Thoren rubbed his eyes as he looked out over the moonlit city. The gentle motion and sounds of the trolley threatened to rock him to slumber at any moment. Phi’s sleeping head resting on his shoulder was testament to the exhaustion the trio were all feeling after the last few hours. Thoren had been tempted to wake the hulking monstrosity, but he wasn’t the only one using Thoren as a pillow.
Glancing to his other shoulder was the sleeping face of the ever mysterious Fel in a rare moment of vulnerability. The talks with the king had gone as well as Thoren had expected all things considered. Fel had summoned Thoren and Phi to meet them at the castle without warning, only to then demand to see the king personally. Which had caused an uproar from the guards and retainers of the king. After the scene grew to a boiling point Samantha had fetched the trio, fueled by an almost murderous anger.
Six hours of yelling, screaming, threats, and just a bit of crying. The three had their prize, the king's personal ship; which was frantically being prepped in the hopes of being ready by sunrise. The king had of course made it clear that the three were never to set foot in Fulcrest again for the remainder of their lives.
All in all, Thoren would call the negotiations a success.
As soon as the agreement was made, a great weight seemed to slide from Fel’s shoulders as they left the royal island. For the first time they seemed to have relaxed, if even just a bit. Looking down at their hauntingly beautiful face, Thoren could almost see the person they might have been if they only allowed themselves a bit of slack. A noble, dignified person that demanded respect, a natural leader that could be a cornerstone for their people. But, fate seemed to have a different course for them, a much lonelier path.
The rocking of the trolley continued as they neared the residential bank of the city. As the trolley car reached the end of the bridge it swayed. Fel fluttered awake, looking around in surprise as they sat up straight with a yawn. Phi seemed to grunt as he went back to sleep. He was probably still drained from the afternoon of sparring with Kara and Ben.
Thoren had originally gone to join Phi in the yard as a way to watch over the man, to ensure that he didn’t try to harm anyone in a moment of weakness. That had been the plan, right up until he had seen that look in Kara’s eyes. It was a look that was all too familiar to Thoren from his time in the Spire. A mixture of self loathing and resentment. It was a combination that had led many an aspirant to their deaths. There had been a time when Thoren had had that same look on his own face. When he had stood on the edge of the Spires highest tower and stared into the murky depths far below with a longing that had seemed so welcoming back then.
As he closed his eyes he could still remember the feeling of leaning forward over that edge.
He banished the memory as he opened his eyes. Perhaps he had overstepped today by forcing himself into a situation that he was in no way involved with. But he could not sit idly by and allow those feelings to fester inside of another child; not while he could do anything about it. He knew that a single lecture and waving around a stick for a few hours would not cure Kara and Ben of their grief, but he hoped that they would at least feel a bit less burdened.
With a sigh Thoren thought of their departure in the morning, while it was good that they finally had a heading to follow. The idea of leaving without giving the kids a proper farewell felt bittersweet. Perhaps they could leave a note.
Glancing up Thoren noticed that the trolley was nearing the house they were staying at. With a gentle nudge he woke Phi from his sleep. Fel stood up and grunted as they stretched out. The three disembarked and made their way slowly to the house, passing wagons and carriages that were parked for the night. Thoren walked up the stairs to the house’s front door as Phi and Fel leaned against one another half asleep.
Reaching out with a key he paused. The door's jamb was slightly scuffed and scratched, which could only mean one thing; someone had broken into the house.
“Guys.” Thoren said quietly. “We might have guests.”
Fel and Phi’s eyes snapped open at once. Fel quickly reached down and put a hand on their whip while scanning the street. While Phi moved closer to the building and cocked his head. “I don’t sense anything from inside the building.” Said Phi, his voice tense.
Fel spoke calmly and quietly as they looked around. “I can’t see anyone in the windows or in the street that seems suspicious.”
Thoren tried the door handle slowly, it was still locked. With a nod to the others he unlocked the door and threw it open as he stepped into the main room. The house was dark, the only light the faint glow of the street lamps casting their meager illumination through the windows. As Thoren crept into the house, he heard Phi and Fel follow closely behind.
There were a few things that leapt out at Thoren. Firstly the backdoor to the yard was slightly ajar, and secondly, there was a flickering light coming from his room through the cracked open door. He looked back at the others and pointed to his room. Phi cocked his head in response. Right, the man’s blind.
Fel leaned over to Phi and relayed the information to him. Phi frowned, then pointed towards himself and gestured towards the yard. The three nodded in agreement as they split up.
Walking up the stairs slowly Thoren winced with every creak of the wooden staircase. If whatever intruders were still around, hopefully they were hard of hearing. Thoren and Fel reached the landing to the second floor, moving to stand on either side of the open door. Listening for a moment Thoren could only hear the faint crackling of a candle from within the room.
He looked up and made eye contact with Fel, the two nodded in unison as Thoren kicked open the door and entered the room. The room was still as he left it, aside from the large crate that sat open on the ground. The back of the crate held a screen while the inside housed three canisters of differently colored liquids. Before either one of them could respond the screen flickered to life with a message in text.
BYE BYE
The canisters hissed as the two liquids on either side were released and mixed in the center cylinder, the concoction began to glow as the crate shook violently. Thoren’s heart leapt from his chest as he turned to run, trying to scream a warning in time as he and Fel leapt over the balcony of the second floor.
The crate exploded with enough force to throw them both through the window of the living room, their bodies tumbling across the cobblestones as they came to a rest in the middle of the street.
Thoren groaned in pain as he rolled on the ground, his ears ringing so loud that the whole world seemed to be washed away in the high pitched scream. Struggling to his knees he looked around with blurry eyes. Fel was pulling themselves up with their usual inhuman resolve, though even they seemed to be off balance. The house for its part was engulfed in an inferno that was quickly spreading to the nearby houses at an alarming speed.
