Pillars of the Kingdom

Derringer, eh? Branden thought of it, I bet he can get a message to Yenohs, though it’ll be to people the likes of which the kid’s never quite met. Hard to believe Jacin is so good yet hasn’t even met with a bandit or two...Branden nodded his head softly to the Montoyan and smiled. “Yes, we need to notify Yenohs that they have about two days before they are invaded. From the north; the Empire of Solasce...” He paused as the man shouted a word which resembled “what,” then continued. “It’s a real place, kid; Anyhow, They’re going to invade in about two days.”

“So I take it I’m being hired to go north with you?” Derringer replied as he hit a panel on his ship’s side. The metallic hull of the vessel opened to reveal room for not one but six war walkers. Not one of these weapons took residence inside the vessel, but inside was a motley assembly of two large, tarp-covered machines and a number of boxes labeled “ammunition,” “guns” or “Handle with care.” Branden did not want to know what the last of these implied.

“No,” Shade volunteered as he stood up. A cant of his head was offered as Martin bowed. “Damn it, you’re here as an ally, not as a servant. Now stand up and dust yourself off. Now,” the old one continued as Cassandra giggled. “We are not going to fight Solasce in the northern front. As you can certainly tell by the scraps, there are already Solascians on the continent aside from myself and Lady Kathy,” a gesture to the woman trying desperately to hide behind Clarice, “And they are seeking to revive a grand weapon of mass destruction worthy of any sort of cheesy paperback novel.”

“Oh, any,” Martin responded with an angry glare directed toward Kathy. If he’d heard words like “mass destruction” and “Solasce,” they bounced off in the face of the look at the Coaslundian scientist. “Any weapon, eh?”

“Three of them, actually,” Cassandra added with a nod.

“You’re fucking serious,” Martin finally said with a frown. A shrug of his shoulders. “Not that I’m already surprised today, but...What the hell exactly are we up against?” He looked toward, of all people, Charles. Chuckles, as he was called for what he could not produce, seemed all too willing to oblige.

“Oh,” he said nonchalantly, “We’re just facing three of the most dangerous robots ever created by an empire destroyed almost a thousand years ago.” Martin looked on with disbelief and various members of the party were reacting almost predictably. Cassandra and Shade were smiling at one another, Jacin was shaking his head, Branden and Serge were both smiling politely, Kathy was scowling. Clarice...Didn’t seem to be listening, and Kendrick had adopted the same policy of Iona of looking at other things besides Charles. “They’re psychotic so they’ll kill everyone and we have to stop them.”

Martin blinked his eyes twice and looked toward the black-robed Arcanic, who nodded. He looked at every single member of the group and those who had listened nodded; those who hadn’t took their cue from others and nodded in turn. Finally, Martin looked to the floor. “Are you fucking serious? Well, we’re screwed. I shouldn’t help you at all. Hell,” he said with a grin, “The only reason I should help is because you’re probably right; if you guys lose, chances are I’m gonna die anyway.”

“Yeah, that’s about right,” Charles responded. Jacin finally decided it was time to throw a rock at him, one Charles dodged easily. “Hah!” he responded, moving right into the path of one chucked by Branden.

“Hah,” Frost taunted. He looked to Martin and nodded his head. “Yeah, in the morning we gotta jet down south. About a two days ride away we are going to come upon an ancient site where they were hit with some good strength Tero-Nuclear devices.”

Martin seemed to pale in the moonlight, then shook his head and merely chuckled. “Sure, why the hell not?” He proposed, “It’s not like every other nightmare scenario hasn’t been touted before me. Well, what the hell. I’ll crash in the ship and set my gear up, you guys can come and go as you like.”
*****
“He didn’t seem to like you,” Clarice whispered to Kathy. The two were sitting up on watch together, Kathy deciding to forsake a little sleep before her own shift. Clarice would do the same, giving them both a good deal of time to just talk in private.

“Who, Derringer?” Kathy asked as her hand idly stroked Clarice’s fingertips. Despite what most warriors experienced, Clarice’s hands remained soft; in fact, most Horas seemed to experience this phenomenon, as if elite skill was more a factor that physical grip when it came to holding onto a sword.

“Yeah, the new guy. Damn, it seems like we collect them,” she said reflectively on acquiring two new companions so easily. She looked up at Kathy, who had just slightly hesitated with her palm-carressing. Clarice moved her fingertips toward her lover’s face. “Whatever it is, I won’t be mad. Promise,” she added while suspecting worst-case situations to just crop up around her.

“Well, he and I dated a few times back when he worked for Yenohar’s military research and engineering department,” Kathy revealed. “The kid had the potential to be a councilor, that much was certain; yet military regalia kind of angered him. I guess I liked that,” Kathy said with a smile. It was clear that, whatever had happened, she still enjoyed rebelliousness a little. “Well, anyway, I’m much more attracted to women then I am men; almost a one-way street, mind you,” Kathy’s words brought revelation, for Clarice had assumed Kathy only was attracted to women. Period. “So I couldn’t in good faith stay with him. Plus there was a little matter of an academic dispute, or should I say war of disputes. In the end, it was just too much trouble and a lot of bad blood which can’t get under the bridge.”

“Oh,” Clarice sighed, allowing the one word to express a mountain’s worth of burden. She looked to the floor for a moment, and then let her eyes meet those of her lover. “Katherine, you realize that Shade and Cassandra are resolved to die?” The question spurned a mystified look, so Clarice continued. “Well, it’s that they’ve spent all their time building magical energy reserves and opening Arcane links with one another.”

