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Post By Hatman Sat Jan 13, 2007 at 02:16:18 am EST |
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Another Front Part 5 | |
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Gamma Ray Gary stood on the barren world of Maxel, squared off against Lord War, the interstellar god of his namesake. Not for the first time did Gary wish his Ausgardian powers would return. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach that his Equinite cybernetics would prove no match for his foe. The handsome man in the red and gold armour hefted a large broadsword. “I heard your people died rather easily against the Parody Master’s forces. I do hope you prove to be hardier.” Lord War flicked his long blonde hair from his face. “There is no joy in an easy kill.” “You will find Gamma Ray Gary no lamb to be slaughtered, villain. Have at thee!” Gary lunged forward, swinging Ljouis in a devastating arc at his opponent. Lord War neatly carved the Ausgardian weapon in two while side-stepping Gary’s lunge. “No,” Gary breathed, holding the handle of his beloved weapon. “It’s not possible.” “Oh, I assure you it is.” Lord War wiped the edge of his blade on his cloak. “That was an Ausgardian weapon, was it not? I admit that of all the beings focused on that little mudball Earth I have a soft spot for those barbarians. Why else would the Celestians have simply banished them to Ausgard rather then wipe them out entirely?” “You can command the Space Robots?” Gary had heard legends of the Celestians. “I have a certain amount of pull,” conceded Lord War. “Now then, I believe you were going to be dying.” The villain was a blur of motion as he advanced, his blade flashing faster than the eye could follow. Gary fell to his knees, blood seeping from the shallow cuts that now adorned his arms, legs, and torso. They had been so fast he hadn’t even felt the blade pierce his skin. “I admit, I expected better from you Equinite. I haven’t even broken a sweat.” He looked over at Gary’s besieged comrades. “Perhaps those two will prove to be more sporting.” The Avawarriors were finding it harder to reach their quarry now that the corpses of so many of their fellows lay at Gamona and D’ur’s feet. The multiple Gamona constructs D’ur had constructed were gone, no longer sustainable in D’ur’s weakened condition. He fought desperately, eschewing creativity for raw power. Gamona was at his side, her improvised Avastaff humming as it sliced through the air and armour alike. There was a wild smile on her face as she struck down her oppressors. This was what she had been born to do. Gamona sliced one final Avawarrior in two while D’ur rested his arms on his knees, doubled over and breathing hard. “Did we do it?” he managed to wheeze out. “Did we win?” Only his protective field kept his head attached to his body as Lord War strode up and slapped him aside. The field winked out as D’ur lost consciousness. Gamona wasted no time attacking this new threat, lashing out with her Avastaff. Lord War parried her thrust with his sword then swung his blade around to break her staff. Gamona abandoned it and ducked under his arm, coming up behind him with a strand of her unbreakable hair around his neck. “Very good!” chuckled Lord War. “I have heard tales of you, Gamona. I admit, I have little stomach for assassins, striking from the shadows, sneaking about. A battle should be fought head on, not under the cover of darkness. But you have impressed me, here and now.” Gamona tightened the garrote. “Flattering last words.” “Oh, I expect I will be speaking a great many more in the years to come,” said Lord War almost conversationally. With speed that surprised even Gamona he flipped her over his shoulder to the ground. He touched a hand to his neck, a few drops of his blood wetting his glove. “Very good! You continue to impress.” He grasped the hilt of his sword in both hands and plunged it through her chest. “NO!!” cried Gamma Ray Gary as he limped towards the battle. Lord War pulled his blade from Gamona with a sickening squelch, her blood dripping from his steel. “No need to get up Gary. I’ll be sure you have a grand view of my slaughter of the Flashlight.” “You will not lay a hand upon him!” Gary knew in his heart he could not reach Lord War in time. He had to check his rage and use his intellect. “Lackey.” Lord War stopped and turned to face the Equinite. “Excuse me?” “You heard me, bootlick. What manner of god would so eagerly serve another, even one as powerful as the Parody Master?” Gary spat the blood from his mouth before continuing. “While I may die this day, I die a free Equinite, not under the heel of another.” “Know you this, Equinite, that