Chapter Thirteen: Raiders of the Lost Souls, Part 3
The gathering around the reconstructed campfire was a solemn affair. The sun had set over the horizon as Sora, Sun, and Penny sat around the roaring flames, which had a faint smell of blood from the fabric they were forced to burn. Though they had managed to repel the demon soldiers in addition to discovering their weakness, they could fight back the feeling of overwhelming defeat in their stomachs. Mathias had tricked all of them, masquerading as their friend to lower their guard, kidnapped Sam when they were away, and Lara was…. Sora ran a hand through his unreasonably spiky hair, staring into the fire hopelessly.
"What're we supposed to do now?" asked Sora. "Do we go after them or…?"
"They'll have the entire monastery on high alert by now," said Penny, stoking the flames. "There'll be over hundreds of those monsters guarding every part of the temple. They'll want to make sure that nothing gets in the way of Himiko's resurrection."
"So that's it?" said Sora. "We're just supposed to sit here and wait for them to bring an insane, evil goddess? We all know what's going to happen if they go through with the ritual. Not only will the worlds be in danger from that witch, but if what Lara said was right, if Himiko transfers her soul into Sam's body, then Sam will die. I can't just let them get what they want. Not after what they did to Lara."
"Well, unless you have a way of sneaking to the ziggurat without having to go through a hundred nearly-immortal soldiers," said Sun helplessly.
"I might know a way up there, but it'll be risky," said a feminine voice from behind the bushes.
The three world jumpers turned around as the shrubbery parted and Lara Croft stepped into the light of the campfire, adjusting her new top with some annoyance. After the Beowolf had sliced the archaeologist open and covered her entire front in blood, Penny had strongly urged Lara to change clothes to reduce the risk of infection. Lara argued that she was fine and that their main priority she be to rescue Sam, but Penny countered ("How do you think Sam would feel knowing you were dead?" she asked her). It was an underhanded tactic below the belt, Sora and Sun agreed, but it had the desired effect; Lara conceded to a change of wardrobe.
At first, they wondered how Lara was going to change when the Storm Guard had completely trashed their campsite. That's when Lara revealed she had found a crate labeled "Tomb Raider: Classic Costume" washed up on the shore the day she found Sora and had forgotten about it until now. Lara pried the crate open with her climbing axe and poked her head inside, surprised to find an entire wardrobe perfectly preserved inside – it seemed unrealistically convenient. She went to change behind the shrubbery, but not before shooting a threatening look to Sora and Sun ("Hey, I have a woman!" Sun defended).
When Lara came back, she was wearing a light-blue tank top similar to her old one, but now with criminally short shorts that showed a lot more leg than Sora was used to; the hormonal teenage boy went red in the face. The outfit had also come equipped with hardened brown combat boots, fingerless black gloves, and a belt with gun holsters that strapped to her thighs. Real working guns were included in the set for reasons that will never be explained, thought Lara still kept the climbing axe and curved bow on her person. Though Sora would never say it out loud, the archaeologist was as sexy as she was dangerous.
"Are you sure you should be moving around, Lara?" asked Penny. "You took a very severe wound to the chest. Your aura might have saved your life for now, but there's no telling if there are any lasting side effects or potential infections from the wounds. Perhaps you should take it easy for now."
"I'll rest easy after we save Sam," said Lara firmly, taking a seat next to Sora.
"I had no idea that you had aura, Lara," said Sora, sounding surprised.
"Honestly, neither did I," said Lara, touched the area where the wounds had been. "I've read about in ancient Hindu and Buddhist manuscripts about a supposed emanation surrounding the body of a living creature, viewed by mystics, spiritualists, and some practitioners of complementary medicine as the essence of the individual, and allegedly discernible by people with special sensibilities. I usually played it off as some spiritualist nonsense, but I suppose after Yamatai anything is possible."
"Where we're from aura is fairly common," said Penny, "though not a lot of people can use it willingly. It takes a lot of training to unlock. I suppose that when the Beowolf attacked, you unconsciously tapped into your aura and began healing your injuries."
"Well, at least I have something going for me," said Lara dismally.
"So what's this risky pathway you're talking about?" asked Sun. "Can't be any worse than going through an army of unstoppable demon warriors."
"We climb the side of the mountain," said Lara.
"And I stand corrected," Sun replied.
"Even if we do climb up the side of the mountain, which is very possible for us," Penny added to Sun, "there will still be plenty of Storm Guard soldiers surrounding the ritual grounds. With their numbers, it'll be impossible to sneak around without being spotted."
"I wasn't planning on sneaking anyway," said Lara firmly, unholstering her new fire arms. She took out the empty clips, grabbed a handful of the red-tipped Fire Dust shells that Sun had set out, and started loading the magazines. "If necessary, I'll take the ziggurat by storm. These bullets are some kind of fire starters, correct? And we know the Storm Guard have a weakness for fire. We Just load up on these…magic bullets or whatever…and make I can craft a few fire arrows from the cloth and alcohol lying around, then we can burn the lot of them to ash."
"We don't have a whole lot of Fire Dust to spare," said Sun, gesturing to the dwindling pile. "We've got thirty, maybe forty rounds left – that's not enough to take on a whole army of demons."
"We won't know until we try, will we?" said Lara stubbornly, jamming the bullets unnecessary rough in the clip.
"I know a bad plan when I see one – 'cause I'm the king of bad plans," said Sora, frowning, "but just rushing into a nest of super unstoppable monster warriors is just crazy."
"And what would you have me do?" growled Lara.
"I don't know," said Sora defensively, "but running in like chickens with our heads cut off – ("there's an image I didn't need in my head" said Sun) – isn't going to help save Sam. Maybe…maybe we should wait a minute to think up a plan – "
"We don't have a minute!" snapped Lara, jumping to her feet. Sora yelped in fright and fell backwards. "Don't you get it? Every moment we waste here sitting on our arses, Mathias is one step closer to reviving Himiko! I can't wait around for you lot to think of a plan while she's in that nutter's clutches! I have to save her!"
