The sun peeked over the horizon out in the distance, its rays showering the land of nonsense in their majesty as it approached the cliffs of anticipation. Reason and Logic grew quiet as Carnage was about to fully awaken.
"You feel that, Maurich?" Jackie whispered to the knight's back.
"Yeah, it is exactly the same as last night." Maurich calmly responded, a bit surprised that Jackie could sense the evil presence, "The question is, where did the other two go?"Maurich asked himself but loud enough for Jackie to hear.
"What other two?" Jackie asked now confused. "Did I miss something?" she thought to herself.
"There were three last night, right up until the point of sunrise." Maurich answered calmly," Listen, don't make any sudden movements." he calmly warned her.
Sunlight had finally reached the cliffs of anticipation and on cue, Carnage pounced from the forest, roaring like some psychopath maniac, wielding a massive battle axe, aiming to strike down Jackie. Sunlight had illuminated the entire land now and the blazing fire, red headed, ogre like behemoth came crashing down on the campsite battle axe in hand.
"Die!"Carnage roared as his axe collided with the surface of the earth severing the edge of the cliff from the forest completely.
Now, what remained of the cliff along with Carnage, Maurich and Jackie hurdled rapidly toward the ground below. Maurich's armor glowed white and flames wrapped themselves around the knight's body. He knew that there was no way that he could stop them from falling completely as his power had not fully returned. He had waited two weeks before their departure for that very reason but his power had only recovered ten percent. However, he could try and slow it down. The only problem was that it would take the same energy he was using to hold he and Jackie in place on the surface of the falling cliff. He had to think of something and fast because Carnage had relentlessly pursued them and was due to come crashing down from above at anytime.
"You can let go of me now, Maurich." Jackie spoke looking up at Carnage, "I know you're holding us to the surface, Maurich, but it's okay because you don't need to."
"Are you sure?" Maurich replied a bit astonished. Jackie was proving to be a lot more capable than he had imagined her to be.
"Yeah, if I could get three minutes of stability, face to face with him, then I could take him." Jackie responded, again shocking the knight. He was having a difficult time trying to figure out exactly who it was that stood before him. Jackie's attitude had change drastically. It it was if a completely different entity closely resembling her, had swooped in unknowingly and taken her place. Then he remembered her luggage. He also noticed the bracelets Jackie wore on her wrist and ankles and also the choker she wore around her neck. It all began to make sense and he understood what it was that Jackie was trying to tell him. Just how had he missed those details in the first place?
"Looks like the duchess is more than that curvy body, long dark hair and those soft features of hers." he thought to himself shaking his head. "Fine, if that is what you wish, then I can provide that." Maurich finally responded to the princess.
"Wait, what?! How exactly could you do something like th-" she said finally turning around to face Maurich. Her speech had been momentarily hindered by the appearance of the knight engulfed in white flames standing before her.
"I guess I'll have to explain myself later, huh?" Maurich joked before jumping up from the falling cliff as Carnage came crashing down.
"Time to die, Farwind!" came Carnage's husky voice from behind Jackie.
"Well, damn." she said as she watched the knight's white flames manifest into wings and grant him flight. He flew down far below the falling cliff. He reached the ground and looked up, focusing on the falling boulder of earth that proceeded to fall, while releasing the white flames that cloaked his armor.
"Three minutes, Jackie, and that's it!"Maurich yelled up to Jackie as time began to slow to a halt all around him. Gravity gave in to Maurich's grip on the reins of time and the cliff stood still in mid air.
Carnage came crashing in suddenly, attempting to impale Jackie but when the debris had cleared it became obvious to him that the young duchess would not be going down so easily. She had not only dodged the brute's attack, but she had also been nimble enough to maneuver herself atop the axe head's blade, standing upside down while balancing herself, using her index and middle fingers only. Carnage quickly swung his axe upward and around and then immediately afterwards, extended his body forward flinging the axe forward at Jackie who was still in the mid-air, in the middle of dodging his previous attack. She was too slow and was not unable to dodge the incoming axe completely.The axe caught her shoulder tearing the tendons apart in her left shoulder as the axe blade tore through her flesh. The axe returned back to Carnage who now stood smiling menacingly.
"If you hadn't moving at the last moment you would have lost that cute little head of yours, little Farwind!"Carnage teased menacingly.
A pink aura began to cover Jackie's entire body as she built up energy for her counter attack. The wound on her shoulder began to heal rapidly and the wind's direction shifted. She knew she didn't have time to waste. Walking toward Carnage she took off the choker around her neck and threw it into suspended time where it stayed float. Jackie noticed it and looked at it astonished. "What the-?" she thought to herself but then she quickly realized what Maurich had done for her. She took off her bracelets and threw them into time's web also.
"What's going on?"Carnage asked now concerned, as he looked around confused. For the first time since landing he notice that everything on the falling cliff stood suspended. The debris from his previous attacks, Jackie's bracelets and choker. All of it, even the blood from Jackie's wound remained in the air afloat.
"It would seem that I've been traveling with someone who can manipulate time and space." Jackie said to the Carnage not looking at him but focusing on her shoulder wound which was healing right before her very eyes. "That's really too bad for you because now you have no idea what's in store for you in the next twenty seconds." she said, finally turning to face the giant standing before her.
"Don't mock me, you little wench!"Carnage shouted at her, picking up his axe again to strike but before he could even get a good grip on it, Jackie was immediately right on him. Her eyes were as cold as death as she peered up at the giant. The next two seconds felt like an eternity as the two glared each other in the eyes.
