The Adventures of the Peculiar Enchanter: The Ten Heroes of Malidor

Posted by fffffplayer1, two weeks before the Seventh of August, 2016 [to be changed when the LMBs will show the exact date]

The Ten Heroes of Malidor

 

Nexus Tower. The Leaders’ Offices. 13^th of March, 3021. Late at night.

Mardolf the Orange walked out of the elevator that led to that level of Nexus Tower and walked confidently towards Exeter’s office. A young woman, wearing some Venture League gear, got out of the elevator behind Mardolf walking less decisively. The magician reached the office and knocked on the door.

“Come in!” the Duke’s voice called.

Mardolf opened the door and entered the room. The girl lingered on the doorway. As Mardolf had hoped most of the Leaders were there. Only Doctor Overbuild was absent. It was not unusual for the Leaders to gather in Duke’s office for it was the best place to make plans for the war with all the maps and other things that may be necessary for this business.

“Excuse me for interrupting you” the wizard said.

“Hello, Mardolf. Do you need something? Albert’s not here” the Duke replied.

“I can see, but this matter seems to concern all of you, not just him. Still, I’d prefer to talk before all four of you, if possible”

“Sure, Albert’s just in his office. I can go fetch him” Vanda offered.

“Very well”

As Vanda got out, Mardolf said “I hope I did not interrupt something important”

“It can wait, I suppose, if you feel what you have to tell is important” the Duke replied.

“Why don’t ye sit?” Hael Storm offered, showing some seats to him and his companion “So, who’s the lassie?”

As Mardolf sat, he looked at the girl still at the doorway, seeming hesitant to enter. Yet, it was not self-consciousness, but annoyance that was reflected on her face.

“This is Leina. This concerns her a lot”

“Pleased to meet you” she said to the two Leaders, then to Mardolf “I don’t think this is necessary”

“This is important. It would be much preferable if you were here”

“Not to me” the girl said, but not loud enough to be heard and then she sat on a chair in a corner of the room.

“Will you tell us what all of this is about, Mardolf?” the Duke was impatient.

“Wait for the others”

For a minute or two, the four of them looked around them uncomfortably. It was an odd situation. Then, the other two Leaders arrived.

“Hey there, Mardolf! What is it that you wanted us all for?” Dr. Overbuild asked, while his eyes, behind their goggles, took in the scene.

“What I have to tell you concerns a prophecy, so I would like to ask you all if you actually believe in them?”

This caused some confused looks.

“Is this girl a diviner?” Overbuild asked.

“She is”

“Wait, wait, wait!” the Duke talked “You lost me there. Did you say prophecy? How are we supposed to believe that this girl can see the future? There’s no such thing as prophecies!”

“Arthur, have you not seen my magic at work? Do you not believe in my magic? Because Leina’s magic is as real as mine; if you don’t believe in her, you do not believe in me”

The Duke found himself unable to say anything. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again.

“We had better listen to what they have to say. Mardolf knows this stuff and we should trust him” Overbuild pointed out.

“Yes, Arthur, do not interrupt him” Vanda said sharply; it was an open secret that Vanda and the Duke had never been on the best of terms.

“Thank you. So, prophecies are real, though genuine ones are rare. Leina just made one today and there’s no doubting her. I am sure I read the signs correctly”

“So, what is the prophecy?” Hael asked, looking at the girl.

“I do not know it” Leina said.

Hael and Overbuild looked at her quizzically; Vanda’s eyebrow rose slightly; but the Duke, he was outraged.

“This is preposterous!” he exclaimed “Doesn’t that prove she’s a fraud? Even you, Mardolf, might have been tricked!”

“You shouldn’t speak so boldly on things you are ignorant about!” Leina suddenly spoke sharply “A diviner may talk of things that do not concern them and which they find little interest in memorising. Furthermore, a diviner often has no consciousness of what they’re divining. Ask Mardolf and he will confirm that. So, do not judge me without knowing me!”

“It’s true” Mardolf indeed confirmed.

The Duke crossed his arms and mumbled something, but spoke no more.

“But still, I don’t see how you have something important to tell us, if you can’t tell us the prophecy” Vanda pointed out.

“Who said I can’t. Remember that prophecies have to be told to someone; and I happen to be that someone. I know what the prophecy says”

“Veerrry well then! Tell us” Hael prompted him.

Mardolf then recited the words of the Prophecy of the Ten Heroes. According to the records, this is what he said:

Ten Heroes shall rise from the Nexus Force

Ten Heroes shall rise. of Malidor

Ten Heroes shall rise and fall

Ten Heroes bound in the Hills of Binding

The First shall hold the trust of the Four, first and foremost

The Second will be known for the scars of their past, revealed by the ancient fire

The Third is in fact the second, greatest of heroes before the Ten

The Fourth shall be loved, vanguard defender of Imagination

The Fifth will be accused, but in their fall will shine more than ever

The Sixth appeared out of nowhere to be raised as a royal amongst the royals

The Seventh will pick a name darker than himself and in the old speech it will be uttered

The Eighth will not be known, but they will come on their own terms

The Ninth will be poisoned by their victory, cursed though conqueror

The Tenth shall speak of origins, master of words as well as swords

Ten Heroes shall rise and bring victory

Ten Heroes shall rise and be betrayed

Ten Heroes of Malidor shall rise

And in Malidor they shall fall*

*According to some records it’s “And in Malidor they shall fail”

There was a short silence after Mardolf finished. Then, they all started talking together.

“Hills of Binding? I think this reminds me of something, but I can’t quite put my finger on it” Overbuild said.

“Royals? What does that mean? We have no royals in the Nexus Force” the Duke pointed out.

“I’m not sure if it’s a prophecy I should be happy about or not. The fate of these Ten Heroes doesn’t seem too pleasant” Vanda thought out loud.

“Thet is one good riddle. Hey, lass! Don’t ye think ye could have been morre clearrr?” Hael asked Leina.

“I am not sure what to make of it either, but I know it must be important. It speaks of fall and betrayal, but it also speaks of victory. Maybe, these heroes could play a major role in defeating the Maelstrom. What I know, though, is that Malidor is a term met in scripts of magicians that has really unhappy connotations. Nobody knows if it is the name of a place, a person, a creature or something else, but it is really feared. In any case, I believe that finding the Ten Heroes is probably going to be very helpful”

“Wait, Mardolf. Doesn’t the prophecy say the Heroes will be revealed in one way or another anyway? I don’t see why we should spend our time and energy in that”

“A prophecy is never sure to come true. If we do nothing, the Ten Heroes might not be revealed. Besides, we should at least try to decipher the meaning of the prophecy’s words, so that we recognise the signs when they come”

“But still, even if we have the signs how are we to confirm they are the right person?” Vanda asked.

“That’s where Leina can help us, I think. Since she has foreseen the coming of the Ten, maybe she can sense if someone is really then”

“No!” Leina was staring daggers at Mardolf.

“What?”

“I will not do it”

“Leina, you must understand the importance of this”

“I never asked for this and I will not stick around to become your puppet. I am not a tool to be used”

“Leina…”

“But maybe I could give you one…” the girl seemed thoughtful, now “Let’s see. May this staff of yours guide you in finding the Ten Heroes!” she said starting intently at Mardolf’s staff “Here, will that do?”

“Aaa… I, eer…” Mardolf was confused for a moment; the magic might have worked, but he couldn’t know that.

Before he could recover, though, Leina spoke again “Good. I’ll be off then, since you don’t need me anymore” and before everyone’s eyes she walked to the only open window of the room and jumped out of it.

The four leaders and Mardolf had not expected that. They all ran to the window to look below, but they saw no one falling. Could she have gotten out of sight so quickly? And why would she jump to her own smashing?

