Downfall And Rise

by Nathan Thompson

  Could you get any creepier? The bravest, smallest part of me growled. The slightly larger, thinking part of me realized that if it felt that confident about catching us, then we didn't really have much chance of escape.

  But then the mist suddenly moved.

  With a powerful boom, Guineve stood in front of us in all of her stately glory. Her mist-made dress and raven hair fluttered slightly in the faint breeze, and she held her arm toward the Umbra in a warding gesture.

  “Wes,” she said in a tight, but calm, voice. “Take Stell. Get her away from here.”

  The Umbra stopped walking forward and tilted its head at the new woman, its skull shrinking with its smile. Its eyes stopped shining as it considered her for a moment.

  “Guineve, no,” Stell whispered. “You're not strong enough.” She spoke again, her voice much smaller. “I couldn't make you strong enough.”

  The holes near the top of the monster's face suddenly gleamed, probably in awareness, and it slowly cocked its head back into an upright position.

  “Yes, I am, darling,” Guineve replied, but I could see the lie in the way her outstretched arm, shook. The woman was terrified along with us, but unlike us, she was brave enough to stare our nightmare down. “Wes, Stell's going to need help. Get her somewhere safe so I can fight freely. I'll be fine. Just take her somewhere else, far, far away, so that she and Breena will be safe.”

  She had just saved us both, I realized. Not because she was strong enough to fight this thing. None of us believed that at the moment. She had saved us by giving us a course of actions, and a reason for them. Now our brains could plan, actually have something to do other than just sit there and be terrified.

  “Satellite,” The creature hissed, glow-grinning slightly. “Stell made a little mother-satellite. You look so much like her. What race did she make you from?”

  Guineve stretched out her other hand. The mist began to circle around it, forming a spiral that spoke of some kind of hidden power. The other hand began to glow. I saw white flames dance around the fingers.

  The Umbra's grin suddenly vanished, and its eyes became glowing slits.

  “Bad Satellite,” It hissed. “Bad. She belongs to me. All of her belongs to me,” A third, sharp-nailed foot stomped and pulled the creature forward. “Even you belong to me.”

  Black smoke began to roll around the Umbra's two long arms. They spread out wide, moving the monster into a ready stance.

  “Little Star,” Guineve said calmly. “You have to go right now. It will be okay. I love you.”

  “Guineve,” Stell's horrified eyes were growing wet. “Don't,”

  “I'll get her away, Guineve,” I found myself saying. “Then I'll come back, and you and I will figure this thing out.” I swallowed, then I tried to firm my voice for my next words. “Don't lose to it before I get back.”

  Part of her face turned to look at me, and the corner of a smile tilted out.

  “Thank you, Wes. You were the bravest, the sweetest and the best of them. I should have told you sooner.”

  “Thank you,” I said, and the back of my mind screamed expletives at me when I flashed her a cocky grin. “But you have to tell me again when I get back. Come on Stell.”

  I yanked on my friend's arm and pulled her away as white fire and walls of mist suddenly exploded behind us. I heard a grating, warbled shriek of outrage as we ran, which surprised me, because Guineve was not supposed to be that monster's match. With that knowledge, the rest of my brain began to clear. Right, I thought. Since I'm the only one not currently facing the worst childhood demon ever dreamed up, I should figure out the plan.

  That's right son, a memory of my father's voice surfaced again. Step up and act.

  Once again, I firmed up at the sound of his words.

  I would get Stell to the nearest clearing that had her stones, I decided. I had seen her both talk to Icons from there and create portals for me to travel in, so I knew she could make her escape there. Then she could call for aid, and probably bring some Icons to help us fight. Since Guineve was strong enough for the Umbra to at least take her seriously, an Icon or two should at minimum help make the match close. Best case scenario, we call in every favor every one of those demigods owed us and bury that thing under a massive pile of beat-downs.

  “No,” Stell moaned as I dragged her behind me. “Not Guineve. Please not Guineve.”

  Her legs started to give out from under her, and I realized that she had just had it. She was dealing with some nightmare that had probably eaten her family, probably eaten her entire home world, and now she was sacrificing her closest friend, and a part of herself, to face the monster that had apparently been hunting her ever since she was a little girl.

  I was the one person the monster was completely ignoring. Had that been otherwise I doubt I would have lasted even half as long as Stell had.

  I reached over and caught her with my other arm as she started to fall. I reflected on the fact that I may have been strong enough to carry her weight, but she was easily strong enough to knock my head clean off if she had a problem with the way I held her. Thankfully she accepted my support instead of tossing me off of Avalon, and I ran while carrying her.

  “My fault,” she whispered. “She has to feel what I feel. She's terrified, Wes. And it's all my fault,”

  “It's not,” I argued quietly. “And I'm going back to get her after I save you.”

  My friend needs me, I told myself. I could go back to being a coward after I was dead.

