Chapter 30: Mykur's Monologue
“I do love the classics, and you don't know it yet, but this scene: total classic,” Prince Mykur said as he paced up and down the Jump Room onboard The Love Crusader, which was still located inside Mykur's Castle Ship. As he paced, he took great delight in staring at the six bodies frozen in front of him.
“You probably thought you were the heroes of this story – so many before you have made that same mistake. Do you get it now? I let you escape with the second piece with the Trinity Key. When you were onboard my castle I had the jump system on your Blackbird reset to home function, knowing that if you jumped after finding the completed key, your bodies would be teleported back to The Love Crusader handing me the completed Trinity Key. It was a plan I came up with all by myself.” He looked across at their motionless faces. “Of course, it looks like none of you have the Trinity Key on you... but never mind, it won't take long to send a ship to collect it from The Blackbird.”
Liberty tried hard to move her fingers, concentrating so much she thought she'd break a sweat, but try as she might, she couldn't move a muscle.
“You'll find you're all completely paralysed. I had the DeadEzy on The Love Crusader set up to drug you as soon as you jumped here. Don't worry, you should regain full use of your body in around ten minutes. Unfortunately for you, I plan to kill you in around 9 minutes. I've even timed my villain monologue to end right on eight minutes and 55 seconds. I hope you appreciate it. I had the ten greatest writers in the galaxy working on it - before I rewrote them. But we're getting off track... now, where were we? Ah yes, the classics.”
Prince Mykur stopped in front of the DeadEzy capsule that held Google's paralysed body.
“Seeing you here, it feels like it was only yesterday when I murdered your parents in the same fashion and set you up to become the promised one. The classics never die – just innocent people.” Mykur laughed as Google raged silently, motionless. “Your parents deaths, it was delicious. They were so scared – they did everything they could to make sure I wouldn't kill you. Of course, I told them I would. They died knowing their lives had amounted to nothing. They died knowing that one day I was going to kill you. And now I finally get to,” he continued as a single tear slowly rolled down Google's cheek. Mykur grinned before leaning in to lick the tear off his face.
“Now let me introduce you to your doom,” he said with a flourish of his arms, pointing over at a table in front of them. Spread across it was a genocide's worth of weapons. “Where to begin... where to begin...,” Mykur mumbled to himself as he looked across the table. “Let's start with Captain Black shall we. Always so restless, always looking for the next big payday. Let's see if we can't help you keep still for once,” he continued as he picked up a small spherical object from the table.
“Great thing about paralysed bodies is it's so easy to manipulate you. Like puppets or corpses,” Mykur said as he moved Jupiter's hands around the device, pressing a button on its side. “Very short-range grenade,” he explained. “The slightest movement and you'll trigger it. Better hope that paralysing drug holds...” he added as he walked back to the table whistling.
“Liberty Forall,” he announced to the room as he picked up a couple of small knives and turned from the table towards her. “They say your hands are lethal weapons. Well, one shouldn't leave weapons just lying around, that wouldn't be safe now would it?” he said as he stabbed a knife right through each of her hands. Liberty was almost blinded from pain, but unable to let out even the softest scream thanks to the drug that held her captive.
Mykur casually wandered back to the table, picking up an ancient looking blade. “This here is a Tanto. Beautifully crafted isn't it. Originally from 1000 AD Japan, it has a certain elegance,” he said approaching Justice. “A certain Arty-ness. I think you'll enjoy it Justice. But what to do with it?” Mykur chuckled to himself as he swung the blade from hand to hand. “They say you're the heart of the team – that it was your heart that earned the first piece of the Trinity key. I think I'd like to see this heart,” he said coolly as he swung the Tanto towards Justice's chest.
Mykur never saw the chair coming, as it slammed into his hand and head, sending him tumbling backwards. From his new position on the ground, he looked up, confused at what he saw.
“The drug should have knocked you out for a few more minutes at least,” he muttered.
“That's the thing with drugs – they can't test them on animals anymore,” Abe said with a smile. “Guess apes have a stronger resistance.”
Mykur laughed a humourless laugh. “You had a table covered with the most amazing weapons in the universe and you hit me with a chair? A chair!? There was a frisbee that can decapitate people! You really think someone with your small animal intelligence could beat me?”
“Way I see it, iSmart's prophecy said that apart from the chosen one, no human could face you in battle and live - well, I'm no human.”
“Trust me, you won't be the end of me,” Mykur retorted as he got back to his feet. “And the exact wording was that apart from the chosen child, no one can face me in battle and live,” he continued as he pulled a blaster from his jacket and took aim at Abe.
