The Lesser One Arc 2 Version 2 Chapter 3: Takeaway

 

Takeaway

Mandrake presses a button on the machine and a timeline appears on the screen.

“The Silverbones. Who are we, and what do we represent?” He points to the timeline’s start. “Why do you think the portals opened?”

“I have no idea.” I had never learned anything about the how of it.

Mandrake nodded. “Indeed. The Silverbones are the keepers of that knowledge.”

“That’s it?”

“This knowledge confers certain benefits, shall we say. Every member of the Silverbones must pass a test. They must have assimilated the beings of a portal and they must be accepted by a eighty-percent majority of current Silverbones.”

“How many are there?”

“Seventeen. We are split into Dark, White, and Grey camps.” Mandrake shakes his head. “You’ll learn about all of them eventually.”

“So I assume the Dark camp are the bad guys.”

“Well, you could say that.”

“What about this knowledge makes one special?” I cross my arms.

“When you know this single fact, you become de facto immortal. Nothing can kill you except, well, each one of us has our own silver bullet, our own Achille’s heel.”

I sigh. “And I won’t know any more until I join, right?”

Mandrake falls silent. He looks nervously at the entrance to the command center, and then holds out his arm. “This place was supposed to be secret.”

Sebastian pressed his hand to his ear. “The devil guards I posted by the entrance aren’t responding.”

I looked between Sebastian and Mandrake. “Then that means only one thing.”

“We’re under attack.” Mandrake presses a button and a wall revolves to reveal a classic gun assortment, assassin style. I grab the first gun that I see. I don’t know enough about guns to tell its exact model, but it feels hefty.

Mandrake flicks his fingers and a ball of fire appears in his hand. Sebastian’s body disappears into a ball of smoke. The ground shakes.

The door bursts open and three clown figures jump through the opening. One clown is fat, with a large mask. The middle clown has three horns coming from his forehead. The final clown is just a guy in thick makeup.

Mandrake takes a martial arts stance. “Come at me!”

“I’ll take the middle one!” I aim my gun at the horned clown and fire. A blast of wind stops the bullets in mid-air.

The horned clown sweeps his arms around, pulling the air currents with his hands. I am knocked off my feet.

I perform a roll and slam into the wall, dropping my gun. I immediately conjure two pistols and start firing them. The bullets ricochet off of the wind barrier and slam into machinery. Sparks fly everywhere.

The horned clown snaps his fingers and a blast of wind nails me to the wall.

I conjure a large amount of confetti. The wind blows it around and drops visibility to almost zero. I am no longer held by the wind.

The fat clown comes out of nowhere with a fist the size of a basketball. My anima vision gives me just enough time to dodge the fist with a millimeter to spare. The fist hooks past me and slams into  machine. The whole thing explodes into shrapnel, a piece of which impales my leg. I conjure a healing potion, but drop it as a gust of wind picks me up off my feet.

The fat clown leaps out of the smoke and confetti and pins me to the ground. He raises his fist to start pummeling me. I conjure a ball of random hard objects. My ability misfires and a blob of anima glue filled with half formed objects sprays everywhere.

The clown staggers back. Some plastic beads have adhered to his mask’s eye holes. I jump at the chance and conjure several blades.

Before I can impale the fat clown, the horned clown grabs me from behind and suplexes me into a machine against the wall. My head knocks against the metal and I see stars.

Ropes formed of smoke leap out of the mess and catch the horned clown by the torso. He is dragged into a gigantic smoke cloud, screaming.

The fat clown rips off his mask. His face is piggy, and his eyes are deep red.

I conjure some pistols and start firing.

The clown knocks the bullets aside with his gigantic fists. The bullets ping against the wall behind me. I throw my guns away and conjure an RPG.

“Take this, fatso!” I fire the rocket directly into the clown.

The clown grabs the rocket, which continues to roar flame as he holds it away from his torso. He tosses it into the wall and a gigantic explosion rocks the building.

I conjure another warhead and load it into the tube.

The fat clown charges me, gigantic fists swinging.

I conjure a shield and hold it up as the clown batters at it.

Fire engulfs the fat clown. His body turns to a quick crisp, his skin blackening.

The room is silent. When the smoke clears, there are three dead clowns. Mandrake is holding his arm, a pained expression on his face. Sebastian appears unharmed.

“There are going to be more.” Sebastian grits his teeth. “That wasn’t the last of them. I’m sure of it.”

“Deeve really wants to kill you.” Mandrake coughs, wiping his lips. “These aren’t his best minions. Not even close, but they’re going to increase in power.” He kicks at the corpse of the makeup clown. “We’re going to have to watch our step.”

“And increase our security detail.” Sebastian snorts. “That’s six good fellows that I’ve lost today.”

“I’m sorry about that.” I bow my head.

“No need.” Sebastian turns away. “We are indebted to you. This is only the least we can do for you.”

I look between Mandrake and Sebastian. “We need to get to the bigger question. Where is Crayton, and is he okay?”

Sebastian crosses his arms. “We’re searching. All over the world, and we can’t find him.”