“And you can tell this now that you’re a Hora,” Kathy joked with a smile. It was untrue that a mere word’s worth of a promotion could prompt radically new powers, and both women knew it. Clarice smiled and placed a loud kiss to the other’s forehead.

“No, but I can tell because I can see it. Do you think we’re doomed this early in our lives? That Shade and Cassandra can’t handle these things and that we’ll be forced to yield?” The question was a powerful one, and Kathy seemed to consider it.

“Given what I know of Solasce’s military gear, chances are these machines aren’t that powerful compared to another thousand year’s worth of advancement. Then again, these things ate a nuke and I doubt any of Solasce’s cruisers can handle that kind of damage. If modern advancements are in using less material to achieve a greater force and they’ve downscaled the optimal amount of force, then we could be in trouble. If they’ve been to increase power overall, then its possible we can get off easy. To sum it up, I don’t know. If the technology hasn’t gotten better but weaker, I just...Couldn’t say.” Kathy didn’t sound convinced, but she sounded quite honest to Clarice.

“I see,” Blind Justice responded with a loud sigh. “I guess we take our chances either way, lover.” Clarice leaned against the woman and basked in the gentle stroking the other’s hand delivered to her own. It was a different feeling then the sexual ones they’d had; a very, very good and healthy one. She still had trouble accepting Kathy had feelings toward men, and it brought her mind to one man - Alan Booker. But he’s fine, living with the Shamans and whatnot, she thought to herself. He’s fine, and Kathy probably can’t blame me for being attracted to him. I wonder what he’s up to?
*****
The figures worked before him, silent as they moved to encircle the young man. How long had he been in his new home? Surely not too long, a month at most...Yet he’d changed so much he hardly recognized himself. Long ago had he purged the scars on his wrists and he held his diamond-encrusted dagger in a reverse grip much like his friend Branden had.

“The boy changed weapons after Lord Malach stomped him!” exclaimed one of the black-armored men. If they thought he would be affected by the words, he just laughed them off. Five in all stood against him, seeking entry into the territory claimed by his new friends. They didn’t seem to understand that, despite Emorian ideas about ownership, the land had claimed the Shamans instead and he’d sworn to defend that claim.

“Come at me or turn away,” he warned calmly, raising the wide-based, almost triangular knife he held in a reverse grip to the foes in a calm salute. He didn’t even wear armor at the moment, choosing instead to wear loose robes made by one of the finer tailors in Shamansen. The squadron stared at him for a moment, the assumed leader stepping forward and making a broad arc with his sword.

His dagger rose up and he parried the blow as if he weren’t even trying. He looked from the blade to the man in the armor and pushed the intruder’s sword out of the way, stepping backwards and mentally whispering the incantation his friend had given him. Suddenly the dagger was transfused with a healthy, warm red light, and his enemies knew fear. Soon after, they knew nothing at all of this world.

Chapter Thirty One

The party had put out their distress call to Emor the night before their departure. The message was received by the Knight’s Council and only Serge’s personal insistence had gotten the memo passed to the ling and the higher Councils. When the king was notified, he responded with an eerie acceptance and welcoming of the information. His reply was downright clandestine - A simple “thank you” in the face of invasion. Clearly the king had already been informed of this possibility, and was facing a fear come to reality.

Jacin had woken from another dream with a cold sweat on his body, but found he was surprisingly well rested considering the traumatic nature of preparing for a battle such as this. It was a dream he couldn’t much remember, and he’d therefore dismissed it as non-prophetic. He realized he was awake about half an hour before the rest of the party was likely to stir, so he chose to simply lay in bed and further ready himself mentally. Martin had promised they’d make the trip quickly, so they could be undertaking this battle in a mere number of hours rather than a couple of days. He didn’t drift back to sleep, yet before he knew it he was getting up to help the journey resume.

The group loaded their gear into the Cutter, a ship with the superfluous name “The Regalia,” and hunkered down when Martin’s voice crackled over the intercom that they were leaving. Despite what seemed to be his best efforts, even Charles was not left behind. As the vessel took off it became obvious that the crates and two large, tarp-covered masses of steel (discerned when Jacin happened to bump into one with a resounding, metallic bang) were all tied down and were marked not to be opened.

The horses handled the liftoff surprisingly well, not fretting or balking except to look around confused for a moment then go back to lying down. Branden patted his horse on the back once, and then began to meander aimlessly around the ship. They were mid-flight, but small cameras on the bottom of the hull showed the terrain they passed over. They moved quite rapidly, trees and grass blurring into a green mixture underneath them. The Regalia flew low in order to avoid radar detection and moved slowly as it passed occasional hills, almost as if Martin were scanning to ensure no aerial pursuit was on its way.

It was at about that moment when Shade opened his eyes, looking first to Cassandra then to the rest of the group. “Land here,” he said idly as he stood up and stretched, giving his consort a dashing look with a smile on his lips. “We’re at the place; the only shame is we’re too late to prevent their reactivation.”

“How the hell do you know this?” Serge asked of his old friend with a skeptical voice. Scarred Peace and the rest of the group began to don their armor and ready their weapons, and Martin gave an affirmative over the radio, but Serge seemed to move slower as he waited for a rationale.

“Easy, old friend, I can feel them. Keep in mind,” Shade reminded them all, “these things are not organic but they use Crystal just like any other plane. Moreover, chances are they use a damn lot of it and there’s enough to light them up like a Hora. Which is why they are so unsettling,” he finished contemplatively. The group nodded around him and soon after felt the Cutter descending. Destiny, it seemed, lay below.

