Chapter 4- Fireworks
The night was filled with the song of battle for hours. Sword met flesh and flesh met earth in a rhythmic melody of death. The chorus consisted of the repeated thumps of the dragon-like beasts making contact with the ground while others splashed into the river.
The night's darkness was lit by giant flames that rotated in the sky above Hadrian where he rode the lifeless body of his foe to the ground. Instead of descending all the way down, he hopped off and created a hoverboard just like his from the real world.
He rode it until he was positioned directly in the center of the circle of fires. With another wave, the flames each ascended and gathered above him. They merged together and formed a single giant flame. The next moment the singular ball of fire shot towards the heavens. The farther it flew the brighter it grew until it finally halted in the eastern sky. The flame stopped moving but it's light just kept growing and illuminating Endlos Vita and just like that, it was daytime.
Normally Hadrian let the cycle of day and night pass naturally but the absence of the moon in the sky was killing his mood, so he decided otherwise. The darkness was cast aside by a beautiful scene of nature and life. He beheld His creation, Endlos Vita, his very own world. If nothing else, he was proud.
As he ogled the beauty before him, Kat's voice, which he still hadn't changed, rung out in his head.
"Aliviana has woken up and she isn't happy."
The news was exciting yet annoying at the same time. Hadrian loved it in his own little world but duty called and he had to return. He shut his eyes and after opening them Endlos Vita had fled only to be replaced by the bland and boring training room. He stood and headed for the medical bay and snatched a sword from the wall on his way out. He crossed the hall and entered to find The rowdy hunter struggling against her bonds, the moment he entered, she stopped.
"Let me go." She demanded in his head.
"Really?" He said calmly, "We're still on this talking in the head thing. I've had a lot to drink and my head kinda hurts. It would be much appreciated if you would stop."
"Let me go." Once again the words rung out and made his head throb.
"I'll make you a deal, if you stop talking in my head I'll remove the bonds."
Aliviana was silent for a moment before answering.
"Then what," She said aloud. Her brow was crinkled and her lips formed a frown un-beholding of her natural beauty.
"Kay." He said and the bonds disappeared into the table. "Then we fight." He tossed the blade he'd taken from the training room to her and drew his own.
"Now that, I can do." A smile graced her face as she caught the weapon. "But first I have a request."
"What?"
"Would you happen to have a cigarette?" Hadrian smirked and reached into his back pocket. He was an avid drinker but when the bottle ran dry he sometimes needed something to relieve the stress instead. Such occasions were rare but he kept the smokes on hand just in case. He tossed the entire pack to her which she caught, pulled one out and stuck it between her lips. "Got a light?" The word came out mangled but he understood.
"Turn your head." She abided and when she did Hadrian made a gun with his fingers and aimed it right at the tip of her cig. His index finger sparked and a small ball of fire streaked across the room. This signaled the beginning of the fight. With no warning other than a grin, she attacked.
As one blade crossed another emotion flickered in the air as if it was tangible. Each yearned to battle. Green met silver in a flash of vicious combat.
"I guess you're not holding back," Hadrian said and sucked in a deep breath that he didn't get to finish before the hunter's sword sought his heart once again. He deflected it just as he did all her other blows. "Sloppy."
"Sloppy." She repeated between gritted teeth and lunged once again. "Do you know who I am?"
"I do and you know Liv if your gonna fight for me you're gonna have to do better than that."
Hearing the nickname seemed to make her attacks come with more fervor.
"Fight for you?" She spat the words at him in an angry frenzy. "I'm a hunter."
"Were a hunter." Hadrian smacked aside another slash then ducked under its follow up and swept her legs. Her sword skidded across the floor and he held his blade to her throat. "Tell me, why is it that you're the one being hunted now."
The subject seemed to be a low point for her. She huffed and held back her anger but it was obvious she was furious and not used to losing. Not a word escaped her mouth and rage stirred behind her eyes. Just as he was about to question some more, alarms blared throughout his ship.
"Well, shit." Hadrian hauled the skinny hunter by her collar and tossed her onto the table. "When you're ready to talk, let Kay know and she'll tell me." He stalked off, wishing that had gone differently and before exiting, shouted one more thing. "Now, I'm going to deal with your problem once again, when I come back, a thank you may be in order." The door slid open and he exited, heading toward the observation room. Just like before, it was filled with monitors that laid out New Sol. There was nothing on any of the screens.
"Switch to the space cams."
The displays changed and Hadrian raised an eyebrow at what he saw. Cruisers surrounded the planet entirely and were closing fast. The Order was here and he wouldn't be able to run. Unfortunately for them, neither would they. Anything that warped into New Sol's orbit couldn't leave unless Hadrian allowed it. Either they killed him or he killed them. Hadrian preferred the latter. As the army of ships descended into the planet's atmosphere the displays switched back to the planetary cams. Dozens of ships rained down into the sky and spread out across the planet. Lucky for him, New Sol was owned by none other than the wealthiest family in the galaxy and they didn't take lightly to being invaded.
"Kay."
"Yes?"
"Will you please continue with the music from earlier, my training music?"
"Yes, sir."
The music blared and Hadrian exited the room and walked towards the control room. Upon arrival, he marched straight up to the controls and tapped a few buttons on the panel. After pushing the buttons he walked slowly to a cabinet shoved into the corner of the room and pulled out another bottle of whiskey. He returned to the panel that was lined with buttons, tapped one more and said, "Let the fireworks begin."
More monitors lined this room as well and on one Hadrian watched as the desert floor parted and from it came a giant land to air missile launcher and on another the same, only this time it sprouted from the rocky top of a plateau. All over the planet, missile launchers and all sorts of deadly defense systems activated. A minute passed and once all the weapons were armed and ready, they opened fire. The peaceful blue sky was replaced by chaos and consumed by orange flames. The battle had begun.