False Turns

“Y-Y-Yori!” It was an honest reaction, but helped to disguise the uncontrollable fear coursing through every vein in her body. Blood from Fumiko’s fighting painted Yori’s face loosely. As he lifted his head, the slow dripping drew up old images in Yumi’s mind. The brother from her horror-fueled nightmares superimposed over the real Yori. It was real enough that she heard echoes of his voice calling out to her. Chills drove down her spine.

The shaking in her arm didn’t go unnoticed by Yori. His head still felt fuzzy, but he could tell when something bothered his sister. “Is there something wrong? What’s happening?” He tried to focus his eyes to look around him, but all he saw was blurs.

Realizing he noticed, Yumi put more control into her body. ‘I can’t let him know. The situation is desperate enough.’ It took a lot of effort to reign in her emotions that dominated her voice. “I’m fine! But things aren’t good right now.”

As he became more aware of his surroundings, he realized something wet was on his face. He rubbed at it, doing his best to get it off him. When he checked his hand, the color startled him. “Blood?!” Yumi’s words seemed to understate the issue. Yori looked up immediately at Yumi. His eyes worked better than before and he finally saw Yumi for real. The sight made him nearly jump to his feet, if the lightheadedness didn’t force him down. “Yumi! You’re not fine! When did this happen?! This blood—“

“It’s not mine!” she insisted, interjecting before he allowed his fears to create images worse than reality. She awkwardly showed off the sword that remained embedded in her hand and chest. More specifically, she wanted him to see that there was no blood. The confusion that dug into his face seemed expected, even normal. Her new dilemma became something she adjusted to and accepted. It made it easy for her to forget how others saw her. “This is…complicated.” A weak smile tried to reassure him of her health.

“I think you’re understating it.” Yori felt oddly sure from her words she really was safe. ‘Why do I feel calm?’ He couldn’t explain the certainty he felt, just that his body told him not to worry. Unfortunately, his eyes began to soak in the rest of the battlefield. The sight he beheld did trigger his emotions. “What’s going on? How much have I missed?!”

Yumi managed her emotions precariously in front of her brother. Whispers still poked her from behind; ignoring was all she could do. “Explaining everything…would take too long. The situation is…we’re under attack by the Atlanteans.”

A bit of a plain look came across his face. “I think you’re simplifying it too much.”

“They…figured out how to…seal our powers. So we’re struggling…to stay ahead.”

Chapter 213 – False Turns

“He’s awake now,” noted Simonides. Another variable introduced itself into his plan. It made him feel a little uneasy, but things couldn’t turn back. “I’d like to think he’s a normal human, but best to assume he’s got powers like the rest of them. Have six squads move in on the two in the center.”

Abeiron tilted his head briefly in the Captain’s direction. “Understood, sir!”

Still bothered by the actions of Fumiko, Simonides rubbed his finger over the surface of the binoculars. He tried to piece everything together to reach a conclusion. ‘It’s metal and used the same sort of patterns as with the fire. The simple answer is it is magic, but that seems contrary to traditional magic. Metal magic?’

Backs against each other, Seiji and Chiharu managed to keep the soldiers at bay for the moment. Their strength slowly dwindled and fatigue slowly crawled up. They wouldn’t last forever, as much as Seiji acted as if they would.

He swung out catching the soldier before they got their shield up. While the soldier fell, Seiji ripped their shield off their arm and chucked it over Chiharu. Bone clearly broke from the sounds as it smashed into two soldier’s faces. “Need me to lighten the numbers for you, kid?”

Spinning around in a fluid motion, Chiharu disarmed the closing soldier and sent the sword flying into the neighboring comrade. “Need help standing, muscles? You’re more red than anything.”

Seiji’s arm caught the edge of the blade before he twisted the man’s arm. It added another cut to his already extensive wounds. “They’ll have to cut off my damn legs to keep me from standing!” He smirked and tossed the soldier into one trying to stand back up.

“Don’t give them any ideas!”

“I’d like to see them try!”

