Sentinel, the
Episode/Issue 2

From the void of space we see a familiar blue planet. As we zoom in we see that Earth is different than we know it. The landmasses are browner and smaller than they should be, and there are almost no clouds.
As we touch down on the surface, in the city of Washington, we see the old Jefferson memorial, cracked and about to collapse. All the buildings look abandoned; the traffic lies silent in the streets, as if some swift calamity destroyed humanity, and humanity alone, so fast that the rest of the world was completely unscathed. This is a world completely free of humanity. Then we look up. Above, the sky is pale, and the sun shines twice as bright as it should. The ozone is almost totally depleted. But then, against the noonday sun we see a miniscule black smudge, a tiny blot of darkness in the hot, yellow-tinged sky. We lift, rising increasingly higher, until we are some eight kilometers above the surface. And here... is metropolis. The buildings float in midair; the vehicles zoom through the alleys at twice the speed of sound. HERE is the world now. All people have forever left the Earth below and gone up to the portion of the atmosphere they call Earath. But there is still no humanity here. The people walking in the buildings, going about their everyday life, zooming about in craft, are not human. Their eyes are more than twice the height they should be, with proportionately large ears. The bridges of their noses are curved and without nostrils, and the lower halves of their faces are level with their noses rather than their eyes. They look exactly like the people of anime. These are the Machis. This is the dominant, "superhuman" species that replaced mankind. Intro.

Uni: Machiverse
Gal: 1st
Pln: Earth
Time: 4/32/210 AM; 23rd; 9:34 AM Local
Nat/State: U.S.N.A./Mary'sland
City/bldng: ShadySide/Enforcers Base 2
Room: Outside- PA Lot
POV: Presscam 58

Lt. Kmatami stares at the report, then looks up at the tired-looking pair standing before her.
Kmatami: "You... lose the craft? You lose the craft at the primary building of this cult, and steal a weapons flatbed to get back."
Schuarts: "The alternative is naught, commander."
Kmatami: "Oh? I doubt. Not mere leave you the craft in cult hands!"
Schuarts: "It's my craft. I return."

Room: 206 (Office)
POV: Kausthe

 The two stumble into Kausthe's office and sit for a moment in the two chairs within the room for several seconds; they then move slightly as if to talk, but are interrupted by Kausthe's phonic CCU which rises from the corner of the desk and glows momentarily before a 3-D holograph of Kalvos' face appears around it.
Kausthe: "How you dare show in my workplace!?"
Kalvos: "Heh. I'm as sorry myself, but a call is necessary to set some ground rules."
Kausthe (opening her UCCU): "I destroy you, Kalvos! No rules."
Kalvos: "You so think. You need a better understanding of the way the heavens work. On the lowest level exist the mortals. Above that are high-power clergy and immortals. After that is the level of Godlies and Demonicas. Godlies include Gods, Deities, Angels, and dead Messiahs. Demonicas include-"
Schuarts: "Kalvos, suut and give us some peace for a while."
Kalvos (with a brief look of contempt to Schuarts): "...Masterdemons, subdemons, and dead antilords. All these categories can be further broken down into gender. The highest known level is that of-"
Kausthe: "Known?! I thinking you god types know everything."
Kalvos: "Above all levels is another. The level above the Absolutes is the Powers That Be. The Powers embody all things within and out, and have authority above that of the Absolutes. According to them, there is a level above, of which they cannot speak, that is above the comprehension of mortals or even the Absolutes."
Kausthe: "What is your point, Kalvos?"
Kalvos: "The point is that the Powers That Be disallow the knowledge of unauthorized mortals to the existence of the wars of sin upon earth. Because of this, you maynot show to any mortal my role as a Dae or your being the Sentinel."
Kausthe: "I don't believe you. Why should the knowledge of the arcane forces be prohibited?"
Kalvos: "Of course you don't trust me. I don't even know why I tell you. I should let you be destroyed by the Powers.
... It is decreed long-yester; mortals must not have proof of Godly existence so that their faith can be tested."
Kausthe: "Well, its not law, now; Onni's proven soul."
Kalvos: "Heh. The progress of science and the appearance of another eye on one's forehead are not absolute proof of the existence of soul, nor is it in the interest of the Powers what evidence Terrans have by their own accord as apposed to the blatant proof of one's ability to BURST INTO FLAME OR GROW BONE SPINES FROM THEIR BODY."
Kausthe: "Ah."
Kalvos: "Do not give your being the Sentinel or my being your enemy to those mortals around you." Kausthe begins to say something else, but is cut off because the CCU shuts off and lies on the desk again. The two in the room sit in silence again.
Schuarts: "Don! This burns!"
Kausthe: "I don't trust Kalvos' word but I can't risk it."
Schuarts: "Why isn't this mentioned in Biblica?"
Kausthe: "'Above each level of power lies another. Above mortals' heads lie gods' feet, but above gods' heads must lie others' feet.'"
Schuarts: "Yeah, that explains a lot." Kmatami enters the room.
Kmatami: "What's going here? I want to know exactly where the cult is manifested, and who's in charge."
Kausthe: "Sorry, General, I can't do that." Kmatami is surprised. "This cult goes beyond policial control." Kausthe leaves the room, followed 2 meters behind by Schuarts. "The matter is above your head."
Kmatami: "This is insubordination!"
Kausthe thinks: "Too bad."

