wc: 1998

tws at end of chapter

While Xisuma had been nervous while waiting to attack, this was a whole different story.

Grian was right, X thought frantically to himself as he ducked a punch. I haven't fought for my life- I overestimated myself-

X was scared. More than that- a deep pit opened in his stomach, and it seemed to yawn deeper and wider everytime a guard lunged at him, white masks covering expressionless faces and wide wings lurching them forward to- well- kill him.

An involuntary woah escaped X's mouth as he spun just in time to avoid a blast of purple flame, gulping as the heat passed by his face. That could have killed me, X realized with another drop in his gut- no time to dwell on it, though, as another blow came flying from a Watcher. Xisuma dodged to the side, seized the man's wrist, and drove his elbow into the Watcher's neck, once- twice- three times- probably overkill, but Xisuma was desperate. The Watcher dropped back with a sputtering gasp, and X flung himself on top to pin down the man's limbs, raising a hand and jabbing it into his neck.

Xisuma stayed there, hand raised, heaving labored breaths- please go to sleep, please- and sighed in relief when the Watcher stopped moving completely.

"X, look out!"

Instinctively, X ducked, rolling off of the man and pressing close to the ground. And just in time, too- X's stomach swooped as False went flying over his head, legs outstretched to knock a Watcher to the ground. A blast of violet flame shot askew, into an empty corner, and X distantly realized that if False hadn't come, it would have ended up hitting him. All he could hear was the fighting- clashing of metal, firing of the sugar blasters, the shouts and grunts, the screams, the fear-

"Come on, get up, there's more!" False said, a note of panic in her voice, and X blinked to realize she was in front of him, tugging his wrist with a frantic look in her eye. Her blonde hair was falling out of its ponytail and her other hand clutched the handle of her sword like a lifeline, ignoring how blood ran down the edge and onto her fist. X opened his mouth, looked over her shoulder, and screamed.

"Get down!" he sputtered, grabbing her shoulder and pulling down. A spear, purple sparks dancing on its blade, punctured the air right where False's head had been. Without a second thought, X launched himself over False and grabbed the spear, whirling it and bringing it down into the Watcher's chest.

"Thanks, X!" False yelled as she darted back into the bray. X watched her go, a bit dumbstruck as he took in the scene. Listeners and Watchers traded blows, sparks flying and balls of light striking walls and people alike. From the vents, X watched an arrow fly, sticking itself right into the unprotected neck of an unsuspecting Watcher. X's eyes widened as the man dropped to his knees, clawing at the blood spurting from the arrow sticking out of him like a pin in a pincushion.

X turned to look down at the man behind him, the one he'd killed to save False- except, he wasn't quite dead yet, was he? The Watcher's eyes were still covered by the darned mask, but X could feel the desperation in the way his hands twitched around the shaft of the spear, drenched with blood.

The sounds roared in X's ears. This was war.

He'd been standing shock still for too long now, though- a weight slammed into X's side, and a shocked noise pulled itself from his throat as his vision blurred and the world tilted.

X flung out his hands, pushing and kicking, desperation lining each hit, and as he looked up, all he saw was purple violet purple fire-

With stuttering breaths, X braced himself to die.

One second, two seconds passed, and- X was definitely still alive.

He cracked his eye open to realize that the Watcher was gone, and so was the weight. With a gasp, he scrambled to his feet, whirling to see where-

Ah. Grian, thank heavens.

An undeniable feeling of pure relief flooded X's system, and he sagged, breathing heavily. Through lidded eyes, X watched as Grian dodged a fist and swung his Staff, striking the attacker across the face. Once the man was definitely down, Grian made to dive into the fray again before turning to look at X.

"X! Are you okay?" he called, running up and kneeling. "Come on, you have to get up-"

"I'm fine," X reassured hurriedly, the world coming back into sharp focus. "Just- overwhelmed-"

"It'll be okay," Grian said, already standing and tugging on X. "Come on, just a little further-" Grian grunted and whirled, kicking an approaching Watcher square in the chest and sending him flying. "A little admin magic?"

"I don't have permission," X said with force, stumbling a bit as Grian dragged him along. "I need- urgh- an admin official to-"

"Where's your band?" Grian yelled over the chaos, ducking the swing of a sword and swinging his arm back, golden energy gathering-

Out of nowhere, the Watcher pitched sideways, pressing a hand to the side of his head. X and Grian simultaneously turned their heads upwards, meeting the eyes of Etho. He gave a silent nod, his blaster smoking, and melted back towards the darkness of the vents.

"Well?" Grian demanded, and X recoiled slightly at the blazing in his eyes. "The band!"

"Here," X said quickly, holding out his wrist. "My- my comm."

Grian narrowed his eyes before jabbing two fingers into the band, gold flowing through his arm into the comm. When he let go, X shook out his wrist and snapped, and a red spark flew.

"You're good," Grian said, voice strong as he turned with a twirl of his staff. "Let's get back to w-" He trailed off, eyes focusing on something behind X.

"What's wrong?" X asked, whirling, and immediately felt his stomach drop.

