CHAPTER ONE: A NOT SO COLD OPEN
It is said that thousands of years ago, somewhere in the capital of Vale, there was an entrance to an underground cavern. In this cavern there were entire societies, lost treasures, and great evils. Eventually the underground was cut off from topside by some terrible disaster, but a few decades ago that changed. The explorer and adventurer Jacques Alexander found a way inside, and documented his findings. Giant skeletons of monstrous wildlife, a flame unfettered by any who would seek to harm it, and most of all, a monolith of purple stone in the shape of a coffin, over 100 meters in height.
…
A small, freckled boy with wild ginger hair finishes reading from a book and extends his hands out to gesture at a pair of red eyed people sitting across from him. The tattered, stained sleeves of his jacket match his dark jeans, as well as the ancient book he holds. He exclaims, standing up and leaning forward, slamming his hand onto the table they are seated at, “Your grandfather claimed that was the tomb of The Nowhere King! Isn’t that so cool?” He is Kai Azuma, or Kaizu, and he is pointing at the Bruins siblings, Jack and Maddison.
Jack, a tall, muscular man almost two meters in height, sighs, leaning as far back in his chair as he can without falling. His trench coat and jeans frame a tank top with the word ‘fugitive’ etched in blood red ink, and his long brown hair is spiked forward over the top of his head. He replies, “Is this what they’ve been teaching you while I was gone? Shit we already knew? Yeah, gramps found Big Bad’s tomb, big whoop!” Sitting beside him, his sister rolls her eyes. Despite how loosely her puffy sweater fits her, it’s in no part due to her small stature. On the contrary, she is nearly as tall as her brother. Furthermore, small chains on her boots jingle as she rests her long, slender legs upon the table, her studded red pants accenting her eyes.
Kaizu sits back down quietly, muttering to himself, “Well I thought it was cool…”
A fourth and fifth figure walk up from across the empty lot they’re hanging out in. One, a woman with multicolored hair, sets down some sandwiches and pats Kaizu on the back, stating, “Aw, don’t cry, I liked it too.” Kaizu waves her teasing away, and she chuckles, sitting down a few meters away. She is Tammie Deagler, whose blue, teal, and green hair is entirely natural, just like her predisposition to the violent and explosive. Furthermore, despite her smallish stature, brightly colored hair, and striped tank top, her pants and boots reveal her true nature. Both mainly dark greys and greens, they look almost militaristic. They also hold many spiked metal studs, with most being deep crimson. Finally her boots are adorned with many patches, depicting skulls, hazardous symbols, and demonic imagery perfect for a bringer of chaos like herself.
Jack returns to the topic at hand, standing up and placing both hands on the table. “Either way, we can’t go back to the capitol. You’ve seen the signs. DOA. You know what that means?” he asks, his eyes more serious than before.
He gestures to a signpost with their faces on it and a five million credit bounty.
The group does not respond.
Jack asks once more, “C’mon class, tell me what it means.”
Kaizu hangs his head over the broken back of his chair, moaning loudly, “It means dead or alive!”
Slamming the table with both of his hands, Jack circles around the table, yelling, “Damn straight it does! So no way are we exploring some caves under the place we just barely escaped from.”
The final of the five people speaks up, asking, “Why do they want us again? I wasn’t clear on the facts.” He is Adam, who stands well over two meters tall, with short black hair, and a set of blacksmith’s clothes. Overalls, shorts, and a black leather tunic cover just little enough skin that his figure is unobscured. He is muscular, but not overly built, he is lanky, but not disproportionately so, and he has some helpings of fat here and there, but is not too overweight. However, these average proportions do not mask his overwhelming height.
“About that…” Jack answers awkwardly, before his sister interrupts him.
“Jack did a bad thing while he was gone, and him returning to us four implicated us as well. Is that good enough for y’all?” Maddison asks, rolling her hands expectantly, asking for their affirmation.
Tammie answers for the group, “That’s a pretty succinct summary.”
Kaizu mutters unamused once again, “Paying for your stupidity like always. What’d you do this time?”
