Chapter 9:

Unprecedented (Part 2/2)

Spirit Containment Team 1201


The thick cuffs of his gauntlets began to shine with a blue light. Coats of ice slowly formed, and quickly grew, extending out from his wrists and forming two large poles, each tipped with a nasty looking spike.

"Frostheart: Impale. These babies are built for one thing and one thing only, killing." Drake said. "And unfortunately for you... you're on the business end of em."

He dashed forward, slamming the spike on his left arm into the Aevator's chest. Rather than piercing through, it thudded against the creature, sending it flying backwards off of the pathway.

Shards of something that looked to be glass sprinkled against the ground as Balance stood to its feet.

"A single blow and you've already cracked me? My... your boast about being the strongest human may not be just bravado. Unfortunately for you... I can heal myself... as many times as I need to. If you can't shatter my core, I'll always be able to come back from the worst you can do." It laughed.

"That's pretty cool, it sure is handy being able to regenerate. But..." Drake started.

A small hole silently opened behind him, laden with the same tendrils as the last two. Without warning, they shot from the hole towards his back.

With a snap of his fingers, the armor dissipated, letting the tendrils pierce right through him. Fully impaled on the wriggling parts, Drake gave a laugh as blood sprayed from the gaps between the foreign object and his own flesh.

"What's so funny, human? You let your guard down, and sentenced yourself to an early death." It said.

"Hey, hey. You didn't let me finish... now... being able to regenerate is real cool... but technically you can still die... me though... I'm genuinely immortal." He laughed.

He wrapped his fingers around the tendrils, slowly pulling himself off of them. With each inch that he removed, the amount of blood pouring from his gaping wound increased.

Eventually, the tendrils slipped free, coiling back into their original home.

The ridiculously sized hole in his chest continued to gush blood, and his skin had grown deathly pale, giving him a sickly look.

"Immortal, you say? Look at yourself, you look like you're struggling to continue standing. Maybe you should actually learn your limits before boasting about them."

Drake laughed again, forcing a splutter of blood from his lips.

"Just watch... Gaia, Equalizer: Earthborn."

The flowerbeds behind him began to vibrate, the dirt rising from the ground upward toward him. As it reached his chest height, it started pouring into the wounds, packing them with inch after inch of wet earth.

Soon the holes had been filled completely, the flow of blood ebbing to nothing in a matter of seconds. He began to rub his hands across the holes, leveling out the dirt.

Once he seemed satisfied, he nodded, and the dirt began to glow a bright green that, once gone, left nothing but skin where the holes had once been.

The only reminder that there had even been wounds on his body were two off-white patches of skin.

"See?" He asked, his face now as colorful as before. "Good as new! The best part? Even if my body gets disintegrated into nothingness, a brand new one can be made... I mean, it's not like I'd have to transfer my soul or anything." He grinned.

"So you can instantly freeze opponents, and you can heal any damage you take? My... you continue to impress... if your words are true, then fighting against you would be near impossible." Balance mused.

"Heh... you've only seen two of my Equalizers... I've got two more." Drake said proudly.

"I see... it should be noted, however, that just because fighting against you would be impossible, it doesn't necessarily mean that you're unstoppable. Allow me to show you my Measure... which you should recognize as an Aevator's ultimate ability."

Raising its hand to the sky, it locked eyes with Drake and spoke.

"Measure: Dimension Lock."

A black and white sphere phased into being around Drake, who tapped his hand on the edge. His hand bounced straight off, nearly rebounding and striking himself.

"Ah... I see... it's like a pocket dimension! That's really cool! Let's show him ours, Pandora! Pandora, Equalizer: The Box!"

A thin, red square, similar to the orb he had created previously blossomed from his middle, slowly expanding until it was pushing against the sphere's boundaries.

"I don't know what you can do with your dimension, but Pandora's is really handy! I can even use it to teleport, like this."

He snapped his fingers once more, and a rectangular red space popped into place just outside of the orb. With another snap, he disappeared from the box inside the sphere, and reappeared in the one outside!

A third snap, and the Box reformed around the Aevator, who gave him a look of genuine awe.

"I... I... I don't know what to say... I had been holding back against you physically, hoping to toy with you until you stopped being fun... it seems as though I was the one being toyed with, in the end! I honestly didn't expect you to have a way out of my Dimension Lock... are humans like yourself common? It HAS been a while since we last came to this place after all, maybe something changed."

Drake laughed, tapping his hand against the Box.

"Honestly? No... humans are just as pathetic as they've always been... I'm an outlier... an exception. You, though! Did you actually think I wouldn't notice that you were holding back? Of course I would capitalize on that, all I had to do was play around and get you to use your Measure, which I was fully aware of, by the way... my mother was the one who killed the last Aevator who came here, after all!"

Their conversation was surprisingly cordial and friendly. There almost seemed to be a decided lack of animosity between the two.

