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Raz and the Desert King: Part 4

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Raz sat in his cell, once again waiting for a moment that he could use to escape. Fortunately he didn’t have to wait long, until someone who was clearly of importance, came up to the cell door. The man who was now standing in front of Raz’s cell, was quite different from the others he had seen. This one had shaven of his lion-like mane, leaving only a nicely trimmed crew cut atop his head. He also wore a bright blue cloak, over white overalls. ‘So who’re you, Stuz Sho’s long lost brother?’ Raz asked mockingly. Although the question seemed to fly straight over the man’s head, as he ignored it and proceeded to ask his questions instead ‘Who are you?’ The man asked. ‘The name’s Raz, I’m…’ and just before Raz could finish his sentence, the man interrupted ‘What are you doing here?’ ‘Well if you had let me finish, I would have told you!’ Raz retorted. There was a slight pause before Raz continued, to check if the man would interrupt him again. ‘My name is Raz. I’m here because of a stupid law against using a simple well. I’m on this awful planet because I haven’t got the slightest clue on how to fly my ship. I’m tired, thirsty, and quite sore. And this is the third damn time I’ve been in a cell! So if there’s anything else you’d like to know, feel free to ask.’ There was a slight pause before anything more was said, as the man stood there contemplating what Raz had told him. ‘How did you get past the planetary defences?’ The man asked. ‘I have no idea!’ Raz shouted. ‘Fair enough.’ The man then started opening the cell door ‘My name is Sapata’ said the man just as he opened the door. ‘What is it with you guys and S’s?’ Raz asked. Sapata seemed confused. Raz then decided to ask a different, more appropriate question ‘Ok then, forget about that. Why are you suddenly releasing me?’ Raz asked. This, Sapata could answer, ‘I am releasing you, because you are clearly not a spy sent by Stuz Sho.’ Answered Sapata. ‘How can you be so sure?’ Raz asked. ‘It’s simple really. Your story is a poor one. One of Stuz Sho’s men would surely have come up with something better than that.’ ‘Hey, it’s the truth!’ Raz retorted. ‘I know it is. A story as poor as that, can be nothing but the truth.’ Sapata then gestured his hands as a way to tell Raz to leave the cell, so Raz did, ‘Come, let’s walk.’ Sapata said as he started walking down towards the centre of the town.

‘Would you like to know what we are doing down here?’ Sapata asked. ‘Considering the guy above, and your living arrangements, I’d take a guess and say you were rebels of some kind.’ Raz answered. ‘Yes we’re rebels. But do you know why we are fighting?’ ‘I’m just going to go ahead and guess that it has something to do with the control on the water.’ Raz answered. ‘That is part of the reason, but there’s so much more to it than just that.’ ‘Yeah, well, I don’t really care all that much. Just point me towards my ship, and I’ll be on my way.’ ‘It all started back when Stuz Sho’s father died.’ ‘Yeah, like I said, I don’t really care. So if you could just skip the story and show me the way out of here, I’ll be good to go.’ ‘Stuz Sho’s father was a great king.’ Sapata continued. ‘Ok, you know what. Clearly you’re not listening to me, I don’t want to know!’ ‘Stuz Sho’s father, the previous king, whose name was Stra Sho, was the one who originally built this sewer system.’ Sapata again continued. ‘Ok, fine, tell me your long boring sob story.’ Retorted Raz. ‘During Stra Sho’s rule, there was no ban on interplanetary travel. All could come and go as they please, and water was plentiful, as Stra Sho imported it in vast quantities. He ordered the sewer system to be built much larger than the small town above, so that it could support a large population increase. Stra Sho believed that one day this planet would become a hotspot for many different travellers, all living in harmony, in one big city.’ Sapata paused for a moment, for what seemed to be for dramatic effect to Raz. ‘Stra Sho also started the foundations for a democracy, but he died before it was implemented. While the people expected these plans for a democracy to carry through, his son, Stuz Sho, refused to relinquish his newfound power. As such, to prevent anyone from ever trying to overthrow him and to seal his position as king, he ordered that all water in the water system to be replaced by a non-drinkable cleaning agent. So that he could centralize all water from a single well, which he could control. He then stopped all interplanetary travel, essentially declaring martial law on the planet. He did all this so that he could rule with an iron hand, so that he could have a grip on all that opposed him. Stuz Sho believed that water was the key to his continued rule, and that without it, he would be doomed. The truly sad part is though. Had he not done any of that, had he merely not gone through the democracy and nothing else. No one would have minded. We would have followed him, for he was the son of Stra Sho. Even if he had continued with the democracy, chances are, we would’ve elected him. But it is too late for that now. Fear is what ruined him, and now we will fight him so that we may bring the planet back into the golden age that Stra Sho had left it in.’ Raz looked at Sapata, feeling what seemed like a tear, swelling up in his eye, but merely blinked it away and said ‘Yeah, great story, now about that exit?’

