The Face Issue #6: The Zandross Factor - Episode 21, "A Fateful Offer"

It felt as if my heart had stopped cold in its tracks as I viewed the horrible mutilations that had taken place before me. Zandross was ruthless, more ruthless than any being I had ever met. I had started to wonder what I had gotten my friends and I into. As the scene had ended, my heart began to bolster upbeatly once again in an increasingly rapid motion.

Meanwhile, Tim finally came to. “Ugh, what in blazes happened?” he asked, rubbing the back of his head. He slowly opened his eyes to see the gruesome catastrophe in the distance. He then squinted his eyes to make clear the certain betrayal. “Hmm…looks like someone spilled a lot red, blood-like substance over the floor…” he deduced dumbly.

I lowered my head in reverence. “No, Tim…that’s real blood…it was Zandross, he massacred Johnny, Shep, and Barney…” I explained, trembling. Tim couldn’t believe it. “Naaaah. His own teammates?! That can’t be…” He squinted once again to see their lifeless bodies on the ground, and finally noticed the twisted limbs and uneven, contorted body positions they exhibited. His eyes widened in trauma, and his mouth gaped open in shock and fear. “Aaaggh! My eyes….my beautiful, pearly eyes!” He cried, shielding them from the awful scene.

The loud commotion awoke Hussane and Bradley as well, and Qualbay was weak upon the ground, but slightly conscious. Hussane grew pale white at the sight of even the slightest blood that had befallen his sight. He held his hand over his mouth and gagged, looking away. Bradley looked upon the scene with an appalled face, while making a type of gasp mixed with groan, a traditional mouth sound as in assorted anime, and his black eye struggled to close or open.

Cold sweat moistened every bit of my clammy skin. The monster was after Jade next. I watched helplessly as she was tightly gripped by the dark energy that had immobilized her.

Jade struggled with all her might, Zandross slowly skulking around her. She snarled in anger, and her brow clamped downward in fury. Zandross cackled at her ferocious display. “Ha, Cywind, how does it feel to be witnessing my awesome new power? Doesn’t it send shivers down your spine?” he asked to her face. She returned to spit in his. Zandross stood uprightly, and wiped the moistness off of his face. “No? Too bad, but I assure you, ” Zandross continued circling her once again. “Your spine will be crushed into tiny little pieces when I’m finished with you…” His head slowly turned towards her. “For you see, the chemical enhancements inhabit my body, so I am now just naturally, well how you say, abnormally strong.” Zandross halted his movement and averted his attention to her.

“But…” Zandross continued. “There is a chance that you may survive after all… My best subjects have unfortunately been removed from service, and surprisingly, it was all because of you…” He removed from his pocket a small vial, a vial that contained a green-colored substance. “Cywind, I must say, you do have much potential. And I always believe that potential shouldn’t be put to waste on insignificant acts besides personal gain. If you…just think, if you and I were to be empowered by such great potency, we could do anything, anything we wanted…” he told her, as he shook the vial in front of her face. “The world would be ours to control, there would be no defiance, and there would be no one to stop us. You could have everything you ever wanted.” Cywind stared angrily at the evil presence before her in resolute silence.

“What do you say, Cywind? Care to have a taste of the almighty potion? Why don’t I test it out for you, take a wiff of these fumes here.” He uncorked the vial and released a noxious toxin of gas that flittered into the air like an unnatural spirit. Zandross then proceeded to blow the chemical cloud into Jade’s face. She tried to turn her head away, and tried to hold her breath, but she could not help it, as the green floating waft of substance entered her breathing mouth and nostrils. Her head shook about as the strong scent permeated throughout.

“Now…” Zandross said devilishly. “All you have to do… is release your innermost anger.” He put a hand to his chin and began to stroke it. “Now, how to make the great Cywind, Keeper of Winds, lose her temper?” He wondered, pinching her cheek in a condescending manner. “Would a little slap in the face enflame the rage brewing inside of you?” He asked, proceeding to slowly draw his hand to the right of Cywind’s face, and sending it straight across to the other side with the back of his blood-stained, white-gloved hands. I heard the loud smack of slapped flesh from the distance, and gripped tightly against the rail, feeling helpless.

