The day had just reached noon. The Adonai stood at the window in his office, staring downward at the city of Talvory below him, the people like tiny specks of sand, blown by some arbitrary breeze. He stood above them in his office, his hands patiently clasped behind him as he contemplated the moment.
A general, uniform decorated in medals, stood at attention in his presence.
"He's here," the Adonai said, almost as if in soliloquy. "Gilliam is here, and so is the Angel. I can feel it. I can feel an immense presence in the air."
"What will you have us do, Your Honor?" the general said.
"If I know Gilliam at all, I know that he will know how the Juggernaut works. And if that is true, then he will try to stop it." The Adonai paused. "He wants this power—this girl—for himself." He held a fist up to his chest. "General. Place the Judges at the Nodes. If Gilliam thinks I'm not going to fight him, he's a fool."
The general bowed. "Yes, Your Honor!"
"Gilliam..." the Adonai said once the general had left. "My foolish brother." He held his hand to the number on his chest. "This time you will lose."
He paused as footsteps entered the room.
"I trust you have good news for me, say, Doctor Laveau?" the Adonai finally said, breaking the silence.
"Yes, Your Honor," the weaselly scientist said as he shuffled into the room, hunched over with his hands clasped nervously.
"Your report?" the Adonai said without turning.
"This girl," the doctor began, "her blood contains a high volume of zellinium, but she also contains traces of unknown elements in her blood, as if she's not of this world—"
"Spare me your academics, Doctor Laveau," the Adonai snapped. "Will she or won't she power the Juggernaut?"
"Y-yes, Your Honor," the doctor said, his voice shaky. "She will power it nicely."
"Good," the large man responded. "Fetch her. It is almost time. It won't be long."
"What will you do, Your Honor?" the scientist said, bowing.
"I must meet my brother at the gate." Smoke began to seep from the Adonai's clenched fist. "I need to give him the proper welcome. You are dismissed."
"Yes, Your Honor," the scientist said, bowing before leaving the room.
"Gilliam..." the Adonai said into the air. "I know what you're planning. And I know I won't let it happen..."
The secret tunnel that led into Talvory City finally had come to a ladder with a hatch above. As Gilliam showed each member out of the cavern, Philos noticed rather quickly where he was. It was a dark, dank space, piled high with wooden crates and barrels.
"This is a warehouse of some sort?" he asked, almost stating it.
"You are correct." Gilliam said. "We are in an old storehouse in the back of the city."
"You really do have friends all over, don't you, Gilliam?" Uri said with a smile, his green eyes large behind his round glasses.
Gilliam nodded. "Aye. It's best to stay informed."
"Nice!" Alphonso said, running his comb through his gelled brown hair.
Vylet climbed up the ladder and dusted off her jacket. "So what's next?" she asked.
"Yeah!" Joseph added, clicking his blue lighter and lighting a cigarette. "We're in the city, so we're in enemy territory. Now what?"
Gilliam smirked. "Now we initiate the plan."
"Plan?" Philos said.
"The boss loves his plans!" Krista sang.
"First off," Gilliam began, frost spilling from his mouth. "If you want to save your friend, and the city, we need to thwart the activation of the Juggernaut."
"That's the weapon-thing they're using Astrid for, right?" Joseph said, puffing his cigarette.
"Correct," Gilliam answered. "The Juggernaut is a weapon of mass destruction that my brother, the Adonai, is planning to use on the city here in about an hour. If he succeeds in activating it, not only will your friend die, but we and all of Talvory City will be blown away with it."
"How horrible!" young Uri exclaimed.
"A madman..." Vylet said in a low breath.
"So how do we stop it?" Philos asked.
"Yeah! Do we just crash in on the Adonai guy and beat 'em to a pulp?" Alphonso slammed his fist into his palm.
Sir Smith said nothing. He merely watched from where he was seated upon a crate.
"It's not so simple," Gilliam rubbed his chin. "But it will take a team effort to succeed this plan." He cleared his throat. "The Juggernaut is a massive machine, spread into four components, called Nodes. These Nodes are needed to process the magical energy correctly and convert them into physical energy. Which means that, in order to stop the Juggernaut weapon completely..."
"...we have to destroy the Nodes?" Philos finished Gilliam's sentence.
"Exactly." Gilliam nodded. "Each Node is powered by a crystal made of a material called 'vryxn glass,' which is highly conductive of magical power. If that crystal is removed, the Node will be rendered inactive."
"Easy enough!" Joseph said, leaning against a crate. "Where are these Nodes, eh, Frosty?"
Kitt raised his hand. "Once we leave the storehouse, you'll notice two towers in the east and west directions of the city. The banners on each are different colors, with the white one being the Government Tower of the Adonai. Anyway, each of the towers hold a crystal."
"So we just take the tower's crystal down and that's it?" Alphonso smirked. "Too easy!"
Astrid, Philos thought, clenching his fists. I'm coming for you. I promise. He grit his teeth. I won't let you die...I won't let this man hurt anyone else!
Philos turned to his friends, his reddish eyes bright. "So we split up." He pointed to Uri and Joseph. "You two together take the west." He turned to Alphonso and Vylet. "And you two take the east!"
Uri cocked his head. "How will we know where to go?"
"We'll be leading your way!" Kitt spoke up.
"Yeah!" Krista bounced on her feet. "Me and Kitt will split up with you! We know exactly where these towers are!"
"Sounds good to me!" Joseph said.
"Right on!" Alphonso exclaimed.
Vylet nodded.
Uri turned to Philos. "And what about you, brother?"
"I'll go to the Adonai's tower," Philos said. "I have to save Astrid."
"Don't worry, Spectacles!" Krista smiled, placing a hand on Uri's shoulder. "Your brother will be just fine!"
"Aye!" Gilliam said. "I shall accompany Philos myself. I know that my brother, the Adonai, would love to see me."
"And what about you, Sir Smith?" Uri asked, looking up at the Angel with large green eyes.
The Angel shrugged. "I will accompany Philos." He looked at Gilliam, who nodded. "I assume you two could use the help of a healer." He turned to Philos. "Remember, your Starblood won't heal magical wounds."
"Right!" Philos nodded, cracking his knuckles. "Then it's settled! Let's go!"
Astrid, bound in chains, was led to an elevator by Doctor Laveau's soldiers and the doctor himself.
"You are a unique specimen, girl," he said. "It's truly too bad that I can't dissect you."
Astrid scowled and shivered. "You're disgusting."
"Such a crude woman." The doctor scrunched his face. "I don't understand why those insurgents want to save you so badly."
"Insurgents?!" Astrid exclaimed, her heart leaping.
"Yes, some boy and his friends." The doctor waved his hand. "But they'll be dead soon. Burned to a crisp!"
"A boy...?"
Philos...
Suddenly, her mind filled with the memories of her time—her brief, brief time—at the coffee shop.
Someone would...
It was a strange feeling, really. She didn't know how to process it.
You came back...?
She felt as if her heart was rending in two.
For me...?
The Starbreather loomed high above the city, unseen and unheard by all. His blood-red eyes watched Philos move closer to the Adonai's tower.
"That's right..." he said, a smile revealing his sharp and jagged teeth.
Soon...
Very soon...