Chapter 19:A Fateful Reunion

It seemed an eternity could have filled the gap of time in which Moo gave the order to ram. But at long last the two titans, the massive fortress and the technological terror collided. The impact shook both but damaged the Dark Raven far more as the masters flagship became caught in the black spires of Moo's fortress like a hooked fish. For a moment, all was silent, the titans entangled together, locked for one finally struggle...

Justice geared himself and looked to the others, they were equally ready...or as ready as any monster could be when preparing for this. Moo, the evil one was barking orders to his minions, his forces regrouping and assembling. The durahan warrior knew this was it, they were about to storm the Raven and confront the master at last. In doing so he would find those who murdered his trainer, reclaim what they stole and have his revenge at long last. By this time the sun was setting, perhaps it was a sign of the masters impending defeat.

"Master Moo!"The weed yelled,"The enemy is stuck, caught up in the black spikes.....Permission to board and destroy enemy?"

The dark dragon spread his wings to there fullest, looking even more frightening then ever, Justice found it difficult to hold his ground at the sight of this monstrosity. At last Moo spoke, his voice nearly a feral roar. "Order all units to invade, kill anything that stands in their way....But the master is mine!"

"Moo!"Justice stepped forward, his voice commanding. "You are not the only one with a personal stake in this. Two of the Masters warriors I have sworn to kill and I will do so. I'm coming with you."

"Justice?"Celine asked with concern. "Maybe we should-"

"You and Ganthor will remain here..."Justice said."I will return." The dryad only nodded 'yes' but the concern never left her eyes. Ganthor didn't look to happy either. Justice was afraid of one thing however...what Moo might decide to do after the Master was delt with....

The dragon merely laughed, it wasn't often any had the guts to step up and demand something from him. Moo seemed to be in a good mood suddenly, as if he'd already won the battle. Without wasting another word he grabbed Justice with his black talons and took to the skies. High above the fortress they were joined by every monster Moo had that was capable of flight. From a distance it seemed a massive cloud of monsters bearing down on the now helpless raven. They encounted some heavy resistance as the remainder of the masters airal forces moved in to block their advance. However, joined by Moo himself the exhausted monsters battled with renewed vigor and the minions were cast aside. The skies had at last been taken back, no additional enemies poured from within the ship, it was theirs for the taking...

It took only a fifteen minutes to fly down and land atop the ebon form of the Dark Raven. Those were perhaps the most uncomfortable fifteen minutes of Justice's life. He was nearly crushed by the power of Moo's grip as the beasts talons dug right into his steel armor. On top of that the dragons touch was scorching hot, enough to harm even a durahan's metal body. At last it ended with Justice being tossed down like an unwanted piece of refuse. He couldn't complain of course and risk Moo's wraith, instead pulling himself up and looking around. He stood on the smooth surface of the raven, now they only needed to find a way in. Unfortunately the ships construction was rather puzzling, there were no seams anywhere to indicate entree points. Not even the deadly talons of Moo could put more then a scratch on the black metal.

"Master Moo, We found a way in!"One of the armored black dragons said as it pointed to a hatch they'd found and ripped open. "Let us enter first lord Moo and clear out any hostels. The master, as you ordered, will be yours to personally destroy."

Moo nodded and cracked his tail like a whip, obviously growing impatient but still not taking any foolish chances. As much as he hated the Master no one had ever caused Moo's dark empire so much harm, he was understandably cautious. Justice however was not waiting around and slipped in with the legions as they invaded. Once inside he found himself surrounded by blackened corridors and halls, silent except for the breath of dragons as they entered. A very dim light flickered and sparked periodically above meaning the power in this area was nearly out. Justice preyed the rest of the ship was in such bad condition as he broke away from the pack, beginning his own search for vengeance...


~Meanwhile.....~
Until now Stoneclaw had no idea it was even possible to experience the kind of pain he was in and live this long. Claw, Shielka and Beatdown...lost in the ebony walled corridors of the raven had been through much since escaping. Busting out of the jail cell was too easy it seemed, but the challenges they'd faced more then made up for it. Still they held on, inching their way to freedom from this accursed craft...

Waves of agony continued to weather away the Tridents resolve as his body rebelled. In truth, considering his injuries Claw shouldn't have been able to even stand but he pushed himself harder nonetheless. Shielka was perhaps even worse off, having expended most of her energy destroying Flood. The daina followed just behind claw, torn and broken wings hanging limp at her sides. Beatdown was still the least injured but stayed in the rear, watching out for enemies. The shipwide blackouts had allowed them to escape the persuing forces, or else they'd been mowed down along time ago in a violent maelstrom of gunfire...Alas, their luck was about to run out....

Heavy, mechanical steps were the heralds of the extermination squad led by Zarzaas. Stoneclaw looked back in alarm realizing they couldn't outrun them this time. Usually when faced with such a dire situation his first thought would be self-preservation. Strangely enough he found himself concerned only for the two monsters behind him. It was too late for he and Shielka, but beatdown...she still had the strength to escape.

"They found us, Beatdown keep goin..."Claw said giving shielka a glance. "We can buy you a few minutes maybe and-

"NO!"Beatdown screamed back at him defiantly, clenching her furry fists tightly. Claw was taken aback by her tone, he'd never heard the little fairyhare speak with such resolve..."I'm not running away! I'll protect you stoneclaw and you too Shielka!" Just as the hare finished speaking three battle-hengers appeared and trained their weapons on the injured monsters first. Beatdown rushed forward, jump kicking the first henger and causing the others to shift their attention. She then leaped onto the second and delivered a punch to it's lens, cracking it. The third opened fire but the hare was too swift, nimbly avoiding the attack as the hail of bullets shred the second henger to pieces. Then she assaulted the knees of the last henger, knocking it down to her level before performing a brutal uppercut. The machines head rolled down the hallway as sparks flew from it's neck.

