AN: After this only two more chapters to go… I have two more chapters to go the next chapter is done… but you have to wait anyway… but it is 32 page long it is mostly fighting… and magic but the chapter is really the climax I guess… but this is this chapter… and because I wanted too I gave Remy powers of light… oh well…
And four balls of fire flew from her hands. The Renegades began to recoil…and stopped when the balls did as well, floating in front of Darcy.
Then they began to expand.
And morph…
And take on attributes that the Renegades found VERY familiar.
"Oh dear." Remy said, as the fireballs finished their transformation.
Darcy had formed creatures of flame. But they weren't generic humanoids.
This time, they were exact flame duplicates of the Renegades.
"Play nicely!" Darcy said, and flew up into the sky, laughing. Remy's head jerked to follow her.
"No! She can't, don't…!" Remy babbled.
And then the flame clones were swooping down, and the Renegades scattered as the fiery creatures went after them, intent on their destruction.
"Ah dammit fuck! Damnit to hell!" Remy cursed, at the moment more angry that Darcy had flown out of reach then worried that a fire clone of him was swooping down, swinging its arms back. His priorities were quickly rearranged when Fire-Remy lashed his arms out and burning lines of flame, a picture perfect whip copy, lashed at him. Remy did a backflip that he turned into a handspring as the fire lines sliced down where he had been and cleaved through the stone wreckage of the building with a powerful hissing noise. Remy did a few more backflips and looked around, trying to find Jones, and noting that his other teammates were being attacked by their respective fire clones…including Jones, who was flying up the side of a building, chased by her fiery duplicate. Only the slight vibrating at the ground allowed Remy to guess the coming counter and leap out of the way as blazing tendrils stabbed out of the ground where he had been, the white teen barely escaping being shis-ke-bobed…and then being rudely reminded that the Shimmer was still tangled up in his clone's fiery copy as Fire-Remy swung him around and slammed him into another building.
A fire claw ripped out a chunk of roof where Jones had just been, as she flew back wondering what to do about this fire clone that was mercilessly pursuing her, not giving her a chance to breathe, let alone put down the sole way of defeating Darcy (who was up in the sky still, watching, amused). Fire-Jones, thrust out a hand, and several stabbing fire spears lanced at Jones. Jones flew above them, and with a chant of her trademark spell, she pulled debris from the roof and hurled it at her fiery clone.
The debris just went through the copy's body.
Jones said a word Remy would be shocked that Jones knew, let alone used, and banked to a hard right…and found another flaming claw ripping at her. It caught her tail, as Jones did an insane backwards loop and plunge down, heading down into a narrow alleyway. Giving Jones a feeling like someone had reached into her chest and squeezed her heart, life doing its best impression of the villain from Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom. She'd been pushing herself too hard today, and she was starting to burn out.
And then fiery balls of stone, thrown by a mimicked power and alight by a cruel mistress' gift, were flying down at Jones, and she flew out of the alleyway, barely dodging the onslaught, as Fire-Jones flew down from the roof, red flame power clawing and ripping at the demon
Bloom had immediately taken to the air, but her fire doppelganger proved to be as fast as her, shadowing her almost perfectly as it fired flaming versions of her fire bolts, the red projectiles slamming into buildings, streets, and cars, and generating explosions all along the way. Bloom wasn't panicking yet though: Darcy may have copied her but even she couldn't perfectly duplicate her, princess of Sparx.
And she proved it, as she executed insane move after insane move as her clone chased her, barraging her with Fire bolts, but she hit nothing but the Shiran City (and oh man, was this battle starting to put a dent in the beleaguered city. Well, at least there was no one in it)…until Bloom managed to fake her out, as she did a sudden stop and reverse, the fire replica shooting past her, as Bloom thrust out her hands and let loose with a barrage of Fire bolts. Her attack flew true, slamming into the flame facsimile, exploding…and then vanishing as the flame duplicate reappeared, having absorbed the heat, and as a voice in the back of Bloom's head chimed in, reminding her that Darcy had been able to do that, so as Darcy she could surely imbue her creations with that ability, the fire clone formed a gigantic blast above its head and letting loose. Bloom dodged out of the way, just in time, and as the huge blast flew on and struck the upper floors of a building, blowing them to oblivion, the Faerie turned and walked/flew right into a pistoning punch that sent her plummeting down into the streets with a powerful crash, shards of concrete flying up from her impact.
Flora, probably could have used some Earth optimism, considering that she was in a pretty bad way.
The same could not be said in reverse, as Fire-Flora cocked back her arm and slammed it into Flora's chest. Flora's whole form rattled. Flora wasn't following their lead though, as she pulled herself back from the fire clone and lashed out with a backhand.
That proved to be as effective as the first blow, as in, it failed to have any effect whatsoever.
And Fire-Flora's second blow proved to be even MORE effective then her first blow, as it thrust up a leg, far quicker then Flora could have managed to (fire doesn't have weight, after all) and rammed it into Flora's gut. Flora flew back and crashed into the base of another building, rubble crumbling around her. Growling, Flora lifted her right arm and let loose with a powerful spell. The blast went right through Fire-Flora's chest, as Fire-Flora mimicked the move and fired off an intense blast of concentrated fire. Flora quickly uttered the words to a shield and blocked it, and winced/groaned as the street began to actually melt beneath her. Well, hitting it didn't seem to be working, maybe an ice spell would actually work…
And then Fire-Flora was charging Flora like a bull, her body, gaining and losing density as needed, ramming into Flora and sending them both crashing through the building as it collapsed around them.
