[Hunt for Paladin: Day 4]
The group arrived shortly after midnight, and Lynx looked up at the imposing wrought-iron gates. Before they entered, she made a quick call.
"What's the word?" Viggo's voice on the other end wasted no time.
"Come to Happy's Wonderland- Vilhelm is hiding here. You can handle the arrest, or at least be here. I'll be here too, we'll make sure that he's not killed."
"On my way. Thank you," Viggo added, voice desperate and hopeful, before the line clicked dead.
"How do we wanna get in?" Haru asked, angling her head. Her black-and-white hair was tied back into a tight knot, now, and she looked almost at home in Ravenwood, Lynx thought, glancing around at the snow dotting the ground here.
"Let's hop the gates," Lynx hummed as Fox stepped forward, grabbing the steel bars and tugging- with the creak of protesting metal, the gate popped off cleanly, and Fox tossed it to the side of the road, letting it sail through the foliage there. For her part, the blonde sighed, shaking her head, but there was a tiny smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
"Alright then, that's one way to let us in," Lynx laughed lightly, looking up at the rusted metal signage beside the gate as they passed through, Alice edging closer to her; Happy's Wonderland.
"I hate carnivals, and I hate clowns," Alice muttered, looking around slowly with a wide, owlish gaze. The area they'd entered so far didn't seem like anything risky; in fact, it might once have been gorgeous. There was a ticket booth nearby- abandoned and falling apart, but nonetheless- and two paths leading into the carnival around it. In the distance, Lynx looked up to see a merry-go-round's roof, several torn tent tops, and a ferris wheel.
"Alright, remember," Haru stated flatly, pausing, voice soft but insistent. "This isn't going to become a blood bath. Fox, I want you to stay here, and watch the entrance. I'm going to quietly divert to the house of mirrors; the exit or the house of mirrors are likely places to try and lose us. Ica's going to be running drones around the perimeter for us so we know if he tries to run to the water."
"Which leaves us," Lynx finished, understanding, glancing down at Alice, then Nara. "-To actually find him and wrangle him if we can."
"This isn't a dramatic final battle; we're bringing him in," Haru reiterated, nodding, and Lynx laughed, smiling tiredly.
"Right. On day Four no less."
"Maybe Aegis Order is what the world needed, or whatever," Nara snickered, and Lynx faltered.
"Hey, you sounded kinda modern there for a second," She added, and Nara nodded.
"I am trying to work on that. Alice won't stop calling me granny when you're not around."
"I see. Alice, you should be nicer to your elders," Lynx mumbled; Haru was already trailing off, and Fox already falling back, so the three walked deeper into the carnival together, three different tails twitching and curling in the air behind them.
"Right sorry, but it's not like she can do anything about it without falling over; I took her walker," Alice added with a lazy snicker, and Nara rolled her eyes, utterly unamused. Lynx just sucked in a slow breath and pushed the small magnetic earpiece Ica had given her into her ear, glancing over as Alice and Nara did the same thing.
"Alright girls, let's get this done," Ica's voice came through almost immediately as their lines must have clicked open on his end. "I had Vilhelm on drone. Right now, he's at the base of the ferris wheel- if he tries to run toward it, I have explosive charges planted at the bottom- we'll bring it down."
"Now how the fuck did you manage that," Lynx whispered, unable to stop a small, breathless laugh slipping out of her.
"The drones have arms- pretty sure when I die I'm gonna come back as something real terrifying, but for now, this is what you have on your side," Ica snarked, a smirk in his voice, and Lynx nodded appreciatively, glancing down at her girls one after the next.
"I like this twink."
"Good ally to have," Alice muttered with an eye roll much like Nara's from before.
"Alright, let me do my thing," Lynx muttered and closed her eyes, letting her lips part, sucking in a breath.
In that warm orange glow behind her eyes, given only by a flickering sodium lamp, she could see Alice and Nara to her sides, reeking of warm fires and pond fronds and many other pleasant things. Further, more distant; Haru and Fox, both smelling of something vaguely good like loyalty and honor… and then, there.