Yumi turned away from her brother, distracted by the battle. Things were worse, even though they seemed better. She could tell. “Seiji! Chiharu! Pull back!”

“What?!” questioned Seiji.

She stood up, leaving Yori behind. “We need to regroup!” Her eyes glanced over at Fumiko, still completely out of it. The soldiers closed on her very cautiously only because of what she displayed. ‘She’s going to be captured soon. They’re only holding off, because they’re trying to figure out her new power. The fact that they haven’t charged her means it’s not sealed, yet.’ Yumi felt confidence surging up as she thought things out. “Seiji, go get Fumiko!”

Seiji chucked another Atlantean over his shoulder to give him his chance to look back. It gave him all the time he needed to examine the scene. He understood. “Right!” Kicking a shield at his feet, he stunned the soldier enough to charge through the line.

“Chiharu, you still have a couple tricks left, right?”

Narrowly reading Yumi, she picked up a little on her plan. The resolve in her eyes told her enough to trust her. “Always!” She lowered a foot into the man’s gut. It rolled him over enough for her to start the motion. Chiharu jumped up on his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his neck. She pulled him forward and tossed him with her legs as she bent down to the ground. The body spun in the air one full rotation before it slammed into another. Chiharu disappeared from sight during the whole move.

Inside her shadow realm, her hand grasped a smoke bomb. Her mind thought back to using the man’s shadow on his body to slip between dimensions. “The power really is evolving. It was like it was instinct, as if I already knew how to do it. Very unsettling…” She tightened her hand around the smoke bomb. Dozens of mirrors appeared around her. The full view of the battle lay out before her. “This’ll keep them busy for a while.”

Smoke suddenly began to rise from a location deep within the ranks of his troops. Simonides drew down his brow in confusion. ‘She’s done that before.’ Lifting a hand, he motioned to Abeiron. The formation changed. However, another pillar of smoke rose in a completely different area. It made him pause for a moment, but he gave the order.

Nothing. It was just smoke.

The third appeared. ‘Does she have some ability to summon smoke? Before she used a device, but she can’t be in all those places that quickly. We’ve sealed her speed.’ The two previous were nothing. He did not have his men act. ‘She’s trying to distract us.’ Simonides signaled to Abeiron again. “Move on the fire user, we’ve waited long enough.

“Yes—“ A scream cut him off. It drew him back to the soldiers communicating with the teams. “What’s going on? Report!”

Simonides focused back on the battle. The third column of smoke had fighting. ‘She was actually there?!’ He ground his teeth when he discovered a fourth and fifth column. The only thing he could do was act on them. More smoke continued to appear throughout the field stirring the confusion. Some had fighting and others did not. There was no way to know. He had to treat them all as real.

Yumi turned around and pulled in the entire storm of soldiers. She needed a point of attack. ‘That’ll do…I knew I could leave it to Chiharu to figure it out.’ A bit of a grin came across her face.

The whole scene left Yori a little short on words. He stared at his sister trying to figure everything out. His confusion didn’t help him, but it was no longer about being behind on time. ‘What happened to my little sister? Since when did Yumi look so tall? ’

“Hey!” shouted Seiji, “Fumiko! Can you hear me?” He was already close to reaching her. The soldiers ended up not being much trouble for him, not expecting him. However, he noticed they changed their behavior in the middle of his attempt to reach Fumiko. The metal vines made it difficult for him. New cuts flowed like slow summer rain, staggered yet constant. “Damn it to hell! Damn! Damn!” His cursing only made things worse.

The rest of the steps were twice as painful, but he made it. “The hell’s wrong with you damn woman!” Seiji grabbed her by the shoulders to force her in his direction. He ground his teeth together seeing the dead look in her eyes. “I don’t have the time for this! Wake up, dammit!” A slap started his attempt followed by a slightly hesitate punch (she was a woman). The force was enough to knock her over, but not enough to wake her. His punch left her strung up by the vines, dangling loosely in the garden of metal.

