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【Vision of an Alternate Future】

Arc 2: Return of the Crystal Guardians

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【VAF】Chapter║: 45 ─ Memories 3

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Then there’s another blinding white light, and Savan, Peo, Hilan and Aurora find themselves a few hours ahead and this time they’re in the office of the British Prime Minister. The Prime Minister’s national security Chiefs joins the meeting. Prime Minister John Harding and General Scot speak for the political and military respectively.

PM-Harding : “ So you are Naole? Things must be very bad for Crystalorb to send you?”

Gen-Scot : “ High ranking Crystalans are usually very elusive!”

Naole : “ I’m afraid it’s worse than you can Imagine!”

Gen-Scot : “ Don’t keep us in suspense!”

Naole : “ You all know what happened when our Spirit Stone was stolen!”

PM-Harding : “ Oh yeah! You Crystalans went a little nutty!”

Naole : “ Well; as it turns out a few Crystalans went permanently rogue. Now they are poised to plunge the world into chaos.”

Gen-Scot : “ So why not wave your magic stick and make them go away?”

Naole : “ Tried that; didn’t work!”

Just then a Vanguard 〘Jake Lesedi〙 becomes visible and opens his Armour’s face cover then whispers something to Canala.

Gen-Scot : “ He’s white; I mean European!”

PM-Harding : “ But he’s one of us?”

Jake : “ I may look like one of you but I’m not one of you.”

Gen-Scot : “ You make it sound like it’s an insult to be likened to us?”

Jake : “ Huh!”

Jake closes his Armour’s face cover and becomes invisible.

Naole : “Jake is a Legacy!”

PM-Harding : “ Legacy?”

Naole : “When Crystalans and Hodians were in their infancy we needed a way to operate in a world dominated by Europeans; so we found the sick and downtrodden amongst Europeans and in return for their service we restored their health and endowed them with riches.”

Canala : “Father; we’ve picked up an unidentified energy source 10 kilometres away.”

Naole : “How much time has been allocated?”

Canala : “One hour.”

Gen-Scot : “ An unidentified energy source?”

Naole : “ It could be Circlean; this is a high stakes game of chicken.”

PM-Harding : “ So you’ve had humans working for you from the beginning?”

Naole : “From the beginning Ralefa and Lesedi could not agree on how to interact with the world. Embolden by their victory over their home village Ralefa wanted to bring the entire region under their rule; more precisely his rule! Ralefa was stronger than Lesedi, but he needed access to the powers of the Chest Crystal to achieve his goals. Unfortunately for Ralefa his brother Lesedi had noble ambitions and this created the original split between Ralefa and Lesedi. When Ralefa and Lesedi retained the services of certain Europeans Ralefa would demand that the European men surrender their daughters as wives for his sons to guarantee that they would not betray him. Most of Ralefa’s daughters and Granddaughters ended up with Lesedi’s sons and Grandsons; thus Jake! Off course during the various European wars we recovered those in Crystalorb service and their families and brought them to Crystalorb.”

Gen-Scot : “ What? Normal humans weren’t good enough for Ralefa’s Daughters?”

Naole : “ Not at all! Only Crystalan males could appreciate the attributes of a Crystalan or Hodian female. Crystalan females are on average; 1.8 metres tall, weigh over 700 kilos, have the strength of over 100 normal men and while they have a generous apportion of tissue on their buttocks and breasts most of the body is pure muscle. Now for some strange reason normal human males don’t find that attractive?”

Gen-Scot : “ 700 kilos?”

Naole : “ Crystalans have an extremely Dense Physiology. The Older the Crystalan the Denser the Physiology”

PM-Harding : “ Back to the Circleans; don’t you have hundreds of unmanned aerial robots in your arsenal?”

Naole : “Crystalans are Energy absorbers; we can absorb energy out of almost anything and so can the Circleans.”

PM-Harding : “ Are you saying you can drain us?”

Gen-Scot : “ Even Humans?”

Naole : “ Anything! While Crystalans would simply drain the energy out of a Human Circleans would consume the energy, and that is the difference.”

