Chapter 5: Heaven, Hell, and Destiny's Weapon
Leo walks out the door and turns around to see Monica and Shana busy taking orders from the crowd of customers. He joins Hector and they head around town looking for an armory shop, they inquire about how glad they are to see Shana and Monica alive again. They eventually find a secluded old looking store that's open. Leo takes a seat while Hector browses around the store. He selects a few things and goes into the changing room to try them on. Leo sits there for what feels like an eternity! "Hector apurate chico!! Eres peor que una chica mamao!" (Hector hurry up dude!! You're worse than a girl you fag!)
Hector: "Oh shut up, man! This is fucking armor, not clothing! It’s gotta be perfect! Plus I'm about to come out anyways, you impatient bastard!"
Hector steps out of the Changing room wearing a blue-green colored chest armor. "The armor doesn't come with any arm protection, but you know what? I like it" He begins to look in a mirror examining it more closely. The shoulders have tiny white spikes curving slightly towards his chest, the sides are open like a vest allowing his arms to have natural movement, and the chest has a round open silver disk plate added for decoration. "I'm taking this shit man!"
Leo: "It's about time man. C'mon let's get you some food."
They pay 800 dinari for the armor and head further into town. Hector sees a barber shop and walks in.
Leo
As Hector is getting his haircut Leo looks out the window and lets his mind wander. “I can’t believe all this! I'm back with Shana and Hector, oh yeah....and Monica too...of course, and the best part is we’re all on another planet! I still can’t believe this isn’t a dream. Still we all have to find a way home to Earth. Maybe we’ll be heroes when we go back with all that advanced space flight technology and they won’t think twice about taking me away from Shana. I wonder how they’re families are doing... Hector’s parents and sister must be going crazy. Shana’s parents never really pay any attention to her anyway, but I wonder how her older brothers are taking it. Monica is an only child so I’m sure her parents are flipping out. Mom and dad... I miss you two... If you two were here with me I bet you’d guys would go crazy. Especially dad since he was a bigger nerd about space than me.” Leo then sees a man in a black hooded robe staring right at him through the window. “Who the hell is this guy?” He starts to grab for his hood with his right hand Why is he looking at me? Ugh... I’m starting to feel light headed again and my eyes are starting to burn...”
Hector touches Leo shoulder making him jump. He turns to look at his friend then quickly back at the window and notices that the hooded man is gone.
Hector: "What are you staring at?"
Leo: “Uh, nothing, just thinking about some stuff.” He turns around to get a better look at Hector's fresh haircut. It's short, combed forward, and spiked on the front, but Leo notices that Hector kept his ridiculously long cowlick. "Hey you missed a spot."
Hector: "What?" He grabs his cow lick from the back of his head and traces it along the curve until he reaches his face, "Hey I like this thing actually *chuckle* I think it's cool. Plus what about you and your spiky hair? I think it's a bit too long, and you definitely need to cut those bangs!"
Leo just shakes his head in disapproval, "Ok, man, you got me. I like the way my hair looks, and I shouldn't judge... But still, man, it's weird looking!"
Hector: "Whatever, let's just go get some food now."
They leave the barber shop and Leo starts looking around for the hooded man inconspicuously. He can't find him and decides to let it go. They start searching for a place to eat. Leo and Hector are worried about what to eat since the food looks like it would give them the worst stomach ache of their lives, but they decide on a medieval ish looking restaurant and look at the menu. "The food doesn't seem much different from Earth," said Leo.
Hector: "Yeah I know... Hmmm let's order the pheasant legs cuz it sounds like chicken."
Leo: "Yuck! You know I hate chicken man!"
Hector: "Yeah, but you like barbecue chicken though and from the description of the sauce I say it's barbecue."
Leo: "Fine, let's get that then."
They order their meals and soon enough it comes out on a huge plate!
Leo: "Damn! That's a lot! This is for like eight people!"
Hector (already eating): "Mmmhmmm.... Tengo hambre man!" (I'm hungry man!)
Leo just laughs at Hector's insatiable appetite and begins to join him. Eventually they work their way down to the last leg. They both reach out for it and grab it at the same time.
Hector: "Um what are you doing? This last one is mine."
