« Home | Fantasist! Publications » | New Stories of 2006 » | Where Are They Now? Year Two and a Half... » | On Courts and Law in Bleak House » | The Sleeping Rose (Metus' Song) » | Casino Royale » | The Life of a Teenager: A Personal Update » | On Teaching Evolution » | Garden Green » | Negative Mass, Tachyons, And Other Exotic Matter »

The Second Odyssey -- Book I: Bellator

The following is the first in four short stories I "wrote" back in tenth grade for my Latin class. I say "wrote" because I ripped the story off a website that explained the sagas of Dragonball Z and personally edited the names into old latin. Enjoy the cheese...

BORN LONG AGO of a primeval force in a faraway land, the Bellators grew and developed into a warrior race so devastating and relentless that their territory itself did not survive the centuries of destruction. Now one of them is coming to Odysseus’ kingdom to find his younger brother...

Odysseus is at a reunion at Master Chelys’ house when he notices a strong power approaching. Unknown to our hero, he is the brother Radicitus is searching for.

Odysseus was sent to this land when he was a baby to destroy the inhabitants, making the planet marketable for sale to the highest bidder. Radicitus can't understand why Faba, which is Odysseus’ Bellator name, has failed in his mission against such weak people.

Radicitus is disgusted with this and gives Odysseus an ultimatum: destroy his kingdom or die. Radicitus kidnaps Telemachus, Odysseus’ son. Maybe he can convert this youthful one into a true Bellator...

Our hero is baffled at what to do. Then Odysseus’ archenemy, Cantus, a wise man from the land of Limax, appears to help fight for the future of his great sovereignty.

In the fiercest battle ever seen on Earth, our heroes use every technique they know. Cantus hurls his special silver spears and Odysseus releases arrows from his mighty bow. Radicitus stops these attacks with his bare hands...

Radicitus is at the point of killing Cantus when his strength suddenly dissipates. Odysseus has grabbed Radicitus’ weak point, his spine. Odysseus tells Cantus to finish off Radicitus.

Radicitus declares a change of heart and desire to reform. Cantus warns it's a trick, but Odysseus believes Radicitus and lets go of his spine. Radicitus’ power immediately returns and he turns on his brother, Odysseus...

As all is surely lost, the warrior’s mental power sensor goes off. Telemachus has broken free of the sea-ship in which Radicitus had imprisoned him. In a remarkable burst of power, Telemachus’ Bellator blood shows through. He "powers up" and assaults Radicitus. Radicitus is weakened by the assault, allowing Odysseus to grab Radicitus in a bear hug. This gives Cantus enough time to summon an extra powerful silver spear to finish off Radicitus.

The only problem is that Odysseus will perish with Radicitus. Cantus’ spear will encompass them both. But Odysseus urges Cantus to fire, since it's his kingdom’s only hope...

The spear does the trick. But as Radicitus is passing on, he reveals terrifying news. Two more Bellator warriors with even greater power than Radicitus’ will arrive in one year. Odysseus’ kingdom is their next target for death and mass destruction.

And Odysseus, the world’s most powerful warrior, has passed into another dimension along with Radicitus...

The remaining good guys disperse in a frantic attempt to prepare for the coming of the Bellators. Some try to pray to revive Odysseus. Cantus takes Telemachus to a deserted wasteland to train him to utilize his incredible power potential. Castanea, Odysseus’ small, balding friend; Arena, a Triclops and former enemy of Odysseus; Brevis, Arena’s smart, silent friend who lives in the un-aging body of a child; and Clepta, a thief who once tried to cheat Odysseus as a child, go to Mt. Olympus to receive special training from Zeus.

As for Odysseus, he's in heaven where he can get superior training from many different gods and goddesses to prepare for the coming of the Bellators in one year. The gods are pleased that Odysseus is such a great student and proceed to teach him the famous Godly techniques of battle. So intent are they on the training, they forget to take into consideration the two days it will take Odysseus to run back down the stairs of heaven to Earth.

The sky darkens as the two Bellators approach. Brassica and Olus take a reading on the land’s warriors and scoff at the weakness. They plant six seeds, which quickly grow into six Plantus-men, fierce plant-like creatures that are told to destroy the inhabitants of the land.

The battle lines form as our heroes - Castanea, Cantus, Arena, Telemachus, Brevis, and Clepta - prepare to defend Odysseus’ kingdom against the Plantus-men. The ensuing battle eliminates one of our heroes, Clepta, but the two sides seem evenly matched. Olus grows bored and instructs Brassica to take care of the other natives.

Our heroes attack with great spears and bladed boomerangs that have no effect. Brevis initiates a mental attack in hopes of destroying Brassica, but all is in vain as Brassica is barely affected. Cantus devises a plan requiring Telemachus to harness the Power of Light within him for a single attack. But at the crucial moment, Telemachus loses his nerve. Telemachus has let the good guys down. Were Cantus’ efforts to train him in vain? Apparently not, for in training Telemachus, Cantus has transformed himself. During the next attack, Cantus sacrifices himself by stepping in front of a flying sword to save Telemachus’ life.

Brassica decides he has had enough fun and goes in for the finish...

Just as things look grim for our remaining heroes, Odysseus sweeps in to rescue Telemachus. The Bellators can't believe it; Odysseus is 5 times stronger than his friends. Everyone is awed by Odysseus’ power and a major battle erupts between Odysseus and Brassica. But Odysseus is so fast that normal humans can’t even see him. Odysseus uses a special Godly maneuver to defeat Brassica. Olus has no use for such a useless Bellator and gets rid of the injured Brassica.

The battle moves to another location as Odysseus and Olus face off. In a series of tremendous battle movements, which release more energy than 10 wars, the greatest battle between two human gods on Earth resonates across the countryside. Each opponent "powers up" to a level higher than each could imagine the other could achieve but Olus is able to gain the upper hand by turning into the giant Bellator Sphinx.

As the giant form of Olus is crushing Odysseus, Castanea and Telemachus arrive and distract Olus. This gives Odysseus enough time to take the last strength remaining in him and transfer it to Castanea who, along with Telemachus’ help, directs his Spiritual Bomb, taught to him by the God of War, to smash Olus. They miss! Arena the Triclops saves the day by cutting through Olus’ spine. Olus is badly damaged, but he is able to get to his vessel. Odysseus lets him escape.

The End?