Blue Nexus #35 - Familiar Faces

            A tower loomed overhead, blurred through the dream-vision. It seemed to be somehow divided into four separate sections, though the haze Kyle saw the tower through made it nearly impossible to tell for sure. Still, the height was fairly obvious.

            Shadows wafted around the base of the tower like a smoke machine, but didn’t draw closer to where he stood. Around him, people—that he couldn’t see or distinguish—shifted. But Kyle felt a hard focus. He glared at the tower, his body and senses tightening up.

            But at the sight of the tower that he’d never even seen before? What?

            Besides the possible moving levels of the tower, it had little special about it to distinguish it from any tower he may have seen in a book or movie. It was almost perfectly cylindrical and made of faded stone. Yet something was up with this tower, something eerie. Something dark.

            Kyle was sucked into the third level, the vision fading then restarting as he felt his heart beat quicken. Despair fell around him. He tried looking around but there was nothing there. He felt empty, standing alone. Standing cold.

            Another presence filtered into the room, placing pressure onto Kyle. As his heart beat quickened, the pressure on his body increased as well. His right arm specifically. The presence moved closer to Kyle. Voices cried out in Kyle’s head, some he recognized and many more that he didn’t. Some were shouting bloody murder and others were cries for help.

            Kyle was frozen under the pressure. A hand wrapped around his entire body. Kyle looked down to his left hand, where there was a small blue glow. He reached for it, though his hands were completely invisible in the darkness. A woman’s voice, one he did recognize but wasn’t sure from where, yelled as well. Kyle mirrored it, matching her pitch and tone.

            His finger came into the light, tapping the blue light. It exploded, blinding him and repelling the darkness. For a quick moment, he could see a humanoid figure falling back, sucking up the darkness around it.

            Finally, he hit the ground. His body flailed before he locked it under control and spun around, standing up. He was panting, his fists clenched. His gaze flew around his surroundings.

            Kyle stood back in the canyon, overwhelmed by various greys and boulders again. He controlled his breathing, his mind registering that he knew this place, that he was safe—in a strange sense—there. The only question now was where Jericho could be?

            Both Brenda and Hood Nexus were nowhere to be seen as well. Was he the only one that made it to the Nether? No, that couldn’t be. He had no reason to return to the Nether. If anything, those two should be in the Nether and he should just be dead.

            Kyle looked up, feeling a power swell within him. He raised his arms, noticing the black sleeves on his arms. Was he…?

            Yes! Kyle leapt into the air, and caught himself. He still managed to retain his Nexus powers. Kyle floated up higher into the air. The powers were suppressed—or drained, he couldn’t tell—but were at least there, existent compared to last time. When he got higher than the canyon, Kyle looked around, for any other signs of life. As far as he could see, there was just a long plane, though he knew that view was deceptive.

            He shot forward regardless, into the flatland between canyons. In seconds he saw the canyon again and frowned. He dropped down, freefalling until he suspended himself a few feet overhead, then looked up to the highest point. Well, wasn’t really the highest point anymore, but for normal people he supposed it would be.

            A new theory popped into his mind. Kyle pumped his fist, an energy blast shooting out if it, going high into the dark grey sky. Kyle didn’t move, just kept staring up into the sky. Something glimmered, and the blue ball plummeted much faster down at him. Kyle side-stepped it, allowing it to crash into the ground.

            So, he figured, regardless of what the highest point really is, it all comes down to the fact that one has to take that leap of faith. Kyle nodded, and prepared to jump at the highest point. Someone snagged at his arm, spinning him around.

            Jericho was there, arms open. He was still just a faded shadow, yet Kyle could read that expressionless face.

            “Alucard did it again,” Kyle said. “This time catching me and my two friends. Please, Jericho, you have to help us get out of here.”

            Jericho hesitated. “But, I thought you’d be dead? Nobody has survived the Nether, let alone successfully escape it.” He shrugged. “So much for that, though, since you’re stuck back here. Lucky for us, though, I think there’s an exception to the rule.”

            Kyle raised his eyebrow, and Jericho pointed to his Nexus bracelet.

