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Chapter Three-Awakening, Part II: Enter Schatten: The Guardians Final Mission!

Jonathan Lake

Location: Matrix Airspace; en route to Guardian Command Center
Time: 11:10 UT (Universal Time)

As the morning sun hung in the skies over Matrivortix, Xian and his fellow Guardians were en route to their command center on Mt. Karobochi via an escape shuttle found in the Academy's docking ring. During their flight, the Guardians' minds were racing rapidly; playing back the terrifying events that had occurred just two hours ago. Always being the one to take action, Alkaid exclaimed to her comrades: "I don't get it: if a new Guardian was being awakened, we would know about it thanks to the birthmark on our left arms. So two questions remain: what was the actual reason for their attack and who were they working for?" Kristal was sitting at her station on the shuttle, when she asked: "Hey, I'm not sure why they attacked, but I think Xian may have a clue on who the attackers were sent by." Puzzled by this accusation, Amber concluded: "From what I saw during the attack on the North Wall, Xian happens to have some connection to the leader of the attack squadron! I'm not trying to accuse a Guardian of treachery, but I think we need to get some information out of Xian before we do anything else." Without even a hesitation, everyone, except for Kristal, agreed, as the shuttle began to land in the docking bay of the command center. After the shuttle landed and everyone had disembarked, the Guardians made their way to the Central Command Area to be briefed by the head of the Matrix Republic, Grand Chancellor Celestia. When they arrived in the chamber, two unfamiliar faces were already waiting for them: one of which was carrying the Earth Birthmark symbol on his left arm. As Alkaid got closer to the light of the chamber, she immediately noticed who the person was, yelling: "SCHATTEN?! IS THAT YOU?!" The person replied to her: "Alkaid, good to see you again!! How long has it been...three years since I last saw you? By the way, the one with me is Melania, an Apprentice Guardian of Water." Tanion stepped forward and said to both of them: "It's a pleasure to meet both of you. Welcome to the Guardian's Conclave!"

"Hang on; you know who this is, Alkaid?" Xian had asked Lady Alkaid in a surprised manner. Alkaid, however; looked at him as if he was being sarcastic, until...

POW!

Alkaid had smacked him right on the head! Xian yelled in response to her action: "HEY! What in the name of Atlas was that for?!" With a devilish, fox-like grin, she replied: "That was for acting like a complete idiot! Of course I know him, and you do as well, Xian. He was in our Advanced Combat Training class during the 2nd term!" Suddenly, a voice began to speak as if out of nowhere, saying: "I really hate to break up this heartwarming reunion, but I've got to debrief your fellow Guardians on the current situation." That's when a holographic projection of a person appeared in the middle of the Command Center's round conference table. It was none other than Grand Chancellor Celestia, the Matrix Republic's highest authority.

(The rest of this chapter is in a dialogue format, so bear with me, please)

Celestia: Good afternoon, everyone. First off, I apologize for calling you back to the command center on your week of graduation, but I wouldn't have done it if we didn't have a major situation on our hands. Plus, I see our new additions to the Guardian family have arrived in one piece.

Schatten: So am I, Grand Chancellor. Now, what's the situation?

Celestia: As you may know, at approximately 1827 hours yesterday evening, the Takusho Academy suffered a massive assault against an entire army of assassins, led by a giant, bio-armored beast of unknown origin. Unfortunately, judging by the markings left behind by the creature's shredded bio-armor, this beast was a mere spawn of the legendary deity from the Ancient Realm: Sin.

Xian: Do we have any idea why they attacked us without warning, and why they were after the new Earth Guardian?/p>

Schatten: Hold on a second, they were after me?!

Celestia: Yes, they were. My guess is they needed his power to help awaken the Ancient Beast.

Tanion: Still, a question remains: How was that "Sin-spawn" able to appear in our world, if Sin is still sealed within its dimensional prison?

Alkaid: I have a feeling that this "Xanadu" character has something to do with what's going on; and Xian happens to know what it may be.

Kristal: (yelling) THESE ACCUSATIONS ARE COMPLETELY INCONCIEVABLE! FOR ALL WE KNOW, XANADU WAS CONTROLLING HIS MIND AND-

Xian: No, Kristal, Alkaid's right. Xanadu and I were both students at the old Corsair Academy. The authorities found his power to be too dangerous to keep loose. However, he somehow used that same ploy against me and got me expelled from the Academy. That's all I-hang on; I may have something that could be useful. Xanadu left this behind when he made his escape.

(Xian pulls out weird, brooch-like clip out of his armor pouch and gives it to Alkaid)

Alkaid: What a piece of junk!

Kristal: Looks like an insignia badge of some sort.

