The Esoteric Design: Disbanding Hope

by A. R. Crebs

  “Protect Mr. Clarke,” Grayson said in a lethal tone.

  Before Aria could protest, the man tore off, running at a speed most unnatural.

  “Shit!” Aria peered all around. The battle was unmanageable.

  Her senses began to overload–detecting the other military leaders caught in the midst of violent battle, highlighting over the frightened thoughts and screams from the surrounding soldiers, counting the losses to the human army and the gain to Sapphire’s. The child’s army was only growing larger and larger, the thought causing Aria’s chest to ache as each soldier they lost was replenished as a number in Sapphire’s demonic fleet. The woman’s balance failed her only for a second, and she nearly dropped to her knees. Feyette was dead; Kovacevic was barely handling himself, blood seeping over one of his eyes. General Yoshitaka had lost half of his men, and he was currently avoiding a Spewer. Her eyes scanned over the pandemonium, her despair growing by the second as she physically felt the turmoil of the battlefield.

  Hattori of the Iga clan was going head-to-head against an android. His right arm whipped, a chain spiraling from his elbow joint. His fingers dislodged into large blades, and he continued swinging, swiping for the android’s head while taking out monsters at the same time. The enemy android raised its arm, catching Hattori’s chain-whip. With one vicious tug, the machine ripped off the ninja’s arm. Hattori growled in response behind his mask and continued his fight, using his left arm to wield an electric blade.

  A flash of yellow caught Aria’s eye. General Jiao of the Dilong monastery was having difficulty against a particularly feisty Brawler. They tussled about for a while before the creature dislodged its jaw and ferociously latched onto the woman’s shoulder, crunching her armor and embedding its teeth deep into her body. She gave a cry and continued with her fight, trying to pry off the wriggling beast that was gnawing at her flesh.

  A horrendous rumble alerted Aria of the city that was falling in slow motion to her senses, threatening to cave-in on the mines. Her team and Troy were down there. They would be dead any second. James Clarke was injured, blood covering his chest. The poor man finally appeared his age–worn and weary. Despite his prestige accomplishments and experience in war, the man was past his prime.

  There was a noise, alerting Aria back toward the battle of the woman named Lilith and Grayson. They were fighting one-on-one, tugging and pulling, throwing and punching. Grayson had appeared to have the upper hand when Lilith suddenly impaled his midsection with one of her arms and fired a cannon-like shot directly through him, his insides blasting in a thousand metallic pieces over the battlefield. With one careless swoop, she lifted him and threw his body over the distance to Aria’s feet. Aria jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding being smashed beneath Grayson’s weight.

  “Grayson!” she screamed.

  James scooted across the desert floor toward the bodyguard, reaching out to him. “Grayson…” he whispered sadly.

  “Forgive me, sir. I was not…not good enough,” Grayson muttered, his voice crackling. His body was not moving, his fingers twitching and giving a strange buzz.

  James shook his head. “You’ve done far more than enough.”

  Grayson’s body quaked, black fluid leaking from him. His eyes twitched, trying to register James’ face. “I cannot see you, sir.”

  James struggled, and his expression twisted. He tightly grabbed a hold of Grayson’s shoulder. “That’s quite alright, Grayson. You just need some sleep. It’s been far too long. You deserve your peace.”

  Grayson’s mouth, for the first time Aria had seen, tilted upwards into a gentle smile. “Oh, sir. I can see…it’s…just…too bright.” The man’s voice cutoff, his last word dipping an octave as a mechanical sputter jolted his body one final time.

  James was silent, his fingers digging tightly into Grayson’s arm. “I damn myself for allowing you to die twice, Grayson,” his broken voice quivered.

  Aria reached out to touch James, to console him in whatever way she could, but Lilith did not wait. The female android fired once more in Aria’s direction. Dovian held up a palm, protecting the humans around him. The missiles missed their intended target, blasting against the shield instead. Dovian’s glare locked with Lilith’s.

  “Seems we have a traitor in our midst. I’m not surprised,” Lilith’s silky voice rang out.

  “Just leave them be, Lilith. You have plenty of other humans to pick-off,” Dovian snarled.

  Lilith ran her hand through her hair. “I have specific orders to annihilate these pests. I won’t let anyone stand in my way, especially a failure such as you.”

