Two Sides of The Moon - Chapter 42: Chapter 42

-Cameron-
I had never felt such anger before in my entire life, and I had been angry ever since Starling betrayed me. This... scum. These disgusting pieces of the most vilest scum...! I was going to enjoy ripping them all apart, limb by limb! I would pull their lungs through their mouths while they were still alive! I'd burn them from the inside out!
None of them deserved to live. None of them! They had to die the most painful deaths! Using that fucking box on me, stealing my artifacts, and ripping my soul was one thing, but then these cowards sent Sekhmet to fight their battles! Vile, vile, VILE CREATURES!
"Now... Where were we?" I asked, surprised that the voice I was borrowing stayed calm.
I held the gun, and no matter how filled with rage I was, the hand stayed steady. The man with white hair and ugly scars crossing his face stood in front of me. The bravest of them all.
Ezra.
'Let him go, please!' Ryder begged. 'I'll do whatever you want, but please, spare him!'
'Oh, no. I'm saving him for last,' I told Ryder. 'I'll carve him to death. I'll cut thousands of pieces of him one by one and make sure he stays alive so he can watch you eat them!'
I'd do the same to all of them. All of them!
'You are mad,' Ryder spoke, and even his inner voice was shivering. 'Why are you doing this? Don't you understand you were tricked by your own enemy?'
'SILENCE!' I shouted at him, pulling the safety of the gun back.
The white-haired man shivered, but didn't step back. He, too, kept begging for me to let Ryder go. To stop this madness. I ignored his words and turned my attention to the little Harbinger.
"My master will get what he wants," I told the boy. "I will get what I want, and the only way you can stop us now is by killing us all."
"Stay out of this, Oliver," Ezra spoke, still looking at me and the gun, and took a step closer to me. "Ryder? I know you can hear me. You have to take control over him. I know you can."
I laughed at his face. Ryder tried to push me back, but all he could do was give me a little shove, just big enough to make my hand tremble for a brief second.
'Please, don't hurt him. I'm begging you,' Ryder spoke, his soul crying. 'Let him go. Please. I'll do whatever you want. I'll be your vessel for the rest of my life, but please, spare my mate.'
'You know he will betray you the moment he can, right?' I asked Ryder and fed him images of his sweet little mate banging their beloved Alpha. 'He's been doing that behind your back for years.'
'N-no...' Ryder whimpered. 'You are lying.'
'Am I? You know I can see memories, right? That's your Alpha's memory. He sure loves that ass–"
'Fuck you Cameron! I'm a fucking werewolf! I know exactly where my mate is, and what he's doing! I'm also a Beta, so I know exactly where my Alpha is, and what he's doing!'
I yawned at his little outburst. 'How sure are you about that?' I asked with a chuckle.
'Cameron. You can stop this madness. It's not too late for you! We know you were corrupted! None of us wants you dead! We are trying to find a way to help you and–'
'Shut up, or I will pull this trigger.'
'No, I won't! You can still have your old life back! You can still unite with your mate! Cedric still loves you!'
'LIES!'
I moved fast when I took a step forward, grabbed Ezra's hand and forced him down on his knees in front of me. I pressed the gun against his head. I heard gasps and shouts and more begging all around me, but Ezra stayed still.
"Ryder, I love you," he spoke. "I know you're strong enough to fight him. You can stop him."
"Ryder has a message for you: you are so fucking ugly he can't wait to see me blow your head off so he doesn't have to look at your hideous face," I spoke.
But Ezra laughed lightly.
"He is my mate. My brave mate. You are strong enough to defeat Cameron. I know you can. For me," Ezra spoke quietly. "I love you, Ryder."
'I love you too,' that son of a bitch whispered in my head. 'You remember that, Cameron? That thrill those words caused when Cedric spoke them to you? There's no way you could've forgotten that.'
'I said shut the fuck up!' I shouted at him, pressing the gun harder against his mate's head.
'He still loves you. Why is it so hard for you to believe? Isn't it exactly what you want?' Ryder asked.
'I will blow your mate's head off if you say another word!'
'What would you gain from that? Why are you fighting for a master who sent you here to die? He knew we would use the box on you. He knew we were looking for a strong spirit to fight you. He even told us you were coming.'
I was about to say he was lying, but all I had to do was look into his memories.
And sure enough...
