It was a cold day in Spokane with the clouds weighing heavily upon the town. The town itself was running the same as usual..blissfully unaware of the battle that just decided their fate. The wind was beginning to pick up a little as Mother Nature decided to wash away the past night with her heavy rains and winds. In the middle of all of this stood Jory Johnson aka ShadowDM, he is standing infront of a grave at Pines Cementary..the biggest cemetary in Spokane. Many of his family members are buried here..including his grandma, he decided to come to the grave to have a chat with his deceased grandmother and maybe search for answers as to why shes now a slave to the enemy. With the wind whipping away at his long trenchcoat..Jory lowers his head down to look at his grandma's grave and gets a good look at it. Its been a while since hes seen her headstone..so long he couldn't begin to count the years its been. It still pains him to this day to have to look down at that headstone..remembering fuklly well the days when hew as able to hug her..smell her perfume..or even chat with her about the ways of Heaven or any subject at all.
The others had wanted to come along for support, but for now Jory just wanted to be alone. Its been a tough time for him since this whole thing began. Hes almost lost his life on several occassions, Becca had left him after an attack from the enemy..and now he has to deal with the fact that his own grandma has been trying to kill him for sometime now, hes been very thankful for the support he has now cause if he didn't have it..surely he'd be a goner by now. Thinking about this made him think about Kerri and Scotty..and bout how much they miss their love ones, but deep down Jory knows they are making the ultimate sacrifice to keep their loved ones alive..and that comforts him as he stands in a sea of death looking down at the one person who could use out of everone right now.
He could sense in his army that they wanted to split off and protect their own people and their own boundries, but he simply pushed it aside and told himself that the only way they could do that is bys ticking together as one large unit and take down the enemy..but it was hard with the enemy always retreating, it was like a game of Cat & Mouse or something. Clearing his mind of all of that, Jory kneels down infront of the grave and rubs off some of the dirt and grass thats been piling on..he was going to have to talk to the cemetary about keeping better care of her grave..it didn't deserve to be this messy.
"Ya know Nana, you really need to keep your spot nice and tidy for your visitors."
Jory had a nice laugh at that but apparently he was the only one who was laughing as the cemetary remainedly deadly quiet with the exception of passing motorists and the wind passing through. Thinking about his grandma made him think of his surviving family that still lives in Spokane, he wondered if he should give them a visit..let them know he was still thinking of them. He knows they watch him on Protocol and on the ppvs...but besides that they dont see him much, especially now that hes been chosen to fight the good fight. Maybe he'll pay them a visit before he has to leave.
"We need to chat, and dont think you can't hear me cause I know you can..everyone here can."
Obviously he means the dead that have been buried here, afterall..he is a necroscope.
"I'm not sure what to make of all of this, why do you feel you need to kill me? Why are you working for the forces of Hell? That is not like you at all Nana."
His grandma grew up in a strict Christian family and preached the words of the bible her entire lfie..she was devoted to her religion and now to see her working with not only his enemy..but God's enemy..made him feel ill to his stomach.
"Had I known that you were this thing thats been trying to kill me..I'm not sure if I would have defended myself..I can see myself attacking you in any way,shape, or form..but now that I know and after our battles..I'm making it my duty to free you of this Nana, no longer will you be a slave to those creatures of darkness..I will bring you back to the light."
It was funny hearing those words come out of his mouth. At one time he was shunned by the light and was devoured by the darkness...he was a man that seemed to have no hope in this world but to be the slave of a crazy evil spirit, but now it was him who was the person of light and it was him now who was going to have to go back into the darkness to save a person he loves..the real journey begins. Taking one last look at her grave, Jory stands up and slides his hands into the pockets on his trenchcoat.
"Rest now...for the next few days will be quite rough for the both of us."
Taking a deep breath, he pulls his coat closer to him to keep him warm against the wind and slowly he makes his way out of the cemetary and back towards his grandma's house where the camp has been moved. Though hes far from the camp..Jory knows he can make short time getting there.