Unfortunately, Seiji didn’t have any more time. The soldiers were finally upon them. They might have been cut up as much as him, but it didn’t seem to slow them down. Revenge filled their eyes. Their lost comrades no doubt fueled them into action, finally granted permission from their Captain. “Hell! Hell! Damn! Hell!” It seemed he reached a limit. “Ow!” His anger caused him to scrap against one of the thorns. “…the HELL! WITH IT!”

Seiji dove down for Fumiko’s staff that rested at his feet. He swung it up the moment he grabbed it. A light arc filled the air along its path. “I’m tired of all of these cuts!” The tip of the sword he went to block went flying into the air. It was enough to make the front row of Atlanteans hesitate.

“Huh?” questioned Seiji, realizing several seconds passed, that something was wrong. He stared at the entire staff trying to understand what happened. It seemed perfectly ordinary, for a staff at least. He remembered Fumiko carrying it around with her, but couldn’t remember when it started.

Trying to move it to prepare for the next attack, he had to maneuver around all of the gathered vines. The base of the staff knocked into the metal of the vines. A loud ring echoed from the point. It continued and produced more ringing. The sounds began to become like bells almost. Something responded to the noise. It pulsed to life.

An odd feeling surged from his arm. The light emitting from the wrapping grew stronger. It seemed as though his arm ignited into flames. Light radiated off his arm bleeding into the staff. “What the hell is going on?!” shouted Seiji. He swung his arm trying to get it off him. An arc of light formed from the swing cutting through the earth and soldiers. Then he froze.

His eyes stuck to the staff once more. Something was wrong. It wasn’t his normal power. It wasn’t physical strength. Something was familiar about it, in a dread filled, meeting the annoying smothering aunt you always detest seeing sort of way. ‘This is—‘

“Seiji!” called Yumi.

Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts, almost as if he wanted to leave them. Seiji tilted his head back in the direction of Yumi. Everything started to come back to him. “Right! I can’t be standing around here!” He didn’t know what went on with his arm, but he had to accept it. It was something he could use.

Swinging the staff again in the direction of his friends, but avoiding them, an arc sliced through the metal briar. He had his path without pain. Seiji spun around swinging the staff again at the ground of the soldiers. Chunks of earth and metal flew into the air. A cloud of debris covered his retreat.

Seiji dropped Fumiko down at Yori’s feet. “Hey, you’re awake, man!” he commented, before returning to Yumi. “What you need?”

“Use that power of yours to make an opening,” Yumi answered. She threw out her free arm to point in the direction. ‘I had planned on using Fumiko’s new power, but this works just as well. We need to get out of here while we still have something they haven’t sealed!’ Chiharu surfaced in the shadows making her presence noticeable. “Chiharu, grab Fumiko. She’s in no condition to run. Yori help her, she doesn’t have her normal strength.”

“R-Right,” her brother replied, still trying to get used to the change. Yori rushed over to Chiharu’s side to help Fumiko up to her feet. He glanced over his shoulder at the soldiers closing on them. The fighting gone, their attention turned to a single point. ‘This better work…’

Seiji ran out in front of the group to his designated point. He smirked a little, starting to accept the strange power. “You might want to get the HELL out of my way if you don’t want to get sliced up!” he warned, before swinging a cautionary blow at the soldiers’ feet. There were different reactions out of them. Some moved a little, while others stood their ground. “Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance!” The second arc ran vertically through the thinnest part of the troops.

Blood and screams erupted from the arc eating through Atlanteans and earth. It chewed up debris coughed out and knocked more aside as it pushed through. Seiji charged into the broken line, clearing the rest of the path for his friends. He could finally see the horizon again. “We’re out!” he shouted, turning around to see how close they were on his rear.

However, an earthquake stopped them all in their tracks. Seiji felt the worst of it as he dropped to one knee unable to keep his balance. A shadow suddenly stretched over him and towards his friends, as though reaching out for them to push back. Confused, he looked behind him. His eyes widened to see a smooth wall stretched out aiming for the sky.

Their escape route disappeared.

Simonides’ features thinned and hardened a little watching them. “I never said you could leave.”