by Billy Wong
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A few days later, Sloth and Loki introduced an upgrade they had given the warehouse security system—a program which would detect the level of "gothness" based on appearance of anyone approaching the premises. "We figured that when we have a concert," Loki explained, "this will help us see quickly who doesn't belong."
Lincoln was skeptical. "And how do you know if dark skinned demons won't show up on your little toy as goths?"
"Or if black people won't automatically register as goths?" Gunner added. "Hey, don't look at me like that. Just messing with you man."
Loki demonstrated by running several images of fictional demons from movies and TV through the program. "See? Non-goth. Non-goth. Non goth." He then did the same with images of black men. "Non-goth. Non-goth again."
"It isn't just based on color scheme," Sloth said. "We spent weeks designing this shit. The algorithms are perfect."
Lincoln shook his head and would have said something, but Freya whispered, "Let it be. If nothing else it might make Annabeth feel safer." Sure enough, the girl looked pleased.
"But this thing will cause a lot of false alarms more likely than not."
"I'll talk to them about that later. For now let's pretend it's a good idea."
Lincoln supposed she was right. They were just trying to help and really, what small measure of hope couldn't one use with a seemingly immortal demon for a foe?
Three whole weeks passed without incident. A concert was scheduled for two days before Annabeth's birthday. "This could be the last time we play together," Annabeth said before the gates opened. "We should really make the most of it."
"It won't be the last," Freya reassured her, holding her hands. "Look, I beat this Dark Man by myself before didn't I? And now we've got badass guys like Gunner and Lincoln helping us out. We'll be fine."
"We're badass too," Loki said, indicating himself and Sloth. "At least, the two of us together can count as one badass guy."
"See, you have three badass guys and me the vampire slayer watching your back. No worries."
But they all knew the danger they faced, and that night played their hearts out for their fans and each other. The show went a full hour past the schedule closing time, yet few concert goers objected. By the time everyone left, however, the band was exhausted.
"Now to drink some booze, sleep, and prepare for the day of destiny!" Gunner tilted forward a can of beer, chugging its contents down before beginning the work of cleaning up the stage.
"This was really great," Annabeth said. "My arms are sore, but I'll never forget tonight."
Sloth spoke. "Hey, I hate to ruin everybody's mood, but there's some major non-goth readings on the Goth-O-Meter."
"I thought I told you to disable that crap program?" Freya snapped.
"Well, it hasn't gone off prematurely, so I guess it isn't that crap."
Sure enough, moments later a large group barged into the warehouse. They were however not demons, but about twenty of what appeared to be preppy college boys holding various improvised weapons like baseball bats, crowbars and shovels.
Lincoln stared. "Uh, what in the world?"
A tall, classically handsome young man stepped to the front of the pack, then stepped more forward. "We are the Dark Scholars of Ivy College! And we're here to resurrect the devil's scholar so he can give us knowledge."
"Don't you think you're a little lacking in manpower?" Freya asked, walking down from the stage.
"There are like three of us for each of you." But even so, the leader backed up into the ranks of his fellows.
"There won't be for long," Freya taunted, and charged them.
"Hey, wait!" Lincoln ran after her.
Freya dashed straight at the boy nearest to her, flattening him with a jumping knee. She caught the crowbar swing of the next closest boy, knocked the wind out of him by shoving the bottom end of the crowbar into his gut, then wrenched the weapon out of his hands and used it to smash another kid's teeth. A stocky kid hit her in the face with a baseball bat, bending her violently backwards. She recovered without even falling down and punched him in the throat, making him gag and collapse coughing and clutching his neck.
Lincoln arrived beside her and leveled a fat boy with a metal-gloved hook, then a tall, skinny boy with another hook. Gunner tackled a kid, mounted him and started punching his teeth in only to get kicked in the face by a different kid. He stood up, leaving his victim moaning on the floor, and spat in his new opponent's face. The boy slowly raised his hands... then lowered them and ran behind his friends. Freya knocked out the kid whose crowbar she'd taken with a kick to the head. Lincoln hooked another to sleep.
"Guys wait for us!" Sloth yelled, halfway down the stairs.
