Why did Lorriane want to kill the Ancients? I can only think of one answer.
In the psionic realm, energy clumps together instead of spreading apart. In the real world, a fire warms up the surrounding area because the heat disperses. If such a fire existed in the cognitive plane, it would drain the surrounding area of its heat.
Thus when something in the cognitive realm is destroyed, it doesn't decompose or break apart into little pieces. Instead, it joins with another object.
When one of the ancients die, they join with Giygas. Their death just makes him stronger.
Which leads me to my next conclusion…
"No!" Jeff said, slamming his fists on the table. "Ana, why aren't you listening?"
"It happens," Lorraine said. "Just because someone can hear you does not mean that they will believe. Humans and Osohe alike notice astonishing little unless someone thrusts information right in front of their face. If a person can ignore something, they will ignore something."
"Ana…" Jeff said. "Oh, psych, I'm never going to see her again. There's no way that she can survive against psyching Lucas."
"Who knows?" Lorraine said with a shrug. "This may be the time for miracles."
"Do you have something planned?"
Lorraine sighed. She looked around at the green landscape below, switching her gaze from one dot of colorful crystal to another.
"Well?" Jeff said.
"I don't," Lorraine said, "But there are always forces beyond our control. We exist in a universe of chaos, Jeff, and that's not a bad thing. If Giygas could truly condense our hearts into data, he would have taken over the universe long ago."
I don't know, Jeff thought. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that effects always stem from a cause. No "miracle" will save Ana today.
"You don't believe," Lorraine said, flashing a motherly smile. "One day, you will."
"And how can you predict that, if you're so confident that nothing can be predicted?" Jeff said.
"Ah, it's hard to find a way past your logic," Lorraine said, smiling with her eyes rather than her mouth. "But the world is not ruled by logic. Feelings are never wrong, Jeff. They stem from your heart, and your heart knows what is best for you."
Really? Jeff thought. Feelings are never wrong?
"That sounds like something General Kim would have said." Jeff stared Lorraine down. "I can hear him now. He told Ana that his heart commanded him to murder and pillage, and since his heart was never wrong…"
"Those weren't true feelings," Lorraine said. "Kim was deceiving himself."
That's so easy for you to say, Jeff thought. But which feelings are true and which are false? Everyone thinks that they know how to decide but can anyone really?
"It is fine that you disagree," Lorraine said. "One day, you will see the wisdom in my words."
"Wisdom is relative, subjective," Jeff said. "There are no measurements. Different 'wise' proverbs appeal to different people. People use the word to bypass proof and assume that a statement is right, but the universe doesn't always work that way."
"You dig yourself into a ditch by thinking too much," Lorraine said. "Just look at Ana. She rationalizes everything because she doesn't trust her feelings enough. She always sides with her fear and guilt, but she crafts up alternate stories for why she acts a certain way. She's fighting Lucas because she wants to die, but she tells the world that she wishes for justice and noble revenge."
"It's true that logic often has holes," Jeff said. "But that is the fault of the person wielding the logic and not logic itself. Just you wait. The right reasoning may get her out of this situation."
"We'll see," Lorraine said with a knowing smile.
I just let her go, Ninten thought. I let Ana teleport away straight to her doom.
How could Ninten explain that decision to someone else? How could Ninten explain that decision to himself?
It didn't take long until he got the chance.
Ninten walked into the area where the Dalaamians and Ceresians set up camp. The buildings didn't look fancy like in the upper districts of Ceres, but at least they didn't look like slum houses. Sturdy, well-built buildings made of wood and stone lined either side of the streets.
Ninten smiled. He had gotten so used to destruction and despair that he forgot how good it felt to walk down a well-adjusted road and see working buildings and working people wherever his gaze wandered.
Before he could take in the atmosphere any more, Poo and Venus approached him. Ninten could hardly picture the woman in front of him wearing the Ceresian psion's robe as the same person who wore sparkling outfits as she sang on stage.
"Poo said that Ana was looking for you," Venus said. "Did you happen to see her?"
Another difference. Venus the singer usually appeared vapid, almost lifeless. Her empty smiles and hollow gazes on the television screen frustrated Ninten to no end. Here, Ninten could make out signs of sincere concern in her expression: a splash of color in her cheeks, her eyes narrowing to form a slight squint, her stiff posture… Ninten could have gone on all day, but he figured that he should probably answer her question.
