Author's note: Hey everyone. It's Halenriser.
So, here's the deal, we are almost done with this arc and things are starting to heat up.
The battles are intense, the plot twists will be surprising, and things from older chapters will come into play in either this or the next arc.
ANYWAYS, enough of me wasting your time. I now present to you Chapter 35.
Chapter 35 Power Plant Assault Part 2
July 30, 20XX 18:05
Jason, Serah, Fusion Hector Con Carne, Fusion Flame Princess, and Fusion Gwen all leapt out of the portal they had used one by one, with the three Fusions exiting first and Jason exiting last. As the two Subjects exited they were surprised to see how much the tunnel had decayed since it had been abandoned in the past; ceiling panels had fallen, the walls were covered in Fusion Matter, there were cracks in the floor, and there were human bones and organs scattered around the area and large spots of dried blood in numerous places in the tunnel. The whole place had the distinct scent of something decaying and had a creepy and disturbing look to boot.
"When exactly was this place abandoned?" asked Serah, who was pinching her nose to block out the smell.
"It was abandoned around three years ago." said Fusion Gwen. "Though, as you can plainly see, this place had it's fair share of battles."
"All of which we Fusions won. I believe a few Subjects were killed here during an infiltration attempt a few years ago." said Fusion Hector Con Carne.
"Oh how lovely." said Jason in a sarcastic tone. Like Serah, he was also trying to block out the smell, but instead of pinching his nose he was holding the top of his shirt over his mouth and nose to block out the smell.
The five then began to make their way through the tunnel to the Power Plant, the only audible sounds being the sound of their footsteps. There were no Fusion Monsters to be seen so the group was a little happy because that meant they would not have to fight. However, that happiness soon faded as a new sound echoed through the tunnel; it was the sound of batwings.
"Techwings?" asked Serah, who had pulled out her hammer.
Jason shook his head and pulled out his Wrench-Sword. "No. The pattern is different from that of a Techwing, plus the speed of the flapping is a lot faster than any of them can manage."
"Then what the hell is it?"
Then came a new voice. It was a tiny bit raspy and a little low in tone but it could be understood. "Children! Where are ya? Dracula's here to kill you so he can go watch TV!"
"Oh great. It's Fusion Dracula." Fusion Gwen groaned. "At least it's someone easy to kill."
"Chiiiiillldreeeeeeen!" Fusion Dracula called out. "Come on! Dracula's missing his shows!"
"I've got this." Serah said pulling her KND L.O.N.G.S.H.O.T. (sniper rifle) out of a backpack she had on. She quickly unfolded it and crouched down, activating the night-vision scope and taking aim.
At first she didn't see him anywhere, but after a minute of waiting the sound of batwings stopped and a human-like form appeared farther in the tunnel, right in Serah's line-of-view. "Damn. Pluto told Dracula they were here. Did they already leave? OH HELL NO!"
Serah pulled the trigger and there was a loud bang as the sniper rifle blasted a bullet into the Fusion's skull. The Fusion then slumped forward and melted into Fusion Matter and as soon as he was completely melted a new Nano appeared over the Fusion Matter.
"Dracula wants to watch TV." said the Nano.
The group approached it and Serah held out her arm so the Fusion Matter could enter her Nano Com. Once that was done she pressed a button on it and Nano Dracula disappeared.
"Well that was easy." said Jason.
"Dracula's always been the weakest of us Fusions. He was probably sent her just to get killed and get him out of the way." said Fusion Hector Con Carne.
The group continued to move forward and Fusion Gwen rubbed her arm nervously. "To Fuse and his generals, we're all just sacrificial pawns for their plans. If we didn't get caught in that explosion and got our free will, we would have faced the same fate as him."
Fusion Flame Princess looked down and closed her eyes for a minute. She then grabbed Jason by the arm and pulled him away roughly. "I need to talk to you, privately."
"O-Okay." Jason stuttered, surprised by the Fusion's sudden apprehension of him. Once the two were far away enough from the group, still moving forward like before, Jason turned to Fusion Flame Princess. "Is, uh, is there something wrong?"
For a few seconds, the fire-controlling Fusion stayed silent as she gathered the courage to tell the Subject what needed to be said. "Listen, Subject 001,"
"Call me Jason."
"... Listen, Jason, when this is all over, if… if none of us die during the assault, I want you to do us a favor."
His curiosity peaked, Jason tilted his head a little and raised an eyebrow. "What's the favor?"
Fusion Flame Princess took a deep breath and frowned a little, which surprised Jason as he didn't think Fusions could show emotions other than anger and joy from killing people. "Kill us."