But once they got to the ground level, the guards informed them that nothing had crashed on the ground and indeed none of them had seen anyone falling or even flying. The girl had simply vanished…

~~~***---***~~~

Strange Odd Shadow looked at the minifigure in front of him. He seemed to be of a frail nature, ready to collapse at any moment. At the same time, he seemed like an enthusiastic person. He could be wrong, but sometimes Shadow could be insightful about people’s characters. Some times.

“Hello there!” he greeted the man “Can I be of assistance?”

He drunk some of the hot chocolate he’d bought from the Star Bricks Coffee in the corner.

Argh! That chocolate is really bad. And it’s not even that hot! Next time, I should go to the Thank Brick It’s Tuesday’s, he thought looking at the T.B.I. Tuesday’s opposite to the Star Bricks Coffee. The owner of each store was staring daggers at the other.

“Art thou Strange Odd Shadow?” the person asked.

“It is indeed how I’m called. Why?”

“I am Sir Seton, of the Sentinel Faction. I have been instructed to give thee this paper. I believe ‘tis a mission”

“Boy, why do you keep talking in the Old Speech?” Shadow was amused.

“’Tis my great honour that Sir Talmid, Sir Thingguy and Sir Lukey have accepted me in their noble group, the Knights of the Olde Speech. ‘Tis our pleasure to utter this beautiful speech!”

“Sounds great! Anyway, thanks for the mission. It seems like these mission-assigning people are getting lazier by the minute, sending random Nexus-Forcers to deliver missions”

“I suppose” Seton replied.

“Excuse me!” another minifigure appeared at the moment “I couldn’t help, but overhear your conversation. Did you say your name is Strange Odd Shadow?”

Both minifigures looked at the newcomer. He was wearing blue and gray clothes, a blue helm and a jetpack. It was Epsilon Starcracker, the renowned hero of the Nexus Force! Seton looked like he was about to faint.

“Yes, I did. Why?”

“So, would you say your name is darker than yourself?”

“I’m not sure I understand”
“It’s just that this fellow talks in the Olde Speech and he said your name and we’ve all heard the Prophecy!”

Shadow was surprised by this.

“Do you suggest that I am one of the Ten Heroes?”

“The Ten Heroes?!” Seton exclaimed.

“The Seventh to be exact!”

“The Seventh Hero?!” Seton exclaimed again and with admiration on his face, he fainted.

“What’s his problem?” Epsilon asked.

“I think he’s a bit overenthusiastic, but I don’t really know him”

Before they could try to help Seton, he came to his senses again.

“What happened? Oh! I remember. The seventh hero!” and he almost fainted again.

“Come on! No more excitement for you, today!” Shadow said helping him up “Go relax a little!”

“I think you’re right” Seton answered forgetting to use the Old Speech and he then set off.

“Now… Where were we?”

“You were saying you thought I was the Seventh. But how could you be sure, even with the signs?”

“I couldn’t. That’s why we need to inform the Leaders. I think they have a way of knowing”

“Very well. I’ll come if you think it’s necessary”

So, Epsilon led the Rank 2 to Rank 3 Engineer outside Nexus Tower’s main hall, towards the elevators. Once they were up on the floor where the Faction Leaders’ offices were, Epsilon led Shadow to the Duke’s office.

Epsilon knocked on the already open door and said “Sir, I’d like to talk to you concerning the Ten Heroes”

“Epsilon, for the last time, we have no clues whatsoever that you might be one of the Ten!”

Epsilon gave Shadow an embarrassed look and then said “That’s not why I’m here, sir. It’s just that I think I might have found one of the Ten. The Seventh, to be exact”

The Duke looked at them over the report he was reading. His eyes dwelled on Shadow.

“Do you mean you think this minifigure’s the Seventh? Why so?”

“I happened to visit a friend in the Nexus Tower, today, and as I was walking in the Main Hall of the fifth level, I heard Strange Odd Shadow” he pointed to Shadow “talking to some guy who was talking with thee and thou. I think he said he was a Samurai of the Old Speech or something”

“Knight of the Old Speech, perhaps?” the Duke asked.

“Yes, that was it!”

“They’re the most ridiculous bunch of people. They sit around all day writing stories and uttering silly speeches, from what I hear. Really, these clowns make a ridicule of the word Knight. They’re worth for nothing!”

“Anyway, when that guy said ‘Art thou Strange Odd Shadow?’ a bell rang in my head. I remembered the words of the prophecy and thought it must be him”

“Maybe. We’ll have to ask Mardolf, though”

“But Mardolf is gone in that mission after the Dark Shadow, remember?”

“Oh, right!”

“Did you say Mardolf? Mardolf the Orange?” Shadow asked “Is he a member of the Nexus Force?” Shadow asked.

“Yes, that’s him. Why?”

“Nothing. It’s just that I’d heard of him before. In a different context”

“Whatever” the Duke seemed uninterested “I think Mardolf left his staff to Overbuild. He said that bringing it would endanger the mission for some reason, so he left it to us to make use of it, if a Hero appeared. It’s all we need to make sure if Weird Shades is actually one of the Ten Heroes”

“It’s actually Strange Odd Shadow, sir”

“Hmph?” the Duke wasn’t paying attention.

“Nothing”

The Duke led them to Overbuild’s office and he entered without knocking. There was no one there, but that did not bother Exeter. He started looking around the office, through the various designs and inventions, anyway.

“Oh, there it is!” he spotted a staff.

Shadow remembered that staff. He had seen it before. It was in a past lifetime, when he was a very different person…

The Duke took hold of the scepter and pointed it towards Shadow in a clumsy way.

“Yeah, I think that’s how Mardolf does it”

Shadow thought this was ridiculous and even without all the magical knowledge he was trying to suppress, he’d be sure that this couldn’t possibly work. To his surprise, though, a bright light was produced by the staff, almost blinding him.

“Yup! That’s what happened with Bob and Malia, too” the Duke said and pointed the staff elsewhere; the light went out “At first, we thought that the girl’s magic had not worked, but it turns out it worked ridiculously well. I swear if I have to see this light through all the other Heroes, I’ll be blind before you know it!”

Shadow was intrigued by this talk about magic, but then he remembered he didn’t do magic anymore.

“So, does that mean…?” Epsilon asked.

“Yes. Congratulations, Bizarre Darkness, you are the Seventh Hero!”

~~~***---***~~~

“Ahoy, mates! Got some bad news!” Hael Storm said upon entering the room.

Three years had passed since the Faction Leaders had heard the prophecy of the Ten Heroes and things were going from bad to worse. When the Nexus Force had thought that finally the war against Maelstrom was going well, the Faction War had began. It had been going on for two years now and it had been the two worst years that the Nexus Force had had to go through.

Hence, it was natural for the three other Leaders to groan upon hearing that. More bad news was the least they desired.

“What?” Overbuild asked.

“It’s ‘bout that information thet Commander Borock gave us. Some of me people looked into it and discovered the nature of the fecility Borock talked about. They seem to be experimenting on minifigures, with their creative spirk. They are trying to create a maelstrom minifigure!”

“Isn’t a Stromling a maelstrom minifigure?” the Duke asked before he drank from a paper cup with the logo of Star Bricks Coffee on it.

“No” Vanda replied “The Stromling is just Maelstrom, as all its Imagination has been corrupted. A maelstrom minifigure is a theoretical kind of enhanced minifigure; the idea is based on the fact that minifigures have both Imagination as well as Chaos in their core. It is believed that we have a Chaotic Spark as well as a Creative Spark, though it has yet to be proven. The maelstrom minifigure has an enhanced Chaotic Spark, so as they gain Maelstrom powers, but also Maelstrom has control over them. However, the Creative Spark is kept intact, so that the minifigure maintains its reason, but also their Imagination powers. Until now, it was considered impossible to achieve, but if the Maelstrom has done it, you understand how it will be destructive!”

“Yes, of course. Creation that causes destruction is much more effective than raw destruction itself” Overbuild said.

“Me mates say they’rre not done yet, but they’rre close!” Hael talked as he grabbed a paper box with the logo of T.B.I. Tuesday’s on it containing chicken.

“Well, we have to stop them before they do!” the Duke said.

“But, the problem is how? We all understand the nature of our situation. We can’t just storm a world so close to the Vortex. We will be spotted and destroyed on sight” Overbuild told him.

“Ind a smell forrce wouldn’t be adiquate, as it is will-guarrded!” Hael added.

