Episode Thirty-Three: Unmasked

The smoke clouds drift over the building sending parts of it into obscurity. The Masked Man looms in his familiar dark garments but bright rubies gleam on new gauntlets, three on each arm.  The Sorceress cackles from the void, “Kill the companions. Bring me the witch!”

Immediately, Castor uses her magical stone to restore her mana then spins around and shoots off a beam of light at the masked man. He puts a hammer up to block but he's too slow. It pushes him back, boots skidding to a halt a few feet away. She fires the light again but he’s ready this time, he blocks it even as she melts the hammer to molten metal. Yet he restores it using chunks of the metal building to revitalize the structure.

He starts them in a whirling motion by his sides. It’s subtle at first but as it spins, it tears apart the ground beneath, drawing up chunks and pelting them with shrapnel. In a flash, his other hammer whips out, flying at Tobias, wrapping around his body. The Masked Man jerks Tobias toward him before Castor grabs Tobias with magic. They tussle a moment before Castor wins the tug of war, drawing Tobias back to them and untightening the chain. The Masked Man moves into the fog, disappearing.

A whip crack snaps the air behind them. They all spin around just in time to see a blinding flash of light. Tobais and Ivetta are stunned and take damage from the massive lightning strike that touched down just in front of them. Ellen Barber and Castor absorb the strike with their hands. Her laughter echoes but it’s mistress does not appear.

Tobias rights himself and fires his cable gun toward the edge of the platform above, creating a ramp. The four of them launch themselves upward toward the higher platform. Both Tobias and Ivetta firing pot shots into the mist behind them. The Masked Man appears from the clouds, levitating and whips his hammer toward Tobias once more. Castor snatches the glimmering hammer with magic and slows it down so it only just taps him before being recalled by its master. He throws the other at Ivetta which hits its mark before arcing to hit Ellen Barber as well. Each thud met with a cry of pain.

The Sorceress appears in the hazy gray. Castor only runs up half the ramp and shoots a light beam at her. But the light passes right through her, another illusion! Castor looks around wildly for the real one. She hears her cackle, “I know what you fear most. Let me show you!” She raises her hand and closes her fist. Without light or sound but clearly magic, Castor freezes. She drops her hammer. It falls with a crash to the ground as Castor’s eyes glaze and she collapses to her knees, trapped in a prison of her mind. Ellen tries to rush back down to her, but another Sorceress appears by Castor’s side and attempts to throw Ellen. Instead, Ellen flips backward off the ramp and throws her own shove spell at the Sorceress, knocking her flying. Furious, she lets out a scream before she waves her fingers and vanishes.

Ivetta rushes up the stairs and shoots at the masked man. A tear rolls down her cheek as she prays it’s not the man she suspects it to be under that mask. He makes a chopping motion with his hammer and the bullets stop midair then fall to the ground. She throws a fireball at him, singeing his cloak as he doesn’t quite manage to move out of the way in time.

Castor breaks out of the Sorceress’ spell, gasping as she returns to reality, her eyes darting about. She shakes herself out of her fear and stands up just as Ellen Barber runs past, having grabbed up Castor’s hammer on her way and handing it to her on the way up the stairs. Spare metallic bits float around her, and she shoots them at The Masked Man but he swipes them away.

Gathering herself, Castor follows her, charging at the Masked Man. She jumps off bringing her hammer down with a fury on top of him. Ivetta empties her luger into him. He catches Castor’s hammer with a gauntlet vibrating with a magical shield. Ivetta’s bullets bounce seem to pierce him but he only grunts making no other noise of pain. He shoves Castor back, striking at her, she slows it down and away before he levitates again, away and pushes Ellen off the platform with a gust of magic followed up by a hammer whip. She falls, slamming into the ground. Tobias dodges the other hammer slung at him with ease.

Just as Ellen was regaining her breath and getting to her feet, she’s sent to her knees, face to the sky, screaming. Another powerful magical attack from the Sorceress incapacitating her.

