Everything must come to an end eventually.
The battle had started as suddenly as it could have. Death's little soldiers scrambled up the hill of ice that Kai had made, climbing past the first barricade of spikes and ran. Despite how much training they had, they weren't trained with the same discipline as a unified military group. By that, what Kai saw was not the synchronized march, but rather countless adults and teens trying to rush them with a first wave attack.
They scrambled up the ice, and with each one who slipped and fell, he took at least three others with him. Kai watched from atop as numerous people hit the spikes, wounding themselves while the Acolytes rained fire from the top of the hill with their guns. Humans didn't need demon weapons to fight, not when they had machine guns and assault rifles. Even the small number of witches in their ranks was worth ten human soldiers. It took seconds for the snow to bleed red and blue souls to hover over lifeless bodies.
Kai watched the faces rush, watched as the first wave managed to climb to the top of the hill, as others, with weapons that allowed them to fly, bypassed the obstacle altogether. Once they were past the hill, that's when the true carnage began. But, that's also when the fun began.
Watching from her vantage point, Kai saw as some bullets were replaced with darts, watched as meisters were hit and as the synchronization between weapon and meister was disrupted, as the weapon was forced back into human form and leaving the pairs at a severe disadvantage. It was a bloodbath.
Some were able to overcome this handicap, were able to fight back despite not having a weapon in hand anymore, but most were shot down, or knocked to the ground and butchered with knives. Men, women, adult, children, it didn't matter, they served Death, they aligned themselves with the DWMA, they had to die.
Faster, get through this fight faster. The sooner it was over, the sooner Kai could find Maleko and take him to a new home.
She watched from the corner of her eye as some meister tried charging at her, his axe-partner in hand. The fool couldn't have been that old, eighteen at most, full of an energy that could only come from the excitement at getting to kill a witch, at the chance to prove himself and make a Death Scythe, at taking down the Acolytes leader.
Well, he wasn't going to get to do any of that.
Kai frowned and stretched one of her hands out to him. Acting on cue, the snow raised, dissolving into water and spraying him in the eyes with the freezing liquid. He halted, stunned by the strike and temporarily blinded, allowing Kai to act again. She didn't move her hand, only made a flick of the wrist.
"Watch out!" his partner cried out, but it was too late. The ice had shot up from around them, impaling the meister on sharp points.
Blood ran down the ice, Kai watched the meister convulse, eyes wide, blood and saliva mixing into a bubbly foam at his mouth as his body gave it's last few spasms and twitches. A soul emerged from his chest and floated above him. The axe fell to the ground as he stopped moving, leaving only a puddle of blood beneath the suspended body.
A flash of light and the weapon was on his feet, a look of fury and hatred in his eyes. "You bitch!" he screamed, his arm turned into the blade of the axe, running for her. It was so pathetic. Kai didn't bother to move and let the magic around her flex a little.
Bloody tendrils came from behind the no-name meister, wrapping around his arms and legs. It was his meisters blood, manipulated through magic to harden and freeze. He struggled, but the blood was too strong, and perhaps Kai was using her magic on his blood too just to make it that much harder for him. He locked his eyes on her, tried to take another step, tried to—
His head exploded, decimated by the icy weapon she launched at him from behind. There was no convulsions or twitching from him, the weapon boy just fell to the ground limp, clothes soiled by his own bowels and bladder.
Boring.
How completely boring.
Did no one do their homework? Was no one told anything?
Kai watched as others tried for her, only to be immobilized and killed without mercy. Pathetic, useless, easy. Did no one know anything? Did they not understand just how outclassed they were, how nature itself had placed them at a biological disadvantage?
Blood is ninety-two percent water. The brain and heart are at seventy-three percent water, and the lungs at eighty-three. The skin, needing constant moisture, is sixty-four percent, and even the bones in the body are watery at thirty-one. That's not including other organs or body parts.
Sixty percent of the human body is water.
Had they forgotten who—what Kai was? A witch whose natural affinity is that of water. Her magic wasn't confined to one type of water, wasn't compressed and placed in a box for regular, untainted water. Water in any of its forms, anything that contains a large quantity of water, it fell in her domain of control.
The battlefield was composed of ice and snow, the soldiers had water making more than half of their being. The only way that Kai would be able to get a better victory was if this was taking place out in the ocean, where there was no close-quarters combat. But, that didn't make her any less a god among mortals out here.
Every single person was a walking time bomb. She could tear them apart from the inside because their bodies fell to her control. She just had to make sure to not use up all her energy before the battle was over.
The sooner she got this finished, the sooner she could get Maleko.
Kai took a deep breath, focused on the mixture of blood and snow, creating numerous red, icy needles that she brought to the air. She focused in on one sector of the battle that was losing ground to the DWMA and attacked. The needles soared through the air, attacking everyone in the area indiscriminately. She saw quite a few people collapse, though quite a few did manage to survive. It was enough, though, for the Acolytes to push back.
Good. Good.
If they kept it up like this, the battle would soon be won.
Kai found herself actually smiling amidst the chaos and the bloodshed as she thought of that. Oh, where should she take Maleko when this was finished? They were going to need a new place to call home, a place for him to grow and learn. Of course they weren't going to be able to return to Hawaii, at least not right away. Maybe in a hundred years or two they could go back and rebuild their house.
No, first thing they do shouldn't be house hunting. No, first thing to do would be to make Maleko something to eat. It had been far too long since they last got to sit together for a homemade meal. It was going to be one of his favorites, of course. Perhaps some lemon chicken skillet with roasted potatoes and, of course, berries. They could get some freshly picked berries. Have a picnic. Somewhere warmer, preferably.
They could travel the world a little, too, or just take up residence in the Witch Realm for a short while. Well, the two could figure it out as they went, the important bit was that they would stay together. Oh, she was excited. Kai couldn't wait to see what kind of future her and Maleko had waiting for them after today, all the things they'd get to do, to see, to experience, it was just—
"Let's go, Tsubaki!"
Snapping out of her reverie, Kai jerked herself a few steps back, managing to avoid the giant shuriken that had been thrown right at her. Her eyes narrowed as she turned to the blue haired brat who had thrown it.
He looked angry, yet at the same time he looked like he was thriving on the fight, living off the chance to fight. His spirit was certainly not lacking, he had the same kind of fire that she had seen in Maleko numerous times. What was more interesting was that this blue-haired meister had numerous anti-weapon darts clinging to his body. He had received multiple doses, and yet he and his weapon were still working in sync, that the shuriken was keeping its form.
How interesting. Kai could only surmise that he was keeping the effects of the drugs from passing on to his weapon through sheer willpower. It wasn't just interesting, it was impressive.
The shuriken returned to his grasp, transforming into a pair of small scythes connected by a chain. "Hope you're ready, witch. You're up against the great BlackStar, the man who will surpass God!" The meister warned.
Oh, this boy just keeps getting more and more interesting. She'll give him a chance, she'll even handicap herself by not using her magic on the water in his body, just to see if he truly can stand a chance. Kai grinned, raising a hand, and with it the snow and ice raised around her. "Your goals are hopelessly low; Gods are weak. Humans weaker."
He ran for her, and Kai brought up a wall of ice to intercept him.
Maleko paced anxiously in the icy cellar, clawing at the ground, at the walls, howling into the frigid air. It was dark, save for a small light he kept in the center to allow him to see. Empty, save for himself and Taka.
Why would she—why would Kai throw him down here? Why would she do this to him? Maleko bared his teeth, snarling as he lashed out at the wall, his body was burning, his blood boiling, the room around him growing slicker and slicker as the ice slowly melted. Every movement was shaking, turning worse and worse as the screams from above grew worse.
He couldn't take a single breathe of air without the stench of blood and death filling his senses. It was driving him mad.
"You need to calm down," Taka warned, staying close to the small fire to stay warm, he couldn't survive the cold like Maleko could, wasn't a walking furnace like him. "Your anger won't do you any favors."
