"Wait, don't take me here. No, don't AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
(Footnotes are given whenever a purple number is up. Click the nearby word to go to that page)
If there are any religious people reading this, you're welcome!
-Nick Yaeger
"Those who underestimate the power of emotions are sure to fail,"
--Nick Regeay
"Come on, Lor."
Damn, can't they let me sleep.
"Lori, time to get up!"
Why can't I stay asleep. It's only Saturday.
"Lori, it's Friday! If you don't get up..."
"Friday!" I jumped up and ran to the door.
"Actually, Lori, it's Saturday," Lari, the AI, said. "You promised to meet up with Lyle at Clairvoyance Shrine three hours ago. Then, it's swordfighter practice, studying for solar philosophy, math club..."
"Wait a second. What was that?"
"Math club?"
"Before that."
"Solar philosophy."
"THAT!!! Did you sign me up for something?"
"Why, yes, I did."
"Why did you!?"
"I was only trying to help! You see, you said how you never fit in."
"Oh, and this is supposed to HELP ME!? I don't even BELIEVE in most of that stuff!"
"It's a class most of those religious colleges..."
"I DON'T WANT TO BE IN ONE OF THOSE DAMN RELIGIOUS COLLEGES!!! Remember your name: 'Lari': 'Lori's Artificial Response Indicator'. You seem to forget that I own you!"
"You don't own me. Your parents own me."
"Yeah, who gives a damn!"
"Your parents. Seems that keeping to yourself, disobeying males, and disbelieving religion is calling their attention. This is only acts of the Chosen One. To throw this world in darkness is what the chosen one wants. Altoona, the Dark City, keeps his dream going on. His dream is our nightmare! DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?"
"Yeah."
"THEN YOU'RE TAKING SOLAR PHILOSOPHY!"
I spoke under my breath, "Damn."
I met up with my boyfriend, Lyle. I was going to start my career as a psychic by the clairvoyance trial.
"This place was almost going to be a hotel, until someone stopped construction," Lyle said.
"Who?" I asked.
"Some say John (1) . Some say the Chosen One."
"Well, let's just take that trial."
We manage to find Clairvoyance, the first Great Psychic.
He looked at us. "Lori, Lyle, the chosen one's coming. The Dark Destruction will follow. You won't be able to prevent the Dark Destruction, but you will be able to reverse it."
I spoke up, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, but what about the power of clairvoyance?"
"You need to get the clairvoyance ring. It's somewhere in the shrine. Find the rock that's untrue."
"Okay. That should be easy."
Lari, Lyle, and I found a room of rocks. Each one had a message. Lyle read them.
"The power of a True Psychic defies any false psychic." Lori thought, true.
"The Decision (2) introduced darkness to the world."
"The four Great Psychics are Clairvoyance, Telepathy, Telekinesis, and AlterReality."
"The powers of the Chosen One come from tolerance."
Lyle said, "I think that should be evil!"
I said, "Well, it's worth a try."
I pulled it. "We did it!"
Just then, five giant spiders fell from the ceiling. Prediction's voice rang from his lair.
"Incorrect!"
I yelled, "Lyle, thanks a lot."
I used a spell. "Wind Arrow!" I shot one at a spider. It died.
Lyle followed with one of his own. "Light Punch!" He drew solar energy into his fist, then punched a spider. That one died, too.
The spiders used Web Shot to restrain Lyle. I used another special. "Sword Hurricane!"
I spun my sword into a disc-like weapon. Then, I slashed a spider repeatedly. It killed off another spider. Now, there was just two spiders.
One of them tried Poison Bite, I stepped out of the way. The other one tried to slam its body into me. Lyle broke out of the web.
"Wind Arrow!"
"Light Punch!"
The spiders couldn't stand those attacks.
"There is a fine line between evil and good."
I yelled, "Wait a minute! What was that last one?"
"There is a fine line between evil and good."
"That's it. There's neutrality as well. The line isn't fine. It's thick. This is it!"
I ran to lift the rock. Below it, a ring shined.
"This is it: the clairvoyance ring!" Clairvoyance yelled.
I complained, "Well, we fought five spiders, because we thought--"
"...that the powers of the chosen one come from evil? Well, of dark and light, the Chosen One is not to a side, but assists the weaker of the two."
Lyle said, "Well, if he or she's tolerating evil, he or she's evil herself."
I walked back home, alone.
Dad said, "Mail, Lori." I ran up to see a letter for me. It was one of those obnoxious beauty pageants. Lari scanned it, while I didn't want to bother with it.
Lari came up with, "Lori, this one's a little different. It seems that fighting is one of the main events."
Fighting! Well, that's different. I may be a brown-haired, green-eyed, five-foot-eight girl, but I am at the top of my class in fighting. Swordfighting basics included "When you drop your sword.." Besides, with the healing abilities of Enlighteners, we could get by with nearly anything.
"But it also has a singing competition. You couldn't carry a tune in a bucket."
"I can practice."
"Not enough in three days."
"Well, I can lip-sync it. My fighting ability surpasses anyone else's."
"You can't just rely on that."
The next Monday, I showed up for Solar Philosophy.
"Chuck was the first to win against the darkness, after the end of the fifth great war in 2026 (3) . This is 2106, and we can solidify our victory. Nick is now a faded memory. The barrier created by his daughter and her boyfriend, later husband, will be ineffective. The anti-dark barrier around the earth can be dropped, the Chaoists will fail, and the Dark Destruction shall be no more."
I thought, "What the hell is he talking about?"
"We have the light four corners protecting us. Lyle Ekenni, the might of his army is only strengthened by God's Cannon, a weapon held on top of a bus; Etoile D'Coolette, a strong fighter. Magnus Solaris, the Enlightner with a heart of gold; and Chuck How, the hero who beat the unbeatable, now the mayor of the Dark Rift. They are housed in the four towers of the New Holy City to the north.
"Of course, darkness and the Chaoists has separated the state: the anti-dark zone and the dark zone. The Chaoists want to turn this world into their demonic religion of sacrifices. The Chosen One will return darkness to our reality. They have their own four corners: Celisse Halberd, also known as Telekinesis; Travis Menlo, the mayor of Altoona; B. J. Aries, the leader of the resistance in the Dark Rift; and Nick Regeay, the person who vanished with out a trace. They are housed all over the place , and shouldn't show that much unity."
Someone whispered, "Does this sound one-sided to you?"
I whispered back, "What did you expect from 'Solar Philosophy.'"
The teacher heard us. "What, you think Light is one side of the argument. Well, Light is the side of the argument, good and God shall win by His brilliance, and the evil Chaoists will lose by their ignorance of Him!"
I said, "Why hasn't he won until now?"
The bell rang. Everyone bailed with the bell.
The third day ran by, as the contest was in full movement. I was ready, except I saw.
"Etoile!"
"Well, hello, Lori. What a pleasant surprise to see you here."
"You won't be so happy when I make it with the trophy."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you, they won't allow lip-synchs anymore, so I'll crush you."
"Oh, great. Now what'll I do. And now that Etoile's in the contest, I'll lose unless I think of something."
A nearby man listened into my conversation. He was six feet tall, with average build, about in his late thirties, in a dark trench coat. He said, "I've heard of a songstress that can make any song sung sound on key if sung while she sang."
"What Magic is that?"
Magic had become a lot more commonplace than it was a century ago. Once it was only for experienced wizards, self-taught magicians, and innate sorcerers, and the floating city, Magi, was the city that housed them all. Then, fifty years ago, Katy, the last member of The Magic Society, died. No one joined the Society in time, and it crashed down. The powers of Magi that used to be out of reach to the inexperienced was now commonplace in society. Now there was Psychic abilities, Magic Spells, and LD Energy (4) , but I've never heard of "song energy."
The man said back, "The last time I heard those tunes, It was in the dark zone."
I rode the bus into the dark zone, alone. I heard a song. It had a strange ring to it. I thought it was coming from a forest, so I ran into the forest.
I saw, in the middle of a pool, a strange figure. He was playing a violin. That was making the haunting melodies.
The figure turned, "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't see you."
"Well, I heard about a songstress. I looked up here and found you."
"Well, my name is Lenny. The original songstress was my adoptive mother's great-grandmother."
"Oh, great. Then you know where she is."
"Sorry, she died eighty years ago."
"Oh, sorry."
"Don't mention it. I've learned her songs. I'm probably the new 'songster.'"
"Oh, well. Do you want to come with me? There's a beauty pageant I want to win."
"Well, I don't..."
A man ran into the conversation. "People in the forest!"
Lenny scowled, "Chuck How, stupid lighter."
"Darkies! Guards, get them!"
Three guards jumped out of the bushes. I shot one of them with Wind Arrow. He passed out.
"Power Song!" Lenny strummed along. the song made rings around him. A guard tried to attack Lenny, but hit one of the rings. Lenny shot his bow off of his violin like a bow and arrow. It sped up when it hit the rings, hitting a guard. The guard passed out. I knocked the last one unconscious with sword hurricane.
Chuck looked around. "Okay, test the wrath of the one who beat the unbeatable."
I said, "We can take him! He's an old geezer."
Lenny cautioned, "Lori, he might be one-hundred-twenty-two, but his LD energy is ridiculously strong."