“Then, how about a small, but elite force!” the Duke suggested “One spaceship alone could easily reach the world unnoticed; and one spaceship alone could easily carry the Ten Heroes”

~~~***---***~~~

Strange Odd Shadow walked in the room where they had been told to come. He was not the last one to arrive, but most people were already there. Shadow looked at them all for a moment before he headed for a chair. Most of them had that cast down look that everyone seemed to have ever since the Faction War had begun.

“Shadow! Good, you have come! Have a seat. We’re only waiting for Xeno and Cator until we can begin” Doctor Overbuild spoke.

Shadow sat and he examined the others one by one. He had heard of most of the people in there, but it was the first time he saw many of them. Aside from the Faction Leaders and him, there were six more people in the room.

Bob, he knew. He was the first Nexus-Forcer he had ever met. It was their meeting that had inspired him to join the Nexus Force, actually. Bob had been recognised as the First Hero of the prophecy shortly afterwards. Bob had been sent to the Bond Hills to investigate the possibility of finding clues on the Ten Heroes. Instead of that, the Leaders, upon his return, realised he was one of their most trused recruits, let alone their first. So, they named him the First Hero.

Malia Braunz was a renowned member of the Venture League. However, one day when she dared to try and fight Butterscorch alone, most of her clothes were burnt, revealing some nasty Maelstrom scars in her back to her comrades. She later had explained that it was from a Maelstrom attack when she was ten, during which all of her family was smashed. And they had called her the Second Hero.

Lord Brocktree was known to everyone. He was second only to the Faction Leaders, as he was their second in command. The Super Sentinel was the greatest hero known throughout the Nexus Force until the prophecy arrived, after which he had to share his glory with the other nine of the Ten Heroes. For he was discovered as the Third Hero.

Selis Vanidor was a Paradox member. Of course, that placed her in a very awkward position like all other Paradox members once the Faction War began and after it became clear that it was just the Paradox that had rebelled against the Nexus Force. She had been accused as a Rogue and imprisoned for this. However, one day, her co-prisoners complained that she did odd things while she was asleep. True enough, the next night the guards on watch checked on her and saw that her whole body had a mix of maelstrom purple and imagination blue glow. And so she had been deemed to be the Fifth Hero. However, she hadn’t been released then. Now, Shadow could see by her pale complexion and empty vague eyes that she had been through some bad times.

Amanda “Cheerful Dreamy Panda” was an interesting case, too. Some years ago, when the Nexus Tower was still being built, a baby had been discovered at the gates of the Tower. The Faction Leaders had taken it upon themselves to raise her as best as they could. Though there were no royals in the Nexus Force, she had been the closest thing to a royal’s daughter. And so it became known that she was the Sixth Hero.

Last, but not least Major Q or Champion Victory Pixel was another Sentinel hero. But as much as he was considered an elite warrior, he was also known as an exceptional author. His most known book had been called “Crux Origins: The First Crux Wars”, a work of fiction, though it was inspired by actual history. And that had made him known as the Tenth Hero.

Those were the people that had gathered in the room. The Faction Leaders had called the Ten Heroes, saying there was an important mission they had to assign them. Well, actually they had called the Nine Heroes, since no one knew who the Eighth Hero was. But according to the prophecy, that’s how it was supposed to be, so no one minded that –not too much anyway. The people in the room were staring awkwardly at each other or some objects of the room.

It hadn’t been more than five minutes when Xeno Blueblade entered the room. Xeno was also very famous. He had been very well known even before he made any great accomplishments, for he was the Sentinel vendor in Nimbus Station. But what made him famous was his feat of defeating Asano Naganori, a very powerful Dark Ronin. However, subsequently the spirit of Asano Naganori entered his body and possessed him. And so began his story of fighting the Ronin and becoming the Ronin-Slayer. And this story persuaded people he was the Ninth Hero.

“Sorry, I’m late!” he said and made for a chair.

He received some smiles and some greetings by some people, mainly the Sentinels. After that, there was awkward silence again. Someone whistled, but they stopped quickly. Another person muttered something about the weather and those who bothered to respond nodded in agreement.

Then, another minifigure entered the room. But it wasn’t Cator Granager, whom they had been expecting. It was a female minifigure with long fair hair. She wore no equipment, just a simple blouse and pants. No one recognised her.

“Who might ye be?” Hael expressed everyone’s wonder.

“Is it not obvious?” the woman asked, while she walked towards a chair and then sat.

“No! Of course it isn’t!” the Duke was infuriated by the combination of the girl’s pompous tone and how she crashed their secret meeting and joined them with no explanations.

“Well, that’s not my problem” the girl said.

“Well, who are you?” Vanda asked.

“But the Eighth Hero, of course!”

Everyone looked at the woman –except for Selis–, some with surprise, some with suspicion and a few calmly.

“Why did you come here?” the Duke asked.

“Well, you did call the Ten Heroes, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but this was a secret meeting. How could you know about it? And anyway, you can’t expect us to just believe you”

“She could be a Paradox spy” someone suggested.

At the sound of that, four swords were drawn, as well as a launcher.

“Prove you’re not a Paradox Rogue” the Duke told her.

“Well, I don’t need to go through this, you know. I thought you might like the help, but it seems you’re too suspicious to be able to receive it”

“Well, you must understand that in these times, one can’t be too careful” Overbuild pointed out.

“Do I know you from somewhere?” the Duke suddenly said while thoughtful.

“That depends on you” the woman gave her quizzical reply.

“That… makes no sense”

The woman just raised her shoulders as if saying “Whatever”

“What’s your name?” Shadow asked her “That might help”

“My name is Haeneth Lanoris”

“Well, I don’t think she is in Paradox, but that doesn’t mean she can’t be a Renegade” Vanda made her decision.

“What faction are you?” Overbuild asked.

“I do not belong to any of the factions”

“Oh, you’re that kind of people” Malia said.

“What’s going on, guys?” said a new voice from behind Haeneth.

Cator Granager had finally showed up. Cator was of the Venture League Faction, but he resembled the character of a typical Sentinel and fought better than them. He was generally another well-known fighter of the Nexus Force and his greatest achievement was his victory against the Maelstrom in Vanguard Outpost, which had earned him the title of the “Vanguard Defender”. Thus, he had been recognised as the Fourth Hero.

“You’re late” Exeter said dryly.

“Yeah and it seems I’ve missed something. Who’s the gal?”

“She claims to be the Eighth Hero”

Meanwhile, Shadow had been examining the woman. At some point, their eyes met and they locked to each other’s for a few seconds. Then, they both looked away. Shadow decided that there was more to her than met the eye.

“I think it can’t hurt to let her come with us. The prophecy says the Eighth Hero will come on their own. Well, it seems like this is happening now. You think she’s a spy, because she knew of this meeting without being told. But think of it. It sounds like the Eighth Hero would know when they are necessary. And Haeneth does. And anyway, we can watch her in case she does something funny”

“Well, that seems logical enough, I suppose” Overbuild said.

“Just… can someone search her first? She could have hidden spy technology somewhere” the Duke asked.

“My pleasure” Cator answered and he proceeded to do what he was asked to.

Haeneth did not enjoy this, but she did not resist. Nothing was found. They decided to proceed.

“Does anyone know what a Maelstrom Minifigure is?” Vanda Darkflame asked.

Shadow and Haeneth said “Yes” simultaneously. The others did not seem to recognise the term. Selis did not respond, but for the first time she reacted giving Vanda a scared glance.

“Isn’t it some kind of dinosaur?” Amanda asked.

“What? No. Why would you think of that?” Vanda was taken aback.

“Never mind that. Just continue”

Vanda then explained to the Ten Heroes like to the other Faction Leaders what a Maelstrom Minifigure was.

“We believed it was impossible to happen, but apparently the Maelstrom has built a base where they are experimenting on creating Maelstrom Minifigures; and they are close to being successful. However, that base is located on a world very near the Vortex and it is heavily guarded. Thus, our only choice was to send a small, but elite force into the base. So, we chose you. Your mission is to first seize all the minifigures that were subjected to the experiments and then destroy the base. However, be careful. As great amounts of Maelstrom must have been inserted into the minifigures, they must be treated gently and should not be harmed. Anything else risks either their going berserker on you or the Maelstrom being released, which would probably happen in an explosion of devastating power. The minifigures must be brought to our scientists, so that their state can be dealt with in the proper way”

The Paradox Faction Leader finished and then sat down.

“I’ve got to add some things” the Duke said “Your means of transport will be the Venture Explorer, mainly for two reasons. This mission must be done with absolute secrecy concerning both the Maelstrom and the Paradox Rogues, but also the Nexus Force; a leak of information could cause our enemies to know of the mission, too. Since the Venture Explorer has been recruiting new people for years, the particular will easily be justified as another recruiting mission. Meanwhile, the experimented minifigures will cause no suspicions as they will be among many other minifigures also in cryogenic sleep chambers. On the other hand, the Venture Explorer is a stealthy ship and it can approach the Maelstrom’s base without being detected. Is everything clear?”

Some said “Yes”, some nodded and some did not do anything.

“Is there anyone who wishes to back out now? Once you’re aboard the Venture Explorer there’s no backing out”

No one spoke.

“Very well. Is there anything else?”

Selis spoke for the first time; “I’m going to need my gear”

~~~***---***~~~

“Greetings, passengers!” the black-blonde-haired girl said “I am your captain, Sky Lane. Now, I don’t know how important people or you may think you are, but on this ship, I am the captain and you are the passengers and/or crew. That’s why I expect all of you to obey my orders. If you can’t live with that, then by no means board the Venture Explorer! I can have no fools doing whatever they want on my ship. And I will suffer no such person. Is that understood?”

There were some vocal and physical confirmations from the side of the crowd of ten people in front of Sky Lane.

“Great. In that case, have a great journey and good luck on your mission” Sky Lane smiled “Bob, it’s good to see you again. The crew will be happy to have you back!”

It was known that Bob had worked on the Venture Explorer for a long time.

“It’s good to be back!” Bob smiled back –which made no difference, since he was always smiling.

Shadow, who until then had been absent-minded, suddenly looked at Sky “Important question: How are the meals on Venture Explorer?”

Sky Lane raised her eyebrow; the others stared.

“What?! I’ve never been on a spaceship for long before! Food is important to me!”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that” Sky assured him.

“Good”

“If you don’t have any more… questions, I believe we should be taking off soon. Please, board the ship”

As the eleven minifigures climbed the ramp that led inside the Venture Explorer, Shadow approached Haeneth.

“Hey there!”

“Hello”

“I’m Strange Odd Shadow” he offered his hand.

“Haeneth” the girl took it.

“Yeah, I kind of already know that”

“I know you do”

“And I know you know that I know”

“And I know you know that I know that you know”

“You know I can do this all day, right?”

