Chapter Ten
"Berserker"
I can't hold on
To what I want when I'm stretched so thin
It's all too much to take in
I can't hold on
To anything, watching everything spin
With thoughts of failure sinking in
If I turn my back I'm defenseless
And to go blindly seems senseless
If I hide my pride and let it all go on
Then they'll take from me till everything is gone
If I let them go I'll be outdone
But if I try to catch them I'll be outrun
If I'm killed by the questions like a cancer
Then I'll be buried in the silence of the answer
By myself (myself)
I ask why (but in my mind I find)
I can't rely on myself (myself)
I ask why (but in my mind I find)
I can't rely on myself
I can't hold on…
"By Myself" by Linkin Park
What seemed like several hours later to Cody who was fitfully napping, the helicopters landed at an airbase and began to shut down as evening approached. The sun was low in the sky, lighting up the clouds with alternating shades of gold and red light. The passengers, helped by the crew chief, soon disembarked and Cody was glad to have his feet firmly planted on the ground again. After clearing the rotors and moving a short distance away he, Matt and Lily stretched their stiff muscles and walked around a bit to relive their sore bottoms. Military aircraft were certainly uncomfortable Cody mused lightly to himself.
Soon after they were following the rest of the rescued people into what looked like a large aircraft hanger which stood empty at the moment. Several soldiers and airmen were ushering them inside and Cody had the strangest feeling of being watched. His suspicions were confirmed when he entered the hanger and he was pulled aside by an officer who was of average height and had brown hair that was streaked with grey. Matt and Lily stopped a short distance away watching the exchange.
"Excuse me son, but I heard an interesting tale from the pilots who just flew you in," the Army officer said, his rank identifying him as a two star general by the name of Stevens.
"Yeah, there were dragons up there can you believe it sir?" Cody said, trying to play dumb. Unfortunately the general saw right through him.
"Normally I would discount outlandish tales such as people firing lasers at Demons to stress or fatigue, but nearly all of my men and women reported seeing it. One of the crews identified you as the source."
"Uhh…"
"Care to explain young man?"
"Look sir, I'm not a threat to you or your soldiers," Cody stated bluntly, sensing the officer's primary concern.
"Then what are you?" Stevens asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.
"I was born to fight these Demons, I have special gifts at my disposal that are more effective at destroying them than any conventional weapon."
"Then why didn't you stop the dragons yourself instead of the Air Force?"
"I'm not strong enough yet," Cody admitted, hanging his head in shame. If it hadn't been for the military, he and his friends would all be dead by now.
"Let's say I believe you for a moment, would you demonstrate your 'special gifts'?" Stevens asked skeptically.
"Using my power only draws them to me," Cody answered, confident that he didn't need to explain who he meant.
"What is to say that you haven't drawn them here already by your antics on the way here?" Stevens wondered, obviously not buying Cody's reasoning.
"But!" Cody exclaimed, his cheeks flushing with anger, "I saved your people up there!"
"We could have handled it." Cody couldn't believe what he was hearing…
"You have no idea what you're dealing with sir!"
"On the contrary, it is you young man that has no idea," Stevens countered, his tone indicating that they were obviously done talking. He turned and walked away with his armed escorts as the rest of the survivors in the hangar listened intently to a brief given by a junior officer further away. Cody balled his hands into fists, feeling his fingertips dig into his palms as the officer dismissed his claims.
"Idiot!" Cody hissed as Matt and Lily came over to him.
"That went well," Matt said sarcastically.
"What do we do now?" Lily asked, looking around the hangar as if Demons might jump out at them at any moment now that no one believed Cody. She didn't know how right she was…
After listening to the rest of the brief and having a quick bite to eat, the three friends heard a wailing siren pierce the relative calm of the base. Unseen by them, a horde of Demons assaulted the outer gates, breaking through with ease and spilling onto the base, cutting down the limited resistance they encountered. Among them was a lone human who seemed to be directing them with only his thoughts. Satisfied that the attack was well underway, the leader set out on his own looking for something…
Knowing that it was past time to leave, Cody urged his friends out of the chow hall and went in the direction opposite that everyone else was traveling. He was bound and determined to help out in the defense of the base until Cody saw that it was already too late. The thin line of defenders wouldn't hold them off for long, not even with his help.
