Flashf0rward

Chapter 43: Sins of the Brother

Matthias

Reports from the men had been below expectations. Most of the first wave and both of our armours had been defeated by the villagers, and the second wave had been interrupted by a swarm of those demons. As for Giles and his men, since they hadn't reported in, we had to assume they had failed as well. It was a shame. I had so much faith in that boy.

Now I realized that it was my turn to fight, knowing I could end this faster than anyone else here. He had chosen me for a reason, and I knew that this was my calling. The mission he had chosen for me was still in my mind, and I knew who had I had to capture in order to fulfill my promise. All I had to do was wait.

Mounting my horse and gathering my most trusted men, I rushed towards the top of the hill, looking over the massacre of my men. I saw many of the demons feasting on their corpses, and I cursed Wren for putting me in this position. But I also knew that all of this was predetermined, none of it was coincidence. Everything that would happen tonight would happen for a reason.

I spoke to Wren, seeing him gather the last of his dwindling forces in a desperate attempt to try and stop us. Of course, he believed that he could still win. Letting him keep his foolish optimism, I charged forwards along with my men, and I could feel their want and need that echoed mine. They wished to end this just as much as I did. But while they did it for themselves, I did it for Him.

Then, as the charge grew closer to the village, something came at us from our side. Turning our heads, I saw what appeared to be branches growing from the forest, grabbing some of my men and pulling them away, knocking them off. Charging out from the forest was a group of metas, the ones that I had sent Giles to kill. And who else was leading them but the one I was meant to capture: Ivy.

Seeing the armies coming at us from two sides left me unperturbed. I simply stopped my horse and shot a blast of pellets at one of the men that was charging at me to my side, knocking him off of his horse, killing him instantly. Focusing more of my abilities, I turned their horses against them, bucking some of them off, then trampling them under their own steed's hooves.

The branches reached out towards me, and I shot as many away as I could, but I was eventually wrapped up in their grasp. I felt myself being pulled towards the forest as I finally saw who was causing this. It was one of the metas, a girl with platinum blonde hair. Closing my eyes, I found her body with my abilities, and squeezed.

I heard a breathless scream come from her as I made her windpipe close, and she clutched at her throat with her hands as the branches dropped me. Looking down at her choking body on the ground, I did so with a heavy heart. "I am truly sorry." Then, a hail of bullets peppered my back, knocking me to the ground.

Turning, I saw that it was the young girl who Ivy and Connor had picked up from the city. She had fired a machine gun at me, hoping to kill me. My focus went away from the blonde girl, letting her breathe, but knocking her unconscious. Getting up, I groaned as I felt the bullets pop out of my body and the wounds close up. The younger girl looked at me with wide eyes. I waggled my index finger at her.

Concentrating with my powers, I made her drop the gun and freeze in place. Smiling slightly, I passed by her paralyzed body, patting her head. "You stay there until I'm finished." Her petrified eyes darted up towards me as I walked past her back onto the battlefield, picking up my shotgun along the way and racking another shell into it.

Seeing that the demons were finally up and running again, I watched as they tore into the villagers and my men alike. One of them turned towards me, and started running towards me, its screeching roar echoing through my ears. Aiming my shotgun towards it, I was about to fire when it suddenly stopped, skidding to a halt.

Standing still, I was wary of what exactly it was doing, as it didn't seem to notice me. It appeared to sniff the air in front of it, then turned back towards the fight and ran back towards it. A small smile crept over my face. He had most definitely blessed me today. Walking through the swarm of demons, not a single one of them noticed me.

Then, I heard gunfire pass by my head, and saw Ivy riding towards me on a horse, shooting her pistol. Taking the bullets, I aimed for her horse's legs, shooting them out and then watching as the steed collapsed to the ground, taking her with it. Grabbing her hair, I pulled her up and then aimed my shotgun at her head, seeing her scared eyes. "Well...nice to see you again so soon." I said with a smile.

"IVY!" I heard a familiar voice shout in fear. I turned to see Wren staring at me with wide eyes and a shocked expression. The three of us stood together in the middle of the battlefield, with Him making sure we weren't interrupted. This was part of his plan after all. "Brother and sister reunited once again. Beautiful, isn't it?" I smiled at the two of them.

Wren gripped his fists, and I could see the green energy rising around his fingers. "Let her go." I shook my head. "You know I can't do that. You see, He made it my purpose to make sure she remains alive. Because He wants to see the both of you again." Wren frowned. "What are you talking about?" I shook my head. "You'll understand soon enough."

Placing the shotgun against Ivy's chin, I watched as Wren moved his hand out. "Not a step closer. Besides, you can't hit me without hurting her." Knowing I was right, Wren stepped back with gritted teeth. Just as I was about to ask him to call his men off, something happened I didn't expect. Ivy grabbed the shotgun and pushed it against her chest, then pulled my finger that was on the trigger.

I felt the gun go off, watching as the pellets flew through her body, and my eyes widened. "NO!" Wren and I called out at the same time. Ivy's body collapsed to the ground, a large red stain on the front of her outfit. Then, as I watched her body, a peculiar thing happened. She changed, and shifted. First into the face of a celebrity, then a boy with pink dyed hair, then finally, into an older girl with braided, greying hair.

One of the metas. It had all been a trap. To further accentuate that fact, a bullet passed right through my skull, making me fall to the ground. The world became dizzy as I got back up, and I groaned as I felt my brain begin to form back, discombobulating everything. Looking ahead of me, I saw Ivy dressed in full combat gear, a smoking pistol in her hand. "That was for Max, you son of a bitch."