\u2013 another in the Sidequest series: fiction fragments which may be expanded someday \u2013<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alex Waverly stood over the crumpled shell of Featherton\u2019s protector. The other four were dazed and wounded, but this one was dead. He couldn\u2019t believe he\u2019d watched her fall less than a meter away from him. The Doves couldn\u2019t fall. It was impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He grabbed the neck brooch from Wing Majesty\u2019s immobile form. Her magically generated costume had faded to the sweatshirt and jeans she must have been wearing before transformation. The gem upon the brooch was as lifeless as its owner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alex clenched his fist around it. He knew he might be killed for what he was doing, but he wouldn\u2019t let the Hate Beast do as it would with its fallen foe. Perhaps, just perhaps, he could trigger the Purification Beam in a final vengeance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone in Featherton knew the power phrase; they\u2019d all heard it in a hundred television specials, limited movie events, and radio commercials. He held the brooch above his head and shouted it, knowing it was a futile, ridiculous act. \u201cI Defend the Living Light!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It served only to attract attention. Seven glowing eyes swung toward him, and the Hate Beast began to advance. Once more Alex shouted the phrase, and he might as well have been holding a plastic toy for all the good it did. The creature scuttled closer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI Defend the Living Light!\u201d he screamed a third time, meaning it as he never imagined he could. A thrill shot through his body; he understood his life was over, but he had not gone down without a fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A strange sensation made him look up to see the Light Gem glowing brightly in his hand, sending a kind of painless burning through the nerve endings in his skin and shooting down his arm. He felt decidedly odd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWelcome, hatchling\u2026\u201d echoed a voice nearby. An image of Wing Majesty stood tall and proud beside him, no longer battered and wounded, and wearing the ornate blouse and cropped skirt of her Dove uniform. Her eyes were closed as in trance. \u201cOnly one fully committed to the Living Light may take the place of a fallen Dove. You, young lady, have shown your faith, and shall take my place as I replaced my predecessor. Kneel before me to receive your – \u201c She opened her eyes to look at him. \u201c – oh.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alex stared back at her. He couldn\u2019t find words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh\u2026 oh!\u201d She started to laugh, and laugh, and laugh. \u201cNever in a thousand years has any Dove seen anything like this!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis – this isn\u2019t funny!\u201d he choked out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Majesty\u2019s laughter died down. \u201cIt is\u2026 and it isn\u2019t. You are right that becoming a Dove is no matter for humor. Still\u2026 every Dove as far as our memories go has been a woman. Yet, you are utterly committed to the Living Light. Without it, you wouldn’t see me now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s going on? Did I defeat the Hate Beast? Are the other Doves okay?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you wish to defeat it? Do you wish to save my sisters from a horrible demise?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell\u2026 I mean\u2026 of course I do. The Light has kept us all safe, for uncounted generations. We all owe you so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI believe in what you do. I have for as long as I can remember\u2026 I have always wished I could help, somehow.\u201d From somewhere deep inside him, the words came almost without thought. \u201cI swear with my life to defend the Living Light.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She pierced him with her gaze. \u201cYou mean every word of that. You truly do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cVery well. You shall be known as Wing Chrysalis. Arise, and take your place among the Doves!\u201d Her stern expression slipped ever so briefly into a grin. \u201cThis should be interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next thing he knew, Alex was back in the street. The Brooch of the Light felt warm in his hands, and the Hate Beast lay dead with a 15-centimeter hole burned clean through it. The other Doves were on their feet and rushing towards him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow did you\u2026 I saw you grab her brooch. You couldn\u2019t have triggered a Purification!\u201d Wing Scimitar shouted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUm\u2026 look at, er, him. I think maybe he could have,\u201d said Wing Chalice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, no,\u201d sobbed Wing Scepter, looking down. \u201cMajesty has passed beyond, hasn\u2019t she\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd she passed it to some guy? Some random guy? Are you kidding me?\u201d cried Wing Talisman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alex tried his best to follow their exclamations. \u201cWould someone please tell me what has happened? And why do I feel so cold?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Doves looked at each other. Chalice nervously twisted a fold of her skirt and said, \u201cMajesty\u2019s brooch is yours now. You put a Purification Beam right through the face of the Hate Beast. You saved all four of us. You\u2019re a Dove.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Talisman had trouble meeting his eyes. \u201cIt seems so. You\u2019ll need training, but you have the powers\u2026 the responsibilities\u2026 and the uniform.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alex looked down at the pair of hairless, shapely legs visible beneath the hem of his glowing, sparkling skirt\u2026 and at the fully developed chest filling his short-sleeved blouse\u2026 and fainted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2013 another in the Sidequest series: fiction fragments which may be expanded someday \u2013 Alex Waverly stood over the crumpled shell of Featherton\u2019s protector. The other four were dazed and wounded, but this one was dead. He couldn\u2019t believe he\u2019d watched her fall less than a meter away from him. The Doves couldn\u2019t fall. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,138],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-writing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1xCb9-rx","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatocasa.com\/unimat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatocasa.com\/unimat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatocasa.com\/unimat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatocasa.com\/unimat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatocasa.com\/unimat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1707"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gatocasa.com\/unimat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1707\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1718,"href":"https:\/\/gatocasa.com\/unimat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1707\/revisions\/1718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatocasa.com\/unimat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatocasa.com\/unimat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatocasa.com\/unimat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}