Chapter 16
The Traitor
Meredith, stay down!
She didn’t need Terrill’s instructions twice. Her legs were barely regaining their feeling in the first place when Cynthia snapped her fingers. A jagged geyser of ice erupted from underneath Amelia as way of her answer to the commander. Amelia flipped atop it, propelling herself off the slick surface with a gust of wind. The gusts consumed her figure, becoming as a sharp, harrowing armor while she collided with the icy shield that Cynthia created. The resultant blast pushed Meredith back, straight into the cell bars.
“So that’s your answer is it, Cynthia?!” the commander shouted. She whipped around, kicking into her opponent’s side. One of her hands pulsed with the wind, turning into a razor claw that she brought swinging down with no thoughts to using her weapon. “You would betray us?! Betray your Corps?! Your friends!”
“Friends…?” Cynthia said, her aloof nature causing her to tilt her head up to the descending Amelia. A vambrace of ice encased her arm and she and Amelia locked fists. Vivian struggled to get up, the very stone of the room they were in trembling. “You were allies, at best. Until our interests misaligned.”
“You traitor!” Meredith pushed her legs back, finally able to feel herself moving properly again. With the collision, a wave of frosty wind blew over all present. Caleb laughed, his maniacal glee on display. Amelia landed in a crouch, summoning her darts of wind that flung outwards. Another snap, and smaller shields of ice blocked the attack. Some darts broke through, hitting the walls and breaking off stone. “Just tell me why…after all this time, what purpose would make you choose this path?”
“Conviction and belief.”
“In the goddess?” Amelia stood, whipping her leg out. A cyclonic force presented itself, battering a surprised Cynthia in the stomach while it pushed her back.
“In a better world. One which the Corps no longer serves.”
“Then believe in it! Rebuild it!” With a series of flips, supported by the air, Amelia came close to her opponent, drawing her weapon at last. It whirred with the intensity of a tornado, and she sent it flying. Cynthia bent to the side, the weapon slicing at her cheek before she went on the offensive, touching to Amelia. Shards of ice erupted from the commander, making a gasp rise on Meredith and Vivian’s lips. She spat blood. “As if a petty attack like that…can stop me!”
She swung, a tempest of wind clearing the ice from her body and leaving her untouched. Amelia’s weapon came flying back and she caught it, just to use it in her punch, intercepted by a slab of ice. Cynthia’s glasses had slipped from her face, her platinum mane trailing down her back and framing her eyes with a snarling distaste for the woman before her.
“That is exactly what I plan to do, Amelia. Rebuild it, once we burn it down.”
“So, it’s an impasse, then. Words won’t sway you.” Amelia’s own eyes grew cold, and the wind surrounding her figure glowed green, the commander rising on its currents. Frosty tendrils wafted from Cynthia’s figure. “I don’t need to hold back, then. I’ll end you.”
“Try.”
Meredith knew the attack was going to be blistering before they even hit, their magical energies coalescing and exploding. The cells flew in on themselves, breaking and rattling off their hinges, shattering into pieces from the wind and ice. Meredith felt her breath stolen away, unable to act in the face of the two commanders clashing in the jail cells. She took the Earth-Splitter and dug it into the stone, hoping it would stop her from flying off. Amelia took notice.
“Childs, Lacroix, get out of here!” she shouted, throwing a hand down to create a barricade of wind that separated the girls from the battle. Cynthia took advantage to stab at her side with a rapier of ice. It was a shallow cut, and Amelia gave her parting orders. “Get to Raymond. If Cynthia is a traitor, there’s a possibility others in here are, too. Especially Frost Squad. And there’s Maria to worry about. Make him safe! Go!”
She didn’t wait for acknowledgement to bring her hands together. A cyclone was created that grabbed hold of Cynthia, whirling her around before the winds froze, turning solid and shattering into incandescent pieces. Meredith grabbed at the wall, hoisting herself up before the battle could recommence in earnest. She offered no acknowledgement, figuring their flight would do the job for her. She flailed about to get to Vivian, picking her up off the floor.