The doors of the bay opened as Martin ran from the cockpit into the back through a sliding doorway that was hardly visible from the outside. He reached into his jacket and procured a pistol, leveled it at the opening hatch, and waited. Perhaps the whole team was expecting annihilation before the door even finished opening - Kathy certainly raised her rifle to the doorway as well, instinctively covering the doorway. Instinctively, Clarice wondered, or with some time spent practicing with Martin?

What the party saw as they opened the door was a travesty. There were still Solascians standing, armed with machine guns of both projectile and plasma origin, but they were firing their arms at what seemed to be nothing. As the party drew its weapons and Shade began to shout in his native tongue, slowly Clarice’s eyes adjusted to what she saw - Verified quickly by what her ears heard.

Motion. It was subtle and fast on a terrifying level. She could never be as fast as the things moving, for their speeds matched even Branden’s. A look to Frost and her worst fear was confirmed. Branden was having trouble tracking them with his baby blues. This terrible truth was a blow to Clarice’s gut, nearly knocking her over from despair.

The Solascians began an organized retreat behind the ship (despite a cry of surprise from Martin, who wasn’t the most willing recipient of refugees), and the field of battle quickly panned out to a picturesque image of knights in armor facing off against three figures - Each one different and all of them deadly. Clarice bit her bottom lip as she stared at Shade and Cassandra, the only two of the group to step forward.

“Just as I thought,” The older Arcanic whispered to himself. “One long-range unit, one stealth unit and a third which is…Actually unidentified?” This last was a question, but he spoke more to himself or maybe Cassandra than to the rest of the party. “I see, its parts are an amalgam of a close quarters combat unit and another long range and stealth. Very interesting,” Shade mused, “He built himself.” The old man genuinely seemed intrigued at how a robot could build itself, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

“I don’t suppose we could try reasoning with you tin cans, now can we?” Cassandra said in a mocking voice, her hand reaching out tentatively to touch Shade’s. The two didn’t even look back at the others, simply keeping their eyes focused on the target as their fingertips intertwined.

The first Shade had mentioned was ‘dressed,’ if such a word could be used to describe its appearance, in tight black pants and long-sleeved shirt. Its dark attire was clearly for matching with the shade, but it was obvious that the clothing-like skin could be replaced for different circumstances. Its arms were lithe and its entire body was almost lanky, as if made to fit into tight spaces if the situation called for it.

The second? The long-range unit carried no rifles but wore what looked to be heavy armor of Yenoharan make. In reality, the design was fairly simple - It could stop some projectiles and some sword blows, but it was more for appearance than for effectiveness. This creature had bulky arms and legs, and it was noted that the first looked like a thief while the second looked like an infantryman.

The final AI unit was a drastic step between the two. The close-quarters machine was nothing more complex than an obvious exoskeleton. The steel chassis was clearly the basis for the other two machines, but it had very few similarities to the other “styled” robots. No, this one was most terrifying of all - As far as its figure went, it only had a few places where “muscle” might be, most of it remaining bone-like and deadly.

“Geez, put a hood on the fucker and it’s a grim reaper,” Charles observed. Every one of the group hoped that they would live to see past this day and would enjoy the humor that young Maxton had provided. Meeting the particular cultural reference the lieutenant used was not high on their agenda.

Certain similarities aside from the general template could be observed as well. Firstly, each of them had very large looking feet - Almost unwieldy, except that it was clear by how they stood that they had some form of propulsion on the soles. Secondly, they all stood with fingers wide open and each one’s left hand had a small port on the palm which looked to be similar to Kathy’s rifle barrel. Finally, they each had the same inhuman look, no matter the color of their eyes as they scrolled through differently colored data streams.

“You would be correct, human,” the jury-rigged AI responded. It appeared this one had taken a leadership position as often happens between generalists and specialists. “As to how we know your language, it is through astute observations. Don’t worry, we shall destroy Cernai as we destroy Rhinegold. There is no flaw in our logic, it is–”

“Perfect,” Shade remarked with a loud sigh. “Yes, you’re so brilliant except when it comes to valuing life.” The machine did not seem pleased at all about Shade’s intervention, but it held its tongue as Shade continued. “I fully intend to squash you, the only question is how do we do this? There’s ten of us and three of you, so let’s try a two on one - My lady and myself will be more than enough.”

If the robots could laugh, they would have. That laugh, however, was tempered by the words their leader spoke after looking back and forth to one another. “Indeed, it is more wise for us to fight two on one than three on one. It is a matter of numbers, and this one will be your opponent,” the lead AI said while gesturing to the stealth model that stepped forward and, ironically enough, bowed. A mockery of human emotion, or something more?

Branden took in the scenery; the excavation site had been leveled by the firepower these machines held, and he kept little hope alive for the remaining artifacts still buried. A frown came over his lips and he looked toward Iona for a moment. She was also surveying the scene, having relaxed her shoulders. Kendrick stepped up next to Frost, and shook his head at what they saw.

Small buildings were totally destroyed, the stone structures crushed into pebbles. The dead didn’t seem to have many wounds, having simply died of blows to vital organs. A soft curse came from Frost’s lips as he noticed that one of the dead was the Solascian he’d dueled with; she’d at least taken a few hits to kill, evidenced by the blood starting to dry and covering her face.

