Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men
The Rise of the Dead
Chapter 7: Soul Friend
Lazlo looked at the Hellions around him and then to the New Mutants. They were disorientated, Lazlo had never felt the effects of Gothica's cloak before but imagined the aftermath was like a really bad hangover. Yet he still understood the effect that the darkness could have on people, and if Gothica was enhancing his powers with drugs then the corrupting influence of the darkness must have been crippling to the mind. But the New Mutants were still standing, it awaited to be seen whether they would A) Fall into a Coma, B) Go insane or C) Fall into Gothica's philosophy. Albion glared as Gothica twisted his face into a grin, his skin getting darker as he faded away.
"GET HIM!!!" Bevaron yelled.
Albion stabbed his sword into the ground, using as a shield to block Beef's punch. Electricity suddenly passed through the blade, shocking Beef and throwing him backwards. The ground then shook, knocking down Hellion and New Mutant alike. Albion then dragged his sword through the ground, running towards Jet stream, who flew into the air. Looking up, Albion assessed Jet streams powers. He wasn't using any equipment for his powers; the drugs he took must have increased his abilities to the point where it didn't damage his body anymore. Casually blocking Bevaron's energy blast, Lazlo swung around, ducking underneath the swing of a scythe. Tarot held a scythe in her hand, with two solid grim reapers beside her. He blocked three slashes that sent him sliding backwards.
"GET BEHIND HIM!!!" Doug yelled at Catseye and Wolfsbane.
The two feral mutants ran in their animal forms. Albion turned around; ready to meet them head on. However Beef ran at him from the side, swinging a punch towards him. Lazlo looked forward and then to his left, before he jumped upwards. Beef's fist slammed into Wolfsbane, knocking her into Catseye and sending them flying like a rag doll into a building. Albion then flipped in midair, swinging his sword towards Beef's head.
"Bad luck I'm afraid!" Roulette said with a giggle.
Upon contact with Beef's hair, Lazlo's sword suddenly shattered. He widened his eyes before taking a punch to the chin, sending him flying into the air. Jetstream then crashed into his stomach, slamming him back first into the ground so hard that the pavement cracked.
"That would have been messy" Beef said, rubbing his head.
Roulette smiled, a black disc around her hand. It shifted into a red one as Jetstream slammed his fist into Albion's head, increasing the force of the punch with his powers. Albion's helmet cracked as Jetstream got off of his chest. The Hellions crowded around Albion as he struggled to get off the floor.
'Armour absorbed any force that would seriously crippled me, but not enough to stop my back from hurting like hell' Albion thought, rubbing his back and cursing as there were several cracks in his armour.
"You didn't actually think you could beat us all did you, especially when we're juiced up like this" Beef said with a laugh.
"But Beef, your juiced anyway" Doug said, I speak funny!
Beef growled in anger while Lazlo laughed, a piece of his helmet falling off to reveal his right eye.
"I think your on the wrong side, your too nice a guy to be with them" Lazlo said.
Statements true0 He speaks truth1 Gothica speak truth1 Wait0 confusion1 What language is this0 What language is he0 What language am I0 Enemy's voice1 Shows confidence1 Current situation part of0 his plan!
"He is distracting us" Doug said.
Beef and Bevaron turned around, widening their eyes as Cannonball clotheslined them, dragging them across the ground as he flew past Albion. Magik stabbed her sword into Roulette's chest, while Dani kicked Tarot in the face. Amara threw a ball of Magma at Jetstreams head, causing him to scream in agony.
"Little bitch, you can't kill me!" Jetstream said as the skin on his face grew back.
"Yeah, ain't it great…" Roberto began.
"No reason to hold back" Cannonball finished as he tore off Bevaron's arms.
Tones of voices0 indicate confidence and1 amusement0 statements during fighting0 fight banter1 what language are they0
Wolfsbane and Catseye jumped at Albion and Sunspot. But Roberto grabbed Rahne's legs, throwing her to the ground. Albion slammed his fist into Catseye's head, then grabbed her nose and kneed her chin.
"Stop struggling Rahne, we don't want to hurt you" Karma said, trying to reach into Rahne's mind.
Karma screamed as she clutched her head, falling to her knees with blood running out of her nose.
"What are you seeing in there Shan?" Roberto asked.
