Per 
Forward, Dr Cimmarion said to write about what scares you. To me that's losing my kids. So I thought, in this reality of monsters and gods, if I saw my youngest taken away and my two older killed before me what would I do? Then the question became what wouldn't i do. So yes this character is kinda based on me but it's not me.
I suck at making up names, they always sound wrong to my ear so I just used my name and my wife's name. I'll probably use other people's names as well. Plus using my name helps me stay in "Eric's" head a little easier, because it basically mine just with things much worse in his past.
Anyway let's begin
"We're here," Eric said looking at the GPS and matching it to the coordinates on the envelope.
Now what?, inquired Maragret, not vocally but more of a spiritual connection.
We do what the guy said. Open it, look at it, burn it, and kill it. Eric replied.
Margaret's voice came from the small buckler hung from Eric's belt as she manifested an image of herself standing beside him, "What if it's a bad lead? What if it's bullshit? What if we're doing the dirty work for some assholes who are using us and sending us on a wild goose chase?"
Eric began to open the envelope,"Then I guess I'll kill this and them."
He said it with no anger or uncertainty but the link between the two was stronger than body language and words. She could feel his anger boil, his hate flame, but more than that she could feel a sad hope. A hope that this would be the last stop on their journey. A hope that the end of their quest was near and this whole thing would be over soon.
He pulled the picture out of the envelope, "Ugly son of a bitch" then lit it on fire and scattered the ashes.
"Now what?"
"I suppose we wait, the guy said it wouldn't take long," he replied taking a knee.
After 30 minutes Eric was growing impatient. He stood and kicked a rock,"This is…!" His angry statement was cut off by two low flying military jets.
"That's odd," Margaret stated flatly.
"Fucking airdales, think they're so fucking cool. They just do whatever the fuck they want."
A warmth fell over Margaret, the man she loved, the man she married was still in there. He hadn't been consumed by this quest for revenge and murder, at least not completely.
She didn't have much time to dwell on those thoughts, as something huge and powerful was coming straight at them and fast. She could see it plainly, it was powerful and old, this was not what she expected.
Eric!
"I see it."
No this one's different its too much!
"It's fast and tall nothing I haven't handled before."
Eric and Margaret saw the world in two different ways since meeting with the Blacksmith and the Trainer. Margaret could see the spiritual and sense the physical. While Eric could see the physical but only sense the spiritual and she wasn't convinced in his skill in that.
this thing! Its…
"I know! Now shut up and stick to the plan!"
As fast as Eric could draw his knife and raise Margaret to block the massive swipe of its elongated arm, it's other arm was already swinging for another swipe.
Reflexively Margaret enlarged herself into a round shield, which when paired with Eric's center grip allowed her to roll to his back protecting him from the attack.
The exchange took only a second. With both fighters ending up several yards away from each other. Margaret noticed monster had taken damage in the exchange and Eric's knife had become a sword.
"Ha! Gotcha nose!" Eric grinned. Outside he seemed to be enjoying himself. But inside Margaret could feel the rage and hate swell, overpowering the hope that was there before.
The beast screamed, she wondered if it had always been screaming or if it started after having its face sliced off. Either way it didn't seem to slow down charging right back towards them.
"Bigger!"
Margaret didn't need to be told, they had trained together and fought together many times. But she enlarged herself to cover most of Eric's body. She then noticed a spearhead laid on top of her.
The thing's charge didn't give them much time to react. It swiped over Margaret with its claws in an attempt to take off Eric's head. But he had been trained well, he let go of Margaret, dropped down, spun the spear around which had become a pole axe while embedding into the things leg.
Told you, just follow the plan, mocked Eric.
Ignoring him Margaret wrapped around his arm to become a gauntlet with wings spread wide to protect her husband from the next attack.
"Damnit, Margaret!" Eric yelled as he used some of his stored power to jump back almost 100 yards. "I told you to follow the plan!"
He was going to hit you!
"That's part of the plan dumbass!"
Not if you lose your head in the process asshole!
The thing was charging again.
You can't beat this thing alone, we're in over our heads!
"Then stay here," it was hardly even a whisper as he dropped Margaret to the ground and began charging the beast head on.
Margaret could see their souls two terrible things of rage and hate and then she noticed the difference. The thing's soul was bigger than Eric's, but it's rage and hate was hiding fear. While Eric's was hiding his hope.
On the field of battle the two charged each other both screaming now. The weapon Eric wielded was something from a video game, huge and impossibly designed to function in a real capacity.
As the two passed each other, they both fell to the ground. The monster laid face down. In the back of the things head was a pick no bigger than a carpenters hammer, Eric had used the momentum from that unrealistic garbage to firmly break through its skull. Thus absorbing its soul.
Eric knelt on the ground panting and moaning. With a motion of his hand the pick was back in his possession. He reached out towards Margaret, "Could use a little help here."
She came to his side, like she always did, the rage and hate in her love not gone but faded and covered by the hope once again. Then she noticed the difference.
He had absorbed the things soul, he should easily be able to heal his wounds. Three massive slashes down his chest and abdomin. Instead he sat there, holding his insides from coming out. The thing had cut through his ribs just as easily as his flesh.
"Eric, you have to heal yourself!" She pleaded.
"Remember the plan," he responded as darkness began to creep in.
"There is no plan if your dead! There is no revenge! There is no hope of saving,.. her"
"Just stick to th…" darkness over took Eric as he collapsed to the ground.
Margaret watched, with some relief, as the worst of the damage healed itself. But even unconscious and half dead he still maintained the willpower to keep the wound deep and traumatic.
After a few moments of dwelling on what a failure she was for not protecting the last person she had in the world, she noticed helicopters landing around them. Teams of armed soldiers came pouring out and cautiously appraoched the monster and then one moved up and placed a bag over its head.
Another group approached Eric. A man yelled, "Medic!"
Several men showed up and began first aid. Removing her and Eric's soul weapon from his grip as they worked. She watched as they loaded the monster up and flew off in the direction it had already been moving in. After the medics seemed to think Eric was stable they loaded him up and flew in the same direction.
A third group, that looked like scientists, white coats and all, approached Margaret and her husband's soul. They noticed something that even she failed to. The pick changed into an arming sword as soon as it fell from Eric's grip. That made sense to Margaret as this was its first form, but to these men it seemed quite the wonder.
She really began to feel like they had been setup now. What could these scientists possibly know about the fairly realm and how to get there. They had been played, again.
She needed to make sure that they didn't leave her behind as all their focus seemed to be on the sword. So she began to shift her from, just the basics she learned at the beginning. She was currently a large round shield, so she shifted to a tower shield, then a smaller round shield, a kite shield, and finally the buckler form Eric preferred her in.
That got their attention.
After what seemed like a lifetime of them waving gadgets and doohikkies over her and the sword they were finally loaded into a helicopter as well and began to fly in the same direction as the others.
She could still feel Eric's power but not his mind. He was unconscious. For now she would just wait for him to get up and make a choice.
With him it always came down to kill or be killed, and she hadn't let him die yet.
