What Memory Remains
Chapter 40: All Good Things…

The Seraphim’s blood pounded in his ears, his hands shaking as he brought Alice closer to the horrible woman that would end her life. He wasn’t sure what she had in mind, but he knew none of it was good.

“She’ll want to torture her first, right in front of me,” he thought. “Just to delight in me being unable to do anything. If only there was a way around these armored guards…”

The Rune-Tech Army had him flanked at every position. The worst part of it all was seeing Alice’s eyes. He had no idea what she was hit with, but from her tremors he could tell it hurt. Hurt enough to keep her from using her telepathy. It seemed that Vera did her homework on all of Krane’s patients.

“Alice, I’m so….”

“Don’t be. I’ve f-faced death b-before.”

The half-elf’s stomach churned at the notion of the word.

“I couldn’t protect you…again.”

“But you did, Zen. You loved m-me when I felt no one else did. Thank you.”

“I won’t let her hurt you, I’m gonna figure something out.”

A tear rolled down his cheek, landing on Alice’s shirt and leaving a slightly darker patch. As he continued making his way to Vera, another drop landed on her shirt. Then, he suddenly felt a small drop of water hit the top of his head, and he glanced up.

“Leaky pipes?” He mumbled to himself.

Another drop of water landed and hit him in the eye. As he blinked hard to get the water from his eye, his gaze fell back to Alice and she was…..smiling….

“Why are you smiling?”

“What are you doing?! “ Vera scolded. “Quit dawdling and bring her to—”

The witch never finished, as she looked up and saw a huge swirl of water suspended near the ceiling. Drops of water separated from the mass, dripping and spraying those underneath. The swirling mass soon grew to almost half the size of the room. With the mass so big, it almost seemed to be raining completely inside the room.

“What are you doing! Stop this!” She shouted at Zenapharr.

“It’s not me…it’s….” He looked down at the weary but smiling girl, who nodded in response.

Soon, the mass of water stopped accumulating and began to plummet. As it did, they could make out the faint silhouette of someone completely encompassed in it. On impact with the ground, the swirling waters moved of their own accord, slamming into the armored guards. It continued on a very deliberate path, carefully maneuvering around Zenapharr, Sade, and Alice. Soon, it had washed away every Rune-Tech suit in the room in a manner that they were rendered useless.

The room had become a graveyard of metal, some with sparks emitting from the wiring. Those operating them were either unconscious or dead.

The swirling mass then slowed down while simultaneously becoming smaller until it dissipated in front of Vera, revealing the Rainmaker. He stood tall and menacing, focused intently on Vera who seemed to still be in shock at his grand entrance.

“You…..what are you doing? Krane will have you killed for such…what are you playing at? Have you suddenly gained a conscience? Thinking you can be one of the good ones now?”

“Better late than never.”

“So sure of yourself. Better than the poor pitiful man you were when you first went through the experiment. So whiny and pathetic…I was relieved when you got over it. But you never got over your wife, did you? Or that your daughter couldn’t stand the sight of you. What kind of man--”

The Rainmaker motioned with his hand , and Vera’s words were quickly choked off as a surge of water rushed into her mouth, and she sputtered in attempts to breathe. He approached her as she coughed up water, and he grabbed her by the side of the face.

“We’ll see whose face is prettier after this.”

Luke cocked his arm back, and propelled his arm forward, his fist smashing beautifully with her cheek. The hook spun the woman like a top , and she landed face first into the ground. She tried to sit up while cradling her face, but a jet stream of water knocked her clean into a steel pillar nearby. The thud resounded through the open room, and her body went completely limp. For a moment, all but Luke thought she had died or was well on her way.

“Just end it, Luke. She’s had enough” Zenapharr stated, but the Rainmaker shook his head.

“You don’t understand. She cannot be killed in a conventional manner. We can only injure her, or else she’ll just heal back.”

“Let’s see her come back from this.”

Zenapharr stepped forward and slashed his sword perfectly to sever her neck. He was astonished to replace it only left a deep gash, but the blade would not go far enough to decapitate her.

“That’s not possible.”

“I told you.”

“So how do we….”

“It seems she has some kind of magical force protecting her. If we could perhaps break it?” Alice chimed in

“I don’t think that would be so easy. Even my strongest magic could not penetrate her shield,” Zenapharr noted.

“Wait, I’m sensing something.” She struggled, and shook her head. “I can’t get through. She has a strong barrier around her mind. Can you get me closer, Zenapharr?”

The half elf gave her a disapproving look.