“I do know you can do this all day”

“And I think I know you know I can do this all day”

“Shut up already!” Amanda exclaimed from behind them.

“May I ask you something, Shadow?”

“You have already asked me something, that being an unauthorised question. However, I am feeling generous today and shall answer affirmatively, so that your previous question can be justified” Shadow deadpanned.

“Then, can I ask two more things, this question being the first of them?”

“You are stretching my generosity! But I shall allow it”

“I am most thankful” Haeneth mocked, but in good spirit “I’ve heard rumours that you never take off your armour in the presence of others. I have been wondering why”

“Oh, it’s something I got used to doing from when I first joined the Nexus Force. There was a person I already knew that I then did not want to recognise me, so I took to not taking my helmet off in public. Now, I also use it for anonymity, for it is untrue to say I do not walk in public without my armour. However, I do it under a different name”

“And why would you want that?”

“To draw less attention to myself. I could do without being in the public eye. It can be very tiresome, especially if you want to actually use your time creatively”

“And do you show your face to your friends?”

“You have spent all your questions, I’m afraid. Now, it’s my turn. So, I’ve been thinking and there’s something that doesn’t make sense to me” Shadow talked “I can understand why you could be the Eighth Hero from the point you arrive and tell us it’s you. But how did you know? And how did you know about the meeting?”

“These are some valid questions. Do you have a point?”

“My point is that I can think of only one kind of minifigures that could know these things by themselves. Diviners. And considering there are not that many diviners in the Nexus Force, I believe you are the woman who made the Prophecy of the Ten Heroes. Don’t you agree this is the only conclusion one can reach?”

“I see what you mean. But why couldn’t there be two diviners in the Nexus Force? You wouldn’t necessarily know about both of them”

“Diviners are rare anyway. Diviners that are not frauds are even rarer. To find two amongst the ranks of the Nexus Force would be virtually impossible”

“Not impossible, but just improbable”

“That’s why I said virtually”

“And anyway, you can’t really know if I’m a diviner. It’s not necessarily the only explanation”

“What else do you have in mind?”

“Well, that would be telling, wouldn’t it?”

“Come on, you can tell me! I am a magical practitioner myself!” Shadow said, whispering the last words.

“And let the mystery dissolve so quickly?”

“Fine, if you don’t want to talk to me, I won’t put pressure on you” Shadow said, suddenly becoming melancholic.

As they were all taking their seats in a room that Sky led them to, Selis accidentally bumped into Cator –though it might not have been so accidental on Cator’s part.

“Hey, watch where you’re going, freak?” the man talked angrily to her.

Everybody was staring at them, now.

“Hey, what’s your problem?” Malia exclaimed from across the room.

“My problem is the traitor we’re carrying with us!”

No one said anything for a moment, but everyone stared at his direction. The atmosphere was getting intense.

“Come on! Don’t tell me you guys are not thinking it, too?! The girl’s a Paradox. She has no place with us. No Paradox was ever a hero. They are just liars and traitors”

“You can’t just go around and accuse people like that!” Malia replied.

“The little Rogue will betray us in the end, you’ll see!”

“It is because of people like you that the Faction War has gotten so bad” Shadow commented “If we weren’t fighting each other, the Paradox Rogues would probably have already been in retreat”

“The boy knows what he’s talking about” Major said looking up from the papers on which he was writing rapidly, as if his life depended on it “We never learn, do we? Our ancestors kept fighting with each other, preventing everybody’s happiness. We just have to go and do the same mistakes”

“Whatever!” Cator grumbled and got out of the room.

Selis looked around as people started continuing their business and then awkwardly sat down in an empty seat away from all others. Shadow saw her and decided to go talk to her. He came and sat down next to her. The girl looked at him with a questioning gaze.

“Don’t mind him. He’s just a jerk. For some reason, there are some people who just can’t help it, but be stupid and say stupid things. I don’t know! Minifigurekind’s greatest mystery. Don’t worry. We don’t see things like he does. You’re welcome among us”

Selis smiled.

“Thank you” she said.

“You know, I’ve been wondering. The Nexus Force imprisoned you for no reason and they placed you in some of the worst places they could. Then, it was proven that you were one of the Ten Heroes, but instead of their releasing you and apologising, they just placed you in a secluded cell, so that no other people would see you. They only released you when they needed you. You have every reason to be mad at them. So, let me ask you, if you don’t mind, why are you helping them now?”

“Because, despite our personal differences, this is the right thing. While the Nexus Force might have made a lot of mistakes ever since the Faction War began, I know it’s fighting for a good cause and I haven’t yet lost my faith to that cause. But don’t expect me to stick around once we’re done” Selis spoke and Shadow was amazed she could actually talk that much.

Suddenly, the floor started vibrating as the engines of the spaceship came to life with a loud roar. Everybody, who hadn’t already, hurried to fasten their seatbelts.

“Dear passengers and crew, this is your captain speaking” Sky Lane’s voice was heard coming from some speakers “We are ready to take off. Please, fasten your seatbelts or take any other necessary precaution until we are out of the world’s atmosphere. Have a safe journey”