As the worst of the ringing began to subside, Thoren could hear the city alarm blaring from all around. Hopefully that meant the fire could be contained soon. Standing up on shaking legs, he looked back at the carnage that was their house. He and Fel shared a look as they stepped forward to search for Phi, the sound of whirling machinery stopped them in their tracks as they turned to face the nearest wagon.
The back of the wagon opened on its own, revealing a stationary suit of gleaming alien looking armor that was chained in place, the armor was massive, barely fitting in the wagon even with it curled in on itself. Thoren narrowed his eyes in disbelief. “Is that what I think it is?” He asked out loud.
Fel spat some blood on the ground. “Yeah, the question is what is a Phorebearer shell doing here?” As if in response the gleaming shell of armor surged to life with arcane power, standing to its full height with the hiss of hydraulics and whatever biomechanical force drove it. It stood with slightly bent legs, the lower half of which past the knee joints bent the wrong way. The upper body of the shell was hunched so that the head stuck forward. Its arms hung out to the side slightly.
The thing's head turned to face them, its singular eye looking out with an ominous red glow. In a hiss of machine code and white noise the shell declared in a sinister tone. PRIMARY TARGET DETECTED. THREAT LEVEL, MEAGER. ENGAGING
Fel’s eyes grew wide as the shell launched forward with surprising speed, grabbing them by the head with a massive claw and slamming them to the cobblestones with enough force to crack the street. Lifting the limp Fel in its claw, the shell reached out its other arm and placed its fist against Fel’s chest as a pair of metal pistons fired with the crack of a gunshot, the force was enough to rip them free of the clawed hand and throw them down the road with a thunderous boom.
Thoren stood in shock as he glanced down at the pistons on the shell’s arm, they were glistening with blood. He had little time to process the situation as the shell turned to face him. PRIMARY TARGET ELIMINATED. SECONDARY TARGET DETECTED. ENGAGING.
Shaking himself from his stupor Thoren summoned his spear and thrust it towards the towering shell’s eye. The shell grabbed the spear mid thrust with ease as it wrenched upwards and threw him into the air. From its piston arm a large blade extended outwards, the shell swung the blade as Thoren turned into a bolt of lightning to avoid the attack at the last second.
Reforming mid air, Thoren snapped his fingers as he summoned a bolt of lightning towards his spear that was still in the claws of the shell. The bolt struck true as the machine shuddered for a moment. Smoke and steam rising from the armor of the shell. The voice rang out again. ELECTRICAL DISTURBANCE DETECTED. ADJUSTING EXTERIOR PLATING. INSULATING CORE SYSTEMS.
In response the shell's armor seemed to shift in hues. Thoren wasted no time throwing another bolt of lightning at the thing. The crackling arc of power hit the shell but the electricity was shrugged off without effect.
“Oh you have got to be kidding me.” Thoren cursed as the shell launched forward once more, the gleaming claws reaching out to ensnare him. With a quick thought Thoren shifted into lightning, this time calling his spear as he did so. Reappearing behind the shell, he thrust with all of his might at the waist joint of the hulking machine. The spear severed wires and tubes alike as it embedded itself into the joint. In response the shell stomped a foot down on Thoren’s own foot, pinning him in place with a sickening crunch as it spun and brought its pistoned arm around to finish him off.
Ignoring his broken foot Thoren tried to shift away, but as his body started to change into energy he felt the machine let out a pulse of static that interfered with his power.
Thoren could only watch as death raced to meet him.
At the very last second a whip wrapped around the shell's torso and tore it off balance, the claw going wide by mere inches.
Fel rushed in and delivered a jumping kick with both feet as they launched the shell down the street with a cacophony of smashing metal and scraping stone. They turned to face Thoren with blood running down from their lips. “This doesn’t make sense. Who the fuck has access to a functional Phorebearer warform?” They said, straining to catch their breath.
Before Thoren could respond the pair looked over at the shell picking itself up from the broken stones of the street. Its eye looked up with frustration. REASSESSING THREAT LEVEL. UPGRADING THREAT LEVEL TO TRIVIAL. The shell said as a second pair of arms deployed from under its chests armor planting, these new arms each ended with cannons that thrummed with barely contained power.
Thoren readied his spear. “Where’s Phi when you need him?”
◆◆◆
The first thing Phi felt as his consciousness drifted in and out of focus was the pain from his back. It had taken the brunt of the explosion as he had been thrown across the backyard. With shaking hands he pushed himself up slightly. Coughing up a torrent of blood as he glanced down. There sticking out of the middle of his chest, was a large jagged piece of metal. He tried to take a breath and winced as he felt one of his lungs collapsing. Thankfully the metal that impaled him through the back had narrowly avoided his heart by an inch.
Phi offered a prayer to the all mother. I must still be a useful instrument for your will. There was a hint of disappointment that his wounds weren’t mortal, that would have made things simpler. With a grunt of effort he shifted into a pool of blood and back into his proper form in rapid succession. The debris and foreign objects fell harmlessly as his body reformed. Phi reached up and grabbed one of his hollow fangs, willing it to grow and deform until it was a long tube.
I hate this part. He thought to himself as he plunged the sharp tube between his ribcage, piercing his deflated lung. Within a moment his breathing returned to normal as he removed the tooth and sealed the wound. Phi’s senses were starting to return to normal, he could still feel the heat from the flames that were engulfing the house from behind him. But more troubling was the heat coming from the other direction.
From Gail’s house.
The fog that had muddled his mind faded as his heart leapt in his chest. Kara and Ben! Straining his senses he could feel three people inside the burning house. Gail must have come home early. Glancing over his shoulder he heard the sounds of combat, the others must have found whomever planted the explosives in the house. If anyone could handle the situation it was Fel and Thoren, for now Phi had to focus on helping Gail and her kids.
