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Worlds Of War	By : Lasski Category: G through L > Labyrinth Views: 16038 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Author: Lasski
Title: Worlds of War
Disclaimer: Not mine
Rating: R (because it lets me do whatever I want)

Chapter 1: The Life We Live

                “Johnny, get down!” shouted Sarah as she dove behind a large blue rubbish bin just in time to miss the spray of bullets hitting the dirt where she had been moments before. Sarah gasped for breath and almost regretted it as the smell of rotting rubbish hit her system; the rain pouring down only intensified the stink. She felt the tin against her back shudder as Johnny slumped down beside her, panting harshly.

                “Thanks for the tip” he grinned at her, eyes shining with adrenaline from under his blond bangs, “no pun intended of course”. Sarah rolled her eyes at the smiling maniac. His faced was smudged with dirt as was Sarah’s and the dark clothes they wore only added to the dangerous presence they radiated, not to mention the automatic guns.

                Another series of shots were fired down the alley they were in before a distant round echoed it some blocks down. One or two bullets ricocheted off the bin and they both flinched at the sound. Sarah checked her weapon, making sure it still had ammo while looking further down the lane and further into the darkness. “I’ll cover, you run to the next point” and, at Johnny’s confirming nod, rose up and fired out back into the main street. Over the gunshots she could dimly hear her partner’s footsteps sprinting away.

                Sarah ducked down as an answering rain of shots were fired and hoped that the bin would hold out against the onslaught. As soon as the attack had passed she sprinted down into the ally. Ahead in the darkness she could just make out Johnny who held a heavy metal sewer lid up. Sarah fell to the ground lending all her weight to her feet and slid the last few meters on the wet ground and into the sewer tunnels below.

                She landed hard but ignored the pain and rolled sideways just in time to miss Johnny’s feet as he came down. Above them the metal lid rolled and rattled into place before silence descended, broken by the soft pitter of rain. Their peace was shot-lived. A blinding bright light shot into Sarah eyes and she raised her arm in defense. The familiar sounds of guns cocking ran simultaneously with the barking voice. “Stay where you are and don’t move or you will be shot.”

                “Black Team, Spades, Ace. Williams and Kell” answered Johnny from behind Sarah and she waited for the response.

                It came in a deep voiced laughter. “Hell, I knew it was you two. Just screwing with your heads. Arms up people, these two mongrels are our lot.”

                “Mac” muttered Sarah as the light left her eyes and she was pulled up off the ground by strong arms. “If I wasn’t so damn sore I’d kick your butt from here to Hawaii and back.”

                Mac Adams, half of the head of the Red Team Diamonds, lost his grin for a minute and gave Sarah the once over. “You’re not hit then, are you?” He looked to Johnny, “either of you?”

                “We’re fine,” answered Sarah, “but I landed wrong coming into the sewers and my backside hurts like crazy. “Where’s Melinda?” Melinda was the other leader of Mac’s team, just as Johnny and Sarah were the leaders of the Spade Team.

                Mac indicated his head back down the sewers; “she took teams Five, Ten, Jack and King to scout around the east edges of the city for anything of use out there. Should be back before midnight, but lets get you two back to base, you look like the walking dead.”

                Sarah smiled and Johnny gave a snort of laughter and followed Mac and his group deeper into the sewers. The twinging agony at the base of her spine confirmed a bruised tailbone that would be haunting her for days, and it wouldn't be a first. Maybe she could convince the other team leaders to place cushions at the sewer drops. 'Yeah Williams' she mocked herself, 'and where would you get cushions from. Just walk right up to the Superiors and say - look, we need some extra cushions so that when we drop into the sewers to get away from your Force Groups we won't get sore butts. That would go down really well.'

                Eleven years ago, when Sarah was 16, a group known as the Superiors started forcibly taking over major cities of the world and they moved too fast for world leaders to retaliate. It seemed as though followers of the Superiors had infiltrated into every major area of profession in every town, city and lonely country settlement, and no one seemed to know who was on whose side. The free world didn't stand a chance.

