A "Captain
Scarlet & the Mysterons" story
At first, Blue had the impression that
he was falling; but it was very brief, and he suddenly felt something solid
underneath his feet, as if he had literally landed somewhere.
A spell of vertigo hit him, at the realisation that he wasn’t lying down
anymore but standing, and he swayed
a little; his vision was still a blur, and he had to steady himself against a
nearby wall so he would not fall.
The wall was cold to the touch and rough – like a stone.
His eyes cleared and he found himself
staring down into one of the stony corridors inside the Walhall Palace, crudely
lit by torches, the flames casting shadows against the walls on which they were
hanging. He still felt a little
dazed, even strangely euphoric, but otherwise, he was fine. At least physically.
He looked himself over; he was back in the garments he’d been wearing as a
Viking prince.
Strange… why
have I ended up standing here instead of Hodur’s chamber?
he reflected inwardly.
And what was he to do now, with the
knowledge he had recently acquired?
Before he could even decide on his next
move, he heard animated voices, coming from behind, and footsteps approaching. He turned on his heels and saw, at the
far end of the corridor, a group of warriors walking in his direction. They were talking in a lively manner,
although in hushed tones. Amongst
them, Blue recognised Green – in his persona of Heimdall, the captain of the
guard – who suddenly noticed him and increased his pace. Blue went to him.
“My Lord Hodur…”
Stopping in front of Blue, Green bowed slightly to him, before looking up
in concern into his blue eyes. “So
you have heard the news too?”
“What news?”
Blue asked, with an inquiring frown.
“There has been an attack in Lord
Balder’s room,” Green announced.
“An attack?”
Blue automatically tensed. The thought that something might have happened with Rhapsody quickly went through his
mind. “Who…? The Lady Nanna…?”
“Nay. The guards who arrived there first found the Lady Nanna and the servant
maid Gerda in the room – with Lord Balder injured. They thought at first the Valkyrie
was responsible, as she was holding a dagger – and Gerda accused her.
But ’twould seem that it was the servant maid herself that attacked your brother
– and Lady Nanna as well.”
“Balder was injured? Is he all right?”
Blue asked in concern.
“He is, of course, and like his usual
self, he asked to be left alone.”
Green grunted, not noticing the questioning look on Blue’s features. “The servant girl has been apprehended, and taken to the dungeon,” he continued with
obvious disgust in his tone. “Lord
Balder wants her to be interrogated tomorrow.
He seems to think that this idea to assault him and the Lady Nanna was
not her own.”
“She might have been pushed to do this?”
a perplexed Blue said pensively.
“That is what Lord Balder seems to
think. But it was probably a fit of jealously
on her part, my Lord. You know she
was a favourite of your brother…
She might not have taken kindly to being replaced by the Valkyrie.”
“Maybe…”
Blue murmured. “And maybe not. In the meantime, see that she is not
harmed.”
Green tilted his head to the side with perplexity.
“Aye, my prince. It will be done.
The servant maid has to be able to answer the interrogation tomorrow.
She has a lot to answer for.”
Blue didn’t comment.
He just didn’t want for any harm to come to ‘Gerda’ – and not only for
the reasons ‘Heimdall’ seemed to imply.
Then he would have to see what this new development was all about. If indeed she had been pushed to attack
Scarlet, then he would have to discover by whom…
He had a good idea of his suspect,
though.
“Is Balder still in his room?” he asked
of Green.
“Aye – alone, aside from the Lady Nanna
who stayed with him.” Green sighed
deeply, shaking his head. “Your brother takes his gift far too much for granted,
my prince. He might come to regret
it, one day…”
“Yes… he might,” Blue agreed with a nod,
his earlier suspicions about ‘Balder’ slowly turning into certainty in view of
what Green was now telling him. “I
shall go see if he’s all right then.”
“You know he will be, my Lord.” Green thumped Blue’s shoulder in a
friendly manner. “But I am sure he
will appreciate your visit.”
After a brief smile acknowledging
Green’s comment, Blue left, walking with long strides in the direction of
Balder’s chamber.
* * *
Seated on the side of the bed, watching
over the unconscious warrior prince lying on top of it, and wiping away the
beads of sweat forming on his pale brow, Rhapsody Angel couldn’t help the
uncertainty and worry growing inside her, and she was pondering on what was
happening around her. She wasn’t
even sure of the identity of that man lying there, wounded, looking so much like
the man she loved. He had called to
her with Paul’s voice, said her name, and appealed for her help… Still, he had been acting so uncharacteristically unlike
himself up until the moment he had fallen onto the bed, that she had trouble
even conceiving it could be him.
She had no logical explanation for what
was going on – aside from thinking she might be going thoroughly mad.
Rhapsody suddenly tensed when she heard
a faint knock at the door. She was
on her feet instantly, her hand reaching for the first weapon she could find at
her disposal – the dagger from Balder’s belt, which he had left on a table
nearby. She cautiously approached
the door.
“Who is it?”
“Don’t worry, Rhapsody. It’s me, Blue.”
She blew a sigh of relief. Blue, he had said.
Not ‘Hodur’, as the others were calling him.
He was still, apparently, the man she knew him to be. And apparently, he also knew her for who
she truly was.
She hurriedly pulled back the bolt and
let the newcomer in, closing the door as soon as he cleared it. She locked it
again, watching Blue as he turned to her.
He was still dressed in the ancient, fur-like clothing, like all the others
were, but his face and hair were as they were supposed to be. He gave her a concerned look, and took
her by the shoulders, reassuringly.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, thanks,” she said, presenting
a brave façade.
“How about
him?” Blue continued, walking toward the bed,
to look down at Scarlet. “How is
he?”
“Unconscious.
Or sleeping, I couldn’t tell,” Rhapsody answered, following close behind
Blue. “He’s been – we’ve been
attacked. And he was stabbed – ”
“I know.
I heard. Green told me.”
“Green?”
“Heimdall, actually,” Blue corrected. “He’s the captain of the palace guard…”
“Adam… I don’t understand what…”
“Has he been like this for long?” Blue
interrupted. He knelt beside the
sleeping Scarlet and took his hand, checking his pulse.
It was beating steadily, if a little too fast.
“Two – three hours, I think,” Rhapsody
answered. She watched him, as Blue gently
examined the wound on the Viking’s torso. Blue grunted and nodded with some
satisfaction. To Rhapsody’s eyes,
he didn’t seem very surprised to find what he did. And what she already knew.
“He’s healing,” she said, stating the
obvious.
“So I see,” Blue agreed.
“Like Paul would,” Rhapsody added,
insistently.
“Yes.”
Blue’s answer was punctuated with a
brief nod. Rhapsody stared at him with perplexity. “Aren’t you in the least bit surprised?”
she asked, almost suspicious.
“No…
to tell you the truth, I am not really surprised,” Blue admitted. “I already suspected it would be the
case, after what I’ve heard so far… and what I knew of ‘Balder’. The one of
legend, I mean.”
Rhapsody sighed again and approached,
leaning down to his level.
“Adam, what’s going on?” she asked with urgency, for the second time freely using
Blue’s first name. “This strange
place… These clothes… All these
people who look like members of Spectrum but don’t act like them… This ‘Balder’…
At first, I thought he wasn’t Paul,
but…”
“You saw he shares the same regenerative
powers,” Blue remarked. “The dagger
wound is almost closed…”
“Yes, I saw that,” Rhapsody admitted. “And then something else… Adam… He
is
Paul, isn’t he?”
Blue nodded carefully. “Yes,” he murmured.
“Yes, he is.”
“I
thought as much. He called my name
earlier…”
“He
what?”
“I thought it was delirium – when he was struggling
against the fever from his wound. He called for help… using my name. He called me Dianne. His voice was Paul’s… so I knew then he was Paul. My Paul. Not that…
barbarous Viking prince. So I
imagine it means that all the others are the people we know too…”
“So subconsciously he remembers?” Blue
reflected. “So the Mysterons were wrong, then?”
“The
Mysterons?” Rhapsody almost shrieked, turning pale
all of a sudden.
“It might be because of his unique
metabolism,” Blue continued, barely hearing her. “This is almost un-hoped for. Did he say anything else?”
“Yes…
He was trapped, he couldn’t move…
He said something about ‘Ragnarok’…”
“Ragnarok?” Blue repeated with obvious surprise. “He mentioned Ragnarok?”
“He
said we had to stop it… Adam, what does it mean –”
“He knows about Ragnarok,” Blue
pondered, stroking his chin. “I
wonder –”
“Adam, would you
please
tell me what’s going on?” Rhapsody
demanded jerkily. “What happened to
Spectrum? To Paul, the colonel, the
Angels and…”
“All of Cloudbase,” Blue corrected
suddenly.
“Excuse me?”
“Dianne – all of Cloudbase has been
affected. Except, apparently, you and me.
It’s the work of the Mysterons…”
Rhapsody grew tense, when Blue turned to
her; her face became hard, realising he knew something he wasn’t telling her
yet. “Captain Blue,” she said, a note of
warning in her voice, “if you happen to have any idea of what’s going on, you’d
better say it right away or – ”
“Please, Dianne.”
Sensing she was about to lose her cool, Blue took her hands, wanting to
calm her down. It did the trick, and he could see in her eyes that she was
relaxing – if only a little. “Yes,
I know what’s going on,” he confirmed.
