UNTOLD TALES OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE #11

MASTERING THE UNKNOWN

Part Two: The History
Featuring Charles Xavier

What has come before....

Traveling into the vast unknown of Anarctica in search of the mystical Senyaku monks, Charles Xavier found himself buried under the surface of ice. When revived he realized that rather than him finding the Senyaku, the Senyaku had found him! With the teaching aid of the Senyaku, an age old order of monks dedicated to helping others develop any special talent, Xavier began to explore his mental powers and practiced using them to the fullest extent in many ways including manipulation, telepathy, mentally moving objects, and entering an invisible mental plane. At the end of his stay with the monks he had learned much in little time. As he prepared to leave however, the ancient Senyaken monastery was shaken and Xavier's master, Master Zjan, said three words:

"The Evil Ones...."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Charles Xavier mutters in response to Master Zjan's comment.

The rumblings continue to shake the room as Master Zjan still stands motionless. Then, finally, he moves. "Come we must hide!" he blurts out suddenly and turn to flee the small room.

He runs faster, motioning for Xavier to follow him. Fellow Senyaku monks, clad in their uniformly brown robes, follow the two as they run down the pillared hallway toward a destination unknown to Xavier. They race around a corner. The booms and shaking lessen a small amount as they race along, more monks joining them. Then they stop. Zjan and some other Senyaku
struggle to push a pillar out of the way. They are straining with all their might. It just won't budge.

"We haven't used this passageway in over twenty years," Zjan manages to blurt out as he struggles. Xavier sighs and concentrates. The pillar begins to move, slowly at first then quickly. Xavier is surprised at the ease of moving it, hardly any effort at all, he thinks, but has no time to question his power. The group huddles down some stairs and begins to move down a
thin hall lit dimly by torches. Somehow the pillar is moved back into place behind them. Xavier is surprised for he didn't move it. The shaking increases and he chalks it up as the probable cause of the pillar moving back.

The hallway winds around for about a minute. Finally the group of monks emerge in a small room with a low ceiling. They manage to squeeze in, all of them. Xavier makes a rough count of about thirty five monks plus himself and Zjan. The walls crumble a little, but the shaking has decreased drastically.

After a few moments of silence. Zjan stares at Xavier, intently. "Thank you for the help back there with the pillar, my son," states Zjan, attempting to catch his breath.

"No problem," returns Xavier, still a little bewildered over how the pillar was moved back.

"Who are 'The Evil Ones'?" inquires Xavier, the question returning to him.

Zjan sighs. "I suppose while we wait, I owe you an explanation of the whole of this ordeal that has delayed your departure," begins Zjan. Xavier nods in approval of the statement.

Zjan stares across the room at his Senyaken brothers, they listen tensely.

"The Senyaku have survived for many ages. In that amount of time one must acquire some sort of enemy and we are no exception. Many years ago, almost seven centuries, the Senyaku were in a golden period. We were at our height, with many students coming and going, learning and growing. Our numbers swelled far past five hundred and with that many members, it would be impossible not to have a few bad ones. We had one in particular."

"His name was Qurobi, and he had served the Senyaku well for all of his young life. All Senyaku have the same goal. Help others. Qurobi had his own goal. Help himself. This goal would become his eventual downfall."

"His Senyaku brothers warned him many times not to take, but to help. But being a fool as he was he never listened. His clouded history added to his anger and one day he snapped. The Master then was a monk by the name of Yolhat, he held the position that I currently do. Well, as the legend goes Qurobi kidnapped Master Yolhat. He took him away to a nearby mountain cave and hired local mercenaries to his bidding. He sent word that unless we, the Senyaku, surrendered and
bowed down to him, he would kill Yolhat and eventually hunt down and kill everyone of us. We had no choice for the one of the many Senyakan vows is to his brother to which he will never abandon."

