The Power Array Saga - Season Two - Part XI

Part XI – Revelation

 

The phone inside the top floor office of the precinct rang and Major Rufap hurriedly picked it up.

               “Go for Rufap,” said the major.

               “You left a message for me to contact you,” said the voice on the other end. It was the voice that the two police officers had been waiting to hear from ever since they left their meeting with the sun elf princess. The Butterfly Samurai had finally contacted them.

In the desert, Momotaru sat on a log with his shirt off and poked at the fire in front of him with a stick.

               “How much longer are we gonna have to be here?” asked Arif Zahur who lay on her back with limbs sprawled outward.

               “And where exactly would you like us to go?” asked Momotaru. “It’s not like we can go back to Aver any time soon thanks to you.”

               “Well anywhere but here,” said Zahur. “We’ve been here for forever.” She dragged out the last word to amplify the agony she felt by remaining in the remote location.

               The old crone came limping out of her hut. She carried a thick, leather-bound book that she sat on the log beside Momotaru as she took a seat next to him.

               “You’ve been slacking in your reading of the sacred text these past few days,” said the old crone.

               “I needed to take a break,” said Momotaru. “I’ll start reading again soon.”

               “You will read now,” said the old crone.

               “Why should I?” asked Momotaru. “There’s always tomorrow.”

               “Not for you,” said the old crone.

               Both Momotaru and Zahur looked at one another with eyes wide in shock. Turning sharply towards the old crone, Momotaru fixed his icy stare upon her.

               “What exactly is that supposed to mean?” asked Momotaru with furrowed eyebrows.

               “It doesn’t matter,” said the old crone while wearing a large, toothless grin. “What does matter is the company that you’re expecting.”

               Arif Zahur looked to Momotaru with a raised eyebrow.

               “It’s your crazy ex-girlfriend that we ran into earlier,” said Zahur. “Isn’t it? Who is she and why is she so crazy?”

               As if in response, a hover shuttle appeared in the distance, hovering several meters in the air as it approached. Momotaru and his companion hurriedly tried to gather up what little stuff that belonged to them. It was only a matter of seconds before the hovercraft was touching down next to the shack of the old hag.

               Momotaru glowered as he stood and glared menacingly at his old adversary, the Butterfly Samurai.

               “Good,” said Iris Longwing as she jumped out of the convertible hovercraft. “You two are packed up and ready to go. I have to take you two back to town. There’s some very important people wanting to have a word with you, Momo.”

               “I’m not going anywhere with you, Iris,” said Momotaru. “Besides, I know if the police haven’t hired you to find me yet then they’ve probably hired someone else who’ll be looking for both of us. We need to stay ahead of them at all costs. Besides, Arif is one small guy, I don’t think he’ll last too long in prison.”

               Iris burst out laughing at the comments made by her longtime friend. “Wait,” said Iris as she bent forward, holding her stomach and slapping her upper thigh while laughter burst forth from her lips. “I can’t believe that you’ve actually developed a sense of humor, Momo. That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in a while.”

               “Well,” said Momotaru hesitantly. “I don’t think it was that funny… I mean, I think Arif can kind of hold his own if we ever get caught. Plus he’ll have me to look out for him.”

               Arif Zahur with eyes wide and pleading quickly looked to Iris as they seemed to speak using only their eyes. The smile on Iris face was quickly replaced be a stern frown.

               “Wait,” said Iris shaking her head. “You’re serious aren’t you… you have no idea, do you?”

               “No!” shouted Zahur springing forward to stand in front of Iris. She shook her head furiously as she stared into the color shifting Acro Eyes of the Butterfly Samurai. “Don’t say anything please.”

               “What in the hell is going on?” asked Momotaru forcefully shoving the two of them apart. He looked down with a confused expression on his face and glared at his new traveling partner as a hint of a tear formed in Zahur’s eyes.