"I did," Ninten said. "She wanted to kill Lucas."
Poo and Venus exchanged a glance. Poo's expression remained neutral, but Venus' haughty look clearly stated "I told you so."
"I didn't expect Ana to act so… reckless," Poo said. "Is that a cultural thing with you Americans?"
"Maybe, but I don't think that's why."
"And you stopped her?" Venus said.
"How could I?" Ninten asked. "She knows how to teleport."
"You didn't even try?" Venus buried her face in her hands. "Ah, psych. All of you teenagers are idiots."
"She wouldn't have listened," Ninten said. "She's damn stubborn when she wants to be, which is pretty much always. She forced me to play her game, and I played it as well as I could."
"Meaning…?" Poo said, raising an eyebrow.
"She wanted to die," Ninten said. "I tried to cheer her up. Do what little I can. Maybe she'll run away if she has a reason to live."
"I can see that," Poo said. "I hope it works."
"Not good enough," Venus said. "Someone let Lucas' location slip and she'll be over there now. I need to haul her ass back over here so that she doesn't die to the edge of his stained glass sword."
"You're needed here," Poo said. "Who will command the Ceresians if you leave to chase Ana? You don't even know exactly where she is."
"I know enough," Venus said, her eyes daring Poo to challenge the claim. "I'll leave someone else in charge, but you're pretty much controlling my group to begin with."
"You've always been free to do what you want," Poo said, glaring back at Venus.
"Yes, but we'd be morons to leave your protection like Ana did. Psych."
"It's war," Poo said. "People die. She made her choices."
"You're cold, you know that?" Venus said.
"We should save people who want it," Ninten said. "I trust Ana to make it out of this one."
Venus snarled, baring her teeth at Ninten like a wolf.
"Fine, you go ahead and do that. Chase the dead end that Poo wants to embark on. But I'm going to be out there helping people until I croak my last!"
Venus muttered something under her breath and vanished moments later.
"No point in chasing after her," Poo said. "Let us hope that she succeeds in her mission. I would love to see Ana arrive back safely."
"She was right, though," Ninten said. "You have gotten a bit cold."
Poo sighed.
"It hurts more coming from you," he said.
"You don't look hurt."
"That's the point." Poo shook his head. "Leaders are supposed to care, but only in specific ways."
"So your calmness is an act."
Poo nodded.
"You're just like Ana," Ninten said. "Hiding your true self."
"I admit that I am sensitive and insecure," Poo said. "I just need my people to trust in me. I suppose that it became a habit." Poo smiled. "I still remember how you accepted me and wanted to be friends when we first went to Ceres, Ninten. You wanted the universe to see you as someone rough and wild, but you couldn't let your kindness stay hidden for long."
Kindness? Ninten thought. That's a strange word to describe my actions.
"It helped me," Poo said. "When I was alone in those dark nights, I thought about your words and how they made me feel. I pulled you closer to me than you probably realized."
Just like… Paula.
Ninten's stomach heaved.
"But we shouldn't stand around talking," Poo said. "Have you noticed that the starmen didn't really attack us since we landed here?"
"Yeah, but they didn't attack us before, either. I think they were just waiting for us to kill each other."
"I found another potential reason," Poo said. "Most of my Mu users use telepathy quite effectively, since they use it routinely to speak with their ancestors. They read the minds of a few stray starmen and saw that all of them were thinking about the Shard of Ceres."
"What about the Shard?" Ninten said.
"Have you ever tried to comprehend starman thoughts? It sounds easy, but the way that they think is fundamentally different from the way that we think. The Mu sages described it as some sort of seal breaking within the Shard."
The hairs on the back of Ninten's neck stood up. A seal that led to what?
"I know," Poo said. "It doesn't sound good, especially if the starmen are after it. We think that they're heading towards the Shard."
"And you want to intercept them?"
"Precisely. We teleport everyone over to the Shard and stop the starmen from messing with the broken seal."
"I have to agree with Venus on this one," Ninten said. "I don't know that we can assume that the Shard is actually important."
Poo nodded, taking off in a walk down the street and motioning for Ninten to follow. The casual way that he commanded and expected to be obeyed made Ninten pause for a moment.
