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Kassidy
I’ll do anything to protect those I hold dear...anything.
“Kale!” I scream as his body slides from the red sword of the yellow armored man.
Brittney’s face changes. Even without her being in control, I can feel something is different. Brittney charges towards the two men. She dodges both the blue and red blade from the yellow armored man. She slams her mace into his armor then steps back. She stomps into the ground, and five cannons appear in front of her. They fire immediately.
The two men are forced back, but Brittney still charges. She stomps her foot again, and four swinging log traps fall from the roof. They fall from different angles and try to slam into the guy dressed like a samurai.
I rush to Kale’s side while Brittney fights off those two. His wound seems like it was somehow burned by the blade as well. He’s bleeding pretty badly.
He can barely raise his head, “Don’t... worry about me. Fight them together while you can.”
“I’m not going to leave you!” I take the red vial from my bag. Amanda said it could heal mostly any damage in the past two hours, but this...I’m not sure it will work. The vial is only about half full too...
I put the vial to Kale’s mouth, and he takes a sip. I can see some of his wounds healing. The one in his stomach even looks like it’s trying, but I don’t think it will be enough.
“Just drink the entire vial!” I tell him.
He does so but nothing changes. His wound is slowly healing, but he is still bleeding profusely. I tear a piece of my shirt and place it on the wound to help. It isn’t enough! Dang it, Kassidy! There has to be something!
Kale is barely responding by this point. Amanda told me not to do this, but I have to try something. I slowly pour one of each of the vials into his mouth except for the white ones that cleanse the others. He is still conscious enough to swallow. His skin feels tougher, so I know they are doing something. He slumps back completely.
“W-what do I do? I...have to fix this.” I say out loud.
I move one of the white vials that neutralizes the others to his mouth. His eyes shoot open, and he grabs my arm. He removes the piece of my shirt from his wound. The hole has been healed completely.
“I feel my power increasing every second. Go check on Justin. Leave these two to me and Brittney.” Kale says.
Kale stands up and darts his elbows outward. His brass knuckles transform into his bladed gauntlets. He sprints off towards the armored man. His blade clashes against the armored man’s red blade. I can see the heat coming off of the red blade from here. Kale looks like he is overpowering the man in armor.
“How do people like you always get so lucky!” The armored man says with anger.
Kale swings his other gauntlet towards the blue blade, “Robert...I know I’ve said things in the past about people with null marks. I judged you all to be weak since you didn’t have powers. I’m sorry about that. That’s not how I am anymore.”
“People don’t change that easily! You’ve always been a judgmental prick. Looking down on whoever you thought was weaker.” Robert, the armored man, says. Kale’s gauntlet is sticking to Robert’s blue blade for some reason.
To Robert’s surprise, Kale detaches his blade that was stuck from the gauntlet. Robert was bearing down on it, so he falls forward against his will. Kale punches the armor rapidly before Robert can gain any composure.
“It wasn’t easy. I thought I knew what strength was. Since my own powers only augment my strength and speed, I was always looked down on growing up. People like Justin always cast a shadow on me, so I strengthened my powers to perfection. Our powers were what defined us. What made us strong, or so I thought.” Kale makes his other blade retract into his gauntlet now and backs up.
Robert pulls Kale’s stuck blade from his blue sword and throws it to the ground, “So, what changed? You grew a conscience after all these years?”
The very air around Kale is swirling. His power must really be augmented by the vials. He clangs his gauntlets together. He then moves even faster than when he fought Luke in the arena all that time ago, and I could barely keep up with that fight.
Kale dodges both of Robert’s blades and punches the side of his armor, “No, I was beaten and later humiliated by a guy who didn’t endure the training I went through. He did what I couldn’t and kept his team safe through Hell. He even gave his life. All without ever knowing his true powers. His strength was that he was too hardheaded to give up. I won’t ever underestimate someone like that again. That’s why I’ll give this everything I have!”
One of Kale’s punches actually cracks a hole into Robert’s armor. He winds up for another punch. Robert tries to back away.
“Not this time!” The samurai who was fighting Brittney holds an empty blade handle towards Robert. A mass of water forms in the air between Robert and Kale. Kale’s gauntlet hits the water and looks stuck.
Kale pulls his hand out of the gauntlet, sidesteps the water, and lunges for Robert. Robert swings his red blade for Kale. Kale catches the red blade in his other gauntlet. Kale’s face twitches. I think the red blade is heating the metal of Kale’s gauntlet. Still, Kale punches his regular fist at the hole in Robert’s armor. Robert drops both of his blades.