“Damn it,” Branden whispered softly as he tapped his foot on the floor, “We are gonna have a hard time.” He spoke to nobody in particular, instead just trying to focus his mind.

Iona simply nodded at him, tapping her sword’s handle twice before resting her palms on it. “Indeed, good Branden, but I suspect they will find a little more in Shade and Cassandra then they ever expected. Even Jacin can probably see the winner of the first exchange.”

Branden canted his head at the display of confidence, and Kendrick looked at Iona incredulously. “No offense, m’lady, I’m sure you’re skilled and all but we can’t really gauge how strong these things are compared to Shade. Not that Shade can lose, after all,” Kendrick added as he smiled. The old magic user had always been there, just about as much as Serge had in fact. To Iona and Branden the look of adoration in the young prince’s eyes was almost...Naive.

Jacin shook his head, smiling. “Well, I can’t see much regarding this battle. It’s too clouded. I do know that, from what I can envision,” he started while grasping his spear tightly in his palms, “It definitely appears to be even. I guess that explains why I can’t really see a clear future.” Apparently his psychic gifts were going to fail him at this key moment.

If Shade and Cassandra heard this banter, they chose to ignore it, instead focusing on the coming battle. For some reason, they were simply staring one another down. Perhaps Shade thought the AI’s would recant or come to some sort of decision, while maybe they believed the two humans would try to retreat at the last moment. It was eerie and inexplicable.

“Indeed,” Serge said with a strange note in his voice, looking over to Jacin with a smile. “This will be a close one, I can tell you that much. If it’s going to be two on one throughout the course, we essentially have five groups while they only have three - We can wear them down, the first of us taking our time should Shade and Cassandra fall.”

“They’re machines, Serge, they don’t get tired,” Kathy chided. The old man looked to her for a moment, then grinned and tapped the handle of his sword once.

“Yes, they don’t - But they do deplete their ammunition and energy stores, and that means we might force them to drain their fuel and run out or have to choose between two things rather than do both at once.” Old man Lenkmen’s idea was a good one, though for some reason it just didn’t seem to ring true. If these things had been around for a millennium, it wasn’t likely that a single battle would exhaust them. On the other hand, it appeared Cernai never had Horas in their arsenal.

“Well, it’s worth a shot, anyway,” Clarice added as a side-note, looking to Kathy and noting how unconvinced the woman looked. Kathy looked back to Clarice, and then looked to Shade and Cassandra. As she studied the pair, Clarice noticed her lover’s face take on the strangest look of consideration. Kathy’s eyes slowly moved from Shade to Clarice again then she shrugged.

“Nothing, love, just noting how similar our bodies are to theirs,” Kathy said to prevent Clarice from asking the question. Charles groaned while Branden and Kendrick chuckled, yet they all came to the conclusion that Shade and Cassandra had similar body types to Clarice and Kathy; except that in their case, both were female.

The strange silence between the three that were facing off finally broke, as the “stealth” model AI stepped forward and made the quite human gesture of a broad stroke of his arm. “Are you humans finished saying your goodbyes?” The creature asked with what might have been an amused voice. So these things clearly felt (or at least understood) emotion...Perhaps there was another angle to attack from.

Shade moved toward Cassandra and enfolded her in his arms, giving her one last deep kiss. This was a rather unorthodox way to answer a question, but after a few seconds the lip-lock was broken and the two separated. “I suppose we are,” the old man said, “Cassandra, I take it you will do the honors?” Shade then took a step backwards as Cassandra moved forward, nodding her head just once.

“Yeah. It’s time.”

Chapter Thirty Two

The entire party shuddered as the magical power from the first spell Shade cast was released. His speed with the Arcane channeling was immense; just a few motions of his palms and green lights flared up around...Cassandra? Another spell was cast, Shade remaining blissfully ignorant of the advancing enemy, and this time it was red light which surrounded his consort’s body.

The AI passed around a stationary Cassandra, yellow lights now flaring from her body due to a spell she’d cast on her own, and reached Shade. It reared its fist back to deliver a blow to the unguarded Arcanic before finding itself scuttling through the air from a blow to the face from Cassandra’s fist.

“...Wow...” Branden remarked silently. He’d never imagined, but the magical energies which surrounded Cassandra were making her faster and stronger, as if manifesting Shade’s spiritual strength into her physical. It was similar to what all Horas did, and yet it was astonishingly different. His eyes were keeping up well enough, alright, but the fight on the ground was dead even - Physical to physical.

Shade, however, was not satisfied with stalemate. His hands continued to move, each making gestures of its own as he gathered the mystical energies toward his body and directed them against his foe. The Man who Flew was taking no chances, hurling spires of stone along with large waves of water, all intending to disrupt the flow of battle. Cassandra and Shade seemed to be on exactly the same page, as she knew where every single spell was heading.

Of course, this wasn’t to say the battle was even. Cassandra was forced to step backwards and run when the machine’s left arm opened up into a small caliber plasma gun and began to unload red streaks of light in her direction. She ran only long enough for her own mystical energies to gather before deciding it was time to stand her ground. Every last bolt struck her barriers and she waited for Shade to complete his spell while taking a moment’s rest. The earth between the two rose up to replace Cassandra’s shield, an outcropping of bedrock shooting thirty feet into the air, and for a moment the battle was a stalemate.

Then things got strange. The AI began to fly, hovering above the air and moving to rise over the earthworks that were providing her with cover. Shade unleashed a golden bolt of light at the machine, one deflected with its right hand, and it angled its weapon downward as it reached the crest of the barrier. Cassandra would never see it coming, never expect the robot to have flown into the sky.