'Oliver could kill you with a snap of his fingers. You know that. But we don't want you dead. We want you on our side. We want to help you get rid of the corruption,' Ryder continued speaking. 'And Cedric speaks fondly of you. He still loves you. If you put down that gun–'
I stopped listening. I could see Cedric standing next to the Harbinger, looking at me.
"I'm so tired of fighting, Cam... I'm old. I'm older than any of us. It's not normal to live this many lives... I love you. I love you so much, but I'm tired."
"No! You can't leave me. Promise you'll stay with me."
"Cameron..."
"Promise!"
I remembered his tired smile. "Okay. One more life, but then... You have to let me go."
'What are you waiting for, Cameron? Kill them all!'
I shook myself out of my memories at the sound of my master's voice.
'Your master wants Oliver to kill you so the corruption will spread in him,' Ryder said. 'He's trying to make Oliver lose control of the Echo as we speak. He wants to kill this world. He doesn't give a damn about you or us or anyone. He only wants to see this world die.'
'Are you going to listen to his lies?' my master asked.
'Shut up! Both of you!' I shouted and pressed the gun so hard against Ezra's head that the man collapsed to the ground.
'Please, Cameron, I'm begging you,' Ryder just kept speaking.
I grabbed Ezra by his hair and pulled his head up so Ryder could see his face.
"Ryder, please. You can stop him," he spoke with tears in his eyes. Slowly, he lifted his hand and touched my face with a shaky smile appearing on his lips. "I love you, Ryder."
'Cameron, please...'
'JUST KILL THEM ALREADY!'
I stared down at the teary eyes of Ezra, but it wasn't he who I saw.
I saw Cedric, lying in my arms, bleeding, crying... and smiling.
"I'm going to miss you so much," Cedric had whispered, touching my face just like Ezra was now. "I'm scared, too. But... This is how it's supposed to happen. I love you, Cameron. I will always love you. Please... You have to let me go."
No! No, no, no, no, NO!
"I love you, Cameron..."
What would I give...
I let go of Ezra and stood up.
"I love you, Cameron."
...just to hear those words one more time...
'Are you betraying me?' Master spoke in a dark voice inside my head. 'I gave you everything.'
'You gave me nothing,' I whispered and let the gun drop to the ground. 'The only thing you did was to pull me out of my peaceful darkness so I could suffer once more.'
'We can help you, Cameron,' Ryder tried one more time. 'The suffering will end. We can end it.'
I looked at Cedric. They all were taking careful steps closer to us, but I only saw my Starling.
'He never loved you,' Master said.
'Don't listen to him,' Ryder spoke quietly. 'He took your love and grief and turned them into a weapon.'
'Enough,' I said, and left Ryder's body.
I rose high in the air while Ryder's body collapsed on the ground. Ezra hurried to pull his man into his arms, crying from relief and asking his lover if he was all right.
'I'm disappointed in you,' Master spat at me. 'Did you really think you could betray me?'
The three men with Hades' Echoes appeared close by, surrounding me in their shadowy forms.
'Tear this traitor apart.'
'Oh, goodie, you finally turned into shadows.'
I sprung around and saw the Harbinger in his shadow form right next to me. Before any of us could even move, he put his dark hand into my chest with a smile on his face.
'You...!' But that was all I had time to say.
A flash of darkness surrounded me, and in seconds, the pain I was in started fading.
'I was wondering if I can heal shadows,' Oliver spoke, then turned his attention to the three shadows surrounding us. 'So. Should we find out who's the strongest?'
I stared at my shadowy body. The gashes were healing, and I was slowly regaining my strength.
Then the anger returned. I looked up at the Shadow Walkers, who suddenly didn't seem too confident. Obviously. They were merely insignificant clones, but Oliver was the real deal. The Harbinger.
I summoned my spear and my wings, ready to fight once more. For this world, not against it.
"You and I are not done yet," Sekhmet hissed at me when she appeared on the other side of Oliver, then turned her attention to the Walkers.
They took a step back, but I could hear my ex-master screaming at them to kill us all.
And then I felt Cedric. I glanced over my shoulder when he joined our group. He took a close look at me, but didn't say a word. The pain returned...
'You promised to give me your name once I've defeated Cameron,' Oliver spoke. At first, I wasn't sure who he was talking to, but my ex-master suddenly appeared behind the Walkers in his shadow form.
'You did not defeat him.'
