Diamond Wings

Chapter 15 Family Reunion

   "When Amir summoned me, I did not expect to see this," Ba lin explains. "And when I marooned you inside the box, and on that junkyard world, I never suspected you would ever be free. Let me guess, one of these junkyard dogs was smart enough to break the seal and release you."
   "Well, at least he didn't call me a goblin," Glik adds.
   "No, I am aware of your malevolent people. Of course my sister would make friends with one of your kind. I would ask if you are ready to join us Sarena, but by the looks of Amir I would say not. So, you have finally come to die at my hand, and be put out of your misery."
   "Over my dead body pal!" declares Max.
   "That can be arranged," Ba lin responds.
   "Brother," Amir calls out. "Help me,
plea—"
   "Shut up!" Scarlet yells, kicking him across the head and cutting his pleas short.
   "No brother, I do not think I will. All the power in the world and you are still pathetic, defeated by this group of ragtag misfits."
   Sarena flaps her mighty wings, thrusting herself up to hover, face to face with Ba lin.
   "It won't even take this group to defeat you Ba lin," Sarena declares. "The real question is, are you ready to finally face me, one on one, no tricks."
   Ba lin slowly draws one of the two blades at his sides. The surrounding torchlight dances off of it, and his ornate battle armor.
   "If that is how you wish to die sister, I will grant you that last request."
   Sarena grips her sword and medium-sized shield tightly, taking a fighting stance, preparing for battle.
   Ba lin flicks and twirls his sword, before attacking first in a downward swing, crashing off of the shield, sending blue sparks flying, and declaring war.
   More rapid and swift strikes follow, as he unleashes a storm of blades towards her, faster than she remembers. Sarena struggles to weather the storm, but still manages a couple strikes of her own. Any attempt of an attack by her, instantly swatted away and followed up by a powerful counterattack, stronger than she remembers.
   He quickly begins to overwhelm her in the one-sided battle. Sarena focuses on defense, until she gets used to his pattern, looking for a place to try a counter of her own.
   Finally, hitting the perfect parry, she launches into a spin, slashing and bashing with sword and shield, knocking him back and even managing to draw a drop of blood from his left cheek.
   Ba lin touches the cut cheek, looking at the blood on his fingers from it.
   "Impressive sister. I have over one thousand years of practice and experience on you, but you still manage to draw my blood. So much wasted potential, to think, what you could have become."
   He reaches for the sword, still resting at his side. Pulling it from the sheath, reveals the recognizable Allfather's blade in all it's mighty glory.
   "My only regret is not knowing your hidden potential that all of our kind share, and the true limits of your power," Ba lin says, as he combines the fury of his two blades into an onslaught towards her.
   Sarena tries to defend against the increased aggression, as Ba lin doubles his efforts into a hurricane of blades raining onto her. Unable to weather the violent maelstrom of steel, Ba lin smashes down with both blades onto the blue shield with immense power. Sarena violently crashes down with tremendous force, creating a crater into the ground, exploding stone and rock around her.
   Ba lin looks down on her for only a moment before a trinity of fire converges onto him. Red blasts of energy, explosive machine gun rounds and a crossbow bolt all splash off of the durable armor, as he shields his head with arms and weapons.
   Rapidly rushing down in a blink of an eye, Ba lin plants both feet on the ground in front of Max, before coming at him, a swing upward and one downward.
   Max turns his rifle on an angle to block both attacks, as the Allfather's blade digs into the buttstock of the gun.
Max's eyes and mouth grow wide, as he turns from the damaged part to meet his attacker's smile and stare, before   Ba lin smashes Max into the ground with a powerful headbutt.
   Red blasts still cascading over his armor, followed by another crossbow bolt narrowly missing his head, before drawing his attention and angry stare.
   Ba lin looks over at Scarlet, as she withdraws her crossbow and pulls the curved daggers. Almost instantly moving from his last victim to a new one like a blur, before small daggers meet large swords. A worried gaze meets a confident one, before Ba lin launches Scarlet back into a wall with a powerful kick.
   Still the annoying red blasts, splashing over him, stealing his attention and increasingly angered stare.
   Like black and gold lightning, he moves onto yet another victim. A flash is all it takes for Ba lin to reach Glik, sheath both blades and replace one with his neck.
   "I am all too familiar with your wretched kind," Ba lin says. "Always meddling in the business of others. I have slaughtered countless numbers of your people."
   "They're not my people," Glik struggles to say, as Ba lin lifts him up and chokes the life out of him. "We stand apart."
   "Does not matter where you stand, I am aware of your technology and type. I imagine you are how my sister was freed and made it to this world."
   Ba lin looks him up and down, as the big gun at Glik's side catches his eye, and he reaches out for it.
   "You chose not to use your big gun against me, why? Is it because it does not expel deadly means, but that of transport?"
   He looks over the gun in his hand, as well as Glik's expression.
   "Looks pretty important," Ba lin says, before crushing it in his hand.
   The portal gun breaks into two pieces that fall to the floor, as Ba lin squeezes the center and throws down the broken bits.
   "No more going where you are not wanted. Not that any of you are leaving here alive anyway," Ba lin declares, as he pulls his sword and shoves it through Glik's chest.
