NOVEL WEB 396. Llewyn Returns
"Put some fucking clothes on," Ike snarled, and kicked the puppet back. Just because Llewyn was a featureless puppet, and not one of the hyper-detailed ones that could pass as human, didn't mean Ike wanted to see him naked. Llewyn released his face and staggered back, his shoulders swaying further than his body. He wasn't used to his new body's top-heaviness and reeled, almost falling over entirely.
Ike swung his legs down and kicked off the wall instead, charging after Llewyn. Before Llewyn could catch his balance, he hammered into him, continuing to force him back. Puppets from the army went flying as he pushed Llewyn back toward the opening.
"Hey, Ike! I think it'd be better if you took your clothes off, instead!" Wisp shouted.
"Shuddap," Ike grumbled.
"Not for me, just in general," she clarified.
"Who's going to enjoy it, then, huh? Llewyn? Brightbriar?"
Llewyn growled, annoyed. "Shut up and take me seriously."
"I dunno, Mag?" Wisp asked, ignoring Llewyn.
Mag looked up. He shook his head. "I think he should dress more, not less!"
Two hands whirled around the top of Llewyn's shoulder joints and slammed down onto Ike's shoulders. Ike grimaced and pushed Llewyn away from him, just far enough to bring his sword into play instead. "Can you two shut up and help?"
"Way ahead of you," Wisp replied. A dozen thick ropes of spider thread caught Llewyn by the shoulders and upper back, and Wisp pulled with all her might, yanking him away from Ike. Llewyn threw his weight against her thread, but the thread held.
Ike raced in. Llewyn had just long enough to look shocked before Ike slammed the Hungry Sword into his face. His head spun around a one-eighty, loose in his puppet body.
"Neat! Do it again!" Wisp cheered.
Ike reared back to do just that, only for Llewyn to growl and twist strangely underneath him. Two hands grabbed Ike and threw him away, and the other two gripped the ropes tying him to the ground. He tore, and the ropes came free.
"Oy! I spun those myself!" Wisp shouted.
Llewyn snapped his fingers. His torso rotated, revealing a set of pure black robes, edged in spiky silver. He pointed at Ike, then vanished.
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
"What the hell," Ike muttered, and then an invisible fist impacted his face. He reeled back, instinctively raising his hands to block. The Hungry Sword skimmed something, he didn't know what, but that was it. Llewyn was too fast.
Too fast? Ike realized, shocked. His eyes narrowed. There was no such thing as too fast.
"I, too, have absorbed other pieces of myself. I, too, bear their powers," Llewyn rumbled. He appeared for just a moment behind Ike, leg already lifted to kick.
Ike whipped around just in time to see it coming, but too late to do anything about it. His eyes narrowed. For the first time, lightning flickered around his body. Storm clouds gathered in the air around him, and purple light crackled all around. Llewyn released his kick into an afterimage of gray clouds and purple electricity. Ike appeared behind him—not turning invisible from a skill, but just vanishing from pure speed. He swept Llewyn's legs with a kick flickering with electricity, and sent the puppet to the ground.
Llewyn caught himself before he hit with his rearward arms and threw himself over his shoulders, to his front arms, and back to his feet. He drew back, narrowing his eyes at Ike.
"Fuckin' bonus arms," Ike complained.
"What'd I tell you? Spider superiority," Wisp shouted from across the room.
"Shut uuuuuup," Ike grumbled.
Llewyn vanished again. Ike felt the wind move as a fist hurtled toward him, and sidestepped. He couldn't see Llewyn, but it didn't matter. He could out-speed him. Llewyn could turn invisible, but invisible only mattered if the opponent couldn't react. When he was fighting Ike, he might as well be visible. Now that their power levels were equivalent, or Ike even potentially out-powered Llewyn, Llewyn couldn't hold a candle to Ike's hand-to-hand melee prowess—one upside to his savage lifestyle. Another punch, and this time, Ike not only dodged, but hammered a strike back, letting the Hungry Sword get a big bite of Llewyn's midsection. Its teeth only scratched the puppet's diamond-hard skin, but it stole a hunk of cloth, and came away chewing it.
Llewyn flickered back into visibility, a big chunk fabric missing from his outfit. He snarled. "Don't think you have the upper hand. You haven't even seen a fraction of my power!"
"Yeah? And you think you've seen a fraction of mine?" Ike asked.
"Get 'im, Ike!" Wisp shouted.
Ike looked at Wisp. "Thank you, peanut gallery."
Llewyn's torso rotated, and silver armor appeared on his body. He stomped toward Ike again. His motions were no longer fast or invisible, but now, every inch of his puppet body roiled with raw power and brutality. This Llewyn wasn't one unused to hand-to-hand combat or melee scrums. He was built for them, Born in them. Ike could swear his body had gotten bigger and bulkier under the armor, but maybe it was just the armor. Then again, he wasn't sure Llewyn's body size actually mattered for anything; after all, he was porcelain and black goo, at the end of the day, not flesh and bone at all.
"You're welcome, Ike!" Wisp called.
For all that he was criticizing Wisp for chiming in from the edges of the conflict, he wasn't actually troubled by it. This was a battle between him and… well, him, and he should be the only party in the fight. Ike turned toward the approaching Llewyn and spun the Hungry Sword in his hand. He had a little glimmer of where Llewyn's power might be coming from, and he intended to test his hypothesis.
Llewyn stomped on the floor, using raw power to propel himself toward Ike. Ike held his ground, lifting the Hungry Sword to meet his blow. How strong was this new Llewyn? What were his skills? Despite himself, Ike couldn't help but be curious.
Sword met fist, and sparks flew.