Destined: 2 Be Continued

49. Moth Mayhem, Part 2

The Destined landed in some mammoth cavern. An extremely creepy creature was crouched next to a small pool of water, and there was a gigantic cocoon laying on the ground about 50 yards away. The creepy creature looked up.

It was entirely a murky purplish-black aside from a set of bright white teeth. It had an axe blade on each side of its head, angled a little back so it aligned with the skull and jawline. It had no eyes and no other features aside from black claws and smooth, flat feet. It stood up and stepped towards the Destined. "Good morning, little children," it said, stepping slowly towards them. Penny shivered and stepped back, but not because of the cold drafts in the cavern. She aimed her crossbow at the creature's face, and Castle felt like he wanted to do the same, but he didn't have anything to aim.

"I...am Halberd," the Thing continued. "I am Vilor's loyal servant, and I know that he must not be disturbed in his metamorphosis. Instead of him being bothered, which is the last thing I would like, I will destroy all of you." It thrust its hands forward and five black blades shimmered into existence, floating in a circle around him. He smiled his evil, evil smile and took another step forward, his arms still raised. Castle saw Heather put her hand to her mouth. "J...Jeremiah?" she spluttered, staring wide-eyed at Halberd. 

"I was once known by a name such as that," Halberd reminisced. "I was a master of hope, a weak, useless object. Now that I serve Vilor, and TG, as well, I have more power and more purpose. You cannot defeat me; you must face that fact. Become destroyed. NOW." The shimmering black blades stabbed at the Destined, but Castle simply struck them with lightning. They lost their existence immediately.

"We won't tolerate death here," Castle rumbled, then shot another burst of highly potent electricity at the beast. The electricity seemed to affect it, but not much. Alex drew his staff and leaped towards Halberd. Halberd easily and smoothly deflected the master of the sky, sending him flying into the wall. Penny tried to avenge Alex by firing a few quarrels of poison darts, but the darts just bounced off. Penny gulped and hid behind Castle.

August shot a rocket, but Halberd simply grabbed it, spun, and threw it back. August was down for good, just like Alex. "Is it always the males that go down first?" Castle asked Heather. After a moment of thought, she nodded, then fired a white arrow from her bow. The arrow made perfect contact with Halberd, who screamed in pain at the feel of the arrow's head.

"What is that made out of?" Castle asked.

"Pure light. The master of light, Tyler, gave it to me as a gift. He's a nice guy, you know," Heather answered as Belle stepped forward. She ran right up to Halberd, performing Danse Macabre. Halberd tried to stop her, but his attempts were ineffective against her blades, which slashed at his delicate black skin. Heather shot a few more arrows, and Castle let loose a few more shocks of lightning.

"Wait, something just occurred to me," Heather suddenly said. Castle turned to her, but Belle kept slicing like a good girl. "Wouldn't we just harm Jeremiah by harming Halberd?" Halberd nodded at this, wincing at Belle's slices.

"Well, it's a little late for that," Castle complained. Halberd finally predicted one of Belle's moves and gestured with his hand. A giant black fist appeared out of the air and punched her in the gut. Belle fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

"I have...something special for you...Heather," Halberd whispered. He rose his hands up and two black hands appeared in the air. Heather shot arrows at each, but they weren't effective like they were on Halberd, so she shot at his body, but the two hands clapped on her before she could do anything. "Urk!" Heather gasped as Halberd's two giant hands lifted her up in the air. 

Halberd began to slowly crush her with the two giant hands, and Heather's face turned to red. She gasped for air, but Castle wasn't sure what he could do. So he did the only thing he knew how to do: Destroy the problem, making a solution by default.