Embers Of A Past Flame
As the ship slowly rose into the cover of the clouds for safety, following my instructions to still be nearby in case I needed it, I slowly flew towards the base of the smoldering mountain, hoping to put off doing this for as long as possible to prepare myself mentally. 'If Ember turned this city into a volcano, I have my work cut out for me.'
As I began my approach, I spotted a familiar looking pony wearing gleaming metal armor, although it is now covered in soot, as well as a unicorn standing nearby. The armored pony took her helmet off to speak.
"Griffin, you're here, thank Celestia. I almost thought you would leave us in this mess." She said with a manner of desperation. Thank goodness I'm here? Who am I, spiderma.......superman? And how did she know I was coming? I'm just here to have a chat with Ember and hopefully not die.....
"Umm...... who are you again? I kinda forgot your name..... and why the hell am I helping you?"
"I'm Ritz, and your going to help me because Ember is close to starting the Apocalypse, and has barely managed to retain a modicum of sanity over the past two weeks." Oh for fuck's sake. Really? Is this going to become a weekly occurrence?
I sighed. "Great, just great. I barely get finished dealing with one end of the world, and now I've got to put up with another. Okay. What's wrong with her, how bad is it, what is she doing, and how can I stop it?" If she's here to help, I might as well accept it. Anything to make my job easier.
Ritz turned pale, her sooty face becoming white as snow. "Just follow me." She muttered as she lead me towards the mouth of a cave set in the burning mountain.
'Man, I am so screwed.'
First thing I notice as I entered is that it wasn't hot. I've been to a volcano before, and it was hot. Why isn't it hot? It should be hot. And it shouldn't be dark either. It looks like I'm in a cave system that is somehow miraculously shielded from the tons of boiling lava right above my head. Luckily, the unicorn with us used her horn to light the cavern so we could see. Stalagmites and stalactites all over,the sound of dripping water that you'd expect strangely absent, only our breathing and footsteps echoing in the dark. We traveled for a good ten minutes or so, although I couldn't really tell in the dark of the cave how much time has actually passed, till we reached a large, empty room that reminded me of the mines of Moria burial chamber. Ritz turned to look at me, concern in her eyes.
"Ember is through here, but you'll not enjoy what you see." She looked afraid, terrified, positively haunted as she once again regards the door.
"Well, here's hoping I don't die." I drew my sword and held it in front of me, much the way a knight would. "Protego." Then I sheathed it again as I felt my skin harden. Resisting the urge to make a metapod joke, I gave the door a knock and waited.
.
.
.
.
Nothing.
Ritz put a hoof on my shoulder. "Open it, she can't."
"Of course." Duh. "HEY EMBER! I'M COMING IN THERE, DON'T GO TRYING TO KILL ME BECAUSE IF I DIE I'LL BE REALLY PISSED OFF!" With that, I pushed the heavy stone slab open, revealing the inner chamber as Ritz and the unicorn face hoofed. As I entered, I heard a sad violin song. You know, the one that makes everyone cry? Damn it, why did that song have to start playing now? Does this world really hate me that much? A hundred bits says it's raining outside. I watched as Ember sat in the middle of the room, the sad melody coming forth. Around her is a sphere, crackling with energy. Is she bound, or is she the cause? I don't know, but if the song is any indication, she's downright miserable.
'Just like I thought, and I'm the cause.'
'Shut up guilt, I have no need for you.'
There are very few things in this world that I fear, spiders being one, losing those I care about is another. And Ember, with the might to best the spirit of the moon, and her absolute hatred of me, is the third. At a time like this, I remembered words of great courage, spoken when entering certain peril. I took a deep breath, mustered my will, and spoke as I approached. "Pizza's here!" Then I winced, hoping she hadn't heard me.
Her eyes shot open, 'Blast!', pitch black whites, purple irises and a dot of red for the pupil. She glared at me, and her gaze itself spoke death. Her multi-toned voice, a mix of both high and low, came forth from her open mouth, spilling licks of flame as she spoke. "Who are you?"
