Xao:

I grabbed both of the younger children and tried to shove them behind myself, Jessica slapping off my hand. Jessica lit up with an electric power like I had never seen, drawing out both her swords. Kyle lit up too but submitted to being shoved behind us and being protected.

My own electric field surged as before us stood my old friend Darius and his disgusting little warlock servant, Gregory. "What the- what are you doing here?!" I demanded of Darius.

"Dear Xao," said Darius, clicking his teeth at me. He began to pace behind Gregory, his sword drawn out and casually waving back and forth at his side. "Don't you know I always keep my ear to the ground for my dearest friend? When I heard you were headed for London... well I just had to inquire why for. When I then heard you and this rare flower," he pointed at Jessica, "had the same destination, well everything seemed so wonderful, too good to pass up to see you together."

"You've seen us then, leave," I said, clenching my fists.

"Ah, that spirit of defiance," said Darius, "I think I know where it's coming from in both of you. Someone who thinks he can just condemn others for not thinking like him. Am I really so evil Kyle?"

Kyle walked out from behind me a little, both of his swords drawn too. I gritted my teeth, saying under my breath, "Don't think I needed him to tell me you were evil. I already knew you long before he did."

Darius just smiled. "I will have you both. And that little annoying child will be removed from my sight." Darius paced just a few inches too far to the right and I threw my fist forward, a concussive blast ushering forth from it and sending Darius flying backward into the city. I thanked my lucky stars it was night time so our battle was largely unnoticed.

Darius scrambled to recover his sword as Gregory froze in shock. I barked orders back to Kyle and Jessica. "Get clear both of you. I'll take care of this."

A pair of eyes met mine, so close I could feel his breath as I finished speaking, Darius saying, "Is that so?" He grabbed me around my waist and pulled me away from the two, quickly flying into the sky.

Darius deposited me on a building high above the streets, on a large flat worn down roof. "Did you so easily forget, you're not the only one with toys?" he asked. He showed me a wristband of his own. Darius drew out a sword from a sheath on his side, "I wonder which of us made better choices on his invention for battle."

I drew out the plastic blade from my own sheath. I flicked the hilt and two large pieces of plastic fell off it, revealing a very real blade. I yelled back up to him, "Do you really want to fight me? You were never my better Darius, but we were once friends. You were a good person Darius, why are you doing this?"

"But don't you understand?" Darius asked back, "I learned it watching that city burn. There's no point in defending the good and innocent. They will all perish just the same, if not because of you, then despite you." Darius flew into the air above me. "I learned that day I could find more fulfillment in not fighting it and just embrace it. It's the only way to be happy Xao. Rather than fighting for some idea of good, embrace what they call evil and let it overtake you. It's intoxicating you see. Destroy beauty, destroy innocence... let it all burn!" He screamed at me these last words, eyes wild, like the whites were trying to take over his pupils, so wide and full of anger.

I closed my eyes, shaking my head, "The Darius I knew... is he still in your heart anywhere?"

"I don't know, I tried to purge him from myself," Darius answered, "But you're welcome to try and find him." I raised my fist and sent a pulse at him, forcing him to crash back into the roof. I used my powers to flash over to him, raising my blade to him, quickly being parried by Darius' own blade. Darius rolled left, my blade slipping off his and him quickly moving to his feet.

I shot right, stopping at Darius's side, moving my blade to cut him through his legs and disable him, but again Darius was able to block me with his blade. He flicked his wrist and was able to force me backward with the power of a slight motion from him. He pulled his blade back and shot forward to impale me, but I saw it coming and shot left before he started his approach. Hitting nothing but air Darius turned to face me in my new position to his left on the roof.

Darius was currently flying in the air, having shot off the roof, and smiling like mad. I raised my hand in invitation, waving for him to come to me. He shot forward with incredible speed, but he could still be seen. He led with his sword and gave me ample time to twist left and narrowly avoid his blade but still stay close enough to grab him around the chest. I threw my weight at him as he stopped, driving him to the ground and knocking away his sword. In the effort, I had dropped my own blade, but my plan was still working.

