Chapter 23
The Resurgence
Meredith knew her body could give out at any moment. Her chest was bruised, and what would surely become a scar on her cheek ached. Her shoulder wasn’t much better, having the same scarring as her cheek, but no longer bleeding. Stumbling a bit, she found Felix and Brynn holding her arms. Vivian took the other side of Brynn while Eddie used flames to sear Brynn’s wound closed.
You can still fight, then? Terrill’s question didn’t require an answer. Meredith grunted from the pain, but her hand tightened on the Earth-Splitter by way of recognition. That was good enough for him, promising to lend his strength to her. She could hear Vivian’s bow whispering the same promise, though its owner didn’t hear it.
Meredith inhaled, letting the adrenaline run through her body, pushing it further. There was no time to rest. No time to let Rico get away with what he was doing.
She stepped forward, testing her balance on one of the broken rocks. Once she was certain it was sturdy enough, she began to climb, at first supported by the other four, but soon doing so on her own. Her brother could do nothing but watch, but she ignored him, grunting with every step as she reached for the light of the stadium above. Nails dug into stone, ripping at some of her skin, but she didn’t stop until she reached the last remaining place to stand, the others at her side.
“L-l-ladies and gentlemen…” Meredith looked up at the screens, each displaying Rico’s message. Some of them changed, now showing an astonished Chapman, shaking with tears in his eyes. He was looking down. “Th-they’re up. Our competitors are up! They’re still standing!”
The effect those statements had on the crowd was immeasurable. Fear and doubt lingered in the populace, but many turned to look. The Guardians trying to flee stared back at the screens, now showing the five of them: beaten, but not broken. A cheer rose, though it was quelled by the raging fights that continued on. Meredith couldn’t focus on them, especially not with her brother approaching her.
“Mera, you have to cut this out. I know you want to fight, but-”
“No, Ray, you don’t know a thing!” she snapped. To punctuate her point, she sheathed her blade, turning her Soul Vision on. There was so much fear in the stadium, giving off a sickening wave, one that extended beyond, to the Metropolis. Yet in that sea of fear and loathing was a soul that couldn’t be seen, high atop the red building. She knew where Rico was. “All our lives you’ve been ahead of me, and I’ve always needed you to bail me out of trouble. The Metropolis, the settlement, and even here, you’re trying to save me. Well, you weren’t here.”
“I’m here now, so there’s no need to push yourself to the breaking point.”
“Then you don’t know your sister very well.” Vivian was tying her hair up, sharing a confirming glance with Meredith. “She doesn’t give up. On anyone. Even if it’s the dumbest thing to do.”
“Besides, like I said,” Eddie continued, “Emil’s involved. I don’t know how, but I want to know why, and that means, as his teammate, he’s our responsibility.”
“Well, mine, too,” Felix answered. He was stretching, though his bones creaked with every movement. “I’ve always had a bone to pick with Emil, but now he’s gone too far. As A-Class’s leader, I need to put him in his place.”
“You’re all insane. Mera, please!” Meredith leveled a snarl at her brother, insisting that he shut up. He backed up, but his hand was outstretched, desperate to pull her back from danger. She wasn’t going to listen.
A shot of wind exploded over their heads, and a body flew into the arena, smashing into the wall with a gag. The quintet jumped at the shock, but Maria, who had struck the stone, groaned and slid to her feet, rubbing her bleeding chin. Another gale indicated the arrival of Amelia, the wind like claws around her hands while her whirring blades retracted.
“Let them go already, Childs,” she spoke, landing with elegance. Raymond cast a wild look to the commander, but didn’t dare refute her. “These kids have fought more than any of us here. They’re the ones who battled it out with the Renegades every day for the last week and know their leader better than anyone. Bruised or not, they’re the ones who have a score to settle.”
“Commander, you can’t seriously-”
“You want to help them, Raymond? Then help me take down this harpy. Given she was on their team, I’m going to take it that she’s one of the leaders. Take off the heads and the body will crumble.” Raymond still appeared hesitant, throwing his head between his commander and his sister. Eventually he sighed, resigned enough to at least jerk his head and grant permission for them to leave. “Good. Now that that’s settled, get moving, peons. Oh…and nice haircut, Childs. Very combat-ready.”
Meredith snorted. “Okay, guys, time for some action. Who’s heading to the Metropolis with me?”
“Count me in,” Felix answered first. “I’ll be your ticket to get there fast.”
“Which means you’ll need me and my enchantment,” Vivian pitched in. Eddie nodded in agreement, soliciting his own participation. “Plus, like hell I’ll let trash like you take Rico down alone.”