Cynthia’s eyes flashed with threat, and icy needles began to emerge from the floor in a line for them. Amelia whipped them to pieces with her weapon, buying them the time needed to stand and run out of the room. They were barely out when one of Amelia’s attacks caused the walls to shudder.
“Thanks for the save,” Meredith said, still trying to regain the breath she’d lost. “Thought I’d be a goner, there.”
“You’re a leader, Mera, but you are way too impulsive, you know that? Stop needing me to save your idiotic ass.” Meredith gave a sheepish grin to her friend as they made it to the stairs. The prisoners, as ever, were getting louder, only this time with worry that they might not survive the clash taking place a few feet from them. Both girls paid them no mind, jumping the stairs to emerge in the hallway beyond, empty as when they’d arrived. It trembled under them, a sure sign of the two commanders continuing to battle, and above was the pounding of footsteps, indicating some kind of activity.
Meredith stampeded down the halls, her Soul Vision turning on to help her. Raymond was far upstairs, closer to the hangar. Other pockets of Guardians were gathered together, with some manning the walls, or making their way for the front gates. There was also one other soul, familiar but unidentifiable, racing down the nearest stairs. Before the girls reached that same stairway, Meredith looked back, able to see frost particles coming from where they had exited, all the way down to the elevator at the end of the hall, the one which led to the vaults. She faced front and pulled up short when Conrad was on the last step, staring at them.
“Oh, Mera, you’re down here?” he asked. “I was looking for you. Things are getting crazy up there, so I thought you would be with them.”
“Where’s Summer?” Vivian asked, allowing him no time to ramble on. Her purpose in asking him such a question was obvious, but he didn’t miss a single beat. Meredith brought her sword closer to herself, hiding it against her leg.
“I left her above. She said she wanted to call her sister.”
“Makes sense,” Meredith said, feeling the flow of blood in her hand being restricted from how tightly she was holding on. “We could definitely use Lacardia’s help right now.”
“Definitely, ha ha.” Conrad took himself off the step, intending to move past the girls while they were in a seeming good humor. Meredith intercepted that.
“One question, Conrad,” she asked, and it brought him to a halt, a nervous sweat breaking out. “I did something the first time we had a class together. Do you remember what it was?”
“Soul Magic, isn’t it?”
Vivian followed her lead, her bow having become a sword as the two girls stabbed into Conrad with little remorse. He wore a shocked expression, which melted away with the rest of the body. The soul that was there lingered a second before fading, returning back to its source behind the two girls. They spun, weapons held to bear with the woman that dropped the disguise before their very eyes. “Good to see your true form again, Maria.”
“Damn, you caught on quick. Lady Winter battling below, is she?” Maria straightened, her bushy brown hair being flung back with a jangling of her earrings. Seeing the woman for the first time since their clash in the Games made Meredith wrinkle her nose. Vivian snarled angrily. “You know, you two can get really annoying. Always getting in the way.”
“How long?” Meredith asked, taking a step closer. She was wary, unable to tell if the Maria before her was real, or just another copy, waiting to pounce. “How long were you deceiving every side?”
“You mean to ask how long I’ve been a part of the Order?” Her answer came in the form of placing a finger to her lips. “Not telling. Take a guess.”
“Won’t need to if we put you in the dirt,” Vivian said. Her blade was glowing red, as was Meredith’s. Maria cricked her neck a few times, making note of the threat, but not letting it deter her.
“That would spoil the fun, though!” she laughed once she stopped. A grin split her face wide, and her body crouched like a cat’s. Meredith switched her sword into a backhanded stance, Terrill’s willingness to fight radiating within both of their souls. The room grew hot, sweat popping on all of their necks, in spite of the chill that resulted from the battle below. Maria cackled beneath her breath. “Then again…you people have always been such spoilsports. Right down to your brother and his own brand of justice and righteousness. What will he think, I wonder, when the Reaper arrives, and I deliver his sister’s body?”
“You won’t touch my brother!” Meredith swung her sword up. Maria avoided the blow, but not the stones beneath her feet, causing her to lose balance. Vivian moved in, slashing to make an arc of light that collided with the woman. Her mouth formed a giant O…until it dispersed again. “Behind!”