He's still the same person, Ninten told himself. The same person in a different situation.
Ninten jogged to catch up with Poo. The Dalaamian King furrowed his eyebrows and muttered something to himself.
"Hm?" Ninten said.
"I value your input highly," Poo said without missing a beat, "And I see your point. Giygas may have a trap set for us. However, we do not have much to lose by teleporting to the Shard. We accomplish little by staying here."
"Oh, I see."
"But because of that, it makes me wonder if Giygas realizes our situation and seeks to lead us astray. I propose that we take a few psionics-users and scout the area. I'm coming, of course."
"You? But if you die…"
"I rule Dalaam in name only," Poo said. "Most of the nobles in Yazhou would probably cheer if I died in war. When Kim instated me as king…" Poo smiled. "It didn't exactly go over well."
"Well, I still don't think that you should come, but since I let Ana warp into a far more dangerous situation, I won't put up any more of a resistance."
"I also want you and Claus to come with me," Poo said. "I don't trust my own forces, not like I trust you."
"Why not?"
"They're tired." Poo shrugged. "And can you blame them? They fight for a cause that is not their own. It would be so easy for them to abandon me to the starmen. I die as a hero and then they elect a new war leader who pulls out and lets Ceres defend for itself."
"All right," Ninten said. "I'll ask Claus about it."
Poo's posture relaxed, a smile coming to his face.
"Thanks, Ninten," he said. "It's been tough travelling without ever letting my guard down. I'll probably feel safer to be away from them, even if we're fighting starmen."
"Funny how that works, isn't it?" Ninten asked with a grin.
All right, Boras, Ninten thought. You still haunt me in my dreams. I'll make sure to fight because I care rather than because I'm too scared of the alternative. If Poo's able to bring peace between Dalaam and Ceres, we may save this universe yet.
Ninten whistled as he walked off to find Claus. Funny how the alien apocalypse could put him in such a good mood.
Ana walked into a silent street. Psionic residue from Lucas' sword lined a few corpses in the area, which cast them in a dull glow to Ana's senses. Some buildings lay toppled or in ruins, but most of them looked just fine. Stores with signs displaying children's toys and fresh produce lined either side of the street.
Every single one was empty.
Tracy sucked in a breath, likely taking in the ghostlike atmosphere for herself. Ana saw the blood drain from her face as Tracy clenched her hands into fists. After a moment, Tracy's eyes blazed with passion. Ana knew better than to question Tracy's resolve.
"I fought a battle nearby," Ana said. "Ninten said that Lucas was lurking around, so we should find him before long."
Tracy gulped and nodded.
"Keep your psionic senses ready, all right?" Ana said. "We don't want him sneaking up on us."
"I'm not scared of him jumping out," Tracy said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Really, you don't need to worry about me."
"Lucas getting a surprise attack would mean that he gets a chance to break our psionic defenses," Ana said. "I've seen him fight before. We'll need every advantage we can get."
"Oh."
"It's okay to be weak, Tracy. I'm here for you." Ana forced a smile. "Man, this place feels deserted. I'm honestly not sure if we're in some sort of ghost town."
Tracy smiled back, but Ana could tell that her heart wasn't in it. They both knew that Lucas was nearby and he created this emptiness around them. Ana couldn't tell if this street actually smelled like a dust-ridden ghost town or if her mind was playing tricks on her.
"He can't be far," Tracy said. "Well, he might be. You said that he was here a few hours ago, right?"
That's true, Ana thought. Maybe he left this area entirely.
"Yes," a voice in Ana's head told her. "You have no idea what you're doing. Turn back while you can."
Ana frowned. She hoped that these strange voices in her head wouldn't interfere while she fought Lucas.
"Is something wrong?" Tracy asked.
"Nope." Other than everything. "Since I don't know which direction he went after wiping this place clean of life, I guess we'll just walk in a random direction and see if we can detect his aura?"
"Sure," Tracy said. "I don't have any better ideas."
Ana and Tracy walked down the street, passing more corpses with glassy eyes and psionic residue. Every one of them died from a clean cut or stab. In a sick way, it almost looked exquisite, calm. It was as if Lucas funneled every bit of artistic talent in killing gracefully.
Tracy gagged each time she came close to a corpse.