Maleko whirled on his feet to glare at the bird. "She—she pushed!" he yelled, stomping a foot onto the ground, his nails curling and clawing at the air. "I shouldn't! I should be-be up! Up there!" He shouldn't be down here, he had to be up there, up there with mama! What if she got hurt while he was down here, what if she got killed and he could do nothing because she put him here? He had to protect her!
Taka huffed, preening his feathers. "Little sun, she's put you here for your own safety. She's much stronger than you, this entire area is subject to her control. What aid could you provide?"
He was so tired of this, so very tired. At every turn he was being stopped, someone was keeping him from his mother, be it people he thought were his friends, or his mother herself. He was tired of this; he was sick of this He just wanted to find her and leave this place no matter what. He was done with people and things stopping him, done, done, done! Maleko was going to find her again, he was going to grab her and they were leaving.
"I have to go!" Maleko snapped back, turning to the icy slope and started climbing up it. Not that it worked, the slope was too steep, he had only gotten a few steps before losing his grip and sliding back down, his anger growing stronger and hotter. "I… gah… Graaaagh!" he snarled, punching the ground. His hand hurt, the skin over his knuckles had broken open and his blood smeared against the hard ground. "Aaaargh! Grah! Graaaah! Aaah!" he kept howling, his voice turning more and more animalistic while he pounded the ground again and again.
He was angry, so, so angry, his vision was turning red. His blood boiled, his magic was coiling around him, it felt different, stronger, more…needy. There was a pull to it that he hadn't felt before.
The smell of blood, the sound of carnage, the knowledge that Kai was out there in the midst of it all, it was driving him absolutely insane. He couldn't take it, he couldn't, he couldn't! He had to get out of here, get away! Find her!
With a snarl, Maleko tried climbing the slope again. His shoes slipped and he tumbled back down, his head hitting the ice and sending stars to his eyes.
"Maleko!" Taka fluttered to his side as the boy pushed himself back up, the hints of blood showing between white strands of hair. "Stop this! You're angry—you're letting your anger control you, letting instincts overpower rationality!"
He snarled and swatted the bird away, ignoring the squawk Taka gave as he flailed away.
"Shut up!" he yelled, trying again, only to slid back down. He ignored Taka as his companion continued to yell for him to stop, the words becoming a buzz as he focused only on the screams above, on the way blood was starting to drip down through the snow and ice and falling into his cold grave down here.
With a scream, Maleko tore his shoes and socks off, flexing his toes between the snow and ice. His breathing was shaky, his body feeling twitchy.
This was the same feeling he had gotten back in the warehouse. This same primal rush. Except… it wasn't just primal, it was also a whisper, a soft urging in his ear to act, to move, to climb. He could feel it in his bones, a need to… a need to do something. To follow the carnage, to get out. It was drawn to the blood, to the madness above.
Maleko's mouth felt dry, but he started climbing once more. His body was burning, leaving holes in the ice as he took step after step. Slowly he was gaining ground, slowly he was getting closer and closer to the top, to where the blood smelled the strongest, to where the slaughter was. To where Kai was.
"Please, little sun, come back down here, where you'll be safe," Taka pleaded, but Maleko didn't hear him.
Instead, he kept climbing, breathing heavily and growling under his breath. When he reached the top, he didn't even let the heavy lump of ice stop him. Ice was ice. He was fire. Ice and snow were nothing to him, they melted at his presence, opening up to a world of grey and red. He climbed out, taking in a breath of air, unfiltered by the cold walls of snow and ice, inhaled the blood, the fear, the anger.
He was free.
He looked around, saw the bodies scattered across the field, the countless souls floating in the air. The air that was thick with the smell of fear and blood. He had broken free from below and stepped out into Hell.
Maleko couldn't just stand around and gawk, he had to find Kai, find her in the swarm of bodies and fighting. No one was going to get in his way this time, he wasn't going to let anyone stop him, not again, not ever again.
As he ran through the battlefield, diving between people and avoiding clashing weapons, there was a buzzing voice in the back of his head. An urging, a hunger. It saw the bodies dropping around him and, instead of crippling fear, sent a strange sense of adrenalin and exhilaration through his body. This chaos, it whispered, this madness was right, it was scary, loud, and dangerous, but it was the chaotic mess he thrived in.
Maleko didn't understand it, tried to shake it out of his head. He needed to fight, it responded. Use his magic to clear a path through the throngs of people and speed up his search for Kai. Why should he care who got burnt along the way, why should he care if people got hurt? Why should they matter at all?
No one mattered, nothing mattered, he just had to find her. Find Kai, find her and this nightmare could finally end.
He snarled, shaking his head as he ran through the snow, trying to focus, trying to find any sign of her in the madness of it all. He couldn't, the air was too heavy with the scent of the dead to locate hers, the air too full of screams and weapons to hear her voice through it, and far too many people to see her. It was maddening, simply maddening.
It was hard to find any face that he could recognize, from the few members of the Acolyte he'd met to the DWMA students he'd come to know, all their faces had begun to blur. It could be a friend who he had knocked down when he barreled into the legs of, it could have been a complete stranger, who could say? And honestly? Maleko couldn't care if they were people he knew or not.
He just kept running, kept on running.
Arms wrapped around Maleko, tugging him off of the ground and lifting him into the air without any warning.
"We've got a kid, here!" An unfamiliar voice yelled, holding onto him tightly up in the air, keeping him from moving, from finding her. "What do we do with him?"
Maleko squirmed in the arms, saw a flash of a skull emblem on a sleeve as the man kept talking. Let go! Let go of him right now! Maleko had to find Kai, and this man was stopping him!
"He's on the wanted list, let's try and subdue him and get him out of here," someone else called over with a grunt, fighting off some Acolytes, though Maleko couldn't see her. "We'll let Stein or the others decide."
Stein was here? Was Marie, too? Or Spirit? Maleko had a moment of curiosity, but that died down in the blaze of fury he felt within. They were going to take him away, again! He had just found Kai, and now they were going to take him from her all over again!
No! No, he wasn't going to let that happen! Not again, never again!
Maleko snarled, digging his claws into the arms of the man holding him and feeling his fury, the infernal hell blaze of rage within him bubbling and breaking to the surface. His back erupted into a flame, burning away the fabric and hitting the man who was holding him with its full force.
The man had let out a shrill scream, letting go of Maleko abruptly as he stumbled back. Maleko had enough grace to land on his hands and feet, turning around while hunched over, flames still burning on the bare skin of his back, watching the man fumble and fall. The DWMA man was flailing, hands to his face and chest, his coat burning, his flesh burned away. He tried desperately to roll into the snow, to relieve the pain, to put out the fire, all he did was smear his blood into the white snow.
"Dan!" the woman had yelled, kicking away and Acolyte and tried running to her partner, only to be intercepted by two more. Her hands glowed as she tried to transform, only for her to scream in pain as it failed, having to resort to hand-to-hand fighting.
It was such a pitiful state. It was absolutely pathetic.
Keep the kill clean, the thoughts in his head said, the pull tugging at him harder, more insistently. Play with your prey all you want, but when you kill them, do it fast, do it clean. The meat is better that way, the kill is less messy. This thing before him wasn't a person, it was no different than the prey he hunted.
Maleko jumped onto his back, pushing his face deeper into the snow and digging his claws in to stay on while the creature thrashed and screamed below. It was hard to make the strike when the prey moved like this. Even so, Maleko was able to reach around and slash his claws across its throat, spilling blood into the snow. His prey convulsed and spilled, filling the air with its scent of death and charred flesh.
"How could—!" Its companion had done away with her attackers and lunged at Maleko; wielding knives that had been used against her moments ago.
He didn't have time for this, he didn't have time to play with these things, why couldn't they see that? Why did they have to waste his time? Maleko bared his teeth as he stood on the fresh carcass. It had happened so fast, but soon the other one had fallen to the snow dead, her throat open wide.
