Chapter 12: Showdown II
"Oh shit..."
Voldemort laughed as Phoenix stared wide-eyed at the Death Eaters around him. And they weren't dinky, skinny Death Eaters, they were big, burly Death Eaters.
'They're like Crabbe an' Goyle on steroids...'
"Ah, so you see why I truly love the Shadow Realm, don't you? I'll be kind and even the odds a bit. Here."
Voldemort materialized a knife and tossed it to Phoenix, letting it clatter on the floor in front of him. Bending down, the boy picked it up and twirled it a bit in his hand.
"Better than nothing... I guess."
Holding the knife out in front of him, he turned to look at the circle of Death Eaters that was closing in on him like a noose around his neck. One of the Death Eaters stepped into the circle and cracked his knuckles, staring Phoenix down.
"C'mon boy. Scared?"
"Oh gee, I'm not sure. Let's see, I'm in a place that's really freaky, I've got a deranged dark lord who's after my head, this said deranged dark lord has the ability to summon dark minions and objects into the above said place that's really freaky, and the above said deranged dark lord who has the ability to summon dark minions and objects into the above said place that's really freaky summoned about 50 Death Eaters that could pose as human boulders. And as if to at salt into the wound, this above said deranged dark lord who has the ability to summon dark minions and objects into the above said place that's really dark and actually summoned 50 Death Eaters that could pose as human boulders decided to give me a knife to defend myself. So yeah, I guess I could say I'm scared."
The Death Eater blinked and scratched his head.
"Uh... whatever you say. Either way, I'm still gonna pummel you."
"Oh really?"
"Yup."
The Death Eater started running at Phoenix. Phoenix readied the knife, and when the Death Eater was no more than 10 feet away, the boy hurled the knife at the man, hitting him clean in the forehead and making the man stop in his tracks.
"Oh..."
The Death Eater then fell backwards and Phoenix immediately leaped forward to pick up the knife.
"So, you're gonna pummel me, eh? I dun think so."
Voldemort, clearly enraged that Phoenix was obviously skilled with a knife, yelled out a command to his minions.
"I want four of you to attack him from four different angles, AND TAKE NO CHANCES!"
Phoenix raised an eyebrow.
"Now things start to get interesting."
He looked around and noticed four more burly Death Eaters walking slowly towards him. Holding out his knife in front of him, he readied himself for this next attack.
'Alright, throwing the knife will be idiotic and absolutely stupid in this situation. So, it's time for some mano y mano combat then.'
After a few short seconds, the Death Eaters were no more than 5 feet away from him, but then they paused... for a moment anyway.
"Attack!"
All four of them leaped at Phoenix, who dropped to the ground. He cringed slightly when he heard a sickening crunch of bones compressing from extreme force. He then heard four thuds as the Death Eaters fell around him.
"Ouch..."
The four Death Eaters were then quickly taken out of commission before they could recover. Phoenix, even though he knew they were evil, never quite got used to the fact that he was killing people. Sure he opened fire upon the Death Eaters at the castle, but he merely stunned those guys.
"Hey Voldie! Are these guys real, or are they really realistic illusions? I mean, real people materializing out of thin air? Come on, you've gotta be kidding me right?"
Voldemort shrugged.
"They'll work for my purposes, won't they?"
Phoenix nodded.
'Well, at least they aren't real.'
This time, good ol' Voldie sent ten Death Eaters at Phoenix. Sure the boy could handle four guys, maybe even five, but ten? He wasn't so sure. The fighting commenced as Phoenix was able to down two Shadow Death Eaters, but then a third grabbed him. However, a few seconds after he grabbed him, he withdrew his hand immediately.
"His skin feels like it's on fire!"
There was a pause. Phoenix blinked. He then remembered the Fire Pill. Hadn't it been more than an hour? That's how long he intended for it to last. Shrugging, he continued fighting the now mobile Death Eaters, who were being more weary of Phoenix. After he was able, much to his surprise, to take out all ten Death Eaters, one from the circle raised his hand.
"My lord, would it help if you summoned swords for us to wield?"
"You fool! The moment one of you gets killed, that brat will take your swords!"
"But sir, how will he be able to if there are nine others ready to kill him, all of them with swords?"
Voldemort nodded.
