**POV Kairon**
We reached the door easy enough and were quickly outside. Once we were out the door, Nathan switched to weapon form and rejoined Frost as his trusty M27. Alex quickly took her suppressor off her shotgun and slid it into her left trouser pocket, aiming to get out as fast as possible. "We calling it a day boss? We lost most of the day light." Sal's question cause me to check the sky. Above us was a clear blood orange canvas, with the tired sun already half set in the distance.
"Yeah, let's move out." Frost quickly sets our pace at a steady jog while we make a beeline for the trees. Moving quick and quiet, hoping not to be spotted by any returning lab personnel.
"So any thoughts on who's behind this?" Alex is worried, I'm not surprised to be honest. I am as well.
"We can talk at camp, distractions will only slow us down." Frost seems to have a bad feeling about this and to be honest so do I. Finding the road that led us here, we quickly backtrack. Bolting through the trees while still retaining a generous amount of silence.
The Next Day
We quickly made our way back from the camp site to the truck, opting to skip our day of luxury at the hotel. "Frost, something doesn't sit right with me about the witch." I state concerned.
Frost, typically, knew exactly what I was referring too. "The fact that she called you traitor?" He questioned as Sal, Alex and Nathan loaded the gear into the truck. "I don't remember you telling me about any betrayals you committed so whats up?"
His warm smile helped me relax while I think of my answer. "Well, for me to be a traitor to that particular witch, she had to be working for someone who doesn't like something I did.
"And the only person you have really pissed off is Me... Medusa." A look of worry took over Frost's smile as he came to a conclusion which I had been contemplating.
"But if Medusa has followers, what does that make her?" My question stops Frost's blood in its tracks as his skin quickly paled from my question.
"Worse case scenario, that makes her the Grand Witch." Frost's tone is deep and cold as he reluctantly answered my question.
MEANWHILE AT THE LEGION OF DOOM!
LOL, just kidding.
Meanwhile in an Unknown location.
**POV Medusa**
I stare longingly into my glass of forty year old scotch as I swish it around observing the liquid quickly dance round the glass, thoroughly enjoying the aroma coming from the alcoholic beverage. The ice cubes still sat fully formed in the rich amber sea, that never ceases to fascinate me. "Grand Witch Medusa, Lorenza has failed in her mission." I hear a trembling voice in front of me. I quickly examine who dared to disturb me during my drink. "Would you like me to gather a team of witches to assault him on their way back to Death City?"
'Oh, it's my annoying assistant who I expected to come through to deliver her report five minutes ago. No matter, and what kind of idea is that? There isn't any spice to it and we have no idea what they are going home in so we cant mount a successful strike even if I had everything ready now! God why do I keep this girl around again.' After realizing she was waiting on my answer, I quickly finish my drink and place the glass on a small table next to my throne. "No Erika, I would not like that." I state rather bluntly from my throne, making sure to emphasize my annoyance for Lorenza's failure. The chair's frame is made entirely of ancient dragon bones while having snake skin cushions built into the seat and back rest. "Let them return to their strong hold, we shall bide our time and wait for the perfect moment to strike. Then, I shall have what I have been waiting for." I imagine the power I will obtain when my plan finally begins to unfold and clasp my hands maliciously, an evil grin painted all over my face.
"Yes my lady I shall return to my duties, Grand Witch Medusa." Erika finally stood up and began to leave rather empty room. I catch myself looking her up and down making sure to capture her every curve with my predatory stare. 'Oh yeah, cause she makes a good toy.' My eyes continue to wonder round her body eventually fixing on her shapely ass. I am fascinated once more as I snap my fingers, demanding a refill on my drink.
One of my subjects brings me a bottle of Black Widow whiskey. "I thought you might like something with a little more 'bite' to it this time Medusa." I look across and see my sister Arachne pouring the red whiskey into my glass.
"Ah! Arachne I was just thinking I needed to speak to you about your son." My tone is dark and mischievous as Arachne chuckled.
"Finally getting serious are we?" Arachne asked equally dark but slightly sarcastic as she poured herself a glass full and waved her fingers at the air above her drink. Frost began to form in the space she pointed at as ice cubes started to form in the crystallizing moisture and drop lightly into her glass.
"Yes, I guess we are." I state with an evil smirk painted on my face as I get up and we walk to the balcony just behind my throne.
Back at the truck
**POV Kairon**
"Something else doesn't sit right either." Frost states flatly. "When a witch dies, her body is supposed to evaporate, leaving her soul behind and allowing us to take it. Instead, she burst into flames and turned to ashes as if she erased her own existance. Or, maybe she was supposed to exist at all." Frost's dark and cold tone send shivers up my spine. "Did Lorenza leave anything behind?"
Frost's question was rapid and abrupt catching me off guard but not Sal, who answered with "Just a pair of I.D. tags."
"Let me see those!" I shout over to Sal calmly.
"Here you go!" Sal states as he throws the I.D. tags my way. A faint 'ching' ringed out from the tags as the left Sal's callused hand.
I quickly begin to examine the tags after I caught them. "There the same as mine just different numbers and name. Do you think she might have been an experiment?"
My question earns a darting and inquisitive look from Frost as we finish packing the gear in the truck. "I don't know but that's all we have to go on. we can look into it more when we get home. If Lorenza was indeed Medusa's servant then we might have company." Frost quickly gives the sky a quick look before ordering everyone to get in the truck.
Seven Hours Later
**POV Kairon**
Frost insisted we avoided the main roads. So the drive took forever, which SUCKED! Everyone has already fallen asleep. my attention is quickly drawn to a buzz i hear from the dashboard. I look over to see Frost's cross communication device vibrating with the name "Zabuza" on the screen sat in a mount. It looked kinda like an iPhone made out of tank Armour. "Kairon, can you answer that for me please?"
I quickly picked up Frost's phone and answer. "Hello?"
"Oh, who is this?" The woman's voice was clear but slightly startled. She probably expected Frost to answer.
"I'm Kairon Gorgon, Frost's team mate." I answer calmly and politely.
"Got it. My name Is Zabuza, I'm the communication's officer and head of the intelligence unit. I have orders from Lord Death for you to pick up a witch ally named Hannah. She is currently two miles north of you. When you pick her up she is joining your team. Then hand your report to Blackstar." Her orders were clear and to the point, leaving no room for misinterpretation.
"Roger that, Final Echo out." I put the cross com back on the dashboard. "New orders from the old man. We have to pick up an allied witch named Hannah two miles north, she is joining the team and then we go home to report to Blackstar."
"Got it, use the cross com to scan the area and find her." I quickly pick it up again and press the scan button between the two volume buttons on the top right side.
"Got her, its faint but its there." I place the cross com in its dashboard mount to act like a GPS.
"Wake up the guys, there is something crazy out there. It feels like a group of witches like the one we fought earlier." Frost has a calm tone but you can see the worry in his eyes.
I quickly jump in the back, boots slamming into the floor. "Guys get up what got company." The truck sped up making me stumble and waking the team.
"Kairon! Your faster than the truck! Rush and scout what were up against!" Frost ordered from the driver's seat. "Only engage if you absolutely must!"
"Roger that!" I jump out the back and focus all my strength into my legs. My vision quickly changes. It quickly enhances to compensate for the lack of light. It also quickly sharpens and magnifies allowing me to see better at high speeds. The edges of my peripheral vision gain an electric blue tint as my eyes shift colour. I rush ahead heading straight for the target. It takes me ten minutes to cover the entire two mile gap. Upon arriving, I bare witness to two new forms of magic. It was slightly terrifying. One witch seemed to pull energy from a void and use it like a weapon. She wielded a long bow made completely of deep purple energy with beaming ultra violet arrows. Frost was right, there four witches in combat and one on over watch. The other four witches adopted a form of fire based melee enhancement. The void witch's defense began to buckle under the relentless melee magical bombardment. 'They seem confident, I wonder how observant they are without their over watch?' I question to myself and a demonic grin is painted on my face. I quickly go to make my Witchblade when a sudden pain rips through my mind. I shake it off and make my blade. The blade angrily exploded into existence with a red flare dispersing from its core. 'Looking into that later.' The over watch sat on a broom roughly fifty meters above the ground, 'jeez don't make it too easy girls.' I begin my assault, quickly closing the four hundred meters that separated us. With one power leap, I impale the commanding witch through the spine. Blood flies out of her chest as I withdraw my blade. As she fell she burst into flames and turned to ashes, lightly floating down and resting on the grass beneath me. 'I wonder if brooms can explode?' Still stood on the broom, I set it on fire and use my wavelength to steer the broom towards the combat beneath me. "HANNAH MOVE!" I scream down as I begin my lightning fast decent. I quickly see the archer create some kind of purple tear and step through it. 'Whatever she is out of the way.' I quickly jump of the broom, avoiding the killing zone by milometers as a fiery explosion erupts in front of me, launching me back. I hit the ground hard as my momentum drags me through the grass and dirt. When I finally stop, I look up to see a beautiful cluster of five bright stars and one dark star in the middle. "I guess that answers that question."
