Chapter 9

“What have we got?” Melody asked.

“Bad news from Japan,” Nadir replied. “Kimiko and Hiro are nowhere to be found. I do not believe they are dead, as I would have sensed something of that sort, but beyond that, I do not know of their status.”

“Do you think this has some connection to Edward?” Selena inquired.

“That is the only logical explanation that we can see,” Ardashir answered. “This occurrence is no coincidence.”

Sighing, Melody said, “Ok, I’ll go to Hrio’s office in Japan. Maybe I can find something there that’ll tell us what’s happening.”

“I will go with you,” Nadir chimed in, tying his long hair back into a ponytail. “Kimiko is a member of my tribe, and I will not rest until they are brought home safely.”

“Please, be careful you two,” Selena said.

“No worries, we’ll be fine,” Melody replied.

“Have at me!”

Gripping his sword in one hand, Mike followed Michael’s instructions and immediately lunged for him, attacking him at range with the precision of an Olympic fencer. Michael was no amateur, however, and easily parried the strike, sidestepping with little effort. Mike couldn’t help but marvel at his skills; he was wielding a two-handed claymore sword with one hand, twirling it effortlessly between his fingers.

“You ... are something else,” Mike panted.

“Do not forget, I am known as The Protector; the fiercest of God’s warriors and the leader of his mighty armies. My power is equal to that of Lucifer’s and exceeded only by the Son and the Father.”

“So it’s not exactly a fair fight,” Mike smirked.

Michael laughed. “You underestimate the Armor of God, and even more so, you underestimate yourself.”

“What do you mean?” Mike asked.

Michael chuckled as he thought of the best way to explain the armor’s power to Mike. “Think of it this way. When you were a child, who was your favorite comic book superhero?”

Confused by his question, Mike answered, “Well, I was always a big fan of Green Lantern.”

“Why?”

“His power was limited only by his will. Anything he could imagine, he could do.”

“Precisely,” Michael grinned. “The armor responds to you just as Green Lantern’s power ring does in his stories. If you can will it to be so, it will be so. Your power is nearly limitless, if you can only conceive of it.”

“Hmm, ok so for example...”

Concentrating momentarily, Mike focused his efforts on his muscles. Lunging forward into a powerful, overhead strike, Michael managed to block his attack, but not without being driven to the ground from the sheer strength behind Mike’s blow. The Archangel soon stood and dusted himself off.

“Most impressive, my friend. What else can you conceive of?”

After focusing again on his muscles, Mike soon began to sprint around the training arena faster than the eye could see. He first attacked Michael once per pass, essentially jousting at the speed of sound. After three passes, Mike then planted his feet firmly next to Michael and began slashing with his sword, his movements a blur. The strikes were so fast that Michael was completely unable to defend with his weapon, and was forced to shield himself with his indestructible wings.

“Well done, though I am hardly surprised,” Michael said as he caught his breath. “It is no small feat to pass the trials the armor gave you, and the willpower required to do so is now manifesting itself in your natural abilities with God’s ultimate weapon. However, you have still merely scratched the surface of what you are capable of with it in your hands.”

Glancing down at the armor he now wore, Mike asked, “There’s more?”

“Indeed. Now, I trust that you are well aware of the specific parts to the Armor of God mentioned in the scriptures, yes?”

“Yeah, let’s see ... the Boots of Peace, Belt of Truth, Breastplate of Righteousness, Helmet of Salvation, and Sword of the Spirit,” he said, touching each part as he named them.

“Indeed. However, do you not notice something? Is not one of the parts of the armor missing?”

Face-palming, Mike said in realization, “The Shield of Faith!”

Michael continued, “Rather than craft a physical shield, Jesus suggested we instead tie it to the spiritual power innate within the armor. Do you see those dark circles scattered across the armor?”

Inspecting himself, Mike found the spots Michael was mentioning. He counted four on each hand at the knuckles, plus one on the tops of the wrists and one on each palm. “I assume you mean these?”

