Incident 27 (9 page)

“So
I’ll ask you again. What are you doing here with a dog of the Academy?”

“Turning
in my resignation,” was the response.

The
alpha suit stared at him while pondering the situation. “Does that mean you’re
surrendering to us?”

“Hardly,”
Arcturus said. “And I won’t accept
your
surrender, either. We’re here to
raise some hell.”

Letting
out a bitter laugh, the alpha suit said, “Your arrogance is astonishing. Do you
really think the two of you can overcome all of us?”

“As
a matter of fact, I do.”

The
suits moved in. One of them dove in and let fly with a right hook. He was
surprisingly fast, and Ev had just enough time to raise his arms to block. The
impact sent him reeling backwards into another suit who put him in a headlock.
The enemies began working him over pretty good. It seemed no area of his body
was off-limits to them, and they struck wherever they could, though his stomach
and face seemed to be favored targets.

Arcturus
didn’t seem to be faring much better. They had dog-piled on their target and
were beating the crap out of him.

After
a few more minutes, the alpha suit said to the two of them, “Well? What do you
have to say for yourselves?”

Ev
did something even he himself had not been expecting. He snickered. “Is that
all you got?”

The
alpha suit was taken aback. “What?”

In
truth, these guys weren’t that strong. The Academy’s training program had obviously
been far more beneficial than whatever methods these chumps used.

From
beneath the dog pile, Arcturus laughed. “Looks like we had the same idea, Ev. I
thought I’d let these guys have their fun and take their measure. I have to
say—the ruler’s pretty small!”
With a roar, he flung the suits off him.

“Guess
that’s my cue,” Ev said. He grabbed the arm of the guy who had him in the
headlock and ripped it away before punching him in the face. He spun around and
delivered a kick to another enemy, sending him flying across the room and onto
his ass. A third adversary tried to punch him, but he took hold of his wrist
and threw him into a pillar. It collapsed on top of him with a satisfying
crash.

Similarly,
Arcturus was now cleaning house. After dispatching several suits, he evidently
saw what Ev had just done and decided he could do better. He grabbed the
closest enemy and slammed him into a pillar with far more force than Ev had
just done. The explosion of marble reverberated throughout the massive room.

The
alpha suit angrily pushed aside his subordinates and stepped in to face Ev
himself. He took hold of Ev’s throat and began to throttle him. He was stronger
than the others, but Ev managed to pry his hands loose and launched a right
cross to the bastard’s jaw. The enemy’s head careened backwards and he
staggered a bit.

However,
the alpha suit quickly recovered. He brought his hands together and sent the
resulting oversized fist down onto Ev’s who side-stepped the attack and punched
him in the throat. Pained sounds escaped the man’s mouth and he stared at Ev
with shock. Clearly he wasn’t used to being manhandled like this.

The
shock was quickly overtaken by rage. He lunged at Ev with wild abandon—

—and
a sharp blade took off his head. The resulting geyser of blood covered Ev’s
upper body. Arcturus stood there holding slim swords such as Ev had never seen
before.

“Shit!”
Ev said.

“Don’t
act so shocked,” Arcturus responded. “I know you’ve seen carnage before.”

“Yeah,
but it’s so unexpected. You were using your fists a minute ago.”

He
shrugged. “I saw the leader attacking you and decided to speed things up.” He
motioned to a collection of body parts swimming in blood on the floor.”

Ev
looked away. It was true he had seen blood and death before, but this was too
much. “Did you really have to butcher them like that?”

“You
yourself agreed this world would be a much better place without them. We were
going to erase them anyway, remember? My katanas just made it easier. And
quicker, I might add. He didn’t suffer much.”

Ev
had to admit he had a point. “I guess you’re right. Still, it’s not an easy
thing to look at.”

Arcturus
smiled sweetly. “You wouldn’t be Ev Bannen if you could shrug off such violence.
I’m sorry; I’ll try to tone it down in the future.”