Before Sapata had a chance to respond to Raz, a scout ran up to Sapata, exhausted, as though he had ran a marathon. ‘An enemy has been spotted making its way to the entrance of the sewer system!’ The scout reported. ‘It was a lone enemy, just a single green coloured robot. It killed our entire platoon!’ Continued the scout. Raz’s eyes opened wide as soon as the scout mentioned the green coloured robot. Sapata thought for a moment about the news, and turned around to ask Raz if he knew anything about this robot, but before he asked, he noticed the terrified look on Raz’s face, signifying that Raz knew quite a lot about this robot. ‘What do you know about that robot?’ Sapata questioned. ‘This isn’t good.’ Raz said. Raz then began pacing back and forth ‘Not good, not good!’ Raz said to himself. Raz then stopped and turned to Sapata, realizing that Sapata had no idea what Raz was talking about. ‘Ok, so these green robots, or Cybernetic Lifeforms as I have learnt to call them. Well, they’re after me.’ ‘Why?’ Asked Sapata in a demanding tone. ‘I dunno. They just sort of are. It started back when I first got my ship. All I know is that these guys are practically invincible, and unless I leave your town soon, he’ll find me here and probably kill us all!’ ‘Ok then, go!’ Sapata demanded. ‘Yes, but where! My ship is the only way off this planet, and that’s in the palace, guarded by who knows how many guards.’ Raz then began to pace back and forth again. ‘If you can’t get off the planet, just leave then, run off into the desert!’ Sapata demanded once more. ‘Seriously, I don’t want to die! I’m not going to just run off into the desert! Chances are, I’ll get killed by the elements long before the robot finds me, which it will. If only I had my ship on hand, like I usually do!’ Raz continued to pace back and forth, rubbing the sides of his head, and then stopping with a sudden burst of excitement ‘That’s it!’ he shouted out. ‘I’ve got it, I know how to escape.’ Raz then turned towards Sapata and pointed to him ‘And if you help, I think I may also be able to help you with your dictator problem.’

A lone guard, stood at the well in the middle of the town, the sun glaring on his back. He couldn’t wait to switch shifts with someone else, so that he could relax in the nice cool palace. Just then, he noticed a yellow figure approaching from the distance. He remembered being told to watch out for a small yellow creature wearing a blue helmet, and this figure matched that description perfectly. The guard quickly switched the safety switch on his gun to off. He had never done this before, and thus fumbled a little bit before he managed to do it. He then pointed and aimed his gun at the figure, waiting for the figure to come just a little bit closer, before shouting for it to halt. Just then, he noticed the yellow figure holding something. He then quickly realized this item was a gun. The guard became nervous. He had never gone against an actual opponent before, and he most certainly wasn’t paid enough to attempt it. He then calmed himself, taking deep breaths, saying to himself that he has the upper hand, because he was already aiming the gun at the yellow figure. Just as he had finished calming himself down, he heard a voice say to him ‘Sorry to ruin your day, but would you mind fetching that Scar fellow?’ The guard looked down, and saw Raz standing right next to him, with a gun pointed straight at the guard’s head. ‘Ok, whatever you say.’ Whimpered the guard. The guard then scurried off as quickly as he could to get Commander Scrar.

Raz waited beside the well, and tapped his foot impatiently. He frequently checked the back of his hand, as though he was looking at an imaginary watch, which he in fact was. Just then, Raz noticed Scrar walking out of the palace, and briskly making his way towards Raz, along with some other guards. Raz pointed his gun at Scrar ‘Stop right there, otherwise I’ll shoot.’ Raz shouted. Scrar stopped and motioned the other guards to stop. ‘You will gain nothing from such a futile attempt, we not only outnumber you, but we also have shield emitters that will prevent your gun from affecting us!’ Scrar said while pounding his hand on his chest, signifying the shield emitter. ‘I don’t know about that, I’m pretty damn good with a gun.’ Raz retorted. ‘I doubt you’re that good.’ Scrar responded.

