Part Three: Chaos [POV Detected: Zavier Hunter, Darknight]

[POV detected: Zavier Hunter, Darknight]

Dove watches the battle. “Should we help her?” He finally asks.

“Not yet.” I turn to see Peri come out behind us. “I found out who the mystery person was.”

“Okay. Can I at least say hi?” Dove wonders.

“Sure, I haven’t yet either.” Peri starts out onto the battlefield, and the rest of us follow. Eagle and Avi spar back and forth in a sort of intricate dance. I decide to interrupt.

“HEY UP THERE!” I shout. “COME SAY HI TO YOUR KIDS!” Eagle ducks a sword stroke and dives, landing perfectly after a double backflip. “Show Off,” I mutter. Then, louder, “Where have you been?” I can hear frustration creeping into my voice, but I don’t care. “Why didn’t you come?” I demand.

“You thought I was dead, I thought it better to wait,” she tries to explain. Excuses.

“Well, you certainly caused a lot of grief,” I spit. “You have a battle to get back to.” Eagle sighs with resignation, then hops back into the air and slams her sword into Avi’s as he tries to attack us. I watch, but I don’t really register what’s happening. I know that she thought staying away was best, but why? She only hurt me more… and Peri and Dove hadn’t even met her before now. She should’ve come back. She should’ve come back. She should’ve--

“Darknight, wake up.” Darkling’s voice shattered my thoughts.

“What?” I snap.

“Um, look,” he points up at where Avi and Eagle are locked in combat. Or were. Now Avi’s sword is gone, and as I watch, Eagle slams the hilt of her sword into Avi’s head, causing him to crumple and fall. Or it should have. Instead, Avi grabs Eagle’s wrist and twists. She grimaces and drops her sword. Inwardly, I grin. She’d always been better at hand-to-hand combat. I hear Dove, and Jay gasp and Peri purses her lips, but Darkling, I see, shares my inner enthusiasm for the coming battle. Eagle duck Avi’s punch and sinks her fist into his gut. Avi responds with a swift right hook, which Eagle blocks by grabbing his arm. I see what’s coming, and I can’t help but cheer as Eagle flips Avi over her head and throws him down. Taken by surprise, he slams into the ground with a thud with an ominous crack.

Eagle lands and strikes a pose, planting a foot on Avi’s chest and setting her hands on her hips. I smile, despite my mixed feelings. “Arke,” I whisper so that no one hears me.

“THAT WAS AWESOME!!!” Dove yells, jolting me out of my thoughts. “THE LEGENDS ARE TRUUUUUEEEEEe!”

“Shut up, Dove,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“But it was…” he trails off.

“You have to admit, that was pretty cool,” Jay interjects. “How’d you learn to fight like that?”

“Oh… here and there,” Eagle grinned. “I’m not telling you.”

“Oh, boy,” I mutter. “What’re you going to do about that, Jay?”

“Nothing.” She smirks at me.

“What?? When I don’t listen to you, you try to kill me!!”

“She’s not you,” Jay points out, “and to be completely honest, I admire her.”

“See, Darknight? She admires me,” Eagle boasts, stepping off of Avi and strolling over.

“Whatever,” I growl. “So… what’re we going to do about him?” I point at Avi, who is, surprisingly, still conscious and struggling to his feet. Wait... How is he still conscious??

“What the--” Jay starts, but I cut her off.

“How in the world are you standing??” I yell. Avi jerks his head up to look at me. Then he realizes what just happened.

“WAHOOOOO!!!!” He cheers, leaping into the air, then landing back on his feet.

“The crack must’ve been his spine realigning or something…” Jay suggests.

“Who cares? As long as he’s up, you’re in danger,” Darkling points out.

I hear Peri mutter something under her breath, but I’m not really paying attention.

“So…” I frown. “What now?”

[End Darknight POV]