Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Destiny's Call ❯ Entry the Twenty Fifth ( Chapter 25 )

Entry the Twenty-Fifth

 

Samantha, or Sami has her friends had once called her, looked down at the pathetic excuse for an army that was arrayed below her. They really thought they could defeat what those damned Reptildra could call upon with THIS? They hadn't even been blooded. She sighed, bitter as always about the world, and let her contempt for these people boil. Sure, there were some “good” people among them, good meaning useful or powerful, but that didn't mean much if they didn't use it the right way. that's why she liked the Knight's method of operation.

 

She'd met what was now termed the Pestilence brigade a while back. Now that was how to win this war. Don't bunch up and make easy targets you idiots, stay mobile and hit hard, then disappear. Then again, the Head of the Knights was working with these people too… so maybe the Knights weren't so smart either.

 

She felt someone approaching through the earth, and stopped tapping her foot. She hid behind a rock and poked her head around it as she started tapping out a beat with her foot again. They were getting close, just under the rise… there. One of those damned vampires and some guy in armor with blond hair. A pretty boy if ever there was one.

 

Vincent stopped moving and caught Walker on the shoulder. “Someone is up here. Show yourself, Human.” He called, looking directly at Sami's rock. She sighed, then put on her best enraged face and stepped out from around the rock.

 

“Can't a girl get any peace around here? And who are you calling Human, Pale skin. I'm a Beyond, I control the Earth itself. Don't equate me to those weaklings. Try that again and see where it gets you!” She folded her arms across her chest and looked smug, pleased with herself.

 

Vincent merely smiled, like he was laughing. The blond spoke, saying, “Beyonds are human, just with a little power. And just because we don't have super powers doesn't make us weak.” He was doing something with the headset he was wearing.

 

“Stop whatever you're doing before I send you flying off the edge.” Sami held her flute up to her lips. She wasn't very good at it, but it was easy to carry and she could definitely send these losers flying with it. Or at least, she thought that way for less than two full seconds. Vincent was standing in front of her, and she knew in no uncertain terms trying to send them flying would be a bad bad bad idea.

 

“ok, so that idea isn't gonna fly. Now then, um, what can I help you with?” She tried to sound confident as she took a small step back and regretted the precipice behind her.

 

“Who are you, how old are you, and how did you get here past security? And why are you all alone? Please don't mind Vincent, he's just doing his job. We're happy to help our fellows.” He sounded nice, but Sami wasn't the least convinced. Her foot kept tapping lightly.

 

“I'm Sami, and I'm more than old enough to take care of myself, I don't need help, especially when no one can help me.” Despite the defiance in her voice, the hesitation and bitterness still slipped in. Damn him and his charming personality.

 

“I'm sure we can at least get you a wash, some clean clothes, food, and a safe place to sleep for a night. Not too much, is it? We can work this out later… and I'll admit if you can do what you say you can, I'd very much like you to stick around, if you're willing.”

 

The fact he admitted his reasons, or part of them, caught her off guard and she nodded. He tapped something on his headset. Sami suddenly noticed another set of feet coming up the rock. Female, not overly tall, about Sami's height, 5'4” or 5'5” and she couldn't really tell anything else about the girl. Not till she saw her, and it astonished her when she did. Most of the girl was not overly remarkable, typical teen beauty, brunette… dark skinned, Caribbean or South American. The truly astonishing part was the eyes. There was no iris, the entire eye was just a shocking electric blue. The girl spoke in a sweet but high pitched voice, “You called for me Tony?”

 

“Thanks Courtney,” he said, visibly, but only slightly so, disconcerted by the eyes of the girl. “Yes, take our new friend her and find her a room. Guard detail will meet you shortly. Give her description and name to Rugged, and once you've got her squared away, take her to him, and then to Tarius. If her power operates like how Shawna explained about herself and that other elemental… he might be of some help.”

 

“Sure thing. What's your name?” she smiled sweetly, but it was impossible to tell, because of her eyes, whether it was real or faked.

 

“Sami.”

 

“Please come with me Sami.” She smiled again, and this time Sami was almost sure it was real… which did not make her any happier. She followed along none the less, best to make what use she could of these fools before she moved on. And who knew… maybe they could… what, already he had her thinking like that? And he hadn't even talked about fighting! Damn him! Just Damn Him!

 

As Sami followed Courtney down the hill, Tony Walker turned to Vincent, and said, “She'll come around, and she's cute too…”

 

“Much too young and hostile, Tony, I wouldn't go there.”

 

“I think I may find I would… if only because I don't think things like that matter quite so much anymore… survival of humanity first… survival of former civilizations and culture second. Ah but that's just me getting lonely… top is always so God damned Lonely, I see why Corben didn't seem to regret leaving it.”

