Sunny awoke in the middle of a snowstorm. The sky was invisible, turned white by the intensity of the snow particles whirling around here, and the environment she found herself in was similarly hard to see. The sheer power of the storm made spotting where to go incredibly difficult.
"Hello?" she called. "Guys? Where are you?"
She started to make her way forward through the storm, the bitter cold biting at her face and threatening to blow her over. Sunny fought onwards despite the weather conditions. Even though she was fully clothed in warm winter gear the temperatures were so low they were beginning to get to her.
Suddenly, the world around her began to shift and distort. "Huh? What's going on?"
The storm seemed to be fading, but the walls of white all around seemed to be changing too. It looked like they were turning to... stone and concrete?
Before long, Sunny found herself in a vaguely gothic looking chamber. The chamber had vaulting walls on either side made of stone, and a long walkway from one end to the other. A large pit full of bubbling liquid sat inside the room, and three large stained glass windows stood at the end of the room. Beyond that was a door to the right, and underneath the stained glass windows was a throne so tall it seemed to scrape the ceiling.
"Magnificent, isn't it?" said a voice. "It's the fitting dwelling for the rightful monarch, don't you think?"
Suddenly, there was a jet of flame in front of Sunny, who pulled her hand over her eyes to avoid being blinded and to shield herself from the heat. When the flames dropped, her eyes widened in surprise.
A figure in a grey business suit stood on the other side. She had purple skin, piercing blue eyes, and white hair with blue streaks within it. "Hello, Sunny. I was wondering when we would meet at last."
Sunny blinked. "Who are you?"
Suddenly, music started up as if there was an invisible orchestra behind her. And the woman started to sing.
"You could call me evil, but/
I will go and take just what I need!
Don't need nobody with me!
Yes, it might be villainous/
But that's what makes me the perfect queen!
You will bow to me!"
"So hush, buddy, just/
Get lost in the rush/
Hypnotized by the words I'm saying!
Feel the heat, then the beat/
Mesmerized, go to sleep/
Like a lullaby, I'll be singing!"
Suddenly, jets of flame roared from torches on either side of the room. Which seemed to be in sync with the words the woman was singing.
"I've got the power! (power)
The fire that runs through my veins!
I've got the power! (power)
And you're going to feel/
You're going to feel the fla- a- a- ames, fla- a- a- ames/
La- da- da- dee- da- da- da!
Oh, you'll feel the fla- a- a- ames, fla- a- a- ames/
La- da- da- dee- da- da- da!" (oh, you'll feel)
The woman didn't even stop to take a breath, instead continuing into the next verse.
"You might think I'm wicked, but/
Don't be mad because I have a plan!
It spells out victory!!" (so, so, so)
Much like last time, more flames roared into the air, illuminating the room and allowing Sunny to pick out more details of the room.
"So hush, buddy, just/
Get lost in the rush/
Hypnotized by the words I'm saying!
Feel the heat, then the beat/
Mesmerized, go to sleep/
Like a lullaby, I'll be singing!"
"I've got the power/ (do you hear me?)
The fire that runs through my veins!
I've got the power! (power, power, power)
And you're going to feel/
You're going to feel the fla- a- a- ames, fla- a- a- ames/
La- da- da- dee- da- da- da! (feel the fire!)
Oh, you'll feel the fla- a- a- ames, fla- a- a- ames/
La- da- da- dee- da- da- da!" (oh, you'll feel)
Sunny blinked.
The woman noticed this. "That's strange. You must have a strong constitution. You don't seem at all scared."
"I'm more confused than anything else," Sunny admitted. "I don't really know what you were singing about."
The woman snorted. "Truly a fool. Well, I guess an introduction is in order. I am Opaline."
Sunny's eyes widened. "You're the monster who tried to kill Misty!"
This seemed to trigger Opaline's bezerk button. More flames roared into the room as she leaned in. "That useless wretch! That incompetent buffoon couldn't tie her own shoelaces without falling over! And I had to do almost everything for her! Couldn't she see how much better things will be when I have returned to my rightful place in the world?" She paused. "And I have another thought for you, Sunny. What makes you think you can speak to your Queen like that?"
Sunny, now rather intimidated, looked surprised. "Britain has a King, not a Queen. Besides, if there was an Opaline of the House of Windsor I think we would know."
Opaline snorted. "Those imposters. That group of Germans have been keeping a throne they stole warm for the eventual return of the true rulers of Britain. For you see... I am a descendant of James Francis Edward Stuart. The traitors refer to him as the Old Pretender."
"Who?" Sunny asked.
"He was the son of James II, who was removed from power in an illegal power grab by some Dutchman," Opaline explained. "We, of the house of Stuart, fought to get our throne back, but the imposters held onto their power through violence and dark magic." She paused. "I will reclaim my birthright as Queen of Britain, and show the world why they were wrong to remove us from power! People should fear their rulers, as we only want the best for them! And when I am back, I shall restore British Railways to its rightful place in the United Kingdom and save the public from the drudgery of overpriced train tickets and badly maintained coaches!"
