Reunification (30 page)

Moving far more swiftly than any robot
should have the ability to, Assassin raised its sword and ran at me
with ferocious speed. I recognized the attack, because it had been
a technique that Sir Lockfried had taught me during my training. If
it hit, I would surely be dead.

Thus, with no time left to think, I did
the only thing I could: I hurled the security camera at Assassin
with as much strength as I could gather in my weakened state. The
movement made my chest burn even more, but I could not allow myself
to be distracted by the pain or the blood, for I did not have the
luxury of worrying about it at the moment.

Much to my shock, the camera did indeed
hit Assassin in the head, even before he had a chance to dodge it.
'Twas an amazing thing to see, watching as that damaged little
machine crashed into Assassin's plate face, and caused him to veer
off course, staggering to the side from the blow.

This was my opportunity. Without waiting,
I dashed toward the doors and pulled one of them open. It was
difficult, for I was so weak from the bleeding, but I succeeded in
opening it just wide enough for me to slip through. Even so, I
could hear Assassin already recovering, if the sound of the
security camera being smashed to pieces behind me meant
anything.

And thus I ran, heading straight down the
hallway, blood flowing freely from my chest. I had lost so much
blood by now that I wasn't running nearly as fast as I normally
did, but I pushed myself to keep going anyway. Because to give up
in this situation was to die for certain.

Even worse, however, was how my senses
were rapidly fading in and out the further I ran. Most likely was
the blood loss, trying to steal my consciousness from my grasp, but
I had no intention of letting myself sink into the darkness that
awaited me. I could survive … I could survive … I could
survive.

But then, without warning, my legs gave
out underneath me. I fell down on my hands and knees, though in
truth I only supported myself with one hand, for with the other, I
grabbed my bloody chest to keep it from bleeding too much, even
though that gesture did little to help.

Oh, by the names of the Old Gods … this
was too much. As a Knight of Se-Dela, I had never been in such a
horrible situation before. The blood loss almost overwhelmed for me
by itself, though in truth, it was my sister's betrayal that
brought me pain more than anything. Or perhaps it was both the
blood loss and betrayal … Ah, what did I know? I was beginning to
lose consciousness anyway. Nothing made much sense anymore.

I fully expected to feel Assassin's sword
dig deep into my back and finish me off, but I did not even hear
him approach me from behind. Perhaps he understood that I was going
to die and there was no reason for him to waste time and energy
killing me himself.

Then I heard footsteps coming before me at
an even, easy pace. Despite the terrible pain I was in, I managed
to look up to see who was walking toward me, to see who would take
my life.

'Twas some sort of humanoid being, wearing
a long, flowing golden wizard's cloak, striding down the hall
toward me. I almost mistook him for a Sage, but then noticed that
his hands were mechanical and metallic plating poked out from under
the skin of his face. He looked like no being I had seen, either on
Xeeo or Dela, but even in my weakened state, I could tell he was
not a friend.

“
Another villain?” I
gasped, as the figure continued to walk toward me. “What is your
name, you cur? Are ye associated with this evil organization that
stole my sister's brain?”

As the figure drew closer, still not
saying a word, I smelled a powerful fragrance—like oranges, almost,
though it could have been my blood-deprived brain inventing that
for all I knew—wafting off his frame. He stopped before me and
looked down at me as if I were a pitiful child in need of help. His
face was half-mechanical and half-human, a face straight from my
darkest nightmares.

“
Young man,” said the
figure, his voice deep and masculine, but not unkindly, despite his
strange appearance. “You are injured. And broken. Like Xeeo and
Dela. Allow me to help you.”

I had no time to respond to that, because
when the man placed his mechanical hands on my face, I immediately
lost all consciousness.

***

Chapter
Fourteen

“B
rother, brother, are you awake?
Brother, brother, can you hear me?”

That voice … it took me a moment or two to
recall, but I remembered it as the voice of Kiriah, my dearest
sister, who I had not seen in years. Yet how could that be her?
After all, she had gone missing so long ago that I had not thought
I would see her again. Perhaps I heard someone else's voice,
another woman who sounded like Kiriah.