            “You’re now protected by the Nexus, whereas you weren’t before. The two aren’t necessarily bonded, so you can’t draw more power from it. However, you can escape the Nether without the need of another life to be used, as you have already been between worlds. It’s like a road. You can make one jump to another, but without a road paved there’s no smooth transition. You’re a bridge between the Nether and the rest of the world now. It’s nothing short of incredible.”

            “Okay, yeah, that’s wonderful Jericho but I seriously need to get back to Earth,” Kyle said, starting to move. He stopped. “Hey, wait, where are my friends?”

            Someone groaned behind a boulder, then pushed it out of the way. The boulder rolled a few feet, but just enough for Brenda to stand up, stretching. She looked around groggily, then saw Kyle. She dashed over to him.

            “Kyle, where are we?” she asked, reaching Kyle and Jericho. “And, who is this?”

            “We’re in the Nether, and this is Jericho,” Kyle said. “He’s sort of attached to this realm, or something. Look, I have to go, but I think we can work an exchange, Alucard for Brenda?”

            “No need,” Jericho said. “Look at her again. Close.”

            Kyle did so, gazing into Brenda’s eyes. Her pupils were still that fierce scarlet, but within them, he could swear he saw her magic moving. He could even sense her magical abilities working unconsciously within her. Brenda shook her head, confused.

            “I don’t understand,” Brenda said. She shrugged, and an aura of red went with her. She looked down to her body, opening her palm. A wave of red magic crashed into it.

            “Your magic protects you, Shield mage,” Jericho said. “Her soul hasn’t been tainted by the Nether. She wouldn’t be turned if she escapes either, and with her here, we may yet have enough magical power to actually tear a whole through the realms.”

            “Oh, no way!” Kyle shouted. “And with Hood Nexus, we’ll definitely have that kind of power!”

            Brenda looked over Kyle shoulder, tapping it. Kyle glanced over, where another figure was standing up. But it wasn’t who Kyle was expecting.

            “Guess this cat’s out of the bag,” Brian, Kyle’s old lacrosse captain and friend, said. He shrugged, placing his hands into his pockets. He wasn’t in his Nexus form, forced out as Kyle had been before. So, then where was his…?

            “Why didn’t you tell us before?” asked Kyle, forgetting the question on his mind. “That you were Hood Nexus?”

            “It wasn’t important,” Hood Nexus said. “We worked well enough together without it. And if you’d known, it would risk you exposing me to the other students. There being two Nexus on Earth draws enough attention, and two being from the same area would be insane.”

            “How did you get the Nexus powers?” asked Brenda, turning to face him fully as well.

            “I was young, very young,” Brian said. “I found it at a space exhibit in a museum. Like you did with your bracelet, it bonded to me. I knew I had to keep my powers sort of a secret, but that became increasingly difficult. I mastered my powers, with very strict limits because I could hardly train, around the time that Riko, Phoenix, and the rest of the core Zanderia members sprouted up. They were only protectors of the Earth then, and some of the other Sentients told me about nearby planets that needed a Nexus guardian there as well.

            “So, I began my intergalactic battles. I managed to do things with the Nexus that so many others hadn’t done in a very long time, most of which I was able to show you, Kyle, over our training and when we fought Aequitas’s brother. Not only that, but I was apparently only a kid to them. I wasn’t bitter about it, joining the Zanderia wasn’t something I dreamed of—no offense, of course, I’m sure they’re a great group.”

            “And all this time, on lacrosse and during high school, you’ve had this power?” asked Kyle.

            “Right around freshman year was when I started planet hopping, fighting intergalactic crime lords and really learning about how this galaxy, and universe, works,” Brian said. “It was pretty damn eye-opening. But this is something else. The Nether? Never thought I’d be here. Definitely didn’t want to.”

            “Nobody does,” Jericho said, somewhat scornful. Kyle didn’t bother asking why he came about Brian with that tone.

            “I’m not sorry for not telling you,” Brian said. “I stand by my decision. I guess you were probably going to find out about it sometime anyway, and in the Nether just makes sense because everything here is backwards. It’s just weird to be the outcast with no powers here.”