"We get that!" yelled Penny in return. "Believe us, if it was my father or Ciel, Sun and I would be the first people climbing that mountain! But that doesn't mean it would be the best decision, running into enemy territory without thinking things through! We aren't going to be much help to Sam if we're all dead!"
"You smarmy little – you just don't get it!" screamed Lara furiously. "How any of you possibly understand how important this is for me, how important Sam is to me! She's not just my best friend! I lo…."
The archaeologist cut herself off with a soft gasp, as if she was just now realizing what she was about to say. Her eyes turned downcast, slowly lowering herself back down with her elbows resting on her knees and burying her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking ever slightly and her breathing becoming hitched. She was muttering to herself; her voice muffled by her palms. Sora, Sun, and Penny looked to one another in a silent exchange of thoughts. From the short time that the three of them had known Lara and Sam, they could tell that there was something more going on between them than just ere friendship, but it seemed Lara didn't realize it herself until now.
Lara took a deep breath and sat up straight; her eye looked bloodshot as she wiped her face with the back of her arm.
"Please…Sam is all I have left," said Lara in a pathetically small voice. "I lost my family when I was a child, and I lost the only friends I had to this island. Sam is the only thing I have left in the world worth fighting for. If anything happens to her, I don't think I can…. I know I act like I can do anything. Being on this island has taught me what it takes to survive, but even so, I'm still just one person. As much as I don't want to admit it, I don't have what it takes to save Sam from Mathias alone. Please…I'm begging you lot…please help me save Sam…."
It was the first time that Lara had ever seemed so vulnerable, thought Sora. Behind all the dirt, scars, and muscle was just a woman as scared as Sora was – and Sora was really scared. And why would he? He was traveling to different worlds, being forced on a mission that would have killed him ages ago if it weren't for Penny and Sun. But as he exchanged meaningful glances with the Faunus and the android, he knew they didn't have the luxury of being scared. Not while there were people counting on them.
"We were going to do it without asking," said Sora, grinning. Lara looked relieved. "But we still have a problem with the whole army of unstoppable monsters thing. Even if we did manage to sneak past them, what's stopping them from chasing us up to the ziggle…zaggle…?"
"Ziggurat," offered Lara.
"Yeah, that thing," Sora nodded.
"Actually, I might have a solution for that," said Penny, grinning mischievously.
"Let me go, you psycho!" cried Sam. "Somebody, help! Lara!"
"Silence, child!" said Mathias, pulling the woman roughly by the arm. "Soon it'll all be over and our salvation will be at hand!"
Sam threw all her weight to break free of the delusional cult leader, but his years on trapped on the island, forced to survive, had made him too strong to escape from. She had a hard time believing that this man, whom she and Lara trusted as a friend, would be crazy enough to be the leader of the people trying to kill them. The way they marched into their campsite, showing his true colors, leading a platoon of demons to capture her for his oh-so-precious Sun Goddess. He bound her wrists behind her back and had the soldier's force her into a musky, old white dress for posture – Sam's skin crawled at the memory of their disease-ridden hands touching her body. The young woman was shaking and it had nothing to do with the high atmosphere and the cold wind; she just wanted Lara.
Mathias pulled at Sam again – she could feel a bruise starting to form on her bicep - as they reached the opposite side of the stone bridge over the wide chasm to a smaller temple-like structure opposite the monastery. The building was even more decrepit that the monastery; nearly half the building had been blown off, opening the area up to the stormy skies above. And as they reached the end of the bridge, two Storm Guard soldiers stood like sentinels in front of the temple entrance, their heads slowly turning towards Sam like hungry predators. When neither soldier attacked them, Mathias took it as a sign that they were permitted to enter the temple and pulled Sam alongside him.
"You're not gonna get away with this, you know!" snarled Sam, now dragging her feet on the floor; anything to slow the lunatic down. "Lara is gonna find you and she'll kill you!"
"I have no fear of Croft, not with Himiko as my protector," said Mathias. She gave Sam an extra hard tug and the woman nearly fell over on her knees. "Cease your protesting at once, child, and think about what your sacrifice will offer. You'll be giving back the freedom of every man that set foot on this accursed island. I can vouch that your name will be remembered for many years to come; perhaps some of them will even write song about you. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"Yeah, who wouldn't be proud of letting loose an island of raving lunatics on the world?" hissed Sam sarcastically. "You have no idea how much trouble you're going to be in when Lara gets her hands on you. And if I'm being honest, I'm looking forward to watching her beat the crap out of you."
"You may as well stow your fantasy of false hope," said Mathias. "Croft and her friends won't be coming."
"Then apparently we didn't get the memo."
Mathias' eyes went wide with a glint of fear in his pupils as the child's voice echoed in the chasm. The cultist leader turned around and pulled Sam close to his chest and his spear held at her neck just in time to witness the Storm Guards suddenly burst into flames. The demon warriors howled and stumbled back and forth in a panic until their feet slipped over the edge of the chasm and plummeted into the depths below. Mathias was breathing heavy; fear started to swell in his chest. He pulled back with Sam as Sora, Lara, Sun, and Penny pulled themselves over the cliff edge, all of them glaring at Mathias. Lara drew her bow and Sora's team whipped out their weapons, but none of them took a shot, not while Mathias was using Sam as a human shield.
"Lara!" screamed Sam.
"Stay back!" shouted Mathias threateningly. "You can't stop the ritual! No one can!"
"Why are you doing this, Mathias?" asked Lara, her arrow hopefully aimed at the madman's head.
