The Alta Heroes (J.F.)

Caricatures Come Crashing Down

The dark entity shines his sword for the coming fight. After all, his brother's no pushover. How'd he kill the bastard will be up to him. He'd have his head on a platter. He'd pound Starsis to pieces with merely his fists. Oh, this is the dark entity's favorite. Evilkin grins evilly as he envisions ripping Starsis limb from limb with his regained power. The agony on the bastard's face will be priceless. Evilkin's chuckles are soon interrupted by the worst kind of news. These two flames of darkness are his messengers. Once they enter his mind, it breaks. The sword, his hope, and his cold-hearted exterior. His children. His two boys. They're dead. Killed by... by... THOSE FIVE BRATS! Evilkin will kill them all! Starsis included! The madman storms towards his family room. In this room, shattered objects soon appear on the floor. Vases, family photos, clocks, and chandeliers. His flames don't go out after his family room is damaged. Hell, Evilkin might have continued this rampage if not for the last good thing in his life. The last photo the three took before this happened. A day no parent wants to come. Every parent's worst nightmare. Evilkin loses his hate and trades it for heartbreak. Hot tears fall from his face as he releases sob after sob from the pain he once again faces. The very pain of losing his children. Evilkin hates Starsis for this journey they've been forced on, and he for sure wants to kill the brats who robbed his sons from him. However: the rage, hate, vengeance, and apathy aren't strong enough to counteract this sorrow that now gripped him. The man falls to his knees, sobbing like a newborn baby having been abandoned by unloving parents. Blood'll be shed, but the tears need to come first. The light entity, unbeknownst to the dark entity, watches the whole thing.
"Serves you right, scum," The man coldly says after turning his orb off. The monster will join his hellhounds in the underworld. But not yet. The light entity goes from the couch he sits upon back towards the workbench he adores. Starsis takes a look at his secret weapon. Picking up that said secret weapon, the light entity unsheathes it slightly to see himself in the mirror. The man can't recognize himself anymore. But this is what happens when this type of war comes about. The man hates this. He never wanted this. He did nothing to deserve this. This all could've been avoided had that cave never been found by his brother. His brother will get his comeuppance soon. That's a promise. The good brother, after putting his weapon away, gets back to work on his current plan. He doesn't know what'll be better for a bastard like him. Evilkin has the opportunity of being decapitated, impaled, or being sealed away forever. The possibilities of vengeance are in front of him. What one will he choose? He doesn't know. Starsis will decide Evilkin's fate once the time comes. The team of teens stands still as a wave of shock has them gripped in its harsh reality. They just killed. Sure, the monsters they've just killed were bastards from hell. Conjurings of darkness, after all. But, in their final moments, they were brothers. Shadow Bird himself is the one with the most trouble stomaching this act. Heroes don't kill. It isn't part of who they are. However, when push came to shove, the heroes here had no choice. Taking a deep breath, Shadow Bird turns his back to collect himself. The team stands still in silence for moments on end. Asori still feels horrible about her cowardice. She couldn't believe she stood still whilst awaiting death. If Aubrey wasn't fast enough, the blade could've pierced her, or Jayden, or even Ashley. Blue became her face's color which makes Ashley worried for her. She wants to comfort Asori, yet her words can't come out. Jayden doesn't know what to think of this ordeal. This shock, despite its strong grip on his mind, doesn't appear on the surface. The team, the journey, and the universe don't need it right now. Aubrey feels the same way. Turning towards the team, she puts on a smile for the millionth time as she tries to calm the team's fears.
Aubrey says, "Well, shall we get moving?" The team, after glancing at each other for a moment or so, share Aubrey's mask, Jayden being the first to follow suit.
