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Teen Story Tuesday

In the HUB we have a creative writing club called Inklings. They meet the first Thursday of every month, and discuss various types of creative writing, practice our skills, and share & critique one another's writing. We thought it might be fun to share some of the stories they all write. We’ll post stories from our Inklings group on Tuesdays, so get all snuggled up in front of your screen and enjoy the first ever Teen Story Tuesday!

The Necromancer (Book one of the Forgotten Series)

By: Tyler D. & Nathan H.

Prologue

"We all know what is coming soon. There is no avoiding it. We need to prepare for their invasion." "I know. What will come of the humineks, though? Will they be important, or will they just be rejected like Ulrich?" "They will be useful, but they need more time, Jek, sir." "No, Djak, they need to be used NOW. Give them a Shock and bring them in." "Yes, sir." Djak got up and began searching for the activation code for their shock system. He hesitated before he typed it in. He felt bad that those two kids were about to be dragged into something that was much bigger than anything they had experienced. He sighed. “Let’s just hope they’re what we need.”

Chapter 1: Rak "C'mon, Günther!", Rak shouted as they started running to the pond. "There's no time to waste! I only have a few hours!" They two boys rushed to the pond, taking off their clothes, and revealing their suits. Rak took a running jump off the dock and into the freezing water. He heard a splash behind him as his friend, Günther, jumped in. "Whew! It's freezing in here!," Günther exclaimed. "Let's turn our temps up", said Rak as he turned up the temperature on his control center. On their arms, the people of the South colonies of Konzuel were mostly human; but some were called humineks, and a good amount were German. They had little com-watches. They controlled their body temperature, showed the Konzuel time, showed their missions and quests, their temporary and permanent powers if they are found to be humineks.. "Feel the wrath of my tsunami!" Rak turned around as Günther shoved a ton of water in his face. He dove under and surfaced, gasping. "Don't do that! Seriously!" The two boys laughed, then continued splashing water in each other's faces. A giant wave came over Günther and hit him underwater. Günther surfaced and saw Rak shout, "and THAT is payback!" They enjoyed their little pond and played a lot in it during spare time, they often went their to get away from everyday life. The usually needed a lot of time away from ordinary life. School wasn’t exactly fair to them and as for friends, not many of them wanted to be friends with someone who from time to time unleashed bolts of lighting or balls of fire. Rak and Gunther never knew why it happened, but it did happen. The pond was a great way for them to get away from that and enjoy life, but they wouldn't get to enjoy it for much longer.

Chapter 2: Rak As the two boys started swimming back to the dock, they had been in the pond for several hours. They had swimming races, diving contests, and played all sorts of other games.Rak felt a little tingle in his leg that started moving up. "Günther, do you feel that?," he asked. "Yeah. Let's move." They hurried up their pace, It never was fun leaving the pond. It reminded them of ordinary life and the struggles they had to deal with at home and at school. The tingle in their legs were becoming more powerful. Rak and Gunther weren’t exactly enjoying it either. It got worse and worse as they ran. There legs went numb and it was difficult to move. "What is happeni-?!," Rak started to say; but he got cut short from the giant pulse of electricity that knocked him right out. *** "Are they okay?" "Yes, they are recovering fine. Give them a minute to come back to their senses." Rak heard faint voices and only remembered that he was just swimming a second ago. Rak had a history report he had to finish for school the next day and Rak needed to remind gunther to finish his science project that was due in two days. Then he realized he wasn't in the pond anymore. he remembered the tingle in his leg after leaving the pond. He wasn’t even sure if it was real. “Maybe i’m dreaming and none of this was real,” thought Rak. He turned his head to see Gunther waving his hand in the air like he was drunk. He did that sometimes when he wasn’t sure something was real or if he was dreaming. Rak never dreamed of Gunther doing that in his dreams. “Gunther stop waving your hand around, you look stupid.” Rak mumbled. Gunther rolled his head slowly to face Rak and replied “So im not dreaming, great.” They both thought for a minute. Then in unison, the two boys sprang up. "Where are we?!?!" they shouted, being blinded from the intense light. They looked around and could only see one color, white.

Chapter 3: Günther Günther saw Rak spring from the cot where they were laying, and did the same. His vision was still blurry; and he felt dizzy right away, so he was forced to fall right back down. Then he heard talking. He could only make out a little bit. "He...o, b…." He got up and began to walk stumble around the room. He tried to walk toward Rak. He only got one step forward before he began swaying left and right. Someone tried to grab him, it didn’t exactly work. Gunther stumbled into them knocking them back. He fell backwards and crashed into the wall. Rak chuckled at Gunther’s funny display of stupidity then collapsed to the floor himself. After a few minutes it all cleared away. His blurriness, dizziness, and he was energetic. It was a miracle. He looked up, straight into the bloodshot green eyes of a complete stranger. He caught a glance of his brother; and they looked at each other, wide-eyed. "Who are you?," Günther's brother asked. A deep, booming voice answered him back. "I am your...mentor. You will get all of your training from me." “What type of training?” asked Gunther. “I will be training you with weapons, tactics, and I will show you how to use the power within you. The man took long glances at the two boys. "You will answer to me now."

Chapter 4: Günther "Where are we? What do you mean? Who are you? Wha-?" Günther was cut off by the man in front of him. "I am Sergeant Jek. if you don't know what you are doing here, then your parents definitely haven't told you enough," the man-or Jek-said. "Do they shudder when those evil...Kaimo From the North are even mentioned?" Günther shuddered at the mention of those creatures. They made up the North of Konzuel. They were half-lizard, half-bird; and they are specialists in weaponry and combat. Günther had seen pictures of the evil beasts. He never saw them in person, and he never wanted to. Kaimo were about 6 to 7 feet tall on average. They naturally had muscular builds and were much stronger than the average human. Gunther even heard rumors of some kaimo bending the energy around them to command the elements, similar to what Humineks can do. "See, YOU even shudder at them! You two idiots are SUPPOSED to be KILLING them! I bet you don't even know what you are, or are supposed to be!" Jek's face was beet-red. He paused for a second, taking in a deep breath. "Wha-what d-do y-you m-m-mean?," Rak stammered. "You don't, do you? You idiots are humineks, and I'll be training you for the war."

Chapter 5: Rak Rak couldn't understand. Humineks? The fierce soldiers who have powers of the elements? The people who train for years and lead armies to victory? No. This must be a dream... yeah, a dream. Or this man is here. But I think he’s trying to pull my leg. The two boys started cracking up. Their laughs got louder and louder. Finally, Rak started to settle down. "Whew, man. I thought it was real for a second. Nice try. A Huminek? God no! you had me going, but we're just gonna go home now," Rak said, pointing to the white door. "C'mon Günther, let's go." They started walking to the door when the man said, "You have no idea how real this is. Expect a call tomorrow. I will see you at noon, be prepared. They walked out of the lab in silence, but after a few minutes Gunther broke the silence. “I have a feeling that what he told us isn’t a joke.” Rak sighed. “yeah, no it isn’t a joke. Our lives are going to change quite a bit.” They walked in silence a little further before Gunther spoke again. “At least we won’t have to deal with the public schools anymore.” Gunther pointed out. “We also don’t have to deal with all those kids making fun of us for whatever reason they have.” Rak smiled. “You’re right, we won’t have to deal with our old lives anymore, maybe this will change our lives for the better.” Gunther laughed. “What if we do defeat the kaimo and expand into the North. We will become war hero’s and live out our days peacefully.” Gunther imagined living peacefully with his brother. he knew it would take hard work and blood would be spilled, but maybe he thought, it was worth it.

Chapter 6: Günther Günther woke up the next day in his normal bed, but still thinking about the weird place they had been the day before. He woke up his brother who was deep in sleep, still moaning. They checked the time on their coms: 11:30. They rushed downstairs to get breakfast and pulled out their daily protein pellets. Günther swallowed it and ran outside to do the morning work. They raked the fake turf that was supposed to be grass. It would still be grass if the Kaimo didn’t destroy their home planet, though. After they did their work, including putting more fertilizer on the already-stiff fake grass, Günther grabbed Rak’s hand and took him back to their pond. “C’mon, Rak! Let’s jump!” He started to unzip his shirt; but Rak looked at him, shaking his head. “Let’s not, Günther; we don’t want the same thing to happen again,” he said. It made him sad thinking about it. It was his favorite place, but he didn’t want to be knocked out by another life-threatening SHOCK! Then Günther heard a weird beeping sound. An alert! He looked at Rak, who was getting the same alert. They read it aloud in unison. “Report to the hill lab in five minutes. Directions of finding this lab are found here.” *** They ran to the giant hill where they used to sled, and found the giant camo door that led to the lab. “Why are we here?”, Günther said. “Does this have anything to do with that weird Jek guy?” “I don’t know, but let’s find out.” Rak turned the giant knob and opened the door. Inside, he saw the man from yesterday with a shorter man next to him. “Hello, boys,” the tiny guy said. “It’s time to train.”

Chapter 7: Rak They were led to a big, turf-bottomed room with racks having weapons of all types. There were plasma rifles, machine guns, grenades, other explosives, combat knives, axes, various other types of blades, armor, and even captured Munchy weapons. "My name is Djak, in case you didn’t know yet. And these are the weapons to which we have access in this facility," said the soldier. "You will choose a weapon or two of your choice and learn how to use them. But first, let’s go through the trials.” *** Günther followed Rak, who followed Djak, who jogged like the young army men in front of them. They arrived in a room with training robots and lots of guns. Djak showed them many things throughout the tour. There were targets, climbing walls, obstacle courses, and other training areas over to the left side. On the right, there was a library full of information about the munchies and tools for mental training, plus extra barracks. And, in the middle, there were deadly platforms for parkour training. If you were to fall, you would be sent to the infirmary for 2nd-degree burns. After the tour, Djak stopped by the barrack wall. "You will now go through a series of tests of physical and mental challenges. You will be put into one of the 10 different classes: Marksman; who will use rifles and long ranged weapons. Medic; which will use medicines to heal others in the heat of war. Strategist; who will find tactics to go out through the war and create plans for special operations and spies. Scouts/thieves/spies; Who either scout out the enemy base camp or city before the attack, or steal plans and valuable information from the munchies, or spies who will surrender to the munchies to get plans with ease. Close combat; who go into the frontlines and bravely fight against the munchies." "Yawn," Rak said. "Anyway... There are also Pyrotechnics; They go into the heat of battle and spread that heat, throwing explosives and flamy things. Field Engineers; Who repair broken vehicles, solve technical problems, and other things, or just make new weapons or other things." "Hello, engineer!" Günther exclaimed. "Stop INTERRUPTING! Now, there are some who tend to stick together and they fight munchies from above or below. In some cases, classes are mixed together because of someone's ability to work both classes. Then there are librarian/historians; who stay here and work in the library to research for our benefit. We have won two wars because of them. And the most heroic, important, and the hardest to get into, the special ops; they do basically everything, but better, with better skills and better equipment. They can do many things. Humineks, like you; and I will explain more to you about it later, tend to be able to be in this group because they have powers of our elements in this world. The main elements are as follows: Fire, water, weather, psychic, and shade. Fire and water are kinda self-explanatory; and being a Weather-controller, you would be able to make natural disasters or simple thunderstorms wherever you are. Psychic-controllers would be able to teleport and use matter to do things that you want to do, like form or make you a suit. Shade can blend into the surroundings as a shadow. They make very good Spies and Scouts." Djak gasped for air as an older trainee ran over. "Djak, would you like me to finish for you?" Djak coughed and sputtered out, "Yes...(cough)...please do." He walked away, heading straight for the library to settle a little. "So, anyway, soldiers, I am Gordon, your… um… teacher. I will run your tests. But first, let me explain the rare elements. There is nature, plague, pure light, pure..." Gordon shuddered at the thought. "d-dark, and transforming. Nature can control the land around you; Plague can do the complete opposite, spreading fear and terror. Pure Light can use light shields and make stuff easily, almost like a more powerful psychic. Pure d-d-dark will send nightmares to the enemies and ultimately making them die where they stand. There has only been one dark, and he betrayed us. But anyway, the transforming guys will change into the enemy and kill from behind. Now, these rare elements are much more powerful and much less common. And there is one element I haven't mentioned yet; and our greatest warrior, Jesse Drake, has controlled it. She won our first war and is fighting in the war right now. She is an elemental, someone who controls every element and can be VERY dangerous. She commands the army, and I am the Captain.I am her right-hand man. So I know much about it." Gordon saw Djak come back, and saluted. The boys did the same. Djak stepped up and said firmly, "At ease, men. There are two tests, Rak and Günther. Let's start."

Chapter 8: Jesse "C'mon!", Jesse yelled at her army. "Let's get a move on!" She dove into a shadow and threw fireballs at the enemy frontlines, then popped back up, as a Kaimo. She ran behind the frontlines and shocked every frontline troop in her sight, popped back as a shadow, and came back up as her normal self. She loved doing that to them and she did that every time the enemy advanced. Jesse teleported behind the commander and sent a low shock through the creature. The commander turned around, electrostaff in hand, and pulled the hood covering his face off, then looked up. He looked straight at her. She took a moment to realize that it wasn't a Munchy. It was a Huminek. A cold chill surged through Jesse's body. She gasped. The pale man said in a raspy voice, "Hello, Jesse, it's been a long time." "Ulrich. I thought you were dead." "Never, sis. I came back just to see you." Those were the last words she heard as she started to slowly freeze in her tracks.

Chapter 9: Rak Rak ran up and jumped high up, past the hundred-foot wall, and cleared it, not leaving a scratch. Günther ran up right behind him, literally going through the 6-centimeter space under the wall because he had doubts of clearing it. "Great, boys!", Djak yelled. "Now jump into the lava! Most Humineks can survive it!" "What if we don't?" Rak yelled back nervously. "If you can't get past it, then you will be taken out by a probe and dropped into the pool straight over, that is meant only for healing! Now GO!" So Rak dove straight in, and immediately, the lava started to tickle him, but he swam around like it was a pool of water and surfaced laughing. Günther hopped in and was taken straight out, burning straight up, but went straight in the pool and came up. Djak and Gordon wrote some things down on their clipboards. Rak then ran with Günther at his side through the barbed wire maze, coming back out in about 7 minutes with little scratches, and Günther ran out right behind him with even less scratches. More things written down. “Now head to the parkour, then to the citadel boys!” Djak yelled. Günther took the lead and ran to the first airborne platform. He made it and leaped to the next one. Rak jumped as far as he could and skipped the entire first platform. He slipped off the side of the second platform and plummeted into the green greek fire below. He put all his will into trying to stay alive, heading straight for the 100-foot wall. He grasped the edge and jumped straight up. He then hit the platform straight on and jumping up, happy he was still alive. They both continued to the end of the platforms and headed straight for the looming Citadel. As they entered the main gate they snapped a small rope in their path. Holes in the wall opened up and spears made by the munchies rained down from above. They were just quick enough to avoid getting impaled. “Okay, let’s try to be more careful next time!”, Günther panted. They jogged on searching for more traditional traps. They looked around and realized the citadel was built off of an old munchy stronghold. The material was a mix of stone and metal. What type of metal, they did not know. The throne where the clan chief would sit was about 300 yards away. Above on the last floor, looking down into the throne room, battle stations were seen with robot munchies operating turrets shooting out of the Citadel. "Be careful if we want to survive, Günther, because that's what will be shooting at us by the time we get to the top!" Rak tried to yell at the top of his lungs over the loud noises below him. Shouting, Günther replied, "Why don't we just take them out? I see bones that look sharp all over!" Günther recklessly ran up to a bone, picked it up, and jumped down the hole into the throne room.

Chapter 10: Günther Günther ran to the nearest munchie, who was handling an electrostaff as a guard of the facility. It was about 6-feet tall and looked relatively close to a real munchie. Günther, as a boy who was barely 5 feet, jumped to it's head height and smacked it with the bone. With a short movement, the robot swiveled around and stabbed Günther in his side with the staff, sending Günther to the floor with stars over his head. At that point, Rak jumped down right on the munchie and grabbed the staff from it. He stabbed it straight in the back. It fell to the floor and exploded. Rak then ran to Günther and smacked him in the face. "Wha- OW!" Günther gasped for air as it was knocked out of him. He stepped back up, limping, but recovering, and punched another fake munchie in the face. "That's my bro!" Rak yelled. Günther glared at him. "What, no compliments?" Günther shook his head. "Okay, okay. Fine." The two brothers knocked the mechanical Munchies down to the ground and threw some out of the Citadel barred windows. "Rak, how do we get out of this room?!", Günther shouted. "I don't know how I can do this, but just grab my hand!", his brother replied. Rak grabbed his hand and jumped. They crashed through the ceiling above them and started running again. They stopped at a looming staircase. "Let's just be safe to say there will definitely be traps on this thing!", Günther yelled. "Look! There are cracks in the wall! Use them to scale the stairs!" They started up the stair wall. Günther noticed a hole in the wall in front of them. He smelled smoke. Right as they moved past, he yelled "DUCK, RAK, DUCK!"

***** Djak and Gordon watched in a control room through the hidden cameras in the Citadel. "Those boys are lucky to be alive." Djak looked at the tape of deadly flames glazing Rak's hair. "And that boy Günther has to be more careful." Gordon looked at an earlier tape. "The boys are clever, though. I would have never jumped down that hole and killed those robots. The reckless boy is stronger than I expected. He got up right after the 1 amp staff. Most humans would die easily." "Yes. I expect Rak to become a Psychic and choose a special corps, scout, or long-range position. And Günther to be a shade as a scout." "Maybe, but the Günther boy was set on fire in the lava. He might end up badly." "Let us hope not."

Chapter 11: Ulrich Ulrich dragged Jesse's limp, frozen body to an anti-freeze chamber, where he would put her in an electric torture machine. He needed answers to answer the rumors of new recruits. They were said to be able to take him down. It was in the prophecy. He had seen it himself. And now the time had come. He needed to prepare. He put his sister in the chamber, and she instantly started to defrost. When she was finally defrosted, he opened the chamber and she fell face first out. A Kaimo grabbed her and put her into the electric torture device. He ordered the Kaimo in a raspy voice, "Wake her up. Minimum power." 100 volts went straight into her body, enough to wake her up. She stuttered, "Where am I?" She looked around. "Oh no. Not you, Ulrich. You won't get anything out of me." "That's fine. You won't now, but you will soon." He cackled as he ordered "Full power. five seconds." He watched with a grin on his face as she was shocked time after time, getting weaker and weaker. Hopefully, she would break soon.

Chapter 12: Günther After their "incident", they finally reached the throne room. A huge hall with turrets near the ceiling for extra defense. In the tall throne, there sat a robot imitation of a munchie warchief. “That's our target,” whispered Rak. Günther only nodded. Deep in thought, he was wondering how to get to the warchief without running through the hall. He knew that is what Rak would think of doing. He looked up to the nearest turret. Nearby he saw a rope under it and a hook under the other one. He had an idea. “Rak, get the hook over there, under that turret. I’m going for the rope.” Günther shouted as he ran for the rope. Rak looked for the hook, spotted it, and took off. The turrets were busy with Günther, which made Rak’s job easier. He ran, leaped, and grabbed the hook. He looked across the room to see Günther leap, roll, and leap again dodging crystal bullets coming from the turrets. He reached the rope and dove behind a small wall for cover. “Catch!” Rak shouted as he threw the hook. Günther caught it with one hand has it was about to fly past his face. He tied the rope to the hook and tossed it up to the turret. He used the wall to help him climb. When he got close to the top, the Munchie robot grabbed the hook and threw it off the edge. Günther leaped up just before and grabbed the robot. Using it to pull himself up, he tossed it over the edge. Without delay he grabbed the turret and test fired it at the nearest enemy controlled turret. He was so close to ending it. So he did. Or though so, anyway. He aimed for the the warchief. He pulled the trigger expecting to open fire upon the warchief. Instead he heard a crunch as the turret began to smoke. The warchief had thrown a javelin through the barrel and into the turret system. Günther mumbled, “Well, crap”. He analyzed the problem. "Rak, come here. I found the problem! Keep the warchief busy!" Rak yelled "Hey! You overgrown freak! Hey!" the Warchief looked over to where the sound was coming from. It jumped and ended up right in front of the little huminek in front of him. "I guess robots had feelings," said Rak. "Let's dance." Günther chuckled as the big robot ran after his fast brother. He was fast but he wouldn't last long. Günther grabbed the giant javelin with two hands and pulled on it, but it wouldn't budge. he pulled again. "Hmm..." He looked around for anything that would help him. Then it hit him. Literally. He rubbed his cheek as a small rock fell from the spot it hit. He turned his head to Rak. "What was that for?!," Günther yelled in pain. "The hook! It's still attached to the turret! Get it and pull! Ahhh!" The giant machine jumped in front of him and cut Rak off. He started to run the other way. "Hurry!" Günther got to work. He grabbed the rope and hook and tied it around the javelin. "I can't pull this off by myself," he muttered. "Where can I-" His head turned to the giant. "Rak! I have an idea! Bring the mutant bot over here! Then run as fast as possible!" Rak did as he said, and the War Chief tumbled over. Then he sprinted in the other direction, panting for breath. Günther pulled the rope and ran around the War Chief's 7 foot-tall legs. As he twisted it tight, he stuck the hook in its leg. The Chief screamed. It ran around frantically but fell to the ground in a twisted heap, the javelin following. It hit him smack in the face. Its eyes rolled back in its head and it fell to the ground with a thump. Rak turned around and saw what his brother had done. He ran back and hi-fived his brother, then putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. "Great job, Günther," he panted. "I couldn't have done it without you." "Let's just get out of here." Rak pointed to a small staircase leading to the roof of the Citadel. "Come on," he gasped, waving to his brother, then walked over to the staircase and climbed it, Günther quickly following. When they reached the top, they foound a flare and lit it, symbolizing their victory. Günther saw the two men walk over the the base of the Citadel with a small net. "Jump!" they yelled below. Rak did so, and Günther nervously followed him off the edge.

Chapter 13: Rak The two men congratulated them on their success a lot that night. They ate a big feast and there were many toasts. Later that night, Gordon showed them to their quarters, where they slept amazingly that night. At noon the next morning, Jek stood over them and said, "Wake up soldiers. There’s another long day of tests and training ahead." Jek walked down hallway after hallway, all bright white and almost eerie-looking. They turned left, then right, another right, then left again, and into a glass room overlooking the turf training area below and the giant tower they survived just yesterday. “Please sit down,” Jek said gesturing to two black swivel chairs with chart papers and reports sitting on them. Rak and Günther picked up the papers and sat down, staring at their test results. “A long range? Special corps?” Rak looked at Jek. “I’m actually not surprised.” “Yes. Today you will go through mental training and a written test. Then you will be given a series of obstacles on the turf floor below. You are to try to get out of these obstacles by trying as hard as you can to use your abilities. You won’t know what we think of your elements, but they have been specially designed for you. When you are finished with training, you will be put into your army groups as a high General. You will both fight alongside your commander, who is yet to be known, and you will both have different ones. Now let's get started." "Wait. Scout? I thought I would be an engineer," Günther said. "It can be your secondary," said Gordon, walking into the room with Djak at his side. "Sorry we were late. A boy fell into the lava from the rocks before the Citadel and we had to rush him to the infirmary on the way." "Why won't we know our element?," Rak questioned. "You will figure your element on your own in the training in the obstacle course," said Jek, tired and aggravated. "Now. Sit down. Here is your test. You are to answer each situation to whatever you would usually do." He passed out the tests. "Begin."

Rak looked at the test. Only five questions. "This is going to be easy," he muttered. "That's what you think," Djek muttered back. Question 1: You have fallen into a net trap the Kaimo have made for ground troops. What do you do? A. Burn the net you fell into, letting you out, but charring you a bit. B. Teleport C. Turn into a shadow and fall through D. Slice the net with a lightning bolt Rak thought for a minute, but it wasn't hard to figure out. If you can teleport, just do it and quickly kill the enemy. He circled answer B. His eyes darted to the next question. Question 2: You have been surrounded by Kaimo soldiers with no weapons or armor. They are about to fire. What do you do? A. Cause a tornado, killing yourself, but the enemy too. B. Possess the enemy to fire at themselves C. Jump, not knowing what will happen. D. Plague the land and literally sink the enemy into the ground. Rak looked over at Günther. He had almost finished his test. Time to pick up the pace. He answered B again because he thought it was the smartest. Question 3: Your commander, who you have come to know, has turned on you and started killing your troops. What do you do? A: Open the ground beneath him and kill him. B: Capture him and torture him with electricity. C: Control his mind and try to get him back to your side. D: Send a tsunami, but you might die too, and so will your troops. What kind of question was that? Rak quickly circled C and moved on. Question 4: You are in modified bombers attacking the enemy base. A Kaimo fleet has just taken out your squadron and you are spiraling down. You quickly act. What do you do? A: Jump out the cockpit and use plasma platforms to walk down. B: Try to hotwire the controls with electricity so it flies again. C: Control the weather to cushion your fall. D: Jump and hope for the best. Rak circled answer C. He looked over at Günther, who had turned his quiz in and was waiting patiently. He saw that the next question was the last question. Question 5: You have been captured by a Kaimo warlock and are locked in combat. What do you do? A: Open a hole into the Earth, falling with the Warlock. B: Send 100 amps of electricity with lightning into his body. C: Slip through his grasp as a shadow. D: Try to overpower him with a controlled energy beam. Rak put C as his answer and handed the quiz to Djak. "Thank you, boys," Jek said. "We will look at your test results and put you through your specialized obstacles. Prepare yourselves for the hardest challenge yet." They left the room hurriedly. "`That was too easy," Günther retorted. "We should prepare if this is going to be so hard." Günther rolled his eyes. "I know. But how do we prepare?," Rak asked. "Meditate." *** Gordon and Djak followed jek into his private office. "The two boys are meditating, sir," Djak said. "Good," Jek responded. "Let's look at these results." After a short while, the men looked at each other. "This isn't good, sir," Gordon said. "I know," Jek said. "Set the Rak boy up with an elemental test. And set the Günther boy up with a multi-test. Shade, plague, weather, and... Dark." The room went silent. The men looked at each other with sad looks on their faces. "Yes, sir," the two younger soldiers said in unison and walked out of the room, leaving Jek by himself. "I hope Günther doesn't go down a bad path," he said to himself. "It would be the end of him."

Chapter 14: Günther Jek walked into the room with the soldiers following them. "Follow us to the turf area, please," Djak said. They followed. "Take Rak to the separate training area," Jek ordered to Gordon. "Djak, start up the obstacles." Günther took one last look at his brother, wondering what would happen next. "Begin," ordered Jek. Günther walked to a crystal sitting on a podium. It spewed fire and radiated heat. Nothing happened, and he didn’t react to it. The next one was water. Still nothing, the Physic one also showed no reaction. When he approached the shade crystal it began to rise. An hand of shadow began to reach out to him. As he backed off it dissolved into the air. Weather did the same. The wind around it grew faster and the lighting began zapping insects around it. “Okay, on to the rare elements,” Günther muttered. When he approached the plague crystal it began to rise. The aura of pestilence grew as he walked toward it. Insects flying in the area fell dead to the deadly, disease filled air. He backed off and it returned to normal. Light, transforming, and Nature had no affect on him. When he got too dark it rose. It rose really high. The crystal began muttering incomprehensible words. The lights were blocked out. he backed away and the words stopped and the lights returned to normal. He ran out of the chamber. “Wow,” Muttered Jek as he walked towards Günther. “That was… scary to say the least.” “Yeah I'm not sure what happened exactly,” Günther said slowly. “Dark is one of the most powerful of the elements, that's why it's so rarely seen,” said Jek as he led Günther away from the training grounds.

