Audio reading: Imaginary Enemy

Today I direct you to the embedded video for a reading of one of the tales from my book of short stories, GZ Tales, Vol 1. Now I do have a couple of spots where I trip up because I have internal spasms from MS, but as you can see, I don't let that stop me. So I hope you enjoy the reading of Imaginary Enemy!

If you would like to get the book for kindle or in paperback, check out the link to my author's page in the upper right of the screen.

GZ Legends 77: Chaos Dimension

            

As it flew closer, tiny lasers peppered the area the heroes stood in, causing them to scatter the best they could. One wrong step would take them off the pathway and into the abyss.

 Electrode weaved past the lasers that hovered in the air compared to his speed. His friends appeared to be in stasis from his speeding point of view as did the Chaos drone. Electrode dashed down the path to get a shot at it from behind. Once in position he had to come out of speed mode to hit his target with a burst of powerful lightning. It’s easy to hit something made of metal when you fight with electricity. Electrode hit the drone right between the shoulder blades.

            Without hesitation, the drone turned sideways with one arm aimed either direction. The tiny, yet explosive lasers fired from its fingertips. At the same time, a long metal ribbon emerged from somewhere on its back and lashed toward Electrode. If it weren’t for his ability to perceive movement in the tiniest of fractions, it would have cut him in half. Instead it left a neat slice in the path where Electrode once stood.

            Galose was the second to engage the hovering menace. He fired his shoulder cannons with several direct hits. The drone didn’t even waver in the air. Another metal ribbon lashed out and made a gash in one of Galose’s arms.

            “I’m going to repair my armor more than it’s needed in two decades!” Galose said to himself before calling out; “We have to bring it down!”

            Anubis jumped into the air and aimed his glowing lance at the drone. The wide cosmic blast engulfed the midsection of his target and actually shoved it a whole inch in the air.

            “Man, that would have leveled a building! What is this thing made of?” Anubis called out. A few lasers hit Anubis and sent him spinning backwards. He suddenly found it difficult to stop himself from tumbling through the air.

          

  Nyhtwulf quickly placed himself between the onslaught of laser blasts and his friends. As the shots went into his ethereal body, they emerged heading back where they came from. Its own weaponry proved more effective than any so far and actually left score marks on its armor. Blacktide moved to back up his partner and aimed at one of the propellers that kept the drone aloft. A disintegration beam destroyed the whirling apparatus and the Chaos drone landed on the path.

            The drone didn’t slow down in its combat mode regardless of loss of flight. The metal ribbons lashed out again. One went through Nyhtwulf harmlessly while the other ribbon cut Blacktide’s leather jacket before the end of it could be burnt off.

            “First my shades, now my jacket!” Blacktide growled. “You’re scrap metal!”

            Sandstorm was trying to figure out if he could melt or freeze this opponent when he saw something materializing behind Electrode. There was no time for warning.

            The Nuclear-Electric man was doing his best to hit the drone with all he had when something threw him to the path. Hot breath steamed the back of his neck and a loud growl sang in his ears. Sandstorm turned into air in order to get to his partner quickly. He formed himself as iron ore and grappled the giant black hound that pinned Electrode. With an enlarged arm around its neck, Sandstorm pulled, but couldn’t budge the creature from the path. Electrode managed to spin underneath the creature in order to get hands on its neck and jaw.

            “Electrode, fry it!” Sandstorm called out.

            As the beast’s teeth grew closer to his neck, Electrode turned it into a dazzling display of arcing electricity. Even with all he could do, it was very slow in doing any damage.

            “Somebodeeee? Anybody?” Anubis called as he struggled to stop tumbling through the air toward the swirling boundaries. “I can’t get control of my flight!”

            Galose saw Anubis’s struggle and ran down the path away from the fight. His targeting computers locked on to the flailing hero. The triangular red gem at Galose’s waist emitted a red tractor beam that caught Anubis and dragged him back to the path.

            “Okay, flying is a bad move. Thanks for grabbing me.” Anubis said.

           

“I’ve been taking readings.” Galose said. “This is a chaos dimension. The creatures here have the ability to anchor themselves in order not to float away. As long as we stay on the path, we can maneuver.”

            “Well, let’s get back to the others!” Anubis said.

            Before they could act, another hound beast materialized between them and jumped on Galose. It locked its teeth into his shoulder and fangs started to penetrate armor. Anubis stabbed it in the side with his lance, but the blade only pushed against its body without cutting through.

            The drone angled its shoulders and tried to cut Blacktide with the other propeller that was still spinning while sending both ribbons for him as well. Nyhtwulf grabbed his friend by the shoulder and suddenly both of them were intangible.

            “That’s it!” Blacktide said. “Keep me from getting hit, partner while I juice up to hit it with all I’ve got.

            The drone stomped forward, resorting to swinging fists that did nothing. Nyhtwulf kept his own intangible body between the drone and his partner, moving just enough to keep distance between them. 

            Sandstorm strained to pull the giant hound away from his friend. Electrode poured everything he could into trying to kill it. Its resilience would be amazing if it weren’t so close to sinking its teeth into his throat. Electrode could count its pointed fangs and could almost feel them slicing into his neck.

            “If this thing’s breath doesn’t melt my face off first, it’s going to bite my head off.” Electrode thought. “I can’t get out from under it!”

            To try and help, Sandstorm put one of his iron ore hands right in the monster’s mouth.

