Superhero Epic Ch. 7

Chapter 7: Dealing


Mindbender and company continued to fly toward the Emperor's palace. They finally made it there when gunfire began to riddle them, which Mindbender put up a telekinetic shield to repel.
"Fools!" Mindbender shouted. He flung a hand forward, and the soldiers shooting at them flew up in the air. When they landed back down on the ground with a sick thud, Mindbender flew toward the building at breakneck speed, crashing through a window. His companions followed him through the window, and encountered a mass of resistance.
"Soldiers, open fire! Destroy those freaks!" They responded with a barrage of gunfire and Mindbender once again shielded his team. Mindbender looked at them and smiled. "Did you really think I would allow you to harm me or my companions? How foolish! Dracosaur, enlighten them on what happens to fools." The soldiers stopped firing due to the fact that they had run out of ammo firing on Mindbender's telekinetic shield. Mindbender lowered his shield as a jet of fire shot from Dracosaur's mouth, incinerating the soldiers, who went in to full panic-mode. Mindbender began laughing and flung the soldiers out the window. He directed his gaze at Shadowcaster and stopped laughing immediately.
"Shadowcaster, shroud the building. We don't want to be interrupted." Shadowcaster gave him a look of uncertainty, but went along with his orders anyway. A dome of shadow began to surround the building as onlookers watched in horror. "Excellent, now let us find this Emperor, shall we?" The trio of Mindbender, Shadowcaster and Dracosaur roamed the halls, and occasionally encountered some guards, which they quickly dispatched. They rushed down a hallway, and found a locked door. Mindbender attempted to blast it open with a telekinetic pulse, but found his attempt unsuccessful.
"What's wrong?" Shadowcaster said worriedly. Mindbender threw an irritated look at her. "It appears he has this door very well bolted shut. No matter, I'll get it open." Mindbender looked very intently at the door in front of him and directed his thoughts behind it. A soldier was guarding the inside of the door, and Mindbender could feel his thoughts. He pushed his own thoughts into the soldier's head, telling him to open the door. The soldier felt Mindbender's thoughts become his own and began moving toward the keypad, ignoring any orders not to. He punched in the code to open the door, and then shot his partner soldier, and himself, in the head. The door opened, and Mindbender and his associates walked in the room. They looked around and saw an empty room, aside from the two dead soldiers lying in front of the door, and a desk sitting in the far end of the room. Mindbender closed his eyes, and seemed to almost scan the room, his thoughts peering for any life form other than Shadowcaster and Dracosaur. His thoughts moved around the room for a moment, when he found the Emperor. He began talking to him using his telepathy.
"Come out Emperor, there isn't any reason to hide from us; we wish to talk to you." The Emperor, hiding underneath the desk, whimpered inaudibly. He attempted to keep his thoughts to himself, with no success. "What are you so afraid of? What secrets do you hide?" Mindbender smiled a very devious smile. The Emperor boldly made his way from underneath the desk and shouted at Mindbender intently.
"How dare you?! You have entered my place of residence and desecrated my troops!" Emperor Lignum gave a look of disgust at Mindbender and his lot. Mindbender merely smiled, though Shadowcaster and Dracosaur did not share his politeness. "You should calm down, Gareth. Yes we have entered your home, but we would have done the same to anyone else, you are a lower form of being, and that is to be expected. As for the soldiers, I did nothing but defend myself and my friends, they would have done the same to us, so why not pay them the same respect?" Lignum looked at Mindbender with contempt and frowned. "What do you want?"
"Let me first introduce myself. I am Mindbender. The lovely woman to my left is Shadowcaster, and the impressive creature to my right is Dracosaur. We had come with the intention of killing you, and my friends here are probably wondering why I haven't yet. While I was in your mind, I discovered something." Emperor Lignum looked incredibly frightened and angry. Mindbender ignored him, and went on. "While I do admit that I was completely ready to kill you and get on with my business, what I discovered while in your mind changes everything. Now, if you wish for your secret to remain so, then you can enlighten my friends here, and I promise that no one but the four of us will know, but if you do not, I have no problem telling the entire population of Draguardium what you really are." Lignum growled in anger and took a deep breath in.
"Very well. Is this all you want?" Mindbender let out a small laugh at Lignum's question. "There are a few other things I require for keeping your secret, but they are minor, I can assure you." Lignum actually managed to crack a smile. "So it's blackmail, then? Fantastic. Very well, you monster, if it makes you feel better to hear it, fine. I am a Metahuman. I am a freak just like the rest of you monsters. Is that what you wanted to hear?"