"What?! W-Why would I do that? You guys are our friends, there's no way I could-"
"You don't have a choice!" she snapped at him. "If we live, then that means that Fuse will continue to have a hold on the planet and the war will last longer than you all want. Is THAT what you want? The let the war continue?!"
"I… Well… We could…" Jason sighed, unable to find any words to use to make an argument against her point. "Alright. You have a point…" He took a deep breath and looked away. "I'll do it." He said in defeat.
"Alright. Let's head back over now. We should be nearing the exit."
The two made their way over to the others just as they spotted the portal to exit.
"Are you two ready?" Fusion Hector Con Carne asked Serah and Jason.
The two glanced at each other for a second before turning to the larger of the three Fusions and nodding their heads.
"Then let's go." The three Fusions took hold of tentacles coming out of the portal and were sucked into it, leaving Jason and Serah behind.
"Listen, we will get your sister back safely. I'll do everything in my power to help you get her back, so don't think you're alone with this little side-mission of yours." said Serah in an assuring tone.
Jason smiled his usual gentle smile. "I know." The two approached the portal and just before they took hold of one of the tentacles for each of them, Jason said quickly. "Thank you, Serah." They then grabbed hold and were sucked into the portal.
Outside the Power Plant
Billy and Mark were sitting against a street lamp, their weapons covered in Fusion Matter. They had managed to take care of the Weird Welders and now all that was left was to wait for the army. Tired of the silence between the two of them, Mark cleared his throat and looked at Billy. "So, you and Serah…"
Billy's face turned a light shade of pink. "W-What about us?" he asked nervously, thinking Mark that Mark should be unaware of his relationship with the blond-haired, amber-eyed Subject.
"I know about you two." Mark said with a smirk. "You're a couple."
"Huh?! Us?! Together?! No way! You're wrong!" Billy said, denying Mark's claim.
Mark, however, merely laughed and closed his eyes. "Oh come on, Billy. I can tell you're a couple. You two spend tons of time together, you act a little different around each other sometimes, and, based off your reaction, I can tell I'm right on the mark."
Billy looked down and closed his eyes. "How long?"
"Came up with the assumption this morning after seeing the two of you together in that room. As we prepared for the assault, I began to piece everything together slowly until I came to the sudden realization of what was happening between you two."
Billy's face turned a dark shade of red and Mark gently punched his arm. "Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of. You're a lucky guy to be with someone like her. Sure she gives me a hard time, and vice-versa, but she's a good person. Her attitude is hard at times yet she has a big heart. You chose the right kind of girl."
Billy turned to look at Mark. "You think so?"
"I know so."
The sound of heavy footsteps then began to resonate from down the street and as the two Subjects looked up they saw the army approaching them. "Ready to go?" asked Billy as he stood up.
"Yeah." Mark said standing up with Billy. "Let's kick some ass."
Once the army was up in with Billy and Mark, Mandy approached the two Subjects while two Plumbers carried two large devices over to the force field, setting them up against it and kneeling down in front of them, waiting to activate them when the command was given.
"Where are the other two Subjects?" Mandy asked.
"They're looking around for another way in. They'll catch up with us later." said Mark.
"Fair enough." She looked the two up and down for a minute as if she were thinking for what to have them do before turning to the two Plumbers. "Do it."
The two nodded and punched some commands into the device, making them hum and the force field to shimmer very quickly until it got to the point where it opened up wide enough for the entire army to fit through. Mandy then raised a long scythe with two blades at the top half of it and yelled "ATTACK!"
There was a loud and mismatched roar of battle cries as they all charged into the Power Plant. They were met with a large number of Motor Raptors and a some-what large group of Motor Monsters, all of which charged at the army as well. There were gunshots being fired in every direction, rockets being shot at the dinosaur Fusions and explosives being thrown at them, melee weapons were clashing with the metal hides of the monsters and the roars of the monsters and battle cries of the fighters were all that could be heard throughout the entire area. It was a battle the likes of which neither Billy nor Mark had seen before.
Billy and Mark were running together with their dual weapons drawn and Nano Hex was flying between them, granting both of them speed boosts with his ability "Summon Winds". With the increased speed, the two were shredding through every monster that got in their way.
"I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up." said Nano Hex.
"Alright. We understand." said Billy. "Just give us enough time to get to a more open area. Can you do that for us?"
"I can try!" said the Nano. He then spun his staff over his head and yelled. "Summon Winds!" giving them another boost of speed.
