Souls of the Fallen

Cold Blooded

I guess I should explain what just happened... It's kinda hard actually. What you just witnessed is something that is not common when dealing with the growth of an Eon. Reno's shard is now one of few that reach even deeper than the powers available here in The Flow. While it is possible for us to send our energy to an Eon, there's a more powerful source that exists. Have you ever considered that this world needs higher powers to ensure things are running smoothly?

There are celestial beings that overlook the processes of our world. Processes like: birth, death, restoration, destruction, weather, formations, and balance just to name a few. We had been behaving properly under the rule of Goodwind and Caius. The Celestials felt they could rest while the times were calm. Most of them have been dormant for some time now but Damien's actions have caused them to wake. I could go into detail about each of the Celestials but that'd be a bore. No one likes hearing history lessons, especially when there's a fight happening. Before getting back to it, I'll just say... Neve was no ordinary child.

Now, where were we? Oh yeah! Reno at gunpoint! He stares into the barrel of the gun without a lick of fear. Riku watches his brother's opponent with care. He was slow on the draw a second ago but is ready to interfere he needs to. Akira has stabilized herself on the booth and watches the altercation with worry in her eye. Her hair has slipped past her face. The blue crystal that has formed on her right eye is fully visible. Unlike many Eon shards, her's is round and smooth. Lucas lays across the table, in a heap of scraps and knocked over glasses. He is still dazed from Pontus' sucker punch.

"What was that?" Pontus screams with a scowl. You're not the only one not that isn't aware of the Celestials that have planted themselves into the world again. "You've been saved so many times by sheer luck and interference from your friends. Fight me fairly!"

"That was my initial intention. Remember you throw ice shards at my back, pushed a table at me, and pulled a gun on me," Reno says. "Not what I would call fair."

Pontus stows his gun. "Ok... Catch me outside then. I'll show you who's the stronger ice user then take my prize." He points back at Akira. The gang leader exits the building first. Glass cracks into smaller pieces as Reno steps on it to follow Pontus.

"No interfering, guys. I want to handle this fight alone." Reno doesn't make eye contact as he passes the table where his brother is.

"Wait up!" Riku steps across the table and lands in the walkway. He pauses in front of the pastry container and stares inside. His eyes roll towards Hendrix who is already shaking his head in disapproval. Riku frowns, kicks the air, and stomps out of the diner.

The open area before the trailer is going to be their battleground. Pontus tosses his gun to the side. Reno steps up and adjusts his glasses. The two are a fair distance from each other. Reno returns to his fighting stance while Pontus stretches and paces. "Ain't no time for fist fighting!" He thrusts his hand forward. The air before his hand forms a mist then solidifies into a sickle of ice. It propels at Reno at a high speed but he is able to dodge it with a sidestep to the right.

Reno spins and goes low to the ground. He empowers his right fist with energy as he does a rising punch. Sharp blades of ice grow from the ground and splinter from each other as the attack approaches Pontus. The gangster dives out of the way of the attack, but only barely. Both attacks hit the brick walls behind their targets. Each embeds itself in the walls and leaves an impact zone of ice.

The crowd walking the streets nearby once again scatters from the dangerous Eons. Pontus rolls and runs in Reno's direction. He extends his fingers and encases them in an icy blade. Reno matches his opponent's technique and they clash. "Can't think of your own shit?"

Reno pushes him back, unmoved by his taunt. "I've got ideas but your not worth the extra effort." He dismisses the ice on his fingertips to gesture Pontus to approach him again. Reno's arrogant words anger Pontus. It shows all over his face as he charges. Reno swipes his hand at the ground and it freezes. Pontus fails to respond in time and steps on the slick ground. He stumbles as his feet reach the end of the slick ground and meets the gravel below. He struggles to regain his footing as he gets closer to Reno.

Reno stomps on the ground. This causes ice to spike up to form a short wall of pointy sickles. Pontus tries to drain Reno's growth of ice but can't alter it. He extends his hands to prevent going into the bush of ice daggers. Each hand is impaled by the javelin sized stalagmites of ice. He screams in agony while trying to pull his hands free.

"Surrender," Reno says. He stands behind his spikey wall of ice and folds his arms. "You've lost this battle."

Pontus' rage builds. He rips his hands free by kicking the shards that are embedded in them. Once they are separated from the wall, he is able to dismiss the ice. His hands leak heavily. The anger in his eyes intensifies as they flare with the same blue as Reno's eyes while they're active. Pontus roars and flexes. The right shoulder of his black tee rips as the energy from his Eon shard explodes from it. The flow of energy swirls around him. It encases his hands in ice as he opens them as if he were getting ready to claw something. It continues building ice formations on his arms until it reaches his shoulders. The gangster slouches forward from the weight of the growths on his arms. His hands clutch the ground and he leans forward.

His hat falls off as a formation builds on the right side of his face. The eyes of the bald man are now black with icy blue irises. "I don't lose!" he says in a deep growl. His arms fold for a moment before he vaults in Reno's direction. He clasps his hands together and slams the ground as Reno tumbles out of the way. Ice erupts from the impact of Pontus' attack. He wastes no time and swiftly grips Reno's leg. The enraged Eon flings Reno into the brick wall.

Reno slams into the wall back first. He bounces to the ground before it. He struggles to stand as he hears Pontus galloping towards him in his new form. Pontus reaches him as he is on his hands and knees. A powerful kick to the gut lifts Reno from the ground. Pontus catches his opponent in his left claw and holds him against the wall by the neck.

Riku looks on in fear. He's torn between listening to what his brother told him and potentially saving his bold sibling's life. "C'mon, bro... Don't make me choose like this..."

Reno weakly grabs the wrist of the angry Eon with his right hand to help support his weight. Pontus pulls his right hand back and reforms it into a blade. Reno has his eyes barely open enough to see the incoming attack. "I won't give you the pleasure of surrendering! Die!"