Distantly the sound of helicopters rising into the air to assist in pushing back the demonic tide could be heard. Then, just as they were airborne and turning towards the encroaching threat, lances of reddish pink light cut through the air and cored into the aircraft. Explosions deafened the trio as they took cover behind a nearby building, flaming debris from the destroyed helicopters slamming into the ground as their burned out skeletons crashed back to the earth. They moved quickly around the building, searching for a way out of the deathtrap that the base had become.
Cody turned the corner and froze. Standing not twenty feet away was a tall man clad in black as night armor wielding an obsidian sword. He could feel the waves of dark power crashing against him now that he was so close to the enemy.
Feeling a flare of hatred for the man who had personally killed his brother, Cody balled his hands into fists. This was the Champion that Jarran had warned Cody was hunting him. It was Chiam, no doubt about it. He seemed to have been looking around for something, but the moment the trio rounded the corner, his head snapped towards them.
Chiam knew that the final Child of Light was headed in this direction and he had followed the procession of Earth Realm humans to this air base after being too late to catch him in Philadelphia. The Child had given him the slip in Boston after narrowly escaping thanks to his insufferable brother buying him time to get away and then Chiam had followed the brief flares of light energy he sensed as his target moved down the east coast. When Chiam was certain that his enemy was in Philadelphia, he'd assumed that Pandora would kill him in her assault on one of the last strongholds maintained by the people of this realm, but he had been wrong.
Somehow the Child had given her the slip too, but now Chiam was very close. He knew it, he could feel it. Now as he directed the Demons under his command to attack the air base, he wandered around following his sixth sense which was highly attuned to sensing the light and he was sure that he was almost upon the one person he sought.
As he walked into the group of teenagers, he sensed that he was getting close. They were around the same age as the Child of Light he'd already killed and perhaps these three were friends of the remaining Child or would know where to find him. Perhaps one of them was the very Child he was seeking. The blond haired boy standing in the middle of the three looked very familiar.
"I seek the Truth Seeker," Chiam said, grinning at his own little joke as he approached the trio of friends backing away from him. They were on their guard which was a good thing, showing that they knew of and respected the Champion's power.
"If you want him, you'll have to go through me first!" Matt growled, stepping in front of Chiam. The Champion of Chaos regarded this boy briefly, admiring his courage and loyalty to his friend. It was too bad that people like him were born into the light. Those were the qualities that were so highly praised by the Children of Darkness.
"Very well," Chiam said simply, effortlessly slamming his obsidian blade into the boy's chest. Matt didn't even have time to register the shock of having his body run through by the dark metal. His arms simply dropped to his sides, his knees gave out and he collapsed onto his side, dead before he hit the ground. It had all happened so fast that it took a second for it to register in the minds of the two remaining friends.
Cody and Lily screamed at the same time, Cody in anguish, Lily in horror. She tried to move forward to get to Matt, or to try and attack Chiam, Cody didn't know which but he had the presence of mind to hold her back with one arm.
"Your turn," Chiam said without emotion as he stepped over Matt's body and walked towards Cody. The teenager dropped his gaze on his friend, too afraid and horrified to even think about fighting back. Cody was paralyzed by the sudden violence he'd witnesses and the toll it took on his already ravaged soul. Chiam was drawing dangerously close and in his mind's eye, Cody could see the evil man getting ready to strike him down just as easily as he had Matt.
"Don't let it end like this Cody," a strangely familiar voice whispered, the subtle tones breaking through his anguished grief like the first rays of sun through the clouds after a rainy day. He looked up, feeling the power of the light surging into him as through it were trying to lift him off the ground. Cody was certain that he was hearing the voice of his dead brother speaking to him, pleading for him to put an end to this senseless destruction.
