Episode Ten
Disobeying a Direct Order, Will the Witchblade Escape the DWMA?
A sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body.
The laughing sun was shining brightly in the sky. A breeze rustled the nearby trees. Rays of golden light speared through the forest sporadically. It was a particularly beautiful day. The scent of wild flowers was in the wind, added fragrance to the forest that could be found nowhere else.
Outside of what would seem to most to be a cave against the hills, were a group of people. Two were standing in front of the other cave, blocking the entrance of the others. One of them had a huge axe-hammer in hand. The other had transformed his fists into power knuckle weapons.
The other two, a man and a woman, a little older than the ones before, stood staring them down. Both donned black cloaks with red Witch symbols embroidered on the hems. The woman held an orb of magical fire suspended above her hand, the man, an orb of black shadow energy.
All of them were poised and ready to strike. They were waiting to see who was going to make the first move. The wind continued to rustle through the trees, cooling the air made warm by the sun. No one moved.
Not far from them, caught inside of an inescapable magical sphere where three Meisters and two Death Weapons waging a battle against four of the West Coven's finest Witch soldiers. Their movements were so fast the naked eye could scarcely behold the happenings inside the sphere.
Back at the opening of what most would think was a cave, it seemed that someone was to break the silence. It wasn't as if there was need to say anything. The sentiments were understood.
"Liir the Witchblade, this is as far as you go," Nail said. Vyse decided to let him do all of the talking. He was the Meister after all. Liir and the other Witch smiled.
"Scarlet, proceed into the laboratory. I will take care of this nuisance," Liir said. In a flash of fire she was gone. Nail tried to hack at her with Hammer, but as he did the Witchblade dashed forward to deal him a blow with his gunblade arm. Vyse transformed his hand into a katar, deflected the blow and dealt him a kick that sent him back.
"I guess that you didn't learn your lesson the first time," Liir said.
"You're going to pay for what you did to Tsarevich," Vyse said.
"You're under arrest by the authority of Lord Death and the DWMA. You might as well surrender now because we won't hesitate to kill you if we need to," Nail added.
"You speak these wild claims as if the three of you stood even the slimmest of chances of defeating me. I am feeling particularly sentimental today and I would like to not have to kill any kids. I might have nightmares. Move out of the way and I won't end your miserable little existence," Liir said. Vyse and Nail stood their ground.
"Can we please stop standing around and shut this guy up already?" Hammer asked from inside his Weapon form.
"I couldn't agree more," Vyse said. He lunged forward, katars out and slashed wildly at the Witchblade. He had fought him before and knew that he was vulnerable at close ranges. From far away it was easier to fire spells and soul bullets from his gunblade. Vyse gave a forward thrust aiming for Liir's neck that he deflected with a blade of his own. He had time to duck under Nail's swing and counter Vyse's attack with one of his own. The wind resistance from Nail's swing threw him off just a little and he barely managed getting slashed in half by Liir's blade. He performed his signature sweep but Liir jumped over him. He stayed low because he saw Nail coming in for another attack. Liir did the only thing he could: throw his blades up to take the blow
"Whoa! He flew!" Nail said.
"We got this. I don't know how this guy managed to beat Tsarevich," Hammer added.
"Don't get cocky. His tricks have just begun," Vyse said, taking stance.
"Shadow swarm!"
Dozens of specters erupted out Liir's body and dashed towards them. Vyse knew this trick; it was a distraction. He kept his eyes fixed on Liir and ran towards him, making sure to dodge the specters and resist the temptation to hit them. Nail was probably having a hell of a time fighting a multitude of shadows, but he would have to manage. They couldn't let him escape.
"Whirlwind rush!"
Vyse transformed both his hands into katars, jumped and spun his body with arms out stretched. He descended right into Liir's path who could do little more than keep his own blades up to keep from being slashed to ribbons.
"Six-figure kama slash!"