“Verily. These spots are capable of emitting raw, spiritual energy that can be used for numerous purposes. As with all other aspects of the armor, the only limit to their power is your own will. Thus, even though you do not possess a physical shield, the Shield of Faith can be instantly summoned from either arm you wish. You need only will it to be so.”

Without warning, Michael’s wings suddenly became rigid and pointed themselves at Mike, firing off a pair of razor-sharp feathers. Mike, relying only on instinct, raised up his left arm in protection, summoning up a glowing, blue shield as he did so, causing the feathers to fall harmlessly to the ground.

“Woah...”

“Most impressive,” Michael replied. “But that is merely the beginning, my friend.”

“Well, here we are,” Melody said as they arrived at the reception area of Hiro’s workroom.

“Nothing ... seems out of place. It merely appears that they are closed,” Nadir observed.

“There’s gotta be some clue here as to what happened to them. Let’s keep looking.”

Melody checked the reception desk, thinking she might be able to find something useful on Kimiko’s work computer, but had no luck. Nadir used his powers to trace Kimiko’s most recent movements in the area, but found that she had not been in the room in over twenty-four hours. As they were about to give up in frustration, Melody noticed something odd.

“Huh, look at that. The entrance to Hiro’s workroom looks to be guarded by some sort of computer system,” she said, pointing at a screen attached to the wall. “When we were here before, it was just a keypad.”

Melody approached the monitor, inspecting it. It seemed at first to be non-operational, but soon powered up as she came close to it. After a few flashing messages indicating that it was indeed a security system, the screen changed to show Melody’s face.

“Hmm ... the monitor must have a camera in it,” she mused.

As she continued to examine it, the camera began to project a grid of light onto her face, seemingly analyzing her. Though she expected nothing would come of it, she stood still until the computer finished its scan.

Identity confirmed: Melody Braxton. Access granted.

With a click, the door to Hiro’s workroom unlocked, granting them entry.

“Wow, wasn’t expecting that,” Melody said.

“You think Hiro changed the security systems of purpose?” Nadir asked.

“That’s got to be it. Hiro is extremely aware of his surroundings; some would go so far as to say paranoid. Everything he does is calculated and with a specific purpose. If his computer recognized me, it’s because Hiro wanted me to come in here.”

Now inside his workroom, they began to search the various tables scattered throughout the large room for any indications of what may have happened. There were no signs of a struggle, and Nadir found no trace of Kimiko’s energies, at least not from the last twenty-four hours. However, upon reaching Hiro’s large computer at the back of the room, Nadir picked up on something.

“Melody, look here.”

She watched as Nadir flooded a spot next to the computer chair with magical energy, illuminating it in a yellow light. “What is that?” Melody asked.

“Concentrated magical energy, specifically from Kimiko. She was in this spot not even three hours ago.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense. There was no trace of her energy anywhere else in the room. Why would she have been only in this spot?”

“I am ... unsure. However, the amount and concentration of energy is more than would be accumulated from her merely standing still here for an extended period of time. Kimiko intentionally flooded this spot with her power in such a way that we would be able to trace it,” Nadir observed.

“That must mean ... there’s something here she wants us to see!” Melody realized.

Almost as soon as she finished speaking, a button on Hiro’s computer began to flash, beckoning to be touched. Melody pressed the button, activating the computer. After it powered up for a few moments, a recorded video of Hiro began to play on the monitor.

“Hello, Mike and Melody. If you are seeing this message, it means that something has happened to either Kimiko or me. I am sure you are wondering why you were allowed entry into my workroom. You are well aware of my careful nature when it comes to my security and privacy, particularly in regards to the magical world. The revelation of your existence has caused me to reevaluate what steps are necessary to ensure Kimiko’s safety into the future. I have always feared that some magical creature would appear to threaten us in some way, and thus have never been the trusting kind, particularly with unfamiliar individuals and magical creatures. However, I trust both of you implicitly. I cannot say for sure what may have happened to us in the time since this recording, but Kimiko has been given specific instructions to leave you a trail of some kind should something happen to us. She said that you would know what that meant. Mike, Melody, I know that you will not let us down.”

“Wow, seems his paranoia has some merit,” Melody said.

