Adrian knew he should be heading home, knew he needed to sleep. Max had already gone home, along with his dads. Ruby, Oscar, and Danna had gone home an hour before that even. It was almost midnight, but something was keeping him awake. Something that was urging him not to go home tonight. He needed to talk to Nova.

His first try was her desk. It was her number one place to simply sit and work, and he often found her there. Of course, she wasn't there tonight. There was nothing at her desk, but her monitor was still on. He knew he should check to see what she had been looking at, but it was just cataloging.

His next check was in the artifacts department. Ever since she had decided to reorganize the archive, she had spent more and more time there. The entire floor was dark of course. No sign of Nova, or any of the others there either.

The cafeteria was a bust, as well as the rec room. He tried the lobby, but she wasn't there. He got the bright idea of asking Sam, who was curiously on night duty tonight, if he had seen Nova. Adrian kept sending her messages and attempting to call her on her communicator, but there was no response ever. Sam mentioned the last time he had seen her, she was heading to the training hall. That was the next place Adrian would look. Maybe she had taken it off to train. Nova, of all the Renegades, had the worst habit of randomly taking off her communicator. Adrian suspected this was rooted in her time as Nightmare, but perhaps she simply didn't like the feel of it.

He felt terrible for doing it, but he decided to use the communicator's GPS to see where she was. After only a minute of work, he had it. She was indeed at Renegade HQ, but he couldn't tell much more. Curse two dimensional maps. The training facility was the last place he could look, and it was also the largest.

Stepping into the massive space was always a little intimidating for Adrian, but this time he ignored the sizable room, the flurry of motion, even at this time of the day, and the sounds that assaulted his ears, not to mention the smell. He was too focused at this point to notice any of the usually very disconcerting facts about the room. Adrian was just busy looking for Nova. There was still no sign of her.

"Have you seen Insomnia?" Adrian asked the nearest person. This happened to be one of their newer recruits, from the same trials as Nova actually. He only grunted in response before throwing a spear almost forty yards into the exact center of a target that had a decal of Ace Anarchy's helmet for the bullseye.

Adrian slowly stepped back from the prodigy, whom he now remembered was an air manipulator, and continued his search. Of course, even the training hall seemed to turn up nothing. Adrian was almost ready to start searching for Nova at some of their favorite late night snack locations in town when he decided to try to call her one last time before her left. He held up his communicator to call her, but then he heard it. The signal that someone was receiving a call. Many of the Renegades around the room glanced at their own wrist, only to find nothing. Adrian found it as quickly as he could.

It was laid out on one of the tables in front of the shooting range, fairly close to the spear throwing prodigy that Adrian had briefly conversed with, if one could call it conversing. He quickly picked up Nova's communicator, and found at least thirty notifications that he had messaged or called her and she had missed it. He quickly cleared these notifications and checked what she had been doing before she left. It was an intuition he had that Nova must have been looking into something.

He found nothing but a map with a blinking dot and a title. It was labeled to be tracking one of the Renegades. Magpie. Adrian recognized just where that blinking dot was one the map, and he hated that Magpie had returned there. Somehow, Magpie wasn't still in Renegades custody, and she had returned to the cathedral ruins, and now Nova had followed her as well.

But why had Nova left her communicator here? There was something about her disappearance that he didn't like, something off. He couldn't put his finger on it. It didn't matter that he didn't know everything, he decided it would be best to follow after her anyway. There was only one person that he knew would still be available at this time of night besides Nova herself. He sent the message for him to meet him at the cathedral ruins, then took off himself.

He didn't stop running until he was halfway across the city, when he finally realized that he had forgotten his springs. He launched into the air and landed on the nearest roof and leaped across the buildings. He could feel the air blasting his face as he rocketed across the Gatlon skyline, forcing him to squint as he made his way closer to the twice ruined cathedral.

There was no sign of Nova, Maggie, or any life at all. Then again, he wasn't sure he counted Phobia as a living thing. Just as he had said to Nova in the illustrated room, he didn't think he could create life. Phobia was just an imitation of life, a soulless creation he had drawn into reality.

"One cannot be awed who has no soul."

The thought formed unbidden in his mind. Nova had told him Phobia's second deadly phrase that he had uttered when he had murdered a good man. Adrian hated the idea of waiting, but he knew he should. Then again, there probably wasn't anything actually wrong. He fingered the top button of his athletic polo, contemplating and waiting. He couldn't take it open anymore and pulled his shirt open and unzipped his tattoo. His armor gave him the same security it always did. Perhaps not the anonymity it once had, but certainly the strength and feeling of safety were there.

He didn't need to wait anymore. There really wasn't any need for the backup most likely, so Adrian pushed his way into the rubble. The cathedral was a complete mess, and nobody had bothered to clean up the ruins of the last battle for Gatlon. His original observation from the outside didn't change for a while as he looked around the church. There was no sign of anyone. Not a footprint in the dust.

