The Guardians' Pendants (The Zor Chronicles Part I) (21 page)

“What now?” Enoke
cried.

“We run!” Ikani
snapped.

“No way!” Lanaru
retorted, stepping forward. “A Veha never ru-”

“Come on!” Kaho cried,
grabbing hold of Lanaru and hurrying towards the exit. The Giants
were quick to follow them, staggering behind the Veha as they
neared the exit doors.

“Enoke!” Kaho called
behind. “Barricade the exit!”

The latter nodded,
readying his powerful fists before pounding them into the rock
ceiling of the low tunnel above them, dragging them along with him
as the Veha fled the pit. From above, a shower of jagged rocks
collapsed to the ground, sealing the Giants inside the pit and
returning the Veha to the main sector of the
Vaults.

Quadrant Four, Floor X
– littered with Sirens.

“These guys just don’t
know when to give up!” Enoke growled.

“Then we’ll just have
to make them!” Ikani declared, drawing his sword. “Who’s ready to
fight?”

Lanaru stepped forward,
readying the Fan Blade cuffs on his forearms. Kaho drew her Twin
Blades. Enoke’s fists were up and ready.

The Sirens were
surrounding them, coming from each and every direction. Behind
them, cracks began to snake their way up the walls. Steel was
beginning to bend in every which way as the quaking ground below
began to take its toll on their surroundings.

“On the count of
three,” Ikani declared. “One, two -”

A blazing ball of
flames erupted from the tip of Ikani’s sword, whirling at a pack of
Sirens before him. Most of them hurried out of the way, but the
Veha was quick to charge. He swung without mercy, feeling his blade
collide with the ghastly bodies that lay beneath the cloaks of the
enemy.

“Keep them at bay!”
Kaho cried, sending a vortex of water at an incoming group of
Sirens. “Head for the elevator as soon as you can!”

“Too late!” Lanaru shot
back. “It’s busted; I reckon the earthquake did
it.”

Suddenly, there was a
cry for help from Ikani’s left. He searched through the crowd for
the source, his eyes falling upon Kaho, caught in the group of two
Sirens, a dagger at her neck.

“No!” Ikani cried. This
only seemed to provoke the enemy, a grin materializing across its
shrouded face as the dagger drew closer to Kaho’s throat. Ikani
started towards her, but before he could do so much as move, the
Siren quickly fell to the ground. Enoke stood tall behind Kaho, a
slightly smile even daring to cross his face.

“Thanks,” Kaho said
with a sheepish smile of her own, readying her weapons
anew.

“Hey,” replied the
other Veha. “Did you expect I’d be able to take them down without
your help?” he added with a wink.

The moment was not to
last, however, as the Sirens only seemed to grow larger in numbers.
More fell from the floors above, encircling the Veha and bringing
them together anew.

“We’re surrounded!”
Kaho exclaimed.

“I’ve got a plan,”
Lanaru said. “But it’s only going to hold them off for so
long!”

“Really?” asked
Kaho.

Lanaru merely nodded,
his full attention on the army of Sirens. “Let’s just hope it
works,” he said. “Follow my lead!”

The Veha hesitated,
however, as Lanaru began to run head on into the wall of
Sirens.

“Has he lost his mind?”
Enoke protested.

“Maybe,” Kaho began,
“let’s just hope it was for the better,” she added. “Let’s
go!”

The other three
followed Lanaru closely as the Mara dashed towards the Sirens. He
dodged the incoming attacks of daggers and long-range attacks with
power ties alike, seemingly heading towards the back of the room.
The other Veha followed suit, narrowly avoiding the barrage of the
enemies, dashing through the surrounding crowd until they reached
the room’s end. Lanaru stood before them all, standing of alone
against the Siren army.

“Great job there, brother!” Enoke snapped. “Leave it up to
the great engineer of Af’Mara to engineer a killer plan… to get us
all
killed
!”

“Shut it, Enoke! Okay?
Just shut up!” Lanaru snapped back.

At that, Enoke took a
few steps back until he was nearly standing with his back to the
wall.

Lanaru sighed. “Ever
since we were brought together, you’ve done nothing but look down
on me and talk down to me. All of you!” he yelled. “You’ve treated
me as nothing more than a walking joke since the day we were all
dragged into this mess, and I’m sick and tired of it!” he snapped,
pausing for a moment afterwards. “And you know what?” the Mara
barked. As he did so, it appeared as if all of the air in the room
was being drawn to him, encircling him like an impending tornado
about to touch ground. “Now, I’m finally going to do it. I’m going
to do whatever it takes to prove to each and every one of you that
I’m more than that!” he cried. “And believe me, I’m going to get
you all up to the surface, and you’re going to rescue Paradius from
Remula and Nuraka, even if it kills me!”

That was the breaking
point. The massive amount of power that he had channeled through
his Fan Blades was freed. Gale force winds erupted from around
Lanaru’s body, surging towards the Siren army. A wall of pummeling
winds separated the Veha from the Sirens just as the rumbling began
to spread further to their surroundings. Ikani hardly had time to
look up before the stone ceiling above began to give way, falling
into the eye of Lanaru’s storm and around the Veha, who fought hard
to avoid the falling rubble.

Suddenly, there was a
familiar cry that was heard beyond even the earth’s tremors and the
howling winds. From above, four massive birds were circling,
heading towards them.

“The Kanalevai!” Ikani
cried. “They’ve returned to rescue us!”

The birds swooped down,
avoiding the falling rocks that were slowly beginning to encircle
the Veha, coming close on numerous occasions to trapping them. The
first swooped down and grabbed Enoke by its talons, carrying him
upwards towards the surface. Ikani reached out his arms and grabbed
hold of the next, being carried off to safety by the second giant
bird.