Ivetta hears a clicking behind her. She throws a burning flame toward the noise, whirling around. The Sorceress chuckles as she walks, nonchalant, out of the cloud, the fireball sliding off her shield. Throwing another, Ivetta pushes past her shield. The Sorceress screams in rage, “you’ll pay for that, bitch!” She extends her hand as she did with Castor but Ivetta resists whatever maleficence was directed after her. Yet Ellen’s screams still permeate the air. Ivetta shoots the Sorceress damaging her shield before she turns on her heel and ducks back into the stairwell, slamming the door to reload.

Castor pours her energy into a light beam at The Masked Man it hits his shield, but it cracks under the force. Tobias shoots at The Masked Man, shattering his shield at last and knocking him flat on his back.

All the energy seems to be sucked out of the air. Castor stumbles back having a hard time catching her breath as the Masked Man rises once more to stand on his feet. Five of the six rubies on his gauntlets lose their sheen and blacken.

Tobias hears the faint sound of rats behind him. The Sorceress appears in front of him a wicked dagger gleaming in her hand. The blade disappears as she plunges it into Tobias’ stomach. Eyes wide in horror Castor screams, “Nooo!” Tobias doubles over and coughs, blood splattering on his chin. Viciously, The Sorceress shoves him away, throwing him backward, and yanking out the knife out in one motion. Then gleefully, she swipes the dagger across her mask. The rasping singing as she paints the blood coating the blade on her mask. She wiggles her fingers trying to disappear, but she remains. Tobias slams into the ground and lies eerily still.

The door behind Ivetta shatters, splinters pelting her. The Masked Man marches in and clenches Ivetta in his grasp, crushing her arm and yanking her making her drop her gun, “You’re mine now.” His grating voice, still metallic and terrifying but different. He strikes her with his hammer, her shield soaking the blow before he hefts her over his shoulder and out of the stairwell.

Meanwhile, Castor has been hurling spells at the Sorceress, terror and anguish in her face. A beam catches the intended target, and she screams before she begins muttering to herself. Castor throws another light beam and hits again before she pivots and aims to dispel the magic surrounding Ellen Mary. She’s finally released from the spell and slumps slightly, shoulders heaving.

Ivetta pulls her dagger on the Masked Man and jabs it into his torso. He coughs but doesn’t drop her, still moving toward the edge of the building. In another attempt to free herself, Ivetta casts burning flame at his mask. He grunts in pain, turns away, and at last drops her. She scrambles away and down the stairs as fast as she can but keeps her eyes locked on him. Suddenly, she’s stunned, frozen in place as the Sorceress strikes her with lightning from behind. The Masked Man closes the distance and grabs Ivetta again, this time by the scruff of her neck raising her up, her feet hanging feet above the ground. She can’t move, can’t resist. Helpless, she’s brought to the edge of the tower. The Masked Man extends his arm. Ivetta dangles above the abyss, the city and that hard concrete much too far below.

The flames still dance under his mask. He grunts and rips it off, tossing it away.

It is not their friend Marco brought back from the dead but the even more dreaded visage of another beloved, lost companion: Hollenzoller.

The Sorceress’ high-pitched laugh pierces the air, “Unless you want her to fall to her death, Castor, you’ll surrender to me!”

Desperate and fearful she tears her eyes from the dramatic scene to yell at the Sorceress, “I'm not going anywhere with you!” She grips her hammer tighter, trusting Ivetta.

Ivetta doesn’t plead for her life but instead implores her father. The wind whipping her hair and drying her tears as they fall. “I know this isn’t the real you. She…she hurt you. But…I know you. You’d never hurt us. Never hurt me.” Hollinzoller’s face, horribly scarred and wrong, remains stoic. His dark-ringed eyes averted. Ivetta keeps pressing, “dad, I know you’re in there! Please don’t do this!”

She sees him twitch, the façade falter. His grip tightens.

The Sorceress, speaking with a smile orders, “drop her.”

“Look at me, dad, *please*.” Finally, bloodshot and filled with years of pain and anguish, his eyes meet hers.

“DROP HER NOW, SLAVE!” The Sorceress screeches.

And he does.

