|
|
|
At the head of the wooded valley, on a rise against the hills stands a castle. It is definitely large and imposing, built of grey weathered stone walls with a tall crenellated tower in the center. The drawbridge is down and looks like it has been for some time, but the black iron portcullis and oaken doors behind it are closed and look quite formidable. Clouds suddenly roll across the sky and darken the landscape bringing nightfall early to the region. There is a flash of lightning and an ominous roll of thunder.
<Stupid special effects.>, thinks the young master of the castle. But he puts the thought out of his mind and returns to the task that has absorbed all his attention. He appears to be a normal well built human with blond hair, blue eyes, and an easy smile. Today he is dressed casually in sweater, jeans and sneakers with a karate bandanna on his head instead of his usual ensemble. The activity that has him riveted is watching a GO match between his daughter and his dinosaur. The griffon was doing well with her centuries worth of ancestral memories to draw on, but Gonzo had been able to head off several attacks with brilliant last second strategy thanks to his ever evolving brain. It was an intense battle of innate skill versus accumulated knowledge. The Reader was on the edge of his seat with excitement. (Yes over a game of GO, quiet in the peanut gallery) <Gezelgriffon…turnchoice…touchmove> thought projected the raptor. When he had first ‘heard’ Gonzo speak mentally the Reader had tried to teach him correct grammar and names, but though the names took, the grammar never followed. The young man eventually deduced that it was because in the creatures’ unusual mind, concepts had different and much more complex meanings. The thought forms that others received from the dinosaur were only the simplest leftovers from a higher plane of thought that Gonzo used as a matter of course. It was no wonder that he had been able to learn telepathy in one try. And that he was now beating the angry griffon without having known what the game was when they started. “This isn’t fair, he must be cheating Father.” Gezel declared unhappily. “You know better.” said the Reader, “He may be fast but you know all the legal moves and you would have spotted anything if he did.” “Fine, I concede this round. But next time I won’t go easy on you lizard.” she said sticking out her tongue. The raptor grinned with all his considerable number of teeth as Gezel sauntered away from the table. <Funpleasuregood…gamebattletest…Gezelfriend> projected the dinosaur. She ignored him as she pulled a book from a shelf that said SunTsu on the spine and hopped up on the couch to curl up and read.
<Gamebattletest…MasterReaderfriend…?> thought Gonzo. “No, thank you my friend.” said the man, “I know well enough that I couldn’t match Gezel at that game let alone you. How would you like dinner instead?” The raptor opened his mouth slightly and hissed happily at the idea. The man patted the soft fuzzy head and the two of them started to walk to the kitchen when there was a sudden flash of light and the rec room was full of uniformed gunmen. The reader noted the grey uniforms and helix insignia of the Amalgamated Science Guild, and the guns they carried weren’t for show as the muzzles began pointing in his direction. But Gonzo had already blurred into motion. His brain had processed the presence of the men and their advanced weapons in the milliseconds in had taken them to teleport in and shot toward the nearest group. Two of them had time to see the raptor coming and began firing plasma bolts to stop him, but that was already factored into his path and he remained untouched as he launched himself at the first man. The charging raptor hit feet first in the attackers’ chest, knocking him to the ground, and preternaturally sharp fighting claws tore through armor that was only meant to protect against bullets. As they hit the floor Gonzo leapt again spinning so that his heavily muscled tail connected with the head of the second attacker on the right, putting him down and out. Touching down again the cold blooded killer took a fast step to the left stretching his neck to allow him the reach to tear the Achilles tendon (as well as the boot and half of the calf) of the third gunman who was turning to flee. As the man fell Gonzo jumped forward with a screech of triumph and broke the attackers’ neck with a clawed foot.