Maleko licked the blood off his lips, wiped some off of his chin onto the remnants of his sleeve. His body felt like it was burning even though he was sure it was freezing out, even with his back bared to the cold, he felt hotter than ever before.
Staring at the corpses, he didn't feel the same rush of terror he had when he made his first kills of their kind, no need to flee. No, Maleko instead felt something different, a feeling of being satiated, as if he had drunk a glass of water after days of going without. It had left him satisfied, yet longing for more.
For his claws to dig into the flesh of others, for his teeth to tear open meat, it was a pang of hunger for something he hadn't felt before. It was a hunger that he felt in his magic, not in his body.
No, he didn't have the time to hunt. He needed to find Kai. But… if any others got in his way, then he would kill them. He wasn't letting anyone stop him again, if they tried, they would die by claw or by fire.
He started running again through the cleared path, and when there wasn't a path for him to go through, Maleko made one through his fire, leaving charred bodies in his wake. With each person who fell, he felt a rush. Something inside him feeding off the carnage that he was leaving behind.
Bullets flew past him, he nearly got hit with a dart. Even the Acolytes didn't seem to care anymore if they hit him or the DWMA, he was just in the crossfires of both sides. He didn't care, they were in his way, he'd fight them both if they tried to stop him.
Maleko snarled as a weapon landed by him in a flash of light, nearly cutting him open, it's meister screaming as they came after it. Maleko kept running, unleashing a torrent of fire in their direction.
"Maleko," Taka warned as he continued to move, "Maleko, it's too dangerous out here. You're letting your magic control you—we need to go back!"
The hawk was becoming annoying, Maleko couldn't go back, wouldn't go back. He had to find her, find her no matter what. He had to keep going, keep running, keep fighting. That's what his instincts told him to do.
A bullet tore through his shoulder, sending Maleko to the ground. "Aaagh!" he screeched, clutching at the wound, feeling his blood leak out between his fingers. Who shot him? Who shot him?!
"Maleko!" Taka cried out.
Maleko ignored him, pushing himself up to his feet to scan the area, looking for the assailant. He couldn't figure out who it was, everyone looked the same, everyone had a gun or a knife. Which one was the one?! Who was it!? Was it one of the DWMA's people? Or had it been one of Kai's? Was he the intended target—no it didn't matter if he was or not—who shot him?!
No.
No.
It doesn't matter, the voice in his head assured him, sounding more and more like his own voice. They were all responsible, take them all out, thin out the herd, thin out the crowd. Less people alive meant less people to get in his way.
Kill them.
Baring his teeth, Maleko raised his arm, his shoulder burning with pain. Breathing in deeply, he stared at the battling adults and teens, focused on one group in particular and swiped his arm at them. But, another breath and Maleko lowered his hand, deciding against it, deciding it wasn't worth it—they weren't worth it.
He grabbed at his head, at his hair, tugging and hitting, trying to shut the voices up. They were becoming distracting; they were becoming annoying. He needed to stay focused, he needed to stay on his search. He needed to… he needed to… needed…
With a scream, Maleko ignited his hand, burning it hotter and hotter until the flame grew blue and grabbed onto his shoulder. He was fireproof, he didn't burn. Not normally. So, Maleko had to focus on blocking his magic, on disrupting the flow within him so that he could burn, that he could sear the flesh and muscle. He screamed, his voice shrill as he buckled over, dropping to the snow and arching his back.
It hurt; it was absolute agony. His instinct was to dive into the snow, to put out the fire, to kill the flames so that the pain would stop—he didn't. He grit his teeth to stop the screams, trembled and shuddered, but kept a tight grip over his shoulder, over the hole torn through his body by the bullet. His senses were overwhelmed with the smell of charred flesh and blood, his eyes watered as a muffled sob slipped through his clenched jaw.
"Maleko! Stop it! Please, stop!" Taka begged, wings flapping as he landed on his hunched back. "You're hurting yourself—stop!" He tried to push Maleko's hand away with his beak and then his foot, only to burn himself in the process and fall off in a shrill wail of pain.
The boy held his ground, unwilling to stop no matter how excruciating the pain, no matter how dizzying it made his head feel. The palm of his hand had gone numb, as had his shoulder, and it was then that he knew that the injury was dealt with in the only way Maleko knew how; it had been closed, burned shut, cauterized. His skin was bloody, the flesh on his shoulder burned away, as had patches of skin on his palm. He couldn't feel anything—anything but pain- from both parts of his body.
Maleko opened his mouth and let out a ragged gasp, falling over to press his face against the snow as he panted, letting his magic flow freely once more through his veins. His heart raced, his head felt cloudy from the experience, unfocused. He struggled to catch his breath, struggled to push himself up to his feet so that he could start moving once more—too much time had been wasted to treat the injury, too much precious time gone.
He had to keep moving, he couldn't afford to just stand around longer than necessary. He had to… he had to run… had… to… find her find Mamafindfindfind…
As soon as he took his first step, Maleko swayed and fell back to the snow. He blinked through the daze, smelled cooked chicken as Taka wobbled over to him on one leg, his other smoldering. Maleko watched him, breathing heavily.
"Maleko, you're exhausted, you're using too much magic in too short a span," Taka cawed.
It was useless, his attempts to get Maleko to stop were useless. Even with his mind in a haze, the boy stumbled to his feet—and when that didn't work, he settled to crawl on his hands and knees until he could walk again. He pushed forward, no matter how much his arm and hand hurt, with blood trailing behind him with each step forward, despite how much his head throbbed, how his body felt like it was inside out, how he wanted to vomit and sleep.
He had to keep moving, for mama, for Kai. He had to… had to…
Maleko coughed, his spit was mixed with blood. That was… normal, right? Taka didn't seem to think so, he screeched, begged him to stop, that Maleko was pushing himself past his limits, that his body couldn't handle this kind of stress.
What did a stupid bird know?
He ignored him, kept crawling, even when his legs gave out and he had to drag himself forward with his arms until he could catch his breath again, he kept moving, kept moving, never stopping, not stopping—until he finally did stop. Halting and taking in quick, short breaths as he stared forward.
In his heart there was a pang of… something. Familiar faces. Two familiar faces in the midst of the madness, two he had considered friends—family, for a short time. He stared at them, his ears twitching as, under the screams and songs of war, he heard ice breaking.
Kai smirked, her breathing growing heavy as she evaded the blade of his sword, and then used the snow around her to help her evade a strike from his shadow.
This BlackStar fellow was actually an enjoyable opponent. Though Kai had to limit what she did just to enjoy the fight, it was only understandable that she'd handicap herself, if she didn't then there would be no fun in a battle. And this was a fight she wanted to enjoy.
Through the wall of snow, BlackStar burst free, slashing that sword of his at her once again. "You're a pretty big deal for a witch," he commented as he attacked her again, each one with Kai evading. "Not as big as me, but your strong enough that your soul is just the kind of thing worthy of being ours."
Kai rolled her eyes as she pulled the moisture from the air, letting it harden into ice that she flung at him. "Are you always this egotistic?" she asked, watching as a few of the ice needles sliced into his arm, sadly the rest were evaded. Despite his obvious braggart personality, his ego, his inability to stay quiet through the fight—he was fast, he was agile, and strong. Kai loathed to admit it about anyone, especially one aligned with such an abhorrent being as Death, but…
He was good.
As their fight—their dance of blows and evasion—ran on, Kai began to understand some of that ego, began to see hints of truth in his claims, of his declaration of surpassing God. If this was his skill now, an untamed brat with little discipline, then should he have grown up, gain the discipline and mastery for his craft… well… Kai was confident that he could, in fact, kill a God. He had the potential, there was no doubt to it. The child had talent and potential, the natural skills to ascend to the Heavens.
What a shame that he wouldn't live to achieve such greatness.