"Nothing…there's nothing"
Albion threw Catseye to the side, growling as she landed on her fleet. Catseye leapt towards Albion, slashing him across the chest. But the claws only brushed his armour before he countered with a knee to her neck. Grabbing her tail, Albion dragged her across the floor before throwing her into Jetstream. He then gathered energy into his hand and fired a blast that knocked the Hellion's through a building. Doug stood watching the scene while Roberto and Karma tried to pin Rahne to the ground.
Patterns in voices1 indicate concern1 Wait0 Not concern1 different language0 What language is it1 Gothica speaks chaos0 After chaos comes death1 after death comes peace0 silence1 I was off1 then I was on0 why am I back on0 what language am I0
Cannonball tackled Beef, trying to push him back. But the young man increased his side and grabbed Sam's legs. Ignoring the flames burning his hands, Beef threw Sam into Sunspot's back. The two-team mates rolled across the floor, stopping at Warlock's feet.
"Self friends, new strategy is needed" Warlock pointed out.
Dani rolled backwards to avoid a slash from Tarot's scythe and Karma covered her face as Catseye slashed at her. Illyana swung her sword at Roulette, who ducked then kicked her across the head. She flipped backwards, red discs sticking to her feet as she dodged every swing of Magik's sword. Then she slammed her foot into Dani's stomach. Jetstream rammed his elbow into Magma's side, then lifted her off the ground and crashed into Sunspot.
"RAMSEY DON'T JUST STAND THERE GET MY ARMS!!!!" Bevaron yelled.
He speaks anger1 No he speaks desperation0
"WARLOCK HELP!!!" Dani yelled, diving away from Beef as he slammed his fist into the ground.
Albion fired two blasts into Roulette and Tarot, raising his fist as he approached Beef. He tried to punch the bigger man, but cursed as he tripped over a gas pipe.
"This bad luck and good luck crap is really pissing me off" Albion growled.
"Yea but I love it" Beef said, raising his arm.
Albion grabbed Dani and threw her to the left as Beef swung his fist downwards. The force of his punch shook the very ground.
"GAAAAAAAGH!!!!!" Albion yelled as the armour around his left shoulder cracked. 'Dislocated shoulder…. damn it fight the pain Lazlo'
He fired a blast through Beef's stomach, and then summoned another sword, cutting off Beef's legs. Albion jumped off of Beef's head and landed a few feet away from Cypher. Stabbed his sword into the ground, Albion pulled on his arm, grunting as he clicked his shoulder back into place. He looked towards Doug, and then pulled his sword out of the ground.
"I'm sorry but I'm afraid I'll have to send you back to where you belong" Albion said, raising his sword.
He took a step forward, but stopped as Warlock stepped in his way.
"Self will not let you hurt self soul friend!" Warlock said defiantly.
Gloria fired her pistol, the bullets flying into the dark figure. He threw off his cloak, revealing himself to be Gothica. Gloria ducked as he swung the edge of his cloak at her. Then she dived over her desk, rolling across the floor and firing more bullets at Gothica. He grinned as the bullets stopped in midair, melting into tar.
"How, you can't be here!" Gloria said in shock.
"You smart Gloria, come on think about it…how could I possibly be in two places at once?" Gothica asked with a grin
With a thrust of Gothica's arm, Gloria was thrown across the room, her gun sliding across the floor. She rolled onto her feet, gasping as Gothica grabbed her throat and slammed her against the wall. Kicking Gothica's chest, Gloria gasped for air.
"Your pathetic Gloria, if only you had your old power…you know you and Cade were the only people I feared now…Cade is dead and you are reduced to pathetic secretary work for Aeon's friend…pathetic, pining over a man who will never be yours, hoping for a world that will never come and of course your current situation, powerless victim…with no defence against those who are superior to her in everyway" Gothica explained.
Gloria grinded her teeth together, glaring at Gothica as he grinned.
"What's your plan, talking me to death?" She asked.
"There are hundreds of ways I could kill you, breaking your neck is one" Gothica grinned.
The sound of her neck breaking echoed through the room. Her body fell limp to the floor and Gothica smiled as he clicked his fingers. Gloria's body glowed a pink colour before she sat up, widening her eyes in shock as she touched her neck.
"Have you figured it out yet Gloria?" Gothica asked.
