran, “That’s impressive. Shouldn't you be cloaked?”

“I marked it for your vision,” Corvus watched Kato almost run into the vehicle, “Car!”

Kato slammed into the SUV full force and fell backwards. Corvus started laughing as Kato stood up slowly. He opened the door and entered the driver’s seat. The car automatically started as he touched the wheel.

“The suit is biometric to the guard; linked to whatever that soldier had,” Kato heard Corvus’s laughter, “Is pain funny to you?”

Corvus stopped laughing and remarked, “Yes because it's funny when someone doesn’t see a massive car!”

“You distracted me with that goddamn ship! Where to now?”

Corvus looked at the map and then at the memories and saw a couple of childhood ones, “Just ten miles north.”

…

“Do you want a story before you go to bed?” A man asked.

“Yes. Tell me,” Kato took some time deciding, “The one about Order, Chaos, and Falcon.”

Zeus jumped on the bed as soon as he heard Kato, “You wanna listen to that story again. It’s sooooo boring.”

Imber jumped on top of Zeus to shut him up before rolling off on top of the lady, “Let's hear it again.”

Mason Dalton, Kato's cousin, sat in a chair quietly away from the scene.

“Well, one day I was walking down a corridor in this magnificent palace. I saw Chaos, Order, and Falcon talking in the corner. They were always the bad ones. Scheming against the rest of the family trying to take power.”

The four little boys watched The Titan attentively as he told them the story.

“They thought I was going to join them. They were planning on assassinating the rest of the Titans including me of I didn’t agree with the plan.”

“What did you do?” Mason asked, attentively listening.

“I told the others. By morning the three traitorous fiends were running for hills as a magnificent dragon came in a nearly rained fire upon them. That dragon was me.” The Titan jumped at Zeus and Zeus fell laughing.

“Go to bed now boys, we have a big day tomorrow.” The man said as he grabbed Mason and put him in one of the four beds.

“Thanks, Hades.” Mason spoke as he watched his father leave the room.

…

Kato jumped on the brakes as another SUV passed him and passed the wall to enter the base. Corvus jumped as Falcon scared him to get a laugh. He quickly closed the apps he was in and removed them from the home screen before handing the tablet to Falcon.

“Are you ok?” Falcon asked as Corvus quickly walked past him, “I didn’t mean to scare you too much.”

Corvus turned around, “If you ever wanted something you would tell me wouldn’t you?”

Falcon looked at Corvus in the sweet way he always did when Corvus asked him a question like that, “Of course I would.”

A lie, straight through his smile. Corvus saw it now. He turned around and went into his room which was next to Falcon’s. Corvus grabbed his phone off the dresser and checked it almost automatically for notifications. It was a habit of his.

…

Natalie was in a dark room, holding Anati’s head back with a towel over her face. She poured water on it and Anati squirmed as the water continued to flow. It felt like she was drowning and it felt like agony but Anati knew that no matter what she was to not say anything.

Natalie put the chair standing again and removed the towel. She held an empty gallon in her left hand and the towel in the other. She wore a nice matte-black armor which didn’t show patches of grey like the standard issue armor. It was used to scare suspects during interrogation and it was also used for public appearances.

“Fill this for me,” Natalie ordered a soldier that was in the room with her, “And let’s try this again.”

Natalie leaned into Anati’s face and didn’t expect Anati to spit on her, “You are going to have to try harder!” Anati screamed.

Natalie punched her victim, “Where is Magna Rex?”

Anati spit in her face again and screamed, “You think I’m going to tell you? Your weak ass torture methods will never work. We burn people’s scalp off for information.”

“That can be arranged.”

“Good thing I’m used to it.” Anati replied and Natalie could tell she was serious.

Anati knew it as soon as she saw it. Natalie was not cut to be the leader of the I.U.D.B. Anati’s mother or Natalie’s mother, Ava Morrow, was cut for the work. But Natalie and her father, Buster Harrison, were too weak to make thought decisions.

“I’m trying to spare you,” Natalie admitted, “Because as soon as my mother walks in here you will hate it.”

“Your mercy is touching. Truly it is but I can’t say anything.” Anati panted toward the ground and was leaning forward.

Natalie left the room into another room with a console and a couple of chairs where Mason Dalton was watching, “Babe, at least you tried.”

“Do you know how many times I have failed an interrogation?” Natalie cracked under the anger.

She didn’t even let Mason respond, “This is number 50. I am going to be below Lenna’s rank as soon as my mother finds out.” She stomped out of the room and into a bright white corridor. She continued walking with heavy feat until she reached an elevator.

The elevator stopped and her mother entered it, “So you failed interrogation again.”

“Hey fellow bitch, how was your day?” Natalie replied. She looked nothing like her mother. Natalie didn’t have blonde hair, white skin, and blue eyes. Natalie was dirty-blonde, brown-skinned like her father, and had green eyes like her father.

“I’m not going to lower your rank. You just need to train with Lenna.” For the first time ever, Natalie heard her mother being reasonable.

Natalie slightly smirked, “Thanks. May I ask why the change of thought?”

“Your father suggested you were a little to merciful like him. So, I thought maybe you should train with a friend who honestly hates everyone.”

“Lenna doesn’t hate everyone.”

“She hates everyone outside the I.U.D.B.”

“Because Lennox taught her that but she doesn’t actually hate them. She’s confused from what I can tell.”

They both stood silent as the elevator stopped and opened. Natalie stepped out before her mother grabbed her arm.

“Sorry it didn’t work out today. Probably tomorrow when you interrogate Strida it will be better.”

“Sure. Thanks mom.” Natalie turned back around as her mother let go. She heard the elevator go back down and finally relaxed.

Natalie was at the very top of the dome of the base. The top was made out of glass and decorated with a lot of the flora native to Mars. She enjoyed coming up here to relax and think about things.

‘The stress has been getting to me recently. Maybe I should stay up here with Mason tonight.’

Natalie didn't know it wasn't going to be a very relaxing place for long.

…

“Where’s Corvus?” Kato asked as he walked down a white corridor toward another target Falcon told him to check.

Falcon was laying on the couch naked as he watched Kato, “He went to sleep.”

“What are these targets you want me to check?” Kato asked. Since he arrived two hours ago, he had stolen bombs and planted them in specific locations. It was almost midnight and the entire base was bustling with energy.

“Rescue targets.” Falcon replied as he rubbed his chest. He was a lot less conversational compared to Corvus.

Kato stopped at the first target and checked the room to see if anyone was in it. He went inside and saw a console with multiple chairs. It was an interrogation room from what he could recognize. He looked at the window and saw that Strida, queen of the Exofirma Empire, was in there.

“First target is alive. Tortured, but alive.” Kato informed.

"Move to the next one." Falcon ordered.

Kato walked back out into the corridor and moved to the next marked target. He passed by many workers and soldiers who were less tense compared to him. They were just talking and having fun.

Kato reached the next room and saw there was a whole lot of people inside it. He then saw a person that was marked ally and figured it was the F.I.D. spy Corvus mentioned. Kato continued walking as soon as he noticed that someone started watching him from inside the room. Ava Morrow noticed the soldier and shrugged off the weird feeling she had.

"Can't get to the next target by there is an F.I.D. spy in there. Try and contact him.” Kato informed.

Falcon grabbed the tablet from the white coffee table and called the spy, “This is Falcon. What is the state of the person that is being held in the facility?”

The spy replied, “She is about to endure the worst torture from Ava Morrow. Subject name is Anati and if you are going to do anything, I suggest you do it now.”

“Thank you for the information.” Falcon said before hanging up.

“Third target is alive and breathing also.” Kato informed Falcon.

“Good, the attack can begin.”

…

Cannibal screamed at the people who were resting in the jungle to get up and get back inside the ships. They were starting the offensive. Magna Rex was surprised by the news.

‘I guess this is how the Falcon’s do it.’ He thought as he walked and stood next to Cannibal.

“You heard him. Get back in the ships!”

The mass amount of Exofirma soldiers quickly returned to their vehicles. The ships were massive carriers that could hold 50 soldiers and ten weaponized cars. They were used in offensive attacks and the ships were also surprisingly quick.

From one moment to the next, Natalie saw a missile fly into the observatory. She grabbed Mason and threw him into the elevator as the threat exploded. Natalie immediately pushed a button on the elevator for the evacuation floor.

“I got a feed.” Falcon spoke as he rapidly pulled up a camera. He saw Anati, Sapphire, and Strida in the dark rooms.

“Go help the targets I told you about Kato. We will see you on the ground shortly.” Falcon ordered before throwing the tablet on the couch and running into his room.

Cannibal jumped from the carrier ship and broke a wall into the giant dome. He ran down a corridor and pushed an I.U.D.B. soldier down. Cannibal grabbed the soldier and threw him against his knee.

Another soldier tried firing at Cannibal with an SMG but the bullets didn’t even scratch the white battlesuit. Cannibal disarmed the soldier and smacked him with the gun.

Sapphire looked as someone busted down the sealed metal door, “Kato?”

“Hi, didn’t I meet you somewhere?” Kato asked as he untied the chains holding Sapphire down.

Sapphire stood up and slapped him, “You don’t remember the fact that you fucked me three weeks ago!”

The memory came rushing back to Kato and his expression turned to one of pleasure, “Now I remember. Your sister is near, let’s go.”

Natalie dragged Mason with her through the evacuation hangar. She pulled out her phone while running and her ship opened as they stepped inside. She ran into the pilot cabin and started the engine.

“What are you waiting for? Take off!” Mason yelled as Exofirma soldiers started flooding the hangar. He grabbed a gun and fired upon them.

“I’m waiting for Lenna!” Natalie screamed as she flipped the ship around. A silent moment occurred between when she pressed the trigger and the huge laser miniguns of the ship fired upon the Exofirma soldiers.

Lenna emerged from one of the corridors with a trail of soldiers running after her. Natalie turned her ship back around and prayed that Lenna could reach her. Lenna jumped and grabbed the edge of the platform as Mason helped her in.

“Come on, move the subject!” Ava screamed as two soldiers ran with Anati handcuffed.

Sapphire emerged from another corridor in front of the two soldiers, “How about you stop moving.” Sapphire ran toward her targets and slid as she brought two swords right to their crotches. She kicked Ava to the ground as she stood up.

Ava retaliated and tried to punch Sapphire but Kato grabbed her arm and slammed her into the wall, “Never thought I’d see you again.”

Ava and Kato moved in a circle as Sapphire helped her sister up, “You were one of our best agents.”

“You were the worst.” Kato said before he flung himself at Ava and knocked her to the wall. He grabbed her wrist and threw her back on the ground before stomping on Ava’s chest.

Falcon and Corvus came into Kato’s view as he continued to hold Ava down on the ground, “Let her up.” Falcon ordered.

Kato let Ava stand up and before she could punch him, Falcon grabbed her arm and fired a blue blast from his hand. She fell back unconscious.

“Cannibal. Do you have Strida?”

“Yes, I am with Rex, Phadro, Trogon, and others.”

“Good, I have Sapphire and Anati with me. Along with the leader of the I.U.D.B.” Falcon replied with a smile.

Author's Note

Exitium Chapter 4 was supposed to be a 4th of July special but oh well. I didn't make it that. I did put the events in this chapter on July the 4th

I hope you enjoy Exitium Chapter 4! If you want to read the other chapters in the Falcon Universe, or you want to read that failed Kombat Universe, click on my Fic-O-Pedia - Also check out my site. I usually post daily updates of when I am going to post a chapter on my website.

And if you have a Wattpad, please follow me and vote on my stories. It will greatly help me on that site.

P.S. I actually should start now posting everyday. I will have to leave in a week from July the 8th for a vacation that I don't want to be a part of! But other than that, except to hear from me until the end of September when everything starts getting busier. At that point, you should hear from me every weekend.

Chapter 4 – Humanity is Lost and Broken

“Where are we going?” Mortem asked as he, Vitae, and Nick ran to a normal-looking, gray Cadillac.

Vitae broke the drivers-side window and got in, “To the airport.” He pulled out his phone and quickly hacked the car.

“How did you do that?” Mortem asked as Vitae pulled out of the parallel parking space.

“Nick has taught me many valuable skills since I first arrived here.” Vitae entered the highway. He set a waypoint on the car’s screen for a private hanger in LAX that contained all of his vehicles. It was accessible through the back entrance of LAX.

“What valuable skills can I learn from you, Nick?” Mortem looked behind his seat and asked.

“Fuck, you didn’t get lost in a smoke shield that disturbs even infrared vision. So, you probably have about ten more to learn.”

“Ten? That’s it?”

“Those ten will set you up but you will develop your own skills. Just like Vitae has.”

Mortem looked at Vitae, who was intensely focused on something far off on the road, “I thought you meant many as in hundreds.”

“Technically ten is many and you may want to hide your face.” Vitae replied.

“How am I going to— “

The highway came to a sudden and almost abrupt stop. Vitae immediately around at a roadway bridge that passed above him and saw two cameras, one pointed at each side of every car in the six lane highway.

“Duck, both of you.” Vitae ordered as he pressed his face to the steering wheel. He slowly pressed on the gas as the car alerted him with a beep that cars were taking off. Once they were under the bridge and past the cameras, he lifted his head up.

“Cameras,” he told Mortem, Nick already knew why he had to duck, who lifted his head up and looked at Vitae like he was insane, “There were two placed on the side of the bridge above us that would have alerted the secret service almost immediately. They weren’t there before which means someone knows our route.”

Nick now looked alerted, “How do you know it was Secret Service?”

“The cameras were black, almost as if they wanted to be hidden. They weren’t the normal white city cameras that catch you for speeding,” Vitae’s face got red, “Why is traffic so slow right now!” He slammed his palm on the horn multiple times.

“There must be police that just set up a check station. Traffic never goes this slow, even in LA nowadays.” Nick added.

“That’s exactly what I wanted to avoid.” Vitae grabbed something from his black cargo shorts and gave it to Mortem and Nick.

“What’s this?” Mortem grabbed the small cardboard box and pulled out a tiny syringe.

Vitae took out needle from another one of his pockets and stuck it into the syringe before stabbing himself in the eye and injecting the fluid, “It’s a modified version of the UN’s Alternate Reality Internet System or Aris.”

“Your mother gave this to you before she left didn’t she? Is it modified so that we can’t be detected by Aris?” Nick asked.

“Yeah and I was a bit reluctant to use it but my mother said that it has valuable tactical information. Something I feel like we are going to need in a few moments.” Vitae said as he gave the needle to Nick who did the same process.

Nick gave the needle to Mortem, “Wait, hold up, what’s Aris?”

“Aris is a system that keeps track of everything that you do during the day. It became a thing after the United Nations removed the privacy laws protecting us from it. It was presented as a simple system that was just augmented reality that presented you useful information and updates throughout the day and nothing controlling.” Nick replied.

“But the celebrities, the powerful, and the politicians know it is part of the new MK Ultra 2 program that the United States has been secretly sponsoring.”

Mortem looked at the vial and inserted the needle, “I wondered what would be the sequel to MK Ultra. Never thought it was this.”

Mortem held the needle up to his left eye. His left eye moved frantically as he tried to push it in but couldn’t. Vitae grabbed his arm strongly before Mortem was just about to inject himself.

“What?”

“Stiffen your eye. It has to be directly in your pupil or massive consequences will happen.”

“How am I going to stiffen my eye?”

“The feeling becomes natural, almost as if it’s a part of you. Remember I told you that so unless everything is wrongly calibrated, which it isn’t, stiffen your eye.” Vitae replied. It was an order.

Mortem put the needle down and intensely focused on the area of his eye, ‘How am I going to keep it stiff when something is about to go inside it?’ He thought as he felt other things in his bionic eye. He felt his pupil widen and close, the individual muscles move, and even felt the bionic optic nerve. In an instant, his eye froze in place and he couldn’t move it.

“That was a weird feeling.” He said as he injected himself with the fluid and Vitae honked the horn again, “How do I—Woah.”

“Calm down, it is just calibrating.” Nick told Mortem as he knew what was happening.