  “You can't save us,” she muttered bitterly. “My parents couldn't even save me. My grandfather and uncles couldn't save me.” The bitterness started to leave her voice, and it became small again. “They hid me here, with a note that said everything was just a bad dream.”

  Shit, I said quietly to myself. And I had been thinking that I had it bad.

  “They did save you,” I chose to argue. “Because that thing hasn't gotten you yet. So that means I can save you too. At least until you can finish saving yourself.”

  “He'll kill you,” she said, giving me a horrified look. “You're nowhere near strong enough. He'll rip you right in half.”

  “And then I'll come back,” I growled. “I'm a Challenger, Stell. Remember? You chose us Earthlings for that very reason.”

  I saw wheels turn behind her eyes when I said that. So I continued talking.

  “I don't need to be strong enough to kill it. I don't even need to be strong enough to drive it off. I just need to be strong enough to anger it. Then I have to come back and fight it again and again, as many times as it takes, until you're able to go to one of your worlds and get some Icons to come help us fight.”

  “That...” She started to argue, then her eyes widened. “That could work. Maybe. Cavus is just one Umbra. Maybe we can get enough Icons to fight him. Maybe a local hero or two, or my other Satellites could help. But wait,” she whispered. “The Icons have never seen me in this form before.”

  “Get your Satellites to vouch for you,” I said, thinking quickly. I had to. I was the only one that a giant creepy demon-thing wasn't obsessing over. “They know what the real you looks like, right? And you put one on every planet specifically to help you monitor with things and communicate with them, right?”

  “Yes,” she said, sucking in a breathe. “That could work. That could work Wes. And...Wes?”

  She said my name again, and despite everything I suddenly brightened.

  “Yes?” I found myself saying hopefully.

  “You can put me down now, Wes. This is a good spot.”

  “Oh, right. Sorry.”

  I told myself to stop feeling disappointed for no reason, and I set the Star-sown down on her feet. She actually flashed a quick smile at me, and I told myself it didn't help because there was nothing to help. We were just friends. Then I told myself to stop being an idiot and focus.

  She walked over to the middle of the empty clearing and held out her hands.

  “Engage emergency power to n
earby know-stones,” she said aloud, and in spite of it all the name for those rocks still made me wince. The glowing, glyph-covered rocks slowly rose from the grass in response to her voice. “Activate emergency portal. Enable system-wide message to all Icons. Message is the following: Attention Icons of all worlds. Avalon is under attack by a Tumult-class invader. Per ancient agreement I am invoking my request for mutual defense. I will be arriving at each of your worlds in a form my Satellites will recognize to bring you to Avalon so that you may assist in its defense. Please prepare. Failure to maintain Avalon will result in losing access to Challengers and losing our means of surviving Tumults and Trials. End of message.”

  She turned and looked at me.

  “There's no guarantee you can come back from fighting an Umbra,” she admitted, and something in her green eyes looked like it was about to tear in half.

  “Then you had better get help quickly, Stell,” I said gently. “They have my Earth body. This is probably my best chance anyway.”

  Her eyes teared up.

  “Guineve was right, Wes. You really are the best of them. I wish...”

  A boom sounded far behind us, and Stell blinked the wetness from her eyes.

  “You're right,” she said firmly. “If we want to save Guineve, we have to hurry.”

  A portal formed behind her. She walked over to one of the rocks and pulled at an indented piece. It came right out, and she pressed the piece in her hands.

  “Guineve won't want to leave you alone with that thing. She's gonna be needed to help the Icons fight Cavus when they get here. And she...” my friend suddenly shuddered. “Can't come back from losing like you can.”

  We both chose to ignore that I might not be able to come back either.

  “You'll have to make her leave. I made this,” she pointed to the stone. “For that purpose. In case I ever had to make her go somewhere safe. It will take her to a realm that will be difficult for that thing to find her. That's her and my best chance, at least until I can come back with help. I need you to last that long Wes.” Her eyes glittered. “I'll never forgive you if you don't.”

  “Deal,” I said firmly. “Now hurry up and go.”

  She reached out and hugged me one last time, even harder than when I had come back from fighting Horde. Then she removed her face from her neck and ran to the portal without saying anything. She gave me one last look, tears filling her green eyes, and then she disappeared.

  Then I was alone.

  I held the stone and looked down for one moment, screwing up my nerves.

  Another boom sounded out from behind me.

  “Avalon,” I said out loud, trying something on a dare. “Confirm if Challenger Wes Malcolm has access to your global command console.”

  “Access confirmed,” the mists said, and for the first time, the deep voice spoke quietly. “Evacuate, Wes Malcolm.”

  “I can't, and I don't have time to explain why.”

  I turned and began to run back where I heard the explosions. “Avalon, provide any additional power available for Satellite Lady Guineve of the Mists.”

  “Lady Guineve has been fully reinforced,” Avalon rumbled back quietly. “Satellite cannot contain any further power. Evacuate, Wes Malcolm.”

  “Avalon, confirm if you have any more power available,” I commanded.