They exploded out onto another street, their gigantic racket briefly catching the attention of Remy, before he leapt to the side to avoid another lancing Fire-Shimmer line. Remy countered with a myriad of stabbing dagger lines of his own, but his clone proved to be just as adept as dodging via his talent as Remy was himself, as it danced away from all the attacks, seized two nearby cars, and hurled them at Remy. Remy smacked one aside and sliced the other one in half via the dagger…and then burning lines lanced across his chest, blistering new wounds on Remy's poor flesh, even as it threw him backwards.
Bloom flew up, holding Remy's fallen ice cannon: she had succeeded in reaching it. Though it was proving to be a hollow victory: Fire-Bloom kept dodging her shots and returning fire with her own, and encumbered by the large gun, Bloom couldn't move as effectively as her clone. And it cost her, as she tried to dodge and protect her weapon at the same time and took a blast on the shoulder, sending her crashing down onto a roof. On another roof, Jones finished chanting an ice spell and sent a wave of terribly cold wind at Fire-Jones…only to have the duplicate curl up into flame and seemingly disappear. Jones goggled at the apparent copying of her teleporting ability, and then realized it wasn't an exact copy, but a reasonable facsimile, and that saved her as she whirled and flew away as Fire-Jones, having turned her body into a rapidly moving stream of flame that had zoomed along the ground and formed behind Jones, reappeared and lashed out with grasping claws of fire, barely missing the demon. Jones threw more debris at the clone, but it failed to work, again, and Jones was once again forced to retreat.
Flora didn't have that luxury, due to the fact of Fire-Flora pummelling her with flame bullets. When Darcy made a clone, she really went all the way, and Flora really hated THAT too.
A brief glance upward let her see Bloom and her duplicate back in the air and continuing their battle, and then Fire-Flora was charging at Flora again, swinging a flaming fist. This time, Flora managed to get away, as she ignited her winx and boosted over the charging behemoth…and then screamed as Fire-Flora turned and shot fiery copies of missiles at her, blowing her out of the sky. She crashed to the ground, face first, and groaned as she started to get her.
She heard a loud smack, and then Remy tumbled over to her front, coming to a stop face up on his back.
"So, how's it going?" Remy asked, as if the Renegades were having a picnic instead of fighting for their lives against their evil flame twins.
"Badly."
"Horrendously." Remy replied, as he got up, somehow (Flora was constantly amazed at the beatings Remy could take.) Remy snorted as he looked at his approaching clone, and then glanced back over his shoulder at Flora…and spied Flora's own clone approaching.
A gleam came into his eye.
"You know Flora, we're doing pretty bad in this little dance…" Remy said, as he turned back to face his personal attacker…
And then he whirled, strands of light springing out of his hands as he grabbed Flora's shoulder.
"So why don't we SWITCH PARTNERS!" Remy yelled, as he yanked/hurled himself over Flora and directly at Fire-Flora, tucking into a ball, a ball that flew right into Fire-Flora's chest, the flame consuming Remy, as Fire-Flora kept coming…as Remy grabbed the ground for leverage and then turned his body into a whirling dervish, right within Fire-Flora, and before the clone knew it his body had been torn apart and scattered, her form ripped into a thousand wisps of flame that flickered out of existence as Remy fell to the ground.
Flora watched this, and then a big grin split her face as she turned, her left hand open…Fire Remy paused and then charged at Flora…
And then suddenly turned and swung upward, as Bloom flew overhead, her fire copy in literal hot pursuit.
"PSYCHE!"
The ice cannon fired, a wide range and immensely powerful beam. Fire-Bloom never saw what hit her, as the enormous blast of icy energy swept over her body and snuffed out the flame instantly, even as ice formed so quickly it left behind a statue of the clone in mid-air. A statue that swiftly fell to the ground, shattering into a thousand pieces.
Bloom was too stunned by this sudden turn to do much…but Jones certainly wasn't. She hadn't overheard the plan, but she had seen Remy do his sudden reverse move, and she wasn't the only one who could act fast, as she suddenly swooped away from her fire replica and swung down to where Fire-Remy was still charging, about to attack Flora…at least until the ground, covered in dark power, buckled under him like a wave, the street being rippled like someone waving a towel out to place it on the ground, throwing the flame duplicate back down the street…and then Fire-Jones was on Jones, lashing out with a claw…a claw Bloom froze with a blast from her ice cannon, turning the limb and part of Fire-Jones's body to crystal, a crystal that Bloom used as she swooped down and rammed into the frozen part of Fire-Jones, knocking her back over the roof and to another street, Bloom pursuing, and Jones nodded to herself and disappeared.
She reappeared before the arising Fire-Remy, and despite any type of a face whatsoever, Jones could still tell it was perturbed. A perturbation it seemed quite willing to relieve on her hide, as it thrust out its arms, fire Shimmers flowing out and forming into a score of terrible weapons, cruel tools, things that could do unthinkable things to a human body.
