Crossing Fates : Special Story 7 - The Divided (BakuDeku)

11 - Swooping In

"Yes, there will." The Vampire smiled in approval.

"If you manage to dislodge one of those bars, you need to go ahead without me," Izuku told her. "Don't stay here, not if you can get out. You could feed and regain some of your strength. You might be able get hold of a cell phone."

"Also, if I can get away from these magic-dampening bars, I could cast spells." Momo rolled the strips into rolls. "All very good points. I need to get back to digging. Rest when you can, walk around if it helps, and let me know when the contractions are very close together or when you can't control the urge to push."

"Okay."

He watched Momo get back to work.

Inside the cave, the shadows were deepening. Outside looked a bit lighter, closer to dusk than full night.

He had gotten used to the background noise of people hammering and working. At one point they brought a crane in to lift the top part of the dragon into place. Its wooden head was almost at the level of the cave entrance.

When the activity had stopped, it had seemed too quiet, but respite from noise was brief.

Soon came a different sound, the buzz of many voices coming together. Suddenly Momo scraped her pile of debris into the growing hole she had created at the base of the bar she'd been working on. She moved away quickly.

The reason why became clear soon enough.

Himiko walked onto the ledge in front of the cave, carrying a megaphone. She wore light armor and was armed with a gun holstered at her hip and a sword strapped between her shoulders. Her back was to the cave, and she faced out to the clearing. Two attendants flanked her, each one carrying a lamp.

Unable to stand the vulnerability of being on the ground with Himiko so near, Izuku pushed to his feet. As he did, he noticed how Momo had changed. Instead of looking like the rather friendly nightmare he had almost gotten used to, the Vampire gripped her arrow like a spear, her body taut as a bow.

Did she mean to THROW the arrow at Himiko?

Stepping in front of Momo, Izuku went face-to-face with her. "Don't," he whispered. "We need that arrow."

The Vampire breathed, "If I were at full strength, I could do it."

"You're not at full strength." Izuku stared at her. "And even if you could, maybe you could accept the consequences, but I couldn't. The only person you would kill is Himiko, and there are a lot of other people out there. I need my baby to get out of this alive."

The tension drained slowly from Momo's emaciated body. "You're right, of course."

As Izuku sagged with relief, Himiko lifted the megaphone and spoke. "People of Tartarus Gate, welcome to the lighting of the dragon's pyre! Each one of you is important. You are all here for a purpose. By your presence tonight you are making a covenant- you agree with me that the dragon has to die. He has been a blight upon this earth for far too long. I've captured his pregnant mate, and now he has no other choice but to respond. Prepare yourselves, and make no mistake about it, we are going to war!"

As the Elven woman spoke, Izuku and Momo edged over to the bars to look out over the clearing. Izuku's heart sank at the sight of just how many people had gathered in a huge circle around the dragon effigy.

There had to be thousands present- Elves, Vampires and other Nightkind, trolls, ghouls, Demonkind, and humans.

He whispered, "I had no idea he was hated by so many people."

Momo put a bracing hand at his back. "Don't let this ridiculous piece of theater fool you. Himiko isn't leading a community. She's running a cult. The majority of these are Elves, and all of them are crazy. Katsuki has his fair share of supporters too. Besides, these bars are messing with my magic sense, but I think she has some sort of charismatic magic."

While they spoke, Himiko stalked back and forth along the length of the ledge, whipping her supporters into a frenzy. With every declaration she made, the crowd roared in approval.

Even Izuku had to reluctantly admit she was a chilling, magnificent sight. Whether Himiko was casting actual magic or not, she definitely had some spell over the crowd. They loved her.

"And now, set him on fire!" Himiko shouted. "WATCH HIM BURN!"

Down below, several Elves ran forward carrying lit torches and touched them to the stacks of wood. They must have treated the woodpile with some sort of accelerant, because the fire caught quickly and grew in strength as it spread over the base. Hungry flames began to leap up the dragon effigy.

Good gods, someone in the crowd even had drums. A thrumming tribal rhythm filled the clearing, and the crowd below began to dance with wild abandon.

Himiko laughed as she watched them. The whole thing was like something out of a 1970s James Bond movie.

As Izuku watched the remarkable scene in equal parts fascination and horror, a vise gripped him around the middle. Clinging to the bars, he panted through the contraction. It was hard to imagine how things could get any worse.

Until, that was, a tall black-haired man in a dark suit walked into the clear space surrounding the burning effigy. He had black eyes and wore a more classically handsome version of Katsuki's features.

Death had come to join the gathering.

Izuku started to shake. Nudging Momo, he whispered, "Look down below, in the clear space near the effigy. Do you see that man?"

The Vampire ran her gaze over the clearing. "See who? That fire's too big and too hot for anyone to get very close."

Pyralis looked up in the direction of the cave. Perhaps it was a trick of the growing firelight, but it seemed as though he looked directly at Izuku.

He had been wrong. Things were about to get much worse.

The flames reached the top of the effigy. It threw off so much heat Izuku could feel it where he stood, and as true night set in, the red light illuminated the clearing and everything around it.

His thigh started to itch maddeningly. Then the itch traveled up his right shoulder and arm. As he scratched himself, he could feel large patches of raised bumps on his skin. He had broken out in hives. Soon after that, nausea churned.

Without the drug protocol to keep his body in check, it was beginning to rebel in style.

Abruptly, he hurried over to the bucket to throw up. Once he had cleared his stomach of all its contents, he felt marginally better. As he wiped his mouth with the back of one hand, he realized Momo had joined him and was rubbing soothingly at his back.

The Vampire said softly, "You're not doing so well, are you, honey?"

"My body is rejecting the baby while I am also giving birth," Izuku told her in a flat, matter-of-fact voice. The specter of this scenario, or another one like it, had been hanging over his head for the entire pregnancy. "Now that it's started, the only way out of this is by going through it."

When he was finally able to straighten, Momo handed him the plastic jug of water. He took a few swallows, one to rinse out his mouth and spit and another to ease the rawness of his abused throat.

Capping the jug, he turned toward the cave opening just as a gigantic bronze meteor plummeted to earth.

It landed on the burning effigy, which exploded into flaming missiles that shot out over the clearing.

Katsuki had arrived.