Blue Nexus #77 - Ares and Artemis

Previously on "Blue Nexus": The Magus War came to its climactic conclusion, forever shaking the status of magic in the world up. Its conclusion rocked the Zanderia to its core. Sandy decided to go on her own quest to discover the limits of her abilities and how she will choose to her powers. Now, Kyle has to try and pick up the pieces from the end of the war and get back on course to being the Blue Nexus, hero of the Earth...and the galaxy. 

              Kyle touched down on the landing pad before the Warper did. Phoenix took his sweet time parking the thing. Kyle saw the city guard glowering at him, while the Zeusian ambassador smiled with a tiny mouth at him. Kyle awkwardly smiled back, and gestured at the Warper while it continued to land. The Zeusian ambassador didn’t seem to get it, so Kyle just shrugged and looked away. This was going to be a long mission.

                The tall, humongous city of Alphen loomed all around him. Beautiful skyscrapers soared into the sky. A wide obsidian wall surrounded the entire city. The streets were a beautifully clean road, paved immaculately. Citizens of all creeds and races milled about in the streets. Phoenix had said on the way that it was a marvel of the modern universe and Kyle couldn’t help but agree.

                He glanced at the Zeusian guards again. Their armor and weaponry could be quite easily mistaken for drawing power from the Nexus. Blue power coursed throughout all of it, but Kyle sensed it was far more artificial in nature. Their armor looked metallic but given how heavy it also appeared, it had to be some advanced alloy that allowed for mobility without sacrificing defense. The two guards were also massive, like a fusion between the biggest football player and tallest basketball players back on Earth. They were a constant scowl, too. Typical guards.

                The Warper’s engines started to cool down. The Zeusian ambassador perked up. Kyle couldn’t help the twinge of jealousy. What, no love for the Nexus user?

                It’d go a long way. Back home, Blue Nexus was once again a thing of legend. Kyle hadn’t been as active on Earth as he would’ve liked. Brenda had most of the Earth covered while she continued the cleanup from what was being dubbed the Magus War by several authorities—though Kyle found the name pretty silly sounding. With so much of their time being devoted to Earth, the Zanderia needed some of its members to reach out into the galaxy and continue their vow to patrol and save everyone they could, impossible as it sounded.

                Kyle suppressed a yawn. He hadn’t been able to properly sleep in days. The last time he slept was inside a monster while he was on a mission to save a Zeusian ambassador from being kidnapped by agents of some the War God, Ytu. Or, at least, so the ambassador said. Kyle observed the ambassador across from him. Different guy, same getup. Short black robe lined with gold embroideries up and down the torso. A communicator at his neck and a funny looking hat atop his head to show off his importance completed the strange look, but Kyle had seen enough odd outfits on Earth that it really didn’t stand out all that much.

                He sighed, letting out a bit of the yawn. It’d been days since he last saw his last set of Earth clothing. Days since he saw his friends. Or family. Or really anyone that wasn’t Phoenix. The superhero joined up with him after Kyle rescued the ambassador to handle the official Zanderia business with the Zeusia planet, and it turned out that they actually needed more help than initially anticipated.

                Kyle just wanted to head back home and either nap or go to practice. There was no doubt in his mind that he’d lost his status as captain the moment he accepted the mission, but he didn’t have much choice. The Zeusians were becoming more of a cornerstone in this part of the galaxy to keep the peace; he’d heard enough in his travels that more and more attention was turning toward Earth. One of the few things keeping people from attacking the planet was the negotiations Zeusians held with the Zanderia. That and Earth’s tenuous relationship with Mars, one of the several Kingdom Planets.

                He strummed his hand along his bicep while the Warper’s gates slowly opened, and Phoenix strolled down. He stretched his muscles around.

                “Man that thing looks spacious but boy is it uncomfortable,” he said. Phoenix reached into his pouch and placed a chip on the back of his neck. He shivered, but recovered, and led Kyle in the customary Zeusian greeting bow.

