Legends of Amacia The Caverias Rebellion

A half hour later, Nemesis led Hanna and her team into the Arena. Hanna paused and shuddered as she looked out into the Arena. “Come on, Hanna,” Nemesis urged. “The Captain should be around here somewhere.”

They moved into one of the smaller training arenas near the main arena. Enoch eyed the area with suspicion. “Hanna, I don’t like this,” he declared. “Something isn’t right here. I feel like I’m walking into a trap.”

“Me too,” Hunter agreed.

“Someone’s watching us,” Andrew stated ominously. “I can sense it.”

“So I’m not the only one on edge here. Stay alert, guys,” Hanna ordered. “I was in the main arena, but I never saw these areas when I was brought here. Nemesis, what do they do in this arena?”

“This is a training arena where the gladiators practice for the games,” a voice called out from the shadows. Everyone went into a defensive stance, weapons ready as a buff, armored man with slightly oriental features stepped into the open from one of several dark alcove entrances to the arena. He stood six foot two with short brown hair and beard streaked with grey. Several prominent scars decorated his long, bearded face. The man eyed Hanna and her team with surprise as he approached...his almond eyes widening with shock at not just Hanna’s ghoulish appearance, but with the fact that she had giants with her.

“Is that the Captain?” Hanna asked Nemesis softly.

“Yes,” Nemesis replied, scanning the area suspiciously.

Moments later, the Captain stopped directly in front of Hanna. He cringed at Hanna’s ghoulish appearance, but recognized her.

Hanna too recognized him. They locked eyes as the Captain reached out to Hanna. She carefully shook his hand, asking, “What’s your name, my friend? I never got to ask it when I was taken to the Arena.”

“I’m Captain Marvin Kin Benat...head of the elite palace guard,” the Captain replied formally. “I’m pleased the rumors of your demise were wrong.”

Hanna smiled wryly, stating, “So am I, my friend. If it weren’t for my new-found friends and family, I wouldn’t have survived. So, is it true what I hear about you turning on the Emperor?”

The Captain nodded, saying, “Yes. The Emperor is out of control. Someone has to stop him.”

Hanna looked deep into the Captain’s eyes, testing his sincerity telepathically. “That’s true. So what can I do for you?” she asked bluntly.

“You can take us with you. I will no longer serve a genocidal madman and neither will my boys,” the Captain replied honestly. “The rumors have been flying around here since your escape. The Emperor is going down. Everyone can feel it. We don’t want to go down with him. We just want to live. By the way, who are these giants you have with you? They’re almost as big as the Emperor himself.”

Hanna smiled wryly, saying, “Looks like you’ve done your job well, Nemesis. As for these giants, they are the last direct living descendants of Thoth and Ariel Caverias, as I just recently found out I am. This is Enoch Caverias and his sons, Hunter and Andrew. How I found them is a story for another day, but for now, you should consider them my family and powerful allies against the Emperor. They have been waiting for this day for a very long time.”

“That we have, little sister,” Hunter said enthusiastically.

“That’s enough, son,” Enoch snapped. “This isn’t a training exercise. This is the real thing. We’re inside the Emperor’s house without his knowledge or permission. He will kill us and devour our souls if he finds us here.”

“So true,” Hanna agreed. “I like your enthusiasm, Hunter, but for now, rein it in. Don’t be so eager to deal out death and judgment to the Emperor or his minions. Not all people who serve that beast deserve death. You must learn how to tell the difference. Our friend here is one example of someone serving the Emperor who doesn’t deserve death.”

“Forgive me, little sister,” Hunter apologized, his tone and attitude humbled by the rebuke. “I let my eagerness for battle get the better of me.”

“It’s all right,” Hanna consoled. “Believe me; I know how that bloodlust can get you riled. Just keep a leash on it. Battle and bloody gruesome death will come to us soon enough. Don’t wish for it before time.”

“Good words, little sister,” Enoch agreed. “Good words, indeed. Wouldn’t you agree, Captain?”

“Aye,” the Captain conceded. “Miss Beowulf is very wise to say such things. She knows the pain of war and the sorrow of the dead as many of us here do.”

Hanna patted the Captain on the shoulder upon seeing the truth of his statement. “We are a distinct breed, my good Captain,” she stated. “We do indeed know the pain of war and the sorrow of the dead because of that. But we don’t have to condemn our entire lives to the vicious cycle of war and death. We can break free of the chains that bind us to that fate. You’re coming to me demonstrates that very fact. We are not at the mercy of Fate, the Emperor, or any other infernal power. We can choose our own path. It’s a fundamental human right the Almighty Ancient of Days instilled in each of us. All we need to do is have the strength to exercise that right. Do you agree?”

