~~Broken Mirrors~~
Song: Unknown Soldier- Breaking Benjamin
Damn...
Really, that's it. There isn't a better way to explain it.
Abaddon's army was simply huge. There is no other way to truly put it. Before, we were outnumbered... now it's not even fair.
Agni and Richie watched in awe as Abaddon's army descended upon them. It was terrifying.
Just... damn
"We're not going to make it in time!" Bloody Arrow screamed, his feet pounding the ground beneath him.
The Guild was storming as fast as they could towards where Agni and Richie laid, helpless to the oncoming army. They were struggling just to stand and even at full power the two of them would be hard pressed at a situation like this.
"Zoom is hurt! He's down for the time being." Someone shouted "They're too far away. We aren't quick enough."
"Where's the Kid?"
"He's helping hold off the east side!"
Not going to make it...
~~Broken Mirrors~~
"We have to help them!" Zatanna screamed, pointing out the window
"We can't." Batman said stoically "We swore not to unless we're ready to kill."
"But look at them!" Arsenal growled "They are barely able to move. How to yoy expect them to face... THAT!"
"There is nothing we can do except for hope that Agni has something up his sleeve." Superman
"So we should just trust this fools hope?" Slade said, from the corner of the room he was in
"As much as I hate to agree with... him" Robin said slowly "We should help."
"The League is to stay out of this battle." Green Arrow said sternly "And that's final."
Arsenal stood up abruptly, sending his chair flying backwards "I'm not even part of the League." He said angrily "and even though I don't particularly like either of those two, I'm not about to stand here and watch them die."
"We are not going anywhere." Superman thundered "Agni knows what he's doing. He always has a plan."
Always?
~~Broken Mirrors~~
Agni glanced at his friend with worried eyes. The small elf was leaning heavily on his staff with a face of weary resignation. He turned his head and their eyes met.
"So this is the end..." Richie murmured quietly, barely heard over the sound of the two racing armies. "I always thought it would be more... glorious. Whelming."
A small sad smile appeared on Agni's face and he clapped his hand onto his best friends shoulder.
"Do not fear death. I'll be with you."
Agni gazed sadly at the young elf. He felt guilty for leading his friend to death. Richie suddenly looked so small and young as he truly was, not the great warrior he played. It was unfair someone so young had to meet an end like this.
"Until the end?" Nightwing said in a small voice
"Forever and always."
With no magic energy, no power and barely any strength, the two adventures turned to face the coming onslaught, both raising their weapons, prepared to meet their makers. Agni spared a last glance at his companion, wearing a fierce look on his face.
"I'll see you at the other end." He said smirking
Richie grinned and gripped his staff and sword "Only if of you get there first."
~~Broken Mirrors~~
A spell bolt shot at them with amazing speed. With no defenses, Agni raised his Weapon. Hoping his unnamed sword would protect him.
Time suddenly slowed around him as he took one last loom at his surroundings. His sword glowed an odd purple as the bolt came shooting at them. The quickest of enemy soldiers were just reaching them. Besides him, Richie lifted his sword to attack, an unusual snarl on his face.
Agni blink once as the spell in front of him suddenly vanished and his sword swung through nothing.
As he blinked a second time he was already fighting the legions of his fellow Drow that attacking him from every direction. Agni felt a blade slice through his calf, forcing him to stumble. He was tired, his reflexes slower than he could ever remember them being. He could maybe just deal with this many attackers on a good day… but now?
His sword swung through the air, deflecting a blade here, slicing through someone's armor there, but within moments he was overwhelmed.
Agni blinked the third time he felt pain through his chest. He tried to remain standing as the little strength he still had begun leaving his body as he slowly felt gravity crush him to the ground.
Richie spun around in time to see Agni being impaled through his chest by a particularly large Drow. Time suddenly slowed again as he watched Agni valiantly try to remain standing, but only to ultimately fall. The smaller elf leaped towards his fallen friend, prepared to fight valiantly to the end beside his friend.
Agni's mind suddenly became quite numb; all he could focus on was the shining red blade jutting through his chest. Obviously poisoned, he's had worse. His eyes moved slightly as he noticed Richie standing over him, surrounded by large driders, trying in vain to protect him.
As Agni began closing his eyes for the last time, he felt one thought flow through his mind. One final thought.
Please… anyone that can hear me. Don't let my friends die. Not for me.
Richie collapsed next to him,
And the last thing he felt was darkness, welcoming darkness.
~Broken Mirrors~
Zatanna screamed as she saw Agni fall. She rushed to the window, hoping her eyes had just betrayed her and her mind was playing tricks. Her necklace was burning against her skin, emitting a dark purple glow.
Everyone suddenly fell silent, staring out the large window or at the magical map on the table.
"Go."
Zatanna looked up to see Superman, staring gravely at the battle field.
"Go now! Hurry!" He shouted, pointing towards the two elves "The League swore an oath not to help unless under their terms, but that doesn't mean you can't."
"He's still alive." Batman said quickly "But not by that much. Use magic to heal him and Richie. It's their only chance"
Richie's face suddenly broke into a dark smirk as he felt his own life slipping away. There were seven arrows jutting out of his small frame. Probably a new record. His eyesight was becoming blurry as his back hit the ground. Just above he could see dark rain clouds gathering overhead, that might had even been a crackle of thunder. Heh… Agni would be annoyed at how cliché that is.
He turned his head to look at his friend. Agni's eyes were cracked open and they were looking at him sadly, they began to slowly close and his own began to follow.
"Forever."
Richie smiled again at hearing his friends words.
"And always." He muttered
~~Broken Mirrors~~
In a world? Dimension? Reality? Hmm… what's the word for it?
Oh well, never mind, in another place in space and time, stood a small figure.
He was kneeling in front of a large white throne that stood in the middle of a large green forest. A gentle breeze blew his nut brown hair around his face.
Sitting upon the thrown was a large being. His long hair blew in the wind, ever changing color between blonde and brown. Pointed ears poked out between the strands of his hair. His somewhat tan skin flushed white as he gripped the arms of his thrown.
He wore rustic green chest-plate and dark brown plate-male legs. Hanging over the edge of his worn was a large longbow and sword.
"Is it time my lord?" The kneeling person asked, looking up at his master. "Shall I take a party and go?"
The lordly elf looked down at his servant.
"I'd say about so. Go forth. You know what to do."
~~Broken Mirrors~~
"Erif nrub, nordlauc elbbub!"
Fire erupted around the two fallen elves. It shot high into the sky, surrounding them in a blazing inferno.
"Erif pihw!"
The Drow around Agni and Richie's bodies began fleeing as a large party of people suddenly appeared.
"Arsenal, cover me!"
First to dash over to the two bodies was Zatanna, large whips of fire lashing out around her. After her came a shining sword with a hint of green gleam. Slade Wilson growled as he sliced through anyone stupid enough to get near him. In his other hand was a automatic crossbow, firing off rounds.
A large red laser blast flew by them, slicing a drider in half as Arsenal appeared, holding his robotic arm steady as he steadily defended Zatanna while she ran towards the two fallen adventurers.
Waves of invisible air flew around them. It suddenly stopped as Sorif came striding through and a high pitched toned echoed across the field causing almost everyone, but those in the immediate area around him to dropped to the ground, clutching their ears. He carefully lowered his ocarina and dropped it into his pouch
Robin, Kid Flash, Artemis and Kaldur appeared next, all rushing straight into battle mode.
Zatanna dropped to Agni first, checking his pulse. It was either so faint she couldn't feel it, or gone entirely.
"Nightwing, can you hear me?!" Robin shouted, picking up his counterpart and giving him a little shake.
A barely visible nod came from the black and blue clad elf.
Robin kneeled beside his counterpart, carefully lifting the small elf into his lap
Wally zoomed around them distracting the driders as they attempted to get in close. He paused for a moment and stared at his two dying friends. "Should I get them back to camp"?" he asked quickly "I should be able to get both."
