CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Brian stared about him but the boys were nowhere to be seen. They’d given him the slip whilst he was dealing with Zator. He glared at the unconscious Zophacian emperor at his feet and kicked him in frustration. If it weren’t for him, the Backstreet Boys would be dead and he would have what he wanted.
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE Brian pulled out AJ’s two guns, while Howie and Zanell backed away nervously.
Suddenly, he felt a terrible pain in his head. he gasped and sunk to his knees.
“No! Stop it!” he said. “Or I really will hurt them! There are worse things than death!”
The headache still did not stop, though.
“Alright, have it your way! I’ll make you a deal, if you stop fighting me, I’ll let them live, okay?”
Slowly, the throbbing pain diminished. Brian cursed the former occupant of his body. Obviously the little Backstreet Boy wasn’t going to give up without a fight. The real Brian was stronger than he’d given him credit for.
He placed the second of AJ’s guns into his belt with the other one. He had to find them. He knew that they would cause trouble if he let them run around for too long and they had the items he needed.
“Brian!” a girl’s voice shouted at him.
He turned around and saw a red haired girl running towards him. He recognised her as Zanell, a friend of the Backstreet Boys. He’d seen her before when he had been observing Earth from his own dimension. He smiled slightly and walked towards her.
“Hello Zanell.”
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“What are we gonna do?” Nick asked. “We can’t just leave that freak in control of Brian!”
“We’ll think of something,” AJ reassured him, as they ran down the corridor, “Do you think we’ve lost him yet?”
“I think so,” Howie replied. “But I’ll feel safer once we’re in the docking bay, we can lock the doors to keep that lunatic out until we think of something!”
“Here we are. I told you this was the right way!” Kevin said as he walked into the door. “Ouch! I think it’s been locked though.”
“Move over, guys. I’ll blast ‘em open!” AJ said, reaching for his guns until he remembered that Brian still had them. “Okay, forget about that idea.”
“I’ll do it.” Kevin grabbed the door and began to wrench it open until he had opened it enough for them all to step through. Once they were inside, he pulled the door shut again.
“Hey, where’s N*Sync?” Howie asked.
“Forget about them! Where’s Zanell?!” Nick cried, running over to their ship. He shoved the door open and peered around inside. “She’s not here! None of them are! What if Zator took them?”
“Zanell can take care of herself with her amulet,” Howie said. “I bet that she just went looking for us or something. Zator didn’t mention her when we last saw him.”
“But maybe - ” Nick began.
“Look, calm down, Nick! We need to think things through! If she is in trouble, then we’ll rescue her,” Kevin said.
“Yeah and whatever happens, we’re not leaving without both Brian and Zanell,” AJ said.
There was a sudden bang at the door. They all turned to stare at it in silence. Then, without warning, the door suddenly exploded in a ball of crimson light and a cloud of black smoke. When the smoke cleared, they could see someone standing in the doorway. Brian had found them. But there was someone else with him as well, a girl…
“Zanell!” Nick cried and Howie had to grab him by the arm to prevent him from dashing over to her.
“That wasn’t very nice to leave without saying goodbye in the corridor. I’m very upset now,” Brian said, in his strange, cruel voice. “On my way here I found this.”
“Let her go!” Nick yelled. “You don’t need her for anything!”
“Aah, but I do. Here’s the deal, I’ll give you your girlfriend back if you give me the remaining amulets. I have two already,” he said, swinging his two amulets round in his hand. “I want the other four.”
“Don’t!” Zanell called. “He’s going to use them to - ”
“Shut up!” Brian snapped, smacking her around the face.
Nick felt himself shaking with anger. He leapt towards Brian but to his great surprise, he stopped in mid air.
“Naughty, naughty,” Brian said, and then Nick found himself flying backwards into a stack of crates.
“Nick!” Zanell screamed in anguish. She tried to run towards him but Brian raised his arms and Zanell was immediately tied up with a shining blue rope of some kind. Every time she struggled in it, it grew tighter.
“You alright?” AJ asked, running with Kevin and Howie to help Nick up.
“Yeah, I think so,” Nick replied, nursing his arm and ignoring the pain of his bruised head.
“Now give me the amulets!” Brian yelled, his eyes glowing red.
“Only if you give us back Zanell and Brian!” Howie said.
“You can’t have Brian back. I need him! Now give me your amulets or I will kill her!”