Zedd,Anita,Kerri, and Scotty sat in Jory's Uncle Eric's former bedroom where they made Jory and Zedd's main office area. Since the defeat of the enemy sometime ago everything has been quiet, and in this quiet Jory's army has had time to think about the Hell it went through that night when the enemy outsmarted them and nearly wiped them out. While Jory and Zedd sat behind the scenes discussing plans of action..the army became restless and homesick..they all wanted to go back to their homes and defend what they had instead of moving around all the time..Jory felt the same way. Anita was one of the ones who wanted to go home. Herself, the vampires, and the werepeople..which makes up much of the army..was looking to head back to St. Louis and protect it from the enemy..but losing them would mean exposing Jory to the enemy and by doing that they'd perhaps lose their greatest chance of winning, but the army did not care anymore.
"Zedd...as much as we wanna fight the fight with you, we feel that we should go home and defend our home..make sure it doesn't meet the same fate Spokane almost did."
Zedd was disturbed when her words touched his ears. He was counting on Anita and her friends to assist him and Jory in this battle and now they want to sperate..not good.
"I realize Anita that you and your army are homesick but you must stay and fight, its the only way we can keep your St. Louis from falling."
"Not if were there to defend it Zedd, we can do it."
"Oh? And what of the spirits? Jory and Kerri surely will not be there to protect you from those attacks..muchless be able to help you deal a leathal blow of their powers magnitude."
"There are more then just two necroscopes in this world Zedd..I'm sure we can find one and deal with it."
Sure there were other necroscopes, but none like Jory and Kerri..theyw ere bred to do this kind of thing..most weren't.
"Please Anita you must reconsider..how can we fight is the army is in St. Louis and were stationed here?"
"I'm sure with you, Jory, Kerri, Scotty, and your assassins you'll be able to manage til you find a replacement...but for now we must go and protect St. Louis, you may not see it now Zedd but it will benefit your fight down the road."
Anita looks over at Kerri and Scotty who are staring at her and she gives them a smile.
"It was nice working with you two, especially you Kerri..never give up on your powers, and tell Jory that I'll miss him and I'll be keepign the link between him and I..just incase."
With that, Anita turns around and exits the room. Outside Anita can be heard screaming orders to pack up and move out, the army is obviously overjoyed to hear this news and almost immediately is up and packing. Zedd could only sink into his chair and stare at the xeiling..how could this happen? Why would Anita and the others bail so soon and when the enemy finally has its gaurd down? Defending St. Louis wasn't good enough of an answer for Zedd, St. Louis isn't in as much danger as they all make it out to be..theres something more to it then that.
"I'll be back you two..I should see our allies out of camp safetly."
Kerri & Scotty nod and watch as Zedd leaves the room quietly and makes his way downstairs where all the higher ranking soldiers are packing their things and getting ready to leave. Anita's words rang clear in both their minds..Scotty missing Madison and Kerri worrying about Brandon and Ryan. They missed them deeply but they also didn't want to leave Jory..doing so would only weaken his defences even more. Not to mention something has been bothering Kerri..someone or something is slowly moving towards the camp, she can feel it inside of her but she cant quite tell if its a dangerous presence or not..she needed to wait and see..if she could infact wait that long.
Scotty too missed someone he loved...Madison. Its been a while since hes been able to lay ones on that beautiful figure of hers and wishes he could just hold her for eternity..but if he doesn't fight alongside Jory then he may never get too..Hell, even if he does fight alongside Jory he might not able too..seems like a Lose/Lose situation. Needing time to think things over, Scotty gets out of his seat and heads for the door..but notices that Kerri is now right behind him.
"Where you going?"
"I need to go for a walk..clear my head and all."
"I was on my way to do the same thing..mind if I join you?"
"No, not at all."
Smiling, the pair leave the room and dodge the rush of the soliders leaving the house. Jory's grandma's neighborhood supplied them with many places where they could walk and have some time to themselves to think about where they go from here..they'd need all the time in the world with this difficult decision. As they leave the house and head into the woods, Kerri and Scotty ca nsee Zedd escorting Anita to the gate where the army is beginning to gather..in the middle of all of this is three coffins ready to be packed away..they could see the sadness and desperate in Zedd's eyes.
He didn't want them to leave, he needed them to stay here and fight..couldn't they just wait? He stood outside of the gate looking down the long dirt road that leads out of here and out onto the paved roads that'll take them to St. Louis..he cursed the roads for tempting his soldiers into leaving. Sadly, he turned to watch as Anita stood and looked on as the last of her soldiers gathered at the gate..dragging with them their supplies and happyness. Anita turns to Zedd and smiles at him, not a smile to say "I got my way"..but to say "I'm sorry it turned out like this"...Zedd couldn't return to smile.