Chapter 15: Rak A moment later there was a giant explosion that could be heard for miles. Then maniacal laughter just as loud could be heard throughout the entire city. Rak grabbed Gordon and ran to Günther and Jek right ahead. Djak ran down from the control room with a surprised look on his face. "What in oblivion was that?!" Gordon shouted. "We don't know!" Günther yelled back. They looked around. They looked over to the left hills nearby, where the two boys previously lived. A horde of Kaimo were in position, walking in order. There were thousands of them. At the top of the tallest hill, five Kaimo warlocks stood, performing a ritual. And right behind them, a hooded figure holding a glowing figure by the neck. "Oh no. Ulrich. Jesse! He's got her in his grasp!" Jek started running for the barracks and stopped midway. "Djak! Quick! Give them their result crystals and introduce their army commanders!" He ran straight to the barracks. The boys looked over to Djak. "Yes, sir! Rak, listen up. You are a primary long-range and secondary scout. Günther: You are a primary scout and secondary engineer." The boys high-fived. "No time, boys. Now listen, and no celebrations." The boys saluted and looked at him. "Rak, you are officially the second elemental ever." Rak smiled. "And Günther, You control four elements, but not all. You control weather, plague, shade, and... Dark." Günther's face fell.

Chapter 16: Ulrich "Should we start our attack, sir?" A Kaimo leader asked him. "Rihs, you know the plan. Wait until we are in position, then wait for them to make the first move. They definitely will when they see what prize I have... Collected." He evilly grinned. His plan was working. He just needed time for the shield ritual to be created. His creation. "Hurry up, Rihs! I need the traps set!" "Yes, sir!" Rihs went over to a group of Kaimo that were digging a hole. "Dig faster!" he yelled. He then went over to the group of Kaimo making electro-bombs. Rihs grabbed a wrench and started working on it hurriedly. Ulrich put a satisfied look on his face. The huminek named Günther had a lot of potential. And it belonged to him. The rest could die in a hole, Jesse including, for all he cared. "Done, boss!" A Kaimo scout named Tehlis scurried over. "We are done with the electro-bomb. Also, the enemy is going to advance soon, the boy Günther with the scouts, and Rak with the marksmen." "Good. Tell the mages to put the fake shield up. Make it look real." Ulrich watched as his creation - a ray shield that looked convincing, but it didn't affect any living being in any way. Once Günther found it was a false shield, he would step into his trap. "Sir! Put the crystal in the bomb!" Rihs yelled. "Right." Ulrich's daydream... not daydream. Idea was the word. Anyway, it ended there, and he coolly walked over to the electric bomb. He took out a purple crystal that would make the boy turn to his side. e stuck it in and it started humming. He picked up the bomb and dropped it in the hole, and covered it with dirt. He then hooked in a detonator that nobody would be able to see. Next, he put a bloody sword that looked like it had come from a fallen Kaimo soldier, and delicately put a fake dead Kaimo soldier attached to it. He then called his spy contact. "Gordon, make sure to convince Jek to not let the boys get weapons and use their new powers." "Yes, sir. Your plan is coming into place. I will see you in fifteen minutes, precisely." "I am ready. Come when your army is in place."

Chapter 17: Günther Günther ran to Jek, who was passing out weapons. "Sir, who are our commanders?" "I will get Djak to help y-," he started, but Gordon interrupted him. "Sir, I don't think we should give weapons to Rak and Günther. They should use their elemental abilities to take down the enemy." "Yes. I agree. Günther, go get Djak and Rak and ask him to give you your crystals. You will feel power rushing through your body, and you will automatically know how to use your abilities. Report back to me when you have finished." Günther did as he was told, and grabbed the two men. "Djak, sir, Commander Jek told me to get you to give us the crystals." "Okay, boys. Here, Rak." He handed Günther's older brother a shining crystal. "Swallow it." Rak did so, and quickly, his eyes became wide. "I feel... different. Like I know the secret to all of the elements," Rak said. "You do, Rak," Gordon said as he walked over. "These elements that you feel are the elements you control. I am a plague controller, and I felt the same rush, but not as big as yours. Now Günther, your turn." Djak handed Günther the little crystal, which was completely black. He swallowed, and a strange feeling overcame him, followed by random information coming straight into his brain. "This is awesome!" he exclaimed. The two brothers hi-fived. "One thing, Rak, though," Günther said. "We don't have weapons. We are to only use our elements." "That's fine, bro. I think we can knock 'em out. Let's go." "Let's report to Jek, then we'll kill those munchies." They walked over, and Jek was talking to two men in high armor. "These men are the commanders of your squads. Rak, you are with the marksman, and your commander here is Cyrus." He gestured to the man to his left. "And Günther, your squad is lead by Magnus." He gestured to his right. "Go to your squads. You will both be equipped with very good comlinks. Turn them to channel nine. you will talk to each other throughout the battle, sending orders back and forth.Your squads will be fighting side by side, so you will be with each other. Now GO." Günther waved to Rak and ran over to his squad. Magnus handed him a comlink, and he switched it to nine. "Welcome, general Günther," Magnus said. The squad saluted. "Orders have been sent. We are going to leave in t-minus five minutes." "Yes, sir," Günther responded with a salute. "Let's kick some munchie-" "No munchies here, soldier. They are Kaimo. They don't deserve a nickname. At ease."

Chapter 18: Rak Rak walked out of the army building alongside Günther. They walked up to a point of the hill and stopped, just as Jek stopped, with Djak and Gordon alongside him. There was a ray shield up. No way through. "Jek," Ulrich said in a raspy voice. "How do I owe the pleasure?" "That's what I was going to say," Jek snarled back. "Give us Jesse and no trouble will be made." "If you can get into my shield, sure thing." Jek looked defeated. There was no way to get through a ray shield without getting shocked. He looked around for help. "Our invasion will start soon. If you can get through, there won't be one in the first place." Ulrich grinned. But Rak sensed something not right about this. He walked over to Günther. "There isn't something right, Rak," Günther said. "You read my mind," Rak responded. "I'm gonna have a look." Günther started to walk over to the shield. "Don't, Günther! You'll get killed!" "Relax, I won't touch it!" Rak watched as Günther walked towards the shield. He looked back at Rak with a grin on his face and walked right into it. Rak watched in horror as his brother was about to die. But he didn't. Günther walked through and yelled, "It's fake! There wasn't a hum!" Everyone watched as a storm brewed overhead. "I bet your plan just failed," Günther snarled to Ulrich. Ulrich smiled. "Quite the opposite." The ground around Günther's feet turned a sickly green color, the sign of a plague. Günther started running. Right then, it hit Rak. It was a trap. "Günther, watch out!" But it was too late. He watched in horror as Ulrich's plan came into place. Günther stepped another step and fell to the ground, pulsing with electricity. A dark pulse came over him as he fell on the ground. His color drained. Then, it stopped. Günther got up with a strange grin on his face. Gordon ran through the crowd, cutting through everyone in his way. "Gordon, what the he-," Jek started. Rak watched as Gordon stood in front of Ulrich and saluted. Gordon was a traitor. Günther looked back at his brother, then back at Ulrich, and did the same. Ulrich grinned and shouted, "I have my generals. Here's yours." He threw Jesse's limp body and she landed with an "oomph!" Rak ran over and checked her pulse. She was stirring. He carried her over to Jak and ran back. "I thought you were my brother, Günther!" he shouted with a mix of hurt and anger. "Who is Günther? I am Slik. I don't have a brother." He's had glowed purple since the trap. Realization hit him. His brother had been possessed. Rak looked sadly at Günt-no. His name was Slik now, and his brother wasn't coming back. He had to get over that fact. "Oh, and one more thing before we leave your town without a scratch," Ulrich said. "Warlocks! Now!" The shield closed and reopened on the soldiers of their army. A soldier ran over to the shield and tried to run through. He got shocked and fell to the ground. Rak ran over. "Alive, but barely. He needs treatment, fast." The soldier opened his eyes and rambled out, "The shield is real. Use earthquake to destroy it." then his eyes rolled back in his head. Rak felt for his pulse. There was none. "Dead," he said sadly. Just like the brother he used to know. He looked up, expecting to see the traitors, but the Kaimo army was gone.

Chapter 19: Rak "I know you miss your bro, but we have more problems." Rak looked up to Djak, who was pointing to the shield. "It's closing in!" Rak sprang up and yelled "He said an earthquake would destroy it! Any humineks that control nature or weather, create an earthquake! Now!" Rak channeled all his energy into weather and nature. The ground started shaking. Struggling to say, he shouted, "grab on to something or hit the deck!" Everyone dropped to the ground as the ground shook violently, crashing down a nearby hill. The shield flickered, then shut down, inches away from shocking them all. The army shouted and jumped, but it was a short celebration. They had just lost three men, all high authorities. Rak gasped for air as Djak slapped him on the back. "Great job, kid," he said as they started walking back. "Thanks," Rak said back. He looked over to Jek, who was struggling, carrying Jesse's weight. Jesse. Rak ran over and took Jesse from Jek and ran to the hospital. He looked satisfied as he walked out of the room. He saved her life, with countless others. But maybe not his own brother's. He glumly walked to the training area and sat down on a bench, his head hung low. Djak sat next to him and said, "It's not your fault, kid. We'll get him back." They sat there for a while, side by side, mourning the three lost men.

Chapter 20: Jesse Jesse woke up in a hospital bed with Jek looking over her head. "Hello, Jek," she said. "Good morning, Jesse," he responded. "How are you feeling?" "Like crap, but I'll recover." "Good, because you missed something really important." "What? Two bloody traitors and me getting tortured at Ulrich's lab? I didn't miss that." "That's the important stuff, but you'll be surprised by this: you aren't the only elemental anymore." "What?!" Jesse felt a surge of energy as she sprung out of her cot. "Who?" "A new trainee named Rak. He was the brother of Günther, one of the traitors. It wasn't Günther's fault though. He was shocked with a dark crystal. He had no choice but to join Ulrich." "Rak? Let me meet him. I want to give him proper training, unlike you. No wonder Ulrich left. He wasn't trained at all." Jek blushed. "Fine, I'll take you to him." He put his arm against her shoulder and he helped her as she limped over to the training area. *** They arrived at the training center and saw Djak sitting with Rak, looking as if they were mourning the traitors. Jesse pushed Jek away and limped over to the boy named Rak. "Hello, Rak. I am Jesse." Rak looked up. His eyes were red, as if he were crying. "Hello, Jesse. I've heard of you before. you are the elemental." "Yes. I came to train you properly on your elements. I felt the same thing you went through. A crystal? Stupid. Let me show you. I will leave you alone for now, but we can train when you want. I know what it's like to lose a brother." Rak sniffled. "How?" She smiled. "Ulrich's mine. Now c'mon." She gave him her hand and they walked over to a larger area together.

Chapter 21: Günther The last thing Günther remembered was getting shocked by a dark pulse and feeling a wave of energy come over him. He remembered seeing his brother's face, then blacking out. Now, all around him, it was black. Ulrich's plan worked. There wasn't a Günther. Günther was just an old thought now, an idea. He stood up. He needed to find a way to get back. Knowing it wouldn't work, he cried anyway. "Help! Help! I need to get to my brother! Help!" He slumped back against his legs and cried.

Chapter 22: Slik Slik walked over to his new master, whom he had met just minutes ago. "Ulrich?" he asked. Ulrich glared at him. "I am you Master, General Slik." "Right. Master? Who was the Günther kid the boy mentioned?" "Ummm..." "Master, don't come up with a lie. I can tell you don't want me to know." "Fine. Günther was the name of the boy that came before you. You are Günther, but Günther is gone. Günther was a general in the enemy army and wanted to destroy mine. He had raw potential, so I sucked it out of him and gave his powers to you." "Harsh. I like it," Slik responded. "Let's complete Günther's training for you, general Slik." "Yes, sir." They both evilly grinned and walked to Ulrich's chamber nearby.

When they arrived, Ulrich said, "Channel your energy. Hit me with your darkness. It is your strongest power." Slick responded with a strong blast, knocking his master across the room. "Ugh. Great job," Ulrich grunted as he struggled to get up.

Gordon walked into the room. Slik saluted. "No need for that, general," Gordon chuckled. "We're all the same rank here." Slik put his hand down. "What element are you?" "I am plague. I can make the undead come up behind the enemy and kill them. While Master was creating you, I found ways to bring you to life behind enemy lines as a spy. It is very easy to convince those idiots." Slik flashed a smile. "Enough," Ulrich said. "It is time to launch the war. they will pay for taking this planet from the Kaimo." "No offense, Master, but weren't you with them?" "Yes, but I joined the Kaimo out of pity, and I've learned their ways." "And we have joined you, Master," the generals said in unison. Slik and Gordon bowed. "Come on, boys. Let's stir up the War."

Chapter 23: Rak "Great job," Jesse said to Rak. "You have mastered your singular abilities. You now know how to use them." "Thanks, Jesse," Rak said. "I want to show you my favorite move, but I need some robot Kaimo." "No problem. I'll be back in ten minutes." Rak jumped up to the Parkour rocks and jumped to the Citadel. He jumped into the throne room and threw thirty broken robot Kaimo out of the hole in the room. They fell to the ground. Rak then jumped out the window and landed on his feet in front of Jesse. Jesse laughed and held up a robot hand she wrote the number 10 on. She clapped. "Nice show, Rak," she said. "Thanks," he responded. "Do you know how to fix this?" He pointed to the pile of broken Kaimo bots. "Yeah. My secondary is engineer." She quickly put the robots together in ten minutes flat. Then she said, "Watch. This is my favorite move. Might Wanna take notes." "Nah," he said. "'kay. Watch." She dove into a shadow and threw fireballs at the enemy frontlines, then popped back up, as a Kaimo soldier. She ran behind the frontlines and shocked every frontline troop in her sight, popped back as a shadow, and came back up as her normal self in front of Rak. "Wow, Jesse. That was amazing," Rak said, staring at the broken pile. "Thanks. I'll fix it up, then you try." "Okay." He watched as she quickly fixed the pile. "Your turn." So Rak dove into a shadow and popped up behind the enemy. He threw a couple fireballs, but missed some of the robot soldiers. He realized he wasn't a Kaimo, so he changed his appearance and grabbed a staff from one of the enemy robots. He stabbed some from behind, then dropped the staff and sent a wave crashing over the robots, then dove as a shadow and popped back in front of Jesse. "Not exactly what I do, but close enough. She smiled and said, "You're ready. They're bound to come soon."

Chapter 24: Günther Günther looked up. He had heard a sound. Was it the new him? He felt a blast of energy from outside. He looked around. All he saw was black. He could see his own body, but nothing else. Wait. He could see his arm. Was his comlink attached? It was! But was it at channel nine? He looked. It was off. He pressed the button to turn it on. It didn't turn on. He banged it. He pressed the button again. Nope. He tried one more time. It didn't work. He slumped back again and cried. Then he saw a tiny color blinking. Red. His comlink was on! Günther pressed the "talk" button and shouted, "Help! Help! Anyone! HELP ME!"

Chapter 25: Rak Rak walked back to his quarters with Jesse at his side. "Take a little nap, Rak. You'll feel better," she said to him. "Thanks, Jesse," he said back. She walked the other way, towards her quarters, and stopped. "One more thing, Rak. Get over Günther. Grow up a little. I had to do the same." She smiled and walked away. Rak opened the door to his quarters and walked in. He left the door open a crack and laid down in his bed. He sighed. Jesse was right. Günther wouldn't come back. He was Slik now. Rak was staring at the ceiling when his comlink beeped. He pressed the "listen button" and heard a familiar voice. "Help! Help! Anyone! HELP ME!" Rak knew that voice. It was Günther's. He pressed the talk button and said, "Günther? Is that you? Or is it..." He sniffled. "Slik?" "Rak? Rak?! Rak! I know this sounds crazy, but I'm alive. All I can see is black. I have thought about it, and I think I've transformed into an idea in Slik's head." "It is you, Günther! I got your call. What can I do?" "I have no idea, but I have found a way to listen to Slik's conversations and the outside world, but I don't know what to do." "Okay. Give me updates on their plans. I want to know what they plan to do." "For starters, they're planning to stir up a war." "I will prepare the army. Thanks, Günther. I have to go. Contact me with more importance." "Wait. Rak, don't tell anyone about this." "I must tell Jesse, but nobody else." "Got it. Bye, bro." "Bye, Günther. We'll get you back soon." Rak turned off his comlink and walked out the door.

Chapter 26: Jesse Jesse walked out of her room after a good nap. It felt good to sleep after being injured and tortured. It still haunted her that she told Ulrich about Günther. Günther. Rak. Jesse walked over to Rak's quarters and knocked. No answer. She opened the door. It was empty. He probably left. She knew where to find him anyway. Sure enough, he was at the same bench as before. She sat down next to him. "Rak, how was your nap? You look like you saw a ghost or something," she joked. "I didn't see one, Jesse. I heard one," he responded. Jesse chuckled. "Who?" "My brother. Günther." "Günther?" She looked at his eyes. He wasn't kidding. "Yeah. My comlink buzzed when I was trying to go to sleep. Günther answered on the other line. He told me that all he saw was black. He told me he thought he was just a simple idea in Slik's head, and he could hear their plans. He told me they were planning a war." "Hmm..." Jesse thought about this. Was he hallucinating? She felt swirling thoughts when Ulrich went bad, but this was different. Günther was turned into the monster known as Slik unwillingly, and Ulrich joined the Kaimo willingly. Maybe it was affecting Rak differently. Jesse patted the younger boy on the back. "Rak, I hallucinated when Ulrich left a little too. I was thinking of even joining him. Don't do the same. Get over Günther. Grow up a little. It won't hurt." Rak looked steadily. "You don't get it, do you, Jesse?" he said. He contacted me here." He pointed to his comlink and continued. "It beeped when I was sleeping. I will prove it to you." Jesse rolled her eyes. "Sure," she commented with sarcasm. Rak looked mad. But he had a point to make. He pressed the talk button on his comlink. He said, "Jesse, say hello to my brother." She rolled her eyes. "Okay. Hey, Günther." Rak pressed the listen button. There was a long pause, but it buzzed and said, "Hey, Jesse. Hey Rak." Jesse's eyes lit up. Rak whispered, "Told ya so." Jesse chuckled and turned her own comlink to channel nine and said, "So, Günther, Rak told me you were floating in a dark abyss. What have you heard from the enemy?" Günther responded shortly after. "Well, first, Slik is being trained and Ulrich and Gordon are helping him. Second, they are going to attack this week, probably, and third..." He paused. Jesse thought she heard a sniffle. "You know how i'm an idea in Slik's head? I think I'm being forgotten."```

Chapter 27: Rak Rak couldn't believe what his brother was saying. Forgotten? He was a living being (somehow), and there was no way that his brother could be gone forever. Rak contacted Günther. "W-what do you m-mean, Günther?" he stammered. Günther responded quickly. "I won't be here for very long. This may be the last time you hear from me. I am feeling weaker. I'm getting skinnier. My comlink almost fell into the abyss today. I don't know what to do. Please hang up and let me figure this out. I will call you soon." Rak sadly turned off his comlink. Jesse looked over with a sad expression. "It's not fair, Jesse," he said. "I've known him my whole life and now he's gone, turned into an evil being. I can't stand to think about this anymore. I'm going to lay down." Rak started to get up, but Jesse stopped him. "No," she said firmly. "We need a plan. Slik was born into your brother's body from an electric shock that no doubtedly had darkness involved in it. Maybe we can reverse it. We need to lure Slik into an electric trap. Sadly, I doubt Günther will be the same. I think Slik will be a part of his mind forever, never forgotten." Rak pondered what Jesse said for a while. "You're right," he said. "We need to invade first. But nobody in this base knows where their lair is." Jesse smiled. "One person does. I picked up a lot while I was being captured. It will be tough to get there, though. It's not necessarily on this planet. They claimed that Konzuel was too Light to be able to have a base there." Rak looked surprised. "Where would it be?" "It's on a planet called Ventrii," she said. "We need to use a wormhole to get there, but we would be old and weak by the time we got out. They have a portal on the moon of Konzuel. We need to get there before they can get here." "I will get Jek and Djak. They would know what to do. I need to talk to Günther one last time, though." Jesse nodded, and Rak walked off. He pressed the talk button on his comlink. "Günther. I need you. This is urgent." No response. "Günther! Help me!" The comlink buzzed. Rak pressed the listen button. Günther responded in a raspy, weak voice. "What, Rak? I'm disappearing. Make it quick." Rak sniffled. "Hold on, bro. Please. Jesse knows where to get to the enemy base. She told me she picked a lot up when she was captured. We will attack your base and get you back. I have a plan. But I need your permission for something. I must tell Jek and Djak. They might not believe me, but I need everybody in order to help you. Please, Günther. Please." There was a long, silent pause. "Sure, Rak. Help me, please. I don't feel good at all. I need help, bro." The comlink shut off. Rak said, "I'll get you back, Günther. If it's the last thing I do, I'll do it."

Chapter 28: Günther Günther was weak. He just got off the comlink with Rak, again. He smiled weakly. "Rak will get me," he said. Suddenly, it got hard to breathe. He felt as if he was being choked. It got worse and worse. He put his hand to his heart. It was quickening. Then, nothing. Günther pressed the talk button. "Rak," he sputtered out. "I have been forgotten. Reverse the switch. Destroy Slik. I need he-" Günther laid back and stopped moving.

Chapter 29: Rak Rak hurried over to Jek, who was conveniently arguing with Djak. Rak heard "...take action, Djak." "I know, sir, but we should see what happens. If they invade, we are ready. We've lost three men, and I doubt they are coming back for a few certain people again. They will attack." "GUYS!" Rak shouted, separating them. "What do you need, General Rak?" Jek asked. "Günther is alive. He needs us to attack their base, and Jesse knows where it is." rak sprung this on them faster than they could prepare. Djak started chuckling. "You're hallucinating, kid. Günther has turned into a new person, and he isn't here. Rak, I know how tough it is, but you have to get over your brother's dea-" Djak was interrupted as Rak's comlink buzzed. Rak sharply looked over to the to men sharply, then pressed the listen button. Günther's weak voice flew to their ears. "Rak, Jesse," Günther sputtered out. "I have been forgotten. Reverse the switch. Destroy Slik. I need he-". Günther then breathed in and it stopped. Rak felt tears in his eyes. Djak looked at Jek, both with surprised looks on their faces. "You didn't believe me," he said, looking away. "You didn't believe me, and now it's too late!" Rak turned and started shouting. He pointed at Djak. "You. You! YOU told me it was fine and to stop worrying. YOU told me we couldn't do anything about it! Well, what about now, Djak? Hmm? What now?!" Rak's raised voice went down into a sob. "What now?" Djak walked over and put his hand on Rak's shoulder. "DON'T TOUCH ME, YOU JERK! GET HELP! MY BROTHER JUST DIED AND YOU AREN'T DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT!" Rak's face was beet red. Djak backed away with his hands up, like he was trying to get away from a Kaimo warlord. "I-I will get my armies ready. Send orders on what to do." Djak grabbed Jek's hand and ran away, towards the barracks.

Chapter 30: Jesse/Rak Jesse looked up to the sound of heavy footsteps. Rak was running over, tears streaming down his face. “What happened, Rak? Did you get the troops? I’m guessing no,” she said. Rak stopped, standing over Jesse. “Yeah, Jesse. I got the troops,” he responded. “Then why are you crying?” she asked. “Günther,” he said, choking. He couldn’t finish. “Günther? Rak, tell me. Take a breath and tell me what happened to him.” Rak took a breath and sputtered out, “Günther. He-he’s dead. He was forgotten from Slik’s head. I recorded his message. Here.” He pointed at his comlink and Jesse sadly listened. Rak pressed the recorded button. "Rak, Jesse," Günther sputtered out. "I have been forgotten. Reverse the switch. Destroy Slik. I need he-". Günther then breathed in and it stopped. Jesse’s eyes started to fill up with tears, and Rak started sobbing. “Oh, Rak. We will get him back.” “Thank you, Jesse,” Rak said, wiping tears from his eyes. “They told me to order the troops when we were leaving. I will if you want me to.” “Not yet, Rak. We need to get to the armory and then to the ship hangar. I need your help to assemble a fleet of ships.” “We have a hangar? Cool.” Rak followed Jesse out of the turf area. *** Jesse and Rak walked to the armory and barracks. “Rak, what should we get on a ship?” she asked. “An Ion Cannon for sure,” he responded. “Yeah, okay,” Jesse said. She started gathering parts to assemble it. "Rak, go get a weapon or two for yourself. I already have my own." Rak nodded and walked over to the handhelds in the armory and grabbed a small pack. He reached inside and found an energy sword. He grabbed it and pressed a button on its side. It glowed orange. Then he reached in again and didn't find much he could feel, so he dumped it out on the ground and found ten grenades, an energy bow for long range, a health pack, an energy orb that had "I.C.E." imprinted on it, and a helmet. He put the helmet on, and instantly, a feeling went down his body as his entire outfit became encased in light armor. He smiled, took the helmet off, instantly taking off the armor, then put it all back in the pack. He strode over to Jesse, pack in hand, who was about to pick up the parts to leave. Rak swung the pack over his shoulders and started helping her pick the parts up. Jesse looked over at Rak, smiled, and said, "Got some nice things in there. I used to have that pack. It didn't fit me, but I think it'll be great for you."

Jesse and Rak started picking up the pieces when Jesse noticed something on the ceiling. “Rak, what is that?” She pointed to a black semi-circle on the ceiling. “It’s… A spy camera! Gordon must of planted it there.” “Well, then.” She pulled a pistol out of her pocket and shot the camera.

Chapter 31: Ulrich Ulrich walked over to Gordon, watching footage from his hidden cameras. “Master, Jesse has discovered one of my cameras,” Gordon reported. “Okay, it won’t be long until they try to invade us,” Ulrich said. “Stay here and watch what’s happening. Report suspicious behavior. Slik and I are going to retrieve an artifact.” Ulrich walked away and grabbed Slik. “C’mon, General. We need to leave.” *** Their air ship landed in front of a large and ancient door built inside of a hill. A squad of Kaimo soldiers 30 strong left disembarked from the transport along with Ulrich and Slik. “Well this is it, the catacombs,” said Ulrich. Slik simply stared at the ancient gate. It was a mud brown and it had carvings all over the gate. Many were unreadable and destroyed from age, but a few could still be read. “This one shows the amulet we are looking for,” Slik pointed out. “Yes it is. This one shows a dagger with a jewel on the hilt, and this one looks like a skeleton raising from its tomb.” “Then we better be careful and look for these objects it the carving shows, they may be important.” They tried to push open the door but it wouldn’t move. Slik focused his dark energy into a ball and launched it at the gates. At first nothing happened, but a moment later the doors slowly swayed open. No one spoke as they entered the tomb. It was dark and there was no sign of life or activity for what looked like thousands of years. The tunnel was shaped like the gate. It was round at the top but flat when it came to the floor. The walls had to carvings like the gate but they did have racks of weapons. They were swords mostly, but the blades were unlike any the kaimo have ever seen. their edges were sharp but jagged as if they were meant to tear their opponent apart not just stab or slash through them. Only one side had the jagged edge though. the other wasn’t sharp. It was flat where a blade should have been. The top on both sides though were wedged into a long but still flat point. Where the end of one side should have been flat at the point it was sharp like a regular blade. On the other it was jagged like the first half of the blade. They walked on after looking at the swords for a while. None of the kaimo chose to switch out their blades for any of the ones found on the racks. It was a good five minutes before they came across anything. Then they heard something. Foot steps, heavy footsteps. Who or whatever was in the dark wasn’t trying to walk quietly, and it sounded like it was heading their way. “What is that?” a Kaimo soldier asked. his voice was raspy like most kaimo and it had more than a hint of fear in it. “We’re about to find out,” Slik replied as he took out his blade and pistol. Like most kaimo guns his pistol was loaded with crystal bullets. They were harder than human bullets and could penetrate metal or rock easier than theirs. before they could see anything else they say two all green glowing eyes. A moment later game they saw what they belonged to. A humanoid skeleton with carrying one of the jagged blades they saw at the entrance. A kaimo fired three shots from his crystal rifle. The first and second went through the gaps between the bones. The third went through the shoulder. The skeleton hardly noticed and continued walking towards them. “We can't seem to kill it,” A kaimo said nervously. “Oh, we can kill it,” Ulrich replied. A kaimo drew his sword and stepped up to face the skeleton. The skeleton slashed at the kaimo once or twice but the kaimo was swift and easily dodged the swings. When the second swing was finished the kaimo stepped forward and stabbed into the skeleton. It merely looked down at the sword then up at the kaimo again. It raised its sword and with one swing it decapitated the Kaimo. As the body fell the skeleton reached for the kaimo’s blade and was now duel wielding them. “I have had enough of this,” bellowed Slik as he melded into a shadow and appeared behind the skeleton. He crushed the skull of the skeleton. It began to turn around but bones were falling apart each second. When it was done turning to face Slik the bones all collapsed into a pile. “Destroy the head, you should try it next time,” Slik said as he began walking down the rest of the tunnel with the kaimo squad following. They came across a room with one coffin in it. The coffin was open. “The coffin that the skeleton came from?” asked Slik. “Has to be, where else could it have come from?” At the other side there was a small tunnel that led further down into the catacomb. After walking for a while they came across a room with a gate and five black coffins beside it. There were three to the right and two to the left. The gate was like a regular doorway but without a handle. “It wont move” A kaimo said as he pushed against the door. “Look” said Slik. In the middle it looks like a dagger should fit there.” At that moment all five coffins burst open and skeletons walked out. They were all armored in metal and had a sword and a shield. Except for one. The one coming from the coffin closest to the gate but on the right side carried a war axe and what looked like a ceremonial dagger. “That must be the dagger,” A kaimo yelled. Before anyone could reply the skeletons engaged. Slik formed into a shadow and melded behind the skeleton with the dagger. the skeleton spun around swinging his axe and stabbing with his dagger at the same time. Slik quickly backed off and drew his own sword. No fear could be seen in the eyes of the skeleton. Slik tried to give it fear with his dark power. it simply didn’t affect it. The skeleton lunged forward swinging his axe at Slik. he dodged and kicked the skeleton in what would have been his stomach. His foot got stuck in the skeleton. It raised the dagger and through it. Slik was hit in the stomach by the dagger. he fell to the floor. He looked around he could see the remains of three skeletons on the floor. Along with them were the corpses of seven kaimo. One skeleton was facing three kaimo. It was obvious that the kaimo were terrified of the undead warrior. The skeleton lunged bashing a kaimo soldier to the ground and quickly finishing him. As one of the other kaimo went for the head it spun and faced the kaimo. Before he could land his blow the skeleton moved with unnatural speed and decapitated the kaimo. The last kaimo of the three was stunned by what had happened and was finished quickly by the skeleton. Ulrich blasted a bolt of darkness through its head, ending its killing spree. Thats when Slik blacked out.

