The Witches' Road: The End of the Road
Oct. 31st, 2025 11:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logs24 hours after they entered the Road, it seems to be coming to an end. But that can't be right, can it? More surprises are in store.
The trees around them were starting to thin out as they approached what appeared to be the end of the Road. That was odd; she would have expected one more door for Rictor. But there was an opening at the very end of the trail they were on, about three hundred feet away that clearly led to freedom.
Maybe.
Topaz stopped, calling, "Wait," to the others as she frowned and scanned ahead. "Vertigo and Coyote are waiting to ambush us when we get out."
Amanda shook her head and cracked her knuckles. "They really can't take a fucking clue, can they?" She looked around the group expectantly. "Five down, two to go and then it's one last door for Rictor, here." Her tone was almost chirpy
"I think...I think we are slowly overpowering them. With each completion of a trial, we became stronger. We entered the road together, completed the trails together, and now we will leave the road together." Clea looked at her friends, her family, her now coven. "If they want to go down fighting, let's show them a bloody fight."
“They can’t take us if we come at them together.” Emily’s arms and hands lengthened into black obsidian, and she grinned at her mentor, now fellow coven member. “I’m ready.”
"We can do this," said Pixie, stepping forward. Her iridescent wings glowed in a shifting ombre of hot pink and icy blue. Her Soul Dagger, steady in one hand, shone with the same harmonious light. For too long, she'd held back, afraid that her faerie magic was tainted by that sliver of demon soul. She's been scared that if she pushed her powers too far, the cracks would spread from that piece and shatter her from the inside. But now, standing beside the others, she'd gained a new understanding. The trials hadn't just tested her, they'd reforged her. Her powers, once fractured, were in balance.
"These idiots won't stop us before I get mine." Rictor kicked off his shoes and dug his toes into the packed earth of the path. The faint green wisps of his mutant gift pulsated from his clenched fists. "Come on, you assholes! You're dead!"
The one with the Spiral Mask stepped forward with the one with the Coyote Mask was in her animal form by her sister's side. "Colloqui volumus." was what she said but to everyone they heard it in their own native tongue which translated: We wish to parley.
Amanda held up her own hand signalling the rest of them to pause. "This is the first time they've actually communicated with us," she mused, quietly so her voice didn't carry to the two black figures. "And they know they're outgunned. I'm thinking we listen to what they have to say, at least for now. Topaz?"
"They don't seem like they have any ill intent," Topaz replied softly. "But stay on-guard just in case and let's hear it, I guess."
She turned toward where she was pretty sure they were waiting and raised her voice. "We'll listen." Her tone carried an implied threat - don't try or anything or else. And if they didn't hear that, they certainly felt it when she pressed it into their heads.
Vertigo nodded and lifted her hand and touched her own throat, "I will speak in a Language that could be understood by all." The coyote growled. "You all fought well and your powers have grown since you began the Witches' Road. Only a few have entered the Road and successfully completed. And with that, you have our respect." Vertigo bowed slightly towards the group. "We were summoned to hunt down a covenless group of witches but I don't see that anymore. Therefore, our contract has been null and void and we will not continue to pursue it."
"Wait, that was why we were targeted, because we weren't a coven?" Amanda's voice was incredulous. "Of all the fucked up, geriatric, ridiculous reasons... Who was it? Who contracted you?"
"But we're not done!" Rictor interjected. "There must be one more door, one more trial: mine!"
Topaz had a few guesses about who it could have been - the Ancient One didn't seem like he was above hiring magical assassins if they refused to conform. But Rictor's outburst distracted her from that line of thought. Her gaze flicked to Amanda, then back to him.
"I don't think there's a door for you." Her voice was... surprisingly gentle, all things considered.
"What? No, that's not right." He shook his head and the ground gently shook along with him, like he had bound it to sympathize with his plight. "I am here, aren't I? I came with you. There must be a trial for me. It doesn't make sense. Why . . . why don't I get one?"
Clea put her hand on Rictor's shoulder, "The road is meant to test each of us. Perhaps instead of a door, you had the road. You were able to connect to the road, right? Even now it moves to your powers. Perhaps the road was your test."
"My mutant gift! But not my magic! The rest of you all fused your mutant gift and your magic through a test tailored specifically to you! Why not me?" He glared at his coven—no, not his coven, he was coming to understand that now. "I shouldn't be here. I should have never come."