“I
just found out. From the mouth of the one who is behind
this…”
“Captain Black?” she offered tentatively. She shook her head, grunting. “Or ‘Loki’ – as he is called here, I
believe…”
“No…
It wasn’t Captain Black – either the real one or under his persona of Loki, in
this world.” Blue sighed. “I’ve been to Cloudbase. I’ve talked
with Technician Bromwell…”
“The man in charge of the Room of Sleep
electronic maintenance?” Rhapsody
said with perplexity. “But…”
“He’s a Mysteron agent now. He’s behind all this. He’s the one who did this to us.”
“Wait a minute, Adam…” Rhapsody shook her head in confusion. “You’ve been to Cloudbase… But you just said that Cloudbase
–”
“I know what I said.”
Giving Scarlet a last probing look, Blue got up, compelling Rhapsody to
do the same. He looked deep into
her concerned eyes. “Now I’ll
explain it all to you,” he said, trying to keep his voice as calm as he could. “I might not have the time to explain
all the details before Scarlet wakes up – although he looks as if he’ll be out
for a good amount of time yet. I
don’t know all of it, in any case, so I want you to listen carefully… The fate of everyone onboard Cloudbase
may depend on our actions – yours and mine…”
He gave a deep sigh. “You’ll
have trouble believing all this, I assure you…”
* * *
“I
can’t believe any of this.”
It took Blue almost an hour to tell
Rhapsody about his meeting with Bromwell on Cloudbase and what he knew of their
present situation. The young woman
had shown her incredulity – almost thinking her companion was going mad. Yet, she couldn’t think of any better
explanation for what was going on.
Her mind almost refusing to absorb and
accept the truth, she had a need to sit down at the end of the bed – and had
done so heavily, like someone who was so terribly tired; which she was in any
case. When Blue had finished his
tale completely, he found the Angel holding her head pensively, trying to take
it in. He gave her a few minutes,
while walking around the room. He
checked on Scarlet again, still lying on the bed.
He was apparently sleeping very soundly now, his breathing deep and
regular, the colour back in his face.
The wounds had disappeared completely by now, leaving only unblemished
flesh, stained with dried blood.
Satisfied that Scarlet would be okay, Blue went to stand next to the
window. The wind coming down from
the valley was cool and refreshing.
“I need a very stiff drink.” The voice behind made him turn.
Rhapsody had let out a deep sigh, and was rubbing her brow. “But I guess getting completely drunk
would not improve anything, would it?”
He offered a bashful, very thin smile. “It would certainly be comforting,” he
admitted good-naturedly. “If nothing else…
I’d advise against the ale, though.
It’s positively awful.”
“The smell certainly is.” Rhapsody looked around in wonder. “So all of this – it’s only an illusion?
How
can this be possible?”
“I don’t know if it’s an illusion, in
the sense we give to the word,” Blue muttered. “Or
a dream. Or a subconscious world.
Or another plane of existence -
it’s real, as real as the Mysterons were able
to make it.” He breathed deeply. “Even the air that we breathe. So pure.
So vivid. Even these walls,” he said, slapping his hand on the stony
surface of the window frame and turning to walk towards Rhapsody. “This
furniture, these clothes we’re wearing…
Even the meals – and the drinks…” he added with a new smile. He nodded towards Scarlet. “- And those thoughts they forced into
the minds of our friends. They
really believe who they are to be
real.” He looked grimly at
Rhapsody. “And that ‘reality’ could
be as deadly as the one we know. We
could all die here if we don’t do something about it.”
“I’m still not sure I can accept this,
Adam,” Rhapsody replied.
“You have to believe it, Dianne.” He knelt in front of her. “You know as well as I do that the
Mysterons have powers we can’t begin to understand.
Surely, if it is possible to trap a whole group in a fantasy world like
this one, then they can do it.” He lowered his voice. “And we have no other choice but to play
along with their sick game. And we
have to do this together, if we are to
succeed.”
“I know, Adam. But it still seems so
unbelievable…” Rhapsody’s hesitation only lasted one more second. She breathed out deeply.
“But you know you can count on me to do my very best.”
“I never doubted it for a second,” he
said with a faint smile.
“So – all we have to do to beat the
Mysterons this time and come back to our own reality is to stop this ‘Ragnarok’
thing?” she asked.
Blue gave an approving nod. “The ‘Twilight of the Gods’, according to the Vikings. Armageddon.
The end of all things.” He
stood up and gestured toward the sleeping ‘Balder’.
“The end of their world, where
all of them are going to die.”
“And if their fantasy identities die in
this world, their real bodies will die on Cloudbase,” Rhapsody said, remembering
Blue’s earlier explanation.
“Even Paul,” Blue agreed. “If his subconscious dies I suppose even his
indestructible body would have to follow, wouldn’t it?”
“Or so the Mysterons would hope,”
Rhapsody reflected.
“I don’t think Bromwell was bluffing,
Rhapsody. Or, at the very least, I don’t want to
assume he was.”
“That’s understandable,” Rhapsody
agreed. “I don’t want to either, it would be far
too risky. Explain something to me
though: if ‘Balder’ is as
indestructible as Paul is – how could he be a victim of the Ragnarok too?”
Blue nodded, walking around pensively. “All this is based on Norse mythology,”
he said, rubbing his chin. “Balder,
Odin, Aesgard, the Valkyries…
Ragnarok. This is all part of an enormous farce
mounted by the Mysterons… They’ve
created this world for the sole purpose of this threat…”
“I know a little of Viking legends from
my classical studies,” Rhapsody remarked. “But I admit I can’t really call them
to mind at the moment – and this is getting a little too complicated. This is
not accurate, is it?”
“You
might have noticed, this world is more or less like an ‘Earthly version’ of Aesgard,” Blue answered. “My grandfather told me a few of those sagas,
when I was very young. And I read
about them afterwards, so I did recognise the settings – and the ‘characters’ of
this play. Although I don’t
remember that the Valkyries had ever been enemies of Odin…
The war between Vanirs and Aesirs is also part of more obscure myths…
So I don’t know that subject very well…”
“You seem to know a little bit more than
I do, though,” Rhapsody retorted with a faint smile.
Blue sighed, and came to sit right next
to her, on the side of the bed.
“Yeah, now I remember. But when I woke up earlier, it was all
pretty confused… My mind wasn’t
working properly. Probably because
I was concussed during our… forced landing on Cloudbase. But everything is clearer now, thankfully. So I’ll be able to follow our situation
more easily – and relate it to what happened in the sagas of the Norse gods.”
“Speaking
of which… none of them seem to be ‘gods’,” Rhapsody remarked.
“They’re all obviously normal humans –
except for Balder’s exceptional powers of recovery.”
“Which were part of the legend too,
weren’t they?” Rhapsody noted.
“Yes, you’re right.
For some reason, Balder was supposed to be invulnerable,” Blue agreed.
“He was the only one of the Aesgard gods with that condition…”
Rhapsody nodded her understanding. “…Which would be why Paul found himself
in that role.”
“Yes, he would be the obvious choice,
wouldn’t he?” Blue scratched his head.
“And I’m afraid there’s more. I
think that Balder’s relative invulnerability plays an important part in the myth
of Ragnarok itself…”
“In what way?” Rhapsody asked.
Blue grunted his frustration. “I’m not sure you’ll like to hear it… But according to the Norse legends, it
might very well be Balder’s death that will bring about Ragnarok.”
Rhapsody stared blankly at him. “But if he’s invulnerable…”
“Practically
invulnerable,” Blue interrupted her.
“That’s my answer to your earlier question, Rhapsody:
there is something – one weakness that can kill him.”
“It’s certainly not electricity,”
Rhapsody remarked with dry humour.
Blue shook his head.
“No – it’s yew – or mistletoe, depending on the versions of the story.
Balder was killed with a weapon carved from it – quite accidentally, as it
turned out. During a very silly game created by the
gods – who were throwing all kind of objects at him, just to test his
invulnerability.” He rubbed his
chin, thoughtfully, while Rhapsody turned
a concerned look on the still-sleeping Scarlet.
“From then on, the Aesir gods realised their mortality… If the most invincible amongst them had
been killed by something as simple and insignificant as mistletoe, then what
chance did they have against Death? The forces of evil – led by the Ice
Giants – also realised then that the Aesirs were vulnerable… and started making
plans to attack and destroy them.”
“…And then came Ragnarok,” Rhapsody
realised.
“Yeah, in a nutshell, that’s what
happened.”
“Do you reckon it might also happen in this version?” Rhapsody asked in a worried tone.
Blue shook his head.
“I would think unlikely that
these very mortal Aesirs would be silly enough to take the risk of playing that
stupid game with Balder…”
“I don’t know,” Rhapsody retorted
doubtfully. “You have seen how they behave, haven’t
you? They do seem a little… reckless, at times.”
“They do indeed,” Blue agreed,
pensively. “But I don’t think I am.”
Rhapsody raised a brow. “What do you mean exactly?”
Blue hesitated a second. “According to legend,” he said finally, looking directly at
Rhapsody, “the one who accidentally killed Balder with that fatal blow… was his
own brother, Hodur.”
Rhapsody kept silent, letting the
information sink in. Blue was
observing her reaction; it was one of complete and unreserved denial.
“Surely, the Mysterons don’t really
expect that you would actually do that!”
“I don’t know what they expect,” Blue
muttered darkly. “I do suspect that
they sent me here with an ulterior motive – and that this motive… could very
well be that they’re counting on me to
recreate the events of the Norse legends, leading to the coming of Ragnarok.”
“Well, I believe they are deeply
mistaken!” Rhapsody scoffed loudly.
