Chapter 21: Cthulhu

Despite Alastar’s apparent interest in my family’s wellbeing, I could not simply sit idly by while the winds of bureaucracy blew against me. I needed an escape. I needed a way out. I needed the assurance of commanding my own fate once again. So, despite my better judgment, I sought out an unlikely alliance with the one man who probably despised me more than any other ... Alexander Chissler.

“Okay, guys,” whispered Ryan while wearing a Red Team’s glowing armband he borrowed from one of the Reject Squad and a helmet covering his face as a disguise. “You remember the plan, right?”

“Of course we remember the bloody plan,” whined Phil, the intrepid leader of the Reject Squad. “I mean, why would any of us even be here if we didn’t know about the plan? Seriously! That would be totally mental, right?”

“Delusional,” said one of the Reject Squad team members.

“Moronic,” added another.

“Imbecilic,” cooed yet another.

It’s kinda weird the way they finish each other’s sentences like that, thought Ryan. Maybe it’s a nerd thing?

“Alright. Bottom line is that you guys know what to do, right?” pleaded Ryan.

“Y-yeah. S-sure thing,” said Phil rather hesitantly. And then, as if to save face, he added, “The question is, do you know what to do, sir?”

“Why wouldn’t I know what to do?” replied Ryan, nearly on the verge of not whispering. “I invented the plan for what we’re about to do. It’s my plan, copyright of Ryan Uruks.”

“I think we’re getting a little off-topic, guys,” said freckle-faced girl into Ryan’s earpiece whose name he could not recall at the moment. “Focus on the objective.”

“Roger that,” replied Ryan while tapping his ear. “We are currently en route.”

“We are in what?” asked the team member called Sludge.

Ryan sighed loudly as he slapped a hand to his forehead in exasperation. “It’s just a cool way of saying that we’re on our way. I thought you guys were nerds.”

Sludge shrugged. “I specialized in astrophysics, not language.”

Fortunately, while this conversation was transpiring, the group was already moving towards the objective. Very slowly moving, but still better than nothing. Ryan was counting on the Reject’s infiltration to be just the ticket to turn the battle for the Spire in the Green Team’s favor.

As they made their way through the grasslands that comprised the final field, the Spire came closer and closer into view. It was magnificent. A spiraling masterpiece of steel and various metal alloys just begging for attention. The Spire was designed in such a way that it almost seemed natural, like something that could actually grow out of the earth. If not for the fact that it was made of metal and its enormous size, Ryan might have assumed it was a twisted tree of some kind. The architecture was obviously designed to reflect nature in an ethereal fashion, much like most of Elemental artistry.

Ryan’s breathing grew steadily ragged as his anxiety increased. After all he had been through, he thought he’d be above getting nervous, especially considering that he was just going up against rookies like himself. But it could not be helped as the sight of the gathering Red Team came into view. And who else would be leading them but Explosion Logan.

“Alright, Phil. You got this,” said Ryan, patting Phil on the shoulder reassuringly.

Phil’s only response was a slight swallowing sound as his skin paled visibly. Ryan was starting to have his doubts as to whether or not Phil could pull this off, and then a look of determination came to the Reject Squad leader’s eyes, and he set out on his path resolutely.

As the Red Team caught sight of Phil, there were visible signs of surprise as they parted for the Reject Squad. Even Explosion Logan seemed impressed as he watched from the top of the staircase that led up to the Spire.

Ryan made a slight gesture with his hand, signaling that phase one of the plan had commenced. Phil and company made it all the way to Explosion Logan’s detail without being deterred. So far, so good.

“What the hell are you idiots doing here?” asked Explosion Logan in confusion. “Didn’t I give you a job to do on the cliff?”

All eyes were on Phil as the Red Team waited impatiently for his response. Phil just kind of stood there awkwardly staring at Explosion Logan in sheer horror. Finally, after an eternity of waiting, Ryan gave Phil a little nudge to wake him from his momentary stupor.