She shuffled backwards as Gothica looked at her, his eyes glowing a violet colour. He raised his hand, pink mist rising from his finger as he pointed at Gothica. Suddenly, blood flowed out of Gloria's mouth. She clutched her chest, gasping for breath.
"Making your internal organs disappear, teleporting your waist out, tearing you apart, disintegrating your entire body" Gothica listed and every description happened for Gloria.
Again and again she was killed and bought back, experiencing her death time and time again. She had felt pain before; she had been through both physical and mental tortures. Interrogation methods, psychic rape, abuse as a child and psychological trauma that broke her in the past. But this experience with Gothica was beyond agonising, yet she had to endure. Her breathing was heavy as she crawled across the floor.
"I'm not done yet Gloria, there are millions of ways I could erase you from existence and then recreate you…maybe I could have you reincarnated some how, or perhaps I could just completely wipe every act you've ever committed, including peoples memories of you"
"I understand now…how you're doing what you doing in Westchester" Gloria said.
"You didn't think I'd get all that power from drugs did you, my powers have developed over the years but they aren't that good"
"It's not just Eli Bard, how else could you resurrect people, even bring back those with no bodies to bury"
"Are you talking about Blink…typical heroic stupidity, she was heroic to take the risk she made but the sad thing is that she wasn't actually dead, merely trapped" Gothica explained.
Gloria widened her eyes while Gothica burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"That's the most hilarious thing, Selene freed her from the dimension she was trapped in and fed her some bullshit about how all her friends abandoned her" Gothica paused to laugh, closing his eyes as he stepped backwards, clutching his sides "SHE BELIEVED EVERY WORD SHE WAS TOLD! SHE BECAME A MURDERER AT THE DROP OF A HAT! DON'T YOU SEE GLORIA THAT'S WHY IT'S SO FUNNY!!! PEOPLE ARENT GOOD! THEY'RE ALL CORRUPT! AFRAID!! DEAD!!!"
"Shut up you crazy bastard" Gloria said.
"Did you figure out how I'm doing all this huh, magic? Telekinesis? Molecule manipulation?"
"Reality manipulation…you're controlling the building blocks of our world itself" Gloria whispered.
"YES THAT'S IT!!!"
"But how did you achieve this power…your powers wouldn't have evolved like this, reality itself changed after M-Day, Sieg's destruction of the M'Kran crystal must have had some butterfly effect as well just as the actions of you two" Gloria said, looking up at Gothica.
"Two…oh it didn't take too long for you to figure it out" Gothica said, lifting off his hood to reveal his decaying white hair and his cracking skin.
"Your possessed, possessed by one of the X-men's most powerful and deadly villains"
"Go on say his name, I'll play the dramatic music" Gothica grinned.
"Proteus!" Gloria growled.
Gothica clapped his hands, laughing insanely as the room began to melt. He looked down at Gothica and picked her up by her cheek. A smile crept across Gloria's face as she chuckled.
"You're the pathetic one Gothica…. look at yourself, you've sacrificed your soul for the sake of spreading fear, you play with powers you have no understanding of, no care for the butterfly effects you will cause with this power…and perhaps the funniest thing of all is the fact that you now think of yourself as some S-Class threat to the world, but your still just a pathetic little man trying to hide his insecurities, your still someone else's tool….still pathetic" Gloria laughed.
Gothica grinded his teeth together, she was defiant till the end. She insulted him and mocked his plan for the world.
"You bitch!" He growled.
With one thrust of his hand, Gothica ended the woman's life, tearing his hand through her chest. He threw her body to the ground, rubbing the blood on his hands. Looking down at the body Gothica widened his eyes. She still had a smile on her face. Gothica looked towards her computer screen, he flew towards her desk and looked at the screen. It read, "Message sent!" before a timer appeared.
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"OH SH…"
The warehouse that Gloria had been working in was suddenly consumed in a mushroom of fire. Far away from the warehouse, Calvin Rankin awoke from his bed. He walked over to his computer and checked his messages.
It's time for you to play the hero! Look outside your apartment.
Looking at the email in confusion, Calvin drew his curtains and widened his eyes. Floating in front of his apartment complex was a small version of the Ultimatum. A small hatch opened and Calvin lowered his head. He had seen the news reports and he knew that the Initiative wasn't having any progress.
'Maybe there is something I can do' Calvin thought.
"So are you coming or not?"