Lynx's blue eyes snapped open, and her steps were suddenly full of purpose.
"He's in the old employee lounge, sleeping. Let's go."
It didn't take long to reach the staff building, and when they arrived, Lynx raised a foot and kicked the door in without hesitating. Immediately, she heard it; scuttling, slamming and a breaking window.
"On it," Fox snapped and was gone; there was the sound of gagging, and Lynx took a breath.
Remember Lynx. Like a demon, not a human.
Planting her feet, she dashed- around the side of the building, Nara was holding him by the throat, preparing to slam him into the gravel and yelping as the knife hacked at her arm, gashing.
"I'm fine, don't let him run off!" Nara screamed as Vilhelm rolled to the side and took off at a run; faster than a human as well, but wasn't that all he was?
"Go," Alice nodded, and Ica's giggling suddenly came through her ears as Lynx bolted, vaulting onto the roof of a crumbling porta potty and shoving herself off of it, landing on Vilhelm's back and groaning as he sank the knife into her thigh- she tried to grab the wrist, but he'd yanked it off and kicked her in the stomach, winding her. By the time she stood, the wound was slowly healing, but Vilhelm was running.
"What's funny, Ica," She snapped, and he laughed harder.
"He's running toward the wheel!! I'd hoped he would- you know this mission would be a lot easier if you were willing to kill him!"
"BRING IT DOWN THEN!" Lynx gritted through the pain as Alice passed by with Nara, both streaking after him; but Vilhelm was nimble, diving into a tent and hacking at its supports, letting the fabric crumble on Alice and Nara who simply tore through it but were, nonetheless, slowed.
Lynx prepared herself as Vilhelm aimed himself at another tent and sprang high, twisting her body through the air and sailing over the tent as it began to collapse; they reached a wide swath of dead grass leading toward the ferris wheel, and as if on cue, an explosion rocked the night, blinding colors blaring at the base of the wheel; both Vilhelm and Lynx froze, and behind them, Alice and Nara were stayed, as well.
With the sound of creaking, fraying metal, the wheel began to look a little bigger, and Vilhelm shook his head.
"I won't let you take it from me!!" He screamed desperately, bolting toward the wheel. "I'd rather die!!"
"You fucking-" Lynx gritted her teeth, shook her head, and planted her feet.
The wheel was falling, and Vilhelm seemed hell-bent on making sure that she was under it- so Lynx did the only thing she could think of, in the moment- or maybe she wasn't thinking at all.
Regardless, the wheel was within a hundred paces of the ground, and she jumped powerfully enough that the muscles in her legs screamed. Behind her, Alice and Nara were screaming something, but Lynx caught a metal bar in passing and flipped herself toward the middle of the wheel, landing on the center spoke. Mustering every ounce of strength she had, she slammed her foot down, again, again, clutching the metal for balance. Wind screamed in her ears, and with the sound of snapping cables, the spoke fell away, creating a safe space in the center of the wheel.
Vilhelm saw it. That was the plan.
Finally, the wheel hit the ground, and Lynx landed nimbly in the center, slamming into Vilhelm, knee on his chest.
Because he saw the gap.
Because he wanted to live.
Because he took the out, she thought with a smirk.
"Give me the knife you pain in the ass," Lynx whispered, holding out a hand.
"Fuck you," Vilhelm spat and swiped the knife at her face; Lynx didn't hesitate this time, slamming her fist into his face with jarring force. Bone snapped, and Vilhelm choked, blood exploding from his nose, and Lynx raised her fist, still holding out a hand.
"Give me, the knife, or I will keep punching until you drown in your blood, and take it," She panted out, not quite meaning it- probably. "I'm going to a lot of trouble so you can live."
"I'd, rather, die," He croaked, and slammed the knife at Lynx's chest, over the heart- she tried to move, but the movement was too fast to track, and her hand caught his as the tip of the knife pierced the skin of her chest…
For a moment, she felt fear.
