Peace Be With Us

By Molly Sloboda

In a world where magic and machines coincide, peace is achieved but for how long? One man will threaten existence, yet one woman has the power to stop him. Will she stay on target or be distracted by the gravity of love?

Prologue

A thousand years ago in 2000 A.D., people began to develop genetic engineering techniques that would allow them to advance themselves in some way. After about a hundred years it became normal for someone to possess one of the five modifications: shapeshifting, telepathy/ teleportation, cybernetically advanced brains and mind reading. In this world, humans were born with the capability to bend one of five elements: air, water, wood, fire and metal. This story passes through the years 2060 to 3010, when the Kingdom was formed, when it was rebelled against and when a new threat to mankind arose. The Kingdom was formed between clan leaders, those governing the different elements, where they could discuss issues happening all over the land and try to fix them using each other’s help. When people fall in love, it is not by accident, it is by an unavoidable energy that pulls them closer. It is a silent aura which connects two people without their knowledge until they meet. Our story focuses on King Ardon of the wood clan and Queen Maun of the water clan, who started their new merged kingdom, Mireshire, where abundant resources existed for both types of benders. After they merged, the two of them did not force customs of the opposite on their peoples and peace lasted for a long time; before one man, a bionic one, living in their kingdom, decided to change this ancient level of serenity. The Bionic Man, as he came to be known, would rally thousands of people who felt mistreated and impeded upon to participate in the Rebellion of 2090 which would take the King and Queen’s lives. The Bionic Man and his rebels fled eastward to nearby Yorkenshire where he dominated an elevated city, with waterfalls cascading down the sides, making it impossible to enter or leave, unless one had teleportation abilities. The King and Queen sacrificed themselves so their children Malik and Maliya would live to stop the rebellion when they were ready. The year is now 3000 and ten years after their deaths, Maliya is ready to negotiate a peace treaty with the Bionic Man which she knows he will decline, and a war will ensue, taking the lives of the innocent. However, a lover will get in her head as she does not yet know what is waiting for her inside the city limits.

PART ONE- The Journey

In the Kingdom of Mireshire, there lived two orphans, Prince Malik and Princess Maliya. Their parents were brutally murdered in a castle raid, using the last of their magical power to transport their children to safety. Malik and Maliya knew what happened and decided it would be disrespectful to take their parents’ titles. Malik was in his early 20’s when it happened, his sister still in her teens. Due to the death of their all-powerful mother, Maun, Maliya was never taught the full extent of her water bending skills. She was excellent with teleportation and telepathy, which she gained easy access to as a young child but water bending had to be taught extensively. Malik had the honor of training with the most powerful bender in the world, his father, Ardon, who taught him everything he needed to know in a year before his death, almost as if he had a premonition of the impending fate. After ten years of the King and Queen being gone, the Bionic man has built his army to almost a million bionic people, like the way his brain is wired but with more loyalty in their programming. “He is planning to take over the world,” Maliya spoke to her brother only telepathically as they felt it was easier than speaking out loud. “Raiding the Kingdom and controlling the world will not be possible, as we have built our army and have improved upon our skills. Our parents death will not be in vain,” Malik had a tenseness to his words and the bass of his voice rang in her ears. The Kingdom of Mireshire was gifted with resources, much like many others, which the Bionic Man wanted. Not to mention, the telepathic capabilities of the Prince and Princess to which he could use to his advantage once he enslaved them. Malik and Maliya’s castle was sandstone white and designed like a prison from the old days, a maze of hallways featuring dead-ends and loops prevented those who entered from escaping, unless they could teleport. This was put into place after the revolution of 2090, when the castle was threatened within its own borders. There are two tall lookout towers where the rulers can sit and keep an eye on Yorkenshire, which is ruled by suspicious half-android metal benders. Today, the rebel regime led by famous militant, Nashar was practicing a grueling routine which did not allow them to stop for at least two hours. What an unyielding and unloving man,thought Maliya as she watched him appear to scream at all of his troops, who did nothing wrong. Seeming to read her facial expression from a different room, her brother spoke, “do not worry about the Bionic Man’s forces, dear sister, we have the ability to communicate with all of the clan leaders across the nation and they are surely on our side. All of the nations are aware of the looming terror he poses and will come fleeting to our side when we are ready to strike. I understand you wish to negotiate a peace treaty which I highly advise against, as this man is not one to enjoy reasoning.” Maliya still had faith in the Bionic Man, despite his brain being almost half android, the other half was still human and could be reasoned with. Malik felt the half android brains were too consumed by the technological advancement and they were not loyal or truthful. There was no one as strong as he was, which caused for concern with his rationality. Some people are gifted with two kinds of programming, like Malik can mind read and use telepathy while Maliya can use shapeshifting and telepathy. The Bionic Man enhanced himself so well that he was able to create millions of enslaved people who then enslaved non- bionic people to create an unfair corral of a city. Maliya was kind and loving like her mother but caused tsunamis when she got extremely upset. When her mother died, Maliya caused a giant tsunami that overflowed the Niagara lake, completely flooding the falls and overflowing into the great lakes. After this occurred, Maliya was distraught and felt destined to go on a journey to learn to control her powers. Shortly into her journey down the new Niagaran River, into the previous desert, she met a beautiful creature she only read about in history novels.  Sensing her distress, the golden fox-dragon immediately licked her tears away and became her companion. The fox-dragon communicated with her telepathically and told her it was time to go home and train so she could face her destiny. She obliged and returned home with her new best friend, Taliya, where her brother met them with open arms.

