Asha stepped out onto the roof, the tile reflecting the rising sun's glow. "Good morning. Up here to marvel at the sunrise? It really is spectacular here."
"I didn't ask you to come so you can talk, Asha No-Name." Nesryn said.
Asha flinched a bit. "Well, it certainly is better than your name, Nesryn Phantomhive. Traitor who betrayed the Head of House Hive and changed it to Phantomhive."
Nesryn also flinched. "I put that behind me many years ago. And I have made this family prosper."
"Yes," agreed Asha. "This branch of it. The rest of the Phantomhives have begun to deteriorate. You are the only pair left in the Phantomhive line that still carry noble titles. The rest have been reduced to little more than commoners." Asha gave a vicious smile. "I'm surprised you didn't know."
"Was this your doing?"
"Well, I had lived in this house for quite a bit before you sold me off. I happened to come across some of your secrets you kept buried in this house. You should really guard them with something more secure than chains and locks. You should know by now that those aren't things that will be able to stop me."
Nesryn clenched her fingers. "Why did you come back? Why are you here if you hate us so openly."
"I came back because that was the only way for us to be able to win against a more terrifying evil."
"In that case, I have a question for you," said Nesryn. "Would you rather remain in justice, even if that means evil escapes, or would you rather commit evil to destroy evil?"
Asha smiled. A paradox. Either way, evil still remained. "I will commit evil to destroy evil, even if it means becoming evil."
"Then you and I aren't that different in that regard."
"I agree, but I still have one last question for you. Where is my Amorglass?"
"You'll just have to find it in the house. It's here, I know. But where we placed it, I cannot remember. However, I do remember one thing. My promise to you ten years ago!" Nesryn lunged at Asha, fingers turning into claws as she slipped into her second form.
"A bengal tiger, if I remember correctly. It's a mid-tier, but has the power of a high-tier. Congratulations on that," said Asha, jumping back to dodge. "But no matter how strong you can get, you still will never be able to beat me."
"Well, now, who jumped to conclusions?" asked Nesryn, charging again. "Who ever said I would be the one to beat you?"
Asha's eyes widened and she snarled as she raised her left arm to block the long talons that made to crush her skull. They dug deep into Asha's flesh, causing a thick stream of blood to begin flowing down her elbow onto the roof. "That's playing dirty, Nesryn. Though, I should have expected it. You were always a coward." With Phillip holding her by the arm, she couldn't dodge very well…
Asha managed to shift enough to where Nesryn's claws only scratched her upper arm. Asha grabbed Nesryn's wrist, foot already in the air as she jumped and slammed her heel into Nesryn's head. The blow was so hard, the roof cracked and Nesryn fell to the floor below. Asha grinned as she bit down on the finger of her gloves, ripping them off and throwing them away. "Now it's your turn," she snarled at Phillip, a mad smile on her face.
∽
Blyke jumped as a loud BOOM echoed through the house, the building shaking as if a giant had picked it up and was shaking it.
"What the hell was that?" roared Daniel, rightening himself from where he'd been sprawled across the couch.
"I know only one person who can make a building shake that much. Damn her! Why is she causing trouble now?!" snarled Amelia.
Isabella had frozen, though. But she suddenly sprang up, running to the door. "Do not leave this room!" she shouted before vanishing around the corner.
"Isabella?! Hey--" Tim was interrupted by a sudden growth of vines across the walls, creating a large barrier around the room."
"Damn, this is like a freaking cocoon," said Rosaria, the water blades she'd conjured having little to no effect.
Tim lit his finger on fire, holding it against the vines, but the flame just sputtered out. "Damn, so it's that kind of dryad," he muttered. "No wonder she has so many plants."
"Why?"
"Her kind of Dryad can imitate any plants she's seen before. While we were in the garden yesterday, she showed me a patch of vines and told me to blast them. They were unscathed. She said they were Ironsvines. They hold the same properties as iron does to Amora-users.
"In other words she really wants us to stay put. Damn."
"It works on anything conjured by the Amora's power. But if we use the natural elements already here…"
"I have an easier solution," said Blyke. "It's a transcendental, but not an attack-oriented one. This is a control transcendental. I can use it to get us out of here."
"Do what you need to do, but make it quick. I have a feeling something's happening."
∽
Asha deflected Nesryn's attack with her scaled arm, keeping Phillip in check by using the Oblivinite snakes. "Don't tell me you sold me off before you even knew what that facility did," she laughed.
"I had a vague idea, but I didn't quite care about the details." Nesryn roared as she sent bolts of flame at Asha.
Asha just laughed maniacally. "Like that would do anything!" Her snakes rushed to devour the balls of fire.
"Hah! So naive!"
Asha's lips curled into a wide, mad grin. "As if!" She jumped over Phillip's arm, grabbing it. As she landed, she pulled hard, flipping him over. Asha heard the satisfying crack of his head hitting the roof. "How pathetic, if you think this paltry excuse for an attack with bring me down."
"You should pay more attention, Asha!"
Asha's eyes widened as Phillip wrapped his arms around her legs, slamming his claws into her feet to impale her to the roof. "Is this…"
Nesryn was crouched a couple dozen feet away, a large ball of fire above her, and growing by the second.
"Your transcendental will kill your husband, too, Nesryn," Asha said, grinning as she drew out more Oblivinite.
"I'm aware of that," said Phillip. "And I don't care. As long as you're gone, we can go back to how it was."
Asha sneered as Nesryn stopped drawing power.
"Transcendental! Hellflare!"
Asha had already started the wall of Oblivinite, but her eyes widened as a figure suddenly flung itself between the fire and Asha. Asha's mouth opened unconsciously and a scream was wrenched from her. "ISABELLA!"
Asha sighed in relief as she saw Isabella unburned, hidden behind a shield of Ironsvines. But then Asha's blood ran cold as Isabella began to fly backwards.
Isabella was strong in magic power, but her physical body was very weak, most likely because she'd never been able to run around outside like other kids were when she was young.
Asha, Phillip, and Nesryn all started running at the same time, but they were all too late. Asha may have been able to save her with the snakes, but she couldn't count on her control when she still would be shaken up by her near-death. One wrong move, and she could be the reason Isabella never opened her eyes again.
Asha started to shift into the wings she could control when she was E-1, but her body shuddered as the backlash for using too much power hit her. Asha didn't care. She'd jump over the edge if she could save Isabella.
"ASHA!"