Premonition

Premonition

(Chapter 29)

**

[<<]

[Tyrannus: Conference Room]

The Emergency Reference blips up again. Erin taps on it and it says that a Mal-Hecate evaded detection earlier on, and has Emerged in the shadow of the first.

"Anika…There are two Mal-Hecates?"

[Arthur]

A full power devastator bullet was fired at him from his right hand side. He wasn't expecting two Mal-Hecates. The bullet flies straight at him, ripping up the ground and weeds in its path. Taking it from the bullet's perspective, Arthur can't divert the lightning bolt or evade. It's over. The bullet nears him and your screen flashes white.

[>]

[The Twins]

A Zombie pulls one of Paz's legs and another, sinks it's teeth into her other thigh. She doesn't even have the strength to scream for help. A red laser moving parallel to the floor at a distance of 1 and a half feet severs most of them in half.

Jedi arrived just in the nick of time. Apparently, he remembered what she said about her anxiety about passing out in the middle of a battle. He took the chance that she wasn't putting on a drama and came looking for her. He makes sure that they're all dead and gets to Paz.

"Paz! Paz!" he shakes her up a bit but she's barely coming to. Her eyes are half open and so is her mouth. If he hadn't arrived, she would've probably had a fit of epilepsy. One thing's for sure, she's not breathing and blood's oozing out her thigh as well. He administers the mouth to mouth for a while and she regains consciousness.

"Paz!" her hands find him. She clutches to his chest like a little girl and begins to cry. She must be delirious 'cause she's not conscious enough to speak yet, still as red as a strawberry. She moans out, drawing attention back to her leg. He pulls out a cloth and takes a swipe. Some of the putrid goop from the Zombie's mouth definitely got in there. He extracts all of it.

"Paz, I'm sorry, but if you could please hold on for a second. If I don't do this, it will definitely get infected."

She takes a gulp and holds her cries in, veins popping out from her neck and all. She nods and clutches to his chest again. He takes out some alcohol from his pocket and pours it straight into the wound. She barely screams, like the feeble mew of a newborn kitten.

After cleaning the wound thoroughly, he coats the wound with a balm and bandages her thigh. She tries to turn as she asks if they're gone, but he blocks her head and tells her to close her eyes and calm down. He carries her off.

[>]

They're back in the carriage now, but Paz refuses to let go of him. She's really terrified. How many people are 'lucky' enough to see their worst fear?

"Paz…"

"It was terrible. You can't leave me here."

"But I have to follow up on my sister."

"I need you more! I need you more."

"*sigh* I guess it's my fault. I should've listened to you when you said you felt uneasy…I'm sorry."

"Just stay with me. I don't wanna be alone. My body won't listen to me; I can barely move! I can't defend myself! You HAVE TO protect me!" she cries.

"Fine. Tell me what happened."

"I don't wanna remember. It was so awful…"

"But that's the condition for me to stay. Make your choice."

"…I turned around that corner and…" She throws herself to the back door and throws up. She persists in retching even after there's nothing left. If he leaves her be, she'll probably vomit her entrails out. He knocks her out and pulls her back in after wiping her mouth clean.

"This is bad…She was already messed up, now this?" He puts his palm to his forehead. Tamar comes around.

"*gg* Did you also throw up?"

"I was too preoccupied. But damn, that was really nauseating. Could the enemy get any more disgusting than this? It was hard to breathe."

She leaps over the vomit puddle, and into the carriage. She totters and almost topples into it but her brother grasps her hand and pulls her in.

"Thanks; that was a close one. I can't believe she passed out because of this. I'm so gonna tease her"—She spots the blood-stained bandage—"Wait! She got hurt?"

"Psychologically scarred is the word for it."

"Oh no! Poor Paz. She's already got baggage, now this?" she remarks, quite concerned.

"Exactly what I was thinking…It'd be best if we could get outta here before she wakes. I'm gonna—"

"Already did. As soon as they put everything back in order, we'll be getting our truck load of bananas. I tasted one, very sweet and satiating. Even got that nauseating stench out of my nose and mind."

"Did they mention the price?"

