084

 

84.  Into the Void

 

Vance stood next to Averyl outside of the arena chamber, glaring across the way to Grayson. On either side of the Snake lay Frank and Edward in the grass. Vance’s body raged, powered by the fury of finally coming face to the face with the man who stole his mother from him.

 

Grayson parted his grin. "I wonder how Victoria would feel now, knowing that all her hard work and sacrifice is going to be put to waste? You could have had a quiet, peaceful, pointless life, Vance...you’ll regret sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong."

 

Vance let psynergy channel through his newly-rejuvenated body. "Averyl...tell Eden I'm sorry. I can’t go with her...not now."

 

"Please don't touch my son!" Edward screamed behind Grayson. "I'll do whatever you say. Just let him go!"

 

"Pathetic," Grayson spat. "What a sad excuse for a father."

 

"Get out of here, dad!" Vance shouted. "Run!"

 

"Do it..." Averyl agreed. "This is no place for you."

 

With that, the knife pinning Edward to the ground disappeared. Grimacing and bearing the pain, Edward lifted up Frank’s body, balanced it on his shoulder and began to hobble toward the closest exit from the tournament complex.

 

"Phileas!" Grayson called out in a loud voice. "Wherever you are, find them and detain them! I have more urgent matters to deal with!"

 

"Let's go," Vance said to Averyl. "What are you waiting for?"

 

"Vance..." Averyl studied his nephew nervously. "You're not ready yet."

 

"Averyl, Vance?" Eden's voice rang out from behind the two as she caught up. "Who is that? What's going on out here?"

 

"Good, you're here." Averyl looked to the Daughter. "Eden, I want you to use the clock and let it transport you and Vance out of here. His life depends on it. Take him, and go where the clock takes you!"

 

Vance looked up at his uncle, confused. "Wait, hold on a–"

 

There was a sharp crack as Averyl's hand flew into Vance's chest, slamming him back past Eden and into the clock's chamber without any warning. Seeing the urgency in Averyl's eyes, Eden powered up her aura and caught Vance with both arms as he struggled to catch his breath.

 

"Eden!" Averyl shouted, sounding more concerned than he ever had before. "I'm counting on you!"

 

"How heroic," Grayson said with a sadistic grin, then shot toward Averyl.

 

In response, Averyl held his right arm out in between Grayson and the clock's chamber and materialized a thick stone wall. Grayson met the wall with a psynergy-laced punch, rippling cracks through the thick shield like a wrecking ball.

 

Eden sped back into the chamber, biting her lip in anxiety as she tried to reach the end of the hallway. Vance struggled against her bear hug, but no matter how hard he growled and resisted, he was unable to break through her citrus aura.

 

"Let me go, Eden!" he screamed, refusing to settle down. "Averyl needs me! That guy out there – he’s the one who killed my mother!"

 

Eden's remained resolute as tears trickled down her face. The uncharacteristic panic on Averyl’s face had convinced her of the danger. She and Vance struggled some more, and every second wasted felt like an eternity.

 

Outside, Averyl swerved to engage Grayson as his wall crumbled. The two men met at the entrance to the chamber, locked arms, and began to test each other's might.

 

"Are you excited?" Grayson sneered. "After all this time and all your careful planning, you can finally have your revenge..."

 

"You have no idea..." Averyl spoke. "For years, I’ve practiced torturing and killing...all for you..."

 

"Oh?" Green psynergy exploded from Grayson's body as he pushed back. "What a waste of time."

 

Psynergy swirled up around Averyl, shrouding his body. With a grunt, he materialized dozens of blades from every free point on his body. Grayson was quick to defend himself, shattering the blades with pure aura, and soon the two were in the middle of a furious, lightning-fast fistfight. Midst the onslaught, Grayson slid in a orb of concentrated green psynergy aimed at Averyl’s neck. The Albavitrean slapped the measly attack away without a second thought and gave chase.