            Anubis continued to try and stab the one that jumped on Galose.

            “I can’t budge it!” Anubis shouted.

            Galose grabbed the creature’s jaws and struggled to push it away. Never had he come across a flesh and blood creature that could bite through Cyborian armor.

GZ Legends 76: Light it up!

           

 One of Stananteon’s forelegs crushed through the building and landed on the sidewalk. His roar shook the street and an arch of electricity danced between his straight horns.

            “You should know well, Anubis! You dropped Monolith into the ocean. You left my Pentegram Syndicate on a runaway starship!”

            “Well, hey hey! Someone who doesn’t just call me a dog!” Anubis flew into the air. “I hope you don’t expect me to go easy on you for that.”

            “Enough chatter!” Sandstorm shouted. “Let’s deal with this thing and get it over with!”

            Sandstorm sank into the ground like a vanishing ghost while Galose opened fire with his forearm rifles. After taking several direct hits across his broad neck, Stananteon breathed engulfing flames around Galose and half the street. Nyhtwulf flew through the dragon’s body and it lurched from the effect of having its life force scrambled; but that didn’t stop it. Stananteon gave a thunderous roar that knocked Nyhtwulf tumbling through the air.

            Anubis hit the dragon between its glowing eyes with a cosmic blast that made it shake its head.

            “You’re just an overgrown lizard!” He taunted it.

            “I’ll show you an overgrown lizard!” Stananteon shouted. The arch of electricity became a super-charged bolt fired at Anubis. The Egyptian hero blocked with his lance, but the shot still threw him across the street.

            A blast of disintegration energy tore into the dragon’s lower jaw. He roared in agony from Blacktide’s attack.

            “You should fly away before I erase your teeth!” Blacktide shouted. “We’re fed up and have no time for psychotic dinosaurs!”

            “You take me for a simple beast, but I shall show you…” Stananteon was interrupted by a giant hand of concrete clutching his throat. It came up from below him, through the wreckage of the building. It lifted the dragon up as more of Sandstorm’s giant body rose into view. Sandstorm slammed the dragon onto its back and brought down a wrecking ball fist on its head.

           

He continued to smash away at Stananteon with hammer-fist blows that forced the head of the beast through the asphalt and sidewalk. A nearby fire hydrant burst and showered the area with water. Broken cars tumbled away because of the shaking ground. Electrode reached out and drew the arc of electricity to his body, absorbing it to charge himself.

            “I’ll take that.”

            Thanks to Electrode and the savage pounding, Stananteon weakened quickly and suddenly vanished without a trace. Anubis landed with a grin.

            “I guess he was a chicken lizard.”

            Sandstorm returned to normal. “I think we’ve shown we mean business. Was the dragon the source of energy?”

            “No.” Galose said. “That is still at the end of the alley.”

            “Then let’s go.”

            The group approached the wall at the dead end of the alley with caution. Scattered trash, debris, a dumpster and a few trash cans were all that adorned the alley up to the blank brick wall. They watched for movement and Anubis poked his nose into the dumpster.

            “Peeeyew.” Anubis shook his head. “What we seek is definitely not in there.”

            “Where does the trace lead to?” Blacktide asked.

            “In the middle of the wall.” Galose said as he walked up to it. “I see now. It’s a disguised portal. We can just walk through it.”

            “Nothing says ‘trap’ like an open door.” Electrode said.

            “So we watch each other’s backs.” Sandstorm said.

            “I’ll go first.” Galose said and walked through before anyone could answer.

            Nyhtwulf and Blacktide went next, followed by Anubis, Sandstorm and Electrode.

            “Not that I wanted to be last or anything.” Electrode said.

            “Don’t worry about it.” Anubis said. “You had the best chances of catching up.”

            “That’s almost funny.” Electrode responded.

            “Pay attention. Things just got weird.” Sandstorm said.

            They stood on a wide white path that stretched away into the distance. Above and below the path was nothing. Bright swirling colors churned high above and far below. It looked as if you could fall away forever if you stepped off the path.

            “I detect no ground limit in any direction past the path.” Galose said. “It may be safe to fly here, but I would advise extreme caution. We are in another dimension.”

            “Well, looks like it’s wide enough for all of us to move around on. Just be careful and let’s start walking.” Sandstorm said as he moved forward. “Galose, Anubis, Nyhtwulf, let us know the moment you sense anything coming at us.”

            The path felt solid under their feet. It didn’t bounce or move in any way. Anubis and Nyhtwulf decided not to fly unless they absolutely had to try it. The swirling dimension was strange and played with their eyes if they stared out into the colors for more than a second. It was best to keep their eyes on the path.

 

            “Should I scout forward?” Electrode offered.

            “No. There’s no way of helping you if something grabs you. You might even wind up in another dimension on top of this one.” Sandstorm said.

            “This dimension is not stable.” Galose reported. “According to my readings, this is more of a long portal or dimensional tunnel being held open. If it closes on us, there is no telling where we will go.”

            “Since it didn’t just close on us; someone wants us to follow.” Blacktide said.

            “Let’s hope it stays that way.” Electrode added.

            “Well, we thought ‘death trap’ and here we are.” Anubis said.

            Up ahead of them, something moved near the path. It was far ahead, over a hundred yards, but flew toward them.

            “You got that on your sensors?” Sandstorm asked.

            “It is shielded from them.” Galose answered.