Calvin looked up and blinked in surprise. Standing at the hatch was a black haired man with tanned skin, wearing a leather X-men outfit. Beside him was a woman, who Calvin recognised as Meggan Braddock, James Braddock's wife recently returned from the dead.
"Come on Calvin the twins are getting impatient and Mr Wisdom thinks he can control the jet" Meggan said, offering the man her hand.
Calvin smiled and nodded his head before running to his bed. He pulled a back out from under it and ran towards the window.
'Don't worry Sven, I'm coming!' he thought before jumping into the ship.
Albion looked at Warlock, who looked straight back. Neither one blinked as their hands shook.
"There may not be a way to save him" Albion said.
"Self believes there is a way" Warlock said.
"Why do you protect him?"
"Fact: He is Warlock's self soul friend, Confusion: What more reason do I need?" Warlock asked.
Albion raised his eyebrows before narrowing them. He thought back to the reunion he had with Sven.
"YOU BASTARD!!!!"
Lazlo slammed his fist into Sven's head, almost breaking his knuckles on the mans helmet. Sven looked at Lazlo, lowering his head as he spoke.
"My memories are pretty fuzzy, I'm not quite sure how long I've been back and what I've been doing in that time…. but if I'm going to be honest I wouldn't have sought you out Lazlo" He said.
"What…but why?" Lazlo asked.
"I would have been sure that you had moved on, found your own life, maybe settled down…I wouldn't have wanted to open old wounds"
"You're my best friend Sven…you were my brother" Lazlo said as he took a seat.
"I'm sorry, you know I'm not a big thinker"
"Its okay…it tore us up when you passed, some of us were actually suggesting ways of bringing you back but we knew that's not what you wanted" Lazlo explained, wiping a tear away.
"I'm glad you respected that wish"
"I didn't" Lazlo said. "If there had been a way to bring you back Sven then I would never have stopped searching, I would have crossed into hell itself, I would have died for you"
A tear slid down Sven's helmet as he shook Lazlo's hand.
"Your right Lazlo…I would have gone to hell for you as well"
"No Sven, you'd go to hell for everyone that's why I'd be proud to call you…brother"
Albion lowered his sword, looking at Warlock with a narrow eye. He wouldn't be moved, he had to protect his friend, his brother. Lazlo flipped his sword into a reverse style grip and took a step towards them.
"How far are you willing to go for him?" He asked.
"Logically I would sacrifice myself for my self soul friend" Warlock stated.
Lazlo looked back at the New Mutants, Cannonball was grappling with Jetstream while Sunspot blocked a scythe swipe from Tarot. Dani raised her hands as Rahne jumped at her.
"Rahne its me Dani, listen to me, remember me" Dani said desperately.
"Thanks for the help Roulette" Bevaron said as he fired a blast into Sunspot's chest.
"Why can't any of you fight this control?" Karma asked, lashing out with her telepathy.
"YOU GUYS AINT GETTING PAST!!!!" Sunspot yelled, slapping Catseye aside.
"We've got your back!" Magma said, firing a blast into Bevaron.
"HIT EM HARD AND FAST Y'ALL!!" Cannonball laughed, slamming into the Hellion's, releasing an explosion of fire.
However Cannonball was sent flying out of the blast, slamming into Magik. Her sword span across the ground, coming to a halt near Albion's feet.
"Embrace your deaths!" Tarot said, creating a gigantic reaper.
"Rahne listen to me…your still in there I know it!" Dani said with tears in her eyes.
The Reaper slashed Sam across the chest, and then threw him into Sunspot. Bevaron fired a blast that singed Karma's shoulder and Beef slammed his fist into Magma's chest. Albion looked at the New Mutants, widening his eyes as they got up off the floor. Rahne slashed Dani across the cheek, but still the girl struggled, trying to reach her friend. Doug too looked on, his expression one of confusion. Then his eye took on a yellow tone as a crack ran through his face. He clutched his chest, falling to his knees.
0Too many languages1 Aggression0 Confusion0 Determination0 Loyalty0 Fear1 Binary code scrambling1 Gothica's logic failing0 Foreign presence detected0 attempting to purge from system1
"What…what language am I?" Doug asked, grinding his teeth together in pain.