“Indeed. Still, if Edward is in fact connected to all of this, I am having difficulty reconciling these events,” Nadir replied. “After all, his power is far greater than that of Kimiko’s. What possible need could he have of her?”

Melody pondered for several minutes before offering, “What if ... what if it’s not about Kimiko?”

“How do you mean?”

“You said it yourself, Edward has no need for Kimiko’s power. But he might need Hiro, specifically his genius and technological prowess. What do you think?”

Nodding, Nadir said, “It is as good a theory as we have at this point. Now, what next?”

“Didn’t Hiro’s message say that Kimiko would leave clues of some kind as to what may have happened? We should probably look for those.”

“Ah, yes! Well done, Melody,” Nadir replied. He began to reexamine the area of concentrated magic Kimiko had apparently left behind. “She certainly wants us to concentrate on this spot. Or perhaps she was standing here and unable to move, resulting in this being all she was able to leave for us.”

“Definitely possible with Edward’s power. Hey, wait a sec...” Melody said, staring intently at the glowing magical residue on the floor. “This ... almost looks like it’s trying to form a picture of something, doesn’t it?”

“Now that you mention it, it certainly does,” Nadir said.

Melody drew her scimitar and began to carefully carve the outline of the spot on the floor. It was wider than if Kimiko had simply been standing, and very strangely shaped. “Whatever she was doing, it was definitely on purpose. This is way too intricate to be an accident ... there, done.”

“Interesting ... what does this look like to you?”

“I don’t know ... it’s long, got a couple of feet, and two ... what are those? Sails? Could it be a ship of some kind?”

“I doubt it,” Nadir replied. “If it were a ship, the rest would look far more like a boat, I would wager. It almost looks like one of those things ... those special bridges humans build to span great distances. What are those called again?”

“Oh! A suspension bridge!” Melody answered.

“Yes, that is what it appears to be. A suspension bridge.”

“You know, I think you may be right.”

“What would such a drawing signify?”

“I don’t know ... maybe it’s a clue as to where Edward is taking them?” Melody pondered. “Let’s see ... we know Edward’s end game is this ‘Great Cataclysm’ mentioned by Persephone. Something large-scale that would kill countless innocent lives. Not only would that grant him the powers of the Antichrist, but also it would position Edward well to become a powerful world leader in the aftermath of such a disaster.”

“But what does a suspension bridge have to do with all of that?” Nadir asked.

Melody’s eyes went wide in horror as she finally put the pieces together. “It means ... Kimiko is telling us where Edward plans to strike. The most famous suspension bridge in the world, even after nearly two centuries, still stands in San Francisco, California. The Golden Gate Bridge. San Francisco is one of the largest and most heavily populated cities in the world, not to mention a symbol of American power. An attack against it would not only kill the requisite innocents Edward needs, but it would also be a highly visible tragedy, making it all the more easy for him to seize power in the aftermath.”

Nadir was speechless at Melody’s summation of her thoughts. “Would he ... really do such a thing?”

“No doubt in my mind. He’s a complete psychopath.”

“Then we haven’t much time...”

“Sloppy! Predictable!”

Mike assaulted Michael again and again, using the enhanced strength and speed he had begun to perfect through the armor. Yet nothing managed to penetrate his defenses. Mike could tell that he was now not holding back, refusing to go easy on him even for a moment.

“Weak!” Michael shouted, blocking another of Mike’s blows with his shield. “You have at your disposal one of the ultimate powers the universe has ever known, yet you have not the creativity to use the full strength it possesses. Such techniques will not best me, and they will certainly not best the Antichrist!”

“Well then, how ‘bout this?” Mike back flipped away from Michael momentarily before leaping high into the air. Aiming to land full-force directly on Michael, the archangel managed to evade his attack, but was still thrown to the ground by the sheer force of his blow as it cracked the floor of the arena.

“Still ... not good enough.”

Dammit! Guess I’ll have to get more creative, but how? Let’s see ... Michael said that the armor’s power is only limited by my imagination. Let’s find out just how much imagination I’ve got.

