Blue Nexus #31 - One for One

         
           The darkness crept up Kyle’s arm, covering his arm in pure black until he felt the power in his fingertips. Kyle pointed his hand ahead, as if shooting an energy blast with the Nexus powers, and released the energy, blowing away a small boulder.

            Next to him, Jericho nodded. Kyle sighed, then swung his arm forward. A shadow lurched forward, and wrapped around the boulder fifty yards away. Kyle felt his whole body tense as he tried to pull it toward him. He reached out with his left hand to try and grab the strand, but found it nearly impossible to move it.


            Jericho shook his head. Kyle flicked his gaze over for a mere moment. The strand snapped, flinging back and hitting him, sending him back a few feet. Kyle crashed onto the ground, his breath leaving him before he sucked it all back in, with a few heaps of dirt added as well.

            “You’re thinking too much, just let the magic flow through you,” Jericho said. “You’re magical source is tethered to this place. The Nether is also eternal, therefore you magic is as well. You can reach in and dig as much as you want and never lose it. You’re holding yourself back too much.”

            “Well I’ve also never really dealt with magic except the past, what, three hours we’ve been at this?” Kyle asked. “I’m doing my best here, Jericho.”

            “I understand,” Jericho said. “You’ll get it, I promise. Let’s try it again now.”

            Kyle nodded, standing up. He brushed the dirt off his legs. The shadows on his arm faded back, now in the form of black, crooked streaks running along his arm. He exhaled, and his arm was bathed in shadow once more.

            He blasted the one boulder with relative ease before lashing out and taking hold of the boulder farther away. Kyle tugged at it, retracting his magic and bringing the boulder with him. Jericho shrugged.

            Kyle tried to yank the boulder up. A wave of dark magic went over his shoulder, and he felt a burning sensation in his elbow, as if trying to lift a heavy weight but without your arm following through. With a magical muscle now torn, Kyle titled his head, and pulled back hard. He chipped away slightly more at the magic.

            “Digging in all at once isn’t going to help you, you have to take it incrementally,” Jericho said. “You’re dead, you’re not really pressed for that much time.”

            “Well I’d also like to escape here, too,” Kyle said, his voice hoarse from the struggle the magic was bringing.

            He zeroed in on the boulder, his vision blurring out all his other surroundings like a camera focus. The black strand grew stronger, thicker. Kyle felt a pulsating in his arm, growing faster and faster. The shadow crept up and touched his lip. He clenched his fist, and yanked up the boulder.

            The boulder soared into the air, going high over the plateau of the quarry. Jericho nodded next to him but Kyle wasn’t done. He pulled back the whip, then cracked it, shattering the boulder with ease.

            Smaller rocks rained down on the quarry away from Kyle and Jericho. The pulsing in Kyle’s arm slowed, but was significantly slower to stop completely.

            He sighed when it was gone and when the mark was all that remained on his arm. He shrugged his right arm, rolling it around.

            “Much better in a far shorter amount of time, I like it,” Jericho said. “You might not be a mage but you’re catching on just as quick as a mage might. It’s truly impressive.”

            Kyle knelt down, recovering his breath. Beads of sweat rolled down his face, despite the coldness that the Nether provided. The air was still incredibly tight, but he wasn’t sure if that was due to his tiredness or if it was like that before. It was tough to remember, considering how he’d been practicing the magic for a while now.

            Practice was incredibly difficult at first. Kyle had no control over it, but unlike what he was expecting, he couldn’t tap into it at all. It was pretty embarrassing too, as Jericho said that his ability to use it would be essentially automatic thanks to the properties granted by the Nether for the magic.

            They had to start with Kyle just being able to get the magic to appear on his arm before anything. After that it came similar to Kyle as Nexus training had, though this time it felt far more fluid. The simple explanation for that, he found, was that the magic wasn’t just bonded to his body like the Nexus bracelet was, but it was a part of his body. It was like blood, it was molded in his body now. It wouldn’t be quite as present unless he summoned it, but it would always be there, with practically no feasible way of expunging it.

            They worked on magical attacks before magical manipulation, since attacking Alucard was the priority. Given how strong Alucard was, if Kyle didn’t go in swinging, he knew it’d be over fast. Jericho seemed to stress it quite a bit, too, which worried Kyle a little extra.

            Jericho wasn’t a bad instructor in the slightest, Kyle knew. He was kind, helpful, but also very constructive. Kyle wasn’t a fan of how laid-back about the situation he was, but he still felt Kyle’s urgency and did his best to replicate it where needed. He knew the magic like the back of his hand, making it incredibly easy to explain it to Kyle. It made Kyle wonder if he’d done this before with others passing through the Nexus. It would be a little fruitless, considering how nobody had yet to escape the Nether before it was their time to pass on.

