And now, the final conclusion
Rest in Peace
Rachel stood in shock, staring at the large white wolf on the opposite side of the cavern. Frantically, she searched the large emerald eyes for any sign of the brunette she had come to know, refusing to believe that she was gone. It didn't make any sense, none of it did. Just what the hell was going on here?
"This has to be a trick... it's impossible!" Jefferson shouted angrily as he stared at the multi-tailed Ahri, his voice reverberating around the cave. He had planned it all so carefully, right down to the last detail. Not once had this, whatever this was, factored in his plans. He cursed the oversight, fists clenching.
Managing a smile despite the dire situation, Rachel reveled in his rage-fueled confusion. They might get some justice after all. "You saw it yourself. You've been searching for her for four hundred years. Well, now you get to meet her in person... though, I doubt she's in the mood for talking."
Not one to show his panic so openly, Jefferson played it cool. "Hmph, if that's true, then you know what she did. You're just as dead as I am."
"So long as I get to see her rip your fucking head off first, I don't care," Chloe replied in a low voice, staring at him with every ounce of hatred she could muster.
Before Jefferson could reply, a solid black orb came zipping through the air, forcing him to leap backwards as it smashed into the ground kicking up a plume of dust. As the dust cleared, Chloe could see the white wolf stood defensively in front of them staring down Jefferson. It was pretty terrifying if she was honest. The wolf growled and snarled, teeth bared and body tense. Piercing green eyes zeroed in on the vampire before her, murderous intent radiating from both parties as they stared each other down. Whatever happened next, one of them wouldn't be leaving here alive. This was a duel to the death, no question. As for who would come out on top... Chloe and Rachel could only hope for one outcome.
Jefferson seemed amused by the menacing display, taunting the effort. "Ha, what's this? Trying to redeem yourself? I hardly think saving two girls is going absolve you of your sins. How many innocent people, human and supernatural, have you killed in both your life AND death? More than even me, I'll wager."
With a throaty growl, Max launched herself at the vampire. The aggressive lunge forced him to leap aside narrowly avoiding her snapping jaws. He dodged right into the path of her now black orb, the ball of raw energy slamming him into the ground. Before she could capitalize on her attack, he was back to his feet erratically changing his position each time she tried to lunge or strike him with her orb. They were fairly evenly matched in speed, what with Jefferson's Auralite boost. This fight would be won with tactics, not sheer brute force.
Jefferson dodged behind the chained up girls, causing Max to hesitate for a second as her orb zipped back to her. She didn't want to risk hurting Chloe or Rachel, and he knew that. It was her one weakness - one he was all too ready to exploit. Seeing an opportunity, Jefferson grabbed the hilt of Rachel's broken sword, tossing it at her in one swift motion. A pained yelp followed by a whimper echoed through the cavern as the blade struck her deep in the shoulder. She faltered, stumbling back as the jagged blade impaled her.
Pulling on her chains, the young hunter balled her fists. This did not look good. She watched the young Ahri back off, putting some distance between herself and the smirking vampire. Max gripped the handle of the blade tightly with her jaws, ripping it free from her shoulder with another pained yelp. Thick red blood ran down her leg, soaking her white fur. Letting out a shaky breath, she tossed the broken blade aside as the vampire lunged at her again. Bounding out the way, she almost tumbled on the landing as her injured leg gave way.
Grinning menacingly, Jefferson advanced on the injured wolf, only to halt as a second black orb appeared on one of the wolf's many tails. "Not this again," he snarled. "Didn't you learn last time? Cheaters never pros-" His smug sentence trailed off into silence as another seven black orbs appeared, each one resting gracefully on its own tail.
With a low growl, Max slung each orb in quick succession towards her former teacher. The glowing balls of energy surged forward with incredible force, the vampire leaping out of the way to avoid their trajectory. One orb slammed into the wall, kicking up a huge plume of dust making it difficult to see. The assault was unrelenting as orb after orb went sailing through the air, several explosions kicking up even more dust and debris.
As the dust settled, Jefferson was still standing. Fresh blood ran down the side of his face and chest, the wounds already healed, showing that Max had indeed struck him at least once, maybe more. Nothing fatal, though. "All that show and I'm still standing... you really need to work on your aim," he declared mockingly, ready to finish this little song and dance.