A flashing light appeared and a branding with the name Aris appeared as if it was inside Mortem’s eye. The rest of the world around him seem to be covered in a blurry glass plane. Another branding with the United Nations logo appeared before everything cleared up.

“Was that it?” Mortem asked as Vitae honked the horn again before changing to a lane that was moving.

“Nope.”

Another blinding white flash and a number of panels appeared. Notifications, news, financial services, schedule; it was all very overpowering as a surge of information appeared in Mortem’s eye. It disappeared in an instant and was replaced with a percentage number that quickly reach 100% and then disappeared. His vision was clear except for a waypoint telling him where he was going and an alert that told him there were enemies.

“Better?” Vitae asked as he noticed Mortem was clutching the seat of the car less.

“Is that what normal citizens see all the time?”

“Advertisements, false media, and notifications which are supposed to get you to buy things is all a part of Aris. The United Nations figured that if corporations can do a form of mind control with advertisement and propaganda that the governments could do the same.” Vitae replied.

Vitae honked the horn again and changed into the left lane, ‘Might as well enjoy the view of the sea.’ He thought as he looked at the ocean. The traffic was still barely moving and they left 25 minutes ago.

“There’s enemies up ahead.” Mortem broke the silence.

“I know but we are fifty miles away from LAX and I don’t think you want to travel on foot.” Vitae replied as a hive of drones started passing by overhead. Mortem got an idea.

“Nick, hack three drones.”

Nick realized what Mortem was thinking and pulled out his phone, “And… done.”

Three drones stopped right above the car. They all got out and got on top of the car and jumped to grab onto the drones. They took off at flying speed without warning as people looked to see three people flying in the air. They passed the police checkpoint at an incredibly rapid pace. The police didn’t notice them and they were in the clear.

“What were you planning to do when we reached the checkpoint?” Mortem screamed.

“I was going take off flying since traffic was going to let up.”

The drone took them up above the fence surrounding the runway and into the section where the hangers were. The drones stopped and dropped Vitae, Mortem, and Nick before taking off to join the rest of the pack. They were at hangar number 47 and they needed to be at hanger number 60.

“Goddammit Nick.” Vitae commented as he ran.

They reached the 60th hangar and Mortem was about to run past a punch of Secret Service at high-speed before Vitae tackled him right before they hit a car. Due to the fact that everyone was augmented, a high-speed runner could easily be shot by mostly anyone, especially a Secret Service agent. They took cover behind the cars away from the view of each agent. An array of sport coupes, SUV’s, and sedans were in front of Vitae’s hangar.

‘That fucking hurt.’ Mortem thought.

‘You were the one who managed to not see a bunch of Secret Service agents! You would have been shot.’ Vitae replied.

‘I was running too fast for them to see me anyway. Plus, how could I have seen them? Everything was blurry.’

Vitae was about to scream aloud and Nick put a hand on his shoulder telling him to calm down. Vitae pulled out a silenced pistol and shot down two agents before moving up to another car. There was a private ship that was moved outside the hangar and that was going to be their ride.

Mortem moved up with Vitae while Nick stayed behind and opened the car door of the sedan he was behind. He found a silenced sniper and ordered the other two to move up. He sniped five more agents while Vitae took out three more before reaching the private ship. Everyone else was occupied inside the hangar.

Vitae tapped on a key-looking thing on his phone and a staircase opened up in the middle of the triangular, black, sharp looking ship, ‘Like the one I was fixing just 2 days ago.’

Someone turned around from inside the hangar, “Hey! Stop them!”

Vitae ran past the living area of the ship and into the pilot cabin. He started the space ship and it made a loud roar as it lifted from the ground. He turned it toward the hangar and immediately fired upon everyone inside.

Everyone ducked as Vitae backed the ship to where Nick was standing. He jumped in, with his acquired sniper still in hand, before the ship started getting higher off the ground. The agents fired their guns in a hopeless attempt to stop Vitae and Mortem from leaving.

“Call in the tank!” Mortem overheard an order as the ship’s staircase closed back into the hull. It looked like a part of the wooden floor when retracted.

“They are calling in a tank!” Mortem yelled across the living area to Vitae.

Nick ran to the pilot cabin, “The only tank that could take out a spaceship are the prototypes.”

Vitae appeared concerned as he pushed the lever and the ship took off at blazing speed. Just then, Vitae narrowly dodged a missile which turned around and try to hit the ship again. Mortem flew up into the ceiling of the living area before falling on his back. Nick sat in the seat next to Vitae and pushed a button which prevented missile tracking.

“I hope that’s advanced enough for the Navy’s missile tracking.” Vitae commented. He kept the ship low over the ocean in order to avoid being detected.

In an instant, another missile appeared, this time in front of the ship. Vitae made a hard sideways move in order to avoid it and Mortem bounced off the wall. He proceeded toward the pilot cabin before being thrown to the left.

“I swear I am going to have bruises because you don’t know how to fly!”

“I’m trying to make sure we all don’t die, thank you for your consideraaaaaaaation!” Vitae screamed as he pulled straight up and back down in order to avoid another two missiles. Mortem hit his head on the ceiling of the pilot cabin and decided to sit down and strap in.

“I thought the anti-tracking you installed in here worked!” Vitae screamed as he pulled the ship straight up into the atmosphere. He was done being close to the ocean’s surface. One false move while dodging and the ship would hit the water at high-speed, leaving all of them dead.

Nick got up and went back into the living area, “Go see what he is going to do,” Vitae ordered and Mortem got up to follow him, “Artificial gravity is now on by the way. Took a couple of minutes. Sorry bro.”

Mortem stopped and looked quickly, ‘He hasn’t called me that since I got here.’

Nick was tapping away at a floating holographic display and an emergency door formed and opened in the ship’s hull. He fastened a long, metal chain around his waist before giving it to Mortem.

“Hold on to it. I don’t want to die today.” Nick ordered as Mortem stared at him wide-eyed.

Nick jumped out of the plane as soon as he heard another missile coming and hanged off the edge of the hull. He jumped on the missile and quickly opened a hatch, grabbed a chip, before the missile flew away from him with his black overcoat. All the while Mortem stood there, holding the end of the chain at his side, flabbergasted.

Nick climbed back up the chain which Mortem pulled in order to help him. He tapped a few more times on the holographic screen and the emergency door closed and disappeared without a trace.

“Goddammit! The black overcoat was $10,000! It was fucking Gucci!” Nick screamed as he unraveled the chain from his waist.

“10,000 dollars for that piece of—” Nick stared at Mortem as if he dared him to say what he was going to say.

Nick walked by Mortem and patted him on the back, “Glad you finish that sentence.”

Vitae dodged another missile as Nicks stepped into the cabin, “Anymore jerk movements with my arms and they are going to be tired.” Vitae complained.

“I just jumped out of a fucking spaceship and you, ungrateful little dick, are complaining about flying!” Nick cursed before he ripping open a leather panel in front of his seat and inserted the chip.

Vitae looked at Nick up and down, “Be glad it wasn’t in space because I wouldn’t have cut your oxygen.”

“I would still be alive and ten minutes later I would have found a way inside so that I could just beat your ass,” Nick slammed the panel back into place, “You are so welcome by the way.”

“For what?”

Nick tapped on a screen and the ship went into autopilot. The wheel disappeared, “You no longer have to dodge ballistic missiles launched by Navy ships.”

…

“Twelve dead and 33 Secret Service members injured at the LAX airport hangars while investigating suspects Vitae, Mortem, and Nick. I am Alessandra Blackford and you are watching a special news report on the Capital Network.” The anchorwoman said before the television cut to an entrance animation.

“You better have this matter controlled after this, Mr. President.” A CEO of a major corporation said to The President.

“Please, call me Dayton.” The President replied. They were in a giant room with a black glass table and a view of the city of Washington D.C. It was technically called the White House by officials but other people have called it the White Building since it was a tower that replaced the actual house.

“I would rather not. Consider it a privilege that you will never know mine.”

“Twelve dead and 33 injured as Mortem and Vitae flew off toward an unknown location. On July the 4th early in the morning, Vitae and Mortem presented a, as of right now, unknown symbol to the public eye after Emerald was killed in an explosion,” The anchorwoman walked to a screen and presented a fiery Falcon, “We have the leader of the Secret Service live in the studio right now with Harrison to explain why his team fired upon the two as soon as it was presented.”

An animation smoothed the transition cut to Harrison Armstrong, the anchorman of Capital Network, “Thanks Alessandra. I am here with Sabino Maselli, leader of the Secret Service. Now why did your team fire upon Mortem and Vitae?”

The camera cut to a scary man, Sabino Maselli. He had jet-black hair, fiery orange-colored eyes, a 5’oclock shadow, and wore a white leather jacket with white jeans. His physique was intimidating since he appeared to be mostly muscle and his face seemed to be full of malicious intent.

“The image that Vitae and Mortem presented was an image used by the American government’s enemies in the past. It brought hatred toward the government and its people.” He leaned back in a tall chair while Harrison sat straight.

“Many people are criticizing the Secret Service for acting more like a Secret Police with certain situations. This event is being brought into the argument that the Secret Service should in fact have less power. What is your counter to these attacks?”

“We have protected the people far more effectively than the regular police. This incident should be considered under control.”

“Is that why violent protests are erupting across U.S. territories, you have 33 men and women injured and ten dead, along with criticisms of your recent actions?”

“What are you suggesting Harrison?”

“The fact that the situation is not as controlled as you make it out to be.”

“Everything will be—” Sabino was rudely interrupted.

“Under control? What does the symbol actually mean that has caused even the peaceful, enslavement territories, to have massive uproar?” Harrison demanded. The whole room went quiet. No one had used the words “enslavement territories” in many years.

“I told you it is an extremist symbol.”

Harrison waved a few guards off camera that were bigger than Sabino and the took him away, “This is what it actually means. From the Capital Network, that burning Falcon is a symbol the better days of past. The public of the United States of America, and of the United Nations, should start caring about others besides the ones inside country borders. That is all from the Capital Network. We will resume our regularly scheduled programming.”

A CEO waved at the television to turn it off and looked around the room, “Should we tell Dayton?”

“Why not, let’s spare him the time so he has some anger to vent later.” A British lady responded.

“How dare you all to do such a thing on national television! After all the United States government has done for you!”

“I suggest you sit down before we have you taken away and executed,” It gave every corporate executive there an idea, “Why don’t we do just that?”

Four guards rushed into the room and grabbed Dayton, “Wait! Wait! What else do you guys want?”

“Nothing! The United Nations has done nothing for us and our people.” One executive responded.

“Your people! The population are U.S. citizens. They aren’t your property.” Dayton shot back.

“Do you think that we mean the people living here? You have no idea where all of us come from do you. We all come from The Poverty as you so aptly named.” A woman replied.

“Please have mercy. I would rather see my country die than to be dead myself.” Dayton pleaded.

The executives nodded and waved the guards away. Dayton fell to the floor and was crying. He composed himself and stood up.

“Disgusting little gremlin. You said you wanted to see your country die? You will get exactly that.” Someone said to him before they all left the room.

‘Except I’m still more powerful than all of you put together,’ He paced around the room, ‘Every single member of the U.N. is more powerful than all of them put together.’

“It’s time for the United Nations to showcase its power.”

…

“Come on, let’s go.” The husband called out to his wife in the small apartment.

“Hey, we are leaving!” The mother called out down the small hallway.

“Are we going to a rally?” Her teenage daughter asked.

“Yes. It should be safe.”

They proceeded out of the apartment into the beautiful British streets dotted with skyscrapers and apartments. Britain’s population was the first to protest against the government and the United Nations when the Falcon symbol showed up. The American family that moved to Britain due to work issues walked down the street.

“I forgot my phone. Here, take her.”

“What if something happens? I am having second thoughts about this.”

“Don’t worry, it’s a peaceful protest. The government is not allowed to do anything about it.” The mother quickly walked back up the street.

The father continued walking and saw people waving signs in the street and a crowd. He put his daughter up on his shoulders so that she could see the sight. She had always loved politics and current world issues.

A few minutes would pass by before gunshots. There were numerous gunshots. He put his daughter down and pushed her in front of him. People started running back up the street. They both soon found themselves at the back of the crowd. They quickly looked back and saw robotic military shooting at peaceful protestors.

The father fell to the floor and she fell with him. She screamed as the ground scraped her knee and arms. She looked at her dad and quickly scrambled for him.

“Are you okay?” She saw the trail of blood from where he was standing to the point he fell.

He looked back and saw the robotic soldiers with exposed metal moving so naturally human it was creepy, “Get down and pretend you are dead.”

She did as she was told and she held her breath. It felt like eight minutes and the father prayed that the soldier didn’t look over their bodies for a sign of a heartbeat. The soldier passed by a person on a sidewalk who was pleading for help and shot him. Once he was gone, she kneeled back down next to her dad.

“Please don’t die,” She winced at the far-off sound of people being shot helpless on the ground, “Why are they doing this?”

“Because people no longer have the concept of humanity,” He coughed blood, “Remember to always be strong.”

“Dad? No, please. Dad!” She covered her face with her palms and cried into them. Salty tears poured out of her eyes.

“Mikayla!” She heard her mother’s scream.

“Mom!” She screamed back as she began to dash up the street. She stopped right at her apartment door. The lock was broken.

“MOM!” She ran in and saw a soldier holding a gun pointed at her mother. She launched herself at the soldier and had him in a choke hold. Mikayla’s mother reacted quickly and stabbed the robot in the head. It bled like any normal human but the exposed metal meant it was clearly android.

“They probably have a tracking chip that will notice if someone has gone dead. Get to the car, I will be there in a second.”

“Mom, dad— “

“I knew the moment you ran in by yourself.” Her mother replied before disappearing into a room.

Mikayla grabbed the car keys that were sitting on the kitchen counter and ran outside. She started the car and her mother ran out with a box of important supplies. Mikayla drove back down the street where she just witnessed her father murdered.

They were both going to the airport in order to go to the same place Mortem and Vitae are headed; Japan.

Author's Note

Happy Fourth of July. This isn't the Fourth of July special I planned. That is going to be for tomorrow.

Anyway ENJOY!!

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I will have a twitter soon.....

Chapter 4 - The War Begins

“I expect the best out of all of you. We are dealing with an enemy that is more ruthless than we could ever be, understand?” Rubrum shouted to his squadron and through his coms so that every soldier in the 1,000,000 that were part of the attack could hear. Rubrum’s squadron consisted of Orage, Ouragan, Morbus, Desa, Rapere, and Donovan. The three were originally going to do the mission themselves, but the other four decided to volunteer.

Every single soldier of the 1,000,000 responded unanimously with a “Yes Sir.”

There were 1,000 carrier ships which carried 1,000 troops each to the point of insertion. The carrier ships were large and they were basically huge hangers with fighter ships and dropout points for the soldiers. The best part about the carriers was that they were cloaked and masked. No one could see they were being attacked until it was too late. Each squadron had a specific plan to conduct across the vast desert. Some had to disable security towers, others had to find communication posts, etc. Rubrum’s squadron was assigned to the front lines and they were to be the first to step into the temporary base of their enemy. They were to completely disable the entire temporary base by reaching the headquarters and launching a program that would destroy all of the base’s functions. This was the plan unless something happens between them and the 25 miles of desert they have to cover.

Troops soon started dropping out through the holes that appeared in the floor and landing on the desert sand. Each insertion point was right above the target so that each soldier could quickly take out the enemy and conduct their mission. The most important mission out of all of them would be that each squad assigned to a communication post would have to fully hack each one so that the main base didn’t notice they were being attacked.

“We are dropping in two minutes,” Rubrum informed his squad who stood next to a fightership, “Are you guys ready?” Rubrum pressed a button on his neck and a helmet formed around his head. It was shaped like a falcon.

Orage, Ouragan, and Rubrum were wearing the same white battlesuit from yesterday. It not only was iconic but probably one of the best battlesuits technologically. The sharp edges were placed in the key contact points used in combat, such as the elbows, knees, shoulders, and fists. The rest of the suit flowed with the wearer and accentuated muscles in order to scare an opponent.

