Joseph Treton squinted his eyes, trying to avoid being blinded by the sunlight seeping through the bush he was hiding behind in a small patch of woods area. “That container, the one that they just dug up. There's something evil about it. Something is seriously wrong.” He stated.
“Well, this isn't your average dig site either. I really don't think these people are archeologists either.” A young female said a couple of steps away from Joseph. She brushed a lock of her long brown hair out of the way of her jade eyes, and crouched next to her older brother. They both looked out at the 'dig', watching as two people carried out a silver container with an onyx stone embedded on the lid. The hole that it came from, which from Joe's point of view was barely big enough to get the container out of, was being slowly enlarged.
“I know Sarah. I have a feeling that this is some kind of cover up. It looks like they're going to be leaving soon. We should use that time to check that thing out, and see if we can find anything.” Joe said. Both stayed in their hiding spot, quieter then church mice, as the group of people working the dig then surrounded the container.
“Is he here?” One of the workers, who Sarah figured to be the leader of the group, asked. Another worker nodded, and ran into a nearby tent, bringing out with him a robed figure. The two walked over to the container,and Sarah let out a silent gasp as the robed figure moved his hood down, revealing a reptilian face combined with robotics covering his eyes, ears, and chin.
“So, you finally found our lord's prison. It will soon be time to release our master from this cell of eternity. Lord Drexon will be free to ravage this world, and after he gets the special powers stored in this planet, he will be free to take over the rest of the universe.” The lizard creature said.
Joe and Sarah tensed up. Both of their minds were racing, but neither could figure out a single thing to do. Joe stared at the group, keeping low so they wouldn't get noticed, as Sarah looked around the area, hoping to find a way to get rid of those creatures.
“Roak Domi Tern Serin Homae, Guardians of the Forgotten One, release your servant from his eternal prison, release him to gain glory and power in your name.” The creature said. The onyx stone seemed to suck in the light around the dig area, as the lizard pulled out a small orange stone, and placed it on the onyx one. It withdrew a small hammer from its cloak, and used it to open the orange stone, releasing energy stored within.
The clouds gathered, darkening the sky enough that Joe and Sarah were having difficultly watching what was going on. Both brother and sister squinted, and watched in awe as a bolt of lightning shattered the onyx orb, causing the lid of the container to crumble and break off. A silver orb of energy floated out of the container, and hovered near the lizard before beginning to take a humanoid shape.
Silver armor began to form at the ground, first forming the boots, then slowly forming other parts to the armored body, the armor decorated with markings and mystical symbols designed to draw strength to the spell caster. The being's whole face was covered in a mask, except for his cold black eyes. He clenched his fist, and held it over the container.
“Romo Dia Ni Brac Col!” He said, as a small lightning bolt left his hand, destroying the container, and sending a gemstone through the air. The being aimed a second bolt of lightning, but the gem put up a forcefeild of energy, deflecting the bolt, and then landing in Joseph's hands.
Both Joe and Sarah's eyes went wide as they looked at the crystal, then at the being. The being sneered, then two of the workers grabbed their shirts and pulled, all of the working clothes off to reveal robotic skeletons. “Skeletoids, kill them both, and bring me the crystal,” the being said.
Joe pushed Sarah away from him, forcing her to run so she wouldn't fall over. He waited until she was a safe distance in front of him before running in the same direction. The Skeletoids followed, gaining speed, as Joe looked over his shoulder every once in a while to see if he was running fast enough and how much room he had before he would be forced into a fight.
Outside the small wooded area, the lizard creature turned to the being he released. “Lord Drexon, it is an honor to see you again.” He said.
The silver armored being grinned. “It is great to be out of that container.” Drexon said. “Now, to make sure that even if they escape, those two won't be able to tell a living soul.” Drexon held his hand out, and a silver staff formed on it, decorated with old mystical ruins. Fire began to form at the tip of the staff, and a large stream of it flew into the woods, setting it on fire.
“SARAH, RUN, THE WOODS ARE ON FIRE!!” Joe called out, coughing as smoke began to surround him. Joe stopped and turned, determined to let his sister escape, as the two Skeletoids began visible in the smoke. The first one walked forward, and Joe threw a kick at its chest area, only to have the robot sidestep his kick, and shiftly punch him in the stomach. Joe doubled over in pain, as the second swung its fist as his head. Joe ducked lower, then jumped up, punching its metal face. He cringed in pain as bone, flesh and sinew met unyielding steel, and held his hand, praying that it wasn't broken. The two Skeletoids attack again, the first kicking him in the ribs, the second one uppercutting his chin, knocking him to the ground, and nearly unconscious.
