Chapter 17: Misfortune Pt. 3- All According To Plan
Kenny and Yuna
Time feels as if it's standing completely still as Kenny and the Being of Darkness hold their intense staredown, the rain visibly hammering down only on Kenny. The man-looking creature is still smiling ever so creepily. No matter how fearsome the Being of Darkness looks, Kenny isn't afraid because he knows he's not facing it alone. He has Yuna with him and although the girl isn't here with him physically, his feelings haven't changed. His determination remains unshaken. He is here to save Kyle from this freak. He had the options of either letting Kyle get taken away or to save him. Of course, Kenny chose the latter without a second thought. They are best friends after all, have been ever since Preschool. He thinks about Eric next, wondering where he might be during all of this. Even though he's a bully, Kenny hopes he's been okay. Perhaps this Being of Darkness took him as a hostage, but if so...Yuna would've told him.
"Get Ready, Kenneth," Yuna advises, instantly pulling Kenny from his thoughts.
Kenny watches the Being of Darkness extend its arm. A ball of dark red energy manifests in the palm of its hand, and begins to expand until it nearly covers its whole hand. The Dark Being's grin grows a bit wider. "Let's see how you handle this, it's one of my weaker spells," it taunts.
Kenny braces himself, his heart speeding up inside his chest. "Say This Quickly With Your Hand Held Out In Front Of You, 'Protect Me, Light Barrier'," Yuna instructs hastily.
The boy does as told as soon as the dark red orb flies straight at him. He tries not to lose focus at its swift advancement. "Protect me, Light Barrier!" One strand of his soaked blonde hair turns white. He shuts his eyes when the magical projectile is inches away from hitting him. When he feels no pain, and instead hears a loud yet muffled sound, he opens his eyes, unaffected by the soft yet bright light. Astonished, he looks all around his barrier. He's able to see through it like glass, and it remains dry in spite of the rain constantly pelting against it. "Awesooome," he thinks. He looks at his hand, around it is a pure white aura. It feels pleasantly warm.
"Good Job," Yuna praises him.
An amused chuckle grabs Kenny's attention. He glares back at the Being of Darkness. "Not bad, kid. You managed to successfully summon a barrier in due time, and I must say, you've got talent to pull that off when you haven't had a single day of training."
Kenny doesn't know if he should feel appreciative or apprehensive after receiving a compliment from his adversary. His barrier slowly disintegrates into the ground beneath his feet, breaking down into sparkly particles. "Do Not Let Your Guard Down." He nods his head.
The Being of Darkness' smile broadens in a manner that shows it's going to enjoy this fight. It raises the same arm out in front of it again. "Since you've proven yourself more than capable to stand up against me, despite being a child, I'm gonna have to step it up a notch." Kenny's eyes widen when a long stick of red energy stretches out to the side from the center of the thing's hand. "Form and prepare to cut down my enemy," the Dark Being utters menacingly. Each side starts flickering like a flame that's gone out of control. The raindrops that land on it evaporate. The tip of the energy curves upwards a bit. The fast-moving edges decrease in velocity before stopping altogether, the top side remains sticking up like spikes whereas the bottom side becomes smooth. The energy hardens, starting from the tip and working its way down to the Being of Darkness' hand, where the handle is. The magical energy has taken the appearance of a katana with its backside unusually sharper than the blade itself. Grabbing the handle, the monster lowers its deadly weapon, the arched point of the blade vaporizing the rainwater on the ground, creating a dry patch underneath.
Kenny is unable to take his eyes away from the katana, his body feeling stiff and heavy like a statue. He can't help but imagine different scenarios of himself getting stabbed, sliced in half, or even cut to pieces by it.
Inside of a mystical subspace with only a black and white shrine floating in midair, Yuna is standing within the shrine looking just as horrified as Kenny. She's able to view everything that Kenny sees and cannot see through a square-shaped mirror in front of her that's twice her size. She didn't expect the Being of Darkness to get serious so soon, which she deems deplorable. It's going against a 6 year old after all. A nervous drop of sweat trails down the side of her face, and she grits her teeth, racking her brain on how they can deal with this unforeseen situation.
