*Trigger Warning* This chapter mentions themes of sui**de
4 A.M. now. The night sky is filled with stars and a full moon looms right above us. Almost all the homes around us have their lights turned on as the civilians watch from their windows. Brianna takes a step forward and blue aura surrounds her body. She's wearing her armor while we're in a t-shirt and pants but Helen seems ready. She smiles as Brianna dashes toward us, knocking us into one of the nearby homes. Helen picks herself up from the ground and when she looks up, Brianna is already there. She cocks her arm back, her sword already drawn, and swings directly at my neck. She's really trying to kill me.
"Divine Enchantment: Athena's Shield!" Helen quickly summons an orange translucent shield before the blade reaches my neck. Once the blade hits the shield, she dashes behind us. Helen turns around just in time to dodge Brianna's quick jab with her blade. She's fast enough to dodge halfway but the edge of the sword still cuts the side of my stomach. Before Brianna is able to pull her arm back for another swing, Helen grabs her wrist with one hand, and puts a finger to her stomach with the other.
"Gravity Incantation: Mass Pressure." The spell causes Brianna to drop to the ground much like Lauriel earlier.
"The most effective spells are often the most simple," Helen says bending down to pick up Brianna's sword. Before she can reach it, Brianna vanishes and a blue light appears behind us. Helen turns around and she grabs us by the neck, lifting us off the ground. Her aura is denser, and a darker shade of blue this time.
"If you thought that would work on me again, you're sadly mistaken," she says. Her aura moves over to her left hand, she pulls back for what's going to be a devastating punch when Helen ignites a white flame between the two. Brianna dashes a few steps back. Her sword is at our feet but once again, Helen has no time to pick it up. Brianna dashes toward us. Faking a punch to the face with her right hand, but she uses a small dash that ducks her body lower where she strikes us in the stomach with her left. The punch sends us stumbling a couple of feet back. Brianna picks up her sword and she's immediately standing over us in the blink of an eye.
She raises the blade and is ready to strike, Helen quickly points to her chest. My fingertip shines with white light and once Brianna notices what she's trying to do, she dashes out of the way. Helen was just faking her out though, still trying to conserve as much aura as possible. General Thomas returns, but Brianna tells him to stay put with a steady hand.
"What, Alyssa can't fight her own battles? You have to do it for her?" She asks as Helen stands up.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was under the impression you only wanted me dead…?"
"At this point, it doesn't matter."
Helen smiles. "Gravity Incantation: Omnipresent Pull." She aims my left palm at the general vicinity of Thomas. His body is yanked in our direction. He grabs onto the closest light pole he can but the sword on his hip unsheathes and comes flying in. Helen catches it once it reaches my palm. She charges at Brianna, who readies herself. Her aura expands and even coats her blade. Helen puts the sword in a reverse grip before we clash with Brianna.
The two swords meet and it creates a shockwave throughout the surrounding area. Brianna starts swinging her sword, each time being blocked by Helen. Also with each block, the aura surrounding the sword grows. Every blocked strike becomes heavier, slightly pushing Helen back with the force.
Brianna suddenly disappears. She appears behind us, then our left, and right, behind, and so on. Completely dashing at random until she becomes a blur of blue light streaking all around. Helen cautions herself, trying to anticipate when she'll strike, and she guesses right. She turns left just as Brianna is there with her blade. Helen blocks the swing but the force of Brianna's aura-coated sword launches us into a nearby home. The family inside screams as they cling to each other in fear. Brianna dashes once more, standing outside of the home. Her blue aura shines ominously through the smoke and debris filling the air.
Helen points to the hole and sends a spiraling flame her way. The flames cause Brianna to stumble back as it eats away at her blue aura. Helen gets up from the ground and walks outside. She creates another wall of flames right out in front of us. The sparkling white flame blocks our view of Brianna as she's on the ground. Helen aims my right palm at the center of the wall.
"Gravity Incantation: Omnipresent Pull."
I hear Brianna's grunts get closer and closer, she's flung forward and engulfed in the wall of flames. And once she reaches the other side, Helen puts our blade through her shoulder. She falls to her knees while her aura saves her from the brunt of the flames. As the aura starts to diminish from being eaten away, her armor begins smoking. Even with the sword stuck in her shoulder, she manages to rip off the pieces of armor that are on fire, using blue aura to coat her hands in order to protect herself.
Helen approaches, removing the blade from her shoulder, turning it around, and striking her in the face with the pommel. Brianna dashes backward while still on the ground, crawling and inching away however she can. Helen presses on, slowly walking forward and enjoying the moment. I feel the grin on my face as she playfully spins the sword in my right hand.
"You're pathetic," Brianna says spitting blood to the ground.
"What's that?" Helen walks in closer.