            The humanoid form appeared robotic with a long pole angled far out from either shoulder. At the top of each pole, blades whirred, holding the thing aloft.

            “It doesn’t look like a Rotanian.” Anubis said, holding his lance ready.

            “It’s not.” Galose answered. “I haven’t seen one of these in over a hundred years. That is a Chaos drone. It’s more lethal than any Rotanian could hope to be.”

GZ Legends 75: A New Day

           

 On the roof of the FPA building in New York City, energy crackled as Anubis appeared with Nightfall, Sandstorm and Electrode. A few feet away, Nyhtwulf appeared with Blacktide. Yet a few further feet away, Galose appeared with Redeagle and Atomizer. In split seconds, before the Rotanian ship launched away toward the sun, they all managed to escape. As they all regrouped and shook themselves off, sunlight bathed the rooftop in welcome light.

            Far below, in the streets of New York, cheering could be heard. It sounded faint at first, but quickly grew in volume. With the Rotanian ship gone, the dark field around the Earth was lifted. For the first time in too many days, the sun could be seen again.

            Sandstorm stood and felt the warmth on his face and knew that everything up to this moment was worth it. Anubis and Nyhtwulf rushed to heal injured friends. Atomizer, Nightfall and Redeagle had taken the worst beatings.

            As he was being healed by Nyhtwulf, Atomizer stared up at the blue sky.

            “I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see anything in my entire life.”

            “Do you think they really crashed into the sun?” Electrode asked Galose.

            “I can’t be sure. If they didn’t, their ship still requires serious repair. They won’t be back anytime soon.”

            “I sure hope that’s the case.” Nightfall said.

            “We’re still far from done.” Anubis said. “We need to get Stormy, the psycho yet.”

            “We have to find out where he is.” Nightfall said.

           

“You won’t have to try very hard.” A peel of thunder shouted and Stormy could be seen standing on the roof with them. Electrode responded instantly, firing a bolt of lightning that went through Stormy and did nothing.

            “Don’t waste your power, I’m not actually among you. You see me with the power of illusion.”

            “What’s wrong? You afraid to come out and play for real?” Anubis chided.

            “Hardly. I’m here to give you an invitation. I’m going to create a mystical beacon in Los Angeles that at least one of you should be able to detect. Come after me if you dare.” Stormy vanished and Anubis stabbed his lance into the rooftop.

            “Take it easy, Anubis.” Sandstorm said. “Commander Larratus will kill us if he starts getting rained on.”

            Anubis grumbled and used his power to repair the hole he had just made.

            “Guys.” Atomizer groaned from where he sat. “I don’t know if I can do much more of this. I’m glad to be healed up, but I was still hurt worse than I think I’ve ever been hurt.”

            “It’s our job.” Redeagle said. “But we need to go in and report to Larratus. Then we’ll see where Stormy’s beacon shows up.”

            Redeagle helped his partner stand up. All of them went inside to find Commander Larratus.

            “You did it! You sons of guns did it!” Commander Larratus shouted in greetings. “Everything across the globe has turned back on. People are cheering around the world.”

            “How are you since your injury?” Electrode asked.

            “Oh, I’m fine.” Larratus waved him off. He was fully healed since being attacked by the Deformer and rushed to medical support. “We have guys who can fix anything. Just look at yourselves.”

            “Well, we aren’t quite finished yet.” Sandstorm filled the Commander in on the event from the rooftop.

            “So he’s calling you all out. That’ll be a trap for sure.” Larratus grumbled.

           

“So what else is new?” Anubis said. “I just want to get my fists on him. I’ll take care of any trap he wants to set.”

            “All the same, we have to be careful. Not everyone is a cosmic dynamo like you.” Nightfall said.

            “You know what?” Larratus said. “I have an idea for you. You all just hang out here for the night and let this guy stew until morning. You all need to recharge and rest anyway.”

            “Except I don’t think we can afford to do that.” Sandstorm said. “All we’ve learned so far, says he’s trying to free an entity called Chaos. How much longer before he manages to pull that off?”

            “Some of us are better at going without sleep than others.” Atomizer said. “I don’t feel bad saying that I’m totally exhausted.”

            “I am too.” Nightfall said. “I don’t think I can be of any help at this point. I can see from Redeagle’s face that he feels the same way.”

            “I wasn’t going to admit it.” Redeagle responded.

            “After having my powers jacked up by Death, I can’t say I’m feeling tired at all.” Blacktide said. “If you want to go forward, I’m with you.”

            “It’s okay.” Anubis said to Nightfall. “You should stay here and rest. You’ve more than earned it.”

            “It looks like it’s just the three of you who need to stay.” Sandstorm said. “I think the rest of us can handle this. It’s just not safe to wait.”

            “I’m with you as well.” Galose said. “I can go without sleep for several Earth weeks.”

            “Alright then,” Nightfall said to Anubis, “Turn human for me.”

            Anubis changed to his human form of Hakim and Nightfall planted a hard kiss right on his lips. No one missed it and everyone watched with interest. When she finally pulled away, Hakim just stared.

            “That’s for luck.”

            “Yeah, okay.” Hakim stumbled on the words as he changed back to Anubis. “Heck yeah!”

            “Galose, Nyhtwulf, or Anubis, are any of you picking up on Stormy’s beacon?” Sandstorm asked.

            “I have located an energy surge in the Los Angeles area that may be the location.” Galose said.

