Made His Jack

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

Kate "Evileye" Heron

"That was stupid, Kate! What are you thinking?! Do you seriously expect yourself to save Father!? Are you mad!? You need them! STOP! Wait for at least someone to catch up! That Wyatt kid was seriously considering running after you! So was Lennon! You know I can hear their thoughts if I focus! I'm sure he'll come!"

"Shut up."

My feet hurt as I slam them into the ground with every footfall, unable to crack the floor due to its grit. She doesn't understand. We need to go now! I can feel it. Every heartbeat, every second, every minuscule amount of time that passes, Ed is nearing his death.

I don't know how, but I can.

Time is running out, and if those pansies don't want to help, then I'll do it myself or die trying. Despite her grievances, I know she is the same.

He's the only father we've ever known.

When we were younger, our time was split for more favorably toward her side. Most of the time, I'd be sleeping while she watched Ed. As a babe, she just observed him, learning for years quietly. When we got a bit older, she spoke to him constantly.

She could talk, walk, and read by six months while I was still struggling to sit up. Ed knew the truth, so he was careful in what he taught her, focusing on stories, books, and knowledge. The incessant need to learn and desire to read that she has is probably from that.

I still remember as a little girl hardly understanding what they were doing as they played chess against each other constantly. Mie didn't win for several years. But... once she did, she never lost.

Not even to Eli those few times they played. Though, who knows if he was ever going all out. That rat prefers to keep his secrets so close to his chest that not even his allies realize them.

Shaking my head as Mie continues to shout, I reorient myself.

"We're here now, Mie. I know you are worried, but we can do this. Have confidence. I might not be an Angel, but you are. I'd rather have you than any of those chumps."

My lifelong partner falls silent at my words while I feel her squirm in emotion. I rarely compliment her, but I mean every word. She doesn't thank me, however. She is too shy.

A small smile pulls onto my face as I tread cautiously yet swiftly through the gloomy underground bunker, my heart pounding with the urgency of our task. The narrow corridor is flanked by unyielding steel bars that seem to press in on me from all sides. They only add to the whole grim and foreboding atmosphere that the Tree has going on with this bunker. Where's his detail? His artistic design? Everything is so dark and metallic that it all looks the exact fucking same.

The sound of my leather boots echoes through the confined space, starkly contrasting the suffocating silence in the air. Every step feels like a race against time, and I clutch the hilt of my sword, ready for whatever challenges may lie ahead. I have Mie at my side. We can do anything. We can save him.

Demonsbane cries out for blood, wishing that I draw it, and I calm it for now. It will need to be fed shortly, but I have a feeling I am about to see a threat. That hallway transported me into a room of barrels full of food. I have no idea why I was put there, but I quickly ran out into a long series of hallways without a soul.

"Not yet. Soon."

My words echo to Demonsbane as it growls. And the remarks follow me as I round a corner, stepping into a large, dimly lit room. Candles slap the edges of the room, gradually bringing my vision into the center of the chamber. My breath catches in my throat as my eyes lock onto the nightmarish scene before me. There, suspended on a crude cross in the center of the room, is the man who raised me, my adoptive father. His face bears the marks of suffering, etched with lines of determination and pain.

His mouth is covered with cloth, and his head hangs low, obviously unconscious, while his hands are covered with some weirdly blue handcuffs.

"DAD!"

My heart aches at the sight, and Mie can't help but shout into my mind. Her voice is so powerful that I even notice it being broadcasted outward. Another figure resides above my father, and his face twists in pain at Mie's shout, likely not used to her painful mental powers.

A man with sandy blonde hair sits crouched on the railing of the right side of the double staircase leading up to my adoptive father's crucified figure. His knees are splayed out, and his hands rest over his kneecaps. He reminds me of a man searching for a coin he dropped in the sand, yet he stares down at me with callous eyes, prepared to do anything.

However, the daggers that cover his body like grotesque armor chills me to the bone. They gleam ominously in the dim light, so numerous it's impossible to discern their exact count. So many are stowed within his belts, boots, shirt, pants, and even sleeves; I wonder how he moves with them all. The man is a walking arsenal of lethal blades, and the menacing aura he exudes is palpable.

