[R] 6.13 Waging War

Enyo placed a well intentioned hand on her younger brother’s cheek. He looked on at her with indecisiveness in his eyes. On one hand it was lovely to see her again, though under these pretenses it was less than ideal. A reunion should have been filled with smiles and hugs. Now, Dionysus had more apprehension than ever before. 

 

“The human boy will be okay, do not worry about him. I simply removed his memory about our encounter. He’ll awaken in a few hours. But Dio please, do not threaten a man about his father in the future. It is simply not right.”

 

Dionysus let out a sigh and looked away from his sister’s reproachful gaze. “I know it wasn’t smart. I was feeling desperate but the boy’s father is one of my closest friends. I’ll reunite the two when I’m able.”

 

Satisfied with his response, Enyo nodded her head. “Wiping his memory only took a bit of my energy. I can’t return to the homeland just yet, but I can hide somewhere secluded while I recharge enough to make the journey back. I believe I’ve caused enough trouble here.”

 

“Will you promise to say goodbye before you leave?” Dionysus asked with a frown. “I don’t know when I’ll see you again. Now that I know about Victus, I can’t go and see Father. I have to protect Graciela, no matter what. If that means a war will be waged, I am willing to accept the consequences.”

“Being too involved with this dimension is what got you in trouble to begin with. Though I understand that the god of darkness inhabiting a young girl’s body, the young girl who you say is supposed to be the vessel meant to suck up the world’s darkness, is alarming. I will talk to Father about it.”

 

“I’m hesitant to involve him in this mess,” Dionysus replied. “But I suppose he’s the only one who has any jurisdiction over disputes between the gods. Surely this couldn’t have been part of Ellora’s plan all those years ago. Why allow Victus access to the girl meant to dispel the darkness he controls? Something doesn’t seem right.”

 

“Perhaps I’m not the one trying to wage war,” Enyo said carefully. “Would it be so outlandish to think Victus wants his domain back, without having to play by Ellora’s rules of balance? I dare say he must have some grand plan to oppose us, as Father would strike down any betrayal of his wishes without a second thought. Victus wouldn’t be so stupid as to overstep his boundary, would he?”

 

“A war between the darkness and the light wouldn’t bode well for the world given the already exposed holes in the dimension. It seems like there’s so many forces pulling on the threads of time, and soon the future we’re all trying to protect is going to crumble with the entirety of this dimension’s existence. A world controlled entirely by darkness could lead to other worlds suffering the same fate. This makes Sophina’s plan to train the kids to visit the underworld and implore Victus to help is the wrong course of action.”

 

“I know little about what happened on the soil of this planet that you first walked on centuries ago and I will not pretend to,” Enyo responded. “But I can say that of my knowledge of what you’ve told me and of my power as a deity, asking a god for help to undo anything that is fated will cause them to endure the wrath of a power they can’t oppose. Mortals have always been foolish. For now we don’t know what our dear uncle wants but if there is foul play involved, we best be careful. He knows that we’re aware of his hold on the young girl. It’s best if she or the headmaster don’t know of this. It is something best left to higher powers.”

“For once I agree with you,” Dionysus replied with a nod of his head. “Perhaps watching over Graciela as she interacts with Victus will afford me some more time before I return to face Father. Ask that much of him. Once Graciela is safe, I’ll repent for all that I did, I promise.” 

 

“I am on your side, Dio. I always was, even when you didn’t want to tell me what you were up to. I never blamed you for that folly. I still don’t think wanting a life of freedom is something worth punishing over, but I’m not the one in charge. I only hope that you do make the most of your time here, because when you return to our homeland, the opportunity to love a family of mortals is going to be ripped from you all over again.”

 

“I know,” Dio said with a sad smile and a nod of his head. “I’ve had centuries to think about it, but you’d be wrong in assuming I chose a life of freedom. I chose a life of change. It’s so easy to sit atop your pretty throne and go about your eternal life when there are people suffering below you. That is not nature’s cause. Not always.” 

 

“You’re the same hopelessly foolish boy you’ve always been. Once again I am looking away as you try and salvage what you can of this flickering world. But be prepared for what Father will propose and do not be upset when the light goes out and we have to close the pages of this long ill fated chapter book.” Enyo placed a tender kiss on Dionysus’ cheek, as if it would be the last one she’d give him for another few centuries. “Dearest brother, I will return to you when I have heard from Father.”

