Legacy 209: Along Came a Phoenix
Xxx
The sounds of battle echoed through the caverns in the Underworld. A black and green-scaled demon leaped up to the ceiling and hissed at its attacker, a young woman in black leather. Bianca held out her hand and formed an Energy Ball, which she threw at the scavenger. It jumped way to avoid her attack and shot a string of green ectoplasm at her. The sticky green substance wrapped itself around her wrist, after which the demon tossed across the cavern. She rolled over the floor and quickly drew her athame, which she used to cut herself free. The demon shot two more strings of ectoplasm, though Bianca shimmered out of the way and reappeared behind it. She threw her athame and struck the demon in the back, causing it to fall to the floor, where it dissolved into green blubbering slime.
Bianca sighed as she walked over and picked up her athame, which was covered in slime. She hated how messy this job was, but she needed the money. Ever since she had been forced to kill her cousin, she had been on the run from the Phoenix. She was a traitor in the eyes of her family, meaning she had been declared persona non grata and sentenced to death. Her family had been hunting her relentlessly for weeks, which was starting to take its toll.
"At least this will buy me a nice meal and a shower." Bianca noted.
Bianca left the cavern in a shimmer and reappeared on the outside of a popular demonic bar. She headed inside and ignored most of the demonic scum there. The person she was looking for, a tribal demon, was sitting in a table in the back with a few others. Each wore the same tribal symbol, marking them as members of the same group. However, the leader was wearing a necklace of bones. Bianca tossed her slime-covered athame on the table.
"The pest problem in your territory has been dealt with." Bianca said.
"Well, well." The tribal leader replied. "Took you long enough."
"The job is done." Bianca said. "Just pay up so we can wrap this up."
"Why the rush?" The leader asked as he stared at her cleavage. "You can join us for a drink and we'll have a good time."
"You hired me to kill a scavenger demon that your tribe was too weak or cowardly to fight on your own." Bianca replied. "You're not worth my time."
"Are you calling us cowards?" The leader asked angrily.
"Yeah, and I guess slow as well." Bianca replied as she rolled her eyes. "Now pay up before I lose my temper."
The leader glared at her and clenched his fist, but Bianca knew he wouldn't make a move. His tribe was one of the weaker ones in the Underworld, barely surviving on scraps. He wasn't going to pick a fight knowing he couldn't win. He growled angrily and tossed a small bag of coin on the table. Bianca picked up the coin and her athame before walking away. She heard a sudden movement and quickly spun around, firing an Energy Ball at the tribal leader before he could throw his own green-colored one. The sphere struck him in the chest and he was instantly incinerated, leaving only the bone necklace behind.
"Do any one of you want to avenge your leader?" Bianca asked.
The remaining tribal demons quickly shook their heads and grabbed the necklace before shimmering away. They would likely retreat to their den and select a new leader through a trial of combat, though their tribe had been weakened. They would not survive the Underworld much longer, as it was a harsh and unforgiving place. It seemed fitting she was here.
Bianca walked to bar and sat down, ordering a drink from the bartender. Someone entered the bar and sat down next to her. Despite how ugly it was, it was at least somewhat good to see a familiar face after weeks of being alone.
"Hello Krimm." Bianca said.
"Hi Bianca." The reptile demon replied. "Always lovely to see you. How have you been?"
"I assume you've heard." Bianca noted.
"Yeah, I'm sorry." Krimm admitted. "It's pretty big news when an assassin witch is cast out and made a target herself. There are a number of bounties on you, so you really shouldn't be here."
"The matriarch set out bounties?" Bianca asked. "She really wants to me dead so badly that she decided to air out her dirty laundry."
"I guess so." Krimm replied. "That's why I came to warn you. Pretty soon every demon will come collecting."
"They can try." Bianca said. "But if my own family can't get the job done, what makes them think they will succeed?"
"Demons are nothing if not greedy." Krimm noted. "Perhaps she is hoping one will succeed."