“What the,” Serge whispered just as the AI hit that peak. One could even hear its weapon gear up to fire, yet if it could feel surprise it must have been swimming in it - Cassandra was also in the air, her palms crackling with lightning. The onlookers were easily able to see the faint lines of power underneath Cassandra’s toes, figments of mystical energy which kept her airborne and propelled her in any and all directions.

“Taste it!” Cassandra exclaimed, her lightning arcing into the AI’s frame and causing it to twitch maniacally. It lost its altitude for a moment, yet quickly recovered. “Not enough,” Cassandra growled to herself as she raised her arms and deflected another blow. The old woman was holding her own, and with Shade backing him.

“This can’t go wrong,” Jacin said with a smile. Branden looked to the young knight, studied his hopefulness, and prayed that the young prophet was correct about this as he was so often about other things. Somehow, Branden knew this was not going to be an easy win. Spells like these had to take their toll on the two Arcanics, no matter how strong they were.

The fist blows came like flashes of light. Iona and Kendrick were keeping up with their eyes, while Jacin and Charles were not likely to handle it. Kathy could feel the magical forces, so she didn’t need to look on, while Clarice had her eyes closed to enhance her other senses and to use those of her spirit. Serge was wearing his helmet, yet it was entirely likely he was keeping up as well. Martin was distracted, policing his gear to ensure none of it got stolen.

Cassandra evaded a blow aimed at her face and almost walked into a knee to the chest. She recovered, throwing a roundhouse kick to the AI’s skull and connecting painfully. It careened through the air, recovering just before a ball of flame smashed into it from Shade’s position on the ground. The battle continued to advance into the air, the clouds being drawn downward by the powers exerted by the combatants while they jockeyed upward for position.

Cassandra let lose a trio of golden spheres, each dodged and countered by another barrage of chaingun fire. The human yelped as one of the red streaks tagged her flesh, searing a small hole into her robes, before making another quick gesture. This one formed a monster, a Wyven, and she loosed it against the AI primarily to delay it. The creature was sawed in half by small arms fire, but it gave Cassandra the time she needed to prepare her next spell.

A jet of flame streamed toward the machine, one easily avoided by a simple side-step. The flames transformed at the last moment, shards of ice flying from what once had been hot. The crystalized water was met with a fist, the ice being crushed into snow. The snow, however, became an acid which tore into the AI’s armor. The trap had been set.

“Now!” Cassandra shouted. Shade whispered a word and the acid turned into water vapor, connecting the space the AI was in to the nearest cloud. A spire of light flew from Shade’s outstretched palm into that cloud, a white mass in the sky which quickly turned dark. The storm was instantaneous as it discharged lightning - electrical energy which went right through the AI’s body.

It didn’t need to fall to the ground; it was pushed downward as the electrons exchanged in a terribly unnatural manner. The force of the impact was enough to throw a huge ribbon of dirt into the air, grains of sand which fell rather like rain. The cloud turned white again, shrinking substantially in size before the AI rose from the hole.

“It’s finished,” Shade muttered to himself with a smile. The party looked at him askance, their confidence in his words eroding as the AI got to its feet and began to walk toward him. “It can’t sustain itself off of its normal energy direction channels. It’s probably in a shut-down sequence and doesn’t realize it, considering how much I just overloaded it.”

“The acid lowered its surge protection by eating away its protective coating. The earlier contact it had with lightning showed it was vulnerable, so a serious storm as opposed to a low-voltage spell was catastrophic,” Cassandra added. She looked downward as she descended, studying how the AI walked with sparks coming from its body. Its gait was plagued with serious twitches, and for the first time it moved in a fashion which could be characterized as ‘robotic.’ There was no longer any grace about it, it was indeed diminished.

Then it began to laugh. It tapped a half broken finger against its wrist six times, chuckling all the while. Clarice opened her eyes and looked to the rest of the group, her voice strained with wracked nerves.

“Why do I hear the sound of an engine gearing up?” She asked Shade in a soft voice. It was very nearly engulfed by the gently blowing wind, but Shade looked back at her and then to Cassandra. His face was little more than a stone mask.

“Ignore it for the moment,” Shade muttered. He looked to the leader AI and glared angrily at it. “So, next? I know how we have to finish this situation, so which of you do we take down with us?” The threat of suicide was bold, and the two stable machines looked...Surprised, if such a thing was possible?

“The long-range one,” the leader said as it stepped forward. Shade nodded his head once, then looked to the ground. The AI lifted its right arm to face Shade, its hand opening to reveal a Crystal embedded in the center of it. Blue lights charged up around the cyborg’s hand and released a bolt of power directed toward the Arcanic.

When the dust from the resultant explosion settled, a green barrier had been snapped up over Shade, who was standing in front of Cassandra. He looked back to her and smiled, nodding his head once. “I love you, and in the after life we can finally get married. I’ll see you there,” he whispered to her before closing his eyes.

The changes that suddenly took place threw Jacin for a loop. Before his eyes, the old man suddenly began to un-age. First it was subtle, his hair growing a more healthy shade of grey before brown hair seemed to ooze down his head. The wrinkles in his face smoothed themselves out, the flesh around his eyes became sharper and more defined, and his body definitely gained a few pounds of muscle mass.

“Just like I remember him,” Cassandra whispered to herself admiringly. Serge had to admit, Shade was looking even healthier then he had when the two had first met fifty years ago. The power behind this transformation could only mean self-sacrifice, and Serge bit his bottom lip as he prepared to accept the inevitable.