"Yeah. Let's get moving, guys," The young leader tells his team. The forced smiles of the team get them through the entrance no problem. They're not gonna lie. This place is more beautiful on the inside than on the outside. No stains on these mirrors. In fact, Shadow Bird can't help but make a few cocky poses from viewing himself in a random mirror. Ashley and Aubrey giggle at this arrogance Shadow Bird displays. God, does he look like such a dork. The costume, the poses, and even the goofy smile. Even Jayden can't help but smile heartily. Asori doesn't smile due to her fear of screwing something up. Ashley, while the others aren't looking, manages to get a glance toward the awkward girl. Asori turns her head toward the side, making Ashley's guilt spike to new heights. She wants to say something. She does. But she can't put it into words. So, she looks back toward Shadow Bird. Asori's eyes soon catch wind of the object of their interest. Feeling her body take control of her mind, Asori moves her body towards the object. The girl sees it. She sees her golden opportunity for her redemption. The chance to prove to the team she still has worth. The purple and black-robed gal, just as she reaches the entrance beholding the object, jumps, yelping at the sudden glass mirror slamming down in front of her. The team immediately turns around to view the incident and their member's reaction. Asori turns around to see the team staring at her. Guilt, sadness, and the like show themselves through the fear written on her face. They're not mad, but rather shocked beyond words at what just happened. Asori, however, sees the team being shocked at how stupid she is. Looking back toward the mirror, Asori shares the look of the team, yet not the feeling. The team sees familiar faces they thought they locked away. Jayden witnesses a crying child looking up at the leader. Hell, the kid whom he saved back at the Village is a picture-perfect copy of this kid. Ashley doesn't know why this bitch was here. She thought she buried her deep down her heart. How the hell did she come back from the grave? The blood in her veins is scorching hot when the necklace she threw in the ocean made it back into her life. Shadow Bird's cocky attitude can't mask the broken kid on the floor. If he tried, the kid would most likely be crying and screaming. Aubrey doesn't know how to approach the little girl who just punched a hole through the wall. If she were in her shoes, she would probably bite, claw, punch, and kick at the person trying to comfort her. Anger is funny like that. Asori doesn't do a thing except for staring at herself. Instead of her current get-up inspired by the series possessing one of her only sources of joy, the ugly forest green shift dress and leggings Jerrod made her wear reveal themselves back to her. And she hates it. Not wanting to look at this anymore, Ashley runs up to the mirror and starts pounding it harshly. She doesn't view the team's horrified response towards this reaction nor did she care. She hates this mirror. She wants it to burn in hell. Managing to make a few cracks for the mirror, Ashley is soon stopped by Jayden and Asori holding her back. After this action is done, Ashley gets it together when she sees Jayden's and Asori's worried faces. Looking at her bruised hands, Ashley gets let go of by the two teammates. Taking a step back, Asori takes a deep breath before the young lady focuses on her fear and excitement, getting her two swords together to hopefully break down the door. The gal tries her best. She does. She impales the mirror, slices at it, and does these motions again for the next two minutes. Each time she slices and stabs the mirror, the more her yells and grunts grow louder.
"Asori!" Jayden gets ignored as Asori is desperate to get them through this mess. Her usually focused swordplay becomes reckless and wild, slashing with both swords instead of one with each vicious strike
"Asori!" Jayden yells again. The young lady ignores him again. Having enough, Jayden walks up to her sternly as he harshly grabs her shoulder, pulling her away from the uncompleted task she tried so hard to complete.
Asori stammers, "Oh, I-I'm sorry, Jayden..." This reawakened, sensitive girl's apology gets ignored by Jayden observing the glass she ruined. The young man, after a quick up and down examination, places his hand on a stainless part not ruined by the slashes of the wild child. His hand soon vanishes like it was reaching out into the unknown. Pulling it back, Jayden sees his hand isn't cut nor missing, so he instinctively goes inside the mirror. When he gets to the other side, he's fine. No cuts, no bruises, nothing. Seeing the shard, Jayden marches forward towards the object in a calm, rational manner. The team soon follows suit after seeing what their leader did. But the roadblocks repeat themselves as the door slams down in their face.
"Guys!" Jayden shouts as he runs towards the door. Although they all wish to go through the door together, two other doors opened next to them.
"You guys ok?" Jayden questions genuinely, sticking his head out from the mirror.
"Yeah, we're fine," Aubrey says nonchalantly.
"Would it be easier to go through those other doors?" Asori asks bluntly.
"Wouldn't it be easier if we went with Jayden?" Ashley asks while she points towards Jayden's location.
"Well, how about we go our separate paths? More of these doors will pop up here and there, and if we go separate paths, there might be a shortcut out of this place," Shadow Bird suggests. The team nods in approval before Jayden makes his decision.
