"Simple." Said Crato. "The rest of the world overlooks details... While the begger scavages for everything he can find. I found knowledge. An acient book, which spoke of manifesting the darkness in your own heart and using special techniques to battle it. I thought it was useless but kept it anyway. When these monsters began appearing I used the special techniques to battle them and gained victory. However, it only stalled them. I thought of getting 12 desciples to aid me, but even after I had taught them, we were still unable to keep the darkness at bay forever. Then I realized that something or someone had to be using the darkness in order for it to be so powerful. That is when the Black Comet came into fruition." Crato checked his watch and got up. "Well, time flies when you are having fun." Crato shook Allen's hands and said "It was a pleasure meeting you. I hope you will be watching us when we lift off." Crato then turned to Raxtion and said "Raxtion, I will expect you to be ready at your station, understood?" Raxtion saluted. Crato chuckled at Raxtion's actions and left with a "Take care gentlemen." Raxtion then motioned for Allen to follow him. "Now, do you have anymore questions? Or should we go check out the Black Comet?"
"Correction. I became famous when the monsters appeared. I was poor and a begger before hand. Now I live a life of luxury. This is because I figured out how to fend the darkness and taught it to many others including 12 disciples. Raxtion being one of those." said Crato answering Allen's question. "Satisfied now, Allen?" asked Raxtion wondering what Allen thought about Crato now. Crato checked his watch, making sure he would still be on time.
Crato looked at his watch. "Well, maybe I can answer a few more questions. But I must be on my way soon. I have much to do before the lift off."
Crato seemed impressed with the boys knowledge. "My, you are very right. However we have already practiced the same conditions on a smaller scale model. We recreated the gases and the planets other key points and tested a smaller scale light beam on it. We got the precise measurements and fit them to the scale of the planet and the scale of the beam. You are very smart, but however, the light will not release any gases, nor will it tear straight through a city of innocents." Crato continued to smile as he explained "You needn't worry, all things have been examined. We have been very careful with our measurements." Crato stopped and then said "I tell you what, we will wait to fire the beam when we are directly above the west desert so that if it does cut through it will not destroy the city or harm innocents. Does that make you feel better?"
Crato smiled at Allen. "You know, that curiosity reminds me of when I was younger and how I used to wonder about the many things that didn't make sense to me." Crato then went on to answer some of Allen's questions. "Now, the Black Comet is designed to simply supress the darkness in the world, by dousing it with light. The beam can be made into a concentrated blast if we want to contain a certain area, but the way we will be using it tomarrow is that it's fucntion will be to fire a medium sized beam that when it reaches the the planets gasous layers it will spread the light around the world. See the light is not enough to break through the layers, but enough to be seen. Light will even be present during the night for certain parts of this world. Making it seem like day time." Crato sat back down again. "With this amount of light, we expect that this will supress the darkness and the individual controlling the darkness will hopefully experience some pain. We have asked the citizens of this world to be on the lookout for any person being harmed when the light is over the planet. Any more questions?"
Alicia smiled at him. "But people are around for you to be close to. You could be an inspiration to your friends if you took the time to become comfortable with them." She said before saying "And no, I must go to this meeting, I have already promised it. But you are welcome to stay the night at our house. I will most likely be there when you two get home." Raxtion put his arm around Allen. "No, I'm afraid its due to the increased darkness on the planet that is causing her to be somewhat blinded. I'm afraid that until we weed out the source of that darkness that she will not be able to see anything past what her eye's can clearly show her." Raxtion then waved Alicia good bye and Alicia waved good bye to them both. She went on her way just as Raxtion and Allen went on theirs. "Don't worry, Allen, we can figure this out together." Raxtion reassured. While they were talking, it had gotten dark out. The sun set in the north. And night was soon upon them. Raxtion then escorted Allen into the building Crato had entered earlier after his speech. They moved through the hallways until they got to Crato's room. There were a few politicians in the room with him, laughing about things. When Raxtion and Allen entered, they all smiled, got up and shoke Raxtion's hand. "Gentlemen, could you excuse us, we want a private word with Crato." said Raxtion. The men looked puzzled for a bit before they all respected Raxtion's wishes and left. Crato got up from his chair. "Ah, hello Raxtion, how are you? I see you've brought the questioning boy from the audience. Pleasure to meet you." Crato said as he extended his hand at Allen. "Always a pleasure to meet a curious mind. I suppose you have more questions? Ask away."
