- 3 -
Curtain Call
They stepped forward into the vacant circle of the room the evil Kishin menace had created. The occupants had scattered to the circumference of the auditorium, cowering and hiding underneath tables and chairs to avoid becoming the next target. They all, along with Hyde saw the pair step into the killer's firing range without fear. He swirled around on his heels, his sickening laugh filling the room.
Hush and Sophia stood adamant.
"What's this!?" Hyde screeched hysterically. "Have you come to beg for your lives!? How amusing! Hahaha!"
"No," Sophia practically growled, her anger reaching its peak. "But you're going wish you had!"
She leapt into the air and in a swirl of light taking her other form, stunning every eye that looked on in astonishment. The meister caught her in his hand without hesitation for a moment, studying the light-weight sword. She had transformed into a beautiful red, double-edged rapier, the blade, the hand-guard that swirled around the hilt in a bouquet-ish assortment of metallic rose petals, even the handle was a dark garnet color. He turned the sword into the light and eyed the illustration of a branch of thorns that was etched on both sides all the way to the tip which dipped into a concave on one side, forming a hook just before the end of the blade.
He could see her face on the inside of the rapier. Her eyes were filled with worry.
"I don't look weird, do I?"
He smiled shaking his head, "Not at all, in fact, you're perfect. Will you find it odd that I in fact taught fencing back in Madrid?" He took a couple of test swings measuring the weight and speed. He was pleased to say the least. "You see, this is fate. We were destined to fight together."
"Shit!" Hyde cursed kicking over a table. "You brats must be from that academy! To hell with the both of you!"
Hush pointed the blade directly at him, but reached out for Sophia's attention, "I thought of something really cool to say just now, but I figured I should let you do the talking...since, you know, I do not talk."
If he could see her, she was shaking her head, trying desperately to ignore the joke, "I'll keep it short." Her voice could be heard throughout the room. "Killer, Mr. Hyde, you have shed blood on this otherwise beautiful night. For that, we cannot let you go unchecked. We are going to put a stop to it!"
Two shots rang out in an instant, the bullets flying directly at the meister's head, but Hush swatted them out of the air like flies, splitting the pieces of metal in two in the process. Sophia was astonished.
He's incredibly fast.
The mute lunged forward striking down another three bullets and swung at the killer's throat, missing by centimeters. He stopped on the ball of his foot and swung again, this time, connecting, cutting a shallow slice into Hyde's forehead. The evil soul fell back onto the floor, writhing in pain, but quickly regaining his footing evading another killing move from the meister.
He squeezed the trigger and realized the chamber was empty. He then reached for his pocket to retrieve more bullets, but the gun was struck out of his hand, blade dangerously close to his face.
"It's over Hyde!" Sophia declared, confidence filling her voice. The reality of winning began to set in. She could do this. They could do this. For the first time in the world, she felt like she was doing what she was designed to do, fighting, this is what she supposed—
"Focus Sophia!"
The killer had sprung to his feet, whipped out a concealed knife and grabbed an unsuspecting woman from the crowd by her hair, pointing the dirty blade dangerously close to her throat. She screamed in terror as it began to dig into her skin.
"Come any closer and I'll cut her throat! I swear, I'll do it!"
Hush halted his advancement and lowered the blade, eyes narrow and burning with rage.
"No!" Sophia cried.
Shit, she hesitated for only a moment and he had already taken another innocent person into his clutches. But she didn't want to see another person die tonight, no, she had to do something.
"Listen to yourself," Hush's voice came crashing into her subconscious. "We…we can beat him, but we have to do it together. You do not have time to beat yourself up about hesitating. The woman in front of us still needs our help."
"You're right," she admitted shaking the guilt off instantaneously. "What do you suggest?"
"We are faster than him, much faster than him. We can beat his knife."
"We can?" That sounded pretty risky. "Are you sure?"
"I know we can. You just need to trust me, but most importantly, you need to trust yourself. You are the weapon. Are you faster than his blade?"
She was silent for a moment. She analyzed her assailant and noticed his sweat-ridden face, his shaking hands, the uneasiness in his stance, things she didn't notice at first, but now that she had factored in the statistics, she saw how much the odds weighed in their favor.
"Yes, I am faster."
He smiled, "Then let us end this."
"Let's…"
In one motion, the meister lunged at the attacker, closing the distance between him and Hyde in a millisecond's time, he struck the knife from his hand and sliced his enemy in two, a feat no one was quick enough to see with the naked eye. The woman fell to the floor in an emotional heap as the party crasher dissipated into thin air leaving behind a small red orb-like soul that hovered a few feet from the ground. And along with the end of the battle, Sophia dissolved back into her human form as well, hand still encased in in the young man's. In reality, she had never let go. Even though they had defeated the enemy, the overwhelming sense of guilt and shame encased her like a cocoon. The crowd of speechless onlookers had begun to slowly center themselves on the two in wary suspicion and curiosity, Sophia's parents being in the front of the group.