"No she'll want to do it herself." Bianca replied as she thought about it. "She knows most demons won't go after a Phoenix. She's sending a message."
"A message?" Krimm asked confused.
"She knows I'm hiding in the Underworld, so she's trying to lure me out." Bianca replied. "The bounties are meant to tell me I can't keep hiding."
"So what are you going to do?" Krimm asked.
"What I've been trying to avoid this entire time." Bianca said with sadness in her voice. "This isn't going to end unless one of us dies."
"Well, that sounds very dramatic." Krimm remarked. "You know, I have recently gotten myself some money, so I bought a cute little cavern in a remote location. You could hide there with me if you want."
"I don't do roommates, Krimm." Bianca replied with an eye roll. "No, I need to stop running."
"Sounds good to me." A familiar voice said.
Bianca cursed herself for letting her guard down and quickly dropped to the floor, narrowly avoiding an athame being thrown at her. It pierced itself into the wall. She rolled across the floor and ducked behind a table. As she looked up she saw a young woman with short bleached blond hair and dark skin, wearing a leather outfit very similar to her own. Bianca recognized her immediately, as it was her second cousin and one of the most skilled Phoenix assassins out there. The demons in the bar, including Krimm, all quickly teleported themselves to safety.
"Beatrice." Bianca noted. "You were never one to give up the element of surprise."
"Stabbing you in the back would be too easy." Beatrice replied. "Besides, that's more your style, which is why I'm here in the first place."
"I didn't stab anyone in the back." Bianca said. "I gave Renata the opportunity to leave but she forced my hand."
"It doesn't matter." Beatrice replied. "You betrayed your family and abandoned our heritage."
"I never wanted that heritage." Bianca countered as she held up her arm, revealing her Phoenix birthmark. '"It was forced on all of us upon birth. We never had a choice."
"Is this the part where you try to get my sympathy with a sad story?" Beatrice asked.
"No, I know that would never work." Bianca admitted. "You were always the most cold-blooded of us all. Never the best though."
Bianca quickly threw an Energy Ball, though Beatrice ducked out of the way and threw one herself. Bianca leaped behind the counter and grabbed the athame that was stuck in the wall. Now armed with two blades, she faced her would-be assassin.
"Did the matriarch send you?" Bianca asked. "Or did you volunteer?"
"I volunteered." Beatrice replied.
"I see." Bianca noted. "What better way to get into the good graces of my aunt than bringing her the one that killed her daughter?"
"With her own bloodline ended, she'll have no choice but to appoint me as the next matriarch." Beatrice explained.
"Still trying to fix your mother's mistakes, huh?" Bianca remarked.
Just as Bianca suspected, the mention of her mother was enough to get Beatrice to lose her composure. She screamed angrily and threw an Energy Ball, which Bianca easily cut in half with her athame, causing to split and sending the halves in different directions. In the same motion, she threw the other athame and managed to strike the other Phoenix in the leg. She formed an Energy Ball to finish her off, but she hesitated as they locked eyes. Was she really going to kill another member of her family? Would she ever be anything other than a killer? This needed to stop before there was even more blood on her hands.
"I want to talk to the matriarch." Bianca said as she dissolved the Energy Ball. "There has to be another way."
Beatrice did not respond, instead she pulled the athame from her leg and disappeared in a shimmer. She reappeared behind Bianca, though the latter managed to block her move and pushed her back. She kicked the other Phoenix on her wounded leg, causing her to cry out in pain. However, she refused to back down and the two fought each other across the bar.
"Stop!" Bianca called out as she pinned Beatrice to the wall. "I want to talk to my aunt. I need you to send her a message for me."
"I don't do favors for traitors." Beatrice hissed.
Beatrice managed to break free of her hold and lashed out with her athame, slashing Bianca across the stomach. She cried out in pain as she stumbled back and fell to the floor. The other Phoenix stood over her as she triumphantly formed an Energy Ball. Cornered, hurt and without anywhere else to go, Bianca thought of the only person she wanted to see and shimmered away.