Chuck showed his power by focusing Solaray at a tree, burning it down immediately.
I said, "True confidence is standing up for what you believe in, even if you know you can't win."
Lenny answered, "Confidence! It's more like suicide. Lori, you know if you die here, the rest of the story's going to suck. But if, perchance, you manage to win, well, congratulations."
I began to draw my sword when a figure appeared in front of me, with a sword drawn. It was the man who told me about the songstress.
"Chuck, don't you know its not nice to pick on girls!"
"And you, don't you know it's illegal for you to call a member of the Light Four Corners by his or her first name, unless you're his or her equal!"
"That law doesn't apply here."
"Well, this does! SOLAR SPHERE!"
Chuck shot a ball of solar energy at the stranger. His sword cut straight through the energy. The sphere dissolved after that. The stranger taunted.
"Is that all you've got!?"
The stranger then jumped into the air. He shot an energy missile out of his sword.
"SWORD BOMBER!"
It crashed into Chuck and knocked him back into a tree.
"You, you win this one, but I'll be back!" he yelled as he ran off.
The stranger turned to me. "Hi, my name's Nate. what's yours?"
"My name's Lenny Koto."
"Lenny, is it? I know your great-grandmother. Tell Kari (5) I said 'hi.'"
"Okay."
I cut in, "My name's Lori Lavisto. We met at the contest."
"The contest, right. It's starting, but don't worry. I'll drive you."
I would've said no, but there was something in the air about him. He seemed like he could be trusted, so I agreed. Lenny also came.
"Whoa, Lori, you made it in the top ten."
Lenny was commenting about my score in dress. I was getting ready for the next round: combat.
Etoile took some time to insult me. "Lori, that was a cheap shot, and I do mean 'cheap.' Did you get your dress out of a thrift store."
I fired back, "I wouldn't be talking, pinky. You had so much pink on, it's a miracle a judge didn't throw-up."
"Oh, yeah, combat's next. You might be the only challenge I'll have. I didn't bring those rocket launchers for no reason."
Round 1: vs. Jenny
Jenny could not fight me. She expected to bribe me into throwing the match. I rejected it and knocked her out with Wind Arrow.
Round 2: vs. Tara
Tara was a better fighter. She could use specials called, "Burst Knuckle," which is a burning fist, and "Trample." She tried to outrun me, so I just shot Wind Arrow a few steps ahead of her. It still missed, so I waited for her to get close. Then, I beat her up with Sword Hurricane.
Round 3: vs. Etoile
The last round was versus ETOILE!!! She didn't bring in the rocket launchers. I began with Wind Arrow. She started with called Fan Dance, a move that made a blur of fans. I missed. She then began Burning Fan. I managed to dodge. I tried Wind Arrow again, but she hid in Fan Dance. I figured out that I couldn't get close with Sword Hurricane, or I'd get hit by Fan Dance, but she could hide from Wind Arrow. I figured I needed a way to stop the fans so I could attack her. Then, I remembered a spell for this occasion. It was time to try it out.
I began like Wind Arrow. But this arrow hit just outside of Etoile's Fan Dance. I yelled the word to activate it.
"Vortex Arrow!"
The arrow became a whirlwind. The fans from Etoile's Fan Dance hit each other and fell to the ground. She was shocked. I again shot Vortex Arrow just in front of her. The whirlwind tossed her up to the wall. She fell. I managed to win the combat part.
"And now for singing."
The final round of the pageant. I knew I had to finish higher than Etoile, but could Lenny help me? Etoile was up first. I can't even remember her song; I got sick of it in the first ten seconds. Then, I was up.
I became tense. I absolutely froze. Lenny kept on repeating his beginning.
Then--
"The Symbol of the Chosen One!" a woman stood up and shouted.
"Rush the Stage!" a man yelled.
I ran. Lenny followed. Some guards locked the only way out. I broke through with my sword. Lenny and I ran out of the building. A car came out of nowhere. The driver signaled us in. I didn't want to go in, but I looked back.
Be certainly killed by a riot, or be possibly killed by a driver.
A psychic in the mob cast Ultra-Hypnosis. Lenny jumped in front of me and took the hit. I pulled him with me into the car. The driver drove away from the riot.
"Big crowd, huh? Whadyou do? Use a contraction?"
I recognized the voice.
"Nate, someone said something about a symbol."
"Ahh, the symbol of the Chosen One. If you're accused of being the Chosen One, the only way to prove your innocence is by finding the real Chosen One. Back there's something that'll help you."
I found a box. It was labeled "The Legend of the Psychic."
"First thing's first, you need to get that Hypnosis spell off of your friend. The Temple of the Psychics should have someone to help you. Also, everyone in the anti-dark zone will be your enemy, so try to keep in the dark zone. I guess they'll understand if you use dark energy to find the Chosen One, so use the resources fate hands you."
"Thanks."
We managed to get into the dark zone, but it was really late to find the temple, so I just slept where Nate dropped me off.
I got up, but I was confused. I looked around, but it was true. The dark zone had light. I tried to get Lenny up, but he was still under Ultra-Hypnosis's effect. I walked out to see that the light came from a sun.
I remember the legends. The world once had two suns, until they were forged into one. It was something called The Decision, but when the anti-dark zone was created, it made a barrier that would continually shine.
I got Lenny on my back, and ran into the temple.
"I need an Enlightener to lift a psychic spell."
Several Enlighteners came out of their rooms. One of them came up to me. "That looks like Ultra-Hypnosis. Magnus is the only one who can lift it. We can schedule an appointment with him, but we need a name."
"Lori Lavisto."
When I said that, I knew it wouldn't help me.
"Lori, you're the girl that had that symbol. Until you're found innocent, we cannot do any service for you."
"Hey, It's not your place to judge!"
"According to Magnus, it is."
"What the hell?"
It is never a person's way to judge until an official trial. I found a park bench and sat Lenny and I down.
A boy nearby yelled out "That stupid Magnus! It's impossible to get a Psychic Priest anymore!"
I talked back "Get in line."
"You know, Magnus was High Priest. He liked that position so much, that he abused its power. When an Enshadower beat him in tests, he ruled that Enshadowers cannot be trained or High Priests any more before the ceremony, effectively making him still High Priest. He also made it anything but impossible for a dark-zone native to get a Enlighteners service without a deep wallet."
"Wait a second. What was that "N" word"
"Not?"
"No, the 'Ensha--'"
"Enshadowers? They're the dark equivalent of Enlighteners. Not very many of them are still around. They're both called Psychic Priests, or Holders of the Legend."
"That's it. Do you know any Enshadowers?"
"The only one I know of is Gabriel Detwieller (6). After the end of training Enshadowers, he traded his robes and ceremonies for dice and beer. He's become an excellent gambler, but he also renounced his position as a Psychic Priest. If you can find him, he'll probably won't help you, but it can't hurt."
"Thanks."
I picked Lenny back up and left.
I looked around and saw a bar. I tried to sneak in, but the guard said "They don't card you until you order something alcoholic."
I joshed, "Don't quit your day job, manic-depressive."
I asked around if someone knows a Gabriel Detweiller.
The bartender yelled, "Oh, the little crank caller finally came out! I said if I found you, I would stab you with an ice pick--"
Someone else said, "I know him."
The bartender looked back. "I never get to have any fun!"
I ran over to him. "You know Gabriel!"
"He changed what people call him to 'Game.' That man over there, with the headband and the dark-brown hair --yeah, the tall guy-- he knows where Game is."
I walked up to the guy. "Do you know where Game is?"
"I might, I might not."
"Do I have to pay you?"
"First we gamble. Dice. Odd or even. You win, I tell you where Game is. I win, you 'donate' a buck to my 'National Beer fund.'"
I had ten dollars. "Okay, even."
He rolled two dice: a two and a five: odd.
"I guess Game's secret's safe with me, and I'm one dollar richer, unless you want to try again."
I tried again. I guessed odd this time.
He rolled a three and a five: even.
"Another attempt, another dollar. Game's secret's still safe. Try again?"
I guessed "Odd." He rolled a two and a four: even.
I kept going. I guessed even. He rolled a three and a six: odd. I guessed odd. He rolled a one and a three: even.
I was now down five bucks. I said, "Why don't you take my five bucks and tell me where Game is?"
The man refused. Sounds to me he was more interested in keeping Game's secret than money.
I tried again with odd. He rolled a two and a four: even. I tried even. He rolled a one and a six: odd. I guessed even. He rolled a three and a two: odd.
I was reduced to two dollars. I accidentally dropped Lenny. The man saw Lenny. He took his pulse. "Ultra-Hypnosis. This caster is strong. If he stays in this condition any longer, he'll die!"
"Yes, that's why we asked for Game."
"Follow me!"
He ran and I followed. He came to a house, pulled off a note, and read it.
"GD, I would appreciate it if you would join up with the enlighteners. I'll come later for your decision. Also, there's a convict in the dark zone. A girl, brown-haired, five-foot-eight, carrying a boy her age which was unconscious. If you see her, please turn her in. ED."
I knew ED was Etoile D'Coolette. The man said, "Dang, before the Light Assimilation, there was just Jehovah's Witnesses to deal with. Now, anyone with a sheet of paper can tack it on your door."
