Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer doesn't write fights like this...
Disclaimer Deuce: Fireproof, converting people to Metal music since 2007
Mike's POV
"I assume they told you what my power is." Adrian asked. I nodded. He removed his shirt leaving him in mesh shorts. I could tell he was an athlete because no frat boy was in as good of shape as him.
"Yes they explained to me what it is. Can we get started?" He shrugged.
"I didn't want any excuse when I beat you." I smiled as a stepped up in to my fighting stance.
"Shall we?" I asked. He nodded and in a blur of movement I could barely follow he charged, he went between quick and a blur of movement three or four times before I felt him strike. I couldn't defend myself, I barely even saw the movement. I felt my back and head smashing through something hard and landing on the ground. I rubbed the back of my head feeling pain.
"So that's what it feels like." I said standing back up and climbing through the wall back towards Adrian. I knocked off cement chips off my shoulders. I bounced from foot to foot, rolled back my shoulders then stretched my fingers.
"Game on." I charged and left my weight on my right leg for a moment with a hesitation hoping he'd bite. He did... But it was much faster than I could have prepared for. As I pushed off trying to dodge him he caught my at the him sending me spinning across the room. His blur stopped in front of me with a smile on his face.
"You I like." I said. He charged and this time I didn't try to fake him out. I just jumped and pulled my legs to my chest. He pushed my back but only a yard. I landed softly on my feet as he took a swing at me. It was awkward and unpracticed. What the hell was that? I easily ducked under the awkward hook and connected with a punch to his stomach. He doubled over and I pulled the back of his head down as I lifted my knee in to his face. He staggered back then in a blur I was flying through a wall again.
"We really need to make these walls thicker." I heard Demetri snickering. I got up again dusting off the cement dust again.
"Yeah... if you could stop putting me through walls... that would be swell." I watched as Adrian smirked.
"I make no promises." I adjusted my neck and brought both my hands up beckoning him forward.
"Come on let's finish this." He started moving but he was moving faster... faster than I'd seen before He was till half way across the room but I had to make my move my body couldn't move fast enough if I didn't.
I dropped to the ground letting my legs fall out from under me, he was slowing down now seeing me move but not fast enough to stop. I scissored my legs around his as he passed over me and with a strong pull he fell flat on his face, I wrapped my legs around his right leg, repositioned and twisted.
"Give up or get your knee shattered." I heard Adrian tap. We both got up and he shook my hand. I shook my head.
"You could be so much better than you are if you learned how to fight." He shrugged.
"I've never had to, I had my power." He responded honestly.
"You and me... we're playing tag soon."
Bors POV
We're out again... We could be fighting, training, getting new recruits, but what the hell are we wasting time on? Some cheap skanks at a bar. Boys... I wish something would happen... I don't even care what, just something. The worst part is hearing every single stupid mundane conversation about how 'hot tommy is' or how 'that chick has a great rack.' These people don't even know about the plague of vampirism. Would they be so different? If it's a true problem they would ignore it and hope it goes away, and when the problem comes to their door act as if they don't recognize it. Stupid... Ignorant... people... I wish I was ignorant. I threw back the rest of my alcohol trying to ignore the ash taste.
The door opened and in stepped a man that immediate stood out. He was dressed head to toe in black, his entire outfit checkered with black and a darker black. He wore black boots going up to a couple inches lower than his knees. His pants looked like they could be leather but I wasn't completely sure his shirt zipped all the way from his belt to his neck under his chin with the same black and darker black design. He wore black leather gloves. Over all of that he wore a trench coat with the same design and it all shined if the light hit it the right way. His hair was short, well kept, and blond. He wore dark sun glasses. Why the hell would someone wear sun glasses in the dead of night? He walked straight to the bar two seats away from Arthur.
"Your bar is closed, leave now."
"Excuse me?" He sighed and shook his head.
"You don't deserve to live." He said before striking his hand through him. It was so fast I wasn't sure I saw it correctly. His hand was on the other side of his body coming out of his back. No... I must have a bad angle. The bartender started rising off the ground, then he was flying through the front window. The dark dressed man turned his head to the side facing Arthur...
"So... King Arthur..." he said smiling evilly as the customers ran screaming out of the bar.
"Hand over the serum." Arthur laughed at him. I don't like this... something about him... It doesn't seem right.
"This Serum makes us stronger than human blood, and completely neutralizes the bloodlust." Arthur said. I couldn't shake the chill going up my spine.
