Thorn in You

To Raishun, the air felt as cold as the figure's twisted smile. Every hair on his body was standing on end, his instincts screaming for him to run. Carmila seemed to share the feeling beside him; her hands were trembling around her spear.

She twisted the shaft of her spear with a gulp, and it slowly started to expand on itself. Metal scraped against itself as the spearhead extended down the pole and outwards until she held a full-length claymore.

"Don't antagonize her anymore Raishun!" Carmila said in a determined voice. Her crimson eyes locked with his for a moment before returning to the figure. "She isn't someone we can beat easily. One mistake can cost us our lives."

"You still think you can win? Is that a joke?" The figure laughed. "Huntsmen these days are so blind. Allow me to give you a demonstration of the distance between us."

The figure spread her arms out to her sides, lifting the cloak upwards and unleashing a wave of darkness. It spread across the pier at an alarming rate, forcing Carmila and Raishun to retreat lest they be swallowed up. It was a wise decision. Anything caught in the wave was torn to pieces: crates, boxes, even an unlucky grunt. The sound of his dying screams combined with the sickening sound of snapping bones and flesh sent shivers down Raishun's spine.

[She killed her own ally!] He glanced around the pier for an escape and saw a ring of light shining on the ground from a lamp post. Taking Carmila's hand, the two dove into the ring just as the wave was about to reach them. He held her tightly as they crashed to the ground and breathed in relief when the darkness stopped at the outskirts of the ring.

"You see why it's pointless now?" The figure emerged from the shadows at the edge of the ring and twirled her blue spear tauntingly. "I can bend shadows to my every whim. Weapons, defense, camouflage, movement. Here in the darkness of night, my powers are that of a god! You both lost the moment you left the safety of day!"

"Even so, we have to try." A feminine voice echoed from directly above.

From on top of the lamp post, Laura and Gil stood triumphantly. The latter hummed a soft tune as the pair stepped off the structure and safely floated down into the ring of light. The moment their feet touched the ground, he stopped and drew his hatchet with a scowl.

"What kind of Huntsmen would we be if we gave in at the first sign of danger? How could I look Alisa in the eye, without getting justice for what you did to her!" The white-haired beauty glared at the figure, both swords unsheathed and at the ready. "No. I'll make you hurt before we turn you in! That is my promise as the Leader of Team Regalia!"

Laura finished her speech by slamming the pommels of her swords together. The hilts melded together and extended into a full-length staff. Spinning the bladed staff, two bursts of air exploded from the backsides of her blades, creating a thin white mist that obscured the battlefield.

"How trite. You lot really are delusional." The figure sighed, twirling her spear through the air before levelling it with the Huntsmen. "Come then. I'll make sure to paint these docks red with your blood."

With a commanding wave of Laura's hand, Gil was the first to charge in. The others followed closely behind as he slashed his way through a sea of dark spikes. Reaching the figure, he caught a spike with his hand, tore it free from the rest, and used it to slash at the woman. The attack caught her off guard, and he was able to tear away a portion of her hood before she dispelled her semblance.

The black mass that surrounded the Huntsmen instantly disappeared. With a frustrated groan, the figure tried to reactivate her semblance, but Laura was faster. Jumping into the air, she used a blast of air from her staff to shoot herself into striking range.

"Carmila! I hope you're prepared!" Laura spun midair, using the momentum to slam her blade into the woman's stomach. She let out a pained grunt as she was knocked off her feet. She flew through the air for a moment before crashing to the ground in the very ring of light the Huntsmen had stood on moments earlier.

"Don't get cocky!" The woman roared as she rose to her full height. The remnants of her hood, combined with the light from above, did little to hide her features now. A freckled button nose and spiky light-green hair served as little distraction from her orange eyes, which now burned with fury. "Useless pests! Just keep your mouth shut and die already-"

"You talk too much!" Carmila spat as she and Raishun circled around the stranger.

The stranger tried to go for Raishun, her spear cutting through the air towards his heart, only to intercepted by Carmila's claymore. The two exchanged a quick flurry of stabs and slashes, neither one gaining the upper hand.

"Without your shadow." Raishun whispered. The weightlessness that came from his semblance began to set in, this time more powerful than he had ever felt it before. "You can't use that power of yours."

Noticing his semblance, Carmila locked weapons with the stranger, holding her in place. The figure struggled to free their spear to no avail. With a huff, she gave up on her weapon entirely and turned to punch the blue-haired Legion, only to run herself through his sword.

Her mouth opened in a silent cry, a green aura flaring around the attack. Raishun pushed his sword deeper and deeper into her stomach. He could feel her aura straining against his advance, and he was relishing every moment of it.

"This is for what you did to Alisa! For the life you stole from me!" With one final push, her aura shattered, and Raishun felt his sword pierce into her stomach. Her mouth opened and close like a dying fish as she struggled to draw in a breath. Slowly, her gnarled hand extended towards his face. Then her body went limp, and she fell to the ground.

