Tau: The Unmovable

In clear light, even it being fourteen years ago, I can recall the first time I witness a person use their power. It was both inspiring, and terrifying. Excitement ran through my eyes seeing a burst of green flames burning in my mother's arms.

Zel... However, he cried that day, not knowing what was happening to him. Flames burning higher the more he whaled. Help... He wanted help.

-My mother, squeezed tightly to him, immune to the flames. Dad, he held me in his arms, watching along, letting her handle him the best she could.

She didn't burn into a crisp... My father must've known she wouldn't.

"Zel..." His name out her lips is something I recall to sooth my chaos at times... "It's okay... I have you... You don't need to be afraid..."

The flames bursting around him, calms, smoking nothing but grass, mother eyes gleaming yellow, like my brother's eyes used to...

"See..." A dark aura shrouds my mother, shrinking Zel's flames, healing the scorch, marks on her hand and face. "My emerald light... You're not in danger."

....If only you were there the first time, I was afraid... -"Contain him!" -"Someone, call a rank ten!!" -They treated me as if my ability was monstrous...

October 20th, 2046; 6: 23pm:

-"Hmp, look at that..." A smirk cracks across Tau's face, Ella's blood, dripping to the grass off his fingertips, spotting my cold eyes locking on to him. "Who would've thought. You got a little fight in'ya after all..."

-Gamma, holding no thought to stop, continues to pound on the shield, determined to shatter it open.

Tau, makes his way over to Gamma, putting his blood-soaked hand on his shoulder, bending over to match the boy's height.

"Come on, you're tiring yourself out. Let big bro handle it." -Putting his hand out, the shield disperses.

-Gamma waste no time, charging in. -I jump towards him, hand cloaked in shadow, reaching for the kid's head. I might be terrified but if I can pin the kid down. -Gamma ducks under my attack, eyes gleaming dark green, a smile painting on his face. -I activate a thin wall of shadow that cracks, giving me enough time to take a step back, nearly falling off foot.

-"Eh?! Cheater!" -His hit misses, Gamma keeping the same pose, eyes locked on me. But even though he failed to cause any damage, the kid still seems to enjoy himself.

-Ella's still knocked cold, and Tau is far off, staying in that same spot, letting Gamma do all the work.

-Giving me no room to think, Gamma, stomping the mud, shattering wood debris, swings in for another attack, I catch the kids wrist in my hand. -Gamma snatches it back, more agile than he looks, jumping high up, kicking me in the side of my stomach, landing the blow. I slide near Ella, who's still fast to sleep, able to maintain a stance.

-"Boring... " Tau finally speaks up, yawning in his hand, stretching though he hasn't moved a muscle since he arrived. "All this ambition, for what exactly..."

-"Big bro, now?" Gamma eyes gleams lightly, cranking his neck, waiting for Tau's next command.

"Isn't really worth it but... Hell, knock yourself out." Tau lets out a chuckle, Gamma's eyes bursting dark green.

-The boy's speed increases, launching forward, grabbing me by the neck, taking us pass the fence line into a neighboring backyard. -His hold over my neck grows stronger, putting his knee into my stomach.

-"You'll let me see your insides, right, Zenith?"

-My hand reaches out, searching for something, anything, -Finding what feels to be a solid brick, I fling my arm over, it in my hand, slamming the brick into the side of the kid's head eyes gleaming in stress. -He falls on my side.

-Just when I tried to lift up, I shoe stomps on my stomach. "What the hell, man!" Pissed, Tau eyes steams energy of orange, shining under the moon light, no longer smiling. "He's a kid..."

-I look to Gamma, holding the side of his head, laying, facing the other way in the grass. You can hear a pamper of whines and sniffles coming from the kid.

"Don't over do it, keep them busy for a while... What the hell Iota. Isn't Zel supposed to be the leader of this team anyway. Who put the dweeb in charge?"

-He's rambling on to himself, I don't understand what he means by Zel being the leader.

-"If I kill you, he might kill us both..." Tau, agitated, he eyes Ella. "Who says we can't have any fun?" His silhouette grins, plotting something much devious than killing me.

There's only one thing that comes to mind, him looking over at Ella like that. -I won't let him...

-My eyes gleaming gives my plans away to him, Tau slamming my head back to the ground, quickly turning to Gamma. -"Gamma! It's time!"

