I'll be so quick as a flash

And I'll be your hero

Gas gas gas!

I'm gonna run as a flash

Gas Gas Gas - Manuel

Leanna's manipulator pulses wildly, especially when she raises her arm towards the treasurer.

"It's him! He's the source of the shadow magic!"

Neither the mayor nor the guards react. As I thought. Somehow, this man has managed to duplicate the effects of Suggestive Nanites. The treasurer feigns shock, but his anger is real.

"How dare you make such accusations! Arrest her immediately!"

The guards ready their weapons. I call out, holding up my hand.

"Stop, we aren't here to fight you!"

Suggestives often behave erratically when exposed to conflicting orders. Leanna, however, shakes her head.

"It's no use. He's influencing them with shadow magic!"

Marshals take it! Different world, different rules. I ready myself for combat, but I feel a gust of wind gather around Leanna, violently whipping about her hair and armour, and tickling at the edge of my hair. It concentrates into her gauntleted palm, and then she hurls it at them.

The shockwave floods forward, sending the guards flying into the walls and blowing open the robe of the treasurer, exposing his hidden hand.

Within his palm is a dark sphere of some kind of crystal. It looks like a marble of darkness and swirling smoke. From within the crystal extend shadowy tendrils that wrap around the heads of the mayor and the unconscious guards. Leanna speaks, her voice flat. I've never heard her sound so serious before.

"A tainted sphere and the branding of Void."

The treasurer appears frightened.

"You… you have seen too much!"

He closes his fist around the shrouded ball in his hands and a chaotic arc of purple energy shoots straight towards Leanna. She raises her hand and creates another ball of wind which she fires into the shadows.

Her stern expression turns to some amount of panic as the shadows devour her magic, the wind scattering harmlessly around the room.

"Ah!"

There isn't enough time for her to form another counter. I do a rapid bit of math in my head.

I don't have magic. I can't fight this. But she can, if she survives this attack. And I can ensure that.

Without giving warning, I dash towards Leanna and knock her out of the way.

As she stumbles out of the way, barely catching herself, the shadowy lightning strikes me and I'm flung back against the wall. Agony sears through my body, building and crashing in waves. Every time I think it's over, a new cataclysm sears my nerves as my cellular processes war against what feels like pure, condensed entropy.

I grit through the pain and look at Leanna, taking some satisfaction in the fact that she appears unharmed. Her face is a mixture of bewilderment and concern.

Then, while she is distracted, another blast curls through the air. Unlike the first, it is more akin to a discharger bolt, a single shard of magical power. It strikes Leanna in the side, sending her into another wall. My face caves in despair, while the treasurer walks over to me.

"Well, now. What to do with the two of you?"

I clutch my weapon desperately, but every time I build up the will to strike, a new shockwave pulses through me, shattering my concentration. He regards me.

"You seem to have some spirit. But where's your manipulator?"

He kicks me, causing me to turn over. The blow is accentuated by another surge of pain.

"Oh, you don't have one? Well, that is perfect. You see, I was in the market for another guard. Someone with drive."

A tendril of shadow reaches out to me, closing around my mind and dragging me to my feet.

"Oh, I can feel your incredulity from here. Well, son, shadow magic is the perfect substitute for subtlety."

I frown through the pain. That isn't true at all!

"Oh no? How have I managed to close my grip on this town over the past few days?"

I feel the magic roiling along the edges of my mind, but something is holding it back. There is a sound - almost like someone straining against a heavy weight.

Nnngh…

A sudden spasm of pain shoots down my arm, and my blade falls from my grasp.

"Can't have you keeping that, now, can we?"

The shadows tear away my vision, and I am plunged into darkness.

They were all over.

I was in an earthen field. The sky was a deep black, visibility was close to nil. And those things kept coming. As thick as roaches in a landfill.

Every time another group of them appeared, I would again have to open up with my weapon: an AY-32 that seemed to have no limit to its ammunition reserves. The resounding thumps in my hands were satisfying, familiar. Like and unlike everything else in this place. Because they were me.

Almost.

There was an odd light in their eyes, a slight difference in their expression, but that wasn't it. There was just something indelibly wrong with them.

"Now then, what have we here? A desire to change the world? Oh that is brilliant! How admirable."

Every time the treasurer spoke (I never saw him, he was still in the real world), it signalled that he was getting closer to his goal: penning me in, creating a new me. I had been fighting here, in this field of the mind, for what seemed like days, but I knew that time was flexible in combat. It could've been minutes, for all I know. The only thing I could trust was what I held in my hands.