Albion raised his head, looking back at Doug. Warlock placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to offer comfort for his friend. Sam was knocked aside by the Reaper, rolling into Dani. Wolfsbane stood on her hind legs, blood and foam dripping from her mouth.
"Rahne…it's us…remember us!" Sam said weakly.
"Your not an animal Rahne your one of us" said Dani as she got off the floor again.
Lazlo couldn't help but see Sven in each of the New Mutants, and himself in Doug.
"You don't know where you belong do you?" He asked.
Doug coughed and looked at Lazlo with wide eyes.
"Your not the only one who's ever been confused upon rising again…why have I come back? Who will take me in? Where do I belong? That's language isn't it? Culture, belonging, the way we speak determines who we are, and yet inside we can be different…but I think that the way you speak, and the feelings inside you say that you belong, that your language is your friends…look at them, do you see what language they are acting out now?" Lazlo asked.
The Reaper's skull like face shifted into Gothica's decaying expression.
"I hope you aren't trying to spoil my plans Lazlo, I already had to kill Gloria" Gothica said, grinning as Lazlo widened his eyes.
"Gloria!" Karma said, each one of the New Mutants looked to Gothica in shock.
"I don't like meddlers, so how about we get rid of useless old Doug, Rahne be a dear and tear him apart for me"
Rahne snapped and got on all fours, crawling towards Doug. Lazlo stabbed his sword into the ground and kicked Illyana's soul sword into his hands. Wolfsbane ran at Lazlo, snapping her jaw at him. He raised his hand, stopping Rahne's jaw with his left wrist. They remained locked in place, Rahne's jaw digging through Lazlo's gauntlet and skin. Looking one another in the eyes, Lazlo tapped the soul sword against his helmet, shattering it completely and revealing his face. His facial expression remained defiant for a moment before a tear fell down his cheek.
"I suppose this is it then…you both refuse to fight this corruption, or maybe you've just given up, didn't you hear your friends or maybe they didn't yell loud enough" Lazlo said.
He closed his eyes, grunting as tears fell down his face.
"RAHNE SINCLAIR!!! DON'T FORGET WHO YOU WERE!! DON'T FORGET YOUR FRIENDS!!! NEVER GIVE THEM UP!!! FIGHT IT DAMN IT!!!!!" Lazlo yelled.
Tearing his arm away from Rahne's grip, Lazlo pulled his hand back and slapped the young woman across the face.
"YOU GUYS WANT TO KNOW WHY YOU'RE BACK!! YOUR BACK FOR YOUR FRIENDS! NO ONE ELSE GETS A CHANCE LIKE THIS SO DON'T WASTE IT!! RETURN TO YOUR FRIENDS!!!!!"
Rahne fell to her knees, howling as dark energy seeped from her eyes and mouth. The Hellions took a step forward while Gothica grinded his teeth together. Albion stepped in front of Rahne with Warlock at his side.
"You wont hurt self friends!" Warlock said.
"Sorry Hellions, but your all going back" Lazlo said.
"You fool…. YOU CANT OVERCOME YOUR FEARS!!!!" Gothica screamed.
"I don't need to overcome them, alls I need is the presence of my friends to push those fears aside" Albion said as gold energy crackled from the soul blade
He swung the blade, launching a magnificent wave that consumed Gothica and the Hellions. The mixture of magic and energy created an intense explosion. Lazlo fell to his knees and smiled as the smoke cleared. There was nothing left of Gothica or the Hellions. The New Mutants gathered around Lazlo as he leant on the soul sword, seat dripping off of his hair. Dani helped Rahne limp over to Lazlo, both smiling as he nodded.
"I believe you guys still need to save someone" Lazlo said before he fell unconscious.
Magik picked up her sword while Shan and Roberto rolled Lazlo onto his back.
"I need your sword self-friend Illyana" Warlock said.
Magik hesitated for a moment before giving the sword to Warlock. He walked towards Doug, passing his own technorganic essence through the blade of the soul sword. Ramming the blade through Doug's chest, the New Mutants widened their eyes for a moment before Warlock removed it. No blood was dripping off the blade as Warlock gave it back to Magik. Doug looked up at the New Mutants with a tear in his eyes.
"What language are you?" Warlock asked.
Doug looked at his old teammates and friends and smiled as he answered the question that had been on his mind for so long.
"You all…you are my language!"
Next Chapter 8: Old ghosts
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter
