Priest decided on another tactic and kicked Retch were it hurts. Retches eyes crossed as he clutched his testicles, groaned once before toppling over onto his side.
Leech rode a wave of razor sharp excrement towards Anvil but veered away at the last moment when Anvil raised his hammer to strike, “Damn that weapon!” he blubbered. “Wish it not real but belong in mythology.”
Chris risked a sideways glance with his father, “What mythology?”
Anvil raised an eyebrow and managed a smile, “There’s a little bit of truth in every legend.”
Chris took in the mighty double headed war hammer and the penny dropped, “Great, now my fathers Thor!”
Jennings watched as the strange cat like human who had just killed three of his people, slid to a halt as the one eyed girl’s massive Japanese looking samurai sword seemed to cut straight through his body. With a cat like screech, blood burst from his mouth as the top of his head suddenly slid off at a diagonal angle away from the rest of his surprised looking face.
Jennings didn’t waste a moment, at his command the remainder of his team ran forward filling in the gaps between Anvil and his immortals, opening fire on full automatic as they ran. Coffee looked on with contempt as not one single round hit a target. Instead each bullet flattened in mid air to fall noiselessly to the ground but still they fired. Coffee blew them a kiss and as one they fell to the ground asleep.
Coffee had witnessed Panther die “Those humans showed courage and will make fine Shades.”
She pointed a finger at Patch, “But you shall die slowly for what you have done!”
Cougar thrust Slash away with his feet, did a back flip and spun to see his fallen brother. He let forth such a heart rendering howl, that it filled the heavens. Forgetting Slash, Cougar sprang through the air towards Patch.
It was a mistake to ignore a master knife fighter, Slash drew two short throwing knives and let fly.
But with a cats sixth sense, Cougars body swayed this way then that in mid air, both knives missed! He landed realising he couldn’t ignore Slash, with a look of absolute hatred directed at Patch he screamed, “You’re next bitch!”
Cougar spun about and launched himself back towards Slash. Slash tried to side step but with a vicious sweep of his right hands fully extended claws, Cougar ripped away a good part of Slashes face on the left side, he fell to his knees, gripping his face in agony.
Claws was waiting for orders and at Coffees command scuttled forward like a giant spider directly at Anvil but veered away at the last second to leap over him to attack Patch, who was coming after Panther at a dead run.
A cloud of smoke rose from another open grave near to Bulls Eye. It was Ghost. The creature swarmed towards him. Bulls Eye reacted swiftly by emptying every single bullet into her. It slowed her down some but didn’t stop her.
Chris saw the danger and commanded a mini tornado to form directly in front of Bulls Eye. Ghost was caught in the cyclonic force, which also managed to blast Bulls Eye away from danger. Bulls Eye groaned, blinked dust from his eyes, looked up at Chris, spat out a mouthful of dirt and mumbled, “Thanks a bunch.”
Coffee made a hand gesture and Ghost was sucked out of the tornado which died away. The creature semi solidified to stand at her right hand side.
Chris took this moment to call out to his half brother, “Edge your father loves you, as do I. Join with us and God shall forgive thee.”
Edge was still locked deep in thought, he jerked his head up when Chris called his name, “I’m beyond redemption!”
It wasn’t overlooked by Anvil that he didn’t just straight refuse the offer. Chris tried to approach Edge but Coffee made a gesture and he found he couldn’t advance another step, instead he shouted, “I forgive you, father forgives you, God forgives you, come step over to stand by your fathers side.”
Edge instinctively took a half step forward but one look from Coffee had him quickly step back, “I…cannot.”
Huntress however had other plans, “I don’t forgive you one little bit. Die you bastard!” She fired point blank with her special arrow.
Edge brought up his sword lightning fast to deflect the arrow which exploded! He was thrown in one direction and a surprised Coffee in the other. Coffee was quick to regain her feet as Chris stopped Huntress from shooting at Edge again, No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t pull the bow string.
Huntress spun to face him, “Damn you Chris let me revenge Hot Cross!”
Chris looked sad, “I cannot.”
She spat on the ground, “I hate you!”
Coffee had noticed Edge hesitate, “Ghost from this moment on thee stand at my right hand side.”
Edge sat back upright and looked towards Ghost was a facial expression filled with loathing.
Chris was about to reply when he suddenly frowned, closed his eyes, pressed a hand to his forehead and said. “Something’s not right.”
The ground suddenly shuddered underfoot as lightning filled the ruby red fire. A deep wide fissure opened up, dividing both warring parties. The Twelve moved back away from The Dark, allowing both sides to regroup.
The ground moved again and this time it was more than a tremble, this was a full blown earthquake.
“Not good!” shouted Priest
The earth shuddered and heaved once more. Chris shouted to be heard, “This is Gods anger. One of the Twelve fights against us!”
Anvil stared around at his people. Everyone was in his or her place. All had suffered attack or injuries. No one stood out as a traitor He noticed Slash’s face, “Priest Slash needs your help, now!”
Anvil turned his eyes outward to look upon The Dark. Each passed examination, none appeared friendly. Finally his eyes came to rest on Ghost on he understood.
His voice rose so that all could hear, “Chosen One hear my words and prey pause for one moment in our fight.”
Coffee thought about it as the ground continued to shift under her feet, “If it has anything to do with what’s happening. Explain.”
Anvil raised his voice and his head towards the very heavens, “Once long ago we had another comrade. His name was Chameleon. Our friend had the gift of camouflage; he could at a moments notice take on the appearance of another person or object. His gift was truly one given by God. Alas, our friend vanished one morning and despite our best effects, he was lost unto us.”
Coffee snarled, “Your point?”
Anvils voice lowered, as he looked upon Ghost “The very ground trembles with the wraith of God. In his rage he shows unto me that which has been lost.”
Anvil pointed his hammer directly at Ghost, “Reveal yourself!”
A beam of golden light sprang forth from Anvil’s weapon to strike and surround the swirling cloud that was Ghost.
For a moment nothing happened then slowly the cloud seemed to solidify and there before them stood a figure dressed in a black leather hooded cape. The person was wearing a full leather face mask and tight fitting leather gloves.
Priest gasped, “Chameleon!”
Patch looked even more shocked, “You tried to kill me at the house!”
The man known as Chameleon slowly turned his gaze towards Patch, “Not kill but capture. I wished you to be with me as mine.”
Bulls Eye staggered under the shifting ground, “It can’t be true, you’re a woman!”
Chris spoke with the voice of Judgement, “So it has come to pass that our missing friend returns as our enemy. The scales have been balanced, so let it read.”
The ground stopped its violent shaking and the sound of deep rumbling died away. The lightning vanished, leaving the sky blood red again.
Speed was climbing slowly out of his hole in the ground. He rose to his feet and brushed dirt from his trousers, “Chameleon I searched for you for a hundred years.”
Priest just shook his head, “How could you!”
Chameleon turned his gaze towards him, “I don’t expect your blessing Priest.” He looked at Anvil, “Nor your for
giveness.” Finally to Chris, “Nor do I ask to be judged.”
Slash was holding a hand to his badly wounded face, ignoring the pain he asked, “But why?”
Chameleon lifted his hand to snatch away the mask, then his gloves. His face and hands were once more beautiful, “Because The Dark healed me.”
Huntress gasped, “Your burns are….”
Edge interrupted her with laugher, “We found him spying upon us and trapped him. Instead of killing him, I offered to heal his wounds and restore his looks. I offered nothing in exchange. He freely came over to our side.”
Priest understood, “We could not heal you but..”
Edge finished, “We could. It was just like Chris and The Chosen One. Opposites attract. You couldn’t heal him fa…. Anvil, but I could.”
Anvil looked crestfallen, “You changed sides just so your burns could be…”
Chameleon shouted, “HEALED! Yes for that I would pay any price.”
Bulls Eye asked, “But you can only take on the shape of another for a short time how can you…”
Coffee laughed, “Edge did a fine job with him. By asking him to take on the appearance of a non substantial creature he could stay that way for much longer. So Edge created Ghost. All these years and you never knew, all these years we sent him to spy on you and you never knew. He managed to find many of your hideaways and crept in to become an everyday object. He listened and reported back to us.”
Priest turned to Anvil, “That explains how they nearly always managed to find out our locations”
Anvil stared at Chameleon, “Like The house?”
Chameleon looked at Patch, “The house was different. I always loved you Patch and to see you fawning over that kid!” He stabbed a finger at Chris, “I couldn’t stand it. All I tried to do was knock you out and take you with me but two people interfered with my plans.”
Chameleon suddenly changed into a giant Shade, reaching down he ripped up a sunken chunk of concrete and threw it violently towards Bulls Eye, who was struck and sent flying in a spray of blood.
“NO!” Huntress shouted.
“And you!” Chameleon snapped, pointing a giant finger directly at Chris, “You I hate most of all.”
The giant shrank and changed back into Ghost. “If not for the fact that The Chosen One ordered me not to try and kill you, I would have finished you off long ago.”
Coffee smiled, “Ever loyal, always obeys.”
Ghost bowed his swirling smoke shaped head towards her. Coffee lifted her chin imperiously and raised a hand in acknowledgement of his obedience.
The look on Edges face said it all. He had led The Dark for thousands of years, even recruited Chameleon. And yet in a matter of a few weeks, this girl had not only replaced him but showed him no respect for his achievements. ‘The bitch was taking all the credit’!
Chris shaped a question in his mind, allowed it to become a gentle breeze upon the wind and sent it drifting across the gap to Chameleon. The question settled up him as gentle as a snow flake. It examined him inch by inch and as commanded, returned to Chris. He examined the answers and nodded his head in agreement with an idea he’d already thought of.
