Two beams from an old care shone as it drove around the bend into the desert areas. Daniel Phoenix was driving and I was in the seat next to him. I was looking out the window and keeping the air con on to keep myself warm. Daniel looked to his right and pointed out something to me.
“He’s called The Witness you should know him. I think he can help us,” Daniel told me.
“The Witness, he’s part psychic but how would he know the future?” I asked him curious.
“It’s not just your future. We’ll stop here and walk up the driveway,” Daniel replied.
The two of us climbed out of the car in the cold air and wandered up the driveway as I rugged myself up when the Witness stepped out of the farmhouse and watched me from the distance. We came up the front porch and the Witness whispered to Daniel, “Make us some coffee. I’ll talk to him.”
I stood by the wooden railing looking out to the cold dark skies as the Witness came up next to me.
“The author in the war has much to think about but yet I think you haven’t even started have you?” he asked me.
“How would you know that? I’ve been thinking about the war and how I can try to win it. Everyone is trying to give me advice lately,” I replied back to him coldly.
“It’s more to do with saving yourself than winning a war. The dark author in his tower is waiting for you. He only created this war to give your characters so to speak the run around, to break their spirit would break you too. He’s not interested in the taste of blood on a sword. He wants your soul and your heart. He wants to see you self-destroy yourself in the end. You cannot let this happen,” the Witness told me.
“You can tell the future can you not? What happens to me? You should know,” I asked him hoping to find some answers.
“I can’t see the future when all of time and space is as messed up as it is. It hurts my mind when I try the vision the future which is rare for me. Tonight might be my last night alive depending on how you go. I can only tell you what you need to do and that is to be strong or you won’t make it. It’s as simple as that.”
Daniel came outside with the coffee and placed them on a table next to the Witness’s seat. Both of us came to sit down while I picked up one of the cups of coffee. The Witness sipped some of his drink and glared over the stars and moon that was shining, “Do you know what you’re going to do when you’re inside the tower with him?” he asked me.
“Destroy the Author’s War book and him with it. There’s nothing else to do but that,” I answered quietly into my drink.
“You have to fight him. The book is invincible but not him. He is a fraction to that stage thou. It’ time for you to left and take your part in the war,” the Witness told me.
I drank the rest of my coffee, nodded at him and walked off towards the car. Daniel came up to the Witness to say goodbye, “It’s been good to know you,” the Witness whispered to him.
“Good to have known me? What do you mean?”” Daniel asked with a concerned voice.
“I have seen his vision. His face will be on his side with words of death and he will die there all by himself. Goodbye Daniel. It looks like the aliens won’t have beaten us after all.”
Daniel froze looking at the Witness and backed down the stairs and turned around towards the car in shock. He came inside the car and turned to me.
“Let’s get going hey. I know the meeting pointing where we need to be,” Daniel said turning on the car. The car drove off slowly away from the farmhouse and head towards war.
The Meeting point was on the open pains where tall mountains and cliffs were founded on each sides of the large group put together. King Lion, Roger the Barbarian, and Chisoutsa stood at the front of the group to direct them to what was needed to done. It was bitterly cold but everyone was determined to march to the tower.
“Roger’s band will take the tower’s outside section. There are steps and ladders found on the side of the tower which they will take on. Lucas and the Xtreme Squad will lead the ground group when Valentine’s army of soul breakers will be revealed. Myself, Wizard, and Chisoutsa will take Chris inside the tower itself The kind sir Alan Richard has given us some voice orbs here that we can exchange messages with each other when we have to. Daniel, Hayden with Allegheri and Frithdar will take the south section of the tower before the tower is obtained by the ThunderDragon. He will appeared when Wizard gives the call.
The tower on the ground is drawing power from the earth’s nature and that has been the reason for the weather’s loss of control found out by the Cyber family during their research. If we can lift the tower off the ground it should lose its power and Valentine will be forced to use his power to fight back. We are trying to sneak our way in while he is busy fighting the rest of you all off. There’s nothing much left to say to you all. You are all leaders in your own universes and I know of how hard we have fought to reach this point. We have lost all much when we have lived and all we do is make sure that he reaches the inner section of the tower and only he can do what needs to do against Valentine,” King Lion spoke to the entire group.
“What if?” Duncan asked King Lion asking the question that has been on everyone’s lips.
“Then we die trying Duncan, that’s the rule for everyone. I will not walk away from this not until the very end,” Roger answered Duncan lifted up his broadsword.
“Look at that thing in the distance. I can’t wait to drop that to the ground. its payback time,” Chisoutsa said looking at the tower in all its darkness.
