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After the two men defied him for a second time Phobos decided to take a more direct approach. Making the ground solid beneath their feet he materialized before them as a lion headed demigod standing twenty feet tall with blood dripping from his fangs and claws. He held in one hand a giant axe and appeared as much an executioner as anything else.
“I will have blood!”
As the tall god swung down with his axe blade Cyber Jack rolled out of the way and came back with an uppercut that sent Phobos reeling backwards. The axe swung again and was this time blocked by Arcanum who had shifted his cybernetic arm into a blade so that he could duel the fear wielder. Phobos’ lion head roared defiance as he struck out again and again.
Between the two of them, Cyber Jack and Arcanum managed to block and counter every incoming attack the god could throw at them. But they could not seem to gain the upper hand. Arcanum finally encompassed them with protective wards to better shield them from harm. Then he became more aggressive in his attacks with Cyber Jack following suit.
The axe blade came down again and Arcanum parried it aside. Unleashing an electrical burst from his cybernetic arm blade sent the axe flying from Phobos’ hands leaving him wide open. Cyber Jack moved in close and began pounding away at the fear god’s body until Phobos and fallen beneath the attack. Then Cyber Jack pinned him down and began pummeling his face.
“I told you I’d punch him in the face!” he shouted to Arcanum.
“That you did” Arcanum smiled and then shouted back “keep him busy while I try to find us a way out of here!”
As Cyber Jack continued his unrelenting assault on the fear god Arcanum was better able to concentrate on other things. First he summoned a charm of revealing hoping to find a hidden portal but to no avail. Then he opened up his mind so that he could better listen to the ambient noises coming from all around them. He heard faint screams of terror that seemed to come from vast distances and then he also heard maniacal bits of laughter. But beneath it all he heard whispers that beckoned him towards a great stone archway.
Arcanum left Cyber Jack alone with Phobos and followed the directions of the voices that were now inside his head. As if in a trance he moved over broken pieces of rock that floated in a river of fire. Then he climbed great stone stairs that seemed to lead into nothingness. At the top he finally glimpsed the archway. But it was simply that, an empty archway that leads nowhere. It was inscribed with ancient runes.
“Wonder what those say?” he thought as he placed his right, flesh covered hand against the archway and chanted a translation spell.
At first nothing seemed to happen. But then the runes flared to life giving off a blinding light. Arcanum found he was able to read them as if they were written in English. ‘A great portal waits for those who are worthy. Prove thyself in combat with Phobos, God of Fear. Subdue him and conquer thy own fear and the gateway will be revealed!’
“Subdue him and conquer thy own fear” Arcanum read again “I understand subdue but what fear do we need to conquer?”
He looked back and saw Phobos slam his fist into Cyber Jack’s stomach knocking the wind from his body. The bionic soldier dropped to his knees trying hard to breath. Sweat trickled down his face as the fear gripped him. Cyber Jack was a soldier, and a darn good one, but his one fear was that of defeat. And right now it seemed the fear god was about to beat him in combat. His body froze from that fear allowing Phobos to knee him in the face knocking him backwards.
Arcanum drew forth his hellfire revolver and squeezed the trigger three times in quick succession. The gun bucked in his hand as brimstone shot from the barrel. The flames did nothing to hurt Phobos but it did take his attention away from Cyber Jack long enough for Arcanum to close the distance. He fired again and again as he ran keeping the fear god’s attention for as long as possible.
“Cyber Jack, get up” Arcanum shouted “you have to conquer your fear. That is the key to defeating Phobos and returning home!”
“But he’s too powerful” Cyber Jack protested overtaken by the grip of fear.
“No he’s not. His power relies on you believing that. Get up and fight back!”
All of a sudden Arcanum found himself surrounded by giant pythons and he stopped midstride. Dropping to his knees he clasped his hands to the side of his head and closed his eyes. This was not happening. Ever since the summer he spent on his uncle’s farm when he was seven he’d been terrified of snakes. Deep down he knew these pythons were not real but they seemed real enough to petrify him. He could now sympathize with what Cyber Jack was feeling. How could either of them overcome this kind of mental anguish?
Cyber Jack saw Arcanum drop to his knees but could see no reason for him to do so. There was nothing whatsoever near the sorcerer. He couldn’t understand what was wrong with the man. But his own resolve had returned and so he stood up once more and slammed a fist into Phobos’ body. The force of the punch seemed to destabilize the god and he backed away from Cyber Jack.
“Whatever it is fight it off” Cyber Jack shouted to Arcanum “you were right it is only an illusion fight back!”
In that instant Cyber Jack’s words penetrated the illusionary pythons that surrounded Arcanum giving him the strength to stand up once more. The snakes still surrounded him but his fear receded. His cybernetic arm shifted into its blade form and he struck out at each illusion until it had been dispelled. Then he continued moving up until he was side by side with Cyber Jack.
The two men had formed a bond this moment helping each other overcome their worst fears. Phobos should be no match for them now. Phobos seemed to sense this as well and he altered the battleground. Now the three of them stood on a mountaintop and skeleton warriors seemed to dig themselves up out of the ground. Cyber Jack punched one in the skull detaching it from the spine. Arcanum decapitated another with his blade. More swarmed upon them.
“I can take these undead critters. Focus on taking down Phobos” Arcanum told Cyber Jack as he sliced another bonehead in half.
Cyber Jack leapt over three skeleton warriors and charged Phobos who was using the skeletons as a diversion so that he could escape. The bionic soldier caught up with the fear god and latched onto him with his massive arms stopping the giant in his tracks. Phobos growled in frustration as he flailed about with his large hand trying to swat Cyber Jack like a pesky fly.
“You are not getting away that easily” Cyber Jack declared “we want to go home and you are going to make sure we can!”
“But I have yet to fill my need for blood” Phobos roared!
“The only blood that is going to spill will be yours if you do not send us home” Cyber Jack threatened.
Arcanum could be seen in the background destroying skeleton soldiers left and right with a combination of his cybernetic arm blade and his hellfire revolver. More than half of the undead abominations had been sent back to the hell they came from. Phobos saw this and his eyes went wide with the realization that these two warriors were in fact capable of beating him in his own realm.
“Very well” Phobos spoke and when he did the remaining skeletal minions descended back into the ground “I will let you go. But you must vow never to return for I will not be so lenient towards your intrusion a second time.”
“Our intrusion” Cyber Jack shouted angrily “it was your Abominable Snowman that sent us here!”
“Yes and he is in such a remote location that I thought never to be disturbed by your kind again. In each world I placed a gatekeeper that resembled some mythological creature to stand guard over the portals to my realm. These keepers were to see to it that only the most worthy combatants make it to my realm in order to be offered up as blood sacrifices. However it seems every time someone from Earth makes it here they manage to cause me more problems than they are worth.”
“Others have been here before us?” Arcanum said catching the tail end of the conversation.
“Oh yes several in fact. The mightiest of ancient warriors have faced me in combat. I managed to drive Hercules mad before he could best me but I still sent him back to Earth for he was of more use to me there to cause chaos. Thor defeated me in combat but I had the last laugh by creating the Fenris Wolf which will devour him on the eve of Ragnarok. I even faced Sir Mordred during what you call the medieval period. Oh was that a spectacular fight. I convinced him that Arthur was his enemy and sent him back to kill the once and future king.”
“Why are you babbling?” Cyber Jack said “just open the portal so that we may go!”
Phobos begins laughing again as if he’s about to force them back into combat but the urge subsides “my apologies mortal but it has been awhile since I have been able to converse with anyone.”
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cool!
