Brothers In Blood II

PROLOGUE

It was a cold winter day on Sera, the white fluffy snow falling in clumps on the war torn planet’s surface. The snow hid the past; debris from grenades to remains of COG soldiers. Past the remains of Jacinto was a large clearing. Tombstones struck out of the cold earth as far as the eyes can see, names of all the fallen COG soldiers and civilians that died in the war. The Jacinto Memorial was made for the people who died in the Jacinto sinking. Families that survived the onslaught visit here frequently, to mourn the dead.

In the cold winter graveyard stood one man, his dark brown coat blowing in the winds. He held a bouquet of flowers in his right hand, the rose petals drifting into the wind. Before him stood two tombstones, both names having the same last name; Anthony and Benjamin Carmine. The coffins beneath the earth’s surface were empty, of course, but no one else knew that.

R.I.P Anthony Carmine

5 B.E – 14 A.E

Why couldn’t you save us brother?

Clayton winced, shaking his head. He looked back at the tombstone, only to see he mis-read it. With a sigh, he reached into his jacket pocket and took out a small silver flask. He unscrewed the cap and took a long swig, the alcohol burning its way down his throat.

“I knew I’d find you here.” Clayton smiled, turning around to face his old friend that stood in front of him, the dark trench coat and fedora hiding his gruff face.

“Is that the real reason you’re here Marcus, or are you here to visit Dom’s grave.” Marcus shifted in the snow, looking away into the distance. “Marcus- I’m sorry.”

“We’re on the same boat here Clay.” Marcus grunted, pulling out a cigar from his pocket. He glanced up at Clayton; only to catch the lighter he tossed to him. With a sigh, he lit the cigar in his mouth, the dark smoke blowing in the wind. “How’s the nightmares been?”

“Ever since I returned from… you know, they’ve been getting worse.” Clayton bent down and laid the roses on the grave.

“It’s been five years since you returned from planet Crayola,” Clayton chuckled at the pun. “Maybe some magic or some shit messed you up in the head?”

“Maybe…” Clayton spun around, a Snub pistol in hand, and pointed it at Marcus. “Or maybe I’m being tortured!”

“Clay put the gun down!” Marcus yelled, backing away slowly from Clayton. “The fuck are you doing!?”

“Marcus doesn’t smoke, he’s my drinking buddy!” Clayton shot back. “Why would he kill his liver AND his lungs. Besides, Anya wouldn’t allow it!”

“Clayton, you need some rest. Those fucking nightmares are messing up your head.”

“Who the FUCK are you!” Clayton yelled in anger. “Are you the one that’s been torturing me for the past 5 years? By god if your Sombra…”

Marcus ran at him, forcing the pistol from facing him. He kicked Clayton in the chest and gave him a hard right hook, knocking him to the snow covered floor. Before Marcus could say anything, Clayton tackled him in the chest, knocking him down to the floor. Marcus tried blocking all the blows, grabbing both his fists in mid punch. He placed his boot on Clayton’s chest, pushing upwards and kicking him off. Clayton fell on his back with a thud, groaning in pain.

“You’re going insane Clayton! Look at yourself! You have a drinking problem and you’re unstable. Your family should be ashamed of you, no wonder they died.”

“What…. Did you say?” Clayton growled in anger, getting up to his feet.

“I said, you need help, Anya and I have been worried about you since you started drinking to control your depression.”

“I’m not depressed!” Clayton shot back.

“Ever since you came back from Equestria you’ve been depressed! You’ve been quiet, only talking to me about what happened there. Hell, if you didn’t start drinking, you’d probably would’ve killed yourself.”

“You don’t know how it feels to lose your whole family!” Clayton rushed at Marcus, shoulder charging into his gut. They both crashed into a tombstone, hitting the cold ground with a thud.

“I know how it feels to lose a family! My dad and my best friend is dead!” Marcus barely blocked a hard right hook. He grabbed Clayton by the head and head-butted him off, wincing in pain. “We’re on the same damn boat here Clay, don’t you forget it!”

The snow stopped falling from the sky, making it more visible. The glow of the streetlights illuminated the dark graveyard, reflecting off the snowy floor. The night was young, dark clouds covering the bright moon in the sky. The two men breathed heavily, glaring at each other.

“Ever break a promise Marcus?” Clayton said grimly.

“What?”

“When my father died, he told me to promise him that I would protect my brothers. At first I thought he meant Benjamin and Darius, but Darius made his choice by leaving the family before E-Day happened. But it all made sense when mom had Anthony. He knew she was pregnant.”

“That’s how kids are made Clayton. When a man and a woman like each other really much.” They both had a small laugh at that.

“When mom had Anthony, she promised me to take care of them, before she died… I…. I feel like I failed my family. I broke a promise… and got them both killed.”

“Clayton, it wasn’t your fault.”

“Yes it was! It was my entire fucking fault.” Clayton reached into his pocket and unscrewed the silver flask, taking another swig. “Anthony and Benjamin died because of me… They sacrificed their lives… just for me.” Clayton flinched when Marcus put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Marcus staring back at him. A dark eye patch was strapped onto his right eye, a white skull and crossbones sewn on the fabric.

“Same boat Clayton, don’t you forget it.” Clayton narrowed his eyes at Marcus’ eye patch. “What? Something on my face?”

Before Clayton could say anything, a car parked at the gate of the graveyard. The door swung open to reveal and badly bruised Marcus, his clothes ripped and torn. His face was covered in blood, deep claw marks on his cheeks and chest. He coughed up some blood on the snow, wiping away the red liquid off his mouth. Clayton glanced over to him, only for his eyes to widen. The eye patched Marcus turned around and glanced at the hurt man, only to groan.