The only way to know for certain was to
open mine eyes and see. She sounded as if she was close by, perhaps
even close enough by that I could see her.

Slowly, I opened my eyes. The lids felt
heavier than normal for some reason, as if I was awakening out of a
deep sleep. And indeed, my whole body did feel as stiff as a metal
pipe, though why that 'twas, I could not remember.

When my eyes fully opened, I saw Kiriah's
face staring at me. It was slightly older than when I had last seen
it, but there was no mistaking that small nose or those
distinctive, thin eyebrows for the features of anyone else but my
sister.

“
Kiriah?” I said, the
word sounding weak from my mouth, the back of my head pounding for
some reason. “What are ye doing here? I thought ye had been missing
for six years.”

“
I was missing, but now
we're back together again,” said Kiriah, putting her hands together
in happiness. “All we need to do now is get Sura back and
everything will be back to normal again.”

I smiled a grand smile, the grandest smile
I had smiled in years, at her words. Yes, there was no mistaking
this woman for anyone other than my dearest sister, Kiriah. We were
reunited at long last. Praise the Old Gods!

Then I noticed I was sitting in some sort
of strange, cramped box. The interior was lit by a white light,
while mysterious little mechanical instruments, such as knives and
needles, hovered over my head. It smelled as sterile as a Xeeonite
hospital, though as far as I could tell, I was not in one of those
buildings at all. 'Twas a door hanging open, too, a thick, metal
door, with a white glowing interior much like the interior of the
machine I sat in.

“
Uh, sister?” I said,
looking around at the strange machine I was inside. “What is this
thing? Where am I?”

“
You were injured,” said
Kiriah. She gestured at the machine. “And we brought you here, to
be repaired. This is a Xeeonite healing machine. It regenerated
your skin, mended your broken bones, and even gave you blood that
you lost. Isn't Xeeonite tech amazing?”

I nodded, but then felt a sharp pain in
the back of my head, in the part that pounded, like an insect had
stung me there. Instinctively, I reached behind and grabbed it, but
there was nothing to feel save for my hair and what felt like
stitches, though I had no idea where those had come from.

“
Headaches?” asked
Kiriah in a sympathetic voice. “That's all right. Everyone who uses
this machine has them. They'll only last a little while, though.
Then they'll be gone for good and you'll be all better
again.”

My sister spoke so sweetly that I had no
reason to disbelieve her. I didn't even ask her about the stitches.
Most likely, those were the remains of the work that the machine
had done on me and would be removed as soon as they were not
needed.

“
I am glad to hear that
you are whole again, Rii,” said another voice, one I did not
recognize, but which stirred up feelings of unease in me
immediately. “Because there is still so much for us to do and we
need every last bit of help we can get.”

Then a tall, humanoid figure appeared
behind my sister. He wore golden, flowing robes and had mechanical
hands, which were put together as if in prayer. His face was
hideous; half mechanical, half organic, he made the Xeeonites, a
people obsessed with mechanical implants, look positively normal by
comparison.

Kiriah stood up and turned to face him.
“Oh, Founder, there you are. Yes, Rii is all better now, but he
says he has headaches.”

“
I heard that, Kiriah,
but thank you for informing me anyway,” said this 'Founder'
character, whoever he was. He rested one of his large mechanical
hands on Kiriah's shoulder. “I do not believe there is a kinder or
more devoted sister in the two worlds than you. It is what I most
admire about you, for you give me hope that there is still some
good in this fragmented world.”

Though Kiriah's back was to me, I could
imagine her blushing at the compliment, because she always used to
blush whenever she was complimented by anyone. 'Twas another good
aspect about her, for it showed her purity of soul, which was what
I had always loved about her.

Whilst I hated interrupting these moments,
I nonetheless held up a hand and said, “Whilst I do agree with ye
about my sister, I do not believe I have met ye yet, sir. What is
your name?”

