Rosalyn stepped through the smashed doorway to the pharmacy, broken glass crunching underneath her boots as she did so.
"Looks pretty picked-over already," she said to Ashley as he followed her in. Other survivors probably already got to the place.
"We should still take a look. Might be something we need but they didn't."
Rosalyn couldn't argue with that. They split up, each searching a different part of the store.
It had been a little over a week since the police station raid, and things had steadily been getting worse. With Jordyn and Vivienne both resolutely down for the count, the Union lost both its scouting and its heavy-hitting abilities. They'd be alright after some rest, but until then, the rest of them had to pitch in. As much as she hated leaving Maddie, Rosalyn wasn't going to sit by when she could be helping out.
Besides, going outside was good for her, despite all the zombies and bloodshed. Sitting inside doing nothing meant having nothing to focus on aside from the awful memories that had been planted in her head. The nightmares were bad enough; she didn't need daymares, too.
But, she was getting better. The more time passed since that horrible night, the easier things were to deal with. It was hardly the first time she'd been traumatised; that just came with the territory of being a hero. By this point, she was confident that she wouldn't freeze up again, like she did when the Godling attacked Maddie. Turn the fear into aggression, and let it stoke the flames of her power, just like she learned to back when she first became a hero.
Supplies at the Union were running low, both in the food and the medicine department, necessitating these little restock runs, and with the Godling sending larger and larger hordes of zombies to attack the Union every day, and blocking every attempt at outside aid from other cities, they couldn't risk sending out a big group and lose their defensive capabilities. So today, it was just Ashley and herself. It was the perfect opportunity for Rosalyn to do some digging on a little problem she'd been having.
She found the section she'd been looking for, and thankfully, whoever looted the place had left it mostly untouched. Rosalyn glanced around, making sure Ashley wasn't looking, and shoved a handful of the boxes into her bag before zipping it up and returning to him.
"Hey Ash, do you know if there's a bathroom here somewhere? I kinda need to take a leak."
He paused, looking away from the medication box he was reading. "Uh, yeah, I saw one in the back over there. Though, you might be better off just using the alley outside. No running water, and all that."
She grimaced. "Yeah, I'll take my chances with the toilet."
He shrugged, turning back to the shelves. "Suit yourself."
With him occupied, Rosalyn followed his directions and made it to the bathroom, right as another hot gurgle of nausea washed over her. Ugh.
Initially, she just assumed that she ate something bad; not a difficult thing to do with the local supply chain broken down. But then the nausea persisted, rearing its head and disappearing multiple times per day, and she began to worry that it was something more. She hadn't reached the point of actually throwing up yet, but if this was what she thought it was, it wouldn't be too long now.
See, she and Maddie hadn't exactly been safe during those three days they spent together after Rosalyn came back. The thought of using protection never crossed either of their minds. In her defence, from Rosalyn's perspective, no time had passed, and she had an IUD in before she died, so they were used to not using condoms or pills. It only occurred to her that the IUD definitely wouldn't still be there a few days after settling in at the Union. And, well... Maddie finished inside of her more than once. The risk was more than just conceptual.
Generally, Rosalyn wasn't one to jump to conclusions, but she was too anxious to wait to see if her period came, especially when they didn't know how dying and resurrecting might have thrown it off. A pregnancy test was the quickest and easiest way to know for sure. And doing three of them at once ensured that there wouldn't be any risk of a false positive.
Rosalyn took a deep breath, and stepped into the stall.
—
Ohhhhhhkay.
Rosalyn needed to think logically about this. She had, what, three to five months before it became a hindrance? By that point, either the Godling would be dead or they would be. Either way, being pregnant would no longer be a problem.
She leaned against the counter, staring at the three positive tests. Having children was always something she'd wanted, but this was a lot sooner than she felt ready for, and that wasn't even touching on her and Maddie's far-from-stable mental states at the moment. Hell, after the whole surprise with Maddie's genital situation, Rosalyn had sort of written off the idea entirely, so this? This was quite the blindside, to put it lightly. What was she gonna do?
One thing was for sure: She needed advice.
Rosalyn stepped back out into the pharmacy, pocketing one of the tests and leaving the others in a waste bin. Ashley glanced at her, concern twinkling in his eyes.
"You okay? You were in there for a while."
She sucked in a breath and nodded. "Uh, yeah. I think so. Just, um... We haven't really talked much since I... came back. I don't suppose you happened to settle down and start a family at any point in the last five years?"
