After Oltor’s execution, the last thing to take care of was the funeral for Rentir and Glanfu. Their bodies were resting in the morgue and the guard leafed through his magazine. He then heard a knock on the door and pressed a button to open the door. Arsha was the one who knocked. She entered the room and spoke to the guard. “Any disturbances?” she asked.
“Nope,” replied the guard. “All the stiffs here are still stiff.”
“And what about any intruders?”
“You’re hardly an intruder, since you know the knock.”
“Any attempts to create a Revenant?”
“Your Highness, what’s with all the questions?”
“The Sheriff’s office went through Rentir and Glanfu’s records, even their communication records! It’s been discovered that they made a deal with Dr. Borg!” The guard’s expression became one of disbelief.
“…Sheriff Rentir?! One of Dr. Borg’s flunkies?!” he asked. “Impossible!”
“It’s possible, I assure you,” came an oily voice. Arsha and the guard’s shadows then came together and formed a pool of blackness. Rising out of the blackness were Oyed, Dr. Borg, and Yulduk. The guard slammed the alarm and Arsha pulled out her communicator.
“Backup! Now!” she called. Two Realmfleet officers then burst into the room as everyone prepared to fight.
“Find them,” Oyed ordered Dr. Borg. “Yulduk and I will hold them off.” Dr. Borg nodded and began her search. Arsha and one officer took on Oyed while the guard and the other officer dealt with Yulduk. To their credit, the two were good fighters, managing to keep a Revenant at bay. Yulduk then cast a fireball at the two. The officer, a Blaze Elf, then held it back.
“Really?” scoffed the officer. “That is SUCH a basic spell.”
“I suppose YOU are a Flame Master?” replied Yulduk.
“I’m near enough.” The officer then created fire ropes. “Rashel bu DAH!” he shouted as he flung his arms towards Yulduk. The fire ropes then became fire snakes as they were launched towards Yulduk.
“Rasulain!” chanted Yulduk as he jabbed into the fire snakes’ mouths, splitting them down the middle and dissipating them. “And you scoffed at ME about basic spells?” The officer was catching his breath after casting his spell. “That’s only a Tier 2 spell. If you’re winded from that, you’re nowhere near as close to being a Flame Master. I, on the other hand…” A red runic circle then appeared beneath him. “Hasheenday!” The runic circle then moved underneath his opponents and a massive octopus of fire grabbed them, burning them as the tentacles constricted them.
Arsha and her partner continued swinging their punches at Oyed. He kept blocking them, then kicked into Arsha’s chest, knocking her back. Her partner then leapt towards Oyed, but Oyed grabbed him by the face and spewed black mist onto him. The mist entered his ears, eyes, and mouth and he was reduced to a twitching mess, his face contorted into a silent scream. Oyed let him crumple to the floor. “He’ll be awake from that nightmare in a few minutes,” he purred to Arsha. He then tilted her chin up. “Such beauty would go to waste if it were damaged.”
“I’m not looking to be part of your harem!” snarled Arsha.
“I offer a greater position than that. You see, you and Dr. Borg are much alike. You both seek to unite the Realms. You both want to ensure the best future possible for you and your loved ones. Dr. Borg saw it my way with no coercion, making her one of my best warriors. I extend the same offer to you. Join me and unite the Realms, fulfill your greatest wish. My offer will lead to peace.”
“Take your offer and blow it out your…!”
“INSOLENT, FECULENT CHILD!” Oyed then grabbed Arsha by the neck and hoisted her up. “Where is it?! I weakened your precious Realms’ resolve with my presence, made the veil between the living and the dead thinner by bringing Intrag into the Over-realm, made one of your fellow Captains resign, yet still you defy me! Where is it?!” He then slashed across Arsha’s face with his claws. “Where, in your soul, is the part that tells you to resist me?!” As blood dripped from her cheek, Arsha chuckled.
“There’s the issue you’re having!” she laughed. “You wanted me to be weakened by my Inner Demons! That’s what made Dr. Borg so much more pliable! That’s where we’re different!” She grabbed Oyed’s arm, then Oyed felt a pain in his head.
Oyed found himself in a barren landscape under a dark sky with the corpses of the Divine Ones littering the ground. He scoffed. “Trying to gain access to my plans, are we?”
“Not really!” cackled a demonic voice. Oyed arched an eyebrow.
“Who are you?! You’re not talking like Arsha!”
“Oh, but I AM Arsha! …More or less!” Arsha’s Inner Demon then leapt onto Oyed, her tentacles constricting his limbs and throat. Her claws then plunged into his skull!
Oyed finally returned to the real world and clutched his head in pain, screaming as if he were really stabbed through the head. When she fell to the floor, Arsha drove her fist into Oyed’s ribs, then another fist into his diaphragm, the impact knocking him into Yulduk. Yulduk lost concentration on his spell and the fire-octopus vanished, leaving behind a burned guard and officer. Oyed’s nightmare victim regained his mobility and mind. All four people checked each other over as Yulduk checked his master over. He was gasping in pain. “…Pain!” he hissed. “Arsha…inflicted…pain!”