Then I saw the archer in my peripheral vision, standing over me looking at the fire. "Not bad, but you just gave them ammunition." Her tone is cold and vicious.
"Why can they absorb fire?" Trying to laugh off the obvious craziness of... "Oh." I look towards the fire to see it be absorbed by the witches. I get up briskly and brush myself off grabbing my sword. Quaker of the blade had made its way through the dirt. The tip of the blade snapped with a loud 'Ching'. I sigh as I through the blade to one side. I catch the archers expression of shock at what I had done, but before she could say anything I had forged an identical blade as the original shattered into black shards. "Well we'd best finish them off then." I ready my blade as she draws another arrow. "I'll block you shoot. I can tell that bow of yours will do more damage then my sword." I believe my suggestion to be well founded as I have little understanding of the magic in question, however the potential damage is far higher than anything I can bring to the table right now.
"Try not to get hit, the arrows explode." Her warning is full of banter making me chuckle menacingly.
"Now that's my kind'a magic! C'MON, LET'S SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH THE POWER OF A DEMON SWORD!" I scream as they begin to advance. My whole world seems to slow down as I begin my assault. Summoning my second blade I quickly intercept the group. Three of them slam into my defense as one gets by, only to be shot between the eyes. As the body falls it ignites and then explodes with a bright purple flare. I push back the three witches remaining and roundhouse kick the one on the left in the stomach, launching her away from the group. Hannah quickly deals her a shot to the jugular as quickly decapitate the one on the right leaving the one in the middle for my new ally. I quickly kick her towards the archer with traumatic force. The witch slammed straight into the arrow, piercing its heart. The archer then crouched and fired the arrow straight up which shot up for a hundred meters and then exploded in a purple fury of energy. I look towards my ally who begins to look nervous. I restrict my power to its normal level facing my vision into its normal state, both blades quickly fading from existence. "Whats wrong?"
Suddenly, a chill rips through my body. A familiar blood lust. "You know she is a witch right killer?"
I'm frozen in anger. I begin seeing red in my eyes as I fight for control. "This ends now." I growl as I turn to face my enemy. Medusa's hologram stands before me. My anger is quickly reined in when I realize it isn't really her. "What do you want?" I hear the archer shift uneasily behind me.
"I want you to kill her Kairon. Isn't that obvious?" Medusa's cynical tone send shivers up my spine.
"Why would I attack my ally?" I hear the truck closing in. "I don't have time for your bullshit Medusa, me and my ally are going home. Why don't you come back when you can face me yourself."
The rain thundered down as a bolt of lightning with an arrow head at the bottom split the ground in front of me as I turned around. "Careful what you wish for Kairon." Medusa's evil eyes were all I could see and for a moment I froze. In that short time she slammed me in the gut and then round house kicked me to the left. I slammed into a nearby tree. The whole attack broke three ribs, my right arm and my left collier bone. I feel My regeneration working, shifting the damaged bones into position. My left coller bone is first to heal so I forge a Witchblade for me left hand and rush Medusa. The archer kept firing arrows but Medusa would dodge every single one. "You couldn't hit me with those if I stood still. The archer steadies her breath and takes her time with her shot. Medusa decides to halt to test her claim giving me a window. I charge While she is unaware. I cut her Achilles tendon with a loud roar, forcing her down. The archer quickly releases her arrow. rocketing through the air, the arrow flew straight through the heart of the witch. Medusa's body quickly shattered, leaving a snake which slowly faded away. "Not bad killer. Keep training, you will get me one day." Her cynical voice and laughter echoes through the woods.
