Imagine Nation
A tiny fat man, wearing a dazzling top hat and tailcoat, levitated into the centre of the arena that stretched from horizon to horizon. “Tonight!” he said. “Tonight, is the night of nights! Tonight, we bear witness to the most fantastical feats of mind-warping, sense-dazzling, heart-pumping, and thought provoking holorumble combat this galaxy has ever seen!”
There was electricity in the air. Hushed whispers proliferated; bubbles of latent energy threatened to erupt.
“Welcome to the INAUGURAL IMAGINE-NATION GAMES!!”
Fireworks exploded, erupting across the great throng like hundreds of blooming flowers; fiery petals splashing, disintegrating, and reflecting off the bewildered faces below. Suddenly, a bright, intense purple streak speared down from high above, its prongs reaching down into the crowd like giant fingers.
The feeling of being zapped was a lukewarm tingling that sizzled in and out through the skin, eventually dissipating from the body through the spine.
“Papa!” Omran said, still buzzing. “That was amaaaazing!!”
“Yes, Omran,” his father replied, acknowledging the smiling faces that surrounded them. “It was delightful, wasn’t it?” He squeezed the small legs overhanging his shoulders.
“You’re having fun, yes?”
“I am, Papa. I am.”
“Good, and your legs?”
“Papa,” Omran said. “My legs are super-duper okay!”
“Alright. But you’ll tell me if they bother you, yes?”
“Yes, Papa. I will.”
“Come,” his father said a few moments later. “Let’s go down to the concourse. I’m told we might see some of the gladiators, yes?”
“Yes, Papa!” Omran punched the air. “That would be awesome!”
***
Half the planet had congregated in the concourse area. There were vendors of all sorts offering food, drink, holorumble merchandise, services, even subservients.
“The Quirky Quads!” Omran screamed when he spotted the famous quadruplets.
They were a colourful bunch. Literally.
Joy was usually at the front, donning her trademark yellow suit. Ea was always cowered behind one of his siblings like a green cloak. Ang was the fiercest of the lot, his burly biceps encircled by red dragon tattoos that extended all over his body. He was also Ea’s favourite hiding place. And lastly was, of course, Ness, who typically trailed behind the others in her purple hoodie, trying to be invisible.
“Ah,” Joy said as they approached the pair. “You must be Omran Daqneesh! Our special guest from Earth!”
Omran’s face lit up. “You know my name?”
“Of course we do!” She smiled. “We’re told you’ve come all the way from the Milky Way, just to watch the games. You must be a huge fan.”
Omran nodded profusely. “I am! I mean, I’m your biggest fan!”
“We are wasting time!” Ang suddenly said, then scowled. “We should be checking out the competition, or rehearsing formations, not talking to—”
“Ang!” Joy shot her brother a glare. “Don’t be rude.”
“I’m being honest,” he said indignantly.
“Well, Mr. Honest,” she replied, “How about you go somewhere else and practice?”
“Practice? By myself?” he asked, arms folded. “We’re a quartet, remember?”
“Come on, Ang,” Ness said and sighed. “I’ll practice with you.”
“Am I speaking Gargantuano here?” Ang said, throwing his hands in the air.
“I apologise, Mr. Daqneesh,” Joy said, turning back to Omran as Ness dragged Ang away.
“Mr. Daqneesh?” The young lady turned around and followed the blank stares of Omran and his father, as they converged on a lone figure making its way through the sea of onlookers.
“Omran Daqneesh,” a woman greeted them in a deep, eloquent voice. “I am Azuria, Queen of Enginium.” She was dressed in a layered ultramarine gown, split down the front, that glowed and sparkled in a jigsaw-like pattern. However, it was neither her attire nor her appearance that drew breaths away.
“I, we...” She gestured all round, then bowed. “...are honoured to be in your presence.”
Omran tapped his father's head, and was slowly lifted down. He faltered when his feet touched the ground, and he quickly held out an arm. “I got this,” he said.
“Lady Azuria,” Omran said, once he had found his legs. “The honour is mine.”
“Excellent,” she said. “I hope you’ll visit me in my spire before the games start, for good fortune.”
Omran looked up. “Papa, can I please?”
“Of course, my son,” said his father.
“It's settled then,” she said. “We shall see you later.”
She turned to walk away when suddenly, a deathly chill precipitated the air, followed by an evil chuckle. A sinister figure emerged from the shadows; gooey puddles formed below its every step, sending pungent wafts everywhere.
“Awww, how disgustingly touching,” said the figure with a wry grin. “The Lady Azuria, it’s been a while.”