Before anyone could answer, Bloody Arrow burst through the rows of attacking Drow, his longsword in one hand and a long slender stiletto in the other. Following him was Connor, blasting a hole through the attackers with a simple swing of his hammer. Waterboy came in next, on a wave of water.
"Nightwing!" Roy shouted, dropping to his knees. He looked down at the small boy, a tear forming in his eyes.
"Not, going to make it…" Richie whispered weakly "P-poison." His eyes began fluttering and his breath shallow
Roy leaned in closer to hear his companion's next words. "Wing! Stay awake, please for the love of the gods Richie, don't die on me." All he heard was a deep exhale of breath and then the body went still.
Kal knelt down next to Agni and placed a hand on his friends chest. "He's gone." He said slowly
Zatanna halted. Her eyes began to water as she looked down at Agni's face. His last expression still being a mocking smile.
Suddenly all feelings of sorrow vanished. They were replaced with a deep rage as she took to her feet. The tears in her eyes were gone, instead they glowed a furious dark light
"Uh… Zatanna? You okay?" Bloody Arrow asked. The magicians Aura was beginning to become visible. It was terrifying
The wind around them suddenly picked up, within seconds it became almost like sitting in the middle of a tornado. Zatanna was picked off her feet and began floating into the air.
"That's not good." Robin said, hastily grabbing hold of Connor, who seemed to be the only one not affected by the wind.
Zatanna raised her hands from within the heavy winds. Her mouth moved, but said nothing.
A sudden heat appeared around everyone. It was Bloody Arrow who realized what it as first.
There was a silent pause that went through them.
And then he explained it to everyone with a simple "Oh hells. That's REALLY not good."
Huge balls of fire suddenly began falling from the sky. Not even normal fire. Dark greens, blues, reds, purples, yellows. It began exploding around them, destroying their enemies that still remained.
Slade and Sorif ran up to them, both having trouble in the heavy winds and raining chunks of fire.. When they saw everyone gathered around the two bodies, they knew immediately what had happened.
Slade dropped to the ground next to his protégé and laid a hand on his forehead. He muttered something under his breath before removing his hand and standing back up. He stared at his young apprentice for a long moment before carefully removing the sword from his chest. He stared at the blade covered in his protégé's blood before giving it an experimental swing
"You're death will not go unpunished… my young friend. If not anyone else, I will revenge you."
Sorif stood next to Richie, looking sadly at the young boy and sighed. "They never even told me what to name the book?"
Roy looked up from Richie's body hesitantly "What book?"
"They said I could write a book on their adventures, but they never told me what they wanted me to name it."
"Guys, now's not the time for that." Robin said, gently brushing his counterparts hair away from his familiar face. He squinted as he looked up at Zatanna, who was still throwing around fireballs like it was nothing more than simple stones. "What the hell is she doing?"
"She using Agni's spells." Kal said, very uncomfortable in the immense heat. Sweat was pouring off of his body and he was swaying slightly where he stood.
"Why is it different colors?"
"Different types of fire." Slade answered, unsheathing his own sword to match the one that dare take the life of his apprentice and prepared to go out into the battle again.
Arsenal pulled out a bow from his magical pack and made to follow him. "You guys get their bodies back. We'll cover your retreat."
A bright light began shining above them. Everyone looked up thinking it was Zatanna, but no. The magician was slowly descending towards the earth. Her magic Aura fading away as she collapsed into Robin's arms.
A loud voice boomed around them, they looked around for it's source, but it seemed to be coming from the brightly shining light.
"There will be no retreating today." It said loudly.
"What in the gods name…" Roy muttered to himself, slipping his sword into a more comfortable position, preparing to have to defend his fallen companion's bodies.
"More like, who in the gods name." the voice said this time, though considerably softer and more comforting.
Zatanna looked dazedly up into the light as many humanoid shapes began descending from it. "No… Jared?"
The first of the humanoid figures landed next to them. A young boy with nut brown hair, that he continuously swiped away from his face with shield and spear in his hands and a glowing longsword hung off his waist.
"Jeradon-el. If you please." The familiar face said.
"Didn't… you die?" Robin asked hesitantly as he carefully lifted Richie's head and placed it on the ground.
Jeradon smiled at the young boy and shook his head "My body was destroyed that is all. It takes a lot more than that to kill an angel."
Robin nodded back slowly before releasing a deep sigh. He knew people died, especially in their kind of work, knowing didn't make it hurt any less.
"I wish you came sooner." Kal said softly
"I'd say I still came in time." Jeradon said gently, kneeling next to Richie's body "I'm not a blood angel for nothing."
The small angel placed his hand on the elf and slowly took a breath.
"You're time is not up yet, Young Richard. Come back to us."
Everyone held their breath for a long moment.
Jeradon lifted his hand from the prone elf's body and smiled as Richie jerked abruptly, heaving in a deep breath. The arrows protruding his body slowly dissolved into dust and his wounds began closing themselves.
Smiles broke around the group as Richie leisurely stood up and look around at the chaor that was literally raining around him.
"What happened?"
A short explanation later Richie stared at Jeradon with amazement.
"You can bring people back to life?" he asked excitedly, thinking of the possibilities.
But much to his disappointment the angel shook his head "Only those who follow my patron god. I was ordered to bring you back. Any other way and I'm not allowed to interfere."
"What about Agni then?" Bloody Arrow asked "He refused to believe in any god. Does that mean he's damned to the Wall?"
What's the Wall?" Robin asked curiously
"The Wall of the Faithless." Jeradon answered "Those with no patron deity to claim them are doomed to be absorbed into the wall, facing suffering and eventual oblivion."
The Team's eyes shot open with alarm at hearing what was left for Agni
"Is there nothing you can do?" Richie asked hurriedly "Anything?"
Jeradon fell silent for a moment and stared at the battlefield. Ever since his arrival the tide of battle was favoring them. The angels and Amazonians were pushing back the Drow and humans. While most of Abaddon's more fierce creatures were still hanging back, they could be considered winning at that precise moment.
"There is one thing I can do." Jeradon said at length
Everyone stared at the angel with earnest eyes as he explained
"The rules of our universe are simple. Everything must be balanced; it's the rule of Equivalent Exchange, an eye for an eye… an arm for an arm."
Jeradon stopped and watched passively as everyone began understanding what he said.
"So you are saying…" Robin said slowly "That to bring Agni's soul back, we would need another to takes it place."
Jeradon nodded
"Well, we're in the middle of a battlefield. That shouldn't be too hard." Bloody Arrow said a tad nonchalantly as he removed his bow. "They just have to be alive, right?" he continued notching an arrow
Kal nodded and lifted his trident from his back "Should only take a moment really."
Robin grabbed his arm and pulled him back before he took more than one step. "You guys aren't really just going to doom someone to eternal pain and then oblivion, right? There has to be another way."
Nightwing looked at his counterpart with hard eyes "Agni is worth twenty of anyone here. As much as he is an complete and utter jerk at times, he'd do any of this and more if it was one of us."
"He'd go to hell itself to drag my soul back to my body." Bloody Arrow said harshly "And you dare think I wouldn't do the same? I would be ashamed of myself if I let him just die like this after all he's done for me."
"I think we should find another way.
Unexpectedly and rather swiftly the heat and winds suddenly died around them. They looked up to see Zatanna's form slowly levitating back down towards the ground.
"You okay Zee?" Robin asked nervously "You kinda lost it for a moment."
Zatanna brushed her hair out of her face and looked solemnly at her friend
"I'm fine. I overheard what you all said."
"And of course you agree with me?" Robin said imploringly
Zatanna nodded slowly
Tension suddenly built in the air as the Rangers slowly placed their hands on the hilts of their weapons. Robin and Zatanna slowly took a step back. Would they really attack them over this?
"What surprises me…" Bloody Arrow said, slowly pulling his notched arrow back, "Is that you think we were asking you."
"Uh… Guys?" said a smallish voice next to them
Everyone turned to see Sorif standing off to the side casually with his hands around his lute.