The others were wearing the traditional black battlesuits found in the F.I.D. They were less menacing compared to the white ones but it was enough to scare people. Morbus and Desa were the most intimidating due to the fact that their suits were more warlike compared to the elegance that existed in the F.I.D. overall.

“I have never met a team readier for battle. Even within my ranks!” Morbus complimented the rest of the team.

Tengah began whispering something in Morbus’s ear, “If you are looking for a good time tonight then why didn’t you just say so?”

“Sometimes, it’s good to be nice for once. Besides, the Falcons are finally being more fair in political opportunity compared to the pure Human High Culture that you guys represented before.” Morbus whispered back.

Tengah sat back, ‘Human High Culture? We represented that?’

Morbus could tell that Tengah was clearly debating what her family image was in that moment, ‘They are more disconnected than I thought. I always looked at them as corrupted. Now I see there is a problem somewhere in the system.’

“The Teuri’s are being arrested today.” Morbus announced aloud in order to change the subject.

“Thank god those nuisances are gone.” Donovan replied.

“Team A001, you have thirty seconds till the drop point.” A computerized voice emanated from the loudspeakers. A hole opened in the floor next to Rubrum and it was wide enough to allow two people to exit at the same time.

“No bailing alright.” Rapere shouted with a chuckle.

“Team A001, you have sixty seconds to drop.”

Rubrum and Morbus dropped first, Orage and Ouragan went second, Desa went third, and Donovan and Rapere went last. They dropped from 100 feet in the air but landed quietly as the thrusters in their suit slowed their descent.

They landed on a giant sand dune in the middle of the Vimoldarian desert, the Raging Madness. It was called that due to the fact that the first explorers were known to have been bitten by a snake common to the region that would drive people insane. Hallucinogens would bend the reality of the desert as they tried to reach a camp or civilization before dying. Thanks to the wonders of Falcon Empyrean medicine, the explorers usually didn’t die. There were some who were not so lucky.

They started walking, with Rubrum, Orage, and Ouragan leading, toward the main base and avoided the outposts. Teams were still dropping all over the desert disabling certain functions. It was imperative they weren’t detected by anything.

“How can a temporary base be so big?” Rapere asked a rookie question over the team coms.

The all laughed before Rubrum responded, “I keep forgetting this is your first go around. Falcon Empire temporary bases have been known to reach entire biomes at a time. Due to the nature of the universe and the concept of huge numbers in war, it is imperative to conquer as much land as possible.”

They continued walking and covered about 5 miles in less than 25 minutes. They could have enabled the speed in their battlesuits and dashed across the desert at 100 miles an hour, but it was imperative they weren’t detected. Otherwise, a whole army would swarm them.

Rubrum was just over the peak of the sand dune while he ordered the others to fall behind him. He saw a small outpost and immediately went into cloak mode. He ordered the others to do the same.

The outpost was very large and made out of pure metal. It seemed to house ground vehicles and air carriers. There were four watch towers each with their own communication system that could route information back to the main base. There were two entrances in the giant walls surrounding the outpost and before the walls was a 50 feet distance where someone could shoot if there was an intruder.

“Ouragan, go to one of the entrances and sneak in. The rest of you, find a good spot and snipe the operators in those towers before moving in,” Rubrum ordered, “I will be helping Ouragan. Move.”

While the others took aim at the operators in the four watch towers, Rubrum and Ouragan stepped into the 50 feet of space.

“Mine!” Ouragan shouted before jumping from his space and dodging an explosion.

Orage didn’t even think about it, “Everyone, fire on those operators. Now!”

The people in the watch towers dropped before they could notify any other soldiers. However, others still heard the explosion even through the thick walls. They didn’t react, apparently due to the mines being extremely faulty and detonating constantly.

“Ouragan, with me.” Rubrum ordered as counted the guards in the entrance. There were six snipers that were at the top of the metal wall, covered by a futuristic blue shield. Six more stood right next to the entrance at ground level while a squadron of eight, four on each side, were atop balconies. There was another squadron of eight further out from the six directly at the entrance.

“I’ll take the four farthest from us. There’s no doing this stealthily if we want to take prisoners.” Ouragan stated as he watched the video feed coming from Rubrum’s suit.

“We just need Rapere to kill the six snipers at the entrance.” Ouragan stated.

“Understood.”

“Orage, take Donovan and Morbus with you to the other entrance while Desa kills the snipers over there.”

“Moving out.”

Rubrum counted the seconds. Usually, a soldier trained in the F.I.D. was supposed to be ready in approximately 15 seconds. Once the 15 seconds were up, you had to be in position. No excuses.

“Move, move, move.” Rubrum ordered as he grappled up the balcony nearest him.

Maximum Strength. The suit spoke as it activated each combat mode. Rubrum disarmed the two guards in front of him and threw them off the balcony. He kicked through the third guard’s chest and slammed him against the edge before kneeing him in the face. The heart was visibly crushed and the ribs and lungs were clearly broken and ripped through. The fourth guard dropped his weapon and put his hands up.

Maximum Speed. Ouragan boosted and ran across the wall quicker than anyone could have seen. He disarmed all four guards before pushing them off the balcony and hanging them by a wire.

“I thought you said we were going to do this non-lethaly.” Ouragan stated over coms as he quickly jumped down and disarmed three guards. He took off for the group of eight that were further away.

Cloak Engaged. Rubrum jumped down quietly and knocked out the other three guards. Maximum Speed. He caught up with Ouragan and smashed into two guards with the sharp edge of his shoulder while Ouragan quickly punched and kicked the other six in the head.

“The third guard will live.” Rubrum dismissed the concern.

“In critical condition.”

Meanwhile, Desa took aim at the snipers. Maximum Accuracy. She fired only two bullets. The first one went through four guards. The second one went through six. She already took care of the snipers.

“Stop doing all the work.” Orage stated as she flipped a guard in the air and kicked him in the face before landing on another soldier and flogging him with her baton.

Maximum Speed. Donovan ran into the outpost and ran up one of the watch towers. He placed a charge on the communication hubs, which were circular table devices, and ran out. The explosion was noticed by the 100 soldiers within the outpost. He knocked down ten like a giant football player and ran up another watch tower and did the same.

Orage ran in with a bow while Morbus ran in with two SMGs in each hand. The outpost inside looked completely different compared to being seen from outside. What seemed like a simple giant outpost with walls was an open-air repair and manufacturing facility. Ginormous printers manufactured tanks while robots repaired the vehicles coming in from the entrances. The soldiers that were there clearly didn’t have to do anything but make sure nothing happened due to everything being automated.

Orage shot someone in the foot, “Don’t aim for the head,” she shot someone else in the arm, “We want them alive not dead.”

Morbus fired upon a group of eight that were coming to tackle him and aimed for the face, “They will survive.”

Maximum Accuracy. Orage pulled the string of her bow and released it. A laser spread shot emerged and each one was able to hit a target. She counted the soldiers as they fell and the total came to about 20.

Rubrum slid under a tank that was raised by a couple of robots and knocked two soldiers to the ground. He threw his sword at a group of five before blocking a blow from a sledgehammer wielding soldier. Ouragan slammed the soldier into the tank while Rubrum disarmed him. He slammed the sledgehammer into his opponent’s arm.

“Let’s see who is the better sniper.” Desa spoke to Rapere as she set up.

“I am clearly the best.” Rapere replied.

Before Desa replied, she shot seven soldiers quickly, “I don’t think you are.”

…

“I like this crown.” Lusus examined a diamond-studded crown that she asked a store employee for. She wore a black dress with a necklace of pearls around her neck and a pair of high heels. Her hair was colored blonde and she had it cut short.

Sicarius, her husband, quickly looked, “I can pay for it. It looks very nice.” He was more casual today and wore the usual modern style of the Falcon Empire. That modern style was basically remove more material and show more skin. A bright blue tank top with dark blue cargo shorts made him stand out. He had a pair of modern Ray Bans with blue Nike’s.

“You don’t need to pay for anything. It’s mine after all,” She looked at the price tag, “18,000 Goldcoins, it’s very cheap.”

Lusus threw it in the bag she was carrying full of other items. Ten shirts, six pairs of high heels, a couple of blazers, and earrings that she asked a sales associate to grab from the display table. The display table was the centerpiece of the store. It was the first thing you saw as soon as you walked in. The rest of the store was racks of clothing with some displays of mannequins showing the type of styles you could make with the different items. The newest designs were also put on display toward the end of the store in display cases with the clothing hanging on a rack at the bottom.

“Lusus, you need to see this.” Sicarius called his wife.

Lusus walked over to a magnificent display which was featured behind the display table, “What is—Oh my god.”

“You like it don’t you?” Sicarius asked. What he was looking at was a beautiful ring designed in the shape of a lion’s head.

“Sicarius, I…” It hurt Lusus to say it but it was true, “I don’t deserve this.”

Lusus dropped her bag and ran out of the store in a fit. She, unlike her cheating husband, felt guilty for the plan with Morbus. She actually started hoping Morbus would turn them in with the F.I.D.

She stopped for a moment and looked behind her. Her husband was looking for her through the crowd. She quickly went inside another store and hid behind the racks of clothing. Once she saw he passed, she quickly stepped out and proceeded to find an F.I.D. officer.

The mall they were in was one of the more recent developments of the Falcon Empire in the city of Exercitus on Vimoldara. From the outside, it was designed as multiple rectangular panels stacked on top of each other. Each would flow upwards in a spiral, making it look as if the building could spin.

It in fact could. The nine rectangular pieces each were connected to a cylinder in the center that would rotate each piece every hour. What the mall didn’t make up for in height, it more than made up for in size. It was the equivalent of 20 football fields in length and 18 football fields in width with only nine stories.

Due to the fact that the mall was so huge, streets were placed inside it so that cars could move around inside the mall. The building had its own automated taxi service that could drive you to any area in the mall. There were many stores in the giant behemoth of retail. About 75% of them were large stores from the Falcon Industries corporations while the rest of the space was used by Falcon Industries labelled small businesses.

Lusus walked across the street with a giant fountain being the center of a roundabout to her left, ‘Where are the officers? Whatever, I will just get a taxi and tell it to take me to security.”

“Lusus,” She jerked around suddenly and looked at her husband calmly, “What was all that about?”

“Oh nothing. I’m fine.”

…

“Base, we need a pick-up and drop in. We are behind schedule.” Rubrum spoke over the coms. He was asking the captain of the Command Ship due to the fact that the small outpost soon became a hallmark for reinforcements. Soon, the main base noticed that the outpost went dark. So they sent a 300-person reinforcement team.

Of course, due to the superior weaponry of the Falcon Empire, they were able to take out all 300 soldiers, but now they were an hour behind schedule. The took out the 300 soldiers in less than 30 minutes compared to the two hours it took them to remove 100. The reason for that was because the squadron started messing around and challenging each other. Even Rubrum joined the shenanigans.

“There’s a pick-up for another team about 20 miles east. Can you run there?” A woman replied.

Maximum Speed. “Yes, we can. Thank you.”

All of them dashed across the desert at 100 miles an hour. It took them approximately 13 minutes to get to the pick-up. They jumped into the small open carrier and the pilot took off. The could see the desert whizz by since the doors were open.

“What squadron number are you?” Rapere asked.

“We are the ones right behind you, A002,” The leader replied, “We are the best in the F.I.D. behind you guys.”

“By a small margin.” Another member added. They were a team of four instead of Rubrum’s team of seven.

“That small margin is enough to qualify.” The leader replied.

“What’s your next mission?” Orage asked.

“Nothing. We finished about the same time as you guys except with less reinforcements. 300 huh?”

Orage sighed, “Yep. How did you know that?”

“The information was relayed to use as to who we may be working with. That was the latest data point in your files.”

“We are approaching the drop point. Remember to go in cloaked. This ship should not be detected.” The pilot said before going over another huge metal wall, bigger than the one at the outpost.

The main base of the whole temporary establishment was huge and about as big as any major city. There were nine zones in the whole base; each with their own purpose. There was the living zone, training zone, elite training zone, armory, vehicles, manufacturing, food and water production, the headquarters, and a huge mining zone. The whole premise of temporary bases was to have a self-functioning base able to support itself due to the fact that they are meant to become fully functioning cities when the land is fully conquered.

“They were trying to take over all of Vimoldara weren’t they.” Rapere was in awe.

“No. They were trying to at least take over Exercitus. Make it possibly a hub for materials. Something tells me they are running out of resources judging by all that mining.” Rubrum replied.

“I am dropping you guys on a roof near the HQ. You will have to get in there yourselves.” The pilot informed the two squadrons.

“Never got your name by the way.” Rubrum spoke to the leader of A002.

“My name is Andromeda. You can call me Andro.”

Orage paused, “The only… You were the first android!”

“Yep the very first. Not like I have anything to account for it.” Andro commented.

Morbus rolled his eyes, “I convinced him to get orcs and androids in Parliament. There are going to be 600 seats.”

“That was classified political information!” Rubrum yelled.

“I would have found out long before it happened anyway. I am the team below you after all,” Andro thought for a second, “Wait, 600 seats? 200 of each species? Isn’t that a little much?”

“There should be 100 elected officials per species. The extra 300 are for species we may discover in our explorations that may want to be a part of the Falcon Parliament.” Rubrum explained.

“Here’s the drop off.” The pilot told the two squadrons.

“Good,” Rubrum and Andro rappelled down, “because I was wondering how all of those people would agree on anything.”

Everyone quickly rappelled down from the small carrier ship which was unseen from the outside. Once everyone was out, they jumped from building to building across the manufacturing sector. It was loud and bustling with orcs. Tanks were being produced at a rapid pace but a surprising amount of what appeared to be consumer items were also being produced. They stopped on the roof of a warehouse.

“Why would the Novem Order be producing anything non-military?” Andromeda asked.

“Recently, they have been trying to distance themselves from Falcon Industries. Corak has started funding his own businesses in the universal state.” Rubrum replied.

“Of course, our corporations are very vocal of their disapproval in the Novem Order. Even though we have asked them to keep quiet,” Ouragan added, “We should get moving. The HQ is only a few more rooftops away from us.”

They quickly got across the manufacturing sector and came upon a pyramid-shaped building. It was the headquarters of the entire temporary base. They found an open window and Rapere shot a line so that they could get across the street below them and inside.

…

Lusus and Sicarius stepped into their car. It was a Lexus sports car that stood out from the other luxury cars purchased in the Falcon Empire. It was sharply designed and colored in a fiery red. The seats were extremely comfortable and everything in the interior was a beige leather.

“Are you sure you don’t want that ring?” Sicarius asked before he start the car.

“Yes.” Lusus replied. They were still inside the mall and were about to leave for the spaceport. Lusus watched and waited for an F.I.D. Mercedes to pass by. They usually made their rounds around the mall at that hour.

She saw one. This was her chance. She got out of the car suddenly just as Sicarius was about to pull out. She ran for the car which was a few feet behind the Lexus.

“Lusus, wait! Do not say anything!” Sicarius screamed.

“He knows I am going to turn us in!’ She thought as she ran.

“Officer!”

“Lusus Tueri! What is the problem?”

“Officer,” Sicarius grabbed her shoulder and she screamed, “Get off me.”

“Don’t do this Lusus.” Sicarius said as the officer’s partner held him back.

“Fuck you!” Lusus screamed before turning toward the officer, “Arrest me. I am Lusus Tueri and Sicarius Tueri is my husband. I admit to committing treason by trying to conspire with Morbus, the leader of the Radical Army. I tried to create an uprising against the Falcon Family. Arrest me.”

“We already had a file for that case and you admitting to the crime just proved that you are guilty.” The officer said as he put a thick metal handcuff around Lusus’s wrists.

‘So, Morbus reported us. Thank god.’

“Have him ride in your car. Something tells me that he didn’t exactly agree to this.” The officer told his partner as he shoved Lusus into the car.

…

The headquarters was bustling with energy and each floor had orcs running around with assignments. The two squadrons were crawling up the wall and were still fully cloaked. There was a little bit of space between each floor and the actual outside wall, so they continued crawling to the very top.

“What is on the top floor?” Rapere asked.

“There should be a supercomputer and the general’s team that is handling all the main functions of this base. Kill the head, the body goes with it.”