"And you're outnumbered four to one... hah... you picked the wrong bar."
"Your numbers are insignificant." he said extending his hand.
"Give it or die." Lancelot and Gawain got up and started walking towards him but I stayed back a couple steps. Lancelot charged first. The dark dressed man spun his stool to face him and bobbed his head away to dodge the punch, as Lancelot's momentum carried him through the dark man reached around his arm. His hand glowed a deep purple and he delivered an upward palm strike under Lancelot's chin. Lancelot's momentum changed immediately as he was lifted off the ground with the strike and landed on his back through a table.
Gawain the larger of the two came next he tried to tackle the dark man but he leaned out of the way at the hip. He wrapped his arm around him and flipped him behind him dropping him through a bar stool.
The dark man brought his arm up to block a strike from Arthur. He glided to the other side of him so Arthur's back was to the bar. His hands started glowing before he delivered a double palm strike to Arthur's chest throwing him clear over the bar in in to the bottles of alcohol shattering them. I was still ten feet away from the dark man. He turned his attention to me.
"You're not a vampire are you?" he laughed again.
"Very good, Boogaard." He said addressing me.
"How do you know my name?" I asked surprised.
"Maybe I'm a college hockey fan." he snickered.
"I suppose you're next." He removed his glasses and his eyes glowed, then dimmed in to a dark red. He threw them and I instinctively caught them and for my effort I felt his arm knock the glasses out of my hand before I could react he was step behind side kicking me. He smirked as he caught his glasses and put them back on. I flew farther than I thought I should fifteen feet across the bar into a large mirror shattering it.
Lancelot's POV
What the hell did that guy hit me with? What was that purple shit? Why was his hand glowing? Why can't I get up? Gawain was back up at his feet now and before he had time to react the man in sunglasses was punching through his forehead, dropping Gawain to the ground. He dropped next to me, all I could do is look up and wonder why.
The man in sunglasses reached over the bar grabbing a hold of Arthur who was still recovering. He lifted him easily with one hand choking him. He threw Arthur over head across the bar and chased after him. By the time Arthur was back to his knees the man in sunglasses was kneeing him in the face. The man in sunglasses grabbed Arthur's collar and lifted him up to his feet before reaching in to his jacket and grabbing the serum.
"Now that I've got the serum you are little more than annoyance." I tried to will myself to move but my body refused. The man in sunglasses picked Arthur up by the throat again.
"Pity... I was hoping you're team would be a challenge." At that moment I saw a shard of mirror flying through the air and impaling itself in the back of the man's head. He didn't release Arthur, but cracked his neck right then left before reaching back with his right hand and pulling the piece of glass out of the back of his head. From here I could see black thick liquid dripping off the mirror. Is that his blood? Wait a second, that means we don't need special weapons to kill him. The man dropped the broken shard of mirror and threw Arthur back across the room.
Arthur's POV
I landed on the opposite side of the bar and rolled on the ground that was covered in glass and alcohol. I groggily got up to my knees and there I saw it. A revolver under the counter. I grabbed the revolver. Only six shots isn't going to get me very far. I grabbed the other bullets and stuffed them in my pocket.
I got up in time to see him pull his own gun out. I leveled the revolver at him as he stood facing me with his gun straight out from his side shooting at Bors who was trying to take cover. He stared at me and stalked after me all the while suppressing Bors to his left side without even looking. I took my first shot, a head shot, while not even stuttering his stride his body hips and higher bent away from the bullet as if it was disconnected from the top. I fired the next one at his stomach, this time he disappeared two feet to his right, then to his left. In a blur he ducked then spun hooking his foot over the counter kicking the gun out of my hand with one shot left in it. He leveled his gun my head. Bors charged from his left trying to tackle him. His gun went off I tried to dodge but felt the bullet going in to my chest ripping through my ribcage then through a lung and out the back. My eyes widened as I felt the bullet exiting. I thought there wasn't a gun in the world that could shoot a vampire bone bullet... As I staggered back trying to hold myself up I watched Bors tackling attempt stopped dead. He elbowed his back from above him then threw his knee and tossed Bors into some tables. My grip faltered under the excruciating pain of the bullet hole and I fell to the ground. I heard a cell phone ring, then the sound of the flip of the phone.
"Havik, I need you for a job, immediately." I heard him sigh then snort out air through his nose.
"Very well." I heard the snap of the phone shutting.