“Y-yes!!! You did g-g-give us a job! And we did it!” said Phil, trying his best to sound confident.

Bless his heart, thought Ryan to himself, pitying Phil profusely.

Explosion Logan was not so sympathetic. “What do you mean you did it?” sneered the cynical First.

“J-just what I said. We stopped the Green Team’s advance. The turrets worked perfectly, just like we told you they would. The Green Team had no choice but to backtrack. It’ll be hours before they get here. In the meantime, we can secure the tower before any other team shows up.

Explosion Logan didn’t look too convinced. “You mean to say that you ninnies actually managed to push the entire Green Team back all by yourselves?”

“Respect!” cried out one of Logan’s entourage.

Nods of approval rang out throughout the Red Team’s encampment.

Meanwhile, Ryan was counting to himself as the time to the ambush grew steadily closer.

“Yeah,” said Phil, answering Logan’s question. He seemed to have become emboldened by the arousal of praise for him and his team. “We drove them back just like we said we would. What do you think of that?”

Explosion Logan took slow steps towards Phil in a threatening manner. Phil visibly cringed at the foreboding sign. “I think that there’s something fishy going on around here.” Logan was now eye to eye with Phil. The tension in the air was staggering. Ryan could sense where this was going.

Only a few minutes left. Logan was still staring daggers into Phil. Ryan slowly ignited his psions and reached for his sword which was hidden in his clothes.

“And do you know what’s the fishiest thing about this whole pussy fest?” asked Logan.

Phil could only shake his head slowly as terror gripped his features.

Suddenly, Logan summoned a pistol to his hand and pointed it directly at Ryan’s head. “It’s you,” whispered Logan coldly as he pulled the trigger.

Ryan had only enough time to duck back as a heated slug of pure psionic energy raced just millimeters from his nose. Several members of the Red Team tried to grab him, but Ryan swatted them away with his sword which was already sizzling with red flames.

Logan smiled. “FYI, I can still count. And this Geek Squad only had ten in their number.”

Ryan smiled wickedly, removing the helmet and tossing it to the ground. “Well, that’s surprising, the fact that you can count that is.”

“You!” Explosion Logan turned his angry gaze to the Reject Squad and pointed his finger derisively. “You little pissheads turned traitor for this guy. And here I was thinking that not even you losers would sink that low.”

The Red Team all grabbed hold of the Reject Squad, who wriggled in futility.

“We may be losers to you,” said Phil. “But at least we had a chance to be more than that. Even when we were his enemies, this guy treated us better than you ever did.” Phil then spat at Logan, meaning to catch him in the eye with saliva, but instead it just dribbled down his chin. Embarrassed, Phil tried to wipe his chin on his shirt since his hands were being held. “Go ahead! Do what you want to us? We’ve got no regrets!”

“Yeah,” cried Sludge.

“That’s right,” said another member of the squad defiantly.

“No regrets!”

“Are you sure about that?” asked Explosion Logan as he leveled his gun at Phil’s head.

“Oh, come on, bub,” cried out Ryan, putting all eyes on him once again. “Why don’t you stop hiding behind your stooges and be a real man? We still haven’t finished what we started back at the Ministry.”

Logan turned a smug look as he grinned triumphantly in Ryan’s direction. “You’re hardly worth the effort, Uruks.”

“Your face is hardly worth the effort. And I would know since I pounded it last time,” said Ryan, doing what he did best, annoying the heck out of people.

Two minutes and counting!

Explosion Logan then laughed a little. “I think I’m going to enjoy this way too much.”

The Red Team made a circle around the two as the duel commenced. Ryan brandished his flaming sword in one hand and cracked the knuckles of his clawed gauntlet hand in anticipation. To be quite honest, he could hardly wait to smash Logan’s face in again, no matter how barbaric that sounded.

“Let’s get it on,” said Ryan, relishing the battle that was to come as his Saurian blood came bubbling to the surface.

“Kick his scaly ass, Logan!” called one of the Red Team members.

“Show that rookie how a real Elemental fights,” jeered another one.

