Chapter 33
"Wake up! Wake up!" The girl screamed, tears falling down her face. "Come on! Please wake up!"
That was when she heard laughter. Looking up she saw a large creature resembling a doll standing over her.
"Another one? Yay! More food!" The creature sounded like a little girl as it reached for her.
The girl screamed as she hugged her friend. "Help!"
The hand reached and grabbed them both as the doll like monster opened its mouth.
"Time to feed!"
As this happened the necklace around the girl's dead friend, small with a silver star flashed brightly.
'Do you wish to live?' A woman's voice echoed inside the girl's mind.
She was scared because of the monster that was about to kill and she didn't know anything about the voice that she had suddenly heard but she nodded her head as the giant doll opened its mouth.
'I can help you survive but you must listen to my words carefully, child.'
The child nodded her head. 'Help me. I don't want to die!'
'Then listen carefully to me. What is your name?'
'Gwen...Rivers.'
'Do you wish to form the Avatar Contract?'
'Uh?'
'It's what must be done if you want to live. Do you wish to form the Avatar Contract?'
'...Yes.' The child watched as the star necklace glowed.
'Then state the name of the spirit you wish to form the contract with.'
Gwen didn't know how but suddenly she knew the name of the voice whispering in her head and knew what to say.
'I wish to form the contract, Andromeda, Heaven's Star.'
The star necklace released a bright light that surrounded the girl.
"Hm..." The doll monster watched as child was engulfed by a bright silver aura. "What's this?"
'I accept your contract.' Andromeda said. 'Now imagine the danger does not exist, imagine that it cannot touch you.'
Gwen didn't ask what she meant she just imagined herself instantly protected from the monster about to eat her. The silver aura flared brightly around her
"A Spirit Avatar! Oh goody! An even bigger meal!" The doll monster laughed as it opened its mouth.
The bright silver aura was now being pulled into its mouth like it was some sort of black mouth. Gwen simply closed her eyes and waited for the danger to be over.
"Hmmm...So...Wait! This is not Life Energy! It...hurts!" The doll monster wailed as it dropped the little girl.
It let out a scream as its body began to crack open with bright silver colored energy bursting through its skin.
"HELP ME!" The doll monster screamed as it exploded in a burst of bright light.
Gwen didn't know or understand what was going on but she was exhausted for some odd reason. She fell over and lost herself to the dream world.
Xxx
...
"Hm...she coming too?"
...
...
"A lot for a poor little girl to go through..."
The little girl's eyes opened up slowly to see someone sitting next to her. He looked to be a young man wearing only a black T-shirt and black shorts with a baseball cap covering his red hair and sunglasses over his eyes.
"Hi there. You all right?" He asked with a friendly smile. "I'm Kurt Malcolm and I hope the both of us can become good friends."
Xxx
"I told you not to sneak in here." Andromeda chastised her young charge.
A ten year old Gwen gasped as a giant monster made of green glowing goo prepared to attack her with its mouth growling at her. The Star Necklace on her neck was shining bright as Andromeda prepared to defend her Avatar.
"I'm sorry, okay?! I didn't mean to!"
However just before the monster could attack it was vaporized by a blast of blue fire.
"I can't leave you alone for one second can I?"
She turned around and saw Kurt walking into the room towards her with his usual smirk. "What did I tell you about touching things in the back of my shop?"
Gwen could only smile sheepishly at how she was busted.
"Well, it's not all bad." Kurt looked around the messy room.
The walls and floor were almost completely covered in green that was left by the monster Gwen had accidently released from a glowing box that had a label.
WARNING: DO NOT TOUCH WITHOUT PROPER SAFETY TRAINING OR AN INSTRUCTOR TO OFFER ASSISTANCE
PS: YOU REALLY DO NOT WANT TO OPEN THIS EVEN IF YOU HAVE PROPER SAFETY TRAINING OR AN INSTRUCTOR TO OFFER ASSISTANCE SO JUST IGNORE THAT LAST PART I WROTE. REMEMBER, DO NOT EVER, EVER, OPEN. DON'T BLAME ME IF YOU IGNORE THIS WARNING.
YOU GOT THAT GWEN?
"But..."
A broom appeared in his hand.
"You still have to clean up."
That day Gwen learned never to try and enter the back of Kurt's game shop alone or without his permission.