Room: 52 (Shooting Gallery)
Time: 9:42 AM

Kady fires at the target, with her full focus on it. Koni leans against the wall, waiting for Kady to speak. She doesn't. After three targets are finished (with 78%, 79%, and 92% accuracy) and removed, a fourth moves into place, but before she fires the first shot, a hand moves in front of the blade. Kady lowers her psword. The face of her friend Menni Kaupft smiles confidently at her.
Kaupft: "What fries, Kady? Besides the targets?"
Kausthe: "Oh, Menni. I not realize you're here."
Kaupft: "Duh. I've never seen anyone look so focused on the gallery... and miss so badly. Two C levels and an A. What's so heavy on your mind?"
Kausthe: "I can't tell you."
Mekik: "Too bad; we already know." Kady looks two stalls away from her and sees Shinni Mekik, another friend. Next over are Kenni Treike and someone else hidden behind the wall.
Kausthe (in surprise): "How do you?"
Mekik (smiling): "We use your autoconnections with the Enforcer Mainfraim to follow your movements in Darco. So we know everything."
Kausthe: "No! Regular mortals aren't allowed to know!"
Treike: "Then make us super mortals."
Kasuthe: "What-"
Kaupft: "Quite simply- we want super powers."
Kausthe: "What makes you think I can do that?" Suddenly, Kady finds herself falling through blackness, and lands moments later in a dimmed spotlight.
Kausthe: "Skulleye! Warn me before you do that!" Skulleye steps out of darkness.
Skulleye: "I wanted to point out that you actually can give your friends superpowers."
Kausthe: "How?"
Skulleye: "In the ancient sunken society of Charkartis, there are in sometime five fighters of elemental powers imbued on them by their demonic god. One controls fire, another electricity, and the other two sound and sanity. The last is a powerful necromancer with the skeletal powers you have now. Eventually, these evil fighters are locked in the Archives of the Heavens-"
Kausthe: "WHAT? What the hell are you talking about? What's Charkartis, what's the Archive of the Heavens, and what does this have to do with ANYTHING?"
Skulleye: "Well, let me finish. You see, the soul of the necromancer that's locked in the Archives was later used to make you. Part of him becomes your own soul."
Kausthe: "That's... different. I've got the soul of an ancient fighter in me?"
Skulleye: "In a manner of speaking, yes. And the other four are still waiting to be released into mortal beings to fight alongside you. Through a special ritual, your friends can be given the power of the Four Chained Charkarteseans."
Kausthe thinks: "Um... that presents a problem. I've got five friends here right now, so if I tell them that..."
Skulleye: "You have four friends in the room right now, so..."
Kausthe: "No, five. Koni, Menni, Shinni, Kenni, and I'll bet its Kalou behind the stall."
Skulleye: "Leave Schuarts out. She can't be imbued."
Kausthe: "Huh?" Before anything else can be said, Kady surfaces in the real world and sees five of her friends looking at her expectantly, not knowing she just left for what seemed to her as several minutes. "I don't know why you think I can give you superpowers, but my... supernatural mentor says there is a way. But Koni can't do it."
Schuarts: "Why! Why me? That's arbitrary!"
Kausthe: "Skulleye not say why. Sorry, Koni, but I think fate has another plan for you."
Schuarts: "Fate really gets on my nerves sometimes."
Kausthe: "Koni, the only reasons you could be unable to achieve superpowers are that either you have no power to add to, or you have some powers already, and we all no you're not lacking in ANY way."
Mekik: "Who's Skulleye?"
Kausthe: "'Search within my eye and see the truth. I hold the symbol of Death within my soul's mirrors, that all know of my purpose.'"
Treike: "Scriptures? Does that mean that you have a biblical presence?"
Mekik: "The skulls are there. This must mean that you are the Predecessor of Messenger of Death, Sahm-Hein's right-hand." Pause. "Who know?"
Kalou steps out from the shooting stall and gives a rare smile.
Kalou: "I know. I've seen the symbol of Death in your eyes, Kady. I always know you achieve great necral powers."
Kausthe (smiling slightly): "If anyone thinks they're getting in over their heads, you can always back out." All laugh as if the thought of backing out is ridiculously impossible.