And then the Venture Explorer took off.

~~~***---***~~~

The Venture Explorer’s journey was mostly uneventful. While small (so weak) Maelstrom spacecraft sometimes randomly met the starship when wandering in space, more powerful kinds of spaceships usually went after particular targets instead of just roaming in space. As a result, stealthy ships like the Venture Explorer rarely found themselves in serious danger.

The Venture Explorer travelled across the Crux System gathering recruits for the Nexus Force and buying modular rocket parts. Three weeks later, the Nexus Force starship was on its course to return to the Nexus Tower. But, as was only known by the Faction Leaders, the Ten Heroes and the crew of the Explorer, the ship was going to make a detour to the most dangerous sector of the Crux System.

The Faction Leaders had hoped that during those three weeks, the Heroes of Malidor would have bonded in order to make a good team. However, they failed. It wasn’t just the lack of time. They were many different characters and many of them behaved in an antisocial way, like Major who was on a writing spree, or Cator who complained about anything and everything and had no problem insulting others. Shadow was odd and moody, driving most people away. Selis rarely talked, was known to have strange powers and she was Paradox –something which was enough on its own to make some dislike her. Haeneth had and independent, secretive attitude and after the way she had appeared, no one but Shadow felt at ease with her. While Malia meant well towards even Selis and Shadow, she wasn’t one to just get talkative with people she had just met. Brocktree and Xeno were awkward as well. Amanda seemed to be somewhat spoilt and discriminative towards Paradox. And everyone at some point or another thought that Bob was too smiley.

Each of them was a great fighter and hero on their own. However, that did not mean that they could just click together and become an unstoppable force when brought together. How effective they were going to be remained to be seen.

Finally, though, their journey was coming to an end. And after that, they wouldn’t need to see each other ever again. At least that’s what they hoped.

There was an explosion that caused no sound at all –unlike the exploding debris of the wall on which the explosion occurred, though.

“What part of ‘stealthy mission’ do you not understand?” Amanda asked.

“What?! My explosives are silent!” Shadow objected.

“But they’re still explosives!” Amanda insisted.

“Don’t worry! I’m sure no one noticed!”

At that moment, they looked on the other side of the now absent wall to discover nine pairs of eyes looking at them. Nine minifigures featuring half-infected heads and white scientist robes were found in the room staring daggers at them.

“Oh no!” Shadow exclaimed “It’s the Partially Infected Stereotypical Scientists!”

The Partially Infected Stereotypical Scientists simultaneously placed their right hands under their robes and conjured a laser blaster each. The six minifigures immediately started moving to evade the Scientists’ projectiles. Xeno Blueblade charged at the nearest Stereotypical Scientist and smashed him with his katana. Shadow aimed his Wrench –modified to be able to fire– and Amanda her Improved Launcher at the same Scientist and he was smashed by their projectiles. Selis created a Maelstrom blast in her hands and released it against another Scientist, causing his demise. Haeneth jumped from one place to another, dodging several lasers and then knocked a Scientist down with a quarterstaff. Malia rapidly fired her Bucaneer pistol from behind a big chunk of the wall, smashing two Scientists. Few of the Scientists’ shots were true and only one, targeted at Amanda, managed to injure anyone.

The remaining three Scientists decided to run for it, but as they turned their backs on their foes, they were quickly all smashed. Haeneth finished her own opponent off and then they were ready to continue their business.

Once the Explorer was finally near the world that housed the Maelstrom Research Facility, Amanda and Bob hacked the Research Facility’s computers in order to get blueprints of the facility, as well as learn about its security measures. They found where there were security cameras and had them show a loop. They tried to neutralise other defence mechanisms as well.

Meanwhile, Lord Brocktree and Major, being the best fighters amongst them, left on their rockets, made a curve and arrived in the facility from the other side, pretending to have randomly found it. While they caused a diversion, the rest secretly disembarked on the world in two groups of four.

The two groups sneaked into the facility and met at their rendezvous point, smashing any Maelstrom they met in their way. They left Cator and Bob behind to guard their rear (“Why do I have to be with Smiley-face?”) and the remaining six continued until they found a wall where there should be a door. When Shadow said he had an idea, no one thought he’d use explosives.

But now they had reached their objective. Eleven minifigures were lying on their beds in the room they had just invaded. Some of them stirred, but fortunately the commotion didn’t wake them up.

“Quickly! The hypnotics!” Xeno said.

Amanda and Haeneth walked around injecting them with a hypnotic substance to make sure they’d remain asleep. Meanwhile, Malia conjured floating patient-carriers out of her backpack and they placed the sleeping minifigures on them. Once they were ready, Malia pushed one and they started all moving. The six minifigures took their places around the eleven and they started walking towards the way they came from.

They bumped into a patrol of five Chainsaw Stromlings, but the Heroes made short work of them. They continued and they met several ransom Stromlings as well as another patrol, this one of Hammer Stromlings. No Maelstrom Beings survived.

Soon they found Bob and Cator engaged in a battle with three Spiderling Invaders. They were supposed to send them a signal if there was any trouble, but clearly they didn’t think that that was any trouble. True enough, two of the Spiderlings had been smashed before the others could interfere. The last Spiderling was defeated in no time.

“Let’s get out of this place!” Cator said “I can feel my Imagination reducing”

They resumed their way, but they hadn’t walked a metre when the alarms went off. They looked around fearfully and then Cator started running ahead.

The rest made to follow the fleeing man, but a grappling hook appeared and attacked itself to one of the carriers making it lean, so that the woman on it fell down. Malia cut the hook’s chain with her rapier and with the help of Shadow put the woman back to her carrier.

Five Stromling Admirals had appeared from behind them. Xeno and Haeneth ran to face them, while they motioned the rest to continue.

The five minifigures ran as fast as they could, the carriers keeping up with their pace. They were approaching the exit when a wall blew up behind them and three Stromling Ape Invaders appeared. One of them threw a boulder at them, but Bob moved his hands, Imagination glowing in them, and the boulder stopped. Then, it returned and smashed onto the Ape.

Shadow tossed a Big One and two firecrackers at the Apes, while purple and cyan flames appeared from below the Apes and engulfed them, made by Selis. All the while, Malia and Amanda were proceeding with the carriers. The explosions caused the ceiling to collapse and the three other minifigures turned to leave, hoping that would at least hinder them a little.

They reached the ones with the carriers and turning a left they found themselves before the exit. There, they saw Cator fighting eight Stromling Pirates, the pieces of more around them, between the exploded gates. Many projectiles sent from the five Heroes made the Stromling Pirates history.

They got out in the open, but they still had some hundreds of metres to go and there would be more enemies trying to stop them, before they reached the Venture Explorer.

Twenty Dark Ronin were approaching them from the front, thirty Maelstrom Horsemen from the right and countless Darklings (Dark Ones and Freak Darklings) from the left. Shadow moved his hands and bricks flew out of his backpack to build a wall blocking the Horsemen. Amanda attempted to do the same for the Darklings, but the small creatures just climbed the wall.

At that moment, two laser machine guns somewhere on the building started firing at them. Shadow tried to stay out of the way of their fire, but was too slow and his vest was destroyed. Bob and Cator successfully dodged the projectiles, causing them to hit the Ronin instead.

While Selis turned to face the machine guns, two of the Apes they encountered before came out of the exit, still on fire. Before they could do anything, one of them dropped lifeless, Xeno having attacked it with his katana on the back.

Shadow launched a Big One at the Darklings, the explosion sending many of them to the air ablaze, and built a turret to fire at them. Still, however, they were too many and about to flank Bob, Cator and Malia, who were fighting the Ronin.

Suddenly, Brocktree and Major appeared seemingly out of nowhere –they had jumped off the roof of the building, Spiderlings appearing on the edge of it behind them, but not jumping– and started slashing at the Darklings with their swords. Major activated his particle shield emitter sending the Darklings all around him away, while Brocktree started using his flamethrowers, setting dozens of Darklings on fire.

“Dragons!” then shouted Amanda, who had been making sure the sleeping minifigures stay safe and that the Horsemen don’t come through the wall.

Sure enough, four Maelstrom Dragon Invaders and a simple Maelstrom Dragon accompanied by two dozens of Grumpy Darklings had appeared on the dark sky. Missiles were shot out of nowhere –sent from the cloaked Venture Explorer– and collided with the Dragons causing impressive explosions. Two Dragons, though, emerged out of the fire. One of them landed in front of them, while the other breathed fire on the ground between them and the Explorer to block their way.

Brocktree made his way through Darklings and Ronin and reached the Dragon, who breathed fire at him. Brocktree placed his shield between him and the scorching flames, until the beast had no more fire in it. Then, dropping the heated shield and grabbing his broadsword, VerminBane with two hands, advanced towards the Dragon, avoiding its claws and then its teeth and finally swung the sword at the beast’s protruded neck. The Dragon’s head fell on the ground and its body collapsed, lifeless. The other dragon had been shot down by the starship.

Fire started raining on them by a third dragon, while the Grumpy Darklings started diving, swinging their hammers at them. Amanda was knocked prone by a Grumpy Darkling, while Bob and Malia’s clothes lit up by the Dragon’s fire. Xeno, with his katana and bow, and Haeneth, with her Pneumatic Drill of Blasting and Elite Force Blade of Lightning, having defeated the last Ape, started hunting the Grumpy Darklings. Brocktree drew his sniper rifle and together with Selis started attacking the Maelstrom Dragon.

