Darknesss united

Chapter 15: My Jewel

Cub

"He's ours" they say. "One of us. One of you."

I don't know what they are, but they've never been wrong. They tell me they're the Vex. The creators of my powers. They usually leave me alone, let me make my own choices. This must be real. My heart flutters in my chest.

But who? It's never gone off for any of the Hermits. It's not Grian. I know it's not. He'd be the most likely option. But that feels wrong.

The door of the headquarters opens behind me. I turn to look. Grian is standing in the doorway with someone new in tow, the setting sun creating a silhouette, their shadow stretched across the floor.

"Him" they whisper. Suddenly, I'm teleported in front of them. Grian called a meeting. Etho falls from the sky above me.

"Why is Scar here?" Cleo says. That's when I realize it's Hotguy. The hero.

"You-you know me?" he stutters.

"Of course!" X says. "Grian's said a lot about you!" Scar gives Grian an incredible glare.

"Hi. I'm Cleo. You know why I quit, right? He stabbed me. So don't feel bad about it. I'm just lucky to be somewhat alive." Cleo. I've never heard her story before. I just- I don't know.

Scar visibly calms down, the blinding light still encompassing his silhouette. I slowly make my way to him. Scar gazes at my wings. I put my hand on the cuff around his arm. I realize I can't feel my magic. It's...gone. The cuff is a power-nullifying one.

"His Name is Cub" A voice breaks through my mindscape. "I know it is."

It's not the Vex. It's not their high-pitched, laughing voice. It sounds like someone I know. I look over at the man standing next to me. It sounds like him. It is him.

Scar turns to me.

"Awkward question, but is your name Cub?" He asks, his eyes flashing the blue of the Vex.

Grian's staring at him, his mouth dropping open. Now I know for a fact that he's actually one of us.

"Yep! I can explain!" I exclaim. I use my magic to summon a lockpick and put my hands on Scar's cuff. It's a horrific feeling. Stifling. I can barely breathe. I don't know how he's lived like this for this long. I slide it into the lock, and, as we arrive thein my lab, the cuff drops off.

"We can handle this." the Vex whisper. "Let us in" I relinquish control.

My initiation was nothing like this. A painful bite, yes. Glowing, yes. Knowing I wasn't mortal anymore, yes. But not like this.

This was like an explosion of blindingly bright blue light. A bomb. Like all the magic pent up over the years was free, and it needed out. In a couple of seconds, the brightness of it all died down. Not gone, not even ignorable, but bearable.

"What did you do to him?!?" Grian yells.

"I undid a curse. Nothing more." The Vex in my body whispers, my voice out of character. Scar has all the Vexling features, torn wings spread behind him matching my own. The magic slowly finishes fusing with him. As the last drop of Vex magic disappears into his skin, he begins slowly drifting to the ground. He tries to lean on the wall to catch his bearings. I know what happens. I run as fast as I can towards him, his desperate "Help!"s slice through my mind. I reach my hand out, my fingers grabbing his now-blue ones. I pull him free of the wall, and he flaps his wings to keep himself up. I summon a vex mask and press it into his hands. He puts it on.

His eyes glow blue like mine. But not. Soul flames jet out the corners. I've never seen that before. It's like he has too much magic. Like he needs to burn it. I wonder if it's because he's absorbed Vex magic twice...

I flick the lights on. Scar takes off the mask and stands safely on the ground. His eyes return to normal and I'm jolted back into control of my body.

"I have something else to show you" I send to him, wondering if it would work.

"Really?" Scar says, evidently hearing me. " Show me!"

"Show you what? Did you guys make up a secret sign language in the past five minutes, two of which Scar was both floating and glowing?" Grian says defensively. I look over at Scar, barely able to conceal my laughter.

" But..." Scar stutters. "He just told us..."

" He just told us he had something else!" Scar finally gets his English together.

"What...nevermind. I'll leave you two with whatever this is." Grian says, sounding irritated, as he gestures vaguely at our wings. He leaves.

I pull back a curtain with as much drama as I can muster. Behind it lay one of my favorite pieces of work. A Hotguy suit, black unlike its white counterpart and a matching bow complete with tipped arrows. The suit is resistant to almost any kind of damage to the point at which you could throw it in lava and it'd be fine. I tested that myself. For some reason the Vex told me to add wing holes. Now I know why. Scar marvels at it.

"Don't worry." I say as I hand the suit and bow to him. "You have wings holes. Go ahead and try it on!"

He disappears into the bathroom. The lock clicks behind him. A few minutes later, he comes out, looking stunning with his Vex wings spread behind him and his bow on his back. The costume shimmers in the bright lights of my lab. I applaud, and he gives me a twirl. His emerald eyes shine like a thousand jewels.

"I think you're ready for your proper villain introduction to the team." I say.

"Now introducing the newest member of the Hermits, Hotguy!" X says with a microphone in his hand. Scar walks past me. His dark hair flutters ever so slightly in the breeze. He's just so perfect.

"I love you." I whisper. "And I always will."