Joe looked up, his vision clouded, his head ringing, and smoke entering his lungs with each breath he took. The two Skeletoids drew swords from their spines, and raised them to impale Treton. The gem glowed black, and fired two beams, one for each Skeletoid, decomposing them until all that was left was two piles of rust. Joe kept coughing, each cough sounding worse and worse. Suddenly, his vision was slightly tinted purple, and the last thing he heard before drifting off into unconsciousness was his name.
Two hours later, at the Lincolnsville Medical Center, Sarah Treton watched outside the door of her older brother's hospital room. Her brother lay not four feet away, hooked up to a respirator, and various other medical equipment that she didn't recognize. She had dragged him to the hospital, after doubling back and finding him lying on the ground unconscious in the middle of all of the smoke. Firefighter's had put the fire out an hour ago, and people were saying that the dig suddenly vanished completely, no trace of any of the workers, and the hole that they made was completely filled up.
She turned her gaze back to her brother. “What happened to you? And what happened to those two robots that were chasing us?” She asked him. She pulled up a chair and sat next to his bed. “Come on Joe, you can pull through, I know you can, I have faith in you. Your needed in this town, you might not be able to see it but you are.”
Joe just laid there, oblivious to everything happening around him. 'Joseph, Joseph are you there?' A voice said in his mind. Joe couldn't figure out the gender of the voice, but suddenly found himself standing in a very dark area.
'Where am I, and who are you?' Joe asked, his own voice taking on a different quality, a more distant echo.
'We are communicating in your mind. I am the spirit of the Elements, and I am the one who has saved your life.' The spirit said. 'I forced the gemstone you had to bond with you, preventing you from inhaling too much smoke. There was nothing that could be done about the smoke that was already inhaled in your system, but you will be fine within another of your Earth hours.'
'Wait, what to do you mean, and what was with that guy in silver?' Joe asked. 'And what were those things that were chasing me and my sister?'
'Those were Skeletoids, the warriors of the evil lord Drexon.' The spirit said. 'Drexon is the last of the Chaos Lords, a group of four who were to bring their lord and master to this dimension so it could devour all life. The God of Chaos is an interdemensional being who must feast on the souls of others to sustain its massive power. You are the only one who would be able to stop them. I have little time to warn you. I will send you a guardian of the night, to watch over you and protect you.'
The spirit left Joe's mind, and he slowly began to open his eyes. His vision was blurry for a few minutes, but once it cleared he pulled off the mask. “Where am I?” he asked quietly. “Sarah? What happened?”
Sarah turned from the window. “You're ALIVE!” she said, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and almost squeezing what air he had in his body out of him.
“Yeah, but I won't be if you break my neck.” Joe said. “How did I get here?”
“I found you in the woods, but you were unconscious. The doctors said that you weren't going to make it, what happened? How did you manage to survive?” Sarah asked.
“I'll tell you about it later.” Joe said. “Where's the doctor? I want to get out of here.”
Sarah went to get a doctor, as Joe leaned against the back of the hospital bed. “No one will ever believe me.” He said to himself.
Meanwhile, in space, a large silver spaceship hovered undetected in Earth's orbit. Drexon sat at his throne, a glass with a blood red liquid in it sitting in his hand. A monitor showed the small suburb of Lincolnsville, with a small scanner showing large levels of power. “We'll send twenty Skeletoids to that town to find and take the power that we need. There is little chance that the young man and the gem he had in his possession are still among the living.” Drexon said. In the shadows, an armored being nodded, then left the room, taking 20 of Drexon's Skeletoids with it.
Joe walked out of the hospital, his hands in his pockets, when he noticed the Skeletoids teleporting down. Joe ducked into an alleyway and watched. He got mad, and angered as he watched the Skeletoids destroy the stores around the hospital. He clenched his fist, then suddenly heard the spirit's voice again. 'The Dark Forces are here to destroy, I can sense the Darkness in your own soul my chosen one. Use it, summon the power within to fight.' It said. It seemed to look out of Joe's eyes, then sighed. 'There's no time, I'll have to summon it for you. Forces of the Elements, come to my chosen, give him the strength to battle the Darkness on its own terms.'
Joe almost cried out in pain as black electricity surged along his body, forcing him to double over in pain. A black light formed, as black armor formed over his upper body, with gloves of the deepest black. Dark gray pants seemed to form along his legs, followed by black boots. Finally, a black helmet formed over his head, with a deeper black visor, and a gray diamond shaped mouthpiece.
'My Rider of Darkness, stop these minions of Darkness, protect the place you know as home.' The Spirit said, before vanishing again. Dark Rider looked at his armor, before running out into the view of the Skeletoids.
“Now its time for a rematch.” Dark Rider said, before he ran into the group of twenty. The first Skeletoid threw a hook at him, but Dark Rider ducked out of the way and jumped up, slamming his knee into the jaw of the robot, destroyed the jaw, and cracking its skull.