“Shadow of light!” Shade exclaimed, a series of hand gestures being completed. If Shade’s power had been great before, it had become ungodly now. Branden felt as if he would run away if faced with this power - He knew it, deep in his bones, that this man was beyond the Hora. With this kind of power he could conquer the kingdom in a day, Frost mused nervously.

The sky grew darker then, grew so that the night-time sky dominated the bright sun. It did not blot the star out, however it countered the very light it gave and transformed it to black. The level of power did not balance out, it merely continued to rise as Shade’s body itself illuminated with light stolen from the sun.

“Back!” Cassandra commanded as she did two things at once. Her magical barriers snapped up to provide a physical defense for Shade, while a wall of force pressed gently yet urgently against the onlookers. They began to step backwards, Kathy taking a clue and raising a shield of her own as the whole mass of people retreated to Martin’s ship.

“Cassandra, get out of here! I can’t seal it, nor would I want to!” Shade shouted with anticipation. Slowly, the whole world seemed to condense around the area. The dark skies approached spherically, forming a globe of darkness which came from all directions at once and was centered around the long range AI. “And throw that stealth one toward here, he’s detonating a nuke!”

The words nearly caused Kathy to drop her shielding. If that thing went off, it wouldn’t matter how much power she pumped into her mystical defenses - She was cooked, as was every single one of them. She had doubts that she could deflect the after-effects of Shade’s most legendary spell, but...A nuclear device, and likely a three-Crystal fusion? This was not good.

“No, love,” Cassandra whispered as she made a swift gesture, the decommissioned AI being flung into the operational one by an invisible hand. The long range unit tripped upon the other, finding itself standing next to a ticking bomb. It easily pushed its comrade off and stood, moving to advance toward the Arcanics. The woman moved over to her lover, leaning on his strong shoulders for just a moment.

“What are you doing, Cassandra?! I’m a goner!” he shouted back to his consort. He allowed himself to look toward her, then noticed that she, too, looked young again. Both looked almost identical - Their hair had turned to a rich brown color, and their eyes were a deep purple. They could be mistaken for twins, not romantic partners. “What...?” he asked her, studying her rejuvenated, achingly beautiful face.

The strange discoloration closing in on them crossed from Martin’s ship, and suddenly Branden could see things normally. Inside the rapidly narrowing bubble, color looked inverted - Blue had turned to red, black had turned to white, and the feeling of power had gone from one which surrounded them to one that was centralized in one place.

The AI trapped inside unleashed a barrage of gunfire, aiming to strike the two Arcanics yet finding his assault blocked not by a magical barrier but by the incoming sphere. The discoloration passed through the two figures just as it had passed the others, passing from another direction through the mis-matched AI leading the maniacal machines. What it didn’t quite pass through was the long-range AI; it found itself trapped inside an ever-shrinking space. Its energy attacks were insufficient to do real harm to the incoming attack, so it did the only thing it could - It held its hands out to wedge itself a place in the world.

Unlike every other entity faced with this spell, this AI was able to negate it.

“Damn!” Shade screamed, clasping his hands together as the white lights burning from his body began to eat away at his robes. Cassandra clung to him, ignorant of the burning she felt on her flesh. Without him, she’d have been burned at the stake a long, long time ago. “Get off me, Cassandra, he’s going to overpower me!”

“Kathy, watch this damn closely,” Cassandra shouted, her hands clasping with Shade’s before she gave him a look that proudly stated ‘I’ll never let you go.’ As the AI resisted, slowly pushing the sphere of energy’s walls away, the ruined robot began to chuckle again. Cassandra grinned a lovely expression, exclaiming three words for the world to hear. “Shadow of light!”

This turn of events, combined with the sudden power added into it, nearly caused Shade’s spell to collapse. The transfusion of power came in the form of a rapidly moving version of this sphere - Once again, eyes failed at recognizing the color of the world around them, though this time the ball of energy moved so quickly it was little more than a momentary discoloration. It wrapped around Shade’s casting and meshed as their two auras did. No longer did the lights from their magic burn her. No...She was already incinerated - She’d learned the only spell she never could master through his energy and their loving spiritual link, but the cost was the same as what he faced. To her, it was worth it.

The space within the sphere exploded with a dazzling red and green light, the two colors flickering repeatedly as the two Crystals fused. The muted sound of an explosion was heard, a sudden release of air pressure throwing Kathy backwards and nearly consuming her shields. “Hold tight, this is it!” she exclaimed, knowing damn well how little good those instructions would do if her defenses failed.

“Shade!” Kendrick shouted, expressing his mind for the first time. He moved to run forward but found himself blocked by Katherine’s barrier. He quickly regained his calm, looking to Branden with impatient eyes and gritting his teeth. A quick turn and he walked away, unable to witness what he knew came next.

The Shadow of Light, its resistance fading instantly, suddenly closed in upon itself. As the sphere narrowed down and became a speck, black tendrils of lightning - No, they were energy of some sort - screamed from the small spec of light. The only clue Shade had ever given to how this spell worked was that it “involved the creation of everything.” Its final effect looked more like the destruction of the universe, not its birth.

A monumental black explosion detonated on the ground. It threw boulders into the sky, only to be destroyed by the concussion effects of its detonation. Kathy was screaming yet none could hear her, for her magical barriers stood strong. Branden could hardly believe the non-involved AI would survive from being so close, let alone the two within.