Vyse did a back flip, vaulting his body forward, turning all of his limbs into kamas, keeping consistent with the whirling attacks. It was working. After two complete turns he transformed his hands into fists and came down on Liir hoping to him hard enough to knock him out.
"Drop-fist nova!"
Liir jumped out his way at the last second and his fist hit nothing but the ground, obliterating what was beneath and leaving a crater six feet in diameter. Eyes up, he saw Liir had already prepared to fire his gunblade arm.
"Shadow scattershot!"
There was no dodging. A thousand miniscule destructive orbs of shadow pelted Vyse. He threw his arms up to protect his face and got pelted with another. The next one hit him at close enough range to send him flying, rolling around on the ground like a tossed ragdoll.
He grunted as he tried to pick himself up. He heard the ground crunch underfoot nearby. It was Nail taking stance and ready for a strike of his own.
"Let me take a crack at it," he said. Vyse watched as Nail ran and swung the axe-hammer. The swing was really wide and at first he wasn't sure what he was planning. A nearby tree began to fall right where the Witchblade was standing. Nail jumped in the air and used the hammer end to send the log plummeting down at the Witchblade.
What is he doing?
When Liir dodged again Nail spun around and hammered the tree, sending it spiraling towards him in an incredible display of power. Liir lay flat on the ground at the log sailed past him. Nail rushed forward and jumped into the air, Weapon overhead. He was bringing the axe end down and Liir had nowhere to go. He crossed his arms transformed into blades and fixed them overhead. He had just enough strength to stop the blow, which brought him to his knees.
"You're going to have to do better than that!" Liir screamed, knocking Hammer away from him and twirling to get a slash at Nail's face. Nail missed the attack by a hair's breadth. All he could do was dodge at this point because Liir was so close that Nail could not swing Hammer properly. It was time for Vyse to intervene.
He did a flying dragon kick and sent Liir tumbling away. The Witchblade landed on his feet and started firing magic shadow energy from his gunblades. Nail twirled Hammer over and placed him in front of him and Vyse, shielding them from the onslaught.
"You okay Hammer?" Nail asked.
"It doesn't even tickle," Hammer boasted.
That's good, Vyse thought, because when it hits us it hurts like hell.
"Enough of this cavalier nonsense. We need to take him on together," Vyse said.
"I couldn't agree more. This guy is tougher than he looks," Nail said.
"I'll take the high road and you take the low road," Vyse said. Nail nodded. They rolled in opposite directions, making him choose a target to aim at. Vyse took to the trees and started jumping around. He knew that it wouldn't do much but provide a distraction, but Vyse threw a shuriken here and there at Liir, forcing him to stop shooting and deflect. Nail let out a bellow since he had finally reached Liir and the fight was on again.
"I was expecting a lot more for the legendary Witchblade!" Nail shouted out. He was assaulting Liir with a series of attacks that was keeping him at bay. It was relentless, not giving Liir even a moment to collect his bearings. This was just what Vyse needed. He moved to get to a tree close enough to the fight to strike.
The clang of metal resounded through the forest and sparks lit the shady places up like fireworks. Every now and then there was a dull thud as Hammer crashed into the ground, or a rock or a tree. He wasn't able to land any good blows because the Witchblade was faster than he was. Still, it was enough to keep him occupied.
Alright, Nail. I'm counting on you. Get him in a vulnerable position and he's all mine.
The fight was not going in their favor, Black Star realized. The Witches were a lot tougher than they looked. Currently he, Merios and Kid were standing side by side, trying to catch their breath as they stared for malicious Witches in the face.
"Black Star we have to fight together. You can't keep being so foolhardy," Kid scolded.
"Don't blame this on me, Kid. You're in charge of this thing, remember. If this goes south it's on you," Black Star shot back.
"I have an idea," Merios spoke up.
"Well let's hear it," Black Star said impatiently. The Witches were collecting themselves too and preparing for an attack.
"The reason we're losing is because we're stuck inside of this barrier. Black Star, if Kid and I keep the others distracted, could you slip past the Witches on the outside and hit the one powering the barrier with your soul wavelength?" Merios asked.