            Kyle turned about to face Jericho, who looked over at Brian before looking back at Kyle, straightening up.

            “We need to go,” Kyle said again, this time with more assertion. “Brian needs to get his powers back quick if we’re going to stand a chance against Alucard.”

            “Well, that much is irrelevant if we can’t escape in general,” Brian said.

            “Jericho just said that we have enough power to rip open a portal between here and Earth,” Kyle said. “Why wouldn’t we be able get back?”

            Jericho sighed, bowing his head. “I was afraid that this would happen. Damn this place.” He pointed behind him. Kyle followed it, up to three figures standing at the highest point.

            Dark versions of each hero stood at the highest point, Kyle’s standing in the center with Brenda on his right and Brian at his right. Neither Kyle’s nor Brian’s were in their Nexus form, but had tons of dark power radiating off of them anyway.

            The heroes all turned to face them, Kyle instinctively trying to power up but finding it a useless gesture. Brenda was able to power up, given that her magic came from within.

            “I’m afraid that since the Nether isn’t able to copy any of your souls to corrupt them, it had to make copies to just replace you,” Jericho said. “So long as they exist, you won’t be able to escape, and I can’t help you. You’re on your own.”

            Kyle felt him begin to fade away. He looked over at Brian.

            “Why wouldn’t you be—?”

            A powerful, fast knee connected with his gut. Kyle soared back, hitting the canyon wall hard. His world spun as he peeled off, landing on his knees. There was a flash of red as Brenda blocked her doppelganger’s attack.

            Brian shouted, and in a bright blue flash was back into his Nexus form. Kyle tilted his head. Wait, but, was he even wearing bracelet?

            He had hardly any time to follow that train of thought. His doppelganger was coming in fast with another kick. Kyle lurched out of the way just in time. He whipped his head around to only be met by a fierce strike of dark energy.

            Kyle rolled back onto his butt. His doppelganger straightened up, holding his hands out as the power of the Nether flowed into them. Kyle gulped, then pushed himself up and raised his fisticuffs.

            “Well let’s see how this goes, I guess,” he muttered.

            Kyle’s doppelganger shot at him, using the walls and dark energy as a propeller. Kyle side-stepped him, swelling his hands with his own Nexus energy. He blasted at the doppelganger, feeling his energy pool drop dramatically. Luckily, he managed to catch his doppelganger before he could fully turn around, blasting him in the chest.

            The doppelganger spiraled into the ground, remaining there for a quick second. Kyle sprinted for the doppelganger, aware of how low his reserves were. The doppelganger leapt out of his rut, nearly onto Kyle. Kyle ducked beneath him, punching as the doppelganger landed.

            Dark Kyle shouted with a laugh and elbowed Kyle in the mouth, then swung his hands around with the dark energy and planted his hands right onto Kyle’s chest. With no other option, Kyle did the same, blasting him away with more Nexus energy. A wave of exhaustion slammed over Kyle, who tried to us it as a motivator. Kyle sprinted for his clone.

            The clone spun around, keeping his hand against the wall. Kyle continued his pursuit as the doppelganger turned. Rubble shot out of the canyon where the doppelganger stood, aiming right for Kyle’s pressure points. Only one hit, taking out his left leg. Kyle hit the dirt instantly.

            He rolled away from a heavy foot from his doppelganger, rolling back and kicking up with his right leg. Dark Kyle caught it, and flung Kyle away. Using some bit of his Nexus powers, Kyle managed to catch himself and control his landing. He looked down to his left leg, which was rather unresponsive. He grimaced, then created his lance in his hand and swung it down at his thigh.

            Kyle bit his tongue as the pain singed through his body and warmth oozed down his leg. He shook his left leg. Good, it was awake, and he had his lance now. Kyle twirled it around, then pointed it at the doppelganger, who held out his own hand. A shadow lance appeared to him as well, before a second faded into his other hand.

            “Oh now you’re just showing off,” Kyle said, walking toward Dark Kyle. Dark Kyle smiled wide, almost unnaturally wide.

