A second passed, then another. Evan reluctantly opened one eye, to see Callisto frozen in mid swing, her blade inches from his temple. Her one good eye was open wide, and more importantly, Evan could see the life contained therein. A portion of her spirit remained, and it was fighting against the Hungan's control.
"I'm sorry Callisto," he added, as he took careful aim at the unmoving woman and shot off a specially made spike, curved in on itself, that pinned itself around Callisto's wrist like a cuff and slapped hard into the wall on both sides of her wrist, pinning her there. Though her free arm immediately came up to try and free herself, Evan was positive he could see that her bright blue eye shined with welcome relief. She -was- still in there.
"Enough of this!" shouted the Hungan, raising his hands and the scepter up high. The flames from the braziers rose high, licking the ceiling as the room was suddenly filled with the dark tribesmen, who encircled Spyke. Wounded and weary as he was (his calcium meter was practically on empty) he had no hope of defeating them all. "Take the God, and kill the woman!" he ordered, as his tribesmen surged forward with their weapons and Callisto feel limply against the wall, no longer struggling. The bone shackle was almost loose, but she would make no further effort to defend herself. The Hungan laughed evilly, his voice echoing off the walls of the temple.
"No!" shouted Spyke, struggling as three of the tribesmen overpowered him, pinning his arms. He had enough energy for maybe six or so more spikes, maybe less if they were flaming. After that he would be completely out of energy.
Spyke duly prepared himself for a fight he could not win...
Suddenly there was a flurry of movement as one of the braziers was tipped over, and that section of the temple became enshrouded in darkness. A flurry of shapes moved in and out of the darkness, difficult to see, and the Hungan and his minions watched them fearfully.
"What is happening?!"
"Your game is over..." came the slurred, dull monotone that Spyke recognized so well. Stepping into the flickering lights came the pale, hairless visage of Calliban, his expression dark, almost angry (or at least as angry as the pale Morlock ever got). Then Cybelle appeared behind him, giving a fearsome smirk, as she slid off her gloves. And Lucid to his other side, holding the steel staff of Callisto in his hands, his yellow eyes glowing in the fire eerily. The other tribesmen fell back fearfully from the strange warriors assembled. After all, Spyke and Storm were Gods among them, they had no idea of what the pale man, burnt woman, and frog fellow in front of them were capable.
"It is over," stated Calliban again, as he and the other Morlocks took up fighting stances. The tribesmen shifted fearfully.
"Gods of the Underworld," one of them murmured, his hands trembling.
"Attack!" roared the Hungan, and his minions reluctantly surged forward, two staying behind to hold Spyke. The spirit-controlled Callisto suddenly sprang back to life, renewing her efforts to free herself and rejoin the fight at her masters command.
"Destroy them all!" roared the Hungan, positively drunk with power and the thought of victory. Thus, he did not notice as the ceiling above him shimmered, as Facade materialized upside down, clinging to the ceiling with the ease of a spider. He leaned himself upside down and reached down, snatching the scepter from the Hungan's astonished grasp, as he slid back up to the ceiling and vanished from view again. The Hungan, once he realized what had happened, could see no sign of Facade.
"Facade!" shouted Spyke, as he dropped down and elbow the tribesmen holding his left arm, and flipped him over his shoulder, slamming him onto the ground. Quickly he turned and decked the other guy, knocking him aside. "Throw me the scepter!"
"NO!" roared the Hungan, lunging forward. But he was too late.
Facade materialized and tossed the scepter to Spyke, who grabbed it in his left hand. As a nearby tribesman lunged at him, trying to stop him from shattering the crystal, he actually proved most helpful as Spyke dodged his attack, twirling around and smashing the crystal full on the back of the man's head, shattering it and knocking his assailant unconscious, who was flung to the ground. As the crystal shattered its unholy glow dissipated, and once more Spyke witnessed the white, wispy soul flow free and flow back into its true owner, Callisto of the Morlocks.
Callisto shook her head angrily, her blue eye flashing with anger... and life. Her lips curled back into the smirk the Morlocks recognized all too well. She was truly herself again.
