One Above

`Your steps echoed high above the black city, joining your family slightly hesitantly at the head of the Medcore hammer.

The Four of you peered down to Your home, it looked so small from up here, the greys below, the slums to the North, City's north was the beach, looking out to Cape Cod Bay, and the hideous scar in the eastern rich quarter where it had been ravaged mercilessly... oh the plans you had... it all started here.

The Rabbit moved in, seeing the slight look of exasperation in your eyes"You love this place, don't you?"

You chuckled "No idea why low and behold the Great Black city filled with monsters and bastards all."

"And it's all ours," Dawn whispered in a tempered excitement.

"And our responsibility, Mine and Rabbit's to watch, Dawn's sooth, and Chip's to protect, shifting there, I suppose that brings us to the final test of worthiness." Shuck's mask of wrathful iron turned to you, the eyes of your family on you.

I don't like where this is going.

"Jump." He commanded.

"The fuck you say?" You asked, grimacing and backing away from the over 500-meter drop.

"Come ooon, it's not that bad, I nearly pissed myself the first time but then it was fun!" Dawn tried to lighten your mood, but flying up wasn't nearly as worse as falling down... with no means of survival.

"There's fun, then there's jumping off of a fucking building guys come on! can't I just-"

"Drake's don't compromise." The Rabbit retorted

You took a deep breath, peering over the edge... the road seemed almost non-existent, the people ants beneath, it made you feel a little queezy "I..."

Artorias sighed, reaching up and twisting free his helm to reveal his kind, smiling face, a contrast to the ferocity of his Canine visage. His hand touched your shoulder supportively as He spoke that old adage in a low tone "We are shadows: with do not hesitate, We are Warriors: with do not fear. We are Drakes: And Drakes do not compromise. This is more than just jumping off of a building, kid. This is proof of the sacrifices that you are willing to make for your family, a bolt locked tight... only you have the key to open it. Diana did it, I did it, Hilde did it, Your father did it.

Willingness to sacrifice, the wit to survive what is fatal to all others, that is what separates the Mortals, from the Hunters. Now I don't care when you jump, I have all night, but you will take this leap of faith, because you are the heir, and the Heir of House Drake will never be felled by something so small as stepping into freedom."

Jeez, pressure much... it all seemed too easy from down on the ground, but up here...

"Look, watch." Dawn nudged you in the side before stepping towards the edge.

Your hand shot out at lightning speed, catching her arm as you felt a sudden tense aura of protection overcome you.

Hilde took off her mask, chuckling as the Old man smiled.

Dawn pulled free her beautiful mask, and Didi smiled softly at your worried smile, moving closer and taking your hand which held on to her tightly "Relax, we'll be okay... both of us, I promise." She whispered as your eyes considered her belly, where your child slowly grew.

You were thinking with an old mindset you realised, all of this, it wasn't human, it wasn't normal, it was more than that, and the sooner you trusted the power of your bloodline to keep the family safe, then the sooner you could truly call yourself a Hunter.

Gently, your fingers unfurled from her arm, gently nodding "Alright, just be careful."

She flushed with warmth, overdrive made her red as a tomato, her lips redder as they rapidly moved up to peck your lips "You be careful. Weird... I could have sworn Diana was here a minute ago?" She said rubbing her chin.

You raised an eyebrow "What?"

Clicking her mask back in place, Dawn gave you a gentle wave as she FELL BACK OFF OF THE BUILDING!!

Moving over to the edge with Artorias and Hilde, you watched, heavily breathing as her sleek black form twisted towards the earth, plummeting gracefully as she laughed with joy "How the fuck is she gonna land that, If my sister and unborn child dies because of you maniacs then-"

"You think she'll do it differently this time?" they weren't listening to you at all, were they?

Pop's shrugged "If it ain't broke don't fix it."

Dawn became dusk as she soared towards the earth, drawing closer to peril, her laugh persisted to echo amongst the Forest of buildings until her hands crept behind her back, fingers tightening around the shaft of her hammer.

Its silver body flashed into her hands and raising it overhead during her rapid descent, You watched with awe as she drew her arm back, tight as a sling, and with all of her might, bolted the hammer into one of the adjacent buildings.

Like a silver streak, the hammer flew with an ungodly speed, colliding into the Rooftop just a few meters below.

Dawn held out her arm as if to call it back, though the only call that came was the scream from her jaws "YMIR!! BRUMA!"