Eventually, he covered the entirety of the ground level. There was nothing here. Nova's communicator confirmed that Magpie was still here. Even his own confirmed the location. Then he remembered the first time he had met Ace Anarchy. The catacombs below the cathedral were the key.

He searched for the entrance and quickly found it, descending with the clunking of his Sentinel suit. The darkness enveloped him, but he quickly sparked a small flame in his hand. A year ago, there would have been no chance that he could control a flame and keep it with him without a good deal of effort. The past year of training had really paid off.

He finally reached the catacombs and entered the chamber he had originally fought Ace Anarchy in. He finally found them. Nova and Magpie were both there, sitting in front of a massive metallic coffin. Adrian recognized chromium when he saw it. The place where Ace had been found alive was the place he would finally rest. Then he noted the shadow behind Nova.

"Greetings, my creator." The voice echoed around the tomb and Adrian knew the voice from his nightmares. Phobia was here, and his fear tried to pry its way into Adrian's mind. He would not succumb to his own creation.

"Phobia, release them. Your problem is with me. Leave Nova and Maggie out of this," Adrian bartered. Phobia's laughs scraped their way through the air to reach Adrian's ears, and he hated the sound of the creature's bold laughter.

"Little Everhart, you don't understand, do you?" Suddenly, Adrian could see a pale blade rise in the air. It descended towards Nova, and Adrian wanted to scream for him to stop. The scythe hovered beneath Nova's chin, grazing her throat. A drop of blood traced a path down the bone white blade.

"Don't you dare touch her," Adrian growled he readied his concussion beams and his flames.

"Deactivate your suit or Artino dies." Phobia's demand was simple, and Adrian was certain it wouldn't be his last one. He pressed the button on his chest and the suit collapsed. The darkness seemed even more complete without the crimson visor over his eyes.

"Now," Magpie said, trembling with fear, "You are going to help me get into this coffin." Adrian stared at Magpie. This was Evie Artino, telling him she was willing to kill her own sister if it meant getting what she wanted.

"Maggie, Evie, you're okay with this? You are willing to let him kill her?"

"She won't die if you open this coffin, Adrian!" Her voice trembled as she shouted. This was taking a serious toll on her mind. She shouldn't need to threaten her sister. It wasn't right.

"Okay, okay. I'll try my best."

"No, Adrian, don't do it," Nova choked out before Phobia yanked his scythe a little bit into the skin below her jaw.

"Silence, Artino," Phobia growled. Adrian didn't know what to do. He couldn't let them get their hands on Ace Anarchy's helmet, not again. But Nova. Her eyes were filled with determination, the same strong fire he had seen in them ever since. He couldn't kill Nova. No. He wasn't going to lose her now.

He pulled his marker from his sleeve, a black fine tipped pen and slowly approached the metal coffin. He had never been sure if this would even work. He hadn't been sure he could open the box around Ace's helmet the first time either.

"You're just going to let him kill your family?" Adrian said as he began to draw the crack of the top half of the coffin. She seemed to be uncertain of what to say for a second. He drew hinges on one side of the box, to allow the coffin to be swung open.
"She isn't my family," Evie was muttering under her breath, "She's not." Adrian finished a handle and put his hands on the coffin.

"Please don't make me do this, Evie," Adrian pleaded, "you know how much pain it caused last time. Please." She shook her head slowly, and Phobia slowly drew his blade down and cut a gash in Nova's shoulder. She tried to hold back her scream, but as Phobia's scythe went a little deeper she finally let out a scream.

"Fine, just stop!" Adrian shouted as he forced his power into the chromium coffin. It worked. The drawing came to life, and Adrian slowly lifted the lid of the coffin. There before him lay the man that had killed so many Renegades. The one who had brought about the Age of Anarchy, and forced his ideals on a world of unwilling people. The one who had killed Nova's parents. The one who killed Evander. The worst man in the world lay before him, silent and still. His helmet resting on his head.

The helmet shot off Ace's head and flew to Magpie, who eagerly grabbed it and stared at it. There was only a second of Silence before Adrian let the lid fall back to the base of the coffin, shutting Ace back in his dark cocoon. There was nothing left Adrian could do to stop this. He had lost. His last chance was his reinforcements. He wouldn't be there for a little bit though, undoubtedly.

"I feel so..." Evie started as she slipped on the helmet, "Powerful. I can feel every metal for miles. The metal buried in the earth far below us, calling out, wanting me to draw it nearer. Even the iron in your blood. Every particle of metal."

"Good, child. Now we no longer need this traitor. Say goodbye to your precious Nightmare, Everhart. Despair and fear as she takes her last breath."

Phobia pushed Nova forward and readied his scythe
Nova looked up and only said two words. They weren't even addressed to Adrian. He already knew everything she could say to him. She loved him, he knew, and he definitely loved her. He had dreamed of living his life with her, but no. Phobia was going to take away every person he ever loved. First his mother, now Nova.