All this time, I was moving Justin away from the battlefield. He is still breathing, so I think he’s just knocked out. I pull my pink blade out of my magical brush and prepare to help Brittney and Kale.
The samurai is still dodging Brittney’s constructs and holding her off pretty easily. His empty blade handle now holds a sword that appears to be made out of water. Kale looks like he is about to help Brittney when he falls to the ground. He suddenly starts to shake uncontrollably.
He must be reacting to all of those vials. I rush over to help him when something flies by me and cuts into my side. I look behind me and see water floating in the air. The samurai’s handle is empty again. It isn’t a deep cut, but I have to watch out for his water.
“You...have all been fighting this whole time?” I hear Justin say. He stands up, “I’ve been out cold through all of this?! No...Brittney, stand down.”
Through all of this? Was Kale fighting off both of these guys alone before we got here? I pour the cleansing white liquid into Kale’s mouth. His shaking gets a little better.
This is the first time I’ve ever seen Justin without a smile on his face. He’s serious. Brittney jumps away from the samurai just as his water travels back and forms into his blade. The samurai points his sword at Justin, and the water blade flies forward. Justin holds out his hand.
The water blade drops to the ground and shatters like ice. That’s not all though. The air between Justin and the samurai continues to grow colder. The right arm and the blade handle on the samurai are instantly encased in ice. Justin slides on ice he forms beneath his feet and closes the distance on the samurai.
The samurai rubs his frozen arm with his free hand. While sliding, Justin takes some of the throwing knives that are always strapped across his body and encases them with ice. He throws the knives, but the samurai holds up his hand. Justin’s knives are deflected somehow. He must have warmed some of Justin’s ice into water and used it as a weapon.
Justin stops sliding. He says, “This is close enough.”
Justin places his hands on the ground in front of him. I can see him strain his body tremendously. In a split second, the samurai becomes completely frozen in a block of ice. Justin flash froze the entire part of the room the samurai was in.
Justin’s body is frosting over by this point. Justin counts to thirty seconds then walks to the block of ice. He taps it, and it shatters. The samurai falls to the ground and doesn’t move.
Justin slowly walks towards me and Kale, “That took a lot out of me. Sorry I wasn’t of any help sooner.” He notices the red and blue blades lying next to me and picks them up, “Ohhhh, one freezes and the other heats things up. The things I could do with these puppies. I think I’ll take them.”
“Are you okay?” I ask him.
Justin warms some of the frost on his hands, “Super chill.” He rubs the back of his head and looks down at Kale, “I must have hit my head at some point. If I wouldn’t have been checked out, I know we could have handled those two without any trouble. Instead, Kale had to fight while protecting me. I feel like such an idiot. How is he?”
“I think he’s stable now. When we first got here, he almost died though. It sounded like he and that Robert guy have a history.” I say.
Justin sits down next to us, “Yeah... Robert Oney has a null mark, so basically, he doesn’t have powers. Before you guys arrived on Olympus, Kale was really outspoken about them being in the army. He and Robert even fought once about it. Kale was ruthless. He regretted it going that far, but you know how he is.”
Null mark...I never heard of it until now. I imagine they feel secluded or without options. I feel bad for them.
My head pounds, and that crazed laughter fills my head, “Why take the time to pity them? It’s just as sickening as when you showed mercy to that leather-bound freak.”
I think back to the dark voice in my head, “It isn’t pity. It’s called compassion. Here I was hoping you had disappeared since it’s been so long.”
The dark voice scoffs in my head, “I used too much of my power helping you protect the boat. I’ll never disappear. Soon I will be reborn in that precious host of mine.”
I try not to let it get under my skin, “Luke will always fight back. You won’t win.”
The voice only laughs as it fades from my mind. I focus back into the world around me. Justin is now standing over Brittney who is just sitting and staring at Kale.
Justin taps Brittney on the head, “Helloooo? Man, this is weird stuff. I’ve only seen her do this once, but it was for such a short amount of time that I didn’t notice much. We’ve been at this for a while too. I’m worried that she’ll lose control.”
“Honestly, it creeps me out too. Is there anything we can do to bring her mind back to the surface?” I ask.
“Us? No. She only really listens to Kale, her dad, sister, and apparently my mom. We’re stuck with the Brittney-tron 3000 until one of them snaps her out of it.” He says.