“Say goodbye you dirty ape,” Mykur said with a sneer.
Bang! A fist slammed into Mykur's face hard, sending him back to the ground.
“His name's Abe,” Google said, totally cool, before breaking into a goofy grin at Abe. He picked up the blaster from the floor and aimed it down at Mykur.
“But you... it's not possible... you can't be awake...,”
“Liberty always used to drug me before space jumps... guess I've built up resistance to the drugs. Abe, deactivate the grenade before Jupiter comes good.”
Abe carefully went about doing as instructed.
“But you were never the chosen one. We only set it up to make it seem like you were...”
“Ever hear of a self-fulfilling prophecy dipshit?”
Mykur looked up at Google, eyes full of hatred.
“You can't do it. I've followed you all your life. You don't have what it takes to pull the trigger. You know it's not what your parents would have wanted. You'll try to have me locked up – let the law do its job. And you'll kid yourself that will keep the galaxy safe, even though you know deep down it won't.”
Google took aim. Then stood frozen on the spot, motionless.
“You're right. I'm not like you. I can't do it,” Google said.
“I can,” said Abe, taking the blaster from Google's hands and pulling the trigger.
Nothing happened.
“The blaster's coded to only work when held by someone with my exact DNA imprint. Don't you see? Haven't you read the prophecy: You can't beat me. No one can face me in battle and live,” Mykur said, pulling another blaster out, this one had been strapped to his ankle. “I think I'm almost going to miss you,” he said as he pointed the blaster at Google with a smile. Then his smile twisted, replaced with pain and confusion. Then, finally, pride.
“No one can face you in battle and live. But we're not one. There's six of us, dad.”
Billy let go of the bloody Tanto knife, now lodged in Mykur's heart as Mykur collapsed to the ground dead.
“It's what he would have wanted,” Billy said softly as he looked down at the now lifeless body of his father. “It's sort of a family tradition.”
“He's... he's actually dead,” Google said in amazement to Abe, his mind unable to comprehend that the man who had haunted his every waking moment for the last nine years of his life, was finally no longer a threat. The man who had robbed him of his childhood. The man who he thought would rob him of his future, too. So much so, he'd never dared dream of a future without Mykur in it.
“So what happens now?” asked Abe.
“I don't know. I've never thought about it,” Google replied.
And then he smiled.
“You probably thought you were the heroes of this story – so many before you have made that same mistake. Do you get it now? I let you escape with the second piece with the Trinity Key. When you were onboard my castle I had the jump system on your Blackbird reset to home function, knowing that if you jumped after finding the completed key, your bodies would be teleported back to The Love Crusader handing me the completed Trinity Key. It was a plan I came up with all by myself.” He looked across at their motionless faces. “Of course, it looks like none of you have the Trinity Key on you... but never mind, it won't take long to send a ship to collect it from The Blackbird.”
Liberty tried hard to move her fingers, concentrating so much she thought she'd break a sweat, but try as she might, she couldn't move a muscle.
“You'll find you're all completely paralysed. I had the DeadEzy on The Love Crusader set up to drug you as soon as you jumped here. Don't worry, you should regain full use of your body in around ten minutes. Unfortunately for you, I plan to kill you in around 9 minutes. I've even timed my villain monologue to end right on eight minutes and 55 seconds. I hope you appreciate it. I had the ten greatest writers in the galaxy working on it - before I rewrote them. But we're getting off track... now, where were we? Ah yes, the classics.”
Prince Mykur stopped in front of the DeadEzy capsule that held Google's paralysed body.
“Seeing you here, it feels like it was only yesterday when I murdered your parents in the same fashion and set you up to become the promised one. The classics never die – just innocent people.” Mykur laughed as Google raged silently, motionless. “Your parents deaths, it was delicious. They were so scared – they did everything they could to make sure I wouldn't kill you. Of course, I told them I would. They died knowing their lives had amounted to nothing. They died knowing that one day I was going to kill you. And now I finally get to,” he continued as a single tear slowly rolled down Google's cheek. Mykur grinned before leaning in to lick the tear off his face.
“Now let me introduce you to your doom,” he said with a flourish of his arms, pointing over at a table in front of them. Spread across it was a genocide's worth of weapons. “Where to begin... where to begin...,” Mykur mumbled to himself as he looked across the table. “Let's start with Captain Black shall we. Always so restless, always looking for the next big payday. Let's see if we can't help you keep still for once,” he continued as he picked up a small spherical object from the table.