"Do they even need help?" Loki asked, right behind him.
The college boys not yet disabled hesitated to advance. "This is ridiculous," their leader spat. "Come on, get at them! Look, the girl's hurt."
Freya wiped blood from her chin. "Getting hit with a baseball bat will do that to ya, but I'm not exactly crippled." A boy ran at her with shovel raised overhead, but before he could bring it down she stepped in and laid him out with a stiff jab.
"Rick," a Dark Scholar with glasses said to the leader, "the weakest person among them's already taken out five of our guys. We're in way over our heads. Look, the big guy hasn't even gotten here yet."
Freya facepalmed. "Why am I the weakest one?"
"I'm a fucking badass," Sloth beamed, stopping to do so.
"Okay, that's it!" Rick said, taking off his jacket. He threw it on the beer and soda stained ground, picked it back up and handed it to one of his followers. He put up his fists. "I challenge any of you to fight me one on one, and after I beat the living daylights out of all of you, I'm going to take your psychic friend." Lincoln imagined shattering the prick's jaw, but Freya stepped up first. "Oh that's a bad idea little lady. I am an amateur boxing champ."
Freya walked forward and just punted him in the balls. Then she grabbed him by the face and raked his eyes. "Like I'd bother fighting fair with a guy like you." He fell to all fours and started to crawl away. "You don't deserve that respect." With a kick to the rear, she urged him on his way.
The Dark Scholars fled, dragging their wounded behind them. Freya clutched her face. "Are you alright?" Lincoln asked.
"Yeah. I just got hit in the face with a baseball bat. Oh I'm glad we have cameras. Those boys are going to jail."
Loki whistled. "And getting expelled from college."
"That too."
"Hey wait a minute," Sloth said. "Where's Annabeth?"
Gunner looked around and shoved him. "You idiot! Shouldn't one of you have kept an eye on her?"
"Well, nobody told us."
"God damn it!"
Freya looked like she was going to cry. "Two days too early..."
"You guys are morons!" Gunner shouted. "Why I oughta beat both your asses!"
"We thought all the bad guys were still down there with you," Sloth protested. "Nobody could climb up the stage that fast."
"Nobody who weights eight hundred pounds, maybe."
Loki stepped in between them. "Guys, cool down. We need to stop arguing amongst ourselves and figure out where they might have taken her."
"Maybe the Ivy College dorms?" Lincoln said.
"But those dorms are huge," Freya mumbled dejectedly.
A scream came from outside. They all ran out to see a pickup truck stopped not far from the warehouse, facing away. A short, slim Dark Scholar was trying to lift his cargo, which had half fallen off the truck, and put it back on the bed.
His cargo being the eight foot inert body of the Dark Man, whose legs lay in the back of the pickup, but its upper body on the grass.
Upon noticing the arrival of the band, he gave up on moving the demon and ran to the cab of the truck. He opened the door and tried to pull Annabeth out. "Get out or I'll use this knife on yo
u," he growled, brandishing a curved blade.
Emboldened by seeing her friends, Annabeth kicked him and sent him tumbling back. He rolled to a crouch and stared down the other members of Helbound.
"So you're the real leader huh?" Lincoln smacked his fists together.
"Yeah, Rick is just the face. Bunch of wimps deserting me when I have car trouble. What of it?"
"You about to get yo ass kicked."
The Dark Scholar grinned. "No. Because you'll never lay a hand on me." He sprinted for the back of the pickup and dove onto the body of the Dark Man. "Today, I die. But so will you." And he slit his throat.
"Oh, gross," Freya said. Loki turned away. Sloth vomited on Loki's head.
What looked like a white mist rose from the suicidal college boy's face and flowed into the Dark Man's eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. "Now what?" Lincoln asked.
Annabeth climbed out of the truck and tottered towards them. "My kidnapper was a seer too. By sacrificing himself, he gives the Dark Man power to rise anew!" And with that insight, she fainted.
The ebony skinned goliath with ram horns and cloven feet groaned and rose as red light filled its eyes. "I stand again in the mortal realm. When I hold all wisdom I will find the key for my master to defeat God himself."
