Legends of Amacia Attack on Tartarus
Chapter 21: Assembling for Battle

Assembling for Battle

Fifteen minutes later at the time designated by Hannibal for the beginning of the Kartoom operation, Hannibal and Kusanagi entered the portal chamber to find the strike teams assembled, armed and armored, ready for battle. Hannibal immediately noticed the teams were larger than he initially thought...numbering three hundred. Elias stood behind the portal control panel with the remote in his ear. The portal hologram floating above the console showed the slave/disposal cages just outside of Kartoom’s walls. Joshua stood beside Elias, paying close attention to how Elias operated the console. As soon as Hannibal entered, Enoch barked like a master sergeant, “All teams, attention; the King is here!” The three teams that were milling about suddenly fell into formation behind their respective leaders standing at attention. When that happened, Hannibal noticed three distinct teams of a hundred warriors each with sub-teams within the larger teams, much like a company being subdivided into platoons. He immediately noticed Enoch standing on the portal platform in the command position of the gathering wearing Thoth’s armor. A pair of large swords lay slung across his back along with a heavy plasma blaster rifle. Hannibal also noticed Nathanael, Hunter, Andrew, Gulez, Harry there along with his original team minus Morrison and Arabella. Scattered among the teams, Hannibal noted a number of hybrids, Black Fortress gladiators, and large number of Cimmerians that included Xavier and Amelia, Corso and some of his best warriors, Liu, Joel, Aragon, David, Timothy, Joshua, Vergil, Nemesis, and Magnus. Marvin, the Captain of the Guards for the Emperor, stood with eighty of his rebel guards. Those gathered provided an excellent cross-section of the peoples who stood against the Emperor; something Hannibal immediately noted.

As Hannibal and Kusanagi stepped up onto the portal platform where Enoch stood, Enoch saluted Hannibal with a military salute and a brisk stomp of his foot. “Warriors, salute!” he shouted while saluting. The entire contingent saluted Hannibal, even Elias and Joshua, who stood behind the portal’s control panel. “Milord, the teams are assembled and ready to go,” Enoch reported after the salute.

Hannibal stiffened his back, standing tall and returned the salute to everyone. “At ease, everyone,” he ordered, “This formality isn’t necessary. We’re all friends here, though I’m humbled to see you honor me like this. Thank you. I hope your faith in me isn’t misplaced.” The teams relaxed, but stood quietly awaiting Hannibal’s orders. He paused, scanning the floor, noticing how the teams were set up, assessing them. The leaders of the teams stood in front with the individual teams standing in formation behind them. The main leaders included Enoch, Marvin, Nemesis, Harry, Xavier and Amelia, Corso, Hunter, Andrew, and Magnus.

Hannibal looked around at them and when his gaze fell on Marvin, he saw the eagerness in his eyes. “Well, the time has come my friends,” Hannibal declared, “You all know what has to be done, right?” A thunderous yes roared from the teams.

“Marvin, you and your team know what to do, right?” Hannibal asked plainly, singling him out while descending from the platform to stand in front of him.

Marvin grinned wickedly, saying, “That we do, sir. We are to strike fast and hard in the hangars of Stygia, secure the flagship, and destroy or disable the rest of the ships. Once we have secured the flagship, we are to wait for your signal.”

Hannibal smiled, saying, “That’s the plan. Who’s going with you?”

“Eighty of my finest are coming,” Marvin reported, “...along with thirty of your people, including Magnus, a small team of hybrids led by Hunter, and Corso’s team. My company has about a hundred and ten men. The rest are with you.”

Hannibal nodded as he looked at Nemesis and Enoch, saying, “It’s good to have people who understand military strategy.” He looked directly at Marvin and stated for all to hear, “Well, good luck to you, my friend. I hope that you have an easier go of it than I’m sure we are going to have.” He shook Marvin’s hand firmly while speaking.

Just then, Ana appeared, moving through the teams like a queen. She was armored and fully armed, bearing Leila’s sword. Her armor resembled gold draken scale. Leila’s sword sat sheathed at her hip, and in her hand, she carried Morpheus’ staff. A heavy plasma rifle lay slung across her back with a pouch of ammo on her belt. She moved through the crowd like a ghost, in perfect silence. The warriors parted letting her by. She walked up to Hannibal and dropped to one knee, paying him homage.

“Ana, didn’t I tell you that you didn’t have to kneel or bow to me?” Hannibal gently scolded.

Ana looked up at him, saying, “I kneel because I want to, my king.” She rose, declaring, “I bring regards from Leila Karac. She thanks you for the wheelchair you provided for her and graciously allowed us the use of her sword.”

