16(S2E3)- Avalon

16

(Season 2 Episode 3)

Avalon

Kahn stared at the two ninja who kneeled before her in shame.  She had let them tell her the story of what had happened and now she waited to see if there was more to it.

There wasn’t.  “So you two, who have been placed as protectors for Zachariah, sat in the tree and watched him get beaten and taken to Avalon?”

Her Japanese was fast and angry and meant to degrade.  Kyo looked up and took a breath to speak, trying to find the words.

Shinji got to it first.  “It was Seamus himself.  Wards are to kill ninja on sight.  He would have destroyed us.”

Kahn took two steps forward and kicked Shinji in the chest with such force he left his feet and crashed to his back gasping for breath.

“Then I would be rid of the two of you failures!” She snapped.

“We are sorry master.” Kyo said, proudly ready to accept his punishment.

“Sorry?” Kahn questioned with a raised eyebrow.  “This is our most important contract and you just allowed the highest ward to drag him to Avalon!”

Shinji was starting to get to his feet and she turned and gave him a right-cross, sending him back to the ground before turning back to Kyo who gulped.  “Is there anything you have left out?”

“Well master, there is one thing.” Kyo said nervously, his resolve having failed.

Kahn almost growled as Kyo continued.  “The ward was here because Zachariah was accused of… murdering three wards.”

Kahn blinked.  “Murder?  Zachariah?”

Kyo nodded.  “Seamus said he had killed three wards, which is impossible.  We have been watching him.”

Kahn shook her head.  “Of course he didn’t murder anyone!  Do you remember him? He’s not killing anyone.”

Kahn frowned then turned back toward the broken garage.  “I will have to go after him.”

Kyo stepped up with concern.  “Master, no.  As Shinji said, they kill ninjas there  He’s not worth it.”

Kahn turned and frowned.  “That is not for you to decide!”

Kyo was silenced and Kahn turned.  “If you don’t hear from me in a week, Kyosu is in charge.”

With that, Kahn seemed to vanish into thin air.

Shinji stood rubbing his head and Kyo spoke.  “I wish her luck and safe return.”

Shinji gave him an irritated look.  “I just wish she would hit you for a change.”

****

What unfolded in front of Zachariah was like nothing he had ever seen in his life.

He, Mary and Mel stood on a giant tower of stone.  In front of them stretched a city of the same towers huge and wide, like a city’s sky scrapers but with a medieval feel. Between them, like a spider web, networked huge mile-long walkways of granite to connect the massive structures.  The city itself was literally in a cloud.  The white fluff spindled and twined around the buildings.  Above the city, next to the largest tower was a small building with a bright light emanating from it.

“It’s beautiful…” Mary mumbled the words as she stared, wide eyed, at the city in the clouds.

Mel eyeballed her.  “Yes… yes it is.  Never seen it before?”

Both Mary and Zachariah’s attention dropped from the impossible skyline to the suspicious dwarf.

“Of course not, I didn’t know this could exist.” She said confused.

Mel just made an acknowledging noise and stared at her.  “Never even heard of it?”

Mary looked at Zachariah then back at the dwarf.  “Did I do something to offend you?”

Mel continued to stare and Zachariah decided to chime in.  “At the risk of sounding petty and self obsessed, isn’t this whole mess about me?”

Mel returned his gaze to Zachariah but before he could speak the head of the Nex house spoke first.  “Indeed it is, Rognaithe.”

“God bless you?” Mary said confused.

Mel snickered at the comment.

The high level wizard was not as impressed and scowled at the three of them as he stepped off the walkway and onto the tower floor.  Two thin men with glasses frowned as if they were his guards.

Having seen what Mel could do with magic, Zachariah believed it.

“You have been accused of the highest crime, killing a ward.  Three, to be exact.”  The high wizard spoke matter-of-factly and without emotion.

Zach frowned back at him.  “Do I really look like I could do that?”

Drum looked him over and raised his eyebrow.  “True, you do not look formidable in any way, and I can tell you are not capable of spell casting, but you of all people know that looks can be deceiving.”

Drum turned his attention to Mary and scowled again.  “Not to mention the company you keep.”

“Do I have something on my face or something?!” Mary said exasperated with the unexplained hatred.  “Why does everyone hate me on sight?!”

“We do not usually allow your kind here, but law dictates that the accused may have any visitors for the trial.  You will, of course, be watched at all times.”