 

"Stop playing around..." Averyl rasped. "I know that you've been waiting for this as much as I ha–"

 

Before Averyl could finish his sentence, he was hit from behind by the hulking body of Bruce Wernhart. Hardly any psynergy covered Bruce’s body, but his sheer strength allowed him to barrel into Averyl’s exposed back.

 

"Averyl..." Bruce growled. "I can't believe you murdered him, you double-crossing piece of shit!"

 

Hearing Bruce's words, Averyl focused on keeping his defenses up and began processing the information.

 

"Thanks for catching him before he escaped, Grayson!" Bruce wheezed. "Now we can avenge Roufas!"

 

"Roufas?" Averyl murmured, then looked up to see yet another smug grin on Grayson's face.

 

Rose entered the arena just in time as Averyl re-energized his body and tossed the tired Bruce into the air. Running to his aid, Rose reverted her arms into water and sent two tentacles out to Averyl's legs. The Albavitrean let them bind him, then materialized a radiator from below his feet that instantly evaporated every last drop.

 

"You want it to be me..." Averyl murmured, looking down on Bruce with sad eyes. "It doesn't matter what I could possibly say at this point..."

 

"Shut up!" Bruce wheezed, as he struggled to pull his aching body up. "That man was like a father to me. I don't care if it kills me – I'm gonna make you pay!"

 

"And that's not all," Grayson jumped in. "Look at Averyl’s true eyes, you two...he was an Albavitrean in disguise! He's been planning to kill us all from the very beginning!"

 

"Even the ones who respect and admire you..." Averyl turned his eyes back to meet Grayson’s, sending the Snake a dark glare. "Everyone’s just a pawn to the Snake..."

 

*

 

As Father Zeigfried Harknett Abaddon neared the tournament complex, he saw a scarred-and-armored being fly up from below. With a misty lower half, Zeigfried had no trouble floating in the clouds and waiting for the glowing red body of Xarles Klavier Van Kaen to reach him.

 

"I see the Zodiacs sent out their guard dog," Zeigfried boomed. "This is your one and only warning: don't get in my way."

 

Ever silent, Van Kaen lunged out and flailed his claws around, trying to grasp Zeigfried's translucent body. The priest allowed Van Kaen's limbs to slide through his smoke, then quickly shifted his arms back into their corporeal form. Before Van Kaen could react, two fists slammed into his scar-covered flesh and knocked him backwards.

 

"You aren't even human any longer," Zeigfried laughed, "and you expect to fight on equal terms with an Apostle?"

 

After straightening himself out, Van Kaen opened his palms toward Zeigfried. With a squelch, two nozzles shot out from pockets in his purple flesh and spewed out a volley of glowing red pellets from within. Despite the wide firing range, Zeigfried managed to leap out of their trajectory in an instant, only to watch with irritated eyes as the swarm of homing bullets swerved and followed their target.

 

Sighing, Zeigfried curved in the air and attempted to turn the drones back toward their master. As he moved closer to the tournament complex, he couldn't help but become a bit distracted from the fight as he sensed the familiar aura of Grayson Lee.

 

"Grayson...?" Zeigfried murmured. "What is he doing here?"

 

The bullets drew closer, and Zeigfried was left with no other choice. Bringing his arms together, he released a misty explosion and nullified most of the bullets. A few, however, managed to break through his fog. The deadly psynergy cut straight through to his flesh, drawing blood from within his cassock.

 

"Further mysteries will have to wait..." Zeigfried jerked his head back to his assailant. "First, you must be judged!"

 

*

 

Edward heaved himself down the darkened hallways of the tournament complex as fast as he could while he carried his friend. "Oh God! Frank, Frank, can you hear me?!"

 

As he continued to run, trying his best to wake up Frank from his stupor, he turned another corner and nearly ran straight into two others who were trying to make a quiet escape.

 

"You..." Tao Fukunaga murmured, gazing at Edward. "You’re Vance’s father."

 

Edward protectively placed himself in front of Frank. "Wh-who are you?"