"Who says you were her target?" Rachel taunted, now freed from her restraints thanks to the constant orb barrage. She gripped the hilt of her broken sword, its jagged blade still dripping in the Ahri's blood. Chloe stood beside her, brandishing the other half of the broken blade, both girls eyes fixed squarely of the vampire.
"Well, aren't we full of surprises?" In one swift motion, Jefferson was behind the young hunter and had her arm twisted, pointing her own blade at her throat causing her to breathe sharply. "Move and she dies."
"You fucking coward," Chloe spat through gritted teeth.
He actually smiled at the insult. "On the contrary, I'm just playing smart. Now, if you'd kindly lower your orbs." Jefferson nodded towards Max, eyes shimmering a menacing purple, much darker all of a sudden. He wasn't playing around.
Letting out a low growl, Max looked back at her eight orbs before turning back at Jefferson and letting out a huff. She didn't have much of a choice here. As much as she wanted to ignore him, to wipe that smug look of victory of his face, she couldn't risk it. Too many people had died because of this already and she wasn't prepared to add another to the body count. Seven of her orbs faded into nothing, the eighth returning to its natural electric blue state.
Relaxing a little, Jefferson held on tight to his bargaining chip. "Good girl, I would give you a treat, but... I value my hands. And you can drop that please, Miss. Price," the vampire added, noticing Chloe trying to edge closer. "I think you'll find that I am not messing around here. Deadly serious, in fact." He dug the blade into Rachel's throat, an uneven thin line of blood appearing from the added pressure. "Let's not make this more unpleasant than it has to be."
Reluctantly, the bluenette dropped the broken blade, the shattered sword clattering to the ground. "Now what, SIR?"
Now having the upper hand, Jefferson returned to his usual cocky self. "Well, I'm taking Miss. Amber here with me. You two are going to stay here. Follow me, she dies. Try anything, she dies. That would be a shame, wouldn't it? Once I feel comfortable I'm far enough, I'll let her go and you're free to carry on with your little lives."
Chloe scoffed at the demand. "Just like that, huh? Why should we trust you?"
"You shouldn't, but what choice do you have?" he replied, knowing they had limited options. In this situation, he was in control - no question - and everyone here knew it.
Glancing over at Max, Chloe could have sworn she saw the wolf wink at her. Her eyes went slightly wide as she saw the emerald green fade to a familiar deep blue she recognized. Suppressing a smirk, she gave Jefferson a cold stare. "If she has a scratch on her, I swear, there won't be a hole big enough to hide you."
Backing off towards the entrance while dragging the blonde hunter with him, Jefferson passed an accusing glance at Max as he watched her remaining orb vanish off her tail. glancing over his shoulder just in time to see another black orb zipping back towards the wolf, pulsing a dim white before exploding into a brilliant light blinding the vampire.
"Gha!" Jefferson cried followed by a stiff grunt as Rachel slammed her elbow into his chest, prying herself free from his grip. A sudden sharp gasp escaped him as he fell to his knees, the broken point of Rachels sword now protruding from his chest.
"That was for Kate, you asshole." Rachel hissed into his ear as she gave the blade a twist, causing the vampire to cough up a mouthful of blood.
"And this... this is for my dad," Chloe spat walking up to her former teacher with the broken blade in her hand. Blood ran down it as she gripped it tightly and plunged it into his chest, causing his to cough up more blood.
Gasping for air, the former teacher swallowed down a mouthful of blood before speaking. "You... she's gonna kill you all."
Chloe shook her head, wearing a small smirk. "No, she won't. Didn't you hear what I said earlier? We know who she is."
She took a step to her right as the white wolf limped over, its deep blue eyes fixed on Jefferson. He watched in confusion as the fur shimmered to a soft light brown right before his eyes. This made even less sense than before. What the hell was going on?!
Rachel looked down at him, stone-faced. "Her name is Maxine fucking Caulfield, and you, YOU'RE DONE, you son of a bitch!"
"This isn't ove-" Jefferson wasn't allowed to finish that sentence as Max wrapped her jaws around his head, ripping it clean off his shoulders.
He let out a blood-curdling scream, a bone-crunching crack ringing through the otherwise quiet air as she crushed his skull in her jaws. The rest of his decapitated body turned to a purple-tinged dust before it had the chance to hit the ground, his clothing and the broken blades dropping to the ground with a loud clang. Then... silence.