“Well, it was fun while it lasted.” He groaned, but all good things must come to an end.” Without warning, a dark ray of energy shot of of his hand, blasting Clayton backwards, smashing him through a bunch of tombstones. He pointed his right hand at Marcus, pulling him closer. “But I must ask, how in the name of Equestria did you escape my cell?”

“I’ve been in a couple cages before fucker.” Marcus spat. “This isn’t my first rodeo.”

“Yes well sadly, it will be your last.” It a swift motion, Marcus was launched at the car, smashing into the metal door. The man turned his hand into a fist and as quick at it happened, the car exploded into a giant fireball, the sound echoing in the cold air. “Beautiful chaos…”

“MARCUS!” Clayton yelled. The man turned around, only to smile when he say Clayton slowly get up to his feet.

“Well well well, you’re tougher than you look.”  The words ‘BOSS BATTLE’ appeared behind the man, causing Clayton to raise an eyebrow. A red bar appeared over the man’s head, with the words ‘HEALTH’ in a soft white.

“What do you think this is, some sort of game?” Clayton growled.

“Boy, I think everything is a game.”

Without warning, the man lunged at Clayton, pressing his hand against his chest. A large blast of magic shot out of his palm, sending Clay flying backwards. He crashed into a crypt, the stone exploding on impact. The man disappeared and reappeared infront of the destroyed crypt, hovering in the air.

“Hello Is anyone still alive?” He crossed his arms, his face flustered. “Oh don’t tell me that’s it… You have a shorter stamina than a stallion!”

With a loud roar, Clayton shot out of the rubble, punching the man in the jaw. The man stumbled backwards, only to be grabbed by the collar and smashed into the earth. The man tried to kick him only for his foot to get caught in mid-air. Clayton tossed him into a tombstone, the man’s head crashing into the stone. The man rolled away from a curb stomp and disappeared, reappearing behind Clayton. He wrapped him arms around his waist chuckling slightly before bending backwards, delivering a hard German suplex.

“That looked like it really hurt!” The man chuckled, stepping on the groaning Clayton. “But don’t worry; I had a degree in medical attention. Tell me, does it hurt when I do this?” He applied pressure on Clayton’s back, causing him to yell in pain.

“Does this hurt?” Without warning Clayton rolled over, pulling a knife out of his pocket. He jammed the blade into the man’s leg, causing him to roar in pain. Clayton got to his feet, delivering a uppercut straight to the jaw, launching the man into the air. He grabbed him by the leg and slammed him down, his head knocking into a tombstone.

Clayton grabbed him by the head and lifted him up, only to punch him square in the face, blood spraying in the air. The man stumbled backwards, looking for something to hold him up. The only thing he found was a hard punch in the gut, knocking the wind right out of him. Clayton kneed him right in the face, knocking his head back. He shoulder charged the man in the gut, crashing into an angel statue. Clayton grabbed his face and punched it multiple times, smashing it against the white stone. Before Clayton could deliver a finishing blow, the man grabbed his fist in mid air, kicking him in his knee.

“C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!” The man yelled. He shot out a large blast of magic from his yellow hand into Clayton’s chest, sending him flying backwards. The man teleported behind him and aimed his hand upwards, shooting Clayton in the air. He flew upwards, passing Clayton in mid-air. “A fight in the air? Doesn’t this REMIND you of something?”

The man’s hand glowed a faint white as he scratched the air, generating a portal. The winds started to change as the air was being sucked through, the clouds slowly drifting closer to the portal. He caught Clayton in mid-air, a smile on his face. Clayton groaned in pain and opened his eyes, only to see the portal growing in size.

“You know, I thought of many ways of making you suffer. From bad dreams to even making you see and hear things.” He pointed at the large portal. “But then I thought ‘Nah, why not just destroy his home world by putting it in complete chaos.’ Translation: A black hole!”

“Who the fuck are you...”

The clouds started to swirl as they were sucked into the black hole, the pull increasing the more it sucked in. Tombstones started getting lifted from the ground, trees and statues being pulled out of the ground and into the portal. The sound of screams can be heard as building that were under construction were being torn apart, stone and metal breaking off the foundation. A car flew in the air, only to be crushed by the flying debris, the fiery explosion being sucked into the black hole.

The black hole increased in size, the pull now becoming stronger. The ground started to rumble as chunks of the earth started to break off, the huge chunks breaking into smaller chunks as the black hole sucked up all in its path. Whole buildings were now being sucked up, smashing into parts of the earth. A King Raven flew overhead, the chopper blades spinning rapidly as the pilot tried to fly away. But their fate was sealed as a rock smashed through the metal chopper, the explosion causing Clayton to cover his eyes.

“Don’t you just love chaos in the,” The man paused, looking at the watch on his wrist. “In the Morning.”

“You MONSTER!” Clayton yelled, flailing to get out of the man’s grip.

“Oh yes I almost forgot about you.” With a smile, the man let go of Clayton, ignoring his scream as he started getting pulled closer to the Black Hole. “Have fun on your trip! And don’t think this is the last you'll see of me. Trust me; we'll be seeing each other in the future..."

Clayton barely dodged a flying car, watching it crash into a building in a large explosion. A king raven spun infront of him, the back propeller blown off. He flew through the center of the helicopter, barely passing through. He shielded his face as another crashed into a large Derrick, the explosion barely heard as the black hole sucked up the air. He crashed through the wreckage, ignoring his burning coat. His eyes went wide as he saw the center of the black hole, everything becoming distorted as they went through. He sighed and held onto his COG tags, closing his eyes.

“I’m coming mom and dad…”

BROTHERS IN BLOOD II