PM-Harding : “ It’s worse than I thought!”

Naole : “Yes; it is!”

PM-Harding : “ What do they want?”

Naole : “ Their plan is to absorb the Psionic energy of Humans, then use the power they gain to defeat the Hodians and Crystalans.”

PM-Harding : “ My God!”

Naole : “ Actions have consequences Mr Prime Minister!!”

Gen-Scot : “ Actions? As far as I can tell this problem has been created by Crystalans!”

Naole : “ When the British and other Europeans conspired with the Americans and Hodians to destroy Crystalorb you created this mess. When Hodians stole the Spirit Stone they opened Pandora’s Box, and now we’re all about to pay the price for all of your arrogance.”

PM-Harding : “ How dare you accuse us of such things? Where is your proof?”

Naole : “ Mr Prime Minister; your righteous indignation would be far more interesting to me if it wasn’t covered in crap! The extent to which all of you have underestimated Crystalan Capabilities is astounding! Do you think we weren’t watching when you made your deals with the HOD? Do you think we weren’t watching when you and your American friends conspired with the HOD? We are always watching!”

Gen-Scot : “ We were right to be concerned about Crystalan Capabilities; Look at where we are today!”

Naole : “ We’re not here to rehash the past, but you’re right; it is Crystalan Capabilities that have brought us to this point, and that is the only reason we are willing to be forgiving. We’re here to offer you salvation; otherwise the Circleans will feed off your fears, and as you civilisation slowly decays into oblivion they will rise from the cesspool of your rotting flesh and become the most powerful force the world has ever known.”

Gen-Scot : “ So they can feed on our fears?”

Naole : “ It’s hard to explain, but the simple answer is yes. Fear and Despair can produce Negative Psionic Energy; it’s the Negative Psionic Energy that they feed on.”

Gen-Scot : “ I knew it; these Crystalan Capabilities are demonic!”

PM-Harding : “ Easy General! How do we survive?”

Naole : “ At this moment; Crystalans are meeting with leaders of all the major nations. We offer tools that will grant those of you who are worthy the right to wield the powers of a Crystalan.”

PM-Harding : “ And these tools will be enough?”

Naole : “ No!”

Gen-Scot : “ You want something in return? You so-called Neo-Humans always want something!”

Naole : “ If our calculations are correct, and they tend to be; the simplest way for Circleans to win is to get Humans to fight each other. They’ll start wars and cause strife, and the Negative Psionic Energy generated by this chaos will empower them.”

Canala : “ Then they’ll squash you like bugs.”

Gen-Scot : “ Now we’re insects?”

Naole : “ You see the world through insect Eyes, but as Elemental beings Crystalans see the world from the vantage point of energy perception.”

Gen-Scot : “ Like I said; Demonic!”

PM-Harding : “ Easy General! What do you need from us?”

Naole : “ What we need is for cooler heads to prevail. We need the major powers to stay rational in the face of Insanity.”

PM-Harding : “ What about the Hodians? Where do they stand?”

Naole : “ Mr Prime Minister; Hodians will do what Hodians do.”

Gen-Scot : “ Which in your opinion is?”

Naole : “They will try to benefit Politically, Militarily, Financially and Technologically from this situation. They can’t help being what they are, but we need them.”

PM-Harding : “ This is what troubles us about Crystalans; you’re not really invested in Humanity! You don’t care if we live or die; it just offends your sensibility that rogue Crystalans would try to perform this ghastly act! Deep down you Crystalans don’t believe that Humans are equal to Crystalans; you think we lack the sophistication of Crystalans, that you’re more evolved than Humans!”

Naole : “ I’ve always liked Humans Mr Prime Minister! But you’re right; we do see ourselves as more than human, and that’s because we are more than human.”

Gen-Scot : “ A new brand of the master race!”

Naole : “ It’s this kind of thinking that has brought us to this point. All of you tried to find a final solution to the Crystalan problem, but instead you’ve created the Human nightmare; opened all of humanity to the horrors of war! Even now I can here your minds tinkering away; trying to find ways to defeat us! Well; you can’t!”