"Cant I get you to stay until we at least find replacements?"
"I'm sorry Zedd..we cant wait any longer, we must go."
"Our power alone cannot fend off the enemy..we need your power and the soldiers brute force and swiftness."
"Zedd, you have some of the brighest and most talented beings with you right now..I think you'll manage, besides...dont you have General Smith in your possession? She could be of use."
Zedd had forgotten about General Smith, who was brought to the camp by Jory after he defeated her and the phantom in the backyard of his grandma's house. She had yet to awaken from the powerful slumber Jory put her in, but he could feel her eyes will open soon enough.
"She's still unconcious...and theres a chance she may not want to help us."
"And if she does?"
"It still wont be enough to fight an army of that size."
"Well, you'll be one stronger..thats for sure."
"Please Anita...staying here will ensure the safety of St. Louis."
"No, staying here only ensures the safety of Spokane..not St. Louis."
"The head of the army is stationed here Anita, if we take that out then the rest will crumble.'
"You know as well as I do that thats not true, this goes way deeper then that and with the massive size that side has..no doubt some of it has been shipped to St. Louis by now..we must act and we must act now!"
True, it was much deeper then he made out it to be..but he only wanted to give and the army hope which she wasn't doin a good job of at the moment..at least in his view.
"Fine then, do as you must Anita..go fight your good fight down in St. Louis, but if your in trouble..I doubt we can get to you."
"Dont worry Zedd, we can handle our own."
With that said Anita gives Zedd a hug that he can barely return back to her then turns and looks at her army..her friends.
"Alright lets go guys!! Split up into groups and we'll all meet eachother at the airport!"
Zedd could only stand there now and watch as Anita started out down the road without any form of transportation being followed by the army which for a time helped keep the enemy at bay. Nothing was going to eb able to cure this tragic blow Zedd thought...nothing but a miracle.
Damn that Jory..he just keeps getting in the way..cant sit down for one moment now can he!? Jory had a knack for foiling his plans beginning with The Queen Mary, had Jory not ruined that plan he'd be slaughtering millions right now..but no..it doesn't work out like that now does it? Curse that Jory Johnson and his army..if only General Smith and Jory's grandma had gotten the job done he wouldn't have to sit here and ponder what move to make. Sitting on his throne in the darkest dampest reaches of the Spokane Sewers which hes now made his base for the moment, the moster that showed himself to Jory the night Jory was victorious over both General Smith and his grandma, sat and pondered what he should do now. He told Jory he would up the stakes with him but it seems that Jory only continues to get stronger..especially with that female necorscope and Zeddicus by his side...damn that traitor Zeddicus..he'll feel pain soon enough.
It would seem that with the combined forces of Jory, Kerri, Zedd, and his army...that Jory is practically unstoppable in ridding his world of "evil"..but theres always a kink in someone's armor and he will find it soon enough. His scouts are out now reporting constantly to him what they see and feel..surely Jory is bound to make a mistake and when he does......well...he wont be around long enough to realize the mistake he made. While thinking things over, a sevant to "the beast" comes in dressed in simple tattered rags and covered in scratches, blood, and bruises limps over to his master and bows to him..such a pathetic demon it is he thought..almost classified up there with humans in uselessness..
"S-s-s-s-sir...urgent news from the scouts up in Colbert."
"Spit it out then you fool."
"They say that Jory's army has just left their base to travel to St. Louis sir."
"So? Whats in St. Louis?"
"Thats the thing sir, its only the army thats goin..they've desserted Jory, Zedd, Kerri and the others to go defend their St. Louis."
It was the best news hes had in a long while. He must hear more of this.
"Tell me more."
"The army, which includes their necromancer and the three vampires left Jory, Zedd, Kerri, Scotty, Zedd's Assassins, and General Smith to travel to St. Louis to defend it against us in what they believe will be a future battle over that town."
"Excellent..this is wonderful news!! This is our chance to strike both parties down! Both parties is weak without the othe..this is perfect..get me my men..we must plan this out and attack at once!!"
"Yes sir."
The servant makes his way out of there in a sprint to carry out his master's orders, leaving the beast behind to smile in his new found fortune. He gets out of his throne and turns to his right to look down at something.