            That was another thing that scared Kyle a little. Was he on a timer? Would he just fade out of existence randomly and leave the Earth in the hands of his friends, who were all scattered and tired at this point? He had faith in them, but also knew they needed some kind of help and soon. If he were to just die, though, he obviously had no way of helping them out.

            Kyle stood back up. He and Jericho looked around the quarry. There were dozens of blast markings, both deep and shallow, around it where Kyle blasted. There were smaller craters around, too, where Kyle missed hitting the boulder. His practice as Blue Nexus helped his aim quite a bit, though, which was good. It allowed them to put more emphasis on what Kyle didn’t know, such as how he could use his magic to move objects, or turn himself into a shadow and become essentially invisible.

            “That’s good for now,” Jericho said, clearly assessing the situation. “Anymore runs the risk of damaging your magical reserves.”

            Kyle raised an eyebrow. I thought you just said that I had a limitless pool of magic?”

            “Yes, you have magic to take from, but you also have a limit to how much magic you can exercise at one time,” Jericho said. “A river can allow tons of water to flow through it, but put too much water in it and it leads to widespread damage of its surroundings. You are the same way. Your magical veins can carry indeed great swaths of magic, but when there is too much? You’ll run the risk of damaging your body. You can just pull from a limitless amount of magic, you can’t use a limitless amount. Well…”

            Jericho turned away, kicking away a rock.

            “There are other people who can?”

            “And they are incredibly dangerous,” Jericho said. “Their bodies are so far beyond repair that you might even say they are magic themselves. And there has never been a mage in existence who can have that type of power and use it for the good of others.”

            “A saying on Earth is that absolute power corrupts absolutely,” Kyle said. He figured he would be kind and catch Jericho up with Earth lingo. Keep him in the know.

            “It’s exactly right,” Jericho said. “Take the War Gods for example. Absolute power, and they’re all corrupted, not a one of them is good. And one of them is such a magical being that I was talking about.”

            Jericho turned around, leaning in closer. Kyle took a cautious step back.

            “The First,” Jericho said. “That’s what they call him. Even the second strongest War God couldn’t hold a candle to his power. Some say he may even be a true Demon. I’m telling you right now, if you ever come across him, run to the farthest end of the universe you can. Maybe then you have a chance.”

            A shiver ran up Kyle’s back. He and Gargador, just a Demi-War God, were often on the same plane of power. Gargador was a servant of Cata, who was up there in power with the War Gods. He wasn’t sure if she was the second strongest, but even if she were, the fact that there existed one, or two, more powerful beings?

            How could a being like that exist?

            Kyle looked around the Nexus curiously, then back over to Jericho. He was looking away. Such a strong place could only come from someone with unending amounts of magic. Would it be possible…

            A flash blinded Kyle for a couple seconds. He shielded his eyes. Jericho laughed.

            “Finally!” he exclaimed. “Well, Kyle Raiden, if you’re going to escape, you’ve got as good a time as any right now.”

            Jericho pointed behind Kyle. He turned around. Smoke was rising around a person’s figure. They were in complete shadow, unmoving. Jericho passed by Kyle to greet them.

            When the smoke cleared up and the person took on their grey appearance, Kyle froze. He knew her. She was wearing what she was in when he last saw her. Kyle blinked twice. Did she really not make it out of the hospital alive?

            Jericho approached her gently. She looked around confused.

            “Where am I?” she asked, her voice low.      

            “A world where nothing is real and everything waits,” Jericho said. “It’s the middle plane of existence, a Limbo of sorts. It’s the Nether.”

            The woman’s face drooped. “I died?”

            “I’m sorry,” Jericho said. “And this is merely a place of passing, where you may move onto the next life or the final death. I apologize again for you loss.”

            “I know you,” Kyle said. “You were outside the hospital before I was sent here.”

            Luna looked at him curiously. She looked him up and down, noticing the bracelet. She gasped.

            “Blue Nexus, is that you?” she asked.

            Kyle nodded, the pit still forming in his stomach. He saved her. He brought her to the hospital, and he knew, he knew that she would get much better as the day progressed. But here she was. Why? How? Who could’ve done this?

            Alucard.

            Kyle balled up a fist.

            “Yeah,” he said, trying to suppress his rage. His arm quivered. “I’m Blue Nexus. And before you ask, Alucard sent me here. Pretty much effortlessly. But, I saved you. You were in the hospital, and they said that you were, basically, fine? Why are you here?”

            Luna nodded, pursing her lips. “I was in the hospital, yeah, and I got back on my feet pretty quick. Like you, Alucard tried to mess with me too.”

            “That explains why you’re here and didn’t go straight to the grave,” Jericho said.