 

“I've talked to Isaiah sir, I'm not sure that's why he left… although I'm glad he picked you. I doubt we'd have gotten along… he seemed to a little way too emotional about it all.”

 

“We both know… emotion isn't the enemy… but it does seem to get in the way. Right, let's get what we came to do done.”

 

*

 

Courtney picked up the knife and proceeded to tell Rugged what she'd been told to as she talked to Sami and kissed Phillip good morning while cutting the black meat before her purple self and also walking towards Tarius's location while messing with her daggers. She smiled five smiles together as she thought once more about how confusing it was anyone else to even imagine how she worked… it always made her smile.

 

“And I'm sure you'll grow to like it here you know, it isn't that bad even if we are fighting half the time. Tony's a great leader, and with the help of the Knights and the Military, I think we can win this. You know, the Military was in pretty sad shape when this all started, unorganized and unprepared to face this… and they're still using their outdated equipment, I mean, sure it was modern a few months ago but… and her hair is about shoulder length, black brown, she's slight and wears a black overcoat, a nice one too, surprisingly good condition. She had a flute and she said she controls the earth.” She kissed him passionately again, “yes Phil, I'm fine, all of me. You know I'm always happy to spend all day with you, yes, I love you.”

 

*

 

Sami just followed behind silently, wondering, trying to figure out this strange girl leading her. Finally, she asked, “Why are your eyes like that?”

 

“I don't know actually, something to do with this being the 2nd or third or 4th or fifth me I guess, I've got 5 colors of eyes.”

 

“Wait, what?”

 

“oh I'm sorry, you don't know, do you? Well I don't know that you'll quite get it… but I've got one mind and 5 Bodies… which means 5 brains. Apparently it made me quite smart… not sure quite why but I guess it's because I've got 5 times the brain capacity of one me… without really having to worry about keeping track of five mes… it just kinda works. Tarius said I'm basically using somewhere between 25-50% of my full brain capacity as compared to a regular person… who never uses more than 10% even in the true geniuses. I've just got more brains to work with.”

 

Sami tried to take all of this in stride, and at least managed to keep walking. She had five bodies? What the hell? This girl was going to be extremely confusing.

 

*

 

Babow sighed as the communication ended. He'd called for Courtney… The girl would get all of the things done he wanted done… Walker that is, and Babow would never catch the signal. Not that he was necessarily supposed to be intercepting those signals, but he always kept himself as well informed as possible. “Hey Prod, Walker just picked up somebody new… don't know much but she's caught his interest somehow. He called in Courtney.”

 

“thanks for the update, I'll get to it later, have something to see to personally first… I'll send Malix… not that she'll like it. She isn't for us though.” By this, Prodigy meant that she had not had the dream, whoever she was. The Lady had not called for this one to join her Paladins. What she had called for was her Paladins to make sure Humanity won this war, because if it didn't, then her Paladins would die too, and they were no good dead.

 

“Malix, I know this was supposed to be your time off, but I've got a job only you can handle.” The comm. unit was silent for several moments, and then a distinct swear was heard.

 

“Yes, this WAS supposed to be my down time, can it wait?” Malix gave an `I'm sorry' face to Monica, and waited for a reply over the line.

 

“not sure… so no. Although this is not an OFFICIAL assignment… you don't need to go in uniform or anything. Take Monica with you if you want.”

 

“So what is it?”

 

“Walker's got a new girl, something special he doesn't care for us to catch before he's ready. Not that I blame him. He called in Courtney about it.”

 

Malix sighed. “Alright. We did kinda need something to do anyways.”

 

*

 

“So how did it happen?” asked Sami, meaning the whole five bodies thing.

 

“I just woke up this way. when I went to sleep there was one me, when I woke up, I was looking through 5 pairs of eyes, and what confused me wasn't that I had five pairs of eyes, but that to my mind it made sense to be that way. my brains or whatever just went with it or were reprogrammed for it or what have you.”

 

“That is weird.”

 

“So can you really control earth?”

 

“Yes.” Sami was almost slightly annoyed by the question, but it occurred to her she hadn't actually done anything to prove it… and she WAS doubting whether Courtney really had five bodies, as she had yet to see any of the other four, weird eyes notwithstanding.

 

“Can I see? Unless Walker needs me again, we've got plenty of time. Purple is already taking care of the rooms, I'll introduce myself when we get there.”

 

“Purple? No wait, let me guess, whichever body has purple eyes.”

 

Blue Courtney nodded and smiled. It was going to get really annoying seeing that smile, since it was impossible to tell if it was genuine, at least for Sami. Maybe once she'd seen it some more… no wait, that thinking was indicative of her wanting to stay. She did NOT want to stick around for too long. Right?

 

“So… oh sure why not. And no laughing.”

 

“At what?”