"Hahaha....looks like you'll be of some use afterall my precious lil phantom."
The beast then turns and walks over to his command table to await his top ranking soldiers..revealing Jory's grandma..the phantom..chained to the wall right next ti his throine..still unconcious.
Hes been chosen for a fight that he knows will be too difficult for him to face on his own. He couldn't believe when he was told that he was to take part in an epic battle thats been blazing since the dawn of time, but he is only human..he needs to find the one person he knows who can help him..and hes in Spokane,Washington. He first met the guy when he joined the UEF as a wrestler, it started out really slow but with time he got to know Jory Johnson aka ShadowDM, the man the entire fed considers one of the best to grace its ring. When he learned that Jory was a necroscope..he dissmissed it as some kind of whacko thing that Jory was trying to play on him because he was new to the UEF, but when he was chosen to fight in the war between good and evil..he figured it out pretty fast that Jory was not telling a fib.
He was told by the UEF staff that Jory was inbetween UEF shows and his hometown of Spokane, which would explain why he hadn't seen much of Jory lately..so he decided to travel to Spokane to see if he could find Jory..it wasn't an easy task. He had to ask around a lot as the UEF staff wasn't quite sure where they could find Jory and he didn't seem to carry a cell phone on him. Finally he had a small chat with Ryan White who told him where to go when he heard he was looking for Jory, apparently Kerri is also with Jory as is Scotty..now thats a triple combo hard to beat.
Once in Spokane he rented a car and started out towards a small community known as Colbert where Jory was staying. He wodnered why Jory would stay in a cramped suburb when he could stay in his acual hometown..must have something to do with the battle hes fighting. The road from the airport to Colbert was a long one, he didn't expect to have to travel so far just to talk to Jory..but it was nice to see the green scenery Washington provided..he was sure Jory had a hand in keeping it this way. When he turned down a road that lead past a raillroad underpass he saw a very attractive womanwearing a white tanktop and tight blue jean pants being followed by a group of men and women who were lugging with them what appeared to be their belongings, thinking maybe they may know how to find Jory he slowed down and parked next to the woman who stopped when the car did and faced him. He rolled down his window and leaned over the passenger side seat so he could talk to her.
"Hi there, can you tell me how tog et to the Lara property?"
She stared at him for what seemed like a full minute, studying his eyes very closely before she answered him.
"You looking for Jory?"
"Yes ma'am I am."
"Follow this road for about 2/3 miles then take a left at the first dirt road you see..follow that road til before the bend and you'll see it."
Awesome, so he was going the right way..excellent.
"Thank you very much ma'am."
"Anytime."
As the man drove away, Anita turned her head to watch him as he followed the road then disappeared behind the small hill that held up the railroad udnerpass. She shook her head then turned and kept walking.
"Stupid fool."
As Jory walked down the dirt road that lead to his grandma's house, he couldn't quite seem to understand this strange feeling that was stabbing his chest like a thousand needles. Ever since he made it past his house hes felt that something has been wrong and was only hoping that Zedd & the others weren't in any kind of danger. So far from his advantage point nothing seemed out of the ordinary at his grandma's house..no blood or dead bodies were visible to his trained eye and his gift wasn't showing him any signs of concern. Once he got into seeing eye view of the house though his mind began to change a little..there was no one outside of the house..his army or the other, this was a bit shocking for him as hes made it clear that there should always be people on post whether they are in danger or not..he was going to have a word with some people.
The closer he got to the gate the more he realized that there was some foot prints strewn about suggesting the a group of people made their way from the gate and goin the opposite direction Jory is..the puzzle was beginning to take form in his head and once he stopped at the gate he could see that the entire property was empty..this is not good. Jory throws open the gate and runs up onto the porch then flings open the front door to see that there is no one inside either..just a big mess of everything.
"Kerri!! Scotty!! Anita!! Zedd!! Where the Hell are all of you!?"
"I'm here boy."
Jory turned to his left to see Zedd sitting down in a green chair in his grandma's sitting room/computer room. Zedd had a look of a man whos been wounded deeply on his eyes and in his eyes..something wrong did happen here.
"Zedd, whats going on here!?"
"I'm afraid my boy that..Anita and the others felt that their place was in St. Louis..not here in Colbert..and so they decided to leave and protect their home instead of staying."
"And what about Kerri?..Scotty?"
