Across the Realms

Chapter 5

          Alex entered the front door of the office and tried not to look nervous, or let on that she and Oliver were both armed. "You're just here cause you forgot something." She thought. Right, that could work if Oliver wasn't here. Despite the fact that she couldn't see them, Alex was acutely aware of Alyn and Orshon following behind them. When Orshon had demonstrated the spell Alex, had realized that he was right. If she focused really hard she could see them just fine. But hopefully nobody else could. They walked around the ground floor, Alex fielding small talk and Oliver glancing around for any suspicious looking doors. It seemed to take forever, but eventually Oliver spotted a heavy looking, steel door with a keypad lock. They headed straight for it. Alex hoped there wouldn't be too much of a scene. 

                                                                                                   .....

        Orshon inspected the large, metal door. There was some kind of mechanism attached to the door. The mechanism had a small number pad. Perhaps a code was required? Alyn stood nearby, silent. Though they were unlikely to be seen, they could certainly be heard. It took a considerable amount of effort but Orshon was able to glance a few minutes into the past and see the code being entered. Orshon entered the code quickly and the four slipped inside the door. The hallway behind the door was  empty, so Orshon allowed himself and Alyn to become visible again. 

         "How did you know the code?" Alex whispered. 

          "I looked into the past, not far. Just far enough to watch the code being entered." Orshon answered. Alex decided that she would have to ask about time travel later. It was at this point that Alyn took over, after all she was an expert in military strategy. 

          "I will lead, Orshon will take the rear. You two stay between us. You are both armed, you must be ready if we need you. Especially you Alex, you mentioned that you have seen combat." Alex nodded. "This will not be easy. We should catch the Sorcerer off guard, but he will show no mercy." With that Alyn turned to walk down the hall, with her allies behind her. As they turned the corner they came face to face with an armed guard. As he reached for his gun, almost without thinking Alex drew hers and shot him in the chest. A moment of icy silence followed. 

        "Holy shit! You just killed that guy!" Oliver screamed. Without warning Alyn slammed him up against the wall and covered his mouth with her armoured hand. 

        "This is war! You cannot give us away. Likely we will have to kill again to protect ourselves. Can you handle this?" She asked, calm by the end. Oliver nodded nervously. Alyn backed off and they continued down the hall. For a while it was quiet, and then several more guards appeared and rushed at them. Alex quickly took down two, while Oliver managed to shoot one in the leg, effectively ending his fight. Blasts of light from Orshon's staff stunned the rest. Alyn kept moving, she was disappointed that she had not fought any of the guards, but they were not the goal. There were more guards, many more and Alyn got her fight. Alex and Oliver reloaded their guns twice each before they reached what appeared to be a laboratory. Inside the lab were several large, ring shaped structures. 

        "They sort of look like portals." Oliver said, getting close too one.

        "Hey, could there be other worlds besides ours?" Alex asked. Orshon shrugged.

         "It is possible. Though I can't be sure. Why do you ask?" Alex looked around the room at the inactive portals.

          "Cause if he found a door to this world, then maybe he's trying to build doors to other worlds." She explained. The thought was frightening; considering the amount of power the Sorcerer held in this world and the chaos he had caused in Gonzor. After a moment of silence, party continued on their mission. This far into the basement there seemed to be no guards left, though this did not remove any of the tension. Finally they reached a rather impressive looking door. Alyn tried the handle, surprisingly it opened. The party walked into the large room and laid eyes on the man they knew either as Jason Black or the Black Sorcerer. He was wearing long, black robes and holding a large, oak staff. 

         "Welcome. You all did quite a number on my guards. Though I wouldn't expect the same level of success here. Finally I have you two in my sights." He said, pointing the staff at Alyn and Orshon. "I swear, that dragon should have been enough to bring Gonzor to its knees. But you two had to ruin it! Luckily things work differently in this world, all I need to rule here is money, which isn't difficult to obtain when you have a dragon's hoard." That explained Precision Technologies quick rise to power and ability to buy any company they wanted. "Soon enough the portals will be up and running and I will have countless more worlds to conquer. Gonzor, unfortunately is a lost cause. Once I have access to the weapons this world possesses I will simply wipe it out." Alex gulped. If he could get a hold of nuclear weapons then he really could destroy Gonzor, maybe even that whole Earth. Alyn drew her sword in anger. 

          "You will not run this time! I will free your head from your shoulders myself!" Alyn charged at the sorcerer, sometimes her emotions got the better of her. The sorcerer waved his hand and sent Alyn flying backwards into the wall. Both Alex and Oliver raised their guns and aimed at the sorcerer. He laughed as Orshon turned around to tend to Alyn. 

       "You will not win this fight. I will kill them both and then I will watch their world burn. You two on the other hand have a choice to make. You can both work for me, you are both reasonably intelligent. Alexandra, you are strong and remarkably good in a crisis. Oliver, you have a keen mind that would be very useful for logistics. Together we could do great things." Oliver looked at Alex. She shook her head and fired three quick shots at the Sorcerer. He was able to block two but the first one took him by surprise, entering his chest. The Sorcerer stumbled backward, staring at the blood leaking from his chest. "Well then. Then you will all die." Still stumbling he raised his staff and sent a beam of light flying into Alex's chest. She flew back into the wall, blood oozing from her chest.

        "Alex!" Oliver screamed. He ran to help her as Alyn stood up. Orshon looked at his sister.

        "I must help her. He is weakened. Hold him off." He said and went to heal Alex. Alyn stepped forward toward the Sorcerer. 

         "So you do bleed? Then this blade will be enough to end you." The Sorcerer glared, no longer laughing and still shocked from the bullet wound. Alyn charged, this time dodging his attacks. She swung her sword in a great arc toward the Sorcerer's neck, but he blocked it with his staff. 

          "You can't win alone." He sneered.

           "I am not alone!" Alyn shouted as she brought her sword down again. The Sorcerer blocked it again, but this time the strike hit harder, causing the Sorcerer to fall to his knees. A flash of light filled the room and Alex was healed. Orshon took her hand in his and reached out for Oliver. Oliver grabbed Orshon's hand, not sure what was happening but knowing it was important.

           "Lend me your power." Alex and Oliver felt themselves get tired. Orshon raised his staff to the Sorcerer. "This ends now!" A blinding beam of light struck the Sorcerer's staff, shattering it. As the Sorcerer cried out Alyn took the chance and swung her sword wide, cleaving the Sorcerer's body nearly in two. The broken body fell forward as Orshon returned the borrowed energy to Alex and Oliver's bodies. 

            "It is done." Alyn said. As she turned to look at her friends it was obvious she was exhausted to the point of fainting. 

            "Yes, it is finally done." Orshon said with a smile. Alex hugged her brother tight.

             "We did it!" She shouted with a huge grin. The four all collapsed into a group hug. Eventually they left, making their way back outside. The quest was over, and soon a new story would begin.