"Ok then. I'll go my way, you go yours," Jayden stoically orders before taking his head back to the path he's on. Ashley and Asori go to the right door whilst Aubrey and Shadow Bird go to the left. The duo of black, red, and purple walk side by side to their destination only to be cornered by another mirror door slamming in their face. The two take the door on the right once again as the two remain silent during this whole process. Unfortunately, the young lady wearing purple and black just has to stare at a figment of Ashley's past life.
"What?" Ashley asks as Asori's gaze comes back to her teammate.
"Can you stop looking at that?!" Ashley snaps as Asori looks at a child Ashley laying in the dark inside her room. Asori awkwardly looks away from it as the two resume their journey. The two girls then go to the left door of the mirrored walkway during which the boy in navy blue and the girl in bright yellow are walking in a straight line toward their destination. Going straight through a mirror, the two begin talking to pass the time of this walking process.
"Your legs killin' ya, Blondie?" Shadow Bird jokes.
"Nah. I've been going on long runs since I was five. This is nothing," Aubrey boasts after chuckling.
Shadow Bird retorts, "Same here. I've had to evade security beams that would've fried my ass like fried chicken, and not the good kind either." Aubrey chuckles once again at that pun before coming up with banter of her own.
Aubrey remarks back, "You know, I've actually put off fried chicken for good after I ate a piece that tasted like shit. It was that disgusting."
"Really?" Shadow Bird asks.
Aubrey admits, "Yeah."
"Well, when we get outta this place, I need to show you-" Shadow Bird's comment ceases just as his eyes go wide at the sight in front of him. If he were a betting man, the vigilante can guess the little girl that was young Aubrey got into one too many fights back in the day. Turning around, the blonde freezes in shock at what she sees. Her bloody nose, black eye, and scraped knees are only a reminder of one too many shitty days.
"You ok?" Shadow Bird asks as he places a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that," Aubrey says, smiling warmly. Shadow Bird doesn't question this defense mechanism due to him using it himself his whole life. Picking himself up and sassing the world who's beaten him down so many times. The duo continues their walk without further interruption from here on. Ashley and Asori, on the other hand, try desperately to ignore the images in front of them. They look at each other once glancing at their days of bullying, close their eyes at the figures trying to please others, and manage to ignore the days when the world was totally against them. All of a sudden, another slamming mirror door crashes upon them, making Asori yelp and slip on the ground.
Asori tries saying, "Sorry about that. I-I didn't mean-" Ashley cuts her off.
"It's alright, Asori. Let's just keep moving," Ashley says rudely.
"Just ignore these things, alright?" Ashley says, noticing her teammate's obvious uncomfortableness as they walk.
Asori says, "Oh, right. Sorry about that." Ashley then turns to Asori in a very angry manner.
Ashley snaps, "Look, I'm tired of you apologizing all the time for shit like this! It's not your fault! Why don't you just shut up about your daddy issues, ok?!" Ashley doesn't mean this. She just really hates this place. Every frame here reminded her of the cowardly, stuck-up, high-horse, and apathetic bitch she hates so much. Ashley just wants to get the hell out of here fast.
"Why don't you stop taking your shitty life out on me, huh?!" Asori snaps back. Ashley turns back to her, pissed.
Ashley threatens, "What did you say?" Those words don't pierce Asori's heart anymore. Those four words are what a pissed Jerrod said the most when angry with her. It means she was essentially dared to defy his authority. She doesn't care anymore as Ashley needs to pay.
"You heard me! I'm sick and tired of your attitude towards me! I swear, the only reason you're tolerating me is because of this mission!" Asori accuses.
"Yeah! You know why?! Because newsflash, Asori! You're not the most important member of the team!" Ashley roars. Asori then angrily shoves Ashley in a way she once did to the bastard who raised her.
Asori wails, "You think I don't know that?!" Asori feels hot tears she'd buried in her eye sockets fall out of her eyes. She doesn't care as Asori only cares for finally putting Ashley in her place.
"You think I haven't been told that my entire life?!" Asori goes on a tangent involved with mocking Jerrod's voice.