"Do you think you're the hero, Lara?" yelled Mathias. "Everything I've done I did to survive! How many lives have you taken to do the same? There are no heroes here, only survivors!"
"Himiko's dangerous, Mathias!" said Lara. "She's angry, she's vengeful, and he has real power! If you do this, you'll be unleashing untold devastation on the world!"
"A good trade for our freedom, I'd say!" said Mathias.
"You're out of your mind!" shouted Lara.
"And you are out of time!" said Mathias.
The raving madman pointed his spear to their backs, and Lara and the others hesitantly looked over their shoulders toward the monastery. Even through the raging winds, the group could hear the marching of nearly a hundred boots stomping on stone in perfect sync. Before too long, the first of the Storm Guard soldiers began to appear through the entryway on the opposite side of the bridge leading the rows of the demon warriors. The leading soldier finally caught sight of the intruders, howled into the wind, began the charge across the bridge.
All the same time, Mathias dashed into the ziggurat while Sora's group wasn't looking, pulling Sam along with him.
"Lara!" cried Sam.
"Sam!" shouted Lara.
"Go on, we'll take care of this!" said Sora. Lara looked hesitant at first, but watching the madman drag her beloved…someone away; she became steely-eyed and rushed to catch up with them. Sora turned back to his team. "Okay, Penny, you up for this?"
"I'm combat ready!" said Penny confidently.
The Atlesian android dashed forth to the end of the bridge and grounded herself as the Marionette Swords rose behind her. The Storm Guard soldiers were halfway across the bridge when the demonic soldier leading the pack suddenly ground his feet to a halt; his followers bumped into him from behind. Penny's Marionette Swords folded halfway into miniaturized guns that began to spin in a circular ring and a sphere of neon-green energy formed in the middle. The Storm Guard likely had no clue what the energy was, but they were smart enough to turn tail when they saw it. Unfortunately, due to their swelling numbers, the entryway to the monastery was congested; some Oni were actually throwing their comrades over the side to make their own way forward. Not that it would do them any good.
Once the aura sphere reached its zenith, Penny punched the energy with both fists and the sphere exploded into a massive beam of green light. The Storm Guards trapped on the bridge were immediately overwhelmed by the light and wiped away the demonic soldiers in seconds. After ripping through the legions of semi-immortal warriors, the beam disappeared through the entryway inside the monastery. Several explosions ripped through the temple; the shingled rooftops were tossed into the storm and the walls burst open in a spectacular blaze, throwing several dozen Storm Guard soldiers off the side of the mountain. The monastery creaked ominously through the howling winds, slowly started to tilt sideways, and gradually slid down the mountainside. Sora peaked over the edge, whistling is amazement as the temple – or what's left of it – disappeared into the fog below.
"That was awesome, Penny," complimented Sora.
"Thank…you…," said Penny exhaustedly. She dropped to her knees and fell forward on her hands; the Marionette Swords clattered uselessly around her. "Although…I fear I may have…overdone it…. Battery energy is dangerously low…. Must recharge systems…. I'm afraid…I won't be able…to help…any further."
"You've done more than enough," said Sun, clapping her shoulder. "You recharge your batteries while Sora and I go help Lara."
"It'll be quick," said Sora. "It's just one crippled old guy. How bad could it be?"
"…Did you really just say that?" said Penny, shaking her head with Sun. "You never – EVER – say that."
The spiky-haired boy raised his brow at them, but nonetheless shrugged the comment off and pushed past his teammates into the ziggurat. Sun chased after him shortly; Penny crawled tiredly off to the side.
The duo rushed inside the open-air chamber, but quickly dragged their feet to a halt and stepped back slightly when they saw the inside. A dome of unnaturally powerful wind currents was circling the raised platform in the center of the ziggurat that nearly pushed Sora and Sun away. Though it was difficult to see through the gale, they spotted Sam being forced to kneel at the top of the stairs while Mathias was hanging off to the side, opening his arms in ceremonial fashion. There was something kneeling opposite of Sam atop the plinth; it looked like a woman dressed in tattered remnants of what would have been very elegant robes. Was that Himiko, Sora wondered.
And there, lying face down at the base of the stairs was –
"Lara!" Sora cried. He and Sun rushed to her side immediately, pulling her up by her arms. "Lara, are you all right? Can you stand?"
"I'm…I'm fine," slurred Lara; she held her head with a grimace. "Mathias, I…I underestimated him. He's strong...much stronger than I was led to believe. Wait, Sam! Is she - ?"
"Oh, Great Queen!" Mathias chanted over the roar. "Through the trials, I have brought you the vessel! Pour forth, and return to this mortal coil! Pour forth, and be reborn! Pour forth, and awaken!"
The doll-like woman on the plinth suddenly reacted violently, flailing her body as the skin flaked off her face, screaming into the wind. A field of blue energy formed around her and tendrils formed along the sphere, snapping at Sam. Sora visibly winced as Sam's cries joined Himiko's and the young woman was forcibly raised off the floor by the energy tendrils until she was parallel with the Sun Queen's rotting corpse.
"SAM!" screamed Lara.
The archaeologist desperately pushed off Sora and Sun, withdrew her sidearm, and shot on of the Fire Dust bullets at Himiko's body in seconds. But before the bullet could connect with its target, Mathias suddenly jumped between and snapped the bullet away with his spear; the bullet burst into flames against one of the broken support beams. The cultist leader glowered at the trio as he jumped off the stairs and landed across from the heroes; he was surprisingly nimble for his age and injury.
"You can't stop it, Lara!" screamed Mathias. "The Sun Queen's return is at hand! Soon we shall leave this accursed island!"
"So that Himiko was just come back to kill you later!" shouted Sun. "I know first-hand that you can't trust people with too much power, Mathias! She'll betray you when she gets what she wants!"
