by L J Branch
“J…Jackie?” Faith asked quietly, her eyes opening tiredly as he smiled down upon her. “You’ve gotten…bigger…”
“How have you been, little bird? I need you to do me a favor and take your medicine for me. It’ll be hard, but I need you to drink all of it, we need to flush all of this mess out of you,” Jack said as he lifted her up gently and pressed the flask to her lips. This was the sight Xavier and the rest of Band 13 walked in on. “Sorry, you two would have been there forever. Decided to nip this in the bud.”
“That’s right, you all have the elixir of life! Of course, thieves have the antidote to their poison,” Xavier muttered. “I…why didn’t I consider you earlier?”
“Too busy throwing fireballs at me, thinking that I was the spawn of Satan,” Jack answered dryly. “Not like I would have helped anyway, would have thought it was a trap. I mean I can barely believe she’s still kicking now.”
“Elixir of life?” Alice repeated. “As in the key to immortality?” Alice questioned skeptically. Of course, she had begun to have her suspicions but to hear the truth said so bluntly was unexpected.
“Told you, you wouldn’t believe me,” Kat said as Alice shook her head. They could all see Faith’s body heal before their very eyes and for the first time in years, Faith looked healthy.
“That’s my girl,” Jack said with a smile. “So, where’s August?”
“The roof,” Lilia answered. “I’d teleport you to him myself but he erected wards to prevent teleportation. You’d have to destroy either him or the building to get rid of them. Insurance against the Arch-Mages who are probably trying to figure out why he missed tonight’s meeting.”
“So, what? We take the stairs?” Kat asked curiously only for Lilia to jerk a thumb backward toward an elevator.
“No, we take the elevator.”
“Hold on, we? No, you need to take Faith and Abbie out of here, we’ll deal with August,” Jack said only for Lilia to shake her head.
“What did you just say about sticking together? You’re going to need a healer. If you think August will let you drink from your flasks you’re mistaken. I’ll fly them to safety, but we finish this together,” Lilia said as she glanced at Alice, or more specifically, at her tattoo. “And something tells me it’s best if your civilian friend stays nearby. Call it a hunch,” Lilia said before she made her way to the elevator. “Let’s go.”
* * *
“Should have taken the stairs,” Kat muttered as they were all crammed into the impossibly slow elevator. “This is so awkward,” Kat said before she found herself pressed against Alice. “Though I can’t complain too much. Really love what you did with the hair.”
“Back at you,” Alice said as she ran her fingers through Kat’s longer hair. “So…you’re…a Doll?”
“Apparently…” Kat muttered, looking obviously uncomfortable about that topic. “Hope that doesn’t…freak you out.”
“Freak me out? This might be the coolest thing ever. This is like, every sci-fi nerd’s dream,” Alice said before she gave the surprised Kat a wink. It was then, however, Alice frowned. “But…did you lose an inch?” Alice questioned noting that Kat seemed a bit smaller.
“Don’t remind me,” Kat muttered. “Apparently the idea that upgrading tech makes it smaller, applies to Dolls too.”
“Also, it is you, right? Like you and not some backup or copy?”
“Fortunately, Dolls don’t work like that. I’m Kat, the one and only.”
“But how…” Alice was cut off when Kat placed a finger to her lips to silence her.
“Shut up and trust me,” Kat said before she kissed Alice. Alice smiled a bit at the all too familiar taste of apples as she pulled away.
“I missed you.”
“Can you two please save your reunion for when we’re able to get more than a few inches away from you?” Diamond asked, though with her mask removed they could see her place a smile on her black painted lips in order to show them that she really didn’t mean it.
“Speak for yourself, please, continue,” Jack said as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Lilia laughed at his antics while Kat and Alice proceeded to do just that.
“Please, don’t,” Xavier groaned as he tried to keep a curious Faith faced toward him and not the two women that were busy re-familiarizing themselves with each other. “I thought you thieves were more professional.”
“It’s been months since we’ve seen each other, let the lovers have a moment, we might all die anyway,” Jack said with an eye-roll. “Goddesses know, I’m going to make up for lost time myself if we survive this.”
