"Leon!" Katie cried, catching as he crumbled back into her arms. "Are you alright?"
He coughed up blood, a nasty gash across his chest. Standing ahead of them was Lilith, slowly walking toward them. Her every breath drew mist. "Can we please kill her now?" he croaked, forcing himself to lean on the sword in his hand.
They'd lost track of how long this battle went. The ship had been drifting aimlessly away from Hawaii. By the time police sirens came to see what the heck was happening, it was too far for them to do anything about it. Not that they could. For the entire night they'd been clashing against her mother. It wasn't just that she was more experienced, or more skilled. Lilith used her entire body as a weapon. They'd have both died a long time ago if they weren't abnormally strong.
Cynthia and Isabella were on the other side of the ship, bloodied, but not dead. Isabella was unconscious, deep cuts in her shoulder. The gaze in Lilith's eyes sent dread to all of them. It was like she wasn't even looking at them anymore. All she saw was prey. The stare of a natural born killer.
"Get up, you dog. I'm not done with you yet," Lilith hissed, tilting her head.
Amongst all of that pain, a searing fury came from Leon. His entire body burned as he clutched his face. He snickered, making Katie's eyes widen with concern. The flames that erupted extended to his entire body, his hair shifting into a violent shade of red. "Wait, what are you-"
"Stay back. She's mine!" Leon shouted, scrambling to his feet.
She met him head on, steam bursting at every blow. They turned, shifting around almost faster than the sisters' eyes could keep up with. Their swords chinged. Their lungs screamed out. New cuts bled as both of them found marks along their bodies. Neither of them backed down an inch. Even as they clashed, staring into each other with the deepest loathing, he felt the most sickening satisfaction.
Every second his heart beat harder than it ever had in his life. Katie watched him in a frozen trance, too stunned to move. At first he seemed easily outmatched. A few times she was afraid he was down for good. But he kept rising again. The look in his eyes wasn't of fear, or even blind rage. There was enjoyment within them. Excitement. It was like every time he got back on his feet and fought, he was steadily improving. Leon's feet slid along the floor. His body twisted. Lilith's blades of ice were struggling to find an opening.
At first she thought she was hallucinating. She'd never known there to be anything but cold heartlessness within her mother. Katie watched the way Lilth put more energy into every swing. A fight she'd put their entire lives into having. It didn't justify what she'd done. Every horrific thing she'd been put through. Despite all that, even if it was for one moment, Katie felt she understood her mother's feelings.
She'd given birth to them, raised them to be the strongest. It didn't mean for a second she intended for them to be the one who killed Diablos. To face his host on her own and stand toe to toe gave everything she did meaning. And in those moments, they'd never seen their mother look more alive.
A flash of light burst, Leon and Lilith skidding apart and falling to a knee. They were both panting, bruised and bloody. "What's the matter, mom?" Leon said mockingly, a grin forming. "Do you need to take a nap?"
Lilith returned a horrible smile. "I'll enjoy ripping out that tongue when I'm finished with you, boy. That ought to teach you to respect your elders."
"So you admit to being an old lady! Maybe it's time to retire!" he snapped, his eyes shining.
Katie looked at them both incredulously, groaning. "Can't we please just stop this and-" she called out, but flinched as they both screamed at her, "Stay out of this!"
She stood there awkwardly, watching them continue their ongoing clash. Her face burned and her heart clenched with worry. Cynthia, with Isabella in tow, walked around the chaos to stand beside her. "Oh yeah, he's a keeper," she said, mesmerized by their violent dance.
"That's what you're thinking about? They could die!" Katie protested, trembling.
Cynthia cackled. "Isn't it great? Personally I hope the ice queen bitch bites the dust, but wouldn't that just be perfect? Ironic that the method to get our mother to chill out and smile is punching her in the face. Who'd have thought?"
At that, Katie sighed dejectedly. "Maybe having a real family is just a fantasy after all..."
"Oh, please. Enough of that melodramatic bullshit. We are a family. We're just really really REALLY fucked up," Cynthia responded, giving her a good pat on the back. "...Also our mom is a bitch, but hey, I'm sure there's other children with psycho assassins for parents, right?"
"I sure hope not."
"Hey, say Lilith kicks the bucket and things don't work out between you and Leon... You think I could-"
Katie looked at her sideways, raising an eyebrow. "Of course not! That'll never happen!"
Cynthia flinched at how ferocious her little sister sounded. "Oookay, touchy! Sorry I asked!"
They both glanced at each other and shared a giggle. A rarity, and strange given how morbid this evening was. "Soo, what was it like?" Cynthia muttered.