"Wait a minute, what?" Shadowcaster said in shock. Mindbender smiled, and Dracosaur growled. "You mean to tell me that you are calling a war on our kind, when some of us had to scrounge around, barely making it by? And on top of that, you were raised with a silver spoon in your mouth, when you're just like the rest of us?! I should roast you!" Mindbender became incredibly irritated. "Dracosaur, calm down, I have a proposition for our friend here. However, before I get to that, you hate our kind, but may I ask why? I may be ruthless, but I do care for my fellow Metahuman. If need be, I will make this one of the conditions of our agreement. Just tell us why you hate Metahumans so badly."
"You want to know? Fine. From the moment I was born, I was treated like a second-class citizen by my family. Even before they discovered my abilities, I was dirt to them. My father was the important one; I was always shoved to the side to make way for my saintly brothers and my perfect mother. My father was the domineering dictator, everything was his way, and I was never even considered to take his place as Emperor. Then they found out I was a Metahuman, and they kept me locked away. Whenever my family went on an outing, my father would temporarily take me out of my cage, and let me join in the festivities to save embarrassment."
"Could you move it along please?" Dracosaur said, still irritated. Mindbender looked at Dracosaur forebodingly. "He has a point, let him finish."
"Thank you. Anyway, eventually, I got sick of my family's treatment of me. I was going to get back at them for what they did, no matter what the cost. When I escaped, I had discovered that my mother had passed away from an illness she had been battling with for quite some time, so that just meant one less family member to get back at. I went for my brothers first. My brother Patrick was swimming in the family pool one day, and I took the opportunity to make him suffer. A whirlpool appeared in the water, and pulled him in. He continued to spin around until he became so disoriented, he couldn't stay afloat. He sunk down to the bottom and drowned to death. After his death, I took no hesitation in going after my brother Percy. He was hiking on a trail not too far from the hills to the east, and I was following him. He began going toward the slopes of Mount Djinn and I once again seized the opportunity to exact my revenge. An avalanche began to roll down the mountainside, and my brother began to flee, but it came too fast for him to do anything about it. He was crushed by the falling rocks, and I went to finish off my father, which I promptly did with a house fire. His palace burned down to the ground, taking with it his will, and thus making me the rightful heir to his throne. I told you that story so you will better understand when I explain my reasons for my distrust of Metahumans. I hold a grudge against you because no matter how oppressed you were, you at least had the support of your family, which is something I never had, though I deserved it just as much as anyone."
"You think all of us had the support of our families? Please! My dad hated me after he found out what I was! He wasn't too fond of me beforehand, considering the fact that he used to beat me on a daily basis. Trust me, some of us have had it just as hard as you, but that's what makes us strong, and that's why we do what we do," Shadowcaster said boldly.
"Well put, dear. You can be more than just an Emperor. Trust me, your life can be much better than what you had previously wished it to be," Mindbender said slyly.
"I don't understand. What could be more than being Emperor?" Mindbender gave him a slight frown and walked up to him. "My friend, my mission is simple: to end the oppression of our kind. In order to do that, I will need your help. Once our goal is reached, you will no longer need to hide who you are. We will be able to help you if you allow us to." Lignum's face was working, and he absorbed the information he was given. "What are you proposing?"
"What I want is for you to become a member of our allegiance. I am not asking you to give up your post as Emperor, in fact, I would be incredibly happy if you would keep your post. What I need from you is to be a double agent of sorts. Keep the anti-Metahuman sentiments going amongst the people, and all that mistrust and anger can help us." Lignum looked confused. "I'm afraid I still don't understand. How is that going to help Metahumans?"
"I'd like to know that too, Mindbender. You say you've got our best interests at heart, but you want to keep this war going. That doesn't add up to me," Dracosaur growled. "Look at it this way, Dracosaur. If we are to become superior, we must fight to gain our superiority. We will never be respected as superiors if we can't fight for our place. The human race fought hard for their position, why should we expect any less? I realize you are angry, my friend, but we will never be strong unless we can stand up against an entire civilization. That is the only way to prove it to them." Dracosaur growled again. "Fine, whatever. This is getting to be a lot harder than I thought it was gonna be."