Chapter 32: Ulrich/Slik Ulrich sighed. “You three, you’re carrying him,” Ulrich said as he pulled the dagger from Slik’s unconscious body. A kaimo who had some medical training quickly looked over his wound and decided he could heal it. He got to work, when he was done applying the healing salve and bandaging the wound, three kaimo carefully picked up Slik and they began walking again. They came to their final destination after passing a series of traps. Only ten kaimo soldiers still lived along with Ulrich and Slik. The room was long and the ceiling was high. It was dark, very dark. The only thing that could be seen was a throne across the room. A skeleton sat upon the throne. He wasn’t like the ones they encountered in the rest of the catacombs. This one was dead. He hadn’t been resurrected from the dead like the other ones had. Ulrich saw what was around its neck. An amulet, The chains were made of a black metal. what the chains where attached to represented a skull with horns coming from it. The Amulet glowed faintly green. Ulrich new this was the amulet he was looking for. Slik woke up just as they entered the room. Crystals hung by chains fell from the ceiling radiating a bright green light. They could see at least 50 coffins all around the throne room. They all burst open with a bang. Out came skeletons with glowing green balls of energy in their eye sockets. They all wore armor except for 2 close to the throne who wore black robes. the ones in armor carried huge axes and shields. The ones in robes carried staffs with crystals at the top of them. The crystals glowed green, black, and purple at different times. Ulrich saw the amulet he wanted glow brighter, then it released energy that flowed into the skeleton on the throne. Eyes of green energy formed and he slowly stood. “Whoever controls that amulet controls the skeletons,” Slik said as he slowly got up from where he was lying down. The skeleton on the throne rose from his place. he had a crown of gold on his head. In the crown was a red gem. The skeleton held out its hand, a staff that was in a weapon rack near the kaimo shot across the room into its out stretched hand. Atop the staff was an orb. Three spiked jutted from the handle just below the orb. They were curved to face just beyond the orb. In his other hand was a long jagged sword. It had streaks of purple energy over the blade. At also had orbs of energy. three of them, all purple. the gem on the crown began to glow. Ulrich formed into a shadow and moved to the side as a beam of red energy burned through 3 kaimo. Ulrich appeared behind the Skeleton king. Slik knew Ulrich wouldn’t be able to defeat it without help. “Kaimo soldiers keep the skeletons occupied i’m going to help Ulrich,” Slik formed into shadow and appeared to the left of the skeleton king. Slik swung his sword at it. Without even looking he raised his sword and blocked his swing. “Do you really think you can defeat me?” A voice rang in Slik’s head. The orb began to glow red. Slik knocked the staff to his left as the been fired passed him. The skeleton king swung around swinging his sword. Both Ulrich and Slik ducked just in time. Slik swung his sword at the head of the skeleton. It quickly parried with his sword. A half second later It swung its staff. It hit Slik across the face and knocked him down. Taking his chance Ulrich kicked the skeleton cracking rib bones and hurling it to the ground. As it fell a beam of red energy from the gem of its crown shot above Ulrichs head across the ceiling as the skeleton king fell. By this time Slik and Ulrich could see all the kaimo had been slain and the skeletons began coming to the fight Slik and Ulrich were engaged in. The skeleton king began reaching for his sword. The sword began to fly to its hand when Slik pulled out his pistol. Three shots and he had shot off the skeleton king's hand. It turned to face him. The gem on the crown began to glow. He knew he was about to be blown to pieces. He would have of Ulrich didn’t lunge onto the skeleton and rip the amulet through the neck of the skeleton king and decapitating it. The skull along with the crown fell backwards, the energy beam blasting a line across the ceiling. Ulrich put on the amulet. The skeletons no longer advanced. Instead they bowed down to Ulrich. He also took the crown from The King's skull and put it on. “We’ve done it, we’ve done it!” Ulrich yelled with joy. Slik merely smiled. Then he noticed on the wall behind the throne had writing he couldn’t read all over the wall. Ulrich noticed it too. Some of the words began to glow. Then the energy from the words came out of the wall and flowed into Slik. Slik held out his hands and the sword and staff of the skeleton king flew into his hands. “What is this?” asked Slik. “I’m not sure” Ulrich answered. “Whatever it is it has made you quite powerful, I can feel your power a lot stronger than I could before.” “Well whatever it is we should get moving, we got what we came for,” Slik said. “I agree. Let's get going.”

Chapter 33: Rak Rak helped carry Ion Cannon parts to the hangar, where there were hundreds of different models of ships. “Each of these are equipped with WTDs, or wormhole transporting devices, in them,” Jesse said. “WTDs protect the people in the ship from aging. We will use these ships to quickly travel through wormholes, straight to Ventrii.” “Okay,” Rak said. “How can I help build the Cannon? “You chose it. Isn’t the Cannon an electric device that shuts down all power in its path?” “Yeah,” Rak said. “But you’re the engineer. How do we do this?” “Fine,” Jesse sighed. She grabbed two formed metal circles and put them together, then said, "Hammer, Rak." Rak lifted the hammer and handed it over. Jesse pulled it back and banged the hammer on each screw in the metal. Then, she created a plasma cover and put it over each screw to prevent it from being destroyed in space. Jesse pointed to the toolbox behind Rak, and Rak brought it over. "Rak, I don't need much help anymore. You can go choose a ship if you want. I will attach this to it," she said. "Okay," Rak responded and sharply turned away and looked at each ship. He saw a fighter that looked cool. It had two guns on the front that could turn any direction. On the back, there was a sliding door that opened up to the back of the ship. It had a bunch of weapons inside it, and there were strategy tables that showed holograms of battles. On the side of the room, there was a big chalkboard for writing plans, and chests in the corner for holding ammunition. Rak looked over to the front of the ship and found a door leading to the cockpit. It was a two-person cockpit, and he saw people could fit in the guns, but barely, and fire them from there. Rak closed the door to the side of the ship and moved on to the next. There were old rusty ones, but with good features on them. He explored each one with awe, seeing all the unfamiliar weapons on each one. But he stopped at a sleek, red ship with orange streaks on the side of it. It was a beautiful ship , and it looked brand-new. "Cool, huh?" Jesse had snuck on him. "It arrived this morning. A perfect warship, but it's too small for my liking." "Yeah," Rak said, not even looking at her. He walked over to the ship, which was about eight feet tall and about ten feet long, with only enough room for one pilot, but equipped with lots of hidden weaponry. He lifted the cockpit window and jumped in. It was his perfectly his size. He looked around it, seeing lots of buttons that dropped down missiles and saw there was a button for a nuke. A nuke! Just like the ones the Kaimo used to destroy their planet! The best part, though, is that he found a button that turned the ship invisible! that would come in handy. He hopped out the cockpit, brought the window down, and ran over to Jesse, who was dragging the Ion Cannon by herself over to the ship. Rak picked one side up, and said, "That's my ship. It has a WTD, hidden weapons, and everything!" "Good, Rak. I'm gonna take the gunship that you looked at earlier. Let's attach this to your ship, but first, can you duplicate it?" she responded. "How?" he asked. "Use your psychic abilities. Control them and channel them into making a copy of it." Rak did as he was instructed. He channeled all his energy into his psychic abilities. An energy rush went through him, and a beam went out of his hands, not realizing he had put them together. It scanned the Cannon and automatically moved Rak's hands right and created a new one, an exact copy, from the ground up. Rak looked at Jesse with a wide-eyed look on his face. “What now, Jesse?” he asked. “Let’s attach ‘em,” she said. “Do what I do.” She channeled her energy into psychic energy and lifted it up, then put a matter paste on the ship, and lastly, attached the Cannon to the tiny ship. Rak did the same, high-fived Jesse, and said, “Let’s get our armies ready. It’s time to go.”

Chapter 34: Slik The robot pulled a human pistol. Slik raised his sword, and then ten shots came. All of them blocked by the jagged sword he wielded. Slik’s staff glowed red as a beam of energy blasted the robot to smithereens. Slik heard the clank of another one behind him. It sounded close. He spun around sword ready, the robot carried a human combat knife. It swung, and Slik deflected the blade with his staff. He drove his sword through the robot. He felt energy flowing through his body as his sword drained the robot of power. “You’re getting good with those weapons of yours,” Ulrich spoke from the other side of the room. “Yeah, its almost like they’re in some way guiding me when I fight,” Slik replied. “They’re power weapons, I could feel my enchanted blade draining the energy from the robots.” “They are marvelous, but anyway, I came to tell you about a breakthrough I made with this amulet,” Ulrich spoke with excitement. “When I combine electric energy with the necromancy, I can resurrect robots like I do corpses!” “Oh really?” Slik asked, questioning his master's powers. "Let's see it." “I thought you would never ask,” Ulrich replied. He closed his eyes. the amulet around his neck began to glow, electricity was forming orbs of energy in his hands. The electricity shot out of the orbs into a robot. A line of dark green energy followed from the amulet. A moment after it stopped the robot began to twitch. Then he began to get up. The blue glow of his eyes were now green with necromantic energy. “Holy crap, that's amazing,” Slik spoke, awestruck. “Isn’t it?" his master said, grinning evilly. "With this power, I can raise an army so great the humans will crumble at just the sight of it,” Ulrich spoke with such enthusiasm. A moment later one of Ulrich's undead minions limped into the doorway. “I have a message from Warboss Rohik’ Szokar,” Its voice was raspy and barely understandable. Ulrich was handed the scroll. He nodded several times before speaking again. “The warboss has agreed to join our cause, he is arriving with a large portion of his army in a few days,” the minion said. “We have some preparations to make," Ulrich said, gesturing at Slik. "Come, Slik.”

Chapter 35: Jesse Jesse stood with Rak as Jek and Djak marched over. Jek had a smile on his face. When they walked over, Jek said, “Jesse, Rak, you are the new commanders of this army. We are stepping down from our positions. You have better plans than we do to attack the enemy, so give your orders as soon as you want.” The two men saluted. Rak grinned and looked over to Jesse, who grinned back. “At ease, soldiers,” Jesse said. “We need to form a plan. Get your armies together and put your comlinks on channel nine.” “Yes, commanders!” The two men started walking away. Rak then yelled, “Wait! Jesse, we don’t need strict ranks. We aren’t the Kaimo.” Jesse smiled. “I agree,” she said. “Soldiers, you don’t need to call us masters or commanders. We are all ranked equally as beings. We have higher authority, but not ranks.” "Thank you, Rak and Jesse. We will get our armies ready.” They walked away, comlinks on, orders being sent. *** With the entire army following them, about two thousand fighters, Jek and Djak walked to Rak and Jesse. Jesse smiled at Rak. They had already figured a plan for each army. The ranged fighters would go with Jesse in the gunships. THe special corps would follow Rak in a squadron of bombers. The frontline fighters would be with Jek in flagships. And Djak would command a squad of supply ships with the pyros and scouts. All of the historians and strategists had already left in a ship to send ideas to each army through holograms. Jesse jumped up on a crate. “Armies! Your ship orders are on the wall! Follow your leaders and we will win this war!” “Yeah!” The entire army crowd shouted and pumped up their fists. The armies split up to their stations. Jesse jumped in her gunship as the pilot. Her best generals, Kris and Devlin, in her squad controlled the guns on the gunship. She started up the engine and said in her comlink, “We have liftoff. Ready boys?” Rak and her generals responded. Rak said, “Operation Save Günther is a go, Jesse.” Her generals said, “Let’s blow these things to bits.” Jesse smiled and lifted off. When they got to space, she said, “Activating the WTD, Rak. Let’s get your bro back.” She flipped a switch, and the ship flew into a wormhole.

Chapter 36: Slik A large Kaimo horde was approaching the city. Slik watched as it marched down the central road passed the kaimo farms. Supply trucks and kaimo war machines marched between the large amount of infantry. the average Kaimo is about 7 feet tall. The one at the front of the horde was between 9 and 10 feet tall. Warboss Rohik’ Szokar led his army to the walls of the kaimo city, but not for hostal reasons. He came to join Ulrich and Slik’s army. He hated the humans as much if not more than Ulrich and most kaimo. His family had been killed when the humans first came to Konzuel. Slik could see the great warship over the entire army casting a great shadow upon the land. It was easily the size of 5 regular kaimo ships. “That is one massive army,” Slik commented. “Why do you think I made sure to get on his good side?” Ulrich replied. “Good point.” The gates opened and Rohik’ Szokar walked through the front gates with his warriors behind him. “I see you have gathered more than a few other warbosses by your side,” His voice was deep and raspy. Out of all the warbosses Ulrich had united under his banner Rohik’ Szokar was by far the biggest, strongest and maybe even had the best army. “Indeed, many warbosses have gathered behind me,” Ulrich happily replied. “Ah and this must be your renowned general, what's his name; Shik? No, no, thats not it, was it Krik? No, maybe Kik? Well, all I know is that it ends with a k,” Rohik’ Szokar laughed when he was done speaking. “My name is Slik sir,” “Yes thats it!” Rohik’ Szokar yelled. “I was so close, but anyway we have things to do.” “Of course ill have soldiers show your warriors where they will be staying and ill show you where you will be staying,” Ulrich spoke with a tinge of nervousness in his voice. Suddenly kaimo were shouting and rushing around, soldiers manned turrets and the citizens were beginning to leave the streets and flee to the possible safety of their homes. A fleet of human ships could suddenly be seen in the distance. “We are gonna have bigger problems than just living preparations in a moment,” Rohik’ Szokar spoke with a slight hint of hate in his voice as he walked off to ready his army for battle. “Well crap,” sighed Ulrich.

Chapter 37: Rak Rak had just flew into the wormhole behind Jesse when he realized they were outnumbered. They wouldn’t be able to take down an entire Kaimo army down very easily. “Jesse, we need to step up our game. We will be outnumbered when we attack the city.” “I know, Rak, and I’m afraid the Cannon won’t work very well. The Kaimo don’t use electricity very much.” “Yeah, Jesse. But it will weaken their army, making it easier for us.” “Okay. I’ve got a plan. Listen, everybody. Leaders, report in.” Rak heard all the leaders sign in over the comlinks. Then Jesse continued. “Rak, when we get out of the wormhole, turn your ship invisible. Go down to their armies and fire the cannon. There will be a lot of panic and disorder for a moment. When that is happening, all other ships come in and deploy. Leave Ulrich for me and Slik for Rak. The rest is yours.” Rak heard cheering over the comlinks. He gulped. How would he take Slik? He wouldn’t put up that great of a fight against a dark warrior. He would think of something. Günther would come back. Rak knew he would. He would find a way. *** Rak slept during the long flight in the wormhole. His comlink buzzed, waking him up. He looked up and saw an end to the wormhole. He clicked the listen button on his comlink. "Rak, we are approaching Ventrii. turn invisibility on, then fly to the north of the planet. Fly into the atmosphere and flash your Cannon. This will create a diversion and hopefully destroy some troops. We will come in when the diversion is about to end. ready, Rak?" Jesse's voice ended over the comlink. "I am ready, Jesse," Rak said. He flew out of the wormhole. "Turning up invisibility to maximum." Rak flipped the switch and flew into the planet, charging up his Cannon.

Chapter 38: Slik Rohik’ Szokar’s soldiers were flooding into the city arming battle stations or getting orders from other commanders. Some of the kaimo were sent to protect individual farms. Unlike many other warbosses, Rohik’ Szokar didn’t have warlocks in his army. He had shamans. Shamans are adept with the elements of earth, fire, and storm. Warlocks mastered more in dark, shadow, and psychic. Many shamans were finding places that they most likely will be undisturbed and safe. In groups of five most of them began rituals. The warlocks under Ulrich’s control were also performing a certain ritual. Slik wasn’t sure what ritual the shamans were performing but he knew what the warlocks ritual was for. It was a ritual meant to fortify the walls of the city so that only a certain amount of physical force could break it. The force had to be all at once the spell prevented the wall from being destroyed over time. After some time Slik discovered what the shamans ritual did. The shamans were using it to construct golems of rock engulfed with fire. Such a combination could devastate infantry and crush war machines. “I wonder how far they will get,” Slik asked almost to himself. “Not far, With Rohik’ Szokar at our side and his powerful shamans. Its unlikely that they will get near the wall.” Ulrich smiled. “And besides, even if they do get through the wall, I have a little surprise for them.” Slik knew what Ulrich meant by little surprise. Ulrich has been raising dead kaimo where he can find them and had about three thousand undead warriors at his command. He will have even more when the battle begins. “I wonder what Rohik’ Szokar is doing,” Slik said. At that moment they say him come out of the main citadel at the center of the city with full battle armor, two heavy rocket launchers, and one massive machine gun, not to mention the huge warhammer on his belt. The rockets where very powerful and usually had to be mounted because they were so heavy. Not with Rohik’ Szokar. He had one in each hand and over his shoulders until he needed them. Rohik’ Szokar roared. “LETS KICK SOME ARSE,” he yelled. The Kaimo seeing Rohik’ Szokar in almost a frenzy, made them much more eager to fight. The kaimo’s morale was high before but now it was far beyond great. “I almost feel bad for the humans,” Slik said. “Yeah, they’re screwed,” Ulrich replied. Right as they finished talking, they saw a purple flash in the sky. "What the he-," Slik yelled. "Ion Cannon! Run!"

Chapter 39: Ulrich/Slik "Report! Rohik! How many casualties?" Ulrich looked around as chaos spread, Kaimo screaming. Rohik' Szokar answered, "One hundred casualties and a loss of power! Everyone has been weakened!" Ulrich smiled and yelled back "We don't use much electrical power! Bad move, humans!" Rohik yelled, "But here they come! Their troops are being deployed!" Slik got up and yelled, "Well, then, start killing them! I'll get the Kaimo under control!" Rohik' Szokar got up and jumped. Ulrich saw him leap across a building to one of the unmanned anti aircraft cannons. Seconds later it was launching shells out of its 8 barrels. The last of the farms were protected by infantry squads. Slik prepared his warriors. Some of the farmers were taking up arms and joining the soldiers. They were determined to defend their home. “Open the gates!” Ulrich bellowed. The golems constructed by the shamans gathered by the gate with Rohik’ Szokar’s warmachines and other kaimo infantry. Once the gates opened, the horde stormed out running full speed at the human army. The squads defending the farms had already. They cheered at the sight of the Kaimo horde. Ulrich pulled out his warhammer and jumped over to the frontlines of the humans. There were thousands of them being deployed. Then he remembered. Günther. He needed to protect Slik. But where was Rak? He wasn't anywhere to be found. Then he looked up. A sleek ship appeared with a squad of bombers following. They flew towards Ulrich's base. Ulrich watched as they firebombed his base. His home. They would pay for this. *** Slik pulled out his sword and staff and started cutting down the humans like they were dolls. Then he heard a sound coming from behind him. He swiveled his head. He saw himself standing there.

Chapter 40: Rak Rak's hands lit up with dark magic. The only way to kill an impostor, he thought, was to become one himself. "Who- who are you?" Slik said, with a nervous stutter in his voice. Rak thought for a second. "I am your worst nightmare, and I need my brother back." Rak blasted an orb of dark matter at the impostor that held his brother captive. Slik fell to the ground with matter holding him in place. Rak contacted Jesse with his comlink. "Jesse," he said, hoping to get her attention. "What, Rak?" Jesse asked with annoyance in her voice. "I have captured Slik. How do I get Günther back?" "I don't know, Rak. This was your idea. I'd suck the darkness out of him with psychic powers." "Got it, Je-" Rak didn't get to finish. After all, you can't really talk when the energy is being sucked out of you with a staff.

Chapter 41: Rohik’ Szokar The great warboss was in a frenzy. He remembered what happened when the humans first came. Some of the kaimo felt no need in attacking Earth. Only the empire ruled by Sapar, one of the greatest kaimo sorceress’s to have ever lived. Rohik’ Szokar had a kingdom near the edge of the human's land this day. They attacked and burned it to the ground. Jesse the human commander was there. His family was killed and his home burned.When his flashback had finished he ran out of the gates towards the battle with shamans and skilled warriors by his side. As he ran, his rocket launchers were sending missiles into the battlefield as fast as Rohik’ Szokar could pull the trigger. When he was out he spun once and flung the launchers at the humans killing nearly twenty of them and knocking over a tank. He yelled and roared, “I'LL KILL YOU, YOU PINK FLESHED SWINE, NOBODY CAN SAVE YOU NOW, HA HA HA!” He pulled out his machine gun. It had 6 barrels and was massive. Within two or three seconds a squad of humans had been gunned down. Most of the humans around him were terrified and began running or simply froze where they are. With the ones that didn’t move he didn’t even bother to shoot. He took his warhammer out and sent them flying across the field. Some shamans back at the city began a ritual that had created a storm and had lightning striking down humans vehicles and machines. “DEATH FROM ABOVE,” Rohik’ Szokar yelled. One human taller than the rest charged Rohik’ Szokar. His gun was unleashing bullets but they did little more than bounce off Rohik’ Szokar’s armor. When the human got closer he pulled a long knife from his belt and plunged it into an area of Rohik’ Szokar’s armor. It got about an inch through the armor before it stopped. Rohik’ Szokar tried to bat him aside with his hammer. The human rolled aside and shot at Rohik’ Szokar’s head. The warboss held his arm in front of his face to protect it. The human took a second to arm a grenade and rolled it front of the warboss. he continued shooting for a few seconds before he ran out of ammo. Rohik’ Szokar uncovered his face and raised his machine gun. Thats when the grenade went off. Rohik’ Szokar was knocked over. His machine gun had been knocked away some 30 feet or so. The human grabbed a knife and ran over Rohik’ Szokar’s body to his face. The human lunged. The knife got near Rohik’ Szokar’s face. He grabbed the human before he could come down all the way. “Nice try.” The human now had a look of sheer terror. Rohik’ Szokar got up human in hand. With a cracking sound he pulled him in half. He flung the body at more humans. knocking down about 7. Rohik’ Szokar saw Slik Ulrich’s general. And he saw another Slik. One had the sword and staff Slik carried the other didn’t. “Wha-.” a tank shell knocked the mighty warboss to the ground. He never finished his question.

Chapter 42: Slik Slik’s staff glowed green. It was draining Rak of energy. The Darkness keeping Slik down got weaker and weaker. Finally Slik broke free. He willed the staff to stop the draining and prepare a red beam of energy. It glowed red than fired. Rak was knocked back by the blast. Rak drew his pistol and began unloading rounds aimed at Slik. The staff glowed purple as a shield formed around him. Raks disguise as Slik was beginning to fade. Slik formed into a shadow and popped up behind Rak reforming into himself. Rak lunged forward spun around and drew his own blade. Rak sliced at Slik’s stomach hoping to wound him but not kill him. Slik deflected that with his staff and thrust back with his sword. It scratched Rak's arm. Usually such a small scratch would have been nothing, but with a sword as powerful as Slik’s it can be fatal. The sword was enchanted. It drained almost all the energy out of a person and gave it to its wielder. Rak was in no condition to get up when he fell. He lay there helpless. Rak's commlink turned on. “Help...me...please,” Rak managed to whisper into the Commlink. “Ha, no one can save you now!” Slik’s voice was confident and filled with hatred. “I can,” Slik spun around to see who had just spoken. Jesse was there gun aimed at Slik. His staff lit red as his anger became obvious on his face. Jesse opened fire, but the beam from the staff simply melted the bullets and they fell to the ground. The beam hit the gun and turned it into a smoking pile of scrap metal. Slik muttered five words. “Durah kayna se!” A ball of transparent energy formed in front of Slik. When it opened up it unleashed more power than a freight train at full speed. That would have had a regular human in one thousand parts scattered for easily 700 feet. But because Jesse was Jesse, she was only knocked back 100 feet into an abandoned farm house., and she was still alive. Rak took the opportunity and swept Slik’s feet out from under him. Rak was slowly regaining his energy. Slik had dropped his staff and sword and they clattered about 10 feet away. Slik out stretched his hand and the staff came flying back to him. Rak was dumbfounded by this but quickly recovered. Rak got on top of Slik and gave him a good punch to the face. Slik was angry. His staff began to glow red and Rak was desperate. He tried shooting the orb but the bullet just bounced off. Slik laughed as Rak was shot by the beam. Throughout half the battlefield, everyone could hear Rohik’ Szokar’s awakening. When he awoke, he had picked up a tank within a few seconds and flung it at a large group of humans. He picked up humans one after the other snapping their spines one after the other with one hand. He left a trail of broken corpses behind him. Even Slik and Rak had to stop to see that. When they went back to fighting, Rak rolled forward and thrust at Slik's legs. The blade went out the other end of Slik’s leg. He cried out and tumbled to the ground. He was keeping himself up by holding his staff with two hands. “The tides have turned, Slik,” Rak said, hate in his voice. “So…you think,” Slik replied slowly. The staff quickly glowed red, but this time, Rak knew what to do.

Chapter 43: Jesse Jesse struggled to get up. All she remembered was a chant from the evil kid and then getting blasted to-where was she? She could still see the battle, but it was far away. She looked over to where the warboss was cutting down humans, left and right. she needed to stop that - wait. She looked over to where Rak was battling Slik. Slik was on the ground, Rak standing over him, ready to strike. Jesse needed to help him. Rak had to spare him. She stood up. Limping, she healed herself and started running. "Rak!" she yelled, trying to get his attention. Rak didn't look. "Rak! Stop! You can't kill him! Stop!" Rak lifted his sword. "Rak! You won't get Günther back!" Rak dropped the sword. Jesse hurried over. She saw Slik starting to get up. With a quick blast of energy, she knocked him back to the ground. The staff stopped glowing red. "Rak, grab the staff," she ordered. Rak grabbed the staff, and instantly, a sharp pain went up his arm. "Ow!" he exclaimed. Jesse looked focused on the staff. "Like I thought," she said. "Then WHY did you make me your TEST MONKEY?!" he shouted. "Just to see if I was right. Focus, Rak. Blast psychic energy into the staff. I will hold down Slik." Rak used all his power and blasted a beam of energy into the staff. It glowed purple. Jesse watched, pleased. She looked over to Slik, stumbling to get up. She blasted his hands and legs with a matter blob. "Rak, touch the staff now," she said. Rak looked over at her. "No!" he yelled. "My hand is still tingling!" Jesse chuckled and picked up the staff. Nothing happened. She handed it over to Rak, who nervously took it. He sighed when he realized it was fine. "Now, Rak," she said, calmly. "Point the staff at Slik." Rak started to point it when Slik yelled, "Wait! Spare me! I'll-um-I'll join you!" he stammered. Rak looked at Jesse. She nodded, and he looked at the impostor. "I'd rather have my brother back," he said. He pointed the staff at Slik. It instantly started sucking the energy out of Slik. Slik started screaming, but it didn't last long. Finally, Slik slumped back on the ground and stopped moving.