He gave her an odd look, but chuckled. "I wish. No, unfortunately, I haven't really had much luck in the romance department. The simple fact is, if I don't make it out of this conflict, the de Vygon main family line dies with me. Why do you ask?"
That was a sobering line of thought. Also entirely unhelpful. Rosalyn decided to just rip the bandaid off, pulling out the test and handing it to Ashley.
His eyes widened. "Is this... yours?"
She nodded.
He stared at her. "I... I thought Madeline couldn't, uh... do that anymore."
Rosalyn shrugged. "There's always a chance, and we weren't exactly careful when we reunited."
Ashley nodded, breaking out into a small smile. "Well, congrats, Rosie. I'm really happy for you."
She returned the smile. "Yeah, it's pretty exciting. Just... not really a great time for it, y'know? I'm not sure we're ready for the responsibility, either. Especially Maddie. My, um... my death took a big toll on her, and I know she's still trying to get out of that pit. A-and her addictions, too. She still takes a hit almost every day right after waking up. Throwing parenthood into the mix just seems like a recipe for disaster right now."
Ashley stood up, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I know it might be scary, but you're not alone. You've got us. I'm sure everyone would be happy to pitch in and help out whenever you guys need a break. And, once this is all over, we'll talk to Maddie about getting her the help she needs, too. You guys are family, understand? We'll never leave you behind."
Rosalyn did her best not to tear up at that, pulling Ashley into a hug. "You're a sap, you know that?"
"So I've been told."
—
I softly held my side as I walked down the hallway, occasionally wincing when an awkward movement irritated my ribs. Usually, I could handle a few busted ribs, but the Godling got me good this time. Even without the major concussion, I could barely move without screaming for a good three or four days afterwards. Things were getting better though, and though we were steadily running out of painkillers and other medical supplies, the pain had reached a point that I was fairly certain I could tough it out. I was sick of being on bed rest anyway.
At least Vivienne was right there with me, having burnt herself out during the police station run. The only good part about the whole situation was that she cared enough about staying by my side that she herself got a chance to properly rest. With injuries like hers, she should've been laid up for at least a month. Frankly, so should I. But, what we got was a start, and time wasn't a luxury we had much of.
We hadn't heard from Andreas since Viv and I left him at the station, so by this point it was probably safe to assume the worst. I didn't know how to feel about it. Even Maggie, for all of her boisterous hatred of the man, seemed conflicted when she heard. As much as we all wanted him out of our lives, and to face justice for the things he'd done, none of us were prepared for him to just be... gone. Especially not after what happened between us down in the holding cells.Ashamed as I was to admit it, I cried myself to sleep over it for the first few nights after we got back.
The sound of people talking drew me into Ashley's office; always a good spot to go if I was looking for something to do. He and Rosalyn must've returned from their supply run.
The two of them were in there, along with Maddie, Brea, and Viv. Rosalyn and Maddie were on the couch, holding each other. From my place in the doorway, I could see Maddie's face, and her expression. It was probably the brightest I'd seen her since the day she and Rosalyn returned from their little 'honeymoon.' Brianna and Ashley's faces were matching that energy too, but something darker resided behind Viv's plastered-on smile.
"Hey guys," I greeted. "What's the occasion?"
"Rosie's pregnant!" Maddie announced.
My eyebrows shot up. "Damn, Maddie. You work fast. She's only been back a couple weeks."
Maddie chuckled. "Well, between you and me, Rosie was the one doing most of the wo-"
Rosalyn slapped her hand over Maddie's mouth. "That doesn't need to be public knowledge, babe."
Brianna walked over to me. "How're you feeling, Jean shorts? Any better?"
I shrugged. "It's nothing I'm not used to. I'll be good for supply runs in a couple days."
"Not unless there's an emergency," Ashley said. "You might be used to it, but I'm not okay with putting you at risk when you're already injured. You're still recovering from your concussion; one bad hit to the head could kill you."
His support made something warm fizzle inside my chest. It was a far departure from being forced to fight with a broken body by Andreas. "If you say so."
"Um..." Vivienne said, loud enough to grab everyone's attention. We all looked over to her, and now the smile was gone. "I hate to say it, but... we might not have the luxury to wait that long. The Godling has been getting closer and closer every day. We might need to evacuate Tombguard entirely soon. Either that, or... make our stand."
That statement sobered us up. "How much time do we have?" Ashley asked.
Vivienne shook her head. "Not long. The rate It's been approaching at, maybe a day at the most, and that's not accounting for It changing Its mind. There are too many people here for me to get everyone out in one jump. It would have to be in batches, and that'll take time. We need to make our decision now."