 

“Okay, Enyo. Please, remain safe.” Dionysus watched as the girl used her remaining power to dissolve away from the boarding school. He had a bad feeling about everything though he didn’t know what worried him more- what his uncle was planning or what his father would do about it.  

Everly let out a disgruntled sigh as Wells Orion preformed yet another test on her. She had been back from her almost catastrophic excursion to Angel’s base, and yet he was treating her like some kind of tainted being whose molecular structure was mutated. “Are we done here? You saw all that happened. I enchanted that girl’s prized possession and she let me free. She didn’t stick me with anything.”

 

“No, but that wretched fairy did. Remember when she zapped you and then threw you in the dungeon cell? Yes well, she implanted you with nanotechnology. I had to make sure there were no trackers on your body. If our lab was found because of you being careless, all of our years of work trying to save this damn dimension before it collapses would be for no reason at all.” The white haired male tapped a few things on his holographic computer screen and then let out a small chuckle. “It’s funny, that Angel girl thinks she’s discovering something revolutionary and oh so powerful but she knows nothing about nanotechnology. What she used on you was an elementary stunning technique. It seems that the guardians are just exploring the basics.”

 

“That’s good. If they got their hands on more powerful technology, they’d no doubt use it to cause even more havoc.” Everly stepped down from the podium she was standing on for the last hour and a half and stretched her arms over her head. “The girl I grew up with, the one who I shared my dreams with, is no longer there. She’s a shell of who she once was. I doubt she even believes in her own cause anymore. Angel wants power and now that she knows other dimensions are out there, she probably wants to conquer them all.”

 

“I don’t doubt it’d be extremely easy to infiltrate her base again and simply end the guardians once and for all. You don’t think now that we’ve found her that she’ll abandon her lair and jump to another one? No, perhaps she’ll just fortify this one with traps and try to eliminate you, Everly.”

 

“Me?” She asked, shaking her head with a frown. “I’m not going back in there, am I? Who knows how long I’d have been contained in that cage if not for Roxanna! Besides, they won’t let me leave another time.”

“We already see that there are weak links among her ranks. Roxana will be the easiest picked off, and then we can move to Zerg before he can continue any more advanced research into nanotechnology. After that, we remove Angel and the operation will almost all but crumble.”

 

“Almost?” Everly slid down on the floor against the wall of Orion’s lab. He was an incredibly intelligent engineer. Perhaps because of the cybernetics he had implanted into his own brain, eyes, and who knows where else in his body. While he wasn’t quite a robot, he was certainly less human than the others around him. But it was that detachment from his old ethereal feelings that allowed him to work so tirelessly for decades to stop the rifts that were forming in the dimension. 

 

“Yes. Take a look at my screen if you will.” He beckoned for Everly to approach him as he tugged on the virtual image. Laid out onto the screen were three discrepancies with large red X’s to show their mark. “These three entities gain their power from the guardians and without them will most likely revolt. They should not be taken lightly. Ridding Angel and her lackeys will be an almost mundane task, but then there’s the problem of the Resistance. These individuals have been working with the Guardians closely to overtake Moonlight Falls. Their leader, Declan Gage, is cunning and resourceful. His affections could connive strong allies into joining him.”

 

“I know of Declan. He’s a powerful mage with misguided intentions. I wasn’t aware he was running a whole operation but I suppose it makes sense. I really shouldn’t have left Moonlight Falls.” Everly wrapped her arms around herself. “Doing so just allowed more horrors to creep into the place that was my refuge for so long.”

 

“Staying wouldn’t have been better for the overall outcome of our world. The odds stack more in our favor now that your magic and my technology are able to combine. Anyhow,” Orion waved away the girl’s concerns and pointed at the screen once again. He truly seemed heartless though perhaps that was what was best in a situation like this. “The other problem is Emit Relevart. He must be removed as timekeeper. He has shown a corruption that has allowed Angel to warp and distort my present, and your future.”


“And the last are the council,” He continued. “Disbanding them will allow for dimensional reform that will not only strengthen future relations but allow for prosperity. There are roadblocks in the way of all of these challenges, yet if we stay true to our strengths and garner the right help, we will be able to remove the threats that continue to destroy our home.”