The Being of Darkness points its blade at Kenny. "I bet your Inner Guardian is freaking out right now, trying really hard to figure out what you can do to counter against my sword," it assumes mockingly.
"Tch, Bastard," Kenny hears Yuna curse.
"I'll be kind and tell the both of you something. Ever since me and my kind were created, all we've ever done was get stronger thanks to our Master's magical energy. But that's changed...well, only a little. We now work to gain the extra power we need to defeat annoying shits like you and your Inner Guardian since you lot want to hinder the Master and weaken the approaching darkness. So, this here in my hand is an ability I alone came up with, and I call it...'Misery Blade'."
Yuna is seething with rage. She wants to go out there so badly and kill the Being of Darkness herself. Kenny doesn't know what to do or say. He's standing there like a hopeless boy waiting to meet his demise. For some reason, knowing that he's going to be killed frightens him, as it should but he's died so many times prior to this moment that he became irritated. Just because he always comes back to life doesn't make dying any less scary nor painful.
The Being of Darkness chuckles at the sheer panic on Kenny's face. "Looks like someone's given up before the fight even fully begun. Well, I need to end this anyway. I still need to pay that friend of yours another visit."
The word 'friend' elicits a startled reaction out of Kenny, knowing full well who the monster was referring to. But...it met Kyle once before...? Although he's curious as to why and when the Being of Darkness went to see Kyle, Kenny can't let it get anywhere near the redhead a second time. He balls his hands into fists and clenches them tightly, his resolve slowly returning. "I can't give up. Kyle is waiting, waiting for someone to save him." He closes his eyes and remembers past events he spent with his friends.
The first memory to come to mind is of their first field trip. It was a rare day in South Park where it was sunny and warm enough to go to the zoo. Kenny was so glad that he could attend the trip since it was free. It was also the day death failed to send his soul to the afterlife. He was almost close to getting ripped to shreds by a lion, he didn't even do anything to provoke it. But miraculously, a zookeeper kept the ferocious animal at bay. So in the end, he was able to enjoy his time there with his classmates and friends.
The next and last memory is one Kenny deems more memorable than when they had a good time at the zoo. Kyle stuck up for him one day at school against the three infamous bullies: Trent, Billy, and Ricky. Stan appeared shortly afterwards, but the three boys left as soon as they saw Kyle defend Kenny with a glare and that alone.
"Now it's my turn to help you, Kyle." Kenny opens his eyes.
Yuna gasps at the boy's hazel eyes. From here, she can feel his courage. Today has been nothing but surprises after she met Kenny. When she was chosen to be a human's Inner Guardian, she didn't expect them to be a child, but she dared not question her Superior's chosen candidate. Turns out, Kenny isn't your average human. Not only is he immortal, but he's headstrong. He is devoted to save his friend no matter the risk nor the foe. Yuna smiles. "You are a strange boy, Kenneth," she thinks.
"Yuna?" Asks Kenny. "Can you help me?"
"Of course. You didn't even need to ask." Yuna closes her eyes as she clasps her hands together over her chest, her body emitting a grey aura.
Back on earth, Kenny immediately feels a warm heat flow throughout his whole body, heating him up as if he's standing under a ray of sunlight. Not even the cold air and the rain around him intervenes with the sensation. A light gust of wind picks up, and he closes his eyes again. He feels his Inner Guardian's energy combining with his own, supplying him enough power to stand his ground against the Being of Darkness.
Said Being's smile falters when it senses an increase in the boy's magical power. There's a grey aura surrounding his small body. "Not good, I better put an end to him right now." Gripping its katana's handle tightly, the B-O-D slides one foot back before dashing towards Kenny at highspeed, kicking up rain droplets. It arches its arm in front of its neck, preparing to kill the child in one clean strike. It takes only a split moment for it to be right in front of Kenny. Its katana acquires a shiny glint at the very tip of its blade, then the Being swings it down towards Kenny's neck.
"DIE!"
"NOW!"
As soon as the sword is merely centimeters away from Kenny's neck, a burst of energy sends the B-O-D skidding backwards. The Dark Being surprisingly doesn't lose its footing as it tries to stop its momentum. When it finally does, it ends up being more than several meters away from Kenny. It maintains its stance, snarling angrily through its clenched fangs. "How the hell did he manage to get enough power in such a short time? That's bullshit!"