   Glik's eyes enlarge as he gasps with green blood spilling from his mouth, back and chest.
   "NOO! GLIK!" Sarena screams, as she instantly rises from her rocky grave and charges Ba lin with a battle cry, sword and shield.
   Sarena's screams and battlecry wake up the disoriented Max and Scarlet. They both look on in horror, as a grinning
Ba lin flicks an impaled Glik off of his sword, and draws a second one to meet Sarena's charge.
   She unleashes all of her unbridled fury and rage onto her brother, as he smiles and taunts her. A cloud of blue and silver sparks fly and ricochet, as the two do battle. What once was an easy fight for her, now an unbeatable battle, as she proves no match for Ba lin's dual-wielding skill and power.
   Glik crawls over the ground, as he bleeds out, reaching for the two halves of his most prized invention, and clutches them to him, as glimmers and flickers of sapphire and silver rain over him. He looks up, as Ba lin connects with a mighty kick, sending Sarena flying across the room and into Max, who just made it to his feet, ready to resume firing.
   Ba lin slashes a flying crossbow bolt in two, as it hurls towards him.
   "We will never know your true power Sarena, but allow me to show you a glimpse of mine," he offers, as he sheaths his swords and flies up above them all, and into the center of the room, hands raised, palms up.
   Dark ominous clouds begin to rise and take form, filling the air above him. Flashes of yellow and gold lightning start to arc through the black clouds.
   Scarlet, Max and Sarena share a worried look, before springing into action.
   Sarena launches upwards with a mighty flap of her wings, blade foward. She gets close to him, before a gold bolt of lightning erupts from the clouds, smiting her, and blasting her back into the ground. She writhes in pain, as the bright electric courses through her.
   Max and Scarlet take aim, sending a barrage of bullets and bolts towards
Ba lin. Another thunderous bolt explodes from above his head, coming down to hit himself this time, surging through his body and creating an electric barrier around him. All of the incoming fire disintegrating on impact of the electric shield encasing him.
   Lightning and thunder crack and crackle loudly before reaching out. Two simultaneous bolts strike down for Max and Scarlet, as they both roll away to the other side of the room, on either side of Glik.
   Only a temporary reprieve, as two more deadly gold bolts meet them where they land, sending them writhing in pain from the coursing electric throughout their bodies.
   Sarena looks over at her three dying friends, as her own shocking pain subsides. She lunges over to them, launching a giant blue shield above them all, as more lightning and thunder crash down, gold and sapphire exploding from the top of the canopy.
   Ba lin laughs as he looks down, lightning exploding from his eyes, and surging through his own body, as he draws power from it.
   "That will not save any of you sister, I shall bring this whole place down over your heads in a glorious and cleansing spectacle," he declares, as the deadly storm grows wildly.
   Gold lightning and thunder begin to sporadically explode from the rich black clouds, in every direction. Shattered debris begins to rain down, as electric bolts shatter and explode the surrounding pillars and castle.
   Sarena begins to buckle under the weight and force of falling rocks, as they impact the blue canopy.
   "I'm sorry my friends. I'm sorry I got you all into this."
   "I thought I dragged us all into this," Scarlet says.
   "Hell, this is still way cooler than being ripped to shreds by damn bugs," claims Max.
   Glik stirs slightly, as he raises his head and coughs up more green blood before he speaks.
   "We're not dead yet," he declares, desperately trying to rummage through his bag, as his last breaths leave him.
   "Damn, you got alot of heart kid," Max offers.
   After straining and struggling to move, Glik pulls what looks like another shield rod.
   "Kid knows no quit, but I'm afraid to say, I think we're gonna need a lil' more than, just another shield," claims Max.
   "It is more," Glik faintly replies, coughing even more blood. "I was trying to save this, it's only good for one use, and I might not look it, but I'm probably older than you, kid," he says to Max, smiling before he presses the button and falls unconscious.
   A familiar blue light explodes from the rod, outward in all directions, passing through them all, before intensifying into a dark, rich sapphire globe, encasing them completely.
   The castle around them explodes, just as the blue globe takes shape, blinding gold lightning all around them, accompanied by thunderous roars of electric destruction and exploding rock, all raining down over them.
   It grows quiet, as the imploding castle crumbles, and begins to settle. Darkness surrounds them except for the faint blue glow of the lifesaving globe.
   Suddenly, gold lightning explodes the rocks above them, revealing Ba lin, hovering over them. He blasts the blue orb with a deadly bolt, having no effect. He angrily draws the Allfather's blade, striking the orb, numerous times, having no effect.
   "Nice trick, but I think your trickster is all but done for," Ba lin claims. "I might not be able to finish you off, but I do not need to," he declares, raising the magic blade.
   Silver begins to turn to a familiar blue glow. Sapphire sparks and electricity begin to dance around the sword, as the blue glow intensifies. The radiance surges brightly, before Ba lin swings down towards them. He stops halfway, keeping the blade pointed down at them, as the blue light drains from the tip and explodes into a large, electricly charged sapphire circle.
   "This time it is goodbye sister. I wanted to mercifully put you out of your misery, but now you shall rot for the rest of your days in exile," Ba lin declares, as the blue circle falls down around them.
   The shield orb fades through the portal, taking Sarena, Max, Scarlet and Glik with it.