Alphaman glares at Pixamena. He opens his wings wide, entering the sky as the shadows swirl with growing agitation. “You’re still here?”

Pixamena’s normally cute face twists into a look of disgust and rage. “Of course I'm still here. I’m a hero, I'm not going to let you hurt innocent people!”

“Innocent? You think he’s innocent? You're delusional, little girl—”

“Pixie! Use your powers without restriction,” Jay yells from the ground, “put a knife where his bastard heart is!”

Pixamena darts her eyes to Jay before tensing visibly with effort. Alphaman immediately makes a move to dart away, but it’s not quick enough. He screams in time with Pixamena as she manifests four heart-hilted daggers in Alphaman’s chest. He tears one out with shaking hands, teeth clenched in rage and pain.

Pixamena is panting already from the effort, but still swiftly blocks Alphaman’s next attack with a swing of her scythe. She skids back, heels scraping the ground, as he lands nearly on top of her with a dark sword of black clashing against her weapon. He pushes hard with a snarl, intending to topple her over, but she only flutters into the air gracefully, using the opening to swing at his chest. More metal plating is torn away, but Alphaman doesn’t flinch at all. He lunges, intending to grab her by the throat.

“Fuck!” he cries as instead, a purple-black tendril wraps around his ankle.

Stygian stands tall, using his hand to direct the appendage and swing Alphaman to and fro. Alphaman flails as he’s slammed into the ground and drug through the concrete, before crashing harshly into the side of a nearby brick-walled shop. Stygian moves to swing him again, but Alphaman slices through the tendril with his own shadows, freeing himself.

“How cute. A fairy and a pixie working together,” He growls, spitting blood.

“Gannet! Back me up!” Pixamena cries out.

“Got you! Fuck him up, babe!” Stygian replies.

Alphaman’s face contorts into disgust, but he’s unable to spit his venomous words in time. Pixamena holds out her hands, eyes glowing pink as she focuses. Alphaman looks up just in time to dart away from a falling longsword, a Katana, and a great ax. Pixamena uses the distraction to dive toward him, pulling her scythe back. As she nears, she swings with all

her might. Alphaman reacts just in time to stop the attack, catching the scythe by the blade. With a roar. he squeezes the metal, causing it to fracture and shatter in his hands. Pixamena darts back, face agape at her now weaponless state. Alphaman’s right fist rears back for a punch, but something stops him again; Alphaman gasps as shadows bind his arms in place. Pixamena grins, eagerly. A set of pink brass knuckles appear on her hands with a sparkle.

Alphaman’s eyes widen. “Wait—”

She doesn’t wait. She punches him with a fierce right hook, then a left one, left, right, left, right—

Razzmatazz cheers. “Holy shit! Go Pixamena!”

Finally, her assault ends as she reaches her limit. Her last punch misses as Alphaman ducks his head to the side. He breaks his bonds once more, surging forward. Blood splatters on Pixamena’s face from Alphaman’s broken nose as he crashes their heads together. Pixamena falls back, only avoiding a hard kick to her side by Stygian manifesting a wall of black that shields her. She stumbles to the ground with a dazed expression.

Alphaman makes an enraged sound as he attempts to extract his leg from the wall. Stygian raises his hand to move it, but Jay interrupts him with a cry. “Stygian, duck!”

Stygian does as he’s told, ducking in time to avoid a pillar of fire right where he was standing a moment before. He turns to see Delta arrive on the scene, a flame roaring in her hand. Stygian avoids the next wave of heat by opening his wings, flinging Alphaman at Delta at near mach speeds. She bolts to the side, avoiding the attack by inches. Alphaman hits the ground head-on, throwing concrete into the air with the force of the landing. He’s not moving.

Jay’s eyes go wide. Alphaman is unconscious!

“We need to retreat! Stygian, get Pixamena!” Jay orders.

Stygian is already moving toward her before Jay even finishes the sentence. However, only a few paces away from where she’s struggling off the ground, a shape darts forward from above. Scoops lands atop her, pinning her down. He grimaces, eyes anxiously darting between Jay, Stygian, and Alphaman.