His senses told him that the kids were upstairs in a bedroom, while Gail was further in the house. Phi quickly pulled himself to his feet as he made his way towards the backdoor of the house, luckily the heat from the house was minor, the fire must have just started.
Throwing open the door Phi was hit with a wave of heat and smoke that caused him to pull back instinctively. Two burning buildings in as many weeks, this is getting ridiculous. Holding his breath, Phi hurried inside, he couldn’t tell exactly where the staircase was but he had caught glimpses of the kids running up and down them while he was in the yard. As he ascended the stairs he tried calling out. “Gail! Kara! Ben! Are you alright! Call out if you can hear me!” He strained to hear over the growing roar of the flames, over the crackling and snapping of the fire he could hear a muffled cry from the bedroom where the kids were.
He reached the top of the stairs and moved to the bedroom door, throwing his shoulder into the wooden door he managed to fling it open with ease. He saw Kara and Ben on the ground in odd positions, their arms and legs were stiff and immobile. Almost as if they were tied-
“Poenitentia.” An unfamiliar voice rang out as something moved through the air from down the hall and wrapped around Phi’s chest and legs, pinning his arms to his sides. He tried to shift into blood but a sudden rush of pain brought him to his knees as the bands burned with holy fire that seared into his flesh and mind. He cried out as he fought to stay conscious from the onslaught of anguish. Through the pain Phi could hear Kara and Ben’s muffled screams.
The mysterious voice belonged to the other life he had sensed, now that they were closer he realized this wasn’t Gail, although it was a woman of a similar build and size, it was someone completely different. “Hah! I caught a big one! What do they say? Hook, line, and sinker?” The woman laughed in a haughty tone as she approached.
The pain subsided for a moment as Phi looked up, blinking away the water in his eyes. “Please, let the children go.” He wheezed weakly.
The woman froze in place, her body tensing. “The hells did you just say?” She quickly walked up and rammed a dagger into Phi’s shoulder. “Who gives a fuck about some snot nosed brats? You should be asking the right question! For instance, who am I? What is a beautiful woman like me wasting her time in a shithole like this? Am I single?” She twisted the dagger with each question.
Phi gritted his teeth as he tried to break the restraints, the bands seemed to react to his attempts, forcing another barrage of pain to ravage his body. As the pain disappeared once more, he looked up at the woman. “Who are you? What do you want?” He asked, coughing as the smoke grew thicker.
Tapping a finger against the dagger the woman seemed unphased by the flames or the smoke. “This is why I hate honest people like you. You’re too simple to have fun with.” She pulled the dagger out with a twist. “My name is Viola Granite, assassin and fem fatale for hire, as for what I want; well that should be simple. Someone paid my employer a lot of money to have you and your friends killed. I was subcontracted out originally, but I figured I would cut out the middleman and just deliver your heads to my employer myself for the full reward.” She grinned with a mirthless smile as she held the dagger against Phi’s eye. “Does that answer your questions?” She said as she slowly slid the tip of the dagger under Phi’s eyeball.
“Do whatever you want with me, but let these children go. They have nothing to do with this.”
Viola’s face tightened in frustration. “But that’s where you’re wrong. They have been perfect in their roles as bait.” She laughed as she shook her head slightly. “I was honestly surprised that you fell for the same trick again.”
“‘Again’?’ What do you mean-” He stopped mid question as he remembered the mysterious fire that had consumed Alice’s home and nearly killed her. “THAT WAS YOU!?”
For a brief second Viola flinched from the sheer ferocity of Phi’s rage. She quickly collected herself and a sinister grin stretched across her face. “This, this is why I love my job. While that and the gratuitous amounts of money.” Pulling back the dagger, Viola ran a hand down Phi’s scaled face. He wasted no time turning and trying to bite the woman's hand, only being stopped by the pain from the bands.
“Neat toys hm? The Celestial Court used these to convert unbelievers back in the day. They can only be removed by divine power. The idea was to leave poor souls trapped for months at a time until they eventually succumbed to the will of the Gods and pledged themselves in service.” She poked the band on Phi’s chest. “Figured these would be perfect for you, since Hybrids can’t manifest divine power and all.” Viola gestured towards the sound of battle. “It sounds like your friends are having a hard time with that tin can I stole from my old employers.”
Phi tried to stand through the pain, but as he lifted himself a bit his legs gave out, dropping him to the floor in a heap. “Please, just spare the kids. I won’t resist any further. Just let them go… I beg you.” He wheezed weakly.
Viola moved to the doorway of the bedroom and glanced over at the kids before turning back to Phi. “No.” She said with sickening joy.
Without warning she let out a scream of pain as she stumbled forward, a kitchen knife sticking out from her back. Kara stood in the doorway shaking. She quickly tried to reach down and free Phi but in that instant Viola screamed in rage and delivered a brutal kick to Kara’s face.
“You little bitch!” Viola roared as she rolled her shoulders. A plume of pinkish flames erupted from the knife wound as she melted the remains of the knife. Phi realized with a sense of dread what Viola was, she was a daughter of Trest. The worst possible child of the Celestials for him to fight. Their blood was hot enough to melt steel, they could command and bend fire and flames to their will with just a thought. It was no wonder that Viola seemed unphased by the smoke and heat.
Kara scrambled back into the bedroom and grabbed the pole she had been practicing with earlier. She must have taken it inside to continue what Thoren had taught her. With a racing heart the young teen assumed a stance and tried to thrust the pole towards Viola's chest. The assassin grabbed the end of the wooden pole and reduced it to ash with her hand. “Well, good news fishboy. You get to live for a few more moments. Bad news is that the last thing you’re gonna hear is the screams of these brats.” She said as she stepped over Phi towards the huddled children.