"You hedonistic heretics!" snarled Mathias. "Do you know how many decades I had to endure the tortures of this island? How much I had to sacrifice to reach this point? If the Sun Queen should betray me eventually, I do not care! One way or another, I will leave this dreadful island behind! And I will kill anyone that tries to stop it!"
"Forget about him, he lost his chance!" said Lara, seething. "Just focus on Sam!"
"I got her!" said Sora.
Spinning Crescent Rose's muzzle backwards, Sora shot off another round and propelled himself with the recoil, flying toward the alter. Surprisingly enough, Mathias made an impressive leap in the air to intersect with Sora and kicked him off course. Sora hit the ground at a roll, but quickly corrected himself and charged at the cultist leader with Crescent Rose against his shoulder while Sun trailed behind, swinging his nunchaku. Mathias raised his spear parallel to himself as Sora attempted a swing from the side, showing an astonishing amount of strength being able to fend off Crescent Rose. The delusional survivor kicked the scythe-wielder in the stomach, making him double over, and followed up with a striking uppercut to the chin to knock him on his back.
As the boys from the islands hit the ground, Sun jumped over his partner and swung Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang over the mad cultist. Mathias swung his spear to swat away the first nunchaku, but the second swing smacked across his face, causing him to stumble lethargically. Growling in annoyance, Mathias pivoted on his heel and swiped the makeshift spear across the air, but Sun effortlessly ducked underneath the blade and kicked the survivor in the ankle. Mathias howled as his foot gave out and was forced to kneel as the monkey Faunus stood over him, swinging his nunchaku threateningly. Sun started to bring down his weapon when Mathias grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it in Sun's face. The Monkey Faunus coughed hoarsely while rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands, leaving him vulnerable for Mathias to stand straight and slam his fist against the side of Sun's face.
Sun was thrown around, only managing to land on his hands and knees, as Mathias stood over him with a twisted grimace on his face. As the cultist leader raised his spear overhead with the bladed tip aimed for Sun's spine, a gunshot cracked through the howling winds and Mathias cried out, holding the bleeding wound in his shoulder. He shot a glare at Sora, who was reloading Crescent Rose with another round. The spiky-haired Huntsman-in-training fired off another round, but Mathias slipped underneath the bullet by a hair's breadth. He slipped his hand into his robe, pulled out a pistol similar to Lara's (coincidence?), and unloaded his clip on the scythe-wielder. Sora slipped behind some of the temple wreckage when Mathias started peppering him with bullets and ran a loop around the outer edge of the ziggurat as the insane survivor started a trail after him.
Mathias's attention was focused on Sora that he had completely forgotten about Sun, who was kneeling just underneath him. The monkey Faunus took advantage of Mathias's distraction, shot up to his feet, and landed a soldier right hook across the survivor's cheek – flecks of blood splattered the dirty ziggurat floor. Before the cultist leader could turn his gun on Sun, the monkey Faunus' tail snapped at his wrist, twisting it around until Mathias was forced to let go. Sun then kicked Mathias in the chest with both feet, making him stumble backward, and Sora came up from behind, sweeping delusional survivor off his feet with Crescent Rose. Mathias rolled off his back and twisted around on his knees, glaring at Sora and Sun whom was blocking the staircase to Himiko's alter.
"You can't win this, Mathias," said Sora. "One-on-one, you're pretty tough. But when we work together, you don't stand a chance."
"You fools!" shouted Mathias angrily as he stood. "Do you not understand what I am trying to accomplish in Himiko's resurrection? Once the Sun Queen is raised, we can finally leave this hellish land! We will finally be free! Why are you trying to hinder on our salvation?"
"Because the cost isn't worth it!" said Sun firmly.
"You would give up your freedom for the life of one mortal woman?" asked Mathias incredulously. "She is but a stranger to you – "
"We might not have known her for long, but Sam is still our friend!" said Sora. "And friends always look out for each other; something you'll never understand! And even if it means we can't escape now, all of us – me, Penny, Sun, Lara, and Sam – we'll all escape this island one way or another, because we have people waiting for us!"
"You ignorant little fools!" said Mathias, sneering. "You think Croft will – wait, where is Croft?"
Sora and Sun shot each other with a knowing smirk and looked behind them. Mathias followed their line of sight to the top of the staircase towards Himiko's alter, gasping in fright. Lara was trying to rip Sam away from the tendrils of Himiko's energy, but the field of life force burned at the archaeologist's touch, making it impossible to pull her best friend free. So instead, Lara pulled out one of the pistols strapped to her thigh, checked the magazine to make sure it was loaded with red-tipped bullets, and then pressed the barrel of the gun between the Sun Queen's eyes.
"NOOOOO!" Screamed Mathias.
The gunshot cracked through the wind tunnel…. The bullet hit the wall several inches from Himiko's head.
Lara cried out in pain as razor-sharp teeth buried themselves in the archaeologist's forearm; blood was dripping on the floor like raindrops; her gun clattered uselessly on the ground. For a moment, the survivor closed her eyes as white-hot pain flashed surged up and down her arm, the she felt dizziness as she was lifted off the ground by her wounded limb and thrown around like a rag doll. When the serrated teeth were finally dislodged from her arm, Lara was sent flying off the alter to the lower level. Thankfully, Sora and Sun stepped up and caught her in their collective arms, setting her down safely.
"You all right?" asked Sora in concern.
"Nothing worse than what I'm used to," said Lara, grimacing but still standing. "What the bloody hell was that, anyway?"
"Oh…crap…," muttered Sun.
Climbing down the staircase very slowly with its claws poised to slice and the scar across its mask prominent, the Beowolf growled ominously at the trio. But unlike their previous encounters, the Beowolf was twice as large with its long, muscular arms and legs covered in a wide spread of bone-like armor, and its teeth similar to that of a sabretooth. The enhanced Grimm reached the bottom of the staircase at a crouch, leveling its eyes with Sora, Sun, and Lara, who cautiously backed away from the monster.