But, for now, Kai was enjoying this fight, was enjoying the challenge BlackStar provided, even if the challenge was only made into one by her handicapping herself. This battle would be over in seconds if she let herself use her magic to the fullest ability, allowed herself to freeze the blood in his body, or to take control of his limbs like a puppet master by manipulating the water in his body.
Even so, even if she was having fun with this fight, it has dragged on for too long. If she let it go on longer, she might start making mistakes, and the boy's chance of getting a lucky hit increases. Or worse, she'll wear her magic down on this boy and have nothing left for anyone else.
More importantly, the more time she spent playing with him, the more time she was away from Maleko, that Maleko had to wait down beneath the Earth for this fight to finish. No, that was the greatest crime of keeping it drawn out, the biggest reason to finish it up with this BlackStar boy and move on.
It was time to end this. It was time to stop playing around.
"It was nice," Kai said, giving him an empty smile. "Thank you for the warmup, but this fight is over." She raised her hand towards him and reached out with her magic. As she had done so many times before, she let felt with her soul the water in his body, let her magic slip in and take control.
His body was hers to control now and he didn't know it, her magic was already in him, already made her connection with all that he had.
BlackStar glared at her, his smile gone and that blade of his at the ready, looking prepared to spring forward for another attack, but waiting to see what Kai was about to do. He was smart, Kai acknowledges, smart in his own ways.
She tilted her head, her expression not changing. "It had been fun, so I do thank you for that. But, I would appreciate it if you would die now." And now she would make him use his own partner to do the deed.
His arm, the one holding the sword, raised into the air. The look of confusion and frustration that overtook the boy's face was wonderful as he realized that she was controlling his limbs, not him. All it took from Kai were small motions; a twitch of a finger, a slight turn of the wrist, minute movements, like a puppeteer toying with the strings until he had the blade to his own throat.
"BlackStar!" The weapon cried out in worry and glowed, about to transform to protect him.
BlackStar scowled, "Don't! I've got this!" and that seemed to placate the weapon for the moment, but she was undoubtedly ready to spring.
Kai had to make this fast, she had to make the cut before the partner changed form to save him from certain death—not that it mattered, once she took a body of flesh and blood, she would also be under Kai's control.
With a small laugh, Kai gave a sharp flick of the wrist.
Only, he didn't move. Kai frowned, saw his arm tremble and tried again. The boy grunted, his arm moved closer to his throat, but barely. Beads of sweat formed on his brow as he resisted her magic.
This was… this was new. Kai had never met anyone who had been able to resist her magic without magic of their own. Despite her control, her dominance of his very lifeblood, this boy fought back, he was battling her for control over his own body. This wasn't the act of some special soul wavelength or of some magic at work. No, this was sheer willpower. A strength of his own resolve.
She should have expected something like this. This was a boy who had resisted the anti-weapon drugs so that he and his partner would continue to fight as one. This was a boy who could possibly become equal to a God. Yet, seeing him move against her magic, to slowly drag his shaking arm away, to pull the sword away from his neck, to him taking a slow step towards her, grunting and with effort but determined all the same.
It was a frightening sight. What a special little monster.
Kai scowled, doubled her efforts, but he wouldn't budge. His sword was well away from his own throat, he was taking slow steps towards her, growing closer and closer despite her control over his blood and muscles.
"If you… you think s-something… like… this," BlackStar spoke slowly as he walked, gripping his sword tighter as he showed no sign of giving in to her magic, of surrendering, "this will… stop… a big guy… like me…. you're wrong!" he was moving faster.
This would have been so fascinating if it didn't disturb her so deeply.
She amped up her magic even more, putting all her effort into stopping him, into freezing him. The boy faltered for a few moments before he began to move again. It was an endless pattern, Kai would increase the magic she used on him, he would freeze for a few seconds before breaking through and slowly head towards her.
This wasn't working, it wasn't working, it wasn't, wasn't, wasn't, wasn't working!
She had to stop him, now! Kai scowled, feeling the strain and creeping exhaustion. She looked to the snow, to the ice. There would only be a brief second, as soon as she diverted her focus, he'd be able to break free completely. Timing was important, she had to make sure this was perfect. Margin for error was slim and growing slimmer. Had to get this right, had to get this—
A hand landed on her back.
Kai hadn't the chance to even process that before a surge of absolute pain rushed through her, as though she had been struck repeatedly by lightning at the hands of a wrathful Zeus. She was beyond stunned. The pain was a torment, the few seconds feeling like years.
When it was over, Kai doubled over, almost falling to her knees as she spat out a glob of blood. It hadn't been a physical attack—no, it had been a wound far worse, a strike to the soul. It disrupted her magic, sent her own soul into shambles, while causing her pain beyond belief. Even in the aftermath of the attack, she wasn't able to break free of the aftershocks.
"Doctor!" BlackStar shouted, stumbling forward and shaking his head, his body once again his and only his to control. The look on his face, when Kai was able to raise her head to look, was one of relief and agitation, as though he was bothered that someone would interrupt the fight, but underneath his pride he was grateful that this intruder had.
"BlackStar, you did well holding your own against her," the so-called Doctor said behind Kai, his voice calm, detached. "I'm impressed that you and Tsubaki are still able to fight together."
Laughter, BlackStar was laughing, as if this was funny, as if this wasn't a serious fight, "You really think something like these would stop us? Did you forget just who I am?" he asked, puffing out his chest. He was so… so… Kai found herself growing, frustrated. He shouldn't be acting like this. Where did that pride…
Kai grabbed a handful of snow, pushing herself up and coughing up more blood. Her insides felt as if they had been torched, as if they had been destroyed. She turned so that she could see both her opponents, and instantly did she recognize the Doctor. Her frustration turned to absolute rage.
The glasses, the stitches, the silver hair, the obnoxious screw—
He was the one.
He was the reason that she had lost Maleko in the first place. The one who had razed her home and took her son away. The reason her son had been hurt and wounded so severely that he was left stitched and scarred these past months. He was the reason for everything that had happened, the source of it all.
Kai felt something inside of her crack. Her face turned calm as she stared at him unblinking, reaching into her pocket for the vial that Kom had given her. She had drained too much magic against BlackStar in an attempt to hold back what couldn't be restrained, a mistake on her part, she should have just killed him from the start, as messy as it may have been, she should have used her magic to turn his blood to ice, or to have torn him apart from within. She was going to need the boost the drug would provide
Withdrawing the vial from her pocket, she tore the cork out without taking her eyes off of Stein. The hate she felt were beyond words, beyond comprehension. Did he even understand how deeply, how strongly she felt?
"It's you," Kai said, her voice hollow.
She downed the entire thing.
"Maka," Soul panted, helping her back to her feet. They were battered, bruised, the small medical kit she had been given before the start of the battle had been used quite a bit already, tending to her and Souls own injuries whenever they caught a breather. They were struggling just to keep fighting while at such an obvious disadvantage.
She had been hit. Hit with some kind of drug that had transferred from her to Soul. It severed their connection, it prevented Soul from transforming, it made it so neither could fight to their best ability. It made it so neither could really fight, not how they were trained to, now how they were meant to.
Was she that weak? Not strong enough to protect Soul from that? Had their resonance not been strong enough to purify the drugs from their bodies? Even BlackStar, who had been shot with the darts multiple times, hadn't faltered once through the battle, remaining in sync with Tsubaki without any apparent effort. Even Kid had managed to keep the drugs from affecting both sisters, and despite his obsession and own madness, was battling the Acolytes with Liz at his side and Patty in his hands.
But Maka, she took a hit to the leg, and instantly her resonance with Soul reached a forced disharmony. His handle began burning her hands, his weight suddenly immense, and then Soul was forced out of his weapon form, writhing in pain on the piles of snow while Maka tried desperately to protect him with a knife she had taken from one of the Acolytes they had knocked out.