It was over. Rachel stood, staring at what remained of their former teacher. There wasn't much left... like he had never even existed. That couldn't be further from the truth. So much pain and suffering brought to an end at long last. The young hunters stare was broken by a familiar pair of warm lips being pressed against hers. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around the blue haired vampire, deepening the kiss. She felt hands grip onto her tightly, holding on like she was a life raft. Chloe was shaking now, the realization of how close they had all been to death really hitting home.
"What happened to no public displays of affection?" Rachel murmured, pulling back slightly and resting her head on the other girl's.
Chloe's blue eyes focused on her hazel ones, watery with unshed tears as she whispered, "Fuck that. For a moment there, I didn't think we were getting out of that."
"Not all of us did," the hunter mumbled, tears already running down her cheeks as she motioned over towards Kate's body, the suppressed emotion now allowed to run freely.
Following her girlfriend's gaze, Chloe watched as the large brown wolf limped over towards Kate. Her eyes bulged slightly as she watched the wolf change into the familiar form of her best friend. Light brown ears had replaced her normal black ones, blending more naturally with her brunette hair. Her originally black tails were also now a light brown, nine of them in total, It would take a while to get used to that. Her right shoulder and arm were covered in thick red blood from the nasty looking wound on her shoulder. Under normal circumstances, the young vampire would have commented about her friend being completely naked, but right now she couldn't think. She still couldn't believe the short blonde was gone.
Stumbling up to Kate's side, the wreaking pain in her shoulder ignored, Max's legs gave out from under her. Grief overwhelmed her and she allowed herself to break down in a heartfelt sob. "I'm so sorry Kate... so very sorry," she managed between sobs as she buried her face in her dead friend's chest, "it's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair..."
Joining the grieving Ahri, Rachel knelt beside her, wrapping her arms around her as her own floodgates opened, "It... It's not your fault, Max."
Chloe didn't know what to do with herself. She didn't do well at showing how she felt. All she could do was stare at the unmoving lifeless body, stunned into silence. She would never see that cute smile of hers again. She had taken a bullet meant for Max, her best friend, one she would have taken in a heartbeat. Instead, all she got to do was sit and watch as another part of her life was ripped away. She wanted to run, hide herself away, find a corner and just let everything out, but she couldn't. She still had two friends that needed her.
Taking a shaky breath, she took a step towards the two kneeling girls. "Max, I..." she stopped mid sentence as something caught her eye, "Err... Max," when the brunette didn't respond she repeated herself a little louder, "MAX!"
"Not now, Chloe, I'll tell you later," the young Ahri responded between sobs.
"MAX!" Chloe urged. This was important.
"WHAT!?" Max shouted, snapping her head up to meet the young vampire's confused expression, tears, blood and snot running down her face.
"Why... why's it doing that?" Chloe pointed behind the young Ahri.
Following her friend's direction, Max craned her neck behind her to see her orb resting on one of her brown tails. Its normal blue hue had been replaced with a gentle green swirl. Frowning, she wiped the tears from her eyes as she brought her tail in front of her. She took the orb in her hand, shaking her head as she inspected it.
"I... I don't know," she mumbled, poking the green orb with her free hand. A warm tingling sensation rushed up her arm to her shoulder, the pain lessening as the wound seal shut, not completely healed, but at least the bleeding had now stopped. An angry looking mark took the place of the deep gash.
"Wow..." Rachel breathed, watching the wound heal up in no time at all.
Ignoring her shoulder, Max continued examining the orb - deep green swirls spiraling inwards to the center. "Not much use now," she mumbled bitterly, her eyes once again falling onto Kate as a fresh wave of tears rolled down her cheeks. "Look, Kate... Got a new one," she blubbed, cradling the green ball in her hands.
'You're never going to have this much energy again, Max,' Akira's words forced themselves to the forefront of the young Ahri's mind.
Her eyes flicking between the orb in her hands, then back to Kate's body and back again. Shuffling on her knee's closer to Kate, wiping the tears from her eyes, she held the orb over Kate's chest, not really know what to expect. Anything was worth a shot now. There was literally nothing to lose and everything to gain.
"Max..." Rachel cautiously called out, curious to know what she was doing.
