Heat settled in the air around them.
Shine's body shook faintly. A bit from fear. A bit from excitement.
She wasn't sure if she was ready to face someone like The Father. All of her training to the point of exhaustion allowed her to have confidence in her abilities, yet that confidence can quickly turn to cockiness if she wasn't careful.
Mana coursed through her veins. Her eyes held a faint glow as she etched her foot forward slowly, digging up a small pile of snow.
The Father stood completely still, like a statue. He watched her closely, sniffing out the sweat building in her pores, and the blood rushing through her body.
"I must say, Shine. You've grown up so much." He smiled warmly at her. "As a father, I'm truly proud of you."
"Take that proud and shove it up your ass. You manipulated me for years, had Orion force himself on me in my sleep, and full blown held me captive while he raped Frannie and me for a week straight." She spoke with venom in her voice. "My mind is barely holding itself together."
"But together it stays. You're strong, Shine. Arguably, stronger than those two behind you," He said, pointing to Takabi and Kairas' still smouldering bodies. Both boys stirred weakly in their unconscious state. "You have potential they don't. I've seen it, and I can help you become something truly magnificent. Just give in to me."
She grit her teeth, throwing her fist forward. Through the air, orange flames cackled and swallowed The Father. Smoke clouded his field of view just enough for Shine to close the gap between them. On instinct, he swung his large palm, catching Shine's left arm and breaking it with ease. With her right, as she flew through the air, she grabbed Jewel and used herself as a shield when they slammed into a tree.
They crumbled down, Shine wincing in pain at her shattered bones. Slowly, they pieced themselves back together, Shine standing only when the last bone shard cracked back into place.
With a deep breath, she willed Mana to flow through her. Shine ran over Jewel, zig zagging her way towards The Father. Again, he raised his large palm, throwing it down. The force alone ripped the ground part, dirt and snow flying in Shine's face. She covered her eyes, The Father using that moment to connect a heavy fist, dazing her. She stumbled back, woozily throwing punch after punch at him.
He laughed at her, before gripping her fists with a single hand, and closing his palm tightly around them. Her knuckles grind against one another, pain rushing up her arms and nearly numbing her senses. Shine brought her leg back, fueling it with an intense amount of Mana, and kicked hard. Her toes struck The Father's glasses, impact blowing the two apart. Shine hit the snow, crying out in agony at her leg. Looking at it, her eyes went wide.
Her femur was jutting out at a displaced angle, blood pouring from the flesh and muscle tissue. A mix of cold air and heat washed over the exposed bone, intense pain rushing up Shine's spine and planting itself firmly in the back of her skull.
Still, she got back up, watching as the wound slowly began to fix itself. With her good leg, she leapt high into the air, narrowly avoiding The Father's next punch. Mana welled up inside her body, and she focused every ounce of it into her right arm. Quickly she descended towards the earth, towards The Father.
A fire was lit in her eyes. Every fiber of her being, pouring everything into her last punch, and it would be her last.
She knew her body wouldn't be able to handle the blow back to this next attack. Before she got close, she wondered if this was how Takabi and Kairas felt when they fought. The backlash of a Mana fueled attack. It was scary to think about, truly. At best, she would limp away with a broken arm.
Shine threw her fist forward. When it connected, Mana erupted between them. The Father was swallowed by Shine's magic light, ground quaking under the force of her fist. The bones in her arm quickly gave way under the pressure, turning to complete dust, muscle fibers tearing apart in a shower of blood that coated her face in pure red.
She dropped to her knees, taking in heavy breaths, lowering her arm to her side. Her body felt heavy, and stomach dropped. However, she wasn't surprised when the light faded, and The Father stood over her with his palm out, scorched and full of smoke. "Seems your body can't keep up. Did you really think there wouldn't be any repercussions to using Mana that way?"
"Well," She uttered. "I had hoped."
"Unsurprisingly, you're a mere novice. Your physical body is nowhere near strong enough to withstand Mana enhancements."
She shrugged weakly. "I tried my best. Can't fault me for that."
