Presence- The Marked

by L J Branch

  “Extraordinary…my mother once told many stories about the Dolls,” Jack began as he placed a hand on the table. “There are many myths about black Dolls, but they are supposed to be just that, myths,” Jack stated before he glanced at Kat who dug her hands into the Doll’s chest. “Can the Doll be salvaged?”

  “Possibly, I just need its apple,” Kat said quickly as she went to search around the room. “The Doll hasn’t self-destructed which means it’s failsafe hasn’t been triggered. The apple must be in this room,” Kat said before she spotted a safe in the corner of the room.

  “Can Kat fix it?”

  “No idea, but Kat always had a knack for repairing things for as long as I can remember,” Jack said as he watched Kat who was so focused on her task, that she didn’t even pay the conversation any mind. Tears in her eyes, Kat broke into the safe and found what appeared to be a golden apple. Kat grabbed it quickly before she returned to the Doll and shoved the divine fruit violently inside of its chest. A spark erupted from the apple and the entirety of the Doll’s body jerked up as if convulsing. Suddenly, its black hand gripped Kat’s wrist tightly as a red light shone in its eyes.

  “D-Destroy…me…” said the Doll with a mechanical yet feminine voice. The words made Kat glare at it before she shoved it back down on to the table and pulled out her flask.

  “Like hell, come on drink this,” Kat ordered as she poured the flask into the Dolls mouth. “A black Doll…Discordia would torture us for an eternity if we harmed you,” Kat said quietly as she stroked the side of the Doll’s face. “Keep that with you, we’re going to come back for you,” Kat said before she turned to her band as the damage to the Doll began to repair little by little. “Let’s find that damn thing already so we can get out of here. I knew war made people do some fucked up shit, but I thought the Mage’s Circle was better than this,” Kat said as she wiped her eyes while Jack wrapped an arm around her to comfort her.

  “Stone, how close are we?” Diamond asked as they left the room.

  “The signal I’m tracking from it says it should be coming up now, first room on your right!” Abbie said as the door opened and revealed a large vault that was filled with safes. “This is where we kept our important prototypes, but I didn’t expect it to be this big. Just how many mind tricks did they play on me?” Abbie questioned but before they could respond, August appeared before them in a blue flash.

  “Well, well, what do we have here?” August wondered as their blood ran cold. The feeling of dread only increased when they heard the massive doors shut behind them. Nearly immediately a bullet slammed into his shield which made it flicker a bit, but ultimately it left him unscathed. It was almost an after-thought when Diamond looked down at her weapon in surprise as if her body moved on its own. “Such a warm welcome, Your Highness, and here I was hoping we could be a bit…diplomatic and talk this out.”

  “I have nothing to discuss with you!”

  “Oh, but you see, that’s where you’re wrong. I need to keep the Circle distracted as I rebuild the Order. Killing you would be far too dangerous. What’s the saying, ‘Royal Blood must never spill for once it does the results are ill’?” August mocked as Diamond glowered at him. “Hurting you too much would put my own life in danger, I am no fool. That said, your band has a bad habit of interfering with my business, so I will have to destroy it. Don’t bother looking at the door, my enchantments can stop even a thief from being able to slip through it,” August said with a cruel smile that enraged the thieves. Band 13’s shadow synch activated without so much as an order from Diamond. Three pairs of black and electric gold eyes glared at the mage as Band 13 prepared for the worst.

  “No, no, no, I can’t get into the system! I can’t open the door!”.

  * * *

  Prosperity Industries, Top Floor

  “Sorry Abbie, this is for your own good,” Haylen said as she forced her sister out of their systems. “Maybe we should test out your creation?”

  * * *

  Prosperity Industries, Vault

  “What? Waiting on your little hacker friend to save you all?” August asked before he smiled up at one of the cameras. “Abigail Stone, was it? You and your sister continue to impress me with your talents, so much so in fact, that I hired her again,” August revealed with a boisterous laugh. “That signal, or whatever you civilians call it, that you were tracking? False, one she made for me to trap you.”

  “Shit! G-Guys I-I-”

  Abbie’s static-filled voice was cut off instantly which sent a chill down the spines of the thieves’ as they realized that they were trapped with the Arch-Mage.