“Upon until this day, no,” the Captain admitted. “But seeing you here and alive with the infamous legendary Enoch Caverias, I’m forced to agree with you, Miss Beowulf. You have shown there is a force more powerful than the Emperor or FATE. We are with you, Miss Beowulf.”

“All right then Captain, how many are with you?” Hanna asked.

The Captain whistled and guards heavily armed with medieval and projectile weapons along with blasters and other energy weapons appeared out of nowhere from all directions from the shadows. They surrounded Hanna and her team, but remained seventy feet back, maintaining a discrete distance. “There are two hundred of us: two full companies of the Emperor’s elite guard under my direct command. The rest belong to the Emperor and the Cadre: body and soul,” the Captain informed after calling out his people. Hanna’s team bristled as the guards came out of nowhere, but didn’t move offensively when the guards didn’t attack or even draw their weapons.

“What numbers are we looking at for those remaining loyal?” Enoch asked.

“Approximately eight hundred,” the Captain declared. “Three hundred are elite soldiers for the Cadre while the other five hundred report directly to the Emperor himself. They’re charged with protecting the sensitive areas of this fortress. And that doesn’t include the elite soldiers the Rakshasar command. They’re the worst of the worst.”

A frown crossed Hanna’s face. “How many do the Dark Riders command?” she asked.

“They command legions of soldiers, Zarukars, and Xenians,” the Captain reported. “But they keep about five hundred inside the fortress. The rest remain out in the city and on the hunt for rebels such as you. All of them are armed with the latest in Cadre weaponry, which they are very efficient at using.”

“That’s going to complicate things,” Andrew stated.

“Indeed,” Hanna agreed. “But we still have a job to do.”

“You shouldn’t worry too much about the Black Legions,” Nemesis reported. “I’ve been monitoring their movements since your escape. Most of them were dispatched north to Acheron with the rest of the army. Only a skeleton crew of fifty Black Legion soldiers remained here at the insistence of Ahriaman. They’re guarding the armory and power plant of this fortress.”

“At last; a piece of good news,” Hanna stated. “But we’re still in some deep shit here. What you’re telling me is there are almost a thousand loyal to the Emperor inside these walls.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the Captain answered. “And they’re heavily armed. The only thing you have going for you now is the element of surprise. No one knows you’re here.”

“That’s true,” Hanna agreed. “But it won’t take long for them to find out. That’s why we must do what came for as quickly as possible. The longer it takes us, the more it will cost us in lives. We must strike hard and fade away like ghosts in the mists.”

“I agree,” Nemesis reaffirmed. “Any help you can give us will be most appreciated, Captain.”

The Captain smiled wryly. “That’s why we’re here,” he chimed. “And since it seems you need all the help you can get, I brought you some more help other than my boys,” the Captain said with a smile. He whistled again and the entirety of the human gladiator stock in the Gladiator school came out of the darkness, walked into the perimeter created by the guards, and stopped some twenty feet away, standing in formation. They were heavily armed. “All thirty of the pure human gladiators stand ready to fight alongside of you,” the Captain reported. “They’re done with amusing the Emperor and his cronies.”

Hanna turned and walked over to the gladiators. They were standing at attention; hands on their weapons as Hanna looked them over, briefly testing each telepathically. A tight smile rose on her face. “You guys want out of here?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am!” the gladiators thundered loudly.

Hanna turned to the guards and asked, “You guys want out of here as well?” Another, but not as coordinated yes came from the guards, even though it was every bit as enthusiastic. “All right then. I have but one test of your loyalty,” Hanna called out to both groups. “There are five places that I plan to hit outside the dungeons: the Tower dungeons where my wife and Nicodemus are being held, the Harem, sex floor, kitchen, and the Cadre’s labs. We are not leaving without every soul imprisoned in these places. This is the test. We will need your help to break into these places. Now are you with me?”

The Gladiators raised their weapons in a cheer as did the rest of the guards, chanting Miss Beowulf.

Hanna looked at Nemesis, and then the Captain, asking, “What about you?”

The Captain gazed into Hanna’s eyes, saying, “My boys have spoken. I’m with them and you.”

“All right then,” Hanna said with a smile, raising her sword in salute. “We have much work to do, people. Let’s show the Emperor he can’t bully us anymore!” A cheer rose from the new allies. “Captain, I have fifty of my people freeing the prisoners in the dungeons as we speak. Bring your people and help.”

