Ch 41: Time to Shine

With Zorus cornered, the arrival of the City Guard complicates things. Removing his hood, Zorus unleashes his hidden power, to Rufus and Ace's disdain. The struggle to save Violet reaches it's climax.

            Suddenly hearing the sound of blazing sirens, Ace and Rufus looked behind them to see the patrol hover cars of the City Guard speeding up behind them. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Ace muttered, “As if we didn’t have enough trouble…” Drawing near the convertible, the patrol cars stopped and their doors burst open, halman officers in light suits of armor pouring out, bearing both ranged EDE weapons and regular swords. Those armed with them aiming their ranged weapons at Rufus and Ace, they surrounded the convertible, Rufus raising his hands in surrender as he exclaimed, “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot! I was just borrowing it, I swear! It’s not even my color!” Raising his hands as well, Ace looked over at the crashed trolley and thought, “D****t! If Zorus get’s away, we’re the one’s who’re gonna be taking the fall for him!” 

Stepping out of one of the patrol cars, a halman man in his late thirties with dark skin, silver eyes, and short, wavy cobalt hair raised a bullhorn up in front of his mouth and said, “You’re under arrest! Drop your weapons and get out of the vehicle nice and slow! I want your hands where I can see them!” As Rufus and Ace complied, Ace took a closer look at the man as he approached. He wore a bronze colored armored chest piece with a v-shaped collar over a long sleeved white shirt with a blue tie, a pair of blue pants with a white stripe running down each leg, and black boots. He held the bullhorn in his left hand and carried a black and white EDE rifle in his right. As he came to a stop before them, Ace asked, “Who’re you supposed to be?” Meeting Ace’s gaze with a stern glare, the man replied, “I could ask you the same. My name is Falmer Zurren, Captain of the City Guard. I don’t recognize either of you, so I’m guessing you aren’t from Verrel. Wherever you punks came from, this little joyride ends here.”

            Trying to turn things around, Rufus quickly said, “Hold on, we can explain! There’s a guy over there in the hover trolley, we were chasing him! He’s the one who’s been causing all the disappearances!” Turning to look at Rufus in surprise, Falmer said, “What was that?” Nodding his head in the direction of the trolley, Ace said, “Don’t believe him? Go take a look.” Glancing at Ace with a look of distrust, Falmer turned away from them, heading for the trolley with two of his officers in tow. Stunned by the crash, Zorus came around just as Falmer and his men approached. As Zorus leaped over the side of the railing onto the highway, Falmer stepped back cautiously and raised his EDE rifle as he shouted, “Don’t move!” 

Seeming to comply, Zorus stood there staring at him. As more officers moved in to surround him, Zorus glanced back and forth at them, then turned to Falmer again as he heard him say, “I don’t know who you are, but you’re coming downtown! Take off the hood and the cloak, drop any weapons you’re carrying and get on the ground!” Continuing to stare at Falmer, Zorus ignored the order, and Falmer held his finger on the trigger as he repeated, “I said take off the hood and drop your weapons! Do it now!” Suddenly from beneath Zorus’ hood came a very loud, rumbling voice, saying, “No.”

            Taken aback by the very loud and very deep voice in which he had spoken, as Falmer regained himself, he shouted at Zorus, “That wasn’t a request! You’re looking at quite a number of serious charges! Now take off that damn hood or we’ll come over there and remove it for you!” Silence hung in the air for a brief few moments, Rufus and Ace watching the two stare each other down from over by the convertible. Then Zorus’ rumbling voice said, “Do you truly desire to see my face so badly? If I remove this hood, all you will see is fear…” As several of the officers looked back at forth at each other, somewhat unnerved, Falmer put aside his own hesitation and commandingly said, “Enough games!” Slowly reaching up and taking hold of his hood, Zorus merely said, “Very well…” 

As Zorus was about to pull his hood down, Rufus shouted, “Wait! If he takes it off, something… Well, something real bad is probably gonna happen!” Yet it was too late. Taking off his hood, as they all laid eyes on Zorus’ faceless visage, it was as though a wave of fear swept over them like a gust of wind. A human, Zorus had a head of medium length purple hair, the bangs of which hung down over half his face, not that he seemed to have one to begin with. With no eyes or nose, Zorus had only a mouth, and tattooed over his empty face was a realistic design of a skull. His heart beating rapidly, his body sweating, Rufus found he could not stop shaking, making it almost impossible to move. It was the same for Ace, Falmer, and all of the officers, who all stood quivering in place with fear. Withdrawing his daggers once again, looking more fearsome than ever for some reason, Zorus said in his earthshaking voice, “You wanted to see? Behold.”

