The Adventures of Mavus Pt. II

"The Adventures of Mavus Pt. II" is a continuation from the The Adventures of Mavus series. Mavus Shaw has been enlisted in The Inquisition, working under college crush Junon Gareth. The series begins with The Inquisition under attack by The New Militia, under the command of Blackflame.

Chapter 7 - I Give Blackflame The Worst Sales Pitch Ever

You know the old saying, nothing starts the day better than a good old fashioned war at 6am in the morning. Junon was still frozen in fear. Suddenly, Conlan appeared, rallying all the troops.

"Warriors of The Inquisition. The time has come for us to lay our lives in battle. As we speak, the armies of Ariandal approach. All who are able, gear up. This includes you recruits. We will not yield to our enemy. We are SOLDIERS!" Conlan raised his sword, causing the entire Inquisition soldier field to cheer. Truman managed to stumble next to me. "What about breakfast?" I looked at the elf with disbelief. "Dude, the New Militia is literally invading our home and that's the first thing you're worried about?"

Kyrael met up with us. Conlan gave her a nod. "It's time. I will send my forces and we will battle the enemy head on. I've also redirected my armies from remote areas to return to the Fortress to activate a pincer move." Kyrael gave him a look of approval. "Yuko has also began to send scouts to deal some guerrilla based damage to the enemy. Lazarus and several of the officers have begun to evacuate the people to the bunkers. We will not fall today." Conlan nodded grimly. "To the end."

I interrupted the two. "Umm". Conlan and Kyrael looked at me. I continued. "I can probably take them all out with a few heavy hitting armada units, but I'll need some space." Kyrael grinned. "That's the spirit Mister Shaw! Conlan, redirect your troops and send the command to keep their distance!" Conlan sent the command. "Do it, Maven."

I concentrated. It's time to begin operation hellfire. I concentrated as hard as I could, and yelled, summoning everything I could to create a massive battalion of war machines.

"Um... what are you doing?" Kyrael asked. I opened my eyes. Nothing happened. I had my hands clenched and assumed the form of a sumo wrestler, veins popping out of the side of my head, but no machine was manifested. In fact, not even a single lightbulb was made. I stared at my hands like an idiot.

"Wait, this isn't supposed to happen. My powers-" Oh no. I knew I shouldn't have been binging on the internet last night. I was completely depleted after that crazy spurt with Amana's team the other day, and instead of sleeping I decided to procrastinate. To completely recharge my batteries, I needed at least 15 hours of sleep. Instead, I had a solid 30 minutes.

Conlan figured it out. "You've run dry. That little display of power this morning must have depleted you of stamina. So you do have limits..."

Before Conlan could finish, a roar of chanting and cheers erupted from the Inquisition army. Suddenly, the members of Darkstar emerged from the tower. Jason landed in front of Kyrael. "We will take on Blackflame. You guys worry about his army." Kyrael gave him a look of concern. "Jason, are you sure? Blackflame has likely gotten much stronger, you said yourself that you can't beat him in a direct fight." Jason shook his head. "We only need to drive him back. With Mavus on board, we should be able to send the armies away, and Blackflame should retreat. I doubt Calliope has any plans to take us out immediately when there are still so many members of Croft living here she could corrupt."

Jason unsheathed his daggers, and powered up. The dude was so cool. 6 foot 1 inches of pure muscle. Most people who acted like that were always edgy teens who thought wearing all black would make them cool. But this guy actually pulled it off. Jason leaped in the air, with the other Darkstar members in tow. Everybody was cheering them on. Truman was literally crying. "So beautiful..."

I watched as Jason yelled, his daggers elongating into massive black tonfas. So freaking cool. Blackflame looked up, and met the strike with his claw, causing a massive tornado of wind pressure, black magic, and dark fire. Even cooler. The two began to fight as the rest of Darkstar joined in. Jason was surprisingly putting up a good fight, but then Blackflame smiled, and slipped his strikes and struck him in the chest, sending The Black Chad through several trees. Well that ended quick. Jason yelled, and re-engaged the former Darkstar member.

Conlan looked Kyrael in the eye. "I will be joining my troops in battle." Kyrael nodded. "So will I." I looked at both of them. "Wait hold on! I'm still depleted of power! What am I supposed to do?" Conlan glanced at me. "You'll need to figure out how to recharge quickly. Metahuman abilities are out of my specialty, but I think Junon might have something for you. Act quickly, boy! You are no longer a recruit. You are a soldier of the Inquisition!"

I returned to my squad. Junon was on the ground now, her hands clutched to her knees. I went up to her. "Junon, Conlan says you might have something to help me temporarily recharge my abilities. Can you help me out?" Junon was still shaking, her eyes in tears. Well... shit.

