Chapter 16: Daddy's Home
Shine froze.
Takabi's breathing ceased.
The air around felt tense with power, and the strong feeling of intimidation.
Girston took a deep breath, exhaling loudly and stretching his limbs. "Ah. How I've longed for this moment. Thank you, for finally awakening your power, my child."
Shine looked up at Takabi, then back to Girston. "Who… Who is he?" She clutched her knees, slowly getting to her feet and wobbling to stand up straight. "This guy is from my dreams…"
"Yeah. I know." Takabi stepped in front of her and Frannie, all but forgetting about Orion.
The wolf looked frozen stiff as well. The lust and want that clouded his mind completely faded away. Now, he lowered his snout and shut his eyes tight.
Gritting his teeth, Takabi spoke low to Shine. His voice was full of nervousness. Hate lurked in his eyes, but his tone hid his emotions well. "This guy is the reason I didn't want to teach you. Learning to use your powers meant giving away your position once you tapped into it. He locked onto your signal, and tracked you down in seconds."
Frannie bit her lip. "Who is he though, and why did he call Shine his daughter?"
"I'm sure you both guessed by now." Takabi balled his fingers into a tight fist. "Say hello to our Father. Of course, this guy is no parent of mine."
"That's very rude, Takabi. I was the one who held you first when you were born, you know." He opened his arms. "Come give me a hug."
The boy remained where he stood, feet planted firmly to the floor.
Girston sighed, lowering his arms. "What a shame. Seems you still can't see the big picture."
"Big picture?!" He yelled. "There IS no big picture!"
"Watch your volume."
Swift. A cut rushed up Takabi's torso, red blood spewing into the air and onto the floor. The boy staggered, before dropping face first into the puddle, eyes devoid of light. Girston wiped his finger tips, eyeing Shine and Frannie down. He stepped close to them, but the girls moved back in intense fear. Shine grit her teeth and willed an ounce of magic forth.
The power merely grazed Girston.
Weak. Her inner voice told her. We're far too weak to do anything against him.
"He could never understand. Takabi, Kairas. Both boys raised on the foolish ideals of their tainted mother. Not you, Shine." Frannie ran at Girston, throwing a punch at his gut which he effortlessly caught. With a jerk, Frannie's arm twisted and crunched under his strength.
The blonde screamed loudly, dropping to her knees and trying desperately to pull her arm away.
Girston's fingers began to dig into her flesh. Very slowly, blood oozed out, dripping to the floor. "Mingling with these humans has given them a false sense of importance. Is that what you've been doing, Child?"
Shine clutched her throat. It felt tight. She could barely breathe. Takabi in a pool of his own blood. Frannie struggling in what everyone knew was vain against this man. This man that showed up out of nowhere, claiming to be her father.
Today just wasn't her day.
"Let her go!" Shine choked. "Please! Don't hurt her!"
"Then come with me. Time is of the essence and I'm in no mood for games." He raised his free arm towards Shine. She stared at it, body frozen stiff. The paralyzing fear took hold of her being. "Come! Unless you want me to end this wench!"
His eyes narrowed, and he sighed. "Here they come."
Black ice whizzed past Girston's head. Looking back, he spotted Kairas, standing near Takabi's body as the boy slowly picked himself up from the bloody pool. He faced his father, both boys releasing the power of their light gems. White coated Takabi, Black coated Kairas.
Hands gripped Shine and whisked her off her feet. Her captor, Garuga, had an extreme look of concern on his face. "Nice to meet you, Shine."
"Who are…" She shook her head, and looked back. "Frannie!"
"We got her!" Takabi yelled, rushing forward. Light built up in his palm, and he released bolts of magic. Girston raised his free arm, swiping each blast away as if it were paper. Kairas slammed his palms together, ice shooting up around Girston's wrist. He looked down at Frannie, blinking, before a wave of orange fire crashed down, severing his limb and consuming Frannie, before rushing off after Garuga.
"Those damn Dragons." Girston grit his teeth, steam rising from his missing limb.
