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Coup De Main - Chapter Five

classifications: Science-Fiction / Space Opera / Heroic / Action

I decided to re-post this chapter by chapter. I really want you guys to be rough. I know this thing has holes everywhere, but give advice to fix them.

I want to know what you think, yes, but also what's wrong, and what's right.

More like this / More by this author

Odelon had been running now for about 15 minutes. The World Echoes had been getting stronger for a while now, and he had to get there before- rounding a bend, he stopped. A door. Chronomorphing, he reached out and removed the door. Slipping back, he walked through. World Energy was being thrown around the room.

The major source of it was obvious; a Kenduron stood at the end of the room, spewing fire and Theris at a- Xybernaught? This particular one was throwing his own share of World Energy. It felt like Enduros, and judging from the effects of it, he was right. But a Xybernaught? They had been wiped out by a rogue Kenduron, and furthermore, how was he able to throw energy? It did not matter, it had to stop.

The Xybernaught would die, and his death would be mostly in vain. Gathering energy, he threw it into the air, and struck at it. It exploded with a brilliant flash, and a roar that shook the room.

All was quiet.

- - -

Caper stopped firing when the explosion shook the room. Staggering to a pillar, he leaned against it. He did not have enough energy to regenerate, and he was dying. He could feel it. In pain, and shaking from exhaustion, he looked over to see what had set off the explosion.

What he saw, a huge creature in orange and black powered armor, made him stop and look twice. It was not just the suit, that was amazing, yes, but he felt the same throbbing coming from it, as well. The legends spoke of a lone Kenduron that appeared at the moment of great need, but that was just a story, right?

But it was orange and black...

- - - - -

"So, Lucard N'Oldo. You come at last to pay homage to me." A'Lucard T'Nuoc straightened himself, and morphed into a form of featureless skin, glowing with shifting colors, the humanoid shape not clearly defined. Floating just off the ground, a reek of evil so foul seeped from him that the very room seemed to recoil from it.

"You are wrong, Lucard T'Nuoc. I am not here to pay homage to you, or to follow you. You follow evil, and your plans are evil. I am no longer Lucard N'Oldo. I left the A'Lucard Hierarchy because I saw it for what it truly was: a path of evil, feeding greed and lust for power." He walked into the middle of the room, and stood as if addressing everyone in the chamber.

"I left Netherworld during the schism, and became Odelon. I have only been back once, and I will not go back again. It's once great beauty and peace has been destroyed by your greed and lust. You were there when I visited, when did you leave?"

"Ahhhh. So you still have the same delusions of peace and tranquility. Odelon!" A'Lucard grimaced as if the word was distasteful, "you always were weak, never reaching to the heights of power that were yours by right. My right was to rule the dimensions, all life forms will have the honor of calling me god!" Its voice rose, challenging the universe, defying all resistance. "A'Lucard T'Nuoc! It feels right, does it not? It is my right and my destiny, and the lesser life forms will bow to me whether they like or no. They can be made to see the truth."

"Never!" Odelon himself was shouting now, and their bellows filled the chamber, "You cannot create! You can only make a foul replica of life. Do you know all? You cannot even read the thoughts of these- "lesser" beings." He laughed insanely, the sound eerie in the silence, "You are not god. I would venture to say that these "lesser" beings of yours are not so weak as you seem to think. I have been in their world for eons, and I have seem amazing things, especially from these humans." He shook his head wonderingly, and spoke quietly, "They seem to be bent on destroying themselves, and do the craziest things during their short life, but I have seen them show such love for each other and for other races as would make even your hard and blackened heart bleed. Even now, the bravery they have shown in facing you, an obviously foolish task, is commendable."

A'Lucard looked hard at Odelon, disbelief radiating from it, then snorted. "HA! You always were a sentimental fool, Odelon." Scorn dripped from his voice, distorted now into a growling snarl. "When you left the Hierarchy, I was but a learner. Now, I am the master. The master of time and space, and of all in it. If you will not bow to me, you will be destroyed. I will wipe you away, and these mortals will be immolated in the aftermath. I shall always triumph. It is my destiny." As he spoke, he raised his hand, and the glow around him brightened as he rose higher into the air. His arm seemed to convulse- ripple, and a beam of pure light, as bright as bright can be, shot out of his palm. Streaks of lightening blasted off the solid stream, arcing around the room.

The beam connected with Odelon, hitting him square in the torso, and knocked him back through the wall. Scintillating droplets of what molten light splashed around the chamber, sticking to walls and ceiling, melting holes in everything they hit.

The room seemed to ripple, warping the room as if a huge blast of air came from the end, the hole where Odelon was hidden behind the beam of light exploding in a wash of invisible energy. The rock from the hole liquefied and stretched like rubber into strings that came out and met beside where A'Lucard was standing. They solidified, morphed, and another figure stood there, like A'Lucard, but without the evil taint reeking from him.

A'Lucard stopped his beam, the sudden return to dimness and silence shocking. He flew backwards, and morphing his arms out to where Odelon floated, he grabbed him. A surge of energy blasted off of Odelon, as he seemed to stretch and melt in totally wrong directions.

"You see, Odelon, I AM the master. A'Lucard T'Nuoc! I will triumph!!" A'Lucard's voice was deafening. There was a sound coming from Odelon. While indescribable, it was ineffably sad, heart-rending, painful.

His voice weak, Odelon said "You may remove me, but you cannot win. Evil always fails in the end. Your victory may endure for a while, the night of evil, but joy will come as the rising morn, when you fall. Mark-my-words-, you-will-fail."

Caper, dying and in mortal agony, had crawled into line with A'Lucard. He attempted to stand, and fell. Kalyn and Ran'dyr dashed to his side. Kalyn grabbed him and said, "Caper! Come away! It is not safe here!" The dying Xybernaught looked at her painfully as he responded,

"No, Kalyn. I this is something I need to do. I can save Odelon's life, I know. I am dying anyway. I have cherished you, both of you as close friends, but we must all die. Hold me up."

Tears glistening in her eyes, Kalyn stood up, supporting him with her enhanced strength, whispering, "Oh, Caper."

Ran'dyr said, simply, "Goodbye, Caper. I only wish I knew you better."

The Xybernaught raised his arm, shaking with exhaustion, and fired one last time.

The display was no less spectacular this time, bolts of lightening streaking off the end of his fist, arcing to the walls and floor, then gravitating to A'Lucard, floating several meters off the floor. How or why it avoided Odelon, Ran'dyr did not know. What he did know was that the reaction was amazing.

A'Lucard split apart, streaks of glowing flesh flying across the room, bouncing off the walls, lightening connecting all the pieces. Odelon fell to the ground, splatting out like he had no skeletal structure and was made of rubber. Ran'dyr ran to him, knelt down beside him, and placed his hand on Odelon's arm.

Ran'dyr flinched and screamed as he disappeared inside Odelon. Odelon shook violently, and seemed to become a cloud, without actually changing. Floating into the air, an indistinct cloud of energy, his voice shouted, "Xybernaught! Cease at once!"

Caper stopped, and collapsed as soon as he did, but Kalyn's arms kept him from hitting the floor. "My mind is going. I can feel it." He mumbled. She dragged him behind the pillars with the rest of the group.

"What now?" Roman asked. "I haven't got the foggiest idea of what's going on here."

"Well, I'm sure I don't know." Kalyn said. "I wonder if we will get out of here alive."

drd (March 25th, 2003, 6:54 pm)

hmmm.. sucked into him? nice twist.

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