            “I suppose, but, I was finished off anyway by our mutual archer friend,” Luna said. “Indirectly. Perhaps it was just my bad luck. I was by a car and I can just barely, like for hardly a second, I can recall an explosion. Then I drifted and I woke up here. In the Nether.”

            “Sandy wouldn’t kill you,” Kyle said. “There’s no way. Alucard may have corrupted her but she’s still got a good amount of control over her actions.”

            “There was a fight and it was hectic,” Luna said. “And Alucard may have asserted more control over her. Blue Nexus, he’s gotten strong in just a few hours and soon, East City is going to be mercilessly attacked by him and whatever monsters he has.”

            “You can’t be serious,” Kyle said. “How is that possible, those monsters are pretty much covering the globe?”

            “It’s later in the evening, which gave us no time to get ready to evacuate the city,” Luna said. “They were trying, but, there’s just so many people and…it’s a mess. You have to help him, you have to go back!”

            Kyle opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t find the words to do so. Jericho shook his head, then grasped Luna’s shoulders.

            “In order for someone to escape the Nether, they have to be incredibly strong and sacrifice the soul of another,” Jericho said. “In that case, you would have to be a sacrifice for Kyle to return to Earth.”

            “Even then, there’s no guarantee that whatever Demon magic that’s here won’t corrupt me,” Kyle said. “It’s a gamble any way you look at it.”

            Luna stared hard at Kyle, as if trying to convey a message to him. Kyle shifted uncomfortably, then returned the look. She nodded to him.

            “I’ll die the hero I wanted to be,” she said. “Fine by me.”

            Boomer touched down in the ruin of his lab, the smell of toxicity still evident in the rubble. He dropped straight to the ground, his legs giving out under him. Everything just happened so fast, he couldn’t comprehend it. Death’s hand and grip were so fast, at any second, he could…

            Hood Nexus stepped on glass, shattering it, and snapping Boomer back. He stood up, his pants now covered and stained in debris. His hands were also much darker now thanks to it. He knew he had a shaken, unsettled look about him—though that also had to do with being flown from the highway all the way over to East City.

            “Still got that super weapon?” asked Hood Nexus.

            “Of course I do,” Boomer said. “It’s in the back. Let’s go, we’re short on time and I’ve never really used this thing.”

            “Oh good, because when I trust the fate of the world in someone, I like it when they don’t know what they’re doing,” Hood Nexus said while Boomer walked by.

            “Like you really do?” asked Boomer.

            He walked into the backroom, guarded by an invisible glass wall. He typed in the code, opening the airlock. Fresh air burst out of the room. It was cool, and felt incredible against him. If Boomer could just sit in that room, he wouldn’t be too mad.

            Hood Nexus nudged him inside, knocking him out of his daydream. Boomer strode up to the tarped weapon. He sighed, and pulled it off.

            “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Hood Nexus said. “Actually, on second thought, this is literally the first thing I would think you built.”

            Boomer nodded. “It’s just a thing with us.”

            A stainless steel, silver suit stood tall, plugged into various outlets on the wall. Its palms were opened up, revealing blue power cores and veins. The helmet was down, with sharp, crisp eyes.

            “Let me guess, it can fly, shoot energy blasts, and it’s some indestructible, magical metal that nobody’s ever heard of?” asked Hood Nexus.

            “It’s a highly tightened, focused titanium that’s been modified for lightweight use,” Boomer replied. “The suit connects into the brainstem of anyone who uses it, allowing for easy cerebral functions. I’ll be in complete control. And yes, it can fly, quite easily I hope. At least, the boots worked well when I was testing it.”

            “Why would you build this?” asked Hood Nexus.

            “In case the world decided to end, and today, it did,” Boomer said. He walked behind the suit, unplugging it from the wall.

            With each cord that was unplugged, more of the suit lit up and powered on. The back opened up, allowing Boomer to step inside of it. It was cool, thanks to the insulation he installed at the last second. He kicked out the final cord, which opened up a hatch into the chest.

            “Hold up, why would the suit power on if you’re unplugging it?” asked Hood Nexus.

            “This was my lab’s power source,” Boomer said. “My own generator. It can generate power on its own, given that one first installs their own power. That was one of Gargador’s biggest uses for me. The amount raw power a Demi-War God has at their disposal is incredible. However, there’s one power source that trumps it and will allow me full access to the suit’s capabilities.”

            Hood Nexus smiled. “Alright, where do you plug me in?”

            “Place your hand on my chest, the power will surge throughout the rest of the suit,” Boomer said. “I’ll let you know when to stop.”

            “And if my power runs out?”

            Boomer sneered from within the suit. “Don’t kid yourself. Go ahead and start.”

            He didn’t hear Blue Nexus at all, just heard the quickened beeping all around him and the power that began to flow through the suit. He could feel it in his bones through the connection that jabbed into his back from the helmet. The suit tightened around him, pressing against him in the most comfortable way.