"Where do we go from here?" Lignum asked, smiling slightly. Mindbender returned his smile. "I can feel someone coming. It is odd, I cannot gauge their thoughts, it as if they are being blocked from me. If it is who I think it is, once they arrive, talk with them and make sure that they think you are still as anti-Metahuman as ever. When they are convinced that you are not going to change your position, they will leave. Once that happens, set another press conference and make the public think that these 'heroes' are behind an attack on your life. Then we can make our next move. For now, however, I must leave." Mindbender took flight out of the one window in the room, and Dracosaur and Shadowcaster followed. As they made it out the window, the layer of shadow shrouding the palace disappeared. They flew for a while, and landed in the street a few blocks away from the palace.
"You mean to tell me we gotta walk?" Dracosaur grumbled. Mindbender eyed him with a smirk. "Relax, it's only until Franklin and his friends arrive at the palace. When they make it, we can fly all you want." Mindbender stood there for a few moments with his eyes closed, and once he could feel their consciousness enter the palace, he ordered his friends to take flight, as he did the same.
A few minutes earlier, Pixie had been training her powers, and since she knew exactly what needed to be achieved, it was a relatively simple process. She only had to try a few times before she got the hang of cloaking the whole team. Once she got it, they took off into the air, with Twilight holding Knightbeast, and Tech holding Artillery. Pixie was riding on Twilight's back, cloaking the others. They flew for quite a while, until they finally made it to the palace, where they found a broken window, which they promptly flew into. They saw the Emperor standing there, pacing back and forth, and then Pixie removed the cloak she had placed on them. Lignum turned with a start and he shouted at them.
"Who are you?! Have you come here to kill me? Are you the ones responsible for all of this damage?!" Knightbeast looked at Emperor Lignum with a slight look of shock, but shook it off. "Look Lignum, we gotta talk about some things." Lignum looked at Knightbeast in disgust. "The creature just spoke to me! Don't you have a cage to get to, animal?" Knightbeast tried to charge at Lignum, but Artillery caught him and held him back. "Knightbeast, calm down! Look Lignum, can't we keep this civilized?" Artillery said angrily, wanting to let Knightbeast go. Lignum cracked a smile, and chuckled a little. "Civilized? That beast just tried to attack me! You people are a prime example of why I am calling this war! Invading my home, trying to attack me, I'm surprised that you haven't devolved into slithering puddles of muck, the way you behave."
"We're trying to negotiate with you if you'd let us!" Pixie shouted. Lignum laughed. "Negotiate with you monsters? You people are pathetic! Get out of my home before I decide to have you killed!" Knightbeast growled at Lignum. "Gladly! I don't wanna be here with a bigot like you anyway! Knightbeast hopped on Twilight's back and ordered his team to move out. They did as he ordered and flew out the window into the afternoon air.
Lignum made a noise of disgust as he was disgusted with himself for what he was forced to do. He now was with them, the very things he despised for so long, who he hated for having the comfort of being able to be proud of who they were, he now was a part of them. As much as he hated them, he couldn't help longing for that life, after the sheltered one he was forced to live. He had thought about being with his fellow Metahumans many times, but the idea had seemed foolish at the time. How could he ever be with them? They would surely take away everything that he had fought so hard to achieve. He wiped away all the negativity from his head, as he had done so many times before, and sat behind his desk. His head still rang with what that woman said. It's our hardships that make us stronger. Never had he heard words so true. It was these words that he clung to in order to make sense of everything. Just when he had calmed himself down, armed guards ran into his room and looked for any sign of intruders.
"Are you all right, sir?" One of the guards asked. Lignum did not move. He merely looked at the guard and gave a stony look. "Have the television cameras wheeled up here. I must alert the public to what has happened." The guard looked confused. "Sir, what happened?" Lignum looked down at his desk for a moment. He then looked at the guard with the same stony expression but spoke in a tone that almost sounded amused. "An attempt was just made on my life. Those Metahumans are animals, and I must counter-attack. Just get the cameras up here, I will deal with the rest." The guard looked as if he was about to speak, but the look on Lignum's face stopped him. He commanded the other guards in the room to get the reporters and camera crews in his office as soon as possible.
About fifteen minutes later, back at the place that Knightbeast and his team call home, the television was on, with Gareth Lignum sitting at his desk in his office. Everyone was on the couch watching, except for Knightbeast, who was standing behind it. Lignum then began speaking.
