Heroes Rising Fiction: Mythic Chase Part 11

Part 11

          (In Paris)

Chase came to Nova’s side. “Nova! Come on, get up.”

Nova wept, “It’s all over. There’s no hope for the world.”

Fuma stood next to her, “It’s no use. He’s been overcome by Cupid’s power.”

Quark yelled, “HE’S COMING, MOVE!”

Cupid had caught sight of them and flew their direction.

Quark phased out of sight, and Fuma took up a fighting stance. Chase held up those shuriken, ready for this fight.

“No, he’s ours. Find the bow!” Fuma ran forward to meet Cupid.

Chase looked around, “What? Where do I even start?” Then she saw it. In the distance, there was a bit of color. A golden object glinted among the fallen bodies. “That has to be the bow.” She bolstered her courage and made a mad dash right into the thick of this battle zone.

Cupid was knocked out of the air for a moment and then let out a primal scream as he slammed his ax against the ground. This unleashed a huge wave of that gray energy. Chase couldn’t dodge this in time.

“WATCH IT!” A red armored man hit the ground in front of her and a forcefield came from his body that protected both of them.

“Thanks.”

Crimson Guardian said, “Civilians were to evacuate!”

“I’m not a civilian. HE’S COMING!”

“Crap.” Crimson turned and scanned a weapon in a fallen hero’s hand.

Chase shoved him out of the way just as Cupid went after them. She threw her shuriken at Cupid. He knocked one away, the other stuck in his arm. Before he could remove it, Crimson blasted him with a red energy beam. Crimson punched and blasted Cupid, while Cupid responded with his own fists and that gray energy. Each time Crimson blocked it with his barrier. More heroes converged on the battle, which gave Chase an even wider opening. She bolted for the bow, leaving Cupid to the others.

“I hate losing my blades, but I did some good...what the?” She felt both shuriken in her hands.

She found the bow in Heretics hands. His once beautiful red wings were now almost black. He wailed about wanting to go to heaven.

“You?” Just then Fiero arrived.

“I found the bow!” Chase pulled it free of Heretics hands.

Fiero nodded, “I was heading for it myself. I...”

Both jerked at the sound of a huge explosion. Bodies fell from above as heroes were caught in the largest energy blast so far. Then the blue skies slowly drained of color.

Chase turned around and saw that no one was left standing before Cupid. He was battered, bruised and even bleeding, but he was the only thing not down.

“It’s over,” Chase whispered.

Fiero shook her head, “It’s not over yet, he’s weak.” She grabbed the bow and launched herself at Cupid.

Chase stood back, her blades ready. She prayed in her heart that Fiero would get that bow to him and this would be all over quickly. The red-haired woman used mental energy to hit Cupid, but he was too strong. She thrust the bow at him almost like a blade. In a quick stroke, he knocked it away and before she could react; he hit her in the back with the ax and she went down. That was it.

The breath in Chase caught in her throat. She looked around in desperation for help. Cupid locked his eyes on her. He showed signs of wearing down, but not stopping.

“The bow.” She said, looking behind him. It was on the ground.

Dashing straight at the approaching god, she threw her blades. He swatted them away with his ax and then sent a wave of energy. She recognized it was a flat disc of energy, not a bubble, so she jumped up on a concrete railing and flipped over the blast before it met her. She had her blades again and threw over and over. Each time they would reappear in her hands. Again he sent that wave of energy, and this time she skidded on her knees, with her back nearly touching the ground. The energy went right over her. She turned and threw those blades, this time aiming for his hands. When he went to deflect them, one stuck right into his wrist. This seemed to cause him a moment of pain. He dropped the ax. The brief confusion left her open to grab the bow. She flipped around and dashed at him.

Cupid flew at her, no longer holding his weapon. She bounded off of a cement pillar and headed right for him. His hands met her throat midair and nearly strangled her. She pressed his bow right into his bare chest. Then her heart broke. He let go of her and she fell back a great distance. The last thing she saw was his hand catching the bow as it fell from his body, a reflexive action.

She lost all sense of concern about the battle, or her own safety. She felt oppressive misery fill her mind, body, and soul. Flowing waters took her away. Would she drown? That didn’t even bother her. Every dark moment, sad reality, lost friend, miserable childhood memory, filled her and she couldn’t function. She washed away while lamenting life.