Xxx
Gwen gasped as the gang of spirit drones surrounded her. She was panting while sweat was pouring down her dark hair. She had just gone on her first hunting mission with Kurt and it was simply clearing out a small gang of spirits that were harassing humans that lived in this street. Just as one of the drones tried to attack her a wall of light appeared in front her, saving her from the drone that was about to attack her.
"Don't you guys know it's not right to attack a little girl?"
Kurt appeared in front of Gwen with his hands in his pockets. As the drones tried to attack Kurt simply pointed his finger and released a barrage of bright energy bolts. The drones didn't have the chance to react as they were blown apart. When it was over Kurt turned over and faced the twelve year old Gwen.
"This is what happens when you go off chasing dangerous blobs of light."
Xxx
"Is this safe?" A fifteen year old Gwen inspected the sword Kurt gave her.
She now sported the famous blue streaks in her in short hair that everyone would become familiar with in the future.
"Yep, the same sword Andromeda's first Avatar wielded when she was alive, delivered to you as per Andromeda's instruction." Kurt answered. "You managed to come this far, you've earned this."
Gwen examined the sword she took into her hands. "Wow..."
"Be careful with that, Gwen. You might poke somebody's eye out." Kurt joked. "Oh and here's another handy little gadget."
He presented her with a dark glove with blue lines.
"A glove?" Gwen asked.
"This glove will allow you to use almost any Method without relying on Andromeda's power. It comes with its own power source and can last a very long time." Kurt explained. "A handy little gadget if the connection to your spirit is disrupted somehow."
"An excellent idea, Kurt." Andromeda spoke up.
"And it's dark blue." Gwen smiled. "Thanks."
"No problem." Kurt smiled back. "Just don't wreck it too soon. It's not insured."
Xxx
Gwen shook her head. 'Why was I thinking about those times all of a sudden?'
'Sometimes memories resurface without reason, Gwen. This will be the first time you and Kurt have worked together for some time.'
Gwen nodded at that. 'Yeah, I know.'
"Hey Gwenny! Stop daydreaming and start listening here!" Kurt waved his hand in front of her face.
'And he hasn't changed a bit.' Gwen thought.
She reacted by softly punching him in the face but he fell over and covered his face as he started to comically cry.
"Oh Gwen! How could you do something like that to my beautiful face?!" Kurt said as he continued to pretend crying.
"Are you going to help me or not?" Gwen sighed. "Even if I wanted to hurt you I know you can break a brick wall with just your nose."
Kurt stood up straight, smirking at her. "There was a time when you used to cry sorry over and over after you did something like that."
"That's before I found out just how much of a smartass you were." Gwen said simply.
"True." Kurt shrugged. "But it was still fun."
"Can we hurry up now?" Gwen asked impatiently.
"All right, all right." Kurt held his hands, as if Gwen was pointing a gun at him. "I'm done. Now let's get to work on mastering that method."
"Finally." Gwen sat down in a meditative position. "So what is the incantation and the circle for this one?"
"Actually, Gwen this might be a little complicated." Kurt held up a finger. "We're not dealing with a Method designed for fighting or containing spirits. The Eye of Truth Method relies on enhancing your eye sight to see through any form of camouflage method and there is also the more advanced version that I created."
"You created?" Gwen asked, sounding a little worried.
It was a well known fact that Kurt was not only a powerful Avatar but he was also known for his impressive knowledge in understanding the inner mechanics of Methods and how to improve existing one or even create his own. When she had begun her Avatar training Kurt was the one who instructed her on how activate and control the flow of energy inside the Methods for better use and he was the one who created her Omni-Glove and several more handy little gadgets that saved her life on more than one occasion. He always had a plan for any kind of situation no matter how surprising it would be and he reacted calmly and rationally about despite his smartass attitude. Of course what made Gwen nervous was how he sometimes used her as a guinea pig even though he preferred the term 'test partner' whenever he had created a new Method or gadget.
'Why do I get the feeling I'll end up with a dozen eyes all over my body?' She thought when she saw Kurt's smirk. 'Oh geese!'
"Relax, Gwenny." Kurt said reassuringly. "I'll just teach you the original version first. It'll just enhance your eyesight and allow you to see through any form of camouflage."
"Okay." Gwen sighed in relief.
"All right, here's the symbol for the Eye of True." Kurt put on his red Omni-Glove.
He drew the glowing outline of an eye with a red slit for a pupil.
"Is that the Eye of Sauron?" Gwen asked, noticing how similar the symbol looked to the Eye of Sauron from Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films.
