Eternian Trap Ch 18 Pt 3

  Castle Grayskull

   General Rattlor flung himself at the changeling who had dealt him such a pounding. Adrian reverted to human form before calling forth the incredible suit of power armor. He took one step toward his charging enemy and with a thrusting motion of both hands, and slammed the snake backward with pure telekinetic force.
   Normally, the use of magic or even powers of a highly developed brain was preceded by an invisible rush, not unlike the touch of a light summer breeze. This was a tell tale warning when magic-users fought to throw up a hasty defense. In Adrian's case, the 'rush' came at the moment of release. There was no warning whatsoever. And he had absolutely no idea how he did. He just did it.
   General Rattlor flew into Snake Face and Kobra Khan, who had been collecting their fallen leader, and bowled the pair over. They landed in a jumbled heap of arms, legs, and tails. The trio untangled themselves, saw War Wing's blazing green eye lenses, and hastened to gather up their leader.
   Adrian watched them retreat to their own lines. He let them go because without King Hiss, this assault was soon to fail.
   The Horde, however, had other ideas.
   Three tanks ground to a halt a little over a hundred meters away. Twin-barreled turrets swiveled in War Wing's direction, and locked targets. Six barrels glowed at the business ends with priming charge leading up to a discharge of plasma energy. Hawk saw the danger and shouted a warning. Too late. Six barrels discharged as one, engulfing the guardian in boiling plasma. The ground exploded in a cloud of smoke and peppering combatants with shards hundreds of meters away. A few larger chunks even bounced off the castellated ridge of the eastern tower.
   The armor withstood far more power energy weapons, warship-grade canons, but the armor had yet to take direct hits like this. All eyes were riveted to the slowly dissipating cloud. As the smoke and dust settled, the Sorceress feared that War Wing hadn't been able to get this shield up in time.
   All at once, the smoke cleared away to reveal a flickering dome energy shield with War Wing safe and sound inside. He stood, right side turned toward the tanks to present a smaller target, plasma rifle in hand.
   "You need a bigger gun," War Wing stated emotionlessly. Three shots belched from the rifle's muzzle; three Horde tanks erupted in fiery explosions in response. "GUARDIANS HO!"
   At the sound of the ancient battle cry, Hawk slammed the palm of her right hand into Teela's chest, flinging the woman backward over fifteen feet. Teela landed hard and rolled another few feet before finally skidding to a halt. She fumbled for the quick release clasp behind her back for the snake armor. It didn't help that several ribs had been cracked and breathing was an exercise in pain. The clasp finally popped open and the armor fell away. The durable plate had an eight-inch vertical crack from the Guardian's blow.
   Claw jerked his scimitars from sheathes on his back, and took a horizontal swipe at Blade. The mercenary ducked under the weapon, feeling the uncomfortable breeze of its passing. The Guardian pressed the attack, forcing Blade to dive into successive shoulder rolls to escape. He ducked as a scimitar sailed end-over-end above his head.
   Blade had not been the target, however. A heavy battle drone clomped into point-blank range and set its sights on Claw. The tumbling scimitar's blade heated up into the white-hot range, slamming into the drone's head. The heated blade melted its way down into the chest where the power cells were situated. They detonated the moment the intense heat melted the power cell's casing, and the force of the explosion gave the scimitar the momentum to literally fly back to its owner's hand.
   Tung Lashor snapped his trademark appendage out at Hawk to divert her attention away from Teela; not that he really cared about the human female. The tongue wrapped itself tight about Hawk's left forearm.
   "Nyet!" she scolded, clamping her right hand on the wrapping. "First date; no tongue!"
   Hawk twisted the left hand to grasp the living rope before the Snake man could draw it back, and yanked violently down and to her left. Tung Lashor executed an awful belly flop and was dragged along the rough ground as the Guardian reeled him in. The snake managed to get his feet under him, but it only served to slice his feet to shreds on the loose rock. As he was dragged to within range of the beam spear, Lashor had no other choice. He drew a dagger from his belt a slashed his own tongue, whirled, and scampered away.
