Chapter 11
"Sacrifice"
For-ti-tude: (noun)
That strength or firmness of mind which enables a person to encounter danger with coolness and courage, or to bear pain or adversity without murmuring, depression, or despondency; passive courage; resolute endurance; firmness in confronting or bearing up against danger or enduring trouble.
* Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
It might be more than you believe
It might be something you can't see
It's not my time
I'm not going
There's a fear in me
It's not showing
This could be the end of me
And everything I know
"It's Not My Time" by 3 Doors Down
It lasted only for a few seconds, but the pain was damn near unbearable. The next thing Cody knew there was something heavy crashing into him, forcing him sideways and knocking him off of his feet. He rolled a couple of feet before stopping and then whatever had hit him also came to a rest alongside of him. Cody felt like his entire face had been sunburned as he struggled to his feet, wisps of smoke rising from his partially charred golden armor.
Looking next to him as he stood up, Cody realized that it was Zach who had tackled him and managed to force them both out of the path of Ashani's destructive attack. He reached down and helped his brother to his feet.
"Thanks," Cody said, steadying Zach as he stumbled. Zach winced in pain, his face looking just as sun burnt as Cody's felt.
"Anytime bro," He replied, looking over to the Demon Lord who was now delighting himself by smashing the tops of high buildings to pieces, killing dozens of innocent people hiding there. Cody scowled, the sight was completely sickening to him.
"How are we going to stop him now?" Cody asked his brother in a whisper, not wanting to be overheard by Ashani. He wanted to do something…anything…to bring down this monster, but he was out of ideas. Ashani seemed almost impervious to their blasts of light and he quickly regenerated his body from the damage done to it by the magical swords, Excalibur and Fortitude. What was there left for them to try?
"I think I have an idea. Do you remember the story you read about the Children of the Light?" Cody bit his lip in thought, remembering the day when he and Code had been doing some research. There was a part in it about defeating the Demon Lord and he recited it aloud for his brother.
"The leader of the children made the ultimate sacrifice and brought the demon lord crashing back down into the depths of the demon realm where he became trapped as the remaining children sealed the gateway to the mortal realm moments later."
"The leader of the children Cody…" Zach's eyes seemed to light up, almost as if to say he had found the answer to all of their problems.
"Taschen!" Cody hadn't put two and two together. He'd largely forgotten about the story in the face of the extreme dangers presented by the Demon Lord.
"Exactly. He sacrificed himself to force Ashani back into his realm and then the gateway was sealed behind him."
"But it's reversed this time, the gateway is sealed and he's still here…"
"Since we can't trap him, our only option now is to destroy him."
"But how?" Cody asked, momentarily halting the rapid fire exchange between the two of them.
"The full power of the light could do it. Channeling every last ounce of it into his body…he won't be able to stop it," He answered, a strange glint in his eyes. He looked almost afraid, but seemingly determined and resolute in the decision he was making.
"You can't control all of that Zach!" Cody protested, looking at him in disbelief. Was he really saying what Cody thought he was?
"That's the point little brother." Zach replied, flashing a fake grin to instill confidence in him. It failed.
"But…no!"
"I don't want to do this Cody, deep down my instincts are screaming at me not to, but I have to do this. I have to do this for you, for them and for me." He said, looking from Cody to the twins lying in the street near the semi conscious Max and then down at his own hands.
"No you don't! We'll find another way…" Cody felt like he was just going through the motions now. He knew that he couldn't change his brother's mind and that his plan was probably the only thing that would work.
"There is no other way. This must come to an end. Right here, right now." Zach shook his head slowly, confirming Cody's thoughts. His aura intensified, so much energy surging through his body that it warmed the air around him. Fortitude reformed in his hand, gleaming magnificently in the white light.
"I wish there was some other way. I finally have you back," Cody whispered, finally accepting his brother's decision and powering up himself. Golden light intensified around him and lightning sparked where the two aura's met, "I'll distract him for you."
"Thanks Cody. I couldn't have asked for a better brother." Cody controlled his emotions as best he could, but a tear still escaped his eye and ran down his cheek. It was ice cold, a strange sensation in the warmth of their auras. He turned his head to Ashani and nodded grimly.
"Let's do this."
"Right," As Zach spoke Cody took to the air and soared off to the right, drawing the Demon Lord's attention. He dodged several blasts of negative energy and sent back lances of golden light that stabbed into Ashani, destroying several layers of flesh. A massive arm swung at him and Cody flipped his body over it, pushing off of the arm with his feet as it passed by him, catapulting himself directly above the Demon Lord's head. Ashani's gaze followed him upwards, until he suddenly sensed Zach closing in on him.
Zach was a sight to see indeed. His aura had greatly expanded, there were now bolts of energy rotating within it seeming to warp the space around him as the air wavered much like it does when heat rises off the pavement on a hot summer day. Lighting bolts shot out of his aura at random, striking nearby buildings, sending a shower of sparks raining to the ground. His white and gold armor seemed to be on fire as well, it looked like the metal was white hot.
