Chapter 41: The Call of the Dead.
The entrance area rang with the sound of metal on metal, it flashed with the reflections of blades catching the light, blurs moved around the room with such speed and intensity that to any normal person watching this it would have looked like a game of high speed pinball going on rather than a full pitched battle.
Jack's sword flashed in the bright lights of the bay as it was deflected off the jet black blade of the incredibly agile Draconis male, Nightmare Assassins were no joke and they should never be treated as such, they were basically a corrupted Dream Warrior who had become either possessed by either a dark spirit who would then, using a part of a dark gods' soul, take control of the Dream Warrior, effectively trapping them deep within the confines of their own mind, leaving them a passenger in their own body, capable of only watching as the one in control wrought utter horror with their powers.
The other option was far, far, rarer but it did happen from time to time and that was a Dream Warrior who willingly gave themselves to the darkness for whatever reason, Jack always thought that this latter option was a truly sad thing indeed, but fortunately it was incredibly rare, far, far, far more often it was a case of a Dream Warrior being tricked and possessed by false promises and empty words that, for whatever reason, the Dream Warrior accepted as truth.
As awful as it sounded, Dream Warriors were often reviled and feared by people because of what they could do, Dream Warriors are beings in possession of incredible supernatural gifts and abilities, but if you do not know what one is or if you, as a Dream Warrior yourself, do not know what you are it can be a traumatic and frightening existence.
Which is why it was one of the core principals of the Guardian Core to seek out Dream Warriors everywhere and to give them a home and a true understanding of who they are and what, so that they no longer had to fear themselves, but they also sought to improve the galaxies understanding of their kind, so that people didn't fear them and push them into either exile or turmoil, because that was the fastest way to turn a Dream Warrior into a Nightmare Assassin, to cut them off from everyone and leave them all alone, frightened and scared and alone, in those circumstances someone will do anything just to have a friend, any friend.
Someone who will talk with them, listen to them, understand them, this is how it starts, this is how a servant of Darkness gets to an innocent Dream Warrior, they prey on those fears and that desperation and then they twist it, opening themselves a door until the Dream Warrior lets them in because they are so scared of being alone and, before the poor, innocent creature knows what's happening, they are locked away in a prison within their own mind, watching helplessly as the darkness they let in goes on a rampaging joy ride in their body, using their powers for their own end.
Wherever possible, Jack tried to pry the darkness out of them by force, to draw the darkness out like one drew poison from a wound, about half of the Seekers were made up of rehabilitated and freed Nightmare Assasins, he prided himself in not only freeing them but then giving them the life they'd always wanted, a home of their own, with friends and comrades and love.
It always warmed his heart when he saw the reaction of the freed soul when they realized what they were being offered, it always broke them but in a good way, they experienced true joy for the first time they broke down and cried like children, but no member of the Seekers or the Hunters held it against them, for they knew what those poor tortured souls had endured at the hands of the Darkness and they understood them.
But those who had willingly merged with the darkness and accepted were unable to be saved as they had made the darkness their ally and their way of life, they had sought it out and accepted it, now they fought for it for whatever their reasons, they were the worst of the worst, those who used their blessed gifts with the purpose of hurting others and sewing chaos and pain for no other reason than their amusement.
The trick was figuring out which was which, while any Seeker could free a Dark seed, as they were called, that is a Dream Warrior who is enslaved into becoming a Nightmare Assassin, it was the Soul Knights that had the advantage in this area, their dead sight when combined with their aura sight could often reveal the true nature of someone's heart as the dead can see all and you cannot hide from them.
Soul Ripper moved with the fluid grace of an experienced warrior, plus, add on top of that, his long black tail gave him an edge when balancing, it meant that he could pull off some incredible turns without worry of falling over, plus, he seemed to have learned how to channel his power into his wings, allowing him to harden the scales like steel so that they acted like giant shields on either side of him, so it meant that Jack had to be a lot more precise in his strikes as, even with his enhanced strength, his blade merely skipped off the black scales, making him vulnerable as he had discovered when Soul Ripper had sliced his cape free with a narrowly dodged counter to his failed attack.