Ivetta falls to the safety of the roof beside her father. Hollinzoller whirls and launches his hammer at the Sorceress. Castor joins the fray zapping her with lightning. She is caught off guard with the attack. The Sorceress flinches only slightly as she is wholly focused on Hollinzoller. He rushes her shouting, “I’ll *never* be your slave!” He shatters her shield bashing her with his hammers, unleashing his rage.

Her voice is low, even, and deadly, “you made the wrong choice, *slave.*” She snaps her fingers.

The last ruby on his gauntlet shatters. With a guttural scream, he crumples to the ground. And, without ceremony, she clenches her fist and throws Hollinzoller’s body off the tower.

Before she can even scream, Castor grabs him midair. Ivetta latches onto him with her magic as well. They can feel the resistance, the Sorceress’ power pushing, forcing Hollinzoller to his doom. Their grips begin to slip, their fingers losing their purchase. Until he is wrenched from their clutches, and he falls.

“NO!” Ivetta’s arm still outstretched; she screams an inarticulate cry of lament. Castor is stunned into a silent horror. The Sorceress’ cruel laughter echoes all around them, mingling with the wind. Castor clenches her hammer, her knuckles whitening, her face contorted in rage. She whirls, slamming the warhammer directly into the Sorceress’ ribs. A sickening crack echoes. Blood splatters out from under the mask.

Ivetta screams in righteous indignation, fury, and about a thousand other emotions. Tears streaming down her face, she charges the Sorceress, firing her gun and casting burning flame at the same time. Ellen Barber finally regains herself and launches her attack alongside Ivetta. Castor too unleashes another attack. Her shield deflects most of the attacks, but Ivetta’s bullets pierce her. She doubles over with a pained gasp, her mask cracking.

But just as suddenly as she folded, she rights herself expelling a manic scream and releasing a pulse, shattering everything and shoving everyone backward. The roof itself peels and chips away forced outward and at speed at them. Ivetta dives in front of Castor, protecting her from the projectiles.

The Sorceress remains kneeling, blood coats her gloves and drips from behind her mask. Her form heaves, gasping for breath she rasps, “you’ll never defeat…me.” She falls forward and lands face down. She remains there, motionless.

Shaking, Castor hesitates just a moment before she rushes over to Tobias, praying he hasn’t bled out, Ivetta hot on her heels. They imbue him with their magic, healing him as quickly as they can. Ellen stayed behind keeping her hands raised in case the Sorceress moved a muscle.

Tobias stirs, much to the delight of his companions. With their help, he sits up, instantly on guard and looks around for danger. Finding none he looks quizzically at Castor, “Where are they?” She offers him a hand to get up and simply nods her head in the direction of the fallen Sorceress. He retrieves his gun and holds it at the ready, aiming point blank at her. They move closer rejoining Ellen.

Castor rolls the fallen Sorceress over with her hammer, reluctant to touch her.

She coughs, slightly blood trailing down her neck. Her breaths are hitched, shallow, and uneven. Her head turns slightly, looking directly at Castor, her cracked voice grates, “Why Castor, why couldn’t you just… let me have you? Why couldn’t… I be whole…? Why… couldn’t I be… you…?” If she had any further words, they were drowned in a sickening gurgle of blood.

Finally, The Sorceress falls still.

Castor kneels down and reaches for the mask. Tobias stops her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Castor, before you do this, know that not all knowledge brings peace…”

She turns her gaze to his, a pained look on her face but understanding in her eyes, “You are right as always, Father, but I don’t seek peace.” She looks back to The Sorceress. “I have to know.”

Castor grasps the edges of the mask and lifts it away.

Older, emaciated, and scarred in more ways than they could possibly imagine, they find her. Castor breathes a heavy sigh, tears pricking her eyes. Another failed friend.

“Viridis.”

She’s nearly unrecognizable. Her hair is patched and streaked with grey. Her skin is sallow and pitted, covered in carved runes, scars, and blackened purple veins. An eyepatch covers one eye, the other, still open and staring in death, is poisoned a venomous purple. Her snake-like pupil is ringed with purple and both surrounded by a pitch-black sclera. Her mouth, although overflowing with blood, is permanently cocked in a smirk.

Ivetta unclenches her fist and weakly asks, “why… why did you do this?” Gleaning no answers from the stilled woman they once called companion, she shakes her head and walks away toward the balustrade. The wind whips her hair and billows her dress as she stares out. Her hands grip the edge as tears track down her face.