The two managed to get into a small clearing where they were surrounded by Fusion Monsters. Exhausted and out of energy, Nano Hex disappeared, leaving the two to fend for themselves in the clearing while the rest of the army fought around them. They were back-to-back, had their weapons drawn, and were surrounded by the enemy.
"What's the plan?" Mark asked Billy.
"I don't have one." he said back.
"Then why the fuck did you get us to a spot like this? We're surrounded by these things!"
Out of nowhere, Mandy landed beside the two Subjects, her face a little cut up and her scythe dripping with a mix of blood and Fusion Matter. "Need a hand?" she asked.
"We could use all the help we could get." said Mark
Billy grinned. "What are you concerned for us or something?"
"Fuck off." said Mandy. "I'm only helping because we need you alive to take care of Professor Plutonium."
Billy shrugged, pulled out his rifle, and began firing a barrage of bullets at the monsters. The Motor Raptors began to charge at the three and in retaliation, Mark and Mandy lashed out, hacking and slashing through everything that got close enough for them to hit. Mark threw one of his katanas at the head of one of the Motor Monsters and it hit it directly in the center of its forehead. Seizing the opportunity, he then ran over to it and leapt into the air so he could grab his katana.
Once he had a grip on it he began to use the other one to stab it in the face over and over again until it fell forward and dissolved into Fusion Matter. Before he could do anything else however he was rammed from behind by one of the Motor Raptors. Mark cursed and switched his grip on one of his katanas so that he was holding it backhanded, and once he was he used it to slice off the monster's head.
Feeling a slight pain in his back, Mark pushed on it with his hands and cracked it. "Damn that feels good." He then charged at another Motor Monster.
Billy was firing a volley of rockets from a small rocket launcher he had in his backpack at the Motor Raptors. They had managed to disarm him of his rifle so now he had to improvise by any means necessary. No matter how hard he tried though, no matter how many rockets he fired, the monsters just kept coming. Frustrated by this, he put the weapon away and took out a small machine gun. He quickly slammed a clip into it and let loose his wrath upon them. He was shouting as he fired away, reloading it every time it ran out of ammo.
Noticing movement out of the corner of his eye, Billy rolled forward just in time to see a large tail slam into the group right where he was standing. "That was close." He said landing on his feet. Following the tail's path he found it was attached to a Motor Monster that was surrounded by at least a dozen Motor Raptors. Knowing that his machine gun would be ineffective against the beasts, he pulled out a bunch of grenades and quickly unclipped them. "You know, they don't just call me Airborneammo cuz it's my last name." He whipped them all at the monsters. "They call me that because of my large ammo supply!" As soon as the grenades touched something they each went off one by one. A cloud of smoke rose up where the monsters were and once it cleared, there was nothing left of them but a big pool of Fusion Matter.
However, before Billy could draw his machine gun again, his right arm was slashed by the claws of one of the Motor Raptors. He yelled in pain and kicked the monster away. His arm was bleeding a little bit but he was still able to fight, which is exactly what he did.
Not long after that, there was a loud boom coming from one end of the battlefield. At first everyone thought it was just another explosive, but that changed when they heard a loud roar from where the boom came from.
Billy and Mark rushed over to the crater and gasped as they saw a large Fusion standing in the middle of a small crater. Around it were the dead bodies of dozens of Plumbers, KND Operatives, and Teenage Ninjas.
"What the hell is that?" asked Billy raising his machine gun.
"It's a Fusion of course, but I can't figure out which one it is."
"Hey, doesn't it kind of remind you of the Powerpuff Girls?"
Mark looked at Billy. "What do you mean?"
"Look at it's clothes. It's wearing the same style clothes as they do… wait a second. Isn't there some kind of story about there being a fourth Powerpuff?"
"Well yeah. Her name was Bunny. She was made by Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup and she sacrificed herself to save her sisters and Townsville."
"Well, what if this is her Fusion?"
"It is possible. The only thing she left behind was a piece of cloth from her clothes and that went missing a while ago."
The Fusion grunted and stared at the two Subjects. "Bunny." It said before charging at them.
"WHOA!" Mark ducked down just in time to avoid having a hole punched through his stomach. Expecting another attack, he quickly rolled backwards to get away from it with Billy ran to catch up with him.
"Okay, looks like we now know whose Fusion it is." said Billy. "Fusion Bunny. Never thought that the fourth Powerpuff would get a Fusion."
"None of us did." said Mark.
The two then faced off against the Fusion and held their weapons tight. After a few seconds of glaring, the Subjects and the Fusion charged at each other.