"How do you manage?" Tracy asked, her face pale. "When I see the bodies, I just want to throw up."
"You get used to it," Ana said. "Not the danger, not the paranoia, and certainly not the stress. But you get used to the death."
"Did Ness see worse than this?" Tracy asked, her voice hardly more than a whisper.
"Honestly? Yes. He saw far worse."
"How did he manage?" Tracy shook her head. "He always struck me as the type to actually barf when he sees this stuff."
"I think he did," Ana said. "And he locked himself in his room for weeks because the pain tormented him so much. But he didn't let it stop him."
The surprise in Tracy's eyes told Ana all that she needed to know, that Tracy had never seen the determined side of her brother.
"I wish that I could have just five more minutes with him," Tracy said. "I never got to say sorry for all of the stupid things I said. I never got to thank him for all of the little things he did. I…" Tracy hugged her arms. "I always loved him. In those years after dad died, I just wanted the old Ness back. And now I'll never get the chance to see him again."
You were so close… Ana thought. If you had known the Ness that I saw every day, I think that you would have been happy.
That realization made Ana want to punch something.
"Wait," Tracy said. "What's over there?"
Ana probed outwards with her psionic senses and noticed a psionic-user's aura approaching them at a rapid speed.
"Is it Lucas?" Tracy asked.
"Too far to tell," Ana said. "Once the psion gets closer, I'll be able to tell."
"Give me an honest answer," Tracy said, looking Ana in the eye. "How likely are we to beat him?"
An honest answer? Oh, psych.
"Low enough that I don't want to think about it," Ana said, "But high enough that I'm not ready to give up."
Tracy nodded.
"That's about what I expected, from what I've heard," she said. "Hopefully you won't have to tell my mom that she lost both of her children."
Tracy's words hit Ana like an arrow to the chest. How could she possibly tell Linda something like that?
"No," Ana said. "If it looks like we can't win, we're going to bail."
"But-"
"It's my job to protect you," Ana said. "If I tell you to run, you have to run. Got it?"
Tracy shot her an icy stare.
"If you don't agree, I'm teleporting you out right this second."
"Fine," Tracy said. "But we need to keep trying until we kill him."
"I don't know that I can make that promise." Ana reached out with her psionic senses a second time. "Yeah, that's definitely Lucas."
As she looked out down the street, she could see the boy with the helmet sprinting at full speed towards Tracy and Ana. With the rate that his psionic aura had approached hers when she first detected it…
"He's been sprinting all this way," Ana said. "He doesn't even think that he needs his full energy to beat us."
"Well, let's show him wrong," Tracy said. "What's the plan?"
Ana summoned an axe made out of transparent, green ectoplasm. She held it in both hands, tilting it back and forth to make sure that the weight felt comfortable.
"I'll get in close," Ana said. "You fire psionics from further away. We'll want a closed space where he can't run circles around us."
"What about that alley over there?" Tracy asked, pointing to a thin opening in the side of the street that looked like a dark slit along the wall of stone buildings.
"Perfect," Ana said. "Don't bother trying to mess with his mind directly; his aura will resist anything you throw at it. Just shoot beams or try to freeze an arm off."
But if he fights like he did on Vulcan, Ana thought, Then he'll summon anti-psionics armor the exact moment that he needs it. If so, we're probably fucked.
By then, Ana could see Lucas clearly enough to make out his features. He held his famous stained glass sword in his hands, the blade glistening in the light of the Ceresian sun. When he spotted Ana, his sprint slowed to a jog and he tilted his head slightly.
"Lucas," Ana said. "A part of me hoped that we wouldn't have to face off like this. A part of me hoped that you didn't kill Ness. But you're a savant again, aren't you? You probably don't even remember killing him."
"Ness?" Lucas said, his voice monotone. "I remember…" Lucas grimaced. "I recognize you. I shouldn't know you, but I do. I remember that you never trusted me. I remember thinking that you were right. I should have died long ago. Too bad for you that I'm still alive."
"He's so creepy," Tracy said, taking a step back.
"Into the alley, now," Ana said, trying her hardest not to shout.
Tracy nodded and ducked into the backstreet. Ana followed, and immediately the stench of garbage washed over her. Lovely. Well, if it would help save her or Tracy's life, Ana would take in the smell of trash without complaint.
