Uncertain Future: Ch. 7

Chapter 7:  When Things Go Amiss

Isaac conveyed in a hushed tone the plan he had spent so long concocting but never had the resources or support to put into action.  It was brilliant in its design, yet worthless without enough cooperating parties.
"We being tomorrow night," he began solemnly.  "Felix, Piers, and Mia will start us off by disabling the surveillance cameras with their psynergy.  Felix, you take the cameras in the soldiers' bunkers.  Piers, head west, and Mia can go east.   Jenna, do you still have all those sleep bombs that were left over?"
The brunette girl nodded eagerly, glad that she hadn't disposed of her things as she once intended to do.  "All right, good," Isaac continue, relief evident in his voice.  "When Felix finishes with the cameras, he'll radio you.  When he does this, Jenna, go into every room and use a sleep bomb.  In fact, toss a couple in to make sure.  Piers and Mia, you guys alert Ivan and Sheba, respectively, when you finish.  You two patrol the castle, Ivan from the lower west and Sheba from the upper east.  Make sure there are no soldiers in the halls.  If you find any, cast Sleep on them."
The two nodded in understanding.  "And us?  What about when Felix, Piers, Jenna and I have done our parts?" Mia inquired.
"Come to the medical room and wait there.  That goes for you too, Ivan and Sheba.  Once all seven of you are there, radio me.  I'll be tracking Babi and making sure he stays well away from all of you with Mud and Ground to slow him or stop him altogether.  When I receive your signal, I'll rendezvous with you all in the hall leading to Babi's room.  From there, we confront him directly.  Without anyone to protect him, we'll take him out in no time."
"That takes care of Babi, but what happens then?" Felix wondered aloud.  Isaac grinned.
"I've got that covered too," he assured.  "Felix, if I recall correctly, you had a whole ton of elixirs left over after our journey.  Do you still have them?"
The Earth Adept shook his head.  "I gave them all to Sheba to hold onto," he said, turning to look at the named girl.  She nodded in reassurance.
"I still have them."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.  "Okay, make sure you bring those with you," Isaac remarked.  "Mia and Piers, you guys can use your Frost psynergy to freeze the contents of the elixirs solid.  Then Felix and Jenna will pulverize them into dust, and Ivan and Sheba will use Whirlwind to distribute the powdered elixirs through the ventilation system.  That'll wake up all the sleeping soldiers."
"And you?" Ivan inquired curiously.
"I'll be programming the equipment that keeps Babilon in the air to self-destruct."
A startled gasp was his reply.  "If you do that, we'll all…" Sheba began, trailing off when she felt her sentence needn't be finished.
Isaac shook his head.  "No, trust me," he said.  "I can delay it.  Before long all the Adepts in the castle will be awake, and we can tell them about the self-destruct sequence with the PA system.  They get out via the transportation units in the weapons storage room, we go out after them, Babilon goes boom, problem solved."
"But what about the people in the city?" Jenna asked in concern.  "It's great that we can get all those exploited Adepts to safety, but we can't sacrifice the townspeople.  There're more of them than there are soldiers."
Isaac bit his lip thoughtfully.  He hadn't seen the rest of Babilon in so long he had forgotten about them all.
"They'll all be asleep… so we have to think of some way to wake them."
"How about we summon someone with our Djinn?" Piers suggested.  "Ivan and I could summon Coatlicue.  She won't do any harm, but she'll make enough of a scene to wake them all."
"And if that doesn't work," Sheba added, "we can always run down the streets screaming for everyone to come outside.  We can get them all out with the Teleport psyergy."
Isaac smiled as his plan came together before his very eyes.  If only he'd known sooner that his friends were there with him.  Maybe then they could have gotten out while he still had more than a few days to live.  It dawned on him that he hadn't yet told his companions about this, and his confident grin faded.  This did not go unnoticed.
"Is something wrong, Isaac?" Felix asked, his brow furrowed with worry.  The boy shook his head in response.  Nothing was wrong.  Everything was perfect.  In less than two days all of Weyard would be free of Babi and his malevolent reign.  One life was a meager price to pay.