            “I have also sensed something in that area.” Nyhtwulf reported.

            Anubis’s eyes changed from glowing to a window of stars as he concentrated. “Yes, I have something too.”

            “Then each one of you take one of us and let’s go.” Sandstorm said. “Hopefully we all end up in the same place.”

           

As they disappeared, Nightfall wiped a tear away. “You better come back, rookie.”

            All six of the heroes appeared on a vacant Los Angeles street facing a long alleyway. Before they could take in the scenery, a savage roar shook the street. On top of one building facing them, a golden scaled dragon spread its wings and shouted.

            “I am Stananteon! You who defeated my minions must pay with your lives!”

            “Uh, what minions were those?” Anubis asked as they all tensed for the fight.

GZ Legends 71: Every Last Breath

           

 It happened so fast, Sandstorm didn’t even realize what had happened. One second, he was floating near his partner in the form of air; the next he was speeding through life support conduits. He heard the voice of the Maker and quickly found the whole issue to be quite absurd.

            “If you don’t need a life support system, why do you even have one?” Sandstorm thought.

            The realization of the very real threat to his friends lives, struck him like a flying rock. It didn’t matter why the Maker had the system. He couldn’t allow it to be turned off. Sandstorm turned his attention to the chambers he was pulled through. At some point there would be a heart to the system. There, he hoped he could jam something and return life giving oxygen to his friends. As fast as the air withdrew, he knew he had seconds to figure something out.

            The heart of the life support system housed dozens of switches and chambers he didn’t have time to explore. Only one thing held the slightest possibility and that was electricity. The power systems to the life support carried an electrical charge. Sandstorm followed it, hoping he could find the activation system. The charge led him to a metal switch between two connectors, powered by a console just above him.

            “With all this advanced technology, I’m dealing with a stupid toggle switch?” Sandstorm thought in disbelief.

           

He surged on the system with a charge of his own and forced the switch into the “on” position. Then, before anyone could react, he fused the metal together by arc-welding it. They would have to destroy the entire console to turn off the life support system again.

            “I wonder what Mr. Genius is going to think of this?” Sandstorm thought. “Now how do I get back to Electrode?”

            In another corridor, Hypnotist breathed through the special apparatus the Maker had given him. He watched Redeagle and Atomizer sink to the floor, gasping for breath. The shock of the loss of oxygen momentarily broke Hypnotist’s hold. As Redeagle slumped to the floor, he fired the metron rifle, blasting through Hypnotist’s chest. Redeagle scrambled to the dead body of the mind controlling villain and grabbed the breather. He took a deep breath and then took it to his partner.

            Anubis’s mind reeled with inner turmoil. Maybe it would be worth it? He could summon the true spirit of Anubis, rip the whole ship in half and kill them all. In their sacrifice, the Earth would be bathed in warm sunlight once again. But then, who would stop Stormy Knight? Someone still needed to deliver that fiend a well-earned lesson. The Serpent sported a cruel grin and showed his viper-like eyes over the top of his dark glasses. One of his Death Snakes hovered just over Nightfall’s face as she lay asphyxiating. Monolith and Silvercrow moved in on Anubis.

            “You’re out of time, Dog-breath.” Monolith chuckled.

            As Nyhtwulf and Blacktide appeared in the room, the life support came back on. Blacktide put both fists forward and hit Silvercrow with a surging disintegration beam. The haunted armor tumbled backward. Monolith’s stone body was no protection against the intangible Nyhtwulf. The Twilie Demon thrust both arms into the chest of the Stone Demon with screaming results. The whole thing gave Anubis just the moment he needed.

           

The Egyptian hero smashed head on into Serpent and threw him against a far wall. As they landed, Anubis delivered a punch that shattered the dwarf’s shades.

            “Guess I will hit a guy with glasses!” Anubis said as he landed another punch with equal ferocity. One strike after another, Anubis pounded away in near mindless rage. Too many times since Ella’s death, had he seen those he cared about nearly lost. He wouldn’t tolerate it anymore.

            “Stop!”

            The voice was distant and sounded familiar.

            “Stop!” A pair of slender arms wrapped around one of his. A set of arms also grabbed around his shoulders.

            “Geez, man, you got him already!” Blacktide shouted in his ear.

            Nightfall had Anubis’s arm and finally managed to pull him away.

            “You can stop now.”

            Anubis breathed hard and leaned back against the wall. He looked at his own bloody hands in disbelief.

            “It’s okay. It’s done. I’m okay. You can calm down now.” Nightfall said as she touched his shoulder.

            Across the room, Monolith lay on the floor unconscious. Silvercrow’s armor body lay in smoldering pieces.

            “I can’t believe I just did that.” Anubis said.

            “Use your powers to clean your hands.” Nightfall said gently. “We have to get moving.”

            At the door of the gutted factory area, Electrode pulled himself to his feet. He realized that Sandstorm found a way to save his life.

            “You here?” He called out but there was no answer. “Guess I move on and hope we find each other.” He charged himself up and reached for the door controls.

           

Galose tumbled through space and inside the armor, alarms blared. Weapon systems of the ship were locking onto him. At any moment they would fire and he would be reduced to atoms. With the neural control net he used to pilot his armor, Galose worked with haste. Feverishly, he commanded power to repair systems and over-rides to save his life. Ship’s cannons were locking on, one after another. He needed more power to activate cloaking and teleportation.