"Is it just me, or is that Beowolf a long bigger than it was half-an-hour ago?" said Sora, wide-eyed.
"Himiko must have done something to make it evolve," said Sun. "It's an Alpha Beowolf – one of the strongest and smartest kind of Grimm there is."
"Do you see it now, heretics?" roared Mathias, stepping in beside the Alpha Beowolf. "Even this mindless beast knows that Himiko's time is at hand! Soon, the ritual will be complete, and we shall – "
Mathias was sharply cut off as the Alpha Beowolf swatted him to the side and flung him across the ziggurat, smashing through one of the support beams and burying him underneath a pile of wooden planks.
"Guess it's too late to ask if he's friendlier now," said Sun.
The Alpha Beowolf snarled, raised its serrated claws above, and slashed at the trio. Sora swiftly ducked out of the way and Sun pulled Lara in his arms bridal style before leaping into the air; the Alpha Beowolf's nails ripped through the stone like it was made of putty. Sora rolled into a crouched position, converted Crescent Rose into Gun Mode, peered through the rifle's scope, and shot a bullet for the back of the Grimm's skull. When the gunshot cracked through the air, the Alpha Beowolf's hand instinctively hot up to cover its head and caught the bullet in its palm. The round was tipped with Fire Dust, which caused it to explode in a burst of flames in the evolved werewolf's hand. Unfortunately, it did not seem that the Alpha Beowolf felt the explosion as it allowed the flames to eat away at its fur, exposing the raw-red flesh underneath before the fire died out. The Alpha Beowolf turned its narrow head on Sora and pounced.
Meanwhile, Sun landed at the base of the staircase and dropped Lara off.
"You save Sam!" ordered Sun. "We'll worry about the Grimm!"
Lara nodded in acknowledgement and raced back up the staircase again; Sam was her number one priority – Sora and Sun could handle themselves.
Back over on the edge of the Ziggurat, Sora rolled out of the way of the Alpha Beowolf's claw, which ripped through one of the temple support beams and dropped another pile of rubble on its head. The massive Grimm shrugged it off and snapped its head to Sora, howling. The spiky-haired islander fired off two more Fire Dust-laced bullets – one struck the Grimm's shoulder and the other in its left kneecap – but the Alpha Beowolf just kept coming. Sora then flipped the switch to convert Crescent Rose to its Scythe Mode, fired a bullet behind him, and used the recoil to increase the strength of his swing when he charged the Grimm. The Alpha Beowolf tried to catch the scythe much like the last time they fought, but the momentum was too much for it to stop and was carried along with the swing, causing it to spin around. And while The Grimm's back was turned on him, Sora pulled off an impressive jump and kicked the Alpha Beowolf in the back of the head with both feet.
The Alpha Beowolf only moved by a few feet, but quickly pivoted toward Sora and snarled angrily. As the hulking Grimm took a step forward, Sun suddenly came down from the air behind the Alpha Beowolf and swung Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang over its head. Unfortunately, the evolved Grimm snapped its claw back and wrapped its fingers around the Faunus' midsection without looking back. The Alpha Beowolf threw the squirming Huntsman at Sora and the both of them were sent tumbling across the floor and slammed into the far side wall. Both men groaned and soothed their throbbing heads, looking over in time to see the Alpha Beowolf lunging at them. Sora and Sun jumped away from the spot as the Grimm's claw smashed through the wall, flinging chunks of stone in every direction. One of the pieces knocked into the back of Sora's leg's causing him to trip over; Crescent Rose slid out of his grip.
As the spiky-haired boy flipped around on his back, the Alpha Beowolf loomed over him and brought its claws down on top of him. Whether intentional or not, the Alpha Beowolf's claws missed Sora and stabbed into stone floor around his body; his arms were pinned to his side and the Grimm's palm pushed down on his chest. The Alpha Beowolf raised its second claw, extended its index finger, and pointed the tip of its nail at Sora's forehead. The Alpha Beowolf looked ready to finish him off, but – as per usual in this line of work – the Grimm stopped in his tracks as Sun suddenly jumped on its neck, twisting his legs around its throat. The evolved beats pulled away from Sora and snarled, shaking its head to throw the Faunus off – Sun threw the chain of his nunchaku around the Grimm's open mouth and pulled back, much like a rider at the reins.
"Yee-haw!" shouted Sun enthusiastically; the Alpha Beowolf flailed like a bucking bronco. "Now I see why Nora does this all the time! This is awesome!"
"Are you sure you should be doing that?" asked Sora.
"No!" answered Sun. "But do you have any better id – whoa!" he yelped as the Grimm nearly unsaddled him.
While the men were busying themselves in their one-man rodeo, Lara reached the top of the alter again and was once again confronted with the crisis of saving Sam. Her best friend was looking noticeably paler and Himiko's corpse was peeling apart bit-by-bit. By Lara's own estimation, they only had a few minutes before the ritual was complete.
The archaeologist took of her bow and pulled a flame-tipped arrow against the drawstring, aiming straight for Himiko's heart, when –
"I won't let you interfere!" Mathias' wails echoed out.
A gunshot cracked through the air again and Lara suddenly found herself at the loss of her bow. Lara turned to her right as Mathias climbed up the side of the alter; his face was stained with his own blood, his nose broke twice over, and one of his eyes looked like it had been punctured. The psychopathic zealot scrambled to his feet and charged at Lara, even after she had pulled out her gun and started shoot him. Mathias' ducked and weaved through the wave of bullets with amazing skill, reaching Lara in a matter of second and slamming his fist against the side of her face. The Archaeologist was turned around, nearly dropping to her knees, but managed to stay standing as she flipped around to confront Mathias.
