I was taken aback, still. Somehow.
Taking a step back, I unmerged with Orion, the golden knight lingering behind me. The rain was pouring down heavily, but thanks to Artemis in front of me, there was a small glow which allowed me to see the area around her, including the corpse she was looking at.
Dawn. We hadn’t done an autopsy, but we guessed it had been a hit from Evander at long range. No obvious bleeding wounds or anything to indicate Cynthia had killed her…
But then again, it was Cynthia’s now soaked leather jacket which laid over her body. Indicating she’d at least been close by.
“Young hero, are you prepared?”
The stalwart voice of Orion spoke my apparently chosen title with determination. I hated it.
“I am. Yeah.”
I spoke aloud when addressing Orion, since Orion also spoke aloud. We didn’t have a mental link, or at least, not one I knew of. It was something that set him apart from the others.
Artemis kneeled down to the body, the analytical eye of Kelly trying to gleam anything she could for the moment. I didn’t want to get too close. I took a step back again, out of instinct, and felt something beneath my foot. Looking down, I saw the metal object, and squinted, before hastily taking my foot off of it.
“…Found something.” I called out, which broke Kelly’s focus, as I gingerly fished the object off of the ground. A handgun. I didn’t know enough about guns to be able to tell if it was loaded, so I took care to aim it away from me and Kelly. She looked over, unmerging to get a better look, Artemis falling into stance behind her.
“Fuck. You think that’s how she…” She nodded her head towards the body. We HAD been alerted to all of this by Artemis saying she’d heard a gunshot. But…
“I doubt it. If this was Cynthia or Enzo, they’d bring it with them. Besides, their shadows are arguably better then this.” Evander literally had a bigger gun, and Cynthia seemed confident in Andromeda.
“…You think Dawn used it?” Kelly asked with a follow up.
I nodded. “I don’t know how she got it, but yeah, that makes the most sense. She shot at one of them, then got killed for it. Probably shot Cynthia, that didn’t kill her, then Evander got her from behind.”
We sat in silence a moment, trying to formulate the next stage of our calculations. Me and Kelly were both smart, straight A students, and we were both athletes, good ones at that. Someone from an outside perspective would see us together and think about how perfect we were for each other.
Those people could go jump off a bridge.
I liked Kelly. I really did. But Kelly wanted to date someone like me. I wasn’t a person like me. I was someone pretending to be me. Kelly actually wanted to be the way she was, she wanted to be a legendary hero, as Orion might put it. It was an actual goal of her to be stellar.
I just…ended up here. I couldn’t pick out an exact source, maybe it was the time my first grade teacher insisted I skip a grade because of how much I was reading. Or maybe the time my parents had signed me up for every sport under the sun, eventually getting me into soccer. I’d turned out to be good at it, but it was only because I’d practiced extra hard to impress a girl who’d be at the field during the practices with the local team. My skill had gotten me put on a different team, and I’d never seen the girl again. Or maybe still, it was as late as when I was selected to be Valedictorian, and I’d only felt dread, as everyone there smiled at me with joy.
By the time I’d gotten to high school, I felt like a shell. I’d hit the peak of achievement, but none of it was ever mine. I just got furthered along by everyone else, and listened when they said I was doing good. By the time I’d realized it didn’t make me happy, I was too far…gone, was the best way to put it. Too many people expected things from me, too many people were invested in my progress. I would have actually felt bad, leading them along for that long then tossing it out in the relative final stretch of high school. So I stuck with it, ignored the hatred I felt for every good grade and won game, and resolved to myself that once I headed to college, things would be different. I’d chosen a smaller school which had given me a full scholarship without needing to play on their team (I’d told the people back home I’d needed a break, and after winning multiple championships in High School they thankfully seemed to accept that) and had decided it would be a new start. I’d do whatever I wanted, and finally be free.
Then Orion had bonded with me, I’d met Kelly, and it had all started again, someone pushing me towards greatness, being a ‘Legendary Hero’ as Orion put it. Orion was the Warrior Artist, which had originally given me hope that I’d have less expectations then with those back home…and I’d been wrong. I’d been pushed into organizing the group. Artemis, through Kelly, tried to get us together, because apparently Artemis and Orion’s previous…users? I guess that was the word, would get together a lot. I’d eventually agreed to the date, got most of the way through it, then broke down crying on the way home.