            Struggling to move as he stood quaking with fear, Rufus exclaimed, “Oh this is bad! This is real bad! What do we do Ace?!” Standing there vibrating in place next to him, Ace said, “Why the hell are you asking me?! You’re the genius reporter, you figure it out!” Rufus simply replied, “Figure what out?! You’d have to fight the guy with your eyes closed, there’s no getting around something like that!” Seeming surprised, Ace said, “Hold on, would that really work?” Confused by his reaction, Rufus said, “Uh, I think so… I mean, if he hides his face to keep his power from working, don’t you think that it would only work as long as you can see his face?” Closing his eyes quickly, Ace simply said, “Can’t believe I’m saying this, but good thinking Mr. Ace Reporter!” 

Meanwhile, as Zorus neared him with daggers in hand, Falmer stammered, “W-what the hell are you?!” Zorus merely raised his dagger to strike, but rushing across the highway at him, Ace leaped into a flying kick and knocked him sprawled out on the pavement on his back. Getting up, as Zorus saw Ace there before him, he exclaimed, “What?!” Standing there determinedly with his eyes closed and his knife in hand, Ace thought to himself, “Ever since I was born, I never actually needed to use my eyes to find my way around. Up till now, it’s never been much good outside my blindfolded knife throwing act, but with this sixth sense of mine, it’s finally time for me to shine! I may be a wimp compared to my brother, but I won’t lose in a knife fight to anybody!” 

Suddenly starting to spark around the blades, as blue fire lit up around Zorus’ daggers, he said in his rumbling voice, “You’re the one from the alleyway. A worthy adversary… I am Zorus Damir, Leader of the Inferus Brotherhood. Who are you that can stand so boldly before my power?” Readying his knife, Ace replied, “Ace, knife thrower and bodyguard of Gibolu’s Traveling Circus!” The fire around one of his daggers intensifying, as Zorus raised it to swing with it, he said, “I suggest you ready yourself, Ace of Gibolu’s Traveling Circus! I will not be bested again!” Swinging his dagger at Ace, Zorus unleashed a blue fireball at him. As he moved quickly aside, the fireball streaked past Ace and headed towards the patrol cars, striking one and exploding. Bolting at Ace with great speed, Zorus lashed out with his flaming daggers, and the two became locked in a knife fight to end all knife fights.

            Cutting down another blade wielding skeleton with his saw-staff, Toshley thrust the bottom end of his staff into the ribcage of another one that rushed him from behind, and as it staggered back he whirled about and knocked it into the others surrounding him with a roundhouse kick. Then he quickly moved aside, a powerful beam of dark flames shooting at him from Myrtle’s staff as she chanted, “Mortem Messor!” Watching the skeletons surrounding him warily as he struggled to catch his breath, Toshley thought in frustration, “How annoying! I think it’s high time I show her who she’s messing with!” Cackling evilly as her wall of wailing ghosts swirled around her, Myrtle called out, “Starting to feel your age old man?!” Twirling his staff and then holding it horizontally in front of him, as he pressed a button on it, Toshley said, “Now you’re really asking for it! ExoTosh, activate!” 

His staff disassembling itself in the air before him, the parts hung in the air a moment before they glowed with power and began to reconfigure themselves into something else. More and more parts seeming to form from thin air and connect together, as Toshley held his arms out at his sides and spread his legs, the parts fitted themselves around his body as they continued to build. Moments after pressing the button, Toshley was clad in a helmetless red and black robotic power suit, as well as a red electronic visor to replace his spectacles. Raising one of the suit’s large armored hands before him and clenching it into a fist, the power indicator on the back of the hand shining bright as he channeled EDE into it, Toshley grinned as he exclaimed, “IT’S SHOW TIME!” 