Another group appeared, and the combat rifle barked its sharp retort. A memory from the weapon came unbidden.

"So, what? I'm supposed to resist torture?" I say, half joking, half worried.

"Yes," the Senior NCO said in crisp monotone, "as an officer in the Armed Forces of the Coalition of Humankind, you will be entrusted with potentially sensitive tactical and strategic data. As with any form of data storage, your mind must be secure in order to merit this trust."

I was strapped to a flatbed, so that I 'wouldn't injure myself'. I think they were just adding to the atmosphere.

"What am I to expect?"

"You aren't. No warning will be given in a real situation."

Electrodes were attached to my head. An IV was placed in a vein on my arm, linked to three different bags of identical-looking fluid. A variety of archaic physical tools were placed on a sterile tray.

The man twitched, reacting to orders from his earpiece. Then, he left the room.

I was in that room for three days (they told me afterwards) before anything happened. I never managed to fall asleep.

I can shape the 'ground' in this place.

I am looking out from a small defensive position, a hill with rough earthworks defending it. Its better range of sight has afforded me some little comfort, but it is hollow.

The treasurer doesn't need to win. I just need to be contained.

Every few seconds, the earth pulses, new tendrils of shadow writhing throughout my mind, creating another me. He doesn't need me to control my mind. He just needs to lock me away, and install something new in my place.

Them.

They're closer now. They don't look as wrong, but they feel even more off. He's changed something in them, in my head.

I can feel it. He's about to-

"Oh, can't you see, Alasdair? The wonderful things you'll do! You can change the world! You'll make it more like this Coalition that you're so fond of! The worthy shall rule, and you will trust them. They'll be worthy of it!"

I feel a tremor in the world. He's done it. He's found purchase. In the gloom, I see an army of them. They all look more right than I ever was. If I was a SOL, I'd look something like that. There is a gleam in their eyes, unlike the shallow puppets from before. It's like they're me, but better.

I've never been more horrified in my life.

My weapon jumps in my hands as I pour fire into the swarm. Another memory that composes it leaps to life.

I grit my teeth as pain wracks my body. There are a few people in surgeon's clothing, huddled around my defenseless, restrained form. They are surgically disassembling my arm.

This can't be real. It can't! They wouldn't do som-

I let loose a wordless cry as another nerve is severed. Their work is slow, agonizingly slow, and done in full view, broadcast to the screens on every wall. I've shut my eyes before, but they snap open at every new assault.

The voice of the surgeon is kind, almost generous.

"You can make this stop, Alasdair. Just tell us where they are."

I am silent. Another nerve is dissected, and I scream.

"You know we can do this for as long as we want, Alasdair. Just tell us. One time won't hurt."

As if in punctuation, he slices into an artery. Hot, red blood gushes down my arm. Unable to take any more, I black out.

And then it is over. When I come to, my body is covered in cold sweat. I look around the dark room. The bags of fluids are empty, save one which is one-quarter full. The crown of electronics has been removed from my head. On the tray, a battery of surgical tools sits in neat rows, unused.

I look down at my arm, a lingering, phantom pain coiling in it. But it is whole.

"Subject lost consciousness before the breaking point could be reached. Results are inconclusive, but resistance to primary and secondary physical trauma are likely extremely high."

My voice, cracked yet functional, rings in the room.

"That wasn't real, was it?"

The man shook his head.

"Did I pass?" I croak.

"You did. In fact, if you want, you can go further, Second Lieutenant Shaw."

I let loose a strangled, coughing laugh.

"And why, in the Marshals' names, would I want more of that."

The man shook his head again.

"No, no. No more pain is required, or any drugs. But you can do better. I've recommended you for the IRONCLAD program."

I smirk despite the lingering pain and despair from before.

"What does that stand for?"

"Supposedly it stands for InfoRmatiON CataLoging And Defense, but really? Someone wanted the word IRONCLAD and didn't care what vaguely-related words they had to butcher to get there."

He waves his hand, and my braces snap off. Then, he presents me with a datachip.

"Here's the dossier on IRONCLAD. Read up, then come back here if you're interested."

As he stepped out of the room, the man turned back around.

"I shouldn't have to tell you that this information is sensitive. Delete it or return it, but it should not be leaked to anyone. We'll know what it is you did with it."

"I'd expect nothing less. Homo Sapiens Invicta."

He returned my salute, then left, and I let myself relax for the first time in I don't know how long. It was over.

Ten minutes later, I walked out of the room, and back into my life.

