A/N: I realise that some of the characters in this are different from their characters in the original books. To people who haven't read the Cycle: These are NOT the way the characters I have chosen would normally act. To those who have: If the way I make them act offends you, I apologise, if you can't get past that, I hope you leave with closure, if you CAN get past that, great.
Chapter 11 - Arya?
"Arya? I thought Arya was your sister. What are you not telling me, Pocket?" Hollow asked these questions, his mind racing, with confusion in his voice. "Wait. Who even are you, anyway?" This he asked to the tall man. He noticed that he had elfish ears but was blatantly human. A sword at his waist emitted a wicked, blue glow. It had the word for fire in the ancient language embellished on the guard.
"You would do well to take care when talking to me, stranger." The other replied.
"And what will you do, otherwise? Singe me?" he asked with a mocking tone. "I have been in this land far too long to still be afraid of death. Human," Hollow glanced toward the dragon, Saphira." OR dragon based. Fire or water. Light or dark. Earth or air." He looked toward Pocket. Or Arya. Whatever her name was. "I thought that changed, for a while. But the only thing that isn't a lie to me is Rage. And he's annoying."
"Hey!" Rage protested. "Am not!"
All Pocket was doing was standing there with her head in one hand. Now she said. "I didn't want to. And not everything was a lie, Hollow. I still love you. Always have." With that she uttered a sentence in the ancient language and she became taller by about four inches. Her eyes darkened to a winter green and her hair became longer and grew as black as ravens' feathers. Hollow was taken aback. It was a big change but Hollow still recognised the way she stood, the angles of her hips, the pattern of her breathing; slightly hitched at the exhale, and much, much more.
"What!" Eragon , his voice raised. More of an accusation than a question. "You said you'd think us over! Give us a chance! You said there could be something for us!" Suddenly, his face red with anger, he lunged at the girl. But Hollow was fast. Very fast. He was in between Eragon and Pocket before he'd moved more than a foot. Hollow, his hands curled into fists, glared at the other man. He might have been pissed with Pocket but, by Gwyn, if something happened to her he'd never forgive himself.
"Get out of my way." Said Eragon. His teeth grinding together. With that he attempted to shove Hollow out of the way. Hollow brought his elbow up and launched it into Eragon's face. The blow sent him sprawling. The dragon leant her head over her rider.
Consider yourself luck, human, that you did no more than break his jaw and loosen his teeth.
"Tell him that if he tries to touch her again, I'll rip his head off." Hollow replied, ignoring the threat.
"Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." Rage muttered. "Genesis 4:15."
Hollow was startled. "I didn't know you could quote the bible." A confused tone in his voice.
"If I'm gonna bash Christianity, I need to know my shit." Rage replied, as if it were nothing, shrugging.
Hollow turned to Pocket and demanded, "So who are you, really?"
"Remember when I said I was queen Islanzadi's second daughter?" Hollow nodded. "Well, I'm actually her first. I am Arya."
"Where is your dragon. Where is Firnen?" His voice flat but his eyes full of contempt. His voice slightly muffled by the broken bones in his mouth.
Arya muttered more in the language of the elves. It had something to do with revealing or removing. Suddenly as if drawn into existence by a mighty pencil (of doooom)… Was a dragon. A beautiful, green Dragon. Its scales sparkled like Emerald's in the dim glow cast by the magelight in the centre of the warehouse. Its eyes as green as Arya's own. This Dragon was almost as large as Saphira.
The first thing that was said was from The other, smaller dragon. Saphira… Oh, how I grieved. To think you gone forever to be suddenly pulled back into each-other's lives. If only I could have shown myself sooner. But I hid myself because I must. For Arya's happiness. I hope you understand. His voice was extremely low. It was like Morgan Freeman and Batman had one weird-ass baby.
There was a long silence. She replied, I do. You'll be glad to know that our efforts had born fruit.
Rage chuckled at that. "Now, that's a good pun."
"What do you –" Hollow asked but, suddenly Saphira shifted her positing eight feet to the left revealing a nest. Two eggs lay nestled together in a bed of hot rock and coal. The building was filled with a stunned silence.
"I do think. That we should continue this 'discussion' at a later time," Eragon, the first to talk, said to fill the silence.
"Why?" Rage asked. But he sensed it as well.
"They come," Arya replied to the question that hung in the air like a Ping-Pong ball lifted by a hairdryer. She unstrapped the rifle on her back and turned toward the open door. The energetic hum from her weapon filled the quiet. Hollow took his pistols from their holsters and Rage took his own weapon. The three colours, red; blue and green, filled the air, accompanied by the white glow emanating from Rage's magelight, which he now snuffed out.
"I hope your swordarm hasn't become too flabby, hiding in there." Hollow said back to Eragon who had taken his own blue, translucent sword from its scabbard. "We'll need it."
Eragon said, "Stay here, Saphira. Protect the eggs. You should stay too." Saphira sidled back into a crouched position in front of the eggs and Firnen, next to her.. Ready to pounce, burn or swipe at anything that came too close.
The group started to walk towards the empty doorway, a faint murmuring, like sound coming from outside. As Hollow reached the opening in the warehouse, he found the source of the sound. A large group of at least 50 men all in the same dark grey armour was huddled in the main courtyard. One huge bear, weighing; Hollow guessed; around 800 lbs, was stood in a semicircle of the darkmoon soldiers. The behemoth of a beast also adorned the same armour but, obviously, moulded to its own shape. As soon as the bear sighted, Hollow and 'the crew' it bellowed a mighty roar and leapt up to its hind legs. An incredibly loud cheering, almost as loud as the roar, broke through the enemies' ranks.