Zachariah put up his hands.  “Whoa there, back the ‘fuck Zach’ train up and lets clear this up.  I didn’t kill anyone.”

“Then we will find you innocent on all charges at the trial.  My time wears thin.  These two will escort you three to your quarters.”  Drum turned with that and began to walk back toward the way he had come.

Zachariah was desperate.  “Wait, if this is a trail don’t I at least get a public defender or something?!”

Drum stopped and turned.  He was a short, grey haired man wearing purple robes, but somehow, He still had an intimidating air to him.  His wrinkled face curved into a smile for the first time since Zachariah had met him.

Zachariah found himself wishing the man was scowling again.

“Of course.  The High Vince Delgato has assigned you, the forsaken to represent you. Fitting if you ask me.”  Drum turned and walked off down the cobblestone walkway.

Zachariah looked confused, “The forsaken?”

Mary shook her head.  “That can’t be good,”

“Nothing ever is with my father.”  Mel chimed in, his eyes still watching his dad vanish into the clouds.

Zachariah did a double take.  “The angry prune is your dad?!”

Mel nodded slowly.  “Yep…  And I’m the forsaken.”

****

Avalon was a floating city, which made it that much harder to enter.  This is of course the way the infernal creatures wanted things.  After all, not only was their most important figure head’s residence here, but this city had the light of God.

This was why the killer was here.

As to be expected, a murder of such magnitude had brought many in to Avalon to find out the details and see the trail of the Rognaithe.  This made it easier to get onto the city than ever before.

The only way onto the city were certain areas known as receivers.  With the right spell, creatures of all walks could teleport to these receivers as long as they were magically inclined.  Coupled with the fact that unless you were standing in the city you couldn’t see it, it made it nearly impossible for anyone without magic to gain entry.

No humans allowed.

Then they placed wards at these receivers in order to monitor the traffic coming into the city, as well as Nexes to manage the inflow of souls.  After all, if two people teleport in at the same time, it could be disastrous.  This made heavy traffic times nearly unbearable, leaving many people waiting in limbo for hours.

The killer chuckled at the parallels between teleportation and commercial air flights.

None of this affected the killer, of course.  He could not do magic and had never any intention of teleporting in.  Instead, he had used the microscopic machines running through his body to find the city and then fly to it.  After that, he had found an axis point and crawled into the receiver section.

At this point he used the nano-machines to reflect the light around him and become nearly invisible.  Normally this would not have worked.  Either the wards or the Nexes would have detected something but with the flow to the receivers being peak they missed the nearly invisible figure as he strolled right past them and through the long annoying receiving section of the city.

The killer had entered Avalon.  He was one step closer to what he had been working toward for his entire life.

To kill God.

To kill who?  That’s a line worth a protest!  Who is this mysterious killer and who will stop his evil scheme?  Will Zachariah be convicted and bleed like a stuck pig?  Why is everyone treating Mary worse than the accused murderer?  Will I answer these questions in the next episode?

Find out on…

Stranger Things: Zachariah’s Trial

TO BE CONTINUED…

15(S2E2)- Druid Vs Loser

15

(Season 2 Episode 2)

Druid Vs Loser

“I did what, now?” Zachariah felt like he had been hit in the face.

Mary just laughed.  “Is this a joke?”

At this point, Zachariah was actually hit in the face.

He staggered while grabbing his nose and yelping nasally.  “What the shit?!”

The druid gave him no answer and instead a tattoo on his chest began to glow, and a bear’s head seemed to roar.  The druid then stepped in and punched Zachariah in the abdomen.  The force lifted him off his feet and sent him hurling ten feet into the closed garage door.

The force of Zachariah’s ass crashing into the paneling splintered the fiberglass.

Zachariah hit the gravel driveway face first with a moan.

****

“Damn that has got to hurt!” Shinji chuckled as he spoke in Japanese.

Kyo frowned under his ninja mask as the two watched the druid pummel Zachariah from a tree one yard over.  Kyo and Shinji had been assigned to maintain protection of Zachariah after the incident in Zersch’s liar.  They had been bested by the pathetic human and his dwarf sorcerer and had been assigned the job as punishment.

That being said, the last five years had been boring.  They had witnessed Zachariah drink too much, get into trouble, move five times and drink too much.  They had to intervene only a handful of times and only one of them involved any real skill.  The most dangerous had been the night Zachariah had gotten drunk and decided he needed pizza in a snow storm.  After wandering out into the blizzard, Kyo had to knock him out and drop him off at the nearest pizza place before he got himself killed.