“If you do that then we’ll destroy the amulets!” Nick snapped.
Brain raised his arms again. There was a huge rumble of what sounded like thunder. Red bolts of lightning began to crackle from Brian’s fingertips and then suddenly they rained down upon Nick, making him scream in agony.
Then suddenly Brian began screaming. The lightning storm stopped abruptly as he put his hands to his head. Zanell’s bonds also disappeared.
“Stop it!” he yelled to, what seemed like, no one.
“Huh? What’s going on?” Kevin said.
Nick looked up and saw Brian collapse, still screaming.
“Stop it or I will kill them! All of them!” he yelled, then he fell silent.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Nick said. “Our Brian’s still in there and he’s stopping that maniac from killing us!”
Zanell lent down beside him. “Brian?” she whispered.
His eyes turned towards her. They weren’t red anymore and the fierce hatred that had been there before was gone.
“I – I’m okay,” he gasped. “I’m t – trying to fight him but he’s so strong.”
Kevin dashed over to them followed by the others.
“You h – have to stop him. He’ll k – kill you if you don’t,” Brian said.
“What about you? How can we help you?” Kevin asked.
“You c – can’t, but you’ve got to stop him! He’s going to kill everyone on earth!”
“We’ll think of something,” Nick said. “Maybe if we give up the amulets”
“No! Don’t! He needs them!”
“It’s true,” Zanell said. “He told me when he took my amulet. If we leave this ship with those amulets then the portal will close. He needs it to remain open so that his army can come through.”
Brian suddenly moaned in pain. “Stop him Nick. If you don’t, he’ll come after you. He won’t stop until he gets the amulets. You must kill him.”
“How?” Nick asked, and then the answer hit him. “NO! We won’t do it!”
“Please, you have to,” Brian whispered.
“NO!” Nick yelled again. “I won’t hurt you!”
“There has to be another way!” Howie said. “We can’t kill you Brian!”
“N – no other way,” Brian said.
Brian moaned again and his eyes flickered red again. “Please,” he whispered.
Brian’s eyes went red completely again. He threw his arms up and Zanell and the four boys went flying into a wall.
“You can’t kill me without killing your friend,” Brian spat, in his cruel voice. “If you do then you will never forgive yourselves!”
Nick pushed AJ off of him. There had to be some other way of stopping him!
Brian glared at Nick and once again, lightning bolts began to rain down upon him. Nick curled himself up into a ball and used his hands to shield his face.
Now, Brian turned his attention to the others.
“Leave him alone!” AJ said bravely, as Nick continued to be struck with the lightning bolts.
“Or what?” Brian hissed.
AJ suddenly felt himself moving upwards at a phenomenal speed until he smacked into the ceiling. Then he began falling.
“AJ!” Howie called in horror. “Stop it!” he said to Brian, but he ignored him and AJ continued to fall.
Kevin ran forwards and held his arms out. There was a huge bang as AJ fell and hit the ground. Luckily, Kevin broke his fall.
“Kevin, you okay man?” AJ asked, wincing as he moved his bruised body off of his friend.
Kevin’s face was ghostly white. “My arm’s broken,” he said, through clenched teeth.
Brian laughed maniacally and stared at Howie and Zanell.
“Three down, one to go,” he said to Howie. “Are you going to give me your amulet or do you want to watch your friends suffer some more?”
Howie looked over at AJ and Kevin, both of them too injured to get up. Nick was still curled up on the floor. Howie knew that Nick couldn’t take much more.
“You stay silent? Okay, I’ll have a little more fun,” Brian said. He raised his arms again.
“No! You can take it!” Howie said, removing his amulet and holding it out to Brian. He couldn’t bare seeing his friends being hurt.
Brian snatched it from him and the lightning bolts raining down upon Nick ceased.
“Wise choice,” Brian said. “But I still need the other amulets and I’m still going to kill you.”
“You said you wouldn’t hurt us!” Howie protested.
“When? I don’t remember that.”
AJ and Kevin attempted to stand up but neither of them were in a condition to fight and there was no way they could stop Brian.
Nick looked up. He felt terrible after the rain of lightning bolts and he could feel the burns on his back. Brian didn’t pay him any attention. He seemed to have forgotten about Nick, or assumed that he wouldn’t be able to stop him.