He couldn't help but stare at the body of his opponent. Her orange eyes were half-lidded and empty, staring off into a horizon no one could see. A black liquid was flowing from her wound, forming an ever-growing pool of black around her. It all felt surreal, then reality washed over him like a blast of cold water.

[I... I killed her.] The Caligula slipped from his hands and fell to the ground with a resounding clank as his eyes went wide with panic. Every breath he drew in suddenly seemed shallow, and he began to hyperventilate.

"Raishun." Carmila rushed to his side and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Take a deep breath. Follow along with how I breath okay." She slowly sucked in a few breaths, as an example, but he didn't respond.

"I really killed someone." He couldn't stop staring at the body in horror. Right as the guilt would be too much for him, a voice rang clear through his head.

"No. She's still alive." Gil knelt by the woman's body, his fingers scooping up a piece of the black liquid surrounding her body. "It's strange. Whatever this is, it doesn't look of feel like blood. It's almost waxy-"

His sentence was cut short as the substance on his finger formed a spike that stabbed into his forehead. There was the distinct sound of shattering glass, and he collapsed limply onto the floor, a trickle of red running down his face.

"GIL!!" Laura screamed as she desperately ran towards her cousin, throwing caution to the wind. The closer she got to her cousin's body, the more the shadows would writhe around them.

"Get back!" Snatching the girl's collar, Carmila threw Laura back right as a spike that would've torn through the smaller girl's neck caught her in the shoulder. Carmila screamed in pain as the spike pierced through her shoulder and pinned her to a nearby shipping container.

"CARMILA! -- GUAAGHH!" Raishun had taken a step backwards into the darkness without realizing it and had paid for it dearly. Dozens of dark needles pierced through his calf and ankle. His mind was wracked with pain, and it took every bit of strength to pull himself back to the safety of the light. The needles quickly dissipated, leaving behind a hot wet feeling on his ankle.

"Did you all really think driving me into the light would be enough to stop me?" With a rigid jerk, the stranger rose to her feet in an unnatural motion. The black pool around her body rushed into her wound as if healing the damage Raishun had caused. Every movement of her body was abnormal, resembling a puppet being controlled by a master.

"The cloak I wear isn't a fashion statement. My power is near useless in sunny open areas, but with a cloak there's always a shadow nearby." She threw her hands out to the side, and the shadows behind her mimicked her movements, rising into the air menacingly. "Pesky little Legions such as you are nothing more than a thorn in my side."

Her eyes locked onto Raishun. "I've never met you before in my life boy. I don't know what you're talking about with revenge, but it'd be in your best interest to hand over that Caligula. I'll save you from that parasite."

She reached a hand towards him, an expression of genuine worry on her face. The expression changed to anger when Raishun took up the Caligula and pointed it at her.

"Are you deaf!? An idiot?" The woman yelled in anger, "You Legions are all the same, blessed with so many gifts yet you waste them! Why do you all bend the knee to your kingdoms, refusing to act unless you get permission? You could wipe out armies of Grimm, save countless people, and you choose to play politics!?" She pointed an accusing finger at the Caligula, "That pest is the worst of all. That swords the biggest parasite of them all! It'll suck you dry, just like it did it's previous owner!"

"Serah wouldn't do that." Raishun said through gritted teeth, "We're partners. She looks out for me, I look out for her!"

"Does she now..." Forming an orb of shadow, she pushed it towards Carmila. It slowly expanded as it floated, formed a heavy spiked hammer, which hung above her head. "Use the sword to kill yourself. Otherwise your precious friend over there's going splat."

"What?" Laura raised her voice in protest, "That's insane!"

"Stay quiet." Gathering shadow along her left arm, she formed a large blade and held it against Gil's throat. The action made Laura go pale and stiffen in place. "I think you know what will happen if you don't."

"Let them go free! Your fight is with Raishun and I, not-"

"SLICE YOUR THROAT RAISHUN! YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS BEFORE BOTH YOUR FRIENDS DIE!"

Raishun's stomach felt like a bottomless pit. [My aura's gone, meaning so is my semblance. Laura's ability won't work on that bitch's spines. There's too many.]

"FIVE!"

[Serah's down for the count. Gil and Carmila are unconscious.]

"FOUR!"

[My legs hurt, I can't move fast enough to stop her.]

"THREE!"

Subconsciously, Raishun took the Caligula in his hands. Holding it up to the light, he admired the black metal of the blade and the crimson wrapping on the hilt. His mouth felt as dry as a desert, and no matter how hard he breathed, he never seemed to have enough breath.

"TWO!"

[It's useless.] He pressed the edge of the sword against the side of his neck, wincing as the action drew a bead of blood. He felt like the center of the universe. He could hear Laura yelling something, but she sounded so very far away. He didn't care. All that mattered was making sure his friends didn't die.

"ONE!"

[I'm sorry.] With one last breath, he slashed his neck.