He pulled his fist back. Shine could sense all the Mana building up inside. No way she'd survive a blow like that.
Guess this is it, huh…
The Father threw his punch, and Shine braced herself. Her heart rammed in her ribs, body shut down and left her frozen in place. All sound drowned out from the pain in her limbs.
She was ready.
She accepted her death.
So why was it, despite her wanting to prove that she was ready for anything, did he keep coming to her aid. The Father's fist connected against something. The resulting impact shook the trees, birds fleeing from branches into the air.
Shine's eyes were wide. Her throat felt dry, words lodged in her throat. The only thing she could utter was a simple, "Why…"
It was a true question.
Takabi wasn't conscious. His eyes were still dark and devoid of light. He wasn't breathing, and body was nowhere near finished recovering, yet he got back up, and shielded Shine from her death. His body shook faintly, before he fell on top of Shine, unmoving. She watched him, lying him down and looking at her good hand.
Blood. Fresh, red, pure blood coated her palm. Her eyes were wide and body shaking. Slowly, her gaze dropped on him. His eyes were still open, but there was something missing. She placed a hand on him, and shook faintly. "Hey… Hey, get up…"
No response.
"Takabi… Stop… Stop kidding around… Get back up."
The Father watched the siblings, shaking his head. "Can't you see he kicked the bucket?"
Shine's heart skipped a beat. She shook him more violently this time, her voice screeching in a croaked pain. "Please! Get up! Get up, Takabi!"
The more she cried to her brother, the further away her hope moved. After a while she stopped shaking him. Her world stopped. Everything faded. Her week of torture, her normal life, everything that she grew up with, knew, loved, all crashed and shattered like glass.
The Earth meant nothing to her now, because her world faded away with the last bit of Takabi's life.
Shine wasn't sure what came first: The heartbreak, tears, or the sudden rush of memories.
Everything flooded her mind as she broke down and cried. She clutched his head close to her chest, wails of pain and sorrow echoing deep into the snowy trees. Her cries woke Jewel, her vision blurry, but slowly focused on Shine's back.
When her cries came in more focused, Jewel struggled against the chains, trying to get to her feet. Pain roared in her back, numbness meeting her legs.
Shine's tears continued as she lowered her head and clutched him close. "Please, God! Don't take him from me!"
A flash in her mind. The earliest memory she held that was locked away quickly came in. A simple one, but one she cherished. An ice cream cone the two shared at her fifth birthday. The image quickly morphed into a game of hide and seek between the three, which turned to countless family dinners, and bedtime stories.
At her core, she was an innocent child, who valued her brothers' life more than anything. The realization of how much time she lost with him, and how she could never make new memories plagued.
Over and over, the deeper the sorrow grew, as fresh as a new flower.
That flower in her mind began to wilt. The petals fell, withered and burned to ash.
Shine snapped her eyes opened, hissing, "FUCK OFF!!"
The Father was blown back, holding his ground a few feet away. Shine's hair danced in the heavy air swirling around her and Takabi. Her eyes grew dark, as her skin turned pure black and feathered wings burst from her back. Her injuries quickly erupted in a cloud of heavy steam, closing and healing up to the point they never existed. She lowered his head gently, wiping her tears away and standing. "You took him… You took him… Away from me!"
She charged forward. The Father raised his palm to cancel out her attack. Shine moved around, connecting a kick to his chin that snapped his head with a heavy crack. Cupping her fists, she brought them down, ramming them against his face and shattering his glasses. Yelping in pain, he stumbled back, Shine continuing to land fist after fist on him.
"He was my brother! He was everything to me!"
The Father hopped back, unsure of how he could attack. Shine was on a rampage, and he was her target. She stomped after him, Mana building back up inside her. The Father opened his arms, bringing his palms together in a heavy clap that sent a shockwave out, stopping Shine in her tracks.
The winds against her cut her cheek and leg, but they quickly healed and she reached forward. Mana released from her palm, a beam rushing out fast, piercing clean through The Father's chest. He stumbled back, hitting the snow. Blood oozed out and coated the white ground, his breathing turned to wheezing as pain rushed through where his left lung used to be.