“Stay back, villain!” Scoops demands.

Stygian’s rage is evident on his face. “Let her go!”

Scoops squeezes Pixamena’s throat, she chokes, gasping. Scoops grimaces, his eyes wide with fear. “I’ll do it! Don’t come any closer!”

Alphaman groans, starting to get up. Jay’s heart drops. “We’re out of time!”

“I can’t leave her—” Stygian says.

“Stygian, we have to go now!” Razzmatazz cries, “we need to regroup!”

Gritting his teeth, Stygian gives Pixamena one last look before turning away from her. Jay’s head spins as he’s lifted up, glowing hands holding him tight and bracing him for what’s to come. Stygian summons a massive wingspan, allowing them to quickly bound away from the danger and into the night sky.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Razzmatazz soars alongside them with her own set of makeshift wings, and the cityscape quickly dwindles below them. Jay watches as the scene of their battle grows smaller and smaller until finally, it’s just a speck amongst the winding roads and towering buildings of the metropolis. When the city starts to give way to a more rural landscape, Jay finally relaxes. They escaped.

Still, a heavy silence hangs over the group, lacking the usual air of camaraderie between the trio. Razzmatazz looks especially beat, struggling to maintain her form. Jay spots bruises marring her skin with each lapse of her focus.

Thankfully, the tranquil sight of the Sam Houston National Forest soon comes into view. Jay starts to finally relax, calming himself by watching the pine trees rush by below him. A short time later, Jay can see their destination in the distance. Stygian’s RV comes into view, nestled in a secluded patch of trees. They descend, with Stygian helpfully breaking Razzmatazz’s fall with his shadows as she collapses from exhaustion.

“Razz, you good?” Stygian asks, setting Jay down.

“I’m a bit beat up. I’ll be fine as long as we don’t have to fight anyone else tonight.”

“We should be safe here. Take a moment to breathe.”

Razzmatazz mumbles an agreement, entering the RV casually. She flops face down onto the couch, groaning in pain as she holds her side. Stygian follows after her, helping Jay inside and setting him on the bed. Jay grunts as the movement causes a shooting ache in his head.

“Sorry! Jay, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. My head hurts.”

Razzmatazz looks up, still planking on the couch. “I fucking bet it does. He cracked your skull open like an egg.”

“What?”

Stygian’s horns and tail dissipate as he anxiously pokes at the left side of Jay’s face. “Your healing factor isn’t as fast as mine—you have some scarring on your face.”

“Is it bad?”

“No! It's—you look great. I’m a little worried about your eye though…”

“Do you have a mirror?”

Razzmatazz tosses over a compact mirror. Jay opens it.

“Fuck.”

“It’s still healing! Plus you look hot with it—” Gannet rushes to say.

“Please be quiet for a moment.”

Gannet quiets. Jay looks in the mirror. There's a huge purplish scar going down the left side of his face. It crosses over his left eye, which is no longer opening fully. The scar reaches to his hairline, taking out a small portion of his scalp.

Gannet runs his hand through Jay’s hair, touching the scarred part gingerly. “I’m sorry. I should’ve stopped him.”

Tears are forming in the corners of Gannet eyes. Jay sighs. “It’s not your fault. Convenient that the moment I officially become a villain, I'm scarred irreparably.”

“Really convenient. Really contrived,” Razzmatazz says, flopping onto her back.

Gannet scowls. “Razz, what?”

She sits up. “Jay, you heard all that stuff about authors and shit?”

Jay blinks. “What?”

“Your hallucinations! I’ve been in your head since we met that doppelganger.”

“Alana!” Gannet scolds, eyes flashing.

“I had a good reason, okay!”

Jay’s eyes narrow. “And that would be?”

“Jay, he was hearing the same exact voices as you. The same voices at the same time. I heard it.”

“So he’s got the same condition as Jay?” Gannet asks.

“Not the same condition. The same power.”