            Brenda and her clone flew by, through the two combatants and actually through the canyon wall. Dust filled Kyle’s vision. He gripped the lance tightly, keeping his senses open.

            Nimbly, he spun around, blocking one lance and kicking the other away before he head-butted Dark Kyle. The doppelganger tumbled back, but recovered quickly, casting the second lance at Kyle, who deflected it.

            Kyle leapt into the air, holding his lance level with his breast, the majority held out so that he had a grip on mostly the bottom. He heaved it over his head, blowing the debris from the canyon away. Dark Kyle stabbed up. Kyle blocked, then kicked his doppelganger in the head. Dark Kyle shot away. Kyle lurched for him, speeding up and closing in with the lance.

            Dark Kyle stepped away, stabbing down. Kyle spun out of it, losing control. He stabbed into the ground with his lance to catch himself, then twirled it around and parried the attack from Dark Kyle. He held it even with his doppelganger, but was losing ground thanks to a lack of strength.

            Kyle shoved to the side, managing to get away from his dark counterpart, who was unfazed from much of the battle. Kyle shrugged back his shoulders. He held his lance up, waiting for Dark Kyle to strike. A symbol of a challenge.

            Dark Kyle smiled. He wanted to, wanted to so badly. He wanted nothing more than to fight, to kill Kyle. Destroy everything in his path. Kyle couldn’t remember much from when he was consumed by the Nether and his Demon magic, but he could remember a feeling of bloodlust. He knew he fought and scrapped Brenda, just was unaware of the details. Those didn’t matter in the moment, and for Dark Kyle, didn’t matter right now.

            All Kyle’s doppelganger was came from his need for war.

            Kyle couldn’t help but feel the opposite. He always wanted to use his superior abilities for the right reason. Might for right, not might of right. Kyle knew he was a hero, always went out of his way to do a good thing and try and make sure nobody else got hurt. Sometimes, that was just unavoidable, and it sucked. Dark Kyle?

            He used his power for his own agenda, regardless of what was around him. Dark Kyle was in every way Kyle’s equal in power, but his opposite in ability. And with nothing and nobody around him, Kyle felt a stirring in his stomach to match that sentiment.

            Dark Kyle blasted at Kyle with all of his strength and speed, keeping his lance behind him. In just two seconds, he was on top of Kyle. It was a move Kyle anticipated. What a fool.

            Kyle swung his lance down, ducking as he went with it. Dark Kyle jabbed with his lance, and Kyle snagged it out of the air, taking control of Dark Kyle’s forward momentum. He crashed both the lance and the doppelganger to the ground, spinning around with the lance still in hand. He drove it down toward the doppelganger, who avoided the attack and launched a large piece of the ground up at Kyle.

            It hit him right smack in the face. Kyle stepped back, tears swelling in his eyes. Dark Kyle attacked emptyhanded. Kyle struck with the lance, but it was batted aside and Dark Kyle followed through with his attack, landing a sucker punch in Kyle’s jaw. Kyle blasted into the canyon wall, a small bit of rubble falling atop him.

            Dark Kyle gripped Kyle’s neck and hefted him up, slamming him into the canyon wall behind him. He did this twice more before dropping Kyle and kicking him to the side.

            He looked back up at Dark Kyle, who was just staring at him with that wide, pretty creepy grin. Kyle still had a decent amount of Nexus energy left, but he would need much of that in order to fight against Alucard. He had to rely simply on the strength and speed his base Nexus form provided, but that didn’t seem to nearly enough to compete with Dark Kyle.

            Then again, there was one other method…

            Kyle glanced down to his right shoulder, where the Demon mage mark was planted. That was an option, and it would mean simply pulling from his own magical pools of energy. He had no idea how much of that existed, and besides, this whole world seemed to be pretty good amount supplying Demon magic. After all, Dark Kyle was probably using some type of it.

            Kyle quieted his mind, sifting through the Nexus energy, looking for his inner Demon mage. In the quietness, though, a voice cried out against it. Kyle’s eyes shot open.