Arya raised her weapon and squeezed down onto the trigger. The beam, an emerald green in colour, flew from the end of the barrel. The bolt would have killed the bear had it not been wearing armour. Instead the hair on its face sizzled and it cried out, whimpering. The armour had melted into its skin and had blinded the beast.
Rage walked up, glaring at the crowd; daring any to come forth, and dropped his weapon to the dirt. The animal was still crying, pawing at its face, as he took one of his daggers. The blade had a wicked curve and, as Hollow had guessed earlier, had red stasis gem along the blade. The rest of the metal was made of a dark steel. The bear growled and took a random swipe as it heard him walking but missed completely. He grabbed a tuft of fur at the top of the bear's head and tilted its head back. He took his blade and slid the burning edge against the animal's neck. The weapon cut through flesh and bone as it melted and charred sinew and tendon. The knife sliced through to the back. Rage took the knife from the, now very dead, bear and tore the head from the body, severing the last few threads of tissue. The blood had gone all over the ground. Still dripping from the stump of a neck as the corpse slumped to the ground.
Rage held the head up and roared, "Who's next?" The crowd was silenced completely. Dumbstruck that their war machine had been destroyed so easily.
Hollow tasted bile in the back of his throat as the headless body of the bear quivered.
Eragon leaned toward Hollow and whispered, "Your friend is nuts."
"I know." Hollow walked beside his friend and shouted over the pressing silence, "Simple. Surrender. Or die. It may be cliché but it's all you're getting."
One of the soldiers walked forward and spat at Hollow's feet. "My squadron will never surrender to you filth. Praising your sun like dogs to their master. Bah! We may be brutal but at least we aren't blind. Hell, you must be after so much gawking."
"Is that so? Well then it's safe to say that you're a dead man." Hollow replied.
"Why don't you come here? Come give me a kiss." Hollow said, mocking. He could practically hear the Darkmoon gritting his teeth.
The man gave a yell and charged. Hollow waited, without moving. The man reached him, sword raised. Hollow stepped, casually but quickly, to the side and brought out his katana and shot it through the back of the neck of the enraged soldier.
"Come at me, bros." Hollow said, arms spread wide. A passive-aggressive grin spreading across his face.
"Hold on, now-" Eragon tried to warn but was too late. Hollow ran forward into the fray and was met with raised shields. He rammed his shoulder into the wall, staggering the defenders. He stepped backwards and swung his katana at the now exposed men. His sword cut through the four of them, creating a hole in the wall.
Pocket, Rage and finally Eragon filled the hole, widening it with every swipe and spell.
"Thrysta Garzjla!" Eragon shouted with a hand raised. A flash of light appeared from out of nowhere and a cone of men crumpled to the floor, smoke rising from the holes in their helmets.
Pocket, slashing foes apart with her axe and blocking blows with her shield.
Rage, using his sub machinegun in one hand and staff in the other. Red blots cleaving through enemies to his left while carving a bloody swathe to his right with a deathbeam. Rage threw his gun into the air to reach for his daggers; throw one into an enemy's throat across from him and slice the throat of a fallen darkmoon.
Hollow looked away just as a huge man with a club lunged at him. Hollow sliced the handle in half with his own weapon and kept the sword there as the other man ran onto his blade and was shredded to ribbons..
Before Hollow knew it, all the enemy were slain and he was wiping the steaming blood off of his blade, onto the dirt. The tips of his pistols were glowing a dull orange and burned at the touch.
Rage walked toward him and said, "Now that little problem's been taken care of, we shou-" Suddenly he pitched forward into Hollow's arms . Hollow staggered backward under his weight. Hollow saw the face of a man whose entrails were spilling out of a huge gash in his side. A black longsword protruded from Rage's back. Blood pouring out of the wound.
"DEYJA!" Hollow screamed at the man. Enough force was put into the spell that he staggered backward and then exploded into sand.
Hollow returned his attention to Rage. Hollow held him up as he pulled the sword from his back. A sickening, slick and wet sound followed. Almost half of the blade was coated in blood. Hollow layed Rage on the ground, carefully, and called, "Get over here! Rage is hit… Bad!"
Rage's eyes flickered and he muttered, "I… Never… Finished… Outlast… Or Amnesia." He coughed and spluttered.
"I've got a cloth," Arya said, lifting Rage's torso slightly as she placed it under him. There was no need to do anything else with it because Rage's own body weight would keep the pressure.
"Hollow, I won't lie, things are grim… I don't think I'll make it." Rage said, weak.
"Shut up. You'll be fine."
"It is, Rage, the custom of elves to bury their dead and sing a tree to life over the grave. What, if I may ask, would you like to be planted over you?" Arya leaned over him.
"Mahogany… Maybe it'll give my descendants black powers." Rage chuckled. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth and he winced.
"He will be FINE," Hollow snapped. He would later admit that he was in denial. Rage's eyes were beginning to shut. "Hey. Hey, man, stay awake." Hollow lightly tapped Rage's shoulder.
"Deep Dark Hollow 5436: A Great Loss," Rage grinned as he felt Death over his shoulder. "Goodbye, douche." And he faded away…