Ashley hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. Brianna and Viv, you go start letting people know and preparing them for transport. Do we have a place to take them?"
"I've been communicating with some shelters in other cities when I've had the juice to teleport," Viv said. "There should be space for everyone."
"Alright. The rest of you, get those battle suits on. We need to be ready for anything."
I sighed as everyone spurred to action around me, making eye contact with Vivienne. We were lucky to even get this much time, so I couldn't really complain for how it was turning out. Still sucked, though.
But no one said going to war with a god would be easy.
—
I watched along with the rest of the fighters as Maddie kicked the leg of her armour against the floor, testing its support.
"Feel alright?" Rosalyn asked.
"Yeah," Maddie replied, jumping up and down a few times. All donned in her black battle armour like this, I would've had no idea she was missing a leg if I didn't already know better. The armour was always designed to be a self-supportive exoskeleton, so with a few minor adjustments to the fit by some engineers Viv picked up from other cities (as well as a few of the R&D team members from Andreas' facility, briefly liberated from prison), it could easily serve as a temporary prosthetic for her. The only problem was, due to her relative size compared to us clones, there wasn't enough metal to cover her entire body, leaving a few open weak spots only covered by fabric and padding. In the event something went wrong with the evacuation, she'd definitely have to stick to a support role. Fortunately, her powers were more than suitable for that.
I looked down at my gauntlets, reacclimating to the feeling of the armour sealing my body away. I'd hoped to never have to wear it again. Everyone else seemed to be relishing in that inevitable feeling of power, but it was hard for me to get excited about it. The only thing this armour represented was pain and bloodshed. Nothing good had ever happened while I was wearing it, and nothing good would come of it today.
Overall, we had a pretty decent defensive force, but after seeing what the Godling was capable of, I wasn't sure it would be enough. Between Maggie, Hex, Rosalyn, and I, we'd be able to dish out a lot of damage, but all the Godling needed was one good hit to take one of us out, and we definitely weren't running at full strength, either. We just had to hope it would be enough, especially without Ettie and Ten contributing, thanks to the risks of their close-range powers.
Maggie ruffled out her wings; exposed as they were by the open backplate designed especially for her. It was a definite weak spot, but a necessary one to allow her to fight at full strength. She sighed.
"It's funny. If I hadn't kicked Andreas' ass that day back at the facility, I probably would've gotten the chance to wear this for my combat exam."
"If you hadn't kicked Andreas' ass, I probably wouldn't be alive," I replied.
"Nah, Hex and I definitely would've escaped sooner or later. He'd still have had to wake you up."
"Hey, uh... what am I gonna be doing during this?" Hex asked. "I thought only direct power usage or the anti-Godling weapons could hurt It. My power isn't really good for that."
"Vivienne dropped a car on Its head when It was attacking me and Maddie," Rosalyn said. "It slowed It down for a couple seconds, so doing stuff like that should be effective here as well."
"Or you could use the anti-Godling melee weapons long-ranged," Madeline suggested. "Throw a sword at it or some shit."
"Either way, if we do get into combat, I want you staying as far from the Godling as possible," Maggie said. "You don't have as much combat training as the rest of us."
Hex pouted. "Aw, come on Maggie, that's not fair. I'm just as strong as any of the clones."
I gently put my hand on Hex's shoulder. "Maggie's right, Hex. You're more effective at long-range; there's no reason to risk you getting up close. You haven't seen what the Godling's capable of. Don't underestimate It."
She rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll stay back with Madeline and throw shit at It, then."
Maddie grinned. "Don't worry, we'll have a good time together."
"Hey, all this is assuming the Godling even attacks during the evacuation," Rosalyn said. "With any luck, we'll get away before It can. Fighting's a last resort, remember?"
"Hope for the best, prepare for the worst," Maggie replied. "If that freak does try anything, I'm looking forward to taking a swing at It. Pay It back for what It did to you guys. And for stealing my chance to kill Andreas myself."
"Just... don't do anything stupid, please?" I said. "We've already lost enough to this war. I don't wanna lose you guys, too."
Maggie ruffled my hair. "Don't worry, Jordy. Your big sister isn't going anywhere."
I huffed, trying to hide the small well-up of tears in my eyes. "You'd better not."
Brianna entered the room, calling us over. "Hey, guys. Everything's ready for evac. Are you guys prepared?"
"About as prepared as we can be," Maddie replied. "Just gotta put on our helmets."