It was Katie's turn to flinch. "What are you talking about?"
"You know damn well what I'm talking about. We know you stayed in a hotel room. I taught you what sex means, remember?"
Her cheeks burned. "Is this really the time for this conversation?"
Lilith's blades just narrowly avoided Leon's eyes as he twisted. His heel smacked her away as he continued to charge at her. "Seems as good a time as any. I don't think they're going to finish any time soon," Cynthia responded, smirking.
Katie sighed. "It felt amazing..."
She could've died of embarrassment at the laughter that erupted from Cynthia at that moment. "No wonder you're fighting so hard for him. I'd probably do the same for a good lay..."
"That's not what defines our relationship!" she interjected.
"So if he wanted to go again, you wouldn't want to?" Cynthia teased, giving Katie the side eye.
"Of course I would, but that isn't the- Ugh, you're the worst!" It was almost enough to distract her from the fact that Leon and Lilith were moments from dying at any second. Shaking off her thoughts, Katie walked forward.
"Katie?" Cynthia held an arm out to grab her, but stopped before she accidentally dropped Isabella.
Locked in a clash, Lilith and Leon froze to look at her when Katie smashed their heads together. They both fell to the floor, unconscious. "He's right, fighting is a faster solution. Ugh, I didn't kill them both by accident, did I?" Katie checked their pulses and gave a sigh of relief. "Thank God."
Cynthia's jaw was glued to the floor. "Man, this day just keeps getting weirder..." she muttered, scratching her head.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
image [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNKofhYBIRteCAqqlozhoEYk704J1fgP7eWR8m0Ix3JEqz47MZuDXkeJ0sDN8izBlLzheQicFGU_blnLVFZfuaQEYdf1EHZLfEPEScQp_iU18yJFI2cOhK1EYYFGBQeKv6qraw9NZxshPnA8WMPPpgd1FF9lBL-NIzoSAA1mmQsA7loqfRRCY2IwwIDRzJoo0c9GznCLdz_yiMOSZSb3EhZlfryn8ZijpguEHOHJQrmY2nWLioBKlD8Ln1n1Wh9t0QF2RUlrtchLWVjp2G6pL8MHdMnZdL7O5x_dfLQymvLUmfxKuPtPcxSm4U1PiHhb_VuJYbfvEZU6TsMtdvuwKiiRyCsxm7riipN8pFDw5LrmFzZaYHotT41ljEyeAW-S4g3j26VlFg5PXnlzWk5vjECscO1ZzLMJ-qEcJXyOGP7DAhkDi23gMsblTMtZn3DXb2gcS2thVAp0EPE-vu0Vt7tbkrWryG1WKmnHeaoBWTcT01R4UBOs2CnGNNdY0_v_6tJTGYKQXkcFPNiSewElgGR4cZR5-ZfDK88FCARvTCVUMzAI5Jc3CUPgn55f1SQyRMNtUrdof8rRrXFmt3_aebQyAFPHmnRwVR8J9hRRvnL1dbyKy589DjEgZbB8ezAdnEHRnNmD4KPFsYbJJAfN29jIqUUhSkLGOVxnB7KNVmy1o5AJ-tp07PLBr460Z9kIZpPermFDCUJ0xPOOCsP8xNWKIBZOHjjOGFU45F5Kkjno5YII88ISe6YmMc8AgfAKAioQOO6XvNSDtieSr0chO35ZwxIvrPP87Io8zAb52pA4_9quIv30xILrPaiyxy2HNCCqdqwtlpStJqYE77SiL-bdB0I4WaDd9_DnyO7avYz7zOvo91KwC23I-CjgcRgIvK5j2wuuPwxsZNIQNYd7GKaTcSybyyrC54GrXWFTUi4JpL5o_mO1RGH1r56jUsf=w654-h654-s-no-gm?authuser=1](Concept of the shuttle)
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
When he finally started to regain consciousness, Leon groaned. His vision was foggy and the world was shaking. What? Where am I? Leon thought, leaning forward. He'd been put into a leather seat.
The sounds of a shuttle's engines roared loudly as it flew them over the sea. Am I hallucinating? One second I was fighting Katie's mom and the next... Oh, my head is killing me. Where's Katie? His eyes drifted to the clouds outside the window.
The inside of the shuttle was small. Only a narrow walkway in between the two seats for the pilots, four more for the passengers, and the window to the cockpit was the exit. The floor and walls within were a dull gray color. It made Leon feel like he was inside of a soup can. The only thing keeping it from being lame was the detailed monitors, console, and switches at the very front of the shuttle.