They only just managed to block the attack of Maria’s, her foot clashing with their blades. Her teeth were gritted, but the smile was in her eyes, and it scared Meredith. “I have no intention of touching him. I just wanted you out of the way.”
“Then what are you planning to do with Ray?!” Meredith demanded, pushing forward. Terrill’s soul created stones beneath her feet, providing a backing by which she pushed forward. The temperature began to plummet in the hall, rumbling and crackling, but not from the commanders. Meredith and Vivian flitted between each other, but Maria laughed in answer. Meredith pushed on, and finally managed to put enough strength behind her attack to force the woman to break off. Cynthia’s words came back to her. “Rebuild, huh…? You want to kill off the leading forces of the Corps. The commanders and the squad captains. Is that it?”
“Maaaybe!” Maria sang, preparing her next attack. Meredith lowered her weapon, smirking at the woman and buying a few seconds from the confusion. Another soul was on its way.
“Well, then we’ll make sure you fail your mission and get to him first, ‘cause there’s no way Amelia is losing to the likes of that ice witch!” Maria’s face melted back to another leer. Meredith acted before she could, stabbing the ground and creating three walls around the woman, leaving her only option as the stairs upward. “Conrad, Summer! You’re up!”
The Lacardian students didn’t say anything, but they struck with stealth that Maria didn’t see coming. The rumbling from earlier became a lightning bolt in the ceiling, flashing down on the cultist. The stone walls rattled and flaked, their weak surface becoming brittle. Conrad gave a roar from beyond, bringing a knee slamming into Maria’s face and crashing through the walls. She skidded back, but flipped up, nailing Conrad in the face while she did so to gain some distance. The boy rubbed his cheek, but stood strong with Summer, Meredith and Vivian, all four of them facing the infiltrator.
“Just like the Games all over again. You little worms love teaming up.”
“Wait a sec, I thought she was a Renegade…?” Conrad said, his brain getting caught up with what his eyes were seeing. Meredith rolled her eyes, feeling this wasn’t really the time as she held her blade on Maria. “Well, whatever. What the hell is going on, Mera?”
“It’s like a squall in the middle of spring up there,” Summer said, crossing her hands and ready to change the weather at a moment’s notice. “We heard the announcement, but what’s it all mean?”
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“It means the Corps is under attack, idiot girl!” Maria shouted. No longer was she crouching, pulled back to her full height and beginning to transform. The smirk was a sneer, and the past purpose was now a coiled snake. Maria was starting to take things seriously, her body transforming into that of Jay’s, her voice matching his inflections with it. “We struck it from the inside. And now the Reaper is on their way here, all while you guys remained distracted by things. It’s too perfect.”
Meredith didn’t want to exchange words. There was nothing to say against her. Maria spread her arms wide. She was manic, but there was a mission in her movements, and they all knew it. Ray was a target. The commanders were targets.
The Corps, itself, was a target.
“Go, Mera. Get to your brother and whoever else needs to be told,” Conrad said. Another Conrad winked into existence beside him, sharing the same growl. More were fast appearing, as the temperature of the hall plummeted. Maria, transforming back, didn’t look the least bit flummoxed, wiggling her fingers to create rivulets of water.
“We’ll hold off the witch.”
“Aw, students shouldn’t talk to their teachers that way. Here, allow me to school you both,” Maria said. Her game face was on, and with her role revealed, she was taking no prisoners. “Then I’ll leave all of you for the Reaper. He’ll decide what to do with you.”
“He?” Vivian and Meredith shouted at once. It was the first time they had ever heard the Reaper referred to as anything other than a “they” or a “worship”. Maria laughed.
“Whoops! Even I’m not supposed to know that.”
“And what do you mean about being a teach-?” Conrad’s ill-timed question was cut off by the woman flicking her fingers. In moments, a torrent of water was formed, rising in a tidal wave that filled the hallway. Terrill cried out for Meredith to act, but she had no time before the wave carried her and the other three away, crashing into the wall at the foot of the stairs. The water receded, leaving them a coughing mess. Maria fluffed her hair.
