Skylands Historia - Duality

Chapter 7 - The Aftermath of an Almost Victory

Tick tick tick...

The dulled colors of the world swirled together as Kaos forced his eyes open, squinting to try to make out the blurred shapes against the blinding sky. He lifted his head off of the ground, rubbing his temples as the blood roared in his ears. A deafening, rhythmic beat pounding through his skull. Kaos pushed a fallen beam off of his chest, coughing as dry, dusty air flooded his lungs, scratching at his throat like thousands of tiny claws. His vision lagged as he looked around, slowly processing what he saw. Walls toppled revealing their inner workings. Bits of steel plating and banisters were laying haphazardly around, the ceiling now open to the cloudy sky above. He... he had done it?? Frantically, Kaos felt himself over, making sure he was still in one piece, before he let out a sigh of relief. By the Ancients' mercy, he was alive.

"Kaos? Kaos!!"

In a flash, Kaos was scooped up off of the ground, his feet dangling as a battered Dyskord squeezed him tightly. Kaos coughed, almost immediately trying to push away from his brother's grasp.

"Hey, hey! You're gonna crack my ribs again, idiot!" Kaos cried, trying to sound as angry as he could despite the grin curling across his face.

Dyskord set his brother down, a strained laugh escaping him. He looked even more disheveled than usual, open cuts littered his olive skin, bruises already starting to bud; but then again, Kaos probably didn't look much better himself. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Kaos surveyed the damage he had caused, his eyes seeming to glow like the embers that floated through the air. The silence in the air, the still of the grounds, it was all so... beautiful.

"We did it." He spoke softly at first, waving his hands in small, back and forth motions. "I... I did it! YES! YES!!" Kaos didn't care who in the Skylands heard him. This was his moment. This was his time.

The euphoria felt like bubbles in his stomach fizzing up into his brain, bursting into sparkles of pride. This must've been what Mother felt like at Mey's sheepball practices or when Dyskord graduated: pure, unadulterated glee. He couldn't help but cackle, throwing his hands into the sky in triumph. Dyskord, on the other hand, didn't seem to be as enthralled, his wry smile starting to fall. Kaos followed his gaze to the edge of the island, where the students had gathered (as they did during every emergency evacuation), huddled together. Kaos could almost see the looks of terror on their faces, students and staff members alike quaking in fear at his absolute, ingenious might. He was practically bouncing up and down at the thought, but instead he paused, squinting to try to make out a shape along the horizon. A shape that looked like it was barreling towards them. Kaos' heart sank as he watched the figure lumbering over the wreckage, rage practically radiating off of them. Mr. Webster.

"I- I think I hear Mother calling." Kaos tugged on Dyskord's sleeve, not daring to take his eyes off the behemoth. "We-We'd better go..."

"Y-Yeah. Heh." Dyskord turned his head to the side and called out, "B-Be right there, Mother!"

"Oh, don't worry. Your mother will be hearing about this."

A large hand grabbed a hold of Kaos' arm, a squeak escaping his open mouth. His limb looked like a toothpick compared to Mr. Webster's tight grasp. Kaos gulped, his eyes trailing up from the hand, Kaos immediately began batting at Mr. Webster's hand, kicking and squealing like a frightened pig as the principal lifted him up off of the ground. Kaos tried to worm his way to freedom, albeit to no avail. He had come too far. Too far to lose now. It wasn't fair.

"So, Kaos..." Mr. Webster snarled, "Anything to say for yourself?"

"SCREW YOU!" Kaos squealed.

With his free hand, he threw a wild punch at his teacher. Kaos' fist rebounded off the side of his gaunt face, causing nothing more than irritation and a throbbing pain through his frail hand. Kaos recoiled, whimpering as he tried to shake out the pain, Mr. Webster's only reaction was a mere eye twitch. Without another word, he began walking back through the wreckage, carrying the flailing Kaos at arm's length away from him. Dyskord held back, wondering how easy it would be to leave Kaos behind and feign innocence over the whole situation, before finally grunting to himself and running after his brother. If living with his brother was Hell already, he really didn't want to know what it would be like if he got on Kaos' bad side.