“I can’t just let you go off on your own, idiot.” Aurora muttered and then yelled after Redline Racer, “If this ship’s Empyrean, you’ll need help! Besides that, if you run quickly in the dark you’ll probably end up with a flattened…”

 

Aurora yelped as Redline sped back and actually tripped.  She looked up with a blush, smudged nose and an indignant look. “Repeat that?”

 

“You’ll need the help. I’m half-Empyrean, not fully one.”

 

“Not that.” Redline Racer stood as her lips twisted.

 

“Oh… um…” Aurora blushed. “If you run in the dark, you’ll probably end up with a flattened nose…”

 

Redline rolled her eyes. “My reflexes are too good for that to ever happen.  Anyway, I told you that you should leave and you won’t change my mind.  If it’s so dangerous for you, you should go. You’re not even a full member.” She wagged a finger under Aurora’s nose. “It’s not going to look bad on your record if you do.” She crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “I won’t force you, but you really should go where it’s safer.  I’ll wrap this up.  Just make sure that Bombshell comes inside instead of getting into a slugfest with those two outside.” As though on cue, the ground started shaking as the battle outside escalated.

 

Redline Racer turned back towards the glimmers of red streaking through the hazy dark.  It was like red light glimmering off something metallic.  

 

Aurora closed the distance between herself and Redline to put an arm on her shoulder in a gesture of camaraderie. “I do bow to your experience here, Redline. You have a lot more knowledge than I do.  But, I can’t escape the feeling that I have to be here. It’s meant to be.”

 

Aurora opened her hand and released a blast directly at the glints of red light over Redline’s shoulder with a smile.

 

The flash of light illuminated a path to a swirling red spring-like structure.  The blast hit the red object and slithered off into the darkness.

 

Redline gasped. “That aura belongs to Crimson Coil,” the comment wasn’t surprising at all.  Crimson Coil’s power allowed her to control a ‘redfield,’ not dissimilar to the phenomenon they’d just witnessed.  It was likely that the field had protected her.

 

There was the whisper of cloth rubbing against something, perhaps the cavern’s walls, soft murmuring in hazy darkness.  The two peered into the darkness to spot the source of the noise, but neither could discern anything.

 

“Hold onto something, Aurora,” Redline barked a short command as she started swinging her arms in a trademark way.

 

Knowing Redline’s power, since she was a huge superhero nerd, Aurora pressed herself against the nearest wall and shrank her wings while focusing on a method to anchor her.  She wanted to be ready to shoot at anything incoming, becoming a turret in a way.

 

Her light emanating lantern construct mutated into a stalagmite to root itself into the bedrock.  As Redline’s arms began to spin like windmills, wind started to roar along the passageway.  The speed of her limbs blurred as she moved them faster than a jet engine’s propeller.  Aurora’s hair blew across her face and within moments, there was a gasping further up the tunnel.

 

Aurora pointed an arm in the direction of the exclamation and fired a beam of concussive light that illuminated the waiting villainess, Crimson Coil.  The look of shock on her face was captured by her blast for a moment before the darkness solidified to devour her blast.  Now that their presence was known, the quality of the darkness changed.  It started to feed on Aurora’s aura, moments after it gobbled up her beam.

 

Reflexively, Aurora pushed her incandescence to the maximum, pushing away the encroaching darkness, but her staglamite was weakened by its exposure to the pressure of void energy.  It started to crack as a quiet war began between Aurora’s luminescence and the darkness.

 

“I’ll get her!” Redline said, “On three… one… two…!!!” 

 

Aurora took off, letting the wind sweep her along the passageway to disappear into the darkness.

 

There was a shiny and almost glowing redness of Crimson Coil’s powers arcing around and the sounds of a fight echoed up the cavern, echoing off the stone.  Aurora could keenly sense the anguish of the darkness, or more accurately she was able to hear it somehow as it gnawed at her light.

 

“Maybe you were right.” Aurora said softly, thinking about what Redline said.  She let her wings sprout and let the wind fill her wings, carrying her out faster.  She landed before leaving the cavern and pressed herself to the ground. For the first time, she sought Black Angel.

 

Black Angel… How dangerous is this Oubliette stuff? Does it absolutely corrupt all it touches?

 

Dear one… the Oubliette is not a corrupting force, but an empowering.  But it’s under the control of another, and I suspect I know who. Aurora sensed a smile from the other. It will consume your light, but you may be able to overpower it. I’d say that you’re stronger than it, but why? Joining with it would be far easier.  You need power… The more you fight it, the weaker you’ll become.  You’re cut off from the starlight that empowers you in your current form.

 

Black Angel appeared in front of Aurora, called for the first time, to hold out an arm to Aurora who sat up off the ground.  “I will steady you so you can escape.”

 

Aurora shook her head. “I can handle things, but do you know of any way to keep darkness from consuming my light?”

 

The Black Angel mused and smiled. “There is one way we can come through this.” She crouched and winked. “I can lend you my power.  With that you can try to seize the power Gothschilde holds. She’s not quite as good as she thinks.  But a warning, you might like it too much.” She laughed softly. “With my powers shielding you, I can minimize its effect on you… after all… I’ve already been taken.  Use me as a shield to hide your ego from it.”

 

Aurora shook her head negatively. “No. I won’t let darkness come that close to me.”

 

Black Angel shrugged. “In that case, simply expand your power until you destroy it, or it you.  It’s certainly possible, if unlikely.  It’s a double edged blade.  The darkness eats at you, but your light eats at the darkness.”  Black Angel leaned down to help Aurora up and her hand passed through Aurora’s.

 

There were the sounds of fighting coming from deeper in the cave.  Meanwhile, Redline was fiercely fighting.  The noises continued to gradually fade in the distance as the battle moved deeper.

 

Aurora flipped out her card to try to call Redline.  The call was quickly answered. “Can’t talk… stay safe.” It disconnected.

 

Aurora sighed.  Redline’s voice had been laced with concern.  She didn’t have this as much as her words implied.

 

With a soft curse, Aurora screwed up her determination.  She wouldn’t let neither Black Angel nor the Darkness, no matter who wielded it, beat her.  She grit her teeth and formed armor of light around herself. It was symbolic.  She would fight!  Aurora smiled.  She needed to get there quickly as possible before more wind hurtled out the cavern’s mouth.  She pointed at the ground and created a skateboard, focusing hard to create simple wheels.  If she’d known what the inside of a jackhammer was like, she might have been able to make a working model from nowhere, but most anyone knew how a wheel worked.

 

Aurora stepped onto it and anchored herself as she extended her wings, spreading her arms.  “Let’s do this!” She flapped for all her worth and was launched up the passageway, full tilt.

 

Black Angel watched Aurora go with a sigh and a wistful smile.  She disappeared in a twinkling of grey light.