Chapter 2: Damn, Nothing is Ever Easy

Casters
Act I: The Initiation
Chapter Two: Damn, Nothing is Ever Easy

Good men must die, but death can not kill their names.
- Proverbs

Fade watched the staircase as he waited for the someone or something to reveal itself. He thought about hiding behind the pillar once again, but what was the point? It already knew they were there. The possibility of the element of surprise was slim. He could see that Six was contemplating the same thing because he kept looking back at his hiding place and then back at the staircase. Fade wanted to stand face to face with their pursuer but then he thought better of it and hid behind the pillar. Six did the same. They all cautiously peered around their respective pillars and waited.

He listened to the sounds of the footsteps and counted four steps. So that meant that there were two people coming down the steps or that something with four legs was on its way. Either way it was a lose-lose situation. Then the footsteps stopped and silence returned to the station. None of them dared to breathe for fear that they might give away their position. Fade was most curious to see what had been hunting them. He carefully peaked his head out from behind the pillar and saw that there was only a man standing at the base of the steps. This should have brought him some relief, but it didn’t. Fade knew that this man was not what he appeared to be. Viridian and Six looked at the man as well. Fade saw that they were not fooled by this at all.

The man was dressed in a black uniform, a mix between a police officer and a security guard. His eyes darted across the station, scanning for any visual sign of its prey. When he could find them through sight, he took a step forward and started sniffing the air. Fade slowly lifted his right arm and sniffed his armpit. His deodorant was still working. When he lowered his arm, he saw Viridian looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Fade shrugged his shoulders and returned his attention to the man sniffing the air like a dog would a fire hydrant.

He knew exactly what he was dealing with and he knew that this wasn’t going to be pretty. He looked at Six and nodded his head, signaling to him that it was time to play. Six returned the gesture and stepped out from behind the pillar again; Fade was next, and then Viridian last. The man’s black and beady eyes gazed upon them.

“Hello officer,” Fade said, smirking.

“What are you kids doing down here?” the officer asked.

“Nothing, we’re just looking around,” Fade replied. “You know, just doin’ stuff.”

“You do realize that this station is abandoned and has been closed off, don’t you?” The officer took a step toward Fade. Viridian and Six tensed up, ready to spring on him if he laid a finger on their friend. Fade, on the other hand retained his calm exterior.

“Oh, I guess it was,” Fade said. “You know us kids, just always getting into stuff and not really caring to look at anything too closely. You gonna let us go with a warning?”

Viridian looked at Fade with a look of impatience and confusion. Why is he playing games with him? Why is he wasting time? We don’t have time for this!

“Oh, that’s right, you’re just a rent a cop,” Fade said. “Next time, your master should get his official uniforms right. We might have been scared if he actually sent you out in the right costume.”

“Fade,” Viridian said, nudging him. “Don’t taunt the nice demon. It’s just trying to do it’s job.”

The man sneered at them when he heard the word ‘demon’. “It’s not his fault if his master was too much of a coward to come out himself and deal with us.” Fade continued. “Well, shall we get on with it?” Fade checked his watch. “I don’t have all night.”

The man took a step backward and began to roll his neck as if he was stretching the muscles. He turned his head to the right and then to the left. Then a loud pop sounded and the man’s head spun all the way around. Six cocked his head to the right and watched and the man’s head spun back to its usual forward position. The man’s body began to get bigger and longer. The popping sound returned as his bones began to shape their shape. The knees popped and jetted inward. This caused him to drop to the floor and support his weight with his hands. His elbows elongated to create a sharper angle. The black uniform that had been so neatly creased suddenly shredded into thin strips of fabric. The man metamorphosed into a peach skinned panther creature. It’s face was the last thing to change. The skull cracked as more bone was being created. Its new shape was a kin to a dunce cap that had been rounded at the top instead of being a point. The human qualities were replaced by more alien features: wide oval black spots that served as eyes. The mouth stretched to the entire width of the head. Behind the mouth were no doubt several rows of razor sharp teeth.

A normal person would have ran screaming into the night after seeing a man turn into something out of a bad horror movie, but Viridian, Six, and Fade just stood there and waiting for it to finish. Fade imagined himself sitting at a table on the far end of the station sipping tea while the creature that he knew to be called an Unmaker finished contorting itself into its new shape.

“You done yet?” Fade asked. The creature growled in response. “Good.”