Even with the pain on his face from Mie, we take a step back, realizing who this is.

Clarence Love. The Silent Scorpion. Eli's own personal assassin.

"Again, we meet, my love. It has only been a few short weeks. Were you that wanting of me?"

The jokester of death, ironically and non-ironically named the Silent Scorpion as he can be quiet whenever references the minutes we spent outside Eli's library fighting. Our battle was short, chaotic, and brutal with the addition of the Urayuli and the Motherbound. Without Lennon, I would have died.

"Let him down."

I give Clarence a single chance. The man in his early forties or late thirties, I'm not sure as much of his past is a mystery, smiles succinctly at me while drawing a blade from his chest, the knife coming out sideways and glimmering in the candlelight.

"Get him down from there! Quickly! We can't let him hang like that!"

"Are you so sure you want to do this, my flower? I've set us up a perfect night upon the candlelight."

Mie shouts into my mind while he speaks, and I juggle the two voices at once. I can't help but grind my teeth at his joking attitude. He's either assassinating an enemy of Eli or laughing it all up. Psychopath. Absolute fucking madman.

"We'll get him, Mie. We'll get him."

I promise my best friend and raise my sword, the grim reality of the battle ahead settling upon me. Squaring my shoulders, determined to confront this Angel and add one to my tally, I step forward into the candlelit room.

"If you do not give him to me, we will kill you, Clarence."

The jokester laughs daringly as he hops dextrously from the railing, landing without effort or even bending his knees. On the floor, he stares across the large room at me. His fingers twist and turn as he draws another nine knives, somehow managing to hold them with his hands.

"We? Who else is with you? Seems like the little girl is all alone to me."

A raging fury burns within me, but it doesn't come from me.

Mie hates one thing more than any other subject matter.

Being ignored.

"ME!"

A wave of psychic power surges from my eye, and instantly, all the candles lose their luminance, rushing darkness into the room. But at the same time, the push from Mie cracks, breaks, and ruins the entirety of the room—stone I could hardly scuff while running at my highest speed.

Pillars fall, walls shatter, and the ceiling even partially crumbles from her might.

I follow through with her scream as I find Clarence flung backward. I try to use Mirror on him, but the Angel quickly regains his balance and vanishes into a cloud of daggers sent at us. Somehow, his knives distort my senses.

"Mie!"

"Got it!"

Ten daggers fly at us, and Mie catches them with her mind, flinging them to the side and around us as we rush forward. Demonsbane leaves its sheath with a bloody fury, and we rapidly approach our father.

But before we even get close, those knives that were pushed aside fly back at us, hurtling for my neck. I twist around, deflecting multiple with Demonsbane as Mie handles the others, yet even more, come from all directions.

Most of the fight in Timberlands was with Clarence without his daggers. He was focused on assassination, bolting in and out. Here, he's forced to fight me. The bastard must think me unworthy of the move. Or... or he's buying time?

Now, the blades surrounding me quickly bloom into that of a blossoming cloud. Mie points out the obvious while providing a solution.

"We need to beat him first! If we push for Father, he'll just get hurt! Deflect as many as you can for a sec! I'll charge up a big one!"

I try to do as she requests, but the relentless onslaught seems unending, the daggers bouncing back even after I manage to deflect them with my blade. My arms ache from the continuous parrying, and my focus wavers under the onslaught. It doesn't help that Demonsbane yearns for blood, slightly altering my aim here or there.

Slight streams of blood slide down my sides from missed parries, and a half dozen knives hang from me. Twisting, I block another dagger that glides a bit too close as yet another catches me in the back.

"Hurry!"

But I hold strong, determined not to falter, even as I shout at Mie. The stakes are too high, making my hands tremble slightly. Ed's feeble, malnourished, and unconscious form is barely visible through the cloud of daggers that obscures even my mental sight born of Mie. The Ether in them acts as a literal cloud, altering how far we can see. Yet, my sword is an extension of my will, moving with desperate blood lust as I strive to keep the deadly daggers at bay.

My time with Lennon has not gone without triumph. The Bladed Monster is aptly named. He has taught me much about how to swing a blade and how to make any Claymore yours. I can't force Demonsbane into submission, but I can use it like a true sword now.

