posted
Arachne gasped as something red in the distance began coming at them faster than her eyes could keep up with. Elag’s destruction flooded the forest, destroying every tree and growth it touched. Septimus’ army, which searched for innocent flesh, dissolved into nonethingness.
Before anyone could utter a word, she was in spider-form, firmly attached to Grey Birdboy’s shoulder. The had been down there destroying every undead creature they could find, but there appeared to be too many. Now all the undead were truly dead, but the three LMBers would be in a moment too if they didn’t get out of there.
Grey felt Arachne leap on and took off immediately at top speed. His wings opened up to their full width, and he flew down and scooped up Lash, who was a little ahead of them.
“Grey, I didn’t know you cared,” he smiled. Lash was covered in stings and bruises, exhausted from physical and mental torture. He needed to get home as soon as possible.
Behind them, the forest erupted into flames. Elag’s destructive force stopped short once it finished off the undead, but it appeared to have no end in sight as far as Grey, Arachne and Lash knew. Grey flew at top speed, until hitting a familiar mark along the forest. Silently, he entered the Green.
None of the three said a word, not wanting to speak about what could have happened to their friends. Lash tried to stay conscious, and Arachne went through every possible way imaginable for the rest of the LMBers getting home. Grey just flew as fast as possible for as long as possible until finding a way home. So this was the end, he wondered? He had no idea what to expect when it began, but now he wasn’t sure. Septimus was dead, he knew it in his heart. But that fire had been Elag’s. Had Septimus died in a way that caused the very thing in Elag that they were trying to prevent?
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Elagabolus hovered over the castle, watching it melt into ruins. He had a look of pale apathy on his face. He was no older than ten, yet his eyes looked to be about forty years old. Septimus was dead and gone. His castle destroyed. His armies destroyed. Elag was not scared anymore.
Instantly, Stu appeard beside him, on the ruined beams that were once the castle. It was obvious that Stu had little magic left, after that fight, and needed medical attention as soon as possible. Yet, he only looked concerned for the young boy.
“Elag, what are you doing? Why are you letting your power run so wild?” he asked, stern but also sympathetically.
“I’m destroying Septimus. So he doesn’t bother us anymore.”
“Elag, you need to stop. There isn’t any need for this destruction. Septimus deserved no better, but you need to realize what your doing.”
“No Stu, you’re wrong,” said the boy, “I do realize what I’m doing. I can destroy, it’s what you all said about me. Why shouldn’t I destroy then?”
“Elag, you can do whatever it is you like. That’s your decision to make. But you know the difference between right and wrong. We told you, and I still believe it, that you are a good person. You’re not evil.”
Elag looked at him. Neither spoke.
“Thank you for saving me,” said the boy. He looked up into Stu’s eyes, and for a second, Stu saw the scared little eyes that looked at him when he first saw the boy. Then they faded, and the cold steel eyes that replaced them returned. “I know I’m not evil. But I’m not like you and Cobie, and the LMB. I’m not good.”
Stu moved to put his hand on Elag’s shoulder instantly. How could the boy think this? He bent to hug him. Elag moved back.
“I’m sorry…” he said. Slowly, he blasted away the beams holding Stu up, causing him to fall a little, making him use his own magic to cushion his fall. Stu looked back up, and Elag was gone. Somehow the boy blinked or teleported away.
Stu flew down into the wreckage, searching for a trace of Cobalt or Lardy. And he wondered if his eyes played tricks on him and he somehow saw Space Tart. It couldn’t have been, he thought.
After sometime, he gave up. He realized, coldly, that they had gotten out, or were dead. But he needed sleep and meditation.
Making his way out of the burnt forest, Stu found the place where Elag had stopped burning the forest. All wildlife had run away. Falling down, Stu layed there, under the shade of the trees.
Elag’s journey had not ended the way Stu intended, although it now strangely appeared that Elag may have intended it to end this way all along. One’s destiny is a blurred dream, Stu knew, since it was the journey to it that really mattered. What good is an ending without the way there? Where would Elag end up now, and would he ever see him again?
Quietly, Stu fell asleep under the shade of the trees.
