Rowing Up Salt River

I find Virgil limping toward Aniwye, Tomas, and me. His brows are furrowed even as his wounds are primarily closed. I can see the tidbits of frustration flow through him before being shoved down into nothingness by his legendary self-control.

"He get away?"

A sharp inhale precedes my answer as Aniwye falls to a seated position beside the Gate Of Death, resting her back upon the marble. She closes her eyes with little caution and places her hands in her lap just as leisurely.

"Kind of? We killed him. But... it's complicated. Suffice to say Weiss is a Dominion now, but he's entered the Underworld."

Virgil nods slowly, twisting his eyes around the room and taking in the situation. He wipes some blood off his face and stretches before following up my response with another question.

"How long?"

What?

I throw my hands up in confusion as Virgil crouches down to grab one of Clarence's daggers. Sadly, that 8th Sigiled one was put in its sheathe when he died, rolling into the other side with his body.

"What do you mean 'how long,' Virgil?"

My friend chuckles lightly, cleaning a blade upon his sleeve before shoving it into hiding. Then, he points to the Gate Of Death.

"How long until we follow him through? You still have the lantern, right?"

I nod, giving him confirmation as he continues.

"Good. I've always wanted to see the land of the dead."

I wave my hands as I attempt to slow him down, but Tomas claps a firm hand around my shoulder.

"What are you—"

"Save it, Wyatt. He knows you better than you know yourself. How long until we chase him? I've heard much about the Death's Lantern. I cannot wait to see its strength. So, who's all going?"

I fall paralyzed in shock for a moment as I look at these two. Are they giving me all this responsibility? Why? Why do I get to choose?

"Why don't you choose? You're better at this thing."

Tomas shakes his head vehemently. The old soldier tears a shard of rock out of his forearm before wrapping the open wound with some torn clothing as he refuses my offer.

"Hell no, Graves. I'm not going down there, so I shouldn't make the call. I have to stay up here to get Onyx Gate back into shape. I'm not certain about the circumstances up there, but they have to be disastrous. Perhaps... perhaps it's time we fulfill one of Marshall's dreams: Abolishing the Hunters."

Tomas's words hang in the air for several seconds as I struggle to process them. The first to provide a rebuttal, however, is not one of the people standing. Sylvia stabs her weapon into the ground as the blade heavily bends under her weight to help her stand.

"You will do no such thing. The Hunters have stood for centuries! They are—"

The Inhuman Wolf growls at the Slicker Slider, stomping toward her before lifting the woman off the floor with a powerful grip. He practically strangles the severely wounded Angel as a greeting.

"They are a waste of time—an inefficient and easily exploited system. Marshall's way of training, commanding, and building was far, far superior. People shouldn't be given power because of who they're born to. All should be able to prove themselves. There should be widespread tests, recruitment, etcetera. Not just who the fucking Estates love to sponsor or torture!"

With his final shout, the man tosses Sylvia to the ground as the marble cracks underneath the force. The woman, however, holds her neck and not her back. Breathing with difficulty, I watch her crawl to a half-kneel.

"You would be upending centuries of tradition, of history! Do you understand that!? All the Estates will fight it! And those of high born are born highly for a reason! We are gifted by birth!"

I stumble beside Tomas as the man practically fumes with anger. I think if I let him, he'll kill this woman. I place an arm in front of him as I take charge. I can't let him kill her.

We can't lose anymore today.

"What Estates, Sylvia? For the Angels, it's just you and Parker. Jarvis, too, if you can find him. Take a second. Comprehend it. Before, you had twice as many Angels as you have. And we can call upon the Iron Consul if we need to. Plus, do your Estates truly have such an advantage? Perhaps the Harveys do, but... not all of them are as gifted. They are simply spoiled. Not to mention, only we have a Virtue remaining."

Sylvia grinds her teeth as I beat the iron while it's hot, stepping closer to her as I watch Virgil vanish behind me. The shadow is prepared to strike should this Pillar.

"Listen, Sylvia. I know you, deep down, care about humanity, even if it's just your own family. Help us create a new civilization. This establishment? What do we even call it? The—"

Sylvia cuts me off, answering with a grimace before letting me continue.

"The Foundation."

