Hey all, MHTT here! I've got the duel up now, hope you all enjoy! I got to warn you though, it is a tad on the short side, so as of now, this is the shortest chapter in the story!
I had some problems cherographing the fight at first, so that is an explanation for the delay I had. Trust me though, I didn't make the fight short because I ran out of ideas, it's part of the story (sorta, you'll see what I mean).
Anyway, enjoy you guys!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Megaman characters in this fic nor do I own the franchise. They are copyright of Capcom and I am not writing this to gain any monetary profit.
Chapter 10: The 0th Day Duel
"HORR-YAH!"
Harpuia quickly jumped away from the menacing green blade, dodging the first strike and the large shockwave that followed. As he hovered above the trembling ground, Omega swiftly burst forward, saber dragging behind him. He sent a quick slash for Harpuia's abdomen but the guardian quickly sidestepped out of the way. A second strike followed from above his shoulder but, the guardian easily blocked it with his sabers. As the trembling began to subside, Harpuia set his feet back on the ground, evading another pair of slashes while he found his footing. He blocked and dodged a triple slash from Omega and twisted his body just in time to avoid a fatal impalement. He blocked another slice coming from the right and as Omega prepared to swing the blade once more, Harpuia jumped away from him.
"Hup!" While in the air, Harpuia swung his right blade, sending a pink pulse of energy to his opponent. The crescent moon swiftly tore and cleaved across the grass toward the red Messiah, and, much to Harpuia's surprise, the hit connected. Omega grunted and flinched, but he quickly shook it off. That attack was clearly avoidable…A reploid of Omega's capabilities should've been able to dodge or even counter that attack! So, why did he just let himself get hit?
As Harpuia contemplated the action, he noticed Omega suddenly burst forward. In a split second he had closed the gap, and he was in range to deal a lethal blow!
He lifted the blade just above his right shoulder; Diagonal strike coming from the left!
Harpuia blocked the attack with his left saber.
He turned the weapon several degrees: Horizontal cut from the left!
Harpuia hopped out of range.
He moved the saber past the other shoulder; Diagonal from the right!
Harpuia parried the attack with his right saber.
He twisted the weapon further downward and bent his knees; Uppercut from the left!
Omega jumped into the air with his blade leading the attack, the saber leaving a spiraling streak of green. As he spun into the air like a rising blender, Harpuia arched his back and craned his neck just enough to avoid the fatal attack, the green streak coming very close to slicing his head. He quickly recovered just in time to see Omega stop in mid-air, and fall back onto the ground. In the blink of an eye, he closed the gap, and once more, Harpuia was forced on the defensive.
Green and pink blades clashed from the red and green reploids, the former unleashing an unending barrage of attacks while the latter skillfully blocked them. Even though each powerful hit from Omega's saber forced Harpuia to step back, the Messiah couldn't break through his defense. The two pink blades were always blocking his attacks, no matter how powerful his strikes were. As Omega began to build energy within his arms, Harpuia quickly jumped away. The guardian easily anticipated what was coming, and just as expected, a second after Harpuia set foot on the ground, Omega grabbed his saber in both hands and struck the ground once more. He set his feet on the trembling ground and crossed his sabers, just in time to catch Omega's overhead swing.
"Grr…" Harpuia held his ground, the emerald green saber pushing against the cross of his twin blades. He dug his feet and kept his arms bent, unwilling to falter to Omega. He had caused catastrophic damage two decades ago, and nearly destroyed the world a century before. He would not allow him to live, not after that! "Grrr-aaah!" With unprecedented strength, Harpuia suddenly forced Omega's blade back, causing the reploid to falter backwards. This was his chance! Harpuia boosted forward and as he closed the gap, inverted the orientation of his right blade. "Hyah!"
SLICE!
"Uggh!" Omega's head turned to the side once the searing pink energy left his face, leaving behind a large gash stretching from his left eye to the right side of his lower lip. He grasped his face in pain as he clenched the grip on his saber, but before he could counter, a powerful strike hit his chest. The wind was suddenly knocked out of him, and before he knew it, two empty hands grasped his forearms and clamped them to his sides. The reploid grit his teeth and glanced forward, spotting Harpuia staring back at him. He struggled to move his saber, but quickly found it to be useless. Omega was helpless to the next attack.
"Haaa!" With all his strength, Harpuia shot into the air, carrying Omega with him. He continued to hold onto him tightly as his jets propelled him into the higher reaches of the sky, the air quickly becoming colder and colder with every ten meter increase. Soon, he was high enough to see all of Memorial Square, and even the Capital Building in the distance. Harpuia glanced at the wounded Omega, and in barely a second, he made a large curve high in the sky and began plummeting to the ground, still holding Omega close.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Harpuia held his grip as the Messiah struggled, unable to break the guardian's hold. The wind whipped against his hair and his body, and from his red eyes he could tell they were approaching the ground, fast. Then, before he knew it, the ground was directly in front of him, and all of a sudden, when it suddenly looked like Harpuia would pull up, he felt the hands release him.