“Lanaru!” Kaho cried
out as the last bird began to swoop down. “Grab on; we’ve got to
go!”

Lanaru smiled weakly.
“Nah, sister,” he replied, glancing back at her from the eye of the
storm. “I’ve… made my sacrifice, so you can see… the surface
again,” he stammered exhaustedly.

“No!” she cried, tears
forming in her eyes as she reached out for him. The vortex of
winds, however, quickly knocked her back.

“Thank you… for showing
us how to fight… together,” Lanaru continued. “I’m a selfish Zor no
longer… I’ll die… a hero…”

“I won’t let you!” Kaho
sobbed. Before she could rise to her feet again, however, she was
picked up by the enormous talons of the final Kanalevai bird and
lifted upwards, just in time for the remainder of the ceiling to
come crashing down.

The three birds broke
the surface together, soaring through the night skies darkened by
looming clouds. Kaho was racked with mourning sobs. Enoke and Ikani
remained silent, their heads downturned at the ground below as the
entire surface of Paradius seemed to crumble at the hands of the
same tremors that had taken the Vaults.

“Lanaru’s sacrifice
shall not be in vein,” Ikani declared. “We must head to the Hub
immediately!” he cried. “Enoke, Kaho,” he began, turning to the
others. “If what Lanaru said before is true, then the Resistance
army was due to arrive at the Hub tonight. Seek them out, and guide
them with your strength and wisdom… Lanaru would have wanted
that.”

The other two merely
nodded. “And you?” Enoke asked, his voice sounding absolutely
empty.

“I know who I’ve got my
eye on,” Ikani replied, his gaze locked on the distant Tavar Mafa,
the skyscraping Tower peeking over the stormy
horizon.

The Kanalevai grew
nearer. The city gradually came into full view more and more with
every passing second. The other birds swerved off, heading off to
scan the city. As Ikani grew closer, he caught sight of a figure
perched atop the Tavar Tower, gazing out over the city
below.

It was Remula. The
drums of war were beginning to sound.

Chapter XIX – Deceit
And Revenge

As the Kanalevai
circled above the Mafa, Ikani’s focus was on the scene below. His
eyes locked on Remula, standing tall at the top of the Tavar Tower.
There was no time for second-guessing his plans, and certainly
turning back at this point would not be an option. There was hardly
any time for Ikani to feel any incoming sense of fear as they drew
closer now to his target.

Above them, thunder
began to roar. Lightning broke through the dark clouds, coming far
too close for comfort to Ikani, who was spun around in circles as
the enormous bird below him frantically averted the incoming
storm’s wrath.

“Can you get me down
there?” Ikani cried out, hoping that the bird would understand him.
There was a loud shriek in response from the Kanalevai, and Ikani
could only hope that this was some form of affirmative reply as the
bird began a sharp dive towards the peak of the skyscraping Tower.
Ikani braced himself, gaining his balance on the bird’s back,
standing upright as his target came within range. With a swift
jump, he discharged himself from the back of the Kanalevai, landing
on the edge of the tower top.

“Remula!” Ikani barked, staring down the towering figure of
the Paradius Security Chief. A malevolent grin took shape across
Remula’s face.

“Ahh,” he said, smirking. “If it isn’t the
famed
Veha Ikani,” he began mockingly. “It’s such an honor for you
to come and join me here on this
fateful
night.”

“Enough of your games!”
Ikani snapped. “I know what you’re up to; I know what you’ve
done!”

“Oh?” Remula asked tauntingly. “And what might that
be,
hero
?”

Ikani snarled. “I would
say that you know well enough,” he began, “but I don’t believe that
for a second! Do you have any idea of the magnitude of the dark
forces that you have released upon these people? Upon the very Zor
that you once swore to protect fifty years ago?” Ikani demanded to
know.

“A
lot can change in fifty years, Ikani,” Remula replied simply. “And
it’s for that very reason that I have taken it upon myself to
fulfill what I have come to discover to be my true destiny. I have
awoken the true great hero from his slumber!” he cried, gesturing
towards the city that quavered in the night below them. “This
city’s been brought to ruins because of your kind! Because of
the
noble
Tavar Havea – and how could we forget about
the poor late Veha Oren?” he mocked.

“They were far better
leaders than you could ever dream to be!” Ikani roared, feeling for
his sword.

Remula merely smirked.
“Why so hostile?” he asked condescendingly. “I was only stating the
truth. And do you know what else? You’re exactly like them, too –
blinded by your values of unity and harmony,” he scoffed. “And
where are your righteous
leaders
now? Gone! Just like
the foolish Gods who dared to try and put a stop to Lord Demias’
plan!”

“And
just what was that
plan
?” Ikani
retorted.

Remula chuckled
ominously. “To burn all that stood in the way of true might to the
ground!” he cried, his arms stretched out once again towards the
surrounding city. “In order to build a new and timeless empire
governed by all the power that should rightfully belong to the Zor,
and to him – before the other dreaded Gods locked it
away!”

“The
only thing that’s
timeless
is the legacy left
behind by true heroes!” Ikani shouted, readying his Fireblade.
“From Veha Oren and Tavar Havea, to whom I owe my very life, to the
legacies of all the brave Veha and Tavar who came before!” he
exclaimed as a spiral of fire climbed to the tip of his blade. “And
most importantly, to the true Gods – the four noble leaders of our
people who kept your
precious
Lord Demias at
bay!”

“You dare mock Lord
Demias in front of me?” Remula roared, readying the massive scythe
that served as his weapon of choice.