Countd0wn

Chapter 35: Bring Her Home

The sight of her prone body alone was enough to make me sick to my stomach. I felt like everything was happening in slow motion. I felt myself falling, and I pressed my hand against the wall. I never took my eyes off the bed in front of me. Ivy looked peaceful, like she was sleeping. I could hear Sparrow as if she was down a long, dark tunnel, calling out to me. "Wren? Wren, can you hear me?"

I slowly got up and moved over slowly to the side of the bed. After days of worrying and dreading about what had happened to her, now she was meters away from me, but she might as well have been on another planet. I reached out to grab her hand, and I felt nothing. No warmth, no motion, nothing to suggest she was even alive. 

I squeezed it as tightly as I could, and I put it against my face, trying to remember how it felt. It felt hot tears beginning to stream down across my face, and a sob escaped my lips. Then, I felt a displacement in the air, and I knew we were not alone. Without looking up, I spoke in a vengeful voice. "Why? Out of all the people in the world...why her?"

I couldn't see him, but I knew that the being that called itself Tobias was floating right behind me. I turned to look at him, and I could see an outline of a human in a blueish glow, like the afterimage when a light flashes in your eyes. He was doing what he had talked about in our dream, a way of projecting his consciousness. Sparrow had called it astral projection. I heard his voice in my head, apologetic and somewhat sad. I am truly sorry, Wren Sawyer. I could not tell you. I had to make sure you were dedicated to saving the world. I promise you that she will not come to any harm.

Despite how bright he was, I stared him down with a serious glare. I was tired of playing his games and being his soldier. I stepped closer to him and slightly raised my voice. "I didn't do this for you. I did it for her. And now that you picked her, you've put her in more danger than any person on this Earth!"

He unsurprisingly didn't flinch at all at my raised tones, and instead continued to speak, in a slightly condescending tone, as if he was dealing with a child who was having an tantrum. Wren, you must understand, your sister was the one I had found first. She is strong-willed, has a brilliant mind, and understands the frailties of life. She was the perfect vessel for me. The fact that you were her brother was pure coincidence. In a way, you were already her protector. I simply gave you the power to make yourself a better one.

I ran my fingers and gritted my teeth. This entire time I thought I had been fighting for the greater good on my own, hoping to make a better world for Ivy, but I was just a pawn in a greater game. And Ivy was the king. "You manipulated me...turned me into one of your heroes. I never asked for this. Why me! I'm not strong enough. Pick someone better! You have so many others you've created, why give me this mission?!"

I stared at the glowing blue form in front of me, and surprisingly enough, he appeared to smile, and then stared down at Ivy's resting form on the bed. Because you love her. It is as simple as that. You would give your life to keep her safe. And that is more powerful than any power I could have ever given you.

I was about to protest again, then I thought about what he was saying, and I realized he was right. Even if I wasn't given powers, I would still want to stay by Ivy's side and make sure she was safe. If another metahuman came to protect her, I wouldn't be much help. I could even die, and she couldn't live without me. I was the only one who would...no, the only one who could protect her and give my life for her.

Tobias had seen the thoughts go through my head, and he nodded at me in approval. I am truly sorry for the deception, Wren Sawyer, but it was the only way to make sure you were with me, and keep Ivy's location out of reach of Gerrard. If you want her to return to her natural self, you must help me complete the process of transferring my consciousness. Then, and only then, can I guarantee her safety.

I looked at Tobias, then over at Sparrow. She was staring at the both of us, and she nodded at me. I knew that she had as much of a stake in this as I did. Defeating Gerrard was the only way we could set Marissa free. Finally, I looked back over at Ivy, her small body still on the covers of the bed. I walked over to her slowly, and grabbed her body, carrying her in my arms. 

Tobias looked at the both of us, and just as he was about to say something else, he suddenly doubled over in pain, and made a sort of electronic groaning noise. I stayed away from him, but Sparrow reached out for him. Before I could stop him, Sparrow's finger was shocked, like static electricity. She yelped in pain and stepped back.

Tobias looked up at the both of us, his arms wrapped around his lower waist, and spoke with some difficulty, and through some kind of static-like interference. They...have invade-my chambers...-will protect myself. Need your help...hurry!

Then, he slowly began to fade away, until he was fully gone. Sparrow and I looked at each other, then rushed out the door back to the room with all the metahumans, along with Ivy, who was in my arms. We looked up at the large hole in the ceiling that the hypermorphs had managed to dig, and I stared at one of the metahumans who had been flying earlier. "I don't know if you can understand me, but your master is in trouble. He needs our help! Can you fly us up there?"

The boy who had been flying didn't appear to understand me at first, due to the fact that his connection with Tobias had been somewhat severed, but when I mentioned his master, he suddenly nodded, and gestured for a girl that seemed to be his twin to take Sparrow up with her.

I held onto the boy with one hand and Ivy with the other, and nodded at him. The two of them seemed to kick off the ground like they were swimming, and then were suddenly propelled upwards through the hole in the ceiling. I had never flown before, and it felt more like floating, but I was now more focused on saving both Tobias and my sister.

We made it through the hole, and I found the corridor next to the elevator that lead to Tobias's chamber. Sure enough, the elevator had been burst wide open, and the doors were bent open like a gaping wound. The door to the chamber had been kicked off the hinges. I turned to one of the twins that had flown us up here. "Go get the others. Be ready to move as soon as you can."

The girl and boy both nodded at the same time, and then flew back down the hole. Sparrow and I rushed into the room, and we both saw what we were looking for. The tube where Tobias rested was gone, and had apparently retracted into the floor, and several hypermorphs were scratching at the place where it had been.

I turned to Sparrow and handed her Ivy, not just so I could handle the morphs, but also so she could get away quickly with Ivy if anything went wrong. I focused my powers, and managed to access my newfound strength with ease due to my anger about Ivy. I managed to one-shot two of the hypermorphs, and managed to disable the other two with a large ring that severed both of their heads at once.

Once that had been dealt with, the chamber where Tobias was seemed to sense our presence, and rose from it's protective compartment. When he was revealed, I was shocked. Tobias looked a lot older than the last time I had seen him. He was more ragged, and seemed like he had fought through his last battle.

His eyes drifted towards me and stared at me through the blue water. I heard his voice, now not much more than a whisper.Wren...Sawyer...my mind...is your responsibility now...take it and begin the transfer...before it is too late...

Then, I felt my heart skip a beat, and I stumbled a bit. I could see Sparrow doing the same, and from that moment, I knew our connection with Tobias had been shattered forever. The old man in the tube went limp, his body growing still. Then, a small glass tube attached to the outside of the chamber started to glow blue. I looked at it, and instinctively took it. This was Tobias. His essence. And I knew I had to keep it safe.

I placed it in my backpack, and I looked over at Sparrow. I motioned for her to grab Ivy, knowing we'd have to make a mad dash out of the base, when I heard a gun cock at the door, and I saw Sparrow standing stock still. Behind her, aiming a gun at Ivy's head, was Mossberg. "The bill has come due, Wren. Time to pay."