A bead of sweat rolling down her face, Myrtle exclaimed, “Stop him my minions!” Rocket boosters on his suit’s back and feet bursting to life, Toshley shot fist first into the legion of skeletons standing between him and Myrtle, smashing his way through them. Continuing to charge, Toshley flew straight at Myrtle and pulled his fist back, charging it with even more EDE and launching a powerful punch, the power indicator shining radiantly as he shouted, “Gearshift Punch!” Eyes wide in terror as he barreled towards her, Myrtle exclaimed, “No! Stay away from me you-” Plowing through the wailing spirit wall with incredible force, Toshley’s Gearshift Punch sent Myrtle flying, her shriek of fear echoing through the ruins.

            Dodging each others blades and swiping with their own, as Ace and Zorus clashed, Zorus suddenly dropped his guard as he felt the connection between Myrtle and himself disappear. Ace quickly rushed in to strike in this moment of opportunity, but reacting at the last moment, Zorus dodged, receiving only a small cut upon his empty face. Knocking Ace staggering away with a kick, Zorus hurled another blue fireball at him, and it exploded as Ace tried to block it with his dagger. Flying several feet through the air to land on his back, Ace grimaced in pain as he thought, “D****t, hurry up Toshley!” As Zorus came chasing after him, he fired another blue fireball, and Ace flipped backwards onto his feet and jumped back just in time as it struck the ground and exploded. 

Bursting through the aftermath, Zorus lashed out, and engaging in another round of knife fighting, Ace struggled to keep up despite his injuries. Managing to knock one of Zorus’ daggers from his hand, as he blocked the other with his knife, Ace struggled against the blade as Zorus grappled with him. Seeing Ace in trouble, Rufus closed his eyes and turned blindly back to the convertible, searching for his EDE weapon. Seeing that Ace’s knees were starting to fail him, Zorus continued to apply pressure as he said, “You fought well. Had I been any slower, I would have lost.” With a slight laugh, Ace said, “Yeah, but I don’t know how I would’ve felt about it, winning with a cheap shot like that.” Zorus simply replied, “A win is a win. In a fight to the death, there are no rules.” Smirking in spite of the situation, Ace said, “Glad you feel that way…” 

Searching the floor of the convertible for his EDE weapon, Rufus just couldn’t seem to find it, and in frustration he started to mutter, “Where the heck is-” Suddenly he heard the sound of an explosion, and pulling himself up to look over the dashboard, he saw it was over. Having quickly reached into his back pocket with his free hand to pull out Rufus’ EDE weapon, Ace had fired a bolt of Raw EDE at close range, blowing both Zorus and himself flying away from each other. Zorus now lay sprawled out on the ground, defeated. Managing to get to his feet, having been protected by his more resilient demonfolk body, Ace called out, “A win’s a win.” Hearing Ace from where he laid in defeat, Zorus laughed weakly and said, “Indeed... I have lost.”

            Just as Ace covered Zorus’ face up with a towel he’d found in the convertible, a spatial rift appeared on the highway and Myrtle stepped out as Toshley ushered her through with his staff. Stepping out himself, holding Myrtle’s pendant in hand, Toshley boisterously said, “Hoho, excellent work men!” Rushing over to him, Rufus exclaimed, “Toshley! You did it!” Walking over to him as well, his eyes open once more, Ace said, “So this is our witch huh?” A sour look on her face, a battered and bruised Myrtle said, “Meddlesome bunch of misfits! You’d better be careful with that pendant old man! I know my rights, it’s still my property!” Poking her with his staff in irritation, Toshley heatedly said, “Oh be quiet! What do I look like, a guard?! If you ever want to see this trinket of yours again, you’re going to help us return Violet’s essence to her body!” 

Turning to look at Toshley as though he were crazy, Myrtle exclaimed, “What?! It’s been more than three thousand years! Restoring her soul after that long… I have no idea if it’s even possible!” Making a thoughtful face, Toshley said, “Oh, is that how it is? Well, I guess we’ll just have to see if destroying this pendant does the trick!” Quickly her jaw dropped open in horror, and Myrtle desperately exclaimed, “W-wait, don’t do that! Please, I’ll try! I’ll do everything within my power!” Walking up to them all, Falmer interrupted their conversation, asking in confusion, “Excuse me, but can anyone explain just what’s going on here? Just who are you people?” Grinning energetically, Toshley said, “Haha, the man in charge I assume? Your confusion is quite warranted, but I’m afraid the explanations will have to wait until we’ve restored our friend Violet to her body.” Prodding Myrtle with his staff again, Toshley glanced at her and added, “If you would Myrtle?” Turning to him with a look of suppressed rage, Myrtle answered, “Yes, yes…”

