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MoP Ch. 22 Ace up the Sleeve

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    Marcus made his way down the shadowed canyon, a web serving as a decent tether. He passed down through the layers of thick mist until he got down past the bottom layer of fog. About 12 feet separated the hard, rocky floor from the fog bank.

    This wasn’t the plan. Ray wasn’t supposed to fall in the canyon. Then again, Jag wasn’t supposed to check back. He never does that! Marcus gingerly touched the scars on his face. He sure was mad, that’s for certain.

    Squinting his eyes in the gloom, Marcus cut the web tether and dropped to the ground. Small wisps of fog swirled up around his boots. He looked left and right, ears straining to catch anything. A gasp, a dull heartbeat, or ragged breathing.

    Sure enough, there it was. A low, almost gasping breath.

    Marcus snapped his head towards the sound, his eyes flashing. He ran towards the sound, his footsteps echoing up and down the high canyon walls. A large figure appeared in the mist, and Marcus recognized Soul Stealer’s long, slender body and large wings.

    But the dragon was no longer menacing as it lay splayed in death, its fearsome spiked tail limp and claws useless. A blood pooled near his head, draining both from the  gaping wound in his neck and from his parted jaws. His red eyes, with had burned fierce and cruel, were dull and empty.

    Marcus looked around his body, but Ray was nowhere to be seen. The Alphian groaned, switching his vision so he saw the world as a snake would. Sure enough, he saw the heat signature of a small crumpled lifeform, its heart weakly beating.

    Ray.

    Marcus jogged over to find the human lying on the ground, her body broken and small. But despite her broken appearance and the blood that ran from her mouth, she was still breathing.

    He kneeled down beside the broken human and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Ray.”

    She opened her eyes with effort. They were dull with pain. “M-Marcus?” she rasped, then coughed up blood.

    Marcus rolled her onto her side. He held her still, a hand on her shoulder and one on the side of her head. He sighed. “Ray, I’m sorry for this.” He opened his mouth wide and the two fangs that rested against the roof of his mouth unfolded.

    Ray looked up at him from the corner of her eye. Deep within, under the anger and agony, was betrayal. “I thought you were my friend…”

    Marcus stopped, caught off guard. She thought of me as a friend? “You… you did?”

    Ray glared up at him. “Was I wrong to? Was it just some… cruel act?” she spat, then coughed up blood from her lungs.

    Marcus shook his head. “No, no it wasn’t an act. I’ve just… not had many friends,” he admitted sadly.

    Ray frowned, blood running from the corner of her mouth. “Well, you’re about to lose another.” As if on cue, she coughed up more blood.

    Marcus narrowed his eyes, a determined look on his face. “Not if I can help it.” He took a deep breath, leaned down, and sank the fangs into her neck.

    -------

    Silver sat up abruptly with a gasp, hand going to the place where his head had hit the ship’s wing. A small bruise was starting to form. He glanced around and realized he was back in Rex’s room. Scarlett and Baxter sat by his side with pitying expressions on their faces. Suddenly all of the emotion from the fight surged back over him in a massive wave. He looked over to the Alphians. There was only one thing on his mind. “My… my sister. Is she…?” Silver asked, unable to go on.

    Baxter avoided the young adult’s eyes, but his drooping ears and tail told Silver the answer before Baxter even spoke. “I’m sorry, Silver. She fell into the abyss when Soul Stealer went down. There was nothing we could do,” he said quietly.

    Silver’s eyes widened. No. Not his sister. Not his best friend. She couldn’t be dead! She couldn’t! Silver had come too far to simply lose her! But he knew in his heart she was gone. No one survived a fall like that. He put his head in his hands and began to sob. The Kelusines, the Crimson Stone Company, the Icy Hawk Company, the trip, the fight with the Jekyls, all of it had been in vain. He had failed.

    Scarlett was silent briefly before getting up and storming out. “That’s it. I’m calling him in,” she growled through clenched teeth as she left, tail lashing.

    Baxter watched her go, an odd look in his eyes. “Oh boy,” he said, trepidation in his voice. The tip of his tail began to twitch.

    Silver sniffed and looked up at the Alphian, confused. “What do you mea-”

    He stopped abruptly as Baxter held a hand up to halt him. “Five,” the man began, tone tired. “Four,” he continued, putting one finger down. “Three.” Three fingers held up now. “Two.” Two fingers. “One,” Baxter sighed, then pointed towards the door just as Rex’s loud yell echoed down the hall.

