Written By: Epicstu Wyyvernwriter

Dead silence cloaked in a heavy darkness surrounded Leon, “I am Dead.”

“Yup,” replied a familiar voice. “I’d say that went rather well.”

“Your sarcasm is not needed, Apocalypse,” Leon replied. “I tried my best, but people are stubborn.”

“No matter where you go, all intelligent life is stubborn. There are no exceptions,” the End replied, “but that was not sarcasm. Everything went exactly how I had hoped it would.”

“But I am Dead…” Leon argued. “And so is our Soothslayer, if you hadn’t noticed.”

“Not anymore,” said the End with a smile.

“I don’t follow…” Leon was interrupted by an odd sensation as he found himself begin to fade. “What is happening to me?” Incomprehensible whisperings and a bright light overwhelmed him. Then he inhaled violently gasping for air as his eyes adjusted to the moons light.

“Breathe, Leon, just breathe,” Anabell’s voice helped to calm him. “You’re back now.”

“Ana…” Leon could hardly speak through the harsh cough rasping his dried out throat. 

“Quickly now, give him this,” urged an elderly voice.

“Wh…who is th… that?” Leon coughed harder.

“Shh…” Anabell poured the liquid down his throat. “I know it tastes bad, but believe me. It helps.”

Coughing a few more times, Leon’s throat cleared. “Oh God, that is nasty,” then he realized his heart was beating. “I’m alive?”

“You’re Welcome,” scoffed a thin old man with a long angular face as he sat himself down gently upon a tombstone. “Now, what’s all this about the end of the world your friend keeps babbling about?”

“Leon, this is Soulomon,” Anabell introduced him to the old man. “He’s a Necromancer.”

“You’re both lucky the Dead like to talk or I might never have found you in time,” said Soulomon.

“Now what?” Leon sighed. “No one would listen to me before, I doubt the idea of me coming back to life will sit well with anyone.”

“You prepare,” said a new voice.

Turning around, “damn, its that Cat again,” said Soulomon

“Victor Wares, owner and proprietor of Victor’s Wares TM and Void Transportation,” Victor introduced himself from behind the counter of the vendor’s stall he stood in.

“Where did that shop come from?” Leon asked.

“I am never without my emporium, Aventis,” Victor replied. “Care to peruse my wares? You need to prepare yourself for coming events. Hurry now, the Hunter will be here soon.”

*          *

Their attire covered in a blanket of Edward’s snow, even in the vacuum of space it was easy to breathe. Protected by Searl’s light, the knights they fought could breathe just as easily. “What happened to the fighters?” Scoundrel questioned.

“Our Blizzard’s been busy,” Ranger replied. Surrounding the battle cruiser they fought atop, the Blizzard flowed unrelentingly destroying any fighters that came to close to his friends. Suddenly the knights halted their advance and stood immobile as a knight in armor much more elegant than the rest approached casually.

“Ensure that this vessel stays operational,” he ordered. “I will handle these.”

The top of the battle cruiser was not flat. Pylons, generators, and conduits formed a massive city-scape. “I don’t think you know who we are,” Scoundrel reloaded Emily as Gentleman cracked his knuckles and neck.

The lone knight sized up his targets as they surrounded. House and Ranger ran in first. Stepping to the side he avoided bolt from Arachnid’s crossbows as a shield folded out of his right arm to catch Ranger’s thrown ax. Raising his left arm shuriken flew from his bracers at Arachnid as a second shield expanded from there to block House’s quarterstaff. A blast of energy released from the knight’s duel-shields sending them back, “It is you who do not realize who I am,” he said unto them. “I am Leon Aventis, but you may refer to me as Hunter, prey.”

“Great,” Arachnid sighed. “Now how are we supposed to get to the engines?”

“First we take him down, then we worry about the cruiser,” Scoundrel said before unleashing his entire clip at Hunter only to have his bullets stop before Hunter’s shields.

