Chapter 17
The Victory
Each step felt heavier than the last.
The crowd may have been oblivious to it, so hyped in their excitement for the penultimate event, but Meredith could tell. The undulating souls of tension and resentment were still there from the day prior. Nothing had simmered down in the slightest, despite Chapman’s wishes. Gone was a mere friendly tournament between most of them. The sights were set for each other.
Still, she held her head high at the front of their team’s column, striding on the field with confidence. Brynn and Rico’s eyes were on her, and Felix was snarling in Emil’s direction before Summer turned him away. Neither of the twins would even offer Eddie a smile. It had come down to being serious business. Barring those brief glances, the obvious leaders of each team returned to strategizing with their on-edge members.
Meredith decided to do the same, ignoring Lovelia’s glare at Vivian, or Maria’s perennial smirk.
“Final day to rack up points and take another first place win, so there’s no room for error here. Are we in agreement?” Meredith asked of her team. Eddie nodded.
“Was there any room for doubt?” Vivian said back. Still, her eyes conveyed a willingness to listen to orders. “What’s your take?”
“You’re actually leaving it up to me?”
“I might be stronger than you, but you’re the one that had the strategy on day three. I trust you enough to see this to a win.” Vivian looked away as she said it, but Meredith didn’t doubt her sincerity.
Meredith observed the track in place of saying anything. There was a sloping hill section that led to a suspended field of water, before flying to the precarious track in the air and then to a thin rail along the edges of the stadium. It eventually sloped down, right into the middle, all four points clearly marked. She began nodding her head, taking stock of all parts and her teammates’ skills. Terrill’s soul silently waited, curious as to what strategy she would come up with.
After a bit of thought, the answer presented itself.
“All right. Four sections and that means four strengths,” Meredith said. Her finger first pointed up. “Emil, you get the sky portion, for obvious reasons. Eddie, take the water. Your ice can help you across, plus you’re a swimmer.”
“Then I’ll take the start,” Vivian said. She was rolling her shoulders, only pausing when she noticed Meredith staring at her. “What? Better to begin well than to end well.”
“I don’t think that’s how it goes at all, Viv,” Eddie said. The blonde shrugged.
“I’m better at the start. Plus, there’s no rule against our magic helping out our teammates. A little enchantment goes a long way.” Meredith squinted at Vivian, as if seeing her for the first time, but the blonde’s smirk told her all. “That’s what you wanted, right?”
The bell above began to ring, and Chapman spoke again. “Time’s almost up, so if all contestants will make their way to the attendants that will carry them into position.”
“Well, here we go.” Meredith held her hand out. “We’re in this to win it. We do our best, we work as a team…we make each other proud. This isn’t about the Corps, but about us proving we can do something when we stand together. Got it?”
“Let’s do this.”
“On it, Mera.” With Vivian and Eddie’s hands in the center, all focus shifted to Emil. He nodded, and joined them.
“I don’t know what I want to do all the time, but yeah, let’s win this thing. That’s as good a statement as any, right?”
“Then, to victory!” Their hands raised up and they turned away, each joining the procession to their various platforms, now lowering to them.
As she walked, Meredith tied her hair up, her eye catching Vivian’s. The blonde nodded, an unspoken agreement between them. Then her teammate reached the start of the course, alongside Edgar, Lovelia and Autumn. Meredith inhaled, and stepped on to her own platform, with more of the familiar faces, comprised of Conrad, Rico and Brynn. The two girls acknowledged each other with a nod, and Conrad with a grin. Rico said nothing, his body coiled and ready for a fight.
The crowd’s voices faded, and Chapman was a dull buzzing. He was conversing with Masters and the alchemic guild master, but none of what they said mattered. The platform rose up, and Meredith kept her eye on Vivian and the land course she was about to run. Her breathing was audible in her ears, and her soul searched her friend’s. Gone was hesitation. All Vivian was left with was the desire to prove herself, but not to her father.
This time, it was for her team.
Meredith cracked a smile.
“The teams are ready for the relay, and the crowd is electric. Who will win? What will the points look like? This is the true measure of a team.” Chapman rose a hand on the screen, and then lowered it with gusto. “Racers, begin!”
Clang!
Vivian took the first step forward, but she was quickly outpaced. Edgar began barreling through, his bulky physique putting him far ahead of the lithe girl. It, was, however, the other two teams that made their mark in the first leg of the race.
