Chapter 25: The New Age
"How much further Darwin?" Asked Dante.
The two were riding in an air vehicle heading towards New Wellington. With every explosion Dante heard, he was getting more and more irritated by the second. Irritated was the wrong word. He was getting more and more agitated and angry.
"We arrive to our destination in approximately five minutes. I suggest we create a battle plan."
"Simple. We go in and kick ass."
"That is your battle plan?"
"What do you expect?!" Shouted Dante.
"Your heart rate is elevated. You are...nervous."
"And?"
"It's not like you to be nervous. Or worried."
"I'm worried because something's destroying the city where my friends are! That's why!"
"I suggest you take deep breaths, we are arriving."
"Good. You and I are gonna split up. You track down Blanc and the others while I take care of whatever's causing all the noise."
"Very well."
The air vehicle landed as the two jumped out and went their separate ways. Dante's holo screen popped up with Darwin being the caller.
"Good luck Dante."
"Good luck to you too."
The holo screen disappeared as Dante mad dashed through the broken streets. People were running away from the town center as a building started to crumble. A large piece of ruble was about to fall on a woman and her child. She closed her eyes and protected her child as the ruble inched closer. But she did not feel it fall on her. She instead heard metal cut stone and looked up to see Dante was her savior.
"Go! Get outta here!" Said Dante.
"Thank you! Thank you so much Black Knight!" She said running off.
Under Dante's mask, he smiled a bit. But his smile disappeared as he felt the ground quake.
Damn! What the hell could be causing this?!
Dante kept running towards the town center, moving faster than the cars and people running combined. A building collapsed as was working its way down to block Dante path.
Shit! Gotta move faster!
Dante could feel a burst of energy deep within him that soon flowed into his legs, causing to run faster than he normally did. The buildings shadow was upon him. He knew he had to run faster.
Faster damn you! Faster!
As he said these words, the teens speed tripled and he zoomed right past the building about to crush him.
He stopped for a second and sighed, looking back at the large building that now blocked the road. He then looked to see what was in front of him.
"That's project Genesis?!"
Then he made sure he wasn't hallucinating and blinked twice. It was the real deal. It looked like all the other mechs Dante had fought. Only now it had a head resembling Darwin's and it was much, much larger than all the rest, and it had four arms. The colossal mech was at least two hundred feet tall. It's arms and legs were as thick as an entire mega mech and it's body probably would be amassment of five of them. It's head was as large as a standard mech. It entire body was colored white,with some black highlightings. It also had to enormous shoulder mounted cannons. Just as Dante finished his observation, the shoulder cannons fired of a large beam of black energy into the streets and moved up into the buildings, then stopped.
That son of a bitch! I need to draw his attention!
Dante looked around for something useful and saw a bulldozer.
"Perfect!"
The teen instantly grabbed and raised it high above his head. With a loud roar, Dante sent the vehicle flying towards the mech. As soon as it crashed into the mechs backside, the mech turned around and looked to see Dante down below. The teen was nervous, but he was still angrier than nervous.
"So...you've come. Did you manage to kill that old fool?" Said a loud voice from the machine.
"He's still alive."
"What a surprise. I thought you would have killed him by now. Tell me, where is my nephew so I can kill him?"
"Like hell I'm telling you anything! I'm gonna take you down!"
"Is that so? Well then, lets see how you fair against this fine piece of machinery!"
Dante readied himself as he heard the machinery groan.
The teen saw the mech get closer and closer and closer to him. Dante readied himself as the mechs hands went directly to crush him. The teen mad dashed out of the way of all four arms and started to hack away at whatever metal found itself in his path.
"That won't work!" Said Charles over the mechs speaker system.
The mechs hands tried to make a sweeping motion to take out Dante, who managed to avoid all the hands.
"Little shit!"
The mech took a few steps back as the the two top arms started to shift and extend into what seemed to be rotator blade arms.
"Hold still!"
One of the blades arms was raised into the sky and ready to crash down on the teen.
I won't be able to dodge this time! I have to stand my ground! Let's hope I can push it back!
Dante took a deep breath and got into a stance as he raised his sword. The blade arms crashed down on Dante, creating a large gust of wind and dust.
"Hah! There's no way you could have...what?!"
Charles sound found his rotator blade arm pushed up.
"Ugh! Just die you piece of shit!"
Charles soon commenced a slow attack of repeated blade arm attacks, all of which Dante blocked and pushed away. By that time, Charles was beyond frustrated and raised both blade arms and crashed them down on the teen, hoping that killed him. But yet again, Charles was proven wrong by Dante's profound strength.
"Is that all you got Charles?! Your mother can probably do better and I bet she's dead!"
Charles roared angrily as he tried to stomp on Dante, who laughed as he dodged and proceeded to slice apart the legs armor. He then tossed his blade high into the dark skies as then teen soon found his right fist covered in his flame like black energy and smashed it into the leg, causing the giant to collapse on its back. Dante quickly made his way up the leg and towards the under arms, where his blade sound found itself in its owners hands and started to slice the arm into pieces until the arm was completely severed. The teen made a quick dash across the mechs abdomen towards the other under arm and sliced it to pieces until it was separated from its body. The mech started to rise again and Dante began running up the metal giant towards its head. He made a long distance jump upwards to meet its face, made his sword disappear and charged his fist full of energy once more and laid a devastating punch directly in the forehead of the beast, chasing it to fall on its back once more, which caused Charles to roar angrily. To be funny Dante walked ran up to the face and sat down on it as he tapped on the large visor.