They stood there for a short while, both trying to stare each other down, as though they were in a Spaghetti Western. Then Raz broke the silence as he lowered the gun ‘Ok then, I’ll admit it. I’m useless with a gun, I don’t reckon much to them either. I’m more of a thinker than a fighter anyway.’ Scrar then motioned his guards to get Raz, but just as they started walking, Raz stopped them by shouting out ‘Wait wait wait!’ There was a slight pause as Raz waited to see if the guards had indeed stopped. ‘Ok then, now that I’ve got your attention, I’m going to give you one chance to give me my ship back.’ Raz said. Scrar sniggered at the absurd request ‘And what exactly are you going to do if we don’t?’ Inquired Scrar. ‘Me? Nothing. But I have a green robot that’ll slaughter you all.’ Responded Raz. ‘Really?’ said Scrar. ‘Yes, so if you don’t give me my ship right now, I’ll have him shoot you all.’ ‘And pray tell, where is this deadly robot that will kill us all?’ Asked Scrar. ‘Oh, he’s coming.’ Raz responded ‘He’s coming.’

‘You know what, I can’t handle this stupidity anymore! Guards, take him away.’ Scrar then motioned his hand as a way to order the guards to grab Raz. The guards slowly walked towards Raz, but Raz wasn’t scared, he merely stretched to look behind him to see the Cybernetic Lifeform quickly making its way towards him. Raz smirked a sly smile and said to the guards, ‘you’re in trouble now, here he comes!’ The guards then looked beyond Raz and noticed a green robot running towards them. The robot was just a little bit bigger than them, had a beak shaped head, long big strong arms and legs, and most importantly a handgun in its right hand. They quickly opened fire at the machine, and Raz utilized this opportunity to run for cover and to hide. Scrar who was now walking back towards the palace, turned around to see why these gunshots were being fired. The guards sent a flurry of shots at the robot, before being stopped by Scrar ordering them to cease firing. Then as the dust settled, the robot stood still, completely unscathed from all that had been shot at it. The robot then lifted its gun up to point at the guards that had been shooting at it, and shot at one of the guards, knocking the guard backwards and completely vaporising him in one shot. Having finally realized the threat they were now dealing with, Scrar ordered his men to shoot at the robot. Scrar then proceeded to shout at all of the other guards nearby, to get every man they had to help fend off this enemy. Just then, Scrar noticed Raz, Scurrying off into the palace, and so Scrar decided to follow him, leaving the guards to deal with the robot on their own.

Guard after guard rushed outside to join the fray, shooting at the machine. Occasionally, out from the dust, a laser beam would fly out and hit one of the guards, instantly vaporising him. Some guards began to run away as soon as they noticed the invincibility of the machine, but the majority of them stood their ground, taking courage from the many other guards that were now joining them. The truth of the matter was that the machine did not care for these opponents. The robot merely wanted Raz, but when the guards had opened fire on it, the robot lost track of Raz. As a result, the robot had deemed it necessary to erase all variables that could potentially hinder it from reaching its targeting. In other words, the robot was merely defending itself. Raz had counted on the guards to open fire on the robot, thus changing its attention onto them, and this plan had worked perfectly.

Raz had run into the palace in search for his Fruit Juice Machine. He stopped in a large room, with an equally large chandelier at the top, which was kept up by a pulley and a chain, probably to make cleaning it easier. Seeing as how it looked as though Raz was now approaching the throne room, he decided that he should retrace his steps to continue looking for a docking yard. But as soon as Raz turned around, there he saw Scrar, quickly walking up to Raz while pointing a gun. ‘That’s quite the stunt you pulled with the robot.’ Scrar said to the now rather frightened Raz. ‘Well, you know, I try my best.’ Raz answered. Scrar stopped roughly two meters away from Raz ‘I should kill you now for the trouble you’ve caused.’ Scrar threatened Raz. ‘If you do that though, you’ll never get into my Fruit Juice Machine!’ Raz retorted. ‘I’m sure we will eventually.’ Then, just as Scrar was about to squeeze the trigger, Raz thought as quickly as he could and shouted out ‘Look behind you a three headed monkey!’ while throwing his gun at Scrar. At first Scrar was baffled by the statement, but then surprised by the gun that was thrown at him. He caught the gun, but amidst the confusion, Raz had hidden himself from sight.

Scrar walked towards the centre of the room, looking all around him for Raz. ‘Come out, come out, wherever you are. You know you can’t hide forever!’ Just then, Scrar heard someone ruffling about at the corner of the room, Scrar shot wildly in that direction, but there was nothing there. ‘Come now, if you give yourself up, I won’t kill you.’ ‘Ok then.’ Raz replied. Scrar quickly turned around to the source of the voice and shot wildly at Raz. Raz jumped just in time, and the shot broke the chain behind Raz, which was holding up the chandelier. The chandelier quickly fell down, crashing onto Scrar. Raz utilized this moment, to take back his gun as well as Scrar’s. Raz then ran towards one of the doorways and shot the ceiling with Scrar’s gun. Then just as the ceiling started to collapse, Raz dropped Scrar’s gun and ran through the door. The debris quickly blocked Raz from Scrar, but without realizing it at the time, Raz was on the wrong side. ‘Great, my plan went perfectly and I just screwed it up by trapping myself on the wrong side of the room!’ Raz shouted to himself. ‘Ah well, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe this isn’t the way to the throne room and I will find my Fruit Juice Machine here.’ Raz then began walking towards the towering doors that lay before him.