PM-Harding : “ How dare you invade our thoughts?”

Canala : “ Oh please! We’re telepathic; we have to block human thoughts.”

Naole : “ You don’t understand what we are! Perhaps that’s our fault; we haven’t explained who we are.”

Gen-Scot : “ Well then; enlighten us?”

Naole : “ Let me tell you about myself; Telepathy, Telekinesis, Energy augmented Strength and agility, Energy Absorption and manipulation, but these are just the basics that all Crystalans possess. I can run faster than the fastest bullet, I can fly at Hypersonic Speeds, and to top it off I’m virtually invulnerable.”

Gen-Scot : “ Except to heat!”

Naole : “ Not anymore! Crystalans evolve faster than Humans, faster than even Hodians, so we’ve closed that chink in our armour. Heat is a form of energy you know.”

Canala : “ Fool; my father has gone beyond the powers of a Crystal Guardian.”

Gen-Scot : “ No; that’s not possible!”

Canala : “ Even as a boy he was powerful enough to survive the explosion of a 3 Megaton Nuclear Warhead.”

PM-Harding : “ Then the rumours are true; you’ve somehow surpassed the Crystalan and become something else.”

Naole : “ An Ascended Crystalan! I’ve walked on the surface of the sun! Not even its immense gravity could contain me. I’m a warrior elite, in my finger tips I hold the power to destroy entire cities, and on my shoulders rests the hopes of an entire people. Do you understand now what we’re becoming? Is it becoming clear to you what we are? I know you worry that we might enslave humanity and take over the world, well let me put you at ease; you can keep this pathetic planet, we don’t want it. Our destiny is in the stars.”

Gen-Scot : “ Off-course! Now that even your favoured Africans have turned against you you’ve lost faith in Humanity. And why would you stay? Oh you have a strength immeasurable, and you could probably conquer the world, but then you consider that sort of thing beneath you!”

PM-Harding : “ Is it true? Are you preparing to separate from Humanity?”

Naole : “ From the day we were born Humanity has reacted with fear and hatred! We’ve now accepted that there are 2 new branches of humans; Hodians and Crystalans on one side and normal Humans on the other. Hybrids gain their DNA from Hodians, and that makes them Hodians. The Hodians were right all along; they are the future of Humanity. We are something else.”

PM-Harding : “ Is it too late? Is it too late to convince you to give humanity another chance?”

Canala : “ It’s different now that you know our feelings can be hurt! Now you recognize our humanity.”

Naole : “ We’ve taken too much abuse from humans to go back! We long for the freedom of solitude! However we will be here for a while longer and we will make sure that Humanity does not destroy itself, but we will always be separate from humanity. Our departure is therefore inevitable.”

Gen-Scot : “ For now we stand together against a common threat.”

Naole : “ Yes! We will remove this threat, but Humanity must learn to stand on its own; we won’t always be here to save you.”

PM-Harding : “ Fear has caused a lot of confusion and hatred, but we are learning.”

Naole : “ At least we are making progress.”

Then there’s another blinding white light, and Savan, Peo, Hilan and Aurora find themselves a few hours ahead and this time they’re at the Crystalorb safe house on the outskirts of London. Crystal Armoured Naole, Canala and Nasara are already there, but Kalen, Ralen and Raole arrive unexpectedly.

Naole : “ What the hell are you two doing here?”

Ralen : “ Nice to see you too Dad!”

Raole : “ The Council of Elders sent us to help escort all of you home; Aunt Casara has been called away on an urgent mission.”

Nasara : “ What sort of mission?”

Ralen : “ An incident in a Hodian Facility in Russia.”

Raole : “ Supposedly 3000 Hodians went missing.”

Ralen : “ Puff! They just disappeared!”

Canala : “ That’s strange!”

Naole : “ No; it’s too soon!”

Canala : “ What’s wrong Dad?”

Naole opens a priority Channel to Crystalorb.