I said, "So, who's GD"
"Doesn't matter." The man opened the door.
The house had only three rooms: a bathroom, a bedroom, and a main room. I put Lenny on the house's only bed.
I heard three knocks on the door. The man said, "Lori, hide. I'll deal with him."
I hid in the bedroom. I listened into the conversation.
"Etoile, I told you, I started off as an Enshadower, I'll end as an Enshadower."
"Well, I was just saying. Did you find the girl?"
"Still looking."
"I thought so. You know, with your knowledge of the legend, you could become a great Enlightener."
Game grumbled, "Yeah, and I can also become a fairy."
"Were you trying to defy me?"
"No!"
Etoile left. The man signaled me into the main room. "Since it will be a while until night, you might want to sleep, and since your friend took over the bed, you might want to get comfortable on the floor. Maybe a beer bottle as a pillow.--"
I interrupted, "Are you Game?"
"How'd you figure it out?"
"Game's the only thing left that's close to being an Enshadower, and I heard you talking about Psychic Priests. If you're fighting for darkness, I can't go with you."
Game turned to me. "Do you have a choice? Those people are letting your friend die without a trial. They'll probably do the same to you."
"Oh, well, you do have a point."
"Well, good night. We can worry about this 'Good versus Evil' stuff tomorrow."
"It's nine p.m. They should be gone by now."
Game opened the front door, looked out, and closed it again. "Nope, two Enlighteners are out in front. Geez, they act as Magnope's personal security guards."
I asked him, "Can we get Lenny to the temple?"
"Yeah, just not this way. We'll use the back way."
When I was going to ask him what he meant, he walked out of the back door. I followed him into a cave.
"This cave was a part of one of Chuck's projects. His solaris mines were running dry here, so he dug through various plots until he found the Dark Rift. Chuck's 122 years old, so he had a lot of mines around, but this one was one of the illegal ones." The cave goes straight through to the temple."
I walked into the cave. A rat ran over my foot. "Oh, I forgot to tell you that there are some animals in the cave."
Please, don't make me describe how the cave went. It was too nauseating. So many, bugs and worms. At the end of the cave was a cliff.
Game slid down first. "Okay, Now slide down 'Sleeping Beauty'."
I nudged Lenny off. Game caught him. I slid down after him. The cliff led to the back door of the temple.
"Lori, set Lenny down there."
I set Lenny in a circle. The crescent-shaped mark was strangely familiar. I asked Game, "What is this mark?"
"It's the crescent moon. It's the symbol of the darkness and the Enshadowers."
I thought, Figures. Game lit a few torches.
"I remember a litany for this spell. A hundred years ago, there used to be no cure, except for the defeat of the caster. Now, times have changed, as spells can be dispelled with Psychic Priests' litanies, but only the best of the best can pull it off."
He lit some black incense, then placing it on a table nearby. Then he clasped his hands together, like praying.
"Oh, great darkness, powers of chaos, emotion, and freedom, assist me in healing this boy from the scythe of death! Save him and let him recover under your serenity!"
A black ray enveloped Lenny. The room went completely black.
"WHAT'S HAPPENING TO HIM!?"
"Don't worry. Geez, it's like you never seen a shadow before."
I started getting sick. I've heard about shadows attacking and killing innocent people. There were also some that kidnap and rape children and teens.
"No, don't kill him!"
"Lori, there are two types of shadows: The shadows you're talking about are a long way from here. A lot of them are probably in the dark rift. What's here is your basic absence of light."
"Well, in the anti-dark zone, one can easily hide in the other. That's why there's so much light there."
"No shadows!? Humph! You people are psycho!"
The black covering Lenny cleared, but he was still out. Game yelled, "Damn, it didn't work! Well, I didn't want it to come to this, but.--
"Powers of control, order, and law, help your sister! Help her save this teen from the fates' unlikely shears! Use your brilliance to heal the child!"
The same black ray came on Lenny, but now rings of light came around Lenny. The combination of the two ended, and Lenny twitched.
"Lenny, are you all right!"
"Lori, is that you?"
"You're going to be okay."
I heard from Game, "I don't hear something. Starts with an 'I' and ends with an 'm sorry'. Don't forget: he's a darkie, too."
I stepped back. Game alerted, "It's nearly dawn. We can get back to my house. He'll still be a little woozy."
Lenny tried standing up, but ran into a table. I just acted as a crutch to help him up, and supported him to Game's house.
"Hey, Lor. Sleeping Beauty's gone.``
Game and I looked around, but Lenny was gone.
I suggested, "I found him in the forest, so he may have left for there."
We were just outside the forest. I looked at it and said, "It'll take forever to search this forest."
Game said, "We don't have to." He pulled a branch down. The "branch" was actually a lever and it rang every wind chime in the forest.
A woman came out in dark clothing. It looked like a dark version of an Enlightener's robe, but was torn to resemble a bikini.
"Yeah, who's there."
Game yelled up, "Hey, Gem, it's me, Game."
"Game, you still trying to be an Enshadower?"
"No, we were trying to find a friend. Name's Lenny."
"Lenny Koto? No, haven't seen him. Did you try his grandmother's shop?"
"No, we might as well go there."
"Sorry, and thank you for using my services, and remember, anything that helps an Enshadower business is spitting right into Magnus's face!" She roped down a bucket. "You might as well add phlegm. Ten bucks a pop. That's five each, cash only."
Game took out some bills, "Don't worry, I'll cover for ya."
I asked "Do you know where her sto--"
Game cut me off, "She charges ten bucks per direction. I wouldn't pad her bill."
"But it's 2106. There are over 100 stores in the dark zone. She could be in any one."
"Yeah, but she's ninety-nine. What type of stores could she be in?"
In one store, I found a book on sales. The first page read "The three things most likely to get a sale are attention, bargaining, and personalization. Game looked at a chicken.
The storekeeper yelled "Hey! Fourteen dollas! You!"
Game set it back. I set the book back and thought, uncanny.
"Yeah, were looking for a boy named Lenny Koto. You know 'im?"
"No, Mr. Detweiller we don't have your son."
"He's not my son."
"Isn't that your daughter?"
"No."
"How old are you?"
"Twenty-eight."
"And you're looking for a fifteen-year-old boy?"
"Yeah."
"And you're with a fifteen-year-old girl?
"I see how you got this job."
"And your not directly related to either one?"
"Is this going anywhere?"
"Yeah, to jail. SECURITY!"
Four men came out and restrained Game. They pulled me to the side.
I stood outside of the store. "Well, I lost Lenny, and now Game. I just lose people. Well, I can probably talk with the mayor of this city to see if he can help me. Can't hurt. Heck, the guy's over a hundred years old. He gets violent, I can blow really hard, and he'll fall over backwards."
I opened my laptop up, but Lari was gone. This meant I had to use the Internet by myself. I soon found a map of Altoona, with a mayor's office, but I couldn't find a place to set up appointments. Better find it first.
I found the building. It had a few statues of people holding staffs. A lot of these staffs held more of those moons. I walked in, but I couldn't find a secretary.
"Where's the secretary in here!?"
A man came by and said "There is no secretary here. You don't need appointments. One of the greatest things here is the open-door policy. It was kept up by the last three mayors, and this one doesn't want to change it. Just walk in."
I walked in. The mayor's chair had it's back to me. The stand on the desk said, "Travis Menlo, Mayor."
"Hello, Mr. Menlo," I stammered.
"Please, call me Travis."
"Okay, Travis, one of my friends was arrested for pedophelia when he didn't do anything."
"Is this at a store."
"Yeah, exactly."
He turned his chair around. His chair was actually hovering above the floor. His feet were
"Oh, Jesse. She thinks every person with an unrelated child is a pedophile. You should've seen the look on her face when Big Brothers Big Sisters had that parade in Altoona. She yelled at me. It was one of the few times I used security to pull a person out of my office."
"So, you'll help me."
"Absolutely."
"Mr. Menlo, I have a pedophile under citizen's arrest."
"First of all, it's Travis. Second, you can't arrest people for sheer suspicion. When Kari was young, her dad was sometimes heavy into his job, so he asked me to take care of her."
"This city is a squalor hole of evil."
"Yeah, but it's Vinni's decision whether or not to evict you. Release-- Uh, Lori, who--?"
I answered, "Game."
"Yeah, release Game, or I charge you for kidnapping."
Game stretched out just outside the store. "It feels good to be free."
I suggested, "We should go find Kari's store."
Travis said, "Wait a minute! You were trying to find Kari's store all this time?"
"Yeah."
"I actually know her personally. When she went to college here, her father went on a important job, and with her mom and brother dead, some coworkers and I joined her and her husband for the holidays, until she had a family."
Game stared and yelled, tensing with every syllable, "YOU-- KNEW-- WHERE-- SHE-- WAS-- ALL-- ALONG!?"
"Well, yeah. Everyone knows her. You as an Enshadower should've known the most."
"We have the alias (7) rule active in meetings, which a lot of people use, her included."
Game looked up, "Damn, it was here all the time?"
Travis replied, "Yeah. Her full name was Kari-ca Edmund Regeay. Her store is called KayCER, after herself. She soon got married but held the old name of the store. Kari Regeay-Koto."