                “We are honored to host you, Zanderia,” the Zeusian said.

                “We are honored to be allowed into your great city,” Phoenix said. He and Kyle straightened up. “But we’re busy men. What do you need?”         

                “It’d be best if you spoke with the godqueen,” the Zeusian said. “She will explain further. If you’d follow me, please.”

                The Zeusian dipped his head to them in reverence, and then followed the guards to a pod waiting for them. Phoenix gestured them go on ahead, then stretched his arms out with his talons and the metal wings of his suit expanded.

                “Took you long enough,” Kyle muttered.

                “Not all of us have the natural ability to fly through time and space itself,” Phoenix said. “Let’s get moving, I’m hungry.”

                The pod shot off much faster than Kyle anticipated, forcing Kyle and Phoenix to take flight just as fast. Kyle soared through the skies of Alphen, taking one last look at the Warper. The ship was one of the Zanderia’s prized possessions, the fastest in their fleet when it came to interstellar travel. It was Phoenix’s preferred way of getting around.

                The pod with the Zeusians took a sharp turn around a corner, and Kyle and Phoenix took it a bit wide and almost ran into another pod. Kyle managed to fly out of the way just in time, but got a nice earful from the angry Zanderia member. It might be an alien world, but there’d always be road rage, it appeared.

                Kyle and Phoenix adjusted their course properly and relocated the pod, following it closer now. The pod dipped down into a tunnel filled with brilliant neon lights. The tunnel bottle-necked a bit the further they got, and Kyle found their speed decreasing much more, too. He spotted large stone cylinders in the middle of the tunnel, where traffic was all but slowed.

                “Tolls, are you kidding me?” Phoenix asked. Kyle and Phoenix floated near the pod.

                One of the Zeusian guards sat up and revealed themselves to the guards in the pillars. He nodded and gestured them forward. Kyle and Phoenix followed and took a right at the next exit in the tunnel, going down even further before levelling out into a tunnel of neon green light. Kyle lowered the cowl of his hood to block the light. The pod’s speed increased. Kyle and Phoenix increased speed as well before taking a sharp upturn toward the surface.

                They all shot into the sky, which was now a brilliant orange, and Kyle spotted a massive ziggurat plateauing out of the ground before them. One and a half statues stood before it, along with a great fountain that spewed green water into the sky. Dozens of well-dressed citizens milled about.

                Kyle observed the two statues. One was of a woman, slender, wearing something akin to a toga while her hair flowed out behind her. Another was only half a statue, but of someone that must’ve had a lance and shield.

                The pod slid into a landing bay. Kyle and Phoenix followed, and waited while the Zeusian guards were met by different looking palace guards, and helped the ambassador out of the pod. He didn’t even regard Kyle or Phoenix, and stared inside. The guard waited to be behind Kyle and Phoenix before following them in.

                The ziggurat was adorned with dozens of symbols. Kyle didn’t even bother reaching into the membrane of the Nexus to figure out what they were. It was obvious just from the context that they were insignias for a regime, a government of some sort. More than anything it would be the symbols of the godqueen, Artemis. She was a ruler of order, though was benevolent, from what Kyle understood. She treated others with fairness, and judgment was swift if necessary. Her power as a godqueen saw to that.

                Kyle was bathed in purple light as he entered the ziggurat. He felt microscopic probes prodding nimbly at his body, inspecting him for any foreign diseases or weaponry, before they vanished just as fast and the purple light was gone. He and Phoenix continued through the entryway into the magnificent lobby, which rose way high into the mountain the ziggurat had been built into. Pillars the size of buildings soared up and kissed the ceiling while other banners and flags hung high in the rafters.