"Kind of but this was made before Tolkien wrote the books so we can't technically be sued." Kurt shrugged. "First draw the eye, then close your eyes and tap them with your Omni-Glove before saying the incantation."
Gwen nodded as she watched Kurt lift his sunglasses to reveal his closed eyes and tapped them with his fingers.
"Show the existence of all things around me, peer in the shadows, and bring them out into the light." Kurt whispered.
When he opened his eyes the irises were now dark blue with red slits for pupils. Gwen realized this was the first time she had seen Kurt without his sunglasses on and still she didn't know what his eyes really looked like.
'Why do these guys always go for the mysterious bad ass crap?' Gwen sighed.
'Never mind that now, child. You memorized it, right?' Andromeda asked.
"Yeah, I got." Gwen nodded as Kurt put his sun glasses back on. "They'll enhance my vision and allow me to hopefully spot the Ripper before anyone dies."
"You got it." Kurt smirked and nodded.
"Okay." Gwen took a deep breath.
She held up her Omni Glove in front of her and drew the symbol of the Eye of Truth in front of her. She then closed her eyes and tapped them with her fingers, feeling of rush of energy going into her eyes.
"Show the existence of all things around me, peer in the shadows, and bring them out into the light."
When she opened her eyes she at first couldn't tell if anything was different when she looked at Kurt. That was when she realized her vision was different with as she could see right through the walls and floors of the buildings around her. She saw the outlines of people glowing blue, the signature color of life energy. When she looked at Kurt saw the same blue outline but it was mixed with a midnight blue streak.
'That's Merlin's signature color.' Gwen realized.
"You see it, don't you?" Kurt smirked. "That look on your face tells me you see the color of Merlin's spiritual aura."
"I know that there were some Methods that could allow a person to see a spirit's signature color but this a lot more than I expected." Gwen remarked as she looked around with her new eyes. "I feel like I can see everything."
She didn't just see the outline of any person in sight but she could see the outlines of living creatures like bugs crawling on the ground around her.
"The Eye of Truth Method, designed to give a person the Ultimate Vision. The ability to see anything, no matter how hard the person or spirit tries to hide." Kurt smirked. "The Method designed perfectly for tracking a sneaky bastard like Jack the Ripper."
"Do I even want to know what modifications you and Merlin did to this?" Gwen looked back at him.
"Go on and show her Kurt." Merlin spoke up. "She might be able to handle it."
"You know when she's not around you act as the responsible one but when she's here you decide to act as the eager magician that wants to leave the crowd speechless." Kurt sighed. "Sorry, Gwen but the upgraded version of this Method would be too dangerous even if this was a training exercise."
Gwen raised an eyebrow at that. Usually Kurt loved to show off his new inventions and rarely did he have anything that he labelled as 'too dangerous'. She knew all too well how he liked to show off his creations and sometimes he did it without thinking how dangerous it was.
'I still have nightmares the last time I went into the back of his store without knocking on the door first.' Gwen shuddered. 'How the hell has he not died yet?'
"I know what you're thinking Gwen and I survive because I am that good." Kurt grinned. "Who else do you think could have trained a little girl to be as bad ass as she is now?"
Gwen shook her head. "Whatever. Now what?"
"Well the next step is to set up look out points so we can catch the Ripper before he finds a victim." Kurt replied as he looked down at the street below. "You know where the Ripper liked to stalk his victims."
"Whitechapel." Gwen answered. "All these years and he wouldn't make any changes to his MO."
"What? And take away the fame he would get? If he did it anywhere else people wouldn't see the connection. Even if he's dead he'd want people to see how it's connected to Jack the Ripper and let them know that even after all these years his work is still being continued." Kurt replied.
"Like most killers who think their work can be immortalized." Gwen frowned.
"Nice to see you're still caught up." Kurt smirked. "But now that there's more than one Spirit Avatar the temptation to come after us will be too great."
"You're using yourselves as bait." Gwen realized.
"We are bait, Gwen, whenever we come out of our homes and into the world for all spirits who have a problem with authority to see. They look at us and they know instantly what we are because they can sense the link we have with our spirits. The fact we even go out in the open shows just how committed we are to stopping rogue spirits and demons from turning this planet into their own playground. Every day, when we go to school or work, we stand out in the crowd and a target is instantly planted on our back." Kurt explained. "Why do we walk out like everything's normal? So that the bad guys know that we're not afraid to step out into the day light and if they try anything we'll be right there to stop them."
