Chapter 9 What Might Have Been
“It’s a
hard choice... I know...”
She’s
been talking to him for well over an hour... and it’s been nearly that long
since he last had the thought of ‘the others should be here with the Scythe by
now, I wonder what’s keeping them?’ run through his head.
“If it
makes you feel any better... or makes the choice any easier... you’re friends
are dead. Brad has killed them. In fact... he’s back now. I can feel the
presence of that wonderful sword of his. They failed in their mission anyway...
you couldn’t kill me even if you wanted too... so why bother?”
As if
on cue, the large double doors leading out of Joseph’s office open, and there
stands Brad, still wearing his armour, holding his double bladed sword in his
hand.
“Very
good Brad... you have completed your mission. Where are the Children?”
Brad
just shrugs...
“They’re
dead.”
“Dead?!”
“I
mean... they’re dead... as in... dead! And, while we’re on the subject of
things happening that you didn’t think were possible...”
Brad
throws the cold blue sword off to the side, and reaches behind him, taking hold
of the Scythe of Saturn which is strapped to his back. He makes quite a show of
pulling the weapon out... spinning it around a few and what not.
“As it
turns out... I actually AM a good guy!”
Justin
and Saphir step out from behind him, each taking a fighting stance of either
side. Justin looks behind
“Hey...
we got the weapon. But you’ve got to kill her.”
“Yeah...”
Saphir confirms this for Arrowny, “yeah... it’s your destiny... you need to
take the weapon from Brad, and then use it.”
Brad
starts toward Ryan... but has to stop short when a great fireball hits the
floor just in front of him. He looks up, and can’t believe what he sees.
Ryan is
standing beside
“No...
you won’t kill her...”
Another
fireball heads toward the group, this one aimed at their pretty little heads
rather than the floor. Brad jumps forward, taking the hit for the group. His
armour absorbs the magical flame.
“You
know... that’s my armour...”
She
gives a small wave of her hand, and the fastenings which keep the armour on
snap open, and the entire thing flies off of Brad, landing in the corner of the
office. Now, Brad’s just standing there, wearing his normal jeans and t-shirt,
neither of which can absorb a great amount of magical power, facing down a guy
who has any number of ways to kill him with little more than a thought...
Brad
quickly runs through his possible death, trying to think of which way to go is
better... ‘he could burn me, which would hurt a lot... and the ice thing
wouldn’t be too nice either... actually, I hope he uses the lightning... fry my
pain receptors right off... yeah... that’s the one I pick’... but he doesn’t
get to die by electricity, because Crystal has pushed Arrowny’s hand away.
“Don’t
use your magic... they are not worthy of such a death.” She hands him Sky
Render. “Use this.”
Brad
backs into line with Justin and Saphir...
“What
the hell’s going on?”
Justin
readies his quarterstaff...
“I
guess we were too late. He’s already been tempted to her side...”
“And
WHOSE fault was that?”
Saphir
looks rather indignant as he raises his Glaive...
“Not
mine! It was Jove’s power that won’t let my Cards work right...”
“Guys!”
Justin calls them to attention as Arrowny takes Sky Render from
“Oh,
right.”
“Yeah,
we’ll blame you later!”
“Shut
up! We need to try and snap him out of this!”
Brad
nods...
“Okay...
I’ve got an idea! Ryan... SNAP OUT OF IT!”
Arrowny
jumps at them... Brad sighs...
“Guess
it didn’t work...”
Ryan
slashes out, forcing the three of them to scramble around the room. He quickly
kicks out, catching Justin in the stomach, and spins round to back hand Brad,
who blocks with the staff part of the Scythe. Arrowny uses the momentum of his
spin to come around, and knee Brad in the side, and, at the same time, swings
at Saphir with Sky Render.
Saphir
attempts to disarm Arrowny, in the same way as he did on the night they first
ran into each other. He catches Sky Render with the blade of the Glaive, and
gives a quick flick, hoping that the sword will fly from his hand... but it
doesn’t work. The attack was blocked, but Ryan keeps hold of Sky Render.
Arrowny
grabs the staff of the Glaive, and pulls Saphir forward. He kicks him in the
stomach, forcing him to double over. Ryan then performs a fancy move, rolling
over Saphir’s back, and brings his foot down across Brad’s face. He stands,
spins round, and is about to bring Sky Render down across Saphir’s back, when he
finds himself unable to move... contained by one of Justin’s force fields.
Arrowny’s body goes stiff, and his sword drops to the floor.
“How
did you do that?!”
Justin
just shrugs...
“I...
am a technomage.” He quickly turns to the others. “Do it now!”
In the
time that the group was waiting in the Plane of Equality for Saphir’s Warp
magic to suddenly start working, they devised a plan of what to do in case they
were too late to stop Ryan from being tempted to the side of Jove. As soon as
Warp was working again, they made a quick stop at the Dragoon Warriors office,
grabbed a couple supplies, and then headed to LA.