I’d eventually fessed up my fraud to Kelly. Thankfully, she wasn’t mean about it, and she understood, on a level. We’d become good friends, but a relationship wasn’t really in the cards, and I was ok with that, even if Artemis and Orion were somewhat disappointed.
Then this Enzo business had started. And Orion had pushed me towards being this heroic, stoic figure. I already was, mostly because I didn’t want to make the shadow mad, but now even more so. He was confident that I could defeat Enzo, no matter how many spirits he gathered. And, along with Artemis pushing Kelly somewhat, we’d become the leaders of this little…fight (though Kelly was something of a good leader at least).
And we’d watched as slowly all of our friends died, and as we were proven unable to finish the fight.
Paul was dead. Rebecca was dead. Diane was dead. Larry was dead. Edward was dead. Larry was dead. And now, Dawn joined them. Evander had their combined strength, plus Cynthia.
Orion was strong. He could fly, create hard light constructs, take a hit and dish one out in kind. The warrior artist, strong and smart. Likely the strongest of the shadows individually, and the one with the strongest virtue.
Artemis was almost at his level, though. Conjuring weapons which would nearly always hit something of consequence, and ones which could light people aflame with ghostly fire, being quick, and also being capable of flight. Nearly unstoppable when up against any singular or even groups of opponents, helped by the combat prowess of the shadow bleeding over into the host, or so I was told.
We were probably the two most combat ready of the group, save for Paul and Atlas, and when we’d fought Evander, when he’d been worn down and without Atlas…we could only force a retreat. Good, but likely not good enough.
Now, Evander had Atlas, and either he or Andromeda had Calypso. The former was incredibly concerning, considering the strength of Paul at his prime…and if the powers amplified with more shadows, that only made it worse. From what I understood with Calypso, it wouldn’t be as useful unless we gave it time to be useful. To make a real impact, Enzo or Cynthia would need time.
We’d sat in thought for maybe five minutes or so by this point, getting wholly drenched, the only sounds being the pattering of rain and the faint sound of thunder before I looked up to Kelly.
“I think we stand the best chance if we find Enzo now and engage him. If Cynthia got injured by the gun, or otherwise fell back, this may very well be our best shot. The longer either of them has Calypso, the more entrenched or potentially catastrophic a fight could be.” I didn’t want to see what Enzo could do with ‘creating life’ on his expanded shadow power battery.
Kelly nodded in agreement. Merging with Artemis.
“Let’s get moving.” They said in unison. I nodded back, holding out my arms and merging with Orion.
“Let’s.”
We took off into the sky, golden trails behind us.
It hadn’t taken long to find Enzo. The crocodile going flying off of a roof with a loud and thundering boom make it obvious where he was, generally. We’d started flying that way, and I’d realized about halfway there exactly where we were going.
The Jefferson building. Of course he was there. That made me even more sure that it was a trap of some sort.
Me and Kelly circled around another building with our trails, and began circling towards the Jefferson building. With Orion’s assisted vision, we could see relatively well, even through the pouring rain. About two hundred feet out now, we were moving to close, able to see the ruined Jefferson rooftop that hadn’t been ruined before, the large animal corpse which seemed to be a bear, and the very human corpse of someone in the shape of Cynthia.
Enzo had double crossed her. Of course he had. And now…I looked to Evander. A pair of leathery bat wings jutted out of their fused form’s back, an obsidian crown studded with ruby gems placed atop their helm, which appeared partially caved in, alongside an injury to the side. A symbol was also now on their chest plate, that of a fairy, as if imprisoned in the bronze, depicted in an expression of sorrow and despair. And finally, porcelain motifs dotted the armor, making it very clear what shadows he now had.