  * * *

  Santa Monica, Midas Tower

  “God damn it, no!” Abbie shouted as she was finally forced out of the system. Abbie cursed as she went to work. Abbie found herself forced to fend off an insidious attack on her computer that could have only come from Haylen. Soon, her monitor froze before a gold “A” appeared on it. “What did you do?” Abbie asked in horror as she realized that Haylen had used Athena to keep her out.

  * * *

  Silicon Valley, Prosperity Industries

  “We have to get out of here,” Diamond said as she gripped her weapon tightly.

  “I’m afraid after all of your interfering, I can’t let your band leave, at least, not in one piece,” August said. “You all were so close too, but unfortunately for you, I had her come to pick up Project Athena just before you got here. Enero was more than willing to let me use it since the thieves found and stole the Order’s grimoire. After all, who knows what they plan to do with it,” August said before he gestured to Jack and Kat. “Well since you won’t make a decision, I will. In honor of your father’s memory, I’ll let you live, boy. However, that thing right there,” August trailed off as he pointed at Kat. “It and I have some unfinished business.”

  “What business could you possibly have with her?” Diamond questioned angrily.

  “Don’t play innocent! Not with the blood of countless innocent victims on her hands!” August boomed, his voice filled with righteous fury. “She betrayed the alliance! Sided with the Black Moon and killed dozens of women and unborn children under my protection! She doesn’t get to play innocent no matter what form she takes!” August said as Kat looked at him, confusion evident in her eyes. At that moment, Kat’s eyes flickered between gold and green as her heart began to waver.

  “What are you talking about?” Diamond asked coldly as she forced back Kat’s fear and regained control.

  “Back when the alliance…” August scoffed at the last word. “…was at war with the Black Moon. The Thieves’ Guild had a Doll that went rogue and destroyed a nursery for the Circle that was under my care. That monster smiled at the deaths it caused. I fought it off, causing it what I believed to be irreparable damage but it escaped. Then when the war was over, your Bandit Queen had the nerve to pardon it as if it were some person that deserved redemption!” August snarled as Kat’s hands trembled. “The Bandit Queen kept that monster under her care and everyone chose to act as though it were justifiable! It made no sense! One day, after my grieving, I knew I had to do something. I had to change this world that let monsters roam free while the innocent died. I wasn’t a part of the inner circle, however, so I couldn’t just demand an audience with the Bandit Queen and that Doll she was hiding,” August snarled before a sickening expression crossed his face. “I couldn’t, but Romero could,” August said as Diamond felt her heart skip a beat. “Illusions, potions, charms, you name it. Changing one’s physical appearance is child’s play for an adept mage, especially with how many options we have,” August said dismissively. “I just wanted information on the Doll’s location, that’s it, but she was just…so…stubborn. Things escalated and I forgot how weak she truly was without her band, she lacked the will to even cast her fabled illusion, Dominion,” August said and had the gall to give Diamond an apologetic expression. “Believe me, I did not mean to kill your Queen and consequently my brother in all but
blood. When the lightning spell I cast in a moment of frustration stopped her heart, I knew I had passed the point of no return. She was not meant to die, and you were not meant to see it. For that, I am sorry. I did not mean to kill her or start a war, but that is life I suppose. Exceedingly unpredictable,” August said before he focused his attention on Kat. “But here we are, after all these years, I’ve finally found you. I’ve unmasked you. For once, no matter what form you take you can’t hide from me.”

  “I…I…” Kat found herself speechless as she stepped back and tried to put as much distance between herself and August as possible. Diamond cursed as she felt her control over Kat and Jack slip. Kat wanted to deny everything the man claimed, that his accusation was entirely false. Yet, between the large unexplained gap in her memories and a sick feeling in her stomach that began to grow, she found herself unsure.

  “Impossible. I’ve seen her age, I’ve seen her cry. She is human,” Diamond denied.

  “Please,” August said with a scoff. “We both know Dolls are made to imitate humans flawlessly. It’s so easy for them that they can do it subconsciously. I’ll admit I was expecting her to be faster and stronger than she is now. I suppose the damage I caused to her apple had more of an effect than I imagined,” August said before he raised his hand toward Kat. A golden staff appeared in his hand in a flash of blue light. The end of the golden staff had a lion’s head biting down on a crimson crystal. “Your only chance for redemption is through your destruction.”

