Twinkle in Sweet Repose

[Goku]

Goku probably could have intervened when The Witch attacked The Vision again, but he wanted to see if he could figure out a plan of attack. Despite appearances, when it came to battle, Goku was as gifted as any man had ever been. He had felt the Witch’s telekinetic powers many times now, and it seemed like she didn’t have many obvious weaknesses, other than her mental instability. Perhaps that was what he could use.

“Okay, now, that is ENOUGH!”

Goku’s voice finally took on a serious tone, and he moved to stand in the broken section of wall, between the Witch and The Vision.

He shot a look to Kunain. “If you want to get out of here alive.” He said, “We’re going to have to work together.”

The Witch let out a piercing shriek, cracking the base of the concrete tower, and raised her hand towards Goku.

“You can’t stand between us! Nothing can stand between us!” She howled, voice pure pain, making Goku’s teeth rattle. Kunain gripped his hammer tightly, but some of the fear seemed to have left him. He was a money-grabbing mercenary, sure, and he was terrified, but he was also a Dwarf. If he was going to die, he was going to do it swinging for all he was worth.

“That’s not your body.” Goku said, displaying a level of insight that was frankly nothing short of miraculous. “Give it back, or I’ll knock you out of it!”

Goku was not surprised when the response came, throwing him upwards with incredible force. It took all his strength to flip, and when he hit the wall, his feet absorbed most of the impact. Concrete cracked beneath his boots, and he grunted. He flung his hand forwards, releasing a burst of bright yellow power towards the woman, who merely twisted to the side, sliding easily away from the orb.

“He’ll love me!” She shrieked, “He’ll love me forever!”

Goku found himself hurtling towards the floor next, and this time, he wasn’t able to brace in time. The impact drove the air out of him, and he grunted in pain as she floated closer, intent on going over him and outside.

“He never will.” Goku gasped, “He HELPS people. You’re just, a monster.”

The Witch paused for a split second, hovering over Goku, and he felt the pressure increase. But, it was the moment he’d been hoping for. The Witch stopped to crush him…

… And Kunain, always the coward at heart, swung his hammer around with all his might, aiming a bone-shaking blow at the back of the woman’s head.



There was a blinding flash of red. The sound of the impact rang out for miles. Deep, and dark. The sound of waves crashing across the rocks quieted as the sea died down, and for a heartbeat, the Witch stood frozen in place. Kunain’s hammer had left no visible mark. But, the Dwarf was a warrior, albeit a dishonourable one. With a bellowing roar, he struck out a second time.

“YE THINK YE CAN TAKE MY FAMILY AN’ LIVE, YA DAMNED WITCH?!”

His accent, long lost due to his time in the civilized lands, came back full force. A second flash of light met his blow. Fear and desperation drove him on, and he battered at her with everything he had, the hammer swung in great arcs that would surely have pulverised a lesser opponent. His golden armour shone with each burst of light, and a manic gleam swelled in his eye. It felt good to fight. He’d been running for so long, he’d almost forgotten what it felt like.

The woman screamed, and swept her hand upwards. This time, the scream was far less intense, but the effect on Kunain was still impressive. He was flung up into the concrete tube, and a shout of surprise heralded his desperate flight.

In the next instant, Goku’s foot crashed between the woman’s shoulders, met with another blinding flash of red. His elbow dropped as she turned, smashing into the top of her skull, and this time, her head bowed with the impact. Maybe it was his imagination, but it seemed like the bright red light that dulled the impact finally seemed a little less brilliant.

“He’ll never love you!” Goku declared, “You’re a thief! You stole that woman’s body! He could never love a thief!”

The Witch screamed again, and Goku was flung out through the hole, unable to find any way of stopping it. His feet carved deep furrows into the earth as he was pushed backwards, his arms raised over his chest, for all the good that did. He came to a stop in front of The Vision’s prone body, and flinched, as behind the Witch he saw Kunain’s heavily armoured form crash back down into the concrete floor. That, was not good.

“YOU DON’T KNOW HIM LIKE I DO!” The Witch screamed, “HE’S MY HUSBAND!”

“No… he’s… not!” Goku grunted, nostrils flared as the pressure surrounding him increased. His knees quivered, but he refused to buckle with his friend so close at hand. “You’re just crazy!”

“I’M NOT CRAZY! I’ll KILL YOU!”

Goku snorted, and cracked his neck. “Yeah, you’re not crazy at all.”

The pressure built up, and Goku felt his bones begin to creak. This wasn’t like the previous fight. He’d touched some nerves. Now, all the force that had been used to hold him steady was being used to crush him. In some ways, he’d gotten exactly what he wanted; he’d gotten under her skin. She was making mistakes. On the other, it felt like he was going to be turned into a ball.

Kunain’s hammer whistled at it was flung through the air, arcing head over haft to impact one last time into the woman’s back. This time, there’s was a scream of physical pain, rather than the emotional wailing that had echoed from the woman’s throat before.

Kunain lay broken and bloodied in the crater of his impact, but he had a smirk on his lips as consciousness slipped away from him, and his armoured hand dropped to the concrete. The Witch’s eyes blazed bright with fury, and scarlet mist flowed from her in a great rushing wave towards the prone dwarf.

But her concentration was broken.

“Kaaaaaaaa…”

The mist rushed back towards the lighthouse, swallowing dark earth in blood red swirls.

“Meeeeee…”

It pooled over broken rubble and seemed to slow as it approached Kunain, forming tendrils with more substance than gas ought to have.

“HAAAAAA….”

Behind the Witch, Goku’s hands were cupped at his sides. Bright blue light swirled in his palms as he focused his power.

“MEEEEEEEEEEEEE…”

The tendrils wrapped around Kunain, lifting him up. The fog blotted out everything now. Everything, except the swirling mass of blue light, shining like a lighthouse in the darkness, like a star in the night.

“HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Pouring all that he had into it, Goku thrust his hands forwards and an enormous beam of blue energy surged from his palms. It illuminated The Vision’s face, showing his friend in repose. At the last moment, the Witch turned, and her eyes widened. She raised both hands as though to catch the power, and the mist rushed back in towards her, dropping Kunain in a clatter.

Red and blue clashed as Goku pitted his strength against the fog. There was an incandescent explosion of power, as the two forces clashed, and when the light died away, The Witch stood in the middle of a smouldering crater. Her clothes were singed and blackened, but her expression was ferocious, animal hatred.

Goku dropped to one knee, and then toppled over backwards, groaning. His body was screaming at him louder than the Witch ever had. The hospital. The Kaio-ken. Now this? He couldn’t so much as twitch a muscle as the Witch approached.

“Vision, buddy.” He said, with a dry laugh, “Now would be, a really good time to, get back up."