“I’m sorry it didn’t give you what you wanted, Rictor.” Emily looked sad but determined as she met Rictor’s gaze unflinching. “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have come with us. You were just as important as any of us for getting through this.”
"You would have succeeded without me. I don't belong here." He turned his gaze to the surviving Two of Seven. Waves of green energy pulsated from his clenched fists. "Y tampoco esas putamadres. Ladrones. ¡Asesinas! Esta calle es su tumba, y ahora las voy a enterrar aquí. ¡Son muertas!"
Vertigo tilted her head to the side, "We pursue. We do not control the Witches' Road or the trials it holds." Vertigo's free hand swirled with black and red mist as five glowing orbs zoomed towards her before hovering above her. "Sometimes the truth hurts. And that is your lesson to learn." Coyote disappeared into smoke and Vertigo took one last look at everyone before disappearing from the road as if she was dust on the wind, taking all of her sister's souls with her.
"I'd say good riddance, but odds are we'll see them again," sighed Amanda. "Nobody ever stays dead any more." She looked to Rictor, energy still emanating from his fists, and she put a gentle, but firm hand on his shoulder. "Rictor... Julio, calm down. I know you're angry and disappointed, but there's nothing left to fight. It's done."
"Yeah, it's done." Not just the trial or the Witches Road. All of it. "I am, too."
Topaz hesitated. She had never been good at comforting people. And her particular brand of comfort may have been a little too harsh for Rictor. But...
"Maybe you don't have magic." She had to at least try. "And that is a bitter pill to swallow after all these years. But it doesn't make you any less special. Your mutation still served a purpose here and helped in a lot of ways that magic couldn't. Hell we'd still be stuck in that bloody maze if you hadn't been here. You killed one of the Seven - something that was difficult for any of us to achieve, especially in the beginning. It's not the same, but... I think you were meant to be here."
The just-a-mutant-not-a-witch could naught but shrug in response. Maybe later their kind words, their mentorship, their friendship would mean something. But for now, everything was empty. "Let's go."
At those words, the ground blazed with light in front of them, a magic circle and then a circular wooden door appearing in the packed earth of the Road. It was a door they'd seen before, back in the X-Force offices, at the start of their journey.
"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." The words were Amanda's, quoted from one of those Canadian bar bands Garrison was so fond of. "It looks like we've reached the end of the line." She gave them a soft smile. "Time to go the fuck home."
The trees around them were starting to thin out as they approached what appeared to be the end of the Road. That was odd; she would have expected one more door for Rictor. But there was an opening at the very end of the trail they were on, about three hundred feet away that clearly led to freedom.
Maybe.
Topaz stopped, calling, "Wait," to the others as she frowned and scanned ahead. "Vertigo and Coyote are waiting to ambush us when we get out."
Amanda shook her head and cracked her knuckles. "They really can't take a fucking clue, can they?" She looked around the group expectantly. "Five down, two to go and then it's one last door for Rictor, here." Her tone was almost chirpy
"I think...I think we are slowly overpowering them. With each completion of a trial, we became stronger. We entered the road together, completed the trails together, and now we will leave the road together." Clea looked at her friends, her family, her now coven. "If they want to go down fighting, let's show them a bloody fight."
“They can’t take us if we come at them together.” Emily’s arms and hands lengthened into black obsidian, and she grinned at her mentor, now fellow coven member. “I’m ready.”
"We can do this," said Pixie, stepping forward. Her iridescent wings glowed in a shifting ombre of hot pink and icy blue. Her Soul Dagger, steady in one hand, shone with the same harmonious light. For too long, she'd held back, afraid that her faerie magic was tainted by that sliver of demon soul. She's been scared that if she pushed her powers too far, the cracks would spread from that piece and shatter her from the inside. But now, standing beside the others, she'd gained a new understanding. The trials hadn't just tested her, they'd reforged her. Her powers, once fractured, were in balance.
"These idiots won't stop us before I get mine." Rictor kicked off his shoes and dug his toes into the packed earth of the path. The faint green wisps of his mutant gift pulsated from his clenched fists. "Come on, you assholes! You're dead!"
The one with the Spiral Mask stepped forward with the one with the Coyote Mask was in her animal form by her sister's side. "Colloqui volumus." was what she said but to everyone they heard it in their own native tongue which translated: We wish to parley.
Amanda held up her own hand signalling the rest of them to pause. "This is the first time they've actually communicated with us," she mused, quietly so her voice didn't carry to the two black figures. "And they know they're outgunned. I'm thinking we listen to what they have to say, at least for now. Topaz?"