    Have you lost your bloody mind?!”

    “Aaannnd there it is,” Baxter sighed heavily at the sound. He looked over at Silver with a tired expression. “Come on. Let’s get in there ‘fore they start going at each other,” he said, pushing himself to his feet. Then he shook his head and muttered under his breath, “This is gonna be a long conversation.”

            Silver was perplexed. What was that all about? Who’s getting called in, and just why did Rex seem extremely adverse to it? The only way to find out was to follow Baxter. He slipped out of the bed and wiped his eyes before following Baxter. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. Ray wouldn’t have wanted me to grieve like this. At least I can see her again, sometime in the future. I’ll just have to go to Spirit Summit. But in the meantime, she would have wanted me to focus and bring her killer down. I have to be strong. For you, Ray. Standing straighter, he forced his grief to the back of his mind and focused on figuring out a way to make Jag pay for what he had done.

    Baxter trudged down the hall as if he had lead weights attached to his feet. Faintly, Silver heard the tall male muttering what sounded like a string of curses under his breath, but he could not make out the exact words. Maybe it was for the best. Baxter did not sound happy.

    As the duo turned the corner to the main room, they were met with the sight of leader and second in command facing off against each other, tails bristling and lashing from side to side. Both Alphians had their ears pinned flat against their head and were baring their teeth. Silver and Baxter arrived just in time to see Scarlett growl back at Rex, “We have to call him in!”

    The taller Alphian bristled, teeth now resembling those of a canine as he bared them. “No!” A closer look at his eyes revealed the pupils had narrowed to slits, as had Scarlett’s.

    “But Rex-” Scarlett started, only to be cut off angrily by Rex’s, “Absolutely not!” The female snorted in frustration. “And why in the name of Alphia not? He knows the Black Ash Mountain tunnels better than anyone! I don’t care if he does live in Mysteria! Why can’t we call him in?”

    “Because! That man, as you call him, is a loose cannon!” Rex retorted sharply. Clearly whoever they were so aggravated about was a dangerous one. The question was… who were they talking about?

    “He’s not that bad!” Scarlett protested, but even she had hesitation in her voice. She knew the man, whoever he was, was indeed a loose cannon.

    “Not that bad,” Rex mocked in a nasally tone, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. His eyes flashed back down. “Last time he got mad, he knocked down an entire building!” he reminded Scarlett.

    Silver gulped. If the one they were discussing was that powerful, he wasn’t sure he wanted to work with him.

    Scarlett mimicked Rex’s stance, arms crossed and weight mainly on one leg. “The building was only two floors, and it was structurally unsound! It was coming down anyway!” she said, waving one hand dismissively.

    Rex sighed, looking down and shaking his head back and forth. “That’s not the point, Scar. The point is, he’s a loose cannon and a hot head. Plus, a female has been killed! You know how he is about females!”

    Silver blinked, confusion taking root. What did the fact a female had been killed have to do with the man’s anger? Unless… they were talking about… him. In which case he would be extra aggressive due to his protectiveness of females.

    Scarlett scoffed, rolling her eyes as her tail tip twitched. “I know, I know! He’ll kill Jag on the spot when he catches him. But I’ll tell him not to kill him just yet!” she said, now trying to reason with her leader.

    Rex gave a harsh, mocking laugh, throwing back his head and showing his razor sharp back teeth. “You can’t just simply tell Ace Riddick not to do something and expect him to listen!” he yelled after he brought his head back down.

    Silver gasped. They were talking about him! “Ace?! The Rageryan?! The Silent Slasher?! The one who singlehandedly killed 50 enemies with just 1o swipes of his infamous axe?” he squeaked, eyes wider than dinner plates.

    Rex and Scarlett glanced over at him. “Yes, Yes, Yes, and it was 5 swipes,” Scarlett corrected him with an ear twitch before turning back to Rex. “Daniel… listen,” she said softly, “We have no other choice. We need him. Otherwise we’ll never catch Jag.”

    Rex sighed, placing his head in his hand whilst keeping one arm crossed. “Can you look me in the eyes and tell me that you can keep ‘im under control, and it’s not going to end up in a disaster?” he asked, the question almost a groan.

    “Er, yes?” Scarlett said, her eyes going up to the right to stare and nothing as a nervous smile crossed her face.

    Rex raised an eyebrow as he looked her dead in the face, a slight frown on his face. “Well?” he asked, dragging the word out in a manner where his teeth flashed.