“Well, I would say the same,” Blue
answered with a thin smile. “I
would not play that part of their game willingly, of that you can be sure. In fact, I will do everything in my power to avoid being put
in the situation where they would expect me to actually kill Paul – or rather
‘Balder’. But I will have to be
wary of Loki.”
“Captain Black,” Rhapsody uttered, with
a brief nod. “Yes, well… This seems to be a very sensible precaution.”
“Especially when you know that,
according to legends, Hodur was tricked by Loki into killing Balder,” Blue
specified.
“Oh.”
Rhapsody reflected upon that new revelation.
“Even without taking that into consideration, I wouldn’t turn my back on
him at any time,” she remarked coldly.
“And I suspect that he might already have started causing trouble in
order to bring Ragnarok forward.”
“Meaning?”
“The ‘servant girl’ Gerda, who attacked
us?”
“Anna Preston,” Blue informed her.
“Yes, well… I thought I recognised her…” Rhapsody muttered in a bleak tone,
thinking back to what the woman had been to ‘Balder’ in this fantasy world. She shook herself. Now was not the time to let herself be distracted by
embittered thoughts. She nodded in
Scarlet’s direction. “Anyway… he seemed to think that someone put her
up to it.”
“Loki?” Blue asked, raising a brow.
“Well, he didn’t name him in that
particular instance – but he did
mention his name when he clashed with the woman earlier – and chased her away. I heard it all through the door.”
“Mmm…”
Blue shook his head, pensively scrutinising the young woman. “This can’t be a very agreeable
experience for you, can it, Dianne?”
“Because he’s acting like a boor?”
Rhapsody said. “Well, I do realise now that he’s not
really behaving like himself – nor is anybody else, for that matter.” She paused a few seconds. “But it is still a very unpleasant
situation, I have to admit.”
“I thought as much,” Blue said, gently
stroking her cheek. “You are acting
very bravely, Rhapsody Angel. We’ll
get through this. And every last
one of them will come back to his normal self, you’ll see.”
Rhapsody acknowledged the encouraging
words with a nod, before giving another scrutinising look towards Scarlet, over
her shoulder. “Maybe he can help us?” she suggested.
Blue hesitated.
“Bromwell told me that none of them would remember the real world as it
is,” he noted. “And try as I might,
none of them would believe me if I attempted to explain the truth. Yet,” he
added in a more buoyant tone, ”you told me that after being injured, Paul called
your name… that he seemed to be himself during his delirium…”
“Just before passing out, yes,” Rhapsody confirmed. “He also seemed to be aware of his
situation… He said he was trapped…”
“And that he couldn’t move,” Blue said,
repeating what Rhapsody had already told him.
“Is it possible that he might be
impervious to – whatever the Mysterons’ve done to the
others?” Rhapsody asked in a hopeful tone.
“Or more specifically, that he’s coming out of it?”
They heard a groan coming from the
object of their mutual attention;
turning fully around, they saw Scarlet move.
They exchanged an expectant glance, before getting to their feet and coming to
stand beside the waking man.
“Maybe we’re about to find out,” Blue
said wishfully.
They stood over Scarlet for a moment,
watching as he slowly recovered his senses.
He drew a deep breath, then opened his eyes, looking around with some confusion. Then he looked up to the two people he
could see hovering above him. He
frowned deeply.
“What are you doing here, brother?”
Blue just had the time to repress a
frustrated sigh. Scarlet still had
the same lilting, deep-throated accent he had shared with all the others since
their conversion into ‘Viking warriors’ -
he didn’t have that English-accented voice that Blue knew so very well.
He was still ‘Balder’.
“I heard what happened to you,” Blue
answered, in a noncommittal tone.
“Are you all right?”
“You should know the answer,” Scarlet
replied, trying to push himself into a seated position.
“As always, the same.” Blue gave him a hand, and pulled him up. Scarlet
grimaced and reached for his belly.
“Still a little stiff, I see,” Blue
commented.
“Please, Hodur, you can save the
brotherly concern,” Scarlet grumbled.
“You know it will be completely healed before long.”
He looked down at the stained and torn shirt with disgust. “Still, another ruined tunic,” he
muttered.
That made Blue smile despite himself. Now that was a typical Paul reaction.
“Since you look on your way to recovery,
I’d better leave, then.”
“Aye.
Do that,” Scarlet replied, raising a hand in dismissal. “Do you not have a wife waiting for you in your chamber? You
have been waiting months to be reunited with her… You should not waste your time
with me, and go to her instead.”
Blue nodded slowly, looking on as
Scarlet supported himself on one
elbow, rubbing his injured belly with his free hand.
So, it appeared that ‘Balder’ knew about this previous union between Hodur and
Iduna. Not that Blue was that surprised – he had suspected that he
would know as much, from the hints he had already dropped earlier…
Blue turned around, motioning to
Rhapsody to follow him to the door.
She unlocked and opened it, and he went out, stopping just after the doorway to
address her. “I think you’d better
stay with him,” he whispered. “Keep
your eye on him – he doesn’t seem
quite all right…”
“No, he doesn’t,” Rhapsody agreed with a
brief nod. She offered a faint
smile. “I think I’ll be able to fight off his
advances too.” He smiled back in
answer, before her face took on a more serious expression. “And I’ll try to learn more about… him…
and this Ragnarok that we should stop.”
“Any information we might find would be
useful,” Blue agreed. “I’ll find
out what I can from Karen…. Excuse me,
Iduna.” He sighed.
“That’ll take some getting used to.
We’ll meet again later.”
“Tomorrow, more than likely,” Rhapsody observed.
“Right.
Tomorrow. If you ever need
any kind of help… Call for me.”
She shook her head.
“It is quite late at night now – I don’t expect there will be any more
‘action’ tonight.”
“Wishful thinking,” Blue muttered. “I can do with a little rest. Tomorrow then.” He nodded his goodbyes, and Rhapsody nodded back in answer,
before closing the door, and taking
good care to lock it. Despite what
she had just said to Blue, she didn’t want to run the risk of another attempted
attack that night. Behind him, she
heard Scarlet stir.
“You do not have to do what he asked of
you.”
She turned on her heels. Scarlet had changed his position to a more comfortable one,
and with a brusque gesture, was tearing the soiled shirt before pulling it over
his head and throwing it onto the floor. He then grimaced, holding his aching belly. He tiredly waved towards the door. “My brother, Hodur… He told you to stay here, did he not? To make sure that I will be all right…” She slowly walked back to the bed,
curiosity plain on her face, as he continued, quietly:
“But you do not have to stay if you do not want to. Know that I am
already grateful that you did defend me when I was down… and that you watched
over me while I was unconscious.
You are free to go if you choose to.
We can… talk about us later.”
“I don’t want to leave, Lord Balder,”
Rhapsody answered evenly. “I’ll be
staying, if you don’t mind.”
He raised an inquiring brow. “And why should I mind?”
She watched as he raised his hand for
the mug of water on the low table nearby, but found himself unable to reach it. She handed it to him. He gave a grateful nod, and drank
greedily.
“He’s not
really
your brother, is he?” Rhapsody asked curiously.
“So now you
are interested in me,” Scarlet noted in a mocking
tone. “While a few hours ago you
wanted nothing to do with me…”
“Don’t confuse curiosity with…
‘interest’, Lord Balder,” Rhapsody replied, raising a brow.
“It’s not the same thing.”
“Aye.
Just curiosity it is, then, Lady Nanna.”
He nodded toward the closed door.
“You have guessed well. But then
again, you must have noticed that there is little resemblance between us, nay? We are not real brothers. We are blood brothers – Hodur, Thor and
me. We have been chosen by Lord
Odin as his heirs – we are the champion princes of Aesgard. But surely, you must
already know that?”
“Doesn’t that cause any kind of conflict
between you?”
“Conflict?” Scarlet repeated, frowning. “Nay…
We are as close as brothers can be – although sometimes we fight, and
argue, and we might feel like we would want to kill each other – we would give
our life for the others. When the time does come – and may Hymir
grant that it will be a long time from now – after Odin’s passing, the three of
us will share the duties of the Throne of Aesgard.”
“How do you know Lord Hodur asked me to
make sure you’ll be all right?” Rhapsody asked, watching him closely as he drank
the rest of the water to the last drop.
Scarlet put down the beaker. “I know how he is – he is constantly watching out for me… Although it is not always necessary… for
obvious reasons.” He scoffed
loudly, but there was a fondness in his words that didn’t escape Rhapsody. She
knelt next to the recuperating warrior.
He frowned at her. “Why are you
still here?” he muttered. “Are you
not afraid of me anymore?”
“I never was afraid of you,” Rhapsody
defended herself. “And as I said,
Lord Balder, I am curious…” She
looked down at his bare chest.
There was no sign of injury on his flesh.
“I heard about your… healing capacities.”
“You have never witnessed anything like
this before, is that it?”
That
would be a far stretch of the truth, Rhapsody mused inwardly, thinking back to the frequent
times when she had actually observed Paul’s retrometabolism.
Even when he was shaving in the morning, and nicked himself, it was
always astounding to see the cut disappear in mere seconds.
This
Paul would certainly need a shave,
she added to herself.
“How did
this happen to you?”
He grunted.
“Do you not know the tale?”
She shook her head.
“No. The… stories I heard
about that aren’t clear.”
