Chapter 35

"I am Thorace Nertival, a cosmic pirate", the one standing introduced, "and his name is Vag Verzak", he pointed at the other being who was still sitting on the boulder with a panther at his feet, "he too is a cosmic pirate. And your supposed Henry is known to us as Kied and he too is a cosmic pirate."

"A child prodigy if you can call him that", Vag said, "It took me centuries to me get to this this level and he's already this powerful at his age. Bit I'm not good at catching up because, your friend "Henry" has just been catapulting his powers to infinite heights."

"Not bad for a kid who ran ..."

The antelope leapt backwards as a sword tore out from Kied's palm, burying its blade into the ground a few inches from the antelope.

"Take it easy Kied", the antelope pleaded, "I was just giving them a recap of your legend."

"I always warn you Trident", the panther said, "with Kied and Hypernox, you have to watch your mouth."

"Thank you Trident", Kied said, the sword flying back into his grip, "but I don't fancy being turned into a cheap fairytale, do you Hypernox ?"

Hypernox gave a screech which meant, "No !"

"And we all have our pets who we call cosmic beasts", Thorace continued, "the antelope who's name is Trident, belongs to me, while the panther who is called Rode, belongs to Vage. As for Kied, his eagle's name is Hypernox."

"And who's the guy in armour always following Henry ... I mean Kied, around ?" James pointed at the armoured being standing next to Kied, "His bouncer ?"

"That's Equivax", Rode answered, "He's Kied's higher form."

"Higher form !"

The title echoed in Judith's head, so there was someone who could keep Henry's, no Kied's behavior under control. Wait. wasn't that the action figure she had seen moving in Henry's room and the bird as well ?

"So Kied, you didn't tell your friends anything about yourself before bringing them along." Vage said.

"I wasn't the one who brought them, they got caught up in a wormhole." Kied denied.

"Liar !" Judith screamed, "You took is here from your room, didn't you Henry ?"

"The girl doesn't know who she's talking to", Trident snorted, "A being who can make a pack of a million cosmic beasts kneel, have some respect kid."

"I don't care if he can make a million baby rats cry", Judith interjected, "all I know is, Henry won't be bold enough to point a finger at me."

"Hypernox." Kied called.

Hypernox screeched welcoming the idea.

"I will advise you keep quiet Judith", Equivax spoke for the first time, "there are some things which I can't prevent Kied from doing. I'm just a voice in his head, he can either listen to or ignore me and there is nothing I can do if he chooses the latter option. So it's in your best interest not to get him angry."

Angry ! The word echoed in Judith's head, reminding her of Henry's fight with Sam and his gang. She swallowed, realizing that she didn't want to end up with a broken arm and battered face.

"Fine !" She blurted, "But you better take me back home of I'll scream."

"Scream all you want" Kied said flippantly, "you're only torturing yourself."

"Henry ... er ... Kied", James stammered, "are we in VR or is this real ?"

"This is real James", Kied replied, "my name is Kied and I'm a cosmic pirate. This isn't a game as well, if you die here, you're dead for real."

"Now I understand", James reflected, "No wonder you've got those sick moves."

"He admitted that he's a killer and you're applauding him for it ?!" Judith scolded.

"Come on Judith", James said, "we're in a universe where everything we could see is more than anything we could ever imagine."

"And are we going to spend the entire day talking ?" Judith brought it to their notice, "Because I'm really starving."

"Let's take off the camouflage." Vage said, snapping his fingers.

Those battleships ; the Mace and the Talon appeared, their flags bearing their respective emblems fluttered in the sky.

"Pirate ships !", James exclaimed, "They're more like spaceships."

"They're battleships my friend." Trident explained.

"Each of you are supposed to have yours, isn't that right ?" James asked.

"The Talon belongs to me", said Vage, "while the Mace is Thorace's."

"How about Henry ... eh ... Kied, where is his battleship ?" James came clear.

"I think someone is living on the streets." Judith mocked.

"You mean the Aegis", Thorace smiled answering James.

"The Aegis !" James and Judith echoed.

The clouds darkened as a sea of lightning and dark clouds surfaced, their astral waves rising high, unveiling that colossal battleship which towered high above the Mace and the Talon. The Aegis' satin armour glistened lightning white, twenty times the size of the Mace and the Talon combined, it was a magnificent sight to behold. A battlecarpet descended from its open hanger, stopping before the ground, at the the edge of the cliff, serving as a lift to take them up. Kied walked past them, followed behind by Equivax, with Hypernox on his shoulder, they climbed onboard. Taking a few strides from the edge, Kied turned around to face them once again.

"So that's the Aegis !" James gasped, not able to control himself, he jumped onboard the battlecarpet, with the others following behind. Judith shuffled forward, the only that mattered to her was getting something edible into her stomach.

*** *** ***

They all sat at the banquet table munching away as they sailed on the Aegis across the cosmic seas with the Mace and Talon gliding by its side, their progression sonic.

Kied, Equivax and Hypernox sat at their own separate table from the group as they each made six moves with the pieces across the board. Judith stared at them, watching intently, she tried to decipher how they made their moves but she couldn't get a clue from that distance as she wasn't able to see anything. She had caught a glimpse of the boards complex design when she had stepped into the dining room but wasn't able to study it for long before Kied, Equivax and Hypernox came in, making her scurry away.

"Wondering what the the game they are playing is ?" Vage caught her staring, "It's a game called Geomacy, a short form for Geometric Supremacy. Kied created it himself and over the centuries it has become so popular that many cosmic realms know about it. Banned though in some intergalactic states due to Kied's reputation as a cosmic pirate, the elites are still able to obtain them and illegal tournaments are regularly held in the underworld."

   "So Henry's such a big shot", James voiced his thoughts, "I never knew he was this popular."

   "And hated", Rode added from his place on the golden rimmed couch, "as the king of the cyber underworld and a fearless pirate, always competing with the Feudal Order for resources, it's no surprise that he's the number one on their list of the most wanted person in many astral realms."