“Noooo!” Phi cried out. “Please! Stop!” Reaching inside he tried to summon his power despite the blistering pain from the bands of metal. It was no use, the bands refused to budge and he couldn’t shift. Viola grabbed Kara by the hair and pulled her up, delivering a punch to the poor child's face that sizzled and filled the room with the smell of burnt flesh. Phi screamed a guttural roar of anguish as he felt something deep in his mind cracking, he let his reason and control ebb away, leaving only his hunger and rage. Thrashing in place he threw his body back and forth, smashing himself into the floor and wall with total abandon.
Kara cried, looking at Phi with her burnt and bruised face. “Help me, please!”
“ALL MOTHER! PLEASE!” Phi screamed as he pushed against the bands with every ounce of strength he could muster, the metal digging into his flesh and searing his very soul. “GRANT ME THE STRENGTH TO PROTECT THOSE IN NEED!” He could feel his throat growing raw from the force of his prayer.
Viola placed a burning hand on Kara’s chest as she looked back at Phi. “What did I tell you, it’s no us-” The sound of steel creaking stopped the woman’s gloating. Her face twisted with fear as she watched in horror as Phi stood up, his body growing into a hulking figure. The bands screamed as they superheated, their energy being repelled by some unknown force. With one last primal shout Phi tore through the bands and scattered the broken remains.
He launched forward, even as Viola tried to hold a dagger to Kara’s throat. He struck out with his palm, hitting the wretched woman right in the nose. Phi felt the cartilage snap and break as his palm continued forward and propelled Viola backwards with enough force to shatter the window behind her and send her tumbling to the street below.
Turning to the kids, he felt their terror at the sight of his uncontained form. The cassock that Thoren had made him was reduced to rags that hung loosely, covering him from the waist down. His back rippled with a bladed fin that ran the length of his torso and head. His mouth had split open, revealing a maw filled with row after row of serrated teeth, from his mouth hung a barbed tongue that twitched hungerly. With a large webbed claw, Phi reached down and ran his hand over the burn on Kara’s face. He tried to speak but it was a gargled mess. “I…a-am… sor..sorry.”
With a quick flick of his wrist he cut the robes that bound Ben as he managed to say. “R…run.”
The kids faces’ shifted from fear to something else. They quickly wrapped themselves around Phi’s waist in a hug. Between their sobs he heard them whimper. “Thank you.” Phi felt his blood boil with hunger, he struggled to contain his new thirst as he pushed the kids away and pointed for them to leave.
After watching them safely make it outside, he turned his attention towards the source of his blinding anger. Viola was struggling to her feet as Phi jumped from the second floor and landed with a crash of broken cobblestones. The assassin looked up, her nose crooked and bloody, her eyes burned from within with a fury that seemed to threaten to consume her at any moment. She spat on the ground as her blood melted into the stone. “You motherfucker! Of all the places you could have hit me, why the fuck did you aim for the face?!” She screamed.
Phi catapulted himself towards the vile woman. Bringing his fist down towards her face again. Viola seemed absentminded as she leaned backwards, letting herself fall as she narrowly avoided Phi’s fist. He pivoted and tried to deliver another blow to the now helpless Viola. Bursts of flame erupted from the assassin’s feet and back as she propelled herself away at the last second. Flipping mid flight to land on her feet once more.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
She didn’t give Phi any time before she launched herself forward with another burst of flames, spinning her flaming heel in an axe kick that Phi barely blocked. He felt his bones shake from the force of the kick, his skin blistering and blackening from the heat. Viola might be a terrible person, but when it came to fighting she seemed particularly gifted.
Without wasting time the assassin began a flurry of blows that Phi struggled to defend from. She could launch and redirect her attacks mid swing with a terrifying speed that left him on the backfoot. With every blocked blow, Phi’s skin grew more and more burned and scarred from the rush of attacks.
Viola kicked off of Phi’s arm and flipped back, taking a moment to move a tuft of hair that had fallen in front of her face. “Come now, aren’t you gonna do that little trick of yours and try and possess my body?” Cackling as she mocked him. “Are you afraid to try and enter my bloodstream? Well, I don’t blame you, I run a bit more, hot, than others.” She said with a laugh.
The vile woman had a point. Phi couldn’t use his power to shift, he would boil himself to death before he could make use of possessing her body. That left him with only his other powers, of which there were seldom that would be useful here.
Phi reached up and pulled out fistfuls of teeth, throwing the barbed fangs towards Viola with all the force he could muster. The woman frowned as she erected a wall of fire to defend herself. “Is that the best you have?”
The chain Phi pulled out whipped through the air towards Viola, obscured by the firewall until the last second. A look of surprise crossed the woman’s face as she superheated her hand and batted the chain away at the last second, melting the links in the middle of the chain with ease. The rest of the chain and hook flew off into the distance.
Phi tried to press the advance, using his other hook in hand he struck out and tried to slash it across Viola’s chest. To his surprise the woman didn’t move, letting him score a cut across her torso. The smile on her face was the only warning he had as a raging inferno of burning blood erupted, engulfing him in a torrent of flames. Viola chuckled as her wound cauterized itself instantly. “You really don’t have a leg to stand on.” She said as she delivered a brutal kick to Phi’s kneecap, breaking it with ease.
As he was driven to the ground, Phi held his hands over his burnt face. Viola leaned in closer, right where he needed her. Phi moved his hands as he vomited his tongue from his mouth, separating it by will. The barbed and engorged tongue latched onto Viola’s neck, digging into her flesh as it writhed and wriggled. Cursing, the woman reached up and burned the parasitic tongue to ash. She looked down at him with disdain, for the first time Phi let himself smile with self satisfaction.
Viola kicked Phi to the ground. “What’s so funny?” She yelled.
Laughing wildly, he rolled onto his back as he looked up with a grin. “Your blood might be too hot for me to control, but your bones are another story.”