Scarlet sighed, rising to his feet. “It
was… a gift from the Ice Giants.” There was
derision in his tone when he said that, Rhapsody noticed. He gave a sigh and added, more evenly: “That much I know. I wish I could tell you more about it…” He went to the table, picked up the jug
of ale, and drank from it heartily, before putting it down loudly. “That is better,” he gasped. “I
was thirsty…” He looked over to
Rhapsody, who was watching him with attention, waiting for the rest of his
story. He wiped his mouth with the back of his
hand. “One day, I went hunting in the mountains with Loki, and… we encountered
the Ice Giants.” He frowned. “I cannot
recall most of what happened,” he admitted, taking a few steps towards
Rhapsody, the jug in his hand. “I
do remember losing track of Loki, and I went searching for him. Then a huge blizzard surrounded me,
apparently coming from nowhere.
Surely the work of the Ice Giants…
You know they do evil magic, and use it to torment us ‘poor mortals’.” His tone was again bitter, but it was
very brief, before it returned to normal, and he continued. “I was struggling against the wind and
snow, trying to find my way back to Aesgard.
But I was lost. And then I
fell… a great distance… into a
ravine, maybe, I could not say.
That is the last thing I remember.
I must have had a bad fall, because from then, it’s a total blank. When I came to, the blizzard was finished. I was lying on my back, in pain and
unable to move, and Hodur was leaning over me.
He took me back to Aesgard and then we discovered… this new ability of
mine.” He grunted. “My back was broken. I should have died of my many wounds…
but I did not. And I recovered. Completely.
And ever since that day – I have been able to recover from any wound that
befalls me.”
“And you say it was because of the Ice
Giants that you now have that gift?”
Rhapsody said in puzzlement. “But…
you didn’t really see them?”
Scarlet laughed.
“Lady Nanna, no-one can claim he has ever seen the Ice Giants – and if I
ever did see them, I cannot recall any
of it. They have caused my memory
to fail me, obviously.” He paused a
second, looking at her, and seeing the doubt on her features. “Who else could perform such a miracle?”
he questioned, as if it was an obvious observation. “Loki and I were on their land.
We must have encountered them.
A raging blizzard, suddenly rising from nowhere, is the sign that they are
walking the Earth; you should know that, Lady Nanna. And we were right in the middle of that terrible storm. We must have crossed their direct path.”
Rhapsody nodded slowly, not committing
herself with a spoken answer. “So
you say you encountered the Ice Giants…” she said pensively.
“Aye.
Loki and I,” Scarlet answered, standing only a few feet from her. “We may be the only humans alive to have
done so and live to talk about it.
Although we can hardly say we are actually talking about it,” he added in
an undertone. “So all there is to know about the Ice Giants still remains a
mystery.”
So
similar to what happened in real life,
Rhapsody mused. Those Ice Giants – they might be the
representation of the Mysterons in this fantasy world. Ever-present in these people’s lives,
threatening – and yet of an unknown nature…
And the way they interacted with Balder’s life, ‘giving’ him these
healing capacities… He didn’t
remember anything of his encounter with them.
Much like Captain Scarlet with the Mysterons. She wondered about
the fact that they might have forced his body – and mind – to do something he
might not be aware of, like the Mysterons had done with Paul.
Perhaps Hodur would know. But as Blue was his old self, and not really Hodur, there was little chance he
would actually know what it was that Hodur experienced when he found Balder
after his encounter with the Ice Giants.
And then there was Loki, who had the
face of Conrad Turner – Captain Black –
in this fantasy world. He must know what
had happened, even if ‘Balder’ didn’t have a clue.
But something in what Scarlet had just said made Rhapsody wonder if
‘Loki’ would indeed say anything on the subject.
“You mean Loki doesn’t talk about this
experience you both had?”
Scarlet shrugged.
“He claims that, like me, he does not remember anything about it.”
“ ‘Claims’… you don’t believe him.”
“A word of advice, Lady Nanna – if you
are wise and cautious, you will not
always believe what Loki says. Or rather:
you will never believe what he tells you. Odin keeps him around for reasons of his
own – but we have learned, to our cost, that Loki is not to be trusted.”
Rhapsody narrowed her eyes, pensively. Here again was a similarity with the
real world – just like those Adam had already told her about earlier. But this one had a twist, however: while Conrad Turner had been a trusted
man in the past – before becoming the unwilling agent of the Mysterons in recent
years – it appeared that it wasn't quite that way with Loki. Although he still lived amongst the
Aesirs, they had always regarded him with suspicion and mistrust, and it was
highly possible that, just like the Loki of the Norse legends, he was plotting
their downfall, a pawn of the Ice Giants, just as Black was for the Mysterons.
Or perhaps he was their accomplice…
“So since that fateful day, you can
survive anything,” Rhapsody pondered, addressing Scarlet.
“So far I have,” Scarlet replied
thoughtfully. “Though why the Ice Giants would give me
that wonderful gift is a mystery.
That surely was not what they intended.
According to Lord Odin – it could only be an accident.”
“An accident, right,” Rhapsody mused,
watching as he took another gulp from the jug. When he finished, he looked
curiously at her.
“You mean to say, Lady Nanna, that you
REALLY never heard this story before this night?”
“No,
Lord Balder, I didn’t know about it.” Not
THIS version, anyway, she added inwardly.
“How odd.
I would have thought it would have travelled to the land of Vanaheim. Do you
Vanir not know the enemies you meet on the field of battle?”
Rhapsody simply shrugged, and raised a
brow, watching as he emptied the last of the ale, and then wiped his mouth
again, grunting with obvious satisfaction.
Not really as sophisticated as Paul…
She wondered if he had gained the same resistance to alcohol as Paul had. It certainly looked as if that horrible
drink he had swallowed was not having any effect on him right now…
“Your thirst too seems to have benefited
from your encounter with the Ice Giants,” she remarked, narrowing her eyes.
He laughed with good humour. “Even Thor whose drinking capacity is renowned all over
Aesgard cannot now defeat me,” he declared with no concealed pride. “As for my appetite…”
“I bet,” Rhapsody said in an aloof tone.
“Your appetite for women too, I reckon…”
Scarlet looked closely at her. “Do I detect jealousy in the Lady
Nanna’s fierce words?” he asked
mockingly.
“The Lady Nanna isn’t keen on men who
have the habit of forcing themselves upon women,” Rhapsody replied in an even
colder tone.
He scoffed derisively and shrugged. “Why would Balder do that when he can
have all the women he wants in Aesgard?
I just have to choose amongst those waiting in line in front of my door, each
hoping that she will be the lucky one.”
She took a sharp intake of breath. Now that was a remark she would never
had expected from Paul; but coming from Balder – well she had to admit she
wasn't really that surprised. “I am not of Aesgard, Lord Balder,” she
remarked dryly enough.
“Nay.
You are a fierce Valkyrie of the Vanir…"
No,
I'm not,
she answered inwardly. But she kept
herself from saying it out loud.
"… But the agreement, my lady…"
“…Was not of my doing,” Rhapsody cut abruptly.
“I didn’t agree to be your…” She searched for the
right word to describe what he was thinking her to be, but found it a little too
harsh for her liking. “…
betrothed,” she finally said, instead choosing the expression himself had used
earlier. “Neither Odin nor Freyja
consulted with me when they came to this agreement.”
She kept on her guard when he approached
more closely. He seemed to notice her edginess and
carefully sat down at the foot of the bed, at some distance, looking at her.
“Vanaheim was vanquished, Lady Nanna,”
he replied. “It is the spoil of the
victor to choose the better part of the accord…”
He gave an understanding nod.
“As I said earlier, you were
ordered by the duty tying you to your ruler.
’Tis the same for me, fair lady.” He reached to delicately stroke her
forearm with the tips of his fingers, but this simple light touch was enough to
make her shiver.
Or was it what he had just said?
“Indeed, the ‘spoil of the victor’ as
you said, Lord Balder,” Rhapsody answered, shooting to her feet, and standing in front of him. “And you so… ‘enthusiastically’
leapt into this duty of yours... And that would make it right in your eyes?
One would think that the noble Balder would not stoop so low as to…” She was
interrupted by his loud laughing and stared down at him with a murderous look.
“What are you laughing at?” she asked furiously.
“You, Lady Nanna,” he answered,
repressing his laugh. “Or rather, I
am laughing at what you just said.
’Tis quite amusing. ‘The noble Balder’? Where
did you hear that from? Does it
come from my brother Hodur, while he was trying to plead my cause to you, as I
imagine he tried when he brought you back to Aesgard?”
He chuckled, seeing her discomfited, yet still angry, face. “I have been called many things, my
lady, but I do not recall ever
having been called ‘noble’.”
Rhapsody lowered her eyes, a little
embarrassed. “Please, stop calling me that.”
“Why ever not? You are what you are,
Lady Nanna.” Taking advantage of the fact that she
had lowered her defences, he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her down to him.
Taken by surprise, she nearly lost her footing, but he caught her in his arms.
“Does it make you feel uncomfortable? If so, then I will call you ‘my
lady’ for the rest of my life, fair Nanna, if you would but let me…” He smirked at his own joke. “… If that would give me some advantage
over you.”
Rhapsody
was keeping him at a distance, as he looked into her face; almost despite her
best judgment, she lost herself in
those blue eyes gazing deep into her. She was fighting hard not to quiver, as
she felt herself softening. “The
only thing that’s making me uncomfortable,” she said, trying to render her tone
as firm as she could, “is the way you are now holding me.”
He raised an amused brow. “Is that so?
Then maybe I should always keep you like that… my lady.”
She could feel the strength in his arms,
as if they wouldn’t let her go. But
strangely, she also had the impression that it would now take only one word from
her for them to open up and free her – despite what he had just said.
How easy it would be to just let go and
abandon herself to his embrace. It was Paul, after all, even though he didn’t
remember.