Mike racked his brain, combing through his memories throughout his life that might assist him in this fight. Finally coming upon a few that he felt would be useful, he concentrated his efforts on the armor, summoning up the raw spiritual energy from within that Michael had mentioned to him. Focusing the energy into his sword hand, Mike finally managed to charge the Sword of the Spirit with this energy, illuminating it in a bright blue light.

“Most interesting...” Michael remarked.

“What can I say? I’m a Star Wars nerd at heart,” Mike replied with a smirk.

Mike resumed his assault, swinging his sword with pinpoint accuracy. First striking at Michael’s legs, his blows were easily deflected by his wings, however Mike could still tell that the force of the attack was much greater than before, causing Michael to stumble backwards a bit. He next targeted Michael in an overhead slash and was met by his shield. Mike’s sword glanced off the surface of the shield, but left a singed slash mark behind. Finally, he began a furious frontal assault on Michael, attacking quickly from every direction. Michael dropped his shield and gripped his claymore with both hands to better respond, blocking and counterattacking when he could. Still, the speed and precision of Mike’s attacks made it exceedingly difficult for Michael to do much more than keep up in those moments.

“Most ... impressive ... but now it’s time ... for your final test!”

As their swords locked between them, Michael threw Mike back with a blast of wind from his wings, landing him on his back. With a moment of breathing room, Michael now began to glow with an ethereal light as he drew more power from within himself. Mike watched in awe as Michael began to completely transform himself with this power. Gone was the polite, suited man he had first met, replaced with this being of immense strength. It seemed as if the light of God Himself radiated from Michael, shining so intensely that his leather armor had been discarded. As he finished his transformation, he now stood before Mike, completely nude and without weapons or armor, yet more fearsome than ever.

“Woah ... now this is what I think of when I hear the word ‘Archangel.’ Just ... incredible,” Mike marveled.

“Indeed,” Michael replied, his calm yet powerful voice echoing throughout the entire area. “You now stand before my perfect warrior form. Though you have no hope of defeating me whilst I am this form, you can manage to hold me at bay, with the proper use of the armor, of course. Now, prepare yourself!”

As Michael extended his wings, Mike could tell that they were far larger than before, easily spanning fifteen feet. Taking flight into the air surrounding the open arena, Michael immediately accelerated to a blinding speed, assaulting Mike with a barrage of his missile-like feathers. Mike summoned his shield and began defending where he was able to while evading where he was not, but immediately realized that he would be a sitting duck on the ground. Rolling away from another of Michael’s projectiles, Mike sprinted across the arena, trying desperately to build up enough speed and concentration. Finally, as he neared the edge of the arena, Mike leapt high into the air, taking flight at the same speed as Michael.

“Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!” he cried in exhilaration.

“Be wary that your confidence does not turn to cockiness,” Michael warned.

Michael immediately started for him, charging a large amount of energy in each of his hands. Before Mike could think to retaliate, Michael engaged him in fisticuffs, attacking him with his bare hands, enhanced by the energy held within them. Mike gasped in surprise as he was hit by the first couple of blows, but managed to block the next three with his shield. With a moment’s respite, Mike immediately took off at top speed, trying to come up with a strategy to equal Michael’s immense power. Unfortunately, Michael was swiftly catching up to him, even at Mike’s top speed. Unsure of why he could not fly faster, Mike suddenly had a realization.

“Oh, the sword! Duh! Holding it makes me less aerodynamic.”

Mike quickly looped around to reverse directions, throwing Michael off just enough to give him time to speed up. Immediately sheathing his sword in the scabbard on his back, Mike now found that his top speed was far easier to reach. Still, Michael remained in hot pursuit, peppering the air around him with energy blasts and feather missiles. As he began to approach Mike once more, Mike decided this time to go on the offensive. Focusing his efforts on his hands, he cloaked his fists in blue energy, just as Michael had done previously. When Michael was near enough, Mike immediately slowed his speed, putting himself in Michael’s face, much to the archangel’s surprise.