-The boy's whimpers and cries turn mute, bursting out an aura of dark green energy, slowly getting up from his spot. His shirt rips, chest growing barer and arms larger than branches, his hair lowering down his spine, popping long large claws causing him to hunch his back, touching the dirt.

-"i GeT tO pLaY..! i GeT tO pLaY..!" His voice sounds inhuman, no longer the kid before, but a demon in flesh...

His eyes gleamed blank green, energy continuing to seep out of him. Looking at him, I began to feel dizzy, unable to activate my ability.

-Dam it... What do I do? What can I do? Tau holds me down, one of them is blocking my ability, and this kid is now some creature. -All I can do is fight like the rest of them, react instead cowering. I need to protect Ella at all costs...

-I grab onto Tau's wrist, trying to pry his hand off away from over my neck, Gamma no longer beside us.

-"There's no use, she'll be gutted open, feasted on by Gamma!!' A wide mouth laugh beaks across his face, slamming me back to the grass. "You can't stop him... I can't stop him... She couldn't stop him..."

-She? -What is he talking about? -Damit, what the hell... Last resort. -I knee the guy between his legs, his eyes clenching close, letting go of my neck to grab his side, falling to the grass. -My ability returning, I look to the creature in the grass, holding Ella unconscious self, high up to the stars, looking to be in some sort of trance when staring at her.

-"ArRiSsA..." Leaves his lips.

-I bend the tree's shadow to shoot a stream of shadows under Ella, swallowing her whole, returning her to my hands. -Usually, I can only teleport object to places, not retrieve them... This new ability of mines really comes in hand...

The beast eyes us. I need to get us to a safer place..., -The minute I try to teleport, my leg is grabbed by Tau, my abilities depowering. -The monster held the top of my head, able to vanish and reappear in front of me in a blink, slamming me to my knees, Ella sound, asleep in my arms.

....I feel dizzy. My heart hurts, pounding so loudly. My throat stings. These constant attacks won't stop...

-My head hit the ground, face splatter in mud, grass digging into my nose.

Ella... I can't... -I feel static coil around my fingers, Ella heart patter, chest to mines. -She's waking up. -Just a little more... I need to hold out a bit longer-

-A shoe stomps my back as I curled over, cradling Ella, acting as her shield. "You're really pissing me off... You heroes are so dam persistent..." He kicks my back again, Gamma, for some reason not finishing me off, just holding my head down. "You dream big, for what? Just to protect who? Everyone dies eventually, so what's the point in delaying the inevitable." Two more kicks are made, harder than the last. "She dies, Arissa dies, everyone dies!"

The kicks stop, my face remain pent to the grass and mud. Tau seems to drop to dead silence, i hear nothing but every one of our ragged breathings. He's right about the death thing... I thought about it time to time. Juna would agree to him also... But... For me, if it means even for a second...

-"....The Sigma Flames, Father... They hope to create a new world." Tau mutters to himself. "I wonder if that means I get to see you again... Ha... Haha... Hahahaha... -To hell with this group, to hell with these dumb ambitions. -Gamma..."

-The monster hands lift my head up, Tau beside the monster, flipping his hair up in a stylish way, shining his teeth in a gin. He expression explodes into glee.

"Let's show Zenith that we care about him... Kill her."

-Ella eyes shoot wide open, taking the giant monster in a swoop, shooting themselves into the remains of what use to be our house, knocking down the last wall, picture frames smacking the grass.

Finally... -Catching Tau off his guard, seeing close combat don't work on him, I swing my hand left, a image of large claws shooting out the shadow of the tree to smack down over him. -However, the hand burst into nothing, and he stood in place, not even shifted a bit.

"Irritating... Worthless..." -He digs in his pocket, pulling out some sort of container, holding one pill inside. "Hero's... I hate them so much. You couldn't save her, but you risk your lives to stop us?" He swallows the pill down.

Nothing seems to change- Tau drops the container, eyes gleaming calmly orange, rising his hand out to me. He folds his hand, telling me to come closer to him, taunting that I wouldn't dare.

-I sprint to him, his arm blocking my punch, turning the shadows I bare into a seize of nothingness. I didn't let it stop me this time, seeing this time and time again, gaining a hindsight on what his ability could be. -I throw my other fist, he moves his arm away from my left to block the incoming right. -He jabs me in my face, them up cut me to the floor.

You think I'm done... That was just a warmup. -Between us became a rapid fire of block and punches, neither me nor him landing a direct hit to each other, my powers vanishing each time i try to activate it mid fight. His eyes still gleam, somehow maintain his exact stance and spot. It's like punching a rock.