"Of course! Do you know who you're talking to?" Black Star asked.
"That might work. Instead of trying to worry about taking on all of the Witches, we just need to take out the one powering the barrier. Then we'll be free to move around. Well done, Merios," Kid said.
"What are we waiting for? Let's do it!" Black Star bellowed. And the fight was on again. He dashed left and right, dodging an onslaught of spells. Kid and Merios, true to their word starting firing at the other Witches.
It might work out for them to attack the enemy from a distance, but this barrier is perfect for me. They won't be able to run away.
Black Star saw an opening to attack the Witch powering the barrier, but he ignored it. He knew what kind of plan that Merios and Kid had in mind. They wanted to get out of this barrier so that they could keep chasing the Witchblade. Black Star had different plans. There was no way that he was going to pass up the opportunity to collect four Witch souls for Tsubaki? There wasn't another Meister alive who could do what he was about to do.
He pretended to run for a Witch who had his eyes trained on him, but at the last second he jumped through the air and kicked a Warlock in the face, the one that Kid had been shooting at. The Warlock smashed into the ground. The others turned their attention to Black Star but he was gone in a flash.
As soon as another got distracted with dodging a blast from Azuha, Black Star zoned in on another one. He came in from the side and dealt the Witch a crippling blow to the face, followed by a vaulting kick. He jumped in the air and was pleased to see the other Witches firing spells at him. He grabbed onto the airborne Witch and used her as a human shield, letting her get pelted.
They stopped firing when they realized what was happening and Black Star kicked the Witch in the back, sending her crashing down into the last Warlock protecting the barrier Witch. The two of them bounced like rubber off of the ground and left his target wide open.
"You're mine now!" Black Star's feet hit the ground and he was running full-speed towards the Witch, ready to blast her with his soul wavelength. She stood their, here eyes full of fear, her hands went up reflexively and Black Star heard a whimpering scream escape her lips as he closed in.
"Black Star Big Wa—!"
"Traitorous blood!"
The Witch sidestepped the attack at the last second, a sinister smile on her face and she used her fingernail to put a scratch on Black Star's forearm. His attack missed but he was dumbfounded.
"Is there something wrong with your brain? You see how powerful I am. You saw that attack coming, could have done some real damage and all you did was give me a little scratch?" Black Star asked.
She held her finger out and showed him a drop of blood glistening like a ruby on the end of her finger. She seductively put the finger in her mouth and licked the blood off humming as she did. The other Witches had their eyes fixed on Black Star and were grinning like idiots.
"Am I missing something here? What are you—!" He couldn't speak anymore. He couldn't move. His body was literally frozen in place.
"What the hell are you doing to me?" Black star asked. As his arms and legs began to move of their own accord, he wondered if this is what it felt like to be a puppet. The Witch had done something to him to take complete control of him. He still had control of his own thoughts but his motor skills were completely taken over. Soon he couldn't even speak.
"You like this trick. I've enchanted your blood. You can't move a single muscle unless I tell you to," the Witch taunted. He found himself charging at Merios and Kid without wanting to. He punched and kicked. He wasn't fighting at his normal skill because he was being controlled by the Witch.
"Black Star what the hell are you doing?" Kid asked.
He couldn't even open his mouth to explain. For the first time in a long time, he started to worry about defeat.
No. No matter what happens I will not fear defeat. Victory is always the path I choose. C'mon, guys! Knock me out if you have to!
Vyse was in position. He just needed to wait until Liir was vulnerable. Nail was doing a fantastic job of keeping his attention. He had adapted to the Warlock's fighting style very well, staying close enough so that spells were out of the question, but far enough away to keep from being slashed to ribbons by his blades.
"You don't what you're dealing with, Witchblade! You can only dodge and block for so long before you get careless. One blow is all that it's going to take to do you in!" Nail taunted. The heckling must have been getting on Liir's nerves. Vyse watched as he grit his teeth in frustration and started to become more aggressive.