A look of terror crossed Viola’s face as she tried to burn the wound on her neck frantically. In that moment Phi rolled forward, spinning as he revealed his newly grown tail, smashing the rough scales of the tail into Viola’s legs with enough force to shatter her shins. As she twisted in the air, Phi pulled back his fist and threw a palm strike with all of his power.
Striking Viola right in her face, again.
The woman’s neck made a sickening crack as she cartwheeled wildly down the street, coming to a stop some thirty feet away. Phi walked towards the twitching body of the assassin. He could sense her neck had been broken, she wasn’t dead, but she would never again be able to use the rest of her body. Reaching a hand down, Phi plucked the ragged remains of Viola off of the ground. Through broken teeth and a dislocated jaw she asked. “Yo-u sai-id my-my bones…”
“I lied.” He could still hear the sound of Fel and Thoren fighting, it wasn’t sounding good.
Viola looked into Phi’s eyes. “Kill me…” She hissed.
“I will, but you still might be useful first.”
◆◆◆
A blast of plasma flew by Thoren’s face as he felt his cheek burn from the radiation. This Phorebearer was relentless, they had tried everything and had only managed to put a couple dents in its armor. Thankfully the citizens seemed to have understood the situation, those that had seen the fight had the good sense to run and hide. The city guard were staying clear for the moment, probably waiting until they received reinforcements.
Thoren was in rough shape, his foot was broken, his left shoulder was dislocated, not to mention the broken ribs. Fel was slightly better off, but only slightly. They were being completely overwhelmed by this killing machine. If his history lessons had been correct, the Phorebearers had once laid claim to his world, and this thing was just one of their foot soldiers. The thought of facing thousands of these things in battle sent a chill down his spine.
Fel had managed to tear off two of the shell’s arms. But that had only seemed to piss it off. Its newest trick was a shimmering barrier that seemed to protect it from anything going past a certain speed; it had called it a ‘kinetic barrier’.
There was still no sign of Phi, which was worrying.
The shell narrowed its eye as if it was perturbed with Thoren and Fel for having the audacity to not simply die. THREAT LEVEL - MEDIOCRE. It boomed as the armor on its shoulders opened to reveal racks of ordinance.
“It has rocket launchers? Seriously?” Fel yelled with exasperation as they readied themselves to defend against the coming salvo.
Just as the shell seemed ready to rain death and destruction it was struck by something. A shapeless object landed on its back with a dull thud. The shell looked perplexed as it reached up and grabbed what Thoren could now see as a human body. Before he could process what he was seeing he heard Phi’s voice calling out. “Thoren! Throw your spear at her!”
Thoren had been trained as a warrior, drilled to follow directions from his superiors; or from those he trusted. In that moment his body moved faster than his mind, if Phi, the kind and caring creature that he was; was telling Thoren to throw a spear at this person. It must have been for a righteous reason. With his one remaining arm, Thoren threw his spear with all of his might. The golden spear flew straight and true, impaling the woman’s body against the shell's torso. The woman’s blood poured down the shell’s body, melting everything it touched as the shell frantically tried to remove the corpse.
It was too late though, as the burning corpse liquified the entire front of the Phorebearer, causing the machine to lurch forward into a burning pile of metal.
Thoren turned to face Phi and stopped dead in his tracks. Phi wasn’t exactly your average looking man, but he seemed even more monstrous. With a shuddering breath Phi seemed to shrink back down to his usual form. He looked like himself again, aside from the various burns and bruises that covered the vast majority of his body.
Fel walked up with a slight limp, gesturing at the burning corpse. “Friend of yours?” They asked dryly.
“That was the assassin that was hired to kill us.” Phi said bitterly.
Thoren sniffed as he spoke sarcastically. “So, why didn’t we keep her alive to question her?”
“Didn’t feel like it.”
“Fair.”
The three collapsed to the ground in unison. Each one laughing at the absurdity of the events. Fel was the first to stop. “Thank the gods that it was just a shell and not one of their singers. We would have been absolutely screwed.” They said with a smile
Thoren scowled. “They get worse than that? Fuck that!”
Fel sat up with a start. “No…” They looked over at the burning corpse as it began to glow. “No. Nonono. Shitshitshit!” As they tried to stand the glow flew up in an arc, striking another closed wagon on the other side of the street.
Phi and Thoren shared a worried look. “What was that?” They said in unison.
The wagon exploded as another Phorebearer shell pulled itself from the wreckage. Its single eye blazing with anger. TRANSFER OF SOUL COMPLETE. TARGETS ACQUIRED, RESUMING PRIMARY MISSION. THREAT LEVEL - SIGNIFICANT. CURRENT SHELL NOT PROPERLY EQUIPPED FOR MISSION, RECONFIGURING. The shell seemed to grow still as a bright aura enveloped it. The metal of the shell rippled like water as it started to let out a brilliant song. Every wagon, carriage, lamp post and anything else metallic nearby started to twist and rippled as it was all reduced to pools of metal that moved towards the shell's main body.
Fel’s face looked flush as they frantically looked around. “We need to run, NOW!” They yelled. “That isn’t a shell, saints protect us, it’s a fucking Dragoon!” They stopped when they saw a trolley in the distance. “Trolley! Now!” They shouted.
Thoren groaned as he shifted into a bolt of lightning, transporting himself instantly to the trolley car with a crash. Hobbling aboard he offered his thanks that the only person aboard the car was the driver. Pointing to the growing mass of machinery in the distance he said. “We need to lead that thing away from here! Run!” The driver’s face drained of color as they ran away. Thoren reached down and grabbed the control lever and threw it in reverse.
A moment later Fel and Phi jumped on board, as soon as they were on Thoren changed the direction of the Trolley again to try and gain distance. Fel looked back and grabbed their hair in frustration. “We can’t outrun that thing! We need to go to the far bank, I think I have an idea of how to kill it.”