Evander. The rifle still slung over, and military metals dotting the armor. Juno. The mask emblazoned into one shoulder. Arthur. Tendril symbols going up the side of their neck and helm where it wasn’t caved in. Zephyr. Parts of the armor displaying and layering elsewhere. Iris. Another mask placed in a shoulder. Atlas. The hulking armor they were clad in, and the axe that laid at their feet, stained with blood. Andromeda. The wings and the crown. Calypso. The imprisoned faerie. And Maeve. The porcelain additions.
No sign of Andrew’s shadow. Maybe he hadn’t had one.
Nine shadows. Versus two.
They seemed wounded, by Juno’s mask was glowing faintly in the gloom, likely starting to repair the damage. We couldn’t let them get far in that. Artemis, as if reading my mind, released a volley of arrows, three in total, roaring towards Evander and striking them the best they could, glittering trails glinting off of raindrops and slamming into the armor as much as possible.
They turned, going for Evander’s rifle, but we were already in motion, drawing with the pens at the end of each of our fingers. Ropes sprang to life, restraining one arm and rendering them unable to handle the two handed weapon, forcing them to dedicate time to breaking free. Meanwhile, we were able to get in closer, we began to draw a blade midair, a design Orion had shown me awhile back. A greatsword worthy of a hero, he’d said. We griped it in both hands, and dove, slicing at Evander’s midsection, letting our other hand trail behind us and release golden ‘ink’ onto them, which then became solid, adhering them to the air and floor, as another pair of arrows struck them from behind, and then Artemis too, dove.
Diving behind Evander’s back, just as they broke free again, bow gone in favor of twin blades which stabbed into their back, or at the very least cut across the armor for more damage, before diving to be by my side. We’d dropped the blade into the ground, and began drawing out more around Evander, but they moved, ready to charge, but we held out our hand.
For a brief moment, everyone stopped. Simply staring each other down.
“So this is it, eh?” Enzo’s voice was still clear, through the distortion that was his merged form.
“It is. This ends now.” Kelly spoke clearly through Artemis.
“Your quest for power ends here, Evander” Me and Orion both spoke, mostly at the shadows want to.
Enzo laughed.
“You’re strong. You and I both know you both aren’t that strong. You’ll lose. You’re out of allies. The power is mine, and will soon be all mine.” He was smug.
But he was right. I gritted my teeth.
“But we have to try. That’s the duty of a hero.” That was entirely Orion speaking, even if it sounded like both of us.
“How true. Die a hero, then-” He poised to charge, to resume the fray, when we all heard a voice shout behind us, from the door to the stairs.
“Invicta Ignis!”
The voice was loud and commanding, and we barely had time to turn to face it, when we saw an orange glow, a burst of flame soaring past us, and towards Evander.
Despite the rain, it struck true, igniting in a swathe of flame. I could feel the heat, even through Orion.
Evander was lit alight, but still charged forward, past us though, and towards the new source, which spoke again.
“Invicta Mot.”
Evander struck the back wall, still aflame, growling. Not one to lose out of the chance, Artemis changed to a bow, backed up and loosed two arrows, which struck Evander in the back, glittering and igniting, slowly starting to melt the back of the armor.
I meanwhile, backed off, and looked back. Standing behind us, coat flipping around violently in the whipping wind, glasses gone and tucked away in a front pocket, and a wooden stave in hand, was perhaps the last person I expected to see here.
Professor Lanigan. An expression more serious then I’d ever seen it.
“What the hell are you doing here-” I asked, more then Orion, as we backed off, drawing out more lines around Evander in an attempt for another ensnaring maneuvering.
“What I should have done several days ago.” He said in a grave and serious tone, before leveling the wand forward again. Evander dodged out of the way of my lines with Zephyr, and moved to close with Lanigan first.
“What are you, a magician?” They called, taunting, moving to close and throw a blow towards the older man, who simply span his wand around.
“Invicta Cylpeas.”
Evander moved to throw their blow, and found it blocked by some manner of intangible force, buying Artemis time to sink two more arrows into their shoulder.
“Yes, young Enzo, though wizard would be appropriate.” He said calmly. Evander growled again, holding out a hand and calling Atlas’s axe to it. “Doesn’t matter what you are, you’ll just be another mysterious death!” This bought Lanigan the moment he needed, along with me. We drew out a spike in front of them and solidified it, stabbing them through the center of mass. Lanigan, for his part, pointed his wand dead center.