Jade would not budge, nor could she move. She stood in silence, enveloped by the dark hand. “Hmmm, not speaking, eh?” Zandross repeated the process of drawing his hand to slap Jade’s face. As no responses were made, he continuously repeated the process with a barrage of recurring blows across the cheek back and forth from side to side, bruising and reddening the skin.

Her resolute silence still stood firm. Zandross’ narrowing eyes pierced at her unresponsive countenance, and his fangs glistened in the twilight. “Won’t talk, eh? Then I’ll just have to approach this in a different perspective.” Zandross leapt back away from the paralyzed Cywind, and held out his hand tightly. He stretched out his fingers, and opened his palm, only to reveal a line of red energy that spurted out into a large ball that stood aloft in the air, while still connected to his hand.

“I always knew you couldn’t stand for injustice, Cywind. Not injustice for yourself, I see now, but injustice for others…we will see.” The red sphere of dark energy revolved in rapid motion, with sparks of red flame sparkling about it. “Don’t worry, Cywind, I won’t blast your friends into oblivion. They just look bored, why not allow them to meet some interesting people?” As he said this, bursts of energy erupted from the red sphere, taking on the form of tiny red men. Soon limbs began to spout from each as the number of energy spawns tripled, and then rose to a total number of five. The tiny red, energy induced creatures had a striking resemblance to Zandross, and looked to be mischievous in nature. They chuckled manically (not maniacally) like children ready to wreak havoc upon an unsuspecting household in their dark, low, child-like voices.

End of Episode 21

The Face Issue #6: The Zandross Factor - Episode 22, "Tiny Torture"

I stared in awe at the dark phenomenon that had occurred. I groaned in shock and continued, “It….it can’t…be! Wha….what is he?!” as my arms were held slightly raised by my side, and my fingers separated apart in fear.

“Alright, my creatures! Show Miss Cywind here how to have fun…the old fashioned way!” Zandross cackled. Jade turned her head as the energy creatures began pacing themselves down toward us, the five wounded members of the group. “No!” She gasped, finally breaking her silence.

We braced ourselves for battle. The creatures were closing in on us, and we had to take on the defensive…to save our lives. I put up my dukes and waited for the attack.

With unbelievable speed, like electricity pumping through the ground, the creatures struck us. “Agh!” I cried, as one had burned through my featureless mask, scarring my skin with its enflamed fist. One had struck Bradley in the chest, burning it, while smoke billowed from the wound. “Agh! Mars Ben, how’z we suh-puzzed tah faht inner-g’s?! Ah! It burns!” Bradley yelled, as the fiend was pummeling him.

However, I could not answer him, for I was being buffeted by blows myself, each causing a searing pain in the skin, for it was like fire piercing my veins. I tried anticipating its movements and blocking its path with my clothed arms.

Meanwhile Hussane tried to make use of his telekinetic abilities. Like before, he picked up a small, square-shaped crate of wood with his mind, and thrust it straight toward his target. However, the speed of the creature was impassable, as it quickly adjusted to form a bolt of red lightning and tear through the crate like a piece of paper, shattering shards of wood across the floor. Still in its bolt-like state, it touched Hussane’s skin and spread itself throughout his body, enveloping him in red rays. Burning sensations flowed within him, as Hussane cried out in increasing pain. His mouth gaped open widely to let out a cry that could have been heard for miles, and the creature soon separated itself from him, causing him to fall limp with black smoke billowing from his head.

“Buahaha! Isn’t this quite entertaining, Cywind? Now don’t tell me you aren’t phased by this!” Zandross cowed cynically at Cywind. “Stop this, right now!” She yelled at him, struggling inside the fist of the large, dark hand.

Tim stared the energy creature straight into its transparently formed eyes. He raised his fists in a battle stance, determined not to be overtaken by this fiend. He quickly drew his fist back and thrust it forward in hopes of landing an extremely painful blow to the creature. But alas, the attack had backfired, as Tim began to fill the effects of a 1st degree-burned hand through his fingers. He held his wrist uprightly with his left hand and opened his mouth to let out a painful bellow. “Argh! You idiot!” He cursed the red creature. It laughed deviously at his pain and suffering, prancing around in a child-like state. After it had its fill of self-entertainment, the creature itself formed into a huge, red mallet that elevated itself above the level of Tim’s unaware head. With a large thrust downward, the energy mallet landed a particularly painful blow to Tim’s scalp, as the force caused his body to attract the ground face-first.