"You guys do realize Jeradon is going to do it anyway right? He's Agni's Guardian Angel after all." Sorif supplied "So really even if you all were against it, it would make little difference. Him being one of the most powerful angels and all that."
Jeradon nodded quickly before turning and calling the attention of another angel
"Rochak-el, bring me a dying foe." Jeradon commanded
A large Angel appeared next to Jeradon quick suddenly and dropped a bleeding Drow on the ground not too far from Agni's dead body.
"You are bringing back another foul Drow?" The large angel asked "What is that worth? Is there no mangy dog for us to bring back instead?"
"I would suggest you keep your thoughts to yourself." Jeradon retorted angrily "Lest they begin to annoy me." Jeradon looked at the larger angel with a clear look of decided displeasure "Now step back."
Rochak nodded sullenly and took a few steps back.
Jeradon knelt in between the two bodies and placed a hand on each one's chest. He chanted in a low tone for several moments, rapidly becoming surrounded by a bright white light.
The Ranger's and what was there of the Team had to cover their eyes as the light became too much. A shriek of pain was suddenly heard through the light and as quickly as it came, it disappeared.
As everyone blinked their eyes to clear away the spots, a loud coughing was heard.
When everyone could see again, much to their delight a medium height drow was standing before them, running a hand through his long white hair and rubbing the other over the new scar that adorned his chest.
After several deep exhaling sighs and more hugs of welcome back Agni looked around.
"It seems we're winning…" he observed
"True… but even if so it's only because Abaddon hasn't unleashed everything in his power yet." Jeradon said
Agni looked in the direction of the castle. Standing near it were many balors, giants, and a large dragon, perched on the ground, gazing at its surroundings unconcernedly.
Agni sighed and frowned at the disadvantage. "Time to get to work then, eh?"
"I'll take my angels and see if we can break their lines." Jeradon offered "Do you have a plan to actually stop Abaddon?"
"I have a plan." Agni declared
"A very bad plan." Bloody Arrow added
"Flimsy at best." Zatanna supplied
"Downright insane at worst." Sorif continued
"So, business as usual?" Robin finished with a small smirk on his face.
Jeradon sighed and brought his palm to his face. "I don't even want to know."
"Trust me… I'll make sure it's done." Agni reassured
Jeradon gazed at his young ward for several moments. "Just make sure to do it properly this time, taking a sword through the chest really hurts and I rather not have to do it again for someone."
"You're telling me." Agni snorted as he slipped his Weapon from its sheath "Let's get going."
As they made towards the edge of the field, Arsenal and Slade came running up surprised to see Cursed Shadow and Nightwing standing.
Jeradon looked perplexed as Arsenal gave Agni a hearty handshake and Slade slapped him on the back on the head while berating him for dying.
"Hmm… So you've finally found him?" Jeradon muttered to himself
The elve's sensitive ears picked up on it and they turned to the angel and looked at him questioningly.
The angel just shrugged and motioned Agni to hurry up with it
Everyone retreat towards me. Let the angels keep them busy for now, it is time to get on with our last hope. Ranger's… Weapons out. All out, no more holding back
Nightwing hesitated for a moment and looked at his leader "Not ALL, all out… right?"
"You know what I meant."
"Just making sure…"
~~Broken Mirrors~~
Song: Battle Cry- Skillet
"I explicitly said you are not to be here!" Agni shouted at the Team as they made a mad dash towards the castle
"We saved your ass didn't we?" Wally shouted back
"Actual the angel, Jeradon-el, did." Sorif interrupted pointedly
"Jeradon-el, please. I'm in angel mode right now." The small Angel said as he ran next to them. From his body shone a bright light glow, blinding anyone who stared at it for more than a moment,
Agni ignored the three others and glared at the Team "This isn't a place for heroes. This is a place for soldiers and death. You-"
"That would be me." Harry interrupted raising a hand and giving it a friendly wave
Cursed Shadow glared at the Sorcerer Supreme before returning to shout at the Team.
"We don't have time for this now." Master Bruce said, jerking his head towards the battle "Abaddon is advancing."
Agni growled somewhat inhumanely as he watched the angels being pushed back
"I can't hold the line forever." Jeradon said from beside him "We not be able to die, but we will disappear for a short while and I can't call for anymore backup."
Agni turned towards what remained of his army and raised his sword with an ear splitting scream
Robin winced as the scream came back tenfold from the mix of Adventurers, Amazonians, Atlanteans, Heroes and whatever Slade decided to call himself.
And then before he knew it he was running with the charge alongside his Team and the Rangers. The sounds of feet pounding on the ground was loud, the sound of dying screams was louder. He counted the seconds until he clashed into the army of Drow that stood before him. One of the last obstacles in his plan.
~~Broken Mirrors~~
Zatanna ran next to Agni, blasting as many spells as she could say as they ran. Arrows were shooting off from both of her sides by Agni, Artemis and all three Roy(s). A few small stones, that suddenly turned into large boulders, flung by her as well as Arty.
She didn't know the details of the plan. All she knew was there would be a signal. One she wouldn't be able to miss and when she saw it, she was to sprint after the Rangers and Team towards the castle.
She didn't really care what the plan was anyways. All she cared about was that Shadow and Wing weren't dead. She might not have fully agreed with how they were brought back, but they were back and that was enough for her.
~~Broken Mirrors~~
Battle cries flew through the as Agni and his army smashed into Abaddon's. Bodies fell almost instantly as Agni's sword glided around him. Beside him was Zatanna, Nightwing and Robin. They quickly cut through the ranks of Drow.
Robin stuck with them as best as he could.
The stench of death surrounded him, almost causing him to vomit right there. The ground was strewn with bodies, limbs and discarded weapons.
Maybe Agni was right… this really wasn't a place for people like him. People who weren't killers.
That was when a roar was heard over them.
"Get down!"
Agni dropped to the ground as a rush of air passed over him. He rolled onto his back to see the belly of a dragon fly off over him. Arrows shot over him as Bloody Arrow and Arsenal ran over to him and helped him to his feet.
"Damn that's a big one." Bloody Arrow muttered as a bright blue arrow shot from his bow.
Agni growled as he saw it turn and prepare to swoop down at them again.
"Everyone move! Get out of the way!"
Nightwing sprinted as fast as he could away from Agni as the dragon began another descent towards him. His sword lashed out around him, cutting down as many Drow as he could. Everyone was trying to get away from that large lizard.
Agni stood tall facing it. His sword now back in its sheath and his tomahawk back on his leg.
"Fire Dragon Growl!"
A wave of fire flew from Agni's open mouth. The dragon, was hit by it, causing it to go spinning off its course. It was just about to try again when suddenly a large bright green fly swatter appeared next to it and promptly sent it flying back towards Abaddon castle where it stayed.
The battle field seemed silent for a moment as everyone paused. Agni and one of the Green Lanterns had just stopped a fully grown dragon with nothing more than a beam of fire.
And then he collapsed to the ground.
Wally was the first to reach him. Sending the Drow near him flying and then rolled him on to his back, while trying to ignore his groans. Jeradon was next. His wings fluttering into existence as he flew next to his ward. His sword beheaded another Drow before he knelt next to Agni for the second time that night.
"You stupid elf." Jeradon scolded, "That thing is going to just lick its wounds and come back." lifting the Drow to his feet. He placed his hand onto Cursed Shadows chest and muttered a few words. A bright yellow light covered Agni's chest for a moment. When it receded he seemed to be back to his normal. "How did you ever manage to live this long?"
"A mixture and skill, luck and complete badassery. Rangers, Team, to me my companions! Rangers unite!"
~Broken Mirrors~
Superman looked up from the table in the room his was in with the other Leaguers. While they weren't participating in the defense and attack themselves, they were still determined to make themselves useful.
And by that, he meant they were trying to make sure Agni's incredibly crazy plan didn't fall through.
