Chapter 10: What An Unfortunate Outcome

Cesious Vode. It's not possible I killed him. I blasted him into a cavern. He fell more than a hundred feet. But there he is, a gun in hand. My legs won't budge, my chest right. What about Kit? Where's Kit. Vode… Vode killed him. No he couldn't have. Alcatraz got Kit home safe, so Vode must have used his semblance to disguise himself as Kit, not having killed him.

Lacy had dropped the case on the table and was leaning in the corner of the wall. She knows right now I'm her only hope, and that Cesious Vode is the bigger threat.

I swallow hard, grinding my teeth. "Where's Kit?"

"Kit, he's in some graveyard somewhere, decomposing." Cesious says giggling slightly, and perching on the edge of Lacy's desk. "But you're why I'm here!"

"No!" I shout, jamming the gun at him. "Where's Kit?"

Vode seems to almost quiver. "Well a couple of years ago I was severely injured, and a young 18 year old was exploring, so I killed him, stole his identity, and welp! Here I am!" I swallow hard, a wave of nausea almost over taking me. I've never known Kit, it was always Vode. Always. Cesious claps, and then stuffs his free hand in his pocket. "So imagining surprise when you walked into the village I'd made my temporary home! The one man who'd bested me!"

"I'll do it again." I growl. I may have never have truly known Kit, but I cared about him. He was too innocent.

"Now, that raises an interesting question!" Vode says. His voice sharper than a knife, a smirk like a snake. "How did you beat me to start with! I'm the best fighter the world has ever seen!"

I roll my eyes, trying to find a way out. "Right sure you are."

"I've been waiting for my chance to kill you, my friend." Vode tilts his head. "But I wanted to watch you first. And I wasn't disappointed, you're the hero people say you are!"

"Fuck you, you're insane!"

"Obviously! But that's what makes things fun!" He cackles. I glance at Lacy, squeezed into the corner. There's something in her eyes. I glance at the suitcase and back at her, where she gives the smallest of nods. Holy shit, that's street smart.

I focus back on Vode, who's humming softly. "Alright Vode, let's do this."

"No, no, this is all wrong!" He shouts. "You don't have the gunsword! How can it be a proper rematch if we aren't armed with the same weapons?" He says, pulling a thin sword out of its sheath. It has a faint green tint to it. Poison.

I roll my eyes, and shrug. "Unfortunately I don't have my sword anymore!"

"Oh, I know!" He says, pulling a bag off his back and shuffling through it. "I haven't spent so much time studying you, disguised as the wretchedly shy kid for nothing!" And with that final word, he yanks free a perfect replica of my gun sword. With a grin nothing short of demonic, he throws it to me.

I catch it, swallowing hard as I notice that he must've spent time looking at pictures of the real thing. It has small scratches where the real one does, and somehow its even weighted the same. I look up, my hands shaking, the weight familiar, but everything else wrong. "How did you make this?"

"The devils in the detail!" In the corner Lacy groans, and this seems to draw Vode's attention to her for the first time. "Lacy Laromy, oh how I hate you!"

Lacy smiles, turning on the charm. "Don't you think we can come to an arrangement? I want Azure dead as much as you do!"

"Wow there," I say, pointing a finger at her. "That's not true."

"Shh my dear Azure, I know the bitch lies." Vode crows, an evil smirk twisting his features further.

She huffs loudly. "Alright, either you two let me out of here before you start measuring, or I will kill you both."

I swallow, knowing her trick, and ready for it. But Vode is ignorant of it, and doesn't seem bothered at all. "Oh little Lacy, the day you can take either of us in a fight is the day I give up the right to rule hell." What a truly wonderful man I'm standing in the same room with. Ruler of hell and all. Also he has terrible taste in one liners.

"Fine," She snaps, then smiles sweetly. "Have it your way!" She lifts her hand with the dead man's switch and several things happen very quickly:

Vode notices the briefcase next to him, and lunges for the stares. I summon a shield around, covering my whole body, Lacy pushes open a hidden door, and at the very last millisecond, the case lets loose a massive roar, blue flames influx the world, and despite my shield, I'm sent hurtling through the sky.

For several long moments, everything is ringing, the world nothing but a horrid blur, but I'd been right. Lacy hadn't hooked the bomb to Nion, but to the case she was going to give me. EIther way, she planned on killing me.

I finally manage to struggle to my feet, the world still spinning underfoot. Somewhere below me, I hear a roar, and rubbing my eyes, I see Vode sprinting up the steps of the arena stands, the top of which I'm at. Fumbling for the gun in my hand, I raise it, and start firing. The weight just right. Vode and certainly done an amazing job at making this.

Unfortunately he's fast, and deflects the shots I send his way, and he reaches me. JUst before he gets there, I extend the blade, and block his swing. We move swiftly, jumping over seats and running across the tops of them, avoiding each other's cuts and jabs.

He flips over me, cutting downward, but I deflect it, moving out of his way and stabbing towards his exposed midriff. But he moves like a snake, and dodges to the side. He jumps down several levels, deflecting shots that I send his way, as I flow hot on his trial. Drawing even with him I stab towards his chest, but he gets his blade between him and I.