   Quaedians exploded into action, attacking the enemy's flanks. Despite their primary mixture of primitive weapons sprinkled with laser pistols and rifles, the felines took the fight to the Horde and lingering Snake Men. With Kittrina leading the charge, they helped the unarmed Earthers retreat to the ramp and across the jawbridge into Castle Grayskull.
   Corporal Frost, Anyssa, and Dhalon met the first group, who were being led by none other than King Carnivus himself. Frost led the king up into the eastern tower to meet Colonel Markson, leaving Anyssa and Dhalon to supervise getting the troops re-armed.
   The colonel was just finishing his conversation with Captain Majourny as Andre Wardman launched another javelin missile at a horde fighter attempting to strafe the tower. The craft's fiery demise drowned out the comm channel, but there was nothing more for Markson and Jo-jo to say to one another.
   Frost presented the feline king to his commander. "Colonel, this is King Carnivus, ruler of the Quaedian people."
   Carnivus boldly stuck out his right hand to the Earth commander, who took it after a moment's hesitation. "I have heard a little about you, colonel. Your warriors are quite skilled," the feline rumbled with approval.
   "Thanks," was all Jon could think to say.
   To break the awkward moment, Frost said, "When we spoke yesterday, you were dead set against coming to our aid. What changed your mind?"
   "You did," Carnivus answered pointedly.
   Frost arched an eyebrow. "Something I said?"
   Carnivus shook his head. "Something you did. You do not have the forces necessary to win this battle, yet you came anyway. Fighting against such overwhelming odds is what He-man, She-ra, and all their allies did on a regular basis. You were correct in pointing out that just because they are gone, it doesn't mean we abandon the fight." The feline king turned to Colonel Markson, who was watching Frost with a slight case of wonder. "Colonel Markson. I have brought what warriors I can spare to assist you in this fight. I have been informed that you seek allies in your war against the Evil horde. I offer my hand in friendship, and an ally to count on. Your war is now our war."
   Stunned, Colonel Markson shook the taloned hand the king proffered him. No words were necessary, which was good because Jon had no idea what to say. Catherine O'Rourke broke the moment by pointing to the heavy armored units finally pulling into striking range of the castle. A stab of fear pierced every person's heart as they realized what it was they were facing.
   The leading three mobile canons halted three hundred yards away. At that distance, the javelin missiles would be the only weapons within effective range. Unfortunately, they were almost out of said missiles. While Hohiro was on his way with reinforcements, it takes time for dropships to blast through the atmosphere without burning up.
   Forgetting the scattered remnants of the foot soldiers, drones, and tanks, Guardians Claw, Blitzkrieg, and Hawk formulated a plan to take out the mobile canons. First, they had to drive off the fighters still buzzing the area. Gatling Arm, now fully charged after a dangerous ram-boost from Claw, sprayed the sky with plasma bursts. War Wing took a few shots at the streaking craft in an effort to drive them into Gatling Arm's fire.
   Two fighters dove on the armored defenders, hammering away at them with their laser canons. Hawk sprang into action, beam spear in hand, and charged toward the incoming fighters. Blitzkrieg and Gatling Arm peppered the air ahead of the diving craft to distract the robot pilots. The tactic worked better than expected for plasma bolts punctured the armor and severed vital controls making it impossible for the machine pilots to pull out.
   Hawk leapt into the air, using her backpack thrusters for an added boost. The fighter descending on its terminal dive passed beneath the soaring Guardian, who used the craft's top surface as a springboard to launch herself into the face of the fighter's wingman. She cocked her right arm back, green blade blazing in the early afternoon sunlight, and hurled it with all her inhuman strength.
   The wingman had absolutely no time to react as the improvised missile pierced the fighter on its left side near the wing root. The beam spear exploded from the back through the number one engine – the aircraft's left – taking hundreds of pounds of debris with it.
   Both fighters slammed into the wreckage-strewn battlefield twenty feet apart. Boiling fireballs were the backdrop to Hawk's landing two hundred meters further down range, spear recalled to her hand.