"YEAH! all right! Take that!!"Beatdown proceeded to jump up and down."See? I smacked em good! I..."Her voice trailed off as the sounds approaching enemies echoed through the halls. This time there would be far more then three. "More?? Um, yeah....no problem. You guys escape!"

Shielka limped over to the fairyhare and stood beside her, gearing herself for a final effort. "We'd never get away in time, fighting is the only way." She looked back at stone claw. "Well? Are you coming?"

Claw grinned, sliding up beside them. If he was going die, he'd die fighting and not running away like a coward. "They want a fight? Fine, let them come!"

"A fight you shall receive indeed..."Zarzaas said as he and a legion of his minions appeared. Shielka, despite her injuries looked like she'd attack head on, a smoldering fire in her eyes. She stepped in front of her newfound comrades as if to challenge the salamander himself.

"After all we've been through,"She said, her eyes burning a hole into the masters warrior."To think that you could just have me shot down like this. I thought you were my friend..."

"Hey, don't take it personally, friend."Zarzaas said with an almost sadistic smile on his reptilian face. "But orders are orders and the Master says you have to die. You gave me a good chase, but the hunt is over. All hengers, OPEN FIRE!"

As if waiting for that moment, for those words to echo from the salamanders jaws, a nearby wall lit up for a slip second before exploding. Several hengers and Zarzaas himself were thrown back by the blast, only to see a shadowed figure emerge from the wreckage of twisted metal. With drawn sword in hand this unknown cut though the hengers as the trio looked on. Suddenly Zarzaas glanced at his pendant, listening to a voice no others who hear...

"Understood my Master...All units fall back!"The Salamander beat a hasty retreat. Stone claw peered through the darkness, he knew only one monster who fought like that...Indeed, his suspicions were confirmed as a durahan stepped out of the shadows...

"Justice!"Beatdown screamed and tackled the warrior to the floor and hugged him. "Justice I missed you!!"

"Beatdown? Claw?"Justice looked at them both in obvious shock. No doubt they were the last monsters he'd think to find here. "I missed you too little one. How in the world did you get here?"

"Long story old man..."Stone claw grinned."It's good to see ya."

"Yes, considering I just saved your life."Justice said as he stood up. His gaze feel upon the daina then, noting the symbol around her neck. "The eye of the master...Whats the story here?" Stone claw was about to respond when the lights sudden came back on....Shielka became very alarmed, glancing nervously around the halls...

"Save it!"She said. "Needless to say I'm on your side, but I have no time for a further explanation. The lights are back on and that means the defense system will be on-line soon. We have to get out of here! NOW!"

~Meanwhile...~

The great Moo glared down at his minions as they tried to secure the area. The single passage they'd managed to open was only large enough for one dragon at a time. Meanwhile the rest of his army patrolled the skies and waited on the ships ebon surface. His troops found this all so unnerving, standing atop the sleeping raven, a machine that could kill them so easily...The fact that Moo remain so frightening calm put them in awe of his might all the more. Yet even he didn't anticipate what happened next...

The Dark Raven awakened from it's slumber with a sudden tremble. Huge turrets rose from the seamless hull of the ship and loosed a stream of energy blasts. It happened so quickly, in a matter of seconds the idle craft had reactivated, it's defenses wrecking havok. A moment later more blood was shed then at any other point during this war as monsters were hit a point-blank range, their bodies bursting like over ripe fruit. The sky patrols quickly fled into the clouds in stark terror as the massive ship began to pull away from the fortress it was embedded in. Tearing away several black spires, the Raven flew free once again. Moo, his fur blackened and cinged from the bombardment took to the air, left with no choice but to return to his fortress with what few troops he had left. This battle had been a most costly endeavor...

Justice and his companions arose from the depths of the flagship and into the cool night air at long last only to be met by utter carnage. Moo was gone, as were his remaining forces leaving the four stranded. They all searched in vain for a way to escape, but it was futile. They would die here, and justice knew what would happen to Celine and Ganthor now....The nearby turrets turned towards them and charged their blasts.......

"This way!"A somewhat familiar voice called from behind them. Suddenly strange beings in black cloaks appeared seemingly out of thin air, slicing the turrets apart with dark swords. Justice was surprised to see the person he'd met in Torlormec, standing beside a swirling portal. By this time the Raven had turned fully and was speeding away from the fortress in retreat.

"Raa-zor?"Justice said to the cloaked one.

"No time! If you want to live get in!"He motioned a clawed hand toward the portal. Left with no other option they entered the vortex obediently. A blinding light flashed before their eyes and when it dimmed they were back in the commander room of Moo's fortress....

"What is the meaning of this!?"Moo turned around, he had celine and ganthor backed into a corner, the Stronghorn had his fists raised. Even stranger then being taken back to the fortress was that Raa-zor appeared beside them shortly after, followed by his entourage. Seeing that everyone was clearly confused by all this the creature stepped forward...

"I am Raa-zor of the zyoth...."He said proudly, as if he were above them and one to be respected. "Fear not animals....all will be revealed, in time...."


End of Chapter 19

Coming Soon, Number 20! Yes, counted em!

"a new chapter by black razor always makes my day"

there's a blurb for your dust jacket, b.r.