The reader acted decisively, if not as instantaneously as the dinosaur, to the threat. He pulled a white bottle from one pocket and threw it at a group of four enemies. With his other hand he began throwing knives that he pulled from hidden pockets. The group that he had thrown the bottle at started firing just as the bottle hit the floor. The potion inside exploded and formed a soapy bubble around them. Flimsy though it seemed however the thugs discovered that neither their weapons nor shear strength would move or damage it. <The idiots shouldn’t have used a one way teleporter.> thought the reader derisively. Meanwhile his knives were finding targets. Two were down with blades in their necks and one dropped his weapon when a knife appeared like another finger in his hand. Several others had daggers stuck in their chests but they had not penetrated and didn’t faze the intruders. The Reader snatched a spear off the wall and ran toward the leader who was the only attacker armed with a sword instead of a gun. Gonzo tore through another group behind him with primitive fury and machinelike precision. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a man run screaming across the room with Gezel clinging to his head while clawing and pecking at his eyes. Another lay near the now burning couch with his helmet ripped off, deep talon marks across his head and neck a testament to even a young griffons’ ferocity. The captain turned away from yelling something at a subordinate and faced the angry young man rushing toward him. He thumbed a switch on his sword and it started to hum as the vibroblade energized. “Come to your death, boy.” he sneered. He swung at the spear shaft, trying to chop it in half, but the Reader parried the blow expertly, pushing the blade aside. The sneer fell from the captains’ face as he tried to recover and the Reader used the opportunity to cast a quick spell. "}Metal Fatigue{" Bits of the sword went everywhere as the blade tore its’ own weakened molecules apart. The captain stared at the hilt stupidly for a moment and then threw it at his opponent before turning to run. The Reader dodged just slightly as he made his final lunge, ending the contest.
The man looked around the room, only to find that the entire invading force was pacified, one way or another. From the look of the wounds Gezel had gotten four and Gonzo eleven without either of them being hurt. <Pix really missed out> he thought. The only enemy left alive was the one that the raptor had tail slapped. The Reader strode over to the dazed gunman. The man groaned as he started to come to. As his eyes opened the Reader placed the bloody tip of the spear against his throat, gaining his undivided attention. “Why were you sent here and who sent you?” “I don’t have to tell you anything, scum.” said the man, “Your family has perverted the ways of science for too long.” “Gonzo, dinner.” The raptor stepped forward mouth open, his bloodied face and claws disguising his otherwise good nature. “NO!” screamed the prisoner, “We only came for the dinosaur, to take it to a proper facility for study. We didn’t want its’ existence wasted here.” “And who sent you?” “Uh, I can’t tell you, he’d kill me.” the prone mans’ eyes shifted. “Gonzo?” the raptor reached down and licked his arm, preparing to bite. “OK, ok… he calls himself ‘The Master’. He says science is the ultimate power and told us you wasted and abused it and did not deserve the gift of this creature.” “Ah, Fredrick, he always was a bit of a pompous, patronizing twit.” said the Reader, “Thank you for your assistance.” And with that he grabbed the man’s hand and the prisoner was simply gone. There was a cool breeze in the room.”I hope he likes the mountains.” the young man chuckled. “Father.” the griffon gave him a derisive look. The raptor just looked at him. “Ok fine, it was a stupid joke. Now help me get this place cleaned up.”
They worked together dragging the bodies and weapons into a pile so the reader could send them away to a waste dimension. Gezel flicked the ashes of the couch with a talon. “They burned my book.” she said. “B******s” said the Reader. When they finally had all the worst trash removed, He cast a moderately powerful cleaning spell from the door that would remove the stains even from stone and clean the air so it would be impossible to tell anything untoward had happened there. He locked the room and left the spell to its work. “Well, how do you two feel about going after the man that sent those minions?” he asked. “I get to go?“ asked the surprised griffon. “Yes, I’ll get my things.” And she raced up the stairs not wanting to give her father the chance to retract the offer. “Like I’m going to try to stop you after last time.” he laughed. “What about you” he asked, looking at Gonzo. <huntchasekill…enemykillermaster…joyanticipationcertainty> thought the eager dinosaur, clicking his fighting claws against the floor. “Ok,” the Reader said laughing, “go wait with Gezel while I get ready.” The raptor rushed off down the hall while the Reader went upstairs to his own quarters.
