Ijael stood, nodding to his friend. "Jarre, he's right, you know." His voice held the calm resolution of a man with nothing more to lose. His eyes held a fire within them. "We have to finish this, but with one twist: as we would have gone back for Ari. We're still going to, only we're gonna finish what I think she was trying to start: the end of an evil man who should have been executed over twenty years ago." He drew in a shaky breath and rose, gathering up the luggage they'd dropped. Setting his jaw, he waited for the other two, both his and Ari's stuff on his shoulder, as he couldn't stand to part with it, not just yet
The three had lost a vital part of their group, and were not about to take it lightly. All three had no trouble plowing through anyone who wished to stop them, and it wasn't long before they'd found what they were looking for. A medium sized ship, by standard measurements, easily able to accommodate fifteen comfortably, the Kakuyochi was easily driven, upon entrance to the deck, and inspection of controls had been made.
"I'm surprised they left this here," Varus commented, and expert on ships, as this happened to be one of his many researching pastimes. He went over the apparatus thoroughly, leaving nothing to be overlooked while the other two found places to stow the cumbersome valises they hauled, and moved to inventory the food and weaponry. "Fully stocked and fueled... um, guys??" His face took on a puzzling appearance as he peered closer at the insignia on the command controls, in the lefthand corner, where it would, and yet wouldn't, be noticed, unless someone was looking for it.
Ijael emerged from the weaponry, having checked that all was in place and ready for use. He reached the deck first, as he was closer to it, and stopped short when he saw what Varus was looking at. Jarre was behind him, and sort of bumped him ahead so that the other blonde man could see what the commotion was about. "No way, there is no way..." he trailed off, shaking his head, as gooseflesh covered his skin.
Upon the board was a symbol of Ra, an Earthling Sun god of the Egyptian peoples... Umrinc's chosen insignia. "That's why it was still here," Jarre muttered, shaking his head. Ijael took a deep breath, quickly ran through a cleansing spell, and prayed that it would be enough. "Let's do this," he commanded quietly, resolute, his spirit demanding his sister's redemption. Varus raised an eyebrow as Ijael took the command chair, but said nothing of it, motioning for his brother to take the steering as he set the controls, going through the necessary check-list before lifting off the ground.
Ari, somehow, I don't know how, I'm gonna fix this, I'm gonna make him pay... a thought hit him the second his vow to his sister had materialized within his mind. It was something completely Ari-based, and yet, he knew that, had this been her decision, she wouldn't have had it any other way. And to think, Umrinc was more afraid of her...
The man took a deep breath of the cloth he held in his hand, and let the mental pull of the spirit draw him into the underground entrance of the lair by which the spirit had called from. He could feel her clearly now, and almost breathed easier, for he knew he'd stabilized her, if only for a little while, which he prayed was all he needed. Alright, Fuinraug, focus. Let her pull you to her, let her guide you. Find her, find her soon. The man's mind kept chattering thoughts to him, reminding him of his goal, and he half galloped, half loped along, his awkward pace due to the tail that began to form behind him. He could feel the young woman, as he was starting to see bits and pieces of her spirit, and he could feel the urgency of her need, how desperately she had to be removed from the high Wizard's dome.
Fuinraug felt as though he were descending into the pits of Hades, as the maze wound round and about, several different paths enticing him, but for her scent within the tunnels, which he now knew she had only passed through a wee bit less than an hour ago. Shivering, as he felt an increase of the high Wizard's power, he knew he had to be getting closer, and sent up a prayer yet again, this time that he not be found, that he be kept safe in the face of evil.
Hearing voices, he backed off into the next available turnoff, out of the view of the three guards, carrying a large sheet wrapped around something... this is she!! He sprang forward, his back legs flexed and ready for a fight, his amber eyes whirling red with fury. The guards stepped back, and the man bounded forward, flashing in and out of their vision, a cloud of thick, blackish haze in their wake. Rematerializing behind the men, he took the body right out of their arms, his mind searching frantically, trying to locate just how far into the dome he was, as to how far it would take him to port. Draping the limp body over his shoulder, he vaulted over the guards, up onto the slippery wall of the steel, nearly losing his grip on the smooth surface.
"Hold on, lass, I'm going to get you out of here, if eet's the last theeng I do," he murmured to the body he held, pushing off the wall, over their heads yet again, trying to visualize the outside of the dome, so that he would land safely. Almost as if her spirit had heard him, which was entirely possible, he felt a surge of raw energy, as well as a lessened grip from the young woman's soul, and winced, jumping through time and space, to the outside of the dome.
Already, he could hear the guards with his sensitive hearing, screaming not to let the man get away, and, having located the first of two young people he was supposed to find, ported back to his underground home, leaving behind as a farewell a soft ebony haze, which appeared as food coloring when a drop begins to move through a glass of water, attempting to alter the water's appearance.
Back in his living quarters, the woman who had asked him for this in the beginning dashed up to him as he reappeared, obviously breaking a frantic pacing about the room. "What-" he held up a hand to silence her.