Leo: "What are you talking about? You ate like most of the food! Entonce eso significa que es mio!" (So that means that its mine!)
Hector: "You don't even like food that tastes like chicken! So give it up!"
They get into a tug of war over the last pheasant leg and soon they begin to wrestle for it! They hit the ground and a cloud of dust envelopes them! You can hear them punching and kicking each other when a sharp tiny bark interrupts their fight. They look up at the table and see a puppy eating their last leg.
Hector: "What!?! Hey!"
Hector runs up to the table furious at the puppy! He puts his face close to it getting ready to yell at it when the puppy licks his check and barks at him in a squeaky sound. Leo walks up to Hector and puts a hand on his shoulder, "Just let it go, man." Hector glares at the puppy and then turns around and walks away, "Fine! Let's go before I change my mind" They pay for the food and start searching for an open weapon shop. They find one in a dark, dusty alley and walk towards the decrepit door slowly. The worn door, and had a few tiny holes in it, with the paint peeling off at a rapid rate. They looked at each other slightly worried at what they might find inside and slowly entered the hidden venue.
From the top of the buildings surrounding the alley, a man in a black hooded robe spies on Leo and Hector entering the weapon shop. He places his right foot on the ledge of the building and leans forward resting all his weight on it. He reaches for the hilt of his sword resting at his back with his left arm and begins to speak, "Are you sure that's him?" The man looks towards another young man kneeling in front of him. This one dressed in a dark outfit that resembled what a fabled ninja would wear.
Young man: "Yes, sire... He wears the red armor does he not?"
Hooded man: "So? Any man could wear red armor!"
Young man: "Yes, but his mannerism is different from any “simple man”, and he gives off a strange aura. Much like yours, sire."
Hooded man: "Fine I'll just have to take your word on this one... and if you fail me, I will hunt you down and kill you..." He walks over to the young man and hands him a bag of coins.
The young man respectfully bows his head and in a blur of speed, disappears from the rooftop. The hooded man draws his sword, much bigger than many at a first glance. The handles length standing at 12 inches long; the hand guard small and rectangular, 12 inches in width and 2 inches in thickness. The blade stood at an impressive 10 inches wide and 8 ft long! He rests the blunt part of the blade on his shoulder and puts his right arm to his ear, "Jocelyn,157 I have confirmed the target... No we move now. Meet me at the coordinates! As Imperial Knights this mission is of highest priority..."
Meanwhile inside the weapon shop, Leo and Hector examine the small but varied shop. The roof had many holes in it, letting in the moonlight sky. The floor was dirty, covered in grime and muck and looked like it hadn’t been swept in ages. However the walls were covered in all sorts of weapons. To the right it had different blades of all shapes and sizes, to the left were heavy and blunt weapons such as maces and axes, and on the walls behind them, were spears of different lengths and woods. Near the back they could see a small furnace and an anvil with some smith tools on it, but the owner was nowhere to be seen. Hector, being more of a ranged fighter and having a love for spears, lances, and staves, began looking at those sections. Leo on the other hand had been moving around the store trying to find something that stood out to him.
He had picked up a few blades and swords but nothing that interested him. Back on Earth Leo had studied swordsmanship and practiced how to use a sword for fun and exercise, but he preferred to dual wield, the art of fighting with two swords. Hector as his best friend helped him with his studies, but he practiced with a staff instead. They would duel each other often with Leo usually winning, but Hector had kept the score pretty close. Leo kept browsing going through the different types of maces, staves, and even gauntlets with retractable blade attachments. *CRASH!!* He looked over at Hector who somehow managed to make a whole shelf of wooden staffs fall on him.
Hector: "Oops... I was trying to get to that cool looking spear up there!" He pointed to the spear on the top shelf. It was double sided, both ends having a trident shaped blade, but the ends differed from one another. One of the ends had a black dye, mimicking the trident, embedded into it. The other side had the same design but using a white dye instead.
Leo face-palmed himself and said, "You just had to get the one on the top shelf."
Hector: "What? That fucking thing has literally been calling my name." He kept attempting to reach it to no avail.
