Chapter 1: Looking Back
Chase and the Easter Bunny walked through the BADGE HQ. The robots
were still cleaning up after all the damage EB accidentally caused.
He would poke his head in a room and then say, “Nope” and then
move on to the next.
Chase
asked, “What are you looking for?”
EB
looked in another room and said, “Not this one.” He hopped along
while explaining, “There is a museum here that’ll help.”
“Museum?
I asked you to tell me more about Nova and Jinn.”
“That’s
what I plan on doing. However, I know what kind of special power you
have and the museum will help us.”
Chase
stopped and said, “Wait, I think I know what you’re talking
about. The room is locked, but I can get us in.”
“Great!”
EB bounced around her energetically, “Show the way, babe.”
“Call
me babe again and you will never eat solid food for the rest of your
life.”
EB
cowered down, his ears slumping behind him, “Sorry.”
She
continued, “I don’t know about showing you this room. It
is...uh...fragile.”
EB
huffed, “I promise to be careful. What I have to tell you is
serious, and I’ll take it seriously. Now come on!” He hopped
onward, not knowing the way.
Chase
whispered to herself, “Nova’s gonna kill me.”
Her
curiosity greater than her concern for the delicate artifacts, Chase
directed EB to a room in a far sector of the base. The door had a
three-level security lock, which she could get through with her
generous authority around BADGE. Inside they found weapons, jewels,
masks, and other strange objects. Each was given a unique place of
importance.
Chase
looked around, having only been in here once when she almost stole
one of the most valuable items. “This stuff is...interesting. I
have read most of BADGE’s incident reports going all the way back
to when it was founded by Nova. I don’t recognize most of these
items from any of the reports.”
EB,
carefully walking and not bouncing, said, “Some items in here date
back centuries, most pre-date this nation by a considerable margin.”
“Really?
Why are they here?”
“Because
they serve a great purpose of reminding us of the history they
represent. Some are here because they are dangerous still. Nova has
gathered these since long before BADGE was ever considered. He’s
been guarding this world in ways humans do not even realize.”
“So...how
can this help tell the story.”
EB
hopped over to a case that held a long shepherd’s staff, “These
items all contain elements of what happened a long time ago when my
people first arrived. I know you can touch an object and see its
history all the way back to when it was created.”
“Yes.
But only one object at a time. And, I don’t get a lot of the story
since I can’t quite hear everything or see everything.”
“This
is where I come in.” He summoned his magical basket and pulled out
a gold-wrapped egg. “Here, eat this.”
She
unwrapped it and indulged in an incredible dark chocolate. “Wow,
that was amazing. But...”
Anticipating
her question, he said, “I infused that chocolate with a large
amount of the power in my kind your people call magic. It’ll only
temporarily enhance your abilities, but it’ll allow you to access
the memories and histories all around us. I’ll tell the story while
the power in you touches the items. Together, you’ll experience
everything that happened. You’ll see more than even Nova has seen.”
EB was far more serious than Chase had ever heard from him.
“Why
give me this gift? Nova should hear this.”
EB
nodded, “I’m sure you will tell him. But it’s you who has the
power. I believe it was always meant to be you who learns this story.
Now, let us begin, that magic will fade quickly. Seven hundred years
ago, my people were traveling in space. The few of us left were
refugees from Legion’s onslaught of our world. Legion is
bloodthirsty, once they defeat a lesser race...lesser in their
bigoted opinion...they won’t stop while any who are members of that
race remain alive. We wanted to live and potentially help defeat
Legion one day. But we were weak, scared, and alone. Nowhere among
our former allies could we hide, Legion would find us. We came to a
world whose technology was so primitive Legion would never look for
us. This is where my story begins….
***
700
years ago:
Blistering
cold air gust around the stark mountains of Antarctica. The pristine
night sky swirled about with stars twinkling against the darkness.
Lights set ablaze the lifeless world. Beings appeared out of each of
the flashes. Men and women stood around, each dressed in heavy robes
with ornate designs on them. Some carried staffs while others bore
amulets. Two others held one man as a prisoner.
A
pair stood in the middle of the group, their attire as regal as their
attitude. The woman said, “Are we safe here?”
A
man said, “Smell the air, listen to the energy of this planet.”
Everyone
spent a moment absorbing the sensations. An older woman said, “I
sense nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Precisely.”
The man said, “No morphons. They are not here.”
The
old woman smiled, “Then this is where he came. We should go find
him, see if those we left behind defeated Legion.”
“Who?”
A short man asked.
The
old woman said, “The first one, the final general to fend off
legion. He kept their attention while we escaped. Then he fled to a
place where they shouldn’t find him. He came here, to this world.”
The
King held up his hands for a moment and a ball of energy formed
before him. “I do not sense...wait, I sense something. Yes, he is
here, but he is hidden, or diminished.” Letting the energy fade, he
gave them a solemn look, “This can only mean one thing.”
As
a group they all became dour, each looking down with a soft sadness
growing in them. The old woman finished the thought, “Our
world...is gone. Our people have been defeated once and for all.”
The
Queen firmly stated, “Not while we live! Our people shall never be
gone forever as long as we remain.”
“But
what do we do?” Another man asked. “If they find us, we will all
surely die. Our best, most powerful army and commanders were unable
to defeat Legion’s full onslaught.”
The
man being held by the two others said, “We defeated them once, or
have you forgotten!”
The
gathering all gave him a dark glare, especially the king who said,
“Yes, you were able to lead us in victory when they first came.
However, your methods were unorthodox and the blood of many stained
your victory.”
“It
was messy, I admit that, but it worked.” The man nearly laughed.