Chapter 44: Slik Slik's mind wandered. He wouldn't survive much longer, but the pain started to subside. Was this how it felt when someone dies? "I am still bound to you." Something was talking to Slik telepathically. He realized it was the staff talking to him. “This is not death, this is only a slumber.” The staff still obeyed Rak as the life energy was sucked out of Slik. “Then why are you obeying Rak?” Slik could speak telepathically to the staff. “Because as long as Günther is a part of you, he restrains your full power. When you wake again you will take much of his power with you and become a separate being all together.” Slik realized the staff was telling the truth. If he can be brought back and can be separated from Günther he would become far more powerful than he was now. Slik stopped resisting and let his life energy drain out of him. Rak and Jesse saw a transparent energy of some type exit Slik’s body and enter his staff, sword, pistol, and some back into the body when Günther returned. But they ignored it.

Chapter 45: Ulrich He saw what happened. He saw Slik fall down dead. Ulrich thought of Slik as his son. Now Günther would come back. With Günther back, Slik would be no more. Ulrich was furious. His amulet began to glow green and the gem in his crown began to glow bright red. Ulrich began floating into the air arms stretched out. The beam from his crown cut down many humans. Then Ulrich's eyes began to glow green. The amulet released thousands of small green orbs of energy. The orbs flew into all of the dead bodies on the battle field. Their eyes opened. Dead bodies from all over the battlefield began to rise alarming everyone, human or kaimo. Rohik’ Szokar was especially alarmed to see the humans he had killed begin crawling towards the battle again. Undead cut down living humans or if they were unarmed, began eating their victims. With every humans or kaimo that fell another undead rose to fight. The humans were getting pushed back. Then humans and kaimo closest to the city noticed the gates opening again. They saw an army kaimo, or what seemed like kaimo shambling down the street towards the battlefield. “Now Kaimo warriors, drive back the humans who wish to destroy your home! Fight with the dead at your side!” Battle cries were the result of Ulrich's miniature speech as the Kaimo warriors began fighting with new vigor along side the mindless warriors of the undead. It wasn’t long until the horde Ulrich had summoned from the city arrived. The mass of undead began to overwhelm the living humans. Urich saw a living Kaimo warrior battering a human with the back of his crystal rifle while the human desperately tried to deflect the blows with his rifle and knife. he also saw a human trying to stop a trio of undead warriors from cornering him. It was obvious his bullets weren’t even slowing the undead. he was quickly overwhelmed and eaten alive. Ulrich switched his gaze to Jesse, Rak and Günther, still laying on the ground. A large force of about fifty undead warriors were beginning to swarm them. “Rak, grab the staff!” Jesse yelled. Rak went to grab the staff but as his hand got near the staff glowed red and blasted him square in the chest. Rak was knocked backwards. “Ah, crap,” Jesse moaned. “No! We only obey him! The one you killed!” Jesse realized the staff was talking to her. “What?” Jesse was dumbfounded as she looked at the staff. “Yes, that's right, I helped you for a reason Slik knows and you won’t. Ta ta!” With a flash of purple light the staff, sword, and Slik’s pistol were gone. Jesse was confused but forced herself to forget it because the mob of undead were getting really close. “Rak, we got to find a way out of this!” Jesse was getting desperate. Ulrich laughed quite loudly and turned to one of the giant spaceships the humans arrived with. his amulet began hovering, it then glowed fully green before releasing a beam that crackled through the air and right through the ship. With a massive explosion the ship began falling slowly to the ground. Ulrich laughed maniacally as he raised another round of undead warriors. Ulrich smiled and said, “This just gets better and better.”

Chapter 46: Rak Rak was being swarmed, but he had worse problems. Günther wasn't getting up. Was he really dead? No. No! He wouldn't accept it. His brother was alive. He knew it. He just needed to wake up from the weakness he was still in. "Jesse! Cover me! I need to wake up Günther!" He yelled with all of his might, hurt in his voice. Every second Günther laid there, the more doubt filling Rak. "Got it, Rak!" she yelled back, striking down some undead with a blast of power. Rak ran over to his brother. He felt his neck for his pulse. None. But Günther's color was coming back! He pushed on Günther's chest. Nothing. He screamed and did it again. No beat. "Jesse! He's not waking up!" he cried. His eyes started to tear up. Jesse hurried over. "I set a ray shield around us. It'll hold for now, but not very long," she said. "Great, Jesse," Rak said, rolling his tear-filled eyes. "But what do I do?!" "Rak, calm down. How did Günther say he...um..." "It's fine, Jesse." "Thanks. How did Günther say he died?" she said. "He was...forgotten." “Yeah. So maybe he needs to be remembered by the enemy.” Jesse looked over to Ulrich. She frowned. “I don’t think we can get him to remember Günther. But I still have Gordon on my comlink.” She pressed the talk button on the comlink and said, “Gordon, you freaking traitor.” Gordon responded quickly. “Ah, the master’s sister. What do I owe the pleasure?” Jesse put a mad face on. “Do you remember Günther?” “Of course! He’s one of us now!” Jesse waved Rak to Günther’s body. “Check his pulse now, Rak.” Rak ran over excitedly. He checked his brother’s pulse. A faint beat. “Jesse! Keep doing it!” he yelled. His brother was coming back. Jesse pressed the talk button. “What if I told you that I have Slik at the ground right now, about to die. The only way I’ll release him is if you say you remember Günther.” Jesse heard Gordon start to pant. “Fine, enemy scum. I remember the Günther kid.” Jesse smiled. “Okay, Gordon. Thanks for ressurecting Günther. Slik’s been dead for a while. Pleasure doing business with you.” She chuckled. “You-you Human Scum! No wonder I-I joined the Kaimo! You just go from planet to planet, killing them all!” Jesse took a pistol and shot the comlink. No more annoying ol’ Gordon. She ran over to join Rak. Rak knelt down next to his brother and felt his chest. He felt a faint beat. He pushed down on Günther’s chest. It felt like a regular beat. He pushed again. Then, something happened. Günther coughed. He started breathing.

Chapter 47: Jek Jek was in the fray of the battle. He had just downed one of the elemental golems with quick thinking and a well placed grenade. Crystal bullets zoomed just over his head. He spun around to see a kaimo foot soldier charging him with sword and pistol in hand. There were only a few shots left in his rifle’s clip. he wouldn’t have time to reload after they were spent. He took aim and fired at the Kaimo. One shot pierced its shoulder. Because of its scaly skin and the spot it hit him, it slowed down the kaimo but made it even angrier. Jek quickly drew his own combat knife and charged. The Kaimo yelled something incomprehensible and shot the last few shots from his pistol. Jek was quick to move and the bullets missed. They clashed sword to knife. No one of them could knock each other over. They were equal in strength. They backed off a few paces. This fight would be determined by who was more skilled with their weapon. “Kaimo scum!” Jek yelled at the Kaimo. “You have more guns than brains!” “I have more of both than you do.” The Kaimo spoke english but it was raspy and hard to understand. The kaimo twirled his sword and walked forward. Suddenly he leveled his blade and thrust it forward. Jek scrambled backwards to get away. The kaimo laughed. He swung at Jek’s legs, but it wasn’t meant to hurt him in any way. The Kaimo quickly raised his sword, switched directions, and swung at Jek’s head. Jek dodged a millisecond too late. The blade slashed across Jek’s face. It didn’t kill him but it hurt more than being sunk into lava. Jek stumbled backwards, and the Kaimo advanced. Jek was angry now. He got up and swung his blade. Three overhead strikes enforced with the power of his anger. The Kaimo blocked them but took a step back. The Kaimo soldier thrust his blade forward. Jek deflected it and went for a slash to the throat. The Kaimo bent backwards, dodging the blade completely. Jek tried to thrust his knife into the kaimo’s chest. Jek’s blade was deflected by the kaimo. That left an opening for Jek. He gave swift and powerful punch to the face. The Soldier clutched its jaw, Jek raised his knife and cut through the soldier’s arm. His face was pure shock. Than it was pure rage. His eyes started to glow red. Jek had never seen something like this. The kaimo gave a terrifying war cry. The Kaimo soldier dropped its sword and rushed Jek. he tried to stab the Kaimo soldier but it didn’t even slow it. The Kaimo got close, he got a hold on Jek with his one arm and bit a large junk of out of his shoulder. Jek was horrified. The Kaimo soldier’s eyes returned to normal as he fell to the ground dead from the wounds Jek inflicted. “What in oblivion was… was that!” Jek half yelled to himself. “It’s our rage come to life.” Jek spun around and saw who was towering over him. Rohik’ Szokar stood over him, mouth stained with the blood of many humans. eyes glowing faintly red. “I’m scared.” Jek muttered to himself but Rohik’ Szokar could hear him. “You should be.” Rohik’ Szokar smiled as he pulled out his massive machine gun. “Game over.”¨

Chapter 48: Günther Günther saw a bright light. He had no idea what was going on. Just a small while ago, he was laying down dead in darkness. This was the first blinding light he’d seen in a long time. Then it disappeared. Into darkness behind his eyelids. He moved his neck. It moved! He was alive! Günther looked up and opened his eyes. He saw Rak standing above him. I must be hallucinating, he thought to himself. He blinked. Rak didn’t go away. Günther lifted his head a little more and croaked, “Rak?” Rak’s face lit up. He hugged his long-lost brother. Günther realized then that he was with his brother. They were back together again. He faintly smiled. “I never stopped believing that you would come back,” Rak said, letting go of his brother. “Thanks, bro,” Günther said. Rak took his hand and helped him up. Jesse, who was fighting the Kaimo undead surrounding them, ran over. “Günther! Great to have ya back!” She gave him a quick hug and ran back. “Great girl you got there, Rak,” Günther said, rolling his eyes. Rak blushed. “It’s nothing like that, but you missed a lot. Slik’s dead, Gordon’s a traitor, and Jek’s…” Rak looked around. “Oh, crap. Jek needs help! Jesse! Come on!” and started running. Günther started limping. Rak looked back. “Oh, right.” Rak shot a bolt of energy at Günther. Günther fell, but got up quickly and started running after Rak and Jesse, towards the heated battle ahead.

Chapter 49: Günther Günther saw the massive Kaimo as they ran to Jek. “Who or what is… that!” Günther was shocked at the sheer size of the kaimo. “That is Rohik’ Szokar, one of Ulrich’s biggest and strongest allies, literally.” Rak replied. Jek ran for cover as bullets sprayed from the 6 barrels on the machine gun. Jek drew his pistol and fired five shots at the warboss. They bounced off his armor without even leaving a dent. “Are you serious?” Rohik’ Szokar bellowed into the air. He ran to the wreckage Jek was hiding behind and kicked it away. “Oh crap!” Günther yelled. “He’s screwed!” Rohik’ Szokar swung his warhammer down at Jek. He rolled aside just as it smashed the ground. Jek armed a grenade and threw it at him after a few seconds of waiting. Rohik’ Szokar saw it coming and raised his hand to cover his face, the only place not covered by plates of armor. It went off up and he staggered back. “Hey lizard crap!” Jesse yelled hoping to distract the warboss. “I’ll deal with you in a minute.” Rohik’ Szokar yelled back. “Crap, he’s smarter than I thought.” Jek charged Rohik’ Szokar while he was still recovering from the grenade. Jek lunged at the warboss’s face. He was quickly grabbed in midair. “You humans are sooo predictable!” Rohik’ Szokar now smiled at his prey. “Put him down you scum!” Rak shouted at the warboss. “Alright I’ll put him down, but first.” After Rohik’ Szokar stopped talking, he raised Jek’s head to his mouth and with a loud crunch bit it off. Günther, Rak, and Jesse looked horrified. Rohik’ Szokar spit out his head, it landed at their feet. “Here you can bury his headless corpse if you like.” Rohik’ Szokar flung the corpse at Jesse. She was too stunned to move. She was sent flying backwards.

Chapter 50: Rak It looked like Jesse was knocked out cold by Jek’s headless corpse. “Crap, it looks like it’s just you and me, Günther,” Rak said. “Just us against that?” “Yup.” Rak sighed. Günther charged up a lighting bolt to launch at Rohik’ Szokar, Rak was forming to fireballs in his hands. Rohik’ Szokar charged, Rak and Günther were about to launch their elemental shots when Günther was shot down by a red beam from behind. He wasn’t dead, but he was unconscious. Rak spun around to see Ulrich standing there. He had two heavily armed undead body guards at his side. Rak frowned. "I can smell the traitor from a mile away," Rak snarled. He grabbed his energy sword. He pressed a button on it, and it glowed orange with dangerous energy. “Please, you can’t possibly hope to take us both.” Ulrich said. “I can try,” Rak replied. “And you will fail,” Rohik’ Szokar growled from close behind Rak. Ulrich's undead body guards moved to surround him. Soon he was completely surrounded. They rushed at Rak at incredible speeds, swords out. Rak ducked and swung his sword at their feet, knocking them down. Sadly, Rak turned around to see they got right back up. Rak ran forward and swung his sword at the bodyguard left of him. They clashed, and Rak was knocked back. He looked up to a building above and remembered. The grenades. The energy bow. He could use them from a distance. He quickly channeled all of his energy into teleporting to the rooftop of the building. Rak swung the pack over his shoulder and down on the roof. He pulled out his energy bow, which was decompressed to fit in the pack, grew to full size. The bow sent a blast of energy to the ground below and a sling of arrows sat next to the path, glowing orange. He picked up the sling and swung it over his back. Rak grabbed an arrow and put it on the bow. He pulled the bow back and released it right at one of the bodyguards, at the left one's head. It landed in its neck and its head fell off. The body, head following, disintegrated into dust. One more to go, then the commanders themselves. he would. He looked over to where Günther laid on the ground. He knew he was unconscious, but Rak needed his help anyway. Rak teleported down to his brother, who was surrounded by Kaimo soldiers. Rak grabbed his energy sword and cut down the soldiers that were closest to him. Another wave of soldiers walked in, Ulrich grinning behind them. "You have lost, boy. Don't even try," Ulrich said. "Surrender or you both die." Suddenly, Günther sprang up and cut down the frontlines of the troops surrounding them. Rak grinned and yelled, "Günther! Keep them busy! Use your elements! I'll snipe from the tower!" he pointed to the building he was on before. Günther just smiled and nodded. Rak teleported to the top of the building and set his energy sword down. He picked up the glowing bow and fired five shots at the soldiers below. Ten fell to the ground, but fifteen more took their place. There were too many of the enemy, and only two of them. Rak yelled in his comlink, while knocking another arrow, "Help! Reinforcements needed! We are surrounded! Our position is north thirty-five west seventy-six! Help!" He nocked another arrow. Two down, but five came back. Günther's signaled up. Rak looked to see a lightning storm brewing overhead. Two giant bolts came down, destroying every troop surrounding them, but they were easily replaced. Rak screamed into his comlink again. "Help! We are surrounded! HELP!"

Chapter 51: Jesse Jesse stirred. She lifted her head slowly, and saw the dead corpse on top of her. She filled with energy and shoved it off. Her comlink buzzed with Rak shouting over and over, desperately. She pulled out her dual pistols and broke into a run, right at the battlefield. She spotted Günther, who was fighting thousands of Kaimo. She looked around while she was running. Where was Rak? Wait. An energy arrow struck down three Kaimo around Günther. She looked to the source of the arrows. Rak was standing on the top of a building, rapidly firing arrows. Jesse smiled and ran over to Günther, cutting down Kaimo soldiers with her electric blade. Orange-glowing arrows were raining down on the enemy soldiers, one grazing her arm. She looked up at Rak, who was whistling, knocking another arrow. She glared at him and focused on cutting their heads off.

Then it struck her. Maybe she could use Günther’s help and send a sonic boom through them. It would kill all undead if she made it right. She yelled, “Günther!” and pulled him behind Rak’s building.

Günther looked around, a surprised look on his face. “What the he-?!” he started.

Jesse interrupted, “I have an idea.”

“So you DRAGGED me against my WILL back here?!” Günther shouted, grinning.

“Oh, shut up,” she responded. “Anyway, we should work together with this idea. Take your electricity from the clouds and charge it into your body. Then, blast it all out when I give the command. Got it?”

Günther nodded and ducked, running back into the heated battle. Jesse watched as Günther pointed to the sky. A lightning bolt struck him and he was charged up. Jesse found her psychic powers inside her and brought them to her hands. “Three,” she shouted. “Two! One! Now, Günther! Before it’s too late!”

They ducked to the ground and a huge blast of energy brought all of the Kaimo to the ground. The building shook, and Rak jumped to the ground. They exchanged high-fives, but it didn’t last long. A strong blast of dark energy hit Günther from behind.

Rak and Jesse swiveled to see Ulrich standing, frowning. “GTFO, noob,” he muttered.

Jesse’s hands filled with fire. “Ulrich. You have lost. Look at the rubble around you. Günther is back, even if he is on the ground, again.” Jesse paused to roll her eyes. She focused back on Ulrich. “Anyway, Slik is dead. Rohik will be. Don’t even try. Just go run away and die in a hole.”

Ulrich grinned evilly, his famous grin. “Quite the contrary, sister.” All of the fallen soldiers started rising with glowing green eyes. He ordered in a foreign voice, “Stop. Don’t attack. Yet.”

Jesse’s charged hands fired at Ulrich. It simply bounced off with a quick move of his arm. He amulet glowed green and blasted a ray of energy into Jesse. She fell to the ground still jolted by the unknown energy filling her. Jesse’s fingertips began to rot, it slowly began to spread to the rest of her body. Her hands were rotten and it spread even faster than before.

Rak gasped and ran over. “Jesse! No! Don’t die!” His eyes started to swell up. Jesse just smiled. “I don’t care Rak. Come here.” She pulled him closer and said, “I died to save Günther. Just remember me like you remembered Günther. I love you.” She pulled him to her lips and kissed him. When he pulled away, she coughed and said, “Fight, Rak. Win the war.” She leaned back and gasped one final breath.

Chapter 52: Rak Rak was horrified as the rot took Jesse and she was no more than a skeleton filled with rotting skin and organs. He could no longer recognize her face. The necromatic energy left the remains of Jesse along with her other power. The necromantic energy went back to Ulrich’s amulet while Jesse’s energy was absorbed by Ulrich. Rak’s horror turned to rage. “YOU SON OF A-,” Rak was cut off by a red laser beam to the face. “HA HA HA,” Ulrich laughed as he began to hover above the ground. He rose higher until he was at Rohik’ Szokar’s height. Rak opened his eyes and glared at him. For the first time he realized that Ulrich’s left arm was almost completely consumed by rot. Ulrich still had control of it though. Rak grabbed his pistol that was nearby and shot Ulrich. He was still dazed so when he fired it only hit his left arm. The one rotting, Ulrich felt nothing. “You can’t possibly hope to defeat me,” Ulrich bellowed with a magnified voice. “I have killed my Sister, the most powerful of all of you. Now it’s your turn to die”! The amulet began to glow. A beam of green energy shot out of it and straight for Rak. He quickly put up a shield knowing what that thing was capable of. “Fool you will end up like Jesse either way, just a pile of bones and ROT!” Ulrich smiled as he taunted Rak. His amulet was beginning to corrupt his shield causing it to collapse in on itself. Suddenly, Günther woke up and shot a lighting bolt at Ulrich. It hit him and caused him to lose focus. The beam stopped and Rak was able to stop the collapsing shield. He quickly ran to Günther’s side. “Together we can take him,” Günther said as he summoned another lightning bolt. “Alright. Here is the plan. You circle him and pelt him with fireballs and what ever else you can conjure while I will get a grenade or two and attack from behind.” “Alright, let’s go,” Rak said, running off pelting Ulrich with lighting bolts and fireballs, which he easily deflected. Günther found the grenades and lightly tossed one behind Ulrich after arming it. It went off. Ulrich fell from his hovering state and hit the ground. Günther then pelted him with lightning bolts from behind. Ulrich was dazed by the grenade to deflect either of their attacks. Rohik’ Szokar noticed what was happening and quickly ran to Ulrich’s aid. Rak quickly saw Rohik’ Szokar positioned himself over the wreckage of a tank. He pulled out his massive machine gun and opened fire. The bullets sprayed at the two boys like speeding trains. Rak quickly flipped back and dodged each one. Günther was hit by three while trying to dodge, but none were capable of a kill. Günther managed to get to cover despite his wounds. Human soldiers saw Ulrich on the ground and several charged him. Rohik’ Szokar saw them coming and quickly arrived at Ulrich’s side. Many soldiers stopped in their tracks at the sight of the enraged warboss. The ones who hadn’t witnessed his wrath just kept coming. He threw his head up laughing as he unloaded hundreds of bullets into the humans. Not even taking aim, he easily gunned down about 30 within 10 seconds. When they got close enough he placed his machine gun down as a protective barrier for Ulrich. Out came Rohik’ Szokar’s warhammer. Bullets bounced off his armor as humans were sent flying into the air by massive swings of the warhammer. Hundreds of human soldiers had crowded ready to kill Ulrich and Rohik’ Szokar. “FIGHT ME!” Rohik’ Szokar’s voice could be heard louder than most of the raging guns. Rak looked on in amazement as Rohik’ Szokar held off that many troops. Then he saw something in his eyes that showed up in the kaimo’s eyes every once in a while when they became overcome with rage. It is a state that defies death. Their rage grows so much that 20 bullets to the brain won’t even slow them. The red glow of the rage state could be seen in Rohik’s eyes. Rak decided to end him. He came out of cover and was focusing energy into a condensed ray of light. In a voice enhanced by his power Rak shouted to Rohik’ Szokar. “HEY LIZARD, GET SOME!” At that moment the light beam was released. It shot through Rohik’ Szokar’s head and out the back. He turned to Rak, red light clearly visable in his eyes. He was unfazed as he charged Rak with a hole in his brain. “Oh crap!” Rohik’ Szokar charged Rak. He stomped on soldiers as he charged. Rak turned to Günther. “I think were a little more than screwed.” Günther sighed. “You don’t say!” At that moment Rohik’ Szokar Rammed through the wall and stood before them. He raised his warhammer and swung. Rak and Günther dived out of the way just in time. Günther tried to shock Rohik’ Szokar. The warboss in his enraged state wouldn’t be slowed by it. He got Günther and Rak cornered. He raised his warhammer and brought it down. Rak and Günther put up a shield together to repel the warhammer. Rohik Szokar smashed down several times. On the fourth swing the shield began to buckle. On the sixth swing the shield collapsed. Günther was sent flying into a wall. He was unconscious, yet again. Rak knew they both would be dead soon unless he did something soon. Rohik Szokar dropped his hammer as he began to die. His rage began to die and he was dying with it. Rak realized Rohik Szokar wouldn’t be able to hurt them. Not unless he fell on them. He swayed once but didn’t get much farther. A bolt of green energy shot into his head and began to slowly grow back the hole in his brain. Rak’s smile faded, he grabbed Günther and focused. When he opened his eye’s they teleported away to another part of the battle field.

Chapter 53: Djak Djak knew they were losing. There wasn’t a possible way in sight to win the battle. The enemy was just too strong. He swung his sword back and forth, deflecting the laser shots coming right at him. A crystal bullet skinned his shoulder and he clutched it, but still kept swinging his sword. Then he realized. There was no way he would get out of this. He was surrounded. He jumped out of the circle surrounding them, still clutching his arm, and darted behind a building. He took out a small pistol and fired many shots at the frontline troops of Kaimo. They fell to the ground, dead, but they were quickly replaced. He watched as the Kaimo found his position and started to surround the building. Is this the end of me?, Djak thought. Then an idea came to mind. He could surrender. It would be risky as a regular human, but hopefully it would work. He ran out in front of the building and dropped his weapons. His hands automatically went up and the firing ceased. A Kaimo in heavy armor took his hands and put them together and walked him across the battlefield. The Kaimo said in a low, raspy voice, “You will be taken to your execution now. Any final requests?” Djak quickly said, “Yes. I need to talk to Rak. Then do whatever you want to me.”

Chapter 54: Djak The Kaimo soldier chained him against a building. Djak didn’t struggle at all. He knew that Rak would help him. When he was going to get fired at, Rak could ray shield him. It would bounce off at the enemy. Djak knew he would live to fight another day. *** The Kaimo soldier ran to Rohik’ Szokar and yelled, “Master! I mean… um… General! Or… I don’t know! Rohik!” Rohik turned angrily at the Kaimo soldier. The massive warboss started to slowly walk towards the frightened soldier, who seemed a lot smaller than usual. Djak smiled. His plan was going into place. He pressed the talk button on his comlink and yelled, “Rak! Quick! While that massive chunk of crap is distracted, come get me! I’m about to be executed and I am chained against a pole! Help!” There was a terrifyingly long moment’s pause, but Rak hastily answered. “Onmyway,” he quickly said, already spotting Djak. Rak pulled out his energy sword and cut through the chains with ease. Djak jumped up and grabbed his own sword. “Follow me,” he said, grinning. He looked at Rohik, who grabbed the Kaimo soldier and crushed him with one fist. Then Rohik looked straight at Rak and started rumbling over. Djak’s smile faded. “We don’t have much time, Rak. I have a plan. Follow me!” Rak followed Djak into a building and climbed up several flights of stairs before ducking into an office. Djak turned quickly and locked the door with a rope sitting at the door. He gasped for air. Heart pounding, he sat across from Rak. He started to say something, but Rak calmly said, “Calm down. Talk when you are ready.” Djak was more than ready. He said, “Okay. So, we go out into that cursed battle and give that god-forsaken lizard what he deserves.” Rak said, “So that’s your plan? Nice.” Djak rolled his eyes. “No. That’s just the goal. First, knock that stupid piece of crap down with a tidal wave and I’ll come up to him with an energy sword- can you let me borrow one?” Rak handed it over and Djak continued. “Thanks. Anyway, when he is knocked down, I’ll stab his hand to give you time. While that is happening, go get Günther up. We might need him. That overgrown hybrid will be startled and mad. He will most likely come after me. That should give you enough time to wake your brother up. When he’s up and ready, send a flare in the sky. I’ll have Rohik come right towards you. Both of you should turn into a shadow and fire lightning at him. I will come in with the final blow by cutting off his enormous head. Got it?” Rak nodded. Djak said, “Follow me again. Let’s go. Start to get Günther when I’m about to attack the warboss.” Djak ducked around the corner, hoping this would work. If not, there was a nuke that he hoped would never be used.

Chapter 55: Rohik’ Szokar Rohik’ Szokar awoke with Ulrich by his side. “What happened?” Rohik’ Szokar asked. “That Rak kid put a hole in your brain,” Ulrich replied. Rohik’ Szokar quickly put his hands on his head and felt for a hole, but there was none. He had a confused look on his face. “Your rage kept you alive long enough for me to summon enough strength to regrow the hole before you finally died.” Rohik’ Szokar’s face returned to normal as Ulrich spoke. “Then I have a score to settle.” Ulrich backed up as Rohik’ Szokar got to his feet. “YOU LOT BRING ME DEATHSINGER, AND YOU THREE FIND BONEGRINDER!” Rohik’ Szokar yelled so loud even Ulrich flinched several times. The mix of kaimo and zombies brought him his weapons. Rohik’ Szokar charged out to find rak. It wasn’t long until he found him and Günther. He was about to bellow to them when he realized the painted names of his weapons were worn and unreadable. He looked around and saw a human corpse. He used his blood to write out “DEATHSINGER” on his machine gun and “BONEGRINDER” on his hammer. “HEY PINK FLESH, I’M TALKING TO YOU RAK!” Rak turned to see who had just called him pink flesh. Rohik’ Szokar unleashed a barrage of bullets from Deathsinger at them. Rak and Günther conjured a shield to deflect the bullets. Rohik’ Szokar was annoyed and sent Deathsinger flying at the shield. It deflected off but the energy required to stop it sent Rak and Günther flying backwards. Rohik’ Szokar laughed as he drew Bonegrinder. He charged through everything in his path. As he got close Rak and Günther turned into shadows as he realized he walked into a trap. “Oops.”