Lincoln exhaled. "So that's why it likes seers. Freya where's your sword?"
"I left it inside. Thought we were fighting preppy boys not demons."
"Well, somebody go get it!"
Sloth and Loki both went. "Now we just have to hold it off until they get back," Freya said.
Lincoln cracked his knuckles. "Sounds easy."
Gunner rushed and tackled the Dark Man's legs, trying to take it down. But the demon was too big and strong. It stood there impassively resisting for a second, then gave him a knee that sent him flying a dozen feet to lay still.
Lincoln dashed in and unloaded a barrage of metal punches to the Dark Man's smooth crotch. It must have had something under there as it doubled over somewhat, and Freya took the opportunity to land a jumping elbow smash to the back of its neck. Upon landing, she gave a high kick to its jaw.
"Ow!" she said, rubbing her elbow and hopping on one foot. "Skin's hard as rock."
The Dark Man punched Lincoln. He covered up, but the blow numbed both forearms and hurled him ten feet back. A tree stopped his flight, stunning him. He looked up dizzily to see Freya on the demon's back, clinging with one arm to its neck while punching it in the eye. It bellowed and threw itself backwards, crushing her against the cab of the pickup. She fell into a sitting position against the door, and it delivered a massive kick to her chest. As she gasped for breath, it punched down and connected squarely with her face. She crumpled into a heap, lying on her side. It rolled her onto her back and punched her again. Lincoln thought she'd die.
Freya rolled under the truck. The creature attempted to lift the vehicle to look. It didn't notice Freya scurry out between its legs. When it had gotten the pickup up to a forty-five degree angle relative to the ground, she dropkicked it in the back of the knee.
It lost its balance and tripped over backwards, the pickup truck crashing down atop its chest. Freya just rolled out of the way and came to her hands and knees, spitting blood.
Lincoln made it to her side. "You alright?"
"Nevermind if I'm alright. Kill. That. Sumbitch's. Ass."
He walked up to the pinned creature and pummeled it mercilessly with his gloves. Its skin didn't break, but it grimaced in pain. But the truck rocked as the Dark Man tried to press it off itself, and he feared he couldn't keep it down long enough until the others returned with the sword. Gunner had recovered and joined in, smashing a shovel dropped by a college boy repeatedly into its face. Still the pickup moved more and more.
Lincoln saw Freya rising at the edge of his vision. "Freya, don't get up! You're hurt bad."
Yet she did. And when she reached their side after a detour to the truck's rear, it was with a tire iron in hand.
"This is over!" she screamed, and with all her weight, drove the straight end of the tire iron through the Dark Man's eye.
He caught her when she stumbled. "Easy, Gothic warrior. I got you."
She coughed blood and smiled. "Don't worry. I'm fine."
Sloth and Loki arrived, Empty Blue in hand. "What the hell took you guys so long?" Gunner asked.
"We were trying to figure out how to open the sword without Freya's key," Loki said. "In case she already got eaten or something. That, and I was waiting for him."
"Shut up! I can run now." Sloth offered the sword to Freya. "Uh... do you still need it?"
"No, I think..."
There was a roar and the pickup truck shook. The Dark Man was still alive and trying to free itself. Maybe a tire iron couldn't kill such a demon after all.
Sloth ran over and plunged Empty Blue through the open mouth of the devil's scholar. "No master Lucifer save me!" it cried, before the red light faded from its eyes.
"Because I am a fucking badass," Sloth said. He pulled the sword out, and turned away retching from the noxious fumes that poured out.
Freya limped over to Annabeth, knelt and picked her up. Even severely injured, she was still strong enough to lift another person. She carried her friend within clear view of the Dark Man and said softly, "Annabeth, wake up. Look. The nightmare is dead."
She smiled with relief as she gazed at the corpse, but the smile became a frown. "But how do we know it won't just come back to life again?"
"Because this time, we'll burn its remains and bury the ashes on holy ground." She sat Annabeth on her feet and hugged her own chest. "Now one of you take me to the hospital will you? I need some serious painkillers."