Cyborians have a natural ability to learn complicated and sophisticated sciences at an accelerated rate beyond most other alien life forms. Galose sped through coding of programs in his armor that no human could possibly comprehend. Slowly, the power built towards the teleportation system. If Cyborian’s had teeth, he would have gnashed his to powder as he watched the system bar slowly rise.

From the bridge of the ship, Mechanicore watched as 12 cannons fixed on the Cyborian’s position.

“Fire.” He commanded.

GZ Legends 70: Fight for Your Life!

           

 “Maybe I’ll have to settle for launching you into space!” Anubis retorted as he charged at Monolith.

            His attack was intercepted by the acrobatic Serpent. “Try me on for size!” The Dwarven villain hissed with his forked tongue flickering.

            Anubis blocked one of the attacker’s swords with his bladed lance and narrowly dodged the other across the top of his nose. As light flashed off the shining sword, Anubis saw one of Serpent’s death snakes emerging from a sleeve. As Serpent landed, his snakes suddenly completely withdrew into the clothing of their master.

            “Eh? What’s this? Come out and attack.” Serpent said.

            “I guess they don’t like me.” Anubis said as he moved to hit Serpent in the face.

            “Anubis, look out!” Nightfall called.

            Monolith backhanded Anubis and launched him back across the room. Silvercrow rushed in on the Egyptian hero, aiming to strike before he could get back on his feet.

            “No matter. I’m sure they’ll love a bite of your girlfriend!” Serpent called as he leapt into a deadly bladed cartwheel toward his new target.

            “I’m not such an easy target either!” Nightfall rushed to keep distance and fire her weapon. She already knew that the rifle would be useless against Monolith or Silvercrow. She prayed Anubis could handle them both. As it were, Serpent was moving in faster than she could evade.

            In another area, Redeagle and Atomizer engaged another Rotanian squad. Hot beams of energy showered sparks all over the two men as they did their best to fight back. Atomizer could still make short work of them, but numbers made progress slow. As they moved past the fallen robots, Atomizer kicked one of their heads down the hall. He then proceeded to comically dance holding his foot.

            “You really should have known.” Redeagle said with a chuckle.

            “I have boots on.”

            “Then you need to learn how to kick. I still can’t believe you did that.”

            “Oh let’s just find the next group.” Atomizer limped slightly down the hall.

            Up ahead of them a door slid open. Redeagle aimed his metron rifle as a man stepped into view. Before Redeagle could pull the trigger, he froze. So did Atomizer.

            “That will be quite enough out of the two of you.” Hypnotist said as he adjusted a cuff link. “Now what shall I have you do to each other? In a few moments it won’t matter anyway.”

            Hypnotist put a strange device in his mouth and stood staring at the two men, keeping their minds under his control.

            Galose hurried down his corridor, wishing he could track enough inside the ship to teleport. It would make everything so much easier. A door suddenly opened and Galose scanned it just as he was attacked from the side. Even with the most sophisticated technology in the universe, anyone can be distracted. Galose cursed himself for not paying attention as he barely dodged the long sharp drill aimed at his head. Mechanicore’s drill pierced the metal wall like butter. As he pulled back, the Rotanian General kicked Galose through the open door.

           

The control room he landed in had four Rotanian soldiers in it. After tumbling across the floor, Galose came up firing and made short work of all four of them. Mechanicore followed with both of his combat drills fully extended from the forearms. As the robot swung them, it evaded Galose’s shots. Mechanicore moved into close combat quickly, forcing Galose to take evasive measures. Near misses with the drills annihilated computer benches and equipment as easily as Galose’s weaponry.

            Two hits against Galose’s chest in an X pattern threw him against a wall. Mechanicore’s optic lights that move back and forth opposite of each other suddenly stopped in alignment. They glowed bright red before a wide beam of power smashed Galose through the wall. As Galose rushed to his feet, another hit from a drill split his optic visor, leaving him half blinded. From deep inside the dimensions of the armor, Galose’s view screens flickered and threatened to go black. A kick tossed the Cyborian across the next room. Sensor’s indicated other Rotanians around them, but none of them attacked. Apparently, Mechanicore wanted this target for itself.

            Galose fired but only grazed his target as a new attack came. Mechanicore gouged at him mercilessly and threw him onto a platform.

            “Goodbye, Cyborian.” With a flicker the platform activated and Galose vanished.

            The Cyborian found himself tumbling through space away from the Rotanian flagship.

            Mechanicore opened communications with the bridge. “As soon as you lock on target, open fire.

            Electrode paused by a far door and looked back at the destruction he and his partner caused. Sandstorm was still in air form, but ready for the next section they would ransack. As Electrode reached for the door controls, he suddenly tried to gasp. For every breath he tried to take, his lungs went into a panic. Nothing was there. He spun, looking for his partner or anything he could grab onto. Finding nothing, he fell to his knees. The voice of the Engineer crackled to live over a com system.

            “Did you really think I wouldn’t be prepared for your pitiful assault on my ship? Did you think I wouldn’t know you were coming? My intellect is beyond anything you could hope to understand but I think this should be a lesson learned easily enough. You have boarded a ship controlled entirely by robots. So why would robots need life support? Answer; they don’t and neither do I.”

            “Now put down your lance, Dog Boy.” Serpent said to Anubis.