"It does not matter if you run, hide, or try to gain optimal terrain," Lucas said. "Well, you could run away by teleporting. For once, I'm tempted to let you go."
"He's toying with us," Tracy hissed.
I'm not sure that's it. If he actually remembers me…
"But since you're not going to leave now…" Lucas sprinted towards the alley. "Brace yourselves."
Ana barely managed to raise her axe in time to block the first stroke of Lucas' stained-glass sword. The blade changed colors frequently, each pattern just as beautiful and harmonious as the last. Colors flowed together smoothly and contrasted for effect. Ana blinked, scolding herself for focusing on Lucas' sword when she should be thinking about his next move.
Lucas' sword became a blur, whipping around and managing to attack Ana from angles she didn't think were possible in the cramped alleyway. Each hit that Ana took removed a chunk of her psionic aura. Even as Ana struggled to heal herself, Lucas' face remained neutral. His lips formed a straight line, neither a smile nor frown shining through. Each muscle tensed only when needed, leading him to look neither strung nor relaxed.
With such brutal efficiency, he was dead inside.
Ana wouldn't let herself lose to someone like this.
She let out a scream as she swung her axe towards Lucas. He blocked the attack with minimal effort, and armor appeared over his chest right before Tracy used PK Freeze in that exact location. Lucas swung his blade at her head, missing Ana by a hair's width.
"You're not nearly as good," Ana said. "Giygas couldn't recreate in a few weeks what Minerva Carpainter did in a few years."
"Quiet!" Lucas said. "I am perfect, minus a few malfunctions."
Ana could tell that Lucas believed those words. Ana could tell that Lucas was trying to find his state of empty calm.
It didn't make the truth any harder to glimpse.
"You actually remember me," Ana said. "It's Ness, isn't it? That's why your form is sloppy."
Tracy slung more laser beams and fireballs at Lucas, which he blocked by summoning chunks of armor with perfect timing. Lucas ran his sword through Ana's chest, nearly killing her outright. Ana gasped in surprise more than pain. How did Lucas managed to deal more damage with one thrust of his sword than any other people could do with a dozen?
"Not sloppy enough," Lucas said.
"Lifeup," Ana said, barely manifesting the power before raising her axe to parry Lucas' next attack.
"Ana!" Tracy said, panic rising in her voice. "I don't know if we can win this one!"
Considering that Ana and Tracy hadn't landed a single hit on Lucas… well, Ana didn't like their chances. Even though Lucas was weaker than Ana expected, he wasn't as weak as she hoped. After Lucas landed a round of minor blows that forced her to heal again, Ana knew that she couldn't keep on fighting. Her energy was already starting to run low from all of the healing.
But how could Ana run? If she tried to manifest teleportation psionics, Lucas could interrupt it by slashing one of her arms that was required to make hand motions. A ray of hope entered Ana's heart when she remembered that Lucas hadn't attempted to interrupt any of her healing psionics, but it took more time to manifest a teleportation power. Even novice warriors could usually interrupt a teleporting psion if given proper notice, and Ana didn't think that she could hide the manifestation of a teleport from Lucas. He would know the signs to look for.
So what could Ana do? She thought about that question at length as Lucas forced her further and further back into the alley. Tracy slowed his advances by shooting lasers and throwing nearby objects at Lucas with telekinesis, but Ana knew that they were losing in basically every possible way. After a few more parries and dodges, Ana's arms and legs started to ache. Her lungs became bricks of fire in her chest.
She couldn't keep this up for much longer.
"Run away to the other end of the alley," the voice in her head spoke. "An ally is on her way to save you."
Well, Ana knew better than to trust random voices that popped up in her head. But, she realized as she blocked another one of Lucas' attacks, she didn't have much to lose.
Besides, the voice told her that it was Jeff, right? Maybe he lost his portocom and invented a device that could send telepathic messages instead. Ana honestly wouldn't put it behind him.
All right, Ana thought. It's time to take a leap of faith. The choice is easier when I'm already teetering over the edge of the abyss.
"Tracy, run!" Ana shouted.
"I'm not leaving-"
Ana gasped, barely finding enough air to shout once more.
"I said run!"
Before waiting for Tracy's response, Ana turned around and sprinted away. It only took a moment before Tracy's eyes widened and she started running so that Ana wouldn't crash into her.