With Kale out cold, that probably won’t happen for a while. Still, Justin and I decide we should move on ahead for now. He forms an ice cage around Robert and the samurai. We don’t need them waking up and attacking us from behind.
We were about to head down the stairs when a girl’s voice yells from behind us, “Reiger? Robert? You fools! How dare you let these insects beat you!”
We turn to see a woman with a pink shield. She came from deeper in on this floor. It would have been a mistake to go further down apparently because I see a blue orb in her hand. I don’t know how, but I can feel that it’s him. That’s Luke.
“Justin, Brittney! We need that orb!” I yell to them.
“Huh? That must have something to do with Luke. Got it. Be careful though. Serana was considered a tactical genius back on Olympus. She’s also the only demigod I know of to have four lineages with mastery over them all.” Justin warns.
“Ah, what a sweet introduction, Justin. I did instruct those three on how to ambush you all, but you were supposed to be dead when I got back. Your new friend must have thrown off my strategy. Also, you did forget to mention that my parents are loaded, and my ancestors arranged marriages just to create me.” She snaps her fingers and begins to sing.
Justin covers his ears and freezes ice into his canals, “Watch out!”
I don’t know what I’m supposed to watch out for. Nothing happens. Serana’s face turns in disgust.
“A daughter of Aphrodite, of course. I was hoping to turn at least two of you. No matter. I found something in this old school that I think will interest everyone here. Go, Argus! Your queen commands you to strike down the foes in front of me!” She points at us, and the walls behind her are demolished into rubble.
It’s a man the size of a giant. He has multiple eyes covering all over his body. They all appear to be clouded and glazed over.
“Yes, Queen Hera. I will destroy the intruders.” The giant says in a monotone voice. Could this have been the source of power that Luke’s soul was drawn to?
Justin’s mouth opens in shock, “Th-that shouldn’t exist. He’s supposed to be dead.”
“Oh, if he wasn’t, he was close to it. It seems this school was in the process of reviving him somehow and left him behind. Heartbreaking, really. For you!” She cackles.
“Uhhh, yeah I didn’t really hear any of that.” Justin points at his ice-covered ears, “Thanks for playing though. Brittney, let’s take out this giant!”
Serana looked annoyed at Justin’s first comment, but now, she is just smiling. Brittney doesn’t move from her spot. Justin walks up to Brittney and taps her head.
“Hellooooo, earth to robot Brittney. Any day now. Giant enemy to face. This isn’t the time for you to short circuit.” Brittney pulls her mace from her bracelet and slams the ground. Justin says, “Thank you. Let’s get t-”
Brittney swings the mace at Justin. He barely blocked in time with both of his new swords. The force from her mace still pushes him back.
Justin groans, “Seriously?! Her mind control powers work on your war force or whatever it is. I don’t need this right now.”
I swing my brush and summon more doves. I order them to distract all three of our enemies. I twist the brush and pull out the handle for my pink blade.
“Do what you can to the giant. I’ll hold off Brittney for as long as I can.” I try to say confidently. To be honest, I know Brittney’s power is way greater than my own.
Justin says with concern, “Okay...be careful, Kassidy. People that Serana control aren’t as powerful as they normally would be, but that doesn’t say much with Brittney being like she is.”
Serana sits on a stone chair in the room, lays down her shield, and yawns, “Alright, will you two finish them off already. I have a job to complete.” She observes the blue orb, “Not sure why the demon commanders are so interested in this insignificant speck of power.”
Justin freezes the ground below Argus and attacks him at various spots. My birds are trying to peck his many eyes. It barely seems to affect the giant. Brittney swings her mace for me, but I block with my sword. She stomps her foot, and a cannon appears beside her. I’ve seen them enough by now to know their timing. I manage to jump to the side right before it fires.
I hold my hand out at her, “Brittney, please stop this! I know you don’t want to hurt us.”
Serana rolls her eyes, “Oh, barf.” Her tone changes to mocking, “Please don’t hurt me. You’re my friend after all.” She laughs, “What wasted effort.”
“What could have made you this way? You seem like you have everything. You’re smart, you have looks, and you’re powerful too. Powerful enough to control that giant. Why do you seem to get some twisted amusement out of this?” I ask her.
She props her head on her arm, “I’m not here to chat with you, princess. I’m here to destroy you.”
I dodge Brittney’s mace, “If that were true, you would be fighting us along with your puppets.”
Her eyes narrow, “I just don’t like to dirty my own hands. Why touch the filth when they can clean it up?”