The pair clashed over and over, their blades crashing and bouncing off one another, the black scaled Draconis choosing a lighter blade than Jack, it was smaller but he was highly skilled in its applications and uses, Jack's huge claymore style white blade was the stuff of legends, as tall as he was but in his hands as weightless as a rapier, not even Tik, with all her strength, could hold this legendary sword properly, a source of great frustration when he had first been compelled to forge it by Paya and she had blessed it so that only he would be able use it.
It was called the Blade of the Morningstar, when it was just sat around it looked like any normal sword but when Jack held it in his hands and channeled his strength and power through it it glowed white and gold, it crackled with energy formed by Jack's powerful connection to the spirit realm, it wasn't the only ethereal weapon in existence of course, there were a couple of them on either side, Ryan used a pair of enhanced glaives that were an unusual version of Yautja wrist blades combined with human glaive claws, they were called Nature's Claws.
Equally, this sword of Soul Ripper was well known as a cursed weapon, it was known as the Blade of the Void and had single handedly sent thousands of innocent souls to their eternal torment as it was said that any killed with the blade were denied their rest and forced to wander, forever lost in the Void, a pit of eternal blackness, Jack had made a vow upon hearing of this vile weapon to destroy it and to find a way to pull those souls out of the Void and grant them their earned rest.
Many thought it was odd that Dream Warriors and Nightmare Assasins chose to use such old fashioned and traditional weapons over more modern ones, why use a bow when you can use a railgun, right?
Except, a good Dream Warrior could stop a shot from a railgun dead or simply avoid it as they knew where the shooter was aiming, it was part of what made them who they were, it really kinda put the shits up a squad of railgunners when they fired and hit nothing but air and the Dream Warrior appeared right next to them, holding a sword aloft.
Jack and Soul Ripper's blades smashed together over and over as the pair fought, long ago jack had learned a valuable trick with Nightmare Assassins, and that wasn't to fight for the win with them, it was to stalemate them, they always fought for the win and were incredibly aggressive combatants, winning most fights through sheer aggression and unrestrained violence, so one very good method to break their pattern and frustrate them into desperation and making mistakes was to block their every attack but not attack them back, like putting them on hold, it worked well against Soul Ripper, and he began to grow frustrated with Jack very quickly, his desperation to win began to overshadow his analytical brain, which, to be fair, was incredible, Soul Ripper was not a foe to be taken lightly in the slightest, he was a brilliant tactician and played the part of a general very well.
Getting right up in his face holding his blade checked in a cross body guard sparks flew as the two blessed weapons scraped over one another, Jack could see rage in Soul Rippers red eyes, but there was something else too...fear, maybe?
Was he afraid of him? If that was the case that only meant one thing, he was a bound Dream Warrior, a possessed one, those that joined the side of Darkness were never afraid to die, they were like zealots, they simply didn't care if they lived or died, it was what made them such fearsome opponents, but, to the dark seed of the Dark god that possessed them, there was nothing worse than losing their control and being rested from their fleshy plaything, only problem was, which Dark God was it that was in control?
A few of the Dark Gods had seen their chance during Loki's release of the creeping darkness, it had allowed them to enter the mortal realm with impunity and to walk among mortals, one of the core principles of the Guardian Core and of the Seekers was to find these Dark Gods and Goddesses and to force them back into their realms, the creeping darkness had triggered a war that had threatened to consume the entire galaxy, they'd spread discontent, xenophobia and hatred among the races, if it hadn't been for the Guardian Core rising up to stand against it the entire galaxy would been plunged into utter chaos, true hell across all worlds everywhere, now this was the clean up, finding those that had slipped the net and bringing them to divine justice, every time they found and purged a part of a Dark Gods' soul it brought them one step closer to then become whole again and once that happened the gods like lady Paya would step in and take care of things.
But purging the Darkness within a possessed Nightmare Assassin was easier said than done, it was a delicate thing but also a violent one, silently, Jack began to chant inside his head, calling to the spirits for aid, he didn't want to tip Soul Ripper off to what he was doing 'till it was too late for him to do anything about it, but even as he began to make the call he could feel it happening, he could feel the souls of the wandering dead being drawn to him like a shining beacon in their dark world, all those Soul Ripper had banished to purgatory came to him, filling his very essence, granting him their power and strength and he could feel their thirst for vengeance but, more than that, he could feel their hunger to be granted peace.