A second one threw a second punch, but he sidestepped it, throwing a punch at its elbow to hyperextend it, then threw it over his shoulder by the bad arm. He spun, his foot lashing out to strike the third Skeletoid which was trying to sneak up behind him, twisting its head around a bit. The three he attacked fell to the ground, as the other seventeen drew swords from their spines and charged at him. Dark Rider tried to dodge and attack the Skeletoids, but each time he moved, a sword moved across his body, causing him to be knocked backwards a bit. His visor glowed, as Joe saw a diagram of a sword hilt, then of it opening up to extend an energy blade.
“Alright, this should work. Energy Saber activate.” Dark Rider called. A grayish hilt formed in his hands. Two parts to the cross of the sword opened up and a black blade of pure energy extended from it. Taking two practice swings, Dark Rider held the sword in both of his hands, parallel to the ground as he took a low fighting stance. The Skeletoids charged him, their swords held high in the air.
“Big mistake.” Dark Rider said, running towards them, keeping his body low to the ground as he swung the sword across the lead one's spine, cutting that in half, then moving to the next, jumping up and cutting its ribs and skull in half as he leapt into the air. As he came down, he brought his sword down on the skull of a sixth Skeletoid, cutting it right down the middle. Four Skeletoids charged at him, only to have their swords sliced in half, followed by their spines as Dark Rider went from one motion to the next with ease. The last ten charged him, and Joe held his sword out in front of him, waiting until they were close before striking. The first one had its legs cut off below the knee, the second had its wrists cut off. The third had the energy saber thrust right into its face, causing the head to explode, as Dark Rider then kicked the neck of a Skeletoid that tried to sneak up behind him, snapping its neck. Dark Rider stepped back, letting two more Skeletoids impale their heads with their swords. 'Four left' he thought. The last four backed up, only to be destroyed by someone carrying two swords.
“So, you're still alive. Unlucky you.” The person said as she sheathed one of her swords. “Now, you'll die a slow and painful death at the hands of Neforia, the greatest of Drexon's warriors.”
“And the most annoying sounding person I've ever met.” Dark Rider said. Neforia laughed, and in the blink of an eye, was behind Dark Rider, as he clutched his side, blood coming from under his armor.
“Too bad, you'll just have to die.” Neforia said. “Nedo Funti Darus, Roak Domi Hedes!” A orb of energy formed in her hand, and she threw it at Dark Rider.
When Dark Rider was hit with it, he felt like he was thrown backwards through the air, landing on his stomach. Scorch marks decorated his armor, and he was having trouble getting to his feet. Neforia walked up to him and kicked him square in the ribs, and Joe could have sworn he heard one of them crack.
“Enough Neforia, it is too early to destroy him, there's no fun in it. I want to watch him suffer as we destroy everything around him.” Drexon said, teleporting on a roof. He jumped off of the roof, and pulled Dark Rider to his feet so that Drexon was looking through his visor. “Young man, you just made a grave mistake. Now, you will live to regret it.” Drexon said. He threw Dark Rider to the ground, and turned to walk away.
“I won't let you hurt ANYONE!” Dark Rider said, forcing himself to his feet. He looked off balanced, and his left arm was lifeless at his side. He clutched the Energy Saber in his right hand, and pointed it at Drexon. “You won't win, I will stop you, no matter what.”
Drexon laughed, as he and Neforia teleported away. Dark Rider looked around, then dragged himself to an alleyway, and moved himself towards his home, his armor melting away, revealing cuts and bruises all over his body, his shirt nearly turned to ribbons, and his pants having holes and scorch marks all over. He dragged himself up to his window, making sure no one saw him.
He dragged himself to his private bathroom, and turned the water on. Stopping long enough to remove his scorched sneakers, he stepped under the showers spray, trying not to cry out in pain as the water flowed over his various injuries. He leaned against the wall, breathing hard, and felt the rib that he thought cracked. 'Good, its not broken, maybe that's the best thing, I don't want to explain a broken rib to anyone, especially right after getting out of the hospital.' He thought. He turned off the water, and just stood there, remembering the words of the spirit. '“I will send you a guardian of the night, to watch over you and protect you.” So where is this guardian when I needed it? This is going to be hell.' He thought, before dragging himself out of the shower, and into his bed after changing into a long sleeved shirt, and another pair of pants to hide his various injuries.
'This war is far from over, but in time, I will become strong enough to stop them, I swear it.' Joe thought, going to sleep. He never looked towards the door, or else he would have seen the shadow of Sarah, who had followed him around after he left the hospital.
'Good luck Joe, you'll need it.' She thought, before walking down to her room.