Beyond the Gods II

The Cavalry

"Uh, so... er... Bryce... how've you been?" I laughed nervously.

Bryce ignored me, putting Tatsu on his back, and sat down in my room at Trion.

Ever since we had won our battle for Diacus, we were able to route the power to increase Trion's defenses. By driving Aran's forces off, Aran's cultists were now hesitant to invade Trion. Especially with the fact that John's Outer Shadows had decided to take up lodgings in the city.

But the battle wasn't without major casualties.

It didn't take a genius to know that the people of Millennium City and the Champions Universe were split on their opinion of me. While I did semi-free everybody from the fear of going out there, and the impending doom of Aran and Vala's forces...

I also was the one who made the call to send them all in a front-line battle.

Despite this... a few weeks had passed since the battle had wrapped up, and I had spent those weeks in recovery.

Now that I had woken up, I was greeted with massive festivities and celebrations, celebrating Trion's victory.

And that day would be the day Bryce had appeared from that reality anomaly.

But there was something he had said that left me incredibly concerned.

It's been twenty years.

Bryce...

What happened to you?

Why was Yeling's weapon on your back?

And as I watched the former loose cannon of my squad walk past me, it was clear as day that those twenty years had not been a good experience.

Because the thirty-seven-year-old Bryce that was before me seemed to have lost that same energy he once had.

"Sarina... I clashed with Sarina."

"You did? What happened?" I asked.

Bryce eyed me grimly.

"I lost both fights. And I know what happened to Sarah. I can never forgive Sarina for what she did."

My gaze dropped.

"Bryce... what happened to you? Can you at least answer that? I'm... really concerned for you man."

Bryce propped Tatsu against the wall, lighting a cigarette.

"Is it not already obvious by the fact that Tatsu and the Hinokami are with me? We've lost Yeling, Aaron."

My heart dropped to the ground.

"Yeling... there's no way... what's going to happen with our operation? Does Hakah know?"

Auxiliary Shadow Hellsing shook his head.

"I've been avoiding contact with anyone in the Black Legion for that reason. For twenty years, I've been searching for a way out of the past, after Shiki's technique had sent us hurtling out of the timeline."

I slowly reached out but hesitated.

Bryce wasn't the type of person to appreciate these types of gestures...

And seeing him like this, despite how hardened he seemed to have become, I knew that under all that toughness, was someone in deep pain.

"Bryce, let's just take it easy for a bit. We've just recovered from a battle. I think you should take advantage of that too."

My Auxiliary gazed out the window of our room. I fidgeted nervously.

"Hey man, listen-"

"Aaron... I'm now older than you. I've walked with these two feet for longer than you have. And I've seen... far too much tragedy. Just... too much. I understand that to you, only a few months have passed, but for me, twenty years have gone by. And it has not gotten any better. I cannot continue on my own, I realize that now. But I also need to know. Just how big the gap between me and The Black Legion's greatest Outer Shadow still is. Because judging from what I will see, it will indicate whether or not this crusade should continue."

I heard the sounds of footsteps at my door.

"Aaron? Are you speaking to someone? Who-"

Sigurd froze, her eyes wide, as she stared at Bryce, who turned to her with a deadpan expression.

"Annie..." Bryce muttered.

"Br- Bryce...? Is that really you?"

Bryce got to his feet and approached Sigurd, towering over her.

Annie was pretty tall for a woman's standards, especially for an Asian woman's standards from where she was initially modeled after.

But Bryce had grown so tall that he literally towered over his fellow Auxiliary Shadow, and even me.

If I had to guess... he was almost six foot-five.

"How much of the Omega Upgrade have you installed on your body?"

Sigurd blinked, her uneasiness leaking through. I could tell she was disturbed by the sudden change in Bryce's character.

After all, Bryce was always infatuated with her.

The Bryce in the past would have approached Annie and immediately started flirting with her, only to be shot down in a humiliating way.

But the Bryce now...

The Bryce now merely gazed down at his colleague from the past with cold apathy.

"I... I installed 85% of the upgrade. The remaining 15% is with Aaron. I plan on installing the rest soo-"

"Hmm, no. You cannot handle the upgrade. Your scent and your blood tell me that you don't have the resilience to counteract the Omega Upgrade's cyberpsychosis yet."

Annie stepped back, her face full of discouragement.

"Now Bryce. I don't know what you went through during those twenty years, but that's no way to speak to your colleague," I said.

Bryce glared at me with cruel eyes.

"2300 hours. See me forty klicks Southwest from Trion's central building."

"Huh? What for?"

A wave of realization washed over me, piecing together everything he had said.

Then my mind flashed back to four years ago, in the street of Philadelphia.

Only this time...

This time the roles were reversed.