Jack's blade crashed against Soul Ripper's over and over and soon enough he began to see flaws appearing in the Draconis's technique as he grew frustrated with Jack's constant blocking, "Ahhhhh, stop stalling, human! Face your fate like a man!" Soul Ripper roared at him with a wild look in his eyes, Jack simply smirked at him, knowing that would piss the Draconis off even more, it worked beautifully and, like a bull that just got its balls shot with a BB gun, Soul Ripper rose to the silent taunt and went absolutely crazy.
He roared like a dragon and unleashed a flurry of rapid swipes, trying to find a hole in Jack's defences, but it had the exact opposite effect as Jack just dug in deep and held his ground, waiting patiently for his moment like a coiled spring, Soul Ripper's blade rebounded hard from a parry and he stepped back to raise it high above his head and Jack saw his moment.
Flashing forward with speed bolstered by the shared power of the spirits, he flashed forward under the Draconis's blade and, using the pommel of his huge claymore, he smashed it upward into his wrists, causing him to let go of his sword involuntarily as his hands popped open, moving with confidence and speed, Jack seized the man's exposed throat while kicking him in the back of the knees, sending him sprawling to the floor while Jack went with him, driving his knee into the man's groin as he fell in order to incapacitate him, which would only last a few moments, which was all Jack needed.
Using the strength the spirits provided him, Jack grabbed the man's head and forced him to look right into his eyes, "Let's see who the fuck's home, shall we?" he said, and, with that, he unleashed the full weight of his abilities and forced his way into Soul Ripper's mindscape.
The world morphed and twisted as his mind left his body to penetrate deep into the trapped Draconis's mind, becoming a dark place filled with blackness and shadows, from all around him he could hear voices whispering in the shadows, but he couldn't see anyone or even understand what was being said, he wasn't even sure the whispers were in English or any language that he understood, and he understood a great many at this point.
Rather than speak, Jack just listened and focused his sense, trying to pick up on anything living in here, which was an odd thing as this was somebodies mind and technically it was all a living thing, a projection of a living sentient brain in turmoil at the overwhelming force it was being placed under by the dark entity invading it, whether it had been chosen or not, Jack had come across a few Nightmare Assassins that had been taken over by force, but they were rare as the god or goddess usually had to be invited in for them to gain control, but there were one or two who had the strength of will to overwhelm a Dream Warrior by force, easier if it was an untrained and unaware one who didn't truly know who or what they were.
Suddenly Jack became aware of a presence in the darkness, now this is where he really had to tread lightly, the dark seed planted by whatever entity had taken over this man's mind would do anything it could to remain in control of it, he heard a soft noise that sounded like sobbing and he turned toward where he thought it was coming from, he hoisted up his sword which, in here, was little more than a projection but thanks to the blessings upon it and the power it held it was no less real then the one his flesh and blood hand held outside.
"Morningstar, be my light in the darkness, guide me and show me the way that I might save the soul who needs me, that I might find the one who cries out to me, show me the way and show them that I am here!" he said, and he hoisted the huge blade up, causing it to light up like a portable sun that sent the darkness scurrying back from him, hissing and cursing.
It bathed him and everything around him in bright golden light, that's when he spotted a figure curled up into a ball on the floor not twenty feet from him, he turned and rushed over to it, still holding the giant sword aloft, it was a black scaled male Draconis and instantly he felt it, this was no projection, this was the true person that Soul Ripper was.
The figure was bound in heavy looking chains that secured him to the floor of his mind, chained at the wrists and the ankles and the throat, hell, even his wings and tail had been bound, "Don't come! Don't come! Please, don't look at me! My evil will infect you too!" the pitiful male screamed, trying to curl himself into a ball to protect himself but his painful looking chains made it difficult.
Jack drove his sword into the floor next to the male where it continued to burn brightly and fiercely, casting golden light all around them both as Jack knelt down next to the frightened young looking Draconis male, "What's your name, son?" he asked in a soft voice, reaching out to touch the male who tried in vain to shrink from him.