The pair engaged in another bout of fisticuffs, being much more evenly matched this time with Mike using a similar energy technique as Michael. As they traded punches in midair, Mike continued to allow the armor to enhance his strength, speed, and reaction time. For a while, he felt quite good that he was managing to go toe-to-toe with the most powerful angel in all of Heaven. That feeling was shattered, however, when Michael’s eyes began to glow with increasing intensity. The surge of power Mike could feel from him was incredible, almost as much as when he had first transformed. Finally managing to grab Mike’s wrist with one hand, Michael struck back before he could retaliate, blasting him square in the chest with a bolt of lightning from his off hand. Mike fell to the ground like a stone, his chest smoking from the impact of the lightning, landing with a loud thud. Picking himself up from the crater he had created, Mike was still amazed that through all of this, the armor had held up brilliantly, never tarnishing or allowing him to feel any pain. Still, Mike knew well that he would have to come up with something big if this fight was going to turn out how he needed it to.

Holy shit, he’s strong, and now he’s using LIGHTNING?! There’s got to be a way to counter that. Let me think ... Melody mentioned that her training allowed her to control the element of water. Maybe the armor can allow me to control the elements too?

Rolling to the side as he dodged another volley of feathers, Mike broke into a sprint and took to the air once more. He quickly retaliated with a blast of his own energy, managing to graze Michael’s wing in the process. Despite the hit, however, his wing smoked only for a few moments, quickly healing itself back to full strength.

Knew it couldn’t be that easy...

“THAT was not wise!” Michael boomed.

“Oh crap...”

Mike immediately brought up his shield, defending against a furious assault of projectiles from the Archangel, blocking and evading as quickly as he could. As he did so, Michael closed the distance between them, again managing to grab hold of Mike by the wrists. Michael again began charging an enormous amount of power within him, just as he had before. This time, however, Mike was ready.

Ok, here it comes. Just got to ... counter it ... somehow ... come on, come on, come on!

As Michael’s eyes began to glow, he again unleashed a bolt of lightning directly into Mike, one even more powerful than the first one. However, as soon as he unleashed his attack, Mike managed to tap into the power of the element of earth, instantly changing his entire body into solid rock. As a result, the lightning passed harmlessly through him, being grounded out by his new molecular composition.

“Haha! It worked!” Mike shouted.

“Incredible...” Michael marveled.

Before Michael could strike back, Mike immediately forced his wrists free of his grip and punched him in the gut several times, stunning Michael and giving Mike the separation he needed. As Michael recovered, Mike changed his body back to normal before concentrating once more, this time on the element of water. After a few moments, he unleashed a torrent of water from his hands, blasting Michael and soaking his wings completely. This slowed him down momentarily, but the Archangel only needed a few seconds to flap his wings a high speed to dry them completely.

“You must do better than that,” he warned.

“Oh, I plan to.”

Michael again charged directly for Mike, who managed to evade by turning temporarily intangible through the armor. As Michael passed through him, Mike turned to face him and immediately summoned up a small tornado around Michael, tossing him up into the air for several seconds before he managed to break free. Mike could tell that Michael was growing frustrated with these delay tactics as the archangel charged once more. This time, he left his backside completely exposed, allowing Mike to easily attack his wings again, freezing them with a blast of ice.

As Michael paused in midair, trying desperately to thaw his wings out, Mike focused all of his efforts, now attempting to combine more than one element at a time. Just as Michael managed to shed the sheet of ice on his wings, Mike completely engulfed him in a swirling vortex that combined both wind and fire. Michael was not able to break out of this nearly as easily as he was the tornado from earlier, nearly burning himself in an attempt to escape. For nearly a minute, he struggled with the fiery tornado, before he finally managed to dispel it with several powerful flaps of his wings. However, just as soon as he broke free, Michael heard movement from directly above him.

“Take this!” Mike screamed, plunging his sword directly towards Michael.

It was all Michael could do to block the attack with his wings at the last instant, however this delivered Mike’s trump card all the same. As soon as his wings made contact with Mike’s blade, Michael instantly felt an intense surge of electricity flow through his body. In the time Michael had been struggling with the flaming tornado, Mike managed not only to tap into the power of lightning, but also to charge that power into his own sword, allowing for a powerful, concentrated attack. Michael attempted to recover, but Mike’s attack was too much, weakening the Archangel more with each passing moment. Finally having had enough, Michael released himself from Mike’s blade and fell to the arena floor, exhausted and depleted of energy. As he opened his eyes, Mike stood over him, sword in hand.