Inside the Power Plant
Jason, Serah, and their three Fusion allies all came out of the portal they used and found themselves surrounded by an army of Weird Welders. There were Weird Welder Foreman in the back of the army and standing in front of it was an armored figure. The figure carried a Wrench-Sword that looked a lot like Jason's, only this one was infused with Fusion Matter. Jason turned to Fusion Gwen and asked "Who's that?"
She tried to come up with an answer for his question but no matter how hard she tried she was unable to identify the figure. "I don't know." she said. "Never seen them before." She turned to Fusion Hector Con Carne and Fusion Flame Princess. "Guys?"
"No clue." said Fusion Hector.
"I've got nothing." said Fusion Flame Princess.
"Well whoever they are, they're in our way." Serah pulled out her hammer and spun it above her head. "We need to break through and continue onwards, and the only way to do that is to fight them."
Jason pulled out his Wrench-Sword and looked around him. "Alright. Let's do this!"
The Fusion Monsters around them then began to charge at them, firing bursts of Fusion Matter at them. Fusion Flame Princess blocked them all with walls of fire though and Jason called out Nano Rex to help them.
"Hey! Long time no see!" he said smiling.
"Yeah. Listen, we need you to help us take care of these Fusion Monsters." said Jason.
"Alright, what do you want me to do? Use my ability?"
Jason barked a laugh and shook his head. "No way! Do what you do best, Rex!"
The Nano's hands then turned into big metal fists and he smiled devilishly. "Kick ass! Got it!" He then charged into the battle and began punching the Weird Welders.
Serah then called out Nano Agent Six, who glared at her. "What do you want now?" he growled.
"The hell's his problem?" asked Jason.
"Don't mind him. Six's always like this. Six, we need your help to take care of a little "problem" we are facing right now." She motioned towards the area around them.
The Nano looked around and grumbled something that they were unable to make out. "Why should I help?" he asked. However, before he could get a response from Serah, he heard a loud "Woohoo!" that he quickly recognized. He realized it was coming from the army and drew his swords. "Rex is here?"
Jason grinned and nodded. "Uh-huh. Indeed he is."
Nano Agent Six faced the army down and looked over his shoulder at the two. "Alright. I'll help. What do you need me to do?"
"Just fight them. Help Rex if he needs help." said Serah.
The sunglass-wearing Nano smirked. "I can do that." He then shot forward and began tearing into the Weird Welders.
Jason and Serah turned to talk to their Fusion partners, only to discover they were already fighting the Weird Welders. "Looks like they got a head start." said Jason.
"Well then let's make sure they don't hog all the fun." said Serah, who was grinning and ready to go. "Let's go-"
Suddenly Serah was kicked in the back and sent into a group of monsters. "Serah!" Jason whipped around and raised his weapon just in time to clash blades with the armored figure. He struggled to stand his ground but he eventually able to knock the figure backwards a few feet.
"Holy shit. You're fast." Jason said softly. "Who are you?" he asked.
The figure did not reply and instead charged at Jason but he managed to step out of the way just in time to avoid being hit. It was during this charge that Jason managed to catch a glimpse of a small nameplate on the figure's helmet. "Arreba" is what it said.
"Arreba, huh? Alright, Arreba, let's dance!"
Serah shakily stood up and found herself lying on top of a bunch of Weird Welders. She was a little dazed as she tried to understand what had just happened. Her hammer was laying beside her so she picked it up and smashed the skulls of the Fusion Monsters she was on top of before looking back to see Jason fighting the armored figure.
"Tch. Lucky bastard. I wanted to fight them." Quickly remembering she was in the middle of a battle, Serah got to her feet and spun her hammer in her hand. There were a bunch of Weird Welders charging at her along with two Weird Welder Foreman. "Alright you fuckers. It's time to die!"
Serah charged at one of the Weird Welder Foremen and smashed her hammer into it's leg, throwing it off balance and making it stumble backwards. She heard a Weird Welder behind her and drew her pistol so she could shoot it in the face, making it dissolve into Fusion Matter. "Six! I need some help!" Nano Agent Six then popped up behind her with Nano Rex.
"What you can't handle these guys on your own?" he said in a taunting tone while clapping his hands while giving Serah a strength boost.
