Shape Shield: Rectangle!
Once more, Eva’s industria took shape and form, deflecting the storm of waves. It only lasted for a short while as it began to crack, crack some more and then shatter. She could barely escape as water cratered the ground she was standing on.
A blow to her side. Beth had danced through the attack, and taken her opening. Eva had barely had time to deflect it, but the shockwave still knocked her into a building. Warehouse A. She coughed blood. They were still at the entrance.
“Your mother was a lovely sweet woman Beth,” Eva continued, against her better judgement. “How could you do this to her?”
“To her?” Beth exclaimed, “You silly bitch. Everything I’ve done was for her. How can you even pretend to judge me when you know nothing? You don’t even know what you don’t know!”
* * *
Years Ago.
“Beth. We’re going to have to move again.” Sheila said to her little daughter. It was a year after the Phoenix incident. Beth had nothing but hatred for the monster that had ruined their lives and contempt for those who had been charged with keeping them safe but had ultimately failed.
Her mother was less negatively inclined. Instead, she had suffered from what many had called the Phoenix burn. Those who had been exposed to the Industria secreted by the Phoenix would come down with it, eventually leading to intense fevers and then painful deaths by immolation.
Sheila had rushed through their savings, trying to fix and extinguish the illness before it caught up with them. Now her mom could no longer afford to pay rent, and the 15-year-old could not bear to see her only surviving parent suffer.
* * *
“Yes, I can help you.” The man had said, “You know the price. You’ll have to pay for it with your body.”
No price was too small. Beth had already decided she was willing to do so. She began to unbutton her dress, only to be met by a hearty laugh.
“Stop it,” He snickered, “That’s not what I meant.”
“Oh…” Beth was flustered, “What did you mean?”
“But I like your determination.” He said, “You’re going straight to the top.”
In a few months, Beth’s mom was cured. A mysterious man had come from nowhere and laid his hands on her. As payment, her mother would take on a kid. Then she would lose one to compensate. Beth would train for years before she was allowed to return home. By then, only the hatred that had been poured into her body had remained.
* * *
The Present.
Beth roared again, a terrifying screeching noise.
“That woman has done nothing wrong other than love me.” Eva thought she saw a lone tear trickle down from one of her eyes. “I will not allow you to bring her into this.”
“How about Juniper,” Eva countered, “Wasn’t he your little brother? Someone you should have protected?”
“No. He was adopted.” Beth replied, “He was a thing to be used as a sacrifice when the time came.”
“So you’re afraid your mother is the same…?” Eva prompted.
Beth started to reply, then she felt the shift in the air. Behind her, three balls of solid industria floated. While they had been talking, Eva had been scouring their arena for anything she could use to gain an advantage. Her opponent had terrifying long ranged attacks, and even if she could get past that, speed and power gave her an advantage in the short range too. A few seconds, a minute, She needed any time at all to draw up a strategy.
Shape Lance: Sphere Tres!
Three bolts of light burned through the air, slamming into the ground Beth had once stood. She raced towards Eva again, her arm outstretched to deliver one of her powerful blows. Eva raised her hand, a fourth ball had formed there. Scoffing, Beth unleashed her punch, clashing with Eva’s industria attack. Both women were sent flying in opposite directions.
Eva cleared the debris off herself, wiping the blood from her forehead where she had cut herself.
Beth’s masked face distorted into what appeared to be a smile.
“So you’re fighting back now,” She sneered, “I thought you were just going to dodge forever.”
Eva exhaled, gesturing towards Beth as she did so.
Art of Assault: Chain Dance!
Two industria beams lanced out from the air behind her, weaving through the air in the shape of a chain. Beth avoided them, leaping over the rubble. The chains didn’t stop, they followed her through the air, changing direction as she did like a dance partner who wouldn’t take no for an answer. Beth turned around, firing off a blast of water, destroying the attack but clouding the air with steam.
