//------------------------------// // Act 3 Chapter 10 // Story: Collision Code // by SSJRandomMaster //------------------------------// Act III: Collision of Wills Chapter 10: Wrath ------------------------------------------ Slayer didn’t know what could have brought on this change so suddenly. It was like the Corey he’d been fighting before didn’t even exist. Where before he could see the traces of desperation, of fear, of hatred, in his eyes, now his eyes were no more than twin flaming pools of absolute rage. No, no, more than that.   In those discolored, flaming eyes, he could see pure killing intent within them. And Slayer didn’t need to be told it was all pointed at him.   What’s going on? he thought, trying to compose himself in the face of this strange happening, This has never happened before. I’ve faced things…Lots of them. I’ve even stared down Princess Celestia herself, and even then it didn’t faze me. Corey took but a single step forward, and he felt his breath pause for just a second. And that, was when he knew.   Is this… what fear is!?   Corey slowly raised his other hand, finger extended. His horn slowly gained a black aura, matching the smoky one that still surrounded him. Runes, black in color, traveled down his arm to the tip. Whether it was the realization he could very well be staring into his imminent demise or the fact the attack travelled at astounding speeds, Slayer felt something no wider than a pencil pierce through his own shoulder, and the burning pain that followed. It was nearly enough to make him take a knee.   Slayer put one hand over the new wound, grimacing. He looked up to Corey, managing to finally find words.   “T-this is new…” Slayer stumbled a bit over his own words, the situation at hand too unreal for him to accept.   “First, your shoulder,” Corey said, still in that lifeless monotone. He slowly lowered his finger, and again, runes began to travel down it, “Next, your knee…’   Another attack came his way. Now that he was watching Corey intently, he could just make out the black laser blasting forth from the tip of Corey’s finger. He barely managed to get his magic to flare in time, covering just enough area to cover the width of the—   Slayer felt something puncture straight through his knee, and looked down, stunned. It was only for maybe a second, but the pencil wide blast had pierced straight through the shield—and his leg.   A concentrated magic shot… Slayer thought, forced to get down on one knee, I should have guessed… The smoky aura finally faded into nothing. Corey’s gaze was unblinking, and still just as hateful as it was before the attack. He was not the least bit satisfied despite inflicting two serious wounds.   “Do you truly…” Slayer said, struggling to get on both his feet again, “Truly, intend to kill me?”   “In due time,” Corey’s voice fluctuated only a bit, but he was still lifeless in tone overall, “You’re going to answer for every. Single. Thing. I saw in your book, first…”   Slayer scoffed, finally on his own feet, “You really think you’re in a position to judge—“   He stopped, realizing Corey had finished from his line of sight. Before he could look around, though, he heard the monotone right behind him.   “No games…”   Slayer barely had time to turn around before he was punched square in the face, his jaw rattling from the force. He staggered backwards, every other step marked by pain due to the injury he’d suffered. However, he managed to plant his feet, and his horn flared with his magic. He wasn’t about to go down without a fight.   “Fine!” Slayer said, tendrils extending from his hand towards Corey. He stood still for a moment. However, he eventually began to move. His body blurred, seeming to vanish for a moment before reappearing past the lash of one of the dark constructs. A second one came for him, but Corey vanished again, reappearing somewhere else, even closer than he was before. This process seemed to repeat itself, Corey getting closer with each attack.   Slayer spread his arms out and leaned back, sending a dark spike out at Corey as he drew closer. Corey ducked down, moving his head, his body jerking slightly as the spike grazed his right shoulder, drawing blood. Corey moved the rest of the way in. Slayer instinctively drew his constructs back, creating a shield made of black magic—and not a moment too soon, for Corey had thrown out an auraified punch—no doubt that speed buffing spell.   Corey vanished from sight again, and Slayer heard an impact from above, Corey kicking at the shield. As he temporarily “stuck” to the surface in that position, Corey’s fists clenched. Slayer had attempted to counter-attack, but Corey was once again speeding out of sight, reappearing in front of him again. Black runes surrounded both of his hands as he threw them forward. Both of the impacts went off near-simultaneously, though for Slayer it happened in slow motion.   The first impact went off, cracking the shield. The second, which came only a couple moments later, shattered the shield entirely. He didn’t have time to contemplate why, though, for one shoe came up, slamming into his jaw, lifting him from his feet.   