They reached the top of the pyramid and spread out among the four sides of the wall. They looked at the floor and saw a five rows of consoles, each with about eight operators. The general was overlooking everyone on a balcony. The view of the base was breathtaking.

Rubrum pulled out a silenced pistol and shot out all the lights. When everyone started to panic, Orage and Ouragan launched an electric bomb. It went off and everyone on the floor went unconscious. A stream of white electric light lit the whole room even after the bombs went off.

“Drop down. Our suits will protect us.” Rubrum ordered. They all dropped down with a loud thud.

“Orage and Ouragan, shut down this operation. The rest of us will make sure no one gets up here through the elevators or from crawling up the wall.”

Orage and Ouragan quickly went to a console and started tapping and typing. Morbus and Desa shot out the elevator tracks and Donovan with Rubrum barricaded a door that was behind the general. People called out from within and Donovan fired his gun to silence them.

Andro and his team quickly set up at the railing with snipers. Desa and Rapere also set up with them. They waited for their first targets to come crawling.

Everyone was on full alert when soldiers started crawling up the walls and trying to get to the top floor. They team of snipers kept hitting non-lethal points, such as the hand or foot, so that the soldiers could lose grip and fall to the floor below them. The crackling white light from the electric bombs barely lit the room and Rubrum didn’t notice that the general had stood up.

The general grabbed Rubrum in a choke hold and Rubrum quickly tried to loosen his grip. Rubrum kicked his opponent in the crotch before jumping away from him. Donovan ran up and kicked the general onto the ground before pouncing on him and slashing him with a knife.

He kicked Donovan off and charged at him, knocking Donovan across the room and almost knocking him through the windows. Donovan stood up and received a blow to the jaw which made him stagger.

Maximum Speed. Rubrum slammed into the general with his sharp shoulder. It pierced his opponent’s chest and Rubrum could see a heart. He grabbed it and pulled it out.

In that moment, Orage and Ouragan shut down the entire operation. The battlesuits from the Novem Order no longer worked in the base. The power went out and everything stopped. There as complete silence and the only light was the natural light outside and the electricity from the bombs.

Within the hour, the F.I.D. swarmed the base. They captured every single soldier that was involved in the operation. Each would be given a fair trial by the Falcon Parliament.

The best part about the whole thing, is that no lives were lost on either side. The mission was a success story within every media outlet within the Falcon Empire and elsewhere.

To the citizens of the Falcon Empire, it meant redemption for their past actions.

To the citizens of other universal states, it meant a show of power. A show that they could have never put on.

The Novem Order and Avalon Republic were officially the weakest states.

…

“The Avalon Republic has always been a proud universal state.” The democratically elected president of the Avalon Republic, Victor Marius, was making as speech in front of the Avalon monument. The Avalon monument was a giant spire which reached thousands of feet into the air. It was a pillar made out of stone and decorated with beautiful diamonds. It was located in the capital city of Japryke on the planet Neyrus.

Victor Marius was a handsome young man who became president the year before. His blue eyes, tanned skin, tamed hair, and muscular body was enough to make anyone look. He was also an excellent politician. He wore a professional black suit with white accents.

“But we have to accept the fact that we have been isolated for too long. Our longtime neighbor, the Novem Order, attacked the Falcon Empire. In one of the greatest successes ever recorded in military history, the Falcon Empire was able to defend itself, take prisoners, and suffer no casualties on either side. We would not have been able to do that.”

He looked at the camera in front of him instead of the crowd, “I call on the people tonight to vote that we form an alliance with the Falcon Empire before the Novem Order can and will attack us. The Novem Order are out for blood and we need to defend ourselves from possibly the most tyrannical universal state in modern times.”

Victor paused for a few moments and debated whether he should say this next line. He knew that he would be widely criticized but it was imperative that the people voted for the alliance.

“Because the fact of the matter is that the Falcon Empire is not the same Falcon Empire that destroyed the Military Coalition. They are not the same Falcon Empire that terrorized our territories for billions of years. They are not the same Falcon Empire that cared only for themselves. The Falcon Empire has redeemed itself.”

He paused, “And the Novem Order is now the new tyrannical Falcon Empire.”

…

‘How wrong he could be.’ Corak thought as he watched the giant television in a square. He took to the stage and faced the cameras and his audience. His location is unknown.

“Citizens of the Novem Order. Do not pay attention to Victor as my friend has gone mad. Remember what we have suffered under the Falcon Empire!”

The people in the audience cheered, “We have had our economy, our government, our entire state taken over by Falcon Industries. At the expense of us, the Falcon Empire has enjoyed luxuries and riches that we could never have dreamed of.”

Another cheer, “When I started funding the Novem Order’s own corporations, Falcon Industries publically disapproved of the motion. Do you know why? Because they are profit whores. It is time we rid ourselves of the Falcon Family’s disease!”

He paused quickly before saying his final sentence, “And it is time that we rid ourselves of humans and androids. They are the reason that the Novem Order is so poor.”

The humans and androids in the crowd stopped cheering and tried to get away, but they were pushed back. The crowd formed a circle and threw them into the middle. The orcs threw gasoline over their sacrifice and someone threw a match.

A sick, bloody, rotten mass grave formed.

Author's Note

So today is July 3, 2016. Updates: Unfortunately, my plan for having a new chapter up every day isn't exactly working. So please bear with me while I figure out my schedule. This was supposed to be up literally last Tuesday but I got very busy.

Anyway, I do plan on having a new chapter of The New Empire up either today or tomorrow. I am planning a July 4th special of Exitium for tomorrow.

Oh and if you have seen my website, I usually post updates there. If not check it out at kcsshd.weebly.com

Fic-O-Pedia

Wattpad - I have a Wattpad now. Check it out and follow if you have one. It will greatly help me.

Should have a twitter soon.

Chapter 4: Aftermath

Kentavros stood there, shotgun in hand, watching the body fall to the floor. In the same moment he fired his shotgun. Not in Duratos’s direction, but in Falcon’s.

“Woah, everyone calm down now.” Tengah stood in front of Kentavros. She knew he wouldn’t shoot her, he actually respected Tengah because she tried to help his now deceased fiancé.

She looked over at Duratos; a man-child on the floor sobbing and heaving over a dead sister. She looked back at everyone who were either shocked, appalled, or ready to release a barrel of emotions in a scream, shout, or cry.

Kentavros already released his feelings in the form of a fiery bullet. He despised the Falcon’s quietly but now it was quite vocal. He hated every single one of them, except for Tengah. The only person who tried to help Criya without thinking about herself first.

‘And then there’s you. Secretly wanting to help everyone but not able,’ she squinted and focused her gaze on Abraxas, ‘Or is there someone you have in mind?’

She looked deep into Abraxas’s fire-colored eyes and saw where he was actually focusing his attention. He was focused on Duratos; his supposed mutual best friend. Abraxas masked his feelings by looking at everyone in a form of helplessness. But Tengah, and to some extent Ronin, knew that if the world were crumbling, the first person Abraxas would save would be Duratos before anyone and everyone. Even his adopted son, Ronin, comes second.

‘I know she noticed me. I know it. I hope she can keep a secret.’ Abraxas thought as he quickly glanced over Tengah before looking back at Duratos.

As if she could hear him, ‘I won’t say anything unless I am required to,’ she pushed Kentavros away from her, ‘It’s funny how a person who is powerless compared to Falcon actually acts like Falcon.’

Corvus stood silently, almost like a statue, before exploding in Falcon’s direction, “You an all-powerful god couldn’t find a better way to defuse the situation!”

Falcon kneeled there, clutching his core, with his face pointed toward the ground. It seemed as though he was bowing to Corvus. In reality, he did want to bow. He wanted to give up his position of power and hand it over to someone else but his pride blocks that choice.

In the name of pride, mistakes are made, but you never admit them. Instead of admitting them, you quickly deflect them at someone else. Falcon stood up, his anger seeping through the eyes of his black, metal mask, “You of all people know that this is Duratos’s fault!”

Kentavros found a different person to hate as Abraxas stumbled on his feet slightly, ‘No. This isn’t his fault. It can’t be.’

Corvus seemed to be considering, “How? In what way did he have a hand in her murder. You killed her!”

Falcon stood up straighter, “Do you realize it was the only way? If I hadn’t killed her right here, right now, and had just captured her; her second half would have decimated the entire Frost Dragons!” A lie. Falcon could have used is powers in order to control both sides of Criya. Instead, in his reactive anger, he decided to kill her.

“Enough you two!” The Golden Tiger pushed between the two clashing forces. Tengah grabbed Corvus from the shoulder.

“You have your hand on your sword.” Tengah told Corvus who realized that he had his right hand at his back and was ready to draw it out.

The Golden Tiger looked at Falcon, “So do you,” Falcon’s left hand was on his dagger. Difference is he didn’t let go.

“Let go of the dagger.” Tengah ordered.

“Disobedience is dangerous Tengah,” he shifted his gaze toward Corvus, “Let me make that clear.”

Tengah pushed Corvus behind her, “You will have to go through me.”

“Tengah, Falcon, both of you. It does not have to happen like this. We are a family!” The Golden Tiger pleaded as Falcon approached.

Falcon stopped walking and realized what he was doing. His carbon-black dagger was drawn as if he was ready to slay three more victims. They didn’t need any more deaths today. He put it back in its holster.

Tengah turned to look at Abraxas standing in awe of the family dynamic, “If you guys are family, then why do you all fight so much?”

“That’s a question even I have tried to answer,” Tengah grabbed something from her suit and handed it to Abraxas. It was a little metal stick that expanded into a tablet when pulled at its edges.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a specialized tablet. It’s what allows us to appear anywhere within a 100-mile radius. As long as our ship is near.”

Abraxas looked back at the wrecked car which sat in the middle of the road. The Siloteri spy was still inside unconscious but alive from the crash that happened when Duratos smashed into the car. He looked back at Duratos, who was still on the ground sobbing.

“Well I needed to get back somehow, thanks.” Abraxas smacked Tengah on the shoulder and walked toward Duratos. He picked him up and slung him over his left shoulder.

Kentavros grabbed the Siloteri spy, who remained in the car unconscious while events unfolded, and stood next to Abraxas. ‘What is he going to say about my actions?’ Kentavros thought as he held the spy in his arms.

Abraxas pulled out the tablet and pressed the area of the map that was Ronin’s house. In a flash, he appeared outside in the exact spot where he watched Ronin’s defeat. ‘I have to apologize for that.’ Abraxas thought as he watched Erpoc and Ronin spar against each other. They were both equal matches, but he knew that Erpoc would train Ronin to be better than himself.

…

Cannibal continued to look at the holographic image of the facility where Strida, Sapphire, and Anati were being held. It was an I.U.D.B. prison facility for the most-wanted criminals in the Diatasis. The prison was shaped like a hexagon, the outer-most parts of it were specifically building management, faculty, and security. The inner parts were the prisoners living quarters. The entire building was complete with confusing hallways and mazes meant to confuse escapees so that they could be caught.

“We need to figure out a weak-point but I don’t see anything that could be a point-of-entry.” Magna Rex said as he zoomed in and analyzed the interior of the building. Rex’s appearance, compared to a few hours ago, was leaps and bounds more appropriate for a ruler. His purple eyes bright, beard trimmed and shaved, and hair washed, brushed, and cut; this was a new Rex that no one had seen for a long time. He decided to put on the suit he wore at the night of his enthronement. The suit was all black except for the jacket, which was made out of gold.

“Where’s Phadro?” Cannibal looked around the throne room. He noticed that Phadro was not sitting on the pile of rubble caused by Rex throwing his golden chair at a pillar.

“He went to go find Trogon. One of his souls may help us.”

“One of his souls?” Cannibal asked and noticed that Rex wasn’t paying attention, “Look, these reconnaissance maps that your spies managed to gather isn’t going to help. There is no point of entry into this goddamn facility that it's better if we just do a frontal assault!” Cannibal yelled the last part and covered his mouth.

Rex noticed that Cannibal was getting irritated. He looked at him but didn’t say anything, ‘Why are you not as calm as before?’

“I’m sorry. Tell me about Trogon.”

“He was created out of 200 souls that I had randomly chosen from different people. A few of them were from the I.U.D.B, and by a few I mean 50 high-ranking, intelligent officials. There has to be one that knows the facility down to its hallways.”

Rex stopped and realized that Cannibal wasn’t exactly paying attention. He was tapping away at his phone desperately, “Are you worried about something?”

Cannibal looked up startled. He forgot that Rex was there. ‘Should I tell him that I have to do this my tomorrow morning?’

Phadro pushed the giant golden doors open and they made a loud bang as they swung widely and hit the wall, “We have a problem.”

Phadro walked in with Trogon, Skane, Skana, and Immorti. Skane and Skana were red-skinned Shokans that were born to royalty within the Exofirma Empire. Brother and sister alike, they both are known for their brutality in dealing with foreign affairs and tend to prefer the more violent solutions. The only difference between the two, Skana is more intelligent and Skane is basically a brute. Both of them were considered to be handsome or pretty by many and it was easy to tell why. Skana with her long, silky brown hair, bright green eyes which showcased her intelligence, and nice build was enough to make any man or lesbian stare. Skane with his muscular body, short dirty-blonde hair, and dark-blue eyes was enough to turn heads. Both of them usually wore the same thing, which was a red shirt with some sort of imprint and black jeans unless there was a special event.

Immorti was more timid by comparison. He never yelled or acted inappropriately due to his own fears. He was more powerful than Rex or possibly even The Titans but he preferred to keep the extent of his powers in the dark. His code is to always be invisible and to blend in whenever possible and his basic black hair, dark eyes, and black clothing hid how attractive he actually was. He was a little skinnier compared to others but for what he lacked in strength he was quick.

“Why did you bring those three here?” Cannibal asked sternly.

Immorti, usually more quiet and conservative, was the first to respond, “Who are you to go ordering us around like if you were King?”

“Calm down Immorti. He's here to help us. Now what is the problem?” Rex tried to diffuse the situation.

It didn’t work, “I’m the guy who can kick your ass.”

“Watch your tone. You are in Exofirma territory after all and I don’t think the Falcon’s would find you if you disappeared.”

"Yeah,” Skane started pumping his fist, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Skana slapped him, “Shut up idiot.”

“Enough!” Rex screamed as deeply and loudly as he could. If this was any other day, he wouldn’t have cared for the fighting. This was not any other day.

He looked at Cannibal, who stared back indignantly, almost analytically, and then at Immorti, who quickly put his head down. ‘Someone who is under me and someone who can destroy me.’ He thought.

“As I was saying, we have a problem,” Phadro stood in the middle of the holographic map, “Trogon does have a soul, in fact two souls, who can help with finding a weak point in the prison facility.”

Trogon decided to finish the statement, “But they are asleep, Rex. I can’t wake them up and they refuse to wake up.”

Immorti quickly met eyes with Rex and gave a worrisome look. They both had the same thought, ‘Oh ****. I am not ready to venture back into his mind.’

“I can help you go into his mind.” Cannibal appeared between the two.

“How did you—“ Immorti was interrupted.

“I can hear all of your thoughts. Just say something if you don’t want me to keep reading them.”

"Something." Skane idiotically stated.

“Sleep.”

Skane collapsed on the ground and produced a loud snore. Skana quickly kneeled down to check his pulse. She stood up and approached Cannibal before shaking his hand.

“How about a more formal introduction. I’m Skana and that was the imbecile that is unfortunately related to me.” She let go of Cannibal’s hand.

Phadro, Immorti, and Rex quickly looked at the two who seemed to be having a nice conversation. Skana was not the type to thank, nor even say something to someone. She was usually quietly or loudly judge mental.

“Finally, it's nice to meet someone who isn’t a *******.”

“Hey, I’m not a *******!” Immorti yelled.

Skana turned around, twirling her hair, and looked at Immorti, “Sorry hun, but you are possibly the least powerful and least important of this entire ****show.”

Immorti dashed and quickly stabbed Skana in the stomach before retreating behind her. Cannibal dodged as Skana swung her fist into Immorti’s temple. He stumbled sideways before falling on the ground.