Maybe if she could make him remember…
“Lord Balder,” Rhapsody said
tentatively, “do you recall… anything that you said to me earlier?
After you had been injured and you lay in your bed?"
"If I told you you were the most
beautiful woman on Earth, then I meant every word of it,"
he answered, leaning to kiss her neck.
She had to fight hard not to giggle, and
pushed him back, keeping him at bay again. She didn't try to escape from his
arms, though. "Can't you be serious
for one minute?" she asked with a falsely irritated frown.
"But I am serious, my lady," he replied
with a twinkle in his eyes and a mocking smirk on his lips.
Rhapsody nearly rolled her eyes. Now he’s sweet-talking me… Just like Paul would, only he
would be more subtle than that…
"Does the name ‘Dianne’ mean anything to
you?” she tried again.
He gave a frown, thinking. “That is a Roman name, is it not? A woman’s name?” She nodded in agreement. “I do not recall anyone by that name,”
he said, with a shake of his dark hair.
“As I do not recall any other woman I may have known during my life…”
“You’re
going to say it is only me that is important to you now?” she asked
doubtfully.
"Aye, woman… That is the absolute truth…"
And he leaned for another attempt to kiss her.
His lips did succeed in reaching her neck this time.
He
really has a one-track mind,
Rhapsody reflected.
She kept back a frustrated sigh.
Clearly, he didn't remember anything at all, and at the moment, didn't even seem
to want to listen to anything she was telling him.
"Stop that, please," she said in annoyance, trying to push him back
again. "You are worse than a
vampire!"
"You do not like it?" she heard him ask
with an obvious hint of amusement in his tone.
"I only seek to give you pleasure, Lady Nanna…"
"Maybe it would be more… pleasant for
me, if you would concentrate a little," she growled.
"I am concentrating…" was the answer the
struggling and annoyed Rhapsody heard through what sounded like a mouthful.
"Not on
that!"
With a boost of strength, she shoved
him away again and found herself, panting, looking straight into his smiling
blue eyes. She had the definite
feeling that she would not have been able to push him off, if he had not decided
to let her. He was still keeping
his hands around her, holding her almost at arm’s length. She raised her index finger. "Now try to keep up with me," she demanded, trying to sound patient.
"Why is this habit of asking so many
questions so important to you?" he asked with a frown.
"Do you not find it boring?
Especially at such a time of night?"
"What do you dream about when you heal,
Lord Balder?" she asked instead, ignoring his remark.
Scarlet grunted.
"And yet again another question…" He shrugged dismissively.
"I do not remember much of my dreams, fair lady… Most of the time."
"And
this time?" she insisted.
"I dreamt of you."
Rhapsody sighed, more than a little
annoyed. "You are just saying that because you're
trying to seduce me into bed," she noted.
He smirked.
"Aye. And as hard as I try,
my lady, you deny me - but this is the absolute truth."
"Is it, really?" she said, raising a
doubting brow.
"Aye.
’Tis true," he repeated with a brief nod. "I saw you in my dreams.
All dressed in white garments…
gold trimming upon them…
Your beautiful red hair against the background of the Bifrost…"
“The Rainbow Bridge?”
Rhapsody said, more as a reflection then a question.
“Aye…
the symbol of Aesgard’s power…
Except it was adorned with another arcane emblem…”
Scarlet frowned deeply, as if trying to recall an elusive memory. “A scythe…
of two golden blades – with no handle…”
Rhapsody froze.
“And… did you see anything else – in your dream?”
Scarlet sighed, giving in to the young
woman’s inquisitiveness. “Behind
the Bifrost were the mountains of the Ice Giants – with the highest peak, Jotunheim, touching the clouds
above…” He frowned. “I remember seeing the outline of a huge
tree at the top… its highest branches forming a palace in the sky…”
Rhapsody was stunned by his words. Unbeknown
to him, Scarlet had described the Spectrum emblem. And that palace in the clouds – could it
be an elusive memory of Cloudbase?!
To Rhapsody, it looked like an
indication that, deep in the recesses of Scarlet’s mind,
was the memory of Spectrum – of the real world.
She was convinced of it.
He
DOES remember – unconsciously, maybe, but the memory is there.
It is not completely drowned by those pictures, and false memories of
‘Aesgard’ forced into his mind.
It’s simply hidden – waiting to be uncovered..
And if she had to believe what she had
witnessed earlier when he was lying on his bed, healing from his wound, Captain
Scarlet’s psyche was desperately fighting to get free – and to regain control
over his own mind.
I have
to find a way to get through to him – to fight off this ‘Balder’ persona, and
help him be himself once more.
“Is there anything else you saw?”
Scarlet could see the trouble in the
young woman’s eyes, and probably thought it was an indication of her inner
confusion. She was confused, indeed, but he was far
from imagining what his words had stirred in her. He shook his head over the new
question.
“Nay… Not a thing more,” he answered. “All was quickly engulfed in a blizzard.
A deep blizzard, which concealed everything from my eyes.” He looked deep into Rhapsody’s
eyes, as if searching for a clue to what she could be thinking of. He was only
able to see the disappointment in her features.
“Does this mean anything to you?” he asked her with obvious consideration
in his tone. “Because to me, my
lady, ’tis but a dream. A strange
dream, I will grant you, but a dream nevertheless…”
“Do
you believe that dreams are the door to other realities, Balder?” Rhapsody
asked. “To other truths, that are
trying desperately to reveal themselves to us?”
“Aye.
Dreams may hold the key to the future.”
“Or to the past…
Lord Balder.”
“You are speaking in riddles, woman,”
Scarlet grumbled. “I do not
understand what you are saying.”
“And if I were to tell you that we’ve
known each other before, Balder?” Rhapsody asked tentatively, looking carefully
at his features, for any positive reaction he might have to her words. “That we have already met – in another reality?”
“Are you saying that we met in our
dreams?” Laughing, he suddenly threw himself
back, unbalancing her and bringing her with him.
Before she could react, she found herself stretched on her back on the
bed, with Scarlet lying by her side, almost on top of her, leaning on one elbow
and his other arm surrounding her.
He was smiling mischievously. “Now,
’tis a language I understand, Nanna… and like very much...” he said in a low
tone, leaning down to kiss her.
Oh no…
we’re back at this again!
Rhapsody rested her hand against his
chest, stopping him in mid-movement.
“Release me this instant,” she ordered
briskly.
“I am not holding you,” he answered, his
voice very calm, and pushed himself up slightly, as if to demonstrate she would
be able to escape him easily. “You
are free to go whenever you want, fair lady.
The question now would be… Do you really want to go?”
“You are still being presumptuous… Why doesn’t it surprise me?” Yet, despite the harshness of her words,
Rhapsody’s voice was less sharp than she wanted it to appear.
Scarlet seemed to notice it, as he tilted his head to the side, looking at her
probingly.
“Just one kiss, then, Nanna…” he gently
asked of her, in an almost begging tone.
“One willing kiss. This, at least, you could offer me – will you not?”
Rhapsody hesitated.
Even if she tried to tell him about this ‘other reality’ she had
mentioned, would he believe her? It
was doubtful. He would think her a
madwoman – and maybe would turn away from her.
Thus annihilating her chances of ever getting through to him and making
him see the truth.
On the other hand, if she were to let
him know about the two of them, about what they were to each other…
Tentatively, she reached for his rugged,
stubbly face. He was Paul, after all –
and she was in love with Paul; no matter how she would try to deny it, she would
be drawn to him, whatever his appearance.
His
hair may be too long, he might be in desperate need of a shave, and his manners may be those of Conan the
Barbarian – but there’s definitely a charm within him that I can’t deny...
In
fairy tales, a simple kiss would often work to free the hero from the spell he
is under.
What harm could there be in
trying?
When he leaned down to kiss her again,
this time she didn’t stop him. The
kiss was surprisingly gentle, very tender at the beginning at least, and became
more demanding as her lips – and body – willingly responded to it. Probably, Scarlet was feeling her
mellowing to him; she was aware of that, but there was little she could do to
resist this stirring feeling inside of her.
When he finally broke the kiss, very slowly and with obvious reluctance,
he looked down into her face, his blue eyes scrutinising her soft features,
trying to decipher the emotions they were hiding.
He grunted with regret, as he was unable to perceive what her emotions
were, and shook his head. “If it
would make any difference, Lady Nanna, I would beg for your forgiveness for my
earlier behaviour towards you. For
I believe I cannot content myself with only one kiss from you now…”
Scarlet had barely finished his sentence
when Rhapsody’s head shot upwards and her lips met his in a fierce kiss, just as
her arms surrounded him in a strong embrace and brought him close to her. If at first the impetuosity of her
gesture surprised him, he quickly got over it, and almost instantly responded to
both kiss and embrace with an intensity that matched those of the woman he was
now holding so tenderly in his arms.
As for Rhapsody, the thought that only
one kiss would not be enough to break the spell had just entered her mind.
It
might just take much more than that…
* * *
Blue felt so very tired when he pushed
the door leading to his room – Hodur’s
room, to be precise, he mused inwardly.
Even though it had been some hours now since he had ‘taken up the role’, he
still had considerable trouble considering himself as this Viking prince, heir
of Odin, that everyone around him thought he was.
Well, of course, everyone else also thought they were someone else…
And he knew he would have very little chance of getting help from them in this
mission. He would have to rely only
on himself and on Rhapsody if they were to have an even chance to succeed. Hoping they wouldn’t get themselves
killed in the process – before Ragnarok happened.
Somehow, and it was the voice of experience telling him this, he wasn’t
counting on the Mysterons playing a fair game.