Chapter 56: Rak Rak’s grin on his face grew wider the closer they came. The plan worked. That monster would be dead soon. He looked over at Günther, who nodded. They popped up in unison and followed Djak’s orders, firing everything they had at the giant warboss. Rak saw a flash of movement as Djak was coming around with the final blow. With one sharp move, Rohik’ Szokar’s head rolled to the ground. Rak pumped his fist in the air, but there was something wrong about the scene. Then he saw it. Djak fell to the ground, a hole in his chest, with Ulrich standing behind him. Rak nodded at Günther, and he took a big scythe and charged at Ulrich while Rak ran to Djak. He took out a health pack and opened Djak’s mouth, hoping it might work. Djak’s wound started to heal and he coughed. “Thanks, Rak. Drag me somewhere safe and win the war… without me.” Djak smiled. He got up and Rak put his arm around him and walked him to the nearest building, where he laid down and relaxed a bit for the first time in a while. Rak’s comlink buzzed. “Having fun with your little life-fest?” Günther’s sarcastic voice asked. “‘Cause I might need help here!” Rak looked over and started running. Günther was on the ground, blocking a blow from Ulrich. Rak took out his energy sword and charged at Ulrich. The traitor took his sword from the attack and put it on Rak. Günther came up behind him and his crown automatically shot a small bolt, but it did little damage, and Günther popped up for another blow. Rak signaled with a small hand flick at Ulrich’s left hand, which held his sword with an iron grip. Günther got the signal and cut off his hand with a sharp hit. Ulrich gasped, but the sword evaporated into green vapor as it reappeared in his other hand and attacked Rak again. Further away in the battle field a giant eye made of fire erupted from the ground. it swiveled around seeing everything on the battle field. It looked Ulrich’s way and saw him struggling against Rak and Günther. It didn’t react until it saw Rohik Szokar’s headless body. As the shamans controlling the eye saw their dead warboss the eye flared with fire. I beam of fire shot from its center and sent Günther flying into the wall of a farm house. “Oh crap,” Rak mumbled as he saw the eye turn to him. But it turned away as it realized a threat was closing in on it and focused on killing something else. Rak was relieved but then he was shot down by Ulrich’s gem. Ulrich picked up his arm and walked back into the battle. Undead kaimo swarmed around him charging Rak. He quickly got up and began fending them off. Rak swung his sword, fighting all of the undead back. He cut down one, jumped on another, making one swing at him, killing one of the soldiers for him. He jumped up high, where a Kaimo’s sword skinned his ear. He caught it in midair and swung down. Then he ran for Günther. Looking back behind him as he ran, he threw his energy sword, cutting down the rest of the frontline soldiers. The sword came back, he caught it, then ran faster. He looked down and suddenly stopped. He tripped over a pile of dirt. On the ground, he looked closer. Jesse.

Chapter 57: Rak A tear fell down his face as he felt her cold hand. It was limp and easy to pull with the rest of the remains. He put her hands on her chest and thought, There should be a proper burial. He dragged the old warrior to a rough patch of dirt and materials in the ground. He grabbed a piece of stone and started to round it out when he heard a crinkle of leaves behind him. A pale Kaimo, who was much taller than the rest, with little armor and a mask swung a powerful blow of a black Kaimo sword. Rak activated his and swung back, sparks flying. He yelled, “Who are you?! Stand down!!” The creature disobeyed and pushed on. “Recognize her? I do too.” Rak swung with more anger as he spoke. The soldier smirked behind his mask as Rak lashed out. “Who are you, you lizard!?” Rak demanded. The Kaimo took off his metal mask to reveal a zombified face, scarred, burned, rotted and his eyes were blood red and glowing.. He was an albino kaimo in life and a zombified albino kaimo in an undeath stage. “I was a strong enough in life that when I was raised from the dead, I kept my will power and my dark power.” As he finished his sentence a black fog surrounded Rak. Rak looked around. Jesse’s remains stood up. A black sword appeared in her hand. The corpse advanced on Rak, sword swinging at him. He could hear the mysterious Kaimo laughing in his head. “You can’t bring yourself to kill her even in her state, how PATHETIC.” Rak cried out in rage. Jesse was flung back and the fog cleared away. He turned back around to see the Kaimo creature still there with the undead soldiers beside him. “I’m not so weak, Lizard-breath,” Rak said, gasping for air. He closed his eyes, kneeled on the ground, putting energy into his hands. A shock left his fingers and into the ground. He lifted his arms and said a quick spell, “Bryntor tynth.” The spell’s sensation traveled up his arms. Then, with a final spell, he yelled “THRYST!” and the sensation left his arms and fell into the ground. He stood up and opened his eyes. Green flames surrounded the soldier and himself. He took his energy sword with great power. It fell into his hands, and he muttered, “Let’s dance, shall we?” Rak knew this was risky. The first to fall would immediately be sent to the deepest underworld pits, no escape possible. His type of situation. “Ha ha ha,” As the Kaimo laughed, he was a few feet away from Rak in a flash of green energy. He drew his sword and made an overhead swing. Rak parried just in time to prepare for a thrust to his stomach. Rak took a step back. “I don’t need to kill you, I just need to push you off.” Rak was getting worried as he saw his opponent’s skill with the blade. He stepped back, letting him stab the air particles right to the left of him. Then a flash of white energy left his hands without even a thought in his head. How did I do that?, Rak asked himself, staring into his hands. He looked up, expecting it to have hit his enemy, but it didn’t. His enemy wasn’t hurt, just frozen in his place, fright in his eyes. Then he heard a small crunching noise behind him. Swivelling his whole body behind him slowly, he looked down where Jesse’s body used to be. Used to be, Rak thought. He turned his head to another crunching noise, unlike the one he heard before. That one sounded like autumn leaves crunching on the concrete ground. This noise sounded like flesh. When he opened his eyes, he saw his enemy on the ground with a dagger in his chest. Above him was a figure in a brown cloak that looked almost like… No. It can’t be. But it is. The figure flipped the hood off the cloak, revealing a scarred face. The one that used to belong to his closest friend other than his own brother.

Chapter 58: Jesse “Rak!”, Jesse shouted. She ran up to the startled warrior. Her arms tightly grasped him for what felt like the best moment ever. His confused daze turned to her. “How,” Rak asked. “I have no idea,” Jesse replied. She hugged him again. His gaze turned into a smile. He hugged back. After what felt like a lifetime, their Arms tightened and their lips met again. A soft kiss, but it was what she wanted. After a few seconds, which felt like minutes, she pulled away. “I don’t know how I know he’s there, but let’s get Günther,” Jesse said, looking down at him, the little warrior. Rak looked up and said, “I agree.” They grasped hands and lept for the unconscious body left in the barn. Rak shook Günther’s body and felt his heart. There was a heartbeat, a loud one. But Jesse wasn’t as patient. She slapped his face in a quick motion. That didn’t work. She pulled a small pistol out of her belt. She put it in the air, aimed it at a crack in the ceiling, and fired. Günther immediately got up. Jesse glared at him and said, “Dream time’s over, kiddie.”

Chapter: 59 Ulrich Ulrich was on a ridge looking over the battlefield as when he saw the flash of light. He saw the Pale Kaimo fall and someone rise back from the dead. Jesse was there as if she never died from Ulrich’s blasted curse. “What the hell’s bells,” Ulrich muttered to himself. He walked back down the ridge trying to think of what could of caused this. After a few minutes of pondering he thought of nothing and went on plotting on how to take care of this. “You there, soldier. Sound the horn, we’re retreating to the city.” Ulrich quickly began focusing on willing his undead to begin their retreat. “As you wish,” replied the soldier. After he sounded the horn the soldier began running for the city with the other soldiers leaving Ulrich behind. They knew he could take care of himself and would probably get there before them anyway. Ulrich looked back to see his horde of living and dead kaimo disengaging from the battle.

“This should be good,” Ulrich said to himself before opening a portal to the city just for him. As he stepped into shimmering oval he could feel heat, than cold, than he was there in the middle of the city where his generals were waiting. “Prepare to defend the city walls. Oh, and lets test out the sound cannons shall we?” As soon as Ulrich was done talking the generals began yelling orders at the kaimo to get into positions and what not. One general was left waiting for Ulrichs orders. “I need you to come with me. I have an idea.” *** Rak got up with a stammering Günther by his side. Rak and Jesse explained the story in five minutes flat. A marching in the distance stopped the story in mid-sentence. Günther pointed to the hill nearby, where all of the soldiers stepped in unison towards a figure in the distance. Günther stepped in front of the others and said, “Jesse, if you wanted to fight, you woke up at the wrong time.”

Chapter 60: Ulrich “Engineer me three eyes, each of them have to be three times the size of a regular kaimo eye.” Ulrich’s general nodded and went to the bio lab next to the room Ulrich was working on his new creatures. Ulrich began preparing the rest of the creatures’ bodies. By the time the general returned with the eyes Ulrich had morphed the rest of the bodies into shape. It had drained him quite a bit. The creatures were about 7 feet tall. Their skin was harder than leather and colored purple. The head consisted of slits for ears, one eye socket, and a strange mouth that when closed was almost impossible to see but could open up quite a bit revele 4 small tentacles that could reach out and pull stuff in. The body was humanoid with 6 tentacles coming from its back. Its hands were big and hardened almost into stone. Its feel were the same way. The best feature to Ulrich was that it could morph into different forms and condense itself into very small forms. Mentally the creature was very smart and had an unquenchable hunger for knowledge. Its reflexes were better than almost any other being Ulrich could think of. Its mind also had the capability of telepathy, telekinesis, and similar things. They would know who created them and what their purpose is. The creatures were knowledge hungry, but not power hungry. Ulrich knew there was almost no chance of betrayal as long as he didn’t keep them from knowledge he could give them.

“Now time to finish my creations,” Ulrich said as he began attaching the eyes to the socket. With the final transfer of energy the eyes moved around as they sat up. They were alive *** Günther saw the creations standing at the horizons edge. “Rak! Jesse! Come see this!” Günther yelled. The three warriors stood in awe and said in unison, “Holy crap.”

Chapter 61: Slik A light filled a darkness that had filled his eyes for the days of the battle. Was he finally dead? The light turned to daytime, in a forest, and the thought of Slik’s name turned to flesh. On the ground, his hand turned willingly, as he thought to turn it. Slik stood up and paced. How could this happen? Slik thought. I am dead. I was dead! He slammed his fist into a tree nearby and it fell with his might. He looked at his hand with great power. It didn’t look like Günther… He ran to a nearby river and saw his reflection. It was a darker pigment of a Huminek and he looked… older. Familiar. A purple blast from behind skinned his ear and flew past him into the water of the river. A Kaimo soldier ran towards the able-bodied creature that was himself. He was alive, still on the battlefield. Maybe in his own body. *** Djak sat where he was placed and felt the headache that just surged through his head. A spark went through his fingers and lifted him to his feet. Djak was a Huminek. He stood up, ready to fight, his headache still throbbing. Then a voice came into his mind. I’m alive. Djak heard the voice and got up, more determined to fight. I’m alive. “Who?” He said aloud. His headache throbbed more. I’m alive. Clutching his head, he yelled, “WHO?!” The voice stopped, and his dreams of being a Huminek crumbled into the corner with the rest of his crying body. *** Slik ran through the forest and looked behind him. the Kaimo soldier had another at his side. A crystal bullet whizzed past his ear, as did a voice, saying “Die Human scum!” Slik found an old, classic sword in the belt of his body. He swung it, swinging bullets back. He ran to a soldier and cut an arm off. “I am your master! Stand down soldiers!” He cut off the soldiers head, and pointed the sword to the other. The Kaimo looked startled. “Kill me now, huminek scum that is the General Jek. But another will come to my place. And you, General, shall die.” Slik cut off its head and laid on the tree nearby. Jek? He was murdered by the warboss. He felt his neck. A small metal piece was in there. He pulled it out with a painful grunt. Inspecting it, he saw it clearly. A stitch. He felt around his neck in the same place. More stitches. Then he realized. Someone tried to bring the dead general to life, but the staff found the body first and bounded him to it. He got up, ready to fight for the creatures that tried to kill him. He walked out of the forest, plan in hand. There was a small chance it would work, but all he could do was hope. Ugh. He sounded like the people he was about to fight.

Chapter 62: Rak Rak saw the three large purple skinned creatures standing over the hill. Each nearly Identical to each other. Jesse and Günther were dumbstruck by the sight of them. At that moment each one of their eyes erupted with bright purple light. It scanned over Rak and his friends as well as the entire camp. Taking in everything they saw the light died as the creatures began to morph. First their hands began to shrink into the arm. Then the rest of their body did likewise until they were little more than an eye with a case of leathery skin going vertically and horizontally across it, except for where the pupil was. Then Rak noticed that the tentacles had shrunk but still emerged from the back of the now floating eyes. Then they flew off towards the city. “What were those things?”Jesse asked. “I have never seen anything like those.” “Neither have I,” replied Günther. “We should probably be on alert in case those things try something.” “I agree completely, we should post double the sentries and try to speed things up if we can’t find out what those things are.” Rak needed time to think about what he just saw and to decide if they could be in league with Ulrich or not. Rak walked off to think and make preparations. At that moment Djak ran up to him. “Did you see that!” He gasped. “I-it was like nothing I’ve ever seen!” “Yes I did see it, that reminds me I need you to double the sentries and keep everyone on alert.” Rak replied. “Yes sir!” Djak ran off to alert the soldiers. Rak walked by his quarters in the temporary base camp his army had set up. “They flew towards the city so-” Rak hadn’t finished his thought when he heard a noise near the entrance to his quarters. He paused. He slowly crept to the entrance and saw the door had been opened. He heard a faint noise of things moving around inside. He slowly walked to the entrance and inside. He saw one of the flying eyes that the creatures had morphed into going through papers, scanning them with its eye and moving on to more papers. At that moment the creature stopped and turned to face Rak. Rak drew his energy sword and activated it. It glowed with orange light as Rak took a step forward. “Fool! Do not take another step.” The voice came from all over the room and it startled Rak. There were only a small amount of papers the creature hadn’t gone through. Rak formed a fireball in his left hand and tried to throw it at the creature. Its eye lit up and the fireball exploded in front of a purple energy field created by the creature. Its eye lit up again after it put down its shield and Rak was hit with tremendous force and thrown through the open doorway onto the ground outside his quarters. As he recovered he saw the creature scan the last of the papers and hovered to where Rak was. Its eye glowed as it lifted Rak up with some unseen force and tossed him into his quarters. The door closed slowly as to not make too much noise. The creatures eye lit up and a beam came from the creature into Rak’s forehead. “Lets see what we can find in your memories, shall we?” Rak could feel the Creature invading his mind as it spoke. Then, everything went black.

Chapter 63: Ulrich Ulrich was busy resting and regaining his strength from when he created the three creatures. As a way of easily recognizing the three he decided to give them certain names and a form they liked the best. The first one was named The Watcher. It usually took the form of the floating eye with the thin layer of protection on its sides, top and bottom, and the tentacles coming from the back of it all. The second creature was named The Seeker. It took form of a Serpent with the face and upper body of its true form. Tentacles, hands, head, and all the rest were all there, even if it was a little smaller than what it should be. The last creature was named The Reaper. It took the form of a lower half of a spider and the upper half, like The Seeker, was the the upper body of its true form. Hands, tentacles, head, and the rest. Ulrich had sent The Watcher on a task to gather information about Rak’s plans and what Ulrich should expect. Now it returned in it’s usual form of the flying eye. Ulrich sat up on his bed. “What did you find out?” Ulrich asked. “Rak has a nuke stored up in his ship, if he can’t take the city and drive you out he’ll launch it and kill us all,” The Watcher replied in its even town that it always seems to keep. “Another thing that might be more personal to you. Your sister Jesse and Rak are… well… in... um, love, let's say.” Ulrich was actually quite surprised at this. “I wasn’t expecting that one,” Ulrich said almost to himself. “But that could become an advantage, If we capture her, we may be able to make Rak surrender or break his will to fight if we do this right.” Ulrich thought for a few minutes before speaking again. “How did you obtain this information anyway? I don’t expect Rak kept a journal you could have found.” “No, I was caught by Rak going through his papers in his quarters, I bested him and looked through his memories and thoughts.” The Watcher said. “Impressive, although I’m sure he was taken aback to see you there.” Ulrich replied. The watcher knew that was the truth. “I agree, it will be much harder to take him down next time.” The watcher was waiting for Ulrich to let him go or to give him his next task. “ I need you to head back to their camp and see if you can find anything else around the camp that might tell us about their plans.” Ulrich said. “As you wish.” The Watcher left the room to prepare for its task. *** After The Watcher had left and Ulrich was done resting, he decided to take a walk around the city. He exited the inner keep and started down the path towards the town. He passed a small cave that had been unused until Ulrich had given The Reaper permission to use it as a small laboratory. He could see flashes of light coming from the cave. Ulrich decided to see what The Reaper was building or trying to build. Ulrich entered and looked over The Reaper’s shoulder as best he could. “Hello Ulrich.” The Reaper said, eyes still fixed on what he was working on. “Hello, what are you working on may I ask?” Ulrich replied. “The staff I’m building is meant to cause physical and mental agony to enemies. It will break the will of any type of warrior in seconds.” The Reaper continued to insert three cases which were meant to hold what looked like gems. “I like it,” Ulrich said. “Is it almost ready?” “Just about, I need to empower these three gems with, emotional agony, physical agony, and hate. Green gem, red gem, and purple gem.” The Reaper answered. “Easy enough, I can get The Seeker to extract these from the minds of our enemies if you want.” Ulrich offered. “That would speed up progress tremendously, I would appreciate it.” The Reaper handed Ulrich the gems as he answered. Ulrich left the cave and headed back into the inner keep. He quickly found The Seeker and told him of The Reaper’s plan. The Seeker quickly agreed and went off to fill the gems.

Chapter 64: Günther Günther was walking through the camp when he saw out of the corner of his eye something purple slide away. Günther moved quietly to the corner where he saw the movement. He looked around the corner and saw a soldier squirming in agony on the ground. Günther hurried to see what had happened. The soldier was pale and bleeding badly. His chest had been mangled and it looked like someone had drilled a small hole in his stomach with a knife. “Purple… creature… after Jesse…,” The soldier fell unconscious. Günther didn’t have time to stop and help the soldier. He had to get to Jesse before the creature did. He ran as fast as he could. He slammed into a soldier and they both went down. “What's the hurry, sir?” The soldier asked. “Have… you seen jesse,” Günther asked out of breath. “Yes, sir, she’s in her quarters, why?” The soldier replied. “No time to explain!” Günther ran as fast as he could to Jesse’s quarters. He barged into the room and found a strange purple creature. It had the lower half of a serpent and the upper half of the creature that he saw on the hill. A purple beam came from his eye and into Jesse’s forehead. The beam disappeared and a purple orb of energy came from where the beam was entering her forehead. The orb floated into the purple crystal the creature was holding. “What are you?” Günther asked dumbstruck. “I am The Seeker,” The creature replied. “You must have found the soldier I left in physical agony. I left Jesse here in a similar state, but unlike the soldiers this state is mental. She will recover a lot quicker than the soldier.” The Seeker kept a blank face as it talked through its slim mouth. “You won’t get out so easily,” Replied Günther. “Oh but I will, and when I do I’m going for your beloved brother.” Günther’s eyes widened when he realized what he meant. He didn’t have time to react as The Seekers eye lit up and Günther was tossed out of the room. The Seeker quickly slipped out of the room and headed to Rak’s quarters. Günther quickly recovered and sprinted after The Seeker. They ran passed several soldiers who joined Günther in chasing down the creature. Günther finally got to Rak's quarters. As he entered he saw a green orb of energy float into the green crystal The Seeker had with him. Günther tried to shock The Seeker with a lightning bolt but missed as the creature ducked and swept Günther off his feet. The soldiers drew rifles and pistols and prepared to open fire. The Seeker's eye glowed and all their weapons shattered. His tentacles reached out and grabbed the soldiers by the neck and tossed them aside. The Seeker slithered out the door and was gone. Günther got up and ran to Rak who was lying there. “Günther… He brought to life the memory of losing you to Slik. Some of the most emotional pain I have ever felt.” Rak said slowly. “It was filling that gem with your agony. Whatever that creature has planned, it isn’t good."

Chapter 65: Rak After everyone recovered from The Seeker's attack, Rak called Günther and Jesse to his quarters to talk about what happened. The room was under heavy guard and they made sure nothing was getting close to it. “Twice now those things have attacked us, now I think we have to take the fight to them and drive them out of this place.” Rak suggested. “I agree, if we stay here we something worse is going to happen.” Günther said. “Yes, but we should wait until we find out what that creature was filling those gems for.” Jesse put in. “Well we don’t exactly have a way to find that out. We may just have to hope it can be overcome.” Rak replied “ I suppose you’re right on that one,” Jesse sighed. “Then how are we going to get passed the wall and their other defences?” “With a nasty surprise.” Said Günther. At that moment Djak stumbled through the doorway. They all stood up at once. “Kaimo… purple…,” Djak was out of breath and was exhausted. “Slow down, what are you talking about?” asked Rak. Djak took a deep breath before he spoke. “Kaimo are coming, and they have some purple creature leading them.” Djak said. “The purple creature also has a nasty staff, see for yourself.” Everyone rushed out of the room to see soldiers hurrying to the perimeter to meet the enemy. Rak, Jesse, Günther, and Djak ran with the soldiers until they got to the wall. They saw a small force of kaimo approaching with one of the purple creatures in front of them. it carried a metal staff with what looked like a metal skeletal hand at the front. The hand was curled like claws and it didn’t look friendly. The purple creature itself had the lower half of a spider and the upper half of it’s original form. They stared at each other for a few seconds before the purple creature finally spoke. “Give over the one named Jesse and no one gets hurt.” The creature demanded. “Like hell we will,” Rak yelled back. The creature sighed. They saw his mouth move but the creatures voice was loud and clear. Far louder than it had been before. "Kill all who stand in your way, but bring the girl ALIVE!" It's voice came from everywhere at once. After it spoke a shimmer appeared behind the creature and the kaimo. Three times the number of kaimo that were originally there appeared. They charged forward with guns blazing, human soldiers began to recover from their original shock. Human soldiers fell much quicker than the kaimo were. Rak ran forward to meet the kaimo. Energy sword drawn he ran towards the nearest kaimo. He saw Rak coming and drew his sword. They clashed with a loud ring of energy against metal. The kaimo being the bigger of the two slowly began to push Rak down, but without warning the kaimo stopped pushing he stepped back letting Rak stumble forward. the kaimo kicked Rak back and moved forward for the killing blow. Rak drew his pistol and unloaded three bullets into the kaimo's chest. He fell to the ground, dead. Rak got up to see the kaimo being driven back by the humans. "Surely this isn't all they sent at us? This is too easy." Djak said as he walked beside Rak. “I don’t know, have you seen that purple thing?” Rak asked. “He was here when the fight started.” A moment later the ground rumbled as balls of fire exploded one after another. Rak and Djak spun around to to see the creature advancing on Jesse. She was flinging fireballs at the advancing creature, but nothing would slow him. It mentally deflected the projectiles into things around them. Suddenly The creature sprinted at full speed forward. Soldiers around noticed what was happening and ran to intercept it. Rak sprinted with Djak right behind him to try and stop it. Enough soldiers had opened fire and tried to engage the creature that he had to choice but to stop. “You’re surrounded, might as well surrender now,” Rak called. “First tell us if you’re one of the other creatures in a different form, or if you’re the third creature.” Djak yelled after him. The creature turned to face them before speaking. “I am The Reaper, so I am not the same as my brethren. You have made the mistake of crossing me human.” With those words he raised his staff that he carried into the air. Until now it had remained inactive, but now a red orb of energy formed above the skeletal hand. The soldiers fell and cries of agony filled the air as soldiers crumbled and squirmed. A moment later Djak fell into the same state clutching his stomach. Rak was horrified at what he saw. Next the creature directed the staff at Jesse who had been unaffected. Now her cried of agony filled the air as unimaginable pain flowed up from her legs and up the body. “NO!” Rak lunged forward and flung a giant lightning bolt at the creature. It responded by meeting it with a beam of his own. For a moment it was a stalemate. Then The Reaper leapt to the side destroying his beam but letting Rak’s lightning miss. He grabbed hold of Jesse and in a flash was gone.

Chapter 66: Slik "Jek" walked casually through the forest on the side of the battlefield. Climbing over dead trees and fallen logs from the terrible war, he hurried to Ulrich, who looked like he was winning the war. Creatures spilling the open field and searching for knowledge from the enemy. A foolproof plan that needed a mastermind behind it. Slik wanted to be that man. He was coming closer to his old master. He climbed a tree and walked the canopies, out of sight. His insides were pumping and boiling, hoping this would work. Two hundred yards. One-fifty. A hundred. Fifty. Twenty. Five. He put over his cloak and took a sharp jump from the tree, landing softly behind his target. "Master." Ulrich sharply turned. He pulled out a black energy sword. 'Who are you, fiend, and how dare you say I am your master?!" Slik's heart pumped fast. He brought his hands to the cloak's hood. He slowly revealed the scarred face that belonged to an older man who shouldn't be alive. Raising his head, he said, "Yes. I said master. I am not who you think." Ulrich looked as if a ghost had passed through him sharply. "I-I," he stammered. "I summoned Rohik' Szokar for a reason, and he murdered you. You won't live any more." Slik calmly looked straight at his old master, who had hate in his eyes, deeper than the darkest pits of hell. "The man you are looking at is gone. I am Slik, master. this may seem different than you thought of either me or the man you see, but it is the truth." He kneeled at his old master's feet. Ulrich's hate grew. "Why, you little psychopath of huminek flesh. You don't deserve to call me anything but Ulrich, and you don't deserve to live." Slik stood quickly, pulling out the old man's energy sword, and swung back in time before the blade slit his throat. The blades crashed, and Slik said, "You have had a change of heart, master." Ulrich swung harder, yelling "I am not your master, you little pink-fleshed animal. You are an impostor. I don't know how the mighty Jek is alive again, but I know you aren't my long-gone creation." Ulrich picked up his sword, ran a few yards, and threw his sword. Slik ducked and ran. His plan failed. He must get revenge on his old master. It was the only way. No longer was he a prisoner of the Kaimo race, he would join his enemy he desperately tried to destroy. To befriend the man he took over. It would be challenging, but he would have better luck.

Chapter 67: The Watcher The Watcher was up on a hill watching the skirmish that The Reaper was leading. At the same time he had watched the exchange between Ulrich and the living corpse that had been Jek but called himself Slik. The Watcher had discovered a way to make wards so he could watch several places at once. The wards were metal rods with a glass ball at the end. He infused it with some of his essence, causing him to be able to see and hear what the ward can. “Interesting, I wonder if Jek’s corpse is really who he says he is. He sounded sincere, but lies can sound true.” The Watcher knew the enemy camp would be in confusion. It would be childs' play, getting in unseen. It moved unseen in the confusion, hiding behind small objects as soldiers ran passed. The Watcher entered Djak’s quarters, placed a ward in the corner and was gone. Same thing with Günther’s quarters. Rak’s room proved much more difficult. He could hear all three of them. Rak, Günther, and Djak all discussing what had happened and how they were going to rescue Jesse. The Watcher concentrated his energy into his eye enabling him to see passed the walls of the building. Rak was facing the door but no one else was. Rak turned to pick something up, The Watcher knew that was his chance. He slipped through the doors, threw the ward into the corner and left in a hurry. The Watcher got out just in time, a moment later Rak and everyone else exited the room. They didn’t notice a thing. “Now all I do is wait for something to happen.” The Watcher left the camp undetected.