Knocked out… that's what she had been trying to do. They were humans, even with the crimes they had committed, Maka couldn't find a single red soul in their midst. They were all blue, with a few purples hidden about, but blue all the same.
They were humans.
She couldn't bring herself to kill them, even with what was going on now. Couldn't bring herself to take the life of someone who wasn't beyond saving. She didn't want to have to kill a person.
Yet, all around her people were dying. She was surrounded by corpses, Acolytes, meisters, weapons. She stared at the faces and couldn't help but wonder; had that person been loved? Had they had someone who was waiting for them to come home? Had that kid been a classmate of hers? Had she seen them in class, walked by them in halls? What had they dreamed of doing, hoped to achieve?
What were they to tell the families?
Maka couldn't take it, it was painful, it was overwhelming. This was nothing like fighting Kishin Eggs, nothing like fighting witches. This was… it felt wrong. It felt cruel and wrong, and… and…
"Snap out of it, Maka!"
She flinched as Soul grabbed her by the shoulders to shake her, blinking to look at him. How long had he been yelling her name? How long had she been lost in her thoughts, drowning in her own fear?
"S-sorry," she stammered, holding her knife in a shaking grip, wielding it was nothing like carrying Soul. It felt more like a weapon to kill. She didn't like it, hated the way it was sticky with blood. "I'm fine, I'm good, really," she lied.
Soul didn't buy it and it showed.
He reached for her again, holding her as they stood apart from the main fighting by one the ice towers; they had dived behind it to catch their breaths, to take a moment to recover. It had been an extra benefit that no one was firing from this tower anymore—though Maka could imagine why the tower of snipers had gone silent, she didn't need to look for the blood dripping down to know.
"Maka," he began, looking concerned for her. "It's going to be okay, got it?"
She tried to smile, tried to put on a brave face, some bravado. "I know, I'm fine; promise," Maka insisted with a shaky voice. "I just… I just need a moment."
Soul slowly nodded his head. "Okay, alright," he said, looking back to the fray as he gripped the sword he'd taken in his hand, looking for any who might be coming to them. Just like Maka, his grip on the weapon was awkward, wrong. Neither of them were trained to fight with a sword of knife. Maka knew how to use a scythe, that's the weapon she was familiar with. Not a knife. Soul was a weapon, he just had to transform an arm and he was fine.
For both of them, the tools they wielded were foreign, wrong.
She stared at the battle before them, man killing man, weapons clashing, people screaming. Bodies fell as men and women choked on their own blood; their bodies carved open. She was afraid—afraid that she would see a face she knew in the pile of dead bodies.
Where were the others? Were they okay?
"Soul, where's Crona?" Maka asked, a hitch in her voice as she tried to find her friend. Surely the drugs wouldn't have affected them, right? The black blood would have stopped it, right? "BlackStar and Tsubaki, Kid, Liz, and Patty. Have you seen them at all?" Were her friends okay? Were they hurt? Were they…. Were they still alive?
She couldn't help it, Maka started shaking as she saw another body fall to the snow, for a moment thinking she had seen a head of blue hair. Another corpse and her mind said that there were stripes in the hair—no, no, those were not her friends, just… just the friends of someone else, the loved ones of someone else.
This was terrible. This was horrible. It was wrong.
Soul watched her, he was scared, too. Like her, he was just a scared kid who didn't know if his friends were okay. "They'll be fine, you know what they can do. They're not going to lose," he assured her, but he didn't sound confident, but even with his own fear and worries, he was trying to free Maka from her own.
Maka had to believe him, but it was hard. Yet, he was trying, he was trying hard for her and it was…
"Soul, I—"
Whatever it was that Maka had tried to say was drowned out by a hail of bullets ringing through the air as they whizzed past the two. With a scream, Maka hit the ground as Soul threw himself over her as though to be a human shield from the gunfire. It hit the snow and the tower behind them, bringing up a cloud of snow and chips of ice in the wake. Soul hissed, grunted, tensed above her, and Maka felt blood dripping on to her.
"Soul!" she screamed, unable to see what happened as her face was pressed to the ground, squirming to try and see him.
He pressed her harder into the ground as the Acolytes continued to fire aimlessly. "I'm fine," he growled. The pain in his voice and blood told her that he was not fine. "Just stay down."
They stayed laying there in the cold and bloodied snow, the snow blown into the air by the combat keeping them hidden as they remained low to the ground, the hail of bullets flying past them. Maka could hear her own heart beating loudly in her chest. She wasn't sure what scared her more, that they were being shot at with such intensity, or that Soul was once again hurt protecting her.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed; it had felt like hours by the time the gunfire eased up, no longer trained on them, but focusing on others. Her fingers were freezing after being buried in the snow for so long, her nose having gone numb. They stayed laying there for a few minutes longer, long enough for the snow to settle once more and for them to confirm that there wasn't a second wave waiting.
Soul rolled off of her, groaning and grunting as he held onto his arm, blood seeping past his fingers.
"Are you okay?" Maka asked immediately—no, of course he wasn't okay! He was shot! She shrugged off the small pack she had been carrying and began rummaging through it with apparent urgency. "I have—I should have some bandages, we'll stop the bleeding, okay?"
Her partner laughed, it was strained, but not entirely forced. "I'll be fine, Maka. It's just an arm, nowhere near lethal."
"It can still get infected!"
Maka had been so focused on trying to tend to Soul's injury, her mind going haywire with conflicting feelings, with fear and adrenalin, that she hadn't noticed, not at first. In her defense, the battlefield was already loud, the screams and gunfire drowning out most other noise, and the sound had been quiet at first. A soft crackle, a creaking, cracking noise that was hardly more than a whisper. It started out soft, but slowly it grew sharper while Maka dug out the remaining gauze from the bag.
It was only when the first chunks of ice, nothing too big, began to fall, some hitting her and Soul from above, that she noticed. By then, however, it was too late.
The pillar of ice that she and Soul had taken refuge beside was breaking. Having been riddled with bullets, it wasn't strong enough to support its own weight and was breaking, crumbling right beside them.
"Shit!" Soul hissed, pushing himself onto his feet and gasping out in pain when he tried to use his injured arm. The tower swayed, the bodies atop sliding off and falling down to the ground below. He got up and grabbed Maka, dragging her up. "We got to run!"
A large piece of ice fell right in front of them, large enough that it would have killed if it hit them, and there was plenty more ice left to come down. Shit. Shit!
Maka backed away, pulling Soul with her, "Come on!" she didn't know which way she was going, there wasn't even a safe place to run to. But, they had to move before the entire tower fell over and killed the two of them.
It kept cracking, the sound all that Maka could focus on as another chunk fell. It seemed as if the ice was purposely targeting them and Maka wondered if it actually was through magic as no matter which way they ran, ice fell in their path. The two had hardly gotten anywhere when the base, having been weakened by the bullets, finally gave out with a deafening snap.
Could they outrun it? Could they avoid this? They had to, they had—
The tower was falling towards them—not in one whole piece, but broken into many large, lethal pieces. Maka hated how her knees had locked up, her body freezing for a brief moment as she realized she was likely going to die, her and Soul could easily die here and now. Everyone was dying so easily, why wouldn't they?
Soul was yelling at her, but Maka had gone numb as she watched the ice come hurtling down at them, almost as though she was accepting death, accepting her fate.
Flames flew overhead, like a massive flamethrower. It coiled around the ice, wrapping around the large chunks in a hot embrace. The fire wasn't a familiar orangish-yellow. No, they were blue, and even with how high above Maka and Soul the flames may have been, she could still feel the heat, still found the snow beneath her begin to melt.
It had only been a few seconds, blue flames intercepting the ice, and when it was over, there was nothing but steam and smoke wafting in the air. No ice, no water, save for the puddle that had formed from the snow around them. The tower had been completely demolished into nothing in a matter of seconds, melted down to gas by the intensity of the flames.
There were only two people that Maka knew who could do something like that. But, even Maka had to doubt Jackie could have produced something so intense.