"He's right, Gwen. Since the beginning Spirit Avatars have been the vanguard of the balance between the realms and thus have become the target for revenge, opportunity, or just because they are the enemy by demons and others who seek to distort the balance for their own benefit." Andromeda added her own two cents.
Gwen nodded. "I know. I've lost count of how many times the two of you pounded that into my head when I was kid."
"You were a little more grateful back then." Kurt muttered. "No matter much of a handful you tended to be."
"What was that?" Gwen asked with a dangerous smirk.
"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Kurt said quickly.
Xxx
Alonso Carter and Alessa walked down the street of Whitechapel at high alert even if the both of them didn't look the part.
"I don't like this." Alessa whispered as they passed a couple.
"We just have to wait until one of us spots something." Alonso said.
"Not that. Bringing Gwen in on this instead of sending her back. It was good to save her from the Jack the Ripper but we should have sent her home or back to those kids on the plane." Alessa said with a frown.
"Maybe but you know there was no guarantee she would have made it back to the plane, especially if it's on the other side of the planet." Alonso replied as they stopped.
"And what about the other three Avatars on the plane? How do we know the Stalker in the Stars won't do something while we're dealing with this?" Alessa asked.
"We'll just have to have faith in Jimmy and anyone watching them."
Any further conversation was cut off as both sensed something, something that might be dangerous.
"We're not alone." Alonso whispered.
"I know." Alessa whispered back. "We can't fight out in the open like this."
She quickly held up one finger and the symbol for a Dimensional Seal appeared underneath her and spread out and anyone who was nearby was instantly frozen in time.
"Come out now or be prepared for a nasty bite." Alonso said in a dangerous tone.
A small chuckled echoed through the air before a spirit appeared before them. The spirit resembled a young man with a pale grey skin, snow white hair under a purple hat, a purple robe, and red eyes.
"Please don't make this harder than it's got to be." The spirit said.
"I know this spirit." Alessa's spirit, Nike, the Scales of Justice and Victory spoke from Alessa's right earring. "The Deceiver of Hearts, Javan."
"How nice to hear from you again, Nike." Javan smirked. "I was wondering if your Avatar was going to be here with the others."
"You know him?" Alessa glanced at her earring.
"Javan is a cunning manipulator who has become known for manipulating humans and spirits for his own amusement. Some of his lies started the most brutal conflicts in human history, especially when he fanned the flames of paranoia and hate during the Witch Hunts." Nike explained as the earring glowed bright green. "I have been hoping to bring this monster to justice for some time now for all of the lies and crimes he has committed."
"Justice? Justice is just another word for revenge and retribution that humans and spirits use to cover up their desire to beat the so called monster to death with their bare hands. It's just another lie so called civilized people have coined just to make them feel better about themselves and justify their horrible deeds." Javan chuckled. "At least I am smart enough to see through the lie, even when it's my own unlike those other fools."
"I guess from your presence here you are either affiliated with the Black Star or you're just a hired stooge." Alonso stepped forward.
The flaming tattoos on his arms began to glow bright yellow.
"Alonso Carter, Avatar of Chimera, Endless Faces." Javan's eyes fell on him. "This day just keeps getting better and better."
"We'll see about that." Alonso shifted into a fighting stance.
"Alonso, be careful. Javan is a cunning manipulator and a very good flatterer. Almost all of his skills are based on manipulation so it's hard to tell if he is actually fighting." Nike spoke up.
"Then it's a good thing I have a special friend to help me. Right Chimera?" Alonso grinned.
"We will make short work of this mouse." A growling voice was heard from the tattoo on Alonso's right arm.
Alonso thrust his arms forward, and two bright red symbols of light appeared at the tips of his hands before the two limbs seemed to explode into red and white mist and reformed...into long reaching claws that shot forward like a raging tide.
Javan spread his arms and danced backwards, a grin on his face as he twisted out of the way of one of the disproportionately large hands, and then did a twisting leap through the air to avoid the second. "Too slow!"
"Alonso!" Alessa shouted in time, and Alonso pulled his hands back before they could cleave through some of the frozen bystanders. "Remember, manipulation. He made them appear to be ten feet further back than you thought."
Alonso nodded, cursing his foolishness and thanking Alessa's observation while his hands reformed to normal. "No far ranged attacks then. We take him up close."