She felt the burn, the pain of her flesh being carved…
And then, from their hands, golden light erupted, and Vilhelm was shoved flat, spread-eagle, by a wall of golden light. Lynx was exhausted, panting, but she was just lucid enough to notice the wall of light came from her bracelet.
"I just… want to save you," She panted, and the golden light shone brighter… but in that light, Vilhelm blinked, as if lucid.
He shook his head, helpless.
"It has my mind," He choked, and for just a moment, his eyes weren't the piercing ones of a killer, but the exhausted ones of a little boy who wanted to be proud. "I don't want this- p-please kill me Lynx, I'll d-do anything please don't let it take over again- I can think, I can think right now please kill me-"
"Give me the knife, Vilhelm," She whispered, and Vilhelm nodded, raising the blade… and plunging it into his own chest.
"S-Sorry," He garbled out around the blood slowly filling his mouth. "I-I can't let it… take over again… I never w-wanted this…"
"No god damnit," Lynx winced, holding the knife in, not letting him pull it out. "COME ON GUYS HE STABBED HIMSELF," She screamed as Alice and Nara caught up, eyes soft.
"Should I sing?" Alice asked, and Nara shook her head.
"It's about the feelings. He stabbed himself?"
"I'll kill you, I'll fucking kill you-!!" Vilhelm roared, and Lynx took a gamble, slamming a hand down on his forehead and praying.
Her world went dark, and then, slowly, as if she were waking up and pulling away ten or twelve heavy quilts, she 'awoke', disoriented, standing in a small, cramped bedroom- a remarkably clean one, at that.
"Did you clean your room, sweetie?" Someone called; a woman's voice. A young boy with brown hair planted his hands on his hips, grinning from ear to ear. He didn't answer; just watched his mother step into the room and gasp.
"Good job Vilhelm- it's so clean!"
"Yeah!!" Vilhelm beamed, and then slowly dissolved, like paint being washed away- as did his mother. Curious, Lynx slowly grasped the bedroom doorknob and tried it- the door swung inward easily, and she stepped deeper into the house, looking around; hall, stairs, living room. All empty.
"Who's there?" A voice called; Vilhelm's, for sure. Slowly, Lynx followed it and found him sitting at the kitchen table, nursing a glass of milk.
"This is your sanctuary," She realized. "Your childhood home."
"My what…?" Vilhelm angled his head, and Lynx slowly sat down at the table, raising her eyebrows.
"Vilhelm- you're dying," Lynx admitted. "I don't know how long we have- your body is out there, choking on its own blood. I don't want to see you die."
"Oh well," He sighed, defeated, eyes never leaving that glass of milk.
"Vilhelm- what happened to you?" She asked, angling her head. "I- you wanted to be a hero, that's what Aerendyl said. That you're a hero in the making, that you want to live a life that makes your mother proud."
"That's easier said than done." Another voice, and Lynx looked up; the man who walked in… his face was disfigured by burn scars on one side, and he sank into another chair, chuckling. He wore a suit that might have been grand, once, but was now just a moth-bitten, rotting old thing.
"Who are you?" She asked, angling her head, and the scarred man smiled.
"I'm Alexei. The Giant trapped me in that knife, and then… I don't know. I tell you this, though," He added, turning to Vilhelm, slapping a hand onto the man's shoulder. "The only times I'm awake are here. When you're up and moving, I can't even wake up- I've never been trying to hurt you. Not anyone- I'm just really, really angry," He added, voice thickening for a moment. "I keep trying to get out, and the only place I seem to be able to go…"
"-is me," Vilhelm whispered, confirming.
"Vilhelm," Lynx whispered. "There's a way to save you."
"Yeah? What is it?" He asked, rolling his eyes. "Aerendyl said that you may be connected to a God- planning on calling in some favors?"
"No." Lynx stated flatly. "You can save yourself, but I have to ask you something first- do you still want your mama to be proud of you?"
