081

 

81.  Lullaby for a Nightmare

 

Averyl watched his nephew teeter on tired legs out on the arena platform. Saffron loomed before him, winding up his final punch.

 

"No!" Averyl’s eyes wavered. "No, Vance, you can’t quit here. You’ve finally found your ability!"

 

"He may be even more stubborn than Eden." Madeleine crossed her arms. "He's in way over his head. He never stood a chance against Saffron...he needs to jump out!"

 

"He'll win." Eden's voice chimed out from behind Madeleine and Averyl. They spun around to face the Daughter, looking as good as new in the white trenchcoat that Averyl had produced for her.

 

Startled, Madeleine raised an eyebrow. "You sound awfully confident for someone who just woke up."

 

Eden moved up to the glass and placed her hands on it. "I've been watching for a while. Ever since Vance cut through Saffron's sword."

 

Averyl gazed at Eden. "And your thoughts?"

 

"I told you already." Eden stared out with unclouded eyes. "He won't lose here."

 

"You may be right. My nephew seems to be the type of man who works best under excruciating pressure..."

 

Outside, Vance quivered in the face of Saffron's murderous aura. The pain had overloaded his mind – he was no more than a broken shell of a soul, moments from ceasing to be.

 

"I have emptied thee out. 'tis time for thy final journey to the beyond," Saffron whispered. "Farewell, Vance Darcouver."

 

As Saffron's fist swung down, Vance’s consciousness slipped away. His body hung on the verge of its final moments, and he embraced the comfort of darkness.

 

There, in that darkness, he heard a voice.

 

Destroy.

 

Vance blinked his eyes open and looked up. In another moment, Saffron's blazing fist would rip through his head. But for some reason, all he could focus on was the tiny void he had opened in space earlier, which still floated off to the side of Saffron's face.

 

The world is yours...to destroy.

 

As Saffron's knuckles closed in, Vance jerked his neck and stuck his hand up between the swordsman's fist and his own jaw. Instinctively, he severed the threads of time and space yet again, allowing Saffron's hand to continue into the void. Before the swordsman knew what was happening, his fist slipped back out through the initial void Vance had created.

 

A deafening boom rocketed through the arena as Saffron's psynergy-coated punch crashed into the side of his own face. The Dog’s eyes bugged out in confusion as facial bones shattered and the force of his own attack sent him careening off the platform.

 

Saffron hit the ground hard, wheezing for air with his ruined jaw. Bone splintered, and a frail moan of agony escaped the swordsman's throat. Stupefaction and pain filled the Dog's mind, while Vance’s eyes closed and his body went toppling backward into the grass.

 

"I'm not...done...yet..." Vance whispered sleepily. "I'll kick...your...ass..."

 

At last, Saffron let out a laugh. "A rarer knave I've never seen!"

 

"Unbelievable!" Trunculo screamed. "I didn’t quite follow it, but Vance somehow managed to knock Saffron off the platform with his own fist! He won it, folks!"

 

"He did it," Eden cheered softly. "I knew he would."

 

"Vance is the winner!" Trunculo raised his fist into the dark sky, and the crowd roared in response. "He will be the one moving up to face Eden in the finals!"

 

At that moment, the lock to Vance's waiting room was released, and Eden dashed out across the grass. The girl knelt beside her ruined companion and cradled him in her arms. "Vance, hold on. It's my turn to save you now."

 

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Trunculo called out. "Do you really want to start the final round so early? I mean–"

 

"Ho, man!" Saffron called out to the announcer. "Wouldst thou not assist me first? I fear my liver slippeth out."

 

"Oh, right! Medics!" Trunculo called, swinging his arms wildly. "C'mon! Get Saffron to the hospital immediately!"

 

"Vance..." Saffron murmured as he was taken away. "We shall meet again, I trust...forget me not..."

 

The Dog then digressed into a series of increasingly confounding poems as he was carried into the complex.

 

"Farewell, Saffron!" Trunculo waved, wiping a tear from his eye. "You know that I'll never forget you! Be sure you come back next time, too!"

 

Eden held Vance close to her body, releasing her citrus psynergy and enveloping his body with it. She let her power enclose him like a protective layer, listening carefully to his faint heartbeat. "We did it, Vance. And now we’re going to take the clock together."