"That's the spirit! I knew you had more fight in you than that! Don't hold back your gonna find yourself smashed and chopped to bits!" Nail said.
Liir let out a shout of frustration, transform his blades into hands, grabbed hold of Hammer and jumped kicked Nail in the face. There it was! That was Vyse's opening. Quick and lightning and silent as a shadow he struck. Liir saw him out of the corner of his eye and began to transform his hand but it was way too late for that. Vyse stabbed his hand into Liir's body and opened the katar, making the wound as big as possible.
"Gotcha!" Vyse said. Then he coughed up some blood. He had been so worried about his attack that he forgot to defend. Liir's blade was sticking inside of his side, pressing painfully against his ribs, threatening to slide between them and puncture his heart.
He saw the chamber of the gunblade rotate and knew that a shadow bullet was coming his way. He couldn't afford that. He stepped up on Liir's knee and used his other leg to kick away. The blade tore free from Vyse's side and sent blood spraying everywhere. The wound was bad, but the one he had given to Liir was worse.
"You okay, Vyse?" Nail asked, coming to his side.
"I'll live," Vyse said, pressing his arm to his bleeding side.
"What about him?" Nail asked, "should we finish him off?"
"You insolent little bastards! You think this is enough to do me in?" Liir demanded.
"I'm gonna shut this guy up permanently," Nail said.
"Be my guest," Vyse said. He was done with this fight, but he had done what he needed to. Nail charged in and prepared a finishing blow when Liir vanished from sight. He was just gone.
"What the!" Vyse exclaimed.
"Where did he go?" Nail asked.
"There's only one place he would have gone. Into the observatory," Vyse said, getting up. He tore one of his sleeves off at the shoulder and tied it around his torso for support and to slow the bleeding.
"Are you gonna make it?" Nail asked, looking at the wound.
"I'll be alright, but I'm going to need to stay in Weapon form from here on out," he said.
"Do you think that I'll be able to wield you?" Nail asked.
"I'm a pretty adaptable Weapon. Do you prefer a kama, a katar or a knuckle?" Vyse asked.
"Knuckle," Nail confirmed. Vyse transformed and fit himself around Nail's fist and found it to be a workable fit. Nail swung it around and frowned.
"You're heavier than I'd like and it's a loose fit. I'm afraid that you're going to slide off," Nail admitted. Vyse could see exactly what he meant. It was a bad idea; Nail was not going to be able to wield him and Hammer at the same time. He transformed again.
"Alright. Go in after him. I'll be right behind you," Vyse said.
"Are you sure?" Nail asked.
"Yeah! Hurry! He's going to get away. Don't forget that there's two of them in there," Vyse reminded. Nail nodded and ran into the underground laboratory. Vyse took a few steps and stumbled. His skin stretched and reopened the wound. He cried out in pain and cradled the wound in his hand, trying fruitlessly to catch the blood pouring out of his side.
He sat down on the ground and rested his body against a tree, nursing the wound. The only thing that gave him comfort is that he knew he had given Liir an even worse wound. He could only hope that Hammer and Nail would be able to stop him.
"I guess things aren't exactly working out for you," Tsarevich said. He could tell by the look on Liir's face that something was amiss. Liir shot a bitter glance at him and then looked away.
"You have very powerful friends," Liir observed.
"I told you before that you're fighting a losing battle. The DWMA is not going to lose to handful of Witches," Tsarevich said haughtily.
"You're probably right, but as long as we make it out with the magic tool it's all going to be worth it," Liir said.
"What does this magic tool do that it is so important you're willing to stick your neck out to retrieve it?"
"I'm not sure what it does, but I know that it's called the Alchemizer and that Chandra was insistent that it is of the utmost importance that the Reaper does not control this tool," Liir said.