There was silence for a moment, and Alexei watched contemplatively as Vilhelm's face swam through a series of emotions- none of which were positive.
"It's too late for that."
"No, it's not," Lynx stated with confidence like nothing before, standing up and walking around the table, grabbing Vilhelm's hair and yanking his head back, forcing eye contact. "It's not too late- but you have to believe it."
"I'm tired, and I don't deserve to live, I keep hurting people-"
"That doesn't MATTER!" Lynx snapped, scowling, and Alexei smirked, watching this unfold as if it was the most entertainment he'd had as of late. "You can fight this- you can stand up. Do you think your MOTHER would want you to give up and die?!"
"Shut up," Vilhelm snapped, but something kindled in his eyes, and Lynx nodded.
"You're not ready to die, are you?! You can save people- you can atone for what you've done!!" Letting go of his hair, she slapped him so hard that he flew out of his chair, head hitting the fridge. "Get angry, Vilhelm, come on!!"
"Enough!!" he pleaded, but there was anger in his voice now. Lynx pushed the advantage; they were almost out of time; in the hall, the carpet was rotting, and rust was creeping into the fridge. The world outside was fading, sunlight slowly disappearing; the sanctuary was crumbling.
"No, Vilhelm, it's not enough, wake the fuck up!! COME ON, GET MAD- momma didn't raise you to be a little bitch who curls up and dies because it's easy and you're too fucking weak to fix your mistakes!!" She was screaming now, standing over him and staring down at him as though he were a disgusting roach. "ANGRY!! COME ON!!!"
"My mom… she'd be so disappointed if I died," Vilhelm nodded, something in his voice changing, and Lynx nodded.
"That's right, she would!! Viggo, too- he's been hunting for you; SO STAND UP! You can live but you have to mean it, you have to choose it! Who would your mom be proud of?"
"It hurts," Vilhelm sobbed, suddenly, blood leaking from the mouth of his soul. "It's hot, it h-hurts!!"
"YEAH!! LET IT HURT!!" Lynx nodded, screaming, kneeling beside him. "LET IT BURN AND TELL THE WORLD THAT MOMMA'S BOY AIN'T DONE KICKING YET- COME ON!!"
"IT HURTS, GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!" Vilhelm screamed, and a wave of force slammed into Lynx before her world spun, and the pain returned; she was lying on a rusted spoke of the ferris wheel, watching as Vilhelm screamed, where he lay dying, and rolled onto his side. The screams kept coming, and she was reminded of herself in the ice as Vilhelm cried, sobbed, screamed for mercy.
"IT BURNS!!" HE screamed again, voice breaking, his back bulging obscenely- with an explosion of gore, his back detonated outward, and from it, a pair of bloody, soaked wings exploded out, coated in oily, dove-gray feathers that glistened in the meager light. "IT HURTS, SOMEBODY HELP ME!!" He screamed, vomiting obscenely as his back began to knit itself slowly together, healing. The hole in his chest, too, was fading, stitching itself, forming scar tissue.
"I… I WON'T LET IT WIN!! F-Fuck you Lynx, I'm not, a little bitch, I'm… I'm STILL, HERE…!!" he screamed all the louder, and when his hands curled into fists, metal crunched in his grip, his muscles ripping the sleeves of his top as blood flowed from the gaping hole that was his back.
Steeling herself, Lynx roared with triumph.
"Come on Vilhelm- MAKE YOUR MAMA PROUD AND STAND UP!!!"
"I… WON'T EVER…" Vilhelm tried to stand, and fell to one knee, roaring in pain as Alice and Nara staggered back; but not Lynx. She stepped closer, nodding, staring with all the intensity of a bonfire. Vilhelm continued, trying to stand, and when Lynx reached out to help him, he smacked her hand away.
