Chapter 10

Darkest Hour

Electrical bioenergy coursed through Will's body. The lightning danced around her fingertips before the Guardian hurled it at the nearest enemy. The shadow creature disappeared in a puff of smoke, but was quickly replaced by another. Will spun, firing bolts of quintessential energy in all directions, trying to keep a safe distance between herself and her nearest foe. Despite the situation, Will felt an odd sense of freedom. Whatever these creatures were, they weren't human, and she wasn't even sure they were alive. That meant that for the first time in a very long time, she could let loose the full extent of her power. The energy flowed from the Heart through her body, and releasing that energy was very satisfying. There was fear as well. Fear, anger and desperation clawed at her, but she kept a clear head and focused on the job at hand.

She was no longer keeping track of Jack. Since she had entered the void, Will had been keeping one eye on Jack and one on the darkness. However, now that the portal was open, and she could see the night sky, it didn't matter what Jack did. There was no need for him to betray her.

Jack, as it turns out, was faring only slightly better then Will was. He was fueled by a hatred that easily eclipsed Will's. While the Guardian had been trapped for less then a day, Jack had been enslaved for years, and he was out for revenge. If Jack had a weakness, it was his pride. The shadow creatures clawed at him, but he did not seen to notice. At one point, Will could see him silhouetted by the portal, shaking off a pack of creatures. Will ignored the scene and continued towards the portal. So far away…

On top of the Spire, the four remaining Guardians, along with Sparrow, fought a similar battle. Although the Corruption would say otherwise, they clearly considered the five fighters as a threat. Any shadow creature that made it through the portal immediately tried to remove Sparrow and the Guardians from the Spire.

"You know, this would make a great video game." Irma said, removing a few more shadow creatures from the battle.

"Any sign of Will?" Taranee asked Cornelia, who was closest to the portal.

"No, but I don't see anything." Cornelia replied. "It's pitch black."

A grunt from beside them caught the Guardians attentions. A barrage of shadow creatures was attacking Sparrow, a group much larger then any individual Guardian had been facing. While he was able to defend himself, he was slowly being pushed towards the edge of the Spire. Sensing this, the shadow creatures were no longer attacking, but simply shoving Sparrow towards the edge. He struggled against the force, but to no avail. He felt his heel slip off the edge, and began to fall, when something caught him.

"Whoops! Watch your step!" Hay Lin said, grabbing Sparrow by the wrist.

"Thank you." Sparrow said, once Hay Lin had gotten them both back to solid ground.

"No problem!" Hay Lin said. "I'm sure one day you can return the favor."

Hay Lin was interrupted by Sparrow pulling out his pistol and lunging at her. He grabbed Hay Lin, extended his arm past her shoulder, and fired one shot. A shadow creature, which had gotten with inches of Hay Lin, vanished in a puff of smoke, slain by Sparrow's bullet.

"Or you could do it now." Hay Lin said, rejoining the fight.

Will let out a wide blast of energy, clearing some space around her. She breathed heavily, giving her aching muscles a chance to rest. She analyzed the situation and groaned. She had been fighting for a while now, and the portal seemed no closer then it had ten minutes ago. Of course, it was hard to gain any perspective in the void, or any sense of time. As the wall of shadow creatures once more closed in on her, she bolted forward. She zipped underneath the attack, focusing her energy in front of her. The creatures slashed and clawed at her, but she kept her head down and continued to fly. This was not about victory; this was about survival. She just had to make it to the portal.

Will hesitated just for a second. The portal had disappeared. She scanned the void for it but found nothing. She looked for Jack, but found him out of earshot. Where had it gone? Had they closed it? Were the rest of the girls on the other side? Had they found a way to stop the Darkness, not knowing she was on the other side? The panic in her was beginning to rise when she caught another glimpse of the portal. But no sooner had it appeared then it disappeared once again. It flickered in and out of Will's sight. She took a deep breath as she figured out what was happening. It was a shadow, but nothing like anything she had seen in the void so far. This thing, whatever it was, was at least ten times Will's size. It was like a moving skyscraper, and it looked like it was moving towards her.

"Guys, this is getting bad!" Irma said.

She had now taken to the air, as had that rest of the Guardians. There was little to no space left on the Spire for any of them to fight. This didn't present much of a problem to the airborne Guardians, but it was a significant issue for Sparrow.

"I could use some assistance!" He shouted against the wind, once more being pushed towards the edge of the tower.

This time, it was Cornelia who came to his aid, lifting him off the ground. Much to Cornelia's surprise, however, Sparrow shook one arm lose as soon as they had gotten off the ground.

"Woah, what are you doing?" Cornelia asked, struggling to maintain her grip. "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm trying to help you!"

"If you could do your best to keep still…" was all Sparrow had to say.

In an instant, he had pulled out his gun and began firing shots into the crowd of creatures below. With so many targets, he had no problem firing off round after round, and shattering the Corruptions' ranks.

"Oh." Cornelia said. "Don't you ever run out of ammo for that thing?"

"It's… complicated." Sparrow said. "Try not to think about it."

The group of five continued to fight, but each passing minute equaled more lost ground. They realized that unless something changed soon, the Spire would be lost, and perhaps Albion with it.

"Cornelia, there is no other option! You must use your powers to destroy the Spire! Stop the rest of the Corruption from getting through!" Sparrow shouted.

"No!" Cornelia shouted back. "The portal opened! That proves Will is alive! They wouldn't have been able to use the Heart without her!"

"There's no time!" Sparrow replied. "If we don't act now…"

"Um, guys?" Irma said. "Too late."

The rest of the group turned towards the portal, and saw a horrific sight. A shadow unlike any of the others appeared in front of them. This one was over fifty feet high. It appeared to be made almost entirely out of living smoke, just like the smaller shadow creatures. Two large, purple eyes stared directly ahead.

Before any one could react, a light began to shine inside the creature. The shadow let loose a terrifying screams, forcing Sparrow and the girls to cover their ears. Slowly, the giant creature began to separate. Smoke began to drift off of it, sailing into the night sky. Faster and faster it began to dissolve, screaming the entire time. Eventually, it disappeared with a flash, forcing everyone to look away.

When they looked back, the creature was gone, but standing in its place was Will. Her costume was tattered, she was breathing heavily, and blood trickled from her nose. Despite her exhausted appearance, she managed a smile as the others looked at her dumbstruck. She lifted the heart and said two, very familiar words.

"Guardians unite."