"Well... Tonight." Raxtion started. He did not like how this boy was acting. Raxtion's girlfriend was a goddess and even she wasn't as cocky as this boy. "You don't understand. We have searched. Alicia and I. We haven't found anything that has caused this darkness. Alicia hasn't been very perceptive as of late. It's been all the darkness that has been clouding her abilities. Alicia's inability to see his thoughts could also be attributed to this darkness." Alicia then jumped in to confirm what Raxtion was saying 'It's true, the only reason I was able to see through you, Allen is due to your extreme faith in the light. That is something not many are gifted with." Raxtion then changed the subject. "And throwing ideas of Crato's involvement in anything criminal is downright insane. Alot of people here like him. I like him. He was and is still my mentor." Raxtion then felt Alicia tickling his kneck and faced her. She gave him a look and instantly Raxtion knew what she was thinking. Raxtion then turned to Allen and said "But if you are so upset about it, then I will take you to both Crato and The Black Comet for your investigation." Alicia then kissed Raxtion on the neck and let him go. Raxtion then walked up to Allen and said "We will interogate Crato first, then investigate the Black Phantom. There are too many people around here now, and I know where Crato is at the moment." "You boys have fun." Alicia said. "I'm afraid I can't join, I have previous engagements. But call my name if you need my help, Raxtion." "I will, I love you." said Raxtion to her. "I love you too." Alicia said as the kissed deeply. Once more, with feeling. They both pulled out of the kiss and Alicia went up to Allen "And Allen, I don't know weather or not you will be spending the night again, but if I don't see you, just know this. Always be true to yourself. You are a beautiful person and you don't ever need to hide it in coldness. Okay?"
Vitan thought about things while Alastair talked with Eins. He wondered where he would go next, what he would do next. Vitan had never been out in another country before. Bheliar looked at Mya and waited for a response.
Hey, Love, guess what? "Accept invite" LOL nope!
Alicia and Raxtion both looked at each other. Alicia then turned to Allen and said "Well... not exactly. Unlike you, I could not see through Crato. It was odd, but he is different than the rest." Raxtion didn't like all this bad talk about Crato and said in response "Hey, this guy is our last hope. We've exhausted every other option. What else can we do?"
Raxtion stood in puzzlement over Torxber's words... He wanted to believe in his friend, but he also wanted to believe in the Black Comet. "I can see you clearly now." said Crato "You are just a boy. Like I already stated, the Black Comet will not harm people. I could fire it in a populated city anytime I want and no causalties would be done. I'm done taking questions from you. I must now get going to put the finishing touches on my plan." said Crato as he exited the stage and walked back into a complex of sorts. The crowd cheered for him as he left. Raxtion put his hand on Allen's shoulder. "Don't worry, I know you only meant well." Music: Alicia came over from behind Raxtion and kissed him on the cheek. "Has our lord and emperor, the all mighty Crato gone back into his throne room?" she said with sarcasm. "I don't know why you dislike him dear, he is helping us." said Raxtion with a smile on his face. Raxtion disliked debates, but he loved his wife, which is what made him smile. He kissed her on the lips this time, but made it a simple peck. Alicia then looked at Allen. "I just don't trust him is all. As soon as this darkness showed up, so did he. Its all very suspicious." Raxtion gave her a look "OH, Alicia, he was an old magician who talked about the evil coming for years. It just so happened that he predicted it, and everyone seems to think he's the only one who can stop it. And I believe in him too." "Alright, Love." she said as she pecked at him again. "So, Allen, what do you think of him?"
The crowd began to become restless. "It is, of course, a temporary strategy. The odd and new uprising in darkness is the problem. Once we root that out, we may never need to use the Black Comet again." explained Crato "You obviously haven't seen these creatures at work, they have killed off villages, destroyed our economy. Left people behind fighting for their lives. We need to regroup our efforts before we do anything else. And the only way to do that is to give ourselves a temporary reprive from these vile beasts. With that reprive, we will find the source of this darkness and extinguish it forever." The crowd cheered again, liking the ideas Crato had established and the idea that he was ready to act on them. Raxtion looked at his friend and then for the first time genuinly considered what he had to say. "Listen, Torxber, I know you are only looking out for me. But this is the only plan we have left. What else will get rid of the darkness? I'm sorry, Torxber, but I have to side with Crato on this. He seems to know what he's doing. I even studied under him for a bit. He's a very knowledgable man." Raxtion patted Torxber on the back "Come on man, let me buy you a drink. You and I never could agree on politics."
"Ah! Torxber! What a surprise! How are you old friend?" asked Raxtion giving him a huge. Raxtion then stopped and looked at him "Ah, good ol' Torxber, still as doubtful as ever. Just listen to the response Crato gives to the boy." "Yes and no." Responded Crato "You see, before just recently, darkness existed in this world, but did not manifest. The manifestation of darkness has been caused by an unusual spike in dark activity. The Black Comet doesn't neccisarily destroy all of the darkness, but it greatly reduces it by firing a concentrated beam of natural light. It will appear brighter for a couple of days but that is the only effect it will have on the people. On the darkness, however, it will cripple their forces. They may manifest again, but then we will have the Black Comet up in the sky ready for their attack and cripple them again." Raxtion turned to Torxber "There? Does that satisfy you?"