Behind the last standing team stood myself and Daniel Phoenix returning from the journey from the Witness. The team made space for the two to come forward. I came up to the front and looked at King Lion and Wizard.
“For last time we will battle for what we believe in?” I asked them.
“It is time for that. It’s our only hope now,” Wizard answered half smiling.
The whole group turned towards the tower in the distance and we saw the growing group of soul breakers marching around it. They were once human and had joy and peace in them but over time it was stripped from them piece by piece until they were hollow. Together our group was going against hundreds of these creatures in the slim of hope of victory.
We started our march in the one group towards the tower. Swords, shields, guns, and magic staffs were all raised as the army of soul breakers started to move against us. I moved away from the armies with King Lion, Wizard and Chisoutsa. Chisoutsa grabbed my hand and looked at the tower as we moved closer to it. The energy and the vibe it was giving out was becoming stronger by the second.
“We have to move fast through the armies without giving away what we are doing. Come on!” she cried to me.
The four of us raced through the army battles as King Lion swiped his golden sword at the soul breaker creatures attacking us. Wizard kept the movement going with bolts of magic from his old wand while watching the tower and keeping an eye on me. I turned back to see Lucas Walken and Jasper wrestling with a number of soul breakers pushing them back to try to ease the power of their army. Roger and the band had been quicker than us to the tower as it seemed they were built for warfare. They began climb up the sides of the tower with the rough steps they needed to take. When we arrived at the entrance to the tower, the gate was broken and was on the ground by the armies of the sold breakers. King Lions and Wizard pointed towards the large doors ahead and we headed on the broken ground ahead of us. I could hear the cries from behind us in the war.
“Keep pushing ahead we must keep the army away from the main party!” shouted Lucas towards Jasper.
“I’m trying. There’s too many of them!” he shouted back firing bullets from two machine guns he was using at the moment.
I turned around as we crossed inside the tower. I looked at King Lion unsure of what was going to happen now, “There’s only about twenty of us and there’s hundreds of these creatures. They look like ghostly vampires mixed with alien breed. What can we do about this?” I asked him.
“There’s not much we can do. We have no backup left. This is why we have to rush you to the top and where Valentine is. There is no choice now,” he answered in a hurry.
We continued our run through the tower as the roof above us started to hail down fire balls and magical beams at us as we dodged each one of them. It was not going well for us.
Towards the back section of the tower Daniel Phoenix, Hayden Norman, Allegheri, and Frithdar was deep in battle. Daniel and Hayden was using their scanners as full scale weapons setting up electric traps for the soul breakers to keep the area clean from the army.
“We must keep this area safe for us and to make this area is guarded for when the ThunderDragon arrives. If it isn’t the whole plan will fail and we will all die,” Allegheri told the rest.
“We will hold out as long as we can!” shouted back Daniel.
A dozen soul breakers caught hold of Frithdar and looked into his eyes. For a moment Frithdar saw the depths of Valentine’s mind. He struggled back as Allegheri turned jolted towards his old friend. Frithdar turned with his staff slowly however one of the soul breaker broke into it stabbing him in the back a number of time. Daniel and Hayden looked in horror but was only broken when they felt a large shadow in the distance. It was the ThunderDragon coming from the far corner of the globe with the long golden chains to begin the plan. Allegheri grabbed hold of Frithdar before he fell to the ground and held him upwards.
“I’m not going to make it now am I Allegheri. All the battles and days we have journeyed across and this is how it all ends,” he told his old friend.
“If you going to die than I will join you. It was the vision that the angels saw of my future and now I know where my time ends too. Frithdar, this is not the end for us.We will be remembered for what we have done. To battle with many good men and women in this war should be seen as the highest of all highs and something that where legends will made from here to forever. Go peacefully for now I must do my part and help the others defeat this pure evil that has captured our hearts and souls,” Allegheri told him.
“I shall see you in another time,” Frithdar sad falling to the ground for the last time.
Allegheri turned to the soul breaker who advancing on Daniel and Hayden and decided to take matters into his own hands. His fangs grinned as he rushed towards the pack pushing Daniel and Hayden towards the ground in the middle of the war. He jumped into them biting into their necks. The soul breakers turned their attention towards him as Hayden helped Daniel up.
“Let’s set up the major electric traps here so there’s a clear pathway for the ThunderDragon! This is our last chance really!” Hayden told Daniel.
“Right, let’s quickly move!” Daniel replied.
They started moving the traps into place as Hayden watched in shock as Allegheri was getting beaten and ripped apart by the soul breakers. Daniel turned to see his friend and grabbed his arm, “He knows what’s doing. He’s decided to die here now. Our time to end is not here! We still have a role to play!” Daniel reasoned with Hayden.