"Hey! Blink twice if you can hear me!"
After this, the teen chuckled a bit.
"Aaggggghhhh! You little maggot! I will kill you! I will kill you!"
The mech started to rise up again and Dante immediately got off the giant in one large leap to the ground and turned around, summoning his sword and placing its dull edge on his shoulder. He kept his eyes trained on the metal giant, smiling and full of confidence.
It's like the good old saying, the bigger they are, the easier to kill.
The shoulder cannons started to whir and glow with black energy.
Here it comes...don't fail me now sword.
"There's no way you're going to survive this! Say your prayers!"
He started to laugh maniacally as the cannon finished its final charging stage and fired directly on the teen, who simply stood his ground as the beam of black energy engulfed him. When the beam stopped, all that could be seen was a large cloud of dust and ashes. A large gust of wind from inside the clouds dispersed them and revealed Dante, unscathed.
"How?!"
"You made the biggest mistake thinking I'm weak due to my appearances. Now...die."
Dante raised his blade across his body and lashed out, sending a large gust of wind that caused the mech to stagger.
Nows my chance!
Dante jumped towards the mechs left arm and started hacking away at its arm joint before he punched it, and made the mech go down on its back again. The teen landed directly next to the rotator blade, turned around and grabbed the metal covering the blade before it retracted. With a load roar, Dante started to lift the blade with all his strength, eventually lifting the mech high above his head. He then turned and smashed the mech back down into the earth before lifting again. The metal arm blade started to groan and creak. It soon gave way from the joint where Dante cut and flew up into the sky, spiraling above the teen. He waited until, what probably would have been the handle, presented itself, and got his hand on a handle bar on the arm and his other on the outer part, completely holding the colossal arm blade in both his hands.
Time to taste some of your own medicine jackass!
Dante's body soon produced large amounts of black flame like energy as he stood and waited for the mech to rise again. The arm blade was heavy, but the teen knew very well he could handle the strain.
"Enough of this! I will not let you ruin my plans! Not when I've come this far!"
Charles roared as he raised his remaining blade arm. Dante readied himself by taking a step forward. The blade started to come in. Dante mustered all the strength he had lashed out with the large arm blade, parrying his attackers. The teen instantly shifted the blade from his right side to his left and took a step backwards as he struck again at the mechs incoming blade, parrying it once more. The teen knew Charles wasn't about to give up, so he switched the blade to his right side and struck a final time at the arm blade coming towards him with his large arm blade. Instead of parrying the attack, both of the colossal blades crashed against one another, forming a clash. Dante put his all in pushing against the blade, creating a large amount of sparks and forcing back Charles' enormous arm blade. It got to the point were it was pushed back completely and caused the arm blade of Charles mech to snap into two. The teen let out another roar as he spun around and lashed out upwards at the mech with his blade arm, causing the colossal metal beast to ascend towards the sky. Dante then called upon his strength once more as he spear tossed the giant arm blade directly towards the mech, which passed through, causing the mech to explode. The explosion was like a bunch of fireworks set off at once, which made Dante smile as he put his left hand on his hip and watched the show. His smile disappeared as soon as he saw something fly out of the massive fire in the sky.
An escape pod no doubt. So that bastard did have a plan B just in case he failed. And his destination...
Dante trailed the pod with his eyes as it went directly for the palace in the city.
"And bingo was his name-o."
An air vehicle landed near the teen as his friends stepped out one by one.
"Hey guys! Did you guys see the fireworks?" He asked them.
"I must admit, I had my doubts for a second my friend. Then I realized it was you he was taking on." Said Blanc.
"I bet he was surprised to see Dante kick his ass!" Exclaimed Zack.
Darwin simply stood behind them all, still in his metallic frame mode. He was...shocked if an AI could be that. But then again, he realized he was capable of thought, so he was shocked. But also curious.
Incredible...Dante was able to destroy a mech unit of that caliber using only his sword and the arm rotator blade severed from the mech. This is almost incomprehensible. I only pertain one question after seeing all this. Is this boy human? Or is he something more?
Darwin soon realized another fact. He imagined himself smiling as he contemplated his thought.
He is the one who saved me. He was my first...friend. And if I were to go further, he, Blanc, Zack and Sybil are...my family. I am grateful for this. I was designed to kill. But since my fight with Dante, he changed me. He gave me a newer directive. No. His instructions were specific. Be human. So instead, he gave me a new purpose. A new life. It does not matter to me what he is, human or not. He is Dante. And he will continue to be himself.
Darwin broke this thought as he approached Dante.
"Yikes. Looks like you lost an arm there Darwin." Said Dante examining his left arm socket where his arm was missing.
"Superficial damage when I confronted the mega mech. If it was not for your ingenuity in increasing my time in Overdrive mode, there might have been a probability where I could have failed."
"Well you didn't. And that's what matters. So..."
Dante turned his gaze from the group towards the palace.
"It's about time we ended this show."
"I agree. It's about time uncle stepped down."