“Lovelia takes the lead, with a deft teleportation. It may not have served her well in battles, but boy does it work great in a race with magical objects!” Chapman commented.
“It may not serve her well in the uphill portion, however,” Masters said. “Autumn has the better idea.”
Meredith had no doubt of that. The snaking vines were carrying Autumn upwards on the first slope. She surpassed Lovelia, who had to travel with small bursts of teleportation to small objects she was tossing in order to get up. Each action made her more exhausted than the last. Vivian was shrewder, as once she was close enough, she gripped on to Autumn’s moving vines and allowed them to carry her up and past Edgar with a wave. The man growled and charged up the hill with all speed.
“All brawn and no brains, that one,” Conrad said next to Meredith. Brynn narrowed her eyes just enough to make the boy recoil. Meredith didn’t care.
There was more to the simple footrace than it seemed, and the silence of the guild master all but confirmed that. Lovelia, Autumn and Edgar were oblivious (or Edgar just didn’t care given his single strategy), but Vivian slowed upon reaching the crest of the first hill and beginning to slide down the second. She also unsheathed her weapon.
Then the course began to change.
“The power of alchemical magic, I take it…” Brynn commented dryly.
Poles shot up from the sides of the hilly course, carrying with them some whirring pendulums that blocked the path of those in the way. Lovelia was pulled to a halt while Autumn fell back, nearly knocked over by one of them. Vivian didn’t stop running, her legs charging up the next hill, towards the water tank. The hill turned into stairs, and she began to skip them as the pendulum swung towards her. She took aim and fired, destroying the first one as her body glowed red. She skipped past Autumn.
“You’re welcome.” The twin scowled at her, pushing at the ground while the blonde waltzed past. Edgar was doing the same, his bulky body hardening and smashing through any pendulums that stood in their path. Seconds before the two reached the top of the hill, though, they fell, roots clasping their ankles and causing them to trip. Another root traveled up, carrying Autumn with it.
“You’re welcome, Vivian.” Meredith bit her lip while Conrad guffawed behind her. She really hoped the blonde wouldn’t react.
“And it looks like Lovelia and Autumn are the first to make it to the next part of the course: the swimming sea!”
“More than that, our contestants have learned quite a bit this round. Your traps were unexpected for some of them, guild master,” the commander spoke, addressing their guest commentator.
“Yes. We designed the course specifically to have many unexpected things, though I won’t say what for the future sections,” the guild master said. He was solemn in his remarks, but Meredith could hear the pride. To her, she knew it meant that the settlement was growing stronger, even without one of their finest. Her fist clasped her robes. “Our smiths aimed to make this as stunning and entertaining as possible.”
“Well, I’d say they succeeded, with Summer already moving ahead, and Carlton diving in. Though is it getting a bit cold to you?” Chapman said. Meredith joined Conrad in rolling her eyes; she’d have thought it was obvious what Summer’s schtick was by now. The water in the tank began to freeze, allowing the girl to skate across the icy surface. Carlton swam underneath.
“Come on, Viv…” Meredith whispered, watching as her companion sliced away the roots and flipped back up to reach the top of the course, right up to Eddie. The two slapped hands, and Eddie’s own body glowed red, the enchantment passing on, not a single moment of revenge considered.
“And Edwin touches down with…fire?” Eddie slid on the ice, but instead of continuing the work that Summer had started, he sprouted fire from his fingers and jetted it towards Summer. She barely dodged, sliding off balance and landing on the ice. The cold temperature started to fade, and the ice thawed.
That, Eddie was ready for. His other hand touched the path straight to end of the suspended tank and sent a line of ice that connected it. He tested its weight, and once it held him, he skated for the opposite edge. Summer floundered in the water, but regained her bearings to swim for Eddie’s ice road. Below them, Carlton powered through the water like it was dirt, only coming up for air occasionally. It seemed like an easy passage was in order…until two things happened.
First, a geyser rocketed from beneath the tank, displacing the water. Eddie was knocked off, plunging into the water alongside Summer, the girl desperately clinging to him. He floundered, hoping to get her off him as Carlton sped ahead.
His lead didn’t last long.
“Is that water…boiling?” Chapman asked.