Lord War is no one’s servant!” The deity strode towards the limping Equinite. “The Parody Master and I have an understanding. My ultimate goal is to bring about the ultimate war, the Resolution War! And know this, none make war as the Parody Master does. Though he thinks otherwise, he serves my ultimate purpose!” “Except you’re here doing his dirty work. If dispatching with me were of importance he would have come himself. You are nothing but a pawn in his schemes,” Gary drew back his lips in a grim smile, “and you don’t even know it.” Lord War drew back his hand and backhanded Gary across the landscape. “Believe what you will, Equinite. I hope it gives you comfort as you pass on to whatever afterlife your people believe in.” Lord War stalked after his prey. “In a way, you’re one of the lucky ones. You have no idea what the Parody Master has planned after he conquers the Earth.” Gary painfully regained his feet. “He will not conquer the Earth. I know it to be populated by a great many warriors, warriors of such stature that you would fall before them as the wheat before the plow. Warriors such as my oath-brother, Donar Oldmanson!” “Donar Oldmanson is dying even as we speak, fool. He is at the center of a conflict a great, great distance from here. With him dies the last of the Ausgardians. I’ll miss them in a way.” Donar was at the heart of a great war in the Mythlands of Earth, and it was Lord War’s business to know of such matters. “Donar Oldmanson is the greatest warrior I have ever known. I find it hard to believe that he has fallen, but if he has then let it be known that I shall champion his cause and deliver the Earth from destruction at your master’s hand!” Gary stood at his full height, his wounds healed. “I will prove worthy of Donar’s trust and faith in me!” “Lord War has no master!” spat the deity. Then a grin split his face again. “I see you have finally regained that sense of worth the Ausgardians place such importance on. But with the last of the Ausgardians dying and the magic within your weapon released, you can do no more than heal the paltry wounds I have inflicted upon you.” Lord War prepared to deliver the killing blow. “I sincerely doubt you will be able to heal after this.” Before he could strike, the skies faded to an even darker black, and the thunder rumbled while the lightning struck. Even Lord War was taken by surprise as he halted before striking. A bolt of lightning struck Gary, and then another. The full fury of the storm oriented on him, and Lord War was forced to shield himself from the sheer power of it. Gary felt no pain as the lightning struck. Instead, he felt images wash through his mind of another place. Though the two had never met, Gary recognized the All Pappy himself, Oldman, as he cast aside his cloak and stood fully upright. Ravens alighted upon his shoulders and wolves rested at his hands. He could hear in his mind the words of the Oldman. “Come to me, daughter. Tis time for you to be freed from your burden. This battle is in sooth need of valiant warriors, and you carry within you the host of Ausgard.” While the Oldman’s attention was on that of a beautiful blonde woman, Gary could feel in his soul the All Pappy’s single eye upon him as well. The Oldman was not only referring to the battle before him. The woman with him took on a regal look as she spoke with the Oldman, as if she had realized her birthright for the first time but had somehow always known. Then the Oldman spoke again. “Let the heavens ring with the return of Ausgard!” And with the return of Ausgard came the return in full of his power. The lightning flashed again, even brighter, and Gary found Ljouis in his hand, whole once more. Gone were his Equinite clothes, the bloodstains gone with them. He stood in the armour of Ausgard, his red cape flowing behind him, his helmet comfortably resting upon his head. The storm faded, and as it left Gary felt the presence of the Oldman leave as well. This battle was in need of warriors. With Gamona dead and D’ur unconscious, Gary hoped a single warrior would do. “Now then, Lord War,” said Gary as leaped forward and slammed Ljouis into the face of the god, sending him staggering backwards. “I believe you were speaking of blows from which there is no hope of healing?” To be continued, maybe even concluded! Footnotes Donar's father, the Oldman, released Ausgard from its hiding place within Marion Nightshade, who in fact was Donar's beloved Queen Annj back in #295: Untold Tales of the Parodyverse: The Ride of the [Spoilers], or The Return of [Other Spoiler] Oldman's dialogue and the setting of that scene shameless ripped from that story.  |
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