            No was right. If he used the Demon mage abilities, he could become corrupted. Perhaps not here, but in the outside world and provide a problem again for Brenda in their very real struggle against Alucard. Kyle’s Demon mage form would be enough to turn to the tide against the heroes. It would also turn the tide of the battle here.

            Kyle glanced at his friends. Brenda and her dark foe were battling it out in the plain, matching attack for attack while keeping shields up. Hood Nexus seemed to be doing pretty good against his clone, who wasn’t so much attacking but defending quite sheepishly. Hood Nexus was also going in pretty fierce against him.

            “What’ll it be?” asked Dark Kyle.

            Kyle clenched his right fist, glaring across to his enemy. No. None of the Demon mage power. He was the Blue Nexus, not whatever it was that stood across him, hungering for vengeance, darkness, and evil.

            Kyle raised his clenched fist, then opened his palm. An energy ball appeared in his hand, growing until it was the size of a beach ball. Dark Kyle’s eyes grow more open as the ball expanded.

            “Is this what you want?” asked Kyle. “Want me to give you a shot of this?”

            Dark Kyle didn’t move, didn’t make a single gesture. Kyle’s slight smile on his face was inescapable.

            “Too bad.”

            The ball sucked back into his hand like dust in a vacuum. Dark Kyle’s smile turned right upside down, and he held out his hand to create a large black ball. Kyle shrugged.

            “Go ahead. I’m waiting.”

            Dark Kyle’s dark energy ball rocketed at Kyle, like a shadow moving along the background. It closed in on Kyle quick. Kyle took the blast chest-first, catching it before it could blow him back and explode. His hands glowed blue.

            If he wanted to play that game—dark energy versus pure energy—then Kyle knew just the solution of how to fix it. The blueness of the Nexus energy overwhelmed the large ball of energy until it was completely blue. Now, no longer using his own energy but still able to manipulate it, Kyle shoved it forward, combining it with his own super strength.

            Kyle closed his fist just as Dark Kyle was about to dive out of the way. Dark Kyle blasted against the far side of the canyon, blue smoke rising from his body. Kyle sprinted across the way. Dark Kyle got to his knees, still frowning. He threw his arms forward. Most of the surrounding boulders left the ground and encircled Kyle, each ready to hit him. Kyle leapt forward, dodging one boulder coming at him from up front.

            Now all the boulders surrounded both of them. Dark Kyle pulled his arms in anyway, sending the boulders at them. They both dodged one. Dark Kyle planted his foot on one and leapt up. Kyle tried to do the same, only to be smacked by a wave of black energy and hit with a boulder anyway.

            Kyle veered off and bounced off the ground. He pushed himself to his knees before a powerful foot connected with his gut, sending him airborne. Suspended in the air for just a second, Kyle was able to block the next attack by Dark Kyle, then spin around and land on both of his feet.

            Brenda came flying across the way and crashed into Kyle, toppling him over. Hood Nexus did the same, sending the three of them to the ground.

            Kyle groaned when he stood, rubbing his stomach. He felt like he wanted to throw up. The air around him tightened as the three dark beings came to form a triangle around them. Brenda got up before Brian did. Brian rolled back his shoulder.

            “This is getting really annoying,” Brian said. “I’ve just about had it with punching myself in the face.”

            “Put that on the list of things you thought you’d never say,” Kyle said.

            “In this line of work? That’s a pretty long list, Kyle,” Brian replied.

            “Regardless, we need a plan,” Brenda said. “I get the feeling that our idea of dividing and conquering isn’t going over entirely well.”

            “You’re right, but it just makes sense,” Brian said.

            Kyle looked up at the highest point, where Jericho stood with his arms crossed. He nodded down to Kyle, though Kyle wasn’t sure if that was a nod to follow Brenda’s idea or to use his Demon magic. He went with the former.

            “We gang up on one,” Kyle said. “And do the same for the next few. Brenda, if you can use your magic long enough to protect us, or even trap who we’re going after, that should do the trick.”

            “Hold back two of them at once?” asked Brenda. “I’m tired as is. Plus, my clone is able to just nullify my magic.”

