Master of Oberon

The sounds of sporadic trumpets and wild drumming rumbles in his ear. He snaps his fingers to the music. The jazzy piano smooths out the sound of summer. The buzzing of heat doesn't bother him. He hums to the music.

High in the abandoned towers of Chapman Square laid a young black man staring up at the sky. He watches the summer haze move across the blue sky. He watches the birds between the clouds. He even watches the highflying witches dipping and diving with the wind. The world was easy above the tower.

-Bzzt- -Bzzt-

The music stops.

-Bzzt- -Bzzt-

His earpiece started to buzz.

-Bzzt- -Bzzt- -Groan- -Beep-

"What do you want?" he lazily greets.

"Mons- -bzzz- hun- -bzzz- cauldron need assistance," the electronic voice buzzes.

-Groan-

He got up. Brushes himself off. Adjusts his tie, his rings, and his necklace. Slides his flat feet into his shoes. Cracks a few bones and shifts some joints back into place. He leaps off the abandoned apartment building into the dark forest that overtook the area.

-WOOSH-

-rustle-

-CRACK-

-thump-

He shakes himself off. He can feel a wave of rumbles that extends from his feet to his teeth. They chatter. He looked up to see the sky had disappeared in a sea of green and specks of light. Making his way through the forest he counts specks.

-one- -two- -three- -four-

His feet glide across the ground. The dirt and leaves explodes around him with each step. He could see the silver lines that guide him to Myst Wytch Cauldron. He clicks on his earpiece. A torrent of horns and cymbals attacked his ear drums. It was wild. It encourages him to move faster.

-five- -six- -seven- -floosh-

He leaps from the ground. Lands on a tree branch. He pounces from tree to tree, looking at the silver lines moving towards the Cauldron. He keeps pushing forward.

-eight- -nine- -CRASH- -BOOM- -rustle-

He stops. He watches a few trees collapse from afar. The tree under him sways. He continues forward. The lights disappear.

-Groans-

He makes his way to the makeshift clearing. The blue sky is above him. The trees are broken around him. Scrap metal is scattered. Bodies are broken, bloodied, and thrown about. The ground is covered in glyphs. Left over tech from today's assignment is left over, most of which appears to be broken. He takes a few steps forward.

-ROOAAAR- -RUMble- -CRASH-

He leaps backwards as a tree crashes in front of him. He slides trying to catch himself. Bark, Root, Branches, and Leaves explode around him. He lands on all fours. A small dust cloud forms. He traverses his way through debris.

-ROOOAAAAR- -SLAM- -ROAAAR-

He sees a giant figure thrashing about in the dust, followed by two other smaller figures.

-BANG- -BANG- -BANG- -CLANG- -BANG- -BOOM- -ROOOAR-

A shadow forms above him. It crashes into the giant figure before being smacked 20 ft. He leisurely picks up some of the broken bark, root and leaves. The world went silent. The world went still. It was just him and the old evergreen.

-shhhh- -whisper- -click- -shshshshsh- -whisper- -click- -snap- -shshshshsh- -shhhh- -whisper-

The bark slowly binds to his vest, pants legs, and arms. The leaves blow around his head, first forming a crown followed by a hood. The roots wrap themselves around him and grow. His rings begin to glow and sing.

- Hipideedleada Baaaaaaaaaaimp-

-DeeBebebooby AutieAnt-

A second voice echoed from the shadows. It tries to match the song his rings sing but can't seem to get the lyrics or pitch down. The dueling scatting songs echoed. The masculine voice disappears and the world comes back in place.

"Where the fuck are those tech bros?" screams a feminine voice.

-ROAR- -Rtrtrtrtrt- -BANG- -BANG- -CRASH- -Rtrtrtrtrtrt-

"They fucked off with those hunters!" screams another voice.

"Where's ROOT?!?" the first voice screams.

The scatting stopped. A green light emitted from his body. Soon he was standing there in his green oak cloak and armor. He picked up another tree branch and took in his breath.

-bzzt- -bzzt- -bzzt- -click-

"ROOT, WHERE THE-" –click- A green cutlass took the place of the broken branch. He took a few steps back readying himself for the attack. He slammed his right foot backwards shot up from the ground and over the fallen tree.

-BANG- -BANG- GROWL- -ROAR- -THUD- -BANG- -CLING-

Coming in for an aerial attack his blade met the creature's axe. The creature stood at 9ft. It wore a deer's skull, a human torso, goat legs, and covered in what looked like liquid ink that mimicked fur. It was scarred on its skull, chest, and arms. Black butterflies flew around its body unfazed by the chaos around them.

-ROAR-

The creature parries his attack, sending him backwards.

-BANG- -BANG- -ROAAAAR- -Thud thud thud- -BANG- -CLANG- -ROAR-

He catches himself again and slides backwards. From his right a young black woman in a burgundy suit and skirt fires round after round from her rifle. From his left an older black woman in a green blouse and skirt attacks the creature with her heels. She launches herself up and kicks her heel into the creature's pec.

-BOOM- -BOOM- -SKARRAAGH- -ROAAR- -THUD-

An explosion emits from the woman's heel. Followed by another Explosion. The woman flies backwards and lands beside him.

"ROOTIE Darling, how are you?" she says putting a few loose strands of peppered hair back in its bun. She stands there catching her breath. She pats Root on his shoulder. He shrugs. The younger woman continues her onslaught of firing.

