Chapter Fifteen
Major Domo suddenly found himself looking down the barrel of a ridiculously
large gun. "Talk," Cable ordered. "Fast. Before my trigger finger
gets tired of waiting."
"Really, Mr. Cable, this is not what I expected. You're as touchy as Mojo
(though not near as ugly)," Major Domo observed.
"If I remember Star's stories correctly, you work for Mojo!" Rictor
exclaimed. "I say you shoot him, Cable."
"I'd prefer to get some information first," Cable answered wryly. "He also
has access to a teleporter that we need."
"That is precisely why I have come," Domo asserted. "To offer you a portal
to my world."
"Why would you do that?" Boomer demanded suspiciously. "You're on the other
side!"
"Au contraire, my dear (did I use that properly?-Earth's linguistic variety
is one of my hobbies)," Domo replied with a small bow. "I have been
exiled from the mighty Mojo's presence since he found out about that
little incident with Arcade."
"Tell us about that," Cable said flatly, his eyes narrowing.
"Do you have to keep pointing that gun at me?"
"It's a bad habit of mine. Live with it."
Major Domo sighed. "Very well. Let me put it as simply as I can," he
began. "After a succession of Mojos, even I began to tire of the
oppressive rule. I knew, of course, about Shatterstar's exile to your
world and about Spiral's prediction that he would one day rule
Mojoworld."
"Does everyone on this team have some sort of prophecy about them?" Boomer
interrupted. "Sam's an External, Cable's the Chosen One--whatever
that means--and now Shatterstar..."
"Tabitha." Cable's tone clearly indicated that Boomer's commentary was
unwelcome.
"I grew anxious for Shatterstar to return," Major Domo explained. "So I
hired the assassin Arcade to test his mettle, so to speak. I even
sent him a few dog soldiers to waste. Unfortunately for me, Mojo
found out about my little expenditure." He sighed. "The original
Mojo never checked the books himself," he muttered more to himself.
"So you fell from grace?" Cable asked.
"I was lucky to survive!" Major Domo insisted. "Suffice it to say that I
now work for those who seek to overthrow Mojo (Mojo V, I suppose I
should say). But things are critical now. Mojo... V... has had
Shatterstar kidnapped for his own amusement. Yet my recent test of
Shatterstar indicated that he was not yet ready to assume his
prophesied role... although Arcade was a bit upset..."
"Get to the point. Why are you here now?" Cable demanded.
"I am here to help you recover your teammates, of course," Major Domo
replied haughtily. "My portal is at your service." He bowed and
gestured to the glowing opening.
Cable lowered the gun slowly and nodded. "We'll take you up on that
offer," he declared. "You will take us to Shatterstar, but if you
try anything funny, you'll find out exactly why I carry this gun."
Chapter Sixteen
Cannonball could already see fang troops running across the arena floor
toward them as he landed next to Shatterstar. The Rebel let go of
Sam and knelt beside Star, who was still writhing in pain.
"What's wrong with him?" Sam asked.
"It's the control device," the old man replied. "He managed to remove
Windsong's, but I have no idea how to remove this one."
Lepton abruptly materialized next to them. "We don't have much time," he
growled, drawing his pistol and firing at the approaching soldiers.
"Here, kid, you want my extra gun?" He offered a second energy pistol
to Sam.
"No, thanks. Ah'll fight in mah own way," Cannonball responded. He pointed
both arms at the oncoming squad and concentrated intensely.
"I suppose I'll have to guess," the old man muttered. He grabbed
Shatterstar's head and pushed three of the buttons on the side of the
control device. It fell off into his hand.
"If you're expecting me to be impressed, forget it," Lepton observed.
"I've gotten used to your little tricks."
Suddenly, Sam's blast field erupted out of his body, focused forward and
down. It tore into the ground in front of the fang troops, blowing
the earth apart. The blast field continued outward, smashing into the
troops themselves and carving a deep gouge in the ground. The entire
squad was tossed about like toy soldiers.
Sam relaxed and his blast field dissipated. "YES!" he exclaimed. "Eat your
heart out, Rictor!"
"Okay, so now I'm impressed," Lepton admitted. "But there's plenty more
where they came from." Even as he said it, more soldiers came pouring
out of the arena entrances, coming at them from all sides.
"I never intended to commit suicide," Lepton continued, "but I always
suspected that it would come to this."
"Is he always this cheerful?" Sam turned quickly, because the voice, though
strained, was Shatterstar's. The Rebel was helping the exhausted
warrior to stand.
"Guthrie. It is good to see that you still live," Star managed.
Sam grinned. He knew that was as close to an emotional reaction that he
would get out of Shatterstar. "It's good to see you, too, although
you've certainly looked better."