 

“My playing. This is not the instrument I'm actually good at.” That fact notwithstanding, Sami put the flute to her lips and flew softly, just trying to shift a nice pile of nearby dirt. Of course, it exploded. Sami turned, expecting to see Courtney laughing, but saw that she wasn't. It never occurred to her it might be one of her other bodies that did the laughing, which was a good thing.

 

Blue clapped. “That was amazing! Such power! I bet you could do even more with an instrument you knew how to play well!”

 

Sami was interrupted when a whistle blew in the direction they had been heading previously. Blue clapped her hands and then covered her mouth. “Oh no…”

 

“What?”

 

“Envy just attacked… and took out Viz. I'm checking on him now… they're heading this way! Quick, out of the way.” Blue motioned Sami over, and soon after, a group rushed past with a boy on a stretcher. He was twitching and jerking around, and frothing at the mouth.

 

“Oh no… I'm talking to Tarius now… we didn't catch Envy… but he's been injured. He didn't manage to take down Viz before he could do something. And… oh dear. Right when Envy's final mental assault got through, Viz did something… now all the Shamans in camp are screaming about an Egg.”

 

Seriously, what were these people? They all had to be lunatics. “Who is Envy?”

 

“He puts visions in your head, and convinces your brain the visions are real. So real… it can kill you. We've lost over 20 people to him, and 15 more appear to be permanently comatose. And now Viz. That's our entire scout and reconnaissance network down the tubes, he was the linchpin of the whole thing. Tarius will come up with something I'm sure… but it won't work the same. And I'm going to miss that quirky smile of Viz's.”

 

ARGH! This girl never stopped talking… oh well, just put up with it Sami.

 

“Come on, just, uh, let's finish taking me wherever we were going.”

 

“Oh right.”

 

*

 

“So she's supposed to be somewhere over here, by Tarius's workshop, at least at some point.” Malix looked around at the people working in the R and R, or Repair and Refit, which serviced all the vehicles the Walkers were using, and for the moment, the small selection of units which had been donated to the US military forces.

 

“Hey, Malix, what're you doing over here? The Paladins do their own servicing jobs.”

 

“Oh, hey, Matt. We're waiting for somebody. A new girl, Prodigy wants to know what has Walker so interested.”

 

“Oh so that's what Courtney was here about. I don't know the details, too busy working, but Tarius was talking to Courtney about something serious a little while ago.”

 

“So who is this? Last time we talked, you hadn't made any other friends.” Matt looked slightly dubiously at Monica, then smiled, glad Malix had found well, friend, significant other, straight up lover? He'd never really pegged Malix for going that far early in a relationship… but then most people said he wasn't a very good judge of character. He preferred to disagree with them… but sometimes…

 

“Monica, we're… interested in each other. But we're still just testing waters.”

 

“That… and I like her powers. I wanted my own, but that doesn't seem to have happened.”

 

“You're probably better off without powers to be honest. Tarius calls his as much a curse as a blessing, and all he can do is perfectly analyze every single piece of machinery… every time he looks at one.”

 

“Especially after what happened a few minutes ago, you really should be glad you don't have powers… or at least not spirit powers.”

 

“That mass freakout?”

 

“Apparently everyone connected with Spirits saw the same thing… to be honest… it felt like something had just… woken up, and it was calling out to anyone it could find. Why didn't any of the telepaths hear or feel anything?”

 

“I don't know. Even Babow didn't pick up anything, and he can sometimes even pick up mental communication. Whatever that was, it wasn't psychic… it was something else.”

 

“Hey Matt, Sir! We need you on this Puma, something seems to be wrong with the repulsor system, and none of us have seen this kind of problem before.”

 

“Yeah, I'm coming. Oh hey Malix, I think that's your girl.” Matt indicated a girl in a black long overcoat standing next to a Courtney as he walked back into the shop. “Have a good day.”

 

“So that guy was one of the first friends you made here?”

 

“His sister Anna is my age… I met him after I met her, it was kinda impossible not to meet him once I met her, but I still don't get how I wound up with her for a roommate when I first went to the compound. That, and since I had to help with the Paladin units, and he IS Tarius's right hand man, we just couldn't avoid each other. He's pretty nice, and most of the guys he used to hang with always underrated him. He knows his machinery.”

 

“Cool. Let's go meet this girl.”

 

*

 

Sami sighed, glad they'd taken care of her room issues. She was bunking with a girl whose bunk tag had read Gerbil… and displayed obvious attempts at changing it. Scratched into the glass was the name Anna.

 

Now they were at a giant, what had Courtney called it? R and R station. Which didn't really sound like what it was… it was a giant repair station thing. They were supposed to see some guy called Tarius, he was a tech genius apparently.

 

Meeting Tarius, however, was not to be, at least not yet… as two more girls arrived on the scene, or rather, had been there and were now heading directly for Sami with quizzical looks on their faces. Marvelous….

 

 

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