                The self-named Superiors believed that the world should be controlled under one group of leaders and that all others be slaved into making the world a “better place.” Of course, there would be some that held more power than others would but then that was the price of forcing order into a world of chaos. A dictatorship of the worse kind was the only way they believed this possible - and they used Force Groups to control the masses and wipe out any resistance. As a result the world had turned into a wasteland and a battleground where resistance groups for freedom tried to gain some footing… but it was a loosing battle. Yet all who fought knew that they just couldn’t roll over and give in to the force of the Superiors - they would rather die, and die they did daily. The sewers were the only safe place left in Seattle after the Superiors had taken it over six years ago.

                Now, at the age of 27, Sarah had risen in the ranks of the freedom fighters in Seattle City, lived from hand to mouth and on a kill or be killed basis. Hell, they all did. Seattle had four main squads that were based on a card deck - Spades, Clubs, Diamonds and Hearts. The alpha team was the Ace Team and leaders always consisted of one male and one female. Every other team from Twos through to Kings was paired between two people; you watched your partner’s back and they watched yours. The four squads were family and you partner was your twin, that was the way it was. Sarah shielded away from thoughts of her original family; she hadn’t seen them in over nine years and there was no point hoping if there were still alive. Perhaps it would have been better if Sarah had lost all those years ago and let Toby be turned into a -

                “There’s a meeting on tonight after midnight” Mac cut into Sarah’s thoughts, “make sure one of you gets your butt there to be informed.” He clapped a hand to Sarah's shoulder before leading his group over to the makeshift mess hall.

                Johnny and Sarah headed off to an unoccupied corner of home base and dumped their gear. Guns, grenades, rope, lighters, flares, knives and a variety of other things that they always carried with themselves when they went topside - it always paid to be prepared. Sarah carefully laid down her favourite weapons. Five shining metal morning stars, sharp as the sun's bite in the desert. A few years back, when trade between cities was still possible she paid a fortune to an Asian man for them, enamored with the dangerous quality they communicated. Day after day after day she had practiced with them, until she could throw them perfectly, unerringly hit her target. Whenever she used them in battle she always went back to fetch them later, no matter how dangerous it was. Yet despite that she had lost many of them - the original set consisted of thirteen, and she regretted each loss.

                Sarah gingerly sat down, wincing at the growing pain. She really should do something about that gravel rash up the back of her thigh from sliding along the ground. In fact her whole body felt weary and all she wanted to do was to... fall... off... to... "Oh, no you don't" said Johnny sharply with an amused glint in his eyes as he shook her. "Don't you dare fall asleep yet."

                Sarah took a half-hearted swing at him. "Leave me alone."

                Johnny ignored her and pulled her up standing, wincing mentally as she instantly put a hand to her lower back. "You really killed you butt didn't you girl," he said sympathetically, "but that still doesn't excuse you from trying to go to sleep dirty and bloody."

                Sarah glared at him with her brown eyes. "You are like an annoying brother who just won't quit."

                Johnny grinned at her annoyance, "and I'm going to play the protective bother too, little sister. Come on, let's get you cleaned up and fed, then I'll put you to bed."

                "I hate you." Sarah was too tired to hit him, least of all think of a decent comeback.

                "Ohhh, I'm hurt" he mocked and dragged her over to the wash basins. The murky water didn't make her feel any better - there was rarely clean water around, most of the time that water was used over and over again. It might start out as bathing water, and then clothes washing water, then dishwashing water... sometimes you even had to drink it. Rain always brought a bit of a cheer, even now the rain catches (well really they were only buckets) placed around the city were filling up with fresh, clean water that would go towards drinking before anything else. Summer always brought on harsher times when drinking water was the only fresh water and salt water from the sea did for everything else. Occasionally they brought the sea water in for bathing anyway because the salt would cleanse any wounds and help it heal - that didn't stop the fact that it fucking hurt. Sarah was thankful that it wasn't salt water tonight, further inspection of the gravel rash revealed that it continued down to her calf as well. It was an ugly sight and trying to get bits of rock out of her skin was painful enough.

                Having been washed and once Johnny has sat her down and watched her eat something Sarah moved her tired legs towards a spare space on the floor. Johnny grabbed an almost non-existent pillow and eased Sarah’s head back onto it. “Get some sleep Sarah, I’ll go to the meeting.”

                Sarah could only manage a nod before she drifted off into a restless sleep, dreams full of long winding corridors, deep caverns, little creatures that ran about in front of her and a man with long blond hair whose eyes followed her.

                Johnny laid a blanket over Sarah’s body and heard her whisper a single name. Thinking nothing more of it, many whispered names of lost loved ones while they slept, he turned and left Sarah to her dreams.