"NOBODY, EVER, MAKES MY CHOICES, FOR ME, AGAIN…!!" Vilhelm screamed, and with great effort, he stood, wings snapping to full span; over his head, a halo spun, not of light but of pure, inky, undulating void. For a long moment, he stood there, chest heaving… and then he collapsed, and Lynx caught him, shuddering. His skin burned like fire, and his wings framed her as she slowly, laboriously threw the body onto her shoulder and leapt, landing carelessly in the grass beside the wheel's wreckage and dropping him by accident. For a moment, she stared down; Vilhelm was changed, irreversibly. He was Risen. Not quite angelic and not quite demonic, in appearance… it made sense, Lynx thought with a tired grin.
"What the hell did you do," Alice whispered, eyes wide. "You touched him, and then you were unconscious, and then…"
"He did this. Chose it. I just gave him a little push," Lynx laughed, swaying with exhaustion; Nara was there, worming under Lynx's arm and holding her up.
"Is he not… corrupted?" Haru asked, eyes sweeping the scene. "Oh my gods… Lynx, the knife," She added, jerking her head- it sat on the center of the wheel still, and she, Lynx, nodded.
"Just… give me a second, I can go and grab it."
"Are you sure? We can wait," Haru cautioned, but Lynx shook her head, raising a hand to silence her.
"I can grab it," She whispered, leaning down to kiss Nara's forehead and then stepping away, stumbling.
When she tried to step onto the wheel again, though- or rather, one of its rusty spokes- she stumbled. Alice was there, this time, stepping up and helping her to balance, holding her hands.
"You're getting a lot of rest after this," Alice whispered, and she, the cat, nodded, staggering slowly along the wheel, taking a deep breath and lurching forward, onto that center panel.
Drawing a breath, Lynx moved to grab the knife.
"Are you sure about this?" Alice asked, angling her head, and Lynx nodded, grabbing the knife, world spinning once again.
"Well. Hello there." Alexei smiled as Lynx came to in the void again; this time, though, there were shapes. They stood in a damp concrete hall, and Lynx looked up; there he stood, calm, leaning on the wall. "This is the hallway where Haru helped me to realize that what makes us is our choices, and that I didn't have to hurt people to find peace. Didn't have to die."
"That's great- now, how can I help you?" Lynx angled her head. "There has to be a way to get you out of here."
"When Vilhelm stabbed himself," Alexei smiled. "I was given the choice- I could feel it. I could have killed his soul, and taken over his body… but it's true that I never wanted to end his life. I have not been lucid for a long time- all the familiar voices have reminded me of what I once was… it was as if I was hibernating."
"So if I stab someone, you can take their body?" Lynx asked, raising an eyebrow, and Alexei nodded.
"It seems that way- maybe that was The Giant's plan for me. To put my soul into a controllable body, or the like."
"Lot of death-row prisoners. I bet I can find you someone," Lynx nodded, and Alexei shook his head.
"There are few illnesses that can kill in a world of magic- but there are those who have led a long life and wish to let the illness take them. I would ask that you visit a hospital, and find someone willing, someone ready to rest."
"I can do that," Lynx whispered, nodding, and Alexei smiled.
"You have my word," Alexei smiled. "-That when I come to, I will harm nobody. Very likely, I will disappear; I'm going to want a while to be alone and come to grips with what I made Vilhelm do. Then, if your Contracted Arms feels the need to make me stand trial… I will be there."
"Aegis Order. We kinda focus on saving people instead of killing them," She added, smiling weakly, and Alexei nodded.
"I won't join this Aegis Order, but should there come a day when your world is truly in peril- I will bring every ounce of my power to stay the hand of your enemies. That is my promise, for my freedom. Now, you should go, Lynx- your people care, and they worry for you greatly."
"Don't corrupt me," Lynx smiled. "I'll handle you soon."
"Vilhelm experienced memory loss, and violent tendencies- but he was a human. I will not corrupt you, I should hope," He chuckled and stepped forward, gently flicking Lynx's forehead. "Sleep. I've wanted so long already- I can wait for your catnap. That was a pretty nifty magic shield by the way- that bracelet is something."
Lynx… she tried to reply, but she couldn't, and slowly blacked out, exhausted, sleeping without dreams.