Anvil was beside himself with Rage, one of The Twelve, a traitor! Slash wanted to know if all this ground shaking and lightning was Gods way of showing his anger. Why now and not on the day that Chameleon defected.
Priest believed he knew the answer, “Until the final battle. God allowed our friend to have a change of heart. Now he’s past the point of no return.”
Chris turned to glance at Priest, “Not quite so my friend. Chameleon you changed allegiance because Edge cured you. Is that correct?”
Chameleon laughed, “Wouldn’t you! I was hideously deformed by the fire. There was no way Patch would ever love me the way I was.”
Patch looked hurt, “Oh Chameleon. Injured or not, I had no feelings towards you other than friend and even that has gone now.”
Chris was looking at Coffee whilst addressing Chameleon, “Chameleon, Edge and The Dark are nothing but deceivers. They can offer nothing but a life time of servitude as a slave to there every whim. “
“You lie!” Chameleon bellowed, “Look at me! Even the great Anvil could not heal my wounds as Edge did willingly. He asked for nothing but loyalty in return.”
Chris raised a hand allowing Judgements deep rich voice to fill the air. “In Gods name I remove the lie from you.” “No!” Edge shouted.
The spell of deceit was instantly lifted, revealing Chameleon as he really was a hideously deformed burns victim. Chameleon looked down at his melted fingers. He gasped as he reached up to touch the melted ruin that once was his face, “No this cannot be!”
Chris looked sad as he spoke, “You never changed. They deceived and tricked you.”
Chameleon reached down and snatched up his face mask, settling it quickly in place and turned to Coffee, “You knew?”
She laughed, “Of course! You where nothing but a tool we used, nothing more, nothing less.”
Anvil corrected her, “No he was more than that he is a victim of your evil.”
Chameleon looked at his friends, “Forgive me. “
He suddenly changed into the spitting image of Edge. Drawing his carbon copy sword he sped past Coffee, slicing sideways as he ran. Spinning full circle, he brought the blade back angling it upwards towards Edges neck. The real Edge blocked the blow just in time. Coffee looked down at a thin red line that appeared across her middle.
The two Edges fought like highly trained swordsmen, moving this way and that, blocking, thrusting and cutting.
Coffee staggered but licked a finger and ran it along the deep cut, bubbling and hissing the wound healed before her guts spilled out. Huntress sent an arrow her way, which she deflected. Speed threw a stone lightning fast which she turned to dust. Slash ignored his facial injury which was still bleeding and threw three knives one after the other, so fast that all three blades were all in the air at once. Casually with the flat of her hand, she blocked each knife, allowing them to fall to the earth, each blade was bent double.
Anvil was concentrating on the fight between the two Edges. Already he had no idea who was who. Chris turned a shower of acid from Coffee into water. Speed soaked up the falling water, running on the spot he generated heat. He used the cloud of super heated steam to hide within. He ran back a few steps before taking off at full speed, jumping the chasm and kicked out at Pigswell, hurling him from his feet.
But Leach also used the water, turning part of it into a high pressure jet that blew Bulls Eye off his feet. Speed took off like a rocket towards Leach. He ran circles around him, faster and faster, superheating the air, drying him out. Leach screamed just the once, before cracking open in a hundred places and fell to the earth like a broken vase. Amazingly he still lived due to the torrential rainfall.
Speed was nearly all used up, steam hissed as rain touched him. Coffee smiled as he ran towards the chasm. Speed was just about to leap the gap when Pigswell spewed a jet of liquid fire. Flames sprang up along Speeds back. Chris made a gesture and Speed flew through the air like a comet to safely land in a rain filled ditch back on his own side of the trench.
Anvil watched as one of the Edges got the upper hand. Using the Okuriashi (close in movement), he struck with the Men cut to the head. The other Edge tried to dodge or deflect the blow, but it struck deep, smashing the right collar bone and driving five inches into the shoulder. Drawing the sword from the wound, he delivered a killing blow, a Tsuki thrust to the abdomen.
The other Edge managed a quick Ashi blow to the legs, slicing deep into the left thigh before dropping his weapon and toppling to the ground. The injured Edge, trust his sword repeatedly into the body of his other self, before stepping back. He staggered over to Coffee, kneeling before her.
The dead Edge shimmered and became the body of Chameleon. Coffee gave the body a quick glance before looking down at Edge kneeling before her. She could see he was bleeding out from th
e leg wound.
“Are you not immortal? Can you not heal thy self? Have you become so weak?”
Edge looked up at her for a few seconds, before standing and limping over in the direction of Chris but collapsed in a spreading pool of crimson blood. He managed to look up at his half brother, “Help me heal.”
Coffee stared with her head tilted at an angle, not sure what was happening. It was not an order but a request. This was what Chris was waiting for. Reaching out he made a quick gesture, before Coffee could stop him. Edge disappeared into the In Between, as did Chris.
Judgement (The Twelve) Page 29