Thus Speak Prodigal
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Part III : City on Fire
Disclaimer : As per normal
Episode 14 : City on Fire
(a)World's End
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The timeline is 5 years before the End of Time. 15 years had
passed, and nothing was heard about Prodigal, the Endless who bear
the representation of Hope and Runoa, the goddess of Love, who have
disappeared after their rendezvous in London. Some said that they
parted and Prodigal went alone to seek out the method to restore
Time, who was his best friend Torrants and his wife Mayar, who
disappeared from a great fight against Lucifer Morningstar from
Hell. No one knew where they were, and Hell was quiet after the
sealing of the anomaly. No one knew what happened to the flail of
Devestation, and some claimed that it had landed into the hands of
a mortal.
The story began from a stormy night in the Royal Mile, the old town
on the highland of Edinburgh, Scotland in an old tavern called
World's End. The World's End had stood since the 16th century,
after the Flodden wall was torn apart because of the defeat of
Scottish by the English. It was located at the intersection to
Cockburn street which led to the new town of Edinburgh on the other
side of the old ancient city.
The pub was surprisingly quiet tonight, with only the bartender who
was waiting at the counter, doing nothing but staring at the beer
taps in front of him. The walls inside the tavern were many
centuries old, as they were the remnants of the broken Flodden
wall. At the opposite end of the bar counter, was the kitchen, with
the area in-between, filled with seats and tables, and the entrance
cum exit to the pub.
At this moment, a man in pure brown coat with a white suit within
walked in. His face was flawless, and he had the look of the angel.
There was an aura of power from him. He smiled at the bartender, as
the latter was surprised that he was not drenched by the storm
outside.
"Sir, what do you like?" the bartender asked.
"A pint of beer of your choice," the man said with a deep and
poshed English accent.
The bartender was afraid that he was serving an English customer,
and he quickly poured Garlsberg into the glass. Without much
effort, with the beer slowly flowing into the glass by the tip of
the tap touching the top end of the glass. The gas coming from the
bear flowed to the top and filled the top of the beer glass with a
creamy white foam, and the golden yellow beer sank below.
The customer tasted the beer and said,"Thank you, and here is the
money." As he placed a 10 pound note onto the counter. The
bartender took the money and get the change for his customer.
"Keep the change as tip," said the man, and the bartender was
shocked to meet such an extravagant customer.
"Thank you, Sir," he said,"Is there anything which I can do for
you?"
"Well,why don't you tell me the story behind the name of this pub?
Since it is known in Edinburgh, every old pub had a story to tell."
the man said with a smile. The bartender could not find any reason
to reject the request of his customer.
"The World's End was named to mean the End of the World. In the
15th century, it was built upon the broken Flodden walls, and it is
the site where the witches are being burnt naked in the streets.
The winds would scatter their ashes down the streets and hit those
innocent people which in turn get them presecuted as witches. It
was a time of paranoia and distrust, and people are getting burnt
for virtually nothing. It was the dark age caused by the Christian
church of that time. Because people feared the end of the World, so
they named this place "World's End"." He concluded his story.
"Good, an interesting tale, do you want to listen a story then, my
bartender?" the man asked, but his voice was so charismatic that
the bartender nodded his head.
"Let me begin after the end of a great war in Hell, where the
Prodigal had defeated the Devil but at the price of losing his
friend, Time. This leads to a cataclysm which would lead to the End
of the world in 20 years which proceeds after that. But I am not
here to tell you what happpened to him and his lover Runoa, the
goddess of Love. What I am going to tell you is about a city, a
city which is entrenched in its own destruction that it would lead
to here. It all began from Eropagins, a island city in the
cyberspace of Sgforumsia......"
(b)Flywire, Lex and Tet
-----------------------
"Lex, this is the fifth murder of the week," said an old man
smoking his pipe in his office. "You gals and guys better do
something."
"How do you expect me to do something as there are no proper leads
to carry on?" Lex said. She was a young police office in her usual
shirt and jeans, with her short hair. "Sir, you have to give me
some time. There have many happenings in this city. There was a
cult who proclaimed themselves as the "Fans of Runoa", a cult who
dedicated to the worship of the Goddess of Love, and the war
between two of the most apparent cyber gangs, one led by Twankle
and the other by Hello Katty. Worst of all, the cult leader Kar
Hole is back and there were public protests. You cannot expect my
men to slog 24 hours everyday."
"I know, Lex," the Head said,"Being in the police is not a easy
thing. I have my authorities to account for."
"And what about my men who slog and run after stupid criminals
everyday? They have to earn a living in the midst of so many
dangers." Lex slammed her hands on the table and stared at her boss
with the greatest sign of exasperation.
"Alright, Lex," said the old man,"Go and do your job. I hope not to
see the 6th or 7th murder."
Lex nodded and left the office. She walked along the corridor of
the police station with a black face. She was obviously not happy.
Being one of the best detectives in town, she could not figure out
head or tail about the recent five murders which came in the span
of a week. Each 5 murders were all so distinct and there seemed not
to exist a common pattern within them. She walked back into her
office, and slammed the door sitting down, staring at the
blackboard with the photos of the five victims, and the various
death scenes and autopsy reports hanging there. She was making no
progress.
A knock at the door came to her ears, breaking her
concentration.
"Come in," Lex said as she saw a man in trenchcoat walked in. "You
are? How may I help you?"