"Well, get that done and meet us in the conference room. We start in five minutes."
With that, she ducked out.
No reason to delay. We all grabbed our helmets from the shelf and slipped them on. It felt like coming home, and not in the good way. One by one, my friends and siblings turned from recognisable (if similar-looking) individuals into faceless soldiers, just like I would've still been had the Union not saved me. If not for the white numbers we painted onto our chestplates coinciding with our clone identification (zero, in Rosalyn's case), we'd have been impossible to tell apart. Maddie, for her part, got some decorative stripes instead.
"Ready?" Rosalyn asked, her voice deep and electronic.
Maggie punched her palm with a metallic clang, spreading her wings. "Let's do this shit."
—
My lips still tingled with the taste of Vivienne's parting kiss , stolen briefly in the moments before the evacuation began. Us fighters were posted up outside the Union, keeping watch as Vivienne teleported small groups back and forth. The rest we got after the police station mission did wonders for her stamina, and though she wasn't quite back to full strength, with some anti-nausea meds and some painkillers, she was confident she could power through.
Maggie and I were up on the roof of the building, looking out over the ruined city, while Madeline, Rosalyn, and Hex remained on street level, guarding the entrance. It was mid afternoon, and the sky was overcast with clouds, so not an ideal environment for my shadows, but not terrible, either. Everything was silent.
It sucked.
The air felt thick with tension, and neither Maggie or I said a word to each other. All we could do was wait for confirmation. Either the evacuation would be a success and Vivienne could teleport us away to safety, or we'd be in for the fight of our lives. No way to know which until one or the other happened.
"Hey," Maggie said, finally breaking the silence.
I glanced at her. "What's up?"
"Have you seen the trick where you pull your thumb off?"
I frowned. "What? no."
"Here, look," she said, beckoning me over.
I approached, and she put her hands into position, wrapping her right forefinger around her left thumb. I watched closely and...
Maggie pulled her thumb right off.
"Holy shit!"
Maggie cackled, putting her thumb back and flashing her hands to show everything was back in it's place. "Ah, classic."
"How'd you do that?!"
"Not telling."
"Maggie! Come on!"
"Everything okay up there?" Rosalyn said over our comms.
"Maggie just pulled her thumb off!" I replied.
"What?"
"I did the thumb trick. Surely you know it?" Maggie said.
"Oooh," Rosalyn said, and then started laughing. "Ah, that's great."
Clearly, something was going on here that I wasn't privy to. I folded my arms and huffed. "Whatever. Get back to work. We need to keep lookout."
"Aye aye, captain."
"You're the boss."
Vivienne suddenly appeared beside me, eye wide.
"The Godling's coming from the north!" she shouted. "T minus ten seconds! Get ready!"
With that horrifying statement, she disappeared. Maggie and I looked at each other. She drew her weapons; a shortsword in one hand and a pistol in the other. I readied my shadows.
A massive wall of ice shot up from the ground in front of the Union, reaching high into the sky. A few seconds later, a sonic boom cracked off right behind it, and I saw a flash of something humanoid. My eyes tracked it upwards.
The Godling had arrived.
"Y'know, it's cute that you thought that would stop-"
Its little speech was interrupted as the world in front of me split, cracking open in a huge, fiery explosion. The Godling was entirely engulfed, and I had to smother Maggie's feathers with my shadows to put out the ones that had caught fire from the sparks that washed over us. Rosalyn definitely had the right idea. No holding back.
The flame cleared and the Godling came back into view, clothes singed, the skin on Its face pink with burns. It snarled.
"You little-"
Once again, It didn't get the chance to finish Its sentence, as Maggie fired three anti-Godling rounds directly into Its chest. It recoiled, similar to how It reacted when Andreas shot It, but recovered quickly and charged for her. With a flap of her wings, she jumped away just before the Godling smashed the concrete on the spot she'd been standing, leaving it perfectly lined up for me.
Sharpened tendrils of shadow snaked out from the seams in my armour, too numerous for the Godling to avoid all of them. They pierced true, hitting It in the arm as It tried to dash out of the way.
Despite the fact that the limb should've been in tatters, It backed up and swung it with ease. I failed to release my focus in time, and was pulled up into the sky as the kinetic energy travelled back through the shadows, whipping me through the air towards the ice wall. Thankfully, I managed to catch myself by piercing the ice with my shadows and hanging on, but the sudden change in velocity still rocked through my body, sending an aching jolt through my ribs.
