Chapter 24
John and Karen fight their way through the castle checking for Milenas. “I think Queen Frallinaso had chambers this way”, says Karen.
“Let’s check it out then.” They come to massive ornately decorated wooden doors with a dozen guards outside. Karen and John take them out in short order. “Looks promising.” John pries open the doors with his staff and they burst into the room. They find Milenas chained to a small platform inside the room. The platform is surrounded by a mote of water. Milanas looks scarred, bloodied and weak.
Queen Frallinaso is facing Milenas but turns to see who the intruders are to her private chambers. Upon laying eyes on them she smiles. She then makes the water shoot up and splash Milenas. The water burns Milenas as she winces. “I admit I underestimated you four and I rarely underestimate. But overall things are going splendidly.”
“Just give us Milenas and let us walk out of here and this can all go away I assure you”, cries John hoping she doesn’t see through his bluff.
Queen Frallinaso laughs. “Watching her suffer has been a delight. However I am sure I will enjoy watching the life extinguish in your eyes as well.” With that Queen Frallinaso shoots long strands of red lightening from her fingers at Karen and John. John quickly uses his staff to block the energy but it’s intense. His staff heats up quickly and it is hard for him to brace against the force. He knew Queen Frallinaso was powerful but he didn’t think quite this powerful. “Nice trick but it won’t be enough.” The Queen lets out even more energy at the two earthlings and John once again braces trying to hold his staff in place.
While John is playing defense Karen throws her largest boomerang at a chandelier hanging over where Queen Frallinaso stands. The ornate fixture shatters and falls to the floor below. Queen Frallinaso breaks her concentration as she leaps out of the way to dodge it. The two earthlings seize the momentary window of opportunity. Karen catches her boomerang and runs to a banner and uses her knife to cut it down. Meanwhile John pounces on Queen Frallinaso. John is fast and manages to catch her off guard before she regains her focus but the Queen is too powerful and deflects John’s blows with her magic. Karen in the meantime is tying a cord from the banner to one of her boomerangs. She throws the boomerang at the ceiling above Milenas. It tangles in the ceiling and she uses the long cord to swing over the mote to where Milenas is. The chains are kept cold to safeguard against Milenas’ magic. Karen is able to use Zoeborh’s sword that she still has to break the chains. Milenas is too weak to stand so Karen holds her up and wraps the cord around her waist. She is about to swing back over the mote when the Queen makes all the water in the mote shoot up in the air surrounding the two women in a wall of water. Karen hesitates not sure what to do.
“Do it”, Milenas whispers. Karen swings through the wall of water as it burns Milenas. Milenas convulses in pain and the two women collapse on the other side.
John unleashes an aggressive assault on the Queen but she returns it with even more intense energy blasts. John’s staff can’t hold it all and neither can the talisman he carries that the little insect people made for them. The talisman he has on him starts vibrating and then vaporizes. The staff becomes too hot for John to hold and his blistering hands drop it. With nothing to shield himself anymore John feels like he is being electrocuted with a thousand volts as the Queen’s energy courses through him. He is paralyzed and collapses to the floor struggling to breath.
“Arrogant fool! Did you really think you could match my power? I have been toying and having fun with all of you all along. But the fun ends here. Now I eliminate all my enemies and consolidate my power.”
“Leave him alone!”, cries Karen but the Queen just shoots her with red lightening as well and Karen cries out in agony as her talisman vaporizes as well.
“Please sister”, Milenas weakly pleads. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because my simple witted sister it’s all part of the plan. These four have given me the perfect opportunity to crush my enemies completely. Even with this foolhardy siege out there they will be destroyed. My forces are already rounding around the lake to outflank them. With the addition of my powers to the battle the Magplits and Watamans won’t stand a chance. And as a bonus I was also able to correct the mistake of not killing you along with dear Mom and Dad.
Just then behind the Queen a balloon ship crashes through the wall. As the dust settles Sal and Michael crawl out of the ship. “Well crashing it a second time was easier than the first. Must be getting the hang of this”, says Sal brushing himself off.