The Unmaker jumped onto its hind legs and let out a loud screech that could have probably been heard all throughout the city. Fade and Viridian didn’t waste any time in attacking it. Fade lifted his arms up from his side and pointed them at the creature, palms facing it. With a sudden burst of mental concentration, the creature was lifted off the ground and propelled halfway up the stairway.

Viridian pressed the palms of her hands together and closed her eyes. She started chanting for a brief second and then opened her eyes again. When she pulled her hands apart, a flame appeared between them. As she spread them further apart, the flame split in two. But these weren’t one’s ordinary flames, they were black, dark as the night. She tossed them at the creature and it started flailing wildly in the stairway. It let out another wail, but this time it was one of pain. This brought a smile to Viridian’s lips.

Six stepped forward to do something, but it looked like that it was all over but the screaming. In his deep voice Six said, “You could have at least saved some for me.”

“You’ve got to jump right in there, Six,” Fade said. He watched as the creature burned. Clumps of its flesh began to fall from its body. “Good job, Vee. That’s what, five for you this month?”

“Seven,” Viridian corrected.

That was easy, Fade thought to himself. That was too easy. He had faced creatures like this before and they usually fought with such ferociousness that it was a miracle that he walked away from the battle alive. All he did was hit it with a telekinetic blast and then Viridian hit it with fire and it’s toast? He shook his head. “No, nothing is that easy.” He got back in battle ready stance and stared at the creature. The flames rose and completely engulfed it. It’s not dead. That’s only what it wants us to think.

And Fade was right. The Unmaker was suddenly flying through the air, with its mouth wide open, teeth at the ready. Fade raised his hands and stopped it in mid-flight. It strangled to get free in mid air and snarled. It whipped its body from left to right, like a cat or a small dog would if it wanted to get out of the arms of its owner. Fade could feel his power draining, this thing was heavy.

Six stepped up and threw three small knives into its abdomen. It screamed again. “Oh shut up,” Fade said and sent it flying into a wall. The Unmaker hit the wall with such intensity that it cracked some of the tiles. The pieces crumbled and fell to the floor, along with the Unmaker.

It hissed something as it tried to stand up. “Give us… Give us…” The creature had successfully gotten back to its feet and glared at them. “Give us the amulet!”

“Funny, all you had to do was ask,” Fade said. “Was that so hard?”

“No more games, Chambers,” said another voice, a man’s voice.

Fade felt goosebumps rise up on his arm. The hair on the back of his neck stood up on end. His master’s voice, Fade thought. “Vee, Six, you guys need to get out of here, now.”

“What?” Viridian asked. “You can’t be serious!”

“It’s Stark,” Fade said. “You two aren’t ready to go up against the likes of him, yet.” He saw a rebellion building up in Viridian’s eyes. She was conflicted, he knew it. She wanted to stay by his side, she was itching to be apart of this. “I’m serious, Viridian. Take Six and get out of here!”

Six walked over to Viridian and took a hold of her arm. “Let go of me.” She wrestled with Six, but his strength – prevented her from regaining the use of her arm. “Six, let go.”

“Don’t, Six,” Fade said.

The Unmaker, making the most of the situation rushed at Fade, but was automatically repelled by Fade and was crushed up against the wall. “Take her out of here.”

Underneath the screaming of the ailing Unmaker, Fade could hear something else coming down the stairway. But he didn’t need to hear the footsteps, he could feel the presence of something darker coming toward them. He was coming and he was coming quickly.

Fade looked back at Viridian with a look that she had never seen before. He had always remained calm no matter what the situation was, but this was the first time that she had ever seen him panic stricken.

“GO!” Fade simply shouted.

Six pulled Viridian away from Fade and steered her towards the entrance. Six was only able to pull her because she allowed herself to be led away. She wasn’t getting a very good feeling about any of this.

Six stopped abruptly as he was about to embark upon the stairs. He gasped and backed away as another Unmaker made its way down. Viscous drool drip from between its teeth. “Nice kitty,” Six said. Viridian turned around to see what Six was talking to. She created another flame in her free hand, but then she saw yet another Unmaker begin its journey down the steps.

“Oh this is ridiculous!” Viridian said. She backed away from the entrance to allow the Unmakers to make their way into the station. “Now can I toast them?”

Fade turned to the Unmaker that he had pinned to the wall. He applied enough mental force on its neck that a loud pop signaled to him that it had broken and it was no longer going to be an immediate threat. He allowed it to collapse to the floor. He then turned his attention to the newcomers and did the same thing to them. With his left hand, he levitated one Unmaker off the floor and threw it against the wall. The same with the other one, only to the wall to his right.