“Blew up a bridge, nearly got a girl killed, and indirectly caused a terrorist attack on Lucidcorp property…?” He shrugs and smiles awkwardly.
Kaizu throws his arms and legs to the heavens, nearly falling out of his chair, while asking, “Oh, that's all?”
Tammie quietly nudges Jack as he passes her, responding “I’m a fan.”
“WHAT?!?” Kaizu yells at her.
Tammie grins smugly and replies, “I said that’s too bad.”
Maddison collects the group’s attention and sternly states, “Focus. What’s the plan now?”
Jack sits back down, telling the group, “Get off world, find gramps, sort this all out.”
Adam asks, “You think we’re ready?”
“Been ready for 2 years personally, and unless y’all want to put graduating high school above not only your lives, but destiny itself, I think you are too.”
Kaizu asks with a hint of despair in his voice, “And how do we get offworld, huh? I have a plan, but you seem to have everything under control. Wouldn’t want to ruin the genius strategy.”
Jack deadpans, “Well, I was just gonna steal a ship.”
Kaizu, so thoroughly unamused he has reached anger, barks, “For the love of- We’re going with my plan.”
Maddison, grabbing his shoulder and calming him down asks, “Which is?”
Tammie, still grinning at Kaizu and utterly enthralled by Jack’s chaotic nature, grumbles, “Probably not better than stealing a spaceship.”
Kaizu, once again pulling out his book, states, “It’s actually related to the Underground.”
Jack, unable to sit still for five seconds, stands and exclaims, “Damnit! I told you, we can't go back there. Lucidcorp has people EVERYWHERE!”
Adam mumbles, “We can take the old mining trains.”
Kaizu, gesturing to Adam with his arms, clearly in agreement, continues, “Exactly. We take the trains, then head near the tomb. Your grandfather wrote about an egg-like vehicle there with the ability to teleport. It used something called ‘The Flow’. If it works anything like translocation, I can punch in the coords of the guild hall, and we’ll be offworld.”
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“So, you know the coordinates of the guild hall?” Jack asks expectantly.
Kaizu responds, “You’re not the only one who’s waited 13 years to get off this rock. You were 5, I was 3. Statistically, more of my life has been spent waiting to get off this rock and fulfill our ‘grand purpose.’”
Tammie interjects, “Nice plan. One problem… Lucidcorp doesn’t seem to be the only ones after us.” She points at the edge of the junkyard where five black armored officers are approaching.
Maddison groans, whispering, “DarkSteel.”
“What are they doing here?” Kaizu asks.
“C’mon, y’all should’ve expected this,” Jack explains, “We’ve got a collective 5 million on our heads and you question why we’re being circled by vultures?”
Adam shrugs, responding, “I just thought a respected contractor would keep it more… clean? And it’s early. This is a not so cold opening to my day.”
Jack orders the others, “You four get to the train. I’ll keep our company ‘entertained.’”
Tammie runs up to join Jack, whining, “No faiiiiiiir. I wanna fight some toooooooo!”
Jack extends his arm, blocking her, “Not this time, but I doubt that train will be needed once we make it to the last stop. You have my blessing to make it go-”
Tammie interjects, nearly bursting with glee, shouting, “BOOM?”
Jack sighs, replying, “Yes. ‘Boom.’ Now go. I’ve got this.”
Jack walks out before the five hulking officers with a confident swagger. He readies himself, breathing slowly and deeply, lowering his stance and widening his arms. He looks almost primal, and tears off the right sleeve of his trench coat, revealing a prosthetic arm. He stands like a predator about to pounce, a menacing yet sophisticated pose. There is no formal, named fighting style to be seen, but the talent, practice, and skill of the user is still obvious. A single drop of sweat trickles down his forehead, around his gleaming crimson eye, and past the scar that leads down his right cheek. His diamond shaped pupils seem almost like the slit eyes of a snake.
The officers draw stun batons, while their leader draws a shotgun. While the leader stands back, the other four rush at Jack, and he lunges for them. His bare fists meet the faces and guts of his attackers. Like a dance he weaves between them, taking hits like they are nothing but big bites, and returning devastating blows, some sending an officer flying. After a short time of back and forth, Jack takes initiative.