Phi leaned his head back against one of the windows of the trolley. “Short of a miracle I think we’ll be meeting the All Mother soon.”
Fel looked to Thoren. “Can’t this thing go faster?” They barked. The trolley was going at a respectable speed, but was still much slower than it needed to be. At least they had put some streets between them and the Dragoon.
Thoren looked over the controls. Glancing back to Fel as he thought out loud. “Doesn’t look like it, though maybe if I-” He froze as he looked up and saw the sleek metal form standing in the middle of the road behind them. It had grown significantly, something about it made Thoren’s skin crawl. A small voice in his head screamed for him to run, to run as fast and as far as he could and never look back.
The Dragoon’s torso opened to reveal a miniature sun trapped inside a metal cage. The sun flickered as a beam of light screamed forth towards the trolley. “Get down!” Thoren yelled as he dropped to the floor. Phi and Fel quickly followed suit. The heat from the beam of energy was so intense that Thoren struggled to even breath as his back blistered from the inferno. In an instant the beam vanished. He looked up to find that the upper half of the trolley had been atomized.
Illuminated in the distance by the moon's light was a mountain that now had a perfect circle bored into its side.
“That bastard! Why didn’t he tell me this was a possibility?!” Fel screamed. “I swear on my true name, I will make him regret this!”
Thoren looked back at the controls, most of which had remained intact thankfully. “Screw it! I’m gonna try something stupid. Hold on!” He yelled back at the others. Tapping into his power he reached down and poured his gift into the motor of the trolley. Normally it drew electricity from the rails in the road, he hoped that he could overload it with his own power.
The trolley’s motor howled in protest as it started to accelerate faster and faster, the safety systems flashed warnings as Thoren called to the others to disable them. Phi couldn’t see anything, but Fel was quick to rip the breaks off of the wheels with ease. The trolley was soon flying down the street faster than it had ever been designed for.
Letting himself breath a sigh of relief, Thoren looked back at the Dragoon. It had covered the sun in its chest again as it seemed to crouch down. Thoren watched in horror as its legs melted and reformed into rows of wheels. The back of the Dragoon glowed as it propelled itself forward with large plumes of flame. Thoren groaned in anger. “Give me a break! Come on!”
The Dragoon was gaining quickly, at this speed the trolley would reach the bridge just as the Dragoon caught up. They had to do something to slow it down and quick. Phi looked at Thoren. “Maybe your divine arts could harm it.”
“I can’t.” He muttered, his voice lost to the wind.
Phi scowled. “What was that?”
Yelling in frustration, Thoren slammed a fist down. “I can’t! My connection to the All Mother has gone quiet. I can’t use miracles.” It felt like a knife to his heart to say the words out loud, admitting it made it all the more real.
“I’m sorry. I…I don’t know what to say.”
Fel sucked on their teeth in frustration. “It isn’t just you, Thoren.” They said as they lifted a part of their armor to show a fresh cut to their abdomen. “My connection to the All Mother has also been severed. For the first time that I can recall, our maker has gone completely silent. That’s… that’s why we’re on this journey.” They looked pained, uncomfortable. Vulnerable. “When a Celestial dies, their soul finds a new host. It’s the only time when a Celestial is truly at risk of being harmed, the period when they reincarnate in a new body and have to make the pilgrimage back to Caelum Prime.” Fel looked them both in the eyes, their face filled with grim determination. “The Nightfather didn’t ask us to hunt down his enemies.
“He tasked us with finding and protecting the All Mother.”
Thoren felt his jaw drop, a similar look crossed Phi’s face. “Why? Why didn’t you tell us?” Thoren said in disbelief. “We would have followed anything you said if you had told us that was the goal!”
Shaking their head, Fel looked back at the approaching Dragoon. “I didn’t know if I could trust you…” They said, lowering their head.
With a growing anger in his voice, Phi stood up. “You mean that someone has set their sights on harming the All Mother?” He growled.
With a sickening twist in his gut Thoren put the pieces together. His mind raced as he considered the insanity of the situation.
Fel nodded. “We’re her bodyguards. Which is why we can’t afford to let that thing stop us!” They said pointing towards the Dragoon. “Too much is riding on us making it to the All Mother in time!”
Phi looked back as he said with grim determination. “I’ll buy you both time, I can try and last a few minutes while you run.”
“That’s a terrible idea.” Thoren said. “None of us can hold that thing off on our own. If we try it’ll just level half the city. We need to make it onto the bridge, at least then we can limit the risk to innocent lives. As for a way to slow it down, I have an idea, but I’ll need both arms.” He said with a look to Phi.
Nodding solemnly, Phi walked over and grabbed Thoren’s mangled arm. “This is going to hurt. A lot. On the count of-” With a sickening jerking motion, he popped Thoren’s arm completely out, then with a stiff push he forced the bone back into its socket.
“Motherfu-!” Thoren said with gritted teeth as he moaned in agony. Rolling his left arm he still felt the pain, but at least he had mobility again. “Right. Let’s see if I can’t give that bastard some trouble.” Leaving the controls for a moment he walked over and pulled out two of the trolley’s half melted handrails as he pointed the two poles towards the approaching Dragoon. With a deep breath Thoren channeled as much magnetic power into either pole as he could muster. One positive, the other negative. The air hummed with energy as he turned to the others. “I need something heavy, and metallic.”
Fel wasted no time leaning over the side of the trolley and grabbing a passing manhole cover from the street with ease. Tossing the heavy cover to Phi, who placed it between the poles gingerly. As soon as the cover touched the magnetic currents it was accelerated to a blistering speed. Crashing into the kinetic barrier of the Dragoon with a thunderous explosion of light and sound as the force threw the massive machine backwards slightly.
“Another!” Thoren shouted, sweat pouring down his face with effort. Fel and Phi quickly fed cover after cover into the makeshift railgun. Each blast cracking against the energy shield of the Dragoon, slowing the creature's advance with each successive blast.