"The Alchemizer, huh? That sounds interesting enough. What does it looks like is going to happen?" Tsarevich asked. He was starting to get a little stir crazy inside the white void. He had never been one to give too much thought to the afterlife. Speaking from a logical point, he always figured that there was just nothing when you died. Just like going to sleep and never waking up. Now that he in a coma, stuck in this monotonous place, he thought he might believe in Purgatory after all.
"Your Weapon friend got me with a sneak attack. The wound is pretty deep. It won't stop bleeding. I'll probably pass out from blood loss before I even get to the Alchemizer," Liir said.
"Maybe you'll be lucky enough not to bleed to death," Tsarevich said sardonically. Liir shot him another dirty look.
"I thought we were going to try to get along," Liir complained. His tone was like that of a little kid. Tsarevich decided that dealing with anyone on a subconscious level was more than he could handle. Liir probably needed to see a shrink because he had some deep-seeded emotional issues that he needed to deal with before they utterly consumed him. Still, Tsarevich was not a shrink and it was not his problem.
Then why do I care?
Something inside him took great pity on Liir. He was born into a world that gave him little options on who to be in life. All he had known his entire life was loneliness, pain and hardship. Was it really his fault that he was in the situation that he was in? Tsarevich wasn't so sure. Nonetheless, the Witchblade was trying to kill his friends and that was not someone that he could actually take pity on.
"You're trying to kill my friends. We've been over this. We can be civil because we're stuck here together but that's as far as it's going to go," Tsarevich said.
"Fine. I wish things were different you know. Maybe if I hadn't been born a Witchblade, or you hadn't been born a Meister the two of us could have been friends," Liir said hopefully. Tsarevich couldn't help but to give him a sad smile.
"It does no good to dwell on maybe, Liir. There is only what there is and what there isn't," Tsarevich said. Liir let out sigh and wrapped his arms around his knees, hugging them close to himself. He looked pitiful, broken even. Suddenly, he started fading. It was like he was still there but translucent.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm slipping away. That wound that your friend dealt me is probably going to do me in," Liir confessed.
"I'm sorry," Tsarevich said, he put a hand on Liir's shoulder. He was surprised to see that he was still able to make contact. He expected his hand to go through him.
"Are you? Sorry, I mean? Don't you want me to die?" Liir asked.
"No. I suppose I don't. I wish that things could have been different," Tsarevich said. He wasn't sure that he believed that himself. He didn't really care if the Witchblade died. A lot of his recent pain he had brought upon himself.
"You just said that you hoped your friends beat me," Liir countered.
"I still stand by that. You would have killed them and I am glad that you weren't able. I'm sorry that they had to kill you," Tsarevich said.
"You're still going to die, you know. Killing me won't bring you back," Liir said.
"I know," Tsarevich said with a smile.
"You're okay with that?" Liir asked.
"I'm not afraid to die, and I'm not dead yet so I'm not going to give up," Tsarevich said resolutely.
"Hope is such a fallacy and I don't see why people cling to it," Liir said.
"Sometimes it's all you have to cling to. I'm never going to give up. Not ever. As long as there's breath in my body, I'm going to fight to stay alive," Tsarevich said. Liir was fading faster.
"You're an interesting person, Tsarevich and I'm glad that we got to know each other—even it was only on a subconscious level," Liir said. Tsarevich smiled.
"Me too, Liir. Who knows how things are going to turn out. I don't know how bad your wound is and I know that you're on the other side of the fight, but if I were you I would keep fighting. Life is the most precious thing and it's worth fighting for," Tsarevich said encouragingly.
Liir was not as translucent as he had been a few moments ago. He looked up at Tsarevich and gave a genuine smile which Tsarevich returned. The whole turn of events was unsettling. He wished that he could be awake for all of it. Things might have been different if he could have been there.
"We're not going to last long like this, Merios!" Kid said, dodging another one of Black Star's punches. He didn't want to harm him in any way because he figured the control that the Witch had on him was temporary, but he also knew what a wallop he packed.