 

"I mean you no harm." Tao placed a hand up, as did Nathan. "In fact, I’d be happy to help you make safe passage away from here. I'm a non-combatant, so there's nothing I can do against the horrors that lurk outside. I've been watching this tournament the whole time, not only because of the responsibility I feel toward it, but because I knew there would come a moment when I might be able to help somehow...and I believe this is it."

 

Edward sighed. "I don't know who you are, but if you could take Frank to safety, I'd appreciate it. I can't leave, though. Not without my son."

 

"Don't worry!" Nathan shouted. "Vance is super strong, and he’s got Eden with him! They’ll be fine."

 

Edward stared down at the young teenager in surprise. "You know my son?"

 

"Of course," Nathan said with a nod. "He's a Knight, just like me!"

 

"This may be hard for you to believe," Tao explained, "but I am a very old friend of Victoria's. She worked closely together with my brother Sasuke."

 

"S-Sasuke?" Edward stammered. "Sasuke Fukunaga?"

 

Tao nodded. "We have much to talk about, my friend, but this is not the place. First, we need to get you two as far away from Grayson as we can."

 

The four made their way to the deserted main entrance of the tournament complex. Screens that had been chronicling the tournament now buzzed with static. Chairs and tables were in pieces, a soda machine lay broken on the floor, and the snack bar had been demolished.

 

Tao moved forward across the messy tile, pushed aside an overturned bucket chair and headed toward the æsotech doors that led to the dark streets outside. He’d just placed his hand on the slim metal handle when he felt a new psynergy aura enter the room.

 

The Seneschal turned sharply away from the door and just barely missed getting hit by a burgundy ball of psynergy.

 

"Looks like I found some stray mice..." Phileas crowed, as he slipped on some latex surgeon's gloves. "These are Grayson's specimens, Tao. You're not allowed to lay a finger on them."

 

Tao turned to face his new foe and slowly crept his hand back over to the handle, but Nathan beat him to the punch.

 

"Go on ahead, Seneschal!" Nathan called, as he threw open the door. "I'll take care of this guy and catch up with you three later!"

 

"Stop, Nathan!" Tao shook his head vehemently. "You must get back!"

 

Phileas smiled hungrily as he approached the young boy. "Ooh, yes. It’s been a while since I sampled such a husky, young one..."

 

"What?" Nathan stammered, trying to stay strong. "What’s that supposed to mean? It sounds like –"

 

"I want to eat you?" Dr. Phileas finished Nathan's question for him. "No, I'm not going to eat you, child. I am going to become one with you. I will consume you, and your essence shall become mine, thereby enlightening and connecting us both."

 

Tao ushered Edward and Frank through the doorway, then reached out and grabbed his pupil's arm. "Nathan! Come with us!"

 

But Nathan ripped himself away and cupped his hands together. As he ran forward, he locked eyes with his opponent and tried to produce a ball of psynergy. "Please, God," he called out blindly, "give me strength!"

 

*

 

Madeleine sat perched on top of one of the tall stone pedestals lining the stone chamber in the form of a tiny, spiral-shelled snail. She watched closely as the clock activated, covering Eden and Vance in a glowing white light as it prepared to transport them.

 

It's better for them if I don't go... Madeleine thought quietly to herself. They'll be safe together. And I don't belong with them.

 

Eden glanced around the empty hallway. "Madeleine! Where are you?! Aren’t you going to come with us?"

 

Yet for some reason... Madeleine quietly shifted into the form of a fly and buzzed deep into Eden's robes. I'm dying to see just how far they can go.

 

"Let me go!" Vance screamed, struggling to no avail against Eden’s power. "I should be out there with Averyl!"

 

"We have to go..." Eden whispered sadly. "Averyl looked so worried, Vance...we need to trust him here."

 

The clock crackled one last time, and then Eden and Vance were gone.

 

"It's just you and me, Vance." Eden hugged his body close to hers as their bodies shot through the threads of space and time. "We’re all alone now."


Next: The Blood