  “Everything…everything is your fault,” Diamond said incredulously. “All of this damage, this war, shattering the alliance, and for what? Revenge!?”

  “A child like you wouldn’t understand,” August said as his eyes never left Kat. “Now, I know you can hear me. Die peacefully or put up a fight and risk endangering the other two, the choice is yours.”

  “No. The choice is mine!” Diamond snapped as she glared at August. Due to their shadow synch, Jack and Kat found themselves drowned both mentally and emotionally by Diamond’s anger and despair. “And I choose to make you pay for what you’ve done!”

  “Then so be it,” August said dismissively as he stood still and let the thieves attack him. He did not bat an eye and his body refused to budge even as the three thieves attacked him with everything they had. “Truly tragic that it’s come to this, you really are just first years, aren’t you?” August mused, unaffected by their assault which only served to anger Diamond further. “Now I know why my nephew spared you. You’re strong for what you are, but strength is irrelevant for a thief, but you know that don’t you Umbra?” August asked Kat who remained silent though he could see her eyes flicker between gold and green. “I thought I knew the limits to your cruelty. Yet, you would let your own band go against me in this state?”

  “Shut up!” Diamond snapped angrily as Jack slammed a frozen blade into August only for it to shatter upon impact. August slammed his staff into Jack’s stomach and without a single word, encased Jack in a block of ice of his own creation. The ease at which he stopped Jack struck fear into Diamond’s heart as she began to see how outclassed they truly were.

  “You should be angry with her, not me, Your Highness! She’s the reason you are even in this situation to begin with! You didn’t even know did you?” August questioned knowingly. “A relic of the past, a weapon, snuck on to your band without your knowledge and no one told you. Not even your father? And now that weapon is willing to let you all die to keep up her act. Such disrespect for who should be the most respected member of your faction. It makes me wonder if the rumors are true, that your station is just for show,” August mused. Diamond wanted to shut him up, to silence him once and for all but nothing she tried even fazed him. “You should join me. By rebuilding the Knights’ Order, I will gain enough favor to take that fool Enero’s position. That will be half of the alliance under my command and with that I can help you take what is rightfully yours. Give you the respect you deserve. With your help we will take the Tribe as well and with the entire alliance we can shape this world as we see fit. No longer forced to serve the powerless civilians, no, we can make them serve us. The way it is meant to be.

  “Do you hear yourself!?” Diamond asked. “Why would I ever side with you!? You murdered my mother!”

  “The same mother that abandoned you,” August said simply and his words made Diamond and Kat still. “She chose an object, a weapon, over you. She chose to leave you unprepared to rule a kingdom she fractured instead of turning in a Doll that betrayed us all. Your mother pandered to her subordinates, she killed her own father for being able to do what she was too weak to. They called him mad for how he slaughtered anything he considered ‘dark’, I called him a genius. He knew that the Black Moon would rise again if the monsters were allowed to live but your mother showed them mercy and killed him. And what happened? Just over twenty years ago the Black Moon rose once more and tried to kill us all,” August said as Diamond trembled. “They are still lurking even now, and you know that, don’t you? Of course you do and it terrifies you to know that you will be forced to fight a war you didn’t start. An unprepared Queen led like a lamb to the slaughter by those she is supposed to trust,” August sneered. “Your father, a liar. Your mother, a coward. Your band, a lie. Your Goddesses, gone. The loyalty of your people, only there until you make a single mistake. You are alone and have nothing. The only one that even remotely understands the pressures you were forced to withstand is me.”

  “Diamond…” Kat began, startled by how she felt Diamond’s presence leave her. Kat’s now green eyes looked at her boss in concern “…you can’t listen to him, he’s just trying to get into your head!”

  “Says the one that continues to lie to her,” August said, visibly disgusted by the sight of Kat. “The Black Moon is coming and I am the world’s best chance at stopping it. I am the Champion of Light. Everyone wants to pretend they are gone for good but they’ve contacted me, even assisted in some of my research into the Order. They think I will help them, but as soon as I get that blade, I will drive it through Morgana’s heart myself.”