Hayden turned around with a tear in his eye unsure of where his feelings was coming from, “He’s one of us. His ink is the same that comes from us and the author in the war. We are losing a brother.”
Daniel placed both hands on his arms lowering his head, “I know. I know where you are coming from because I feel it too. We are doing this for everyone and everything we stand for. Let’s do it for Allegheri and Frithdar,” he told him.
Up above the setting of the electric traps Roger the Barbarian and the band was climbing the dangerous steps and ladders as more soul breakers was coming down the steps firing arrows and beams of dark magic towards them. Roger hit the beams of magic with his broadsword as Walter shot back with his magical staff to help with a limited shield on the band.
“Keep steady on the steps. They are wet and they move too many when you step on them,” Duncan shouted towards the rest of the band.
“I shall keep to the side walls here and shot up high towards toward them. Be careful when they fired down towards you and like Duncan said keep your footing firm!” cried Levi hold aim with his crossbow.
Duncan pushed up the side of the tower with ease as he has had experience in mountain climbing in the past adventures in in the kingdom of Evermore. He reached into his bag and grabbed out a number of small bombs to hold the soul breakers at bay. He throw them up high but a couple of them missed. He threw the next batch up with some directing direct hits. Roger held on to the side of the tall tower by one hand as a soul breaker came falling down past him. He grinned his teeth with his struggle and carried on with the band up the side of the tower.
Inside the tower the hordes of soul breakers came crashing down upon our main party as Wizard and King Lions traded blows with them pushed up the long rooms filled of them. Chisoutsa’ eyes rose to attack and her black wings stretched out as she started to fly around the section picking them up and throwing them across the room. I dodged around them and saw the stairs leading to the next room. King Lion and Wizard directed me to go on without them for the time being. As I rush to the next room and carried on up the stairs the tower started to shake terribly and I turned to see the windows shaking when I saw the shadow of the ThunderDragon appearing above the tower.
“What is he doing here? What is going on now?” I shouted out to everyone.
The massive golden chains shot into the tower hitting dozens of soul breakers climbing down the sides of the tower. Roger and the band jumped down a few steps to avoid being hit by one of the chains stabling itself to the tower.
“Hold on, hold on!” the barbarian roared to the others.
King Lion and Wizard rushed to me as I watched the ThunderDragon attempted to pull the tower off the ground completely. I turned to Wizard in shock and amazement, “Is the ThunderDragon pulling the tower out of its roots? I would to know what is going on!” I demanded.
“It was my plan to do this and something Valentine would not have foreseen because you didn’t plan it as the author in the war. The golden chains will drain the power of the tower and will prevent it from growing in power and the tower can’t disappear anymore. We are not that far,” Wizard explained to me.
“Right, where do we go from here?” I asked.
“Towards the top I suppose. There’s no time to lose as Valentine will be planning something. There’s not much traveling up the stairs left,” King Lion told me.
Chisoutsa came flying down to meet with us and turned towards Wizard with an odd look, “Where’s that bag you were carrying?” she asked him.
Wizard looked down on himself and looked back up at Chisoutsa and me, “Oh no, I’ve dropped it. I have to go back down and find it. It’s important that I do,” Wizard said.
King Lion stood in front of them blocking his path back downstairs, “You can’t go back now. We have to take Chris to a safe area. Besides we need to stay together as a group.”
Wizard sighed as the shaking tower was started to be pulled up into the air. He turned back to us thinking, “We will go on. You’re right King Lion. Time to move to a safe place.”
Above at the top of the tower the shadow of the master Valentine eyed the ThunderDragon with disgust as his tower was lifted off the ground and was started to move in the air.
“The Wizard did this. He wanted to drain me of my abilities but he’s only just a mere character, a pawn in this Great War. Let them see how they long live when my soul breakers can fly!” he cried standing and watching the ThunderDragon pushing himself with all his might.
The ThunderDragon was showing some stress on his face carrying such a heavy object in the air but his eyes turned as dozens to hundreds of souls breakers started to fly out of the top section region of the towers towards him and the others on the battle field. Soul breakers fired beams of ark lights towards the weather lord as he dodged and called on the might powers of the weather to help him. A number of lightning bolts strike them from the air and the ground many times as he started to unleash fire beams and ice beams in a quick succession at them. He turned himself as the tower was started to twist and turn, looking unbalanced. The band held on dangerously as the tower was moving and shaking due to the attacks on the ThunderDragon. A massive blast appeared from the south end of where the tower was as Daniel and Hayden reunited with Lucas and Jasper as they watched the madness in the air as small earth quakes was happening and heavy rain appearing from the sky due to the damages taken by the ThunderDragon.