"Qurobi returned with his band of mercenaries and sat on a throne in the Pillared Hall of our hallowed monastery. We were forced into his bondage, and were his slaves. But it was too much for a small band of rebellious young Senyaku. They took the mercenaries one night and chased Qurobi from the monastery. Of course the band of rebels were purged from our midst, for they had broken the Code of Violence, in which no Senyaku will act violently....ever. Even though respected for their bravery they were forced to take leave."

"Qurobi returned to his mountain were he acquired followers and built a stronghold there. He named his order the Order of Evil, or often referred to as The Evil Ones. They vowed to destroy the Senyaku. In the time since then, The Evil Ones have attacked us many times, however only once in my lifetime..."

"But.." starts Xavier, "If you are forbidden to use violence, how do you stop them?"

"A fair question," replies Zjan as the shaking grows and fades again. "You see, we do not fight them. Our students do.." Zjan trails off.

Xavier is not stunned. He had half expected the answer. "But Master I am only one. If I should fail not only would I perish but you all would as well!" says Xavier.

"In the case of your failure we would sacrifice our Code and brotherhood only then to stop them." Zjan replies solemnly, with a bit of resentment in his voice.

The room is in complete silence for half an hour, each person in the room thinking about the previous conversation. Then a rumble shakes the room with extreme violence. It grows and many are knocked off of their feet. Suddenly the worst possible thing happens. The ceiling gives way, crumbling into quite large chunks of solid earth. Panic strikes. Monks shove each other in
a state of crisis, everyone for themselves. Xavier yells at various men to calm down and not get excited, but no one hears over the rumbling.

Xavier finally gets a hold of himself enough to consider the situation. "I have to get out of here. Find the source and stop it, or the monks will surely perish in this!" he thinks. He darts to the opening in the wall where they had entered earlier. He races up the steps. A few monks try to follow his path but another cave in closes the opening. He has to stop the disaster or everyone in the secret catacomb will die.

Xavier uses telepathy to move the pillar and doesn't bother moving it back after he exits. He turns and hurries through the hall, pillars crash at his feet behind him. He races to the entrance to the monastery and peers out the opening where the door used to
be. A horrendous thunderstorm rages outside. The lightning and rain mix with the hail and snow to make a very dangerous environment. He walks out because he sees no sign of danger yet. The rain pounds down on his head as does the hail and snow. He places a small mental shield around his body in order to keep the weather hazards away, there's no time to go back for proper clothing. He begins to make his way along the side of the monastery. He reaches the opening in the stone barrier surrounding the building.

Then it hits him.

A blast knocks Xavier clear to the cold ground, shattering his weather shield. He cries out as another blast rocks his body. He looks through fuzzy eyes, through snow, through hail and rain, and sees them. The most horrible sight he has witnessed in quite some time.

He sees over fifty men. Men. They look extremely large and muscular, more like monsters than men. Seated on enormous black horses, the Evil Ones are clad in spiky armor, each with a blade that glints when lightning strikes behind them. They look very menacing. There are three mystics in front of the battle hardened army. There are other mystics, but these are commanding
much of the damage. One commands the weather, another commands the earth and its rumbling, and the other aims his hands at Xavier again, ready to release another powerful blast.

Xavier braces for the blast, but rethinking it puts up all his mental strength into a shield. He stands as the Evil blaster, fires off more and more powerful energy shots. It hurts his mind, but Xavier manages to maintain the shield. Now he thinks of his next move. Of course he has to find cover, and quickly too. He ducks behind the concrete wall and lowers his shield, sighing from the strain. Mentally he closes the heavy iron gates of the opening in the wall. The blasts from the Evil mystic cease and the rumbling decreases.

"This is insane," Xavier mutters in the cold. He thinks about how impossible it will be to overcome this veritable army of evil monks bent on killing him and the Senyaku.

Suddenly a voice sounds in Xavier's head. It is unidentifiable, but Xavier listens intently.

"You must not fail.....the task is far from impossible....you must not fail!" the voice echoes out of range and Xavier shivers from the haunting experience.