"It's ok, young one, I won't hurt you," Jack said softly, his voice kind and soft, he'd seen this a thousand times over, the many broken promises, the vile indignity that these poor wretches suffered at the hands of the one who had preyed upon whatever fears they had in order to trick them into letting them in and once they were in they were like ticks, they burrowed in deep and didn't let go unless you dug them out, but one thing was universal with these vile creatures, they loved to make them watch, to watch what they did with their bodies, with their powers, tormenting them with every vile and perverse act.
The terrified and shamed male continued to sob uncontrollably as Jack lowered himself down next to him and so, very gently, he reached out and stroked the male's head, running his hand over his soft jet black scales and his two horns and slowly the male lifted his head and looked at him through puffy, red, tear filled eyes, they were uncomprehending as they looked up at him.
"Hey there, young one," he said softly, looking right into the male's eyes.
"Y-Y-You're the one she wants to kill so very badly, the one they call the Light Bringer, the Seeker of Truth," the male said, and Jack smiled at him softly.
"Some people call me that, yes, but you can call me Jack," he said softly, never breaking his contact with the young looking male's head, he knew that when possessed like this the projection often took the form of the person at the moment they were taken, they're bodies were almost frozen in time by the Dark deity within so they could use them for as long as they wished and to Jack he looked like he had only just cleared his teens, though not by much.
"What's your name, young one?" Jack asked, gently stroking his scales again, being a Draconis and a male there was a very likely chance that this male had never known kindness, never known the simple joy of a kind touch on his scales, of the simple beautiful joy of a kindness shared without any need for reciprocation or cost.
"Vexan, Vexan Jetscale, sir," the young Draconis said after a moment, he looked like he really had to try to remember it, it was probably a very long time since he'd heard his own name but Jack knew that it was a very important thing that he remembered it, it was the first step in reclaiming who he was and what was his.
Time sped up in this world, one second outside was the equivalent of an hour in here, "Well, hello, Vexan, my name is Jack Mason and it is very good to meet you, so, why don't you tell me what happened to you and then we can work on fixing this and getting you out of here?" Jack said softly.
Vexan looked utterly confused, "W-W-Why? Why would you want to help me? After all the evil I've done? After all the people I hurt and killed? Why would you want to help me?" he asked in a truly shocked and confused voice.
Jack smiled at him, "Because that's what I do, Vexan, I care about people and no one deserves this, not you, not me, not anybody," he said in a voice filed with both compassion and determination, and Vexan heard it.
He began to cry hard and he lurched forwards to try to cling on to Jack's arms, "Please, don't leave me here! Please! Please, just kill me! I can't bare it any more, I can't live with what I've done, all those people, all those innocent people, because of my selfishness, all because I didn't know my place, all because I was selfish and wanted a friend, wanted someone to love me and not hurt me, but I wasn't born to be loved, I was born to give pleasure, not to receive it, and I see that now," Vexan said, his voice so incredibly sad that it tugged Jack's heart strings like a harp.
"That's bullshit, Vexan," he said in a soft but powerful voice, causing Vexan to look at him in confusion.
"W-W-What?" he asked, his confusion leaking from his eyes to his voice and Jack looked at him with fire in his eyes now.
"You are as deserving of love and joy and happiness as any other sentient being in this galaxy, the only place you have is the one you choose for yourself," he said, and Vexan looked utterly amazed at him.
"B-B-But Mistress Morrigan says..." he began, and then Jack turned grim, now he knew who his opponent was, and this was a tricky one, he'd faced off against her a couple of times in the past, she just loved to find young male Dream Warriors like Vexan here and twist them up in knots, as slippery and tricky as the great trickster god Loki himself before he'd fallen before him.
"Morrigan," Jack hissed darkly, and he turned and gently touched Vaxan's face.
"Don't you worry, young one, I'm going to purge you of this vile woman once and for all, then you are going to come home with me and we're going to show you your place in the galaxy, a place of freedom, of joy, of happiness, where all are equal and all choose their lives and their loves for themselves, here, let me show you," he said, and, with that, he pushed the images of his homeworld into the young Draconis male's mind and it burst like a bubble of light into existence around them, the huge forests, the massive mountains, the deep swamps, the great plains, the bustling cities full of life and happiness, the huge Xeno hives filled with freedom and equality and joy, he showed him Xeno girls courting humans and Yautja, of Scalathor with Beledons, all free and joyful together and the tears began to roll down Vexan's face as he stared at it in a wide eyed joy, like a child seeing a sunrise for the first time.
