The Chronometal Wars
The Black War
Year 1
The Chosen Fighters

Once again in the underground base~

"Man, this Alphametal thing kind of rides." Noss lets out, picking at his suit of slender armor. It binds to his skin; much like Chronometals do, but it's much lighter and less cumbersome. Plates of armor for defense are present in key areas, but most of the white armor is lighter than one would expect from a battle suit. Noss was expecting it to be much heavier, but at least it allows him to maintain free movement.

"It... certainly is an interesting experience." Alex says with a neutral expression, though she herself makes passing glances at some of the more revealing areas. Both of their armors are the same coloration, a broad overarching white. They both wait within the training hall. Baron mentioned that Kally will be here soon. Alex looks up to him in the ramparts around this underground arena.

"So... is she coming?" – "Patience. She will be here shortly." Alex rolls her eyes and looks around. "Can we train without her for a while?" – "You can if you wish, but to fully utilize your new Alphametals, I want Kally to train both of you." Noss raises and eyebrow and he too turns back to Barrett. "Wait, what do you mean? You think she can beat us?" – "I know she can." Noss scowls a small bit. Normally he would be thrilled with the prospect of a good challenge, but he doesn't really expect anything out of the timid Kally.

"Uh huh." He says, turning back to the field and cracking his neck.

"Sorry I'm late." A familiar voice lets out. Kally walking into the training complex. She is also wearing an Alphametal, but it somehow seems a little different than theirs. It seems to exude a kind of... energy. While their armors do make them feel a little stronger, they can tell Kally's is much different.

"Are you guys ready?" – "So... are we going to fight?" – "That's the plan. No weapons, for now just your own two hands." – "Alright... which of us takes you on first?" – "Both." Noss and Alex look at each other. Normally they would laugh at the prospect, but since both Baron and now Kally seem confident in this... maybe they know something they don't. They silently agree to each other to not hold back.

"Fine." They say, turning back to Kally.

"Then let it begin."

Kally runs off for them, her sleek lightweight armor making no noise as she does so. They split up as she nears them, but she takes off for Noss and before he can even raise his arms, she has a grip on his leg and tosses him at Alex as if he were nothing more than a rag doll! "WHOA!" He yells as he is barely caught by Alex. "She's fast..." She mutters.

Barrett Electus merely looks on from above.

Regaining his footing, he takes off for Kally alongside Alex! She dashes and dodges their hand to hand attacks with ease before they back her to a wall. But when they think they finally have an opening to take her on she runs up the wall and cascades backwards! They don't even have time to react as she lands behind them and trips them both to the ground!

"B-Baron! This isn't fair! She knows something about this armor we don't!" – "That's right. This is only the first part of your training. The Alphametal will grow alongside you. As you suffer, it suffers. You must form a true spiritual bond with your armor to reach its maximum potential." – "What does that even mean- oh screw it, let's keep fighting!" Noss spits. Kally actually stands her ground this time and allows them to get close.

They try to punch and kick, but she nimbly dodges every single one with superhuman speed. She begins to parry their attacks, one such parry deflecting Alex's leg with such speed that she starts spinning in place and she falls down dizzy. Kally blocks every single one of Noss's punches and kicks before simply pushing him back, infuriating him and she grins a small bit.

"Okay, this isn't fair." Kally nods. "Once you feel the need to grow stronger, you will." – "Don't talk down to me, Girl. It's just your armor that's giving you these powers!" Before she can respond, Baron interjects.

"Do you think that the heroes and villains above will care about whether or not your natural skill comes from a suit of armor? If you encountered an enemy stronger than Kally who didn't hold back, you may already be dead. Keep fighting." – "Grr..." Noss growls. "But this is stupid, we can't do anything- she's strong enough to PLAY with us!" – "Indeed. Did you remember what I said before? Once your life is in true danger, your real powers welling up within you will pour out." – "True danger? What do you mean?" He asks as Kally takes something out of her pocket.

Before their eyes, it explodes into a slender energy blade with a defensive hilt! With one hand she points the energy bladed tip at Noss.

"Use whatever weapons you think necessary." She says, backing away slightly. "That... thing looks really strong; I don't think I have anything to beat that." – "Me neither..." Alex lets out.