"Someone who needs to talk to you." I don't want to tell her my name just yet.
"Your name, infidel." Infidel, really?
"Why, or are you one of those people who need to know the names of the ones they kill? Beyond that, my name would have no meaning to you."
"This wretched chamber imprisons us at this moment right now, and names hold power."
"Then, Ember, my name is Griffin. And, who is 'us'?" Multiple personality maybe? The dog said she had been talking to herself.
Suddenly her body was wracked with spasms. "Griffin, is that you?" She asked, her voice now back to it's original tone from the gala, and the red in her eyes growing larger.
"Yes. I am the one you swore to hunt to the ends of the earth to seek vengeance. So, I have come before you of my own will in hopes of settling this, peacefully if at all possible, although unlikely."
She stood tall, the violin she had with her before disappearing in a swirl of pure darkness. "Do you know why?"
'Now, this is the time. Get her talking, figure out her motive, make her think clearly.'
"I do not. Care to tell me?" I know why, but I want HER to say it so I can question her motives and get out of this.
"Because you disgraced my father."
"I think you missed the part when he was trying to EAT ME!"
"No, his death was just, he even fortold it days before, but you acted as if he was part of a game rather than a person to be respected even in death."
"Well I'm SOOOOOOORRY. I just got thrown into a wasteland, wake up completely lost, get tossed around like a bean bag, and then almost eaten. Forgive me if I was lacking in the sanity department! I.......... went back afterwards....." I moved to the side, showing her my blade.
"And fought a group of diamond dogs that my brother had been chased by for over three weeks, yes, I know. But rather than respect his body, you proceeded to mutilate the corpse. Are you truly that depraved?"
"Depraved? His flesh is my own, his blood flows in my veins. His teeth, scales, claws and bones are part of my very being. As for the soul.... he was DEAD. Would you rather the body turn to dust, or at least have some use made of it? It seems we have different meanings for 'respect for the dead'."
"YOU ACTED AS IF HE WERE YOU BLOODY TOOL. NO RESPECTS, NO GRAVE, NO REMORSE OF ANY KIND. I HAD TO DRAG HIS HEAD AND BURY IT, ALONE, AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN SAY A PRAYER OVER HIM!!"
"How the fuck do you expect me to bury someone that size! As for prayer, I've never been all that religious. You needing to bury him alone is hardly my fault. HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW HE HAD A DAUGHTER?!"
Ember lunged at me, and I jumped backwards, even though she was on the other side of the barrier. As she struck it, her body was blasted with lightning bolts from every direction, the sphere literally creating a stormcloud inside of itself. She shrieked in agony and was thrown into the middle of the sphere. Ritz walked in, her head held low, "Gemina, stop." Ember snarled, but proceeded to sit down in the middle of the sphere, her eyes once again that of a demon.
As she sat there, I slowly drew my sword. I take a bipedal stance, using my wings for balance and bring the handle up above my head. I lay the flat of the sword across my arm so it's pointed at the ground at an angle, the way Dusty Trails showed me. As I slowly approached the barrier and Ember shifted, ready to lash out the moment I take a step inside. Ritz looked at me with worry. We were both silent for a while, but seeing that I'm not about to act, she finally speaks up.
"When she first entered the chamber she started muttering spells, and she didn't stop for over two hours. By the time she finished the first hour she had started to bleed from her eyes and mouth. The last words she spoke to me before she became like this were, 'Find Griffin, he's our best chance'. She needs you to work with her, stop being defensive."
"So, what the hell do you want me to do about it? She can't kill me if she's stuck in there, much less hurt anything else. I'm no psychologist, so the only way I could do anything is to go in there. I'm not about to let her rip me to shreds just so she can feel better."