The clone cocked his head, as if asking Jones what she thought about what it was going to do to her.
"It's not the size asshole, it's how you use it." Jones replied.
And she looked at the fire hydrant near Fire-Remy, and with a quick mental command a surge of black power ripped it open and sprayed out a powerful stream of water, water that was expanded into a smothering sheet by more dark energy, water that reared up and poofed Fire-Remy right back into the oblivion he had come from.
"Too bad you couldn't learn that from the original." Jones finished, and then leaned over, panting. She was really feeling tired…she could use a nice long nap…though preferably one she could wake up from…
Bloom leapt down to the street, doing a whirling flip before she landed on her feet, her gun at the ready, but she had briefly lost sight of her new opponent…and that was all Fire-Jones needed, as it appeared behind Bloom and lashed out. Bloom sensed it enough to turn, but not enough to avoid her gun being knocked from her hands again. Bloom went with the blow, flying backwards to avoid three more fiery claws ripping from the ground at her, as her mind raced. Her Fire bolts were useless, her gun was gone, what did she have…
Well, until she found something, she'd improvise. A large chunk of broken concrete and rock was near her, the idea of one of the many explosions: Bloom picked it up with magic and hurled it at Fire-Jones.
Fire-Jones caught the bolder with a flaming claw and crushed it, effortlessly, the hard stone becoming black ash within two seconds, but in those two seconds Bloom had retreated back some more, and was now picking up a small car, a car she also threw. Fire-Jones caught that and crushed it as well, the exploding gas tank briefly bathing her in flames that she walked through…just in time for Bloom to throw a newspaper box at her. It met the same fate.
But Bloom was like a broken record, seemingly stuck on her one-note strategy, as she flew back, ripped a parking meter from the ground, and hurled it at Fire-Jones like a spear. Catch, crush, goodbye. It didn't slow Bloom down one iota, as she hurled off another car, a mailbox, a motorcycle, a trash can, another trash can, a door she'd ripped from a storefront, random desk furniture that was lying in the street due to it being blown out of the upper stories of an attacked office building, a manhole cover, and yes, even a kitchen sink. All of them were caught and crushed by Fire-Jones, who was clearly getting more and more irritated…
So it didn't look when the latest object was thrown at it: it just caught it and started crushing it…
And then, looking at the bright red cylindrical object, even as it caved in under her power, she realized what she was squashing.
A fire extinguisher.
The white carbon dioxide gas sprayed out in a thick cloud, enveloping Fire-Jones and completely canceling out all the oxygen that fed her body, the form crumpling and vanishing as quickly as the cloud of white mist.
Bloom smirked.
"Sucker." She said.
"All right Darcy, we beat your pathetic toys, now why don't…" Bloom said, as she looked up…
And found Darcy gone.
And from the sudden rush of great heat behind Bloom, she didn't need to wonder long where she had vanished, as her eyes widened as she turned, expecting a sneak attack.
None came. Darcy just floated there, back in her 'normal' size again, her arms crossed and her face merry. Whether her newly found power finally helped squash her misery, or maybe her acting was just that proficient, Darcy certainly seemed content.
"I believe you were going to ask me to come down and fight?" She asked.
Silence.
With a scream, Bloom flew at her, pistoning out her fist.
Darcy snapped her head to the side, Bloom flying past her like a rocket.
Jones was next, as she flew up and swooped down, lancing a (dark power protected) kick at Darcy. Darcy ducked/dodged, as Jones missed her as well.
Ice lines flew at her, dozens of them, slashing, stabbing, poking, and twirling at Remy made his assault. Darcy dodged away from all of them, and then did a full leg split as Remy wound up and lanced at her with a final blow, an Ice blade the size of the average telephone pole slashing over Darcy's head, missing as Remy flew over her body. Darcy hopped back up…
And Flora was there, rearing up one magically enhanced arm and bringing it down with all her might. Her blow would have smashed a tank.
Darcy caught it with one arm.
"Farewell." She said.
And she twisted and punched her other fist into Flora's left arm.
Flora didn't scream. Which let Darcy leapt up and spin, slamming her foot into Flora's chest and sending her flying like she was made of paper. She tumbled and crashed across the street, smashing giant potholes and sending cars and burning frames of cars flying into buildings or being crushed underfoot, or rather under body.
Darcy landed from her leap.
And then a giant axe of white energy came crashing down on her.
Darcy's body exploded into fire and flowed away as the axe cleaved a seven-foot gash in the concrete, and even as she was reforming Remy was doing the same to his talent, turning it into a gigantic sword and thrusting it forward at Darcy. She leapt lazily to avoid it, doing a slow backflip and landing, holding out her hand. Remy frantically called back the energy and reformed it into a shield as several fireballs flew from Darcy's hand, smashing against the shield and driving Remy to his knees. Growling, he dispelled the shield and glared at Darcy. He now saw why Jade was so tough in sparring.
And then Bloom shot past him like a bullet, the Faerie zapping past her leader, on a collision course with Darcy, her fist back and ready to slam into Darcy's form.