Maggie was back on the attack now, but this setup was far from ideal. With Madeline, Rosalyn, and Hex stuck on the ground, it had effectively turned into a two-on-one instead of a five-on-one. We needed to get the Godling somewhere everyone could target It somehow.
Maggie swooped over Its head, taking swings with her sword. It wasn't very effective, as the Godling just easily ducked out of the way of every swipe. Its was just too fast to keep up with; something It handily demonstrated by suddenly spin-kicking Maggie right in the chest, sending her hurtling towards me faster than my eyes could track.
The sound of her body crashing into the ice wall hit me like a physical object, as the ice supporting me cracked and shattered, sending me into a helpless free fall. I braced with my shadows, preparing for impact, but it never came. Below me, Hex had her hands outstretched, keeping the remains of the ice wall in place for just a moment. She flicked one arm, and all of the ice flew past me, blasting across the roof of the Union HQ and crushing the Godling beneath its weight.
Hex safely carried Maggie and I back to the ground. There was a dent in Maggie's chestplate, but given that she was still moving, it couldn't have been too bad.
"Maggie!" Hex called once she was close enough. "You okay?!"
"A couple broken bones never killed anyone," Maggie wheezed as her feet touched the ground. "Doesn't even hurt."
"We need to lure It away from the Union," I said, taking charge and trying to ignore my concern. "Come on!"
We all ran across the street, climbing through the ice debris. A loud crash echoed behind us; no doubt the Godling rising from Its brief icy entombment. Maddie and Rosalyn launched a few projectiles at It, and we shored up at the other end of the street; now a united force, ready to take It on at full power.
The Godling hovered above the Union, glaring down at us. Its clothing was torn, golden blood leaking from the wounds we'd delivered in our brief scuffle. If we could keep this up, we might actually have a chance at winning this.
But that was a big if.
"Maddie and I will stun It again," Rosalyn said. "You two, keep up the aggression, and Hex, you pin It down by launching weapons from above."
"Got it-"
Hex barely got the chance to reply as the Godling charged at us. This time, Maddie's timing was perfect with her ice, summoning a spike right in Its path. It couldn't get out of the way in time, instead sacrificing Its already damaged arm to the spear with a roar of pain. Rosalyn took her chance, jumping forward and throwing her hands out, enveloping the Godling in another explosion.
Before I could even process the crack of the shockwave rushing over me, the Godling zoomed out of the smoke, headbutting Rosalyn hard enough to send her flying. She careened backwards, smashing through the window of the building behind her and falling out of sight.
Shadows were already wrapping themselves around my limbs as the Godling's sights fell on Madeline. I launched myself at It before It had a chance to retaliate against her, adrenaline blocking my pain and allowing me to fight at full force.
My armoured fist collided with the Godling's cheek, sending it flying down the street to crash into a long-abandoned car. I didn't let up, pulling myself along with tendrils of shadow to follow it, reeling back for another dark-enhanced swing.
It anticipated the attack this time, darting out of the way as my punch pierced the roof of the car, leaving me wide open. My life flashed before my eyes as it lined up a counterattack, but the blow never landed.
Maggie's boots impacted with the side of the Godling's head, once again throwing it a ways away, and saving me from a quick and messy demise. We shared a quick look as I pulled my fist out of the car. Maggie nodded. I nodded back. She flapped her wings and took to the sky. I charged forward on the ground.
This was the perfect set-up. Our long-range fighters a safe distance away, and Maggie and I fighting in sync. One of Its arms was already destroyed. We could win this.
With shadows reinforcing my body and sharpening my strikes, I threw myself into the fray, taking a swing at the Godling that it easily dodged. Maggie took advantage of the opening, firing the last of the bullets in her pistol, which found their mark in the Godling's skull. It recoiled and I followed up, punching It in the jaw with all my strength. Darkness slashed at Its skin, ripping Its face to shreds.
A rumble from down the road caught my attention. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw ice creeping up the asphalt towards us. My shadows wrapped around the Godling's body, pulling It around, directly into the path of the ice right as another giant spike manifested. It pierced It straight through the middle in a spurt of golden ichor.
We didn't let up. Maggie came down like the executioner's axe, slicing her sword straight through Its outstretched still-functional arm. Knives rained down upon It from Hex's telekinesis, stabbing deep into Its skin. A fireball careened towards us from down the street, exploding over the Godling like a molotov cocktail. It could barely even react as I whipped It with darkness, tearing flesh from bone. This fight was over. There was no way It could recover from thi-
"ENOUGH!"