"It won't be easy Blanc. He's got another trick up his sleeve. And I'm betting that's his fallback plan."
"What trick might this be?"
"I found out he did some human trials years ago, some project called Knightmare that bioengineered someone into a force to be reckoned with. And my guess is that whoever or whatever the project was, it's his personal guard."
"You'll be able to stop him won't you?" Asked Blanc.
Dante sighed, closing his eyes.
"I don't know. I've never seen one before. But I'll try indefinitely. Here's what's happening. Zack and Sybil, you guys are going back with Darwin."
"What?! No way!" Said Sybil.
"Yeah man! We're not leaving just yet!"
"Listen! If anything happens, Darwin's the fallback plan and he's gonna take care of you guys."
"You're making this suggestion out of fear. If anything, you and I should go." Said Darwin.
"He's right my friend, if anything he should go with you."
"That's not the point. The point is this involves you and me Blanc. And we're probably not going to get another chance like this again."
Everyone seemed to drop whatever argument they had next.
"This is a matter of honor then?" Asked Darwin.
"In a way, yes. We need to put someone in kingship who'll actually do something for the people. Blanc's family did their best. Now it's time for Blanc to continue that legacy of peace."
"He's right Darwin. It's my duty to the people. We have to do this."
"Very well then. I will accompany them to the hotel. Please. This way." Said Darwin leading the way to the air vehicle.
They all stepped inside and took off. Dante and Blanc turned around, looking at the palace a small distance away. If anything, I'd take them ten minutes to walk there.
"Here's the deal. I'm gonna kill whatever the hell his Knightmare is, then if you want, you can kill Charles."
"We'll see. But for now, let's just get there first."
"Yeah...well, let's do this. To be honest, I want to eat something and watch some tv. It's been a while since I had some peace and relaxation."
Blanc chuckled as he and Dante walked the long road together.
"You and me both my friend."
"This is impossible! Impossible! How could one man defeat an entire mercenary group and defeat the most powerful machine in the world?! It's impossible!"
Charles sat down on his throne, which was made of white marble. Surrounding the throne was some sort of marble cloak that came form a statue directly behind then throne. All the floors were of white marble tiles, accompanied by large white pillars that held the roof. The walls and door were colored dark blue along with gold trimmings and decorative patterns. In the center of the room stood his Knightmare. He was a large figure, approximately ten feet tall, heavily armored and intensely muscular. His armor was colored deep black and resembled armor that knights wore in the medieval times, his blade was as large as he was, also black and as wide as a foot. He wore a helmet that completely obscured his face, leaving a visor line for sight.
"He's coming...isn't he? Isn't he?!"
The Knightmare gave no response. He only stood and watched the door, never flinching once. Gunshots sounded off as well as explosions behind the door. Charles was nervous. Correction, he was extremely nervous to the point he'd die of heart attack if it were to happen. The Knightmare raised his head somewhat, focusing dead center on the doorway. The doors flew off their hinges and crashed around the Knightmare, who made no attempt of movement. Dante stepped out of the smoke, sword on his shoulder.
"Well well well. So this is what your ugly ass looks like." He said to Charles.
Charles was short, probably as tall as Dante who was five six. He had short blonde hair combed back and a small blonde beard. His eyes were a shining emerald color like Blanc's and was a little,round in the middle. He wore a white suit a black undershirt with a white tie.
"But then again, I'm guessing you have an even uglier hide huh?" Asked Dante directing his comment to the Knightmare. No response.
"Silent type huh? Well that's...annoying."
"Why are you here? What do you want?" Asked Charles hurriedly.
"Now now Charles, what kind of a dumbass question is that? Isn't it obvious? I'm here to kill you."
Dante knew after that comment the current ruler sank in his chair.
"Did my nephew put you up to this? Well?! Did he?!"
The teen chuckled.
"Nope."
"Then why are you here?!"
"After I heard about your intentions of killing him and taking over the world, well...let's just say my duty as a hero simply won't allow that jackass."
"That's why?!"
"Yup. It's my job you see...and I prefer to do a good job."
"You won't get far. My Knightmare will stop you!"
Dante decided to be funny and thought of something really good.
"You know something? Your mother was my favorite whore in the entire country."
The teen stabbed his blade in the ground, cupped his hands and placed them atop one another and started to make a rotating motion with them.
"Man did she know how to polish a helmet!"
"KILL HIM!" Shouted Charles.
The Knightmare moved in to stab Dante, who moved out of the way, grabbed a gap in the fiends armor and tossed him back to the spot he jumped from. The fiend flipped in the sir once, recovering his stance and awaited for the teens next attack.
"Easy there...I wasn't finished talking. Before your dog snaps at me again, want to pray and sat your final rights before I kill you?"
"SHUT UP AND DIE!"
The Knightmare charged at Dante once more. The teen decided to get serious and removed his sword from the ground, attacking as well. The two slashed and hacked at each other ferociously.
His attacks are brutal. I feel like my arms gonna break any second. I have to be careful. His attacks may be slow, but there's risks I'm not willing to take. All in all, think before I do and I'll be alright.
After a minute or two or constant attacks that never let up, the teen spotted a weakness in his opponents attack chain.
Now!
Dante paired an attack and stabbed at the Knightmare's heart, only to find his blade did not go through his target as expected.
W-what?!