"Stay focused! You're doing everything wrong! Stop your damn crying! Your opinion doesn't matter, Asori!"Asori manages to mock. Asori switches back to her normal voice to show Ashley she's not worthless.
Asori then says, "I've been told that shit since I was just six years old!" Ashley's face and fists morphed into angry ones that she tries her hardest to keep tucked away.
"And now you think that just because you went through some bad shit and did some bad shit that it makes you special?!" Asori snaps. Suddenly, Ashley slams her fist near Asori's head as the crying girl sees the tears of her fellow female bubbling with rage.
"What would you know about me?!" Ashley says before she nearly finds the strength to hit Asori but backs out. A moment of pause erupts in the atmosphere before Ashley's rant continues.
"Huh?!" Ashley yells. Asori and Ashley switch spots before the rant goes on.
"At least he showed you some form of love! No one ever gave that to me! If they did, it was either because they wanted something back or because they had to for their fragile egos! I never had anyone there for me! People beat me up, teased me, got away from me like I carried the plague, and it sure as hell wasn't just a bunch of snot-nose kids! It was plenty of adults too! They even took part in beating me up and cussing at me when they had their turn! IF YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO FEEL LIKE SHIT, THEN YOU DON'T KNOW A SINGLE THING ABOUT ME!" Screams the redhead whose tears flowed down her cheeks like Niagara Falls on a good day. Asori cries more tears at the sight of the broken little girl in a ball against a wall in one of the mirrors. Thinking she's not paying attention to her, Ashley screams her heart out more.
"WHY DO YOU THINK I DID SOME OF THOSE BAD THINGS?! I JUST WANTED PEOPLE TO ACCEPT ME! BUT NOOOO! BEA JUST HAD TO RUIN MY LIFE AFTER I CALLED HER OUT FOR BEING TOO MEAN TO SOME KID! AND YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE IS GREAT?! ONE OF THE ONLY PEOPLE IN MY LIFE WHO I CONNECTED WITH MOVED AWAY BECAUSE OF THE SHIT SHE DEALT WITH AT MY OLD SCHOOL AND THE SCHOOL DECIDED TO FINALLY KICK MY ASS OUT AFTER I FINALLY DID SOMETHING ABOUT MR. GODDAMN ADAMS'! MY ENTIRE LIFE WAS SPENT BEING SHOVED INTO THE DIRT BY THE WORLD, AND YET HERE YOU ARE! WHINING AND MOPING BECAUSE DADDY NEVER LOVED YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Ashley breathes heavily as steaming hot tears continue streaming down her face. Asori breathes heavily too as this is too much for her. Ashley and Asori fall to their knees and sob like babies. Ashley crawls into a ball as she bawls, herself tired of the world just being a dick to her. Asori has her hands clawing onto her hair and covering her eyes whilst sobbing, a thing she did every time Jerrod treated her like garbage. Asori now finally accepts that Jerrod never loved her. It was practically shouted in her face for the millionth time, after all. This sobbing fit is soon replaced by the two previous teens walking together through their maze of memories. Aubrey cringes at the sight of all the versions of her that were beaten up, ignored, screamed at, and abandoned. She hates those parts of herself. So, she looks away from them in a scowling manner. Shadow Bird does the same only he doesn't scowl at the pictures of himself when he was a vulnerable little boy. The two later get separated by the mirror door between them. Although shocked at first, the young blonde tries to get through it, but the images stay with her. Her eyes can't help but view them. In a rage, her fists begin breaking them one by one. She speeds down the hallway punching, kicking, and even headbutting one of the shards during her rampage. This said rampage even gets to a point where she punches and punches a reflection of herself after she hurt her little sister. She slams her fists into the wall over and over and over again until her knuckles start bleeding. Tears follow suit as Aubrey looks upon the blood-caked mirror that was her biggest regret. Aubrey feels the slight blood falling from her forehead before looking at herself in the mirror once again. It's then at that point Aubrey breaks down. She can't do this anymore! She's tired of hiding behind a smile instead of being angry like she wants to be. Laying down near a mirror, her sobbing fit is copied by the one she did after accidentally hitting her sister. The one person whom she'd sacrifice everything for. Aubrey cries and cries before Shadow Bird takes center stage from there. He is doing everything he can to ignore the mirrors in front of him. The beaten kid, the scared kid, the crying kid, and even the angry kid. These four similar phases he went through haunt Shadow Bird immensely. He wants to be away from them, but every corner