I almost appreciate all those insults he sent toward me while I swung a practice blade ten thousand times a night. It's only because of him that I'm deft enough, even with my variety of skills alongside Mie's aid, that I am not dead already.

Then, a moment of clarity washes over me like a light rainfall as my help arrives. Mie's mind, honed through years of training and her potent Sigils, taps into her mental might. With a sheer force of will bolstered by a monumental shove of Ether, she forces back the whirlwind of daggers, creating a brief respite in the relentless assault. It's a precarious moment, but it's all I need.

In the midst of the sudden stillness as the daggers fly outward, I charge forward, my sword raised high. Demonsbane yearns as we hustle toward Clarence. The man, undeterred by the darkness that shrouds him, simply throws more daggers, his strength seemingly fueled by the obscurity. The darkness that envelops us amplifies his sight and strength, just as it does for that Virgil fellow. Damn Nightowls.

As I close the distance between us, my sword clashes with the daggers that he hurls. Just one nearly halts my advance, but I press onward. The gap shrinks rapidly, but I am swiftly countered as those daggers from the cloud return. And they come back with even more malevolence.

"Seems you haven't learned yet! I like my dinner bloody! Hahaha!"

Gritting my teeth, I try to force my way through the clouds of daggers with a charge. Mie quickly assembles another psychic push, but right as she finishes it, Clarence darts in. Blood and agony surge from my gut as Clarence runs a knife along my stomach and to my back, opening me like a fish.

My legs nearly give out, but a burst of Ether from my mind, along with Mie's, creates mental scaffolds to keep me standing. My friend Cauterizes my wound with her Ether while I continue to support the blade that deflects the daggers off us.

"Any more ideas! This ain't working!"

I give Mie only the slimmest amount of time as I struggle to stay standing. She manages to seal my wound before my vision turns woozy, but Clarence isn't done. There are just too many daggers! Anywhere I go, I get stabbed!

"You need to break the daggers!"

"What? They will just become smaller, more dangerous shards!"

I refute her idea as it sounds crazy, but she immediately follows up on it with more logic.

"If that was the case, then he'd just carry around shards of glass or metal! I think it's the darkness that lets him control these things! If you make them too small, maybe he won't be able to manipulate them! All his daggers are identical sizes, not too big but not too small! That must be the restriction!"

Cursing inwardly, I follow her lead, putting far more force into my swings as Vigor Rush covers my form. The first dagger I hit with Demonsbane explodes into a thousand tiny shards that fall to the ground without any fanfare.

"YES!"

My partner shouts with joy, and I continue to strike the daggers, endeavoring to break them all. Yet, fate is unkind. Clarence dives in for me. Mie Shifts him, attempting to push him back, but the cloud of daggers pivots and thrusts him forward as he slides a dagger between my ribs and into my heart before I can even raise my blade—Mie's screams as my heart ceases its rhythm.

"NO!"

I can feel my mind pause as the world shakes. Rubble falls from the ceiling, and pillars collapse far worse than the mighty Shift from earlier. Mie, without my mind in her way that weakens her Ether, goes all out. Steel beams distort as I find Clarence lowered to one knee, his other leg broken with the bone sticking out.

Things rapidly turn black, my connection with Mie fading as she screams for me. I can't even communicate with her as my mouth won't move, and the only way we speak mentally is through our connection. Everything falls numb, including my hands, as even the usual pain that infiltrates my sickly body fades. The chill of death suffuses my limbs, something I recognize from way back as a child—the constant teetering on the Pale Lady's doorstep due to my condition.

"NONONONONONONONO! BEAT BEAT BEAT BEAT BEAT BEAT BEATBEATBEATBEATBEATBEATBEAT!"

A force covers my chest, and I feel a compression begin as Mie rips my ruined heart from my chest through the open wound and replaces it with her skills. Shift pumps my blood in a routine as things grow in detail once more.

"YESYESYESYESYESYESYES! KILL HIM!"

My fingers regain purity immediately as energy fills my veins again, and they swing outward, both of us kneeling. Demonsbane sings through the air for the fallen Silent Scorpion as he struggles to move, fear omnipresent in his gaze. But, the blade draws no blood.