-Bang- -BANG- -BANG- -BANG-

The older woman pushes him forward and holds a thumb up. He nods and rushes forward. The creature's attention is on the gunner, leaking black sludge from its chest, arms, and head. The creature readies its axe to attack the woman. He's caught off guard with a slash from the green cutlass across its chest. The young woman is able to disengage before firing another round.

-BANG- -BANG- -CLANG- -GRRRR-

"Root, where the fuck have you been?" the woman yelled. Root dashes under the creature's leg and slashes at its ankles.

-CLIN- -SLEICK- -THUD-

The blade became stuck. The liquid hair was thick and gunk over the sword. He tries to pull it out. It does not budge. The creature kicks Root away.

-Thud- -Groan- -Crack-

The creature was able to crack both his armor and his rib. He gets up and rushes for the creature again. He grabs a handful of dirt and throws it up in the air. The rings begin to sing.

-Badaddatdatdat- -BANG-

The dirt explodes, cracking the creature's skull revealing humanoid with dripping black liquid coming from its lips.

-BOOM- -CRACK-

The creature bucks him backwards. The armor breaks forming a hole in the bark and partially burned by the liquid. He tries to get to his feet and sucked in the air. The pain was intense. The effort does not work.

-Bang- -Bang- -Boom- -AHHH- -THUD-

He looks up to see the older woman thrown into the young woman. The two are sent backwards. He tries to get up again and fails. The creature turns its attention to Root. It lifts up his axe now stomping towards him.

-Bzzt- -Bzzt- -Bzzt- -ACTIVATING EMERGENCY SUMMONING-

The glyphs under Root begin to grow. A bright pale green light radiated from the ground as roots formed and wrapped themselves around the creature.

-BOOM- -RUMBLE-

A large figure crashes behind Root. A whirlwind of leaves surround himself and the new giant figure. He looked behind him to see a giant in green armor and claymore. He couldn't make out what the golden symbols that radiated from it meant. Parts of it were covered in moss, bark, and white flowers. They're the same white flowers that seemed to grow and vine themselves on the blade.

-bzzt- -bzzt- -ROAR- -GRRRR- -DeeBebebooby AutieAnt- -SLING- -CRASH- -THUD-

The armored figure scats and takes up its large claymore and lobs the creature's head off. The creature's headless body begins to jerk and melt into a puddle of black liquid where it stands. The axe lands in the muck. The armored figure picks up the axe and starts to wave it around.

-ROAAAAR- -AH HA HA HA HA HA- -BOOM- -RUMBLE-

The figure laughs and harnesses the axe on his back. The green light vanishes. The glyphs vanish. And the world around Root goes dark. His body is weightless. The world brightens again and he finds himself back on the abandoned towers of Chapman Square. Although, it was still hazy to him.

He lifts himself up and groans.

"Fuck…"

The sounds of sporadic trumpets and wild drumming rumbles in his ear. Another individual snaps his fingers to the music. The jazzy piano smooths out the sound of summer. The buzzing of heat doesn't bother him. He welcomes it to his bare and bandaged skin. The other man hums to the music.

-Frtszjern- -Oxernjom- -Fjxejom-

The man was saying something but he couldn't make out what was being said.

-Frtszjern- -Oxernjom- -Fjxejom- -Exjerm?-

He shook his head. The burly man walked over towards him. He was now towering over him. Now getting a better look, he could tell this person wasn't human. The man was greenish, his hair cut short, ears pointed and pierced, and sharp bottom fangs that protruded from under his lips. Now out of his green armor, he looked a lot less imposing. He was muscular but also softer at the same time. He flopped down beside Root.

-Thud- -Kekejornma- -Moxern- -Shomjarn?-

"I'm sorry I can't understand a word you're saying," Root said, shaking his head. The green man looked confused. He started to sing to the music and the rings responded. He grew excited and lifted up Root's hand.

- Hideedleada Baaaaaaaaaaimp-

-Shoobebuhbabi-

The rings started to glow and the man responded by kissing them. Root tried to take his hand back but the green man was too strong. The green giant let his hand fall.

-Uuuuuuuh- -ummmmmm- -uuuuUUUUh-

The green man blinks.

"Let me try this again," the green man begins ", are you feeling okay seedling?

"Seedling?" Root asks.

"Sapling…?"

"No…?"

"I'm sorry…your name again?"

"Root…"

"Oh, right…Root…couldn't make out the language…I heard them call you something related to a plant…"

"oh…" Root says "…who are you?"

"Me…?"

-Woosh- -Whoosh- -CAW- -CAW- -CAW-

Root nods. The green man points to himself. Root nods again.

"Oberon…"

"Oberon…?"

Oberon nods.

"Like…the Fairy King Oberon?"

Oberon nods.

"So…you're…THEE Fairy King Oberon.."

Oberon Nods.

Root Nods.

-Woosh- -Flap- -Flap- -CAW- - Hideedleada Baaaaaaaaaaimp-

High in the abandoned towers of Chapman Square lay a young man and the Fairy King. They stare silently at each other as the summer haze moves across the blue sky. The birds watch the two awkwardly sit there from the clouds. There were no highflying witches to watch this moment. No music could pierce the silence between them. The world was a little less easier above the tower.