The plan… It wasn't only that he didn't agree with any of it, it was just unnecessarily risky.
Superman sighed and glanced at Batman who was studying the magical map intently. It was obviously hard for him to have let the Team go rescue Agni. They weren't able to see what happened exactly because Zatanna had seemed to be protecting them while they got the two elves back up.
Then those angels arrived. That was somewhat of a relief.
Superman focused his hearing for a moment. He could hear, far underground, was the sound of banging. That was his counterpart digging out some kind of weird shape in which Abaddon had to be in the center of for Agni's plan of sealing his soul would work.
With just a tiny bit more of focus Superman could hear more banging. He couldn't tell from where. It was almost like something was purposely keeping him from it. It was the sound of some kind of beam, pounding into the earth.
Abaddon's threat against them.
Superman looked up at the sky only his eyes could see what was going on up. It didn't look pretty.
As much as Superman hated to admit it he knew he would have been useless in this battle. His only weakness that was Kryptonite was magic and that battle field was humming with it. He would have been weakened considerably just standing amongst the Guild. If he was hit? He didn't even want to think of the possibilities.
"They are doing well." Came from the stoic voice behind him.
Superman turned and watched the map passively for several minutes. Agni was cutting through Abaddon's ranks with the Team and Rangers. They weren't too far from the wreckage of the trebuchets now.
"What's that?" Superman asked suddenly, pointing to several large machines that were being wheeled into the battle.
Batman's hand shot to his earpiece and he shouted.
"Cursed Shadow, we have a problem.
~Broken Mirrors~
Agni paused in mid swing, leaving his chest open wide for an attack. His ears prickled as he listened carefully through all the many noises around him.
He even ignored the Drow that almost impaled him if it wasn't for Robin's escrima stick that whacked him on to the ground.
Yes… there it was. Seven loud heavy clunks.
His body shot into action, he pushed Robin to the ground before tearing towards Zatanna screaming,
"Scatter guns!"
The Ranger's all dropped to the ground or ducked behind something straightaway as Agni said that. The Team were brought down by them as they stood confused at what Agni had just screamed.
Agni himself had grabbed Zatanna's arm and leaped behind a pile of broken trebuchet parts. Zatanna looked at him questioningly, but he just motioned for her to muff her ears.
Even with that the loud explosion that ensued was loud. Seven large metal balls suddenly shot by where she was just standing. One shot over them, showering them with splinters of wood.
When it stopped, Agni shot back to his feet.
"Twenty seconds!"
Zatanna nodded, figuring that was how long it would take them to reload
Cusrsed Shadow was off, tearing across the field again. His weapon's slid into their sheaths as he sprinted towards the large siege weapons.
Get the Team out of here! They aren't ready for this!
Agni swore loudly as he slid through wet dirt and face-planted on the ground.
More loud bangs ensued followed by the sound of splintering wood and dying screams
~Broken Mirrors~
Robin rolled out from behind his cover, staring in horror at the battle around him. The cannons hadn't been choosy with who they hit. More of Abaddon's own Drow were hurt then the defending army.
The young Boy Wonder ran towards the first friendly face he saw, being Artemis's, in hopes to understand what was going on.
Before he got far he heard another bang.
Dropping to the ground he saw this time it wasn't cannon balls, but hundreds of arrows. They fell around him, many nearly impaling him. He reached for a shield that laid not too far from him and tried his best to cover himself with it.
He heard a clang and felt several thuds against it. He quietly thanked god that he picked it up and probably saved his own life.
"Twenty seconds!"
Robin assumed that was how long until the next barrage and quickly got back to running towards Artemis.
Thankfully she wasn't hit either having ducked next to the large body of a fallen balor.
Artemis looked at the terrified young boy, seeing her own fear mirrored in his eyes.
"This isn't good." She said to him as he skidded next to her. "What the hell are those?"
Robin shrugged before his body suddenly jerked as yet another loud boom was heard.
A large ball of flaming steel flew merely feet next to them, hitting a Drow dead on.
Dick Grayson squeezed his eyes shut at the sight of the Drow that now lay torn apart next to them.
"We need to do something." Artemis stated, throwing a quick look over the balor.
"We shouldn't be here." Robin muttered "We should have listened."
Artemis nodded "But we're here anyways so we might as well finish what we started."
Robin stared blankly at her for a moment before nodding in return "We have twenty seconds in between each barrage. The weapons are probably a good arrow shot away, do you think you could take one out if you had a clean shot?"
Artemis reached for her quiver before pulling out an arrow with a large metal head.
"This should probably do the trick. I'll just need a good shot."
Another hail of arrows began hitting the ground around them, forcing Robin to pull himself close to the balor for protection
When he stopped he turned to Artemis with a serious look in his eye
"Now!"
~Broken Mirrors~
For Wally, the whole battle seemed simple. It could be because he was moving so fast everything seemed slow to him, every swipe of a sword, every arrow in its flight path and everybody slowly falling to the ground.
It wasn't hard for him to maneuver out of the war of the large magical cannon balls and while it was only moderately difficult to move away from the arrows that now fell by the hundreds, he managed. He always did. He had to.
But even through all of that time never moved faster than that moment he saw Artemis and Robin jumped out from behind a fallen monster.
Everyone thought there was only one machine shooting these metal balls and arrows, but they were wrong.
There was a dozen.
Agni had shouted twenty seconds, that was most likely the time it took for them to reload it and fire again, his speedster brain came to that conclusion instantly, but what if they didn't actually have that much time?
He ran. Ran faster than he ever had before.
Robin flipped a Drow to the ground and a swift hit from his escrima stick took down another. Artemis lined up a shot towards the siege machines.
A look of surprise overcame her face when she saw how many she was truly facing. She hesitated for a split second, not sure which one to fire upon.
Even after the arrow flew, Wally realized what was going to happen.
And he ran faster.
A loud explosion was heard followed by several others.
Robin was already hiding behind a fallen trebuchet when it happened, but he yellow clad speedsters never even noticed him. His eyes were only on Artemis.
He grabbed her off her feet before the first missile hit her, twisted out of the way from several arrows and leaped over a flaming ball of molten metal. Pain stung he side as he continued running.
No one, especially not an evil demon from a completely other dimension, was going to take her from him
~Broken Mirrors~
Agni growled as he saw Wally dash by with Artemis. Speedsters might be fast, but that doesn't make them indestructible like the Superfamily.
He spun in a complete 180 degrees and took off after the speedster.
A few moments later he caught up to him. He was starting to really wish he hadn't.
Waves of fire suddenly surrounded Wally as he weakly lifted his head. He had collapsed on the ground after saving Artemis. At first he didn't realize, but after a quick inspection of his body he could see why.
Sticking out of his yellow clad body were three green shafted arrows, each with their heads burrowing deep into his body.
The fire scared him for a moment, worrying him with what Abaddon had thrown at him next. A small sigh of relief came over him as he saw Agni approach.
It was about then his ears began working again and he noticed Artemis kneeling over him, shaking him awake. He could just barely make out the trails of tears running down her cheeks.
Agni was next to him now. That was good. The guy was good at pulling things out of his ass. Maybe he had something that will make his body repair itself instantly
…Wait… doesn't his body already do that? Why hasn't his speedster healing abilities kicked in yet?
Oh well…time to leave it up to them now. A nap sounds nice.
"Shit, he passed out again." Agni cursed "The arrows are poisoned especially for speedy healing abilities. We're going to need Anna over here."
Artemis nodded, noticing the fire wall around them was beginning to fall.
A part of it was swept away as Anna suddenly came through followed by Bloody Arrow and Sorif. The three of them dashed to Wally's side and Anna was checking his pulse immediately
"He's barely alive." Anna muttered "There was some severe poison in those arrows."
"But you can save him right?" Artemis asked fearfully, staring at the elven healer.
"Not easily and definitely not here." Anna replied, removing a flask from her pouch and forcing it down Wally's throat "We're going to have to remove him from here and get him back to the camp. It'll be his only chance."