Darcy beat her to the punch, literally, as she zipped forward and slammed out her own fist, going so fast Bloom never saw her coming. The blow smashed the Faerie backwards at even higher speed. She flew back past Remy, whose head jerked to follow her as she flew down the length of the very long street and crashed into the building at the end of it. Remy jerked his head back to face Darcy, who had not moved from where she had punched Bloom.
Bloom didn't mirror the inertia, as a rumble came from the distance street as she exploded from the building she had been smashed into, zapping down the street again, flying past Remy again, her face a mask of rage, and zooming it to strike Darcy again.
Darcy just continued to look amused, as tendrils of flame emerged from her back and formed crude cannon shapes that blasted white streams of heat. The beams struck the street, vaporizing the stone, but it didn't slow Bloom down in the least as she dodged around them, closing in, and striking out her fist…
Darcy vaporized into a fiery cloud, and Bloom's arm plunged into it. She screamed in utter agony, a sound that struck Remy to his core.
Really wasn't all that surprising in this case, as Darcy reformed, just under the still floating Bloom, and kicked upward into her gut, sending her flying up, crashing through the roof of another building at an angle and disappearing into the distance. Darcy reverted to a vertical stance…and found Remy charging at her, Raw magic lashing and whipping in front of him. She smirked with one corner of her mouth, and raised an arm to counter whatever he had planned.
She hadn't thought all his possible plans through though, as Remy continued his charge, thrust up his arms…and slammed them down as he propelled him off the ground and into the air. Darcy looked up at this…as strands of magic brought Remy's ice guns (retrieved while Jones and Bloom had taken care of the final two fire clones) to his hands, and also revealed Bloom's ice cannon, which he had been hiding behind him when he had been running, as well. Remy triggered all three at maximum power, the three beams combining and sending a blast of cold power down that would have stopped a volcanic eruption. The entire street and the buildings began to ice up, and Remy poured on the cold power, not relenting in the slightest.
But while the blasts may have stopped a volcano…perhaps that was a normal volcano. And when it came to comparing her to volcanoes, Darcy was a juggernaut of fiery power, as she erupted from the ice beams, flying up and next to Remy before he realized what was going on. Darcy waved at him, and several tendrils of fire from her back and her 'dress' shot out and grabbed him, burning at his outfit as Darcy spun around a few times, causing Remy to lose his guns again as he screamed and yelled, and then flew down towards the street. The road, already weakened by the destruction, caved in easily as Darcy drove Remy into the sewers. Flying back up a bit, she called up a small fireball.
"Wonder how well ventilated the sewers are." She commented, and sent the fireball down into the hole she had made.
The answer was, not very.
An explosion blasted upward from the road, as the methane within the sewer, the gaseous product of waste, which was also very flammable, ignited and detonated. Darcy had apparently picked a great spot where the methane was highly concentrated, as the whole street erupted in an explosion, and then collapsed in on itself, the rumbling like an earthquake, even as manhole covers blew off their tunnels and drains belched fire for streets around. Content, Darcy flew off. Even if that brown haired fool had somehow survived that, she doubted he had anything left that could pose as a threat to her. She set herself down on another street, it being merely battered by her falling fireballs and strewn with flaming wreckage.
The wide-spread beam completely enveloped the fiery divinity, the blast of power shaking the city for several blocks around. Anything caught by the blast was either tossed aside like a toy or torn apart into scrap, as cars and other street fixtures were shattered and thrown by the blast. The shot struck the building at the end of the street and completely smashed it to smithereens, the impact having enough force to smash through that building and rip apart the one behind it, and enough left over to smash into the building across the street from the second one and make it wobble and then come crashing down as well.
Remy lowered his cannon, panting and coughing on the dust sweeping over everything.
"So tell me…"
Remy's veins froze, as Darcy was revealed, not harmed in the slightest, her flaming hair flowing around her as she cocked her head and regarded Flora.
"Was that your best shot?"
Remy didn't reply, as he stared in utter horror at Darcy.
And then, with a bellow, he brought his arm back and swiped it at Darcy. The flame goddess easily dodged it, as well as Remy's thrusting side-kick.
Bloom watched from the roof perch she had landed on, her heart swelling with the desire to go down and help her comrade…but her slight movement reminded her of why she had yet to act on that desire, as a bolt of terrible pain shot through her being. She moaned and again looked at her right arm, horrifically burned, her pale skin hanging off in parts, two of her fingers nearly fused together. Bloom had been hurt before, but her innate toughness and power made it far harder for her to be burned then a human…but Darcy had succeeded, rendering her arm useless. But she had to help…
"Bloom…"
Bloom looked up, away from Remy as he spun in a spinning roundhouse blow with his remaining arm, Darcy dodging again, as Jones floated down. She landed, a bit unsteady…an unsteadiness that faded when she got an up close look at Bloom's arm. "Oh god."
"It's ok…just a flesh wound." Bloom said, smiling through her pain.
"Right, and a hole through the head is a good thing." Jones replied. She was tired, more tired then she wanted to admit. Too much spell casting with too little preparation time. Her fire charms, her block-repossession spell, blocking the demon ritual, protecting the hospital, not to mention only several hours rest from the previous Darcy fight and the fact that she had to do the healing…it was adding up to be too much, which is why she hadn't returned until now: after her missed kick, she'd tried to teleport for another blow and nearly found herself passing out. She'd retreated and tried to catch her breath, and then attempted another comeback. But even flying was becoming hard for her now. She was certainly in no shape to fight: the little strength she had would be useless against the power Darcy.