Maliya usually teleports where she wants to go but today was special, she would be taking the long journey into the city of Yorkenshire to negotiate the peace treaty. Riding her lovely creature would be professional and a symbol of power. As Maliya prepared her things and Taliya’s harness, her brother approached with one last piece of advice. “I wish I could come with you, but you know I tend to get heated when it comes to this wretched man. Do not be so naïve with the Bionic Man and his subjects, they are very casual liars. His intentions are clear, to take everyone out and build his world, therefore I do not foresee him cooperating without objections. You have my blessing for the journey my only sister.” With a smile and reassuring eyes, Maliya mounted her trusty steed, uttered a single sound and Taliya launched off the castle into the cloudy sky. Due to Taliya’s immaculate air bending skills, the ride was quick and smooth. There is an ancient dragon perch just outside of Yorkenshire, that was not destroyed during the rebellion,Maliya informed the beast as they approached the ivy-covered wooden pad, standing freakishly tall in a patch of barren land and bushes. Maliya gave Taliya a few apples and raw salmon before she took a deep breath and prepared herself to teleport. The heart of the city pulsed, and she knew she would be heading directly for the towering, slender building where the Bionic Man resided.

PART TWO- The Meeting

Darkness surrounded her as Maliya looked around to determinewhere she was in the huge building. Just then, a robotic voice spoke to her, “Princess Maliya of the Kingdom of Mireshire, welcome to the Bionic Yorkensire, you will be redirected to the board room in a matter of seconds. Prepare yourself.” A great whooshing sound and a gust of air curled around her, and she catapulted upwards, for what seemed like five minutes. I’m going higher into the building, she thought, with a slight shudder. The doors opened and she was met with a dark mahogany table, with eight chairs surrounding it. No one was there so she walked around, admiring the strange tiny metal statues of the Bionic Man taking down various enemies and ruling over his subjects. The last one was peculiar, just as she realized it was the coding for an android brain, a strong gravitational pull caused her to turn around. Her long orange curly hair bounced around her shoulders while she stood in her dark purple dress with transparent light purple sleeves, and no shoes on her feet, she finally met her lover. Nashar was wearing a loose fitting dark red suit with golden trim, his dark hair and dark eyes softening, as he felt the connection between them increase. He immediately strode over to her, knelt on one knee and kissed the back of her hand, “M’lady, it is an honor to be in your presence, and what a shock we are feeling right now.” Maliya’s cheeks turned a rosy pink as she couldn’t help but grin larger than she ever had in her life, “Sire, I am extremely glad to meet you, as you are the Bionic Man’s advisor and his voice of reason. Perhaps if we can stop this war, we can live happily together.” Nashar raised from his one knee and smiled reassuringly, “we shall see how this meeting goes then we can determine the fate of the world.” He took her to her seat at the head of the table, opposite where the Bionic Man would be. Just then, five other members, all wearing black, came into the room and took their seats. Nashar stood by the door and announced, “please welcome, the Bionic Man’s favorite jester, Jack!” Jack, in a rainbow leotard, walked into the room on his hands, with a bar between his feet that held ancient sailboat steering wheels on either end, the ten tips aflame. He did a backflip and caught the bar in mid-air and landed on his feet. He then threw the bar towards the ceiling where it stayed, and he jumped on the table directly in front of Maliya. He did a handstand and blew a longhorn, announcing the arrival of the beloved leader, the Bionic Man. Maliya heard a loud *clunk clunk clunk* as the Bionic Man approached the doorway. “Distinguished Princess Maliya, we welcome you to our humble city of Bionic Yorkenshire, ran by none other then,” he came into view now, a short man with a high collar that surrounding his bald head, “me!” The Bionic Man placed his hands on his black and golden hips, as his all black cape with a golden eye on the back cascaded to the floor. He had an all metal left side of his body and a gleaming red left eye, which seemed to zoom into her soul. “It is my pleasure to meet with you today, Maliya, as I have great news. We have decided to withdraw our forces and not take over the world like originally planned.” Maliya could not believe it, she had not said anything about her negotiation but soon recalled her brother’s advice. “Bionic