She turned around, her voice catching in her throat.
Maleko stood across from her, far out of arms reach. He was breathing heavily, and even from a distance, Maka could see how sickly he looked. He was covered in blood, the skin over a bare shoulder had been burned and charred. Yet, there was a fire in his eye, despite how close to passing out he seemed to be, how he swayed and wobbled with each step.
"Maleko!" Soul spoke when Maka couldn't, taking a cautious step towards the boy. "Maleko, are you okay?"
It shouldn't matter if Maleko was considered an enemy of the DWMA at the moment, it shouldn't matter that his mother was a criminal and a killer, it shouldn't matter that he was a sorcerer; Maleko was a friend. He was a child, he was hurt, and he was her friend. She couldn't bear seeing him like this, he looked deathly, as if he were on his deathbed.
Soul continued to approach him, moving slow, as if Maleko was a scared animal that he needed to take his time with. Maka had no such patience, she moved quickly, passing Soul as she marched towards Maleko, ready to grab him and make sure he was okay.
The boy flinched, and that's what made Maka stop, seeing him reel back from her, as if she was something to fear, something to avoid. "Maleko?" Maka asked.
He raised his hand, "Go… go ah-away," he spat, his voice shaking, weak. But the fire in his eyes didn't diminish at all as he swiped through the air.
A wall of flames sprung up from the snow, nothing nearly as towering as the ice tower had been, but it had been enough for Maka to reel back, falling down as she pushed herself from the fire before she could get burned. She could say nothing as she watched, between the dancing flames, Maleko turn and stumble away from them, limping and running away.
"Little sun! Little sun! Maleko, stop!" Taka flew forward, stopping in front of Maleko and making him stumble, tripping over a corpse. He hit the ground, taking a few souls down with him as he hit the snow, gritting his teeth against the pain.
He felt sick, he was sick. After saving Maka and Soul, after fleeing from them, he had puked. He had emptied everything his stomach had in him, and then began throwing up what he didn't even know he had inside. His head was dizzy, his senses cloudy, he had hit the metaphorical wall. For the first time he could remember, Maleko had used all his magic.
As it turns out, blue flames required quite a bit more energy to maintain than regular flames, who would have thought. What magic he that remained had been consumed by the flames to melt that tower before it could crush his friends those two. Then, what little he had left, nothing more than drops of water in an empty tank, he used up to throw up a wall of fire to keep the two from chasing after him.
Maleko felt like he was dying. It hurt, being this empty, being this exhausted. Even after throwing up as much as he had, he couldn't shake the nauseating feeling.
He needed to get some magic back, needed to recover some energy. He needed to take a rest—as much as he hated to do so, Maleko knew that he couldn't keep running, not in the state he was in right now, he had to… he had to stop, he had to breathe. For mama, for her. She wouldn't want him to come to her when he was in such a mess.
Maleko stayed on the ground, laying on the body of some girl who had been shot to death by the Acolytes, his hands laying in her puddle of blood as he rested his head against her stomach, cold and stiff. She was a decent makeshift pillow. He could rest here, for a few minutes. Just until he didn't feel like he was about to throw up again, just until this throbbing in his head went away.
"Maleko, are you okay?" Taka asked. Why was the bird still looking out for him, after how Maleko had been treating him since the fighting began? The boy looked to his ruined leg and felt guilt bite his heart. "It's okay, I'm here for you." Taka must have seen the pain on his face, he bounced closer, nestling down in the crook of Maleko's neck.
He didn't feel bad about much of what he had done recently, but Taka was his friend and Maleko hurt him. That, he did feel bad about.
"I'm sorry," Maleko murmured, moving his head to press his face against Taka's feathers.
"It's okay, little sun."
And Maleko felt that it truly was okay, for that brief moment. That everything was going to be okay.
Then, the earth began shaking.
He rolled off the body and looked up as a massive, coiling tower of ice began rising higher into the sky at the very edge of the field of carnage as the earth cracked and broke apart, water from the ocean rushing in to separate the tower from the rest. People screamed as a hail of ice came down from above, killing indiscriminately.
Maleko grabbed Taka and pulled him under himself, curling up into a ball to protect them both. He tried to cover himself in flames to protect himself, only to find himself on the verge of puking as he reached into his still empty reserves. Shards whizzed past him, slicing through the skin on his arms, his bare back and his bare feet. It hurt, it hurt so much, but Maleko fought back the cry of pain that crawled up his throat.
He wasn't the only one struck, he could hear the gurgles and screams as others were struck and not quite as luck as him to be able to survive. The stench of death only grew stronger, the blood filled the air, driving his hunters instinct wild.
"Maleko, you're hurt!"
Maleko growled as he sat up, letting Taka go free. Hurt? He's been hurt the entire time. Look at his shoulder, look at his hand! But… this was the first time he'd been hurt by, well, by mama.
Of course, she didn't mean to hurt him! Of course not! As far as mama knew, he was still underground in that dumb bunker she made! None of these were meant to hurt him and he was just unlucky enough to not be able to make any fire to protect himself, that's all!
He slowly staggered to his feet and looked around. So many people had been killed in that one attack, and by how mama was pulling water from the snow and ocean, bringing it into the air, it looked like she was readying for another wave. Maleko didn't trust his chances of being lucky a second time.
Maleko needed his magic back.
"Ah…at least… we know wh-where she is," he slurred out as he stared at the tower. Kai had to be there. Now that he knew where to go, he didn't need to run around aimlessly anymore, he had a direction, he had a goal.
It was better than what he had five minutes ago.
He couldn't help but laugh as he started walking, slow and limping, towards the tower. Others were starting to get up, too, and the Acolytes, blinded by faith and loyalty, were quick to start attacking the DWMA once more as his mother prepared a second attack from high in her tower.
Her tower, like a queen or princess, and Maleko was going to find her, like a knight! Had this been under different circumstances, Maleko might have been able to enjoy the idea of being a knight for his mother.
For now, he needed to take it slow, get as close as he could and conserve his energy so that he could use his magic once the next wave of attack came. Maleko wasn't in as much of a crazed rush, not when he knew where Kai was now. But, as he was stepping over bodies and pushing away souls, a thought occurred to him.
Kom.
Right before the battle started, Kom had come to visit him and Kai, he had given her two vials of his newest potion. Some magic enhancing thing, Maleko didn't really understand it. Mama had, she had given him one, hadn't she?
Taka landed on a rib bone as Maleko stopped walking, stuffing his uninjured hand into his pockets to search. "What are you looking for?" his friend asked.
"Kom… mama 'ad…" Maleko wasn't sure how to say it, not when he didn't know what it was called, but he was grinning as he pulled the small vial from his pants, holding it out to Taka. "This! Magic come back!" That was what it was supposed to do, right? All Maleko had to do was drink it all up and he would have a magic again, right?
Though, the drug didn't look all that appealing, all black and thick, like sludge or tar. But, he had to, he'd get his magic back and he could get to Kai sooner. Kom was a lifesaver, he would thank him once this was all over!
Grinning, Maleko bit into the cork sealing the bottle and tore it out with his teeth, spitting it into the snow. His nose scrunched up as a vile smell came out of the small bottle. It smelled horrible, but, he had to deal with it. Just down it in a single gulp and then—
"Maleko, don't!"
He stopped; vial raised halfway to his lips as Taka screamed at him. He stared at the bird, confused. "Wha…. why?"
Taka looked on edge, his feathers ruffled up, his head twitching back and forth. "Can you not smell it? Sense it?" he asked, his voice urgent and anxious. "Maleko, don't drink it. Close your eyes and smell, and please tell me you recognize the scents."
