Subject: [gbp] Captain Britain #7 Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 19:56:30 +0100 From: "David" Captain Britain - The Duel of Duval: Power Plays, Part 3 The Demon Lord Duval had been a great many things, but the one thing he had not been was a fool, and neither had his greatest opponent, Shiban. When he had secured the Galena Codices between Earth and Otherworld, he had done so knowing that between realms the power of the one trying to steal the Codices were in flux. However there had been a flaw in his plan and he had underestimated the power, charm and appeal of Shiban. That flaw had undone his plans when he had attempted totake Otherworld by force. Shiban had rallied his people and regained the Codices. It had granted him the power he needed to face the greatest Demon Lord of the Nether Dimension. When Shiban had killed Duval in what was the ultimate battle of the war, the conquest of Otherworld stopped and Duval's forces were scattered across reality, Shiban had returned the Codices to the place he had gained them from and allowed Duval's traps to remain. If it were not for his gaining the Codices at the end of the trials, he would have died and as it was he died not long after the battle. The Guardian's ward had taken his place but the knowledge Shiban had in regard of the path had died with him, for he knew nobody would be able to use the Codices for the betterment of all. There had been twelve guardians of reality since Shiban and Merlin was the latest, though some of his foes considered him to be the greatest since Galena, for he seemed to know the will of the Elder Gods and so far his use of powers had been selective and effective. It was the reason he had survived so long and it was that resourcefulness Merlin hoped to utilise now. The Codices had to be regained, if only to stop Khan from seizing them. It was a race between them - Merlin starting at Otherworld, Khan at Earth. Their powers would wane as they got further towards the centre of the portal but they would have enough for the trials ahead. It would be a duel between the two of them against the deviousness of Duval. Brian sat by the bedside of his sister Elizabeth, waiting for a sign that she would recover from her ordeal. So far she was still comatose and not even the powers of Captain Britain would help him on this one. Right now she needed a healer and all her could do was hit things. It was still a shock to see her there, her normally blonde hair now a deep purple something that had happened when her psychic powers triggered. Betsy was a mutant. He shook his head in surprise. All the work he had done on mutants and the application of their powers and they still could not have predicted this happening. He hoped she was going to be all right, that she would come out of this okay. "Hey," said Courtney as he stroked his sister's hair. "Hey," he said, turning to see her, and he gave her a hug. "Oh, Cor..." "She's your sister," said Courtney. "She'll pull through. The Braddock family are made of stern stuff." "There are days I wonder," he said as he took a cup of coffee from her that she had been away to get. "Have you held her hand yet?" she asked him and he shook her head. It was something he had been frightened to do earlier in case she slipped away from him while she was holding her hand and that frightened him. "I don't want to lose her..." "There's a better chance of her coming through this if she knows you're there. What was it you told me a while back when you were working on telepaths in everyday life? That they had to develop special ways of protecting their senses because their psionic impulses were heightened by touch as it provided an actual point of contact?" "You memorise what I say or something?" "Comes with the job," said Courtney. "Let her know you're there, Bri." Her nodded knowing she was right and he broke from her and went over to his sister and held her hand, lightly stroking it with his fingers. "Hey, Beth," he said. "It's Brian. I need you to talk to me..." Then he was surrounded by a purple aura and he felt himself disappearing in to the night. Merlin made his way through the mists that made the portal between Earth and Otherworld. The only ways to truly move in here were either forwards or back. It was a straight line between worlds and he felt something in the air and he knew the first of the trials was upon him. Uncertain of what it was he readied himself, forming the makings of an incantation in his mind so that he would be able to deal with it. "HOLD UNWORTHY ONE!" echoed a voice from the mists. "YOUR POWER MEANS NOTHING HERE!" Merlin smiled. "I have been called many things in my lifetime, but never have I been classed as unworthy." "ARROGANT FOOL! YOU MAY BE GUARDIAN OF REALITY, YET YOU ARE NOT WORTHY TO POSSESS THE GALENA CODICES!" "I do not wish to possess the Codices, only prevent their use by evil forces." "GOOD AND EVIL MEAN NOTHING." "If I am arrogant, you are naïve," sneered Merlin. "Present yourself - now." There was a flash in the air, and there was a small green imp before him. "A jinn. This explains much." "THIS IS MY REALM, GUARDIAN. YOUR POWERS ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO MINE!" "Perhaps," said Merlin, thinking quickly. The jinn had probably been tasked with preventing him from passing. Which meant that the full powers of the jinn could be used to prevent him from passing. Unlike the myths of Earth, jinn could and would kill if necessary. Jinn were not known for their compassion but there were three laws that they could not break, by decree of the Elder Gods. The first was that the person who had cast the wish could only counter a wish, not by anyone else. The second was that if the source of the jinn was found, it could be controlled by whomever found the source, assuming it was not contrary to the first rule. The third was it the powers were finite and the jinn must return to the source to recharge dependant on the usage of power. Otherwise they could challenge the Elder Gods themselves. The jinn would not be easy to face, even if Merlin had his full array of powers. "The first move is yours, jinn." The jinn did not