“Is that right?” Diamond asked only to get a wink from Jack. Xavier just shook his head before he turned to Diamond.
“What is this plan you have?”
“I plan on using Dominion,” Diamond answered and both her band and the mages looked at her in alarm.
“You’ve mastered Dominion!?” Xavier asked incredulously, a silent awe on his face.
“I can use it,” Diamond corrected him before she held up her right arm. The mod-suit dissolved enough for them to see strange black markings on the skin of her arm. “I’m a long way from mastering it which is why we need to fight him for as long as possible so that I can prepare it.”
“Dominion?” Faith asked curiously.
“The thieves’ strongest illusion. It’s the only thing Arch-Mages like August fear,” Lilia answered. “It takes decades to master, but even using it at her age is unheard of no matter how much of a prodigy she may be.”
“I’m no prodigy,” Diamond began firmly as the elevator came to a stop before the doors opened, Band 13’s masks all reformed as they stepped out. “That’s Katarina. I’m the heir to the throne, the future Bandit Queen,” Diamond continued “This much is to be expected. Frost, Umbra, it’s time we end this.”
“I take it back,” Lilia said to Xavier after a moment, an amused expression her face. “If it’s them then it’s no wonder you got beaten so badly by rookies,” Lilia teased. Xavier rolled his eyes at her while Faith looked at her siblings in confusion.
“Are all of you going to hurt uncle August?” Faith asked cautiously.
“You bet,” Kat said darkly as she slammed a fist into her palm. “I’m swinging on sight, just like how we did things back in Chicago, right Jack?”
“Just leave some for me this time,” Jack said before he glanced down at Faith. “He’s hurt a lot of people, he’s a bad man Faith. Bad things happen to bad people.”
“I see, well if all three of you say so then I’ll trust you,” Faith said as she looked at her older siblings. “It’s not often you three can agree on anything,” Faith explained and the three in question glanced at each other before they averted their eyes. Their poor sister didn’t even know the beginning of how bad their relationship was.
* * *
“Finally, everything has come to fruition,” August said as he stood in front of the Lady and Haylen who floated in the air in front of him with their arms bound by chains. His staff was covered in a sickening green magic. “With the blood of the Lady,” August began before he stabbed the Lady in her abdomen with a curved dagger. “Tonight, on the night where magic shines brightest, I can break the seal that traps your true power,” August said before he stabbed the blade through the emblem on Haylen’s abdomen. Haylen screamed in agony as the emblem began to release a golden light.
“You will be stopped!” the Lady shouted angrily. As the lady thrashed against her chains, blue sigils began to appear on them, making her scream as they shocked her and sapped away her power. August just laughed at the sight.
“And here I thought Gods couldn’t bleed or feel pain,” August said before he turned back to Haylen who continued to scream in agony. However, just as he did so he felt a blow to his shield. With a frown, August turned to find Kat who pulled her fist back. “You!?”
“Me,” Kat said before she kicked him and flipped away. He glared darkly at his nemesis as she landed in a
crouched position. Kat’s image flickered for a moment before she cloaked herself and disappeared from sight. Beneath August a card was stabbed into the ground which immediately exploded in a bright flash of light that blinded him and left him open for a powerful blow from Jack. Jack’s talons scratched against the surface of August’s shield and siphoned off some of its magic.
“Damn you!” August growled out as he rubbed his eyes. August grimaced as he felt Diamond’s bullets slam into his shield. “You children just don’t learn, do you!?” August snapped as his body exploded with a blue light. The force of his magic shattered the ground beneath him as he floated up into the air. He shot a fireball at Diamond only for her to barely dodge the spell. “It’s already too late!” August roared as Haylen screamed louder while a golden flame engulfed her very being.
“Haylen!?” Alice shouted in confusion. Alice had no idea what just happened to her sister. Haylen looked down at Alice weakly and a tear slid down her cheek when she saw her.
“Run,” was all Haylen managed to say before her body simply exploded into a golden fireball. Gone was Haylen, and in her place an ornate sword that was engulfed in a golden flame.