An aura appeared around Corey’s legs as he jumped up, boosting the strength in his legs enough to catch Slayer in mid-air with another powerful kick, this time to the stomach. Slayer wasn’t sure what he felt breaking that time, but he knew it wasn’t his spine. He fell hard to the ground—hard enough that he left an imprint on impact. As for Corey, he used the momentum from the kick to flip backwards, landing a few yards away.   Slayer coughed into his hand, realizing that was indeed blood coming up. He slowly struggled to his feet, trying his best to get back to his feet.   “How ironic,” Corey said, his voice changing just a bit more. Slayer knew why-it almost sounded like Corey was enjoying this, “The predator, who has preyed on so many, is now the prey!”   Slayer looked over, glaring at Corey as he finished his sentence, only to see Corey with one hand raised, a black energy orb heading towards him at unrelenting speeds. Slayer’s eyes widened as it made contact, kicking up yet another explosion of energy. Slayer fell back, his body steaming from the explosion, his Corey disguise having holes in some places, and looking like it was melting off of his skin like hot wax, revealing the red fur underneath.   Breathing heavily, Slayer moved to get up again, once again facing Corey. There was no room for error. Slayer knew that if things progressed as they were, he was more than likely going to die. Much as he hated to leave without doing what he came here for, retreating was ideal.   Slayer turned his body over to Corey and slammed the ground, magic coursing through his horn to his hands, causing a massive amount of dark magic spikes to cascade towards him. Without even waiting to see if his diversion worked, Slayer began to limp as fast as he could to the nearest exit. He didn’t make it more than ten steps before something green and angry blurred in front of him, slamming yet another punch into his stomach.   Slayer fell onto his knees, holding the new area of pain. Quickly, though, he stood up, desperately throwing out even a punch. Corey raised an arm to block. Slayer tried a kick, and once again, Corey blocked.   “You really think you’re winning!?” Slayer yelled, even as his many attacks were being parried, “I can see it in your eyes…you’re starting to become just lik—“   He was cut off by the sensation of his face, specifically his jaw, breaking, an untold amount of teeth being jarred loose. Corey slammed the open palms of his hands on either side of his face.   “Don’t talk like you know me,” Corey said, slowly removing his hands, “Because you don’t…”   A follow-up punch to the jaw sent Slayer’s world spinning. By the time he saw Corey again, his leg was glowing with black runes, an aura appearing around it. He didn’t have any time to react before the leg made contact with the center of his arm, pinning it to his chest as the impact spell went off, shattering the arm along with causing a lot more untold damage.   Slayer coughed again, his now broken arm hanging limp, falling over onto the one good leg he still had. He found he couldn’t find air, it coming to him in heaving gasps. Corey stood not more than three feet away, watching his struggle. “How does it feel to be the helpless one?” Corey asked.   Unable to speak, Slayer let out a guttural growl, forming a blade of black magic on his good arm. Though he couldn’t understand what he was saying, his thoughts were still clear.   I’ll skewer you!!!   Corey moved out of the way of the attempt, his body blurring for just a moment as he moved out of the way and to Slayer’s side. He grabbed on to Slayer’s wrist, ignoring as the blade dug into his palm, and brought his other, auraified arm down hard. At the same time, Corey’s other hand became auraified as it closed, shattering the blade.   Slayer shouted in pain, his other arm now useless entirely. He staggered backwards, ,but didn’t make it to the ground. The hand that Corey had injured now clutched him by the shirt collar, and pulled Slayer up so that their eyes could meet once again. Slayer threw the worst glare he could ever glare at a pony, but Corey was unfazed.   “I don’t know why you’re mad at me,” Corey said, “You brought this on yourself through your actions.”   Slayer struggled, trying to get some magic in his horn to do something. Through his pain, he charged a shockwave spell. At the very least, it would get Corey off of—   A very crushing blow to the left stomach brought that plan crashing down hard. And another to the right stomach. Another to the left chest…   “We’re far from done here, scum…” Corey said, continuing to pound Slayer with his free hand. ------------------------------------------ The battle outside of the castle had raged on for what seemed like forever. Rainbow and John had managed to keep the creature contained in the park, but that was the easy part. Taking it down was a different story. No matter what they tried to do, the creature merely bounced back each time. Now the park lay in ruins, some parts of it set on fire. Rainbow and John floated in the sky staring down at it, both breathing hard.   The creature, however, showed no signs of slowing down. Wasting no time, it continued its attack. However, John was more or less used to its method of attack, finding little trouble knocking away its arms when they were close to him. Flying at it with great speed, he managed to land another blow to the creature, the force behind it causing it to skid back.   