The first anomaly is surprisingly easy, I suppose I must have hurt him a little more than I thought with that bolt to his chest. When I summon my sword I hold my hand out to Lilly and pull on her before she can phase into the next one,
"I need to talk to you, I... I want to try something..." Her eyes spark a curious glint, and I see the mischief behind it, "I knew you were the one to talk to... so here's the deal, I need to keep one of the smaller corrupt alive, I want to try to absorb it..." Lilly's eyes go wide, but thankfully not with fear. Her curiosity is only peaked more so, "I know I can survive it without anyone really recognizing I'm in any danger, with a smaller one that is, and I want to see if I can... I don't know... I just want to try it." Lilly flips her knives in her hand, nodding excitedly, if I didn't know any better it almost seems like this is something she's thought about for a while...
Pressing through the wall I spy a few medium ones circled around smaller corrupt as if to protect them like children, and I let a small chuckle leave my lips at such an odd thought. This grabs their attention and I am swift to move my feet, the oozing balls slamming just out of reach as they try to catch the final goal. Lilly is right behind me, slashing away at the larger ones, and batting off the smaller ones to keep for later. Jumping high into the sky I start shooting little lightning bolts at the medium ones, significantly putting them down without too much effort.
With the larger ones gone now, only two or three small ones chase after me. Zapping one into a puddle I stop, holding both hands out in a whirl of movement to catch them instead of letting them bite me. My sword floats in front of me, exploding in a sphere of light to keep them trapped with me. My hands ache and my shoulders tense as they begin seeping into me, arms filling with the corruption that is gone nearly as quickly as it had been caught. I hear it again, that voice that controlled me only a few days ago,
.:Willingly coming with us this time? Good girl:. I let my irritation at its statement take the back burner as my mouth opens,
"So both of you can be in my body at the same time..." This seems to get the corruption's attention, the voice remaining silent as I bite back the searing heat roving through me to continues, "...so if I were to accept you into me instead of fighting you so much... would it be so painful? If I allowed you to have half of me would you ever be willing to agree to come together?" My muscles relax as the corruption breathes a different type of life into me, the fire turning into a dull roar for the moment,
.:Ah, so you've finally figured it out, huh? My master is too stubborn to believe we could co-exist... although considering that his entire goal is to destroy the world... I digress... it isn't the worst of plans, but it has gotten us killed:. My sword vibrates in front of me, the words in my mind not having to fight each other like the last time they were together,
*And if we all agree to these terms will her father be sapped of his powers?* I nod, realizing that I've allowed the corruption to move freely through my body. The way it takes hold of my neck and gently moves me almost feels familiar, but I can't allow such thoughts to consume me at such an important time,
.:More or less, but how do you know I won't go running back to him with all the delicious information I'm taking from you now?:. He hisses softly, quirking my brow by himself,
"Because you already know that I'm far more powerful than him with or without you. You're also smart enough to know that if I go down, he goes down," My bluntness earns another silence and I press forward, "Why would you even hear us out otherwise?" He scoffs at that, taking a silent moment of gratitude as he absorbs what's in my mind, what my body can do, the powers I hold even at this very moment. I find I don't like that he thinks he can so easily intimidate, so I put on a much firmer voice, "Decide, I have a fight that needs to be won, and I would prefer not to die again, resetting was exhausting the first time." I hear him chuckle, it's dark and echoes through my ears, but it is beginning to sound almost like me,
.:Temper temper... I like it, but you will have to absorb more of me and decide if your little friend trusts me enough to keep me here. Don't want to be stabbed in the back once your father is gone...:. Shaking my head I look to the sky, the yellow shield still guarding me as my energy saps slowly but surely out of my body,
"The consequences are the same no matter who kills who. She will have to trust you, or we will all fall." I state solemnly, my sword grunting,
*Doesn't mean I have to like it right now, but I won't do anything to be rid of you unless you do so first.* I feel myself nod firmly and it's such a distinct feeling to have him reach out, hand open in an offer, I can almost picture it in my mind,
.:I suppose we have an accord then:. When I feel my light side take hands with the dark, it's like watching an eclipse full-on, I close my eyes and can feel them molding together, becoming one. My body feels the effect first, every inch clenching tightly as they both flow through me without a single hitch. My stormy eyes open and the soul sword returns itself to my finger, focus finally turning to Lilly as she stares in awe,
"How are you feeling?" She whispers, tilting her head slowly. I can't help the chuckle that leaves my chest,
"Never been better, we have to go get more corruption though, that will weaken him and make me stronger." The woman in front of me breaks out in a wicked grin, bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet,
"This is so exciting!" She nearly says at a normal volume, making me laugh. When I call forth my sword again the blade is two separate colors, black on the bottom and yellow at the top. The handle is the two colors intermixing like snakes wrapping around each other, it's beautiful!
.:Yeah it is... I'm prepared, and I dare say my counterpart is also:. I hear dimly, smiling as Lily takes off to the next anomaly,
*I hope I'm prepared enough for what is ahead...* She whispers in my other ear, anxiety riddling her statement. Stepping forward I give a mighty swing to my new weapon, stretching a bit before I charge forward.