A bright light shined through the window, setting a magnificent dance of golden rays alight upon the seven Adepts' faces.  For a brief moment all of them felt a warmth in their hearts that made them believe, if only for a fraction of a second, that Garet was there among them.
"We should probably go about business normally," Felix stated.  "And we should get started soon.  Babi will be waking up any minute.  He's probably already suspicious of us, since Isaac and Piers had a mission together recently."
The others voiced their assent.  It was agreed that the plan would start in the hall leading to the medical chamber at midnight.  They said their farewells and departed.  Isaac's heart was tight with anxiousness.  He began furiously tearing apart his plan for a way something could go wrong.  Finding nothing did little if anything to put his mind at east.  He was consumed with the same feeling of dread that he had nearly a thousand years ago as Iodem guided him through the streets of Tolbi.
The day dragged on for what could easily have been years.  Isaac performed his patrol duty as the designated time and had a light lunch consisting of little more than a sandwich.  That evening, he was summoned to Babi's office.
Just because he could find nothing to set his plan awry didn't mean there was nothing.
"Isaac, I understand you are aware that Mia and Piers are also a part of my Adept army," the man coughed, his age prominent.  Isaac shrugged.
"I saw them, yes," he admitted, trying to retain the airy, apathetic attitude he was known for.  He silently drew a deep breath and straightened his posture.  He realized that he was growing very tired very quickly.  "If that's all that you wanted to say, I'll be going."
"What's the hurry?  Do you have some plans for tonight?"
"Kind of."
"Oh?"  Babi leaned forward with interest.  "Such as?"
"Sleeping," Isaac yawned, receiving a scowl in return.
"I know what you're up to," Babi growled, his voice dangerously low.  "I know you're planning something.  And I'll be ready for you."
"Whatever."  Without waiting to be dismissed, Isaac turned and left the room, heading for his own.  He closed the door behind him and placed either hand upon it, leaning on them as support.  His breath was heavy, and he could only presume that his face was deathly pale.  Was it really his nervousness doing this to him, though?  The incorrect dose of Alchemic Draught had tormented him for as long as he had been an Adept soldier.  It wasn't beyond possibility that now his life was draining more quickly than it would for anyone else.
The idea frightened Isaac; he couldn't allow himself rest until he was sure Babi was gone. He lay upon his mattress for a time to retain as much strength as he could.  A brief beeping startled him from his placid trance.
"Appointment with Babi in fifteen minutes," his computer alarm informed in its halting electronic voice.
"Appointment indeed," Isaac chuckled to himself.  He located his favorite articles of armor:  the Golden Shirt, a hearty chain mail shirt that was near impenetrable; the Erinyes Tunic, which somehow made his attacks hit harder and allowed him quicker movement; Alastors Hood, a useful helmet that seemed to call spirits to haunt his foes; and the Mirrored Shield, a fine shield that he valued for its ability to confuse those he fought.  He also slipped on a silver ring set with a ruby that granted his attacks a whole new level of fury, the War Ring.
Garbed with only his best armor and weaponry, he set out for the medical room, or at least the hall leading to it.  Babi's castle was enormous, and even at the brisk pace with which Isaac traveled, the trip took all of ten minutes.  As he could have predicted, his companions were there waiting for him.
"Well, aren't we looking fancy?" Felix remarked, referring to Isaac's dress.  Jenna pouted.
"I wish I had thought to wear my old armor," she murmured.
Briefly the went over the plan once more, ironing out any wrinkles and making sure everyone knew their part.  At five past midnight, they set to work.
Isaac immediately crept to Babi's room and gently opened the door a sliver.  The soft light of an illuminated lamp flooded into the hall.  The Adept surveyed the room.  A shiver ran down his spine when he found that Babi was still awake.  He sat at his desk, scribbling on a stack of papers.  Occasionally he moved a leaf of paper aside and took another from the stack beside him.  Something seemed suspicious about it, but the boy couldn't place what.  He shrugged it off and watched intently, fervently anticipating the signal from his friends.