Founder pushed my sister gently aside, but
even before he did so, Kiriah scrambled to get out of his way. He
then stepped forward, looking at me with his eyes. The left eye,
the organic one, glowed a natural blue, while the right eye, his
mechanical one, glowed an artificial red.

“
You can call me the
Founder,” said the man. “For reasons, I am certain, you already
know.”

I did not understand that cryptic speak,
but then without warning, the Founder no longer seemed unfamiliar
to me. When I looked at him, I recognized him as the leader of
Reunification, on a holy mission to reunite Dela and Xeeo, to
restore what was lost … but more importantly, I saw him as
my
leader, who I could not afford to question.

Where and whence did these thoughts come
from? I did not know. They seemed to come from the back of my head,
where those stitches were, but I soon stopped pondering deeply
about this, because the undeniable truth of those ideas held me as
firmly as the fangs of a vampire on my throat. I felt awful for
questioning these ideas at all.

“
Yes,” said the Founder,
nodding. “I can see in your eyes that you understand. Are you
willing, then, to do what I say, when I say it, if it will aid us
in reuniting what is divided?”

I should not have known what that meant,
but I did, and so I said, “Yes, Founder, I am.”

“
Good,” said the
Founder. “Now rise, Rii, brother of Kiriah, for it is now time for
us to begin the final process of Reunification. And there is no one
now who can stop us.”

***

Two Worlds #2:
Alliance

Chapter
1

Date: Asiday, fifth day of the week, Zaxo
10
^th
, 3050 XE

Time: 10:00 PM XST (Xeeonite Standard
Time), 11:00 PM DST (Delanian Standard Time)

Location: Ra-Dela, capital city of
Se-Dela, largest and most powerful country on Dela. More
specifically, in Ra-Dela's dwarfish slums, though do not have much
information about this particular area, as Database records have
little facts on this part of Ra-Dela, aside from noting that many
violent criminals and mentally disturbed individuals of all
Delanian races live here due to stigma and Se-Dela's lack of mental
health resources. Best to be cautious, as records indicate that
visiting Xeeonites have been known to be attacked by this slum's
residents. Activating sensors to avoid being taken by surprise.

Objective: Find and apprehend wanted
criminal Jornan ah Kona. She is wanted on both Dela and Xeeo for a
variety of crimes. Her most recent crime is running an illegal
vampire feeding ring in Xeeo, which resulted in twenty deaths
total: ten humans, four elves, and six dwarves.

After completing objective, I will return
to Xeeo, with Kona in tow, where the Xeeonite High Court will judge
her in accordance with the law. Doubt she will be given a light
sentence, considering her long list of crimes, but it is not in my
place to speculate about such matters. Only to bring to justice
those who have broken the law.

I stand on top of an abandoned building in
Ra-Dela's southern edge, where few people live. Sensors indicate
that, through the hard wood ceiling of the warehouse, that Kona is
directly beneath my feet. Kona is also a witch, which is how I
locate her in the first place. My sensors pick up a skyras energy
spike coming from this warehouse. The spike lasted thirty-six
seconds, but that had proven to be more than enough time for me to
confirm its source.

Daylight is low. Sun is setting in the
east, making visibility difficult. Night vision senses activating,
but will not receive full usage of them until the sun goes down
completely. If warehouse lacks interior light, I may be able to use
this earlier; if not, I will survive.

Paralysis repulser blaster—PRB for
short—is at 98% power. It should have been 100%, but Portals always
take a fraction of a machine's overall energy levels whenever a
machine such as myself travels through them. Ninety-eight percent
will work, though I must not get cocky, because Kona is still a
threat with her skyras rings, which have unknown magical
properties.

Perform a quick run-down of my various
programs.

Connection to Database: Lost, as the
Database does not have a server in Dela. Have to rely on mobile
Database, which is housed in my memory unit, though due to storage
capacities is far more abridged than the full Database. Mobile
Database files are 10.0.2, which means they are up to date, as
10.0.2 is the latest update for the mobile files.