"Holy shit, he did it! I mean, I knew he would!" Announcer's proclamation was met by resounding cheers. "Looks like he's good to go, let's take a look at our beautiful duo and that other guy!"

The Mehta sisters were standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Ash just behind and at a slight distance.

"Ash," Nisha said, "do you mind if we take the first wave?"

"Sure, you do you. I'm curious to see what you can do anyway."

"Stand behind us," Diya said. "We are not so good with friendly fire."

Ash gulped and moved to stand between them and the wall.

The sisters turned to face each other, light and dark began to manifest in the space between their outstretched hands.

"Oh my," Announcer could be heard from inside Safehold, "whatever they're doing sure looks impressive! Let's just hope they can pull it off before the beasties reach them! Looks like they're running out of time!"

The sisters cast an eye at the onrush of animals, willing their skill to speed up. The creatures were hundreds of feet away, then one hundred, then less. The power continued to build as the wave reached dozens of feet from them. Once again the crowd gasped in concern as the onrush of beasts was seconds away. They heard a shout of 'watch out!' just as the power split, light and darkness flowing into them.

A shield of light appeared in front of Nisha, bodies careening off of it to rebound back into the crowd. Diya exploded into a cloud of the purest darkness and animals rushed into the space where she had been a moment earlier.

The cries of animals sounded out across the expanse of space as dozens of black spears shot from the darkness in every direction, each one spearing an animal. The black cloud took off, flying through ranks of the creatures, obscuring everything it crossed over and leaving a trail of dead bodies in its wake.

As Diya flew away Nisha dropped the shield, the light forming into a sword longer than her body. She swung it in a wide arc, bisecting everything it touched. In moments she had cleared a circle six feet on all sides of her, the ground covered in twitching bodies. The sword disappeared and rings of light formed around her arms. Nisha screamed as the rings shot from her into the crowd, the light knocking creatures back and leaving burning holes in the smaller ones.

There was a pained scream and Nisha looked on in horror as Diya's cloud materialized into the woman, Diya hurtling across the frozen ground in a painful tumble.

"Diya!" Nisha screamed and began running towards her sister, only to be brought up short by the wall of creatures in front of her. The rings of light were killing the smaller ones, but their numbers were too overwhelming. She switched to the sword but, although it was carving into everything in front of her, she wasn't able to kill the hounds with single strikes. The wide sweeps knocked them aside or sent them skittering backwards, but always there were more to take their place. She risked a glance towards where her sister had stopped, seeing only a black sphere that was being assaulted from all sides.

An icy blast hit her in the back and pushed her forward into the crowd. She swung wildly, looking for the attack, wondering what had hit her. A crackling sound met her ears and she saw the creatures in front of her begin to freeze over. She looked up and saw a young man flying on a whirlwind of ice and snow, hands outstretched as icy blasts froze the creatures. She switched back to her rings and fired into the frozen forms, smiling grimly as they shattered.

"Go get her! I can fend them off!"

Ash, now Brady, flew over the wave of animals towards the sister that had fallen. Ice Storm kept him aloft and he flew close enough to the nipping and jumping creatures to freeze them in his wake. If he'd stayed in one spot long enough he could have frozen them solid, but in his rush to reach Diya he only covered them in a thin layer of ice that could only slow them for seconds. He reached the sphere of darkness and saw hounds lunging into it, only to be driven backwards with painful yelps. She had enclosed herself in a ball of protective thorns that was shrinking in size even as he watched.

Frostbolt sent out ice spikes into the largest creatures, pinning heads and bodies into the earth, Crystal Prison locking their feet to the ground with blocks of hardened ice. He dropped to the ground and released Brady, calling his grandfather forth.

Takeshi Saito had been watching and was ready. The instant his feet touched the ground the swords were in his hands and he swung in a wide arc, arms out to each side. His aim was true and each strike severed something vital.

"I Move Through the Raindrops." Takeshi was a ghost, moving through the crowd of animals as if out for a stroll. His movements looked slow, casual, and easy. Each step carried him between creatures and left bodies behind. Hounds lunged, Briar Men whipped, bats dove at him, but none were able to touch him, even as they missed by hair's breadths. He completed a circle around the dark sphere before calling out.

"They are gone, young one. You may drop the defense."

There was a moment of hesitation before it dropped, Diya looking around with wide eyes, waiting for the next attack. Takeshi could see the jagged rip along her stomach and thigh where she'd been caught mid-flight by one of the Briar Men. She gritted her teeth against the pain as she climbed to her feet.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

"Can you walk?"

"Who are you?"

"I am the grandfather of the one you know as Ash. You have not seen his skill yet, but I am a part of it. There is no time to talk now, we must rejoin with your sister. Can you walk?"

She took a stumbling step forward, hand clutched at her waist. "Yes, although slowly. This is very painful."

Takeshi smiled a warm, grandfatherly smile. "I understand, but pain is the way of life. It reminds you that you are alive, and that you have more to learn. We must go now if we are to support your sister."

Both heads turned to look to where they had left Nisha, unable to see her for the bodies between them. Glowing light shifted rapidly behind the crush of creatures.

