Shining Armor stood among his fellow officers, having donned bulletproof vests and assault rifles as they stormed a hideout belonging to the Blood Kings. They were in the middle of a shootout, having cornered them in an abandoned three story building. The police had the entire structure surrounded, but the Blood Kings were proving to be harder to push out than they initially thought. They were determined and relentless. But that came with the territory, especially when they knew that their leader was practically the demon king, they felt as if they were protected from anything.

Criminals were already a desperate lot, but with someONE like Sombra King backing them, it only made them bolder and less afraid of death. It also didn’t help that some of the Blood Kings’ ranks were also filled with members from the other gangs that Sombra had decimated. Another survival mechanism of criminals, following the one who had the most power, and it didn’t get more powerful than a demon of darkness.

Shining Armor was in a hallway, about three Blood Kings members were unloading bullets down at him and five other officers. It was a narrow passage, making it almost impossible to advance without getting riddled with hot lead. Shining Armor returned fire, peeking down the hall as he fired. One of the rounds struck the drywall just above his head, making him get back around the corner.

“Where the fuck are those shields?!” Shining demanded.

“Coming up now!” Spearhead stated.

Thankfully that was true, two SWAT officers came through the doorway, armored up and wielding large, body length shields that were armor plated. A small window was placed on it, but made of Plexiglas and could take a lot of rounds before cracking, and even more before shattering.

“Took you guys long enough!” Spearhead stated.

“Bite me! You have any idea how heavy this shit is?!” the SWAT officer spat.

“Alright, let’s move, phalanx formation!” Shining ordered.

The two SWAT officers nodded, stood side by side, and moved into the hallway. The sounds of ricocheting bullets echoed in the hall, along with the splintering of wood and crumbling of drywall. Shining, Spear, and three other officers got behind the shield wielders, crouching low as they followed behind them. As they advanced, the officers returned fire, they could hear the gang members on the other side starting to yell in panic as they were getting closer to them. At around that time, more officers came up, taking up the positions that Shining and Spearhead had a moment ago and providing covering fire, allowing them to advance further.

The gang members decided that they couldn’t hold and scrambled to get away. One of the gang members tripped and fell, his gun sled to the far end of the next hall, leaving him completely unarmed. The gang member, a young seventeen-year-old, glanced over his shoulder and watched as the officers made their way towards him, guns trained and ready to fire.

“Put your hands behind your head and stay down! You don’t want to die in some rat hole like this kid,” said Shining.

The teen reached into his jacket and pulled out a vial, it contained a shimmering black liquid. He was told to only use it in emergencies, and right now, he could think of no better emergency than the one he was in right now. The teen popped the top and downed the concoction in one swig. He tossed the vial away and turned around to face the cops.

Almost immediately, his body began to convulse, the cracking of bones filled their ears as they watched the teen begin to mutate before their eyes.

“SHIT, HE DRANK THAT TAR!” Spearhead shouted.

“PUT HIM DOWN, QUICK!” the second SWAT officer yelled.

Reluctantly, Shining Armor opened fire along with the rest of them. The teen was pelted with several bullets, but they did nothing to stop the mutation, his body repairing the damage on the spot. His skin turned black as night, with gray veins that popped over his skin. The teen boy, who was a skinny scarecrow, now bulked up to look like a professional bodybuilder. His hair was gone as his forehead sprouted two crescent shaped horns that came out the sides, his teeth became sharp and gnarled, and his eyes were now pools of yellow light that shined in the dim lighting of the hallway. His fingers turned into razor sharp claws, along with his feet, what stood before them was no longer a human, but something else, a Blacknight.

The Blacknight chuckled, standing above the men, a staggering six-five. “Hell yeah! What you got for this you fucking pigs?!” The Blacknight thrust out with his right claw and grabbed the shield that the first SWAT officer had, and then tossed it right at them.

The other officers ducked just in time to miss it, unfortunately, the SWAT officer wasn’t. The shield’s blunt end struck him in the chest and carried him all the way to the wall at the end of the hall, burying him in the wall as he bent an angle the spine was not meant to. Before they could recover from that, the Blacknight transformed his left forearm into a bladed weapon. The second SWAT officer brought up his shield in a feeble attempt to defend himself, but the shield proved useless as the Blacknight’s blade pierced the shield and him, running him all the way through as the blade poked out of his back, covered in blood. With murderous glee, the Blacknight pulled upwards, splitting the officer in half. Blood and organs spilled out from the two halves, his legs stumbling about before finally collapsing onto the floor.

Everyone retreated as fast as they could back down the hallway they just came, but the monster was right behind them. Shining Armor reached for his belt and pulled out a flashbang grenade. Pulling the pin, Shining Armor counted down mentally, waiting until almost the last second.

Four…three…now! Shining Armor tossed the grenade over his shoulder and shouted, “DOWN!”

Spearhead, the officers running with them, the ones at the other end of the hall, and Shining Armor ducked as the grenade went off, creating a blinding flash of light and a loud “BOOM!” sound. The Blacknight screamed in pain as the light burned his body, making him collapse onto the ground as the dark ooze retreated off his body, revealing the teen underneath. Shining Armor recovered first, pulled out his pistol and stood over the teen.

The teen looked up at Shining Armor, fear in his eyes as he stared down the barrel of his gun.

“No way…I-I can’t die here…not like this…!” the teen cried.

Shining Armor squeezed the trigger, the hammer cocking back and ready to strike. But…he stopped and pointed his gun away from the teen. “Just turn yourself in, kid, this isn’t worth it!”

The teen boy saw that Shining wasn’t going to shoot him, and then he sneered. The black ooze returned to his body, transforming him yet again into the Blacknight. The creature punched forward, sending Shining Armor flying onto his back with a hard thud against the wooden floor.

“SHINING!” Spearhead called out.

“Stupid pigs, I’m going to fuck you all up!”

Just then, a loud roar tore through the building, making even the Blacknight stop. Shining Armor, although dazed, managed to get up. As he did, he saw a blue light coming from the door of the stairwell. From that door entered a creature. Its fur was a shimmering sky blue, with gold armor plating fastened to its body. The creature had faded white lines, and a small mane around its head and neck. This creature barely fit in the door as it walked on all fours towards them, its green cat eyes took a moment to look at each one of them before moving into the hallway.

Shining Armor knew this creature, it was one of Angelus’ Sentinels, one of the few beast types she created in the last two weeks. Its name was Gaghiel, which meant “The Beast of God”, to Shining Armor, it looked like a liger.

Gaghiel motioned with its head for the officers in front of it to move out of the way, Spearhead and the other three hurriedly did as Gaghiel asked. The Blacknight looked a little worried now that one of the Sentinels had arrived, but still, whether out of desperation or an overinflated sense of confidence, the Blacknight didn’t run.

“You stand before Gaghiel, be now judged by my fangs and claws, impure one,” said Gaghiel.

“You’re one of those Sentinels, Mr. King’s going to flip when he finds out I killed one of you!” the Blacknight exclaimed.

Gaghiel roared yet again, making the entire hallway shake from the force of his roar. The Beast of God charged for the Blacknight, both met in the center as their hulking bodies crashed into each other. The force of their collision made the floor crumble beneath their feet as they crashed straight down to the first floor. Gaghiel and the Blacknight rolled on the floor as Gaghiel bit into the tricep of the Blacknight. The Blacknight screamed in pain as its light infused fangs pierced through its flesh and burned him.