As he watched the figures of the two legends grow to a blinding degree of brightness, Jacin knew that somehow he’d reached the end of an era. The kingdom’s greatest defenders had just...Well, whatever they’d done, they could no longer stand guard over Emor. Times had changed, and the worst part was that they weren’t through yet.

As soon as the monolithic explosion had formed itself, it suddenly collapsed upon itself and vanished. There was hardly any dirt flying through the air, but the crater it had left remained intact. Bits of charred steel rained from the sky and more substantial chunks of AI, including a fairly undamaged head, rolled into the basin of that gaping hole. Of the two Arcanics, the only remnants to be found was a scrap of cloth; the insignias of the First and Second of the Arcanics Council, fused into one.

Kendrick ran out from behind Kathy’s collapsed barrier, Branden not far behind. The two quickly identified this piece of cloth and Kendrick took it into his hands, closing his eyes and shouting loudly. “Martin! Come get this and place it somewhere safe!” He exclaimed, standing up and waiting for the mercenary to arrive. “Then its time for me and–”

“Me,” Serge said as he moved forward, drawing his sword and shield and readying himself. The old knight had tears running down his face, a sign of emotion mercifully hidden from view by the steel helmet he wore on his head. My friends, old man Lenkmen thought to himself, I suppose it’s ironic to say this, but Sheng-Li rest your souls. He had never put faith in the Presian religion, but despite all of its evils which had been directed towards Cassandra, she’d never fully given up hope - Now she knew the answer. He offered the prayer for her sake.

Martin approached, gracefully took the cloth and walked back to his ship. He looked over his shoulder and spoke very softly, addressing the white-haired warrior who was quickly losing grasp on his emotions. “Don’t worry. You and Serge can take first crack. Me, I need a damn minute to get ready.”

“They ain’t getting away with this,” Charles said in a voice which sounded choked with grief. He tried to put it sweetly, tried to put it slyly, but in the end it came out sorrowful. He clenched his fist, drawing his sword slowly. “They are not getting fucking away with this!” Jacin took a step next to him, showing who in the two-on-one series he would be teaming with. It dawned upon the young prophet that he’d never fought side by side with his boss before, and had this been a better time he might even have been amused.

“For those who loved,” Iona whispered. She was not crying, and Branden wondered that perhaps she couldn’t. “I am Sarinal, I am forgiven, and I am going to end this menace.” Her words were meditative, almost bland, yet she believed it wholeheartedly. She stepped up and looked toward Branden, nodding her head toward him in indication of who she wanted to side with.

“And you and me, of course,” Kathy said to Clarice. “That barrier wasn’t easy to hold up, but if we go last I’ll have my wind back.” The confidence in the scientist’s voice was betrayed by the tears in her eyes. She broke almost immediately after, moving to Clarice and wrapping her arms around the other’s shoulders. Clarice, on the other hand, was strong - She’d been more prepared for the horrors of the battlefield, and she numbed herself to the emotional knives remarkably well.

Serge and Kendrick looked between one another and nodded, advancing forward to face their foe. This last AI was dreadful, alright, but Shade and Cassandra had been proven they were beatable. The android simply took a defensive stance, preparing itself for the battle.

“In the end,” it said to nobody in particular, “I never expected those two to last long. I’m the best of all the models made,” its cockiness oozed out. “Can you take me, humans?”

Chapter Thirty Three

Kendrick and Serge advanced forward, the younger crossing in front of the elder to place blade in position to deliver a back-handed blow as opposed to forehanded. Serge was on Kendrick’s right, his helmet obscuring all emotions. Kendrick wore no helmet, and as a consequence his blue eyes, reddened by crying, were visibly narrowed with rage.

The AI simply waited, measuring the two humans as they approached without regard for the obvious aura of rage the young prince displayed. Kendrick’s spiritual power had erupted into a visible green aura, while Serge’s remained cool and suppressed. The young man’s sword was projecting the same green light, while Serge’s flared up with a powerful blue glow of its own without the side effect of a bright glow around his body.

“They were like family to me,” Kendrick whispered. The AI must have heard him, but it didn’t even react. So far as an onlooker could tell, the AI was no less than confused at the un-warrior-like display of emotions. Kendrick shivered once, and Serge looked to him with his reaction masked.

The young boys crowded around the pair in black, reveling in tales of honorable battle and mean, nasty war alike. “Listen well and the story is better,” Shade had once said to the prince. “If you blink, you may miss it.” The grin the Arcanic had worn would never fade from Kendrick’s mind, never, but would always be paired with the smile he wore as his body transformed from living to dead.

“I am going to fucking kill you!” Kendrick screamed, bolting forward with his feet hardly touching the ground. Serge cursed and followed, his shield leading him in on the attack. The old knight would never have advised this charge but, considering how outmatched they might be, he realized he couldn’t let the younger one go in alone. To divide their forces on a stupid plan was far worse than keeping them together.

The AI moved first, anticipating a wide slash from Kendrick and ducking under it. The machine leapt upward, delivering a ferocious knee to the prince’s face. Ken flew through the air and landed solidly on his back, a fact Serge dutifully ignored as he delivered a reprisal in the youngster’s name.

This shield bash only stunned the android and it recovered quickly. Its answer was to open its palm and fire a bolt of red energy into Serge’s chest. Scarred Peace stumbled backwards, but recovered and closed in quickly. The AI had not anticipated this, and raised its arm to deflect an incoming sword blow. The blade, still glowing its awesome blue, bit into the arm but did not get very far as the deflection pushed it out of a solid cutting angle.