“Theo is timid, but he’s amongst the most intelligent in the Home Guard. Tricks and traps won’t phase him,” Brynn said. Her gloating earned a scoff from Rico, despite being well-warranted.
Geysers shot all over the place, intending to unsettle each of the racers that were knocked into the drink. Theodore took the easy way out, the water bubbling and boiling, and after time, Meredith saw it reducing the entire pool into nearly nothing, revealing the ladders at the entrance and exits. Meredith laughed; the boy had just eliminated the opponents’ advantages as well as the hindrances all at once.
Theodore jumped down, softening his landing in the tank with his Melting Magic, before dashing for the recovering group, exchanging not a single word.
Eddie was the first to recover, pushing Summer off him. Carlton wasn’t far behind, resorting to foot travel now. As Summer recovered, Eddie breathed in, his palms and arms going behind him. Compressed air gathered there, stronger than usual thanks to Vivian’s enchantment. He waited a moment, and then he fired.
“Well, that’s certainly a unique strategy!”
“They all have unique strategies to eliminate obstacles,” the guild master said. “Or get around them…”
“I’m fairly sure most of them are just obliterating the obstacles over solving them,” Masters said, a chuckle lacing his words. On the screens and on the course, Eddie rocketed past Carlton and Theodore, the force of his air allowing him to reach the ladder before them. In order to not slam into the wall, he angled his palms down and shot high into the air, far above his station. His limbs flapped about, a scream coming from his lips before he fell, his descent slowed by his teammate, who clasped his hand.
“Your turn, Emil!”
“On it!” Eddie let go of his hand, slumping to the platform in his sopping clothes, and Emil shot into the air, gravity pulling him forward. The track wound through the sky, giant hoops lining its path that sloped back down to Meredith’s group. He dodged to the side, attempting to avoid the hoops. As he did so, Carlton and Theodore had arrived to the platform, and Summer struggled to climb back up the ladder.
Meredith’s knees bent a bit, preparing for Emil’s imminent arrival. Carlton and Brynn emulated her.
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Emil shot around, only for the track to suddenly change, a stone slab erecting itself. Emil smashed into the surface, sliding down with a groan. He floated back, and Meredith saw the whole path was taken up by the stone, growing no matter which way he turned; up or down, left or right. Gregory and Maria were on the move, the latter floating much like Emil, though with a lazy yawn.
Meredith wrinkled her nose, wondering how Emil was going to overcome this obstacle as her dirty-blond friend doubled back. He watched for a second as Maria flew past him and sailed through the hoop, the path opening for her. Gregory, on his end, electrified the track, turning it into a rail he rode upon. Finally, Emil turned his body, offering Meredith a thumbs up and descending, floating straight through the hoop, as per Maria.
The stone slab opened up, allowing him passage, and he increased the weight on his body. Maria was no match for the speed he fell, and Emil got ahead, slowing only to take the turns. Summer reached the platform, gasping as she slapped Felix’s hand. He took off the fastest.
“A thrilling sky chase is in motion, folks, as you can see on the screens,” Chapman said. His gesturing to the screens only drew attention to the floating cameras about the place, and the television stations down below, recording the whole thing and making it possible. “Emil and Maria float, Felix flies, and Gregory is using his lightning to travel on the rails. Guild master, how did you manage the hoop configuration?”
“It’s like a check system we’ve developed for security purposes,” the man answered. Attention was kept on the sky while he did, with Felix zooming past Gregory to break even with Emil and Maria. The moment the three were in the same vicinity, turning subtly around the now circular track, they began butting shoulders. “The hoops are the ‘code’, and the stone walls are bulwarks. Through a specific ore, we can make it react, though amplification-type magic makes it all possible.”
The competitors didn’t care for the scientific explanation, each trying to drive the others off the course, but failing…until Felix bonked his head on one of the hoops and fell behind. Emil and Maria shot downwards, aiming for the final platform. Meredith held her hand out, focused on nothing but Emil, who didn’t even engage Maria in banter or conflict. Her heartbeat seemed audible to her, and Meredith bent her knees further, prepared to spring into action.
Emil reached out, his hand coming close. Maria changed course, attempting to knock him out of the way of the last hoop. He ducked, his body dropping low and scraping the edge of the track. His foot hit it at a weird angle, and he began to tumble off after clearing the hoop, but Emil stretched his fingers as far as they would go until they touched against Meredith’s.