The Blue Aura tried frantically to muster up his blue energy once again. He had used so much before, that it was painfully difficult to summon even a glitter of strength. With what little power he had, the Aura charged some energy into his fist, causing it to emit his own energy flame. The mischievous little red creature darted at the weakened Aura only to find itself pound against what seemed like a brick wall, as it met Qualbay’s energetically-charged fist. Small red energy stars floated above the dazed creature, as his tongue rolled out and his head bobbed back and forth. However, the little mischief-maker recovered, and shook off the dizziness. He soon smirked insanely and chuckled to himself, as he pointed his finger toward Aura, and released the stars of red energy from above his head into the ailing hero, which exploded on contact. As the Blue Aura was bombarded with energy bombs, smoke covered his vision and surrounded his presence. Soon the fog dissipated, and he found the creature floating above him, smiling maniacally once again. The creature formed itself into a large anvil and proceeded to pound Qualbay into the ground with hard-hitting results.

I tried ineffectively to deflect the blows that had continuously paraded themselves upon me. I had to convey to Bradley the need for a new plan. “Bradley! We’ve got…to try…a…different…approach!” I said to him. “Raht, Mars Benny!” Bradley agreed. However, time did not allow for such things, as the creatures advanced themselves to quickly dispose of both of us.

One creature soon rolled itself into a type of energy ball and began bouncing about wildly upon the floor of the factory. Then it ricocheted from the metal ground and into my face, producing a painful sensation in my already wounded jaw. Spit had escaped from my mouth due to the jolt. It repeatedly bounced off of me a number of times, until I was finally on the ground too weakened and winded to move. In one final blow, the energy ball rushed down from the air into my back, causing painful sensations throughout all my muscles.

Seeing his comrades fallen, Bradley soon reverted back to the silent fury that preceded himself once before. He found and took hold of his red katana, the essence of his very being as a Southern Samurai. Rapidly he held it upward in both hands in front of his chest, then raised it above him, with it’s blade glistening under the bright light of the factory. He formed his samurai stance, and held out his hand motioning his aggressor to “bring it on.” The raging creature did, with full force, as it leapt with emotions in tact straight toward the samurai. With unrelenting quickness and stealth, Bradley proceeded to motion his blade upward and downward in a variety of directions. As quick as a raising hand, the energy creature had been chopped up into tiny little pieces as they passed the resolved stance of Bradley Davis.

The four other red creatures watched in awe at this stunning display of recklessness, and even looked at each other and applauded him.

“C’mon, you’s yellah-belleed, cow-ards. Show’s me wuts you’s gaht!” He threatened them. However, their applauding quickly ended as their eyes widened and they looked at each other once again, grinning and laughing impishly like little children. “Wut’s so funnie?” asked the Southern Samurai. The four remaining creatures began pointing behind Bradley trying to tell him something in their own little language. “Ri…ri…ri…!” They all cried out to him, still pointing.

Bradley was highly skeptical. “Aww, no’s you dun’t! Ah’m nawt fallern fer dat trik, you’s lillie-livered batches uv pig fat!” But alas, the unheeded warning did not go without its consequences. Bradley could hear a distinct sound from behind him, and sure enough the red energy creature had leapt toward him once again, fully assembled to its original form. With the element of surprise, the creature gained the advantage, as it enclosed its arms around Bradley in a type of savage bear hug. It grinned maniacally and soon cackled at Bradley’s plight. “Wut’re you’s triyin tah pool?!” He asked it. It was not a good question to ask. As soon as the words were spoken, the creature began to glow lightly, as if it were shining into the distance. The creature then self-destructed itself, holding tightly onto Bradley to make sure of his demise. As the energy being exploded into the air, leaving a thick cloud of black smoke, so did it also leave a fallen Bradley pain-stricken upon the ground below.