"I'm not sure Jory, they disappeared when I escorted Anita to the gate, the only ones here right now are you, me, my assassins, and an unconcious General Smith."
He could only sigh when he heard the words leave Zedd's mouth. His army had abandonded him..Scotty & his sis had disappeared on him..his only hope now was Zedd and his 3 assassins who were no doubt trying to make up for the lack of gaurds and scouts in the area now.
"Well Zedd, were now completely open to any and all attacks from the enemy..and no matter how skileld we are we will fall to those bastards."
"I know, which is why we need to leave this place at once and find a place where we can hide from now and come up with a new plan..do you know of a place we could possibly hide?"
He had to think about it for a second, but finally Jory came up with a place that would surely hide them long enough for him and Zedd to come up with something.
"Yea...I know place."
"Good, we leave first thing in the morning then."
Jory nodded and then the two of them took a step outside so Jory could get one last look at his childhood memories before having to leave them for a very long time. It struck a painful nerve in him to have yet another painful memory of this place...a place where his friends turned their backs on him for their own needs...but he still loved the place no matter how hurtful it was back to him. As the two friends walked to the back so Jory could relax and see the surroundings they were surprised to see Kerri and Scotty appear from the far backyard walking towards the house. It cheered Jory up a little to see his two best friends, he was foolish to ever think they would turn their backs on him.
"Ahh, there you two are..I was beginning to worry."
"Not enough faith in us eh Zedd?"
He caught the joking tone in her voice and gave her a small chuckle.
"No my dear, with everything that has been happening..I was just afraid that we may have lost you two as well."
"Well, thats why were here Zedd. The reason we left was because we went on a walk to clear our minds and make a decision about our future with this army."
"You had doubts about staying?"
"When we were listening to Anita talk to Zedd, myself and Scotty began to think a little bit more about what we've left back at home and we became homesick. Thats when we decided to be by ourselves for a bit and think things over."
"Oh? So what is your decision?"
"We've decided that..well...we cant leave ya bro, especially now when you've barely got anyone to help you out or keep you company..were sticking by you."
"Thanks guys...this really means a lot to me."
Kerri smiles and gives her bro a hug.
"What is family for eh bro?"
"Looks like I found ya Jory, and just in time too."
Jory & Zedd turn around to see Kain, Vincent, and Cloud standing behind a man whom Jory takes a second at first to remember who it is and when he does he is a bit shocked.
"Tama Porter, what the fick are you doing here?"
It was Tama Porter, a new guy to the UEF who was looking for success and respect in the buisness. Recently Jory and Kerri have gotten to know Tama and have accepted him as a friend but Jory never once suspected to see him here.
"Haha, nice to see you too Jor."
"Sorry man...its just been a trying day."
"Its alright, it happens to the best of us."
"So Tama, why are you here?"
"I've come to ask for Jory's help..see I was chosen to fight a battle between good & evil and I figured since Jory is already locked in that kind of battle, he'd be able to help me out."
"Well, as you might be able to tell Tama I'm in no condition to help you out right now..I'm in a bind."
"SO I've been told, these guys here, when they caught me by surprise, instantly recognized me and told me of your dilemma and so I want to help you Jory..let me be apart of your team for a while..thats sorta like being in the battle right?"
"Far from "sorta" Tama..."
"Heh, yea..sorry."
"Well, I have no problem with it..the more the merrier I always say."
"Kick ass man!! So whats the plan!? We ready to whoop some of dat booty or what?"
"Hahaha, not tonight I'm afraid..for now we rest and pack guys..tomorrow we move out."
"Hey bro, where we goin?"
He took a good look at all that was left of his army. Zedd, Kerri, Scotty, Kain, Vincent, Cloud, and now Tama Porter..this is what is left of a once powerful army and somehow he couldn't help but smile.
"Guys, its no longer safe here with the army moving to St. Louis..so we head to a safe place where we can plan out a new strategy agaisnt the enemy, tomorrow we head to Mt. Spokane."
Jory's army has left the base on its own free will and is now moving to St. Louis where it hopes to protect it from the enemy..but "the beast" has other plans for that army and a now unprotected Jory Johnson. Can "the beast" get to Jory and his former army before they reach their destinations? And what role will Tama Porter, General Smith, and Jory's grandma play at this point? Stay tuned.