ULTRAMagic Interval - Chapter 24

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    “Three days since Bethany goes after Orion with nothing else happening?” Adrien pointed out as he Satsuki made their way through the woods, surrounded by a nighttime cacophony of insects. “You can’t tell me that isn’t suspicious.”

    “Affirmative, Lieutenant… permission to speak freely, Lieutenant.”

    “Granted, Corporal.”

    “Are you sure about this?” Satsuki questioned as he accidentally stepped through a mud puddle.

    “Nope, but we’re going for it anyways.”

    “Indeed. Such actions by the enemy usually result in a surprise attack…”

    “Or something’s gone wrong. Sun Tzu always says prepare for a battle before charging in.”

    “What chapter was that?”

    “Um… I don’t remember. I’ll have to read The Art of War again when I get the chance.” Adrien then stopped as he bent down to pick something up. “Satsuki, look! It’s un sapo, and a big one too.” The Toad in his hand remained still, breathing steadily.

    “How neat… it’s American toad, right?”

    Adrien snickered. “No, it’s a Sumatran Toad-of course it's American!”

    Satsuki could not hold back a laugh. “Sorry, I should have known better.”

    “Alright, run along, little amigo,” Adrien said as he let it go, with it hopping off away from them. “You won’t want to be here if things go south…”

    The duo soon made it out of the trees and on to a hilltop that overlooked the valley leading to the entrance to Bethany’s crypt. After activating the camotech in their Liger armor, they crawled towards the crest of the hill. With a perfect view of their target, Adrien set up what looked like a kind of radio while Satsuki got out a specialized drone from a case. Despite looking like the typical consumer-grade fair painted black, the paint was light absorbing and the device was completely silent. Satsuki activated the remote control and sent it soaring away, undetectable against the light of the crescent moon.

    “And… we’re in position” Satsuki confirmed as the entrance to the crypt came into view on the screen within the controller.

    Adrien then flipped some switches and turned a dial, causing the radio to light up. “Alright, let’s see what these bozos are up to…”

    Over at the crypt, Valentin was not in the greatest of moods. He had the displeasure of hosting Sebastian Friederich III and Anne Vozenilek. Sebastian was tall, imposing, and well kept, as to be expected. His eyes had a vile glint to them, hinting at his authoritarian disposition. As for his attire, it was that of a 1940s German general… lacking certain regalia as Sebastian was smart enough not to have a certain armband on display for the time being.

    Anne at first glance appeared to be a beautiful, Victorian madame, but there were many tells to her true nature. Her face always seemed ready to stretch into an evil grin, the clothes she wore were a particularly dreadful shade of blood red, and her gaze had a sadistic inclination, like she was looking for pain to inflict. Furthermore, it was obvious she had been artificially extending her life, somehow. The youth she gave off seemed everso fake. With her light blond hair and red lips, any unwitting man could easily be seduced by her.

    “What a pitiful excuse for a burial chamber,” Sebastian remarked in his deep, gravely voice. “It’s no more fit for a pauper than it is for a graverobber.”

    “Most certainly, my dear,” Anne agreed, although it was unclear if she was being genuine or not. “The undesirable rabble of this… city would swoon like fools over such filth.”

    “Detestable cur…” Bethany muttered under her breath. She had the displeasure of sitting next to Anne. Fighting the urge to maul her right then and there was quite the herculean task.

    “So what brings you here, herr Friedrich?” Valentin groaned. “Surely not to smell the flowers…” The two were circling the crypt, scowling at each other while looking like two animals that were ready to fight to the death.

    “Your failures, Karppinen. Such incompetence has cost us greatly and would have made you an enemy of the state in my time.”

    “My incompetence?” he questioned with his hands on his chest. “Melchior Humbert goes and blows up compound ax-03 and you call me incompetent!?”

    “An inconvenient setback. That traitor will never see the light of day again.”

    “Ooh, no gas this time? Progress!”

    Sebastian subtly gritted his teeth at that disrespect. “Coming from a petulant peasant unfit for the new world order twice over? Spare me your pathetic attempt at wordsmithing.”

    Valentin could tell he struck a nerve. “Would you like some bandages for the bleeding foot you cut on that glass house of yours?”

    With a guttural growl, Sebastian walked right towards Valentin, cracking his knuckles. “How about I teach you some manners, boy?”