  “Honor or glory?” Diamond asked quietly which confused August. “Are you resisting the Black Moon because it’s the honorable thing to do or because of the prestige it will bring you?”

  “Does it matter?” August asked with a scoff. “As long as it gets done. Who cares if I get the glory? I’d deserve it.”

  “Then let’s stop these talks of an alliance between you and I,” Diamond said with a newfound resolve as August realized his answer was the wrong one. “You are wrong, I have at least one thing even if I have nothing else. My honor. One who fights for glory instead of honor will only find tragedy.”

  “Nonsense, what good is honor when you’re dead?”

  “Without honor, I might as well be dead regardless,” Diamond countered and Kat felt relief wash over her as Diamond once more prepared to fight. “Umbra, I don’t know what you are or even who. I don’t care either, just bring him down.”

  “Right…” Kat said softly.

  “As if you could,” August said before he heard a loud crack. August turned back in time to see Jack break free from his prison.

  “You will be stopped,” Diamond said as Jack’s entire body seemed to gain a faint glow. Ice appeared on Jack’s arms, chest and legs like armor. The surge of his power was felt by them all as Arondight shone brightly when a blue light was released from Arondight’s third circle.

  “You brat, you stole my power,” August said though he looked more amused than anything. “A thief that can steal magic, Romero did love his experiments even if they put the Circle at risk,” August mused as he saw a large circle of ice form on the floor around Jack. “Tell me child, have you ever had that much power course through your body before? Feels amazing, doesn’t it? To taste even a glimpse of my might.”

  “I wouldn’t know how it feels, I don’t feel much of anything right now,” Jack said as his curse overtook him and froze his heart. Two blades fo
rmed in his hands that were soon encased in ice. The circle of ice constantly reformed around him with every step he took as he rushed toward August. Jack slammed one of his blades into August’s right side, and like before, it shattered upon impact. This time, however, the ice stuck to August’s arm. August grimaced when he felt the ice on his arm drain his power a bit more as Jack seemed to shine brighter as his blade re-formed. When Jack slammed his second blade into August, Jack froze the Arch-Mage’s other arm. After that, Jack continued to make and break blades as he assaulted August’s shield with everything he could muster. As Jack attacked, he felt the ice on his body continue to spread as he stole more and more of August’s power. However, before he could proceed any further, the ice that engulfed August shattered.

  “Enough!” August roared his eyes filled with stars as the force of his power knocked everyone else back into the walls of the vault. “Too close,” August muttered to himself. His hands trembled as he saw his shield flicker for a moment. “I was going to let you live, but I see now that you are a threat if left unchecked, even more so than that blasted Doll,” August said as he focused his attention on Jack who shakily rose to his feet. However, before they could continue fighting, Diamond fired more shots. Each bullet was charged with her presence and more powerful than the previous.

  “Why won’t you just die!?” Diamond shouted as she shot at August to no avail. Diamond was exhausted but she stood ready to fight as she continued to shoot at August.

  “It must be frustrating, to have a skillset as dangerous as yours yet be pitted against the one person it doesn’t affect,” August said, his shield deflected anything she could do to him. “You could always take off that glove. Though if you did that, you’d end up doing my job for me and kill them, wouldn’t you?” August mused. “That’s why your mother died, isn’t it? She could have stopped me sooner but she hesitated because you were too close,” August mocked as Band 13 became blinded with anger. Diamond’s presence flooded their bodies as she reestablished their connection. Jack lunged forward and slammed another blow into the Arch-Mage that made August slide back a few feet. Jack charged forward to attack August once more but found his movements hindered greatly by the ice that continued to spread over his body. “I see, I was so used to dealing with older members of your family that I forgot the children aren’t adept at handling the cold,” August said with a laugh. “To think for a second, I almost felt a thrill from this,” August raised his staff high as his magic formed around it and transformed it into a spear of light. Holding it like a javelin, August took aim at the frozen form of Jack. “I’ll end you, rightly,” August said before he threw the weapon at Jack. Before it could connect, Diamond jumped in front of him and took the brunt of the attack. The resulting explosion shook the vault and blew apart a good portion of her mod-suit. The pain they felt was enough to break their shadow synch once more.