Wally's eyes slowly cracked back open and he looked at the people standing around him "Holy crap I feel like shit." He muttered "Pain… chest… lots of it."
"Just breath Wally." Agni muttered softly, applying pressure to one of the wounds. " Just focus on your breathing you're going to be alright, Anna's here."
"Shh… don't talk. I'll make sure you fine, just drink this." Anna said soothingly, lifting another flask to his mouth "This antidote will help for the time being. It'll make sure the poison doesn't eat you from the inside out while I try to get the arrows out."
Agni suddenly spun around, he blade clearing its sheath before he was fully on his feet. His sword swung through the air, deflecting an arrow as he spun around and sunk his hidden blade into the neck of a Drow swordsman.
Wally gasped for air and his head fell to the side again.
Several arrows flew by him, courtesy of Bloody Arrow, and took down a couple of Drow who tried to close in on them.
"We don't have much time!" Agni shouted, his own bow out now, firing off arrows rapidly. Someone get Wally out of here!"
"I can teleport a good three people with me." Sorif said softly. "I should be able to make it a smooth ride."
Anna looked up at the young elf and nodded. "Okay, let's go. Artemis you're with me."
Sorif reached out and carefully picked up Wally, trying his best not to jostle the human boy to much when Agni shouted at him to wait.
Pulling a small bottle from his belt Agni cautiously tipped some of its contents into Wally's mouth.
He grimaced awkwardly as the speedster began to splutter and couch after downing half of it.
"That should take away a bit of the pain for now." Agni said simply, replacing the bottle's cap and giving it a twirl in the air. "Now hurry. He can't last much long!"
Sorif nodded and quickly shut his eyes "Grab ahold of me. Grip tightly. Ready? Teleportation of Awesomeness!"
With a loud crack all four were gone and Agni heaved a sigh of relief. He glanced at the bottle before freezing as he read the label
"Oh shit!"
Bloody Arrow lowered his bow, his next arrow already notched in it "What's wrong?"
"That wasn't a pain reliever!"
"Then what was it?"
"That was the alcohol I use to clean really bad battle wounds."
"… That's definitely going to take away the pain. And brain cells… if he has any."
"Agni, prep is ready. Are you prepared to go through with the plan?"
Cursed Shadow looked up at Bloody Arrow who nodded confirmation.
"Rangers, grab the team and get ready. Phase one begins… now!"
Agni's Weapon suddenly became two as he pulled it out of his sheath. He smirked, enjoying the unorthodox feeling of two chokutos in his palms.
"Ready, Arrow?" He asked bending his knees in preparation to sprint
"Never been more."
~Broken Mirrors~
Flashback
"Are we very sure this is the only way?" Superman asked carefully
Cursed Shadow shrugged "I understand why you are worried, the plan isn't the most foolproof, but it's all we got."
"Let me get this straight." Robin said "You want to take our two heaviest hitters, make him dig an absurd amount of tunnels under the castle, which upon completion to we'lll rush into with the Rangers, somehow not only defeat anything has in store for you inside, but somehow also pin him into a VERY certain and small area which you will have to hold him too for nearly three minutes while you use that evil gem thing to seal his soul into your Weapon?" Robin paused and took a breath "Please, for the love of god, tell me I'm missing something... like something that'll make this plan actually work."
"Don't forget you have to make sure you completely destroy his body afterwards. If not his soul might try to make its way back." Harry added "And I'm sure you don't have another soul gem to reseal him… right?"
Agni nodded innocently "Only have this one. I swear on my grave."
"You don't have a grave." Green Arrow pointed out
Agni nodded again "That's the point."
Superman sighed "We might as well get going then. Superdwarf, Berzerker? You guys ready?"
~Broken Mirrors~
Richie's staff sent a blast of lighting around him, clearing the way for him to move forward several more feet. He spun to his left, evading a sword that would have removed his head if he was a second slower, nearly running into Zatanna.
"Incoming!" Sorif shouted
The heroes all dropped behind a magical wall that Zatanna hastily created. Richie winced as he heard it beginning to crack from the power of the Scatter Guns.
"Twenty Seconds!" Deathstroke shouted "Harry! Cover fire!"
Death Incarnate nodded impassively as he outstretched his hand, a dark beam flew out of it causing destruction wherever it landed. Another Scatter Gun exploded as the beam hit it, sending shrapnel through the air.
"One left! Let's do this!" Wallace said, his dagger spinning a tornado around him.
"-Phase one begins now!"
Richie looked up at the rest of the Rangers that were near him and they shared a look of validation.
"Deathstroke, Harry! Cover us. Agni's plan is a go!"
Deathstroke nodded and pulled a large crossbow off of his back "It's go time!"
"Sorif you take point, clear a path. We'll cover your six."
The young bard nodded and pulled lute off his back "Stay behind me." He warned as he hit the strings hard.
A wave of air rippled through the air, sending anything in its path, including the last Scatter Gun, flying through the air.
"Huh, didn't think of that…" Sorif muttered hitting the strings again, sending several enemies high into the air.
They group sped along behind the bard as he slowly cleared a path through the sea of unpleasant monsters.
"Where is the signal?" Wallace shouted, his air swiped ripped a skeleton into shreds
"No idea!" Richie shouted back "Where is Agni?"
A wave of fire blew by them, it of it emerged it Cursed Shadow, followed by Bloody Arrow, Arty, Robin and both Atlanteans and Martians.
"We all here?" he asked, his sword decapitating a skeleton that got to close.
"Where is Wally and Artemis?" Zatanna asked
"Wally is injured. Anna and Artemis are with him back at camp." Sorif supplied
"How'd you get back so quickly?" Agni asked sending an arrow flying past them
"I'm literally just that awesome."
Zatanna rolled his eyes at the vain bard and saddle up close to Agni. His cloak was ripped and torn in several places and his boots seemed to be smoking a tiny bit, but he still had a determined look (under the crazy look) in his eyes.
With another battle cry the Ranger's pushed forwad, clearing a path for the Team. They weren't far from the castle now. Arrows shot in front of them from Bloody Arrow and Agni, followed closely by Nightwing and the two Atlanteans. Chunks of debris flew over their heads from the Martian and Azmir.
An arrow shot by them courtesy of Red Arrow who joined them followed by Arsenal.
"Where is the signal?!" Arensal shouted "Superdwarf and Berzerker should be done by now!"
Agni growled as he cut down another Drow. "I know! Let's just continue moving forward!"
The large group of young Heroes continued their trek through the battle field inching closer to the castle.
The ground began shaking underneath them as they closed in on it. They were completely shut off from receiving any help from Guild now. They were to do this on their own.
Deathstroke was the first to see what caused the ground to shake. He paused and removed his mask hoping that his eye betrayed him.
"That is one damn big Balor." He said simply.
Agni turned to see what Deathstroke was talking about.
He quickly wished he didn't.
Not far from them was a hulking balor standing over 20 feet tall. It held an icy sword and large fire whip in its two hands. It's two pincher claws here snapping viciously as it stepped closer to them.
"Well fuck me." Bloody Arrow cursed, notching another arrow into his bow. "There is just no boring times with you, eh cap?"
Agni swore and surveyed the area around them. They were a two minute from the entrance of the castle. The only problem was the barrier was still up.
Cursed Shadow's Weapon was out again before he even began advancing towards the monstrosity.
"Jeradon-el, Kaldur, Arsenal, Sorcerer, Sorif, you five with me! The rest of you figure out how to take down that barrier. Rangers go!"
The group split off into two, the smaller part following Agni while the others racing towards the magically protected castle.
"Arsenal, hit it with all you got! No holding back!"
The young redhead nodded seriously and lifted his arm. He pressed a button on it and a soft whirring sound began emitting from it.
A shock wave caused Agni to stumble as a large red beam flew by him and smashed into the Balor.
The monster of the underworld only looked mildly inconvenienced as it turned to face them.