"Well... with that being said... I think it's time I get rid of you... you just being here causes an assload of problems. A shame I can't fight you at your best offensively... but at least I can say that I crushed your defenses with no trouble." Drake said.

"Gullveig."

The Goddess' spear quickly materialized in his hand, and he leveled the tip towards Balance.

"Wait! Before you proceed... perhaps you and I could come to an arrangement?" The Aevator said.

"Oh? And what arrangement could be worth keeping you alive?" Drake responded.

"Well... it may be possible for me to serve you in a similar way to that of the Goddesses you currently fight alongside. I'd be more than willing to do it, as well... being destroyed isn't really too high on my list of things to experience." It said calmly.

Drake lowered the spear, looking at the Aevator with a renewed interest. He sat still for a few moments, then rested his hand on his chin.

"What do you think? At the most... we'd end up having to fight and destroy it... at best, we get a new Contract of sorts and a sweet power up." He offered.

"I think you should do it. As much as I hate their kind, I have no doubt that subjugating one is well within your abilities." Khione said.

"Well... personally, I'm against it. Aevator are dangerous, and as far as we know, entirely unpredictable. But if Khione thinks you'll be okay... then I won't try to tell you otherwise." Gaia said.

"He's kind of scary... but he's probably really strong... so he'd be a big boost to your arsenal." Gullveig said.

"Can humans even make Contracts with an Aevator?" Pandora asked.

"I don't see why not... Aevators and Deities are similar in that they're both made up of a powerful energy." Drake said.

"Well... if it can be done, I condone it. It's not as though it could cause you any significant harm before we noticed and put a stop to it." She said.

"Cool! So how do we do this?" He asked.

"You'll have to expose my core, then take it and bind it to yourself." The creature explained. "Perhaps you could use a similar method to the one you use for your Deities." It offered.

"So a Word of Power Contract, eh? Okay... we'll give it a try. Needless to say, if you try something, we'll obliterate you before you have a chance to react." He said.

"Of course... that's what I'm trying to avoid."

Drake raised the spear once again, taking aim at the Aevator.

"Gullveig, Equalizer: Brilliance."

A ray of pale yellow light began to glow across the entirety of the spear, engulfing it with a warm radiance.

Taking a single step forward, Drake launched the spear towards the creature, where it slammed square into it.

The weapon carried the Aevator across the garden, impaling it against a nearby tree. The wrappings adorning its skin had torn away, revealing a cracked surface that was colored the same as the rest of the creature, unsurprisingly.

The spear dissipated, revealing a hole twice the size of the ones the tendrils had managed to make in Drake. The small orb that had eventually become the Aevator could be seen from the hole, pulsating with its own twisted energy.

Drake moved to the side of Balance, slipping his hand into the hole and ripping the orb free.

"This is it, right?" He asked.

"Indeed... now, perform your Contract ritual." It said.

Drake pressed the orb to his chest and took a deep breath.

"Utterly calm, hatred nonexistent, I seek fulfillment of my birthright. I, Drake Allan Greymoor, form a permanent Contract with the Aevator, Balance, who will henceforth be known as... Cthulhu... because of those tendrils." Drake said.

The orb began to press against his flesh forcefully, demanding entrance. It began to sink into his skin, melding itself with his chest. Despite his eyes widening with concern, he made no move to try and stop it, and soon it had finished, fully engulfed by his skin.

It pulsates underneath of him with power, thumping against his skin like a second heart. After a moment, the veins in his chest began turning black and white as his body adjusted to the change.

He stayed still for several minutes, just to ensure that he would be alright. When he finally tore his eyes away from his chest, the Aevator had disappeared.

"So... did it work?" He asked.

"It would seem so." A familiar voice said. "What is a Cthulhu?" It added.

"It's... ah... it's an old mythical deity that never actually existed, but it was always kind of popular." He explained.

"I see. Very well, I will accept this new name." It replied.

"Alright! Come on out." Drake commanded.

The Aevator appeared before him, kneeling.

"Can you change your form?" He asked.

"I can."

"Then... change to something a little less conspicuous... people would freak out if they saw you looking like you do. Most people know exactly what Aevators look like." He said.

The Aevator began to morph, its skin turning the same milky pale as Drake's. ITS hair quickly grew as well, adopting the same brown color, and its eyes the same amber. When all was said and done, Drake was looking at a bonafide doppelgänger.

"Okay... that's a little weird... it's kinda like looking in a mirror. Think you can make it obvious that you aren't actually me?" He asked.

Without a word, its hair darkened to a tar black, and its eyes adopted a new, blood red.

"Great... I think that'll work... whenever I'm around people, you should use that form." Drake said happily.

"Understood. Also... what... gender was Cthulhu?" It asked.

"Well... I think Cthulhu was pretty widely accepted as a male." Drake said.

