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Jack cried out when he saw Jupiter, standing stock still, facing the hooded figure. Morrigan pulled him down, heart beating fast in her chest as she tried to come up with a plan. The sight of Jupiter, alone but thankfully alive, had unsettled her.
"What's he doing?" Jack hissed at her. "He can't fight her."
Morrigan peeked over the rock, taking in the scene before her. "He's got his sword. Maybe he'll kill her."
Jack shook his head. "You know Uncle Jove. He's not a killer."
Morrigan's heart skipped a beat. "But she is. She'll kill him without a second thought."
"We have to get down to him."
Morrigan nodded. "I can distract her."
"No, Morrigan, what if she tries to take you? She doesn’t care about me,"
"Exactly. She doesn’t care about you, so she'll kill you too. She needs me."
Jack shook his head. "Once she's used you, she'll kill you. She mightn't be bothered to kill me."
"You haven't met her, Jack. I have. Ezra Squall was supposed to be the most evil Wundersmith to ever live, but she's worse. Squall played games. She orchestrates wars. You don't stand a chance."
With that, she pushed him out of the way, and before he could stop her, she called out to Jupiter.
"We're here! Jupiter!" She waved her arms like a madwoman, jumping up and down. The hooded figure turned to Morrigan, but not with the glare and anger she had expected. The other Wundersmith smiled at her, a sinister, terrifying smile that Morrigan imagined would feature much in her future.
Morrigan ran in front of Jack, blocking Jupiter's blow, feeling the power surging through the swords.
"Jupiter! Listen to me. You know who we are. That boy isn't your enemy; he's your nephew. Jack. And you love him. I know you do. You love him as though he were your own son. You don’t want to kill him."
Jupiter turned to face her, a snarl on his face and Morrigan trembled. "What did you do with them? Answer me!" he roared, swinging his sword at Morrigan.
Morrigan jumped out of the way, but she couldn’t stop the sword catching her cheek. Jupiter laughed at the sight of blood, and Morrigan felt an anger build up within her.
This wasn’t Jupiter. This wasn’t her patron. She had done something to him. Morrigan parried his blows, the last minute training kicking in as her mind spiralled. There had to be something they could do. She couldn’t hurt Jupiter, but if she stopped fighting him, he'd kill her and Jack without a second thought.
As Jupiter swung his sword, yet again nearly decapitating Morrigan, she signalled to Jack, pointing to where the hooded figure stood. Jack got the message, grabbing his sword from the ground and racing to the cliff face. Morrigan knew that Jack would be fine, that he'd free Jupiter from the spell.
And then it happened.
While Morrigan was still distracted by Jack, Jupiter knocked Morrigan's sword out of her hand, sending it clattering to the ground. Morrigan stepped back in fear, searching Jupiter's clouded eyes for something, anything, to make him remember her.
"You don’t know anything, do you?" Jupiter sneered. "Just one of Squall's lackeys, I suppose. Too bad for you. You got between me and my family, so I will kill you." He raised his sword to her face, tracing a line over her forehead. Morrigan bit the sting of blood, mind racing but not coming up with anything.
As Jupiter raised his sword to deliver the killing blow, he asked mockingly, "Scared?"
Morrigan raised her head and stared defiantly at Jupiter, hoping beyond hope that if this was where she died, Jupiter would never remember it. Her final wish would be that he never had to take that guilt, because she knew this wasn’t him. It was her.
Somewhere, as though in another world, she heard Jack's shrill scream, but she knew there was nothing he could do. It was too late.
"No fear," she replied softly, so softly that it was a miracle Jupiter heard the words. Those words that carried so much weight.
He stopped in his tracks, shock radiating from him. Morrigan almost cried in relief as she saw the clouds lifting from his eyes.
Lowering his sword, Jupiter whispered in horror, "Morrigan?"
Morrigan laughed and ran to wrap her arms around him. "Dad," she breathed, "You beat her."
Jupiter backed away from her, ashen-faced and trembling uncontrollably as he took in the gash on Morrigan's face. "Who… What did I do?"
Morrigan tilted her head and gave him a half-smile. "It's okay. It wasn’t you. I know that."
Jupiter shook his head. "No, no, no. It was me, Mog. I hurt you" he said breathlessly, still unable to take his eyes away from Morrigan's cut. "I was laughing. I cut you with a sword, and I laughed."
"It's okay, Jupiter," Morrigan insisted. "She has magic. It's not your fault it worked. And you beat her. You beat her because you love me."