Parallels- an MCSM AU [COMPLETED]

FORTY-THREE - Zenith

hahaa okay i swear this one sucks a little less

but. not that much less cause i'm still miserable at writing action lol oof

enjoy?

---------

Essa's diamond sword crashed against mine, sending me tripping back as she turned to strike at Julia. She was still hovering slightly above the shattered ground, and moving faster than I'd ever seen. In normal circumstances, we would've had the upper hand, but trying to fight her with the new addition of the strength of the In-Between was like trying to battle a tornado.

Jacek leaped up, swinging his sword in an arc. Essa whirled around to meet him, dodging his blade and landing a swift kick to his side that sent him crashing back to the ground. He was back up on his feet in seconds, wincing and clutching at his side.

I didn't know what was going on with Aiden and Lukas versus Giselle, and I wasn't willing to risk looking. She was outnumbered, and assumedly injured after Essa had tossed her, but that wasn't enough to count on.

The fight had already been going on a few minutes, and I didn't know how it would end. We needed an advantage over Essa, but there wasn't one anywhere in sight. Without Julia's Admin powers, and with the addition of Essa's new In-Between-granted abilities, we were stuck.

Essa lunged for me again, and I barely parried her blow in time. Julia darted over to attack from the side, but Essa managed to block her. She only had one sword, but the In-Between was lending her more strength and speed than the rest of us combined. Our blades crashed over and over, the score staying even.

Sweeping one leg low, Essa tried to knock Julia's feet out from under her, but Julia dodged neatly and rammed the hilt of her sword into Essa's side. The taller woman yelped, though more in surprise than pain.

I tried to strike her again, but Essa's guard was far from down. She suddenly leaped upwards, pushing herself higher into the air. "You can't get me that easily. We're just getting started here."

Whatever she'd planned to do was stopped before it even began, by a massive wave of energy that swept across the In-Between, shaking the ground. I gasped, and Essa dropped suddenly to the ground, looking around wildly. Her eyes focused intently on the gate to Jasper's timeline, and she let out a low hiss of anger. "No! What- how did...?"

Julia inhaled a deep breath, and I suddenly realized that the In-Between had changed. The sky had lightened significantly, and the cracks in the ground had shrunk.

"Wh-what just happened?" Jacek called.

"Jasper! He must've killed the Reuben of his timeline!" Julia exclaimed. She adjusted her grip on her sword, looking suddenly energized.

There was a crack like a thunderclap, and a flash of light lit up the whole place. I reached up to shield my eyes, but it was already fading. With the going of the sudden brightness, two people had suddenly appeared; one standing stiffly and looking anxiously around, and the other crumpled worryingly on the ground.

I bit back a scream and bolted towards the second figure. "RADAR! Radar can you hear me?!"

He was still unconscious, but he wasn't dead. Horrible burn-like bruises encircled his throat from the black tendrils Essa had attacked him with, and he didn't respond as I gently shook his shoulder and lifted his head.

Lukas kneeled beside me. "What should we do?! We need to get him out of here, but we can't just leave!"

I didn't answer, distracted by the other new arrival. It was none other than the Aiden of Essa's timeline, looking no worse for wear than he'd been the last time I'd seen him. I didn't know where Giselle had sent him, but it apparently hadn't caused him much damage.