Chibiyu: Enjoy the next installment!
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Sandy Lucas leaned forward, letting her tears fall. "He's ok?"
Kevin met his mom's eyes with a smile. "Yeah, he's ok. And I know where he is"
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It felt wrong to be there, standing among the silent stones, footsteps trampling the gnarled wild grass, their silhouettes casting strange shadows along the uninhabited terrain. The dew clung to their jeans, just as thorns caught I their palms with every brush. Though the sun shone proud, its rays did nothing to break through the desolation this untamed area easily shouted of. Not even a single bug was heard scuttling. No birds flew overhead. It was a graveyard without the tombs.
The five examined the moss ridden stones, which stuck out of the ground at angles, without taking one more step. They watched every leaf sway in the slight breeze, unable to not jump when a branch cracked as an acorn dropped to the earth. They heeded the roughness of each stone surface, seeing the decrepit walls, fallen in roofs, and scattered broken dreams of the past. A once great city was reduced to nothing more than this, a ruin, a place for scum and darkness to thrive.
One of them might have questioned if they were in the right place. They might have, if not for the heaviness of the air, making each breath shorter. It may be voiced if not for the blackness emanating from all around, making two shiver, drawing their jackets closer. And it may have been suggested to turn back, if not for the gaping hole with loose roots swinging just over the top of the entrance, beckoning them forward.
They knew that this hole would take them where they needed to go. And yet their feet stayed, tangled in the thick chains of fear. And none wanted to crawl forward, to feel the ache of limbs tearing as the chain pulled them back. Macy swallowed heavily, looking as if she was about to move, but drew back at the last second. Stella just bit her lip, pulling at the bottom of her shirt. Ray peeked out from behind Joe, her hand on his arm. Joe looked apprehensive, eyeing the entrance with a look of want, but not making any more for it. It was Kevin who took a deep breath and took one step.
They all flinched as his foot hit the ground. Silence met the thump. The five exchanged looks of confusion, and waited another moment before they all closed the distance between them and the oldest. Nothing.
It was in this manner that the group approached the hole, each taking turns to look behind them. But every time they looked, an open field met their gaze. Stella saw nothing behind the stones and sparse trees. Macy couldn't sense any powers of those who they knew they were about to face. Kevin could only feel the heightened anxiety of his friends and comrades.
"How can we be alone," Ray whispered, her voice sounding out of place, "When his Lair is right in front of us?"
"Maybe we're not," Stella answered, peering into the near blackness directly in front of them. "Maybe they are being concealed."
Kevin slowly stepped forward, descending first into the Lair. "There is no 'maybe' about that statement."
Joe nodded, pushing Ray down next. "He's right. We have to expect to be blind."
Stella followed after Macy, leaving Joe to bring up the rear. Together, hand in hand, they climbed down the wide stairs. Their footsteps, though they tread lightly, were gunshots into the abyss. Halfway down, lights filtered through the gloom, dim, but at least they could see where they placed their feet. The moment visibility came into play Joe stumbled, knocking into Stella who hit the wall. She turned, intent on yelling at the brother, but remembered where they were at the last moment. She turned forward again with a heavy scowl on her face.
It was another moment before something happened. This time, Ray ran into Kevin, having not noticed he stopped.
"What is it?" she asked, stepping around him as the hall they entered was quite wide. The lights were dead center, leading them down, but they weren't bright enough to see what surrounded them. Joe reached up, touching the smooth ceiling, vaguely thinking of a subway tunnel's construction or of the city sewer. Far off, water dripped the sound constant enough for them to not be startled.
"Go carefully," Kevin warned before leading on, his eyes always jumping to the unseen walls. One step, two, five, seven.
They all jerked to a stop when the sound, light as a feather, of a chain rattled. All turned their head towards the shadows, backing into each other as they stared.
A slow laugh, low and amused had their heads whipping to the front of the hall. Five breaths got caught in five throats. All raised their fists. All shook with something very close to fear.