-His face cracks back, jaw dropping in disbelief. After every punch I thrown at him, I actually managed to connect one.

"Ha... Not too shabby." -A fist hurls into my stomach, knocking me off my feet into the air. "But, I'm getting bored!"

-He grabs me by the shirt, yanking me towards him again, kneeing me in the stomach this time. -The bloody pocketknife is swiftly pulled back out of his pocket, swung, cleanly slicing a line across my shirt, rally aiming for my stomach, like he did Ella, but I step backed in time, eyes gleaming again.

-Panting, holding my stomach, I look to Gamma having Ella in the same pose as me, but much worse. Her arms have scratched, and her clothes are nearly torn off.

-"Talk about a sight for sore eyes..." Disgustingly, the scum eyes her tits, attracted to her beating look.

Ella eyes him, face squinched, vein popping on her forehead, having enough of him. -She ignores her fight between her and Gamma, zipping to Tau, the monster rushing behind her.

-She punches Tau, Gamma, claws swing towards me, switching opponents mid battle.

-Gamma slams his fist into the ground, my head growing dizzy the closer he got to me. At least against him, I can use my abilities. -On my last step back, I cross both my arms, clenching my fist, shadows restraining the beast arm, by arm, falling back to the grass.

Gamma struggles against the attack, but I stretch my powers more, cocooning his body in a web of shadows.

-"LeT mE gO!! LeT mE gO!! LeT mE gO!!" His figure grows larger, eyes and aura gleaming harder, Ella falling to her knees mid fight, alongside my knees dropping down exhausted.

My breathing feels way hasher, and my hold on the monster vanishes. -Seeing I'm defenseless, Gamma slams his claws into my back. - Stabbing and pulling out, stabbing and pulling out. I feel my mind slipping, coughing blood across the grass, seeing nothing but faded images. His claws devour my back one last time and-

-"Stop!!" -Gamma pauses, claws remain stabbed in my back, both our eyes meeting Ella, who miraculously pinned Tau down. Her foot on his back, his arm raised high, tight in her hold. "Don't move... Are I will break his arm."

-"Gamma... Don't-

-"Stay still, I'm serious." Ella stomps her foot into his back harder, finding the only weakness for this monster.

"TaU..." Gamma, he looks at the man, removing his claws out my back, changing back to his regular self easily.

Here I thought the kid couldn't be reasoned with...

"Big bro..." Gamma returns to a childlike state, eyeing his brother in defeat, dreanched in worry.

"What the hell are you standing around for...-

-"I told you to stay still..." Ella twists his arm, proving she meant what she said.

-Finding something funny in her threat, Tau chuckles out, "Fuck off... Do it already then..."

Ella hesitates, shook he would even laugh at the thought of his own harm.

"You heroes have a code," -His arm pops, cracking it himself. Ella steps off of him, freaked, truly wasn't planning to go through on her word. "No harm can be done to a defenseless villain... You can only contain us... At times, knock us unconscious... Not only that, we know your records, neither of you ever thrown a blow hard enough to kill..."

He's right...

"Even now... You hold back, trying to keep us alive for questioning. -I know this! -You can't kill us! You can't hurt us! I'm invincible!!" -Tau pops his shoulder back in place, Ella being choked in her shock. "Gamma... Zenith, watch this... She's gonna die!"

....But he's wrong... Holding back, no, I'm just exhausted. -Shadows devoured my entire body, Gamma, spotting I'm using my powers way too late. -The last bit of my strength, I teleport out of Tau's shadow.

I never once killed a person in my life... But what's better, scorching my legacy, my future, or saving the only person left in this world I can call family...

Right... She's all I really have left now; I can't risk losing her.

If Zel never killed himself, killing my father, than I wouldn't be standing here... Today is the same situation. If i killed him here and now, instead of using my powers to escape, think of the many lives that could be saved, casualties stopped. There would be no more damage, no more demons.

-....I'll be labeled as a Fallen Hero... -I won't be able to come back home... A fugitive to Yellowstone... A monster. One they knew I would become.

Ha... What do you think about that, Juna?

-Finding Tau's blind spot, hand spiraled in shadows in a shape of Gamma's claw I jam them into his stomach, gouging a hole though him.

...The moon... The night... Why can I see them... Why did the screams in my head magically vanish...