“Invicta Glacio.”
With more magic words spoken, the rain which had collected on Evander froze in a flash, forcing them to the ground, spike driven through them, and with another pulling back of Artemis’s bow, more arrows riddled into them. Through the exposed side of their helm, I could see the shape of Enzo’s face. One of his eyes was glowing red, and I could hear labored breath even from here.
Lanigan moved to take a step back, leveling his wand once more, as we began to weave out more lines, skewering Evander again and again, as more arrows found purchase, one even striking the already damaged section of armor and punching through to what only could be flesh beneath. The axe had managed to reach their hand, though, and the wings coiled close to themselves, the crown glittering with vibrant light.
The ice fell away, on it’s own. The lines snapped away, or at the least the most dangerous ones, and the ones which remained they charged through, snapping them through Evander’s body as personal harm which Juno began to heal. We moved to weave something else, however Evander threw Atlas’s axe at us, and though we barely managed to dodge, it still clipped us, and golden blood spewed out, as the axe flew off the side of the roof and into the darkness and rain below. It had happened in an instant, but somehow they were free. It had to be Andromeda, Cynthia had broken free of our cage in a similar way. Shit. This was bad.
As I recovered, Evander charged Lanigan with Zephyr, Artemis, with the speed to contend, moved to intercede, switching to blades and stabbing forward, but a reckless strike from Evander’s arm clipped them, and sent them flying into the ground.
Barely with any time to react, Lanigan pulled his wand back, and began casting.
“Invicta Cyl-“
He was cut off by a strike from Zephyr and Atlas, one which saw his wand ripped from his grasp and squeezed, shattered into splinters. Eyes wide, Lanigan took a step back, only for Evander to grab him by the shoulder and torso with one hand, and spin around. We’d recovered, and moved to weave something, a section of lines to intersect with Evander’s form as they spun around, Artemis firing arrows, but it wasn’t quite enough, as Juno offset the injury just enough.
“Enough magic tricks from you, let’s try one of mine-”
Not giving Lanigan a chance to speak via swinging him around as Evander pivoted, tearing the lines free, and planting their feet in the solid ground.
“Let’s see-“ they poised back, we weaved another line, but once more it was too weak to restrain them. “How far-“ They lined up, Artemis sank in two more arrows, Evander’s armor starting to look like a pincushion “You FLY!” with all of the might Atlas and ten shadows could grant, Evander threw Lanigan with their whole body. The man went flying, and didn’t move midair. We could see, with enhanced vision, the body make an impact with a building across campus. Unless he’d used magic…there was no way he’d survived that.
But we didn’t have time to parse that.
Evander was turning again, and was attempting to close with us, using Zephyr. We backed off, letting more ink flow from our hands, solidifying it into an obstacle which bought me the second we needed to make more distance and draw out something more complex, in the form of a set of tripwires along the ground, each equipped with a spike. Once done, we simply stood across from it. Evander noticed it, and moved to leap over it, causing us to fold the creation upwards, trapping them between, and forcing them to be prone on the ground. We took this chance to draw more spikes and lines, jabbing through their body, and Artemis flew over into melee, glittering sabers in hand, and striking again and again in rapid succession, cutting wound after wound into the armor. Juno’s mask glittered, and then Iris’s.
And then Iris’s. We covered our eyes, and so did Artemis with their increased speed, shielding ourselves from Iris’s attack-but with the power battery Evander had, it still stung, I saw spots, and Evander was using this chance to both heal and break free of their trap, using Zephyr to spring to their feet. We moved to intercede something, but failed, allowing them to land a blow on Artemis which sent them flying backwards towards the edge of the roof, where plants had seemingly started to sprout, vines creeping across the edge of the roof and grabbing them, distracting them for a moment long enough for Evander to turn to us. The emblem of the imprisoned faerie glittered, the expression moving into further sorrow, as they charged. We kicked off into the air, interceding more lines, but Evander caught up, causing us to attempt to plant a kick to the throat of the armored figure with Orion’s somewhat enhanced strength, which didn’t even stagger them. They grabbed our leg, and tossed us off the roof.