"We're not spending a dime."

"I wonder why? Because you saved them, or flirted?"

"Me? Flirt?"

"You've done it once. I know your tongue is more than enough to stimulate anyone's erogenous zones, even a woman. She's probably still lusting over you as we speak."

"Only because you needed that anti-venom badly. You know I'd throw my morals away in an instant if I needed to save you. Some thanks YOU'RE giving ME…"

[Ms. Laura]

She's still lying in bed, tossing left and right under the covers. She's anxious about the state of her so-called beloved.

"Elmus…It's day two already…You've got me going crazy here. I haven't eaten a thing or even gone to the bathroom, just praying that you're alright. The thought of Laura had totally escaped my mind…But there's this feeling of relentlessness. I just can't believe my daughter's dead. My heart can't let go of my baby…*tear*" and it's back to the waterworks with her.

[Angelica]

Night has fallen and they're on the move again. She said she could walk on her own, so they're rather using the stretcher to convey Daara. Angelica pauses as a sharp pain digs into her chest.

"You alright?"

"It's time. *gasp*" She has a panic attack and passes out.

"…I hope that doesn't mean they failed."

"How're we gonna carry them now?"

"I'm not carrying any woman apart from you so…" He lays Angelica over Daara. "There!"

"…I don't think this is our best option."

"We'll be back before they can even wake. We're just a while away from the Gates."

We come to focus on Angelica's twitching face again.

[<<]

Taking it back to when the Mal-Hecate ambushed them. Angelica got a hint and threw herself in front of Arthur without even spotting the stealth bullet. It rotates upon impact, abrading the skin of her forearms and chest. In just a few seconds, there's a mix of blood and flesh everywhere.

Daara caught on just a little later than Angelica. He drew his void sweeping blade and swiped rifts open to devour the devastator bullets that followed. He can't keep up with the ambush for much longer.

Arthur is caught up in the dread of the moment. Angelica coughs out some blood and utters "Ar…thur," just before she loses consciousness. She's still bleeding out; something's wrong with her. He activates his Seeker Mode, but it's not stable because of how agitated he is. It keeps on flickering.

"Arthur! You have to eliminate it RIGHT NOW!"

"Gimme a moment!"

He covers his ears and calms his breathing, then activates the Seeker Mode. He brings up the 'Status' reference and the most recent change is intoxication by a regenerative inhibitor. He begins to bandage her up immediately to try and prevent further blood loss.

Daara realizes he's not gonna come around anytime soon. He's been swiping and swiping and swiping but his energy will soon come to an end. He pulls out a Mana-Crystal that he planned to use to restock on energy.

"Wait! Please gimme that!"

"You're gonna get us killed!"

"Just hand it over!"

He takes it from Daara, crushes it, and then sprinkles the powder straight into the wound before closing it. Just when he's about wrapping it up, Daara reaches his critical energy threshold. The devastator bullets overpower him and blast him far up, and into a tree.

Taking it from the Mal-Hecate's perspective now, it subsequently scopes out the cliff. It definitely hit Angelica and Daara but Arthur's still not confirmed to be critically injured. A few seconds go by and there's no movement so it decides to move forward. Arthur leaps superhumanly high from the top of the cliff and shoots a tweaking purple lightning bolt at it when he achieves peak height. It was the Mal-Hecate that gave him the formula to infuse his lightning bolts with toxins in the first place.

Arthur's lightning bolt chews through the shoulder of it's fire arm. It can't retaliate anymore. The incapacitated takes to it's—would've said heels but it doesn't even have legs. "SPLASH!!!" he lands in the river. Arthur's way faster; he's enraged. He catches up to it in a flash and rends it's arm asunder. There's nowhere to escape. The only option left is the water. It quickly falls over into the river in a desperate attempt to escape, but that spells out it's demise. Arthur electrocutes the water with millions of volts. It's carcass, alongside all the fish bob up.

"Exterminated."