“Then I’ll stay here,” Brynn said. Meredith was surprised she didn’t want to get her own hits in, but she quickly explained her stance. “I’m wounded more than you four and I don’t want to pull you down. Plus, the Home Guard’s charge is the president and his entourage, which means the people here.”
“Good. Then we can focus on Rico without worrying about what’s going on here. That’ll be a weight off.” Meredith and Brynn clasped hands, a promise to reunite at the end passing between them. “You’ll see us victorious.”
“We’ll be cheering you the whole time.” They let go, and Brynn made her move, running and climbing to the tallest rock left on the arena floor. “Home Guard, stand up and fight! It’s time to put our petty squabbles with the Guardian Corps aside. Right now, our duty is to the citizens. Let’s prove ourselves worthy of our name! Edgar, Theo, Gregory, I know you’re out there, so stand up! Time to liberate our stadium! Fight!”
“She’ll buy us time. Let’s roll.”
“Mera.” She twitched at her brother’s annoyingly insistent voice calling back to her, but she looked at him one more time. “Be careful.”
“You, too.” Sibling concern shared, Meredith prepared herself by facing Felix. He was focused, his body glowing green. Vivian had a hand on him, her eyes closed.
“Penta-robus, Stamina Fill,” she uttered, and Felix’s wings sprouted forth, larger than before, and shining with his magical energy. “I’m not wasting my max magic on you Felix, so make it count.”
“Hah, maybe you’re not too bad, Vivian. It should be enough.” Vivian gripped hold of one of his arms, and Eddie did the same for her. Meredith took the other, and with everyone secure, Felix flapped his wings and soared high above the stadium.
“I’ll keep a look out for any attacks, and Eddie, you shoot them out of the sky. We have no telling how far the Renegades have spread,” Meredith commanded. Her best friend agreed, twisting his free hand towards the stadium in case of any impending assault.
Meredith copied Eddie, just with her neck and Soul Vision. People were rallying to Brynn, and not just the Home Guard. Summer and Autumn looked to have recovered, joining with the Home Guard that was gathering. The Corps was fighting as well, escorting some people out, but many more remained in the stadium, stuck watching the screens that showed them taking off. Rico would know they were coming.
“Shots at our six!” Meredith called out, sensing the magical cannons’ assault. The bullets became colorful projectiles, heading for Felix’s exposed backside. He ascended, giving Eddie enough room to cling tighter to Vivian and fire a blazing orb. They exploded as fireworks, pushing the quartet forward, over the lamplight and on towards the Metropolis.
It wasn’t long before they cleared the fire zone of the stadium, the four looking back at the site, wishing the battlers there well. There was no time for stalling, and with another flap of his wings, Felix’s flight took them further, over the empty, grassy plains. A few people who had escaped the nightmare were recovering near the river or leaning against the news trucks that were all but abandoned, though none took notice of them under the night sky.
“Let’s hope they don’t shoot us down over the walls,” Vivian said when they got closer to the Metropolis’s barricade. Meredith didn’t find that an issue.
“There’s no one guarding the walls,” she said. Her companions winced. There was no doubt they were reflecting on Rico’s words, and how true the Corps was proving them. Meredith shook her head to dissolve the negative thoughts and they flew straight over, with Felix turning towards the beautiful red building that reached towards the heavens.
“Mera, there’s a skyship there. Should we be concerned?”
Meredith peered through the darkness at Felix’s question, trying to find friend or foe. There were more souls visible now, with many running away from the Communications Tower. It wasn’t quite the density of what had been packed in at the stadium, but with so many television screens lining the grand city, Rico’s point was inescapable nonetheless. Only a few channels had a different feed, this one displaying the stadium, with Brynn leading a charge. Chapman was screaming something enthusiastically, but with the wind rushing through Meredith’s ears, she didn’t catch it. She did find the skyship, however.
“That’s Ray’s ship. Keep going and don’t worry, except for those on the ground! We don’t know who’s civilian and who’s an enemy,” she shouted. Felix increased his speed further.
The first volley came moments after.
“Eddie, defense. Felix, get ready to drop!” Meredith said. She scanned the streets and alleyways, finding their path to the tower, and looking at Rico’s soul, way up high. A shot exploded in midair, proving the danger of remaining airborne and Felix dipped. Vivian let out a soft scream of falling. People below disappeared as fast as they could at the sight of them diving, save for those who had weapons or other forms of magic. “Boys, you’re up!”