            Walking with them all over to where Zorus lay motionless, Falmer disbelievingly exclaimed, “Restoring someone to their body?!” Adjusting his spectacles and taking a look around, Toshley said, “Yes, one moment please. Oh Violet, you can come out now!” Looking around as well, Falmer said, “Just who is Violet?” Suddenly he heard Violet’s voice answer Toshley, saying, “But all these people… I don’t want to frighten anyone…” Grinning encouragingly, Rufus said, “Zorus was scarier than you’ll ever be! Our mission isn’t over until we get you back to the way you’re supposed to be!” Nodding, Ace said, “Yeah, so get over here. The sooner this is over, the better.” Appearing in her true form in the air above Zorus, the proximity to the spell Claire had cast seeming to not matter when near her body instead, Violet answered, “A-alright…” 

Seeing her floating there, the officers began to panic, Falmer himself saying, “The witch?!” In a sudden outburst, Myrtle shouted, “Oh shut up, you bunch of yellow bellied cowards! The only witch to be feared around here is me, Myrtle the Crone!” Holding her hand out beside her, she added, “Alright old man, let’s get this over with!” Chuckling, Toshley handed her the pendant. Kneeling next to Zorus as Myrtle began casting her spell, Ace said, “It was a good fight man. Catch ya later.” Laughing weakly, muffled somewhat by the towel, Zorus said, “I’ll save you a special spot in Hell, Ace of Gibolu’s Traveling Circus.” Smiling reluctantly, Ace said, “Well, if I do end up there, at least I’ll have something to look forward to…” 

An enormous black rune circle forming beneath Zorus, everyone watched in awe as it glowed and Violet’s spirit burst into a storm of ghostly lights that were drawn downwards into her body. As the rune circle faded, Rufus quickly asked, “Did it work?!” Seeming unsure, Myrtle answered, “I… I’m not sure… The soul has returned, but...” As she sat up slowly, the towel fell from Violet’s face, revealing her body had returned to her original form. Raising a hand up and staring at it for a moment, as she turned to look at everyone, tears of joy formed in her eyes as she whispered, “Thank you… I don’t know why, but thank you so much...”

            Roselle’s Garden. Tuesday July 24, 520NA. As Violet, Rufus, and Ace sat amongst the flowers talking, Claire and Toshley stood over by the path, having a conversation of their own. It was late in the morning, Claire having just arrived after a night of much needed rest to check on them. She had been surprised to find them waiting for her, their mission successful. As Toshley finished explaining what he’d found out in his encounter with Myrtle, Claire said, “I see, so Archon is trying to find unusual pieces of aeternium.” Nodding, Toshley said, “I have no doubt that rapscallion is using the information he received from Myrtle to zero in on them using his mind’s eye. For an advanced user such as him, a complete knowledge of what you’re looking for makes the process of searching for something much easier.” Staring off into space as she tried to make sense of it, Claire muttered, “But why? What is he scheming?” 

Bringing her mind back to reality, Toshley asked, “All this aside, how is the Audentia looking? I do hope Schmitt was able to properly install the part without my expertise. I’ve put my heart and soul into it’s resurrection you know!” Chuckling, Claire said, “Everything went fine Toshley. Schmitt even decided to wait for your return before taking it on the test flight.” Pumping a fist and starting to dance around in excitement, Toshley exclaimed, “Hoho! Now I truly can’t wait to get back! It’s going to be such a thrill to see the fruits of my labor at work!”

            As Claire merely watched Toshley’s antics with a warm smile, a voice called out to them from down the road, “Ah, I thought I might find you people here.” As they turned to see him making his way up the path towards them, the City Guard’s Captain, Falmer Zurren, waved and said, “Sorry to barge in.” With smiling eyes, Claire said, “Oh, not at all dear! We just finished our conversation.” Glancing over at Violet and the others for a brief moment, as Falmer turned back to Toshley and Claire, he said, “I see. Well, I just wanted to come and show a bit of gratitude. Without the help of your friends, who knows what that witch and her abominations would have done to this city.” 