“Yield,” Michael breathed. “Verily, thou art worthy of the Armor of God.”

Smiling, Mike sheathed his sword on his back and extended his hand, helping Michael to his feet. As he stood, Michael’s form changed back to his modest, suited form that Mike had first met, hiding his true power once more.

“I’m assuming you were still holding back some, right?” Mike asked.

“But of course. I did not wish to obliterate you, after all, merely test you. If I had wanted to destroy you, nothing you could do would stop me. Still, that was most impressive, managing to tap into every element so quickly, even combining them as you did. That creativity will serve you well in your battle to stop the Antichrist.”

“So is it just that simple?” Mike asked. “Use the armor to stop Edward?”

“Not so much,” came a voice behind them.

“Lord Jesus, good to see you. I can honestly say that Mike is more than capable of using the armor’s full power,” Michael said.

“Like we ever had doubts,” he replied with a sly grin. “But to answer your question, Mike, the armor will allow you to combat him, but not fully destroy him.”

“So what’s the endgame if it won’t allow me to destroy him?”

Jesus chuckled. “The goal in all of this has never been to destroy Edward. He’s protected by Lucifer, after all; outright destroying him, while not impossible, would be extremely unproductive, as it would likely wipe out most of Earth’s population in the process. No, the target is not Edward himself, but his connection to Lucifer.”

“I don’t understand,” Mike said.

“As Jesus previously explained, Lucifer’s attempts to house his power inside of Edward have created a special bond between the two of them,” Michael began. “As long as this bond remains intact, Edward will steadily progress towards fully becoming the Antichrist, the human form of Lucifer. However, if we disrupt this bond, Lucifer will no longer be able to use Edward for his purposes. Even if he were to attempt to bond with another potential Antichrist, he would have to start the entire process over from the beginning.”

“Ok, so I’m trying to separate Edward from Lucifer’s power, preventing him from drawing on it, is that right?”

“Precisely,” Michael replied.

“Unfortunately, there are still complications,” Jesus said. “The armor will have to be at maximum power for it to be capable of severing their connection. That charging process can take about ten minutes or so. Additionally, while the armor is charging, the sheer amount of power it takes in will likely cause residual damage to everything in the immediate vicinity other than the wearer. Effectively, this means that you will need to get Edward alone before we can even begin charging the armor to prevent innocent bystanders from being caught in the crossfire.”

Sighing, Mike replied, “Ok, guess I’ll have to think on how to do that. Where do we stand on his progress towards fully absorbing Lucifer’s power?”

“As far as we can tell, he still sits at roughly the same power level as when you and Melody first encountered him. This, I believe, supports our theory that he’s planning something big to try and get him the rest of the way,” Jesus answered.

“So I’ve got to get him one-on-one before it gets to that point.”

“Indeed,” Michael replied. “Now that you have passed my tests and proved your capabilities with the Armor of God, we can send you back to Earth to rejoin your wife in this struggle. Are you prepared?”

Nodding, Mike said, “I am.”

“Awesome,” Jesus replied happily. “Don’t forget: even on Earth, the armor will allow you a constant line of communication to Michael and Myself. If you need anything, we’re here for you. Good luck, Mike.”

“Selena! We’re back!” Melody said.

“Melody! Were you able to find anything in Japan?”

“We were. As you feared, it seems that Edward has captured Hiro and Kimiko. Where are the other council members?” Nadir said.

“This way.”

Selena led the way up to Farzan’s personal chambers. Upon arriving, Melody was puzzled at finding Salim, Ardashir, and Farzan each sitting on the floor, apparently in a deep trance of some kind.

“Are ... they ok?” Melody asked Selena, afraid to disturb them.

“Oh, they are fine,” she replied with a smile. “What they are doing is attempting to become one with their respective elements. In doing so, they may be able to discern Edward’s location, if he is in contact with one of those elements. It is a difficult feat, but they are more than capable.”