            “So we go after her first,” Brian said. “Kyle, you ready?”

            Nexus energy filled up his hands, turning them blue. His eyes glowed a bright blue as well. Kyle nodded, and the two Nexuses shot forward right at Brenda’s doppelganger.

            Brenda cast a red barrier behind them, blocking Dark Kyle as he leapt in to try and intervene. Dark Brenda threw up her arms, a black barrier appearing. Both Kyle and Hood Nexus moved away, Kyle going up and Hood Nexus going low. Simultaneously, they fired energy beams from both directions. Dark Brenda placed herself in a box, though clearly with a weaker focus on her front.

            Brenda pushed off her barrier, kicking through Dark Brenda’s black cube. The front opened up. Brian spun around, punching up a powerful blue energy beam. Dark Brenda tried to absorb the hit, but was forced out of her cube, her concentration broken. Kyle appeared over her, holding his open hand over his head.

            He faked an energy blast, forcing Dark Brenda to cast a shield over her. From beneath, Hood Nexus shoulder her square in the back, crashing her through the barrier. She flew up, right toward Kyle, who punched her right in the chest with a bright blue hand.

            Dark Brenda hit the canyon wall, fading away into the shadows as she did. Kyle spun around, looking directly at Dark Brian.

            Dark Brian’s hands swelled with dark energy. Brenda boxed him in, then turned around and redirected Dark Kyle into the ground. Brian shot at Brenda’s cube as it opened, punching his doppelganger across the face. Kyle felt the shock of the attack from where he was, and Dark Brian was no more.

            Dark Kyle hit the ground, bounced, and stabbed a lance into the ground. The three heroes floated next to each other, Brenda holding her hands out at her side ready to use her magic. Kyle sighed. One more.

            Kyle launched at him, Brian coming right after him. Dark Kyle sprinted, leapt, and threw the lance at them. The two Nexus separated. Brenda used a barrier to weave a path around her, and redirect the lance back at Dark Kyle. Kyle followed the path of the lance.

            The lance cut along Dark Kyle’s side, giving Kyle an opening to shoulder him in the chest. Brian, having hardly broken off his flight, was behind Dark Kyle to punch him into the ground.

            He crashed to the ground, dust flying up. Brenda stood in between the two Nexuses, creating a red box with an open side. Kyle and Brian both placed energy into it, and raised their arms with Brenda, floating up to be level with the highest point. The box and energy inside it grew.

            Dark Kyle shot at them from below, growing in his power as the darkness enveloped him. Kyle, Brian, and Brenda each swung their arms down simultaneously. The red box containing Nexus energy dropped like a massive weight down at Dark Kyle, who was too slow to try and cast his own energy at it.

            A cloud of purple enveloped the area, the shockwave knocking the three heroes back. They managed to retain their flight, suspending themselves in the air. When the purple dust cleared, there was nobody left and only debris and damage all over the canyon.

            Jericho, on the highest point, clapped loudly. The three of them turned about to face him, and flew over to him.

            “That was most impressive,” Jericho said. “And a nice final attack.”

            Kyle sighed. “Yeah, great, but, we’re still in a bit of a rush.”

            “Fine, no celebration,” Jericho said. His tone suddenly changed. “Alucard is going to be as powerful as those three foes combined. You have to attack him together to have a chance, given the state you’re all in now. Good luck.”

            He nodded to Kyle, who held up his arms. Brian raised his hands as well, probably knowing full well that Kyle was pretty darn drained.

            Jericho’s hands became black, and he swung them apart. Kyle and Brian both blasted where Jericho ripped and Brenda created two red barriers to hold the portal open.

            “Go!” Jericho shouted. “I can keep the breach open for a few seconds!”

            With a second thought, Kyle, Brian, and Brenda leapt into the void, watching as the greys fell around them and were replaced by the dark night sky that they had left behind on Earth. 

Next time: Boomer and Sandy are all that are left since the heroes have vanished into Alucard's attack. But, they're no heroes? And the time has come for Alucard's power to hit it's breaking point. Check it out in "Blue Nexus #36 - Familiar Faces"!