"Scared?" the Villain whispered, his metal claws tapping the dent in his mask with a rhythmic click. He chuckled again, the echoed sound causing them all to take a step back. "How can you hope to face me, when you back away like rodents from an owl?"
Joe bravely stepped forward, his fist clenched. "Give us back the Normals."
Necrophere slowly titled his head, regarding the brother. Though his face was masked, the five knew he was smirking at the fool's confidence and determination. "So you prefer to call them Normals instead of 'siblings?' No wonder Nicholas spoke so ill of your name."
"But how selfish would it sound," the Villain continued, his claws now clicking against one another, "if you said 'give me back my brother?" He shook his head, fingers seizing the tapping."Heroes cannot win in the aspect of choosing between their family and their chosen path, can they?"
"And so I envy the Normals," the man continued, turning his back on the five and walking a few feet away. "They can choose. They can win and lose if they have the courage to, though only a rare few do possess that courage. And Villains, they lose in the eyes of the public but win in the eyes of those they may have to protect. Take Paragon, for instance, she is a Villain because she needs to be."
"We know this!" Macy cut across, pointing at the Villain's back, "Quit stalling and face us!"
Necrophere sighed heavily, choosing to walk forward. "How can you face me if you aren't even ready to face them?"
Shuffling was heard in the shadows. It was as if a switch had been flicked, the sounds turning on. They heard crying, yells for help, the horrible scraping of nails on rock. A bloodied hand came into view. The Heroes stepped back, watching in horror as the hand pulled a body forward.
"Eric!" Ray yelled, running forward.
Kevin's grabbed her arm and yanked her back. Ray screamed as spikes erupted from where she would be standing, just in front of her brother. Eric stared at her with sad pleading eyes, mouth gagged and hair riddled with grime.
"I'll save you," Ray vowed. "Just be strong for a little while longer."
Eric nodded, but no hope and no trust entered his eyes. It was just a sorrow filled nod. Empty and lost.
"He's not the only one to save," Necrophere called over his shoulder, the creak of a side door sending shivers down all of their spines. "Selfish humans, Heroes are." He walked through the door, ignoring what happens next.
As soon as the door closed, Stella was moving. "Come on, there's a vent over here that we can use to drop down behind the spikes. We can get Eric out of here."
"What about the rest of us?" The group turned at the small voice, watching a silhouette press itself against the faint sheen of cage bars.
"We'll save you too," Stella vowed, looking for an escape that wasn't there.
A sob was heard from down the hall. "You can't. He is testing you." A Normal they hadn't met before stepped forward, shackles on his ankles. He was cautious to move more than three steps, his eyes sunken and eyes wide with fear. He couldn't be older than twelve. "You can save one of us. And only one. Or else we all die."
"What kind of sick game is this?!" Kevin demanded, turning the walls and watching lights slowly flicker to life. Scared faces came into view. Pale faces that lacked life and hope. All stared at them, silently begging them to be taken, but knew they wouldn't be.
"The kind you're meant to lose."
Everyone turned to the way they had previously come. They heard footsteps echoing down the stairs and thought they knew his voice. They all gasped when Nick calmly walked into view, unscathed and free. He spread his arms out, giving them a stern but 'I'm-glad-I'm-not-in-your-shoes' look.
"So, who is it going to be?"
"Nicky, take Nicky!"
"Brianna, hush," Nick told the young girl, stepping fearlessly over where the spikes laid before. He knelt in front of her and pushed her hair from her face, smiling gently. "I'll be ok here." He stood and turned to his brothers, eyes falling after a moment. "Unfortunately, I'm not one the list to be saved."
Joe started forward, but Ray's arm held him back. They all watched Nick pick up the now unchained girl and cross the barrier, handing her off to Kevin.