"Exactly. How many even know the name of what we humans call ourselves? This... this isn't working. The Foundation... I'm sure it was meant to be that—a foundation. Yet, no one ever improved on it past the First or the Second. Help us create something grand."

Parker begins to rustle as well, but I keep Sylvia's attention as she answers me slowly, her eyes flickering to Lennon, Kate, and Aniwye.

"What about those three? Where do they fit into this? A Monster, a Wendigo, and a demon. And you? Are you fit to lead? Childish Graves?"

Sylvia presents the first few questions, and I have easy answers to those. But the last one? It stumps me. The Slick Slider nods with a knowing gaze as she slowly stands, helping Parker Callahan up with a grunt.

"See? You aren't. As for anyone else... I won't follow anyone other than someone with a bloodline worth following. And you? Pfft... We need a powerful leader right now. I won't play horse to a king lesser than me. That was meant to be Billy, but..."

Her words force my own thoughts to churn and my mouth to move. I don't even understand what I'm saying until it's said.

"I'll do it then, but there are things I have to do first. I have a corpse to kill, a father to find, and a friend to save, and then, I have to come back. Until then, Tomas will lead. And you will help him."

Sylvia's face shifts to a scowl as she stares at Tomas. Her disgust is apparent, yet she doesn't lash out other than verbal probing. Nonetheless, she still addresses me instead of the soldier.

"Him? What if I refuse?"

This time, another voice answers that is not Tomas or me. A shadowy blade nicks Sylvia's throat as she twists to the side in panic, pulling Parker's concussed self with her.

"You will die. Better a dead enemy than a living one."

I nod to Virgil's comment as he Flickers away once more. But... I can see that threats won't work on these two despite my dear friend's expertise. Sylvia is too prideful, and Parker seems to follow her quite closely. Are they... it's possible. Mmmm... I thought she married into the Harveys. Odd.

Heh. I feel kinda like Earl right now with all this thinking. Though, I'm sure he could do way better.

"Sylvia. Parker. Counting the human Angels that we can reason with, there is only Tomas, Virgil, Johnny, Canyon, you, Parker, and me. Lennon is... he's Lennon. Kate is likely to fuck off somewhere or follow us into the Underworld to finish off Eli. Bonfire... he's not quite right in the head. Jarvis? I don't know much about him, but he's impossible to find at the moment. There are only seven of us to defend all of humanity, and Canyon isn't going to leave Gravecross. We need to unite, not divide."

The female Angel's face twists just as the male who's hanging off her shoulder falls into thought. Sylvia moves to respond, but Parker beats her to it.

"We should do this, Sylv."

"What!?"

Sylvia Harvey is obstinate, but her... partner attempts to persuade her right in front of my eyes. He is insistent beyond the blood dripping from the open splits on his face. It never ceases to amaze me just how difficult Angels are to kill as a whole; our bodies are far more resilient than any creature should be.

"Would you rather die or live? It's a simple answer. No pride is worth your life."

I bite my tongue at his answer, as there is a man in this room who would disagree. Thankfully, though, Lennon Hull is still asleep. Sylvia chews on her lip before she sheathes her Claymore and extends her hand toward me. I look at it in confusion as she nods.

"Fine then. What will we call it? This... thing of ours."

"Liberty."

I answer her immediately, already holding an answer that had been hidden within my mind for the longest time. I grasp her hand and shake it as I explain myself to her bewildered gaze.

"All will be free. We will welcome anyone so long as they are peaceful to our inhabitants. Slavery will not only be outlawed as it is here but actually enforced—no more Deadmen or Damned. Plus, humans are not the only people who can be kind. It is too restrictive. I know Rougarou, Bado, and even demons who are nicer than most humans. Everyone will have the chance at power, at a good life. I know... I know this will cost your family much of yours, but..."

My eyes meet her in challenge as I bestow her something I do not give lightly to acquire her trust. Earl has often spoken of a way to shatter the current regime and build a new one. I simply take from his many tirades and use his thoughts.

"I, Wyatt Graves, promise that this will end even better for your family. If all of humanity grows, then even if your piece of the pie is smaller, it, in the end, will be larger. If this does not happen, you may have anything of mine to even the scales."

Sylvia's eyes ironically fall at my promise, and so do Parker's bloodied brows. The woman still presents a final question while our hands remain intertwined.

"Anything?"

