The Stormhold's Assault

A Chapter by Regular Sama

Cosack's plan finally begins as Edgar tries to fight the Stormholds once again

Chapter 9 �" The Stormhold’s Assault

Despite the terrible dream you had last night you still forced yourself to wake up after listening to a huge explosion, followed by several smaller ones in the distance. You didn’t knew why but it sure was trouble and you had to do something about it, somehow.

�" Finally awake huh? �" Rose greets you, already in her usual attire. Same for Natasha, who looks worried while looking outside through the window.

�" This isn’t good at all. How we’ll deal with this one now? �" She asks while looking at you. You rub your eyes a bit before going over to the bathroom to change your clothes.

Once back you suggest. �" We should contact the others. We’ll need their help.

�" Already did that. We’ll meet at the Central Plaza, closer to Chiefinos. �" She says while going outside, soon being followed by Natasha. You look around to see that none of the girls can be seen.

As you catch up to them you ask. �" Where’s everyone else?

�" They woke up earlier than us and left as soon as they did, so I have no idea. �" Rose shrugs while power walking downstairs.

Once out you’re immediately greeted with a flying stop sign, ripped due to a shockwave. You look around to see the responsible for it.

A man that seems to be in his 30s had several scars on his face and was using a tanktop with ragged pants, giving the vibes of a criminal. Once he spots you he goes behind a car and hurls it at you with another shockwave, but you manage to react in time to it and punch the car back. It itches, but you use it as warm up.

�" What’s the bright idea? �" Rose shouts while reaching a purse you haven’t noticed before, taking two small clubs from it and taking a fighting stance. �" Looking for trouble? Cause you found it!

�" Feisty... �" The man grins while rubbing his hands, probably to use anonther shockwave. �" I’ll enjoy playing with you.

�" Good... �" You try to say something smart, but his appearance and gestures scares you. Why? You have already dealt with people worse than him, so why does he scares you so much? �" Good luck with that pal!

Before anything else can be said though something invisible strikes the back of his head so hard he falls unconscious. Natasha reveals herself and hits him again to make sure.

�" How about that? �" She looks up and waves her hand.

�" Impressive... �" You think to yourself before Rose reminds you of where you should go to.

Sure enough you all head straight to Central Plaza, but not before seeing various police officers and even some bounty hunters fighting various criminals, the ones responsible for the havoc that was being spread across all town. Even then you can still hear similar noises coming from other places, reinforcing that the issue is going on all over the place.

Once there you see Derick and Bastion panting. �" What happened?

�" We had to deal with a troublesome one. �" Derick says while grinning. �" He made the grave mistake of underestimating us, so he was relatively easy to knock out, but I wasn’t the one to do it.

�" Come on bro. �" Bastion says while adjusting his glasses, which are a bit dirty. �" I just knocked him out...

�" Just knocked him out with one of your air bubbles. �" He mocks him while grinning, making Bastion look somewhere else. �" That was quite impressive.

�" Regardless. �" Rose speaks up. �" We still have other issues to deal with. The city is clearly being attacked, but I don’t think it’s by an organization.

�" Why so? �" Natasha questions how she can be so sure.

�" Because they’re not organized, that’s why. They are just blindly destroying everything. Otherwise the police would be having a much harder time dealing with the ones we saw on our way to here.

�" So, Edgar. �" Bastion looks at you. �" What should we do? I think that Cosack guy have something to do with this, so what do you think?

Everyone else looks at you, waiting for a response. You have never payed this its fair share of attention before, but now you can see that your friends rely more on you than you have thought. Even though Rose is more experienced and Bastion is smarter they still look up to your intuition and skills, or maybe they just want someone to look up to and place their worries and trust. Regardless of why you now realized that the person you used to be, how you used to behave, it made them feel some degree of safety. Always fearless, always spitting at danger’s face, always knowing how to react and what to do. You had to be that guy again. You had to look foward and stay confident, even if, in reality, you were just as scared as them. So you do just that and rubs your face, welcoming your infamous smirk back.

�" Well, yes. Cosack definitely have something to do with this chaos. We should look for him, and I know where he could be hiding. I still don’t know why he didn’t bothered to blindfold and escort me away so I wouldn’t figure it out, but that’s beside the point. Let’s...

Before you can finish your sentence you see something made of ice flying towards you. Luckily you noticed it in time and catched it mid air. It was a simple ball, but it would have hurted you if you didn’t catched it. When you look to where it came from you see...

Everyone realizes what happened and look to the source of the projectile, only to be as shocked as you. You see Fergus and Magnus slowly walking towards you. Fergus had an excited grin on his face while Magnus was looking around and at you at the same time. Once they get closer they start.