No more hiding.
They had all witnessed the Alexander family jewel transform into a weapon, a real weapon, no gimmicks, no tricks, and together with a nameless stranger, they defeated a cold-blooded killer. How was she supposed to present herself to them now? Her secret, the one she had tried so hard to keep under wraps for so long was now exposed. She slowly turned to her shocked parents, the bewilderment evident on her faces.
Dear God, what was she supposed to say? Her eyes wondered to Hush who looked on in silent anticipation. His mannerisms spoke encouragement, insisting she say something.
She sighed heavily knowing every regretful word she was going...or not going to say was hinged on their judgment of her, "Mum, Dad, I'm—"
She was cut short by being engulfed by her mother's arms. She had trapped her daughter in an unrelenting embrace.
"Oh my darling! I'm so glad you're safe!" her voice trembling and exhausted from the suspension. Her hug was intensified when her father grabbed the both of them, he being just as emotional as his wife.
"Thank God you're not hurt!"
Sophia was wide-eyed and shocked, "Y-you mean, you aren't mad?"
Her mother backed away for a fleeting moment to look the young girl in the eyes. "How could we possibly be mad? You saved us! You saved us all!"
Edgar wiped the unsuspecting tears from his eyes and scratched at his balding head for a moment to recollect what he had just witnessed, still amazed from the whole ordeal, "But Sophia, my daughter, a weapon; since when Sophie? We had no idea."
The question that needed to be answered.
The guilt still lingered.
The pain of her secrecy was beginning to sink in.
She averted the look of her querying parents and down to the floor, again noticing that she still hadn't let go of Hush's hand. And to a degree, rightfully so, she wasn't ready to stand on her own on this. She needed all of the support she could get. The comfort she had felt from their time on the veranda had returned to steady her words.
"I-I'm sorry for keeping it a secret from you. In truth, I've always known this. But I was scared, terrified really, of what you might say if you found out, but I knew I couldn't hide it any longer after tonight. People's lives were in danger. I had to do what needed to be done in order to save them."
She turned her attention to the rest of the crowd, "And I'm so terribly sorry for not being able to doing something sooner. I feel awful for not stepping up to save those that lost their lives tonight.
"But after the events that have transpired tonight I came to the realization that…I can no longer stand idly by while the threat I once thought was an illusion loom over us all. The Kishin menace is real as we have all witnessed tonight...and I know I have the capabilities to make a difference in stopping them. The 'stage' if you will, I need to be on is bigger than any theatre or opera house or anything of the sort."
She looked back at Hush who nodded in agreement. She continued, "I need to be out protecting and saving lives, and I can't do that by just playing music for you all. I can be a bigger contribution to everyone if I stopped pretending that the threat of the Kishin is not reality. And I swear to you…as a weapon, as an Alexander, I will never…hesitate again in protecting those who are in need..." She turned to her parents, "…even if that means you can't accept me for who I am. I will do what must be done."
For a moment, no one said anything. A pain-stakingly long pause of ear-grating silence ensued. Her grip squeezed on Hush's hand as she could almost feel the metaphorical hammer of the verdict drop. Whether it was out of fear and anger or acceptance was unknown.
What soon followed however was something she didn't anticipate in the slightest. It trickled in like distant rain, but it slowly erupted into the loudest, most authentic applause she had ever heard in her life, more thunderous than all of her previous performances combined.
It was incredible and all-consuming.
"Darling," her father stepped forward and placed his hands on on both sides of her face, unable to keep his composure, "I sincerely apologize for putting any type of doubt in your heart. We will always be proud of you, no matter what." He wiped the tears that began to fall from her awe-filled eyes, "I'm not going to lie to you, there is so much we don't understand about weapons or meisters or anything associating with their job i'll admit, but because of you, we are willing to learn. I promise."
Her mother interjected, "Yes we will, dearest. I know it sounds superficial now, but we will support you, Sophie."
The girl sniffled, whole-heartily relieved. It felt like a world of pain and pressure had been lifted from her shoulders. Her need to keep her powers a secret weren't in vain. She smiled, her lamenting finally able to subside, "Thank you so much...Mum, Dad," They embraced as the applause finally died down.
She could still hear Hush in her mind, clear as day through the noise, "Told you…"
She chocked out a laugh, mumbling under her breath, "Shut up."