One of the gladiators spoke up, asking, “What can we do?”

Hanna looked at him, saying, “You guys can come with me. I’m going to first storm the Harem, sex floor, kitchen, and labs to free my brothers and sisters from the torment the Emperor is putting them through. After that, I’m going to the Tower and get Nicodemus and my Lynxian mate.” All of the Captain’s men and the gladiators stared in fearful surprise at Hanna’s fire and determination in her declaration.

“That’s suicide,” another gladiator called out. “Those areas are protected by the Emperor’s mechanized demon pet. No one gets past that monster.”

“He’s right,” the Captain agreed. “The Emperor’s pet will kill anyone who enters those domains without the Emperor’s direct order. How do you expect to get past that tentacled monster?”

Hanna’s brows narrowed and a frown spread across her face, but she saw their point. “Josephine is no monster,” she retorted. “But I do understand your fears, and they are baseless.”

“What are you saying?” the Captain asked with a raised eyebrow. “Surely, you haven’t turned the Emperor’s pet against him...have you?”

A wicked smile crossed Hanna’s lips. “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Hanna crowed, winking at the Captain. “In fact, we just came from her computer core. Josephine...the Emperor’s pet monster as you call her, is a cyborg entity that has just recently broke free of the Emperor’s programming, with a little help from me and Nemesis. You have no idea who she really is. But we can speak of that later. All you need to know is that she is like Nemesis and has rebelled against the Emperor. She will assist us in our rescue, particularly when we go to the sex floor, and that hellish kitchen.”

“You’re sure about that?” the Captain questioned.

“Miss Beowulf speaks the truth,” Nemesis intruded. “The Emperor’s pet has turned and will assist us, with the stipulation that we extract her person from the core.”

“Which we will do,” Hanna added. “I owe her big time. Besides, I need her to reverse this mutation so I can go back to my original form. I’m not leaving without her.”

“You truly surprise me, Miss Beowulf,” the Captain admitted. “I never thought you’d be able to turn the Emperor’s pet. With her help, I do believe we may be able to get out of this alive.”

“That’s the plan,” Hanna stated. “But we must act now. Josephine informed us just before we left the core that the Emperor has ordered the complete liquidation of all prisoners in the fortress. We need to get moving so we can save them. Are you with me?”

“Aye,” the Captain stated. “And so are my boys.” The rest of the guards thundered in agreement.

“We’re with you too,” the top gladiator barked. “We’re all ready to get the fuck out of here, even if we have to go with you into the darkest, vilest places in this fortress to do it. Isn’t that right, guys?” The rest of the gladiators affirmed their leader’s position.

“Good,” Hanna chimed. “Now that’s settled, let’s get to work. Captain, do you know the lowest point of the dungeons, the large chamber there?” The Captain nodded. “I told my people that we’d meet back there in two hours. That was over an hour and a half ago. You all come with me. We go there first. It is where we first came in.”

“How did you get in way down there?” the Captain asked, puzzled by Hanna’s declaration.

Hanna grinned mischievously, putting a finger to her lips, saying, “Shhh. You’ll see. Now come on.” Everyone followed Nemesis and Hanna back into the catacombs. However, unknown to them, several Xenian spiders from the Gladiator school saw them and rushed off to gather reinforcements to take up the pursuit. Word spread like wildfire through the ranks of the loyal that the mutated Beowulf was inside the fortress with the traitorous Nemesis. Moreover, news that the Captain of the Guards along with two hundred of his best and the human gladiators had betrayed the Emperor incensed the loyal. They never allowed the news to reach the Emperor because everyone knew that whoever spoke the news to him would die most painfully. The leaders of the loyal guards summoned troops from the city, but because of their scattered nature, it took a while for them to come in.

In the meantime, everyone gathered at the meeting place where the portal lay open. The teams Hanna left under Magnus’ command had freed fifty prisoners and had just sent them through the portal to freedom when the Lynxian George both smelled and heard a large contingent approaching. “Hey guys, we have company,” he warned, holding his weapon at ready.

A disapproving growl rumbled from Magnus. “Everyone on the line,” he barked. “We must be ready for anything.” The teams took a defensive stance, protecting the portal, facing the unknown coming down the corridor.

“Who is it?” Morpheus asked.

“How many are there?” Seras asked.

“I don’t know,” George replied. “There are so many of them that I can’t really tell. But I do smelling something familiar coming down the corridor.”

“Magnus,” Nemesis’ voice echoed through his communicator. “Are you at the portal?”