Skana was about to punch him again before Phadro rushed and tackled her to the ground. Phadro and Skana wrestled each other for a few more moments, kicking and punching each other in the face, before Rex uttered a prehistoric growl.

“I SAID ENOUGH!”

The holographic map, which was still up, shook with the scream. The people that were fighting immediately stood up, with their faces pale. None of them had heard that primal growl from Rex since he started his descent. This was clearly the Rex from before, the one worthy of the throne.

“While you all bicker and fight like children, my family is there!” Rex pointed at the map, “Being tortured, interrogated, who knows what! The only people who have helped so far is Cannibal and Phadro. I except the same of the rest of you!”

Everyone, except for Cannibal and Phadro, who stood there smirking with satisfaction, nodded quickly.

“What, what is going on?” Skane yawned loudly.

Magna Rex, clearly annoyed with him, walked over, pulled Skane from his hair and lifted him off his feet. Skane fumbled and groaned at the pain and was trying to get Rex to let go. He didn’t let go and Skane’s hair slowly tore from his scalp, leaving blood in its place. He fell to the floor screaming from pain.

“The next person to disobey me will suffer worse.”

“Rex, please stop and consider what you have done,” Cannibal looked at Skane, who was still groaning on the floor, “This is tyranny.”

Rex dropped the hair he still clutched and looked at Skane. He was angry at Skane, not for his idiocy, but for his previous actions, “I did that due to a previous matter.”

“Don’t worry about it Cannibal. I was waiting for that to happen for two months,” Skana looked at her brother in satisfaction, “I found him abusing and punching one of the servants in the palace. I told him to stop but he turned around and punched me. I beat him to a pulp and made him promise not to do it again. He did it again a month later. I told Rex but in his sorrow he didn’t do anything.”

“People are people. You treat people like people even if they aren’t on your level of wealth and power,” Cannibal stated before walking over to Skane and kneeling so that Skane could see his eyes, “You deserved that and I hope you learned your lesson.”

Phadro stood next to Rex and was conversations. Magna Rex was pleading that he didn’t want to do something again. Everyone, except for Cannibal, knew what that something was. Phadro insisted it was the only way.

“I am going inside Trogon’s mind with Immorti and Cannibal. It should take an hour at least to see what happened with the two souls. Skane, Skana, and Phadro have to ensure Trogon doesn’t wake up while we are inside. Understood?”

“Understood.”

…

“What are you doing?! Let go of me!” Duratos screamed as he was dragged across the snow.

“Brother!!!” Criya screamed, “Let go of him!”

Criya punched one of the attackers and was knocked back down with a baton. She quickly got up and tackled her opponent before grabbing the baton and smashing it across his face.

One of the attackers jumped down from a tree behind her and pulled a gun to her head, “Hands over your head,” a click, “if you want to live.”

Criya slowly placed her hands up in the air and waited for the attacker to put the gun down. She tried to approach Duratos but failed and there was a gunshot. She felt the bullet wiz by her face and stood still.

“Let me go!!!!” Duratos screamed as he flailed and tried to kick. He was being held by the arms and legs. As he tried to escape, Criya was punched by the attacker holding the gun. She fell to the floor with blood pouring out of her cheek. She swept the gun-wielding maniac and shot him.

The attackers started running with Duratos as they tried to escape. Criya was running after them screaming and shooting. Duratos was trying to escape. Escape. Scream. Escape. Scream. Escape. Scream. Escape. A ship. A ship going where? More guards. Three snipers. Run away Criya!

…

Duratos woke up, panting and sweating. He quickly stood up from the bed he was lying in and stumbled before falling to the black-tiled floor. He was in a room with glass-like white walls, a view of a tropical forest, a walk-in closet, and shelves replacing a dresser built into the wall.

‘But where? This isn’t Frost Dragon’s base. This isn’t my home.’ He forced himself up and walked toward the door. He pressed a button and stumble into the hallway.

A glass barrier stopped him from falling down a story, ‘Where am I? I need to find Criya.’

He tried to walk but fell again and crawled, ‘What is wrong with me? Why is everything spinning?!’

He tried to stand up again so that he could walk down the stairs but he fell again. The black marble-tiled floor hurt his left side as the edges of the stairs pierced his nerves. His bandages were falling off. He screamed in intense pain.

‘When did I get these?’ He unwrapped himself and wish he hadn’t. His stiches opened up and his insides poured out all over the floor. In an instant, the pain reminded him of something. The memory came back in a flash. Falcon punched Criya’s skull and pulled her brain out.

He closed his eyes and screamed loudly. When he opened them, Abraxas and Ronin were wrapping his body with new bandages. He closed them again and fell asleep.

When he opened them again, Abraxas was sitting at the end of his bed with Corvus and Falcon. They were laughing and conversing. ‘Having a really good time I bet.’

“Oh good, he’s awake.” Abraxas looked back and noticed the eyes.

“Duratos, its urgent. I know what I did was wrong and please forgive me but I need to tell you something.” Falcon urged.

‘This asshole has the nerve to even look at me?’ Duratos stole a glance as he stood and noticed the urgency in Falcon’s eyes, ‘It must be important then.’

“What is it?” It wasn’t a question, it sounded like a demand.

“We have every right and reason to believe that Torek is planning a coup against your title in the Frost Dragons.” The statement sounded so ridiculous that Duratos would have laughed if his side didn’t hurt.

Instead, he chuckled, “My clan is loyal to me and only me.”

“Yes but—”

“Get out.”

Corvus stepped in, “We are just warning you that you may want to watch your back around him.”

Duratos chuckled and approached Falcon. They stood eye-to-eye only a few inches away from each other. Both were unimpressed and unintimidated by the other.

“I hope you forgive me,” Falcon touched the bandages and slowly reached the pain point, “For your own sake.”

Duratos kicked him in the crotch and Falcon retaliated with a spin-kick to the face. Corvus and Abraxas immediately intervened and stood between the two.

“Falcon, control your anger.” Corvus ordered.

“I did what I had to!” Falcon cried out.

“****** killed my sister! And you have the nerve to come and beat me up some more! Get out! I don’t care about your threat to me and my clan, get out!” Duratos demonic scream was enough to scare Abraxas, who stood in front of him.

Corvus grabbed Falcon by the wrist and they went out into the balcony, yelled at each other, before going back down the stairs and heading toward the exit.

Abraxas answered his phone, “We will talk some more later,” Falcon stated before hanging up. Abraxas threw his phone on the bed and sat, thinking. Duratos decided to stay standing.

“Can you control your emotions for one second?” Abraxas asked a serious question.

Duratos couldn’t face his eyes, “Tell me when they kill the only family you ever knew.”

Abraxas stood up and turned Duratos around, “Look me in the eye. No matter what you think, they are right.”

Duratos pushed him back, “How dare you! **** you and him! You both are con artists!”

“You have to realize there was only one way it could have gone down. Either the life of one or the lives of many. Your friends are still alive because of what he did.”

Duratos teared up, “You think I care about the rest of them. The only person I ever cared about was my sister! Every single person that is my ‘friend’ is a terrible person!”

“Well then it’s time you choose between who you want to be and who you are!” Abraxas screamed back.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean its time you become the person you say you are or finally stop lying about who you are. You always say you are open-minded, calm, and caring. You are the opposite and your sister died because of you! It’s not anyone else’s fault, you were the reason she had to die!”

Duratos punched Abraxas in the face and tried to run out the door but Kentavros was entering and blocked his path.

“They are here to take him back, sir.” Kentavros reported in.

“Leave him, he can see himself out.” Abraxas stated and Kentavros moved out of the way.

“What? You choose the enemy over me?”

“I choose more stable people over you. While Falcon might not be the calmest person, the people who surround him are.” Abraxas paused and toyed with the idea of saying what he was going to say next. He decided it was for the best.

“Gives me more hope for him than I can ever have for you.”

That was Duratos’s breaking point. He started crying, “**** you. No wonder everyone around you hates you, including your son.”

Duratos quickly went down the stairs and stepped into the pool of blood he left at the bottom of the stairs, ‘Goddammit my boots. Oh well, my pants are also blood soaked. Wait, my armor!’

Duratos stopped and yelled back, “Kentavros, can you hand me my armor. I think it’s up there in the closet.”

Kentavros threw the battlesuit into the pool of blood, “By the way, you were the one who cut yourself open. You were screaming as soon as we got you inside the house and you grabbed a hidden knife from your suit and sliced it open along with your skin. I guess nightmares are a bitch.”

“What’s your point you goddamn monster?”

“My point is, we fixed you and made sure you didn’t die. Know who your friends are jackass.”

Duratos grabbed his bloody battlesuit from the pool and looked around. It was living area with a view of the tropical mountains of Lucarro, like the bedrooms above. He quickly proceeded down another flight of steps into the main living room. He proceeded toward the door when he was stopped.

“Here sir.” Ronin handed Duratos another battlesuit. It was from the Advanced Order and it was technologically superior to any of the battlesuits found in the Frost Dragons. Duratos wondered why and he wasn’t afraid to ask.

“Thank you. Why do you supposed that the Advanced Order has more advanced, pardon the pun, tech compared to my clan?”

“Well, your clan is more conservative and traditional. Meanwhile, we have pretty much given up mostly every old tradition.” Duratos didn’t like Ronin’s answer. Ronin could see this and he quickly stepped away.

“Anyway, I gave you the suit since I heard it fall into a pool of something. Figured it was blood. Don’t tell Abraxas, he would murder me.”

“Thank you.” Duratos dropped his bloody suit and Ronin immediately picked it up and ran outside to throw it down the cliff.

Erpoc opened the door for him.

“Monster.”

“Prick.” Erpoc responded before slamming the door.

“Wow, they gave you this?” Torek exclaimed as he grabbed the battlesuit in on arm and helped Duratos with his left shoulder.

“What did they do to you?” Tera asked as she helped Duratos into the ship.

“It’s not what they did to me, it’s what I did to myself.”

Tera and Nebula looked at each other wide-eyed as they stepped into the ship. They were immediately greeted with a rectangular living space that had a holographic tv in the middle and two couches to the side. They went toward the end, where the pilot cabin was, and turned right down a hallway with rooms. They situated Duratos and told him it was going to be 2 hours before they arrived Zedrane, where the main Frost Dragons base was.

Duratos lay in bed, looking at the battlesuit across the room. A dresser at his feet and a closet next to the door. He tried to hold it back but couldn’t and cried. He cried and cried quietly until he got tired and fell asleep.

He had the same nightmare as before.

…

Thea, Nebula, and Raxes were lying in the hospital beds. They were all shot in the spine by Criya’s double, who’s body was retrieved. They were being injected with another dose of the liquid that was supposed to heal their paralysis.

“Hello,” the nurse answered her phone, “Yes they are here. A call for you, I will close the door and leave it on speaker.” The nurse said with her Russian accent before leaving.

“Hey, how are you guys doing?” Torek asked.

“What do you want? Did you get Duratos?” Nebula immediately asked.

“Calm down Nebula, he’s in a room. Anyway, as I was saying before I hanged up. We need a new leader and we should hold a vote.”

Raxes, Thea, and Nebula looked at each other and nodded before Thea responded, “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”

Author's Note

I am not going to be here for 2 weeks so don't expect any posts from me until like the 29th.

Sorry I will be gone for so long. Hopefully I will be able to make the next CCC and song competition.

(P.S. When I am back, I should have plans on what the plot of my stories are going to be. So I will be able to post chapters at an even faster rate.)

Website: http://kcsshd.weebly.com/ (P.S. New design and fresh update) (Check Back for Author Updates)

Fic-O-Pedia

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3 – An Inspiration in Death

“This is our last stop before we head to The Hive.” Nick said to Mortem as he saw the Microsoft Genetics tower pass by. They were on the highway and the Audi, which is self-driven, had to take the next exit.

“That is definitely a corporation with money.” Mortem was impressed with the intricate architecture. The building formed a spiral shape into the sky which was more impressive from up close than afar.

The Audi stopped in the entrance of the skyscraper, which was as extravagant as its design with artistic metal shapes, leaving Mortem and Nick before heading into the parking lot in order to find a space to park itself. The car could later be called on Nick’s phone. They turned around and Vitae was waiting for them at the door.

“Come on in.” Vitae said to the both of them as they proceeded up the steps.

“Good to see your boss,” Nick shook hands with Vitae, “If you want to talk to Mortem about how to control his new robotic augments, the idiot is here.”

Mortem slapped Vitae before looking at Nick in the eye, “I wasn’t that far behind to not hear that.”

“What was that for?!” Vitae screamed in anger.

“For leaving me and 5078 in the f*cking dust. You know how much we suffered while you were gone?”

Vitae looked at Mortem up and down. His friend still hadn’t adapted to the new culture. Or at least, Mortem hasn’t adapted as fast as Vitae did when he first arrived.

“Your petty white shirt and jeans are representative of your unwillingness to change. I forgot about the two of you for my own good,” Vitae held the door for Mortem, “Proceed asshole.”

Mortem walked indignantly inside the building. The lobby was another architecturally impressive masterpiece colored in white with varying splashes of green, orange, yellow, and blue. The centerpiece was the front desk which featured four receptionist, modern touch displays and computers, and a fountain smack in the middle. The 5 staircases of the skyscraper spiraled upwards and they were located toward the exterior.

“Hello, may I have your name and what service are we providing today?” A receptionist asked Nick.

“His name is Mortem and there should be an appointment scheduled.” Nick replied.

“Found it. Just step on the bottom of the staircase and I will send you up.”

‘Send us up? How can they send us up if it's stairs?’ Mortem asked himself.

‘There’s a reason it's a spiral design. You think that they would force someone to walk all that? Of course not. The staircase moves upward and the top stair-pieces are sent back down. It's kind of like a conveyor belt.” Vitae answered as the trio stepped on the staircase.

Mortem felt a little bit nauseous, ‘You truly are hearing things Mortem.’

Vitae jumped in front of his friend, “Funny how you don’t realize that your robotic augment has fully calibrated and is now working.”

Mortem jumped, “What the f*ck? Does this mean you can hear every single thing I think?”

“Nope. Only if you allow me in. Don’t worry, you will get used to how your new augments operate.”

“How do I block you?” Mortem asked.

“OH. It will come naturally,” Vitae saw that his friend was getting angrier, “Look literally it will become something that you do voluntarily. Like how you move your arm to grab something. I don’t know how to explain it to you.”

“It’s a natural thing that you have grown accustomed to having.” Mortem always knew what Vitae wanted to say.

A long silence occurred between the two as the staircase continued to move upwards. As the staircase spiraled upwards, they watched the different levels pass by. Each level was also named a certain thing. Level 10 was Genetic Color Research, level 11 was Genetic Hardening Development, level 12 was Non-Human Genetic Research and so on.

“I asked that they put that in you. In case I need to talk to you quietly after what happens tomorrow.” Vitae broke the silence.

“What’s happening tomorrow?” Nick and Mortem asked in unison.

“I will tell you both later,” Nick immediately knew what Vitae meant while Mortem looked clueless as to why later.

‘The government is always watching the celebrities of importance. This building isn’t safe, especially since you are considered a high-profile.’

‘Wow,’ Mortem turned away from Vitae, ‘I thought you abandoned me and 5078 because you decided that we were worthless. Turns out, you were trying to survive.’

“I don’t f*cking care anymore,” Vitae spoke aloud, “If they kill me now, there would be riots on the street.”

Nick looked at him like if he was psychotic, “What happened to being quiet?”

Vitae turned toward his assistant, “You of all people know, Nick, that if I were to be killed just as my known longtime friend, Mortem, arrived, the citizens of this country would riot.”

“The citizens are dumb.” Nick spoke with a mocking tone.

“That’s what you think. But what would happen if I were the one dying in that tunnel tomorrow? People wouldn’t suspect terrorists. The President is smart in that fact. My mother is less important in people's minds.”

“How long is this ride.” Mortem interrupted and asked as he saw level 77 pass by before he turned back toward the nighttime view of LA.

“Function over form,” Nick stated, “We are on floor 80 so in like 30 seconds.”

In 30 seconds, they reached the 80th floor and stepped off the staircase. This floor was called Installation. The reason was pretty self-explanatory.

