HOPE’S EDGE (4)

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((85 — Untrue))
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July 3rd, 802 AT.

The crystal tunnel echoed with the screeching of metal on metal as the hinges protested the opening door. Seth stood outside, calmly letting his cigarette burn itself out. He was wearing his classic demon-leather trenchcoat, and his golden earrings jingled a bit in his left ear’s cartilage. On his face was a wicked grin. He was rather looking forward to seeing his mentor. Reno stood behind him, smiling over his shoulder.

Finally, as the door clanged to a halt, he tossed the dying butt to the floor, and ground it to dust underfoot. “Evening, Cyc.”

“I really hope you brought one for me too.”

“But. Of. Course, mate.” Seth reached into his coat and pulled out two fresh ones. He handed one to Cyclops, along with his lighter.

Cyc grabbed it with a smile and a wink. Brown jumpsuit aside, there wasn’t anything normal-looking about Cyclops. His brown hair was styled back, his face covered in stubble. And of course his left eye had three pupils, was red shot-through with violet, and was surrounded by the crimson demonic scales that covered the left half of his face. ((Griffin Simpson))

“Now tell me,” Cyc asked as he took a long drag. “What took you two so long?” This was accompanied with two quick swats to the backs of their respective heads.

Seth laughed, leaning in the doorway. “Oh, you know, the usual. Guards, demons to fight, demons to train, apocalypses…” The prison cell was small and roughly spherical, with a ledge cut into one side to apparently serve as a bed. The only illumination came from the light filtering through the dozens of feet of crystal.

Reno bowed her head shamefully a moment before speaking. "You two catch up. I'm gonna go knock some heads, clear us an escape route." She ran off down the hallway.

Cyc nodded approvingly. “Resourceful girl.”

Seth laughed again. “You should’ve seen her earlier, seducing prepubescent boys.”

After a moment’s pause, Cyc rounded on Seth, his face absent of its previous easy smile. "Now tell me, boy-o of mine. Where are the rest of the Talons?"

“…Recovering.” Seth’s smile was gone too. “We encountered a bit of trouble on our way in.”

“How long are they going to be… recovering?”

“Dunno. Hopefully not too long. They should still be somewhere near a library.”

A muffled whump came from down the corridor, followed by Reno's voice. "One down!"

“Atta girl!” Cyc called out the door, then snapped his eyes back to Seth’s. “They got skinned knees? A little winded? Or are we talking fist-sized holes in their bodies?”

Seth broke the eye contact. “Kiara lost a leg. Well, most of one, anyway.”

“Damn. How long ‘til she’s mobile?”

“Not sure. But it won’t matter soon, will it? She’ll have to move. We all will.”

“Suppose you’re right, prison busts aren’t popular with the locals. But enough talk, you ready to go?” He stretched, rolling his shoulders backwards.

“Yeah. Let’s catch up with Reno.”

“After you,” Cyc said, with a little bow and a gesture for Seth to lead.

Seth nodded. “Let’s book it.” He took off down the hall. Cyc followed him, puffing like a chimney on his cig all the way.

Reno leaned against the wall by the elevator, eyes closed. "What took you two so long?" She grinned wryly. The old guard who had stopped them earlier was facedown on his deck, a small trickle of blood seeping from the back of his head.

Cyc took the cigarette out of his mouth and blew a breath of smoke. "Violent sodomy. Speaking of violence, which one of you delinquents did this?" He said, gesturing at the guard.

"That would be me." Reno hit a button on the wall, and the elevator doors slid open.

Seth stepped inside and pulled a small silver revolver out of his coat.

“Gold star for you,” Cyc said, entering the elevator with Seth. “How many of those hand warmers you got, kid?”

“This’s the only one that makes things go boom. I’ve also got a few sharp things. Any preferences?”

"Whatever you can spare, kid. So what's this big escape plan?"

Reno laughed. "We barely need one. There's just the kid up here, what with the riots."

“You’ve always been a better shot than me,” Seth said, handing Cyclops the gun as he pulled out his crystal switchblade with his other hand.

“Aces,” was all Cyc said as he took the gun, fiddling with it. “I recognize this gun! You kids hit my storeroom.” He thought for a moment. “Gold stars for both of you for resourcefulness.” Then he turned to Reno. “Wait, riots?”

“Shit,” Seth said, eyebrows raised in genuine surprise. “You not hear about the impending doom, corked up down there?”

Cyc frowned at him. “You have some information you want to share with the rest of the class?”

The doors of the elevator slid open onto the first floor hallway. The young teenager still sat at his post, looking around awkwardly. "H-hey!" The boy pointed. "Y-you can't..."

“In a nutshell?” Seth said, ignoring the guard. “We’ve got a fleet of demons coming down our collective ass, bigger and badder than anything you’ve ever seen. Anything anyone's ever seen.”

The guard stammered, gesturing at Cyclops. "He can't..."

Cyc trained the gun on the kid, not even looking at him. "What are they doing about it?" He said to Seth.

The kid shut up quick, his hands raising in the air over his head.

“No clue. Some friends of Jaz—” He paused for a moment and took a sharp breath. “—some friends of Jaz… shit, I don’t even know. But they got here first and warned everyone. Not very well, I guess, given that all hell’s broken loose already.”

Cyc’s human eye brightened a little at this. “So this whole rock is in pandemonium, eh?”

“Yeah,” Seth said, leading the way down the corridor. The rest of the way out was clear. An empty hallway leading towards a huge hole in the wall where the door had been.

“Good. Now let’s got out of here, and then I’m gonna tell you a little story,” Cyc said, making his way towards the hole.

“Sounds like a plan,” spoke Seth, as he stepped outside.