The aura around Kenny gradually fades away as if it's entering his body. Two more strands of blonde hair get taken over by white. Once the aura is completely gone, Kenny opens his eyes and the breeze ceases. His pupils are now white.
The Being of Darkness starts shaking - not from fear, but from anger. It should've known better than to underestimate the Inner Guardians, regardless whom their host is. Standing straight while dropping its arm, it lets out a chuckle, finding it funny that it might struggle to beat a child. Its fangs curve back into a smile. "Deciding to put up a fight before you die, eh?" It gibes. "You'd better not-"
"Fire, Orb of Light!"
The Being of Darkness uses the backside of its katana to expertly block a white orb that was launched at its head. It lowers its weapon from its face, its wide smile undisturbed as it chuckles once more. Kenny narrows his eyes, keeping his arm steady in the air.
"That was rude of you, brat. At least let me fin-"
The B-O-D is interrupted by yet another projectile spell, except this one is of a different color - dark purple, and the Dark Being dodges it. The blast leaves a big crater in the ground.
Kenny is rendered stunned. He almost doesn't register the quickly approaching footsteps behind him.
"Looks Like Our Backup Has Finally Arrived."
Kenny lowers his arm and turns around. He smiles, greatly relieved to see two familiar faces.
"Stan! Mrs. Marsh!"
Stan, Kenny, Yuna, and Chris
Stan and his mother jog over towards Kenny, Stan looking surprised at the blonde's appearance. This is Stan's first time seeing him without his hood covering his face. If it weren't for his parka, Stan would've mistaken the boy for someone else. Him and his mother come to a stop.
"Whoa...you look...different," Stan says.
Kenny blinks, then inspects himself. He doesn't find anything out of place.
"He's Talking About Your Hair And Eyes," Yuna tells him. "Although Your Eyes Haven't Changed Much, I've Told You Before That Whenever You Use Magic Or Continue To Age, More Strands Of Your Hair Will Turn White."
Kenny frowns. "Oh yeah..." He feels very self-conscious now.
"What's wrong?" Stan asks.
Kenny shakes his head. "Nothing. Um, did you throw that spell just now?"
"Nope, my mom did. She can use magic too." Though Stan doesn't know how. His mother didn't mention that she has an Inner Guardian.
"Interesting," Yuna muses. "This Boy You Called Stan Is The One That Has An Inner Guardian, Not His Mother, Yet She Can Use Magic. Dark Magic At That.""And she's quite powerful too," she thinks.
"Wow, that's really cool!" Kenny lauds. With Mrs. Marsh's help, he's sure they'll defeat the Being of Darkness with no problems.
Laughter has the three of them looking towards the source. The Being of Darkness is standing on the opposite sidewalk. "Forgetting about me already?" Kenny and Mrs. Marsh glare at it. The Dark creature points its scarlet blade at them. "You three are lucky I was nice enough not to kill you while you were distracted."
Mrs. Marsh steps in front of Stan and Kenny. The sight of the katana gives Stan cold feet. It looks so sharp... "Big talk from someone that couldn't even defeat a child." While Kenny stifles a laugh, the Being of Darkness' fangs curve downward slightly.
"Wait a minute...you look just like..." The Being murmurs, then it laughs with mirth. "I almost thought you were the Queen of Darkness. Not only do you look exactly like her, but your magic is also the same as hers. Phew, was worried for a second there."
"Queen of Darkness?" Stan, Kenny, and Yuna think simultaneously.
"So it seems your creator told you about my ancestor," Mrs. Marsh says calmly.
"Of course. Not just that, but also what that backstabbing bitch did. But enough talk, let's get back into the action!"
Before Stan can even process what's going on, his mother protects him and Kenny in a dark purple barrier, nullifying the Being of Darkness' brisk attack. Stan whimpers with wide eyes. He didn't even see the thing move!