In seconds, another arm shot out, pale but otherwise good as new. The boys rushed at him, swallowed in intense magical auras. Girston moved fast, faster than either could see, gripping both by their throats and slamming them into the rooftop floor. It gave way, the three falling fast into the gym of St. Heathers. Takabi hit the floor first, tumbling away from his Brother and Father.
Kairas' eyes began to glow green. The black markings along his body faded slowly, being replaced by green on his left. Girston raised an eyebrow, laughing. "That anger will be the death of you, Boy."
"FUCK OFF!" Kairas replied, ice shot up around the two. With a cry of anger, a bolt of green electricity erupted around the two, surging through the ice and ripping up wood. Girston released his hold on Kairas, breaking from the ice prison and sliding back, body steaming.
Takabi rushed up behind him, a sphere of light with flames in the center in his right palm. He thrust Nova forward, hoping the spell would connect. Girston flicked his eyes and hand back, gripping Takabi's wrist before he could make contact.
Tensing the muscle in his palm, Takabi focused on Nova, changing the properties within. The ball began to swirl, before erupting in a beam that swept up Girston.
"Nova: Extension!" Takabi chanted. The beam curved upwards, crashing into the wall and erupting in a contained explosion.
The banners of St. Heather's victories in sports igniting, black smoke rising and setting the fire alarms off. Placing a hand on his chest, the wound he suffered already closed, he looked at Kairas, the two nodding at one another.
Not now. Fighting now would only put innocent people in more danger.
Girston stepped through the smoke, brushing his clothes of rubble dust, raising his palms in the air. A ball of white gathered above him, growing to the size of a large truck. He tossed it at the boys, both rushing next to one another. They swept their arms aside, ice and fire coming together in a cage that consumed the white magic, the colliding powers erupting in a blinding explosion of light and cloud.
When the smoke cleared, both the boys were gone, and Girston was left with an even more intense feeling of anger for his sons.
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Takabi exhaled.
The boys were deep into the trees of Denver, Colorado. The city had long since been remodeled. Larger than previous versions of the concrete jungle, city officials had come into the ability to expand the space.
The city itself was broken into sectors. The Upper Sector for the rich, and the Lower Sector for the poor. Between these two Sectors was a special area for the growing animal population, and those who defected from fitting into either of the previously mentioned areas. The Jungle Sector.
The Mystics came here after their long travel across the country. Things had been getting worse, and the Kult made multiple small appearances in other states to try to recruit more members. The Mystics put a stop to most of it, but not all. In the end it didn't phase them too much, because their end goal was Shine.
Shine was a key to deciding how the final fight with their father would go. They made the agreement that if she chose to go with him before they spoke with her, they would use non lethal force to at least stop her.
"Hey," Takabi began, kicking off a tree branch to propel himself forward. "You alright?"
Kairas nodded. "Yeah. Just frustrated. We're still no match for him."
Nodding in response, Takabi touched his cut open shirt, the feeling of Girston's fingers cutting clean through with no resistance still plaguing his mind. "We got lucky. If we didn't sense Shine when we did, she'd be with him right now. Luckily, he didn't follow us back here."
"I'm getting tired of always running from him like this. We took out that High Breed, how much more powerful can he even be?" Kairas grit his teeth. "I'm starting to feel like we're fighting for nothing."
"Giving up on me?" Takabi asked. The twins kicked off another Branch, shooting further even faster.
"I never said that."
Takabi watched his Brother.
The High Breed was a manufactured creature by their father. More advanced throwaways than Hunters and Huntresses. They encountered the first one months back. They were effortlessly defeated then, but when they ran into it again, they made a statement not to be taken lightly.
It was a one-sided slaughter.
Both boys had come a long way since that encounter. Day in, Day out. If not eating, sleeping or showering, they were training and working hard to improve. Losing WaterSlum set something in their hearts. Neither wanted to lose again, because losing meant they weren't strong enough to protect their loved ones.
Losing meant the end of everything.
Losing meant their Father was right, and that there was no defying the parent under any circumstances.