 

If I really am the daughter of God... Eden thought, closing her eyes and searching the recesses of her heart. Then I should be able to make miracles happen, too...

 

An orange light resonated from the Albavitrean's body as Eden's psynergy enveloped his body. Wounds across his arms, legs, and head sealed up, as if they never existed at all. Gasps resounded from the crowd as the young woman regenerated Vance’s body in the blink of an eye.

 

"Uh, hey, you two..." Trunculo leaned forward. "Um, you know that the final round's about to begin, right?"

 

"It's over," Eden said in stern voice. "I'm forfeiting."

 

"Forfeiting?" Trunculo grabbed a handful of his spiky hair in horror. "Forfeiting the final round...are you insane?!"

 

A pained grumble came out from Vance. "She's not forfeiting. I am."

 

"What?" Eden opened his eyes. "Don't talk right now, Vance. You aren’t all the way better yet!"

 

"Announcer guy..." Vance mumbled, struggling to regain consciousness. "Say that Eden is the winner. Now!"

 

Eden dug one of her nails into Vance's forehead, fuming. "Do you really think you're in the position to be giving people orders? I'm helping you here, the least you could do is..."

 

"Ow! What are you trying to do, kill me?!" Vance screamed.

 

For the first time, a cacophony of laughter sounded out from the crowd. Dumbstruck, Trunculo gazed around the arena, then returned his eyes to the two teenagers. It was the final round of the hellish deathmatch, and yet they seemed to be lost in their own world.

 

"Well?" A pale hand fell onto Trunculo's shoulder, causing him to stumble backwards in shock. He spun around to see Averyl, red lips parted and whispering. "Are you going to announce it or not?"

 

"Ah, right, right!" Trunculo stammered. "In any case, through a strange series of occurrences, the winner of the final round, and therefore the entire tournament, is contestant #4003, Eden Gardener!"

 

*************

 

As this unexpected announcement echoed through the committee room, the animosity emanating from Roufas and Grayson momentarily dissipated, and the Rabbit turned toward the glass screen in shock.

 

"Saffron lost?! How could Saffron have lost to that boy? Sure, he may be the son of Victoria, but still...he's just a child!"

 

One of the committee members hidden back under the table laughed triumphantly. "Looks like your plans are foiled now, brigands! Even if you kill us, nothing will change! You've lost the clock!"

 

Roufas quickly corrected the man. "We're not going to kill you. Just settle down."

 

But the committee member froze as one of Grayson's arms snaked around his neck, locking it in place.

 

"What if I told you..." Grayson hissed, "that this was my intent from the very beginning?"

 

"Grayson," Roufas called out. "Wait. We’ve been over this."

 

Grayson snorted. "Wait, he says. What would I possibly wait for now? Look around you, Roufas. The other Zodiacs are gone, exhausted and far beyond their means. The Knights are in shambles. All the key players have been assembled down there conveniently, and there is no longer anyone to stand in my way. All except...one person, that is."

 

Roufas paled. "What are you talking about?" He paused, then finally mouthed his worst fear. "Are you trying to assert control over us?"

 

"Exactly the opposite." Grayson slipped off the small black thread from his ponytail and let long blond hair spill out around his body like the hood of a cobra. "You've all just been pawns since the very beginning."

 

Trunculo's joyous voice cut through the room again.

 

*************

 

"The time has come for the winners of the tournament to receive their prize! Please, step off the platform, you two, as we prepare to unveil the clock!"

 

Eden helped Vance up and moved him into the grass, using her shoulder as a support for his weakened body.

 

Averyl walked across and rejoined his nephew. "Vance. How did it feel to fight a true Dark Zodiac?"

 

"Painful," Vance grunted. "And sharp."

 

Averyl laughed happily. "Indeed, indeed!"

 

"That asshole didn't hold up to his end of the bargain, though."

 

Madeleine warily crept up to the trio. "What do you mean? You made a deal with him?"

 

Vance coughed. "He said that if I kicked his ass enough, he would tell me who killed my mother."

 

Averyl glanced over to Madeleine. "Shouldn't you be shoving off soon?"