"I couldn't wish for a better place to fight you! High in the sky, again with too much space between us and the ground!" He cackles, pushing hard against me.

I kick at his leg, but he manages to avoid it. "You're a loony!"

"I'm you!" He snears. That almost stops me cold, and he manages to push me off him, and I fall down several steps. Hitting my shoulder and jaw as I roll. I just manage to catch myself, pain shooting through my body. I look up, and come face to face with myself. "I wanted to be you! And once I kill you, I will be! I'll replace you in the world!"

My eyes widen, and I struggle to my feet. "No one will believe you're me."

"Right because why would they believe me? I'm just a trustworthy protagonist!" He quips. He yanks the gun from its holster and fires several shots, but I deflect each with the edge of my blade. "And you're a has been!"

"You know what, fuck this." I mutter. "I'm too fucking tired."

"Tired of what," Then with such anger in his voice my skin crawls. "Cesious Vode. At least that's who they'll think your body is!"

I pop my neck, taking each stare at a time. "Tired of being called a has been, or out of practice, or people doubting me! I'm Azure motherfucking Požar! I'm the Dragon! And I'm going to slit your throat!"

At the end of my speech we're face to face. And for the first time since he'd revealed himself, Cesious Vode is not smiling. Not even a little bit. There's a beat, and then we both turn into a flurry. Each of us aiming to kill with such furry and vehemence, the seats in the stands around us are mowed down. The ones we do jump over, don't stay standing long, as we flip, roll, slice, cut, stab, and shoot our way across the stadium.

Vode scampers away, putting space between us, attempting to shoot at me from a distance, but I cover the space, forcing a sword fight. He's quick though, managing to stand against my aggressive attacks. I manage to get inside his guard, and graze his leg with a kick. It's just enough to throw his balance, and open a space for me to slam my fist into his chest. He flies back, and crashes into a row of seats. He struggles up, panting heavily.

"Not bad Azure, much better than I thought you could do!" He cries, rubbing his ribs.

I advance on him, firing shots at him. "I'm not the pathetic loser you think I am Vode. I killed you once, and honestly, it's not a story worth telling."

"I'm your greatest foe!"

"You're a backlot run of the mill no one!" I counter, not hiding the furry in my voice. Vode roars, charging me, sword slashing downward. I sidestep, sticking out my foot and trip him. His illusion shatters, and his own scared face now looks up at me. "Die bitch!" I scream, thrusting my sword, down through his chest. There's a slip second of relief, and then searing pain.

I drop the sword, stumbling backwards. I grope wildly at my side, feeling a surge of wetness covering my side. Vode scream laughs from the ground, his voice strained. "You lose!" Swallowing hard I look down, and see a deep cut in my side. "My sword is coated with poison! You have ten minutes, maybe less!"

I struggle to breath, but turn one last furious glare at Vode. "You're dead too."

"It doesn't matter, I got what I wanted!" He won't stop laughing, his entire body shaking.

I turn my gaze to the arena floor. Where Roy is sitting on top of Getz, and Obsidian is helping Nion. Alcatraz is stumping over to them. Everything is at peace. Taking a deep breath, I drag myself to a corner, and fall down. The cuts bad, but not too bad. I'll just take a short rest and be on my way. First there's something I have to do. Something I should've done months ago.

I fumble in my pocket and pull out my scroll, dialing a number. It rings a few times before it's picked up. The sweet sound of Silvia's voice fills the air. "A-Azure?"

"Silvia, hey I'm sorry it's been so long." I try, forcing my pain down.

"Is something wrong?" She asks. Always checking on everyone else first.

I glance down at my wound, leaking too much blood. "I'm fine, just thought I'd finally check in. What are you up to?"

There's a pause, then she responds. "I'm on a mission."

"A mission?"

"Yeah, it's about magic, there's something wrong with the core, any ideas?" She asks, her voice hopeful. After all she could always turn to me.

I do know what's wrong. But I can't get sucked in. "Check Atlas maybe?"

"I… maybe." She agrees. There's another brief silence and then she rushes out her words. "Where have you been?"

"Just resting, but I just finished a mission as well." I lie. "It was easy, I think I'm going to take a break."

A nervous laugh breaks over the speaker. "Neither of us get breaks, you know that!"

"You… you wouldn't want a break?" I ask.

Silvia seems to hesitate then there's a sound like she's shaking her head. "I couldn't, there's to many lives that need saving."

"You were always the noble one." I offer.

"I… thanks." She says. Neither of us speak for a moment. "Are you coming back?"

I glance down again at my wound. It's turned green. According to Vode I only have a few more minutes. "I'm always with you Silv."

"You aren't, are you?" Her voice cold now.

"Just… watch the news… you'll understand."

The sound of shaking fuzzies up the call. "Right, well I'll see you around I guess." And with that the line goes dead.

Signing heavily I turn my eyes to the sky. I'm sorry Silvia, but I finally have my peace. The seconds tick by, and the world slowly drifts away. Somethings get to be easy.

Authors Notes: This is the end of this one! There will be more stories featuring characters, and an epilogue will be posted as well. So stay tuned!