   As Tung Lashor and Blade retreated, Teela stood her ground, taking shelter behind some torn armor plate blasted from a troop carrier. She took stock of the battle as the heavy artillery units rumbled into point-blank range of the castle behind her. Quaedians were swarming from the Evergreen Forest, led by a familiar female dressed in blue and wielding a sword. The Earth people fled into the castle, only to emerge moments later armed and dangerous once more. Despite the tactical shift in momentum, her side still had the advantage in firepower.
   Colonel Markson spotted Teela taking stock of the current situation, snapped up a spare sniper rifle, and took careful aim. The Sorceress saw the man's moment out of the corner of her eye. Her gaze trailed to what had grabbed the colonel's attention. Instantly, she realized what was about to happen – and could not allow it.
   "No!" Sorceress shouted, using a burst of magic to shove the rifle's barrel just enough.
   The bullet smacked into the twisted armor plate inches from Teela's face. She ducked immediately, taking greater care. A shard of metal had slashed a bloody track across the right cheek, dribbling blood.
   Run, Teela! Run! The Sorceress' telepathic voice screamed in Teela's head. Without wasting a moment, Teela took off darting through the wreckage keeping as low as possible.
   Colonel Markson did not get another clear shot at the enemy commander. Fuming, he turned his angry glare on the Sorceress, who pointed kept her gaze riveted on the battlefield. She knew they would be discussing this later.
   The leading canons were now within range. Falcon interrupted with a scan of the Horde units powering up to fire.
   Forgetting the incident with the enemy commander for the moment, Colonel Markson said, "Anyone got any bright ideas?"
   Before the Sorceress could respond, the world disappeared in a flare of blinding white light. She was no stranger to this world or realm or whatever you wanted to call it. Falcon appeared shortly in the form of Cirandar.
   "This isn't the time, Falcon," Sorceress said, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.
   "Time has no meaning in this place, now listen up," Falcon replied, sternly. "The castle is dying. It used up all its power staying sealed until you returned."
   Sorceress felt as if she'd just been sucker-punched. "Dying…" she stammered.
   "Before you say it, the Pool of Power is entirely separated from the power the Elders left behind. All is not lost, however," Falcon said, brimming with excitement. Her eyes sparkled knowingly. "The castle's power can be replenished, and the Horde will do all the work." Quickly, Falcon explained what she had been working on for the past several minutes. It was extremely risky in that nothing like her plan had ever been attempted, but it was the only real chance they had of ensuring the castle's survival. Reality reasserted itself once Falcon finished explaining her idea, and the Sorceress found that only a few moments of real time had passed.
   "We have an idea. It's risky and very dangerous, but we have few options left," Sorceress explained.
   "Oh," Colonel Markson said, clearly unconvinced in light of her actions to save that Horde commander from an armor-piercing bullet. "Can't wait to hear it."
   Quickly, she explained Falcon's plan. Hawk and Claw volunteered to use a maze of shallow crevasses to get under the hovering canons and infiltrate them through their bellies. The shields the machines were equipped with appeared to end at ground level so the task shouldn't be too difficult. War Wing had already taken a few potshots at the units confirming the strength of those shields.
   The Sorceress and her armor would erect a barrier shield over the castle to protect it from enemy fire and absorb the destructive energy for redirection elsewhere. That redirection would be to the crystal chamber deep in the heart of the ancient castle, hopefully to revitalize it.
   War Wing and Gatling Arm were to act as support units keeping the reinforcing ground troops occupied while Hawk and Claw did their job of destroying the canons from within. That part of the plan got turned on its ear when Andre Wardman, who had been tasked with keeping a lookout for fighters or raiding parties trying to hit them from their blind sides, spotted a pair of Snake Men stealthily making their way around to the north side to come at them from the castle's rear.
   Falcon zeroed in on the indicated location and magnified for the Sorceress to see the snakes so close she could have reached out and touched them. "Reptilons," Sorceress pronounced grimly. "I guess not all of them were destroyed in the last Great War."
   "Can we take them?" the colonel asked, using a pair a binoculars to scope out the threat, though the binoculars were not as sophisticated as the armor.
   The Sorceress shook her head. "Not unless you can get in touch with your savage side in the next few minutes. And increase your strength and stamina by a factor of ten just to hold your own."
