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“Chloe, you have to get up,” Kyran whispered to her, holding her head in his lap. “We need you.”
The battle had begun, but he knew he would be of little help. He would be more useful waking Chloe up. She could make a difference. She always had.
“Please,” he said as he heard a house collapse in front of them. Lily had been thrown into it. Kyran grit his teeth, but he stayed by Chloe’s side. Gideon wasn’t even in his armor yet. Instead his red and orange Sage robes were blowing back and forth as he parried the attacks of each Sage. Arimus was exhausted and his winds were having no effect. He didn’t even bother trying to cast his eidolon in the mix. James and Lily were powered up as far as they could go. James was in some kind of half-Quietus, half-Sage state with both of his eidolons in hand. Lily was trying to punch Gideon every chance she got, but she might as well have been standing still. Nothing was landing. Bastion was still back in Delilah, and even if he were there to help, there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t be used against them.
“Come on,” Kyran whispered, rocking her head. “We can’t do this without you.”
“You’re too loud,” Chloe whispered, her eyes still closed. Kyran nearly kissed her on the forehead, he was so relieved to hear her voice.
“I’ll be quieter,” he said.
“What’s all that noise?” she asked, trying to lift her head.
“They’re fighting,” he said. “And not doing too well. How are you feeling?”
“Doesn’t matter,” she said. “And...to be honest, I would rather not talk about it.”
“You don’t have to get up.”
“But I do,” she said, pushing him away lightly. “You know I do. Weren’t you just saying that you couldn’t do this without me?”
Kyran was taken aback. She had never gotten snippy with him.
“I’ll be by your side,” he said, starting at her intensely. “Whatever you need, I’ll be there to help.”
“I know,” she whispered, glancing back at him for only a second. Then she bowed her head and closed her eyes, slowly resummoning her eidolon and green Sage robe to envelop her. But it was all strange to Kyran. Her hair didn’t spike up all the way like it usually would. The colors of her clothing were more faded than he remembered and even her longsword had lost its edge. Whatever happened when she was under Gideon’s control, it had wounded her spirit. And Kyran knew that her feelings were severely intertwined with her will.
One of the reasons she was so powerful was that she wasn’t burdened by anything. Her carefree nature and joy enabled her to sift through her thoughts easily and arrive at conclusions that only benefited those around her. She was the one to figure out how to create manifestations back on Terra. She was arguably their strongest warrior. And it was only because her focus was pure and sharp.
Now the edges had been dulled. The joy had been tainted.
And Kyran wouldn’t have any of it.
Kyran vanished from Chloe’s sight and began backing away from her, heading toward the battlefield. What she didn’t know was that he kept his face toward her, watching as the distance between them continued to grow. When she felt that he was far enough away, he noticed that she let her mask drop.
A tear fell from her eye as her lips trembled, recalling the hazy events that had occurred because of her. He didn’t know what she remembered, but it was enough.
It was enough.
Kyran grit his teeth and spun around completely, heading straight for the fight. He knew that he wasn’t supposed to kill Gideon, but it was all he could think about. It was the only way he knew how to solve things. And Gideon knew this. He had to. He knew so much about them.
So why hadn’t he been chosen?
Why hadn’t he been the one to lose control and go on a killing spree?
He could deal with the burdens. He could drown out the screams. He could ignore their haunting and the nightmares. But what experience did she have with such horrors? And how would he be able to guide her through without tainting her own image of him in the process?
Kyran tried to stab Gideon in the neck, but his armor appeared at the last second; Kyran felt his invisible eidolon crack. Kyran sucked his teeth and leapt backwards, watching as Lily redoubled her efforts. She was pouring a massive amount of energy into her legs so that she could keep up with him and somehow, it was working.
She landed a blow to his left cheek and his head stretched out a bit, but the problem was that even though she was able to hit him now, there was little power behind her punches. He took another one and it barely fazed him. He responded with a punch of his own, sending her flying backwards into the cottage wall behind her. She went through it and disappeared as debris fell down around her.
Arimus grunted as he tried to rise from his seat next to the hole, but he had no energy left. He could only watch as James engaged Gideon once more, now with both of his eidolons sporting several small cracks.
“Accept this,” Gideon said as he walked backwards down the street with his hands stretched up to the sky. His body began to be coated in a sleek, dark black armor, covering him from the crown of his head down to his feet.
“You’re the one on the defense,” James huffed. The sweat running onto the hilts of his swords annoyed him.
“Not really,” Gideon said. “I’ve hurt you all enough. It’s over now. This is simply a precaution.”
“My eidolons don’t lie. You’re a little tired too.”
“I won’t be after some rest. Which this armor will provide.”
James grunted and prepared to lunge at his enemy when he noticed Chloe approaching. Her eyes were listless—so distant that he felt a twinge of sorrow reverberating down his spine. His stomach immediately tied into knots as he saw the toll her actions had taken upon her. She wasn’t her bubbly, jovial self.
She had a face like theirs now.
Chloe’s face came alive with anger once she was only a few feet away from Gideon’s back. She leapt forward and brought her longsword down his armored spine. He must not have sensed her coming because the blow made him stumble forward. He turned around and summoned his whip sword. Chloe wasted no time in slicing it in two—before it could expand into its whip form.
Gideon leapt backwards and Chloe followed him closely. Gideon kept hopping back and Chloe responded in kind, staying in unison with his steps. James was in awe. He hadn’t seen Chloe that focused since her battle in the Quietus crater long ago. She was determined.
Chloe slashed at his armor as she took an extra step toward him but it barely cut through. James noticed that Gideon was increasing his defenses by the second. Chloe slashed at his arm and Gideon howled in pain as she nearly cut it in two. The longsword had broken through the armor more than enough to draw blood.