Room: 206 (Office)
Time: 9:56

Menni, Shinni, Kenni, and Kalou stand in a circle, holding hands, faces turned up. In the center is Kausthe, slowly twirling clockwise a centimeter above the ground, and against the wall, sitting on Kausthe's desk, which has been pushed against the wall like the other furniture, is Schuarts, looking enviously at the ceremony. The four outsiders begin to turn counterclockwise as multicolored energies shimmer through them and Kausthe. Smoke covers the floor, lazily drifting out to the walls without rising. Life Beam energy forms itself into strange characters in the air, and the five's foreheads shine with respective runes, one for each power. As the jr. enforcers, excluding Koni, spin faster, they soon become a mere blur, a green sparkle in the center of the room, and a white ring outside. Finally, from the green spark comes a voice.
Kausthe: "Teliktomym!" The whit ring flashes blue, and a symbol of a forked lightning bolt appears in the air, also blue.
Kausthe: "Na'Gulna!" A similar red flash, with a red symbol of a mushroom cloud.
Kausthe: "Kelnam'Nata!" A cool gray flash, the symbol an ear shattered.
Kausthe: "Serenami!" A tan flash with a broken skull symbol. The whole time that these are being yelled out, the blur is slowing down. When it finally stops, a full minute after the last call, Kausthe looks extremely tired and each of the others is glowing their respective color (Menni blue, Shinni red, Kenni gray, Kalou tan), but the rite is not yet done. Each person assumes a predetermined pose, all with the legs out: Kausthe has her arms up and out so her body forms an "X"; Menni has her arms clasped in front of her, fully open palm to full open palm and the elbows sticking out; Shinni has her hands out, palms open; Kenni has an open hand on either side of her face, boxing in her head; and Kalou has her arms crossed in front of her face with the hand all the way open so that the fingers are separated and the thumbs point to the face. The five float into a line in the order Menni, Kenni, Kady, Shinni, Kalou, and they all stop glowing. Their feet drop to the ground and everything stops acting unusual. The ritual is done. Several minutes pass before anything more happens. Finally, Kausthe blinks and the symbol of Skulleye, meaning that he's been controlling her body, fades back to its normal near-invisibility.
Kausthe: "That's it, and by heaven, I'm tired. To use your powers, say the words I tell you."
Mekik: "So we have other people's souls imprisoned in us now? I feel the same." Everyone is caught off guard when the door opens and another jr. enforcer, Su Nattat'ka, enters the office.
Nattat'ka: "Hey, what are you all doing in here? Who screw up the furniture?" Everyone is speechless except for Koni who, being left out of the dazzling ceremony, still has her wits about her.
Schuarts: "Why do you care, Su?"
Nattat'ka: "Heh. Lt. Kmatami hear you shouting weird words from here, and send me to check it out. Obviously we have nothing better to do than hang out in offices. Some people aren't worthy of their rank."
Schuarts: "!Ke somnovabesh!"
Nattat'ka: "You fool!" Su charges, and Schuarts back flips out of the way. Su throws a high kick, which Koni grabs to throw her against the wall. Pushing off of the wall, Su jumps at Koni, but is intercepted by Menni, who catches her jump and rolls to a stop on the floor. Shinni picks up Menni, and Su jumps up on her own.
Mekik: "This is way out of hand. Get out of here, Su." Su, with a grimace of contempt, Su leaves the room, eying Menni in case of an attack.
Schuarts: "She's not a Machi. She's pretending, and not very well."
Kaupft: "We should leave. If we hang around here we run the chance of someone finding something."
Treike: "Like what?"
Kaupft: "We should try our powers and see how they work."
Kausthe: "I know a perfect testing ground."

