Phantom - Chapter 08

It had happened so suddenly that no one knew how to react.

In a single moment, the entire city’s power had shut off.

It hadn’t malfunctioned or broken; it had just stopped.

Confused and worried people poured onto the streets, unsure of what to do or who to contact. The streets were packed with dead vehicles and angry drivers, the office buildings had all come to a complete standstill, unable to do their work, and the hospitals were faced with a dire crisis that they were unable to handle.

***

“Report!” Teeq demanded.

“Sir, every single electronic device just stopped working!” A technician reported, standing at attention.

“That much I can see! I want to know how and why, and how much of it is offline. Is it just here, is it the entire building, the school, the city, what? Find out!”

“Sir!”

The technician ran out of the Tactical Operations Centre and Teeq slumped back into his chair, letting out an exasperated sigh and he rubbed his chin.

The entire room was in a state of panic as the staff tried to get everything back online and understand what exactly had happened. No one knew what had happened and everyone was in a state of panic.

“Stop standing around like morons and find out what the extent of the damage is to the site!” Teeq yelled, slamming his fist onto the arm of his chair.

“Sir!” The technician from before yelled, bursting back into the room.

“Report.”

“Sir, from what I can tell and what reports I’ve received from others coming here, the entire school’s power system has shut down.”

“That’s impossible! We have a dozen backup generators with giant Mana banks to power the school should those go offline. How did this-?” Teeq stopped himself and narrowed his eyes. Then, a terrible realisation hit him. “Everyone, spread the news across the site now! Ferris is under attack! I repeat, we are under attack!”

***

The turrets turned limp, the cameras swung down lifelessly, the automatic doors sealed shut, the computers shut off, the lights died, and the mechs slumped down dead onto the floor.

“What the hell?” One of the security guards demanded, kicking a nearby mech. “What happened?”

For the first time in Ferris’s history, the Vault’s defences had gone offline.

***

“Status report,” Lares said as two of his lieutenants walked with him to the front gate of the barracks.

“Captain, from what we can tell all electronic devices on site have gone offline,” One of them told him.

“Any idea on the cause?”

“Our runners that we’ve sent out haven’t come back yet.”

“Well, whatever the reason, gather your men, gear up and go to code red.”

“Sir!”

***

The living room suddenly became very dark and the television shut off.

“A power cut?” Connor wondered, going to test one of the light switches.

“At Ferris?” Ajax questioned, testing the TV remote.

“Hold on, I’m going to see if anyone else has their power out,” Eric said, running to the front door.

“I’ll come with,” Jasmine called, following close behind.

Eric and Jasmine burst out onto the street and saw that other students were coming out of their houses; all of whom looked as confused as they did.

“What the hell’s going on?” Eric whispered, looking around the street. “Is a blackout on this scale even possible?”

Wait, a blackout at Ferris? He thought, beads of sweat dripping down his back. That’s…not possible, is it?

Then, it hit him.

“EMP?” He said in disbelief, looking at Jasmine.

“Why do you-?” She tried to ask back.

“Lares once told me that if the power ever went out at Ferris, then they had multiple backup generators installed which would activate less than a second later. Then, if this isn’t a blackout, it has to be an EMP, right?”

“What’s going on?” Kaida asked, as she and the rest of Eric’s team joined them on the street.

“Is it a power cut then?” Evony asked.

“Everyone, check your phones!” Jasmine demanded.

They all took them out and none of them were turning on.

“How did this-?” Evony began to ask, but she cut herself off. “I’d charged this this morning, so this must be-”

A series of thunderous explosions erupted far away from them.

All eyes turned to the bay far from the edge of the island where three warships that hadn’t been there a moment ago had suddenly appeared, smoke rising high from their guns. Eric looked to the sky and saw twenty four shells flying towards the school.

“Get down!” Eric ordered, transforming into his Armour.

Everyone in the area quickly took cover as they saw the shells fast approaching the ground. Elthia stifled a small scream and raised as large of a barrier as she could over the main street, hoping to protect as many people as possible. Eric flew up into the air from beneath the barrier and was about to fire at them, but the shells split into a dozen smaller shells each.

“Damn it!” Jasmine yelled, firing at them but none of her shots connected.

Eric fired two solid beams of energy at the shells, destroying several of them in the air, but over two hundred and eighty high explosive projectiles smashed into Ferris.

They destroyed buildings, devastated the grounds and killed dozens of people in mere seconds.

Rubble, shrapnel, bodies and limbs soared through the air around Eric’s team.

“Is everyone okay?” Eric cried, looking down at his teammates.

Jasmine was clutching her left arm where a piece of shrapnel had flow and cut her and Elthia was drenched in sweat, panting heavily, but everyone else was fine.

“We’re okay!” Connor shouted back. “How do things look up there?”

Eric looked over Ferris and he gasped, his throat closing and tears forming in his eyes.

“No…” He whimpered, as the blood drained from his face.

Ferris was burning.

Buildings had been reduced to rubble and smoke was rising high into the sky. He looked down at their house and saw that it, along with the two beside it, had been reduced completely levelled.