“Okay, the path is clear,” Fade said. “Now take the amulet to the 7-11 and wait for me there! If I don’t come to meet you within 20 minutes, then get to my brother’s house right away.” Six and Viridian nodded their heads, signaling that the order was understood. “And no matter what, don’t stop until you get there!”

“Fade,” Viridian started, but Fade interrupted her with a mental message.

“There’s no time, Vee. Just go and find Wesley.”

Six wasted and hauled ass out the door. Viridian remained behind for a minute and then quickly followed behind him.

Fade waited until he was sure that Viridian and Six had gotten a safe distance away before he released the Unmakers. They snarled and got back onto their feet, but they didn’t attack like the other one had. They growled at him, but they didn’t advance. This was highly unusual… even for them. Not knowing what they were planning to do next, he thought it best to take a safety precaution.

He placed his hands together and closed his eyes. Considering the circumstances, it was a pretty stupid thing to do, but he had a really good as to why the Unmakers weren’t attacking; Stark was coming. His concentrated on his powers and when he felt he had summoned up enough energy he opened his eyes. He pulled his hands apart and a transparent green circle was revealed to be floating between them. The circle began to expand and expand until it encompassed the entire station, inside and outside.

“Good job, Mr. Chambers,” said the same disembodied voice from before.

“I wasn’t sure if you were coming,” Fade said. “It’s about time.”

“Ahh, patience hasn’t always been a virtue of yours, has it?” the voice said.

“You know me better than most, Stark.” Fade starred at the entrance and waited for him to show himself.

“That I do…” Stark finally arrived at the base of the stairway dressed all in black and even sported a shiny black cape. They accentuated his dark brown hair that had been neatly tied into a pony tail. The dark attire also brought out the ice blue colour of his eyes. “That was a nice Tracardian Shield you made there. I am truly impressed.”

“What can I say, I learned from a pro,” Fade said.

Stark stepped into the station and looked around. He looked at his two Unmakers and snapped his fingers. They walked over to him as a dog would its owner. He reached down and petted them. “I see you’ve met my pets.”

“What happened to just getting a dog, Stark?” Fade was disgusted by the sight of someone touching them like that. “I don’t understand what you’re doing. What is the point of all of this? The Talismans… what is this all about?”

“You refuse to see the bigger picture, Mr. Chambers,” Stark said, looking for from his pets. “I’ve over this time and time again. I’m not explaining it again. If you don’t get it by now, you’re not gonna.”

“I guess I’ll never understand crazy people,” Fade said.

Stark let out a short chuckle and then shook his head. “So what now? You know I don’t have the amulet, and you know that if even if I did I wouldn’t give it to you.”

“I know…” Stark said, stepping towards him. For every step that he took towards him, Fade took a step back. “But I know where it’s going and I’ll deal with your two friends when I’m done with you.”

“What, you’re going to sic your pets on me?” Fade asked.

“Oh, them?” Stark turned back to look at them. He smiled at them and then snapped his fingers. The two Unmakers were lifted from the floor and were left to dangle there. They didn’t struggle like the one Fade had fought, but they were moving, slowly… very slowly. It wasn’t until the Unmakers were moved curved than straightened did Fade realize that Stark was sacrificing them. Their bodies twisted completely in half. The sound of their bones crunching echoed through the station. Then the two Unmakers were crumpled up as if they were two sheets of paper. Stark turned around and laughed as their lifeless bodies fell to the floor. “I’ve some more at home, don’t worry. And now for you. I will not have you constantly getting in the way of what I want.”

“As soon as you figure out what that is, right?” Fade asked, trying to keep his cool. But his cool faded quickly as he felt something wrap around his neck. He couldn’t see what was there, but he knew that Stark had begun his attack. He was using his mental powers to crush his neck. Fade clutched at his neck as if to pry the invisible hands away. Stark didn’t even have to extend his arm to throw Fade across the station, flying through several pillars before hitting the back wall. Fade felt the pressure increase on his neck, pushing the air out of him altogether.

Well, this is shiny, Fade thought to himself. I’m going to be taken out by my own mentor… isn’t it supposed to be the other way around? Isn’t the student supposed to go all dark side? This much was certain, Stark was no longer than man he knew and he was also a lot stronger than he remembered him being. This did not bode well. With most of his power concentrating on keeping the shield up, Fade was not going to have enough power to fend off any of Stark’s attacks.