Barrett laughs from above. "I think it's time to show you my next batch of gifts." He says as a lift descends from the other side of the room carrying three objects. "The yellow hilts are yours, Noss. The red; Alex's." They quickly scramble for the objects as Kally stares them down, twiddling her thin energy weapon. It's slender like a kind of rapier, but is more than capable of competent slashing due to its energy foundation.

Noss's two hilts flash in his hands, forming thick but short energy blades. They look rather like his combat machete! "These are fine and all, but I don't really excel at short range." – "Then now is a great time to cover your weaknesses." – "Damn it Baron you're killing me here!" Noss backs away as Alex picks hers up. It flashes into a long thick blade trembling with energy. It rumbles in her hands as she comes into tune with her new weapon. She takes a deep breath, as it seems to sync up with her.

"Yeah that seems her style." Noss says, slowly backing away. "I'll... leave Kally to you for now, hehe..." He mutters.

Alex steps to Kally who circles around her slowly. Alex's katana-like energy blade rumbles with unstable electrical energy. Her white armor doesn't let off similar energy, unlike Kally's whose seems to be in tune with her. Alex lets out a battle roar, chopping down at Kally who effortlessly bounces the haphazard attack away with the side of her blade with one arm.

Alex put a lot of strength into that attack, but Kally just brushed it away like the wind. She squints and tries again at different angles, all achieving the same results until Kally goes on the offensive! Primarily with stabbing, Alex goes to great lengths to avoid the attacks, her long black hair banking with every sudden movement. One wrong move however costs Alex's weapon to be blasted out of her hand and instead be replaced with searing heat! She grips her wrist out of pain, but Kally doesn't stop!

Alex ducks and dodges the incredibly fast attacks, but her own personal speed isn't enough to combat Kally's imbued agility! Every other attack grazes the surface of her skin-tight armor, but even now Alex isn't sure Kally is holding back!

However to both of their surprises, Noss makes a surprise entrance from behind! "KYAA!" He yells out, dumbly giving himself away, but giving Alex enough time to break free of the endless attacks! She scrambles over to the hilt as Kally turns around and starts slashing at Noss!

To his own personal surprise, he isn't half bad at matching her speed or strength with his short combat knives. Energy or no, they feel just like his weapon. If Barrett made these, they were made very well. Kally's fast attacks are hard to keep up with at first, but she only has one weapon, and Noss is ambidextrous. Not to mention that Alex finally has her weapon back and joins him from the other side!

At first, Noss isn't sure if he should hold back or not, but that's before he notices that Kally smirks. Before he can gauge what that means, she hops slightly in mid-air and kicks him in the chest and turns to Alex! She swings down only to be blocked by Alex's weapon, but the impact is so heavy that papers on the other side of the room are blown off of their desks! The single attack is so powerful that it forces Alex to take a knee!

"Enough." Baron lets out.

Gasping for breath now that Kally finally puts her weapon down, Alex takes this respite to finally put both hands on the floor and breath. Noss is surprised to see Alex so winded from this. She put a lot more into it than he did, that's for sure.

"You all passed spectacularly." – "Passed? She kicked our asses." – "I expected her to do much more than that." – "Huh? What do you mean?" – "Let's just say that it's not because Barthandelus chose you that I value your lives and keep you safe, it's really quite the opposite. It's because he chose you that I let her loose on you with the order to go for the kill should the opportunity present itself." Noss's face loses color.

"Wait... what...?" – "So, as I said; you passed. With flying colors I might add." – "G-Go for the kill? B-Baron we weren't even ready!" – "No one ever is. That's where true strength comes from. Should your life ever have been in real danger, your armor would activate. Though as this was just a small skirmish, I didn't expect a true connection to your equipment. Merely surviving however, earns you an A+. Now, you may rest. We have a lot of work in the near future." – "B-Baron..."

Alex blinks once. "This is serious..."

"Where are you?!"

She wanders around at the top of this mountain, he usually appears at her every beck and call, but he's simply not coming. "Are you trying to prove a point? That I should have listened to you earlier and now you won't show up?! Come on, I have something really important to ask you!"

She runs around, the dust of this mountain is very familiar. She is back in Megaville next to the tomb of the Chronometal Wars. Although she has spent over a year in Denver, she came here looking for the one person she never thought she would ever have to look for again.

Him.