"Greetings to the people of Draguardium. I have come to you in distress. I have said to the people time and time again that Metahumans are nothing but monsters, and now I have proof. I was confronted by a ravaging set of these creatures who demanded that I call off the war. When I refused, their leader attempted to kill me. He lunged at me, and nearly took my head off." At this, Knightbeast growled in anger, and the TV continued to blare on. "Luckily I was not intimidated and I kicked the beast off of me. After they saw that I refused to relent, they left, like the cowards they are. The attempt on my life has made me even more determined to wipe these animals out. I am depending on you, the people of Draguardium to help me in these efforts. Any Metahuman found should be immediately taken to the Hunter Corporation on Starland Way. If you are dedicated to the cause, you may find further employment there. I thank you for listening, and bid you farewell." Twilight turned off the TV and snarled.
"What the hell are we gonna do now? We've got basically everyone out there hunting for us, and all because of a goddamn lie!" Knightbeast growled very fiercely. "I'll tell you what we're gonna do! Nothing! There's nothing we can do! I can't take being prosecuted anymore! Maybe we should all just turn ourselves in."
"I can't believe what I'm hearing! The one I looked up to for being a good leader, and a good friend, is giving up? What happened to you?" Artillery shouted. Knightbeast looked at him, incredibly depressed. "I've just been…broken. All the oppression and hate finally got to me, ok? Is that what you wanted to hear?"
"Knightbeast, please…" Pixie begged. She looked at him with tears in her eyes, her face reddening. "Please, we have to fight. If we don't, who else will?" Knightbeast looked back at her, also teary eyed. "I can't do it anymore, I just can't. I wanted to help people, to make our planet a better place to live. Now these people are trying to kill us, so why should I save them? This planet isn't a better place. This planet is being ruined. Why should I give them the satisfaction of being saved, when none of them would do the same for me? I'm sick of helping those ungrateful bastards!"
"You're sick of saving them?! You used to be one! Hell, you still are! Don't let your outward appearance determine who you are, even your abilities. Your actions dictate who you are, and as far as I'm concerned, you are more human than they are!" Artillery shouted. Knightbeast gave a little smile, but quickly returned to his depressed scowl. "What are we supposed to do? How can we fight this?" Artillery walked up to Knightbeast and put a hand on his shoulder. "It doesn't matter how we fight, all that matters is that we do indeed fight. We have to fight, not just for ourselves, but for anyone who's oppressed!" Knightbeast let out a little chuckle, which made Artillery smile. "Artillery, you remind me of myself when I started this team. Fine, I'll keep fighting, but I can't lead this team anymore. I think that job is better suited to someone else." Knightbeast gave a wink to Artillery and smiled. "Whoa, you mean me?" Artillery blushed. "I couldn't think of anyone better. Your resolve can never be broken, no matter what happens to you, and that makes you perfect for the job. Just do me a favor and don't give me the whole 'I'm honored' garbage." Artillery smiled. "All right, thanks." He shook Knightbeast's hand and looked at his new team.
"So what's next, Artillery?" Twilight said, surprisingly warmer to him now. Artillery just smiled. "Well, I am determined to stop this war, and I refuse to let Carter, or Mindbender, whatever he wants to be called, get his way. He wants this war so he can gain superiority. He may have a very powerful weapon in his telekinesis and his telepathy, but I have a powerful weapon too, and with it, I know we can take him down."
"There is a flaw in your plan." Tech began. "You barely know how that thing really works. You're as clueless as the natives of the Vermillion Archipelago." Artillery got a chill down his spine at the last two words. "What did you just say?" he asked, his eyes glaring at where Tech's should be. Tech looked a little startled. "You're clueless." "No, after that," Artillery replied, completely nonplussed by Tech's comment. "The Vermillion Archipelago?" Tech asked, unsure what relevance that had to the conversation. "Yes! I don't know why, but I just know that's the answer! That's where I'll find out the secrets of this thing, I feel it! It's like the scepter is trying to communicate with me!"
"What are you trying to say? You're not planning on actually going there are you?" Knightbeast said, almost laughing. Artillery looked at Knightbeast intently. "That's exactly what I'm planning. The secret is there, I can feel it. We need to leave as soon as possible."
"Frank, I realize that you feel that this is the right thing to do, but how do you know? You could be leading us on a wild goose chase." Pixie said with a bit of indignation. "Listen, I know this may seem crazy, but I just know that this is what is gonna help us, you gotta trust me."