Michael spies John desperately trying to breathe on the floor and a look of horror contorts his face. “John!” Michael runs to him but before he can reach him the Queen throws a ball of pure energy that sends Michael flying across the room.
“Not cool bitch!”, says Sal as he takes out his gun and starts firing at Queen Frallinaso. The Queen uses her magic to block Sal’s energy blasts. While Sal continues firing in vain the Queen levitates Zoeborh’s sword lying on the ground with her magic and makes it fly through the air at Sal. The sword impales Sal straight through and he falls to the ground.
Karen, who comes to in just enough time to witness this, screams, “No!” Her horror and rage gives her the adrenaline rush she needs and she runs with boomerangs out at the Queen. But before Karen can reach her the Queen uses her magic to break away a piece of wall from the hole Sal and Michael made with the ship. She then has it fly through the air and smashes it on Karen’s head and Karen goes limp.
Milenas weakly tries to stand and summon enough fire to combat her sister. “You always were pathetic sis”, snarls Queen Frallinaso as she uses her magic to throw Milenas out the hole in the wall. Milenas is helpless to do anything in her current state and she falls into the lake below. “Farewell to that burden.” Queen Frallinaso then turns her attention to the earthlings. “So two of you cretins down and two to go.” She then levitates John and Michael’s bodies in the air and they begin to convulse with blood coming out of their orifices. They then drop to the ground with a sickening thud. “Believe it or not I was actually hoping for more of a challenge.”
Suddenly a great wind coming from outside whips through the chambers. It screeches and howls fiercely. Queen Frallinaso perplexed and intrigued makes her way fighting against the wind to the opening in the wall. She peers out over the edge and sees below in the lake where Milenas fell a bubbling and swirling around an ever widening hole in the water. Steam is rising off rapidly making it hard for Frallinaso to see what is going on. In the blink of an eye a column of bright fire and light shoots out of what appears to be the epicenter of the churning and frothing waters. In that column Milenas rises from the water’s depths fully healed and conscious. As Milenas reaches the height of the hole in the castle wall the column disappears and Milenas hangs in the air surrounded by fire. Her and Queen Frallinaso stare at each other in silence for what seems like forever.
Queen Frallinaso can’t believe what she is witnessing. “What…who are you”, she stammers. She shrieks in frustration and with her magic throws all the rubble lying on the ground at Milenas. But the fire around Milenas grows and disintegrates it all before it strikes her. Queen Frallinaso then tries gathering all the water in the lake in a huge tidal wave that crashes on her sister. But Milenas’ fire simply evaporates all the water that hits her and she remains unfazed still staring at her sister in silence. “So you have some new tricks! You are still no match for my power like always!” With that Queen Frallinaso throws everything she has at her sister as a torrent of red lighting comes at Milenas. It has no affect on Milenas. Instead Milenas raises one of her hands, palm facing her sister, and a powerful column of fire and light shoots down on Queen Frallinaso. Queen Frallinaso lets out a scream as she begins shining in gold light and then evaporates transmuted into pure energy that dissipates in the air like smoke.
With her sister gone forever Milenas waves both her hands and her fire sweeps into the chamber room. It engulfs the four earthlings and their weapons levitating them and bringing them outside to join the fire that surrounds Milenas. With the earthlings still in tow within her flame Milenas floats in the air over the raging battle. The Wataman and Magplit forces have been outflanked by Briccxon forces as Frallinaso had predicted. But the battle still rages fiercely as the others make a futile attempt at escape from the Briccxon forces. Milenas outstretches her arms and begins waving them in the air. Around her arms the fire and light grows until it looks like wings. With the wings of fire a strong wind blows over the raging battle and through the castle. Which stops many of the soldiers as they peer up in wonder and disbelief at the sight above their heads. As the wind continues to pick up strength a sea of fire washes over the soldiers and the castle and all the land as far as the eye can see. The fire passes through everyone and everything but harms nothing aside from weapons. Any weapon it touches burns up and disappears.