he turns has one door close and another open. Eventually, Shadow Bird feels something in him break the moment he catches the mirror when he held Gabriel's corpse. Placing his hands on the mirror, Shadow Bird hyperventilates for a short while before going into a sobbing fit like his comrades. His hands hold his body as he has his back against the glass while he cries with his head down. That day was the worst day of his life. He lost the man who saved him. The man who raised him. The man who is his father. Shadow Bird sobs and sobs. Jayden feels his grasp on reality falter and shake. These images. These damn images. The kid who cried and cried all because of his parents screaming at each other. The kid who just wanted an escape from that hellhole. The tears, of course, well up in his eyes. He starts running and running. He runs like never before. He runs and runs and runs. Jayden doesn't care. He just wants to get away from these reminders of who he is deep down. All of a sudden, Jayden finds himself in front of the shard. It's right there. Is it all worth it? Can he finally get them all out of this hellhole? Jayden suddenly stops himself as a gut feeling points his body towards a mirror. The mirror is him after... she left him. A few tears come from Jayden's eyes, but he still goes through with what he's about to do. Peeking his head through the mirror, Jayden's heart is attacked with glass more powerful than one of him reading one of his favorite Transformers books. Ashley and Asori are sobbing as a result of another argument they had. How else can this crying explain the broken mirror behind Ashley? Taking his head from that mirror, he goes to another one where he sees Aubrey sobbing. Then, Jayden goes to another mirror where he sees Shadow Bird sobbing. He now finds himself in the center near his objection. The tears inside the young boy's eyes cause him to sniffle and choke up. He tries to not let it out. But... Falling to the ground, Jayden can't stay strong anymore. He's held these tears back his whole life. Crying his eyes out, Jayden's new reality crashes onto him like the fear he held towards Optimus Prime, his hero since Transformers Prime, nearly dying during Prime's first episode of its final season. Even though life dealt him an unkind hand, his teammates, these kids just like him, had been dealt worse hands. Why else are they acting the way they did? They're victims. Victims of the cruelty the world has to offer. Victims just like him. After he cries for a few more precious moments, another precious moment comes from Jayden looking up a picture on his phone. Optimus kneeling down is Jayden's most precious picture. Hell, even some of his pictures with Bella don't hold a candle to the number of times this picture puts a smile onto his face. This mech tells him everything's going to be ok. He looks at him, his stoic blue eyes being lighter than his fan's ocean blue ones. With just his optics, they console him. They hold him. This happens for a minute. And then another. The mech's wisdom whispers to him. It beckons him. Jayden switches to a mirror. Then another. And back to him, his hero. Optimus tells Jayden he must make this right. Nodding, Jayden wipes the tears away, sniffling too.
"Thanks, Optimus," Jayden says silently. Wiping his eyes some more, Jayden goes to Ashley and Asori. The two, only being able to emit sniffles to each other, find the strength to hug each other. It isn't their fault.
Asori says, "I'm sorry."
Ashley says, "I'm sorry too." This is soft, almost as if they can't hear each other, but no matter. Burying each other in their shoulders, the gals hug for what seems like forever.
"Hey guys," Jayden says quietly. The two girls look up to see Jayden gently motioning them to come outside. The two do so, Ashley and Asori holding each other whilst doing so. Soon after Jayden manages to get Aubrey and Shadow Bird to come out of their hellholes, Jayden opens his arms to the group. They don't know what the hell this means at first. But Aubrey knows what he's doing. Aubrey runs to him and gives him the biggest hug she can muster. He's done this with the kids under his protection and she did so with her sis. Right after this realization, the team follows suit. To say the hug is tender is an insult. These kids never had a kind of hug like this. One that wasn't forced or was a reward for doing something for someone. The hug is what they all needed. The hug goes on for a good minute or so before it disbands. Jayden takes the initiative to grab the shard and everyone follows him back to the backpack. As they walk, while they don't smile, a huge reality check enters their minds. They're not suffering this crazy shitshow of a journey alone. They have each other. And it'll all be worth it once the journey is over.