Shadow ducked to avoid the attack of a Grumpy Darkling. Rising again, he fired his Wrench, but the Darkling was gone. At that moment, he saw some Stromling Mech Invaders coming from behind the Darklings. He fired at them and smashed one, but then he felt a hammer hit him on the back. His face met the soil really quickly. As he got up, he noticed Malia, still ablaze, pushing the carriers away from the battle and towards the Explorer. Behind her, he saw the wall he’d made being smashed in several places, Maelstrom Horsemen and Stromling Invaders emerging out of the holes.

“We need to flee!” he shouted and then cast a spell causing acid arrows to rain on the Horsemen and Mechs.

Major helped Cator, who had been overrun by Darklings and they started running behind Malia. Bob, before leaving, built some turrets and had them shooting at the Mechs. Shadow followed his example and built his Assembly Turret again and he followed the others, drinking a Notion Potion. Amanda, who had gotten up by then, released her bees to attack the nearest enemies and fled herself.

Chainsaw Stromlings started flooding out of the building’s exit. The Ten Heroes were chased by Horsemen, Darklings and Chainsaw Stromlings –the Mechs being too slow to be considered chasing anyone.

Brocktree, Selis, Xeno and Haeneth were fleeing, too, but the Chainsaw Stromlings would soon get to them.

“Amanda!” Shadow yelled, pointing to the others with his head.

The woman nodded and they started building together. A third wall was assembled, this one featuring towers that shot arrows, bullets, lasers, just behind the four others, stopping the Chainsaw Stromlings. This, of course, had been predesigned.

Now, they only had to worry about the Horsemen and the flying Darklings. A Horseman caught up to Brocktree, but the Super Sentinel grabbed his spear and turned it 180 degrees, sending the Ronin flying. Then, he flung the spear at another Horseman, smashing him.

Missiles started shooting through the air sent from the invisible spaceship, exploding behind the wall or on big groups of Horsemen and Mechs. However, its location was compromised by this and two Maelstrom Dragons were attracted. They started breathing their inner fire upon the Explorer’s invisible hull. They were too close for the ship to use missiles, so it started shooting lasers at them.

Chainsaw Stromlings were already appearing from behind the wall when a gigantic lizard climbed over it with ease and then started running after the Heroes speedily. It overcame the last four knocking Selis down with its tail and then continued to reach the rest.

“Where is the ship?” Cator asked having not seen their pursuer.

“There! It’s the ramp!” Malia pointed somewhere.

Sure enough, the Venture Explorer’s ramp had appeared out of nowhere ready to receive them. However, the lizard was upon them before they got to it.

A Stromling Knight was mounted upon the lizard, holding a shield and a long, yet thin pike. The lizard jumped onto Major and Cator burying them under its front feet, while its tail hit Shadow. The Knight poked Malia on the rib with his pike, causing her an ugly wound. Even so, the woman turned around and cut the pike in two with her rapier. The Knight dismounted, drew his sword and they started dueling.

Meanwhile, Brocktree and Xeno caught up with them, but Xeno was attacked by three Horsemen. Brocktree slashed VerminBane and the lizard’s tail was separated from its body. The lizard hissed and turned around to face him. Brocktree prepared to attack, but the creature snatched the broadsword out of his hands with its tongue. Brocktree threw two knives at the creature, but that only angered it. In response, the lizard bit Brocktree’s cape, lifted him off the ground and jettisoned him away.

All the while, Major and Cator were stuck on the beast’s sticky toes, so that with its every step they hit the ground. However, eventually they managed to escape and dizzily got away.

Selis shot a few winged Darkling down and then fired a great Imagination blast at the lizard. The beast extended its front foot and took the blast there. Then, it opened its mouth and its tongue quickly struck Selis on the cheek, throwing her down.

In the meantime, Amanda was leading the carriers up the ramp and into the Venture Explorer, while Shadow and Bob were trying to keep the Horsemen away. However, when they saw the others were in a sticky situation, they rushed to help. Shadow started firing at the lizard, which didn’t affect it, but turned its attention on him. Meanwhile, Bob delivered a few punches and kicks at the Stromling Knight knocking him away from Malia, who had received a bunch of blows from the said Knight. Before he could do any more, though, a Grumpy Darkling dove, grabbed him and lifted him off the ground. His place was quickly taken by Haeneth, who had arrived to assist Malia in her duel.

Major had just recovered from being stuck on the lizard’s foot, when a Horseman approached him. Major shot the Ronin out of the horse’s saddle with his zipgun and then jumped on the running horse and replaced him its previous rider. However, the horse had a mind of its own and dropped him on the ground.

Cator was more successful in his attempt to ride a Maelstrom Beast, when he lassoed the lizard with his whip, used that to get on top of the animal and then urge it towards his enemies. A crowd of mixed Chainsaw Stromlings, Stromling Mechs, Darklings and Spiderlings was getting through and over the third wall. Cator had the lizard trot upon them and trample them.

Two Grumpy Darklings flew towards the ramp to invade the spaceship, but Amanda, standing guard on it, shot a net at them, trapping them. Then, she proceeded to send groups of bricks and blasts of her gun at the Maelstrom Beings getting past Cator. Shadow, no longer chased by the lizard, joined her in her efforts, while he made for the ramp.

Despite all that, many Spiderlings were getting through. Xeno, Major and Bob, who’d freed himself from the Darkling, started fighting them. Xeno was repeatedly blasted on the chest until he was wounded. His place was taken by Selis, who despite her cheek being green and bulging, swung her Wormholer at the Spiderlings, blasting them at the same time.

Malia and Haeneth were finding it hard to defeat the Stromling Knight. He was fighting against two with the same ease he fought one. While both girls had gotten fairly injured by the fight, any blows he had received had failed to penetrate his heavy armour. Brocktree, seeing that, grabbed his rifle and shouted “Get down!”

The two girls got out of the way and Brocktree fired three heavy shots at the Knight, knocking him to the ground. The two Heroines started running towards the ramp. Brocktree looked at the others and saw that the situation would only worsen, if they waited. He pointed his rifle at a Spiderling about to attack Selis, fired and then shouted “Come on! We need to go!”

Cator turned his lizard around and ordered it into the Spiderlings fighting his teammates, allowing them to back away. Xeno got up, released Bob from a Spiderling’s web and they started running. Selis and Major followed. Cator placed a Big One on the lizard’s head and jumped off of it before it exploded. The lizard had sustained a lot of injuries and ran away.

Ten Spiderlings or so had found their way onto the Venture Explorer’s hull, but they were electrocuted by some defence mechanism of the ship.

Brocktree was slowly stepping back, while rapidly firing at the incoming enemies. Once Cator had gotten past him, he was ready to turn around and flee as well, but he suddenly stepped on something metal. He looked down and saw VerminBane. He picked his beloved sword up, but then he was hit hard on the back by a sword. The Stromling Knight had hoped to give Brocktree the fateful blow, but as the man turned around, he seemed to have been unaffected. Brocktree swung his sword and the Stromling Knight was no more.

Brocktree started running, but the Spiderling and Chainsaw Stromlings were right behind him. The ramp had begun to ascend before he reached it and he had to jump high to get on it. A few Chainsaw Stromlings tried to follow him, but they failed. All the Spiderlings gathered around them released Maelstrom blasts towards the ramp. Most of the Heroes were still there, so if it hadn’t been for Shadow many of them might have been smashed. He created an Imagination force field around them, absorbing the blasts.

After that, they all hurried inside and the ramp closed behind them. Finally, they were safe. Sort of. There were still countless Maelstromlings outside ready to siege the starship.

“Take off! Take off! Take off!” Cator said to no one in particular.

For fifteen dreadful seconds, the Explorer remained on the ground, with Dragons roaring, Spiderlings screeching, Darklings hissing, Stromlings and Apes growling outside, all of them giving their best against the ship. Then, suddenly, as simple as that, they were airborne; and safe.

While they could hear the explosions of the Explorer bombing the Research Facility, they moved to the main hall, where the cryogenic chambers were found, Malia carried by Xeno and Major.

“Cator, you fool! Don’t you ever run away without us again!” Haeneth said accusingly at the man.

“Relax, honey! If we’re lucky enough we won’t have to see each other again, so no point in threatening me like that! Besides, it all turned out well, didn’t it?”

Haeneth grumbled something, but she went to help Amanda placing the minifigures they’d recovered into the chambers. There was no time to lose, as the hypnotic wouldn’t last forever and they didn’t know what would happen if they woke up.

Ten Assembly Medics, one for each, entered the room; Assembly Medics were known to be the best of the Nexus Force. Jett Moonshot appeared behind them.

“Did you do it? Did you bring them?” he asked.

“No, these are eleven entirely irrelevant minifigures that we have brought” Brocktree said sarcastically.

“Captain would come to congratulate you herself, but she’s busy –you know– saving us all!”

Shadow escaped his medic, telling him he was fine, although he did have some minor injuries and looked at the others. The Sentinels had removed their armour and it became apparent they had all received several injuries. When Brocktree’s medic finally persuaded him to take off his shirt, it was revealed that his torso, full of muscles, was bruised all over.

Another medic had gone mad when she saw Selis’s cheek. She was tending it like a maniac. Two medics were trying to help Amanda and Haeneth, but they were busy and shrugged them off. Malia had been placed on one of the carriers. A big percentage of her clothes had been burnt and her skin was revealed in several places, badly scorched and also having cuts to show, courtesy of the Stromling Knight. Shadow saw the woman’s renowned scars on her back and suddenly felt he was intruding her privacy. He looked away.

Cator noticed where he had been looking and said “Seems like it’s her thing, being burnt, don’t you think?”

Shadow ignored him and walked away. As he examined one of the minifigures in a cryogenic chamber, his medic found him again and pleaded for him to take off his armour. Shadow didn’t respond, nor did he do as told. Instead, he turned to the others.

“Didn’t it seem too easy to you?”

“What?” Amanda said.

“The mission. Didn’t it seem like it was too easy?”

“We almost died out there, what are you talking about?” Cator replied.

“It just seems to me that a group of good Rank-3’s would have succeeded as well. The Maelstrom didn’t try as much as it could”

“I’m not following” Xeno said.