  Dovian stepped forward but was halted as something landed directly in front of him, blocking his path to Lilith. Mechanized wings were spread wide, spanning a few meters across. The burning of thrusters crunched loudly. Giving a sudden flap, the wings folded downward. It was Ivory. She held out a hand to halt the advancing Lilith. Simultaneously, she looked back toward Dovian with shimmering cerulean eyes.

  “You let me handle this one. I’m tired of sitting back and watching,” the tone of I’Lanthe’s voice sounded from Ivory’s vocals.

  Dovian meant to protest, but his words were interrupted by a sudden siren of noise that shrieked across the land.

  On the opposite side of the battlefield, the Colossus and FIFI were coming to an end of their battle. FIFI sidestepped, avoiding the Colossus’ fist, and countered with a harsh punch to the monster’s face. Grabbing the demon’s jaw, FIFI pulled down, dislocating it. The Colossus shrieked, and the giant mech reached inside its mouth. Grabbing the back of the beast’s neck, FIFI crammed its entire forearm down the creature’s throat. Giving a sharp tug, the mech removed a pulsating yellowish-orange sack. Was it a stomach? A heart? Aria wasn’t sure, but she gaped at the nightmarish scene in awe. After giving the sack an intense onceover, FIFI twisted to the side and threw the fiery organ directly at Sapphire’s tower. The bag burst, annihilating the center of the child’s perch, magma rain falling down toward the Roman forces. Aria’s vision zoomed in; her heart raced for the possibility that Troy was down there. After a moment, a blue blip temporarily highlighted near the base of Sapphire’s throne, but it only lasted a millisecond. The woman sighed, hoping her partner had accomplished what he had planned and was nowhere near the series of explosions that were beginning to take place down there.

  An angry scream sounded from Lilith, gathering Aria’s attention once again.

  “What’s wrong Lilith? Things not going as planned?” Ivory smugly asked.

  “Maybe not according to Sapphire’s plans, but once I’m through with you, I will be satisfied!” Lilith sneered.

  Another deep rumble erupted from Sapphire’s direction. Lilith and Ivory paid no mind to the disastrous noise. Instead, they took off, each flying into the air.

  So much. There was so much going on. Aria had no idea what to do, and she momentarily wished she was in bed sleeping. She felt utterly useless on this battlefield. That is until Dovian slammed his staff into her palm.

  “Get James away from this battle. Use the staff to hold up the city. It will drain your energy fast so I will make quick work of everything,” he forced the words out quickly. Looking back to where Sapphire was located, Dovian shuddered. “Aria. Sapphire has seen my transgressions. It will not be long before she joins in the fight. I must put an end to all this madness before she kills everyone.”

  Fire surrounded the child, the flames tickling the edges of her white dress, scorching the lace. The child watched Dovian with large dark eyes. Slowly, the tower folded in on itself, the legs snapping and breaking, the massive throne falling to pieces and smashing the robotic fleet that seemed to be blowing apart one after another down the line. The swirling portal behind the girl expanded outward, and Dovian’s mind revealed the same vision he had seen the previous day of Ives being hit by a weapon of nuclear proportions.

  Fire consumed the land in a shuddering violent blast. Clouds of black and orange shot toward the sky and pl
umed outward as it hit the stratosphere, giving it a mushroom shape. The dry and cracked earth momentarily dipped lower before exploding upward in splintered shards. The radius spread for many kilometers, destroying everything in its path.

  Dovian held his head, praying that Hector and Petey were safe and far away from the destruction. He only allowed his thoughts to travel to Ives for a second before he was pulled back to reality, watching the inferno eat the entire horizon. The portal extended, letting out haunting sounds that hummed and vibrated the air. With a loud whoosh, the anomaly zipped backward and imploded in on itself. What followed next was a series of portals closing all over the world. Dovian could feel the relief of the planet as the fight was severed and Sapphire was no longer able to feed monsters to any location. He caught Aria’s hopeful stare. Now was not the time to celebrate. In fact, Dovian felt the worst was yet to come as he looked upward at the child that remained levitating in the air, the gaping holes in her face watching him in return. It sent a horrible chill throughout his body.

  “Dovian!” Aria’s voice tugged his awareness back to her.

  The woman was standing several meters back, James staggering beside her. She pointed abruptly to the sky to where Ivory and Lilith had taken their battle. The two biomechanical androids were nearly a kilometer away. Dovian’s optical camera flickered to life, pulling in the sight in better detail. What he saw made his face flush.

