Aetheral Space-Chapter 470 - 15.24: Potentate (Part 3)

It couldn't have all been for nothing.

That sentiment bolstered Erica's resolve as her two enemies -- one of whom should have been dead -- rushed towards her.

It seemed that Bruno del Sed had undergone an Aether Awakening, remanifesting in this world as some sort of purple spectre, eyes of pale light shining as he glared at her. A similarly purple construct of a longsword rested in his hands, scraping against the ground as he rushed towards her, kicking up sparks from the metal and his Aether alike. She could tell: this wasn't the same opponent anymore.

It was the same for Serena del Sed, suddenly freed from her grief and despair.

She was zipping around the room as a ribbon of violet light, circling Erica to attack her from behind as Bruno took the front. The twins had been formidable enemies before, but there had still only been one body to keep track of. That wasn't the case anymore, even if they likely still had to remain in relative proximity.

Erica had to be careful.

Bruno swung his sword from the front.

Serena thrust her spear from behind.

Erica had learnt to dance as part of her combat training, and she used those elegant reflexes now. Raising one leg high into the air, she arched back to avoid Bruno's swing, seizing hold of Serena's spear with her remaining hand in the moment before it would have impaled her. Then, she flipped in the air, slamming her foot into Bruno's head --

-- and shattering it completely.

Erica raised her eyebrows. To be honest, she hadn't been expecting that.

It was short-lived surprise -- she smothered it immediately, and to drive the point home the headless Bruno stayed on his feet, swinging his sword at her again. Erica let herself slide down the pole to avoid the second strike, leaping off Serena's back and launching herself a safe distance away.

By the time she landed, Bruno's head had already returned. He'd constructed it once more -- generating forcefields upon forcefields atop his neck until his statue-like visage was as good as new. There was a creak as the edges of his mouth curled up into a smirk.

So physical damage is meaningless. If I want to accomplish anything, I'll probably have to kill Serena first.

"Give it up, Erica," Bruno said, pointing his longsword at her, his voice generated by the scraping of countless shields. "You know it's over."

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The Thinker's Comet shook -- the battles happening elsewhere on the vessel making themselves known. Erica glanced out towards the window. She could already see that black pitchfork-shaped vessel -- the UniteShadow -- deploying boarding pods like bullets from a revolver.

"The UAP are here," Bruno said mercilessly. "I bet at least one Nebula is with them, too. The plan's done. Even if you beat us, it's over."

Erica narrowed her eyes.

What they said wasn't untrue. With the situation as it was, they wouldn't be able to keep the plan going as they originally laid it out. There was no telling if Annatrice was dead yet -- and even if she was, how much time did Erica have to find her body?

No. Right now, the best move was to take possession of the incomplete Prince-Regent and get it out of here. From there, they could find a way to finish the project and move on.

It wasn't over yet.

They hadn't lost yet.

All of this hadn't been for nothing yet.

She tensed her body, just slightly, and her enemies saw that as the starting pistol. They kicked off the ground, leaving trails of purple and violet, coming at Erica from the left and the right. Another pincer attack.

Erica didn't have time for this.

She needed to get to the Prince-Regent before the UAP took full control over the vessel. Nostrils flaring, she pointed at the incoming opponents, her left arm and the stump of her right crossing in an 'X' as she unleashed her ability. Even without a finger or a hand, she could transmit from the wound -- and transmit she did:

"Claw of God!"

The despair hit like a tidal wave.

I need to die. I need to die. I need to die. I need to die. I need to die.

Serena's breath caught in her throat, and her sword nearly slipped from her grasp. The floor seemed suddenly so very far away. She was all alone in a world that didn't want her.

I need to die. I need to die. I need to die.

Only… she glanced up, and she locked eyes with Bruno. Oh. That was right, wasn't it? She wasn't alone.

I need to die…

She'd never been alone in her life.

I need to live.

Serena del Sed stepped forward.

The transmission burst around her like a haze of water as she lunged through it, getting right in Erica's face in an instant.