I can tell talking to her is pointless. Something doesn’t feel right though, but I don’t have time to think about it. Brittney’s attacks are becoming more relentless as Serana grows agitated. If only I wouldn’t have had to use those serums on Kale, they would come in handy right about now. It’s not over though. I’ve thought of something that resembles a plan.
I jump far back from Brittney while calling some of my doves to me. I whisper to them, and they fly off. Luke...I will do this for you. I won’t fail.
My pink blade is glowing slightly. Just as I thought. I run towards Brittney. My sword hits her mace. I feel a vibration that I didn’t before. Luke, I know I can do this. Hold on just a little longer.
My pink blade glows a little brighter. I yell, “Now!” My doves swarm Serana’s head. She screams in annoyance. One of my doves swipes the blue orb from her hand and drops it in my own.
I whisper to the blue orb, “I won’t lose, Luke.”
My sword shines brightly. I swing my sword for Brittney’s mace, and it slices her mace right in half. Her mace transforms back into the chain of her bracelet, but it’s cracked now.
I tackle Brittney to the ground, slap her cheek, and yell in her face, “SNAP OUT OF IT! COME BACK TO US, BRITTNEY!”
Brittney rubs her cheek. Her eyes don’t look clouded or like her trancelike state, “Wh-what? Where are we?”
“NO!” Serana screams, “FINISH THEM. I WANT THEM DEAD NOW, ARGUS!”
Argus jumps into the air. He destroys parts of the roof above us and slams his large fists into the ground. The ground below him breaks to pieces. He falls through the floor. The roof is collapsing, and the ground has become completely unstable now.
Justin makes an ice ramp to Kale’s unconscious body and carries him to the way we came. The rest of us aren’t so lucky. Serana, the two trapped in the ice cage, Brittney, and I all follow Argus down. I’m not sure what happens next, but everything grows dark.
––––––––
“Who are you? How did your presence get mixed into mine? Hm? You’re carrying two more souls with you. That must be how then. One is a dark power that I haven’t seen for many eons. The other is warm, but I know nothing of it. I see. You are not here for me. Very well, I will let you be. Back to your own body with you. I wish not to meddle in the affairs of mortals or gods. Not anymore.”
My eyes struggle to open. What was that voice? Did I just imagine it? Why do I feel so cramped? It’s real dark. I feel that I’m touching metal and someone else’s skin.
I move my hand around until I find something that feels like a handle. I turn and push. Dim light seeps in. Brittney has been beside me. She’s unconscious though. Did she create this to protect us? I open the hatch all the way and crawl out.
She made...a tank. Cannons are one thing but a tank? It must have taken everything out of her. We’re also lucky it landed on its side or the rubble from above would have stopped us from opening the hatch.
There’s a mysterious golden keyhole in the wall next to me. It’s really out of place because there isn’t a door there. I don’t have time to think about it though. I can hear Serana ordering Argus from here.
“Hurry and find me that orb and their corpses. Of course, Reiger and Robert would still be knocked out. They better thank me for saving their lives when they finally wake. If Toraz didn’t die by the enemy, I’ll have to slap him for not doing his job right. Ugh...why is this taking so long, Argus?” Serana yells impatiently.
“My apologies, Queen Hera. Building’s structure was in poor shape. Many floors collapsed.” Argus’s monotone voice says.
I climb and peek over the rubble. I don’t see an easy way out. Especially if I have to carry Brittney. Should I wait for Justin to find a way to us or confront Serana and the giant... Yeah, I don’t like either of my options. My foot slips on the rocks, and Argus jolts in my direction. I try to slide down quickly, but he grabs me around the waist with just one hand.
“Well, well, well. Good job, Argus. I’ll make this simple, princess. Give me the orb now, or I will order him to squeeze you to death.” Serana warns.
Hysterical laughter builds up in my mind. I say to her, “I dropped it on the way down. I don’t know where it’s at.”
“Yeah, I don’t believe you. Argus, begin crushing her.” Serana orders.
Argus’s grip grows tighter. My mind begins to pound. My body feels like it is about to collapse. I...don’t have a choice.
I gasp, “Okay! I’ll give it to you.”
Serana holds out her arm to order Argus to stop. I pull my bag off of my back. I reach my hand in and pull out a ball of cloth.
“You wrapped it? Does it have some power I don’t know about?” Serana asks.