“Razz, you’re not making sense.”

Razzmatazz pulls on her braids, eyes wide as she stares at the ground. “I’ve read the minds of people who have hallucinations, Jay. Hallucinations don't have minds of their own like yours. You’re not sick, you’re hearing other people.”

“I—”

Razzmatazz is raving now. “Each voice I heard had their own set of thoughts. During the interrogation, do you remember what your double said? He said fuck all three of you, fuck you Rowan!”

“I remember.”

“I think Rowan is one of the people you’re hearing. One of three who hold some power over him…and us.”

“So you heard their thoughts? What’s Rowan’s fear?”

Razzmatazz makes a blank face, steepling her hands. “They’re worried about if they’re a fictional character, like you.”

Jay stares. Gannet stares. A pregnant pause

Razzmatazz’s braids flash to red. “I’m on my fucking meds, don’t look at me like im crazy! I know what I heard!”

“So someone is communicating with Jay in his head. Someone who’s convinced he’s not a real person,” says Gannet.

Razz nods. “They were literally writing what we were experiencing as I read their thoughts! It was such a mind fuck to hear.”

Gannet brushes his bangs back. “So. uh. what exactly does this mean?”

“Well, shit, it might mean we live in the fucking matrix.”

Jay’s heart drops. “Oh shit. That's what my double kept saying. That nothing was real. That he didn’t want to help write my happy ending.”

“Oh fuck. What the hell!”

“I’ve heard the voices call me The Main Character,” Jay says, dazed.

“We’re fucking doomed if that’s the case.”

“Right? Why the fuck would I be a main character!? Both of you are way more interesting! Why me!?”

Razzmatazz stands, her hair flashing multiple colors as she points at Jay. “Bitch, you’re a vanilla self-insert protagonist!”

“What? Fuck you!?”

“I’m not insulting you! That's what you are!”

Gannet’s eyes turn a solid red. “Can you both shut up?! I don’t see how any of this is going to help us! They captured Faye! We should be making plans about how to save her!”

Razzmatazz’s lip curls in anger. “You really care about the fucking hero right now? You know if I'm right, none of this is real—”

“It sure fucking feels real to me!”

The RV goes quiet as Gannet sits down heavily, face in his hands. Jay immediately gathers him in his arms. “It’s okay. We’ll get her back.”

Gannet sniffles. Razzmatazz sits down, looking guilty. “I’m sorry. I’m just freaked out…”

Gannet leans into Jay’s side. “I still don't think you’re right. Maybe it’s another person with powers…maybe they don’t understand what's actually happening when they commune with Jay?”

Jay pinches the bridge of his nose. This is crazy. “I think…I think Razzmatazz’s theory holds weight. Maybe they’re not genuinely writing our fate, but from what I've heard there’s multiple entities…observing us through me. If she’s right and this trio is manipulating our universe, it would make sense why another version of me would… do what he did.”

Gannet gapes. “Are you seriously saying you understand why he killed all our friends!?”

“I—I’m just saying! If their goal is to manipulate us for entertainment purposes, the logical thing to do would be…make the world less interesting. I guess.”

“Jay!”

“I’m not suggesting we try anything like him! Okay? I’m just pointing out why he did it!”

Razzmatazz’s hair turns a lavender shade. “Didn’t he say something about the trio helping him?”

Jay’s eyes dart around the RV. “Yeah. He did.”

“So all you need to do is get them to help you too. Right?”

“We already tried to get the voices to answer questions. They don’t,” Gannet says.

“Fuck. Fuck. What are we going to do?”

Jay takes a deep breath. “Right now? Nothing. We all nearly died today. Let's take a break before we make our next plan.”

Razzmatazz nods with dead eyes, yanking a pillow violently off Gannet’s bed. She buries her face in it as she lays back down on the couch, screaming into the pillow for a moment before going quiet. Gannet weaves his hand with Jay’s, letting a few tears fall from his eyes as he nuzzles Jay’s neck.

Jay tightens his grip. He can’t afford to let go right now.