reply instead trapping Merlin within a sheet of glass, in essence making the guardian two dimensional and totally fragile. Any sudden movement on his part would mean the glass would fall, break and kill him. This told Merlin one of two things - the jinn would not kill him outright and that in doing so he had to prove himself worthy to pass. The most obvious choice had been to cast a spell that would allow him to pass through the dimensional planes, however that would require too much power and he could ill afford to waste what he had. This altered things slightly and he called upon his powers to turn the sheet of glass in to a cube, creating a third dimension. A solid block of glass would be harder to break and afforded him some protection for if he was right then the jinn would have to undo the spell to release him before casting another. It also called for radical thinking and he could still affect the other dimension from this prison. "CLEVER," hissed the jinn. "Simple," replied Merlin. "PERHAPS," murmured the jinn and waved his hands and the glass slowly began to melt as if there were an intense heat under the glass. Merlin needed to make a decision on how to proceed and he closed his eyes and sent his astral from form his body, whereby it grappled with the jinn, taking it in a headlock. As a race the jinn were more mystical energy than anything else, as was his astral form. "YOU DARE LAY HANDS ON ME!?" demanded the jinn. "I dare much," said Merlin. "I will not permit the safety of the three realms to be threatened by a demon and if I am to die in the attempt so be it!" "I WILL KILL YOU FOR THIS OUTRAGE!" "I think not," said Merlin, remembering his fundamental lore. His astral form was not the astral form of a normal being for he was the guardian of reality and he held a special status in the firmament of things. It was acting as negative energy to the jinn's positive energy. The counterbalance was maintained and he put pressure on the jinn who could not react to him wh ile they were touching. "Where is your source, jinn?" "I CANNOT SAY," said the jinn, as the guardian put pressure on its neck. "Then I will kill you and as you reform, I shall go past you, however I would prefer a more peaceful solution." "IT IS BELOW US," said the jinn, realising the futility of its predicament, and Merlin forced the creature down to where a small diamond ring lay on the floor. He had to time this right and as he let go off the jinn he grabbed a ring. If he were too slow he would be in a dangerous predicament. He timed it perfectly. "WHAT IS THY BIDDING, MY MASTER?" swore the jinn, fire in the creatures eyes at the humiliation of it's defeat. "Alter the density of my body to allow it passage through the glass," said Merlin, careful not to try and dispel the glass otherwise his connection to the jinn would be forfeit - a clause the Elder Gods had thrown in for their rules that few knew of. "IT IS DONE," hissed the jinn. "I SHALL NOT FORGET THIS, GUARDIAN. YOU HAVE MADE A POWERFUL ENEMY OF ME." "Be warned, creature of darkness," said Merlin, rejoining his body, his voice powerful and commanding as he siphoned some of the energy of the jinn to infuse himself. "You have never met one as worthy as I." He held the ring aloft. "I command you to turn the clock so that when I leave the portal, the time is before I arrived." Only a jinn had that kind of power, and he knew the jinn would need to recharge from the source after such a feat. "IT... IS... DONE!" cried the jinn and then vanished in to the ring. "Good," said Merlin, and continued on his way. "ELISABETH!" Brian looked about as the darkness faded to reveal a field of gold, met by a pure azure sky. A slight breeze echoed about him and he wondered where the hell he was. Then the scientist in him rationalised it and he knew this was not his plane of existence. If he was right it was where the power of the telepaths combined making an energy lattice that created a whole new realm. He was not a telepath himself so his mind had rationalised it as something he could understand and he looked about properly, wondering what had happened to his body. He stood at the top of a hill and he looked down and away in the distance to where there was a body of crystal clear water and a woman standing at the other side of the lake. "BETSY!" he called, but the gap was too large. "Damn," he said, instinctively reaching for where the sword would be. To his surprise he felt it's weight in his hand, and he decided that the power of the sword and amulet traversed dimensions. He drew the sword and it activated the power of the amulet and transformed him in to Captain Britain. Then he hoped that this was not happening in the hospital otherwise there would be some serious questions asked. First things first, though, he thought and took to the skies, speeding like a bullet to the lake and to his sister. Merlin smiled as he made his way forwards. The jinn had been easier than he thought it would be and he hoped that it was due to his experience as guardian that he had defeated it, otherwise the reputation this place had would be lessened forever. It was then that he felt a presence in his mind, not like the sensation that he had felt when the jinn had been near. This was more of a physical presence and that concerned him. He focused his mind as to what it could be and the further he got, the more powerful the presence became, but it also gave him a sense of nobility. "A gold dragon," he whispered. "It's a gold dragon." "Welcome," said a voice and he could feel the heat from it's mouth even though it was not casting an arc of flame and just holding it in check. "So you are Merlin." "I am indeed Merlin," said the guardian with reverence and he focused his powers, for he knew that upon meeting a gold dragon, it was best to offer it a gift. He called on his resources and from his library on Otherworld he summoned forth his book of dragon poetry, written by the tenth guardian Adas in dragon tongue. From the folds of his cloak, he held the book aloft. "My gift to you, noble dragon." "My name is Dayrike," said the dragon, as the book lifted from Merlin's hand s and floated across the