He's about washing his blade when he remembers…

"{The briefing said Mal-Hecates could follow the scent of their blood for a retaliatory strike. It's better I keep this. If things get bad, I'll need to create a diversion for them to escape.}"

[>]

[The Twins]

Torches begin to approach in the distance. The town's chief has them bring the fruit carts in, himself. They line up in front of the carriage. "Ms. Tamar!" he calls. They've had the carriage moved away from the vomit puddle F.Y.I. Tamar steps out with her brother.

"What striking resemblance!"

"Are you saying that because of our color?"

"I'm not talking about your caramel skin. You are as handsome as she is beautiful. I never thought I would ever behold someone pull of wearing a robe, and still look youthful and handsome while he's at it. Blessed is the womb that bore you two."

"MY! Here I was thinking I was ugly sis."

"Cut the modesty out. I'm assuming this is the order, but why are they green?"

"Bananas are actually harvested unripe. Wait a few days and they'll ripen into that soft delicacy that every monkey craves for."

"And what're those?"

"If you're in need of so many, you might as well plant a few suckers back home."

"You folk must be really enthusiastic about bananas."

"That's what makes us famous, although there are other fruits that we cultivate."

"Excuse me for a second Sir. How much will this cost us?"

"Nothing at all! You saved most of our people, including my son's family. This is the least we could do to show our appreciation."

"I can't—" Tamar pulls him aside.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"We're the one's who caused this in the first place, remember?"

"They were already en route. They were fortunate to have us around or they'd all have been dead when they got here tomorrow."

"…"

"Convinced you yet?"

"I hate to take gifts but um…she's not gonna take 'no' for an answer."

"You heard that boys. Load 'em up."

The driver approaches Jedi. "Wait a second. You never mentioned this heavy a load. The price is gonna have to—"

"You said you were taking two grand for a round trip. That was your final price."

"But—"

"YOU named the price, not me."

"…Crud! You're not gonna have any space to sit anyway. They can tie the suckers on top of the carriage."

[Boundless]

Valentina's dragging Elmus as she runs along, since he couldn't possibly keep up with her speed. They've been at it for hours, but no sign of Arthur.

"How can we be sure that she even gave us the right direction?"

"We'll have to trust her Tina. Arthur's Unit is something else."

"If you say so…"

"{Elmus! Devour! 11 o'clock!}"

"Tina!"

A stream of lightning comes sawing through the woods. Elmus tries to devour it so it doesn't fry Tina. It's only partially devoured, so it jolts them, sending both of them into a spasm.

"{Again!}"

He means to do it again but Valentina just trips him and lays prone to the ground for the second and third wave.

"Amitha! Is it over?"

"{Most likely.}"

"I'm guessing that's Arthur. Came from over there, right?"

"{Yes, hurry!}"

"Tina! Move it!"

The light show starts, just like Angelica foretold. Tina sprints in that direction. The sound of the devastator bullets clashing with his lightning becomes louder and louder, until they hear the crackling of thunder, and the flashing of purple light. There's only a few seconds left before—"BAAM!" That's the gunshot, just as they get to the border of the clearing.

[Veteran]

The carriage rolls up in front of the Sheriff's. They hop off, and it retreats for the night. The guard man's sitting outside his post, just like last time.

"Hello. We're back!"

"I can't let you in without clearance."

"Wait-what?! Incroyable!(Unbelievable!) What was your name again?"

"Relax; It was just a little joke. Come on in."

He opens up the gate for them. Alexandra punches him on the shoulder, 'lightly'.

"Ow!"

"That was for good luck. Á plus!(see you!)" She struts ahead.

[The Twins]

They're en route to the Southern Rice Plantation. The bananas have occupied most of the sitting space, and they're crammed at the back, such that Tamar and her brother are facing each other directly, and he has Paz in his lap, with his arms wrapped around her.

She's been in a bad way for a while, constantly twitching all over. She's perspiring heavily and seems to be in discomfort. It's most definitely the claws of a nightmare. She eventually begins to struggle but if he lets go of her, she'll most likely slip out of the back of the carriage.

It gets bad and she starts to make utterances like "let go of me" and "help". It aggravates up to the point where she begins to throw her limbs about, screaming. "What's going on back there?!" the driver asks. Tamar splashes some water on her, and she wakes.