The shockwave sent me flying, slamming into a lamppost and knocking the air from my lungs with a painful jolt. Even as I slid limply to the ground, the pressure didn't let up, keeping me pinned in place. In front of me, the Godling rose into the air; the flame on Its skin disappearing into smoke. Its body and clothing remained in tatters, but it was hard to be excited about that, in the face of Its true power. Maggie faired about as well as me, crashing into a wall on the other side of the street. Underneath the Godling, the road cracked as the pressure coming off of It increased. Was It really just playing with us before?
"We will not allow this farce to destroy Our vessel!" It roared, Its voice echoing through my skull like a death knell. "We allowed you to live for this long for Our entertainment, but this game is no longer amusing. It ends now!"
With a horrible squelch, the severed end of Its arm splattered open, muscle and sinew and bone threading out and growing into a new, disproportionately large and bulbous limb; a horrific perversion of the human form. At the end of the limb, tendrils of muscle formed into a hand, complete with claw-tipped fingers. The Godling examined Its new appendage appraisingly as Its feet touched the ground again, in complete contradiction to the massive hole through Its spine.
Across the street, Maggie grunted, trying to fight against the overwhelming pressure. The Godling noticed, turning and splaying Its grotesque new hand out at her. Suddenly, the arm shot out, stretching beyond what should've been possible and slamming Maggie back against the wall while simultaneously capturing her in Its grasp.
She thrashed and cried out, but it was no use. Maggie was helpless to save herself as she was repeatedly slammed against the ground, before being thrown so far down the street that I couldn't see her anymore. All I could do was stare in horror, struggling to breath against the crushing force keeping me pinned.
A sword flew towards It, accompanied by equal volleys of ice and fire, but all were blocked in their path by the sheer pressure the Godling was exerting, fizzling out into nothing or falling ineffectually to the floor. In return, the Godling stomped on the asphalt, and a couple hundred metres down the road, a section of the ground shot up and smashed Rosalyn in the face, shattering her visor and sending her down like a sack of bricks. Then, It swept Its hand, and a car flew across the street, crushing the other two through the building. Just like that, I was the only one left.
It turned to me, Its shredded face chillingly blank, and began to approach. I tried to force myself up, but it was as if the very air itself wanted to keep me down. Shadows whipped out of my armour wildly, trying and failing to overcome the Godling's spacial manipulation. It was useless.
My heart pounded in my chest as It reached me, picking me up in that big disgusting hand and lifting me to eye level. Acid-like terror fueled my power, darkness stabbing and carving through the muscle around my body, but the Godling barely seemed to notice, hooking a claw under my helmet and flicking it right off. With a simple touch to my bare skin, I lost all control of my shadows.
Was this how Maddie felt when she got attacked? This suffocating, all-consuming helplessness? So frozen with fear that she couldn't even breathe? I couldn't see any way out of this. Vivienne was busy. All of my allies were down for the count. My body was useless and my power was nowhere to be seen. I couldn't even beg for my life; Its grip around my chest too tight for me to get any air. Was this the end? After everything I'd survived?
At least we gave everyone at the Union time to get to safety. Now they'd be able to regroup and launch a real counterattack. That had to count for something.
The Godling's forefinger and thumb came to rest on either side of my jaw. It leaned in, towering over me one last time with that signature Beaumond smirk, and squeezed.
Immediately, the hinges of my jaw buckled under Its strength, snapping out of their joints. Pain blinded me, shutting out all else. All I could see were the empty hollows of the Godling's eyes, my mouth hanging open in a silent scream. This was it. The end. A little more pressure, and the top of my head would pop off like a cork. I just prayed it wouldn't go on for much longer.
Bang!
Hot liquid splattered across my face, into my mouth, as the side of the Godling's head exploded open. I instinctively swallowed, dragging the golden spray down my throat and into my stomach. It burned all the way down.
Immediately, power flooded every fibre of my being, so hot and bright it was as if I'd swallowed a star. Shadows blasted out of my armour like a shockwave, pushing the Godling away even as it recoiled from the destruction of Its head. They sharpened as It let go of me, forcing It back further, forming into tendrils that pierced deep into Its body. The pain of my dislocated jaw had all-but dissipated, lost in the buzz of energy overtaking my senses. I could feel the vibration of every molecule around me; the searing warmth of the photons shining down from the sun, and the comforting cold of their absence. I wanted to hide away, to sink into the darkness where nothing could hurt me anymore, and I could wait in safety for this overwhelming feeling to pass, but there was something I had to do first.