   There was only one among them who could do that. One who has already done that several times on this mission. Colonel Markson knew the Guardian armor could tap into the tactical net, so instead of explaining the situation all over again, simply asked Adrian if he could take out their snake problem.
   "Go!" Blitzkrieg barked. "We'll keep this party going!" He tossed his remaining laser rifle to Claw, and accepted the massive plasma canon War Wing tossed to him. They would need to firepower to make the planned diversion work.
   What? Wing asked, clearly shocked. No argument? No raging against doing what you were born to be and do?
   Make a note for later, will ya? Adrian answered. We've got work to do. Wing did not respond, but Adrian had the distinct impression of approval.
   The Reptilons were quietly making their way toward the bottomless moat on the castle's north side. They angled their approach to a jumping off point across from one of the rear spider-like legs that supported the mammoth structure in addition to the central mount point centered underneath. With a running start, the Snake Men easily cleared the chasm to land on the lowest joint of the stone support leg.
   Knowing he could not catch the pair by following in their wake, Adrian would have to cut them off before reptiles made it to the east tower. That had to be their destination.  With the Sorceress and Colonel Markson up there, taking them out would disrupt the chain of command. To cut them off, Adrian sprinted for the moat to cross over the same way the Snake Men had just done. He timed the leap and transformation perfectly, becoming an Alien while in flight, landed lightly, and took off up the leg and the castle's east side without slowing.
   Although Colonel Markson and the Sorceress saw him coming, the creature's sudden appearance over the castellated edge of the tower sent Ensign Wardman into a brief fit of hysterics. Adrian reverted to human form with battle armor, and apologized for his abrupt appearance.
   Adrian spied the cache of loaded weapons across the way, and strode quickly over to it. He selected two pulse rifles, checked that they had full magazines and then slapped one to each thigh where they were magnetically locked in place until needed.
   As he walked to the north side of the tower to check the progress of the two snakes trying to sneak up on their rear flank, Adrian and the Sorceress exchanged looks which required no words. He was relieved and pleased to see her alive and well. The Sorceress felt the same about him considering the damage a Horde mind sifter usually causes. Neither of them trusted their own voices, so they nodded to each other and then Adrian was off to do battle once more; leaping the castellated wall to land on the narrow ledge at the base of the dome.
   The Sorceress and Colonel Markson returned their attention to the artillery canons as they primed their main weapons to fire.
   Three beams of intense plasma energy blasted from Horde units straight at Castle Grayskull's eastern tower. The Sorceress threw up her hands, palms outward, and called on all the magical might she had left augmented by the Falcon armor. A powerful dome shield materialized over the castle along the moat's far edge. The plasma bursts slammed harmlessly into the shield, causing ripples in the barrier, but did not break through. While the Sorceress concentrated on maintaining the barrier, Falcon drew in some of the energy to replenish her power cells. The rest was shunted to an entirely different location.

******

   Deep in the bowels of Castle Grayskull where few beings were allowed to go, much less have ever seen, lay the Crystal Chamber. The boundaries of this chamber have never been discovered by any living being. Conceivably, one could fall forever in this chamber, though no one dared try it.
   Crystalline structures filled the chamber, spaced equally in rows. Each row was exactly one hundred meters away from the next while each pillar in the row was exactly ten meters away from the next in line. The pillars normally pulsed with vibrant energy, casting blue/white light throughout the visible areas. The crystals gave the appearance of having been grown rather than constructed with large circular platforms spaced forty meters apart in each column. These platforms were interspersed in an offset arrangement that would allow one to leapfrog from one towering column to another throughout the chamber.
   And somewhere in this massive chamber lay the most precious and prized possession in the entire universe. The orb of power left behind by the Elders.
   At Falcon's direction, the raw power from the Horde mobile artillery units was channeled here. Somewhere in the upper part of the chamber, there was a bright flash followed by the crackling of plasma pouring into the crystalline pillars. Starved for energy from maintaining an impenetrable shield for the past two years, the structures drank greedily of the power shunted into them. For one brief span of several seconds, the entire array of pillars lit up with the intensity they had had only three years before. Abruptly, the energy pouring into them died away and the crystals darkened to their dim, almost lifeless state.