Raxtion and Alicia looked at each other in shock. "He is telling the truth, though it is odd to hear." said Alicia. Raxtion then put his arm around Allen. "Look, buddy, since you are here, why don't you come with us. There is something we have to show you anyway." Raxtion and Alicia escorted Allen across the wasteland and to a massive city, complete with skyscrapers and massive odd looking structures. There were temples and bussiness's. The city was the very eutopia that every kind of creature hoped to create. There were cars and electronics of all kinds. All of them were energy efficiant and pollutant free as well. As people started seeing them, people of all kinds came up to Alicia begging for help, healings, and blessings. Alicia stayed behind and helped them all, but not before calling out to Raxtion "Go ahead, I will meet you two up later!" Raxtion turned to Allen. "You know, I love that woman... but when that stuff happened on our dates, I got so upset. So eventually we went out of the city to date. But now I don't mind it so much. She is just so good to everyone. If only these monsters would go away, then everything would return to normal." Raxtion and Allen arrived at their destination which was a massive oval construction with a gathering around it. "Allen, this is the Black Comet. We call it that because when we release it into space, it has an energy cannon that will destroy the darkness plaguing our world once and for all." A committee was gathered at the front of the comet. A person of obvious high standing yelled out into the crowd "THANKS TO HIS GENIUS, I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE BLACK COMET IS FULLY OPERATIONAL AND WILL BE READY FOR USE IN UNDER 48 HOURS! NOW, ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE THE GENIUS HIMSELF! CRATO!!!" The crowd went into an uproar as a short man in a black robe took the stage. The man however, did not yell as the man before, but instead spoke in a soft calm manor, but still was able to be heard. "How long have these monsters ravaged us all? How long have they killed our loved ones? WELL, NO MORE!!! Thanks to the creation of this comet, I am positive that all the darkness in this world will be destroyed! I promise you that!" "See, we don't need any help, we've got it under control. However, you are welcome to stay with me and watch the comet do its work." said Raxtion smiling "I will be up in the comet myself, operating it."
"My name is Alicia." said the woman as she shoke his hand. "And there is no need to hide yourself from me. I see everything." Alicia said holding his one hand with both of her hands. She said this to him to comfort him. Seeing as how he put up a barrier of coldness. "I know you are wondering how I can see right through you, it is because I am special." The man came up next to her. "Ah and this is my fiance Raxtion." Alicia said as she held up her hand and looked at the wedding ring. Raxtion blushed a little "Now, she can see through you because she is a goddess. I'm not kidding, she is the goddess of peace." Raxtion then decided that the introductions were over with and decided to ask Allen some more important questions. "Now, tell me, Allen. Why do you come here? What is it that you seek?"
Just as Allen said that, one of them grabbed his legs from underneath the ground. And started to drag him down into a pool of darkness. The man quickly tackled Allen to get him out of it. As they got up, several more creatures appeared. The man put his back to Allen's back as an army of the creatures appeared. "See, the problem is that whenever I've cut down the creatures I'm not sure if they are really dead. Sure they disappear, but then only more appear. I'm not sure how they do it." Suddenly a beautiful woman appeared from afar. However, she walked towards the army of shadows weaponless. The creatures noticed this and went for the quicker meal. The whole army rushed at the woman as she non chalantly walked towards them. With a flick of her finger, however, they were all destroyed. She walked up to the man and Allen and said "I see you found him! Good job Raxtion! I could sense there was a newcomer here, but I wasn't sure where exactly. Welcome to this planet stranger, what's your name?" she extended her hand to shake his.
Music The creatures cried out in pain and anguish, however after a few seconds, the creatures continued their attack by jumping after him. The light only halted them for a few seconds. Suddenly a blast came out of nowhere and maybe five of the creatures were slain. "light does not harm them like you think it would!" said a voice. A man suddenly appeared from the sky. "You must fight them like a common enemy and eventually they will fall. They attack phycologically. They are attempting to make you think the situation is hopeless. You haven't started hearing voices yet have you?" the man asked Allen.
Nny became frustrated by his luck and then decided to leave. He stayed silent, not talking to Shero anymore. It was obvious that he wasn't getting anywhere. He would try his luck another time.
The creatures could sense a presence and immediatly went after Allen himself. The creatures started their attack with some odd moves. They extended their arms to smack him from afar. As they got closer, they all circled him, making sure he wouldn't escape. The dark figures looked like people but moved and acted like mindless creatures. They attacked whenever there was a spot open or whenever they all attacked at once. It was insane how coordinated these monsters were. And more were appearing from the ground.
Nny didn't get up, deciding to find out once and for all what Shero thought about him. Dr. Traken got up and began walking towards the dinning hall. The doctor looked back at Phisoxa and said "Come, child. Let us eat. You may read your book more there." Nny then looked her in the eyes and asked another striaght forward question "Do you want me to kiss you again?"