“Truth be told, I was expecting something harder, too” Major commented.

“If there were so many Maelstrom Beings there, why didn’t we meet them at first? Why weren’t the minifigures protected?”

“Because of the diversion” Amanda said.

“You don’t just empty the whole building, because of two minifigures. It’s almost like they let us in. If they had cornered us inside the Research Facility, they could have easily dispatched us, but they only really attacked when we were out and able to escape”

“So, they made a mistake! What of it?” Cator countered.

“The Darkitect is not stupid. If he values something, he allows no mistakes done regarding it”

“What do you suggest, then, smartbricks?” Cator asked.

“It could be a trap!” Haeneth noted.

“What sort of trap?” Brocktree enquired.

“What if the Maelstrom Minifigures are ready? And we’re bringing them to the Nexus Tower; we could be ending the Nexus Force” she explained.

“Well, we don’t need to worry about that. They shall not be awake until they are fixed. What problems could they cause asleep?”

“As these were being said, Shadow was looking at the minifigure in the chamber again. All of a sudden, she placed her hand on the glass where his own was touching it. Shadow jumped back, as he saw two glowing lilac eyes looking at him.

“Well, that’s creepy!” he spoke “Are they supposed to move in there?”

“Don’t worry. They won’t be doing any of that in a little” Amanda said, but she sounded more confident than her face looked.

“You shouldn’t be afraid of them, little Shadow!” Cator said mockingly “We put ‘em in there, but the real monster is still outside. And she’s even a Paradox!”

Shadow turned around, covered the distance surprisingly quickly, punched Cator in the face and stormed off. Cator wanted to go after him, but he was stopped by his medic, who wasn’t done with him.

Shadow ended up in the kitchen. He figured it was not a bad place to be. He could do with some food. He surveyed the Star Bricks Coffee Coffeemaker next to the T.B.I. Tuesday’s Waffle maker. Even there the two franchises seemed to be antagonising each other.

He decided he was going to make some hot chocolate. While he was preparing it, Haeneth appeared and started making tea.

“How’s it going?” she asked.

“By spaceship” Shadow replied.

She laughed “Seriously, how are you?”

“Besides really, really, really disliking Cator, I’m fine. But you should be asking Selis that question. She’s the one targeted by him”

“I already did. She says she really enjoyed that punch!”

“Speaking of which, did punching always hurt like that?”

“Maybe it’s just Cator’s hard head! In the meantime, he’s been mopping about the punch to the others. I think he’ll be targeting you, too, now”

“Don’t worry. He’s my next target, too. I transfigurated his socks, so that no pair of his has matching colours. He’s going to be so confused” he laughed.

“Shadow, be serious. Bullying Cator with magic will not solve the problem” Haeneth said, though she grinned.

“You’re right! We should toss him out of the Explorer to outer space!”

Suddenly, his smile dropped.

“I just don’t understand how one can think and act like that! It’s idiotic; and racist. Factionist? No, I think that’s got another meaning”

“It’s not really about Selis or the Paradox. Cator has problems himself and others have to pay for it. But this way of thinking… it’s beyond me, too”

“Do you think it’s going to be that bad, if it’s a trap?” he asked.

“I don’t know. But I feel like the Darkitect knows something we don’t. Do you want some tea?”

“No way! How about some hot chocolate for you?”

“Sure!” the girl accepted the cup and sipped a little “Good hot chocolate!” she said as her cheeks got a little pinker.

“I’m glad you agree!”

At that moment, Xeno entered the kitchen.

“Hey, Xeno! Want some hot chocolate?”

Xeno accepted the offer and drank a little. His face turned red and he opened his mouth to say something, but real fire emerged out of it.

“That… chocolate… is really… hot!” he said.

“I don’t understand why everyone complains! It’s advertised as hot, so where’s the problem. The other day, Amanda threatened to put me in a cryogenic chamber after tasting my hot chocolate!”

He might have had more to say, but at that moment the ship was slightly shaken, as happens when another ship gets attached to it.

“What was that?” Haeneth asked.

“Let’s just hope it’s not what the Darkitect knows and we don’t” Shadow replied.

They headed for the reception hall where the attach-and-board gates lead. Arriving there, they saw Sky Lane talking to a bald Paradox Commander, with two Shinobi at his sides. Behind them, they could see the metal corridor connecting the two ships. Cator, Bob, Brocktree and Amanda were also there.

“… don’t understand how you know about this mission, let alone why I should hand the minifigures to you!” Sky Lane was saying.

“I was the one who originally informed the Leaders of the existence of the said Research Facility, so I’ve been kept informed. And as I said previously, there’s been a change in plans. The minifigures will be brought to my shuttle, so that their safety is ensured”

“I have been informed of no such thing, so I cannot let that happen”

“I am your superior”

“You have no authorisation in this mission!”

“Very well. I shall leave now, but Lieutenant Carney will return with the right papers. I have to attend a meeting with the Faction Leaders, so I can’t come back myself. You can all go back to your jobs now” he said looking at the Heroes one by one.

And so the man left.

“I don’t know what he’s talking about, so I’m gonna ask the Leaders myself” Lane soliloquised and then left.

“I don’t trust him!” Shadow said.

“Vanda has vouched for him herself. The other leaders agreed about him, too” Brocktree stated “He couldn’t be a Rogue”

“They could be mistaken” Amanda frowned at that “But that’s not what bothers me. I just didn’t… like him. He didn’t seem trustworthy. Plus, I have a natural distrust for bald people!”

“Ouch! That hurts!” Bob said.

“You know I was joking. And what was that he said about going back to our jobs. That was weird”

“Speaking of which, I have something to do” Bob said and walked away.

Meanwhile, Cator had remained surprisingly silent during all this time. He’d said nothing and didn’t even confront Shadow about the punch. He just slowly left the room unnoticed.

Amanda left, too, when there was suddenly a bump coming from the ceiling as if something had landed on the ship’s roof.

“What was that?” Shadow asked.

“I’ll go look” Brocktree offered.

But after wearing his suit, which was a space suit, too, and extensively searching the roof of the ship, he found nothing. They were very perplexed.

“Attention, crew and passengers!” Sky Lane spoke to the microphone “We are almost out of the Vortex zone and very near to Avant Gardens. We will be arriving in Nimbus Station soon to leave our cargo and the new recruits. Then, we shall fly to the Nexus Tower”

Sky sighed. She had just spoken to Hael Storm and he seemed to know nothing of what Borock had spoken. He’d said he’d ask the others.

A screen turned on again a minute later and Hael with Vanda appeared on it.

“Sky, what is this Hael is speaking of? Did Borock ask for the minifigures the Ten Heroes recovered?” Vanda asked.

“Yes, he did”

“That is bad! That is very bad!” Vanda said “I trusted Borock, but it seems I don’t know him that well. None of us authorised Borock to do as he did. He’s acting on his own. That means he wants them for his own agenda. We must assume the worst. Borock is a Rogue”

It was as Sky had feared. Borock would probably try to steal them now.

“Borock? How could thet be?” Hael sounded devastated.

“Oh no!” Sky suddenly exclaimed, as she saw a very disturbing message that had appeared on a screen.

“What?!” Hael asked.

“We’re leaking Imagination!”

Sky turned around forgetting all about the Faction Leaders.

“Where is Bob?! He’s the last person I sent to the engines!” she shouted to no one in particular, leaving the other two pilots, the Nexus Astronaut and Ray Johnson.

Sky ran until she found Bob.

“Engine 2 is leaking Imagination!!!” she screamed her lungs out “What did you do?!”

“I did nothing! Everything was okay when I left!”

“Are you sure?”

“I double checked. I’m sure!”
“Well, let’s fix whatever happened before-”

The ship was shaken very violently. They had been hit. The lights all turned off for some seconds and the only some of them turned back on.

“-it’s too late!” Sky finished.

Sky knew what had happened without seeking for an answer. It was known to all space travelers what happened to you in the Vortex zone. They had been hit by Vortex Lightning (though it was still a mystery to all how the lightning was visible in space, where there is no matter).

“Bob! Scratch that, I want you to show the recruits how to use their Imagination, so they can build rockets using the cargo! I’ll send them to you. Have them evacuate the ship!”

She left before Bob could reply. She entered the main hall.

“Jett! Wake the recruits up and send them to Bob! Quickly!”

“The Maelstrom Minifigures, men?”

Sky thought for a moment.

“Not them!”

Sky saw Amanda.

“You! Come with me to the bridge. See if we can make anything operational. By the looks of things, we won’t be able to even steer the ship”

“We’ve been struck by Vortex Lightning. The ship’s systems are not operational. We are a sitting duck. We will evacuate the ship as planned for emergency cases like this. Head for the closest world, Avant Gardens!” Sky announced to everyone.

“Bob! What happened? How did they find us?” Shadow asked Bob.

“We were leaking Imagination for some reason” Bob said in between showing some recruits how to use their Imagination “Everything had been okay earlier when I checked things. There is no way this could have happened. Unless…” he was interrupted by the arrival of a group of yawning recruits.

“Unless we were betrayed” Shadow finished, whispering to Haeneth “The Paradox Commander did something”

The ship was shaken again.

“Was that more lightning?” Shadow asked.

“No, we’re under fire by Maelstrom ships” Haeneth replied “Come on! We need to help!”

They rushed to the main hall to help wake the recruits. They all seemed genuinely afraid.

Selis entered the room –her face now very less green and bulging– just when they were hit again. One cryogenic chamber fell down and the glass broke. Some liquid flew out of it and a wet minifigure jumped out. Her eyes shone purple and she seemed rabid. Shadow thought that she was the one he’d seen in the chamber earlier.

The minifigure attacked the nearest recruit, but Selis got in the way and she received a nasty scratch for her trouble; it was Maelstrom infected. The Maelstrom Minifigure growled and attacked Selis. As they struggled with each other, they moved away towards a wall. Haeneth moved to help, but the Maelstrom Minifigure started sending Maelstrom blasts at Selis. Selis responded by conjuring Imagination blasts. At collision, the blasts neutralised each other, but they caused minor explosions. It was too dangerous to approach. The explosions got bigger and bigger until one broke a hole in the wall. Shadow and Haeneth worked together and mended the hole, but it was too late. The force of the air being sucked out had caused both Selis and the Maelstrom Minifigure to fly out of the ship’s hull. They were gone. Shadow and Haeneth were speechless.