Brad
pulls a handful of glowing orange powder from his pocket, and throws it in Arrowny’s
face. Saphir stands, and speaks...
“KU-raoo-fe
raeay-see fe-raae-de haahah-te-ku deoo peah ku-raoo-fe-ha
AEmmoo-fe
raeay-see deoo teeay-ku-luoo-jaeahn de-raah denee-de-ra
KUKeay-jaeah
raeay-see de-raah jaeeay-kueayoo-ha
KUKnae-ha-te
raeay-see de-raah kueay-kuk-ra-de
KU-raoo-fe
raeay-see”
* * * * * *
It is a
beautiful spring day. They gather like this at least once a year... bring all
of their families together to celebrate life, and good things in general.
Ryan
adds some ice to his drink as he watches the children run around, properly
avoiding Brad, who is standing by the barbecue
with a large grin on his face, holding a can of lighter fluid. Every year, they
figure he must have matured enough to be in charge of the fire... and every
year, they are proven wrong.
Saphir’s kids are running around as he and his wife
try to push them just a little further from Brad... better safe than sorry.
Arrowny’s own children are sitting at the picnic table listening to a story
from Justin, who, having completed whatever it was he was here to do, decided
to stay. Ryan’s glad that it is the technomage giving the story... as Brad is
known for describing the bloody parts in great detail... Justin is more civil,
and usually manages to get the kids to learn some moral lesson by the end of
the whole thing.
Crystal walks up beside him. She gives a small smile
as she takes his hand...
Everything is okay... they’re happy... content. The
evils of the world have been beaten back... and with any luck, their children will
never have to take up arms in a fight for humanity. Everything is as it should
be...
Everything is perfect...
* * * * * *
As the vision fades from his mind, Ryan knows what
it means. That... the peaceful gathering of family and friends... that is one
of the perfect possible futures Crystal always talked about. That would be his
future... except she is dead... and the person standing before him is not
really her. It is just Jove... using her body.
She is dead... he will have to find a different
future to live in... and he won’t be able to do that if Jove wins.
Ryan stops straining against Justin’s force field.
He casts a quick glance at the other Warriors...
“Give me the Scythe...”
There is no hesitation... Justin drops the force
field, and Brad hands over the Scythe of Saturn. As Ryan turns to face off with
Jove, the other three line up near the doors.
Jove shakes her head...
“You could have had it all...”
“It wouldn’t have been real.”
Ryan raises the Scythe to attack. Jove waves her
hand, and Brad’s forgotten double bladed sword flies across the room to her.
“Even the fantasy would have been better than the
hell I will send you to! You can’t save the world from me... why bother trying?”
“I’m not... right now... I don’t care about the
world. You’re using Crystal’s body to advance your own motives. For that, you
will die. I’m not fighting for the world now... I’m fighting for her.”
“How pathetically... human. You have no idea what is
in store for you! I have the powers of creation and destruction at my command.
I can,”
“BLAH BLAH BLAH! Let’s get to the fighting already,
‘kay?”
“Sure!”
They rush at each other. Jove slashes out, but Ryan
uses the curved blade of the Scythe to push the sword away. He hooks the blade
around her arm, and twists, throwing her to the ground. He makes a wide slash,
trying to bring the point of the Scythe down upon her chest, but she rolls
aside, and kicks Ryan in the head.
She kick flips up, and swings at him. He blocks with
the Scythe, and attacks in return... she blocks, and attacks... this goes on
for a few minutes... each attempting to gain the upper hand...each attack more
spectacular than the last... each block ringing louder and louder through the
office.
Ryan feints an attack to the left, forcing Jove to
attempt a block... but he comes around from the right, pinning her sword to the
ground with the curved blade of the Scythe.
Back near the door, the Dragoon Warriors stand
watching, with very little emotion showing on their faces. To an outside
observer... it may appear as though they are in the audience of a tennis match.
They turn their heads ever so slightly from side to side to watch each attack.
As they watch Ryan pin Jove’s sword to the floor,
Brad lets out a breath...
“Hey, guys! You know that girl who gave us the
Scythe?”
Justin sighs...
“Yeah... I remember her.”
Saphir nods...
“Yup... what about her?”
They watch as Jove knees Arrowny hard in the
stomach, and unceremoniously tosses him against the far wall.
“Well... you know how she said that only Ryan could
kill Jove?”
“Yeah... so?”
“What’re you getting at?”
Arrowny throws some elemental spells at Jove... cold
blasts, lightning bolts, and fire balls. She does some acrobatic back flips to
avoid being hit with the magic. The two fighters are now standing on either
side of the room, with Joseph’s old desk between them.
“Well... I don’t remember her saying anything about
how Ryan was the only one who could FIGHT Jove.”
Justin and Saphir slowly turn to each other...
“How is it that he’s the only one who caught that
little detail?”