               Grabbing ahold of Momotaru’s rippling, chocolate brown arm, Iris seductively drew herself closer to Momotaru. Lightly touching his forearm, she traced a finger up to his neck as she blew seductively into his ear.

               “This one’s got a big secret,” said Iris with a slight giggle.

               “A secret,” said Momotaru confused as he looked back and forth between Iris and Zahur. “What exactly is she talking about Arif?”

               “N-nothing,” stuttered Zahur. “L-let’s get out of here.”

               “No way,” said Momotaru blocking Zahur’s path. “Before I go anywhere with anyone else, you’re gonna tell me exactly what’s going on… or else.” He rested a hand on the hilt of the blade hanging at his waist.

               “Ugh!” interrupted the old crone who still sat in front of the fire. “It’s your own fault Momo, you’ve let your senses become dulled. You should have been able to sense that your new traveling companion is female.”

               “What!” shouted Momotaru.

               The Butterfly Samurai threw her head back and laughed all the more louder.

               Arif Zahur turned her head away, abashed and unable to meet the confused expression on Momotaru’s face. 

Part VI - The Peach and the Crone

The Power Array Saga

  

Tales of the Sword and the Peach

“I have been waiting for you.” said the old crone, sitting on an overturned, MoonGlow tree log that soaked up the moonlight and reflected it back out with a dull white shine. The hunched old lady had a handful of long white, wispy strands of hair that could be seen snaking from underneath a thin hood covering her face in shadow down to her nose. A dark walking cane lay beside her as she sat with hands outstretched, seeking warmth from a raging fire.

The twin moons of Threa loomed large in the distance, appearing as two halves, lined up in a row with the grey rock Cassini sitting lower in the sky while the brightly shining ice sphere Galilei was arrayed behind it in a perfect shot like the white ball on a pool table. Stars littered the dark background of the heavens, twinkling and sparkling in endless rows like thousands of spectators. On the surface of Threa, the dry dirt spread for kilometers in every direction while a scarce splattering of trees dotted the landscape. The bare terrain was framed by large mountains that sat black and shadowed in the distance, far to the south of the city Duke and Aver and the river Amis. The river Amis was still a few dozen kilometers to the south.

“How did you know we were coming?” asked Zahur wearing a large smile.

Momotaru approached…, wary, eyes surveying the bland landscape while his hand hovered over the hilt of his blade.

“I can see many things through The Lines,” said the old crone with crusted, dry lips and missing teeth. While her hands stayed outstretched towards the fire for warmth, her head turned towards Momoratu with an unnatural quickness. “You can let your guard down here Young Void Warrior, The Sire of Arcadia.”

Momotaru looked at her briefly with hard, untrusting eyes and went back to surveying the surroundings; the flat terrain would give him ample time to see any threat that was foolish enough to try and ambush him. He was still on edge after facing Iris. Not to mention the fact that he was still on edge after killing the elven city guards of Aver. He was afraid that even his father would not be able to weasel himself and his son out of that kind of trouble; despite whatever type of influence he held over city officials in the elven continent.

“You have been searching all your life,” said the old crone. “Stop searching…, relax, wait and what you search for might find you,” she said grabbing his hand with snake-like quickness that belied her old age.

Furrowing his brow, Momotaru clenched his teeth as a cold sensation crept across his palm then spread throughout his body as if it traveled through his veins like an IV.

“The void has shortened one of your lines,” said the old crone. She took Momotaru’s hand and turned it so that she could look at his palm.

“Stop your cryptic babble,” Momotaru said defiantly. He grew irritated by her probing. “Let go of me. What is the meaning of this? Zahur?”

“Her sight is similar to that of your Void, Taru-san,” said Zahur.

“How so?” asked Momotaru. He repeatedly tried to yank his hand away from the firm grip of the old hag. “Can she see the Astral Plane?”

“In a sense…, yes,” responded the old crone. “I can see through the dimensions of time and space when I look at the Life Lines in a person’s palm. I can see their future, their past, everything that I wish and much more.”

