War of the Portal
Part 2, Chapter 2 - "Plans"

January 18, 2005

By Alkador

The man’s lips tightened in the form of a smile as he slowly climbed over the cliff. Of course, he didn’t have to use his hands, but he would not take any risks. The Power could do anything you wished if you knew how to use it. Of course, no one knew his true capabilities with it. He brought his hand up and rubbed his necklace, an ancient design of the portal gem that was far too rare. This was no ordinary portal gem, but one from near the heart of the world itself, with a mass of hidden energy stored within. He rarely used it as it was far too dangerous even for himself. He smiled at the thought of death. Life and death seemed equal to him. Life was a false hope, a hope that men held tightly. No one had hope, not even he. But if he wanted to succeed, of course there were ways, methods of obtaining what you wished. But hoping for it to happen would do nothing. Time was short. For all he could know, they could have made a cure for the virus now. It seemed that in all stories, the bad guy would always be stopped and defeated. This time, he would not go down without a fight. He laughed at himself out loud, not bothering to cover his mouth. If this life of his was a story, it would show how complicated his mind was. Then again, even he held secrets that he would not tell. His smile faded as he moved on, knowing that he was nearly there.

“He seems scared,” Said Recon_Rebel. “What could be wrong?” He stared at the baby submission that hid in his new cloth. It was shaking as if scared of something nearby.
“Beats me,” Said RedCircle, who was happy enough to keep the little creature whether it was scared or not. “He’s cute.”
“Oh man, you’re such a girl.” Replied BonusStage.
“Maybe he can predict the future or something?” Suggested XwaynecoltX.
“I don’t know and I don’t care,” Sighed M-A-R-C-U-S. “I’m going to go to bed now.”
“At 3pm?” Laughed Slightly_Crazy_Dude.
“I suppose he’s just tired.” Said YoinK_VineS, who continued to glance at ramagi. The girl was writing the required chemicals for the virus cure at her desk.
“We’ve done pretty well today, if you ask me,” Smiled Qwoxyl. “We’ve found this submission and ramagi has produced a cure in days. What else could you ask for?”
“We still have much to ask about,” Said Gfoxcook, who entered the room with a tray of drinks. “We may have produced a cure for this virus, but how are we going to implement it? What of the wild submissions that are still roaming? Will they mutate any further? There are important questions that we still face that we have to solve. We can’t leave the world like it is just now. As far as I’m concerned, we have only just begun.”
Recon_Rebel took a glass of coke and took his flask from his pocket, pouring some rum in. Slightly_Crazy_Dude did the same, happy that the guard offered drinks.
“We only just moved in here and you’ve already thought about that much?” Asked Qwoxyl, who continued to sip at his drink.
“Well, we always have to plan. We never know when the worst may happen. I guess you are correct, in a way. This house of mine was my holiday house when I took a break from guarding the portal. Now, it’s my home. No, our home.”
RedCircle smiled as the submission popped its head from the cloth, looking at everyone in the room. He made a noise as he pointed at RedCircle’s drink. The man smiled and offered some of the coke to the submission, who seemed to enjoy it immensely.
“So what do we do now?” Asked BonusStage.
“I suppose we have to catch a submission to find out more about this virus. It seems like it’s the only way. I would use the one RedCircle has, but it seems far too young to be infected.”

The doorbell rang as everyone stopped talking for a second, remembering the noise of the doorbell that used to ring at the houses they once lived in. ramagi tilted her head up, the only person noticing that the room had faded to a darker colour since the past few minutes. Gfoxcook stood up, entering the hallway and making his way towards the door, eager of a visitor. But little did he know that a man who had been waiting for them all was here.