A Superhero's Heart//A Garmau vs Garrence vs Glaze AU

28: I'm Sorry

I ran up to the fence of the observatory and with adrenaline surging through me, I was able to climb over it with ease. I quickly rushed into the building and ran up to the main room. It wasn't too long until I heard the intimidating laughter of Shadow in the room. I looked back to see him smirking at me.

"You really are something, Ro'Meave,", He admitted, twiddling with his gloves to make them tighter. "No wonder Laurance liked you a lot. But, the only thing I can't wrap my mind around is why you choose the illogical choice sometimes." I clutched my fists tightly, glaring at him. My mind was running through ideas to save Laurance but, not hurt him at the same time. "Even when you bleed, you continue fight. Now, you have lost your power and you still stand. Well, at least it'll be easier to kill you now...thanks for that."

He charged immediately and since I lost my quick reflexes, I took the hit, falling down to the floor. He stood over me, his foot on my chest, holding me down.

"I'm going to enjoy this so much."

He picked me up and threw me to the other side of the room. I lifted myself up, blinking away the black spots in my vision. I then noticed the black and green ring on his right hand where Laurance said his power came from. A plan came to mind, all I needed is a spark of power. This time, I charged and tackled Shadow by the legs, causing him to tumble down to the floor. I tried something foolish and tried to pry off his ring. It didn't even budge. He kicked me off and came up to his feet again. I did the same.

Just one spark...

I tried to concentrate on my hands and the blood flowing through me. I knew my necklace and Ekon were gone but, I assumed that I at least had something.

"You know,", He sighed, "with you out of the picture, I'll be able to finally accomplish something that I've been working for generations."

His hands lit in flames. He simply touched the wall and flames crawled up and lit the ceiling in orange and red fire.  I started to panic when the first piece of the ceiling fell to the floor. To stall, I needed to at least try to get to Laurance. As the flames spread, I spoke out;

"Laurance! You have to fight him!", I shouted. "I know you would never do any of this! Please! Just fight the urge!"

"Your friend will parish once I gain full control,", Shadow's deep voice boomed as it overpowered Laurance's. "If he couldn't control me then, he can't control me now."

"I know he can,", I said.

He responded by punching me back. I was able to hold myself away from the flames but, Laurance's voice came;

"Garroth...I-I'm so sorry..."

He sounded weak and hurt. I think it triggered something inside of me, causing me to feel power flow through my arms and legs. I looked down to my palms to see blue light glowing in my hands.

Thanks Ekon...

Everything had a tint of blue in my vision and I started to close in on Shadow.

"You have one more warning to let him go,", I warned. "To leave Scaleswind. To leave my friends and I alone."

He growled and said;

"Or what?"

"Or I will destroy the very being of Shadow."

"Don't you see,", Shadow chuckled. "You can never get rid of the Shadow unless you are surrounded by more darkness."

He tried to throw a punch at me but, I caught. I didn't feel a thing. This time, I pushed him back, he skidded to a stop. He charged again, I dodged his attack. I refuse to let him push me down again. I just need a clear shot...

"You know, if you hurt me, you hurt Laurance?", Shadow said, trying to bug me. I saw that he was wounded and growing weak.

"He'll thank me later."

With that, I charged at him with full rage. I felt myself lift into the air as I raised my fist towards Shadow. As my fist collided with his chest, the last thing I heard from him was;

"Oh shoot..."

There was a strong wave of strength that boomed through the room. As Laurance's body was flung back, smoke retreated out of him. I landed on my feet, collapsing a bit, catching myself. I looked over to where Laurance's body landed, to see him in the same state I was. He was clutching his chest and groaning a bit. I ran over to him, ignoring the burn building around us.

"Laurance, are you okay?", I asked, urgently as I knelt down next to him. He smiled weakly at me and said; "Yeah. Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet. We need to get out of here first."

He nodded and I helped him to his feet. Just then, he realized my wounds.

"Garroth...I-"

"Hey, it's okay. I know it wasn't you."

He sighed and just nodded again. He knew the intensity of the situation and decided to apologize more after. I helped him by dragging him along with me. His arm was around my shoulder while I held him tightly. We soon made it the main entryway. I looked up to see that the ceiling was on it's last limb.

"Okay, here the plan,", I say, looking towards Laurance. "When I say, run, you gotta run."

"What about you?"

"I'll stay close."

He understood again. I hated to see him so exhausted...

"Run!"

We bolted down the hallway, things started to fall around us. Thankfully the door was ajar and we had a clear run through to medical help. But, I saw that the wooden rafters on the ceiling were slipping. Again, I thought quickly. When we were a good distance away, I nudged Laurance closer to the door. He stumbled through the exit making me fall behind a bit.

Then, I heard a crack from above. A rafter came crashing down and before I knew it...

Everything went black.

Word Count
1033