Putting up a ward to block Scoundrel’s bullets as they were shot back at him, “he’s annoying,” Ranger commented grunting as he got to his feet.

“My magic will not work,” added Wizard. “His armor will deflect it back at us.”

Gentleman rolled up his sleeves, “right, the old fashion way then.” He approached Hunter and faked a right hook before throwing a left jab directly to Hunter’s side. Grabbing the incoming strike from Hunter’s left shield Gentleman landed a right hook, knocking Hunter’s helmet clean off. Gentleman blew off his knuckles, “not even a scratch.”

Hunter took a deep breath, “good, I thought this would be fun.” He caught Gentleman’s next jab, ignoring the fake and began pummeling Gentleman with his shields. Locked in Hunter’s combo, Gentleman could not break out. Hunter sent him to the floor, “too bad I was mistaken.”

The ground opened up beneath Gentleman and he fell into the ship, “Gentleman! No!” Scoundrel started toward Hunter to avenge his fallen friend when suddenly he was picked up.

“No scoundrel! We have to disable this ship.” Arachnid held her squirming ally tight as she swung him toward the rear of the cruiser. 

“Let me at em!” Scoundrel shouted. Wizard followed until a cord suddenly wrapped around his neck and he was pulled down hard, his head to the ground. Out cold, the ground beneath Wizard opened and he fell into the ship. Hunter lifted his left arm up to block Ranger and then leaped, spinning over him, to avoid House’s assault.

“An Iron Ram and a Dragon,” Hunter grinned. “My cup floweth over,” smoke poured from his shields.

Coughing, “where did he go,” Ranger asked as the smoke cleared. House pointed toward where Arachnid and Scoundrel had been heading. Ranger looked and saw Hunter move quickly, utilizing the environment, toward his allies. “We cannot allow him to stop us from bringing this ship down.”

Nid pushed Scoundrel down just before the engines and landed next to him shortly after having used her Grapple bolts to pull her self to the ship in the zero gravity environment, “How are we gonna shut these down?” Nid asked.

“With these,” Scoundrel pulled explosives from his trench coat. Dodging Hunter’s shuriken, he lost all of them. “Or we could improvise.”

Nid shook her head, “figure it out, I’ll deal with him.”

“Ah, the Spider,” Hunter addressed Nid as she drew her poison dagger.

“It’s Arachnid, actually,” Nid replied before shooting a net from the crossbow in her offhand. The net of fishing line thin graphene wires wrapped around Hunter slowly constricting tighter and tighter. “Arachnids do not fear hunters. We are hunters.”

Hunter’s shields split, allowing the wires to slip through the cracks, and then closed again. He had cut the net open just in time to deflect what would have been a deadly blow, disarmed Arachnid of her dagger, and held her up by the throat, “that is not entirely true. Many things prey upon your kind, spider. Me? I am worst among them.”

“You talk too much,” Nid replied as the cruiser’s engines began to sputter and explode behind them.

Hunter choked Nid out and dropped her into the ship before grabbing House’s quarterstaff and slamming him face first into the ground before him. Hunter followed through with a stomp to the back of House’s head. The ground opened up and House fell into the ship as Ranger countered Hunter’s assault with his greatsword keeping up with him. As the ship descended toward the world below Ranger and Hunter fought.

*          *

Leon Aventis put a hat upon is head, “the perfect addition to your new look, Archaeologist. If I might be so bold,” Victor commented.

“It’s a bit much,” said Soulomon.

“I think you look handsome,” Anabell chimed in. Suddenly the sky exploded as a massive object entered the atmosphere above them. A whirling Blizzard of teal-hued snow followed behind it.

“That is your queue,” said Victor. “Good luck,” and then he disappeared taking his shop with him.

“Follow me,” Soulomon urged. “No doubt this Searl you told me about has an army in that ship. We will need one of our own to protect this world,” he explained as he led them through a stone archway, down some stairs, deep into a catacomb.