"Well," he thinks, "it's either try, or die."

With that in mind Xavier studies the situation. "Fifty men," he thinks, "including some wizards." Although he thinks that its still insane a plan begins to form in his mind. But he's going to need help. He darts back inside the monastery and is glad to be out of the extreme cold environment outside. Its much easier to run without the earthquake. He races through the hall, being careful of all the rubble, and back into the secret catacombs. When he reaches the end of the passageway to the catacombs he sees that the Senyaku have cleared the entrance of most of the rubble. He mentally shoves the rest out of the way and rushes inside.

"Master Zjan, there are too many," Xavier begins. "You and the Senyaku must help me!"

"No!" counters an enraged Zjan. He looks around at his brothers. Some of the bald monks help other ones onto the earthen benches. No one is horribly injured. Xavier is thankful for that much. "No, we must not help!" continues Zjan. "We would not forsake the Code-"

"Not even to save you own lives?!" interrupts Xavier. "Look," he composes himself, "the code only says you may not enact violence. Am I correct?" Zjan sighs and nods his head. "Well then," Xavier goes on, "maybe you can help me without using violence..."

Zjan considers the question. And shakes his head in dismay. "No," he says. "The Evil Ones are much too powerful to face without violence-"

"But that goes against what you taught me!" Xavier again interrupts. "The mind is a very powerful thing. If our intelligence could surpass theirs, then we could defeat them by out witting them!" Xavier finishes.

Zjan considers it. "I'm not so sure of this," he states. "The Evil Ones may assert themselves through strength, but that doesn't mean they aren't intelligent."

"That's true," replies Xavier, "but, we can out think them. We have to. I can't overcome them physically or mentally alone. You and your brothers must help. For everyone's sake."

Zjan gathers together a group of other monks. They discuss the matter for quite some time before coming to a decision. Then Zjan turns to Xavier again. "all right," he tells him, "We have agreed to help. Before, when the Evil Ones attacked, we have always had many students. Now only you do we have. If we don't act in violence it does not go against our Code. Now what are your ideas?"

Xavier sighs in relief. But what awaits them is going to be long and hard fought...

Meanwhile...

Quroban IV, current leader of the Order of Evil, looks around at his army. His night black horse shifts under his weight. He turns to his right hand man, Sanhjo, and begins to speak in a deep, almost demonic voice.

"I can't imagine what's taking those fools," he remarks and stares back at the monastery. "Where are their puny students now? Always before have they sent their warriors to battle us."

"Yes, but this time our army is much more superior than before. We have trained long for this battle," replies Sanhjo." That one student, the one who emerged earlier, must have seen our enormous number and returned with information. They are most probably preparing a battle plan as we speak."

"Of course," confirms Quroban, shaking his head. "The will come to do battle soon. And we will easily defeat them. We have lost many a time before now. But under my leadership we will be victorious!"

"Yes, but why did you order the Mystics to cease the quakes?" questions Sanhjo.

"Give them time to prepare themselves," Quroban returns, "If they have no plan for battle they will be too easily defeated. That would then cause our years of training to be a waste. We are sworn to destroy them, and today, we will."

Sanhjo nods his head, "We most assuredly will....."

Author's Notes: Okay, there's the second installment of a three part story. Sorry, I neglected to add some notes at the end of the first one. I have to say, the first part was much easier to write than this one. I already had the ideas for it but it didn't quite flow out like the first one did. It should be another week at the most for part three, entitled "The Battle".

Can Xavier and The Senyaku defeat the Evil Ones and survive to see tomorrow without forsaking their Violence Code?

I'll give away one secret: Xavier lives! Hope that didn't give too much away. (sarcastically)

Catch you later!

P.S. Then name SENYAKU has no relation whatsoever to the X-Men character SENYAKA. Its simply a
coincidence!

E-mail me!!! thewizard@ratedg.com