Maybe
Rhapsody will be able to get through to Scarlet?
he pondered.
Maybe he’ll see the truth? And maybe I can do the same with Karen?
He didn’t hold out much hope of that,
though. Not after what he had witnessed so far,
of how the people he knew so very well were now acting in this fake reality.
Right now, after what he had just learnt
from Bromwell, and all the events of the preceding day, he thought he needed a
good night’s sleep – at least what remains
of the night, he recalled. He
had no way of knowing exactly what hour it might be.
He thought it was probably the middle of the night – around two or three in the morning. It was no wonder he felt so tired.
Must
be close to twenty-four hours since
I was ‘introduced’ into this crazy game,
he thought with bad humour.
We will need to act fast now, before we start losing people…
But we won’t be much good if we can’t get a few hours of sleep.
It was surprising to consider that sleep
deprivation, like all other feelings, felt so terribly ‘real’ in this world…
He entered the chamber, taking great
care not to make a sound. There was still some light in the room. He fully expected Symphony –
‘Iduna’ – to have been asleep for several hours. He didn’t know in what
circumstances exactly he had left her, when he had been recalled to the reality
of Cloudbase. But if he didn’t miss his guess, and if he had any knowledge of
how 3D games worked, judging from those he already played in the past – they had
a FX-Room at the family home in Boston –
he had been but a ‘player’ temporarily removed from the game, while the program
continued running. So he was willing to bet Symphony had
probably never noticed his disappearance.
And it was probably better that way.
It was only when he closed the heavy
door behind him and locked it – not wanting to become a possible victim of an
assassination attempt like Scarlet had been – that he instinctively became aware
of an impending danger. He ducked. Just in time to avoid a flying
earthenware jug that came crashing against the door, just where his head had
previously been.
Okay… I made a mistake, then…
“Traitor!” came a furious imprecation.
Blue looked up. Symphony was
standing next to the bed, holding in one hand a large metal plate, and with the
other reaching for a goblet of water that was standing on the table. Her golden eyes were blazing with fury as she threw the plate
in Blue’s direction. It missed its
target when he sidestepped, and the plate made a loud crashing sound when it hit
the wall behind.
“Iduna, wait!”
“You, lying, traitorous lecher!” she
yelled at him. “Where were you, at
this hour of the night? Out to see
another woman?!”
“W-what?”
the stunned Blue replied. “Are you
crazy?”
“Who is it?” Symphony continued, this
time throwing the goblet. The
projectile missed again, but Blue was splashed with the water it contained. “How could you do this to me, leave me
after we had made love, and go to see another?!”
“Made love…?”
Well, the Mysterons sure
picked a Hell of a time to pull me out of the game earlier…
“I will kill that wench!” Symphony shouted again,
staring at him with a murderous look.
“Tell me who she is!”
“Oh, for pity’s sake, calm yourself!” Blue shouted back. “I didn’t go to see another woman!”
“Liar! Where else would you go, in the
middle of the night?” A distraught
Blue saw the young woman grab the small, narrow dagger lying on the table – the
one she had threatened him with earlier.
She moved forward, her furious eyes
on the man she was approaching menacingly.
“You reek of a woman’s perfume,” she said
between her teeth. “You betrayed me
when you said you would not!”
“Iduna, please, hear me out…”
It was all Blue could do to evade her
expert throws at him, and avoid being gutted by the sharp blade - even using the
metal plate he had picked up as a makeshift shield to protect himself. Somehow, he found himself absurdly
wondering if his Karen was as adept in the use of a knife as this enraged
Valkyrie seemed to be. He reckoned
that ‘Iduna’ could even give some pointers to the skilled Captain Scarlet in
that particular field. She was
liable to either hurt him or hurt herself, if he didn’t stop her soon.
Sure enough, the sharp blade got closer
to the point of nicking his bare forearm.
“That’s enough!” Blue growled, his hard-tried patience now completely
disappearing. It was time to put an
end to this ridiculous fight. He
threw away the plate, grabbed both Symphony’s wrists in a strong grip and pushed
her back. They tumbled over the bed
and to the other side of it and they fell heavily onto the floor. Blue was pinning the still struggling
Valkyrie with his full weight; she was still holding the knife. He had little choice but to twist her
wrist to force her to let go. She
gave an outraged cry.
“You Ase dog!
I will kill you for this!”
“Will you calm down!” he barked into her
face. “I have
not
betrayed you! I went to
Balder’s room. The perfume you’re
smelling is Nanna’s…”
“My
sister!” Symphony lashed out in fury, obviously
misunderstanding the meaning of what he was telling her. “How
could
you!?”
Blue nearly rolled his eyes. “Oh please,
do you have the wrong idea! I went there because there’s been an
attack…”
“Nanna?”
Symphony stopped struggling instantly.
The tone of her voice changed; it was now filled with concern. “Was she hurt?”
“She wasn’t hurt,” Blue answered,
blowing a deep sigh of relief, upon realizing that he was finally getting
through to her. “It’s Balder who was attacked.”
“Balder?”
Symphony’s beautiful face transformed into a frown. “Was it Nanna who attacked him?”
Blue shook his head.
“No, it wasn’t Nanna. Why
would you think that?”
“I told you she was not that keen to be
with him…”
“Well, she wasn’t responsible. It was a
servant girl, Gerda, who was apparently acting out of jealousy.” Blue sat up,
allowing Symphony to do the same.
He kept a wary eye on her. “Now,
can I trust you not to gut me?” He
fully expected to see her redden, maybe she would even beg for his forgiveness,
for having misjudged him, but it didn’t happen.
With renewed dignity, she sat on the floor next to him, brushing herself to
remove the patches of dust covering her and rearranging her hair, before turning
a curious stare at him. He fought
hard not to smile at her affected pride.
Truly, his Karen was at the moment the true
image of savage nobility.
“Was Balder hurt?” she asked him, as if
the fight they had just engaged in had little or no importance – which for her,
he presumed, really was the case.
“Yes, he was… stabbed by a dagger… But
he’s getting better.”
“Yes, of course,” Symphony mused. “After all, he is Aesgard’s invulnerable
warrior. The injury he may have
received would heal itself, would it not?”
Blue stared at her in silence. So she knew about that. He wasn’t that surprised. If the legendary reputation of Balder
had not made its way by itself throughout the kingdom of Vanaheim, it was quite
possible that ‘Hodur’ would have told his wife.
“Yes, it is healing,” he said after a
pause. “Fortunately. Your… sister is keeping watch over him at the moment.”
“Is she, now?” Symphony asked with a
faint smile. “’Twould seem you were right, then,
husband: things will turn out well
between them. I should not have
worried needlessly.”
He raised a curious brow. “I told you that?”
“Aye.
Numerous times, my lord.” Symphony
shrugged, as if it wasn’t an important subject anymore.
Or at least, one that was settled.
“You said that girl Gerda was apparently acting out of jealousy. I reckon she was one of Balder’s favourites
and was not pleased that my sister would take her place in her lord’s bed… not to mention his heart.”
Blue shook his head.
“It seems that there’s a little more than that. At least according to Balder. She might have been… ‘encouraged’ to do
this. Your sister was also
supposed to be a victim of this attempt.
Gerda tried to pin the blame on her.”
He hesitated a little, eyeing Symphony carefully. “Iduna,” he started
tentatively, “do you have any idea
WHO might want this alliance between Aesgard and Vanaheim not to work?”
Symphony scoffed.
“NOT the Vanir, I would think,” she said vehemently, as if defending her
people from what might sound like an accusation. “Granted, the Valkyries might
be irritated to be duty-bound in a matrimonial union with Aesir princes, but
they know it could only be in the best interests of Vanaheim…”
“So no candidate within your people.”
“Not that I can think of. But I can think of someone within your people.”
“Loki,” Blue said with a thoughtful nod.
“Aye.
If we can count Loki as being one of yours…
With his obvious lineage with the Ice Giants, it surprises me that Odin
would tolerate him within the Walhall itself.
I understand he saved Odin’s life, long years ago?”
“That’s… what I heard,” Blue answered,
hesitantly, not wanting to go into a story he had no idea about. “How do you know about…
Loki’s link to the Ice Giants?”
“’Tis the stories told in Vanaheim, Lord
Hodur. Everybody knows about it – how Loki is
an Ice Giant’s offspring – how he has inherited their shrewdness, scheming and malevolence – how he keeps spreading
strife among your people.” Symphony
shook her head. “Many amongst the
Vanir clan thought the alliance with Aesgard would not be a good thing – simply
because of Loki’s presence within your ranks.”
Blue exhaled loudly.
Everything seemed to point at ‘Loki’.
Not that it was such a surprise.
“If Loki is behind this, if he’s trying
to break this alliance,” Blue said thoughtfully, “it might be because if it
fails, it would benefit the…” he
stopped himself just before saying ‘Mysterons’.
“Aye, it would benefit the Ice Giants,”
Symphony concurred. “They are the
common enemy, of both Vanir and Aesir. They have wanted us all dead since –
since the world began. An alliance
between us is a threat to them, and they know it.
It is our only chance to defeat them.”
“That’s why this alliance is important,”
Blue mused. “So we can join our
forces against the Ice Giants when the day comes to face them, at Ragnar…” Before he could finish the sentence,
Symphony swiftly covered his lips with her hand. He found himself looking back
in perplexity into her now concerned face.
“Never pronounce the terrible word, my
lord,” she murmured, shaking her head.
“It can only bring misfortune to all of us.”