Man, you understand that I am in connection with my third eye and can see far and wide across these lands, I have seen your military leader’s tenacious training attitude,” she did not look at Nashar, only held eye contact with the Bionic Man, “I do not see you stopping any time soon.” The red beam of his bionic eye pierced her soul and his smile faded into a disgusted grin. “Why wouldn’t you trust me after I just admitted my plan to you?!” He angrily gritted his teeth and looked at Nashar, “I told you to stop being so rough on the troops! They all were told to go home last week.” Nashar lowered his eyes and nodded his head in agreeance. Maliya immediately felt intimidated, the Bionic Man scanning her slight curve of her mouth. “Surely it is not my good looks that are making you feel this way, Maliya. You know we of the half-android race are a kind, merciful, forgiving group of people. We are still people, after all,” his sickening grin made Maliya angry now. “If you are here to mock me, I can depart and we will have no negotiation after all. What is it you want? More resources for your struggling people? They hate it here; you have made it an unbreathable prison with no room for growth.” With that, the Bionic Man punched the table and shouted, “I want nothing from you and this meeting is dismissed at once! Nashar take the princess away, I never want to see her again unless she is bowing down to me.” He turned in his chair and did not look at her again. Terrified, she stood up and walked past Nashar, to the dark hallway. Nashar quickly followed and took her out of the building, to a nearby alleyway. He asked her if she could somehow infiltrate the city in disguise so they could see each other and try to stop the Bionic Man. “It is really a sahme that we have to meet each other at a time like this…” Maliya’s purple eyes were sad while Nashar’s smile was of disappointment. “I am truly sorry you had to see me like this, but I am on your side, for sure. Let’s get out of this alive so we can be together.” He kissed her lightly on the hand before escorting her to the edge of the city, where she waved gently and teleported back to the dragon perch. Taliya, this is very bad, you must deliver this message to my brother. Tell him to call across all the nations and prepare them for battle. We are going to rescue the innocent from this city, and we will bury it’s remains in the ocean where it belongs. I am going to stay here undercover and get as much information as I can to have a successful invasion. I love you, my family, my country and eternal peace. Tell my brother it is happening; a safe world will finally be. With that, Taliya nudged Maliya’s body in compliance and launched into the air, reaching top speed in a few seconds.

PART THREE- The Invasion

Before Maliya left the perch, she shapeshifted into someone she once knew, a friend she met on her journey ten years ago, who unfortunately died recently. Her long orange hair transformed into short blonde locks and her purple eyes turned green, to mask her mark of royalty. Her clothing turned into a dark brown tattered dress, making her appear to be of peasantry, her flat shoes barely holding together. She imagined Nashar and saw him in her mind, he was waiting for her in the land of peasants, where they could meet without being seen. Once she teleported there to a hidden bathroom, he instructed her to not be seen with him ever, only in private. They would see each other once a day, every time in a bathroom or an obscure location. Nashar would tell her of the Bionic Man’s plans to take over the land by using his slaves to kill everyone, since they were almost invincible. One day, Maliya was walking down the street when she noticed a black and red drone getting dangerously close to her. She kept her head down and kept walking until she heard a click noise at which she turned around and the drone was gone. They’re onto me, she thought to herself. She returned to her shack where she began to meditate and imagine herself on the dragon perch. She teleported quickly and began her urgent message to her brother, “Brother please tell me you have began traveling across Mireshire to this wretched city.” It took a few minutes but finally his reply came through, “yes sister, we are extremely close. I have concealed everyone in large caves to mask our presence. We should be able to invade within the next few days with full troops.” “We must invade now, brother, they are aware I am not who I appear to be and will be after me soon.” Malik’s voice was a little shaky in her ears, “Alright then it is settled, we will invade at dusk.” Maliya stood, staring into the abyss where his brother and millions of people perched, waiting to strike. The sun was low in the sky, there would only be a few hours before sun down.