The Blacknight drew back its right fist and punched Gaghiel in the face, making the Sentinel roar with pain and release his jaws from his arm. They rolled again, allowing the Blacknight to push off of Gaghiel and get into a standing position, while Gaghiel jumped up and landed on all fours, his green slit eyes burning with a desire to destroy the evil before its eyes.

“You made a critical error this day,” said Gaghiel.

“What’s that?!”

“You needed to be more aware of your surroundings!”

Gaghiel charged the Blacknight, barreling into his stomach as he sent them both smashing through the wall and out into the open. They both stumbled about, making the police officers that were surrounding the building move out of the way. They eventually stopped when the Blacknight landed on a police cruiser, just as Gaghiel came down and slammed his front paws onto his shoulders, pinning him there and making the car cave in more.

Now in the light of day, the Blacknight’s body began to burn. Seeing his opportunity, Gaghiel opened his mighty jaws and bit down around the Blacknight’s neck. Blood sprayed from the Blacknight’s jugular as Gaghiel chomped all the way through, severing the head of the Blacknight from its body with a jerk of his head. He then spat the head out, letting it roll on the ground. The body jerked for a few seconds before going completely limp. The mutation that turned him into the monster dissipated, returning him to normal, the officers watched as the creature returned to being a seventeen-year-old body, the headless body splayed on the car and his head resting a foot away.

Gaghiel paid the body no mind as he turned his gaze upwards, seeing the multitude of gunshots that were taking place up there. The Beast of God roared as he began to transform, his hulking body becoming humanoid, with arms and legs. His back sprouted feathered wings, and on each of his forearms formed gauntlets with three light-blade claws. Gaghiel flapped his wings once, shooting him straight into the air. Once he was level with the third floor, he smashed right into the wall, kicking up dust from his entrance.

The occupants all coughed, but once they beheld Gaghiel, they stopped and stared at him with wide eyes. “Those who follow the Darkness…” Gaghiel crossed his arms over his chest in an “X” pattern. “…are enemies of peace and justice!”

The gang members opened fire, but their mortal weapons had no effect on a creature made from divinity. Gaghiel charged straight in, slashing through one gang member after the other with inhuman speed. Blood splattered the walls as screams of terror filled the floor. One by one they fell before him, dropping like the flies that they were. Soon the gunfire ceased, leaving only Gaghiel amongst a pile of corpses. That is until he spotted one that he – miraculously – missed. The gang member was at least sixteen, she was huddled in the corner holding her gun as a child would hold a teddy bear for safety. When his eyes fell upon her, she quickly threw the weapon away onto the floor, she took off her jacket, emptied her pockets, and then put her hands up.

“I-I-I WON’T RESIST! I GIVE UP! JUST TAKE ME TO JAIL!” she pleaded.

Gaghiel reverted back to his beast form and slowly stalked towards her as he gave a low, throaty growl. “Child, you turned your back on the light, and sided with the Darkness. You lost your innocence, if you are truly repentant then you’ll be judged when your soul leaves this mortal plain.”

The girl was crying, sobbing hard as the beast got closer. “P-P-Please…I have a little brother and sister…! I didn’t want to do this! I just needed money to help us get by!”

Gaghiel prepared to pounce, but then the door to the floor burst open, the Beast of God glanced over his shoulder just as Shining Armor and Spearhead Thrust entered the room with their squad of officers. They looked upon the area, seeing the many bodies that were strewn across the floor, limbs severed, walls smashed through, it was a regular slaughter.

Shining Armor looked upon Gaghiel and narrowed his gaze as he approached the Sentinel. “What are you doing?”

“I missed one, I am correcting my error,” said Gaghiel.

Shining Armor looked upon the shivering teen, her eyes pleading with him to let her live. He looked at the floor, seeing her jacket, gun, and some random stuff thrown on the floor. Shining noticed that her pockets were turned inside out, which made him realize, “She’s surrendering, it’s over.”

Gaghiel regarded Shining Armor for a moment, his emerald eyes locking onto Shining’s cobalt blue eyes. About ten seconds later, Gaghiel snorted and turned his back on Shining Armor and the girl. “Do as you please.”

Shining watched as the liger Sentinel walked away and rejoined his squad. The detective knelt before the shivering girl, and noticed that she had wet herself out of sheer terror, not that he could blame her, staring down a monster like that, anyone would.

“Miss, I’m going to have to arrest you,” said Shining Armor.

“T-T-Take me to jail! J-Just don’t let that thing hurt me!” the girl demanded as she presented her wrists to Shining Armor.

With a bit of pity, he helped the girl stand up and cuffed her hands behind her back. In an effort to preserve her modesty, Shining Armor got her jacket and tied it around her waist to cover her shame.

The girl looked up at the officer and said, “T-Thank you…”

Shining Armor nodded and led, possibly, the only survivor of this raid. Downstairs everyone was still scrambling about, when they walked down the steps of the building’s stoop, the girl paused. She saw a white sheet placed over a cop car, the outline of a body clearly visible, along with the bloodstains, but where the outline of a head should be, there was none. It didn’t take her and Shining long to notice the second sheet on the ground, and the distinct outline of a head. The girl felt bile fill her stomach, Shining Armor saw the signs and quickly moved her to the to a patch of dirt where she began retching. He held the girl’s hair back and tried to make her as comfortable as possible as she continued to throw up onto the ground.

After a minute, Shining Armor got her to an ambulance, he saw the signs of shock and requested the girl be taken to the hospital. Once that was done, he took a moment to look upon the building, it was a shabby place in a redevelopment area, one of the city’s projects that was put on hold and made into a small base of operations for local gangs, in this case the Blood Kings. It was flagged by two other buildings that were in the same shape, most of the block was like that.

To either side was an army of police and SWAT officers, and after that another army of reporters and cameras, all wanting to capture the bloody battle to show on six o’ clock news. This was their fourth raid in the last two weeks, and Shining Armor wasn’t sure if this was lessening or increasing the fighting force of the Blood Kings, but this Angelus was able to create more Sentinels to offset the limited number of officers.

Shining Armor had to admit, at first, he was glad to have them. His mind thought back to Sunset, placing herself in danger with the Witchblade, despite his wanting to not have her get involved with dangerous work, it seemed she was a magnet for it. When the Sentinels appeared, he thought that now she wouldn’t have to throw herself into the battle and just focus on being a school girl. However, his opinion of them was changing with each passing day.

The Sentinels were the soldiers of the Angelus, and could operate during the night and day, although they were stronger during the day, their strength at night would wane some. Which meant striking the Blood Kings in the light of day was the most optimal way of getting at them. But these things were ruthless in their endeavors. It was like the Crusades with these Sentinels, they showed little to no mercy to anyone they saw as a member of Sombra King’s gang.

Then there’s that other thing…Tar.

“Tar” the street name of a new drug that was rumored to give whoever took it some of the demonic powers that Sombra King has. The rumors were soon turned into fact as the police fell victim to the mutated people who took Tar. From what they were able to determine, the effects of Tar only lasted about twelve hours and then they turned back to normal. Still, twelve hours with a fraction of that demon power is more than enough to cause some havoc. Thankfully, it seemed to be only distributed through the ranks of the Blood Kings, for now.