After that, he continued to land one punch after another, but with all his effort, he wasn’t sure if they were making any progress. The creature’s magical form was without a doubt sturdier than cold stone or flesh.   “Look out!” Rainbow called out, but John wasn’t able to react in time as the creature’s palm swatted him away and towards the ground.   John flew downwards and his body made contact with the grassy ground below, the ground giving way under the impact of his body.   “You alright?” Rainbow said, flying over to his location. John groaned lightly as he pushed some debris off of him, surfacing from the crater.   “I’ll live,” he said, shaking his head.   “Just what it Tartarus is it gonna take to bring this thing down?” she asked. At this point, it seemed like it would take nothing short of dropping a skyscraper on it to finish the job.   “We just have to keep trying! I’m sure we’ll—“   John halted, something had changed about the creature. Its eye, which had always been following them suddenly began to glow. Something was different now. After the glow faded its whole body seemed to shift, several spikes jutting out of every inch of its being.   “That’s new…” Rainbow said.   “Rainbow, we have to get back!” John called out, every last fiber of his being telling him that they couldn’t remain where they were. In that moment, the spikes began to shoot out of the creature’s body. In response, John and Rainbow flew back as fast as they could. But they weren’t nearly quick enough, and soon they found the spikes were on top of them. John quickly got into a defensive position. Even if his scales were strong enough to withstand the rain of spikes, he could still feel the impacts.   Rainbow, on the other hand, started moving at high speeds to avoid them. At first, it seemed as though they would both manage to get away just fine.   But then, Rainbow’s luck failed her. A spike managed to clip her shoulder, causing her to slow down in pain. She tried to continue, but another one caught her side. And as several more spikes grazed her body, she started to scream in pain.   John, hearing this, dropped his guard and flew in Rainbow’s direction, wrapping his body around hers, using it as a protective shield. No longer able to keep in the sky, both fell to the ground. John continued to defend against the attack all the while. Soon, the attack died down, and John finally stopped, placing Rainbow down against the remains of a tree.   “You okay?” he asked.   Rainbow didn’t respond, one hand clenching her shoulder, the other nursing her side. Both were bleeding from the attack. She had several other wounds, but they didn’t seem to be as bad as the first two. John himself didn’t quite come out unscathed; he could feel his own blood trickling down his back, some of the spikes lodged into his scales as well. But he couldn’t even feel them now; all he could focus on was Rainbow’s condition.   He knew she needed to get her wounds treated, but there was no telling how much longer this battle would go on.   Unless…   “Stay here,” John said softly, standing up. His head turned towards the creature, which was now staring down at them, “I’ll handle this.”   John started to walk towards the creature, and as he did so, Rainbow noticed the spikes embedded in his back.   “H-hey, you’re not leaving me behi—“ Rainbow tried to get up, but her movement caused her fresh injury to flare up, forcing her back down. Though she hated to admit, she couldn’t even move, much less fly in her condition. As she watched him walk away, all she could do was offer him some sage advice.   “You’d better not lose…”   John didn’t respond. However, Rainbow also couldn’t see his face. If she did, however, she could tell John didn’t intend to lose. Once he was far enough away from Rainbow, and he was sure that the creature’s attention was pointed directly at him, John took to the air once more. He stared it down fiercely as he rose to the sky, his hands tightened into fists.   This time, it was John’s eyes that changed. His pupils, which were normally rounded, suddenly stretched vertically, turning into very narrow slits. He let out a rather feral-sounding growl as his wings arched, and suddenly he dropped down towards the creature at a faster speed than before, as if the spikes in his back now meant nothing to him. In response, the creature began firing out more spikes, directed specifically at him. But they did nothing to slow him down.   Extending his arm out, John’s claws extended out. Putting every last ounce of strength in his arm, he struck the creature in the eye one last time, shoving it down. This time, however, was different from the others. Not only did the impact crater the ground, but his claws successfully managed to pierce through the protective layer, causing the creature to roar. But John wasn’t done just yet. Bringing down his other arm, he dug his other set of claws into the same hole. A chilling roar escaped his mouth as he forced his arms apart, splitting the new orifice even wider.   