Naole : " Crystalorb; I’m initiating extraction protocol! Execute immediate evacuation! Guardian Authentication; Naole 626536536 Blue! To all escort personnel; we’re pulling out!"

As the Crystalan group gets air born.

Raole : “ What’s happening Dad?”

Naole : “ I miscalculated; Casara and I weren’t the only ones the Circleans came to check out. They wanted to know if Canala and Nasara had Ascended!”

Nasara : “ Why?”

Naole : “ They’re taking a long term view; they’ve concluded that it’s more prudent to remove the possibility of more Ascended Red Guardians.”

Ralen : “ Sorry Dad; we walked right into a trap.”

Canala : “ How many?”

Naole : “ I’m sensing 5 major powers, and 800 others!”

Raole : “ These are awfully bad odds; 150 Crystalans against 800 Circleans!”

Nasara : “ They’ve obviously been recruiting from Hodian ranks!”

Canala : “ Maybe we should head towards land; we might need cover!”

Naole : “ No; they’re closing in to fast! We must protect the Clear Crystaled! Red Guardians; prepare to brake-off and attack! The rest of you; make you’re way to Crystalorb as quickly as you can!”

Ralen : “ Aunt Casara’s come under attack; she won’t be here for a while!”

Kalen : “ We’re in it now aren’t we?”

Naole : “ Red Guardians; Stay with me! Do not leave my sight! Now; Lances at the ready!”

Raole : “ Ready!”

Ralen : “ Ready!”

Kalen : “ Ready!”

Nasara : “ Ready!”

Canala : “ Ready!”

Naole : “ Engage!”

The Six Crystalans form up and attack the approaching Circleans; giving the escort Crystalans time to make a rapid escape. The battle is intense and the Crystalans manage to hold off the Circlean force, but the Crystalans could not sustain such an effort because the Circlean numbers were too great.

While the battle continues Naole opens a communications channel to the Crystalorb Command Centre.

Naole : “ Where are my reinforcements Aman?”

Aman : “ We’ve put together a two thousand strong force; we’ll rendezvous with you in grid 4568! Make your way to the south of Spain; we’ll be there in 30 minutes!”

Naole : “ Acknowledged!”

Aman : “ Hold on Guardians! We’re coming!”

Communications channel with Crystalorb Ends.

Ralen : “ The hills will provide cover!”

Nasara : “ But we’ll be trapped on the ground!”

Canala : “ Unless we never actually touch down!”

Raole : “ Maintain momentum!”

Naole : “ Let’s do it!”

The Circlean force converges on the Crystalans as they make a hasty retreat to the south of Spain. The battle seems to intensify and it begins to look like there won’t be enough time, but then Naole realises something!

Canala : “ They just keep coming!”

Naole : “ There’s only about 100 Chest Crystaled Circleans; the Five major powers must be part of the original group of Circleans!”

Nasara : “ They’re using their Hodians to weaken us!”

Ralen : “ Then they’ll launch an all out attack!”

Canala : “ If we take out the five they’ll loose momentum!”

Naole : “ That’s what they want you to think!”

As the battle continues Naole notices that the Red Guardians are taking major damage, and they’re losing ground against the Circlean force.

Kalen : “ They’re everywhere!”

Canala : “ How long till reinforcements arrive?”

Raole : “ about 18 minutes!”

Nasara : “ I’m not sure we can last that long?”

Raole : “ We have to!”

Kalen : “ Just hang in there!”

Naole : “ I see; If this continues you five won’t make it!”

Kalen : “ At least we’ll be together!”

Naole : “ No; I won’t let you die here! Red Guardians; when I attack you five evacuate as quickly as you can!”

Ralen : “ Father; No!”

Naole : “ Enough; do as I say!”

Canala : “ Alright Dad!”

The temperature in the area begins to drop.

Naole : “ That’s it; Steady as she goes!” Naole struggles to concentrate his enormous energies “Lightning Wave!”

When Naole released the Lightning Wave almost every Circlean was targeted by a Red Energy Electrolaser Lightning Bolts. As the attack Energy increase the shields of the Weaker Circleans began to fail; leading to their Deaths. When Naole detected that Canala, Nasara, Kalen, Ralen and Raole were far enough away he focused his attack on the five most powerful Circleans; re-channelling his energies.