When Maliya teleported back to her shack, she found her things had been ransacked and nothing of substance remained. Infuriated, Maliya turned and ran right into the arms of Nashar. They were coming for her, she had to run now and quickly. He hugged her tightly, boldly kissed her on the mouth and forced her away before she could ask questions. Her shapeshifting faded as she no longer could focus on it, she could only focus on surviving. She ran towards the edge of the city, where a dark blue river forced through the metal and the waterfalls were roaring below.. As she ran, she felt the ground shake behind her, which caused her to teleport away from the scene. Soon, explosions were happening all around her, no matter where she went. They’re tracking me, Maliya thought to herself as she rounded a corner where she knew her love would be waiting. She teleported into the nearest bathroom where Nashar was waiting, rather impatiently. “Thank goodness you made it!” He grabbed her and hugged her tightly, enforcing that it was not the end. To Maliya’s surprise, he shapeshifted into a fish then plunged himself into the toilet that emptied into the river. “Meet me at the riverrrrr,” he shouted as he went in circles down the hole. Determined to be with her lover, Maliya felt the power of the river and whipped it around in a protective orb so she could walk through the door without being blown up. Using the water to glide quickly across it while protecting Nashar beneath her, she felt tired almost immediately. The rebels launched accurate tiny harpoons at Nashar who tried to swim away, but was snagged by one with tracking power. Maliya screamed and sent a huge wave over the rebels which sent some over the waterfalls. The river ended in a boiler room with a large metal perch where she held Nashar in her arms while trying to fend off more bombs, which were exploding all around her. She tried to use her healing powers to heal his wounds but to no avail, as she kept having to ward of the enemy. Finally, as she felt his last breath, she used all of her strength to push all of the water in a rolling ball, to hold the enemies still and drown them. She then used her healing water power to dress his wound but he could no longer shapeshift due to the serious damage. He was forever a fish but reassured her, “do not worry my love, I can still talk to you.” Crying, Maliya reached her brother who was stampeding the edge of the city, the water benders raising everyone else to the city, where they fought a bloody war to save the peasants. “Brother, please, we must end this city before more senseless death occurs.” With that, Maliya teleported to the peasant land with Nashar, whom she created a temporary water bubble so he could survive. Maliya rallied with her brother and took all of the peasants and their army away from the city. Maliya instructed other water benders to keep Nashar safe while she did her duty. She faced the metal city, harnessed the power of the moon and pulled the tides so tall and powerful, that it sunk the city. She destroyed the earth underneath with the strength of the wave and forced the city into the ocean. Everyone saw half metal bodies float to the top, some shattered into tiny pieces, and others still in tact but not moving. Maliya had finally gained control of her full powers, she turned to face her brother who cried with tears of joy and relief. “You finally did it, Maliya! I am so proud of you!” He ran to her and hugged her, Maliya’s tears soaking his shirt. “I am just glad it is finally over and we can go home.” He pulled away from her and could not bear to wait any longer, “why are you protecting this fish?” Maliya blushed and said, “well…you see, he is my lover. He was a man before but had to shapeshift into a fish to escape being captured, which worked, to an extent. He was injured while in fish form and cannot return to human form. I plan to build him a beautiful natural tank where he can live and I can visit him whenever.” Malik could not help but laugh, “that is fate then!” He went over to the fish and said, “thank you for protecting my sister and helping us win this war. I am forever grateful.” Everyone started bowing towards Nashar and Maliya but Nashar spoke as loud as he could, “it was not entirely me, it was mostly Maliya, if it were not for her strength and bravery, we would still be fighting.” An electronic hiss came from the water and Maliya jolted around, the Bionic Man was still alive! Her back foot turned perpendicular to the ocean, her front foot facing towards it for a solid stance, and she pushed the water so hard, the Bionic Man launched into the middle of the ocean. “He won’t be back.” She said triumphantly, turning towards everyone and smiling. “All hail Maliya! Thank you!!” The sound of a million voices cheering is unlike any other. It was finally time for everyone to return to their homes, but not before a party in the Kingdom!

Epilogue

There was never another revolution or uprising nor was there any bionic group member that abused power like the Bionic Man. The people lived in harmony, utilizing each other’s resources so that everyone was satisfied and happy. A form of democratic government began and the people across the nation had a say in how their daily lives were dictated. This prevented an uprising. Maliya and Nashar left the Kingdom and traveled west, to where they could live happily in the woods near rivers and lakes. Maliya would often turn herself into different kinds of fish so she could be closer to Nashar. She enjoyed the relaxing lifestyle while her brother, Malik, led the Kingdom and was the President of the government. He personally went to villages to see what conditions were really like and his son, Nashalik, guarded the castle. Taliya the fox-dragon left to find her lover, the male fox-dragon, whom she found near the Aridzonian desert. All the people on the land worked together to create a world of harmony which would last for centuries, until a foreign object would threaten to destroy the precious environment which everyone thrived on.