Ignoring the young hunter, Max closed her eyes, a fresh tear rolling down her cheek. "Please, please, please... Let this work, just this once," she pleaded as she pushed the orb into Kate's chest.
Chloe and Rachel watched her work, clinging onto one another for support. They didn't bother trying to stop her, both of them hoping beyond hope that this would work. Even if it didn't, they had to try. The orb sank into the blonde empath's chest, a dim green shimmer temporarily lighting up the cave. Energy sparked in the air, making hair stand on end and skin tingle. It felt like SOMETHING was happening. After a few seconds, the feeling passed. They waited... nothing.
Rachel caught Chloe's eye, no more tears left to cry. That sliver of hope had been crushed in a matter of seconds. Max stared at Kate's body, willing it to show some sign of life. "Come on, Kate," she muttered as she closed her eyes, taking hold of one of her hands. This HAD to work.
'Akira, this will work, right?' she asked, praying to every single deity she knew the name of. No answer.
Just when Max was starting to lose all hope, she swore she felt the hand in hers twitch. Had it been wishful thinking or... suddenly, there was an uneven, ragged gasp, followed by a coughing fit. She definitely didn't imagine that. Turning back to Rachel and Chloe, she saw them rush over, quicker than she had ever seen either of them move before. They all held their breath, waiting to see what would happen next. After some time, Kate's eyelids twitched, opening just a fraction. She was totally out of it, but... alive? It was a miracle.
"Holy shit..." Chloe muttered to herself, watching the blonde gradually gain consciousness.
A wave of relief passed over Rachel, feeling a smile tug at her lips. "You can say that again."
Max continued to stare at the slowly reanimating body of her friend, almost not believing her eyes. She reached out and cupped her cheek, brushing dust and small pieces of debris from her skin. Was this some kind of group hallucination, all three of them so deep in grief they were imagining this? If so, she didn't even care. So long as the illusion never ended, she was fine with that.
When Kate was conscious enough to speak, she managed a soft and raspy, "Ah, shit..."
Rachel actually managed a watery laugh. "Whoa, and that's the second time I've heard you swear."
"Guess we're a good bad influence," Chloe chuckled, still in total disbelief.
Kate gave her a dazed look, face crumpling up slightly. "Think I... ah, can be forgiven. Nearly dying... hurts." When her eyes fell on Max she smiled, her expression soon changing to embarrassment as she glanced away. "Max, you're..."
"Ha, yeah..." Max muttered, making sure her tails were covering as much of her body as she could, not much. This was a little awkward. She wasn't really dressed for such an emotional occasion, not dressed at all for anything, really.
"Hey, if it makes you feel better we could all join you," Rachel mentioned with a wink. "Nothing we haven't all seen before. I'm down."
"Please... don't..." Kate begged weakly.
"Hmm... what was that? A yes?" Rachel playfully teased.
Chloe grinned. "I heard yes."
Her tails wrapping around her tighter, Max gave them a mildly disapproving look. "Come on, guys, give her a break."
Relaxing now that Kate was definitely back, Rachel lightly shoved Max's shoulder. "We're just messing around... mostly."
Realizing she still had Max's necklace in her other hand, the young empath frowned at the Ahri. "Erm, Max, how come you're... well, you?" she said holding up the purple stone.
The blue-haired vampire turned her attention to the glistening gemstone, just as confused. "I was just about to ask the same thing."
Shrugging lightly, Max took the stone off Kate, turning it over in her hands. "I don't need it anymore. Perk of being an Omega, I guess."
"A what?" Rachel asked, frowning.
"I'll tell you later," Max replied, knowing they would want to know everything. There was too much to tell. Glancing at her three friends, she nodded to herself, breaking the stone into three smaller pieces.
Chloe watched her friend with interest. "Max, what are you doing?"
"I'm an Omega, Chloe, a protector. So, I'm going to protect those that mean the most to me no matter what, and I'm going to start with this." Max smiled, placing a piece of the purple stone in Kate's hand, and giving the other two pieces to the bluenette and hunter at her side.
Kate was almost speechless, really appreciating the gesture. It might not completely block out everybody's emotional signals, but it would really help the headaches. "Max, I... thank you."
Rachel took her piece, turning it over in her hands before throwing Kate a suggestive wink. "Guess that means I'm going to have to try harder to embarrass you from now on. Send stronger mental messages... or I can just translate them directly into action."