I nod but put emphasis on the latter half of the word, knowing what she's alluding to due to their frenzied stares toward my Colt.

"Anything. Living beings are not things. You may not ask for the Lily."

Sylvia sighs in disappointment. But the woman nods sharply after a moment of hesitance.

"Very well. I agree. How will things be broken up, then? What are we to present ourselves to the people of Onyx Gate?"

I turn to Tomas as the soldier steps up, taking his place in the conversation. He knows this better than I do.

"We will be Generals. Ranks and titles will stay much the same but hold different powers. As of now, we have no Marshals and no... Commanders. The Prime should be rid of. No one should be able to make any choice. All those of General and above shall have a vote for any situation, with Marshals have two, and Commanders four."

Sylvia gnashes her teeth at the idea, but she only presents a possible error, not pure ridicule like I imagined.

"What about during war? Voting takes far too long in such cases."

Tomas agrees with her judgment, yet he already bears an answer.

"The one who governs or defends the region where the decision must be made can do so without any voting, but they are subjecting themselves to punishment should their decision be wrong in the after. We can discuss more later. It will not be unfair. In fact, it will be fair. Fair to the effort put in and the strength one can display."

Sylvia waves a hand in dismissal as well, stumbling away from the Gate Of Death.

"Very well. Let's ascend. Five Generals, then? Not too bad. Oh, six with Caldwell. I assume he will be joining, yes?"

I walk behind the Slick Slider with a hum of agreement, giving my mother a glance before walking away as she continues to rest. I'm unsure if Johnny will, but I can't see him missing out on this. Virgil follows us silently as we head toward the open hole in the ground, passing by devastation and death. I find Bemola's body just as Sylvia thinks of something else.

"Six. If we play things carefully, we can make it seem as though the other four are wholly on our side. Lennon and Aniwye will be enough of a deterrent for the Virtues of the world. As for the Dominions... only the Grayskin's king is active, so I think we should be safe for a while. But..."

As we step under the dark hole that leads to the surface, Sylvia's experience shines through. She turns and points at me, Tomas, Virgil, herself, and Parker one at a time.

"If we are to do this, and I don't do this half-cocked, we will need more Angels. I'm certain at least one or two rose up top from the battles, but it's not enough. And that's not all. We'll need to take the Arcas from the dead to supplement our weaknesses. Additionally, we'll need a Dominion if we want to stay alive longer than a year, and that's discounting the falling Gods. Are any of you confident in becoming Virtues soon?"

I run my tongue along my mouth as I answer her. Out of us all, I think I might be the most likely. Maybe that's just overconfidence, though. I doubt Lennon's far off either, though. Hmm... He might be more ready than me.

"I think I can do it relatively soon—a month or two. I want to master Plasmic Ether before I do so, though. And then, I need to find another of my Sigil. It's quite rare, so I'll have to do it in the Underworld."

Sylvia ties her disheveled hair into a ponytail behind her head as she sticks out the front of her lip in thought. Tomas places his fingers on his chin in a similar fashion, but Virgil is the one who actually has something to add. His voice is rock-solid, without a hint of compromise or insecurity.

"He will be Dominion within six months. I have no doubt. You just have to keep things running up here before he comes back. I, Wyatt, Bonfire, Aniwye, and likely Kate will be entering the Underworld, so you'll lose a lot of manpower. It's... risky, but not impossible."

The former Pillar finishes the conversation as she sinks a hand into the rocky wall, the stone practically acting like sand under her strength.

"Okay... okay. This isn't quite what I hoped to happen tonight, but it could have been far worse, I suppose. Let's climb up. Then, we'll worry about the future. Who knows? Another Angel could have risen above. Heh, they probably did. I hope it's from my family, though. No hard feelings, of course."

I watch her scamper up the hole as I tilt my head.

"Is there not another way up?"

Sylvia laughs with such a loud bout of joy that I wonder if she's insane.

"There was. Maddox ruined it."

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

I crest the surface last, slower than even Parker, as my body is taking far longer than usual to recover. I think it might be Excavator that is the cause. The energy ripped from my marrow is not slight, after all. It leaves me hollow even after my saturation is fading. But that's alright. Virgil is right in front of me, lifting me up with a shared clasp of hands at the final point.