“No!” Jade cried, as she witnessed the horrible act committed. Zandross cackled uncontrollably and applauded the feats of his small creatures. “Well, done, my little fiends! Well done! How do you like it now, Cywind?!” He asked her.

The creatures did not stop in their twisted little game. They soon began entertaining themselves by kicking us around like little soccer balls, getting a kick out of our pain and agony.

Upon hearing the groans of her comrades, Jade was beginning to lose control. “Zandross! You will pay for all this destruction!” She promised. At that point, her very conscience snapped, as the power of wind came to an increased extent to which the ground below began to rumble…

End of Episode 22

The Face Issue#6: The Zandross Factor - Episode 23, “The End Of An Era, Part 1”

“That’s it, Cywind, release that anger! Become one with corruption! Buahaha!” Zandross roared boisterously about a rampaging Cywind. Jade’s eyes grew red with anger, and the veins throughout her body began to pulsate madly like a throbbing heart. Her consuming energy had broken free from the dark hand that had held her immobilized. The shards of red energy broke to pieces, and vanished into the thin air. Her eyes were reddened with anger, as the ground trembled beneath her feet. “Nothing will stop us!” Zandross cried.

I watched from upon the ground in my damaged state at the horrific turn of events. If Jade turned evil, who would be left to fight? My arm trembled as it rose before me. “This….can’t….be happening…” I helplessly expressed. I tried to get up, but as pressure came upon my leg, it withdrew uncontrollably with ravaging pain, and gave out.

Suddenly, a brisk wind rushed against me, gaining my attention. I glanced over to where Cywind was and witnessed her growing power. However, something had changed, a white aura entrenched her entire being, and she was somehow being levitated aloft without her control. Her arms were outstretched to her side, and her eyes closed, as the powerful gust lifted her from the ground. The wind grew stronger, and I shielded my eyes from the dryness that flowed through me.

When I reopened my eyes, Jade was standing firmly upon the floor, and seemed unphased by the entire calamity. Her eyes had returned to normal. “What’s this?!” Zandross wondered, abashed at what had happened. Jade lifted a finger and waved it from side to side. “You do not know the cleansing power of wind…” she explained. Before Zandross knew what had hit him, a rushing blast of cyclonic winds catapulted his entire body backwards. He found himself on his backside in a stinking mess of green ooze.

“Ah, so it looks like the great Windy Woman has some backbone in her after all,” he said, rising to his feet. He folded his arms before he moved once again. “Let’s see how sturdy that backbone really is!” He yelled, rushing with blinding speed towards Cywind, fist outstretched.

Cywind followed suit, and drew her fist before her as well, fleeing forward. Upon collision, their great auras clashed, one red, and the other white. The mixing of colossal energies sent a shockwave through the air that propelled powerful airwaves against my eyes, as well as plunging each battler backwards from their original stances.

Both regained their bearings and stood once again, facing one another. “Hmm, yes, Cywind you have proved to be a worthy adversary. It’s just a shame that you have to be expendable.” Jade clenched her fist tightly. “Zandross, you’re the one who will be expended. Your reign of terror has continued for far too long now,” she countered. A frowned look appeared upon the mob member’s face. His fangs glistened in the moonlight through a clear window upon the roof. “Foolish girl. I cannot die…as long as I have evil spirits within me…” This certain notion caught Cywind’s perplexed ears as she readied her stance for more battle.

It came all too quickly too, for once again Zandross ensued his onslaught upon her. He struck her with repeated blows upon her face and stomach, while Jade frantically struggled to keep up with the punches. Her arms tried desperately to shield the cold-hearted hands, but some broke through the barriers, and caused enormous pain that vibrated through her stolid bones.

Calling upon the powers of wind yet again, she stopped in her place from receding backwards by Zandross’ repeating strikes. The white wind aura surrounding her exploded in fury, and Zandross was halted and struck backward by the powerful blast. Using this as a valuable time to counter yet more, Jade clenched her fist and an enormous sphere of wind enveloped her hand. She then thrust it forward, blowing Zandross continuously backward. The madman groaned in misfortune.