This only added more fuel to the fire for the Sentinels, as it gave them the excuse – not like they needed one – to kill any and all of the gang members, arguing that more lives would be lost if they didn’t strike fast and hard. A good majority of the police force were behind this mindset of the Sentinels, making it so that a precinct had at least three or four different Sentinels assigned to it, and a squad of officers that were assigned to each one.

Shining’s squad was assigned to Gaghiel. The liger was polite for the most part, but he took his name seriously, tearing apart his enemies with his claws and fangs. Also, Gaghiel didn’t seem to care much for tact in his kills. While some of the other Sentinels made sure to at least make their kills clean and away from the public, Gaghiel didn’t. Just like now.

Shining Armor sighed as he heard the thudding paw falls of Gaghiel approaching from his left. “You’re handy work, right?”

The celestial liger stopped at his left and said, “I would think by now you recognize my style when it is presented.”

“Seriously, can you at least try to not kill them so brutally?! And out in the open?! People don’t need to see that!” Shining Armor stated as he pointed to the headless corpse under the sheet.

“On the contrary, it serves as a warning. To follow the Darkness means death. Tell me, Detective, do you believe in peace? In order?” Gaghiel asked.

“I believe in justice, due process, and innocent until proven guilty,” he replied.

Gaghiel smirked. “So too do your fellow officers, yet I don’t see them complaining about my methods. As far as they are concerned, they get to go home and see their families. Which, may I ask, is more acceptable to you?”

Shining Armor grimaced and huffed as he turned his gaze forward.

Gaghiel shook his head, but smiled a little as he gently placed his giant paw on Shining’s left shoulder. “In time, you will see the light, as well everyone.” With that said, Gaghiel walked forward, going to the field officers in charge of the operation to report.

Shining checked his watch and saw that it was already noon, at that moment, Spearhead came by and asked, “Hey, man, wanna grab a bite?”

“Sure, better than staying here.”

Later that night, Shining Armor returned to his home, exhausted, and frustrated. He plopped onto the couch and turned on the TV, news breaking about another fight between the Blood Kings and the Angelus’ Sentinels. He quickly turned it off and sighed heavily. Cadence walked over and began massaging his shoulders.

“As cliché as this is to ask…rough day?”

“Rough everything…these Sentinels are extreme! I was grateful for their help at first, but now…I don’t know, I just don’t like them,” said Shining Armor.

“I’ll admit…they don’t fit the idea of what I’ve known an angel to be. But…I guess…isn’t that how they’re supposed to act when in the presence of evil?” Cadence asked.

Shining Armor rubbed his face and then looked up into the caring eyes of his girlfriend. “Probably…but…” Shining’s eyes looked away as if he didn’t want to tell her what happened.

Cadence knew her boyfriend well, he was one to shield her from the evils he faced at work every day, keeping them bottled up inside because he didn’t want to burden her. The thing is, she didn’t mind, actually, she wanted him to burden her. It was much better than seeing her Shiny keep it all bottled up inside and letting it fester until there was nothing she or anyone else could do about it.

“Shiny, tell me what’s on your mind,” Cadence urged.

Shining looked back at Cadence’s eyes and exhaled slowly. “Gaghiel almost killed a girl who gave up. She threw her weapon down, emptied her pockets…hell, she did everything except strip naked to prove she didn’t have a weapon and was giving up. But Gaghiel…he was ready to just flat out kill her. Said some crap about followers of the Darkness needing to be exterminated, more or less.”

Cadence grimaced. “God…Shiny that’s horrible, is she alright?”

“I managed to stop him. I arrested her and had her go to the hospital. I’ll be amazed if she’s not the only survivor.”

Cadence stopped her massage, walked around the couch, and then sat next to Shining. She nestled herself in the crook of his right arm and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Have you talked to Sunset recently? Has she been…you know, fighting with you guys?”

“So far no, but I’d rather she didn’t. For one, I’m not sure how the Sentinels would react to her, and second, we’re not fighting demons, at least not all the time. We’re fighting normal people who have just taken a drug,” said Shining.

“Hey, are we…are we ever going to tell Twilight about CHS?” Cadence asked.

That was a tricky subject. How was he going to explain to his little sister that another version of her attendant Canterlot High School? Plus, with her wanting to go and investigate, he wasn’t sure what would happen if she did. Would they try and mob her and ask some impossible requests of her? Would she get overwhelmed and go into a panic attack? Did this other Twilight rub someone the wrong way and that someone was looking for revenge? Granted the only person that description fit was Sunset, but she no longer felt that way and actually respects the “Princess” version of his little sister.

“Twily’s going to keep on it until I say yes or no, but I’d rather ease her into it, same for Sunset. I don’t think she’s aware that there’s another version of the person she admires in this world,” said Shining.

Cadence fidgeted a little, earning a raised eyebrow from Shining Armor. “Well…ahem…there is a reason why I brought that up. Um…a couple of weeks ago Crystal Prep gained a new student…”

“Okaaay,” said Shining slowly.

“And…this new student…her name’s…Sunset Shimmer.”

Shining Armor’s eye twitched. “Y-You’re sure her name’s Sunset Shimmer?”

Cadence nodded. “She looks, sounds, and even acts a bit like the Sunset we know. In fact, I’ve noticed her and Twilight hanging out a lot at school.”

Shining Armor slapped his forehead with his left hand. Of course, there’s another Sunset Shimmer in their world, because why not? Oh that opened a whole new can of worms that Shining Armor wasn’t ready for.

“Do you think we should tell her? I mean, she’s bound to run into her other self. If not now, then when the Friendship Games start, it’ll be a certainty,” Cadence warned.

“There’s still at least a couple of months before that day comes around, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it…Although…I see your point, it is only a matter of time before those two meet up,” Shining pondered aloud.

Cadence snuggled closer to her boyfriend. “As morbid as this sounds, I kind of miss the days when all I had to worry about was just drug dealers, rapists, and murderers.”

“I’m right there with you, Babe.”

Meadowbrook was up late in the Priest’s office, both of them were watching a news report regarding today’s raid on the Blood Kings, along with the footage of one of the Sentinels ripping the head off of a Blacknight. The footage also showed how the body changed back into that of a human being, a teenager, probably no older than Fluttershy.

“This is gettin’ outta hand, Father. The Darkness is just gettin’ the city more riled up, and Angelus’ Sentinels are merciless,” said Meadow.

“Now, I understand their methods are…ahem…draconian, but Sister, we’re talking about a battle for the souls of this city. We can’t allow someone like this Sombra King to take over the entire city,” said the Priest.

“Precisely.”

Meadowbrook and the Priest glanced towards the open door of the office. Both stood to attention upon seeing a red robed man standing in the doorway. His hair was black and slicked back, with a neatly trimmed goatee. His complexion was a snowy-gray color, and his eyes were an intense turquoise. He carried himself with authority, and had a scrutinizing gaze that made your skin crawl.

“C-Cardinal Neighsay,” said the Priest.

“Father Huff Puff, Sister Meadowbrook,” he greeted.

Meadowbrook bowed slightly to Neighsay and said, “We’re honored to have one of his holiness’ Cardinals grace us. But, pardon, why are you here? Had you called ahead we could’ve met you sooner.”