“I’m sorry to have to do this,” Stark said from the other end of the station. “And you showed so much promise. But you chose to stand against me rather than with me.” Fade couldn’t see him, but he knew that Stark was smiling. He could hear it in his voice. “You were one of the chosen ones, Dale. But now I see that you were just a wasted effort.”

Fade had the perfect comeback to that comment, but due to the lack of air, his delivery was stunted. He tried to use his powers to push back Stark’s power, but his opponent only pushed back with twice as much force. His vision was already blurring, but he could make out a dark figure standing off in the distance. He let his hands fall to his side as if he were giving up. This seemed to have amused Stark greatly because he heard him chuckle. You sick fuck, Fade thought.

He could feel his neck beginning to give way. He only had one chance to take Stark out of the “bigger picture”, to steal his phrase. He struggled to keep consciousness just long enough to complete his mission. As Stark drew ever nearer, he drowned out his rant about something about cleansing the world of something, blah, blah, teleblah. Fade was thinking about his nephew Wesley and the party they were supposed to go together that night. I’m sorry, Wes, maybe next time, he thought.

“Mr. Chambers,” Stark said. “Are you listening?”

“Taking notes, sir,” Fade transmitted.

He was close now. It was now or never. “See you in hell!” Fade used the last bit of energy available and created a sphere of blue light in his right hand. The ball shot across the station heading in Stark’s direction. He didn’t know if he got Stark once and for all or at all, not that it mattered much anymore. He felt his neck break and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He could still hear noises around him. From the sound of it, there was a loud bang and something was exploding. But he wouldn’t be able to piece together the events that took place afterward. He wasn’t long for this world and he didn’t care anymore. The last thought he had was, “Wesley,” and “Damn, nothing is ever easy.”

***

Viridian and Six waited at the 7-11 just off of Grant Avenue. She had seen Fade’s shield go up at the train station and she continued to stare at it from the front stoop of the convenience store. She didn’t say a word since they had left Fade there. She kept thinking about how she could have… should have convinced him to let her stay. What kind of friend was she to let him remain behind?

The sound of slurping interrupted her thought pattern again. She looked to her left and saw that Six was sipping on a cherry Icee loudly. He took a long sip and then smacked his forehead. “AHH, my brain is freezing! It’s freezing!”

“Six, you idiot! You couldn’t have waited until later?” Viridian shouted. Six’s face saddened and he looked like he was on the verge of tears. She forgot how childlike he could be. “I’m sorry… it’s just that I’m worried about Fade.”

“He’ll come,” Six said, rubbing his forehead, under the impression that if he rubbed it, it would warm his brain. “He always does.” He looked at the bright green spherical shield off in the distance.

“I don’t think we should have left him.” Viridian took the Icee cup from him and took a sip herself. “I just wish he’d trust us for once and let us fight along side him. Sure, we may be new to the field, but we didn’t go through months of training to sit on the sidelines, right?”

Six didn’t reply. He just stared ahead. Viridian looked inside the cup and found that most of the cherry syrup had been sucked up already. It was mostly white shaved ice now. “I’d like to give him a piece of my mind when he gets here. We should tell him that we either work together or not at all. I know he’s the big hotshot, but really… Six, you alright? It was only a brain freeze.” She saw that Six wasn’t paying any attention to her. She looked in the direction he was and saw what he was looking at. The green shield was collapsing. It was melting away like water evaporating from a hot surface. Viridian immediately knew what this meant. Once the shield had dissolved completely, a large explosion sounded and a cloud of smoke and fire rose into the air. Viridian’s eyes grew wide as the horror unfolded before her. But the horror of what this symbolized scared her even more. Fade wasn’t able to hold back Stark any more than herself or Six, but he had saved their lives because he was the only one who could. Fade had failed. The train station was gone, but it could be rebuilt in time, but Fade… Fade was gone… forever.

Viridian quickly stood up and threw the cup on the ground. “Come on, Six, we’ve got to go.”

“Fade,” Six started.

“Fade is gone, now let’s move it before we disappear, too.”

“No, we have to help him,” Six said, a tear running down his cheek from his ocean blue eyes. “We have to see…”

“Stark thinks we have the amulet,” Viridian shouted. “He’ll be coming for us next. We have to go now…” When it became apparent that Six couldn’t move, she walked over to him and helped him up. She pulled his arm like he had done hers and pulled him inside the 7-11, only the attendant never saw them enter. As far as he was concerned the door never opened. He didn’t even hear the explosion due to him listening to his iPod as loud as it could go.