“Up to you.”
Meredith nodded, spinning around and bounding forward.
She leapt from the platform, on to the track that rimmed the top of the coliseum. Eyes turned towards her from below, but she remained laser-focused on the crescent that covered the coliseum before becoming the steep slope that raced to the finish line. Her legs covered distance, but someone closed it, with Rico right at her side. It was a tight fit, and Meredith understood the meaning of the section’s title: maintaining balance.
No tricks. No traps. No tests. Just a straightforward race that was about staying on the course, itself.
Meredith glanced below, to where Eddie and Vivian had gathered, looking up at her. She locked eyes with her best friend. They were in agreement.
Steam rolled out from behind the two frontrunners vying for first place, and Meredith saw Brynn dashing. Conrad was right there with her, though taking an entirely different strategy. His copies populated the edge of the track, allowing him to drop down and use them as a quick chain, tossing him from one to the next to get ahead of the Home Guard’s leader. Rico pulled just as swift a tactic, his spear shooting out. He planted it in the ground and vaulted ahead of Meredith.
They stared at each other while he did so, and she heard his challenge loud and clear.
Prove it.
Bring it on, Rico, she said, and she was sure he heard her, because he increased his pace the moment he touched down. Meredith just screamed. “Eddie! Using your help! Soul Scream: Frost Rail!”
Her soul connected to his, her fingers touching to the rails. The ice crackled and froze along the length of the track, tricky as it was. Meredith touched down, her feet pushing off and skating the length, much as her best friend had done, but with better success. Memories of the Trial of Ice returned to her, and with full confidence, she skated. Rico saw her coming, his foot just missing the mark and nearly sending him sliding off the edge. She ignored him, the final, steep slope approaching.
Terrill, you, too. I need your magic. He offered wordless acquiescence.
Meredith jumped, and when her foot touched the diving track, a stone plinth emerged from it. More erupted from within the tracks, creating a set of stairs that she leapt with ease. Each one crumbled as she did, unable to support its own weight, forcing Rico to begin sliding unaccompanied. He used his spear to steady himself, but Meredith focused on the end of the track.
“It’s a close race as Rico intends to catch up to Meredith, while Brynn and Conrad appear to be in a struggle for who will take up the bottom of the pack. Who will win this struggle?” Chapman’s invigorated cries caused the audience to stand and cheer, the final leg of the race nearly complete.
“Come on, Mera!”
“We can win this!”
“You can do it, Mera! We’re rooting for you!”
The shouts of support reached her, and the last bit of adrenaline fueled her. Her foot planted itself against the last piece of track before she jumped. The momentum of her descent carried her forward, her stones crumbling away.
The finish line was within reach, her friends on the other side, and with a grin, she created one last bit of earth to jump off. She sailed to the other side, her friends catching her as they tumbled to the ground.
“The race has a winner! Meredith completes the course first! The Guardian Corps wins!” To that, the crowd had nothing but an all-encompassing roar of approval. So loud it was, that the announcement of Rico’s second place, and the tie between Brynn and Conrad fell on deaf ears. “What a remarkable event! And what a remarkable setup we have, going into the final day!”
Meredith caught her breath, disbelief over having won settling in. She was shaken by Eddie, but all her body could do was start laughing.
“We won! We actually won the event!” Meredith cried. Her arms threw themselves into the air, and her scream garnered even more from the crowd. From her parents. From Matthew. From a Max that quickly silenced himself at Victor Lacroix’s glare.
Then from Amelia, who, for the first time, looked as though they had actually done what she expected.
“Not a bad look on us, huh?” Vivian said. She threw an arm around Meredith, causing the two to look up at the scores on the screen. “You were a bit messy around the edges, though. Still, a win’s a win.”
GUARDIAN CORPS 10
HOME GUARD 9
LACARDIA 9
RENEGADES 9
“Those are some tight points…” Emil said, folding his arms.
“Then it should drive us all the more to win tomorrow!” Eddie said, clasping a fist and raising it high.
“Y-yeah…guess so.”
“Once we do, we pass these trials and are one step closer to becoming Guardians.”
“Don’t think we’ll make that easy for you,” Brynn called across the way. The other teams had gathered, each one staring down the fledgling Guardians with looks that implied the same thing: they were all gunning for the top spot. “That top spot will belong to the Home Guard.”