“Sooo annoying. Cynthia bought me time by engaging that annoying fly, and you’re squandering it. What to do?” She tapped her chin as she stalked forward, the four teens recovering quicker than expected. Meredith prepared to attack, but Summer threw an arm in front of her, and for the first time, she could see anger. Not the joking, petty kind she usually shared with Vivian, but a genuine all-consuming one. “I know! How about I kill all of you, just like Rico should have managed. The Corps will be driven to even further despair with that!”
“Do you ever stop talking?” Conrad snapped. A copy of his had appeared behind Maria, taking her into a bear hug with his arms around her neck. “She’s trying to stall, Mera! Find your brother! Warn everyone!”
“We’ll handle her, on our honor as Lacardian students!” Summer agreed. The wintery air caused the water still in the hall to freeze, a slippery zone of combat created before them. “Hurry up!”
Maria kicked back, striking Conrad on the shin, readying to begin her next attack. Another tremor from beneath told Meredith that the commanders’ fight wasn’t over, and that there was soon to be a fight above. She nodded to the twin, and with Vivian behind her, the girls took off with silent hopes for their safety. Neither were aware of what Conrad and Summer did in action, but they trusted in them, leaping up the stairs into the next hallway.
On the first floor once more, it was far busier, packed with Guardians running left and right. Some were carrying bags or boxes, while others carried weapons. It was pure chaos. They were jostled to the side, one of the Guardians pushing past them. Another sought to follow, and Vivian grabbed them by their sleeve.
“What’s going on with the squads?”
“I don’t know,” the Guardian answered, squeaking. They looked young, younger than even the pair of girls. In spite of that, their body was trembling as they attempted to keep themselves together. “I’m just following orders.”
“What are your orders, then?” Vivian asked the boy. He shrugged, as if he didn’t know, and Meredith determined that he wasn’t worth paying attention to. She looked elsewhere with her Soul Vision. The forces were clashing, mighty magic sending shudders that the multitude of Guardians seemed utterly unaware of. More importantly, Raymond was on the move, heading down towards the front gates, where a greater group was gathered.
“Leave him, Viv. I found Ray, and he’s moving fast.” Vivian was more than pleased to leave the useless Guardian behind. It didn’t stop the halls from being congested as they dove into it. The girls pushed aside the Guardians they could, a number of them becoming snappish when they found themselves stumbling into walls.
“Watch it! Damn interns…Where do you think you’re going?”
“Sorry! On orders!” Meredith called to the person they’d knocked into. Her progression wasn’t much faster despite the apology, as the halls had become thickened with the glut of Guardians heading to who-knows-where.
“This way,” Vivian indicated, dragging her to separate stairs. It allowed them to get free, into a hall with favorably less people, though one that was no less on edge. In fact, plenty of other lieutenants lined the halls, addressing those beneath them.
“We’re going to assist in the perimeter. The order has been given for the defense of Flare Squad to protect the front gate should anything come through them.”
“What about Frost Squad?” a Guardian asked in salute. Meredith felt her heart clench at the implication. From Amelia’s words, she didn’t think Frost Squad was going to be of any help to them.
“And shouldn’t we protect the hangar? What if there’s a need to flee?”
“We’ve no idea when or where the attack could come from, so we just need to be flexible. Understood?” The Guardians agreed with their leader, their talk and mumbles transitioning to that of Tempest and Quake Squads, those on the outside. Meredith turned the corner.
“Out of the way!” she shouted. No one moved at first, confused at the two girls running right at them. Vivian nocked a messy arrow while she ran and fired it, embedding the light in the side of the wall. Many Guardians screamed while they dashed. They were ever closer to Raymond. “Stop standing around! The Corps is under threat!”
“From who? The Order isn’t here yet.”
“Oh, come on! You need to see things to know what’s on the way?!” Vivian snapped. None of them listened, their mutterings dismissing the pair as little more than interns, back to their lazy ways as they slowly grabbed weapons and tablets. Meredith skidded at the end of the corridor, holding to Vivian for support before dashing down the stairs, coming out near the front doors of Corps Castle, behind the corridor they had tried before.
