Star Beings: Dawn

War Hammer

All hell breaks loose.  The ground beneath my feet explodes, sending me flying into a rock.
There's a moment where everything goes black. When I come too, only seconds have passed.
My head feels wet, and not because of the rain. There's blood dripping into my eyes.
Did I just bash my head open?
Hade's horrified face tells me that yes, yes I did. But I'm alive, healed, and ready to kick some ass.
I pull myself to my feet, drawing my daggers in one swift motion. I glance back at the rock, and I am met with a large blood stain. Good gods, I really hit that thing didn't I?
Yikes.
Cain has already been knocked out by Caleb. Himbo on himbo violence, I suppose. Cori, on the other hand, approaches Lanette, who has yet to knock her bow. She raises her scythe, a grim reaper approaching a lost soul. But before anyone else can ever get near Corinna, DJ appears directly in the path of the blade, hammer held high. She blocks Corinna's strike with the handle, shoving the shadow lord away from her girlfriend.
Her hands spark with electricity, eyes glowing green.
"Let's do this, motherfucker."

There's a cacophony of noise, mainly the painful symphony of metal scraping against metal. Corinna and DJ dance with each other. They make battle seem both graceful and messy, chaotic yet concise.
Practiced yet random.
Each attack seems almost rehearsed, at least on DJ's part. But, DJ is a ferocious warrior so that isn't surprising. She's her own weapon. She is a war hammer. She's strong and sturdy, both a tool and a weapon. More than that, she's deadly. She's perfectly capable of crushing someone's skull in.
DJ Murphy can either destroy or create, simply depending on what mood she's in.
I watch as Corinna sends the butt of her scythe into DJ's abdomen, landing the Star Being on her ass.
"DJ!"
"I'm ok darlin!" The woman calls out as she glances back at her girlfriend, hammer still tightly clutches in her hands. Before she can even get up, a barrier forms around Corinna and DJ, trapping both inside.
DJ pulls herself to her feet, launching herself at the shadow lord. Her hammer narrowly misses Corinna's head, but DJ just keeps swinging. She swings, and swipes, and smashes. But every single time Corinna dodges. Every single time but once.
She slices upwards with her scythe, splitting DJ's hammer in half.
DJ doesn't look scared or even shocked. If anything, she looks confused as an actor who has just realized another cast member skip a few lines without warning.
"How-"
Corinna punches DJ right in the face, causing the woman to stumble back.
By now, Lane is banging her fists on the force field, trying anything she can to get it to break.
She screams all the while, looking terrified for her lover.
The shadow lord tosses away her scythe, going at DJ with purely her fists and feet. She kicks the Star Being right in the ribs. She kicks, and kicks, and kicks.
Yet DJ doesn't do so much as grunt. She just lays there in a ball, her eyes squeezed shut.
"Get up." Corinna finally says, stepping away from the Star Being. DJ doesn't move. Without warning, Corinna opens a dark portal with a flick of her wrist and now I'm the one screaming.
"CORI DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE!!!!"
DJ and I aren't friends. But I don't want her to die. We need her right now. We need all of us to defeat Corinna.
Lane throws everything she has at the force field, her wide blue eyes stricken with panic.
"Get. Up." Cori snarls. When DJ still doesn't move, she storms over and grabs her limp body by the hair, dragging her towards the portal as if she's a mere trash bag her father asked her to take to the dumpster.
"How disappointing.... I really thought this Star Being was better than this. I mean, that's what I've always seen..."
And she's right. DJ is. Corinna realizes this too late.
She proves her strength by reaching up and grabbing Corinna's arm, pulling it hard. I hear a loud pop, followed by the Shadow lord's loud, pained scream. Cori's arm hangs limp and, in her attempt to put it back in the socket, gives DJ enough time to get back up on her feet. Her nose is bleeding, as is a small cut in her chin. Her shirt is torn, revealing bruises underneath. She looks as though she's just been through hell. And yet, she still smiles. She still looks tough. She still looks....
Well, she still looks like DJ.
I can hear Corinna laugh.
"There she is! There's the war hammer everyone raves about! Come on, Delilah. Kill me! Crush my skull with your bare hands! Do what you do best and ruin well worked plans! SEND IT ALM TO HELL!!!!!!"
DJ cracks her knuckles.
"I'm sorry for this."
"Why in my dads name are you apologizing, Delilah?" Corinna asks, her unhinged smile wavering for only a moment.
"I wasn't talking to you."

So many things happen at once. DJ throws a punch. I can see Cain stir out of the corner of my eye. Lane screams. Natalie slams her fists against the shield, calling her best friend's name. I can't even move, frozen in shock.
Corinna catches DJ's punch.
"How stupid can you be?"
The shadow lord pulls DJ close, then shoves her into the portal.
It closes, and DJ is gone. She's just... gone.
Corinna turns to face me with that malicious grin. She's telling me this is all my fault, that I did this. And she's right. If I hadn't sprinted into the woods, DJ would still be here. I guess I really will just always be a fuck up, won't I? Even when I don't intend to hurt people, I still do.
Gods damn me to hell below.
The shadow lord takes a step towards me, raising her hands in a gesture that almost says 'come and get me'
"One down, nine to go."

I'd apologize for this but I'm not sorry. Anyways, here's the last art piece for the last three chapters! The Epilogue is next ;)