"Please, I must have room, I must lay her down." The brown-haired woman nodded, following him into a back room with a bed, where he set the body down. It was then that she realized what he was carrying. "Great Father in heaven," she murmured as he uncovered a raven-tressed maiden, clad in chocolate brown catsuit, her skin, which must have originally been well tanned a chalky gray. Marks about her neck told as to what had happened to her. The woman raised a hand to her mouth, stifling an outcry. "Who is she, Fuinraug??" she whispered, and the man's ears caught the question.
"Keigharia Seibutsu, one of the twins of whom you spoke. I am sorry, I did not know this was her, that Keigharia was the young woman you were seeking, or I would have-"
"Am I too late?? Is she..." she broke off, moving to touch a lock of the girl's ebony tresses. Fuinraug peered at her, sadness clouding his now violet eyes. "I am not sure. I have done what I could to keep her spirit within her alive, but I do not know if I will be able to bring her back from where he tried to send her." He too touched a lock of her hair, and his fingers moved to her cheek, caressing it gently. The woman stared at him, puzzled, as a thought hit her.
"You said one of the twins... where is the other?? Is he alive??" Fuinraug's head snapped up as his sad gaze turned to one of panic, the violet changing to a anxious yellow-orange. "Unless I am mistaken, he was at the spaceport, most likely trying to find a ship to leave Irayleu'minmuy. The air was heavy, and something tells me that we do not have much time for either. Leave me with the girl, and go, you and Quioqueth find him. The time is drawing near to an end, and if he is not found, I fear it will be too late, Shola."
Shola nodded, taking a deep breath, and closed her eyes, vanishing. Fuinraug turned to the matter at hand, the young woman whose sa, as the Egyptians called the life force, was barely a dim glow. Oh great merciful Father on High, I beseech you, help me know what to do.
Ijael, Jarre, and Varus soared above the city, drawing near to their target: the large dome that was Umrinc's occupance of the time being. Ijael could feel the evil as they drew nearer, and it wasn't long before the feeling came in waves. "Something happened, besides Ari..." he left off, unable to utter the word dying, though both brothers knew what he meant. "Varus, get us there as soon as you can!!" The older blonde man nodded, pushed the ship faster across the way.
The sky was dark, as three of the moons had all taken to the new moon faze of darkness. The coppery brown stars gave off light, though it was nowhere near that of some solar systems that Ijael had studied about. Drawing in a breath, he peered out through the ship's windows, noting something for the first time. "Varus, Jarre, look at the skies. What do you see??" Both men did as Ijael had asked, and both turned to look at him with a countenance of confusion. "Nothing?" Rojarre replied, not sure if this were a trick question. Ijael nodded solemnly.
"Exactly that. Nothing. For a planet on the verge of war, wouldn't you think that the skies would be packed?? The fighting, it is not behind or before us, but off in the distance, in the opposite direction of the spaceport." Varus and Rojarre exchanged a glance of bewilderment before Varus' eyes returned to the windows in front of him. "What I mean is that, I'm starting to think that somehow, this war that Umrinc was so panicked about wasn't quite what he described. Now that I think about it, I don't recall seeing any missiles when we entered his dome, and he said that he wanted me to help deflect the incoming ones. However, there weren't any."
A look of disbelief registered on Varus' face, and he turned to Ijael. "There weren't any yet, Jae." Clucking his tongue, he shook his head, muttering under his breath, leaving Ijael and Rojarre to figure out exactly what he meant. When there wasn't an answer from either of them, he asked, "Jae, did Ari have any sort of a feeling about him?? As though she thought that he was lying??" Ijael nodded, still not following. "There weren't any missiles, Jae, because none had been fired. You would have deflected incoming, as you were an import specialist, and Ari would have sent out the missiles, as she's an export specialist. There weren't any because the ships didn't attack Umrinc. He was going to attack them."
The thoughts seemed to penetrate Rojarre and Ijael's minds at the same time, as all three concluded, "so he lied." Ijael felt an edge, rock hard, anger driven, rising up within him. "That son of a female dog," he cursed, substituting a few words in place of what he really felt like saying. Reaching the tower, he tele-commed Umrinc, seething with anger. The man came online, a look of agonized sorrow on his face. "Ijael, I am sorry from the deepest reaches-"
"Save it, Umrinc. I don't want to hear any of your excuses. I know Ari's dead, and I know that you're the reason she is." Umrinc's face took on a strange light, as though he were amused despite the sorrow, and he asked,
"Why, Ijael, did she mind-speak with you before her powers were no longer able to hold off-" Ijael lit into him, fury fully unleashed at the man who was willing to play games with his sister's powers, with her life.
"She didn't have to. I can look at the sky and tell what happened. Look around you, Umrinc!! I do not see any missiles, nor did I when we first came inside the dome, and there's a simple explanation for that, as clear as a night where all five moons are full, and the stars are at their brightest over the waters. Because there weren't any missiles, not yet, nor did anyone attack you. You were going to attack them, though for what reason I can hardly fathom, other than for your own greed. However, I am still not sure how Ari and I fell into your plans.
"It's very simple, my dear Ijael. You and Keigharia, I have cultivated from your childhood for this very day. I knew that she would not see something, other than myself destroyed. This game is nearly played out, Ijael Seibutsu, and one of your key players is missing in action. The question is, what are you going to do about it??"
The Final Battle