�" Sharp reflexes as usual huh Edgar? �" Fergus says while rubbing his beardless chin, making Magnus close his eyes and shake his head a bit while grinning. �" But don’t worry! We’re not here to cause you trouble.

�" Unless you ask for it, of course. �" Magnus finishes his sentence while rubbing his big and harsh looking beard, making Fergus do a jealous look. �" We overheard your “plan” of going after TC, and we were hired specifically to stop you from even trying that. Turn back and nobody gets hurt.

�" Well, if it isn’t Mr. Fiery Hands. �" Derick grins while cracking his knuckles. �" I’ve been waiting to fight you again, so why don’t we drop the act and skip to the good stuff?

�" Hold yourself you fool. �" Bastion warns him. �" Last time you, me and Rose together barely made him reveal his Power, so what makes you think we’ll have a better chance now?

�" Even worse. �" Rose fills in the gap. �" He now is accompanied by his brother. The Stormhold Brothers against a small group of high school students, how fair... �" She grins while slowly shaking her head with her eyes closed.

�" Well, as far as I’m concerned you’re all pretty strong yourselves. �" Fergus says. �" Last time I checked a group of five people were responsible for dealing with a trio of robbers, one of them being Border. Even I have to admit he isn’t weak like the rest of these street level thugs.

�" And if you dealt with him and his team. �" Magnus says. �" We shouldn’t take any of you lightly. The worst mistake a fighter can make...

�" Is to underestimate his opponent. �" You finish his sentence. �" That’s why this time we, that’s why I won’t hold back against you.

After that you make your whole body glow with the orange energy of your Power. After doing it a few times now you finally got the hang of how to properly deal with how much stamina it takes to sustain, but it still tire you a bit.

�" And yes, I will go after Cosack. That old fool owns me 5 months of my sanity, and I’ll have it back with a good old style pummeling. �" You take your fighting stance, soon being followed by your friends.

Fergus takes a step foward, but Magnus asks him to step back. �" I’ll deal with all of them. It’s been a while since I had to fight seriously, and you already had your fair share of fun with Edgar. �" He turns his beard into a crackling fire while cracking his neck. �" Let me see how powerful is the kid that defeated a professional bounty hunter, and how his friends catch up to him.

You can tell the fight will be heated, despite being a 5x1. Before anyone does anything though you see a considerably tall and built man with black hair combed backwards wearing a tuxedo appear from behind Fergus. He and Magnus also notices him and they stop on their tracks when your father says.

�" So you lost to my son? �" He taps his shoulder. �" And you still have the nerve to call yourself a professional bounty hunter? �" Fergus starts to feel his body heavier, forcing him to kneel down. Your father is using his Power with such intensity that you think you would have fainted from such pressure if he ever used it on you. Magnus quickly take note of him and tries to hit him, but he easily dodges while hopping over to you.

�" Sup dad. �" You go for a fist bump.

�" Having fun without inviting me? �" He bumps it. �" Gonna tell Liz about your little shenanigans, unless...

�" We let you in? �" Derick asks while grinning.

�" Maybe, who knows? Besides, you need a responsible adult to look over your teenage asses.

�" Hey! �" Rose seems annoyed.

�" I said responsible, so keep it low. Besides, we have more important things to deal with right now. �" He too takes a fighting stance, something you never saw before. �" You all deal with Fergus while me and Edgar go for Magnus.

�" I can take care of him myself you know? �" You try to look confident, but he disagrees.

�" I’m still your father, so I’m not letting you fight someone as strong as Magnus all by yourself, not knowing what he could do to you...

�" I bet you’re just worried with what mom would do to you if she found out about all of this. �" You smirk a smug. He copies you.

�" Smartass.

�" Done? �" Magnus asks while helping Fergus up, Diask’s gravity control over him already over. He then takes his own fighting stance while Fergus conjures his ice clubs. They look like Rose’s, but bigger and made of ice.

You take the first step, but Fergus doesn’t waste time in running towards you. Looks like he forgot the set up, but is soon reminded of that by your friends. Natasha went invisible and made him trip with a heavy hit on his foot, making him fall. Derick used the ground as a treadmill with Bastion’s help to drag him away from there, but not too far. He soon stands up and goes for another hit, but you don’t pay that attention since now Magnus is the one charging at you with his fiery fists.

Your father steps in with a tackle, and surprisingly stops Magnus in his track. You forgot he can use his Power on himself to make him heavier. He goes for a right punch to the gut, but Magnus stops it with his own punch while taking a step back and going for a kick to his leg, which Diask promply dodges with a leap.

You see an opening and dashes so fast none of them see it coming. Now behind Magnus you deliver a few punches to his gut before he have time to pay you proper attention and try to counter you with an elbow, but you dodge it and jump kick his face. Your father then grabs him in a Full Nelson and forces both of them inside the ground, but Magnus heats up his own body, making Diask let him go and take a few steps back.