"PK Fire!" Tracy shouted, creating a row of flames right behind Ana.
Ana didn't bother to see if the fire slowed Lucas down. She wheezed and gulped mouthfuls of air as her muscles burned. Ana forced herself not to slow down her pace, even if she felt like she couldn't take another step.
This is just like my training sessions with Minerva where she pushed me too far, Ana thought. I can't psyching do it!
Great. As if she needed her memories to muscle in on her sense of danger. Ana reached out with her psionic senses and focused on the position of Lucas aura. While she couldn't see or hear him well, she could sense his location like a dot on a radar screen. The dot marking Lucas' position came closer, closer… Ana's heart leapt. Tracy fired off more bolts of energy and summoned flames from the ground, which slowed Lucas down.
Eventually, Ana sensed another psionic aura besides Tracy's and Lucas' at the end of the alley. The realization pushed her body into overdrive; she managed to pick up speed even though she feared that she would physically rip her muscles apart.
"See?" said the voice in her head. "You're not insane and I'm not lying."
Ana smiled.
Thanks, Jeff.
Ana and Tracy flew out of the alley into another main street. The shift from a shaded back street to a major road beneath the Ceresian sun nearly blinded Ana; she blinked a few times and adjusted to the light with a few red spots lingering in her vision.
Ana looked towards the other psionic aura that she detected earlier, spotting Venus wearing Ceresian psion's robes.
"Ectoplasmic wall," Venus said, putting up a green barrier to block the exit to the alley.
Lucas crashed into the wall, but he even managed to look graceful doing that. He jumped up before hitting the wall, tensing his muscles as he flew towards the barrier and then springing off the wall without a sound and landing on his feet about a body length away.
"I told you that I wouldn't let you die in such a stupid way, didn't I?" Venus asked. "Let's get out of here."
"No!" Tracy said. "With you here… we can…" Tracy gasped for air, nearly toppling over.
Lucas jogged up to the wall and cut a hole in it with his stained glass sword large enough for a human to fit through. Lucas' gaze turned to Venus, his face as expressionless as ever.
"Psych," Venus said. "That's one hell of a creeper."
Lucas ran towards Venus.
"Polymorph!" Venus shouted, sprouting scales and growing in size.
In a matter of moments, Venus turned from a human into a scaled creature with long claws made of hardened, green ectoplasm. She carried the face of a wolf and the body of a giant human, yet the scales made her look like a lizard.
Lucas slashed at Venus, but his sword bounced off of her scales without even chipping them. Venus lunged at Lucas with her meter-long claws, but the boy with the stained glass sword managed to dart out of the way the moment before Venus' claws would have gored him.
"Run!" Venus said telepathically. "Escape while you can!"
Ana grimaced. Could she really leave Venus behind?
"I'll be fine," Venus transmitted. "Get the psych out of here, or this will all be in vain!"
Ana turned towards Tracy, the two girls locking eyes. Ana would have bet anything that Venus said the exact same words to Tracy.
"We're not abandoning you," Tracy said. "PK Freeze!"
A barrier appeared around Lucas' head right before ice sprouted on top of it. Lucas dismissed the barrier and the ice fell to the ground. A moment later and his head would have been frozen instead.
"Go," Venus transmitted. "I'm warning you…"
Lucas darted to the side as Venus lunged at him again, running towards Ana. Venus tried to adjust her aim to swipe Lucas as he darted past her, but her claws only caught air. Ana froze in place. What could she possibly do against a force like this?
Unbidden, memories flashed in Ana's mind. She was back on Vulcan again, watching Lucas spin his sword so quickly that it became a blur, slicing through seasoned psions without breaking a sweat. The sound of his sword slicing through air and flesh created a song of death. Lucas became a whirlwind, slashing psions left and right as they tried to flee.
Ana's heart skipped a beat as she returned to the present. Lucas wasn't a person; he was a force of nature. No matter how much Ana tried, she could never hope to beat him.
I don't have enough time to teleport, Ana realized as Lucas charged closer. I need to put up some sort of defense or he'll end me with a couple of slashes.