The voices from there were obvious, the most authoritative of the bunch.
“I have Flare Squad at the front gate and the perimeter, monitoring all signs of movement outside,” Masters was speaking. With a flash of her Soul Vision, Meredith could tell that Marcus had arrived on the scene, as had Raymond. Her paces increased, fearful for what would happen to the three gathered commanders. “If so much as a noise is made, we’ll hear it.”
“I haven’t heard back from the other squads yet,” Raymond informed the chief commander. “Tempest has likely gone dark for their mission, but Quake and Frost are utterly unreachable. Breakdown of communication. What’re your orders, sir?”
“If they’re unreachable, then we have a problem. Could the Order have taken them out while we weren’t looking…?” Marcus speculated. It was the unhealthiest assumption she could have heard, and despite losing control of her limbs, Meredith sped up to the point she almost crashed around the corner and came to stop by the three with hands on her knees, gasping and panting. “Miss Childs?”
“I don’t think…Frost Squad…was gotten by the Order,” she gasped out. Vivian strode up behind her, a hand on her back to help her regain her breath. “I think they’re part of the Order.”
“Mera, not this again…”
“Will you listen to your sister for once, you blockhead?!” Vivian demanded. Raymond was taken aback, his hands flying to his glasses out of instinct. The two commanders were more receptive. “Commander Chavez is battling Commander Frigas down below right now. Our little infiltrator Maria is battling students from Lacardia. Whatever plan they have, it’s about more than one or two members in the Corps. It’s about more than a murder of one of their own.”
“I think they want to dismantle the Corps completely, from without and within, which includes murdering the three of you,” Meredith finished. Her stare was set, unrelenting when she looked into Marcus’s eyes. The chief commander’s mouth gave an unpleasant twitch. “Everything so far was about sowing chaos, disorder, making us run around chasing shadows. Sir, your lives are in danger. This Corps is in danger.”
“Marcus…?” Masters asked of his commander, requesting orders for what to do in light of the new information. He was in plain deliberation when the Flame Commander’s tablet chimed, and the man answered it. Shots of the perimeter, the sheet of night already fallen, draped it but for the lights suddenly winking in from the distance. “Marcus, your orders?”
“Cynthia…” the chief commander breathed. Marcus’s hand was shaking, moving towards the weapon at his side. All his features radiated betrayal, and Raymond stepped back from the man. “Roy, man the gates. Should the order need to be given for anything, I leave it in your discretion. Flare brightly, my friend.”
“Ha ha, do what you must, sir.” The two men clasped fists, and the chief commander whipped around, his armor clanking with him in the process.
“Where are they, Miss Childs?”
“The prison. You’ll find them there.”
“Then I shall put an end to this.” Every step indicated his purpose, and all Guardians in the vicinity stepped aside for him, letting him through without hesitation. Driving his point on this was the unsheathing of his sword as he left them behind. Meredith watched him go, but Raymond and Masters’s voices called her back.
“I can’t believe it…Commander Frigas…”
“It’s a lamentable shame, indeed…I should have listened to Amelia. She had her suspicions the moment she heard about the events in Lacardia,” Masters said, shaking his head. He tapped on the screen, watching the footage, and before long, a voice came over the speakers strewn about the castle.
“Attention all Guardians, the Defender and Avenger are currently approaching Corps Castle!” echoed the voice of the taskmaster. A cheer rose from the Guardians, but Meredith found her hand clasping her breast. She and Vivian found Raymond’s face, scrunched in bewilderment. “Tempest Squad and Quake Squad are en route.”
“That makes no sense…” Raymond breathed. “I swear, commander, I couldn’t contact either of them. They didn’t call in, so I have no idea what those ships are doing out there. Especially not with where they were heading.”
The truth. The horrible, awful, frightening truth descended on all of them. The other Guardians nearby were cheering gaily, throwing their weapons or any object they could get their hands on in celebration of the return of two major offensive squads. They felt they were saved. Believed in it wholeheartedly.