  Ivory and Lilith spiraled around each other. Ivory’s wings flapped, allowing her to move throughout the air with grace. Lilith’s thrusters burst from her feet, giving her force and speed, but not allowing her much control. Lilith continued an assault of gunfire and missiles, trying to knock Ivory back. After several volleys, Ivory latched onto the woman.

  “Stop your efforts now, Lilith. You will not win,” Ivory calmly stated.

  Lilith gave Ivory a wild look, her dark hair twisting around her face and neck. “Oh, I will win! There’s nothing you can do to stop me!”

  Lilith opened her mouth, spitting a spray of bullets in Ivory’s face. The blonde woman withdrew, shielding herself. Lilith cackled as her chest opened up, revealing a massive bomb hidden inside. Ivory’s calm resolve was now broken. It was a reactor core, rigged up to be used as a weapon.

  “Lilith!” Ivory cried out.

  “You can’t stop me! Even if I have to crash my body into the city!” The terrible woman sped off, her thrusters pushing her further and further away from Ivory.

  Without hesitation, Ivory aimed her hand toward Lilith as it cracked and broke apart. The appendage snapped and reformed together into an Amasser Particle Beam, giving a mechanical whine.

  “Locked on,” an automatic reply sounded from inside Ivory, and she released her power into one straight line.

  Lilith looked over her shoulder and gave a sly grin, spinning to the side as she released all of her remaining weaponry. Ivory aimed at the other woman’s body, pulling the beam with her. The sound was atrocious, the blast crystallizing the surrounding earth and whatever else it hit in the process. After roughly ten seconds, Ivory’s weapon sputtered off. She frowned, furiously shaking it.

  “Is that all you got?” Lilith taunted. Her feet planted firmly against the crystalline bridge that formed from the rocks and debris that had shot upward in response to Ivory’s weaponry.

  Ivory smiled in return, causing Lilith to stir uncomfortably. Finally, the dark-haired android noticed the glass encasing the pillars supporting Fountains. Ivory had soundly secured the structure. Lilith’s eyes narrowed to slits, and her hands balled into tight fists. The evil woman wanted to scream, wanted to throw a fit. She wanted singlehandedly to annihilate each and every human being on the face of the planet. But first and foremost, she wanted to murder Ivory.

  The blonde’s smile faded, however, as she gathered her reading. She had never fired her weapon twice before, and her system was already alerting her to an overload. It was mandatory that she waited for the beam to cool. Lilith must’ve known as her smile widened once again.

  Ivory shot a quick beam toward Lilith, causing the woman to flinch and move upward. Despite it being a momentary blast, the heat created fractures along Ivory’s right side. She didn’t care, however, and sped forward, colliding with Lilith’s body.

  “You are nothing more than a fool!” Lilith shouted in Ivory’s face.

  “No. You are the fool!” Ivory retorted, latching onto the nuclear core in Lilith’s middle.

  Giving a shrill scream, Lilith tried to free herself from Ivory’s hold. Pointing her fingers together, Ivory pushed with an immense force, impaling Lilith through her stomach. Ivory then locked her legs around the other woman’s, forcing her to lean back.

  “If I go out…you’re going out with me!” Lilith screeched.

  “That’s the plan!”

  Spreading her wings, Ivory forced her thrusters to move at maximum velocity. The two spiraled backward away from the city. Slowly, Ivory’s Amasser Beam gained energy and cooled, but it wasn’t enough to fire. She frowned.

  “Let go!” Lilith screamed. She pushed against Ivory’s face, squirmed, and shrieked.

  Gradually, Lilith unlocked her upper body from Ivory’s. Growling, the temptress twisted her hand backward, a broad blade pulling out from deep within her forearm. Ivory scowled. Just as Lilith hacked through Ivory’s left arm that had impaled her, the blonde stopped all of her power to her wings. Lilith continued pushing away from Ivory at an incredible speed. Aiming, Ivory fired her beam once again.

  The Amasser Particle Beam gave its shrill wind-up. However, this time it burst outwards into a thick band rather than a concentrated beam, most of the force exploding out the front tip of the weapon. Ivory continued firing until the blast finally made contact with Lilith’s body, the dark-haired woman’s screams hidden behind the monstrous roar of the lethal weapon. Ivory grit her teeth. Her entire right arm exploded, and she immediately cut the power. Falling, the blonde kept her eyes fixated on the sparkling glass-encased Lilith. The enemy android flipped a few times in the air, the sun glinting against her shiny surfaces, before bursting into an impressive blast that rushed against Ivory. The violent wave added to the force of Ivory’s fall, her body crashing into the earth violently in a heavy heap. Dust and rock ruptured outward from the impact.