But what she had left…it was enough for something else, as she reached out, (very) lightly touched Bloom's burned arm, and concentrated. She snarled/screamed through her teeth as she took Bloom's pain, all the nerves in her arm igniting, even as the wounds of Bloom's closed up and vanished. The agony drove her to her knees, and Bloom quickly followed to check on her.
"Jones!"
"Bloom…listen…" Jones whispered. "I have a spell for you. I think it's the only way we can annoy Darcy enough to get her…but…you have to understand…"
"Jones, you're exhausted…"
"That doesn't MATTER!" Jones snapped. "I refuse to let that tormented soul share her venom with the world! She has to be stopped! Even if…there are consequences…" Jones said, coughing. Consequences, always consequences. Most of them severe. Jones sometimes wondered if the reason she had survived this long was if someone up above liked or hated her.
"Bloom…I'm going to cast a special ice spell on you. Normally…it would be a kind of death spell…I'd breathe cold into you and freeze your body into a statue…but…with a few altered words…I won't kill your body with ice, I'll imbue it with ice." Jones said. "But Bloom…even with the modifications…the spell will only work…for you…if you stay close to Darcy! It will protect you from her heat…mostly…because if you don't stay close…it will freeze you from within…killing you…"
Bloom just stared, her eyes wide and solemn…and then she nodded.
"How long will it last?" She asked.
"A few…maybe five minutes." Jones said. "After that…"
"I understand! Do it! Before she grows bored with Remy and Flora!" Bloom said. Jones nodded, and then began chanting under her breath.
Her look certainly showed that, as she flipped away from another stomping kick and stopped, in front of Flora, even as Flora reared up and swung out her arm one last time…
Darcy didn't move this time.
Flora's arm went right through her, her image distorting and then clearing like someone whose reflection was in a puddle dropped a pebble on it. Flora nearly fell on his face from the momentum, even as she processed what she had just seen…and grew even more horrified.
No wonder she hadn't been able to hit Darcy, even with the ice cannon blast. She was immaterial, a literal ghost. Which made sense: if her fire clone was intangible, why wouldn't its master be? I mean…how did you punch fire anyway?
She'd been worthless the whole time: her whole strategy had been like trying to put out a campfire by poking it. You needed something much bigger then a finger to put out a campfire…like a large rock. But in this case, their 'large rock', wouldn't just (in theory) put out the fire, it'd put THEM and this entire town 'out' as well.
And it was her refusal to let that happen, no matter what, that drew Flora to draw back her arm and lash out at Darcy again, even if she couldn't hit her, because she would not give up the fight…!
Darcy caught her arm again.
"Enough. This grows tiresome." Darcy said, and crushed the end of her arm like it was a paper. Flora screamed, and then Darcy was right up against her, pressing her hand against her chest.
"Say hi to Robert Patrick's most famous role." Darcy said, and lashed out, pouring heat into Flora, and she screamed again, as her entire body began to glow dully…
Flora's scream reached Bloom's eyes, and her eyes widened.
"Jones…!" She said frantically. Jones did not cease her chanting to reply: Bloom had thought as much. Flora screamed again, and Bloom had to resist everything she had within her to just turn and fly to her aid right away.
A third scream…and a terrible stench. Bloom threw away any resistance she had and stood up.
And then Jones grabbed her wrist.
"Volmoutous IEBODIOUS!" She finished, as she yanked Bloom back down to face her, and, grabbed Bloom by the sides of her head, and brought her forward as she pressed her lips against the female faerie.
Yes, she was VERY glad no one would be taking a picture of this, but as she had mentioned, she was originally a death spell, and it was delivered this way, as Jones exhaled another terrible cold out of her and into Bloom. She'd wished she'd had time to explain that part…but she hadn't. For her part, Bloom was just shocked, first by the faux kiss and then by the chill that immediately began seeping through her. Jones held the 'kiss' for another several seconds before she pulled away, gasping out one last trail of icy air before she collapsed.
"Go! Before it starts to harm you!" Jones gasped. Bloom didn't need to be told twice: the chill was already starting to cramp her muscles, freeze her heart (though oddly the freezing felt like acid reflux, or as it was ironically known, heartburn), and chill her skin in a way she had never known (she could fly comfortably in hard vacuum, forgive her for never really knowing the sensation). Bloom flew up and off, as Jones lay on the roof.
Flora's body was beginning to lose cohesion, her limbs starting to sag, as she screamed, her body going nuts and starting to shut down, even as the heat began to penetrate to his actual body through the shield she had managed to put up around her body and…
Bloom swooped down, as she slashed out her fist and an icy aura extended out around it, striking Darcy and sending her flying off into the distance. The heat in Flora suddenly vanished, and she gasped as her body rapidly cooled off without the outside source to heat it up.
"Flora…?" Bloom asked.
"GO!" She ordered, and Bloom complied, flying after Darcy. Being in close to her HAD eased the immense discomfort within her: she'd go after the psychotic fire spirit for that reason alone.
But nothing could ease Flora's immense discomfort. She had been saved from being melted, but the pain was too much for her to handle.