                ***

                Toby ducked and weaved through the fighting and bloodshed that was going on about him. Being twelve, nearly thirteen, and puberty not yet lending him his growth spurt, his height allowed him an advantage in avoiding most of the fighting. Truth be told he preferred this battling between man and man rather than the slaughter of freedom fighters by Force Groups. At least each side had a fair chance of winning.

                In the early hours of the morning with dawn having just been, just off the coast of New South Wales, Australia, the oceanic tribes of Albatross and Black Pearl were engaged in open warfare with each other. Here, in the vast sea, there was no worry about Force Groups suddenly dropping out of nowhere; the Superiors avoided it like the plague for unknown reasons.

                It was glaring obviously from the beginning the Superiors would not venture out in the sea. Their power spread with the speed of light fading into darkness across the land but they never touched the ocean. As a result however they secured any habour, portable cove and landable shore within their grasp so that those of the waves could not come upon land.

                Toby didn't exactly remember the day when his parents decided that braving the pirates of the sea was a better option than facing Force Groups. He did remember the day his father was killed by a rival ocean tribe. The Albatross tribe had come upon the relatively gentle tribe of Dawn, which had picked up the small family and taken them in as their own. His father had been sliced across the stomach protecting the Dawn's ships being taken over, his gut dropping to the deck before the body followed. Once the captain of the Albatross had secured his victory, taken the surviving ship and all remaining supplies for his own he saw Toby's mother and wanted her on sight. That she had a little boy with her allowed the captain to bind her more tightly to him through threats to his safety, and later because of a surprising father/son bond that had formed. Toby had always attributed the bond due to the fact that his intelligence was off the scales and he could hold conversation like that of an adult fives times his age. Any time the Albatross had attacked another tribe the captain had always made sure that any books were saved so that Toby’s thirst for knowledge could be sated for a time.

                So it was that Toby was now racing towards Captain Jim, surrogate father and teacher, while he fought against the infamous Captain Cagan of the Black Pearl. Whichever captain lived at the end of the battle would gain control of the leftovers - that was the way of the sea. A large kitchen knife slashing out in front of him caused Toby to slide as he tried to stop short along the bloody deck. His attackers slumped down behind him and Toby saw the first mate Rick flash him a grin as he yanked the long blade free of the body. “Watch yourself boy, the sea’s a little rough today.” Toby would have laughed if had the time, but he scrambled to his feet and skid around another pair fighting.

                A stranger was knocked into him and the both got slammed against the railing. Acting instinctively Toby made the first move, pulling the knife from a scabbard around his ankle and sliced the man’s throat open before he had a chance to get his bearings. Hot blood splurged from the wound and Toby gave a quick nod to the crewmember who saluted him in thanks before returning to his own fight.

                Ignoring the bruises forming on his back Toby made the final dash to the captains fighting near the helm of the ship. Several more times he had to stab and slice at enemy people in his way but he finally got there. Toby didn’t have strength but he did have speed.

                Captain Cagan was clearly the better fighter but Captain Jim was holding his own. Barely. Neither could get enough distance between the two so that they could pull a gun so they slashed at each other and hit solidly with bare fists. Thunk. Flesh slamming flesh. Thunk. However, the captain of the Albatross sea clan was taking the brunt of the fight and in a few minutes wouldn’t be able to defend quick enough to save his life.

                Toby whipped up his head as he heard a female scream. His eyes quickly tracked the sound and saw the blond hair of his mother tugging with the wind as a Black Pearl crew member carried to back their boat. Ignoring the burning churning in his stomach from knowing Karen was in trouble and her impending rape he turned back to the enemy. If he went after his mother, her, the captain and himself could all get killed; making sure the captain stayed alive would improve the chances of Karen coming out of this alive if not completely unharmed.

                Facing the two captains again Toby instantly saw the unstoppable death. Captain Jim had also heard Karen scream and his moment of distraction gave the Black Pearl captain the chance he had been waiting for. He lunged forward stabbing a jagged knife into Jim’s stomach, twisted around dragging the knife through the flesh as he moved to push another knife strongly and surely into Jim’s back, inbetween the ribs to pierce the heart. Cagan ripped the blades from the body and watched victoriously as the body slumped to the ground. Pulling a gun, he took a moment to aim it and then pulled the trigger. The battle ended with a captain’s death.