"Not when I only have a giant hammer and a pistol. Gah, just attack! You too, Rex!" Serah smashed her hammer into a group of Weird Welders and then spun around to uppercut a few who were attacking from behind her. The monsters dissolved into Fusion Matter and Serah used her increased strength to whip her hammer at a Weird Welder Foreman. The hammer bashed the large monster's head in and it fell backwards, turning into Fusion Matter. Serah smiled triumphantly but soon found herself surrounded by a bunch of Weird Welders. She looked around her to see how many there were and spun on her heal so she could do a round-house kick, smashing them all to pieces. One then tried to charge at her, but as soon as it was in arm's length of her, she pulled back and punched right through the Fusion Monster's chest. It slowly started to dissolve but it stayed together long enough to grab Serah's arm and snap it downwards. She heard a loud crack and screamed in agony knowing her arm was probably broken. She then used her good arm to punch the Fusion Monster in the face and force it to dissolve faster.
"Son of a bitch!" she yelled. "Okay! Now I'm fucking pissed off!" She ran over to her hammer and began to use it again to wreck her enemies.
Jason and Arreba were fighting an intense battle against each other that neither seemed to be winning. So far, each of their levels of strength could be seen as nearly identical to each other, almost as if they were the same person. Their fighting styles were very much alike, with the exception of Arreba being a little more aggressive and relentless. This kept Jason on his toes and kept him on the defensive a lot.
"You fight like one of us and yet at the same time you're a you're fighting with the Fusions! Are you the spy who captured my sister?!" Arreba didn't reply and this angered Jason even more. He swung his weapon so it would hit his foe's mid-section. "ANSWER ME DAMMIT!"
His attacked missed though as Arreba back flipped out of the way. Jason then charged at the figure and they locked blades again. The two pulled their weapons back and swung their weapons at each other nonstop, but no matter where they aimed their blows their attacks were always countered. Neither side was losing, and at the same time neither side was winning. Sweat was starting to run down Jason's face from his anxiousness and the intensity of the battle. Eventually, Arreba managed to hit Jason in the side with their weapon. This caught Jason off guard and left him wide open for another attack, and before he could react to try to block it Arreba punched him in the face.
Jason stumbled backwards and groaned. "Ow." When he looked up to face his enemy again, he was surprised to see that they were gone. Confused by this, he began to look around and eventually looked up to see Arreba coming down towards him with their weapon held high above their head. However, Jason quickly managed to roll out of the way before Arreba could hit him and once they did hit the ground, Jason smacked his weapon into his foe's back, sending them crashing into, and sliding across, the ground. He also managed to knock Arreba's weapon out of their hands.
It didn't take long for Arreba to recover but as they turned to face Jason, he noticed a piece of his foe's helmet was missing, revealing human skin and a blood-red eye like that of a Fusion. "What the hell? Is that skin? Human skin? ... What are you?!" Determined to reveal his foe's identity, Jason charged at Arreba and before his foe could even raise their hands to try to block the attack, Jason slammed his weapon into the side of Arreba's helmet with all his might, sending his enemy a few feet away from him and shattering their helmet at the same time.
With their back to Jason, Arreba got on all fours as they struggled to catch their breath. By now Jason was positive he was facing a human as he saw that the head definitely belonged to a human. "Now show me your face." He said as he walked over to the figure but right when he reached them, Arreba, who had managed to reclaim their weapon, crouched on their heels and smacked Jason into the air and away from them.
Jason hit the ground hard and let out a yelp from hitting the ground so hard. "Okay… I'm gonna be feeling that tomorrow." He then sat up and practically froze in place from what he was seeing. Arreba's helmet had indeed been shattered, but it was their true identity that stopped Jason.
The face from under the helmet belonged to the very person he had come to rescue. He tried to say something but with the state of shock that he was in, all he could do was manage to say "It's… Lucy?"
Standing before Jason, still wearing the green armor they were wearing before and wielding the same Wrench-Sword, was Jason's sister, Lucy Halenriser.
Plot twist! Arreba is Lucy!
I've been planning that all along in this arc! I found it to be a really good plot twist too. Wasn't it? Hm?
Review to let me know what you thought of the chapter.
So, anyways I guess you should all know that the next chapter SHOULD be the final chapter for this arc. I am really excited about the next chapter and I was really excited to write this one.
My heart was pounding the entire time I was writing it. I could practically SEE the battles happening in my head! I can't wait to show you all the next chapter!
Of course I need to type it up first. ^^'
So that's all for now. I guess I'll see you all later. Bye!
Also, the reason why I chose the name Arreba for Lucy is because Arreba is actually Basque for "Sister".
Here's something for you readers. As of now, I am taking requests to put a character that you, the player/reader, had made and used in FusionFall. Add the name of your character in the review and I will do my best to add them in. Whether they have big roles or not is up to me, but I will try to have them appear in the fanfic.