"Flywire, special agent of the Bureau Internal Security Act of
Eropagins, acting under the 5th Wing of the Emperor's guards." the
man by the name of Flywire spoke with a slow voice. His hair was
long with his dark sunglasses which concealed his eyes. If you
think of a static model for a cool guy in the spirit of Keanu
Reeves, you would realize that this guy is very similar in style,
especially when he started speaking to Lex. For one thing, Flywire
would make the worst actor but with good looks if he would to try
in BollyHood. "I am here under the orders of the Bureau to assist
in this case. Here is my security clearance." He passed a letter to
Lex, who surveyed quickly. "I have direct orders that these murders
had something to do with a cult who were the followers of the Hallo
Kathy order. They were Satanists."
"So, why are the bureau interested in this?" Lex said with a tone
of skeptism. She had no choice since the police force is not above
the Bureau of ISA.
"Because we have received news that someone is planning to
assassinate the cult leader Kar Hole. In his residence, he received
a threat this morning in the form of a box, saying that he would be
the 7th victim."
"But there are only 5 victims so far," Lex said as she realized
that there is the 6th one coming. Just at this point, someone
rushed into the office and said in a pant,"Lex, there is a corpse
found this morning in the forum."
"Damn," Lex was agitated, but quickly grabbed her gear, and left
her office with Flywire following her.
They reached the murder scene which was located in the river where
a tall bridge was seen. It was a gruesome scene, with the area
fenced up, and the reporters were blocked by the policemen on the
road. Lex and Flywire reached the area and saw a pretty young woman
with a lab coat and rubber gloves, looking at the corpse.
"Tet, you are always so early," said Lex, as they were
ex-classmates from high school. Tet graduated from the Most
Intelligent Techrion University, as a medical doctor, specializing
in pathology, and joined the police force, while Lex entered after
her diploma. Well, due to work, they had always met up for dinners
and were close friends.
"Yes, Lex," Tet said,"A male corpse, killed yesterday around 4 am,
with obvious marks of strangling. But his body was bloated with
salt, nefore being lunged into the river. Perhaps, this is not the
first crime scene." She gave her report to her friend,"I would take
the corpse back to my lab, and do a proper autopsy before I could
give you a full report by tomorrow afternoon."
"Thanks Tet," said Lex, she quickly wore a pair of rubbergloves as
she surveyed around for good clues. Flywire was also looking around
for clues, but he examined the body first.
"Why is there so much salt in this body?" the bureau agent spoke.
He was examining for other possible clues, and saw a marked tattoo
on his elbow in the shape of a circle with a star pentagram
enclosed within. He found it remarkably familiar, but was thinking
about it, while the police carried the body back with the
pathologist to the laboratory.
Lex was looking at the river currents and the rocks around the
bridge to see whether there were any clues. She found a small
gemstone which is unique among the rest of the rocks lying by the
side of the river. She put it in her pocket and looked carefully
around for other clues. She was wondering why the body was left
here to be discovered if this was not the first murder scene. It
was boggling her head. How were the other murders connected to her?
Why is it that someone had delibrately make the cult leader the 7th
victim? It was a mystery to her, but she was determined to crack
the case, before the next victim.
(c)When Plans begin
-------------------
It was raining heavily in the residence of the cult leader, Kar
Hole. Ever since his asylum from Sgforumsia granted by the Royal
Emperor Chef, he was resting well with his high priest Ack who was
doing all the necessary preparations for his public appearance next
week. The cult leader was a man of great controversy, and was known
to be the flamer who used and abused logic to his own ends. He is
totally a linux guru, and that was where his mysterious fortune
came from. Some claimed that he was a buddhist and some claimed
that he is a nihilist, and yet no one really know how he
thinks.
He was looking out in the long glass windows as a knock was heard
from the door. It was his right hand man, Ack.
"My respects to the Sexy cult leader," the highpriest bowed as he
greeted his master.
"Rise, my highpriest, Ack," the cult leader spoke. "What tidings do
you bring?"
"The gangs of Twankle and Hello Katty would be meeting tonight in
the Zoo Disco and have their final showdown. There is the 6th
murder already happened and the corpse was found. I am afraid that
we have to power up security against the assassin who has declared
you as his target." Ack said with respect.
"I am aware of that," Kar Hole lighted up his pipe to smoke,"How
are the plans on the migration to the new server headquarters
"Fartupmews" coming along?"
"It has been done," said the highpriest.
"Good," Kar Hole said,"The most powerful weapon is to show that
everyone is wrong and I am always right. Send the 4 Horsemen to the
Zoo Disco, and have those clowns executed. They are a bunch of
punks who ought to be shoved off like rubbish in the city. How
about the flail? Any news?"
"My lord, the last thing I heard from my meeting with the god of
War, Bish, the flail of Devestation was last seen in Eropagins.
Both Dakar and Bish had disappeared for some reasons after the last
war in hell, with the mysterious Prodigal. It was told that the
flail contained the soul of the God of Time."
Ack reported.
"Which is precisely why I wanted to gain control of the flail, then
I would rise to godhood," Kar Hole laughed in an evil manner.
"We have to seek out the flail before the End of Time comes." Ack
said. "The Prodigal and Runoa was last seen in Tibet to meet the
Dalai Lama. That is of course, due to rumours, perpetuated by
Megaloth, the so-called highpriest of the goddess of Love. He has
the control of the south sector of the city. Shall we eliminate
him?"
"No, we need him to locate the Endless," Kar Hole said,"Continue
monitoring these people."
"Yes, my lord," said Ack, as he left the chambers of the cult
leader. The cult leader moved towards the window and said to
himself as he clenched his fists with laughter,"Someday, the world
would be in my control."
[to be continued]
[This message has been edited by prodigal (edited 15 April
2000).]