PART 2: THE CULT
President Bedard sat alone in his chambers. All of his advisors had returned home for the evening. He was looking at a picture of his daughter Jil and her family. She and her husband Zamboni had a young son of about one and a half years of age. The president wouldn't admit it to anybody, but he disliked Zamboni. He believed that his daughter could do much better than that muscle bound goon. He kept quiet, though, because his daughter was happy, and that was all that he ever really wanted. Now he found himself as the President of Earth after the disappearance of Magnus. He didn't believe that he could fill the hero's shoes, but he was trying his hardest.
"You are trespas---ah!" he heard the gaurd begin from outside his door. Bedard rose from his chair and turned to face the door.
"Who...who's there?" he asked his unseen guests. Seconds later the door flew open and a shot was fired. The last thing the president saw before the stun ray knocked him out cold was a group of armed troopers.
When Bedard awoke, he found himself in a dark place. A few moments later, his eyes began to adjust to the dim light in the room. There were other people around him, though he couldn't make any faces out.
"Is that you, Mr. President?" one of the prisoners asked. Bedard looked at the man for several seconds befor he recognized the speaker.
"Gilad! Gilad Anni-Padda! It's been years! Where have you..." Bedard remembered his current situation, "Where are we? What's going on here?"
"Perhaps I can answer your questions for you." Bedard turned to face a rather large man sitting in the corner.
"Aram. Aram Armstrong, the Geomancer," Bedard recognized him.
"Yep, that's me. Guardian of the Earth and all that crap. Anyways, we are currently, as you can see, in a prison cell of some kind. The walls are reinforced and me and Gilly put together can't even break through 'em. I tried to talk to the door, but it won't open. We're stuck. As to what's going on..." he trailed off.
"What?! What's going on here?" Bedard pleaded.
"Have you ever heard of a woman named Erica Pierce, Mr. President?" Gilad asked.
"Why yes, yes I have. She was that woman who made that whole city disappear without a trace. They say she was as powerful as Solar himself. But Magnus said that she was taken care of for good. What could she possibly have to do with..."
"They've found her," Aram cut him off.
"Who? Who's found her?"
"There is a cult that worships the Mothergod, as Erica was known as. It began with her followers that survived the Unity War that me and Gilly fought in. Over the years it had grown quite large. They lost many of their members when the Malevs returned last year, but that didn't stop them. After the destructive way that the Destroyer handled the problem, many people began to really listen to the stories that these cultists were spitting out. Now the cult is at an all time membership high, and to top it all off, they've found Mothergod. They are currently preparing to release her from the wormhole that Solar banished her into."
"This is horrible. They must be stopped! We'll... wait a minute. Why have they imprisoned us?" Bedard questioned.
"It's mostly for revenge," Gilad answered. "Aside from the Destroyer, Aram and myself are the last surviving members of the force that defeated Mothergod in the Unity War. We're apparently being held until she can deal with us upon her return."
"What about me and the others here?" Bedard wanted to know.
"Most of these people are the leaders of the world's nations," informed Aram "You, as the President of the world, had to be captured as well. The cultists apparently want you all here when the world's new leader arrives. Who knows how she'll deal with you."
"Of course, I recognize these people now. We're almost all here. The only one I don't see is..."
"Takashi Nakadai," came a familiar voice from the back of the room. Bedard turned to see former-North Am President Clane step out of the shadows. There was a short bald man standing beside him."
"Clane! What are you doing here?"
"You're not going to believe this, but the cultists are trying to bring Magnus out of hiding. He was also a part of the resistence against Mothergod in Unity," Clane replied.
"Magnus? But he's..."
"I know that, but they don't believe it. They think he's been in hiding ever since the end of the Malev threat. They thought that the disappearance of myself and Grandfather would force Magnus to return."
"Grandfather?" Bedard looked puzzled.
"My companion here is Magnus's father. His true name is 1A, but everybody calls him Grandfather." Gramps nodded towards the president. Bedard returned the greeting and turned to scan the room.
"What are we going to do?" he asked nobody in particular.
END OF PART 2
PART 3: ROCKY
Rocky McClain was walking home after a long day at work. He was approaching the trailer park in which he and his girlfriend Marsha lived. Rocky was a happy man. He didn't have a lot of money, but that didn't bother him. The year was 1974, two whole years after the accident had taken away his memory. The funny thing was that he couldn't even remember the accident. He really couldn't remember a thing before his waking up in a hospital bed with Marsha sitting next to him. She had apparently been out jogging when she came upon him laying unconscious in a field. After it was revealed that he couldn't remember anything, Marsha had offered to let him stay with her while he recuperated. The two had been together ever since. His memory never returned, but it didn't matter. He had eventually assumed the name Rocky McClain and decided to get on with his life.
"Honey, I'm home!!!" he shouted as he walked through the trailer door.
"Hi, baby!" she screamed as she leaped into his arms. "How was your day?"
"It was fine," Rocky answered, knowing that the question was coming.
"Did you have aymore attacks?" she finally asked, almost in a whisper.
"No. Not today."
"Thank God. I still think you should go see a doctor."
"You know we can't afford that. Besides, I think I'm getting better."
"If you're sure..."
"I'm sure."
Rocky went into the bathroom to get changed out of his work clothes. He hadn't exactly lied to her, not completely anyways.
It was true that he hadn't had anymore "attacks" that day, but he didn't think he was getting better. As matter of fact, they were getting worse. He was thinking this when that feeling began to creep into his head again. "Oh, no," he whispered under his breath.
That's when the images began to whirl through his head again. He saw images of war and peace. He saw cities that had to be those of the future. He saw the face of a beautiful blonde stranger, who was eerily familiar. He saw white men with red dots on their chests. He saw robots fighting and murdering people. He saw dinosaurs with men riding on their backs. He saw many things that were both wonderful and horrible at once. But most importantly, he saw himself. He was a warrior, a leader, a champion. And then... he was laying on the floor with Marsha next to him.
"Oh, Rocky, I can't take this anymore. There has to be something we can do," she said as she cradled his head in her arms. Rocky just layed still, trying to retain some of the images he had seen. But just as most dreams tend to do, they slowly drifted out of his memory. He wasn't sure what these visions meant, but he was sure that one day he was going to find out.
END PART 3
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