"Very well. Then please refer to me as a male from this point forward. Aevator don't have genders, so we would simply refer to one another with our aspect... Balance, Aggression, things like that. I could see how that may get tedious in the human language." He said.

Drake nodded, and Cthulhu returned to him.

"Lillian? Are you okay? You've been awfully quiet." Drake said.

"I'm... I'm fine! You... you... you beat an Aevator! And you made it look easy!" She cried.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't make a big deal out of it, okay? Now come on, let's get back to Ivoria." He said.

"I... can't move my legs." She said. "I think the Aevator's energy made my body seize up."

She was lying on her back in the flowerbed, her face covered in a thin layer of dirt.

Sighing, Drake knelt down and scooped her up in his arms. She gave a surprised squeak, but calmed down after a moment.

"You good? I'm going to start walking." He said.

She nodded her head, pushing herself against him slightly.

He brought her to the gardens entrance, then turned around a few times to ensure he knew his way to the teleporter.

"Man... I hope I don't have to get used to quiet like this... this just puts me on edge." He said.

"Indeed... to think that humanity would have to flee in terror from this place to avoid being involved in an urbicide." She said.

"Still... if I can get there in time... I don't think we have much to fret over." He said.

"That's true... but will you make Contracts with every Aevator you fight?" She asked.

He looked at her for a moment, then grinned.

"Why not? It'd make me really powerful... on that note, could you maybe not tell anyone about my new Contract? I don't want anyone to panic." He said.

She gave him a rather coy look.

"What is my silence worth?" She asked.

"What do you want?" He countered.

"Dinner." She replied without hesitation.

"You want me to buy you dinner?" He asked.

"No, I want you to take me to dinner, and not just once! This is my way of getting you to go out with me, and more importantly, outside in general. You can't just stay locked in your room whenever you aren't on a mission." She said.

He looked at her, rounding a corner, then sighed.

"I guess I can't say no... I should have thrown your ass in the pond or something." He grinned. "At least then I'd get to see you all wet."

"Maybe you'll get to see that anyway. Who knows?" She said, blowing him a raspberry.

"Alright, Princess. Calm down... you know I'd never be able to lay a hand on you." He said.

"Of course... can you pick up the pace a little?" She asked.

It took them another five minutes to reach the teleporter pad, and another three to get it activated.

"It's on single user only, to conserve power. You want to go first?" He asked.

She jumped up a few times, ensuring that blood was flowing to her legs normally, then nodded. Stepping on the magic circle, she gave Drake a wave, the disappeared in a flash of light.

He readied the device for a second use, then set it to auto. He quickly moved to the pad, then hopped into its center.

A field of white light clouded his vision, and he could feel himself making the jump between dimensions.

His eyes opened, and were greeted with what looked to be the entire student body standing before him.

"Well, how'd it go?" Came Allicity's voice from beside him.

He turned to face his Headmistress, pointing to his new scar. Fortunately, there were no longer any signs of the orb on his chest, so the other students would be unable to recognize anything different.

"The Aevator has been dealt with." He said quietly.

The group erupted into a cacophony of cheers.

Drake smiled just a little, mostly thankful that Khione was there to keep him from passing out. But there was SOME pride in his smile.

After being smothered in congratulations, he managed to wade his way through the crowd, following Allicity.

They eventually arrived in her office where he took a seat and gave the largest sigh of relief he had ever known.

"You did beat it, right?" She asked.

"Cthulhu." Drake said.

The appearance of the Aevator made the woman jump in her chair.

"Th-th-th-this is the Aevator, right? Why is it here?" She stammered.

"Easy... Drake chose to let me live in return for my service... I have no animosity towards you anymore... I'm not foolish enough to think I'd have a chance against him." He explained.

She listened calmly, her eyes darting from Drake to Cthulhu constantly.

"Ok... Drake... I'm assuming you consulted with your Deities before you did this, right?" She asked.

"He did. We were in agreement that the opportunity outweighed the risk." Pandora said.

She gave a sigh, leaning back in her chair.

"Alright... for now I'm going to allow it... we don't actually have a policy for dealing with amicable Aevators... we never thought we'd need one." She said. "But I will have to inform the Ivoria Board." She said.

"Ok... if they need me... they can contact me. Is that everything?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Good work today, Drake, go get some rest... you've earned it."

Colette's eyes shot open, and she quickly forced herself up.

Drake was sitting up in his bed, his eyes closed as Pandora ran her hand over his head. The remnants of a magic tether could be seen leaving Colette's side of the room and returning to her hand.

"Was that... a dream?" She asked.

"Yes and no... for you, it was a dream, but for him... it was a memory, as fresh in his mind as the day it occurred." Pandora explained. "Now, try and get some rest, there's still several hours left before you need to be awake."

Part of Colette doubted that she'd be able to get much sleep after seeing something so surreal, but her tiredness quickly got the better of her after she laid back down, and soon she had been claimed by slumber once more.