Once out Magnus heats himself even further, now his body turning red from the intensity. The fire in his hands now cover his whole arms as well as some of his torso while he charges at you with a straight. It’s faster than what you foresaw, landing on your face and sending you flying towards the other sidewalk, leaving a burnt mark on your face. You quickly stand up and see your father dodging his blows while landing some of his own. For as skilled and powerful as he may be, he isn’t a fighter, which is being capitalized on the fact that he is fighting someone who specializes in hand to hand combat, which is why he is trying his best to maintain distance. That or he just doesn’t want to ruin his suit.

Regardless you run back, now faster, but also feeling a bit tired. You then shout

�" Heads up! �" After that you jump and prepare to connect a dive punch, but he side steps and grabs your arm, hurling you at Diask. He can’t dodge from this close and both of you fall on the ground while Magnus crosses his arms together while dashing towards you, his arms on fire. His iconic Hell Tackle is bound to hurt, and you don’t want to know what the pain is like, but you quickly stand up and go for your own tackle, reinforcing your energy on your shoulder, similar to what you did against Fergus a few days earlier, while embracing yourself.

Meanwhile, a few meters from there

One of Rose’s club is missing, but Fergus’s right one is cracked, and if he tries to use it again it’ll probably break, leaving an opening for anyone to exploit. You try not to make any noise while moving around him, looking for any opportunity to attack with your bat, but he is well aware of your invisibility by now.

�" Come on girl, I know you’re here. �" He mocks you while embracing himself against Bastion’s wind bullets, a technique he learned a few weeks ago while practicing on his own. They hurt, but not enough. Derick is far too tired after trying to hold him on the spot with all of his strength with the concrete and dirt of the ground, but he managed to create a thick ice veil around himself, and from there several spikes that destroyed Derick’s attempts of pinning him down.

Rose went for a few hits here and there, but his muscular build protected him from them with considerable ease. She might be powerful, but this still is a professional figher, and none of you are as strong as Edgar is.

After having enough of Bastion he, with struggle, conjures a small ice shield while dashing towards him. He seems to be tired, but still seems to have enough to deal with you all.

�" Special delivery to Mr. Annoyance! �" Before he can actually land you get close enough to hit his leg again, making him fall over his shield, shattering it. He looks to where you where and shoots a few ice projectiles.

�" I’m trying not to kill any of you, you know? But this is getting really annoying... �" He is visibly angry at the situation. Who wouldn’t? An adult being defeated by a few teenagers, now that’s a story you wouldn’t want to share with no one.

�" So give up! You may be strong, but you’re outnumbered and outclassed! �" Rose shouts while wrapping her arms around him as he tries to stand up. He thinks little of it and pulls her closer with his whole body while gesturing a headbutt, but said head is struck by a boulder, allowing Rose to unwrap her arms and grab her remaining club while striking his head too. You can see him slowly losing his composure while trying to cope with so many different attacks all at once while this tired. Regardless he still tries something reckless.

�" What about a little surprise I’ve been holding for real creatures of the wilderness? You’ll find this one interesting... �" He embraces himself while hail starts to fall around him. After a few seconds he screams and lets it go while a huge blast sends almost a ton of snow all over the place, covering you, your friends and various buildings with a thick, white snow layer. That wasn’t the worst part though, instead the shockwave that came with it. It sent the gang flying everywhere, and you against Magnus, who caught you mid air.

�" So you’re the one with the invisibility huh? �" He says while visibly damaged and tired. �" Really interesting Power you have kid, and versatile too. �" He puts you down while you, Edgar and Diask make confused faces. He then explains himself. �" I’m here to stop Edgar from going anywhere, not to send any of you to the hospital for no reason. His father is helping, so I have to deal with him too. You and your friends are giving my brother more trouble than they did to me back at your hideout...

He is even more tired than Fergus. His beard is no longer on fire and he is panting while sweating quite a lot. He ponders on something for a while. You see Edgar easening himself, but Diask is still skeptical about all of this, maintaining his ground with a suspicious look. Soon Magnus lets a heavy sigh go while completely powering down. Meanwhile you can see Fergus being fought by the others again, almost on the same pace as before. Derick made a substitute for one of Rose’s lost club while Bastion maintain his distance with as many air bullets as he can, but without your help they are slowly being outclassed by him. Damn he is persistent!

�" You see Edgar. �" He adresses him while walking past you. The move is quite sudden, forcing you in a fighting stance of sorts. �" The thing is that I’m incredibly tired and in a clear disadvantage since you’re with your father, who is far from being weak if compared to other commoners I have fought before. I can say the same about my brother, but his hunt for adrenaline and pride is forcing him to stand his ground, despite being at the verge of collapsing. �" He takes a step to the side while waving his hand towards somewhere.