Game, Travis, and I walked into the KayCER. There we found --you guessed it-- Lenny. "Hey, guys. I was going to come back for you, but Great-grandma was going to start one of her stories of legend."
Even though Kari was an ninety-nine-year-old woman, she still seemed to have her youth in her old age. Her hair was a brilliant red. Very few wrinkles were on her face. She could easily pass off as middle aged. Her red jacket seemed to match her hair. Her green dress pants and shoes fit with he rest of her outfit. Like Etoile, Kari had one color to her scheme. Unlike Etoile, she didn't do it to exhaustion.
Kari picked up an eBook, and begun:
"In years long ago, the planet Mars was full of advanced societies. The two suns shone their light on either side of mars. The other sun was outside of Pluto, and followed the orbit of Mars, keeping it in total light. On occasion, the moons of Mars would create a section of darkness. One person who was born in the darkness created ships to use to leave the planet, called the Ark.
"Another child born in darkness wasn't as kind. He began the destruction of Mars, using the little dark energy he could leech from the world. The Ark needed to be used before it was complete, sending humanity to Earth as Mars was destroyed."
I spoke up, "I know that from Solar Philosophy. The Fall of Mars. A darkie destroyed Mars."
Kari argued, "A darkie also saved us the human race. Now let me finish.
"No one could figure out how to avoid this from happening. One suggestion was to install lights on our new moon, but no one could make the technology, since most of the research was on Mars, which was leveled.
"One person from this world found a gate to the Dark Rift. This place was in eternal darkness. She saw one of the strangest things: A man robbed a woman, but then another man came up behind him, punched him unconscious, then took the stolen items and returned them to her. She thought that there had to be a reason that a darkie did something good for someone else. She then realized the darkness isn't as evil as once known.
"She couldn't find her way back home to Earth, but another darkie taught her the power of a Great Psychic, one of the four figureheads of the Dark Rift. She used it to head back to Earth.
"She explained her case to the rest of Earth. She thought of forging the Dark Rift with this dimension would do it, but then she realized the two worlds were so far apart, the energy needed would be ridiculous. She then suggested to send the other sun to the Dark Rift. Still, the energy needed was huge. She then decided to forge the two suns into one. Her and the other three Great Psychics used their power together to pull the two suns together, creating day and night. Light and Darkness were now equal in this world. Now it's evolved into energies. The energy of a newborn is halfway the energies of its parents and not its birth time."
I asked, "What about the Chosen One."
"That's another story for another day."
I opened my laptop, but Lari still wasn't there.
Travis asked, "What's wrong?"
"My AI's gone."
"Let me show you something."
Travis led me into city hall. "There is a part of every AI made in the anti-dark zone that will delete it when it heads into the dark zone. However, there's only one AI made before this time."
Travis led me to a screen. It yelled, "Captain Picard was better on his bad days than Kirk on his good days."
Travis excused, "He's in a chat room."
"What, he had more sex. Well, he shouldn't have. He's supposed to be captaining the Enter-- I mean, the large-- I MEAN HE SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN IN BED WITH EVERY ALIEN CHICK IN THE UNIVERSE!!!"
"He's a little moody."
I said, "I'll take it."
"Hey, Art. I've got a new friend for you. She's trying to find the Chosen One. Art? Arrr--rrrt?"
A whispering voice came from my laptop. "I'll tell you the way out, if you just get me away from this lunatic. He wants me to play programs, programs, programs. Whatever happened to my 'me' time!"
I managed to get out and catch up with Lenny and Game.
"Okay, where to next?"
Game was waiting to go with us. I asked, "Why are you coming?"
"You'll need knowledge of the dark zone and of legend. I have both. Lenny has only been to his home, Kari's store, and his school, and I don't think Enlighteners want to be used as guides for an accused criminal. I've been to the outskirts of the dark zone, and I know where we're goin':" He pointed down a path, "Thaddaway, to the cave of Telepathy."
I doubted him, so I tried using my new AI. "Art, bring up a map of the area."
Art yelled back, "Get bent!"
I don't believe it. AI's in the anti-dark zone followed orders to the letter. I guess this is a darkie program. I needed to show I was superior.
"Open, up, a map, of the area."
"No, chance, in hell."
"IN THE NAME OF GOD AND MAN, OPEN A MAP!"
"IN THE NAME OF AL GORE AND BILL GATES, NO!"
I gave in, "Okay, I'll do it myself."
I opened up a map of the area, and it showed that the cave was at the end of the path Game pointed down. "I guess you're right."
Lenny said, "My family has some honor of protecting the Chosen One. Until we find him, we'll be allies; when we find him, we are enemies."
I agreed. I'm sorry to go against these people while they help me. I help Lenny, Game, and Art find him, but when he's found, I'll alert the anti-dark zone to where the Chosen One is. If worst comes to worst, I'll kill him myself or die trying.
Suddenly, we all heard engines. I saw God's Cannon come down a crossing road. I knew we had to hide, but the only thing around was a big plateau. Lyle still saw us.
"I see Lori. Turn and fire at one percent."
Others on the bus said, "First, we can't stop and leave her in range. Second, if we miss, we start a landslide out of the plateau, which we'll be in range of."
"Well, go around the block, and we might catch her."
"Guys, I heard them notice us. There's got to be some way to move fast enough to get out of range."
We found a rope ladder up the plateau. I pulled up the ladder, followed by Lenny and Game.
What I saw was remarkable: an abandoned city. Two towers were at the back, followed by a giant building. Other buildings, which looked like stores, littered the rest of the plateau. Then, I saw a figure that ran in the shadows. I followed it, and Game and Lenny followed me. We all chased the figure into a building.
In the building, I saw weird boxes. I opened one, and it had papers attached to one side of the box. Each box had words on the papers.
Game said, "Those are books. They're an earlier form of the eBooks now used by everyone. The legend Psychic Priests use are still in books. Some scanners turn books into eBooks."
Lenny continued, "If these books are still here, then they must not be that important."
A voice yelled, "On the contrary, they're very important."
The figure we chased came out. He was about five feet tall, with a blue hat that looked like it belonged on a witch, a blue cape that's collar covered the figure's face in shadow, a red and white sweater, brown pants, brown boots, and gray gloves. He never showed a bit of skin. He also held a staff that had a moon at the end.
"Those books were the beginning of magic. This was the floating city of Magi, until The Society died, it stayed in the sky. When the last one died without passing the torch, the city started to fall back to earth. People had to leave quickly. They didn't get any of these books to the world. They taught the of the world by example, so the world learned from these people. They also claimed that only one element can be taken by one person, but two is the actual maximum."
I asked, "Who are you?"
"Sar Cewcro, and you?"
"Lori Lavisto."
"Lenny Koto."
"Game Detwieller, Enshadower."
Sar said, "So, I was thinking that--"
BANG!
We all ran outside. We saw Chuck's guards shoot grappling hooks up here. Chuck was yelling over a megaphone, "They're up there. Lyle told me. Find them!" Sar was mad.
"This place is a sanctuary. I won't stand for your paranoiac image of any person hiding here."
"Sar, is that you. One of the skinned pair, I see."
"Chuck, my brother and I were born without skin. Just scabs covered the both of us. You demanded an operation for the both of us, but I could see you just wanted to get rid of us. You falsified a medical report saying that a common poison could cure our condition, but it was never tested in the first place. I knew that and tried to save my brother. You restrained me and let my brother take your 'operation' which killed him. I ran to here, which was a sanctuary. I won't let you destroy my safety! Revenge will be mine!"
"You're paying games with me! You have no real power."
"That was then; this is now. Watch this game."
Sar lifted his staff in the air. The staff started to generate electricity.
"MAGICAL GAME!"
He then shot thunder at the rope of every grappling hook. The rope snapped, and the riders fell to the ground.
Chuck shot a grappling hook up himself. Sar's Magical Game couldn't cut it, but his second element could. "Fire Shot!"
Chuck's grappling hook was also cut off. Chuck retreated with his guards.
"Whoa! Thanks, Sar," I commented, but he just stood there, looking at the retreat.
"You can't leave here."
"What! What do you mean?"
"They'll try to attack you again. You'll be safe here."
"Sorry, but we have to--"
"You're safe here. If you drop back there, they will find you, and they will kill you."
"Yes, but I need--"
"Anything you need is up here, including food, water and shelter."
"Yes, but I'm looking for--"
"We also have a decent supply of toothpaste, deodorant, and feminine hygiene products."
"LISTEN! I'm looking for the Chosen One, and unless you're him, I suggest you get out of our way."
I tried to take one of the rope ladders from him, and threw it off. Sar got angry.
"Magical Game!"
All of the ladders were now ash.
"Whad'you do that for?"
"You're safer here."
"I came here not to be a prisoner. I came here to find the Chosen One and bring him to trial."
Lenny said, "I'm actually trying to find him, so I can protect him."
Game said, "I'm just watching these two."
Sar left. Game headed to the building of books. Lenny and I followed.
I asked, "Why are you going there?"
"The books in there might have some way of getting out of here. Once, this load of crap was actually flying, and I don't think people got up here by rope ladder at that time. There must be another way down."
"Yeah!" I picked up a book and dropped it.
"Besides that!"
While Game was using the books, Lenny was getting used to living here. I decided to look at the box labeled, "The Legend of the Psychic." It was a book.