John opened his mouth, preparing to breathe even more fire into the wound while it was open. But just before he could let his fire blow, something happened. The creature’s body began to shift and deform. Again, it roared, but for the first time, it sounded like it was in utter agony. And finally, much to everyone’s surprise, the creature’s body faded to nothing.   No longer having a platform to stand on, John fell to the ground. His pupils returned to normal as confusion set in, black smoke spewing out of his nose as the flames fizzled harmlessly in the back of his throat. John blinked several times as he looked around. He was sure he hadn’t done anything to the creature that would have caused it. However, seeing Rainbow against the tree, John reminded himself he didn’t have to time think about it. Rainbow needed medical attention. ------------------------------------------ Rarity had been up against foes in the past—foes that were certainly vile in their own right. This, however, was the first time she’d ever had to come into direct combat with something of this size. The strange creature of black magic left behind by the Slayer was doing everything in its power to ensure that no one could leave to help the others. But what their group may have lacked in raw power, they more than made up for it in sheer numbers and tenacity. Through their efforts the team had managed to damage it, evidenced by the several pieces of guard weaponry embedded into its ‘skin’.   But that did little to slow it down. Rarity was sure there was a way—there had to be.   “I got what you asked for!” called out Pinkie, carrying something that was wrapped in a tarp in both of her arms.   “Show me,” said Rarity. Pinkie nodded and unwrapped the tarp. Within it, she revealed several hook-like objects made up of things from around the room. And to each of those was tied a rope made of her special confetti.   “This is perfect,” said Rarity, “Quickly, hand them out to the other guards; they already know the plan.”   Pinkie nodded and handed over one of the hooks to Rarity before taking off towards the other guards. She passed out as many as she had; in total, twenty. As soon as all the hooks were passed out, they moved in towards the creature, which now seemed to be eyeing the group as they encircled it. Each group threw their hooks into the air. As they soared, they latched on to the creature, and at the same time, each pony began to pull with all their might.   The creature tried to fight it, but as more guards grabbed on to the rope it soon found itself overpowered and forced to the floor. But the creature was far from ready to surrender; though it was pinned, it continued to thrash about. And while it seemed to have an infinite pool of stamina, the others did not.   “I don’t think I can hold out much longer!” called out one of the guards. The other guards made no response, but from the sounds of the grunts and panting it was clear they were in the same boat. It was true: in due time, their strength would give out, allowing the creature to attack once again.   Think, there has to be something we can do… Rarity’s mind raced at a mile a second. She knew her laser would be able to injure the creature slightly, but it wouldn’t come close to destroying it. So, desperately, she tried to figure something out, something that could be done to give them the upper hand or even end this once and for all.   But, then something caught her eye: a glimmer of light that twinkled above her. Unable to ignore it, she found herself looking up. What she saw as the chandelier that hung above. It was comprised of dozens of crystals that naturally produced light. It was a beauty of massive size…and most likely just as heavy. There was a sparkle in her eyes—and as an idea struck her, Rarity let out a small gasp.   “Everypony, please, hold on until I give the signal!” Rarity called out, letting go of the rope, “Pinkie! I need to get up there!”   Pinkie followed Rarity’s finger until she too saw the object Rarity was pointing at. She understood what needed to be done. Wrapping her arms around Rarity from behind, she quickly fastened a rope around both of them.   “Keep your arms inside the ride at all times!” Pinkie said as the rope yanked them up off of the floor. As the elevated Rarity’s eyes were already locked on to her target, her horn flaring as she charged her magic as quickly as she could. Soon she found herself level with her target: a strong piece of diamond that fastened the chandelier to the ceiling.   With her spell charged, she fired a laser straight towards it. The power behind the shot was enough to shatter the diamond in an instant. With nothing holding it, the chandelier was free to fall, straight down to the creature was pinned.   “Now!” Rarity called out, the signal she’d promised the guards, but none moved.   It wasn’t that they hadn’t heard her, the moment they noticed the chandelier falling they understood full well what they needed to do. It was far too early to move, though; letting go now would allow the creature to move, and risk it avoiding what could be their old chance to win this battle. No, they had to wait, just long enough to where there was no chance for it to escape.   