“No need for that, I find it better to drop in when no one is expecting me. I don’t like fanfare, and I’d much rather see things in their natural state rather than see a dressed-up version of what someone wants me to see.” Cardinal Neighsay strode into the room and saw the news on the TV. “I see things are more complicated here than the reports suggested.”

Sister Meadowbrook looked to Father Huff, who nodded at her. “Indeed, there have been four raids done by the CCPD alongside the Sentinels, in between that, there have been some skirmishes taking place both in daylight and nighttime. So far, neither the man known as Sombra, or the Angelus, have confronted each other directly, at least not since that night when Sombra made his announcement.”

Neighsay hummed his understanding. “And the Magdalena, how have you been utilizing her?”

“Excuse me, your eminence, but what do you mean by that?” Meadowbrook asked.

“Have you been sending the Magdalena to fight?” Neighsay asked.

Father Huff started to sweat. “Um…well…Sister is the designated handler of the Magdalena so–”

Neighsay raised his hand, making Father Huff go silent. “I know full well she is the Magdalena’s handler. Which is why I’m asking why you haven’t sent her to fight against the Darkness?”

Meadowbrook stood up straight and said, “Well, your Eminence, I’ve been adoptin’ a wait-and-see approach for the time bein’. I’d like to get a sense of the Angelus’ motives before we completely side with her in this endeavor.”

Neighsay shook his head. “Sister, what is there to ‘wait and see’? The Angelus is the light that God Himself thrust into this universe to banish the likes of the Darkness. The Darkness is a demon, the king of all demons before Lucifer, and most likely will be long after. If there were ever a true enemy of mankind, then it is that creature, and the one who possesses its power. The Magdalena’s purpose is to strike down evil in all its forms.”

Well, on that Meadowbrook would agree on. The Darkness was an undeniable threat to the world at large, and if not taken care of, would swallow not only the city, but the entire world. However, something just didn’t sit right with her when it came to the Angelus. Yes, she did know the story of the two primordial beings, call it what you will, woman’s intuition, a gut feeling, sixth sense, whatever, something just didn’t sit right with her about the Angelus.

“I understand that, Cardinal Neighsay, but dependin’ on what happens, the Magdalena might be our only hope of turnin’ the tide should something unforeseen happen. She’s our trump card, and I’d rather play her when the time is right,” said Meadowbrook.

Neighsay narrowed his gaze. “Hmm. I see, well, I believe it’s time for a new approach. I’ve been authorized by the Pope to take command of this area.”

“W-What?!” Meadowbrook asked in shock.

The Cardinal reached into his robe and pulled out a letter, the wax seal on the back baring the official emblem of the Pope himself. Meadowbrook opened the letter and read it, unfortunately, Neighsay wasn’t lying, the Pope had authorized him to monitor the situation and take command of the use of the Magdalena however he saw fit during this time of crisis.

“I am the Pope’s eyes and ears, and as such, I say we take a different approach,” said Neighsay.

Meadowbrook put down the letter. “Such as?”

“A meeting with the Angelus, you, myself, and the Magdalena. This is nonnegotiable.”

Meadowbrook did her best to keep her disdain for this plan from showing, thankfully she had a good poker face. The Sister gave a slight bow to Neighsay and said, “As you wish, your Eminence. I’ll contact her tomorrow about our plan, and look into settin’ up a meetin’ with the Angelus.”

Neighsay smiled. “Thank you, Sister Meadowbrook.”

Things around CHS were…a little tense. For the past two weeks, the TV and internet had been riddled with news of the Sentinels and the Blood Kings, an attack here, a skirmish there, and at least four different raids had been conducted. All of which ended with blood, minimal in regards to the police, but heavy for the Kings. Of course, many of the students were on edge, not because they were part of the Blood Kings, but because of the Sentinels.

There was no way to get around the fact that they were angels led by a more powerful angel. Some students were worried, mostly because they feared their wrath, feared that the Sentinels might come to their school and meet out justice to all those involved in Anon-A-Miss. While the CMC were responsible for creating it, they all had a hand in making Sunset Shimmer’s life a living hell due to them.

So, Sunset wasn’t so surprised when the majority of the student body was acting real friendly towards her. Always saying “hi” or “hello”, giving her a compliment, offering to do random stuff for her, almost everything except offer their first born child to her. But Sunset feared that it wasn't far behind.

Lunch time was one of the few times she was able to relax, because at least her friends weren’t trying to kiss her ass to avoid getting sent to hell by angels.

}}} Feh, “angels”, while they may be imbued with the light and bare the name of actual angels, they are mere constructs, Mother’s servants. {{{

Yeah, but try and convince THEM of that. People see feathered wings on your back and think you're an angel, also doesn’t help that they have an angelic look about them.

Sunset groaned and let her head hit the table, earning her confused and concerned looks from her friends and girlfriend.

“Um, Sunset, are you quite alright, darling?” Rarity asked.

“Yes!” came her muffled answer. “And no.” Sunset raised her head and rested her chin in her right palm. “Everybody’s practically worshipping the ground I walk upon.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Wow, back in the day, you’d have been eating that shit up. Now…hahaha!”

“Can’t say Ah disagree, somethin’ like this woulda put a pep in yer step, but now it’s feelin’ a little excessive,” said Applejack.

“Yeah! Do you have any idea how hard it is to surprise Sunset with something, when everyone in the school is doing that?! Because I DO!” Pinkie Pie huffed.

Sunset patted her on the back and gave Pinkie a smile. “True, the me in the past would be relishing in this. But honestly, it’s just wrong, especially when I know they’re doing it out of guilt. On that note, how are the girls?”

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity all had despondent looks upon their faces.

Rainbow sighed and said, “Scoots’ aunts told me she’s so scared of those Sentinels that she won’t even come out of the house.”

Applejack rubbed the back of her head and gave her own sigh. “Same with Bloom, she’s watchin’ the sky every time we’re out in the fields, ‘fraid that they’re goin’ to fall from the sky and send her to hell…”

Rarity rested her left hand on her cheek as she recalled her sister’s plight. “And Sweetie’s too scared to sleep alone. She thinks the Sentinels are going to come in the middle of the night and spirit her away to the ‘Bad Place’ as it were. So, I’ve had her sleep with me in my room. I don’t mind, I love my little sister, and hate seeing her in such a state.”

Sunset felt genuine pity for those three, what they did was wrong, really wrong actually, but still, they didn’t deserve to live in such fear like this. She stole a glance at Pinkie and noticed that even she seemed upset by this news. Pinkie still hadn’t forgiven the girls for what they did, but even her good natured self didn’t like hearing how they were suffering.

“Um, maybe, if it’s possible, perhaps they could meet with the Angelus? Or speak to one of the Sentinels? It might reassure them that they aren’t going to be hurt by them,” Fluttershy suggested.

}}} HA! Father may be her focus now, but I guarantee you she’ll be coming for them after! If they do they’re practically offering their necks to her. {{{

“Not helping!” Sunset harshly whispered at the Witchblade.

“Sunset?”

“Uh, the Witchblade says it’s not a good idea. Period. Look, take it with a grain of salt, he’s not on good terms with either the Darkness or Angelus, there’s a family feud going on between them,” said Sunset.

Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. “Wait, ‘family feud’? They’re related?”

“The Darkness is the Witchblade’s father, and the Angelus is his mother. He was born from them.”

Everyone blinked at this news, and equally stunned.