Another beam burned through the mist, just missing Beth. She began to note her enemy’s capabilities. Eva’s esoterica ability was simply industria manipulation, she had shown nothing more than that. To use it the way she did was simply impossible without the aid of spells, even Beth knew that much. She never attacked or defended at the same time. That too made sense. When she defended, she relied on having her industria stable and solid. When she attacked, she manipulated a compressed form of it into a shape, then discharged it until she ran out. The difference between her and others was that she naturally couldn’t have her fights drago on. She drained industria too quickly.
Beth licked her lips. Another beam slammed into the ground next to her. Then another, then another. As the mist cleared, Beth noticed the gigantic ball of industria hovering behind Eva.
Shape Lance: Railgun Sphere!
Eva’s attack pounded with such fury that Beth was forced to retreat. She had glanced at the ball. At the rate it was shrinking, the Sabre could only keep up her attack for 10 - 15 seconds longer. Perfect.
She slid just behind the back of Warehouse Charlie. The industria storm pounded into it, exhausting itself as it reduced the building’s wall to rubble.
The ball dissipated. Eva dropped to her knees panting. She grabbed her arm as a sudden pain shot up her shoulder.
A glint caught her eye. She looked up just in time to see Beth leap towards her, her arm transformed into a pincer. The glint came where the light had hit the wicked blade as it swung towards her.
Her industria shield barely formed before it was cracked. Beth’s other hand transformed as well, and then she began to lash out at the disc-shaped shield forcing Eva to move backwards as she defended herself. Beth swung and was knocked off balance as the shield was suddenly dispelled. Eva leapt into the air, springboarding off Industria discs that materialised to give her some distance. She looked back at Beth and found herself staring down into her pincers. Where her hand would have been, an empty hole gaped at her.
The air trembled as she rapidly snapped her pincers. The sound shockwave was almost unbearable, the water bullets that followed just as well. They tore through the air, barely missing Eva on their wake but disrupting her foothold. She began to fall. Beth leapt into the air meeting her halfway. The other pincer had water was spouting of it at high-pressure speeds.
Shrimp Sword: Water Slicer!
Once more, Eva’s shield was barely enough to protect her, and she was sent crashing into the wall of Warehouse Charlie.
“Looking down on you like this, it’s how it should be,” Beth said
Heavy Rain: Shrimp Spigot!
Water flowed like a torrent, the mask converted the moisture from the environment and rained down a watery hell on Eva.
She wasn’t drowned yet, once more another barrier erupted to protect her. Then another, and another still, and another. Beth frowned.
Shape Shield: Diez Barriers!
Ten barriers materialised to meet Beth’s onslaught.
“Drown!” Beth roared. The torrent intensified as she shattered the last of Eva’s shields. The second shield broke. The third. The fourth. As the fifth began to give way, Eva acted, dispelling it.
The water gushed through. In a frozen moment in time, she leapt, letting her industria guide her.
The Sabres shunt was a technique taught to all Sabres right at t
he start. They would move at high speeds by focusing their industria into their feet, done well enough, they could move on air or water. Eva could move one step beyond that. By combining her natural control over industria with regular shunting, she could form solid platforms on the water and move just that bit faster. Eva had timed it just right Beth’s water jets were now simply a platform she could leap on to close the distance between them.
Shape Shunt!
Beth gasped. As she had fired another blast of water, Eva had materialised as if by magic. She reacted reflexively.
Water Slicer!
The blow shattered the air, but only the air. Eva had leapt into the air, avoiding the killing strike. Shifting her weight, so she was now upside down, she leapt off a platform that she had formed momentarily in the air. Eva’s leg arced around her opponent, landing on her face and stunning her. It would cost Beth a moment of concentration, just a moment. At this range, all Eva needed was a moment. All the industria in her body raced towards her fist. An industria ball formed at the end. She cocked it back — and unleashed her power.
Shape Sphere: Impact Lance!
