Ivory Chronicles

Act IV - Apex Rebellion Part 4

Despairs of Peace

As Ivory and I surveyed the restless mob of clones below, my mind was partly on the strategy but mostly on Kyriah. "Have you seen Kyriah?" I managed to ask, my voice more anxious than I intended. Her erasure powers could come in handy here, but mostly I needed to know she was safe.

"No, I haven't," Ivory replied, concern creasing her brow. She caught the edge in my voice, understanding the dual weight of my question.

"I think she might have landed over there," I said, pointing toward a particularly wrecked stretch of the neighborhood. It was a long shot, but my gut told me it was right. "It's away from where you came from, opposite to the main cluster of Mateos' clones."

Ivory nodded. "Let's move that way then. We'll need to pull some of these clones with us, and thin out their ranks while we search."

As we prepared to step into the fray, Ivory's hand landed firmly on my shoulder. "Ready to take a few more punches, Ellion?" she asked with a teasing voice but with truth.

"That's part of the job description, isn't it?" I responded with a wry smile. "Taking hits is what leaders do."

She returned my smile with a quick, grim smirk of her own before turning her gaze back to the battlefield sprawled out before us.

Ivory's hand clamped down on my shoulder, the familiar rush of teleportation briefly disorienting us before we landed squarely amid the mob of clones. As we materialized, the clones—each bearing the faces of Alexander, Charles, and Mateos—turned toward us, their expressions shifting to ones of malicious intent.

One of the Davos/Mateos clones stepped forward, his smirk chilling. "Do you really think the two of you can take on all of us?" he taunted, his voice echoing oddly among the identical voices around him. "One touch, that's all it will take to end this."

Ivory's response came quick and sharp, her confidence unshaken. "That's all, huh? Well, I just want to say that I've never lost a game of Tag," she quipped, a wry smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

Without missing a beat, Ivory unleashed her 'push' ability. Her hands shot forward, sending a wave of force that rippled through the air, blasting the nearest clones backward as the farthest ones stumbled, momentarily thrown off balance by the sheer power of her attack.

Seizing the moment, I called upon my own powers. Ice crystallized at my fingertips, spreading rapidly across the ground and up the legs of the advancing clones. Some managed to break free, but others weren't so lucky, their movements hindered by the thickening ice encasing their limbs.

Ivory covered our surroundings as her force blast repelled everything that Mateos was throwing at us. My ice froze the clones' legs and blocked their paths. But the clones were relentless, they regrouped quickly, their numbers overwhelming. Every cleared path was soon filled again with advancing duplicates.

As we fought, I led us subtly, guiding the skirmish toward the area where we suspected Kyriah might be. Every step was calculated, every blast and barrier strategically placed not just to fend off the immediate threat but to herd the clones in the direction we needed them to go.

Ivory and I maneuvered our way through the ruined landscape, the tense atmosphere punctuated by the sharp crack of a nearby house splitting apart. I barely had time to register the danger as large chunks of the building hurtled towards us. Ivory, with her quick reflexes, teleported away in an instant, but I wasn't so lucky. A heavy piece of debris clipped me, sending me sprawling across the ground.

Moments later, Ivory reappeared by my side, her expression tense. "Ellion, are you alright?" she asked urgently, helping me to sit up.

Grimacing from the pain, I nodded and opened my eyes, only to find ourselves completely surrounded. The clones had us encircled, some even perched ominously on the rooftops looking at us with cold stares.