The Godling and I stared at each other as my feet touched the ground again, my shaking limbs supported by hardened black tendrils of shadow. My spears had stabbed into Its shoulder, hip, chest, and leg. Half of Its head was a bloody mess of golden nectar, and the other side had a large hole in it. I'd seen wounds like this before; the result of a gunshot from a high-calibre rifle. Its vessel wouldn't be able to take much more punishment, and It knew it.
I didn't hesitate.
Darkness pulsated, rippling down the spears. Once it reached the Godling's body, the expansion would rip Its vessel apart. Only, the attack never landed.
With a powerful crack of the sound barrier, the Godling shot up into the air, disappearing from view. Just like that, It was gone.
It actually ran away. We won. Holy shit.
My legs buckled and I collapsed, dissipating into the shadows of my own armour.
—
Maggie stared up at the cloudy sky, trying to figure out if she was still alive or not. She assumed that if she was dead, she wouldn't be in this much pain, but without having experienced death before, she couldn't know that. Maybe she should ask Rosalyn?
Okay, sit-rep. She could still move her toes on her left side, so she definitely wasn't totally paralysed. Her right leg, however, was definitely broken in some way. It hurt too much not to be. Ribs were cracked. Maybe a collarbone, too. She could taste blood, but its source was difficult to tell. Arms and wings were thankfully mostly okay, aside from some spraining and bruising. That, she could just ignore. The visor on her helmet said she didn't have a concussion, so that had to count for something, too.
With a loud grunt of pain, Maggie forced herself up to a seated position, pulling off her helmet and leaning against the car that she'd crashed into. Was the fight still happening? Everything went quiet after that gunshot and that loud boom.
Her mind raced with thoughts of Hex and Jordyn. She needed to get back to the Union and make sure they were okay. The pain wouldn't stop her.
Maggie flapped her wings, using the lift to climb to her feet, leaning heavily on her functional leg and the car's hood. Her whole body quivered, every muscle straining to keep her upright. Every beat of her heart was like a fresh new wave of hell, throbbing through her body and reminding her of each and every injury. Fuck, this was gonna suck.
"Need a hand?"
Maggie looked up, blinking in surprise at the voice she just heard.
"Andreas?!"
He raised an eyebrow, the hand-shaped burns on either side of his face wrinkling with the movement. He was dressed in a ratty, bloodstained t-shirt and jeans, along with the combat boots he left for the police station mission in. A large rifle was strapped to his back, and his left arm now ended below the elbow; the stump wrapped in surprisingly clean bandages for the state of the rest of him.
"What, didn't expect me to make it back?" he questioned, voice rough.
"Wuh... we thought you were dead," Maggie replied.
"I probably would be, if the Godling hadn't picked such an arrogant host. Sebastian Beaumond is nothing if not a cocky little bastard with a bigger ego than he's worth."
He walked over to her, offering his good arm. "Here, lean on me."
The thought made her stomach turn, but now wasn't the time for pride. Jordyn and Hex might still need her help. So, she put an arm around his shoulders and let him serve as a counterweight as she hopped back towards the battleground.
"Do you know what's going on?" she asked hoarsely as they walked.
Andreas nodded. "I can gather the situation. From what I saw through my scope, the fight has all-but ended. Jordyn was in a bad spot, but I managed to land a shot on the Godling with my rifle, which gave her a chance to fight back. Not sure how, but it seemed like she managed to scare it off. After that, she dropped, and I lost sight of her. I would have repositioned to try and check on her, but..." He held up the remains of his left arm. "Takes me a bit longer than it used to, and you were much closer."
"What about Hex, and the others?"
"I don't know."
Maggie hummed. That would just have to do.
"H-how'd you survive?" she asked after a minute of painful silence, mostly just to distract herself from the rocking agony of every step.
Andreas sighed. "Luck, mostly. After Jordyn and Ms. Matthews left me behind, the Godling decided It would rather torture me than kill me outright. Beaumond's doing, no doubt. Once It had Its fun, It concluded that turning me into a zombie would be funnier than killing me, so It held my hand out and let one bite me, and then It just left me to turn."
Maggie frowned, putting pieces together in her head and trying not to wince as her bad leg brushed the ground. "So you cut off your arm?"
He nodded. "As soon as It left, I grabbed a medkit from the hall and tourniquetted my arm as low as I dared, then used the blade of an unfinished halberd in the evidence room to cut through it. Once it was off, I stitched it up as best I could through the pain, bandaged it, and then passed out and hoped for the best. It was... unpleasant."