He wasn't making any sense, none whatsoever. But, Maleko trusted Taka, the bird had yet to let him down, even if he didn't always agree. So, Maleko closed his eyes and brought the bottle to his nose, inhaling the fumes deeply just as he had been told to do. He did recognize something in there and tried to remember just where it was that he had smelled it before. It had been a while, it had been from back before he met his mother, he knew that, but… this smell was…
Maleko pulled away, eyes snapping open as he held the bottle far from his face, his skin losing its color as he realized what he had almost done. "Bad plants," he whispered to Taka. "Lots of bad plants." He recognized the smells mixed in there, he had seen countless animals eat plants that had the same smell, had watched those very same animals die from it.
But… but why would so many deadly things be in this?
Maleko looked at Taka, eyes wide as he found his hand trembling to hold the bottle. "How did you know?"
"Gut feeling."
At least Taka had a stronger sense for danger than Maleko had. Something in him frayed as he thought of this. Why would Kom give mama and him poison? Kom knew plants better than anyone, surely he'd know that they'd get sick or worse.
He poured the vial out, the contents moved slow and came out in globs rather than in a stream. But once they hit the snow, the snow began to melt and steam, as if to give an indication of just how bad the drug Maleko almost drank was.
There was no way in Heaven or Hell that he was going to drink that. He'd find some other way to restore his magic, and if he couldn't, then he'd go to Kai without any magic at all. And, if necessary, Maleko wouldn't hesitate, he wouldn't—he'd eat souls if it'd give him the magic back to finish this, he'd eat them, as if he were a weapon, as if he were a Kishin Egg.
His resolve felt stronger now, his determination a blaze in his own gut. "Les'go," Maleko muttered as he started walking once more. He had a tower to get to.
As it turned out, the second round was taking an awfully lot of time, and it was actually quite concerning. Maleko was moving slowly because of his injuries, and yet he had been able to reach where Kai had torn the land apart, around her tower, and even then Kai hadn't unleashed a second strike. But, the water that had flowed into the deep crevices she had made were rapid and raging, each wave beating against the earth.
Maleko had been scared when he crossed the narrow strip of land that kept the main battlefield connected to the part that Kai had disconnected. Even for him, it was very thin, and he wasn't in the most physically stable of states, he constantly felt like he was about to fall over. Yet, he managed to get across in one piece.
Unlike the rest of the field, this part of land was rather empty of corpses. Not to say that there were none, there were a few dead bodies scattered about, and the air was just as thick with the stench of death as the rest of the area, but the bodies weren't as dense.
Maleko could even see a few familiar faces. The doctor, Stein, sat hunched over against the piles of snow, his right half covered in blood, his skin had been torn open, his screw broken. Maleko also saw BlackStar and Tsubaki both bloodied messes as they laid on the snow, ravaged by injuries and attacks he couldn't comprehend. But, he saw their chests rising and falling, a sign that they were, for now, still alive.
He ignored them in favor of the tower, to look for any way up. None stood out to him, his mother didn't implement a ladder or stairs, clearly she just created the tower with her already on the top, she didn't need anything else when she could use her magic to get down just as easily.
Well, Maleko didn't have some fancy water magic like her, and he didn't have wings like Taka. He needed stairs. He needed a way to get up there.
"Little sun," Taka began when Maleko began testing how strong the ice was.
The surface wasn't smooth, it wasn't wet and slippery. It was rough, uneven, plenty of holes and crevices that a small hand could fit. Maleko could scale the tower, it was possible, but it was a long way up, a long way down, and he wasn't in the best of shapes. But, it was the only viable way up, at least the only one that Maleko could find.
It seemed that Taka had caught on to his plan, but he didn't seem to want to interfere. "Be careful," was all that his friend said, a soft whisper within Maleko's head.
Maleko couldn't promise him that.
Instead, he dug his claws into the ice and began his climb to the top.
His hand, the one he burned, it made it harder than it should have when his fingers were numb and his palm ruined. Yet, he kept climbing, wouldn't let himself stop, not for anything. Slowly, Maleko was getting higher in the air, higher up the tower. It was taking time, it was harder than climbing out of that hole in the ground had been, so much harder.
But he didn't give in.
And he sure as Hell didn't dare to look down. Maleko wasn't afraid of heights, he climbed plenty of trees, he'd been plenty high up before. But this time was different, it would be too easy to slip and die, to lose his grip and fall. From a height this big, and with his magic still too low, he wouldn't be able to survive.
No, he thought. He couldn't think of that. He had to focus on getting on top. Mama was up there, think of her, think of only her. If he kept thinking of her, then he'd reach the top, he'd get there.
Through the climb, he didn't see Kai use magic at all, he could hear the fighting, but he didn't see any sign of her magic, nothing like when she unleashed a torrent of icy needles on them. It unnerved him, her silence. He didn't like the implications.
Still, he climbed, ignored the fear and doubts in his head, ignored the pain as the ice, sharp and jagged, tore into the skin of his hands and feet. Climbed, though his blood made his grip slick, though his hands were torn open and feet were raw. He climbed.
And, after a while, he reached the top.
He was panting as he reached the top, crawling away from the ledge as he rested his sore arms and legs. It had been a long climb; a very long climb and he was tired. But, he had made it. He survived and he was at the top.
And there she was. Kai.
She was on her knees, head down at the edge of the ice, looking as if she, too, was trying to catch her breath.
Maleko pushed himself back onto his feet, unable to describe the relief and joy he felt, second only to the feelings of elation when he had reunited with her after all these months. He chirped as he started walking, slow and wobbly, his feet leaving bloody footprints with each step. There she was, just in front of him, just within reach. It was over, this could finally be over.
"Mama!" he cried out, his breathing still labored from the climb, drawing closer and closer to her. But then, he stopped.
Maleko stopped and stared, his shoulders drooping and in his stomach he felt cold. Kai had jolted, she was rising to her feet and moving to face him, her movements slow and painful. He could smell it, could smell it on her. He knew.
She had the same scent as they had, the animals from his time in the wild, the scent that clung to them when they ate the bad plants that made them sick that… that would… It clung to Kai the same way.
Her face had lost color, she was bleeding—from the mouth and from the nose.
"Maleko, you," Kai stopped, coughing, spitting up bloody chunks in the process, "You're not supposed to be up here."
He rushed towards her, wrapping his arms around her middle and pressing his face against her stomach. She smelled of death, a walking corpse. "You… you drank it," it wasn't a question. He could smell it on her. She drank the poison, not knowing what it would do, and now she was… she was…
"I'm sorry," Kai whispered, running her fingers through his hair.
This wasn't supposed to—he'd just gotten her back; this wasn't supposed to happen! How could… Maleko couldn't process it, he didn't want to process any of this. "Magic! Your magic!" he cried out quickly. Mama could use her magic, she could cure herself, it would be easy for her, because this was, she was Kai, his mother, she could beat anything, even this! She had to, she had to!
But Kai only gave him a sad smile, tired and exhausted, like she was barely holding on. "I tried." No. No, no, no, no! That's not—no! "Kom knows how my magic works better than anyone… he knew how to make sure I couldn't interfere."
This can't be happening. This shouldn't be… no, no!
"Why!?" Maleko snarled, gripping onto her tighter, feeling rage coursing through him. Kom was her friend, he was his friend. Why would he?!
Kai didn't answer, he wondered if she even knew an answer. She just held onto him, seemingly pushing her weight onto the boy as she struggled to remain standing. She continued to bleed, blood dripping from her face and falling into his hair. He wanted to cry, he wanted to break down and sob in her arms, but something in him kept him from doing so. No, Maleko had to be strong for her, right now he had to be strong.
He didn't want to lose her—Mama, don't go! He couldn't, he didn't know how to live without her, didn't know what to do with her gone.
But, his mama was now pushing him away, forcing Maleko to let her go as she looked at him with tired eyes. "You're hurt," she murmured, guilty, sad, angry, he saw it all on her face and heard it in her voice. Not at them, but at herself. "I'm sorry, this is my fault, this is all my fault."
No, it wasn't, mama. It's not your fault.