“Something like that.” I say as I unwrap the red orb. It shines brightly. I hold it tight in my hand up close to my heart. I feel its power. Luke...forgive me.
It fuses into my hand. My arm feels like it is burning. I yell out in pain. The burning sensation spreads to my whole body. I can’t...I can’t take the pain. My sight...is growing dim.
I can’t see anything of the world around me. Instead, all I can see is swirling darkness. Until...Luke steps through the darkness. His eyes are pitch black.
“Luke? Are you okay?” I ask him.
He laughs. His voice sounds like the voice from the red orb, “Sorry to disappoint. You actually gave in willingly. Don’t worry, little girl. I’ll kill these people for you. Your body might become a husk when it’s over, but the price for power is steep.”
“Wouldn’t you die too?” I ask it.
It sneers, “My life is now tied with that Luke boy you hold so precious. Even so, that is only temporary. Once I regain more of my lost power, I will dispose of him as well.”
“Oh, really? Good to know. Here I was thinking we could be friends.” That voice...it can’t be.
The dark eyed Luke looks around frantically, “How? How can you be here?”
“You have yourself to thank for that. Because of that last little skirmish you put me through, I’ve learned a good bit about shifting my soul around. As soon as Kassidy touched my soul piece, I hopped on over. Figured I could help her out if the fighting got bad.” I feel a hand touch my shoulder. I turn my head, see his bright blue eyes, and hug him tight.
Luke wraps one arm around my waist, and the other hand holds the back of my head, “I’m sorry. It seems like I’ve put you all in danger. I never meant for any of this to happen. Also...” Then he taps the back of my head a little hard, “What the heck were you thinking? You should have just given her my orb! To put yourself in this position for me. I would never ask you to do that. Besides, my orb is empty now.”
I break away from his arms. I give him an annoyed look, “Well, you could have told me!”
He laughs warmly, “Oops. Yeah, I guess I could have. Everything went by a little fast when I came over.”
“I don’t know how you can be so lighthearted about this. I’m holding all the cards right now.” The dark eyed Luke says.
Luke shushes his doppelganger, “Hey, we’re kind of talking here. I’ll deal with you in a second.” He smiles and puts both hands on my shoulders, “Hey Kassidy, I know this is kind of sudden and consent is a huge thing nowadays. So...can I...take over your body for a second? Dang, I didn’t mean to make you blush.”
I turn my head away and roll my eyes, “Wh-what? I wasn’t blushing. Quit being stupid.” He laughs but pauses. He’s waiting for an answer. I say, “Yes, Luke.”
“Yes, Luke...what?” He grins.
“I’m not saying that.” I say defiantly.
“Alright, worth a try. Anyways, to be more precise. We’re going to take back control together.” He grabs my hand.
The dark eyed Luke says angrily, “You really think that will work?”
Luke glares at the doppelganger, “Yeah, I do. I’ve spent most of my life fighting for control over my body. You talk big, but I can feel that you aren’t even close to as powerful as you were in Hell. I’ve been conserving my strength this whole time. Plus...” He snaps his fingers, “I was here first.”
I feel Luke shifting his power to me. The darkness surrounding us recedes slowly. Luke steps toward the doppelganger, so I follow him.
The doppelganger takes a step back, “You can’t destroy me. Even if you could, your body won’t wake without all four of us, and you know it.”
Luke takes another step. He is still glaring at the dark eyed Luke, “We both know I don’t care. I willingly gave my life once. I’ll do it again.”
The doppelganger holds his hand up to his mouth like he’s thinking, “Do you think any of this matters to me? Take her body back. I’ll still have everything I want in the end!”
The doppelganger steps back into the darkness and disappears. Half of the darkness around us is replaced with light. The darkness and the light seem to reflect off of Luke’s body. The left side with darkness and the right with light.
Luke whispers, “You can keep trying all you want, but so will I.” Luke turns to me and points to his head, “My hair isn’t this short anymore, is it?”
I almost laugh, but I know he’s trying to avoid talking about things, “Luke...do we really have to put that thing back in you? I mean you shifted to my body so easily.” I ask.
He shrugs, “I don’t know. Probably. That spirit is more entwined with mine than I would like to admit. He didn’t sound like he was bluffing anyways. If I had to guess, I bet it has something to do with Pandora’s box. That’s where it came from. Anyways, you have more important things to take care of. I’m going to rest for a while.” He hugs me and squeezes my hand, “It’s time to wake up now.”
Luke smiles, and light flashes to the point where I can’t see.