            Nightfall was on the floor, clutching at her throat. Serpent stood over her with a sadistic grin. Two of his Deathsnakes were slowly moving toward her from Serpent’s sleeves.

           

Anubis’s mind spun too fast to realize the lack of oxygen wasn’t affecting him. He honestly had no idea what to do in the face of this issue. He thought of his special attack and wondered if it would tear the whole ship apart and kill all his friends anyway. He couldn’t take his eyes from Nightfall. After all they had been through, he feared this was it.

GZ Legends 69: Raiding the Flagship

           

 When Galose bypassed the systems on the sliding door, the friends sprang into action. As a stroke of luck, only one Rotanian was right outside and Galose blew its head apart. Electrode and Sandstorm went left while the rest went to the right. Galose and Anubis led the way, opening fire on the first squad of six that they found. Anubis fired blasts from his lance that tore through robot midsections. Galose used his shoulder cannons. Between the two of them, they made short work of that crew. At that point, they found the next corridor that Anubis and Nightfall split away from the group to follow.

            Nightfall gripped her rifle and grit her teeth as the two of them charged down the corridor. They would meet whatever was there head on. It was a good thing they weren’t concerned with stealth. Anubis’s armored boots made quite a clatter against the metal floor.

            Galose continued to take point, covering Atomizer and Redeagle towards their next split section. Rotanian rifle blasts cascaded at them and Galose took a hit to the midsection. The Cyborian Marshal didn’t falter as he returned fire and his onboard systems activated repairs. Atomizer used his explosive power on robot heads and body parts to help them gain ground. In split second, he had to turn and assist Redeagle as another squad came at them from behind.

            The blasting in the metal hall echoed and made Redeagle’s ears ring. He wondered if he would have time to grab the ear plugs he kept in his chest pocket. He had to be fast on the trigger as robots fired without hesitation in their aim. Galose turned and fired a bright ball of light at the ceiling near the Rotanians that came behind them. The explosion caved in the hall with a ton of metal debris.

            “That should keep any more from coming up that way for a while. Let’s go!” Galose said.

            The three of them came around a corner where another troop was waiting for them. While Redeagle and Atomizer used a wall for cover, Galose simply stepped right out in front of them. He extended both of his rifles to supplement fire with his cannons and lit up the corridor in bright strobes of firepower. Redeagle just fired blindly into the fray, knowing anything at the other end was fair game. Smoke stung the big man’s eyes and nose thanks to his heightened senses. For anyone other than Galose or the robots, it was hard to see.

            Once the firing mercifully stopped, they moved forward again. Atomizer took off his hat and waved it at the smoke in the air as they pressed on. A new corridor opened up and branched away. It was the direction they would take without Galose.

            “Keep yourselves covered and go with all speed.” Galose said to them.

            “Hope we see you again soon.” Atomizer said.

           

Sandstorm and Electrode moved the fastest and cleared a path better than anyone. Rotanians couldn’t withstand the shockwaves of nuclear electricity Electrode created as he dashed past them. At his speed, he moved between with them ridiculous ease. Sandstorm followed up in the form of air and created miniature twisters in his wake. Robot bodies were smashed against each other and all solid surfaces like being in a giant blender. Electrode couldn’t help but think their path was yielding too easily as they came to a large closed door. Sandstorm formed enough to be visible like a mist in human shape.

            “I guess we go through here.” Electrode said. “You ready?”

            “As I’ll ever be.”

            The door opened unexpectedly, but nothing stood on the other side. Instead they heard the loud whirring and clanking of machinery. Hundreds of robot arms and conveyers worked to bring together parts of Rotanian soldiers. The two friends had just walked into one of the ship’s on board factories.

            “No wonder there’s so many.” Electrode said in awe. The room of the factory was easily the size of a football field and with a high ceiling. Robots operated at nearly every possible angle and location. “He just builds them right here.”

            “There must be thousands of them.” Sandstorm said. Even in the form of mist, he felt like there was a lump in his throat. A combination of wonderment and horror gripped him to the heart.

            “You know what I’m thinking?” Electrode asked.

            “I’m thinking we’re supposed to cause as much destruction as possible.”

            “You got it. Let’s mess this place up.”

            “Just be careful.”

            Not another word was needed as the two friends raced into action. Electrode took off across a wall, allowing himself to run the perimeter of the huge room. Arcs of bright lightning exploded in his wake, jumping from machine to machine with explosive results. At this point, he couldn’t deny the thrill of giving this place what it deserved. Automated weapons fired at him, but he dodged between the slow motion blasts and debris as he went around and around the room. Sandstorm took to the center and formed himself into a typhoon gale. He ripped machinery from mounts and tore metal. Each piece of debris became a flying weapon to tear through even more. Parts of Rotanians spun, flew and exploded. The assault shook the ship to points that it was even felt on the bridge.

            The Maker spun in his floating chair to face an array of view screens. 

            “How dare they!” He shouted. “Insignificant pests! Mechanicore, once they reach the other side, activate the protocol. We’ll show them just how little their act of defiance means.”

           

The robot General of the Rotanians nodded. His criss-crossing optic lights glowed read and he reached for the console with one of his clamp arms.

            In another area, Anubis and Nightfall burst into a brightly lit, wide empty room. They had just finished destroying two squads to get access. Anubis thumped his lance against the floor.

            “Well, that’s a letdown.”