We managed to catch ourselves midair, however Evander had withdrawn their rifle, aiming towards us, so I moved to evade, ducking low and moving to take cover at the sides of Jefferson.
We managed to make it most of the way there, but two shots out of the six Evander managed to squeeze off, with twelve squeezes of the rifle’s trigger, and we felt the injury, more golden blood squeezing from the existing cut. But we weren’t injured enough to fall and made it to cover, drawing out a new greatsword before swinging around the roof again.
Evander was advancing on Artemis, who’d freed themselves from the vines and was scrambling to recover, as we arced around and struck upwards with the golden greatsword, aiming for the head.
We struck true, carrying momentum upwards and outwards, managing the rest of the helmet and flinging it off save for a few lingering bronze scraps around the neck. Before we could bring it around for another strike, though, Evander launched a sweeping kick which sent me sprawling.
Now, though, we could see the face beneath. Enzo, face partially obscured by the shadows which teemed within the armor, with glowing red eyes. His neck was red, agitated, red bumps covering it with an aggravated pattern, dead insects, looking like some kind of wasp or hornet, still clustered around the neck. Though the entire neck looked like it had been attacked, somehow.
Either way, his face gritted into determination, shadows wreathing it as he charged for Artemis.
Artemis pulled up twin blades and moved to engage in melee, getting a sizeable strike into one of the cuts in the armor, striking flesh to a sound of pain from Enzo, who responded with a full body momentum punch into Artemis, which they couldn’t dodge due to the Zephyr speed behind it. Artemis was sent to the floor again, and punched, again and again, each sending glowing white blood and pieces of their form flying.
I moved to stand…to draw something…when I noticed something.
Enzo was breathing hard. He was somewhat clammy. He looked unwell…and Evander’s form showed it. The fight with Cynthia had to have done something particular…the stings, the agitation…poison of some kind? Injury crossing their body, black blood oozing from cuts in armor, and run ragged in most respects. We almost had him…but he persisted.
It had to be Evander. Juno’s healing wouldn’t be enough to stay on top of all of this. Evander had to be taking some of the burden.
Which meant they still had plenty of energy to burn. However…we’d worn him down. This was winnable, but…
I felt our form. We could barely stand, and Artemis was getting waled on. We didn’t have the strength to finish this out.
I tried to think of a solution, in the few seconds that I had before Evander would surely kill Artemis. They’d summoned the axe back to their hand, and were using it to make heavy cuts, now.
That’s when it clicked.
I remembered when I’d first bonded with Orion. I’d just gotten back from a long day, I hadn’t eaten, and I was feeling all around awful. Then we’d merged. And I’d felt like a million bucks, rejuvenated and ready. That had to mean something, the extra power being added…
I had a plan. It was now or never. But…I hesitated.
This wasn’t something I’d survive. Was I really about to give up my chance to finally live out what I wanted just for the hope that this would work?
Yeah. This might just have to be the one heroic thing I did with Orion.
“Orion. I need you to leave me, and go bond with Kelly.” I said as I unmerged.
“Young hero, what do you mea-“
“I’m not a fucking hero. I never was. But she can be. Now GO!” I cut him off and shouted, standing up to my full height and walking towards Evander. Orion gave me one final sad gaze, then began to close with Artemis.
“Oi! Enzo! How about you go ahead and take on someone your own size!”
Evander paused, from their beatdown, looked me over, and let out a half grunt, half laugh, before tossing Atlas’s axe at me, then turning to continue the beat down, fist raised.
The axe traveled towards me. Orion passed it, on his way to Kelly. They were parallel for but a moment.
Then the axe struck me. The pain was overwhelming, to the point where I felt none at all, the impact knocking me back, and I began to stumble back even more. I felt the edge of the roof, and let my weight carry me backwards, with no real care anymore.
The last glimpse I got was a golden armored Artemis catching Evander’s fist, before I tumbled off.
I wouldn’t survive the fall from this height, I knew.
I just closed my eyes.
Slipping away before I could even feel the impact.
Kindling And Miscellany 