For Beth, it was like being hit by a tank. As Eva’s fist collided with her, the sphere of industria discharged its stored energy. Once again, the two women were sent flying in different directions.
When Beth came to, she found Eva standing over her.
“The Art of Restraint: Crucifix.” Eva said, “You won’t be able to move under that spell. Your mask can’t maintain its form anymore, it’s over.”
“Why am I still alive?”
“Why?” Eva looked into her eyes, “A woman almost lost her son. It would be cruel to take her daughter away just after that. Plus, we Sabres don’t kill an enemy who has been defeated already.”
“Defeated?” Beth laughed, “I deserved to win that fight.”
“But did you?” Eva said. “You either win, or you don’t. You said as much youtself.”
“The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness. That’s a saying my mother told me at one time. I think I disappointed her.” Beth said. “Now, I know I did. I don’t think that abyss it is deep enough for me. What I’ve done to her…it’s too much.”
Eva looked at her with pity. Beth met her eyes, searching for and finding a connection.
“The justification of strength and power over everything has been laid bare and revealed to be empty. What do I have now?” A tear slipped out of her eye, “This will kill her.”
“Mothers are wiser than you think,” Eva said. She thought back to Juniper’s mother’s sorrowful expression as she was met with news of her son’s demise. “Nothing’s broken that can be fixed. After you face justice.”
“Even that is a dream.” Beth smiled. “Jack will kill you all. And if not him, then Caine. They will kill me, the price of failure is death. ”
“We will stop him.” Eva said, “Just watch us.”
“Then, let me tell you one last thing. Caine is here. He’s going to take away the masks, even if we don’t win.” Beth said, “We just have to delay you long enough for him to leave.”
“Thank you.”
As she left her captive and raced towards her friends, Eva thought she heard Beth whisper one last line.
“Don’t. You can’t win.”
Chapter 32 - Shade and Scale
Battle in the Library.
Aiden and Matthew.
Aiden threw a haymaker towards his opponent, the much stronger Matthew simply grabbed it and twisted his arm — and tore it off. Before he could recover, he was impaled by the masked man’s armoured arm, and his heart ripped out. Choking on his own blood, he collapsed to the ground.
“Really now.” Matthew said, “You’re not the worst actor I’ve seen.”
Aiden appeared to deflate, then his skin turned pitch black as he sank into the ground looking like a solid black blob of melted butter.
Two more Aidens emerged from the ceiling, seemingly growing out of the shadows there. Dropping to the ground, they both charged at Matthew, but he was too still strong for both. He grabbed the first by the head and slammed him into the ground, then stabbed the second with his tail, and snapped its neck.
“Ok then. If you don’t come out, I’ll have to find you.” Matthew Corran placed a hand on the mask covering his face, then he embraced his primal nature.
Crocodile Mask: Anwanwu!
The real Aiden crouched hidden in shadow. As his clones were getting crushed and killed, he was panting. The mental exhaustion that came with facing death via clone was a hazard of consciously creating and controlling clones, not to mention the industria drain.
Beyond that, it was clear that they were ineffective. The limited number of clones he could generate wouldn’t work on a physical beast like this.
A look at Matthew sent shivers up his spine. He looked more beast than human, with scaly skin, massive claws, and a long, trunk-like tail. At seven feet tall, he was a sight to behold.
Taking a deep breath, Aiden stepped out into the light. It was time to kill or be killed, and he had no intention of dying like a dog.
“I know that look,” Matthew grinned — Aiden supposed it was a grin from his upturned cheeks — at him, “Are you ready to give up and die, or are you still embracing the delusional belief that you can somehow escape?”
“I’m not thinking of running, I’m not thinking of escaping.” Aiden replied, “I’m just going to kill you and leave at my leisure.”
“Don’t even try,” Matthew replied, “We are — all of us — trained as hard as you Sabres. Even without the mask, you would still die. None of your teammates will be coming here. They’ll all die too.”