My rifle pounded a dire staccato against my elbow, raining deadly magnetically-propelled rounds on the army below. They kept advancing, the bottomless weapon doing little against the tide of mental duplicates.

It had started to rain. I don't know why. It was my mind, so perhaps it had something to do with my emotional state.

"Don't you understand that you are fighting your own desires? Give in. You cannot escape who you are."

One of them climbed over my battlements, only to be cut down by my bullets. Then another joined him. And another. They were overwhelming me.

"That's it. You can do it. Become who you are meant to be. Kneel."

Anger coursed through me at that demand, and I could feel irritation ripple through the legion as well. That's the downside of making slightly altered clones: they share my beliefs unless you explicitly tell them not to.

In the distance, there is a spark. I don't know what it is, but it drifts above the surface of my mind at a deceptively langid pace. Without another thought, I dash towards it, sweeping the AY-32 in wide firing arcs through the crowd, melting the thought-creations before me. They are closing behind me, surging forth, as I have abandoned my defensive position.

I don't know what I am chasing, or why I am chasing it. Maybe just because it is something to do. The fort would not have availed me much longer, and what then? Perhaps it is better to do something, even if it doesn't end up mattering in the end.

The minute azure spark dances merrily in the rain, rising higher and higher. I'm catching up to it at ground level, though. But it's getting away, flying further above my reach. In a last ditch effort, I run as quickly as I can, forgoing aiming for pure speed, and take a leap.

"Welcome, Second Lieutenant. I see you took up our offer."

I nod from the medical chair.

"If I've got something that can benefit The Coalition, it would be a crime to not make use of it. Besides, I had to sate my curiosity. For all that talk of sensitive data, the dossier revealed surprisingly little. What are you even going to be doing to me?"

The man smiled, the kind of smile that makes you wonder whether it is real or simply plastered-on comfort.

"As mentioned in the chip, the procedure is painless. We are, in essence, going to install a security system in your brain."

"And why was I recommended for this?"

"The patterns of resistance you showed indicated that your mind could handle the process. Most of the time, you won't be able to tell the difference. However, if someone tries to influence your mind, say with drugs or nanites, you'll be able to fight back. Connected to a computer, you'd even be able to counter-hack."

He shrugs.

"In theory. No one's ever tried it, as those kind of links tend to leave lasting scars on a person's psyche."

"So what do I do?" I wonder aloud.

"Rest up. The procedure is done while you're asleep."

"Before I go under," I ask, "are there any side effects?"

"Yes. Most people report being more driven, determined, if you will."

"Sounds great. Well, I'm ready."

"Good luck, Second Lieutenant Shaw."

I'm in a crater on the muddy ground. My rifle lies beside me, a form consisting of memories and the 'security system' named IRONCLAD. Despite the fact that the laws of physics are imposed upon objects here, it will not leave my side. In my right hand, I feel something twitching. Opening it to check, there is nothing to be found.

The first of the copies bounds down the edge of the crater. He moves towards my curled-up form, ready to restrain me, to turn me into one of them. As he crouches to check, I seize his arm, and a blue glow runs across the both of us.

"I, am going to need your help."

He nods, his appearance having shifted towards one more like mine.

"And I'll need yours. We both know what to do?"

I smile.

"We do."

I am standing before the treasurer, looking out at him with the gaze of a driven puppet. I hear Leanna gasp as she sees my struggle vanish and be replaced by that even stare I had learned from the clones.

The treasurer splits into a satisfied grin as he sees my face.

"Ah, good! There you are. Now, kneel."

Obeying his command to the letter, I stoop to the ground.

"Now, rise, champion of a new order for all Esaria. You and I will create a world where only the great shall rule."

I ascend back to full height, prepared to do what is best for all mankind. As I raise my sword, it sings through the air, glad that I am free of the shadows.

"No. Not while you yet have crimes to answer for."

Power seems to course through my veins as an imperious blue halo envelops me, banishing the residue of pain brought on by the bolts of shadow. In my left eye, a flame ignites, as much incidental as intentional. Its psychological effects should be quite interesting, it just looks cool, and that seemed to be what the power was trying to do anyway. Maybe it's some sort of release valve.

"You talk of control," I sneer, "of power over others. You wish to see humans kneel. That is proof enough that you are not worthy of such things."

I take a step towards the treasurer, my newfound light flickering against the wooden floor, sparking and scorching it. He gathers and hurls a ball of shadows at me, but my advance is implacable, and I ignore the splash of liquid pain that strikes my chest. And again. And again. My advance is slow and tortured, as more and more of my body begins to malfunction in the face of the shadows. Every time my power chases it away, it regroups and returns, with new fire only adding to the deadliness of the next wave. But I back him into a corner, dragging one foot behind me.