Star looked at the old man holding him up. "Do I know you?" he asked.
"Not personally," the Rebel answered. "Can you stand on your own? I must
see to Windsong."
"Yes," Star answered, stepping away. "She will be fine. I did not hit
anything vital."
"Sorry to break up all the reunions here," Lepton interrupted. "But we do
have problems approaching!"
Shatterstar looked around. "Za's Vid!" he murmured. "If only I weren't so
tired..."
"A Cadre Alliance warrior does not surrender, Shatterstar!" said a weary
female voice.
Star turned to see the Rebel supporting a bleeding Windsong. She was
holding her own sword and offering Shatterstar his blade, still coated
with her blood. He nodded and took it from her.
"We fight together, then," he agreed.
Chapter Seventeen
Every muscle in his body ached, blood oozed from a multitude of cuts and
scrapes, both of his hearts were beating at a feverish rate, his head
still throbbed with searing pain and a fog seemed to be partially
obscuring his vision. Despite all of this, Shatterstar was happy.
It was all he had ever wanted: a fight to the finish - and more...
Windsong, his wife, fighting at his side... Cannonball, Sam Guthrie, a
friend he had come to know and depend on, a leader he had come to
appreciate and respect, also fighting for him... Shatterstar lifted
his head higher and held his sword with a slightly stronger grip.
This was where he belonged.
"Stay close, everyone!" Sam shouted. "Ah'll protect us with mah blast field
as long as Ah can!"
"You can't hold them off forever, Sam," the Rebel pointed out, withdrawing a
trio of throwing knives from an inner pocket. "It's all right.
We're ready to fight."
"And die," Lepton observed morosely.
The dog soldiers abruptly halted their advance as an orb of sparkling energy
appeared between them and the tiny band of defenders. "Spiral!" Star
spat.
Spiral materialized in the midst of her orb. "I'm sorry, everyone," she
announced. "But our lord and blob Mojo has decreed that there is far
too much character development taking place here. The masses crave
mindless action!"
"Emphasis on 'mindless,'" Sam observed drily.
"I must admit that I'm surprised to see you still alive, Cannonball," Spiral
said with a grin. "I suppose I'll just have to kill you again."
"And how many times will you kill me, Spiral?" asked the Rebel, stepping
forward and letting his hood fall back.
"YOU!" Spiral seemed extremely taken aback. Shatterstar was still
uncertain of the old man's identity, but he certainly enjoyed seeing
Spiral surprised for once.
"I have failed to stop you before, Spiral," the old man said calmly. "But I
will keep fighting until my people are free. Take that message to
Mojo V."
"I'll deliver it with your head," Spiral snarled. "Kill them!" she cried to
the surrounding soldiers.
Before the soldiers could attack, a second portal appeared in mid-air near
the defenders. First to leap out of the portal was Cable, followed by
Rictor, Boomer, Warpath and Siryn.
"'Bout time ya got here!" Sam exclaimed. "Not that I'm complainin'..."
Major Domo's voice drifted out of the portal. "This portal location is too
difficult to maintain," he announced. "Please meet me outside the
arena." The portal immediately began to fade.
"Stab his eyes!" Cable growled. "Okay, people, look alive! Boomer,
Siryn - Spiral is yours! Ranged attacks only! Everyone else focus on
these dog soldiers! Sam, Star - you two okay?"
"We will survive," Shatterstar answered, glancing at Windsong at his side.
As the battle erupted, Rictor stepped up next to him and raised an eyebrow.
"You sure, amigo?" he asked.
"I have survived the severest test of my life thus far," Star replied, again
looking at Windsong. "This fight is nothing."
Chapter Eighteen
"We will not be cancelled today, Mojo-kissing dogs!" Lepton shouted, firing
his energy pistol left and right with deadly skill.
"Not bad," Cable admitted as he emptied his own gun and slammed a reload
cartridge into place. "You shoot like an old partner of mine."
"Lepton's marksmanship is unequaled within the resistance," the Rebel
observed. "He has been a great help in recent years."
All around them, the battle raged. Rictor was creating minor earthquakes,
blowing whole squads apart at a time, while Warpath, Shatterstar and
Windsong battled any who made it past Rictor's disruptions and
Cannonball's ballistic attacks. Boomer and Siryn were focusing their
attacks on Spiral, who was dancing furiously, attempting to dodge and
avoid the plasma bombs and sonic screams.
"Spiral will soon figure out how to redirect their attacks," the old man
pointed out. "We must get out of here, Cable."
"You take care of Spiral, then!" Cable snapped. He focused his thoughts.