"Ah, there you are!" Chiam exclaimed in triumph, feeling the last remaining Child of Light harness his gift. He settled his gaze on the blond haired young man as his aura of golden light appeared and grew brighter in intensity. The Champion frowned as he felt the Child's power soar well past anything he had ever sensed from this teenager before. Tremors passed through the ground, threatening to unbalance all who stood nearby causing cracks to appear in the concrete surface. It seemed as if the Earth was echoing the rage felt by its last reaming defender.
"Yeah, here I am," Cody hissed as he sprang forward through the air. His feet never touched the ground as he blurred forward towards Chiam, a glint of sunlight reflecting off a polished metal surface the only indication that he had summoned Excalibur with mind numbing speed. Chiam lifted his own sword, Justice, into a horizontal position to block Cody's overhead swing.
There was a loud banging noise as the auras of the two combatants met, their swords giving off metallic clangs as Excalibur slammed into the unyielding edge of Justice and was stopped there. Cody pushed against his enemy with incredible strength, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Immortal who had centuries of experience fighting against the best warriors of the realms now conquered by his own. Grunting, Cody pulled away, flipping backward through the air and landing lightly on his feet.
Just as gravity reclaimed its hold upon the Child of Light, he sent a lance of golden light across the distance that separated him from Chiam. The Champion blinked in surprise at the viciousness of the attack even as he reflexively used his sword to deflect the attack away from his body. He began to realize that Cody could very well inflict serious damage upon him and decided that it was time to stop playing around and put this upstart runt of a Child of Light out of his misery.
"Who do you think you are?" Chiam thundered, walking directly towards Cody. The teenager gripped his sword tighter as evil personified strode almost leisurely toward him. He was afraid, he had no idea how he could beat this man. Running away from him wasn't an option. There was no way in hell he would leave the remaining soldiers and civilians to the mercy of Chiam.
"I'm the Truth Seeker," Cody said, his face settling into a mask of determination as he thought about all of the people who were counting on him to shield them from the wrath that the Champion of Chaos could unleash upon them. He drew strength and courage from this realization, Cody was an unselfish person to the very end putting the lives of others before his own.
"You're nothing," the Immortal said savagely as he brought Justice around, having come within striking distance of Cody, and unleashed a series of rapid probing attacks. Relying on the instincts imprinted on his soul from past lives Cody was able to keep up with the Champion for a short time and then unexpectedly he found himself trying to dodge a round house kick aimed at his head after having his blade turned away. Cody was fast, but Chiam was faster. Even as the Child of Light staggered sideways and finally collapsed onto the ground, a sharp pain in his head throbbing in synch with the ringing in his ears, he wondered how it was possible for a man to move so fast with that kind of fluid precision and grace while wearing a suit of armor.
Cody sensed rather than heard Chiam come to stand over him. Struggling to ignore the pain, he rolled over onto his back in a futile attempt to put some distance between them. Chiam's foot connected with Cody's sword hand, the armored boot slamming into his wrist with so much force that he dropped Excalibur. The sword clattered down on the ground next to him.
The Champion flicked his wrist and Justice vanished in a puff of dark smoke and he knelt down beside the young Child of Light. Cody saw the hungry gleam in his eyes even as Chiam drew his right fist backward and delivered a powerful blow to his chest driving the breath from his lungs. Pulling back his fist, Chiam proceeded to throttle the defenseless teenager's midsection causing Cody to open his mouth in silent agony as he felt pain that he'd never felt before.
When Chiam was satisfied, he stood again and delivered several powerful kicks that connected with Cody's thighs and calves, savoring the choking screams of his prey as the teen struggled to breathe. Tears streamed involuntarily from the Child of Light's eyes and through his blurry vision he caught sight if Chiam raising his right hand, a hellish red glow surrounding his open palm as he prepared to unleash the negative energy of darkness, guaranteed to rip apart weaklings born into the light.
"Please…" Cody croaked, his voice barely coming out as a whisper so quiet that his enemy couldn't hear him, but his words weren't meant for the Immortal who was about to end his life. He was begging the voice, Zack's voice, for help.
"Now die!" Chiam roared, dropping his hand downward until it pointed at his prey and unleashed a lance of negative energy. Cody turned his head away, unwilling to see the instrument of his demise. He couldn't remember consciously ordering his arms to cross in front of his face in a final act of self preservation, left arm over top of his sword arm bracing it from underneath.