Sunny was shocked. "That doesn't give you the right to use violence! What makes you think you're better than any of us?"
"You're better than them," Opaline said suddenly. "You have magic coursing through your veins. You are destined to rule over them. You failed to claim your birthright, but I shall make sure that mistake is corrected." Opaline backed away, the flames roaring into the sky. "REMEMBER THESE WORDS, SUNNY! ONE DAY WE SHALL MEET AGAIN, AND I SHALL FINISH WHAT I STARTED!"
Sunny shook her head as the imagery began to fade from her vision. She was in the station at the top of the Jungfrau, and glanced about. "Huh? Where am I?"
"You're on top of the Jungfrau," said a voice, soon revealed to be Argyle. "You must have spaced out for a moment."
Sunny needed a second to process what she had just seen.
Things were considerably less peaceful in the Amazon. Thunder roared along the river in a Cobra Gunship, flying in on several boats. They had unloaded men and were attacking the train.
"Purbeck 2, move in and attack the boats!" radioed his boss, Zoom. "They're putting down heavy fire in our position, and I'm not sure how much longer we can hold!"
"Understood," Thunder radioed back. "Loading rocket pods." He flew in over the boats and lined up his reticule before locking each target. "Target lock confirmed. Rockets away."
A storm of missiles flew from the rocket pod and slammed into their targets, blowing open their hulls and sinking them in the drift. Unfortunately, Thunder hadn't considered their location, and the boats sank in shallow water, meaning all the stuff in them was still intact. Seeing another set of boats incoming, he spooled up the front chopper gun and opened fire.
The spray of bullets peppered one of the hulls with rounds whilst the rocket pods reloaded. The chopper thundered over and swung about to find the rest of its targets, only to find the boats were seemingly driven off.
"Purbeck 2 to Zoom Actual, targets driven off. Enemy forces appear to be retreating, over."
"Understood, Purbeck 2. Dispatching small force for recon."
Later on, after Thunder had landed Purbeck 2, he joined his colleagues in a security debrief. Zoom was leading it. "Well, I've got good news and bad news," she said.
"What's the bad news?" asked one soldier.
"The bridge we'd build? It's been damaged, so we'll need to repair it. Not only that, most of the attackers escaped."
"So, what's the good news?" Thunder enquired.
"The good news is that nobody was injured. Quick thinking drove that attack off. We also know who sent them to attack us, based on some tapes we found on one of the boats." She pressed play.
A man in a leather jacket appeared on screen. "You must incapacitate and slow down the Havens," he said. "Opaline's plan will struggle to succeed unless you do. Time to show those aristocrats that money doesn't save you all the time."
Zoom glanced back at them. "As you can see, we're up against a wanted criminal. None other than P. T. Boomer."
I'm... not sure how I feel about what's going on?
Like hell I'd bow to you!
It was strange too.
She's starting to sound like a lunatic if you ask me.
Wait, so did Opaline somehow tell her all this via a dream!?!?
Gulp!
great chapter mate keep it up cant wait for the next chapter i still learning new things in ww1 and ww2
11579875
Indeed.
11579845
1. It's all getting a bit trippy, I know. But rest assured the acid trip will soon be over.
2. Considering what we know of Opaline's mental state, it's highly likely she'd have an accomplice holding somebody at gunpoint whilst she was saying that.
3. That's the point.
4. Opaline subscribes to the concept of the Divine Right of Kings/Queens, the idea that a monarch rules on behalf of the Christian God and thus cannot be challenged in any way. Compare this to Constitutional Monarchy, where the monarch leads on behalf of the people and serves a figurehead (case in point, Britain; although on paper King Charles has plenty of power, in practice this is all delegated to other places).
5. Yes. It's confirmed, folks; Opaline is a reality warper.
6. And there was much fear.
Okay, it's officially, Opaline really is a mentally insane, delusional, Psychopath.
11579949
She's drunk on power and an entitled nutter. The fact she thinks she's entitled to the British throne just because she happens to be related to a former king is just the cream on this cake of nonsense.
11580006
But like all who seek that kind of power, they will only be destroyed by it.
11580010
She appears to have forgotten this exact fate befell one of her own ancestors, Charles I.
11580028
Aye.
11580056
As the saying goes, if you wish to get a sense of a person's character, give them power.
11580175
That'll do it.
11580262
And I believe Opaline has more than demonstrates hers.
11580345
Maybe. But at the same time, she might only have because of an object she posses. I mean she can't possibly be a Mary Sue, right?
11580378
A Mary Sue is a character who is loved by everybody and has no personality flaws.
11580427
Okay, wrong term. What I was referring to is the fact even when most villains have many unbelievable powers, it can sometimes be revealed they never really had those powers in them but got them from an object or something they obtained.
11580429
Ah. I believe the term you may be looking for is MacGuffin.