He gently removed her hand from his
mouth. “Is it forbidden amongst the Vanir
people?”
“It is a tacit acknowledgment, husband. I would have thought it was the same in
Aesgard.” She gave a sigh. “You might want to interrogate that
servant girl, to find if she was really working for Loki – or anyone else – when she attacked Balder.”
“Yes…
I will have to do just that,” Blue answered.
He finally got up from his place and sat on the side of the bed, giving a
deep sigh. “In the morning. After I have had a good night’s sleep.”
Symphony caught him by the hand, and he
looked down at her, as she rose onto her knees.
“You know you can count on my help, if ever you need it, my lord,” she told him
with a faint smile. “I know ways to
make the woman talk.”
Blue almost grimaced.
The brutal personae displayed by his friends in this savage world was
rather upsetting. They talked about death, torture and gore as if it was for
them the most natural thing in the world.
He couldn’t really get used to it.
He preferred not to comment, and simply acknowledged Symphony’s offer. Yes, her help could be useful, he mused. But not that kind of help… She could be a precious ally
in this mission Rhapsody and I are undertaking.
Now, as far as telling her everything that was going on – that was another question. Did he dare to take her into his confidence – to try to make
her see the truth?
He squeezed her hand in his and she came
to sit by his side. He hesitated,
looking uneasily into her eyes.
“Iduna, there is something that I’d like
to tell you… The reason why I… left
the room earlier. You see, it’s not at all what you think…”
She looked down at his hand, which was
holding hers so tenderly, and squeezed it back.
“There is no need for explanation, my lord,” she replied, interrupting him. “I
think I understand.”
“You do?” he asked, raising a
questioning brow.
“You
probably simply needed a walk… I
should not have been that suspicious of you.
I should have more trust in you.”
“Well, yes… you should. But… about the
walk… It’s not quite like that…”
“You heard about the attack in Balder’s
chamber, and you went to check. I do understand. There is nothing more natural.”
Symphony saw the frustrated look on Blue’s face and reached to stroke his
cheek. “Is it how it happened?” she
asked.
“Something like that,” he admitted,
hesitantly. “Iduna…”
“I am glad that Balder is not seriously
harmed. And that my sister is now with him. Perhaps their love will grow like ours
did?” She looked up into his blue
eyes. He smiled thinly.
“I’m sure if you can keep yourself from
wanting to gut me every other day, we’ll be able to get along with each other
very well,” he said mockingly.
“Iduna, please… there is something important, I have to tell you…”
“Forgive me, husband,” she said in an
apologetic tone. “I could not see
straight anymore… But, when you
said that other woman’s name while in my arms earlier…”
“What
other woman’s name?” Blue interrupted suddenly. “When did I mention it?”
“Earlier tonight - It probably was the
cider, my lord – ”
It certainly was, Blue admitted to himself.
Never since he had drunk that Mysteronised champagne, a couple of years
ago, had he ever drunk anything with that
kind of kick.
“What name, Iduna?” he insisted.
“You called me ‘Karen’,” Symphony said
with a sigh. She felt him flinch,
and she held his hand possessively.
“I felt like she had been important to you…”
She
still is, Blue thought inwardly, looking with fondness at the
Valkyrie who was staring at him with barely concealed concern – and jealousy.
“You don’t have to worry,” he told her with a faint smile.
“This is exactly what I was trying to tell you.
You see, you…”
“I could not help feeling jealous,”
Symphony interrupted again, as if she didn’t want to hear what he had to say.
“Was she a long lost love of yours, husband?”
“Please, will you listen to me?” Blue’s patience was waning. “Iduna…”
“I do not know what this Karen means to
you now, but I promise you, I…”
“Karen, be quiet!”
Lacking any other solution, Blue found himself forced to take Symphony’s
wrists to attract her full attention and shout into her face. She shut up instantly, forced into
silence. Blue exhaled loudly,
trying to regain his calm. “I’m
sorry, but I have to tell you this.
You are Karen.”
She stared into his face, and then
chuckled, uneasily. “What?”
“You
ARE Karen,”
Blue repeated. “That is your
real name. Don’t you remember?”
Symphony looked at him with confusion
plain on her face. “Husband… I do not understand what you mean.”
“You
have to remember,” Blue continued insistently.
“Karen, please… Spectrum,
Cloudbase… the real world…”
“The real world?”
She offered a bashful, very forced smile. “Lord Hodur, you are talking nonsense. You probably drank too much cider and ale tonight… The two do not mix well, apparently.”
“I barely drank any of the damned
stuff!” Blue scoffed loudly, his hands tightening around Symphony’s wrists,
without him even noticing it. “You
have to believe me… You have to
hear me out…”
Symphony frowned deeply; she struggled
to free her hands. “Husband, you
are hurting me…”
Suddenly realising how tight his hold on
her was, Blue released her. She pulled herself
free, and started rubbing her sore wrists, looking at him with concerned eyes. “Please, my lord, the joke
has gone on long enough… I do not
know any Spectrum, or… Cloudbase. I do not
know who Karen is. But it is not me, I can assure you.”
“I… I am sorry, but… I have to make you
realise that…”
She put her hand on his lips, like she
had done earlier. “Please, Hodur… that is enough. Stop all of this.
You sound as if you have gone mad… And frankly, you are starting to frighten
me.”
Blue kept silent, only staring at her
with a distressed expression. How can
I tell her… without indeed sounding like I really am crazy – at least
from her point of view? I am the
one who is out of place in this setting – not her, not any of the others.
He could see there was little point in
him trying to explain the truth to her.
She would not believe – would not even listen to him.
She was too deeply involved with the scenario presented by the game, its
influence was too strong – she would not be drawn away from it. Not willingly.
Not
right now, anyway… Maybe later?
There’s no need to alarm her anymore for now.
It would only drive her away from me…
Blue delicately took her hand off his
mouth, and lowered his gaze, unwilling to look her in the eyes. “I’m… sorry, if I frightened you,” he murmured. “I…”
“No need to say any more,” Symphony
replied, cutting him off. “You have
not been quite the same since you returned from the Icy Mountains. Neither has Nanna, as a matter of fact. We all noticed.
And we all suspect that this may be because of the influence of the Ice Giants.” She tenderly stroked his cheek and
forced him to raise his eyes, so he could look at her. She smiled sadly.
“They must have done this to you, and erased both your memory and that of Nanna
so you would not tell what you both had learned.
’Twould be their way of working… Maybe in time it will come back?”
“And what were we supposed to learn?” Blue asked with a frown. “Why did Nanna go to the land of the Ice
Giants, to begin with?”
“Why, she was in search of Yggdrasil, of
course,” Symphony answered. “Maybe she had completed the quest when you found
her.”
“Yggdrasil?”
Blue’s frown deepened.
“Iduna, I don’t understand… What…”
A loud banging at the door interrupted
him, and he raised his head suddenly in that direction, instantly alert. He heard
Green’s voice – still with that lilting ‘Viking’ accent – calling him from the
other side:
“My Lord Hodur!
Quickly, open the door! It
is urgent!”
Blue jumped to his feet, as the banging
and the calls continued. He picked
up the blade which was lying on the floor – just in case – and, in long strides,
crossed the distance separating him from the door, Symphony in tow. Unlocking the door, he opened it just a
crack; enough to see the dark face of Green, standing on the other side, with,
behind him, three Vikings warriors who were looking around expectantly, their
swords unsheathed. Green seemed
sombre, even a little apprehensive
when he addressed Blue next, after a brief bow:
“My lord, I am sorry to disturb you at
such a time of night… But I thought
it better to at least alert you, since your brother Balder must still be
recuperating.”
“Alert me of what?”
Blue asked with a concerned frown.
“The servant maid Gerda has escaped from
her cell,” Green announced dully.
“What?” Blue murmured, opening the door
fully. “How?
When?”
“We noticed her disappearance just now,” Green answered. “We found her guard wounded and unconscious, and the cell she
was detained in empty.
Warriors have followed her tracks into the Walhall gardens.
She must still be there.” He
shook his head. “She cannot leave
the palace, my prince. She will not
run free long.”
“I don’t want her to be hurt,” Blue
ordered sternly. He didn’t want
Anna Preston to suffer because of what might happen to her alter ego in this
world. He was fully aware that the woman was
not responsible for what ‘Gerda’ might be doing.
“I want her captured alive, and without any harm, Heimdall. Is that clear?”
“Aye, my prince.
The warriors have already been instructed about that. I know the woman can give us useful
information.”
Right,
there’s that too,
Blue mused. “Put
guards in front of Lord Balder’s room,” he instructed.
“In case she should try to go back there.”
“Already done, my lord,” Green answered.
“She will not get to him this time.”
“Perfect, then.
I’m joining the search,” Blue announced.
“And I am
going too,” Symphony declared.
And to Blue, who turned towards her to argue, she added: “I am not
staying here alone while that mad woman is on the loose in the palace. She obviously has a grievance against
Valkyries, or so it would seem?”
“I doubt she’d go after you,” Blue
sighed. “But okay… I mean, all right, Iduna, you can join the hunt. Remember, though: she’s not to be harmed.”
“Aye, my lord,” she said, offering a
mocking smile. “She will not be. One would believe that you are trying to
protect the wretch.”
Indeed
I am,
Blue reflected as both he and Symphony
left the room and joined the guards waiting in the corridor.
They followed, as Green led them all towards the garden.
* * *
Hiding in thick bushes, in the darkness
of the Walhall gardens, Gerda
looked apprehensively up at the walkway, just overhead, where she could see a
patrol of Viking warriors quickly passing by, spears at the ready.
