the eminence in shadow: Eminence of the Side Character 17

Chapter 17: Shadow vs Shadow Garden

Beta and Eta's match was finally winding down to Beta's victory as Epsilon looked on. Their match had dragged for a while, and if Epsilon was being honest, she was bored. Eta would probably be the better fighter if she put in any effort in, but with nothing to motivate her she trudged through the battle half asleep.

Alpha's match with Zeta and Gamma had been more entertaining, both faster paced and harder fought. In a spectacular (though unsurprising) turn of events, Alpha won. She'd pulled Zeta away from Gamma, then when both girls expected her to circle back on Gamma, she immediately focused on driving Zeta out of the ring so she could deal with Gamma alone. Gamma had tried to run to her teammates aid, but the fact that Gamma was trying to run anywhere meant they'd already lost.

Eta finally fell out of the makeshift arena, falling onto her back in such a comfortable position Epsilon was sure the fall had been at least partly her own design. She spent about a minute there to 'catch her breath', then got up to walk back to the rest of the group.

Cid stood up and called "Alright, everyone come here. There's one last thing before we head back to the hotel".

Oh no.

It was going to be one of those events.

"It's time for Shadow vs Shadow Garden. Since we'll need more space, let's just use the whole beach and change the rules to falling over counting as a knock out".

As Epsilon looked over the rest of the team, she could see Eta's enthusiasm had emerged, her eyes were no longer half-closed, but staring intently at Cid. The rest of the group seemed apprehensive until Alpha assumed command "Understood, Can we have a minute to strategise?".

There was only determination in her voice, with no hint of the fear that gripped her teammates, and the calm order seemed to settle everyone down a little.

She's never been the leader just because she's the strongest, or because she was the first.

"Yeah, it'll be better that way". Cid started walking away from them, giving a small backhand wave as he went.

"Eta, why are you so excited about this?" Epsilon whispered as they waited for him to get out of earshot. As useful as the training was, being defeated every time was demoralizing, and usually painful in some way.

"Might learn something...from this battle". Eta replied.

Harsh, but fair. Beta's not the most inventive fighter.

Eta's approach was very similar to their master's, fastidiously cutting down on all unnecessary movement, though she would describe his approach as efficient while Eta's was closer to laziness. Alpha's style was also very close to Shadow's, though though much more focused on technical perfection. Even in his wasteless style, there was a certain artistic flare, a joy in the process of the battle that perhaps only Delta truly shared. It was odd that the same passion that lead him to master swordplay was in her, an overenthusiasm that left her with no patience for technique.

"Okay. Delta, Beta and I will make up the front line, and we'll hold him back from reaching the rest of you. Epsilon, Zeta, I want you to try and circle around and strike from where he can't see you. It isn't likely to truly go beyond his notice, but we might be able to put more pressure on him in that formation. Eta, I want you to try and use magic to shift the sand around us, try to create small dunes we can try and encircle him in. Gamma, you should stick close to Epsilon and cover her in case Shadow slips past us and tries to take her out".

It was a fairly routine strategy, hardly different from the last one they'd tried three years ago. Epsilon didn't think it would work, but she couldn't come up with anything better.

Zeta disagreed "It's a good strategy, but if we really want any chance against Lord Shadow we need to surprise him."

Alpha looked at her curiously, silently demanding her to go on "I'm not saying it's going to work. I'm saying if we want any chance of winning, we need to try it and hope for the best".

"What did you have in mind?"

"We'll do what you say to start, but eventually I'll drop out to cover Epsilon, then you give him a chance to 'slip past' you all so he can try and take Epsilon and Gamma out. If he's not expecting me to be there as well, I might be able to catch him off guard".

Alpha nodded "I have no objection to that. Let's get started"

They turned as one to see the unassuming red-eyed, black haired boy that had walked away from them replaced by the cloaked and masked form of Shadow.

Delta's growled as she charged, but even as the distance between them grew she could tell her heart wasn't really in it. As much as it was just a training exercise, it went against all of Delta's instinct to challenge Cid, if for no other reason than that she knew she couldn't win. Alpha and Beta flanked her, maintaining a stoic silence as they advanced.

Epsilon circled around them all in the opposite direction from Zeta, jogging but not truly running in order to allow Gamma to keep up. The other girl may have had no balance, but her magical capacity was ridiculous enough that she could maybe hold back one of Lord Shadow's blows (assuming he wasn't going for the kill). It was more than Epsilon would manage if she needed to fight blade-to-blade with him.

He'd once told Epsilon she was a glass cannon, meaning she was most powerful at range, but had low defences and wouldn't excel in close quarters combat. She'd been very flattered he'd come up with such a poetic metaphor for her fighting style, rather than simply using a basic description.

She tried to live up to the name as she fired at the shifting form of Shadow as he met the opening attacks of the front line. She was good enough not to hit her own allies, but it did cut down on how many shots she could take. That meant she could completely charge and concentrate the shots, so that they might actually do something if any of them connected.