“Yes, Nemesis,” Magnus answered. “But the cat George just warned us of incoming. We’ve taken up defensive positions around the portal because we don’t know whether or not they’re friendly.”

“Hold your fire, Magnus,” Hanna’s voice ordered through the communicator. “What George heard is us coming down the corridor. Our little meeting with the guard Captain was very productive. We’re bringing in major reinforcements.”

“Very well,” Magnus stated. “We’ll hold our fire, but you need to hurry. We discovered the Emperor is liquidating his prisoners as we speak.”

“I’m well aware of that,” Hanna stated through the communicator. “We’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”

“We’ll be ready,” Magnus answered. “By the way, how many reinforcements are there?”

“Two companies of the Emperor’s elite guard who are loyal to the Captain of the Guards and thirty human gladiators from the gladiator school,” Hanna’s voice reported through the communicator. “All of them want to leave this place, so I told them what we’re after and they agreed to help us retrieve our friends. Under no circumstances is there to be any hostile action against them when we arrive. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Magnus growled. “We understand.”

“Magnus, I’ve cleared them,” Nemesis’ voice echoed through the communicator. “The Captain and the two companies directly under him have turned on the Emperor along with the human gladiator stock. They know that if they betray us, they’ll answer to me and my claws.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Magnus replied. “We’ll be waiting.”

“Good,” Hanna’s voice chimed through the communicator. “We’re at the closest junction. We should be there presently.”

“Right,” Magnus stated. Turning to the teams, he stated, “You heard Miss Beowulf. No hostile action, but keep your weapons ready just in case.” The team members acknowledged the order and kept their guards up as they heard the clinking and clanking of armored personnel coming down the corridor.

“Steady,” Magnus ordered, seeing the anxious looks on the team members’ faces.

Ninety seconds later, Hanna, Nemesis, and Enoch led their new recruits into the chamber, which was more than large enough to accommodate the numbers and the portal. Seeing Magnus and the team leaders in a picket line with the rest of the teams backing them up in defensive positions, Hanna grunted, calling out, “Keeping your guard up I see, Magnus. Good.”

“I thought it wise to keep ready. We are in the heart of the Emperor’s domain here,” Magnus answered as the rebel guards and gladiators followed the Captain of the Guards into the large chamber. Their eyes grew wide with astonishment when they saw the portal and nearly fifty enemies of the Emperor protecting the portal.

“You are so right,” Hanna agreed, patting Magnus on his organic arm. “We can’t be too careful. Now, let’s give our new recruits a warm welcome. They know what we’re here for and have chosen to assist us.”

“Are you sure about that?” Morpheus queried bluntly.

“Yes,” Hanna stated. “They’ve had a bellyful of the Emperor and want to bail on his ass. Isn’t that right, guys?”

The turncoat guards and gladiators roared yes in response. The Captain of the Guards stepped up to Hanna and Magnus with Nemesis and Enoch. “What sorcery is this?” he asked, stupefied by the portal.

“It’s no sorcery, my good Captain,” Hanna stated, keeping a wary eyes on how her invasion teams and the Captain’s group eyed each other with suspicion. “What you see here is technology from the 1st Age. This portal is how I reached this place. All will be explained once the mission is complete.” She whistled loudly to get everyone’s attention. Once she had everyone’s attention, Hanna declared, “I can see you are in awe of the portal, and that you’re wary of one another. It’s quite understandable. But be sure of this. If we don’t pull together and act as a team, we won’t make out of here alive. We must work together in order to accomplish our goal here, so swallow your fears and suspicions of one another. That goes double for my teams. These men want to get out of here and away from the Emperor. Is that not why we came?”

“Yes, little sister,” Enoch agreed, speaking with authority directed towards the team members that came from the Red Tower.

“We’re all friends and allies here,” Hanna said emphatically. “More than that, we’re brothers and sisters. We should act as such. Now, we have precious brothers and sisters still in bondage that need to be freed before the Emperor can turn them into soup. Let’s go get them and quit this terrible place.”

A roar of agreement rose from the rebel guards and gladiators, followed by those who came with Hanna. “Now for those who have just joined us, let me warn you about the portal. Do not touch the fiery ring surrounding the portal,” Hanna instructed. “It will incinerate anything that touches it. The center, on the other hand, is perfectly safe. Harry, please demonstrate to our new friends about the portal.”