            As if in answer, a door on the far side opened. Monolith, Serpent, and Silvercrow entered the room. Monolith smiled and beat one stone fist into a palm.

            “You won’t be dumping me into the ocean this time, mutt.”

GZ Legends 68: Charon's Fate

         

  Souls of the condemned wrapped their ghostly arms around Nyhtwulf, dragging him deeper and deeper toward the bottom of the River Styx. As they dragged him down and down, the rage of the shadowy hero mounted. He bared his fangs, tensed his muscles and strained against the overwhelming forces of the river. No one caught in the river’s grasp had ever surfaced again.

            Charon glared down at the swirling waters with pleasure and pride. Finally, after all these years, he found the revenge he desired. There hadn’t been a waking moment in all the time Nyhtwulf ever served the Four Horsemen that Charon hadn’t wanted to destroy the Twilie Demon. Finally, he could gloat with abandon. Every time he would cross the Styx, he would cross over Nyhtwulf’s imprisoned soul. Nothing could make Charon happier at that moment.

            The smoking hole through his middle chest region was a confusing surprise to the Ferryman. With the inability to actually feel anything, he didn’t notice it right away. Worse yet, such a thing was supposed to be impossible. Charon long stood the eons as an indestructible force on the river. Nothing had ever been able to harm him before. Slowly, he turned to the source of the blast that tore through his back.

            Blacktide stood, seething with rage. His clenched fists smoked with a new power and the chains were in pieces at his feet. Charon reacted without any further hesitation.  He swung out with his pole and hit Blacktide across the forehead, breaking a hole in the man’s sunglasses. Blacktide’s head turned with the blow and slowly he turned his head back, glaring at Charon. As the Ferryman took another swing, Blacktide ducked under it and came up with another disintegration blast that tore apart Charon’s left arm.

            Charon responded with a roar that sent a wide ball of flames toward Blacktide. Charon’s glaring eyes, shot flames out 8 feet in either direction. Blacktide rolled across the deck of the boat and came up with a wave of distortional power and ripped at the boatman from all angles.

            “Your bones will decorate my boat!” Charon howled.

            “I said I wanted to kick your head and I’m going to!” Blacktide shouted back.

           

At the bottom of the river, another surging battle raged. The lost souls gripped Nyhtwulf and gathered on him like moths to a flame. Nyhtwulf tensed and reached deep within himself to the heart of his own supernatural might. As he thrust his wings out, forcing the souls away from him, jets of water flew at the surface. The boat shook, momentarily jarring the footing of both on board as Nyhtwulf’s body exploded from the River and into the air. Nyhtwulf roared in a mixture of triumph and rage.

            “NO!” Charon’s embattled form turned in shock, just in time for Blacktide to unleash a new attack. This burst of power erased parts of the boat’s railing and left the deck smoking. In the midst of the smoky cloud, Charon’s long pole fell away into the water with a splash. A hollow thud could be heard as Charon’s disembodied skull hit the deck and bounced. It spun, almost in slow motion. As it spun the glowing sockets seemed to show Charon’s absolute disbelief. The skull bounced twice more on the wooden deck before being grasped by human fingers from a shredded glove.

            Blacktide brought the skull of Charon up to head level so he could look directly into its blazing eyes. At the same time, the human hero put his broken sunglasses back on, one eye still viewable through the cracks. Nyhtwulf landed, glad to see his partner alive.

            “What will you do?” Nyhtwulf asked.

            “Pathetic human! You will pay for this!” Charon shouted.

            Blacktide glared at the skull and slowly shook his head. “Nah. I don’t think so. But I promised you this.”

           

With a step in preparation, Blacktide’s boot met with Charon’s skull like a professional football kicker. Charon screamed as his head sped across the river toward the palace of the Four Horsemen. As it flew, the air around it swirled in new shadows and a great skeletal hand wrapped around the flying skull, stopping its flight. Hovering over the river was Death himself. As the entity floated towards them, Blacktide felt a catch in his throat. He had no idea what to expect. Nyhtwulf dropped to his knees.

            Without a word to either of them, Death gestured with his open hand and the body of Charon reassembled on the boat. The long pole returned the Ferryman’s hands. Only the head remained unattached.

            “Rise, former servant.” Death commanded before turning attention to Blacktide. “For the transgressions against you, Larry ‘Blacktide’ Peters, your power has been altered. Use it wisely. Now you both follow me to witness the true punishment of Charon.” An unseen power pulled the boat to the opposite shore. Neither of the two offered any objection as they followed Death onto the dark beach of the dead.

            Together, they walked to the great front doors of the palace where Death stopped. Blacktide could only watch in awe. He had no idea just what had happened to his powers, but they did feel different than before. He realized he destroyed the magical chains that held him. Was that what Death meant? He had little time to think on it.

            Death reached out to the great front doors with Charon’s skull and fixed it fast to the right side door. A great metal ring appeared in the skull’s mouth before Death spoke again.

            “You thought no worse punishment could ever be devised for you, reckless and foolish Ferryman. Now, not only will your headless body continue your sentence upon the River Styx; you shall serve as the heraldry of all who wish to enter here. No words will you utter, but all who come will use you to rap upon our door. This shall be your disgrace from here on to whatever eternity the Horsemen desire.” Death turned to Blacktide and Nyhtwulf. “You have witnessed this event and now are bid leave this place. Your fate is elsewhere.”