With Naole re-channelling his energies some 300 Circleans chased after the Red Guardians, but Naole continued his attack; drawing in even more energy, thus leaving a 10km radius frozen solid. The energy generated by Naole became so immense it killed four of the five major powers; levelling an entire mountain in the process. Naole had used nearly all his energy and all the available ambient energy.

The surviving Circlean major power is Korin Lesedi; a former senior Vanglead and an extremely powerful warrior. Naole is surprised that he survived, and as he approaches Naole disengages his Blue Guardian Armour and locks it in its sphere.

Korin : “ What an extraordinary attack! It’s flawless!”

Naole : “ Obviously not good enough!”

Korin : “ Don’t be so hard on yourself Naole; you spread the attack too wide at the beginning, and you lost a lot of energy in the process! The things I could do with that kind of power; the things I’ll do once I acquire it!”

Naole : “ How could you do it Korin? How could you betray Crystalorb?”

Korin : “ On the contrary it’s the Spirit Stone that betrayed all of us!”

Naole : “ What are you waiting for? Finish it; I’m ready!”

Korin : “ Kill you? Oh no; you are far too valuable!”

Naole : “ What do you want with me?”

Korin : “ I want your mind; the scientific intelligence from the most brilliant son of Crystalorb!”

Naole : “ I will never help you!”

Korin : “ Not willingly; but we have ways!”

Naole : “ You can’t convert an Ascended Crystalan!”

Korin : “ We won’t have to!”

Naole : “ No!”

Realising what the Circleans have planned for him Naole sends himself into a coma and shrouds the outer layer of his mind in a void to make it impossible for his mind to be penetrated telepathically. The Centurion Diro Approaches Korin

Korin : “ He’s shut himself down somehow!”

Diro : “ I didn’t know he could do that? And he locked his armour in its sphere?”

Korin : “ There are no limits to his power! Nevertheless the things we’ll learn from his physiology will increase our capabilities exponentially!”

Diro : “ Eldon; we’re picking something heading our way; something very powerful!”

Korin : “ Casara! E.T.A?”

Diro : “ 5 Minutes Eldon!”

Korin : “ Well then; let’s rap it up! Take Naole and move out!”

Diro : “ On your command!”

Savan, Peo, Hilan and Aurora talk amongst themselves.

Aurora : “ So the Lightning Wave is his attack?”

Hilan : “ He was extremely powerful even then!”

Peo : “ I can’t wait to see what he can do now!”

Savan : “ It’ll be quite a site!”

Savan, Peo, Hilan and Aurora focus their attention back on the story Naole’s mind is telling.

The Circlean force perusing the Red Guardians is destroyed by the reinforcing Crystalorb force, then they make their way to the last sighting of Naole but they find that Casara is already there. Casara arrived on the scene to find that the Circleans had vanished and Naole with them. The Crystalans could all sense Casara’s fiery rage; the ominous Red Rage. The nefarious Circleans had escaped and they all feared that one of Crystalorb’s brightest lights had been extinguished.

Then there’s another blinding white light, and Savan, Peo, Hilan and Aurora find themselves a few minutes ahead hovering over the frozen valley.

Raole : “ I’m sorry father; I failed you!”

Canala : “ It’s not your fault brother!”

Ralen : “ Don’t you get it? Father sacrificed himself because we were too weak to protect ourselves; we all failed him!”

Canala : “ Was I simply not strong enough? Could my weakness have cost me my father?”

Ralen : “ It’s not just you sister; Raole and I have been far too relaxed, and we haven’t applied ourselves properly! At least your training proved useful; Raole and I were barely useful!”

Raole : “ I’ll be brave for you Dad! I will rise to reach the ultimate Crystalan form and our enemies will know that I am your son!”

Then there’s another blinding white light, and Savan, Peo, Hilan and Aurora find themselves a few hours ahead and this time they’re in Crystalorb.

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