'Details, details,' Oliver said, and I had to admire his confidence. 'He's on our side now. I'd say that is good enough. You lost your best fighter.'
'Hardly the best,' he scoffed. 'Just another insignificant rat.'
'Funny,' Oliver scoffed. 'You called me that, too.'
'It would be wise not to taunt me, Harbinger.'
'And it would be wise for you to get the fuck out of my land,' Oliver hissed back at him. 'But here we are.'
'Tell me, Harbinger, what are you going to do with a shadow, hmm? He is still a shadow, after all.'
Oliver laughed at his words. 'Well I am a Shadow Walker, too. And it just so happens I still don't have a Guardian Shadow.'
'You think you can force an evil like him under your command?'
Oliver looked at me. 'Interested?'
I snorted and turned to glare at my ex-master. 'Yes.'
Oliver bowed his head a little, then turned his attention back to my ex-master with an amused expression on his dark face.
'He will tear your soul apart,' my ex-master said, also sounding amused. 'You just did me a massive favor. Looks like my job here is done.'
'Your name,' Oliver demanded.
All he got was laughter.
'Kill them all.'
The Shadow Walkers gathered their bravery when my ex-master disappeared. Oliver let out a deep sigh while the rest of us readied ourselves to fight.
'Hold,' Oliver told us, and turned into a spirit. 'I'm done with them.'
I had to back away when the sky suddenly turned so bright it hurt my entire being. Oliver was using a massive amount of spirit energy, which would've injured me greatly if I had been in his path. When I was finally able to look around, we were alone. There was not a single shadow in the area, except for me.
"What did you do? Sekhmet asked with wide eyes.
'Burned them all. Though I couldn't get rid of the Walkers. They're not actually shadows, but I'm sure they got hurt,' Oliver explained, and turned to look at me. 'Do you happen to know his name?'
'No. None of us do.'
Oliver sighed again and looked up at the clear sky. I stared at him for a moment, but then I saw Cedric behind him, watching me closely. I looked away. The hate I carried was not easing up.
The corruption.
Fuck... what had I done...?
The anger and hate started growing in me. The thoughts I always carried in me were resurfacing. The darkness would take back control. It was only a matter of minutes.
'I'm sorry for what I have done,' I spoke quietly. 'I wouldn't mind being your Guardian, but I must leave. I can't... fight... against the darkness in me.'
'You can,' Oliver spoke gently. 'You have to.'
I shook my head.
'Listen. We can get rid of the corruption in you. We have been dealing with infestations, even strong ones, so I'm sure we can find a way to purify your spirit. In the meantime, you should stay with me.'
I shook my head again. 'He is right. I will tear your soul apart.'
'Cameron...'
The pain grew worse when my Starling spoke my name.
'No. I have to go.'
'I still love you,' Cedric said, appearing in front of me. 'I do. I hope you believe me.'
Did I?
The memories I had with him flooded my mind. The good memories the darkness couldn't ruin right now.
'Cam... Stay with me. We were supposed to be together again. We were supposed to find each other in the Spirit Realm and continue where we left off.'
Did we...? Why couldn't I remember that?
'Stay with me. We can heal you. You can be free again,' Cedric spoke, trying to touch me.
How I wished I could hold him again...
'Cameron. I know something about the struggle you face. I, too, have to fight against the corruption. I can't do it without the help of my loved ones,' Oliver spoke. 'You should stay with us so we can help you fight the darkness.'
When I looked at him, he reached toward me with his hand. I stared at it when he stopped moving.
'Let's fight together,' he said.
Slowly, I nodded, and let my form turn into dust so I could take my place in his soul. After I did, I needed a moment to get used to not controlling the body.
'You should try to rest now,' Oliver told me. 'We'll figure things out after that.'
I didn't reply to him. I took a look around this new home and quickly found the Echo. I could feel the power radiating from it, but I didn't dare to go too close. The corruption latched onto it was old, strong, and pure evil.
I was surprised anyone could live with such evil in them.
But that wasn't the only Echo in him. Oliver was very loved, it seemed. I could feel the smaller ones, and those radiated love and warmth and all the other good things. The corrupted Echo didn't like them.
Then Cedric appeared.
'I've missed you, Cameron,' he whispered as his presence slowly surrounded me. 'I love you.'
His words broke me, but soon he had me completely wrapped in his embrace and started piecing me back together.