…or destroying half of the world with a snap of his fingers.
In his brief seconds of tapping the glory of the Power he could see how, if one was strong enough and smart enough, one could reach out into the world around them and change anything they liked.
The troop made their way to the main command hatch, a large oblong door that was sealed from the inside. The alarm still sounded, but either out of lack of available soldiers or confidence in the marauder’s inabilities to inflict any serious damage, no other resistance was encountered along the tight, cold hallways.
With a swing of the Shi Kaze, Aryu broke through the heavy metal door and effortlessly sliced it away, the new connection with the weapon strengthening his confidence. If the Power was what made a king, then here in its infantile stages was the newest Ryuujin. That fact alone made Aryu flush with pride.
Nixon forcefully kicked the door. Inside they found a room with only a small front window, surrounded by controls and screens. Although there were no chairs, there were two control yokes standing up on the floor in front of the circular window that faced forward. This vehicle was made for autonomous flight, with an option for a person to take command if they so choose. It was time to begin.
Crystal stepped forward, looking like a ghost amidst the dark room and solid steel casings. She walked to the control yoke and looked out the window before her, eyes squinting in the harsh natural light beyond. “We’re still quite high,” she said, “but I can see the destination below. It kinda’ stands out like a sore thumb. Here, come see.”
Sho looked sick as he glanced out and then back again. “I’ve never liked heights,” he explained to an amused Aryu.
When Aryu took his turn to look out, it wasn’t the height that bothered him as much as it was the scope of the image. The sky was clear and he could see the horizon spread out before them, a reminder of the size and vastness of the world. The ocean they were over was littered with little black specks he could only assume were ships, the same ships that had first arrived weeks back and had led the terrorizing assault on his homeland.
Ahead of them was the largest of these; a massive flat ‘V’ shape with various smaller crafts emerging from the front of it. The whole unit was a hub of activity.
He only needed to see its great dimensions once to know that Crystal was right. This was the army’s central command, the location the Herald and Sharp had called HOME.
He stepped back, a look of seriousness on his face not there a moment before. This was it. This was where revenge began in earnest. Crystal grasped his hand and looked at him, slowly guiding him back to where the big men were standing. “Let’s get started,” she said, giving his hand a light squeeze before letting him go. He nodded in agreement, sorry again to lose her touch.
“Remember to act quickly, Aryu,” Nixon advised him. “Your mission is just as important as my own.” Aryu agreed and braced himself, the Shi Kaze out and ready to act. There wouldn’t be much time from the start to the finish.
Crystal turned back to the controls and began turning switches and hitting buttons in a manner Aryu dazzled at, and soon colors changed and screens began showing garbled information Aryu could make neither heads nor tails of.
Human technology had peaked long ago, and this craft was no more complicated than others Crystal had seen hundreds or thousands of years prior. Any fear that she wouldn’t remember how to do this vanished once the yoke was back in her hands. With a slight nudge forward, the plane lurched and began a quick and frightening drop. Not uncontrolled, but certainly with more velocity than they’d started with.
A moment later, the alarm stopped and a voice surrounded them. A voice they all knew very well. “Is that you, I assume, Sho?” The pleasantness was there, cutting through the room like an illness. Aryu knew this was no Herald. This was the man himself.
“It is, Izuku. And friends.”
“Ah yes. The friends. The weak, helpless friends. I see you’ve taken command of my plane. Where do you expect to go that I cannot track you? Even now I have dozens of forces ready to pursue you and take you in again. Perhaps even finish you, should you cause me too much grief. What do you think you can accomplish?”
“Nothin' you can stop, Izuku,” Nixon said. “Ya were a fool fer lettin’ us get this close, and now you’ll suffer fer it.”
“Nixon! How nice to have you here. Welcome to my HOME. I’m glad we’ll meet at last. I assume you’ve brought your young charge?”
“I’ve no time fer pleasantries, Izuku. I know I can’t expect tha same idiocy from you tha’ was given t’ us by yer general, so I’d never dream of asking ya t’ let us land and talk 'bout this, but I will tell ya tha’ ya will either return our abilities or we will cause ya t’ suffer.”
Silence. The plane began to shake as it passed through a small cloud burst and back out below. It wasn’t much longer now. Was he stalling on purpose?
“No,” was the response. Nothing more.
“Very well. Try and stop us then.”
“Stop what? Four desperate heroes on a plane? Heaven help me! What cruel fate to be so weak against such odds. You, sir, my good Nixon, can go rocketing straight to Hell.” And with that, a click indicated that he’d ended the transmission.
Nixon shrugged. “Have it yer way.” He nodded to both Sho and Aryu, who took a spot next to the