Uppercut to one, parry a stun baton with his prosthetic and deliver three gut punches to another. Dodge under a third and lift him upon his shoulders before slamming him to the ground. The first returns, only to be met with the third’s body landing before him. A moment's hesitation, a look of fear, and Jack has already tackled him. The second tries to rend their foe from his brother in arms, but Jack is too strong, using his full force to pound the third officer with the hunk of metal he calls an arm. Powerless, the second backs off, but is met by a hand on his shoulder. The leader has stepped up, and he, along with the second and fourth officers surround Jack, who’s done pummeling the first and third officers. His hands are stained in blood. The ground is marred by great sweeping trenches where struggling figures wrestled upon the earth just moments ago. Dust hangs in the air, and it begins to rain. Jack’s hair, once spiked and well maintained, now falls limply and drenched over his face. His hair is long, covering much of his face, but between the slivers of hair, one thing is clear. The look of malice on Jack’s face, the face of a warrior in full combat mode, is gone. It’s replaced by a smug smirk and a look of subtle enjoyment. No words are exchanged, but the enforcers are clearly unamused. Jack stands tall and runs his hands through his hair, drying it instantly and spiking it once again, as small plumes of steam emanate from his hands. The two unarmed officers circle behind Jack, while the leader stares him down. Just as the enforcer captain depresses the trigger, unloading a shell’s worth of hot lead straight into Jack’s chest, something happens. While in truth only a split second passes, for everyone there, each minute detail was plain to see, as if reality itself had slowed down.
A chunk of earth extrudes from the ground, reaching towards the heavens, and stops just below Jack’s open right hand. Glowing purple dust materializes, polishing the stone to a mirror sheen, as the mound connecting the blade to the ground disappears. A blood red flame consumes the sword, and blackens the now metallic looking rock. The instant Jack grasps the hilt, the flames are gone, and only his weapon remains. He twirls it around, the weight of the weapon apparent even despite the ease at which he wields it. As he weaves his instrument of combat through the air, each shard of buckshot is met with the flat of his sword, deflecting every which way. He then lets it fall from the height of its arc onto the ground below, pushing slightly into the ground, and sending up dust while splitting the earth itself with a weight disproportionate to its appearance.
Standing in awe, the captain drops his weapon, and Jack simply walks up, whispering, “that was fun,” into his ear, before walking away. The other two officers rush up, asking their leader what they should do next, and he replies, “we should get some bigger guns.” As he says this, a massive silhouette appears from the rain ahead of them, and a woman in Lucidcorp attire walks out. Her arms and legs are like trees, and her torso is like a mountain. She simply asks, “where did he go?” and the three terrified officers point behind them. The captain asks his subordinates, “Did any of you call her?” They both shake their heads. “Well, they don’t pay me nearly enough to ask questions like that. Our job here is done.” They retrieve their wounded and walk off, leaving no evidence of their conflict but a few drops of blood and scattered imprints on the ground, all of which will soon be washed away by the rain.
…
Elsewhere, Jack’s friends attempt to hotwire the train, unsuccessfully. Sitting in a mining depot, unused for decades, the train is more rust than actual metal by now. Getting it to run would be hard enough, but even if they did, they had no way of knowing whether or not the tracks were still intact. Furthermore, according to diagrams Kaizu had scavenged from the surrounding offices, the tracks led straight through an active monster hive, as well as past multiple saturated ash piles and active apocalypse stones. Of the five, only Jack and Maddison had favillopathy, the infection born from monsters and their deadly ash. If they weren’t careful, however, they’d be lucky to get out alive, they’d certainly be infected, and in all likelihood that would be a fate worse than death. Having your bones slowly crystallize as your body is subsumed by tumors and lesions is not exactly a fun way to go.
Kaizu stands by the console of the train, reading from a manual. He shouts down to Maddison, who is below him in the engineer’s compartment, “Cut the red wire and cross it with the blue wire. No! Not that one, the blue one!”
Sparks fly as the lights overhead flicker and shut off. “Look, Kaizu, it’s a little hard to tell between blue and green when there’s no god damned lights down here,” Maddison hisses, as she crosses the correct wires. The lights reignite, but the engine and other systems remain offline.