So the prospect of action was appealing to both the ninja.  Not appealing enough, however.

“So what do we do?” Shinji asked.

Kyo shook his head.  “That is Seamus down there.  Head of the wards.”

Shinji nodded.  “True but we are supposed to keep him safe, aren’t we?”

“You feel like dying for that idiot?” Kyo asked.

Shinji rubbed his head where five years ago a mace had struck him, thanks to Zachariah, and frowned.  “What about Kahn?”

Kyo shrugged.  “What could she do to us that is any worse than babysitting that drunken loser for the last five years?”

Shinji had to admit that Kyo had a point.  “Alright, fifty says the druid kills him.”

“You’re on.” Kyo answered.

**** 

Mary made a yelp noise as she watched Zachariah hit the ground wide eyed.  “What in the hell is going on?!”

Her world had been turned upside down in a matter of minutes and she had no idea how to act.

“Run along woman, or you will be next.” The glowing tattooed man grunted at her before brushing past and advancing on Zachariah.

Zachariah had pulled himself to his hands and knees when Seamus got to him.  The druid grabbed the back of his neck and in one lurch pulled him to his feet.  Zachariah popped up right and looked Seamus in the eyes.

The druid smiled.

Zachariah took this opportunity to spit the mouthful of gravel he had concealed after the fall, into the druid’s eyes.

Seamus was more shocked than hurt as the spit saturated rocks bounced off his face. “In the name of the creator!”

“Never underestimate me!” Zachariah yelled as he balled his fast and pulled back his arm.  The muscles in his bicep and forearm strained and tensed as he prepared to put everything behind his next attack.

Zachariah then threw himself into motion, pivoting off his back foot and twisting into his next blow, launching a punch with all the power and determination he could muster.

The blow hit the druid’s face and he barley flinched.

Zachariah’s face sagged.  “Shit.”

The druid stepped in and grabbed Zachariah’s throat.  With one hand, he lifted the tall dishwasher of the ground, hanging him in the air as he gasped and gagged for breath.

Seamus smiled as he looked into Zachariah’s eyes.  “I am so glad you made this easy for me.  Once and for all, I’m going to kill you right here.  All the pain and suffering you have caused will be avenged.”

Zachariah was turning purple now and his eyes showed true fear.  Zachariah knew this was the end.

It was at this point that Mary stepped in from the druid’s right and hit him with a left hook.  The druid had seen her coming and thought nothing of the human woman, knowing she would be unable to hurt him.  This was a mistake.  The blow landed with an unexpected amount of power and Seamus saw stars.  He dropped Zachariah to the gravel driveway and fell to all fours.

Zachariah gasped for breath as Mary now checked on him.  Seamus pulled himself to his feet and rubbed his jaw, spinning back around to eye the woman.

Mary was a curvatious woman with big brown eyes and angled features.  She had jaw length crimson hair and wore tight jeans and a tee-shirt.  There was no reason she should be capable of such an attack.

Nonetheless, he would not underestimate her again.  “You have made your last mistake, woman.  He was the wrong man to back.”

Suddenly, the night sky lit up in a blinding blue light.  Seamus turned but it was too late and the arc lighting slammed into him, sending volts of electricity through his body.  He spun through the air and skipped off the car hood.

“How is this bringing him in alive?!” Mel’s voice yelled as he stepped from the front lawn to the driveway between Seamus and his quarry.

Mary just stared.  “Who the hell is this, now?”

“That’s Mel.”  Zachariah said, still gasping for breath.

Mary raised an eyebrow.  “You know this guy?”

Zachariah nodded.

“Has he always been able to shoot lighting out of his fingers?” She asked, bewildered.

“More or less.” Zachariah said pulling himself to his feet.

Mary looked confused.  “Define ‘more or less’.”

Zachariah shrugged.  “More, as in he has a million different other tricks, and less, being that he’s really, really, short.”

Mel scowled up at Zachariah.  “A short joke?  Really?”

Zachariah looked innocent.  “Come on, she practically gift wrapped that one for me.”

“You have crossed the line for the last time, Nex!” The druid’s rumbling, anger-filled voice killed the mood instantly.

Mel turned and gave him a determined looked.  “He stands trial!  I won’t let you exact justice on your own!”

“Let me just clear this up right now,” Zachariah interrupted.  “I didn’t kill anyone.”