A man with perfect, shining robes and long white hair was flying down the hall towards the fight- X heard Grian's breath stutter. Behind the man was a whole group, all wearing matching robes, clean masks, and angry expressions. X didn't know who they were, but he could tell they were powerful- bright magic swirled in the first man's palms and he launched himself into the fray, winding back a glowing fist to strike-

Grian was there to meet it, his own fist wrapping around who was probably an Elder and pushing. His expression was much less controlled, teeth gritted and eyes wide.

"Xelqua!" the man shouted, something akin to glee in his voice. "How nice to see you-" He dodged under a fist of flame, the briefest moment of fear flashing acrossh is face.

The other Elders had also joined, and X realized with dismay that they were definitely more powerful, their blasts much larger and seemingly much more painful, if the cry of one unfortunate Listener meant anything.

"Behind you!" Doc screamed, and X jolted himself back into action and out of the paralyzing fear encompassing his body. He ducked and spun, turning to see

With a shout of effort, X lunged, red admin magic finally free to swirl through his hand, into his sword, and into the body of his next foe.

~~~

"You don't want to do this."

"Shut up and let me kill you," Grian gritted out, the last two words much weaker than he had hoped. They were somewhat evenly matched, blow for blow, Xeluph just barely managing to dodge wild blasts of golden magic and attempting to sneak his own hits in. Grian seized his wrist easily and held a hand out in front of Xeluph's face, gathering energy into his palm; Xeluph's eyes widened in shock before he threw his entire weight to the floor, throwing Grian off balance.

"The mission, Grian!" Tango's voice shouted. "Focus on restraining h-" His voice dissolved into grunts of effort as the fighting continued.

Just get him tied up, Grian thought, grimacing as purple flame grazed his sleeve, leaving the cloth singed.

"Xelqua," Xeluph said, a warning buried in his tone. Grian shouted something loud and wild, the name itself sending him into a rage. Under that rage, Grian did not want to look.

"Don't call me that!" Grian screamed, dodging a blast to seize the lapels of Xeluph's coat. "I'll kill you, I'll kill you-" Pure, unbridled emotion that could only be defined as bloodlust coursed through his veins, fueled by adrenaline and fear and everything awful that twisted his gut. "Everything you did to me-"

"Grian!" someone screamed, and he didn't even hear who it was, the blood was roaring too loudly in his ears. Xeluph inhaled quietly, and Grian had half a second to think before Xeluph unleashed a wave of scalding magic from his mouth, purple brushing the tops of Grian's head as he ducked just in time (there was blood, was he going to die? it hurt-).

Grian drew up two fingers, golden ropes of flame spewing from his fingertips and reaching towards Xeluph, his arms, his legs, his wings. In response, Xeluph snatched an abandoned sword and swung, but where one rope broke another just grew. It was exhilarating, watching Xeluph's mouth bear in grimaces as scalding magic started to coil around his arms, all the years of pain-

"Now!" Xeluph screamed, and Grian had only a few seconds of shock before the force of however many men slammed into his back. Phantom pains shot through his shoulder blades, burning and piercing, and Grian shrieked, trying to turn to face his opponents-

Feathers and skin and fabric obscured his vision and now Grian fought wildly, with flailing arms and legs and magic shooting every which way. Every groan of pain from the attacker meant a success for him, but there were too many-

The flipping of ceiling and floor meant he had just been flung, and Grian hit the wall with an oomph and a throbbing shoulder. He scrambled to his feet, blinking hard, trying to regain his bearings as a dozen men bore down on him with puffed feathers and angry expressions-

Help.

Here it came, the rush of magic that he'd felt those weeks ago in the main base- flowing in from his heart, pumping through his veins and arteries and everything towards his hands and feet and back and eyes, Seeing the men and their movement and rising to something that transcended him.

The sounds of screaming Hermits and blasts of sugar guns and wet footsteps drenched in blood suddenly were shockingly clear, every cry and every shout, but Grian focused.

These men in front of him would be the first to fall in a grand series, Grian decided, and he reached out with one hand and could feel the liquid gold in his eyes, dripping from his mouth, twining out of his hand to encircle the first man with its scalding hot grip. The screams rang in Grian's ears, and he realized he did not care.

It was with this ease he killed a dozen men, and he was ready to do it again, the exhilaration and ecstasy of power and magic filling his body and coursing through his veins. It called, and Grian answered, and then-

Grian looked up, and he saw Xeluph. He saw the sickeningly familiar violet magic glowing in Xeluph's hands, the mask that used to cover his face crumbling away to reveal a crazed expression of rage and malice, and he Saw...

Xisuma, unassuming, letting out bursts of controlled crimson admin magic, pushing forward with all the fortitude of the perfect admin. Whatever fears he felt were hidden (though Grian Saw them broiling deep in the man's gut) by the mask of icy, cold control.

He Saw Xeluph's violet anger enveloping Xisuma's crimson fear, and Grian could not let that happen.

tws: fighting, descriptions of violence, death, blood

the battle of the capitol part three

writing fight scenes is definitely not my thing. i am struggling so hard and thinking about all of the stuff i failed to worldbuild correctly is just AGH thank you guys so much for being patient and understanding and so supportive!!!

every comment and vote means the world to me, and please please PLEASE point out little mistakes to me, it helps me a ton!

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thank you so much for reading! have a good day or night, wherever you are :)

-Ete