Applejack was the first to speak as she said, “Well…shoot…that’s one messed up family.” And that’s comin’ from someone who slept (past tense, not anymore) with her big brother.

}}} Sunset, we have company. {{{

Sunset froze as she looked up to the ceiling of the cafeteria. A bird was perched on one of the light fixtures, it was fairly large, about half the size of a hawk. It had blue feathers, a gold breastplate, and a small helmet that covered the top half of its head. The bird’s green eyes rested on Sunset, and at that moment, she felt something resound in her mind.

\\\ Be still, wielder of the Witchblade, I am Zofiel. I come with a request from my Mistress. ///

And that is?

\\\ She would like to speak with you in the chambers of this establishment. She will write you a…“hall pass”. ///

Alright, but next time, have her text me. It is the twenty-first century.

Zofiel nodded, spread its wings, and then flew off, phasing right through the ceiling.

With the request accepted, Sunset excused herself from the table and made her way down the halls and to Celestia’s office. So far, the Angelus hadn’t made any moves to attack the Darkness, only the Sentinels have been doing so. Honestly, Sunset preferred it that way, she didn’t want to see Celestia in danger like that again. Seeing her mother figure die once was more than enough for her.

After a couple of minutes, Sunset found herself at Celestia’s door, she knocked and then let herself in. Despite all the chaos that was happening, Celestia didn’t look stressed out or tired at all. Sunset figured it was due to the Angelus’ power, constantly fueling her and regenerating her body to make sure fatigue would never find Celestia, even during her day job.

“Hi, Sunset,” Celestia greeted.

“Hey, I’m sure you know why I’m here.”

“Yes, although I told Angelus that texting you would be a lot faster, and simpler, than sending that bird.”

\\\/// Some things are better done in a more clandestine manner. Zofiel cannot be seen unless he wants to be seen, and can pass through matter. He also has a great memory, I never have to repeat myself when giving him a message, and I can rest assured that he’ll get it to the intended person. These cellphones can be hacked, looked at, or anything else. Far too much hassle. \\\///

Sunset and Celestia rolled their eyes.

}}} Well, we all know you’re one for secrets… {{{

“As you can see he’s salty as ever,” said Sunset.

\\\/// Quite. Celestia, I’d like to talk in person. \\\///

“Oh, of course.”

Celestia closed her eyes, and in a matter of seconds the atmosphere around Celestia changed dramatically, her eyes opened again, revealing pools of white light. “There we go.” Angelus stood up, walked to the front of the desk and then sat upon it. “So, getting down to the reason why I called you here. I was wondering if you could join in on a raid.”

Sunset blinked. “Really?”

“Yes, I’ve gotten reports from Zofiel that he might’ve found a sort of training ground for those Blood Kings, a place that is a training ground, there’s a chance that Sombra might be there,” said Angelus.

Sunset narrowed her gaze when she heard his name. “A chance, good. I owe him for what he did to Celestia.”

Angelus smiled. “That’s what I like to hear. Now I would be joining you, but I’m limited at night, and most likely Sombra and the Darkness will be there at night. While I’m not powerless in the dark of night, my power wanes considerably. I don’t want to engage unless we’re sure that he’ll be there. And unfortunately, my Sentinels are somewhat subjected to the same weakness.”

“Which is why you want me there, since Witchblade’s power doesn’t wane in the dark or light, I can fight at full power without worry. Right?” Sunset asked.

Angelus walked up to Sunset and gave her a small pinch of her cheek. “Clever girl. Yes, however, if you do confirm his presence, I’ll have some Sentinels and myself commence an attack. If not, well, you can do with them what you will.”

Sunset cocked an eyebrow. “Wait, what do you mean?”

}}} She means for you to kill them. {{{

Sunset backed away a little from Angelus. “Whoa, wait, I’m not going to do that! They’re not possessed by demons, they’re just taking some messed up drug that’s turning them into monsters!”

Angelus put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side. “And where do you think that drug is coming from? The Darkness. Just as I have the ability to create, so too, does the Darkness. It can create whatever its host wants, so long as they can envision it and have a good understanding of the thing they create. This ‘Tar’ is some of the Darkness’ essence. When they take that, they are tainted, but, do as you wish. I’ll leave it to you.”

Sunset nodded. “Thank you.”

Angelus walked forward again and gently placed her hands on Sunset’s shoulders. “Sunset, you come from a world steeped in peace and harmony. I wish to create that here, you are not human, you hail from another world. So I’m sure even you can see that humans are not exactly the best at making decisions when it comes to justice and peace. Tell me, why do you think that is?”

Angelus released Sunset and sat back down in the desk chair, while Sunset sat in the chair across from her. “Well…because humans don’t live long enough to learn from their mistakes, and end up repeating them, sometimes to worse degrees than their predecessors. Princess Celestia, the one from my world, she’s lived over a thousand years, and has seen all kinds of things.”

Angelus nodded as she brought her hands into a pyramid of contemplation. “Exactly, age brings wisdom, and wisdom brings clarity. The leader of your world can make sound decisions and decrees what is best for her people because she’s lived long enough to see the pitfalls and the promises. Humanity lacks that guidance, and I’d like to give it to them. Canterlot City will prove to be a good starting point, as soon as we rid it of the Darkness.”

Sunset couldn’t say that the Angelus was wrong. One of the biggest differences she’d seen between Earth and Equestria, was all the wars humans fought. They fought over land, money, political power, and even when a group of them united, there was always something that divided them further. Maybe there was a method to Angelus’ madness? Draconian measures aside.

Still…“I get where you’re coming from, but the ponies of my world, while some of us are capable of combat and war, the amount of it is far and few between, it’s mostly been matters of self-defense rather than fighting to claim something from another race. I guess you can say that kind of thing has made it easier for us to come together and set aside some of our differences.”

Angelus nodded. “I see, that is fascinating. Anyway, if you wish to do the surveillance, then I’ll give you the address, if not, I’ll just have Zofiel look into it.”

Sunset shook her head. “No, I’ll go and check it out.”

}}} Sunset… {{{

“We’re just going to take a look, we’ll call the police and tell them of the place to arrest them,” said Sunset.

Angelus smiled, took out a sticky note and pen, and wrote down the address with a flourish of her pen and handed it to Sunset. “Thank you, Sunset. Let’s work together to put an end to the Darkness.”

Sunset’s last class ended with Pinkie Pie, she was happy that it did, walking out with her girlfriend made her happy, but really, just being around Pinkie made anyone happy.

“So how’d it with Angie?” Pinkie asked.

Sunset sighed. “She asked me to have a look into something as Witchblade, tonight…”

“Oh…she hasn’t asked you to do anything for the last two weeks, I guess it was bound to happen at some point,” said Pinkie with a shrug.

“It’s just recon, I doubt I’ll need to get involved myself. I’m not exactly keen on fighting regular people. But, depending on how tonight goes, why don’t we hang out tomorrow, just you and me,” Sunset suggested.

Pinkie’s eyes sparkled. “Oooh, a date?!”

The former unicorn snaked her right arm around Pinkie’s waist and brought her hip close to hers. “Hmm, yeah, a date.”

“Yippee!”

When they got outside, Pinkie saw that Limestone was waiting for her at the curb. She wore a black leather bomber jacket, and gray jean pants, her face already had an irritated expression on it.

“Lime really doesn’t like me too much, does she?” Sunset asked.