Khione and Veran looked at me. Veran unsheathed his broadsword. "We will join Conlan's forces in battle. Junon is facing inner turmoil. We must continue the fight without her!" Khione summoned her ice powers and gave me a thumbs up. "Be safe you guys. We'll be back in a jiffy." I grinned.

Truman was shaking too. "Mavus... what are we going to do? Our captain..." Suddenly, a scream erupted from behind the walls. The soul beasts had broken through the lines of defence, slaughtering our Garrison troops. Mages began to make their way into the Fortress. I had to get that item fast.

I ran up to Junon and put my hands on her shoulders. "Junon! Please! You need to help me restore my powers! Our team needs their captain!" Junon was still staring at the army, right at Blackflame. "It's no use... Sam... he'll kill us all... and it was all our fault..." She wasn't going anywhere. I started to shake her, causing her head to bob up and down. "Junon!!! The enemy's breached our defences, we need you. Please. Wake up!" Suddenly, a huge silhouette grabbed me by my shirt, and threw me to the side. I rolled like a rag doll, my hands and legs were scratched up bad. I looked up. A mage with strength amplification powers. Truman screamed, trying to drag Junon away, but the mage grabbed the elf and punching him in the gut, causing him to fall on his knees. My vision turned red with rage.

"Hey roid rage! Over here! You want a fight? Bring it on!" I assumed the stance that Junon had taught me in self defence class. I guess she was right. It didn't matter how powerful I was, there would eventually come a time where I needed to fight hand to hand. The mage laughed at me. "Little man, you will join us." The mage launched a punch, and I used one of the techniques Junon had shown me. I slipped the punch, using his momentum, and threw an uppercut as hard as I could into the place under his neck.

Crack! Oh God, for the love of God, my hand! I yelled, looking at my hand. Yeah, I definitely broke something. What was the dude made out of? Pure steel? The mage chuckled, and swatted me in the stomach. A wave of nausea rolled over me as I was sent flying in front of Junon, who was still frozen. Truman healed me, but then the mage approached him, causing the elf to yelp and run for his life. The mage knocked him out with a blow to the head. He then turned to me and Junon.

Junon was still frozen, and I suddenly realized I was the only thing keeping the mage from getting to her. I had no powers, but I was still on my two feet. "If you want to get to her, you gotta go through me!" The mage tilted his head. I guess he probably realized how stupid that sounded. There was no way some scrawny ass asian man could do jack to a towering juiced up bodybuilder of a mage. I looked at Junon, who was now tearing up. Junon looked at me. "Please... Mavus, run. I can't lose another friend, please..."

I cut her off. "Oh my God Junon! Snap out of it! I'm not going to leave you alone! I don't care if this dude is 6 1, 6 2, or 7 foot. I will protect you with my life, isn't that what soldiers do?" The tears stopped. The mage scoffed. "Okay, screw this, lights out kid." The mage punched me in the face, causing me to hit the ground. The mage then started to stomp on my head.

It felt like my brain was rattling on and off. I couldn't tell if my vision was turning black from being unconscious, or the dirt. It felt like my skull was being cracked open, and the pain, holy hell. It felt like someone was injecting me with every chili pepper in existence. Like the Scoville unit of my blood went up exponentially. I didn't want to see what I looked like, but judging from how I was barely able to move, I would say I looked pretty beat up. The mage went up to Junon.

"Hey," I croaked. The mage turned around. "I ain't... done with you... yet." The mage picked me up by the head. Well, I guess this is it.

Suddenly, the mage went slack. He dropped me like a sack of potatoes. Truman managed to regain consciousness and began to heal me. I watched as Junon put herself between the mage and I. "Stay the hell away from my squad you creep." Junon's face was both murderous and hot. The Mage laughed. "Wow, I'm so scared, you can't be serious lady. I guess I'll end you too." The Mage sent a punch her way, but Junon slid past. "Wait Junon! The uppercut to the chin thing won't work! His skin is too hard!" Junon rushed forward. "I'm not aiming for the chin." Junon suddenly went down, evading a swing. She then extended her hand, and impressed her finger on a spot. The Mage suddenly went slack. Suddenly, his whole body went numb. Junon walked up to the man, and began striking him in vital areas. Pressure points! The Mage went unconscious. Junon stood victorious.

Junon looked me in the eye. What a badass. I was going to say something along the lines of "Good Job" or "Welcome back", but the only thing that came out of my mouth was "uh, duh". Junon smirked. She helped me to my feet. "Thank you, Mavus. For reminding me that I have my own squad to look after. Now let's get you your stamina booster."