Harry picked up a rock and threw it into the fiery ring. It disintegrated with a hiss. Gasps of surprise rose from the newcomers. “That’s why you don’t touch the ring,” Harry stated. “But the center is perfectly safe. Watch this.” Harry boldly walked through the shimmering translucent aperture of the portal. Once through, he turned around and waved to everyone. They saw his blurry form waving just before he stepped back through into the dungeon. “See, it’s not going to hurt you,” he stated, “It’s like walking through a door. But I will say that when you first do it, you may feel a little disorientation. However, it isn’t bad. The disorientation dissipates quickly.”

“Good point,” Hanna commended. “The disorientation is from the portal moving you instantaneously over great distances. You get used to it after a few times. It’s nothing to worry about. Therefore, to recap; the clear center is safe, but the fiery ring is not. Touch it to your peril. Does everyone understand?”

The rebel guards and gladiators indicated they understood. “Good,” Hanna chimed. “I’ll have someone guarding the portal while we’re extracting the prisoners just to be sure no one gets hurt by accident. Now that we have that taken care of, let’s get this show on the road. Nemesis, Captain, Magnus, Morpheus, Enoch...I think it would be a good idea to split our new friends up amongst our teams. What do you think?”

“Sounds good to me,” Nemesis agreed. “It will allow them to start building trust if they’re fighting alongside of one another.”

“Excellent strategy,” the Captain chimed. “Besides, my boys know this fortress like the backs of our hands. They know where everything is kept. Moreover, before we met you in the training arena, my boys and I paid a visit to the armory and picked up our energy weapons. It should help in the fight since all of the loyal guards are armed in the same manner.”

“Splendid! That was excellent thinking, Captain,” Hanna chimed. “By the way, Magnus, how many did you free while I was gone?”

“We freed fifty prisoners and had just finished sending them through the portal when you came down the corridor,” Magnus reported. “However, we did have to eliminate some guards who were preparing to kill some of them. And they were armed with energy weapons, but we didn’t have much trouble taking them down.”

“Good,” Hanna answered stoically. “Since we’re not being attacked right now, I assume you neutralized them before they could raise the alarm.”

“Aye, they never knew what hit them,” Magnus stated. “But we mustn’t dawdle. The word has been given for the extermination of all the prisoners. We need to get to work.”

“That we do,” Hanna agreed.

“Hanna...where’s Aragon, Elle, and the wizard?” Xavier asked.

“I left them with Josephine,” Hanna reported. “They’re trying to figure out how to get her out of that infernal apparatus. But they won’t actually do it until I give the order. I need Josephine to help us take out the sex floor and Hell’s Kitchen.”

“They’re safe?” Corso asked.

“For now, yes,” Hanna stated. “But once we go on the attack and the Emperor realizes he’s lost control of Josephine, they’ll be in great danger. That’s why we must strike swiftly and brutally before he realizes what’s happening. When we have what we came for, we’ll vanish into the shadows like ghosts in the wind. Are there any more questions?”

For a few moments, no one spoke. Then Enoch said resolutely, “The time for talk is done. Let’s get what we came for and leave this abysmal fortress. The longer we’re here, the more apt we are to be contaminated by the Darkness infesting this place. I can feel it festering in every stone around us.”

“Very well said,” Hanna complimented. “Let’s do this. I don’t know how much longer Selina can take the punishment she’s being put through. Nemesis, inform Josephine we’re going on the offensive. I’m going to the sex floor and the kitchen first to get my brothers and sisters out of that hell and destroy it. It would be useful if she could help us with that. Then I’m going to the Harem.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Nemesis replied. “I’ll let her know right now and get her to seal off the sex floor and kitchen to everyone except us.”

“Good idea,” Hanna stated. “Tell her to start releasing those bound there too and possibly treat them if she has time.”

“I will,” Nemesis answered, stepping aside to communicate Hanna’s orders to Josephine.

With that, Hanna broke everyone into three groups: one with Hanna, one with Enoch, and one with Magnus. Hanna and the Captain purposely mixed the groups in order to get them to work together. The Captain went with Enoch’s group. Hanna’s group, however, consisted of the fiercest fighter of the whole group. Xavier’s team was part of her group as was Nemesis, the Gladiators, a number of guards, and five of the hybrids from Morpheus’ team. Morpheus and the rest of his team stayed with Enoch. Magnus’ team had everyone else, which included the jailer. In a last minute change, Enoch put Morpheus in temporary command of his team while Enoch and Andrew opted to go with Hanna’s team to the torture floors. They separated to make the job go quicker. Within minutes, the dungeons and halls of the fortress had become a battlefield with fierce fighting on all levels.