"Shit," was all she could say in response, because, seriously. What. She supposed all of his self first-aid lessons had to come from some experience, but that was extreme.
"Speaking of, how many days ago did we hit the police station?" he asked.
"About a week and a half," Maggie replied.
"I was out a few days, then. The first aid kit contained a bottle of water, which sustained me once I woke up, and from there I started charting my way back through the city, raiding stores for medicine and supplies. I had to stop to rest a lot, which is why it took me so long."
Maggie grunted, running out of energy to speak. She got the gist. The point was: Andreas was far from done being everyone's problem. What fun.
After what felt like an eternity, they reached the spot where Jordyn fell. Golden blood splattered the cracked ground around her. No, not her, her armour. Because, with the helmet nowhere to be found, Maggie could clearly see that Jordyn's armour was empty.
Maggie's heart plummeted. Did the Godling somehow get her out of it and take her? Did It disintegrate her or something? No, no, it couldn't be. Andreas said he saw her drop. Why would she just disappear? Even her underclothes were still there. It was as if she'd just vanished.
"JORDYN!" Maggie called, crying out at the top of her lungs. She had to be around here somewhere. Nothing else made any sense.
Something moved at the corner of her eye. She looked back down at the armour, and saw that a thin tendril of shadow was poking out of the neckpiece. Shadows acting strangely meant Jordyn. But where?
They stepped closer to the discarded armour, to the point where her own shadow passed over it. Immediately, the tendril disappeared, slinking back into the armour before something that looked almost like ink spilled out of it, spreading across Maggie and Andreas' combined shadow. It dispersed until it seemed evenly spread across their shadows, leaving them much darker than normal, though not to the point of being unable to see the road.
"Wow. She actually did it," Andreas stated plainly.
"Did what?" Maggie asked, still very confused as to what was going on.
"Early on in her training, I proposed the idea that she might be able to become one with the shadows she controls. Literally meld into the darkness, so to speak. Our tests never went anywhere, though, so I dropped the idea and moved on. It seems as though she might have finally figured out how to do it."
Oh. As long as she was safe, Maggie supposed. Though, it was strange that she hadn't come out yet.
Maggie put it to the back of her mind. When it came to her power, Jordyn was capable, so she would have faith. Right now, making sure the others were alright took priority.
She and Andreas slowly and painstakingly made their way back to the Union, across from which was a building with a car-shaped hole in it. Inside the fresh cavity sat her three other companions, nursing their wounds. Hex, for her part, seemed to have gotten away mostly scot-free. She was helping Rosalyn clean up her smashed nose. Madeline laid near them, cradling her arm in a way that told Maggie it was probably broken. All three of them startled when they noticed Andreas, but she quickly explained the situation, before stepping into the dim building and finding a comfortable place to sit.
"Where's Jordyn?" Hex asked as Maggie settled down next to Madeline and Andreas slumped in a corner.
"Long story. But, we're pretty sure she's somehow turned herself into a shadow, and she was in mine, but it's pretty dark in here, so she's probably... around."
Madeline chuckled. "Man, that girl is always doing some crazy shit, I swear."
"So long as she's okay," Rosalyn said, her voice all nasal.
After a little while, the darkest shadows in the room all seemed to coalesce in the opposite corner to where Andreas was sitting. A few seconds later, a hand popped out of the darkness, and Jordyn's nude form flopped out onto the floor, groaning. She lifted herself to her hands and knees, heaved, and threw up. Wonderful.
"What the hell happened to you?" Maggie questioned.
Jordyn tried to get up, but she seemed a little woozy, stumbling back and forth. Eventually, she gave up, letting darkness seep across her skin and suck her back into the shadows. The dark patch travelled across the floor until it was next to Maggie, and formed back into the shape of a person before regaining its colour and solidity. Jordyn was really getting the hang of it.
"Assidennly drrran' Godlin' blood," she slurred. Apparently the blood of the divine was alcoholic. Who knew?
Maggie chuckled, then winced as the action jolted her ribs. She reached out, gently stroking through Jordyn's hair. "Just glad you're safe, you goober."
Jordyn mumbled something incomprehensible in response.
"How do you always end up naked when shit like this happens, Jordyn?" Madeline asked.
"Cuz... I gots a fine ass," was Jordyn's heavily slurred response. She giggled, then groaned again, whimpering slightly. Evidently, turning into shadow didn't heal broken ribs.
Maggie grinned. "Hell yeah we do."