                The ziggurat was big enough to hold scores of Zeusians. The ambassador strode through them quite casually. Kyle eyed all of them. Some were in more casual attire—at least, based on what he’d seen so far. He and Phoenix were dressed abnormally, but it was also quite demeaning from a clothing standpoint. All Kyle had were black clothes and a cloak, while at least Phoenix had some armor to make him stand out.

                They were taken through the ziggurat to a door in the back, where purple light bathed them once again, only this time there were no probes to inspect him. This time, Kyle felt power, a suppressive power the likes of which he hadn’t felt since fighting in Magus Tower.

                The Zeusian ambassador smiled at the two and stepped to the side. It cleared the way for Kyle to see a massive woman, a true giant in size, resting in a chair, towering above them. Legions of guards stood in front of her, weapons at the ready.

                “Welcome, my friends,” the woman said. Her voice was beautiful. Kyle balled and then uncurled his hands.

                Phoenix performed the Zeusian bow, prompting Kyle to do the same. “We’re honored to be in your presence, godqueen Artemis.”

                “The honor is mine, Earthling,” Artemis said. “It has been many a decade since we last hosted a wielder of the legendary Nexus in our halls.”

                Kyle straightened out. “Thank you.” What else was he supposed to say? Kyle could still feel her power radiating from her. Was she…was she a War God? No, impossible, she was a preacher of peace.

                But this power was insane. Phoenix didn’t seem to be noticing, or if he was he handled it quite well. Kyle could feel the power coming from all around the room, no less, as if she were the room itself.

                “I unfortunately have need of your abilities,” Artemis said.

                Kyle raised an eyebrow. A woman of her magnitude needed their help? He kept the thought to himself.

                “Anything for a friend,” Phoenix said.

                Artemis smiled, and her body seemed to glow. “We have a tumor growing in our peaceful world. My brother, Ares, seeks dominion of my lands. With it, he would destroy our foothold in the galaxy, and open it up to civil wars without end.”

                Phoenix folded his arms behind his back. “You expect us to kill him?”

                “Capture him, and bring him to me,” Artemis said.

                “We’re not mercenaries,” Phoenix said. “Honestly I much prefer it if we don’t have wars breaking out across the galaxy but Ares hasn’t done anything. I’d be arresting a person of a crime they’ve never committed.”

                “If the snake is poised to kill the rat, you would wait until the rat is being digested?” Artemis asked.

                “No,” Phoenix said. “Because I understand the nature of snakes and rats. I’ve never met you, godqueen Artemis, or your brother.”

                Artemis’s glow lowered a bit. Kyle felt the pressure in the room decrease. He tapped his hands against his legs, sensing more than one presence in the room.

                “My family has visited Earth before,” Artemis said. “When last we were there, we ensured that Earthlings understood us.”

                “It’s been a few years since then,” Phoenix said. He held his hands up defensively. “Where can we find your brother?”

                Artemis held out a radiant arm, gesturing to a door along the wall. It suddenly filled with the same purple light from before. Kyle turned around, and saw that the entryway was now gone, replaced by a plain wall. He turned back slowly, observing the room, keeping his eyes hidden from anyone’s view. Was that door the only exit?

                “Step through this door, and you shall be taken near him,” Artemis said.

                Kyle checked the Zeusian ambassador that met with them before. He was in line, with the other guards, captivated by Artemis as all the others were. He squinted at their gaping faces. Something in their eyes…it was off-putting. Was it…were they green?

                “Thank you,” Phoenix said. “We’ll speak with him, and then report back to you.” He nudged Kyle, who snapped out of his trance and followed his teammate across the massive throne room. Kyle kept his eyes locked on Artemis. Sunlight from the three suns nearby shot through the windows behind her, giving her body a more magnificent glow with each step. He looked back to the purple portal door, which turned to a swirling vortex.

                Kyle reached his hand back and tapped his communicator off his belt. It bounced off his foot, and soundlessly hit the ground just before he stepped through the portal door. In another step, he was in a completely different area.

