There was so little fight in them, once they realized magic was afoot. The sheer horror of knowing they were utterly helpless in the face of someone more powerful by far brought most people to their knees. This man had gone limp from fear the instant Ashanite had summoned his weapon, and he was reduced to desperate pleading, and then to prayers, as if asking any deity for help could stop what was happening.
“Relax,” Ashanite said, almost boredly. “It’ll be over quicker if you stop struggling.”
Not that that was actually true; it would be over quickly regardless. But it would be less annoying if he quit struggling.
This was interesting, too; almost as if things had come full circle. Because the park, here where he had backed this poor civilian up against the fountain, was the selfsame park where, years ago, he had become a member of the Negaverse.
Perhaps it meant something. Perhaps it was simply a coincidence. Either way, he was here.
Caer Sidi had not intended to challenge a General tonight. She had meant, instead, to skirt the powerful Chaos aura that pinged on her senses and stay alive. She was just a Page, after all, and while she had powerful allies, she couldn’t rely on them to arrive in time. It was smarter, really, to stay away; to dodge this particular bullet and keep going.
But there was a sob. A loud yelp. She was closer to the General than she’d thought, and she was close enough to know that there was no other powered aura.
It was a civilian.
She swallowed.
Surely, this wasn’t her problem. Surely, even with her Oath, she couldn’t be expected to risk her life against someone so much stronger than her. Someone who could kill her with half a thought and a hand in her chest. Or, worse, could bring her back and have her corrupted, warp her into a servant of darkness.
She felt the back of her hand tingle, as if her Wonder was reminding her of her Oath. But still she was rooted in place. There was simply no way; the power gap was too much and too far. A General would absolutely slaughter her.
But the tingling continued, and in her heart, she knew.
Oath or no, she could not simply stand by and let this happen. Yes, she was sworn to be a shield for those weaker than her. Yes, she was bound to this duty, and bound to this fight. But in truth, even if she wasn't, she was fairly certain she would have made the same choice.
She turned. She took a breath. And she strode towards the alley, and even though she was afraid, she went forward.
The General was tall. Looming, almost, with a razor-sharp weapon that dripped a strange inky black substance. He was every bit the threat she knew the Negaverse to be, and she knew that she was making a fool's choice to step between him and the cowering civilian on the ground. But she would anyway.
"Get away from him!"
Ashanite blinked.
It was difficult to surprise him, these days, but the sheer gumption of a Page trying to order him around was more than enough to make him turn and raise his eyebrows.
Cosmos. Of course she was Cosmos--he couldn’t help but think of Hyperborea, ever strong and bold.
“Well. You have some gumption,” he said, dryly. “Or a death wish. Tell me, which is it? Do you want to die with him, or do you think you can stand up to me?”
He was arrogant. Smug, almost, and clearly deeply self-satisfied--and he had reason to be. That bladed staff, with its long reach combined with him being so goddamn tall, close to Hype in height if not taller, was a massive advantage that would be more than a bit of a challenge for her to overcome. If she even could. She was small, and weak, and not much and not very powerful.
But she had heart.
"I'm going to stop you," she said, drawing herself up to her full height--not impressive, in comparison to him, no, but it was better than simply cowering. She could do this. She knew she could do this.
Or, well. She had to do this.
"I am Caer Sidi of Cosmos. In the name of Cosmos Herself, I demand that you lower your weapon and step away from that man."
“Oh,” Ashanite said, and he grinned, broadly. “You demand, do you? In the name of your absent Princess?” He tapped his blade against the ground. “Please. I broke free of any bods to any Princess the day I chose to let Laurelite take me into the Negaverse.”
Once upon a time, he had lied. Obfuscated. Tricked. Played the role of the lost, hapless, forcibly corrupted Squire. But that was then. Everyone he had played that tune on, except perhaps Whisler and Hyperborea, was long gone, and even if they had still been around, there would have been no cause to continue to lie.
He was a General of the Negaverse. A traitor to Order. He was tired of pretending to be anything else.
"But please. Do step in and try to stop me. I'll enjoy killing you just as much as I enjoy killing him."
There was a desperate, miserable sob from the man on the ground, and Ashanite turned. He took a step closer, and brought his blade up, swinging it down to drive it into the civilian's chest. He would stab the man, and then as he bled, he would take his starseed, and then he would handle the idiot Page who thought she could fight him.
“No!” Caer Sidi shouted, and she leapt forward—
And the stars heard her desperation, or the Code, or her Wonder, or something, because in that moment, as she lunged to interpose herself between the General and the civilian, the one who proudly touted that he had chosen to corrupt, she changed.
And she felt something bloom inside her, a new magic, and as she held her new suncatcher to the sky, a shimmering shield surrounded her and the civilian behind her. The blade struck the shield and glanced off, and Caer Sidi let her breath out.
She brought her ring up to her lips, staring the General in the eyes. She had worked with a Mauvian recently to use the blueprint that had come with it in order to upgrade it to send out hologram signals, and she activated that ability.
“This is Caer Sidi of Cosmos. I’m in Central Park, near the fountain, confronting a General. I need backup, please.”
Ashanite’s eyebrows went up, as his blade stopped against her shield.
“How interesting,” he said, and then he pulled out his own communicator.
“Agents,” he said into it, “this is General Ashanite. I’m confronting a Knight in Central Park; she’s called for backup, and I could use some assistance securing her for corruption.”
How familiar. The same dance, in the same park, except this little Squire was not in on the setup.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the civilian run away, but that hardly mattered. No, there was something much more interesting here now.