Shine pounced on him, feet slamming against and breaking his ribs under her weight. He cried out in pain, the girl wrapping her fingers around his throat and digging her nails deep into his skin. Blood coated her digits, violet eyes full of untamed hate and anguish. "I'm going to rip out your fucking throat!"
She did just that. Blood spewed on her face, The Father trying to reach up and clutch his throat to no avail. Shine stepped off of him, placing her foot on his left knee, reaching down then jerking his foot upwards. The snapping filled her ears and filled her with a twisted sense of satisfaction. She moved around, willing Mana forth, and severing his right leg.
By this point, The Father was on the verge of passing out from pain. Shine straddled him, slapping him hard. "Oh no. Don't you dare die on me now." She licked her lips, pulling on her collar. "Pay me back with your cries. Fill my ears with your whimpers and pain. I want you to suffer. What you did is unforgivable."
He struggled to speak. Shine stood up, placing her foot on his face and applying pressure as her wings stretched out wide. "That boy. That boy you just killed. Do you have any idea how important he was to us? To ME?!" Finding no response, she jerked her foot downward, soil caving in as The Father's head slowly ruptured. Blood poured from his skull into the dirt as Shine kept speaking. "I lost eight years with him. I lost my past because of my amnesia, and you took full advantage. You preyed on me, wanted to use me to make a, what? Army? Family? I was violated, mentally, physically and emotionally, by you and Orion! I wish I had gotten my memories and powers back way sooner, because I wouldn't have hesitated to rip you and him apart!"
She began to yell louder, forcing her foot down more. "I have to live with guilt now! Guilt that Frannie had her innocence stolen because of you both! Because I wouldn't listen to her! I watched her get abused day after day, until it was my turn! I'm a broken fucking mess, and the one person who could truly help me with that is gone now! Gone BECAUSE OF YOU!"
She snapped.
Her foot came down full force, The Father's head coming apart in pieces of brain, skull and blood. His body twitched violently, before settling down. Shine took a step back, her black skin and feathered wings fading away. Her legs felt so weak. She turned, walking towards his body, before dropping to her knees and cradling him closely.
The tears began to flow again. Her voice was light, and when she spoke her words constantly broke into a strained speech. "It's… It's over. We won, Takabi…"
A hand touched her shoulder. When she looked up, Kairas was peering down at her. Seeing his face made her tears flow harder. Jewel walked over weakly, holding her side. "Is… Is he actually…."
"Give him space." Kairas said suddenly. The girls looked at him, Shine reluctantly placing Takabi down and stepping back. The three watched him, hair covering his eyes. A surge of air came rushing past them, gathering around Takabi's body, before the boy snapped into the world of the living, coughing madly and holding his throat as he sat back up.
Shine gasped loudly, running to his side and hugging him tightly. "Yo-You're a-alive!" She was a sniveling mess. Her hair was in mangled knots, face coated in snot and dried blood. Kairas stepped next to Jewel, the two a bit further off, speaking quietly to one another.
"What… What just happened?"
"Same thing that happened to him before, and me when I was a kid. The Gems revived him."
Jewel looked between Kairas and Takabi. The white haired boy fought to pry Shine off of him, but she wouldn't let go. These three were something special in Jewel's vision. A family. A true family.
"How did you know he would come back though?"
"Well, while he may have actually been dead, I sensed his soul with the Gems. They kept him anchored to his body. Just needed a little time to put himself back together." Kairas looked at Jewel. "Hey. I'm sorry about what happened."
"It's cool," She said dryly. "Just pay me back later. I won't mind dinner."
"Seriously? I figured you would be mad."
"Oh, I am. Beyond. You've got a lot of ass kissing to do, Mister."
He swallowed the lump in his throat, drowning out Shine's happy cries as his mind focused on other matters.
It left a disgusting taste in his mouth that Girston saved his life. However, that action opened the question of why.
Why would a man who renounced his sons, risk his own to save that very son he can't stand?
"What is he planning?"