The teen noticed he made a crack in the armor, but not enough to shatter it. Befoe he knew it, the shield the knight had smashed against him and sent him skidding on the floor a few feet before Dante stopped himself using his fingers and hopped back up.
Damn...swords won't work. I've noticed when I charge my fists with my energy, I can do some serious damage. Time to prove that theory a hundred percent!
The teen made his sword de-materialize into black energy, which soon surrounded his hands and feet. He then noticed the knight discarded his sword and shield and got into a stance.
Well what do you know...looks like the Knightmare has a sense of honor. I'd like him if we weren't tying to kill each other.
Afterwords, everything went as expected. Dante and the Knightmare were mercilessly beating the crap out of each other without pause, constantly attacking one another. But the Knightmare seemed to be doing better than Dante. His armor was cracking with each hit Dante landed, but the fiend would return the favor with a brutal attack that should have broken all of Dante's bones by now. All in all, it wasn't going good. He was confident at first, but the teen started to lose all of it with each hit he took. The Knightmare eventually managed to break Dante's guard and punched him directly in the face, sending the teen flying. He skid died and rolled around the floor a bit before he stopped rolling.
Damn it that hurt!
The teen got on both hands and slowly stood up. He coughed twice, each cough emitting a fair amount of blood.
That's it! This bastards going down!
Dante raised his right hand as it charged itself with his black energy. Dante mad dashed for the Knightmare and punched directly at his sternum. The Knightmare seemed unfazed as he stood as if nothing happened. Dante looked up with a surprised look.
Son of a bitch...
It was now or never. Dante let out a load roar as he began to rapidly and violently punch the fiend continuously. He kept going and going and going, aware his punches were definitely connecting, but doing nothing at the same time. With a final and powerful punch, the teen pinched the Knightmare in the abdomen, thinking that would be the end. Dante looked up again, surprised at the result.
What the hell?! That should have killed this guy by now! Argh! Doesn't matter! I just have to keep going! No matter what!
The teen let out another roar as he charged both his fists with his black energy, this time the energy flowing more violently, and dashed at the Knightmare once more. His punches were far more ferocious and inhumanly faster than his last attempt.
Keep going!
Punch after punch landed as the cracks in the armor grew larger.
Keep going!
Each attack was more powerful than the last. Dante finally took two steps back, arms still radiating with black energy, then twisted his body sideways as he landed a double punch attack, forcing the Knightmare a few feet back. Dante lowered his head, breathing heavily.
You've gotta be kidding me...this is it? Is this all I can do? Is this...is this the way it ends?
Before the teen could dodge, he found the Knightmare's large gauntleted hand grabbing his head and raising him in the air.
"Hahahahahahhahahahaha! Is that it?! Is that all that you can do?! This is the hero that's been ruining my plans?! Hahahahahahahahaha! You're weak! You weren't even a match for my Knightmare! Ahahahahahahahahaha!"
So...this is how it ends...huh? I...I still never figured out who I was before...no...that's not what I really want...I...want to see them again...my friends...I want to see Blanc take his place and give people what they need...I want to see Darwin become a human...I want to see Zack and Sybil take over there families respective business'...I...I can't give up...not now...not now! Not when I've come this close!
Dante grabbed the Knightmare by the wrist, who was forced to lower the teen with struggle and eventually have his hand pushed back. But as the fiend was forced back, he tore off Dante's mask. His eyes had changed again, the whites of his eyes were black and his irises turned blood red as his pupil remained black. The teen then let out a growl as he pushed back the Knightmare with great force while sending him with a gust of wind, complete shattering his armor. Now Dante understood why his attacks had little to none effect.
Whatever was once human of the Knightmare was completely gone. Instead of having skin, the fiend had silvery scales like a dragon on every single part where there would have been skin. Eye sockets were present, but within them glowed a crimson red glow. It had no mouth nor ears.
What the hell kind of biological weapon is he? Doesn't matter.
"Tsk tsk Charles. You should know better than to underestimate your foes. After all...you were king."
"Shut your mouth you damn brat! I am king of this country and all the other countries in our empire."
"Not for long."
Dante raised his right hand as his black blade formed out of his energy and into his hand.
"I made a promise...and I keep my promises no matter what. So...let's have some fun with this before I kill you."
"Do not fail me!" Shouted Charles to his Knightmare.
It gave a simple nod as it clenched its fists and slowly walked towards Dante. The teen chuckled as he summoned his sword and mad dashed for his foe. The fight was as brutal as the last, both of the warriors taking hits from one another. Since Dante was using a sword, his strikes would create sparks from each time he landed a hit, but he'd also leave a dent in the fiends scaly, metallic skin. Eventually the teen was trucked by the Knightmare's immense body, sending him tumbling towards the floor. The fiend ran and leapt into air while pointing his sharps claws towards Dante's chest. Before contact was made, Dante got into a pop up stance and kicked back up, but his fete went directly into the fiends face, sending it tumbling on the ground as Dante was on his feet again, preparing for another attack. The Knightmare smashed its fist into the ground and dashed at Dante once more. The teen expected to stop him now since he tensed up his body and knew it was coming, but he was tackled to the ground again, grabbed by the neck and raised into the air. He struggled as Charles laughed.
"Let's see who laughs last fatass!"