Under the front cover was three names.
Nick Regeay
Alice Durin-Green-Kalan
Demios Kalan
"Who are they?"
Game overheard, "Who are who?"
"Nick Regeay, and Alice and Demios Kalan."
"Alice and Demios were two True Dark Psychics, they were around at the same time. They managed to defeat the Light Prince. Usually, if a True Dark Psychic beats light, the stop would be worth ten years, maybe a little more. Defeating the Light Prince sets light's plans back a hundred years."
"What's the Light Prince?"
"The only one that managed to write a record of a Light Prince was Nick Regeay, who also defeated the Light Prince, single-handedly. He is a being created out of light energy, sort of like the shadows made of dark energy. When True Light Psychics come into power, they contribute some of their power to a Solar Battery, because the force to separate the suns is extremely large. They need two people and the battery to pull it off. Darkies only need two people."
"Why? My classes always said darkies are weaker than lighties."
"Usually, that's the case, but when a crisis comes up, a darkie becomes charged up to face it. This power's maybe five, ten, even a hundred times their original power. Well, back to the battery. The place where a Solar Battery is usually is extremely hard to find. We only found two in the known history of the wars. The light energy takes a humanoid form to defend itself. This form is called the Light Prince."
"Oh, well. Their names were on this book."
"Oh."
I couldn't figure out how to read this book. I was used to eBooks. I could just tap the corner of a page to turn to the next page, but I tried tapping the corner of this book, and the pages weren't turning."
Then I remembered, The scanner. My laptop has a scanner that scans books. I could just use that.
I pulled the laptop open
"Captain Kirk sucks, and you know it!"
"Art, step aside. I have to scan a book."
"The Legend of the Psychic?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I already got a copy. I'll tell you. Anything you need to know, I can tell you."
"All right. Who is the Chosen One?"
"There will be four Chosen Ones through the wars. The fourth will end the wars."
"How many have already been here?"
"Only Nick Regeay."
"What do you have to do to be a Chosen One?"
"You need to follow three rules:
One, you must be a descendent of Alice and Demios;
B, you must have equal parts of darkness and light;
and Third, you can't be the descendent of any other Chosen One."
"Whoa. If the dark and light energies are equal, that means one of my parents is, or was, a darkie."
"What do you mean?" Art asked.
"My mother died when I was little. My father's a minister."
"So we know the darkie was your mom. Ministers usually aren't darkies. Anything else?"
"I'll ask later."
I looked around. Game was still looking through the books, searching for an escape hatch. Lenny was going to sleep. That's a great idea. I'll follow.
During sleep, I had a dream. It was just pitch black. There was a male voice.
"The girl. She is useless. She won't find the Chosen One. He was defeated, and is now running away like a scared little girl, if he's not dead yet. She can't destroy him. The Enshadower won't pose much of a threat. He's just the poster child of darkness. Magnus will crush him like a fly. Sadly, he won't get to face me. But the musician, the violinist. There's something about him. Maybe he's the key to destroying the dark zone. I hope I'm right, or I could end up destroying the wrong zone."
I got up. Game was still searching the books for the way out.
I got his attention, "I had this strange dream. It was like someone was watching us and telling us how he thought."
"Well, it might be the clairvoyance ability. It has a habit of working involuntarily. It actually works better in sleep. Awake, it could only be accurate within about twenty seconds. Any longer, and it's a 'what if' answer."
"Well, if its a preview, who would say that? Magnus? Lyle? Chuck? Etoile? It doesn't sound like anyone I've heard."
"It might just be a common run-of-the-mill drea--"
Suddenly, a loud sound came from one side of the plateau. It sounded like an energy cannon drilling through earth.
"Ohh, Sa-ar!" Chuck called out in a voice better used for waking people up. "I brought a friend."
Another voice spoke, "Hey, Lor! D'you remember me?"
Lyle, with God's cannon no doubt. I yelled, "Lenny! Sar! Get up! We've got company!"
A ray from God's Cannon tore off a third of the plateau. Lenny got up slowly. Sar, however, was still lying down. "Magi will protect me."
"Magi's being blasted to the ground! Another blast, and we'll go with it."
Sar was still lying down. I guess some people believe that large forces will save them. Apparently, this one's crumbling to the ground, but this is also his home.
Game, Lenny, and I left without him to the side opposite the roads. I looked over the edge.
"Anyone have any ideas on getting off?"
Game said, "Yeah, but none you want to hear."
I yelled back, "You sick pervert!"
Lenny said, "How about jumping?"
Game replied, "You first."
I suggested, "Game, don't psychic priests have teleportation spells?"
"Yeah, but they're only good for one hundred feet."
Lenny finished "Leaving us four hundred feet from the ground."
Another blast, the sound of a rock slide.
Sar ran out of his room. "The libraries are all ransacked. Apparently, they just wanted to destroy us."
I asked, "Us?"
"Yeah, I'm joining you guys. Chuck believes he can silence me. I hid here so he couldn't, but he did --he made me hide. Now, seeing how they can destroy my home, I finally know that if I hide, I will be silenced. I will be silenced no longer. I will join your quest, with hopes that we may face Mayor How again, and he will be all powerful no mo--"
Game interrupted swiftly, "I know you want to announce your freedom from Chuck's fear, but we've got a bigger problem: a large unintelligent thing with a mess of power --and he controls God's Cannon."
I was offended. This was my ex-boyfriend --yeah, I believe when your boyfriend attacks you with a super-powered laser, it's about the same as "I think we should see other people.", but calling him an unintelligent thing is a real insult.
I thought to ask, "Sar, is there any way off of Magi without jumping."
Sar answered, "None that I know of."
A voice yelled, "Yo, Lori!"
I asked "Who's that?"
"Art. I've been here before and I know a way off. In the center of the island, there was a star of teleportation that took people on and off of Magi. It might still work."
"Why didn't you say that earlier!?"
"I like torturing you."
Another cannon blast destroyed the front part of Magi.
"Let's move."
In the middle of the city, there was a small building. It was dark inside, but by the door I could see a symbol on the floor. I think it was a star.
Game ran into the center and jumped. "Come on, work you stupid piece of crap!"
Sar looked at it. "It seems it hasn't been used for years. It's empty of magic."
"Oh crap! There's only one way off of this death trap and it's got an expiration date!"
Art said, "Hey, Sparky."
"The name is 'Sar'"
"Okay, Sar Sparky, do your little magic trick on this thingamagigger."
"Well, it's worth a shot."
Sar walked into the center of the star and raised his staff.
"Magical Game!"
The sparks created by the spell flew to the star. The star began to light up.
Game ran to one end of the room, then turned and ran to the center. "Geronimo!", he vanished in a flash of light.
Lenny, Sar, and I followed. We ended up hundreds of yards from the plateau, watching the last of Magi fall down.
Sar looked back. "They destroyed a great city to stop me, but it's them that will be stopped. I gave up my chance for safety, now they have taken it. I will fight them, and we will win."
Game asked, "Lor, check them out."
I reacted, "How? I can't see them from here."
"Prediction's ability of clairvoyance allows you to see and hear any past or present event."
"Okay, I'll try."
I used the ability to spy on Chuck and Lyle.
"We won. My problem is gone and everyone else's problem is gone, too."
"Whoa, Chuck. My scanner says there is no heat in this area."
"Yeah, so?"
"So we didn't get them. They escaped somehow."
I got out of my ability, but I could hear a loud "DAMN!!!" from the area.
Art said, "Go along the path in front of you, and turn right. It should come up to the Cave of Telepathy."
"Art, you said this was the Cave of Telepathy."
"Yep."
"Well, this looks more like a shrine."
I was in front of a doorway. Lenny, Game, Sar, and Art were with me. In front of a doorway was an empty pedestal. There was another doorway behind it.
Sar walked up to the pedestal. "I see a symbol, but it's nothing I can identify."
Lenny followed. "It's nothing Grandmother Kari's showed me."
I came up next. "I'm lost."
Game was the last to show up. "This is easy: an image symbol. Lay on both hands and it sends images like telepathy."
"Okay, let's grab on."
I saw an image of a teenage boy, carrying a sword and wearing what looks like bicycle safety gear. His black shirt had the moon on it. He had the head of a giant bird and wings coming out of his back, He was flying in front of another boy. The boy had a dragon's head and wings coming out of his back. The two hovered in front of each other. They lunged at each other. Energy weapons from each of them were flying. A giant melee began. Then the first boy turned and showed his forehead.
The half-sun, half-crescent-moon symbol showed on his forehead. The sign of the Chosen One.
I came back into the real world. "That was good."
Lenny said, "Yeah, that really showed the battle of the first Chosen One against John Egli."
Sar said, "This makes me wonder who made this."
A voice from the other doorway announced, "Thanks, it was one of my better creations."
A man, about forty, walked in. He looked like an older version of the second boy, with a white sun tattoo on his right cheek.
Game yelled, "Who the hell are you?"
"Oh, sorry. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is John Egli."
The air seemed to silence every member of my group. This fighter of the Chosen One, one of the stronger True Light Psychics, here before me? This isn't possible! John Egli died in a battle between him and the Chosen One.