Before colliding into the ground, he stopped himself with his feet as he knelt upon the floor beneath him. A frustrated look came upon his face, as he glared his eyes at his implacable opponent. No words were spoken, all was silent, they seemed to communicate with their eyes. Zandross jumped high into the air, and held out his hands before him, as red energy strands began to sparkle between them. Cywind readied her hands as well, preparing for the worst.

Without any signal or warning, each battle-weary warrior exhorted great amounts of energy from themselves. A blast of rushing winds like that of the arctic tundra flowed from the manipulating hands of Cywind. A beam of blasting red energy heralded by the dark spirits held within himself flowed out of the very essence of the mad Zandross.

The attacks met with full force in the middle distance of each, and yet another powerful shockwave could be felt through the once still atmosphere of the chemical factory. Glasses and vials broke upon contact, sending crashes through my ears.

Neither friend nor foe has the advantage in the struggle for power, but that soon changed as a small hand budded from the evil energy beam that Zandross controlled. Stealthily quiet, the tiny hand reached into the mob leader’s pocket and retrieved another vial of the enhancement potion. Zandross opened his mouth to receive the drops of potion willingly, and the green chemical oozed down his throat.

His muscles bulged even further, and the black suit coat he was wearing became tattered with tiny rips. The red aura around him grew brighter and bigger, as his dark energy became ever more powerful. He smiled as his fangs sparkled with satisfaction. I could see that Cywind was losing the battle. Slowly, her blast of wind was receding backwards, and I could witness the struggle in her face.

End Episode 23

The Face Issue #6: The Zandross Factor - Episode 24, "The End of An Era" Part 2

Frantically, I searched around for a remedy to the situation. Then it happened. Fate had sent me a relatively easy blow for once. I spotted an electrical power generator near Jade. If I could break off the large piece of circuitry wiring, I would be able to help Jade in defeating Zandross. However, I needed more time. Cywind was losing power. Large beads of sweat were flowing down her face like Niagara Falls.

While on the way to crawling to the generator, I grabbed Bradley’s copper katana. Anxiously, I tried to undo the wiring. After much untangling, I was successful, and carefully limped upon my feet, so as to be able to have a good insulator between my rubber soles and the ground beneath me. I limped as fast as I could toward Cywind.

Meanwhile, Jade was attempting with all her might to withstand Zandross’ horrendous energy. Her strength had been waning ever since Zandross drank the reserved potion. With her efforts in vain, she began retracting her power, beginning to give in to the madman’s might.

However, before she folded entirely, a crash of glass could be heard upon the roof, which followed with a loud groan from Zandross himself. Found upon his face, was wrapped a small bola, which obstructed his view. Jade looked upwardly to find a broken skylight and a shadowy figure next to it. Her eyes sparkled as she could scarcely view the dark countenance, and the puffy black hair, that danced about in the moonlit wind. The dark figure saluted her and went on his way, knowing full well that the young lady could get the job done.

Finally, I had reached Jade after limping through the broken glass and wood that scattered the area. With katana in one hand, and wire in the other, I tied the latter onto the former. “Hope this works,” I silently hoped to myself. With all my remaining strength and endurance I flung the wire-tied katana to the ravaging maniac of unrelenting fury.

Zandross gasped in shock and anger as he saw the dagger floating his way. Seeing the look on his face, almost compelled me to shout victory right then. However, Zandross reacted more quickly than I had hoped. He smirked deviously as a small red hand budded from his beam of energy, and quickly grabbed the katana before it reached Zandross. But what Zandross did not know, was that all one needed to complete a circuit is a connection.

Without a moment to spare I yelled to Jade, “Get outta the way!” Quickly responding Jade, did, and the ensuing red blast had fizzled out before her, as an electric charge pulsated through the cold-blooded veins of the maniacal Zandross. He groaned loudly in agony, and he began convulsing in the air like the spasm of a corrupt muscle devastated by the black plague.

We watched in horror as a devilish creature formed out from the mouth of the moaning madman. He was in the form of red energy, an angry face that seemed to be in almost as much pain as Zandross. With a loud cry, the creature escaped out of the broken skylight in the rooftop with blinding speed, and disappeared without a trace.

As more glass shattered and gently rapped against the ground, gentle winds of the night could be heard once again, before the thump of Zandross’ wounded, unconscious body laid upon the ground before us.