“Nah, Lacardia will be the one to attain victory.”
“In your dreams, maybe,” Vivian said, her haughty demeanor making the twins grumble. Meredith looked across to Rico and his Renegades, each focused on her.
“Then we settle this tomorrow, trial girl,” the man said. His back began to turn. “Tomorrow, let’s decide how worthy your Corps is. Whose message is heard loud and clear. We’ll decide our future then and there, and change the world.”
“Don’t keep posturing, Rico. It’s a bad look on you,” Meredith said to him. He waved her off, but she ran forward, right to the middle of the stadium. “Challenge accepted! Tomorrow, the Guardian Corps is rising to the top! Our team will prove to you just what a Guardian can do!
“We’ll win the whole damn tournament!”
“Yeah!”
The crowd agreed with her teammates, and Chapman appeared giddy over the prospect.
“There it is! The proclamation calling for victory tomorrow! The Guardian Corps has laid its claim, and with their performance today, there’s no doubt they might have become the favorite for tomorrow’s events.”
“I know I’d certainly like to pull for my own team.”
“Yes, a remarkable team for certain.”
“Either way, we’ll know tomorrow,” Chapman said, addressing his fellow commentators. “It’s an event you won’t want to miss: a full-team, all-out brawl! You’ll see the rules tomorrow, but it’ll be the most action-packed and energetic event of the year! Tomorrow’s the finale of the Alliance Games, so pack those seats, turn on that television and get ready to be amazed.
“These Games are coming to their end, and you’ll witness the world-changing event right here!”
Everyone rocked the stands with their explosive cheers, and Meredith grinned at her team. The others watched her, each making their marks on who they’d face. All of them doubtless had the same goal: to defeat the Guardian Corps.
But Meredith didn’t care. She and her team would take all of them on.
Linking her arms with Eddie and Vivian, the four members of the Guardian Corps’ team stepped off the field to raucous cries of support, and towards the tomorrow of victory that was yet to come.
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Night had fallen on an arduous day. The waves of the islands peaceably ebbing and flowing. The occasional wave would splash against the Defender’s invisible hull, hidden to all but the most prying eyes. Its occupants made sure no eyes were doing so, even with the babble inside.
For now, however, Raymond remained on the bridge, glancing out the full window to where the town was, just beyond the trees. He couldn’t see anything in particular, waiting instead for their current infiltrators on watch to come back with information. Collecting it over the last twenty-four hours, waiting for word from the Order to reach the village, it had been a long task, their strategies changing with every new piece of info that arrived.
“Captain, Bruce and Trent are on their way back,” Emily said, emerging at his side. “Are we certain we should be using the Defender, though? Sal and Kenny are afraid it could blow this small town off the map, leaving us with nothing, even with just the concussives.”
“Just a last resort, but I don’t think we’ll need it. They’re more a deterrent than a threat, to prevent us from being killed or captured.” Emily accepted the notion, fastening the knuckles on her hand. They remained in silence, eyes out at the stars. “How do you think my sister’s doing at the tournament?”
“I couldn’t fathom, sir,” Emily said. Her amusement was evident. “Though, with Commander Chavez there, perhaps they’re doing well. I wouldn’t dare to check. I’m sure we’ll hear of triumphant news in the Metropolis when our operation here is done.”
“With any luck, that’ll be tonight.”
“Well, it’s definitely happening tonight, captain.” Bruce and Trent had arrived, the hissing of the skyship’s ramp indicating such. They came in, holding a bundle of black clothing that looked akin to robes. The captain didn’t question their appearance, dressed in the black robes, themselves, and they tossed a pair to both Raymond and Emily.
“They’re getting ready for some big to-do in the church,” Trent said, his finger pointing towards the village. “Villagers are dressing in these robes, so we stole a few.”
“The ceremony, then…makes sense…” Raymond whipped the robe outward, finding it to be a little short, and a little smelly. “They want the Reaper to grant their blessing at their bountiful ceremony. Given they’re a priest, it makes sense. Would you say the operation is a go, then?”
“Oh, for sure. They’ve moved the blade to the church, and everyone’s gathering where they did before,” Bruce said. His knuckles cracked and he initiated some squats exercises. “They’re on edge, though. Still think we might show up.”
“Yeah, Jay’s been kept busy driving them away. It’s why I want you two with him on the outskirts when this all starts up. Don’t be seen.”