 

Madeleine shook her head. "I know he's here. But for some reason, I'm not afraid anymore."

 

Vance kept his eyes on Madeleine. "Who's he?"

 

Madeleine cast a glance at Averyl, and then looked back to Vance. "Um...."

 

Averyl moved in between his nephew and the shapeshifter. "Shush...for now, let's just enjoy this moment."

 

In the center of the arena, the platform separated into pieces with a snap as ground was uprooted and pushed away. From beneath rose a silver chamber glowing with a powerful psynergy barrier and a large opening in its southern side. Between its two stone pillars, a smooth, stone awning read: BELMARCIAN TOURNAMENT XIII.

 

"We did it." Eden admired the massive chamber as it came to a stop. "It’s all over...and we got the Clock!"

 

"Finally..." Vance grumbled. "Let's grab it and get outta here already!"

 

"Can't you be a little more positive?!" Eden poked Vance again. "We should be celebrating now!"

 

"I'm hungry, I'm tired, and I feel like shit. What is there to celebrate?"

 

From the stands, Dr. Phileas gazed eagerly at the events that were transpiring below. "They're going in. I wonder what the new clock looks like?"

 

"Ed," Frank elbowed his friend. "This is our chance. Let's go join him."

 

A new hope burned in Edward's eyes as he continued to stare down at Vance. He was still reeling from his son's amazing victory, but Frank's words registered in his ears. "Yeah. Let's do it."

 

Using their soft æsotech seats as stepping stones, the two men made a quick hop up to the higher level of seats. They wasted no time in apologizing to any of the other spectators as they hurriedly pushed their way out and escaped to a section of stairs that led into the inner hallways of the complex.

 

"What are you doing?" Phileas grumbled, looking back longingly at the screen once more before he begrudgingly got up and went after them. "You two aren’t supposed to leave yet!"

 

Below, Vance, Eden, Averyl, and Madeleine walked through the doorway of the chamber in which the clock was kept. Sculpted pillars decorated the cramped inner hallway, and at the end sat a plain-looking monochrome wall clock on a raised pedestal. A powerful blue barrier surrounded the artifact, powered by four dark obelisks that continued deep into the ground.

 

"I can't believe we're finally here!" Eden called out.

 

"The clock’s rigged with a trap," Averyl noted. "I would advise not touching it until they tell us to – unless you wish to have your particles rearranged."

 

"They can really do something like that?" Madeleine questioned.

 

"Get together enough psynergy experts and anything is possible," Averyl said with a wink.

 

"Well, they better hurry up," Vance complained. "I'm so hungry I can barely concentrate."

 

"Hmmm..." Eden smirked. "I could go for a nice bowl of strawberry ice cream right now."

 

"Are you kidding me?!" Vance grumbled. "What are you, a five-year-old?"

 

Eden rolled her eyes. "And what would you prefer, Vance?"

 

"An extra-large mushroom pizza," Vance declared.

 

"That’s just as bad..." Madeleine muttered.

 

"What do you know?" Vance retorted. "I mean, you don't even need to eat, do you?!"

 

"I suppose..." Averyl turned his head down in mock offense. "No one wants to hear what I would like to eat..."

 

Vance quickly moved to reply, but Averyl words overshadowed his nephew's objections. "I would have an apricot brioche, a praline riviera, and a fresh peach."

 

"Alright, that's it." Vance wrenched his arm free from Eden's grasp and stumbled forward. "I'll just take the damn thing myself!"

 

"Wait, wait!" Eden laughed as she chased Vance. "You’re gonna get your particles rearranged!"

 

Madeleine sighed as the two reached the end of the hallway. "How can they be acting so goofy?"

 

"A bond." Averyl said with a grin. "It’s also what brought them this far."

 

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen!" Trunculo's voice boomed out. "Here she goes! Stepping up to the pedestal is our very own Eden Gardener, preparing to take the clock as her own!"

 

With that, the barrier around the clock disappeared. Eden moved in to close her hands around the clock, and a surge of divine psynergy rippled through the chamber. She hesitated for only a further second before gripping it, and the entire structure began to softly vibrate. Eden stared deep into the clock, and then all hell broke loose.

Next: Sign of the Zodiac