A Maelstrom ship had attached itself to the Venture Explorer and Maelstrom Beings were about to board. Ten Sentinel guards, as well as Xeno and Major had gathered behind the closed gates waiting for them to come. The tension was rising every moment.

The gates were blown up and three Stromling Ape Invaders invaded. Before they realised it, four of the guards had been smashed. Major charged against one and spiked it with his Powerjouster. Even though it was wearing some kind of black armour, the Powerjouster penetrated due to Major’s strength and the beast fell down lifeless. Xeno shot three arrows at another Ape and it started being disinfected at the places it had been hit. The struggle between Imagination and Maelstrom weakened it so much that a katana slash was enough to finish it off. The third Ape was taken down by the others, but two more guards had gone down with it.

However, the Ape charge had given the Darklings that followed, both winged and not, the chance to flood into the ship and overwhelm them. They were instantly surrounded and many just ignored them and continued inside the ship. But the rest attacked them.

Darklings and soon Spiderlings were going everywhere inside the ship. Sky Lane was just seeing the last recruits out of the ship when some of them started attacking the Launch Pad area. However, there were still many people to evacuate starting from the engineer of the ship and other members of the crew. So, Sky, Brocktree and some Sentinel guards were protecting the launch pads to give everyone a chance to leave.

Shadow, Haeneth and Malia, who was now able to stand and joined them earlier, had engaged into a fight in the main hall. They’d given the recruits time to leave and now only the Maelstrom Minifigures remained in their chambers. They didn’t know what to do about them, but they couldn’t leave the fight anyway. They were continuously backing away due to the overwhelming numbers of their enemies and Malia’s being injured.

Amanda appeared out of a door behind the ranks of the Maelstrom the same time as Stromlings (simple, chainsaw, hammer) started getting into the fight. A Grumpy Darkling’s hammer hit him on the head causing severe damage to his helmet and shattering his HUD. For the first time in the company of other people for some time, he took off his helmet.

As he did so, though, he saw a very troubling sight. Twenty Paradox Space Marauders had appeared from somewhere led by a man of the Lieutenant rank. Shadow knew they were renegades. He stunned the enemies around him with his controller and turned around to face them. He fired at them and tossed firecrackers, but they fought back. He evaded their attacks, but that gave them time to approach and reach the cryogenic chambers. He couldn’t take them alone.

Shadow heard Amanda screaming she needed backup. But he couldn’t help. He had to stop the Rogues. He tried to think of a way, magical or not, but his mind was blank, for some reason. He fired his weapons and cast simple evocation spells, but it was not enough. Two or three Renegades were smashed, but they continued and Shadow took many blasts until he fell down. He felt he couldn’t breathe, his head was spinning, his torso was in extreme pain, he was disorientated. The other girls were engaged in combat with the Maelstromlings and couldn’t assist him.

After a minute or so, he felt better and managed to get up, though he was in danger of falling down. It was too late. The Rogues had taken the chambers and left. He hadn’t seen where they’d left from and he wouldn’t be able to chase them in a ship full of Maelstrom Beings. He turned around to help the others, especially Amanda. But now he saw that half of her body was infected and the process continued. Fast. Shadow had failed utterly. Tears appeared on his eyes and rolled on his cheeks. Why had he been so unable to act when it was so necessary? He was supposed to be a great Enchanter; and he’d done nothing!

Cator appeared then. He had a face of rage, but Shadow was still glad to see him at such a moment. Then, he opened his mouth and ruined everything, as always.

“Traitors! I know it was you! The mad and the secretive one! And the Paradox girl. Don’t you think we noticed how you only ever hanged with each other and her?! You have been plotting our doom all this time, I know it. You broke the engine! But now you will pay!”

He was holding a cutlass and a flaregun. He started firing the flaregun at them. Haeneth was hit on the leg, but then she grabbed Shadow’s arm and they started running. Malia left on a different direction.

They ran as fast as they could, while Shadow sent a message to the bridge. Soon, Cator lost them, though. They stopped running, because Shadow was out of breath and Haeneth was hurting her leg.

“I’m sure Cator is the one who actually did it!” Shadow said.

“Hush now. We need to find the launch pads first!”

“I can’t run. Go without me!”

“I’m not leaving you behind!”

“Too late, anyway!” Shadow mattered as Maelstrom appeared and blocked both of their only ways out.

“Wiz, give me your hand!” Haeneth said grabbing Shadow’s hand.

Just as the enemies got to them, they vanished.

“Strange Odd Shadow just informed me that some Paradox Rogues stole the Maelstrom Minifigures!” the Nexus Astronaut said in a panicked manner to Ray Johnson.

“What?! We must stop them!”

“There, that shuttle!” the Astronaut said.

Ray immediately had some guns they’d gotten to work target the shuttle. Some lasers were fired and then a torpedo. They hit and the shuttle blew up. The Astronaut watched in horrour as a bigger explosion of purple flames was caused by the first one and then disappeared.

“What did you just do?” he asked, realising innocent minifigures had just been smashed; the Maelstrom Minifigures were no more.

“What I had to do!”

The gates were lost. Only Xeno and Major remained and they had been forced to retreat. When they met some Dark Ronin, Xeno said “Leave the Ronin to me! They are my specialty!” and before Major knew it, they had been separated.

Major had now reached the launch pad area and he was defending it with Sky Lane and Lord Brocktree. Brocktree with his shield –which he had picked up earlier during their escape from the Research Facility– and battleaxe, Sky with her single flaregun and Major with his Knight kit, they were giving their best.

Malia entered the room and started fighting her way through the enemies. She had almost made it when Cator, who had a wild expression, appeared, too.

“Don’t let him escape! He’s mad! He attacked us just now!” Malia yelled.

Cator, having gotten through the Maelstromlings much faster and easier than Malia, upon hearing that started firing at them all. Most shots were random, but Major and Malia were both hit. Malia dropped to the ground and she was smashed in an instance. The others looked horrified at her pieces, for a moment forgetting about Cator, allowing him to escape. But they soon snapped out of it; there would be time to grieve later; now, they had to fight.

Major withdrew from the battle weakened. He was about to jump back in, but Sky shouted “Go! That is an order!”. Major obeyed.

The enemies were now increasing and getting stronger. It was apparent that no one would be able to get through now and they wouldn’t hold their positions for long.

“Miss Lane, you need to go, too!”

There are still people!”

Bob, Xeno, Shadow, Amanda, Haeneth. None of them had come. At least, she knew her pilots had a way to get out from the bridge.

“They are not coming!”

“The right captain goes down with their ship!”

“Not today!” Brocktree said, dropping his weapons, grabbing and lifting the captain.

He carried her to a launch pad and forced her into a rocket, which soon took off. The Maelstromlings were upon him before he could jump in a rocket himself. Still, he drew and swung VerminBane at the nearest enemies giving himself some space. He took his rocket, placed it on a launch pad, got in and took off, too.

He wasn’t safe yet. There were two Maelstrom ships, both twice the size of the Venture Explorer, there launching projectiles against fleeing rockets. Brocktree manoeuvered his rocket to dodge the fire and then activated his cloaking device, one of the privileges he enjoyed as the second in command of the Faction Leaders. He managed to escape the havoc.

He flew for a long time, deep in thought of what had just happened, what it meant and those they had lost. He got past Avant Gardens and kept flying until he reached the Darneu of the Forbidden Valley. Seeing them brought him to reality. Had he really been so absent-minded?

“Suddenly, five rockets appeared at each of his sides. He saw Paradox pilots driving them. He didn’t know when his cloaking device had stopped working, but he was very visible to them. Still, he thought he could take them. Then, some being that looked like a red Mythran flew in front of him. Brocktree wasn’t sure what it was. There was a red flash and then he saw no more.

Borock was very happy as he got off his Transport Shuttle. The Venture Explorer destroyed, the Ten Heroes defeated and the Maelstrom Minifigures seized all at the same day. It had been quite the feat. It had taken a lot of planning, but he had finally been successful. thedude would be pleased.

However, he was oblivious to the fact that the Venture Explorer was capable of untraceable communication with other locations. Suddenly, he was surrounded by Sentinels. And that made him discomforted.

“Commander Borock! You are under arrest for treason and conspiring against the Nexus Force” their leader said.

That kind of ruined his day.

Demonstrait appeared before the Darkitect looking fearfully at him.

“Your plan has failed, sir!” he said “thedude nor the Nexus Force have received the Maelstrom Minifigures and they were actually destroyed”

The Darkitect looked at him with contempt. He took his time to sip a little of the dark red drink in the crystal glass in his hand before he replied.

“Do not be so easily disheartened, Demonstrait, at the first sight of things not going exactly as planned. Things might not be exactly as you think and there might still be hope to use the circumstances for our benefit!”

“What do you mean by that, sir?” Demonstrait asked.

“You shall see, Demonstrait! You shall see. Now, bring me my lunch!”

Shadow and Haeneth appeared in an empty room, which was easily recognised as belonging to the Nexus Tower.

“I knew it!” Shadow exclaimed “I knew you were magical! You have to be the diviner. And you know what? I figured out more. I know who you really are! You’re…” Shadow stopped talking.

“Uh oh! Wrong floor!”Haeneth said seeing ten Paradox Rogues surrounding them.

It seemed they had teleported to a level of Nexus Tower that was controlled by the Renegades.

“Stay still!” one of them commanded.

Shadow started to move to fight, but before he could complete his magic, they were both hit by Wormholer blasts. They fell to the floor. Several hands grabbed each and they started dragging them towards different directions.

“Ellwen!!!” Shadow shouted once, seeing the unconscious woman being dragged away from him.

He tried to fight them, but they held him strongly and before he could shout again he was kicked in the face. Everything blacked out. But as it did, he thought he heard a voice whispering “The Doom of Malidor… awaits you!”. It was over. He had lost this battle. In every respect. . .

  

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