Dante smashed his fists into the Knightmare's wrists, forcing it to drop the teen, who then began slashing rapidly at its chest. As he kept going, Dante was damaging the scales one by one. His confidence rose. The fiend managed to get a hold of Dante's sword and ripped it free from the teen and tossed it in the air. He looked back to see where his blade went but looked back to see a punch coming in towards his face. Dante reacted quickly by moving his head and punching as well, only he forced their arms to interlock. They locked eyes for a moment, but Dante began to rapidly and furiously punch his foe in the sides, making dents with each punch he landed. After eight hits, Dante backhanded the Knightmare across its face, forcing the fiend to recoil. But it soon retaliated by spinning around and trying for another punch. The teen was ready as he also threw a punch. The Knightmare's fist missed Dante by only an inch, but the teens fist made solid contact with the fiends face, creating a bone crunching sound that satisfied the teen. The Knightmare stumbled backwards as Dante's blade fell into the teens hands once more.
Impossible! A child is beating my Knightmare?! Impossible!
Dante began hacking away at the fiends chest once more, exposing muscle fibers of his foes chest.
"Go to hell!" He shouted as he slashed at the Knightmare where its heart would be, but his foe made one more attempt to preserve its life by catching the teens blade and trying to push it back.
But currently, Dante had more strength, and because of that, the teen broke his blade free from the grasp of the Knightmare and slashed his chest, forcing it on its knees. With a final roar Dante swung his blade across the fiends neck, decapitating it. It's body fell to the floor, letting silver colored blood flow on the floor. The teen took a deep breath before chuckling.
"Now...where were we?"
"How?! How could you have defeated my Knightmare?!"
Dante's eyes remained the same, demonic and frightening.
"It takes a monster to kill a monster. But who am I kidding? You're the real monster here. Killing people to get where you are...despicable! It's people like you that rot the world! And it's up to people like me...to stop it."
Dante lashed outwards with his blade and started a slow paced walk towards the shaking king.
"Face your death...it's inevitable. It's about time...a new age started."
Charles was at a loss of words as he cowered in his throne, sweating like a pig and shaking like an earthquake. Dante's blade glistened under the light as he raised his blade with a smile on his face. Just before he brought down his blade, he was stopped by a familiar voice.
"That's enough!"
Dante's demonic eyes widened with surprise as he stopped and turned to see Blanc in the doorway. Blanc could see his friends eyes. He was fearful for a moment, but knew Dante had heard him.
"That's enough my friend. We've already won. The police are arresting all the hired soldier from the syndicate. He doesn't need to die."
Dante sighed in disbelief as he lowered his sword and stepped to the side, allowing Blanc to step forward and face his uncle.
"Uncle Charels...it's been forever."
"My dear nephew...getting other people to do the dirty work for you?"
"Actually, he offered his services to me."
"Ridiculous. No one in their right mind would help you knowing we were after you."
"Whoever said I was in my right mind?" Asked Dante with a smile.
His demonic eyes were still present. He felt a twinge in his mind, like something was going to happen soon.
"So you honestly believe...I'll hand over the crown to you?"
"You've lost your right to rule. You made wealth and domination your primary mission instead of the people. We made this system to help the people! Not subjugate them and other peoples under a forced rule!"
"And what do you know of people Blanc?! They are greedy! Selfish! Insane! Killers! Under my rule, I've brought down those afflictions considerably! Because of my actions, I've nearly brought peace!"
"By killing others?!" Shouted Dante.
The teen had enough of his garbage. He grabbed Charles by the collar and raised him in the air.
"I am sick of your political bullshit! Just admit you wanted be top dog! Peace? To hell with that! All you care about is lining your own pockets and getting credibility as a ruler! You have no principles or remorse for the shit you've done! You pudgy fu-!"
"Dante, enough!"
The teen let out a low growl and dropped Charles.
"Are you going to kill me?"
"As much as my friend here would like to, no. You're going to pay for your crimes. You'll be stripped of your title as king. You'll serve life In prison."
Dante quickly formed energy that covered his face and formed his mask as police officers entered the room. Charles was struck with horror, he knew it was over. But he had something in mind. If he was going down, he was going to take Blanc with him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out what seemed to be a pistol. Dante quickly spotted this and chopped of the arm holding the gun and then stabbed Charles in the shoulder, forcing a cry of pain from the man. Blanc simply sighed as he closed his eyes, disappointed in his uncles dishonorable action just now. He was just glad Dante had saved him. Dante removed his blade and turned to the officers.
"Take his fatass to jail and make sure he stays there. Understood?"
"Yes sir!" Said two of the officers.
"Don't call me sir. That feels weird. Just call me Black Knight."
The two officers took Charles and dragged him out of the throne room as another man approached them. He was dressed in SWAT uniform clothing like everyone else, only he didn't wear his helmet.
"You did a mighty fine job boys." He said to the two teens.
He shook hands with Blanc first then Dante.
"Forgive me, I believe we've never met I am police chief Henderson."
As he spoke, Dante recognized his voice.
"I remember you. You're the guy who shot at me in helicopter."
"Sorry about that. Now that we know you've been working hard to rid the streets of crime, we've told officers to not pursue or engage you for any reason."
"Couldn't you have known that from the start?"