"To rule is no privilege. It is not the right of a few. It is earned through trials and sacrifices. To wield power over your fellow humans should be an act of sacrifice, to give up shallow comforts for the good of those beneath you. That is the Coalition, not your perversions."

I swing my sword in an obvious, but mighty, overhead strike, as he raises his crystal sphere before my blade. My weapon strikes against a shadowy energy barrier, as the energies of myself and the sword I hold ferociously contest the might of this vile mage. I try to project my power in a sort of feedback loop, with each successive pulse forcing me closer to my end goal of sundering the shield and the cowering worm beneath it.

The blue light seems to respond to my wishes, attacking the shield with relish. But without it there to keep the shadows already within me at bay, the next surge of shadow energy takes the initiative, shattering my power and sending me flying across the room once again. I land next to Leanna, writhing in pain as the shreds of my erstwhile might battle desperately to keep the black power from damaging anything vital.

She, having stood up a few seconds later, rushes over, face still made into that odd expression. She shouldn't worry about me. She can't, there's no time. Through the driving surges, I form words.

"He hasn't had enough yet. Go on."

I muster up the pained imitation of a smile.

"Go get 'em."

Seeing my condition in close, it seems that she is more than a little worried.

"What were you thinking? That was so reckless… you could've died."

"So could you… and you can fight him. I'll-"

My face is transfixed in anguish, but I fight through it.

"I'll deal with this. You go save the town."

Leanna then nods, standing up with a crisp about-face as her sword leaps into her hand. A determined fire pairing with the observant light of her talent in her eyes, she faces down the treasurer. I grimace as I notice that her worry wasted the time where the man was vulnerable. Pain shoots through me again, but I ignore it. I want to see this.

Magic swirls in the air as Leanna's manipulator glows, but not in the soft, comforting blue I've seen before. This light is strong, constant, and vibrant. The tendrils of energy pouring from it wrap around her, encasing her blade in a similar glow as a shower of sparks whip about. Static sparks lash out from the sword, as other tendrils cleanse any shadows that nip at her armour.

In an instant, she dashes towards the treasurer at an inhuman speed!

In a panic, the treasurer launches off a barrage of shadow bolts, much like the ones he used against me. The first one spirals through the air with astonishing rapidity, but with a graceful sway in her step Leanna weaves around it, twirling like a dancer to bring her blade around to smite the second. Unlike before, when the shadows cut through her magic, she is ready now.

The sword cuts through the blast in a trail of sparks, dispelling it as though it never was. The third is dealt with with a touch of point-defense fire, as a tendril of electricity from her weapon dispatches it with contemptuous ease. The treasurer looks on in shock for the second time today, as his best offense is cut to shreds.

"What?"

"Hy-yahh!"

Leanna lunges and charges her blade towards the treasurer. But just before her sword reaches him, he casts his tainted sphere at the ground, and reality seems to distort as it shatters into a black mist.

The room is practically encased in a black fog for a moment, but the winds surge in response, clearing the room out. As it fades, I make out Leanna watching her surroundings, but the treasurer is nowhere to be seen. When she confirms that her enemy has fled the battlefield, the glow from her sword and gauntlet fade away.

"Ugh…"

Was that me? No, it came from somewhere else… aha! The mayor lets out a throaty groan. He rubs at his head, eyes now looking groggy, as though he has just woken up from a dream. Or a nightmare.

"What is…"

Leanna sheathes her blade.

"Take it easy. You've been under the effects of shadow magic."

"...shadow magic…"

He shakes his head, trying to free his thoughts. I know exactly what that is like.

"Is… is it finally over?"

Leanna nods, and the mayor takes a few minutes to compose himself. When his eyes seem more focused, he sighs in relief.

"You have my thanks."

Suddenly, the door barges open and Zack races in. Behind him is a wave of guards.

"Stop him!" one of them cry.

Leanna acts quickly.

"He's with us!"

The mayor stands unsteadily on his feet but addresses the guards.

"Leave them be!"

One of the guards begins to protest.

"But they-"

"I said leave them be!"

The group hesitates, shooting confused glances at each other. Ultimately, they follow the order and lower their weapons.

I understand why the mayor has trouble standing. After all, dark have been his dreams of late.

No, I'm not going to apologize for that. Even those who aren't well-versed in literature would know what I just did. Read your classics, Marshals cast you aside.