He walked into his room and over to a certain wall where he pressed an inconspicuous stone near the ceiling. A hidden panel swung open to reveal his tools. There were weapons of course; but also thieves’ tools; various magical, mechanical, and electrical devices; chemical compounds of his own devising; and even a few grimoires, most of which he hadn’t read due to a fascination with the adventures of The Black Arrow. He carefully chose what he would need for this particular mission. Bottles and boxes went into pockets. A watch-like devise went on his wrist and his favorite fencing saber went on his hip. He considered the firearms and energy weapons but left them in the locker. He never had spent enough time practicing with them to use one without dire need. He also made a quick phone call on a special line. As he was closing the panel there was a commotion from downstairs. He hurried back to Gezels’ room in time to hear, “Father, Gonzo is messing up my stuff and he won’t stop.” The Reader peeked into the room to see the raptor laying on his daughters’ bed apparently asleep while the griffon hopped around alternately screeching and growling at him. The man knocked to announce his presence and Gezel whirled and rushed to him, flustered and angry. “Father he just came in here without permission and messed up my bed and now he won’t get off even though I told him to. Make him leave.” The Reader looked back at the bed in time to see Gonzo close an eye. So it was a game. “Sorry Gonzo, Gezel isn’t playing today.” Gonzo sat up, his mouth open and tail wagging. <fungameplay…Gezelfriend…trickpuzzleteach> “I wasn’t fooled. I knew the whole time. I just didn’t want you to feel bad.” said the griffon, strolling over to a bag on the floor. She picked it up in her beak and carried it to the Reader and dropped it at his feet. “I will allow you to carry my things Father.” He chuckled and took the bag, stringing it across his back. “Ok then if you two are ready we’ll go.” Daughter and dinosaur both came to stand by him and he put a hand on each.
The room they found themselves in was full of dusty equipment and old books. “Hopefully Fred hasn’t changed the layout of his fortress too much. He is pretty full of himself so it’s a good bet he didn’t. We are in the storage basement and he should be in either the master suite or the main lab. We’ll check the suite first so I can get to his secret files.” “But Father if you were going to go straight here anyway, why not go directly to one of those places?” Gezel asked curiously. “What, and miss all the fun? I just didn’t feel like walking today.” said the Reader with a slight grin.
He stepped to the door and opened it into a dimly lit hallway. As they left the room the sound of alarms came to them from a distance. The Reader chuckled, amused. “It sounds like they are somewhat shaken up by the failure of their team. That should make things a little easier.“ He headed off, leading the way through unused corridors till at last they came to a locked maintenance stairway. The man pulled out a set of skeleton keys and quickly found one that worked. “Sorry Gezel,” the Reader said, “I’m afraid we can’t take the elevator.” “That’s OK Father, Gonzo will give me a ride.” said the griffon confidently. < selfGonzodrome …playpretendhorsie > thought the raptor, already kneeling. Gezel scrambled onto his back and lay flat, holding on to his neck with her finger talons. “Ok, then up we go.” The climb up the stair was long, with stops whenever someone ran by a landing as the small group passed, but they finally reached the end. The Reader took out his keys again and opened the door to see the master suite. It was even more luxurious than Gezels’ room and she was looking around in wonder. The man strode across to a computer terminal set in a wall and slid a disk into the input slot. He pressed the enter key and a password screen came up, but that activated the program on the disk which started copying files to the drive. Meanwhile he walked over to a bank of monitors that showed the interior of the complex. Gonzo was wandering around sniffing at everything and Gezel was compiling a mental list of the things she needed. The Reader noted the Master in the lab, as he had suspected, in a white coat and wild hair haranguing minions that scurried about. <Good old Fredrick, terrorizing the masses as usual.> “Ok guys, let’s go get him.” The man called to the others, snatching the disk as he walked to a door marked ‘LAB ACCESS’. The door slid aside at his approach to reveal a small elevator. It was a close fit, being meant for a single mad scientist, but it worked. The Reader pushed the button marked LAB and the elevator began to descend.