End Act VI
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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She wasn’t sure how long it took, but Grey kept flying through the Green until he could go no longer. Setting down, it appeared that she, Lash and he were in for a long walk, when destiny decided to give their feet a rest.
“Going for a stroll?” said a voice, and she looked up to see Varalent grinning. She almost collapsed from the relief of knowing that they had reached their journies’ end.
Varalent, the Emerald Empress, Beagle Boy, Super Lad Kid and Harbinger had been sent out to look for the missing LMBers after the return of Invisible Brainiac. While others were searching in space, this group of five settled on searching through the Green on the off-chance that they were returning that way home. They were overjoyed to see their missing friends.
Arachne walked forward and collapsed into Harbinger’s arms, unable to walk anymore. Grey did the same, so Beagle Boy and Super Lad Kid layed him down. Like all warriors who gain the knowledge that a long battle is over, the relief of it is often too much to take.
Lash needed immediate medical attention, so the Emerald Empress did what she could with her Eye until they could get him home to Dr. One’s lab. The most beloved of all LMBers, everyone was overly concerned.
When asked about the others, they did not know what to reply, saying they were unsure. They demanded to know what had happened to Invisible Brainiac, to which they were told he was resting comfortably in the hospital and recovering fine. He even seemed to have a newfound confidence, especially among Sara, although it soon became clear that he never wanted to mention what happened with Tarquin ever again. That was a story that only he could tell.
The LMBers were brought home, although not to a parade, but to a warm welcome from their friends.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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Lard Lad had ‘ported them out of there the second the castle started to crumble around them. It was clear now to all of them that it would be up to Stu to reason with Elagabolus, and that things had gotten exponentially out of control.
When they reappeared, they were on the edge of the old monastery that they found on the way to Septimus’ castle. The castle was in ruins, and Elag was long gone.
Lardy was shocked to see Space Tart still alive, and as her long time friend and companion, extremely happy to see her. Still too weak to wake up, Cobalt told him what happened. However, it was obvious to see that Cobalt now felt responsible for the final turn of events in the Elagabolus/Septimus saga, and felt that his own greed in getting back Space Tart caused it. Lardy told him he was wrong, that Elag was the one who pushed for it. In a strange way, Elag sacrificed himself for Cobalt’s happiness, and he shouldn’t screw it up.
Finally, Space began to wake up. She was on the verge of death, but Cobalt’s healing powers saved her. However, when she awoke, the happiness that long awaited Cobalt was denied to him. For some reason, Space Tart’s memory was completely gone. She had no idea who she was, or who Cobalt was. Cobalt was devastated. He had saved her from the brink of death, but her memory was gone.
For two weeks, Lardy and Cobalt stayed with Spacey, telling her that her name was Fiona. The head of the monastery welcomed them and accepted them into their ranks. It soon became clear that Space Tart’s memory was not healing. It was the head monk who finally talked some sense into Cobalt.
“Her physical wounds have healed, yes, but there are wounds that exist far beyond those,” said the monk.
“You mean mental?” said Cobalt, nodding.
“Yes, but more importantly, spiritual. This young woman has been through a tremendous amount, and not just in cheating death as you have told me. She has seen her child die, her husband die, and now openly welcomed death to have it denied to her. She needs time to heal, to find herself. When she does lad,” he added, “she will remember.”
Cobalt understood what the old man meant; Fiona became a permanent resident at the monastery. She knew that Cobalt cared for her, but could not remember who he was.
Lardy left Cobalt and Spacey at the monastery, so that he too could go home. It was a long journey, and he had a personal stake in it as well. After all, was there any LMBer more concerned with destiny than he? He knew in his heart there was evil side, and he rarely spoke of it. He saw the good in Elag and the battle being waged in his heart. It reminded him of his own inner most feelings. And now Elag had crossed a line that he might never return from. It was time for Lardy to do some soul-searching of his own.
Lardy left the monastery, unsure if he would be returning to Legion World, or going off on his own for a journey. He would not fully return to Legion World until after the Dark Stu Saga.