"She's using her shield and sword. She must be hard-pressed. Please, go ahead and save her! I will be behind you!"

Takeshi looked back and forth between the girls, concern for each weighing in his gaze. He looked behind them and saw no more monsters, so nodded. "I will. There do not appear to be others coming, but keep an eye behind you and catch up quickly. I will return after I have dispatched the enemy."

He trotted off at a jog, reaching the back of the crowd unnoticed.

"I Cut All" sounded out and a wave of force swept through the ranks of monsters in a horizontal line, destroying half of them in a single blow. He shifted direction and called on the skill again, wiping out another wing of them.

"I can not call on that skill again without risking you. Are you overwhelmed?" His words were calm but his voice was heavy with concern.

"Not yet, but almost," came a strained reply. "Diya?"

"Do not concern yourself with her, she lives. I come now."

Takeshi waded into the crowd, casting death and destruction with each swing of his swords. Soon he was at Nisha's side and they turned back-to-back. "Perhaps it is best if we make our way to your sister."

She nodded and they took halting steps through the lessening group of animals. Nisha's heart swelled as shadow lances began spearing at the creatures from the other side. Takeshi and Nisha split up and the three encircled the remaining animals, carving them down like a piece of wood being whittled into sawdust.

The final hound, an alpha judging by its size, stood snarling between them, snapping at each as it spun. Its eyes were wide and crazed, rolling in all directions at once. The three looked at each other and nodded and the wolf was speared by two steel swords, a sword of pure light, and a spear of shadow. It was held aloft, gnashing and howling, until the three pulled away and it slumped to the ground with its last breath.

Cheers rang out across the neighborhood as the Vanguard worked their way back to the entrances.

"Would you look at that! Our ladies of the night aren't wilting flowers after all! And I don't know what's up with that one dude, but holy shit! Ice magic and a really cool sword guy? The apocalypse is weird, am I right folks? You wondered if your leaders were strong, you wondered if they could protect you - well wonder no more! They are the badasses that flap in the night! They are the sword that guards your sleep! They are…" he paused to let the moment build, "... YOUR VANGUARD!"

Tess could feel the vibrations of stomping, cheering, and shouting through the tower and smiled.

"And with that, my friends, the show is over. You came, you saw, and you conquered! Get your drink on, get your fuck on, but most of all - get some well deserved rest! Announcer out."

With that the screens disappeared and Ben slumped against the side of the tower, wiping sweat from his brow. "Oh man, that one was tough. That was a lot to keep track of."

Tess gave him a side glance. "Get your fuck on?"

Ben opened one eye and looked up at her with a grin. "I mean, it IS the apocalypse. Nothing relieves the stress quite like a little post-fight tumble, if you know what I mean." He waggled his eyebrows and Tess couldn't help but grin.

"You sound like someone else I know."

"Is he cool too?"

She smiled fondly but didn't answer. Instead, she reached down to help him up. "You did a good job tonight. I didn't realize how much they all needed this, but they did. Thank you for your help, I really do appreciate it."

"Does that mean I can go home now?"

"I can't tell if you're joking right now."

Ben sighed. "A little, but honestly, Tess - I still don't want to be here. I gave you people what you needed - and did a pretty fine job of it if I do say so myself. You don't need me here - at least not all of the time. Maybe we could work out a deal where your kid comes and gets me when you do, but I'd rather be at home right now. This," he waved his hand down at the neighborhood, "this isn't for me. It isn't my life - wasn't even before The System. I'm not built for this and I shouldn't be forced into it."

Tess held his gaze for a long moment. Ben saw regret and determination warring within her, his heart dropping when he saw which won out. "I know, Ben, and I truly am sorry. But you can't go. We can't spare someone to get you every time we need it - we may not even have the time. You're needed here."

"This is fucking bullshit and you know it. This is wrong, Tess."

Her face grew hard and Ben flinched back. "I know it's wrong, but guess what? All of this is. Everything since The System arrived. You don't get special privileges just because you used to lead a cushy life. I'm sorry about the circumstances that brought you here, but you're here now and I meant what I said about that. You'd better get used to it because you, and all of us, are stuck in a world we didn't ask to be in. You did something good tonight and earned some good will. Don't ruin it now."

She turned and began climbing down the ladder.

"Hey!"

She looked up and saw his face peeking through the hatch. "What?"

"Can your boy at least go back to my place and get some coffee? Some of the good stuff?"

She smiled and shook her head. "I think we can work that out. You DID do a good job tonight, you've earned a reward."

Ben smiled as she climbed down the ladder. He was still royally pissed off, but he knew better than to fight a losing battle. The coffee would be a good reward, but he'd already gotten another that he damned sure wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of knowing. If he'd been able to gain an entire level by exercising multiple screens and cameras, how much more would his skill grow in the future?

"Still gonna try and escape this fucking prison on planet bullshit in the galaxy of sucks dick, though," he mumbled under his breath.

"What's that?" Madison asked.

"Nothing, go back to your iPad or whatever that is." He climbed down the ladder to find out where he could sleep tonight, hoping the sheets would at least have a thread count greater than 10.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.