Harry stepped forward, his robe billowing around him as he outstretched his hand at the monster
"The Crimson Bands of Cyttorak!" He called
Large striped of red magic suddenly appeared around the balor, encasing it tightly."
"The rest of you, with me!"
Agni swung his sword in a small arc as he began running towards the balor. It slowly began to turn a bright purple as it filled with energies.
A wave of water rushed by him, on top of it was Kaldur, concentrating on keeping it under control as it washed over the battle field
Sorif and Jeradon were beside him. The angel was glowing with bright light, it coated his large sword that was held high over his head as he flew on past them.
Sorif paused and let the others run by him, picking up a spear from the ground. The air around it suddenly began to swirl as he hefted it over his shoulder.
"Dragon's Claw!" Agni screamed, swing his sword in a large arc, a wave of purple magic flew from his sword, flying towards the still downed balor.
Sorif flung the spear at the balor, around the large weapon the air itself began to amass creating a drill shaped cyclone and it flew "Piercing Missile!" he shouted, before deciding that ducking would probably be the next best thing to do.
Jeradon paused above the balor as the other two magic attacks began closing in. He spun his sword around and with a scream of "Heavenly Strike!" he dove down
Kaldur paused as his water rushed towards the balor. Why didn't his attacks have any fancy names? "Eh… Ice Needle Barrage?" he said uncertainly as his wave suddenly shot out from underneath him, turning into large icicles and sailed at the balor
Harry raised his hand and quickly shouted "The Shield of the Seraphim!"
Agni quickly lifted his right hand high, pointing his sword downwards and braced it with his left hand. His muttered a spell under his breath and a wall of fire surrounded him.
A blast of magic washed over them, forcing Aqualad and Cursed Shadow to slide backwards.
Cursed Shadow lowered his arms slowly, ignoring the numbing pain that now came from them. Smoke wavered over them, hiding the hopefully dead Balor from view. Jeradon was nowhere to be seen amidst the thick magical backlash.
Arsenal poked his head out from behind Harry and glace attentively towards where the balor laid.
"Did that kill it?"
Cursed Shadow shrugged and lifted his hands. He called out a short spell and a sudden gust of wind blew through them clearing away the smoke.
A sharp gasp came from Sorif as the smoke cleared, followed by a groan from and curse from Agni.
As the smoke wafted away it revealed a definitely angry balor with a small angel hanging limp in it's clawed hand.
"Well gods damn it all." Agni mutter, sheathing his sword and pulled an arrow from his quiver. "Should've known it wouldn't be that easy."
Behind them there was an explosion that shot fire into the air. Agni looked over his shoulder to see the barrier around the castle slowly beginning to fall.
"Mates, we need to bloody hurry this up!" Harry called to them before turning back to the balor "Bombardo!"
Another explosion rocked them, but the balor barely seemed to notice the bleeding wound in his arm and made to drop Jeradon into his mouth.
"Sorif, do that missile thing again!" Cursed Shadow shouted to the young bard who had reluctantly stood up from where he had ducked. "Arsenal, put that arm of yours on full power!"
Roy nodded and there was a loud whirring and the winds began spinning again.
Cursed Shadow pulled back the arrow in his bow and took careful aim "Hit the hand holding Jeradon!"
Sorif nodded and lifted another spear in his right hand he through it in perfect sync of Arsenal laser beam.
Agni smirked as he saw the two attacks from his left and right, with a pang of hopefulness he let loose his arrow. "Nabu's Arrow of Absolute Insanity." He mutter under his breath. A streak of bright light shot from him, meeting the attacks of his teammates on the Balors hand.
A loud roar came from the balor followed by a soft thunk as Jeradon's body hit the ground.
"We're going to need a lot more to take that down." Kaldur said
Agni nodded and pulled out another arrow "I'm nearly out of tricks…" He said mournfully
"Then ye should be glad ahm here." A voice said behind him.
Cursed Shadow turned to see Kal-El, Superdwarf casually grab a Drow by the next and toss him over his shoulder like he was nothing more than an old soda can.
"We'll deal wit dis, yeh get a going now." Berzerker said, swing his axe though a drider's leg.
Agni nodded "It's done then?"
Superdwarf nodded as he cracked his knuckles and stepped menacingly towards the balor who was preoccupied with licking its wounds and trying to fend off Harry's consistent barrage of magical spells. "All's don an' well."
Cured Shadow nodded again. He slung his bow over his shoulder and turned to make towards the castle. "Harry, get Jeradon and get over here. Let the dwarves deal with this thing."
Harry nodded and suddenly disappeared with a crack of light. He reappeared next to Agni almost immediately with Jeradon in tow. The angel was dazed and had an annoyed look in his eye.
"I'm going to stay out here." Sorcerer Supreme said jerking his head towards the balor. "My power's aren't the best for enclosed spaces. I'm better off out here, out the open where they need some extra firepower."
Agni agreed as Jeradon got to his feet and summoned his sword back to his hand "Let's go. No need to keep Abaddon waiting."
As they turned to run Sorif threw one last look over his shoulder. The last thing he saw were two dwarves, with flaming heads sprinting towards the large balor with Death Incarnate himself close on their heels, throwing around huge magical spells like they were small insignificant rocks.
~Broken Mirrors~
"Send up the signal!" Agni shouted as they reached the rest of the group.
Bloody Arrow nodded and a red streak shot into the sky from his bow. It exploded into a large red ball and hung in the sky for half a minute before dissipating.
"What's that supposed to do?"
"Wait for it…" Agni murmured
"Wait for what?" Robin asked curiously
"Our distraction." Sorif answered promptly "I think I hear it coming in down."
"Zatanna shields if you please."
The magician nodded and quickly cast a spell over them.
A loud whistling was heard over head. Everyone looked up to see a bombardment of an assortment from everything magical to large boulders flying towards them.
"Okay here is the plan. Arrows, Arsenal, Nightwing, Robin, Sorif, Zatanna and Deathstroke," Agni rattle off, "You guys coming with me to open the gates, everyone else… try not to die in the meantime."
"Good idea dude… not dying sounds like total fun." Kal said wryly at his young captain.
Agni smirked and pulled his hood over his white hair. "Good luck guys. No one die here. We'll have time for that later."
~Broken Mirrors~
Several grappling hooks suddenly shot over the edge of the castle wall. Soon after them came most of the infiltration party. Zatanna suddenly appeared next to them as they untied their hooks from the wall and looked around.
Agni wobbly levitated up after them, his bow already in hand.
"So what's the plan?" Deathstroke said, pulling his sword out alongside the one that Agni was stabbed with.
"There are two gates. We split into two and get them opened."
"Why didn't we simply teleport everyone up and just storm the castle?" Red Arrow asked, adjusting his bow as he replaced his grappling hook
"We can't storm the place alone. Gods only know what Abaddon has stored in there. We'll need our main army keeping them busy while we get on with my plan." Agni answered "Hence, we open the gates."
Arrows began hitting the ground around them as Abaddon's forces realized the walls had been breached. A quick spell out of Agni repaired his cloak as he rattled of directions "Zatanna, Wing and Slade you three are going right with me. The rest of you head left. When you get to the gate don't bother trying to open it the regular way. Simply destroy the mechanism and it'll open on its own and they won't be able to close it again."
Arsenal and the others nodded before running off in the opposite direction, before they had gotten two far Agni could already hear the sounds of clashing weapons.
"Common, let's go." Deathstroke said, his good eye scanning the walls, "There are a lot heading towards us."
They had run for less than a minute when they saw the first enemy. A cluster of archers were already set up and were preparing to fire as soon as they were seen.
Nightwing was the first to attack; he leaped onto the edge of the wall and dashed towards them, his staff broken in halves to use as escrima sticks. Lightning shot from them as he landed in their midst. Before he was overwhelmed Slade cut his way through to him, his two swords spinning with preciseness much akin to Agni's.