He saw a few students’ bodies beneath the rubble, their bodies crushed by the very place that they had called home and he saw one of them die right before his eyes.

“This…is horrible,” He whispered, swallowing hard. “Why? Why did this happen?” He ground his teeth together, his hands curling into fists and his aura flared. “Why is this happening?”

Eric snapped to look back at the warships and considered attacking them but, if he wildly charged at them without a plan, not only could he die, but he might not be able to even destroy one of them before he did.

Eric, focus! Lucifer yelled in his head. Right now, don’t consider the why’s and who’s. All you need to know right now is that the place you call home is being attacked and those you love are in danger. Right now, they need you.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Eric mumbled, his aura subsiding. “Damn it.”

Eric landed back on the street and his team rushed over to him.

“What’s the situation?” Jasmine demanded.

“All I know right now is that we’re being attacked, most likely by Phantom,” Eric reported. “For now, Evony, Jas, Elthia; if those ships start to fire again, take out as many of the rounds as you can before they make impact.”

“How bad is it?” Kaida asked, her voice slightly shaking.

“I’m not sure, but it doesn’t look too good. I saw a few destroyed buildings, including the hospital.”

“Seriously?” Ajax asked, cursing under his breath. “Why are they doing-?”

“Incoming!” Evony yelled.

The ships began to fire again and Evony transformed into her Armour. Before she could fire however, thirty blue arrows flew into the sky and intercepted each of the shells before they could split, destroying them high above the school.

“Dead Eye!” Connor cried.

“Looks like I got here right in time,” Dead Eye mumbled, walking over to Eric with the rest of his team behind him. “Are you guys all okay?”

“For now,” Eric answered honestly. “Those ships have already killed God knows how many people. Can you keep shooting them out of the air like that?”

“Potentially. As long as I can hit them before they split, it should be fine, but I won’t be able to hit all of them out of the air every time.”

“So, taking out the ships are our priorities then?” Kiara asked.

“We’ll handle that,” Dead Eye said. “We’re better suited for stopping those shells and we’re better suited to destroying the ships as well. Leave this to us, Eric.”

“Are you sure you don’t need any help?”

“Eric, you and your team are going to be needed elsewhere. Go. We’ve got this.”

Eric nodded and tapped Dead Eye on the shoulder. “Be careful.”

“You too.”

Just as Eric’s team ran off, Fayre chimed up and said, “Ajax, one second!”

“What is it?” Ajax called back, stopping in his tracks.

“I didn’t think much of it before, but I saw your sister and Ace a while ago near the training facilities.”

“Seriously? How long ago?”

“Maybe fifteen minutes ago.”

“Then-”

“If they were still there when the attack begun, they should still be around that area,” Jasmine said, finishing his sentence. “Eric, did you see if any of the shells had hit that area?”

“I think a few of them had,” Eric replied.

Ajax’s face went pale and he tried to run away from them, but Jasmine caught his arm.

“Don’t run off like an idiot by yourself!” She yelled.

“But-!” Ajax tried to protest but Jasmine grabbed his shoulders firmly and stared into his eyes.

“Don’t do anything stupid! You know them. You know they’re strong and that they’re not going to be taken down by a loud and obvious attack like that, are they?”

“…No, but…”

“Your mech’s out of action because of the EMP, right? Evony and I need to pick up our spare equipment from our lockers anyway, so we’ll go with you.”

“If none of you have your gear, then someone else should go with you,” Eric suggested.

“As long as we’re fast enough, we’ll manage,” Jasmine replied, smiling sternly at Eric. “Trust me.”

Eric had wanted to object but, in resignation, he nodded. “Stay safe.”

“Of course,” Ajax said with a nervous smile. “We’ll be back before you know it!”

The three of them quickly ran off from the group towards the training facilities, leaving Eric and the rest of his team unsure of what to do.

Eric, might I ask you something? Lucifer inquired.

What is it? Eric asked back. I’m busy at the moment.

I can see that, but I wanted to ask if you knew where your Uncle would be at this time of day?

Eric frowned. What does that have-?

I saw which buildings had been hit in the initial bombardment. The guard barracks was among them.

The blood drained from Eric’s face, a strong and chilling sense of dread rising rapidly in his heart.

“Uncle Lares,” Eric whispered, his nerves shaking his body and voice. “I-I have to go and make sure he’s okay!”

“Eric, wait!” Connor cried but Eric ignored his pleas.

Kaida tried to call for him as well, but Eric ignored them and kicked off the ground, flying close to the ground and quickly towards the guard barracks.

“That idiot!”

“I’ll go with him,” Laila said, disappearing into her shadow and appearing twenty metres away from them.

“Laila, wait-!” She was already out of sight. Connor scowled and kicked the ground in frustration. “Damn it.”

“Should we go after them?” Elthia asked.

Connor shook his head from side to side. “For now, let’s go see who we can help out in the village.”

***

The training grounds shook as the artillery shells hit.

“We’re under attack?” Alexis whispered, her trembling hands slowly moving to cover her mouth. “No…”

Ace could see smoke rising from just outside the training grounds as two fighter jets flew overhead, firing missiles at an unseen target.

