Dawning Skye

345 Zombie Ooze

When Skye was shown the goop, it looked a little different than the last few times she’d seen it. There being a smaller amount wasn’t surprising, considering she knew that Gavin way running a variety of tests on the stuff.

It was basically magic in physical form, but with hostile intentions. Any time Skye went near it, it reached to her. He didn’t know if it was her magic, bloodline, or something entirely different; but every time Skye went near the ooze, it tried to latch onto her.

When she told Gavin that Richard had called her the Catalyst, he started to think about the different wavelengths that both magic, and light operated on. Taking out all the terminology: it was all energy. Existence itself functions on the fluctuations of energy, at least to Gavin.

The way he explained it to Skye was that everything was made up of energy; from light, to matter, to the flow of time itself. A lot of what he said was too complex for her to understand, but she understood the bottom line: there was a middle point.

“If we can figure out what wavelength Light magic operates on, then we can figure out a way to simulate it. At least enough ta keep the general effects of it at bay while everyone kills the damn thing..”

Skye held up her battery pack; “I don’t know any of that E equals hubbub ye just said, but I think this might work. I made these wit some.. Unique combinations of elements.”

Gavin looked intrigued, but Amara eyed the pack suspiciously; “What do ye mean ‘unique combination’? What did ye do?”

“Err-Tis a bit hard to explain, but let’s just say I had ta get a wee bit creative since I canna control every element,” Skye replied with a shrug.

Amara had a confused expression; “I thought ye had an Earth and a Water trait? Shouldn’t ye be able ta control everythin’ by now?”

.....

Skye chuckled; “Na, not everythin’, at least not in every state. I think I’ll have better control once I get me Wind magic. I canna control elements when they be in a vaporized state, and I canna affect the air itself. Now, if ye breath in somethin’ nasty, I can fix that wit me Shaman trait, but unless that air be in yer lungs, I canna influence it.”

“How do ye suspend water then?” Amara asked, hearing various stories about how she took down her husband in the Mage Trials.

Confusion covered Skye’s features; “Huh.. Never thought about it before. It’s just how I’ve always handled me Water magic. Twas me first trait.”

Amara grinned; “So yer a born Water mage? Me polar opposite then..”

“THAT’S IT!” Gavin screamed, scaring Skye and Amara to the point of jumping to their feet; ready to fight.

“Bloody Hell! Do ye Have ta do that?!” Amara yelled.

“What?! What’s ‘it’? What did ye think of?” Skye asked in quick succession.

Gavin smiled as he dug through different drawers as he explained; “Polar Opposites! That’s it! It’s not about findin’ Light Magic’s wavelength! Tis about findin’ the goop’s, then using the other end of the spectrum against it! That’s it!”

Gavin grabbed several little metal pincer things, some wires, and a weird-looking box. He said that he used it to measure a magical tool’s output when testing for it’s longevity. It already had the sensors to detect magic, it just needed to be tweaked to detect wavelengths instead of output.

Skye complimented Gavin for his ingenuity, which made him laugh before saying; “All thanks go to a wonderful character named Senku, one billion percent.”

Skye didn’t know who that was, but nodded all the same. She was much more interested in tinkering with the box than characters in a book or movie. Seeing her eagerness, Gavin cut his chatter, and they got to work..

At least an hour had passed since Tidas had left, and they were ready for their first test. Just like always, the goop was attracted to Skye when she came close. It was the only time the black ooze reacted to anything that wasn’t in direct contact with it.

It really didn’t matter what the ooze touched: it devoured it. Gavin had experimented with rats, and wasn’t shocked by his discoveries. The ooze didn’t leave a trace of the living behind..

If not for the snow, Skye would’ve seen what looked like scorch marks on the ground. Wherever the monster went, it left the ground it treaded upon unusable, and barren. Not even grass would grow.

It was the main way that the Highlanders tracked it. Even if the creature went down a path it had previously gone, fresh ooze and charring was always left behind. The entire area around the Old Capital was unusable now.

The Highlanders had observed Richard walking back and forth aimlessly when he wasn’t hunting them. It was like he was slowly trying to rot the planet himself. Inch by inch over the years; Richard had turned acres of land into dead, barren wasteland.

Knowing the damage it could cause, Gavin had been very careful when it came to handling the goop. He used a pair of ancient dragon leather gloves left over from the days of Dragon Riders. Reggie had given them to him as a birthday gift when he turned twenty.