"Not an easy task," Chimera warned them. "He can trick us into thinking he's in one place or the other. We need a specific Method to pin down his location so that one of us can strike him."
"I'll do that," Alessa said and began to trace a symbol in mid air. "I'll call out directions and distances to you, and you hit him. Let's make it fast, we can't afford to waste time on this scum."
She drew the symbol for the Eye of Truth, closed her eyes before tapping them with her fingers and whispered the incantation. When she opened her eyes again, just what happened with Kurt and Gwen her irises had turned dark blue and her pupils now resembled cat like slits that were colored red. She narrowed her eyes as she began looking around for Javan who had vanished on them after Alonso's hands turned back to normal.
"The Eye of Truth Method will be able to see through almost any kind of manipulation Javan has set up." Nike spoke up. "But be careful as it is possible he's prepared for this."
"Understood." Alessa nodded.
Alessa scanned the street around her, trying to catch Javan before he could do anything to harm her or Alonso.
"Here I am!" Javan appeared behind Alonso and tried to stab him with a knife.
"Behind you!" Alessa shouted.
Alonso spun around as his armed became very muscular with grey skin and black fur like a Gorilla. He slammed both fists into Javan's head causing it to explode in a flash of light.
"That wasn't the real him." Alonso said. "His body would have faded if it was."
That was when a blast of dark light came out of the ground and changed into the form of a dragon. It let out a roar as it came down with its mouth wide open to bite Alonso in half. Alonso used his giant arms to block the dragon's mouth as it came crashing down.
"Keep it up! He's got to be inside the dragon!" Alessa called out.
However a blast of fire slammed into his back making him scream as he fell forward and the dragon vanished.
"Or not." Alonso groaned.
"That wasn't me speaking! It was another one of Javan's tricks!" Alessa called out.
"He mimicked her voice to fool us long enough to make a sneak attack." Chimera growled. "This mouse is trying to masquerade as a hunter!"
"Who needs to be hunter when all you need is a good actor?" Javan appeared a few feet away. "It doesn't matter if the Eye of Truth is used against me. All I need to do is put on a good show and you'll only believe what I want you to believe."
"We should be the ones facing him, Alessa. Chimera and Alonso's shape shifting methods are powerful but Javan's ability to duplicate and deceive is too tricky for one person." Nike said as Alessa's watch continued to glow bright green.
"I know. We need to both be taking him on." Alessa nodded. "But we have to know how to strike Javan before he can react."
"Agreed." Nike replied.
That was when her earring glowed bright and a staff with a pair of golden scales at the top materialized in front of Alessa in a flash of green light.
"But how can we find him?" Nike asked.
"The one thing about being a lawyer you always need to remember is to always prepare for every case and make sure your opponent doesn't know what you are thinking or planning until you show it to everyone." Alessa said as she looked around.
Another shadow dragon came at Alonso from behind forcing him to spin around that block with his Gorilla arms again. As this happened Alessa's eyes narrowed as she detected movement and spotted something shimmering a few feet away from Alonso.
"There!"
She swung her staff down and pointed it at the shimmering figure, releasing a barrage of bright glowing rings that shot out and wrapped themselves around the figure. It let out a frustrated scream as it revealed itself to be Javan.
"Release me now!" Javan shouted. "This is impossible! How did you find me?!"
"How can we be sure it's him?" Alonso asked.
"Through Nike's special Method." Alessa answered. "The Scales of Judgement."
A giant set of golden scales appeared in front of Javal who continued to struggle.
"Behold, my ultimate Method, the scales that measure the crimes of the guilty and administer justice to the wicked." Nike's voice boomed from the earring. "The Scales of Judgement."
"Javan, on the charge of extortion, manipulation, deception, and murder how do you plead?" Alessa pointed her staff at Javan.
"Don't give me that crap! I answer to no one!" Javan struggled harder against his bonds.
"Very well. You shall be judged by the weight of the rings that bind you. The heaver they become the greater your crime and the left scale will sink as the rings grow heavy." Alessa answered.
She banged the end of her staff into the ground, much like how a judge bangs their gavel. That was when golden rings began to glow brighter and heavier as Javan fell to his knees. The left scale began to sink down and let out a loud bang as it hit the ground.
"You have been found guilty and now I shall carry out the sentence." Alessa banged her staff again.
Javan looked down at the ground as he noticed he was starting to sink. "What the...WHAT IS HAPPENING?!"