All time seemed to slow down as it drew closer; every eye was glued to what was happening. The right moment to move was approaching. And soon, it came. Just as the very tip of the chandelier touched the creature, every guard dropped their rope and began to move as quickly as they could. Though it was by the skins of their backs, the guards managed to avoid the falling object as gravity brought it down full force.   As the shaking stopped and the dust cleared, everyone looked on towards the wreckage. The chandelier had managed to completely bury the creature. At first, it seemed as though they had won, but then something began to move. The crystals began to shift and turn out of place as they slowly began to lift off the ground. Everyone stared in shock as the creature revealed itself from under it, lifting the chandelier up.   But it wasn’t undamaged; several of the crystals were embedded into its skin. Everyone saw this and prepared themselves. Even if the creature was still going, there was little doubt that it was crippled now. But as they prepared for round two, it became clear that there was no need. The creature let out a weakened roar, halting mid-lift. The creature fell once more, causing an explosion of smoke from underneath the rubble. The magic making up the creature finally vanished from sight.   The guards stared in silence, unable to believe that it was over, but as it settled in, they all let out a roar of triumph. However, there were two who didn’t join in. Now that the creature was dealt with, both Rarity and Pinkie had no reason to stay. Quickly, the two of them ran up the stairs, heading for the others. ------------------------------------------ All she could feel was a tremble, but it wasn’t coming from her own body. It was coming from the surface below her. They were short, lasting no longer than a second each time, but each tremble was stronger than the last. Finally, one of the trembles was so strong that it shook her entire body, and with that, she awoke.   W-what…? she thought to herself. Though her eyes were now open, all she could see were blurs. She blinked several times, trying to clear up the image. After a few seconds, she began to see clearly. First, she was reminded of where she was: the throne room in the Crystal Palace. Next, she noticed several guards knocked out all around her on the floor. Some seemed to be trying to move, but couldn’t muster the strength.   Finally, her eyes lay on who was right next to her.   “Applejack?” Just like the guards, she too was unresponsive.   But why, why were they unconscious? Why was part of the room destroyed? She couldn’t remember any of it.   “Who…who could have—“ Twilight let out a small gasp as her memories caught up with her.   “Corey!” Without thinking, Twilight pushed herself off of the floor as quickly as she could. A jolt of pain coursed through her, starting at the back of her head—no doubt from where she’d hit the wall. But that didn’t matter to her now. She had to get up; she had to find Corey; she had to, with any luck, try to save him…from himself.   Staggering to her feet, Twilight used the wall for support. Slowly, she began to move, using the sounds of battle as her guide. ------------------------------------------ He lifted the bastard by the collar of his shirt once more. Slayer hadn’t tried much to escape for the past minute or so. His eyes were blank, and his red fur and clothes were all stained with blood. This time, it was definitely mostly his own. In fact, his already half-melted disguise of himself had vanished around a minute ago.   “Passed out, have you?” Corey questioned, his voice still lifeless. He nodded as Slayer completely failed to respond other than a gurgle as Corey shook him lightly, “Hm. Looks like you lucked out…at least a little bit.”   Corey turned, his arm enshrouded in a black aura once more as he threw Slayer towards the opposite wall with great force, enough to crack it when Slayer made his impact. Slayer’s body jerked, but even that wasn’t enough to elicit more than a small noise.   “But, your dues are nearly paid,” Corey continued, walking over to him, his left fist clenching hard, black runes swirling into it at an alarming rate. His fist slowly began to vanish into a black magic cloud, as he slowly walked towards Slayer, “All that’s left for you to offer is your life. You obviously won’t feel it, but that’s okay, I suppose…”   “As for how your life will be removed,” He stopped, mere feet from Slayer. The magic on his fist was super concentrated, enough so that it took a bit of effort for him to move his arm. The weight was causing the ground to crack, “It will be ironic, for sure.”   Corey slowly lifted his fist in front of his face, sneering. The mere thought of being able to erase the bastard from existence finally caused the first true change in his expression.   “I’m going to turn you into your favorite paint!” Corey declared, his monotone breaking into full-on angry yelling, “See you in hell!”   This was it: the end to all of the pain; all of the suffering, past, present, and future. Bringing down his fist as hard as he could, there was nothing that could stop him now…or so he thought.   “Corey, no!” Corey did a double take, hearing the voice. In a blur, something got between him and Slayer, something that Corey hadn’t expected.   