She was slowly backing towards the ledge once more, her steps weak, frail, as if she would break with one misstep. "I'm going to end this. All of this. I still have the magic to do it."
"Mama?" Maleko asked, slowly following after her.
Kai raised her shaking hands to the sky, and he watched as the snow and ice from below rose high above the entire battlefield, casting the entire area in it's shadow as more and more snow joined. She used her magic to compress it, to keep forcing the snow and ice together, hardening it until it had taken the form of a massive white disk that covered the entire area, blocking out the sun for those below. She was sweating from the effort, breathing heavily. Maleko watched, scared, as the blood dripping down her face got worse.
The disk morphed. The lower half of it, the one facing the Earth, it extended. Maleko could see hundreds of spikes emerge from the surface. The people below were too busy fighting to even really notice what was being done, but some had, and even amidst the battle, some were trying to flee in fear.
"I'm going to… to end this. I'll wipe out the field and… and get you back down there," Kai panted, struggling to keep her weapon in the air, to let it maintain its form. "Once you're on, on the ground… find a boat and… get somewhere safe."
Maleko looked at her, tears prickling at the corner of his eyes. "What about you?"
She smiled, and he hated it.
"I can't… I don't have much time left… and this tower is too unstable. Once I use up my magic, it's going to… to crumble." Kai's voice was hoarse, a tremble in tone as she looked at him. "I wish I had… that I could go with you, but… but I can't." Her gaze turned to those below, DWMA and Acolytes alike, her gaze hard as she shook her hands, the spiked block of ice above threatening to fall. "I can at least kill everyone else here… so you can get out safe."
Kill everyone below…
Kai could do it, easily with what she had now. And if not everyone, that could kill a large number of them. Enough so that there would be too much confusion, enough that Maleko could certainly slip out unnoticed, hiding among the bodies and slaughter. He could flee.
Flee, run away without Kai. But, what point was there if she wasn't with him?
Hands shaking, Kai prepared to let it drop, but Maleko grabbed onto her, "Don't!" he cried, and she stopped, and he wondered if she understood.
"Maleko?" Kai asked, coughing and wheezing. "Maleko, what's… what's wrong?" she was more worried about him than herself, and Maleko hated that. He was fine, he was going to be fine! It was her that she should worry, it was her that she should focus on!
He shook his head, stared at her with begging eyes, "It's okay… don't," he said, still holding on to her. Don't waste her energy on them, he didn't care if they died, he didn't care about the people down there, they didn't matter, all that mattered right now was the two of them up here. "Forget them, please."
Kai stared at him, and after what felt like ages, she lowered her hands to her side. The sheet of ice shuddered and crumbled back into harmless shards to rain down on the battle below. "Maleko… oh, Maleko," Kai whispered, cupping her hand to his cheek, her eyes wet with tears.
Their tower shuddered and shifted; her magic no longer able to keep the fragile structure steady. Ah. It's time. Kai looked away from him to stare out at the world below, her face sad, scared.
Maleko didn't like that, didn't want her eyes anywhere else. He grabbed her hand and wrapped his bloody fingers around hers. "Mama… are you okay?" he asked her when she looked back to him. "Does it hurt?"
She stared at him, her expression beyond his understanding. "...I'm okay," she said, though they both knew it was a lie. She wasn't okay. She was dying because of the poison, and every second it became more prominent with how much harder it was for her to breathe or stand. It was a slow acting poison, one that would take time to kill her, one that was eating her away from the inside.
His mother turned her whole body to face him, reaching to take his other hand into her own. Their tower continued to shake, large cracks forming around the ice, though the strain on her face showed that she was doing what she could to keep the tower together with her magic. "I'm… I'm sorry, Maleko… I'm so sorry." She sounded as if she were on the verge of crying. Maleko had never seen her cry before, he didn't want to see her do it now. "If I hadn't…"
He couldn't stand how sad she looked. Maleko didn't blame her for any of this. The DWMA were the ones who took him from her, they're the ones who kept him from her and hunted her. Kom was the one who betrayed her and poisoned her. All Kai wanted was for them to be together and go home, just like him. How could anyone blame her? He couldn't stand this version of Kai.
Maleko wrapped his arms around her, tugging her to him as he pressed his face against whatever part of her he could reach, trying his best to put all the love he had for her into that hug. "It's okay, mama. Please don't cry." She didn't hug him back, her hands hovering over his beaten shoulders. "We're here, t-together, tha's what matters." That's all that should matter; they were together.
He heard her make a choking sound as she lowered herself to her knees to hug him once again, now at his own level so that Maleko could rest his chin on her shoulder. They sank a little, their part of the tower breaking and falling an inch or two deeper into the rest of the shaft. The quaking was growing worse.
"I love you, Maleko," Kai told him, holding him close, her hands ever careful of his injuries even as she held him tight. "I love you. You were the first person I ever cared about, Maleko. Having you in my life, every moment I've spent with you has been the happiest moments I've ever known."
Nuzzling closer to her, Maleko closed his eyes. "I luh-love you, too." She had been the first person he ever knew, she picked him up and took him out of the wilds and into the world. She taught him, showed him love. He wouldn't be who he was now without her, could never have become anything without her.
"I don'… I don't wanna lose you again," Maleko mumbled as he felt the tears start to fall, hiding them in Kai's shoulder. "I don't wanna… we're supposed to—together, forever. That's what we're supposed to be, right?"
Kai laughed softly, pulling away and holding his hands in hers once more, looking him in the eyes. She was looking worse and worse, the blood on her face smeared, the skin around her eyes shadowed and dark. Even her fingers felt colder than they had ever felt before. "Till death do us part?" Kai asked him softly, earning a soft, puzzled noise from Maleko. Her smile was soft, tired. "Will we death separate us?"
Can death? Maleko looked her in the eyes, felt her fingers around his. He could hear her heart beating in her chest, a racing pulse, the struggle she had to keep breathing. Maleko knew what he had to do, what they needed to do. Together forever, that's all he wanted, the only thing he wanted.
"What happens?" Maleko asked, stumbling over his tongue. "When you die?"
Kai kept smiling, her hair sticking to her face, spitting out a small glob of blood onto the ice between them. "I don't think anyone knows."
"Does it hurt?"
She let go of one of his hands and used it to wipe blood off his cheek. The tower began leaning, behind them, part of the icy surface they stood on fell, coming down and crashing into the rushing water.
"It does," Kai confirmed. "But, only for an instant. You're a strong one, Maleko, think you can handle it?" It wasn't as if there was time for them to do anything else.
Maleko laughed, giving her a bright smile, "Y-you're the strong one, mama. Stronger thah-than anyone." She was crying more at that, but he didn't let himself stop, kept smiling. "I'm happiest with you, mama. That's why I won't b-be scared."
He was young, he had a whole life ahead of him. But what point was a life when he would be alone and on the run? What point was a life without Kai? He didn't want anything else but her. So, as the tower began crumbling, her magic unable to hold it back any longer, Maleko wasn't scared. He knew what he wanted, what he was going to do. "I love you, mama."
This would be their last way to spite everyone, to not give anyone the satisfaction of having killed her. This would be no one's victory.
Kai wrapped her arms around him, lifting him up like she used to do. "I love you, more than anything," Kai kissed his cheek, hugging him tight. Maleko giggled, holding onto her, purring as best as he could, just for her. The tower shattered beneath them.
And they were falling.
Authors Note: So, I think it's only fitting that the finale ends up being the longest chapter of this fic, with this chapter clocking in at 14K
It's been a fun few years working on this. I can't express how grateful I am to every review, favorite, and follow. Y'all are the real MVP's of this fic, I wouldn't have been able to maintain the motivation to keep writing and posting this story, regardless of how much I personally enjoyed it, if I didn't know others were also enjoying it.
Though this is the end of Wild Fire, it's not the end of Ashen. I hope all of you will stick around for the upcoming second part of the series; Embers.