Amber: I agree with Kristal, but the shape is unlike anything I have seen before.

Tanion: Luckily, I recognize its shape and origin. It's the crest of the Royal Guard for the Ancient Realm's empress. The current empress at this time happens to be a sorceress with demon powers named Victoria.

Kristal: Holy Niagara Falls!! We are DEFINITELY dealing with a powerful person here! (And Xian, don't go all crazy because I said "Niagara Falls")

Xian: Hold up, you know the Empress?!

Kristal: Unfortunately, I do know Victoria. Before I ended up becoming a Guardian, I was the head of Security along the Southern Coastlines. My second-in-command and apprentice was Victoria. She always questioned my every action before I made it. One day, when I was doing my routine rounds, she just disappeared, never to be seen again. Two years after she disappeared, one of the colonies on the Coastline was attacked by an unknown force; leading it was none other than my apprentice. It was clear that a dark power had begun to awaken within her soul, so we had no choice but to banish her from this world.

Rebirth: Sounds like you and the Evil Empress have quite the history...

Amber: Ok, that's enough, Rebirth.

Celestia: Since this enemy happens to be quite familiar to some of you, then your new mission will be very easy! With your knowledge of the enemy, we'll have you back in time for graduation.

Tanion and Xian: New mission?!

Alkaid: Finally, some action for once! I haven't taken down an enemy for so long, my fox senses need retuning.

Celestia: Your objectives are clear: Locate the Evil Empress and stop her at all costs. If Sin has been released from its prison, then she may use any means necessary to eliminate you with the Ancient One's power. But remember, don't take her too lightly!

Xian: What about Xanadu and the rest of the Empress' Royal Guard?

Celestia: If they do find you first, destroy them; and if you come across Xanadu again-guilty or not-I don't want you running off on a vendetta. Avenging Lady Ariya will not bring her back.

Xian: You weren't the one who killed her in cold blood, out of jealousy and envy. You weren't the one who betrayed her.

Celestia: Neither were you, Xian. Don't make it personal. Understood?

Xian: (sighing) ...Understood.

Celestia: Good, then gear up and head out. The Braveheart is waiting above the Command Center. Dismissed!

End of Dialogue

As the Braveheart launched itself towards the mountains, Amber thought to herself: "It's as if when Ariya died, a piece of Xian's soul was completely shattered. After what I went through with my relationships, I think I understand his pain now..."

Chapter Four

Ambitions of the Shadow

Corsair Airspace; 1032 hours

Aboard the Braveheart, the Guardians' flying fortress, Lord Xian and the other six Guardians were reviewing the tactical data on their mission, which was provided to them by Grand Chancellor Celestia during the mission briefing. Alkaid stopped reading her data when she saw the words "Proceed with extreme caution", telling the others: "The Chancellor is only stating the obvious in various pieces of this report, telling us to be careful, not to be reckless, blah, blah, blah. Why don't the Guardian council members tell us anything important: like how to locate our enemy?!" Offended by her remark, Xian angrily responded: "Well, if you paid attention and actually READ through this report, you'll find that the information you want is in there!" Schatten only sat in his chair in shock, not sure how to respond to this new situation. "Don't mind them Schatten," Tanion said to him; "Alkaid questions Xian about everything nearly all the time. A word to the wise though, Xian has a fiery temper if you get on his bad side." Before Alkaid could reply, Xian stormed out of the briefing room, heading straight to his quarters. Amber tried to go after him, but Tanion said to her: "Let him go, Amber."

When Xian got to his quarters, he sat in the chair that lay adjacent to his desk, closing his eyes and looking back at his previous missions, searching for an answer to this dilemma.....

(Flashback: Xian's POV) Two Months Ago

The morning sun had begun to pierce through the blanket of fog that surrounded the Braveheart, which was currently mere meters away from the Corsair Tower, the main stronghold of the Corsair Empire. The only thing I could think to myself was: "It will be remembered as the days that history itself would be altered forever, with the destruction of the very force that I helped create in the beginning....."

Chirp, Bleep

"Come in." I instructed to the one at the door. It was none other than Ariya, the Earth Guardian Medium. Besides being the Guardian of Earth, Ariya had a spiritual gift that could help others reconnect with their past lives. I looked up to Ariya when it came to personal matters, considering the fact that her own bloodline faced near extinction at the hands of the Corsair Empire. There are times when I speak to her; I completely blame myself for everything that happened to her family. "Xian," Ariya began to say, "You look worried about something. What's wrong?" I figured that it was time to tell her the truth about my connection with the Empire. "Ariya," I began to confess, "Before the Corsair Empire was organized, a group of people existed in their Old Federation. This group swore its absolution to keep things in control. I was part of that group. In essence, I feel as if I am partially to blame for what happened to your family years ago. I just don't want to make the same mistake I made in the past." For Both Ariya and me, it felt as if time stood still for a moment. That ended when Rebirth's voice said over the communications grid: "All Elite Guardians report to the bridge immediately!"

