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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2420839" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 248: One Sword, Two LivesThere was an odd moment of silence and inaction in the clearing. The only sounds that could be clearly heard were the breathing of the three Alraxians. Shadow’s was the only one calm, strangely enough. On the back of her neck, she could feel the angry, half-growled breaths of Nine as she stared across at Kyren.He had gotten about a meter away from the two of them, sword ready to thrust out at Shadow’s torso, but then had suddenly stopped. The hatred that had marred his face from before had been replaced by a blank, emotionless stare. And yet, somehow, he looked confused. Or maybe it was that he felt confused. Sometimes, especially when in such a critical moment, Shadow forgot the difference between the two.    “Kill her!” Nine snapped suddenly, causing Shadow’s left ear to twitch violently and bend down slightly. But Shadow didn’t give a single glance back to Nine.    The clone was holding Shadow’s wrist behind her back with one arm and the other arm was at Shadow’s neck...claws extended just enough to show that it would be a bad idea to struggle. Shadow knew this tactic well enough...it had been a favorite of hers for a very long time. The reason was simple. Struggle and die. Even Alraxians couldn’t survive if their throat was torn out.    But Kyren stayed in place. His blank eyes shifted from Nine, to Shadow, and then back. Shadow wanted to say something. No...needed to. But she couldn’t. If she spoke...if she told Kyren it was really her, yes he would believe it. She could see it in his eyes or feel it through the Force or something...she simply knew it, and that was all that mattered.  But if she tried anything, Nine would kill her before she had a chance. Anything including using the Force...Nine would be looking for that. No, was looking for that.    Which meant all Shadow could do was look in his eyes, hope, and trust him to make the right choice. Shadow hated feeling so helpless.    The hand that held the sword shook very slightly and Kyren glanced down for a half second before looking back up blankly at the two Marix’s faces. Almost identical, save for a scar on the one in the front and a deep set look of focus and probably insanity in the eyes of the other. But what did that mean? Did Kyren really know who Marix was in the first place? She had always been so distant...closed and hidden away. And they said that Tam-Day-U were dangerous and usually insane. Perhaps both of these were...but...no! One of them was his Marix. But which? Both had told him about how horrible and evil the other was. Both had said the same things...but the one in the back...she...she was different. She had protected him, comforted him, and even loved him. Everything he had always wanted and dreamed of.    Everything.    Or was it everything?    Both Nine and Shadow saw the moment in Kyren’s eyes when he had made the decision. His face went from blank to focused and ready. Neither of them moved, though. It was impossible to tell where his mind had gone. And then he charged forward.    It only took a couple of steps before Kyren reached them. His feet came to a stop an arm’s length from Shadow, the sword pulled back and ready to thrust forward. But suddenly his foot caught her’s, sending Shadow out of Nine’s grip and to the hard dirt below. Nine took a step back, pulling away and glancing off to the side as if smiling at an unseen holorecorder. Obviously, she assumed that Kyren meant to execute Shadow the old fashioned way.    But Nine had not caught the short glance Kyren made to Shadow just before. In that one look, Shadow knew what he had decided. And a half second later, so did Nine. The knowledge came in the form of the sword, thrusting with lightning speed right through the center of her chest.    The clone’s eyes went wide, a gasp of pain and surprise escaping her mouth. To add insult to fatal injury, Kyren twisted the sword, digging through Nine’s insides and forcing them to attempt to remorph on their own. Through the pain, however, Nine reached up and grabbed the sword. With an obvious last act of strength, she ripped the sword out of her chest and then out of Kyren’s hand. Blue blood streaming own her chest and body slowly remorphing while turning the deadly silvery colour of the non-living metal, Nine pulled the sword around so that she now held the hilt.    There was an unearthly scream of rage that escaped Nine and before Kyren could react, the clone swung the sword. It cut across Kyren from left shoulder to right hip, digging in deep and nearly taking his arm off in the process. He did not make a noise.    And then the metallic sheen spreading over Nine’s body encased her anger-filled face and the entirety of her body. The sword left its place in her hand, dropping to the ground right next to the now blood covered Shadow. Nine’s body hit the ground a second later with a thud. A third impact came when Kyren collapsed.    Shadow looked over to Nine, then immediately back to her other side where Kyren had fallen. He was still breathing, even gasping for air silently. Frantically, Shadow scrambled over to him...then she saw how deep the wound really was.    A familiar smile found its way onto Kyren’s face and he slowly reached up with the arm he could still feel to rest a hand on Shadow’s cheek. Very quietly, he said, “I love you, Marix.”    Shadow knew what that meant. In fact, she knew every meaning of it...both the words and of what was about to happen next. She had seen enough holodramas back as a smuggler to know what it meant. A panic actually raced across her and she tried to lift up Kyren’s head and find some sign of life in his open, blank eyes, “Please no, Kyren...”    But he didn’t say anything. He couldn’t. Shadow bit her lip as she stared down at the lifeless body, fighting back something she had experienced maybe only once before. Tears. The fight lasted for a long five minutes, but Shadow was never going to win it. After leaning down and resting her forehead against his, Shadow took a deep breath and closed her eyes.    She didn’t want to move. She didn’t want to, but knew she had to. Enough of her family had died already, and she wasn’t about to lose another. Jyren was going to need her.    That did not, however, take precedence over the moment. Or the return of that odd feeling from the Capital again. This time, though, somehow despite the pain and sadness that filled the air, Shadow realized what it was. If it had been any other time, she would have smiled. But now she couldn’t. So instead, she nodded to herself and stood up, picking up Kyren’s body as she did so.    Turning back towards Hermes and ignoring Nine’s corpse, Shadow headed to the small Kanyak. When she reached the ship, Hermes allowed her in but quickly developed the same inability to speak, think, or do anything upon realizing that Kyren was no longer alive. Shadow silently walked to the cockpit and placed Kyren down in his old seat, even strapping him in over the long wound.    She idly fixed his hair, then sighed and looked up to the ship’s ceiling, “Hermes...take Kyren back. Make sure he gets the full honour he deserves for his actions.”    There was the mental equivalent of a nod from the ship. There was silence a moment before Hermes picked up on a hidden meaning in what Shadow had said. [You are not coming with us...me?]    Shadow bit her lip again at the ship’s misstep. She felt exactly the same. But Shadow shook her head, “No, I’m not, Hermes.”    [But how will you leave here without me...?] Hermes asked slowly, obviously extremely concerned with the lives of all the Alraxians he knew now.    After another deep breath, Shadow patted Hermes’ hull, “Your brother is here.”    If Hermes could have smiled, he would have. It was one piece of good news that the ship needed badly, and something that would spread to the rest of the Empire to help the situation. [Loki.]</blockquote>

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