Zack's response is a terse one.

"Took you two long enough."

He then looks at me, his normally frustrated face betraying some minor level of confusion.

"What is he doing on the floor?"

"That-" I wince, rolling on to my back.

Leanna holds her gauntlet up and it glows, slight tendrils of energy flickering across myself. The visible effects are deceptively minute, as the biting storm of shadows ebbs rapidly. It doesn't vanish, but her efforts transform OWOWOWOWOWOWOW into something manageable. After that, she extends her hand, and I accept, getting up on my own two feet again.

"That is the question, isn't it. What did happen?"

I look towards Leanna, hoping for some kind of answer. She shakes her head slightly, then turns to Zack.

"He took a shadow cascade… aimed for me."

Zack blinks in surprise, as if impressed. Leanna goes on.

"And then many more. He resisted shadow dominion, as well. How did you manage that?"

I'm about to answer, but Zack speaks first.

"Seems like you ended up being useful after all."

"Thanks. I didn't expect it myself."

Leanna checks her manipulator, but remains still.

"The source of the shadow magic is gone. All that is left is some residue."

She gestures to me.

"Mostly around you and the mayor."

The mayor in question seems to be more focused, alert eyes blinking about the room as if seeing it again after a long absence.

"It was my treasurer, wasn't it?"

Leanna nods. He sighs heavily and sits back down in his chair.

"When he first arrived in town, I thought he would be like all the other travellers and go on his way. But he said he knew how to make this town greater than it is now. He had ideas, designs for how we could be more than just a wayward stop."

He sighs.

"The first step was to increase taxes. With a large enough treasury, he said, we could start to create change… all I wanted was to help the people here have better lives, to give them something. By listening to the treasurer, I've brought them suffering instead."

Leanna cuts into his morose monologue.

"You weren't in control of yourself."

He frowns.

"But it was me who made all of those rulings. I passed those tax laws."

Leanna shakes her head.

"It wasn't you. That man had a tainted sphere and he was using it to influence you. Perhaps if you were extremely resistant, he would've had your shadow do the work, but that is the closest it would get."

The mayor leans back. He looks… tired, as if he's been carrying a large weight and only now noticed his exhaustion.

"I will start proceedings to appoint a new mayor. I no longer feel fit to govern this town."

A ripple of shock passes through about half of the assembled guardsmen. One of them steps forward.

"That's not true!"

I look over at the voice, and recognise him as one of the guards formerly controlled by shadow magic.

"I know what it's like. When he used that stuff, all I could think about was how I could be an honour guard… that thought was overwhelming and I'd do anything to achieve it. And whenever I doubted, I was put in a box at a corner in my mind, and watched as something else told my body what to do. I know that wasn't the real you."

The other guard from the room steps towards the first.

"Me too. Little Garrett still plays with the toy sword you gave him for his birthday. Says he's practicing for when he joins the guard."

Others in the room murmur their assent.

"You did a great job up until the treasurer came. Just start doing that again. No one else in town could do it better."

The mayor glances from guard to the hopeful face of a guard, as if he knows each one of the original staff by name. In a town this small, it isn't too unlikely. After a time, he gives them a smile.

"I suppose that someone needs to clean up this mess."

As he gets to his feet, one of the guards in the back calls out. I recognize his demeanour as one of the thugs.

"Well, what about us? We're going to get paid, right?"

"As of this time, your contracts are to be considered terminated. You will be paid as though you served a full block."

About a quarter of the guards seemed to relax. The mayor turns to us.

"I don't know how to thank you for what you've done for us."

Leanna smiles warmly.

"I'm glad we were able to help."

I make an effort to match it, lingering pain making this exercise more than a little challenging.

"Agreed. To clean such a sickness benefits all of The S- Havengarde."

Zack nods. The mayor responds with a certain humility.

"You must be exhausted. Please feel free to stay at Raven Pass for as long as you like. You are always welcome here."

As Leanna and Zack turn to leave, a thought suddenly occurs to me. I blink.

"Oh. Well, that's not good."

My insides seem to scramble, and my head feels lighter than air. Without another word, a barrier of wood slams into my face, and I fall into darkness.

A/N: The blue stuff is a really strange component of my additions to Crystalline. While originally made with the purpose of making Alasdair here more awesome, a few alterations have pushed it into a narrative space I'm really happy with, as well as giving an explanation that I'm fairly certain is better than - say - 'he's just that awesome'.

Besides; I really love this chapter, so I needed to leave it in, at least to some extent.

Cheers!