The Plagued World: The Story of Maximus

Episode Nine - Planet Marcellion Pt.1

"I've been meaning to ask," Maximus says suddenly. "Hmm?" Seek replies. "Why are we leaving Earth to these planets that apparently exist?" He asks, looking to Seek. He nods his head slowly, "there is a part of our civilization that still exists out there." Maximus jumps in his seat, "more Founders ?!"

Seek nods, "that's right." Maximus sits back in his chair, a big grin slams across his face. "And we're going to defeat them," Seek adds. Maximus's eyes widen as he looks at Seek, "wait, what?" "These tribes, the remaining Founders ... they are a part of what was known as The Old Order, a subsection of our race after it was split," Seek explains. Maximus looks at his feet, then at Seek, "why did the Founders split up?" 

"The history of the Founders is a difficult one to truly discuss. We have had wars, both revolutionary and civil, and in the end, nobody could come to an agreement, thus the Founders became two - The New Order, and The Old Order , both having different ideas as to what their marvelous power was meant for, "Seek explains further. Maximus nods, "and that drink ... the awakening potion, and those flashbacks, they -... they were meant for me? To take down The Old Order?" "Correct."

The spaceship soared through space. Their first objective was Planet Marcellion, a desolate and seemingly abandoned planet with no life. "The Founders knew about these planets, right?" Maximus questions. "That's correct," Seek answers. "Why was I never taught about these planets when I went to school ?!" He shouts. Seek shrugs, "I've lived under a rock for what seemed like a hundred years, don't ask me."

The ship arrived to Planet Marcellion. Maximus and Seek step off of the ship, and into the hot, humid, rainy climate. "Yikes, it's hot here," Maximus comments. "Agreed. Let's explore the planet, there could be some of them here," Seek says, letting his energy erupt as he flies off. "Alright then ..."

Maximus flies off in the other direction, searching the area. Nothing. "Damn ... maybe this planet was deadbeat," he says. He lands on the ground for a break, sitting beneath a tree. He looks out, the sky was a dark red, trees were disfigured, but gave off oxygen so that he and Seek could breathe. "Awfully convenient that we can breathe here," he says. He stands up, taking one step.

A sharp pain laces Maximus's leg as he is strung up to the tree from his leg. "Ack-!" He yelps, looking at his leg. A barbed wire of sorts was stuck around his leg. It was clear this was a trap meant for an animal. "D-Damnit ..." He groans in pain, reaching to fiddle with the wire, but it only harmed him more. He thinks for a moment, looking at the rope he was strung by. He held his hand out, "please don't evaporate my leg, please don't evaporate my leg ..." He fires an energy blast at the rope, causing him to drop.

He catches himself before he hits the ground. He sits down, looking at his leg. He hissed with pain. He forms energy blades with his fingers, acting like scissors, cutting the barbed wire off. He takes a sigh of relief, laying his upper body down. He takes a deep breath, sitting back up again. He uses his energy to heat up his hand. He pulls up his pant leg, putting his heated hand on his wound, soldering the wound. He stood, limping slightly, "great ..."

He flew off, continuing his search. "If there was a trap, then there had to be life on this planet ... smart enough to be able to make a convoluted thing such as that," Maximus comments, "they could be dangerous ... I should meet with Seek . " He flew off Seek's direction in search of him.

As he searches, he suddenly feels a surge of energy. "Woah ... is that Seek?" He flies in that direction. Suddenly, a stray energy blast knocks him from the sky. He lands on his feet, stumbling a little.

He looks forward, Seek was fighting ten people. He wasn't struggling, but he was outnumbered. A female fired an energy beam, sending Seek flying. Maximus snap-vanishes behind him, catching him.