"She can free herself. Right now there are multiple people in her mind, and Ember is the only thing that keeps them from breaking through. You see this Volcano? This is a trifle compared to what she can become. I need you to actually work with her anger. That's her one crippling factor. Please Griffin."
"So..... wait...... you want me to DELIBERATELY piss her off? What would that accomplish? Letting the nutjobs in her head take control so they can kill me? If anything, she needs to calm the fuck down."
"The only way she'll be able to let go of her anger is to work through it. Then, hopefully, she'll come back to normal."
"So...... I'm basically letting her use me as a punching bag so she can let out her frustrations, that way they don't build and she uses the whole WORLD as a punching bag? That's the worst fucking plan I ever heard of. Mostly because it involves me being shipped back to my future wife in a soup can, already cooked. What's to stop me from... let's say... just killing her?"
"No, you must try and to her, for she has a part yet to play in the battle to come, but if she breaks free then yes, we will have to kill her, as the benefits would outweigh the loss. I doubt the possibility of it however, so we must pray for the best." What is she, some kind of mystic fortune teller? Well, she did know I was coming..... aw crap.....
"Yeah, you underestimate me. Ever hear of hellfire? Nasty stuff. That shit can burn fire itself. Well, since I don't think I can attack her from out here, either way I'm gonna have to go in there. Whether I kill her or she calms the fuck down is up to her."
"I'm coming too, if only to give you time to cast your spells. When she went berserk, she almost left a mirage, so any time is great."
"Your funeral." I drew several vials of blood and drank them, along with a mana potion. "Protego. Accelero." The spells will last so long as I don't take damage, and as long as I move around at normal speed, only fading when they're used. With that, I stepped towards the barrier. It stings slightly as I touch it, and once I'm almost through it pushes me the last bit, making me stumble slightly.
Ember looked at me, her face becoming a huge grin. "Is the emo finally coming to talk with me?"
"Ember, one, I'm not an emo. That's the stupidest fucking trend besides Twi-hards. Two, I'm gonna kick your ass and put you on time out till you get over your tantrum." Suddenly the room went pitch black for a second, and the words that Ember spoke became deep and guttural.
"But it is not Ember who is in control here pitiful creature, but me." And as swiftly as the lights vanished they reignite, casting light upon the room once again.
With an unseemly speed, the flat of my blade collided with her head as she sat, flinging her into the barrier. She shrieked with pain as she bounced off it and the energy arced through her. She stood up, swaying slightly, then leaned back and laughed maniacally. Ritz, standing next to me, muttered darkly, "Fuck, its Gemina."
"Oh, the evil laugh competition? I like that game!" I dove at her, matching her laugh as I tackled her into the barrier, pushing her up against it. The energy arced through her, causing a great deal of pain, while I get a mild stinging from being in contact.
'The barrier seems to be doing the most damage. My protect spell is starting to wear off, and it hurts even with it on full. If I keep it and speed up, I should be able to cause enough pain to make her black out. Hopefully she'll come to her senses when she comes around.'
She continued laughing, offering no resistance, while Ritz shrieked at me, "No Griffin, get the buck out of there!"
"You like your barrier so much, how about you give it a kiss!" I spun her around and smashed her face into the lightning wall, but she still just kept laughing. 'Come on! How much of this can she take?'
Without even noticing, I found myself flying across the room. My protect spell dropped as I slammed into the opposite barrier, ten feet away, and begin screaming with the pain of electrocution before falling to the ground.
"What.... dafuq?"
I got to my feet and looked around. "Where the hell is she?" I notice that she's exactly where I left her, holding a large feathered wing in her hand, licking blood off her claw.
"Mmm.... tastes like chicken...." She said dreamily as she friggin ATE it, plumes and all. It took a while for it to sink in, but eventually, it did. I turned and looked at my left side, only to notice something very personal that should be there wasn't, and blood was spurting from a fresh stump. The pain set in, and was almost unbearable, and my mind just about broke as I screamed in agony. Ritz rushed forward, giving a bloodcurdling cry as she swung a hoof, but Ember merely shoved her claw into the limb and literally exploded it, sending Ritz flying out of the barrier sphere, unconscious.