“My god what is going on? This is all going wrong. The ThunderDragon ins’t going to hold on with the golden chains. They will be broken by the soul breaker in a short amount of time and we will lose this. There’s nothing we do about this!” Lucas shouted to the group with him.
“He’s all the way up the air, I can’t help either. I’m not sure how the band can help, they are swinging on the side of the tower and are trapped there. Chris’s party is also trapped inside too. I don’t think we thought through this plan too well,” Daniel cried out telling them of the issues at hand.
“What choice did we have? Wait for Valentine to attack us? He was going to lure us here and this tower was more dangerous on the ground than it is in the air. We just have to fight until the end but our chances are next to zero now. I can’t even stand still with the earth quakes now!” Hayden noted on the real danger surrounding the war.
“Fuck guys, we just got to keep pushing it until we give everything. It’s not over yet. I’m going to cut through the section straight ahead of us. Come with me!” Jasper said charging ahead away from the three of them.
“Alright, you heard him. Here are some real guns to use you two. This is the final fight now!” Lucas cried handing over the weapons to Daniel and Hayden.
The four of them run into the impossible battle area of the soul breakers fighting it out with them as inside the tower the four of us had made it to a safe area of the tower for now. King Lion placed a hand on the unstable wall as he took a deep breath and looked up to the others, “This is too hard on me. We have the final rooms across from us and one to the rear. Valentine should be in the rooms holed up but ready for us.”
A shadow figure appeared making its way up the stairs where Chisoutsa turning around ready to fight, “Come out from there. We’re not scared of you,” she roared at the mystery figure.
The figure appeared holding Wizard’s bag as Wizard looked surprised, “This was the hardest break in I’ve done in my life,” said the figure.
“Mr. Umezu? How the hell did you get here? Aren’t you meant to away from this universe?” Chisoutsa asked amazed.
“I have my own interests in keeping him alive,” he answered pointing at me.
“What’s the battle outside looking?” King Lion asked cleaning off his golden sword and looking tired.
“Like a fucking bomb has hit it. The ThunderDragon is slipping around with the tower and those golden chains won’t last long. The band is hanging on for dear life on the side of the tower and your brother is leading a charge on the ground towards his own death. There are soul breakers that can fly now. I came back from our world Chisoutsa and the City of Demons is under heavy attack. Charles Thompson’s personal party was attacked and last I heard he was knocked out and maybe in some sort of coma. We are terribly fucked at the moment. We have to blow the doors open to Valentine and pull him down or it’s over in the next ten minutes,” he explained the issues to everyone.
Chisoutsa shot a look of utter despair to me and Wizard on her face, “I must go down and protect Lucas and the others. I can’t lose him too! You can go ahead without me. The others need me the most now that I can fly myself.”
“You go with King Lion. I will go on with Chris to Valentine. What are going to do?” Wizard asked as Mr Umezu gave the bag to him.
“I’m coming with you. I’m not running away and hiding as I normally have done in the past. I have my weapons of choice,” he answered holding up a shotgun that kept near his desk when he run Scienceworks in its prime days.
“You could be trapped here Mr Umezu you do know that?” Chisoutsa questioned him.
“If Charles is gone the person I know who will replace him as Prime Leader doesn’t like me at all. It might be a death sentence for me to return home. Let me fight it out here with the old wizard and Chris. Go and protect your brother and the others. They need you now!” he replied back.
The party decided to split in two and I and Mr Umezu started walking up the stairs when Wizard turned to King Lion for a final moment together, “King Lion, I want you to come out the other side for me. Please can you do that for me?” he asked.
King Lion was taken back from the strange and eerie comment, “Yes I will do my hardest. What about you?”
Wizard hugged the King and whispered in his ear, “Look after the world that I spent saving. I have loved all of you men, the Legomen. Please remember me for what I stood for,”
King Lion went quiet for a moment with Wizard as he waved his wand toward him with a smile. Chisoutsa touched King Lion’s shoulder, “What’s happening?” she asked.
“Saying farewell to my dearest friend,” he said lowering his face to the ground.
Wizard, myself and Mr Umezu made our way to a long corridor section that lead up to where Valentine’s personal gate way was. Wizard noticed flashing lights coming from the room coming from the left of them and pointed it out with his wand, “What is that light down there?” he asked us.