CRASH!
Powerful shockwaves traveled from the epicenter, sending tremors and shakes across the Square. Harpuia gradually decelerated and hovered back onto the ground, landing a safe distance away from the cloud of dust and debris. He reactivated his two blades and assumed a defensive stance, eyes locked on the cloud, scanning for the silhouette of the standing Omega. The sudden attack must've caught him off guard. A reploid like Omega could have easily broken free of the guardian's grip, and even at the highest point during the attack, he could have landed without a scratch. Still, the guardian waited, and just as expected…
A silhouette began to appear, Omega's silhouette. He appeared to be leaning forward, almost in pain. Deep, heavy breathing could easily be heard from within, partly out of anger, partly out of pain. The emerald green saber was touching the ground, coated with the artificial blood gushing from the wound across his face and his sword arm. Harpuia couldn't believe it.
Omega was already severely damaged.
This is too easy…
"I AM THE MESSIAH! HAAAA!" Harpuia easily sidestepped away from the green saber, the attack hindered by Omega's wounds. He swung another two times but again Harpuia evaded them. Damage was taking its toll on the Messiah's body, making him slower, weaker, and less responsive. However, this was odd…Zero, the Zero that he fought never faltered, no matter how severe the damage was. "Hyah!" Omega stepped forward and brought his sword for a full horizontal swing. He moved his arm at a noticeable velocity from the right but Harpuia easily caught it, blocking the attack with his two blades and stopping it entirely. Omega didn't move his arm away, and the guardian took that opportunity to swing his saber in a clockwise arc and push the green sword away. The Messiah flinched, and that would be his last mistake.
Harpuia pulled his right arm back and swiftly thrust it forward.
STAB!
Omega keeled forward, pain registering harshly from his chest. As he stood still, struggling to hold his footing, he never realized that his opponent had aimed the other pink blade directly for his head.
STAB!
Time stopped. The Messiah took a quick gasp and stood completely still, wondering what had happened. He no longer felt pain, but he could feel his body's functions fading, almost as if he was paralyzed. What had happened? Why couldn't he move?! Harpuia pulled hard on both blades and pulled them out of the Messiah's body, the large gashes on his chest and the right side of his head flowing with artificial blood. He then brought his right knee directly into the reploid's chin, forcing him up, and kicking him away. At that moment, Omega suddenly felt his system start up again, but pain registered all over his body. His systems began overloading severely and were quickly becoming unstable, warnings popping up within his head about loss of blood, overheating, and severe instability. He staggered a few more steps before he finally dropped his saber on the ground.
A strange, primal-like grunt gradually began to make itself known, all while the Messiah's body began to flash uncontrollably.
"grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
BRING BRING BRING! SHEEEEEEEEEEEW!
Harpuia shielded his eyes from the bright flash of light. He should be filled with relief, but instead, he only had questions. Omega, he was much easier than expected. He never defended against his attacks; he only fought like a berserker. He didn't try to trap him or fight cunningly; he simply tried to overwhelm him with powerful attacks. He paid for his mistakes in battle, but if this was the case, why did the guardian feel so uneasy about his death?
The answer came once the light died away. Before him, where the remains of Omega should be, there was instead, the shattered body of a Galleon. The single red eye stared through the broken visor before it slowly died, and at that moment, Harpuia realized, his intuition was right all along.
This wasn't the real Omega…
MISSION COMPLETE.
Well, that's that! Hope you guys enjoyed!
Next up, to 'celebrate' having made ten chapters (not including the prologue) of this story, I'm planning to do what I call Reminiscence Chapters. In this case, I'm planning to detail a chapter about an event in the past that had come before the story started, including how Harpuia survived and what had happened during the events of Ragnarok.
However, I'm at a bit of a crossroads with two chapters I want to show. For right now, I only want to do one reminiscence chapter and show the other later, so, I'm asking you the readers and reviewers, which ones should I do?
Here are the two choices. Neither will affect the outcome of the fic, only what the next chapter will reveal.
Harpuia's Flight: This chapter will specifically detail what had happened after Omega's explosion and how Harpuia escaped. The setting of this chapter will be during the ending of MMZ3 and following shortly afterward.
Rise of the Blue Sun: This chapter will introduce a new character named Iris as she helps defend a large reploid caravan, which is a reploid counterpart to the Area Zero caravan, headed to a hidden refuge in the mountains. The setting of this chapter will be in the beginning of MMZ4. Also, the character Iris I'm planning to use has NO correlation with the Iris in the MMX era.
So chronologically, Harpuia's Flight comes before Rise of the Blue Sun.
So, my readers, those are your choices. If you wish to have a specific one, then please say so in your reviews. You may either leave me a review or message me with your choice, either is fine. I will be choosing based on votes in the reviews, so, if you wish to hear specifically about one chapter and wait for the other, then state so in your review. However, if no one decides to vote or specifically state which one they'd like to see, then I will make the choice myself.
Reviews and comments would be greatly appreciated, thank you for reading!