Xxx
"Oh my God." Melinda muttered. "Wyatt."
Melinda was shocked to see a pregnant Faye Moreno standing before her. Six or seven months pregnant, which means she conceived right around the time she had Wyatt had a romantic trifle under the demonic influence of Lust. Unless she had been with anyone else, that meant the child had to be Wyatt's, which was too much to handle at this moment. There was no way that her brother could be a dad. He was nowhere near ready. He didn't even know there was a baby to begin with. Who was going to tell him? Did he even want to know? A million questions were running through her mind at the same time, causing her to start hyperventilating.
"Look, I can see you're freaking out." Faye said carefully. "Let's just sit down and talk. Can I get you a water or anything?"
Melinda nodded as they headed to booth and sat down. While Faye went to get some water, Melinda tried to calm herself, this kind of stress wasn't good for the baby. She placed her hands on her stomach and tried some breathing exercises.
"Wait, are you pregnant too?" Faye asked.
"Oh no, we're not talking about me." Melinda replied as she managed to calm herself. "I need to know one thing, is Wyatt the father?"
"Yes, he is." Faye admitted as she sat down. "I was going to…"
"Are you sure?" Melinda interrupted her.
"Yes, I'm sure." Faye replied with a glare. "I know what you probably think of me after what happened, but I don't go around sleeping with just anyone."
"I'm sorry." Melinda said. "I wasn't trying to be insensitive, it's just a lot to take in. Is this why you disappeared?"
"Well, yeah, of course." Faye replied. "I liked working here and I liked my friendship with Penny. I just knew I couldn't stay after I found out. What happened with Wyatt was a one-time thing, I still don't fully get how it even happened. I didn't want to ruin his life."
"Well, what about your own life?" Melinda asked.
"I needed some time to think, so I went to stay with a cousin in Mexico." Faye said. "At first, I wasn't even sure I wanted to keep the baby."
"What changed?" Melinda asked.
"Just the feeling of something growing inside of me." Faye replied with smile as she placed a hand on her belly. "It's just amazing, despite the morning sickness and swelling. It's a part of me. I'm sure you understand."
"I do." Melinda admitted. "But why keep it a secret? Don't you think Wyatt deserves to know?"
"I wasn't sure how to tell him." Faye replied. "I know he doesn't have feelings for me, so I didn't want to use my baby to force myself into his life or burden him with a responsibility he never asked for. We both know what kind of person he is."
"He would want to support you no matter what." Melinda noted.
"Exactly, and I didn't want to put him in that position." Faye said. "I was going to wait until the baby was older and then give him the choice to be involved."
"You were going to raise the baby on your own?" Melinda asked.
"Why not?" Faye asked. "Many women have raised children on their own, including my abuela."
"Abuela, that means grandmother, right?" Melinda asked.
"Yes, she's the mother of my father." Faye replied. "She lost her husband while she was pregnant and crossed the border alone to raise my father here. If she could do it, then so can I."
"Of course." Melinda said. "I would never doubt that, but Wyatt is my brother… I can't keep this a secret from him. He deserves to know."
"Do you honestly think he is ready though?" Faye asked.
Melinda fell silent as she realized she didn't know the answer. She loved her brother, but she had no idea if he was ready to be a father. Wyatt was caring, optimistic and confident. However, he was also still learning how to lead the family. He could be impulsive and not think things through. He would want to be there for the baby, but was he truly in the right headspace to raise a child? Then there was the entirely different matter of magic and the looming threat of the Trinity. Faye had no idea the kind of world she was bringing this child into, did she?
"I honestly don't know if he's ready." Melinda admitted hesitantly. "So… did anything strange ever happen during the pregnancy?"
"What do you mean?" Faye asked.
"I mean like stuff moving around, strange floating lights or other weird things?" Melinda asked.