"It's paradise, you live in paradise!" he said, and Jack nodded.
"Yes, I do, young one, here, let me show you what the truest of all loves feels like, see my heart like I see it every day," he said softly, and the bubble changed to show images of Tik eleth, of all the feelings that surrounded her, of his two children Sela eleth and Ryan, he showed Vexan his true heart and the young Draconis just broke, like someone had snapped his soul in two like a dry twig.
"It's beautiful! It's so beautiful! I-I-I never even dared to dream that this could exist!" he cried so pitifully and so joyfully all at the same time.
"They call my beautiful wife the Breaker of Chains because she freed her people with our love for one another, I know she freed me, her love saved my life many times over and without her I would be a lost soul, a love like this can be yours too, all you have to do is believe in it, trust me, a boy like you would be snapped up in a second on my homeworld," Jack said, smiling at him, and Vexan looked confused but hopeful.
"T-T-Truly?" he exclaimed, and Jack smiled.
"Vexan, I doubt you'd even make it off the ship before one of our girls spots you, hell, I doubt you'd even make it onto the ship," he said, and Vexan went to throw his arms around Jack, tugging at the chains which, as he strained, burst into flames and burned away like they were made of paper and the young Draconis crashed into him, throwing his arms around him and clinging on like his life depended on it.
Jack stood him up slowly and patted his head gently, "Come out into the light, vile creature, I know you're watching, that's what you like to do, isn't it? Watch?" Jack said, issuing his challenge to the whispering darkness all around them.
He could see the shadows moving around the burning bright bubble of golden light coming from his sword, he saw the creatures and apparitions that Morrigan loved to use, dark souls called to protect her, pressed into her service over her lifetime, they crawled around on all fours, their faces like masks of shadow, a gust of black smoke swirled into existence and morphed into the shape of a beautiful human female dressed in a long black flowing dress, with pale white skin and curly black hair and eyes that burned like emeralds in her head.
"Jack Mason, it's been a long time, my deluded friend," she said in a voice like liquid honey that dripped into his ear, cracking a vile smile as she spoke.
Jack knew a thing or two about fighting Morrigan, and one of the things you never did was let her speak for too long, she was a witch and she loved to cast spells that both confused and ensnared your mind, he'd almost fallen prey to her the first time he'd fought one of her soul seeds, you didn't give her time to think or to confuse you, once you forced her to reveal herself, you struck fast and hard.
Jack spun and wrenched the sword free of its mount and rushed her, it worked, Morrigan was caught off guard narrowly avoiding his swing as she pulled a staff of pure shadow into being to block his swings, "You narrow minded fool! You will pay for this! He is mine! You cannot have him! And whats more, I will take you too, and when I'm done with you you'll be on your hands and knees begging to kiss my feet, you worm!" she roared in a distorted voice, rather than reply Jack spun his sword like a propeller and struck it into the ground.
"The one who stands for you calls to you now, the one who walks through the light to bring it to the darkness calls for you, hear me now and come forth!" he bellowed in a voice so loud it shook the ground around them and actually seemed to push back the shadows like a blast wave from a bomb pushing smoke away, instantly bright lights burst from his chest and from his sword, taking form into people who swarmed like glowing ants over Morrigan and her shadow army.
"What is this!? How dare you! Get your filthy hands off me, you curs!" Morrigan screamed as the glowing white shadows grabbed her and swarmed her, lifting her into the air before placing her on her knees before Jack who hefted his sword aloft.
"In the name of the great Lady Paya, goddess of the eternal hunt and defender of truth and justice, I banish you, foul creature, go back into the pit from which you crawled and fester," he said, and, just as she opened her mouth to spit a response at him, Jack slammed the tip of his sword right through her head like a spear of white flames.