The energy slammed into Cody, pushing him against the ground with incredible strength and he gritted his teeth as he fought against the crushing force. The fine hair on his arms and legs stood on end, static electricity crackling along the length of his exposed flesh as the burning heat of the attack washed over him. 'This isn't so bad,' Cody thought as he weathered the killing blow. He would have thought dying hurt more than this…
As the force crushing his body let up, he turned his head to look up at Chiam and found his view blocked. At the same time he felt the weight of an alien device attached to his left forearm which vaguely resembled the shape of an interstate highway sign. His mind put two and two together as he realized what it was. He had a soulbound sword made of light and as a warrior or even a knight, it seemed perfectly reasonable that he should have a shield as well. Glancing over the top portion of the kite shield, he stared back at a shell shocked Chiam.
It took great effort and heavy reliance on his injured arm for Cody to get into a sitting position. He reached out with his mind and strengthened his bond with the light he had harnessed earlier, having lost hold of it during Chiam's brutal beating and felt the surge of renewed energy warm his body and dull the pain he felt all over his battered body. It was just enough to allow him to shakily get back on his feet and retrieve Excalibur.
Cody's heart pounded in his chest as sweat poured down his face, realizing how close he had come to dying. If not for the unexpected appearance of his new golden shield which was highlighted by a black secondary color he would be dead by now. Death was inevitable however and Cody, battered, broken and exhausted as he was knew that he was in no shape to continue fighting.
"It seems I misjudged you Truth Seeker," Chiam stated, moving for the first time since his failed attack, "Killing your friend there seems to have been the impetus you needed to become a worthy opponent." Cody glanced over at Matthew, lying on his side further away in a pool of his own blood, his body run through by Chiam's sword as the innocent boy stood between the Champion and Cody in a final act of defiance. Matt was a hero just like Cody, saving countless people by his actions and putting the lives of others before his own. He deserved much more than to just be called an 'impetus' for Cody's increase in strength.
"You sick son of a…"
"Perhaps you can get even stronger still," Chiam wondered, moving his gaze almost imperceptibly from Matt's body to the girl who was on her knees at his side, crying over his loss and holding his head in her lap, "Maybe if I kill your little girlfriend too?"
He meant to kill Lily! Ice flooded through Cody's veins as the realization dawned on him. He couldn't allow that to happen. He'd already failed Matt and he would rather die that break his vow to keep Lily safe. Chiam raised his hand and pointed it at the girl, hellish red and pink light coalescing in his palm once more.
"No."
"No?" Chiam laughed both at Cody's flat statement and the commanding tone he had used. He released the lance of negative energy and it screaming away from him, racing towards Lily with unbelievable speed.
"CODY!!!" She cried in surprise, begging for her savior to protect her from the darkness once more, not knowing that he could do nothing about Chiam's attack. He'd never reach her in time to throw her out of the way, never move fast enough to deflect the attack with his shield and never be able to save her…
Something snapped inside Cody, the culmination of every event he'd witnessed leading up to this point in time crashing down heavily upon his shoulders. His mother had sacrificed herself to protect her children, Zack had gone down fighting to give the brother he loved a chance to escape, Kurt had died in the ensuing chaos as he tried to escape to safety with his son, all of the twin's friends likely dying in the first few days of the invasion, Taschen's stand against the Demon Lord who had started it all and then finally Matt standing between Chiam and Cody, paying for his defiance of evil with his life. Golden light exploded around Cody, blinding him with its intensity.
"Hey what's the big idea?" Cody demanded of his ten year old twin brother. Zack had broken one of his brother's favorite toys with his careless actions and his lack of guilt really bothered the younger twin.
"Oh," Zack said, pretending to suddenly realize what he'd done.
"Say you're sorry!" Cody demanded of his twin.
"No way!" Zack shot back. Acting on an angry impulse, the younger twin tackled his brother and they rolled around on the floor wrestling. They weren't prone to fighting as most brothers are growing up and Zack just assumed that this would be a simple little tussle between them like usual and that he would eventually win by getting Cody in a headlock forcing him to stop. This time however, Cody seemed to be way too angry over a broken toy. He was forcing Zack's arms back with incredible strength and the older twin decided to relent.