Bloom made up for her lack of motion though, as she flew like a bullet towards the recovering Darcy, who shook her head, surprised, and then watched as Bloom approached.
"Well, that was a surprise." She said.
Bloom lanced in with a punch: Darcy dodged to the side, and found herself going straight into an outward punch with Bloom's other arm, the cold aura driving into her body like Jade's fist had gone through her flesh shield when she had been in Yusuke. The memory of that re-awoke her anger, and she lashed out with a kick, knocking Bloom downward. Bloom flew down a few feet, then spun around and flew back up, punching again. Darcy, irritated, dodged away and around Bloom and then flew up into the sky, spinning around as her palm glowed and she fired off a white fireball. The blast flew at Bloom…and like Jade, she smashed it aside, the ball flying off and blowing a hole in a nearby street as the faerie flew up after Darcy.
Jones saw some of this, via telepathy, but she wasn't gladdened: the spell wouldn't last long. She attempted to locate the others, but all she found was Flora. Remy was either unconscious or worse. Jones didn't dwell on that: if they didn't move they'd ALL be 'or worse.'
Darcy's arm extended outward as she attacked, lashing out the elongated limb like a whip, but Bloom dodged around it and rammed both her fists into Darcy's gut. Growling, Darcy flipped over Bloom's back and spun, slamming a foot into her spine and sending the faerie spinning through the air. As Bloom recovered and turned, Darcy thrust out her arm and the fireballs currently coming down from her fire cloud stopped their descent and turned, called by their mistress to do something more then fall on a random street or building. The fireballs, several dozen in all, assaulted Bloom, as she vanished into an explosive cloud. Darcy laughed…a laugh that was swiftly cut off as Bloom flew from the cloud, scorched but only slightly due to the spell, and rammed into Darcy, carrying her down into another Amity Park street. The explosive landing sent nearby cars flying and overturning, as Bloom flew/flipped out and waited.
A fireball flew at her from the dust over the crater: Bloom dodged away and then spun under a extending lance of flame as she zipped in and kicked Darcy in the gut…and then was grabbed by one of Darcy's flame tendrils. Growling louder, Darcy slammed Bloom into the ground and then threw her into one of the nearby buildings, a convenience store. A fireball swiftly followed her, an explosion blasting out from within the structure…and then Bloom crashed out through the roof and then zapped down in a tight zig-zag, slamming her foot into Darcy's upward-turning face and driving her deeper into the crater. And Darcy had no idea why Bloom hadn't been reduced to blackened bones: everything the faerie girl didn't dodge, she seemed to shrug off. What the hell had happened?
Well, Darcy figured she'd solve it eventually. And when she did, she'd roast the faerie on a spit, literally. She wondered if she still could still eat…
Bloom was lancing at her with a kick: Darcy began dodging…and then Bloom suddenly swooped up, doing a quick checkerboard motion over Darcy, and before Darcy realized it she was behind her. She turned into the aforementioned kick, sending her flying. Her growling having graduated to snarling, Darcy flipped over herself and lanced back at Bloom, as she shot out twin blasts of flame. Bloom whirled away from them and tried to get around Darcy's guard again…and found herself flying into more flame tendrils. Once again, Darcy hurled Bloom away, this time into the upper floors of an office building. As glass rained down, Darcy flew up, charging a big blast of flame.
Something flew out at her. Darcy, reacting on instinct, fired at it.
And blew the fire extinguisher into nothing, as the noxious carbon dioxide cloud plumed out and enveloped her. And while it didn't prove as effective as it had on her fire creations, it was still highly unpleasant to Darcy, as she gagged and retched…which gave Bloom the time to fly out and slam another punch into her face. Darcy flew back, skidded along the roof of one building, and then zipped across the street and crashed into another, taller building on the other side.
"Unfortunately for you, it is LIGHTNING that never…strikes twice…" Bloom trailed off from her quip as she suddenly became aware of a certain pain. She looked at her knuckles, the ones on the hand she had used to deliver the punch, and found them reddened. Burned. And come to think of it, her body wasn't feeling so bad away from Darcy like before…
The spell was wearing off, Bloom realized with a jolt. True, she'd known that was coming, but it was somehow more shocking to see outright evidence of it. She had to use whatever time she had left, and try and do something!
Darcy exploded out from the building, finding Bloom on a collision course with her. Instead of dodging, she scattered her body, reforming several feet distant. Bloom quickly turned and came after her again, lashing out with a spinning roundhouse that caught Darcy in the side. Darcy yelled, but she countered with a punch to Bloom's face that sent the faerie girl flying back. She stopped, her face furious, and her fists at the ready…and with a slight red mark on her cheek. Darcy arched an eyebrow at this, even as Bloom first looked confused at the flame deity's expression and then, as she brought her hand to her face, alarmed at the fact that Darcy had figured it out.
"Well well, running out of steam?" Darcy asked.
"You WISH!" Bloom yelled, and charged. Darcy dodged away from her punches and ducked under her kick, flying down towards the street. Bloom growled and followed, slashing down with another high angled kick, but Darcy effortlessly flitted away, and all Bloom did was shatter more concrete.
"Come back and fight, you coward!" Bloom yelled.
