That morning, Achilles had headed to where he was supposed to meet Weaver. He was so excited he could barely contain it. Finally someone had asked to spend time with him!
Jumper was great too, but he was much more hesitant and didn't seem to really get Achilles. He did hero work reluctantly and seemed to want to avoid the rest of them. Light Master had been a kindred spirit, but apparently he wasn't allowed to help out anymore. Which was just unfair, really. Why should he be restricted just because he was a bit younger?
But Weaver? She liked him! She admired him! She was a kindred spirit.
He turned the last corner and found her waiting for him. She glanced at him as if she was nervous and Achilles gave a wave.
"Weaver! Did I keep you waiting long?"
"No..." She glanced around before heading towards him.
"Pretty quiet back here. Perfect for some practicing. So what did you want to try?"
Weaver looked around again. Then fixed her eyes on him.
"I'm curious," she said. "Just how far does your Miracle go?"
Achilles thought for a moment.
"I haven't tested it to its limits, but blades and rayguns can't hurt me. Unfortunately Paris and Phantasma are both capable of hurting me with their Miracles, but that's the only time I've gotten hurt."
"So this wouldn't hurt you?" She pulled out a small craft knife.
"No. Try if you want." He held out his arm. Weaver ran the knife over it several times, but not even his sleeve was damaged.
"So your Miracle extends to your clothes as well..."
"What about yours? What's your limit?" Weaver glanced away and laughed in self-deprecation.
"I can only make one rope each day. And that's all I got." She looked at him again. "At least, that was the character I came up with."
"Huh?" Achilles looked at her in confusion. She stared right back at him, and her eyes started to seem like pools of malice. There was something behind them.
No. That was nonsense. What kind of crazy thoughts were going through his head? But the eyes expanded until her face was grotesquely out of proportion. And they kept growing, until they overtook her face and spread around him. He was surrounded by her eyes.
"I'm glad my Miracle works on the invincible Achilles so well. Of course, that's the whole point of this isn't it? I need to kill you."
Achilles couldn't do anything. He was swimming in confusion. Weaver's eyes morphed into a hospital room with a little girl in the bed. She looked incredibly sick. A woman sat beside the girl's bed as doctors and nurses flew in and out like one of those time-lapse videos.
"You killed my daughter, Achilles. Now you'll go to hell for it." A hand shoved his shoulder, forcing him to his knees.
"What are you...?" Achilles could barely get the words out. Terror seized him. This was scarier than when Paris had attacked. Actually, it was just like...
Phantasma.
How could he have been so stupid? Or maybe he was just optimistic. Surely there would have been someone who liked him. Surely there was someone in the world who could understand him. Surely there were people who admired him.
But this one wasn't any of those. The hospital room disappeared and he was falling through a void, making him feel like he was going to puke.
"Now I'd like you to sit there and let me test just how powerful your precious Miracle really is." Phantasma's voice echoed around him.
Liquid poured over his face and into his eyes. He couldn't even blink as it ran down his face, but it didn't hurt.
"Hm. This very specifically says not to get it in your eyes, but I guess that doesn't apply to you, huh? So outward chemicals aren't useful. But what if you swallowed it?"
His mouth was forced open and a small amount of liquid was dripped in. It burned. He coughed, but his coughs were too weak to do anything.
"So only your skin is invincible. If you drink this stuff, you'll surely die."
Up until then, it had all seemed like it was happening to someone else. Or like a scenario in a movie. But no. This was real. Phantasma was about to kill him, and nobody could help him.
Was this a result of his stupidity? Or Phantasma's cleverness?
His heart started racing as the fear truly set in. Before he'd been treating this sort of like a game. Believing it was obvious that he, the hero, would always win in the end. That nobody could touch him.
Even when Phantasma attacked the first time. Even when Paris attacked. He'd had people with him, and there was no way he could lose. But now...
He would lose. And losing meant death.
He wasn't ready to die yet, but his body wouldn't respond. Not even his voice was working. And that only made the panic worse.
Something was pressed over his mouth. Tape? He couldn't see it, but that's what it felt like.