"How did you-?"Carnage could not even finish his sentence before Jackie had struck him across the temple with a kick that was just as fast as it was powerful, sending him flying across the cliff. Carnage barely managed to stop himself after flying thirty feet or so with the use of his battle axe, which he had struck the ground with to brake abruptly, bringing himself to a stop. He could barely summon the energy to stand to his feet, let alone maintain balance on one knee. Jackie's kick had disabled seventy percent of his basic motor skills. His struggle, seemingly all for naught, was interrupted by Jackie's now fearsome presence as she instantaneously appeared before him again. She struck him once more but this time against his left cheek, shattering his jaw bone. Carnage doubled over spitting up a stew of blood and teeth. Then, grabbing the behemoth by his throat, Jackie proceeded to take his life.
"Wait!" came Maurich's voice from behind her.
The cliff had settled gently down onto the earth below in grassy planes, known as the fields of resolution. No one in the land of nonsense knows how or why these planes had received such a name but no one ever dared to question it really. Time had once again began to flow. Jackie's bracelets that had once stood adrift in mid-air came crashing down into the earth around the three of them.
"So that's how she did it." Carnage thought to himself, still in Jackie's grasp."I must find a way to escape."
"What do mean,"wait"?" Jackie asked Maurich a little confused,"He tried to kill both of us, remember."
"Yeah, but now, he's in no position to do so as of recently, right?"Maurich reasoned, "Besides, even though I'm not at one hundred percent, I definitely felt the presence of two others with him last night." he went on to finish."Don't you find it odd for them to all of the sudden at sunrise, just vanish with virtually no evidence of them ever being here?"
"You..shou-ld...*cough*, listen to the knight...Far-windd."Carnage managed barely between breaths,"There are...two other...entities with-in..mee."
Jackie's grip on the behemoth's throat loosened a little. Carnage knew he was getting through. He decided to bait them both a little more.
"Logic and Reason are hidden deep within all carnage." Carnage teased now able to speak a bit more clearly, though under Jackie's grip, he sounded like a snake whispering secrets into Eve's ear.
"I thought so." Maurich spoke up,"Release them and we will let you go, right, Jackie?" he said turning to face Jackie.
She stood there for a second think and then finally spoke,"Blood is kind of hard to clean off."she finally reasoned, once again shocking Maurich. Jackie had done an completely one eighty. He still couldn't believe it was the same Jackie that stood before him. "Now, spit it out, Mister!" she finished.
"...and just like that she's back to normal herself, again.."Maurich thought to himself, hand over face, with head hung over in shame.
Jackie's grip around the fiend's neck had loosened more and Carnage knew that then would be the most appropriate time to escape but he was careful not to make any sudden movements. Clouds began to gather above, momentarily blotting out the sun. Darkness crept over the land slowly inching its way onto the fields of resolution. Carnage looked up at Jackie and Maurich smiling.
"Logic and Reason are hidden deep within all carnage,"the giant repeated now laughing hysterically,"but I've held on to these two for long enough and it's time that I rid myself of these nuisances once and for all."
"Jackie!" Maurich shouted out loud, noticing for the first that she had relaxed her grip around the tyrant''s neck but it was too late. Lightning struck the giant, purging him of Reason and Logic, whose bodies were spit up from out Carnage's body. An explosion ensued where lightning had struck and although Jackie had released her grip in time to avoid being electrocuted, she had not got out of the blast radius in time. The shock wave sent her flying into Maurich who caught and shielded her from debris. By the time the debris had cleared, Carnage had already escaped.
"When carnage loses all Reason and Logic only Disaster is left." Carnage's voice could be heard in the minds of both Jackie and Maurich as each struggled to get back to their feet. They both made there way over to the site were lightning had stuck the giant.
"We will meet again, Farwind and knight." Carnage's last words echoed in their ears.
"Come on," Maurich told Jackie, as he propped her up, "My home town is only a little ways down. We'll get you all patched up when we get there."
"My bracelets!" Jackie shouted all of the sudden, "Hurry up and help me find them!"
"What? But you don't need them."Maurich said trying to calm her down,"Besides, you're a hell of alot stronger without them."
"No, you don't understand, dork. They're not just weights. I need them to restrain my awesomeness, so I can interact normally with people." Jackie began to explained.
"Restraints to restrain your awesomeness, huh? Well that makes sense."Maurich thought to himself, but they sure were heavy, "Exactly how much do those things weight, anyway, if you don't mind my asking?" he asked Jackie.
"Nothing really, just about a ton and a half a piece." Jackie causally responded over her shoulder. She had found the last bracelet and was now looking for the choker.
"Note to self, never ever get on Jackie's bad side." Maurich thought to himself.
Jackie, now on all fours surveyed the fields for her choker."Looking for this?" came a girls voice, the girl held the choker in her hand and to Jackie's amazement the little girl showed no signed of straining at all. Jackie backed away cautiously.
"Who are you?" Jackie began to interrogate the little girl.
"It's okay Jackie. You can calm down. It's the two I mentioned earlier, remember." Maurich said coming up from behind her.
"The two?" Jackie repeated part of the knight's sentence confused.
"Yeah." boldly came another little girl's voice from behind the first girl, still holding Jackie's choker."I'm Nic, and this is my twin sister, Celeste and we are,"
"Reason and Logic."
To be continued...