Every time Amara saw them, she thought of her deceased husband. But it wasn’t painful anymore. She thought that Reggie would smile, knowing that she and Gavin had finally become a couple..

As the two readied the machine for it’s first test, Skye was wondering what her husband and Zazzy were up to...

************

The walk to the bunker was pleasant, and Highlanders greeted him as he passed by. It was odd at first to see an Alconian walking around freely, but most approved of Tidas, even though he was a MacArthur.

When he had reached the RMC bunker, Murdoc was waiting for him. He sighed heavily as a giant grin stretched across the Highlander King’s face. As Tidas came close, he whispered enthusiastically to him; “Are ye ready ta catch a spy today?!”

“Not particularly, and technically: he’s not a spy since he reports to my brother,” Tidas replied gruffly.

Murdoc quirked an eyebrow; “A secret correspondence with gathered information is spyin’, no matter yer semantics. People on the same side spy on each other all the time: tis common. But tis still spyin’..”

‘Who said we’re on the same side..’

Tidas nodded to Murdoc in agreement, not in the mood to argue over trivial things. The man Zazzy had told him about was a soldier that had been on his scouting team for three years now..

‘Was he a spy for Marco this whole time? Or was he recently bought off? How many spies does my brother have with us? Is he the only other one?’

As the questions piled up in his mind, Murdoc smacked Tidas’ back as he said; “Well, let’s get our show on the road! If we finish quick enough, I’ll treat ye two ta dinner at Mead Hall tonight!”

Tidas agreed with a small smile. He’d become quite fond of video games, and Skye could watch her movies and TV shows while he played. It was one of the things that they’d miss when they left in the summer.

Tidas knew that his uncle’s days were numbered, and was actually looking forward to his life after they returned. He and Skye would have much more time together, and could spend every night at Zazzy’s Place together.. ‘I’m sure Zazzy will love that, too.’

Entering the bunker, Tidas immediately called out to his men; “I have a special announcement! Under my father’s orders, I will be signing a peace treaty with the Highlanders in his stead, right after Yuletide! We will still hold an official signing ceremony in Alcon in the summer, so this will be for the Highlanders!”

As several soldiers began to murmur among themselves, Tidas continued; “We have special permission to join in the festivities afterwards, and you will be allowed in the city! Make sure you bring your own coin to buy things! The Highlanders and the RMC don’t do tabs!”

The soldiers cheered and screamed for the chance to mingle. Several Highlander soldiers and citizens alike had started to stop by the RMC bunker to socialize with the Southerners. They had told stories, and brought them items from a few of the more trendy shops as gifts.

Some of the older soldiers thought of it as an opportunity to see the inner workings of the city, but most were just happy to get out of the bunker. Many of soldiers were beginning to go stir-crazy being cooped up in the bunker for days at a time.

The storm hadn’t stopped at all since they escaped Richard. The snow was piled higher than the door, and paths had to be maintained outside to get to their equipment, and Zazzy. She did a fairly good job maintaining the path from the bunker to her little house, but didn’t care to maintain the rest.

The spy had cleared a tiny path that went right by Zazzy house, then led around to the back. If one wasn’t looking for it, they could’ve easily missed it. Shortly after Tidas had made his announcement, the spy had slipped out the outside door..

As he made his way passed Zazzy, she watched him with what looked like a smirk on her face. The spy shook his head, stupidly writing Zazzy off as ‘just another dumb animal’. Being a Tamer mage, he arrogantly thought that he knew how all animals were..

Thoughtless and stupid unless given direction. His animals never conversated with him like many of the other Tamers due to his attitude. The others treated their companions like their namesakes, but the spy only saw his as tools.

It was the main reason that none of them talked to him, and the reason that his falcon didn’t warn him about the dragon and several humans that were standing behind him..

When the bird went to fly off, Zazzy cooed to it, and asked if it would wait a few minutes before leaving. The spy became frustrated when his bird refused to leave the stick he’d jammed into the ground for him. It made tying the tiny messages to the it’s leg easier.

As he quietly yelled at the bird to fly away, Tidas’ voice rang out from behind him; “So what is it that you think my brother would be interested in knowing?”

As the spy jumped and turned around, Murdoc said; “Shouldn’t of threatened the dragon, laddie..”