There was a ‘bing’ as the elevator arrived and they stepped out in the huge open room to see the Master, scientists, and minions staring at them. The Master reacted first, “There they are, get them!” <Every time.> thought the Reader. Guards rushed at them from every direction but the raptor was faster. He hit them like a dervish of teeth, claws, and tail. The guards fell back screaming for reinforcements as blood and bits of armor flew. “You can’t stop me!” yelled the Master from his platform, “Get ready to face my greatest creation!” He pressed a button on the nearest panel. A massive door opened in the west wall and a monster that looked like a cross between a bear, porcupine, and buffalo. Its’ horned head swung side to side as the beast sniffed the air. It stepped out of the pen, looked directly at the Reader, and charged. The thundering stomps of its’ feet shook the room knocking over fragile equipment. Minions scrambled out of the way as the twenty foot tall monstrosity went by. The Reader was reaching for his sonic tranquilizer when, with a screeching growl, Gezel landed on the beasts face talons first, eyes red with battle-rage and back claws wind milling against its’ nose. The monster screamed in shock and pain and reared up sharply, smashing its’ head into the ceiling. Light fixtures and tiles rained down followed by the stunned beast as it toppled across a bank of manipulating equipment. The machines shattered under the enormous body, along with a few slow moving minions, except for one sharp post that went through the beasts’ neck. As the dust cleared, the Reader was relieved to see the young griffon standing on top of the slain creature, roaring her little lungs out in triumph. <oneonlycount…nowstillforever> thought Gonzo, wagging his tail before returning to the fray. “NO! My precious baby, it can’t end like this!” shouted the Master, “Igor!”
“Yes, Master?” said the Reader standing just behind him. The enraged scientist whirled. “You,” he said, voice dripping with loathing, “You are not my Igor, I fired you for a reason!” “No Fred, I quit because I wanted to do other things. If you had fired me, no Igor would have worked for you again. Not that it matters, because as of four O’clock I made a phone call informing Igor Incorporated of your attack and you are now persona non grata with our association.” The mad scientist paled with rage, “How dare you? No one flaunts my authority as Master of the Sciences and lives!” He drew a gun from his coat and fired just as the Reader lunged with his sword. The swordsman was knocked back by the shot and hit the floor on his back. “HAHAHAHAHAHA, I told you I couldn’t….. lose?” the gun wielding madman felt the warmth of his life draining away and looked down to see the slash across his chest and the blood pooling at his feet. “Nooo!” he said choking. “I won, I won…*cough*…how?” “It was a good shot.” said the Reader climbing to his feet, a hand to the wound in his own chest, “Right in the heart. One of them anyway.” The scientists’ eyes glazed in death and he toppled to the floor. The last few minions fled screaming out a far door. Gonzo snorted at the retreating figures and turning, started back toward the lone figure on the dais. Gezel half ran, half flew to the platform. “Father, are you all right? You are hurt. Why are you hurt?” the griffon radiated concern, peering up at the Readers face. “I’ll be alright little one. But I think we should go now if I want to remain conscious much longer.” Gezel put a fore claw on her fathers’ foot while he laid his free hand on Gonzos’ head. The lab echoed with fading footsteps and the crackle of electrical shorts before fire extinguishers finally came on in the empty room.
A few days later, the Readers’ attention was again fixed on a contest between his two charges. This time it was Monopoly. He smiled, listening to Gezel lecture the raptor on a point of the rules, trying to explain why he couldn’t buy Boardwalk. A shadow crossed the mans’ features at a jolt of pain from his wound. Uncle Igor had worked wonders putting him back together but it would be awhile before he played tennis again. He smiled down at the young ones again. Pain didn’t matter; the Reader would bear anything to protect his friends. Gezel had finally conceded the purchase and the content young man settled in to enjoy the rest of the game.
 Cedric Igor · Tue Jul 08, 2008 @ 08:03pm · 2 Comments |
|
|
|
|
|