"Look I'm sorry," the older brother half yelled, trying to push himself away from his twin, but Cody wouldn't let go of him or even acknowledge Zack's apology.
They wrestled around some more, this time Zack gave everything he had realizing that Cody wasn't just playing around. He was really pissed and wasn't about to let Zack get off lightly. After a short amount of time, Cody had both of Zack's arms in his hands and squeezed them with unnatural strength. Zack cried out and tears sprang to his eyes from the pain Cody had inflicted upon him.
"Cody, you're hurting me!" Zack sobbed, desperately struggling to get away. Cody seemed to awaken from his blind rage upon hearing the older twin's pained cry and blinked in surprise as his hands sprung open to release his brother. Zack lay on the carpet massaging his wrists looking at Cody with a mixture of anger and confusion in his accusing glare. Worst of all was the hurt expression on his face. Neither of them had ever intentionally inflicted the kind of pain on the other Zack was now experiencing.
'Never again,' Cody silently promised himself, tears springing to his eyes as he moved forward to apologize to and comfort his twin.
Reality snapped back to Cody as the memory faded along with the intense golden light that had violently erupted around him as Chiam targeted Lily. He was surprised to find Chiam so close to him, their faces only inches apart. There was a clatter on the ground as Chiam's sword fell from his right hand which was restrained by the crushing grip of Cody's free hand. He knew that it wasn't Excalibur that had fallen because he could still feel it pressed tightly into the palm of his other hand. Something warm and sticky washed over cross guard on to Cody's fingers before spreading to his wrist and he glanced down in horror as he saw Excalibur buried up to its hilt in Chiam's torso. From the angle he held it at it had no doubt gone up into his chest cavity and came out the back, severing his spine in the process.
Cody pulled his sword out and stumbled backward, horrified that he had taken the life of a sentient creature. Freed from the support of Cody's sword, a wide eyed Chiam fell heavily to his knees and then crashed forward onto his face in rapid succession. It was over, just like that. He had beaten the powerful Champion of the Chaos Realm with no recollection of how he had done it. Excalibur faded away and he was left standing there looking dumbly down at the man he had killed. He felt a light impact hit him and arms wrap around him in a tight embrace.
"Cody…" Lily whispered, burying her tear stained face into his chest.
"It's over…" Cody said, surprising himself with the relief that flooded through him in spite of everything that had happened to them today. Killing Chiam had lifted an extremely heavy burden from Cody's shoulders and now he knew that they could all breathe a little easier with him gone.
Unlike the Demons, that when killed exploded into dark smoke, Chiam's body remained intact. His black as night armor faded away and Cody felt his presence vanish from his sixth sense. The dead Champion lay face down on the concrete which was rapidly turning red from the blood escaping his body.
"They really are just humans," Cody whispered in awe. Somehow he had believed that there was more to the Champions than met the eye, like they were some kind of super Demons able to take on human form or something. This was far from the truth however. Chiam remained where he had died, just as all of the innocent people slain by his hand had. He was made of flesh and bone just like Cody. He possessed a soul that allowed him access to the cosmic power of darkness just like Cody's allowed him to tap into the light.
He was angry and saddened by Matt's death, relieved that Lily was somehow still alive and grateful to be alive himself, but most of all he was horrified at what he'd done. Taking the lives of mindless Demons was one thing, but destroying the life force of another human being and having their blood literally stain his hands was something completely different. This was the cost of the war, he'd known it all along, but it had never made as much of an impact on him as it did now.
Cody laid his head down on top of Lily's and let his tears flow freely as they held each other.
A/N: A) Epic. B) Wow! C) Meh! D) What Happened?
Score one for the good guys! But how did Cody stop Chiam? Why doesn't he remember any of it? What's the significance of the brief memory of fighting with Zack? Does Lily know what happened to Cody in that brief moment?
Stay tuned for Chapter Eleven: "Trust and Hope"