    “You know? Maybe you should have turned yourself in on D-Day. You would’ve saved the furor the embarrassment, especially if a certain someone achieves ULTRAMagic…” Valentin was then sent flying across the crypt with a hard punch to the jaw.

    “Do not talk back to your superiors, Karppinen. Child, heal him…”

    Valentin got up, maniacally laughing as his jaw fixed itself in a flurry of red sparks. He then threw a card that sent Sebastian careening into the opposite wall with a small explosion. “A good attempt, but I’d dare say Delphine has plans for me…”

    “HA, get wrecked, you bumbling pillock!” Bethany taunted as she got up.

    Anne’s expression turned to a sour frown as she tightly gripped Bethany’s and forced her to sit down. “Silence, child! The adults are speaking.”

    “OW! Hands off or the face is coming off! Bethany shot back as she stuck her scorpion tail in Anne’s face, causing her to relent.

    Back at the hill, Adrien was amazed and worried at the same time. “Jesus, that had to be a punch to the jaw and Valentin just shrugged it off? What have we been dealing with this entire time?”

    “And what was that explosion?” Satsuki wondered. “Did he make that himself or was it his cards?”

    “So you went for the graft after all…” Valentin’s voice observed.

    “Graft?” Satsuki questioned. “What graft?”

    Adrien fiddled with a knob. “Hold on, I’ll increase the gain…”

    Sebastian dusted himself off and straightened out his uniform. “If only that oaf Karnage hadn’t screwed everything up, we wouldn’t be here right now!”

    “An Icarus of his time,” Anne pointed out. “No thanks to the meddling of that loathsome ULTRAMagic Guild…”

    Bethany scoffed. “Doesn’t sound like the idiot Milosh did Karnage any favors…”

    Anne gave an exasperated sigh. “It would be prudent to educate yourself on the fact that my darling Milosh was murdered before the Tyrant War.”

    “That’s not what I heard, wench.”

    Anne looked like she was ready to throttle Bethany when Sebastian intervened. “Enough bickering, back to the matter at hand.”

    “Right…” Anne replied, settling down. “Are we sure we can’t try Karnage’s plans again? His original target is here in the city, ripe for the picking.”

    “No, the enemy will be expecting that…” Sebastian stated with certainty. “Karppinen’s failure to secure William Ford’s soul means we will have to kill him and destroy M.A.I.G. and The Liger Brigade in one fell swoop.”

    “Aren’t you forgetting The ACF, GRENADIER, and The Pentagon?” Valentin asked as he sorted his cards at his workspace.

    “As if those fools have the strength to match the might I have amassed,” he said as the left side of his chest glowed red. “You dress like a jester, but your level of comedic wit is truly insulting.”

    “Your funeral…” Valentin muttered as he shook his head.

    Sebastian elected to ignore that. He then sensed something, prompting him to open the doors and step outside. “Well well well…”

    Satsuki’s eyes went wide as he looked at the controller’s display. “Adrien!?”

    “...it looks like we have some uninvited guests,” Sebastian’s voice played out over the speakers, followed by the snap of his fingers. “Kill them.”

    Adrien’s blood ran ice cold. “SHIT! ABORT MISSION. LET’S GET OUT OF HERE.” He scrambled to get the radio packed up while Satsuki flew the drone back.

    “Got it!”

    “Alright, let’s move!” Adrien ordered as the two started down the hill.

    They were just about to make it to the woods when a group of people surrounded them. Halting in their tracks, Adrien looked around and realized it was a full squad of shadow constructs, and powerful-looking ones at that. Each resembled a black and red automaton, powered by futuristic gears and cogs. Groaning and creaking, they moved towards their prey, ready to strike as they laughed with wheezing voices. Satsuki drew both of his swords, unsure if they were going to make it out alive.

    Adrien then got out one of his guns and took a few shots at one of the constructs. It did not do much to it. “So that’s how it is…” he was grinning with gritted teeth.

    “Adrien?” Satsuki asked as he noticed the air heating up around him.

    “Don’t panic, Satsuki…” Adrien said as his skin turned red. Two horns then emerged from his head, followed by his teeth growing sharp and his body bulking up. Reaching into a shadowy portal, he pulled out a great, studded, metal club. “Alright, who’s first!?” Adrien laughed as he pointed the weapon forward.

    Satsuki was in awe as he watched Adrien obliterate a construct with one swing. “That’s… that’s a Kananbō! Are… are you really an Oni?” Satsuki noticed another construct getting bold and cut it down with two slices.