The Installation floors were usually less marvelous compared to the rest of the building or even its Research floors. It was one entire floor with 20 rooms. Each had a special Genetic Analyzer and Corrector that was used for first-time users.

Vitae noticed one man and woman walking with a cart that had a chip in the middle, “What is that for?”

A woman with black hair, blue eyes, and dark skin, responded nervously, “Oh well, it’s just a chip that we have to insert into his head for him to be compatible with the GAC.”

Vitae quickly had a vision of the past which Mortem saw. The President, the two nurses, and a MS Genetics scientist were located in a bright white room. It was one of the Research floors and they stood overlooking the same chip.

“Are you sure this will work?” The President asked.

“Of course it will. You will have full control of the subject as soon as it is implanted. Now, the only problem we have is if Vitae sees it.” The scientist responded.

“Why does it matter if he sees it?” The male nurse, a white man with red hair and green eyes, asked the President.

“Just don't let him see it! Do your job properly unless you want your head cut off.” The President ordered.

“Sir, yes sir.” The nurses responded.

‘Both of you walk calmly until we get to the room,’ Vitae ordered Nick and Mortem, ‘And don’t ask why. I will explain as soon as this is over.’

‘I saw your vision. I know what they are trying to do and it is sickening.’ Mortem responded.

‘What… How—‘

‘Don’t ask how. I don’t know the how. Probably this goddamn robotic augment that allows us to communicate.’

‘But wait, we are all connected. So how come I didn’t see whatever the vision was?’ Nick asked.

“Step right in.” The male nurse held the door for the trio.

“Thank you.” Vitae stepped in with Mortem in front of him.

The nurses closed the door and locked it as Mortem laid in the GAC. The room was bright white with dashes of green. The GAC was located dead-center and there were five chairs lined up against the right wall. A tablet was located on the left side hanging on the wall. It controlled the GAC.

One of the nurses grabbed a buzzsaw, “Ok so this is going to hurt but you are on a GAC anyway. So you will heal up quickly.”

Just as the nurse was about to cut Mortem’s head open, he grabbed the buzzsaw and slammed it into the nurse’s head. Blood sprayed everywhere and the other nurse held Mortem down and grabbed the weapon.

Vitae kicked the nurse into the GAC and then spin-kicked him to the right. Vitae grabbed the buzzsaw off the ground and shoved it into his opponent repeatedly. The color red dominated over the green paint in the room.

“What in the hell was that!” Nick screamed.

“That chip,” Mortem stood from the GAC and pointed to the cart, “was a mind-control device.”

Nick didn't look surprised, “Well, I guess that's one way to control a population,” He grabbed the chip and immediately put it away.

“Let’s just do what we need to do and get out,” Vitae ran to the tablet and grabbed it, “We need to get out of here.”

“Do you know how to use that thing?” Nick asked worryingly.

“Did you forget that I can see the past. I can just look and see what the last person did. I can also see who was last in this room and who may have been implanted—with --- the…”

Mortem pushed Nick into the wall and punched him repeatedly in the stomach before kneeing him in the crotch. Nick fell forward and Mortem kicked his jaw, knocking him out.

“Get on the GAC. Now!” Vitae ordered.

Mortem lay upwards on the bed of the GAC. He felt the metal arm pass over him with a white light before turning red as it installed genetic code into his body. Once Vitae said it was done, Mortem got up and fell to the ground.

“What… is… happening?” Mortem’s face turned gray and he looked at the door, “The President. He’s coming in Vitae. VITAE! Get out!”

“Mortem, control your vision. Look in the present.”

“Ah, he’s coming for me!”

“Mortem! Control it!” Vitae screamed.

Mortem passed out for a few seconds before waking up again. He stood up slowly and was happy to even be able to walk. He was clearly traumatized, you could tell by his facial expression.

“Help me get Nick onto this table,” Vitae said holding the buzzsaw, “I’m going to cut that chip out.”

Mortem didn’t say anything. He help Vitae and held Nick’s head while the buzzsaw cut into his skull. The GAC dissolved any blood that would have flowed out of the incision. Vitae removed the chip.

“Nick,” Vitae grabbed the tablet, “NICK!”

“Can’t you shock him?” Mortem asked.

Vitae pressed a button and Nick sprung to life. He stood up immediately and slapped Mortem.

“What was that for!”

“You didn’t have to kick me in the crotch!”

“Well, I needed to knock you out.”

“Guys we have to run. The president will be here in 15 minutes and his goons will be with him.”

The trio ran out of the room and went down the opposite direction they came. They decided that The President would spend a good portion of those 15 minutes already on the staircase. So it wasn’t wise to go down one near his line of sight.

They stepped on the staircase and the trio were completely silent the whole way down. They thanked the receptionist and ran outside. The President’s Stagecoach, a monstrous Cadillac SUV, was parked right in front.

“Where’s the rest of his secret service?” Nick pondered.

“Probably inside. So let's get out of here. I’ll take Mortem while you get as far away from here as possible.”

“No. I’m coming with you. My car can follow.”

Vitae took out his phone and touched a few things before his BMW pulled out next to the Cadillac. They all got in and Nick ordered his car to follow. Vitae decided he wanted to drive so he pressed a button and the steering wheel moved out from under the dash. He got on the freeway and headed toward The Hive.

…

“Reservation for Vitae.” Emerald said to the waiter.

“Wait, you are Vitae’s mother!” The waiter was shocked, “May I have your autograph?”

Emerald took out a paper pre-signed with her signature from her black Chanel purse and gave it to the young man, “It's Emerald by the way.”

"Right this way Emerald,” The waiter removed the red velvet rope and motioned for Emerald to follow him, “I like your exquisite green Balmain dress by the way.”

“I am glad to see good fashion is now attainable everywhere. I remember when waiters would only make $40,000.”

“I do too. I’m around 4,000 years old and it’s amazing to see how much the world has changed.” The waiter responded.

‘Yet it has never changed for the goddamn enslaved countries.’ Emerald thought.

The restaurant, dubbed The Hive, was one of the most expensive in Los Angeles. It was located at the top of the Los Angeles WTC and dinner for three was known to reach over $60,000 and the food served was extremely good. It wasn’t like any normal fancy restaurant with small portions and generic food.

The design of the restaurant itself was enough to force the poor, whose base income was usually 300,000 a year, to stay away. Only the wealthiest could enjoy a reservation. A meeting with the chefs of The Hive meant that you had to be a wealthy celebrity.

The waiter sat Emerald at a table with a nice view of the city. She picked up the menu and waited for the rest of the party to arrive.

…

“You can’t go in that outfit.” Vitae said to Mortem as he pressed a button which told the car to drive itself.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“A white shirt and jeans is not fashionable. Nick, I suppose you have suitable attire for this heathen.”

“Yes. I also have something for you too.” Nick surprised Vitae.

Vitae looked down at himself and he realized he was still wearing the hospital outfit. Nick handed the outfits to both Mortem and Vitae in a nice little packaged plastic. They changed very quickly into their new acceptable clothing. Nick didn’t need to change since a black overcoat with a white Versace shirt and dark blue jeans was acceptable. It showed that he was muscular but it wasn’t sexualized.

Vitae wore a green tank top marked with the Michael Kors logo, which showcased his muscular physique, and American Eagle black cargo shorts which were a little bigger than his size. This was done so that they sag just enough so that people could see his underwear branding, Calvin Klein. The shoes were a pair of bright purple Nike.

Mortem wore jet black Levi’s and a pair of gold colored Adidas. His top half was completely bare and he was shirtless. He had about as much muscle as Vitae.

“Wait, where’s my shirt?” Mortem asked Nick as he looked at the plastic package and saw nothing.

Nick and Vitae laughed because Mortem didn’t know the drill.

“What’s so funny?”

“If you are a friend of mine you have to be a sex symbol. The first time people saw me, Nick did the same. Everyone else who I have met also had to be topless for their first appearance. Brings in more money for the corporations and government involved in this whole celebrity scheme because it means that their animators are more likely to animate you in unspeakable acts that they can sell.”

“Oh good god,” Mortem rubbed his face, “What the f*ck is wrong with you people?”

Vitae smacked Mortem’s chest, “At least you have a nice bod.”

…

‘And the President has arrived.’ Emerald thought as she saw him take a table near him with 8 of his secret service men surrounding the his vicinity. The President was with the First Lady.

‘God where are they? I could have sworn,’ Emerald looked up and saw a commotion happening at the entrance of the restaurant, ‘Never mind.’

Mortem, Vitae, and Nick walked in at nearly the same time. All eyes were on Mortem as he was the most sexualized of the trio. Even the President looked in shock and awe.

“Are you Vitae’s mother?” Mortem asked as he sat.

“Yep. My name is Emerald by the way.”

Vitae paused for a moment, “I thought you told me never to say that name again.”

Emerald swirled her wine and looked at her son, “Sometimes death inspires you to be rebellious.”

“What’s the President doing here?” Nick asked.

“We literally nearly just had an altercation with him.” Vitae stated.

“Nearly! You let him get that close to you?” Emerald asked frightfully.

“No. Thanks to Mortem, who can now see the future, we were able to get out. But it is very unusual for him to be here the night before your death.” Vitae said.

“Her death?” Mortem was flustered.

“Yep. I am going to be dying tomorrow the way Princess Diana died in a tunnel.” Emerald drank more wine.

The group was silent for some time. Mortem eyed the view, Vitae looked at other people in the room, and Nick was paying attention to what the President was doing behind him. Emerald noticed that Nick was worried about him.

“Nick, he’s just here to scare us. I had an altercation with him on a rooftop a couple hours ago.”

“Altercation? What did you do?”

“I stood up to him. Nothing more, nothing less. Anyway, let’s talk about what you two,” She looked at Mortem then Vitae, “are doing tomorrow.”

Vitae started, “Me and Mortem are going to proceed down the white walkway in the middle of the LA WTC Square. At that moment is when we believe that m*therf*cker over there will kill Emerald. In that moment, the television will cut toward the explosion.”

Emerald continued, “You guys will have these,” she handed Vitae and Mortem two sticks, “press the button at the moment of my death. A big fiery Falcon will emerge from them and the camera’s will cut back to you. The rest of the world will see our defiance.”

…

‘Maybe I should kill her,’ The President thought as we watched his opponent eating and enjoying her last night, ‘Or maybe I shouldn’t’

‘Either risk uprisings in the most essential countries which provide most of the United States resources or generate more hatred among my people.’

He looked back at the table where Vitae was sitting with Mortem, ‘That bastard ruined my plan. Considering that they already ruined something of mine, I would rather not take the risk.’

…

“Take me to San Francisco, I have a meeting with an exec there.” Emerald spoke to her car, a luxurious Mercedes.

“I will once you get in.” The car responded.

Emerald turned around to face her son, “I want you to promise me something.”

“What is it?” Vitae asked.

They embraced each other, “Kill those sons of bitches,” Emerald entered her car and took off.

Vitae was at the entrance of the LA WTC Square. The area was dominated by the Los Angeles World Trade Center which appeared to be the backbone of the place. Fountains and glass art dominated the square. The white walkway that Mortem and Vitae were about to proceed on floated above everything. It was connected to the 15th floor of the WTC.

Mortem was on the 15th floor in his dressing room. He was being prepped for his showcase and the clothing designers decided to strip him naked. He was very tired, anxious, and annoyed that the designers couldn’t make up their minds. Mortem didn’t sleep at all the night before.

“I don’t know what he could wear.” One of the designers said as she sifted through a rack of clothing.

“Well he could—”

Nick walked in, “Sorry if I interrupted anything,” he placed a sealed plastic package in Mortem’s lap, “Emerald left this for you.”

“Well I guess that’s what he is going to wear.”

Mortem took out the contents of the package. It was a simple black outfit with no branding on the clothing. The outfit consisted of a black long sleeve, black cargo shorts, black sneakers with white accents, and sunglasses. He began to feel the shirt and noticed that there was something that felt a little weird on the front. He didn’t mind and put it on. There was a note inside the package.

I gave the same thing to Vitae except it has contrasting colors. The weird thing you may have felt in the front is artificial flames that should show the Falcon. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. This outfit is bulletproof, fireproof, really anything proof. Keep it on.

With Love,

Emerald

‘Wow this is sleek.’ Mortem thought as he put on the sunglasses and cargo shorts.

“Are you ready?” Vitae entered and asked.

“Yep.” Mortem replied.

“Let’s go.”

…

Emerald took out of her purse an explosive she made herself in case the President decided against the killing. She watched Vitae and Mortem take stage. She was proud of both of them.

‘If only Mortem’s mother and father could see this. If only my husband could see this. What have we been reduced to? We are pawns in this game and those two are going to destroy it.” She thought.

…

“Don’t kill her.” The President was in his oval office. He talked over the phone with his secret bomber that he had hired to kill Emerald.

“Why?”

“Because she had planned something. I don’t need the people to rise up against my rule.”

…

Vitae and Mortem walked to the end of the white runway. They stood straight and waited for the explosion. They watched the giant televisions that surrounded the entire square. The crowd cheered on as they waited.

The screens changed toward a news reporter saying that Emerald had just been murdered in a tunnel. Security camera footage from the tunnel appeared and a loud explosion took place.

Vitae and Mortem pressed the buttons on the sticks and a Falcon symbol emerged behind them. It glowed in red, hot fire as millions of people from The Poverty tuned in and watched. The people that were in the Square and in the United States were oblivious to the message.

However, the secret service was not. They immediately tried to fire upon Vitae and Mortem. A smoke bomb was thrown by Nick and people panicked as the fog covered everything in sight. Vitae and Mortem disappeared without a trace.

…

“I told you not to kill her!” The President screamed.

“I didn’t. She had her own explosive.”

The President threw his phone across the oval office. He punched a few windows before collapsing on the ground.

‘All the traps we had set for each other. Every single one we danced and dodged. This time I f*cking fell for it. I fell for it.”

Author's Note

Someone dies. Not telling you who.

Enjoy!

Website: http://kcsshd.weebly.com/ (P.S. New design and fresh update) (Check Back for Author Updates)

Fic-O-Pedia

Chapter 2 of Echo Praelior

Chapter 1 of Echo Praelior

Chapter 3 – A Tragedy

“I thought you would understand my pain!” Magna Rex screamed at the holographic display that hovered just in front of him. Rex’s throne room was extravagant and vast decorated with white marble pillars. Light shined bright through the windows and it reflected off the tiled gold floor. The roof and walls were painted with beautiful artistic images of the Exofirma Empire and Rex’s past glory days. It represented Magna Rex at the peak of his life when he was successful and a true king. This room was built before he descended into a disgusting and pitiful excuse of a man.

“You never change and you won’t change even after I rescue them. I have been through this before.” Abraxas, known for his patience and tranquility, spoke with no effort. His voice was smooth, deep, and powerful.

“I will change. I promise and will swear to whatever you want that I will change.”

Abraxas rolled his fiery-red eyes, “There will never be a time when you will change because you don’t have the will to admit your mistakes.”

Abraxas was ready to hang-up but he noticed something. Everything from Rex’s clothing, which was just a dirty stained underwear, to his voice showed the signs of someone who was almost sick of the same behavior. Rex’s mind was already a broken piece of glass and Abraxas had just shattered more shards.

‘Some people have to be reach the bottom before they can rebuild themselves again.’ Abraxas knew exactly how to destroy the rest of the glass pieces.

‘This will not only benefit him,’ Abraxas thought as he looked at the holograph screen that was floating above his phone, ‘but it will also benefit me because I don’t want to see a homeless man try to contact me anymore. It’s depressing and pitiful.’ Rex’s appearance was the most obvious sign of a man who felt like utter sh*t. His hair was long and unwashed, his beard was unkempt, his purple eyes, once the feature that made people fall in love with him, lacked luster, and his tattooed skin was utterly disgusting and dry.

In stark contrast, Abraxas had a prideful, almost overconfident, appearance. His eyes shined in a bright and radiant green, his hair was short and well-maintained, his beard was well-kept, and his white skin showed no imperfections. A black tank top and dark blue jeans accentuated his muscular body. He could be considered a king of Exofirma if the people were willing to have a different ruler.