"You're probably wondering how I can be alive today when I was killed by that cold-blooded Chosen One in the Second Great War (8) . Well, a team of researchers found my past, and some cells of me. Using a combination of Project Second Chance (9) and Project Jesus (10) , I came into being. You now face John Egli Mach Two."
I questioned, "John Egli Mach Two?"
Game yelled, "Project Second Chance was considered illegal by the anti-dark zone, and Project Jesus with it, and I know Mayor Travis didn't legalize either of them either."
John II seemed to ignore us as he went on. "A lot changed since I was here last. The Solar Alliance has made an anti-dark shell, but it didn't reach as far as I hoped. The Holy City to the West should've made sure the shell went as far as it could. The Holy City, one of our best allies, rebelled against us after he ran through! He got them to make an electric field that stopped the shell from expanding beyond it! When the rumors that Nick Regeay would return a hundred years from the destruction of the first Light Prince (11) started a rebellion in Altoona, I was awakened. Altoona was rejoicing by the rumors of his return and of another Chosen One. The second Chosen One is just a rumor to instill false hope in those darkies. When we win, the two suns will prevent the Dark destruction that the Chosen One won't be able to bring."
I said, "Not if I get to him first. Remember, the symbol of the Chosen One showed on my forehead, probably bad lighting, maybe Etoile. I have to find the real Chosen One so I can be found innocent."
John II teleported into thin air. I finally remembered, He was the voice in my dream.
Game said, "Well, let's get crackin'. This cave isn't going to defeat itself."
The tunnel was easy. None of the creatures inside brought up a fight, except at the very end--
"Magnus, what the--"
Magnus was standing in the way. "Why, Gabriel Detwieller, what a pleasant surprise."
"Magnus, get out of our way."
"Well, you and your friends would love to know that there is a prophet of God. If you talk to him, he might forgive you and allow you to resume your search for the Chosen One without having to dodge our legal system. He's in New Holy City."
With that, he teleported into thin air, leaving a bright area. I ran through, and everyone else followed.
"It burns." The light created massive headaches. I barely made it through. Sar, Game, and Lenny soon followed. The path ended with a shrine, with a giant arch. My group passed through the arch.
"Welcome."
A man, about mid-sixties, was on a makeshift chair. "You've passed the test of Telepathy."
I was still confused. "Hey, last time, we had to take a trial to get the power."
"And, Lori, you completed another one. I tend to put my trials in the way to me."
I quickly wondered how he knew my name. I then realized he could read my mind. My mind switched back to the conversation. "Oh, like that light."
"Right. That's called the light of madness. It gives anyone who passes through the light headaches. Well, the next thing is to give Lori the power of Telepathy and the Psychic's helmet, another part of the Psychic's armor. The ring from Clairvoyance is the first. The power of telepathy is really powerful, but targets must be within range, Luckily, range improves with skill in other areas."
I said, "Okay."
"Also, the Escape Shadow spell Game has instantly teleports to an underground area's entrance." I also thought He seems to actually read the identity of others. Rather than calling him 'Gabriel', he was called by his nickname, Game.
Game replied, "Well, if I can do that, let's get out of here. Escape Shadow!"
My group and I managed to be teleported successfully to the entrance. Unfortunately--
"Lyle!"
Lyle, his troops, and God's Cannon was right there.
"Hey, Lori. I was sure we missed you when we took out Magi, but Chuck was just eager to write your death certificates. I'll make those death certificates real, by getting rid of you."
"Hey, I'm trying to find the Chosen One to destroy him. I'm on your side."
"Yeah, but several people claim they saw the symbol of the Chosen One on your forehead. I have a mission to get rid of the Chosen One. If I don't get rid of you, I fail all in the anti-dark zone."
"Why? I think it was a trick."
"It might have been, but I can't risk them thinking that the Chosen One is here, and I let her go." Lyle then turned his attention to his troops. "So, turn and load to five percent. Don't fire until my cue."
The cannon hummed as it generated energy. "Mr. Ekenni! Sir, God's Cannon is fully powered."
Sar said, "Guys, get ready for the long dirt nap."
"Okay, Fi--"
A mess of thunderbolts rained down on Lyle. He managed to barely get back up.
"Your group's power won't affect me. FI--"
More thunderbolts hit him. He yelled back to his troops, "Retreat! They're too powerful! We need to regroup!"
God's Cannon reversed until it could turn around. Then, doing so, it left.
I said, "Nice job, Sar."
"Uh, Lor, that wasn't me."
"Then who?"
I looked around to find who helped us. I thought it was Nate. At the top of a hill was--
John Egli Mach Two
"You still need to find the chosen one. Until then, I can't let you be killed."
He teleported away.
I said, "I've decided to find the prophet Magnus was talking about. It'll help us."
Game was shocked. "Lori, you believe this jackass, who was probably created out of a sexual position dubbed 'for whiter whites'."
"Yeah."
Lenny complained, "Lori, this guy kicked out a psychic priest so he could hold on to his position. What makes you think this is different?"
"Well, I don't know."
Game said, "Well, I only trust the bones--"
Art yelled out, "You're sick, man!"
"Dice, you idiot. --so if you want to go there, you'll have to roll me for it. You win, and Lenny and I come with you to this prophet. You lose, and you go on your own and I never met you."
"Game, I know your dice are rigged!"
"Not these. These dice roll straight and true. So, what's it gonna be?"
"Evens."
Game rolled the dice. One and a five!
"Even. Guess the roll was with you. We can go three towns along the border of the dark zone. There's a bus depot in the third town. I've got a friend that can give us a free ride to New Holy City, but our first stop is at Last Black, then, Musi, and finally, Depot."
"Okay, let's go."
"Well, here we are. Last Black is named because its closeness to the edge of the dark zone. All of the windows in the city are away from the anti-dark zone. When Des Moines went through the light assimilation, the dark zone part of the city split off and made several small towns."
I looked around. The city was full of life. Nothing like Des Moines, where I lived. Des Moines was as dull as any lightie town could be.
Or rather, should be. I'm trying to stop the rest of the world to be like this. If I can find the Chosen One, I can stop the dark destruction.
But, am I doing the right thing? Magnus, Lyle, and Chuck, the protectors of light, are attacking me because they think I am the Chosen One, the world's mortal enemy. But Lenny, Game, Sar, Art, they stand by me even when I said that I would kill the Chosen One if I met him. A good share of these darkies are Chaoists, a religion not readily known for good nature. I saw tapes in Solar Philosophy. Chaoists sacrifice animals, virgins, even their own comrades. A majority of the lighties are Christians, built on morality and the preservation of human life. Yet, as I make my journey, the lighties are attacking me, and the darkies are trying to save me. I just don't know which is which anymore.
Well, when I find the Chosen One, I'll decide whether or not to help the lighties or the darkies.
Game turned and said, "Guys, as much as I love hangin' around with you folks, if I don't find a bar soon, I'll wear away. I need a thousand cc's of beer, stat!"
I said, "Go ahead. We'll explore the city on our own."
Art continued, "Yeah, I'll help them out from here."
"Great! Thanks, guys." Game ran off at top speed.
He quickly vanished as a parade marched between him and us. The parade was set up like an army, but the rainbow of colors confused me. Was this an army or a parade. I used my telepathy abilities to read some of the minds that passed by.
<I'm hot, I'm tired, and I'm thirsty. Why do we have to march?>
<Who decided to make a strip club town hall? What? Are there so many pervs in this city that they had to come to them.>
<Why does B.J. make us march? A member of his force can teleport us anywhere, so why don't we teleport from town to town?>
<I hope Melanie recognizes me. I haven't been here for weeks. B.J.'s taking us to Citiall is a real treat, but I think the ladies don't really like it.>
<I don't know how Nick did it. He lived through several wars, including the five Great Wars (12), and he always kept his cool. I can barely keep the men in line. The women don't listen to me. Maybe my visits to strip clubs don't help matters out, but without them, none of them follow. I don't know how Nick got a team of men and women to become a strike force for more than five wars, and won every time. I know he lost a battle after one war, but it was one-on-one, after the exhaustion of the fifth Great War.>
I think this was probably B.J.'s army. I also think that last one was B.J. himself. Since this is one of the Dark Four Corners, I should talk to him. If he's heading to a strip bar, I have to get there first.
"Art."
Art sung, "And take my-- yes?"
"Where's Citiall?"
"What, the strip-club-turned-city-hall?"
"What did you say?"
"When Last Black was formed, the people wouldn't go to the first city hall, so the constituents decided to make the common place the men came to City Hall. That was the local strip club, 'Ciall', which changed its name to 'Citiall.'"
"All right, everyone, lets go to Citiall."
"Guys, we're just feet away from Citihall! Why are you guys..."
Lenny and Sar just stared at something behind me. I turned around, there was God's Cannon, and Lyle's personal army. They were more uniformed than B.J.'s army.
"I have an idea. Let's sneak in with B.J.'s army."
Lenny said, "It may not work."
Sar countered Lenny's argument, "We're out of options, Lenny!"
"Hey, you three!" One of Lyle's army spotted us.
I used my telepathy ability to tell Lenny and Sar, <Don't say anything>.
Lenny thought back, <Yeah, let's just die nice and quietly>.
You guys better hurry up. The army's goin' without you."
"Oh, yeah, right."
