Broken Hero

Chapter 19

“So how long are you going to be gone again?” Warfalcon asks as she walks toward the door.

Eclipse pulls her keys out as she answers. “About a week. I plan on stopping at your parents' for a few days, and then I’ll bring my car back before going to see my friend. I’ll be off world for the rest of the time.”

“Alright, stay safe.” He waves as she gets her car from the garage.

Warfalcon’s parents live two hours away, closer to the center of the island, and the drive there was relaxing. Mr. Hayes was on the porch, enjoying the sun as she pulled up.

“Eclipse!” He stands up as she approaches, yelling into the house for his wife before hugging her.

She smiles as she awkwardly hugs him back. “How are you doing, Mr. Hayes?”

“You never did like hugs, did you? And how many times do I need to tell you, it’s Steve to you.” He chuckles as she follows him inside.

Mrs. Hayes meets her in the hallway and hugs her tightly. “Eclipse, my dear, you haven’t visited in far too long.”

She laughs nervously. “Sorry, Mrs....” She stops as the small woman gives her a stern look. “Right... Gale. Sorry, Gale.”

Gale smiles, leading her into the kitchen. “So, how is my Eric? He hasn’t visited me either. It’s so sad when my children won't come to see me.”

Eclipse smiles, rolling her eyes. “You know I’m not your kid, right?”

“I raised you through your teenage years. That’s close enough.” She smacks Eclipse on the head with her spatula as she laughs.

Eclipse spends the next couple of days with them, just enjoying her time with the two people who had taken her in. When it was time to go, Gale and Steve walked with her to her car.

“Don’t wait so long to visit next time, you hear?” Steve smiles as she gets into her car.

Gale hands her a plate of cookies as she adds, “And tell that son of ours that his parents would like a visit from him, too.”

“I will make sure he knows.” Eclipse laughs.

She makes her way back home, stopping to show her ID to the guards before stowing her car in the garage. Before heading back out, she puts the cookies in her pocket dimension and then slips into the shadow realm.

The shadows move around her as she walks, and the ground moves beneath her, lifting her. She stops, exiting the shadows and entering a dim hallway. Smiling to herself, she moves through the secret passageways of her family’s castle. The familiar corridors twist and turn until she finds the exit she had been looking for. She waits until it is quiet on the other side and then slips out, sticking to the shadows. A guard slips inside the room and looks around.

“Over here, Terrance.” Eclipse steps into the light and gets his attention.

“Any updates?” He sighs in relief as he walks over to her. “The Soothsayer has several guards under her control. Most of them are only following her so they can protect their families. However, there are a select few who are being paid.”

“Then let’s get to work. We need to set procedures in place for the families who need them.” He nods as she leads him back to the passageways.

The rest of the week was spent documenting where the guard’s families were and setting up emergency protection. Now, when the Soothsayer made her move, Eclipse could guarantee their safety. Terrance breathed a sigh of relief once they had finished.

“Are you sure that you won’t talk to your family?” He looks at her in concern.

She shakes her head. “Until I know they’ll be safe from the Soothsayer, I need to stay away.”

He sighs, but nods. “I understand, ma’am.”

She steps into the shadows and lets out her sigh. When she was fifteen, the Soothsayer had convinced her father to send her to earth so she could learn different fighting styles. What her father didn’t know was that an asteroid shower would intercept her ship, causing it to crash. Eclipse had been ejected from the ship and into the ocean, where the waves pulled her under and out of sight from the search party that her father had sent for her.

Gabriel approached her once she had better control of her powers, warning her not to return to her home world. The Soothsayer had been working with Chaos demons, who gave her a prophecy. If she could get rid of Eclipse before her twenty-eighth birthday, then her coup would succeed, and she would become queen. So, Eclipse watches over them from the shadows.

She sinks into the shadows, letting them slip by her before making them solid again and landing softly in a puff of smoke. The shadows parted, and she stepped out into the sunlight outside the academy gates.

The guard smiles as she approaches. “Stronggirl! I didn’t even see you leave!”

He takes her ID and waves her in.

She looks at him, confused by how cheerfully they addressed her. “Uh, OK.”