“Just
how much more trouble are you planning to get us into?”

From
the top of the stairs, a voice answered, “None. You’ve done quite enough
damage.”

He
looked to be a relatively young man, perhaps the same age as Arcturus (though
with gods looks were almost always deceiving). He wore a heavy coat the same
color as the sea. He had navy blue hair, and his head had many piercings. Ears;
lips; nose; eye brows. They were all filled with metal bolts and studs.

“Who
are you?” Ev said.

“Poseidon,”
Arcturus replied.

“That
is correct. I am Poseidon, god of the sea. Don’t mistake me for the underlings
you just dispatched in such atrocious fashion.”

“Where
is the energy crystal?” Ev said to him.

“I
don’t know what you’re talking about, nor do I care,” Poseidon said. “You two
are going to die here in penance for your actions.”

Arcturus
leapt at him with his blades. But before he could reach him, Poseidon extended
his arm. From the sleeve of his coat a tremendous torrent of water burst forth,
knocking him back. Poseidon then extended his other arm, and even more water
shot out.

Arcturus
got to his feet. “This guy’s on a whole other level. We can’t simply attack him
head on.”

“Well,
we have to do
something
,” Ev said.

Arcturus
looked around tensely. “Maybe we should retreat.”

“But
we need the energy crystal,” Ev reminded him.

“Forget
it. We’re at a disadvantage here.”

Sighing,
Ev said, “Fine. Let’s go.”

They
ran to the entrance. However, the doors abruptly slammed in their faces. When
it wouldn’t open for them, they tried using force. Shockingly, the doors
wouldn’t budge! “This entire house is my domain,” Poseidon said. “Only I can
release you, and I assure you—I won’t.”

Water
began pouring down the walls from the ceiling. Only a little at first, the
torrent quickly grew in size. Soon the water was at Ev’s knees.

OK,
retreat was out of the question. That meant they had to fight. Using his god
speed, Ev dashed behind Poseidon. He moved to attack his back, but the sea god
turned around and blasted him with the water coming out of his sleeves. Ev was
hurled backwards onto the stairs and hit his head. The last thing he remembered
was Arcturus calling out his name.

Chapter
VII

Ev
opened his eyes and found himself in a dark, weightless and cold world.
Strange—he couldn’t breathe. Wasn’t that a problem?

Alarm
shot through him like a thunderbolt as he realized he was underwater, and yes,
that
was
a problem. A deadly serious one. The entire main hall of the
mansion was submerged.

Ev
had come close to drowning once before, so he knew firsthand how terrifying it
was. He fought to gain control of his nerves as he took in his new
surroundings.

Poseidon
remained where he was, his arms folded, watching Arcturus flail about in the
water. Ev began to swim over to Poseidon to hopefully launch some sort of
attack, but even as a god in training, he moved awkwardly. The sea god noticed
him coming long before he arrived.

Poseidon
waved an arm, and the water began to swirl about in a maelstrom. Ev was caught
up in and flung around the room. He was helpless, and he knew it.
Looks like
my luck’s finally run out. I just had to join up with Arcturus Reich in his
impossible quest. Well, maybe this is for the best
. He’d felt for a long
time he didn’t deserve to live, didn’t deserve happiness. Now justice would
finally claim him.

But
as the moments passed, and his oxygen ran low, self-preservation triumphed over
self-loathing. He desperately wanted to live. But it was impossible, wasn’t it?
He was caught in Poseidon’s trap.

Wait…

Poseidon.
He had said something. Yes, Ev remembered.
Only I can release you
. That
suggested the sea god’s power was the key. Perhaps that power—already in
action—could be harnessed. This tempest was decent, but what would happen to
the house if it were to be sped up? Bad things, Ev hoped.

He
honed in on Arcturus’ psychic frequency.
Arcturus! Help me increase the
force of this maelstrom
.