Seamus eyed him.  “That is debatable.  Alright dwarf, you get your way.  Bring him to Avalon within the hour and let the courts decide his fate.”

Seamus turned to walk away, then thought better of it and looked back at the trio.  “If he steps out of line, I will take my revenge.”

Zachariah rubbed the bridge of his nose.  “See, this is why I hate you fantasy types. ‘Take my revenge?’ Really?  Nobody talks like that.”

Seamus frowned at him.

Zachariah maintained eye contact.  “Nobody.”

Seamus then turned and disappeared into the night.

Mel, Zachariah and Mary all stood in silence for a short time.

Mary then blinked twice and decided to ask the right question.  “What the fuck is going on?”

****

Shinji frowned as the three of them vanished.

Kyo struck out his hand expecting Shinji to pay up.

Shinji shrugged.  “I left my wallet in my other Shozoku.”

Zachariah and Mary are off to Avalon, but why is Zachariah charged with murder?!  Who has framed him and for what purpose?  Will Seamus ever get the anger management therapy that he obviously needs?

Find out next time!

Stranger Things: Zachariah’s Trial.

TO BE CONTINUED….

14(S2E1)-Not Again... Yes Again.

14

(Season 2 Episode 1)

Not Again… Yes Again.

Mel threw open the giant, double doors to the council room storming inside.  “This is insane!”

His voice echoed in the ancient and large stone auditorium.  All eyes were on the small man as he walked into the center of the room.  Delegates from all races of magic looked on, as well as the High Three.

The High Three were those who governed over all that is fantasy.  Vince Delgato, the oldest living vampire, Aodan the Celtic High Druid, and finally Drum, the Nex Guild Master.

Aodan stood out of his chair and turned to Drum.  “What is the meaning of this, Drum? Your son’s Interruption is an outrage!”

Drum frowned hard.  His son had always made things difficult.  “Mel, you have no place in the guild and no place here.  You know this.”

“I beg your pardon, your highness, but fuck you,” Mel yelled back as he made it to the center of the room.

Delgato snickered, still relaxed in his chair.

 Aodan’s head swiveled to give Delgato a hard eye.  “This is not funny.”

Delgato shrugged as if to disagree, but said nothing.

“This is a witch hunt!” Mel bored ahead and pointed at Aodan.  “You’re just doing this to try to get revenge for your daughter!  Cathleen died because of you and your stupid ways!”

“I have heard enough!” A muscular, clean shaven man stepped forward.  His hard lined body and face were covered in tattoos of animals and plants.  He stepped into the middle.  “You don’t know what you speak of, dwarf!”

“Screw you mick.  You’re really buying into your old man’s garbage?” Mel snapped back.

“You have a big mouth for such a little body.”  Seamus’s gruff voice mocked.

“You look like a dirty dick.” Mel wasted no time and the room was appalled at the language.

“Enough of this!” Drum yelled, trying to restore order.  “You are misinformed, son.”

Mel scoffed.  “I stopped being you’re son a long time ago.”

Drum seemed honesty hurt by the remark but forged ahead.  “The murder that the Rognaithe is accused of is not Cathleen’s, nor does it have anything to do with the events that transpired in the spiral five years ago.”

Mel stopped for a second, confused.  “What?  Then who did he kill?”

“Last night,” Seamus broke in.  “Three wards were murdered on a routine search and seizure of illegal spell books, one other was badly hurt.  The survivor said there was no mistaking the culprit.  It was the Rognaithe.”

Mel scowled.  “That’s impossible.  Zachariah isn’t magical and he sure as hell doesn’t have any powers.  He is human.  How would a human kill three wards?”

Seasmus’ grin widened.  “When I get him, I ask for you.”

“Wait, you’re charged with bringing him back?!” Mel turned to the High Three.  “You can’t send him!  He’ll kill Zachariah!”

The Celtic High smiled.  “True, but given the fact that three wards fell to this Rognaithe, we must send the best.  Seamus is chief of the wards and the only one equipped to deal with Zachariah.”

Mel threw his hands into the air.  “Zachariah is a fat loser!  Are you all stupid?!”

The room gasped collectively at the insult.

Aodan’s jaw worked.  “How dare you!  You who are not even welcome in these hallowed halls nor in the City of Avalon!  Guards, I want him-”

“Wait,” the quiet and almost purring voice of the vampire Delgato somehow broke through the screaming of Aodan and silenced the room.  “I nominate Mel to be Zachariah’s advocate.”

