Daniel

They waited on top of a hill. A crescent moon set on the horizon, though dawn remained distant. The Black Dog swept across the plains at the head of a rising tide, trailing mist from its heels to make an island of their bastion. Round and round, it circled their hill, closing in with each rotation as the mist climbed higher and higher. Soon, it would take the battle to them if they didn’t strike first.

:Daniel, should I go all-out?: Paul sent.

He had the same problem. If Daniel hit the Black Dog too hard, he might kill them by mistake. This was no beast, demon, or monster, but a person with whom to negotiate.

“Black Dog! My name is Daniel; at least give me the courtesy of yours!”

The dark shape in the mist didn’t pause or slow but spoke in a deep and fearsome voice, “Daniel Ruin, I am Tesem Nebel. On my honor, I promise no harm will come to you or yours if you surrender to me. I will escort you to the City and not separate your group.”

Daniel’s heart leaped with relief—finally, someone not out to kill or enslave them. Surely he could reason with this young man. He called back, “Tesem, I can see you are not my enemy. You may leave us in peace, or we can help you free yourself if the mages are your captors.”

A moment of silence stretched as the hidden figure considered his offer. Then, with a low growl, Tesem replied, “How can you save me when you can’t save yourselves?”

Sighing with regret and swallowing anger, Daniel finished his speech. “I warn you, we will defend ourselves with lethal force.” The truth of that remained undecided, but it made a clear threat.

“You have no magic among you that can stop me,” the Black Dog’s last words lingered as an ominous miasma.

:Here he comes,: Rana sent. They’d decided to use sendings to preserve a tactical advantage.

Leaping from cover, the Black Dog bounded uphill, and the mist came roiling after. Immediately, a ray of light from Paul’s palm struck Tesem’s right shoulder. The frayed edges of the dog’s wound swirled and dissipated ghostlike in the night air. A stream of mist from the vast well at his heels filled the wound as milk fills a bowl, and Tesem was whole again.

Daniel’s eye for destruction understood the meaning of the dog’s boast. This was not simple regeneration. Paul had damaged Tesem—but the Black Dog’s had no muscles or organs to damage. Tesem’s true body was none other than the entire mist cloud surrounding them.

Fortunately, they’d made preparations. :Paul, use diverging lenses and sweep the perimeter.:

The lantern boy selected two of the dozen lenses on metal poles stationed around their circle and shot twin rays from his open palms. The lenses widened the lasers, and these broadened beams slammed into the rising wall of mist like a blowtorch on paper. Then, turning in a circle, Paul switched from lens to lens to defend on all sides—to the effect of beating back shadows with a flashlight.

:Loose the rocks!: Daniel sent.

Having taken a page from the Stone mage, Lea kept several boulders in orbit with a ring of caramboles like a particle accelerator. Their rotation spun faster and faster as Tesem climbed until she let fly with the giant sling. He nimbly dodged around the first and leaped over the second as Lea adjusted her aim, but the third plowed into his chest. The ground shook as the boulders landed.

The Black Dog shattered; his form disrupted as the surface of a lake by a cast stone. When Tesem’s image regained focus, Kenta and Wendi threw their own boulders, though neither so fast nor well aimed as Lea’s. Still, the bombardment delayed him well.

:Rana, where’s our sticky slime?: Daniel asked with growing alarm.

She shook her head with dissatisfaction. :It’s there. He’s floating over it.:

That left it for Daniel to decide whether to fight or flee. Tesem’s ghostly body crippled their group’s offense. Daniel needed a target for his power, something he could hit, crush, crack, or break. Even the baseball practice he’d been doing in his head was all about directing ‘balls’ of ruination. Expanding his fist projection to maximum size wouldn’t do much if he wasted it on diffuse mist.

Regardless, he needed to act. Daniel spent the majority of his power on a huge arm projection he swung through the reforming Black Dog and surrounding fog. Tesem offered no resistance, the dense patches withdrawing beyond Daniel’s reach as if mocking. A lightheaded dizzy spell hit him as the magic fled his body. Daniel’s attack failed, getting no refund for the expenditure, and he couldn’t afford another gamble.

:I’m calling it,: Daniel sent. :We can’t fight him.:

Kenta bristled, and Wendi groaned.

:We can if it comes to blows,: the Kaminoke sent.