Castor remains unmoving, staring at Viridis’ face and holding the mask in both hands. Silent tears track down her face. How could she have let this happen? Thoughts and regrets buzzed in her mind. She couldn’t look anymore. She stared instead at the mask gripped in her hands. It was old. Rusted and worn in places. Cracked, broken. Her tears dripped onto it mingling with the still wet blood from Tobias, washing it away in watery streaks. She had thought Viridis would be safe. That she would have lived in peace after they had parted ways, but it seemed her hopes were dashed. She had suffered so much. Maybe she would finally find peace now. She puts the mask down beside her, then, speaking in a whisper only she might hear Castor says, “I’m sorry, Viridis.” She stands, keeping her gaze away from her, and turning toward her friends.

She spots Ivetta and starts to move to her. Ellen stops her, “we need to make sure…” Tobais unloads a pair of bullets into the body. Ellen simply looks at Castor’s hammer then back to her.

“…oh, right. I— I— don’t think I…” she trails off, a fresh wave of tears threatening.

“May I?” Ellen asks. Castor only nods, tilting the hammer toward Ellen. She has some difficulty hefting the thing but at last manages it and brings it down with a finality onto The Sorceress’ head.

Castor had difficulty blocking out the sound, sure it would never leave her memory as she moved to Ivetta’s side. Tentatively, gently, she puts a hand on her back as if fearful. Immediately, Ivetta pulls Castor into a hug, holding her tightly.

“I’m so glad you’re still here.” The tears Castor had been trying to hold back cascade out as she falls into the hug and squeezes, clasping her best friend with desperation.

After a few moments, Tobias comes over and asks, “What happened to the Masked Man? Did you kill him as well?”

Ivetta’s tears turn to sobs as she explains. “It…it was Hollinzoller. He was going to drop me but he was still in there. I…He turned on her and fought her to the very end…Before she—”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t— couldn't hold him- couldn’t save him, again!” Castor sobs.

Still in their embrace, Ivetta holds tighter, “You— *we* did the best we could. We did enough.”

"Its never enough! You two almost died! Holizoller did die! It's not- not fair." Castor continues to cry, clinging to Ivetta who clings just as hard in return.

Another hand picks up the mask. A palpable power emanating from it. A burning, blazing desire and *need* to release its energy. Ms. Barber approaches the other three, "this mask...there's so much power..." She stares fixated on it until suddenly, without ceremony or pomp, Ellen chucks the mask off the side of the building. She comes up to them, "I found the waypoint," holding the black rectangle in her palm, “this is it right?”

Castor takes the small, rectangular, black box this time able to touch it. "Thank you, Ms. Barber."

Ellen smiles, "Just, please call me Mary." Castor takes the waypoint.

Ivetta turns to her, her eyes pleading. Castor nods to her and pockets the waypoint, we have someone else to see."

They gather themselves as much as they can and begin the long trek down the stairs.

As they were reaching the bottom, Ivetta pleaded that they at least bury Hollinzoller. Castor agrees. Ellen tries to suggest there might not be a lot left to bury but Ivetta is insistent. Once they find themselves on ground level, they see police lines and triage units everywhere, not to mention, the devastation. Not only that which Castor wrought taking the energy and materials from the surroundings but the casualties. Those who could not escape, had jumped. Crowds are amassed around the buildings, police lines in place and paramedics rushing around. The streets, buildings, metal boxes, and people were covered in ash and paper. They could only imagine how they appeared.

Painstaking and heart wrenching, they look through the bodies that litter the ground. They search as long as they can. Until a constable yells at them to get behind the police line. Ivetta is hard-pressed to stop looking, trying to pull away when Castor put her hand on her arm. “He *has* to be here. Somewhere, please. We have to keep looking.”

“Ivetta. He…”

“He’s here. I know it. Somewhere.” She tries to continue searching desperately, but Castor stops her. She holds her hand. Ivetta stares at the ground. She calls to her until finally their eyes meet.

“Ivetta. He’s gone.” Castor says gently.