                They were standing at the base of a massive hill, looking down into the hobbles of a futuristic, though still oddly medieval, fortress. Steam rose from natural geysers, spewing every few seconds.

                Phoenix crossed his arms, and sighed at the sight of the fortress. “You’d think guys like this would want to be more conspicuous.”

                Kyle nodded. “Right.”

                Phoenix then looked around, leaning back and forth. “Surprised there’s no welcome party for this guy.”

                “Maybe that’s the inconspicuous part.”

                “No, the fact that nobody’s around is kinda telling me that this is a trap. Making it very conspicuous.”

                “I’d agree, if something about Artemis didn’t bug me. Something was up with that room. They sealed us in. How’d they do that? We didn’t see any teleporters before then.”

                “What do you mean, what’s so weird about that?” Phoenix asked.

                Kyle shook his head. “And the way they were transfixed…and the green light.”

                “Blue Nexus, listen.” Phoenix laid a hand on his shoulder. “Relax. Not everything in the universe wants to kill us. And besides, these people do need our help. If someone is going to upset the balance of the galactic peace, we need to make sure that it doesn’t happen.”

                “I know.” Kyle turned back toward the fortress. “But really, nothing?”   

                “Nothing,” Phoenix said. He patted Kyle on the shoulder. “Now let’s go meet the god of war.”

                Kyle nodded, and the two took a step forward.

                Click.

                The explosion eradicated the entire hill behind them and the shockwave eradicated part of the fortress, eliminating most of the wall. Kyle finally caught his breath after the fastest second of his life. He clutched Phoenix close to him, and let his Wave 2 energy slow fade while they hovered over the fortress.

                “Well, I was wrong,” Phoenix said.

                “Ares must know we’re here,” Kyle said.

                “Then we should make ourselves known,” Phoenix said. “Let’s go.”

                Kyle dropped Phoenix, and the two landed safely on the gangway into the fortress. Kyle created an energy ball in his hands and chucked it down the entryway. Two more explosions blew through the fortress. Phoenix sprinted ahead of Kyle, holding his arms out and extending the metal wings.

                He flipped and part of the wings clipped off and formed their own drone, flying through the fortress before there was another explosion, followed by a mighty roar.

                “Oh, good he has pets,” Phoenix managed to say before the pet broke free.

                Kyle flipped over the flying rubble caused by the beast as he roared through the first wall of the fortress. Phoenix ducked under the way.

                “I’ll go find the entrance and direct any more of these to you, alright?” Phoenix called, and before Kyle could say yes, he was gone.

                The beast flailed at Kyle, and Kyle ducked under its mighty paw. Kyle grunted in acknowledgment, and dodged again. He spun around the beast and pressed both hands together before shooting an energy beam down at it, catching it in the back of the neck and knocking it out.

                The thing fell against the gangway, shattering it and sending it into the moat around the fortress. Kyle sighed, and heard another roar and a very faint, “Sorry!”

                Kyle turned about and shot toward the source of it. He saw the red eyes of the beast growing larger and larger, and once they were as big as he, Kyle punched out and decked the thing straight in the face, shattering it and sending it flying back through the fortress. Kyle tumbled through the falling debris and hit the ground rolling, setting off another trap that sent him bouncing forward.

                He finally managed to catch himself, facing the opposite direction of an orange light at his back. Someone sprinted toward him. Kyle straightened out, spotting the waving arm of Phoenix as the super hero sprinted toward him.

                “Not as many traps as I thought,” Phoenix said.

                “I bet,” Kyle said.

                He turned when Phoenix reached him to face two massive double doors, already open, and glowing with orange light. It was another vortex door. Kyle sighed. Phoenix took a step forward but Kyle stopped him.

                “First of all,” Kyle said. “We don’t even know what we’re going to say to this guy.”

                “Well that much we just improv,” Phoenix said.

                “Second,” Kyle continued, “I don’t have a good feeling about what we’ll find on the other end.”