"You have been sentenced to spend an eternity in the darkness of the void that is the final ability of Nike's signature Method. It sends evil spirits down into a void of pure darkness where they float endlessly without rest or hope for release." Alessa explained. "In the dark all your power is stripped away leaving you helpless and alone much like the victims you have left behind."
"DAMN YOU! EVEN IF YOU WIN TODAY YOU WILL ALL FAIL IN THE END! THE BLACK STAR AND THE RED MARAUDER WILL END YOU AVATARS ONCE AND FOR ALL!" Javan shouted as he sank into the ground.
"Maybe so, but you won't be there to see it." Nike said. "Sink into the darkness and feel the despair you have inflicted."
Javan let out one final yell as he was pulled down and vanished into the ground. There was a bright flash of golden light and then it was over.
"Court adjourned." Alessa's staff along with the golden scales vanished.
"Whoa. And people say I'm scary." Alonso commented with a small smile. "She's really a lawyer through and through."
"And more of a judge than normal ones." Chimera added.
"If you two are done we better hurry and inform everyone else of what just happened." Alessa pushed her glasses up to her eyes. "They might run into trouble like we did."
Xxx
Bobby let out a belch as he looked down at the street below. "Ain't w got something better to do?"
"You know your part in the plan." A voice, just as gruff as Bobby's responded from his watch. "Don't make me repeat myself again or I'll slap you up your ancient head."
"Oh bite me, birdy." Bobby rolled his eyes.
Hawke responded with a growl. The one similarity between the spirit and his avatar was that they liked to act like grumpy old men during a mission.
"We have been asked to keep an eye on the streets in case something tries to attack the others." Hawke responded. "We're the sniper."
"Well, at least I get to show my skills off." Bobby grumbled.
As he looked down at the street his eyes narrowed as they attempted to take in every detail of what was happening down there.
"Just how many times can people walk down the same street without noticing what's going on with their damn eyes?" Bobby muttered.
"You really asking that question? You need to stop wondering why people are so ignorant and get...Hang on." Hawke stopped in mid-sentence.
"What is it?" Bobby growled.
"A High Level Method is being cast...it's a Broadcasting Vision Method." Hawke replied. "Someone's broadcasting from the other end of the street."
"Well what's it say?" Bobby asked impatiently.
"Alessa Morgan and Alonso Carter were just attacked by a spirit suspected of being part of Black Star. Javan, the Deceiver of Hearts." Hawke answered.
Xxx
"Are they all right?" Gwen asked.
She and Kurt had just received the same instant message and Kurt was currently reading the transmission.
"They're fine. They defeated Javan, well technically it was Alessa who did and proved it would be a very good idea not to piss her off." Kurt smirked.
"Alessa? Really?" Gwen asked.
"You didn't think she could pull it off?" Kurt asked amused.
"Um..." Gwen trailed off.
"Relax, I won't say anything." Kurt chuckled. "But you owe me a Coke."
"Dream on." Gwen scoffed. "So where do we go from here?"
"Well, if this Javan was a member of the Black Star it means we've taken out one member but at the same time we may have stumbled upon something big." Kurt answered, holding up a finger. "But considering the number of Avatars there's also bound to be more spirits or demons out to cause trouble."
"Because they might know about the other Avatars that are also in the city looking for the Ripper." Gwen caught on.
"And are no doubt moving to intercept us as soon as possible." Andromeda continued.
"All too true...Heaven's Star."
Kurt and Gwen spun around to spot a dark figure leaning against the railing on the other side of the roof. They narrowed their eyes as they took in the appearance of the new arrival. It wore a long brown robe that covered it from head to toe and a hood that completely covered its face in darkness. The only part of its face that both Avatars could see was the pair of luminous green eyes that seemed to glow under the hood.
"Well, well, this is an unexpected pleasure." Kurt said with a small grin. "I didn't expect you of all people to show up here."
"You know him?" Gwen glanced at Kurt.
"Gwen, meet Nebulous, the Shadow's Blade." Kurt answered. "A spirit who was created by the concept of a ninja, assassins that stick to the shadows and strike without warning. We ran into each other a while back and well the fight ended in a draw. So you're a member of Black Star now? Never saw that coming at all."
"And now you are here, Kurt Malcolm, Avatar of Merlin." Nebulous replied. "And perhaps we can finish our score."
Gwen instinctively reached for her sword but to her shock Kurt held his arm out in front of her before she had the chance. "Kurt?"