Nova looked to Evie. "I'm sorry," she choked out. It wasn't an apology for hating her for so long, or even all the conflict between them. It was just a sorry for failing her, for not being there when their parents died, or an apology for not knowing she was even alive. There was so much sadness in her eyes when she said those two words, and Adrian knew why. That sadness was suddenly reflected in Evie's eyes too. She forgave her.

Phobia swung his scythe to strike down Nova, and Adrian could do nothing.

"No!" Evie cried. She threw her hands forward, and the scythe changed course. It flew from Phobia's hands as he swung, peeling off to a new destination. But Evie didn't know her own power. The helmet had made her too strong to control her own power. She didn't know it well enough yet. The scythe went beyond her waiting grip. The blade found flesh.

Adrian suddenly had a horrible flashback of the night of the Renegades gala that he had found Nightmare standing over Max, the bloodied Silver Spear feet away, as he bled out on the ground. This was all too familiar. There was no way he could get her to the hospital in time. No chance she would be able to survive such a wound. No ice powers to help.

"Evie!" Nova screamed as she was suddenly free. She seemed to ignore her own injuries and rushed to her sister. Evie crumpled to her knees, surprised to find the blade puncturing her lower torso. Her face betrayed no emotion, not even pain. She was in shock. Nova caught her sister as she began to fall over, but left the blade in her side. Removing it would be devastating to her health.

As Nova muttered something to her sister than came out as gibberish, Adrian slowly realized something in his mind. Phobia would be terrorizing him as long as he lived. There wouldn't be any life without fear, but he knew only one thing strong enough to permanently keep fear at bay. Adrian reached over and gripped Nova's shoulder to comfort her, and reached his other hand to Ace Anarchy's helmet. With the helmet removed and in his grip, he turned to Phobia.

"What do you think you can do with that, Everhart? You cannot destroy me! You cannot destroy!" His voice quickly raised into a yell. "You are powerless to stop me. I will forever haunt you, those you love, this city, and this world! We will be locked in an eternal combat! Fear and courage, a war to settle the eternal question. A war without resolution! You only have the power to create, so you can never be rid of me, unless you lose all fear! But trust me young Everhart, that will never happen. You are simply too brave, and one cannot be brave who as no fear. I am your fear, and I am infinite!"

"Yes," Adrian whispered, "You are indeed infinite. I will never stop fearing. Fearing you, fearing loss, fearing powerlessness. I will never escape that." Adrian stopped for a second to let his admittance sink in, to let reinforcements get a step closer.
"But there is one thing that is stronger than my fear. It is not my courage. You are mistaken there." He glanced back to Nova and knew he was right. "The greatest infinite that will forever fight away fear isn't courage, it's love, and I will never run out of love."

With that, Phobia's form seemed to shrink, whether because Adrian simply had less fear or because he was actually preparing himself to strike.

"Now tell me, Monster. What is your greatest fear?" With that he slipped on Ace Anarchy's helmet, and he was overwhelmed. He seemed to be able to bands of cosmic energy flowing in and out of everything around them, but they seemed to bend to his will. In an instant, a shape came to mind and the energy bent into reality. First a single symbol, a cape fluttering in the wind, though the air was still here. Soon, her flowing hair followed, then the light formed a humanoid shape. A face pulled itself from the light, and she stepped into reality. A true symbol of love. Lady Indomitable, or rather, a physical manifestation of all of Adrian's love for her and everyone else, glared at Phobia.

She stepped forward and wrapped a hand around where Phobia's throat should have been. Cracks of light spread into the shadows of his cloak, and he screamed in terror and agony. Phobia was trapped in the grip of everything Adrian loved. She turned her face to Adrian for only a moment.

"I love you, my little hero."

With that, The two figures burst into light and Adrian had to cover his eyes to keep from going blind. When he looked back, Phobia and Lady Indomitable were gone. Nothing left of the two of them. Adrian's stupor at what he had just done was broken by a sudden cry of desperation behind him. Evie.

Adrian turned as knelt beside Nova. Evie looked pale and didn't seem to be breathing. Adrian only had one chance to save her. He pictured her whole, drawing it with the cosmic energy over her wounded side, where the scythe had disappeared with Phobia. When he willed the energy to come into reality, the wound slowly mended. Evie began slowly breathing again, and finally, she opened her eyes. She looked at her sister and gave a weak smile.

"Hey sis," she said, "can we go home?"
Then she closed her eyes and slowly began to breathe in and out. Adrian had saved her for now. Nova looked up to him and gave him a smile.
It was at this opportune moment when reinforcements arrived.

____________________________________

Heyo!

Happy Holidays! Thank you so much for reading everything I have so far! Be sure to hit that vote button to let me know you enjoyed it, and comment how felt about the chapter.

There will be one more chapter to this story, and then I will be done with this lengthy Renegades fanfic. I will still take requests or ideas for one shots to be added to One Cannot Be Brave, but my major fanfic writing will be set in the Riordan-verse.

Lastly, as always be sure to also check out some of my other works, especially The Enchanted Blade and hit those up with a read too.

Happy New Year!
- M.J.S.