"No, I think I'd rather just drift around until you feel more like yourself." Darcy replied.
And even then…
To Remy, what hurt the most, even as Flora drew up to his side and he put his arm around her, holding her as tight as he could, was Bloom's face. On the surface, there was nothing but determination…but under it was great sorrow. Not at her apparent fate, but at the fact it would occur without Robin, her love, by her side. Faeries were immensely emotional and loyal creatures, and to die like that, having never gotten a chance to say goodbye…it had to feel like her heart was being ripped out. But she weathered it, because she had to. That was the kind of being Bloom of Sparx was.
You, you…" Bloom said, and then as she blanked on English curse words.
"Look miss, I don't speak Dork or whatever you're saying, so stop it. For all I know, you're yelling your mother's favorite cookie recipe at me." Darcy said sarcastically.
"I agree. Actions speak louder anyway!" Bloom said, and lifted her fist as she charged forward.
And stopped suddenly as she felt a great pressure within her chest, and before she knew what was happening she suddenly exhaled, violently, a cousin to a burp, as misty air flew from her lungs and evaporated.
Bloom, for a moment, was frozen, which was ironic considering the thing that had happened and the shock that had enveloped her had been the final gasp of the ice spell Jones had cast on her. She was back to her normal self. And hence, quite vulnerable.
And Darcy knew it too, as she grinned.
"Do you taste like chicken?" She asked.
Bloom flew up and backwards at an angle, at high speed, retreating until she could think of a new plan, but Darcy wasn't going to give her the time, as she flew up after Bloom…
And then a lashing white whip caught her on the back of her head. She heard the snap more then noticed the blow, and she stopped, turning around. She snorted slightly: it was that damn Remy again.
Remy wasn't a religious man, but if there were a heaven, he'd gladly go to hell, or spend a million years in purgatory, if Bloom got in immediately. In a way, this was all his fault. He'd made the wrong decisions, tried to treat the situation like a gameboard instead of a battlefield, and in the end, this is what he had condemned his team to.
The fact that they now all looked to him anyway…
Gentlemen, and ladies…" Remy said, as he raised one of his guns before him in a salute. "It has been an honor."
And the Renegades broke and headed for Darcy…
Remy's eyes fluttered open. For a moment, he wondered if he was alive. Then the pain told him that yes, he was alive, but maybe he shouldn't be. Remy blinked, finding his eyes strangely sticky, as he tried to collect his thoughts. Darkness swirled in on him, but he managed to chase it away.
Remy then, despite his agony, managed to roll over onto his stomach, and saw, with a numb horror, the devastation Darcy had wrought. He'd been wrong, again. He thought she'd been weak enough, worn out enough, to keep imprisoned…all wrong. Nothing could imprison Darcy. No willpower, no desire, no zealous entreaty could contain her. She'd defied death itself to vent her endless anger. And before it, even he was a gnat.
A tough gnat, he mused. The only reason he could fathom that he was still alive, minus the flame charm (which lay shattered beneath him, but he didn't notice that), was the fact that Darcy had directed the explosion out from her body rather then from up under the ground. Outward, Remy had been more shoved backwards then ignited: if she'd blasted it from right underneath him he would have been incinerated. So…instead…he lay here, a broken ruin.
The darkness swirled in again…
And he fought it back. He didn't know if the darkness was unconsciousness or the reaper come to claim him (and if it was the latter he was going to give it a peace of his mind regarding Darcy…and the Lord…and hell, he might as well toss in), but before he did…he had to do something.
Where were his allies? Did they survive? He could see the possibility. Flora and Bloom were extremely tough, and Jones…she was tough too. But even if he was the worst…they were done. They'd thrown everything and the kitchen sink at Darcy, and she'd shrugged it all off.
But…he could still…do one last thing…
So, as Remy clawed for his pants pocket, he needed to send a general emergency signal, and hope, just hope, that someone picked it up, someone who could get here in time, someone, anyone, who could stop Darcy, keep her in place for the shot…
Remy pulled the communicator from his pocket, slowly bringing it to his face…
And found nothing but a shattered ruin. His communicator was totaled.
"……………………..Oh." He said weakly.
And then the darkness came again. This time, he could not fight it off.
As the smoke cleared from around her, and bits and pieces of wreckage fell to the ground, Darcy blinked and looked around her. A massive crater was now in the middle of Amity Park, nothing but ruins around it. Had she killed the Renegades? Maybe: she'd been more concerned with getting free and venting her rage then killing them. But even if they had somehow survived, she doubted they'd be back. They had nothing left.
"…Come on. Was that it?" She asked the air, and though she had no bones, she cracked her neck anyway, back and forth, and then levitated up, heading over to the crater edge and setting herself down. She turned to look at her work, and found it gladdened her heart, or at least blunted her pain for a bit.
Could there have been any other result? No. The Renegades were nothing. No man was, or any woman under their sway. She was invincible. She was a god. She was beyond any man's willpower or desire, or any kind, forever. She would scour the planet of the faeries… maybe go to Alfea next… or the Red fountain…
She felt the presence. For a moment she wondered if one of the Renegades still had enough in them to stand…and then she realized it…
She blinked.
And then she turned.
Jade Halva stood there, in the street before her.
She blinked again.