            “So what do you see when you look at my palm?” asked Momotaru. He raised a curious eyebrow.

            “Trust me…, you do not want to know,” said the old crone.

            “Anyway,” interrupted Arif Zahur. “On to more pressing matters; we need your help Ba-Ba.”

            “You need to find the Alchemist Guild and finish the enchantment on that sword,” said the old crone. “But little do you know that your quest is much larger than that and an even more powerful weapon awaits for you to claim it, the legendary Tundra Sword.”

            “What are you cryptically hinting at now,” said Momotaru in mocking tones as he rolled his eyes in frustration. “Besides, the Tundra Sword is just a legend from a dusty old book. It’s not real.”

            “What I am hinting at could be the very fate of you and the rest of your line for eternity…, the fate of the very world and the heavens itself,” said the old crone pointing a gnarled finger at Momotaru’s chest. “You have not the slightest clue as to where you come from, truly…, Riestu Master Momotaru Sensei. You have gifts at your disposal that most men would kill for yet you whore around and smoke and let them dwindle away. You, who are unwilling to take up a cause unless there is profit to be gained…, you…, who has a lot to learn…, young Void warrior. If you knew half the things that I knew about your ancestors and your future, the pressure would crush you. If you knew where your decedents take the planet Threa then you would commit suicide.”

            “Well then why don’t you tell me or have me killed,” said Momotaru.

            “As much as I would like to…, I cannot. The human race needs you to fulfill your destiny. Your mission must be completed for all of our sakes and this information would only provide you with an unneeded burden,” said the hunched back, gray haired crone.

            “Look old lady,” said Momotaru. “Just tell us where we can find the Alchemist Guild so I can be rid of you and this worthless mage.”

            The crone laughed; cackling howls with mouth wide showing missing teeth. “You will not be rid of Arif so easily young Void warrior. You two will be forever linked in more ways than you could imagine…, sooner than you know. This little mage is hiding a great secret from you warrior. When the time is right, you…, Momotaru will understand that you and the young mage, together, will usher in a new age and determine the Fate of the Heaven’s and bring about the Legacy of Winter which is spoken of in the ancient prophecies from the Tales of Arcadia. That dusty old book, as you like to call it, can answer all of the questions you have.”

- - -

EVAPOR ENTERTAINMENT INCORPORATED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. COPYRIGHT © 2013.

Part V – The Peach and The Void

The Power Array Saga

  

Tales of the Sword and the Peach

The Void took Momotaru’s mind to an unfamiliar place. The feeling frightened him yet he reveled in the new sensation. Blackness overtook his senses. Maybe it was such a dark blue and rich purple that it seemed black. Either way, whatever it was, it was beautiful, thought Momotaru. The Void took him to a place deep within himself yet outside as well like an out-of-body experience. He perceived every physical sensation as if it were through the body of a new born. Not even after hours of meditation did Momotaru ever feel so connected with the world, Threa. He was in a place that was sightless yet his senses were attuned to levels that no human could understand. He smiled as a warm, euphoric sensation surged through his veins.

Slash after slash, parry and thrust, action and reaction at blinding speeds. The bodies of the two swordsman reacted of their own accord, relying on years of muscle memory. The two master martial artists and sword experts were no longer fighting on the material plane of existence. They ascended. They did not fight with their muscles alone. Fighting using the power of their mind, thoughts interacted like the swords that clashed, projecting how the fight would go in their favor, only to be countered by another reality introduced by the opponent.

Arif Zahur’s mouth hung open. He gazed with eyes wide in awe of the flashing colors.

Colliding at inhuman speed, clashing blades coalesced into a collage of immense beauty to which any painter would die to achieve. Bright blue whirled in every direction so fast it seemed continuous. Silver mixed with black as the two swords talked to each other in the language of metal on metal. When the blades kissed, white and yellow sparks flew through the air. Grey clouds in a darkening sky posed as a background that could be seen through the collapsed wall of the Alchemist Guild building.