“Protection!” Lilia shouted as she quickly slammed her staff down and created a wall of magic that protected everyone but August from the explosion. When the explosion ended, the thieves immediately resumed their attack on August who had landed back on the roof unscathed. No matter what they did, their attacks had no effect on him. Even when Jack and Kat both attacked him at once, his magic simply pulsed and knocked them back as he made his way toward the sword. Golden runes glowed on top of its beautifully crafted blade which bore a crimson jewel at its center.
“Finally!” August said as he stood in front of the sword, his own body completely engulfed in a blue light as his magic began to leave his very being. “Excalibur,” August said as he gripped the sword’s golden handle. As August pulled the blade free, he laughed as he felt its power fill his very being. Lilia wasted no time and grabbed Faith and Alice before she flew them away to place them on another building out of harm’s way.
“Lilia!?” Faith asked in confusion as Lilia gave her a weak smile.
“I’ll be back,” Lilia said before she turned back toward her uncle’s location, or more accurately, toward the Lady.
“Now, who shall I destroy first?” August asked darkly as he raised the flaming blade toward Band 13, golden flames poured from his eyes as Excalibur’s golden light filled the entire area.
“No one, because the only one who falls today is you!” Xavier declared as he got August’s attention.
“Oh really? I have to say, boy, after all of this time you have yet to give me a reason to be impressed. Exactly who do you think you are to stand before me, the Champion of Light?” August asked as Xavier walked toward him while his magic flowed from his body in waves. The Mages’ Circle’s star shone beneath his feet as he summoned Eve who appeared behind him with a cold expression on her face.
“I am Xavier Romero Magnus, Head of House Magnus, Son of Arch-Mage Romero,” Xavier began as the straps on Eve’s straitjacket broke and freed her arms. Eve’s power skyrocketed as she landed next to him while her chains shattered into countless particles of light. “His light flows through me,” Xavier said as he and Eve released a silver light from their bodies.
“Silver magic? So you really do possess his magic,” August muttered as Xavier and Eve’s eyes both turned silver. At that moment, Eve’s core flew from her chest while a platinum ring formed around it. The Core then connected to a platinum rod that appeared in Xavier’s hand in a flash of light. “Don’t tell me, this whole time, your servant was your staff!?”
“Like my father, and his before him, I am the heir of Merlin!” Xavier boomed as his magic clashed against Excalibur’s power as he slammed his staff into the ground.
“Holy shit! Has he always had this much power!?” Kat asked incredulously as Band 13 braced themselves after they felt the power that poured from Xavier. Jack narrowed his eyes at the sight. “He would have killed us if he took us seriously!”
“So, he did inherit Romero’s power,” Jack murmured before he glanced at Diamond. “How much longer?”
“A bit, come on, let’s show them our power,” Diamond said before she activated shadow synch. Both August and Xavier looked at the thieves in alarm when they felt the golden storm of presence erupt. The nature of Diamond’s presence felt like a massive weight on their bodies as they resisted the urge to submit. “Don’t be so surprised, August, you’re in the presence of royalty.”
“For your sins against my family, your life is forfeit! Bolide!” Xavier boomed before he aimed his staff at August which created a massive fireball that fired from its end. August glared at the attack before he swung Excalibur at it which created a golden arc of light that cleaved the spell in half. The light continued on to Xavier but he didn’t so much as move as Jack suddenly appeared before him and absorbed it. At that moment Jack activated his third circle causing the stolen energy to now fill his very being. Jack formed a frozen spear in his hand and threw it at August who cleaved through it, only to be frozen solid when it exploded into a storm of ice. The ice soon blew off of his body when Excalibur’s power surged through him. August switched his attention to Jack only to shout in pain when Kat whipped him across his back. The whip ripped August’s back open and made him stumble back.