Pinkie released a nervous chuckle. “She just needs time to get to know you better. Oh! I know! Maybe we could invite Limestone to hangout tomorrow! I know you said it would be a date, but I really want you and Lime to get along.”

Personally, Sunset had nothing against Limestone. The eldest Pie sister was just grumpy, and probably didn’t like her because of the crap she put Pinkie through before her little reformation, so her irritation towards Sunset wasn’t unwarranted, but family was important to Pinkie Pie, and Sunset certainly didn’t want to make Pinkie choose between her or the family she loved.

“That’s fine with me,” said Sunset.

“Yes! I’ll call you tomorrow!” Pinkie Pie zipped away to Lime, but then stopped and zipped right back. “Oops! Almost forgot!” Pinkie kissed Sunset on the cheek, making the former bad girl blush a little. “Okay, see you tomorrow! And be safe!”

Pinkie Pie entered Lime’s car, before the gray girl entered the car, she made a gesture with her fingers, pointing two to her eyes and then back at Sunset. Lime entered her car and began driving down the street. While she was driving, she could tell that Pinkie was excited. Well, she was always excited, but it seemed like she was in overdrive right now.

“You binge on cupcakes again? Cause you’re practically bouncing in your seat,” Lime asked.

“Well, since you’re here, I wanted to ask you! Do you wanna hang out with me and Sunset tomorrow?!” Pinkie asked with a happy tone in her voice.

“No.”

“Yes?”

“No.”

“No?”

“Yes.”

“Yes! You said yes!”

Limestone shook her head. “What?! No, I said yes to your no!”

“But I said no, and you said ‘yes’, I was saying no to your yes, and your yes to my no!”

“No! Cause I…wait, what?” Limestone shook her head again, knowing that if she kept going she’d be sucked into the rabbit hole that was Pinkie Pie. “Ugh! Forget it, the answer’s no. N. O. No!”

Pinkie Pie sighed. “C’mon, Limey, I just want you to get to know Sunset a little better! She’s really nice and smart, a bit perverted, but then again I have no room to complain, considering I’m one too.”

“Yes, I unfortunately know all too well about that. All you’re constant ‘Surprise Grope Attacks’ have made that clear!”

Yes, Pinkie Pie had made it a habit to grope her sisters, it was all done in playfulness, but still, it got annoying after a bit.

“Now that I know which way you swing, it makes total sense why you were feelin’ us up,” Lime commented.

Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Lime, please, I’m just playing around, I’m not doing it to get it on with you. Although, there are plenty of fanfics that have all four us doing the horizontal shuffle and the X-a-doble. And a lot of them really have you and Marble going at it, a lot!”

Limestone glanced at her second youngest sister with a twitching left eye. “Forget it, I’m not even going to ask where, how, or why you got something like that. Anyway, I still don’t want to. I’m heading out tonight.”

Pinkie Pie suddenly got worried. “Oh…r-really? Where?”

“Just some rave somewhere,” Lime answered.

“M-Maybe we can just have a sister hangout night instead? I just don’t think it’s really safe to go out at night, especially with…you know, all that’s going on,” said Pinkie.

Lime smiled, with her free hand she reached over and ruffled her little sister’s hair. “I’m a big girl, Pinks, don’t worry about me. ‘Sides, I’ll be fine, I promise.” Lime could see that she wasn’t completely satisfied with that. “Tell you what, I’ll call you when I get there, I’ll call you when I leave, and I’ll call you one last time when I’m halfway home. Deal?”

“Okay, just be careful, I love you sis…” Pinkie leaned over and brought Limestone into a haphazard hug.

Lime smiled back. “I love you too, Pinkie.”

Night had fallen upon Canterlot City, and even Sunset could feel the tension in the air. The day was when people felt safer, but night now carried with it an ominous promise of the shadows coming alive to claim the innocent. It hadn’t completely paralyzed the city into shutting down businesses that operated at night, but the citizens were told to use extra caution when traveling at night.

For Sunset Shimmer, she didn’t have much to worry about. When night fell, she donned the Witchblade armor and flew out to the spot where Angelus told her there was supposed to be a sort of training ground for the gang members of the Blood Kings. While Sunset wasn’t particularly thrilled with the idea of fighting normal people, she was sure she could take them down without killing them.

As she sailed through the night, Sunset stopped and hovered in the air. Before she left, Sunset did a search of the address online, normally a satellite image of the area wouldn’t help much, but given that Sunset was going to be flying, memorizing the shape and landmarks helped a lot. It was an abandoned steel mill, it was still maintained in case steel production needed to be kicked up again. But right now, it was supposed to be empty.

}}} I sense Father’s energy here… {{{

Looks like she was right, let’s take a look.

Sunset flew down and landed on the roof near the skylight. She peeked through the window and saw several people were gathered inside. Sunset looked around and found a large enough window to sneak in, she carefully slipped through the window and perched herself on the rafters, listening in on their meeting.

Inside a makeshift stage was erected, the inside was musty smelling, reminding Sunset of the warehouse that Ishtar had her underground sex club in. The building itself was nearly the size of a football field, with steel drums that were lined up against one side of the wall, and a host of conveyor belts and machines that would press and mold whatever metal was put onto them. A man with green skin and black hair walked up to the front of the stage.

“Listen up! You join the Blood Kings, you join for life! We’re not just going against the cops, or the government! We’re changing this city, molding it! With Sombra King we’ll get this done! And we’ll do it with this!”

The assortment of teen and twenty-something-year-olds watched as the man pulled out a vial of black substance, Sunset knew what it was from what Shining Armor told her about it, that was the Tar.

“It’s called Tar, take the whole thing, and you become a near unstoppable monster we call a Blacknight, just be aware that this shit only lasts twelve hours, after that, your ass better be somewhere else or it’ll be grass,” he said.

“Then why can’t we take more than one?! Make it last a whole damn day,” one of the crowd asked.

The leader, at least Sunset assumed as he was, stepped up and took out his own vial. He had blonde hair and blue skin. “Because this shit can jack with your mind. One vial, you’ll still be in control, take two, you might not come back, more than two…you’ll turn into a rampaging monster and you’re definitely not coming back. You’ll all be given one, and are to only use it when you’re backed into a corner by the cops or those flying bastards.”

A female member of the gang walked up next, neon pink in color, she had white hair and purple highlights, and said, “Listen up, those ‘Sentinels’ are strong during the day, and are kinda weak at night. Tar is sensitive to light, so keep that in mind when you take it, ‘cause you will be too. On top of that, you’ll be stronger when you’re in dark places and when it’s night. Beware of flashbangs and intense light as it can screw with your transformation.”

The leader took up after her, “With that said, if I or – god help you – Mr. King finds out you used the Tar for some petty shit like getting back at a friend, girlfriend, or to kill your family, you’re dead. I mean that literally, we will kill you. There’s no place for you here.”

Sunset had the Witchblade release her cellphone. She quickly grabbed and dialed Shining Armor’s number.

{Sunset, what’s up?}

“Yeah, you know how I might be helping out with this little Sombra King and Blood Kings thing…?”

{……Ah shit, you’re in the middle of something aren’t you?}

“Not yet, I’m hiding up in the rafters of an old steel mill, watching some Blood Kings recruiting new members and showing them how to use their vial of Tar. I need you to get some police to 5001 Hedgedale Lane, now!”