We managed to run back into the army. Lyle didn't see us.
Inside, the manager yelled at us, "Hey, no minors!"
I spoke for my group, "We need to talk to someone."
"You can talk with him after he comes out."
A voice from the bar said, "Matt, Tasha's the only woman out tonight, and she won't come out until midnight. That's not for three hours. Travis said three people would come, and he told me to protect them. How am I supposed to represent Altoona here and protect them outside."
"Okay, you win."
I said, "Thanks."
The figure at the bar turned. She was of medium height, light brown hair, with a dark red jacket. She recognized one of my group.
"Lenny, Cousin Len, is that you."
"Kareena-ca! It's been a while since Christmas."
Nearby, I heard a familiar voice talking with someone else.
I thought, Game?
"Whye wuljew uze 'fruthing' er 'rahmen'. Whe can'th flai nd flind othur laith n de uneefirse." (19)
"Whe cun goe thoo uther dimenshuns. Da shadoes ar duhmeehuemen, oar rahmen s yuu suy eet." (20)
"Duh shadoes? Duh shadoes are eevill. Dey ar varssells." (21)
"Duhmeehuemen!"
"Varssells!"
"Duhmeehuemen!"
"Varssells!"
"Duhmeehuemen!"
"Varssells!"
Kareena yelled, "Do I have to separate you two!?"
Both Game and the other man turned away from each other, whispering under their breath: "Duhmeehuemen." "Varssells."
"That's better. Now, what's the name, Lori, Lenny, and is that Game behind you?"
"No, that's Sar. He just joined us. One of the people you just stopped, the one that said 'demihuman,' that's Game."
"I know a lot about this city, Lori. I'm a descendent of both Kari-ca Koto and the Chosen One himself, Nick Regeay."
Lenny said from the back, "Kareena, Kari was Nick's daughter! I know that, and I'm adopted! You could've just said you descended from Kari-ca!"
A set of screens turned on to show a program. "Dateline 2026, idiots in other states in the union still don't know what's going on in Iowa, the fifth Great War in Iowa was resolved and Nick Regeay defeated Angel Courage in a disrespectful defeat."
I said, "What kind of last name is Courage?"
Kareena interrupted, "I'll explain it later. Just listen."
The newswire continued, "In the Mayorial elections, Celisse Halberd won unopposed in Altoona's dictatorship."
One voice from the back yelled, "Go, Mayor Celisse!"
Another yelled, "Give 'em hell, Halberd."
"And as the mayor of the Dark Rift, the Grand Chuck How beat out B.J. Aries in a landslide."
The voices began to show their dislike of this showing. "Yeah, a landslide the city didn't even HAVE," Kareena-ca yelled out.
"Chuck How come you didn't get caught?" another voice rang.
"H.O.W., High On Weed," still another called. Laughter followed.
Kareena added, "Hey, I guess they decided to keep something high in Iowa. Since Magi touched down, why not that old geezer?"
"The new mayor made brilliant commands to mine for the precious energy crystal Solaris."
Game, almost passed out, jumped up like he saw a mouse. "Solaris! Where the hell is that bastard! I'll take him on!"
"The shadow attacks began at random during these mining operations."
Kareena yelled out, "Random has two meanings. One, they're too stupid to notice a pattern; or two, the 'bad guys' have something we want, so they're just retaliating while we take it."
A voice yelled, "Yep, Kareena, no shirt, no shoes, no reasons."
"More on 2026, the day the Light Shone Brightly, with the heroic victory of Chuck How and the Chaoist rituals after this."
Kareena yelled back, "Okay, Zach, what was the propaganda count in that part?"
Zach called back, "Okay, there was 'disrespectful,' 'dictatorship,' 'Grand,' 'brilliant,' 'precious,' 'random,' 'heroic,' and 'rituals.' That's, what, eight."
"All right everyone, you heard the man, eight shots before the break ends. Alan, bring out your gun again and I will hurt you."
Out of the corner of my eye, someone asked Kareena, "You wanna go to my place?"
"Not in the least."
"I've got five reasons why you should." The man pulled out his hand, and, while curling his fingers into a fist, counted, "One, two, three, four." Then he pushed his fist forward. "Five."
Kareena-ca looked him straight in the eye and said with a big smile, "Oh, darn, I just have three reasons you should crawl back under your rock." She then opened a part of her coat, revealing a sword in a sheath. "One." She unsheathed it. It had a blue sapphire towards the tip. "Two." Then she held the tip to the man's neck. "Three."
"Oh, an S&M gal."
"Since your head is so far up your ass, I'll make this quick. Heat Drain."
The sapphire glowed brightly for a split second, then the man froze in place. Kareena yelled, "Hey, Geoffrey, complete reject for outside. Give him some time to thaw."
Geoffrey did as he was told. I turned my attention to Kareena, "Kareena, can I ask you about some things?"
Kareena-ca said, "Fire away. I know a mess about this city, Chaoists, and the Regeay-slash-Koto family."
"First, what kind of name is Angel Courage?"
"Lori, Angel was half-mental creature. In the second Great War, they found a way here. They didn't want anything to do with us. They were part of Nick Regeay, but John Egli summoned some of the evil ones to this world, so they made gates to this worlds to stop these vices. One of the good ones, Diadem Courage, lost his family in the war. He was attracted to a blind woman. Soon they fell in love, and she and Diadem went back into the mental world.
"Then the woman became pregnant with a child. The child was Angel. He managed to find a way to the real world, trying to destroy the world he was in by destroying the human whose soul made up it. Angel had some victories, killing Nick's best friend, his wife, and his son. He took away his life, but there was just something keeping Nick going. He managed to find the Crest of Anger, and unloaded it's power on Angel. He lived, just barely. Angel is now serving one life sentence and two 40-year manslaughter terms."
"What about Magnus Solaris's name?"
"He was probably born at the times of the Solaris Mines. Next Question."
"Do you know anything about the Chaoist rituals?"
"I know they don't exist. Chaoism is a religion that despises order taken to extremes, including rituals, but believes that some order is needed. A lot of the Chaoists suggest a godless world, but the Doctrines of Chaoism, edited by Luna-su, claim that making people believe these theories against their will is extreme order, banned by Chaoists. Since this religion makes its people see the world from many points of view, it has been in disputes with one-view Christians. Some are wise to know that their way may not be the way, but the one-views hate the Chaoists. Since those are the jackasses running the anti-dark zone, they make the Chaoists look like ritualistic, sacrificial, savage killers."
"All right, Why did you decide to make this strip club city hall?"
"Well, I have to start at my beginning. My father was an abusive jerk. He was part of this organization, the Scorpions. He raped me and my mom, Leslie-ca. One day, Leslie-ca managed to get word of this to Travis Menlo. Travis tried to get a rescue party together to save me and Leslie-ca. It was too late. My mother was already shot dead, and dad took me on a drive, trying to get me out of Iowa. It was impossible to unlock my door, so I made myself the worst possible passenger that day. I would downshift the car. When Dad dealt with the transmission, I pulled the steering wheel towards me. When Dad turned back, I grabbed one of his weapons, a large metal baseball bat, and slammed it against the side window. When he grabbed the weapon and beat me with it, I braced, waiting for another opportunity to downshift and repeat the cycle. Soon, the window was destroyed, and I jumped out.
"I rolled downhill. At the end, I looked back and saw him turn back at me. I managed to dodge the car coming at full speed at me. Once it hit the end of the hill, it rolled over forward. I, still carrying the bat with me, ran as far as I could from the car. He managed to survive, got out of the car, and slowly walked out towards me with a gun, saying, 'Whoa, you certainly are something. Why, if you were a boy, you'd be a good Scorpion. Yet, here you are, a girl, doesn't know her place. You should've been a boy, a real Scorpion.'
"I got fed up. I don't know what came over me. I just knew, one way or another, I would be free of him. I dived and took one mighty swing with the bat that ended up right square between his legs, dropping him to his knees in less than a second, his gun firing behind me. I then went into a fervor, bashing him so many times, he was dead. Travis's party managed to find us.
"My trial was set. Uncle Kyle represented me. The prosecution kept on stating that my father was an army major, I was seducing him, and when I couldn't succeed, I killed my only competition and, still failing, him. They tried to get me for two charges of first-degree murder. Now you know why I hate lightie news shows."
I shook my head, "Oh, yeah. That was horrible."
"Anyway, Uncle Kyle said the truth, that Dad raped me and my mom, killed her, and tried to kidnap me, but I had some luck and managed to beat him. Then all of those years of oppression became too much, and I killed him in a blind rage. No one believed him. The evidence was rigged in Dad's favor, including five-hundred dollars cash. Now, if I had that, wouldn't I have better clothing, or at least a better murder weapon. I mean, a knife is so much cleaner.
"The bastards got me on both counts. I was heading into the death penalty. Then, suddenly, a mess of those creatures known as shadows, they began my breakout. They managed to take me into the dark zone. Great-grandmother Kari-ca took me in. She even gave me the magic item known as the Ice Sword that you see here. Travis said that he would give me refugee's sanctuary if I did government jobs for him.