"Very true. Alright then, if you think it wise..."
Phoenix, who was listening to all of this, was silently hopping up and down with happiness. That old geezer is a fool, thinking that Phoenix wouldn't be able to get his hands on those swords. And once he was able to get a pair... well... let's just say it won't be pretty.
He practically giggled when he saw swords materialize in the hands of the Death Eaters. Apparently Voldemort was getting cocky now that his minions had swords, for he only sent three at Phoenix.
'Piece of cake.'
The three Death Eaters charged at Phoenix, who jumped up and kicked two of the Death Eaters in the chest and threw the knife at the third. Quick as a flash, he bolted for the knifed Death Eater, took the knife and pocketed it. He then grabbed the swords and held them out in front of him. Voldemort practically yelled out in frusturation.
"YOU FOOLS! YOU ABSOLUTE FOOLS!"
Phoenix snickered.
"Ah, Voldie, did I ever tell you that my sword skills surpass those of my knife skills?"
The man was fuming.
"Where the bloody hell did you learn all of this, AND STOP CALLING ME THAT!"
Phoenix snickered again.
"Now, now Voldie, you mustn't use vulgar language in front of your minions. Tisn't lord-like. And to answer your question, do you honestly think my weaponry elective in White's Academy only taught me how to create magical weapons? Naw... fortunately for us, our instructor came from a long line of Samurai warriors and was well-versed in the art of many a weapon. Funny isn't it? Too bad you picked me to pick on instead of one of my friends, possible exception of Peck. I mean really, of all nine of us, you just HAD to pick the one who A, just LOVES calling you names, B, has hardly any fear of you, C, is talented at hand to hand combat, and D, hates it when people underestimate him, and BOY have you underestimated me!"
Voldemort let out a yell of outrage.
"You little brat! I STILL don't understand why you survived that curse I shot at you. No matter, you're going to die now."
Phoenix raised an eyebrow.
"Voldie, I think you've gone over the deep end of insanity and I think you've reached the point of no return. As for you killing me? I don't think- HOLY SHIT!"
The boy watched in horror as the swords in his hands melted and dripped to the floor. Voldemort was taken aback.
"I didn't do that..."
Phoenix then saw tiny, barely visible fires popping up at various points on his skin. They didn't hurt, but they were growing. The boy grinned and looked at Voldemort.
"Voldie? You're in for one heck of a surprise."
At that moment, it seemed as if the fires came across gasoline, for the boy exploded in fire. Voldemort started chuckling at the demise of his cocky opponent, but then stopped when he heard laughing coming from within the flame.
"What? You think this hurts? No way. Well, it might hurt YOU, but it ain't hurtin' me."
"Get him! GET HIM!"
All of the Shadow Death Eaters charged at Phoenix, but stopped from the blazing heat. Of course, Phoenix wasn't going to let them get away, oh no. He started chasing the Death Eaters around, trying to get close enough to burn them. Better yet, the fire was illuminating the Shadow Realm somewhat, so he was able to see better. Unfortunately, the Death Eaters may have been big and burly, but their leg muscles were too, so he wasn't able to catch any of them. He then realized he'd have to cast some sort of fire spell to get them. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on sending out a ring of flames that could hit the Death Eaters. After about five seconds, he pulled it off and watched as the Shadow Death Eaters dissolved before his eyes. Voldemort, unfortunately was out of the range of this fire blast. However, he seemed extremely pissed that Phoenix was able to take down his entire army of Shadow Death Eaters.
"Blast it! I will find away to kill you, brat! Until then, I cast the only curse allowed in this place: the Shadow Curse."
Phoenix's fire was immediately put out and he seemed to have lost control of his muscles, he couldn't even talk anymore.
'What exactly does this shadow curse do?'
Voldemort grinned.
"My dear boy, within a few hours, you will be struck with a terrible ailment. So terrible, in fact, that you wish you would be dead so it would be over. However, you can fight it, but no man has been willing to fight it, and succumb to death within a few hours of contracting it. If, for some amazing reason, you manage to survive this ailment for three days, it will go away. Why I am telling you this? I am confident you won't make it past the first day."
With that, Voldemort dissolved from sight and all Phoenix could hear was his laughing. Then all was silent and all Phoenix could do was wait for his impending doom.