Merios was trying to keep the Witches busy, but was doing little more than dodging between return fires that served only as a distraction. Things were not looking good. This entire mission had been a failure and Kid was starting to wish that he had listened to Merios and Azuha about the contingency plan.
"I've got something, but it's a long shot," Merios said telepathically. Since Black Star's possession they had resonated souls together. Interestingly enough, it would have been too difficult to do with Black Star.
"You better have something good planned," Liz piped up from nowhere.
"Do you have any bright ideas?" Kid asked.
"We could always try the Death Cannon. We're already resonating souls," Liz pointed out. That was a good idea. If it did little more than take their attention off of Merios it was something. It was going to be hard to work with multiple enemies attacking them, but all he had to worry about at the moment was Black Star. The Witches and Warlocks still fighting had their attention on Merios save for the Witch that was playing puppeteer.
"Sorry Black Star. I'm sure you understand," Kid said. He flipped forward and kicked and unsuspecting Black Star at the ankles, sweeping his feet and followed up with another propelling him as far away as possible. He bounced off of the barrier, onto the ground and starting picking himself up. Liz and Patty transformed into cannons that fit completely around his arms and he began to charge his wavelength. Liz amplified the power while Patty got rid of any interference in the wavelength to make sure that it could all be channeled through the cannon.
"Death cannon!"
This time he made sure not to fire anywhere near Merios or Black Star. He would rather miss than accidentally kill one of his comrades. Three of the Witches were able to escape, but one had the unlucky misfortune of getting hit by one of the twin blasts. When the dust settled, there was a purple Witch soul floating in the air where the Warlock had once been.
"Anti-magic wavelength!"
Kid looked across the clearing and saw Merios had hit the barrier Witch with his wavelength directly. Kid was expecting a kill, but instead the barrier disappeared.
"It's about time!" Black Star said, "and now it's my turn!"
"Black Star Big Wave!"
One of the Witches, not the barrier Witch, disintegrated from Black Star's attack, leaving only a floating purple soul. Now things were starting to turn in their favor. The Witch and Warlock remaining materialized brooms and hopped on them to retreat.
"Oh no you don't!" Black Star exclaimed.
"Black Star! Let them go. Don't forget why we are here," Kid said.
"Oh, right. The Witchblade. He's probably long-gone by now," Black Star said.
"Azuha, what can you tell me?" Kid asked.
"The Witchblade and his associate made it to the laboratory, but there not along. It looks like Academy students are there too," Azuha said.
"Academy students! What are they doing there? Are they okay?" Kid asked.
"One of them is injured pretty seriously, the others are chasing the Witchblade into the laboratory; he is also seriously injured. The Witch who was with him had made it to the heart of the laboratory and is probably looking for magic tools," Azuha said.
"Right. We need to get to that laboratory. Double time! Let's go!" Kid said.
"I think he's dead," Hammer said. Nail looked down at the Witchblade. He was facedown on the floor in a pool of his own blood and he did not appear to be moving or breathing. His skin was white as a sheet. Nail tried to use his limited ability with soul perception and was surprised to see a faint, purple glow about him.
"No. He's alive—just barely. I doubt he will be for long though. Did you see what Vyse did to him?" Nail said.
"Should we put him out of his misery?" Hammer asked. About that time there was a clanking noise coming from deeper within the laboratory. Nail had nearly forgotten about the Witch that had slipped passed them.
"We still have to keep that Witch from getting her hands on the magic tool," Nail said, "He's not going anywhere. We need to deal with her first."
"Okay! Let's go!" Hammer said. They continue through the laboratory, hoping they were not too late.
"Will you stay with me? Stay with me until I'm gone?" Liir asked. He was fading faster and faster. Tsarevich could still touch him but he could only faintly see him now.
"Yes. I'm not going to leave you. You don't have to be alone. Not anymore," Tsarevich said. He knelt down beside the Witchblade and put his arm around him and allowed him to lean a head on his shoulder. It seemed so strange, comforting his enemy, but it seemed the only human thing to do.
"Tsarevich," Liir managed to whisper.