It
took Arcturus a moment to respond. Perhaps he was still in shock from these
latest developments.
Ev, what are you…? Wait—that’s genius! Let’s see…we can
generate wind on land. We should be able to do something similar underwater.

Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s do it!

Ev
concentrated and imagined a tornado in place of the tempest. He willed that
tornado to spin faster and faster in the same direction they were already
going. It didn’t take long for him to notice results. They were now careening
about the room like a rocket.
Faster, Arcturus! We’ve got to get this thing
going at an insane speed
.

I’m on it!

Before
long, the house whirled around them in a blur. It was then that Ev noticed debris
swirling with them: the stairs. The tempest was tearing the house apart.

It
wouldn’t be long now.

* * *

Maya
finished looking about Stonecroft. Neither Ev nor Acturus were here. She felt
utterly dejected, like a piece of her heart had been crushed.

Maya to Professor Freya. Can you hear me?

Yes, Maya. Any luck?

I’m afraid not. I followed up all the leads I had, but I couldn’t
find Ev.

I’m sorry to hear that. What will you do now?

I don’t know. I’m worried about him. He’s not thinking straight.
Ever since he met Arcturus Reich, he just hasn’t been the same. I have no idea
what that bastard could be doing to him right now, and that’s what scares me.
She didn’t normally
resort to vulgarity, but this occasion called for it.

Ev can handle himself
, Freya said.

The regular Ev, yes. But this new Ev…I don’t know. I—

Her
words were cut off by the dull sound of a far-off explosion. Beyond a tall
ridge something like an erupting geyser appeared several miles away. Ordinarily
she wouldn’t have been interested in that. However, mixed in with the water and
debris was the unmistakable energy of a god. No, wait; not just one, but
several.

Maya, is something wrong?

Everything’s fine. I think I just got another lead. I’ll follow it
up and then get back to you.

* * *

The
explosion carried Ev about a hundred feet into the air before depositing him
back on the ground with a wet thud. A ton of debris fell on top of him, but he
easily withstood it. He was soaked and covered with crap, but he could breathe.
He threw the layers of rubble off of him and laughed harder than he had ever
laughed. Once again, death had spared him.

But
what about Arcturus? Ev called out to his partner in crime, but there was no
response. Again and again he yelled, but it seemed futile. The disaster area
which now surrounded him seemed to be devoid of life.

Suddenly,
though, there was movement in front of him. Someone rose from a large pile of
debris. He thought it was Arcturus, but he quickly realized it was Poseidon.
The sea god pointed an accusing finger at him. “You destroyed my house. You’ll
pay for this affront. You and your—”

He
stopped short as a blade erupted from his chest. Ev could see it had pierced
his heart. He craned his head to observe Arcturus behind him. Poseidon tried to
say something, but Arcturus removed the sword and he simply fell to the ground
in a heap.

“Whew.
Thought I was in trouble there,” Ev said.

Arcturus
replied, “You would have been if I hadn’t been in a position to get the jump on
him. Even outside, he would have had the advantage in a fight.”

“Well,
thanks for saving me, but…” Ev looked around at the shattered remains of the
house. “How will we ever find the energy crystal in this mess?”

“Relax.
They keep it in the basement along with all their other curiosities.”

They
maneuvered through piles of debris. Broken stairs; bricks; windows and other
assorted glass; wood from who knew what; clothing. All this and more was piled
up all over the place. The whole place felt like the mother of all disaster
areas.

Fortunately,
Arcturus knew the general location of the basement. After moving a mountain of
refuse out of the way, they found the stairs. They took them down to what
looked like a small warehouse lit only by the light coming down from the hole
in the ground. Rows and rows of shelves contained countless boxes and crates.

“Let’s
see…” Arcturus said as they browsed.

“Which
of these boxes has it?” Ev asked.

“I’m
not sure exactly. It should be filed under ‘M’ for miscellaneous.”

After
browsing “M” for a few minutes, Arcturus settled upon a small chest inlayed
with fine gems. It was locked, but the fact it was expensive didn’t bother him;
he just ripped the top off anyway exposing a golden crystal rod inside.