“Truly a noble creature Leila is,” Hannibal stated formally. “I’m honored to have her as a friend. I’m also honored that I have you as a friend. I take it by your dress that you are coming with us.”

Ana looked at him seriously, saying, “I am. Leila wished it, and so do I.”

Hannibal put his hand on her shoulder saying, “Then stand with us, Anastasia; fight at our side. Your help is welcomed.” Turning back to Marvin, he said, “Marvin, you and your team will go after my team clears the portal.” Marvin nodded with a grunt as Ana stood next to Hannibal facing the crowd. “This is it, people,” he declared. “The time of talking is over. Watch each other’s back and pray for our success. With the help and mercy of the Almighty Ancient of Days, we will succeed. Now if there is anyone who doesn’t want to do this, back away now and you will not be thought ill of. I specifically asked for volunteers for this operation because of how dangerous it’s going to be. Do not think that you are obligated to come. There is just as much crucial work to be done here. Speak now without fear of reprisal. Anyone?”

For a moment, dead silent reigned in the portal chamber with only the hum of the portal being heard. Then a voice rang out from the crowd. It was Tyr the Cimmerian, who questioned Hanna’s motives that day on the hill outside of Acheron and was to be part of Hannibal’s team. “I think I speak for everyone here when I say let’s make the Emperor rue the day he ever heard the sound of your name,” Tyr called out clearly. “Let’s rip him a new orifice and send him home with a rupture! He is supposed to be the strong. Let’s find out how strong he really is! He’s tried us. Now let him be tried by his own dogma to see if he is fit to survive!” There was nothing but pure vehement hatred of the Emperor in Tyr’s ice-cold voice. Hannibal shuddered at the malevolence Tyr had for the Emperor. A roar of agreement rose from the crowd. The Cimmerians and hybrids were the loudest in their roars of agreement.

Hannibal watched as they waved their weapons in the air. He suddenly had enough of the display and smacked the scepter on the floor to get their attention. It flashed and crackled with a small electrical charge surging over the crystal head, the echo rumbled through the chamber. “All right guys. That’s enough. Save it for the enemy. Horace, where are you?” Hannibal called out.

Horace appeared in the crowd, moving to the front. He walked to Hannibal and bowed his head, saying, “Yes, milord?”

Hannibal saw that Horace was ready to go, fully armed and armored, but he also saw fear on him, stating, “You’re afraid, aren’t you?”

Horace nodded, saying truthfully, “Terrified; but I have to go. I’m the only one who knows where everything is in Kartoom. Nemesis may know some of the facility, but I know it all, especially our objective.”

Hannibal patted him on the shoulder, saying, “Fear not, Horace. Our God is with us. You stay close to me, all right?” He nodded and Hannibal said so everyone could hear, “Courage is measured not in your ability to fight, but in your ability to conquer your own fears. Today we send a message to the Emperor that we will not be bullied into submission, or driven into oblivion. Today, we stand and fight!” Hannibal raised the scepter high above his head, shouting, “Today, we show the Emperor the meaning of courage! Elias, open the door!”

The warriors raised their weapons in salute and a cheer rose. The time had come to set the final act into motion. As the portal opened to the slave cages, Selina, Kida, Leila, Electra, Elle, Emma, and Josephine showed up in the exit to see the final pep talk. Hannibal noticed them as the portal lay open behind him. He reached out telepathically and touched each of them for a moment as he turned with a smile toward the portal open on the platform. Seeing Kusanagi standing on the platform with the silken bag containing Grimm’s Mask, Hannibal felt a telepathic burst from the Mask.

Looking down at Hannibal, Kusanagi declared, “It’s time, milord.”

“That it is,” Hannibal agreed, stepping up on the platform with Kusanagi. Turning to the teams, Hannibal waved to Enoch. “Come up here for a moment, big brother,” he ordered in a friendly tone. “I have one final preparation to make before we take the war to the Emperor.”

Enoch mounted the platform, asking, “What would that be?”

“Hold this for a moment,” Hannibal ordered, handing Enoch the Scepter. “Master Kusanagi, tell them.”

Kusanagi removed Grimm’s Mask from the bag, holding it up for all to see. Gasps of fearful astonishment raced through the portal chamber. “My friends,” he called out, “Once again, Grimm’s Mask has stirred from its slumber and wishes to assist us. Lord Beowulf has heard the call of the Mask, just as he did the day he saved us from annihilation in the Bastion. It is the will of the Almighty that Beowulf use Grimm’s Mask just as he did that day. Our prophecies say the Last Caverias would be able to harness the power of the ancient weapons without any harm coming to him. He did it before. Now, he must do it again. Let no one here doubt that he is the One, the Beowulf...the Last Caverias spoken of in the prophecies. Here, milord; the Mask is yours to command.” Kusanagi offered it to Hannibal in front of the entire group.