Bldng: Darco main- outside
Time: 9:25 PM

In the dark, six people ride small flyboards to within 100 meters of the Darco main building, moving silently and far apart so that they are more difficultly detected by the building's sensors. Taking a chance of being sensed as a group for the sake of communication, they huddle together.
Kausthe: "Well, It's time for trial one. Menni?" Menni hovers a few meters ahead of the group, and without taking a stance, shouts out the attack phrase.
Kaupft: "Teliktomym!" Electricity surges through Menni's hands, joining together and flowing in an instant toward their intended target, but as it passes close to the actual building, the bolt is stopped by an unusually strong force shield.
Room: 1200 (Security main)

A person wearing a red cloak with an insignia of a 23 over the heart, and headphones with a mic, dozes in front of a complicated console until a sudden beeping noise wakes him up.  Kalvos steps through the bulkhead behind him as the entire building shakes again, and the sensors find an intense heat signature.
Kalvos: "Why... are we under attack, 23?"
23: "Locking sources now." One of the monitors centers on six people sitting outside of the building on flyboards. The view zooms in on one of them, who floats ahead of the others, and with a smile says something that the two cannot hear.

Back outside

Treike: "Kelnam'Nata." With a howl of thunder, a huge dent appears in the wall, cracks spreading to its corners. "I think their shields don't block sound, Kady."
Kausthe: "All of these powers have their own differences of battle. Yours is weaker, Kenni, but it can't be blocked. Now it's Kalou's turn."
Kalou: "No."
Kausthe: "Huh?"
Mekik: "Kady, Kalou's power is insanity. It's obviously the most devastating of them, but it can't be used against a building."
Kausthe: "I knew that." A large hole appears in the building's dent, and Kalvos flies out of it, suspended in midair. No one notices him but he doesn't attack until he's close enough that their eye sensors pick him up.
Kalvos: "Well! Look who got the power of the four chained Charkarteseans. This is absolutely pointless, you fools."
Kausthe: "Kalvos, you're my enemy, and I'll do anything to destroy you."
Kalvos: "Why? You don't know a thing about me or my operation."
Schuarts: "He's right. All we know is he's evil."
Kausthe: "That's enough... for me!" Kausthe fires a Life Beam, which Kalvos dodges. Immediately, his skin begins to turn a red tinge, and a few seconds later, his body explodes into flame. Taking surprise as an advantage, Kalvos attacks, and everyone scatters. For several minutes, he chases after his enemies, and they carefully try to retaliate, but they cannot touch his flaming body. Finally, Kenni stops and, taking an extreme risk, begins to speak her attack phrase.
Treike: "Kelnam-" Kalvos grabs Kenni, and begins instantly blazes in a huge explosion, fully catching Kenni within the blast. A Life beam from Kady grazes her close enough that the fire begins to extinguish itself. Kalvos backs away, then dodges to his right as more Life Beams follow him. Kady fires repeatedly, careful not to hit her friends.
Skulleye: "Sentinel! The Life Beams do not hurt someone with good hearts. Don't worry about hurting your friends."
Kausthe thinks: "Skulleye, can the Life Beams heal someone?"
