PALE REIGN OVER GESHEM - CHAPTER 22 by Abyss DISCLAIMER: All characters and ideas that are the property of Marvel Comics are used without permission, for no profit. This work may not be resold. It may be redistributed in its original form. And on a less formal note, comments, criticisms... even just a short E-mail saying `I liked it.' are much appreciated. Keep the faith. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The first blast cleared the rubble off of him like a heavy wind. Before he could get to his feet, strong hands reached down and lifted him up by the shirt front. "There was a man in there, damn you... he was being controlled...!" Cyclops was shouting at him from inches away, and he had not fully recovered from the effort of that last optic blast. Prelate Summers shook his head, trying to clear it. Cyclops wouldn't let him. "Is that what you've become? A murderer who kills those too weak to free themselves? Is that WHAT I'VE BECOME?!?" "No...choice, him...or me... no..." "There had to be another way... damn you there is ALWAYS another way!" "No... no choice..." "THERE IS ALWAYS A CHOICE!" The shout echoed in his head, again and again... it was too much... images flashed before his eye... teeth, darkness, diamonds... he couldn't breath... couldn't think... couldn't do anything but.. strike out. The optic blast wasn't a strong one... after the battle with the golem, it was all the Prelate could manage... but he was using it against himself. * * * The glow built up around the two doppelgangers in seconds... the Gambler had just enough time to crouch down over Katherine as the energy washed over him... It felt like lying downhill of a rockslide... sheer force tore across his back and shoulders, threatening to cast him aside like a leaf on the wind and leave him battered. The Gambler huddled over Katherine and held on to the ground for dear life as chains of scarlet concussive force played across the room. Now it was like standing at the centre of a lightning storm... he could feel his grip on the rocky ground loosening... dimly he heard a shout... the Hunter?... but it was lost to the hum and crackle of raw power that rose in the narrow tunnel... it was all he could do not to loose his grip and cover his ears as the roar became louder and louder... and abruptly stopped. The Gambler raised his head, his fingers suddenly aching as he released the floor. The red-haired woman, Pyre, was nowhere to be seen, a pile of ash resting where she had been instants before. The Hunter was crouched near a wall, slowly raising herself up. Dead and unconscious bandits lay everywhere. At the centre of the room, the two doppelgangers crouched. The one called Cyclops, kneeled on the ground. He shook his head as if to clear it. His hands were gripping the collar of the other, the Prelate. The man was definitely out. Only the other's white-knuckled grip prevented him from dropping to the ground. The golem's body lay nearby, the energy-storm having barely moved it. Cyclops dropped the Prelate and slowly got to his feet. He wobbled and almost fell... one hand on his head, murmuring something about feedback loops' and genetic codes'. He looked about and his eyes fell on the huge steel body one the ground. "Damn... damn you, Sinister." "Sinister?" The murmur was weak and hoarse. The Prelate moved one arm around painstakingly and raised his head. Thin lines of blood trailed from his nose and ears. The Gambler looked to the Hunter. She had regained her feet and approached the two dazed men. Seeing that Katherine was breathing well, he folded his cloak under her head and walked towards the others. The Hunter got to them first. He wasn't surprised to see she put her hand on the Prelate's arm as she asked if he was alright. There was something there between them... the Gambler could see it, even if they couldn't... yet. The Prelate shook his head. He mumbled something, and Stephanie's face darkened with concern. She turned to Cyclops and there was an edge to her voice. "What happened... you drove him to attacking you and then...? The man straightened, his jaw set, looking to the Gambler every bit on the defensive as he replied. "He attacked me... but we're the same... like two positive magnets... we have to repel... each other... "Stab your eyes man, make sense!" the Hunter's tone was verging on outright accusation, " We need both of you, and that shall not be if you insist on killing each other, fool!" The Gambler stepped into the conversation. "Now now, m'friends, les not be doin ol' Pasty Face's work for him now, eh?" Cyclops took a step back. The Prelate looked up at him from the ground, gently pushing Stephanie aside as he rose to his feet. He very nearly fell, and Stephanie grabbed his arm to steady him. The Gambler took in the faces of the two men, eyes hidden by the strange metal lenses, but brows and jaws showing similar