“GO, RYAN!” said one of the Reject Squad. This earned several glares from the other Red Team members, causing the Reject Squad member to shrink in cowardice. “Or ... you know ... not ... I guess.”

Logan took aim with his Psionic Pistol, launching several glowing yellow orbs that Ryan knew to be chockfull of his combustion Elemency. Fortunately, the orbs were not quite as fast as real bullets, so they were fairly easy to dodge. Unfortunately, each orb exploded in a flash of light, sending shockwaves that pounded through Ryan’s skull like a mace. It was not just a simple matter of dodging, but avoiding the small but potent radius of each orb of energy, and there were quite a lot of them to boot.

Seizing on a brief pause in Logan’s attack, Ryan took a swipe at Logan with his sword, sending a jet of flame hot enough to melt steel, but Logan proved deftly light on his feet as he nimbly sidestepped the attack.

Ryan rushed him again, putting on a burst of speed to get himself in close, but Logan was quick enough to block Ryan’s blade by using his pistol like a dueling weapon. Ryan had to jump away when Logan set off an explosion at point blank range, somehow controlling the explosion so that he was left undamaged.

“Ever heard the expression,” started Logan without breaking stride as he continued to bombard Ryan with wave after wave of explosives. “Never bring a knife to a gunfight?”

“Technically,” said Ryan, unable to contain a retort, even whilst jumping and running for his life. “This is a sword, not a knife.”

In the midst of Ryan’s comeback, Logan got a lucky shot off which landed an explosion very near Ryan’s head. He instinctively used his sword to block the attack despite how futile it would be. Surprisingly, the flaming sword did manage to absorb most of the impact of the small explosion as the flames seemed to vanish into the blade itself. However, the blast also knocked Ryan’s weapon from his hand, leaving him only armed with his clawed gauntlet. Ryan traced his sword as it spiraled through the air only to bury itself in the ground at least fifteen yards away from the dueling area. This caused a raucous among the crowd as they cheered for Logan and laughed at Ryan.

Turning back to the smirking Logan, Ryan said meekly, “Although, I do see your point.”

One minute left!

As Logan charged up to fire another barrage of explosive orbs, Ryan ducked to the ground, grabbed some dirt, and flung it into Logan’s face. Logan was quick enough to shield his eyes, but not quite quick enough to realize Ryan’s real plan of attack. As the dust was flung through the air, each individual particle of dirt exploded like a thousand tiny firecrackers. That was certainly enough to give the so-called explosion expert some pause.

As Logan stumbled and coughed up smoke, Ryan dashed as fast as ... something really fast ... and gave the jerk a good kick in the schnozzle. Although Ryan could see the psionic shield generated from the training arena absorb the impact of his kick, he was still pretty sure that Logan would be feeling that hit in the morning. The turd muffin was sent flying, but managed to roll himself back into an upright position. There was an audible gasp from the audience.

“Nice trick, kid,” growled Logan. “I especially liked the exploding dirt. Too bad that it’s just a parlor trick for amateurs in Combustion Elemency.”

“Wise man once say, ‘it’s not what you got, it’s how you use it’.”

“Do you ever shut up?! You don’t actually think you can win this thing? You’re just an overprivileged rookie! Even if by some miracle, you manage to beat me, my team is still going to get the tower!”

Time’s up, thought Ryan to himself in triumph.

“Maybe not,” he said with a smirk. Drawing in a deep breath and throwing his hands in the air for dramatic effect, Ryan shouted, “NOW!”

Everyone on the Red Team visibly flinched and looked around as if waiting for something to happen. When nothing did happen, Ryan was a bit flabbergasted.

“Not yet, doofus!” screeched the voice of the freckle-faced girl into Ryan’s earpiece. “You were supposed to wait for our signal! Stall them for Christ’s sake!”

“Now what?” asked Logan quizzically, looking over his shoulder.

Luckily, impromptu was not an unfamiliar skill for Ryan. “Now is the time!” cried out Ryan dramatically, though having to pause in between thoughts before formulating his plan. “That I ... show you the error of your ways ... by doing something really cool ... to your face!”