                “What do you mean by that?” Phoenix asked.

                “I mean I don’t think Artemis is real,” Kyle said.

                “Of course she’s real, Eclipse and Riko have negotiated with Artemis before,” Phoenix said. “How could they not be?”

                Kyle groaned. “Basically I’m positive that we’re gonna find a guy behind a curtain. Maybe Artemis is dead. But behind this door?” He jerked a finger at the door. “We’re not going to get any answers.”

                “Then why even have a door here?” Phoenix asked.

                “Because they’re not dumb enough to think that those traps were going to kill us,” Kyle said.

                “They?”

                “Just follow my lead.”

                Phoenix shrugged and Kyle gestured at the door. Kyle stepped through first, moving through the familiar feeling as something probed him over. He stepped through and stood in a smoldering, tall, black room. Red torches lined all the walls and the room was empty save for one massive brute in obsidian armor glowering down at them, the same size as Artemis.

                “Oh, good, looks like we found Ares,” Phoenix said, and Kyle stooped down.

                “My sister summoned you here,” Ares said. “Why?”

                “No she didn’t,” Kyle said, and held up the Zanderia communicator. “Because we haven’t gone anywhere.”

                “Your communicator?” Phoenix asked.

                Kyle clipped it to his belt, and then held out his hand. His lance formed in it. “Exactly.” He pulled back his arm, and in a flash, tossed the lance through the image of Ares. It soared across the way and stabbed him right in the face, but reaction was mixed. Several screams lifted into the air, but Ares himself did not react.

                Instead, the image began to dissipate, and the black walls started to fade. They turned to the color of Artemis’s throne room before all the purple light faded as well and the pressure Kyle had been feeling before faded away. Kyle looked over his shoulder to the door that was sealed behind him, and then across the way to the door that was open, revealing a path out into the mountains that the ziggurat was built into. Smoke rose from the ruins of their battle.

                The large pedestal that Artemis had been on before was now completely empty. Phoenix braced himself as the guards in the room all spun around, flabbergasted.

                “You fool!” exclaimed a familiar Zeusian voice. “What have you done?”

                Kyle looked beyond him to the others who were still reeling, feeling the connection split from the Realtiy spell that’d been cast over them.

                “Where’s the real Artemis?” Kyle asked. “Did you kill her?”         

                “That was…agh!” exclaimed the Zeusian ambassador, and he knelt down, still feeling the effects of the spell.

                “I thought I sensed Reality magic in here,” Kyle said. “And getting around was way too easy. The illusion gave it away; whoever made it must’ve had little practice.”

                “And whoever made it is on the run,” Phoenix said.

                Kyle shook his head. “Couldn’t have gotten too far. The only one strong enough to sustain a spell like that would be one of the Six Pillars, and he’s stuck in the Cube with no magic right now.”

                “You’ve killed Artemis!” shouted one of the guards.

                Kyle held his hand out again and the lance reformed in his palm. He clasped it with both hands, looking around at everyone.

                “And now the entire royal guard wants to kill us,” Phoenix muttered.

                “Someone played a trick on all of you!” Kyle exclaimed. “We need to find whoever did this and bring them in. They’ll tell you where your godqueen is!”

                “Kill them!” exclaimed the guards.

                Kyle hesitated until they were right atop him. He braced himself and then blocked two swings of the guards’ attacks. He stumbled back from the force of the blow. They were strong. He kicked out, away from the guards.

                “Let’s move!” exclaimed Phoenix, and Kyle nodded.

                He shot an energy ball over them, destroying part of the roof of the ziggurat. Kyle and Phoenix blasted up, soaring through the hole and out into the open sky.

                In the distance, Alphen stood as a natural paradise. It was beyond the rolling hills of Zeusia. Kyle and Phoenix, though, floated over a land toiled with destruction. A great shade descended over it, and it began to increase, growing closer and closer to the actual city.

                “Where are we?” Kyle asked.