The other woman widened her eyes into saucers -- clearly, she hadn't expected this. Even so, she was able to lash her remaining hand out and catch Serena's sword out of the air. Erica del Sed was nothing if not skilled…

…but that wasn't enough anymore.

Serena leapt backwards -- and a moment later, Erica was encased in a spherical forcefield that tinted her image the slightest bit purple. Erica swung her head around to face her other opponent, to face Bruno, to react and shatter this shield… but too late.

She was already in his grip.

Standing a distance away, all Bruno had to do was flick a finger upwards -- and the shield flew, smashing Erica's body directly into the ceiling.

The battle, they all knew, was over.

The bridge had been taken, the Thinker's Comet prevented from performing a light jump to escape.

The defenses had been disabled, decimated with a single swing of Nebula One's hand.

The objective had been lost, vanishing into the chaos of conflict.

Yes… the battle was over. All that remained was the fight.

Erica del Sed fought for every second. Even injured, she smashed her way out of Bruno's bubble, firing herself directly towards Serena like a bullet. Another shield -- this time square, flat -- slammed into her from the side, sending her flying down the hallway. A third captured her again -- and Bruno's finger danced through the air, smashing its prey against the walls and the ceiling and the floor.

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The Claw of God struck at Serena's body and mind again, and again, and again. She did not acknowledge it. This was an enemy she had already beaten.

Grey Aether surged as Erica charged one last time, pinpoint darts of movement saving her from being captured in countless shields as she approached the del Sed twins. They just stood there, waiting for her. All fear of this woman had disappeared.

When they'd been exposed, it had been all too easy for Erica del Sed to reach into their minds and draw blood from their brains.

Now, though? Now they had shields to spare.

Bruno extended a hand, and Serena took it. That was all it took. Within the space of a few seconds, Bruno del Sed had changed once again -- his new body reshaping itself to become a truly gargantuan greatsword in Serena's grip.

Chunks of shards like broken glass flew from the shivering blade every second, as if the weapon was constantly destroying and repairing itself. That damage in itself was its hostility. It was less a blade and more a shredder, or perhaps a chainsaw.

A fitting weapon to cut through Erica del Sed's final gambit.

Erica lunged forward.

Serena lunged forward.

And their cries concluded the night.

"Sting of God!"

"Giordano!"

Blackmane crawled.

All was lost. The Thinker's Comet was about to be taken by the UAP. His experimental Chassis had been utterly thrashed with the slightest unknowing effort from Nebula One. Even his feline body had expired as he'd desperately gotten himself back aboard the starship.

If not for his unique nature, he surely would have died with it. The canister containing Blackmane's brain skittered forth on spider-like legs, leaving a trail of preservation fluid as it went. Even this unit had been damaged. If repairs weren't conducted quickly… well, it didn't bear thinking about.

It didn't matter. He'd think of something. He always did.

What mattered now -- all that mattered now -- was salvaging what he could from the situation. He dared not hope to keep hold of the Thinker's Comet. His position in the Absurd Weapons Lab, too, was likely history. At this point, he had to focus whatever energy and resources he could muster on one thing and one thing alone.

The Prince-Regent.

Blackmane crawled through the ship where he had spent his youth, working his way through the shattered labs and hallways that had been added to the vessel over time. Personnel had already begun to evacuate to the secure shelters in the Comet's core -- a distress signal would have already been sent out to be pinged through the border-satellites and into Supremacy space. Perhaps preparations for a war were already underway.

Fine. It would provide the smokescreen Blackmane needed to continue his grand work, once he got back on his feet. Once he had feet again.

The entrance to the Prince-Regent's chamber had been damaged in the battles that had consumed the Comet. Broken lights spat bright sparks down into the darkness, and deep gouges had been dug out of the floor. Fortunately enough, though, that damage had also warped the doors themselves somewhat, allowing Blackmane to slip inside. In this form, he likely wouldn't have been able to open the doors on his own.

Withdrawing his legs as close to his cylindrical body as he could, Blackmane squeezed through the gap and…

…and saw that the world had ended.

The vat in the center of the chamber was broken, shattered, destroyed. It must have happened only moments ago. Stray sparks of crimson Aether were still dissipating, breaking apart into nothing as they scattered in every direction. The Aether coders, too, were scattered -- across the floor, chopped into pieces, blood coating nearly every inch of available space.