“Eddie, we’ve done combo stuff together, right? You up for it?” Eddie answered by letting go, a green orb of compressed air forming between his palms. Knowing they would attack, Meredith let go of Felix to take Vivian’s hand. They plummeted as the boys sent their wind out. Felix’s wings created a gale that caught the orb and forced it to travel to the center of those Renegades that populated the streets. It burst with all the force of a hurricane, blowing the girls back towards a building.
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“Just hang on!” Meredith’s soul reached out to the metal and glass, and it heeded her call, all the living objects in the city stretching out. Some of the buildings were damaged, but a slide was formed that the two girls landed on. It put them on a straight course for the bottom where they came out swinging, knocking the remaining, distracted Renegades aside. Felix and Eddie landed in the center, blowing those left with more wind. “I think we’re on the right track. To the tower.”
“Keep alert. I don’t want to wipe your blood off the streets,” Vivian said. Her bow was out, but she kept behind Meredith, watching her back. The Renegades dispatched, Felix and Eddie joined back up, facing the direction of the tower. The ground shook.
Making sure they wouldn’t be followed by the incapacitated Renegades, Meredith started forward, wending her way through the streets that she knew would lead her to the Communications Tower. A cannon fired from the Defender, and bodies flew through the air. It didn’t look like a killing shot, but Meredith wasn’t going to examine the bodies to find out.
“The stadium continues to be overrun by Renegades, though the Home Guard has rallied, joining forces with the Corps’ Tempest Squad to come and rescue citizens,” Chapman’s voice echoed. It seemed odd that Rico was letting it happen, but Meredith didn’t afford herself distractions, skidding into the square where their quarry was waiting. Each television present showed a different aspect of the carnage. “Our own captor has disappeared, and we await rescue, though no help has yet come. Many Guardians seemed to have fled the scene, though there’s no news on the competitors that disappeared moments ago.”
“He wants it to be shown that the Corps is a bunch of fleeing cowards,” Vivian said. Meredith knew that was the answer, but there were already two that were proving his claims wrong. Bruce and Trent were in Communique Plaza, battling through a contingent of Renegades that were blocking access to the tower. The cannons turned on that crowd and fired, to which Trent created a shield to prevent harm to him and his partner. “Where’s Rico?”
“Right up top.”
“Seems theatrical of him.” Perhaps it was, Meredith thought, but the whirring helicopter moving in and the pictures now zoomed on them running towards the tower betrayed his intentions. “Oh. Guess that’s the point.”
“Down!” Felix grabbed Meredith and Vivian’s heads, pushing them to the ground. Eddie lifted his arms, an earthen shield coming with them, and a smacking noise was heard on the other side. He lowered it, and a familiar girl wore a livid expression as she stared them down, rubbing her nose.
“Lovelia…you just don’t stay down, do you?” Meredith prepared to withdraw her sword, but halted. The girl was running on fumes, her earlier defeat by them causing her shoulders to sag. Even Vivian took pity on her.
“I won’t…” she huffed out. “Rico gave us everything…everything that was taken from us. Family. A home. But you people…always acted like you were better. You never lost anything. What right do you have to judge us when you couldn’t protect anyone and we did all the work for you?!”
“So that’s what it is…You’re bitter over what happened at the alchemic settlement. Over what happened in your lives.” Lovelia ripped her short sword out, her trembling hand attempting to threaten them with it. Meredith didn’t bother taking her own out. “Poor you. Get a grip.”
With a single stomp, the earth under Lovelia’s feet rose up, throwing her into the sky. She didn’t fall. Not right away, at least, instead being lowered slowly. That was a clear sign of who was in the vicinity, and Meredith snarled, running for the tower before Lovelia could recover.
She was faster than expected, the girl teleporting in Meredith’s path and kicking at her. Meredith caught the foot and spun her around, slamming her into the ground. “So, what if Rico gave you everything? Does that mean you think it’s right just to hurt others because you feel so neglected? What is it? You’re so hurt deep down you want everyone else to feel the same pain as you? Grow up!”
“That’s enough, Mera.”
His voice was grating. Dull though it was, it inspired anger in her while she stood. Vivian punched Lovelia before the Renegade could resume her assault once more, leaving her out cold on the streets of the Metropolis. Meredith looked up.
“You’re not allowed to use that name. Not after what you’ve done,” she hissed. Emil floated down, leaning against one of the supports for the tower. His mouth was a thin line betraying the slightest of sighs. His eyes flicked up, past the spiral of ascending buildings before finding them once more.
“I haven’t done anything.”