Time seemed to slow. Lucas floated in air, caught in the middle of a stride. A flurry of thoughts rushed into Ana's head. She was too tired to put up a fight in hand to hand combat, which left only psionics to save her. Teleporting would take too long, and Lucas could likely break through any barriers that she crafted.
Only one choice remained: offense. She needed psionics more powerful than what Tracy had slung at Lucas throughout the fight, something that would bring him to his knees.
Was such a feat truly possible?
No time to question. Ana called on every last ounce of psionic energy in her body.
"PK Hurricane!" Ana shouted.
Gusts of wind rushed past Ana, sending her robes flapping in all directions. A massive twister descended from the sky, landing straight on top of Lucas. Nearby signs and crossroad markers flew into the twister along with small stones and other debris. Lucas stood in the eye of the storm, calmly regarding Ana as his clothes flapped along with the wind.
Make a move, Ana thought. I psyching dare you.
The wind howled, almost as if in pain. Ana gritted her teeth, trying to keep the hurricane active. She moved it slightly to force Lucas out of the eye and into the raging storm.
The wind battered Lucas, aided by raw psionic power. Lucas put up shiny, green armor around his body but still struggled to move through the storm. Venus roared and barreled towards Lucas with claws extended.
Lucas' helmet flew off his head. He looked just like his brother Claus, but his features were soft and smooth while Claus' were hard and worn. He locked eyes with Ana for a split second, and Ana caught a glimpse of sorrow.
Lucas tore his gaze away from Ana. He leapt through the twister, somehow disregarding the force of the battering wind. Ana cried out as Lucas charged forward and moved the twister closer to her for protection. She realized a moment too late that Lucas wasn't running towards Ana.
Sword extended outward, he charged towards Tracy.
"No!" Ana shouted, but the wind from her hurricane prevented even her from hearing the word. "Tracy!"
Tracy mouthed something and a pair of lightning bolts fell from the sky, missing Lucas by inches. She scrambled backwards and tried to run away. Divine rulers, the fear in her eyes…
"Don't you dare touch her!" Ana shouted. Again, she couldn't even hear her own voice over the wind.
Venus continued to run forward, but she didn't gain on Lucas quickly enough.
No, Ana thought. Come on, there has to be something I can do…
Tracy stumbled and nearly tripped over a rock. Lucas closed in.
Please?
Ana guided the hurricane towards Lucas, but she knew that it wouldn't arrive to save Tracy in time.
If someone's actually out there, watching over us, now would be the time to help.
Ana nearly laughed at her own desperation. Even if an almighty deity existed, why would it save Tracy when it let thousands of others die on the edge of Lucas' blade?
Lucas caught up to Tracy, tripping her and sending her sprawling on the street. He raised his sword above his head to deliver the final blow.
Ana checked her psionic stores. Nothing. Even if she could come up with a last-ditch plan to save Tracy, she wouldn't have the psionic energy to pull it off.
If there's a time for miracles, now would be it, Ana thought.
Lucas sliced downwards with his stained glass sword. Ana froze, unable to fully process the scene in front of her. This couldn't be real. It just couldn't.
The moment before Lucas' blade would have collided with Tracy's skull, Venus teleported in front of Tracy and blocked the attack with one of her scaled legs. Lucas' sword bounced off and Venus flashed a toothy grin.
Thank you thank you thank-
Ana ran towards Venus, guiding her hurricane forward for assistance. Lucas swung at Venus again, this time stabbing her in the chest. Once again, the scales blocked the sword, despite its psionic enchantments.
Tracy tried to scramble out of the way, firing a laser at Lucas for good measure. A piece of armor appeared over Lucas' leg to block Tracy's attack.
"Invincible," Lucas said, his sword still touching Venus' chest scales. "Is that what you think you are? I hate to inform you that there's always a more powerful material."
Lucas' sword blazed with color, its normally mild reds turning the color of blood and its normally lush greens turning as bright as neon. After a moment, Lucas' sword radiated light of all colors. Ana could see the pain twisted on his face.
"Wha…" Venus said.
Lucas drove his sword into Venus' chest, breaking through the scales. He pushed the sword further and further in until the hilt touched Venus chest and most of the sword stuck out through her back, dripping with blood. The sword vanished from Lucas' hands.