gap to where the dragon sat, it's jet black eyes watching the guardian, peering in to his very soul. "I know why you have come, as so many have before you." "I do not wish to fight," said Merlin and the dragon laughed. "In the time of Duval, the second challenge was a black dragon and that was indeed a fight. Shiban was a much more understanding being and he knew that the challenge here would not be one of power for that would be demonstrated by the defeat of the jinn. This is a battle of knowledge." "Riddles," said Merlin. "Yes," said Dayrike. "Behold..." Before Merlin appeared a question and behind a barrier of solid stone. "You must answer correctly each of four riddles in turn. They represent Existence, Matter, Time, Logic and Emotion. Only by understanding all these can one be trusted to defend the Codices. However if you do not answer correctly, you are unworthy..." There was a small hint of fire, which came towards Merlin and split in two and surrounded him before it could hit. "I understand," said the guardian, and examined the first riddle. "There was a green house. Inside the green house there was a white house Inside the white house there was a red house. Inside the red house there were lots of babies." Merlin considered this carefully, folding his fingers in thought. Then he answered, speaking the one word that was required, for in fact this was quite easy. Dayrike nodded and the words changed before them. "I am just two and two. I am hot. I am cold. I am the parent of numbers that cannot be told. I am a gift beyond measure, a matter of course. I am given with pleasure when taken by force. Merlin was puzzled by this one and was unsure of what the answer could be. Then, as if he were told the answer by someone he had once known he spoke the answer and the dragon blinked acknowledgement and once again the riddle altered. "I cannot be felt, seen or touched; Yet I can be found in everybody; My existence is always in debate; Yet I have my own style of music. What Am I?" Merlin answered straight away, for this was his main area of manipulative expertise and this time the dragon laughed loud. "Well played, sorcerer. However the two most difficult remain." "I never was, am always to be, No one ever saw me, nor ever will And yet I am the confidence of all To live and breathe on this mortal ball." There were only two areas left and this did not look like a test of logic to Merlin. It was strange and he knew it was a matter of time and that played in his mind as to what the answer could be. Time passed and the dragon shook his head, warning him that the end was near. Merlin admired the irony that the master manipulator would be beaten by time when the thing he fought for was... the answer came to him and he spoke the word out loud. Dayrike agreed and the riddle became the final challenge - a puzzle of logic. "What is the next in the sequence: 1 11 21 1211 111221 312211 13112221." This was pure logic, and the sequence escaped him. "Elisabeth," called Brian as he flew towards the lake but he found that when he arrived at the nearest shore he could progress no further. "ELISABETH!" "Who are you?" she answered in reply, not seeing Brian for who he truly was. "It's me," he said and dispelled the garb of the warrior knight. "Brian?" she said. "What are you?" "What he was chosen to be," came a voice and from the lake arose a woman, sheathed in silver and glistening in the light of the sun. "Welcome, my children." "Who are you?" asked Brian. "What is going on?" asked Elisabeth. "My name is Galitea," said the woman. "In myth, you would know me as the lady of the lake. You wear my heart," she said, looking at Brian. "The amulet..." he whispered. "Yes," she said. "As Excalibur chooses to whom it is given, the amulet can only be given to one of the bloodline of the lake." "I don't understand," said Elisabeth. "You will, my daughter. You will." Merlin looked at the puzzle one final time. The numbers made no sense to him, and as pure science it was not within his total understanding. He was a being of magic and science and magic, though two sides of the balance, could never be truly equal and he had specialised in one area at the cost of the other. The jumps to larger numbers did not work mathematically and he could not tell why. His mouth was dry and he knew he could not say out loud the numbers because it would forfeit him the match. When faced with a problem he would normally speak it out loud, saying what he saw and removing its power. Then it hit him and he spoke the number he needed. How foolish he had been. "You have passed the test," said the dragon. "Remember that logic need not be complex to be logic. It needs to make sense above all things. Go." Dayrike faded away and Merlin knew he had passed the second test. He wondered what the third one would be and as he made his way down he could feel the last of his true power fading. He was close to the centre of the portal and near the codices themselves. Only one figure stood in his way. "Who are you?" he demanded of the final challenge. "Death," echoed a voice familiar to him, yet horrible as well and he saw the figure in the light as it leapt towards him. "By the Gods," he said, defending himself but there was little he could do as the creature touched him and the skin on his body peeled away in sheets. The figure locked its lips on to his exposed muscles on his left arm and clamped down upon them, ripping away the juicy flesh. Merlin fought past the pain to focus on his enemy but without muscles to move his arm, he could not fight. The demon looked him in the eye and Merlin could see that it was a demonic version of himself. He steeled himself for what came next as the demon struck hard and fast, removing Merlin's head from his shoulders, without giving the guardian time to cry out. His body spurted blood and staggered a moment, for without a brain it did not know it was dead, as the demon version walked over to the head, and crushed it underfoot, the juices of the brain leaking out. Then it dropped to the floor and began to drink the liquid. On Otherworld, Roma's eyes opened wide and she knew something terrible had happened. "FATHER!"