Two heavily armored men sat in the front, driving the shuttle. Their suits looked harder than ordinary metal, pitch black with a sapphire in their shoulder pads. Neither spoke much as they focused on the consoles.
Katie was sitting in the seat next to him, dwindling her thumbs awkwardly. Her eyes brightened as Leon woke up. "You're awake! How are you feeling?"
"I feel like I got hit by a bus... You get the license of that driver?" he asked, the world still adjusting around him.
Guiltily, she raised her hand. "That would be me..."
A snicker came from beside her, Cynthia grinning. "Hi. How was your trip to black out city, kid?" she teased.
"Kid? How old are you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Twenty, kid. I was the first, Izy here a year later, and then the little squirt right here," she explained, pointing at herself, Isabella, and Katie like a game of duck duck goose. Isabella was asleep, crossing her arms.
Leon nodded, giving a pretend face of understanding. "Is this the part where someone tells me if I'm dreaming, or we all died, or what is going on here?"
It took him a moment to realize the two sitting in front of them. On one side, Lilith was out cold. Beside her was someone else entirely. A tall man in blue and gold armor sat before them. Pale, scarred skin and long black hair, making him look like an ancient warrior. He had a kind smile, but there was an undeniable pressure in the room looking at him.
"The man of the hour. Leon, my name is Alexander," he said, extending a hand. "I'd introduce the rest of my family, but it seems you've already met all of them."
Leon shook his hand, almost in a daze. He'd heard tales of Lilith and Katie's sister but there was never a mention of a father. His mind was twisting. "How did you find us? Have you always been a part of their lives?" He had to take a breath before he lost himself to anger again.
Alexander sighed. "Please allow me to explain. You all have reasons to be furious. To start..."
More or less, Alexander and Lilith once fought to protect the world from the remnants of an evil army named Tartarus. They established the Luna Base, a space colony orbiting the Earth as a safe haven for their building army as well as creatures in need of a home. During their travels, Lilith grew increasingly obsessed with her angelic heritage. When she learned of the history between Diablos and Jalaiya, her obsession grew. But she knew she couldn't do it alone. If the true power of Diablos was unleashed, the host wielding it could easily become one of if not the strongest creature on the planet.
She insisted that Diablos was the real threat, but Alexander was against it. This drew a rift between them, a once strange, yet happy relationship. Lilith became pregnant, and Alexander wanted to be a part of his daughter's life. She wanted nothing to do with a real family, wanting to give her life to fighting and killing Diablos to restore Jalaiya's legacy. She forced him to swear in leaving their children in her hands.
He knew that she was beyond reasoning. The most he could do was offer the Luna Base to train them, as he knew how dangerous Jalaiya could be, but also because he could keep an eye on them. If she ever failed to contain that power in her pursuit, he would become a part of their lives, and they would join his cause. Katie's escape essentially secured their freedom. He'd only seen glimpses, but he never knew how far Lilith had gone in her cruel training.
By the time he was finished, his knuckles were white with how tightly he clenched his hands. "If I had any idea how far she was going... There's no words I can say to apologize for putting you through that. It will never be like that, ever again."
There were a million things Leon wanted to say. He knew none of it would solve anything. Instead he asked, "So what are we doing? Clearly you trust me, or else I'd be a corpse."
Alexander turned to look at his daughters. "Your mother trained you to fight Diablos. You're aware he and Jalaiya once fought to save the world together, yes?"
"Yeah. Not my favorite story. Lilith's a shitty storyteller," Cynthia said, making him chuckle.
"Did she ever teach you about Death?" he asked, making the sisters exchange glances.
They looked confused. Leon raised an eyebrow. "The grim reaper? What are you gonna tell me next, that the Greek gods exist? Santa Claus?"
"The dark cloak he prefers to wear is where that superstition comes from, but he's much more than some reaper. He helped create half of our world. The gods do exist, all of them. Grow powerful enough and you may be deemed worthy enough to meet them. As for the plump man sailing across the sky with reindeer on Christmas night... I've never had the pleasure of investigating that, but I do find it fascinating what my fellow humans think of," he answered, making Leon's brain do a somersault.
Leon had to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Jesus what an info dump. Okay, what are we doing about Death? He's like half of God or something?"
"We're currently in transit to a ruin of sorts. It holds information that may or may not confirm if he is rising to power once again. I watched your battle with Lilith as well as I was informed of your transformation five years ago, Katie. Diablos and Jalaiya are both stirring within the both of you, meaning it can only be a matter of time when Death reappears. It has been hundreds of centuries since either of them resurfaced, so our peaceful times are going to be abruptly coming to an end," Alexander explained, making all of their eyes widen.