"Erif pihw!" Zatanna cast, creating large tendrils of fire around her. Large whips of fire snaked by two melee fighters and lashed at the archers who were lining up a shot
Agni's bow sung as he fired off several arrows in rapid succession. Three more fighters dropped before he even bothered taking a step forward. The Cursed Shadow suddenly spun out of the way of several arrows. He glanced around to identify the new attackers, seeing more archers and even more fighters coming from the fire side of the wall, he sighed and pulled out several arrows from his quiver.
"Nightwing! Shadow Clone this place up!"
Richie's staff, now reformed, stopped in mid attack routine and he nodded his confirmation to his captain. He handsprung away from a blade that would have possible removed his spleen, landing deftly on his feet he didn't stop and stabbed his staff into the ground giving him the boost he needed to land on top of one of the walls watch towers.
Several Hieroglyphs appeared around him, hanging momentarily in the air before they suddenly turned into exact mirrors of him.
Agni kicked off the wall to dodge an axe's swing. He spun in mid-air, skillfully shooting off three arrows on his descent.
His landing was less than deft. He stumbled over a dead body and fell head over feet over the edge of the wall into the castle courtyard.
Zatanna saw him go over out of the corner of her eye, knowing he was not too hurt she blasted all those around her and dashed over to the edge.
Agni was several feet down, surrounded by Drow. He look up and winked at her before mouthing 'The Gate'
The magician nodded and turned back to her own problems.
Slade swept by her, his sword a blur of motion as he nimbly sliced off a Drow's arm with one hand and disarmed another dark elf with his other.
An army of Nightwings suddenly appeared, crashing into the contingent of Drow. The original followed behind them at a slower pace, he panted slightly and leaned against the tower with Zatanna
"Where's Shadow?" he asked breathlessly
"He went over the wall. Told us to keep going." Zatanna said, brandishing her wand and sending a spellbolt flying down the wall.
"We better hurry then. They're only going to bring more reinforcements now that my shadow clones are here."
Zatanna nodded and dashed down the wall, closing in on the gate. She tilted her head and noticed Richie, the usually speedy elf, was trailing behind her. She stopped as he nearly collapsed against the wall.
"You okay Wing?"
Richie nodded slowly "Too many clones… it takes a lot out of me, unlike Agni not everyone is a magical warhead."
Zatanna smiled and pointed a finger at the tired elf "Cigam sevreser llifer!"
Nightwing's body suddenly jerked upright as he felt a sudden wave of magic pass through him. "Wow… you can do that?"
Zatanna nodded "I simply refilled your reserves from my own."
"Won't that tire you out?"
The magician shook her head and tapped the necklace hanging off of her neck "If I tap into Agni's necklace it'll keep me going for a long while."
"Well common, let's go now. Deathstroke is hogging all the good kills."
Zatanna wrinkled her nose in disgust at Richie's flippant way of speaking, but followed none the less.
Agni's bow clocked another Drow in the neck. He could feel his enemy's neck snap beneath the blow. Twisting out his body away from another attacker, he back away hoping to gain some breathing room.
The wave of air that his the back of his neck told him there wasn't any. He immediately dropped to the ground as a sword cleaved through the air, incidentally slicing a different Drow's neck. Agni rolled to his left, avoiding another blade and quickly got to his feet.
Slipping his arm through his bow, he pressed his hands together and made his arrow-head shaped hand sign.
"Clones of Shadow, answer my call."
In the plentiful shadows around the court yard numerous copies of Agni began sprouting up. A slight panic went through the enemy Drow, now seeing themselves being surrounded and not vice versa.
Agni sighed in relief and slumped briefly against the castle cold hard stone. Above him he could her the sound of his companions fighting against the sound of thunder and lighting. It was probably going to begin raining soon.
Oh joy…
"Yo boss!"
Agni wearily looked up to see himself in Orange prancing towards him with two daggers in his hands and a third in his mouth.
"Greetings Orange." Agni said shortly, pushing himself off the pulled and pulling several arrows out of his quiver. His hands were nothing more than a distortion in the air as his bow sung.
Cursed Shadow's attention was caught when he notice a pillar of flame shoot through the air followed by a yell of
"PUNY DROW! Fall before me!"
Agni dashed towards the source only to see one of his clones, arms cloaked in fire, simply pounding away at the Drow who attempted to surround it.
"What the…"
The clone suddenly turned around and gave a feral grin to Agni
"Greetings Drow Boy! Splendid night for death, is it not?"
Agni squinted at the clone there was something off about it. Its hair was red and its hands seemed for… claw like then he remembered ever having.
It was a full minute of standing and staring before it dawned on him.
"No…"
The clone spun around, blasting fire at the nearest Drow "Oh yes… this is quite unexpected is it not?"
"Belir…" Agni whispered
The dragon half of Agni nodded with a twisted smile. The fire along his arms began to form into spear heads around his fists.
Agni's sword was out and he dashed towards the evil half of himself with full intent to kill.
Draconic hands gripped his sword in mid swing, holding it with strength he knew he had not. Staring back at him was his own face, twisted with draconic features.
"Tsk Tsk Tsk…. Nah uh uh Elf boy."
"What do you want Belir?"
"Simply to keep you alive… and shiny. Lots of shiny, but I'll settle for keeping you alive for now. If you die so do I. So how about we work together for now."
"You'll join Abaddon." Agni hissed, struggling to keep his sword steady in Belir's hands. "You understand that I can't let that happen."
"Oh I might." Belir said airily, "but for know I rather have you not dead. I can't take the body if it's cut to pieces. So for now, I'm on your side."
Belir slowly loosened his grip on the sword, allowing it to fall free. "Leave these Drow down here to me. I assume your friends are being hard-pressed right this moment."
Agni sheathed his sword and nodded "If you do anything-"
Belir lifted his hands in compliance "Only going to keep you alive… for now."
Spinning on his heel, Cursed Shadow sped away towards the nearest stair case leading up to the wall. Belir and Orange were doing fine clearing out the courtyard with the rest of his clones.
As he reached the wall he couldn't even see his friends, just a sea of Drow, all with their backs to him.
His sword and tomahawk were in his hands as he battered his way through towards his friends.
"Agni, we are in trouble over here! There are simply too many!" Nightwing screamed telepathically "Even my clones are gone. We can't even get close to the gate tower!"
Agni growled fearsomely and picked up his pace towards his best-friend
"We're having trouble over here as well Shadow!" Bloody Arrow mentally said "We need to go all out now. It's Vow time."
"No! we can't do that!" Agni argued "To many Allies around!"
"Ask Master Bruce!" Came the telepathic voice of Arty "We can't hold off at the gates much longer either!"
Agni sighed and quickly sunk into his shadow. He retreated away from his friends and back to the closest guard tower.
Kneeling on top he focused his thoughts towards his own camp, hoping his ring's mind link would reach one of the Guilders.
"Agni?" That was the voice of Lord Oliver
"Oliver! Get to Master Bruce, tell him we're trapped and going to die. Requesting authorization to use our Vows."
There was a sharp intake of breath "That bad, huh?"
Silence…
Agni looked up, Nightwing was trapped in a corner, Deathstroke too far away to help. Zatanna was hiding from arrows behind a conjured wall of stone.
Damn damn damn
"You have full permission to do what you must!" Said the familiar voice of Master Bruce "Get those gates open! You're back-up is on its way."
Agni smirked and stood up tall. He spoke a quick spell and pointed towards the sky.
Great glares of light suddenly was cast down upon the field. Everyone suddenly looked up.
Staring back down at them was the Ranger-Symbol.
Richie managed to catch Agni's eye. A firm nod from his best friend was all he needed.
He suddenly shadow jumped next to Zatanna where she was looking at the sign curiously.
"What does that mean?" she asked hesitantly
Nightwing folded his legs next to her and closed his eyes "It means it's time to go all out."
"Didn't you already do that?"
Richie cracked his eye open and grinned at her. "Not even close."
The stone above his head suddenly splintered. The Drow were going to break through it at any moment.
