Prism Core

Attack of the Black General (Special Chapter)

 VALE

Sundown had started, and a storm had brewed. Perfect.  "Troops, MOVE OUT!" I yelled. Dozens of red scarfed vermin lined up in formation and ran into the forest. Everything was roaring with thunder and rain. The plan had gone accordingly. Our army had gained a hefty advantage for our endgame. "I won't disappoint you again." More and more troops ran into the depths of the dark woods. You could hear their footsteps grow dimmer as they disappeared into the darkness. "Oh, mister right-hand-man..." I heard a bitter voice behind me. I sighed. "What do you want, Nora?" My voice was deep coming from my helmet. "I see you're still wearing that stupid armor. I don't think the black really suits you." I turned around to see a snotty girl. She wore a somewhat Gothic dress with a wave-like pattern woven with red, made from the skin of a fearsome killer beetle. Her dark hair fell to her shoulders. It was flattened by the rain. Dark circles were clearly visible under her dark blue eyes due to her pale skin. "Are you here to give me useless fashion criticism or do you have anything important to report?" I asked coldly. Nora smiled. "As a matter of fact, I do. We found an anomaly!" My heart skipped a beat. "An anomaly?" Nora sneered, "What's wrong, commander? Afraid of a few pests?" "Bring them to me. We need to ensure they are properly disposed of." Nora sighed. "Right away, sir..." She motioned with her hand. From the shadows emerged a young man wearing a thick, leathery uniform and cargo pants. He wore heavy army boots and black gloves. He had a star shaped scar on the side of his neck, very noticeable due to his tan skin. "Ugh, where did you get those clothes? Are they from that other planet?" Lucia said. "This is practical for combat, unlike whatever that thing you're wearing is." I was growing impatient. "Scar, where's the supposed anomaly!?" I snapped. "Right, right. She's right here," Scar said, waving his arm. Two troops appeared holding a girl in a large, green robe. She had long, brown hair and eyes, but there was a slight green tint to them. She struggled against the soldiers, which meant she didn't know how to use her abilities. "What do we have here?" I stepped closer in a menacing manner. The girl was kept on her knees and her arms were held behind her back.  She looked up. There was no fear, only pure anger. "Let me go, you bastard!" She yelled. I chuckled. "That is no way to speak to our commander and general! Show some respect!" Scar yelled. Nora rolled her eyes. "No need to be so formal," I told Scar. I knelt down to be at eye level. My knight helmet may conceal my face, but my glowing, purple eyes were visible. They clashed with the green aura from the girl's eyes. "You may be wondering where you are or how you got here. I'll tell you. We manipulated those fools from your dimension into opening a rift through time and space. This allowed us to merge both our dimensions. Reality is rewriting itself as we speak!" The girl's eyes narrowed. I was taken back. She did not seem surprised at all. "There was some...concerns with this one. Our superior told us to get information out of her," Nora said, glaring at the girl. "Concerns?" I asked. "It appears that she already knew of our plan," Scar said. I turned my gaze back to the girl in front of me. Why was I not informed of this? I'm His right-hand-man! I stood up and looked at the girl's face. Anger kept burning at those brown eyes, with the green glow at the pupil growing brighter. This was becoming very dangerous. "Take her to our facility, we need to keep her contained," I commanded. The two soldiers nodded and sank into the shadows with her. The girl kept her fierce expression as she was pulled into the darkness. Then they were gone. I turned to my appointed partners. "There has to be more outsiders out there. I want you two to lead my army to Aika. I'll take care of any more anomalies." My partners nodded as they vanished into the shadows. I turned to the forest, which was damp from the rain. With my night vision, I could see a slight glow in the distance. I curled my lips in disgust. One of them was a Red.