stubbornness. Through eerie red glass, they stared at each other. The Gambler braced himself. He wasn't sure if he could get clear if they started tossing power around, but he didn't want to be standing right there if they did. Apparently the Hunter felt differently. She placed herself right between them. "Who are you to judge me... Scott? I was fighting for my life while you..." the Prelate's tone was harsh. "While I what? I was fighting for a dream, something you wouldn't understand. Something that calls for caring about more than just myself and my next breath." Cyclops' reply was controlled fury. "So WHAT?! You think that gives you the right to tell me what's right? You had your dream, but all I had was the nightmare of Apocalypse! I HAD NOTHING!" "You had yourself. It should have been enough." "It wasn't enough in the orphanage, was it? You DID grow up there too, didn't you? You DO remember the helplessness, the nights where you woke up screaming? Well, maybe they stopped for you Scott, but they never stopped for me... even here, in another bloody world, I'm still facing them." * * * Stephanie had had enough. "STOP THIS!" The Hunter shouted. The Prelate looked at her. Cyclops kept his visor on the Prelate. Stephanie jerked him around by the shoulder, forcing the red gaze in her direction. "People are dying... the Land Herself is dying... and you two are arguing over who is more miserable!" Her finger stabbed forward, jabbing the Prelate in the chest. "You, you sit there like a lost pup, whining for the world it ran away from.... you are not there any longer, man. Accept it. This is not your world." The Prelate looked down at the floor, rocking slightly on his heels. "And YOU!" The Hunter rounded on Cyclops, " He is not you. Accept it. You may be the same man, but you are not the same... stop judging him by the idiot standards you hold yourself too... they are yours and yours alone." She stepped back now, looking at the Gambler. "Thief, are you ready to lead us into the castle?" His grin was firmly in place as he responded. "But of course, milady." "The we go, and Hades take these two fools if they cannot be of use when the time comes." A weak voice, barely a hiss, drew all their attention. "Fools... indeed." Stephanie had a blade out and ready. The voice was that of the red-haired flamecaster Cyclops had fought. She looked to the source of the whisper. It was the red haired woman... Pyre, the Pale Man's servant. She lay on the stone floor, head raised weakly to face them. Large portions of her body were covered in burns. Most of her hair was burned away, one eye was a smouldering mess. Her voice was a forced whisper. "Fools... all of you... he will murder you... the preyers will.. feast on your bones." The Gambler was by her side in an instant, a sharp one-edged knife at her throat. She glared at him, but Stephanie saw no spark of flame in her glare. The woman was helpless, for now. "Gambler, stay your blade." Stephanie reached down and grabbed the red locks of hair in her fist. With a jerk, Pyre's face was a finger-breath from her own. "Your master is going to fall like a scarecrow in the hurricane, woman. Tell us his plans, or I let the thief slit your treacherous throat." To the Hunter's surprise, the woman laughed, a harsh sound that echoed in the cave. The Gambler leaned forward again and the knife point rested under Pyre's eye. Her gaze stayed locked on Stephanie's. From the corner of her eye, Stephanie saw Cyclops move forward, and the Prelate grip his arm and whisper. Cyclops stayed where he was. Pyre spoke. "His plans, little servant of a little magician? His plans are as beyond you as the clouds." Stephanie brought her face closer. The Gambler didn't move the knife away. Pyre's eyes widened. "Then I really have no reason to keep you alive, do I?" "Stay your hand, thief! Fine, Mage's Hunter, I tell you what little I know. The Pale Man wants control of the Land's Heart. Somehow, he will do this, I know not, except that the preyers are involved somehow. That is all I know." Stephanie glanced at the Gambler. He met her eyes for an instant, and she was certain he knew what to do. Her voice was cold. "Kill her, thief." The protests were desperate. "No... NO, you promised...! I told you what I knew..." "You told us nothing." Stephanie stepped away and the Gambler leaned in with the knife. She noticed that the Prelate was still gripping Cyclops' arm. "Wait, WAIT, I can tell you more, wait!" Stephanie regarded the woman coldly. The Gambler drew back the knife. "The preyers, they are to be released on the city... blood, he needs blood to take control... innocent blood... the preyers are the channel... he dare not strike himself, so he uses them..." Stephanie opened her mouth, questions on her lips... and then a desperate moan from the Prelate drew her attention as the man dropped to his knees... and screamed. END CHAPTER 22