Leo simply shook his head and resumed his search. He was ready to give up when a katana at the far side of the store on a shelf caught his eye. The katana had an 8 inch black and white pattern cloth covering the metal handle. The hand guard nearly an inch thick and two inches wide; the square corners were rounded and smooth to the touch. The four ft. blade looked as if it almost had a pure white glow to it, in the moonlit room.
Leo: "Wow... Its light, for a long sword... lighter than my practice swords back home!” He swung the blade a few times in the air and sheathed it back in its scarab. He smiled as he attached the katana under the left side of his belt and a feeling of temerity overwhelmed him.
"That blade is called The Blade of Heaven. It's a very old blade. Forged around the time of the Dark Wars. But it is still a reliable and powerful weapon," said an old voice. Your friend over there has a good eye too. He's trying to reach "The Spear of Destiny."
Leo turned around to see an old man with a long beard. He was short; bald on the top of his head, but the back of his head had long white, flowing, wavy, unkempt hair. But Leo couldn’t stop staring at his bushy white eyebrows the fell down the sides of his face and melded in with his long white beard. He limped towards Leo, his white robes trailing on the floor behind him, using a cane to help support his weight; it seemed that his left leg had suffered an old wound that never properly healed. "I can see you two have an eye for weapons, but I'm afraid they aren't for sale."
Leo: "Oh I'm sorry... I was just admiring it." Then out of nowhere a huge gust of wind burst the door open and blew right into Leo! Hector and the old man just simply stared at him. "Ok, anybody besides me find that weird?"
Hector, with The Spear of Destiny, shook his head and started to test out the spear, "Yep..." He began to swing the spear in wide arcs when he noticed a line in the middle of it. He began to examine it closer.
Leo: "Hey careful not to damage anything!!" Leo then noticed a feather on the floor. He walked over to it and picked it up. It was strange. It was large and it was pure white, but it had pure black veins running through it and it pulsed as if it was alive.
The old man simply stared at the feather in amazement. "A white feather with black grooves... This can only mean one thing!! Boy, hold out you're left hand with the palm up!"
Leo: "What!? Why?!"
Old man: "Just do it!"
Leo did as the old sage bid him and held his hand out. The old man held out his cane which made contact with leo’s hand. Then a bright round ball of light appeared in Leo's palm! "Hey old man what's happening!?" The old man began to smile and studied Leo's hand as the ball of light grew ever radiant, "I knew one day you would return..." The light got even brighter and soon it burst into bright yellow flames and completely engulfed Leo's left hand! "Hey what's going on?! AHHH" Leo gripped his left hand and dropped to his knees on the floor. The flames got brighter and then there was a bright flash of light! Hector ran over to Leo helping his friend up. "Hey are you ok, bro?!"
Leo: "Yea... *Huff* *Huff* I'm fine..." He looked at his left hand and saw that he was holding a broadsword! Its handle a bright yellow, 9 inches long and the end of the pommel circular with the middles hollowed out. The handle was 10 inches wide and one inch thick. The ends pointed and curved inwards slightly. The middle of the handle had a triangle pointing out of it gripping the double-edge sword. The sword was 8 inches wide and 6 ft long, the middle of it colored pure black and ended in a single point an inch away from the point of the sword. Leo raised the sword to his face examining it closer. He searched for the old man but didn’t find him.
Then the disembodied voice of the old sage spoke in a ghostly manner, The Sword of Hell and The Blade of Heaven are the legendary weapons of the past. It is said he who wields them will influence the fate of the mortal realm... But he who wields The Spear of Destiny and The Blades of Fate will shatter the dreams of all who stand next to him. Take care as my body and spirit have moved on to the next world..."
Leo: "Old man, Just who the hell were you..."
Hector: "I want to know too, but hey free weapons nigga!!! Now lets get the hell out of here before some other crazy shit happens." He began to walk to the entrance of the store.
Then the entrance was blasted to oblivion! Hector was blown backwards but he managed to recuperate quickly and landed on his feet sliding backwards next to Leo. Leo stood strong as the cloud of smoke, dust, and debris cleared. He drew out his katana preparing for his coming foe. Up in a hole through the roof he could see the hooded man from the barber shop. The hooded man drew his large blade and pointed it at Leo. "In the name of The Imperial Empire, I will this day end your existence!"