"They don't seem like they have any ill intent," Topaz replied softly. "But stay on-guard just in case and let's hear it, I guess."
She turned toward where she was pretty sure they were waiting and raised her voice. "We'll listen." Her tone carried an implied threat - don't try or anything or else. And if they didn't hear that, they certainly felt it when she pressed it into their heads.
Vertigo nodded and lifted her hand and touched her own throat, "I will speak in a Language that could be understood by all." The coyote growled. "You all fought well and your powers have grown since you began the Witches' Road. Only a few have entered the Road and successfully completed. And with that, you have our respect." Vertigo bowed slightly towards the group. "We were summoned to hunt down a covenless group of witches but I don't see that anymore. Therefore, our contract has been null and void and we will not continue to pursue it."
"Wait, that was why we were targeted, because we weren't a coven?" Amanda's voice was incredulous. "Of all the fucked up, geriatric, ridiculous reasons... Who was it? Who contracted you?"
"But we're not done!" Rictor interjected. "There must be one more door, one more trial: mine!"
Topaz had a few guesses about who it could have been - the Ancient One didn't seem like he was above hiring magical assassins if they refused to conform. But Rictor's outburst distracted her from that line of thought. Her gaze flicked to Amanda, then back to him.
"I don't think there's a door for you." Her voice was... surprisingly gentle, all things considered.
"What? No, that's not right." He shook his head and the ground gently shook along with him, like he had bound it to sympathize with his plight. "I am here, aren't I? I came with you. There must be a trial for me. It doesn't make sense. Why . . . why don't I get one?"
Clea put her hand on Rictor's shoulder, "The road is meant to test each of us. Perhaps instead of a door, you had the road. You were able to connect to the road, right? Even now it moves to your powers. Perhaps the road was your test."
"My mutant gift! But not my magic! The rest of you all fused your mutant gift and your magic through a test tailored specifically to you! Why not me?" He glared at his coven—no, not his coven, he was coming to understand that now. "I shouldn't be here. I should have never come."
“I’m sorry it didn’t give you what you wanted, Rictor.” Emily looked sad but determined as she met Rictor’s gaze unflinching. “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have come with us. You were just as important as any of us for getting through this.”
"You would have succeeded without me. I don't belong here." He turned his gaze to the surviving Two of Seven. Waves of green energy pulsated from his clenched fists. "Y tampoco esas putamadres. Ladrones. ¡Asesinas! Esta calle es su tumba, y ahora las voy a enterrar aquí. ¡Son muertas!"
Vertigo tilted her head to the side, "We pursue. We do not control the Witches' Road or the trials it holds." Vertigo's free hand swirled with black and red mist as five glowing orbs zoomed towards her before hovering above her. "Sometimes the truth hurts. And that is your lesson to learn." Coyote disappeared into smoke and Vertigo took one last look at everyone before disappearing from the road as if she was dust on the wind, taking all of her sister's souls with her.
"I'd say good riddance, but odds are we'll see them again," sighed Amanda. "Nobody ever stays dead any more." She looked to Rictor, energy still emanating from his fists, and she put a gentle, but firm hand on his shoulder. "Rictor... Julio, calm down. I know you're angry and disappointed, but there's nothing left to fight. It's done."
"Yeah, it's done." Not just the trial or the Witches Road. All of it. "I am, too."
Topaz hesitated. She had never been good at comforting people. And her particular brand of comfort may have been a little too harsh for Rictor. But...
"Maybe you don't have magic." She had to at least try. "And that is a bitter pill to swallow after all these years. But it doesn't make you any less special. Your mutation still served a purpose here and helped in a lot of ways that magic couldn't. Hell we'd still be stuck in that bloody maze if you hadn't been here. You killed one of the Seven - something that was difficult for any of us to achieve, especially in the beginning. It's not the same, but... I think you were meant to be here."
The just-a-mutant-not-a-witch could naught but shrug in response. Maybe later their kind words, their mentorship, their friendship would mean something. But for now, everything was empty. "Let's go."
At those words, the ground blazed with light in front of them, a magic circle and then a circular wooden door appearing in the packed earth of the Road. It was a door they'd seen before, back in the X-Force offices, at the start of their journey.
"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." The words were Amanda's, quoted from one of those Canadian bar bands Garrison was so fond of. "It looks like we've reached the end of the line." She gave them a soft smile. "Time to go the fuck home."