"Now you can't scream." Phantasma was whispering in his ear, her voice cold and menacing.
He tried to gasp for air, but the tape was sealing his mouth. He could only use his nose. The void faded and he found himself in an unfamiliar room. Cheap, half-ruined toys littered the floor. A little girl sat on the bed with a ragged doll.
"I could have saved her, you know. If you hadn't stopped me, she'd still be here now."
Who? Who was that little girl? The daughter she'd mentioned? What was Phantasma talking about?
"I'll watch you wither, Achilles." As Phantasma said it, a dull pain started to grow in his chest. It spread throughout his body, and eventually he started feeling like his insides were on fire. Then below the fire it felt like a thousand stinging needles were piercing his skin from the inside. He squeezed his eyes closed, trying to endure. If his voice was working, he'd surely be screaming right now.
A hand grabbed his chin and he instinctively opened his eyes. Phantasma was staring back at him, a sickly sweet smile on her face.
"How does it feel?" she asked.
It hurt. It hurt like hell. Fog encircled his mind and he lost the ability to even process what was happening. Everything was pain.
A shout in the distance pulled him out of the fog, but only for a moment before the next jolt of pain ran through his head, nearly making him black out. The imaginary needles under his skin started pressing harder, as if trying to escape. And the fire was still burning through him, heating the needles.
"Don't worry. I'll put you out of your misery soon." Phantasma giggled. "Did you really think you'd escape me, Achilles? Paris may have delayed it, but I was always going to be the one to kill you."
Kill.
He was going to die. Could she just get it over with? No one was coming to save him.
A grunt.
Phantasma's hand let go of him and Achilles fell to the ground. The impact sent a million shots of pain through him and the needles intensified again.
This time they took his consciousness away.
"You..." Olivia growled as she looked at Jumper. She had been so close, and he'd interfered!
How?
"Let him go." Jumper glared at her.
"No. I think I'll take you down with him." Olivia switched her focus to Jumper, hoping Achilles wouldn't get up and start causing trouble. Her illusion sent Jumper down through the bottom of Arx and hurtling towards the ground. She heard his breath hitch as he tumbled through the imaginary sky.
"Phantasma," he sputtered. The gravity would be causing him to accelerate even more as each moment passed. But somehow he was able to still keep some semblance of control over himself. He wasn't screaming. He was just closing his eyes, as if trying to figure out what was really happening to him.
No matter. Before long he'd hit the ground and his body would be tricked into dying instantly. Olivia smiled and left him, heading for Achilles' special drink.
Joey was falling. Falling faster and faster, the earth rushing up to him. But he couldn't be scared. It wasn't real.
It wasn't real.
That was all that kept him from losing his head completely. This was Phantasma's ability. And even if it affected reality, impacts didn't hurt him.
He just hoped that translated to illusory falls from Arx to the surface.
"Lightning!" He yelled as loud as he could, feeling the wind whip away his voice. Where was she?
Please get here soon, he begged.
"Lightning, it's Phantasma! Watch out for her illusions!"
His voice vanished as a piece of tape was shoved over his mouth. Good. That meant he was getting through to reality. That meant Lightning could have heard him. And if she'd heard him, there was hope. Was there any way he could get more information? Transmit that information to someone who could help?
What did they know about Phantasma? She could cause illusions that could affect reality. The burns he'd gotten last time were proof enough of that. But how much could she affect it? Was it just the body of the person in the illusion?
And how many people could she influence? Last time she'd only manipulated him and Achilles, so there had to be some kind of limit.
Then the tape was torn off his mouth and someone was shaking him. He couldn't hear them, but that meant Lightning was here right? Joey opened his eyes as the ground raced up to meet him. It was weird. The ground was just a flat brown plate. Was that what it really looked like?
No time. He had to be ready in case the illusion faded. And fade it did.
"Why are you here? Stop messing things up for me!" Phantasma was mad now. She held Lightning by the throat, looking like some kind of mad beast.
Was Lightning in an illusion? So then...
Joey took a breath and prepared for Round 2. He only hoped his training with Lightning would be enough.