  “Confirmed. Leftover power available for other commands. Evacuate, Wes Malcolm.”

  “I already said I wasn't leaving,” I huffed as I ran. “Avalon, direct maximum possible power to enhance Challenger Wes Malcolm's combat and survival capabilities.”

  “Challenger's command is acknowledged, but contested,” Avalon rumbled. “Additional combat not recommended. Evacuate, Wes Malcolm.”

  “Avalon override your recommendation,” I growled, still running. “Enhance Challenger Wes Malcolm.”

  “Confirmed, removing override and enhancing Challenger Wes Malcolm to maximum possible extent. Recommendation remains. Evacuate, Wes Malcolm.”

  I felt mist began to slide into my body. I suddenly felt lighter, stronger, and full of adrenaline. Spurred on by this, I ran faster, hoping I wasn't too late

  Two thoughts suddenly jumped into my head.

  “Avalon, confirm that you have enough power for this device to teleport Lady Guineve to a safe location, and confirm whether this stone is necessary for her to return. Then confirm whether Stell will have enough power to teleport back with Icon support.” I took another breath, wrestling with voicing my next request. “Then confirm whether enough power remains or is necessary for Challenger Wes Malcolm to resurrect upon death here on Avalon.”

  “Confirmed that power remains to safely teleport Lady Guineve of the Mists,” the mists rumbled softly. “Confirmed that stone is unnecessary for Lady Guineve to return on her power, though immediate return will require time or intervention of Stewardess Stell upon Star-sown's return. Confirmation that Star-sown has enough power to return with maximum possible assistance.”

  This was seriously the best news all day.

  “Confirmation that resurrection is dependent upon the inherent power of the Challenger, not Avalon. No confirmation regarding whether Challengers or any other being can resurrect after contact with Umbra species. Contact with Umbra not recommended. Evacuate, Wes Malcolm.”

  Well, nevermind.

  My body's in my enemies' hands anyway, I tried to remind myself.

  I was on borrowed time no matter how I looked at it.

  One last boom sounded out, and then an eerie silence settled over the mists. I ignored the cold lump forming in my stomach and ran as fast as I dared.

  And then the mists parted, and I was back to where the nightmare was.

  Lady Guineve was on her knees panting in exhaustion. She took deep breathes, as if she had been starved of oxygen. Mist hung in tatters from the edge of her collarbone to the tips of her knees. She held one hand over her chest, as if she was trying to hold herself together.

  The ground all around her was pitted, as if it had been blasted into fine gravel and dirt. There was an empty crater where the Horde Pit had used to be.

  I was able to let that sink for a moment. The Umbra, the creature that we were all scared witless over facing, had been forced to call the Pit into assisting it.

  This thing was not as strong as Stell thought it was. And Stell, and all of her Satellites, were probably much stronger than they realized.

  This thing’s going to die as soon as we have our rematch, I promised.

  Speaking of the monster itself…

  It was over a dozen feet away from Guineve, but it still loomed over her thanks to height and the reach of its grotesquely long arms. Smog circled around it, similar to how mist had once circled around Guineve. But the smog circled in patches, exposing the monster's midnight-black skin. Many parts of its body looked torn, and with gray, wet flesh bleeding out of the rips. The hands crawling over the creature were working to stitch the tears, but they worked slowly. The monster would need time to repair its wounds.

  But it wouldn't need that time to finish Guineve.

  “Bad little Stell-piece,” the thing hissed, the tear of its mouth tilting, as if it had been knocked sideways. “Bad, dirty-wrong Stell-piece. To wound me. To tell me no and fight me back. Bad friend. Bad daughter. Bad wife. Bad slave.”

  “You are not my friend,” Guineve hissed back, pain and anger whispering out through her clenched teeth. “You are not my father. And you are certainly not my husband or my master. You are a wretched and warped abuser from a wretched and warped species. You have plagued my dear Little Star with too many nightmares for too many centuries. The opportunity to protect her from you is something I will cherish forever, regardless of what is about to happen to me. The fact that I was also able to strike out and injure you is my eternal glory.”

  “False, unfaithful, little Stell,” the thing hissed. It took another step forward, and suddenly the strong, kind, beautiful woman who had welcomed, fed and cared for me was in reach o
f its ten-foot arms. “I kept your entire family forever, even your men, and you still say such things. False, wrong, faithless Stell-piece. I will fix you. Then I will keep you. Then I will find the rest of you and fix and keep those parts as well, forever. I have been too patient! And for too long!” Its voice warbled as it left its lop-sided mouth, and its raised a skull-sized hand.

  I was out of time. I barreled forward, clutching Stell's stone in my right fist.

  “Guineve,” I shouted, pressing the indent in the middle of the stone and throwing it at her. “Catch!”

  Her head whipped around at the sound of my voice, and I saw a tiny spark of hope peek out from behind her mask of steely defiance. Then she saw the rock that fell into her open hands and saw that I was alone and running towards her and the Umbra.