“Before I leave you to your whores and bodily filth,” Abraxas wanted to ensure maximum recovery, “You said you keep promises. So you believe that you are an honorable man?”

“Yes. I am an honorable man. My looks and personal enjoyments make no difference.”

“Oh how the standards of honor have fallen. You never kept your last promise after I helped you. You swore your own life to me that if you failed to change, I could claim your throne. You swore that I could claim your head and have it put with the priceless collection of hunted animals that you possess in your personal museum. Am I correct?”

The memory came rushing back to Magna Rex. As he sat on his throne, he remembered that day when he was too drunk to save his wife and daughters. He remembered that day when he came to Abraxas for help.

“Honestly, I had you swear with your life mostly because I thought that you were still foolish enough to off yourself in an abyss. Not to mention, I felt sorry for your daughter since she had to deal with all the abuse from you and Strida.”

“My other daughter returned, Anati. She is poised to be a great representative of my state.” Rex’s face shown with pride.

“Ah, another innocent successor to ruin,” Abraxas immediately shot down Rex’s happiness.

Rex stood up, “F*ck you Abraxas. I will show you that I am still the man I was before.”

Abraxas smiled since that was the exact reaction he wanted, “I hope you do. Because if you don’t manage to get your family back, your head and gold throne is mine. I better leave you to prepare. I bet the I.U.D.B. are very keen on torture methods,” Abraxas waved his hand and the holographic display disappeared.

Magna Rex, out of a fit of anger, screamed and immediately punched his throne. He lifted the heavy, gold masterpiece of art and threw it across the throne room. It smashed through a pillar and the marble crumbled to the ground.

Cannibal appeared from behind another pillar, “Those two things weren’t expensive were they?” He said sarcastically.

Magna Rex decided to relax and gain control of his anger before responding, “Who are you?”

“My name is Cannibal. I am here on behalf of Corvus and Falcon.”

The golden doors made a loud bang as they opened and slammed against the wall. Magna Phadro was rushing to see what caused the commotion he heard.

“Relax Phadro, he simply threw his throne at a marble pillar.” Cannibal informed him.

Phadro looked at the marble rubble at his feet, “May I ask what angered you and why there’s an intruder in this room, Rex?”

Rex looked at Cannibal as if he wanted him to explain the situation, “Wait what. I wasn’t here for that long.”

“If you are here on behalf of Falcon and Corvus then you know what was happening here. Rumors say that the portals your family is able to form can not only help with transport—” Phadro stated.

“But the portals formed also act as our eyes.” Cannibal finished the sentence.

“When rumors spread across the Exofirma empire, they are usually true,” Rex added, “So I ask you to explain the situation to Phadro. I would rather not relive that experience in my memory.”

…

“Weak!” Abraxas yelled at Ronin.

Ronin was dueling against his friend with a carbon katana. He was preparing for the annual Fighting Tournament that occurred within the Advanced Order every spring on the main planet, Lucarro. The Advanced Order had conquered 68 planets across five solar systems. They had almost the same amount of territory as their rival, the Frost Dragons, with a difference of two planets.

The fresh spring air coming from the lush, green mountains of Lucarro invigorated Ronin’s strikes but it wasn’t enough. His friend was able to knock him down with speed over and over again but Ronin was able to dodge the final blow that would end him in the actual tournament.

“Confuse your opponent! Don’t let him knock your balance!” Abraxas screamed. He was frustrated with Ronin’s sudden lenience with the katana. Abraxas knew it was because Ronin was fighting a friend and not a foe.

After ten agonizing minutes, Ronin was finally knocked down and pinned. He wouldn’t be able to escape nor dodge the final blow if it was to be delivered.

Ronin’s friend offered his hand to stand up, “Dude, what happened?”

“I don’t know. I guess I crumbled under pressure.” Ronin replied with blatant disappointment.

“Was it Abraxas? I mean, he is kind of scary and intense.”

“No, I was being merciful,” Ronin and his friend bowed to each other, “I promise it won’t happen next time.”

“See you around.”

Ronin made a couple gestures and lowered the shield of the small, modern, metal-made arena which was designed to prevent match interferences. His friend went back inside the house and waited for Abraxas to congratulate him for a good practice. Ronin saw his look of disappointment.

Abraxas caught up with Ronin who was trying to avoid conversation, “What happened?”

“I crumbled under pressure.”

“Stop lying.”

Ronin’s brown eyes showed clear signs that he didn’t want to talk, “I was merciful.”

“That is where the problem lies. Look, this is the first tournament where your father will see you fight. He doesn’t show mercy.” Abraxas tried to convince Ronin.

But Ronin was stubborn and could not be convinced otherwise, “He shows mercy. It happens rarely.”

“No offense but he was never like your mother. He has sought vengeance during 140 years you spent growing up,” Abraxas looked at his adopted sons uniform. It was a metal armor with the Advanced Order symbol which had enough agility and strength to help the wearer perform amazing tasks. The Frost Dragons had something similar, but it was only to be used for extremely difficult tasks or tournaments, just like in the Advanced Order.

“You aren’t using this suit to the best of your ability. This,” Abraxas touched Ronin’s shoulder, “belongs to your friend. It does not belong to you. To think I thought you would use it for your first tournament when you were finally 180 years old. Excuse me, but I have to go ruin my name because you were merciful.” Abraxas walked inside the house.

“It was just a goddamn practice!” Ronin screamed before he ran and threw his carbon katana off the small bridge that connected the small, personal arena to his house.

‘This is unjust.’ Ronin put his hands on the railing and looked at the view.

He didn’t notice Erpoc, a Reptilia Sapien, was cloaked behind him. Erpoc was a reptilian humanoid who was considered disgusting and evil by the I.U.D.B, Frost Dragons, and his enslavers, the Siloteri. The only two places he was accepted into after his release from slavery was either the Advanced Order or Exofirma Empire. He went with the Advanced Order because Rex was clearly, at the time, falling into a pit of depression. Erpoc’s friend, Nexacroc, decided to join the empire anyway and became a high-ranking advisor.

‘Poor kid.’ Erpoc uncloaked himself.

“Look, I think I know a way you can earn that suit back.” Erpoc frightened Ronin.

“How did you get—”

Erpoc interrupted him, “Did you forget that my kind has unique abilities. I was obviously cloaked dumbass.”

“You just broke so many laws. I have to report you.” Ronin was about to run inside when Erpoc grabbed his wrist.

“Wait. Your father, Satoru, asked me to spy on you while you prepared for your first tournament. He wants me to help you in any way I can.”

Ronin looked at Erpoc up and down, “I need help with being merciless.”

“From what your father taught me, you need help with a lot more than just that.” Erpoc stated.

“What do you mean? Abraxas isn’t a great teacher?” Ronin was almost offended.

“No idiot. There’s a lot more you can learn that Abraxas is not willing to teach you.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think you are exactly a master of combat. I would rather take advice from Nexacroc.” Ronin dismissed Erpoc.

Erpoc took offense to the blatant disrespect from Ronin, “Just because I am a Reptilia Sapien doesn’t mean I don’t know combat. I taught your father and Abraxas things they had never seen before. Considering you don’t want my help I will just leave and tell your father you are a miserable failure.” Erpoc’s voice toward the end change from anger to a harsh, snake-like tone. He was prepared to just snap Ronin’s neck.

“Alright. Help me then ass.”

…

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t congratulate you before on your incredible technique. What’s your name?” Abraxas asked Ronin’s friend. Abraxas caught up with him outside in the front entrance of the house. The entrance was heavily guarded by drones, a gate, and multiple cameras. It was a modern looking metal fortress. Ronin’s friend was about to leave in his car.

“It’s—” Abraxas’s phone rang.

He looked and saw it was Movas, ‘Something definitely happened,’ he thought before answering.

Movas was a member of the Advanced Order. She was conducting an assassination within Siloteri borders before she was marked. She was able to escape the Siloteri but the marker left a kill order on her that would initiate as soon as she tried to leave the border. She would instantly die if she tried to leave the Siloteri so as she figured things out, she decided to spy on her captors.

“What is it?” Abraxas whispered.

“There’s been talk going on within the Siloteri Trade Center. Apparently spies brought back information about the Falcon Family approaching the Frost Dragons. They reached an agreement.”

“How do you know this?” Abraxas asked.

“They have moles inside the Frost Dragons. I don’t know who it is but my sources say that there are also spies inside our clan.”

Abraxas appeared calm on the outside, but internally he was terrified. The Siloteri were a powerful force and if they were trying to get involved in any other clan’s activities, it was due to the trouble the Falcons were causing.

Tengah was crouched with her back to the car. She heard the entire conversation thanks to her robotic hearing augments.

‘Spies inside the Advanced Order? There has to be—’ In an instant, images of the Siloteri came flooding through her mind. It was Ronin’s friend.

Tengah jumped across the car and kicked the Siloteri spy on the ground. She pulled out the silenced pistol the spy was carrying and pointed it to his head.

“Don’t move!” Tengah yelled.

“Hey,” Abraxas turned and put his phone away, “Who are you? Get off of him before I have you escorted by the authorities.”

“You will do no such thing,” the Golden Tiger appeared in front of Abraxas in a flash, “We have a lot to discuss.”

…

“We all told you to fix your actions!” Phadro was screaming, “Trogon, Sicatrix, Skane, Tiko Vern, Immorti, every single one of us!”

“I have learned my lesson! Don’t you dare speak to your emperor in that way!” Rex retaliated.

“Oh have you? You aren’t even dressed, you look old as shit, and your family just got captured.”

Cannibal was getting tired of the bickering that ensued after he told the story, “You two, shut up! Idiots, bickering idiots. Listen to what I have to say!”

Phadro and Rex stopped their fighting after hearing Cannibal’s guttural scream. It was like a demon overtook the entire throne room.

“Good. I can help you Rex get your goddamn family back. I just need something in return.”

‘Something in return? I wonder what it is. Well, he does have a nice body.’ Rex thought.

“YOU ARE DISGUSTING!” Phadro interrupted Cannibal, “You have that stupid face you get when you feel like f*cking someone!”

Cannibal rubbed his face before continuing, “I don’t even want to know. Anyway, Rex, I need your utter allegiance with the Falcon family before we rescue your family.”

Magna Rex looked at Cannibal in anger, “How dare you!”

“How dare I? Says the guy in his piss-stained and I don’t even what to know what else underwear who is supposedly the ‘king.’ I was going to threaten you just like my family threatened the Frost Dragons but I chose not to because you have no other place to run.”

Magna Rex realized this fact. In the end, he had no one else who would help him. He was either on his own, knowing his own people wouldn’t go on even a stealth mission to rescue his family, or he could get help from the Falcons. The problem with him agreeing to swear allegiance is that the Falcons have their own agenda.

“We are at an agreement.”

“Good. Now the rest of my mission is to help you plan a full-scale attack.”

“What? I thought it was just a simple stealth mission!”

“You swore your allegiance. Now you are going to do what I say if you want your family back.”

Magna Rex looked turned around and looked at the destruction he caused. His throne was still on the ground covered in marble rock. He wasn’t upset at joining the Falcons in their fight against whatever. He was upset at himself for being such a dumbass.

‘I have fallen from greatness.’

…

“Do you agree to these terms?” Tengah asked. Her, Abraxas, and the Golden Tiger were now inside the Siloteri spy’s car. It was very nice and opulent. It had 4 chairs in the rear seat which faced each other. Corvus was driving to a police building on the planet Lucarro in order to have the spy interrogated.

“My ‘universal state’ as you call it already meets the entire list of laws required.” Abraxas stated.

“Yes. We know and out of the three we are… I guess you could say recruiting; your state is the best one.” Tengah replied.

“What she meant to say was it is the most progressive, economically viable, and safe,” Corvus decided to test Abraxas, “You know your Minotaur advisor, Kentavros?”

“You are going to ask me if I was fine with him seeing Criya, a known member of the Frost Dragons. Of course I am.”

“So will you agree to these terms?” the Golden Tiger was tired of the small talk.

“Yes.” Abraxas responded.

From one moment to the next, the car abruptly stopped. It had hit a person in blue body armor with carbon accents and the car rebounded. The person didn’t move one inch.

The person was Duratos. He walked up to the car and pulled Corvus out. He bashed Corvus into the ground repeatedly before throwing him off the cliff they were driving next to. Corvus grabbed a ledge and rocketed himself back onto the road.

“You bitch. Abraxas gets a free pass while I get a threat of 50 years’ torture before death?” Duratos approached Corvus.

Duratos heard a metal shotgun reload behind is head. He put his hands up and turned around slowly. Kentavros had him at gunpoint.

“Of course I get threatened by the furry monster.”

“I am not a monster,” Kentavros shoved the gun closer, “Only when I have to be.”

“Stop,” Criya appeared next to her partner and pushed him away, “I can handle this.”

“Why are you doing this? You are helping the people who threatened me with death.” Duratos was dumbfounded.

“Do not make this any harder. As you may know, I can exist in two places at once. Well, I am back on Zethaonus where all your friends are. I am crouched with a sniper pointed at the open windows of your home base. It’s ready to fire.”

Duratos was heartbroken, “Why are you doing this? You are loyal to the people who are trying to kill me.”

“I am loyal because they are accepting of my relationship,” She looked at Kentavros, “Even you, my own brother, can’t accept it.”

“If you shoot my friends, my family, I will never forgive you!”

“And if you continue acting angrily, continue with your conservative views, continue to be ignorant, I will shoot them!” Criya yelled back.

All anyone could do, Duratos’s friend, Abraxas, included, was watch as the spectacle unfolded in front of them. Criya was slowly getting to her breaking point while her brother was calm and cool.

“You think I became a specter just to f*cking protect you. I became one because I was sick that any idea or thought I had that was too untraditional would get shot down. Anything that I did was considered either terrible or not good enough. Thanks to your greatness, I was reduced to not good enough!”

“Please, I always gave you everything. I treated you like my other half. Please realize this.” Duratos was on his knees, begging for forgiveness from his sister.

“You treated me like I was nothing! ‘Why can’t you be like me. You are not a leader like me.’ You would always say that! Now guess who is the leader.”

The beautiful green jungle of Lucarro turned into a winter hellhole. It was the most bitter cold that Duratos had ever experienced. He wanted to calm his sister and have her forgiveness, but she did not listen.

Then, something disrupted the winter. In a dark, shadowy flash Falcon appeared right next to Criya. He stopped the winter she had caused and returned Lucarro to its natural state.

“Criya,” Falcon spoke sternly, “If you shoot anyone with that sniper you are robbing them of a chance at redemption.”

“People can’t change.” Criya looked at Falcon in tears. She could see past the mask he wore and saw a person with his own agenda, his own plans.

“Yes they can. These humanoids that exist in this section of the universe are advanced enough to change.”

“No, they are not. My brother,” She turned back to Duratos, “is an example of this.”

“Don’t do it Criya!” Duratos cried out. He felt as if he were so far away from his sister when in fact she was standing right in front of him.

“I’m sorry, all of you.” Criya’s other half fired the sniper rifle. She snagged Nebula, Thea, and Raxes before Falcon drove his fist right through her head.

Duratos watched as Falcon pulled out an entire mind in his blood-ridden hands. Duratos screamed as he watched his sister corpse, in her beautiful, innocent white dress, fall to the ground. No one had any words except “She was insane.”

Author's Note

Since I now have a ton of free time off, expect a new chapter from me every single day. Also expect less mistakes.

Website: http://kcsshd.weebly.com/ (P.S. New design and fresh update) (Check Back for Author Updates)

Fic-O-Pedia

Chapter 1 of Echo Praelior

Chapter 2: The Falcon Agreement

Chapter 2: The Falcon Agreement

‘What is this place?’ Duratos, a bearded, muscular, virile, blue-eyed, pale man walked through a forest encapsulated in in a brutal blizzard. He could barely see in front of him and as he walked, the bitter chill increased its power.

These conditions didn’t disturb Duratos. He was accustomed to the cold and anything that was above 10 C in temperature was too hot for him. He is the Cryomancer after all and he also had his warrior outfit on in this dream. It was a light blue with carbon black accents and had armor nearly everywhere.