We all rushed down to the room to see what it was and Mr Umezu noticed what is it straight away, “It’s the last universe portal Valentine has here. There’s some sort of blocking device attached to it. You know I never noticed the Time Cruisers or the Cyber family here yet. I think this has block them as I remember from some of the reports from Charles that they were looking for something to help us,” he told us.
“Can you unblock as in reverse it?” I asked him.
“I can do it. I am still an inventor and scientist you know,” Mr Umezu replied remind us of what made him the million to billion air business owner he was.
“Will it take a long time?” Wizard asked looking at the console device attached to the portal.
“The setup looks easy enough to reverse. The portal itself looks bloody unstable. This could blow up in my face but it won’t take long. I suggest you take him up to where he needs to go,” Mr Umezu suggested on what to do next.
I nodded and looked at Wizard and we decided to march on in the final steps to Valentine, “I’ll come down soon to see you again. Just make sure the portal works for everyone,” I told Mr Umezu.
Together we came up the final stairs and arrived in Valentine’s personal throne section that he mostly stayed in at the tower. We came to see a tall platform with more paintings hanging along the side walls of the room we will stopped. A shadow appeared on the platform. It was him.
“I’m not surprised who you came with in the end. Your original character. The one who means the most to you. I only want you, author in the war,” Valentine replied to me.
I was feeling an intense headache as his power and darkness was growing on me. Wizard turned to face Valentine and pointed out his wand firing a massive magical beam towards him. Valentine returned the favor with a beam of dark power from his hand. I struggled to remain on my feet and dropped to the floor as I watched the two remaining in attack.
“The golden chains was your idea Wizard wasn’t it. To have a character to come up with a plan instead of him is a smart move. But there are things that you haven’t told him. Your age is quite advanced for a wizard of your world. It seems it’s almost like you have extended your time just for this moment,” Valentine said growing his powers with a sharp jab of his magic sending Wizard across the floor into the wall. I clawed my way along the ground to Wizard to be by his side and wondered what the dark author had said.
“What does he mean by that?” I asked him.
Wizard lifted his head up shaking his head, “You know I have lived a long time but I have been using my magic to extend the past few years on my life. I shouldn’t even be alive today. I have decided this is the time for me to give something big back to all the people who have been helping you and you yourself. That is the rest of my magic and sadly my own life,” he explained.
I tossed my head quickly, “No, you won’t do this to me. You were the first character I wrote, I made. Why are you doing this to me?”
“I’m tired. I have spent my life fighting my own battles and looking out for everyone else. I wished I had a peaceful life with my people the Dragon Knights but that was never to be. I was thrown into war against Zare, the man who turned my life upside down and fought with the Legomen and you for those years to defeat him. I watched you grow as a person and a writer over all that time. You were a child when we first met but now you’re an adult and you know what to do with yourself.”
“I still don’t know what to do with my life. You have guided me in my darkest times. You know that. What makes you think I’m ready to be alone?” I asked of him.
“You have been alone for most of your life but you always had the answers inside of you. All I did was help you find it when you were lost. I just helped you find them a bit quicker than you would have on your own.”
I shook him and begged him to stay with him. I never wanted to lose him. He had been with the since the very first day, “I won’t let you go. You must not leave me.”
“His wand is blackening. It’s too late author in the war. Enjoy his death. Your own end is next,” Valentine smiled turning around and entering the deeper areas of his throne rooms.
A small tear appeared in my eye looking at Valentine and turning back to Wizard, “I’ve lost too many people in my life and no one has ever been in my corner expect for you. Who will help me now? Who will stand by me after you are gone?” I asked.
“To love others you must love yourself and I have tried all my life to tell you that. The same dark clouds that took your parent are circling around you too. But there is still hope when you still alive. Please promise me you will try for us, for all who is fighting for you. You may feel alone now but please remember this is not the end of your life. You still have time!” Wizard begged of me.
“I can try but I can’t promise you anything. The hold on me is getting greater. I don’t know what will happen,” I answered.
“Take the wand when I am gone. It will return to a full level of power. It might help you. Take my bag too that I have been carrying. Use that and do use that shield whoever gave it to you,” he replied referring to the shield sitting on my back.
I held his wand in his hands and took a deep breathe to myself, “So when you’re gone I will march on with my life?”
“Yes you will and I’m sure of it. Goodbye for now. Let my wand remind you of days gone by. Let me have some shut eye,” Wizard answered. He closed his eyes for the last time and his body glowed merging into his wand. I sat on the floor with the tower swinging around in the air and through the window ahead of me I could fireballs, lightning bolts and creatures flying destroying everything that my pen and heart had created during the years.
“I want to die,” I said to myself.