“Seems he’s not used to pain,” Diamond said before she dashed toward Kat and slid into her shadow. Diamond reappeared on top of a nearby building and she tossed her guns to the side. The weapons dissolved into ash along with the right sleeve of her mod suit. The back of her mod-suit and a part above her chest vanished as well as the ash formed together to create a high-impact sniper rifle that was identical to the one used by Jezebel. On the side of the new weapon, was the name “Jezebel” etched into its side in a pale gold. “Learn from your enemies,” Diamond muttered to herself as she aimed down the scope of her rifle and pulled the trigger. A powerful shot tore from her weapon and into August’s shoulder with enough force to nearly rip it apart. Diamond quickly fired two more shots, one hit him in his chest and the other in the side of his head. His body was torn apart by her attacks but to her disappointment, Excalibur’s light healed the damage nearly as soon as he received it. Still, it was obvious that August could no longer think straight as he swung his blade around him randomly in a desperate attempt to fend off his attackers. When he finally managed to spot Diamond, August swung the blade in her direction and released an arc of light that destroyed her vantage point. Fortunately, Diamond managed to escape and reappeared from Jack’s shadow. Diamond jumped back and turned her attention to Xavier. “We need to separate him from that blade, he won’t die unless we do! Rip his damn arm off if you have to!” Diamond called out. Xavier nodded and began to whisper an incantation as he felt his magic build inside of him.
“Like I’d let you,” August growled out as he charged forward to attack Xavier only for Kat’s whip to wrap around his arm and pull it back. A bright light shone from her chest as she drew on the power of her Apple of Discord. Enraged, August swung at her which made Kat duck beneath the arc of light. Kat dove forward to avoid his follow-up attack and pulled out her treasure before she threw it high into the air. Much to Diamond’s relief, Kat’s treasure released a golden light. Kat’s body gained a golden glow as her apple began to pump out even more presence through her body. August moved to cleave her in half, but tripped over an upturned piece of concrete that made his attack miss. Jack chose that moment to attack and slammed his left fist into August’s face. The power Jack had stockpiled was released at once as a storm of ice and presence ripped from his fist. Jack felt a satisfying crunch beneath his fist before August was blown away from Kat. August’s body bounced on the ground but he managed to catch himself before he fell off of the roof.
“You damn bastard!” August growled out while Kat began to throw a barrage of cards at him. Each exploded like bomb
s when they hit him but he managed to stab Excalibur into the roof to brace himself enough to prevent being knocked off of the building. When she saw this, Kat threw a card that said “Steal” but unfortunately for her, the blade reacted negatively to her attempt to steal it and released a pulse of light large enough to knock her back as her card was incinerated. Quickly, Kat recovered before she ran toward August alongside Jack. August released another arc of light at them but before it reached her, Kat ducked and slid under it as Jack caught it with his gauntlet which immediately absorbed the power. Kat slipped into her shadow which slid toward August quickly. Once the shadow was close enough, she emerged from it and kicked his legs which knocked him off balance. However, before he could hit the ground Jack appeared with Arondight shining brightly as he formed a frozen short sword and pierced August through his chest with it. Nearly immediately, the short sword exploded and encased August in ice as Xavier aimed his staff at his uncle.
“Esplosione,” Xavier chanted before a massive explosion erupted from beneath his uncle’s icy prison and sent him up into the air. August’s skin was charred from the damage it took even as Excalibur tried to heal his wounds. Eve flew up above August before she stopped and descended upon him as she slammed her foot into his chest. August felt his ribs crack before he slammed into the roof. Lilia, who had managed to safely extract the Lady reappeared and slammed her staff into the ground and covered the thieves, herself, and Xavier with her magic. “Now!” Xavier shouted as Eve aimed both of her hands at the building, or more specifically at August. Her body exploded with magic as a massive concussive force suddenly slammed into the roof. The impact hit August full force as the first five floors of the towering building were simply crushed and blown away. Xavier glared at August who still desperately clung to Excalibur. “Stella Cadente!” Xavier shouted as he slammed his staff down into the ground. Eve’s body was completely engulfed in the silver magic as she flew higher into the air. The moon shone brightly behind her as the rubble from P.I. began to form around her and encased her in a sphere of debris. The sphere soon engulfed itself in a silver flame before it simply fell toward the building like a meteor. Its descent was silent but its impact was not. The force of its impact shattered every window of every building surrounding Prosperity Industries which found itself completely destroyed as Eve tore through every floor and essentially reduced the tower to dust.