For a brief moment Thoren let himself feel a sliver of hope, that was until they reached the bridge. Fel looked around frantically. “We’re out of ammo!” Thoren took the chance to lower his sore arms, his muscles screaming in protest at the abuse he had put them through.
“I don’t think I can do that again…” Thoren said weakly as he fell backwards to the floor of the car. As insane as it had been, it had worked. They were now on the bridge, well on their way to the far shore and whatever weapon Fel had in mind.
Phi cocked his head. “What’s that sound?” He said as he looked up towards a faint whistling noise in the sky.
Following his eyes Thoren saw the source of the whistling sound. The Dragoon had obviously grown tired of this game of cat and mouse; it had resorted to artillery fire. A dozen shells rained down ahead of the trolley into the bridge directly ahead. A series of explosions shook the whole structure as the trio hit the deck.
“Shit! Jump!” Fel shouted as they leapt off of the speeding trolley onto the bridge below. Thoren rolled over and looked ahead, seeing a massive section of the bridge destroyed in front of them. He grabbed Phi and jumped, rolling as he hit the paved bridge with enough force to knock the wind out of him. His clothes tearing from the friction, burning his skin where he slid to a stop.
The trolley reached the gap and for a moment looked as though it was going to clear the chasm, until it struck the far side and flipped end over end. Thoren shook his head as he looked up to see the Dragoon nearing them. “We have no choice, we have to drive it back together!” He yelled.
Phi and Fel got to their feet, their injuries obviously taking their toll. The three prepared themselves for a last desperate stand against the Dragoon, maybe if they had all been at their peak they might have stood a chance. But they were far from their best. The most they could hope for was an honorable death.
The Dragoon leapt into the air, massive claws of whirling steel raised above its head. An explosive shell struck it in the side, causing it to crash to the bridge's surface with a thunderous boom. The Dragoon seemed completely caught off guard by the unexpected attack. The trio shared its surprise as they looked over the edge of the bridge, the harbor was filled with warships of various sizes. Each one pointing every weapon they could at the hulking Dragoon.
THREAT LEV- The Dragoon was cut short by a volley of shells and cannons that riddled the side of the creature in explosion after explosion. It was driven back towards the edge of the bridge, its barrier flickered as it finally faltered. Each blast caused a shower of metal and parts as the Dragoon was dismantled bit by bit. As the volley subsided for a moment the Dragoon gave a final roar as it opened its core, revealing the sun inside. It was preparing to destroy the fleet below in one fell swoop.
Thoren threw his spear at the Dragoon’s exposed eye, knocking it aside at the last moment as the beam of pure energy ripped out of the caged sun upwards, atomizing the very clouds it passed through. Phi and Fel charged with a battle cry. Slamming into the Dragoon with enough force to cause it to falter backwards. Each of them grabbed a leg and mustered their strength as they lifted. The concrete of the bridge cracked under their feet from the force as the Dragoon teetered precariously.
With one final shift, Thoren transported himself in front of the Dragoon's torso. Delivering a blast of magnetic force. With that last push, the Dragoon flailed wildly as it toppled over the edge of the bridge, falling the hundreds of feet into the murky depths below with a crash.
The three stood on uneasy legs for a moment before they each fell to their knees. Phi let out a frustrated sigh. “Please, please. Tell me that killed that fucker.”
Thoren limped on his broken foot to the edge, peering down into the frothing water below. He could make out a glow from deep beneath the waves. Even this high up he could faintly make out an ethereal song that seemed to emanate from the depths. “Uh. I don’t think so.” His gut churned as watched a dozen new lights spring to life, then hundreds, then thousands. “What happens when a ship sinks in the bay?” He asked out loud.
Fel went pale. “They leave it at the bottom of the ocean.” The bridge shook as a colossal hand reached out from under the waves, grabbing the side of the bridge. The Dragoon pulled its new body to its full height, towering over the bridge with ease, torrents of water pouring down its body as it loomed above.
Phi looked around confused. “Anyone wanna tell the blind guy what’s happening?”
Before any of them could respond the Dragoon bathed them in a red glow from its hulking eye. THREAT LEVEL, DIRE. It bellowed as it turned towards the ships below, the crews of which seemed to be frantically trying to reload and unleash another volley at the Dragoon.
“Never mind, I think I got the gist of it.” Phi said bleakly.
Fel looked over the bay toward the far shore. “Thoren, think you could do that little railgun trick one more time?”
Thoren’s eyes were fixated on the titan that was wreaking havoc in the bay below. “I can try, but I don’t think it’ll do anything anymore.” He said with a sense of dread.
“That’s not the target I had in mind.” Fel said, pointing towards a district on the other side of the city. “I need you to get me there.”
“Are you insane?” Thoren paused for a moment, glancing back at the Dragoon. “You know what, nevermind. At this point we need something insane to deal with this asshole. What did you have in mind?”
Phi strolled over to Fel and tied a chain around their waist, he then walked over to the pieces of metal that had been blown off of the Dragoon earlier. “Think this will work?” He said with a shrug.
“It’s worth a shot.” Thoren said with a sigh. “Me and Phi will try and draw this thing's attention somehow. Just hurry and find whatever will put it out of our misery.”
After Phi finished rigging the other end of his chain to the hunk of metal he gave a thumbs up. Fel stretched back and forth as they wrapped some of the chain around their arm. Thoren got into position and once he saw the signal from Fel, he lifted the hunk of metal into the air. With a blast of magnetic force he hurled the scrap boulder in the direction that Fel had pointed to. They yelped in pain as they were tossed into the distance at breakneck speed.
After a moment Thoren lost sight of them.
Now they just had to wait.
