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Try to reach Nu with telepathy? Van silently mused.
Vandal tried, forming the words in his head and projected them to his target. "Nu," he began, "if you can hear me, stop this! Fight it!" There was no response.
Magpie and Carlos did their best to quell its wrath, but, hard as they fought, they couldn't stymie it. A lightning bolt, delivered by Magpie, struck a wing; it only singed and blew off some black feathers. Dark Weaver retaliated with a bright beam of searing flame. The sorceress dodged the blast in time, and it struck a concrete wall, making it explode and sending tiny hot chunks of debris into the air.
Ignatius soared around their foe but made no move to cause harm; most likely, he was trying to reach Nu telepathically. Dark Weaver responded by conjuring up a wild wind that swept up concrete fragments and broken pipes. They sent the cyclone to ruin the gryphon's flight, sending Ignatius to crash land, cutting himself on the exposed rebar of a wall as he fell.
Carlos kept his distance; it was a wise decision. Yet, the dark spirit attacked when he did not. It hurled an orb of ice at him, a comet of which carried a chill that even Van felt as it traveled towards the fae. He blocked the assault with his sword. But the steel blade shattered, and the fae screamed as he dropped the orphaned hilt. There was frost all over his paling fingers. He fell to his knees; shards of his own sword pierced his torso.
"Carlos," Magpie called out, taking the bleeding fae under the arm, "let's get you to some cover."707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNy2Sfhdu9H
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"It's hopeless," muttered Carlos, defeated. He touched a numbingly cold shard of steel that pierced him and hissed in pain. "All of it. We can't … "
"Don't say that," urged Magpie, "get up."
Dark Weaver spoke. "I can feel resignation in his heart," it declared. Ice and fire yielded to vile oblivion: bolts of teal traveled between her open palms. A ball of black energy grew in the space. "Let us ease his pain."
"No!" Magpie shrieked, lifting her arms in defense and allowing her shields to form.
"DON'T!" Vandal shouted as he took aim at Dark Weaver. But he couldn't pull the trigger. "Damn it, Nu, fight it!" Van urged telepathically.
The cruel spark flew towards Magpie. Carlos mumbled something, and Magpie exclaimed something in confusion.
He shoved Magpie away from him. Unprotected, the sinister energies consumed the fae with ease when it collided with him. Tendrils of teal shot out from his chest, then out his back. Black steam emitted from his mouth. He didn't scream: whether it was impossible to or he was too far gone to feel anything, Van couldn't tell. Only sorrow painted his face; he closed his eyes, drinking in his desolation.
"What … " said Van quietly, gritting his teeth. Then he screamed: "What have you done?!"
Dark Weaver turned and gazed at him. To Van's amazement, the spirit shared their sorrow. Tears streamed down their unburning eye, and, just for a moment, he saw Nu's soul behind it. Had they reached her? Had Carlos's killing cracked the hold of the spirits' within Nu?
Suddenly a voice, ever so soft, came into Van's head telepathically. It was Nu's.
"Run …" she said.
Dark Weaver was aware of it's own moment of weakness, however. Nu was gone quickly, and the winged beast regained control. "You," it said with great certainty, "you feed the imbalance." They charged a bolt of oblivion in one hand and sent it to crash against the floor. "Out with you and your life's light!" Black and turquoise spikes sprouted from the floor. A crooked path made its way towards Van, the spikes sprouting before it. Closer and closer, they came. The points forced the gunner back; one of the spikes shot up and slashed his side deeply. The damaged floor gave way, making a steep slope. He rolled down towards the edge. Desperately, he tried to stop his momentum and looked for something to grab. His left hand found a metal pipe; he had to drop Leonette to grab it with both hands. The long gun skittered down the slant. "Shit," cursed Van as his weapon got closer and closer to the edge. With his foot, he tried to kick it back towards himself. He only ended up kicking it farther away, however. The effort only made the wound at his side bleed heavier; he grimaced in pain brought on by oblivion's burn; embers of green ate at his cape and clothes.
Leonette fell off the edge, down to the street below. The whole building shook, and Van thought it was the fight getting rough. As he felt his grip slipping from the pipe, he heard the gryphon shriek. Ignatius flew by, and Van hooked his arm around him. "I owe you," said Van.
"Something's happening," said Ig telepathically, "hold tight, I'm going to get Magpie. I think one of those shifts—"
Then the world seemed to fade. When Van awoke, he was somewhere different.707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2e9Oyge9L
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