            “It’s working!” Boomer exclaimed.

            “I—I can’t stop!” shouted Hood Nexus.

            Boomer felt something yank on his chest. Hood Nexus was trying to pull away. There was a harder yank, but Boomer didn’t budge. The power of a War God and an incredibly powerful Nexus…

            Why bother stopping?

            Kyle dug his hand into the grip, then with his more-magical infused hand pulled himself up, swinging over the edge and rolling onto the plateau. He sighed. So bad at rock climbing.

            He reached down, helping Luna up. It was odd seeing her not as frail, and so much more confident in herself and what she was doing. The only time they met was then she was about to die. It was a welcomed change, Kyle knew.

            Luna and Kyle waked side-by-side. Jericho stopped at the edge of the cliff. Kyle looked directly overhead. The sky opened up just enough for a person to slip through, he noticed, into the void he and Luna drifted in before arriving in the Nexus.

            “A fall from here kills you indefinitely, and a jump from here saves you,” Jericho said. “Are you both prepared?”

            Kyle’s arm quivered again.

            “I’m ready,” he said, rolling his arm.

            “Blue Nexus, wait a moment,” Luna said, grabbing his arm. He turned to face her. For just a second, her expression was more sympathetic.

            “Boomer, my partner, listen I know he’s done some terrible things in the past, but we were on our way back to the lab to get a weapon that can defeat Alucard and his monster hordes,” Luna said. “Trust me when I say he is a good person, and he’ll help you. When you go back, please find him. End this, end what we started.”

            Kyle nodded. Part of him wanted to berate her, to find Boomer and make sure that he stayed out the fight, since all of this was his fault and he might just end up getting in the way. Possibly even a desire to kill Boomer.

            No. He couldn’t do that. If the situation was this dire, then Boomer’s consequences—certainly not death—would have to wait.

            “Yeah, of course,” Kyle said with a smile.

            Luna nodded. Jericho reached out to her, and guided her to the edge. Kyle followed without guidance standing next to her.

            “You’re both going to have make leaps of faith in each other,” Jericho said. “My magic will put you both where you need to go, but I need you to be one hundred percent in each other. The main reason that nobody escapes the Nether is because nobody believes in one another, at least fully. Luna, you’ve expressed belief that Kyle can save your love as well as the world. And Kyle, know that Luna has full faith in your abilities, that her sacrifice is a noble, heroic one. Now, I’ll ask again. Are you ready?”

            Kyle reached out his hand. Luna looked at it curiously, then reached out as well. They squeezed hands before letting go of one another. Jericho raised his arms.

            “You can go,” Jericho said.

            “Thank you for everything, Jericho,” Kyle said. “And Luna, thank you. I can never repay you enough.”

            “You can, save Boomer’s life and the lives of everyone on Earth,” Luna said.

            Kyle inhaled, then simultaneous with Luna, jumped back. He looked up immediately as he was sucked into the opening. Luna plummeted toward the ground. He could feel his tether to the Nether leaving him, but the Demon magic was staying in his arm. Darkness took over everything as he drifted up, slowly.

            Brenda made her fifth walk around the Zanderia base. There was no word from Eclipse or any of the other heroes yet. Alucard’s numbers were going down, obviously a good sign, but not good enough for Brenda. Their focused attack on East City was going to begin soon. Phoenix was calling fewer shots.

            “Brenda, I told you, he’s going to be fine,” Phoenix said.

            Brenda nodded but didn’t say anything. She was grateful that he was being respectful for her decision to stay with Kyle now. She couldn’t bear leaving him here, not being around for when he might heal and be up to speed. If she were here, she could heal him further when he recovered consciousness.

            A shiver ran down Brenda’s spine. She shook it off. It was just cold. She was out in space, after all.

            Something shuffled in the center of the room. Brenda and Phoenix looked to the medical tape. Kyle blinked.

            “Blue Nexus?” asked Phoenix.

            “He’s awake!” exclaimed Brenda, and began her run toward him.

            She stopped short, though, when she noticed some differences. When she last looked at him—not a second ago—he didn’t have black eyes. He didn’t have an alien marking running along his right arm.

            And he certainly didn’t have magical energy coursing through him.

            “Kyle?” she just barely got out.

            In one fluid motion, Kyle ripped the Nexus bracelet off his arm and swung his arm, shattering the healing cube around him. Brenda reached out, but was blasted in the chest by Demon magic, knocking her against the wall.

Next time: Dark Kyle squares off with Brenda and Phoenix as they try to find the light in his surprisingly powerful Demon magic. Can the arrival of older friends help them out? Find out in "Blue Nexus #32 - Heroes Reversed"!