�" If you go on your own you can go deal with that old fool’s nonsense. Like I said, one way or another his plan wouldn’t work, but I believe it will be for the better if you knock some sense in his thick skull. Show him how flawed his plan is while I come up with an excuse to convince Fergus to stop.

�" Hm... �" Edgar ponders on the request while cleaning some snow from his left arm. �" I’m skeptical about it, but sure. I’ll pay the doc a quick visit and see what excuse he’ll have for all of this.

�" Oh, about that. �" Magnus says before heading over to Fergus. �" He is trying to take over the city by dethroning the mayor. Stupidest plan I ever heard, and he would be extremely lucky if he didn’t stumbled with Deyson.

�" Wait, Deyson as the High Council member? �" Diask questions him, but he doesn’t answer. You look back to Fergus to see him panting heavily while he tries to take a fighting stance, but eventually falls on his knee and stands there, defeated. Your friends cheer on the victory while Diask stretches himself, popping some bones.

�" Well, he said you alone, but obviously I won’t let you. �" He grins. �" But I’ll let you go first to make sure the road is clear.

�" Of course you will... �" Edgar rub his eyebrows before his father go for a man hug, surprising both you and him. It doesn’t last long though.

�" I’m proud of you son. You grew strong enough to be on pair with someone as strong as Fergus, and even did damage to Magnus. Couldn’t have asked for a better son. �" He says while looking down to Edgar, making you a bit jealous. You wish you had such a father... Regardless he does the face of someone that’s at the verge of crying while smiling widely.

�" I’ll... �" He controls himself. �" I’ll go there now. I’m pretty sure I can deal with him by myself, so don’t send anyone else.

�" I’ll see about that. �" Diask turns Edgar around and pushes him. �" Now get going. I’ll make some calls. There’s a lot for me to clean up thanks to these b******s, they included. �" He points over to the Stormhold Brothers.

�" Edgar! �" He turns to you. To this day you don’t know what exactly made you start looking to Edgar with the eyes you have now, but you can see his hair gently moving with the winter wind Fergus created, pieces of his clothing ragged and even tore apart, but for some reason it adds a “cool” charm to him. Maybe it’s the hot blood, but you can’t stop thinking about how cool and beautiful he looks right now, so much so that you end up staring for a bit longer than what you wanted, making you shake your head.

�" I just wanted to give you good luck. Knock that old fool dead, for the team. �" It hurts a bit, but you manage to hide your real feelings and go for a fist bump, which he bumps back.

�" For the team... �" He slowly repeats while forcing his eyes, like he was thinking hard about something, but eventually shrugs it off and smiles to you. Then he walks to where Cosack is supposed to be, and eventually runs.

�" One good piece of a man right? �" Diask asks, surprising you. �" You should ask for his parents’s permission before trying anything funny you know? �" His comment immediately makes you blush while you try to correct yourself.

�" Oh, no! It’s not like that, really! �" It doesn’t work. Diask can’t stop smirking.

�" I too fell in love for the first time, you know? It’s quite obvious after so many years of experience. They way your eyes close a bit, the way you slow your breathing’s pace a bit to try and make it heavier, the way you wiggle around to try and drag his attention to your body. They are really subtle, but if you pay enough attention they’re there.

The thought of having Edgar discover it makes you blush, but it also puts a smile on your face...

�" Please don’t tell him...

�" No worries. He is too oblivious to realize it by himself though, so I think you should try changing your approach strategy.

That makes you think a bit before seeing Magnus helping Fergus stand while looking over to you and to the rest of the gang, then slowly leaving. You wonder if you’ll ever see them again, but soon dismisses it when your friends come to check on you and Diask. Rose now lost both her clubs, Derick’s shirt is ripped in half, and Bastion’s hands are white... He really overdid himself back there. They also have several bruises and scratches.

�" Fergus went easy on us! Can you believe it? �" Derick’s disappointment is tangible.

�" He underestimated us because we weren’t Edgar. �" Rose shrugs. �" Good thing, because we were in a disadvantage. Even if outnumbered, our Powers and lack of experience could have been easily exploited by the versatility of his ice manipulation, and from what I heard that last attack of his covers his enemies in snow annd crushes them by gathering as much as he can all over them. He just screamed and scattered the snow, trying to scare us.

�" It kinda worked... �" Bastion cleans his glasses with his shirt. �" What about Edgar?

�" He went after Cosack. �" You tell them. �" Magnus told him to go on his own, but I don’t think any of you is happy with the idea, so we should get going to catch up to him.

And with that you run to where Edgar went to, going as fast as possible to catch up to him. Bastion easily outclasses everyone else, soon disappearing between the buildings. Having wind manipulation sure have more advantages than one can imagine.

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