The
king came closer, “You harnessed those morphons of theirs, you used
warped, twisted magic to give yourself greater strength.”
“Yes.
Which is exactly why we should not be hiding on some primitive
wasteland, we should find a place saturated with morphons. Use them
to give us greater strength. If I could impress Legion with my power,
imagine what a whole army of us could do?”
The
group all threw complaints at him about his misconduct and his ideas.
The hatred grew with each word. The King clapped his hands, the
resulting concussive wave silenced everyone. He spoke to this man,
“The morphons enhanced everything about you, including your greed
and ambition. After you defeated Legion, you turned on us and
demanded my throne. If we all followed your lead, we would all become
worse than Legion. And Legion would still be stronger...”
“NO
THEY WOULDN’T!” the captive complained, “Together, we...”
“Are
not strong enough. You must learn to keep your ego in check. Legion
was merely defeated, not destroyed. Their cruel emperor sent a force
tenfold greater than before and everything we had was lost forever.
Even you must know that your newfound strength was not enough.”
The
man looked away, “I admit that I could not maintain the power long
enough for the second war. But, we can still be powerful.”
The
King walked away. “We are a powerful race and have been protectors
of the innocent and meek for eons. However, we are not gods, and we
are not infallible.”
The
man said, “How can we hope to protect anyone if we hide here?”
The
Queen answered, “It is here we shall protect people still. One day
Legion might appear here and we can gently help this world progress
to a state where they can face Legion and win.”
The
old woman said, “These people? They are primitive. They haven’t
even developed combustion technology. We are so far ahead of them
they will view us as deities.”
“Which
is unacceptable.” The King stated. “I have given this a fair
amount of thought as we learned of this world. We have the power to
change ourselves. We will go out into this world and find myths and
legions, beings they speak of but truly do not accept as real.
Beneficial creatures who can help and then disappear without raising
suspicion.”
The
restrained man sneered, “We will become their little gods?”
“Not
gods. We are not to become deities to these people. Just...helpers.
We will watch over them, but not interfere too much. If they start a
war amongst themselves, we shall stay out of it and let them solve
their problems. But, we will give them offerings of wisdom and
kindness, to show them peace is sweeter than revenge and savagery. We
can give them gifts, but not change the course of their natural
development. Again, we shall be guides, not gods.”
Another
man asked, “What good will this do? Legion is voracious. They don’t
declare victory over their enemies unless they eradicate every last
one. We represent the ongoing war between Legion and our race. They
will sense our power here and come to this world. They will surely
wipe out these...what are they called?”
“Humans.”
The Queen answered.
The
King nodded, “Yes, I have thought about this. We must make a
sacrifice.”
“Sacrifice?”
The restrained man asked,
The
King spent a moment before answering. Everyone looked to him with
fearful anticipation. He finally said, “We will divide our power,
giving more than half to an object which we will keep with us.”
“WHAT!”
the restrained man bellowed, “You cannot be serious! I suggest we
give ourselves greater
power, but you suggest we give up our power! Are you mad!”
“It
is in our best interest. Also, we will spread ourselves out across
this world and have little contact. Only the Queen and I shall stay
together to monitor you and potential attack by Legion.”
“And
what if they come?” The old woman asked.
The
King said, “We know that Legion seeks only worthy foes to challenge
themselves with. These people are hardly a match. We will have many
years on this world away from Legion. However, when the day arrives
that they challenge the humans, perhaps they will be ready for the
fight. With a little help from us and their own growth, they may be.”
The
Queen softly asked, “And...if they are not?”
“Then,
we will do the same job we have done for all time, protect the weak.
We will reveal ourselves to Legion and draw them away from this
world. I know they will wish to finish us before they continue any
conquest. In the time it will take them to defeat us, the humans will
have a chance to develop some kind of defense.” Before anyone could
argue he said, “It is all we have left. Any planet we run to will
leave us with the same option. Here, for a time, we will have what we
have lacked for too long, peace.”
The
gathering all murmured for a moment, then silently concluded he was
correct. Finally, the Queen took her husband by the arm and said, “We
stand with you.”
“Good.
Then it is time to find our new identities among these people.”
“What
of him?” The old woman pointed at the restrained man.
The
King turned to him, “I believe punishment is due, we have been
running and not had the time to exact full justice.”
The
Queen said, “May I recommend mercy.” This drew surprise from the
restrained man and disgusted shock from the gathered people, a few
voicing their disapproval.
The
King asked, “Why would you say such a thing?”
She
looked at the restrained man, “His original intentions to fight
Legion were only for our benefit, that they produced greed and
corruption was not his choice. None of us knew what the morphons
would do to him.”
A
shorter man protested, “I disagree, your majesty, he has always had
a conniving mind and selfish attitude.” This drew a sneer from the
captive.
The
Queen smiled at the smaller man, “Neither are worthy of punishment.
He helped us escape and has helped us along as we fled. He has not
betrayed us yet. It is my belief that he be given a chance to prove
himself here. And, since the decree will be for him to split his
power, he will not be strong enough to execute any plans without our
keeping him in check. Great is the power of justice, but greater is
the power of mercy.”
The
King spent a moment looking at the disgruntled faces of the others
and then at the obstinate face of the captive. He came over and
directed the two holding him to stand aside. Once free, the King put
a hand on his shoulder, “I grant you mercy. Never forget this.”
“I
won’t and thank you.”
The
king turned to the crowd, “Now, go. We have little time before
Legion finds us. We must assume our new identities and divide our
power so they cannot find us. Be at peace, my friends.”
One
by one they looked at their royalty with tears in their eyes and then
flew away. Once it was just the two of them, the King and Queen held
hands and vanished into the night.
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