The World Of Steam

49

Knox swiftly walked down the corridors of the organisation, mad as hell, bathed in the glow of the red lights. Fire burned within his eyes as he ventured forth towards the problem. He had a funny feeling as to who was responsible for the base's backup generator turning on. It was the only piece of electrical equipment in his entire base, so he already knew what had happened. There was no need to go to any of his henchmen to ask for a thorough explanation. He already knew who to take his anger out on. The only other tiny thing that was bothering him was that he did not notice sooner that his base had been infiltrated. He could only wonder what Karzen could have done in that time that he was given. But now was not the time to be mad at himself. He had to sort out the problem and push the war back into his favour. He had to turn the tides of war back into his direction. That was the only way that he would be able to guarantee that he would win the final fight and secure a firm victory in his place. He would go down in history as the most powerful man in the world and there would be no one that would be able to stop him. The country would bow down at his feet, being able to do nothing else but worship their overlord. Suddenly, he heard the pitter pattering of hundreds of bare feet. He stopped in place and his mad eyes widened as they saw what was coming for them. The slaves all filled the corridor and ran by him, some bumping into him. He turned around as he saw them all escape, but did not seem to bother in trying to stop them or raising an alarm. There were more important things to be doing now that the base was being powered on its last bits of energy. Frowning, he cursed quietly as he tried to clean away the black oil stains from his suit. He tried to rub them off, but his action only spread the oil around even more. Sighing, he frowned and rolled his eyes as he looked at the oil that was now on his fingers. He swiftly walked down the corridor, quickly nearing the problem's source. He could visit a dry cleaner once he had won the war. A simple stained suit was not going to stop him. After all, the large blood stain was still dried into the fabric, painting him in both dark red and black. It could work as intimidation. He did not know what Karzen feared, but he would find out soon enough. Then it would be all over for him. Walking into the basement, he saw Jennix and I escaping from another door, but did not seem bothered in chasing after us. There was another, more important target that stood in front of him. He looked at Karzen as he showed him the test tube in his hand. Xavix stood to the side, ready to jump in should Karzen need help. He glanced at the shades of Knox's suit and muttered something to himself under his breath, almost seeming shocked at the sight. Knox moved his eyes over to his broken machine that spat flames and then back to his target a second later. "Of course, it had to be you." He said, sounding disappointed, his face devoid of all emotion. "A tiny pest that destroys my generator for the sake of destroying my base."

"Your reign is over."

Knox shrugged to his archnemesis. "No matter, I just need the cure. I never really told you why I started the council, all those years ago, have I?"

"No, and I do not care."

"Well I am going to tell you anyway. We've got time. I also want to stop the gas."

"What?" Karzen asked in disbelief.

"Yes, that's right. Shocking, isn't it? I set up the council composed of the richest and smartest people that I could find so we could try to do something to stop the industrial revolution. We all pooled our money together resulting in years worth of research. You think that I like having my lungs burned by chemicals? It was only until the execution that I could finally put my plan in motion. At least I don't have to worry about that mad king anymore. Good riddance. Nothing was getting done with him in charge, so I decided to do something about it. That small riot was my chance to initiate my master plan to save this country. You think that I was doing this for the sake of domination and power, trying to kill as many people as possible? No. Of course not. Why not? Because I also live in this godforsaken place. What reason is there for me to become a mass murderer? Once they rise up, the people will kill me like they did their king. Of course, I have to admit, a couple of lives have been lost in the process of my endeavour. But then again, sacrifices have to be made for the good of the kingdom...republic. Only the fittest and smartest will survive this war. They will be the ones to run this country once this is all over. There will be no more corrupt leaders, no more self-centred monarchs. We are entering the 22nd century, Karzen. We can't go backwards three hundred years. It is time to face the future. We need to bury the coal and fuel the electrical generators. Now then," Knox reached his hand out. "give me the cure. If we join forces, we can sort all of this out and we will be back to the age of petrol and electricity. We will live in a new age without fear."

"If you want it, then you can have it!" Karzen suddenly tossed the cure over to Knox and he grabbed it easily, not even having to move from his spot. He raised his fists, preparing to defend himself. Instead, Karzen ran out, Xavix right behind him, leaving his enemy with the test tube. Knox lowered his hands and frowned, confusion clouding his mind, his eyes not believing what had just happened. He racked his brain, trying to process the absurd event that he had just witnessed. Maybe Karzen had given up? Maybe he had finally submitted to his enemy? Had he really won the war that easily? Smiling, he looked at the cure in his hand and uncorked it. Taking a sniff, he instantly shot his head back, repulsed by the smell. He poured some onto the floor and watched as the chemicals corroded through the metal layer, fizzing and bubbling violently. He suddenly raged, screaming, and threw the test tube onto the floor, letting it shatter.