The sturdy barrier propels the B-O-D back a few feet. Its sword didn't even dent it. Mrs. Marsh expels her barrier and hurls a projectile at the Dark Being. This time, it deflects the ball but before it can go back on the offensive, Kenny also fires his own spell. The B-O-D smacks the white orb away as well, and returns the favor, using it as a distraction, then darts towards them, ready to behead either one of them. Mrs. Marsh wordlessly summons her barrier again. The black magical orb cracks it just like the Being hoped it would, and a single swing of its sword shatters the barrier to pieces. The destruction of her spell weakens her a bit. "Now you're dead!" Kenny comes to her rescue with another Orb of Light, blasting the B-O-D right in its hooded face. "Gah!" It stumbles back hovering a hand up to its head. "Why you little...Pfft." It starts laughing. Once the smoke clears, Stan, Kenny, and Mrs. Marsh see why. Kenny's spell hardly damaged it. It uses its hand to straighten out its hood. "Well, that tickled."
Taking advantage of Kenny's astounded state, the Being of Darkness kicks him in the chest. He coughs up blood. "K-Kenny!" Stan cries out, watching his best friend get sent a great distance away from him and his mother.
"Why Aren't You Doing Anything?" Asks Chris, his tone of voice calm. "You Could've Prevented That From Happening." Stan frowns, feeling very penitent. Everything is progressing so fast, he can't keep up.
"I'll save the easy prey for last," the Being of Darkness says, then it attempts to stab Stan's mother through the chest. She remains in place as she summons her barrier yet again. "Tch, you and these damn barriers!" The monster starts slashing at it. Stan winces at every incision dealt onto the barrier, however they do nothing to it.
"Stan." The boy looks up at his mother just as she turns around to face him. She gives him a small, comforting smile, and places a cold hand on his shoulder while getting down on one knee. "I know you were eager to help Kenny, but you weren't mentally prepared to fight. No amount of training can ever fully prepare you for an actual fight, no matter how long you've trained for nor how determined you are in your abilities." She heaves a troubled sigh, then frowns. "I hate that you and your friends are fated to participate in such dangerous battles when you all are just children." She stands up while removing her hand. "I'll handle the Being of Darkness by myself. I'm going to dispel my barrier and once I do," she turns around. "Go to Kenny and keep your distance."
Even though Stan knows his mother is strong enough to hold her own, he just doesn't want her to fight alone. What if...Stan shakes his head. He mustn't think of the worst possible outcomes that could befall his mother. She...will be fine, surely. His mother gets rid of her barrier once again, making the Being of Darkness jump back since it didn't expect her to do that. She sticks out her arm.
"Come to me my Royal Sword!"
In that instant, a purple aura in the shape of a sword materializes near her hand. Once she grabs its handle, the aura breaks as if it was made of thin glass. The sliver blade glistens with raindrops, its guard is gold, and the handle is a plain purple color.
"About damn time you started fighting back!" The Being of Darkness says excitedly. They clash blades and sparks fly.
Stan watches all of this unfold right before his very eyes with a racing heart. He turns around, remembering that he's supposed to go to Kenny. The boy is currently standing up on his feet, his movement sluggish. Stan is glad that he appears to be okay. He glances behind him, neither his mother nor the Being of Darkness have gained the upper hand against each other. Silently praying for her success, Stan starts approaching Kenny.
"Are You Really Going To Let Your Mother Fight Alone?"
Stan makes a face, feeling contrite all over again. "She's strong...she won't lose." Right after his self-assuring thought, he hears his mother grunt in pain. He stops, spinning around to see what happened. His mother is clutching her arm that's dripping with blood, panting. Her sword is held weakly in her hand.
"M-mom!" The dismay in Stan's tone has Kenny running back to them.
"Don't worry about me! Just go!"
The Being of Darkness laughs jubilantly as it starts pressuring the woman with its unstoppable aggression. Each strike she blocks depletes more of her energy.
"Don't Run Away, Fight. We Did Not Train Just For You To Do Absolutely Nothing," Chris scolds.
Stan starts shaking from the stress. "I...I..." Like his mother said, he isn't mentally ready to fight, and he already knew that. He's just afraid to tell his Inner Guardian that, he's let him down once before.
"I'm Not A Fool, Stanley. I Know Full Well That You're Not Ready To Use Your Magic In A Real Fight At The Moment."
The little noirette stops his body from trembling, his eyes narrowing. "Then why-"
"Stan!" Kenny slows to a halt beside Stan. His pupils are back to being black. "C'mon, we gotta help your mom."