"Stella, take Joe and get Eric. Necrophere won't care if you take Eric and Bri. They don't mean anything to him anyway." The group wanted to ask Nick how he knew this, how the others wouldn't perish from this action, but they all knew that this wasn't the time. So they did as told and soon, the younger boy now in the arms of his sister. Joe and Kevin reached out, intending to hug Nick, but he stepped back, out of their reach.
"Nick?"
The Normal looked away, shadows covering his face. "Necrophere spoke of the truth earlier. I did speak ill of your names."
The group took a step back, towards the stairs.
"No! Save us too!" A Normal yelled, pressing herself even harder to the bars of the cage. "Please don't leave us!"
"They have too," Nick whispered, not even looking at the girl, his eyes set on gauging their reactions.
"I can teleport in and get them," Ray tried, but Nick was shaking his head.
"He thought of everything," he clarified, "Everything to stop you or anyone who opposed him."
Macy shook her head, lips pursed. "No one is that good."
Nick smiled small, pity riding his features. "I wish that were true." He turned away, looking down the hall in which the Villain left. "I do wish that you were that good, though."
"What?" Joe asked, stepping closer as Nick had just breathed out those last words.
"Nothing," the younger brother was quick to respond. "Get Bri and Eric home. Come back when you can."
Nick started walking when Stella called him back. "Why aren't you locked up?"
Nick's back tensed at this and he turned ever so slowly. His face again was covered by shadows. "Why indeed?" There was a moment when a ringing silence filled the hall. "Perhaps it is because Necrophere wanted to test you. Maybe he wanted to know if you would take the easy and the selfish route by taking your own brother to safety." he paused again, lifting his head so the brothers could see his steady glare. "Or maybe he was curious if you would be smart enough to ask that question."
"What do you mean, Nicky?" Brianna whispered, huddling into Kevin as she did not like the tone Nick had taken on. It was cold, unforgiving; nothing like the brave man who tried to help when Florice attacked them.
"Either way," Nick continued as if Brianna hadn't spoken, voice dropping passed a whisper, "he will pay for being curious."
A scuffling was heard behind the Heroes and they turned, startled out of questioning Nick. The blank wall behind them told no secrets.
"Afraid of an echo?" Their gazes were drawn back to Nick, who was smirking in amusement. "Not too surprising. Especially down here." He looked around for a moment, rolling his eyes. "At least it's not another cave."
Joe and Kevin ducked their head, trying to hide their chuckles. It was a joke of bad taste, but a true one nonetheless.
"Go," Nick told them while sending them a soft smile. "I'll be fine."
"Wait," Stella held out her arm, blocking Ray's path as she began to back out of the room. "Nick, can you please tell us what you meant about Necrophere being curious?"
Nick paused suddenly unable to look the group in the eye. "In due time, Stell."
"No," Kevin stepped in, his tone making Nick look up. For a moment, the elder recoiled at the look of guilt on his brother's face, but he stood his ground. "Tell us now. It may help us."
Nick shook his head. "It won't help you, only hurt."
"How?" Macy whispered, taking a step forward and reaching out, but Nick again stepped away. Seeing as Nick wasn't going to answer, she sighed and crossed her arms. "Tell us, Nick. We aren't leaving until you do."
They all watched Nick search Macy's face before his eyes jumped to the two Normals clinging to Keivn and Ray.
"Fine," Nick conceded with a heavy scowl on his face. "But I did warn you." He turned his head, again staring down the hall that Necrophere had taken. "Before when you called me a Hero, you couldn't have been more wrong." He looked his brothers straight in the eye, nothing but seriousness covering his half-shadowed face. "I am a Villain."
"No you're not," Joe laughed, defensive walls coming up. "Stop believing the idiots in the Council. You're our Nick, not a Villain."
Nick just looked at him, not hint of regret on his face. "You don't believe me?" he asked, earning numerous shakes on the head from the Heroes, but the two youngest hid their faces, shaking slightly. "Then let me prove you wrong."
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Chibiyu: So, what do you like is going to happen? Until Next update!
Written on 1/22/12