Chapter 68: Slik Slik looked back and saw his old master running at him. He accessed Jek's memory and found his elemental powers: All of them. The first elemental. He wasn't the only one, but they were all on the team he was trying to join. He broke into a shadow and fell to the ground, knowing it as his best move. He popped on a tree, where he looked for his traitor of a master. A small popping noise, following by crinkles of leaves was heard behind him. Not looking at his master, he swung his sword to block the blow Ulrich swung. He muttered loud enough for Ulrich to hear, "Leave me alone, and I won't hurt you, master." He tried to make it deep in Ulrich's mind, how stupid he was to let him go. Slik didn't look back. He heard a noise of a sword being sheathed. "Fine," followed a raspy voice. "But you will die for real, old man. I don't know who you expect me to think you are, but it won't work. Next time I see you, you will be begging for mercy on the ground." With a quick laugh and a popping noise, Slik was on his way. Feeling his feet leave the branches of the tree, felt the ground under them, and he broke into a sprint. He needed Rak's help, and he needed Slik's. Hopefully he would make it back in time. *** Rak led his friends to another from the room they were in for precautionary measures. Jesse was first priority. He needed her back. They needed this war to end. There were already thousands of corpses on the ground in the first place, he didn't want more. Trying to imply that into his friends was a challenge, because Djak yelled, "Rak! Out the window!" Rak looked where Djak was pointing, Günther following. Rak's eyes widened. "Is that-no." Rak stammered. "It can't be. But it is. Holy-" He couldn't finish because a popping noise cut him off. *** Slik looked to see three faces that looked if someone saw a ghost. "Hello, soldiers. Let's win this war."

Chapter 69: Günther The three friends couldn't speak. Their dead teacher, whose head was cut off, was standing in front of them. Jek smiled and pointed to stitches in the back of his neck, revealing them to his audience. He said, "I don't know who did it. I woke in the forest with this on my neck. Someone saved me in the forest, but now I'm here. No ranks anymore, let's just win the-wait. Where's Jesse?" Günther snapped out of his trance and stepped forward, saying "Rak's girlfriend," shooting a playful glance at Rak, "Was captured by those creatures outside. We need her back." Rak shoved him, smiling. Jek's face fell. "Let's go." "If you haven't noticed yet, the creatures take over your minds. They find out every little detail about you and slowly kill you by feeding that information to Ulrich." Rak said, "We have thought of way too many plans, but they were taken by the creatures. We need a new plan." Jek snapped with a thought. "But that's it!" he exclaimed. "We don't need a plan. Get reinforcements, Rak. We need a big group of people. We don't need a plan. We should just run into the heat of battle without a plan. They won't expect it, and they can't take anything from us." Günther looked at the others and nodded. The others, without a word, nodded. Their "Plan" was a go, they just needed more troops. *** Within an hour, a small legion of a thousand troops was at their disposal. They would just run and distract, while Djak and Günther killed the creatures. Then Rak and Jek would run to Ulrich's castle. A scout brought intelligence back with their coordinates, then was shot while talking in his comlink. The "Plan" was falling into place. They would leave at dawn.

Chapter 70: Slik Slik was officially the good guy, but he needed to act more like Jek. He needed to keep the secret, or Rak would find out and murder him for what he had done. Rak had already done just that, but it shouldn’t happen again. He had forgiven Rak, but he knew Rak wouldn’t. Rak filled “Jek” on with every detail that had happened, although Slik already knew all of it somehow. After the big story that had happened, with Slik pretending to be surprised many times, Dawn finally came. Rak yelled in his comlink to blow the horn for their arrival. They wanted the enemy to be surprised as possible, not a sneak attack. The horn blew as a thousand men flooded out towards the city. Some Kaimo on watch were quickly cut down and the soldiers advanced farther. Then, the A Team ran out, running right through a narrow path the soldiers made on the far left of their forces. Slik signaled, and Rak grabbed Djak’s hand as the three of them dove into a shadow, pulling Djak with them. Popping up at the castle wall, Rak and Slik saluted to the other two, who ran off at the creatures. The plan was working. It wouldn’t be long until Slik had his revenge on his old master.

Chapter 71: Ulrich Ulrich ran out of the Keep to see 1000 human soldiers charging the wall. He raged silently, cursing many words. He summoned the creatures. “Hold them off until i can prepare the void ritual. We can’t hold his city any longer.”Ulrich sighed. “Where will the void take us?” asked the Seeker. “We are going to the red swamp. Despite of what may wait there we have no other option.” The creatures nodded and left to prepare the cities defences. Ulrich walked further into the keep to retreive 3 purple crystals he had saved just for this occasion. He painted a large purple circle with a triangle inside. it was purple in color. He placed one crystal at each point where the triangle points touch the circle. At that moment The Watcher burst in through the doors. “I placed wards in all the spots that overlook the vital point of the city perimeter. I’ll know when they break through certain spots in out defenses.” “Good, get on top one of those battlements and slow down the humans as best as you can.” Ulrich replied. After the Watcher left he sat down. He began focusing on controlling his undead horde. *** Djak watched as the human soldiers drove tanks and carried rockets to bring down the wall. What happened next he wasn’t expecting. The gates opened wide and a huge wall of bodies ran full speed at the human soldiers, over 3000 of them. Undead, both human and kaimo ran forward to meet the humans. “Tell all soldiers to hold the line and aim for the head, it’s the only thing that kills them!” Djak yelled into the commlink for who ever was there to listen. He looked back over the battlefield to see bodies on both side fall to gunfire. It took longer than Djak thought but the undead finally reached the line that the humans were shooting from. There were roars and screams. The undead didn’t scream so he knew it was humans that were screaming. What he saw turned bloody and gruesome quite quickly. Flesh was eaten, heads severed, and many other wounds of all sorts inflicted. He knew that in order to beat the undead they would have to kill every last one of them. An undead middle aged kaimo approached Djak. It raised one of those crystal guns and opened fire. It was firing from the hip and wasn’t very accurate. Djak zig zagged forward to avoid the kaimo from getting an accurate shot. as he neared the animated kaimo he drew his long combat knife, when he got in arms reach he swung knocking the gun from the kaimo’s hand. The second the gun left it’s hand the kaimo kicked Djak and sent him flying a 3 feet back. In close combat the kaimo was much faster. Djak lied there for a few seconds before the kaimo was almost on top of him. He raised his sword to stab Djak. He rolled to the side just as the sword slid into the dirt. Djak got up with his sword raised. The kaimo zombie charged Djak. I can end this now thought Djak. When the kaimo side swung at his head Djak ducked and charged forward, knocking the kaimo back. It staggered and was slow to recover. That gave the chance Djak needed. He Rak forward and thrust his sword throughout the kimo's face. Dark rotten blood gushed out of the wound and half drenched Djak in it. The undead kaimo collapsed. Djak looked at the castle to see clouds had appeared and was funneling into the castle. He looked back at the battle to see something he didn't expect to see. The undead we're running back to the castle, they were retreating.

Chapter 72: Slik Slik ran from the battle of the unorganized army with Rak following. The castle walls were looming overhead. Then a swooshing noise was heard behind the two men. Their hair flew around them in the wind as they turned to see a sight they hoped not to see in their miniature quest: one of the creatures. “I have information that I have seen, Rak.” Rak looked up and said, “No information will help me, Watcher. You will never win his war, and that information will give nobody an advantage but you.” “But alas, my strong-worded friend,” the creature added. “I have information that WILL help you. And it involves your… acquaintance here.” Slik felt a bump in his throat. Would it be his secret? The Watcher wasn’t around him when he awoke, or when he was battling Ulrich. Was he? Rak looked at Slik, who was beginning to sweat. My secret is crumbling at my feet. Will Rak trust that horrible creature? I tried so hard to join them, and they didn’t suspect anything. I am good now, and good I will stay. I’m afraid that won’t happen if Rak finds out. There won’t be much of a choice. Rak looked back at the opponent, sword drawn. Thump, thump, is all I can hear. I might not get that much longer of a second chance. The suspense drew at Slik, a sword through the chest. Then his luck turned. Rak jumped at the creature with a strong blast. The creature dodged with a strong flick of a tentacle. “Either way, you will find out soon, Rak.” Then a swooshing sound filled their ears as it teleported away. Slik gasped with a lucky breath. But it wasn’t very long. Rak dropped his sword to the ground with a CLANG sound. “Who are you.” Slik stood, wide-eyed, without an answer. Rak swiveled to look the old enemy in the eyes. “I said,” he started, “WHO ARE YOU?!” He picked up his sword with hate in his eyes. “What kind of spy are you, huh, ‘General’?” Slik kneeled at Rak’s feet. “General Rak. I am an old enemy that I swear has turned good. I want revenge on my old master, and I swear to not have hurt you or your friends. I regret taking over your brother, but I was created to do so. And the man you knew as Jek is dead, but I have found his body. Yes, Rak. You are staring at Slik. But I will cause no harm, and all I want to do is help. Cut off my head for treason, but you will lose an honorable soldier. Will you forgive me? Or be haunted eternally for killing your own kind?”

Chapter 73: Rak Rak looked at the evil being kneeling, wishing for forgiveness. What should I do? What can I do? He tried to murder me, and no he wants to help?! Rak looked at the young Huminek in the old man’s body. Slik looked up from his spot with pity in his eyes. His hands folded, his eyes tearing up. Then an idea came to mind. He sheathed his sword and said, “If you value your life, I would stay where you are.” I can’t believe I’m even remotely close to giving him a chance, Rak thought as he pressed down on his comlink. *** Günther felt a buzz on the comlink. The Reaper was getting away, and he couldn’t risk his life or his friends’ lives either. He yelled, “Djak! Focus on the Reaper thing! Rak is on my com channel!” Djak nodded and unsheathed a purple energy sword with determination to win the battle. Günther pucked up the line on his comlink and heard one simple sentence from his brother: “I need you desperately, Günther. It is between someone’s life or death.” Günther answered quickly. “The Reaper is right here, I can’t risk his escape again, Rak!” Rak answered back with a snappy tone. “Forget it. It won’t kill anyone yet. It doesn’t have orders to. Just come here and tell Djak to hold up the defense.” “Okay, I’ll be there in five minutes.” *** Rak looked at Günther’s suprised look on his face. “What are you doing?! why is Jek on the ground, and why are you about to kill him?!” Calmly, Rak said, “This isn’t who you think he is, Günther. This little liar deserves to die, and it is your choice.” Günther’s eyebrows raised. “Oh, really? Nobody could convince me to want to kill Jek.” Rak looked at his brother, who drew his sword. “Günther, this here is the man who took you over, Slik,” he said, seething with rage. “He swears that he has joined our side. I completely believe him, I can tell when people are lying. He isn’t. But he committed heinous crimes on the kaimo’s side, and it is up to you. What should his fate be?” Günther’s expression changed like the moon does phases. Then, he came to a calm, serious face. He sheathed his sword. “Slik, rise.” Slik did as he was told and stood before the person he had taken over. “Slik. Who did this to Jek’s body? And what was your original plan? Be honest, and I might just spare your life.”

Slik told them everything, from waking up not knowing where he was, to going to his master, and to them. He also told them all he wanted was revenge on his master. Nothing more, and he was officially on the human side. Günther searched for a lie in his eyes or quiver in his voice. None. Then he made his decision, with Rak standing beside him. “Slik, you will stay alive… in a different body. I can’t stand to look at Jek’s body anymore. I know what to do. Rak, go fetch a fresh dead body from a soldier. Make sure I don't know him." Rak ran to the battlefield through a small gap in the trees in front of the castle. In less than five minutes' time, a- maybe 20 years- body that had just perished. Rak dropped him at Günther’s feet. Slick held out his hand and a staff appeared. Rak recognized it as the staff Slik wielded when he inhabited Gunther’s body. "Why do you have that staff?" Rak asked suspiciously. "Oh, I forgot to mention that this staff is the reason I'm alive. Without it or the other artifacts I once had I would not be alive." Slik replied. "The sword and my gun I once used. If they are destroyed then I will also die." Rak thought about this for a minute. Then he spoke. "Alright, but what does this staff have to do with you transferring to this body?" Rak understood that staff held Slik’s life but needed to know what it had to do with the transfer. "I'll show you," Slik muttered. He held the staff out. When he let go it didn't fall, the crystal ball on top of it began to glow white. Slik closed his eyes, when he opened then again they too glowed white. Rak and Gunther stepped back a few steps. The body that Rak had brought opened its eyes and they too we're glowing white. A moment later the light left Jeks body through the eyes and was sucked into the staff. The glow became almost blinding. The light dimmed as the white essence left the staff and was absorbed by the body. The light in the soldiers eyes were back to normal, but this time he was alive not dead. Jeks body fell backwards as it the soul transfer was complete and Slik got up with his new body. "I forgot how much better being in a young body is than an old mans’ body." After he spoke, Rak gave him an angry glare. "Sorry, but it's true, but anyway, we have work to do."

Slik looked in the direction of the castle and the raging battle. He started walking with Rak, following close behind. He had a score to settle.

Chapter 74: Jesse Jesse woke up in a strange room, but that wasn’t her first thought. It was the filth in front of her. “Hey, sis.” Ulrich grinned. The Seeker was slithering next to him. “Now, Jesse. This is simple. What are your plans of attack? I know something is happening, and I hear it outside. Tell me, and you will gain your freedom your freedom.” Jesse turned her head. Nothing would make her tell. “You want answers? You won’t get anything out of me.”

Ulrich grinned. “This is what I wanted to try out.” He winked at her and snapped. The Seeker slithered forward. He held out a blue crystal, as she looked at it a the seeker’s eye began to glow purple and a beam shot from the crystal into her head Suddenly, Jesse was clutching her head. Pain was her only thought now. Her eyes started to roll back in her head. “You have one last chance.” Ulrich looked determined. Jesse shook her head painfully. “Fine. Seeker, full power.” The pain drilled into her head. She felt memories being taken away. I am Jesse. This is what I stand for. I will fight it. She clenched her fists and focused, but it wasn’t enough. She screamed, “RAK! HELP ME!!!” Then everything went black. *** Jesse Drake woke up in a white room with no memory. The only thing she knew was her name. And the colors in the room. A strange robed man stood before her. He smiled. “Hey, sis. They hit you pretty hard, huh?” Jesse looked puzzled. “Um… Who are you?” The man’s face fell. “Jesse, are you okay? Do you even remember anything?” “No, mister. I would like to know where I am.” The man put his hand on his head as if he had a headache. “Oh dear. Jesse. They did this to you! Jesse, I am your brother, Ulrich, and this is my assistant, The Seeker. The Humans have taken over our planet, and my best men joined them. You and I are Humineks, humans with elemental powers. You are on Ventrii, where my army is. I have saved you from those honorless dogs who just fled. They will be back, though.” Jesse stood up quickly. Could she trust him? His hand was out for her. She ran out to the window nearby. A war brewed around them. She ran back and quickly shook his hand.

Ulrich smiled. “Good. Let’s go.” They walked out the room. Ulrich pulled something off the hook in the end of the room. He handed her a pack. “Sis, these are the weapons they stole from you. Take them.” She smiled and slung them over her shoulder. She hugged her sweet brother and started walking. He must really care about me. “The citizens are going to another city to Konzuel where they will be safe. We are going to the Red Marsh, a dark and dangerous place. It may have what I need to defeat the humans,” said Ulrich. “But I think my former-best-men have found that I have saved you. We better go.” He grabbed her hand and started running down the hallway. I know I will be on the right side. We will get revenge on the evil beings who caused this war.

Chapter 75: Rak Rak could see the last of the undead warriors retreating into the gates of the castle. he signaled back to Slik to move forward. As they caught up with Rak, they looked over the site before them. “Alright. Here is the plan; We go in, find Jesse, get out. If we meet any resistance, we dispatch them quickly. Any questions?” Slik shook his head. Rak signaled him to move, and they moved. The door had been left open with nobody to guard it. The moved through the empty gate room quickly watching for anything they might have missed before. The door to the throne room was locked but not warded. “It’s locked but there is nothing keeping us from blowing it down.” After Rak was done speaking, Slik thrust his staff towards the gate. As he did so, the crystal ball glowed red and unleashed a beam that melted the the locks off the doors. The doors slowly swung inwards to reveal an unexpected sight. Undead warriors running through a giant void portal, but that wasn’t the shocking part. The throne room was dark and plain. Rak could faintly see the green walls of metal. Statues of kaimo heros stood to the left and right of the path. The Throne was blocked from view by the large portal. Ulrich and Jesse were standing next each other facing the door, weapons drawn as Rak entered. Ulrich wielded a Kaimo sword and Jesse had in hand an energy blade and a standard pistol. Jesse raised her weapon and fired two shots, one at each of them. Slik’s staff glowed blue and shielded him from the bullet. Rak was shot. He clutched his shoulder with pain and confusion and anger filling his head. He lurched forward and Slik pulled him back. “What the-? Jesse! Stand down! What is this?!” Rak’s eyes teared up. Ulrich and Jesse smiled. “Surprised, Rak?” Ulrich shouted. “Stand down, Jesse. I need to give a proper introduction.” Jesse stood down. “Rak. That’s a funny name. Sadly, your name won’t be remembered.” Jesse picked her sword up. “Ulrich! What did you do!?” Rak bellowed. “You mean what did I do.” The Seeker appeared to Rak’s right with a blue crystal in his hands. He held it up so Rak could see the memories of Jesse inside it, but far enough away so Jesse wouldn’t notice. Jesse laughed. “You cowards kidnapped me and brought me here. My brother woke me up to come after you. You will now die for corrupting our race.” Rak’s color drained. “Jesse! You don’t know what you’re talking about! Your brother has done the exact thing you described, but to you!” Jesse frowned and shook her head. “Sweetie, you are mistaken.” “I’ve had enough.Time to die!” Ulrich shouted. He thrust his hand forward and a large shadow claw manifested in front of Ulrich and launched itself towards Rak. In response Rak flung a ball of fire to meet the claw. On impact they both exploded in black and orange fire. He then held out his hand and unleashed a molten beam of energy towards Ulrich. The amulet worn on Ulrich’s neck glowed green and shielded him from the beam. As the beam ended the shield erupted in a wave of decay. Rak rushed forwards as the wave passed. Ulrich and Rak drew energy blades simultaneously. When they clashed, the blades quickly repelled away from each other, showing the power behind their blows. Rak thrust two times at Ulrich, who easily evaded them. Ulrich kicked Rak, who stumbled back. He was unable to do anything about the blow Ulrich dealt next. Rak was slashed across the face with Ulrich’s energy blade. Rak was weak and Ulrich thought he had nothing left. “Any final words?” Ulrich asked as he raised his sword above Raks head. Rak saved his breath and mustered enough strength to thrust his sword into Ulrich’s chest. Ulrich was completely taken by surprise. He stepped back a few paces then dropped his own blade. Ulrich’s look of horror turned into a smile as he gripped the sword still in his chest and yanked it out. Now it was Rak’s turn to be horrified. Ulrich ripped his robe further to reveal a body of rotting flesh and bone, nothing more. Ulrich laughed a menacing laugh. Jesse and Slik looked on to see what was happening. Jesse had a gash in her shoulder from Slik who had received many minor scratches in their fight. Slik was shocked to see what had become of his old master. Jesse was confused to see most of her brother was a rotting corpse. “I will explain it all later Jesse, go through the portal. I will be right behind you.” Ulrich commanded. Jesse nodded and ran into the void.

Chapter 76: Slik Slik saw that Rak was drained and could not fight any longer. He had to drive Ulrich and The Seeker into the portal if he was going to save Rak. “Seeker, the crystal please.” Ulrich spoke calmly and held out his hand. The Seeker tossed a blue crystal towards Ulrich. Slik could see fragments of Jesse’s memories inside it. He knew then that the only way to free Jesse was to transfer those memories from the crystal to her mind. Slik could control the same elements as Günther, so he used them. Slik closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them he focused his energy into his staff and unleashed it in the form as a devastating lightning bolt. The Seeker being the one with the crystal was the one Slik focused the energy at. The Seeker was caught unprepared and had little time to protect itself. It was able to put up a shield of purple energy just as the lightning bolt struck. The bolts power shocked The Seeker. As a result its shield was weak and began to crumble as the bolt turned into a chain of lightning. Ulrich came between the chain and The Seeker with his own necromantic shield. Slik could feel the death and decay it radiated. Ulrich was now taking on the lightning Slik was focusing. At that moment Günther burst through the doors with soldiers right behind him. He took a moment to look around and see what was happening. He wanted to help Rak but realized Slik would soon be overcome. Ulrichs shield was growing and pushing back Slik’s chain of lightning. Out of the corner of his eye, Slik saw The Seeker slither through the portal and disappear. “I’d love to stay, but I really must be going now.” Ulrich turned his shield into an expanding wave of death. It consumed the Lightning and would destroy any living life form it touched. “Günther, shield Rak!” Slik yelled. He quickly shielded himself. Gunther knelt behind Rak. He focused his energy into a dark shield that surrounded him and Rak. The wave of death left them unharmed because of it. Three of the soldiers didn’t make it out of the room and were killed by the wave. There flesh was destroyed and nothing but a rotting husk was left. They began to rise and advance on the soldiers. The undead caused six more deaths before the soldiers were able to kill them. Slik looked back towards the portal. Ulrich waved and walked through the portal. In a flash of purple light the portal was gone, and so was Ulrich.

Chapter 77: Jesse Jesse shivered. The marsh was cold and dark. Dead trees surrounded her with the voices of the dead. The Kaimo began preparing their shelters, rations, and other essentials they had brought. Jesse could see the Kaimo weren’t very comfortable in this environment. “Jesse, oversee the Kaimo while i’m gone.” “Where are you going, Ulrich?” asked Jesse. “Just into the woods to look around,” Ulrich replied. Jesse nodded and watched as Ulrich quietly walked into the forest of dead trees and disappeared from sight. “Watcher!” The Watcher glided over to Jesse. It seemed to be content with the harsh conditions they were dealing with. “Yes?” “I need you to post sentries or construct some of those vision wards you’re so fond of. Who knows what could be beyond this large clearing.” “As you wish,” The Seeker flew off towards some of the kaimo and began selecting sentries. With that matter taken care of, Jesse looked around to make sure there wasn’t anything else she would need to take care of. The undead were at work with the most difficult tasks and most of the Kaimo were doing work of some sort. She was satisfied that everything was going well, but after a minute she began feeling something. It was strange, like a presence she was very unfamiliar with. Just as Jesse turned around she was tackled by a humanoid creature. She kicked it off her and scurried to her feet. The creature was about as tall as a human. Its arms were a about half a foot longer than a humans. The mouth was much bigger than normal, and its chin was around two inches longer than a humans. Its eyes were blood red except for the large black pupil in the center. Its nose was little more than an elongated bump with two small nostrils on the sides. The ears were slits in the side of its head. The last thing about this creature was the three ridges on top of its head. Based on its long hair and body Jesse guessed this creature was a female. “Big mouth,” Jesse muttered. “You’ll see why?” The creature replied. She opened her mouth to reveal large sharp teeth. The fangs were large enough to bite almost an inch deep into someone’s throat. “So, you can speak english.” “One of the few that can, yes.” The creature drew two long knives and charged forward. Jesse drew her pistol and began unloading rounds. The creature was fast and seemed to blend with the forest. Jesse had an extremely hard time aiming accurately. She deflected bullets that got too close to her and before Jesse knew it she was hit square in the face with the butt of the creatures blade. Jesse’s vision began to fade. She could see the creature kneeling over her, and she could feel something pulling at her heart. It felt as if it was going to break out of her body in an explosion of blood and gore. It became very painful and she could feel her heart moving towards the front of her chest. The last thing she remembered were gun shots, the pain stopping and her heart moving back into place, the creature running away, and the word “Zefmoragh.” Then everything went black.

Chapter 78: Slik After the battle, Rak’s army settled in to the city to lick their wounds. Prisoners were interrogated, wounded soldiers healed or died, and new plans were made. Slik had just finished trying to locate his sword for the 50th time now and finally got something. He lept out of his bed and sprinted to Rak’s room. After stumbling into soldiers and into various objects he nearly fell through the doorway. “I did it!” Slik gasped out of breath. Rak was caught by surprise and lept out of his chair, startled. “You finally got a sense of where your sword is?” “Yes I did.” For the first time in forever Rak slightly smiled. He put down the energy blade he had picked up when Slik first barged in. “Well then, where is it?” Rak asked. “If it took you this long to find it then it must be pretty far away.” “Well, not exactly. You see its actually only a few planets away,” Slik replied. Rak just stared at him. “Then why the hell would it take this long?!” Rak was boggled by this. He sighed and began to speak when Slik interrupted him. “It wouldn’t have taken that long normally. The sword’s presence was masked by a far greater power. That planet, or at least something on that planet is much more powerful than my sword, more powerful than me, or you, or Ulrich.” Rak nodded. “Tell Gunther to get ready to leave.” Slik nodded once and left. As soon as he stepped into the corridor he got a massive headache. he didn’t have the strength to talk to gunther so he began to head to his room. The first soldier he passed asked if he was okay. Slik waved him away and stumbled on. Most soldiers feared Slik and never talked to him unless absolutely necessary. That was what made Slik realize that something was terribly off. He began seeing visions of Ulrich. Nothing left of his flesh but the right half of his face. Everything else was bone and rot. Despite Ulrichs decaying body his power was growing. Slik could feel it.

Chapter 79: Ulrich Ulrich began to head back to the camp when he heard gunshots coming that direction. He ran through the forest of dead trees. He had little time to think of the broken down structure he had seen from the ledge he had found. he hadn’t traveled very far and it only took a few minute of running to get back to the camp. Jesse was knocked unconscious and he saw a strange figure diving into the woods. It was obviously a hostile and it filled Ulrich with rage. As he thrust his fist in the direction the creature went, black lightning erupted from his fist destroying dead trees that stood in its path. After the lightning died and the destruction ended he could see no sign of the strange creature. “What the hell was that?!” Ulrich demanded from no one in particular. The Watcher appeared next Ulrich. “It appeared out of the woods and attacked Jesse. Before the Undead drove it away, it looked like it was trying to pull something out of her.” Ulrich nodded. “Where is The Seeker?” Ulrich asked. The Watcher pointed to a temporary research station with his tentacle. Ulrich didn’t go to The Seeker right away. Instead he went to see Jesse. She was still unconscious and medics were swarming around her looking for any signs of damage done by that creature. “Is there anything wrong with her?” asked Ulrich. The medic took a few minutes to finish his scan before replying to Ulrich. “Nothing but minor scratches and bruises at first, but then we took more advanced scans and saw that her heart had shifted forward and then back into place. We have no idea what could have caused this.” “I expect that creature had something to do with this.” Ulrich nodded and walked away to look for The Seeker. Just like the Watcher had said he was in a temporary research looking at various samples of wood, dirt, rocks, and other things found in the environment. “Find anything interesting in those?” Asked Ulrich. The Seeker shook his head and put the samples back into their containers before speaking. “Nothing, but you’re here for another reason.” “Yes, I need you to investigate a ruin I found southwest of the clearing.” “I’ll get right on that,” The Seeker said as he left the research station.

Chapter 80: Günther Günther opened the door to Rak’s room. “Hey, I just heard we were leaving this place soon.” Günther said. “You just found that out now?!” “Yeah, Slik looked terrible when he told me.” Günther replied. “I asked him to tell you over a half hour ago!” Rak was angry, Günther should have known a long time ago. Rak got up from his chair and sped towards Slik’s room. “Alright, um, I guess I’ll just check the space frigates, and, yeah.” Günther headed towards the grounded frigates. During the time Günther had been on these frigates, he learned much more about machinery and engineering than he had ever thought he would. He was walking passed one of the generator rooms when he heard a strange noise in one of the generator rooms. He stopped walking and turned towards the door. No one was supposed to be in that generator room as far as he knew. He slowly opened the door. He saw a Kaimo messing with the generator. He had the symbol of a major Kaimo clan and had the war paint of an engineer. Günther swung the door open and channeled a bolt of lightning towards the kaimo. His reactions were fast and he was able to jump out of the way. Günther morphed into a shadow and reappeared behind the Kaimo. Günther received three quick punches to the face and fell backwards. the Kaimo drew a knife and lunged. he was on top of Günther now, but before he could stab him Günther breathed fumes of pestilence into the Kaimo’s face. he fell backwards, and full of shock and confusion, choked to death on the deadly, disease filled air. After the Kaimo was dead, the fumes dissipated into the air. Günther restored the generator to the way it was before the kaimo messed with it. He picked up the kaimo corpse and walked out of the room. “Note to self, disease breath has a terrible aftertaste,” Gunther mumbled as he walked down the hallway and into the frigate command room.