"This ends now!" screamed Mathias.
Mathias had lost the last trace of his sanity; Lara could see it in his one remaining eye. The cultist leader howled like a wounded animal as he rushed at Lara with his hands outstretched like they were ready to strangle the life out of her. Lara's quick hand reached for the climbing axe strapped to her side and swiped at Mathias, burying the tool in the man's shoulder. But the insane survivor tackled Lara and pulled them both down to the ground, straddling her hips. Lara attempted to reach for her pistol, but Mathias ripped the climbing axe out of his shoulder without hesitation and swung it down for Lara's throat. The archaeologist only had her quick reflexes to thank as her hands shot up and caught the handle before the blade could reach. Now the two were locked in a contest of strength – one that Lara was failing.
"I have come too far to let it all go to waste!" snarled Mathias. "Himiko will rise! You whore girlfriend will die! You will die! Just give up!"
"No!" screamed Lara defiantly.
Back with Sun and Sora, the monkey Faunus was continuing to hang on for dear life as the Alpha Beowolf flailed and turned to knock the Huntsman off it. The great beast even smashed through the support beams twice, bringing down more wreckage on top of their heads, but Sun would not let go of his nunchaku. Finally, the Alpha Beowolf wised up and reached over its shoulder, plucking the Faunus off with its claw. With the Huntsman in its grasp, the Alpha Beowolf slammed Sun on the ground – a small crater formed from the impact – and lifted its foot over him. The tell-tale sign of Sora's gun cracked through the air and the spiky-haired boy was flying across the open-air chamber with his scythe ready to sweep the Grimm off its feet. But the Alpha Beowolf saw it coming.
The titanic Grimm turned as Sora approached and jutted out its lifted leg, slamming its heel into Sora's chest. The scythe-wielder was thrown into a support beam, which cracked when he slammed against it, and slumped to the floor. Shaking his vision free of the pretty stars, Sora yelped and rolled out of the way as the Alpha Beowolf's claw flew overhead and ripped the support beam to splinters. The upper floor once again fell on top of the evolved Grimm and the beast brushed it off, but a long length of rope had fallen on top of the Grimm and coiled haphazardly around its body. The Alpha Beowolf snapped and snarled at the rope, sweeping its claws around, only for the rope to become more entangled in its bone-armor.
Watching the Grimm struggle gave Sora an idea.
"Hey, Sun!" called Sora. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I'm done thinking," shouted Sun, leaping past his partner. "It's the doing part that's gonna be trouble! Follow my lead, kid!"
The spiky-haired warrior stowed Crescent Rose to its Inactive Mode and hopped after his Faunus partner. The duo landed in front of the Alpha Grimm, which had somehow managed to wrap its body loosely in the web of rope. Once it noticed the two Huntsmen, the Alpha Beowolf stabbed its claws at them, but the pair sidestepped out of the way. Sun then grabbed one end of the rope that was hanging off the Alpha Beowolf's wrist, dashed at the monster, and performed a clean slide between its legs before dashing off to the right. The monkey Faunus pulled at the rope and the Alpha Beowolf's hand moved against its will, suddenly slashing across its ankles and slicing the limb open. The Alpha Beowolf howled as it fell sideways onto its knees.
Sora dashed around and slid on his knees as the Alpha Beowolf swiped across the air with its free arm. As the bone-spiked limb flew over him, Sora grabbed another end of the rope, hopped to his feet, and started running in a full circle around the Grimm. Once again, against his will, the Alpha Beowolf's claw stretched around its torso and over its shoulder before Sora gave the rope a firm tug and buried the beast's nails into its nape. The werewolf Grimm howled with pain and started squirming against its bindings, but Sora and Sun continued to run around the Alpha Beowolf pulling at both ends of the rope. When the pair stopped running, the Alpha Beowolf no longer had the freedom to move its limbs. It was trapped.
Sora unfolded Crescent Rose into its Scythe Mode, spinning the massive scythe expertly between his hands ("Hey, you're getting really good at that," said Sun impressively). The spiky-haired warrior approached the Alpha Beowolf slowly, more so that he wouldn't slip up the rotation of his weapon than in fear of the Grimm. The Alpha Beowolf burned the scythe wielder and opened its jaw to howl at him, but Sora buried the blade of his scythe in its skull before the werewolf could utter a sound. After a moment of semi-silence, Sora ripped his weapon out and the Alpha Beowolf's body eroded into a dark mist.
"Hey, that wasn't so bad," complimented Sun, clapping Sora's shoulder. "Though Beowolves normally travel in packs, which was why it was so much easier. But you did well to hold your own against an alpha. Nice job, kid."
"Thanks," said Sora.
"Sun! Sora!" The pair looked over as Penny dashed toward them. "Are you two all right? My batteries just finished recharging."
"We're just fine, Pen," said Sun, grinning. "We took out that Grimm, no problem."
"What about Lara?" asked Penny.
Sora and Sun hissed internally. In all the excitement, they had completely forgotten about Lara and her fight against Mathias.
Back on the top of the alter; both Lara and Mathias were pushing against the handle of the climbing axe, trying to outdo each other in strength. Though Lara was doing well to hold her own against him, Mathias was clearly the superior in terms of physical ability, having spent years toning himself for survival. The blade of Lara's axe was steadily getting closer to her neck; Lara was tilting her head away trying to evade it. At the same time, the light around Himiko's barrier was growing weaker as the tendrils were getting stronger around Sam.
"You see that, Lara?" screamed Mathias. "Any moment now, the Sun Queen will be revived and you will never see your beloved Samantha again!"