  At the point of the detonation, Lilith was several kilometers away from the city. The shockwave traveled fast, though, shoving every combatant onto the ground. Once the terrible grind of the wave fell into silence, Dovian pushed to his feet, his wings unfolding from his back.

  “Dovian! Wait!” Aria called out, but her words were upon deaf ears.

  Leaping, Dovian’s body burst forth, his form breaking the sound barrier. In a flash, he was at the crash site, dropping to his hands and knees beside the broken and battered Ivory.

  “Ivory!” he hollered.

  “Do…Dovian?” the sweet, melodious tone of Ivory’s voice replied.

  The Sorcēarian looked over her, wanting to hold her hand but found none. Both arms were completely destroyed. Instead, he placed his palm gently against her cheek.

  “Oh, Ivory…look what you’ve done,” he whispered softly. His eyes peered down at her with a sadness she had seen many times over in the past few weeks they had known each other.

  “Did…did we get her?” she asked, her voice weak.

  Dovian nodded slowly as his gaze scanned over her again. Black fluid pooled around her, the liquid seeping into the cracks in the earth.

  “I can…I can heal you. Let me…” he hesitated, “let me….” His eyes were beginning to burn.

  Ivory slowly shook her head. “It’s okay, Dovian. I don’t feel a thing. We don’t feel anything.”

  “You saved the city,” he mumbled. “You saved the humans.”

  “Hm…” she hummed. “Not yet. You still have to get Sapphire.”

  Dovian nodded apprehensively; his lips pulled tightly against his teeth.

  “WARNING. SYSTEM OVERLOAD.” A robotic voice ech
oed from deep inside Ivory.

  “Ivory!” Dovian shouted, his hands glowing blue.

  Nothing was working. He couldn’t sense any living organs, no brainwaves, and no light. To him, she was already dead biologically. Only the machinery was keeping her alive.

  “I’m sorry, Dovian. I wish…I could have been a better woman for you,” Ivory sadly stated. “Like she was.”

  “You’re lovely, Ivory. Lovely in every way,” he quickly uttered, placing a palm on her cheek.

  “Don’t lie.” The words were like the sound of the wind.

  “I’m not lying!” He fervently shook his head. “You’re lovely. Always have been.”

  “I wish I could touch you,” she quietly stated.

  Dovian leaned in closer, running his hand through her tangled curls.

  “And I…” Ivory whispered, tears lining her eyes. “I wish I could have gone….”

  Dovian sucked in air, blowing out slowly. The black fluid was soaking through his robes; he could feel it against his skin. “Gone?” he asked.

  She fed him one of her lovely grins, her blue eyes shimmering in the sunlight. “Ice-skating….”

  “WARNING. SYSTEM OVERLOAD. SYSTEM SHUT DOWN.”

  The inner voice droned, the gentle hum sinking lower and lower into an odd silence. Dovian cupped Ivory’s face, his thumbs smearing the dark fluid splatters that dotted her cheeks. The glow of her eyes was gone. The brilliance that was once her smile was now only parted lips. Slowly, a tear dropped from the corner of one of her eyes, and Dovian’s resolve finally broke.

  “I…Ivory?” he harshly whispered, his expression twisting into a horrid look of pain.

  The beautiful woman did not stir. She made no noise. There was no giggle, no confused questions, and no cheerful solutions to his suffering. All that was left was a shell, an empty shell that no longer housed the woman named Ivory nor the soul of I’Lanthe. What happened to her? Where was she? Where was either of the two?

  “Ivory,” he barely managed her name again.

  Giving a low, drawn-out moan, Dovian curled around the woman, lifting her into his arms. He hugged her, swaying gently. Ice-skating. She just wanted to go ice-skating. That was all. Why couldn’t he simply give her that? It was what the world was supposed to be–simplicities and joy. Not this. Not endless war and death. Dovian clenched his arms tightly around the woman; his cheek pressed against hers. An occasional groan popped past the man’s lips until his body was trembling. Slowly lifting his head, Dovian let out a thunderous, guttural scream.