“You stood by. That’s enough,” Meredith said. This time, she did draw her blade, but before she could point it at the boy, Eddie lowered her hand. He walked in front, and Felix was with him. Emil eyed him, not saying anything, but quirking an eyebrow when Eddie addressed him.
“Why?” Vivian was nocking an arrow, ready to pierce Emil if he answered the wrong way. Eddie waited for a response. Meredith wasn’t sure one would ever come, but when she could feel Emil’s open confusion, doubt, rage and screams inside his soul, she knew there was an answer, and he just needed it drawn out. “Why did you throw in with them? Weren’t we your friends?”
“I owed him…everything.” Emil looked away, tugging on his scarf.
“I don’t believe that.”
“Yeah, what would you know?” Emil scowled. “Perfect Eddie with his perfect magic and his perfectly understanding parents. What I would’ve given to be people like you. No expectations, no pressure.”
“You’re so full of crap, Emil,” Felix called him out. Emil ignored him. “I told you how hard we worked, but you seem to think about how lucky we all were while you were poor little Emil. What’s wrong? Was your toy not expensive enough? Was the life you promised not high enough? ‘Cause any one of us could say the same. Any one of us could have said we wished we had life as easy as you did.”
“I never wanted my life!” Emil roared. He floated up, losing control of his magic for a second. “I never wanted the restrictions imposed on me! I just wanted to be me. I didn’t want to be a prop for my family to use. So, I left, and Rico found me. The Corps didn’t give a damn, and they still don’t, but he did. He let me live my life, experience the world, and it became obvious to me. Unless you’re in the Corps, itself, they don’t care about whether you’re alive or dead. You saw it, too, Mera, the way they didn’t even care about administering the trials. More about making it to warmth and safety than about others.”
Meredith chose to not say anything. He had some points, but his tirade was less than warranted. Eddie must have felt so the most, because he was the one who addressed it.
“Daddy, daddy, look at me. Listen to me.” Felix was taken aback by Eddie’s venomous words, which even raised Meredith’s eyebrow, but she let him continue. “You’re just a petulant child wanting his parents to pay attention to him. When you don’t get the attention you need to make you feel special, you act out. It’s pretty sad, Emil. I thought you were better than that. But I guess it explains why you hold on to that scarf. You like being stuck in the past.”
“Don’t act high and mighty, Eddie. You can’t talk down to me like you know me. Like you know everything I’ve been through. You had a good, happy life!” Emil’s fists were balled, tears in his eyes, the rage eking out from him. Meredith closed hers, shaking her head at his pain. He was thrashing about, not knowing which way to turn and taking the hand of the first person he felt had offered him help the way he wanted it.
“Yeah…maybe you’re right,” Eddie said. Vivian’s bow lowered and she blinked with shock at Eddie’s admittance. “I’ve lived a good life. My parents love me. I have an amazing best friend I’d give the world for. I had an awesome team.
“But that doesn’t mean I didn’t face my own hardship. Maybe it doesn’t compare to yours. Maybe it’s not a heart-wrenching one. But it’s still mine. And I don’t sit there and whine on about it, thinking it makes everything I do okay. I push past it, learn from my mistakes and grow.”
“But you haven’t,” Felix finished. His wings were spread, and Eddie’s body was flowing with magical energy. “You’re a child that hasn’t grown up beyond wanting nothing more than his parents’ love, thinking everything in life should be the way you want it. You haven’t learned the hard work of pushing yourself.”
“Then what the hell do you want me to do?!” Emil’s voice cracked. “You want me to toss away the only people who cared a damn about me! Saved me?!”
“No, I want you to save yourself!” Eddie shouted. He looked back, his eyes insistent, telling Meredith and Vivian to move on. At the edge of the plaza, Bruce and Trent sent the group of Renegades tumbling aside with a single charge into the tower that collapsed part of the entrance. “I want you to stop whining! Stop thinking the only way to live life is by crying about how unfair it is! If that means I need to beat it into you, then I’ll do it!”
“Beat me?! Eddie, two months ago, you were sniveling in Frostfall Cavern. Now you want to think you can beat me?”
“Yeah. I’m not the same Eddie from back then. Unlike you, I’ve grown. I didn’t stew in my own self-misery. I moved forward!” Eddie fired the first shot, a fireball that seared past Eddie’s head, burning the tip of his scarf and scattering on the side of the Communications Tower. “Come on! Or are you a coward whose only way of talking is by letting others be hurt?!”
“Shut up!”