Twilight!? She didn’t know why, but Twilight had put herself directly between him and Slayer, and did not move. It was close, but Corey managed to cancel his spell just before his fist hit the ground. The flares around his eyes had died down a bit. He closed his eyes, slowly exhaling a breath he only now realized he was holding. But, now that she was safe, he had a very pressing question on his mind.   “Twilight…why…?”   After all that Slayer had done to her family—and even her, why did she get in the way like that?   Twilight didn’t have an answer at first, staring directly at Corey. She could hardly recognize him now. His hatred, his fury, had taken over. She’d tried to avoid this, but it had happened anyway. And now, he was at the point of no return. But still, behind those discolored eyes, she could see it. There was still a chance to save him…   “I can’t let you go through with it, Corey,” she finally said.   “Why not?” he asked, pointing a finger which Twilight could see was stained with blood, “He deserves this and more…don’t you see that?”   Twilight moved towards him, pushing the pointed finger back in as gently as she could. Afterwards, she took hold of his hand. Corey flinched at the sudden touching, but didn’t move to retract his hand. His eyes slightly changed now, but it wasn’t quite the eyes she’d seen before.   She didn’t falter. She looked right back into his eyes with furrowed brows, “Yes, he’s done horrible things. Yes, he deserves to be punished. But this isn’t the way!”   Corey grit his teeth as he closed his eyes. Even now, Slayer’s punishment was on his mind—the extremely deserved punishment he’d earned through his actions…   “Then what is?” asked Corey, opening his eyes, “All that time in Tartarus hasn’t done a thing. Now that he’s out, he’s just going back to what he’s done before.”   Twilight could see it. His eyes weren’t on her. He was looking back at Slayer, who still had yet to move.   “And I…I won’t allow him to make someone else another chapter!” Corey said, looking back to her.   “But at what cost?” she asked, “I understand how you feel. You want to stop him from adding another chapter to his book. We all do, but…are you willing to make him the first of yours?”   Corey froze. His eyes altered again. That purplish fire had vanished entirely. He had never killed someone before. And it certainly hadn’t ever been a thought in his head until…   “But this is different!” he said, “He’s killed so many, and I…I won’t…”   “Until we face someone worse?” asked Twilight, “There are more out there, Corey, and if you do this now, what’s stopping you from doing it again?! At what point will the line completely vanish from your sight??”   Corey’s breathing began to quicken, his eyes darting around the place. His expression, his eyes, became softer. Twilight could see it. The Corey she knew was starting to return, but he wasn’t back yet.   “But…they are…” he said, “A-And…And I’m…not…”   It was weird. Up until that point, he was convinced what he was doing was the right thing. But now, he didn’t know. Now the question came up in his mind: what was the right choice?   “I know you’re not…” Twilight’s other hand came up slowly, placing it to the side of Corey’s face, “But if you go through with this, will you really be able to say that?”   Corey’s eyes changed again, the green fading now. He looked to Twilight, and then back to the wall behind her. There Slayer was, still broken and unconscious on the ground, coated in his own blood. Now, he was wondering at what point he took control of the fight. At what point did Slayer lose consciousness?   And at what point did he fall so far he could torture someone else without a second thought?   It all started to hit him all at once. He blinked, his heart racing as he took a step back, finally, for the moment eluding Twilight’s touch. The anger was completely gone from his expression; replaced by fear, remorse.   “W-what…what did I do…?” Corey’s voice cracked a bit as he lifted his trembling hands into his view. His palms were stained with blood, fresh red stains. And he knew it definitely wasn’t all his own. The world fell away once again as what he’d done overcame him.   “I—I could have stopped…I should have stopped!”   At last, Corey broke down, tears streaming down his face. He fell onto his knees. Twilight closed the distance before falling over onto her own. Her arms found their way around him. She too was shedding tears—not of remorse, but joy. She’d finally gotten through to him.   But as they embraced, and as they cried, neither noticed what was happening. Slayer, who had remained unconscious until now, was finally waking up. Opening one eye—the other seemingly failing to open, he saw that the two were no longer paying attention to him. But he knew he definitely couldn’t do anything about it. He only had one chance, one option.   Through the pain of his broken bones Slayer managed to reach into a pocket on his clothing. From it, he pulled out a stone much like the one used by Lyon. Gripping it tightly, the stone began to glow, enough to catch their attention.   But as they finally turned to face him, all they could see was him staring back at them as the light slowly engulfed him. And when it died back down, he was gone without a trace.