                Toby screamed. Lunged forward with hate and latched onto Cagan’s back. Again and again he stabbed his knife into his back, a beautifully crafted weapon given to him by Jim for his tenth birthday. Cagan swung around to try to dislodge the little devil on his back. Toby kept stabbing. Cagan dropped to his knees. Toby started slicing through the skin, tearing material and skin alike into strips. Cagan dropped to his chest. Toby reached blindly into the bloody mess and wrenched the heart out with emotional strength, his hands still small enough to fit inbetween ribs, and threw it to the deck and stabbed into it repeatedly. Again and again.

                A large hand touched his shoulder and he swung around. Rick caught the boy’s wrist before the knife touched him. “It’s alright lad, it’s over.” Toby panted heavily and slowly Rick’s words sunk in. He let the knife clatter to the deck and stumbled back from the mangled body of Captain Cagan. A massacre masterpiece of his rage.

                Rick helped Toby to his feet. All around there was silence, overwhelming because the recent clamor. Toby didn’t seem to notice as he gasped his mother’s name and raced towards the boat flanked the port side of the boat. Everyone watched as the boy used the rope joining the two ships to swing between them and land on the other ship’s deck. Seeing the blond hair he dropped to his knees beside his mother, smoothing back the blood sticky strands. “Mother? Can you hear me? Are you ok?”

                Karen’s eyes fluttered open and winced in the bright light of the new day. “Toby?” she whispered and weakly tried to raise a hand to him.

                Toby grabbed her hand and brought it to his face. “It’s over mother. Cagan killed Jim, but I killed Cagan. It’s all over.”

                Karen suddenly coughed violently; blood watered down by saliva dribbled from her mouth. “Jim would… Jim would want his brother to know. Go to Seattle, find Mac… Mac Adams-” she burst into another coughing fit.

                “Don’t talk. We’re going to get you fixed up.”

                Karen shook her head. “No. Too late for me. Find Mac.”

                Toby looked over Karen’s body and saw for the first time the dark red wet material covering her midsection. Carefully and as gently as he could he peeled back the shirt and sucked in his breath as the stab wound. Direct hit to the kidneys, especially painful, particularly deadly. He leaned over his mother and kissed her forehead. “Rest peacefully mother.” With one quick wrench Toby killed his mother by snapping her neck. “I will honour your last wish.”

                Toby stood up and faced Rick who had followed him. Rick felt sorry for the young boy, wanted to offer him comfort but if Toby was to fulfill his new role then he would have to be seen as hard and emotionless. Tough. “What are your orders Captain Toby?”

                Toby raised an eyebrow. Of course. He had killed the reigning captain. He was now the new captain of all those left, all of what was left. He almost laughed; a twelve year old as captain over a fleet of seven ships and overseer of more than a hundred people. That he could do it he had no doubt, his exceptional intelligence assured that. He had helped Captain Jim with the organisation of the Albatross clan to keep boredom at bay. He knew he had Rick’s full support and loyalty and anyone who thought that the young boy could not handle the position of captain would soon find otherwise. “Get rid of the rest of the dead. Kill anyone who doesn’t want to give his or her loyalty. Assess the condition of the ships. And find the one who did this to my mother.”

                “Aye captain” Rick replied and turned to relay the orders. Toby made his way back the Albatross and headed under the deck to collect the one thing that he wasn’t going to let any cabin boy touch when moving his belongings to the captain’s quarters. Reaching his bunk he grabbed the pillow and stripped the cover off and shook it until it gave up its prize. Toby caught the paper fluttering out before it hit the ground and looked at the photograph worn and torn from years of handling. It showed a teenage girl on the verge of womanhood, her potential for true beauty in the abundance of dark hair, the unblemished white skin and the sparkle of pure joy in her brown eyes. Sarah, his guardian angel. The sister he apparently had once, whom his mother had told many stories of always with a tint of sadness and regret in her eyes. Most likely dead from the primary wars with the Superiors. Whoever she was and whatever had become of her Toby knew one thing that defied the logic of the books he read and the life he lived - he worshipped Sarah like a goddess and never had she let him down. She had kept him alive this day and given him control of a fleet. He would go to America, the place of his birth, find Mac Adams and then, Sarah willing, he would conquer the oceanic world.
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Worlds Of War