Meredith dove to the side, taking Vivian’s hand and running away from the battle. Emil tackled Eddie, furious tears in his eyes. Felix grabbed hold and tossed the boy off.
“Are we just going to leave them?” Vivian asked, but Meredith let her figure it out on her own. This was a fight for them to settle. Theirs was up top. Vivian realized this, grimacing at the stone-blocked entrance. “Think you can shift that aside so we can make our way up?”
“And risk the whole building collapsing? No way. Pretty sure there’s only one way up for us now, but I can make some footholds and stuff,” Meredith said. She sheathed her sword once more and walked around until she found the base of the tower that led straight up to the roof. Her hands clapped together, and Meredith was about to connect her soul with Terrill’s to create the stone holds, but Vivian tapped her on the shoulder. Seconds later, the familiar whine of skyship engines and a propeller-made gust interrupted her.
“Maybe we can use that as a ride up? Would save us some time,” Vivian pointed out.
“I’d say it would. Need a lift, girls?” the woman poking her head outside the Defender said. Sal waved, her salute turning grim when she looked up. “Bruce and Trent have headed inside to shut down whatever operations these Renegades have going…even if I’m afraid they’ll just bust everything. The subtle art of machines eludes them. What do you say?”
“If you’re offering,” Meredith said. The Defender lowered marginally, enough for Sal to grab hold of both girls and pull them on the ramp. Once she had, she yelled for Kenny to ascend. Meredith glanced down. Felix had picked Eddie up, her best friend creating trails of ice at Emil, who tried to flatten them to the ground.
“He’ll be fine,” Vivian remarked. The blonde bonked Meredith on the head, forcing her to look away from Felix diving and coming back up, allowing Eddie to thrust a palm of wind into Emil’s chest. The gagging boy was thrown upward. “Eddie is strong. Stronger than he was when we first met.”
“Didn’t you call him a loser?” Meredith said. Vivian flushed with embarrassment, looking away.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Get your head in the game.” Meredith couldn’t agree more. There were no more laughs to have. She replaced any humor with a steely determination directed at the man that had caused all of this.
The skyship shuddered, scraping against the side of the Communications Tower, some of its red paint coming off. Kenny pulled the vehicle off to the side and Meredith’s stomach lurched. The airsickness was threatening to overwhelm her, but she kept her bile down as they passed the roofs in tiers, ascending past the service elevator. An explosion went off below, and Meredith saw Emil land on one of the roofs, throwing an orb of crackling gravity. She didn’t see where it landed.
“Together, Viv,” Meredith said. The wind blew past them, Meredith starting to feel its distinct chill on her neck with her length of hair missing. The created wind was identified as being from a helicopter that rose up next to the Defender. James was visible, filming them on the rise. His intention was noted.
“Let’s kick his ass properly this time, yeah?”
The skyship cleared the height of the Communications Tower, the whine having become high-pitched, indicating the strain on the engines. Meredith looked to the top of the tower that was now below them.
Rico was staring up, meeting her eyes with his. Meeting his indiscernible soul to clash against hers.
She took Vivian’s hand, and thanked Sal before leaping from the skyship. It was a drop of but a few feet and they landed without incident, bringing their weapons to bear.
“I had thought it would be your brother, once I saw the skyship.”
“Sorry to disappoint, Rico,” Meredith retorted. Vivian split off from her, circling to another side of Rico. He kept a careful eye on her. “But this isn’t his fight. It’s ours. We still have a tournament to win.”
“What?” Rico’s voice echoed, the live footage now displayed across all the screens of the Metropolis. Nothing but the wind and the rotors of the skyship and helicopter were heard. Then, he started to laugh. “You came all this way to win a tournament?”
“You really thought we’d just let you get away with calling us a bunch of losers and sucker-punching us while your team broke the rules?” Vivian asked. Her arrow was pulsing, aimed at Rico’s face. He didn’t flinch. “You even poached one of our own team members. That’s a dirty move. Though this one is definitely your most pathetic one yet. What exactly were you trying to prove?”
Meredith wanted to know that answer.
To respond, Rico raised his spear. A squall of wind was summoned, the turbulence sending everyone on the rooftop off-balance. Meredith retained her own, and held the Earth-Splitter to defend herself. He slashed the spear, and she twisted her body to avoid it…
…when the flurry of attacks that came from his spear exploded against the Defender. Alarms went off, the engines crying out while the skyship began to descend to safety, out of the battle. Rico lowered his spear, but pointed it at the two girls when he made his declaration that echoed far across the world.
“The Guardian Corps is dead.”