"Either way, it's in the past now. Now, I suspect you know what's to happen next mr. Angelford?"
"Yes, I am to take over my uncles facilities when I turn sixteen."
"Correct. However, it is up to you to chose your throne steward. It can be anyone."
"Anyone?"
"And that's the situation." Said Blanc.
He and Dante had visited Sybil's home a few hours later.
"You're kidding..." She said.
"Nope. Honest to god truth. Blanc selected your father to be steward to the throne. Seeing as he was mayor of the city and against Charles' ideals, he's the perfect candidate." Said Dante.
"I don't know what to say...this is all so much."
"Well get used to it." Said Dante.
"Just...thank you... Thank you both for doing this. Because of you two lovable idiots, we can finally live in peace."
"Happy I could help."
"I'm always in service to the people."
Dante had eventually parted ways with everyone and was making his way towards the hotel. To be honest, it was a long day. And he just wanted to relax. But as fate would have it, Dante's luck was not good.
"Well well well. Looks like you actually did it."
That voice... "Where'd you run off to Fox?" Asked Dante as he turned around to face his undead rival.
"Running or hiding isn't how I'd explain it. I was simply waiting to see what would happen in the end. If you'd win or he would. Turns out you did. You've certainly gotten stronger Dante. To be truthful, I think you're close to my level now."
Dante chuckled as he heard those words.
"Do I hear a rematch?" Asked the teen.
"Why of course. I won't say I won last time. To be truthful, you gave me a run for my money. And nearly managed to beat me. I know you're one to learn from you're mistakes, now we have to see if it did you any good."
Fox had drawn his sword slowly as Dante had transformed into his disguise form. The streets were empty, so he had no worries. By this point, both warriors had their swords drawn ready to fight.
"Let's settle our little dispute." Said Fox.
"And may the last man still stand."
With that, the two charged at each other. Like their previous fight, their strikes were light and rapid so they could maintain excellent speed while attacking and so they could be careful of one another. Every now and then, Dante and Fox would land a cut on each other, but both of them kept going as if nothing was bothering them. The two distanced themselves, then charged at each other again, clashing swords and locking eyes. Dante was successfully overpowering his foe and broke the clash while leaving a large slash on Fox's chest. The teens opponent staggered backwards a moment and touched his wound. He chuckled a bit.
"Well, I guess there's no need to hold back now. You may very well be my last opponent. Now then...let begin the main event."
Fox's body was soon covered in purple energy outlined in black as well as his blade. Dante smiled, and in response started to cover his body in his black flame like energy and his sword as well. His eyes soon changed back into his demonic looking eyes. They charged each other once more. The two warriors abandoned speed and went straight into trying to crush each other with brute force. Each strike they landed created a small shockwave that shook cars, trees, any movable object on the street. They eventually came to another clash, which Dante easily broke like the last one, but this time he forced up Fox's hand that held his sword. Dante took a chance and slashed the blade out of Fox's hands, which flew behind the warrior and stuck into the ground. Fox looked back and then faced the teen.
"Don't disappoint me now. I've been looking towards this day for many years now."
"Too bad you'll lose!" Said Dante dashing in.
"Prove it to me!" Said fox also dashing.
Dante's blade missed its mark, which caused him to have Fox's hand grab his face and smash his head into the ground. A large amount of blood spattered from the back of his head, but it wasn't enough to kill the teen. He kicked Fox in the face, which sent him back a couple of feet. Dante hopped back up on his feet as did Fox and ran towards him again. The teen had a plan in mind, certain it would work. He lashed out at Fox, who raised his scabbard and blocked the blade, trying to stop it. They both growled at each other, trying to overpower one or the other. Dante had once again managed to overpower his foe and slashed him across the chest, making an X from the other slash and cutting his scabbard in two. Dante waited and watched as his enemy chuckled and went to grab his sword.
"How about we finish this in one hit? It'll definitely make for an interesting finish."
"Heh...I thought you'd never ask."
Both of the warriors started to channel the energy surrounding their bodies into their katanas, making the energy surrounding their weapons larger. They charged at each other a final time and clashed swords.
"Give up while you can!" Said Fox.
"Go to hell!" Dante and Fox broke their clash and passed each other. After a second, both teen and undead had blood spurting from their pectoral regions. Fox staggered a bit before regaining his footing and Dante stabbed his blade in the ground to hold him up. Fox had walked towards Dante and faced him. He chuckled before sitting down on the ground slowly. The teen did the same as they both laughed together. Fox gave the teen a pat on the back.
"Congratulations...you beat me."
"Thanks...I never thought I'd do it."
"Well you did. And that's because you wouldn't give up. And that's why in proud of you."
"You're proud of me?"
"When we first fought, I saw something in you. It...it was unexplainable at the time. It still is. There's something in my mind that keeps telling me you're going to do something important one day. Now that I've fought with you, I believe it."
"Some mighty fine words. I have two questions though. First, why did you join the Ashford syndicate?"
"Simple. I'm sure you've heard about my legend."
"Yeah...traveling the world for a hundred years or so and battling the strongest of the strong."
"Exactly. And now my mission is complete. I've battled with the strongest person there is."
"What are you going to do now?"
"Depends. I'll figure something out soon. Your second question?"
"Who are you?"