    Scarlett’s vibrant eyes started to go everywhere but her leader’s. They even went in directions they really shouldn’t have. One would go to the upper right while the other went to the lower left. The right would go spinning while the left would look to the right. Had the situation not been so dire and had his sister not just died, Silver would have burst out laughing, for Scarlett was having quite the time trying to meet her leader’s eyes.

    With one eye on Rex’s and the other off to the side, Scarlett took a deep breath and forced both to meet Rex’s. “I’ve got this under control and it’s not gonna end up in a disaster!” she yelled breathlessly, the words coming out so fast they ran together in what sounded like one big word. She then let out a wheezing cough as he braced her hands on her knees, the effort leaving her winded.

    Rex rolled his eyes and sighed. “Alright, you can call ‘im in,” he muttered, a rough beginnings of a groan in his throat. He wasn’t too happy about calling Ace in, that much was obvious.

    Scarlett looked up, a grin of relief on her face. “Thanks, Dan!” she said, slightly bent over as she tried to regain her breath.

    Rex groaned. “Oi…” he muttered, shaking his head. “If this goes wrong-”

    “It won’t! I promise!” Scarlett said, cutting him off and shaking her head.

    Another eye roll was his response. “Last time you said that I ended up hung upside down in a tree by my foot,” he muttered under his breath, but left it alone after that.

    Baxter cleared his throat. “If you two are done,” he said, eyes glancing from his mate to his brother, “We should probably contact him now. He could be out doin’ the usual and it might take a while to reach him.”

    Silver looked up at the Alphian. “What is the ‘usual’?” he asked.

    Baxter looked down at him, a small frown on his face, and Silver began to wonder if the answer was not one he’d want to hear. “Well,” Baxter began, but Scarlett beat him to it.

    “Ace does something we call, Riding the Flames of Damnation. AKA, lava surf near the Scorched Shore. The waves there can get pretty huge, some reaching 50-60 ft,” she explained with a glance towards her mate.

    Silver’s mouth dropped open. He knew Rageryans could be a bit wild, but this was borderline insane. “But what if he falls in?” he gasped, staggering a bit.

    “Ace is fire proof. Rageryans are immune to fire and lava,” Scarlett explained, “Plus if he can get flung through the vacuum of space, break the atmosphere, and crash into the woods as a basic fire ball, I think a little lava won’t hurt.” 

    Silver frowned. Ace just seemed even crazier from his perspective. And even more powerful and dangerous “So…” he began nervously, “W-When are we going to contact him?”

    Scarlett walked over to the dash. “Right now.”

Y'ALL. THINGS BE A'HAPPENING!
Remember the story Let It Be A Nightmare?
Well, if you don't or if you haven't read it yet, I'd suggest you do so before I publish the next chapter.
Other wise you might not understand why calling Ace in is such a risky move. So, go now! You've got a week! :la:

Now, as for this section, the saga of "WTF IS MARKY UP TO?!" continues! Well, at least Ray is put out of her misery.

And if you catch a mistake in the chapter, I didn't read over it thoroughly . ^^;

Meanwhile, the line where Silver says "For you, Ray" kinda made me tear up. My youth pastor who was like a second dad and who passed away recently was named Ray, so there were some feels there. Danisnotonfire: FEELS Cry forever 


Beginning: Master of Puppets Prologue
Previous: MoP Ch. 21 So Close and Yet So Far
Next: MoP Ch. 23 A Familiar Face

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One final thing. If you do read this story or keep up with it and you're a watcher of mine, give this chapter a fav. I'm just trying to see how many people actually follow my main thing on here.
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AstarGoldenwing's avatar
Faving this because it totally desrves it. ;) The first part was so emotional, I almost teared up there. :( But the true question is, is Ray truly dead? After all, it would make sense for Marcus to end her sufferings, especially since it would mean that Jag wouldn't be able to use her for ritual anymore. But then, Marcus could use the poison in his fangs to just sedate Ray and take her for better healing - we know nothing about the effect of his poison after all. And his last words, 'Not if I can help it', support this theory as well. :plotting:

Poor Silver nonetheless... :( But the perspective of Ace joing the crew is an intriguing one, I admit. It's no wonder that Rex is so worried about him, though I didn't expect Ace to have a reputation that is that massive. Heh, it looks that Rageryans are practically impossible to kill - do they even have any weak spots?