She stares blank and wrung dry, “you’re right.” She says softly.

Tobias puts his hand on her shoulder, “you can keep his legacy alive. You are the good he left behind.” Ivetta hugs Tobias. a man yells at them saying its dangerous there. in a thick New York accent says more stuff could fall. They move away from the scene back to where Ivetta had told her mother to stay. But she too is gone.

“Did I dream her?”

“No, I saw her, however briefly, she was real.” Castor assures. “She didn't go in that building, she's fine." The reunite with their horses and the waypoint tingles. But Castor hesitates, "Why don’t we find a place to rest before we leave. Maybe we can find a way to find her again.”

“Shouldn’t we be getting home? Or at least to the next realm?” Tobias questions her.

“yes, we can leave but we’re absolutely exhausted. We don’t know what will be in the next realm. Its better we take a little time here, rest, look for some answers, before we go diving in to another place that we don't know anything about.” Castor responds with uncharacteristic wisdom.

"We've never known where we were going." Tobias interjects.

"Isn't it better to be prepared? Rest? Get supplies?" Ellen agrees heartily.

They wander about a bit before they find a glowing sign that reads “Inn.” They enter and give the desk clerk a gold coin. He happily gives them a room even showing them up to it. (Yay more stairs. No way are they getting on a lift ever again). The room is luxurious by their standards and recent lodgings. There is running water, soft beds, electricity, and a strange radio with a screen. The colored radio box piques the most interest.

They stay and rest for a week, gathering supplies, and processing new and old wounds. Ivetta fashions a cloak like Hollizoller’s and wears it constantly, mostly sitting on the bed wrapped in it in a sort of detached stupor. Tobias buys, cleans, and readies his firearms as well as going out to purchase items. Castor purchases rare and interesting weapon (its a flashlight. she picked it up and blinded herself, thought it was the most powerful thing in the world and bought one for everyone) and returns to the spot they met Ivetta's mother, she's never there but she tries anyway. For the rest of the time she fidgets and tries to rest as much as she can. Ellen finds a familiar sight on the glowing radio box: *Titanic*. She watches it with mild fascination and horror.

Ivetta snaps to herself slightly when she sees it, “that's...isn’t that your ship?”

“It looks beautiful. This is what it looked like before you arrived. Is this what happened to the Titanic in this realm?”

Castor assures, “Well, it’s certainly not what happened to yours. I’m sure everyone is safe in your realm.”

On the radio screen they see many more things. A well-dressed man talking about the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. As well as footage on a very shaky camera of the towers from the ground. They see a tiny Castor fly out of the shattered windows and hover midair, drawing up the river to dash on the flames before the camera explodes. The news goes on to ask viewers if they have any information on the whereabouts of the mystery woman to call the number on screen. Castor is still unsure why or how anyone would hear them calling out a random string of numbers.

They relax as well as they can. One evening just as they were discussing future plans, a knock came at their door. Castor, being the closest opens the door with the top lock locked so the door only opens a few inches and asks, “who is it?”

Men in hats and wearing jackets with big letters on them say, “FBI, open up.”

“Can I help you? What does that mean?” She asks genuinely curious and innocent.

“Federal Bureau of Investigation. Open the door ma’am.” Not entirely sure what the harm would be, Castor unbolts the door and opens it.

“Its her!” one of several heavily armored individuals yells before he tackles her. Caught by surprise but thinking quick, Castor touches the waypoint in her pocket. Thinking of Tobias, Ivetta, Ellen, and their horses and packs, they vanish without a trace, leaving the agents scrambling.

They land with a clatter in another alley. A very familiar alley in fact. The sounds and smells that greet them are cozy. Castor peers out, looking across a boulevard. People traverse with horses and carts. The people crossing it…she knows them! This is Florence! They’ve made it!

“We’re home,” a small smile graces Castor’s face before, a split second later, she doubles over in pain. She cries out, “gahh!” The hand that flew to her chest comes away bloody, from some unseen wound beneath her armor. She begins to cough, flecks of blood stains her lips as she does so. She collapses to her knees, breathless and grimacing, her eyes fluttering.

TBC

Episode Thirty-Four: There and Back Again