Stunned silence greeted Ryan as Logan suppressed a laugh, and said while grinning, “Okay.”

Ryan then recalled not just hitting Logan once, but twice in the head, and thus the foundation of his plan was laid. “You say that you’re the explosion expert, and that I am just an amateur because I can’t do those ... floaty ... blowy-up ball thingies that you use.”

“Improper grammar aside, that is accurate. So how do you plan to top me?”

“Ignoring your improper grammar remark, as well as your improper face,” retorted Ryan as he charged his psions for what could very well be his coolest move ever. “I’m gonna do something that not even you can do with your Explosion Elemency.”

“And that is?” said Logan, still smug.

Ryan pointed at his head with both fingers. “I’m gonna explode your face with my mind, bitch!”

After a second or two of silence, everyone busted out laughing. “As interesting as that would be, I just don’t see it happening,” gasped Logan, speaking between chuckles.

“Okay, then I’ll expl-AAAHH!” Ryan was cut off as Logan sent another barrage of exploding balls.

Three balls blew up a couple yards away that sent a shockwave that knocked Ryan head over heels. Though painful, Ryan recovered quickly and managed to land on his feet despite the exertion. This time, Explosion Logan kept his attack going without giving Ryan much of a chance to recover. Ryan dodged wave after wave of exploding death balls, but still found the energy to taunt his foe.

“REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME WE MET AND I PUNCHED YOU IN THE FACE?” yelled Ryan while hopping from place to place to avoid the energy orbs.

“SUCKER PUNCHED ME IN THE FACE!” yelled back Logan over the roar of the explosions as he continued to fire.

“AND REMEMBER A FEW MOMENTS AGO WHEN I KICKED YOU IN THE FACE?”

“YOU HAVE A STRANGE OBSESSION WITH MY FACE, WHICH IS APPROPRIATE CONSIDERING THAT IT IS PRETTY DAMN GORGEOUS!”

“WELL, YOU SEE, WHEN I KICKED YOU IN THE FACE, IT REMINDED ME OF WHEN I PUNCHED YOU IN THE FACE WITH MY FIST ON FIRE! YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?”

“IT MEANS THAT I’M KIND OF A BADASS FOR SURVIVING THAT AND STILL MANAGING TO KICK YOUR BUTT AFTERWARDS!”

Logan suddenly shot a few rounds above Ryan’s head. At first, Ryan wasn’t sure of his opponent’s intent, until he heard the crumbling sound of debris above him. He hadn’t even noticed that Logan’s attacks were steadily driving him towards the Spire. Ryan barely had time to dodge as bits of metal from the Citadel came crashing down on his head. Though he managed to get away mostly unscathed, he still got knocked to the ground by debris filled with metal and a bit of cement as well. Although it hurt a lot to have rocks fall on his head, it didn’t hurt nearly as much as he thought it should. Taking advantage of this state of affairs, Ryan decided to remain stationary on the ground and feign like he was much more injured than he really was. This would make what he was about to do to Logan even more satisfying.

“It means...” Ryan had to pause to cough away the dust in his mouth before he continued. “That you touched my psions.”

“So what, dickhead?” said Logan, still not catching on as he leveled his gun for one final strike.

“So, douche, it means you’re screwed, ‘cause I can blow shit up with my psions just by touching them!”

Logan gasped as Ryan raised his hand, and with a simple snap of his fingers, it was all over. The explosion was small, no more than a firecracker, but it was enough. Logan’s face exploded in a small torrent of flames. With the dampening field in place, Ryan knew it wouldn’t kill the guy, but it certainly wouldn’t tickle. Logan fell spread eagled on the grassy ground. One look at his smoky face cringing in pain and Ryan knew he would be okay. And who knew, maybe a little shot to the head was the equivalent to brain surgery for guys like him. Heaven knew he needed it.

“Why didn’t you just do that in the first place?” asked one of the Reject Squad members rather anti-climatically.