"Lucid!" shouted Callisto, holding out her free hand. Lucid smacked a tribesman neatly on the head then tossed Callisto her weapon, the iron staff arching through the air as it landed in its true owners hand, and she slid the thin tip through the bone spike holding her wrist, snapping it free in one deft, fluid motion. She twirled the staff over her head, snapping it behind her back, one hand held forward, and with it she beckoned the tribesmen forward. "Come and get me."
Spyke grinned, swiping his hands to either side of him and allowing three razor sharp bones to sprout from either fist, right between his knuckles, as he flipped up and over, landing back to back with Callisto as the tribesmen started to surround them.
"Party time," he said, as the area erupted into chaos.
Lucid and Calliban, whose mutations did not run into the physical department, on the whole kept clear of the battle, jumping in only when an opening presented itself. Facade continued to use the flicking firelight to move in and out of the fight as he neatly knocked out opponent after opponent on the back of their heads, rending them unconscious one by one. Many of the tribesmen, fearful of the strange looks of the Morlocks, were too afraid to bring themselves close. Those that would were distracted, and easy prey for Torpid, who froze them and left them to fall on the ground, or Cybelle, who touched their weapons and melted them into goo at their feet. Spyke growled, and the tips of his spikes claws burst into flame, as he shot them this way and that. The battle ended quickly, as the Morlocks overpowered their foes, who were already frightened beyond belief by what they believed was a battle against the divine. Soon a full scale retreat was in order, leaving only the Hungan trapped as the Morlocks sealed off the entrance. Flames from Spyke's spikes and from the knocked over braziers had lit the support beams of the temple, and they were starting to collapse, one such beam right in front of the Hungan, cutting off his only exit.
"Africa will be mine someday, Gods! Your kind will never stop me from attaining the power that is rightfully mine!" shouted the Hungan over the roar of the fire, as another beam fell down and he was lost from Spyke's line of vision.
"Come on!" shouted Callisto, grabbing up Torpid and leading the other Morlocks out of the tunnel, as they all ran. The structure had been compromised by the burning beams, and even now was starting to shake dangerously.
The Morlocks emerged into the morning sunlight, panting for breath and patting one another on the backs, coughing from the smoke they'd inhaled, as the temple complex collapsed, flames already spreading along the dry grass towards the woodlands. Spyke grimaced, realizing at least part of this was his fault, but right now he wasn't too concerned. His people came first, especially Callisto.
Luckily the jungle seemed all to happy to assist, as a storm cloud rolled in and a gentle downpour, dousing the African fires and washing off the battle stains from the Morlocks, the sweat and soot. Spyke made his way to Callisto to make sure she was okay, helping support her since one of her legs seemed to be causing her pain. A joyous cry came from overhead, and Spyke looked up in time to see a certain white-haired "Goddess" descending down to meet them. Seems it hadn't been the jungle after all.
"Evan!" she said, as she floated down onto her feet, with a worried look about her. It relaxed marginally when she saw them all, for the most part unharmed. The worst was Calliban, but it was only a minor cut above his eyebrow, nothing serious. "Are you alright?" she asked.
Spyke smiled, glancing at Callisto, who smiled back, and nodded. "Yeah, Auntie O... we're just fine now."
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Author's Notes:
The Hungan is defeated, but there's more to the story than that. And good ol' Storm showing up there. Don't worry I have a good reason, explained next chapter.
Todd fan: If you ever need help with your fight scenes just let me know, they're my specialty.
Comet-hime: Thanks for offering to do fan art, I really suck at it myself. And I've seen your work, its good stuff. Your happy ending is coming up soon enough.
Elrohirthewriter: Must've been the Hungan's power. Or maybe I'm just darn good, I dunno which.
Juice: Well there ya go, hope you're not disappointed.
Kukume: He's a sixteen year old boy. Of course he's afraid of commitment! Yes I realize care is a somewhat weak word, but its not what you say, its how you say it. I think that's more along the line of Spyke's style, myself. As for superstitious, well does this chapter answer your question? And I'm like your friend, actually.