“Lord Dauthus!” Azuria said as she moved to shield Omran. “You’re not welcome here!”
“On the contrary, milady,” Dauthus said. “I’m a part of you, just as we’re all a part of this…” He gestured to his surroundings. “Theatre.”
“We’re nothing alike!” She glared at him.
Dauthus smiled, showing two rows of stained teeth. “Maybe not physically,” he said. “How could anyone match your beauty and grace?”
Ang and Ness returned, and together with the others, they arranged themselves in a defensive arc alongside Lady Azuria.
“Dauthus,” Joy said as she stood next to the taller woman. “Leave, now!”
“Yeah,” Ang said, cracking his knuckles. “While you can still walk!”
“The loathsome foursome,” Dauthus said, “and the Queen of Enginium, cohorts? Yes, yes,” he rubbed his chin, “I must stay now, this is just too intriguing.”
“Back off!”
Everyone turned in the direction of the voice. There were more gasps at this, than when the harbinger of darkness had himself materialised. Ea was looking through his fingers, and upon receiving a nod of encouragement from Ness, he sucked in. “I said, back off, you, you… scumbag!”
Dauthus laughed. “The jumpy green one actually talks!”
“Leave him alone, you bully!” Ness said, her features steeled.
“And the suicidal purple one comes to his defense!” Dauthus exclaimed with a hand gesture. “This is so amu—”
An emerald wyvern, conjured from air, smashed into the Dark Lord’s face and sent him crashing into the stall behind.
All eyes turned to Ea again, mouths agape.
Ang rubbed his hands. “Yeah! Go, Green Machine! COME ON!”
“I suppose,” Joy said, “We were never really going to talk our way out of this, right?”
“This was inevitable,” Azuria said.
A gale started to blow, whipping up and depositing debris around the team of allies. Lightning flickered and rain drops began pelting down.
“Everyone,” Azuria said commandingly, “Take shelter now! Mr. Daqneesh,” she said without looking, “take your son to my chambers.”
“You insolent fool!” Dauthus said. A pair of wings protruded slowly from his back. Scales pushed out from his skin, swarming his arms and legs. White swirly vapour wisped out his mouth, nostrils, eyes, and ears.
“Go now!” Azuria said, glancing sideways. “We will hold him off as long as we can.”
“No, Papa!” Omran cried out. “I want to stay!”
“Omran, we must go,” his father said and scooped him off the ground, running towards the spires.
“Ang is our best chance,” Azuria said, focused on the behemoth that was Lord Dauthus. “Ness and Ea,” she directed her voice sideways. “Form a defensive barrier. I will attempt to distract the beast.” She closed her eyes for a few seconds, and as they popped open her clawed hands surged with energy. A pair of feathered wings stretched from her sides. She was there one minute, and then soaring the next.
***
“Doctor?"
“Mr. Daqneesh, please stand back.”
“Doctor, please!”
“Mr. Daqneesh, I’m afraid it doesn’t look good.”
“What are you saying? Is my son going to die?”
“Omran’s fighting the infection as hard as he can. But his physical injuries were severe, the loss of his body from the waist down…”
“But you said the machines would help!”
“The Imagine-Nation console was meant to simulate the presence of a full body, providing a holistic sense of well-being. It allows his immune system to focus; but as a 20-year old, his body has grown very attached to its limbs, making the integration harder.”
“So, what can we do?”
“The only thing we can do is wait, and hope for the best.”
“Omran, my son. Papa is right here. Just do your best to fight it!!”
***
Azuria slumped on the ground. One of her wings was battered, and blood trickled down her forehead.
“The Queen of Enginium,” said Dauthus. “At my mercy.” He knelt down beside the semi-conscious woman and sneered. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”
“Lord Dauthus!”
The Dark Lord rose and swung about. He smiled. “The one and only, Omran Daqneesh. Have you come to meet Allah?”
“No,” Omran said, clad in gleaming turquoise armour. He wielded a crimson sword and carried a golden shield. “I have come to conquer death.”
Dauthus chuckled. “You cannot defeat me. I am invincible.”
“You are anything but invincible.”
“Oh?”
“You bleed.”
“How very sage, boy.” Dauthus wiped his nose.
“That boy is gone,” Omran said. “This is the real me.”
Dauthus snickered. “Boy or not, you underestimate the strength of my powers.”
“And you, my lord. Underestimate my will to live.”
(c) Vincent Lim, 2017
First published in Anthologies Askew: Volume 003