An explosion rocked the bridge as the Dragoon swung a massive blade into one of the vessels below, cutting it in half with ease. Before Phi or Thoren could move they found themselves in free fall as the section of bridge they were on fell away under their feet. Tumbling through the air, Thoren looked at Phi, the man was strong, but in his current condition his chances of surviving the drop were non-existent.
Grabbing his dagger from his belt, Thoren cut open his palm. Pointing it towards Phi. Sensing the situation Phi nodded grimly as he shifted into a swirl of blood, forcing his way into Thoren’s body. There was no time to dwell on the terrible sensation of Phi wriggling into his bloodstream, he had to do something drastic.
Normally the act of shifting allows the user to shift objects and clothing around them as well. This was on an entirely different level, he was trying to bring another living thing with him. There was a chance this could work, there was also a chance that it killed Phi, or even still, there was a chance it killed them both.
The water below was fast approaching as Thoren hurled his spear into the sky, compelling his body to follow it. As he shifted he felt a strange sensation, for a moment it felt like he was still conscious even while he had become energy. It only lasted a fraction of a second, as Thoren next found himself floating thousands of feet in the air.
He looked down at his cut palm. “You still in there Phi?” The wound knit itself closed in response. Thoren whistled. “Well I’ll be.” Slowly but surely he felt Phi hard at work repairing the worst of the wounds he had been subjected to. His broken bones shifted uncomfortably back into place, his torn muscles reknit themselves until they were whole. Weirder still was Thoren’s connection with his gift. He had overused his power, by all accounts he should be coughing up blood from the backlash. Yet he felt reinvigorated, like he could summon the storm without pause.
Gravity pulled at Thoren hungrily as he started to fall back to the earth below. From this high up he could see the sheer size of the Dragoon, it was larger than most Imperial ships. It would be childsplay for it to destroy the entire city. While Fel was off retrieving a way to finish it for good, Thoren had to think of a way to slow it down. Narrowing his eyes he could make out the core inside the beast's chest, the light from the caged sun poured out from the cracks in its armor, revealing where it kept its heart.
“Phi. I have a terrible Idea. Are you in?” His finger lifted on its own up and down. “I’ll take that as a yes. I’m gonna do something really stupid, your job is to keep my body from burning to a crisp.” His finger raised up and down again.
Turning mid air, Thoren looked out over the vast empty ocean below. His heart started to race at the absurdity of what he had planned. He shifted, throwing his body far out into the empty ocean.
When he felt like he was far enough he stopped just above the water, floating with his spear in hand. Taking a deep breath, Thoren aimed roughly in the direction of Fulcrest. This far away he couldn’t even see the coastline. Drawing on his gift he hurled his spear with all of his power. As it soared forward, he shifted again, overtaking the spear. Raising his hand again he propelled the already speeding spear even faster. With each shift he increased the speed of the spear little by little, until pretty soon he had to propel the spear while he was still returning to his real body.
The spear gained such speed that it started to turn red hot from the friction with the air, yet Thoren kept accelerating it even further. His body was tearing itself apart from the force of his stunt, each time he unshifted he felt his skin burn and blister from the superheated air around him. Phi was hard at work healing him as quickly as he could. With each throw his arm would break and tear, his hand and wrist would shatter, his fingers dislocating and bending backwards. Only to be forced back into place to break all over again with the next throw.
The pain was so much that he surely would have passed out if not for Phi. In the distance the city was fast approaching now, with each shift they were drawing near. The speed at which they shifted, unshifted, and threw was now mere fractions of a second. Thoren screamed in pain as he pushed onward.
To anyone that looked at the sight from afar it would have appeared like two spears of light were hurtling towards Fulcrest, their force enough to split the ocean. One was pure gold, while the other was a bolt of crimson lightning.
As the pain rose to an unbearable level, threatening to consume his very mind. Thoren offered a prayer to the All Mother. A simple plea that he cast out into the abyss, knowing full well that there was nothing on the other end to answer him. Yet still, he begged to feel the warmth of the divine once more. As he prayed he could almost make out Phi’s voice from within, adding his voice to Thoren’s own.
You are my light in the dark…
The guiding hand that leads me through the night…
My shelter from the storm…
Deliver me from this wretched fate…
Grant me your strength in my moment of need…
From inside his chest there was a warmth that swelled until it filled his body with holy flames. His eyes glowed with power as Thoren screamed the last of his prayer aloud, from his throat came the harmonizing voice of Phi, interwoven with his own.
“AND WE WILL STRIKE DOWN YOUR ENEMIES!!!”
Thoren shifted for the final time, he could see the surprised look on the Dragoon’s face as he appeared out of thin air, blazing in a corona of holy light and fire. He hurled the spear one last time with all of his strength. His right arm blew apart from the force, tearing itself clean off at the shoulder, even Phi couldn’t repair that kind of damage.
The spear struck the barrier of the Dragoon with a high pitched scream, beams of energy sliced through the air as the two forces met, vaporizing huge swathes of the ocean below. One of the beams of energy sliced through Thoren’s right leg, severing it from the knee down. As the screech reached its awful crescendo, the spear punctured through the barrier and struck the Dragoon’s core. The colossal beast’s back exploded outwards from the sheer force of the impact, the whole torso of the Dragoon scattered to the winds like specks of dust. Its arms and legs falling into the depths below.
Thoren let out a laugh as his body gave out, for a fleeting moment he had felt the power of the All Mother once more. Smiling and weeping he blacked out.
As his limp body crashed into the waves below.
As his eyes fluttered open, Thoren looked around to see he and Phi being pulled aboard one of the remaining ships in the bay. He felt a wave of relief, followed by dread as he looked out and saw the Dragoon’s core floating above the city. It had somehow avoided the worst of his attack. Now it sang its ghostly song as it reformed into a smaller, more compact body. He felt something deep within him scream. Somehow this new form was a thousand times worse than the ones that had come before.
Whatever Fel was doing, they had better hurry.