Pontus thrusts his blade forward. Reno uses the leverage he has on the other arm to lift and twist his core from getting impaled directly. The attack pierces his right waist and wedges itself into the wall behind him. Reno winces from the pain. He's unable to cry out due to the chokehold he's in.

The younger Eon regains enough composure and strength to break the blade of ice attached to Pontus. The gang leader drops Reno as his hand becomes exposed again. Reno kicks him away using the wall as support. Pontus tumbles back but rolls back into his poor posture due to his large arms. The ice reforms around his hand as he glares at Reno. He smiles at his advantage. "What's wrong, kid? Feeling weak?"

Reno snaps the other end of the blade that had him stuck to the wall. He buckles slightly while holding the injury. Reno holds himself upright but his breathing seems labored.

"If you haven't noticed... we've used up all of the humidity here. Not much left to build from..." Pontus laughs. "What's left to do but die..."

Reno takes a deep breath and slams his back against the wall. The broken ice blade juts out a little more. allowing  Reno to completely remove it. Blood pours from the wound as Reno holds the hole it made. It covers his left hand as he leans against the wall.

"You idiot! You were better off leaving that in to stop the blood flow... Not that it matters though. You'll be dead soon." Pontus ends his comment with another prideful grin. Reno uses his right hand to gesture at him again to approach. Three flicks of his fingers are enough to aggravate Pontus into leaping in his direction.

Reno watches as the morphed gangster descends upon him. He waits until Pontus is fully committed to the attack. Both of Pontus' arms are over his head, ready to slam down on Reno. A smirk grows on Reno's face. He swings his left hand from his wound in a large arc. Blood forms into a crescent blade and solidifies from Reno's control. It spins rapidly and flies through Pontus' arms. They both separate from his body and land beside Reno. Their own crashes into the wall as Reno redirects his descent with his other hand.

The ice on Pontus' arms melts. Reno holds him against the wall as both of their energy levels drop. "You may live this altercation... but your life is forever changed." He releases the armless man and steps back slowly.

Pontus doesn't move. His eyes are open wide as he lays against the brick wall. Riku and Akira run to Reno's aid. They assist him in standing just before he loses the strength to do so on his own. "I'm not letting you do shit else alone! That was too close!" Riku says.

Reno weakly smiles at him. "I had that under control the entire time." He turns to Akira. "He shouldn't be bothering you any longer."

She nods with a worried expression. "Let's get you some help," she says as she tosses his arm over her shoulder. Riku does the same on the other side and they escort him into the diner. Hendrix meets them at the door as a few patrons leave the trailer. "Can you take him while I get the medkit?"

Hendrix nods and dismisses Riku as well. The large man is enough to keep Reno on his feet. "Your parents would be proud, boy." He escorts Reno to the kitchen area of the restaurant. They meet up with Akira and Riku joins shortly afterward. Hendrix leaves them to tend to Reno's injury while he closes the place down for the rest of the day. He gets Lucas back up and running as well once he's done with his customers. Then they join the others together.

"Whoa... You look like shit, dude!" Lucas says upon seeing Reno. The elder brother weakly lifts a middle finger to his friend. "I guess I missed a lot."

"You missed a good lesson on how to be a man!" Hendrix says as he rests his hand on his belly. He rubs it slowly.

"Hey! That's sexist!" Lucas says with a frown.

Hendrix slaps him on the back of his head. "You molested my daughter!" he screams. "You're worried about being called less of a man? I should grab your ass so you can see how it feels to be abused!" He stands over the smaller man.

Feeling vulnerable and cornered, Lucas brings his hands to his chest and closes his eyes. "No, sir! I don't need you to do that. I understand completely and won't do it again."

"That should hold you for a while as long as you don't overwork yourself." Akira stands up from the floor where she tended to Reno's injury. She bends a bit to help him up and Lucas stares at her butt. Hendrix leans into his point of view with a glare that could scare a demon.

The large chef mushes Lucas and approaches Reno and Akira. "Good to go?" he asks.

"Yeah. He'll be fine as long as he's careful," she answers. The waitress gently gives her bandages on last look over.

"Nah..." Hendrix says putting his hands on his hips. "He's the reckless type. May need some monitoring." Akira laughs. She makes eye contact with her father figure. He's awkwardly smiling at her.

"Are you hinting at something?" she asks.

"Mhmmm..."

Reno looks at her and she looks at him confused. "You think he'd purposely injure himself?"

"I'm just saying there's only one way to make sure he doesn't," Hendrix continues to hint.

"I'm not following..." she says.

"Yes, you are!"

She shakes her head. "You know I can be slow at times. What are you talking about?"

"Going with these numbnuts. Helping them find their parents, seeing the world," he turns to Lucas and says between his teeth, "and making sure this one stays in line."

"Wait, what?" she asks. "Seriously? What about you? What about the diner?"

He ignores her worries and approaches Reno. He flops his large hand on his shoulder with a smile. "You don't mind having her along for the ride, right?"

"With skills like hers, I would love to have her with us," Reno says looking in her direction.

Akira blushes and turns away from him. "I would be a burden. I'm not a fighter like you guys."

"LIES!" Lucas screams. "You fucking suplexed me about an hour ago!"

"The more the merrier," Riku says with a smile. "You're probably better at being social than either of us. We tend to let our mouths get us in trouble."

"And, think about it..." Hendrix says. "You might get the chance to see Regina and Kendrick after so long." Akira looks at him with wonder filling her face. A smile slowly replaces her frown but tears run down her cheeks. She hugs Hendrix tightly. He wraps her in his large arms as she sobs.


"It's been a long while since I've seen a set of Eons fight on that level. Color me impressed."