UnWanted Reunion (UnWilling Roommates book 2)

Chapter 18: Bill Does the Hero Thing (part 2)

He did NOT sign up for this.

(Bill's POV)

I blasted a huge crater in the side of the Fearamid, making the entire structure shudder.  Having owned the building previously, I knew its weaknesses.

I smashed another hole in the exterior wall, collapsing several floors on each other, then burst explosively into the throne room.  Rubble fell around me as I quickly got my bearings.

Strange sat on the throne, seemingly relaxed.  Y/N sat in a chair nearby, surrounded by white flames.  I was troubled by the utterly blank expression on her face, but I didn't have time to spare worrying about her.

Without a word, I shot an energy blast at Strange.  He didn't move, but it deflected away from him, sizzling harmlessly against the wall.  I stalked towards him, grabbing him by the lapels and throwing him out of the throne.  He skidded across the floor but stood up again immediately, still unruffled.

He dusted off his jacket as I lunged across the room, tackling him with another blast of magic.  He was sent flying, a giant hole burned through his suit.  The room rumbled with the backlash of the spell, but Strange was unharmed.  He calmly repaired his suit while I charged up for another blast.

The bulk of my plan involved forcing him to expend energy defending himself, but I was using up magic faster than him with my overpowered attacks.  However, I couldn't afford to let up.  I'd seen Will out of the corner of my eye, making his way to Y/N and beginning to undo the spell holding her in place.  I doubted Strange was unaware of this, but I had to force him to focus his full attention on me so Will and Y/N could have the best chance of escaping.

I found I didn't even care if I survived this battle, as long as my favorite human and my brother made it out alive.  When did I become so sickeningly sentimental?

The more I thought about this, the more pissed I got.  I channeled my frustration into my fists, pounding Strange into the floor so violently that it crumbled around him and he fell through.  A few seconds later, another section of the floor exploded upward and he reappeared, still maddeningly tranquil.

When did I switch from grade-A Final Boss material to the "tormented anti-hero" category?  I used to be the one who stole candy from children and then burned their houses down!  Words like "noble" and "heroic" make me nauseous!  Love... Family loyalty... When did Pine Tree and I start sharing so many descriptive adjectives?!

I spared a glance to one side while attempting to choke the life out of Strange.  Will had helped Y/N out of the chair, holding her hands and muttering to her urgently.  Her eyes had focused on him without any recognition.  Strange finally used magic against me, blasting me off of him.  I righted myself immediately and met his blast with one of my own.  The entire Fearamid shook with the impact, worse than before, and I felt the room tilt.  Will and Y/N stumbled, him still holding both her hands.  When she looked up, I heard her whisper, "Will?"

Strange whipped around, fixing Y/N with a murderous glare.  I used the moment of distraction to catch him in the most powerful blast yet, tearing an entire corner off of the Fearamid.  The throne room was beginning to look like Swiss cheese.

The irony of this does NOT escape me, I grumbled to myself.  I'm sure this is some hilarious karmic joke, some whim of the universe to punish me for my villainy.  Of course, if retribution were to be exacted in full... I spared another worried glance at Will and Y/N.  He had one arm around her protectively, shielding her from the backlash of our magic fight.  I found myself fervently hoping they'd be able to make it out alive.  Whatever force of fate is punishing me for my past deeds, just leave Will and Y/N out of this.  It's not their fault.  Don't hurt them for associating with the likes of me.

I'd never done anything that came remotely close to praying before.  Bill Cipher, just how low have you sunk?  Caught up in my thoughts, I nevertheless hadn't let up on Strange, shooting blast after blast and forcing him to defend himself.

Winded after the last attack, I could only stand there for a moment, trying to catch my breath.  Strange took advantage and attacked, shooting off a blast of his own that was suddenly deflected away from me.

"Idiot!" I shouted at Will.  "Don't join the fight, get Y/N out of here now!"

He glared at me with a determined look.  "You can't win by yourself!" he shouted back with equal stubbornness.  Strange turned his attention to Will.

"Yes, Will, why don't you turn and run?" he mocked.  "You've already done your part.  Don't think I didn't notice you killed my cat."

Wait, he what?  When did Will become so... aggressive?

"You think he was an ally?  He was planning to betray you!" Will snapped.  That gave Strange pause.

"Is that so?" he mused.  "In that case, you did me a favor.  Thank you, I suppose."  Will blanched at the words, taking an angry step toward Strange.  I beat him to it, slamming into Strange and sending us both across the room again.  I drilled my fist into his gut and sent a magic bolt straight though him, causing him to double over in pain.  The Fearamid shuddered again and the floor slanted further.

It's working!  Strange is losing control!  I followed up with a punch that knocked him backwards, the entire room lurching unstably as Strange's magic was stretched to its limits.

"Get out of here, quickly!" I shouted at Will.  "I can finish him, just hurry!"  Will nodded, grabbing hold of Y/N's hands again.  Before they could teleport away, the building shook more violently than ever, causing them to lose their footing and their grip on each other.  Will tripped to his knees, reaching out in vain as Y/N took a spectacular tumble across a chunk of debris.  She hit the floor hard and started skidding as the building tilted to a more extreme angle.

I took a step to run to her, but was hit from the side by a shot from Strange.  Cursing in pain, I answered in kind, Y/N sliding past me.  The rubble all over the floor was sliding as well.  I noticed too late that the lowest point of the Fearamid was the corner of the room that had already been demolished, chunks of rock already spilling out the gaping hole in the building.

I saw that Y/N had managed to catch on to a torn-up section of the floor, but she was dangerously close to falling through.  I didn't have any time to spare helping her.  Strange had renewed his attack, and now it was I who was forced on the defensive.  I wasn't able to worry about Will anymore either, focusing all of my attention on self-preservation as Strange came at me with madness in his eyes. 

His suit was torn to shreds.  Mine was as well, but I didn't care.  I conjured barriers and deflected shots, but I was being forced backwards.  A blast hit Strange from behind, forcing him to stumble, and I saw Will had attacked while on his way to retrieve Y/N.  Strange turned on him, growling, and I hit him again with another shot.  Trapped between us, Strange looked at each of us in turn.  He closed his eyes, summoning all his strength, before beginning to glow brightly.  It was all I could do to shield my eye in the instant before I was struck with a blinding explosion.