Chapter 81: Rak Rak was standing in the bridge of his command frigate when Günther came in carrying a dead Kaimo corpse. “Where in H-.” Rak didn’t get to finished before Günther started. “I found him in the generator room, trying to sabotage the generators. Don’t worry, I fixed them all up.” Rak nodded and they were silent for a few moments. “Oh, and disease breath has a terrible aftertaste, I don’t suggest using it unless you have too.” Günther added. “Is that why your breath smells so bad?” Asked Rak. “Yup.” They both laughed. Günther left to throw the kaimo body off the ship when he stopped. “How is Slik?” asked Günther “He is fine, he just had a headache, I’m sure he’s fine now.” Rak replied. “Good.” Without saying anything more Günther left the room still carrying the Kaimo. Rak began to think about the Kaimo. Maybe there was more than Ulrich to worry about. Rak dismissed the thought. He had more important things to worry about. When Günther returned they signalled the other frigates to start up. They lifted off the ground slowly at first. They began to gain speed as they got higher off the ground. Soon they were soaring through the air. “Günther, activate warp speed.” Günther nodded and pulled a lever. Within seconds everything outside of there frigate was white. Very soon, they were facing a planet with lots of forests and oceans. Slik arrived and guided them to where he could feel the presence of his sword. They came across a small village with a stone tower.The tower was on a small hill near the rear of the small village. “It’s in that village somewhere.” Slik said. “Then we better get down there and find it.” Rak replied. Günther brought the frigate down to the edge of the village. The others followed. Günther gave the controls to another pilot as he followed Rak and Slik to the rest of their army. As they were lowered down from the frigate in large transport ships Rak could see the village barricading the dirt roads with wagons, barrels, crates, and other random objects. He realized the figures were Kaimo. The Kaimo were armed with nothing more than swords, spears, axes, and primitive explosives. Rak drew his energy blade and signalled for his soldiers to advance. Spears were thrown, explosives were thrown, and rocks were thrown. the soldiers began shooting back and The Kaimo began dropping like flies. After a few minutes the Kaimo stopped resisting and began to flee to towards the tower. This was beginning to be easier than Rak ever expected it would be. Soon Slik would have his sword back and they could move on. But Rak’s mind was changed in a mere moment. Rak could see a feeble kaimo in the tower watching as his village was invaded. Rak paid no attention to him and continued through the village. Rak saw looked back at the tower and saw the old man leap higher than his frigate and come flying back down. Rak’s eyes grew wide as he saw this. “What the hell?” Rak wondered. The next moment the old Kaimo landed with more force than 500 grenades. Rak’s entire army was sent flying backwards. The next moment a giant thunderstorm brewed out of nothing within seconds. The old Kaimo pointed towards the frigates and fiery blue boulders began falling out of the sky, pelting the frigates. Soon they were swaying back in forth beginning to smash into each other. “We need to stop him before he destroys our only way off this planet!” Yelled Rak. Günther nods and channeled a powerful lightning bolt straight for the Kaimo. The Kaimo closed his eyes as it hit him. After a few minutes of standing there with his eyes closed, he opened them again. Two lightning bolts erupted from his eyes, launching Günther back into the forest. The Kaimo pointed his staff toward Rak’s army. A wave of disease erupted from the air and sweeped over his army. He looked around to see everyone passing unconscious or just collapsing. Slik fell face first on to the ground next to Rak. He could see one of his frigate’s falling from the sky in a fiery explosion. Soon he was the only one left standing. But it wasn’t long until Rak fell to the ground, unconscious.

Chapter 82: Ulrich Later the Seeker returned from his trip to the ruin. Ulrich was talking to Jesse about the creature that attacked her. The only detail she could remember was her heart being pulled out of place. The Seeker approached Ulrich just as he left Jesse’s side. “What did you find, Seeker?” Ulrich been waiting for The Seeker to return for some time, but he was patient and knew it would be valuable information. “The ruin is very old, and seems to have been undisturbed for many centuries,” Ulrich nodded. “Anything else?” “Yes, there is a protective ward placed within the ruin powered by death energy. Similar to the energy your amulet holds.” Ulrich thought about this for a few minutes. What could possibly be in that ruin. “Then that’s where we’re going.” Ulrich’s decision was final, and even if The Seeker wanted to change Ulrich’s mind. He probably wouldn’t be able to get close. The Kaimo went to packing up camp and mobilizing any equipment they set up. Soon everything was ready and they began marching southwest into the woods. Shambling animals could be seen through the dark woods, wandering aimlessly. As they went on they saw a figure of a bird in a dead tree above the ground. It was large and had razors on its beak. When they got closer they saw it was rotting and not actually living. It had been reanimated and now roams the trees with no goal or even a consciousness. “Even the native animals are just reanimated corpses, this place is full of death and decay,” Jesse complains. Ulrich nods and continues through the woods. After another hour of walking they come to the valley where Ulrich found the ruin. A large bubble of death energy could be seen surrounding the old castle. “This thing is huge! It could fit an entire army,” exclaims Jesse. Ulrich studies the ruin for several minutes. “Lets see if we can crack this shield.” Ulrich’s amulet glows as he focuses a large amount of energy into the shield. After a few minutes the shield collapsed. The Seeker rubbed his large hands together. The Seeker steps passed the patch of ground that had been scorched by the shield. “Now we can see what’s inside. Great job Ulrich.” “But, that wasn’t me.”

Chapter 83: Rak Rak woke up with an old Kaimo looking down on him. Rak was confused and looked around. He could see lots of Kaimo treating his soldiers and helping them find their weapons and equipment they lost. On both sides of him were Günther and Slik, who hadn’t wakened yet. The old Kaimo helped Rak to his feet. “You are strong,” said the Kaimo. “I haven’t seen someone as strong as you for a long long time.” Rak stood there for a moment. Why is she helping me? Rak tried to remember what happened before he woke up. It took him several minutes before he recalled the old Kaimo that now stood before him, destroying his fleet of ships and wiping out his entire army. “So, you destroyed one of the strongest armies in the human colonies in a matter of seconds?” Asked Rak. The old Kaimo nodded. “I knew you wouldn’t listen to me then, so I had to knock you out first.” They stood in silence for a few moments. “Walk with me for a little while,” the Old Kaimo said. “So me and my army began killing your people yet you let us live?” The old Kaimo nodded. “What you know about the Kaimo isn’t very accurate. To the Kaimo on Konzuel you are raiders, killers, invaders, but not to us. To us you are were merely strangers to us.” Rak smiled. The Old kaimo pointed to a large tower made of stone. “I know what you want, You want a sword belonging to one of your generals.” Rak nodded slowly. “How could that tower help us? Is it there?” The Old Kiamo smiled. “In that tower, you will find books leading to your friend’s sword. They should be at the very top. I am too old to go up there, but I will wait for you at the entrance.” The Kaimo waved him off and he walked to the tower. Once inside, he inspected the place. It was run-down wood and looked as if it had been burned recently. Every plank of wood creaked beneath him as he walked down a small corridor. At the end of it, there was a wood staircase that looked like it would fall apart. He started to descend it, hoping it wouldn’t collapse under his weight. Rak looked up and saw several stories of staircases left. He sighed and kept going. WHen he got to the first story landing, he heard a rumbling sound. He looked down and saw the staircase slowly crumbling under him. He started into a sprint, trying to be as careful as possible, but it was no use. It seemed as if the falling steps followed him. 4, 5, 6, 7, he thought as he sprinted faster. How many more flights are there?! He sprinted faster, but he was tiring. 15, 16, 17, 18. Finally, he could see the top of the tower. Dust particles flew around him, and everything seemed to slow down. He stopped sprinting and broke into a jog. The landing into the next room was directly in front of him. 30 stories, he thought, shaking his head. He stopped for breath and looked down. The staircase was in ruins. Totally burned down. He wondered how to get down to the bottom floor. Shrugging, he walked into the room. It was massive. Books lined all of the walls. A sign on one of the walls read, “Request.” He said calmly, “Slik.” Nothing happened. He tried again: “Sword.” The bookshelves started rattling. Rak stepped back a little, almost falling to his death. Suddenly, three books flew out of the shelves and into his closed arms. He set them down and picked them up one by one. None of them had covers, but two of them had scratched out writing on their damaged spines. The first one’s had “The Soul Sword” on it. The second one read, “The Necromancer”. The third one was different. It had a blank spine, no cover and no writing inside. He figured it was a journal or something like that. He put his comlink on with an ancient light on the book, but nothing happened. No invisible ink. He tried writing in it. It disappeared. Then he thought, This sucks. The book appeared with the words in it. Hmm. Entry 1. The words appeared once again. He closed the book and tucked it in his pack. He looked at the soul sword book. He saw it showed the exact whereabouts of the Sword. He read the coordinates of it, then entered them in his comlink and checked what it said. “Soul Sword. Created Three million years before the first Kaimo war. When the original owner was murdered, his sword collected his sword, making it stronger. It doesn’t crave souls, but collects any souls from whom it kills or is killed nearby. Currently belongs to Slik of Ventrii. Many have tried to kill him to get it, none have succeeded because of the power of the sword.” And that was only the introduction. He put the books in his pack. He would read the other one later. Right now, he had to help his friend.

Chapter 84: Jesse Jesse practically waltzed in with her brother at her side. There were a clutter of bones and old books scattered on the floor of the castle and a small throne at the other side. Jesse looked around. “Why is there a throne in every freakin’ castle that we get to explore?!” The castle rumbled, as if it were going to collapse. Ulrich chuckled and picked up a book. “Necromancy,” he said. “I could keep a few of these…” Jesse’s smile faded. The scattered bones started to move. The books flew to dusty shelves nearby, and the bones had arranged themselves into a skeleton. Ulrich stood back-to-back with Jesse, weapons raised. A dark laugh surrounded the small army and the Kaimo looked for the source of the noise with fear in their eyes. In a flash of light, the skeleton’s eyes lit up red and said, “You shouldn’t have come. Even if you go through me, the Guardian will kill you.” It raised its sword. Ulrich and Jesse followed. “Open fire!” Jesse yelled. Bullets flew everywhere. They just bounced off the skeleton. Ulrich raised his fist, and they immediately ceased. Then they attacked.

Chapter 85: Ulrich Ulrich swung his sword at the skeleton’s head. It bounced right off and dented. He pulled out an energy sword and stabbed it in the chest where his heart would have been. It fell apart to the ground in a pile of bones and dust. He turned around and had Jesse at his side, starting to walk, when the skeleton grew back and even bigger. It was now glowing with energy. Jesse grinned. She charged with her swords flying behind her back and threw them at the skeleton. Before they could hit it, its arm hit her back, and she flew ten feet, sending her into a bookshelf, unconscious. Ulrich shook his head. “Some things, you just have to do yourself!” He jumped in a fit of rage at the skeleton, until it was falling apart. With its last ounce of strength, it sliced its sword into Ulrich’s side with fire in its once empty eyes. Then it fell to the ground with only dust and bones as its remains. Ulrich fell to the ground. His side was bleeding furiously from the sword swipe. A Medic Kaimo hurried over and quickly stitched his wound. A big scrape was left, and it stung really badly. He struggled to get up, but he managed to get over to his sister, who was stirring. “Huh?” Jesse asked, gazed. “Ulrich, did you kill it?” He smiled and nodded, but not for long. His smile faded with the swooshing sounds buzzing behind him.

Chapter 86: Rak Rak paced back and forth. He looked down what seemed like an abyss. What do I do?, he thought. I can’t jump. I’ll break my leg or worse. Then he remembered. He had psychic powers. He created a platform of psychic matter and jumped on it. It encased him and levitated him to the ground. Then it broke, splashing everything around him. He wiped some off of his shoulder and walked out the door. The old Kaimo was sitting across from the tower. She smiled and walked over. He pulled the three books out of his bag and handed them to her. She looked with a cautioned look on her face and looked slowly at the book named The Necromancer. She frowned. “This isn’t the book you were looking for,” she said. Rak looked at her. “It looked interesting, but that’s not the only one.” He gestured to the bag. The old Kaimo took out the other labeled book. “Ah. The Soul Sword. This is the book. This book shows the exact whereabouts of your friend’s weapon. And I presume you have put it in your… device?” “Yes’m.” He showed her the most recent entry in the comlink. She smiled. “Good. You should go. You will encounter dangers on your journey in the Cave. I will give you a device to instantly bring you there through teleportation. But first, let me see your third book.” He nodded and pulled it out. He gave it to her and she took it. She flipped it on its spine. She gasped and dropped it. Rak quickly picked it up. “Go,” the Kaimo commanded. “Get that out of my sight!” Rak looked startled. “What’s wrong with the diary?” She waved him off. “Go. It is too terrible. Take this and go.” She handed him the Device. He turned away with a questioning look and started to use the device. “Wait! Rak!” she yelled. “Sorry. I cannot tell you the story, but use the diary to record your events. We will see what happens when you return.” He smiled. “Yes’m.” He flipped his thumb up, then turned and started running. He pressed a button on the device, and he vanished from the old Kaimo’s eyes.

Chapter 87: Jesse Jesse looked back and saw the skeleton. “Crap,” she muttered. “Ulrich! You own an undead army! How the heck did you mess this up?!” She took her energy sword and stabbed it through the skull. It tried to look up, shrugged and swung. It backed her into a corner. They clashed. Neither made any progress in killing each other. They broke a small potted plant on the ground. She stabbed it finally through the chest and swung up, down, up, down, up, down, until it was damaged beyond repair. It fell to the ground. Then she shot a small blast of fire and lightning into it, and it exploded in a pile of dust. Ulrich stood in front of her, panting hard. He frowned. “Don’t EVER call your MASTER an idiot!” He shocked her with a strong bolt of lightning. Jesse screamed and writhed on the ground. But it wasn’t long until she stood up and fought against it. “I thought I was… your SISTER!” She fought back with a strong blast of lightning. Ulrich ceased and he was flung back. He quickly got up and dusted himself off as if nothing happened. He shook his head as to fling away bad memories and said, “Yes. Sorry, Jesse. I don’t know what got into me.” She breathed in deeply and let go of her rage. “Okay, Ulrich. Let’s get moving.” They didn’t get far, though. “All living belong to the dead,” rang a strange voice throughout the castle. Ulrich and Jesse looked around but couldn’t see anybody. A moment later, an ethereal figure appeared. It was obscured by a faint mist around it. Ulrich could make out three eyes spread out about half an inch apart. Thin, but tall, pointed ears that rose up about three inches above its head. It was thin as far as Ulrich could tell and about seven and a half feet tall. As it appeared, dust that sat around the room for centuries began to swirl around. A ball of fire manifested in Jesse’s hand, she flung it at the ghost. It held up a hand and the fireball dissipated into nothing. The dust that had been swirling throughout the room now carried bones and fused them together into a huge bone abomination. A huge axe, eight feet tall flew out of a corner in the room. The nineteen feet tall bone monster caught it in its right hand. It raised the axe high into the air, almost to the ceiling. With surprising speed, the axe came down. Jesse had little time to conjure a shield in time to prevent the blow. She wasn’t able to muster enough energy and the shield was broken. Jesse was knocked back into the wall far to the right. She fell to the ground, barely breathing, as warm blood pooled from her body.

Chapter 88: Günther Günther watched in horror as his best friend and brother was killed by Rohik’ Szokar. He tried to stop him, but it only made it worse. Rohik then slowly lumbered over with his sword raised. As it swung down, Günther stirred. He woke up in a strange room. Where am I? Rak? Slik? He sat up. A Kaimo stood over him. He reached for his sword, but it wasn’t there. Then he reached up and grabbed her neck. As she choked, he looked around slowly. He saw Slik heavily unconscious in a cot next to him. The looked back at the Kaimo. He slowly let go of her neck. She bent over and coughed. Günther looked around. He saw a small white room. Cots lined the walls. Three were occupied, one with his ally and friend, and two with different species he hadn’t seen before. They looked very pale, too. Are they dead?, he wondered. “No, they are not.” The Kaimo nurse stood over his cot, a forgiving look on her face. Günther’s face turned white. “Wha-Um-Sorry? How-” he stammered. She smiled. “Hello, Günther. I am Teyth Groå.” “But- How- Aren’t you- Ugh.” He seemed to give up talking. “Sorry about all the sudden confusion,” Teyth said. “I am a member of the Kaimo race, that part is correct. But I am different from the ones you fight.. See, I am part of a clan inside the Kaimo race, but I do not believe in violence and the sworn enemy the Kaimo have made out of your race. When you landed, you seemed like a threat to our peace, so we were forced to knock your friend, Rak, out. You and your friend here, made my job easier; you were already unconscious.” Günther started to understand, but he popped up when he heard his brother’s name. “Rak! Where is he?” he exclaimed. “If I am correct, our Elder has started him on his journey for your friend’s… weapon.” Günther sighed. Now he felt useless, now that Rak had already gone for the Sword. He fell back in his cot. Sighing again, he said, “Can you tell me where he went?” “Sorry, Günther. I was told to not let you leave. You are too weak and need to recover.” Günther laid back farther. “Oh well. I guess I’ll just have to stay and do… This!” He swung at Teyth, who grabbed his fist and threw him back to his cot. She turned with her hands behind her back so she wasn’t facing him. “I’m sorry, Günther, but you aren’t supposed to leave yet.” She walked out of the room and locked the door. Günther immediately shot up out of his cot. He swung himself over the side and ran to the door. He pounded for a moment, but it wasn’t much help. He turned to walk back. But he paused. One of the aliens was sitting up, rubbing its head.

Chapter 89: Rak Rak appeared in a rocky ravine. He saw a cave above him carved into a rock. It looked as if water was its cause. He looked for a way to get up there. He tried a matter platform, but when it appeared, it was too big and it started to shake the cave. He broke it and looked for foot holes. He walked over to it and grabbed a rock and started to climb. He jumped from rock to rock as he made his way up the steep cliffside. He slipped off a rock and he fell a few feet, but landed on a small cliff. The rock crumbled below him and he grabbed a hold of another. He was bruised a bit, but not bad. He climbed a few feet higher. Looking up, he saw a few feet above him was the entrance to the cave. He jumped and made it to the top, standing in front of its massive entrance. He walked in the cave and lit his com up. The cave was a huge chamber which narrowed into two hallways at the end of it. He slowly walked and looked around. There was water dripping from the ceiling. He looked up, but there wasn’t anything. His heart started beating a little faster. He got to the intersection. He looked from hall to hall and decided to run the first one. He ran faster, adrenaline pumping. He came to a hallway that narrowed further. He squeezed through, and luckily, it wasn’t that way for long. He dove through and made it in a wide circular room. Four paths were on each side of the room. He didn’t know which one to go through, but he assumed that he had made it to the first correct path. He then remembered: the coordinates in his com. He checked and moved from the entrance of each one. He saw the coordinates led through the third one. He broke into a sprint. He saw a faint glow ahead. Then he heard something behind drop behind him.

Chapter 90: Ulrich The giant abomination slowly turned its head towards Ulrich. It lumbered forward slowly raising his massive axe. The three purple creatures that served Ulrich rushed to his aid. All three of them letting beams of purple energy cut the abomination in half. It crumbled to the ground, the axe hit the ground with a large bang. When the dust cleared the ghost could be seen still as before. Ulrich launched dark spheres of energy one after another at the ghost. It weaved and dodged each one Ulrich threw. Soon he was only a few feet away from Ulrich. The ghost almost as soon as it stopped moving took hold of Ulrich’s mind. He found all of Ulrich’s worst memories and forced him to remember them all at once. He exited Ulrich’s mind and watched as he sank to the ground. “I have broken your will to fight, now bow down!” Ulrich looked up and stared at the ghost. His soldiers that were present were shocked, The purple creatures even had a tinge of emotion on their face. “Anyone can fall, it depends on how they fight.” After the ghost’s little speech, he let out an ear piercing laugh. “I have no intention of killing any of you though, a few hours of rest and he’ll be back to normal. So make yourselves at home. I’ll be back later.”

Chapter 91: Rak Rak turned a quick glance behind him. He saw a skeleton creature sprinting at him. It would catch up to him, so he gave up and stood his ground, pulling out his sword. He held it out as the skeleton slowed. It pulled out its own version of a sword, made of a carved bone. Rak swung. It hopped over and swung back. Rak blocked the blow and shot it with a blast of fire. It bent back, but came right back up, swinging once again. Rak swung to block it, but it skinned his knee. The pain stung and he felt the warm feel of blood, but it just fueled his anger. He swung with more force this time, and made contact with the skeleton’s ribcage. The skeleton swung back, but then dropped its sword and clutched its bottom rib, as if it felt pain. Rak swiftly laid a final blow to its head, then started running. He immediately stopped and clutched his leg. He took a small cloth from his uniform and put it on the wound, then broke into another full sprint. The glow got bigger and bigger. Finally, he reached another big room and saw the source of the glow. Only one thing stood in his way: A man’s figure standing over the glow. Rak grimaced. “Gordon.”

Chapter 92: Günther Günther looked closely at the creature. It had shiny skin and small eyes. It looked as if it could change shape. It stared back at him. Finally, he walked a step closer. The creature held up its hand and Günther stopped. “I am Fessha Héceve. I was fighting the ancient Krystov race. I was on my way to their planet when I was injured in a space battle, and was forced to crash land in the Fire Zone of Ventrii. Teyth found me unconscious and dragged me here. The person next to me is Shaden Kosaar, part of my crew.” Günther nodded. “I am Günther. I am a Huminek fighting the Kaimo race. The leader, Ulrich, brainwashed our best warrior and now she is with him. She is his brother, and that is an even better reason to join him without question. Next to me here is Slik. He got pretty banged up in our last battle. My brother Rak, woke first and is on a mission for his sword. Honestly, I should be with him, but Teyth was given orders to not let me leave. What species are you? I don’t think I’ve seen your type of species before.” Fessha shrugged. “I am of the race Craythrys. We have less than one hundred people left. We have been wiped out by the Krystov and Dedlok. The Dedlok retreated in our last battle, but the Krystov are still strong. We need to kill off those races, or we will be killed first.” Günther thought for a minute. This could be an alliance. Or a trap. Fessha held out her hand. “So… alliance? We’ll fight together. We will be the start of an army.” She smiled. ` Günther smiled too. “Okay, Fessha. Alliance.” He took her hand. They got up and looked around. “So now what, Fessha?” Günther asked. “The glass over there is a window. I saw Teyth looking through it earlier.” Günther nodded. “I have an idea.” He walked over to it. He noticed a small button on the side of the glass. He pressed it and waited for something to happen. “Yes, Günther?” asked a small speaker under the button. Teyth’s voice was coming through. “Can you come in here?” he replied. There was a silence, then the door clicked open. Teyth walked in, shutting it behind her. “Yes, Günther?” Teyth asked, annoyed. “Oh, I see the Crathys is up.” Fessha grimaced. “I have a name, you know.” Teyth clenched her fists. “What is it? Does it even matter?” Fessha moved closer, as if to start a fight. “Yes. It’s Fessha. Now, do you want a fist in your face, or are you going to listen to Günther?” Teyth sighed. She unclenched her fists. “Yes. Sorry, Fessha. I have a lot going on. Now what, Günther?” Günther hid a smile. “Okay. So Fessha and I just made an alliance. We want to get out of here once the others wake up.” He gestured to Slik and Shaden. Teyth crossed her arms. “You did, did you?” She tried to hide a grin. Günther and Fessha looked at each other and smiled. “Yup,” they said in unison. Teyth smiled. “Okay. We’ll find Rak when they wake up.” The two warriors smiled and nodded. “That’s how you do it,” Fessha said. Teyth walked over to Slik. She took his pulse. She shook her head. “Umm… guys?” she said. The other guys walked over. “What’s wrong?”, Günther said. Teyth looked up. “No pulse.”

Chapter 93: The Ghost A few hours later the ghost reappeared next to Jesse and Ulrich. Jesse was still recovering from her wounds. Ulrich had almost fully recovered from his fight with the ghost himself, he was still tired and more depressed than usual. “Your depression will wear off within the hour.” As he spoke, the ghost pulled a book off the shelf next to Ulrich. He set it down next to him. “What’s this?” Ulrich asked. “Volume 1 of 3 books teaching basic necromancy, which is actually quite complicated. With that amulet you should be able to pick it up rather fast.” Ulrich picked up the book and looked at the cover. “You may want to spend your time reading these and any other useful books you find here, you’ll need what they can teach you.” Ulrich nodded and opened the book and began reading. The ghost found the three purple creatures at work setting up experiments and temporary labs. The Reaper was tinkering with his staff, The watcher was adjusting his vision sentries, The seeker was working on some weird device that The Ghost had never seen before. “You three.” The creatures looked back all at once. At the sight of the ghost they put up their guard. “I need you three to look for any books that involve necromancy and bring them to Ulrich.” They stared at him for a moment and then left to collect the books. The ghost saw a crystal next to The Seekers device. He moved to the table and examined the crystal. He saw memories that belonged to Jesse. “Interesting, this crystal seems to hold memories that belong to someone else, Jesse.” The Ghost nodded and left the room. As He traveled through the castle he saw many kaimo soldiers, most of them were undead and were just laying around. He made his way to the highest spire of the castle and looked over vast dead forest. The trees ran out and all he could see was dead grass and ancient buildings. He could see small figures in the grassland moving about. “We only have about a week or two before they get here” He said to himself. “There is work to be done”.

Chapter 94: Rak/Günther Rak simply stared as Gordon turned around. Gordon picked up the sword and flipped it in his hands. “Beautiful, isn’t it, Rak?” he said. Rak looked at the sword. “Let go of it, traitor.” Gordon looked up. “I don’t really want to. See, I quit your stupid army for a good reason. You know your… pitiful leader?”

“Yeah,” Rak said. “And I’ll avenge his death right now.” He pulled out his sword and walked forward. Gordon picked it up and held it tight, ready to charge. “I’m so sorry about Jek and Günther. Why don’t I avenge them for you?” They ran at each other full speed. They clashed, and it shook the whole cavern. The full force of the swords’ blows destroyed each other’s perfect focus. They both were flung back at separate walls, only to charge again. Gordon swung at Rak’s shoulder. Rak felt pain sear up it and grimaced, blocking another blow. “Your master didn’t know ANYTHING!” Gordon screamed. “He didn’t understand that they needed more POWER to destroy the Kaimo!” “So you JOINED them?!” Rak screeched back, laying a blow on Gordon’s right knee. Gordon buckled and fell to the ground, dropping the sword. “You’ll never understand why I did it Rak. If only you did, then you would have made the right choice and joined me. But you fought along the side of your brother and ally, Jesse. It was so easy that our plans worked. What happened to Günther? Oh right, he almost died. And where is your precious Jesse now?” Rak’s face fell and the sound of her name. He swung harder. “Don’t forget, Gordon, that Günther IS alive, because of your help, don’t forget, and Slik is with us now. And now, I WILL bring Jesse back after this battle is over.” He held his sword to Gordon’s neck. “Surrender, Gordon.” Gordon dropped his sword and scooted against a rocky wall. He looked for a way to escape, but there wasn’t any. Rak raised his sword. “I said surrender, Gordon. Or, would you like to join the Old Slik in the pits of oblivion?” Gordon grinned. “Neither.” He shot a blast of fire at Rak and grabbed the sword. Rak blocked off the exit of the cave with a matter shield. “This is my sword. I have reached it first, and you shall be the first to die from my reign. I plan to take it to Ulrich myself and kill him personally. Then, your army is next.” Rak put his sword on the ground. “We’re evenly matched. Even though I’d love to drown you right now, put your weapons down. We will only use our fists and our elements.” Rak started to fill the cavern with water. *** “What do you mean, no pulse?!” Günther screamed. Teyth frowned and her eyes swelled up. “I think he’s dead, Günther.” Günther ran over to Slik’s body. “That can’t be!” he screamed. “No! Slik! Wake up!” He pounded on the lifeless chest of his new friend. “SLIK!” Teyth gestured to Günther and she and Fessha grabbed and restrained him. “Let me go!” he screamed at them. “Let me GO!” He pulled out of their grasp and pounded on Slik’s heart. “I’m sorry, Günther,” Fessha said. “He’s dead.” “But there’s gotta be a way!” Günther cried. Then he thought of it. He grabbed Slik’s chest and pounded it with a blast of lightning. Nothing. He tried again. Nothing. He tried one last time. Nothing. He started crying and laid on his friend’s lifeless corpse. But then he heard something. A beat.