"Well if we're going, I'm not going unprepared. We're going to have to deal with natives, and I highly doubt any of us know their language." Tech said, almost excited. "Don't you have some kind of device that'll let us communicate with them?" Artillery replied. "I have one thing, it's primitive, and can interpret only the simplest of languages, but I think if I work with it a little, it may be just the thing we need. What it does is takes the sound, turns it into electricity and the electricity is then turned into something we can understand, via an earpiece. Give me an hour or two, and I'll have it running perfectly." He looked at Artillery, and gave him a nod, and then he went into his room. The entire team sat there, buzzing with thoughts of the upcoming voyage.
The day was darkening fast, and Mindbender and his crew was on the move.
"Where are we going?" Shadowcaster shouted, due to the wind rushing past them. Mindbender continued moving forward and shouted, "I have diverted from my duty for too long; we need more soldiers for our army. We are going to Kilgari. It is said to be a treasure trove of Metahumans. We need to make a stop by Lignum's home first, though. His order to lock down the city will stop us from getting transportation. I would normally just have us use our abilities to fly there, but I think that may be a bit overtaxing for the two of you, plus, it would take too long." Mindbender landed a few blocks away from the palace and Dracosaur and Shadowcaster did the same.
"Why are we landing?" Dracosaur asked irritably. Mindbender smiled his dark smile. "Don't you think if we were to go in there as we did before, we would be rushing things? If we go in there, guns a-blazing, he will have no choice but to have us destroyed, and I don't want to jeopardize the relationship that he and I share. Now enough talking, let's go." Mindbender began walking, with Dracosaur and Shadowcaster's feet began to pound the pavement. Dracosaur looked down at his feet and gave a little laugh. "Don't you think people are gonna notice me?" Mindbender turned his head, and chuckled just as Dracosaur had done. "Relax, my friend. You will be fine. If anyone comes near us, I will plant the idea in their heads that you are nothing but ordinary. Just relax." They all continued on until they made it to the palace. When they made it there, the soldiers guarding the gate stopped them from proceeding any further.
"Who are you, and what do you think you are doing here?" Mindbender gave the soldiers a polite smile. "I wish to see the Emperor, if you would please open the gates and let us in, I would greatly appreciate it." The soldier on the left laughed at this. "I'm sure you would kid, why don't you and your friends go someplace else, huh?" Mindbender looked down at the ground, the soldier assumed it was because he was upset because he was upset that he couldn't get in, but in reality, Mindbender was communicating his thoughts to Emperor Lignum. "I would greatly appreciate it if you would get your goons to allow us in, we have something to discuss." A few moments later, the soldier on the right put a finger to his ear and nodded his head a few times, with a bit of inaudible dialogue escaping his lips. He nodded to his fellow soldier, and the gate opened. "Watch yourself kid, or I'll take you out," the soldier shouted at Mindbender, who smiled at him. "I'll keep that in mind, now if you don't mind, I'd like to see the Emperor." He walked past the soldiers as Shadowcaster and Dracosaur followed. They kept walking and went into the door, which more soldiers seemed to be behind.
"We're your escorts. Don't do anything stupid, or you'll be killed." The soldiers walked them to a lift and opened the door. Once they all walked in, one of the soldiers closed the door, the other soldier pressed a button on the lift, and it started to go up. No talking went on, the soldiers, just with their presence, seemed to silence the area. Mindbender looked at one of the soldiers, and he could've sworn that his skin was peeling away, and beneath it there was an orange, scaly look, but he ignored it, and looked forward. The lift stopped and the soldiers opened the door, as they began walking down a long narrow hallway, which led to a door with a keypad. The soldier to their left typed in a code, and the door opened to reveal Emperor Lignum's office.
"We're prohibited from standing in on your meeting, but if there is even the slightest sound of danger, we will not hesitate to destroy you," the odd-looking soldier said. Mindbender gave him a confused look, and shuddered. "Don't worry, I just have a request of him, and if I don't get the answer I want, I will leave." Mindbender walked in, and his friends followed him, and the door shut closed behind them.
"Well if it isn't Mindbender. Ah you brought Dracosaur and Shadowcaster as well. What can I do for you?" Lignum said smiling. Mindbender returned his smile. "Well, I have a favor to ask of you. We are in need of more followers, but I believe that there are valuable assets outside of Draguardium. I need your help in getting me to Kilgari. Your lockdown of the city has kind of dampened my travel plans." Lignum frowned at this. "Well, I would love to help you out, but any method of transportation outside town is blocked, no airships are allowed to take off, all airports are shut down. I don't really see any way out of town for you." Mindbender looked at him, and gave a sly smile. "You must have your own private airship or something. Let us use that." Lignum laughed. "Are you crazy? Do you honestly think you're going to use my airship? I'm sorry, but I can't."