"You'll live today." he said and then I heard nothing. I was having trouble breathing, and coughed up blood so I did something unnatural, I stopped breathing. I pushed myself up to my feet and watched as my beaten and demoralized team made it back to their feet.
"Come on... we need to get out of here before anyone else gets here."
Embry's POV
I played the acoustic guitar as Yuki was screwing around on eletric, Mike was enjoying the double kick pedals again. I heard a knock on the door.
"Come in." I called. Adrian came in.
"What did you mean by playing Tag?"
"Oh... it's a fighting exercise... we stand arms length away... and you have to tag me."
"Sounds easy."
"Sure it sounds easy... but it isn't" I smiled. Adrian turned his head towards the open door.
"You two coming in or just going to stay out there creeping on the guys?" I watched as Themba and Zuri came in disappointed that Adrian had given them up. I tried to ignore the two beauties the best I could. I stopped playing the guitar and put my hand on my knees.
"Really? Sitting on a wooden stool playing acoustic guitar? Could you be any more cliché?" Themba shot at me.
"I don't know, I could sing a bittersweet love song." I turned my attention back to Adrian.
"What are you doing here anyway?"
"I wanted to play with you guys..." I turned back to Mike who signaled disapproval with one finger waving back and forth.
"Sorry, this is strictly the 'lonely hearts band' and you're much to hot to have a lonely heart."
"You think I'm hot?" Adrian snickered at me.
"I'm not in to guys, but if I was, you'd probably be on my list of people to call." he laughed deep.
"Well truthfully I had a girl I wanted in college... but she said I was too poor for her and she didn't think I'd make it to the NFL."
"Wow that's sad... did you need to look all the way to the other side of the room for another to console you?" Mike laughed behind me.
"Hey, that was the girl for me..." He said. I turned my head back to Yuki who nodded then to Mike who shrugged.
"I guess he meets the requirements." Mike confirmed.
"What do you play?"
"Bass Guitar." Adrian answered grabbing a bass hanging on the wall. Yuki turned the laptop he was looking at over to Adrian, he nodded.
"Yes I'm familiar with the song... Let's play." I took a deep breath and counted down.
"Never feared for anything
Never shamed but never free
A light that healed the broken heart
With all that it could
Lived a life so endlessly
Saw beyond what others see
I tried to heal your broken heart
With all that I could
Will you stay?
Will you stay away forever?" I sang turning my attention to Themba only for a moment then back down on the mic in front of me.
"How do I live without the ones I love?
Time still turns the pages of the book it's burned
Place and time always on my mind
I have so much to say but you're so far away." My mind wandered to who the song was about for me.
"Plans of what our futures hold
Foolish lies of growing old
It seems we're so invincible
The truth is so cold
A final song, a last request
A perfect chapter laid to rest
Now and then I try to find
A place in my mind
Where you can stay
You can stay awake forever." I forced myself not to cry and gulped down."
"How do I live without the ones I love?
Time still turns the pages of the book it's burned
Place and time always on my mind
I have so much to say but you're so far away
Sleep tight I'm not afraid (not afraid)
The ones that we love are here with me
Lay away a place for me (place for me)
'Cause as soon as I'm done I'll be on my way
To live eternally." I sang out even with my voice going hoarse and cracking on the note. I drank down some water while Yuki took the Electric solo.
"How do I live without the ones I love?
Time still turns the pages of the book it's burned
Place and time always on my mind
And the light you left remains but it's so hard to stay
When I have so much to say and you're so far away
I love you, you were ready, the pain is strong and urges rise
But I'll see you when He let's me
Your pain is gone, your hands untied." I played the acoustic interlude followed by the drum feature and electric guitar solo. I knew the next part was too high for my voice but I pushed through. I sang it anyway through the pain and the cracking and the awkward off key notes.
"So far away
And I need you to know
So far away
And I need you to, need you to know." I released the last note. And stopped looking at Themba. I pulled off my guitar and put it back on the wall and walked over to her.
"Let's talk." She nodded and followed me. I wasn't going anywhere in particular. Soon we were outside of the Volturi palace in the moon lit night. We just kept walking.
"What do you want to talk about." I sighed heavily.
"That song wasn't for you." I said bluntly.
"I didn't expect it to be." she said defensively.
"I'm sorry... that came out wrong... How much do you know about me?" I asked her honestly.
"Only what I've heard, some things I've heard are rumors, some don't seem realistic enough to be rumors.