None of her first three did, though one did come so close to his hand it looked like he was about to seize hold of it. Alpha took the centre position, even though Delta would have been the better in that spot given the size of her weapon. She'd probably done so feeling that it was her responsibility as the leader, or maybe put a little less pressure on Delta.

The blades clashed and spun around him, but he was never hit. His blade was always holding back at least one opposing weapon, and his body always seemed just out of reach of the others. Eta was using a slime construct to start digging small ditches in the sand just behind him. Based on how he was moving, he was probably aware somehow, even though his mask, hood, and the events in front of him should have precluded him from seeing Eta work.

Eventually, Zeta took her chance, deciding against striking from behind, she seemed to appear from nowhere as she she struck out with her chakram, launching herself at Shadow from a crouching position just beside Beta's legs. Epsilon shot as soon as she noticed Zeta appear and while the timing would have worked out better if she'd shot a half-second earlier, she was still able to land her first shot of the battle and force him back a step.

He began to lose ground now he was facing five simultaneous attackers, slowly moving closer and closer to the hollow of one of Eta's traps. As the plan was working, Eta moved in from behind to attack herself while the other three pressed in from the front and sides. Zeta had disappeared, waiting for another chance to strike from stealth.

Eta probably thinks the harder we are on him, the more he'll have to show us.

Eventually Cid was reached the dead centre of the hollow and she thought she could see the ghost of a smile when he launched himself a hundred feet into the air.

Oh no.

This was going to be bad. Instead of trying to shoot at the seemingly inert Cid, she tried to cry out a warning to the others but she was too late. Instead of simply falling, the cloak of his slime suit twisted and rippled, then he hurtled back to the ground in a magical explosion so powerful the sand erupted from under him, throwing everyone who was immediate area around him sprawling.

Alpha managed to keep her feet, though she was stumbling and holding her arms out wide to keep her balance, but Beta was on the ground disqualified and Eta appeared half buried in the sand. She didn't seem to mind though, and looked at Lord Shadow's cloak in fascination.

That had been the facet of the slime-suit he'd developed on this vacation. Apparently he'd been inspired fighting Alpha's aunt and wanted a was to propel himself instantly to the ground for an explosive smash. His idea had been to use the slime suit to rapidly capture and expel air to generate momentum while airborne, and she'd tried to offer as much advice as she could about how to optimize the ability.

He'd not been satisfied with his 'Descending Darkness' move when she had last seen it, but it would appear (hopefully with some of her advice) he'd worked out the flaws on his own time.

Leaving the momentarily stunned Alpha and Delta behind, he leapt towards her and Gamma, who valiantly stepped forward to try and match blows with him. After only three collisions of their blades, Gamma was down and Epsilon was left struggling to reach her own weapon in time.

Zeta was on him again. Epsilon hadn't noticed her despite their close proximity, but the calmness with which Shadow met the attack told her he knew, his sword reached through the hole in one of Zeta's chakrams then changing shape to hook the weapon before he pulled. Zeta was reeled in like a hooked fish to him, staggering off balance as the pommel of his sword hit her hard in the stomach. She fell over with a grunt of pain.

Zeta's appearance had given her an idea, if they couldn't surprise him, they had no chance after all. Instead of drawing her sword, she gathered as much energy as she could for a final magical blast then shot it at him within point blank range. He'd been so busy with Zeta he couldn't fully avoid the shot, it exploded into his shoulder and even she was knocked a little off balance by the force of the blast, given how close it was.

Unsurprisingly, this was followed by something hitting into her leg just behind her knee and she toppled, fighting the urge to cry out and reach for the wound, instead focusing the last trickle of magic she had into healing the injury. She didn't even have enough magic left to heal the minor injury completely, but she did ease the pain somewhat.

By the time she could focus back on the fight again, Cid was duelling Alpha alone while Delta had rolled onto her back and was holding her hands out with her knees pulled up to her stomach. She wasn't sure if Shadow had landed a hit, or if she'd just assumed the position upon seeing where things were going.

Finally, with a burst of superhuman speed, Cid disappeared and reappeared behind Alpha. He must have struck her since she crumpled to the ground but Epsilon wasn't able to see even a hint of the strike.

He held out a hand to Alpha and helped her up, the game was over, and they had lost. None of them had expected to win, but as their master enjoyed challenging battles, she hoped they'd managed to entertain him, even just a little bit.

---

Zeta's ears twitched as she woke all at once, hearing someone moving through the corridors and quietly padding down the stairs. Curious about who was up at this hour and why, she slipped out of bed and trailed after them, keeping as much distance as possible to ensure she wasn't noticed while still close enough to hear the footsteps.

Eventually whoever it was stopped in at the hot springs, and having no other choice but to either poke her head in or go back to bed, she looked in.

"Zeta, what are you doing here?"

It was Lord Shadow. He was seated in men's section of the baths with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"I heard someone up and decided to check it out. What're you doing in a bath at this time of night?" by her best guess it was around two AM.