:I haven’t gotten a real chance,: Wendi agreed. :All I did was throw a rock!:

Daniel tried to explain. :It doesn’t matter, he’s not—:

“—From the south!” Paul shouted. The lantern boy shone his rays on a blot of mist that gathered and sprang, too dense for him to stop alone. And they were out of rocks.

“Cassie, pick us up; we’re pulling out!” he said as the billowing black train neared the end of the line. Daniel threw a conservative-sized curveball to catch Tesem off-guard.

Unfortunately, he’d not had the chance to practice. In order to put ‘spin’ on his attack, he needed to project his power as an object separate from his fist, a missile. This separation proved far more challenging than anticipated because his Ruin ability had no substance like air or water to manipulate. The half-baked attack came as a twisted fist thin at the wrist. Tesem condensed into the Black Dog and leaped over the swell of destructive aura.

Daniel cursed himself and his throbbing skull as Cassie the bat and Tesem the Black Dog converged on the group. Cassie took the lead, assuring their escape until Tesem howled. While impossibly loud and chilling, the sound had no mind-affecting component he could detect. So, Cassie surprised them all when she veered away, utterly terrified.

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An airtight dome of hair encased their group as the jaws of the Black Dog snapped short. Daniel sighed. So much for the plan. Time to pick up the pieces. :He becomes tangible to attack. Kenta, can you hold him off while Wendi throws kids up for Cassie?:

The Kaminoke snorted. :Is that a question?:

Mist streamed in the moment Kenta loosened his hair for Wendi’s throw. This was a problem because of something Daniel hadn’t counted on. Unlike the howl, the fog had a secondary magical effect.

The hair dome filled with tendrils of coiling mist before anyone could react. Daniel couldn’t see the nose on his face. He reached for Wendi, who’d stood next to him, and found nothing. He walked far enough in one direction to pass the dome and fall off the hill, finding nothing but mist.

:Where are you?:

:I’m right here!:

:I knew we should’ve pushed for daylight!:

:What’s going on?:

:Where’d everybody go?:

The chatter went on pointlessly as Daniel tuned it out to concentrate. His Second Sight proved equally useless.

“It’s over,” Tesem said from behind him.

Daniel spun, fist raised, to see nothing. Tesem appeared and disappeared at will here. A rumbling from his left said, “Once you’re inside me, there is no escape.”

I doubt that, Daniel thought, but was running out of ideas fast. If he started shooting blind, he couldn’t discount the chance of hitting a friend.

Tesem growled from all directions. “Will you surrender, or must I subdue you?”

“I’ll not give up so easily!” Out of the corner of an eye, he saw a black paw impact his temple in a puff of dust. Being kicked around never got old for Daniel; it was always a fresh new experience of pain and indignity.

He rolled himself over and stood on weary feet. “I’m over here!” Daniel shouted at the top of his lungs, “Follow the sound of my voice!” Another paw sent him tumbling. Thinking and even breathing became difficult as the power drain of his dust defense triggered a migraine.

A ripping sound made Daniel whip his head around to see Wendi!…go? The blue alter-ego with forward-pointing horns and razor-sharp teeth darted forward. He didn’t have the strength to fight, defenseless. Daniel couldn’t help it; he squeaked with unmanly fear as she grabbed him around the middle.

Wait, what?

Wendigo lashed out with her free hand, slicing four glowing blue gashes in the air that flew in formation perpendicular to the arc of her slash. These projected energy claws cut and tore the fabric of the mist. The curtains opened, and Wendigo flowed through the gaps like quicksilver with Daniel in tow.

He wasn’t sure what seemed more unbelievable, that Wendigo’s powers worked this well against Tesem’s, or that she hadn’t already ripped Daniel apart. She ran with purpose, slashing their way through the parting sea. How had she found him?

:How do you know where you’re going?:

One predatory eye flicked over him, then to the mist ahead. :Doesn’t matter.:

:How do you know your attacks won’t hit anyone?: Daniel asked, then he answered his own question—the short range of her attacks allowed her to see what she was hitting.

Her explanation was a bit different. :Doesn’t matter.:

Wendigo swerved to the side, twisted around 360°, and slashed the air to create another set of energy claws that struck an already confused Tesem mid-manifestation. The Black Dog howled in pain and dissipated while she resumed her course. Daniel blinked. How did she anticipate that? Was it scent or sound or something else?

The veil before them tore to reveal Lea crouched inside a cage of caramboles for protection. :Lea, it’s Daniel, open up!: he sent.

Like a turtle peeking out of its shell, Lea adjusted her caramboles for a better look and met eyes with the blue devil. “Oh, dear.”