GABE

"We might have to camp out for the night. It's kinda creepy how dark it is at night," I said. My sparkling hand was lighting the way along with Brad's fireball that he excitedly threw between his hands. Kate and Ryan had been quiet along the journey, they were already exhausted. I didn't blame them, it had been a long day. Brad was full of energy though. "Do you guys feel any different? Any signs of abnormal energy?" Brad asked Ryan. He smiled and shook his head. Kate finally collapsed on the ground. "I...I want to go home," She said quietly. She pulled her knees closed to her chest. Ryan sat next to her to comfort her. "Okay, we're staying here. I'll keep watch, you guys sleep on the moss." "I'm glad we have these robes. We would freeze to death without them," Ryan said. Kate hid her face in her hood. Ryan lied a few feet away, looking at her with concern. Brad sat down next to me. "You know, I'm kinda worried about Cora. She could be out there, all alone..." I looked at him in surprise. "Wow, I think that's the most serious thing you've said all day!" I laughed. Brad elbowed me and chuckled a bit. "I can be serious sometimes!" He then quickly got up and gathered a few branches and sticks. A fire was then ready to go. Ryan had now fallen asleep, so Brad and I stared at the fire in silence. We both had the same person in mind, but I tried to stay optimistic. Cora was a tough person, she should be fine. My mind then wandered. I thought about my parents, my other friends, and I thought about...him. In my chest, they felt gone. "Brad...Do you think we'll be home anytime soon?" I asked. Brad looked at me. "No, not really." The words hit me hard. "Um, well, okay then." I felt a heaviness I hadn't felt since the day he died. But now, I wondered if this place had anything to do with it. "Gabe." The day he went missing, they said there was blood. It was taken by two guys in white uniforms and protective masks, similar to those used when handling radioactive material. "Gabe..." The day we had an assembly to address what had happened, we saw our principal for the first time. I was the only one from our group that went. We were all still messed up. "GABE!" I snapped back to the present. "W-what is it?" He motioned with his head. I looked to the general direction. There was a fade, purple glow in the dark. "Guys! Someone's here!" I "scream-whispered." They groaned and slowly sat up. The purple glow then swiftly swirled around us in a circle, trapping us. "W-what the hell's happening!?" Kate yelled. The glow then stopped and went straight towards Kate. We all looked in horror as a stabbing sound filled the air. There was a blast of blue light. "Kate! KATE!" Ryan yelled. The light dimmed, and we saw a knight, black armor, about our height. But most shocking was a spike of water going through their shoulder. Kate was on the ground, looking at the knight in shock. Her eyes had developed a blue glow to them. "U-ugh..." The knight sounded annoyed. His voice was deep. He then grabbed the spike and pulled himself out of it. Red flowed into the water. Kate stood up and ran to us. The water then splashed onto the ground. We stared at the knight in fear. His purple eyes glared. Then, a slight chuckle emerged from within the engraved armor. "Well, that was certainly surprising. Didn't think you guys knew how to use your magic," The knight said. He then extended his hand, and a sickle axe materialized in his hand. It was long, the blade had a dark, purple tint. It reeked of...poison. "Goodbye." The knight swung the sickle in front of him, and a purple energy beam headed straight towards me. "Gabe! Heads down!" Brad yelled. I immediately ducked, and Brad, who was behind me, shot a blast of fire. It hit the beam, but it was sliced in two. The two stray blasts hit some trees, but the dampness prevented a fire. The beam headed towards Brad. He quickly leaped to the right, and the beam slashed his left arm. The beam then exploded when it hit a tree. Brad groaned in pain as he grabbed his arm. Red was already running through his fingers. His eyes went white and he lost consciousness. "NO!" I then shot a lightning bolt at the knight. But the knight vanished a split second before impact. The bolt hit a tree and an explosion occurred. The forest was now in flames. We all looked around in panic. "Kate! Behind you!" The knight materialized behind her, and he raised a fist covered in a purple aura. IT all happened in about a second, Kate didn't even cry out. She fell on her face as she was knocked unconscious. Then the knight materialized the sickle again and swung down towards Kate's back. Ryan and I then dove towards them. The knight looked up and laughed. A force field appeared, and I was knocked back. Ryan, however, made it through. He tackled the knight, his body hitting against the metal hard. The knight dropped the sickle and it vanished when it hit the ground. Both Ryan and the knight landed on the moss. Ryan groaned in pain, but the knight stood up. "Well, well, well. There's nothing special with you, now, is there?" He then kicked Ryan on the ribs. He cried out in pain. "Leave him alone!" I then shot a barrage of bolts, and explosions filled the air. Everything was illuminated with fire. The knight looked tense for some reason. I then made a bolt and held it like a blade. I let out a war cry as I charged towards the enemy. The knight created a sickle and swung. The blade cut through my bolt. Quickly, I made another and rolled behind him. I slashed a tree and ran swiftly away. The tree then fell towards the knight. However, he then grabbed Ryan and threw him on the ground in the tree's trajectory. The knight then vanished. "Nononono!" I began to run back to Ryan but the knight materialized behind me. He then chokeheld me using the base of his sickle. He bent backwards and lifted me up. I can't breathe! I gasped for air as I saw the tree land. There was an explosion of orange light, and what appeared to be dust flew around. I saw a hand sticking under the tree. It looked so lifeless. Tears rolled down my cheeks as things began to black out. We had failed. Ryan was dead. Brad was bleeding out. I was about to die. I opened my mouth to yell out, but there was only pain. Then, out of the blue, a blast of water hit the knight's arm. It twirled around it like a whip, and pulled back. I was released. The knight was thrown, he hit a tree hard. I fell onto my knees and gasped for air. Then I looked up. There was Kate. A fierce blue glow erupted from her eyes. "Get away from my friends, you bastard!"