"Heh.... heh.... hehe.... heh......... my wing......... I can't fly anymore......... You...... bitch..........you..... fuck it...... time to die now!...... Infernus........" Hades became engulfed in the black flames of death, my adrenaline rush and severed nerves preventing me from feeling the intense pain, only the sensation of a slick wetness running down my side and legs making itself known.
"Really, just fire?" Ember asked, eyes wide in surprise. I dove forward, not using my wings as the strike would be off balance, and stabbed with my blade at the psychotic dragon, only for her to vanish and me to strike the barrier. I don't feel the electric shock as I should. Instead, the flames spread throughout the magic shield, consuming it's magic to fuel the fire. Almost all the light is drained from our little arena as the hellfire surrounded us in a black ball of death. Touching the edge won't be painful anymore, because we'd be dead before we felt the anguish.
"Now thats a nice trick." Ember said in awe as the flames surrounded us. "Could you teach me it? Oh, wait, your going to die soon." Tears of blood began to trickle down her face. "I don't want you to die."
"Then stop trying to kill me you crazy bitch!" I propped myself up with my sword and drank another vial to recharge it. "By the way, this is hellfire. We're basically in Tartarus right now. The flames eat magic. Touch it, and you're dead. It'll keep feeding off your mana reserves and only become more intense as it does. If you're so dead set on killing me, I'll make damn sure you touch this fire with at least your pinkie finger so it catches, and then I'll kick your ass when we both go to HADES!"
I finished my speech, only to feel intense pain in my right arm as a stream of blood came pouring out. She had stuck her claw into my shoulder, then opened it, ripping apart the ball and socket joint. 'Damn, so fast, didn't even see....she..... artery. Only gonna be conscious for a little while more.... gotta get.... one hit..... Gotta at least...... damn.... it.......' I slumped to the ground from the lack of blood.'
"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. No. Not here! Not here!" I felt a drop of blood fall on my face, and another into my mouth as she stood over me, with me on my back, still crying blood. My strength momentarily returns and with it, I grab Hades in my left claw and swing, only for the impossible to happen. She grabs the blade in her claw, squeezes it, and it snaps, cracks running through the remainder of it and a jagged edge where the second half of it used to be. I stared in wide eyed horror at the second half of my blade, lodged in the stone floor of the cavern. Ember stepped onto my chest and pushed down, bringing several, audible cracks as she shattered my ribs, then suddenly, she stopped.
"Well well, that's a pretty little trinket." She said as she spotted my amulet...... MY AMULET! Human and Equestrian forms don't share damage! I can swap out, then cast a spell with what's left of my sword to get out of this death trap! As she slowly pulled it off, admiring the gem almost lovingly, drooling at the thought of it, I used the breath I'd been holding to prevent my lungs from collapsing under her crushing weight to say those two little magic words that were going to get me out of this mess. "Forma...... versus......"
The weight, the pain, it all disappears. I felt my body returning to my loathed human form, losing mass and size. My exhaustion, both from exertion, blood loss, and magic use faded, bringing my thoughts to clarity again. I slipped out of my heavy armor and looked at the scene before me. "What. The. Actual. Fuck?"
Standing before me was a girl, white, with midnight blue hair and black punk clothes on, carrying a longsword. Beside her stood death itself. A tall reptilian skeleton, it empty eyes alight with real fire, black as night with a few wisps of purple within. It looks like a dragon, but with all the meat and stuff removed, so it's just skin and scales over a skeleton. It looked straight at me and said, in the same horrid voice that resonated from it earlier, "Thank you for freeing me of that worthless vessel. For that you shall be rewarded with a quick, painless death." It shrieked, the sound could only be described as that of children watching their parents being murdered, and knowing they're next.