“I don’t like it either, but if we don’t figure out what’s keeping her alive we won’t know how to kill her.”

“Fine.” He hoisted her up and took her over to Vera, who was breathing shallow and not moving otherwise. The young girl reached out with her hand open, moving it over her body as she sensed the energy.

“There, “ she stated. Her gesture indicated a dark metal tiara that Vera wore. When the others got close to it, they could feel a palpable energy.

“Is it safe to remove, do you think?” Zenapharr wondered aloud, leaning in closer.

“Most likely not brother. But we don’t have much time before she recovers again.” Sade interjected.

Without thinking, Zenapharr reached out and grabbed onto the tiara. A dark light began to engulf Zenapharr, racing through his body haphazardly. He tremored in horrible pain but he pushed through. Eventually, he managed to pull it off of the sorceress’ head and threw the smoking tiara away, clutching his hand which felt like a throbbing nerve ending.

“Zenapharr?” Alice rushed over to him.

“It must have been cursed…ughh! I can’t finish her off, I’m too hurt,” Zenapharr fell back in pain. “Luke…will you?”

“It wil be my pleasure.” The hulking mass of a man stepped forward.

As he did, there was a sudden crackle of light and there was a high-pitched scream. The next thing Zenapharr saw was the unconscious Rainmaker on his back with smoke rising from his chest. Vera was standing over him with lightning racing between her fingers, and she turned to Alice.

“Finally, the moment I’ve been waiting for.”

Sade fired off a shot from his revolver that glanced Vera’s shoulder , and she struck him with a lightning bolt that sent him sprawling. Alice backed away, looking for anything around her that might help. Then, she got a remarkable idea. A toppled suit of Rune-Tech Army had launched its previous operator out, and she dove for it just as Vera launched another lightning bolt her way.

Unfortunately for Alice, she was a half-second too late. The bolt surged through her, making her entire nervous system a livewire. She was still alive, but barely. Expecting the killing blow, she closed her eyes and waited. Yet, the only sound Alice heard next was another crackle of lightning, but never took a second hit.

When she opened her eyes, she saw to her astonishment that Vera was dancing erratically, a flow of blue lightning flowing all about her. She didn’t understand what was happening until she looked down at the woman’s feet and saw that she was standing in a large puddle of water. Her own spell had betrayed her.

Not long after Vera finally fell in a splash did Zenapharr make his way over.

“Alice?!”

“Zen….” She mumbled, her eyes barely keeping focus.

“Youuuu fooools,” a sluggish voice resounded. Zenapharr looked to see the stubborn witch was still alive. “Zenapharr…you could have ruled by my side. I would be your Queen, and I would see fit that you would receive all the pleasure you desired.”

The Seraphim knelt down and looked the woman squarely in the face, and grabbed her by the back of her hair.

“This is the most pleasure I’ll ever get from you.”

In a movement so quick it was only a blur, he cleaved the woman’s head from her shoulders. His victory was short lived, as he looked over to see Alice’s eyes were closed.

Scooping up Alice, he checked on Sade to replace his brother was merely stunned. He held Sade up with one arm as he lifted Alice with the other.

“Is she….?”

“No, but she’s going in that direction. We’ve got to get you all out of here,” he stated.

“What about the Rune-Tech Armor? We can’t even take a small chance with that.”

“Alice is on the verge of dying here, Sade! We’ll have to think about—“

“I’ve got this.” The voice of the Rainmaker sounded, and they turned to his attention. “I’ve been thinking how to dispose of them already. The best thing is to flood the facility completely. We’re in the middle of a desert, so enough water will create a giant sinkhole. No way for NOSRAD to come in and recover anything from here.”

“But what about the evidence?”

“Sade, we can’t have the best of everything right now. You’ve got some files in your bag. That’ll have to suffice. You’ll meet us outside, then?”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m going to die anway. The reason I showed up when I did was because I was looking through files about myself. It seems the procedure they gave me only delayed my demise…not curing it. The bastards never told me. Anyway, I can make sure nothing gets out. It’s the only way.”

“You saved us, Luke. Surely you can—“

“This is not a debate, Sade. It’s better this way. I need to pay for my sins, so don’t argue this with me. That little girl’s life depends on it. You have five minutes. Now, go!”

The two brothers made their way out, hoping and praying they could get Alice help in time. When they made it out of the cave, they galloped away on horseback. Just as they began fleeing back to the city, they saw a large sinkhole begin forming near the cave. Sade saw that Zenapharr was desperately trying to heal Alice’s wounds, but they all seemed internal.

For now, they had won….