"I heard that you are the only person who could keep up with Felix... I heard that he bit you which would kill any shifter, but for some reason you're still here, I've heard you're stronger and faster than any wolf ever and the best fighting shifter to ever exist... I also heard you love cheetos." I laughed as we walked further.
"Well They're all wrong... besides the Cheetos... I do love me some cheetos." I shoved my arms into my red zip up hooded pockets and shrugged my shoulders.
"Holy shit... they're all true aren't they?" I shook my head.
"No... Felix eventually beat me after a long enough battle, I couldn't beat him he beat me... He bit me but I'd been bitten before. Volturi didn't know about it, I barely survived the last one... and there are a couple wolves faster than me..." I said trailing off.
"Wait, a couple?"
"Yeah... there's a whole pack of crazy fast wolves, a couple of them are faster than me."
"And I don't know if I'm the best fighter ever to live... how the hell do you compare that. But yes, I love my cheetos, but in moderation, with the proper counterparts of Nacho cheese Doritos and sun chips." I could see her shoulders moving in laughter.
"So out of all those crazy ass things about you, you thought your chip choice is what needed to be expanded on?" I shrugged.
"So you heard nothing about my past relationships?" I watched her for her reaction and I saw her bite her lower lip.
"Well since you won't tell me what you heard I'll just tell you the truth instead. It's a classic story, guy falls for girl, girl goes out with different guy, different guy turns in a giant werewolf, breaks girls heart, girl and guy become werewolves, fight off a war and finally fall in love only to fight another war, guy nearly dies, girl falls for some other guy nobody cares about, guy gets girl back, girl falls for a vampire... Guy falls for some other chick... shit gets complicated..."
"Wow... yeah it's really a classic story." she said ironically.
"She cheated on me with both her boyfriends I shouldn't have trusted her."
"Really."
"To complicate things further... I... kinda... slept with her right before I left." she laughed.
"You lady killer." I was surprised you didn't judge me Themba.
"Anything else?" I'm currently dying from the very vampire bite you seem so impressed I survived.
"Yeah... I have a son." she blinked.
"Really?"
"Yes..." And I'm dying.
"It's very complicated... but to protect him and my human ex... I came here." she nodded. We'd reached the edge of Volterra but I continued walking.
"Your boy... He's who the song was for wasn't he?" I nodded.
"Sleep tight I'm not afraid
The ones that we love are here with me
Lay away a place for me
'Cause as soon as I'm done I'll be on my way
To live eternally." I cleared my throat trying to remain calm.
"After your year you'll get to see him again though." She said as if a question.
"The Volturi don't have the greatest track record at letting their members leave... I'm afraid." I confessed.
"Afraid of what?" She asked drawing closer to me. I felt her arm intertwine with mine but I didn't push her away. I was tired of pushing her away. Don't be stupid, don't tell her your secret.
"I'm afraid... that... I'll stop missing my son." I swallowed. True it was one of my fears, but I was more afraid of dying before I got to see him again.
"They can't take that away from you can they?' I nodded.
"I love my son, I barely know him and I know I'd die for him without a second thought... I gave up my life to make sure he could have his. It's like the song said."
"But that song is about death, you'll see him again." Not if I die first. I gulped down and felt a hot betraying tear slip out of my left eye.
"I don't want to lose him." I said more to myself than her. She reached up and wiped the tear away and gently turned my face towards her. More tears welled up in my eyes thinking about never seeing Ayden again. I looked down at Themba in all of her beauty, the moonlight captured her in a way I'd never seen her before. I was breathing unsteady but I wasn't sure if it was because of my tears or because of Themba. She shook her head as if tossing an errant thought and her eyes returned to me.
"You're amazing." She said before moving up to her toes and leaning in. I wrapped my arms around her and bent down. I pulled her up to me until we were inches apart, I inhaled her scent while her nose touched mine gently. Then it slid across my nose until our lips touched.
Arthur's POV
"Damn it! What the hell... who the fuck was that?" Lancelot yelled. I was still trying to get control of my breathing.
"Havik... that was his name." Bors answered. I felt myself healing... maybe I could talk now.
"He has a gun that can kill us..." I said.
"I thought no one in the world was even close to having a prototype of such a weapon." Gawain commented.
"Well he has one, and by the look of Arthur it works just fine." Lancelot answered.
"It gets worse." I said wincing through the pain.
"What, how could this get any worse?"