Cobalt stayed by Spacey’s side a little longer, but realized he must return. After all, he had a life now, he had responsibilities. On his final day, the old man smiled at him. “She needs to heal now son…and she’s not the only one,” he finished, and Cobalt knew he was talking to him.
*Note*- For many months, Space Tart remained at the monastery, throughout the entire term of Stu, and then Varalent and Quislet, Esq. One day, during a session with the monk who had befriended her, she had a break through. She realized that had been denying love for too long, since the death of her child, than husband. She understood that her journey wasn’t over, that there was a better ending than death. She remembered.
One afternoon, Cobalt had a knock at his office door. He looked up and saw his wife, beautiful blue skin and wonderful eyes. And he smiled.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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When Cobalt rescued Space Tart, the irony of magic lived on well beyond the life of Septimus. She would live, but with no recollection of her life with him.
Yet, magic has a larger price than that.
In order for Cobalt’s greatest love to live again, the magic that lived in Septimus decreed that his greatest and most terrible foe must also live. Time was bent. Dr. Albert Hoffman was retrieved from his final moments of life, and sent months into the future. Ironically, it as the same week that Cobalt entered Legion World for the first time that the Dr. Hoffman did. He created the guise of the Royal Inquisitor, and became a new enemy for both Cobalt and Legion World
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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Stu awoke under the trees, and renewed his search for Elag. The boy was long gone. Everyone was long gone. Stu continued his search, in areas that were only accessible to him and to his kind.
Finally, he knew he’d find nothing. The only way that he’d see Elagabolus again would be for when Elag was ready himself. He had no idea how long this would be, but he knew in his heart that it would happen again.
He remembered what Esk had told Cobalt weeks earlier, that it would be Elagabolus that would bring about the destruction of the LMB. Yet, he had looked into the boy’s eyes, even at his most cold, and still saw some resemblance of the scared little kid he had come to know. In his heart, he knew that Elag’s destiny was not set in stone, and that this was only one journey along a much longer path. Whatever was supposed to happen these many years in the future, he knew they would meet it as they always did.
And that was enough.
Iron Rat returned to Legion World and resumed command of the LMB. He created a scrying crystal to alert him to whenever Elag was detected. It never once worked. But Stu never turned it off.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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The sun set on Septimus’ castle, and the morning brought rain, which washed away the ash and dust that Elag had created. Septimus was gone, forever.
Elagabolus left that world with a purpose, although he could not quite put into words what that purpose was. He was different from the LMB, he knew that. But he would not be scared anymore, he’d be brave like them. He had magic, he had vast power. He needed to learn how to use it.
But he was boy, barely eleven. He had always been on his own, but he was too young to truly live on his own. He’d survive, as he always did. And one day, he’d be his own man, and he’d never need protection again.
He held on tightly to the gifts Stu had given him: bracelets of defense, a magic vest, a scarab that always shined light in dark places. One day, he wouldn’t need any of it. He’d protect himself.
The End
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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It took me awhile to get to the end, but I finally did! While I'm not quite as proud of it as "Price of Security", I'm happy with the way it began and ended. I like the middle chapters to, but it was more of an action story there.
As always, thanks Grey for the comments. And thank you Sonnie, Belinda, FC, Vee, Juan, IB, Numf, and everyone else for the encouragement! It really wouldn't have been finished without you all !
I might start a "Side Notes on 'Journies and Destinies'" thread, but I'm too tired right now
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Awww Cobster, you've done it!! It was great and I didn't want it to end....
I loved your take on the characters, you write different people well and you populated a fabulous fantasy sci fi mish mash land with them... and it was great!
More more more!
[ July 20, 2004, 03:33 PM: Message edited by: Sonnie Bloke ]
From: home sweet home... unless i'm posting from work | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I've actually got a cool idea for a quick ten post or so Onevision, that stems from two of the characters in this and the last story. Maybe I'll post it in one full swoop in the next few days...
Sonnie and IB, thanks . You guys (and you too Belinda and Grey!) are the best! That goes for everyone else who has provided encouragement and comments, both public and private!
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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Hyperpath: Email this page to someone!
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