We wrestled on the rooftop, Darius thinking he had the advantage when he got on top of me. I was just where I needed to be, as was my opponent. Darius drew out a pocketknife and I sighed, acting defeated. Darius raised his knife and I raised my hands as if to stop him. Just as the knife came down I willed a pulse of energy to shoot into my wristband and fire through my right hand.

Darius was thrown into the air and slammed into a brick chimney not two feet from us, his head banging hard against the stone. The boy staggered on his feet as I crab-walked backward from him. He then dropped to his knees, feeling the back of his head and looking at the blood on his fingertips.

My mouth was ajar looking at him. "No," I quickly begged. "I just wanted to stop you, knock some sense into you, or knock you out... no."

Darius dropped to all fours, "You wanted to stop me?" he asked. "You succeeded." He finally dropped to his side, his eyes closing.

I knelt down by him, hands shaking. Darius and I had been friends for over one hundred years, had it really come to this? It was now almost impossible to see him as the wonderful person he once was.

I felt his neck, realizing the boy was actually still alive by some strange luck. I looked down off the roof, hearing a series of blasts going back and forth. I rose to my feet, looking back and spotting mine and Darius' swords. I retrieved them both and started looking for the stairs.

As I finally came to an entry to the building I was on, I had to stop and look back. I talked to myself, trying to piece together what I had to do. "If I leave him, he'll just come after me and Jessica again. The rules hold him back from killing another trickster directly using a deal, but what stops him from just attacking another person or my two new friends again?" I looked at my former friend, holding up my own sword, his at my side. I shook my head, clipping the plastic back onto my blade. "So I kill him in cold blood?... I can't." I spun around and threw Darius' blade into the air hard as I could, it spinning off to drop into the Thames. I threw open the door to the stairs, putting away my sword.

I knew it would be a while before Darius was up on his feet and fully capable again, I doubted very much my attack hadn't done serious damage, but something still told me, this was far from over, and it could never end well.

(***)

Moments before, back on the shore.

Kyle:

Gregory opened his left hand, his body immediately covered in fire, burning but not hurting him. He pointed an open hand at me, but I quickly shot to the right, just being missed by a large plume of fire.

Gregory jumped into the air, an effort which I would have thought pointless until I saw him actually start flying. Jessica cut the air in front of her with both swords, a blaze of electric energy flying at the warlock. Again my expectations were contradicted as instead of frying Gregory, the energy seemed to deliberately change direction to move in a perfect sphere around him.

Gregory grinned and formed a ball of fire in his right hand. Jessica and I quickly shot behind him, further into the city as he threw the large ball of flames at where I had been standing.

Now at the pyromaniac's back, Jessica stopped and spun around, her swords up and cutting through the air sending another wave at Gregory's back. Again the energy moved in a sphere around him.

Gregory chuckled saying, "You really think I'm friends with Darius for his likable personality? He's granted me one deal every year since I was twelve... which by the way, was fifty years ago. Extended life, energy shields, flight, resilience, extended youth, greater power... unless one of you can come up here and kiss me, I'm invincible!" I took that as my cue, using my speed to jet over to him, as he was actually only flying about three feet in the air. Before I reached him, however, he moved higher in the air, me just missing his feet. "Oh yes, enhanced reaction time and speed."

Another blast of energy shot at him, again going around him. Gregory turned to Jessica and continued his taunts. "You already know that won't work, but it's amusing that you keep trying." He rose into the air. Jessica spun again, throwing another series of bolts at him, again they only passed around him. Gregory chuckled, starting to head towards her. "It's not impossible you will overcome my shield at some point." She ignored his taunts and threw another blast at him, this one knocking over a nearby street light when it was redirected. "Oooh! Really don't want to see what happens if this shield does fail."

I knew Jessica wasn't attacking him for nothing; she was trying to distract him. I knew she really meant for me to run away, but I could never leave her like that. I took my short sword and held it like a spear. I sent a bolt of energy through my arm and threw the blade, it zipping through the sky and screaming towards our enemy. Unlucky for me, I never was that good of a shot and the blade only sliced through Gregory's shoulder.

The boy screamed and dropped to the ground. On the ground, he knelt down in pain and I used my powers to shoot over to him. "Healing powers, remember?" he asked.