The young Adept stiffened.  He had been dosing.  Hesitantly he glanced at the clock on his transceiver.  It had been little more than an hour.  Babi was still in his room, scribbling away.  If he had attempted to leave, Isaac, having been right outside the door, would have known at once.  What troubled him was that the stack of papers hadn't dwindled at all from an hour before.  Isaac decided that the old man must have taken a break to do something else.
He jumped as a series of beeps were emitted from his radio.  There was a message displayed on the LCD screen from Felix, stating that they were all in the medical quarters waiting for him.  With one last glance at the strangely-behaving Babi, Isaac rose from his seat on the floor and reported to the designated area.
"Every soldier in the castle is fast asleep," Ivan notified.  Sheba nodded to confirm this.
"There was no resistance," she added.
"All cameras are disabled," Felix assured.
"All sleep bombs are gone," Jenna shrugged, displaying an empty sack as proof.
"I've got the elixirs over here," Piers said, jabbing his thumb at a burlap bag full of orange bottles between him and Mia.
"We're all here and accounted for," Isaac muttered to himself.  "Let's get going."
Before long the seven Adepts stood before the double doors leading to Babi's chambers.  They took their weapons to hand.  Some of the Djinn were poised upon their owners' shoulders, a red glow illuminating their bodies.  They were ready to work together to summon any creature the group required, even the mighty Isis.
Isaac took a deep breath and threw open the doors.  Babi remained at his desk, still writing whatever information needed transcribing.
"Babi!" Isaac called.  The man made no response.  He didn't as much as lift his eyes from the paper.  When he announced the name a second time, he received no more or less of a reply.  It was as if the ruler of Babilon had suddenly become deaf and blind.
"Well, if he has no last words, let's take care of this," Felix shrugged, approaching the desk boldly, Sol Blade ready in his hands.  He uttered a gasp when he arrived at the chosen spot of the execution.
"These papers," he began slowly, reaching for said papers, "they're all blank.  They're…"
Everyone gasped as the form of the stack of papers faltered and wavered as Felix attempted to pick one up.
"It's… a hologram!" Mia breathed in sudden realization.
"Very good."
Everyone whipped around to find the owner of the voice.  Babi stood between the two doors, glowering at the Adepts, particularly at Isaac.
"I knew I was a fool to trust you," he thought aloud.
"At least you know and aren't afraid to admit it," Jenna sneered.
"Feisty, aren't you?" Babi grinned.  "You'll need that spice.  Allow me to introduce you to my latest little advance."  He pulled forth a syringe from the folds of his cloak.  The liquid inside was clear but thick like syrup.
"One dose of this will grant me power beyond your wildest imagination.  I understand you've come here to attempt to defeat me and destroy Babilon?"  He paused to scoff at the mere notion of the idea.  "I'd love to see you try."
Without a word of warning Babi jabbed the point of the syringe directly into his wrist.  His veins hardened and blackened as the blood responded.  His skin began to heave and undulate, twisting and growing in a most hideous fashion.
The group drew back in surprise and disgust.  Isaac dropped his guard and watched as Babi's form expanded.  Appendages sprouted and his clothes tore away.
A whisper a voice blew through the room upon the wind that seemed to say quite cockily, "Another dragon?" Had the companions not been distracted by what used to be Babi's ear-shattering roars, they may have recognized the voice to be that of Garet.
"SUFFER!" the dragon demanded, heaving itself from the ground with a single stroke of its wings.  It crashed through the roof and soared into the sky, pausing to expel a breath of flame at the rebellious Adepts below.
The fire engulfed the room, and Babi grinned in a dragonly demeanor when he didn't see them fleeing.  As the inferno died away and the smoke dissipated, so did Babi's smirk.  The other six of the Adepts stood in a circle around Isaac, whose one hand thrust into the air cradled his Djinni Granite.  The creature had created a protective barrier around them all, and they were utterly unharmed.
"Come, now, Lord Babi," the Earth Adept sneered sarcastically.  "Certainly you didn't think it was going to be that easy."
In his hand glowed the Star of Venus, shining more brightly than it ever had.