"Sorry, Gwen but this guy is mine." Kurt stepped forward.
"Are you sure?"
"Oh yeah, everyone else has their own arch enemy and this guy counts as mine." Kurt smirked. "You go on and use those pretty eyes to find the Ripper."
Gwen stared at Kurt for a moment before stepping back. She stared between the two fighters, worried about how this fight would go.
'Hey, Gwen, what's going on?'
Gwen shook her head when she heard Carlos's voice. He must be using a Synchronize Method for connecting with the minds of Avatars from a great distance to speak with her.
'Not now, Carlos. Kurt's run into a problem.'
'Well, what's going on?'
'A spirit named Nebulous has just showed up.'
'Nebulous? That guy is here too?! So much for having an easy little hunt.' Carlos groaned.
'You know him?' Gwen asked.
'Yep, an old rival of Kurt who's one of the spirits that has been able to match Kurt in the skill of dangerous methods combined with his deadly sword skills. Those two have had fights that have stretched out for years. I've even fought the guy and he managed to escape after giving me a very hard time.'
'So this guy's really tough?' Gwen asked with raised eyebrows.
'Tough enough that even if you decided to help it would only be getting in Kurt's way. Just stay back and concentrate on using the Eye of Truth Method to find the Ripper. Nebulous may be dangerous and a possible member of the Black Star but he is nothing more than a distraction to keep us from the real objective.' Carlos explained.
"But..."
'He's right Gwen. You cannot help Kurt right now by fighting with him.' Andromeda spoke up.
Gwen stiffened. She didn't want to leave Kurt to fight on his own, no matter how powerful he was but she knew Carlos and Andromeda had a point. No matter how strong she had become she was still nowhere near Kurt's level.
'Concentrate on the mission, Gwen, and have faith that Kurt will survive. After all the jerk still owes me a box of Klondike bars for that time I walked into his lab.'
'You walked into his lab? Did you coming out glowing like you were radioactive?' Gwen smirked.
'You don't want to know.' Carlos shuddered. 'Crazy mad scientist maniac.'
Gwen didn't want to know and she never wanted to know.
Xxx
"Nebulous the Shadow's Blade?" Eugene stopped walking along with his two companions. "This wasn't accounted for."
"A lot of things were not accounted for." Theresa retorted. "Those Black Star thugs are getting determined."
"And I have a lot to thank them for."
The three Avatars spun around to see a cloaked figure on the other end of the alley. The being wore a dark coat with a top hat covering its face but they knew it was a man. In his gloved hand was a bloody knife.
"...Jack the Ripper." Hank's optimistic look turned into a dark frown. "I thought I smelled foul in the air. It's a pity that a city like London has to endure such a rotten stink."
"You call stink but the smell of sorrow and decay is sweeter to me than the finest win." Jack the Ripper stepped forward.
He tilted his hat up, allowing them to see his face. He looked almost like a real life version of Mr. Hyde with long side burns, sharp fangs for teeth, blood red eyes, and a long tong that came out of his mouth. Even as a spirit he looked more animal than human.
"How we know you're the real Ripper? We know from our history that Jack the Ripper possessed almost no ability to fight Avatars other than his Shadow Duplicate Method." Theresa pointed out as she got ready to fight. "To appear before us like this mean you must be really confident."
"It doesn't matter what you think. The only thing that matters is the plan." Jack the Ripper grinned sinisterly. "No one in the world will ever forget what happens tonight. I should pick up some rare fine wine to offer a toast."
"A toast to what?" Eugene asked.
"...The death of this city."
Theresa had enough and ran forward, a golden glowing bow appearing in her right hand as she pulled the string back with her left hand. An arrow made of golden light appeared as she let go and shot the arrow straight towards the Ripper. He didn't even try to dodge and let the arrow hit him in the chest, laughing as it exploded in a blast of light and his body dissolved into nothing but a black mist.
"That was not him." Hank spoke up. "He would not hold still and allow an attack like that to hit."
"Now what?" Theresa asked as her bow disappeared.
"We track him." Eugene replied.
He sniffed the air for a moment before stopping and turning around. "I got his scent...it's coming from that direction."
He pointed off in direction of the Tower of London.
"That's where Gwen and Kurt are!" Theresa gasped. "No wonder a spirit like Nebulous is there! They want them out of the way!"
"Well, don't just stand there woman! Call everyone back to the Tower!" Hank shouted. "We must hurry and fast!"