The rune carved, magic infused broadsword wielded by Iris Longwing dipped, dove, and splashed the dark blue sky with streaks of silver lightening. She was quick and agile, flipping through the air while probing with her sword to find an opening in Momotaru’s defense.

Momotaru blocked an overhanded strike. He deflected Iris’ blade to the side. She struck back in quick succession while doing an aerial cartwheel, hands never leaving the hilt of her blade.  By quickly forming a circle with his free hand, touching thumb to ring finger, Momotaru teleported behind his opponent. He used a high level technique of the Rietsu Martial Arts known as the Flash Step. Reappearing, he was greeted with a swift thrust from Iris’ broadsword while her back was still turned. Momotaru was forced to parry instead of attack as was his wont.

Iris spun around with a flip kick targeting Momotaru’s head and forced him to lean back like a tree swaying in the wind. Her sword followed in a sweeping arc that threatened to shear Momotaru in half at the waist.

With The Void in control, Momotaru was able to anticipate Iris’ movements. He teleported behind Iris’ using the Flash Step and greeted his adversary with a swing of his blade once he appeared. Iris to dropped to one knee, spinning on the way down to the floor while bringing her sword up to block.

They matched each other stroke for stroke. This was a warrior’s canvas with blades instead of paint brushes. Artwork flowed smoothly from their weapons and made a masterpiece of death.

Iris, the Butterfly Samurai broke off suddenly, Flash Stepping away from the heated battle. Seconds later, she appeared several meters away from Momotaru. Standing on the edge of the opening that was the collapsed wall of the third floor building, she held her broadsword – The Alter Blade – in front of her defensively.

“This was much more fun than anticipated,” said Iris Longwing, bosom heaving. “The Void serves you well. Sensei would be proud of you. But we must part ways here, to your divine sorrow, I’m sure. However, I assure you that we can play again a little later. I have other errands to attend to.”

She leapt through the opening with a wicked grin etched across her face.

“Like I would let you get away now,” said Momotaru through clenched teeth.

Momotaru leapt through the whole in the building where the roof had collapsed. All rational thought left his mind. Falling through the air after Iris, he channeled a spell. The Void was the highest level of martial arts achievement in the ancient and secret Riestu fighting style. It was a feat accomplished by no other person but him and his sensei. All of the hair on his body tried to stand on end.

Zahur ran over to the opening, peering over the edge. He saw Momotaru subconsciously channel his mana. He watched as his warrior friend used advanced, high level magical techniques. The splicing of wind and water in front of Momotaru’s blade created a massive magic spell that leapt from the dark adamantite of the weapon.

“Do my eyes deceive me?” said Zahur shying away from the burning white glare created by the blade.

A flock of birds scattered from a nearby tree.

Momotaru’s splicing of the newly created spell was interlaced perfectly and a sheet of ice, expanded, grew, and multiplied outward exponentially towards the butterfly samurai.

The Acro eyes told Iris the truth. She snarled at the avalanche in defiance.

“I will not be stopped!” Iris shouted.

Zahur watched Iris Longwing disappear within a massive avalanche of snow and ice that enveloped her completely. He could not say whether or not the female warrior was alive but that was not his concern. He needed to react quickly if he wanted to save Momotaru. To Zahur’s surprise, he watched his companion nimbly land on top of the cascading sheets of ice and snow and ride the top wave of the avalanche as if he were a surfer on a wave in the ocean.

Momotaru looked around, his eyes still pitch black. Then he looked up at Zahur and waved. A small smile returned to his face as the black eye sockets of the Void faded away to be replaced with Momotaru’s normal eyes.

Relief flooded though Arif Zahur. He waved back to his friend. Alarm sprung back up within him, body rigid as his eyes widened in shock. He raced down the steps and outside to his friend.

Momotaru had collapsed in a heap of exhaustion.

-        -    -

EVAPOR ENTERTAINMENT INCORPORATED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. COPYRIGHT © 2013.