Raz walked through the massive doors, using a much smaller door that was carved out of one of the bigger doors. There he saw Stuz Sho, fumbling with a communications device, speaking with one of his subordinates. ‘What do you mean Commander Scrar isn’t fighting alongside you!’ Stuz Sho shouted into the device. Fear spreading throughout the dictator’s face, then Stuz Sho put the device down and ran towards his throne. He still hadn’t noticed Raz, lingering in the doorway. Stuz Sho pressed a button on his throne, which moved one of the walls, to reveal a rather expensive spacecraft. Stuz Sho then quickly made his way to his spacecraft, when Raz stopped him ‘Yo, you mind telling me where my ship is?’ Stuz Sho quickly turned around to identify the voice, and when he noticed Raz pointing a gun at him, he quickly lifted up his hands in surrender. ‘Please don’t shoot!’ he screamed. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to shoot you. I just want to know where my ship is.’ Raz responded. ‘Oh your ship!’ Stuz Sho fumbled for his words ‘Your ship is on a space station. We had it moved to a specialist facility so that we could reverse engineer it. I can take you there if you want.’ Stuz Sho continued. ‘Nah, I’ll be fine. I assume your ship has the coordinates in it?’ Raz asked. ‘Of course.’ Stuz Sho responded. ‘And the key’s in the ignition?’ Raz asked. ‘Uh, what?’ Stuz Sho was confused by what Raz meant. ‘Ah forget it, I’ll just hotwire it, if it isn’t.’ Raz walked onto the open back hatch of the ship. ‘Please, you can’t leave me here. The rebels, they won’t show any mercy!’ Stuz Sho pleaded. ‘Not my problem.’ Raz answered. Raz then pressed a button on the console at the side of the open hatch, which then started closing the hatch. ‘Oh, and just so you know, this gun isn’t even loaded. See!’ Raz then shot at the ceiling of the room, which sent a laser flying into the air and caused a piece of the ceiling to come crashing down to the floor. ‘Oops!’ Raz whispered to himself, just before the back hatch closed shut; sealing Raz inside the ship.

The hatch closed shut, with a satisfying clunk and Raz ran towards the cockpit. Just then the ceiling of the room started to come apart, revealing an opening for the ship to leave. The ship then started to hover in midair as Raz started the ships engines, before taking off at breakneck speed into the sky above. And Stuz Sho watched all this, as he knelt on his knees, seeing his only salvation leave before his eyes.

In the middle of the gun fight outside, many guards were shooting at the robot. But then the Cybernetic Lifeform noticed a small ship leaving the atmosphere. The robot scanned the ship, its inhabitants, and its trajectory. ‘Target lost, resuming acquisition of target.’ The robot said to itself in a robotic voice, completely ignoring all of the lasers being fired at it. The robot then disappeared as it teleported away. The guards soon realized the robot was gone, and stopped firing. They waited as the dust settled, and then just as it had settled, they heard a voice from behind them. ‘Would you mind surrendering and placing your weapons on the ground.’ Said Sapata, the leader of the rebels. The rebels had used the robot as a distraction, so that when it had left, they could easily surround the guards. Seeing as the guards were both outnumbered and outflanked, they quickly dropped their weapons and surrendered.

Raz now comfortably sitting on a luxurious chair, was fiddling about with the controls, looking for the coordinates to the space station. ‘That must be it!’ Raz said to himself. He then pushed some more buttons and the ship changed direction. ‘Time to get my ship back!’ Raz said, just as the ship hit warp speed.
First Part of next story: fav.me/d7bblcr
Previous Part: fav.me/d76ovqg
First Part: fav.me/d74tcfj

This is the final part of this story. I know that you're probably thinking "Wait a minute, but the story hasn't ended yet?" But it has. It's just that it's ended on a "To be continued" note. After all, the title "Raz and the Desert King" wouldn't be appropriate for the next part, hence why this story has come to an end.

Have you been enjoying my Raz Stories so far? Do you have any questions, such as how those shield emitters work?
Feel free to leave comments about what you think to my story, or to point out anything that needs correcting.
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