Through Time and Space: A Love Story

Chapter Twelve: The Final Showdown

   Ash had never felt this anxious to fight before. She could tell all of the others were just as on edge. Kinessa had gone ahead with Vivian to set up their sensor drones before she took to the trees with Strix. She could see them both watching through their rifle scopes, scanning for any signs of the Abyssal Lords. Barik, Inara, and Atlas had helped set up fortifications with Ash while the rest of the frontlines prepared the heavy weaponry. Everyone was determined to take down the Abyss. It had caused them all too much trouble.
   As she sat watching the Paladins preparing for the fight, Jenos came to sit next to her. There was a long, awkward silence between them. It was strange to think that they were both I love with the same girl. Things had been so complicated over the last two months that Ash felt as though she had lost her sanity. Love was a strange thing to her. Before she could try to break the ice, Jenos spoke first.
   "Do you think you will be ready to have a family of your own after this?" he asked. The question caught her off-guard.
   "What are you talking about?" she asked back. "The kid's yours." He laughed at the question, which only confused Ash even more.
   "Yes, it is," he answered. "But I did it for your sake."
   "I thought you were in love with her, too," Ash said. She was completely floored by his response.
   "I am a god, Ash. I am incapable of feeling love. I wanted you to have a family of your own. Every trial you faced was to get you to do the right thing. Love is something you must feel naturally. But you can never feel true love until you are faced with the risk of losing them forever. It teaches you to appreciate what you have while you have it. And now that you have passed, it is time for you to prepare for your future," he explained to her. Ash couldn't believe what she was hearing. Jenos was pushing her into Maeve's arms the whole time because he knew they were meant to be.
    "Thank you," she said. "I haven't had the easiest time in the love department, so I never knew what it was about. Now that I know....I think I'm ready for this. I have to be. For her." Ash turned back to watching the Paladins preparing for the battle ahead. It was unusually quiet considering the Abyssal Lords were supposedly in the next town about five miles away.
   "Where the hell are they?" Vivian asked frustrated. "They should have found us by now."
   "You would think so, but there hasn't been any sign of them this whole time," Cassie answered. "Zigs hasn't seen them anywhere. It's like they're setting up an ambush of sorts." Everyone seemed agitated as they all shared the same concerns. The fact that the elites hadn't shown themselves was a huge issue.
   "Fuck them and their ambush," Evie shouted. "I'm tired of waiting for these pussies to come to us. I say we take the fight to them so I can freeze their soulless bodies and shatter every last block of ice." Ash had never heard her get so aggressive before. It was almost kind of funny.
   "Evie is right," Mal'Damba chimed in. "It would appear that they have no intentions of finding us, so we must find them." Everyone else soon came to an agreement, so they all grabbed their gear and stood to move out. It was only then that the Abyssal Lords finally stepped out from the shadows.
   "It's about time ya showed up," Barik chuckled. "You lads are late to the party." Without hesitating, Ash was the first to strike. She rushed right into the nearest one, bashing him across the forest floor and breaking several trees along the way. Grover gave her a stern look and she smiled sheepishly.
   "Sorry about that," she said. Without missing a beat, the rest of the Champions began to fight. Ash took on four of them at once, shooting and bashing into them. They were equally quick and agile, hopping from tree to tree. Every now and then, they would be ensnared by vines or branches. Ash knew it was Grover trapping them by using the trees all around. The sounds of gunfire could be heard all around the battlefield as they took on the elites. Despite being hit by storms of bullets, they seemed to be regenerating their wounds just as quickly as they were made. Ash was getting sick of it, so she grabbed her flag from her back and leapt forward.
   "Come on, let's fight!" she shouted, just as she had so many times in the past. The impact knocked back the Abyssal Lords and stunned them briefly. This gave them the advantage they needed. The PDF began pushing them back, unloading their full arsenal on the Abyssal Lords. They had finally started to push them back, hitting them with volley after volley of explosions. Unfortunately, they weren't going down so easily. The lead released an explosion of his own, sending the Paladins flying. Ash felt herself hit the ground and everything went black.