“You got it, captain, long as we get some action.” Bruce and Trent fistbumped one another, leading to Emily rolling her eyes. “We’ll make sure not a single Order member escapes.”
“I’m trusting you. Any idea when the party is set to begin?”
“Looked like it was almost starting when we snuck out,” Trent indicated. He sniffed at his own robes and blanched. Out of all of them, only Emily slipped hers on without expression or comment. “If you don’t wait too long, you can sneak in while the chaos is going.”
“If you can call that chaos…they looked more like they were getting ready for war,” Bruce finished. Raymond twisted his lips and then threw his robe on. “They’ve been spending a lot of time on that communications setup, but we haven’t been able to get a look.”
“Have Jay check it out while you patrol. Should be less guarded. Em and I will head in.” Raymond took the hood and flipped it over, hiding his face, while making sure his weapon was carefully concealed. Before exiting the skyship, he strode over to the engine room door. “Kenny, Sal, we’re heading out. You know the plan.”
“Do you, captain?” Sal asked, her hair bobbing back and forth. When he gave her a stern look, she chuckled. “Of course, I got it, captain. You still doubt me…”
“To answer your question, captain, yes, we know the plan. You and Em get in, take the weapon if you can, have the forces whittle each other down if necessary, and snag information from the rest. The three idiots will patrol the perimeter-”
“Hey!”
“-and we’ll take the sky once you have confirmation to make sure you don’t die.”
“Then let’s do it. Tempest Squad-”
“Yeah, we got it!” Bruce said, sighing towards Kenny for his insult. “Move out!” He and Trent left down the still open ramp, and into the inky darkness. Raymond’s shoulders slumped a moment.
“He didn’t let me finish…” Emily patted him kindly, but also started pushing him along, out of the skyship and back on the island, itself.
Drums hammered an infectious beat off the mountains and the waterfall, mixing with the waves in an eclectic vibe. Fire and shadows danced where the town was, indicating a sense of festivity; Raymond likened it more to a tribal chant of preparing for war. Something just felt off about it. Eerie and unsettling. Next to him, Emily shrouded herself with the hood, while in the distance, three shadows could be seen heading for the tree line. Certain they were safely hidden, Raymond led Emily towards the village.
The noises of the ceremony grew louder, as did the sights. Various bountiful harvests were presented at the numerous stands, with a large floor where people danced in the center. By Raymond’s estimations, it was enough to fit a skyship, much like the one that had landed there just days before. People were otherwise scattered, split between dancing, clapping or patrolling.
It still felt restrained and watchful: a clear evidence of their guilt in what they were aiming to accomplish.
Raymond, not wanting to be seen, took Emily by the hand, keeping to the shadows until they were just outside the ring of light, closest to the church. She squeezed his hand once they were close enough, and he slunk backwards, looking through the lit windows to the sanctuary. It was decorated well, with all the finery the town could muster, though it was perhaps a little gaudy. The most ostentatious thing was the black blade, sitting all alone without a man to guard it.
Thoughts on the ease of stealing it came to him, but as a voice rose above the crowd, he decided better.
“Brothers and sisters, the time is almost upon us! As we give thanks for the blessings in our lives, we will receive further blessings. We will rise up! We will make it clear that we are not to be trodden upon! With our crafted Abyssal Blade, we will cleave a wound to the heart of this world, that they will know us!” The voice was one Raymond knew, rejoining Emily while she shook her head. Sure enough, the leader of their town was standing in the center, making a turn as he focused on each and every person that had gathered. “Our brothers and sisters will each do their jobs. We are done playing the part of the meek and helpless! Now, for us all, let us strike into the center of the Order!”
There was great agreement amongst those there, but Raymond had nothing but glares for the man in charge. His rhetoric was tiring, and unsettling. Something was off, and deliberate about his words. This time, more than any before, he was very measured in what he said…as if keeping a charade, while speaking to those who understood him all the same.
It could make sense as a coup move, but…
A sound of whooshing engines, no different from two nights before, drowned out Raymond’s thoughts. There was no more time to consider just what this sect of the Order was planning. All that existed was the mission, and the people that could sleep better by executing it. Every man and woman left the landing strip, and the lights above showed the descending skyship, heralding the one they had all been waiting for.
The Reaper had arrived.