Milenas then descends to the ground in the middle of the battle field. Everyone watches in awe. As she touches the ground her fire disappears and the four earthlings all stand with her dazed and confused but fully healed and alive once more. Their weapons fully repaired as well. Queen Bennu, Ulf and Utawa all run up to Milenas and the four earthlings. A soldier is heard crying out, “It is the princess she is a god!”
“What manner of sorcery is this!”, cries Ulf.
“The soldier is correct. The goddess has awoken”, says John.
“Wait! What the hell are you talking about? And how are we alive? Not that I am complaining mind you”, says Sal thoroughly confused.
“Your weren’t dead for that long. Your spirits were still close enough to your bodies that I was able to reattach them and heal you”, says Milenas.
“How do you have that ability?!”, says Queen Bennu.
“What chapter did I miss here”, says Sal.
“It’s like the little insect people said. The spirit of life that watched over this planet was absent but is back now.”
“Yes I still don’t have all my memories and knowledge from when I was fully in spirit but I do know I was called away and when I returned and saw what had happened to this world I decided to incarnate in this form so that I may understand more what was going on and aid the people better. But I lost my spirit memories upon taking this form. I apologize that it took my physical form being brought to the brink of severance for me to recall who I truly was.”
“Wait”, says Karen, “So you are the spirit that brought the star people here. And the one that the little insect people said went away and caused confusion and chaos.”
Milenas nods, “Yes, I have watched over this planet since it’s creation but it needs to learn how to live on it’s own without my constant guidance so it can for itself find out what works and what doesn’t work. But obviously some gentle guidance is still needed.”
“Wait, it wasn’t a spaceship?”, asks Sal still trying to catch up.
“You knew this along, John?”, Michael asks.
“I mean Milenas was clearly the more powerful sister and Frallinaso resented it and tried to convince everyone that she was the most powerful. And that fire thing made me wonder. So I had a hunch.”
“Why didn’t you tell us”, says Karen.
“I am sorry but it was just a hunch. I was hoping Milenas would be powerful enough to defeat her sister but the spirit thing I figured had a fifty/fifty shot. But I was also afraid I was clouded by my…you know opinions of her so I didn’t want to have you all bank on that.”
“I guess we will let it slide. Just don’t do it again.”
“What happens now”, asks Queen Bennu.
“We leave you to work things out”, says Milenas. “My friends and I will not be far away. You will be able to find us if you should ever need our assistance. We will always protect this planet if needed. Right?”
“Uh sure”, says Karen.
“Whatever”, says Sal.
“If you wish”, says Michael.
“Absolutely”, says John.
Sal then smacks John on the back of the head. “Kiss ass.”
Milenas then turns back to Queen Bennu. “But I warn you. You are close to a dark line that my sister crossed so be careful.”
“That’s it?”, asks Utawa.
Milenas holds out her hands and a fire surrounds her and the four earthlings and begins lifting them into the air. “Take care of this land. Show it and each other understanding instead of fear or contempt and you will be fine.” With that Milenas and the four earthlings fly away leaving everyone in stunned silence.
“So since your a goddess do we got to worship you or you know not curse or something”, asks Sal as they fly through the air.
“Come on most of that was for their benefit back there to keep them in line. I may remember my powers and responsibilities but I am still Milenas.
“Well that’s good to hear”, says Sal.
“I always wanted to go with you and I should have the first time. I was blinded by my loyalty to my...kingdom. But I know better now. My loyalty is to you four and this planet. You came back for me, so can I have a second chance to join you four.”
“Of course”, says Karen.
“Remember we once told you we only run to fighting when one of our own is in trouble. So you were already one of us”, says Michael.
“Welcome to the family”, says Sal.
Sometime Later
Michael and Karen are relaxing under a tree together by the water’s edge in the stone age village of the little insect people. A few yards away Sal and Milenas are lying in a hammock together half asleep. A raft with little people on it is coming ashore where they are. John is also on the raft but he dives off the side before it reaches the beach and enjoys the cool clear water for a little swim. Milenas gets up off the hammock and runs over to meet him. She waves her hand and uses her magic to evaporate the water off of John as he walks onto the beach. They throw their arms around each other and kiss.
The End…
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