It was the third squad of the kind she had barely eluded in the past few
minutes. Every warrior in this wing
of the palace was obviously looking for her.
As soon as the patrol disappeared from
her view, Gerda left her hiding place, reflecting that it wasn’t safe to stay
put too long in the same place, and darted towards the farthest and deepest end
of the garden, following a beaten path between bushes and trees. Branches heavy with leaves lashed at her, thorns and thistles
tore into her flesh, stinging her painfully and drawing blood. But she barely stopped her run. She couldn’t afford to stay anywhere for
very long, for fear of being discovered.
A hooting owl startled her and she
turned around, like a chased animal fearful that the hunter was right behind
her. She stumbled, missed her step and fell
on the path. Panting, she crawled a
short distance before getting back to her feet and running again. She felt as if she had been running ever
since she had made a show of seducing her guard, and stabbed him with his own
knife in order to flee her cell. She barely had time to take a breather.
When she reached the terrace overlooking
the valley, at the end of the path, she suddenly realised that she could not go
any further. She leaned on
the parapet, breathing hard, her heart beating fast, wondering what she could do
now. It would only take moments before she
was found, and taken back into her
cell, and then…
“You are trapped.”
The deep voice coming from behind her
made her turn on her heels, gasping.
Lurking in the shadows, she could see the silhouette of a man. She could feel, more than really see, the cold eyes set on
her. Already, she had recognised
the very distinctive voice, slow and almost cavernous, before he stepped out of
the shadows and approached her where she was able to see him distinctly.
“My lord Loki,” she gasped. She fell on her knees, right at his feet; he stood there,
like a statue, looking down at her with an icy stare, while she desperately
grabbed his legs. She started
sobbing: “I failed, my lord…”
“You failed only by half, woman,” came
Loki’s answer, in the very distinctive voice of Captain Black. “You didn’t succeed in killing Balder – but that is not a
surprise in itself.”
“How do you kill a man who cannot die?”
she replied, her eyes flashing with hate and loathing.
“There are ways…
Do not worry, he will pay in the end.”
Black tilted his head to the side, still looking down at her. “But you did warn him about the
consequences of his acts…”
“He did not believe me…” she moaned.
“Yet, you planted the seed of doubt in
his mind. Your words will come back to haunt him
eventually. Sooner than he
realises.” He leaned down and took
the woman by the arms, helping her to her feet.
“Your only crime, your only failure,
was to be discovered.”
“I know,” she whispered.
“You know what will happen to you when
the warriors find you again? They
will have no pity.”
A flash of fear passed in Gerda’s eyes,
at those ominous words.
‘Loki’ was slowly but surely pushing her toward the parapet behind her.
“My lord Loki… I will never tell them
anything concerning you,” she said in a tentative tone.
“You would endure torture to protect
me?” There was doubt in the deep voice. She nodded her head briskly. He seemed to consider her answer, just
as the lowest part of her back came into contact with the cold stone parapet. She gasped in surprise and looked behind
her nervously, to stare down with horror into the empty space of the cliff
plunging very deep down into the rocks below, lit by the rays of the full moon. “The sentiment does you credit, woman…” Gerda turned her attention back to Loki,
hope returning to her. But the
coldness on his features made her shiver; his hold on her arms became stronger. “…But I’m afraid that is a risk that I
cannot take. I am sorry.”
Before Gerda could come back from her
surprise and react properly, Loki gave her a forceful shove, pushing her over
the parapet. She gasped, suddenly
feeling nothing to hold her anymore, and then screamed in complete terror when
she suddenly realised she was falling to her death. The cry was brief…
Loki stood on the terrace, looking down
into empty space, towards the spot where he knew Gerda had probably landed. No emotion was apparent on his face; his
features seemed to be etched in stone and his eyes as cold as before. He heard hurried footsteps approaching,
probably attracted by the sound of the earlier scream.
He tensed suddenly, and raised his head
attentively, as a voice, an even darker reflection of his own, suddenly boomed
inside of his mind, and addressed him:
“Captain Black… the scene is in motion… You will now proceed to the next phase
of the plan.”
“The Mysterons’ orders will be carried
out…” he intoned unemotionally.
Captain Black turned around and briskly
left the terrace, not wanting to be discovered at the scene of the crime…
* * *
In Cloudbase sickbay, Doctor Fawn,
wracked with worry over the fate of the Cloudbase personnel he knew were under
the sinister influence of ‘the
game’ created by the Mysterons, had
demanded – as nicely as possible, considering his situation – permission to
check on them.
Almost contrary to all his expectations,
Bromwell had agreed to his demand – but restricted Fawn to visiting only those
people who were in sickbay.
Although he would have wanted to check everyone on base, despite the huge amount
of work it represented, Fawn realised that he already had received far more than
he had hoped for, and didn’t insist.
Rochester had then taken him from the room where Blue and Rhapsody were resting
and had followed him as he did his round, as he would do with his patients in a
normal situation. The doctor was
even allowed to enter the Auxiliary Room of Sleep where Colonel White,
Lieutenant Green and Captains Ochre, Magenta and Grey were resting.
He was satisfied that they all seemed in good health, despite the fact
that they were plunged into a very deep sleep from which it didn’t seem that
they would wake up any time soon.
Lieutenant Green and Captain Ochre’s heartbeats seemed to have increased
a little over the normal rate, but not to the point where it would be worrying.
He wondered what could be going on with
them.
Then he went to the Nurses’ station. He watched Nurse Barlow, his senior
nurse, who was slumped across her desk, also deeply asleep, not surprisingly,
but her breathing was regular and her heartbeat steady, and so Fawn didn’t worry
about her. Still followed by
Rochester, he entered the nurses’ dormitory, where he knew all the nurses had
been gathered together. He found
them, all accounted for, sleeping on their beds.
Sighing, he checked on them all, making sure they were all right. Rochester stood patiently by the door,
watching him vigilantly. So far,
since the beginning of Fawn’s round, he had not uttered a single word.
As he went from one nurse to the other
and reassured himself of their good health, Fawn couldn’t help but ponder that
so far, he had not found a single clue to where Captain Scarlet – or Captain
Black – were being held. He was
convinced that they probably were very close by – probably in a wing of sickbay
that he had not visited; he doubted very much that Bromwell would have left them
– especially Scarlet – out of his immediate reach.
He had just finished checking on the
last of his nurses when he suddenly heard a gasping sound behind him. He turned around, and saw that one of
the sleeping women was convulsing on her bed.
He went to her side, suddenly alarmed.
Rochester quietly left his station by the door and approached too.
Fawn stood over the bed, and watched,
with growing horror, as Nurse Anna Preston writhed and gasped on her bed. She had suddenly awakened, and her eyes
were wide open, staring at him with a pleading expression, as she tried
desperately to catch her breath.
Her hands flew to her throat, which was inexplicably compressing. Her face was turning red.
She was literally choking.
Horrified, Fawn knelt by her side. “Anna, please, Anna, calm down…” he
urged her. “You have to calm down. Take it slowly… Please, Anna…”
“Can’t breath…” she gasped in a
strangled, nearly inaudible tone.
“Can’t…”
“Anna, listen to me, please…” Fawn tore open her shirt, in a hope that
it would help her breathing, and tried to help her into a sitting position. She was panicking, and her arms flailed,
as if attempting to grasp the air that refused to enter her lungs. “Anna,
please, you have to calm down…”
“Doctor Fawn… Can’t…” Preston caught
hold of Fawn’s arm, desperate to receive his help.
She was suffocating. Her eyes went
wider still. “Cap… Captain… Black…”
“Black?” Fawn muttered, frowning. “Anna, hang on…”
Anna Preston tried to inhale deeply, but
unfortunately, her efforts were for nothing and her throat gave a strangled
sound. Fawn fell her hand slipping
from his arm and letting go. Her
eyes rolled under the eyelids and she went rigid, before falling numbly onto her
pillow. Fawn froze for a second.
“Anna…” he called in disbelief, checking
her now set face and closed eyes for any sign of life.
He shook her, but she didn’t move.
“Anna!” She wasn’t
breathing anymore. He checked her
pulse at the neck; there wasn’t any.
“My God, Anna…” he whispered.
“She’s dead, Doctor.”
Fawn tensed, and
briskly turned his head in the direction of the still open door. Bromwell was standing there, watching
him, his expression so very cold and inhuman.
Heart pounding with revulsion,
and inhaling deeply in an attempt to suppress his righteous desire to
lash out, Fawn slowly got to his feet; he could do very little to stop his legs
shaking.
“You knew it would happen,” he accused
Bromwell, giving him a murderous look.
“You knew she would die, and that’s why you permitted me to check on them…”
Bromwell tilted his head to the side.
“You needed a demonstration, Doctor,” he
answered quietly. “A proof that the
Mysterons were not bluffing earlier.
Now you have been witness that we told you the truth…”
He gestured negligently in the direction of Anna Preston’s dead body.
“Now you know… that when your colleagues die in the
Aesgard world, they also die for real.
And if Captain Blue fails in his mission, they will also all die.” He nodded his
head slowly. “They are all doomed,
Doctor…”
“You disgust me…” Fawn growled between
his teeth. He felt Rochester grabbing him by
the arm and didn’t even resist when the Mysteron agent pushed him toward the
door.
“Take the doctor into his office,”
Bromwell instructed his accomplice.
“And lock him up, until such time as we decide his fate.
In the meantime, we have work to do.
The second phase of the Mysterons’ plan has just begun. And it will end with the death of all personnel on
Cloudbase…”
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