Meredith wished she did, and her eyes closed in worry for those that had left on that ship.
If they were coming home, Meredith knew, it wasn’t of their own volition.
Masters knew it, and without hesitation, he opened a full castle line on his tablet. “This is a false alarm! All on the gates, man the cannons! Shoot down those ships! They are traitors to the cause of the Corps!”
“What are you saying, commander?!” a nearby Guardian shouted. Disbelief was in his words, and he wasn’t alone. No one was willing to believe that some of the staunchest Guardians out there would turn. “Those are the greatest forces we have. There’s no need to worry.”
“You dolt! If those forces are taken by the enemy…” Vivian said, only for her body to freeze up. Meredith had already found the loud keening in her head to be overwhelming, her eyes and nose twisted together in a mix of tears and pain. Raymond stepped forward to grab the Guardian by the collar, and Meredith could just manage to make out his words.
“Even if they are, would you just let them handle it all?”
“Why not? They have a better vantage point. Nothing to worry about!”
“No…no…stop it…” Meredith yelled suddenly. The high-pitched ring in her ears reached a zenith, making her head feel like it was about to crack wide open. Other Guardians in the vicinity were the same, putting an end to Raymond’s argument when he had no choice but to watch them all react. Then, he felt it, too, clasping his head from the loud noise. On Masters’s tablet, the skyships were directly within range.
The ringing cut off all of a sudden.
Then the voice came. His voice. Still shrouded in death. Still altered and raspy.
And still, Meredith felt fear.
“I know that you can hear me,” it said inside her head. Meredith dropped, the Earth-Splitter hitting the floor but making no noise. All but the staunchest Guardians were afraid of their heads splitting open, and those that weren’t quavering still looked affected. “I know that you feel fear. I know many of you want to run. That is the way of the Guardian Corps. And why should you not flee?
“After all, I am here.”
“Where is it coming from?!”
“Aaaaaaaah!” The scream was quieter yet than the Reaper inside their heads, whispering and stroking the fear that lay dormant inside them. Unbeknownst to herself, Meredith found her hand grabbing Vivian’s, both beset by the malicious intent inside.
“Is there something playing on the monitors? What’re they broadcasting through?”
“Do not worry, children of the Corps,” the Reaper spoke again. “You may run. You may flee. But know what you leave behind.”
It was like he sensed the question being asked by the Guardians, and the television screens blinked on, displaying a horrible vision just outside Corps Castle. Hovering a few feet over the ocean, even with their level, were several figures, though it was impossible to tell the number in the darkness. Raymond could identify them.
“Em! Jay!” he shouted, but the Reaper overrode him.
“For every commander killed, I will release a hostage. For every Guardian that remains, the Order will take another.” The image was replaced, this time with the Reaper’s imposing visage. Raymond balled his fists, snarling, but shaking when many of the Guardians talked amongst themselves. It wasn’t of fighting back, however, and Meredith despaired inside. Her fingers touched to the Earth-Splitter once more. “This is your reckoning, long in the making. Now, I fulfill the Renegades’ vision, and we look upon a new world, one forged by the Legendary Weapons. One without the Corps. Pure. Clean. Of one mind and soul.
“Let us rebuild.”
The Reaper disappeared, and in his place was the shot of the hostages, illuminated by the score of skyships that had manifested from nowhere. Many of the vehicles were old, on their last legs, but teeming with cultists. At the front were the two Corps skyships, their cannons swiveling on their base.
On the ground was the Reaper, surrounded by a sea of black, presenting his army and his threat to the world.
“Where are they?!” Masters demanded, spit flying from his mouth now that the Reaper was gone from their head. “I need answers, now!”
There was a pause, one where Meredith stood with Vivian. Then it came.
“The front door!”
“Fi-”
His order didn’t make it. The Reaper clapped his hands, and the skyships fired their weapons. Some of the ships were ripped apart by the sheer force of their actions, but those that managed to succeed all aimed for one spot.
The door just a small distance away from them exploded in a fury of fire and stone, and sent everyone nearby flying backwards. The Order’s invasion had begun.