Taking Grimm’s Mask in hand, he looked over the teams with a stern, sober expression. “Let no one think I do this lightly,” he stated grimly. “The power of this helmet is unlike anything I’ve yet encountered. I know so little about it; but let no one here think for an instant that I covet this power. I actually shun it. However since the Almighty has bidden me to use it again, I will submit myself to it. I do this only to safeguard our cause. I make you all a solemn promise that when this operation is over, I will relinquish the Mask back to Master Kusanagi. You all are witnesses to this oath. I swear it on the throne of Heaven by the very name and word of the Almighty Ancient of Days. I will not use this Mask any longer than I must.”

Dead silence fell over the portal chamber. Both Josephine and Leila looked at the Mask with utter shock, recognizing it. Fear welled up in them as Hannibal suddenly looked at both Josephine and Leila. “Yes, Josephine, Leila Karac,” he declared solemnly, “This is the real Grimm’s Mask of legend, but fear not. I have conquered the darkness of the Mask and brought it back into the Light. The Mask is now our ally, just as the Hellion and the Bane are.”

All eyes turned to see Leila sitting there wheelchair bound in the exit from the portal chamber with Josephine hovering behind Leila’s wheelchair. The very presence of the two ancient women sparked their courage. “Milord,” Leila called out in a worried tone, “Be careful, and come back to us in one piece.”

“I will, Leila,” Hannibal stated categorically. “That’s a promise. Now to business; I bid all of you to not be afraid when I don this helmet, for it will change my appearance when I do.” Without another word, Hannibal slipped Grimm’s Mask on. Just as it did the last time, it adjusted to Hannibal’s head, sending out the platinum-colored liquid that completely covered his neck in draken scale. When it meshed with the armor, it changed it, making it grow six-inch spikes on the arms, shoulders, and down the back. However, this time, it did something new. Grimm’s Mask did not just added spikes to the platinum armor, but also gave the plate armor a draken scale look to it. The transformation made Hannibal groan softly until it finished. Gasps of horrified wonder erupted from the warriors present. When it finished, Hannibal straightened up with a relieved sigh, standing tall looking like a tiny Grimm Draken without the wings. “Ah, the alteration wasn’t as bad this time,” he said in a distinctly draken-like voice through the Mask. “It didn’t try to overpower me, though it does appear it altered the armor a bit more than before. I see the plate armor now looks like spiked draken scale. The last time it just gave the armor spikes.” Seeing the look of concern on the faces on the main floor, Hannibal touched the Mask below both ears, opening its visor. When the warriors saw Hannibal’s human face behind the visor, they relaxed.

“See, I’m still human, my friends,” Hannibal declared. “This armor alteration the Mask performs is why I warned you not to be afraid.”

“Milord,” one of the warriors called out in fearful fascination. “May I ask a question?”

“Sure,” Hannibal stated, “What is it?”

“What does the Mask represent?” the warrior asked.

“I believe this is your department, Master Kusanagi,” Hannibal stated. “You’re our resident expert on the Grimm.”

“Grimm’s Mask is a representation of the Grimm Drakens,” Kusanagi announced ominously. “The Grimm Drakens are the most powerful of Grimm’s minions with the power to spawn multitudes of Grimm creatures from their own bodies. Fortunately, no one has seen a Grimm Draken since the legendary Ragnar Omicron Caverias of the silver eyes sent the alpha Grimm Lord back into the Void. May we never encounter a Grimm Draken, for its power is beyond even that of the Emperor.”

A shudder ran through the warrior. “Are you saying the stories of the Grimm are true?” the warrior asked in a worried tone.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Kusanagi stated, “The Grimm do still exist, though they seldom show themselves. They keep to the deep shadows of the primeval forests and remote mountains, patiently watching and waiting. Now, the Emperor’s evil has emboldened them. Attacks by packs of Grimm in Cushar spiked just before the Emperor invaded our lands. Understand; the Grimm feed on negative emotions such as anger, fear, hate, and grief. It attracts them much the same way flowers attract insects with nectar. The deeper and darker the negative emotions are, the more attracted they are. Conflicts always bring them in, and when that happens, only by the warring parties banding together can they drive off the Grimm, who will destroy both sides if given the opportunity. Know this; the Grimm have a deep vehement hatred of everything human and will take every opportunity to destroy anything touched by us. Fortunately, our great ancestor, Hreidmar Casim, showed us how to unite against the Grimm and protect ourselves. Grimm’s Mask is the helmet of Hreidmar Casim, who descended from the sky and united us in Cushar during the 1st Age.”