Her whole body burst into flames as gold and white fire consumed the screaming woman and, as it happened two hounds, came racing through the mind scape to grab the burning and writing form before dragging her off with chains of gold forming around her as they did, "Thats another seed down, how many is that now? Seven, I believe, just one more left and we should have Morrigan's whole soul locked up tight," a feminine but powerful voice said from behind him and Jack turned to see Paya, the Yautja goddess of the hunt, dressed in magnificant golden battle armor, holding what appeared to be a bow made from a very odd looking wood, it was blood red in color and the string looked like it was made from hair.
"It is good to see you again, my lady," Jack said, saluting her, but she simply waved his salute away.
"Oh, come now, Jack, there's no need for formality, we have fought and bled alongside one another, you are like kin to me, speaking of kin, how's that great grandson of yours? He still as delicious as I remember? Such a pretty human that one, born of one hybrid and one Yautja parents to look like a pure blood human, so odd how nature works sometimes, all human outside and all Yautja inside, what a delightful mix," she said playfully.
Jack laughed heartily, knowing exactly who she meant, the first time she'd seen him her eyes had lit up like jewels in her head as if a goddess could be amazed that such a thing could exist, his human genes had managed somehow to recombine so that outside he had pure human looks, hell, the boy looked like a god damn super model, but sure as hell didn't act like one, he was as shy as they came when it came to the opposite sex, he still remembered Tik going full grand mama bear on the Yautja girls trying to chase him, poor girls only wanted a chance to impress him but when your great grand mother is the mighty Tik eleth you have no fear of any woman trying to take you for a ride, or she'll be the one riding, her boot right up your tail hole.
Apparently they'd made some sort of bet during the war, his first engagement as a Dream Warrior and he'd got to stand shoulder to shoulder with his grandfather Ryan, his great grandfather Jack and the goddess of the hunt herself, who had decided to give him confidence in himself and had made some kind of bet with him, which, apparently, he'd won, now she was utterly enamoured with him and it always drew both a smile and a laugh from him, a hybrid boy that managed to catch the eye of a goddess, but then he had his own living goddess to get back too and she was all the goddess he'd ever need.
"He's good, still wonders when you're going to pay up on that bet he won, though he never did tell me what you wagered," Jack said, and Paya laughed and waggled her finger.
"Nice try, Jack, you know I'll never tell you, but you never fail to try, do you?" she said, and jack laughed.
"No, ma'am, I don't, but, by the way, he smiles at the mere mention of your name, It must be worth the wait for it," he said, and now she laughed and nodded.
"Actually, what he bet for and what he's going to get are two totally different things, you see, that's the joy of being a goddess Jack, I get to see the truth of another's heart and to see what they truly want and, let's just say, many, many men have wished for what he's going to receive, but the reason he's going to receive it is because of the way he wished for it, that boy only wishes for peace and happiness for others, never for himself, so he's going to get all the happiness he can ever handle," she said, then she seemed to remember what she was holding.
"Oh, I have this for you to give to your new friend with the metal arm, it's a gift from the great tree, made from the wood of his branches for all the trouble this little one here caused thanks to that vile creature that enslaved him, it always pains him greatly to see one of his beloved children get lead so far astray by one like her, but he is overjoyed to see that you have once again lived up to your name, freer of souls, and he hopes that you will not only save this little one but let him redeem himself by training him and bringing him into the fold," she said, and Jack nodded, both looking at Vexan.
"I will," he said, and she nodded and smiled, handing him the bow.
"Oh, and, before I drag her off to the pit, let's cleanse that vile sword of hers, shall we?" she said, and, with one hand, she called the black blade into Vexan's midscape, "I Paya, goddess of the eternal hunt, release you, all those struck down by this blade you are free, I bid you, go in peace to your eternal rest and may your deity welcome you into their loving embrace as you find your way home, go now, you are free," she said, and like it was a match she'd just struck, the blade burst into flames, burning away the shadow coating it and sending the souls singing into the ether and Jack could feel the pure outpouring of joy.