During a forward flip that made Daniel dizzy, Wendigo shot her energy claws into the air—piercing through to the night sky. She then grabbed Lea and threw her above the mist, trailing caramboles. Daniel saw Cassie snatch the Libra girl out of the air before the mists once again closed.

Not done, Wendigo spun to claw a pouncing Tesem and again to cut a new path.

Next, they came across Paul, visible at a distance by the huge clearing his widened rays maintained. :We’re coming, Paul,: Daniel sent.

Wendigo performed the same sky-opening flip and grabbed Paul, who said, “…Okay.”

She swung him around once, twice, and released on the third rotation. The Black Dog leaped high overhead to block their path, but Paul burned his way to freedom in a burst of light from his chest.

They started off again, making impressive progress, until Wendigo suddenly lost traction. She managed to hold onto Daniel and stay on her hooves as they slid forward. Then Rana slammed an elbow into Wendigo’s solar plexus with the combined momentum of their head-on collision.

Stunned by the blow, Wendigo lost her grip on Daniel, and he skidded to a halt several feet away. Rana then knocked Wendigo on her butt with a low kick and proceeded to land several punches on the devil girl’s face.

Thrusting her fingers through slime and into the soil beneath, Wendigo caught a grip. She threw herself onto dry ground and laughed. “You’re in a good mood.” Wendigo readied her battle pose, “Let’s dance!”

Daniel rolled and stood while Rana dodged several sets of energy claws. “Stop fighting!” he said, “Rana, she’s on our side now, I guess? Anyway, she hasn’t tried to kill me recently!”

The vicious attacks she threw didn’t exactly help Wendigo’s case. “Upset, Froggy? I guess you don’t like to share your toys.” Daniel flushed, and Rana frowned in confusion.

As Wendigo raised her hand for another round of energy claws, Rana caught her by surprise—instead of evasion, the frog girl rushed in. Rana got inside the arc of the claws to unleash a flurry of strikes into an unguarded torso.

Daniel tried to stop further escalation, but what was he supposed to do? Shoot them?

The devil girl endured the rain of blows, going for a bear hug. Rana ducked away. Wendigo chuckled. “As much as I enjoy helping you work through your anger issues, aren’t we in the middle of something?”

Those words provoked Rana into redoubling her assault. She struck Wendigo’s most vulnerable areas with heavy punches and kicks designed to inflict pain, the hits so rhythmically well-placed and quick, Wendigo temporarily lost the ability to retaliate.

They both paused a moment later, whirling as one to counterattack the Black Dog’s bite. Rana gave his nose a brutal kick, and Wendigo sliced apart the half-formed body. As Tesem’s manifestation dissolved, the two turned to look at one another.

“I did say she was helping us,” Daniel said. Rana gave him a severe look and grumbled disapproval. Daniel returned the look with one of his own. Meanwhile, Wendigo offered her open palm to Rana and pointed up with her other hand. In response, Rana shook her head and stepped away. Daniel continued, “Kenta is the last one left to find; let’s hurry.”

Wendigo shrugged, grabbed Daniel, and the three of them ventured on. He realized how right Wendigo had been—it didn’t matter which direction they went through the torn mist because they’d find what they were looking for eventually.

Ahead, finally, encased in hair armor, Kenta fought another manifestation of the Black Dog. Wendigo threw more energy claws into Tesem, opened the way to the sky, and extended a hand to Kenta. After meeting Daniel’s eyes for reassurance, Kenta allowed himself to be thrown—his lack of argument a testament of maturity.

Tesem once again impeded their escape by covering the hole, but a ray of light from Paul in Cassie’s claws cleared the way. Kenta unwound his hair in two directions, up to grasp Cassie on her flyby and down for the others to grab.

Suddenly Wendigo was Wendi again, and Rana had them on her shoulders, arms locked around Wendi’s thighs. With a deep crouch, Rana leaped, launching the three of them skyward. Wendi caught the rope of hair, and the seven of them rose above the mist.

The white ocean below swirled and boiled as Tesem condensed his widespread body into a titanic Black Dog head that ascended to swallow them all.

Daniel finally saw a target too big to miss. He gathered his power for a single maximum-sized punch projection. Its release drained him to the breaking point like a juice-box sucked until it crumpled in on itself. Then Daniel fainted.

His closing eyes saw the Black Dog’s snarling face rupture and crumble, though the mist remained.