Something seemed to snap in Lara's head the moment those words left Mathias' lips. She bared her teeth with an inhumane growl and pushed against the climbing axe with all her might, surprising the cultist leader as he was pushed off. Lara's hand snatched up the gun in his holster and did not hesitate to pull the trigger on Mathias. Though the insane zealot was quick to divert the weapon, the bullet still landed in his shoulder and Mathias was forced to crawl away from Lara holding his wound. The archaeologist pushed herself up in seconds and pulled out her second pistol as she kicked Mathias onto his back, standing over him like an ominous shadow. The rage inside Lara that had been building up since her arrival on the island was finally brought to the surface. And though many would have cowered in fear at her heated gaze and gnashing teeth, Mathias only laughed.
"You see, Lara, we're not so different after all," said Mathias, chuckling maliciously. "We both do what we have to in order to survive. Because that's what we are: survivors."
The ziggurat echoed with Lara's furious screams mixed with the howling winds and the repeated gunshots. Again and again, Lara shot at the cultist's chest, ripping through cloth and flesh long after Mathias had drawn his final breath. She didn't even care that he was already dead – she just wanted to hurt him, to make him suffer for all the pain her put her through, all the pain he put Sam through! There must have been twenty to thirty bullets already buried in Mathias' chest, and Lara would have filled his corpse with more had Sora not suddenly appeared and pulled her by the wrist.
"Lara, it's over!" shouted Sora. "He's dead! He's dead! We need to rescue Sam now!"
And just like that, her body was purged of her rage, as if someone had pulled the plug and washed it down the drain. Her breathing was fast and fierce; she was staring down at Mathias's bullet-riddled corpse as if she was only seeing it for the first time. The scariest part was, in Sora's mind, was that Lara didn't seem the least bit remorseful. If anything, she looked…satisfied. Sora, Sun, and Penny didn't have the nerve to say anything to Lara in her present state – maybe it was because she needed time to comprehend what she had done, or they were afraid she might turn on them. But either way, Lara stepped over Mathias' corpse, wordlessly pushed past the trio, and marched up to Himiko's alter.
As she approached the Sun Queen's rotting body, Lara unloaded the clip of her pistol and searched for any remaining bullets. There was one left; she clicked it back into the firearm with some sense of satisfaction. She purposely climbed up to the alter and stood between Himiko and Sam, allowing the tidal wave of energy to wash over her. If the energy wave was hurting her in any way, Lara didn't let it show. She raised her pistol, jammed it between the Sun Queen's eyes, and pulled back the hammer.
"Burn in hell, Himiko," said Lara in a low voice.
BANG!
Himiko's dying screams raged louder than the mighty winds that surrounded them as the Fire Dust traveled from the hole in her head to the rest of her body. The blue energy that connected the Sun Queen with Sam dissipated and the young woman dropped to the floor; Lara was by her side faster than any of them could blink. The fire raged strongly as the once inactive body started swinging around in circles in a hopeless attempt to douse the fires. And then…Himiko collapsed over the side of her alter and fell motionless into a pile of charred flesh.
"…You know, I was kinda expecting a big explosion or something," said Sora, scratching his head with a brow raised. "That just seemed a little…anticlimactic."
"Are we seriously talking about this?" said Penny, staring at him aghast. "We need to get off this island soon. It's starting to mess up your brain."
"I don't think that'll be a problem anymore," said Sun, leaning backward and staring into the sky. "Look at that."
Sora and Penny looked up to follow his line of sight as the raging winds began to subside without any reasonable explanation; the stormy-gray clouds above began to part and the first rays of sunlight began to shine through. Sora let out a sigh of relief when he felt the warmth of the sun's ray brush against his skin. It had been sunny days nearly all the time back on the Destiny Islands, and after weathering through Himiko's storms, he never realized how much he had taken it for granted. Sora thought of Riku and Kairi, and how much he wished he could be back on the beach with them, laughing and smiling without a care in the word.
"Sam!" Sora and his crew turned around. Lara was gently lifting Sam into her lap; the dark-haired woman was having a coughing fit as if she had recently come up for air. "Oh Sam, thank god! I was so worried! Oh, thank god you're all right!"
"Ugg…Lara," slurred Sam tiredly. "Lara…what's happening?"
"Shh…," hushed Lara gently, caressing the woman's cheek. "It's all right…I'm here now….your safe…it's okay…it's okay…."
"You saved me," said Sam with an exhausted, but tender smile. "I knew you would…."
"I will always come to save you, Sam," said Lara affectionately. "Sam, I…I will always be there whether you want me to or not. I will stand by your side through the good times and the bad – especially the bad – I will support you, and care for you when you need me most. I'm sure we'll end up fighting a lot – most people often do – but at the end of the day, I want you to know that – "
"If you're going to propose me, could you skip the long speech; I have a killer headache," said Sam, chuckling tiredly.
"Ugh – I – Sam, I – " Lara stuttered; her face was tinged red and her voice was hitched.
"Lara, I've known for the longest time how you feel," said Sam softly. "And…ell, I never said anything before because, if I'm honest, I was a little scared myself. But after the hell we've been through…all the monsters, the murderers, and an insane Sun Goddess…I'm not scared anymore…. I want this, Lara…and I know you want it too…. So let's do it."
"Oh, Sam," said Lara in a soft whisper.
Sam raised herself higher and Lara leaned in closer; their eyes fluttered closed as they inched towards each other…. And Sora completely missed the rest because Penny and Sun covered his eyes with their hands.
"HEY!" yelled Sora indignantly.
"You're a little too young for this, kid," said Sun.
"I'm fourteen!" retorted Sora.
"That's too young in our book," said Penny, and together with Sun, they forced him to turn around and dragged Sora away. "Come on, I think these two need to be alone for a while. Now that Himiko's dead, I'm sure the Storm Guard is starting to die out and the cultists will be running for the beaches. They'll be fine on their own."