(End Flashback)

An echo, almost as if it was a blur, was yelling: "Xian!!! Come on Xian, wake up already!" As Xian was starting to come to his senses:

BAM!!

Alkaid had hit him on the head with the back of the katana she always carried with her. When Xian was fully awake, he yelled to Alkaid: "The next time I need a wake-up call Alkaid, leave your katana out of it!!" Alkaid just shrugged her shoulders, looking completely innocent after what she did to him. Amber finally stepped in and said: "Xian, you need to come to the bridge immediately!! We're approaching a Matrix outpost, only.....it's completely destroyed." Not wasting any time, Xian, Alkaid and Amber rushed right for the bridge.

When Alkaid and Xian arrived on the bridge, they found everyone in a state of shock because of what they were seeing on the view screen. Alkaid was the first to react, saying: "Rebirth, run an analysis on the ruins; check for anything out of the ordinary." Rebirth headed over to the Science station, ready to run multiple analogies on the area that lay in shambles. Xian stopped Rebirth in the process, saying in fear: "This was an outpost village located here at the foot of the Werion Mountains. It was home to over 6000 Corsair refugees; at least half had defected to the Matrix Republic after a major conflict 3 months ago."

Suddenly, Schatten exclaimed to the others: "I've scanned the village debris: no sign of any weapons traces, or even radiation. I am, however, picking up what looks like shedded bio-armor. The markings on the shedded armor match the creature that attacked the Academy!"

Xian and Kristal knew the destruction of this village could have been led by Empress Victoria herself. That was when Tanion suggested: "We need to head down there, see if we can find any possible survivors. If so, they can help us figure out what the Empire may be planning next." Without a single doubt, everyone agreed. Xian pressed a button at his station, saying over the comm: "Kendara, prepare a medical team and meet us at Docking Bay 2. We are heading down to the ruins to search for any surviving villagers." Kendara replied: "We're on our way there now, Xian. Kendara, out."

Meanwhile, in a stronghold hidden within the Ancient Realm's Chaos Mountains........

Xanadu, finally relieved to be home, started on his way towards the Royal Chambers of the Empress; who had summoned him back only two hours ago. As he entered the chamber, everything started to dim around the room: everything except for the throne area of the Empress. Just as Xanadu thought he was alone, what looked like a young girl's hand appeared out of the darkness, signaling Xanadu's and the Empress' guards to leave. Without hesitating, the guards had disappeared completely in a cloud of smoke. Finally, a young figure began to walk into the well-lit area of the throne....the one with the demon's eyes and the long-forgotten bloodline of the Ancient Realm. That figure was none other than Victoria, the Empress of Darkness and leader of the Ancient Empire. "So," Victoria began to say; "you have returned to me as I ordered, yet you appear before me empty handed. Tell me, why is it that you return here with nothing more than an excuse?! "Xanadu began to hesitate uncontrollably, knowing that he had angered the Empress by failing his mission. Xanadu attempted to say: "T-that's because-", but couldn't finish as he felt like he was being choked by an invisible grip as he was lifted off the floor by an arm created from dark energy. The very force of the arm was crushing his body with each passing second. Victoria began to yell at him, saying: "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO RETURN WITH THE NEW EARTH GUARDIAN!!! WE NEED THE GUARDIAN'S ESSENCE TO AWAKEN THE ANCIENT ONE FROM ITS PRISON!!!" Xanadu tried to speak, but all he could get out was: "It's not my fault, it was *wheezes* Xian, Kristal and the other Guardians who attempted to stop us!" The Empress' face changed from red back to its original color, as she released Xanadu from her grip. "Kristal, eh?" The Empress chortled in a devilish way, "This may work to our advantage after all, Xanadu. Head to the barracks and prepare a strike team, so we can "welcome" the Guardians; and I'll ask for assistance from the Ancient One. Dismissed!!"

As Xanadu headed for the barracks, Victoria turned her chair towards a large archway, which showed the head of a giant demonic creature floating in its prison. Eventually, the being began to speak: "It seems my last creature wasn't as efficient as I thought. So I'll give you Ryo, the demon of the Sky. Just remember, if you fail, then the next soul I will take is yours!!!"

To Be Continued......

What could the Empress and Xanadu be plotting? And what caused the destruction of the mountain outpost? Find out next time!!

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