"He got my serum." I answered. Bors shook his head.
"He was no vampire... Why would he want your Serum." He asked. I answered for him.
"If he's not going to use it on himself... he must plan on weaponizing it."
"That... can't be good."
Mike's POV
I watched as Adrian and Yuki started packing up. I pulled my headphones over my ears and started playing with some Skillet. Hoping very much that Zuri would disappear if I ignored it. I watched out of the corner of my eye as Yuki left, then Adrian. I looked back to where Zuri was standing... still there just leaning up against the wall, arms across her chest. I sighed finishing my song and turning off my MP3 player. She was going to wait. She made that abundantly clear, and I still was too courteous to make her wait any longer. I took my headphones off and put my drum sticks in the stick bag and stepped out from behind the drum set. I should just walk out of the room. Coward. I stopped in front of Zuri. What's your game plan? What are you doing? No game plan. Oh great, t his can only go well.
"Shame on you making a pretty little girl like me wait like that." Zuri teased.
"Yeah..." I answered awkwardly.
"I mean, how long did you expect me to wait?" she said batting her eyelashes at me. Why do girls do that anyway? It never made sense to me. I was always more of a sucker for the pout. Focus.
"I don't know, I was kind of hoping you'd leave so we didn't have this conversation."
"Hey! That's not very nice!" she said pouting. There it is.
"I'm sorry... I'm just... not... good... at this... kind of... well... thing..."
"I can see that." She said before tracing a finger up the side of my arm. My body tightened. She noticed.
"What's wrong?" I laughed.
"What's right?"
"Where do I start? Everything is normal, I'm being called fat in school, every one hates me for some reason I can't completely understand but the gist of it is that I've got ADHD and I've lived with it my whole life, I've always been different but I've lived with it... then along comes this 'rosalie' who turns my life upside down breaks my heart sets me up with her friend... which by the way I still don't understand... if she had feelings for me how could she just pass me off to the next one... yeah long story short they turned out to be vampires... just my luck I get turned by their enemy, I fight their war, I win their war, and I end up here... thousands of miles away from my family... the only people I feel I can trust in the world... and to top it all off I don't even know what to believe anymore." I answered.
"What do you believe?" Zuri asked looking in to my eyes. I breathed out deeply.
"I don't know... I was born and raised a religious boy... for the first seventeen years of my life I followed the faith, I did everything right, I never cheated on tests, I never stole, I sure as heck didn't kill... then I became a vampire... in the first moments of my life before I had control I... I... I drank someones blood, I hated him, but I killed him... Is there forgiveness in the world for that? Is there forgiveness forgiveness for monsters?" I said
"What about love?" she asked.
"I...After this whole thing with Rosalie and Tanya I stopped believing in love for a while... then I realized it was never them that made me believe in true love.. I know... no matter how harsh this world is... My parents love each other... I've never seen anything like it... they're there for each other, it's not selfish, it's for each other, it's for their kids. Through all the crap I went through my family was there for me, my brother almost drove a hundred twenty miles to beat up a kid who hit me... through everything in life, through all the curveballs, through all the pain and suffering... I know I could survive as long as I had them... nothing could stop me... but they're gone now... I don't have them... they think I'm missing, probably dead... another Jacob Wetterling..."
"Jacob Wetterling?"
"Nevermind." I said.
"It's not important... the truth is after everything that's happened to me, I can still believe in love... even if I don't know if I believe in it... I know it exists... I know it's real." I finished speaking and then looked Zuri in the eyes... there was something there I didn't recognize.
"Wow." She said putting her arms around me. I resisted at first but she didn't stop. She pulled herself towards me and I stopped fighting it. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close in to a hug. She put her head on my shoulder and tightened her grip.
"Keep believing... keep looking, there is something greater than us in this world worth believing in, and there is true love to be felt out there."
Holy Crap Fireproof, what the heck? 5K words? You're a 2k kinda guy! The truth is that the fight with Havik I completed two weeks ago and I was just trying to get a chapter to fit around it... yeah that's already 1.5k words... and I just kept writing and writing. I enjoyed this chapter more than just about any other chapter I've written for this story so I hope you do too. I'd like to make a special thanks to the reviewers of mine not from my native country... that's all of you... Thank you very much for reading. Please continue to review, and if you stopped reviewing please restart, remember high fives, reviews, knucks, rolls of twenties, and ideas. Take care, Spike your hair.