                “At the true heart of Zeusia,” another familiar voice said. Kyle felt a shiver run down his spine.

                “No way,” he muttered, and turned about to see a much smaller, but still brightly glowing, version of Artemis.

                “You have brought great torment to the people of my land,” she said. Her voice sounded like many, amplified and a bit distorted. “Thank you.”

                Kyle felt his heart drop. “Thank you?”

                Artemis nodded. “For too long have the people of this world yearned for true peace. But peace is not the natural order of the universe, of this galaxy. I knew this the moment that the Divine Mage of Earth was killed, slain by its heroes. The balance would tip, and my people would yearn for power. So I took it from them, and shall now give it back.”

                The shade over the land continued to grow. Kyle couldn’t even fathom anything to say, until Phoenix spoke up.

                “How long has it been since you murdered her?” Phoenix asked. Artemis turned her head, a bit confused. “Don’t play dumb,” Phoenix said.

                “Only since the Earth’s magic awoke,” Artemis said. “And then I decided to take the visage of order and wisdom. For order and wisdom are essential to my art, to the true art of the galaxy.”

                “Impossible,” Kyle said. “You stole Artemis’s body?”

                The body of Artemis smiled, and a shadow fell before her face, lingering there, creating bloody red eyes.

                “I consumed her,” Ares said. “As I consume this planet soon. Chaos is order. War is order.”

                “But, how?” Kyle asked.              

                “I overheard you earlier, Nexus, and must applaud you for your beliefs,” Ares said. “For we, the gods, do not exist as you perceive us. We are simple forces.” He held his hand out, and Kyle summoned the Nexus aura around him. He could feel something, though, gripping him, as if trying to squeeze him. “And as peace settled over my sister’s lands, I consumed her. Nowwe are war and order, logic and chaos.”

                “I’ll stop you,” Kyle said.

                Ares gestured below. “Best of luck.”

                An explosion shot into the sky and the ziggurat began to crumble. Kyle filled his hand with energy, and with a roar, blasted it at Ares. It soared through the being.

                “To kill me is to kill hatred,” Ares said. “You would need to kill every living thing on this planet. Zeusia has had its day of peace. Now it shall fall.”

                “Kyle we need to leave,” Phoenix said, gripping Kyle’s arm. “There’s nothing we can do here!”

                Another blast of magic consumed the ziggurat. Kyle looked down and saw people running into large clumps, tumbling into each other and fighting, clawing, doing anything they can. A green aura consumed them all.

                “You’re…you’re wrong!” Kyle exclaimed. “This is Reality magic, this is just a reality mage!”

                “No,” Ares said, and held his hand to Kyle. “It is not.”

                “You’re a Divine mage, then,” Kyle said, but even then, his voice betrayed him. “You’re deceiving these people!”

                “You think you can look around and see the world for what it truly is, but you do so with closed eyes,” Ares said. “This was inevitable.”

                Kyle roared again and flung another energy blast at Ares. Ares laughed as it flew through him again. Kyle blasted at Ares and nothing connected. His rage boiled within him, ready to spew over and…

                His rage…

                He let his arms go limp at his side. Another explosion sounded. Kyle looked down to the world below him as war and hatred consumed it. The power of war itself chuckled in front of him.

                “Go on and stop it, Nexus. And while you’re at it, reset the very fiber of existence itself. Do this and you’ll have defeated me.”

                Kyle didn’t realize the first tear was there until the second tear was forming. He glanced over to Phoenix, who just shook his head.

                They floated back to the Warper, and flew home. Kyle only took one last look to Zeusia, watching as what had once been green and beautiful, even from the great depths of space, turned brown and ugly.

                And it was all his fault.

Next time: Kyle's been assigned bodyguard duty to a princess on an alien world, and discovers that in a galaxy so wide, there is no such thing as black and white...or good and evil in "Blue Nexus #78 - Sunset"