"Death is trying to destroy the world or something? Why? Do you know where he is?" Leon inquired.
Alexander sighed. "We've speculated for years where he may resurface. Part of me suspects he's sealed away much like Diablos and Jalaiya were, but that in itself is very peculiar. Souls aren't just bound to living creatures. Not even the gods I'm aware of have ever had such a power. As for why and where, I do not know. That is why I need you two to enter this ruin and confirm he has returned."
Cynthia scoffed. "You're crazy if you think I'm letting them go alone!"
"It must be them. I need to confirm that they can control their powers. Any outside interference would only hinder them," Alexander responded.
"Are you calling me weak? Who the hell do you think you are?" she snapped, clenching her fists.
He paused. "I'm many things. First and foremost, I am your father-"
"Bullshit!"
"- and second of all, I hail from a family that is sworn to help protect this world from Death. You may bear your anger and hatred for me all you like. This is a test. I do not doubt your skill. I wish to see theirs, for if we ever wish to have any hope in the coming future, they must learn to use their abilities."
Leon could see with the way Cynthia's jaw clenched that she was ready to keep shouting. He was already miles away from home and he was too curious to refuse. "You got it."
"What? Then I'm going too!" Katie said, making Alexander give them a kind smile.
"You both have heart. That is good."
"I'm going with them! You can't stop me," Cynthia hissed.
He gave a sad sigh. Then he looked her dead in the eye. "Sleep."
Cynthia knocked out immediately, passing out against the sleeping Isabella. "W-what did you-" Katie's voice raised, alarmed when he put out a calm hand.
"Please relax. I did not wish to put her to any harm, but we cannot waste time arguing idly either. She is merely asleep and will awake before you come back. This is of the utmost importance. Do you understand?" Alexander asked, to which Leon and Katie nodded in agreement.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was nothing short of an awkward situation. What seemed like roughly half an hour later, the shuttle stopped moving. They were hovering over the ocean. "We're here," Alexander said, tapping on the touchscreen watch on his wrist.
The entire upper half of the shuttle opened up like a cocoon. Standing, Leon and Katie looked down. The ocean shined the sun's rays all around. They saw clearly under the water, fish and reefs as far as the eye could see. Raging waters roared as to the left of them, there was a thirty foot gap at the center. Swirling malevolently, a whirlpool with a bowl of waterfalls aiming down awaited them. The sight of it was mesmerizing.
"That whirlpool is where you two are going. You'll need these," Alexander said, opening up a green box in the front. He handed Leon a longsword and he gave Katie a pistol. It looked more advanced than a normal one, parts of it shining a bright blue.
Unsheathing the blade from its leather scabbard, Leon examined it. A pitch black metal, sharp to the touch. He had to put it away before he stood too long admiring it, strapping it to his back. "Well obviously this is dangerous. What are we expecting down there?"
"I do not know. Only a host of Diablos and Jalaiya could enter unscathed. Most creatures would die trying to enter this way and we haven't discovered any others," Alexander explained, putting a hand on Leon's shoulder. "Katie will fly you in and you'll most likely fall asleep before you reach the inside. Proceed with caution. You could encounter anything down there."
That's encouraging... Leon thought, grimacing.
Katie sighed. Leon watched her as she trembled from head to toe. He leaned in until his lips were almost kissing her ear. "Scared?" Leon asked.
She jumped, but then relaxed. "Guess I'm a coward to the end, huh?"
"Last I checked, the only person who came out of our last fight awake was you. Being scared is natural, Katie," Leon said, moving beside her. "The important thing is not letting it stop you. Life isn't going to slow down for any of us. Just keep moving forward."
She smiled warmly, taking his hand. "You've always been good at that. Making me feel better."
"I aim to please," he said, licking his lips. He then leaned in to whisper, "Also a little heads up on knocking me out would be nice next time, I'm on your team, what the hell?"
The suddenness of this surprised her, but then she saw the amusement in his eyes and giggled. Then she quickly grabbed his waist and jumped off the shuttle. No warning. No discussing how they were going through a giant freaking whirlpool. "JESUS CHRIST, HAVEN'T YOU EVER HEARD OF A COUNTDOWN!" he screamed, holding his arms out as she tried not to choke laughing.
The world spun in their eyes, her angel wings extending. "YOU HAVE A PLAN RIGHT?" he screamed as they spiraled down into the whirlpool. Winds roared in his ears. Hearing anything seemed impossible as the waters drowned out the sound.
"NOPE!" Katie retorted, diving down the center as the cold waters engulfed them.