"I'm here," Tsarevich said.
"I'm scared," Liir said. Tsarevich didn't know what to say. What does one say to one who is dying before their eyes? There was literally nothing that he could do to help. Did he tell him to hold on and to keep fighting? Did he tell him to let go and find the peace in death he never found in life?
He decided that he would just stay there and hold him until he was gone. He felt selfish for thinking this, but he was worried what he would do in this place once Liir was gone. He would be all by himself. Purgatory was starting to look more and more like Hell to him.
Merios was the first to reach the entrance and the first to see the Witchblade on the ground. He knelt beside him and examined him. He could see that his soul was fading. His face was white as a ghost and he had lost a lot of blood. The important thing was that he was indeed still alive. That meant that Merios could help him.
"What's the deal? Is that guy dead or what?" Black Star asked.
"No. He's alive, but just barely. Our orders were to take him alive. It would appear that our students got a little overzealous with their attacks," Merios said.
"Is there anything you can do to save him?" Death the Kid asked.
"Yes. I'll stay with him here," Merios confirmed.
"Okay. Black Star and I will proceed into the laboratory. C'mon, Black Star!" Death the Kid said. Black Star just nodded and continued to follow Death the Kid further into the laboratory. Merios was glad that he would be left alone with the Witchblade. He wondered what had happened to Vyse because he had not seen him on the way in and had not been able to perceive his soul. He feared the worst, but right now he had to worry about the Witchblade.
"Healing wavelength."
Merios began to transmit his soul wavelength at Liir to heal his wounds and damaged soul. There were few Meisters in the world who could do what he was doing. Luckily, he had a good teacher when he was a student. Though the technique was far from perfect and the potential uses for it were far from fully explored, he was confident he could save the Witchblade.
If it worked on Tsarevich, it should be able to work on him as well. The only thing that would prohibit it would be if he had any spells that protected his wavelength from being contacted directly, but to my knowledge, no such spells exist.
Merios was relieved to see some color return to Liir's face. He didn't want to bring him to complete consciousness because he was worried that there might be another fight on his hands. He had, in his opinion, done quite enough fighting today. He turned Liir over, removed his own jacket and propped it under his head for a pillow. He removed some very special handcuffs from his jacket.
"You should get a kick out of these when you wake up," Merios said to Liir though he knew he could not hear him or understand him.
"These special cuffs restrain your arms but also keep from transforming into your weapon form or using spells," he continued to say as he fastened them around Liir's wrists.
"You've caused quite a lot of trouble for the DWMA: collecting magic tools, injuring one of our students. I'm sure they're going to have lots of fun with you when we get you back to the Academy," Merios said. His gloating was interrupted by something he could sense from within the laboratory. There was a grave fight going on between Hammer, Nail and the Witch that was with Liir. Death the Kid and Black Star were almost there. They needed to hurry. It would not sit well with him if his students were injured.
Vyse…
He had almost forgotten about the Weapon. He left Liir and stepped outside of the laboratory and into the sunlight. He could tell from his soul perception when he had been observing from before that Vyse had been injured. Plus, Azuha had sensed it too. He couldn't have gone far.
"Vyse! Vyse! Can you hear me? Where are you?" Merios asked. He pushed his soul perception to see a little further and caught something faint beyond some trees due east of him. He ran towards the direction of the flickering soul and continued to call out. When he arrived to the trees and continued to call out, all he heard was a moan. He looked to his right and there, sitting beneath a tree, nursing a wound on his side was Vyse Rosemont.
"Vyse, are you okay? Didn't you hear me calling you?" Merios asked.
"I heard you, but I'm an assassin. I never give away my position," he said with a cough.
"What if I had been unable to find you?" Merios asked.
"We both know your soul perception is capable of finding even a great assassin like me," Vyse shot back. Merios raised his eyebrows and gave a single nod; it was true.