She just held her gaze.
Darcy opened her mouth…and then closed it. Strangely, her anger at the fact that the girl had escaped her destined and deserved death AGAIN did not re-ignite her anger. She was mostly just shocked and surprised.
"Why…" She said. "Why…can't I KILL YOU?"
"Perhaps that's a question best not answered, Darcy." Jade replied.
"Imortalisdea." She corrected, raising a hand. "Well, well. Are you sure that as well as being a Faerie, you aren't the reincarnation of Houdini? Wait wait, don't explain. Let me guess…" Darcy said, as she waved her hand in a circle at the wrist, in the way people who are conjecturing sometimes do. "You saw my blast coming, and despite being a faerie you somehow grabbed your dead boyfriend and went intangible. You then phased through the ground to avoid my blast, but it got you turned around, especially considering you were used to doing that in your Winx form, and you didn't want to risk turning back because you would most likely kill yourself and your TUW WUV…" Darcy said, the two words suddenly filled with her usual fiery venom. "And you wandered around underground until you finally found a way out, and then you had to get the corpse to safety, and of course you somehow do all this without getting smashed or crushed or blown up or cremated in the collateral damage of this fight, and now that I FINALLY think I've won here you are, ready to spoil my victory again by YOUR GODDAMN FUCKING IMMORTALITY!" Darcy screamed.
"I never wanted this. I still don't." Jade replied.
"That's life kid. It takes what you don't want and crams it down your throat until you choke on it." Darcy said. "And it's doing it to me again. I tried to burn you, you would not die. I tried to melt you, you would not die. I even broke all your bones and spilled your blood, and then roasted you from within with my divine fire, and YET YOU WOULD NOT DIE!" Darcy shrieked. "It has become very apparent that the only way I will know for sure that you are dead is to rip your heart from your chest and eat it. And then, only then, when your life's blood is sizzling off my hands and your accused sack of unrelenting beating tissue is being ground between my teeth, YOU WILL FINALLY BE DEAD!"
"Number one that's gross, Number two…I won't die." Jade said. "Not by you anyway. I refuse to be killed by you."
"Oh, how amusing. You think YOU HAVE A CHOICE!" Darcy roared, as searing fire whipped up around her, buffering Jade with intense heat. She didn't blink, and that just enraged her further.
"I suppose you want to make your last stand. That's what you so called heroes do, isn't it?" Darcy said. "Well Jade, look at your peers. Look where it got them. And I assure you their fate is nothing compared to what I will do to you."
"You've said this before." Jade replied. "Get a new rap Darcy. That one's so third rate comic villain."
Darcy gritted her teeth, as her fire sprang higher and fiercer around her.
"You've done a lot of bad things." Jade said. "And it's time for it to end."
And then power began swirling around Jade as well. No, this was a new kind of transformation, as Red and Gold power streamed off her and sparkled away from her body heading upward, as her shredded clothes slowly transformed into her black and red winx outfit, This time however her hair went the perfect white of snow with red and black streaks, her eyes flicked into the phoenix's.
"And it is going to end Darcy!" Jade Halva roared. "IF I DO ONE THING, IT WILL BE THAT!"
"The only end here is yours girl!" Darcy roared back. "YOU CHALLENGE MY DIVINITY? THEN LET THE EARTH QUAKE AND THE HEAVENS TREMBLE!"
And Darcy launched herself at Jade.
Who flew off the ground at her as well, the two pistoning their fists out.
And they collided, in a massive and powerful luminance of black and crimson light.
An: Here's a glimpse of chapter 13:
Arrrrrrrgggghhhhhhh…!" She snarled. "Why can't I hit you?"
And finally, a change, one Darcy had never expected.
Jade sneered at her.
"Go ahead."
Darcy blinked. Surely she hadn't…
"HIT ME." Jade challenged. "Take your best shot. Make it count."
Darcy stared.
And then with one final scream she reared back and fired off another lancing blast of Soulsearer, aiming right for Jade's face.
The blast struck her just below the left eye. It threw her head back, and Darcy gloried in the girls stupidity, as she waited to see bits of blackened skull and gray matter go flying…
Which never happened.
And Darcy found herself in numb shock once again as Jade turned her head back. An angry red burn now shone below her left eye, but that was the only sign that she had made her attack. An attack that should have been fatal. Instead…
"That didn't count." Jade replied.
And Darcy lost it, as she screamed and formed twin balls of Soulsearer, firing them off. They struck Jade dead on and consumed her in an explosion, even as Darcy fired off more and more of the deadly black fire, not caring about her exhaustion, not caring about the world she had to purge, only caring that this girl had to die, she had to kill her, had to, had to, HAD TO…
After several dozen smaller attacks Darcy stopped, held her hands above and before her, forming one last beach ball sized orb of Soulsearer, and hurled it into the heart of the explosion she had made. The echoing blast sounded like an erupting volcano.
Gasping for air she didn't technically need, Darcy looked upon what she had wrought. If forming just two blasts of Soulsearer drained a host to the point of uselessness, then after all that…no, it didn't matter. She still had more then enough, and besides, the bastard girl was finally…
The last of the smoke cleared…by being blown away by a brief surge in a shimmering golden aura.
You have to wait until I update to find out what happens next…