He stared at Howie and Zanell. He couldn’t let Brian kill them! Then there was Kevin and AJ, they would be next. Then him. Then his family and friends back on earth. Unless someone stopped Brian. He remembered what Brian had said and closed his eyes, wishing that this was some kind of awful nightmare that he could wake up from, but it wasn’t. He had to choose. Either he lost Brian or he lost everything. Why was it up to him? He couldn’t make a decision like that!
Brian aimed the two guns, one at Howie, the other at Zanell.
Nick staggered to his feet and withdrew his remaining sword. What should he do now? He looked at Brian and remembered all of the fun they’d had together over the years. He was Nick’s best friend. He couldn’t hurt him, he couldn’t.
“Goodbye,” Brian said, as he began to squeeze the triggers.
Nick stood helplessly by for a second. He stared at his friends, Kevin and AJ, then at Howie and Zanell. He looked down at his sword and then looked at Brian. He didn’t have a choice.
“Brian!” Nick called out.
Brian spun around in annoyance just as Nick leapt forward. Brian fell backwards, Nick’s sword embedded in his chest. He lay there gasping, blood pouring from the wound onto the floor.
“Y – you?” he said in disbelief.
Nick felt his legs go weak as he sunk to the floor sobbing. He remembered all those times Brian had looked after him on tour when he was missing his family. He remembered that time Brian had helped him pick himself up when his last girlfriend had walked out on him. He had never told him how grateful he was. Now he never would.
Kevin and the others stared in horror at what he had just done. Nick himself could barely believe it.
“I’m so sor-ry, Brian,” Nick whispered between sobs.
Brian stared at him and his eyes faded from red to the crystal clear blue that they normally were. Then he closed them. Zanell lent down and retrieved the three amulets from Brian’s fingers.
“You did the right thing, Nick,” Zanell said, putting an arm around him whilst handing Howie’s amulet back to him.
“How can you say that?” Nick snapped, pulling away from here.
“She’s right. You did what you had to do to save us,” AJ said, but he was crying too.
“N – Nick?” Brian said, faintly. His eyes flickered open again. He stretched an arm out towards his friend. Nick knew from the eyes that this was there Brian. He reached out and took Brian’s hand in his own.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated.
“You h – have to g – go now,” Brian whispered. “H – he’s c – coming.”
“Brian!” Kevin cried. He lent down beside him and took Brian’s other hand. Nick saw the anguish upon Kevin’s face and knew that he would never forgive himself. Never.
“What do you mean?” Nick asked.
Brian opened his mouth to reply but then he gasped and closed his eyes. Nick felt him squeeze his hand for a brief second and then he fell still. Not moving. Not breathing.
“No,” Kevin whispered, tears beginning to fill his eyes.
As Brian lay silent, a huge rumble shook the docking bay and a shadow filled the room. A black cloud seemed to be building up at the far end of the bay. An evil laugh filled their ears.
“Guys, we have to leave now!” Zanell said.
“What’s going on?” AJ asked.
“The Daorian that was inhabiting Brian’s body, he’s free now. We have to leave! Nick, you pick Brian up.”
“But he’s - ”
“Just do it!”
Nick carefully scooped Brian’s limp form into his arms and tried to ignore the coldness he felt in his stomach as he looked into the face of his best friend.
Howie looked nervously at the ever expanding black cloud as he helped Nick with Brian. It was moving towards them.
“Hurry!” Zanell called, running towards their ship, but they were too late. The black cloud engulfed the ship and towered above them.
“YOU CANNOT ESCAPE!” a voice roared.
Zanell and the boys backed away in horror as a face began to form on the cloud. Two red malevolent eyes stared back at them from the cloud.
“YOU DESTROYED MY NEW BODY! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING FOR ME! I WILL DIE SOON BUT NOT BEFORE I HAVE KILLED YOU ALL! NOW FEEL THE WRATH OF DYSTEX, THE GREAT DAORIAN EMPEROR!”
“Now what’ll we do?” AJ asked. He slowly took his guns from Brian and armed them.
Before anyone could reply, a huge black fireball was suddenly launched at them. They only just managed to scatter in time and the fireball crashed into a pile of barrels.
Nick, with tears still running down his face, placed Brian down on a crate. Then he grabbed his sword but almost choked when he saw that it was still coated in Brian’s blood. He gulped and wiped it on his cloak. Then he looked at Brian. Brian had died to protect them and Nick was going to make sure the rest of them lived. He began walking towards the spirit of the Daorian, Dystex.