Stan frowns, averting his gaze to the ground. "I...I want to, but I..." He can't even tell Kenny. He envies him. He was combating against the Being of Darkness all by himself, yet he looks perfectly composed. "A-are you okay though?"
Kenny nods. "Yeah, my Inner Guardian healed me...Did you just get your Inner Guardian?" He then asks, thinking the reason why Stan looks so hesitant is because he hasn't gotten familiar with his Inner Guardian or magic powers yet.
"...Y-yeah..." Stan replies, his voice almost a whisper.
Kenny's assumption was correct. He lightly pats Stan's shoulder, the black-haired child looking up at him with ashamed eyes. "Don't sweat it then. I'm gonna go help her." Flashing him a reassuring grin, Kenny takes off.
"Why Did You Lie To Him?" Chris' question goes unanswered. He sighs exasperatedly.
Mrs. Marsh sees Kenny coming her way. "K-Kenny-" She's roughly shoved away, and she falls onto her side.
"Oh, the runt has come running straight into the lion's den." The Being of Darkness aims to deliver a horizontal slash along Kenny's neck, but he ducks it. He's amazed at himself for his quick reaction speed, but then he's seized by the throat. He's lifted effortlessly into the air, feebly trying to pry the gloved hand off of him.
"N-no...Kenny..." Mrs. Marsh strains her arms into pushing her up on her knees, causing her wounded arm to ooze more blood.
Stan is affright by what he's seeing. "Help Him. You Have The Power To Do So," Chris prods.
Shaking its head, the Being of Darkness sighs, dissatisfied with the results of this battle. "This got boring pretty quickly." It looks over at Sharon, who's now trying to stand up. "I was hoping you would put up a better fight since you're related to the Queen of Darkness, but you're nothing but a weakling as well." It looks back at Kenny when he starts hitting its hand. "I guess it's for the best anyway, I've already wasted too much time...Oh! I just thought of something." With a chuckle that makes Kenny rigid with fear, the B-O-D raises its blade up to his face, the crimson blade reflecting in his pupils. "Maybe I should bring your head to your friend as a warning."
"Don't you fucking dare," Mrs. Marsh hisses, now on her feet with her sword in hand. Getting up left her exhausted, and the blood loss is starting to get to her.
"What? You gonna stop me?" The B-O-D scoffs. "You barely did anything and you're already spent. Hell, this kid fought better than you did."
Gritting her teeth, Sharon charges at the arrogant monster. She's unable to block a kick targeted for her stomach, the force of the B-O-D's boot sends her flying, but not far. With blood leaving her mouth, she lands onto the sidewalk, her teeth clenched in agony as she lays there groaning. Her sword is discarded beside her.
Tears surface in Stan's eyes.
"It's Going To Kill Them If You Continue To Just Watch Idly...Or Maybe That's What You Want To Happen?"
Stan shakes his head, crying silently. "N-no! No, I don't!" He drops to his knees, shutting his eyes as he grips at his hair. He doesn't want his mother and Kenny to die, but...even so, he's not brave like them. He would be nothing but a nuisance if he helped them now. A hindrance. He opens his eyes halfway as he releases his hair, his arms going slack beside him. He's useless. He can't prevail over his fear of the darkness, and he can't fight to protect the people he cares about. As a child, he shouldn't be feeling guilty about such things. But...knowing that people will die because of him left a huge burden on his conscience. It's a future he doesn't ever want to become a reality.
He...wants to become strong. No, he needs to become strong. He needs to become fearless, like Kenny. He...has to save Kyle and his family.
"Would You Like My Help?"
Stan doesn't even ponder his Inner Guardian's offer. "Yes."
Within an abyss-like subspace with a single red and gold throne chair in the very center of it sits a deceptively smirking Chris. Just like Yuna, he, too, has a large mirror before him that has extraordinary visual range of the earth. It's shaped like an oval.
"Stanley, allow me to take over."
A strong thump of a heart beats loudly in Stan's ears. His eyes widen as his vision begins to dim.
"I'll fight For You Since You Refuse To," are the last words he hears from Chris before he completely loses himself to his Inner Guardian. His head slumps forward, his sapphire eyes changing to teal.
His lips form into a triumphant smile.