"My first job was to get the city of Last Dark to go to city hall meetings. These people live in such a small town, yet the city hall meetings were practically empty, but Ciall was full of men. I asked Travis if I had to hold city meetings in city hall. He said 'no.' I then asked him if I could commandeer buildings. He said yes, but I could only commandeer one at a time. I took my chance by commandeering the strip club to hold city meetings. I said that I wouldn't return ownership to the owner unless I had one city meeting. The owner was ecstatic. He made the day random, so only he, I, and the women in the town knew what day it was in the month. The women have been really good at keeping the date away from men, because when we lock the doors, we trap a full house. The owner also changed the name to Citiall, City Hall in a bad accent."
"Well, what do you know about John Egli?"
The whole entire bar suddenly silenced, as everyone turned to look at me and Kareena.
Kareena tried to answer nonchalantly, "I've heard of John Egli for Great-grandmother Kari, as she heard from Nick. There wasn't that much detail to it. A royal pain-in-the-ass, and a True Light Psychic. He fought Nick, who was combined with Dark Hawk, a dark beast that disappeared long ago and can't be found today, at the time, and had eight of the crests at full power. The two could easily take John on and win, so John combined with the Solar Dragon. The battle raged on for hours. John caught on to the fact that he was losing. Getting angry at Nick, he handed more and more of his own power to Solar Dragon. He never realized he gave up too much of it, because, without very much energy to keep it alive, his own soul was extinguished. The Solar Dragon overtook John, but Nick and Dark Hawk managed to defeat the massive behemoth."
"Wait, I heard that John defeated it, but destroyed himself in the process."
"The propaganda farm takes another mind to the slaughterhouse."
"Hey, I thought that B.J. Aries's army got in here. Where are they?"
"Another great thing about Citiall: It's connected to an underground passage to a hotel. There's a big meeting tomorrow, so they're here to report to me, so I can report to Travis."
Suddenly, Lyle Ekenni barged into the club. "Attention, citizens of Last Black, you can be saved. Just follow the order of God and leave this sin squalor. You will be saved."
Everyone stared at Lyle with the same look: unimpressed.
"Citizens, I don't think you've caught the weight of my demand."
Kareena yelled back, "Yeah, we did, but it was underweight, so we threw it back."
The whole entire bar lit up with laughter. Lyle whispered under his breath, "Blasphemer."
Kareena spoke for the group, "Lyle, whatever you're sellin', we're not buying. Especially since I told you about the Scorpions and you haven't done a damn thing. Besides, the mister and I gave ya a check last week."
"The Scorpions? Ha! They don't even exist. You just blamed everything on them."
"I'm telling you, they exist."
"Back, whore. I could arrest you right now."
"I don't think so. Travis gave me immunity in the dark zone."
"Well, I can drag you out."
"I don't think so. Alan! Geoffrey!"
Two men with better build than Lyle came behind him, one to each side.
"Oh, Kareena, I guess your rates now can be paid off in protection."
"Nope, those two are gay. They were also hired by Travis to protect me in the dark zone. You lay one finger on me, and those two will make every bone in your body snap."
"Since I can't talk to you until you have me deal with the 'Scorpions,' I'll do something about them if you can prove they exist."
"Agreed."
Lyle left in a huff.
"And we're back. Chuck How, the new mayor, took control to move the Dark Rift forward."
Kareena said, "Yep, straight forward into the rectal cavity of the Light Prince."
"B.J. Aries, however, had other, vile plans for the Dark Rift."
"Yeah, like actual advancement."
"One Night, he and Nick Regeay broke into the storage where Leobot was being maintained for the Dark Rift's Mighty Leader."
"Yep, he yells, 'full speed ahead,' while he rides a tortoise through a mixture of molasses and slow-drying super glue, backwards."
"They destroyed this mighty protector."
"Ahh, here we go, 'protector: giant metal suit piloted by a con artist. See also Pat Robertson.'"
"After this, Chuck found them. B.J. was defeated by him. Nick actually tried battling the voice of our lord, but failed as he, too, was defeated. This will be eternally known as--"
"--The day the music died!"
"--The day the unstoppable was beaten. Chuck made the minor mistake of letting the vile evil live."
"I was close."
"Afterwards, the light had their invention for a united world."
"Yeah, kill everyone that spoke out of line!"
"The Solar Wall would surround the world after ten years, pouring eternal light on the world. Unfortunately, Nick's own feminist daughter, Kari, and her boyfriend, Kenny, created a way to stop the Solar Wall. By their spell, they created the vile hell known as the dark zone."
"Lezzee, hmm, people are having fun, rights are preserved, ethnic groups are mixing, yep, sounds like hell."
"Nick also moved faster to outrun the Solar Wall with Kari's incantation in mind. He managed to make it to the first Holy City, which was our ally until he converted them to his wicked religious atrocities."
"I didn't know he was a Fundamentalist Missionary!!!"
"He rigged a mighty satellite to fall from the sky."
"Lie, some other jackasses from the Army of God wanted to use a weapon on the satellite. Nick and the local Dark Resistance stopped them, but they still wore the battery down. The thing just started to fall."
"He then, with Kyle II, a mechanical abomination, and the Black Knight, a metal atrocity, they managed to stop the satellite from falling."
I asked, "Why is that one called Kyle II?" Kareena brushed me off
"The citizens of the Holy City really thought about this. They wanted to say that he was a Christian, but they couldn't. They tried to call him an aspect of evil, but didn't. Instead, they believed the lie and said that he was 'an unknowing hand of God that may not believe in Him, but will end up in heaven on pure merit.' We tried taking the vile cur back to the anti-dark zone, but they cut off all ties to him and used Kari's incantation to stop the Solar Wall from extending beyond the East Wyoming border. The Solar Wall now looks like a washer from space, instead of the solid sphere it should've been."
"The day the first Holy City turned against the anti-dark zone."
"Next, the Chaoist rituals, after this."
I said, "Okay, what about Kyle II?"
Kareena said, "Well, a long time ago, in the year 2001, the second great war, when Nick fought the original Kyle. He was a strong swordfighter and member of the Light Squad, which is like the Light Four Corners of today. Of course, Kyle let anger get in the way, as he got stuck in a garden of chains. He cut through in a rage, without knowing what the chains were holding up, besides himself. A weight from above knocked him unconscious, and he hung by his neck on the chains."
"Whoa, if that's so far back, how do you know about it?"
"Art recorded it. Anyway, Kyle II was a mechanical hybrid made out of Project Jesus. He was destroyed later. Kyle Mortos Koto was named in honor of him in 2051."
"Oh."
"Look, Lori, is it? There's a meeting of the city tomorrow, B. J., Lyle, and their armies are going to come. You can get a lot of advice of both sides if you come to this meeting."
"Fine, so we camp just outside."
"No, it would be my honor if you could go to Citiall's hidden hotel, costs on me. Your friends and that drunk in the Enshadower's robe can come, too."
"Okay, thanks."
Lenny, Game, Sar, Alan, Gregory, Kareena, and I go to the bar. The bartender turns to Kareena. "Hi, what'll ya be having."
Kareena begins, "Yeah, I wonder if you know of a Patrick around here. He said he bought some new real estate. One had two bedrooms and an outhouse, while another had a garage, three bedrooms, and two baths."
The bartender says, "I never heard of this guy, but I can offer you a special."
"All right."
"It's on the house."
He takes out one green, filled Champaign glass, and Kareena took it. I yelled, "Why did you do that. Alcohol won't solve this problem. You're supposed to get us into the hid--"
Kareena covered my mouth and grumbled a barely audible statement, "Don't say anything about the hidden hotel. There are lighties everywhere just waiting to find it, and you're just gonna hand it to them on a silver platter, so you're not gonna tell anyone, understand."
I nodded, and she released her hand. She drank out of the green one like she was in the middle of a desert. After finishing it, she then walked to a wall with a strange circular indentation. She took the glass she drank and put its base into the indentation and turned it. The wall split in half, revealing a stairway.
Kareena said, just loud enough for us to hear, but not loud enough to be heard around the bar, "Lori, Lenny, Game, Sar, welcome to the secret hotel."
At the end of the stairway, there was a cross with a crescent moon hanging from it.
I tried to ask, "Uh, guys.--"
Sar turned and said, "Don't worry, Lori. That's the symbol of the old Holy City. We're safe here."
Lenny continued, "Lori, when the Holy City turned against the lighties, they started to make shelters for darkies. They also made some 'underground railways' to get darkies that were imprisoned for crimes against Christianity into the dark zone, which would take them in as refugees of war."
Game joked, "Yeah, not all Christians are Fundamentalist freaks: just too many of 'em."
I looked around. The underground hotel was busy. I overheard two men speaking.
"Look, How is going to wipe out the dark rift, if we don't have one freakin' attack, Bob."
"But, General Aries--"
"Please, call me B. J."
"--Okay, B. J., sir--"
"Just B. J., Bob."
"--Okay, B. J., the attack is too risky. How's armies are too strong for us."
"Come on, Nick Regeay held off the Solar Wall, single-handedly stopping those lightie freaks from creating more of them, and I can't do a basic sickle-strike. Well, teleport me to the Dark Rift. I'll check it out."
Bob started whispering, and suddenly, a portal opened. I called, "B. J., sir, I need to talk to you."
It was too late, as B. J. jumped through not hearing a word.
I jumped in after him.