“What the hell’s going on?” Ace muttered, scowling. “Why is Ferris under attack?”

Alexis took out her phone to try and dial her team, but it was dead.

“Fuck!” She screamed, throwing it against the wall, smashing it. “Ace, I…I’ve got to go…”

Why would someone go through the trouble of attacking Ferris? Ace thought, pushing Alexis and the raging sounds of battle around him to one side. Is it just to destroy the school, or are they here to kill someone? The Headmistress perhaps.

“Ace?”

If they were here to kill the Headmistress, then they wouldn’t need to launch such a full scale attack on the school, right? Maybe they are just here to destroy the school then…but. Ace frowned. If these people were confident enough to attack Ferris, then why not destroy the school from a remote place? Why send in an army? The Kremlin was destroyed by a handful of people, leaving nothing standing, so…why an army this time?

Then, it dawned on Ace.

“Ace, I need to go.”

When Ferris had been attacked before, the attackers had but one goal; to raid the school’s vault.

While few on site knew what was inside of it, everyone at Ferris knew that the items contained within the vault were beyond powerful and, if stolen, could turn into a global crisis.

“They’re here for the vault!” Ace announced, snapping his fingers, catching Alexis off guard.

“Ace…”

“That’s why they’ve sent in an army. If they destroy the school, then there’s a chance that the items in the vault could be destroyed or lost at the bottom of the ocean, so they need to make sure they don’t damage it!”

“Ace!” Alexis cried, making him jump and snapping his attention solely to her; her face was distraught and filled with fear. “I…don’t care…why they’re here…They’re here, and…they’re killing people. I…I need to make sure my team’s okay.”

Ace solemnly nodded. “I know. But, if I’m right, then someone needs to defend that vault!”

He was about to run off towards the vault, but Alexis snatched his arm, holding him in place.

“Even if you’re right, even if they do go for the vault, do you honestly think you can stop them?” Alexis yelled. “If they’re strong enough that they can attack Ferris, then what the hell makes you think that you can stop them by yourself?”

Ace bit his lip, his expression twisting in pain, and he knew that she was right.

“Even then, I have to try,” He said, a sad, weak, smile on his face.

“I…I can’t let you go…not by yourself,” She said, taking a long, deep breath. “I’ll…go with you.”

“Alexis, your team-”

“They’re strong, I know they are.” She put on a brave smile, even though her lips were trembling. “I’m not letting you go there by yourself.”

Ace tried to say something, anything, that could make her change her mind, but he couldn’t find the right words.

“Okay,” He said, holding out his hand. “Let’s go.”

She nodded firmly and took his hand, and they ran off towards the vault.

If I’m right, I’ll have a chance to prove myself, Ace thought, narrowing his eyes.

***

“Hmm, they struck us first, huh?” Lich mused with a devilish grin.

He was standing on a rooftop overlooking a part of Imperial near the bridge to Ferris. Hundreds of Phantom soldiers and dozens of mechs were running amok, attacking and destroying everything that they could. The civilians around them tried their best to run, but several of them were gunned down as they fled. The mechs fired missiles into the nearby buildings, damaging them severely. The police in the city and the soldiers at the train station had engaged them but were being quickly overwhelmed, even with the assistance of the Guardians in the city.

“What should we do, Master?” A small girl beside Lich asked.

Mara Jetta, the third most powerful Necromancer in the world, was dressed in a goth Lolita style dress and had demon horns running along the sides of her head, leathery wings poking through the holes in her back. Her eyes were red in colour and she had had the whites of her eyes tattooed with the Necronomicon’s mark.

Soon after the Merchant had discovered the location of the Phantom bases, Lich had ordered the members of the Necronomicon, the ten strongest Necromancers in the world, to the city to assist in the operation. However, they had only all just arrived in the city and were cut off from Ferris where the other two members, Spike and Sapphire, were.

“They’re trying to keep reinforcements from Ferris, huh?” He mumbled, his grin growing.

“Should we observe?” Mara asked in her usual monotone voice.

“No. All of you are to kill every single Phantom solider that is in Imperial and protect the civilians to the best of your abilities!”

Lich’s voice boomed across the city and the members of the Necronomicon, aside from Mara, leapt into the fray, cutting down Phantom soldiers left and right.

“Honestly, to think that not one of them had brought their undead armies with them,” Lich complained.

“Don’t worry, Master. I did,” Mara said with a small smile.

Mara pushed her hands out to the side and her aura grew; her veins began to turn black and her eyes became vacant of all light. A black wave washed over Imperial and Mara’s undead army awakened; skeletons armed with an assortment of weapons, ranging from guns and explosives to swords and bows and arrows.

They emerged from the underground of the city, climbing out of the sewers, and her army engaged the Phantom soldiers.

“Good work,” Lich said, rubbing the top of her head, making Mara smile bashfully. “Go.”

She nodded, curtsied, and jumped off the rooftop and into the battle.

“Now then,” He whispered, folding his arms. An army of black spirits appeared behind him in all shapes and sizes. Some were fantastical creatures, others were knights and soldiers; some were the sizes of houses, wielding gigantic weapons of destruction.

“It’s my turn to join in.”