Underneath the sword was the purest silver he'd ever seen, it shone like pure star light and Paya looked impressed by it, "Well, I never, no wonder this thing was so powerful, its a Norse blade, one of Odin's, it's just like Morrigan to take the work of another and to twist it like this, this sword is Starlight, it's meant to help it's wielder bring hope and peace where they tread, now it is purified and sanctified again it can once again do what it is supposed to do, once again it is back in the hands of a Dream Warrior, and I can sense that it has formed an unbreakable bond with you, young one, it obviously hoped that somehow it would be able to pull your soul out of the darkness that she trapped you in, now it can do just that, believe in it and in him and together you will achieve what you were born to do," Paya said, lifting Vexan up to his feet and placing the bright silver blade in his hands.
"I-I-I am not worthy of such an honor, Lady Paya, I-I-I am a vile thing, a tarnished thing..." Vexan began to sob, but then Paya did what she did best, she took his fears away and gave him beautiful strength, she stepped forward and embraced him tightly, holding him in her huge arms.
"You are none of those things, Vexan, you were tricked by a master deceiver who found you in your hour of need and took advantage of you, like so many others have in your lifetime, well, never again, young one, never again, you look to this man here and his kin, he will guide you and he will lead you, he will show you what a true Dream Warrior is and he will make you stand tall and proud and scream with all your might, 'this is who I am and I am proud of it!'" she said, and Vexan looked so utterly grateful and relieved.
"Thank you so, so, so much," he said, and she smiled, kissing him on the head, and, with that, she turned to Jack and smiled.
"Tell that great grandson of yours I'll see him soon," she said, and, with that, she was gone like smoke in the breeze.
"Time to go, Vexan, let's show you who you really are," Jack said, and he offered him his hand and no sooner had he taken it than Jack pulled him to reality and back into the real world.
There was a screech and a black shadow was torn by three golden ones from Vexan's body and the real Starlight flashed and became silver, the confused Draconis blinked a couple of times and looked around himself, "Welcome back to the real world, kiddo," Jack said, holding the now young looking Draconis male as the years that were stolen from him were restored to him by Paya, "Tell me something, are those three like you?" he asked, pointing to the three remaining Nightmare Assassins that were fighting with the others.
"You mean possessed?" Vexan asked, and Jack nodded.
Vexan shook his head, "No, they're converts, they came to the cause because they believe in it, Morrigan twisted them up inside and got them to follow her but there's no one controlling them now," Vexan said, and Jack smiled and he hefted his sword onto his shoulder where it began to glow again.
"Oh, good," he said, then he caught sight of Rose diving around one of them like a coiled spring, barely hitting the floor before moving again, using her size and speed to seriously fuck with her opponents head, "Hey, Rose, catch!" he bellowed, and he threw the bow at her, the young human spun at the sound of his voice and, with reflexes faster than the rabbits she loved so much, plucked the bow out of the air and, without even pausing to think about what it is she caught, she pulled back the string without an arrow in it like her hands knew instinctlivly what to do, a bolt of what looked like green light appeared as the string went taught and, upon releasing it, the green bolt slammed straight through her target like a javelin the size of a ballista bolt, taking the Nightmare Assassin with it and nailing him to a wall.
"Thanks, boss!" she yelled, and she rushed off to aid the others but they didn't need it as the sudden loss of two of their number rattled the others because, like a stack of dominoes, the others both fell to the Dream Warriors, one impaled on Ryan's claws and torn asunder like a strong man overcompensating while opening a bag of chips, sending them everywhere as Ryan plunged a claw though each shoulder and, with a mighty roar, tore the struggling figure in two.
The final one fell to Macha who, while they were momentarily distracted by the screams of their comrades, was able to slip inside their guard and stick her tail right through her like a satay stick, punching her heart clean out of her chest on the armored tip.
The battle ended with a drawn out silence and the Dream Warriors all turned to their leader who was holding the shaking and nervous Draconis male steady by the shoulder, "Everybody, meet Vexan, our latest recruit and former Nightmare Assassin under the enslavement of Morrigan, he is a free man now and I want him treated with the grace and respect we show each other, we're going to take him back to the ship and show him how we do things and he's going to tell us all he knows about their master plan here, isn't that right, Vexan?" Jack said, and Vexan nodded eagerly.
"Good, well, let's finish up here first and get this shit done and save these people," Jack said, and, as one, the Dream Warriors gave a singular cheer and salute to their leader, time to get back in the fight.