Aodan spun his hard and weathered face, going rigid.  “Are you insane?”

Delgato shrugged.  “Zachariah will need defense in the trial and I don’t think anyone else here would defend him after killing three wards and all.  It’s only right.”

Aodan’s eyes narrowed.  “We will vote on that.  I say nay.”

“Yay.”  Delgato said with a disconnected voice.

Aodan turned to Drum.

Drum looked to Mel who, with a frown and a growl, spoke.  “If I ever meant anything to you, give me this.”

Drum took a deep breath. “Yay.”

Aodan shook his head in frustration.  “Fine.  Mel is his advocate but to advocate for him, he must be here.  Seamus, go and bring the Rognaithe before this council and the judgment of all creatures of fantasy.

Seamus nodded and turned but Mel caught the waist of his pants.  He turned and looked at Mel’s hand then at Mel.

“He better be in one piece.” Mel said.

Seamus chuckled, his gruff voice making it sound evil.  Then he pulled himself away and marched out of the room without a second look.

****

Zachariah had changed almost every aspect of himself.

His hair he had cut short and flat to his head instead of the long and curly pony tail.  He had traded in his fedora for a baseball cap and just recently he had closeted his Hawaiian button ups in exchange for polo shirts.

That was the price of love.

Mary locked the door to the Stevenson’s house and Zachariah caught her around the hips.  As she did so, she made a noise of pleasure.  “With that done we have the rest of the night to ourselves.”

Zachariah’s tone was heavy with insinuation.  They had finished the Stevenson’s house early.  It was just one of the houses Mary cleaned on the side to supplement her husband’s income.  This had made perfect cover for her and Zachariah’s affair as she had hired him to help.

It should be mentioned at this point to avoid confusion that Zachariah was not Mary’s husband.

She had been married to another man named Jim for almost five years.

Zachariah had entered the equation two years ago when he had seen her at a get-together among old high school friends.  There had been something about her that had drawn him in.  Right away, he could feel that she felt the same and before he knew it he was in deep.

“And where are we going to go?” She asked coyly.

“Come to my place.” Zachariah answered as she spun around in his arms.

She raised an eyebrow.  “My husband is expecting me, you know I can’t.”

Zachariah frowned.  “I’m still not sure what you are doing with him.”

Zach was eager for their relationship to be over and to have her to himself.  He had even moved into the rural countryside area, which he hated, to be closer to her.

“Exactly, how will we support ourselves?  You are a dishwasher Zach we have talked about this.”  The desperation for this conversation to be over was obvious in the tone of her answer.

Zachariah broke away and rolled his eyes.  “Come on, Mary.  I’m about to start my new job next week, and then no more food service.  We can finally be together.”

She turned and walked across the dark front yard toward the car.  The Stevensons lived in the same rural area and were on vacation.  There was no one but the two lovers and the night sky.

At least that they knew about.

“You know it’s not that simple.” Mary said as she went in her pocket for her keys.

Zachariah’s eyes narrowed, “Why not?  You love me, right?”

She turned toward him with anger in her eyes.  “Of course I do.”

“Then what the hell is the problem?”  Zachariah asked, his voice becoming louder.

“Currently,” A gruff third voice shattered their reality of solitude. “I am.”

They both turned to see a man.  He was white and a touch shorter then Zachariah.  He was bald with hard sharp features and dark brown eyes.  He wore a muscle shirt and was stacked with muscle upon muscle.  On his wrists and the back of his hands were heavy metal braces.

He was covered head to toe in tattoos.

“You have got to be kidding me.” A look of realization washed over Zachariah’s face.

Mary turned toward Zach with a look of confusion.  “You know who this is?”

Zachariah ignored her.  “I’m done with all that shit!  No more trolls or ninjas or wyvern sacrifices!  You need to find someone else!”

The druid smiled.  “I see. Shall I take that as resisting?”

Zachariah looked confused.  “Wait, what exactly am I resisting?”

“Arrest.” The druid answered as he stepped forward.

“That is a cop?” Mary asked, skeptical.

Zachariah continued to ignore her.  “Arrest?  For what crime?!”

The druid frowned.  “The murder of three of my kinsmen.”

Zachariah found a woman who likes him?  That sounds fishy.  And I think anyone who followed last season knows he isn’t capable of straight up murder!  So has he been framed?  Mind controlled?  Is he about to get his ass kicked? (yes)

Find out of the next episode of…

Stranger Things: Zachariah’s Trial.