Usually he would show up, it's not like him to be so indirect. It's not until she stops and looks around that she notices something strange. The grass... is perfectly still. The clouds too. Everything is... frozen...

"Huh...?" She blinks, noticing she feels kind of tired. This kind of feels like a dream. "Damn it, am I asleep? How annoying." She says, noticing several dream-like things around. Before she knows it, this once bone dry area kicks up one hell of a mist. "Yup. Definitely dreaming. Megaville doesn't get rain." She rolls her eyes and pinches herself. "Ouch, damn it!" She shakes her head. She feels like she's asleep, but she can't wake up.

She sighs, but then notices a shade in the mist. "Huh...?" She says to herself, slowly approaching it. It appears to be a girl on her knees at the lip of the mountain overlooking the tomb and the City. As soon as she sees her hair, her eyes light up, but her stomach also sinks. She quickly dodges behind a tree as the girl turns back.

"Huh? W-Who's there" The girl says, rubbing her face with her forearm to forcefully wipe away the proof of her anguish. "I know you're there! Who are you! Show yourself!" The girl cries out.

The girl's voice nearly brings Buttercup to tears.

She can't help but leave the safety of the tree and approach her. The girl covers her mouth and gasps. Long red hair. A matching dress. The eyes that show someone who's seen much pain, but still sticks through it all to a better tomorrow.

"B-Buttercup!" – "Blossom..." Blossom nearly leaps for Buttercup but stops. She looks around and backs away. "This can't be real..." Blossom says. "Yeah... it's just a dream..." Buttercup says sadly, sniffling, frustrated at the gravity of the situation.

Blossom is within arm's reach but she knows she's not real. "I... thought as much... I mean, you're dead..." Blossom says. Buttercup's expression changes slightly. "Well... I know this is a dream and all, but you're the one who died, haha..." She laughs to cover the pain.

"I wish..." Blossom says, grabbing her arm. She turns back to the lip of the mountain as the mist cascades down the cliff. Buttercup stands by her. "What do you mean?" – "When... when you and Bubbles died I... I thought that was it. I even tried to find you in Him's domain..." – "What...?" – "You're a dream, I would expect you to already know this, you're part of my mind aren't you?" – "Aren't you part of mine?" Blossom turns over to Buttercup.

They just stare at each other for a moment.

"I don't care." Buttercup says lashing out and hugging her beloved sister. After a bit of reluctance she finally caves in and returns the gesture with all her strength. Buttercup is a little taller than Blossom. Buttercup still remembers Blossom from when she died. By that time, Buttercup has grown about an inch.

"You're taller than I remember..." – "You're exactly as tall as I remember..."

A tear forms in Buttercup's eye as the mist fades. She opens her eyes to view the mountains as dry as ever, devoid of any mist or memory. She sighs and rubs her eyes as a warm breeze picks up.

"Buttercup?" – "Huh?" Buttercup turns around to see Bubbles. "Oh, hey Bubbles... we haven't seen you in a while." – "I've... been busy..." She says, rubbing her stomach. "Wait... you're not..." Bubbles nods. "Who?" – "Dexter." – "Dexter...? But-" – "I'm a surrogate for him and Lynn. It's almost time, I just wanted to come and get Blossom's blessing, you know?" – "Y-Yeah..."

A small moment of silence passes. "It's been good seeing you again. If you want you can come visit me in Megaville later. I live in that large house next to the public park." – "House? It's more like a mansion! Where did you get dough like that?" – "I tried finding you for a long time. Ever since Heroesbane was ended, all surviving heroes on Earth have received huge reparations. The amount I got to buy that house barely dipped into it. I wanted to tell you, but I could never find you."

"Oh... well, it's okay anyway. Did Dexter tell you that the Professor is doing okay?" – "Yes, he's been filling me in on what's been going on with you guys." – "Oh, that's good..." – "..." – "The Professor really wants to see you again..." – "I can come visit soon. Just, not now. I'm still working on something."

"..." – "Goodbye for now..." Bubbles says, turning into the tomb, cradling her own form.

A few moments later, Buttercup finally feels that familiar red energy. "Him..."

"Gah... muh..."

"B... B... Boomer..." The world around her is cold and without mass. She can't feel her arms, or her legs... without being able to see them, she isn't even sure she even has them anymore.

"Are... you... safe...?"