“And yet, I’m still here.” Aiden’s response came. “You’re a bit too self-assured.”
Shadow Tendril: Wrap!
The shadow clone corpses on the ground suddenly exploded, dark tentacles ripping out from their insides, wrapping around Matthew, crushing him into submission.
Heavy Scale Shot!
Matthew’s tail whipped around, firing scales around the room. Shadow formed a solid shield around Aiden, protecting him as the scales as the projectiles tore up the shelves and books around him. Matthew swung his tail again, this time, he struck the lights.
The room was plunged into darkness. The shadow tendrils around him disappeared.
“You think you’re so clever,” Matthew’s deep voice came.
A blow struck Aiden on the head. He bounced on the ground, his vision blurring as his brain rattled around in his skull.
“You just had to keep digging, prodding at our personal insecurities to find a weakness. Everytime you spoke, I could not help but fantasise about this moment. Slowly torturing you to death until you begged me to end it. It kept me going.”
Another blow came, Aiden slammed into the ceiling. Then the ground. Then the ceiling again. Then the far wall. Aiden dropped back to the ground, landing on his knees. His arm felt funny. Blood dripped into his eyes, he raised a hand to wipe it off, a scaly hand grabbed it mid-swipe.
Despair gripped him. Aiden felt himself go airborne once more, sailing through the air until the wall brought him to a stop.
Another blow came. This time, Aiden was sent crashing into one of the last few standing bookshelves.
“What’s wrong? No shadows for you to play with anymore?” Matthew taunted him. “Just let me know when you want to die.”
“Without the lights, you can’t see either. You’re only guessing.” Aiden wheezed.
A projectile struck his kneecap a second later. The pain didn’t matter right then, only the miscalculation did.
“I don’t need eyes to see you,” Matthew sneered, “As long as I can sense your heat signature, that’s enough.”
Another of his scale shots just barely missed the Sabre. The other one embedded itself into his torso, he bit his lip to himself stop from crying out, then shoved off the ground just as Matthew slammed into the spot h
e had just been laying.
“Had enough? You people really underestimated us. You are a bunch of rookies. This is the only way it could ever have ended.”
* * *
Months ago.
Aslog
WestScarlet.
“A situation where I control, there won’t be many of those as a Sabre. A wise woman once told me, if there was a situation, it was because it was out of control in the first place.” Aiden had reflected, “In which case, what would I do then? I don’t want to use people as sacrifices. As a Sabre, I should be the Sacrifice. So then, what do I want to do?”
“That’s another question. I don’t think a Sabre should necessarily be a sacrifice. it costs a lot of money to train you, giving you the rank of Sabre is a reflection of the faith we have in you.” Tobi had replied.
“You may think so, but I’ve been doing some reflecting, as I’ve gone into the other’s reasons. To me, a Sabre has no meaning beyond the mission. There is the one mission, and then there is the next mission. To be a Sabre is to be a sword. ” Aiden had continued, “When there is no duel, I can be Aiden the friend, or Aiden the chess player, the wannabe poet, the sibling. When there is a mission to complete, then it is different, would you not say? I’d have to be something different. Someone who is different, and somehow better than I am. Someone who evolves to tackle all challenges.”
“That’s too convoluted a response for such a simple question.” Tobi had replied. “Maybe that’s your flaw. You overcomplicate things and trip up on the obvious.”
“Perhaps so.” Aiden had finally finished his drink. Small sips had whittled away at it over the conversation, “I suppose I haven’t been able to truly find an answer. Maybe Sabre is all of those things. A lost soul, a sword, a shield, an icon, a weapon. Multi-faceted, multi-functional.”
“I suppose you could be right, Aiden.” Tobi had replied, “You really have to give me a satisfying answer one of these days.”
“My head is so messed up overthinking thing sometimes perhaps it’ll take death to truly learn. You know, focus.”
“Don’t joke like that.” Tobi had finally stood up.
Masked Page 20