‘How long will I continue walking until I finally escape? There’s nothing in this dream of mine and I want to awaken.’

“It’s not like you have a choice in that matter.” Criya, Duratos’s sister, appeared next to him. Her beautiful white long hair accentuated her flowing, white dress and perfect purple eyes.

He jerked and nearly lost his balance, “What in the hell, Criya?”

“Was that a little frightening?”

“It is when your sister hasn’t visited you in 9,000 years! Why are you here? I told you to leave and never return!” Duratos screamed in his characteristically heavy voice.

“I’m sorry,” she motioned for Duratos to follow, “but it’s important.”

Duratos trailed behind Criya as they moved through the frozen trees. He was being quite cautious due to Criya’s unpredictable personality. Before she became a specter, Duratos’s sister was a very stable, sometimes passionless, person. She never felt anger nor happiness and her state of mind was always neutral.

That changed as soon as she committed suicide due to her brothers’ disappearance. By the time Duratos came back, the ceremonies had been held and she had become a specter without his approval. For years, specters have been known to be the unstable guardians of family members. Even Criya’s natural emotional balance was broken.

“Look you are going to hate me and possibly awaken if I tell you this.” Criya stopped him.

“What is it?”

Criya turned and looked off into the distance. There was a small modern house made of metal in the direction she was looking. The lights were on; the house was occupied.

“You see that gray house with the lights turned on in the distance?”

“Spit out what you are going to say. I am getting tired of your melodramatic actions.” Duratos said with a sharp tone. He never approved of his sister’s actions.

“I am not choosing to be melodramatic,” Criya turned away from the house and stared angrily into her brother’s eyes, “How dare you say that about me? I became a specter to protect you and I may not be as emotionally sane as before but I am still your sister. You treat me with the respect that I deserve!” She yelled the last line as tears almost flooded her eyes.

Duratos realized that he had pulled a trigger that he shouldn’t had even touched. He hated seeing his sister in pain; especially since his sister sacrificed more than everything she possessed. She gave her life in order to help him escape his kidnappers.

He hugged his sister, “I’m sorry. It’s just that I am not used to… this.”

She pushed him away and he fell on his back, “You aren’t used to it? After 19,886 years you still don’t see what I did for you? We were born without knowing our parents! Most if not all specters are relatives older than us. You should have been the one who protected me for the rest of eternity not me!”

“Criya, when you are immortal, you of all people know this, 20,000 years is nothing.” He noticed the forest was beginning to expand.

“You should have been the one who made the sacrifice! Instead I with all the pressure of being your successor was the one who decided to waste life.”

“Criya!” The forest was flooded by awful, ghastly noises.

“I was the one who made the sacrifice because you f*cking left me! You left me!”

Duratos was further away from Criya due to the forest floors continuous expansion. Criya’s powers were affecting the literal dimensions of his dream and he had to stop it. He had died once before in his mind and it was not a pleasant experience.

He stood up with difficulty as the ground cracked right beneath him. He dodged a tree that fell right where he was moments ago. The blizzard was stronger than ever and he couldn’t see past his nose.

“Criya! You have to stop.” He yelled in the distance.

There was no response. He pushed against the gusts toward his sisters last known location. The wind was colder than what Duratos would have liked it to be.

Criya twitched with the feeling of his hand on her shoulder. She quickly turned, tears were streaming down her face.

“Stop this Criya.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because you wouldn’t accept my actions.”

“I am an open-minded man. Just calm down and let’s talk. The person can wait.”

Criya waved her hand and the frozen forest returned to normal. The house returned to view, the wind slowed to a halt, and the trees returned to their normal packed and dense clusters.

“Now tell me, what could you have done that warranted so much guarding?”

“He’s in the house and I’ve been seeing him for quite some time.”

“Is that all you were hiding? A boyfriend? What you think I’m going to scare him away?” Duratos said jokingly.

“Well come on then,” Criya turned and proceeded toward the house, ‘This is not going to end well.’

…

“What is she doing?” Cannibal, a blue-haired, tall, handsome, muscular, gray-eyed, white man asked as he admired Duratos’s armor which was located behind a glass box on the wall. Duratos was lying in the bed behind him and Tengah was intensely focused inside her mind.

“I suspect she will deliver the message after she takes him to see the new boyfriend.” Tengah a purple-haired, tall, beautiful, strong, grey-eyed, brown woman responded. Her eyes were closed as she conjured images of Criya and her brother walking toward the house.

The bedroom was vast and wide with enough hiding places that were made to escape intruders. The living area, at the other end of the bedroom, was immense and it featured three medium-sized, four-person couches with a television set. The bathroom was located on the opposite side of where Cannibal was standing. The room was decorated with priceless art and a modern bookcase was located on one of the walls.

Cannibal walked around the empty space between the bed and the living area, “Is it just me or do the Frost Dragons have a lot of funding?”

Tengah flipped her long purple hair and looked up and down at her brother like he was an idiot, “No dumbass. The décor was free,” she shut her eyes for quite a while before opening them back up again.

“That’s as much as I could gather before she would notice something was not right.” Tengah said as she crossed her arms and looked around.

“By the way, I could tell that you were annoyed with my question.”

“Of course I was annoyed. That was an idiotic comment.”

“Well, these clans have been known to steal. I don’t think that everything we have seen so far from the Frost Dragons is exactly built, developed, or bought.” Cannibal replied.

“That’s true.”

“Besides, even if they did steal all the technology in the universe, it wouldn’t be enough to match ours back home.”

“We are not at home unless you are implying that the tech they have developed is primitive.” Tengah said.

“Very primitive,” Cannibal looked down at his white battlesuit and looked at Tengah’s white battlesuit, “These battlesuits that we are wearing are much more advanced.”

“We are much more advanced without the suits than these people with them.” Tengah walked and patted her brother on the back who was still standing around for no reason.

She sat on one of the couches, “We can’t ignore that these people are still not a threat. Even if we are more powerful than them, it won’t make a difference in battle.”

‘Oh how right you are bitch,’ Tera thought, ‘How right you are.’

Tera was right sitting on the couch right in front of Tengah. Tera wore a black shirt and blue jeans. She was concealed under Hades’s magic which she used to conceal her true form. She used the same magic to conceal herself from the sight of both the battlesuits and her targets. She wasn’t necessarily invisible but she just made Tengah and Cannibal oblivious to her presence in sight and sound.

“Tera, what’s your status on the subjects.” Nebula requested over the earpiece coms. He was standing outside on a mountain peak that was in the distance with Raxes. They both had the standard Frost Dragons stealth outfit which was to be worn during missions. The clothes were sharply designed and they were lightly armored unlike the warrior outfit. They had to put on a dark helmet which covered their faces. They had just come back from one mission and were about to head inside the mountain to escape the bitter cold before Tera called in a state of emergency.

“Don’t ask her a question or else her hideous demon form will come and get you.” Raxes joked.

Tera was a hideous demon but, with the help of powers unknown from Hades, she was currently a beautiful dark woman with jet black hair and gold colored eyes that could seduce any man into falling in love with her. She didn’t care for Raxes’s comment and chose not to respond.

“Don’t you dare bust down that door Nebula and don’t even think about getting close,” Tera spoke sternly, “Your gay love for Duratos has to wait because I am gathering information.”

“I’m not in love with him bitch.”

Cannibal touched his left forearm and a holographic screen popped up, “Frosty, status report.”

“The staircase leading up to the room is clear. The balcony is also clear and everyone, from the looks of it, is still unaware of your presence. By the way, why would you set the windows for maximum tint? The building that you are in has its back toward the main base and no one can see you in this weather.” A mysterious person with a thick voiceover responded.

“Better to be safe than sorry.” Cannibal replied.

“Did you guys hear that? There’s no way anyone could have gotten inside this place without help. Who could it be?”

“I passed by Thea in the hangar as soon as you said we had intruders.” Nebula reported.

“And I passed by Torek just as he was going into an elevator.” Raxes reported.

“Well then who else has access to this part of the mountain?” Thea asked joining in on the conversation.

“Thea, that was random for you to just pop in on this frequency.” Tera commented.

“Yeah well I’m bored. Me and Torek wanted to mess with you guys. What are you doing by the way? Right now we were about to go on a stealth mission but we decided not to because that stealth outfit is uncomfortable. So we just decided to hold it off till tomorrow because we are rocking this white camo outfit right now. Who knew that a white t-shirt, white pants, and this cool mask would look…”

“Oh my god. Shut up. No one cares. Do you know of anyone named Frosty?” Tera asked.

“No why?” Torek joined the conversation.

“We have a goddamn mole inside the clan.”

What no one knew at the time was that Criya could be in two places at once. Either she could be in someone’s mind or fighting alongside her original copy in the real world. Right now, she was currently watching from a high peak with a sniper rifle.

…

“I have a person for that you need to talk with before seeing my new partner.” Criya said as she entered the house.

Duratos followed and was surprised to see something so small from the outside become so giant and luxurious as soon as you stepped in. It was something quite impressive. Everything was well spaced from the dining room to the living room in an open floor plan.

“I had always dreamed of having a home with a small exterior and a large interior,” Criya said as she proceeded upstairs, “Wait here. I will bring the negotiator.”

“So wait, this isn’t part of my dream. It’s part of yours.” Duratos said.

“Yeah. Pretty much. I mean, dreams don’t hurt do they?”

Duratos thought back to when he almost died in a dream, “Yeah, they never hurt.”

He explored the lower floor for the 8 minutes that Criya was gone. The living room had a large television set with surround sound speakers and a fireplace. Behind the living room was an indoor pool which was sealed off with glass. Proceed further into the home and you will find the kitchen with a huge dining area.

“I hope you two can reach an agreement.” Criya was upstairs in the hall speaking with the Golden Tiger. The Golden Tiger was a Shokan, or four-armed humanoid. He had a white battlesuit, similar to the ones Cannibal and Tengah were wearing.

“We will. You forgot that I am a creation of Corvus. I am supposed to be perfect in more ways than one.”

“And you forgot the fact that my brother is easily angered. You know what he will do as soon as he finds out that I am sleeping with a Minotaur?” She proceeded down the stairs with the Golden Tiger.

“Which is why I asked to speak to him before you angered him.”

‘This dream is not going to end well. It is most definitely not going to end well.’ Criya thought.

“You are Cryomancer I presume.” The Golden Tiger put out one of his four hands to shake.

Duratos was flustered at the name Cryomancer, “Yes… sorry just that.”

“I called you a name you have yet to hear in a long while. I get it. Come on, let’s sit at the dining table. Your sister and her partner prepared an extravagant meal.”

They entered the dining room which had a large table that could sit over 22 people. The gray walls were clean and they didn’t have any sort of decoration. Criya, Duratos, and the Golden Tiger all sat together in a row.

“So as you may have heard the story,” the Golden Tiger spoke as he cut pieces of turkey for himself, “Corvus, otherwise known as the Raven, is in fact from elsewhere in the known universe.”

“It’s a rumor.” Duratos commented.

“A rumor that is true. Your people have not been able to explore the rest of the universe but, the species that exist in this area are a lot more capable of wielding profound powers.”

Duratos and Criya looked at each other before looking back at the Golden Tiger, who was sitting in the middle. They both had an idea of where this negotiation was going to go next.

“One of the most prominent and unorthodox, let’s call them mutants, are the Titans. They are the most powerful beings in the universe. Not as powerful as Falcon or Corvus, but powerful.”

“Now listen,” Duratos interrupted, “What do you want us to do? I don’t like where this is going.”

“Let me finish and you will see. When we originally arrived here, it was due to a malfunction in our ship. There were humans and others in this section of the universe but they weren’t advanced enough to fix our ship. So we decided to go under stasis and wait a couple billion years. Now, the technology does exist so that we may return. But we need the technology of the Siloteri.”

“Why don’t you just go ask them?” Criya lost her appetite.

“We did ask them. They refused. We were involved in a long war with them.”

“If it’s just a simple attack and steal then it’s fine with me.” Duratos admitted.

Criya looked at her brother and looked back at the table, ‘He just loves war and fighting. It’s his favorite thing.’

“Good. But there are some extra conditions we have to meet.” The Golden Tiger smiled at Duratos.

…

“Are we ready?” Tera asked over the earpiece coms.

“Ready.” Torek, Thea, Nebula, and Raxes said in unison.

Tera dashed and grabbed Tengah in a choke hold just as she was walking back toward Duratos. Nebula fired a non-lethal electric arrow into the back of Cannibal’s skull, disabling him.

“Hey, what the f*ck!” Cannibal screamed on the floor unable to move.

Torek stomped on his head, “Shut up!”

“Why are you here?” Thea had her Heavenly Kris primed and ready to gut Tengah.

“That is not your business… yet.” In a flash, Tengah rocketed herself into the wall, crushing Tera’s chest in the process. She removed the electric arrow and both Cannibal and Tengah went invisible.

“Where are they?” Raxes asked, “Does anyone have eyes on them?”

“No they are invisible you—” Tera was kicked in the back of the head. She swung wildly at the air before Cannibal swept her feet and bashed her skull.

Nebula tried to fire an arrow but missed as Tengah kicked the bow in the air. She caught it and shot an arrow through his leg before knocking him out with the bow. They both were invisible again.

“You can see them when they are fighting.” Raxes stated.

Thea, Torek, and Raxes remained back to back spinning slowly in order to try and catch their opponents. They were frightened of their enemy. Cannibal and Tengah were quick, agile, and extremely strong.

Torek felt a sudden blow to the crotch and he kicked Cannibal onto his back. He tried to kick Cannibal on the ground, but Torek missed as his opponent quickly dodged and went back to invisibility.

Tengah dashed and quickly disarmed Thea of her kris before stabbing her. Tengah quickly punctured and sliced her opponent to the point where Thea couldn’t move anymore. Blood spilled and poured out of Thea’s body as she fell.

Tengah dodged a punch from Torek slicing his arm in the process. Cannibal quickly kicked and punched Raxes before flipping him into the wall.

“Are we done?” Tengah asked Tera, who was still on the ground.

“No,” Tera stood back up as if almost no damage was done, “We are not done.”

Cannibal and Tengah appeared horrified as they watched the people they just nearly beat to death stand up as if nothing happened. They didn’t do enough damage.

‘How could they possibly have a healing factor?’ Tengah thought.

‘We also have a healing factor. So it’s even.’ Cannibal answered.

…

“Wait what? How dare you become partners with a… monster!” Duratos screamed at his sister as she stepped into the dining room with Kentavros, a minotaur.

“Well he’s…”

“Enough! How dare you forsake the Frost Dragons with these ideas!”

“Calm down Duratos,” The Golden Tiger spoke sternly, “We have more pressing matters to deal with.”

“What pressing matters?” Just as soon as Duratos asked, he woke up in his room to two intruders and five defenders.

He jumped out of his bed and sprinted toward Tengah. She saw this coming, went invisible, and dodged the near tackle.

Cannibal went for a kick but his opponent was too quick. Duratos grabbed Cannibal’s neck in his hand.

“Come out and show your face,” Duratos looked at Cannibal, “Or your friend here gets his neck snapped.”

Tengah appeared in front of Duratos, “It takes more than a neck snap to kill us.”

“Defiant till the bitter—” In an instant, Duratos was kicked down by Falcon who had appeared out of nothing.

Tera ran to hit Falcon but was immediately knocked down by Criya. Thea and Raxes were sledgehammered in the face by Kentavros. Corvus handled the remaining persons.

“How dare you attack the son of Corvus!” Falcon screamed at Duratos.

“I swear I did not know anything! Please have mercy.” Duratos cried.

“Falcon enough.” Corvus said.

“Fine. Tell them the agreement you reached with Golden Tiger. He isn’t here right now as he has other pressing matters to deal with but Corvus and Duratos can speak for him.” Falcon stated.

“What did you do?!” Torek screamed.

“We are going to help the Falcon Family, or this part of it, attack the Siloteri.” Duratos stated.

“Or…” Falcon waited for him to finish the sentence.

“Or we are tortured for 50 years until they finally put us in the ground.” Duratos finished that sentence with a bitter tone.