*Sam,* he communicated telepathically, *Make us an exit.*
*You got it, sir,* Sam thought back. He turned his flight toward the
nearest wall, building up his blast field and focusing it in front of
him. With a shout, he erupted through the wall, blowing a massive
hole in the wall, raining dust and debris. He continued on, smashing
through wall after wall until he had completely exited the arena.
Sam spun around and shot back through his self-created tunnel.
"Very well," the Rebel agreed. "Count Spiral out of the fight."
"What?" Cable turned and saw the old man running with surprising agility
toward the madly dancing teleporter. He stooped and grabbed something
off the ground and raced on.
At that moment, Siryn was suddenly knocked out of the sky by the explosion
of one of Boomer's plasma bombs. "Terry!" Warpath shouted, throwing
two dog soldiers aside to catch her as she fell. Simultaneously,
Boomer was thrown off her feet by a sonic scream that left her ears
bleeding.
"Fools!" Spiral cried. "It took me a few moments to adjust to both your
attacks, but my magicks can divert any of your attacks!"
"Not this one," the Rebel said quietly. Before Spiral could react, he had
jumped onto her back and thrown an arm around her neck.
"What do you think you're doing, Lo--" Spiral's voice broke off with a
short cry of pain as the old man snapped Shatterstar's former control
device onto her head. He quickly punched four buttons in a row and
threw himself backwards. Spiral screamed and grabbed at her head.
In another moment, she had teleported away in a flash of energy.
Lepton helped the Rebel back to his feet. "How'd you know how to activate
it?" he asked suspiciously.
The old man raised an eyebrow. "I didn't," he replied.
Cable picked Boomer up while she protested that she was okay. "You're
bleeding, girl," he told her.
"What?"
"X-Force!" Cable shouted. "We are out of here! Now!"
While Rictor and Cannonball provided cover, the others ran into Sam's
newly-created exit tunnel. Cable and Lepton shot anyone who got in
their way. Once everyone was in the tunnel, Sam swooped down and
grabbed Rictor.
"Don't let 'em follow us, Ric," Sam ordered, swooping into the tunnel after
the others.
"You got it," Rictor answered, using his vibe power to bring down the roof
of the tunnel behind them. They flew out and found the others
hurrying through Major Domo's portal. The fight was over... for now.
Chapter Nineteen
Lepton peered through the odd-looking medical tool. "Your left ear-drum
has ruptured," he announced. "The right one will be all right."
"Swell," Boomer muttered, fingering her ear-lobe. "Got any more
pain-killers?"
"Will this mean permanent hearing loss?" Sam asked.
Lepton shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not," he observed morosely. "It'll take a
better doctor than me to tell you."
"We need to take her back to Earth, Cable," Sam pleaded of their leader who
was watching silently. Major Domo had taken them to a Cadre Alliance
base far out in the wilderness.
Cable nodded. "I'll ask Domo's teleporter to send you two back," he said.
"Just them?" Warpath asked. "We're not going back?"
"Not yet," Cable answered. "I've neglected my promise to Shatterstar for
too long." Cable turned and walked away.
"I'm so sorry, Tabitha," Siryn offered, touching her shoulder.
"Huh?"
Cable found the Rebel at the edge of the camp, looking up at the evening
star that had just appeared on the horizon. He turned at Cable's
approach. "How are the children?" he asked.
"Siryn is fine, just shaken up," Nathan answered. "Boomer needs medical
help. I'm going to let her and Sam go back to Earth."
"And what of the rest of you?" As he spoke, Shatterstar and Windsong,
cleaned up and bandaged, joined them. Cable turned to look at Star.
"Are you all right?"
"I will be fine, sir. What are your plans?"
"A long time ago," Cable began, "I promised you that X-Force would help you
overthrow Mojo V and Spiral. I... deliberately forgot that promise.
I apologize. But now I'm willing to fulfill that promise. We'll
stay as long as it takes."
"No," the Rebel said quietly. The others turned to look at him. The sun
was setting over his shoulder and the breeze danced in and around his
white hair.
"What do you mean?" Cable asked, clearly taken aback.
The old man looked into Star's eyes and smiled. "Someday, Shatterstar will
rule Mojoworld," he replied. "Everyone knows it and Mojo will do
whatever it takes to stop it. But he will not prevail. Even Spiral
knows this. You will rule our people, Star." He paused. "But not
yet. You have learned much during your time on Earth, yet you are not
quite ready."
"But..." Shatterstar began.
"Let me finish," the old man said, raising his hand to quiet Star's protest.
"There are many more things you must learn on Earth before you return.
And when you lead our people, you will teach them. After all, they do
not know what it means to be free men. Without a leader who knows
what freedom is, they would soon become as corrupt as the spineless
ones have been. You, Star, will prevent that... someday. For now,
you must return with your friends to Earth."