"When I became undead, I somewhat lost my identity. I only remembered my name. And then I came up with this mission of traveling the world fighting the strongest. Basically it."
"So you're just like me then."
"You lost your memories too?"
"Yeah...I just...woke up one day. Honestly, screw my past memories. I'm making good ones now."
"That's a good way to go about it."
The skies started to get darker than usual, signaling it was nearly nighttime.
"Well, I must be off." Said Fox getting up.
"Me too. The guys will kill me if don't get back soon."
"Mind if I get a peek under the hood for a second?"
Dante didn't see any objection. If anything, the two had basically become friends now. Dante removed his mask.
"I guessed right then."
"What?"
"I knew it was you."
"So then why'd you ask me to take off my mask?"
"Just for fun. Take care of yourself."
Fox had walked off into the distance as Dante put his mask back on.
That was the best fight I've ever had. I'm gonna miss that guy. But then again, I bet I'll be seeing him again.
"You fought Fox?!" Asked Zack.
"Yep. And I won."
"Oh. Well cool!"
"And where did he go?" Asked Blanc.
"Don't know. But knowing him, he'll be back."
"It was fortunate you succeeded." Said Darwin.
"Or just pure luck." Said Sybil.
"Either way, we don't have to worry about him. Now then...call." Said Dante.
"Nothing." Said Zack.
"Nothing." Said Sybil.
"I believe I have what is called...three of a kind." Said Darwin.
"Unfortunately, I overrule you. Full house." Said Blanc.
They all looked to Dante who sat with a serious expression holding up his cards still. Blanc went to grab all the chips in the pile, but Dante stopped his hand.
"Not so fast Blanc."
"You have something better?"
"Of course."
Dante put down his cards on the table as everyone but Darwin groaned.
"Royal straight flush! Beat that!"
"How are you so good at cards?" Asked Zack.
"Just a natural talent." Replied Dante with a smile.
"And that was how my first adventure ended." Said Dante.
Everyone in the room was completely amazed or impressed.
"Woooowwwww." Said Ruby, Jaune, Nora and Yang impressed.
"That was a fantastic story." Said Pyrhha.
"It was impressive to say at least." Said Ren.
"Well Weiss, what did you think?" Asked Dante.
"It was...impressive. And full of interesting points."
"Awwwwww! She said something nice!" Said Yang.
"Oh be quiet!" Replied the heiress.
"Another story! Another story!" Said Nora bouncing up and down.
"You haven't gotten to all the details." Added Blake.
"Guys! We've been here all Friday! And it's two thirty seven in the morning!"
"Oh. You're right." Said Ruby.
"Seriously. Go to bed guys. We'll catch up tomorrow or something."
"Awwww." Said Nora.
"We'll hear more tomorrow Nora." Said Ren.
They were all getting up and leaving except for Ruby and Dante.
"So...what's you think?" He asked her.
"It was really cool! I can't wait till tomorrow!"
"We get to one of the good parts."
"I bet your life's been full of adventure and all that stuff."
"Well..."
"You can't say you haven't."
"Okay, okay."
Ruby yawned and her eyes were nearly close to shut.
"You're really tired aren't you?"
"Yes."
"How tired?"
Ruby outstretched her arms to Dante.
"Carry me." She said in a childish voice.
"Your wish is my command."
And with that, Dante took Ruby into his arms and walked down the halls with her in his hands while her hands were wrapped around his neck.
L"Ever consider a new style?" She asked him with her eyes closed.
"Not really. Have you?"
"Sort of."
"Well since you asked so nicely, we'll figure it out in the morning."
Dante opened the door to the room and tucked Ruby into bed. She was fast asleep along with everyone else.
"Sleep tight." Said the teen as he kissed her forehead and left the room.
He wasn't tired at all and decided to wander the halls of Beacon.
"That was quite the story."
Dante nearly jumped upon hearing the voice, but soon realized who it was.
"Jeez professor Ozpin! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Might I ask why are you wandering the halls?"
"I was just about to go out. Theres too many things on my mind right now."
"I see. Might I ask why?"
"Well...Ruby got me thinking. She asked me if I ever considered a change in style. So I thought I could find some stores open, which there should be."
"Clothing?"
"Parts. I wanted to make some changes to my weapon. Since I'm not gonna be sleeping, might as well do some work."
"I see. Very well. But use some discretion. I believe ms. Goodwitch is patrolling the halls tonight."
With that, Dante was off without a second thought. The professor took a sip from his mug, which was always with him.
"He is without a doubt the one."
The professor smiled a bit as he headed towards his office.
"Man was I right!"
Dante had gotten what he needed from a store in Vale and was well on his way back to Beacon with his case of parts, but he bumped into someone as he left the store.
"Damn! Sorry about that! I should have watched where I was going!"
"No worries." Said the person he bumped into.
The person seemed well built and pale. His hair was a silvery-gray, partially slicked back while unkempt at the front while his eyes were a purple color. He wore what appeared to be a white or gray vest/jacket covering his upper body and black pants.
"Still, I should have watched where I was going."
"Like I said, no worries. You're out awfully late."
"Same for you. What've you been up to?"
"Simply wandering. Vale is awfully quiet and peaceful at night."
"Well it is three in the morning."
"True. What exactly where you up to?"
"Parts shopping. I was gonna make some changes to my weapon."