"Fuck that noise!" I grabbed the remainder of Hades, still a little magic present, and tackled the girl. "Protego!" I threw the two of us through the barrier, covering her with my body to protect her from the blaze, screaming as it caught me alight, yet allowed passage. "Oh shit! Ow ow ow ow Extinguo!" I put myself out then dropped to the floor and promptly vomited, feeling like I had been touched by death itself. Most likely because I had.
The girl from earlier, who I had totally forgotten to process the part about her being human, looked straight at me and muttered in my ear, "Griffin?"
"Ha......... I'm to young, classy, and smart to get killed by some overgrown bone lizard." I gasped as I laid on the ground.
Her whisper became more urgent. "Are you Griffin?"
"Heh..... yep........ Hellfire is hot..... ow."
"And magic is beautiful, delens lassitudine." My exhaustion left me as she spoke those words, allowing me to sit up.
"Welp...... tall dark and ugly is stuck in there. Those flames will keep burning as long as there's magic, and since that barrier is fueled by it's reserves, it's pretty much a permanent prison."
Ember slowly got to her feet, "*cough* but it won't stop it once it recovers." She muttered, looking around the hall.
"By the way, who ARE you?"
She stopped next to the woman and turned to me, her face a picture of exasperation. "Give a guess. Only three people were in this room a moment before."
"Let's see, Me, Ritz, and Ember, and now there's me, that thing, you, and her. There were three, now there's four. Again, what the fuck?"
"And I said sister." the black haired girl points at the woman on the ground and asks, "Think, who has a mane that looks like that?
"Okay.... hold on...... Me, Griffin now human, you, Ember now human, her, Ritz now human, that thing trapped by my flames........ what is it?"
Ember looks at Griffin sadly and states, monotonously, "My sister."
"Right, your sister.... okay............ um...... you know what? I don't wanna know. I just want my wing back so I can get on board my ship and they can try to reattach it, but seeing as how that thing ATE it, that's not going to happen, I'm out of here."
"I'm sorry, but it's too late for that. You decided to literally unleash the other half of me, so we have to stop it."
"We? What 'we'? There is no 'we' there's you, and there's her. In case you haven't noticed, I didn't do so well before, and now all I have to rely on are my fists against a DRAGON made entirely of scale and bone. I hate to disappoint you, but I'd only get in the way here. Nope, I've had enough today. Me being here won't change anything, and I've already got one body at near death, I don't feel like getting another." I put my hand over my amulet. I was still wearing it since she had let go when we both changed. "Screw you guys, I'm going home. If you die, I'll have my crew 'deal' with your sister."
I turned around and began walking out of the cave. 'Nope, I'm done. I'm done with this. Not putting up with any more apocalypse situations. From now on it's just going to be me, killing diamond dogs slavers, and not getting hurt anymore.' That's when I heard something being said in Latin, followed by a shout and a roar. When I turned around, I saw that the barrier was down and the fiend was charging straight at me.
"NOOOO GEMINA!"
"What the fuck did you doooooooo!" I shouted as I collided with the eight hundred pound line backer, tossing me clear to the side of the cave where I bumped my head against the wall. The world suddenly went wibbly wobbly. 'I..... concussion.... shit.... Breathing raspy, broken ribs, cough.'
"GEMINA, STOP!"
My swirling vision picked up bits and pieces of what was going on, Ember running towards 'Gemina' with a sword in her hands, swinging the blade as the monster's claws came forth and sank into my eye sockets, ripping the precious orbs from their hold.
I screamed. I screamed and I screamed and I screamed, blood seeping from the now empty holes in my head, the searing pain of my optic nerves being shredded and exposed to the dry air. I could feel my blood running down my face, and could hear shouting, but couldn't make any sense of it. I continued screaming, holding my face in agony, until finally, mercifully, I blacked out from the pain.
'Why is this happening to me?'