Clearing his throat in preparation, just as Toshley was about to make a speech, Claire simply said, “Oh it’s nothing, really! After all, we mostly did this for the sake of our young friend Violet.” Looking over at Violet again, Falmer hesitantly said, “Yes, and since you brought her up... I’ve been looking into the legend of this ‘Witch of the Flower Fields’. I don’t see how it’s possible, but she’s actually Violet Roselle, isn’t she?” Noticing Claire and Toshley exchange glances, Falmer quickly added, “This is off the record. I’ll keep anything that would cause trouble to myself.” Feeling she could trust him, Claire said, “Yes, she is Violet Roselle, a human who lived here more than three thousand years ago. The witch Myrtle tricked her and used her body to revive Zorus.” Looking at Violet again, Falmer said, “So it’s true! I have a half-brother with a bit of mixed blood, so I’m just as sick of the racist mentality the townsfolk spout as anyone else, but... It’s been more than three thousand years! Just what will she do? She has no home, no family…” 

Having thought of this as well, Toshley said, “Yes Claire, just what should be done about that poor girl? She’s completely lost all her memories, save for her expertise in medicine. Her flower field still remains, likely due to the great amount of magical energies emitted by the aeternium, but even so, she no longer has a roof over her head. Knowing the halmans, I can’t begin to imagine she would be welcome in Verrel either…” Dropping in on the conversation, as she approached with Rufus, Ian, and Ace in tow, Violet said, “Um, if it’s alright, I’d like to stay with you Ms. Claire. I still don’t remember you or anything that happened, but I know somehow that I owe you all my life. Maybe with my knowledge of medicine, I can somehow repay you and the rest of Angelorum Lux for-” Covering Violet’s mouth with his hands in panic, regretting having mentioned it to her, Ace exclaimed, “Violet, shush!” Yet it was too late, Falmer standing there with a look of shock on his face. Smiling in spite of the situation, Claire said, “Please keep in mind you did say this was off the record…”

            Once Claire had filled him in, Falmer was speechless, and Claire added with a warm smile, “Please keep this to yourself if you would. The members of Angelorum Lux are still wanted by the halman authorities, and even if you tried to use what I’ve told you to clear our name, it will likely only get you fired from your job.” Nodding gravely, Falmer said, “I wouldn’t dare breathe a word of this. Still, to think a man in Ferid’s position could stoop so low…!” Then with a sudden look of realization, Falmer said, “Wait a minute! If the news just reached us, you probably don’t know!” Confused by his vague statement, Rufus said, “Don’t know what?” Quickly pulling a newspaper from his clothes, Falmer presented it and said, “I just picked this up this morning. Look at the front page.” 

Taking the newspaper and unfolding it, as Rufus read the headline, he exclaimed, “Arrested?!” Ace and Toshley rushing to look over Rufus’ shoulder, as they saw it as well, Toshley exclaimed, “Egad! This is most definitely a problem!” Ace merely muttered, “Guess we shoulda expected it…” Portrayed on the front page was a picture of Amy, Serius, and Fox being escorted in handcuffs by the Xandaris Elite Guard, the title reading, “Members of Angelorum Lux Arrested in Xandaris.” Coming over to them and taking a peek as well, Claire said, “Oh dear, I was afraid of this. I spoke with Alexander briefly about the danger of sending a team to Xandaris, but he said he and Serius had a plan, so I let it go.” Noticing Toshley scowl at her disapprovingly, she looked over at him as she shrugged her shoulders and explained, “Things are rather difficult to predict now that my abilities of foresight have begun to cloud, though I doubt he would have listened even if I had foreseen it.” 

Looking at the paper again, she added, “Out of curiosity, just when exactly were they arrested?” Rufus started to search for the date, but quickly Falmer answered, “Four days ago, according to the article.” With a slight laugh, Ace said, “That’s the day the teams split up! Some plan, I wonder if they even made it through the door!” Suddenly Rufus’ cell phone began ringing, and answering it, he said, “Hello? Alexander? Where are we? Uh, it’s kind of a long story. What? You’re back at the tower? You musta just missed Claire, and Schmitt is probably over at the Audentia so…” His face becoming serious as Alexander informed him there was a problem, Rufus said, “Sure, I can tell the others. What’s the scoop?” As Rufus listened to Alexander’s news, his eyes went wide and he exclaimed, “WHAT?!”

Author's Note

Can you find the Big O reference? I certainly hope so, I'd love to see some people here who watched that show...