"Let me examine that wound; it looks pretty bad," Merios said. Vyse was hesitant and first, but lifted up his shirt revealing pale skin drenched in blood. The wound was worse than Vyse was letting on, but better than Merios had hoped for. One thing was for certain: it was not as bad as the deep puncture wound that Vyse had given Liir.
"Hold still; I'm going to clean this for you. And yes, it's going to hurt," Merios said. He began to clean the wound as best he could. Vyse might need stitches if he were being attended to by a physician.
But lucky for him…
"Healing wavelength."
He began to radiate his wavelength into Vyse, gracing him with some of his own power and health. The wound began to close and heal, but looked like it was going to leave a bit of a scar. He noticed the young assassin had quite a few of them.
"That's a neat trick. You Meisters are something else, you know?" Vyse said.
"The same could be said of Weapons, Vyse—especially one as remarkable as you. An autonomous Dark Arm: you have such great potential," Merios praised.
"There you go again. What is your deal with potential? I hear you keep harping on people about that. What's the deal?" Vyse asked.
"I have an intuitive gift when it comes to recognizing it in people. In just a few moments, I can usually tell if someone possesses the potential to be great," Merios explained, continued to dress the wound. Vyse was going to be fine. Merios could tell that he was already feeling better too.
"Everyone possesses the potential to be great," Vyse countered. Merios smiled at the observation.
"You're right. Everyone has the capacity to be more than what they are," Merios replied. He wondered of Vyse would take the bait.
"If everyone has 'potential' than seeing it in people is not an 'intuitive gift.' No offense but it's kind of stating the obvious," Vyse said.
"You're wrong. I could never describe it to you unless you had the gift. But some people possess the potential for power beyond wildest dreaming. It doesn't mean that they will ever attain that. It just means they could if they applied themselves correctly," Merios replied.
"Whatever. I'm too injured to argue semantics with you right now, Professor. What happened to the Witchblade?" Vyse asked, "Did I get him?"
"Yeah, you got him. You damn-near killed him. We're going to be able to take him in alive," Merios answered.
"That's a shame," Vyse murmured bitterly. Merios just forced a smile and continued tending to the wound.
"What happened here? Identify yourself!" the voice came from the entrance to the laboratory. Nail rubbed his eyes and turned to try to focus on who it was. It looked like it was Death the Kid. Black Star was right behind him.
"One-star Meister Nail and my Weapon Hammer," Nail said, still trying to regain focus and equilibrium.
"Where's that Witch that was in here? You let her get away didn't you?" Black Star demanded angrily.
"Yeah…she hit me with some sort of explosive bomb that took my sight and hearing away for awhile. When I regained focus, she was gone," Nail explained.
"You're lucky you're alive. Do you know if she managed to retrieve the magic tool that she came for?" Death the Kid asked.
"I'm pretty sure she did. She was rambling on about an 'Alchemizer' and how it was going to change everything for the Witches when we showed up. We tried to fight her but she was only interested in leaving with the tool."
"Damn! Oh well…that just means that we're going to get the chance for round two," Black Star said.
"At least a part of the mission was a success. We have apprehended the Witchblade. Let's get back to the Academy and report this to my father," Death the Kid said.
Scarlet was standing before Chandra in her chambers, holding the magic tool behind her back. She approached, giving a slight bow as she did. Chandra was expecting her so they skipped past the normal formalities.
"Did you retrieve the magic tool?" Chandra asked directly.
"Yes, milady, but unfortunately Liir was captured and three of our soldiers fell in battle," she reported. She hoped that the good would outweigh the bad with Chandra.
"Necessary losses. Now that we have the Alchemizer, nothing else matters. Very soon, Scarlet we will have the means to dethrone a Death god, and change the world forever. No longer will the Reaper rule things from his city throne and persecute the Witches of this world. No longer will we have to live in hidden covens. No longer will we live in fear of Meisters hunting us to feed our souls to their Weapons.
"With the Reaper out of the way, we can restructure this world to its former glory. The day of the Reaper is over…
"The day of the Witch begins."