"You're not much of a sleeper are you?"
"Nope."
"I figured as much. And you never get tired?"
"Nope."
"Well I guess that's good. You wouldn't happen to attend Beacon would you?"
"Indeed I do."
"And what would you say about it?"
"One of the best things that's happened to me by far. I don't know where I'd be without it or my friends."
"And how are your friends?"
"They're the best."
"Glad to hear that. It seems like you really like it here."
"Yeah..."
After a few seconds of silence, the person spoke again.
"Well, it was nice meeting you...terribly sorry. What was your name?"
"It's Dante."
"Mercury."
He said holding his hand out to the teen.
"Nice to meet you Mercury." Said Dante shaking his hand.
"I must be off. Farewell Dante."
"See ya later."
Mercury walked away as did Dante.
He was nice.
He had spent all hours of the morning working on his weapon. And truly it became a masterpiece after the modifications he made. He only changed two specifics. Dante had noticed recently that his high frequency oscillators weren't as strong as when he used his aura. So he removed the oscillators and replaced it with an aura channeling modulator that would enhance his everything about his weapons tremendously. For instance, if he used his katana form, the aura he channelled into his blade would be far more effective in cutting and would give him more speed and momentum with his attacks. If channeled his aura into his greaves and gauntlets, the thrusters would be on an entirely new level of speed and power, and since he could channel aura into them, his attacks would be devastating beyond comprehension. Dante eventually deducted if he were to punch a building with his gauntlets at max charge level, the building would blown away like a tornado in a storm. With the scythe form that resembled Ruby's Crescent Rose, the aura channeling modulator would infuse the bullets he shot with a large amount of aura, making them highly effective against targets. Plus, it would give him more speed and momentum than Ruby's scythe. If the blade of the scythe was already incredibly sharp, then the aura channeling modulator would take it to a whole new level. The other thing he changed was the color scheme. He changed it from its standard black to a white. The sharp edge and handle where white, almost looking like they were merged, and the rest was grey. It was the same for his greaves and gauntlets, only the joints and gaps were grey and the rest white. For the scythe form, Dante made his choices by comparing to Ruby's color scheme. Since their scythes were basically twins, the red color scheme from Ruby's was white for Dante and the black was grey along with the blade and any other parts. He liked the way it looked now. It somewhat resembled his soul, free of darkness, therefore his weapon being white, resembling light. His clothes however spoke a different story.
"Guess I gotta change it too. Ah well. It's time I changed it anyway. I'll get to it tomorrow."
The Next Day...
He stepped out of the dressing room while Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang examined him.
"No." Said all four.
He soon stepped out again. Again, the same response.
"No."
After taking a suggestion from the combined efforts of Blake and Weiss, Dante stepped out a final time.
"Wow." Said Ruby.
"Perfect!" Said Weiss.
"It looks great." Said Blake.
"I'm jealous of you Ruby." Said Yang.
"Yeah...I like it!" Said Dante.
He stepped in front of a mirror and enjoyed what he saw. He now wore a comfortable grey shirt with a collar and turquoise blue cargo shorts and grey colored shoes with black soles and black socks.
"I seriously like it. Thanks guys."
"Now there's one more thing we need to take care of..." Said Weiss.
"Totally." Replied Ruby.
"It was about time anyway."
The girls eyed a barber shop a short distance away.
"No no no!"
Dante tried to make a break for it, but was caught by the ribbon of Blake's Gambol Shroud and dragged out of the shop.
"You can't! Let me go! Let me go!"
Only Yang remained inside the store.
"I feel your pain. I feel your pain." She said sorrowfully as she walked out.
After a few minutes, Dante had a completely new haircut. Instead of the long hair that nearly went to his shoulders, he had shorter hair that went to at least his checks. But since the girls decided it was time to abandon the simply brushed down style, Dante's hair hair was somewhat parted to the left with his bangs brushed down, but at the ends they were loose.
"Oh." He said looking in the mirror impressed.
"Okay, despite my objections, I like it."
"You guys seriously have nothing to do with your Saturday besides listening to my stories of the past?"
Everyone shook their head in response. They had all gathered in the room once more, this time with food and drinks.
"Okay...so after that incident...oh! Okay! Here's where we'll start! A week or so after the events of overthrowing Blanc's uncle, I visited a real strange world for a day. Or was it two? Either way, it's important to the story. Mainly due to the fact it's how I unlocked more of powers. It began like any other day, on a Tuesday morning under the dark skies of New Wellington."
That's it for this week folks! Next week, we go further into Dante's past as he visits his first world! Pretty exciting huh? As mentioned, you'll see how Dante obtained the majority of his powers. Afterwords, we continue into another exciting arc that I've been itching to work on for a while. Those of you who are joining us now, the origins arc will continue until a week or two of volume 2's release, then, we get back to the awesome main storyline! As always, I'd like to thank all the people who take time out of their lives to read this story. Without you, the story wouldn't be a success. Also, don't forget to fav, follow, and post a review, while also spreading this story to your friends, heck, even your family! The more that read, the better. One little side note, if I don't happen to post for a while, it's because I'll be preparing for my ap exams and sat Or taking them. Yikes! Well, my work here is done for the week. Thank you all, and have a fantastic weekend/week! Till next time!