“I always thought you were such a stick in the mud. Nice to see I was wrong.” He continues as she walks by. “The students had a lot of fun yesterday.”

“Yesterday?” She stops short, but he had already moved on.

Shadows dart away from her as she walks, her footsteps quick as anger rushes through her. Someone was impersonating her, and she was determined to find out who. A shadow zips back, and she turns towards the gym. Her aura darkens and sends students scattering as she enters the building, heading toward the main training area.

Her sensitive hearing catches Warfalcon’s deep voice. “So Stronggirl. I have a question for you.”

“Again, Warfalcon? I thought you’d be tired of this game.” A voice that sounds like hers laughs. “Alright, go ahead.”

“What happens when you’re angry? Like, furious.” She could hear the smirk in his voice as she turned the corner.

“That’s a little personal, don’t you think?” The voice sighs as Eclipse gets closer. "I guess I usually give you the silent treatment.”

Warfalcon clicks his tongue in disappointment. “That’s not the correct answer.”

The woman laughs, slightly nervous. “What do you mean? I think I know how I react when I’m angry. How do you think I act?”

Eclipse reaches for the door as he responds.

“Like that.” Warfalcon points at her as she walks in, and everyone around them freezes as she turns her gaze towards the fake.

“I’m confused. What's going on?” Anna moves closer to Warfalcon as the fake backs away.

“When Eclipse gets furious, usually over someone putting her loved ones in danger, she goes into what I call berserk mode. The whites of her eyes turn black, and her irises glow red. She also gives off that dark aura, which I could feel growing the second she entered the academy.” Warfalcon snickers before turning serious and looking at Eclipse.

“I’m still in control... for now.” She growls as she stalks toward the fake, her voice taking on a demonic undertone.

The woman backs up, hands in the air, “Now hold on. We can talk about this.”

“Not while you wear my face, we can’t.” Eclipse grabs her by the shirt and pins her to the wall.

“Ok, ok.” The woman yelps, terrified as her body shimmers.

Eclipse drops the woman whom she now towers above. “Now, start talking.”

She could feel her anger slowly die down before the woman started speaking again, gaining confidence when she saw Eclipse’s eyes changing back to normal. “Rumors had it that you had left. Everyone kind of assumed you were gone for good. Guess we were wrong.” Eclipse rolls her eyes and starts walking towards Warfalcon as she continues. “I used the opportunity to infiltrate the academy. I was going to get rid of Warfalcon, but he was so suspicious of me that I couldn’t get him alone. That little Brunette girl was going to be my next target.”

Eclipse felt her anger rush back and take over as she slammed the woman against the wall.

“Anna, no!” She could hear Warfalcon faintly through the fog, and then hands around her arm.

The anger suddenly subsides, leaving her breathless as she steps away from the stunned woman. Anna clung to her arm, a look of relief on her face.

“Don’t ever do that again!” Eclipse grits her teeth as she jerks her hand away and storms out of the room.

Once she was outside, remorse filled her. She leans against the wall, rubbing her face with a hand as she calms down before going to find Anna again. It didn’t take long to find her sitting by the pond. Eclipse sighs as she sits beside her. Watching her tense up made her heart break. Anna opens her mouth to speak, but Eclipse raises a hand and stops her.

“Look, I’m sorry for snapping at you. I wasn’t angry with you.” She sighs.

Anna’s voice comes out softly, “You sure sounded angry...”

“I wasn’t... to be honest, I was scared.” She bites her lip as Anna looks at her in surprise. “The last time I lost control, Warfalcon tried to stop me like you did. Instead, I turned on him and, before I could stop myself, I had beaten him so badly that he had to go to the hospital.”

She takes a deep breath as Anna puts a hand on her arm. “I didn’t know.”

“I know. And I’m sorry for snapping at you...” She swallows hard, “I just... I like you... and if I had hurt you...”

Anna gives her arm a small squeeze. “You wouldn’t, you promised not to, remember?”

Eclipse chuckles as she nods, and the two of them fall silent.

“So... you like me, huh?” Anna grins.

Eclipse groans as she starts to giggle. “This was not how I saw myself confessing to you.”

“I don’t mind. I like you too.” Anna leans on her shoulder.