"Not you, witch. My sister. A pathetic loser who can't even fight her own battles. And to think I actually cared for you. It all makes sense to me now, everything makes sense," she rambles.
"Didn't you just say you wanted to kill her?" Helen raises my arm, ready to plunge the sword into her chest before I yell for her to stop.
"Not now," she replies. I watch as my arm motions forward and I use all of my might to stop it. Solely focusing on that arm, I channel all of my aura into it. Remembering what Helen said earlier—storing aura to overtake the other. My arm suddenly stops midair and I can feel it, feel the sword in my hand as my fingers are closed around the grip.
"How did you-" Helen mutters. Brianna looks on, confused, as I then focus on my entire body. Doing the same as I just did with my arm. Channeling my aura and making a conscious effort to block Helen's. I can feel both of our auras for the first time. Like two strings entwined together. I come to gain control over all my limbs and I drop the blade to the ground.
"I didn't ask for this, none of it. I don't want to fight you, Brianna."
"You stupid, naive child! Put the blade through her chest!" Helen yells in my head. Her voice gives me a slight headache.
Brianna laughs to herself, shaking her head. "Everything makes sense now."
It doesn't seem like she's willing to talk to me on a personal level. She's going to keep throwing whatever feelings she has at me, and that's not my responsibility.
"I'll call for General Thomas and others to get you help," I say turning my back. Up ahead I see Thomas still cautiously watching.
"You want to know how Mother died….? My Mother!?" Brianna shouts.
I stop, frozen. Suddenly I feel the pain from the cuts, the knot in my stomach from being punched, and the scrapes from being flung into buildings.
"She didn't die giving birth to you, as I'm sure you're now aware. No, not at all. But instead, I watched her die!"
I turn to face her without uttering a word.
"That's right," she continues, spitting more blood from her mouth on the ground.
"Father brought an infant home, October 17th, 1875. I was only six years old but I will never forget the details of that night. I was awoken by Mother shouting and screaming. I got out of my bed, walked myself to their room, and took a peek through the door. I saw Father holding you, and Mother questioning him on where you came from. He was reluctant to tell her at first until she became hysterical. In an attempt to calm her, Father told her the truth. A child born from a witch, an affair." She pauses and smiles, holding back pained laughter. Her eyes fill with tears but not a single one drops as she continues.
"The way Mother looked at him….her face, it's etched into my memory. It frightened me so much that I opened the door to ask what was going on. Father tried to shield me but my eyes were locked on her the entire time. She casually walked to the window, climbed out to sit on the ledge, turned back to me, and said, 'that thing is not your sister.' I'm sure you can imagine what she does next!"
"No," I say shaking my head profusely. Tears are flowing uncontrollably. "That's not true, that's not true," I repeat over and over to myself.
"So you see now…? She hated you. Do you understand why I hate you? Why I can't stand you?! I've wrestled with this my entire life. I've held this in my heart for so long. But then you grew up to become what you are. Weak and needing to be protected, I pushed down these feelings because you're still my sister. I felt bad for you. But now? With all of this? I will never forgive you for taking my mother away from me! She must've been sick to her stomach. The thought of Father bringing a witch home to her!"
My mind blanks and I run toward her with the intent to kill. Picking up the sword laying on the ground and swinging it at her head. I miss as she dashes behind me and knocks me to the ground with a punch. I turn over, trying to pick myself up but It's too late, she's already on top of me and I'm fighting for any sense of relief.
"If you die, I'll cease to inhabit a body! Switch with me now!" Helen says.
Brianna begins pounding my face with her fists and I lose the strength to fight back. I feel wet spots fill my fast as her knuckles become covered in blood. While Helen screams, I watch as Brianna continues to whale on me until my vision begins to fade, and my hearing becomes clouded as if I'm underwater.
"Damn it, Alyssa! Switch!" Helen continues.
Brianna's hands stretch around my neck and squeeze. No, I won't switch. I'm done. Brianna continues until everything goes black. I don't feel the pain anymore in my body, nor hear Helen yelling inside my head. Out of the darkness, a light appears. Then the shadow of a man, the light intensifies and shines so bright that I try to shield my eyes but I don't have any limbs to do so. I'm floating as he walks in closer. His silhouette becomes clearer, he wears a fedora and trench coat.
The light continues to gleam so bright that I feel like my eyes will burn out. The man stops walking and simply stands there, still only a shadow. Suddenly my hearing returns. But not from where I am with Brianna. Instead, all I hear is Helen screaming. Her yelling becomes so unbearable that I scream myself.
"No!" I yell at the top of my lungs. The light subsides and the shadow man disappears. My vision returns to Brianna who's sitting on top of me, she's crying. Helen's voice is gone but I'm too distracted by the sudden pressure in my head and the high pitch ringing in my ears. I try to open my mouth to speak but I can't, everything once again fades to black.