"Think you might have to get past Max first," Chloe muttered lowly, only loud enough for the blonde hunter to hear. Rachel's lip tugged upwards into a smug smirk, knowing that was probably true.
"I vaguely heard my name there," Max announced accusingly.
Chloe grinned innocently. "Nothing to worry about, my dear Max."
"I'm always worried when you're involved..." the young Ahri sighed, turning her attention back to what had to be done. "Anyway, there's one more thing I need to do before we go." Seeing the confusion on the other three girls' faces, Max continued, "I need to re-bury Akira, she deserves to rest in peace," she finished as she got up and started walking over to her ex-passengers scattered remains.
"I'll give you a hand," Chloe offered as the other two girls nodded in agreement. Leaving Rachel to look after Kate, the pair went to work.
A short while later, their task was complete. Using one of the larger holes caused during the fighting, they placed all the bones they could find inside, the coffin too far gone to be of any use. A simple stack of stones was placed respectfully over the top, covering the remains. Walking back towards the two blondes, Chloe stopped at the pile of purple dust and bloodstained clothes that belong to their former teacher, plucking the two pieces of the broken sword from the pile, along with Jefferson's Aruralite necklace.
"Guess we need to find a way of fixing this," she said, holding up the blade shards to the hunter.
Rachel gave the broken blade a fleeting mournful glance, bouncing back quickly. "I know a swordsmith at the Hunters Guild, does mean a trip to Portland though."
"I'm down with that," Chloe replied almost instantly.
Kate looked between the pair, sighing, "I'll probably regret this, but I'll come too."
Grinning, Rachel made a date of it. "Cool, road trip it is then."
"So, what're we gonna do with this?" Chloe asked, holding up the small purple stone on a leather string. "Seeing as its original owner won't be needing it anymore."
"I actually know someone that could use that," Kate offered.
"Ya know, I think she will be very grateful, might even see her smiling again," Rachel chuckled knowing exactly who Kate was talking about - Victoria Chase.
"Can you move?" the young Ahri asked as she joined the three girls still concerned.
"I... don't know." Kate tried and failed to get herself up on her feet. "Guess not."
Understanding that Kate would need to get carried out of here, Max went to scoop her up. "Here, let me..."
"Uh-uh, no way, Max." Chloe cut in, giving her a stern look. "Not with that injury."
"But..."
Shaking her head, Rachel too was against the idea. "Max, there's no need to overplay the hero."
About to protest, Max realized she was fighting a losing battle. They were right. In her state, she could barely keep herself moving, let alone carrying Kate all the way back to safety. The sooner they got out of this cave and back to civilization, the better.
Noticing her disappointment, Kate managed to just about move her arm, letting her hand rest on Max's cheek. "Thank you, Max, but I don't want you hurting yourself any more than you have to. I'm already in your debt a million times over."
"That's my line." Max smiled, Even though Kate didn't possess superhuman strength, speed or healing, she had stood up for them all, risked her life.
The blonde empath managed to shake her head just a fraction. "I didn't do much..."
Rachel took hold of her hand, squeezing. "Shit, Kate, you did good, girl. Let us praise you up."
"Yeah, didn't know you had such a badass side," the bluenette added with an impressed grin.
"Without you, we'd all be dead." Rachel pointed out, That much was true. As morbid as it had been, Kate's death had triggered Max's full potential. Without that sacrifice, Jefferson would have been unstoppable.
"Guess I'm not going to win this one, huh?" Kate smiled weakly, eyes wandering over to the direction of the cave entrance. "I, uh, think we should... get out of here. Gives me the creeps."
"Agreed." Exchanging a nod with Rachel and Max, Chloe gently scooped the small blonde up in her arms. Out of the three of them, she was the most suited for the job at the moment.
"Guessing Max isn't quite ready to go au naturale yet," Rachel smirked, seeing Max switch back to her wolf form.
Making sure Kate was secure, Chloe gave her old friend an eye roll. "And you are, I suppose."
"Only reason I don't is to avoid get arrested, otherwise..." she shrugged, not needing to finish that thought.
Shaking her head Max limped out of the cave, with Chloe carrying Kate and Rachel in tow, leaving Jefferson behind once and for all.
And thats it...almost, one more chapter to go.