As I raised my sword he looked up, fear filling his eyes as I swung the weapon down at his head. He rolled just in time to dodge. He then jumped back just in time to avoid a forward jab I quickly followed with. A circle of fire quickly went up around me, Gregory flying a few feet from me saying, "Clever move little Kyle, almost had me, but now, your girlfriend can't protect you at this range, not with attacks like she's been putting out, even if she does manage to get through my shield she'll just fry us both and she knows it." He held up his right hand in a gesture to snap his fingers. "With just a thought now, I can reduce you to a cinder. Any last words?"

I closed my eyes, ready to accept my fate.

It was then that I felt something huge fly over me. My eyes shooting open I saw that same thing slam into Gregory, a dark figure covering him and dragging him along the ground. The figure stopped and threw Gregory like a doll. Gregory stopped in midair, glaring at the figure below. His eyes however did not remain in a glare, as all three of our eyes enlarged in shock at what was now standing in our midst.

The dark figure loomed, shaped like a man with huge claws on its fingers. More noticeable than the claws were the huge black wings attached to its back which raised into the air like a giant bat. The creature drew out a massive sword from a sheath on its side and I felt my breath begin to stop. I finally pushed out what I knew I was seeing, but only speaking in whisper, "Gargoyle."

Gregory threw both hands forward, a stream of fire blazing across the ground and melting it as it shot forward at the creature. The creature rolled left just in time and then jumped into the air, leaping over me.

What should I have been more afraid of, Gregory or a mortal enemy of my entire race?

The gargoyle, dressed in a large cloak, shot overhead again, apparently entirely unscathed, his clothes only slightly singed. His sword at the ready he landed where Gregory stood. Gregory quickly flew back just before the creature's blade cut through the ground, ripping a groove through the pavement. Gregory pulled back his hands, a plume of fire forming between them. "You have no idea how much power I can generate you freak of nature!" he shouted at the gargoyle. The gargoyle did not appear to have any fear of this, drawing out a large handgun and pointing it at Gregory. He drew the weapon so fast, I barely comprehended it being drawn like it just appeared in his hand and ready. The blast from that weapon issued out an echo that seemed to silence everything around. I don't know what caliber it was, but just the explosion that propelled the bullet set my ears ringing. Gregory flew back slightly and dropped like a stone to the ground.

Gregory now lay on the ground, not moving or twitching, dead where he lay. The gargoyle's wings fell off its back, hitting the ground like heavy leaves, melting soon as they slapped onto the concrete. The creature turned to face me, his features sharp, but his color was actually rather natural. His skin was reddish, his bone structure was very stiff and he held himself like a gentleman, moving over to me in steady and confident strides. I backed away, my heart thumping like a jackhammer. He was huge. The man must have been full six and a half feet, towering over me like a tree over a weed. He looked down at me, almost through his nose as though I was hardly even worth the effort to turn his head.

He spoke in a deep commanding voice, "I fear nothing from you children, and could kill you with the same ease as I dispatched your enemy. I see all three of you are the result of the divination you Pharaohs call technology. As you can see, I have mastered some of this magic as well." He held up his gun. "Fifty-caliber." He pointed the weapon at me, "You are welcome to try to attack me, as I know is the way of your kind, to attack and kill indiscriminately. I was not here to protect you freaks, only to protect my home." I just stood, near shaking. "Unlike your kind though, I do not relish spilling blood." The gargoyle looked back to Jessica who had appeared behind him. He then looked back at me, both of us shaking with fear. "So I assume I may take my leave?" I slowly nodded, backing away from him. He crouched down and shot into the air, another pair of wings shooting out of his back as he tore into the sky. He sailed away on the air, dropping to the ground several meters away.

I closed my eyes, gripping my rapier sword tightly as if it were some kind of security item. I felt Jessica's hand on my shoulder and I slowly opened my eyes. "You're okay?" she asked. I nodded, gulping a few times. She turned around, both of us scanning the region for further opponents. "We should get out of the open. Someone is definitely going to be out here soon to find out what was going on. No way all that went unheard."

"So what was going on?" I asked.

"Not like it wasn't obvious, that gargoyle just mopped the floor with Gregory like he was just a toy. But why didn't he attack us when he was done?" Jessica asked in return.

"I don't know, gargoyles aren't known for their mercy."

"Sounded like he thought the same of us."

"I know."