"Okay, so I thought you were being concerned, but now you're questioning my sanity?" Faye asked with a frown. "Do you honestly think I'm that unfit to be a mom?"
"No, no, that wasn't what I meant." Melinda said quickly.
"Whatever." Faye replied as she got up. "I need to go."
"Wait, I still don't know what to do about Wyatt." Melinda said. "What do I tell him?"
"I don't care anymore." Faye remarked. "I'm sure you'll figure something out."
Faye started to leave and Melinda wanted to stop her, though she knew there wasn't anything she could say to change her mind. She still needed to process everything she had discovered herself. Faye walked up the stairs and then hesitated for a moment, turning back to Melinda.
"You know, there's one freaky thing I remember." Faye said. "I keep having this strange dream of a woman in white looming over me. When it happens, I wake up with the most horrible feeling that she's after my baby. I'm sure it's just a dream though. Forget it."
Faye continued her way up the stairs and left the club. Melinda felt a sudden chill running down her spine. Something about that dream felt too real and disturbingly wrong. She quickly up and ran after Faye. When she got outside, she noticed had started raining. Faye had already gotten into her car and drove off. Melinda froze as she saw a ghostly figure standing where the car used to be, a woman in white with long wet black hair. When she noticed that Melinda could see her, she sank into a puddle of rainwater and disappeared.
Xxx
In another part of San Francisco, Chris was just finishing a morning shift at Memorial Hospital. He wished he could have gotten some more sleep after the Halloween party, but he had agreed to cover for a friend. At least the hospital wasn't as crazy as yesterday with all the drunk idiots getting themselves hurt or sick. Today things were back to normal, which meant only a little crazy. Chris finished off his reports and headed to the locker room, as he was meeting Wyatt for lunch. His brother had a photography assignment near the hospital and had texted that he had finished early. After a quick shower, Chris headed out and found Wyatt waiting for him by the entrance, holding two large cups of coffee.
"I figured you could use one of these after such a short night." Wyatt noted.
"You have no idea." Chris replied as they started walking. "Thanks."
"No problem." Wyatt said. "I had to get up pretty early myself."
"What was your assignment?" Chris asked.
"A local ad campaign for a department store." Wyatt replied. "Already getting ready for the holiday season, so I spent my morning shooting Santa and his elves."
"Sounds cheerful." Chris remarked.
"Well, Santa wasn't in a very jolly mood." Wyatt noted. "They used employees instead of professional models and someone didn't like being typecast due to his weight."
"I can imagine." Chris said. "So where did you want to go for lunch?"
"Penny told me about a new sandwich place just a block over." Wyatt replied. "She said they had the best pastrami in town."
"I heard some co-workers talking about it as well." Chris said. "If we cut through the alley here we'll walk right into it."
"Lead the way." Wyatt said.
The brothers continued chatting as they entered the alley behind the hospital. They were about to reach the end when they suddenly heard a crash behind them. Chris turned around and saw movement behind a few dumpsters. He ran over and was shocked to see it was Bianca. She had fallen on an old hospital matrass and was bleeding heavily. He kneeled down and called her name, though she barely seemed conscious. He checked her and saw a large gash on her stomach.
"Chris…" Bianca whispered weakly.
"What the hell happened to her?" Wyatt asked.
"I don't know." Chris replied. "Just heal her, please."
Wyatt nodded and kneeled down next to him, extending his hands and allowing a warm golden light to engulf her stomach. Chris held her hand as the gash slowly started to close until it was gone. Once Wyatt stopped healing, the light faded, though Bianca didn't wake up.
"I don't understand." Wyatt said. "Did something go wrong?"
"No, she's just exhausted." Chris replied.
Chris wondered why Bianca had shown up out of nowhere, as last time they had seen each other, she had made it pretty clear that she wanted nothing to do with him. She looked like she had been through a lot and it was clear she was in trouble. Although Chris had decided to close that particular wound, her return had ripped it right back open.
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