A gloved hand leading up to a porcelain arm and face captures the edge. The mug at the end of the arm makes hate bloom more than I ever thought it could.

"Down, girl. No need to kill a Pillar today. He was here for your own good."

Eli Weiss releases Demonsbane as I'm flung back onto my ass and roll several feet. The moment I hit the ground, I'm already twisting, and Mie is preparing another Shift, her Ether roiling. But as I look ahead, I find Eli tossing the glove he caught the blade with to the ground as it turns to ash.

I can't help but raise an eyebrow, and the man takes advantage. The more he speaks, the more I can't help but listen.

"Don't listen! Get up! We have to kill him! We have to kill them both! Save Father!"

He simply pulls me in with his words while the fallen man beside him gradually hauls himself to a corner and stands with help. That's when I realize that Clarence's left leg is absolutely ruined. It looks more like a steak than a limb.

"You have been seeking a way to reach Dawn, no? Well, now you have it. My research into other artifacts and the few remaining Hollows has proven that the main obstacle is congruence. You and your artifact are so friendly that you take turns piloting your body. But you did not reach Dawn. I was so curious until I remembered something vital. Your father's artifact replaced his heart. After some testing, I confirmed that by an artifact replacing a vital organ, whether it's the heart, the lungs, or the brainstem, via their willing skills, Dawn is reached. So, you're welcome, Kate Heron. Become an Angel, my darling. Uncle Eli would love to see your true potential."

My teeth contort and twist under the pressure of my jaw while Mie keeps my blood flowing, entirely replacing the organ that has fallen to the ground.

And when she speaks, it's clearer and louder than ever before, lending credence to his claims. Not to mention her words. Even she is convinced by our archenemy.

"I... I hate to say it, Kate, but he's right. My Ether is moving much smoother. It's... It's like there is almost no difference between me and you. Sure, it's a bit odd, but it's not bad at all. B-But that doesn't matter! Charge! Kill them while he's distracted!"

"I can't do that, Mie."

Mie sputters to respond to me as Eli steps around me in a wide circle, pointing to my adoptive father.

"That's not Ed. I found a man who can impersonate anyone. You're welcome to kill him and take his Sigil. Think of it... as a truce. Your artifact is the fastest-thinking mind in the world, but it can't compute a simple fact. Ed Summers will die, and he will do so gladly. Neither of you can change that. It has been a long, long time since I saw a true Wendigo, however. That young man is not even close to you in mastery of your artifact. He might have more raw power due to his unlikely lineage, but you? You have finesse."

Mie falls silent as Eli steps up the stairs, walking past the crucified man. I simply watch him move as I investigate the man upon the cross, and I quickly learn that it is not Ed. The Sigil resonance we had is gone. Biting my lip, I let him go. I can't attack him right now. I want to. I really do, but I need to be rational. Mie and I are severely wounded and low on Ether saturation. I don't think we'd even be able to finish Clarence off, though, maybe with this new Dawn, we could.

The words about Ed sink deep as I try to ignore them.

And so, the old man waves as he vanishes from my sight, leaving a stumbling Clarence to follow after him, who speaks to me before disappearing as well.

"You are impressive, Kate. Do not take anything I said to heart. You either, Mie. I find your darkness beautiful. Eli... he's got so many plans in motion that even I, his right hand, struggle to fathom them. They all have a purpose, however. And... at first, your father refused the plans, but he slowly fell into the same train of thought as us. A God is more important than any man, no matter how many or who must be lost."

Clarence quickly follows him, vanishing from my senses as a great sigh leaves me.

My brows furrow, and my lips tighten as I gaze at the man who is identical in looks to my adoptive father upon that cross. His hands are tied, not nailed like one would imagine, yet it is disconcerting all the same.

I know what Eli is trying to do here. He wants me to become an Angel by killing a copy of my adoptive father in an effort to help sever those bonds. But it won't work. My desire to save him is far beyond anything else.

I don't care who has to die.

I don't care what happens.

I don't care if the world burns.

I will save him.

And to do that, I'll need some extra power.