{Dammit, that’s too far for us. I’ll alert the local precinct and have them send backup ASAP. Is Sombra there?}

“Not that I can see, I think his right hand is here though, but I’m just guessing right now.”

{That’s better than nothing, if you can, try and capture him, don’t let those Sentinels kill him. He might know where Sombra is.}

“Got it, I’ll stand by until I hear sirens.”

{Sunset…be careful.}

Sunset smiled as she said, “Aren’t I always?” and then hung up. She watched as the leaders of the gang went on about the dangers and other things about joining the gang, which took all of five minutes, but then it was time to hand out the vials of Tar. It was here that Sunset fidgeted. If they got the vials then it would be bad news for the incoming police officers. At night, the Blacknights would be stronger and more difficult for the Sentinels to deal with as well.

}}} We may need to intervene now before that happens. {{{

I’m with you on that, but we’re not killing any of them.

}}} Killjoy… {{{

Sunset jumped off the rafters, performed one flip, and landed right in front of the stage. She stopped the guy holding the bag full of vials and smirked. From her left hand she shot out a chain with a spear tip that impaled the bag. The spear blade then morphed, letting four hooks spring from it and latch onto the bag itself. Sunset yanked on the chain, making the man holding it release it, and threw it into the air. Once out of reach, Sunset raised her right hand and released a jet stream of flames right at it, burning the bag and its contents into ashes.

The chain retracted back to her left gauntlet and melted into the armor. “Sorry, no Tar for anyone tonight! You’ll have to get your fix somewhere else!”

“What the hell?!”

“Is that a Sentinel?!”

“Fuck no! That’s Witchblade!”

“Damn she’s hot.”

“I don’t care if she’s with the cops or that angel thing, I’d do it her in a heartbeat!”

“Same!”

}}} You sure you don’t want to kill them? {{{

Some are pushing it right now…

Just then, the sound of wailing sirens sounded in the distance. The leaders picked up on the sound and so did the recruits.

“I’ll make this simple, just give up now and I promise you won’t be hurt!” Sunset announced.

The leader, with blonde hair and blue skin, reached into his jacket and took out a vial of Tar. But then a man with green skin and black hair took it from him.

“Give me yours too!” he demanded of the female subordinate. “NOW!”

She quickly handed it over, which made the leader nervous. “What the hell are you doing?!”

“Buying us time! Blood! Get out of here!” That same man opened the one that he got from the one called Blood and drank it, and then the one from the girl, and finally, he took out his own vial and downed it all.

“Dammit, Cliff…EVERYBODY GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!” Blood shouted.

Everybody began to scatter, Sunset didn’t need to bother with them, right now, her focus was on the man who just took three vials of Tar. The man known as Cliff hunched over as he grunted and growled. His clothes began to rip apart from the expansion of his muscles and body. Demonic growls filled the inside as he raised his head, showing that his eyes were glowing bright yellow, with rows of dagger sharp teeth, and jagged horns the protruded from his head. Cliff’s entire body turned the color of night, with a blue sheen when the light hit his skin just right.

Sunset watched as Cliff continued to grow, stopping when he was at least nine feet tall. He had a long whip-like tail with an arrowhead tip, black tentacles, four in total, sprouted from his back and sharpened themselves to that of razors, large claws meant for rending metal and flesh in one go, and muscles that signified the strength that this Blacknight possessed.

“Oh shit…”

The Giga Blacknight roared strongly, shaking the entire building as he did so. Sunset summoned a scimitar and a khopesh sword into her hands and readied to fight the human turned monster.

The Giga Blacknight used his tentacles as they went straight for Sunset. The Bringer of Balance leaned back just as the tentacle came near her, letting it pass overhead. Sunset brought both her blades together and slashed upwards, cutting off the tentacle as she rose back up.

The creature paid it no mind as he jumped off the stage and charged for her. Sunset ducked to the right as he continued and crashed into a machine, crushing it with his size and strength. The Giga Blacknight used both of his claws and ripped off that piece of machinery.

When Sunset recovered, she watched as the Giga Blacknight chucked the damaged machine straight at her. Thinking quickly, Sunset merged the two swords together and created a giant sword that she used to slash the machine right down the metal. Sparks flew as the blade cleaved through the mortal metal like it was wet tissue paper, the flinging off in two different directions, hitting the back wall, and smashing right through it.

Sunset morphed the sword into a scythe, she twirled the sickle around and dashed for the Giga Blacknight. She slashed upwards, cutting a large gash in its chest, and then swiped again, cutting it horizontally across its abdomen. The beast roared in pain and began to bleed, but that didn’t seem to stop it from attacking again, using its tentacles to strike at Sunset like a cobra.

The former unicorn twirled the scythe around as she backed away, the ringing of the sharpened edges of the tentacles bouncing off her sickle rang out through the room as she rapidly blocked and parried each attack. The Giga Blacknight’s body began to heal rapidly, the gashes closing in a matter of seconds. The creature of Darkness’ claws began to glow, he raised them up above his head, and then slammed them into the ground.

The move created a shockwave of dark energy the slammed against Sunset like a freight train, throwing her into the wall behind her. The Giga Blacknight didn’t let up as he charged like a stampeding bull straight for her. The wall burst open as Sunset and the Giga Blacknight smashed through it and right into another building. He continued slamming her through one wall after the other, with no sign of stopping.

Sunset gritted her teeth and willed the armor to shoot out blade strands that sliced at the Giga Blacknight’s legs. The blades slashed at his Achilles tendons and the backs of his knees, the creature cried in pain as he fumbled and fell, allowing Sunset to get away as he continued to roll on the ground. Unfortunately, the creature’s regeneration was powerful, already getting back on his feet.

Just before the Giga Blacknight could attack, a column of fire shot down from the roof. When the flames faded, they revealed a being, another Sentinel. His body was orange, hair made of yellow fire, with golden armor like his brethren, and white glowing wings on his back.

The creature regarded the male being before him and then attacked with his tentacles. All four, however, never made it to their target as something blue sliced through them with ease. The Giga Blacknight howled in pain as the severed ends burned. Sunset looked to her left and saw another of the Sentinels appear right next to the fiery one.

This one was female, her wings were made of shimmering water, her skin was a deeper shade of blue than other Sentinels, the word “ocean blue” came to mind. Her hair was like a waterfall, her locks reaching down to her back. The Sentinel wore a white dress, kind of low cut around the neck, allowing for a peek at her cleavage, a gold belt was tied around her waist, fastening the dress, while two gold medallions did the same around her shoulders. Her right and left forearms had bracers, fitted with lapis lazuli gemstones, and golden boots that also sported the same gemstones.

“Ah, Witchblade, our Mistress said her son and his host would be here,”

“Yeah, and who are you two?”

The flaming Sentinel posed as he puffed out his chest. “I’m Israfil, the Burning One.”

The female Sentinel bowed. “I am Kutiel, his sister. I am the Bringer of Holy Water.”

Sunset looked back at the Giga Blacknight and the hissing sound that came from his severed tentacles. “Well that explains why he was hurt by your water.”

“Please inform us, I know this is a Blacknight, but I’ve never seen one this big, or this strong,” said Kutiel.

“He drank three of those Tar vials, so he’s a lot stronger than a normal Blacknight, so I guess we can call him a Giga Blacknight,” said Sunset.