“Great thing about paralysed bodies is it's so easy to manipulate you. Like puppets or corpses,” Mykur said as he moved Jupiter's hands around the device, pressing a button on its side. “Very short-range grenade,” he explained. “The slightest movement and you'll trigger it. Better hope that paralysing drug holds...” he added as he walked back to the table whistling.
“Liberty Forall,” he announced to the room as he picked up a couple of small knives and turned from the table towards her. “They say your hands are lethal weapons. Well, one shouldn't leave weapons just lying around, that wouldn't be safe now would it?” he said as he stabbed a knife right through each of her hands. Liberty was almost blinded from pain, but unable to let out even the softest scream thanks to the drug that held her captive.
Mykur casually wandered back to the table, picking up an ancient looking blade. “This here is a Tanto. Beautifully crafted isn't it. Originally from 1000 AD Japan, it has a certain elegance,” he said approaching Justice. “A certain Arty-ness. I think you'll enjoy it Justice. But what to do with it?” Mykur chuckled to himself as he swung the blade from hand to hand. “They say you're the heart of the team – that it was your heart that earned the first piece of the Trinity key. I think I'd like to see this heart,” he said coolly as he swung the Tanto towards Justice's chest.
Mykur never saw the chair coming, as it slammed into his hand and head, sending him tumbling backwards. From his new position on the ground, he looked up, confused at what he saw.
“The drug should have knocked you out for a few more minutes at least,” he muttered.
“That's the thing with drugs – they can't test them on animals anymore,” Abe said with a smile. “Guess apes have a stronger resistance.”
Mykur laughed a humourless laugh. “You had a table covered with the most amazing weapons in the universe and you hit me with a chair? A chair!? There was a frisbee that can decapitate people! You really think someone with your small animal intelligence could beat me?”
“Way I see it, iSmart's prophecy said that apart from the chosen one, no human could face you in battle and live - well, I'm no human.”
“Trust me, you won't be the end of me,” Mykur retorted as he got back to his feet. “And the exact wording was that apart from the chosen child, no one can face me in battle and live,” he continued as he pulled a blaster from his jacket and took aim at Abe.
“Say goodbye you dirty ape,” Mykur said with a sneer.
Bang! A fist slammed into Mykur's face hard, sending him back to the ground.
“His name's Abe,” Google said, totally cool, before breaking into a goofy grin at Abe. He picked up the blaster from the floor and aimed it down at Mykur.
“But you... it's not possible... you can't be awake...,”
“Liberty always used to drug me before space jumps... guess I've built up resistance to the drugs. Abe, deactivate the grenade before Jupiter comes good.”
Abe carefully went about doing as instructed.
“But you were never the chosen one. We only set it up to make it seem like you were...”
“Ever hear of a self-fulfilling prophecy dipshit?”
Mykur looked up at Google, eyes full of hatred.
“You can't do it. I've followed you all your life. You don't have what it takes to pull the trigger. You know it's not what your parents would have wanted. You'll try to have me locked up – let the law do its job. And you'll kid yourself that will keep the galaxy safe, even though you know deep down it won't.”
Google took aim. Then stood frozen on the spot, motionless.
“You're right. I'm not like you. I can't do it,” Google said.
“I can,” said Abe, taking the blaster from Google's hands and pulling the trigger.
Nothing happened.
“The blaster's coded to only work when held by someone with my exact DNA imprint. Don't you see? Haven't you read the prophecy: You can't beat me. No one can face me in battle and live,” Mykur said, pulling another blaster out, this one had been strapped to his ankle. “I think I'm almost going to miss you,” he said as he pointed the blaster at Google with a smile. Then his smile twisted, replaced with pain and confusion. Then, finally, pride.
“No one can face you in battle and live. But we're not one. There's six of us, dad.”
Billy let go of the bloody Tanto knife, now lodged in Mykur's heart as Mykur collapsed to the ground dead.
“It's what he would have wanted,” Billy said softly as he looked down at the now lifeless body of his father. “It's sort of a family tradition.”
“He's... he's actually dead,” Google said in amazement to Abe, his mind unable to comprehend that the man who had haunted his every waking moment for the last nine years of his life, was finally no longer a threat. The man who had robbed him of his childhood. The man who he thought would rob him of his future, too. So much so, he'd never dared dream of a future without Mykur in it.
“So what happens now?” asked Abe.
“I don't know. I've never thought about it,” Google replied.
And then he smiled.
How about getting some pain killers for poor old Liberty! She's got knives through her hands!! Then Google can think about his future. :p
But woohoo! Mykur is dead, and hopefully will stay that way. I kept guessing at who would finally finish him off, and you kept tricking me. Very sneaky, but very good.