Raising Fortitude to head level and shifting it to his right side with both hands, Zach sailed into the monster. Another sonic boom echoed through the streets as he collided with Ashani, Fortitude stabbing deep into his chest. The Demon Lord had no time to react as all the power of the light that Zach could channel was released into him.
White light consumed Zach and Ashani both while Cody watched his brother die again. Grief and hatred consumed him and he sent blast after blast of golden energy into what little he could see of the Demon Lord's form wanting nothing more than to murder his brother's killer. He landed on the rooftop of a nearby building as the white light became to intense to look at and covered his eyes with his forearm.
As the light finally faded, everything seemed to become still and silent. Cody looked up over his arm and was horrified to see the Demon Lord had survived Zach's final attack. Ashani had been badly mauled by the attack however. He'd lost an arm and most of his upper body, it was as if someone had literally took a giant ice cream scoop to him.
"No…!" Cody breathed, enraged that Zach had sacrificed himself in vain. Then Cody realized that perhaps it was not in vain after all. The Demon Lord was incredibly weak now and his injuries were severe. Another attack like Zach's could finish him off, and there was only one person left standing who could muster such an assault.
So this was to be his fate? Cody had survived the slaughter of his family, the destruction of the entire world and two years of living hell to come to this moment in time. He'd been prepared to give his life to save his family, and now it seemed like the moment had come. Even with the younger twins dead and his mission to save everyone a partial disaster, he still knew what he had to do. He had the power to make a difference in billions of people's lives even if they never knew he existed. It was his duty to humanity.
"This is for my family, my friends and humankind!" Cody screamed, lifting off from the roof of the building he stood on and racing right at the Demon Lord. He let go of all of his control over his powers and felt the light surge through him. His aura expanded like Zach's, heat washed over him and he felt a burning pain race through him, but rather than cringe he welcomed it.
The end to all of his pain, grief and horrible memories…The end to all the senseless killing…The end to the darkness and the threat to the entire world. This was worth it, worth everything.
Cody came to a stop inside the crater Zach had created inside the Demon Lord's body. He looked up at Ashani's head towering high above him, just now looking down at him. As his energy built to a massive crescendo inside of him, barely contained, Cody smiled in vengeance.
"Time's up." He said, and then felt the light energy break free of his mortal body. As Cody's body was torn to pieces and vaporized by the surging explosion of light, he remembered a Christmas with his family from many years ago. He was twelve, and saddened that his parents weren't getting back together again after seemingly being happy around each other. But then they had told him that they were still a family, with a mother and father who loved him and Zach so very much. Cody took comfort in the memory, and it eased the physical pain consuming him until he was completely destroyed.
The golden light of Cody's sacrifice shredded Ashani's body, vaporizing every last bit of him in a powerful cascade of raw energy. Now, with both brother's sacrifices complete, the Demon Lord was forever gone. The clouds parted and rays of golden sunshine washed through the streets of Boston, warming the chilly air.
Everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, for it was finally over.
A few minutes later, Max awoke. She had been completely exhausted by what she had done and had passed out after the future twins had picked her up and carried her off to a safe place away from the fight. Max's head jerked up, looking around for Zach, Cody and the Demon Lord. She was surprised to see nothing more than a peaceful image of the sun washing the streets and buildings in warm light.
The future twins and Ashani were nowhere to be seen. Maybe they had defeated him…but where were they now? Max looked around, seeing nothing, until her gaze rested upon the two bodies lying in the street nearby.
She brought her hand to her mouth to keep from screaming, seeing her two best friends lying dead in the street. Code and Zack had helped her repel the steady steam of demons coming through the gateway, but it had all became fuzzy after that. How could this have happened?
Max wanted to get up and go over to them, but she seemed to have lost all feeling in her limbs. She couldn't move, paralyzed by the horrible sight of her friends. Zack had been her first crush, first kiss, first date and had accepted her for who she was as a friend when they had first met at school. She wasn't as close to Code, but he too was still a good friend, her fondest memory of him was the time he had tried to help her win the Dance USA contest after his brother had injured his leg. Code was a goof, but she still cared about him deeply.
Now they were both gone, and she lowered her head as the tears flowed freely. How could she live like this? How would she tell their mother that her sons were dead? This was a nightmare.
Something suddenly made Max look up, she wasn't sure what it was, but she felt that it was important. She wiped her eyes dry and started in the twin's general direction for awhile, looking for what had caught her attention in the stillness surrounding them. There! There it was!
Code's right hand twitched, and his fingers momentarily flexed as though feeling the texture of the ground he was lying on. Then he was still. Just a dozen feet ahead of him was Zack lying face down as well, his back rose slightly and then fell as though he were taking slow deep breaths.
Hope flooded through Max as she struggled to her feet. Were they…? Could they really be…? Was it possible that the young twins had somehow survived? Were they still alive?
Thanks for sticking with me this long everyone (Hurricane13, Wyntirsno, SkyHighFan, AlecTowser especially as my biggest reviewers and PM critics *cough Sky cough* hehe). Hope you all liked the final battle. Please let me know what you think.
Max awakens to the aftermath of the battle to save our world. What has become of the twins, present and future alike? Where does the world go from here?
Stay turned for Chapter 12: One Year