Gideon growled and kicked Chloe in the chest, sending her back while her longsword remained lodged in his arm. Once she regained her footing, however, she reached out for it, and it vanished from his arm, reappearing in her right hand.
Gideon snickered and barreled toward her, his armor looking more like clumps of black rock now. It was no longer the polished suit it once was in the beginning.
Gideon stretched his rocky hand forward, straight toward Chloe’s forehead. Chloe’s eyes widened and she ducked below his hand, but she didn’t see his knee flying toward her face, hitting her square in the nose. Chloe dropped her longsword and tried to wrap her arms around his waist so that she could tackle him to the ground. He kept his feet grounded and brought his fists down onto her back, sending her face first onto the pavement.
Kyran leapt onto his back and tried to pierce the crown of Gideon’s head with his dagger but the blade was too weak. Arimus stretched out his hands and summoned gusts of wind to keep Gideon immobile but it had no effect. James slashed away at Gideon’s back as his enemy reached out for Chloe, but it wasn’t doing a thing.
Fortunately, Chloe vanished from view just as Gideon’s hand would have made contact. She reappeared a few yards away.
“Goodness, that was close,” James sighed in relief.
Chloe glared at her enemy. “I won’t let you do that to me again,” she said. “I won’t be controlled.”
“You still are,” he said. “You might not be under my direct control but what you did—it will take your hand and guide you for the rest of your life.”
“No, it won’t,” she said, clenching her fists. “I won’t allow it.”
“We won’t allow it,” James shouted from behind Gideon. Chloe lifted her head and looked to him. “And Gideon will never have control over you again. Because this ends here.”
“What are you talking about?” Gideon scoffed, glancing back slightly.
“He had plenty of chances to kill us,” James yelled. “But he didn’t...because he’s afraid of what may happen if he does.”
“If I can’t win because of that little problem, what does that say about you?” Gideon asked Chloe. She didn’t say a word.
“Once we break through his armor, he’s ours,” James said and Gideon faced him, turning his back to Chloe. He stretched his arms outward as he walked slowly toward the leader of the Sages.
“Yes. All yours. But what does that mean exactly? Though I may not have won physically, I am still victorious. Cut through my armor when I pose no threat and what will you reveal to the people? That you are exactly who they think you are—savages. Imprison me and you won’t squash their beliefs. Kill me, and you will bring upon yourselves a storm that you won’t be able to weather. I have done my duty. I have accomplished my mission.”
“And what would you have us do?” James asked. “Let you go?”
“I know you could never do such a thing,” Gideon said. “It’s not in your nature. So I don’t expect any such treatment.”
“Of course we won’t do that,” James said. “Not while you’re able to control others. Not while you can force innocent people to carry out your biding.”
“Innocent?” he scoffed. “None of you are innocent. Not a single one. It’s funny. My actions have resulted in the deaths of so many, and yet, you are still worse off than I am. You are still a band of killers and idealists that will only see the end when it’s at its most violent. This will end in my favor.”
James stared at him for only a moment. “No, I don’t think any of that’s going to happen.”
“And why is that?” Gideon asked. His smug voice echoing from behind the rock.
“Because all of this time—you’ve placed your hope in something that’s no longer there. You’re hoping your followers will pick up the mantle in your stead. They won’t.”
“And why is that? Wishful thinking?”
“No. Facts. See, we didn’t leave Bastion behind. We gave him a mission. One that only someone with his skill could perform.”
“What?” Gideon asked. Rage already beginning to flow through his veins as he considered the possibilities.
“All of this was a distraction, so that you wouldn’t notice. We’ve been rounding up your followers. Sure, not all of them, but the strongest at least.”
“How?”
“We knew they wouldn’t be able to help themselves. We knew that they would want to watch your battle with us. You’re not so much fighting us as you are putting on a show. Well, no one’s watching. You’re alone here. Bastion has been running around taking notes. See, the city is pretty much evacuated, so anyone left behind to watch is sure to be one of your people. It wasn’t hard to figure out.”
“How many has he taken?” Gideon growled.
“Hard to say,” James said. “We’re here with you. But based on my last assessment, it had to be quite a few. After all, he had to get students from the Academy to assist him.”
“You...” Gideon bowed his head and shook it violently. “You...you Sages...you just...they’ve done nothing wrong!” Gideon lifted his head and roared at James in rage. “All they’re doing is watching! You can’t take them away!”
“We can,” James said, letting his eidolons disappear. “Because they are part of a movement against the King, not just us. They will be charged with intentional mutiny.”
“There’s no way you got them all,” he growled.
“No, but we’ve gotten those with the highest amounts of energy, not to mention that we’ll eventually find out who the rest are. It’s only a matter of time. And there’s nothing you can do about it because you’ll be in prison, rotting away while you watch your revolution die.”
“No...no I won’t.”
“You can’t kill us,” James said. “You won’t kill us. For the same reason we won’t kill you. It will ruin the cause. Your people and those of Paragon are looking to us now, waiting to see which side can stick to their principles. They want to see which Sages will protect them, and who will fade into the lost pages of history.”
“It won’t be me,” Gideon said, letting the armor crack. “It won’t.” The armor began to fall down around him into a pile, and he emerged from the rubble in his orange and red robe. He stretched his right palm outwards, and his whip-sword appeared. “I have to win today.”
“Surrender,” James said. “And give your people satisfaction in knowing that their leader is still alive.”
“No,” he said through grit teeth. “Not now. Because if they are no longer around to fight in my stead, then I must fight for them. It’s up to me now. Win or lose, I must do my best. I must kill all of you so that they will have a future.”