“Have the Grimm been seen recently?” Joshua asked bluntly.

“Unfortunately, they have,” Kusanagi stated bluntly. “I hoped I would not see them again in my lifetime, but the Darkness of the Emperor has stirred them up. As I mentioned, we had several attacks by packs of Grimm wolves just before the Emperor invaded Cushar. They swept out of the forests, attacking several small villages in western Cushar. No one survived those attacks. Upon investigating the attacks, we discovered at least three packs of Grimm wolves numbering up to twenty each with an alpha Grimm wolf controlling each pack. Several attempts to cull the beasts resulted in disaster for our forces. The Grimm wolves we encountered were highly intelligent and capable of setting traps for us. At that point, we received word that the Emperor was overrunning Zin, and that his sights were on Cushar next. So we did the only logical thing we could. We abandoned the hunt for the Grimm wolf packs and sent word throughout the land the Emperor was coming. We fell back to Cush and to the Bastion in hope we could outlast him. Little did we know the Emperor was coming to annihilate every living thing in Cushar. Praise be to the Almighty Ancient of Days milord Beowulf showed up when he did at the Bastion, otherwise our people would be extinct.”

“Indeed,” Hannibal agreed, “I’m glad I could help, but knowing the Grimm are becoming active again is very disturbing. We must keep our guards up when in the remote places because of that.”

“That’s a very wise thing to do,” Kusanagi stated. “The only places we saw Grimm activity before the Emperor came was in the most remote areas. I found it strange that the villages that were attacked were near the Pass of Cushar leading to Zin. It’s possible the Emperor’s attack on Zin flushed those packs through the pass and they attacked the first thing they found.”

“That sounds reasonable,” Hannibal agreed, “But we can talk of that later. We have prisoners to free and a city to destroy.”

“Of course, milord,” Kusanagi agreed. “I’ll pray for your success. May the Almighty protect you and your teams as you smite the Darkness of Kartoom.”

“Amen,” Hannibal stated, closing the visor on Grimm’s Mask with a thought. The moment the Mask closed, it created an aura of dread around him. Taking the Scepter from Enoch, he called out, “This is it, people; to war!” He waved the Scepter, beckoning his teams to follow, and moved menacingly towards the portal. Stopping just in front of it, he looked over at Elias and Joshua. “Is it clear, Elias?” he asked.

“Yes,” Elias reported, being intimidated by Grimm’s Mask. “I opened the portal about half a league from the wall. There’s a rise between you and the main wall that should give you cover for a while.”

“Excellent,” Hannibal replied soberly, “That was good thinking on your part. Keep your eyes and ears open, Elias. We will need you at a moment’s notice.”

“Don’t worry, Hannibal. We’ve got you covered.” Elias reassured, his tone reflecting his unease in seeing Hannibal wearing Grimm’s Mask.

“Joshua, be ready to receive prisoners from the slave pens and the injured,” Hannibal ordered.

Joshua nodded with a shudder, saying, “We’re ready here, Hannibal.”

“Don’t let the Mask shake you, Joshua,” Hannibal urged in a friendly tone, seeing Joshua’s shudder. “It’s designed to strike fear into the hearts of its enemies, not its allies. You aren’t an enemy so you shouldn’t fear it. That goes for everyone here. None of you should fear Grimm’s Mask when I wear it. It’s our ally and knows our friends from our enemies. It chose to assist us in this operation.”

“It’s just so bizarre and alien that I can’t help but be leery of it,” Joshua admitted.

“It’s quite all right,” Hannibal stated, opening the visor of the Mask. “I feel the same way. Now I want everyone here on high alert. We may need extraction at a moment’s notice.”

“You can trust us, little brother,” Elias stated, “We’ll be watching and waiting for your signal.”

“Excellent,” Hannibal replied soberly, triggering the Draken Gauntlets, which opened to their full battle position, cocking them in the process. “All right, my friends; let’s do this!” He waved the Scepter towards the portal and then plunged through it first, closing the visor on Grimm’s Mask as he moved forward.

“Everyone hold back until we secure the area,” Nemesis ordered, “The hologram looks clear, but we can never be too careful. Tartarus is filled with hidden threats that aren’t always obvious. Enoch, Andrew; let’s go and keep your eyes open.”

Readying their heavy plasma blasters, Enoch and Andrew followed Nemesis through the portal while the rest of the teams waited. Ana and Horace stood close to the portal, looking through waiting for the signal.

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