Ryan winced at the scathing comment, but soon replied, “For effect, you ingrate! For effect!”

All eyes stared in shock and wonder as Ryan slowly got to his feet. The Reject Squad applauded a little, but were soon quelled by their surrounding Red Team members.

“So,” said Ryan rather sardonically. “Since I beat your boss, does this make me your leader now?”

In response, all the Red Team members leveled their weapons at Ryan.

“I don’t think they want you to be our leader, Ryan,” said Phil in his typical manner of stating the obvious.

“Ryan,” said the freckle-faced girl into his headpiece. “We’re ready when you give the word.”

“In that case,” started Ryan as he dusted off his clothes, came to his feet, and raised his hands slowly. “We should probably get going right ... NOW!”

In a word, it was perfect! The Green Team had managed to climb the surrounding towers leading to the Citadel and soon fell like raindrops. The Red Team found themselves fighting off attacks from above and from behind as the whole Green Team came in full force from down the steps.

Ryan also contributed in his own, devilishly sneaky way. While disguised as a Red Team member, Ryan had made it a point to touch as many Elementals as he could while walking through their ranks, which meant he had dozens of little bombs just waiting to be activated. Chaos ensued in the ranks of the Red Team as blasts of fire engulfed their army, sending a great deal of them spiraling down the steps unconscious. And with their self-proclaimed leader taking a dirt nap, they were even more disorganized against the sudden onslaught.

What was left of them was soon dispersed by the Reject Squad who were actually pretty terrifying in a battle, like a bunch of rabbits that were cornered and forced to fight for dear life. Almost a complete victory, though Ryan did catch a glimpse of Logan stumbling away with the aid of his remaining cronies.

Gotta admit! That guy can take a lickin’!

The fight was over within seconds of beginning, and Ryan felt awesome. A cry of victory rang soundly with the young Elementals as they soared up the steps to claim the Citadel.

The Reject Squad swarmed Ryan in a shower of hugs and affection. Ryan caught sight of Torsha who rewarded him with the slightest nod. They were not the only ones giving Ryan praise as he was soon greeted with slaps on the back and thumbs ups from all the members of the Green Team, many of whom had once regarded him begrudgingly.

Even the freckle-faced girl seemed pleased as she and the other leaders walked up to Ryan to give him congratulations. “Not bad for a rookie.”

“Not bad,” scoffed Ryan, feeling a little cocky. “Come on, guys. You gotta admit, THAT was pretty dope.”

“You know what else is pretty dope,” said the freckle-faced girl coldly as she walked up to Ryan in an intimidating matter.

Ryan wasn’t sure what to say or do as she was almost nose-to-nose with him. He was pretty sure she was about to hit him with that stern look in her eyes, but then she did something even more disturbing. She grabbed Ryan by the back of his head and pulled him in close for his first kiss (well, first kiss from a girl, which was a heck of a lot better than from Gaston). Ryan’s brain melted.

It was a long and deep kiss, and Ryan was astounded at how wet it felt. After she withdrew her lips, she said quietly. “My name’s Julia, by the way. Julia Jenna, not ‘freckle-faced girl’ like you kept thinking to yourself.”

Ryan stood a little slack-jawed for a moment, but still managed to say, “You are impossible to read!”

“But you’re not. Call me sometime when you’re older and you got a little more experience. I’ll be waiting until then.”

Julia then walked past him as if nothing had happened.

Ryan could only stare at the back of the girl that had just given him probably the most amazing experience of his young life. “What just happened?”

Torsha walked up to Ryan and patted him on the shoulder gently. “I think she just marked her territory,” she said admiringly.

Apparently, the ginger-headed boy decided to contribute as well as he placed a hand on Ryan’s other shoulder, gave a low whistle, and said, “What a woman?”

“Ryan’s team took the tower!” cried out Éclair in bewilderment.

Leon shook his head slowly in acknowledgment. Éclair knew better than to question Leon’s information, especially since his range with telepathy was improving so drastically.