Israfil chuckled. “I like the name, so, let’s get to it then!”

The Burning One summoned two fireballs into his hands and threw them at the monster. Both fireballs exploded against its body, causing its skin to sizzle and blister, but still, the Giga Blacknight didn’t seem to be deterred much. Israfil smirked and then fired off a stream of golden flames right at the monster, bathing it in fire. The Giga Blacknight cried out in pain, again, but this time it charged through the flames and swung his large arm.

Israfil was caught with a giant backhand, throwing him against the opposite wall and putting him in a daze. Kutiel summoned orbs of water into her hands and then slashed the air with them. The two water orbs turned into water blades as they sailed through the air and struck the Giga Blacknight on the shoulders, cutting into his muscles and making his arms go limp. The Bringer of Holy Water flew for the creature, coating her right forearm in water and forming it into a blade. Kutiel stabbed the creature, burying half her forearm in its thick neck. Blood sprayed from the wound as her water blade stuck out the other side, but the Giga Blacknight’s shoulders healed, allowing it to grab ahold of Kutiel and forcibly ripped her off of him.

Kutiel was tossed like a ragdoll across the large room, landing against a shipping container much like her brother. Sunset struck the great beast with a torrent of flames, but again, it powered through the attack and came right at her. The Bringer of Balance jumped straight up and around, dodging the attack as she landed elegantly. Kutiel and Israfil managed to peel themselves off from their respective places and hovered near Sunset.

“Okay, so, this one’s a lot tougher than we were expecting,” said Israfil.

“And it would be at night, our power is halved, we’d need at least two more to fell him,” Kutiel added.

Sunset tried to think of a way to bring this thing down, or at least depower him enough render his harmless.

}}} I have a crazy idea… {{{

We’re not exactly swimming with options, what is it?

}}} Absorb the Darkness. I was born from the Darkness and Angelus, in theory, I might be able to absorb and purify the dark essence of my Father. {{{

Sunset looked at her gauntlet with a bit of skepticism. Are you sure that’ll work?

}}} It’s only a theory, our only other recourse is to kill him. Which I know you’re not keen on. {{{

Alright, I’ll trust you with this. “Israfil, Kutiel, hold him still as long as you can, we have a plan.”

The two Sentinels nodded and went to work. Kutiel created a large sphere of water and threw it at the Giga Blacknight, the sphere popped like a bubble and splashed the creature with buckets of purified water that burned its skin. Israfil created fire whips which he used to wrap up the Giga Blacknight’s arms and legs. Kutiel created her own water whips, wrapping the monster’s torso in them, and preventing him from creating any more tentacles.

Sunset prepared to do her part, but stopped when she noticed the Giga Blacknight’s mouth open and fire off a beam of black light straight for her. Sunset ducked out of the way as the beam burned through the concrete and steel, continuing on to the back wall and piercing through it.

“SHUT HIS MOUTH!!!”

Kutiel hurriedly made her water snake up his neck and wrap around his head, shutting his mouth and cutting off the beam attack. With that accomplished, Sunset widened her stance and held out her right hand towards the Giga Blacknight. The ruby jewel of the Witchblade began to glow brighter and brighter, harsh whispers were carried on the wind that made Sunset’s skin crawl.

Suddenly, the Giga Blacknight stopped its thrashing about and went still. At that moment the black tar began to pull away from its body and towards Witchblade. It flowed out of his chest like sludge, and when it reached Sunset’s jewel, she winced in pain and dropped to one knee. She could feel the Darkness’ essence, it was hateful, destructive, even hedonistic, it called to all the negative thoughts and impulses in Sunset’s body.

“Don’t let something like this break you.”

Sunset glanced to her right and saw her dark half standing next to her, and she grinned smugly. I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction of saying I was beaten by this.

“Damn right, now get your shit together and let’s burn this sludge!”

Sunset gritted her teeth as she stood back up, her eyes glowing with renewed determination. She released a battle cry, focusing her magic and the Witchblade’s power to draw out the rest of the Tar. More and more flowed out of the one called Cliff, his size reducing with each passing second. The last of the Tar exited Cliff’s body, returning the man to normal, while Sunset summoned the Tar into her right hand, making it form into a ball. Once it was all out, she summoned her flames and burned the Tar so that not even ashes remained.

The Bringer of Balance sighed heavily, exhausted from the extraction process, but satisfied that she was able to do something like that. To Sunset this was good news, this meant that there was a way for her to fight the Blacknights without killing the person who turned.

“RAAAAAAGGGHH!!!”

Sunset quickly looked up and saw that Cliff was still wrapped in the water whips of Kutiel. Although, his eyes were darting around, and he was frothing at the mouth, growling like an animal and clawing at the air as he tried to break free and attack.

Kutiel pointed her left hand at Cliff, and then clenched it into a fist. The moment she did, several spikes made of blood erupted from Cliff’s body, turning him into a human porcupine. The grunting and growling ceased as Cliff went limp, Kutiel unclenched her fist and the blood needles disappeared. The Bringer of Holy Water released her water whips and let Cliff’s body fall, unceremoniously, onto the cold concrete floor.

Sunset looked upon the scene with eyes wide with shock, those same eyes then narrowed into slits as anger broiled within her. The Bringer of Balance marched her way to Kutiel and grabbed her by the collar of her dress. “WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT?!”

“His mind and soul were gone, he had been reduced to a mindless, soulless beast. There was no helping him,” said Kutiel calmly as if it was a matter of fact.

“I COULD’VE HEALED HIM! THE WITCHBLADE AND I HAVE THAT POWER!” Sunset argued.

Israfil stood next to Kutiel and crossed his arms. “Heal his mind, maybe, yeah. But you can’t bring back his soul. Even for Mistress’ son, that’s something he cannot do.”

}}} ……I hate to admit that he’s right…but he’s right…I cannot bring back a soul once it’s departed. {{{

Sunset released Kutiel and looked at ruby jewel. “Bullshit! You brought ME back to life!”

}}} Because you are my host, and I can do that for you, for others…I cannot…such power is only wielded by my Mother and Father… {{{

“Even if you did heal his mind, he would be a soulless husk. I ask you, which is cruller? Death or living as a corpse?” Kutiel asked.

Sunset’s anger simmered a bit, but she was still angry about it. “Fine…I’m leaving.” Sunset flared her metallic wings and shot up through the roof of the building and flew off towards home.

}}} I am sorry Sunset… {{{

Don’t be…I can’t be angry at you for something you’re not able to do…I heard about how the Sentinels just slay without mercy, but the way she did it…without even batting an eye…

}}} They carry out Mother’s will. Those who fight for the Darkness are no better than the demons that Father conjures, and will kill them without mercy. I fear more for when this over, and Father’s minions are no longer their targets…{{{

Sunset felt a cold chill, if they were this merciless to those who were “tainted” by the Darkness, when it was all over, how merciless would the Sentinels and Angelus be towards normal people?

A flash of lightning and the booming of thunder caught Sunset’s attention. She stopped in midair and looked into the distance. Around the warehousing district, storm clouds had gathered, roaring with thunder and crackling with lightning, and something else, flames.

}}} Sunset, I sense a strong power over that way! {{{

Is it the Darkness?

}}} No…something else…familiar, and yet not. {{{

Then let’s check it out!

It seemed that Sunset’s night wasn’t over just yet…