Adam enters the cabin from outside, asking, “How goes it?”
“Thirty-five minutes and we’re finally back where we started. But hey, we know how to turn the lights off now!” Kaizu yells, a broad, forced smile hiding his annoyance.
The lights turn off and on as Tammie enters from the first coach, a bundle of plastic explosives in hand. “You can just use this switch, doofus,” she says jokingly, punching him in the arm.
“Ow,” exclaims Kaizu, before asking, “hold up, what are those for?”
“Oh, Jack said I could blow up the train once we were done with it, so I thought I’d rig it up beforehand. Don’t worry, I will stay out of your way,” she replies, a devilish grin plastered across her pale face.
“Really? REALLY?!? We just had uncontrolled sparking all throughout this train, and you want to place live explosives?” Kaizu seethes, no longer smiling.
“Eh, just let her. Jack isn’t back yet so we still have time to rig up another train if this one goes sky high,” states Maddison, twirling a pair of pliers around her finger. “In other news, I think I got this thing just about figured out. You're a dumbass, you know that, Kaizu? How about you try this, eh?” she says, handing Kaizu a keycard, one which perfectly fits into the side of the terminal, turning on the train instantly.
“How did you-” Kaizu asks, flabbergasted.
“It was lying here on the ground, nimrod. You never said anything about a keycard, so I left it there. But then I took a peek at your book there and saw we needed it.”
Kaizu looks behind him to see a magic circle with eye-shaped symbols on it. “Oh. Thirty-five minutes and it was that simple?” Kaizu asks, too much in disbelief to be upset.
“Seems like it,” Adam replies, gently sliding Kaizu out of the way as his massive frame fills the seat before the console.
“Hey hey hey! Who says Adam gets to drive?” Tammie inquires. “Obviously since I rigged it to blow, I should be responsible for it,” she confidently proclaims.
“I found the keycard, but I don’t mind Adam driving. He is the best of us all,” Maddison calmly explains.
“Yeah, we’ll I’m good at driving too,” says Kaizu as he leans against the far corner of the cabin, continuing, “and I actually have experience with heavier machinery, while Adam’s only ever driven civvie stuff.”
“Quit your bickering and hit it,” Jack wheezes, running up to the side of the train. He hops in, shutting the door, and peeks out with a paranoid look.
“What’s wrong?” Adam asks, while Tammie gestures happily to the bombs she placed.
“Very cool, Tammie, and to answer your question, Adam, Lucidcorp joined the party.”
“Big guns?” Adam asks.
“Yeah. Some kind of high ranking combatant. Likely ex convict by the looks of her,” Jack replies.
Adam pulls on a few large levers, and taps the terminal as it glows to life, his face tinted light blue as he readies the train to start, responding, “Got it. Not something we want to be dealing with. Not while we’re this close to escaping, or on a train already rigged to blow.”
“Tammie, you already set it up?” Jack asks.
“Hell yeah I did!” Tammies exclaims, holding up five remote detonators.
“Are those each for a separate train car?” Jack then asks.
Tammie nods, replying, “Sure are. Why do you ask?”
Jack extends his right arm, his metal fingers gleaming under the glare of the overhead lamps. “Give me the detonators for the back two cars. I have a plan to deal with our friend out there,” Jack orders.
Tammie withdraws the detonators, turning her body away from Jack, replying with an obstinate tone,“No! If anyone’s blowing shit up, it’s me!”
“Fine, but you go only on my signal, so follow me,” he asserts, climbing to the back of the cabin and moving through the first coach car.
As soon as the two of them leave, Adam cranks hard on a valve and the train’s engines roar to live. The magnetic lifts on the bottom of the cars toggle on, and the whole train is lifted a few meters off the ground. It shakes and groans slightly, and lists downwards on the left side, but with some small adjustments on the terminal it rights itself. Thrusters on the sides of each cabin throttle until they produce thin cones of white flame, and the train begins to build speed.
“Here we go,” Adam mumbles, placing his hands on his lap, his job hopefully complete until they make it to their destination.