"I kind of like hot springs, but I haven't had a chance to check this one out the whole time I was here. I just wanted to give it a quick try before we leave in the morning. Sort of figured Delta would be the one to hear me sneak out honestly"

"Oh please, Woofy might have a better sense of smell than I do, but I'm the best set of eyes and ears in Shadow Garden" She pointed to herself confidently to emphasize the point.

"She doesn't do too badly for herself. I happen to remember this one time she chased my cat up a tree, and it got stuck there for five hours before I was able to come back to sort things out".

That had been the result of the itching powder thing, as uncomfortable and cold as she'd been in those few hours, she regarded it as being totally worth it, even factoring in the following punishment from Alpha.

"Technically it was trees plural, she brought down the first few trying to knock me off, then I tried get away by jumping from branch to branch when she got sleepy"

"But you couldn't get away"

She shrugged. "Look, stupid people have stupid strengths. I don't believe in the goddess, but Delta might be living proof that something gives with one hand and takes with the other. Anyway, is the water any good?"

"Yep, as good as everything else in this place"

"Then I'll join you for a while" Zeta said, moving over to grab a towel and change out of her pyjamas.

"You know this is isn't a mixed baths right? There's a reason I haven't been able to come here all week".

She wasn't going to let him put her off "You do know we own the place right? The normal rules don't really apply to us".

"Even so, you should respect the rules of the baths" he replied.

"Seriously, with all the laws we've broken, this is what you're going to lecture me about?"

"Some things are sacred" he intoned solemnly.

She splashed into the bath beside him "Report me to the bath police then"

He muttered something about Eta not being finished with that project, then she hissed in surprise as she felt his hand start to feel through the fur on her tail.

"Sorry, force of habit" he said, pulling his hand away.

She felt her eyes narrow on him slightly as she replied "I was just surprised, I didn't say stop."

His hand went back to work and she fought to push down the fluttering feeling in her stomach and the urge to purr in satisfaction. There were maybe a hundred actions she could take from this point to push this the way she really wanted it to go, but what she'd told Epsilon was true, that wasn't what she was meant for.

The mission has to come first.

"Did you enjoy the vacation? My scouting missions and managing CoS has kept me pretty isolated from everyone, so it's been nice to have a chance to catch up".

"Yes, it has been a fun few days" Shadow remarked serenely, before continuing on more seriously "But you must know these good times wont last forever. A storm is coming, a storm of blood, and even I don't know if we'll all survive the carnage caused of the maelstrom"

"I know. It's not as if we can solve all of our problems without taking any risks, but…" she was, as she had been many times in the past, tempted to confess her scheme to him. Tempted to abandon the responsibility for completing the mission, and leaving all of the sins tied to it for him to bear.

It couldn't be.

Her best chance for that had come years ago, when Shadow Garden had first separated and she'd been left alone with her master. A perfect chance to scheme in secret had fallen right into her lap. She'd almost told come clean then, when the operation was nothing but an idea that refused to leave her mind, but something had changed in her master around that time, and he'd kept his distance from her for the month they were alone together. She'd worried he'd figured out her plot and disapproved, but she eventually discovered it was a change that had occurred in his relationship with all the shades and not just her. Zeta's best guess was he was trying to help them mature by reducing their reliance on him, as he seemed more friendly now that Shadow Garden had established itself and was achieving things without his direct supervision.

The distance and time had allowed her to realize why telling him was a terrible idea.

Tainting him like that would defeat the whole purpose of the exercise.

She couldn't have done it now anyway. Confessing to an angry Shadow and taking whatever punishment he'd inevitably have to dole out would have been difficult, but infinitely easier for her than confessing to the contented Cid beside her and wiping away his joy.

"Do you...are you ever tempted by immortality?"

"Yes, absolutely. Do you know a way to become immortal?" Cid asked her seriously.

That's a better reaction than I was expecting.

"No, I was just curious. I thought you might have been one of those serious 'life is only precious because it's finite' or 'living forever means leaving everyone else behind' types."

"Well...it's not like I don't understand the appeal of those guys, but personally, I enjoy my life. If I enjoy it, why wouldn't I want it to go on for as long as possible?"

She smiled to hear his explanation, it was so simple yet somehow profound "That's a very simple answer to a complicated question. It's very like you to cut straight to the heart of the matter"

"What about you, want to join me in Shadow Garden forever?" he asked.

As the last week played out in her mind, the thought that it wouldn't be so bad just to stay with this group forever crossed her mind.

"That's certainly appealing, but there are some things I'm willing to give my life for; fighting the cult, and to prevent the things that happened to my family from happening again". It was as close to honest as she could be with him right now.

The thoughts of playing on the beach with the rest of the shades was overwritten by the image of her last family's severed heads falling to the sand, the scent of blood mixing with the sea air, and the phantom-feeling of a dead weight in her arms that had once been her brother. The desire to tell Cid anything died and shrivelled to nothing in her chest, just as surely as Lorian's body must have on that beach after she'd been dragged away in that cage.

Zeta had no doubt she was on the right path.