It really was all over. The Prince-Regent was gone. Smothered in the cradle.

And the man who had done it was standing before him, right before his broken victim.

"I was wondering if you'd make it back here," Jaime Pierrot said casually, hands behind his back. "That's good. It's too sad for an endeavour like this to end without closure."

It was strange to look at Pierrot. Cogitants instinctively disdained the host of the Prince, and it was even worse for one such as Blackmane. It was like looking at a scar in the world's skin, something utterly wrong. Something that made you shudder from the simplest glance.

A tiny speaker clicked into action on the side of Blackmane's tank. The voice that came from it was tinny and diminished. "From the beginning?"

"From the beginning," Pierrot nodded.

"Why?"

"You'll need to be more specific."

"Why let us even get this far? You could have stopped us at any time."

"It's beneficial for things to end at this point," Pierrot replied. "It sets quite a few things up nicely for the future. Some I know about, and some I don't."

Blackmane said nothing. He was still scanning the area with See No Evil, desperately seeking any trace of the Prince-Regent that could be salvaged and preserved… but no. It was well and truly gone. Pierrot had been thorough in his annihilation of Blackmane's future.

What he did see was the instrument of that annihilation.

The Tower withdrew a chainsaw implement from the carcass of one of the coders, folding the arm back into its chassis as it let the mutilated corpse drop. Without a sound -- without its usual expressions of hatred -- it shuttled across the chamber, stopping right beside Pierrot. The former Captain rested a hand atop it, as if greeting a loyal hound.

"I stopped by your chambers on my way here," Pierrot said. "Caput's will… to think such a thing existed. I take it that's how you learnt of my identity. He shouldn't have detailed his plans for posterity -- I've taken the liberty of destroying it."

Cold certainty dropped into a phantom heart.

"...so, this is it, then."

"Yes. This is it."

"If I may ask… one more thing?"

"You may."

"Your plan… the Prince's plan… is it still progressing after all? Is there truly hope?"

Pierrot blinked…

"There's no benefit in telling you that."

…and Blackmane saw the eyes behind his eyes.

Oh, Blackmane thought, his will broken. There you are.

My Prince.

"Tower," Pierrot said coldly. "Deal with this thing."

"So…" Erica breathed. "In the end, it really was all for nothing."

The sword that Bruno had become… it had done devastating work. It had carved right through Erica's chest like butter, leaving a shredded hollow that spewed out her life. It was a wonder she was still even able to speak.

And yet… in that moment, as Erica lay bleeding on the floor, it was as if a mask had shattered.

"Pointless…" Erica whispered, her lips blue. "Pointless… all pointless…"

Bitter tears ran down Erica's face as she laughed bitterly. It was strange. Serena had seen her countless times before… but only now could she look at her and see a human. That was why she knelt down and took the dying girl's hand in her own.

"It wasn't pointless," she said softly. "It wasn't all for nothing."

Those dark eyes, already turning glassy, struggled to focus on her. Serena squeezed that hand tighter, even as it was already turning cold. A fragile smile spread across her lips.

"I heard what you said," she insisted. "You wanted to keep the others from the Sed safe. You said so. I bet that's what you wanted first, right? Before all of this."

Erica's lips moved, but the time for words was gone. A hollow noise slipped out of her mouth.

"Don't worry," Serena whispered. "I'll make sure that happens. Don't worry. Don't… don't worry."

For a moment, those brown eyes seemed to flare back into life as Erica stared up at Serena, but only for a moment. Still, as those eyes closed for the last time… they seemed strangely relieved.

Serena let out a shuddering breath.

"Are you okay?" Bruno asked, lingering behind her in his strange new form.

She looked back at him and smiled.

"No," she said.

That was all Bruno del Sed needed to hear. Without another word to pollute the shattered battlefield, he knelt down too and wrapped his sister into a hug. There was no warmth to his new body, and the shields that made up his skin were oddly sharp…

…but in that moment, in that place, it seemed the kindest hug in the world.