Globe Tracers 6: Chaos Storm

Chapter 9: Lord of the Storm

Raven:

I slowly woke up, feeling the cold air on my skin and smelling the air of the sea. I felt myself being carried like I had been flopped over someone's shoulder.

'What's happening?' came Jessica's voice in my head.

'I don't know,' I replied. 'I'll go up first.'

I blinked my eyes, looking around. I was indeed being carried, but not by someone I knew. Jolts of energy shot through my legs and I slammed my feet into the man's chest, quickly squirming out of his grasp. I dropped to my feet in the snow and spun around.

I looked at the man who had been carrying me. He stood wearing a dark cloak, standing as a seven-foot mountain contrasted with the white snow mounds all around. He smiled at me, his grin full of shark-like teeth and his skin somehow gray. His hair was orange and rose up from his head to what looked like a buzz cut. On his side, I quickly noticed a massive sheathed sword. He slowly cocked his head to the side, looking straight back at me. He finally spoke. "I would say, please don't resist- but we both know there's no point, don't we?" came his strange voice, seeming to go from high to low octaves at random intervals.

I spoke coolly, holding out my hands, my swords Henry and Sally flying out of their sheaths, their handles slapping into my open palms. "Who, or what are you?" I demanded, taking a defensive stance.

My heart nearly stopped beating when he answered. "Lord Maelstrom."

I could have tried doubting him, but he was clearly a being... outside of human... and the pool of individuals who would even know the name Maelstrom was rather small, and if someone were to fit the bill... Before me stood, the head guard of the lord and king of all gargoyles. "Where... w... where are my friends?"

He pulled a hood over his head, covering his face in shadow. "You were all asleep. They may have woken up shortly after you and I departed, but I saw no use in doing anything with them. You are the one I wanted. Hmmmmmhmmhmm... yes, maybe you should be... grateful I didn't want a fight at the time. I doubt any of them could have resisted me for long." He moved to step towards me, me sending bolts into Henry, leveling the sword at him. "It will be of no use to fight."

"You just said it yourself, you would have killed my friends on an inkling."

"Absolutely. I have killed many, when it-" And that, I decided, was the random moment I was waiting for, unleashing a blast of electric energy at the monster.

Thunder echoed out and the white flash temporarily blinded me. I blinked away the light splotches from my eyes, now watching as the creature's coat flew back in the wind. A thought played over and over in my head. 'The Maelstrom of legend- no way it was that easy.'

"Well... it was well timed anyway," came Maelstrom's voice, echoing all around me, bouncing from one tree to the next. "That coat is expensive to replace." I watched the empty torn cloak fall to the ground.

I heard a snap and all around me, I saw fire spring up from the ground. The flames quickly traveled up the surrounding trees as heat radiated all around me. Eyes wide I spun around again and again. 'Where is he? Where is he? Where is he?' I closed my eyes, dropping Henry and clenching my right hand. 'Overcharge.'

An electric surge screamed out from my body in hundreds of directions, melting the snow and tearing through the trees all around.

I opened my eyes, feeling many small scalds all over my body, like hundreds of sunburns. I slumped to the ground, wanting to feel the cool snow, but at this point, it was all just water. Looking around, I watched as hundreds of trees started careening to the ground.

To my left, I saw him. The monster was still standing, cackling like mad and looking at me with eyes full of mirth. "Well- I would ask if you missed me, but... well..." he looked down as we both watched his right arm finish growing back. "I really should resort to Delphi faster I suppose," he said, looking at his now completely unclothed but also unharmed arm and hand, then grinning back at me.

'Jessica?' I asked in my mind. 'How about your bag of tricks?'

'Oh yeah, great timing! You already overcharged, what am I supposed to do now, bleed at him?'

'Try a construct?'

'I'll do my best but I won't be able to move around a bunch.'

Jessica overtook the body, rising to her feet, always able to stomach pain so much better than me. A ball of electric energy formed behind her back, energy feeding and feeding into it as she pointed Sally at the gargoyle enforcer. Maelstrom just smiled at her, his right eye twitching. "Oh go ahead, I'm curious- I know it's there," he unsheathed his massive sword, the blade like that of a scimitar with multiple large teeth on the back end. "Grow it as big and powerful as you like- take your time. Go for it, I promise, I won't move."

The construct flew in front of Jessica's form as she picked Henry up off the ground. She then fired energy into both swords, amplifying it and then blasting that energy into the small construct, creating a powerful feedback loop. Amp after amp, volt after volt, bolt after bolt, the mass of energy heated up, the wet grass under it starting to catch fire. I listened as the cackling of Maelstrom only grew in intensity. "C'mon!" he yelled in excitement. "Do it, give me a taste of the power! Whet my appetite!"

Jessica glared. "I don't know why you're letting me do this but... Eat. This." The bright and now blazing-hot ball of electric energy suddenly flew back into Henry, and- a blast issued out, the earth shaking and tearing apart in front of Jessica, a blinding light shooting out as she screamed in rage.

Jessica knelt on the ground, swords down. 'What are you doing? Get up and dodge- he just stood there-'

She spoke to me out loud, "If that didn't do it I don't know what you want Raven. I'm trying to just process second-degree burns here along with hearing loss." She attempted to push herself up on Henry as she drove him into the ground. She blinked, looking at the massive cut through the earth itself that now led up to where Maelstrom had been standing... to where he was STILL standing.

Maelstrom cocked his head to the side, standing in a large crater with two cuts in the earth traveling out from his position, basically looking like a large amount of Jessica's blast had been redirected to travel to Maelstrom's right and left, leaving the monster himself completely unharmed.

Jessica just stared at him, mouth ajar. "I... what the heck am I supposed to do now?" She pushed hard, trying to get back to her feet.

And with that- Henry snapped. Jessica fell to the ground, her heart beating faster and faster as she stared at the now-broken weapon.

Jessica was breathing heavily, tears forming in her eyes as I wished I could cry too. She heard something land next to her. "Okay, that's enough entertainment for now." Jessica heard a snap and- everything went black.