Bryce made a fist and pointed it at me.

"We're gonna fight. At 2300 hours, you will come at me with everything you got. Or you will die."

I stood before my Auxiliary Shadow, speechless.

"B- Bryce... I..."

Bryce turned around, his cloak fluttering with his movements. The red scarf that used to be around his neck was no longer present.

And I found myself unable to say anything else as I watched Tyrell Jackson Jones disappear in a swarm of Shadows, dissipating into the wind.

"Aaron, Sigurd," A voice said. I glanced behind me to see James Harmon, standing near the entrance of my room. His helmet was off.

"Defender..."

"Can I have a word with you two?"

Sigurd and I walked down the hallway of Trion's Central Building.

"Annie, you alright?" I asked.

"Bryce... my sensors didn't pick up anything."

"What do you mean?"

Sigurd's hand clenched into a fist.

"Whether it was feelings of attraction. Or joy. Or energy. Whenever Bryce would greet us, he always showed that level of enthusiasm, spikes of happiness his body would either directly or indirectly emit. Yet... I couldn't pick up a single thing. I couldn't pick up anything, Aaron."

I looked forward, grimly.

"We'll find out what happened to Bryce tonight."

"Aaron, am I really not equipped to take on the Omega Upgrade?"

I glanced at my Auxiliary Shadow, the sounds of our footsteps echoing in the halls.

"It's better to go into the upgrade prepared but late, than early and have it blow up in our faces catastrophically."

Sigurd gritted her teeth.

"I see. I understand."

The two of us entered the room where Defender was staying. It wasn't any different from the rest of the rooms, which was a little surprising.

"Aaron. Sigurd, glad to see you two here. The heroes who saved Trion."

I sat down on the chair before Defender, while Sigurd stood by my side.

Defender raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose it is a little late to ask, but I assume Sigurd is your Auxiliary Shadow?"

"Yeah."

"And... once this is over..."

"Yes. I will be erasing the memories of each and every single person here in Trion of the Black Legion Organization. We cannot take the risk of exposing you guys to the memories of what has transpired today. You will only see this world as it is. This world will be what you accept to be the world you have always lived in."

Defender sighed, resting his head in his hand.

"Right to business it is with you, just like Shar, huh."

I smiled warmly.

"James, even when you won't remember who I am, I will always remember you guys. The good memories... and I guess the bad."

"Most of the bad was your fault, Aaron."

"I'm gonna fart in your office now."

James got up from his chair, gazing out the window.

"There is also the other matter I wanted to discuss with you. About our future."

"Your future?" I asked.

James turned around, the light of Master Jun's horizon shining against his civilian clothes.

"We want to return to our world. To Millennium City. To rebuild."

"Rebuild? But the Champions Universe is fated to collapse! Aran has-"

"This is our decision. Outer Shadow Dainsleif. Universes are fated to be destroyed either way. I don't want to live the rest of my days in refuge. Even if it is under the care of Inner Shadow Gasket."

I looked at Sigurd, whose expression was blank.

Brilliant poker face, Annie.

But I refuse to play that card.

"This will mean a mass exodus from Master Jun's world. And the complete loss of our protection. Can you accept these terms, Defender?"

Defender nodded.

"From the very beginning, our world has been the responsibility of our superheroes to protect. The Black Legion has an agenda of their own, don't they? Let's go back to the way it was. So you guys can move forward."

Spoken like a true superhero.

I got up from my seat, extending my hand.

"James Harmon IV. Then that will be our terms. I will give you a month to prepare for the exodus. Will that be enough time?"

"I'll run it through with everyone else."

"Okay."

I turned around, my cloak shifting with my movements.

Sigurd bowed to Defender.

"It has been a pleasure working alongside the people of the Champions Universe."

Defender smiled at Annie.

"The pleasure is ours."

The two of us exited the office and made our way across the pavilion, where the celebrations continued, and festive lights colored Master Jun's world in beautiful shades.

"Is it really okay for us to let Defender and the people of Trion go from our protection? What if Aran attacks again?"

"It's their decision to make. Ultimately, it was never our decision... or Master Jun's. They've accepted the fate of their world, and as the sole owners of that reality we gotta respect that."

"Understood."

I reached out to a booth and slipped a hat on Annie's head.

"Lookin' good, Annie-chan."

Sigurd yelped, fumbling with the hat on her head.

"What are you doing?! What if it gets in the way of my combat?"

"Should be fine."

"Define 'should'."

"Means I dunno."

"Then why did you put it on my head?!"

"I guess I just thought you would look cute in it. After all, you've got supermodel looks."

Sigurd looked away, hiding her blush.

"The way you can so casually say something so bold and out of pocket continues to escape my scope of understanding."