Reaching the top, I glance around, finding the foggy mist utterly gone. Destruction is what lies in its wake, however. And underneath that destruction, I find intricate defenses that have long been ruined. Bodies, those of Estatesmen, Outlaws, and Marshall's soldiers, line the desolate landscape. This was a... a final stand. One that I utterly missed. Amidst it all, I spot the Harvey's guardian beast lying dead beside a group of three.

Primrose, Richard, and Earl.

Sylvia rushes toward the beast with a cry of alarm. On the other hand, my gaze can't help but look at the musician with uncowered shock.

Magenta chains line the man's body. Yet that's not all.

Primrose.

The mad girl. She did it too. What the hell happened up here?

I stride toward them, throwing careful glances at Parker and Sylvia as the woman pets the fallen creature, likely killed by these three here. Earl smiles such a wide grin that I know he knows.

"Congrats, Primrose. It seems Johnny was right when we found us both. A mighty fine eye he has, eh?"

The venomous woman retaliates with a kindness rarely seen.

"Indeed. I'll have to thank him. Richard ain't half-bad, either. I see why Marshall invested in his instruments so much. How did things go down there?"

I explain the circumstances to Earl and Primrose as Richard gives me a nod before catching up with his commander. Tomas huddles with the other soldier from Bent as the two fall into a hushed series of whispers. My conversation with the other two isn't nearly as quiet as I learn that Elizabeth is far away, planting shots with her rifle from safety.

But it's not all positive. A lot of people died. The bodies are all around here, the blood beginning to pool and leak into the cavernous depths.

A lot died.

Half of Tomas' men died. Again. The numbers are so low that I can't comprehend how they haven't quit or deserted yet. Though, I suppose they can't. They have nowhere to go. Marshall trained them all from the ground up, after all. They have nowhere to go but to their General's son. Few have family outside of the ones they have built within the army.

Old man Phineas also died. He fell facing a Grimes with an artifact and saved Primrose in his death. I kneel by his body as I sigh, remembering how close he was to Lennon. Even Edward knew him quite well, the old man being a legend in his own right. He was no Angel, but his feats are sprinkled across all the Territories. I heard about him long before I met him. May I find you in the Underworld, Phineas. I'll have to ask you where your wife lives. Or, I can ask Lennon. I'll want them to have them be taken care of. If it wasn't for him, Elizabeth would have died, too. There is so much shit that happened above ground that I half wish I was here instead.

Still... while we lost nearly a hundred, there is more than ten times that in the vicinity. Marshall and Tomas did not train their soldiers lightly. Each is an elite in their own right at this point. To see two Angels come from this battle... it is not surprising at all. What is shocking is that there were only two. Bowing my head, I send a silent prayer to the Devil for their souls, ven the ones on the other side of the shattered bulwarks. None deserve Hell, at least not the kind that is waiting for them within Death's Gullet.

May the Devil weigh in your favors.

Turning to my friend, I think of the Undead man who was our guide through the Underworld.

"What about Silas?"

Primrose scoffs as she mentions the Undead.

"Dunno. I haven't seen him since... the smoke went up, I think."

Hmmm. That's odd. I search for him with my eyes just as the sun rises distantly in the sky—beams of light fall over the ruined city of Primary and the broken Estate of the Harveys.

Walking over to Sylvia, I hold out my hand once more.

"Let's go catch the stragglers from Maddox, then set this city right. How about that?"

Sylvia nods shortly, but her eyes glare at Primrose.

"Sure. That'd be lovely. Next time, could you not almost kill my childhood pet? If you did, both Jarvis and I would have something to work together on for the first time in a decade."

Primrose smiles at first as I notice the mischievousness emerging for a woman she obviously hates. But that playful tone switches to surprise.

"Almost?"

I, too, gape at the beast, covered in blood and ruined in every way. The thing crossed between a wolf and a ferret, ten times larger than either, isn't even breathing anymore.

Sylvia nods, walking toward the far-away walls. The stone in the distance, once tall and proud, is shattered all over. I can see still fires still waging a war on the buildings in an attempt to devour them.

"Of course. Vincent would not have cared to tame a creature if it was normal, especially not a 6th Sigiled one. As long as it is not burnt to ash, Tini will come back to life."

Huh. A resurrecting ferret.

Not the weirdest thing of today, I'll admit.