“Is
that it?”

“It
is,” Arcturus said. “We now have one of the items we need.”

Ev
was taken aback by that. “One? You mean there are more? I thought this was the
only one we needed.”

“If
it were that easy, anyone could activate the Ark and create a new world.”

“Fine.
How many more items do we need?”

“Just
one. But it’s kept in a more secure location than this. We’ll have to be extra
careful for the next assault.”

“Just
great,” Ev said. “Fine. Whatever. You know, I’ve been wondering about
something.”

“What’s
that?”

“Why
hasn’t anyone ever used the Ark before? It can’t be just the two of us that
would like to create the perfect world.”

“Who
said it hasn’t? For all we know, someone could have used it in the past to
create one of the previous universes. But to answer your question, the Academy
refuses to use it because of moral reasons, and Zero Grade won’t use it because
of their pride.”

“What
does their pride have to do with it?”

Arcturus
explained, “Zero Grade, for all their ruthlessness, believes in the value of
hard work. A perfect world, where you can realize all your dreams instantly,
just isn’t real to them. They want to be worshiped by everyone, but they want
it to be due to their hard work and cunning, not by a magic device. In other
words, they want to prove their greatness to mortals everywhere.”

Ev
needed a moment to digest that. “Wow. Who would’ve thought an evil organization
had morals?”

“Don’t
be fooled, Ev. They’ll do just about anything to get their way, as long as it’s
in a ‘real’ world like this one.”

“Point
taken. All right, we should probably get going now.”

* * *

Maya
crossed over the lake and saw the remains of a house that looked like it had
been hit by a tornado. But today’s sky was clear with no signs of foul weather,
leaving her with no idea what could have done that.

It
didn’t matter. Her ropes soared as she saw what she had been desperately searching
for: Ev Bannen, coming out of a hole in the ground. Finally she had found him.
Whatever happened next, she wouldn’t leave him again.

Unfortunately,
Arcturus Reich appeared behind him. She might have to fight him to get him away
from Ev.

* * *

“Ev!”

To
Ev’s amazement, Maya was flying in from across the lake. “Maya? What are you
doing here?”

“What
am I doing here?” she asked with amazement as she touched down in front of him.
“I’m here to bring you back!”

“Hmph.
Forget it. There’s nothing left for me at the Academy. They lied to me, and
you
lied to me.”

She
grabbed him by the shoulders. “Ev, listen to me! I’m sorry I ratted you out,
but you can’t trust this guy.”

“Leave
him alone,” Ev said. “Unlike the Academy, he trusts me enough to tell me the
secret of the Ark of the Covenant.”

She
eyed him curiously. “The Ark? What about it?”

“It
can create an ideal world without any bad guys like Zero Grade. Think of it—a
world without the misogyny of the Murnau Islands, or abusive fathers, or any
monsters at all.”

Shaking
her head, she said, “Ev, I know you’re haunted by your past. I am, too. But we
can’t just escape into fantasy. Besides, I’m sure Arcturus was lying about it.”

“Oh,
it’s no lie,” Arcturus said. “Belial told me about it. The Ark was designed as
a last resort in case this world turned out to be a failure. Which it is.”

She
rolled her eyes at him. “Designed? Designed by whom?”

“Beats
me. Does it even matter? The point is, it’s our way out of this miserable
world. Once we create the new one, we can have everything we’ve ever wanted.”

“This
is insane, Ev! You can’t just
throw out
the whole world.”

“We
can, and we’re going to,” was his reply.

She
gave a long, depressing sigh. “Fine. But I’m staying with you until you come to
your senses.”

“I
don’t want you with us,” Arcturus said.

“

I
said I’m staying,” she said emphatically. “If you want me gone, you’ll have to
kill me.”

Arcturus
stared at her for a moment as if he was actually considering it. Finally he
said, “Do whatever you want.”