“I’m sure we’d have figured it out... sooner or
later...”
“Yeah... we were just... stressed...”
“Right... from having so many of our friends turn
evil in such a short time.”
“Sure... let’s stick with that.”
Jove rushes toward Arrowny, jumping over the desk to
attack...
... and then... out of nowhere...
WHAM!
Brad makes a spectacular tackle, catching Jove out
of midair, and slamming her to the ground. The God stands, looking quite
confused... but before she can do anything, Justin attacks.
A quick blow to her head, followed by a shot to the
stomach with the tip of his quarterstaff... when she’s doubled over, he slams the
tip of his staff into her chin, forcing her head to snap back. He surrounds her
in a force field, and throws her across the room. She slams into the wall, and
snaps up at him, very angry...
... but she doesn’t get a chance to act... because
it’s Saphir’s turn!
Jove raises her sword, and Saphir lunges out with
his Glaive, pushing the enchanted weapon to the side. He slams the other side
of the Glaive into her stomach, and then kicks her for good measure, pushing
her back against the wall, and pushing him back far enough to reach out with his
weapon. He flicks the blade of the Glaive around her sword, and pulls back,
tossing her sword across the room.
She just looks around in shock. Saphir jumps back,
and swings wide. He puts all of his strength behind a force wave more powerful
than any he has ever created before... it slams hard into Jove... pushing her about
halfway through the cold stone.
As she starts to pull herself from the wall... Brad
rushes forward, slamming the previously discarded Sky Render through her
stomach... pinning her to the wall. She doubles over, trying to pull the sword out
so she can keep fighting... but it’s too late...
Saphir, Brad, and Justin all step aside as Arrowny
walks forward. The Scythe is raised up on his shoulder. He stops just a few
steps from her... she looks up at him, hoping that he will free her... hoping
that it was all just a ruse and that he truly has joined her.
He just shakes his head...
“I’m sorry...”
Jove closes her eyes as Ryan brings the Scythe down
upon her. It cuts cleanly through... and the God is dead...
There are no lights... no great release of magical
energy. Crystal’s body remains... he thinks there should be lights... and
sounds... she deserved it... and Ryan is faced with the unhappy prospect of
having to burry her again.
They gather up everything... Brad grabs his armour
and Jove’s sword. Justin offers to carry Crystal, but Ryan shakes his head, so
instead the technomage takes Sky Render and the Scythe, allowing Arrowny to
carry her easily.
As soon as the God had died, Saphir could feel his
powers return to normal. He knew that he would be able to use his Cards the
same as he always had... knew that he would be able to Warp them anywhere they
needed to be with ease... but even as he prepares to use his magic to take them
home... he doesn’t mention this fact... it’s just not the right time.
* * * * * *
It’s been a little over a week since they saved the
world. The Dragoon Warriors have taken the time off as a little vacation of
sorts. Brad had built a nice add on to the weapons rack for his armour, as well
as the Scythe of Saturn... but the sword that Jove made is safely locked away
in one of the closets... safe pretty much because as soon as the door was shut,
Brad walled it up with bricks that he just ‘happened to buy the day before’.
Things have pretty much returned to normal... there
are no more awkward pauses from Arrowny when he runs into one of them... they
know he’s sorry for turning... although Brad seems to take a sort of perverse
pleasure in taunting him with the line ‘I was evil because of a sword... you
did it just for a girl! Ha ha ha ha ha’... or some variation or another.
On this afternoon, Ryan asks the others to join him
in his study. Once they’re all there... he takes a deep breath...
“The Protectors have called me up. It’s time for my
mission.”
Saphir nods...
“Did they tell you where it is?”
Ryan looks down at the table, shaking his head...
“No... I’m to report to one of their operatives in
London next week. I have to go alone by plane” he adds, to answer Saphir’s
unvoiced offer to Warp him, “and I’m not even supposed to tell you guys that
much... so I should just stop talking about that. They’ll give me some mission
specific training... and that’ll be it.”
Justin shrugs...
“So... what is this... next week you walk out the
door, and we don’t see you until you’re done your mission?”
“Unless he dies... then we don’t see him again at
all!”
Everybody just gazes at Brad...
“What?! It’s true!”
Arrowny shakes his head, and sighs...
“Anyway... he is right. Chances are... I won’t see
any of you again.”
Brad laughs... they all turn angrily to him again,
but he holds up his hands to stop a verbal assault.
“Don’t yell at me! I just had this thought... I know
that we’re going to see him again.”
Justin snorts...
“You know? How?”
“I don’t know how... it’s just this feeling. It’s
like... it’s already been written or something. This group... the four of us...
we still have at least one great battle to go through together.”
They all laugh... it’s nice to laugh with friends.
Arrowny truly hopes that they do see each other again in the future... but even
with this hope... he shakes his head at Brad...
“Already written somewhere, eh? Man... just when I
thought you couldn’t get any weirder...”