Ymir, the Hammer of Dawn began to glow a soft teal, growing brighter and brighter, until...

As a snake darts towards its prey, an explosive slither of thick, smooth Ice crawled towards Your sister, who was caught on its tail, sliding joyously and calmly along its frosty body until she rolled to the tarmac, snatching up the shaft of her Icy hammer... it's slithering ****, dissipating into grain thin shards of vicious flakes, falling to the city bellow; a gentle snowfall.

Your elders looked at the astonishment in your eyes, the tiny blip of Diana, engorged by your supernatural eyes waving cockily below.

"There is nothing that can stop us, not Gravity, not ****. Keep that in mind, the next time you let your fear rule you. this is the true power of Complete Overdrive, where body and mind become one, and defeat becomes a distant memory" The Ashen judge whispered, stepping towards the edge and casually falling.

Shuck did not glide down the building, but dashed down it on all fours, pissing in gravity's face as He shot towards the earth, his body bulging and sparking, growing closer and closer to the earth, overdrive increasing and swelling in his veins until his body was easily 4 times its usual muscle mass.

But Shuck did not explode from the glass body of the Medcore building, but in one, silent bound, cast himself serenely through the air, without breaking a single pain, and landing harmlessly next to his Grandaughter.

"He... used the muscle mass to cushion himself?" You extrapolated, watching as the blip that was Pop's deflated the immense amount of energy with ease.

"You sound a lot more impressed than your father did." Hilde chuckled.

"Are you serious? how much self-control just that take? how much power did He just swell up just to let it out like that? ...He must have unimaginable amounts of control." The Amount of power you felt in the air, He must have used Overdrive at its fullest extent and pushed it away with just as much control.

"When you get to be our age, you can't waste energy like you youngsters-" Hilde interrupted herself by stifling a deep, painful sounding cough, clearing her throat as she clutched her chest.

Your eyes filled with worry, that never sounded good "That's the third time, Hilde... I'm getting worried." You admitted. That wasn't a normal cough, that was the sound coming ****.

She wiped something thick and red from her lips, rubbing it subtly on her cloak, inscribed with the words "DESTROY"

"Listen to me, Kid... I've had a long long life, I've seen and heard every splendour and pain that life can give, my body... it's not what it was. But You are young and strong, and so much like your father." Her hand touched the soft flesh of your cheek as she smiled softly "You are the Heir, Diana accepts it as I did with Rommie, this test will only prove it."

You smiled softly, seeing the warmth in her face, it was enough to push away the fear. "Perfect Overdrive, what's it like?" You didn't want to **** her to talk about certain things, that would come with time; time you swore to yourself you'd have with her.

"...Perfect Overdrive... Only veteran hunters can pull it off but-- no, I won't spoil it for you. But, Chip, whatever happens, I want you to know, that we are proud of you, you are so strong now, it's up to you to figure that out. This world is full of shit and piss and every certain in between, we were no better back in the day... but you and Diana will be better, you have to be better, then Artorias, then Roman... then Me."

"Hilde-"

She wiped her eyes "Just promise me that you'll be better, please?"

Today had been hard on her, that much was clear, you'd never seen her like this before, but you'd do everything in your power to fix it "I swear, I'll be better."

Hilde smiled, and nodded, replacing her mask, engraved and painted with the innocent visage of the Rabbit "Good boy. Now enough soft shit, how about I show you youths how it's done."

The Black Rabbit thumped your arm and clutching her silver taloned fingers, twisted into the eternal freefall.

Hilde was not like the others, there was no measure of brute **** in the way she fell. Instead, she glided like a feather through the night, arms spread wide as the earth called for her ****. But the Rabbit would not die today, she would show the true power of perfect Overdrive, in a much more glorious fashion.

She was not 100 meters from the ground as a crack like lightning sounded, a whipping of the air like a wrathful gale. You watched in awe as the Black Rabbit turned to a white blur, the flash striking at reality as a hammer on an anvil, flying into an inhuman spiral, spinning so fast that against the battle of gravity; she was the victor.

The Rabbit hung in the air, spinning like helicopter blades, gliding in an arch towards her family below, a circlet of pure unadulterated speed which dissipated only when she was safely above her peers.

Sparkin back into a humanoid shape, the Rabbit fell lightly towards the rooftop, where Dawn and Shuck caught her promptly, She looked exhausted in her stance but managed to stand.

And now, there was only one left above, one left to prove himself: You.