~Chapter 6~
"The Dewitchery Diamond is being used as a spiritual nexus, channeling the unfocussed ectoplasmic power of the astral plane into a focused beam that sustains Vilgax' form," Hex gestured toward the shimmering stone for emphasis. "For the particular amount of power that we're using to sustain our Chimera Su generis, it takes the collective life force of five souls."
Ben had not released his cannon arm, nor had Vilgax or Driscoll released their stances. "If you would make your point, Hex." Driscoll's voice was filled with anger, and the diminutive sorcerer had no doubt that the Forever King wished he'd let Vilgax squeeze him to death moments earlier.
Hex favored the direct approach. "Mister Bradt, you died recently, and were none to pleased about that, yes?"
The question had an instant effect on the teenager, whose eyes flickered to the small mage, "What the hell are you talking about?"
The pair leapt upon him, forcing him to the ground as they struggled to keep him pinned. Hex rapped his staff on Vilgax' back, "Let him up, he's not a risk to us. Not anymore."
"What are you talking about?" The alien narrowed his eyes, "He is the only threat to us!"
A wave of his staff and both of them were thrust off of Ben by red orbs of force. "You died unnaturally, and you held tightly to something in the void, some powerful regret."
"How do you know all of this?" Ben rose to kneel, eyeing Hex in confusion.
"Fascinating." Hex chuckled darkly, "When the stone tried to draw upon your being for power, your bitterness and feelings of rage held you together, and your spirit was manifested in this plane just like his was," he nodded toward Vilgax.
"What does this mean?" Driscoll had since gotten up, "Are you saying that he's is connected to the stone as well?"
"More than that." Hex turned to face Driscoll, "Mister Bradt and Vilgax are spawned from the same cosmic essence; that is why his attacks are so powerful against him, because he is the same power source, and the attacks only serve to disrupt the flow of power from the Dewitchery diamond. They are both invincible, and interconnected."
"What do you mean?" Ben's eyes had widened, "Are you saying that . . ."
Driscoll smiled smugly, steepling his fingers together, "How deliciously ironic . . . Mister Bradt, Ben, is it? I have a proposition that I am confident you will see as mutually beneficial, and most impossible to turn down."
As she sped along on her scooter, Gwen did a double take as Benjamin brushed past her, hands in his pockets, eyes focused on the ground as he burned by at a quick clip. She skidded to a halt and turned around, racing after. "Ben, there you are!" Concern spread over her face as she saw the haunted look in his eyes, "You just disappeared in the middle of the night, we've been looking for you all day! We were all worried."
"Needed to think, lots of thinking." The teenager was rambling, "Everything is messed up, gotta fix it."
Leading him over to a bench, Gwen pulled out her cell phone, dialing her grandfather. "Grandpa, I found him. He's all weird, and he keeps going on about everything being messed up."
"Keep an eye on him, we'll be there soon."
"I'm at the park on North Highland and Westlake." Gwen hung up her cell phone, "Grandpa and Ben are on their way. What happened to you last night?"
"Vilgax," the one name sent a shiver down her spine, "I can't stop him."
"What do you mean? You were cleaning his clock yesterday!" Gwen laid a hand over his, blushing slightly at how hard her hear heart had begun to pound. "Besides, you don't need to fight him alone; we're all here to help you, and together, we CAN beat him."
"That's what I am afraid of." Ben's hands were shaking fiercely, like he had Parkinson's. "I can't do that again. I can't go back. I don't want to disappear."
"What are you talking about? You're not making any sense!"
"Hey!" The Rustbucket rumbled to a stop nearby, with Max and Ben bailing out and approaching the others quickly. "What happened to you last night, man?"
"You look like you've been through something pretty serious, son." Max laid a hand on the teenager's shoulder, "Come inside the Rustbucket. We'll talk it out over some food and a hot cup of tea. Ben and Gwen exchanged glances; if their grandfather was offering out conventional food for once, it had to be serious.
"I can't . . ." he pushed Max' hand off his shoulder, "I have to get far away from all of you."
Ben's face slackened in shock, "What? What did we do?"
"Nothing, and it needs to stay that way." Benjamin Bradt rose from the bench and took to a run, fleeing past them. He ignored their shouts, vanishing in a flash of blue light, leaving no trace of himself to be seen.
"Humph," a voice form behind them snorted in cruel amusement. The trio turned to find the diminutive figure of Hex standing nearby, arms crossed. "What a childish response, one would think that running away was a foolish idea." His lips pulled back into a grin, "Wouldn't you agree?"
Ben was a blur as his form shifted, his silhouette barely visible against the pulse of emerald light. Hex grunted in surprise as a hard, crystal hand wrapped around the infant's throat, slamming him into the ground. "I don't know what you have done," Ben-Diamondhead growled in a harsh tone, "but you are going to take us to see your bosses right now."
The small wizard threw his hands up in surrender, "Okay! Okay, just don't hurt me." His mouth curled into a wicked smirk as he turned away, "The Forever King's stronghold is this way . . ."
The sea breeze as it rolled over the pier railing caressed his face. Benjamin Bradt started ruefully out over the water, sighing. His regret over the girl . . . Meiru . . . had landed not only himself, but the Tennysons in a terrible predicament. The creature, Vilgax, was unstoppable; no matter how much damage Ben heaped on it, he would recover and grow stronger. That was how the child wizard had explained it, and somewhere deep down, he knew he was telling the truth. I have the power to stop him, the teen thought ruefully, but if I do, I'm just going to die again.
He felt a tremble run through his perch, and as he looked over, he saw a woman standing on the top of the rail. He couldn't see her face, as the wind kept whipping her long sable hair across it, but he knew in an instant she was prepared to take her own life. As he looked up at her, the wind grew still, and as her hair fell back he caught a good look at her face. She was young, in her mid-thirties at the most. Her cheeks were wet with tears that continued to pour from her icy blue eyes; she was an image of sorrow, but that wasn't why her presence stirred him.
It was that he recognized her. Her name was Sarah, Sarah Bradt. ". . . Mom?" The word was strangled in his throat.
She closed her eyes, leaning forward.
"Mom . . .?"
Her heels tipped up as she reached out for the horizon.
"MOM!" Her eyes flew open as he pushed off of the railing, sprinting toward her as fast as he could. He watched in horror as her hair lifted up, gravity wrapping stingy fingers around her waist, and as he approached her she began to descend from view. He hurled himself over the railing, stretching his metal hand out after her as she fell. "MOOOOOOOOM!"
The darkness of the cavern clung to them as they worked their way through the passageway. Hex had led them to a doorway concealed in a run-down bookstore that had been closed some time before, and in the shop's basement, there was a passage into the bowels of the world. "You sure you're not leading us into a trap?" Max said with a suggestive jab to Hex's back with his gun. Ben had to change back at an earlier point, so Max took up the responsibility of keeping their guide covered. "Because if you try anything funny . . ."
"I would not dream of it, Maxwell Tennyson," the mage said with a sigh, "There is no way I could possibly avoid a blast from your weapon at such range."
"You just remember that, slime ball." Gwen scowled.
As the trio passed, they were unaware of a pair of eyes that opened behind them, darker than the shadows themselves. It made no sound as it separated from the wall they had passed, following them down into the unknown.