           

Nyhtwulf nodded and grabbed onto Blacktide who was too shocked to speak. With the power of the Twilie Demon, the two friends left. When Death gives a command, it’s best to ask nothing, merely comply.

GZ Legends 66: Blacktide in Chains!

            

When Nyhtwulf sank out of sight, he shifted from one plane of existence to another. To retrieve his friend, he had to travel back to the Realm of the Dead attached to a plane called Midworld. The channel between dimensions to enter the Realm seethed with shadows and mists of grey. Other spirits lurked in the seeming abyss and it was important he flew right past them, paying them no heed. Any attention to such creatures would invite an attack and serve as a great delay.

            Very few knew the path that Nyhtwulf took to return to the Isle of Skulls. Even fewer had permission to use it. On this path, there was no need of Charon’s ferry, but it was still over the River Styx, and still very dangerous. As he entered the Realm, he flew through a long tunnel of black stone. Below him were weeping souls, wandering the underworld lost as penance for unspeakable crimes in life. Nyhtwulf stayed well above their reach, following the tunnel until he flew over water. He stayed high above the water of the River Styx as well, knowing that even more lost souls occupied the murky depths. Their loneliness knew no equal, so they would drag any being deep to drown them forever.

            There were some spirits who knew Nyhtwulf and shrank away as he flew past. The lupine hero was thankful for this as he didn’t feel he had time for any extra fights.

            On board Charon’s ferry, Blacktide struggled in chains.

            “You waste your useless strength, mortal.” Charon said. “You cannot break the chains of the dead. They are built to hold the most ruthless of spirits and demons.”

            “Yeah? I bet the next person wearing them is you.” Blacktide said with a grimace.

            “I will not. Once I settle the score with that vermin, I will cast you both to the bottom of the river. You will never be seen again.”

            “I’ve heard songs like this before. It never ends well. My partner is coming, but it’s not going to end like you plan. I’ll bet on it.”

            “Bet your soul, perhaps?” Charon gazed at him with glowing eye sockets in a vacant dirty skull.

            “No need. You know, I bet if you did a better job, your boss might actually give you a real body. The whole rotting skeleton thing is kind of last year.”

            “Watch your tongue, mortal, or I will remove it.”

            “And, speaking of souls, I didn’t think betting with them was your bag.” Blacktide didn’t care if he aggravated Charon. He did it on purpose.

           

Charon turned and roared at Blacktide. Flames burst and danced around his skull as he stood on the deck of his ferry.

            “Ooo, you’re scary. Let me out of these chains and I’ll show you something really scary.” Blacktide yanked on the chains to accent his point.

            “You are no threat to me.”

            “We’ll see about that. I’m calling dibs on one good kick to your skull.”

            As Charon took to ignoring his prisoner, Nyhtwulf arrived at the castle of the Four Horsemen. The doors opened and let him in without even the need to knock. He marched to the great throne room where the Four sat in solemn silence. As Nythtwulf approached the room, he was addressed immediately.

            “Enter and be seen.” Death’s voice echoed and boomed in the room with high vaulted ceilings of stone.

            Nyhtwulf knelt at the foot of the steps leading to Death’s magnificent throne.

            “Rise, former servant. We have been expecting you.”

            “Then you know why I come?”

            “Yes. And I give you my permission as you seek it. You may deliver the punishment for Charon’s misdeeds as you see fit, but the final judgment will be mine.” Death opened a clawed skeletal hand and an orb of shadows fell to the steps. I landed at Nyhtwulf’s feet. “Throw that upon the mortal captive, wrongly taken by Charon. Then dispense your justice.”

            “Thank you, my Lord. I will go directly.”

            Once given direction by one such as Death himself, one does not delay. Nyhtwulf exited the front doors and flew for the River Styx.

            “It will be interesting to see your friend come to save you.” Charon said to Blacktide.

            “What do you mean?”

            “No one may fly over the River Styx and we are in the middle of the river. Your friend may not even make it to save you. I will relish in seeing him pulled to the depths.”

            “So you plan to let the river do your dirty work? I think there’s a problem with that plan, Charon.”

            “What do you know about it?”

           

In answer, a savage roar sounded as Nyhtwulf flew onto the deck of the ferry to attack Charon. The Ferryman, being no slow slouch, responded instantly with his pole, knocking the Twilie Demon out of the air and onto the wood. Charon swung twice more with Nyhtwulf dodging aside each time.

            “How is this possible! The river should have swallowed you!” Charon shouted.

            “You forget, Charon, I earned permission!” Nyhtwulf  lunged and slashed with his claws at Charon’s chest section. Bits of cloak and rib were torn away, but this would not slow down Charon.

            Charon spun his pole like a martial arts Grandmaster, batting Nyhtwulf back and forth between powerful strikes. Nyhtwulf’s intangibility served as no defense in this realm.

            “I remember that you have been given another life!” Charon said. “It is another life that you can lose, Demon. I am already dead.”

            “Come on, Buddy, you can do it!” Blacktide called. “Take him apart!”

            Nyhtwulf had momentarily forgotten the orb given to him. Twilie Demons can store a number of things in their shadowy fur. So he brought out the orb and threw it past Charon. It landed on Blacktide’s chest and broke open, engulfing the chained man in strange shadows. Blacktide cried out as they latched onto him. In distraction, Nyhtwulf was hit again, and cast overboard. As he hit the water, he wondered what he had done to his friend.