Kendrick got back to his feet quickly, running forward and leaping through the air. He spun, delivering a glancing blow to the cyborg’s shoulder. A hint of blood-like liquid came from the wound, a liquid which quickly sealed the damage to its exoskeleton. Ken noticed a similar adhesive on the wound Serge had caused, and in this moment of observation a fist smashed into his face, sending him careening backwards through the air.

“Get your shit together, kid!” Serge shouted in frustration, avoiding two more of the red energy bolts and grimacing as the AI’s left arm opened into a chaingun similar to the one its ally had wielded. Serge grimaced and was forced to use his sword to bat the red streaks of light away, facing a barrage of energy attacks.

Kendrick charged forward a third time, swinging for the arm that was unoccupied. The AI moved it just as he’d predicted, and he grasped the limb with his free hand and tugged. This threw the machine’s accuracy off and allowed Serge to advance once more. The AI then decided to take a drastic course of action, dropping the floor and sweeping Kendrick off of his feet.

Before the young man could even land, the machine had grasped him by his ankles and flung him bodily at Serge. All the old knight could think to do was to raise his shield, and before a minute of combat had passed he’d virtually incapacitated his own teammate! He cursed silently and charged inward while making small, conservative slashes at the foe. He didn’t want to open himself up too much, but apparently he failed at this task - A strong blow landed on the side of his head and shook his mind out of place before a second kick struck his chest and knocked him backwards yet again.

He remained on his feet, but he was unable to even react to the next three kicks which came. The first and second kicks came off the same leg, a foot to each side of his helmet. The last was delivered off a spin from the previously active limb. This final roundhouse sent him aerial and he hit the ground much like Kendrick had.

Next, the oddest thing happened. A number of the healthier Solascians ran out and grasped the wounded Emorians, pulling them back to recover. It was an unprecedented scene, and Clarice observed without a clue of what to say. Apparently they’ve realized we’re their only hope at getting out of this mess alive, Clarice decided. Its their own damn fault, really. If only they didn’t...Ahh fuck it, she concluded, No use bitching now.

“This was not part of the deal!” The machine exclaimed. For the first time, the robot expressed concern and emotion; and it was over the losing a chance to kill its rivals. Branden narrowed his eyes and took a step forward, drawing his saber and the dagger from his left hip with the right hand.

“I don’t give a damn about deals. You won’t kill one more of us,” he taunted, pointing toward Iona with that blue blade. Iona advanced and crouched low, her hand finding the hilt of her sword and grasping its handle.

“Ready whenever,” she stated to Frost. The AI looked incredulously at them, wondering just what made Branden so damned confident. The answer came as Branden ran four steps to Iona’s left and vanished from ordinary eyesight. Even Iona seemed to hesitate when witnessing the breakneck speed Frost reached, but the AI raised its right arm and parried away an incoming attack with seeming ease.

Branden had been deflected by a red blade of energy which protruded from the robot’s wrist. The thin red line extended only three feet before dissipating, but the weapon was powerful enough to withstand a blow from an enchanted sword. It was a good thing that the team fought with magical gear, or that laser could cut cleanly through any of their weapons. It was a shame that their armor wasn’t quite as well protected.

“Nice,” Iona muttered softly as she charged forward. Both warriors were fast, and Clarice observed that their motions took on an uncanny amount of precision for a duo that had never worked together before. Branden leaped backwards after his attack was stopped, and Iona’s sword was drawn just a hair away from the blue-haired knight’s flesh. The closeness to her ally allowed the blow to get enough momentum to strike the AI, and it spun around with the force of impact. Its armor, sadly, blunted most of the blow; but it did release a shower of sparks before the red liquid filled the wound.

The AI countered quickly, the laser blade meeting Iona’s katana twice before landing a glancing blow on Iona’s waist. She grimaced and retaliated with one of her own, leaping out of the way immediately after (almost without gauging if it dealt damage, and realizing she’d done very little) as Branden launched a trio of ice-spears at the machine.

All three of them shattered on its exoskeleton, and it reached idly behind itself to fire a barrage of gunfire at the fast Hora. Branden almost appeared to dodge between each beam, but the AI’s targeting computers must have been sharp enough to keep up as they remained ferociously accurate, nearly striking the warrior multiple times.

With one arm it distracted Branden, with the other it fended off Iona’s ferocious attacks, and the stalemate continued for almost a whole minute. Branden could not break the pattern of fire restricting his motion, and advancing was almost impossible, so he did all he could by leaping high into the air. For a moment it appeared suicidal - Aerial, he had virtually no way to change his flight path. Then he created another brick of ice and kicked it down toward the enemy, changing his momentum to a path which took him away from the onslaught.

The AI turned and kicked the brick back at him, blocking a thrust from Iona’s sword with ease, its arm reaching around behind its head. Her lips turned to a grin and she removed her left hand from the back of the sword’s handle. The katana shimmered for a moment before the air along the blade erupted with golden lights. Iona leapt backwards and Branden maneuvered himself to land next to her.

As the dust cleared, the only visible damage to the AI was cosmetic; its exoskeleton was charred and chipped in a few places, but it was mostly unharmed. Iona cursed under her breath and looked to Branden.

“You know, this is a little tougher then I thought,” she said to him casually. He looked to her and nodded once before she looked up to the AI. “I think he’s as fast as we are, and you know what that means, don’t you?”