No words were spoken…just complete and utter disillusionment.

Minutes later, police and ambulances arrived on the scene, with their flashing red lights, and loud, boisterous sirens. The only problem was, they arrived too late, and seemed to be good at that in this area. I lay on a stretcher, along with Bradley, Hussane, Tim, and Qualbay on their own. Jade was the only one who did not sustain serious injuries.

An attendant was pushing Tim’s stretcher across the lot in front of the factory to an ambulance car. “Tell me, how bad is it? Is this the big checkout? Huh? Tell me…please, I gotta know…Oh ladies, please don’t mourn for Tim Higher…” The attendant replied in a very friendly, upbeat tone. “You'll be fine. Don't worry, you'll be back on your feet in no time.” A smile appeared upon Tim’s face before his head turned to the side and he fell unconscious. The attendant whispered into his communication link. “Prepare a room in intensive care for one more, Patient is said to be in very critical condition…”

Bradley, Hussane, and I soon came rolling out of the factory as well. Cywind had finished speaking with police when she turned to us. “I’m sorry it had to come to all of this…” she explained. Bradley gave a thumbs up and replied, “Tweren’t nuthin’, miss. On deh sahd uv justeece, deh gud gahs oll-weys ween. Agh!” Bradley interrupted himself by clutching to his aching ribs. “Yeah, uh, you really shouldn’t be talking,” the attendant spoke.

Hussane was not moving, and he was slightly trembling. “Looks like this here fella’s been more traumatized than injured…” His attendant spoke. Hussane began chanting frantically. “Bl…blood! Too…much…blood! Think…happy thoughts! School! Studies…Chess…!” Jade looked pitifully upon the nerve-wrecked telekinetic.

Shep, Barney, and Johnny were all taken out on separate stretchers. "Mama... is dat you?" Johnny wondered in a weakened, disillusioned voice. Barney rolled by next. "Aye, it's a good thing I had Lucky Charms for me breakfast today," Barney said. "Otherwise I woulda never survived this. Har.." He coughed violently. "Har..." Shep groaned in pain. "I shoulda joined the NBA when I had the chance..." He deeply regretted. And then, they were reeled away.

“Don’t worry about everyone,” I said to Jade. “We’ll be fine. If I know us, we’ll be pullin’ through before you know it. But…Tim…I’m not too sure about…” I looked over to his stretcher to see him face-forward against the ground. “Uh, whoops,” the attendant pardoned, he had bumped into the ambulance.

A fumbling policeman came over to Cywind. “So, this is the guy, eh?” he asked, with Zandross headlocked in his arm, dragging. Jade nodded in agreement. “Don’t worry,” the officer continued. “We’ll lock ‘im up and throw away the key.” He proceeded to drag Zandross to his beaten squad car, and he fumbled with the door. The siren blared loudly, and the Policeman screamed in fright, dropping the unconscious Zandross.

Cywind set her hand upon her forehead in shame. “They should probably send him to the hospital first, eh?” I asked. Cywind shook her head. “He gets what he deserves,” she replied. I raised my head from my pillow. “Hey, but didn’t you see that thing that came out of Zandross? That monster-thing?” I wondered. Jade nodded once more. “He must’ve been driven by some kind of evil from the start…” But something else was on her mind…the one who had helped her during her struggle against Zandross. From that instant, she seemed to be infatuated with this shadowy figure, who seemed to know exactly where she was at the time, without her even knowing it.

“Well, it was nice working with you,” I said. “I guess it’s high time I get these battered bones looked at,” I suggested. She nodded. “Good luck, to all of you. I must leave too. I have more business to take care of, and hopefully, I will find what I’m looking for.”

As Cywind’s white aura flourished once more, she flew into the distance of the dark blue, star-stained sky, and vanished into the blackness. As she did so, I whispered to myself, “I hope I find what I want too…a return to normal life…” I had had about as much adventure and suspense as I could handle for an entire year, and all I wanted to do was kick back and even enjoy some of Tim’s Arachnakid DVD’s if time allowed.

Then I realized… “Shoot, I gotta go back to work Monday…” and laid my head back down to rest, feeling blue.

The End.