"You guys are the worst," Sora grumbled, crossing his arms like a pouting child. "Well, at least things worked out for the best. Sam's safe, Mathias and the Beowolf are out of the picture, and once we find our ship, we can start heading to the next world."
"That reminds me," said Sun. "We never did find Ruby. Think we should stick around and look for her?"
"Uh…yeah, about that," said Sora anxiously; Penny and Sun turned to him curiously. "Well, when we got separated…I kinda saw Ruby."
"You did?" asked Penny eagerly. "Where is she?"
"Well, it wasn't exactly Ruby," said Sora, tapping his finger together. "You see…I chased her down in the monastery tunnels and that the woman in the red hood turned out to be one of the Mathias' followers wearing a red cape. Apparently, Mathias made up the story about the Red Witch to trick us into leave Sam alone so that he could perform the ritual while we were on a wild goose chase."
"Then…Ruby was never on the island?" asked Penny sadly.
"But that can't be right," argued Sun. "What about the Fire Dust we found? That's proof that Ruby's been here, right?"
"It could be," said Penny, brushing her chin thoughtfully. "Or maybe…it just means that the magazine was swept up in the storm from when Remnant was destroyed. It could have just been blown off to Yamatai the same way Sora was blown from his islands to Traverse Town…. I don't think Ruby ever showed up on Yamatai over the last ten years."
"Then that means…our search was a bust," said Sun depressingly.
"Guess this means we'll have to keep search," said Penny gloomily.
It pained him – it physically pained Sora – to see his two closest friends look so sad; his stomach was awkwardly with the guilt. But it was better than the alternative, Sora thought to himself. If they knew that it was Ruby who told Mathias to take Sam and offer her up to Himiko, they would be devastated. Was he partially being selfish? Maybe, but he wanted to spare his friends feeling for little bit longer.
But as the trio of world travelers was celebrating their victory over Mathias and Himiko, they remained unaware that they were being observed within the chambers of Zeref's shadowed fortress. The Black Wizard leaned over the granite table, watching the illuminated figures of Sora and his friends as they walked motionlessly in the center. Standing around him were the three other shadowy figures that had joined his cabal – Torchwick was busying himself in Fiore and Zeref didn't quite care for the last one.
"That Beowolf was acting out of sorts," said the first shadow. "I've been studying the Grimm for years and I never known them to travel outside of packs. What drew that particular Grimm to the world that made it act so…obedient?"
"The priestess lured it there," said Zeref simply. "It was her centuries of hatred that fed the beast. It latched on to her much like a pup nursing from its mother."
"Looks like the mutt sucked more than he was doing the sucking," said the second shadow with a high-pitched cackle.
That is when the first shadow stepped out of the darkness and into the light projected from the image on the table, illuminating his features to his master. He was a tall and shabby looking man with unruly purple that touched his shoulders, but his were sharp with a wisdom that showed beyond his years. He dressed very handsomely in a blue business suit with a bolo tie necklace and threw on a white lab coat over top, specifically to imply that he was a scientist of sorts.
"Such an anomaly is worth investigating if we ever want to know how to control those monsters," said the scientist. "But first, there is another matter we must deal with. More specially, the boy and his friends. I'm sure you've noticed my lord, but they are becoming a problem. They are getting stronger with each world they visit. If this continues – "
"I understand your fear, Doctor Scaglietti," said Zeref, "but they are not the immediate concern. While their interference has made our efforts…difficult, they still remain blissfully unaware of our true goal."
"Yes, the Maidens," muttered Doctor Scaglietti. "Though they are unaware of it, those three have somewhat hindered us when they destroyed Himiko. Had she been successful in the transfer, she would have made an excellent candidate for the process."
"Fear not, for there are still many vessels to choose from," said Zeref, turning slowly to his left. "Speaking of which…."
"H-hey, let me go you creep!" a young, female voice shouted.
All of a sudden, a young girl was thrown out of the darkness and slid against the ground into the light near Zeref. The groaned as she pushed herself to her hands and feet, staring up at the Black Wizard with a mixture of fear and defiance. The girl was young, possibly around the same age as Sora, with short black hair tied up into short, choppy pig tails and brilliant blue eyes. She wore a yellow, blue buttoned school jacket with a white dress shirt underneath, a blue ribbon tie, and a dark-blue skirt.
Zeref smiled softly as he approached the girl and kneeled down; the girl didn't back away, only glared at him with stronger intensity.
"Welcome to Spriggan Castle, Miss Kuroi," said Zeref softly. "I do hope that you will enjoy your stay here."
And that brings about the thrilling conclusion of the Yamatai Trilogy, which I am actually proud of for a change (that's a miracle in and of itself). I felt like this might have been my best chapter yet because I could stop writing once I got the battle scene going. You may have noticed that the fight between Lara and Mathias was similar to the original, because that's how I wanted it to be. I wanted Lara to snap the way she did and go on a vengeful rage – a natural reaction I such the situation, I believe – and Sora would act as the counterbalance, keeping his head straight and feeling somewhat concerned by Lara's attitude. This was to emphasize that Sora is the uncompromisable good in the story.
The next chapter is the return to Traverse Town, where we'll meet two familiar characters (one who will join the main cast later, and the other to give the heroes a good kick in the butt). And it will also be the first appearance of this story's version of 100 Arce Woods, which I am really excited about. So until next time, please read and review.
EXTRA
I may have left out many things from the original version when I created this story, but there is one that isn't changing – new weapon forms! That's right; Crescent Rose will have new forms and abilities! I already planned how that's going to work and Sora's going to get his first one in the next chapter, but I'm still missing one thing: the name. If you could help out that would be really appreciated. Here's how the format should look:
(Yamatai-related word) (Flower name)
The idea is similar to Marluxia's scythes in 358/2. And as thanks for the help, I will be offering a prize to the person who comes up with the best name. So please, feel free to try out – you have nothing to lose.