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The Gift

Edward's Storyline, Chapter 10.4

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I didn't know if she'd ever be willing to come to the bargaining table but maybe something about my change of approach was enough to do it. Her new smile seemed just a little more genuine. "What do you have to offer me, Seer?"

I was happy to know that I could still get one-up on her, even if it was a useless gesture. Leading with my fist, I announced "A black fuckin' eye, bitch!"

Considering she was a Spirit and I was physical I honestly didn't expect much; the Spirit of War used pawns to make changes to the physical world and she herself was invincible. Maybe I was just looking to let my temper out in a stress-relieving way, kind of like punching a pillow, but, for whatever reason, I didn't stop myself and threw all my weight behind my fist. I don't know which of us was more surprised when it connected.

I stood victorious as she took a half step back, reveling in my victory as she dropped the chain attached to Medved to raise her hand up to press against her cheek. Before she could act any further I sprang forward, grabbing the metal bindings and the moment my fingers touched it the cold metal dissolved in a flash of Golden light-- and so did Medved. The moment the shackles opened and dropped from his wrists and neck the wave of Yellow energy flowed across his body from ears to toes and, like that, his wounds were gone.

He stepped forward, putting a paw on my chest and pulling me back behind him even as he stepped away from the Spirit of War. Eyes focused on her, I struggled against his guidance, still wanting to make her pay for what she had done. She was gazing down at her fingers, a smear of blood on both her digits and her cheek. I noticed a second later that my had hurt horribly, and only then did I realize that her perfect features were uninjured, and my bloody knuckles throbbed all the more.

Her eyes glowed with a fierce Purple and she inhaled deeply, little crackles of violet energy arcing off of her fingers. She laughed. "Oh, Edward... you are absolutely everything I had hoped for."

She took a step toward me but stopped as a large rock broke against her head, bouncing off on two separate halves. From behind me, Tre's unmistakable growl broke the terrifying silence. "Morgana, you're getting WAY more than you hoped for."

I don't know when the Spirit of War's control over the other spirits, or time, or whatever it was came to an end, but, a moment later, The Ancient One came barreling in, using Green's size and mass to best effect; the collision of the two made the earth literally rumble. The impact was enough to snap me out of my rage, and I no longer struggled.

Once I was back a decent distance, Medved turned to regard me. "Get in your automobile and stay there. It will not start while she has this place warded, but you will be safer than in the open."

Rarely if ever in my life have I felt useless but, in that moment, I wondered just how helpful I'd be in the fight. The conclusion I came to was 'not very', and that made me angry. Seeing how little I'd done with my punch, being angry made me desperate-- desperate to hurt her and desperate to help my friends. The desperation, I realized very quickly, gave me strength in ways I had never realized.

Medved had turned to go back to join Tre and The Ancient One in their rapidly escalating battle. His paws gripped the air, his sword appearing in his right paw and black powder pistol created in his left one. Before he'd taken two steps I reached out and quickly snatched the pistol away. I was focused by that point, not caring how I'd managed to wrestle it away from him, let alone touch it; I didn't pay attention to the fact that he had been holding some kind of 1800s single shot pistol but to me it was a 9mm; I didn't have any regard for anything other than standing up to the biggest bully I had ever seen.

The pistol kicked twice in my grasp, and then two more times as four pulses of bluish-green light impacted against the Spirit of War's abdomen, chest and cheek. Her combat fatigues showed holes and places where her skin was visible showed nasty looking welts, as if she'd been beaned by paint balls. Surprisingly, it barely even slowed her down, and she just laughed as more and more purple light flowed into her body.

Tre was the first to comment. "You're fighting her, Eddie! You're giving her more strength by attacking!"

Green stepped back as he dodged a nasty looking sword that the Spirit of War swung at his mid-section. As he faded back, he also changed shape and Red's lithe, wiry form floated away from her even as the Dragon announced "Yet you are hurting her too, Seeker. You are not as helpless as she may think!"

The Ancient One was sent spiraling backward as the Spirit of War punched at him, shooting some kind of bolt of energy bolt out as if she were a videogame character in a fighting game. Tre took the opportunity to charge, an enormous blackened wooden club leading the way, but she pivoted, launching a spear-hand strike out and neatly cleaving the weapon in half before sending her foot straight into his stomach and sending him stumbling back.

She stalked toward me at that point, but I stood my ground, firing another double-tap at her; the Spirit of War was close enough that both shots caught her in the forehead, and it was finally enough to make her pause as she grimaced, reaching up to wipe away a droplet of blood that had been created by the impacts. Letting out a deep sigh, she stepped closer, her hands starting to glow the same color as her eyes. "I had originally planned to work WITH you, Edward, but I can see there's just no reasoning with you..."

Medved stepped forward, placing himself between me and the Spirit of War, but a simple backhand sent him flying aside. She was upon me a second later, her left hand pulling the gun out of my grasp, and her right going to my throat. I was suddenly unable to breathe, and, before I realized what was happening, she had hefted me off the ground. I gripped her wrist with both of my hands, wheezing. "I-- I'll---"

I saw flecks of light across my vision as she squeezed tighter. "I still don't want to kill you, but I am going to find out a way to utilize you as the resource you are... and if that requires a heavy hand then so be it."

Battering at her forearm with my hands I also kicked at her abdomen, but it was about as useful as lashing out at a stone wall. The lack of oxygen began to take effect and I had trouble focusing, going dizzy as a massive wave of fatigue took over. Just as I was about to pass out, though, she finally released me.

I fell to the ground, gasping for breath, coughing and choking as my aching lungs finally took in a breath. It still made me dizzy to raise my head, but I looked up at the rejoined fight right in front of me; Tre and The Ancient One were doing battle with the Spirit of War, doing just enough to keep her on the defensive. I found myself being pulled away as Medved grabbed me by the leg and yanked me back. He repeated his earlier suggestion. "Take cover."

The battle was suddenly that much more difficult for the Spirit of War as the Bear joined in. My three Spirits managed to increase the separation between me and our attacker, forcing her back with their onslaught and, for a moment, I thought that things were finally going our way. That didn't last long though as I realized something: my three Spirits were obviously giving it their all, aggressively fighting her back, but, the longer the battle went the dimmer their eyes glowed. The Spirit of War, on the other hand, still appeared to be conserving her energy, and the powerful light glowing from her wasn't diminished in the least.

It was a losing battle; given long enough she would overpower them and that would be that. The three of them were not strong enough to defeat the Spirit of War. Slowly getting to my feet, I found my legs still shaky and I had trouble keeping my balance, but that didn't matter... not when they were in danger-- not when they were going to get killed to defend me.

I realized by then that none of us alone had the ability to fight her off, but that was exactly why I'd been training. Ch'upikaq had said that I'd been doing well, but I knew he didn't think I was ready. Still, in that split second, I realized that there wasn't time to second guess, and that's when I decided.

Reaching out, I--