Anger and sorrow sweeps over me like a tsunami. Tightening the grip on my sword until I bleed. I fall to me knees as a single black tear falls down my left check and my blade shatters from the stress. "I failed again." My sorrow turns to rage as red once more clouds my vision.
"KAIRON!" I hear a familiar voice ahead of me, snapping me out of my rage. I look up to see the same kind eyes that Maka has. They are however Frost's eyes which only makes me feel like I let them down. Two more tears fell, warping in colour as it mixed with the rain.
A sudden shelter appeared above me as a translucent curved piece of solid energy manifested above me. I quickly punched the floor, cracking the hardened surface. As I lift my fist I see three broken knuckles and four lacerations. "Kairon, don't be angry. It was Medusa after all. She is the most powerful of all witches." She rests her hand on my back.
"I know your trying to help, but I can't drop my hatred like a hat. She took everything from me." She quickly realized that what she said seemed a little patronizing in this situation.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Her regret is obvious but not needed.
"It's cool, you had to find out one way or the other." I stand up as Frost catches up.
"Are you alright?" Frost quickly looked me over, probably observing my wounds and scars.
"I have more cuts than I thought from the attack Medusa dealt me. Guess I need to get stronger. You just missed Medusa by the way." My words are a struggle as I try to get up, the pain biting through every muscle and wound.
"Kairon hold on. I need to heal your wounds." The archers voice was cold but concerned.
"Thanks but I'm fine i'll regenerate eventually." I try and get her to save her energy considering what we just went through.
"That means I'm just gunna speed that up a little." She said as she forced me to lay down. "This might sting a little until you get used to it."
I feel her wavelength focus around her hands hovering just above my chest. My wounds suddenly feel like they all ignited simultaneously, making me grit my teeth. "You sure your not just trying to set me on fire?" I try and laugh off the pain which was just above a bearable level.
"That's just about everyone's reaction, and done. How do you feel?" Her smile was a refreshing site. Such happiness and joy is quite rare in witches. At least from what I remember.
"Much better thanks!" I quickly state, jumping to my feet. "Your Hannah right? I'm Kairon, but I guess you already knew that. This is Sal our damage sponge." My introduction was complete with a bow at my name and an arm gesture to Sal who stood near the edge of the shelter with his angel slayer.
"Sup." 'Really Sal? our newest team member and that's all you got?'
Ignoring my thought I gestured Frost the same way I gestured Sal. "This is our team leader Frost."
"Nice to meet you." Frost said with a friendly and warm tone as he extended his right hand for a hand shake which Hannah returned.
"And last but not least, Frost weapon partners, Alex and Nathan. Our demolitions and technology specialist's." As I spoke Nathan and Alex switched to human form.
Nathan shook hands with Hannah. "My name is Nathan, tech specialist. Nice to meet you." Nathan had a very formal yet, relaxed way of speaking.
Alex stood next to Sal gripping her shotgun in her right hand and resting it on her right shoulder. "Yo. Good to finally have another girl on the team. Th' name's Alex. Baker of cookies and creator of giant explosions." Alex's tone is jocular but slightly serious giving her an air of unpredictability.
"Nice to meet you all. Should I make the shelter bigger?" Hannah's suggetion is accompanied with a few short giggles.
"No it's fine Nathan switch back to weapon form. I wanna be ready encase they try again." Nathan quickly switches back. "Alright double time to the truck we're already late." We begin a steady jog back to the truck. "Sorry we were late Kairon. You shouldn't have had to deal with that alone." His tone has traces of sorrow and a chill of regret.
"It's cool bro, but I wasn't alone. Hannah is part of the team too remember?" My question is voiced as kind and reassuring as I can make it. "Now focus captain. We have a deadline to meet." My statement is made in a solid but calm tone.
Frost's negative emotion was cleared away. "Aye, let's not keep the old man waiting."
Final Echo's new member couldn't have arrived at a better time!
With the threat of a Grand Witch over the horizon, there is only one question.
Will the new combined strength win out against the Haynes Tyrant!?
Or will Medusa's plan fall together!?
Find out in the next installment of, Chronicles of the damned!
AN** sorry been watching alot of dragon ball recently lol thanks guys sorry fine tuning took longer than expected but should have the next chapeter up sooner cheers guys :D