Venus clutched the wound over her chest. Normally, a psion's aura patched the body up from even lethal attacks, but Lucas' blade was powerful enough to leave serious wounds with a single stroke. Blood poured out of Venus' wound, running down the front of her stomach. Venus let out a wet cough and stumbled out of the way.
Lucas turned his attention back to Tracy.
No, Ana thought. Not after all of this…
Tracy scrambled to her feet, looking at Lucas in a mixture of awe and terror. Ana moved her hurricane closer to Lucas. It was almost there…
Lucas took Tracy's head off with a single stroke.
Ana let go of her concentration from surprise, and her hurricane faded into thin air. Tracy's head rolled on the ground, her eyes wide open and her mouth frozen in the middle of a scream. For a moment, nobody made a sound.
"Psych," Venus sent telepathically. "Couldn't…"
Lucas walked over and stabbed Venus in the stomach. His sword lit up again right before entering Venus' flesh. Venus gasped, her expression frozen in pain. After a moment, she slumped over on Lucas' sword.
"Polymorph," Venus said, her guttural voice so deep that Ana barely recognized it.
Venus turned back into a human, but she didn't look like the Venus that Ana recognized. This woman had brown hair, hazel eyes, and a nose that was slightly too large compared to the rest of her facial features. While Venus had represented the pinnacle of beauty, this woman looked like she could blend into any crowd without notice.
This must be Venus' real body, Ana thought. She looks so… normal.
"Sorry, Ana," Venus said, flashing a smile. "I couldn't… keep my promise."
Lucas stabbed Venus a third time.
"Please…" Venus said. "You can't escape yourself, Ana. Even when I was a beautiful pop singer, I was still pathetic old me. I needed… to tell you that before…"
Venus' eyes went glassy after the fourth stab. She fell limp and crumpled to the ground.
Venus… Ana thought. Erine Monotoli… Why did you care about us so much? Why would you risk your own life to save two silly girls?
Lucas looked over at Ana and hesitated.
She shouldn't have wasted her time, Ana thought. This was all so stupid. We deserved to die. Well, Tracy didn't know any better, but I did. If I hadn't gone after Lucas… If I hadn't summoned the hurricane that made Lucas chase after Tracy… You might still be alive, Venus.
Once again, everything was her fault.
Yet this time, she was too angry to care.
"Lucas," Ana said, her voice dangerously quiet. "You've just made a grave mistake."
Lucas dashed forward towards Ana. While she normally denied the rage, this time she let it flow through her. Blood pounded in her ears. She could hear her heart sizzling. Ana drew on the last bit of strength that she didn't know that she had.
Yes, this was what she lived for. She never felt so alive when wanting to tear someone's head off of their shoulders.
As Lucas swung his sword in a low sweep, Ana parried the attack and looked Lucas in the eye.
"You see," Ana said. "Now I have nothing left to lose."
Ah yes, one of my cliffhangers. And if you've read this far you probably know by now that I really don't have a problem with killing off characters. Venus in particular ended up being a much larger character than I anticipated, though, and I wanted to give her a final hurrah here.
Let's see if Ana can make their sacrifices worth something.
Psionic Aura: Defensive aura that surrounds psions, similar to the HP mechanic from EarthBound games. Regular people get killed by normal attacks (being shot/stabbed, ect.), but psions deplete their aura and lose the equivalent of HP instead. So you'll see most characters taking hits like they do in Earthbound and healing back up. Jeff, having no PSI, was previously as fragile as a regular person but has since crafted armor to give him the same sort of HP aura.
Psionic Stall: Psions have the ability to slow down their metabolisms and delay damage that they take, so the damage "ticks down" instead of happening all that once. This is the equivalent of how HP meters tick down in EarthBound and Mother 3, and how characters can heal and survive after taking lethal attacks. Psions can do so in this world too, making them difficult to kill. However, a few known attacks can pierce this psionic stall and kill psions outright. Notably, Lucas' sword can kill psions through this psionic stall, making him much more dangerous than most people with weapon-based attacks. This is only possible because of psionic stall.
Manifesting hand motions: All psychic powers require hand motions to activate, and by restraining a psion's hands one can prevent them from using any PSI. This is why Ana didn't teleport away. Teleportation requires complicated hand motions which Lucas could interrupt easily, cancelling the teleportation ability. Ana didn't want to waste her time when she was already taking so much damage.