"*gasp*" She's agitated.

"Paz, what's wrong?" She can't find the words to speak. She begins to hyperventilate out of fear. "Paz, calm down."

Paz knocks Jedi's hands off herself and spins around, falling backward. It was just Jedi behind her but she doesn't seem ecstatic about seeing him. Tamar puts her hands on her shoulders but she knocks them off and starts to rub her skin vigorously. They're like, 'What the hell?'

"Leave me alone-Leave me alone-Leave me alone-Leave me alone!" she cries out, covering her ears as she rocks back and forth.

"Paz…Paz cm'ere. It's me." he says motioning with his hands. It takes her a while to calm down but she heeds his voice, crawls forward and buries her face in his chest. He hugs her tight. "It's alright."

"No it's NOT," she cries. "I'm scared; I'm really scared!"

"No need to be. We're right here for you."

"We? Where's Tamar?"

"*gasp*…I think you need some rest—"

"No! I don't want to go to sleep! Not again!"

"My God…Paz…look me in the eyes…c'mon." She slowly raises her head up, but her eyes are still closed. She doesn't want to open them. "Paz. It's me, Hazazon, Jedidiah. Look at me."

She's not trusting. Seems like she had some really bad nightmares. Tamar crawls forward and runs her hand through her hair, just like how a mother would.

"I don't want to see anything anymore," she whines.

"I said it's me. If you want to feel better, open your eyes. Have I ever let you down?"

"…You promise?"

"Promise."

She opens her eyes. Startled at the first sight of him, she closes them again, but he convinces her to keep them open. She does so and he kindles a candle flame on his finger tip so he can get a good look at her eyes. Her pupil does not react to the light at all; it's just throbbing regardless. It begins to hurt, and he puts it out. The veins in her corneas are terribly visible as well. These are like symptoms of the black death.

"Ow…"

"Paz, you're intoxicated. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"…I understand."

"Nothing you're seeing is real. Touch my face…" She does.

"*gasp*" She was seeing something horrible before, but after feeling and figuring out that they don't correspond, his face clears up in her sight. "You're right. I can see you now."

"Great. No matter what you see, it's only Tamar and I. We're not gonna sleep till you're better, okay?"

"But what's wrong with me?"

"Something must've gotten into your system. How do you feel?"

"My head's spinning. I feel nauseous. I can't control my breathing…and I can't help the tears, although I don't think that's a symptom."

"*gg* You're gonna be just fine. Hang on, okay?" He embraces her, with one hand on her head.

"Mhm," she nods.

[Boundless]

Valentina breaks her limits and leaps forward with all her might. There Arthur is, just like Angelica said.

[<<]

"You can't breathe while siphoning lightning through your body. What makes it worse is he's having difficulty breathing. Run in that direction as fast as you can because he's gonna start flashing lightning at that Mal-Hecate. He won't notice the other Mal-Hecate till he's out of breath."

"Another Mal-Hecate?"

"Yes. One'll fire at him from his perpendicular right. He'll be in no condition to help himself."

"I'm not sure we can deal with two of them."

"You don't need to. Arthur can kill all of them if you save him."

"But how'll we do that?"

"If it plays according to my vision, you'll see three sweeps of lightning before the final jolting. This is what you have to do."

[>]

Valentina launches Elmus at Arthur so that he tackles him out of the way, and down to the ground. Valentina was supposed to grab them and run away as the bullets clash with each other, but she decided to change it up a bit. Just as she lands in it's trajectory as if she were going to bump a volleyball, she catches the bullet incompletely just in front of her belly. It swirls viciously in her hands and drags her back a bit, but she deflects it toward the other Mal-Hecate. It makes a direct impact and pulverizes it's head.

"*panting* ?!?Elmus???"

"Looks like I'M the one coming to save your ass today."

"More like we. It's Boundless."

-------End of Chapter 29-------

Chapter 30 Teaser

The Mal-Hecate is not a Legendary, only because it doesn't dampen inferior mana-crystals, but in terms of power and technique…They might have to change that. A succubus and incubus return but, can Angelica's premonition be averted.

To be continued…