Skulleye: "Depending on their purity, or how much you want them healed. If Treike wasn't killed by the blast, she can recover before the wounds achieve full lethality." Hearing this, Kausthe sends a much stronger Life Beam out to Kalvos, swinging it around so that he has to fly up. Then, quickly as possible, she plummets and catches Kenni in midair; laying her on the flyboard, she then shoots her head to toe with another Life Beam, and the smoke coming from her body stops. Kausthe looks back up at Kalvos, hovering in the air above everyone else waiting for someone to strike, and with a glare of hate, flies up to meet him. Dropping Kenni on her own flyboard while passing, Kady rams Kalvos with hers, knocking him down to her level. She opens her mouth to speak, but is surprised as spine bones rip out of her back, shredding her clothing, and cover her like skeletal armor.
Kausthe thinks: "I start carrying spare clothes." Kady then gives Kalvos what looks like a distant punch, but from her hand flies five sharp bone shards, cutting through Kalvos' burning bone body, and severing several limbs.
Kalvos: "Aaaaaaaarrrggh!" With a cry of anger, Kalvos leaves, dropping far below the allowed level. After watching him leave sight, Kausthe joins her friends, who are helping Kenni up. Kenni is severely scarred, but alive.
Kausthe: Well, for a first battle, I think it works pretty well.
Treike: "Yeah, real good. I need some sick time. That guy toast my organs."
Schuarts: "Better to have your kidneys cooked medium than well." Kenni and Menni laugh at this, but everyone else is fazed by the short yet trying battle. Suddenly, the group falls silent, looking at the Darco main building 87 meters away from them, and after a moment, they all head off in the direction from which they came. For several minutes they fly without speaking at less than a single mach, until suddenly Kenni, with a small gasp, breaks the gap in conversation.
Treike: "I just understand something, Kady. You're the most active of all of us. You have superior powers, your fighting style is unique, and you're very pure. As powerful as YOU are, though, Kalvos is much stronger. It seems, then, that our powers serve us only the purpose- Kady tries to interrupt but Kenni finishes the sentence anyway. - of protecting you. We probably give our lives morrow, all of us, to make sure you destroy Kalvos, because you're the only one who can."
Kausthe: "No, Kenni, I not let you die. No war of Demons is worth that price."
Treike: "That's why I say you have a pure heart, Kady."
Schuarts: "What about me? I don't get special powers."
Kausthe: "Koni, you're the best fighter I know, far better than myself. Your techniques are... questionable, but you always get the job done, usually without breaking the rules. You overcome every challenge, and you always have a plan. That's your power."
Schuarts: "I guess I'm so good I don't need any ethereal help."

Kalvos' Office
POV: Kalvos

Kalvos walks back into his office, flesh hanging off of his bones but quickly knitting itself back together. A woman with a 13 insignia stands waiting, hand in a salute.
Kalvos: "Why are you here?"
13: "Substituting for numbre 8."
Kalvos (slightly angry): "What does the priest have to say?"
13: "8 says that the method is successfully deciphered, including process of making the subject evil. After the ingredients are gathered, which is done almost now, the "Anti-Sentinel" is done."
Kalvos: "Tell 8 his work is for once satisfactory. I'm going now to oversee the final procedure. Dismissed."
13: "Sir." The woman leaves through the front office door, and Kalvos leaves after through the door he came in through. As he passes through it, he allows himself a chuckle.
Kalvos thinks: "Well, the Sentinel's not dead as soon as hoped, but as thought, it's a short time matter." View zooms on Kalvos' Kross in eye, which flashes.