By the time we've cleared out three more anomalies, I've absorbed quite a bit, so much so that I can nearly call the corruption forth like my soul sword. Embracing this new power I make sure not to overindulge, but see what it is capable of. Turns out it can swallow itself, definitely making my job of absorbing easier and a lot less painful. However, as I phase into the fourth area I feel a hard strain on my body, realizing a pinch too late I've used almost my limit of stamina. Lilly glances at me with a calculated gaze, my eyes scanning the few corrupt floating around in here before turning to her,
.:You only need maybe two more and I will be equal to her, then I will have a whole set of skills for you. Just because we molded together in your body does not mean we fight the same:. I hear a small 'humph' from my sword, but he chooses to ignore it as we press forward, .:I almost thought you were bluffing when you claimed to be more powerful, but now I see how far superior you are...:. He says it as I draw forth my sword, offering two fingers up to Lilly who has been getting increasingly frustrated at not getting to fight with me while I absorbed them. I nod my head over and a wickedly pleased grin pulls to her lips, the woman moving swiftly and surely to destroy all but two. She dances up to my side as I grasp the last two and take them into me without any tussle, the anomaly disappearing around us like it is supposed to. The air is silent for a while as we walk our exhausted bodies towards home, I don't feel too different until a pang of dizziness sends me staggering a bit,
*Hold on Beca, your body has to get used to this...* Lilly is by my side in an instant, nodding her understanding as I lean into her, there it is, pain harsher than I've felt up to this point, searing across my chest,
.:Just hang on a little longer, it will dissipate once we've bonded, just a minute longer, okay?:. Perhaps this thing didn't want to die either, the way it attempted to soothe me almost made it sound like a friend. The flame in my chest spreads rapidly into every nerve of my body until I feel I'm going to cave, sweat dripping from me to the point where I apologize to my partner in crime for having to hold me up. She merely shakes her head,
"Are you going to be okay?" She asks softly, worry etched in her normally stoic features. I can only nod as I reach what I've surmised as the climax, nearly breaking me until... nothing... suddenly there is nothing. There is a newfound pressure on my finger, lifting it I spy a black band has woven itself on the opposite hand as my soul sword,
.:Now... we are bonded, and now he knows what is happening. We had better run to safety before he can find us because we are in no shape to fight like this:. Lifting my heavy body with the help of Lilly's shoulder I gesture off to the house,
"We have to go, like now." Something in my exasperated tone must set her off, the woman practically picks me up and we are at the house in only a few minutes. I hang on for dear life as we zoom to the door and in the house, Lilly kicking the wood shut behind us with a loud crack. Bodies fly around me, seeking where the wound causing the corruption only to not find a single one,
"Wh-what? Beca what's going on?" Of course, Aubrey is the one to sense it first, the change of corruption flowing through my body along with the light,
"Okay listen closely because I only have time to say this once..." Each pair of eyes watches me carefully, evaluating my body as the story starts. This seems to alleviate their immediate worry, that is until I get to the part where he is coming for me now. It takes me a second to realize I'm still leaning heavily on Lilly, my legs finding just enough stretch to stand myself up, "So we need to come up with a game plan, one that involves all of us, I need to be able to bide my time so I can muster enough ener-" Suddenly a huge slam overtakes my senses, eyes blurring as I'm sent careening to the side of the house,
"You think you can just hideaway!" I hear his booming call, blinking my eyes to focus I find the front of my house has been splintered away, so much damage done with one swipe of his hand. My arms hang heavily on either side of me, blood trickling down from my forehead as I jump up and move out of the way of his second attack. My girls immediately go on the defensive, each armoring up and moving from where they had been blown back to fight him. I have to blink a few more times, then stagger to my feet to join the battle. I can't see him, but a hulking amalgamation of corrupted swings it's huge fist at me, slamming me back before I can so much as call forth my own weapon,
"Beca!" Stacie's scream comes as I crash into the rubble of my house, slamming against the far wall, eyes losing focus again as I try to shake it off. Working to get up my arms shake as I push upwards, thoughts asunder as I listen to them fighting, hear the yells and the screams, all because they chose my side and will not stray.
Pressing up I let my body sway a little, fist lifting to swing at one of the smaller balls of ooze and smash it into the wall. Using my body weight I throw myself forward, summoning my sword as I fly out to face the huge monster bearing down on everyone,
"Beca, no!" Chloe cries, attempting to halt my advance, only to be met with another large fist swung at her. I whirlwind straight through the monstrosity, finding the center before I whip my blade in a fiery circle hard enough to tear the demonic thing at its core. Still, I rush forward, finally seeking who I must tear down for this all to be over. I realize just a tad too late that he is smiling, my sword and pure hatred swinging to catch him off balance. I prick his neck with the blade and his eyes widen in surprise at the speed I use, his hand lifts while demonic slurs fire out of his mouth so quickly I can't figure out what he is casting. Before I can think too long on it we are both covered in a huge red sphere, the item widening to incinerate the rest of his own creature,
"I will allow them to watch as you are killed again and for the final time!" He yells across the way, his corruption seeping from his form into the ground, filling the sphere with black ooze just like in my nightmares. I jerk my feet up attempting to unstick myself from the ground as the sticky liquid tries to hold me in place. My heart sinks as I watch the large sword lift from the ooze, terror filling my center as it begins twirling. The sphere shakes and rattles as the women I adore slam against it, screaming, crying, I let my mouth turn into a soft smile, trying to belay the sheer panic that runs through my chest. It's eery how quiet it is in here, unable to hear much of anything at the moment. His laugh rings out loud and clear, echoing through the small space. I finally look at him, really gaze at the man who used to be my father, skin covered in black marks from the corrupt, eyes wide and red as he stares straight into my soul. His mouth twists in a maniacal grin, his words coming softer now,
"Any last words, Rebecca?"