Chapter 95: Günther/Rak Günther pumped his fist in the air as his friend, white-faced, popped up and took a huge deep breath. “You know my sword keeps me from dying, right?” Slik smiled. Günther hugged him and filled him in. “So basically, Slik, this is Fessha, this is Teyth, and this,” he said gesturing to Shaden, “is Shaden. He’s the last one to wake.” “Where’s Rak?” Slik asked. Günther sighed. “I have no idea, but he’s on a mission for your sword.” Slik’s eyes opened. “No! Crap. If he brings that sword out of the cave, he will die!” Günther’s eyes widened. “Oh crap. We gotta wake up that Shaden guy. He’s been asleep long enough.” Günther walked over and felt Shaden’s chest. It was faintly beating. He took a small orb of lightning and shoved it into the young warrior. Immediately, Shaden woke up, white-faced as well. His hands grabbed Günther’s neck and started screaming. “WHERE IS SHE?!” he screamed. Günther started choking and put his hands around his neck to try and pull them away. Fessha scrambled over. “Shaden! No!” she yelled. Shaden caught a glimpse of her and slowly let go of Günther. Günther bent forward and coughed for a while. Fessha sat on Shaden’s cot. “Shaden!” she yelled. She hugged him and he pulled away, saying, “Hi Fessha. What’d I miss?” She smiled, but quickly stopped. She glanced over to Günther, who was still kneeling and coughing. She helped him up and waved Slik and Teyth over. “Shaden, this is Günther, Slik, and Teyth. She was your nurse. I have made an alliance with Günther and Slik, who are fighting the Kaimo forces. Günther’s brother, Rak is already on a mission for Slik’s sword, but we need to get there before Rak does, because he might die. Now we will all fight each other’s enemies in our little army here. Now, are you with us?” She held out her hand and smiled. He smiled and took it. Günther helped him stand. “Sor-,” Shaden started to say, but Günther cut him off. “No hard feelings.” Günther shook his hand. Then Teyth walked over. “So, we need a plan to meet Rak before he gets the sword. Does anybody know where it is?” she said. Slik raised his hand and said, “My bind to the sword will show me the way. I know where the cave is. Teyth, can you get us teleportation devices?” “No, but I do have a stone the elder gave me.” She sighed. “But I guess I’m part of your army now.” She ran out the door and came back a few minutes later, throwing the stone to Slik. They all grabbed hands. “Hurry, Slik, Focus on the location, After the stone has been activated, it only has a small period of time where it will work.” Slik focused on the location and they teleported away. *** Rak splashed a tidal wave full force over Gordon. Gordon deflected it. “Water’s not gonna do much, Rak. I know you’ve got more.” Rak grimaced. He made a ball of psychic energy and threw it. Gordon simply waved it away. Rak then made matter steps in the air and flipped over Gordon. He kicked him and it collided with Gordon’s jaw. Gordon’s fists clenched. Rak dissipated the water and circled Gordon, fists raised. Gordon made the first move, a strong punch to the gut. But Rak was fast enough to grab the hand and pull Gordon to the ground. He kicked Gordon in the face and started to walk away, when he felt the full force of Gordon’s tackle. They exchanged blows until they were a rolling mess of a fight on the ground. Rak punched, Gordon kicked back. It seemed like it wouldn’t end. Rak laid a couple more blows, then saw something gleam behind Gordon’s ear. He pinned Gordon down and punched it.

Gordon writhed in agony on the ground. He yelled, “This isn’t the last you’ll see of me, Rak! You won the battle, but I’ll win the war!” He grabbed his head and tried to control the pain, but it wasn’t any use. Seconds later, Gordon lay still. Rak didn’t hesitate to see if he was dead or not. He grabbed the sword and his pack, dissipated the matter shield, then started sprinting out of the cavern, which started to collapse behind him. I will soon be reunited with Günther and Slik. Hopefully, they are awake. He made it to the next cavern and sprinted through it, but didn’t make it far. For Slik tackled him from behind.

Chapter 96: Jesse Jesse was very tired and weak. “Ulrich, I want to take a walk. I need to see if I can walk.” She started to get up painfully. “Okay, Jesse. I’ll stay here and wait until you return.” Ulrich helped her up. She smiled and limped out of the castle’s corridor. I’m so lucky to have him as a brother. Once we get stronger, we will DESTROY Rak’s army. She walked through the castle halls slowly and looked at all of the corridors. She saw The Seeker slowly slithering out of one room. “Hello, Jesse,” it said. Jesse smiled and walked past it. She looked curiously into the room The Seeker went out of. There was a huge lab set up inside, with many things cooking inside. In the corner was the mysterious crystal she had seen before. Ulrich had tried to protect it from Rak’s army. She walked over to it and stared into its small crystal surface. She saw a faint vision. She saw herself through the glass. She also saw Rak though. What’s he doing here? She peered closer into the crystal. She then saw the worst thing yet. She was fighting next to him. She screamed and dropped the crystal. It hit the floor and immediately broke in two pieces. The world went black.

Chapter 97: Rak Rak got up, cuts and bruises stinging. He took a look at Slik, who was getting up, and punched him in the face. Slik clenched his nose, where blood was running down, and pointed behind him. Rak looked and saw Günther standing there with three other species of creatures. Slik took his own hand and wiped the blood from his face. “Probably deserved that,” Slik muttered. “Sorry, Rak, but you can’t carry that outside, or you’ll die. Long story. Please hand it over. We’ll fill you in when we get out.” Slik held out his hand. Rak looked at the sword. He reluctantly handed it over. Slik smiled and hugged him. “Thanks, dude.” Rak smiled back, but stopped with a confused look. Günther looked, and sighed. “Right. Let’s get you out of here, bro.” They walked out and Rak sat on a small stone. Slik filled him in quickly. “Now what do you have, Rak?”, Shaden asked. “What went on to get that beauty?” He pointed to Slik’s sword. Rak filled them in in detail, including all the parts with Gordon. “So,” Teyth said. “This Gordon dude, he turned bad, disappeared, then just somehow got there and tried to kill you?” Rak nodded. “But that’s not our issue,” he said. “Günther probably told you about Jesse. We need to hurry. I don’t know what happened, but we need her, and Ulrich doesn’t.” Günther smirked. “And we all know why,” he muttered. Rak smiled and frowned. “Günther,” he said, rolling his eyes. Günther smiled. “Anyway,” Rak said, glancing at Günther, “We need Jesse back so we can win this war that Ulrich created. Let’s go to the elder and see where Jesse is.” Rak opened his comlink and asked, “Could you teleport us, grand elder?” The elder didn’t say anything, but within seconds, he was staring face to face with him. “Thank you,” Rak said. “Now, we have the sword and have grouped together. Do you know where Jesse is now?” The old Kaimo smiled. He took Rak’s comlink and said, “No, but your comlink does now.” Rak checked the com coordinate page. It was there. Rak smiled as the others looked in awe. “Thank you, elder,” Rak said. He bowed. They started to walk away when the Elder called Rak’s name. The group walked over, but he waved them off. “A word, please, Rak?” Rak followed the elder as the others waited a safe distance away. “May I see the diary?” he asked. Rak pulled it out. He opened up to the first pages, and sure enough, it had recorded his battle with Gordon. “This is what happened, elder.” The elder stood in awe of the book. “Amazing,” he said. “Rak, this book is very dangerous. When the war is over, please report back to me. We shall see what happens.” Rak nodded as he tucked the book away in his pack and shouted, “Thank you!” as he ran towards his friends. He started to walk as his friends joined him. “Teyth, where are our ships?” Teyth pointed to the hospital wing where they came out. “Inside, there is a small hangar,” she said. “Follow me.” She took the lead and Rak followed close behind. He watched as he passed many hospital corridors and kept the turns in mind. Left, then straight, then right, straight. Up ahead, he saw a huge room filled with many ships. Rak ran straight to his little fighter. He would use the fighter to guide the way. Günther and Slik went to the bridge of their frigate. Fessha and Shaden ran to their own ship, a small green ship with a small five-man cockpit. Teyth followed them in and waved at Rak and Günther. They waved back and lifted off. Rak pressed a button on the dashboard of his ship. He spoke through, saying, “Here we go, guys Follow me.” I’m coming, Jesse, he thought. You won’t be a slave to Ulrich anymore.

Chapter 98: Jesse Jesse awoke minutes later. What happened? She stood up and a flood of thoughts and emotions flooded into her. Where am I? Where’s Rak? She saw the crystal on the ground and put it back together. An obvious crack went right through the middle. She covered the crack with a small push of energy and it fit together. She put it back on its stand in the corner. She looked up and saw the door wide open. She closed and locked it, then sat on the ground. Her mind swirled like a horrible storm. What the heck is going on? Where is everybody? Rak? Rak, where are you? “RAK!!!!” she yelled. Then she remembered. Ulrich. He did something to her. That’s where she was. She realized she had to pretend like Ulrich’s servant or she might never be able to get out of this place.

Jesse stood up and took a deep breath, then walked out the door. She hoped that crystal was still intact. That’s probably what was controlling me. Ulrich came running with some ugly creature at his side. The Seeker. “Jesse, what happened?” Ulrich said, taking her hand. “I heard your scream. What happened?” She looked at him, trying to be convincing. “Oh, I was just looking in my room, and I, um… found a letter from that kid you’re trying to get… Rak, I think? And I screamed, because I had no idea what it was doing there.” She was breaking down inside. Please buy it, Ulrich. My life kind of rests on it. He did. “I’m so sorry, Jesse. That little demon is getting into your mind. Rest. We’ll kill them when they come tomorrow. I’ve forseen it. They will arrive tomorrow morning.” “Yes, brother.” She went back to her room, wondering how the next day would play out.

Chapter 99: Rak/Ulrich Rak saw the planet’s surface below. He pressed the button on the console on the front of the ship. “Land, but with caution,” he said. “They might fire at us.” “This is pretty far away from them, Rak,” Shaden said. “I know. We can’t let them catch us off guard when we get there.” They made their descent. The rocky surface below came closer and closer. As they landed successfully, Rak said, “We are only about five miles away from wherever they are. Let’s go.” They started walking, then broke into a run. Pushing onward, Rak yelled, “For Jesse!” The rest screamed and followed. *** Jesse returned to Ulrich, who was arranging his own army for the battle to come. “Jesse, they are close. Prepare yourself for battle. I want you in the back of the troops to be a final attack.” She nodded and went to her position, ready for what was to come. Hopefully, all would go as she planned, and she’d be back on the good side- the side that would win. Without warning the ghost appeared and approached Ulrich. “Have you read the books I showed you?” Ulrich nodded, “At the end of the third volume it mentioned another book, I found it and read that one as well.” “I was hoping you would see that, That book is entirely based around one spell, one of the most powerful necromantic rituals ever created. With that book one can put a spirit back into a living body.” Ulrich realized what the ghost had in mind. He wanted him to preform the spell and reunite him to the physical world. “You already know what I have in mind, we need to do it before the human force arrives.” Ulrich replied, “Very well, I’ll get the needed things, do you have a body?” The ghost nodded.“It’s in the very top spire, through the trapdoor leading to the roof. All that’s missing is my skull, it’s to the north beyond the hills backing the castle. I keep it in a metal chest surrounded by enchanted bones, the bones keep away blooddrinkers that would want to get to it.” Ulrich nodded his understanding and left for the skull. He conjured bones from around the castle to create a giant bone monster. he climbed to the top and headed towards the hills. they were steep but the bone monster didn’t fear or tire and he climbed right over it. Ulrich could see a faint green glow in the distance, as well as a crowd of figures around it. He sped across the plain of rock and dead grass. The figures were chanting and didn’t hear Ulrich until it was too late. One of them held a knife made of red metal that gave off a red glow. The bone monster stomped on half of the figures and clawed the rest to death until the only one left was carrying the red knife. It looked like he was trying to break the enchantment on the bones. The figure leaped at Urich, reanimated the bodies of the fallen blooddrinkers. They leapt to meet the last living one and tore the knife out of his hand and killed him with it. They carried the metal chest onto the one monster and Ulrich set off back to the castle. Once he got there he met up with the ghost and opened the box. Inside he found a head with three eye sockets and a scepter. “There were some Blooddrinkers trying to break into the circle.” said Ulrich. “That’s not uncommon,” replied the ghost. “I’m guessing at this point you want to know how this planet got like this?” asked the ghost. “I’ve actually been wondering for some time.” said Ulrich. “Then before we begin the spell I’ll tell you the history of this place. I know only what happened after I got here, I crashed in a ship after I fled my homeworld. Then there were two major powers; The Blooddrinkers and the horned raven. The two were constantly warring constantly, The horned raven was the protector of the planets nature. Blooddrinkers were unnatural beasts that wanted to feast off the blood of all the living creatures. I died on impact when I crashed. I had already prepared for this and made an amulet to bring my spirit back. I built this castle over the crash site. I raised the dead of hundreds to build this and move my possessions from the crash site to the castle. I began spreading death throughout the planet. While I fought the Horned raven head on, the Blooddrinkers finished off his forces. Unable to fight on two fronts, the Horned Raven retreated, leaving his world to die. I never saw him again, but I still had an enemy to fight. To limit the Blooddrinkers’ power, I killed off the planet and all most all its life. The war still rages to this day. Ulrich sat for a few minutes taking this in, “So the remaining to powers on this world is you and the Blooddrinkers?” The ghost replied, “Yes, and when we defeat them this world will be mine.”

Chapter 100: Rak/Jesse Rak and his army drew ever closer. It was a small army, but it would have to do. He could see the castle in the distance. Jesse would soon be free. About two miles until they reach their goal, but Rak could see the massive army surrounding it. His small army was still charging at this point, and he needed to make a plan to get around their army, easily double Rak’s army’s size. “Halt!” he shouted. It took a moment, but the army screeched to a halt. “We can’t just run into battle like imbeciles. We need a plan.” He told the army his plan. A small squad would become invisible because of Rak’s power, and they would run to the back of the castle and create a diversion. Hopefully, it would cut down Ulrich’s defenses. Then Rak, Günther, Slik, and half of the remaining army would charge and attract the attention of Ulrich’s army. The other half would come when Rak sent out a com signal for reinforcements. He knew he’d need some tricks to get past Ulrich. After all, Ulrich was a master planner… *** Jesse approached Ulrich in the morning. Hoping Rak’s army was coming, she checked outside. Her face lit up as she saw Rak’s army coming. Ulrich was just down the hall, also looking out the window on the second floor. He was smiling. Uh-oh, Jesse thought. Anything he smiles at can’t be good. “Hello, Jesse,” Ulrich said with a welcoming voice. “How did you sleep? I hope well. You’re about to see the fall of that fool’s army.” “Rested up enough for this,” Jesse replied, with a bit of negativity in her voice. “Good. They won’t be able to fight an army of that size off,” he said, pointing to his own. He then turned his back to look at Jesse. Jesse glimpsed something in the distance over his shoulder. Rak just stood before a small group of soldiers, but they just vanished. Invisibility. They’ll create a diversion, she thought. She needed to distract Ulrich. “Have you seen any of the creatures anywhere?” Ulrich asked. “No,” Jesse said. “I did see them doing something in the lab yesterday, and the door was still locked, so maybe they’re there. Ulrich, do you think your plan will work?” She tried to stall for time. So far, it worked. C’mon Rak. Get it done. *** Rak watched as the squad neared the edge of the castle. Nothing was happening so far, but there weren’t any troops on the backside of the castle as far as Rak’s intelligence knew. It was about ten minutes, but a big boom sounded behind the castle. At least a quarter of the army surrounding the castle stepped out of place to see what had happened. Rak waved his hand, and his half started their attack on the army. As his plan went, he’d approach the castle as the small squad fled to escape the army. They would regroup later. As he ran , he put his fist in the air and screamed, “ATTACK!” The army turned and marched toward them. The war had begun. *** Jesse turned to Ulrich as the battle began. “They will easily be outnumbered,” Jesse said. “Yes, sister, but that boy’s army has tricks up their sleeves,” he replied. “But so do I.” He said into his com, “Army. Front of the castle start your attack!” He smiled as Rak’s plan started to fall apart. *** Rack received an alert on his com. One of the soldiers of the squad. “The army behind the castle! It’s coming for you! Reinforcements now!” Laser fire, gunshots, sword swipes, cannon blasts everywhere. Rake bashed a Kaimo trooper with the butt of his sword blade and moved to the next. They were being cut down easily. Almost too easy, he thought. More and more troopers strolled in from behind the castle. Rak’s small army was outnumbered. But he had a plan to stick to. He wouldn’t call reinforcements. Not yet. “Günther! Slik! Make a clear path to the castle!” They started cutting through Ulrich’s forces. One by one, Rak’s army started to fall. The Kaimo were starting to outnumber them. He had to get to the castle quickly. “Keep going!” Rak screamed. They cut through more and more defenses. Then he heard a scream and a fall to the ground. Djak. Rak turned around to see Djak on the ground, clutching his shoulder. A burn mark from a laser was deep into his arm. Rak ran over to him and helped him up, but he wouldn't have much time. Ulrich’s defenses were strengthening. Djak got up and tried to pick up his sword, but he was too weak. “Go on. Complete your mission,” Djak said, wincing from the pain. “Here. Take my gun. You’ll be able to carry it easier,” Rak replied, pulling out a bandage from his pack. He looked around. Kaimo were starting to surround them. Slik and Günther were nearing the castle. He quickly bandaged Djak’s shoulder and nodded to him. Djak nodded back. With one swift move of his arm, Rak shocked all Kaimo surrounding him. They all crumpled to the ground. He leaped forward to catch up with Günther and Slik. he easily did, and the castle was in his sights. *** Ulrich wasn’t smiling after Rak blew down his troops. He stared at the battle below. Jesse closely watched him. I will soon be free, she thought. Ulrich took his sword and started downstairs. “I’ll do it myself,” he muttered. Jesse quickly followed. It’s time. She smiled. *** “Detonators!” Rak yelled. Three soldiers ran over and placed detonators. Rak looked around. His army had outnumbered theirs, and Ulrich’s had started to retreat. He smiled to see his plan had worked. but there was another challenge in his way. “Detonators set,” a soldier said. “Do it,” Slik said. Günther and Rak nodded. It worked. It blew a hole in the wall. The dust settled and they walked in. What they saw wasn’t a huge army. Just two people were inside: Ulrich and Jesse. Rak pulled out his electric sword and focused his energy on psychic energy. He had to get the orb and crush it to get Jesse back. Wait, he thought. Where is the crystal? “It’s been a while, Rak,” Ulrich said. “Yes, it has,” Rak responded with a grimace. “I’ve expected you. Your precious war against me ends here.” “I disagree.” Ulrich pulled out an energy sword. “We’ll see. Jesse. Attack.” Jesse ran forward with a gun in hand. WHERE IS THE CRYSTAL? I’M GONNA HAVE TO KILL HER IF I CAN’T GET HER BACK! Jesse came closer. Rak pulled his sword back to attack. With one swift move, he knocked the gun out of her hand. Then something happened to his surprise. She got the sword out of his hand easily. And instead of turning it towards him, She just winked. “Kill him,” Ulrich said. Rak was too stunned to do anything. Jesse didn’t kill him, like Ulrich’s orders. She put down the sword. “Not today, you lying dark piece of scum.” She sent a big force of psychic energy his way and it forced him back, weakening him. “Jesse, what the-” Rak started, but he was cut off by a kiss. “I’m back,” Jesse said. “Let’s do this together.”

Chapter 101: Slik Slik couldn’t believe what he was seeing. How was she free? No matter; it was good to have her back. Rak walked casually over to the nearly unconscious body on the floor, sword in hand. “Your plan has come to shreds,” he said. Ulrich pressed a button on his comlink. “Not yet,” he said, with a little struggle to get the words out of his mouth. The Seeker, Reaper, and Watcher ran down. Immediately, they started to attack. Slik had a hard time trying to fight them off. He cut down a tentacle off of the Reaper, but it just grew back, and it only made the Reaper more angry. With fiery attacks, the Reaper fought back against Slik, knocking him to the floor. Then reinforcements came. Ulrich’s reinforcements. The Kaimo charged in, surrounding Slik, Rak, Jesse, and Günther. The Creatures snarled and started to close in. Slik saw a small opening and got Günther’s attention. Together, they sliced through a thin wall of Kaimo soldiers. Jesse and Rak followed suit. Blaster fire opened in the air. Using his own gun, Slik easily killed the Kaimo around him. Rak tossed a sword to Günther and they started destroying the Kaimo. Jesse burnt every Kaimo coming close to her. They were still outnumbered, though. Plus, Slik realized they were being pushed into the castle wall. A cornering tactic. He pointed to the wall to get the attention of the others. They all understood and started to fight back. Slik screamed to Rak, “Don’t we have soldiers outside?! We outnumbered their forces!” Rak screamed back, “I’ll get Djak! Let’s bring in reinforcements!” But they didn’t have to, for Djak and his troops were already barging through the hole in the wall.

Chapter 102: Ulrich Ulrich was weak. He knew that. He needed a place to heal. And with all the chaos erupting in the room, he easily made his way upstairs into the lab. He looked for a way to heal himself, but he could find none. Seeing as an opportunity to escape, he jumped out of the second story window, lowering himself to the ground without harm, and made a run for it. He needed to find supplies, and quick, if he was to survive. ***

Ulrich had no luck finding anything that could improve his condition. Bullets were flying and bodies constantly fell. If he ran into anyone but common soldiers he knew he wouldn’t stand a chance against them. After all, he could barely walk. He felt the air grow colder around him as a faint glow reflected off the rocks. “You’re in pretty bad shape, Ulrich.” The Ghost materialized in front of him. “However, I think you can complete one final task before you retire from this fight.” In a flash, they appeared in the top room of the castle. Books even older than the ones in the library were lying around and a well-preserved skeleton lay upon an alter. “See that book, the one titled Grimoire of The Lich?” The Ghost asked. “I need you to perform a ritual found within the first ten pages of the book.” Ulrich picked up the book and flipped a few pages in. “Creation of a lich? This one?” The ghost nodded, and he moved over to the altar where the body was lying.

Chapter 103: Djak Djak ran in with his remaining soldiers. He had done a head count when the Kaimo had started their retreat. He had only lost five percent of his men. He was surprised how many Kaimo soldiers will still left. He cut through the expendable Kaimo like scissors to paper. The Kaimo were large in numbers, but they obviously weren’t here to kill their army. They were here for something much bigger. Much more important. A distraction. He hurried over to what Djak dubbed the “A-Team”. He ran over to Rak and screamed, “Where’s Ulrich?!” “He’s unconscious in the cor-” Rak started, but he realized the whole point of the attack. “Oh crap. Jesse! Günther! Slik! He’s gone!” They ran over to the corner to check. Sure enough, he was gone. “It was a distraction. He had to have gone upstairs,” Djak said. “He couldn’t have gone through the whole, because we were just joining the party.” Jesse pointed upstairs. “The only place he would’ve gone is the lab. There’s nothing up there besides bedrooms and the lab anyway. Sadly, I know this evil place like the back of my hand. Let’s go.” The A-Team followed her. Djak saw the battle was ending, the Kaimo retreating out the giant hole in the wall, their troops making sure they don’t get away. The Creatures had disappeared, probably the same place Ulrich was. Upstairs, Jesse led them down a long corridor and into the lab. The window was blasted open, easily Ulrich’s doing. He must’ve jumped out and made a run for it. There was no telling where he was, though. Three people entered the room: Fessha, Teyth, and Shaden. “Can’t we help?” Teyth put a hand on her hip. Rak smiled. “Sure, why not?” Shaden examined the window hole. “He jumped through here and ran?” he asked. “Wasn’t he really weak when we ran in?” “I guess not,” Günther answered. “Well,” Djak said, “Now we hunt. That monster couldn’t have gone far.”

Chapter 104: Jesse Jesse looked out the hole Ulrich jumped through. “Do we go down?”, she asked. “No,” Rak replied. “This castle’s huge. How do you get to the upper tower floors?” “I have no idea,” Jesse answered. “I’ve literally only been on two floors.” She walked out of the room and the others followed. “How did you get out of your…” Rak started.

“Let’s call it a phase,” Jesse finished for him. “I was already weary and fighting with Ulrich because he wouldn’t stop telling me what to do and calling himself my master. So one day, I was fed up and walked into the lab, just to blow off steam. I didn’t remember anything after waking up in front of Ulrich, so I was also confused. “Then I saw this crystal sitting on the shelf in the lab, so I peered through it. It showed an image of you and I fighting side by side, and as far as I knew, you were the enemy, so I screamed and dropped the crystal. Then the world went black, and I woke up with my memory back, realizing how evil Ulrich truly is.” They had walked up and down the long second floor corridor, looking for a way to get upstairs. Finally, Jesse saw a crack in the wall near the end of the corridor. She pushed the wall near it, and it gave way. A dust cloud rose and settled, and the group walked in. It was too dark to see, so Jesse illuminated the hall with fire from her palm. Rak followed suit. A long staircase stood before them. “Hopefully this one won’t collapse,” Rak muttered. “What?” Jesse asked. “Nothing,” Rak returned. “I’ll explain later.” They started to climb, but the staircase was not too long, and they saw a corridor in front of them. Slowly, they walked in, unfamiliar of what was to come. There were no rooms in the corridor, but one that looked like a small closet at the end of it. Jesse and Rak led the way with the light, creeping along nervously. When they finally reached the door, Rak asked, “Who’s the unlucky one to open it?” The group looked at each other for a short while, then Slik stepped up. “What’ve I got to lose?” He stepped forward and opened the door. It was black. Jesse illuminated it, but there was nothing there. Only a wall. “I’ll take a look,” Fessha said, stepping forward. “No!” Jesse exclaimed, realizing what was in there. But it was too late. Fessha fell into a dark, unknown abyss below. Her screams filled the corridor, and there was a flash of light at the bottom. Her sharp screaming stopped, and a horrible silence filled the air as the truth fell down on the rest of the group. Fessha was gone. Teyth fell to the ground, sobbing. “Why?! What did she ever do?!”

Jesse and Shaden walked over to comfort her. Günther shut the door to prevent more losses of life. “I’m so sorry, Teyth,” Rak said. Teyth calmed down and started to get up. “Thank you, Rak. It’s okay. Let’s get out of this place.” The group started to walk away from the awful door when the floor shook with a loud noise. The walls started to close in.

Chapter 105: Teyth Teyth was still in shock as the walls were closing. Fessha was her best friend and now all she had was Shaden to take care of her. Her phase was quickly brought to an end as Shaden pulled her arm to start running with him. “Hurry!” Günther’s voice echoed off the closing walls. They had little space left, but they were close to the end. “We’re not gonna make it!” Jesse warned. Teyth ran faster, but she had an idea. While running, she pulled out a sword and jammed it into the wall. The wall sputtered as it tried to close the sword in. “Hurry!” Teyth screamed. The sword maneuver gave them a few extra seconds, and they were within arms distance from the opening. Then the sword snapped in half. The wall moved faster. It started to close in on their arm. Jesse was the first to make it out, popping through the hole. Rak, Slik, Shaden, and Günther made it, too. Teyth was last, the wall seriously squeezing her shoulders. Rak reached out the butt of his sword. “Teyth, grab on!” With the last remaining strength and space she had, she pulled the sword and popped out. She gasped for air, then the pain in her shoulders came crashing down like an anvil. She clutched both arms in unbearable pain and fell to the floor. Shaden kneeled down next to her and grabbed ahold of her arms and started to massage them. She screamed in pain, but it felt good on her aching shoulders. They took a minute to recuperate and helped Teyth up. She was fighting back tears. “You okay to go on?” Shaden asked. “Y-yeah,” she stammered out. They got up and started walking. They stayed close to the wall, hoping that they wouldn’t fall into another trap. To Be Continued....

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