“My Lord!” called Dr. Borg. “We have Rentir and Glanfu! I’m opening a way out!” She opened a small Realmgate and drank a strength potion to lift Glanfu and Rentir’s bodies. Yulduk got Oyed up and had the Titan lean on him so they could get out. Yulduk then cast a few fireballs onto the walls, distracting their opponents and giving them time to return to base. Once the fires were put out, Arsha shouted in anger.
“GIVE! ME! A FAT! BREAK!” she roared. She then went dizzy for a few seconds. As soon as her compatriots went near her, she recovered. “Okay, may need to see Malnar about that.”
“Your Highness, are you all right?” asked one of her officers.
“I’m fine now,” she assured him.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, positive.” Arsha then released a breath in fatigue. “Have to admit, Oyed almost tempted me with his offer.”
“What made you resist?”
“His path would lead to the Realms’ downfall. I like the Realms too much for that. I don’t need him to make me a woman; I already AM one!”
“Captain, you made Oyed feel pain,” recalled the morgue’s guard.
“…Yeah, I did,” remarked Arsha in surprise.
“YOU DID WHAT?!” Malnar and Marshii shouted as Arsha was in Sick Bay.
“Use my Inner Demon against the enemy,” replied Arsha as she rubbed her ears.
“OF ALL THE CARELESS, DUMBASS THINGS YOU COULD HAVE DONE!” shrieked Marshii.
“What’s the matter with you two?!” protested Arsha.
“Arsha, using your Inner Demon as a weapon could kill you!” lectured Malnar. “If you used it on a weaker opponent, the damage to your soul would be severe!”
“I DIDN’T use it on a weaker opponent!” countered Arsha. “I used it on Oyed.”
“Oyed was there?!” yelped Marshii.
“And he doubled over in pain after I hit him twice,” answered Arsha.
“…But he CAN’T feel pain, can he?” asked Marshii.
“That’s what the Codex says,” replied Malnar. “…Say, you don’t think…?”
“I’m NOT!” hissed Arsha. “I’m not the Champion!”
“But only the Champion could cause Oyed pain,” replied Marshii.
“Come on, even the Divine Ones are a little screwy on that prophecy,” remarked Arsha. “They all said so.”
“I guess you have a point,” mused Malnar. “I mean, they misinterpreted prophecies before.”
“Fair enough,” remarked Marshii. “In any case, Arsha, you’re staying there until I’ve given you a full checkup!”
“But, Doctor…!” protested Arsha.
“Shut it!” snapped Marshii.
After the incident in the morgue, Oyed had bandages over his torso and an ice pack on his head. “How’s that even possible?!” protested Yulduk.
“No yelling, please,” groaned Oyed.
“Sorry, my Lord, but, seriously, how?”
“Out of desperation came invention, I’d say. I had not anticipated someone using their own inner demons on me.”
“You don’t think she’s the Champion, do you?” Offense then crossed Oyed’s features as he stood up.
“Certainly not! Besides, if she were, it would still amount to nothing. I now know how she fights when she’s struggling for life. Victory won’t come to her. …Speaking of which, how’s Dr. Borg coming along?”
“She’s still chanting the spell at the moment.”
“Let’s go see, I never saw a Revenant being created.” Oyed and Yulduk then went into the next room. The bodies had just opened their eyes and were screaming.
“Shanwey yat talyen falunar!” chanted Dr. Borg as the pentagram glowed. “Shanwey yat talyen falunar! Shanwey yat talyen falunar! TEL!” She stopped and the bodies stopped screaming. Much like Yulduk, Rentir and Glanfu had ashen grey skin with blue veins glowing like stars. Rentir’s body still had fur, so one could only see the veins.
“Oh, Oyed, my HEAD!” groaned Glanfu.
“Glanfu? Is that you?” moaned Rentir.
“It’s me, my love,” replied Glanfu. Just then, their memories came back to them. “Our house! The explosion!”
“It DID take your lives,” replied Dr. Borg. “We got you out of the morgue.”
“Thank you,” bid Rentir. “Now, about the cousin fornicator who killed us…”
“The Over-realm Royals already executed him,” replied Oyed. Rentir and Glanfu then knelt. “Please, rise, my loyal subjects.” The two rose. “We’re currently at a repurposed Plunder Island Stronghold in the Under-realm. Would you care for a tour?”
“Of course, My Lord,” replied Glanfu.
“Splendid.” Oyed then led the two out of the room.
“…A real smooth talker, ain’t he?” muttered Yulduk to Dr. Borg.
“Well, that’s how he works,” replied Dr. Borg. Tormo then came in.
“Doctor, we need to discuss something,” he griped as he presented a paper to Dr. Borg. She took it and looked it over. Her eye then went wide.
“Yulduk, Tormo, assemble the Council,” she ordered. “We have financial problems to discuss.”