"Why the hell not? We're risking a lot to even be associated with you, you know," Dracosaur could feel his anger beginning to boil up. Lignum looked at him, taken aback. "I could say the same about you. My answer has not changed. I can't let you use my airship, not without me on it." Mindbender smiled, as he saw a loophole open up. "Do you have a second in command?" Lignum looked at Mindbender intently. "Why do you want to know? What's brewing in that complex brain of yours?" Mindbender looked at Lignum and smiled. He wiped the hair away from his forehead, and blinked. "Well, you could appoint him to rule in your stead, and you could accompany us to Kilgari in your airship. What better way is there to prove you are truly with us?"
"So it's a question of allegiances, is it?" Lignum replied. Mindbender looked at Lignum, smiling as usual. "If it needs to be," he said. Lignum looked down at his feet and became very somber. "What have I gotten myself into?" Shadowcaster looked at him, and felt sad for him, considering their similar parental torment. "Listen, Lignum, you just need to trust Mindbender, he might not exactly be the kind of person you're used to dealing with, but he's our best shot at finally feeling normal. Isn't that what you want?" Lignum smiled at her, he had not felt someone so warm and inviting reach out to him this way in his life. "I suppose you're right my dear. Very well, allow me to make a telephone call, and we can get out of here. He walked to his desk, and picked up the receiver to his telephone. He dialed a number, waited for it to ring a few times, until he heard someone pick up.
"General Talon? Good, I need you to take my place for a few days. I know this is on short notice, but I am really in a hurry. Details? I have to meet with the Prime Minister of Kilgari. Apparently he is experiencing Metahuman difficulties as well. I'm sorry but I have to go. Get here as soon as you can, I have to leave right now." He hung up the phone and was moving rather erratically. "All right you three, we have to move quick if we're to get out of here before Talon makes it here. We'll need to take the lift to the hangar bay, and after that we can get out of here." Mindbender smiled as Lignum put in the code on the keypad and the door opened. The guards were still standing there, and they saw Lignum walk briskly from the room, with Mindbender, Shadowcaster, and Dracosaur following quickly behind. They pointed their guns at the trio, and yelled at them to stop.
"They're with me, c'mon!" Lignum said, telling the soldiers off, and motioning for Mindbender, Dracosaur, and Shadowcaster to follow him. They did as he said, but he stopped. "Soldiers, One of you call the pilot and tell him to meet us in the hangar bay. I have important business to attend to." He started toward the lift, and made his way inside it, followed by the trio. The lift doors closed, and Lignum opened a panel, and pressed a button inside it. The lift began to travel downward, and Lignum took a breath.
"What's the matter, can't take a little excitement?" Dracosaur said smiling. Lignum laughed a bit, and shook his head. "I can take plenty of it, I just haven't exactly prepared for this. I'm used to having a certain amount of order in things." Mindbender laughed at Lignum's comment. "This certainly is not the best place to find order, my friend. But seeing as you are one of us now, what would you like to be called? We each have a name to signify the importance of our abilities, to separate us from our human selves. What would you like to be called?"
"I've been thinking about that. How about 'Elemage?'" Lignum said, smiling. Mindbender gave an odd look and shook it off his face. "Elemage is as good as any other, I suppose." The lift finally stopped after what seemed like forever. Elemage opened the lift doors to reveal a massive hangar, and even more impressive, an enormous airship that lay in the center. The airship was massive, and had a 'bucket' for holding passengers and the pilot, but most of the ship's mass was above the bucket. It was a massive container to hold the gas, which was used to give the ship its lift. He walked toward the airship, which now seemed much further away than originally anticipated, with his new teammates following behind him. They walked for a while, and when they finally made it to the Airship, a pilot greeted them. "Your ship is ready for takeoff sir. If I may inquire as to our destination—" Lignum put up a hand to stop him. "Take us to Kilgari, no questions asked," he said, opening the door to the airship. Everyone went inside, including the pilot, who shut the door. He went up to the front, and pressed a button or two, flipped a few switches, and pulled a lever. Then the very ceiling above them folded upward to allow the airship through. The foursome of Elemage, Mindbender, Shadowcaster and Dracosaur looked down at the ground, mindful of the task that was to be done.