Zatanna hastily threw a spell over the wall before ducking down again. She glanced around the side. On the far side of the castle's wall was Bloody Arrow. Soft gentle whispers unexpectedly reached her ears, unquestionably she recognized every one of them to belong to the Rangers
"In the darkest of caves and the Brightest of Plains
Together we stand and evil we slaw
Protecting the Weak and for the Good of our Worlds we Fight
Fear our Powers…
RANGERS UNITE!"
A sudden blast of magical energy suddenly blew by her, pressing her into the wall. She turned carefully to see now a standing Nightwing above her.
He seemed to have grown several inches, now standing almost at Red Arrows height. His staff gripped tightly in his hand while his cape fluttered in the wind. His face unusually stern as he leaped onto the wall they had hid behind.
Ignoring the arrows being shot at him, Nightwing crouched in ready to leap.
"For the good of Gotham and the whole Empire
I shall continue to fight and never shall I tire
My companions hold my trust and protect them I shall
Even though I am young, you all will remember me somehow
I shall end this fight within the covers of the night
Rangers unite."
The young elf leaped on the wall, his staff twirling as he went. The air suddenly became thick as he descending, it cracking with energy.
He stabbed the floor beneath him as he landed. Lightning shot down from the skies and out of his staff. Arrows bounced harmlessly off of his protective hieroglyphs as he began causing major devastation to the enemies around him.
There was a loud explosion from across the courtyard. Zatanna could see the other gate tower go up in flames. On top of the smoldering ruin was Bloody Arrow. He flipped off, letting loose several arrows. He broke into a run, followed by Sorif and his counterpart.
His words seemed to drift over the loudness of the battle and straight into her head. She wondered if it was only her or if everyone could hear.
"Part Elf, mostly Human with aim beyond compare
I am an Arcane Archer with much flair
Though I seem like I really do not care
Be cautious for I am more speedy than a hare
Now trend lightly around my temper and beware"
Bloody Arrow suddenly stopped his stride. Twisting from his waist up he suddenly let loose another arrow.
Zatanna watched its magical trail as it shot clearly across the courtyard, past her to the walls leading from the castle.
An explosion beyond anything she had ever seen him do ensued. When the smoke dissipated she could see a large section of the wall gone, blocking off and back-up for Abaddon's forces.
Agni suddenly dropped down next to her. He at least seemed normal.
"You okay?" he asked offering his hand.
Bewildered, Zatanna grabbed it and was hoisted to her feet.
The tides of the battle were suddenly turned, she looked over the wall to see Drow fleeing away from the castle as Kal suddenly turned towards them
"Dude, clear waters of Poseidon and his Trident of true
Whenever that's around it's totally my cue
From beneath the waves and oceans blue
Feel the cold of the water that'll make do"
A wave of water suddenly appeared, washing them away. It didn't go too far before halting and creating a barrier around them
"Behold," Agni said softly "The true powers of the Rangers."
Zatanna looked at Agni with a small smile "where's your awe inspiring power?"
Cursed Shadow shook his head "I do not need it. The magic that resides in me, must stay there and not be tempered with." He said grimly
"We might need it soon."
"Maybe… but for now let's deal with the matter at hand." Agni conceded "You stay here, block off any entry from the enemy fighters this way."
"Where are you going?" Zatanna asked as Agni began walking away.
Agni turned around, his tattered hood revealing parts of his face. "To blow up the other gate."
"But it's going to be full of Drow trying to protect it. We haven't even gotten that far to clear them out."
Agni smiled and turned away "I have a plan."
~Broken Mirrors~
"Agni! We need that last gate open! Our forces can't get through!"
"I'm working on it!
"Well work faster! You're back-up is getting feisty! How did you even get-"
Cursed Shadow cut the link. His blade had come out and he was sprinting towards the last gate tower.
He cursed under his breath and he jabbed his sword through a Drow's armor. He withdrew it quickly and continued his quick pace towards the tower. He didn't have much time. Abaddon would have this place flooded with soldiers and overrun them soon. Even with all the Rangers going all out, it would be difficult by themselves.
Agni fought his way to the top of the gate tower swiftly. After clearing it out he knelt next to the gate control winch and began setting explosives
He was so focused on them he didn't notice the enemy until he was surrounded.
"Get up Ranger. Drop the explosives."
Cursed Shadow cursed loudly and slowly let go of the timed bomb.
When he turned around he could see that he was in a terrible predicament. He was surrounded by a complete war party.
"Don't move." One of them commanded. Agni assumed he was in charge. "Or we'll put so many holes through you; your own teammates won't recognize you."
The Drow commander pulled off his sword and kicked it tow
Agni raised his hands in defeat and held still as they deactivated the bomb. He sighed and sent out signal from his ring to his command center
"Fire at the gate tower."
"But general, you're still in there."
"I've got company,can't place the bomb. Just blow this place sky high, I'll make do."
"As you wish general…" There was silence for a moment before the voice continued "Ranged missiles in t-40 seconds. You need to get at least-"
"I got off his telepathic link sir."
"Oh common! Since when are you guys ever confident?" Agni complained
The dark elf went silent when he felt cold steel pressed against the side of his neck
"Silent Ranger. Who were you talking to?"
"Command center."
"What did you tell them."
"To blow this place straight into the abyss."
The Drow commander hissed and pushed Agni forward. "Let's go men. Abaddon wants to kill this one himself."
Agni felt two people grab him and drag him towards the door leading away from his friends.
One of the Drow reached for the door handle, just as he rested his hand against it, it abruptly exploded inwards throwing everyone away from it.
The rest of Drow including Agni cried out against the sudden bright light that attacked their eyes.
Agni sat up and slumped against the wall. As the blurriness began leaving his eyes he could make out the form of a medium height humanoid leaning unconcernedly against what was left of the door-frame."
"Am I going to have to regularly save your pathetic hide?"
Cursed Shadow groaned and got up "We have to place is about to be blown up."
"You're not going anywhere!" the Drow commander shouted as he and his group got to their feet as well."
The other door suddenly shot through the small control room, pinning the Drow commander to a wall. In walked Orange holding two shotguns, he leveled them at the rest of the Drow and smiled widely.
"Yippy kay yay mother*cker!"
Agni immediately dropped to the ground as a spray of bullets blasted around him.
Within ten seconds most were dead. The last few were taken down by the flaming Belir.
Orange kicked Agni's sword back to him. The Drow slipped it back into his belt and made for the door.
Loud whistling sounded over them. Agni halted and looked to the sky. Six missiles were headed his way. Agni turned and sprinted back into the building
"Get out of here! This place is going up in flames!"
Belir and Orange nodded and sped for the door, Agni turned and dashed back out. He glanced at the sky again and swore
"Oh-"
The six missiles hit the Tower, exploded in a mass of fire.
"-Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!"
~Broken Mirrors~
Zatanna and Nightwing spun around and stared the fiery remains of the tower. They stood tall still fighting next to Red and Bloody Arrow. Sorif and Deathstroke stood off to the side, back to back surrounded by Drow. It mostly remained in the courtyard not too far from them, slowly burning away. A heavy cloud of smoke held over the courtyard. A sea of Drow stood between them and Agni.
Against the background of smoke and flame three figures slowly emerged.
Orange walked confidently; only one shotgun was still in his hands, resting on his shoulder. Next to him Belir strode decisively, his arms wreathed in dark purple flames.
In between them stood Cursed Shadow. His arms hung loosely at his sides holding identical copies of his Ranger Weapon.
Agni's swords swung around him, sending a blast of fire at the sea of Drow. He crossed his swords in front of his body. A Pillar of fire shot from between his cross guards,
A soft murmur emitted from the wreck the three walked out of.
"In the dark shadows of night I stalk to the until the latest of hours
For shining gold and fearful powers
The fire blazes within me and my sword strikes keen
I will obtain peace in my world for that is my dream
Now… fall before me and cower from my might.
To me, my companions! Rangers Unite!"
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