Star bowed his head. "I accept your decision," he said quietly and turned
away. Windsong looked at the Rebel with a pained expression and
followed Star as he trudged back into the camp.
"As odd as this may seem," Cable said after a few moments, "I understand
what you've said."
The Rebel smiled. "I thought you might."
"How will you know when Star IS ready?"
The sun had dipped completely behind the horizon. The evening star was
shining brightly. "I'll be keeping an eye out," the old man replied.
Cable thought for a moment that the Rebel's eye had flashed as he said
that. "I'll know."
Chapter Twenty
"I've been in the arena for so long, I'm not sure how to act now that I'm
free," Windsong sighed. She and Star had walked away from Cable and
the Rebel and stopped at a large rock on the very edge of the camp.
Shatterstar sat down and put his head in his hands.
Windsong looked down at him. "You do not agree with the Rebel's decision?"
she asked.
Star looked up. "Why am I not ready?" he wondered. "My skills are
unmatched. No one on this planet--except Spiral, who cheats--can
defeat me in single combat. How much more must I learn?"
"Perhaps he spoke of learning something more than just fighting skills,"
Windsong suggested. "Up until you escaped, your entire life had been
spent in the arena. I'll admit, I know very little of Earth (beyond
what I've seen in X-Men re-runs), but maybe what you learn there will
better prepare you to lead our people."
"I have never thought of myself as a leader," Star admitted, "only a
warrior. Maybe I should attempt to pay closer attention to Cable and
Guthrie. They are the leaders of our group."
Star looked up at Windsong as if just noticing her. He opened his mouth to
speak, hesitated a moment, then looked away. Finally, he turned back.
"When we fought in the arena..." he began.
Windsong sat down beside him. "It was the most difficult fight of my life,"
she said.
Star looked up at her smooth face and wide, grayish eyes. He thought of the
bandaged stab wound hidden behind the loose garment she now wore.
"You were magnificent," he replied. "I have never faced such a
challenge. I am sorry I had to hurt you."
"I expected you to kill me," she answered. "When you whispered in my ear
that I should trust you, I was confused until you stabbed me. That
was an expert cut to miss all of my vital organs like that."
"It was my only chance," Star said. "I could not kill you."
"Why not?"
"One does not kill a companion warrior."
"Oh." She looked slightly disappointed.
"And... in my time on Earth, I have learned somewhat about..."
"Yes?"
Star was obviously out of his element. "About that which should be shared
between a... husband and wife..."
"What is that?" Windsong asked, leaning closer to him.
He looked directly into her eyes, feeling her intense closeness.
"Something called... love," he answered.
As the twilight grew darker around them and the air turned cool, Shatterstar
and Windsong, warriors of Mojoworld, shared their first kiss, learning
more in that one moment about each other than they had in their
entire arena battle.
Chapter Twenty-One
"The portal is open," Major Domo announced, "if you are certain about this."
Cable grinned. "Talk to your ally about it," he replied, thumbing at the
Rebel. "All right, X-Force, let's go!"
Sam stepped up to the Rebel and put out his hand. "It was good to see you,
sir... again." The old man shook his hand firmly, a characteristic
smile on his face.
Sam turned to Lepton. "Thanks for all your help," he offered. "Ah
appreciate..."
"You're welcome already," Lepton growled. "You gonna leave or what?"
Sam chuckled and stepped up to the portal, followed closely by Boomer.
Warpath and Siryn said short farewells and followed the others.
Rictor hesitated a moment, shrugged and stepped through the portal,
leaving only Cable and Shatterstar.
Shatterstar drew his sword and gave a formal salute to the Rebel who nodded
in acknowledgement. Replacing the sword, he turned to Windsong. "In
many ways, I wish you were coming with me," he stated.
"I wish the same," she replied. "But I must help the rebellion continue
Until you return to lead us."
"I know," he said, nodding. "Farewell, Windsong. We will meet again."
"Farewell, Shatterstar. I will be waiting for that moment."
Cable looked at the Rebel. "Maybe what we need to teach Star is how to
relate to women," he observed.
"He is making significant progress already," the Rebel responded, gesturing.
Cable looked back and was pleasantly surprised to see Star and Windsong's
final farewell.
Shatterstar stepped away from her and approached the portal. He turned back
before taking the final step and, drawing his sword again, looked one
last time at Windsong's face. "Farewell, my world!" he cried, waving
his sword in a wide sweep, but his eyes were on Windsong. Then he
turned and stepped away.
As Cable and Shatterstar disappeared into the portal, the Rebel nodded and
smiled. "Farewell, my son," he whispered. "We will meet again, as
well."
Shatterstar's voice speaking to Cable drifted back to them before the portal
closed. "I have much to learn. Please teach me. As fast as you
can."
THE END (for now)
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