    “Scared?” Adrien asked.

    “A little, given the stories my parents told me as a child…”

    “Satsuki, we’re going to make it out alive… but if things go south, my real name is Mazatl Nakahara.”

    “It’s an honor to fight alongside you, Nakahara. HONKI DE IKU ZE!”

    The ensuing melee was chaos in its purest form. Adrien and Satsuki were on the ropes as the constructs were more powerful than what they had been fighting. They would destroy one only for another to come out of the woodworks. As the battle dragged on, Adrien felt his blood hit a fever pitch and went berserk. The mighty roar he let out caused all nearby animals to flee and the sounds of thunderous slams filled the air. Any sane man would have run for their life after having heard such an outcry.

    Will and Sam woke up that morning full of energy and with a spring in their step. After cleaning up and getting dressed, they went to the living room to find that Reynard was nowhere to be found. While a little odd, it was not unexpected. Lord only knew what had happened while they were sleeping. Looking over at the wall alarms and seeing them flashing yellow was not a pleasant sight, but Hannah sitting by Will and wagging her tail did alleviate some of their concern as the two ate their cereal.

    “Sam?”

    “Yeah, Boyo?”

    “Are you…?”

    “Yup, I’m wondering the same thing…”

    “Here’s hoping it’s nothing,” Will said as he continued to eat his food.

    Sam stared at the yellow lights for a moment, with them leaving a color splotch in her vision when she looked away. “It feels odd not having Reynard or the others here.”

    “And no Jackson either? Getting a little nervous, not going to lie.”

    Thankfully Jackson entered the quarters after Will said that. “Alright, just got to get those two and… Oh good, you’re both awake.”

    “Jack, where is everyone?” Will inquired.

    “Finish up your breakfast and come with me to the War Room.”

    “What’s the matter?”

    Jackson sighed. “We’re not sure yet. Adrien and Satsuki went on a scouting mission last night and haven’t reported in on any proper channels yet. We’re trying to find them now.”

    “Oh God, I hope they’re okay…” said Sam. “Wait, how have you not found them yet?”

    “It was an ‘off the grid’ kind-of mission,” Jackson answered. “Go in with minimal tech, maybe send in a stealth drone, collect some intel, and get out completely unnoticed. The fact that we’re having trouble pinning them down means they must be on the move.”

    “They weren’t captured, were they?” Will suggested.

    “Well no one’s held them for ransom yet, so that’s a good sign. Now come on, we need to get a move on.”

    Upon reaching the incredibly busy War Room, Will and Sam could see that the situation was very serious. Antares then walked over to the three. “Private, excellent. Everyone’s here…”

    “Captain, any news on Adrien?” Will inquired.

    “Unfortunately no…”

    “Hold up, Antares!” Trumna called out. “What’s that?” he said into his phone. “They’re in the base? How?! When?”

    Both Will and Antares felt their blood run cold. “Where are they?!” The captain demanded to know.

    “They’re…” Trumna started to say. “They’re heading here? What in the Hell do they mean by that?”

    Things went silent as the alarms went to code orange. Everyone in the room shifted their attention to the double doors, waiting for something to happen. Will tried to go to open them, but Zoltan caught him by the shoulder. He knew something was about to happen. A familiar silhouette soon appeared in the windows of the doors.

    “DAMN IT, SCREW THE CLEARANCE!” an angry voice shouted.

    What came next was a loud, crashing thud against the doors. They buckled and bowed out, unable to take another hit. The next strike was even harder, knocking them away and destroying the frame. Adrien dragged himself forward with his club, with Satsuki hanging off of his shoulders. Both were bruised and bloody, looking like they had been through a warzone. Everyone else was speechless with horrified looks on their faces.

    “Captain, we got trouble…” Adrien struggled to say as he collapsed to the floor, Satsuki and the radio falling off of him.

    “ADRIEN, SATSUKI!” Antares panicked as rushed over to them. “TRUMNA, CODE RED, LEVEL FOUR!”

    “Already on it!” he replied as he unlocked a clear box and pressed a red button, causing blaring alarms to sound off.

    “I NEED MEDICAL PERSONNEL NOW” Antares ordered with utmost urgency. “MOVE MOVE MOVE! EVERYONE ELSE STAND CLEAR.”


Next: Chapter 25

ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)

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