I sigh. “Well, then I suppose we can’t do anything about it yet.”

Sebastian nods. “Good. We’re leaving this place.”

Mandrake snaps his fingers and two dryads rise from portals. “Oh, I haven’t introduced you to my portal beings yet. This is Mange and this is Freyta.”

“You did say that members of the Silverbones must control portal beings.”

“Indeed.” Mandrake motions to his helpers. “Can you get this place cleaned up? It’s borrowed. We probably can’t fix the machinery, but at the very least we can fix all these holes in the wall.”

I look at Mandrake. “Do you think you can do me a favor?”

“Sure.” Mandrake tilts his head. “What do you need from me?”

“There’s someone who is in a coma caused by the opening of the Wales Portal. I need your input on what to do to wake her up.”

“Oh. I know exactly what’s happened.”

“What?”

“Her soul has left her body and jumped the gap.”

“Jumped the gap?”

Mandrake shakes his head. “I can’t explain much, because the knowledge is secret. But just know that the entire reason portals exist in the first place is related to how she fell asleep.”

“Why can’t you explain it to me?” I tap my foot aggressively.

“Because you’re not qualified. This knowledge, once gained, can cause havoc if used incorrectly.”

“Okay. How can I learn this?”

“Become a Silverbone. If you are voted in by an eighty percent majority, you can become a bearer of this secret.”

I sigh. “How am I going to do that?”

“The Darks have a rule. They will recognize anyone who can defeat them in combat.”

“So I just have to beat these guys up?”

“On your own.” Mandrake crosses his arms. “One by one. They’re going to send minions after you to test your strength. Only when you’ve proven yourself will they offer you a challenge.”

“What makes them Dark, then?”

“The Darks believe that the power given to them by the portals should be used for their own benefit, regardless of the consequences. The Brights, of which I am a member, believe that we should refrain from, well, something that I can’t tell you about. But we also believe that our powers should be used for good.”

“And the Greys?” I tilt my head.

“There is only one Grey at the moment. He’s a pretty enigmatic character. We don’t really understand him, or his faction.”

I watch as Mandrake’s portal beings fix up the room. “Okay. If we want to make visiting hours at the hospital, we have to go now.”

We leave the room and enter back into the front house. Sebastian summons several devil helpers, who clean up the dead bodies of the guards. When we are done with that, we enter the limousine and ride back to the hospital.

The hospital is quiet when we enter. I approach the receptionist.

“I’m here to see Alice Blanche.”

The receptionist types a few lines into her computer. “Very well. Visiting hours are ending soon, but you may stay extra if you need to. I know you care very much about her.”

I have been coming to see her every day since she fell asleep.

We pass the receptionist and take the elevator to the long term care ward. The place smells, as always, like a hospital—that’s what it is.

We reach Alice’s room. I knock before entering, even though I know I don’t have to.

Alice is asleep on a cot with several IV lines into her arms. Her hair is splayed out on the pillow, and she is breathing calmly. I approach the bed and sit down on a small stool beside it.

“I’m sorry.” I say this every time I come. I know it wasn’t really my fault—she was the one who stole the portal key and activated it—but I know that I could have done something, anything different and changed the outcome.

Alice remains still. She hasn’t reacted in the slightest.

Mandrake kneels beside the bed and touches Alice’s arm. “Yeah. I see where she’s gone. It’s … Oh, it’s not good.” Mandrake appears to have realized something. “She, um …” Mandrake blinks a few times. “I would advise you to give up on trying to awaken her.”

I am stunned. “Why? What would make you say that?”

“There are a lot of things that you do not understand that I can not explain to you. I will say this, and this only. Waking Alice will cause more death and destruction than a thousand S class portals.”

“What?” I am almost screaming at this point. “What are you talking about? She just went into a coma! There’s nothing remotely dangerous about this!”

Mandrake shakes his head. “There is. I just can’t explain it to you.”

“Until I become a Silverbone.”

“Well, yes. But that is a long and arduous journey. You may not be ready for it, considering how young you are.”

“I can handle it. My spirit is adaptable and I am diligent.”

“I know. I just don’t know if you really can make it.” Mandrake sighs. “There is a slight chance that waking Alice will not result in the death of millions and the collapse of world governments. But I can’t guarantee that.”

I grit my teeth. “Then I’m going to become a Silverbone and figure out what you’re waffling about.”

“I can’t stop you.” Mandrake crosses his arm. “But you don’t have my approval yet. And without my approval I doubt you’ll be able to garner anyone else’s.”

“What do I have to do to prove to you that I’m worthy?”

Mandrake looks me up and down. “I’ll stick with you for a while. If I like what I see, I’ll approve you. You are working on a contract with Esmex, right?”

“I am.”

“Then let me observe you while you work.”

“That’s it?” I am a bit surprised.

“Yes. I have an eye for people. I’ll know what kind of a person you are when I see for myself how you treat others and yourself.”

I sigh. “Okay. I’ll let you come with me. We have a session tomorrow with my conjurer team.”

Mandrake smiles. “Then that’s that.”