Hybrid Factors (A Team Crafted FF)

Chapter 18 (Nobody)

Little surprise for DecipherTheCipher from the first special chapter.

Seto and Brice spoke quietly to one another while the others trailed behind them, chatting and joking around amongst themselves as they wandered in search for Tyler. Someone bumped into Ian, making his glasses fall off and skid across the ground, landing a good meter away from him. Five seconds later, Ian fell to the ground, holding his head and screaming; "Leave me alone! Get out of my head! I'll never let you out, you can't make me!" People backed as far away as they could from the men, creating a circle of people around them.

"Ian! Ian, what's wrong, what's happening?!" Quentin panicked, dropping down beside his friend.
"Q-Quentin, I n-need m-my glasses, they're e-enchanted, please!" Ian hissed in pain.
"O-Okay, just hold on!" Quentin scrambled around in a panicked search for his friend's sunglasses.

Sky and Brice helped Quentin search for the glasses. Ty and Jerome restrained Ian as he trashed around, yelling out in pain and agony, while Mitch and Seto tried to calm their friend. Quentin found the glasses in the crowded area just as Ian calmed down, letting his head hang as he breathed. Quentin cautiously inched towards him when Ian started giggling.

He threw Ty and Jerome over his shoulders, looking up with a twisted grin on his face. The main difference, though, was that his blue eyes were looking in two total opposite directions. He drew a sword from the sheath on his belt as Ty and Jerome drew their own weapons and Mitch slowly advanced towards him.

First, Ian gave Quentin a bloody nose by an elbow to the face and swept his feet out from under him. He kicked him in the head before shoving him off to the side. He was going to pick them off, one. By. One.

"Who's next~?"

He kicked Mitch down with enough force to break one of his ribs and split skin on impact with the stone floors of the streets. And that's exactly what the impact did! Mitch coughed up some of his demon blood as he gently pushed against his wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Seto rushed over to help.

"MITCH!" Jerome yelled out, his eyes turning completely black and his fangs and claws growing into place. He dropped his diamond axe and lunged at Ian. Ian kicked him to the side just as easily as he did with Mitch. Jerome got back up and tried again. He managed to get in couple of scratches before being thrown away, his body skidding to the feet of a certain brunette with glasses.

"Hey! You!" Seto pointed to him. "Cast a healing spell or something, just help me heal them!"
"W-What?! How did you . . . " Tyler stuttered.
"I can sense you have magic, please, help me save my friends!" Seto pleaded.
"I-I don't know healing magic too well, b-but I'll try." Tyler carefully made his way over to Seto and Mitch.
"S-Seto, I'm-I'm gonna l-let my demon side t-take over, okay?" Mitch whispered in pain.
"Go ahead, just don't try to heal yourself, you know it won't work properly." Seto whispered back as Mitch's eyes turned entirely black with red pupils.
"And he's a demon, okay." Tyler was screaming internally in excitement at seeing a demon for the first time as he watched Mitch grow out his fangs and claws. "Okay, uh, let's see how bad it is . . . "

Mitch revealed his injury and winced in pain from how deep it cut. It cut through to his ribcage where you could see one of his ribs split in two, the pointed end dangerously close to his lung. Blood slowly dripped from the wound, Mitch coughing up a bit more than necessary. Jerome's body was flung to the side, landing next to Seto. "M-Mitch . . . " He groaned in pain, holding his shoulder, before passing out.

Ty managed to get a good hit on Ian's arm. Ian was unfazed. He slashed his sword across Ty's chest and punched him in the face with all his force, sending Ty stumbling backwards before collapsing. "TY!" Sky screamed. "HOW DARE YOU!"

He charged at Ian, his eyes blazing their golden color even brighter behind his sunglasses. He got in a few good hits before Ian hit his sword out of his hand. It flew over his head and landed in the crowd, the people scrambling to get away from the golden weapon. Except one person. I'll look into that fact later.

Sky was picked off as easily as the rest without a weapon to defend himself with. He was tossed to the side, away from his friends. He tried reaching for his sword, only to pull back to rip the bottom of his pant leg to use as bandages for a gash on his thigh. Brice ran over to help.

Ian slowly walked towards them, his sword scraping against the stone floor. "BRICE! BRICE, MOVE!" Seto shouted, a small, pale hand grabbing his wrist before he could do anything stupid. He looked back at a brunette boy with light grey squirrel ears and a tail to be the one holding his wrist. The boy and his friends had come to help the team, unlike all the other coward citizens. Ian slashed his sword down, aiming for Sky.

Sky squeezed his eyes shut, prepared for the burning pain to lash out at him again. No pain came. He slowly opened his eyes to see Brice looming over him, crimson dripping from the corner of his mouth. Brice had taken the hit, a giant slash cutting deep into his back. Sky forced himself to sit up as Brice spoke what might be his final words;

"I'm not as strong as you guys, my body can only take so much damage. I'm sorry. Protect Seto for me . . . Okay, Sky?" He collapsed with a smile on his face.
"No, nonononono, you're gonna be fine, Brice. I won't have to protect Seto for you, you'll be there to do it yourself! Please don't do this!" He cried.

Ian was about to strike at Sky, but was interrupted in his attack by a flame firing at him and pushing him away. A boy with fiery red hair and a golden Z necklace stood at the edge of the ring of people, a fire lit in one hand, Sky's sword being held tightly in the other.

"BRICE!"

The young sorcerer's screams of despaired agony were all to be heard while silent tears fell.

HE'S NOT DEAD, DON'T WORRY!